I do not own Fate/Stay Night nor any other Servants depicted here.

The Fateful Day

Caster patiently waited for the man to serve the breakfast. While she did not need to eat, after having had her fill last night, she did appreciate being waited upon. It reminded her of her youth, before being sent to that dreadful Academy of books and studying and other horrible things. While the food here is not at rich or marvelously decorated, it was enough.

"Will that be all, Caster?" Souichirou intoned politely.

She nodded and he left the room. That helpful man, she had already explained to him briefly on what being her 'Master' entailed. Suffice to say, he did not make a fuss and accepted as it is. What else was there to say? It is rare to find good help such as this, though she did not like the place where she was summoned. At this time of the year, supposedly, it was horribly cold and while her clothes gave her some form of protection, it sometimes was not enough. Thank goodness for the hot water and warm blankets she always came back to after her nightly escapades.

She paused to look out, watching the fading morning mist as it danced amongst the trees. In a strange sort of way, it reminded of her... adventures she had with the Knight-Captain. A sort of good man he was. As far as she knew, the only one who accepted her as she was. The only one that 'asked' her to do something, instead of 'order' her to. Very different from her first Master. In the end, she was quite sad that he wanted both her and Sand on his side. Perhaps... perhaps, her arguments with that stupid elf were too petty. She should have sided with him regardless her differences with the wizard instead of siding with the enemy out of spite against that same wizard. Then again, she was still quite sure that she was correct and the wizard was wrong.

Oh well, there would be time for remembering later. For now, she had to conserve her energy, since she will have to go hunting for criminals tonight. If only there were more brigands or pirates roaming around, then she would have no shortage of supply to draw from.

A knock on the door and the man entered again. He was wearing something different now, looking quite presentable. "I shall be leaving for work now," he told her, "If you wish for anything, you can request it from the monks." With that, he left.

She doubted she would need anything now. All she had to do now was rest and keep warm.

The limousine stopped a few meters away from the gate. Luvia stayed seated for a moment, not wanting to exit the vehicle just yet. It has been a few days since she got Rider and showed her superiority to Rin. That Tohsaka hid it well, but she could tell the Japanese girl was seething at her whispered proclamation. After all, the War was to be kept secret. And now, she was also certain that Rin had summoned her own Servant in reply. Perhaps it was time for them to compare which was more powerful. Another competition. The thought of it made her feel impatient for evening.

"Rider, would you do the honors of inviting Tohsaka to our little meeting?" she asked.

"Sure," the Servant replied, coming out of spirit form while seating himself opposite her, "But, are you sure about this? I mean, this whole thing hasn't even started yet."

"But of course, Rider," she assured him, "Think of it as a spar of sorts... as well as information gathering. Why should we not get to know our enemies?"

"I guess that's all right," he conceded, "Well, you know how to get me." He went back to spirit form.

She nodded and then finally exited the vehicle. At that moment, who else would pass by her but Shirou Emiya. She halted and watched him walk side by side with Sakura Matou. They didn't really notice her getting out, as she was sitting on the other side, but she was sure they knew who was in here. Who else would come to school in a limousine? She waited a moment, waiting for them to go past the gates into school. Truthfully, she wondered why she was acting like this. True, she... liked him. He was a simple man, and good man too, always willing to help others in need of it. She never did have time to get to know him better, as she was always trying to one up Tohsaka. Plus, that Matou girl had already gotten a leg up on her by visiting him the past year while he was injured. She could have kicked herself for letting that chance slip by. But now seemed like the perfect chance. She waited until the Matou left him alone before greeting him.

"Oh, good morning, Edelfelt," he returned the greeting, looking slightly surprised, "I didn't expect you to be at school so early."

"O ho ho, why wouldn't I be early?" she said rather happily, in that he actually recognized her, being that he always seemed busy helping the student council repair things, "It doesn't matter that I am not with any clubs, but that I am here earlier than Rin Tohsaka. I must at least show I am better than that unbearable girl."

"Um... that's fine if you do that. It's quite up to you," he said slowly, seemingly a bit startled by her sudden chattiness, "But, maybe you shouldn't take it too far. Being competitive is good an all, but you really shouldn't say bad things about people behind their back."

"Ah... maybe you're right," she said with a tint of red on her cheeks, feeling a little flustered and somewhat embarrassed. Why did she suddenly say that? She could have kicked herself right there. Yet what a gentleman he is. Instead of talking down on her, he politely corrected her. It was certainly worth it to talk to him, if only for a moment. "Well, I'm sure you have other things to do than to talk to me. I'll leave you to that. Good bye, Shirou," she quickly said before hurrying past him towards the school building, missing his reply that echoed her goodbye.

