Chapter Sixteen
Shiki groaned in frustration, "I already said no. If anyone wants to go out, they have to have to be escorted by one of us. We accepted you all here to keep you under our protection."
Kurumi was about to say something but Akiha held up a hand to her and gave her a small smile, "Shiki. If they stay in public places they'll be perfectly safe. You and Arcueid are taking Kotori and Yoshino out, what if they agreed to remain in the same area as you?"
"It's not about where they go Akiha. It's about them being alone. Why don't you just go with them?"
Akiha blinked at her brother. "Are you seriously that dense Shiki? For someone who's committed to two life partners, I would have thought you'd be the one trying to convince me to let them go be alone together. Is it only obvious to me that they're going on a date?"
"Someone who wanted to put a security camera on the front gate to keep me in is telling me to let two teenage girls under our family's protection go out in broad daylight while they're under threat from a powerful militarized multinational corporation that's proven capable of defeating the Enforcers of the Mage's Association in several decisive battles? But now I'm the unreasonable one in this conversation?"
"Bad example Shiki. You were sneaking out in the middle of the night to go hunt the dead with an Executor and a True Ancestor. The difference here is they're asking our permission, and as you said, they're going in broad daylight. In very public places, in our own city, which we've worked hard to make perfectly safe."
"If someone told me all those years ago that one day I'd be the one trying to keep people inside this house while you were trying to convince me to let them out, I'd have told them they were crazy," Shiki said with a sigh while sitting down into the arm chair opposite his sister.
The bespectacled man then turned his attention to the two girls seated on the sofa. Particularly on the black haired girl, "You're a magus right?"
Kurumi grinned proudly, "I am, yes."
"Are you any good?" he asked bluntly.
"I beat up Shirou Emiya in a fair fight. More than once."
"Do you know how many tickets you could have sold to those fights?" he asked her incredulously.
"Shiki! Let's not start this again! I won't have anyone trash talking that man in this house!" demanded Akiha.
"You're right, I'm sorry. I'll do it outside the house. Alright, fine. I'll relent. But only on one condition. If anything happens that raises even the slightest suspicion that you might by in any kind of danger, you call me, you don't try to deal with it yourselves. If you feel you're in real danger, you come straight back here to this house and you tell Akiha what happened. Is that clear?"
"Perfectly," they said in unison.
Akiha nodded her head, "That settles it then, you girls have a good time and remember to be back here before sunset. I'd like to have the gates locked and secured before dark."
They both stood up and bowed to Akiha.
"I noticed Akiha seems to have a lot of respect for your father. She was very quick to defend him from Shiki's hostility," observed Origami.
The pair walked through a busy street in the city. The roads were lined with stores and Kurumi knew exactly what she wanted and that she'd never find it in a mall. So they came to one of the more well known areas which was full of boutiques and other small businesses to shop. She had already purchased a few basic essentials along the way and had them in a shopping bag.
Origami wore a high collared white sleeveless blouse with a short blue skirt. Somehow even making the sneakers she was wearing seem elegant in stark contrast to the mish mashed cloths Kurumi was still wearing. Borrowed jeans that only just fit well enough, old school shoes, and one of the plain t-shirts she took from Tohka.
"Well. She may have had a little crush on him once upon a time. But that's not the reason she respects him so much. It's because he helped her clean up this town while it was being threatened. Not to suggest that Shiki, Ciel, and Arcueid were incapable of doing it all on their own. It's just my parents helped them do it."
"Do I want to know what kind of trouble they had here that would require such people to handle it?" she wondered aloud.
"No. You probably do not. Oh! Here it is! I knew this place had to still be here!"
Origami looked at the window and narrowed her eyes, "How do you intend to pay for anything here?"
"It's not a problem. Just trust me."
Kurumi walked with a cheery smile and demeanor as the shopkeeper eyed the pair suspiciously.
Kurumi started looking around at the collection of dresses they had on display while Origami carefully maintained her poker face while inwardly gawking at all the prices.
"Welcome to our store. May I help you?" asked the sales lady.
"Why yes. I've unfortunately had a little bit of an accident with my luggage during my recent travels. I've lost nearly my entire wardrobe and need to replace it before I accidentally make what I'm wearing now trendy," said Kurumi with a cheery smile and voice.
"I can assure you Miss. There's no chance of that. However…"
"Oh! I like this one. May I try it on?"
"Miss. That dress costs six hundred thousand yen."
Kurumi eyed the dress over one more time. It was a mostly black two piece gothic style dress with short sleeves and gloves. It had splashes of white, and it was brilliantly ruffled and frilled. The top was made with an outer corset with three buckles under the chest which wrapped around a white frilly top. Finally there was a black bow trimmed with white ruffles with a rose as its centerpiece. It also had a matching hair piece with three roses of various sizes on it.
I've always wanted this damn dress. Amazing they haven't sold it since the last time I was in Misaki.
"Hmm… I didn't bring quite that much cash," Kurumi remarked thoughtfully. "Do you take credit cards?"
"We do…" the woman answered cautiously.
"Good. Then I'll take this one, that one, and… That one. Oh, and I will be wearing this one out of the store. So let me see what footwear you have to go with it," she said cheerfully.
The woman's jaw hung open.
"Will that be a problem?"
"No! No problem at all!"
Kurumi walked confidently and happily beside Origami with her shopping bags in one hand and Origami's hand held in the other. She had untied her hair and let it flow freely behind her with her bangs mostly still obscuring her eyepatch.
"Kurumi… Do I want to know how you paid for that?"
"Probably not…" was her suddenly bashful response.
"Tell me anyway."
"Stolen credit card..." she said in a low voice.
Origami sighed and shook her head, "Don't do that again. The last thing we need is for the authorities to come after us as well because of credit card fraud."
"There's no chance of that. If the person I stole it from reports any suspicious activity in this bank account. Then he'll have to answer a lot of very embarrassing questions in front of a very high court in a country that isn't exactly known for its tolerance of immorality and criminal activity. Trust me. It's happened once. I pushed my luck all the way to see how far it would go."
"Strictly out of curiosity, how far was that?"
"A lot further than I thought. I was living very comfortably splurging on every expensive thing I could think of. Took three months and millions of dollars before someone came asking questions. It was a pointless indulgence. I just had to test the limits."
"Still. Do not do that again. Treat this time line as if you're going to stay and live in it."
Kurumi squeezed Origami's hand a little more tightly, "I am. And I will. I promise."
"Then dispose of that credit card."
"That thing saved my life a lot of times though. It's not useless to us and I don't usually indulge myself like this."
