Words Count: 5092

A/N: I finally found a fitting place and am moving out tomorrow, so there might be delays, though worry not. I don't have much to pack and unpack, it's just a possibility in case I'm too tired to write. Anyway, enjoy.

You can read from Episode 107 to 111 (And 35 Eps of the Sequel – Fate: False Sovereignty.) in advanced. The Tier starts from as low as 1USD, check it out!

The car-ride, as you might have imagined, fucking sucked. Between Sakura's constant bouts of vomits, her tsundere older sister's seemingly endless complaints, plus Shiro's and Gil's… Less than playful banter,

It was a nightmare coming true.

I knew technically I asked for this, but I had definitely not prepared myself for what was to come.

Oh-Well, not all of it was bad though.

Watching the girls– Yes, even Taiga– Bond over likes, dislikes and everything in between was a sight to behold. It proved to me that they could get along quite well, as long as their interests weren't in conflict. The Golden Queen herself had admitted on the ride her supposed hatred of Shiro did not actually come from a place of pure hatred or dislike of her character, but more so because she lacked dreams,

As Gil had so eloquently put it.

While Shiro did wish to become a Heroine to save people, that dream was not born out of a genuine desire to help people, instead it's her wish to emulate Kiritsugu and I– People Shiro considered her saviors, her heroes. Granted, Gil did not spell it all out exactly like that, but I could read along the lines pretty well, just well enough to be able to interpret what the Queen of Heroes was trying to convey through her words.

And I must say, she had a point.

Not that I agreed with those points, but she did make several sound points.

Still, there were holes in her observations of Shiro. Gil believed the younger girl was merely trying to imitate Kiritsugu and I, yet she never spared a minute to consider that maybe, just maybe Shiro had come to enjoy and love the act of helping others on her own, even at the expenses of her wellbeing.

It's almost a nature-versus-nurture point of view, which was something I had expected of Kotomine Kirei, not Gilgamesh of all people. I didn't know if she even realized the hypocrisy in her theories, if everyone was born a certain way, bred to accomplish certain tasks, what's the point of Life?

If nobody was capable of changes, simply because their natures determined their fate at birth, if that truly was so… Why bother trying anything in the first place? What's the point? Your fate, your talents, fucking everything was already set in stone, right? I could hardly agree with that line of thinking, especially from a Queen known for defying Fate. Gil was born more fortunate than most, but her Power came with a responsibility and duty to the Sumerian Pantheon.

Responsibility the Queen of Heroes had promptly shirked by following her heart and weakening the influence of the Gods, paving the way for future Heroes to do the same. Of course, I could also understand why she's so hard on Shiro. Unlike other franchises with Magic, Nasuverse basically revolved around the minds.

Even Reality as I saw it was merely an interpretation of Gaia's Reality Marble conjured up by my mind, and Shiro had her own RM. Something no human should possess, a mind so twisted it could impose its own version of Reality over Gaia's. That mentality, coupled with her nature as an Incarnation of Sword, the amber-eyed girl could only barely be considered a human even by my rather loose standards.

For her, while changes were possible, it would require a truly horrific event or miracle to happen. Perhaps she would grow to love the act of helping, saving people later on, yet she still had a long way to go. Right now, she's stagnant, not in term of Skill, but mentality, and I had a feeling that as long as the smol, wannabe Heroine still believed it's a necessity for her to emulate Kiritsugu and I, she would remain so for a long, long time.

It's due to these factors that I did not attempt to get between Gil and Shiro throughout the entire trip. This irrational resentment they had for one another could be resolved, but not through me, it's something they must work out by themselves, thus I would not- could not get involved no matter what, even if they came to blows, as long as they weren't actively trying to off each other, I had no issue with it.

Not that Taiga saw it that way after seeing how her sister was treated by Gil and vice versa.

Her feeble mind couldn't comprehend how to people could hate each other so much simply because of the differences in ideals. "Shiro-chan! Don't be disrespectful to Gilgamesh, she is a real life Hero! Isn't what who you aspire to be?!"

Had I mentioned Taiga worshipped the grounds Gil walked on? Apparently, unlike Artoria's situation or her male counterpart, the Golden Queen was extremely famous in our Timeline due to the influence of the second-wave feminism, being one of the few rare occasions where a Queen ruled instead of a King.

