A/N : I'm sorry again. More rant is at the end of the story, as usual.
Enjoy!
.
P.S : I think I read too much Tamora Pierce. I suggest you do too. Or have you? 'Tis awesome. But I tend to get influenced by awesome things, so..
/disclaimer applies/
When the bells rang, Saber ended her day at school with a deep sigh. As expected, her friends hadn't said a word to her at all that day.
She found it troublesome enough to decide when to try and speak her apology, but them avoiding her took the problem into a different level. Saber had never did something outrageous enough to drive her friends mad before, so she didn't exactly know what to do. Thus, she picked up her belongings and headed to the kendo club with troubles in her mind.
She was starting to get a headache. The day before, her mother's interrogation got her on edge. The explanation in which she was assisting her friend in a product trial finally got the ticket to her freedom—although her mom still looked at her warily even as she left the dining room to bed.
Not to mention her late sleep due to all the thinking about today's strategies. Which so far hadn't succeeded at all.
Oh, whatever. Maybe a few slashes will help to calm her down. Sighing once again, she picked up her blade and headed to her usual training spot. The usual crowds gathered. Her move repeated—but surprisingly, it didn't go as perfect as usual.
Looking at the crooked bamboo slashes, Saber felt so frustrated. Why must these happen? What did she do wrong?
Okay, maybe she was wrong, but—it wasn't entirely her fault. Really! If only that spiky blonde hadn't 'kidnapped' her...
But she had to admit that she had a good time the day before. And it seemed that for once that man bore good intentions, and it's not like she would meet such a chance everyday.
But still...
Huffing in frustration, Saber took out her phone, and without too much thought, flipped it open. A series of clicks resounded.
"
To : Gilgamesh (almighty_gil )
Subject : None
If you drag me away as you please like yesterday, I'll kill you. Look at all the trouble you've caused..."
Send.
Saber sighed again, but this time of relief. Somehow that text made her feel—just a little—better.
"Um, Miss Arturia?"
A timid male student stood before Saber. She put back her phone.
"Yes, I'll start in a moment."
The boy nodded before leaving, and—after taking a deep breath—Saber followed after. No matter what, she shouldn't let this problem affect her performance today. She had a lot of training with her fellow clubmates to be done for the incoming national tournaments.
She'd keep her problem for later.
Two good hour later, the blonde woman was looking intently into a glass showcase, her lips pursed in a silent inner debate of choice. After a few minutes, she finally decided on a slice of black forest cake, a slice of blueberry cheese cake, and a slice of chocolate tiramisu—which was respectively Shirou's, Rin's and Sakura's favorite treats. She ought to save money in case problems—like the ones she recently bumped into while she was in a certain blonde man's company—arise, but the situation was urgent. She didn't know if the bribe would make anything different at all, but at least she had tried her best.
After one more longing glance to the delicious-looking strawberry shortcake placed just by the far end of the glass container, Saber exited the store.
The way home was stuffed with thoughts. What was she going to say to her friends? She'd been thinking about it all night and day, but no word had satisfied her anxious mind. First of all, she didn't like to lie—which made the explaining a whole lot harder. It was true that she didn't tell her mom the whole truth—but for that she didn't lie at all. She only told her half of the truth—that her friend needed her to test out his new product—but the same story certainly wouldn't work for her friends.
She'd learned that lying often resulted in a bad aftereffect, especially if the second party found out the truth a while after. Besides, this was her best friends—people she would trust with her life, and vice versa. Lying to them would be too cruel.
Finally, she gave up as she sighed. She'd just explain everything if it was truly necessary. She no longer cared about embarrassing herself if it meant forgiveness from her precious friends.
Time flew while thoughts occupied her mind. Suddenly she was in front of her front door, picking through a series of keys and unlocking it. It seemed that her Mother was not home yet. The lamps weren't lit, and the house was eerily quiet. Saber started by lighting up the guest room, and remembering to put her cakes into the refrigerator, she proceeded to light up the dining room—
—and got ambushed with a series of party poppers.
''Happy Birthday, Saber!''
The woman's calm demeanor dropped, her lips parting in disbelief. Inside the room was the friends she fussed so much about. Still shocked, Shirou and Sakura walked closer to her, laughing lightly. Just a step behind them was Rin, her hands full with a medium sized birthday cake. It was a chocomint cake—one of her favorites—with an assortment of fruits and beautifully shaped whipped cream as the decoration. A lone festive candle stood in the middle of the masterpiece, already lit and blazing.
Saber stared at the cake, at her mom standing just behind the group, then at her friends, blinking.
"So are you going to just gawk at us or blow the candle? My arm's starting to cramp," Rin retorted amusedly, snapping Saber out of her trance. Shirou snorted.
"B-but I thought..."
"Just blow it up, Saber!" Sakura encouraged, smiling. Saber gulped. How come did she forget her birthday again when Gilgamesh went to the trouble of making troubles for it yesterday?
