Serenity pushed open the door to the entrance hall of the Einzbern castle, then stood out of the way as her Master staggered through it.
They'd returned home, Serenity and Kiritsugu both, after witnessing Archer's declaration of war to the Tohsakas. With all his familiars destroyed, Kiritsugu's surveillance capabilities were limited – and given how easily they'd been spotted, he was unwilling to risk attracting Archer's attention himself.
In the morning, he would create more, but for now, he could barely keep his feet. As he reached the stairs, Iri came hurrying down, in a nightdress.
"Kiritsugu, you're exhausted! Here, lean on me…"
She slipped his arm over one shoulder, and helped him up and away into the living quarters. Serenity remained in the entrance hall, thinking. She'd hardly noticed, since on the job her Master was the model of professional efficiency almost all the time, but he'd been burning the candle at both ends ever since the War started. When was the last time he'd had a full night's sleep? Back in Germany?
Instead, he'd been taking himself out at night to better direct his familiars, and make his own observations – and during the day he'd been either setting up contingencies and fallback plans with Serenity, talking with Iri, or simply rereading the dossiers on each of the likely Masters that he'd compiled. There had hardly been a moment where he wasn't doing something, and while at the time Serenity had just thought he was focused and motivated, he showed no signs of taking a break or even slowing.
Why was he pushing himself so hard? Wasn't that her job, now?
Sure, he was trying to win the War – Serenity would have been more worried if he hadn't been taking it seriously. But Kiritsugu was…she could only call it driven. It couldn't just be the prospect of winning the Grail… could it?
For someone supposedly similar enough to her for the Grail to match them together, Serenity was starting to realise she didn't actually know much about her Master.
It was time to fix that.
She wasn't going to go and disturb her Master now. He needed the rest, and some time with his wife. But there was another option.
Serenity wandered the empty, dark halls, silent as a ghost. The stone was thick, and the carpets were soft, but it was a dreary place, and full of drafts. In the daylight, it might be grand. With the fires and lights lit, it might be cosy. But this was the wartime headquarters of the Einzberns, and no-one involved in its construction had considered comfort to be of any importance.
It wasn't like Serenity wasn't used to places like this. But it still made her uncomfortable, because while her Master may have seemed to be suited to this on the surface, she'd seen him interact with his wife and his daughter and this… didn't fit. It almost seemed as if he was forcing himself somehow. Again, why?
And if it was the case, then as his Servant, Serenity needed to be prepared for any strain that might cause.
She found the door she was after, obvious from the light spilling from underneath it. Serenity astralised to walk through it – then stopped. Fading back into view, she raised one hand and knocked, hesitantly.
"Hello?" called Hisau Maiya's voice from within.
"It is I," Serenity said. "Assassin. May I please come in?"
There was the sound of footsteps, and Maiya pulled the door open, peering out at Serenity. "Assassin? What is it? Does Kiritsugu need something?"
"No. I wished to talk to you. May I please come in?" Serenity repeated.
"Why- I mean, yes, of course." Maiya retreated inside the room, sat down on the bed, then stood up, apparently unsure of how to act. "Would you care to sit?"
"That is very kind… but not safe. Extended contact with objects may leave traces of poison, and I do not wish to cause harm. I will stand."
Maiya's room was small – still larger than any space Serenity could remember calling her own, but small, clearly intended for a single person. The furniture wasn't exactly cheap – this was still the Einzbern castle, after all – but it was simple and functional. A plain set of drawers, a dusty wardrobe, a small sink with a mirror. In the middle of the castle as it was, there were no windows, and while the lamplight was bright, there were shadows that made the room feel even smaller than it was.
Serenity instinctively edged towards one of the shadows, then stopped herself. It was peculiar, this urge to hide. She was sure she hadn't been quite this bad about it when she was alive, at least not when she wasn't on a mission – was this her status as an Assassin-class Servant affecting her mind in subtle ways? There were worse things, she supposed.
But yes, where Maiya had chosen to sleep was curious. When they'd arrived in Fuyuki, Iri had naturally chosen the master bedroom for herself and Kiritsugu – or the Master bedroom, as she said while making the face of someone who knows what they've just said is hilarious but is waiting for everyone to catch on.