"NO!" Shiro shouted. "I want to be like Leo and the old man, not her!"

'Want to be like him? Oh… I'd not suggest that, Tainted Sword.' Angra cackled at the words inside my head. Honestly? I couldn't refute the Daemon, I knew exactly who I was, and I was definitely not somebody anyone would ever aspire to be.

Taiga hissed at the girl, who by this point was sinking into her seat with a giant pout. "And you!"

The Tigress pointed at Gilgamesh, an irritated expression plastered on her face. "Stop provoking her! You're an adult, not to mention a renowned Hero, do you really have nothing better to do than to goad a girl who's not even a fraction of your age?!"

'Damn, Taiga has quite the pair between her legs.' I could almost see the giant balls of steel manifesting, dangling from her crotch. Silently, I prepared a Spell to intercept Gil's attacks in case the Queen started throwing Noble Phantasms around, which never happened. Contrary to my expectations, Gil did not seem offended. The grin on her face might be misconstrued as bloodthirsty, but I was the closest thing to an expert in Gilgamesh's emotions,

And that's not a look of anger I was seeing.

"Very well, I suppose I can tolerate her insolence for the duration of this trip… In fact, I can turn a blind eye to her disrespect–" The smirk on her lovely, full lips grew wider, some might say wretched, if not for its owner stunning beauty and godly [Charisma]. Blowing off the imaginary dust on her nails, the Queen continued ominously. "– For a price, that is."

Amidst the girls' owlish stares– Some surprised, some confused, others shy– Gil extended her hand and gently caressed Taiga's jaws, causing the usually boisterous and confident Tigress to blush, nearly swerving us off a cliff.

"Gil, I know you're horny, but can you at least wait until we've reached the Resort?! I've not survived Mages, Monsters and getting quite literally yeeted to another Universe just to die in a car-crash!" Holy-Shit was that close, too fucking close. I thought we were really gonna go through the rails for a moment there, and we probably would have flown off had I not forced the car back onto the road with [Spatial Manipulation].

Imagine surviving all the bullshits thrown my way to get blindsided by a car-crash and died, crushed to paste within the confines of this dull, uninspiring, metallic deathtrap… That would be embarrassing.

"Horn- Horny?!" The tsundere repeated with a prominent blush spreading on her pale-white skin. Not that Sakura and Taiga fared much better, especially the latter, being the recipient of Gil's affectionate actions and all. "That was inappropriate, Leo-senpai!"

The eye-roll I made at their shyness nearly dislodged my eyeballs, but I'd say it's worth it. "What's the big deal? Your parents did it, your grandparents, great-grandparents and so on, so forth have all done it at least once. Hell, it'll probably become a prominent part of your activities in the future, so what's the point in shying away from discussing it?"

Unfortunately, that did not seem to alleviate their apprehension.

Sakura glanced the backseat where a confused Shiro was sitting, her lashes fluttering owlishly as she muttered to herself. "St- Still! It's not appropriate, Leo-senpai!"

Then, the mini-sized Heroine asked the dreaded question.

"Leo-senpai, what's horniness?"

Four pairs of different-colored eyes snapped towards the young lady as Angra and Gil simultaneously burst into laughter, audibly amused by her innocence. "LEONIS, LOOK WHAT YOU DID!"

The Tigress of Fuyuki yowled through gritted teeth like a rabid cat, to which I could only respond with an exhausted and disinterested. "Okay… Taiga-nee, I'll let you handle that, 'cause there is no way in Hell I'm giving 'the talk' to Shiro of all people."

"Wha- What? Why me?! You CAUSED this, you handle it Leonis!" Like a deer caught in the headlights, Taiga stuttered, attempting to delegate the duty to me.

Of course, I was having none of that, replying calmly in a cold and somewhat condescending tone.

"Nuh-Uh Taiga, I'm merely her senpai in Supernatural matters, you're the one claiming to be Shiro's elder sister while mooching off of her foods for almost three years straight." I paused to gather my breaths, smiling wickedly as I saw the Tigress' hands tighten anxiously on the steering-wheel.

"As far as I'm concerned, introducing her to the birds and the bees and teaching her about womanly issues are your responsibility by default, not mine. I'm neither qualified to do it, nor is it appropriate for me to even attempt to." Like the gavel of a judge, my words thundered in the vehicle, effectively sealing Taiga's fate once and for all.

