CHAPTER 14:
FRIEND OR FOE?
Harry peered into Arturia's eyes, while the Once and Future King stared back. "Do you have a reason for doing that?" Arturia asked, a little irritably.
"Sorry," Harry said. "I was told some months ago about you, and they were right, we've got similar eyes."
"By whom?"
"By a rather dubious priest by the name of Kirei Kotomine," Harry said. "But that's beside the point. I wanted to ask you a couple of things about the previous Holy Grail War, as Caster and I have found out some things that disturb us both."
Arturia, reluctantly, nodded. They were seated in the dining room of the Emiya house, while Shirou made some tea. Caster had removed her hood, and was peering at Arturia intently as well. "I see. However, I should say that, while years has passed for this time, it has been mere moments for myself. The wounds on my soul are still fresh, though I will consider your questions, as long as my own are answered. Where is Kiritsugu?"
"He died five years ago," Shirou said, as he brought tea down to them. "He was ill for a pretty long time."
Harry nodded. "Shirou is one of the few survivors of a massive fire that consumed a good chunk of Fuyuki after the last Grail War ended a decade ago. Kiritsugu saved him from that fire, and eventually adopted him. Shirou was pretty much ignorant of his father's reputation until I came along. I've given him warnings about the Grail War, just in case something like this happened. We'll probably have to phone up Kirei later, let him know. Anyway, how's your mana supply from Shirou?"
"More than adequate," Arturia said. "But why would you go out of your way to help an enemy Master?"
"Shirou is my friend, and the Grail War technically is fought between the Servants," Harry pointed out. "I have no intention of killing Shirou, or my sister. Other Masters are on a case-by-case process. Anyway, Caster and I have found out some disturbing things about the Grail. Nothing definite, but we thought, being probably one of the few people who could shed some light onto what happened, you could help us. Please, anything you could tell us."
Arturia shook her head. "I'm not sure I can help. Kiritsugu rarely consulted with me on anything, and indeed treated me with considerable contempt. I was fighting against Archer while he fought against Kirei Kotomine. I confess myself surprised that Kotomine still lives, for Kiritsugu excelled at murder. In any case, he emerged, and used two Command Seals to force me to destroy the Grail, giving no reason, just an order. I disappeared in the backlash of using my Noble Phantasm to destroy it."
"You're being forthcoming," Medea observed after sipping from her teacup.
"I too am perplexed at Kiritsugu's actions, for he desired the Grail at any cost," Arturia said, meeting the Greek witch's gaze. "Costs I baulked at. To throw it all away after all that confused me. Enlightenment from any corner would be appreciated, especially as you appear to be here under parley."
"Well, Arturia, we found something disturbing in the park that replaced the area burnt in that pyroclasm," Medea said. "The Grail's destruction not only unleashed massive amounts of mana, but what seems to have been a curse. The effects still linger strong enough to affect Heroic Spirits, and even normal humans tend to avoid that park. While it could be part of the destruction of the Grail gone awry, I personally think there was something within the Grail, either a deliberate boobytrap set by the von Einzberns, or else something more sinister and disturbing. There was nothing else?"
"I cannot help you. I'm sorry," Arturia said, shaking her head. "If the Grail had something sinister within it, then that could explain why he ordered me to destroy it, but I cannot tell you for sure. And I would prefer not to speak on any further on the matter."
"She's not lying," Medea said to Harry via their link. "Kiritsugu's actions are as much a mystery to her as they are to us. There are some things she is hiding, but nothing vital."
"Right," Harry responded, before he returned his attention to Arturia. "Sorry to bother you about that. While we know it's doubtless painful for you to deal with this, we needed to know. All the same, it's a pleasure to meet you, Arturia. It's a shame you had to hide your gender from the world during your time as King Arthur. And it's also a shame that we're opponents."
After a moment, the blonde knight smiled. It was a small smile, but a smile all the same. "I thank you, Harry Tohsaka. During the previous Grail War, I had no rapport with the enemy Masters, let alone my own. The closest I came was to any goodwill was with the Master of Rider, Waver Velvet. I am heartened to hear you say such things."
"He treats Servants as people," Medea said. "My past is considerably more sordid than yours, King of Knights, and he not only knows it, but accepts me for who I am. And he is friends with Shirou. You'll have your work cut out for you keeping your Master safe, by the way. He has a tendency to rush headlong into trouble."
"Hey! I'm not that bad!" Shirou protested.
"Yes, you are that bad," Harry said bluntly. "Anyway, what the hell were you doing cleaning up the Archery Dojo?"
"Shinji fobbed it off onto me after I confronted him earlier. I saw what looked like a bruise on Sakura's hand."
Medea frowned, and sent to Harry, "A bruise on her hand? Command Seals?"
"Maybe," Harry sent back. Was his other sister being dragged into this debacle after all? Out loud, he said, "Okay, well, you got lucky tonight that I had Caster keeping an eye out for possible witnesses. Even when he learned you were a Magus, Lancer tried to kill you, presumably on his Master's orders. And that's only one of four possible problems. I'd count Archer, but I think he's obeying Rin for now."
