KingVessel: Dear viewers, you remember that Fate Zero episode where Gilgamesh permanently ditched some weapons and those military pilots clearly had their painful deaths broadcasted through their radios? And how those two very controversial points never came up again?
"If a giant monster really is attacking Japan, will they give us permission to engage?"
"If this is a monster movie, we'll be goners. We're just there for it to kill before the Giant of Light shows up."
"That isn't funny."
"Well, we'll soon know for sure."
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"What an utterly hideous sight to behold... Mongrels or not, they are still supposedly famous warriors. Yet, not even together can they finish that disgusting thing? How very pathetic... Do you not agree, Tokiomi?"
"Your Majesty, that monster is a destructive pest that tears apart your gardens. I implore you to execute it."
"That would be a gardener's work. Or, Tokiomi... do you dare imply that my Noble Phantasm is nothing more than a gardener's shovel?"
"Not at all! But as you can see, the others are unable to handle it themselves. This is an excellent chance to display the power wielded by a true hero. I beg you..."
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"We're leaving, Tokiomi. I cannot bear to look upon that nauseating thing any further."
"No... King of Heroes, please wait!"
"Tokiomi, I have sacrificed four of my swords and spears for you. Now that they have touched that thing, I no longer even desire their return."
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"What is that?"
"There is a strange light at six o'clock, too! That's no helicopter. Is it a UFO or something?"
"Control to Diablo-1. What is your situation?"
"My situation... Um... Well..."
"I'll drop altitude and get a bit closer!"
"W-Wait, Kobayashi! Get back here, Diablo-2!"
"If I can get closer, I should be able to see what that thing is- ERYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"
"Kobayashi?! KOBAYASHIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"
"Control to Diablo-1! What the hell is happening up there?! Report!"
"Eyes... There are eyes... Too many eyes everywhere!"
"Eyes? What do you mean by eyes?!"
"Is it going to eat me too?!"
"Captain Ougi!"
"Diablo-1, engaging!"
"W-Wait, Ougi! What's happ-"
"I'll kill it before it eats me! I'll avenge Kobayashi...! I'll hit it with everything I have!"
"GRRRRRRRR!"
"H-Huh?! Where did you- What the hell are you-?!"
"GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"
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"I can't believe Ougi just cut off like that..."
"What the hell happened to Ougi and Kobayashi?!"
"What do you mean we don't know?! We lost two of our pilots and we don't even know what killed them?!"
"We can't let this slide. Get to this Fuyuki City as quickly as you can and investigate their deaths."
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"Hey... Is it just me... or is there something under the river?"
"Huh? Yeah... Wait, are those... golden weapons?"
Chapter 18: Out of your Depth I - Reunion at the Resort
"It's so hot..." Shirou Emiya panted as he scrubbed the emptied pool floor. "Are we really in December?"
It'd been two weeks since the Matou business and things seemed to have calmed down a bit. Sakura had spent quite some time reconnecting with her sister, slowly but steadily building up their relationship from scratch.
Rin herself had been no slouch, now being a frequent guest of the Emiya household just to at least see Sakura every morning. Although with how much she'd kept blushing whenever she saw him and Sakura together, Shirou was quite sure she still remembered having to hide in his Bounded Field while he fucked Sakura in that bathroom.
Of all ways for Sakura to launch one last petty strike at her sister...
As for Argonaut activities, crime seemed to be calming down as school prepared to close as Christmas approached. Along with the other important and upcoming holiday Fuyuki City would be celebrating, it was almost a guarantee that Argonaut would be getting a break just like he had the previous year.
Although without the usual snow...
"We're not going to be able to celebrate properly if the weather stays like this." Shirou complained as he paused to observe his progress.
"We're supposed to have a mild winter this year." A familiar voice spoke up, causing Shirou to turn around and regard Sakura's presence.
"It's over 30°C!" Shirou complained. "This isn't mild in the slightest. Fuji-nee even went and made me clean this our school pool up as a punishment, knowing how much I'd sweat!"
"Well, you're the one who worried all of us when you let yourself get buried in that collapsing building." Sakura Matou replied. "Just think of this as your revised penance from Fujimura-sensei. You didn't hear her original idea."
"Shirou, thank goodness you're alive! Now get back home so I can strangle you after you've whitewashed every single wall at the school!"
"Such a penance for saving all 24 residents from that apartment building? Unbelievable." Shirou sighed as he leaned onto the stick of his brush. "Well, let's just get this over with. I want to see what Gotou's gonna come up with this year's Fuyunomushasai."