Bazett was feeling quite restless and annoyed. That Servant of hers seemed to have closed herself off in one of the rooms in this abandoned manor. She knew she was still there, but she didn't know what that Servant was doing. There only so many times she could scout around the city, while enduring curious looks from the locals. She was quite fed up about. Why couldn't she have gotten Cú Chulainn was beyond her. Damned Grail. She was starting to feel that it wasn't worth it since she couldn't meet the Hound of Ulster in person.

Deciding she had enough of her Servant's lack of action, she went up to her room and knocked.

"Lancer? Lancer?" she called out as she rapped the door. There was no answer... was her Servant ignoring her? As much as she wanted to kick down the door and start berating her Servant, she also knew that both Master and Servant needed to work together to win the War and gain the wish. So, she just opened the door. Her knocking should have already alerted her Servant to her entering.

She found herself feeling dumbfounded when she saw her Servant floating several meters in the air, sitting cross-legged as if in meditation. She saw several more of those strange runes floating and going around her in circles; some fast, some slow. Just then, she watched as the Servant floated down, feet presumably touching the ground. Not that she could see through that rune-inscribed skirt of her Servant. The floating runes disappeared.

"Leave," her Servant told her curtly, "I will not have you intrude on my divination."

"Look, I've given you your space but I've had enough of this," Bazett fired back, "For the past few days you have done nothing but remain in this room. I don't know what you think are doing but you can't just sit here and expect the War to win itself."

"I am simply discovering my next course of action," Lancer replied, "This is not something a Mon-keigh can understand, nor shall I deign an explanation. Leave. Now."

... did her Servant just call her a monkey?

"Now look here, Lancer..." she began again, this time readying her Command Seals. If this Servant refuses to listen... well, she didn't like her hand to be forced into this, but so be it. Before she could continue, however, she found herself flying out of the room and crashing against the wall. She crumpled to the floor; catching her breath, she looked up and found herself facing the point of a spear. A white spear with the upper part of the shaft decorated with intricate markings and gleaming gemstones. There seemed to be a tube connecting the head and the shaft, coiling partly around. And for some strange reason, she could hear the spear... humming?

"Very few of the Mon-keigh have gained my respect," Lancer stated, making as if to glare at her, "You, however, are not one of them. Do not intrude again, or my spear will find your neck faster than you can use those Seals." With that, she withdrew her spear and turned around, the door somehow slamming shut behind her. Leaving behind a rather shocked and troubled Bazett.

Archer was concerned, even though he did not show it. When he found out recently that Rin was actually on friendly terms with Sakura, and that she summoned an Assassin instead of a Rider, he could not have been more surprised. Then, since there was no Rider, there was no boundary field to sense when they arrived at school that morning. To top it off, Luvia Edelfelt was present in Fuyuki. He knew about her family's history with the previous Wars and yet despite them having sworn off Japan, she was here. The promise of the wish as well as the chance to redeem their failure during the third War seemed to be too irresistible. And now, this strange man that appeared before them when they were on the roof of the school.

School had ended and they were making plans on what to do, when the door to the roof swung open and out stepped a rather well dressed man with long white hair and a short beard. He didn't know who this man was but he noticed the man stare at him for a moment before addressing his Master. He was still in spirit form. It can only mean one thing.

A Servant.

"Ah, Tohsaka Rin? Rin Tohsaka? Mmm, I guess the first one is correct?" the man half greeted in a friendly manner, "Anyway, it's a bit hard to keep track of you, young lady. Especially since you upped and left your class even before I got away from Luvia's side."

"Luvia... so, I presume you are her Servant?" Rin asked cautiously. Archer could sense her tensing up, ready to take action at a moment's notice. He was doing the same. And apparently, the Servant in front of them sensed the same.

"Hey, hey, no need to be so tense," the Servant assured them, holding his hands up in front of him to show his peace, "Luvia just wanted to invite you to a get together. A meeting. Down at one of the clearings down there. Sports fields, I guess you call them? Besides, we aren't supposed to start yet, right? I mean, there is still one more left."

"... You are right in one aspect," she begrudgingly said, "The War hasn't officially begun. I can only presume she wishes to gauge my strength in this... Fine, before I agree to anything, which class are you?"

Oh? Smart. Based on his laid back attitude, the Servant would probably answer without much thought.

"Rider, at your serv..." he started before pausing. "Tch, great... now she gets angry," Rider muttered before sighing, "Heh, good one, young lady. I guess I'm sorta too honest for this. Oh well, what's done is done. I suppose you agree to the meeting now?" Getting a nod from her, he continued, "Well, seeya later then." He left them, shifting to spirit form.

Archer continued to look at the open doorway, still on guard but slightly baffled. "Are you sure about this?" he asked, although he knew this was just a rhetorical question to him.

"Yes," she answered as she turned around to look down the side of the building, "To think she has the nerve to challenge me today. I know I may be reading too much into this, but this is definitely a challenge. Up to now, she stands in my way of becoming the sole top student in school... and now this. I will not let this go unanswered."

