I find Karna to be underutilised within most Fate fanfics and sometimes within official Fate content itself. Don't get me wrong, I eat up OP Shirou harem fanfics too. But there are already great Shirou crossover fics with LoL as it is so I figured I'd give some other servants that interest me character wise a shot as well.
This minor obsession of mine with underrated characters also is why I chose Ezreal as the main protagonist. Now I know Riot loves the man, giving him skins galore. But I'm talking about story wise. Most Ezreal fics I've seen are romance smut with plot nowhere to be seen. And when stories do address Ezreal in a serious manner, its usually to bash him or showcase why Lux is better off with a different ship. He is delegated to an pathetic antagonist at worst, side character at best.
Now with that rant out of the way.
Enjoy the chapter!
"Seriously...every last penny dissapeared. What happened out there Lancer?" Ezreal woke up and was having a fine day.
Soon, Ezreal asked Lancer what he had bought with the money and asked for the pouch of coins to be returned. Ezreal was handed an empty pouch.
Ezreal was not having a fine day.
"Gaaah, this is going to set me back by so many weeks." Ezreal groaned while placing his hands onto his face, evidently pained by the sense of loss.
"I apologise, Explorer Ezreal. I should have been more considerate to you and have taken the time to become more aware of your financial situation." Karna responds in kind, while continuing to cook, though slowing down to put more focus ontk his distraught Master.
"No, no. It was my fault. I gave you a pretty large bag with no explanation at all. I gave you way too much spending money. Its on me." Ezreal continues being in a slump, now raising his head from his palms "I can take a closer look at my losses later...What are you cooking up there anyway, I need to run away from the reality of poverty for a while."
At least the meat wasn't too gamey and didn't smell too bad when cooked.
"Its some manner of animal I had captured within the morning." Karna had replied while the meat sizzled "Its strange. I am unsure as to what the creature is. And I had difficulty in identifying some of the items within your abode for now. Usualy servants are summoned with basic knowledge of the era and surroundings. Alongside possible new animals or devices, but I truly have no sense as to what it was other than my own observations."
"Right, Servant...somehow I think this is a translation issue. What do you think a Servant is, Lancer?" Ezreal, now somewhat more awake and aware, now chooses to address the newfound situation he finds with himself and Karna.
"Ah yes. A Servant such as myself is also known as a Heroric Spirit. We are the echoes of those who have passed a long time ago, summoned to either protect the world from various threats or to assist a Master with whatever task befalls them."
"Echoes of those that have passed. So when I asked for you to return home..."
"Yes Explorer. To return means to merely wait until I am summoned once more." Karna finishes with his meal preperation, handing it to Ezreal.
"Damn...I don't really want to send you back to whence you came now, haha. So, I guess that means you count as an undead...Wraith? You're certainly one of the more good looking ones, plus it explains why you're so deathly pale, haha." Ezreal attempts at joke for levity, though inwardly thinking on what in the world he should do now "I guess for a little while longer you get to be around the prodical explorer, Ezreal! Finally, someone who no doubt has the same troubles as me, we are too handsome for this world, right buddy?"
"I'll strive to protect you for as long as I can, Explorer." Karna moves to cook more of the slain beast, responding back with a neutral tone and ignoring some of what Ezreal had said.
"Oh? This is pretty good actually, thanks Lancer." Ezreal waits for the meat to slightly cool down before eating it directly with his hands, not caring for etiquette or neatness sout in the forest "Making rations or something? Smart, where's your share actually? Did you eat yet, Lancer?"
"Have your forgotten I am a Servant, Explorer Ezreal? Beings such as I do not require food or water, or even to sleep, usually." Karna mentions.
"Woah, thats gotta be so useful. Imagine the amount of time I could spend dungeon delving...wait, if you don't need to eat. What un the world did you spend the money I gave you on? You don't look like you got yourself robbed..."
"Actually, I did buy food at first, long lasting ones at fiest for you to have within the future. However, something which I could not ignore arose." Karna responds.
"Hm, what came up then?" Ezreal finished his meal as he washes his hands in a nearby stream.
"...It would be easier to show you, Explorer Ezreal. Some of the food I had made, can I ask to bring some of it with me into town?" Karna was not usually one for asking, especially from his Master, but like how Ezreal was still trying to understand Karna, Karna likewise is still getting a grasp on the type of man Ezreal was.
"Go ahead. Like I said, I don't want this to be a master servant thing, you hunted the thing, do what you want with it." Ezreal replies back with.
"Alright, Explorer. Allow me to clean up the itrms I used for cooking first." Karna had actually used a few items of Ezreal's camp in order to help cook. However...
CLANG
DTOK
BANG
"Lancer! Stop, stop! You're washing the spatula with too much strength, its not straight anymore!" Ezreal stands up and starts washing the utensils in the running stream nearby "I'll be the one to clean...just prepare whatever you needed to go to the city."
