Chapter Nine

Unexpected Surprises

I walked down my driveway with my hands in my pockets on a chilly December morning. Around me I could hear birds chirping and dogs barking as the neighborhood begun to wake up. I looked up into the sky to see the sun shining brightly as it always did, however even with the sun shining in the sky it was still cold as I felt the cold nipping at my face. It was Early December and summer had long passed with autumn being left behind and winter setting in, with winter came far colder weather, before I knew it snow would be falling onto the ground. I looked back down and saw that a slight fog was resting over the pond and even from the end of my driveway I could hear the ripples of the water out on the pond. A smile formed on my face as I enjoyed such a peaceful morning, a reminder of how glad I was to be home in Pennsylvania and not on some battlefield in France. As I stood there enjoying the peaceful sounds of a beautiful Monday morning and watching my cold breath in the air, I was reminded of why I came out here. I looked down at the mailbox and pulled my hand out of to pull down the lid. Reaching inside I found several letters waiting inside for me, I pulled them out before I shut the lid of the mailbox. Then I was reminded of what I didn't like, it was that time of the month again!

"Bills, Bills, and more Bills…" I murmured as I glossed over the letters from the various companies who I owed money too. It was already bad enough that the Government stole a large portion of my paycheck, but then again it wasn't so bad, the companies weren't forcing me to pay these bills, I was doing so willingly. However before I could bemoan taxation and the Government any further, I found a most curious letter out of envelopes I received. On the front of the letter was my name and address, but there was no return address. I tucked the other envelopes in between my armpits and flipped the letter over and saw the familiar diamonds of Chaldea Security Organization keeping the letter shut. I peeled the seal off of the back of the letter, and pulled a neatly folded letter out from the envelope. As I unfolded the letter the letter to read, I rested against my mailbox. The letter read as following in a sloppy yet adorable handwriting:

Dear Christopher,

I hope this letter reaches you well, the Doctor assures me it will so I will have to take his word on it… I finally did it Chris, it took a couple of embarrassing moments and lots of work, but I'm finally able to read and write. I still have a lot more work ahead of me but I am at least now able to write and read. I've begun to read the bible now and it is as good as I imagined, have you ever read the bible? This is my very first ever written letter so I hope that you'll bear with me and my bad writing Chris.

So how have you been Christopher? It's been several months since we've seen each other, and I hope the three of you are doing well in this America that you speak of. I have never heard of America, but then again I never knew of any other countries in my life besides Britain and France, although I had heard some stuff about the Holy Roman Empire to the east. To be honest with you, I do not even know where Chaldea is located. So I'll hope you forgive my ignorance if I ask where America is located. I know that I could ask for a Map, but I would rather hear about it from you.

I've been doing my best writing and reading like you told me too, it's been difficult, but I've been pushing forward. The Doctor has been a very good teacher and has been there to help me whenever I need it…. Still though, I wish you had been here to teach me how to read and write. I don't blame you for going home, but it's just that I find things more enjoyable and more understandable when you teach them to me.

I've been trying to keep myself occupied while you've been away, but outside of my studies all I really do is read the bible or some of the books Doctor Roman has recommended that I start off with. I've really tried to make use of the facilities provided by Chaldea to keep myself busy, I've worked out at Chaldea's gym and tried out some of the other recreational activities, but still I find myself growing bored at doing the same things day in and day out. I do not know how anyone could work here 365 Days a Year, I do not like it, I feel cramped within the confines of Chaldea. I wish I could leave and see the outside world, but it's far too cold outside to even step outside of the compound. I do not like the Cold Christopher, I am not use to it, it was never this cold in France. So for now I guess I will stay put inside the cramped yet warm confines of Chaldea. However one positive I can say for sure is that it is far more enjoyable to be relaxing here at Chaldea than fighting on the battlefields of France, yet there is some anxiety as I await the next singularity and what it has in store for us.