Kurumi stopped and smirked at Origami. The white haired girl's expression remained very stern and serious.
Kurumi sighed, "Alright. How would you like me to dispose of it?"
"Give it to me," she said while holding out her hand.
Kurumi grinned and reached into her new purse to pull out the plastic card and then put it in the waiting hand.
"Sheik Khalid bin Saif? That store clerk must have been desperate for a commission..." Origami folded and broke it into two halves before dropping it into a nearby recycle bin. "Do you have any others?"
"I don't. That was the only one that worked reliably."
"Good. From now on. Rely on me to support you. Not criminal behavior. I might not be able to afford to shop in places like that, but I can at least take care of your reasonable needs."
Kurumi smirked, "My reasonable needs huh? Alright then," she said before pointing to a lingerie store. "Allow me to put that to the test."
Origami nodded to her. "Nothing unreasonable about that. As I recall, you have nothing at all right now."
"Nothing at all… Indeed," she said in a low raspy voice.
Origami just raised an eyebrow as they walked into the store.
Kurumi held onto Origami's arm as they walked down the street after coming out of the last store. "You were blushing so much… It was adorable…"
"And you are incorrigible. At least you purchased some practical items, but was it necessary for you to purchase that racy set?"
"After I saw the look on your face when I tried it on, how could I not?" Kurumi suddenly stopped and looked at the the store they were in front of. "Hey Origami. I know you're still in the Archery club. But do you still go to the Dojo that's near your apartment on Saturdays?"
"I do actually. I spend at least six hours practicing and watching the Masters there."
"We used to do that together. Every saturday, nine to three. After that we did whatever we felt like. Sunday was the only day we took off from Archery. Except of course days where you had to be at the army base."
"I believe I'm now thinking what you are thinking. Shall we go inside?"
"Yeah. I was so sad that I didn't get a chance to practice with you while I was at the school."
"Then perhaps now that we've concluded buying your essentials and some non-essentials, that we buy some essentials from here and perhaps they can direct us to somewhere we can practice?"
The two walked into the store and started browsing the wares after being welcomed by the storekeeper. It didn't take them very long to find what they needed, both favored the use of traditionally made bamboo bows and arrows and both favored the modest and plain practice cloths over some of the more elaborate sets of equipment.
It was already the afternoon by the time they reached the sports center, which turned out to be very close to the Tohno mansion. After dropping off their purchases and informing the lady of the house of their plans they walked hand in hand to their destination with their newly purchased equipment.
They were graciously welcomed but were, to their mutual surprise, asked for Kyudo Certificates.
"If you don't have certificates, you can pay an extra fee for an instructor to practice with you."
"I have one, but do you? I did not anticipate this…"
Kurumi nodded, "I do actually," Kurumi reached into her hand bag, "Shadow port," she muttered under her breath before pulling out a different wallet than the one Origami had seen her using before.
Kurumi brought out her certificate card and took a careful look at it. She sighed a little with relief before she handed it over to Origami who looked at it with a small smile and then handed both matching cards over to the receptionist.
"Tobiichi-sama, and Emiya-sama. Everything is in order here. Welcome."
After a short while they were using the changing room to get into the appropriate attire.
"I find it interesting. Our lives are so different than what you remember, yet still so similar," observed Origami.
"Did my Aunt encourage you to get ranked at the start of this year as well?"
"She did, but I was disinclined until her former student-"
"Ayoko. Yeah."
"Indeed. So that happened in your original timeline as well?"
"Yes. Ayoko convinced us of the benefits of being ranked Kyudo practitioners. Turns out the payoff came today of all days… I'm a little blown away by that. Before all this started, we were adamant about how we didn't care about ranks, titles, competitions, prizes, or whatever. We just did this because we enjoyed it. If things had stayed like they were, we might never have ever needed those certificates for anything. But now… After however the hell many loops I've been through. Now I actually needed it? And somehow it didn't get erased like my student ID did or other things?! Amazing how that worked out… Perhaps this is the world finally deciding to take some pity on Kurumi Emiya."
Kurumi was sounding more and more agitated as she went on speaking. Origami was quickly by her side with a hand on her shoulder in an effort to project some calm onto her.
"Perhaps now you see why I insist you take time for rest. There are a lot of emotions inside of you that you need to confront. And I'm beyond certain that there have been many wounds inflicted upon you that never had a chance to heal. But this is exactly what Kyudo is for."
"Truth, goodness, and beauty. Three things I've had to give up along the way. I don't know if those things are even for me anymore. I've done so many unspeakable things. My life has become this… this prison. A dark prison in which I'm chained to a clock. I'm not even me anymore, I'm just this…" she said while gesturing to her own shadow being cast by the overhead lighting. "I'm just the shadow of the person who was Kurumi Emiya."
"That can't be true. But rather than sit here and smother you with pretty words," she said while picking up Kurumi's bow and handing it to her. "I'll only say to you that such things can never be lost to you. You may have cast them aside as you say, but you can still have them again. All you have to do it reach out and take them."
Kurumi took the bow with a sincere smile. "You're still exactly the same. It's like proof that you influenced me more than I influenced you. But I told you before that I'm irredeemable. One day you'll learn the whole truth about me and then you won't be able to even look at me anymore. It's inevitable."
"Death is the only inevitability. Everything else is negotiable."
"Heh… Alright. So where shall we begin negotiating?" she said while standing up and taking a hold of her bow.
Rather than talk more, Origami just picked up her own bow and started walking out of the changing area.
"Good idea," said Kurumi while moving to follow.
Kurumi had her bow fully drawn and then launched her arrow at the target, hitting it almost exactly dead center while Origami did exactly the same at exactly the same time. Both girls mirrored each other's movements through all eight steps as they loaded, raised, drew, and fired. Between their shots each came to the seiza position for a moment of meditation and self reflection while placing their arrows into the bows and standing up again in a display of deep spiritual synchronization.
"Look at those two behind us! See how they do it? That's how this is suppose to go you dingbat! This isn't suppose to be about accuracy! So I win!"
"Rebuttal. My shot grouping was clearly superior. Therefore. I am the winner. You are simply a sore loser," she stated monotonously and emotionlessly.
As they were about to fire their final arrows both stopped, lowered their bows, unloaded their arrows, and turned around to find two identical orange haired girls behind them having an argument.
The louder one had her hair braided up, and the other had her hair in one very long braid. Both were very attractive, but for being identical twins they had many subtle differences in their bodies. But there was nothing subtle about their different personalities. One was lean and delicate looking which reflected nothing of her more outgoing and outspoken personality. The other was curvy and sexy, but she spoke in a very robotic manner with her volume stuck at one setting. She seemed to also lack the capacity for emotion as well.