Not wanting to make her friends wait anymore—in case they changed their mind about forgiving her or something—the blonde woman blew the fire in front of her gently, and everyone clapped.
Soon the group was neatly seated around the dining table, the cake cut into five big slices. The teenagers even talked Igraine into joining them. She poured some juices into their glasses before settling herself.
Although still a bit confused, Saber welcomed the treat and produced her own, offering it with a short explanation of it's original purpose. The trio stifled a laugh, and Saber raised a brow as she started digging in. She guessed that her friends must have put the problem aside since it was her birthday. Shrugging, she cut a piece and lifted it with her fork.
"But it doesn't mean that we are dismissing your explanation, you know."
The treat was halfway to her mouth when Rin's voice finally answered her. Looking at her friends with panic, she devoured the piece with a big gulp.
"But really, we're not that mad. We're more curious than anything," Sakura added with approving looks from Shirou and Rin.
Shirou huffed. Although not mad, he certainly wasn't happy about it. "What made him drag you away like he has all the right in the world like that?"
Igraine listened silently now.
Saber considered her response. "Actually, we had a deal." she tried. "I owed him something and the only way I can repay it is to—" she scrambled a word to replace amuse, "—agree to his company whenever he needs it."
The group seemed to consider her answer for a little while.
"And it makes it alright to just drag you away like that?"
Saber tightened her lips. "Actually, no," she answered, showing the irritated tone in her voice, "But it seems that yesterday was truly an urgent matter."
It was true. He seemed to be in a hurry. Where was he going anyway?
"What does he need you for anyway? Another duel?" Rin retorted. Saber shook her head. Now Sakura's eyes suddenly shone with excitement.
"I, um, was asked to test a game engine he developed."
It was a surprise.
"He developed a game engine?" Shirou asked. "That Gilgamesh?"
Saber wasn't comfortable spilling things about the man without being sure of his approval. What if it was a secret? Gilgamesh knew her secret too, but he seemed to keep it to himself. Wait, but no, he stalked her, didn't he?
Well, telling her friends didn't seem to hurt. It's not like they liked to gossip.
Glancing at her mother—she knew that the woman was listening—she explained: "Actually, he's the manager, maybe CEO of an entire game engine producer company."
That was a shock. A big one.
She figured she'd rather not mention the company's name—they won't be able to take it.
"That crazy, duel maniac, conceited punk owns a company, you say?" Rin asked in disbelief.
"You really can't judge a book by it's cover eh..."
Saber shrugged. She knew the feeling.
"But why you? You're too diligent to know how to play any game, as far as I know. Have you even ever gone to the game center?"
Now she felt insulted. "I can always learn," she snapped. "Games aren't that hard to figure out."
Shirou, being more experienced at games than the other two, raised his brows, clearly questioning it. Saber cursed at her own lack of self control. It seemed that she took considerable pride in her 'Lioness' alias.
"But he should get someone else more experienced for such crucial job," Shirou argued.
"Look, I don't know why he did it, okay. I don't even know why he vexes me so much, poking into my life like he got nothing else to do."
Saber supposed she was getting irritated by the interrogation. She didn't understand that enormously conceited mess of a guy, let alone figure out the meaning behind his antics. Her friends didn't share half of her confusion, she understood, but they reminded her too much about the damn man.
"Well... Saber, could it be that he's interested in you in some certain way?"
Sakura looked at her with that sparkly look. Saber stared at her, flabbergasted. How could she have arrived at the conclusion? There was no way—but sometimes he did strange things, like that lion plushie, his teasing call, and Enkidu's plead...
"W-what nonsense," she fumbled out. Already she felt her cheeks slightly warming up, and in panic, she mind-counted one to seven, trying to calm down.
Unfortunately, her friends were too damn sharp. They noticed the slight miss-control she had over her emotions. Shirou's and Rin's jaw dropped open, while Sakura didn't seem to mind the man as much as the sparkle in her eyes only grew. "So he is? And are you also interested?"
"He is not!" Saber retorted sharply. "And I am not!" Really, it was nonsense. Gilgamesh was a womanizer, she also heard, and there was no way she would submit as one of his, what did he call them, queen? The idea of herself bowing before him was already far too humiliating. Besides, with that look and wealth, women would already be all over him. Surely, confused as she was, she still had common sense.
"Okay, so neither of you are." Sakura agreed all too patiently.
"I do hope you truly aren't," Shirou added, ridiculed by the idea.
"I don't know if I can accept you and that stupid Goldie," Rin agreed. She too regarded her with a look.
"Can we just... Not talk about this?" Saber pleaded with an irritated tone. They were pouring oil into fire. "I suppose you get my explanation already. I have enough of that man."
They took the cue. The evening progressed smoothly, with her friends back to normal. Igraine presented them a banquet she prepared specially for the day—much to Saber's pleasure. Full and content, the teenagers said their goodbyes, leaving mother and daughter to a small session of cleaning up.
