New Discoveries
April 14th, 2015
"Okay, you guys should be good to go." Davinci said. "Ritsuka, how about you go first?"
The male Master nodded and stepped up to the platform. It was agreed that once per day, the two Masters would attempt to summon something, and increase their roster and have more allies on their side. Thankfully, Ritsuka and Tatsuko have managed to do just that in the past week.
The male Master decided to scatter those thoughts from his mind, put the Saint Quarts in the slot and pulled the lever. The Summoning Chamber sprang to life, and the familiar orbs appeared at the center. They soon spun around in a single ring, causing Ritsuka to cross his fingers as the pillar of light erupted.
"Please don't let it be that." He begged. "Anything but that."
As the light dissipated, Ritsuka stared at the center of the room and gritted his teeth in defeat.
Standing in the center of the room, was more mapo tofu.
"Okay, whoever thought it was a good idea for this to be a thing, I'm going to have some VERY unpleasant words with them." He said with barely contained annoyance.
Tatsuko and the others in the room raised an eyebrow at the statement. Whatever his reasons, He REALLY hated mapo tofu.
"Okay, how about you try nine more times?" Tatsuko asked. "Oh, we could make a game out of it!"
Ritsuka turned to her and shrugged. "I don't see why not."
"Then I have an idea!" The female Master shouted. "The one who uses the least amount of Quarts wins."
"Hey, that's not a bad idea." Liz said. She then turned to the male Master and smiled. "Go on puppy, let's see how many Quarts you use up!"
Ritsuka ignored the nickname but proceeded to activate the Summoning Chamber again. Another single ring of light spun around, causing Ritsuka to stare at the center of the room with intense focus.
To his dismay, he once again summoned more mapo tofu. The male Master exhaled sharply.
"Okay, third times the charm." He said as he put another Saint Quarts in the slot. He pulled the lever again, and hoped for the best.
Once again, more mapo tofu.
The male Master lightly tapped the panel with his fingers in annoyance. He took a few deep breaths and sighed.
"Okay, how about number four?" He asked under his breath. The male Master then did the procedure again, and watched the Summoning process begin again.
Unfortunately, the fourth time was NOT the charm, and more mapo tofu appeared.
Ritsuka's eyes twitched in frustration, but Tatsuko's eyes widened as she saw the frustration boil within him.
(OC: Good, good! Let the salt flow through you Ritsuka!)
"Holy smokes I think he might actually blow a gasket." She said.
"What makes you say that Ms. Tatsuko?" d'Eon asked.
"Look at his face, it's starting to turn red."
The Saber decided to take a look and their eyes widened in surprise. Ritsuka really WAS starting to turn red, at least until he started to take deep breaths and put his hands up.
"Calm, calm, I'm calm." He muttered to himself. He then put another Saint Quarts in the slot, and pulled the lever. The orbs appeared once more, and, much to his delight, spun around with a golden hue before breaking into three separate rings.
"Finally!" He shouted. Everyone shielded their eyes for a moment as the pillar of light erupted in the center. As soon as it dissipated, the Chaldeans lowered their arms, and stared at the Summoning Circle in surprise. A lone Heroic Spirit knelt upon the center, alongside a very familiar dragon. The Heroic Spirit stood up and smiled at the Chaldeans in front of her.
"Well, it seems we finally meet under better circumstances." She said. She looked at both Masters and cleared her throat. "I apologize for my actions in France…..and for accidentally setting Tarasque on you….."
"It's fine." Ritsuka said. "We could tell you weren't aiming for us."
Martha breathed a sigh of relief. "That is good to hear. Oh where are my manners? My name is Martha, just plain Martha."
"Well it's good to have you on board." Tatsuko said. "Welcome to Chaldea, Martha!"
The Rider nodded at the female Master, that is until she saw a familiar purple haired Assassin standing by the doorway, causing her to smile.
"I guess we managed to meet again after all." Martha said. "It is good to see you again, Kojiro."
Kojiro simply smiled back, and gave the Rider a small bow as she walked off the platform. She then gasped as she saw d'Eon standing next to Medusa.
"Oh, I didn't know someone else from the Dragon Witch's side was here as well." Martha said. "It is good to see you again, Chevalier d'Eon, and under better circumstances."
The Saber nodded, albeit reluctantly. "Pardon my rudeness my lady, but I would rather leave what happened there behind me. I'm trying to restore my honor as a knight for what I've done."
"You're making progress." Artoria said sternly. "Just do what you've been doing, and maybe you can regain it."
d'Eon nodded at the comment as Martha looked at Tarasque.
"Can you go into your spirit form Tarasque? You won't be needed right now."
