AN
"Blah..." - Normal speech
'Blah...' - Thoughts
Fate/Stay Night x Kamen Rider
Journey through the Kaleidoscope
Fate/Stay Night x Kamen Rider Kuuga
Fate/No Fear No Pain
Chapter 4: Awakening
"A New Hero, A New Legend..."
"Saber, is this really necessary? I'm pretty sure that we won't get a repeat of last night." Shirou questioned the Blond haired Servant who was walking a few paces ahead of him as the two of them travelled the stretch of road that led into town. "Besides, I thought the whole point was for Masters and Servants not to draw attention to themselves."
"That maybe, however it never hurts to be on guard," Saber replied, her forest green eyes darting back and forth as she surveyed her surroundings, searching for even the slightest trace of hostility. "Given the circumstances, I cannot in good conscience allow you to go out unescorted."
'Is she always this paranoid or is this a trait all Servants have?' Shirou sighed, glancing over at the bento box that he was carrying, "Still this is a pretty simple errand, plus it's still daylight, I thought that Servants were only allowed to fight when the sun went down."
"You are assuming that the others will follow the rules." Saber retorted in a firm sounding. "War has but a single rule: to win by any means necessary, it would be naive to assume that the others would handicap themselves at the cost of obtaining victory.
Before long the pair had reached Homurahara Academy, upon arriving Saber mentioned sensing traces of Prana in the air around them, while uncertain at what it could mean she assured him that it appeared to be harmless, for the time being at least.
As he mulled this over Shirou and Saber arrived at the building that housed the school's Kyūdō club, deciding to file her warning away for the time being Shirou advising Saber to wait outside while he dropped off the bento that Fuji-nee had 'requested' he make for her.
Stepping inside, Shirou was surprised when he noticed Sakura clad in her Kyūdō uniform, the purple haired girl having just emerged from the changing room ready for another afternoon ofpractice. "S…Senpai…" She muttered, surprised to see him.
"Hey there Sakura," Shirou greeted her warmly as he presented the bento box he'd made, "Sorry for dropping by unannounced, Fuji-nee forgot her lunch, again, so I came to drop this off for her."
Sakura didn't say anything in response, instead the purple haired girl's attention drifted over towards Saber who was still standing outside.
"Sooo, erm, I'll just leave this here for her." Shirou continued, rubbing the back of his head, "You mind telling her that I dropped this off?"
"Ohh…ohhh, sure." Sakura replied, "I'll…I'll go do that right now…"
Turning away from him, Sakura quickly scampered off to go find her wayward teacher; in doing so she passed by Mitsuzuri Ayako who turned her attention towards Shirou. "Well look who it is, our savior." She greeted him, "We all owe you big time Emiya, you know better than anyone how Fujimaru-sensei gets when she's hungry."
"Tell me about it, I've lost count of the times she's tried to eat me." Shirou replied humorlessly as he seated himself, "Why didn't anyone check to see if Fuji-nee had brought her lunch earlier?"
"Ha, you got me there." Ayako replied sheepishly, "Guess we've been so wiped lately that no one thought to check."
Shirou's frown deepened slightly upon hearing this. "Let me guess, Shinji again." He said firmly, "Where is he, I don't see him anywhere."
"Oh you know Shinji, off playing hooky, probably trying to impress some new girl that he's picked up." Ayako sighed; her tone a mixture of annoyance and acceptance. "And in doing so dumping all his responsibilities on everyone else."
Shirou let out a 'hmmm' in response to Ayako's comment, Shinji's negligence and shirking of his responsibilities while nothing new was something that was getting out of hand. After all, the only reason that he'd been around to witness the fight between Archer and Lancer that had taken place in the yard was because he'd covered Shinji's duties the previous evening.
"But enough about Shinji," Ayako spoke up, her voice snapping Shirou out of his thoughts, "let's talk about you Emiya."
"M…me…?" Shirou spluttered in response, "What…what exactly are you getting at?"
"Why, I'm talking about the cute girl that was outside a few moments ago, the one who clearly followed you here." The auburn haired girl replied, flashing him a sly grin, "Why Emiya, you sly dog, don't keep me in suspense, who is she?"
"H…huh," Shirou exclaimed, looking at Ayako with a look of confusion, "What do you mean a few moments ago?"
