Disclaimer: I own nothing in this Fanfiction.
Chapter XI: Printsessa l'da
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Shiki's eyes lit up as he gazed upon the looming ice structure covering the top floors of the Hyatt Hotel. He and Rin had just arrived at the scene, and were only a few meters away from the perimeter that the authorities had set up. It was already clear that this was no 'ordinary' leak.
Rin was angered at first. What kind of Master would allow their Servant to do this then leave without covering up? Her eyes darted across the building and its surroundings as the duo walked around, examining every nook and cranny for any sort of lead.
There was security tape surrounding the building from all sides, as well as officers and police cars parked around. Rin knew that getting in would be pretty bothersome with this many people on the scene, she was absorbed in thought when she felt a pull on her coat.
"Tohsaka…" Shiki whispered, "Look over there."
Rin's gaze followed his pointing finger. It was a swarm of crows with red, bloodshot eyes perched atop an advertisement sign which hung on the side of a building nearby.
"Damn… He's spread all over the city…" Rin commented with a frown. Shiki, then stepped forwards and took off his glasses, earning an alarmed glance from both Rin and the unseen red bowman.
"Just watch…" he stated with a strained expression, the sound of his knife unsheathing clicking in his head as magical energy flowed into his eyeballs. Lifehunt enhanced his vision, and through the lines and points which riddled the area, he was able to locate what seemed to be two people, one of them collapsed on the ground while the other doing some strange movements and swaying as if drunk.
Immediately, Shiki put his glasses back on, "There are two people behind that building, one is downed on the ground while the other is acting strange, let's go!"
The Master and her Servant were left speechless as the glasses-wearing teenager rushed ahead, following after him as soon as they snapped out of it.
Slipping through the alleyway followed by Rin, Shiki ran ahead towards where he saw the suspicious people until…
"—Stupid birds… Leave me… ALONE!" The two heard a man's voice echoing through from the end of an alley accompanied by the sound of flapping wings and cawing of crows. Rin and Shiki hid themselves, taking cover behind the walls.
"Damn… I shouldn't have taken that challenge. Damn you Takeuchi!" His words were slow and felt unorganized, like the ramblings of a drunk person. Suddenly, the birds flew out of the alley, passing by the two peeping teens. "What the…?" The two heard as the haphazard footsteps stopped, "I must be piss drunk, is that a person sleeping on my doorstep?"
"Master. I detect a faint magical energy signature from the person on the ground, must be a Servant." Archer addressed Rin as he materialized behind her.
Shiki didn't know how to react as he watched the clearly drunk man wearing nothing but a sweaty tank top and tracksuit pants stumble towards the downed woman and kneel down.
"Is this some sort of prank you fucking assholes?!" he screamed as he wiped his hand on his shirt before reaching towards the downed Servant.
"Archer." the brunette whispered.
"Huh?" Before he even realized, the man's body was laying on the ground, knocked unconscious.
Archer let out a snarky comment before directing his attention to the girl on the floor, "Master. This is a Servant. She's almost completely out of Magical Energy."
Rin sighed at first, then approached alongside Shiki who examined the girl laying on the floor, noting her princess-like dress and her pale skin and white hair. Eyes widening all of a sudden, then a satisfied expression was drawn on her face.
"I think I know what's going on here…" She whispered, earning a confused look from Shiki and a raised eyebrow from Archer. Rin walked around towards the glasses wearing teen, then pointed an index at his chest. "This Servant doesn't have a Master. She either ran away after her Master got killed up there in the hotel or quite possibly… She could've killed them herself."
"Oh…" Shiki exclaimed, his face nodding in understanding before his entire face took on a puzzled expression, "But… Is it that easy to interpret the situation? We literally found a Servant on the ground. Isn't that suspicious?"
Rin raised a hand to her chin, pondering his words. "Yes you're right…" she whispered in response, "Let me think for a sec."
Meanwhile, Archer knelt down and extended his hand to pick up a straw doll that he saw next to the Servant, but as he did…
"—V..iy" The girl's hand twitched, then in one tired movement, she brought the doll closer to her body.
