Fate/School Days – 14

Karin was having fun.

She couldn't help it. Cultural Festivals were always a day for everybody to kick back and relax. It was a festival. Not only did some of the students decide to party hard, they often decided to party in quite inventive ways.

And they often forgot the school's cameras were still active, even if the teachers who monitored them were out enjoying the festival themselves. For Karin herself, it was blackmail fodder enough to coerce months of personal servitude. Being able to prance around in a nosebleed-inducing costume was just icing on the cake.

A dazed looking Sato shuffled through the open door and Karin grinned at him. "Welcome back, Number-4! You're just in time, Number-1 wanted to take a break!"

The Class Rep looked slightly pained at his moniker, but nodded towards the other student. "Sato, can I trouble you to take over the register?"

"Give me a few minutes, iincho," Sato replied, sitting down heavily on an empty stool. "I'm not feeling so good..."

"Aah," Karin nodded sagely. "You went to the Haunted House, didn't you?"

Sato stared at her with a haunted expression.

Karin dropped a chocolate cupcake on the table in front of him. "Here, eat this. It'll make you feel better." She bounced over to the cash register and dropped a few coins next to Class Rep. "Hmm, if Sakuya's going full out we're gonna need some more chocolate..."

There was a clatter from outside the room, and suddenly Koyuki appeared, pushing a heavy metal container through the doorway. "Sister, it's ready now," she said.

Karin's eyes lit up as she watched her sibling guide the container around the tables towards the back of the room where they kept the rest of the food. "Ooh, what do we got?"

Koyuki lifted one of the three lids for inspection, "This one is store bought with flavors I couldn't make. The other two are mine." She suddenly snapped out a hand, catching Karin's as she tried to sneak a spoon under the lid. "These are for the customers, Sister."

Karin pouted, then turned towards several costumed waitresses lounging by the door. "Numbers-3, 6, 8, 9; you all have your flyers?"

"Hai, Karin-san!"

She swept out her arm in a dramatic pose, "Then go forth... and advertise!"

"This is a ripoff! There's no way this can work!"

Keiko arched an eyebrow at the vocal student. "It's perfectly possible. You're just not hitting it right."

The other student glared at her, then slapped down another yen piece and loaded another pellet. His shot struck true, hitting the packet dead-center and knocking it over... but still on the shelf it rested on. "See? This is rigged! Even if you hit it, the thing doesn't fall. Not unless you get one of your 'special' pellets."

Keiko set the fallen package back upright and turned around. "Like I said, you're not hitting it right."

"What other way is there? I say you're cheating!"

Keiko made an annoyed grumble and turned to one of classmates. "Watch the table for a sec." She reached out and snatched the rifle from the boy's grasp and picked up a handful of pellets. She walked around the table, loading a series of pellets into the breech, then hefted the rifle over her shoulder. Still walking away from the table – without even turning around – she fired once, twice, three times. With each shot, a different prize was knocked backwards, spinning as they fell off the shelf and to the floor.

She spun on her heel and walked back to the stunned group, thrusting the toy gun back into the silent student's hands as her classmate picked up the prizes and put them back up. "Not the right spot," she repeated. "Care to try again?"

She let her classmate take over the booth as she stepped back into the crowd. She watched as a student from another class walked in dressed as a maid. She was clutching a stack of papers, one of which she picked up and began to wave around. "Hee~ey! Class 1-1's café now has a special treat selection! Limited while supplies last, so get your serving as soon as you can!"

Keiko took a flyer from the girl and scanned it briefly. She felt a very large smile growing on her face, "Oh yes..."

Sakuya waited patiently for her next victim.

She knew she shouldn't have been enjoying this so much, but it really was exciting. Using her bounded field it was simple to block out all noises from carrying within the room. The high-pitched whine took a bit of effort, but the results definitely helped set the mood. Yin would probably be giving her hell for this later, but in the meantime, she was having the most fun she'd had in years.

Her senses triggered as a new customer stepped into her field. Quickly, she raised it to full strength and set herself. As soon as the person stepped fully into the room, she quickly snagged them with her tentacles. She felt her latest victim struggling against their bonds, taking that as her cue she formed a shadow clone of herself, setting it to rise ominously from the floor. From her position she watched her victim as their face snapped forward. With the light from the exit, she caught a reflection of silver eyes...

She suddenly felt feedback as her clone froze in place. Frowning, she summoned more tentacles to re-instill panic, but gasped silently as they too were frozen in place. She turned back to her shadow clone, seeing it take on a metallic texture... She dropped her bounded field entirely and rose from concealment. "Riko-nee?"

"Hey, Sakuya-chan!" the half-gorgon smiled at her as she replaced her glasses. She was still wearing her rollerblades and skated over to the newly created statue. "That was a pretty good show, you almost had me there."

"Thank you," she said smugly. "What brings you here?"

In response, Riko held up a flyer that the Class 1-1's maids had been passing out. Sakuya had no problem reading even in the dim lighting.

"I see..."

"Exactly," Riko grinned. "Wanna grab some? Aoshi's waiting outside." She

"Sure, let me just tell them I'm going on break."

"Okay," Riko started skating for the exit. "Oh, and Yin?"

"Hm?"

Riko paused at the exit to stare at her sister. "...Yin?"

Sakuya stopped and frowned. "...spoilsport." She shook her head, her expression lightening somewhat. "Better?"

"Much. C'mon."

Sato was confused. He looked across the café from his place behind the register; the Class Rep had taken his break and was wandering the floor, stretching his legs out.

It had barely been ten minutes since Karin had sent out her minions to advertise their little café, yet somehow word had spread faster than he would have thought possible. They were completely swamped now. Karin's sister Keiko had been the first sign of the incoming wave, marching straight up to the pushcart Koyuki had brought in. She left holding a small cup, which she cradled protectively in her hands as she found a seat. Sato watched as she took a spoonful of the treat and tossed it back, then his mouth dropped as she shivered in visible pleasure.

The second-year roller-waitress and spikey red-head were the next to enter, closely followed by Karin's other sister, Sakuya. Like Keiko, all three made a beeline for Koyuki and received their own portions. They joined Keiko at her table, reacting much in the same way she had as the finished their first spoonfuls. Other students nearby had noticed the display as well, and a crowd began to form around the pushcart.

"Ooh, I wish I wasn't working," Karin moaned.

He looked over and saw his coworker fidgeting and staring at the crowd. "What's going on? What did Koyuki-san bring?"

Karin stared at him as if the answer were obvious, "Ice cream, of course." She wailed plaintively. "She doesn't make it very often... I hope she doesn't run out."

Sato blinked at her, then again as a mass of third years descended upon the room. They were led by the school idol, Fuuko Emiya, who took the time to throw a wink at her sister as she made her way to the growing line.

Karin fumed, "Hah, hah! Sure, laugh it up!"

Sato was very confused now. What was so special about ice cream?

Back at Class 1-4

"So... if Sakuya-san is on break, who's running the Haunted House?"

Harima shined a flashlight on the statues. "Well, she did leave her props here, but how the heck are we supposed to move them?"

"I don't see any joints for them to move. Anybody see a remote-control?"

"Nope."

"No."

Saori tapped the iron sculpture standing in the middle of the floor. "This doesn't look so scary now... she must be a really good puppeteer."

One of the students tried to shift the statue, "Gah! This is heavy! How did she move it around so fast?"

The Class Rep looked over at Harima. "Put up a 'Temporarily Closed' sign?"

Harima shrugged.