"Okay, what are the problems?" Shirou asked.
"Firstly, someone set up a sigil that has the potential to convert everyone in the school into mana, presumably to fuel a Servant," Harry said. "Secondly, Lancer is being ordered by his Master to kill witnesses, or even possible rival Magi before they become Masters, if tonight is any indication. Thirdly, Assassin is yet to be summoned, and that's the most dangerous class for we Masters. Finally, there's Berserker."
"Berserker?" Arturia asked, an edge to her voice now present. Maybe she had a bad experience with the Berserker of the previous Grail War.
"Yeah. Berserker has been summoned by whoever the von Einzbern representative is. Raiga sent me word that there's an albino girl with red eyes running around, so that's probably her."
"An albino girl?" Shirou asked. "Red eyes? Only…last night, I came across a girl like that, dressed in clothing like she was from Europe or Russia. She told me in passing that I had to summon 'it' soon, or I'd die."
"Shit," Harry muttered. "The von Einzberns are probably pissed that your father nuked the Grail, so they've sent her to kill you in revenge or something. Raiga said her name was Illyasviel."
"Illyasviel?" Arturia asked. "But that was the name of Kiritsugu's daughter with Irisviel, his Homunculus consort. I admit, she was somewhat small for her age, but she was eight years old. She would be eighteen by now."
"Wait, I have a sister?!" Shirou yelped. Then, after a moment, he said, a little more thoughtfully, "She called me big brother."
"Homunculus growth can be tricky," Harry said. "If it is the same girl, maybe she stopped growing. Merlin, as if this wasn't enough of a debacle already. Bad enough that my sister and a friend are Masters, but my other sister might be, and you have a stepsister with an axe to grind…and that's without going into the homicidal spearman. Though my Irish mythology is pretty rusty. Who's Cool Hoolin?"
"Cú Chulainn," Medea corrected. "Though that is an appellation meaning the 'Hound of Chulainn'. His birth name was Sétanta. A famous spearman who defended Ulster against the forces of Queen Medb. His Noble Phantasm, as you saw, is a cursed spear that unerringly pierces the heart when he channels its full power, rewriting causality to ensure it. Well, unless you have a surfeit of luck, like our beautiful King of Knights here has. Arturia Pendragon, I would request a boon if I may."
"Speak, and I will consider it."
"While we are enemies due to the circumstances of the Holy Grail War, the circumstances leading to your summoning may require us to ally temporarily. Shirou, did you notice anything odd at the school today? A strange atmosphere or something?"
"I…I did," the redhead said, nodding.
"That was a Bounded Field, part of, we believe, a Servant's Noble Phantasm. Harry mentioned it earlier. As he said, its purpose is to break down anyone present into mana, harvest them as fuel for a Servant. It could be the work of a modern Magus, but it looks more like the work of someone or something from the Age of the Gods. Unless the Master of Berserker is more skilled than we thought, or Berserker is able to do this when their Mad Enhancement is removed, it is more likely to be Rider, as Lancer denied having anything to do with it, and Assassin is yet to be summoned to our knowledge. While Harry and Rin allying until the final stages of the Grail War is already set in stone, extra help against a belligerent enemy Servant would be appreciated. We were attempting to remove it when Lancer interrupted us. Unfortunately, the sigils will probably regenerate over time, so the only positive benefits of removing them, aside from potentially flushing our enemy into the open, would be delaying their plan."
"Even if you decide not to help us, it'd probably be for the best if you took Arturia to school with you, if only as a bodyguard," Harry pointed out.
"Yes, about that," Arturia began, looking slightly embarrassed. "I must confess, I am unable to Astralize."
Medea cocked her head. "Well, well, well…isn't that interesting? You retain memories from the previous Grail War, AND you cannot Astralize. You're not a normal Heroic Spirit, aren't you?"
"Never mind about that for now," Harry said. "If Arturia can't Astralize, then you'll have to figure something else out. While you could potentially call her to your side with a Command Seal, those things are precious. Arturia may have enough honour to stay by your side once you've depleted them, but it also means that her connection with you is severed, and she'd need a new supply of mana, and thus a new Master. I'll see if I can find a way to smooth things over with the faculty. I may be on leave, but I might be able to get Taiga to help. If push comes to shove, we'll just say something like the truth, that she's an old associate of Kiritsugu's, older than she looks, and she's here to act as your bodyguard because he pissed off some powerful people. It's either that, or, knowing my sister, the Tsundere Missile would go off. She probably wouldn't kill you for Sakura's sake, but she'd may try to confiscate your Command Seals, and that'd hurt like a bitch at the very least, if not destroying your ability to use magecraft. I've toned it down a little, but she's still got a ruthless streak, even if it's a half-hearted one. Frankly, I'm glad she got whatever good qualities from our father he had."
"Yes, about that, Harry, was it?" Arturia said. "You do not look Japanese. Indeed, you sound British."