Looking away from the auburn haired girl seated next to him, Shirou shifted his gaze towards the open door only to find the spot where he'd left Saber now empty, the sight of which causing a sense of panic to well up within him. 'Damn…damnit…'
Hastily getting to his feet Shirou took off, not even sparing a moment to say anything to Ayoko as he sped out the building's open door. So in a hurry to catch up with his wayward Servant, Shirou didn't notice the figure standing atop the club house's roof.
Elsewhere the sound of Saber's footsteps echoed as she traversed the halls of the main school building. No doubt about it, just like outside she could feel trace amounts of Prana hanging in the air. While she had assured Shirou that it appeared to be relatively harmless, the fact that it was there at all irked her.
No, that wasn't the only thing that was bothering her. Truth be told, the events of last night, her encounter still weighed heavily upon her mind. First Lancer and not long after that Berserker and his Master, frankly her performance against both of them had been pathetic.
Despite her best efforts both men had easily overwhelmed her, Lancer with his skill with his chosen weapon as well as his Noble Phantasm and Berserker with his raw strength alone, this frustrated greatly.
And then there had been the appearance of that strange mummified man.
"You…should give up, your wish, it was never meant to be granted…There is no salvation or greater world on this path you tread and even if what you seek could be granted, your wish would bring nothing but more misery."
That strange man, the one who'd referred to themselves as Kuuga, his words…his tone, the way he fought, even now she couldn't stop thinking about him. More than that, the fact that he, not her, had been the one to bring down the seemingly unstoppable Berserker served no other purpose but to frustrate her further.
But why? In her life as well as in the previous Holy Grail War she'd faced off against countless opponents, many of whom had possessed overwhelming power, and she'd fought them with all her strength. So why, what was so different about her this time?
The answer was quite simple, Shirou. Despite the liking that she'd taken to him, there was no denying that the rust haired boy was lacking as a Magus which in turn made him a poor candidate for a Master.
Had any other Servant been summoned in her place, especially one that lacked the strict code that she held herself to, Saber didn't doubt that they wouldn't have simply killed Shirou where he stood rather be burdened with a novice Mage for a Master.
That or be forced to resort to more…unsavoury methods to sustain themselves, ones that she didn't doubt the young man in question would approve of.
"What are you doing here?" The sound of a stern sounding voice was heard, snapped out of her thoughts the former King found herself looking at a rather unassuming spectacles wearing man staring back at her, an unreadable expression on his face and a dead look in his cold eyes.
"Members of the public are not permitted on school grounds, not unless they're a student or a staff member." The stern looking man addressed Saber. "So, I'll ask you again, what are you doing here?"
Saber said nothing in response, her eyes narrowing as she fixed her gaze upon the man before her. To the untrained eye many would likely assume little of him, but to Saber she could tell that there was more to him then he appeared. He was incapable of Magecraft, of that he was certain, and yet she could tell that he was quite formidable. From his posture to steady pattern to his breathing everything about him was concocted with an almost machine like efficiency.
All of a sudden the sound of hurried footsteps was heard, moments later Shirou came into view as he ran towards Saber, a look that was a mixture of worry and relief on his face.
"Saber, there you are." The rust haired boy said as he pulled up alongside his Servant, "I told you to stay put. What were you think…"
Before he could finish what he was about to say the Emiya boy noticed that he and Saber weren't alone, looking over he was met by the sight of the unassuming man that had stopped Saber in her tracks.
"K…Kuzuki-Sensei…." He blurted out, quickly bowing his head respectfully.
"Emiya, this person, I take it that she's an associate of yours." The man identified as Kuzuki by Shirou replied, his tone firm.
"That's right Sensei." Shirou replied, "She's an associate of my late father who arrived in our town recently for a visit."
"Ahh, I see." Kuzuki said, more to himself than to the duo before him. "So she's a foreign student."
'A student…?' Saber cocked an eyebrow, 'Just how old does he think I am?'
"If that's the case I recommend watching out for her. A foreigner like her enrolling at this institution is certain to turn heads." The man in the green suit told the rust haired teen, "Also, you may wish to remind her that outside shoes aren't to be worn while inside."
"Un…understood Sensei…" Before he could finish his words, a sudden surge of pain engulfed Shirou's body originating from his abdomen, the sudden force of it resulting in his legs buckling and stumbling forward a step before he managed to catch himself.
'Wha…what is this…?' Shirou gasped, a cold sweat dripping off of his body, feeling as if the air was forcefully ejected from his lungs. 'This, this is just like last night when I met…'
This of course did not go unnoticed by either Saber or by Kuzuki, both of them taken a back as they observed the pained expression on his face as she clutched at his stomach, however while a worried expression suddenly appeared on Saber's face Kuzuki's never shifted from being u readable.