I fear I am have already rambled on for too long already so I will wrap up my letter. I do hope you'll write me so that I may hear from you soon Christopher, it's to help me with my writing of course! Anyways, I send you my best wishes and I hope you'll stay safe until I see you again. Please give my best wishes to Mashu and Lancer as well!

Sincerely,

Jeanne D'arc

As my eyes reached the end of the letter the smile on my face had grown larger. It had been so long since I had talked to Jeanne and her letter was an enjoyable surprise. I was glad to hear that Jeanne had finally learned how to read and write, and she had done so even without my help. I had expected as much from Jeanne, she was a bright young girl even if she was a bit naive. Still I was a bit surprised she had learned this quickly, from what I had gathered Jeanne had struggled while she was alive to read and write. It had been only about 7 months since we had left Jeanne at Chaldea, and in said 7 months she was now able to write English. That was an impressive feat for someone of a foreign language who had struggled to learn how to even write in her own language. I must say that I am not only surprised, but impressed with Jeanne and Roman. Roman must be doing something right, or perhaps it's just easier to learn English than other languages. I was not certain for I had grown up learning English alongside of German and it was so very long ago. Nevertheless I should respond to Jeanne immediately, from her letter it seemed like Jeanne was already growing restless at Chaldea. It would be good to keep in touch with her since it had been so long since we had spoken, and I did miss speaking to her…. And it was as she said; it would help improve her writing to send letters back and forth between each other.

I carefully folded the letter and tucked it into my jacket pocket with trusted care while shoving my bills into my other pocket. Upon closing the lid on my mailbox, I turned around and made my way back towards my house. Reaching the bottom of the stairs I ascended them until I reached the top where I entered in my pin to hear the metallic click letting me know the door was open. I opened the door and stepped inside where I was greeted by a fluffy four legged creature.

"Hey there Shadow. I'm back." I said patting Shadow's head as he tried to leap onto me. "Calm down Shadow, I only went to the mailbox. It's not like I went off to fight another war." I said jokingly as I calmed the hyperactive dog down. Once Shadow had calmed down I closed the door behind me and faced the living room. It was there where I found the friendly face of a pink haired young girl looking at me. As I always did when I came back from picking up the mail every morning.

"Welcome back Senpai." Mashu said giving me a warm greeting upon my return.

"Thanks Mashu, but I only went to the mailbox. You don't need to welcome me back every morning." I said as I stepped into the living room and looked down to face her.

"I know that, but it's still the proper thing to do when someone comes home." Mashu said and I smiled in response.

"You're going to make an excellent wife to someone, one day Mashu." I said as I raised my hand up to my mouth as I couldn't help but chuckle. However Mashu's reaction was not quite what I expected, as a frown seemed to form on her face and something seemed to bother her. "What's wrong Mashu? Did I say something wrong?" I inquired and as I made my inquiry, the frown on Mashu's face disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

"I-It's nothing Senpai!" Mashu said as she put on a cheerful face. "I was just worried about you! What about you? Who will you become an excellent husband too?" Mashu inquired.

"Oh me?" I said as I jerked my thumb back at myself. "I'll just live the life of a Bachelor with my dog, forever." I said and Mashu giggled happily in response.

"But Senpai, there must be an excellent wife out there who needs an excellent husband like you?" Mashu said.

"Are you trying to say that you want to marry me Mashu? I'm afraid you're a little too young." I said amusingly as I chuckled. Mashu only giggled some more at my response and I scooted past her and plopped down on the couch next to her. "Besides the marriage life isn't for me." I added.

"Is that so?" Mashu said with an amused smile as she turned on the couch to face me.

"Yes." I replied as I reached into my pockets and pulled the many envelopes out of my jacket pockets.

"Are those more Bills, Senpai?" Mashu inquired as she inspected the envelopes in my lap.

"It's always the case the beginning of the month, but this time it's not all doom and gloom this time around." I said as I reached into my jacket and pulled the carefully letter out from my pocket, all the while Mashu watched me with curious eyes. "A letter from Jeanne came in the mail; it would appear as if Jeanne has finally learned how to read and write… or at least the basics." I said and as I finished my sentence, Mashu's face brightened up more than the Las Vegas Strip.