Rin thinned her lips before leaning in closer to the Servant, "Can you hear us? I have a potential Master candidate for you right here, would you form a contract with him?"
"Rin. I don't think she'll be able to—"
"H...elp us… please…" Archer's words were interrupted by her weak voice. Shiki immediately knelt down closer.
"Wait what?! Hold on, I didn't agree to this!" He exclaimed with a worrisome expression taking over his face.
Rin sighed and took his hand, placing it just a few inches from the unconscious Servant's head.
"Heed my words! My will creates your body and your sword will change my destiny. Let it be known, you shall be my servant and I shall be your Master and thus our bond shall be forged!"
Once the chant was over, a red glow emerged from under Rin's hand, Shiki's face contorted in pain as he withdrew his hand swiftly, a sensation of burning engulfed his entire arm for a good moment. At the same time, the body of the Servant disappeared in front of their very eyes.
"W—Wha!?" Shiki's exclamation was also interrupted by Rin taking his hand again and examining it, and surely enough, three red symbols were engraved on his backhand, two representing two lines which attached to each other in the form of the infinity symbol, while the third was a bladed circle that was positioned in the center of the loop.
"Yeah, that did it. Congratulations, you are now a Master Tohno-kun." Rin explained with a devious smile.
Shiki stared at his hand for a brief moment, "WHAT THE FUCK TOHSAKA?!" He lashed out in confusion.
"Hey! It was you who said you needed a Servant! Remember our deal?" Rin replied in retaliation.
Shiki backed off for a bit before resuming his words, "Yeah but not a Servant who potentially killed her previous Master! What am I going to do if she tries to kill me as well?!"
Rin waved off his words. "It's alright it's alright! You have command spells for a reason, and Archer here will be keeping an eye on her..."
That seemed to calm the glasses wearing teen down for a bit. Staring at his hand, he let out a sigh. "Where'd she go anyways?"
"I assume since she was almost completely out of Magical energy, she's probably resting in her spirit form." Archer explained while raising a hand, "If she has any interest in winning the Holy Grail war, she'll reveal herself to you eventually. Give her some time."
"I see…" the new Master whispered to himself, "What do you think caused this? Like… is it normal for a Servant to kill their Master?
A perfectly natural question which made Archer shrug. "There are way too many possibilities which could lead to this result." he explained, closing his eyes.
"Let's get out of here first. We'll discuss it more on the way." Added Rin, shooting a disgusted look at the unconscious man nearby.
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Emiya Shirou was unable to sleep for the rest of the night, neither could Illya. Once the authorities had left their mansion, it was already sunrise. The shuffling of feet and noise of sirens didn't stop until much later.
Inside the Emiya Mansion, Illya and Saber sat quietly at the table in the living room. The latter discarded her armor and simply wore a black, Mana-woven dress. She stared amusedly at the biological child of Irisviel and Kiritsugu with her pale, golden eyes. Which made Illya uncomfortable to say the least.
"So…" she reluctantly muttered, trying to clear the air. "Saber-san… You're not the same Servant that Kiritsugu summoned…"
The black dragon smiled viciously. "No, and it would do you well not to mention her in front of me again." she said with a tone full of disgust.
"I—I see…" The albino girl turned her head away as she spoke. Clearly, she wasn't going to get along with Shirou's Servant.
"Now now Saber… Be nice to my sister…" Shirou's voice came from the kitchen where the clutter of culinary tools could be heard.
Artoria Alter could only snort and smile at what her Master told her, but she liked him. He wasn't a coward and was more than willing to allow her to go all out on the battlefield. So, she decided to humor him if he continued on that path.
"I understand." She replied, this time with a rather obedient voice tone.
Illya could only sigh as a comment, then her eyes beamed once she saw Shirou approaching with trays in his hands.
"Breakfast is served."
The redhead placed down several plates and three cups. He then joined the two on the table.
"Alright." he whispered, "From now on we might not get the chance to have simple meals like this anymore. So savor it as much as you can Illya."
The albino girl suddenly lost her appetite. The tension in the air grew, between Saber wordlessly inhaling the food presented to her like a lion feasting on its prey, and Shirou mechanically taking a bite every now and then… Illya just felt wrong.