"Ah, Nii-san did mention that Gotou-san tends to overdue it with his designs." Sakura winced sympathetically before starting to remove her shoes and socks. "If I help you, this should be over with quicker."
"Eh? Sorry about this, Sakura."
"Don't worry about it. I'm your girlfriend, after all." Sakura then leapt down into the pool, only to gasp when the movement caused her skirt to lift up from her brief fall. "Ah!"
'Ah.' Shirou repeated.
"D-Did you see them?"
"Purple lace with black trim." Shirou confirmed. "They looked nice."
Sakura's cheeks reddened in embarrassment. "Senpai...!"
Shirou flinched back from her growl. "Wh-What's the problem? We've seen each other naked quite a few times already. We even bathed together last night."
"I-It's the principle of the matter!" Sakura protested as she stalked forward and started to pound her fists against his chest.
"Now, now." Barely feeling the blows, Shirou swept Sakura into his arms and pressed her against the poolside. "I'm sorry. Does that make you feel better?"
Sakura pouted before crossing her arms around Shirou's neck and encircling his leg with her own. "A kiss might make me feel better."
"As you comman-"
*splaaaaaaaaashh!*
Both teenagers recoiled when a hose of water suddenly splashed against them, sputtering as they looked up to see the culprit with a twitching smile.
"What's this?" Taiga Fujimura smiled with a cheer that didn't reach her eyes, the dripping hose clutched in her hand. "And here I was thinking that Sakura-chan's visit would motivate you to finish faster, not get distracted. I may approve of you getting together, but pick a better place and time to flirt!"
"Yes, yes." Shirou and Sakura replied as one, the latter squeezing her skirt dry.
"Anyways, I just got something interesting. Are you two interested in checking this out?" Taiga tossed over the flier from her hands into Shirou's. "You've at least heard of this, right?"
"Eh?" Sakura blinked in surprise. "This is...!"
"Sea Blossom?!" Shirou exclaimed in shock. "That new resort that just popped up?"
"Yep! Since the resort is having a special run, admission and lodging were practically free!" Taiga gushed as she sat down at the poolside, idly kicking her legs inside. "I've already invited Miyu-chan to come along. And since I just needed someone for the spare ticket, I just asked Shinji. What do you two say? Doesn't that sound like fun?"
Shirou looked down at the flier before facing Taiga again. "What's the catch? Even for special runs, resorts are expensive, Fuji-nee."
"Well..." Taiga nervously fidgeted about. "The thing is..."
"Don't let them get away!"
"After them!"
"This way! Down the tunnel!"
Two people ran desperately through a tunnel, focused on evading their pursuers. One was a cute young bespectacled girl with medium long brown hair and blue eyes while dressed in a swimsuit. The other was a woman with short magenta hair, brown eyes and two ovaloid earrings while being dressed a pale lilac bikini that would've highlighted her large breasts if not for the hooded jacket she'd worn over it.
"Can you keep running?"
"Y-Yes!"
Sea Blossom, a resort facility which had only been running for a year and was currently celebrating it's anniversary. When Taiga told him that she'd gained special tickets for them, Shirou had been rightfully suspicious to do so.
"Three yakisoba, two milkshakes and one Oolong." Taiga presented the drinks with a smile while Shirou finished up the yakisoba. "That'll be ¥2,250! Shirou?"
"Right! Three yakisoba coming right up!" Shirou replied as he packaged the food. "Sorry for the wait and thanks for coming!"
Once they were gone, Shirou stepped back and collapsed onto a stool. "Finally... I know that my cooking's good but there were quite a lot of customers for that lunch rush."
Right. The true reason for their 'discount' was for Shirou's extraordinary cooking skills to be utilized in the kiosk of Taiga's friend. Only that he was beyond what Taiga had promised, as Shirou's charisma, skills and handsomeness drawing in more customers than he could handle, leading to Taiga volunteering to work with him.
"If you feel like that, you should've let me drag Shinji here." Taiga huffed as she stood before him and tugged at her shirt, exposing her cleavage while she fanned it. While both of them had worn the same shirt that advertised the kiosk's franchise, Taiga's bottom half only had a tiger striped bikini bottom and a pair of sandals while Shirou wore a pair of cargo shorts. "I need another water."
"I'll have one too." Shirou said while Taiga got up and walked to the fridge. For the umpteenth time, Shirou followed her movements with his eyes and almost swallowed his tongue when she bent over to rummage through the freezer.