"You're gonna have a sore face if you don't take that back!"
"Fact. The longer you persist in being a poor sport the more you are proving that I was the winner," she stated flatly in a complete monotone.
Kurumi's eyebrow twitched while Origami sighed impatiently.
"Excuse me ladies…" said Kurumi in a polite but firm voice.
"Do either of you know anything about the practice of Kyudo at all?" asked Origami in a similarly firm but dry emotionless voice.
"Mind your business Humans!" yelled the louder twin.
"Observation. I believe your loss of composure has proven me the winner beyond the shadow of a doubt."
"Enough!" yelled Kurumi while turning around to confront the two.
"You've both 'lost' because neither of you understand why," added an annoyed Origami.
"I already told you two! This is between us! Mind your business!"
"Querry. How can we both be the losers? Clearly I was the victor."
Kurumi palmed her face while Origami spoke up.
"The practice of Kyudo involves the following of strict etiquette. Which you have both egregiously breached. It is not a practice for competition, but you are both clearly treating it as such. Kyudo is practiced with the goal of pursuing physical, spiritual, and moral development. By treating it as a petty game, you have both failed."
"Hrm… Shall we call this another draw Yuzuru?"
"Negative. A draw may only be called when the scores are tied. Implying we must both be equally successful. However, if we have both failed it is not a draw, but a failure of either one of us to display the skills worthy of our competition."
The quieter twin then gave her full attention to the two other girls, "Request. Could you elaborate on how precisely we have both failed in this sport?"
Kurumi and Origami both looked at each other for a long moment.
"Kyudo is about displaying proper etiquette. It's about the pursuit of truth, goodness, and beauty. Elegance of posture, refinement of technique, being in harmony with yourself and your surroundings," explained Kurumi.
Origami nodded, "Correct. It is not about competition. It is about self improvement. To be better today than you were yesterday. To be better tomorrow than you are today. It is about showing courtesy, compassion, morality, and non-aggression."
"None of which you two have displayed just now. That's why you failed. A good Kyudo practitioner should never lose their composure or grace no matter how stressful the situation. This isn't a sport. It's an art," Kurumi concluded.
The twins nodded their heads with wonder in their eyes before turning to look at each other. "Hey Yuzuru, would you not agree those are all qualities befitting of the true heir to Yamai?"
"Agreement. Yes Kaguya. I believe very strongly that they should be."
"Then it's decided!" said the louder twin while turning back to the other two girls. "Teach us all about this Kyudo thing! Then you two will decide at the end of it which of us better displays these traits you speak of."
"It doesn't quite work that way…" said Kurumi with a suspicious eyebrow raised.
"We just explained that Kyudo is not about competition. Yet you insist again on making it one. Why?" asked Origami.
"Well… I suppose you should both know everything…"
"Agreement. As the instructors and arbitrators, you deserve to know all the pertinent details."
Kurumi sat back in her chair at the coffee shop attached to the sports center while Origami shifted her stare between the two twins with a disbelieving look in her eyes as they explained themselves.
"We've each had twenty five victories and come to a draw forty nine times. The list of events to compete in is rapidly dwindling. But this time we agreed that the better archer will be the final winner. The primary weapon which Yamai used was a bow and arrow. So we've been competing in all sorts of archery events and can't come to a conclusion on who's better. Japanese Archery is the last event for us. The winner here will be the winner of the archery series, and the final winner."
"Alright. So you two are probably the most competitive twins I've ever heard of. But. What's the point of all these contests?" asked Kurumi.
"Explanation. Kaguya and I were once combined as a single spirit."
Kaguya nodded, "The name of the Spirit was Yamai. And for reasons we don't fully understand, we have to go back to being a single Spirit. So we've been competing to see which of us will become the new Yamai."
Kurumi nodded, "So if I understand you correctly, only one of you can be the dominant personality. What happens to the other?"
"It will cease to exist."
"If only I could have made my twin cease to exist... " Kurumi muttered to herself.
Origami took a moment to reflect before she spoke, "So in effect. Your battle is a life or death struggle. One of you will live on as this Yamai person, while the other will cease to be."
The twins nodded.
Kurumi nodded her understand, "And you're both alright with this? That one of you will die? And the other will have to be alone for the rest of your life?"
"Answer. How we feel about the matter is irrelevant. Personal feelings will only compromise the integrity of our contest. There can be only one Yamai. The purpose of our duels is to determine who that will be," answered the stoic Yuzuru.
"So that's why we need your help now. This will be our one hundredth contest, and we're running out of time to make our decision. If we don't figure out who it'll be. We don't know what will happen but we don't think it'll be good for either of us."
"Statement. The true heir to Yamai should be capable of using our angel to its fullest capabilities. Request. We need you both to teach us and then decide which of us is the best archer. Will you help us?"
Origami and Kurumi looked at each other for a long moment.
"Could you both meet us back here tomorrow morning at nine? We'll have a decision for you by then."
The twins looked at each other and then back at the two girls and nodded.
Fuyuki, Japan
Hiroto Tonomachi waited patiently at the appointed meeting place in New City. It was a street with a wide variety of choices for activities including cafes, shopping, and other entertainments. He opted to wear a white button shirt and dark jeans with sneakers. Hoping the effect would make him presentable without seeming as though he was trying too hard.
As the hour came and past though…
Man… Should have realized I'd be made a chump.
At fifteen past on the dot however…
"Tonomach? Sorry I'm late," said Mana from beside him.
Oh man what a relief…
Tonomachi turned to Mana with a smile, "It's alright. I only just got here a few minutes ago."
Oh man she looks so cute…
Mana wore a loose fitting white tank top under a light blue zip up hoodie with a short denim skirt and sneakers. While looking cute to him, he also didn't feel under or overdressed and was assured that he'd made the right call with his clothing.
"You look cute," he blurted out to her.
"Thank you. You look good yourself," she replied cheerfully.
Tonomachi scratched his head nervously for a moment, "Uhh. Sorry. Wasn't your brother suppose to be joining us?"
Mana gave him a quick nod. "He's on his way. I just casually left him behind to give you a quick briefing on his date so you don't get taken by surprise. I kinda want today to go smoothly for her."
Tonomachi raised up a curious eyebrow. "Oh? You must really like her."
"Oh I adore her. She's had a crush on my brother for a long time now. But she's a little different. Not that I think you'd care about such things. But… Oh there they are now, you can see for yourself," she said while looking out and gesturing with her head up the street from their meeting spot.
