Lancer's Master was called Rin Tohsaka. I had no idea who that girl was, I only knew that she was a magus who belonged to the Mage's Association, but everything else was completely unknown to me. Her Servant—Lancer—looked like a great warrior and, when he began to attack, I had a confirmation. The man was as fast and agile as Saber, but his attacks were much more powerful; my Servant used her swords to parry the enemy's attacks, but it was clear that he had a slight advantage over her. The man's spear made very fast cuts and, as if that weren't enough, it could even turn into a sword; when that happened, his fighting style changed immediately. The first phase of the duel ended with Saber flying against a tree after being hit by the enemy's right fist. I immediately ran to her aid.
"No, stay away, Master! This guy is freakin' dangerous…!"
Lancer immediately returned to the attack, but Saber dodged the blade with catlike agility and counterattacked using both silver and gold swords. Both weapons were thrown not with the intention of injuring Lancer, but to force him onto the defensive. I immediately understood my Servant's plan and, when I saw her advance to launch the decisive attack, I was crossed by a rush of endorphins.
But Lancer managed to parry the blow.
My heart froze and I saw Saber's shocked expression. The man, with a satisfied grimace, did not miss the golden opportunity and knocked Saber down.
"Sorry, sorry, I didn't want to ruin your whole plan… But it was pretty obvious what you were doing."
Lancer didn't pronounce those words arrogantly or ironically, he looked more like a veteran trying to teach the rookie how to fight. Saber got up quickly and, surprisingly, did not let herself be discouraged by the failure of her strategy, in fact she resumed the offensive with even more determination. At first it seemed like she wanted to repeat the same move as before, and that was worrying me, but then I noticed a change in her movements. I had no idea what Saber's intention was, but I just hoped it would work. The girl threw both the golden and the silver sword at the enemy, obviously this stopped the projectiles with great skill, so she attacked directly with the weapon she was holding. One, two, three hits and none of them hurt Lancer. Then there was the fourth… a feint. The man was taken aback and the two swords, the golden one and the silver one, came out of nowhere and wounded him in the right leg and at his left side. Saber's kick finished off the magnificent combination. Lancer fell to the ground wounded, yes, but not defeated.
"I'm too old for these things," he said as he stood up. "Well, it's very fortunate that my Master can provide me with all the magical energy I need. I don't think you can say the same, Saber."
"Are you really trying to make me lose focus with these tricks, Lancer? I mean, don't you realize you're at a disadvantage so far?"
"You young people are always too sure of yourself." Lancer's body was enveloped in blue energy, it looked like a kind of magical armor. "Now is the time to teach you a little humility."
The two Servants clashed again. Saber nimbly avoided the opponent's attacks, by now she had understood his tactics, and prepared to eliminate him. As the girl delivered the fatal blow, her blade stopped against Lancer's skin… she didn't cut it. It was as if the man's body was made of rock. She immediately tried to back away, but he seized the opportunity and launched a lightning-fast attack that wounded Saber's belly.
"Saber! Hold on!" I yelled running towards her.
The girl managed to fall to her feet, but I immediately noticed that she was losing a lot of blood.
"Saber!"
"Don't worry, Master, I can go on. It's nothing."
"Your notion of 'nothing' is somewhat strange, Saber," Rin commented. "You should trust your Master, you know? That body you have is just a shell and my Lancer will be able to penetrate it easily and, when your Spirit Core is destroyed, you will be dead. So if you want to live, you'd better let go of your pride and withdraw."
"My pride, huh…?" Saber pushed me. "Do you think it takes so little to stop me? I'm not just a Servant who dresses like a high school girl… there's divine blood in my veins… and now I'll show you!"
Lancer came running and the girl remained motionless then, when the distance between the two had become practically non-existent, she threw the silver sword at him; he blocked it, but in doing so he left an opening for the golden sword. The golden blade struck the warrior's body, it didn't destroy that kind of magical protection, but the impact was so powerful that he flew against three trees in sequence and finally fell into the urban area.
When I realized that the battle would move to an inhabited area, I tried to prevent Saber from reaching the opponent but she had already left. I looked at Rin and immediately noticed that she didn't seem the least bit concerned about what had happened to her Servant. Worse: she didn't seem to care that the battle had actually moved to the urban area.
Actually I wasn't too surprised by Rin's almost complete indifference, experience with Father Egidius had taught me that even a virtuous magus was capable of seeing human beings as worthless barbarians. I reached the Via del Colle road. Lancer was right there, still stunned by the blow, and Saber was on the roof of a house. The girl called to her the golden sword, which began to burn like fire, and she threw it right at her rival.
"Burn, Lancer!"
An explosion of fire, followed by winds of flame, destroyed several cars that had been parked and, fortunately, did not reach the houses.