The movement had caused her bikini bottoms to inevitably press tighter against her butt, highlighting it's peach shape even further.
"... do you want it?" Taiga asked.
"W-What?" Shirou stuttered, red-faced.
"I said, how do you want it?" Taiga repeated, turning her head to him. "There's mildly cool and a few with ice already in them."
"A-Anything's fine." Shirou said, hastily averting his gaze.
Taiga looked at him quizzically, not understanding his sudden behavior. Then it dawned on her and she quickly stood up straight, pulling at her shirt to cover her butt. She stood there for a moment, heart pounding and face flushed.
In the past few months thanks to various circumstances and his Alter, Shirou's awareness of the opposite gender had been forcibly awakened and also heightened.
As a result, his gaze was always drawn by the curves of the female body he'd usually ignored. Then it had worsened (or bettered?) when he'd started his relationship with Sakura and Morgana.
(He still remembered the complete shock he'd gotten from the two girls approaching him with the idea of a threesome. He reluctantly agreed with his Alter that it had been one of the best nights of his life, even if none of them had been get up as early as usual the next day.)
On the good side, he focused more on the ones close to him rather than any girl that just happened to be in his line of sight.
On the bad side, that still included... an unexpected character.
Considering the first and only time he'd acted on his attraction to Taiga, which had ended badly and studiously ignored by the both of them afterwards, Shirou felt like the worst for still seeing her like that, especially since he was in a relationship. To make things worse, on this day, Taiga had decided to highlight her femininity in a way she had never done before where he could see.
She'd gotten a bikini.
It was a completely normal piece of apparel in these circumstances, but it showed far more skin that he was used to seeing from her. Shirou had never needed to know that Taiga's boobs were the largest he'd ever seen, even barely surpassing Bazett's.
(Another woman to remember and feel guilty for.)
"A-Anyways, do you think Miyu-chan and Sakura-chan are enjoying the resort?" Taiga forced herself to speak up, relieving Shirou with the obvious distraction.
"Yeah." Shirou answered. "While Shinji's wasted no time and headed for the beach, Miyu and Sakura said something about checking out the aquarium. Considering how Sakura hasn't gone out on an outing since... Anyways, she was just as eager as Shinji for the trip, even if she tried to help me and work here too."
"That girl..." Taiga shook her head with a hint of bemusement. "We've got a long road ahead of us for her."
"I had to ask Miyu to literally drag her along." Shirou huffed. " I know that-"
"Excuse me?" A pair of customers had arrived, both of them pretty girls in bikinis that showed off their modest proportions. "Are you two open now?"
"We are." Taiga answered as she walked to get their orders.
"So..." The girl with short orange hair looked over to Shirou while admiring how his sweaty shirt stuck to his well-built frame. "What time do you get off?"
"Hibiki-chan!" The other girl protested, her green pigtails flailing as her cheeks reddened.
"What?" Hibiki raised a confused eyebrow. "Just look at those muscles, Chikagi-chan!"
Shirou only weakly chuckled while Taiga rolled her eyes.
"Wow! This place is huge!"
Miyu gushed as she and Sakura explored the aquarium, being almost completely surrounded by the aquatic lifeforms.
"I guess that this really is the third largest aquarium in the world." Sakura hummed as she tagged along behind Miyu. "You really like the ocean, don't you?"
"Ah, well." Miyu fidgeted cutely. "It's kinda... Well, it's always seemed interesting to me."
"Well, that's nice, Miyu." Sakura hummed as she looked at a manta that just passed, it's red coloring reminding her of... "I wonder if Senpai would've loved to join us."
"Sakura-nee, you're too obvious." Miyu rolled her eyes, albeit fondly. "You want to go back and and be with Nii-chan, don't you? So mean, you don't want to spend time with me again since you two finally got together."
"Ah!" Not noticing her joking tone, Sakura panicked at Miyu's implication. "It's not like that Miyu! It's really just... I... I just don't like that Senpai is the only one of us to work while the rest of us get to enjoy ourselves."
"I understand that feeling, but it would somewhat undermine Nii-chan's efforts." Miyu answered. "He accepted this because you've never gone on one of these! Even if he was sick a couple of times, Dad still went with us to the waterpark a few times before he passed... Now, I've gone and depressed myself."
Miyu sighed heavily before grabbing Sakura's hand. "Listen to me, future sister-in-law."
Sakura choked at that but Miyu ignored it for once. "You need to learn how to enjoy yourself more. With how much we love you, this is almost painful to watch."