"Emiya, what is wrong?" The man in the green suit inquired, "Are you ill?"
Before either Shirou or Saber could answer a loud terrified sounding scream rang out, catching the attention of everyone gathered.
His eyes widening, Shirou looked back the way he came, his blood suddenly feeling like ice in his veins as well as a tightness in his chest as he realised something about the scream that he'd just heard, it had come from the direction of the Kyūdō Club. 'No, Fuji-nee, Sakura…Mitsuzuri…'
Without a moment's hesitation, Shirou turned around and took off, leaving behind both a surprised looking Saber and a still unreadable Kuzuki, unconcerned about any confusion that he left them in.
In what seemed like a blink of an eye, the Emiya Magus exited the school building, pumping his legs as hard as he could as he headed in the direction of the Kyūdō club building. Before he knew it the building came, the entire structure clad in a white sticky substance that looked like spiders webbing, that tightness from before taking form in his chest at the sight.
Stepping inside Shirou's breath caught in his chest at the sight that met him, just like outside the area was clad in that same webbing, the members of the club bound by them to the buildings walls and ceiling. Despite this, it was the figure standing there in the center of the room that drew the red haired boy's attention.
Standing there was a tall muscular looking creature with olive green skin, clad in nothing but a tan loincloth that was kept in place with a belt that had an elaborate designed buckle, as well as a bronze collar around its neck along with similar bands around its ankles, wrists, knees and forearms.
While its build was humanode in appearance, it sported inhuman looking features, the most notable being its head which was in no way human looking, instead sporting features reminiscent of a spider along with eight protrusions sprouting from the side of its headreminiscent of spider's legs. Sporting a pair of large black eyes in the center along with two smaller pairs of the same color on the sides of the first pair as well as a chelicerae like mouth although lacking the mandible fangs that arachnids tended to have.
Worst of all, one of its hands was clutched around the neck of Fujimaru Taiga, the short haired woman making choking noises as she struggled against its grip.
"Tsk, pathetic." He heard The Spider like Kaijin address Taiga as it watched her struggle, judging by its tone it seemed thoroughly unimpressed by its surroundings. "You Linto are even weaker then I remember."
"Listen closely, something that was supposed to have remained forever buried has been unearthed and begun anew…A game, an ancient game where people die…This game, its participants kill in hopes of obtaining terrible power and your city is now their hunting ground. If it's not opposed then the people who dwell here will drown in blood and hellfire."
"Game…" Shirou muttered, his eyes widening slightly as he recalled what the mummified man had told him. "Is…is this thing, is it part of the game that guy talked about?"
"Hmmm…" The Spider man grunted, all of its eyes shifting in Shirou's direction, noticing the rust haired boy standing there in the doorway. "What's this, seems I missed one…"
Hearing what the spider man say something, Taiga too looked over and saw Shirou standing there "Sh…Shirou…" She muttered, surprised to see the boy whom she'd claimed as her little brother.
"Shirou, get out of here, you need to run away as fast as you can." She managed to call out to him. "This thing, it's a monster."
"F…Fuji-nee…" Shirou muttered, a look of horror on his face as he found himself unable to look away from the sight before him.
Fujimura Taiga, she'd been a part of his life ever since Kirirsugu had taken him in, the big sister that he's never had nor ever asked for and, quite frankly, was a major headache at times. Despite her age she had a tendency at times to act far more childish than any of the students that she was supposed to instruct, not to mention lazy and would constantly drop by unannounced to eat his food.
And yet, despite everything, he didn't want to imagine what he'd do if anything ever happened to her. She was going to die, unless he acted and did something, anything she was going to die. "FUJI-NEE!"
All of a sudden Shrirou was all of a sudden overcome as a fresh wave of that mind breaking pain surge out from his abdomen as a blinding flash of light emanated outwards from him before quickly retracting in on, becoming smaller and smaller before all of a sudden that same belt that the mummified man had worn appeared upon his waist.
"Huh," The green skinned creature muttered, its multiple eyes settling on the belt that adorned Shirou's waist. "That belt…"
"H…huh…" Shirou exclaimed, placing a hand upon the buckle of the belt that was wrapped around his waist, his fingers tracing itself across the circular red stone that was set into it.
"I see" The spider man said, all six of its eyes narrowing. "So your the one who has inherited Kuuga's power…"
Before either Shirou or the spider man could do or say anything else, a sudden streak of blue shot past Shirou, the rust haired teen shocked to see Saber appear before him. "S…Saber…"
Saber said nothing in response to the young man who at present she held a contract with, her gaze fixed upon the olive green spider like creature that stood before her.