As a certain lazy gamer Master within the moon would say, Karna absolutely sucks at cleaning.
"Well...here we are." Ezreal and Karna walk alongside each other as they headed into the entrance of a nearby town, they travelled through the main street.
As the two walk and talk, the two pretty boys do attract the attention from some of the townsfolk, some already aware and knew Ezreal but most were already smitten with the snow haired Karna.
"You know Lancer, people always ignore the village gals, the childhood friend. But I personally believe that there is something charming about the local girl downtown. Don't you agree?" Ezreal makes a small wink towards a few of a few of the girls that they pass by, though none of them exactly swoon, more focused on the calm and collected Lancer beside Ezreal.
"Perhaps. However, I never was one for romance myself, Explorer." Lancer walks with Ezreal towards the shadier side of town after a while, an area known to be a part of the slums.
While Ezreal was always aware of such areas in every city, other than the various black markets in such places, he had averted his gaze and avoided thinking about most of the individuals here. After all, what kind of work can he find here with such people? He can feel sorry for them, but he can barely keep a hold of his own life, let alone bother to care for the poor masses. The most Ezreal was willing to do was be a beacon, be a person that can inspire change rather than act it out himself.
It was a place Ezreal avoided due to being uncomfortable.
"Hey...Lancer, I know I said for you to bring me where you lost the money. But if I didn't know any better I would think you were going to rob me here, ahaha..." Ezreal's chuckle falls flat as the two are soon surrounded by hooded people.
Tiny hooded people? Ezreal was already half ready for battle, it would also be interesting to see what Lancer could do in a battle, he had this experienced soldier aura around him after all, you could totally trust Ezreal. When you see one Noxian soldier, you can kind of grasp similar people of power from there.
Yet, despite Ezreal's wariness when one of these hooded figures ran forward, he didn't move to attack, not did Karna seem to react in an adverse way either.
"H-Hey, what in the world do you guys want-" Ezreal begins, familiar with situations of being outnumbered and surrounded, yet, was interruted by a surprisingly high pitched voice.
"Lancer..? Lancer!" The hood slips, revealing a child. They ran up to Lancer, clutching their leg, voice quivering as if they cannot themselves beleive it "You...you did it? You hunted the Great Bear for us, and in that bag must be its meat..."
"Yes, young Kor. I have hunted it." Karna replies in a neutral yet somehie gentle tone, down on one leg to be more on level with the young boy.
"That...that bear. We heard stories from the drunk adults that the Great Bear species is the tastiest of them all! I know you gave us all of your bread, meat and cheeses yesterday but...we are so hungry, Lancer." The boy, Kor seemed to be the oldest of the hooded figures, they removed their hoods, revealing them all to be children.
Their bodies slim and boney, their eyes averted and filled with shame.
Ezreal who was silently now watching from next to Karna had understood, people forget the Prodigal Explorer himself was second to none at identifying things despite what his personality may suggest.
These children were the ones who had taken the money Ezreal had given Karna. Karna was not given a small amount, it was certainly more than the yearly wage of a man working an ok job in Piltover. While Karna may not have known, these kids certainly did.
These children who had taken the money are now asking Karna for more.
Since, who else would?
Ezreal, for all his arrogance, and narcissism is an ok guy compared to most. Since he for the longest time was able to ignore those in poverty how could he expect the average person to help and assist these children.
While he was mad at losing money, Ezreal understood. Because he understood he stayed silent.
Kor stepped back from Karna and made a polite bow, the children behind him follow the action, defilently planned this beforehand "W-We know its not much. But we can help! I got all the kids in the slums that cna be trusted. We can help you with whetever you want for the Great Bear meat and the food you gave us before. Cooking, cleaning, whatever it may be. So please-"
"There is no need to say anymore." Karna takes another step forward, placing a bit of the meat into Kor's hands "You are in need of help, and I am able to help. That is all."
Karna moves to give pieces of meat towards the children, who all look incredulously. towards the man who continues to help and provide for them. It was to be expected from the one known as the Hero of Charity, to assist the children with no expectations for anything in return.
Ezreal however, is completely still.
This altristic action is something completely new to him. Even the kindest people usually had other intentions, whether that was to further their own agenda, increase their own fame as a kind person or even just feel good about themselves.
Yet none of that was present in Karna. It was not done for any of those reasons, it was merely because they asked. An act of true charity.
This made Ezreal make a sudden decision on a whim. He was good at adaptin and improvising on the go, though his plans that led up to that left alot to be desired. He didn't think it through, but he didn't want to.
"Hey, Kor was it?" Finally Ezreal takes a step forward after Kor finishes eating "I got to talk to you about something, you're the leader right?"
