Waver stormed into the apartment in an incredibly foul mood. A head of blond hair lifted up a bit, having been asleep.
"What got your panties in a twist?" asked his roommate.
Waver growled out what happened earlier.
"Where were you anyway?"
"Hangover, and Kayneth is a dick anyway," said Arieen, waving her hand.
Waver calmed down. Pissing off the person who paid the rent and food bill was a bad idea, and it wasn't Arieen's fault his teacher was an asshole. An entitled asshole to boot.
He scrunched his nose at her lack of dress, and the pile of beer cans.
Without a word he cleaned up the mess, as usual. Arieen was at least nice enough to never bring home random guys or leave a massive mess over the entire apartment.
Considering the only thing she asked of him was to cook and clean because she was too lazy to do so, he thought it was an extremely good deal. College was expensive especially exclusive private ones like Clock Tower, and that expense only shot up astronomically once you got into the tools and equipment one would need to perform magecraft.
Why someone like Arieen befriended him was still a mystery. All she would tell him was that she saw something in him that appealed to her greatly...and it wasn't anything physical.
Waver was still trying to figure out what Arieen saw in him.
"So what exactly did the prick say this time?"
"He called my paper something an infant would write and that I basically need to learn my place," said Waver. "But...I did intercept something that was meant for him."
"That's the spirit!" cheered Arieen.
The next morning, Waver had managed to piece together why an old piece of cloth was so important to his asshat of a teacher.
"A Grail War?" said Arieen.
Waver nodded and cheerfully explained.
"Seven mages compete in a tournament, using spirits summoned from a place called the Throne of Heroes. Ancient spirits who have obtained such fame and notoriety that they've become legends."
Arieen looked skeptical at the idea.
"You mean like Mordred or Robin Hood?"
"Or King Arthur," said Waver.
Arieen made a face at the name but didn't comment.
"So. You're going to participate in this thing aren't you?"
Waver let out a growl.
"I'm going to enter. And I'm going to prove to that bastard once and for all that he's wrong."
Arieen looked at him, saw the half-formed resolve in his eyes, and sighed.
"Alright, once you get this...what did you call it?"
"Command Seal," said Waver.
"Right, once you have a command seal I'll book the tickets. Where is this thing held anyway?"
"Fuyuki, Japan."
"Seriously?" said Arieen, perking up. "I'll get Herne, he has a few hunting buddies around Japan."
Waver blinked.
"Wait, what?"
"You seriously think I'm going to let you go to a foreign country on your own, especially into something that by all accounts is a known bloodbath?" said Arieen incredulous.
"But..." started Waver.
"Do you want to pay for tickets and lodging?" said Arieen, raising an eyebrow.
Waver wilted.
"I planned to borrow money and hypnotize the locals," he admitted.
"Waver, think about this for a moment," said Arieen seriously. "You're going into a known war zone against trained mages who have likely known about this thing for much longer and have far more preparations ready and waiting to use to win it. You only have a stolen focus and a general knowledge of the basics. To be a Magus is to walk with Death. You know this."
Waver was very taken aback by how serious Arieen was acting. He wasn't used to it.
"What should I do?"
"Are you serious about joining this Grail War?"
"The prize is a wish, and the chance to earn the Third True magic from what I read. That's why the Einzbern joined in," said Waver. "If I can win that, I'll prove I'm better than that asshole teacher."
Arieen put her hands on her kneecaps and cracked her spine a bit.
"Alright. So right now your motivations is to prove that asshat Kayneth wrong. Am I hearing you correctly?"
Waver nodded.
"I'll help then. Some people learn more about who they are by a trial of fire than they do by being coddled," said Arieen firmly. "And I wasn't kidding when I said I saw something in you that I liked. Maybe this Grail War is just the thing you need to bring it out."
"I'm not sure they would allow it."
Arieen rolled her eyes.
"Let me do some digging of my own, and find out what we're up against first. Until then you do whatever you need to in order to obtain a command seal so we can join in."
Waver had no idea the headaches that would come from her joining him. All the same, he was glad she did.
Several months later...
Waver couldn't believe it. He had managed to earn a command seal by the skin of his teeth, and not a moment too soon.
Arieen was watching one of her favorite movies, and had her headphones in. Waver liked Monty Python, but he still didn't understand the dark gleeful expression Arieen always got from watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail. He preferred Mel Brooks' work himself.
"Man, I'm starving!" said Arieen, coming down and cheerfully throwing an arm around a half-awake Waver.
"Well I made plenty of food, so eat up dear!" said Martha cheerfully.
Waver had followed through on hypnotizing one of the locals to obtain lodging. The Mackenzie family had accepted him as a 'grandson from abroad' rather easily. Perhaps too easily.
Arieen wouldn't tell Waver this, but she suspected the couple were rather lonely and had taken to the suggestion because they wanted the company. The fact she hadn't hesitated to help with the food bill had eased their way as well. She wouldn't be surprised if Waver ended up as their surrogate grandson by the end of this.