Eventually, Shirou noticed that she was not eating and raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?" he asked with a cold tone.
"I'm not hungry." was Illya's reply before she just stood up and scuttled off towards her room, ignoring his attempts at calling her back to the table.
He and Saber exchanged looks before the latter just shrugged and resumed her feasting.
—Could it be…
An idea sparked across Shirou's mind. An idea which took him back to his last days with Kiritsugu.
The Mage Killer looked like a zombie. He spent countless sleepless nights researching, contacting people, traveling… He tried his hardest to find it, yet, unbeknownst to him, his disparity in his research would bring upon his demise.
One would think that Kiritsugu would find rest after he had rescued his daughter from the hands of the Einzberns. Having all but annihilated them, there was no way for them to retaliate and strike back at him or his family. However, one thing he didn't account for was the Einzberns turning his daughter into the vessel of the Holy Grail before he could save her. Yes, that was what drove the Mage killer into near insanity. The idea that his own daughter would be lost to the same ritual which cost him her mother. He tried to destroy the Leylines to prevent another Grail War from occurring, but that failed. He called in every favor he had, and spent almost every bit of wealth that he accumulated to try and find a method to 'fix' his daughter to no avail, until eventually, he traveled one last time, and never returned.
A vicious smile was suddenly drawn across Shirou's face, noticed shortly by Saber.
"What is it, Shirou?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Not yet Saber… Not just yet…" he said, pausing and taking another bite, "All will be revealed soon."
Saber's curiosity only got stronger after that exchange, but she wasn't going to pressure her Master.
Shirou's expression suddenly changed again; there was something nagging at him ever since last night.
Just who in the world was that guy? That strange magus who was with Tohsaka… He never saw him before and for some reason or the other, he was able to dispel his projections like they were made out of cardboard.
"... Shirou?" Saber called out, noticing the strange expression taking over her Master's face again.
It'd be a lie to say Shirou didn't feel afraid during their fight; that knife, nameless and of no significant history whatsoever, made his instincts scream danger whenever it neared him.
"Saber, did you notice anything strange about that other Magus who was with Tohsaka?" Shirou blurted out without blinking.
Artoria Alter's eyebrows furrowed in suspicion, "So that's what that was about…" she whispered, closing her eyes, "Nothing major, but that Rin girl seemed as protective of him as he was overly confident in his abilities."
Shirou took in the information and started thinking.
Rin had no close family left. He knew that for sure, and even if she did, that guy didn't strike him as a Tohsaka. So, who could he be?
Saber cleared her throat loudly, causing the redhead to snap out of it. "It matters little, their identity. All we have to do is crush them."
There was a decent pause before Shirou simply smiled, "Yeah. You're right, Saber." he said innocently, catching the tyrant king off-guard before he continued eating silently.
Saber simply stared blankly at how quickly her Master's expression and mood changed, then simply shook her head and asked for seconds.
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Illya was well-versed in Magecraft, she was taught by both Kiritsugu and the Einzberns, but Kiritsugu mostly focused on Shirou due to how quickly he was learning, the boy was able to master any teaching he would throw at him. However, the Mage killer progressively found less and less time to train him beyond the basics because of his research becoming even more urgent with each passing day. In the end, the little girl was oblivious to what's actually going on inside of her body other than the obvious lack of growth and the fact that she was an Einzbern Homunculus.
In her room, she laid down on her futon looking at the wooden ceiling, mind as blank as an empty page. How did the situation change so fast?
Shirou completely switched. That loving, caring person who took care of her and the entire house was nowhere to be found. Her brother, the boy Kiritsugu saved and raised, how can he allow such destruction and agony? Something didn't add up, and Emiya Illya was determined to find out what.
"I'll never truly leave you so long as you remember me…"
"Huh?"
For a second, Illya could've sworn she heard her mom's voice talking to her…
"... Illya—"
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The Matou mansion was overtaken by a deafening silence. The return of Rider empty handed was all that Sakura needed to see to realize what had transpired, and Shinji's charred body being found next to their doorstep after a few minutes only confirmed her fears. Matou Shinji bit off more than he could chew, and paid for it dearly.