In spite of her screams of protest, the Tigress knew she could no longer reject the duty that's heaped on her head all of a sudden, thus Taiga could only try and delay the inevitable, telling Shiro. "I- I'll explain to you in the future, Shiro-chan… It's- You're too young to know this."

[Shiro Used: Pout]

[It's destructively effective!]

"Why can everyone know and not me?!" Her cheeks ballooning to disproportional size, the smol Heroine crossed her arms, visibly upset by the news when a familiar and amused voice entered the conversation. "They're referring to the act of coitus, you foolish simpleton."

Take a wild guess as to whom it was.

C'mon, guess!

"You know, tumbling in bed with one another, passionately laying kisses on the other party and putting his pen–" Gil's tone was even as ever, yet that could not hide the teasing in her voice as she smiled in amusement. Sadly, as the most responsible person in the vehicle, I was forced to intervene before the stunning Golden Queen could further her plan to corrupt Shiro. "Gil, please…! She's way too young for this conversation."

I half-pleaded, trying my best to sound as non-threatening as possible. Thankfully, my and Taiga's annoyance seemed to have appeased the bored Queen, since she turned away, her expression practically screaming she was done with the conversation, yet Gil still tried to add something to poke at Shiro's lack of knowledge regarding matters between men and women. "It is absolutely disgraceful for someone her age to be so utterly oblivious to one of the most basic needs Mankind has."

Running a hand through her hair, the Golden Queen resumed, indifference to our reactions. "If this were back in the days, the taintedlittle thing would be ready for marriage already."

"Back in your days, it's also legal for men to brutally abuse women and for parents to sell their own children like livestock, Gil." I snorted, leaning further into my seat. "Beside, moral values are constantly adjusted to fit the needs of Humanity, better keep up with the changes before you're left in the dust, old-timer."

The Queen of Heroes glared at me, but otherwise did and said nothing to refute my points as she rested her head on the window. "I'm tired of this conversation, wake me up once we're near our destination."

Luckily, Gil wasn't the only one, after almost two hours of constant bickering, vomits– From Sakura, mainly– And basically every problem that could possibly pop up in a car-ride, we were all tired to the bone. I might be faring better than the girls thanks to my High Human Physiology, unfortunately this did not cover mental-exhaustion. In fact, I'd have slumbered an hour ago had I not wanted to accompany the girls.

Also, it just didn't feel right for me to rest while Taiga was driving us– Wait…

"Taiga-nee."

I called out in horror.

"What is it?" The woman looked at my rapidly paling expression, understandably confused.

"Have you told Raiga-san you're going on a trip with us?" I said, practically spelling out each word to make sure it registered to the Tigress' airheaded brain.

Taiga smiled awkwardly, reaching to scratch the back of her head. "I- I have not?"

I forced a breath down my lungs, which did nothing to hinder the sinking feeling in my stomach. "So you're telling me, your Oyabun grandfather is likely having the entire Fujimura Group out searching for you, probably thinking you've been kidnapped?"

Taiga glanced at me, eyes twinkling with mischief as she knocked on her head and… "Tee-hee."

"DON'T YOU TEE-HEE ME!"

Honestly? If there was a table in the car, I'd have definitely flipped it, instead I had to make do with subjecting the Tigress to my death-glares for the rest of the trip. 'Oh-Dear… I hope Raiga hasn't done anything excessive.'

.

..

…

Fuyuki City – An hour and a half ago.

"Useless bastards! You have one job, ONE JOB! Which was to discreetly observe and protect my granddaughter, and you fucking failed!" The old Oyabun slapped his tea-table so hard it shattered to pieces, his age having done little to hinder his monstrous strength.

"Out! All of you, out! If you can't find my granddaughter by tonight, you all can fucking rot in the dirt with those responsible for her kidnapping!" Thus, over three-hundreds men of the Fujimura Group, stationed in Fuyuki, were sent out that day, scaring a lot of citizens while Raiga, using his influence, was able to force even the Government to get involved.

It was a hectic day for the majority of Fuyuki,

Then again, what was new?

At least it wasn't another 'gas-leak'.