He sighed and said, "What a headstrong Master I have."

Night fell quickly. The school was deserted, the teachers having announced a curfew beforehand. All except a few certain individuals.

"Oh, I see you decided to come after all," Luvia exclaimed in fake surprise, "I would have thought you too scared of the cold." Behind her stood the well dressed man in black.

"Save your airs and graces, Edelfelt. There is no one else around to fool," Rin grounded out in annoyance, "Why invite me all the way out here when the War hasn't officially begun yet?" A tanned man in red stood by her side.

"What? Am I not allowed to scout out the competition?" Luvia asked in shock before turning to a haughty sneer, "Then again, I doubt I would be facing much of that with you around. Perhaps I should have saved you for last when I have dispensed with the others."

Rin's brow twitched. "Edelfelt..." she grounded out angrily, "Is that so..." She lifted her arm and pointed at her enemy. "Gandr," she intoned to herself as she narrowed her eyes. The blond's eyes widened as she dodged the small black orb that was sent her way.

"What!? Are you trying to kill me!?" she shouted in disbelief at the Tohsaka.

"Oh no, I wasn't 'trying' to kill you," the black haired girl politely retorted with a smirk, "I 'am going' to kill you."

"Why you...!?" the blond snarled, her face red in anger as she tore off her sleeves to reveal her well toned arms. Tossing the pieces of cloth aside, she charged straight at the smirking girl.

"Go ahead, Edelfelt," Rin taunted as she got into her martial arts form, taking care to use Reinforcement, "You will be put down like the dog you are." She thought Luvia wouldn't be in the right mind for the same. She was wrong.

Stepping forward to punch, she was taken by surprise when Luvia grabbed her arm and pulled her in, wedging it and her head between her body and arm. Then, she got kneed in the gut before having her face introduced to the ground.

"You were saying, Rin?" Luvia taunted in return as she held her down while keeping her body away from Rin. Although, she didn't count on Tohsaka sending a palm strike to her side, the jolt of pain causing her to loosen her hold and for her prisoner to escape.

"You'll pay for that Edelfelt!" declared the angry Tohsaka as she got to her feet, her face now brushed with dust and dirt.

"I didn't know you were that eager to meet the ground again, Rin Tohsaka!" yelled the now smirking Luvia. Her uniform was also dusty, and except for the torn sleeves, she was none worse for wear.

A burst of laughter brought them out of their angry haze. Puzzled, the both of them looked at Rider, the culprit.

"Oh, don't mind me," said the laughing Servant, "Keep on at it. Seems to me you don't need us to fight your own battles."

"It sees my Master is quite capable," the stoic Servant in red commented as well, though if one could look closely, there was a very slight twitch on the side of his mouth.

"You..." grounded out the blond, already feeling beyond embarrassed, "Fine! Attack and defeat them, Rider!"

Rin just sighed as the two Master's separated and put themselves behind their respective Servants. "Archer, I leave this to you. Show me what you are capable of," she ordered calmly, also feeling quite embarrassed to have behaved like that in front of their Servants.

"Oh well, fun while it lasted," said Rider as he shrugged his shoulders. He held his hand out and into it fell a long black pole. He twirled it around a bit before settling it on his shoulder.

Archer said nothing but materialized a pair of swords. One black, one white, with the symbol of Yin-Yang decorating the guard.

"Oh? This is rare," commented Rider with one brow raised, "You know how to use those?"

"Hmm? This is coming from someone who fights with that?" asked Archer in return, pointing at the pole with one sword, "That can hardly be called a weapon."

"Really? Well, what about this?" the Servant replied mysteriously as he held the black pole in his hands. Strands of frost slowly crept out from his gloved hands and soon the whole thing was covered in ice. "Changed your mind yet?" he asked as he got ready to fight.

"Why not change it for me then," the Servant in red stated as he rushed forward on the offensive.

Bazett had retreated back downstairs and was now seated at a table, nursing a glass while feeling quite morose. Being called a monkey by your own Servant can put you that way, as well as being tossed around like some plaything by said Servant. If only she got Cú Chulainn... darn it, she didn't even know who her Servant was.

"Now that I think of it," she mused to herself, "I should be able to dream of Lancer's past now that it is a few days after the summoning. But I have yet to receive any. Why?"

She put down the glass and got up, making her way to the nearest window. "Kirei told me it would certainly happen, yet... nothing," she continued her thought train as she looked out, "It can't be possible, can it? Could Lancer be actually stopping it from happening? Is it even possible?"

Suddenly, Bazett could sense Lancer on the move, the Servant's presence suddenly leaving the abandoned manor. Taken aback for a moment, she quickly recovered. "What made her suddenly leave the manor? Did it have something to do with this 'divination' of hers?" she wondered as she quickly retrieved her jacket and her metal cylinder, racing out of the manor after her Servant.