And then again when neither Kiritsugu nor Serenity burst out laughing. Five more times.
But every other room in the whole castle was free. Why did Maiya confine herself so?
Serenity asked her.
"Ah. This room is close enough to Kiritsugu's to be able to be alerted to an incoming Servant attack, while far enough to potentially allow flanking manoeuvres on an enemy Master that invades the castle. As well, it is easily defendable should the need arise."
Serenity stayed quiet, because she was a professional liar and she knew when she was being lied to. All that stuff might have been true, but it wasn't why Maiya had chosen this room.
Sure enough, Maiya fidgeted slightly, looked down and said, "And also, I'm just not used to all this… richness. It feels wrong. The beds are too soft, I don't understand why everything has to be so fancy, and all those big rooms just feel like a waste of space. This much feels like… mine."
Well, Serenity could spot a conversation opener when she saw one.
"I imagine that working with Master is often a little more uncomfortable," she offered.
Maiya nodded. "Yes. Before he was hired by the Einzberns, we were comfortable, but certainly nothing like this. Mostly, we lived in a series of cheap motels or rented apartments, and I continued to do so after he left his weapons with me and moved to Germany." A slight frown, at this.
We, noted Serenity. "So, you often worked with Master? I suspected… his weapons seemed very important to him. To have left them with you, I'm sure he must trust you greatly."
Maiya smiled, looking grateful. "Yes… he has no reason not to. Everything I am, I owe to him. In many ways, I am the closest person to him."
Ah. There it was. Serenity had been right in choosing to come to Maiya. If anyone could tell her why her Master was determined to reach the Grail, it was her. All that was needed was to extract the information, as she had with countless hundreds of targets before, with most of them never even realising they were being interrogated.
And… she had promised herself she would make an effort to bond with the woman. She had. Even if she had an ulterior motive, she could still try and make friends. It wasn't dishonest. It wasn't.
Serenity hated herself sometimes.
But she still had a job to do. She took off her mask, because people responded better to a doe-eyed young girl than to a featureless skull. Maiya's eyes widened in surprise – if Serenity had to guess, Maiya had just assumed the mask was part of her 'costume' and that she basically had no face under there.
If she'd been any other leader of the Society, she'd have been right. But as an infiltrator, Serenity was more useful with an intact face. Or several.
"Please…" started Serenity. "Tell me about how you met Kiritsugu. I am interested to learn how someone such as him came to have a partner."
Maiya blinked, clearly taken off guard. "Of course, although it isn't a very interesting story. I was taken by the army and forced to be a child soldier, in some country long ago. Kiritsugu rescued me, took me away, and gave me an identity of my own. Hisau Maiya isn't my real name, it's just what was on the first fake passport Kiritsugu arranged for me, and I've used it ever since."
A girl, taken from her home and forced into a life of violence, until even her name was stripped from her. Yes, Serenity and Maiya were really far too similar.
"Did you ever attempt to recover your original name?" she asked.
"No. Kiritsugu offered, many times, but I have no interest in exploring my past before he found me. I don't even know what country I came from, and now I don't care. If there was one thing…" Maiya's cool expression broke for a moment. "I had a son. While in the army. I don't know who his father was, he could have been any of them, but still he was precious to me. He was taken from me after he was born, and I don't know what happened to him. For all I know, he lives there still. Kiritsugu killed the warlords and broke up the army, after I told him where their secret bases were, but the peace lasted only a few short years. Perhaps he too is a soldier. He would be… perhaps twelve now?"
Serenity wanted to put a hand on the other woman's shoulder. She settled for saying, "I'm sorry to hear about it."
Maiya shrugged. Serenity could still see the tension in her shoulders, though. "It was a long time ago. I am happy to work with Kiritsugu now."
"Forgive my asking," Serenity pressed, "and please do not take this as my trying to subvert you, but I'm genuinely curious. What exactly is the difference between you fighting for Kiritsugu and you fighting for your old warlords? Both make use of you for your skill at arms, do they not? Why did you hate the one and follow the other, even to something like the Grail War?"