Half his body was completely burnt, no amount of restoration, magical or traditional would be able to return it to normal. Even Rider's attempts at Miracle healing failed.
She stood over his unconscious body, watching as the hunk of worms squirmed and writhed. Old man Zouken monitored from afar as the bugs tore off the burnt skin and flesh from the body and ate it.
"How unfortunate, never did I expect you to attack Emiya in his home the moment he summoned Saber. I would say that it was bad luck, but I never had expectations from you to begin with."
The old worm magus took a moment to let out a chuckle that sounded like glorified coughing, before he continued, "See Sakura? This is what happens when you stop listening to your grandfather. Using a catalyst to summon a holy Servant might have saved you from a few nights in the pit, but it also caused your dear brother to become like this. Now let me ask you, was it worth it? If you were obedient, you could've avoided this scenario almost entirely."
One tear fell from Sakura's right eye as she watched the worms move to uncover the face of the teenager. A singular terrified eye met her gaze, its expression clearly indicated just how painful it was to get your flesh torn off your bones. Only half a face remained, the other half was picked clean of burnt flesh. Leaving behind a bare skull and an empty eye socket.
"No use feeling bad about it now." Added Matou Zouken, "You're free to do whatever you want. You have chosen your path, so walk it on your own, Sakura."
The worm magus slowly walked into the darkness of his workshop after those words, but not before shooting a smug stare at the Rider Servant who stood next to the stunned girl, earning an immediate scowl from her.
Martha was ashamed. Not only was she defeated in her first battle, but also failed to protect her Master's brother.
For all Sakura knew, Zouken was right.
"Wait..." The pink haired girl whispered, causing the old man to reveal a wicked smile and stop, "What are you planning to do with him?!"
The worm magus slowly turned around, "What does it matter? He's dead anyways, might as well use him to give us an upper hand during the War."
"What... do you mean?" she asked hesitantly, "What will you do to him?"
A toothy smile drew over the old man's face, before he broke into a sickly coughing fit.
"As a result of your reckless action, we are at a clear disadvantage. Which means we will need to resort to more… underhanded… techniques—"
The words of the old man were interrupted by the sound of a ringing doorbell, causing a visible frown on his face, "We'll talk about this later. Go and open the door."
Sakura could only obey. She walked up the stairs wondering who could come to visit at such an early time of the day, followed by Rider in her spirit form.
Opening the door, she was greeted by a strange sight. The priest from Kotomine Church was standing behind it.
"Greetings, Matou Sakura…"
It took the pink haired girl a good moment to process the situation and give a proper answer.
"I'm sure you have a lot of questions and while I would like to give you the answers you seek, I'm currently very busy. So, I would like to keep this brief…"
"Uhm…" Sakura staggered, clearly overwhelmed by the scene.
"There is an irregularity in this Holy Grail War." Kotomine Kirei casually stated, "As Overseer, I took action and am hosting a Masters' meeting today by sunset. The representative of Matou is also invited."
The priest quickly stole a glance at the backhand of the girl while he spoke, noticing the red Command Spells and revealing an empty smile, "Until the meeting is concluded, Masters are strictly advised not to engage in any combat."
A long pause followed, "Master… Is this…?" Rider tried to address telepathically, Sakura as she felt the massive contradiction standing in front of her, but as soon as she was about to put her thoughts to words, Sakura spoke, "Understood. Is there anything else, Father Kotomine?"
The sudden change in attitude alarmed Rider and made Kirei chuckle for a bit. "No, not right now. But if I'm allowed the liberty—"
The door slammed shut as Sakura turned around and fell into her knees, clutching her head in pain.
Rider instantly materialized, "Master?! What's wrong? Get yourself together!"
"It hurts…" whispered the Master painfully.
"Master!"
Sakura leaned closer to a wall, pushing away Rider who tried to cast her Miracle healing on her, swaying her body, she started ramming her head against the wall violently.