*throoooom*
Both Sakura and Miyu shook when the ground seemed to shake against their feet, making them press back against the wall for support.
"An earthquake?" Miyu asked as she grabbed the railing.
"Huh?" Sakura turned as she noticed that none of the other people had reacted at all. It was as if only Sakura and Miyu had felt the tremor. 'Nobody else felt anything? That means... this was something only people like Miyu and I could feel. Like a pulse that only magi could sense. A signal? An attack?'
Sakura grimaced as she was unable to come up with an answer. 'Whatever it is, if it made us sway from our feet and nothing more, it was either very weak... or came from very far away...'
Several thousand miles away, something long and massive swam through the depths, it's very presence resonating with the seawater surrounding it.
'Whatever it was, I really hope that this wasn't specifically targeted at us.' Sakura sighed as she got to her feet.
"Sakura-nee, look at the fish!" Miyu's frantic voice spoke up, causing Sakura to turn around and look at the now excited fish.
'Was this caused by that tremor?' Sakura thought as a shark actually started to bash it's head against the glass. 'This is bad. If a panic erupts here...'
"Calm down."
A command was stated and everybody in earshot obeyed.
It mattered not the species nor the range. Not only did all of the frantic fishes return to normal, even Sakura and Miyu felt their rising panic swiftly ebb away, leaving them unnaturally tranquil.
"Looks like they've all calmed down." A familiar voice spoke up, drawing the two girls' attention. Even if she was currently dressed differently in a black shirt that exposed her midriff and a pair of jean shorts, there was no mistaking that long silver hair or that crimson shroud wrapped around her arm as she fiddled with a camera. "Right?"
"Stalker Nun." Miyu stated in recognition. "...you've gotten better. I didn't notice you this time."
"Caren Hortensia..." Sakura muttered. "What are you doing here? Was it you that just calmed down the fishes?"
"Can't I just be on vacation like you clearly are?" Caren raised an eyebrow while gesturing to her camera. "Also, do you mind if I take a picture of you?"
"That's a no to both questions, I'm afraid." Sakura coolly answered, a tad nervous. Caren had flat-out refused to answer the second question and she wasn't sure she could force the nun to answer. "I don't feel comfortable for a photo right now."
"I see. That's too bad." Caren shrugged before getting up from the bench she'd been sitting on. "We'll probably meet again. When that time comes, I hope we can be as close as I was with Shirou."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Miyu instantly asked, just before Sakura herself would have. "What happened in Roanapur with you and Nii-san? He never gave me details."
"If your brother didn't give you any details, I won't be the one to change that." Caren waved before walking away. "Now then, just forget me until we meet again. I don't want to give him needless trouble beyond what's going to happen soon."
Sakura and Miyu swayed at her words before shaking their heads in confusion and looking around.
"Who... Who were we talking to just now?"
"Hello! I'm from Gakumazawa Stall!" Shirou greeted as he knocked on the glass door of the lifeguards' office. "I've brought your drinks!"
"Ah, over here." One of the few off-duty lifeguards waved him in. "We've been waiting!"
After finishing his delivery, Shirou waved them goodbye soon. As soon as he was far away enough, he let his shoulders sag. "What was the point of giving me a break if boss was still going to use me for a delivery? I mean, I am the faster one between me and Fuji-nee, but still..."
Shirou paused as he noticed a girl on the bench. She was a young bespectacled girl with medium long brown hair and blue eyes while dressed in a swimsuit that she wore under a jacket. "Huh?"
Becoming aware of his staring, the girl looked right at him, her eyes widening in recognition. After staring at each other for a bit, the girl broke away first and stood up to approach the office window. "Excuse me. I don't need to keep waiting anymore, so I'll be fine now. Sorry for the inconvenience."
'Was she lost or something?' Shirou mused before continuing on his way, unaware of the girl returning her gaze to him.
"You're late!" Taiga shouted the moment Shirou arrived.
"Sorry." Shirou apologized. "The lifeguard office was pretty far away. I even had to stop for directions twice."
Taiga raised an eyebrow. "So where does the girl fit in that excuse?"
"What girl?" Shirou raised his own eyebrow before finally noticing the bespectacled girl at his side. "Wait, weren't you that kid from the lifeguard office back there?"
The girl bowed in greeting. "My name is Sajyou. Ayaka Sajyou."
"Ayaka?" Shirou parroted.
"Yes." Ayaka nodded. "Sorry if you think it's a pretentious name."