— [Fate: DML] —

After a very uncomfortable talk with Raiga Fujimura, which involved a lot of thinly-veiled threats, at least two screaming-matches and an ungodly amount of cursing through the phone, I was finally able to get a power-nap in. Of course, because Life itself hated me, we arrived to the Resort just half an hour later.

I woke up groggy and feeling much less enthusiastic about this trip, even more so when it's discovered there was no room left in the Resort. All of them had been booked months prior, weird for a new establishment, but completely understandable when you took into account the massive reserve of hot springs littering the place for tourists to use in-between their skiing,

And with the temperature dipping below -15 degrees Celsius, these hot springs were a godsend.

Obviously, I wasn't about to give up that easy, a [Mesmerize] here, an [Axii] there and before the girls could even realize the Resort was fully booked, we had three rooms to our names.

Sadly, a few friend-groups would be unable to join us in the Resort, but I made sure to pay them handsomely for their troubles, and by handsomely, I meant I gave the groups ten grand each, totaling up to thirty grand, which was a lot for this period, more than enough for them to book a ride back to their Cities, or pay to live in a nearby hotel.

Yes, Nanoha Town– Which was the actual name of the Town by the way– Was a pretty shitty place year round, but due to the beautiful scenery in the winter, plus the hot springs, it still managed to pull in a lot of tourists from different regions, especially since the prices were relatively cheap compared to other Cities. Now that a whole 5 star Resort was built? I gave it four, maybe five years before people started to notice its potential to flourish and move here.

"Okay, so each room has two King-size beds, I'll be taking room 13, which one do you guys want?" I dangled the keys in front of them. Frankly, I'd rather Gil slept with me, but I also didn't want to force her if she didn't feel like it, thus I decided to buy off three rooms. All of them were right next to one another, so I'd be able to know and get to the girls the instance something bad happened, which was what really mattered in the end.

"Well, there are six of us, Sakura and I will take room 15 then. Taiga-nee and Shiro can stay in 14 while you and… The Queen of Heroes can occupy room 13 together." Goddamn Rin! I knew, I just knew I could trust you! I'd be raining kisses on the tsundere if I wasn't so certain I'd get beaten up in return. "That is reasonable."

The Tigress was about to grab the key to her room when Gil cut in, tongue sweeping to wet her soft lips. "Hmmm… I think I'll stay with Taiga instead."

Immediately, my facial structures seemed to stiffen.

The woman in question shuddered as she backed away, making kungfu stances in order to ward off Gil's advances. Oh-Well, it did sting that Gil would prefer Taiga's company over mine, but not by much. The Queen of Heroes was like a wind, carefree and confident. I loved her, yet I had never once had the thought of possessing her. It just wasn't possible. "I- I- But Shiro can't sleep in the same room with Leonis!"

She tried to reason to no avail, "The disrespectful mongrel can stay with the sisters. They're small enough to fit on one King-size bed, let alone two."

"But- But- I–"

"Are you truly repulsed by the idea of sleeping with me–" The Golden Queen said innocently, her hands reaching forth to flick a stray strand from Taiga's face as the young woman blushed a bright shade of red. "– Or are you merely too shy to admit your attraction to me?"

I tried my best to ignore the pang in my chest, and I thought I had done a pretty good job, but seeing Gil openly flirted with somebody else, even if said somebody was from the same gender as her, made my heart ache. I showed none of the conflicting emotions on my face as I faked a yawn, stretched and waved at the girls. "So Gil and Taiga will share a room, while Shiro will be staying with Rin and Sakura then?"

"I- I-"

Ignoring Taiga's awkward stutters, I used Spatial-Awareness to sweep the building and find our rooms. Took me less than a second to do so thanks to all the levels I had heaped on [Spatial Manipulation]. Whereas before I could only vaguely judge an object's or building's shape, now a single sweep could project a 3D projection of the entire building in my mind. I still hadn't been able to figure out visual cues like colors and stuffs, but it's just a matter of time really.

"Well, I'm off to take a bath then, and probably a short nap after." I made a beeline to our rooms, stopping dead in my track once I realized I had forgotten something crucial. "Oh-And here!"

Dipping a hand in my pocket, I discreetly opened a portal and pulled several stacks of cash, shoving one into their hands each. "That should be enough for you guys to spend during the next three days and still have money left to spend on smaller things, gifts,…etc. Let's meet again after dinner, I think we can still fit a few hours of skiing into today."

