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The following is a fan-based

FICTION

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Chapter 5: Fish n' Fly

"Something on your mind?"

Ria felt somewhat provoked into an outburst by that stupid question. The fact her Servant was smiling knowingly further drove in her the concept that he was aware of this. It's been a long day yesterday, and even now she wasn't sure how to handle the many things that had unfolded. The one thing that kept her thoughts busiest the most was her 'alliance' with Ana.

Ana was not supposed to take part in this. Not because she was young, but because she wasn't looking at this mess with the right perspective. Ria didn't have the heart to tell her this much, not when her own interest to be her friend to the end and her own Servant egging on her. It also didn't help when that idiot Saber just took this news with delight and even engaged in some advice-sharing with Rider.

There was just something stupid about allowing these two to plot, and yet the blonde's priorities had been overruled by the squeaky bundle of delight that Ana normally wasn't. It was odd to see her this giddy about something, this keen to go for the hugging but... maybe there was something about this whole thing which made her fantasies of being the heroine of her stories come true.

It was childish, there was no doubt in her mind about it, but the way Ana looked so happy truly pained her as she knew why she was so overjoyed. With her fantasies coming true, the sheer neglect the bespectacled girl had to go through was all forfeited in the name of being the heroine. A change was before them, and Ana wanted the best out of it.

She already knew what wish she would go for, the girl just too interested to leave her sisters and live with her. Legally impossible without some lawsuits hurled at Ria, but feasible within the limits of a supposed wish-granting device. Was that a selfish wish? Yes. Was it a horrible one? No. But what really worried Ria wasn't much the wish itself, but how it would be tackled.

'I want to live with Ria' could mean so many things and Joseph had confirmed the Grail had no mind-reading feature which allowed it to know the specific details of how the wisher wanted this to go. It could be through a deadly accident which ends up killing Ana's family and it would open up adoption, it could be these two stuck in the house without any mundane means to leave it unless they are with each other, or it could even go something more awkward such as marriage.

That was just something that she couldn't digest for several reasons. She was too young (and Ana even younger), she didn't see Ana that way, and her father would chew her up. In fact, she could imagine the old fool get up from his bedridden lair, storm to Japan and then personally murder her for the mess that would lead to.

Not a lovely view of one's father, but Ria was aware of this already and she didn't want to indulge her father's interest to be a bastard to his daughters.

It was now morning and it was quite strange to not have to worry about getting up early for school. Odd but not unusual as it was normal on weekends. Ria didn't like having this gut feeling she should be moving- be around- do anything rather than be this slow-paced in her wake up ordeal.

Yet, Saber had been adamant for her to take it easy on this early part of the morning and she reluctantly did so. The blonde's need to be productive gnawed at her with no end, but she persisted in the lazy pace and... she felt somewhat eased into the Saturday. She huffed, eyes closing as she enjoyed the meal her Servant made for her and then, rightfully so, proceeded to groan when she heard someone ringing the doorbell.

Luckily for her, she had already switched to a proper outfit to go and check for potential important details outdoors. A gray beret rested on her head, a pair of reading glasses followed through, a half-sleeved dark-gray shirt and a brown skirt complimented by black stockings and dark-blue boots.

Yesterday wasn't just a time for surprises, but to update her current understanding of the war. With her little war room set within a side of the bedroom, right beside Merlin's shrine, Ria started to change things in there. The map of Fuyuki now had a small circle and a tiny picture of a smiling Ana right by her own house/manor, Rider written under her name.

They now knew three Servants and four more had yet to be discovered. It was slow progress, but now that she had a loyal ally, Ria was willing to relax a bit. Said relax broke easily when she walked up to the door, followed by a worryingly quiet Saber and ending up answering the door to a very familiar redhead and an unfamiliar blue-haired young man.

The man grinned. "Are ya the Master of Saber, lil' lass?"

Wait, wait, wait!

"...What?"

"Master of Saber, the big guy right beside ya," The guy continued, his accent familiar yet she couldn't put a finger on where she heard something like that before. "Still, I am here to talk with ya."

Master of Lancer, that's what this man was and he wanted to talk with her? After his Servant had tried to kill her? Ria was about to drop the roughest roast possible on this asinine attempt to draw anything diplomatic out of this unplanned meeting, when he retrieved something out of his bag which stunned her.

"And we brought you a nice big fish and a nice recipe to cook it in the name of peace!"

Ria drew a lengthy sigh as she saw Lancer facepalm at this development, but then she glanced at Saber with a serious look.

"Can it be cooked?"

The brunet smiled confidently. "It is of quality."

That sounded good enough for her.

"I will allow this talk, but you have to swear on your life that this is not a trap."