"H-Huh? Yeah. You're that explorer who was living just outside the town aren't you...you know Mister Lancer?" Kor seems a bit wary, but seems to trust Ezreal since he came in with Karna.
"Yeah, catch this." Ezreal tosses his own pouch of coins towards Kor, who catches it "Share it amongst yourselves and the other kids you brought, ok?"
"Hey wait, Mister Lancer did so much for us already. How can we accept something like that from his companion as well?" Kor half yells back, some of the other kids overhear and start listening in while murmuring to each other as Karna kept handing out the meat.
"No, no. Don't get it twisted. I'm hiring you guys." Ezreal says while pointing to himself "The name's Ezreal. The prodigal Explorer himself! And I want to hire you kids to train you how to be treasure hunters!"
"Treasure...hunters?" Kor, the voice of the children asks with a bit of a confused expression, actually now more comfortable with Ezreal at knowing the mkney was not for free.
"Yes, well. I'm sure most of you had to steal and pickpocket before right?" Ezreal mentions with a grin that did not fit the situation.
"No comment." Was the resounding reply of the children listening in.
"Well, those skills, that life. Trust me, I've went to Zaun before and you either end up in the wrong crowd, or you don't live long enough to see the wrong crowd in the first place. Plus the law will always hate you for it...did you know I'm banned to going to Sona's concerts?"
"Wait...what in the world did you do to get banned from Sona's concerts?! She and her staff are like the most mellow people out there, even criminals are allowed to visit if they are escorted!"
"That's besides the point. Anyway, this handsome elder brother has been around the block so to speak. So I know stealing from people is a no no."
"I refuse to call you that."
"But! Stealing from people not around anymore? Fair game. And the items they left behind tend to cost alot more than the pocket change you get from the local drunk walking down the street. That's what I want to hire you guys to learn to do."
Kor and the other children, glance among themselves as if having an invisible conversation amongst themselves, a testament to their bonds with one another "...Why though? Why are you doing this for us, Ezreal? You're clearly not as kind as Lancer."
"Ghhk?!" Ezreal physically recoils.
"Or as mature." A small girl says.
"Khhh!"
"Or as dreamy~"
"Ok that one was unnecessary!" Ezreal's ego has been hurt time and time again that day, he seems a little down but soon recovers soon after. He takes a moment to see the looks in their eyes.
That shine, the desperate gleam in their eyes with that wary expression.
These kids won't believe in an act of altruistic kindness from Ezreal, or most adults for one another. Karna is an extreme exception, and these kids know that too. They understood their situation, how most don't bother to assist them. They've been hurt too many times to trust adults or even most other people, so saying something like telling them to not think about it will just make them wary and suspicious.
However, Ezreal always had a silver tongue that could fool even the stubborn Demacian guards or self centered professors at Piltover.
"Because it benefits me. As I said, this isn't an act of charity. I'm not doing this out of the kindess of my heart, think about it. When word spreads across the land at how the famed Explorer Ezreal took the time to teach young children how to be archeologists and explorers eithin the future, my reputation shall skyrocket! My glory shall reach no bounds, the girls will shower me in praise and talk at how I'm great with children." Ezreal stands up and makes exaggerated motions and expressions which both amuse the children slightly and to get his message across to all of them.
"That...makes sense. Since even if you hire us we can't really give back anything, but if its like that then..." Kor looks to the other children, who all nod in response "We acept the job."
"Ah ah ah. First lesson young sidekick, replace the term job with the word commission. It makes you seem more impressive with employers and makes them think you are more reliable." Ezreal walks closer to the other children so they can hear his first lecture.
To be completely honest, Ezreal is making this up as he goes. While in Piltover he is currenly copying a method his own tutors used, directly speaking to them first, hiwever of course with his own Ezreal twist on it. After all, Ezreal was not like Karna. He would much rather be the catalyst for change rather than be the direct one to change things himself. So Ezreal will not pity these young children with a bad start in life, he chooses to teach them, that is his decision.
The roles reverse as Karna is now the one silently watching and observing what Ezreal is doing with the children. Once again like the night before, a ghost of a smile spreads across his face.
Discernment of the Poor, Rank A.
With this skill, he was able to see through Ezreal's lie immediately. At his statement at wanting the glory and increased reputation that comes with teaching poor children.
Karna could tell Ezreal wants to be a better person and is making the active decision to at least try. To help others in an act of charity even if Ezreal himself does not realise this.
Truly, Karna believes he has been blessed with a kind and considerate Master.
"Hey! I found them lads! What the rat said was true, the kids are eating Great Bear meat!" A burly man interrupts Karna's thoughts and the lecture Ezreal is giving, soon joined by a rabble of other men and women who looked like they lived around this area of the slums.
"Ugh, so many snot nosed brats. Lets make this quick, hand over the meat!"