Tonomachi looked up the street and saw Shido walking towards them with a girl who seemed to be the same age as Shido. She was smiling happily and then seemed to giggle at something Shido told her. She had long ginger hair braided neatly over the front of her shoulders and reaching down to her waist. She wore a very elegant white summer dress which instantly made him feel under dressed. Though seeing Shido dressed in pretty much the same manner as he was except with a blue short sleeved shirt open to reveal a white undershirt and similar dark jeans and sneakers made him instantly relax about his attire again.
He then look over at Mana with a quizzical expression. "She's very pretty and she seems very happy to be with your brother. So what's the problem exactly?"
"She's in a wheelchair. You don't have to pretend not to notice. She's also blind."
"Off the top of my head I can name you three good coffee shops and two good restaurants here that have braille menus, and all of them also have good wheelchair access."
"You're used to this sort of thing then I'm guessing?"
"My mom can't walk. So I learned how to pick good places to go with her," he stated emotionlessly.
"That's good to know. Not about your mom I mean. That's just terrible. But. It's good to know we can rely on you to help us make today fun for her. I'll let her introduce herself. But I guess the only other thing you should know is that she can't speak any Japanese at all. She's Irish. So... Uh. I know Kotori speaks English very well. But how's yours?"
"Ahh. Now that could be problem. Japanese Braille is different than it is in the west. I'll be happy to help explain anything to her. As for my English. I hope I speak sufficiently enough to not look like idiot," he said with a thick accent in the best English he could.
"It's better than my Japanese. I think you'll be fine," replied Mana with her proper British English. "There's no need to stress yourself. Since we'll talk in English to her, I didn't want you to be left out."
"Your Japanese is perfectly fine Takamiya. But maybe you can help me with my English, and I can help you with your Japanese."
"Maybe you can start by teaching me how to write my name? It was so embarrassing having to put my name on the board in English."
"I'll be glad to."
A few moments later Shido arrived gently pushing the wheelchair of his date in front of him. He locked eyes with Tonomachi, giving him a dirty look but when he spoke it was in a very polite tone of voice. "Good afternoon Tonomachi."
Tonomachi bowed slightly to the older boy, "Good afternoon Takamiya-senpai."
Mana whiled and stepped between Tonomachi and the new girl. "Ahh. This is the boy I told you about, his name is Hiroto Tonomachi. Tonomachi, this is Cecile O'Brien."
Cecile put her hand out straight ahead of her. "Pleased to meet you Hiroto."
Tonomachi took a very quick breath, he couldn't expect her to know better than to use his first name. "I am pleased to meet you too, O'Brien-san," he said while gently placing his hand under her's and gently taking it in greeting.
"Call me Cecile," she said kindly and with a bright smile.
Tonomachi looked hesitant before Mana gave him a gentle nudge and silently encouraged him to do it.
"Ahh. As you wish. Cecile."
Meanwhile, from the top of one of the many highrise buildings around them, KURUMI silently observed the four with a small smile on her face while they walked away from their meeting place together.
Later the four youngsters, at Shido's insistence, entered one of Fuyuki's many fine restaurants. This one happened to serve mostly western food which was the most probable candidate from Tonomachi's suggestions to have something for the picky eater of the group.
Once they entered the establishment and were shown to a table the staff courteously took away one of the chairs to make room for Cecile. Shido gently pushed her into place beside him before seating himself. Tonomachi meanwhile pulled out a chair for Mana and gently slid it in behind her as she sat down. Not accustomed to such manners she blushed deeply as she seated herself.
Shido and Mana were surprised when the staff didn't even need to be told to bring out the braille menu for Cecile as they politely set one down on the table among the others for perusal. After taking drink orders the waitress politely excused herself.
Shido then took the menus and started passing them around to everyone. He skimmed the menu with a particular emphasis on finding suggestions for his sister who struggled to read what was written. Tonomachi rightly knew to keep quiet and let Shido help her make her selection. After he did that he turned his full attention to Cecile to help her interpret the menu and make a choice.
Shido was incredibly patient with her, letting her sound out what she was feeling along each item of the menu and then telling her what it all meant. There wasn't a moment of impatience or irritation to be heard in his voice, or seen on his face.
After they had all chosen what they wanted, Tonomachi took it upon himself to open a conversation by asking the new girl what brought her to Japan. In response she smiled brightly, her head directed at no one in particular as she explained.
"Well. I'm here to be with Shido and Mana. Nothing more to it than that."
"So you're all close?"
Shido nodded, "Yes, you can say that. We're all orphans who got accepted into a special training program run by DEM Industries. Our training brought us to the DEM Branch here in Fuyuki. While Mana and I can attend school normally, for obvious reasons Cecile couldn't come join us until now because of her school schedule."
"I see. So you're all getting job training from the company?"
"Pretty much yes. DEM has these programs for the underprivileged in every country they operate in. We were all lucky enough to get in. They fund our educations and give us specialized training so by the time we graduate we can all join their workforce," explained Mana.
"That's actually really good. So what are you all hoping to do after you graduate and finish this training?" asked Tonomachi.
"Mana and I are still undecided on that," stated Shido.
"We've looked into a lot of things but it's a bit hard to chose. We still have time though," added Mana.
"For me. I intend to go into research. I like to study. So I think I can do that professionally," said Cecile.
"That's really amazing. You must be very smart."
"I never exactly got to do very much else. Before I met Shido and Mana I didn't get to go out and do very much at all. But these two treated me like a normal person even though I can be a burden because of my issues."
Her accent is so cool… Mana's is really pretty. But Cecile's is just so cool.
"Oh come on Cecile. We've been over this. You're no burden to us at all. In fact we're all better for having you and your superhuman brain around!" exclaimed Mana.
Shido nodded, "Mhmm. She's like the Professor X to our X-men. Without her around to figure out the complicated stuff we'd never get very far. Our 'instructor' Ellen, hates that Cecile is smarter than she is, but she can go die in a fire."
"Ellen isn't that bad…I've learned a lot from her."
"From where we're sitting it looks like you're teaching her," said Mana with a smug face.
After a short while they all placed their orders. When the food came out, Shido took a moment to help Cecile find the cutlery on the table and gently moved her hands around the plate to let her know what food was where. They then ate while Tonomachi continued making small talk, sharing laughs and amusing anecdotes. Though he struggled with his English, Tonomachi did his best to keep the conversations flowing from topic to topic. To Mana's immense surprise even though he was weak with the language compared to the rest of the table, he was very good at being social and entertaining. With him around, there just wasn't a dull moment.