The dragon nodded and entered spirit form, allowing Martha to walk towards d'Eon and Artoria.
"Is everyone else from her side here? Or are we the only two who got summoned?"
"Vlad is here too." d'Eon answered. "And so is Sanson."
"I see. I hope they haven't caused anyone here any problems."
"Actually Vlad doesn't remember anything from France." Medusa replied. "We told him what happened, and yet he doesn't seem to hold it against us, and has remained incredibly polite, and Sanson has been quite the gentleman."
Martha sighed with relief. "Oh thank goodness. I was afraid they would be acting problematic."
As Martha talked to the other Servants, Tatsuko switched places with Ritsuka and took her place near the panel.
"Okay let's see how many tries it takes for me to get a bite."
The female Master put a quarts in and pulled the lever. The moment the summoning chamber sprang to life all conversations stopped. They watched as the orbs formed a single ring and spun around.
"Well shit, looks like I failed round one." Tatsuko muttered. The pillar of light erupted, and soon disappeared. Tatsuko stared at the center and raised an eyebrow at the object summoned.
"Okay I get the feeling these black key things are drawn to me for some reason."
The female Master repeated the procedure once again. Once again a single ring spun around, until the pillar of light appeared and died out. Tatsuko's mouth stood agape in disbelief as she saw more black keys appear in the circle.
"Okay that's twice now." She said. "I guess the third time's the charm."
She tried again, only for her to regret saying those words as more black keys appeared.
"Seriously?!" She asked in annoyance. "What is up with those things?!"
"Hey, at least you get something useful." Ritsuka countered. "I'm stuck with that awful mapo tofu."
"Okay, what is your deal with mapo tofu?" Liz asked.
"I fucking hate it."
"Have you ever tried it before?" Tatsuko asked.
"Yes, and I fucking hated it." Ritsuka answered.
"Senpai, you are starting to make me worried….." Mashu said. Ritsuka saw the look in her eyes and exhaled sharply.
"I'm sorry Mashu." He said. "I just can't stand that food is all."
Tatsuko cleared her throat and snapped everyone back to attention. She put another quarts in the slot and pulled the lever.
The orbs appeared once again, and started to form a golden glow, and spun around in three rings.
"Hell yeah, I won!" Tatsuko shouted. "Let's see who we summoned today!"
The pillar of light appeared and disappeared. The moment Tatsuko stared at the center, she immediately regretted winning the game as she watched the Servant stare at her with a smirk.
"I guess this must be fate." She said "I lost to you in France, and now you have summoned me."
"You seem awfully calm about that, Carmilla." Roman said shyly.
"Be silent." The Assassin countered. "You will speak when spoken to."
"Maybe you should take that advice yourself." Liz said.
Carmilla ignored her and turned to the two Masters. The Assassin grinned as she stared at Tatsuko. "Well, it's a shame that I cannot partake in your blood. I don't do that to my Masters."
She then turned to Mashu, her grin never leaving her face. "However, I think there is someone here that would suffice."
Davinci and Ritsuka did not hesitate as they walked towards Carmilla, and blocked Mashu from her view. The two of them glared at the Assassin with anger, something that amused Carmilla greatly.
"I suggest you rethink your little statement." Davinci hissed. "Unless you want to face the consequences of what could happen."
"Oh, and what if I don't." Carmilla asked in amusement.
"Then you will be de-summoned on the spot." Ritsuka answered.
Everyone stared at him in shock. They have NEVER seen Ritsuka like this before. It was as if he was a totally different person.
"Ritsuka, you're starting to scare us…" Tatsuko said.
Ritsuka looked across the room, and saw everyone's faces. He could see the shock upon most, but saw absolute concern in the eyes of Davinci, Roman, Tatsuko and Mashu. The male Master's face softened, and exhaled sharply.
"I'm sorry. It's just that I've been in a bad mood today." He said. "I don't mean to take it out on anyone."
Artoria walked to Ritsuka and put a hand on his shoulder. "How about we head to the training hall and start your lessons for the day. Maybe that will take your mind off of your troubles."
Ritsuka nodded. "Yeah, that actually might work."
"I'll go with you guys." Tatsuko said.
"I will too." Mashu said. "I want to make sure Senpai is okay."
"I wish I could watch, but I have some business that I need to attend to." Roman said.
"I'll go and watch." Davinci said. "I'll tell you everything about it later, Roman."
Roman nodded and walked out of the room. Medusa looked at d'Eon, Liz and Kojiro with a knowing glance.
"You three should watch the training session." She said. "I'll give these two the tour."
The three Servants nodded and walked alongside the Chaldean Trio, Artoria and Davinci towards the training hall.