"Long story involving magical blood adoption and parallel universes. In short, shenanigans," Harry said.
"Shenanigans?"
"Shenanigans."
Arturia nodded. "I see. Sadly, I have dealt with stranger things when Merlin was involved. Shirou? What is your thought on allying with them?"
"Well, allying with these guys for the time being is the right thing to do, if we're trying to stop people from getting killed," Shirou said. "Harry won't let me get hurt if he can help it. I trust him. Besides, Caster's helping Sakura. Being in an alliance will give her more time to finish the ritual."
"I see." Arturia looked back at Harry and Medea. "Then for the time being, we are allies. But I will be on my guard. I did not have a good experience with the Caster of the previous Grail War."
"Arturia, you are right to be wary. I do not subscribe to chivalry or fair play. But I will follow my Master's directives," Medea said. "Better to deal with Berserker, Rider and Lancer, along with Assassin, before everything else. But first, let's show you the park, and let you see for yourself what it has become…"
In the basement of the Matou household, the ghoulish figure of Zouken Matou had a ghastly grin on his features. His heiress had been pressured into handing over control to that worthless brat Shinji via the Book of False Attendant. With Assassin still free to summon, Zouken had decided to take a more direct approach to the Grail War.
The Tohsakas' meddling, particularly that of Harry Tohsaka, was becoming irritating. He'd only restrained from using his usual methods to teach Sakura because she had those potions in her system. That, and her progress under Zelretch was admittedly better than anything he could have come up with, and pissing off the Wizard Marshall was something even Zouken was loath to do. At least until Zouken had something even a Dead Apostle Ancestor couldn't stand up to.
Namely, the Holy Grail. Or rather, Zouken's version, created using Sakura and the remnants of the tainted Lesser Grail. The Black Grail.
Using Assassin, Zouken intended to thin out the competition, as well as breaking Sakura. She had been given hope for the first time in a decade…and he intended to remind her why it was a bad idea to defy him, by crushing that hope utterly, and bringing her completely under his control. The Emiya boy was a possible target, as was the sister she was reconnecting with…but the juiciest target was Harry Tohsaka. He was her brightest beacon of hope. And he intended to snuff that out. With Sakura in bed and Shinji on patrol with Rider, he could focus on this.
"Heed my words. My will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny. If you heed the Grail's call, and obey my will and reason, then answer my summoning! I hereby swear that I shall be all the good in the world, that I shall defeat all evil in the world! Seventh Heaven clad, and the great words of power, come forth from the circle of bindings, Guardian of the Scales!"
The summoning circle flared with actinic light. When Zouken blinked the afterimage away, he saw the cloaked figure in front of him with the skull mask. Hmm, maybe he got one of the Hassan-i Sabbah? But that mask looked a little too elaborate for one of the Old Men of the Mountain that led the Assassins.
"Servant Assassin has answered your summons," the Servant said, his voice resonating from behind his mask. "I ask of you…who do you want dead?"
CHAPTER 14 ANNOTATIONS:
Oh dear. Zouken's summoned Assassin…and he may not be a Hassan-i Sabbah. But Harry and Arturia have gotten along, which is the main thing, right?
Incidentally, I have given permission to Faust to post a Russian translation of this story. So if you see it elsewhere on this site, that's why…
Review-answering time! Silvog: Because he has the Cloak of Invisibility, and was raised from birth to destroy Voldemort, pretty much. I'm not the first to think of that concept, either.
Amatsumi: Remember, Kirei mentioned her name some chapters ago, as well as her connection to Kiritsugu Emiya, so he'll call her Arturia first.
The Shadows Mistress: Yep. Incest, murder, rape…all a good time for the Olympians, or indeed many pantheons. There's actually a brilliant scene in Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett where Hughnon Ridcully lists the goings-on about various gods as if they were some sort of soap opera synopsis.
merendinoemiliano: Fight scenes are admittedly a weakness of mine. And with the next chapter having Shirou, Harry and their Servants encountering a certain albino brat and her hulking embodiment of steroids overdose, well…
Guest (regarding the kaiju-named guests): Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised. I try not to tar guests with the same brush. And yes, Harry being prudent about contraception is because he is savvy about his luck. Besides, Medea went through enough shit in her lifetime, being knocked up by someone she has only known for weeks is not something Harry wants to put her through.
SonicAnime2010: I used the same gag myself for Perils of Magical Investigative Journalism, though I don't know whether anyone else has used the spray-on tan joke.
Lu Bane Na: While I'm not going to have Rin do that…Medea may be another matter entirely. Remember her canonical obsession with playing dress-up with Arturia…which is mentioned obliquely in the next chapter.
OBSERVER01: Harry has, admittedly, made an educated guess, based on a number of factors. Harry was told by Kirei about her gender and her distinctive eyes, like his own. Plus, he's got the impression that Shirou has the same mercurial luck that Harry does, and that summoning the very same Servant Shirou's father did just seems like that would happen. Arturia's reaction to Shirou's last name cinches it.
No numbered annotations this time.