"Oh Mana… I'm sorry to be a bother but, could you help me to the facilities?" asked Cecile during a lull in the humor going around.
"No bother at all Cecile. I need to go myself," she said while standing up.
Tonomachi quickly stopped her and whispered to her very discreetly. "There are three rooms in this place. One has the proper layout for wheelchairs. It's next to the women's room. You'll see it clearly marked. Use that one."
Mana nodded, "Thanks. Never would have known about that on my own," she said to him with sincere gratitude.
She then quickly went over behind the wheelchair to maneuver her out of the table.
"Excuse us gentlemen," said Cecile politely before they left.
After the girls were gone, Shido's stern eyes fell on Tonomachi with the weight of a thousand bricks.
Tonomachi gulped audibly, "Did I say something wrong Senpai?"
"No. It's not anything you said. It's something you did. I want to know what your intentions are towards my sister."
"I would hope they're the same as yours are towards Cecile."
"You realize that could be the wrong answer… You don't know what kind of person I am."
Tonomachi shook his head, "No. You're right I don't. But you seem to really like her. You don't let her feel guilty for all the extra help she needs that you provide. You don't think twice about providing it either, and you only do the bare minimum that she can't get on without. It's the little things I noticed. You don't exactly help her. You help her to be able to help herself. It's not an easy thing to do around people who have disabilities. You walk that line masterfully. So you have to be a good person. That's how I see it. And being a good person, you obviously have good intentions."
"Mana talked me into this date with her. It wasn't my idea. She's been trying to push me towards her for a while now, and it isn't that I don't like her. Because I do. She's smart, she's pretty, she's kind, she's strong, and she's a natural leader. In spite of all her disadvantages she achieves everything she puts her mind to. I respect her a lot. But before I could date her, well, I'm not sure how to put it exactly..."
"You had to be sure that you would be serious about it?"
Shido nodded, "Exactly. So are you serious about my sister? Or was this just a whim? If I found out you did this just because Kotori Emiya turned you down I'm going to hurt you. What do you even like about Mana?"
Tonomachi took a breath and a moment to put his thoughts in order. "She's strong. But she doesn't show it off. She's not ashamed of some of her negative traits, like being a picky eater for example. She's real. Unlike someone else I know she doesn't have to use brute force to make people respect her. She gets respect just by being herself. I like that about her."
He took another breath and choose his words more carefully, "Emiya is my friend. Like I told your sister before. The thing about her is that she doesn't give respect to anyone who can't earn it. She's also a strong girl. But Emiya respects your sister, and she got that respect the first day she met her. She didn't back down from Emiya like anyone else would have. I respect Emiya a lot. If she thought your sister was a good person, then I knew it had to be true, and that changed how I saw her. She wasn't just a pretty girl after that. I wouldn't date a girl just because she's pretty. Not to say that I don't think she's pretty, because she is. But I want to get to know her better, with clear intentions."
Good going Hiroto, you handled that just exactly like Tokisaki-senpai said you should. Be honest, be clear, don't let him intimidate you.
Shido gave a very slow nod of his head, "Good enough I guess… I'll allow you to date my sister Tonomachi. But if you upset her in anyway… I will bring the wrath of all hell down upon you. I hope you know I mean that too."
"You're her big brother. It's right that you protect her. But believe me. Whatever hell you can bring down upon me Senpai, it's nothing compared to the hell I live through everyday of my life. If I upset your sister, I would welcome whatever wrath you would visit upon me."
There was something in the younger boy's eyes as he said that. Something that reminded him of himself.
"I believe you. And I get the feeling that we might have a lot to talk about in the future."
"Mana? Are we alone in here?" asked Cecile after washing her hands in the sink.
"Yes. We are. Why?"
"Because you should probably know something about your date. I can't tell you why exactly, but I sense something about him. Don't get me wrong, he seems like a very nice lad. But I can't shake this feeling that something's off about him."
"Cecile? What feeling is that?" asked Mana with grave concern.
"I can't tell you what it is exactly. But I just know he's different somehow..."
"Could he be a Magus?"
Cecile shook her head, "I can't say. But I can say for certain that I don't feel like he means you any harm. There's nothing malevolent about what I'm feeling from him. I can tell from the way he acts he genuinely likes you and he genuinely wants us all to have a good time. I just know from my studies that there's a lot of strange things here in Japan so maybe I'm just being paranoid because I love you so much. But I just wanted you to be aware."
"I trust your feelings. I'll keep my eyes open. But could you not mention this to my brother?"
"Why do you think I brought you here to tell you this?" she asked with a giggle. "I can tell you like him too."
Mana sighed, "Yeah. I do. I didn't think I would. But when he asked me out I didn't want to say no. He asked me infront of my brother, knowing what Shido's reaction probably would have been."
"He's a good lad. He's got guts. He's polite. And he's authentic. If nothing off putting comes of this feeling I get, I honestly couldn't wish for a better boyfriend for you."
"Thanks Cecile. I appreciate you telling me this. I'll look into it."
A short while later the four came out of the restaurant and started walking up the street. Tonomachi lead the way to the next destination they agreed on with Shido pushing Cecile up the sidewalk between Tonomachi and Mana as they all walked together with happy expressions.
The moment however was quickly ruined for Tonomachi.
"Hiroto?" asked a taller dark haired woman in front of him walking arm in arm with a taller reddish haired man, and another dark violet haired woman walking directly behind them.
Tonomachi's eyes widened and he stood frozen in place at what he saw. "A..Aunt Ryouko?"
"Hello again Tonomachi," said Shirou with a kind smile. "And hello again to you two. Shido and Mana Takamiya right?"
"Hey Tonomachi! Nice to see you again!" said an enthusiastic Tohka.
"Hello Emiya-san," said Shido and Mana with their heads lowered and their teeth clenched.
"Why is it so tense all of a sudden?" asked the girl in the wheelchair.
Shido bent down to whisper into her ear, "I'll tell you later."
"I heard Emiya-sama was dating someone. I had no idea it was you Aunt Ryouko. Small world. I... I uh… I'm happy for you."
"Yeah… Umm. Thank you Hiroto. So uhh. These are your friends?" she asked him.
Tonomachi nodded. "Shido and Mana Takamiya go to school with me, and this is their friend Cecile."
"I see… Umm. It's nice to meet you all. I'm Ryouko Kusakabe. My big sister is Hiroto's mother."