(KingVessel: Ayaka can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: 彩華, "colorful flower")
"Is it?" Shirou said. "I think that it's a nice name for a girl like you."
"R-Really?" Ayaka blushed heavily from Shirou's praise, which had been incredibly blasé. "That makes me happy, even if you're just being polite."
"What's with this lolicon attitude, Shirou?!" Taiga's fist took Shirou by surprise and lightly smashed into his cheek. "Did you forget that you have a girlfriend?!"
"All I did was compliment her name when the girl herself mocked it!" Shirou lightly punched back, slamming into her gut. "Don't go calling me a lolicon!"
'He's more violent than I expected...' Ayaka winced as Shirou and Taiga growled while grinding their foreheads against each other. "Um, you're Shirou Emiya, right?"
"Huh? Why do you know my name?" Shirou disengaged from his 'fight' to regard Ayaka again. "I've never met or seen you before today."
"Me neither. It was your girlfriend who told me about you." Ayaka revealed. "I'm to rely on you if I'm in trouble."
Both Shirou and Taiga looked at each other in confusion. If Sakura had sent her, why hadn't she done so directly instead of apparently directing her to the lifeguard office.
"Why would Sakura send you to me?" Shirou asked as he squatted down to look her in the eye. "Is she in trouble right now?"
Shirou turned to Taiga while bringing out his own phone. "Fuji-nee, go call Sakura. I'll call Shinji."
"Sakura?" Ayaka's confused tone got their attention. "I don't know her name, but the lady that helped me wasn't Japanese."
Shirou frowned. "Then what did she look like? If she knows me by name, I can probably identify her."
"She was a tall, beautiful lady." Ayaka started to describe her. "She's got pretty strong muscles, huge breasts and has short magenta hair."
Shirou frowned as he started to make a connection. 'Wait a minute...'
"Ah." Ayaka started as she remembered something else. "I'm not sure it means anything significant, but she kinda gave off the air of a person with perpetual money problems."
"Bazett?!" Shirou acknowledged with a shock.
"Shirou, who's this Bazett?!" Taiga demanded but was ignored.
"Hang on, Ayaka." Shirou focused more of his attention on Ayaka. "You met Bazett? Here, in Sea Blossom? How do you know her?"
"I was... locked up and she saved me." Ayaka revealed with a sad look on her face.
The wall got a hole blown through as Bazett punched it, surprising Ayaka. "Don't worry. I will get you out of here for sure."
"Onee-san..?" Ayaka muttered as they started to run down the corridor. "Will we be okay?"
"I'm an Enforcer of the Clock Tower." Bazett assured Ayaka as she ran alongside her. "Don't worry, I'm pretty strong."
"'Pretty strong' doesn't seem like it's enough to classify a woman who can punch a large hole through a concrete wall." Ayaka panted.
"I see..." Bazett hummed. "Then how about 'incredibly strong'?"
"There they are!"
The two girls halted when they noticed three men blocking the exit at the end of the corridor. Taking a moment to push back Ayaka slightly, the little girl gasped her rescuer's limbs gained glowing marking over them before she blurred from sight.
*BAM!*
*BAM!*
*BAM!*
*BOOOM!*
Ayaka gaped as not only did the three men get swiftly beaten down with a single hit each, but the metal door itself got ripped from it's hinges as Bazett's flying kick made contact. "Wow!"
Bazett herself frowned as she looked behind them, hearing more footsteps. "Hey, can you find your own way from here?"
"Eh?" Ayaka turned to Bazett in shock. They were separating?!
"Don't be afraid. I'll catch up to you soon." Bazett unzipped her jacket and gave it to Ayaka to wear over own swimsuit. Even in the serious moment, Ayaka still noticed how Bazett's large breasts strained against the lilac bikini and secretly hoped she'd grow just as big at the woman's age. "However, if we can't meet up, go see this guy."
Bazett fished out a picture from the jacket and showed it to Ayaka, displaying a redhaired young man.
Turning it over, Ayaka read out the name. "Shirou Emiya... Is he your boyfriend?"
"B-Boy- NO!" Bazett choked in mortification, her cheeks reddening heavily. "We're not like that yet! Even though he's reliable, I only knew him for less than a day! And after what he did..."
Bazett seemed to get lost in her memories before suddenly slapping herself. "What I'm trying to say is... The man that sent me to rescue you also considers Mr. Emiya as a trustworthy and capable person himself. He's currently in the resort, so it won't be too far from here."