"Saber, stop!" I yelled. "Stop fighting!"
I had no intention of using the Command Seal, but she was passing the mark. I couldn't let civilians get involved. Meanwhile, I was noticing that Lancer was recovering quite quickly. The wounds in his body were already healing and, I admit, it was bothering me. The more Lancer remained alive, the more Saber kept fighting. My goal was no longer to defeat that man and his Master, now I only had in mind to end the battle as fast as possible.
I heard Rin's voice:
"This is the problem when dealing with Heroic Spirits with good Magic Resistance. My Lancer is not immune to magic, of course, but he has a good defense against the little tricks of your Saber." She approached me.
The fact that she hadn't decided to attack me from behind relaxed and unsettled me at the same time. Maybe she was a good person who wished to be honorable, or she was so powerful that she was sure she could defeat me at any moment, or she considered me too weak to be worthy of a real battle.
"Lancer," she said, "Proof of Friendship, now."
"Uh huh," he exclaimed immediately closing the distance with Saber.
The man used his right arm and grabbed the girl's wrist. She tried to get rid of him, but in that moment I saw her fall from roof. Something bad was happening, she was kind of stunned.
"Saber! Saber!"
She didn't answer.
"Curse! What have you done?"
"You can't do anything for her anymore," Rin said. "My Servant just stripped her of the only mana reserves she had left and, considering she had few, she won't be able to react for a while. You have decided to rely only on brute force and not on strategy and this is what happened. Now is the time to close the games. Lancer, kill her."
I couldn't let that happen, but I couldn't reach Saber… she was too far away. In spite of everything I ran towards her, shouted her name:
"Saber! Saber! Saber, open your eyes! Do not die! SABER!"
I lost my voice from shouting her name. I felt something throbbing, it was inside me, in my chest, and it wanted to get out. There was something that wanted to go out from me and hug Saber so it could protect her from Lancer. It was a living, warm, powerful energy that moved inside me like a river and was just waiting to be released outwards. I raised my arms towards my Servant and saw a flow of energy come out of my hands… it looked like a river made of stars. Words came out of my mouth whose meaning I didn't even know:
"Ἄρτεμις, Πότνια Θηρῶν, ασπίδα (Artemis, Ptonia theròn, aspída)!"
A wall made of stars appeared around Saber. Not even Lancer's spear was able to penetrate it and, confused as I was, I was happy to have managed to save my Servant's life. But the happiness was soon followed by a strong sense of fatigue and dizziness; I found myself at Rin's feet. Her gaze was curious, but it was clear that she wasn't going to stand there looking at me. She raised her hand to me.
"My compliments, Saber's Master, you actually managed to surprise me, but you got nothing. She won't die, but you will. Your only luck is that I'm not a psycho, so I won't kill you. But know that the next time we meet, I won't be so kind. I advise you to rethink my offer: this war is not the right place for someone like you. You better quit."
She turned and walked away with Lancer.
I got up, slowly and with difficulty. I felt I had bricks on my shoulders and stones in my thighs. For every step I took I was hit with severe dizziness and had to stop. I had no idea what was happening to me, but I was about to fall again. I took one step at a time, being careful not to lose my balance. Saber was still protected by that magical wall I had created. I couldn't drag her to my house and so I just took her off the street. When I reached the grass, I finally let myself fall next to her.
I had a dream…
It was a strange dream…
The old woman in armor was cuddling my head with motherly affection. We were both under a tree whose leaves were made of stars and colored dust that floated around the wood. The night sky was empty, there was no moon to look at us, but the pale figure of the deer pierced that darkness, descended from above and walked in the ground. The sacred animal kissed my palm and left, leaving a glow on my hand through which I could see a story. It was the story of a dancer, the most beautiful ever, and of a great warrior, the strongest ever, and of a fight against a demon that ended under a fiery sunset. The two lovers lived together until the death of the warrior. The story ended with the dancer wails of sadness and the glow in my hand disappeared.
"Destiny has chosen what your fate will be. Also in your story there will be a woman of great beauty, a terrible demon, and a love that will end in solitude. This is your path, Pietro."
"Who are you talking about? Which love? With who? I didn't choose it…"
"Your choices don't matter, you've already taken the first step. Now you have to move forward."
"Move… forward…?"
I closed my eyes for just a moment.
I opened my eyes. On my back I no longer felt the grass, but the softness of my bed. I recognized my room immediately, but Saber wasn't there. I got up straight away, however in doing so I fell to the ground due to yet another dizziness; nevertheless it was not as strong as those who had knocked me out. I managed to get up easily and then I realized that Saber's shoes were next to my bed and her backpack was on my chair.
"Saber? Are you… in Spiritual Form? Saber, are you here?"
The door opened.