"Well. Uhh. It was nice seeing you again Aunt Ryouko. But we need to get going or we'll be late..." said Tonomachi while walking away briskly with the others following him closely, all apparently getting his hint on top of the fact that unbeknownst to him they themselves wanted to be out of the situation.
"That was really awkward…" observed Tohka, seemingly oblivious to Ryouko's pained expression.
Shirou looked at the pained expression on his girlfriend's face, "Ryouko? Are you alright?"
She shook her head in response, "Not really. I don't want to talk about it right now. Can we just move on? Waver is probably waiting for us by now."
"Certainly."
Misaki, Japan
After dinner that night, Origami found Kurumi on a balcony staring at the night sky with her gloved hands firmly gripping the guard rail.
"May I presume you are agonizing over what we heard today?"
Kurumi said nothing in response except to further tense up her body.
Origami walked out beside her and put an arm around her shoulders. "I knew their story would disturb you. I asked you out on a date, went somewhere with you where we both should have found peace and calm, but instead we stumbled upon an entirely new problem. I suppose it should go without saying that you've never encountered these two before?"
Kurumi shook her head, "No. Not even I've met all the Spirits. They're good. They know how to avoid detection. I couldn't even sense it until they told us what they were."
"I suppose they must be good then. Do you have any ideas?"
"None. What do you think we should do?"
"I'd like more information before I make a decision. We only have their word for it that there's no way for them to live apart. One day they will have to recombine into a single entity. I don't understand how such a thing is even possible in the first place."
Kurumi sighed, "We have a few days at least until Ciel gets back with Nia. It's probably a bad idea, but I can't just let this go. We should call Ciel and ask for Nia's help with this. It'll raise a lot of questions I don't want to answer though…"
"I can't even imagine myself in their place. Hence, I feel I should defer to your judgement on this matter and take a supporting role."
Kurumi growled lowly, "They're full of shit. That's my judgement on this matter. I'm personally inclined to just leave them to their own destruction."
"That seems harsh, and a little out of character for you. Please explain your feelings."
"It's simple Origami," she said with no small hint of anger in her voice, "If someone told me that between my sister and I, one of us had to die so the other could live. There wouldn't be any hesitation on my part. I'd step right up and put my neck down on that chopping block with pleasure. And I did. That's part of how I ended up where I am now."
"Is that how you became a Spirit?"
Kurumi nodded, "It's not quite as simple as that. But when you strip away all the unnecessary details. I made the decision so I would have the power I needed to protect the people I love. Wasn't until after that I realized I had condemned myself. But I have no regrets. I accept my fate. As long as Kotori is safe, I'll pay any price. My father and I both doomed ourselves for this. The only difference is that I got a do over, and he didn't."
"I'm not sure I understand?"
Kurumi sighed, "I'll tell you about it another time. I just needed to let my inner bitch grumble a little. Of course I have no intention of letting this happen to them. They're sisters. Whatever it takes, I'm going to show them that instead of fighting to find out which one gets to live, they should both be fighting tooth and nail so they can both live!"
"That seems a bit hypocritical of you, considering your circumstances."
"It's in my blood. No matter how much it annoys me sometimes, I can't escape it."
"Perhaps… And this is just a theory. Perhaps they don't understand what it means for them to be sisters?"
Kurumi put a hand to her chin and considered that statement, "You could have a point. Yes. Yes. You do have a point. You're quite correct. When we first met Tohka she was utterly oblivious to anything. It stands to reason these two don't have a fully developed concept of their relationship to each other. We could help them learn that. But first we need a solution to present them with."
"Then shall we go make that call?"
Kurumi nodded, "Yes. Let's do that."
Paris, France
Ciel, Luvia, and Nia sat together at coffee shop on a busy Parisian street. Nia was reading her book while Luvia was busy with a newspaper and Ciel with her tea while petting Len. That was when the former Executor's phone started ringing. She quickly answered it with a nervous expression. "Shiki? Is everything alright?"
"It's not Shiki calling… I think it's for me," said Nia while holding out her hand.
Ciel raised her eyebrow and handed the phone over.
"I thought so," she said happily while accepting the phone. "Hello Kurumi! Do you mind if I call you that?"
"It's better than you blurting out the wrong name again," replied Kurumi.
"Yes. I read about that. So embarrassing. I hope you can forgive me."
"It was another life. No hard feelings at all. Do you know why I'm calling?"
"Yes I do!" Nia happily exclaimed. "Just a moment while I find that page."
"Take your time. This isn't an expensive long distance call or anything."
Nia started flipping pages in her book in a big hurry, "Yes… I should have been prepared but I lost track of time. You know how that is right?"
"Better than you."
"Got it. The sisters Yamai. Quick background to get you up to speed. The Original Yamai was someone they experimented on trying to figure out how to extract part of a crystal from a living Spirit. Like what they did to me. Unfortunately when they split the crystal they didn't yet have the process figured out. They wrote it off as a failure and were about to extract the whole thing when she woke up and escaped. Pissing off people who can control the weather is probably a bad idea right?"
"We both know DEM aren't unwilling to take stupid risks. Could you skip to the part I need to know?"
"You need to know all of this if you want to help them dear. After she escaped her crystal split and she became the two entities you met. They are correct in that they have to merge the crystal again, and they are running out of time to do it. What you need to do is find a way to stabilize the crystals if you want to save them both."
"I don't suppose you can tell me how to do that?"
"If I could, you and I would probably be doing something much more relaxing than this right now."
"Point taken."
"All I can give you are the facts. They can be stabilized."
"What about extracting them? Can they exist without the crystals?"
"No. They would just cease to exist. They're pretty much pure Spirits right now. The only idea that really comes to mind is unfortunately based on DEM's research which I'm looking at right now. It's stupidly dangerous but, if you can get them to invert, and then revert them again. That could repair the crystals."
"Could?"
"This isn't an exact science, even for them. It might work. It might not. This is why I hate humans who tamper with things beyond their understanding."
"Don't go there with me Nia. Just answer me this. Why would that work in theory?"
"Because… Wait. I think I see your logic. Yes. It can work. If you can remove the damaged parts of their crystals without extracting the whole thing and destroy the parts you remove, the split crystals should stabilize on their own. It's not exactly what they did to me. But I don't see why it wouldn't work in this case."
"It's worth a shot. By the way. Do you know what the 'other me' did?"
"Yes. I should have something for you by the time we get there. There's a lot of gibberish to sort through. But I'm on it. I let you down before. I won't let you down again."
"Don't start thinking that way. It's bad for your health."
"Believe me I know how silly it is. But I still feel responsible for what my alternate self did. I won't make her mistakes."
