"Hm hm hm…" Jeanne hums happily as she and Maverick walk down a street. The area, being part of a rather developed town, while rather vacant of souls, is filled with stores, and Jeanne's gaze wanders as she strolls through the place. Her Master, on the other hand, while also smiling as he walks by her, has his gaze mostly fixed.
The pair of eyes then match, and both widen. While the Master continues smiling, the young woman stares at him, prompting him to look away. As he does, while unbeknownst to him, the saint acts as he expected, which is to say glare at him. He then hears her sigh, and turns over to find her looking away.
At this sight, he too sighs before looking away.
Unbeknownst to him, what prompted the Berserker's sigh, while due to a degree of disappointment at his reaction, was not due to what he thought, which is to say her dislike of him.
…
Days have passed since the formation of the alliance between the Archer and Berserker pairs. As part of their pact, the Berserker duo remained in the Master of Archer's mansion, where the non-mage learned about mages and Masters, with practical training mixed into his curriculum.
While no progress has been made, the group remains patient. However, one of them was less than patient about another matter, which led to the Berserker duo's current situation.
…
"Hm…" Jeanne hums after some sightseeing, glaring as her hand rests at her chin. "What is it?" Her Master asks, and she shrugs her shoulders before sighing. "Guess we can just go back." As they walk, her Master frowns while watching her.
"Oh, all done with your date?" "Date?!" Jeanne replies in a panic, and a startled Maverick continues to frown at her, before the pair's eyes widen. With a pull of his wrist, she moves him away from where the voice came, where a man stands.
A cap, sunglasses, and a facemask. These prevent Maverick and Jeanne from ascertaining anything about the stranger, who sports an unassuming light blue jacket. There was, however, a feature of the man that is rather unique.
"Woah there, relax." The somewhat short stranger says as Jeanne glares at him, her stance ready for violence despite the lack of steel in her arms. "Is he a Servant?" Maverick asks his own Servant, who continues to glare at the masked man. "I can't tell."
"Listen." The unnamed man continues, "I have no intention of fighting. I just want to talk." "All right." Maverick responds. "From what I can see, you two seem to have found an ally. I was hoping they could join us." "Right. And we should bother cause?" Jeanne butts in, less diplomatic than her Master.
"Just a suggestion." "From what we know so far, you are… Assassin, right?" Maverick asks. "I won't comment on that." Letting out a sigh, Maverick gives his answer, prompting Jeanne to also sigh before she nods.
…
"Say, when you were talking to that guy, you were thinking about something?" Jeanne asks Maverick. Joined by Diamandis and Archer in the mage's mansion, the four discuss the encounter Maverick and Jeanne had.
At the question, Maverick scratches his cheek while answering. "I don't think that's actually Assassin." Seeing others stare, he continues. "Well, ninjas usually work in groups, or at least work best in groups, and they would be an Assassin, so I figured Assassins wouldn't work alone."
As others continue staring, the young man continues, once again scratching his cheek as he does. "I just like ninjas." Jeanne lets out a chuckle as Maverick continues to smile, and with Archer also smiling, his Master, excluding himself from the others, speaks up.
"In that vein, do you think he could be a ninja?" Maverick shrugs his shoulders, and with Diamandis' gaze persisting, he backs off slightly, heart racing as he continues smiling.
"Hei prim pom! Give the… I mean, give him a break! We met that asshole for like what, five minutes!" As Jeanne continues glaring at the mage, the others stare at her. "Prim pom, as in prim and proper mixed with pompous?" Maverick asks, once again smiling as he does. "Um!" Jeanne responds excitedly, prompting a chuckle from Maverick before they turn to the others.
"I will explain another time." Maverick says to Archer, and as he does, the bowman's Master continues showing his 'approval' towards his allies, a gesture Jeanne reciprocates.
"Anyways," Maverick continues, taking out a phone as he does, "Quote unquote Assassin said we could use this to get in touch." The scene prompts Diamandis to continue, still glaring as he does. "You brought an enemy's phone into my place?"
"Calm yourself, Master." His Servant interjects, Maverick staring and Jeanne still glaring at Diamandis as he does. "If there was magic, you would know. If it was modern sorcery, is that not what the mansion's defenses are for?" At the bowman's words, Diamandis lets out a sigh as Maverick once again smiles.
"So?" Jeanne proceeds to ask Diamandis, the two still exchanging glares as she does.
…
An open field, the closest signs of civilization some distance away. The night sky hangs above as Maverick and co meet up with the stranger at the location, the unnamed man arriving on a motorcycle.
"I would like for us to build a mutually beneficial relationship. In exchange for allowing me to stay in the War, at least right up to the moment you finish it, I will not attack any of you. I will also share information with you, provided doing so does not jeopardize me." After the unnamed man speaks, Diamandis, who is covered up, speaks.
"Was his guess about your identity correct?" With him referring to the Maverick, his inquiry gets a nod, and at his call, the members of his team gather up. "I do think an alliance is beneficial." Archer says, a sentiment Maverick agrees with. The other two, however, seem less pleased.
"Nothing. Just kinda pissed that he found us so easily." Jeanne says upon Maverick's inquiry, and the group turns to Diamandis. "Say Diamandis, is there something you wanna say to Ja- I mean, Berserker?" The mage's glare shifts to the young woman's Master, the Servant growling at his act.
The mage then sighs. "We will talk about it later. About Assassin, we should take his offer."
After getting the group's answer, 'Assassin' remains silent for a while before continuing. "Speaking of information, there is something I think you would like to know." "Ya?" At Maverick's question, the unnamed Servant continues. "It is about someone you two have met." After the supposed Assassin continues, the young man's eyes widen.
"You know all eyes will be on your group." 'Assassin goes on, mounting his bike as he does, with him then turning to Archer. "Especially you." He then looks up into the sky, "Most of us prefer to hide our identities, but truth be told, it won't matter for you, would it? Not too much, at least. After all, any knight can slay a dragon, but a typhoon?"
As the unnamed Servant leaves, Maverick turns to the Servant he referred to, and the sight prompts him to call. "Archer?" The call prompts the giant to turn over and smile. "He is not mistaken." Maverick continues to frown at the demigod, who turns to the others.
Soon, they find themselves back at Diamandis' mansion, and Diamandis' gaze causes Jeanne to pause. "What? She responds, her tone laced in anger, and the mage takes a deep breath. Then, still angered, he speaks.
"Do you have any idea what could have happened? A little urge and you got yourself compromised?" The saint waves dismissively at the mage. "Whatever. It ended up well, didn't it?" "And if it was someone less diplomatic? You are a Servant summoned to fight a Holy Grail War, not some angsty teenager!"
Jeanne stares at the angered man, before she turns over to her Master. The young man catches her gaze, but says nothing. In response, she stares before turning around and leaves. As Diamandis too goes, Maverick stands frozen.
"Go be by her side." Archer says with a smile, but his ally remains frozen. "Go on." The hero pushes the young man, verbally and physically, prompting said young man to take a deep breath and run.
In their room, the young woman sits on the bed as she glares at the walls. Her intensity then vaporizes, and she covers her face. From the side, her Master slowly walks up to her. As he stands by her side, she looks at him, her usual anger displaced by something else.
The Master, on the other hand, despite his racing heart, forces himself to smile. The sight causes the young woman's eyes to widen, and her hands then cover her face once more. "You can sit…"