"Ah, Pietro, you're standing!" Mom hugged me. "Thank God you're fine! Your father and I were so worried about you!"
"Huh? Mom, what happened…?"
"You don't remember, do you? My child, you have no idea… You were dazed, you were talking nonsense and you were feverish. Sometimes you fell asleep, then you talked in your sleep and you also said nonsense. It's very fortunate that you didn't pass out, otherwise it would've been a real problem. How are you? Everything is fine? Do you want to get some sleep?"
"I… er…"
"What's happening, Elisa?" Dad asked as he entered the room.
"Giuseppe, look: Pietro is fine! Our son is fine!"
"Pietro! You made me worry so much!" He hugged me too. "I don't know what happened, but I'm glad you recovered. You had a fever, Pietro, a high fever and you were in a constant state of semi-consciousness."
"Just like when he had chickenpox. Do you remember it, Giuseppe? Do you remember when he had chickenpox?"
"You're right, honey, it was the same thing. Maybe it's some kind of new disease? Perhaps it's linked to this terrible climate? Who knows… But how are you, Pietro? Can you walk?"
"Yes, I can. But…"
"Well, great. I'll go straight to tell Sofia and your friend too, they'll be happy to know you're okay."
"My friend…?"
"Oh yes, she was so sweet," Mom exclaimed with two eyes full of joy. "You know, she was the one who brought you home and she decided to wait here during your recovery."
"Can I… uh… see her…?"
"Sure, are you sure you can get up? Don't force yourself, okay?"
"I can do it, Mom… I just want… to see one thing…"
I walked into the hall and Saber was on the sofa with my ten-year-old sister, Sofia. They were both watching television and having a laugh. Luckily, Saber had remembered to hide her ears and tail, but the fact that she had blatantly violated our promise didn't make me very happy; but it was also true that she had saved my life, so I was grateful… But still irritated.
"Sab—rina."
She turned and her eyes widened. She immediately got off the sofa and, together with Sofia, she hugged me.
"Thanks… for helping me… er… Sabrina. I owe you a favor."
"Well, in a way, you saved me too, right? I mean, you help me and I help you."
"You're right… sure… yeah… um, Sabrina, could you—"
"So," Dad began, "are you Pietro's new girlfriend?"
"Dad!" I exclaimed with a face so hot I could cook eggs on it.
"I was just wondering. You're both young, cute, and I bet you'd make a great match."
"Dad! No!"
"Ahah! No, no! Mas—Pietro and I are just, like, good friends and all, y'know? Only good friends, yes, yes."
"Who's Maspietro?" Sofia asked with two wide eyes.
"Well, you know, it's just a joke we play with each other in high school…" I said, sweating like on a summer day.
"And what would be the fun part?" Dad asked confused.
"Well… er… you know… er… mm… Sabrina! Don't you have to go home?"
"Yeah! Exactly! I have, like, to go home! I wanna go home! That would be totes amazing! Home!" She headed for the exit.
"Excuse me," my mom said, "don't you take the backpack and shoes?"
"Right right! Backpack and shoes! I left them…" She began to search with her eyes.
"In my room," I murmured.
"In the room of the Mas—Pietro!"
She took a moment off and went out with her backpack and shoes.
"Well, now I have to go! See ya!"
Then my dad intervened, "Well, if that's okay with you, I can take you home. It seems rude to me to let you go alone after everything you've done for Pietro. I bet your parents are worrying about you. Since I have a car, it doesn't take long…Where do you live?"
"In Viale Vittorio Veneto!" she exclaimed as red as a tomato.
'I'm fucked,' I thought.
"Huh? Nearby? And where exactly?"
"Well, you see…"
'I'm fucked, fucked, fucked, fucked,…'
"I mean, is it really that important to know where I live? Because, you know, I'm, like, a citizen of the world! I live everywhere! Every place is, like, my home and thereì's no wall that can keep me prisoner! This city is my home! This world is my home! Mount Suzuka is my home! And now, if you don't mind, I disappear into the fog where I'm awaited by the whole world! Ahahah!"
She slammed the door.
A long moment of silence.
"So she's a Communist," my dad commented.
"What is Mount Suzuka?" my mom asked.
"I still haven't figured out who Maspietro is," Sofia concluded.
I don't know how we did it, but in the end we were able to protect the secret. At the first opportunity that came into my hands, I went back to my room and, locked the door, opened the window to allow Saber to enter. Her ears and tail popped up again.
"Where did you hide the sword?" I asked curiously.
She opened the wardrobe and took it out.
"You have risked a lot, do you know that? But thank you, Saber. You saved my life."
"You saved mine too, right?"
"Yeah, right, but… I'm sorry I didn't win against Rin and Lancer. They were really strong opponents, I can't deny it, but I would've liked to defeat them. Now I feel like a burden."