"Well, for a start, I sleep with Kiritsugu of my own will," Maiya said wryly. "It took a long time to actually make him realise that was what I was after, in fact… but for another, the warlords – and the captains and sergeants under them – only ever wanted power, enough to push themselves to the top of the filthy heap that was that place's only government. Kiritsugu… has a dream."
Serenity's ears perked up. Not that anyone could tell from her expression, which she kept politely interested. "Oh?"
"I don't know the full extent of it, or how he's come to think this way, but despite how he looks, Kiritsugu is a gentle man. The gentlest. No-one hates violence more than him – which is why he will fight to prevent more."
That… was not the answer Serenity had been expecting. "I… do not understand."
"Kiritsugu's targets are always chosen with care, and he prepares extensively in an attempt to minimise casualties. Once that is done, he will act, without hesitation or mercy, even if he must slaughter innocents to get at his target. Afterwards, he grieves, and I comfort him. But it is all for the sake of ending conflict. He has burned down buildings with children inside, to stop a vampire from destroying a whole town. He has derailed a train, killing all onboard, to end the life of a mage planning to introduce a fire demon to the heart of a nuclear reactor. Before he met me, he even shot down a passenger plane with his own mother onboard, all to save the lives of the same people who reviled him for it." Maiya paused, more visibly emotional than Serenity had ever seen her. "No-one understands. To them, he is a monster like no other, but the truth is, Emiya Kiritsugu is a man who despises killing, and would like nothing more than to stop. But he can't. Not while people are in danger."
Serenity was putting the pieces together now. "So the War…"
"Yes. For his wish, he will end all conflict and suffering in this world. To achieve it, he will wade through an ocean of blood, commit crimes unthinkable to anyone else. No tactic too low, no sacrifice too great. Only the Grail matters – getting him and you to the end in one piece."
Maiya finished talking, but Serenity's head was still spinning. So. That was the connection, the reason the Grail had matched Emiya Kiritsugu and Hassan of the Serenity. Killers who hated killing, murderers who wanted nothing more than to live in peace. For that… Kiritsugu had decided to stake his happiness, throwing his morals into the fire in pursuit of some greater good. Serenity had always had her faith, her belief that no matter what, all was in the loving hands of Allah, and that all paths would lead to Paradise in the end. Kiritsugu, it seemed, had placed all his faith in the Grail.
But without a wish-granting artefact, how long would he have gone on like this? Serenity knew, better than anyone, how hard it was to go against your fundamental nature like that. Eventually, her mind had broken. Softly, quietly, as expected of one of the world's greatest assassins, but broken nonetheless. Forced to infiltrate, seduce, fall in love, then kill, destroying the semblance of happiness she gained with her own hands.
Kiritsugu cared about everyone he killed – cared, in a general way, about all of humanity.
Serenity had to win the Grail. Not just for her own wish, not even to see Kiritsugu's dream of a world without conflict realised – although she wanted that, very much – but because if she did not, and Kiritsugu still survived the War, she had a horrible feeling that her Master was on borrowed time before he destroyed himself.
Last night had been… well, kind of underwhelming, actually.
It had started great. Ryuunosuke and Ibaraki had descended on an unwitting Fuyuki like the proverbial wolf on the fold, full of fire and fury…
…until Ibaraki explained that actually, she would need to be a little bit discreet about this, because if she just charged around smashing everything within reach, it would be a giant neon sign that would signal it was time for every Servant in the area to come and kick their ass.
Well, she didn't say it in those words, but Ryuunosuke got the idea.
So, their big debut basically consisted of him wandering the late-night streets of Fuyuki until he ran into someone walking alone, with no witnesses to run off and alert the authorities, at which point Ibaraki emerged from thin air and tore them to shreds. Which was cool, obviously, and Ryuunosuke had laughed in glee and astonishment the first time, it was just… it was kind of boring after the first five times?