Fiddling with the key, I couldn't enter my room fast enough. The moment I set sight on the mattress, it's like everything- every ache and knot in my muscles began to protest all at once. Worse yet, a curtain of fog seemed to cloud my thoughts aa though I was high, but instead of the usual happiness following drug-usage, there was this… Forlorn emptiness that revolved and spun underneath my ribcages.

One instance, I was there near the door, the next I was on the bed, sinking deeper in its alluring softness, my worries and problems seemingly washed away as I buried my face into the pillow. Unconsciously, an exhausted groan escaped my lips as I stretched my weary limbs, lulled by the gentle pops of my joints. 'You alright, buddy?'

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" Murmuring faintly, I forced myself to look up at the worried, see-through Daemon floating about in my field of vision. 'Leonis, I'm literally inside you, I can't access your emotions and thoughts freely, but I can most certainly sense when you're upset… Your heartbeats just suddenly quickened four minutes ago, which only happens when you're angry, upset and/or ready to murder someone.'

Sighing, I released a mixture of a groan and a cough, clearly showing my annoyance and discomfort at the subject.

"I told you, I'm as fine as can be, and will probably be better if you just let me sleep." Angra paused for a second, his form starting to dissipate- fading away, but not before throwing in a casual, 'Just so you know, I'm here if you ever want to talk, Leo-tan. We are… Friends after all, we're in this together.'

Not wanting to look and sound weak or overly-emotional, I decided to wait for the Daemon to disappear completely to say my piece. "Thank you Angra, I appreciate it."

I was thankful for the concern, yet somehow the Daemon's care merely upset me more. Burying my face into the pillow again, I let myself drift into peaceful slumber, praying this terrible emptiness would have disappeared once I returned to the waking World- a practice of futility for deep down I knew it would not.

'Shit… I forgot to take that bath.' But I was too tired to do anything, even raising my head took a monumental amount of efforts in this state, let alone go for a bath. Thus I resigned myself to sleeping in clothes that smelled of pukes, courtesy of a certain younger Tohsaka. 'Hah… Why am I feeling so shitty all of a sudden. Is- Is this what jealousy feels like?'

Deep down, I was well-aware of the reason for my worsened mood, yet I did not want to admit it- Nay, I could not admit it. 'Did I do something wrong…?'

Submerged in roiling emotions, that was the last thought I had before I was out like a light.

— [Fate: DML] —

"Is Leonis still asleep?"

With a towel rolled under her arm, Taiga asked the girls as they marched towards the hot spring. They had wanted to enjoy the onsen much earlier, but due to the surge of tourists staying in the newly-opened Resort, plus the mixed gender system the establishment used, the girls hadn't been able to, not liking the fact their bodies would be on full-display for other male clients.

Now that most of the guests had gone to sleep or joined other activities, they could finally try out the famous hot springs, even Gil herself had come despite her shaky relationships with Shiro and Sakura.

"I- I think he is? I tried to call for him, but there was no answer." The amber-eyed Heroine muttered as worry crossed her expression. "Do you think he's alright? He seemed… Sad? Upset?"

"He's probably just tired, it was a rather eventful ride." The Tigress cackled boisterously to herself, hands slapping on her hip as she smiled when the sight of a large and near empty hot spring came into view. "Well, say what you want about Leo-tan, but he certainly knows how to pick a vacation-spot. This place is awesome! There is even a giant hot tub in our room!"

Taking several steps back, Taiga raced to the hot spring and leaped into the steaming water. Wearily, Shiro pressed on her glabella as she scolded. "Taiga-nee, no running in the halls! And don't splash water everywhere, you are disturbing the other guests!"

Not that there were many in the first place, just an old lady, three older girls and a lecherous guy who likely thought he's being discreet in leering at the girls, but in truth was as obvious as could be in his actions. None of the girls dared to complaint or do anything, most were simply too scared the guy might do something, not Taiga though. "You! Avert your eyes, they are too young for you!"

Looking like a deer caught in the headlights, the guy scowled and protested indignantly. "This is a mixed gender hot spring, if you don't want to be leered at, take a bath in your room or something!"