"Really?! That's great news! It's been so long since I've heard from Jeanne! What did her letter say?" Mashu begged as she asked several questions at once. I couldn't help but smile in response as I unfolded the letter and handed it to her.

"Here Mashu, read it for yourself." I replied and I don't think Mashu's face could brighten up anymore, but if it could it would have, for that I am certain.

"Thank you very much Senpai." Mashu said with a nod of her head in appreciation as she accepted the letter. I sat back into the couch and crossed my arms as I sat there waiting for Mashu to finish reading Jeanne's letter. I watched as Mashu's eyes went down the lines of the letter and several chuckles left Mashu's mouth as she read the letter. Once she was finished she placed the letter down in her lap and turned to face me. A smile was on her lips as she turned to face me. "Even if her handwriting is a bit sloppy, I'm very happy to see she's made good progress over these Seven months, the Doctor must be doing something right." Mashu said.

"That's what I was thinking. The Doctor must be an excellent teacher or he found some sort of teaching method that best suits Jeanne." I said. Mashu nodded her head before her expression turned serious all of a sudden.

"Senpai! Why have you not written Jeanne sooner?!" Mashu exclaimed. "It has been several months since we have seen her and you did not think to check in on her every month or few weeks? Jeanne is one of our friends and partners in the Grail Wars!" Mashu exclaimed even louder and I was left sitting there unsure of what to say.

"... W-Well I didn't think that it would make much sense to write her letters if she can't respond to them…!" I said and suddenly I felt a sting on the left side of my face as Mashu pinched my cheeks.

"Baka." Mashu said with a strong emphasis. "Even if Jeanne could not respond to you, I am sure she would appreciate the letters from one of her closest friends, on top of being her Master." Mashu scolded me. "Or you could call Jeanne, this is the 21st Century in case you forgot Senpai." Mashu added.

"Owe Owe." I exclaimed as Mashu pinched my cheeks. "You didn't call her either Mashu! You are just as capable of calling her as I am. Also you and Jeanne are far closer together than I am with her." I pointed out which only earned me a harder pinching on the cheeks.

"I keep in touch with Roman every now and then, now quit making up excuses." Mashu said as she pulled harder on my cheeks.

"Owe Owe! Alright, Alright! I was just going to write my response letter to her." I exclaimed.

"Good, now don't forget to answer all of her questions and don't make it a short letter either!" Mashu said in a scolding manner as she let go of my cheeks.

"Owie." I said as I rubbed my reddened cheeks. "I never knew Mashu could be so demanding." I said humored by Mashu's scolding.

"Every Senpai needs a Good Kohai to keep them in line, even you Senpai." Mashu replied as a smile formed on her lips, I couldn't help but smile in return. It wasn't long before the both of us started cracking up and eventually broke out in laughter. After we wiped away our tears of laughter, I reached over and patted Mashu softly on the head.

"That I do Mashu, and I appreciate my reliable Kohai who always keeps me in line." I said affectionately as I pushed myself up off the couch and looked down at Mashu. "I'm going to go start writing on my letter to Jeanne, I'll be sure to answer all of her questions and make my letter long and detailed." I added.

"Please also tell Jeanne-san I said hello and give her my warm regards!" Mashu exclaimed and I chuckled.

"Of course I will let her know you said hello, and I shall include Mashu's warm hugs and affection." I said jokingly and Mashu's eyes widened.

"You can actually do that!?" Mashu exclaimed.

"No unfortunately we can not do that quite yet." I said chuckling amused once more.

"Senpai?" Mashu called my name and I looked to face her, Mashu expression was stern and serious.

"Yes?" I replied.

"Senpai quit your job at Chaldea and make it so that you can send hugs to people." Mashu said looking at me seriously.

"But if I did that, who will go back and stop the destruction of humanity?" I asked jokingly, however it was no joke for Mashu.

"Scathach, Jeanne and I will manage without you. However Humanity will cease to exist if you do not invent a way for us to send hugs!" Mashu said as she raised her fist up determined.