This creature, just what was it? In all her years she couldn't recall encountering anything like it before. More importantly, how exactly had it managed to get so close while escaping her notice? But that should be impossible, her highly attuned senses should have detected it long before it revealed itself.
Either this creature, whatever it was, had a way of making itself undetectable to her or, the option that was more unpleasant for her to consider, was that she was off her game.
Pushing these thoughts aside the blond Servant focused on the situation at hand, now was not the time to doubt herself.
There were two important rules of the Holy Grail War. The first being that all evidence of Magecraft was to be kept hidden from the eyes of everyday people, any all exposure would be met with severe punishment, and the second that forbade Servants from acting in broad daylight.
By going against this creature she's most likely breaking both of these rules.
That being said she could not just ignore the opponent that stood before her, her honor as a Knight would not allow her to stand idly by as innocent bystanders would come to harm.
Even if she and Shirou were breaking the rules, even if she exposed her status as a Heroic Spirit before the eyes of civilians, given the situation, she would act now and worry about the consequences later.
"Shirou, I strongly advise that you stay back." The ex-King of England told her contract holder, her tone leaving no room for argument. "This foul creature, whatever it is, I will dispatch it post haste…"
Before Shirou could even attempt to protest, Saber lunged forward, the civilian clothes lent to her by Rin vanished as her battle dress and armor appeared in their place as she dashed towards the Spider themed Kaijin.
As she drew closer her weapon appeared in a swirl of wind that formed in her outstretched hand, grasping it in both hands she raised it up in preparation of bringing it down upon her foe. Just as she was about to bring her blade down the spider man acted, holding the still captive Tiga out in front of them, putting her between itself and Saber.
Seeing this, Saber's eyes widened slightly as she quickly realised what it was trying to do, barely managing to halt herself before she pulled back, putting a small distance between herself and the spider man. "Tsk, you underhanded fiend." Saber said sternly, fixing the spider man with a look of restrained anger, "Using a bystander as a shield is a cowardly tactic."
If the olive green creature understood what she was saying it gave no induction either way, all six of its beady eyes narrowing as it glared back at her before it then tossed Taiga aside. Looking over, the spider man then spat out a small ball of what looked to be a white stringy substance, hitting Taiga in the chest where it suddenly expanded, wrapping itself around the short haired brunette as well as sticking her to the ceiling.
Seeing that the short haired brunette was no longer in a position where she could be used as a shield, Saber lunged forward as once more attempted to engage the spider like Kaijin, aiming a vertical slash with her wind encased sword at the green skinned creature only for it to avoid her attempt by leaning back out of the way.
Momentarily taken aback by this turn of events, the sword wielding Servant tried again, this time by thrusting her blade towards the spider man who again avoided it, this time by side stepping out of the way of her attempt to skewer it.
Managing to bite back the feelings of frustration that she could feel wheeling up within her, Saber backwards tried for a third time, aiming a horizontal slash at her opponent who once again avoided her attempt, this time by leaping up into the air.
As it did so the spider man twisted in midair, planting its feet on the ceiling, to both Shirou and Saber's surprise, it attached itself to it with no problem. Narrowing all six of its beady eyes, the spider man pushed itself off the ceiling and launched itself at Saber, twisting around as it did so as it reared back its fist that it then aimed at the sword wielding Servant.
Seeing this, Saber quickly pulled back, avoiding her opponent's punch which instead struck the floor, the force of which punched through the wooden boards that covered the floor.
"Huh, what's this. You, your stronger the others were." The spider Kaijin said, fixing its gaze on Saber as it rose back up to its full height. "Still, your far too weak the defeat me."
A bead of sweat rolled down Shirou's face as he watched from his position, this wasn't good. This creature, whatever it was, clearly had no problems keeping up with Saber in a fight, agile enough to avoid her attacks and was clearly very strong.
Not only that it also could cling to walls and roofs, not unlike the creature that it was themed after, an ability that could prove troublesome form then in a confined space such as the one they were currently in. Worse still, by staying here they put the club members in danger, it already showed that it had no problems using Fuji-nee as a human shield.
They had to get it out of here, sure moving to a more open space had its own set of problems but at least this way they'd be away from any more potential victims.
"Saber, lead this thing away from here." He ordered his Servant, "We should get it as far away from any bystanders."
