Gudako opened her eyes and saw that she had been summoned into someone's shed. Behind her was a red-haired boy on the ground and in front of her was a man in blue tights about to stab the boy with his spear.
Gudako blinked. Woah, it's a wild Cu Chulainn! she thought to herself.
The boy blinked.
The man in blue tights blinked.
"Oh, am I interrupting something?" Gudako asked.
"I'm just here to kill this kid here. Er, are you his sister or something? You two look alike."
"Nah, it's just a coincidence."
"Alright then. Hey, at least you don't have to die alone, kid. The pretty girl can join you."
"Get out of here! Run away!" the boy shouted.
"Well that's rude, we just met and you're already trying to kill me. Shielder, I choose you!" Gudako pulled out a Servant card and threw it in one smooth movement.
Mashu appeared and immediately placed herself in front of the spearman.
"What the hell?!" the Lancer immediately got into a defensive position. "You're a Master?!"
"Get 'em, Mashu!" Gudako ordered.
"Yes, Senpai! Preparing to engage!" Mashu raised her shield as she clashed with the blue Servant.
Gudako quickly pointed her ServantDex at the spearman.
Cu Chulainn, the Hound of Ulster.
A famous hero of Ireland that is most famous for wielding the cursed spear, Gae Bolg, a weapon that leaves wounds that do not heal. A powerful hero with relatively balanced stats, but he boasts great agility and endurance, making him very difficult to kill once you also factor in his Battle Continuation. However, his luck is terrible.
His current class is Lancer, though he qualifies for many other classes as well.
"Hey, what's your name?" Gudako asked the boy.
"I'm Emiya Shirou. Thanks for saving me."
"Yeah, no problem. I'm Fujimaru Ritsuka, but you can just call me Gudako. The girl with the shield is my Servant, Mashu."
"It's nice to meet you, Fujimaru-san. Can you tell me what's going on?" Shirou asked.
"I'll explain later. I gotta focus on this battle over here."
Lancer stabbed and swiped furiously, but they were all getting blocked by Mashu's shield.
"Damn, my speed is no good against her shield. If only that bastard priest didn't order me to hold back my strength."
"If only I had more experience, I could protect Senpai better..."
Lancer stabbed and thrust, but was unable to force his way through her shield. It was like fighting a brick wall.
"You know what? Screw the priest, I'm ending this right now!" The cursed spear in Lancer's hand radiated powerful killing intent as it flared up.
"Mashu, get ready to use your Noble Phantasm!"
"E-eh?! I've never done this before!"
"I believe in you, so believe in the me that believes in you!"
Mashu gulped as she faced the bloodthirsty weapon. If Senpai trusts me that much, then I-
"Your heart is mine! Gae Bolg!"
"I can do this! Deploying Noble Phantasm!"
Mashu slammed her shield down on the ground as a segment of a castle wall materialized and stopped Gae Bolg head on. The crimson spear slowly dug into the wall, but a combination of factors, such as Mashu's superior luck stat and her will to protect, the fact that Mashu's shield carried the concept of "defending", and the Command Seal that forced Lancer to hold back meant that the attack could not successfully breach Mashu's defenses. The wall won out as it repelled Gae Bolg.
"Tch, so my undodgeable blow ended up getting blocked instead... damn you for making me hold back, Kotomine!"
"Deployment of Noble Phantasm was a success, Master!" Mashu shouted.
"Next time I won't be holding back! You got lucky today!" Cu Chulainn shouted as he prepared to escape.
"There won't be a next time! Take this!" Gudako threw a Saint Quartz at the Lancer while his magical energy was exhausted by his Noble Phantasm.
"What the fu-" was all he could say before he got sucked inside. The Quartz glowed and shook a few times before it flattened out and turned into a card.
"Yes! We did it Mashu!" Gudako picked up the card of Cu Chulainn and gave Mashu a high five.
"Excellent command, Senpai. We did it!" Mashu replied cheerfully.
"Woah..." Shirou had watched the whole thing in awe. It was the first time he had watched the high-speed combat of superhumans up close, and he was left speechless.
"Hey, you alright? There's this bloodstain on your chest." Gudako asked.
"Ah, yeah. He stabbed me in the heart earlier, but someone saved my life. It's just a bit sore."
"Here, take off your shirt," Gudako ordered as she prepared to pull out her first aid kit from her bag. "Can't have a fellow Protagonist dying on me, after all."
Shirou blushed but he did as she asked. He wasn't really sure what the comment about a Protagonist meant, though.
"Looks like you just have a few cuts and bruises here and there. Hand me the antiseptic and bandages, Mashu."