He smiled, a bit too cockily in her opinion. "I swear that I, Setanta Cuhullin, am too poor to afford any traps."

The confession was a bit too blunt and it offered too much of a general reason for his relatively harmless nature as it was soon proved by Lancer's reaction to this admission.

"M-Master, don't go around and reveal your weakness like that!" Lancer exploded, outraged and embarrassed by this confession.

"Bah, the little missy is clearly more reasonable than that hag Ninsuna," The man rebuked. "Also, I bring info if we are willing to talk about potential alliances."

Ria could only frown at this, but soon they were sitting by the living room, the fish having been stored properly and breakfast being provided to Setanta as the man suddenly wolfed down the meal without much of a thought put behind the action. It was clear he had been starving a bit which made Ria wonder how poor he was if he couldn't afford a normal breakfast.

"Ah yes, this is indeed the thing."

The blonde sighed. "Why are you trying to get an alliance with me?"

"Hm?" He mumbled quizzically mid-bite, gulping quickly and then taking a moment to think on his words to answer. "Well, that's simple. My former ally, the Master of Caster, tried to backstab me while Lancer was fighting Saber."

...

"So, the point of this situation is that-"

"I want a way to kill the Master of Caster for backstabbing me."

"And what prevents you from doing the same to Ria? It's not an accusation, but a reasonable concern," Joseph piped in with the right question.

Lancer nodded. "My Master is an honorable man that was willing to sacrifice his chances of claiming a wish from the Grail in the name of a favor. Likewise, I believe he would do the same in the name of this favor you could provide him."

"Yet, this isn't the only thing he is asking for, an alliance," The blonde commented, turning her gaze to Setanta. "What else do you seek?"

"A place where to live, and a place where to be given the chance to share meals in return of paying a rent if necessary," The Magus answered readily. "I do have a job right now, but the pay doesn't allow me to live in a proper flat. The small warehouse at the docks doesn't help much so..."

"You seek to live here at a cheap and affordable price."

"...Yes."

Ria wanted to object for several reasons, but Saber looked quite... amused by this whole ordeal. He would have been annoyed and asked questions if he had found the entire offer unconvincing and, to an extent, she could tell no lie was uttered. At the same time, she was not confident of being lenient. Not when his Servant had tried to kill her merely a few days ago. So, Ria decided to add one last test.

"I will decide on this question if you will answer three questions of mine, Lancer."

"I..." She paused, looking at her Master and relaxing at his nod. "I will do it.

Good, let's see how reasonable this Servant really was.

"Do you hate me on a personal level?"

The redhead blinked. "No."

"Do you seek to kill me without your Master's approval?"

"No."

"In the eventuality it would favor your Master's standing in the war, would you go out of your way and betray us without input?"

"No."

Ria sighed loudly, knowing that Lancer had answered truthfully by how confident she was on those questions.

"I am willing to extend you and your Master the right of being our guests, but for the establishment of an alliance, I would prefer for my current ally to be there too."

Setanta's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? And wait, you actually have an ally?"

"Yes? What about it?"

"It's been just a day or two, how did you find one so easily?!"

She shrugged. "Luck."

And Luck was going to be a recurring factor in some circumstances that were soon to unfold. Good and bad ones.

The airplane finally landed much to one of the Masters' relief. It's been hours, and her body was still unprepared for the trip- jetlag and anything that comes with it.

Sighing, the young woman mumbled something to her tall bodyguard and saw him carry all her bags out of the plane with ease, catching the attention of the other passengers at this sight. Two slightly taller women followed the elegant looking 'princess' from Europe, each sparing anyone watching a passing blank look.

It was an unusual sight, even for those that were accustomed to see Europeans through business trips in the city or beyond. The elegance, the purity in their pale-blonde or white hair, and the size of that monstrous behemoth of a man that acted as a bodyguard and bag-carrier just brought a sense of uniqueness within the scene. But to the leader of the group, that glancing was unimportant. She didn't leave her castle to be bothered by simple people.

She was there for a job, something that she had taught herself to be ready for. That had pushed her beyond the limits of her own sanity as a child and allowed her to grow into a proper adult. Red eyes which seemed to carry a glacial drive were only filled with barely-held rage as the time to provide an end to her pain's suffering was within reach.

Yet, it was best to not allow that anger to take over. She had things to do first rather than force her way through Fuyuki to find the Grail. That wouldn't do, not after years of preparing for this very moment- she couldn't ruin it due to an emotional need for revenge.

"First we set up a base at the local castle, and then we plot the end of the Holy Grail."

AN

Setanta reappears, and a certain 'little' Einzbern isn't truly that little.

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