"IT HURTS ̴͈́Ĩ̵̻t̷̟͑ ̸̼̃h̸͍͛u̸̖͛r̸̠̎t̷͚̾s̵̩̾ ̶̨̈́i̶̧͗t̴̟͠ ̶̯͑h̸̟̀u̵͙͐r̵̨̐t̶̮̓ś̷̹ ̸̪̂i̸̳͘t̵̤̃ ̷͙̇h̸̖̒u̶̼͊r̴̆ͅţ̷́s̷̯͂ ̵̦͐i̴̬͗t̴͕͊ ̷̖̏h̷̠͘u̵͎̒ṙ̴͚t̴̪̓ş̵́ ̴̱̀i̸̪͌t̵̫́ ̴͍̚ḧ̶̭́u̴͔̕r̸̪͌t̴̻̀s̴̼͌ ̸̥̋i̷̗͝t̵̰̄ ̸͔͆h̶̢͝u̷̪͘r̷̰̈́t̴̹̄s̸̹̚ ̸̫̚i̸̳̚t̴̯̿ ̷͉͝h̶̝͘u̵̘̎r̴̜̽t̷̫̋s̷̡͐ ̷̜̐ĩ̷̦t̸̨̒ ̵̲͆h̵̬̍ü̶̼r̶̺͒t̵̪̃s̶͜͝ ̸̱̂i̵̧͘t̴̩͊ ̷͉̈h̸͙̒û̵̟r̴̞̀t̶͉͑s̷͙̈́ ̴̡̅i̷̼͘t̷̼̂ ̷̣̂h̷͓̑u̸̖͂r̵̟̔t̸̲͠s̶̔͜ ̶͉͝ȋ̴͜t̷͍̊ ̶͇̅h̷͂ͅű̴̘r̶͎̔t̷̘̀s̶̢̕ ̸̦̈́i̷̩͐t̶̛͜ ̴̩̿h̵͎̆u̴̫͐r̴̫̚t̴̲̃s̸͇̍ ̶̱̆į̵̂t̷̥̀ ̵̬͝ḫ̸̑ủ̵̘r̴͚͑t̶̫͠s̷̙͘ ̶͍͝i̵͙̕t̶̪̓ ̴͈̈́h̷̍͜ȕ̶͇ṝ̸ẗ̷̘́s̵͚̉ ̸̜̏ḭ̸̿t̷̖͐ ̸̙͋h̷̪̐u̷̘̚r̸̞͘t̷̗̐s̶̳̑ ̴̻͗"
She screamed out as if choking, her entire body vibrating as if possessed.
Horrified, Rider forcibly grabbed onto the girl to stop her from harming herself any further, and just as she did, the girl passed out as if turned off with a switch. Her body dangled as all force behind it vanished. Simultaneously, The Servant felt her Magical Energy supply get cut off.
Feeling helpless, Martha held her in her arms and started calling out her name, "Sakura!" she screamed, "Sakura wake up!"
It was no use.
Rider took out her cross, attempting to use every restorative ability she knew of on the girl, but nothing worked. The girl just wouldn't wake up.
In her panic, Rider heard a familiar, disgusting sound behind her.
"So, it finally kicked in…" commented Zouken as his body formed in the hallway, "What are you doing Rider? You're only making it worse for her."
"What do you mean?!" Rider fired back, "I am only attempting to…"
"Using your Holy magecraft on a body full of Crest Worms?" Zouken blurted out with a twisted smile, "It might've felt good for her to be rid of some of them at first, but they won't just sit idly as their nest is being attacked, would they?"
Rider's face was overtaken by the shock, "What…?" she whispered in clear horror.
The worm Magus leaned on his stick as he slowly approached them, "The Worms are all over her body, killing off some of them which were in none-sensitive locations might've made her relaxed, but the moment the familiar in her heart sensed that some of the others were missing…" he explained, then paused when he noticed Rider pointing her cross at him, "Let's just say it broadcasted an alert signal to all the other worms, making them just a little more… aggressive… in their feeding."
The lack of Magical energy was already weighing down on Martha, "Then I… I caused this?" She subconsciously told herself, then shook her head, "What do you want?! Is this about the Grail? You're willing to do this to your own granddaughter just for a chance at winning the Grail war?!" Saint Martha confronted with a desperate tone.
"What are you talking about?" Zouken answered, "I didn't do anything. It is you who did this to her."
