Hosting one of history's greatest killers, who almost certainly wanted him dead, was not how Kirei had expected his evening to go.
Well, 'hosting' was possibly the wrong word. 'Imprisoning' was possibly more accurate.
There were no chains or shackles, but imprisoned Servant Assassin certainly was. She sat in a chair, uncomfortably, as though she'd prefer to be crouched atop it. However, Lancer had other ideas. They stood behind Assassin, elbows on the back of the chair and hands resting lightly on her shoulders. Short of another Command Spell, escape or resistance was impossible – the slightest twitch from Assassin in a direction Lancer didn't approve of would bring boulder-crushing force the following instant.
The only word Assassin had managed to choke out, once Lancer had reached straight through the window to seize her neck in one lightning-fast motion, had been 'parley'. She hadn't even fought – after Lancer had grabbed her she'd simply gone limp and accepted it, dangling over open air without apparent discomfort.
Even knowing it was probably a trick, the prospect had intrigued Kirei enough to not immediately have Lancer crush Assassin, but instead bring her in to see just what on earth had possessed her to put herself in such a poor position.
So, here they all were.
If she makes an aggressive move, kill her, he sent to Lancer privately. It probably didn't need to be said, but Lancer did like Kirei to be making active decisions. As an afterthought, he added, And feel free to interject with comments when necessary. If Assassin really is running some kind of psychological attack on me, it should be harder with your interference.
Of course, Master, came the reply. I never did intend on holding my tongue.
Kirei had positioned himself off to the side, on the other side of the room, close to the door. Not directly in front of Assassin, obviously. There was choosing to take a chance, and then there was just begging for poisoned spit in the eye. He studied the other Servant.
This was not, in fact, the first time Kirei had seen Assassin. She had materialised, that night in his father's church – but only for long enough to make a point. Likewise, when she had suddenly attacked after hiding as Kiritsugu Emiya, Lancer had finished the fight almost immediately, after which Assassin had been recalled just as quickly.
There and gone in a flash, Kirei had been able to glimpse nothing more than a moving shadow topped by a grinning skull. His imagination, therefore, had been forced to fill in the details. Kirei was not given to nightmares, but implacable skull-faced killers had been something of a feature of his dreams lately.
Servant Assassin was… actually fairly close to what he expected.
Form-fitting, dark clothes against dark skin – tight leggings underneath but an almost revealing halter top. The hair was an unusual shade of bluish-purple, but that was hardly outlandish for a Servant. The skull mask was smaller than he'd imagined, leaving the chin free.
And, apart from a messenger bag around her shoulders, that was it. Nothing, really, to identify who she was, beyond 'an assassin', which Kirei supposed was the point. His eyes were caught by Assassin's enticing curves… as, he suspected, they were meant to, given her choice of attire.
Musculature didn't necessarily mean much, when it came to Servants – Lancer could look however they wanted and still knock over mountains, although they were exceptional in many ways – but in Kirei's opinion, Assassin looked like someone who'd worked hard to build incredible muscle and then twice as hard to build just enough fat to avoid showing it. Along with the shapeshifting and the poison Enkidu had detected, an infiltration or honey trap type, then.
A dangerous combination. Especially now that Lancer's detection was useless. Assassin could quite easily have transformed into, say, Tokiomi, strolled into Kirei's room, and slain him with his being none the wiser.
Instead, she'd appeared outside his window in plain view. What was her game?
"Before you die, Assassin, satisfy my curiosity," started Kirei. "What did Emiya Kiritsugu hope to gain by sending you so obviously?"
The obvious answer had occurred and been dismissed in the same moment – a distraction, all the more potent for sacrificing such an important asset. Except that if Emiya had any wish for the Grail he'd need a Servant to claim it – unless he was confident Assassin could survive. Was it possible there were two Assassins, or more? No, Kirei decided, that was ridiculous. But then, why throw a Servant away like this?
If Assassin felt any discomfort or fear from her position, she didn't show it. "I was not sent. My Master does not know I am here."
Lancer cocked their head, fingers drumming lightly on Assassin's collar. "How interesting. No change in your heartbeat or muscular tension, so either you are telling the truth or you are a phenomenal liar."
"I am a phenomenal liar," came the immediate reply. "For example – my true identity is William Wallace, the true Servant Saber of this War, and thanks to the fact that this War is being held in Scotland I am in no danger even from Enkidu." Kirei caught Lancer's eye, and they shook their head. Assassin really was that good, apparently. "But in this case, I am also telling the truth… although I realise I have no proof of this other than the fact of my surrender."
A hundred questions occurred to Kirei, but all weighed against the most important, which was: was there any reason for Assassin to survive this conversation?
Certainly, Kirei couldn't deny he was fascinated by this turn of events, if indeed it was genuine. Kirei wanted the information Assassin had to give, and for what it would reveal.
Taking Assassin's words at face value, there must be significant stresses between her and her Master. Given the nature of the Grail, that signalled significant internal stress within Emiya Kiritsugu himself. Once upon a time, Kirei would have jumped at the chance to analyse Emiya's mind, even if only by proxy.