He'd asked Ibaraki to try and make it a bit more entertaining, but she'd only fixed him with an imperious stare and said, "I am no performing monkey, summoner, and you would do well to remember it." He hadn't pushed, and had just tried to get what joy he could from the look on people's faces when they realised what kind of monster Ibaraki was, but still. It was a bit dissatisfying.
He had managed to catch that moment when the sky turned green and fell on one of the houses in the suburbs, though. He and Ibaraki hadn't been anywhere near, but it was kind of obvious. Now that had been exciting. It wasn't so much the potential for death, although the idea of it landing on a crowd of people really was awesome, it was just… it looked cool. What? It wasn't like death and killing was the only thing he liked. He could appreciate when something was awesome, and 'causing the sky to darken with a rain of cosmic arrows' was metal as fuck.
Not quite as metal as summoning a fiery demon from Hell to wage war against wizards, but then Ryuunosuke had really lucked out there.
In the end, though, the night had been pretty boring all things considered, and Ryuunosuke was happy to go back to the temple as soon as Ibaraki started complaining about how tiresome it all was. The irregular sleep he'd had wasn't doing him any favours, and all he'd wanted to do was have breakfast then go to bed, so he could accompany Ibaraki the following night.
Which brought him to his first problem.
Ibaraki hadn't destroyed the kitchen when she wrecked the rest of the temple, thankfully. But… well, what monks were happy to love off and what Ryuunosuke was happy to live off were two very different things. It wasn't like there was nothing in the cupboards or fridges, it was just, you know. Unprepared. Ryuunosuke didn't have anything against cooking, but he preferred to leave it to other people if possible. Like, say, convenience store workers.
So, here he was, just after sunrise, strolling around Fuyuki once more. He'd told Ibaraki she didn't have to come, but she'd decided to anyway, and was currently lurking somewhere. It was useful – both because it meant she could come out of nowhere and attack, but also because she would draw attention, what with the horns, claws, eyes, and tusks. And the hair. And the banana-yellow kimono. On the other hand…
"Hey, Ibaraki."
What is it?
"I was wondering-"
Silence, fool! You appear as one addled, muttering to himself. If you must talk, reply telepathically, as I do.
Um. Ryuunosuke didn't actually know how to do that. He gave it his best shot.
Like this?
…
Apparently not.
Ah, screw it. He had a better plan. Ryuunusuke rummaged in his pockets and brought out his phone – it was quite rare, and expensive, but what could he say? He found tech cool. He brought it up to his ear.
"Hey, Ibaraki."
… what is that?
"This? Yeah, I'm on my mobile phone. I can talk to you while just walking around, how cool is that?" He nodded at a mother and son on the other side of the street, who were giving him disapproving glances at how he was acting in public. Eh, screw them.
Hmph. Hardly an elegant solution. Although I do applaud your playacting.
"Haha, I know. Hey, anyway, I was wondering – can all Servants turn into ghosts, or is it, you know, a youkai thing?"
It is not, as you put it, a 'youkai thing'. All Servants, regardless of origin, are in essence nothing more than very powerful spirits. As such, they can materialise or enter a spirit form at will. While in such a state, they are impossible to detect for anyone who does not have spiritual senses. A Servant will almost always be able to tell that another Servant is there, as we have a sense for each other. A mage may get a general impression, a dim blur at the very best. You, I suspect, will know nothing.
"Sounds like a good thing I got you, then."
He couldn't see it, but he could tell when Ibaraki was smirking. Naturally. Be aware, though Master. Even I am unlikely to detect Assassin before they strike.
Right, there was that. Ibaraki had gone through the Class system with him, and he'd tried his best to remember it. But, honestly, did it have to be so confusing? English was never his strong suit, and this was what all the Class names were in – which he found particularly unfair, since, according to Ibaraki, none of the three founding families spoke English natively, and the War was always intended to be held here in Japan. Why on Earth had they gone for English?
And then there were all the exceptions, which apparently made up half the rules. Ibaraki was a Berserker, but she was acting pretty sane so far – in fact, she was a lot more on top of things than he was. When he'd pointed this out to her, she'd replied that she was an oni, and that a tendency towards violent wrath and random destructive urges was entirely normal for her.
Fair enough.