Bazett cut off as a pair of loud footsteps came sounding nearby. Swiftly, she drew her finger into the air, making Ayaka gasp as her finger ignited and left a weird letter burning in the air before it transformed into a glowing bird. "Follow that bird. It will lead you to a safety! Hurry up and leave!"
"Y-Yes!" Ayaka ran after the bird, briefly looking back at her rescuer as Bazett.
"While we were escaping, we got discovered and she asked me to go on ahead." Ayaka finished. "She said she'd catch up soon. But it's been hours now and she never showed up..."
'Bazett is probably...' Shirou couldn't let himself finish those damning words even in his mind, standing back to sift through the information while Taiga comforted Ayaka.
By the time their kiosk closed for the day, Ayaka had fallen asleep and was being carried by Shirou as he and Taiga returned to their cabin. It originally belonged to Taiga's friend but had lent it to her for her and her students' use during their stay.
"No good." Taiga sighed as she went through the list of guests that Shirou had stolen and copied into his phone(after twisting his ear and scolding him for the theft). "There isn't a girl with the name 'Ayaka Sajyou' registered as a guest here."
"Makes sense." Shirou surmised. "Sea Blossom is a tourist spot and she's probably some magus's kid who got kidnapped here, judging by her active magic circuits."
Taiga sighed before returning Shirou's opinion. "So what are you going to do?"
"Bazett entrusted her care onto me." Shirou answered. "As long she apparently trusted in me, I'll hold on to her until Bazett herself returns. Until then, she'll stay with us."
Later that night, all of them had reconvened at the rented house. It was a nice open aired building with two floors, a garage and a pool.
"Eh?" Sakura blinked after the news Shirou had told her and her brother. "McRemitz-san is here?"
"Who's McRemitz?" Shinji Matou raised an eyebrow.
"She's a foreigner that was sent to meet Senpai some months ago." Sakura answered. "Considering that she was sent by the Wizard Marshall himself, I think she might be from the Clock Tower."
"What?!" Shinji balked before turning to look at Shirou. "Emiya! When were you planning on telling us that you were already acquainted with the Clock Tower?!"
"I'm not." Shirou clarified. "I'm only acquainted with Zelretch directly while Bazett was only someone I'd met and known for less than a day, Something... happened and I thought that she might've hated me for the incident. Probably still does, but apparently trusts me enough to leave Ayaka in my care in an emergency."
"Achoo!"
The three teenagers turned to face Miyu when she sneezed, the latter still napping while she drooled. With a doting smile, Sakura went to her and gently wiped it off.
"So where is Ayaka now?" Shinji asked.
"Fuji-nee took her shopping for clothes since she didn't have anything other than a swimsuit on her." Shirou answered before pointing upstairs. "They're changing in her room right now, I think."
"Well in that case..." Shinji patted Shirou's back and pointed at the grill outside. "Go get started on our dinner. I already bought lots of quality meat, so I'm sure you can make them heavenly."
"Okay, okay." Shirou replied as he walked over to the grill while Shinji retrieved the meat from the fridge, already thinking up a few grilling techniques.
By the next hour, dinner was in full swing.
"Onii-san, we're done over here as well!" Miyu called their attention to her, making both boys choke when they saw her in seemingly nothing more than a naked apron as she presented shish kebabs to them. "Here you go, Onii-san, Shinji."
"Miyu, what are you wearing?!" Shirou gasped in horror, stomping Shinji's foot when he saw a familiar appraising look in the flirter's eyes.
"Sakura-nee and I didn't get to go to the beach or pools this afternoon." Miyu replied as twirled around, revealing her one-piece swimsuit which made Shirou sigh in relief. "So we both wanted to wear our swimsuits now."
"You look pretty great, Miyu." Shinji complimented. "If Shirou's genes and chick magnet attitude run just as strong in you as they do in him, you're gonna turn so many heads in senior high."
Shirou blanked in horror, already remembering how many people in her school liked Miyu currently, even if they all seemed to be mostly girls. "I'll kill them all."
Let it not be said that Shirou Emiya wasn't an advocate of true gender equality.
"Sakura-nee's was feeling embarrassed about joining me, so don't get your hopes up, Onii-san." Miyu teased.
"Too late." Shirou sighed. "I've been working all day, so I hoped that I'd at least see her in one."
Miyu blinked and leaned over to look behind Shirou. "Well consider yourself fortunate, then."
"Oh, I see- Wait, both of you?"
"Um..."
Shirou turned at Sakura's call and gawked at what he saw.