Medusa returned her attention back to the two newest Servants and walked towards them.
"If you would kindly follow me, I will give you both a tour of Chaldea."
"As you can see, the Command Room will also serve as our way of Rayshifting to singularities. And from here, the staff can verify our existence and occasionally communicate with us if there is something that they feel is important."
Martha looked at the room in awe. "It is very impressive."
"It's too flashy." Carmilla said.
Medusa ignored the comment and cleared her throat. "Please follow me, and I will show you what else Chaldea has to offer."
The two Servants followed Medusa out of the Command Room and into the three Servants discussed Chaldea's mission, something that caused Martha to smile. Carmilla rolled her eyes at the conversation, she couldn't think this could get more uninteresting.
"It would seem that Chaldea now has a pest problem."
Or maybe she was wrong. The three Servants stopped in their tracks as they saw Vlad and Sanson glaring at the Assassin. Medusa saw the looks in the three Servants' eyes and immediately got in between them.
"Do you truly not remember France, Vlad?" Martha asked. "Or was that a lie?"
Vlad looked at the Rider and smiled. "It is the truth. Mr. Sanson and I have heard of what happened in that singularity. Especially our…..relationship with Carmilla. But regardless, it is good to see you, lady Martha."
Martha smiled and nodded at the compliment, something that caused Carmilla to raise an eyebrow.
"I'm a little offended." She said. "She gets a warm welcome, while I, a noblewoman, gets the cold shoulder? Is proper etiquette no longer followed?"
"To be perfectly honest, you haven't been giving a good first impression with your behavior." Medusa said. "If you want to be treated with some courtesy, then maybe you should show some in return."
Carmilla scoffed, causing Sanson to sigh. "Lady Carmilla, you aren't working for the Dragon Witch now. You're not going to do as you please if you keep behaving like this."
The sound of footsteps caused all of them to become silent. They turned to face the source and found Jeanne and Marie walking towards their location. The two girls saw the group of Servants and smiled.
"Oh Martha, it's good to see you again!" Marie said. The saint waved at them as Jeanne and Marie walked towards the group. Marie and Jeanne smiled at Carmilla as they did so.
"Hello Lady Carmilla." Jeanne said. "It seems that we will be working together now. I look forward to it."
Carmilla smirked as she turned to the others. "That's much better."
Marie raised an eyebrow and looked at Medusa with confusion. "Is there a problem?"
"Carmilla made a pretty bad impression in the Summoning chamber earlier." Medusa answered.
"What did she do?" Jeanne asked.
"She made a…..unnerving comment about Mashu's blood. And let's leave it at that."
Marie gasped. "Carmilla, you can't be saying stuff like that, nor can you do that in Chaldea!"
"And why not?" Carmilla asked. "I have been summoned, so I should be able to do as I please, am I not?"
"If that is what you truly believe, then you should take a look on the wall to your left." Vlad said. The Berserker pointed to the wall, causing the Rider and Assassin to stare at it. On the wall was a plaque describing Chaldea's No-Killing Policy. After eyeing it for some time, Martha raised an eyebrow at a certain phrase. She turned to Vlad with a confused expression.
"I do not mean to sound rude, but how come this is to respect Master Fujimaru's wishes?" She asked.
Vlad shrugged. "I do not know the details. I was shown the plaque on my tour in this establishment, and I have agreed to abide by it."
Martha then turned to look at Medusa, and saw her, Jeanne and Sanson staring at each other with slight uncertainty in their eyes. Carmilla, Marie and Vlad also noticed and raised their eyebrows.
"Is there something that you three would like to share with the rest of us?" Carmilla asked.
Jeanne looked at Medusa with even more uncertainty. "Medusa….. should we?"
Medusa remained silent for a moment, before nodding, albeit with great reluctance. "We should head to the cafeteria and sit down, and I'll tell you what Ritsuka has shared about his past so far. I must warn you, this isn't something me or some of the others like discussing because of how much it hurts us to be reminded of everything he went through."
The group nodded slowly and made their way to the cafeteria. Before Carmilla could even move, Medusa roughly pulled on the Assassin's arm, and turned her around to face her.
"I'm only going to say this once." The Rider said. "What you will hear about him is not something any of us take lightly. You will NOT mock him, do I make myself clear?"
Carmilla rolled her eyes. "I won't mock him, but I won't be spilling any tears either."
"I guess that will have to do." Medusa said. The Rider let go of the Assassin's arm, and they caught up to the others.
(Forty Five minutes later).
"And that is all we know." Medusa said. Martha and Marie stared at the Rider with saddened expressions. Vlad and Carmilla on the other hand, remained completely silent with an eerie calmness.