"Well. If that's how you want to look at it… Do yourself a favor and flip the page."
Nia turned the page of her book and chuckled at a drawing of Kurumi blowing her a kiss.
"I love your new dress. Elegant gothic lolita girls are the best things in the world."
"Thanks. See you soon," said Kurumi before hanging up the phone.
Nia handed Ciel's phone back to her shrugged at the strange looks she was getting.
"Old friend, sort of. It's complicated."
"Kurumi is the girl who saved us all in Fuyuki, she's staying at my house right now. How do you know her? You need to tell us what you know about her Nia," said Ciel with a stern voice.
Nia shook her head. "I can't. Sorry. I hate getting spoilers, and I hate giving them. Not unless it's absolutely necessary and won't result in some kind of epic disaster. Lesson I've apparently learned the hard way. If she wants you to know anything she'll tell you herself. Her plans are very carefully laid out and if I say one wrong thing they could all come apart and she's not exactly in a position to try again right now. It's complicated. You'll find out on your own soon enough."
"Can we trust her? At least tell me that."
"For what it's worth? I would if I were you. And I would if I were me. Which I am. So I do. She's more than a little coo-coo after what she's been through, but she's got a good heart. Just don't try to tell her that. She's pretty much convinced herself that she's not a good person anymore. It's complicated… Anyway. Do you think we have time to go up the Eiffel Tower?"
Ciel and Luvia both stared at her sideways. "Is this really the time to be playing tourist?" they asked in unison.
Fuyuki, Japan
"So I guess you don't get along with your Aunt?" asked Mana with a cautious tone.
"It's not that. It's just an awkward family situation. Could we not discuss it?"
Mana nodded, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"
"It's alright Takamiya. Really. I'm not upset with you at all. Still it's getting really late and I should be going home soon. Would you like me to show you the way back to where we met? Or if you like I could walk you all the way home? I wouldn't want you all to get lost."
Shido looked at the boy and nodded, "Sure. If you can show us back to where we met up, then we can easily find our way back. We don't live far from there."
Tonomachi gestured in the direction with his arm, "This way then. We can cut through the park for a shortcut."
"A park? Sounds so romantic," said Cecile with a smile while reaching around behind her to place her hand gently on top of Shido's. The boy took his hand off and put it forward so she wouldn't have to awkwardly reach while pushing her chair one handed.
Mana saw what was going on and quickly moved over to take over for Shido, pushing the chair so he could walk while holding hands with her. She grinned at her older brother while he blushed and silently thanked her.
KURUMI loaded a gem into her musket and knelt down before cocking the hammer. With her crimson eye staring down the barrel she spotted her target. "Very careless. Yes. Very careless indeed. I am the shadow on which I stand. And In the words of the great Red Queen… Off with her head!"
There was an unidentifiable noise which echoed all around them in the deserted park.
An instant later there was an explosion behind them.
Shido and Mana both nodded at each other, Mana started pushing Cecile more quickly while Shido turned and ran towards the origin of the noise they heard.
But when she turned to get Tonomachi to follow her she saw him staring at the spot Shido was running towards with one hand in his pocket and his other hand directed at where the explosion took place.
"Tonomachi?"
Before she could try harder to get his attention he was running beside Shido who had a head start. Then he was running ahead.
"What just happened Mana?"
"We just got attacked. And you were right about Tonomachi. He's not normal. I think he stopped whatever it was that was about to hit us. Will you be alright on your own if I go help them?"
Cecile shook her head, "I don't have my equipment yet. Besides. I think they'll be fine. If you want Shido to like your boyfriend, then let them go do some male bonding. Tell me what's happening though."
"Well… Shido started running towards our attacker. He just activated his CR Unit. But Tonomachi was running behind him a moment ago, then a moment later he was beside him, and then the next he was ahead of Shido. I don't sense any magecraft at work though. Do you?"
"I do. But not from him. What's happening now?"
"I don't know. It's too dark over there. They're both coming back now… I guess the attacker got away."
A short while later they were standing around a bench on the other side of the park facing a very public and crowded street. Tonomachi was scratching his head with Shido and Mana both glaring at him for an explanation.
"Well…" he said sheepishly. "I'm not sure how to explain that exactly."
"You stopped whatever it was that was about to hit us. How did you do that. And what were you thinking going up against whomever that was with just your bare hands?!" demanded Shido.
"Well…" he repeated. "I'm not sure how to explain it…"
Cecile cleared her throat, "You have Mystic Eyes of Distortion. That's how you intercepted the explosive projectile coming towards us. So you're a Demon Hunter I take it?"
Tonomach sighed and sat down on the bench, he kept squeezing and relaxing his hands with growing anxiety before Mana took a seat beside him and gently placed her hands on his. "It's ok. You can open up to us. We'd probably understand better than anyone else could."
He took a very deep breath and felt his anxiety slowly fade away. He then took another deep breath and began to nervously explain, "I'm surprised you know about that kind of stuff. But you're wrong about me, I'm nothing. It's my father who's something. But he's no Demon Hunter. He's an outcast. A delusional madman who thinks that I'm the key to creating something new and better than his origins,
"But I want nothing to do with any of that garbage. I just want to live a normal life and not get mixed up in any of that crap. But he doesn't want to let me. My ability isn't even all that strong. I can just mess with small objects. The bigger the object, the longer it takes. He forces me to train in this kind of stupid shit. If I don't, he beats me up until I fight back. When I started just letting him beat me he started taking it out on my mother and doesn't stop until I give in..."
The boy started to tear up and his composure crumbled. He wasn't sobbing loudly though, he was fighting it back. Mana held his hands more tightly while Shido clenched his teeth and closed his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white and blood started coming out from between his fingers.
Cecile sighed, "I'm sorry I made you reveal all of that. I was just curious. None of us are unlike you though. I'm a Magus. So that's how I know about this kind of stuff. And I can understand why you'd want to avoid getting involved. It's not a nice world. That's why I don't associate myself with Mages. Well. Except for these two, but they aren't really mages."
Tonomachi looked up at Shido and Mana, "You're both mages?"
The siblings shook their heads, "Sort of. But not. Like you we don't want anything to do with that world," explained Mana.
"Except to fight against it when it comes trying to interfere in our lives," said Shido with a firm and determined voice.
"If you want a way out of your situation Tonomachi. I think we can help you with that," offered Mana. "Right big brother?"
Shido nodded his head. "Yeah. We can. And we will. But this doesn't mean I like you Tonomachi. If after this you piss off my sister, you'll look back on the days you spent with your father and miss them!"