Shirou huffed and puffed, adrenalin pushing his body into overdrive. Today started like any other; Sakura and Taiga having breakfast at his house, helping the student council with repairs around the school... leaving a few exceptions like having Edelfelt talk to him that morning and helping Shinji clear up the archery dojo. It was what he found after cleaning the dojo that caused him so much distress. Chancing on two people fighting with weapons was not a normal thing. Worse, it was real weapons, weapons that were made to kill. One side was clad in red, both hands in a blur, yet he could hear the sound of metal clashing against another surface. The other was dressed in black; he seemed just as fast, casually swinging something long in his hands. It looked like... a bar of ice?

"How stupid of me," he muttered as he finally took in his surroundings. He had run into the school, of all places. He should have run into town to somewhere more populated. Feeling it was too late to regret anything now, he tiredly turned around. Nobody was chasing him. Odd. Surely they would have come after him already. He gulped in air to fill his tired lungs and murmured, "What was that?" And then a thought struck him. Thinking back to what he saw, he didn't notice it then, but now that he had a second...

"Wasn't there someone else there too?" he whispered to himself. True, it was a moonless night, but he was sure there were others there too. Watching the fight. Though, he couldn't make out who it was.

"Well, anyways..."

That was all he could say when pain suddenly filled his chest.

The moment Rider suddenly exclaimed someone was watching, Archer knew who it was. Making a hasty excuse to chase after the unknown, he took off. He knew who was watching. He knew who had stumbled upon their fight.

"At least some things didn't change," the Servant of the Bow thought as he raced up the building. This particular building was facing the opposite one that he knew the witness had run into. All he had to do was find the boy and kill him. True to his memory, he spotted the boy tiredly leaning against the wall on the second floor. An easy shot for him to make. He materializes a bow, a matte black Western-style straight, as well as a simple black arrow. Stance ready. Arrow notched. Bow raised. String drawn. Aim. Fire.

To the heart.

Having done so, he had go to the boy. Not to check; the shot was fatal, so death was certain. No, he had to make sure he stayed dead. This time.

Before he made his way down, he noticed a figure on the opposite roof. An odd figure in black and white, it looks like. He looked at it intently when it suddenly melted away from sight. He narrowed his eyes; that was sure to be another Servant. Which one, he did not know. He stared at the empty roof a moment more before going to make sure the boy stayed dead.

Rin, Luvia and Rider ran after the supposed witness the Servant spotted. They chased after him into the school and after a flight or two, found him. Someone familiar to two of them.

"Oh no... Shirou..." the blond Edelfelt exclaimed in a hushed tone. She stood there frozen in place while Rider and the other girl got closer for a better look.

"What..." sounded the Tohsaka heir in shock, which then became a glare that was directed to the black shaft sticking out of his chest. "Archer... you had better have a good explanation for this," she growled out. This was certainly not what she had planned. Hypnosis was a better alternative after all. Plus, she was also forced into a position to break the news to Sakura. Something she rather not do.

"I don't know how you people do things," said Rider, rather subdued, "But this is overkill. Why did he do this?"

"I do not have to explain myself to you," Archer replied, suddenly appearing, walking from the opposite end of the hall. Turning to his Master, he said, "Rin, I..."

"I can still save him," the black haired girl suddenly said, calmly digging into her pocket as she knelt at the boy's head, "He is still breathing, but barely. If I could just..."

"Rin."

She looked up to her Servant.

"The War is kept secret for a reason," the tanned Servant said, "It is better that..."

"You will save the boy now or she dies."

Rin got up and spun around. The Servants tensed up and faced the owner of the voice. There stood Luvia but it wasn't her that spoke. It was the owner of the blade that was pressed to her neck. The person who had his other arm draped in front of her shoulders was dressed in odd clothes, reminiscent of a naval officer of old. What stood out was what he had as his head. A black skull.

Commentary:-

Sorry! Sorry! I must say sorry! For two reasons. One, Saber not being in this chapter. I know, I know, I said she would be here but I packed in way too much for this one day that I have to split it into two parts. For sure, chapter 4 will have Saber. Really! Second, I misspelled a name. It is Xer Blade, not Zer Blade. Bad typo.

Alright, that out of the way. MadFrog! Thine second guess was spot on. That is who Lancer is.

Back to the chapter. I left more clues to the Servant's identities. Caster's and Rider's identity may or may not be clear. Lancer's identity, maybe less clear to some readers. Assassin... well, it's hit or miss. If any of you played his game before, you will most likely know him instantly. Though, I can also say the same for Caster and Rider.

Also, what do you think of that little cat fight I put in? My friendly neighbourhood beta, Mincemaker had a nice laugh about it and suggested an omake with them fighting in a pro wrestling setting with Rider selling tickets. Maybe.

As usual, please read and review... would you kindly?