"Oh, that poor boy….." Marie muttered.
"Now I understand why you three were reluctant to tell us." Martha said. "I hope he will be able to get some help…."
"I agree." Vlad replied.
Carmilla raised an eyebrow at the statement. "I'm surprised to hear you say something like that."
Vlad stared at the Assassin with an eerie calmness. "While my own tale is painted with the misery of others, that doesn't mean that I do not sympathize with Mr. Fujimaru."
Carmilla shrugged. "I agree that what he went through is…..disturbing, but I will not spill any tears for him."
Martha and Jeanne gasped.
"I can't believe you would say such a thing!" Jeanne shouted.
"Have you no heart Carmilla?!" Martha asked. "That child has suffered!"
"Oh please, there are people who suffer everyday." Carmilla said. "It's pointless to feel sorry for him, when we have had things like this happen throughout human history."
"You might be right about human history and suffering," Vlad replied. "But that does not mean we shouldn't follow this creed. We should still respect his wishes, so as to not break him further."
Carmilla remained silent for a few moments, closing her eyes in deep thought. The other Servants looked at her with annoyance as she remained perfectly still. Their expressions turned to suspicion as the Assassin opened her eyes, and smirked.
"Well, I can at least show some respect to our Masters' wishes on this matter." She said.
A wave of relief surged through the other Servants. Sanson, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow at her statement.
"If I may ask, my lady, why have you agreed to this so quickly?"
Carmilla nodded in acknowledgement. "It is simple really. I like how bold they are."
"Bold?" Marie asked. "What do you mean?"
Carmilla chuckled. "When we first met in France, Ms. Tachibana stood up against the Dragon Witch without a hint of fear. She disrespected someone who was much more powerful than her, and she did it without any hesitation."
"And Ritsuka?" Medusa asked.
Carmilla continued to smirk. "His bravery in standing up to me earlier today made me gain a little respect for the boy."
"How so?" Vlad asked.
"If you all weren't so busy feeling sorry for him, you'd all have seen it by now." Carmilla said.
"Just get to the point already." Medusa said.
Carmilla chuckled. "That boy is stronger than he thinks."
Martha sat there in deep thought. After what Carmilla just told them, the Rider wanted to figure out a way to ease the tension within Chaldea. An idea popped into her head, causing her to snap her fingers and smile.
"I have an idea!" She said. "Why don't we go find Masters Fujimaru and Tachibana and try and smooth things over?"
Medusa smiled and nodded. "It just so happens the training hall was our next destination in the tour, and he's in there with Artoria now. Although, I am going to have to tell you something."
"What is it?" Carmilla asked.
"At their request, we ask all newcomers to refer to our Masters by their names, not their titles." Medusa answered.
"You mean like their surnames?" Martha asked.
"First names, actually." Jeanne replied. "They would rather have a more casual atmosphere, and to treat everyone as equals."
"How interesting." Carmilla muttered.
"Well, we have to get going." Jeanne said. "Marie and I are headed to the library so she can continue teaching me how to read and write."
Marie giggled. "I'm pretty sure there's only a couple more lessons left for you, Jeanne. You're a pretty quick learner afterall."
Jeanne blushed at the comment as they got up and left for the library.
"Sanson and I shall be going too." Vlad replied. "We decided to watch a documentary on the Hundred Years War."
The two men got up and left for their destination. Leaving only the three women in the cafeteria. Medusa turned to the Rider and Assassin and smiled.
"Please follow me to the training hall."
The three Servants made it into the training hall not long after. They saw d'Eon and Liz in the bleachers, while Tatsuko, Mashu and Davinci were near the walls alongside Kojiro. The three Servants made their way to the latter group to watch the male Master spar with the Saber.
Or that's what it was supposed to look like…
From what Martha could see, while Ritsuka did seem to know how to hold and swing a sword, it was obvious even to her that his form was sloppy, and continuously left openings for Artoria to exploit. The Rider turned to Kojiro and brought her hand to his ear to whisper.
"How long has this been going on?" She asked.
"I'm not sure I understand the question." Kojiro replied.
"I mean how long ago did Artoria start training Ritsuka?"
"Ah. It was the night before the final battle in France." Kojiro answered. "Artoria wanted to distract him from whatever was bothering him, so she decided to spar with him."
"So I assume that after France she decided to become his teacher?"
Kojiro nodded. "Yes. In fact, I actually see a lot of potential in him, and Tatsuko as well."
"How so?"
Kojiro remained silent for a moment, and then smirked. "I just have a feeling in my gut. It is telling me those two will only get stronger as time passes."