However, Kirei was not the same man who had entered the War not even two weeks ago.
Following the first attempted parley with Emiya Kiritsugu – or rather, the parley with Assassin, and the difference might be more significant than he had thought – Kirei was not quite so interested in the other man as he once was. Lancer had never believed that Kirei's answer to his own nature could be obtained by copying someone else, and after talking with the man Kirei had thought to be most similar to himself he was forced to agree. What was it Emiya had said?
I long ago weighed my own happiness and the world's on a scale, and decided which mattered more to me.
There were echoes of Rider's simple declaration that of course the tenets of her faith came before her own desires – this, however, was worth more thought, coming as it did not from a literal saint but from an ordinary man.
In essence, it was nothing more or less than plain utilitarianism. A simple answer, for what Kirei had started to realise was a surprisingly simple man. The lengths to which such a man would go did interest Kirei – but, he suspected, because of how blatantly self-destructive they were. Emiya was no fanatic, and, if Kirei was any judge, the disconnect between Emiya's naïve goal of world peace and his (admittedly laudable) understanding that the real world would never let him achieve it in any way he thought acceptable would lead to some very interesting places down the road.
Assuming the Grail didn't allow him to simply sidestep the issue.
One more reason to make sure Assassin wouldn't be around to make that happen…
…at least that was what Kirei's baser desires would dictate. From the perspective of a man trying to change, killing one person – albeit one already centuries-dead – in order to ensure future suffering for another was not… how to put this… something of which Rider would approve. Or, more importantly, something of which the man Kirei wanted to be would approve.
That said, there was a strong argument that letting Assassin do anything could only play into her hands, no matter what internal divisions were at play. At the end of the day, both Emiya and Assassin's end state had Kirei dead, and killing Assassin now would very much limit their ability to do that. It would be a far safer move.
Kirei had not decided to pursue this War to stay safe, he decided.
"I have been trying to think of a reason to keep you alive," he admitted. "Each runs into the same problem, however – that I have no way to verify whether or not you are lying in order to trick me to my death. However, in deference to the fact that you have put yourself in a terrible position for zero gain, I am at least willing to listen. So, Assassin," he spread his hands, "Please do beg for your life."
Assassin reached up to her face. Lancer's hands tensed on her shoulder, but all she did was remove her mask, revealing big doe eyes set in a startlingly pretty face. The effect was somewhat spoiled by Kirei's knowledge that this was just as much a weapon as the rest of Assassin, and that she had chosen to unsheathe it now for a reason.
"Once, there was a girl who hated her own nature," she said. "Through no fault of her own, she had been made a dangerous, deadly thing. Nevertheless, she simply accepted that this was the way things had to be – was she not doing God's work, after all?" Assassin's eyes found Kirei's, and he found himself transfixed, as she spoke with terrible deliberateness. "Surely God would not have allowed her to become something that did nothing but kill His own creations unless He had some sort of higher plan."
Assassin's eyes slid off Kirei, back to the floor. "With the passing years, however, no such plan became plain. That was fine. The girl had her faith… at first. But even with such a shield as that, it was not enough to keep doubt from worming into her mind. She died mad – torn between the tenets of her faith that forbade her from killing and the result of her nature that ensured it was all she could do."
Assassin was silent for a moment. "Then," she said, "a miracle. A chance to change everything – a chance for a wish. Naturally, she had only one goal. Change that body of hers, change her nature, touch things again." Her hands spread, fingers reaching out towards Kirei as though she could already feel her goal within her grasp. "What person, so dissatisfied with what God has chosen to make of them, wouldn't want that?"
Her hands dropped – imprisoned in her seat as though chained to it, her reach fell well short of Kirei's skin.
He felt the cold touch of Assassin's words on his heart nevertheless, the implications sinking in as surely as from a venomous dart. Lancer shot him a worried glance.
"A fine tale," they said, not unkindly, leaning slightly heavier on Assassin's shoulders. "Pathetic… in the old sense of the word, of course. But what has this to do with us? I do hope you haven't gambled your life on the guess that we'd be swayed by a sob story like this."
To her credit, Assassin's face showed not a flicker of uncertainty. "Not a gamble, nor a guess. Simply a leap of faith," she said, closing her eyes. "I do not know whether it was your Master or my own that performed the summoning ritual first… but I suspect it wasn't yours."
Kirei looked away, but didn't reply.
"In any case, the important part comes after my summoning. To dispense with all subtlety…" Kirei risked a look up, and found himself caught once more. Assassin's eyes bored into his own, and the sheer intensity of them was shocking. "My wish would no longer be to change my own nature. Now, I would wish to see my Master's dream of a world without conflict realised."
Assassin stopped there.
"You would give up your chance at a normal life for this?" asked Lancer, mildly.
"Yes," said Assassin, not breaking eye contact with Kirei. "What worthier wish is there? I would see this wish made. Even if my Master is not the one to make it."