Hearing her Master's command, the wind that encased Saber's sword began to spin with more intensity, thrusting her weapon in front of her she unleashed a powerful blast of air at the spider man, buffeting him as it fought to keep itself from being knocked back, before both of them fell back towards the open door and out into the yard beyond.
Narrowing its six eyes and letting out a small growl, the spider man quickly moved to pursue them.
Emerging from the Kyūdō club building it didn't take long for the olive green skinned Kaijin to catch up with Shirou and Saber who led it to the school yard. No longer confined within the confines of a limited space and away from the students and Taiga, Saber was confident that she could engage her opponent without having to hold back.
With a cry the blue clad sword wielder charged at the spider man, her sword cleaving the air as she aimed it at the foe that stood before her, again the Kaijin narrowly managing her attempt, however this time not unscathed as the tip of Saber's blade managed to graze its side.
"Tsk, you damned Linto," The spider man hissed, gingerly pressing a hand onto the fresh wound on the side of its waist, blood oozing from between its fingers. "She's faster than before…"
"Alright Saber," Shirou cheered, "You managed to hit it."
"Don't go getting ahead of yourself Shirou, this battle is far from concluded." Saber told her Master, her tone strict, "It is foolish to celebrate before the battle is won."
From its position, the spider Kaijin watched the exchange between Servant and Servant, a sinister sounding growl could be heard coming from it. "Damned Linto," It snarled as it lunged towards the blond haired Servant, "This wound, you'll pay for this with your blood …"
As it moved in to engage Saber again a pair of spike like claws sprouted from the back of the olive green creature's hand, attempting to slash at the Saber Servant with them, acting quickly Saber quickly stepped back out of the way of its first attempt.
A frustrated growl was heard coming from the spider Kaijin as it attempted to lash out with its claws at Saber again only for its blond haired opponent to side step out of the way, successfully avoiding its second attempt before using her sword to block its second attempt.
For a moment, her sword locked against its claws, both Servant and Kaijin gaze met one another, the spider man's six black eyes locked with Saber's forest green ones.
"You, you're not like the other Linto I've met, your actually putting up a fight, it's really starting the piss me off…" The spider Kaijin snarled, "I won't…I won't lose, I'll kill you and every Linto in this city. I will win game and become the new Dagava…"
Pulling its claws back, the spider man dropped down and swept one of its feet at Saber's legs, trying to kick it out from under her, Saber quickly fell back to avoid this attempt. This however would cost her dearly.
As the Servant of the Sword moved back the spider spat out another string out webbing, part of the stringy substance wrapping itself around Saber's sword while the other end attached itself to the ground.
"Wha…what the…" Saber exclaimed, shocked at the disabling of her weapon. Gritting her teeth she tried to pull her blade free however, even with her ranks in strength, she was unable to break the webs.
So distracted by this, Saber reacted far too late to avoid the vicious kick that the spider man delivered to her chest, sending her sprawling to the floor, the green skinned Kaijin then launching more of its webs from its mouth, wrapping themselves around her and pinning her to the ground, struggling vainly as she tried to free herself.
"NO, SABER!" Shirou cried out, a look of disbelief on his face. Saber, his Servant who the previous night had been able to hold her own against Lancer as well as having fought Berserker without hesitation, had been defeated by the green skinned creature and trapped in the same manner it had done to the whole of the Kyūdō club.
"Hmm, now that's taken care of…" The spider man said to itself before shifting its gaze over in the rust haired teen's direction, its six eyes once again settling on the belt that adorned his waist.
"You, since you're wearing that belt I suppose that your here to fight me?" It addressed him, assuming a stance that Shirou assumed meant it wanted to fight him. "Alright then, show me how strong you are champion of the Linto."
A bead of sweat rolled down Shirou's face as his features twisted into a grimace, even if he couldn't understand its word it was pretty obvious that the spider Kaijin wanted to fight him. This was very very bad, after all if a servant like Saber couldn't defeat it then what chance did he have?
"Shirou, do not fight this creature, it's too strong for you to engage by yourself." Saber called out as she continued to futilely struggle against the webs that bound her, "Go, find Lady Rin and Archer, they may fare better against this fiend then you can."
Contrary to popular belief, while he could be reckless, Shirou wasn't stupid, he could tell that, as he currently was, he was no match for the spider man and if he tried fighting this thing he'd more than likely die and dying meant he'd be unable to help anyone.