Before Shiro, Rin and Sakura could get involved, the Golden Queen interjected with a playful smirk blooming on her lips. "He's right, you know? It is his right to look, and as long as he keeps it to just looking, it's legal."

The guy seemed to shiver in pleasure at her words and tone, yet her following words and actions put a quick stop to all of the imaginary scenarios going on in his head as her hand, slender and soft pressed painfully on the crook of his shoulder. "Of course, should you lay a hand on anyone here without their consent, I'll make sure you can never extend your line again. I doubt anyone will have a problem with that, right?"

Then, without a single warning, she launched the guy into the middle of the hot spring as she took a seat near the edge, before taking off her towel and let the coursing hot water wash over her already incredibly soft skin. Unfortunately, the steam was too thick for any of substance to be shown, hence why the guy pretended to be angry and tried to approach her position. 'Tried' being the keyword here,

"Take another step and you will die." Not a trace of amusement could be found in her voice any longer, it's all replaced by a silent, unspoken threat which coupled with Gil's [Charisma] were more than enough to instill the fear of God in the middle-aged man. Turning away, the man made a beeline to the exit, as though compelled by the Queen's presence. "You were so cool, Gil-chan!"

Only after he's gone that everyone appeared to relax somewhat.

Moments later, the old lady got up from her spot and advance towards the girls. "Thank you for chasing him off, Miss…?"

"Gil, you may call me Gil." The Queen offered, gesturing with surprising politeness for the old woman to take the spot in front of her, which she rejected. "Thank you, but this old bag of bones is done here. I just stayed because that creep was guarding the entrance and giving the girls 'looks', now that he's gone, I'll have to return before I catch a cold."

The girls, with the exception of the Golden Queen, all bowed to the old lady as she left, before sitting down to relax and allow the hot water to clean out their pores. This wasn't the first time Taiga had gone to a hot spring, but compared this to going with her grandfather, it was hundredfold better. "You were so cool, that guy left the moment you threatened him! I thought he's going to fight it at least, but he just–"

"Breath, Taiga."

"S- Sorry." The Tigress apologized, resting her elbows on a piece of decorative rock as she continued to spill questions like water from a firehose. "Can you tell us tales of your past? I've read some of them on the Internet, but–"

"Alright, alright. This Queen supposes she can indulge you peasants a bit." In spite of the arrogance she showed, Gil turned out to be quite the storyteller, managing to captivate even Sakura's and Rin's attentions. In a flash, an hour had passed while they soaked in the hot spring, listening to tales of triumph from an actual Hero of the Past…

Not Shiro though, the amber-eyed Heroine was too busy staring at the direction where their rooms were located, concentrating as though she could see through the walls and look at her senpai if she would just stare hard enough. "– HIRO, SHIRO-CHAN!"

Snapped out of the daze she was in, Shiro took a look at her… Friends, smiling awkwardly. "I'm sorry, what were you saying, Taiga-nee?"

The Tigress huffed. "We were thinking we could wake up early tomorrow, around five or six in the morning, and try skiing, what do you think?"

"Ah-That's fine." She replied curtly.

"Are you still thinking about Leo-senpai?" Seeming to have noticed the abnormalities in her senpai, Sakura asked and Shiro, being the adorable, yet clueless girl she was, just nodded. An act that sent Taiga into a spiral and caused Sakura to silently sulk. "It's just- We're having fun while Leo's nowhere to be found, it doesn't feel right…"

With that said, the smol Heroine glared balefully at Gil. She was clueless regarding romantic matters, but she's more than perceptive enough to realize her senpai's mood had taken an abrupt dip once the Golden Queen refused to stay with him. Understanding what was going on in her mind, Gil rolled her eyes, "Don't look at me like that, it was necessary for his growth. Leonis has grown too reliant on me emotionally, which will hinder him in the long-run."

She knew not why she's explaining herself to a thing that barely even resembled a human- a thing she did not even like, let alone care about its opinions towards her. Shiro seemed to have accepted this explanation, yet she refused to relent on her glare.

This brief interaction between two understandably affected their morale as a whole, but eventually, as they rested and enjoyed the feeling of lukewarm water against their skins, that small dip soon escaped their memories. Only Gil and Shiro hadn't forgotten, each appearing to be deep in thoughts as the night passed, and everyone started packing up in order to return to their rooms and prepare for the coming daylight.