"Oh well then if that's the case, I better get straight on it." I replied with an amused smile.

"Yes you should, but first you should write that letter to Jeanne." Mashu said as she lowered her fist and her expression returned to more of a light hearted one.

"Of course, I'll get on it right now." I said with a subtle bow and a chuckle left Mashu's lips.

"I'll talk to you later Senpai." Mashu said and I looked up at her.

"Talk to you later Mashu." I said before I turned around and headed into the hallway…

After concluding the pleasant conversation with Mashu and stepping into the hall, I reached my hand out and grasped the door handle twisting it before pushing it open. It was then when I was reminded that everything was a lie and that sweet girls like Mashu were the exception not the reality. My eternal torment manifested in reality was sitting before my eyes in the same spot I always found it.

Scathach did not acknowledge my presence as I entered the room and instead continued reading the book in her hands. Even as I made my way across the room and over to my desk, her eyes never left the pages of her book as she continued to ignore me. I made my way around my desk and grasped one of the arms as I turned around to sit down in my seat. Upon plopping my butt into my seat, I rested my arm on my desk and rested my head against my hand as I looked at Scathach with narrowed eyes as I watched her sitting in her chair. While Mashu and I had gotten closer over the Summer months doing things together like playing out on the pond, walking Shadow together, and going out to get Ice Cream. Meanwhile Scathach and I's relationship hasn't changed at all over these several months...

"Why are you staring at me with those dead looking eyes of yours?" Scathach said blankly as she flipped a page in her book. I let out a sigh of annoyance in response. Even though I had said that I was going to act professional from now on with Scathach in hopes of getting our relationship to something less hostile, that was easier said than done. No matter how much I acted nice to Scathach in our interactions, I still received the same cold shoulder and scathing retorts as always from Scathach.

"I wasn't looking at you in particular; I was looking at the chair." I replied as I narrowed my eyes even further. "I'm watching it too see if it will collapse on you, given how much time you spend sitting in it." I said, my tone filled with sarcasm. Scathach however seemed unfazed nor the least bit angry at my sarcastic comment and instead responded in her same cold tone as always.

"If this chair was to collapse on me, it would be because your cheap ass bought it." Scathach replied and I let out another sigh. "Oh well I guess, I think I'd rather have the cold shoulder then the tongue lashing I use to get." I thought to myself before continuing onto my next thought. "Well technically Scathach would still elbow me and pinch me when she would get really angry, but at least she hasn't been punching me or should I say she's wasn't punching me in the face or stomach, arms were still fair game..." I thought to myself as I tapped my chin before I swiveled around in my chair to face my computer monitor. It was best not to antagonize Scathach any further, besides I needed to work on my letter to Jeanne. Grabbing my mouse I swiveled it on the mousepad and the screen lit back up, and I proceeded to open a Microsoft Word Document. Just I was about to begin my letter to Jeanne, I was interrupted….

Ringing filled my ears as my cell phone went off in my jacket pocket. I retracted my hands from my keyboard and reached into my jacket pocket where I grasped my cell phone and pulled it out.

"Who on Earth could be calling me?" I said as I looked down at the screen to see the caller ID. Instead the caller was not someone from my contacts and the number was a foreign number, however I recognized that it was from Japan since I had seen the type of numbering before from Shizuka's number. I tapped the green button on my phone and brought it up to my ear as I waited for the caller to speak.

"Konnichiwa." The voice of an older woman said on the other side. I sat there blankly for a moment not responding.

"I'm afraid you have the wrong number, I'm going to have to hang up now." I said as I brought the phone down from my ear and just as the phone reached my lap I heard a voice cry out.

"Wait No, don't hang up you idiot it's me!" The voice of the woman cried out and I returned my phone to my ear. "It's me Rin Tohsaka!" Rin scowled into my ear.

"Oh?" I murmured.

"Oh is right." Rin replied.