Cecile quickly chastised him in a firm voice, "Shido! That's so mean!"
"It's alright Cecile. I don't mind. He's just being protective of his sister. It's what a big brother is suppose to do. He should be wary of a freak like me."
Mana held the boy's hands more tightly. "You're not a freak Tonomachi. You just have a gift that your father wants to exploit for his own ends. You're exactly like us. But if you want to, and if you let us. We can help you get away from that."
"How?" he asked with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
Cecile clapped her hands, "Let's take him to Ellen. She'll know how to go about this. She's deals with this sort of thing all the time."
The four started walking away into the city, and after a while KURUMI stepped out from a tree behind them and then a second from another tree. "You did your job perfectly. This worked out very nicely."
"I thought you wanted to kill Cecile?"
"I did. And I do. But this turn of events couldn't be more interesting. I'm really curious about that boy now. I want to know more. I've always known there was something strange about him. But this is more interesting than anything I imagined."
Later that evening, outside the Military base.
"This is the Overseer. The grail has appeared," said Waver over the communication line. He stood in a dark place away from the main road as he observed a military truck and its escorts leaving the army base.
Shirou passed some mana through his mystic code to don his battle gear and then traced his bow. He was standing in the middle of a deserted road a few kilometers away from the base.
"This is Servant Archer, I'm in position," he said into his earpiece.
Ryouko crouched down and concealed herself behind some bushes about half a kilometer away from the ambush point. With her wiring suit and combat realizer it wouldn't take her very long to join the action once it started. "This is Servant Berserker. Ready and waiting. Will you tell me now why I'm Berserker?"
"It's because of the way you fight," answered Shirou. "Saber are you ready?"
"Yes. Servant Saber is ready and waiting. Just give the word!" Tohka stood about a hundred meters away from Shirou and was prepared to ambush the rear guards while he handled the front.
Waver's apprentice, the young girl whose name was Gray had infiltrated the army base. Once there she discreetly made her way into one of the buildings and hid herself outside the main security office. "This is Servant Lancer. I am in position," she said very softly into her communication device.
"Understood Lancer. All Servants are in position. Once Archer gives the signal, let the Holy Grail War Commence."
"Last chance to back out if you want to Berserker. Once you do this, there's no going back."
Ryouko sighed, "Not a chance in hell of that. Even if I didn't like you so much, knowing what I know, there's no way I can go back to the way things were. DEM started a war. I'm a soldier and I've chosen my side."
"As long as you know what you're getting into, then I'm glad to have you on our side."
"They're the ones who don't know what they got into. They messed with our baby girls, and I'm going to maul them like an angry mama bear! Also next time, I'm picking out all our code names!"
"Understood Berserker. I have eyes on the grail now. Prepare for battle," replied Shirou.
He then eyed his target carefully in the distance. It was a heavily armored truck with a machine gun turret on the top. It was being escorted by two armored vehicles. Probably all full of soldiers on the inside as well ready and waiting for trouble. But these were all DEM soldiers, probably with Wizards among them. His attack had to be quick and decisive. Powerful, but with precision. The escorts needed to be taken out of the equation quickly without damaging the cargo they were escorting.
Never had such a perfect occasion for this before now…
He traced and reconfigured a sword which he then loaded into his bow and drew it back. His eyes locked on the exact spot he wanted to hit. Mana began to glow around him for a moment while he chanted, "I am the bone of my sword…"
As the convoy came into position, "Mmaagha Kamalu!" he yelled loudly before he released the sword and let it fly.
"Lancer. You may proceed," said Waver.
Gray nodded to herself and stood up from her hiding place, she turned a corner used her lance to impale an electrical control box which shut down the security systems. She didn't linger there long though because her next target was waiting for her. She kicked down a door and walked into the security control room, men and women with guns stood up and pointed them at her.
Meanwhile outside the base the sword impaled in the ground began to glow red and everything began to shake. The road began to crack and the convey ended up falling into the earth as a massive sinkhole opened up beneath them.
Mmaagha Kamalu, a sword from Nigerian myth. Belonging to the Igbo god of war, Kamalu. The sword glows red when people with what its wielder considers to be evil intentions are nearby. The sword that I believe inspired Sting from Lord of the Rings. When impaled into the ground, it causes an earthquake all around it. On an asphalt road, instant sinkhole.
Shirou allowed his bow to dissolve and then traced his twin swords. "Saber, Berserker, attack now!"
Shirou ran towards the newly created sink hole with his swords ready while Tohka did the same with Sandalphon and her Astral Dress prepared.
If Gray did her job right, we should be long gone before anyone knows what's happened here, and the DEM staff manning the Spirit Detection equipment should already be dead by now. So Tohka is free to go all out. Which means I also need to go all out. Can't let those Wizards start picking a proper fight now.
Shirou flooded his swords, they enlarged and began to crackle with power. Once he was close enough he leapt up into the air and threw them down at the armored vehicle one by one. The first exploded on contact with the armor and blew it open while the second passed through and exploded on the inside killing the occupants.
Tohka took to the sky and slashed downwards at the second armored vehicle sending wave after wave of purple glowing kinetic energy down on the truck, slicing through it and shredding it and the occupants without mercy.
As the escorts were being taken out, Ryouko flew up high and around machine gun fire from the turret on top of the truck. She came prepared for this with a large cannon and returned fire, quickly destroying it. She then moved to the back of the armored truck and dialed the keypad for the locks. The long armored truck had fallen into the earth at a forty-five degree angle so she had to struggle a bit to open the heavy door, even with her wiring suit granting her enhanced strength.
Once the door was open she drew her sidearm and dropped her realizer before going inside as the wide wingspan would impede her in the narrow space of the truck. There were two men inside who started shooting at her so she dropped down onto her back and started sliding down to them along the floor while shooting back at them, killing both before she made it to the bottom and her objective.
A combat realizer unit with large twin barreled cannons and other equipment mounted throughout. Standard realizers were simply nothing compared to the firepower this unit carried. With a big smirk on her face she picked up the wiring suit that came with the unit and plugged its backpack into the dock and the whole thing vanished into the suit.
The things a mother does for her daughter. Can't have this one staying with DEM, Origami will make much better use of it I'm sure.
"This is Berserker. The Grail has been acquired. Do I get to make a wish now?"
"That depends on what it is…" answered Shirou.
"I want to eat a big fat juicy steak when we get back to your house!"
"Oh! Oh! Me too! Me too!" exclaimed Tohka with all of her cheerful enthusiasm.
"I think that can be arranged," said an amused Shirou.