"Ah, Senpai. What do you think...?" Sakura called out, causing him to look and be stunned. Blushing furiously as she stood before him, Sakura held her hands behind her in a way that presented a generous amount of cleavage, her multicolored bikini accentuating her plump breasts somewhat while a similarly designed bottom hugged her shapely hips, though the strings that went behind her back and around her hips looked so temptingly thin to Shirou, even if hidden by a translucent sarong to cover her lower half, leaving half of her creamy legs bare to him.
Shirou would not be ashamed to admit that he might've utilized just the tiniest bit of magecraft to control his blood flow, preventing him from popping a boner right in sight of everyone. "The things I could do to you in that swimsuit..."
Apparently, Shirou's quiet whisper hadn't been quiet enough as Taiga and Shinji choked on their meals, Sakura and Ayaka blushed heavily with the former looking a little pleased, and Miyu nodded in approval. "See, Sakura-nee? I told you he'd like it!"
Shirou sighed bemusedly as Taiga made a warning growl at him, before walking to the fence so that he could look out over the area. "Bazett still hasn't arrived for Ayaka... Where is she? And what was she even doing here, anyways?"
"Um..." Ayaka spoke up as she approached Shirou. Instead of her swimsuit, she now wore a cute green sundress that Taiga had bought her. "I think Bazett-san is trying to look for Manaka."
"Manaka? Who's that?" Shirou asked.
"She's my older sister." Ayaka answered, her eyes saddening. "Both of us were locked up in Nobata Kazuzaki's laboratory."
"Huh?" Shirou exclaimed. "Nobata Kazuzaki?! Are you sure about that?"
Nobata Kazuzaki was a major sponsor of Sea Blossom. From what Shirou had investigated, it'd be safe to say that Sea Blossom would've never taken off without Kazuzaki's investment.
"If this is true, what was Kazuzaki hoping to achieve by keeping you locked up?" Shirou asked. 'Also, does this mean that Kazuzaki might be a magus himself?' "I apologize if I dredge up bad memories, but if your sister is captured, she might be in danger. Maybe along with Bazett, too."
Magi putting their investments into mundane projects was not unheard of. For all their preference of the 'old days', even they had to keep in touch with modern currency.
"I don't think we need to worry about Manaka." Ayaka revealed after a while. "Kazuzaki was originally after Manaka, not me. Manaka was willing to participate in their experiments from the start, too."
Warning bells rang in Shirou's mind. "Experiments?"
"I don't want to talk about that right now." Ayaka shot down the unspoken question. "I'm sorry."
"I see... Sorry about that." Shirou apologized. If Ayaka's life resembled Sakura's in any way... "Well, let's put a pause on this conversation and go eat. I still haven't tasted any dinner for myself."
Shirou patted Ayaka's head before walking towards the table... and stopping at the sight of the empty platters. "Huh? Where'd all the meat go?! Didn't I cook up to twelve boxes of them?!"
Shinji thumbed at the side in annoyance, making Shirou look and gasp at the sight of Taiga polishing off her last plate while being surrounded by empty dishes.
"No way..." Shirou stepped back in disbelief. "I knew she had a big appetite, but Fuji-nee really went and ate it all?!"
Sighing in satisfaction, Taiga put down her plate and leaned back.
"What am I supposed to eat then?" Shirou fell to his knees distraught, not responding to Sakura as she patted his back. "You bottomless pit of a tiger!"
"Who are you calling a tiger?!"
Off to the side, Ayaka blinked as Shirou and Taiga launched into another impromptu brawl and finally smiled for the first time in their presence, letting the lightness of the atmosphere fill her.
Several feet below the resort and within the facility Ayaka had escaped from, Caren and a certain man met with each other once again.
"How is the serpent's progress?"
"Right now, it's following the trail left for it and heading southeast." Caren answered. "It's expected to arrive in the vicinity of Sea Blossom either by tomorrow afternoon or dawn the day after."
A few thousand miles away, the 'serpent' kept on it's steady journey through the depths, it's very presence forcing the other aquatic lifeforms to scatter away from it's path.
"I see." The man hummed in satisfaction. "Pretty much going as planned. Has her 'vessel' not returned yet?"
"No need to worry. She will definitely return." Caren assured with a smile. "And it will even be of her own free will."
"While I am skeptical, I'll choose to believe you since you've been an important collaborator of our project." The man answered after a short pause.
"You honor me, Lieutenant General Kazuzaki." Caren curtsied.