"You should have just said so when you first called me." I said. "How am I supposed to know its you when all I hear is "Konnichiwa" coming from some woman on the other end?" I said, saying Konnichiwa in my best impression of Ms. Tohsaka's voice. This however earned me the wrath of Ms. Tohsaka as she proceeded to chew me out.

"Of course it's me, who else is going to be calling you from Japan you idiot?!" Rin snapped at me through the phone.

"Oh well, I do have a friend from Japan who calls me every now and then. Speaking of which, aren't you supposed to greet me with Moshi Moshi the same cute way my friend does." I murmured and I heard what sounded like a surprised gasp from Ms. Tohsaka.

"You're only supposed to say Moshi Moshi when you're on the receiving end of a call, idiot. More importantly, you have friends?" Rin said. She said that sounding as if she was completely shocked by the fact that I had friends, but then again I can't say that I was surprised that she was surprised.

"Why yes I actually do, I have eight friends, even." I said. "And how many friends do you have?" I inquired and there was a grumble from the other end.

"W-what's it to you?!" Rin stuttered in response.

"You were the one who asked me first, so it's only fair that you answer me." I said and I could only imagine Ms. Tohsaka's face on the other end as I heard more grumbling on the other end.

"S-Six…" Rin murmured as she replied to me.

"Oh? Only Six friends? Are you including family members?" I said raising an eyebrow.

"OF COURSE NOT YOU IDIOT!" Rin barked into my ear which caused me to move the phone away from my ear for a moment before I returned it.

"Relax I was only joking, no need to get all bent out of shape." I said as I chuckled, amused at how easy it was to get her riled up. There was a sigh from the other end and it sounded as if Ms. Tohsaka had recomposed herself.

"You should be thankful to Arturia, if it wasn't for talking to her almost everyday my English would surely not be as good as it is." Rin said.

"I'm sure you'd still manage to chew my head off if you couldn't speak English." I said jokingly and there was a growl from the other end. "But even so, don't you have to deal with the Clock tower regularly since you're a member? I find it hard to believe you'd find many Japanese speaking members in the Heart of London. The Birthplace of the English Language." I added.

"This is true." Rin muttered after a moment and I tilted my head against my phone freeing up one of my hands as I proceeded to begin my letter to Jeanne.

"So what is it that you wish to speak to me about? I doubt this is a social call." I said and there was a pause on the other end before Ms. Tohsaka replied.

"I need to speak to you, in person." Rin said and her tone turned serious and I quit writing my message to Jeanne as I brought my hand back up to my phone.

"Does this mean…?" I inquired.

"I found some information that I think you might want to see for yourself." Rin said. "I don't want to say much over the line, but I think I found out who was responsible for the bombings." Rin said.

"Don't you think that you're acting a bit paranoid? Who could possibly be listening in on our conversation?" I inquired as I scratched my head.

"I won't say anymore than this, but the person who carried out the attack is near the top of Chaldea Security Organization." Rin said and my eyes widened a little as I leaned forward in my chair.

"Are you serious? We knew it was an inside job, but I didn't think it would be someone near the top…" I murmured.

"I won't say anymore. I'll tell you everything face to face. I have all the evidence you'll need to show the Director." Rin said.

"O-Okay where do you want to meet? I can meet you here in the city and we can talk here…" I suggested.

"No I want to meet you elsewhere, I fear that they may have agents watching you, so it would be best to try and put distance between you and where you live." Rin explained. "That way you can possibly try and lose any watchful eyes over you and the surrounding areas." Rin added.

"Alright so where do you want to meet then?" I inquired as I scrambled through my desk drawers to find a pen and pad. After finding one I opened it up and prepared to write down the location.

"Let's meet in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania." Rin said.

"Eh? You want to meet in Philly?" I said scratching my head. "Driving to Philadelphia sounded like a real pain, not mention how huge it was and how many people there were. I tended to avoid going to big cities, so it was a huge pain all around." I thought to myself as I wrote Philadelphia on my pad.