Kirei blinked. Finally, the purpose of Assassin's visit became clear. Except it was absurd. Just how persuasive was Kiritsugu Emiya in private, that his Servant embraced his objective so thoroughly as to sacrifice him in the pursuit of it?
Lancer laughed. "You may well be the least subtle assassin I have ever seen! To attempt to overturn the result of a Grail War simply by asking the winning team nicely… is this arrogance, foolishness or plain fanaticism?"
"None of those. Simply that I genuinely believe that verbally persuading your Master to change his wish is an easier way to achieve my own Master's goal than facing you in battle. If putting myself into your power is the best way to convince you of my genuine intentions… then so be it. I was only ever a tool to begin with."
"Aren't we all?" said Lancer, smiling. "However, Assassin, the thought occurs that all the best tricks contain proof that they cannot possibly be tricks. I don't believe for a second you don't still have a way to kill my Master, even seated and restrained as you are, so really I'd be much more comfortable if we just killed you and sent our message to your Master by alternative means." Their hands tightened on Assassin's shoulders, and there was a muffled cracking sound. "What do you say to that?"
Assassin's face had paled a couple of shades, but no trace of pain showed in her expression. "Then, so be it. I suppose I will have to wait until your Master orders you to do it, though, because you won't otherwise. I am not quite so skilled at reading people as Caster is, but even I can tell that."
Despite his surprise at the bizarre turn the conversation had taken, Kirei couldn't help but smile. Lancer, always so reliable – they'd sensed that Kirei needed distance from the conversation to mull things over, and had therefore become a tool for obtaining that. While Assassin argued with his Servant, she wasn't applying pressure directly to Kirei.
"Not just yet, Lancer," Kirei said, and Lancer relaxed, their point made. Assassin didn't press the point.
So, now that he had time to think, what did Kotomine Kirei want?
… he came up short.
If that question had been asked of the man who'd entered the War, he might have answered, 'Kotomine Kirei wants to understand why God made me the way I am'. Lancer might instead have said, 'Kotomine Kirei wants to change his nature'. Assassin, apparently, would have agreed, but thought he could be persuaded to instead accept 'Kotomine Kirei wants a world without suffering'.
But as the question was now being asked of him, Kirei, in this moment… none of the three sounded right. Perhaps a little more thought was required of the last.
Kirei tried to imagine such a world. A world in which everyone acted as though they were in one of the cloisters he had spent much of his life in, peaceful and calm. In which, at all times, everyone simply chose to not act violently. No-one got angry over insults or over differences of opinion… okay, so far, so good.
Next, Kirei imagined a disagreement – as so often, someone had something someone else wanted. Food, money, power. In his imaginary world, the problem was resolved via mediation, any impulse to act through force nullified by the Holy Grail. The food was shared, money found, power made impotent by the lack of means with which to exercise it, and everyone just… somehow someway achieved a perfect solution.
Hmm. This didn't seem much like a world of people. Did the Grail really have so much power as to remove everyone's free will? It seemed impossible, if even God couldn't do as much. And there were too many gaps where the Grail's power would have to fill in for Kirei's lack of imagination.
Perhaps this was the wrong train of thought. When a genie offered three wishes, you didn't ask how they worked, or how he would achieve it. It was a wish, and there all criticism simply ended. If you had to work to achieve it yourself, that wasn't, in Kirei's mind, a wish. That was just a goal.
… put that way, Emiya Kiritsugu's desperation was a lot more understandable.
Could Kirei imagine himself without his inner evil?
Yes. Easily. He'd done little else for years now.
Kirei smiled. It seemed this conversation wasn't entirely useless after all. He turned his attention back to Assassin, watching him with interest.
"Assassin, I must confess I am curious as to what you expect me to do with this information. Even were I to wholeheartedly accept everything you have told me, change my mind on a whim and pledge to use my wish on Emiya Kiritsugu's wild fantasy, I find myself doubtful that he would believe such a pledge."
"First, thank you for saying 'use' rather than 'waste'," said Assassin with a smile. Kirei frowned. He hadn't even meant to do that. "Next, you are entirely correct. Kiritsugu also has a deep disbelief that anyone could truly understand him." The knowing look in her eyes, as if sharing a secret joke, tempted Kirei to have Lancer crush her collarbone again, but he resisted.
"That said, I did anticipate this," Assassin continued hurriedly. She twitched towards her messenger bag, before stopping. "May I?"
Well, if she wanted to make a doomed attempt at assassination now, she was more than welcome to try. Kirei nodded at Lancer, who eased up their grip.
"Trust was always going to be the greatest issue," Assassin said, reaching into the bag. "There you two are, with weapons aimed at one another, each a heartbeat away from making the decision to kill. While you could come to an agreement, death has always been the surest way either of you have gotten what you wanted. There is no way either of you would believe the other if he promised to lay down that weapon…
"… but what if that weapon should itself promise to do you no harm, if you agreed to accept the conditions of its wielder?"
Assassin pulled out her trump card from the bag.
Kirei stared at the drop of tainted blood, leaching corruption into the paper around it at the bottom of the self-geis scroll.