"Why do you say that?" she asked as she took off her shoes.
"Because it's true. I mean, it's my fault that you're weak. I am a novice magus and I cannot give you so much magical energy, that's a fact. If I had been stronger…"
"Yeah, but don't dwell too much on what happened, 'kay?" She lay down on the bed. "The more you think about it the worse it is, Master. Now you just have to think about one thing: the next battle. We need to be, like, ready for the next time we face Lancer… maybe we need, like, a strategy."
"A strategy, huh? What do you have in mind?"
"Dunno. I prefer to do the fun part, I'll leave the rest to you. I've to think of a way to become the top of the class and get the attention of my ideal boyfriend. Do you have, like, any suggestions? You know, 'cuz I could use some help from my Master."
"Pass."
February 4th, Friday
A body was discovered at school. It was the body of the gym teacher, Mr. DeRosa. I didn't know how he died, in fact no one had any idea yet, and the strange thing is that, from what I knew, the murder weapon had not been found. The body, which had been found in the second floor corridor by a janitor, had an anomalous wound that could not be attributed to either a stabbing weapon or a bullet. This was what was said on the news that afternoon:
"According to the police, the man was killed with an unconventional weapon, something still unknown that dug into the victim's chest and ripped out his heart. The investigations are proceeding with great difficulty and there is no idea who could have committed such an atrocity. Antonio DeRosa, a professor of gymnastics at the Galilei high school, had been married for just two years and had a son of just four months. The wife asks for justice, asks for answers."
I watched the news with a broken heart. I did not know the man personally, for me he had always been just a gym teacher, but his death left me with a bitter taste in my mouth, especially because I already knew it was the fault of the Holy Grail War. Saber and I talked about the thing in my room.
"Those killer robots, they did it. I'm sure," I said after sitting on the bed. "Who else could it have been?"
"Lancer's Master, for example," Saber suggested as she sat down in the chair. "She has all the air of being a dangerous girl."
"Yes, but… During our battle she didn't try to attack me even once. And…"
I was thinking over everything that had happened during the fight. Not only had Rin chosen not to attack me directly, but she had also ordered Lancer to stun Saber. Sure, she had only done it in order to kill her, but if she hadn't made that decision the battle would have gone on and civilians would have been involved. Maybe I was just projecting my hopes on an unknown person, but I was sure that all the choices Rin made had a very specific reason.
"Maybe I misjudged her. Maybe she's not a magus like the others, I think it's better to take that into consideration…"
"Uh? What do you mean?"
"What if Rin is a good person? A person we can trust? She could be a great ally, don't you think?"
"I think you have, like, totes forgotten what happened during the battle. I dunno why you wanna ally yourself with her, but I ask you to think again. I say this for you, 'cuz I want to win this war."
"Me too, but—"
"But…?"
"Not like this. We have to face reality, Saber: I'm not a good Master. I'm inexperienced and I can't guarantee you that we will be able to win. We have to adopt an efficient strategy."
"You can train—"
"There's no training that can allow me to become a good magus quickly. I will always be one step behind the others. When we fought Rin, I only survived because she took pity on me. The other Masters won't do the same, you understand that? The only chance we have is to try to talk to Rin in order to convince her to become our ally. We need her, Saber."
She wasn't totally convinced, I could tell from her look, and if I have to be honest, I wasn't completely convinced of my plan either. What I was doing was moving on my instincts and this was telling me to attempt an alliance with Rin. I knew it would be risky, but I had no choice but to try.
That night, as I went to bed, I remembered the words said by the old lady in armor. I thought back to the 'love story' she had talked about and, part of me, had the urge to laugh… but the other was scared. I didn't feel ready to start a romantic relationship with one person and, above all, my heart hadn't led me to anyone. But, the most important thing, was:
'Who?'
Maybe Saber? Sure, she was a beautiful girl and there were things I liked about her, but I didn't feel that I was in love with her. When I was with her I didn't feel anything strange, I considered her more like a friend or a colleague. Plus she was blatantly interested in seeking the love of her life and she had made it clear, on more than one occasion, that it wasn't me. So I didn't need to think too much about it.
Maybe it was my classmate? Who? Silvia? She and I were just friends, and sure, I'd had a crush on her in elementary school—like everyone else—but over time, I'd started treating her more like a sister.
Maybe Rin? Lancer's mysterious Master? Sure, she was charming in her own way, but I couldn't see myself being in a romantic relationship with her.
'A love that will end in solitude', these were the words of the old woman. This could only mean one thing: that starting a romance would involve endangering the girl or myself. This was the scariest thing. I didn't want to suffer and I didn't want to let others suffer. The only thing I could do was try to avoid such a possibility. If fate directed me to go in a certain direction, the only thing I could do was go the other way.