Tsk, even Saber knew that he stood no chance against this thing. Telling him to go find Tohsaka and Archer, believing that they stood a better chance against this creature then he did, annoying enough she was probably right. Last night, against both Lancer and Berserker, he'd been unable to provide any assistance to both Saber and Tohsaka and now he was faced with another enemy that he stood no chance against.
But still, even if it was the smart thing to do, running away didn't feel right. Even if he did, what guarantee did he have that he could even get away. Tohsaka had not come to school today and he had no clue as to how to find her, even if he did what was to stop this thing from going on a rampage, one that would more than likely result in a high number of casualties.
Damnit, what was he supposed to do? If he tried to run people would die and if he tried to fight the creature before him he'd likely die trying and then others would still die. No matter what he did the outcome was the same, he was powerless to help anyone.
"I am Kuuga, Champion of the Linto race…"
Then in that moment, memories of the previous night flashed before his eyes, recalling the strange mummified man and how he'd transformed into a powerful warrior, one strong enough to defeat Berserker.
"That guy, he was so strong, strong enough to defeat a Servant…" Shirou muttered to himself, his hand tracing the gemstone set into the Arcle Belt.
"It is done, my joy…my suffering…my soul…they have been passed on to you."
All of a sudden the fear and indecisiveness vanished, looking up he fixed his gaze upon the spider man, a look of determination on his face. "His power, he said that it is mine now," He said, his hands balling themselves up tightly, "If he could do it…then so can I…"
Taking several deep breaths Shirou's body tensed up before he then charged at the spider man, resting back a fist as he did so. "HENSHIN!" He cried out as he aimed a punch at the olive green Kaijin, his punch striking it in the stomach.
The moment his fist made contact, something unexpected happened, his left hand and forearm became clad in a black leather like glove that extended to just below his elbow along with a white gauntlet with a golden band wrapped wrist.
"H…huh!" Shirou exclaimed, a look of shock on his face as he examined his now transformed left forearm. "My…my arm, it's…"
So engrossed by this that Shirou barely had time to react as the spider like creature took a swipe at him with its hand mounted claws, using his newly armored left arm to block its attempt before aiming a right hook that caught the Kaijin in its cheek. Like before, his right arm became clad in the same armor that adorned his left.
Urged on, Shirou aimed blow after blow against the inhuman looking creature, each time he landed a blow a different part of his body was covered with either an armored piece or more of that black leather material. Letting out a cry, the now armored Shirou one last punch to the spider man, this one delivered with enough force to send it stumbling backwards.
As the Kaijin stumbled back a final piece of armor appeared on Shirou's body, a hamlet with insectoide like features including a pair of red compound lenses and a pair of golden horns formed on his head.
Grunting, the spider man steadied itself before looking up and focused its attention once more on the red haired boy before them, all six of its eyes widening momentarily at the sight that met them. "Kuuga…"
With some distance put between him and the spider man, the newly transformed Kuuga took the opportunity to examine himself. "I…I did it…" He muttered to himself, letting out a surprised gasp at what he discovered. "I…I transformed…"
"S…Shirou…" Saber gasped, disbelief in her voice at what she saw. Emiya Shirou, her Master, had just assumed an armored form akin to the one that the mummified stranger that she'd encountered last night had conjured up.
That being said there were a few minor differences, the main one being that the chestplate and shoulder pad were white while the strangers had been red the other being the golden horns attached to the helmet were smaller.
"Kuuga, those horn of yours," The spider man called out to the white armored Rider, "They're smaller than I remember."
Before he could even catch his breath the spider man lunged at Kuuga, extending its arm out and delivering a clothesline that connected with the white and black Rider's chest, knocking him to the ground.
Kuuga barely had time to register hitting the ground before the green skinned Kaijin was upon him once more, seizing hold of the collar of chestplate before being pulled back up, the spider man delivering several blows to his head before he was then hurled into the air and sent flying towards the building.
Within an empty classroom, Kuzuki Souichirou was seated at his desk at the front of the room, taking advantage of the peaceful seclusion as he glanced over the lesson plan that he'd prepared for his upcoming class, seemingly oblivious to the struggles that were occurring outside.
Had he not been so engrossed in the task before him he'd have noticed the dark shape coming closer Kuuga came crashing through the window before colliding with several of the desks that took up the majority of the room's space, damaging one of them while knocking over several others.