"Yes, Senpai." Mashu dutifully pulled out the appropriate items from the first aid kit.
Shirou winced as the antiseptic made his cuts sting. Gudako skillfully bandaged up the few cuts he had.
"There we go, you should be fine if you take it easy."
"Thanks again," Shirou put his shirt back on. "Now, can you explain what's going on-"
"Oh my god, Mashu, look." Gudako cried out as she showed Mashu her phone. "This dude's house is a ServantStop!"
"Now we don't have to worry about running out of supplies, Senpai!" Mashu replied as Gudako swiped at a certain spot in the air with her hand. A Saint Quartz, an Ember of Wisdom, and a Bronze Apple spontaneously appeared in front of Gudako.
"Here, Mashu, eat up!" Gudako put the Ember into Mashu's mouth.
Mashu chewed for a bit before swallowing. "I've leveled up, Senpai!"
"Um..." Shirou had a look of pure bewilderment.
"Oh, sorry. Here, let's go inside first."
Inside the house...
"Here, just read this." Gudako handed a copy of the Master's Handbook that was given to all of Chaldea's Masters. "It'll explain what sort of thing you've gotten yourself into."
"Um, alright..." As Shirou read through the pages, his eyes got wider and wider.
"You mean I've gotten myself involved in some war to the death?!"
"Basically, yeah. I mean, you already have the Command Seals on your hand, so you got picked already."
"Oh my gosh, what do I do? I'm a terrible magus." Shirou cried out.
"You should summon a Servant soon before anyone else tries to kill you. And that'll definitely happen, even with plot armor, you'll still get a Bad End if you don't make wise choices."
Shirou was slightly confused by her last sentence, was that some sort of technical jargon that he didn't understand? He understood the important part, though, which was to summon a Servant as soon as possible so he wouldn't get slaughtered.
"You should probably go rest up first. You don't wanna do any summoning rituals when you're exhausted. Just wake up early or something to do the summoning."
"Yeah, you're probably right. I don't really know you but you seem like a good person, so feel free to stay for the night." Shirou replied.
"Thanks a lot, we didn't really want to camp outside. Mashu, do you need any normal clothing?"
"Ah, yes, Senpai. I forgot to grab clothing for my human form before we left Chaldea..."
Shirou soon returned with a plain white shirt and black pants. "I hope these are fine, Mashu-san. I don't really have any spare clothes for a girl, so..."
"Ah, it's fine. Thank you very much, Emiya-san."
"It's getting late, so I guess I'll go to sleep. You two are welcome to help yourselves to a room."
"Okay, thanks a lot, Emiya!" Gudako replied as he left.
The two of them decided to just share the same room since Mashu wanted to make sure her Senpai was safe. Mashu dematerialized her Servant form and put on the shirt and pants. It was a good fit, except the shirt was a bit tight around the chest.
"Hmm... we are going to have to buy you some more regular clothes tomorrow." Gudako said while staring at Mashu's chest intently.
"A-ah, that would be a good idea, Senpai." Mashu replied with a blush.
"Well, let's go to sleep, we'll get everything sorted out tomorrow-"
"Senpai, I sense a Servant nearby." Mashu spoke up as Gudako's phone began ringing. She quickly checked the screen as it showed a Servant right outside of the house.
"Looks like they're already at the front door. Let's go greet them."
Mashu nodded as she swiftly changed into her armor and shield.
At the front door...
Tohsaka Rin and her Archer were planning to go into the Emiya residence to make sure that the red-haired boy was okay.
What they didn't expect was for an orange-haired girl and a Servant carrying a huge shield to leave through the front door.
"You!" Rin shouted. "Who are you and what have you done with Emiya-kun?!"
"Oh, him? I've already finished dealing with him (bandaged his wounds and gave him a crash course on the HGW), so don't worry about it."
"W-what? You've already d-dealt with him (slaughtered him while he was defenseless)?" Rin started shaking as she clenched her fists. Archer was also in a state of shock.
"Go, Archer! Kill them!" Rin shouted in a fit of rage. Archer quickly snapped out of his stupor and rushed forwards.
"Oi, what the hell is your problem?! Intercept him, Shielder!" Mashu quickly moved in front of her Master with her shield prepared to block.
Archer fought aggressively with his twin swords, but he found Shielder to be an unexpectedly difficult opponent to battle. Fighting someone that was armed with a shield was definitely not something he had experience in, and his usual style of leaving lethal openings for his opponent to exploit didn't seem to work well against the girl.
"Shielder, use your Mana Defense!"