The group then returned their attention to the end of the sparring session. Artoria disarmed Ritsuka with ease, and lightly tossed the practice sword back to the male Master.
"Are you feeling better?" Artoria asked.
"A little." Ritsuka answered.
"Then we shall take a thirty minute break." She said. "In the meantime get some water, or whatever you see fit to do."
Ritsuka nodded and walked towards the others, and noticed Medusa, Martha and Carmilla standing alongside the others staring at him. The latter two Servants and Tatsuko walked up to him, making him sigh.
"I have a feeling I know what this is going to be about." He said.
"Yeah, Martha said she wanted to smooth things over after what happened earlier." Tatsuko said. "Also Davinci left to talk to Roman about something."
Ritsuka nodded and turned to Martha. "You want to help me and Carmilla?"
Martha nodded, and turned to Carmilla. "How about you tell him some of what you told me and some of the others?"
Carmilla stared at the Rider in confusion. "And why would that be necessary?"
"I believe it would be better for us to make amends by having you tell him what you said with your own mouth."
Carmilla sighed. While she didn't understand why she had to start, she knew there was wisdom in Martha's words. The Assassin turned to Ritsuka and opened her mouth to speak, but the male Master cut her off by raising his hand.
"Before you start, I would like to say something." Ritsuka said.
"Very well." Carmilla answered.
Ritsuka took a deep breath and looked at the Assassin calmly. "I'm sorry for the tone I took with you earlier today. I should have been slightly calmer about everything."
"Apology accepted." Carmilla said haughtily.
"However, I will NOT apologize for threatening to desummon you." Ritsuka added. "And you should apologize to Mashu for threatening to bathe in her blood."
Everyone barring Carmilla stared at the boy in shock. Medusa and Martha stared at the male Master, then to the Assassin, and saw her smirk. It was then they realized she was right, Ritsuka WAS stronger than they thought.
"I'm starting to like you and Tatsuko more and more." Carmilla said. The white haired Assassin turned to the Shielder and nodded. "I apologize for my statement earlier."
Mashu smiled. "It is okay Carmilla."
Carmilla turned to Ritsuka, her smirk still remaining. "I bet you are wondering why I said I'm starting to like you and Tatsuko more and more, aren't you."
"Well….yeah, we're pretty curious." Tatsuko said. "What is it that we did to do that?"
"Backbone."
Ritsuka and Tatsuko looked at the Assassin with confusion.
"Care to elaborate?" Tatsuko asked.
Carmilla chuckled. "Who am I?"
Ritsuka thought for a moment before coming up with his answer. "The Countess of Blood."
Carmilla nodded. "And yet you stood up to me without a hint of fear or hesitation, Ritsuka. Not only that, but your refusal to apologize for your threat shows you are not a coward. It proves that you will back up your words with action."
The Assassin turned to the female Master. "It is the same for you. You mocked the Dragon Witch, and from what I heard, you did it three times without a hint of fear."
Carmilla looked at both Masters now, and her smirk widened. "It is that very fearlessness that I respect about you both. And because of that, I will follow your rules."
The two Masters breathed a sigh of relief.
"Alright, great to have you on board! Just try not to make… Strange comments like that again" Tatsuko said with a weary smile.
"Oh, settle down, I'll be on my best behavior, although I will need your assistance from time to time," Carmilla said while licking her lips. causing Tatsuko to shiver slightly.
Carmilla chuckled. "I merely jest."
Tatsuko wiped the sweat away from her brow, causing Carmilla to grin. While she would follow the rules, she knew that she would enjoy seeing the female Master squirm a little. The Assassin couldn't help but feel like she would enjoy staying here, and-
"ROMANI ARCHAMAN, YOU GIVE ME THAT LAPTOP RIGHT NOW!"
Everyone turned towards the door. They then saw Roman bolt through the door, clutching his laptop to his chest. Davinci rushed in after him with an annoyed expression.
"I finished all my work, Davinci!" Roman said. "I deserve some time with Magi Mari!"
The Caster continued to chase the acting director around for a few minutes, earning a chuckle of amusement from the two Masters. Martha glared at them, and immediately pinched their cheeks.
"You two should be acting like adults and break those two up from their spat!" Martha shouted.
"But Martha, thish ish how dey alwaysh act!" Tatsuko tried to say through her pinched cheek.
"That is no excuse!" Martha shouted. "Now apologize!"
"We're Schowwwwyyyyyy!" The two Masters shouted in unison.
Kojiro chuckled to himself. He now knew the reason why it was Ritsuka who summoned her. It would seem he wasn't the only one who was hiding steel within them.