There was pregnant silence following, as Rider stared at the girl in her hands in disbelief.
"Well… I guess this one's done for. I'll just have to wait until the next Grail War, it was a… Pleasure… meeting you, Rider."
Zouken's words and slow footsteps echoed hard inside Martha's ears.
What?
He'll just let her die like that?
After all he did to her? After he made her this way?
"WAIT!" Martha screamed out, "You're just going to let her die?!"
Zouken stopped walking away and turned his head, "Well, considering you won't let go of her… I can't really do much for her from this position now can I?"
Rider bit her lip so hard, blood sprinkled out. Then, she stood up, carrying Sakura in her arms.
"Where… Do you want her…"
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Shiki and Rin ended up taking a walk through Shinto, mainly because it was already the afternoon when they were done investigating Hyatt. Going back to the Tohsaka mansion in Miyama then returning for the Masters' meeting seemed like a waste of time. They were going past the bus station when Rin suggested they go to Verde.
"Verde?" Was Shiki's reaction. He had no idea what that meant.
"It's the shopping center, come on, it'll be fun!" Rin stated as she walked ahead, leaving the new Master little to no choice but to agree and follow.
A few minutes passed with a couple of conversations sparking up here and there, during which Shiki told Rin about his life in Misaki. He didn't get to go very deep though, as they arrived shortly after.
Shiki was overwhelmed by the sheer size of the complex, so many shops, so many people despite the city itself being quite empty. He just stood in the middle of the building next to a fountain, taking in the scenery, then felt his arm being dragged away.
"Come on you dork, people will think you're a weirdo for staring." she said as she continued dragging him inside a fashion shop.
"What are we doing here? I sure hope you don't expect me to buy you anything." Shiki sweatdropped as he saw Rin picking up a red dress shirt and sizing it up on her, upon which she stared at him with contempt, then she stuck out her tongue in a rude gesture.
"Look at this one!" She said as she noticed an elegant, red pocket watch being displayed behind glass, "Beautiful…"
Shiki approached the glass, examining the pocket watch, "Woah… You're right! Oh! What about that one!"
"That one is a bit too bland… Take a look at these glasses…"
Archer, who was listening in through the telepathic link, stopped. He sighed and for the first time in a long time, genuinely smiled. Leaving his spirit form, he stood over the roof of the building taking a good look at the city where he once lived. In his meditation, he felt another person come close to him.
Wordlessly, Caster manifested herself next to him, no hostility was emitted by her, but Archer took a step back instinctively.
"They are… having fun."
A frosty breath came out of her mouth as she spoke, but her voice was soft and calm.
"Yeah that looks to be the case. They're just kids after all." Archer replied, dropping some of his guard.
Caster turned around and smiled, "Just kids… That's true…" she whispered to herself then bowed politely and elegantly to Archer, "Nice to meet you, Archer. I am the Caster class Servant of this Holy Grail war."
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King Gilgamesh sat down with a grin on his face, staring down the city from his throne on Vimana, he knew that there were unseen forces lurking about, planning, making their moves and patiently waiting for the right moment to enact their machinations. But that wasn't his center of attention at the moment.
He saw it, the pillar of crimson tainted darkness which brought about the demise of a few worms in his garden. He recognized its source, despite it being clearly different than the one he saw last time. He could tell.
"Now… New Saber… I will be the judge of your true worth as a Heroic Spirit… Let's see if you can surpass your other self…"
The king adjusted his gaze towards a different section of the city, his expression becoming slightly less amused, "As for you… Mongrel of the Fifth… You've done well so far, let's hope that the annoyance you cause will be far outweighed by the amusement you bring me…"
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Author's Note:
Hey everyone! Another chapter finished up, thanks for reading and I'll see you on the next one.
Reviews:
Dimihd chapter 1 . Mar 10
this work obviously shouldn't be in the fate section as you downplay, degradation the characters of Fate and exalt Tsukihime
Response: Well... That's what happens when you read the first PROLOGUE of the fic and then post a review.
THOTSLAYER9000 chapter 2 . Mar 12
Everyone in the Fate verse is too ooc that they might as well be an original character.
Response: Ok. I'm not going to stop writing though. Good day!