"Haaaaaaa!" Mashu gathered all of her magical energy into her arms, and the moment Archer's swords made contact with her shield, she took the blow and near-instantly bounced it back in a perfect counter, sending Archer flying.
Mana Defense was one of the skills Mashu had inherited from the mysterious Heroic Spirit that had bonded with her. The opposite of Mana Burst, which temporarily channels a large amount of mana for an explosive attack, Mana Defense focuses on guarding and countering. When used correctly, it can violently repel any incoming attack.
"Now, Shielder, switch out! Go, Lancer!"
Mashu quickly switched out as Gudako threw Lancer's card.
"Augh, what the hell did you do to me?!" Lancer shouted.
"I need you to fight the Archer over there." Gudako pointed at Rin and Archer.
"Hey, wait a minute... I'm free. Oh my god, I'm free from that crazy bastard! I don't really like getting passed around from Master to Master like some sort of plaything, but since you got me away from that crazy priest, I'll let it slide just this once."
"Cool! Go fight him without holding back, just don't kill him. Maybe beat him up a little, I guess."
"Hoh? I like you already, girl. Very well then, I'll just rough him up a bit since it's only the first day!"
While Lancer was facing Archer with his full strength this time, Rin started to fight Gudako directly. Rin fired Gandr after Gandr while Gudako ran around frantically.
"You bastard! You killed my friend, how am I supposed to tell Sakura that he's dead?!" Rin choked out.
"What the fuck are you talking about?!" Gudako screamed back.
Senpai, my Self-Field Defense should be able to aid you even when I'm in card form. As long as she doesn't shoot anything stronger than those Gandrs, you should be able to ignore her magical attacks for the most part.
"Alright, Mashu, let's do this!" Gudako charged straight at Rin as all of her Gandrs simply dissipated when they hit Gudako. Rin tried to use some of her Bajiquan training to physically hit her, but her hits were ineffectual against Mashu's defense boost. Gudako took all the hits like a tank and ended up pinning Rin to the floor.
Meanwhile, Lancer had Archer knocked out on the ground. Thanks to Lancer's advantage over Archers and the fact that he wasn't holding back, the battle ended rather quickly, especially since Cu Chulainn had plenty of pent up aggression.
"*cough* A-are you going to kill me now? If so, then just hurry up and get it over with." Rin coughed out.
"What, why would I do that? Do you think I'm some kind of barbarian?" Gudako asked.
She let Rin go and pushed her aside. "Just go home or something, I dunno. I don't feel like fighting right now, I'm tired and sore all over."
"Y-you're just making fun of me, aren't you?! Fine, I'll be back and avenge Shirou, I swear it on my family name! Oh my gosh, what am I going to tell Sakura?!" Rin ran away sobbing with her Archer in tow.
"Avenge Shirou? What is she talking about?" Gudako asked confusedly.
You have defeated Tohsaka Rin and her Archer!
Reward: Half of Tohsaka Rin's money has been added to your bank account. Bonus reward: Craft Essence - Gandr (4*)
"Holy crap, that's a lot of zeros! I can buy so much Quartz with this!" Gudako's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her sockets when she saw the amount of money she won off of Rin.
"Hah, that was pretty fun, Master. As long as there's plenty of good fights for me, I'll be happy." Lancer spoke up.
"Yeah, there's more where that came from. Anyways, I'm tired as hell right now. Lancer, return."
"Wha-" Lancer was cut off as he flew into Gudako's hand in his card form. She promptly put him in the card holder on her leg.
Gudako went back into her room in Shirou's house before calling out Mashu.
"Good job, Mashu. It's only been one night, but we've already survived two battles." Gudako praised her favorite eggplant.
"Yes, Senpai, you were really amazing today." Mashu replied as she changed into her shirt and pants.
"Aw, don't say that. You were the one doing the fighting."
"And you were the one in charge of giving out the commands. We both did well today." Mashu gave a gentle smile.
"Yeah, you're absolutely right." Gudako decided to just sleep in her underwear. "Let's go to bed now, we have a long day tomorrow."
"Yes, Senpai."
Rin was pacing back and forth in her house, her eyes brimming with tears. The news that Shirou was dead would break Sakura, and she would have to be the one to deliver it. Meanwhile, Archer was all beat up and she let him lay on the bed to slowly regenerate.
Sighing, she went over to the phone and started dialing. Her hands were sweaty as she nervously held the phone next to her ear.
"Hello, Matou speaking." Sakura's sleepy voice came out from the speaker.
"Sakura..." Rin gulped. She decided to not beat around the bush any longer.
"Shirou's dead."
The last thing Rin heard was the sound of the phone hitting the ground on the other side of the line.