"Please, I'm only giving respect where it's due, Sister Hortensia." Kazuzaki replied before he left to attend to other business. "Also, I've been retired from the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force for years now. Just call me Chairman like the others."
Watching him go, Caren turned about and went on her own way, traversing the various hallways until she reached her destination.
A room with Bazett Fraga McRemitz bound to a pole while just waking up as Caren entered.
"Nice of you to wake up." Caren greeted as she stood before Bazett.
"How did you render me unconscious?" Bazett instantly asked while straining against her cuffs. Unfortunately, they seemed to be made of a sturdy material that was blocking her Magic Circuits from activating. "I'm missing two minutes worth of my memories."
"Oh. I knew I was forgetting something." Caren shook her head before tapping Bazett's forehead. "Remember."
Bazett lurched up-
-and stood protectively between Ayaka's disappearing back and the pursuer who'd chosen to leisurely walk after them.
"Do you really think an elementary schoolgirl can escape here by herself?" The silver-haired woman asked with a tone full of mirth.
"She's not alone." Bazett clenched her fists after cracking her knuckles. "I'll catch up to her right after I deal with you."
"No, you won't." The silver-haired woman shook her head, granting Bazett a chance to charge forward as her eyes closed. She would land a strong blow to the head to at least disorient her first- "Sleep."
And Bazett obeyed, her eyes shutting while her body flailed-
-and sagged down, hanging from her arms almost limply. "All... you had done... was speak to me...?"
Caren shrugged. "Actually, I gave you orders. I've recently become someone special enough that my orders can rarely be refused."
Bazett's eyes narrowed. "Just who in the world are you?"
"...I am Caren Hortensia." Caren answered after a pause. "An Exorcist of the Church... as well as the new Magician of the Sixth Magic."
Omake: Ritsuka and Argonaut's Grail War Act 2, Scene 3
The Grail Dialogue.
The brief interlude in which Rider had invited both Saber and Archer to discuss who would be most suited to claim the Grail.
Irisviel personally considered it to be nothing more than a confusing farce. All three of them were kings with the ego and power that accompanied that title. Not a single one of them would ever surrender the Grail to another.
Although, even she couldn't ignore the twinge of pity when Rider tore at Saber's view of kingship, the differences in their eras never as apparent as it currently was.
Which was why Kariya and Berserker's sudden appearance was a welcome surprise, if only to see what their new ally was about to do as he walked right up to Archer.
"Archer." Kariya spoke up, his voice still raspy despite how much healing Caster had invoked upon the young man's body. He'd never vocally admit it, but after hearing of Kariya's true reason to enter the War, Kiritsugu had been glad that he hadn't made a priority of killing him. On the other hand, Tokiomi's death had risen up to second priority right after Kayneth's. "I apologize for using you like a messenger, but I have some words for Tokiomi whom I'm very sure is watching through your senses."
"Oh? Well, aren't you quite the brazen mongrel?" Archer scoffed before tilting his head slightly to regard Kariya. "Very well, then. Tonight, you shall enjoy my generosity. Speak your message. For your sake, it had better be interesting enough."
"Thank you, Archer." Kariya breathed deeply as if preparing to rehearse a practiced speech. "Look... fuck you, Tokiomi. Fuck that shitty goatee, fuck that garishly red Armani suit of yours, fuck your pretentious gem scepter, fuck your designer shoes with the belt buckles on them, fuck your posh 'I'm oh so noble' attitude, fuck your wine collection, fuck your jewels; both your actual gems and your balls if I have to be clear, fuck your shitty hairstyle and once again, fuck you, Tokiomi, for being the moron who took a look at Zouken Matou and went: 'Well, he looks like a totally reasonable person I'd trust to raise my daughter, nevermind the fact that one of his sons ran away from him and the other he raised grew up into a chronic drunkard.'. Now if you've got a problem with everything that you clearly just heard, you can show up at the river bridge tomorrow night so that I can slap the shit outta you."
Irisviel gaped, being completely dumbfounded with her jaw dropped.
Kariya finished with a wheeze before before his head a little to Archer. "Thank you for relaying my message, Archer. If Tokiomi isn't too much of a pussy, there's no way he'll ignore me."
Archer burst into the loudest cackle yet with Rider laughing along. Even Saber's lips twitched a bit. "He better not! There are few words that could describe how disgraceful that would be!"
"Now that was spiteful..." Rider's Master finally spoke up once he got control of his own dropped jaw, a hint of comradery in his eyes. "How long have you been holding that in?"
Kariya breathed out in an extremely vindicated manner. "Years."
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