"Yes meeting you there is a perfect place, it's so huge that anyone following you is bound to get lost." Rin said and I guess she had a point, although I was equally as likely to get lost in Philly. "Also I hear there are some rich historical places of American History that I'd like to visit." Rin added. Considering she had something super important to tell and show me, I questioned whether going sightseeing was really a smart idea, but I found it best to never question women like Rin Tohsaka.

"Alright so where and when do you want to meet me?" I said with my pen ready.

"I'd like to tell you as soon as possible, but I can't exactly skip out on some obligations I have not to mention I have to make preparations." Rin said with a sigh and it sounded like she was scratching her head in frustration. "So how does two weeks from now sound?" Rin inquired and I looked over my calendar down on my computer. Not that I needed too, as I knew that I didn't have anything planned. All I ever did was work, play games in my downtime, and sleep. The only highlighted date in December was Christmas and Christmas Eve, but other than that there were no important dates or meetings.

"Two weeks sounds fine, so where do you want to meet exactly?" I asked.

"How about later in the day, we can have dinner while we talk about it." Rin said sounding amused and I let out a sigh. "However where exactly I want Dinner has yet to be decided so I'll text you the location when I find a good place to eat." Rin said and it was my turn to sigh.

"What do I look like to you? A piggy bank?" I grumbled.

"Oh calm down, I'll be paying for my own dinner." Rin said and I scratched my head.

"Alright then..." I said and paused for a moment. "Should I inform the Director about this?" I inquired and Rin's response was swift and strong.

"No absolutely not." Rin replied sternly. "Do not tell anyone at Chaldea about this until you see what I have to show you. I'll let you decide what to do after you've seen the information I have…" Rin said.

"O-Okay then." I said taken aback a little. "Exactly who was the traitor at Chaldea? It couldn't be the Director herself could it?" I thought to myself.

"I'll see you in two weeks." Rin said.

"Yeah I'll see you then. Goodbye." I said.

"Jane." Rin said, sounding a bit like she was mocking me for what I had said early on in our conversation. With that the line went dead as Ms. Tohsaka had hung up and I lowered the phone from my ear and stared at the black screen on my phone before putting my hand over my mouth. "What information could Rin possibly have to show me? Who could it be in Chaldea that carried out that devastating attack 2 years ago? We had known that it was an inside job, but I had really never thought about it. Let alone have thought that it was somewhere near the top. Could it be the Director? No it couldn't be, her whole mission is to preserve humanity? What about Roman? No that's impossible, Roman isn't capable of hurting a fly. Anderson? No, I've known Anderson my whole career and he's got a wife and daughter he talks about passionately, there's no way he'd want humanities destruction…. Who could it be….?" I thought to myself as I tried to wrack my brain trying to figure out who it could possibly be. I had completely put any thoughts about our inside mole in the back of my head, because I had thought that they had been long gone by now. They could be for all I know, but Rin had been making it sound right they were still there. I continued to sit there for several minutes before I looked up at my screen to see my letter that I had begun to Jeanne. I scooted closer towards my computer screen and set my phone down on my desk. "For now all I could do is wait until my meeting with Rin, when I met with her I would figure it all out. For now I'll just carry on as usual, if what Rin said was true, it might be best not to raise suspicion." I thought to myself as I rested my hands on my keyboard and picked off where I had left off with my letter to Jeanne…

Dear Jeanne,

Of course I will write to you Jeanne, I very much miss speaking to you. So it would be a pleasure to write to you. First off let me say that I am very much pleased to hear that you are finally able to read and write Jeanne, I knew you could do it. Despite what you said I do want to apologize for not being the one to teach you like I promised and I hope you will not bear any resentment towards me.

Now to answer your first question. America is a land far to the West of France across the spanning ocean, four thousand seven hundred and seventy five miles to be exact. It is vast land made up of many rivers, lakes, and mountains. It is also a land of Eagles, Bacon, and Guns….. I joke of course. You are currently a few hundred miles North of America right now Jeanne near the Arctic Circle. It's quite hard to explain America in words; I hope you will be able to see if for yourself one day. However I hope you might take some interest in knowing that your country of France helped America two hundred years ago gain our independence from the British during our revolution, so our countries have had a long friendship….

