With a noble duel on the horizon (as in less than 10 minutes), Kazuha knew he needed to find a weapon. Not just any weapon, one he can wield with his entire heart and soul. He doubted that there were any in this place that he'd be able to synchronise with to the extent he does with the formerly cursed blade or the sword Traveler gave him, but just a standard katana would do in the meantime. There were a plethora of Servants dressed like those from his homeland and he was aware there was a blacksmith among those numbers.
'Please have one…' Kazuha prayed as he hurriedly searched for the blacksmith. He wanted to get back before the twins returned with his opponent.
As he was running around, he soon bumped into one of the very very few Servants he knew the name of. "Yo, Master," Cu casually greeted him, "Where you running off to?"
"Hello," Kazuha paused to say. "Do you know which way the forge is? I forgot." More like he didn't know in the first place but Cu didn't question it.
"You mean that old man's room? It should be thataway," he off-handedly pointed down another hall. "Why do need to see him for?"
"It's… a long story," Kazuha answered. "Thank you for your help." He dashed down the other hallway, leaving a confused and confused Cu behind.
"...Ah, what the hell?" With a grin, the spearman chased after his Master, curious as to what he was up to.
"My collection? Sure." The redhead blacksmith was initially confused by Kazuha's request. He wasn't nearly as old as Kazuha thought, looking no more older than himself although he did give off the general aura of an old man somehow. In any case, the blacksmith took Kazuha to an adjacent storage room where he kept his forged blades.
"Here they are," the blacksmith presented his small arsenal. There weren't many around left as he had melted down the older and lower quality swords to reforge them but there were still some decent ones. "What'd you even need one for?" He asked but was ignored as his "Master" carefully inspected the swords.
Eventually, one caught his eye and he picked it up. Kazuha eyed the sharp edge and swung it around a bit to feel its weight. 'Just about right…' "...Can I borrow this one?"
"Go ahead, not like I'm using it for anything anyway," the blacksmith shrugged. "Just be careful with it, ya hear me? I don't want that nurse breaking down my door and confiscating everything 'cause 'Master cut himself.'"
"I'll be careful. Don't worry," Kazuha reassured him before asking about a sheath. After being pointed towards the correct one, the hidden samurai took it and bid farewell.
"...Alright, I have to see what's this about."
With a weapon procured, Kazuha rushed back to the simulator where the twins had fortunately not yet come back with Jason. That gave him some time to meditate and calm himself for the coming duel. With a lack of anything to fill the air, Kazuha could easily overhear the conversation taking place at the entrance.
"—say what he's up to?"
"Nah, he didn't make a peep to me."
It was Cu and the blacksmith talking, curious as to what he was doing. Kazuha didn't find their curiosity surprising; he did come up to them and just requested things without any explanations. It was natural for them to wonder what their "Master" was planning. For now, he paid them no mind. He knew nothing about Jason's skills beyond his leadership; while the twins didn't paint a good picture of him, it was foolish for Kazuha to underestimate him. That would be the first step to losing.
He could hear the sound of grass being stepped on as the two men approached him. Guess they decided the best way to find out was to ask him directly.
"Yo, Master!" Cu called out to him, "What exactly are doing?"
"I'm… meditating," Kazuha answered without opening his eyes. "The twins requested me to take part in a duel and I wish to clear my mind before they return."
"Twins? Hang on a second, you mean the Dioscuri!?" Cu's voice changed from his usual tone to one of intense worry. "What are they thinking asking you to fight them?! And what are you thinking accepting their challenge?!"
"Calm yourself, I am not fighting them." "Eh?" "They requested me to fight Jason to 'motivate' him." Whether or not it will motivate remains to be seen but Kazuha was more than willing to try. However, hearing his explanation did not fully ease Cu's worries.
"Jason, huh?" The spearman scoffed at the name. "That's much better but you sure you want to do this?"
"Yes," he answered with a tone that left no room for argument. "Even if I do not want to, I made a promise and intend to honour it."
"Hmm… Can't argue with that logic. I'll stick around to cheer you on. Between the two of you, I know who I want to bet on for winning." Kazuha could not see it but he was sure Cu had a fanged grin on his face. He appreciated the sentiment even though he wasn't doing it for admiration.
The blacksmith, who had been silent up till then, finally spoke up. "So… a duel, huh? In that getup of yours?"
"Hm?" Kazuha opened an eye to see the blacksmith also grinning. "What do you mean?" It took him a second to remember he was no longer using his usual clothes but a pretty simple black uniform. "I don't think I have time to change out of this nor do I have anything else to change into" …he thinks. There might have been a closet in "his" room but he was in a rush to check earlier.