Gasping for breath, Kuuga rolled onto his side, his body protesting as he did so. 'Damnit, that guy, so strong…' He gasped as he shakily pushed himself up into his knees, 'Even with this power, I'm not sure I can beat him…'
The stag beetle Rider barely had time to shift himself when the spider man appeared, leaping through the broken window and into the room itself. "Tsk, gis thgat gall ygrgo'vgi gget, Kuuga?" It said in a low guttural tone, all four of its black eyes fixed upon the white and black Rider.
'Shit, this isn't good…' Kuuga mentally cursed to himself, just then he noticed something out of the corner of his eyes and shifting his gaze over discovered that it was a metal rod from off of the desks he'd broken when he'd slammed into it.
Seeing it he was reminded of the previous evening, recalling how the other Kuuga had transformed a wooden branch into first a long rod before turning into a bowgun.
Without hesitation, Kuuga snatched up the metal rod and got to his feet, holding the metallic object out in front of him … only for nothing to happen. "H…huh?" he exclaimed as he starred at the item in his hand, "How come nothing happened?"
Meanwhile The spider man seemed less than impressed "Tsk, annoying," It muttered as it took a step towards the stunned Rider, "Stop screwing around and take things seriously…"
As it moved in closer the claws mounted on the back of both of its hand extended before it lashed out at Kuuga with one of them, slicing through the metal rod that Kuuga was holding with ease, quickly it followed this up by swiping at him with its other set, slashing Kuuga across the chestplate and knocking him back a few steps before colliding with another of the desks.
Recovering from his stunned state, Kuuga looked to find the spider man lunging towards him, aim a set of its claws towards him as it did so, with only moments to respond he barely managed to duck the side, narrowly avoiding being impaled on the pair of bony protrusions being aimed at him.
'This is bad, being inside again puts more people at risk,' Kuuga inwardly chastised himself, 'Need to get this guy out of here and away from any one that could get in its way…'
Before the white stag beetle Rider could start racking his brains, trying to figure out what to do, the spider Kaijin was upon him again, attempting another swipe at him with one of its hand mounted claws, Kuuga managing to block its attempt by using his gauntlet to shield himself before aiming a punch that stuck it across the cheek, leaving it momentarily dazed.
Seeing an opening, Kuuga grabbed a nearby chain and swung it at the spider man, smashing it over its head and causing it to stumble backwards a few steps.
With his opponent momentarily stunned, Kuuga took the opportunity to run towards the classroom door, pulling it open before looking back towards the spider man, seeing it shake its head as it recovered its faculties.
"Hey ugly, come and get me…" Kuuga called out to the green skinned Kaijin, his voice catching its attention, before bolting, heading out of the classroom and running as fast as he could.
"Damn Kuuga, what are you playing at?" The spider man said in a low, growl like tone, narrowing all four of its beast black eyes before quickly moving to chase after Kuuga, leaving behind a still impassive looking Kuzuki, the green suit wearing man having not moved from his desk during that whole exchange.
While this was playing out, Saber continued to struggle against the webbing that bound her, trying desperately to free herself from them only to be met by little success. The more it seemed she struggled the more resilient against her efforts the white sticky substance seemed to become.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" A voice from nearby spoke up as a shadow fell over the restrained Servant who quickly turned to look in their direction where she found herself looking into the smirking face of Lancer looking back at her. "Yo Saber, fancy meeting you here?"
"L…Lancer…?" The English Servant exclaimed, a look of surprise appearing on her face as she looked up at the man whom she'd engaged in combat with the previous evening, surprised to see him as well as frustrated with herself at herself for allowing an enemy Servant to escape her notice. "What are you doing here?"
"Relax, I'm not here to try anything underhanded in case you were wondering. I just happened to be in the area when I noticed your predicament is all." Lancer assured her. "While I'd love nothing more than to pick up where we left off it's still daylight out, rules dictate we can't do anything fun before the sun sets."
Saber scoffed at this. "Do take me for a fool, I highly doubt either you or your Master are sticklers for the rules." She retorted.
Lancer chuckled. "Ha, true enough." He replied, "But enough about me, I'm more interested as to how you ended up like this?"
"Not that it's any of your business, however, my Master and I encountered an unexpected and most unusual opponent." Saber frowned, "I tried to engage it but, to my shame, misjudged its abilities and ended up like this."
"Oh, you mean that spider thing that's running around." Lancer said, an amused smirk on his face. "Yeah, that's gotta be embarrassing for ya."
Saber's eyes widened. "Wait, you were watching the whole time?" She demanded.
"Yep." The blue haired replied casually, "Gotta say he's an interesting little bugger, can't say it's like anything I've ever seen."