In the end, he'd just decided to roll with it. If there was anything really important, he trusted Ibaraki to let him know as and when it came up.
At this time in the morning, the convenience store was actually pretty busy – salarymen stopping off for coffee on the way to work, shift workers just getting off. There was a hush as Ryuunosuke entered, and everyone looked round nervously. It was like that scene in a Western, where the new gunslinger walks into the saloon and everyone stops what they're doing, and Ryuunosuke resisted the urge to announce that he was the new sheriff in town and that things would be different from now on, yessiree. Instead, he gave a smile and nonchalantly stepped into an aisle, and everyone went back to what they were doing.
"What was that all about?" he said – quieter now, because talking on the phone was rude in a store, and he really would be kicked out if he caused a fuss.
While none of these pathetic weaklings can detect my presence, I am still the most powerful and malevolent spirit they will ever have come across. A little of that bleeds across, making even normal humans nervous and on edge. They will not see it as anything past 'bad vibes'… and likely attribute it to you. Likely they assume you are some dangerous and intimidating figure, like a warlord or executioner.
Oh, great. "Wasn't I supposed to not be drawing attention?"
From the other Masters, yes. From these sheep? While I am with you, you have nothing to fear. You could engage the entire constabulary in battle and emerge victorious. I often found that a worthwhile way to pass an afternoon. Ibaraki sighed, a distinctly weird experience to have inside your head. However, that would certainly bring the other Masters down on our heads, yes. In any case – none of the people here would go so far as to actually accuse you. They will dismiss it as their own foolishness, or at the very least as none of their business.
Well, he could see that. No-one wanted to get involved with anyone dangerous if they could avoid it. Given how he was dressed, and the state of Fuyuki, they probably just thought he was Yakuza. He wasn't – Ryuunosuke had always been very careful not to step on the Fujimura group's toes, even more so than he had with the cops. At least the cops had to follow rules.
Popping the phone onto his shoulder, he browsed the selection of ready meals and easy-cook foods on offer, and shovelled about a weeks' worth of instant ramen into his shopping basket, followed by some snacks, drinks, a couple of cereal bars. All very unhealthy, but probably not much more than, you know, participating in a war against wizards and monsters.
He almost didn't notice a couple of packs of candy falling off the shelf all by themselves and into his basket as well. He would have said something… but he could feel Ibaraki's stare on the back of his neck, and decided not to make an issue of it.
He was just about to take it all to the counter, when something caught his eye. Putting down the shopping so he could talk properly into the phone, he said, "Hey, did you catch the news today? Just seen it."
What are you – ah.
In the newspaper stand, a familiar image had caught his eye – even in black and white, the streaks of light he'd seen from far off were instantly recognisable. He picked up a copy.
"Says here it's a fireworks accident. Tore up a whole bunch of the street, it's all blocked off for repairs now. Also messed up the grounds around this one house – not available for comment, apparently – but otherwise, nothing, doesn't really go into a whole lot of detail. Newspaper doesn't make it seem like it was as big a deal as we thought. What do you make of that?"
Understandable. Part of the job of the moderator of the War is to keep the existence of magic secret. It is hardly surprising he has concocted some cover story. It is puzzling one of the Masters was not able to restore the street as though nothing had happened, but I suppose with Archer on the loose they may not have risked it. Why? What does this say to you?
Ryuunosuke couldn't quite hide his grin. "Well, now. You didn't mention there was a whole organisation designed to help us keep everything secret. I knew the moderators didn't care about casualties, or we'd have heard something about last night already, but you mean to tell me they really don't care how much of a mess you make as long as they can explain it away and keep all the weird stuff under wraps?"
'Under wraps?' If I understand you correctly… then I suppose so. They are magi, and magi in any age are selfish and cruel. At least we oni are honest about it.
Ryuunosuke put the paper back on the rack, and sauntered off to pay for his groceries, a spring in his step. "I think it's time we stopped messing around feeding you piecemeal. If something like that isn't going to raise any eyebrows… then it looks like we've got a lot more leeway than I thought."
Tonight looked like it was going to be much more fun.