The blacksmith's grin didn't disappear. "Oh, we have plenty of time knowing how that Servant acts. And I have just the thing for you to use. Let's even change the simulator for extra points."
"…huh?"
"Come on, let me go already!" The Servant known as Jason tried to pry the younger twin's hand off. He was getting dragged like a kid throwing a tantrum. "I don't need to train! I'm perfect as is! Isn't that right, Hercules!"
The massive block of meat, better known as Hercules, following them let out a small but no less terrifying growl. He was aware of the plan the Dioscuri hatched up and wanted to see how things would go.
"Say something already!"
"It's futile to resist, Jason. Trying to break from my sister's grasp is beyond anyone, especially you."
"Why do I even need to train for?! Master doesn't even ask me to fight much anymore!" Jason tried to change their minds but was naturally unsuccessful. In fact, it only further convinced them to go through with the plan.
"You're keeping Master waiting. He's been in the simulator for half an hour now."
"I don't wanna!"
It took some time but the small group of Servants finally reached the simulator where the younger twin basically threw Jason in and shut the door behind him. "OW!" He yelped in pain as he landed on his ass in the dirt. "I'll get you for this, Pollux! Mark my words! You will rue this day!" Jason declared before looking around for his Master. Might as well get it over with. "Master?! Where are you?!"
"I'm over here!"
"Huh?" The voice was faint but he was confident it came from over the hill. Jason followed it to see… a small grove of sakura trees. Sure, while the simulator can— well, simulate anything, why would there be this little holt here? "Whatever…" he grumbled to himself before going down the hill and entering the grove. After a minute of walking, he reached the centre where he finally found who he was looking for… right?
Underneath one of the trees with petals falling all around him was a kneeling figure draped in traditional Japanese clothes with a straw hat and veil covering his head and face, hiding his identity for the time beyond.
"Uh… Master?" Jason nervously asked.
His nervousness amplified tenfold when the figure slowly rose and unsheathed a glistening katana from his obi, pointing the tip at Jason. He was completely silent but his intentions were clear; he wanted a fight and was waiting for Jason to take out his own sword.
As for Jason— "…Nope!" —he turned tail and ran away.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! SAVE ME HERCULES!"
"Hahaha!"
In the attached room with the simulator's controls, most of the occupants were dying of laughter as they watched the live footage of Jason being chased by their Master over the hills.
"Here comes the final blow!"
Ritsuka saw it coming a mile away yet could not have done anything to stop it. He was already down two characters and had no useful cards or dice; he was basically waiting for not-Mash to finish him off.
"And so, once again, the winner is I— the grand champion of Liyue's King of Invocation Grand Prix!" Not-Mash celebrated her next victory, posing triumphantly while Ritsuka was left crying in the aftermath. Even if he was a new player even compared to Kazuha, she left no prisoners and didn't hold back.
This card game's role was relatively easy to pick up on but Ritsuka still stood absolutely no chance against the young lady in black. Speaking of which— "You've been slacking on your training, pupil of mine," she accused him, "It didn't escape my notice you have forgotten some of the key rules of Genius Invocation."
"Yeah, I haven't gotten the chance to play it in a while…" or ever to be truthful but she didn't need to know that.
"Ayaya, good thing I ran into you then. If you lose to anyone, it would reflect badly on me, y'know?" Ritsuka was not sure if she was being completely serious or not but apologised anyway. "Hone your skills, my student, and we shall have another match in the future," she spoke in a way reminiscent of old teachers from martial arts movies… before returning to her normal manner of speaking and cheerfully exclaiming, "Gotta get back to work. See you again, Kazuha!"
She waved goodbye before running off, leaving a tired and somewhat humiliated Ritsuka to laugh. She seemed nice if a bit weird; not really that different to what he was used to. Ritsuka glanced up to the sky and noticed it was starting to turn orange. 'Almost sundown already?' He better return to the ship and rest for the night. Hopefully, things will make more sense in the morning.
A/N: And done. As promised, long Kazuha section and short Ritsuka skit. I have sort of an idea for the next chapter but after that, not much again so I implore you, my readers, to throw me some suggestions for funny situations to throw the boys at. I need that spark of inspiration.
On that note, thank you to one of my readers who asked for the Disocuri twins which led to this first mini-arc (if you can call it that) for Kazuha's side of the story. Now I just need to figure out a mini-arc for Ritsuka…