After a while of comfortable silence, Igraine spoke up. "You know, Arturia, about that man..."
Saber wanted to sigh loudly and rub her temples. Even her mom, too?
"It seems that you are much infatuated by his influence, whether you admit it or not. As a mother, I won't be restricting your actions, but... Just be careful."
Identical emerald pools stared into each other. Saber saw a rare showcase of worry in her mother's warm gaze. At most time, Igraine chose to show her confidence in her only child's actions, but the concern she sometimes gave her warmed up Saber all the same. She smiled at her concern.
"Of course, Mother. Don't worry. I'm not infatuated with him whatsoever," she reassured her.
Igraine nodded. "But from what I've heard, he's a fairly amazing fellow. Learn from him to your best ability," she ordered, back to her stern self. Seeing Saber starting to protest, she silenced her with words. "This is a rare chance. You need to learn, you know that. You're already seventeen now. And it's better to put him into some use than only let him poke you around, isn't it?"
Saber thought about what her mother had said. "Yes, Mother," she finally replied. She did need to learn. She was only at the beginning of her second year in high school, but it's never too early to learn about things she would need later on.
Coming to an agreement, they finished up the chore quickly. Just before Saber left from her room, Igraine called out to her.
"Oh, Arturia? Don't forget your present."
She blinked at her mother and quickly caught the long package she threw at her across the room. It was a long thing carefully bundled in thick red fabric, a golden ribbon accenting it as it held the piece together. She regarded it a puzzled look, and Igraine ordered her to open it up.
Inside was a very beautiful saber, it's two-edged shining silver blade perfectly thin and sharp, yet sturdy. The grip was made of good metal, wrapped with jet black velvet fabric, a fine silver wire securing it in a helix wrap. The pommel was rounded silver topped with a beautiful blue crystal, it's many edges forming a breathtaking sphere. The guard was also silver, carved with intricate design. It was the perfect weight, and it felt really good in her hands. Saber stared at it with wonder—knowing it costed a fortune was one thing, but considering the thought her mother must have put into the pick was another. She looked at her mother's satisfied smile, speechless.
"Mother, this is beautiful."
She grinned. "You ought to practice your fencing again. I bet it's gone dull."
Saber smiled back. "I suppose I spent too much time at kendo lately. I'll do so, of course."
"I can practice with you if you'd like," Igraine offered. Saber beamed. Her mother was a legend to herself. She hadn't seen her handle any blade in years, but fencing with her would be such a good experience. She missed the practice she had with her in her younger times.
"I'll be very happy to. If you're not busy, that is."
Igraine nodded, her smile widening. "Now go to sleep," she told her gently as she briefly kissed Saber's forehead. "I'll find time to educate you later. It's about time."
Saber looked at her, speechless at her affection. Finally, she set out to her room. "Of course. Good night, Mother."
"Good night."
Upon reaching her room, the woman, as usual, took out her belongings to review the lesson of the day, tidy up things, and such. The saber went to the top of her desk at the far corner of he room, wrapped and positioned with much care. After admiring it one more time, she took out her phone and noticed an unread mail was present. Absentmindedly, she flipped it open and read the message.
It was from Gilgamesh.
She honestly didn't know what to feel. She was too content to be angry but not enough to take back the word she sent him earlier. Her mind wandered to the fresh talk she had with her mom, she somehow just have to use their relationship to her advantage from now on. Bracing herself, she read his mail.
"
From : Gilgamesh (almighty_gil )
Subject : Re : None
Haha, happy birthday, my queen. Looking forward for your killing attempt.
"
The text ended with a very unnerving winking emoticon.
Saber muttered a set of words people wouldn't guess could come from her.
A/N : Yeah, kill me. It's been too long. I've been having massive writer's block (as usual! Why do I get so much of them?) that I even abandoned my personal blog... Well.
Wow, didn't think I would manage to write such long chapter.
I kinda half-forced my hands to type this while I am still infatuated with some english book and having the feel of english grammar. (and before university drags me away for a while) I typed this part by part in different circumstances, so you might notice some weirdness? I hope there are not.
About the story.
I bet you saw that coming. I wanted to be creative, but... Well, I just wanted the four friends to reconcile as an author. I do wish it entertained you all the same. Gilgamesh's not coming home in a while, too.
I decided Saber's birthday, by the way. (randomly) I set it onto 22nd May. I have no references, if you've got a better date please do tell me. Setting the date, it means that the year had just started—the setting as you've observed is in Japan, without exact region. It's spring. I wanted to set her birthday before Gil's. Well, that's the considerations...
I looked up some about sabers, and I hope what I described sounds as awesome as I intended it to be.
As usual, any comments, critiques and feedback is very appreciated. Please do fix any errors you found, as I didn't get any beta reader for this one. (My beta seems to be too busy and I've set up a too long period of a time... But if dear beta(you know who you are) is reading this... Help me out! X( )
Ciao! See you next chapter!