Holding his arm out, a swirl of energy appeared in the palm of Lancer's hand before, in a flash, his long, deadly, red spear appeared. Grasping its shaft Lancer pointed it at Saber, the tip of the blade inches away from her face.
"Tell ya what, since I'm in a generous mood, I'll do ya a solid." He told her, "I'll cut you free and in return, the next time we meet you and I settle things, no distractions, no Masters to hold us back."
Moving his spear lower, Lancer stabbed into the webbing and in one swift movement sliced it apart, freeing Saber from her binds. Free once more, Saber was quickly back on her feet, with her senses she picked up on Shirou's location within moments.
"Saber." Lancer spoke up, stopping the blond King before she could take off, all playfulness vanishing from his voice and replaced with seriousness. "Remember what I said."
A serious expression spread across Saber's face. "I hear you Lancer, I too wish to settle things between us." She told him. "Now if you'll excuse me, my Master is in need of assistance…"
With that Saber dashed away, leaving Lancer standing there, the blue haired Irishman letting out a 'ha…' before he vanished in a swirl of pale blue energy accompanied by the faint sound of chimes.
After much running Kuuga arrived on the school building, unbeknownst to him the exact same location where Rin and Archer had first Lancer the previous night. While admittedly not the most ideal location at least up here he could deal with the spider man without anyone potentially getting in the way.
Just then the sound of approaching footsteps was head coming from behind him, turning around in the direction of the stairwell Kuuga was just in time to see the spider man walk through the door that he'd exited through only moments before.
"Are you finished running?" The Kaijin addressed him as it advanced slowly towards its target, from its tone Kuuga could tell that it didn't appreciate having to chase after him. "No more games Kuuga, I will kill you here and now."
As drew closer the spider man once more extending a set of its claws which it then lashed out with at Kuuga, the white beetle Rider quickly twisting out of the way to avoid being stabbed by the pair of long bony protrusions before grabbing ahold of its arm in an attempt to try and overpower the green skinned arachnid.
His attempt however proved ultimately fruitless as the spider man quite easily able to throw him off, sending Kuuga sprawling to the floor before stomping on his chest before he could attempt to pick himself back up, pinning him to the floor.
With its prey seemingly at its mercy, the spider man threw its head back and bellowed out a loud fearsome sounding cry towards the sky, all the while Kuuga was struggling to free himself out from under the Kaijin's foot that was holding him down.
Knowing that he needed to do something Kuuga kicked upwards, managing to land a kick to its rear which in turn caused the spider man to lose balance and stumble off balance, allowing him to squirm out from under its foot.
Now longer pinned down, Kuuga aimed another kick at the spider man, striking it in the chest and knocking it away and sending it crashing into the wire fence that surrounded the rooftop.
Panting heavily Kuuga quickly scrambled to his feet once more, his gaze fixed upon the green skinned Kaijin that had brought harm to a lot of people here today. He couldn't let this continue; he needed to defeat this creature before it did any more damage.
Bending his knees slightly and holding his arms out at his sides, Kuuga charged forward, mimicking the actions of the mummified man had done the previous night against Berserker, before leaping into the air, rolling into a frontwards flip before shifting position, extending his right foot out in front of him.
At the same moment Saber emerged from door that led to the stairwell, just in time to see the sole of Kuuga's foot struck the spider man's chest, the fence behind it straining as it was pushed to its limit before, with several loud PING's, the metal wire tore apart, the green skinned Kaijin was launched backwards and off of the roof, letting out a final guttural sounding cry as it plummeted the ground below.
The battle now over Kuuga collapsed onto his hands and knees, panting heavily as stared at the concreate beneath him. Despite having defeated the spider man he felt no sense of accomplishment in his victory, not with how he'd performed out there.
Even with this new power of his, he'd barely been a match for the spider Kaijin, especially given how he'd only managed to defeat it due to luck then anything else. Worse still, given the strange man's warnings, there was most likely more of these creatures out there, ones who'd no doubt be stronger than the one he'd just faced.
He needed to be stronger, he had to be stronger. If not, then how was he supposed to be able to save anyone.
"Shirou," Hearing a voice Kuuga looked over to see Saber standing there in the doorway of the stairwell, the two of them staring back one another for a few moments before she began to slowly approach him. "Shirou, you won."
"Barely," Kuuga replied as she drew closer, "I…I got lucky."
Looking away from her, the white stag beetle Rider shifted his attention back towards the edge of the roof, peering over the ledge and to the ground below…upon doing so discovering no trace of the spider man.
AN