Two Weeks Later

I pulled the closet door shut to see my reflection in the mirror face me. I buttoned up my jacket before straightening out my tie. I straightened out my jacket as I finished pulling myself together after buttoning up the last button on my jacket. I made my way over towards the door and grasped the handle pulling the door open, before I headed out I stopped in the doorway and looked over my shoulder.

"I've got something I need to do, so I'm taking a short trip somewhere Scathach, I'll be back in a day or two. While I'm gone you're in charge of the house." I said.

"Sure." Scathach said without the slightest indication of interest as she did not look up at me as she turned a page in her book. I could only face forward and rub the back of my neck in awkwardness, before I stepped out into the hallway and made my way into the living room. A friendly chipper voice greeted me as I did.

"Good Morning Senpai!" Mashu exclaimed. I turned around to face Mashu as she sat on the living room couch on her tablet. I smiled in reply to Mashu who was looking my over curiously. "Senpai are you going somewhere?"

"Ah Yes I am. I have to take a personal trip somewhere." I said as I walked over to where Mashu was and sat down on the edge of the couch next to her.

"What's this personal trip for Senpai?" Mashu inquired. "Can I come with you?"

"I'm going to go meet with… an old friend." I said after a moment's hesitation. "I haven't seen them in awhile so we're just going to catch up, it's nothing special Mashu. No need to come along, it would just be boring for you." I said as I reached up and patted Mashu's head.

"Okay Senpai! I hope you enjoy your time with your friend!" Mashu exclaimed with an affectionate smile and I smiled in return.

"I will, Thank you Mashu." I said with a nod of my head. "I'll be leaving Scathach in charge while I'm gone. So please listen to her alright." I said and Mashu ruffled her eyebrows a little bit.

"O-Okay Senpai." Mashu said hesitantly.

"Don't worry Mashu, I'll be back in a day or two." I said as I stood up and patted Mashu on the head. "Don't cause too much trouble for Scathach now you hear?" I said jokingly and Mashu giggled.

"I won't, I promise Senpai." Mashu said as I turned around and made my way towards the door. As I opened a kitchen drawer and retrieved my car keys, I heard footsteps behind me and when I turned around I found Mashu standing behind me.

"Please stay safe Senpai!" Mashu exclaimed as she looked up at me with her fist raised.

"Don't worry Mashu, I'll be fine." I said giving her a pat on the head and walked past her to the door. As I opened the door Mashu and Shadow stood by and watched me leave.

"Goodbye Senpai, I'll see you soon!" Mashu said as she waved goodbye. I returned Mashu's wave.

"Bye Mashu, be back soon." I said casually as I walked outside into the falling snow…

I walked down the stairs carefully with one hand on the railing, so I didn't slip and fall. It would be one short trip if I didn't even make it down the stairs. As my feet touched the ground I put my hands into my pockets and made my way over to my car where I unlocked it. Grasping the door handle I opened the car door before quickly getting inside with the slam of the door. I pulled the key out of my pocket and put into the ignition, the car roared to life. I pushed the brake down, placed my foot down on the clutch pedal, and rested my hand on the shifter. Shifting into first gear the car slowly rolled forward. What would naturally be something normal to me, made me feel a little uneasy as I slowly inched forward. "Yes it was best not to get Mashu or Scathach involved in this until I found out what was really going on…" I thought to myself, trying to reassure myself as I pushed my foot down on the pedal and pulled out of the driveway and began my long journey to Philadelphia...

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed, and if you did please consider leaving a favorite/like and be sure to follow Book III to keep up to date when the next chapter comes out. Or better yet hop onto the official Fated Destiny Discord where we talk about all things Fate, Post Salty FGO Rolls, and even talk about Girls Frontline and Azur Lane. Feel free to leave constructive feedback and reviews in the comments below or tell me what you think I need to improve on. Just a reminder that new chapters of Book Three release every two weeks on Friday or Saturday. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and look forward to seeing you next time.

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