(She privately asked Glen while Waver was out and he confirmed he had known from the start Waver wasn't his actual grandson. He was apparently "too nice", but he had kept his silence because his wife was genuinely happy having them around.)
Arieen cheerfully sat down and started eating. She 'noticed' the new tattoo on Waver's hand and cackled.
"What's so funny?"
"I've told you before and I've told you again, don't blame me if I drag you into random adventures while drunk. Still don't know why I bought three chickens though," said Arieen, pointing her chopsticks at his hand.
Waver looked down and pretended to hold back a curse. He wasn't an idiot and figured out what Arieen was doing.
"What did you do to my hand?"
"Looks like I got you with a henna tattoo. It should wear off eventually."
Waver waited for them to leave the house so they could scout the summoning location before he commented on her act.
"What was that about this morning?"
"You didn't have a tattoo earlier, and this way you have a reasonable excuse for the chickens. My drinking habits are already known to the couple after all and you can blame quite a bit on your ridiculous roommate slash possible girlfriend," shrugged Arieen.
Waver blushed at that. Arieen had joked about that more than once before, but he had never been brave enough to try.
The fact he was too busy (and broke) to have a proper girlfriend didn't help either.
Arieen grinned and threw an arm around his shoulder.
"Seriously, I'd have no objections to dating," said Arieen. His blush got worse, because Arieen was actually rather pretty and never held it against him that she was usually the one paying.
"I'm still surprised your parents are okay with you living with a guy."
Arieen made a face.
"I went no contact with mom for damn good reasons and my dad is...complicated."
The subject of family had come up before, and Arieen had bluntly told Waver that she refused to get into any details without a fuckton of booze and possible illegal substances.
"So are you going to be helping me summon?" asked Waver.
"Nah, this thing is all on you. I'll wait for you to be done and help party with whomever you summon," said Arieen. "You are the Master in this tournament, and I might accidentally fuck something up."
If Waver was summoning ancient heroes, then her being there would almost certainly screw something up.
Arieen...would laugh herself sick when Waver came back with a bigger than life Iskander.
"So, this is your lady love!" said Rider cheerfully.
"Oh gods, my sides!" said Arieen, still cackling.
"It's not funny!" said Waver.
"You kidding? This is fucking hilarious," said Arieen. "And I'm his roommate, not his girlfriend. He's still too scared to give that a shot."
Waver's face went red, for a multitude of reasons.
Rider grinned, and knew he'd get along great with his Master's friend.
"So what role will you play in this war?" he asked seriously.
"Observer, mostly," she admitted. "I mostly came to make sure this green behind the ears scholar survives his first incursion into real battle."
Rider nodded at that. It was rather clear that Waver was a scholar and a possible strategist before he was a proper warrior.
Just as it was rather clear to his experienced eyes that Waver's friend was a blooded warrior who had taken him under her wing.
A day or two passed, and Waver excitedly spoke about how Assassin had already been taken out.
"Oh yeah?" said Arieen. "What did the guy look like?"
The second Waver described him, Arieen made a face.
"Ugh...Sounds like some asshole summoned the Hassan of the Hundred faces and is trying to pull a fast one."
Waver turned to look at her incredulous.
"I thought you didn't know anything about Servants."
Arieen rolled her eyes.
"You said this Grail summons legendary figures from history that have made a big splash. I've had run in's with that lot, and one of the main characteristics of the Hassan is that they all wear the same damn mask. Would not surprise me if those that wore it all became one collective servant under a single name," she replied. Rider was nodding in agreement.
"I've heard the Hassan strip all personality from the members, so it is possible."
"In any case, Assassin's Master might be trying to pull a fast one. Dirty tricks and slight of hand are pretty standard tactics in a real war, where the only thing that matters is who wins," explained Arieen.
Waver considered this.
"So what do we do now?"
"We do nothing. Let the bigger fish play their little games," said Arieen patiently. "They're going to focus on the major names like the Matou or the Einzbern and completely ignore you which is what we want."
Rider watched as Waver listened intently to Arieen.
The plan right now was simple and something Rider agreed with completely.
Let the bigger players fight it out and observe what they can do from the sidelines. Waver didn't have the money, resources or knowledge to properly challenge any of them to begin with, and the bigger players would waste resources on equally dangerous competitors while ignoring him. That meant they could come from behind and possibly win the entire damn thing as a dark horse.
The only real Master they had to worry about was Kayneth, who would undoubtedly be pissed as hell about Waver stealing his original catalyst and daring to prove himself in a competition he had been selected in.
Considering the major players included the ranks of the Magus Killer Kiritsugu Emiya and an Executor from the church who were specialist in dealing with mages, Waver was all too happy to not try and press his luck. He wasn't stupid after all.
Rider's estimation of Arieen went up considerably, as it was clear she had experience in real warfare.
He did have to laugh when she proudly proclaimed herself the Fairy King of Chaos.
(He later learned she wasn't joking.)
