Beta read and Co-owritten by Gamercrusher55 and Shigiya
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-Fuyuki; Miyama, Mackenzie Residence-
(A few days earlier)
The last few days had been pure hell for a certain silver… no, now blonde-haired girl. She sat in her teacher's current office — which was mostly just a small bedroom with one desk where she sat on the ground. Unlike his office in London, the air was not yet fully thick with the smell of old books and cigarette smoke. She suspected it was because he did not want to leave the smell in the old Mackenzie couple's house, even if they were on vacation. Her hands rested on her lap, fingers nervously tracing the worn fabric of her skirt. In front of her was a small floor table that held a birdcage with a uniquely designed box within it, that could be described as having a face on it.
It was Add, now still silent and inert. Ever since the moment she summoned Saber, he had been unresponsive.
And without him, she couldn't see herself fighting in the war.
Behind her, "she" sat on her knees as immobile as a statue.
Considering how vehemently she had acted around Saber she could understand why she was keeping her silence now. Of course now that was working against them as her Servant wouldn't say anything that could anger her. Especially with her Command Spells.
"...Aah, I can't take it. Let's just sit outside."
"Yes, mame."
The stress must have been getting worse for Sir, as the moment they made their way outside, a cigar was already being lit. Lord El-Melloi II took a long drag from it, letting the smoke curl towards the ceiling before he finally spoke. "I have good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"
Gray's posture straightened slightly. "The good news first, please."
"The good news is that I'm fairly certain I know the cause of its current state," Waver said, tapping ash into a tray. "I may know the reason why Add stopped working and went unresponsive. On top of that, it's not dead, per se. Killing a mystic code like this isn't as straightforward as you might think, especially the killing part… it's not destroyed.."
A wave of relief washed over Gray, her shoulders slumping. "Thank God," she breathed. "That should mean Add can be fixed."
At that, he raised a hand, stopping her. "Slow down. That's where the bad news comes in." He leaned back in his chair, his gaze shifting between Gray and the silent Servant behind her. "Look, while I'm not exactly an expert in this particular field compared to some of the geniuses in other departments, or some ancient mages, I can still manage to uncover a few details." He pointed a finger at Saber. "Looking at the timing, the reason Add went unresponsive is because of little Miss Blondie over here. You already knew that, right?"
Gray just nodded her head, her eyes fixed on the lifeless box on the desk. Saber kept her silence, observing the exchange with an unreadable expression.
He continued, "Given its consciousness is linked to you, that means whenever you fall unconscious, so will the mystic code. But as it's obvious, you're not unconscious, yet this still happened. I theorize it's because of Saber's summoning. The process accelerated the rate of your transformation, which must have caused a shock to its system, rendering it in this state." He paused, taking another drag from his cigar. "And unfortunately, before you ask, I don't think even if Saber were to disappear that this issue would be reversed. It's like a computer getting fried from the inside. No matter what you do, even if you unplug it, you can't change the result."
Gray looked horrified, her face pale. "That sounds like you're describing Add as being dead!"
"I said, it's not exactly the case," The head of the El Meloi family repeated while massaging his own forehead. "Given its nature, it's not like a human who, once dead, cannot be brought back… in most cases, that is. I believe there is a way. But at best, these are just ideas and theories. If we want a concrete answer, they'll need to find experts who can guide us or the person who literally built this thing or us."
"I don't have time to find experts!" She said, her voice rising with desperation. "This is my only chance, and now that she's here, I'm out of time."
"I'm aware, you don't need to repeat it twice. Which is why I believe the Grail is the answer. At the end of the day, it's nothing more than an accumulation of magical energy condensed into a cup that can produce a miracle. And that miracle could not only possibly fix your issue but could also reawaken our friend. It's the only source of energy that can do it. Unless..."
"Unless?" Gray repeated, leaning forward, eager for any other option.
"Listen, I'm just throwing this idea out there. The main requirement is basically an abundant amount of energy," Waver explained. "It does not need to be the same level as the grail, and there happens to be something else in this town that might be able to accomplish a similar result without it having to be the Holy Grail." Seeing her eager and restless expression, he held up a hand. "Don't get so excited. It will be a miracle if it's still here. It's been a decade, and there's a good chance it was destroyed in that attack. Reines did say that the Archibald's were never able to find it, which doesn't bode well."
"What are you referring to? What existed in the previous war that can produce such conditions?" Saber broke her silence in curiosity to ask her question to the man who still refused to look her in the eye.
"I'm getting to that. To be honest, your previous faction was responsible for its loss in the first place. Tell me, Gray, have you heard the rumours about the "El-Melloi's Supreme Mystic Code"?"
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After leaving Waver's office and going on a small grocery shopping spree, the silence between Gray and Saber remained as present as ever as they walked through the streets.
It was the usual with them, and the hooded girl was fine with that; she did not want it to change or get any closer to her. With evening around the corner, the city lights already began to flicker on, casting long shadows that seemed to stretch and twist around them. Gray kept her gaze forward, her hands clutching the handle of a grocery bag, the paper crinkling with each step.
"Master," Saber's voice finally cut through the quiet, "are you thinking about finding that object?"
"..."
She did not answer; instead just kept on walking silently. Her focus is entirely on the path ahead. After a moment of continued silence, Saber spoke again, "Such a thing can be dangerous, even for you. It would be best if you allowed me to help you in this matter, given..."
"Given what?" Gray's voice interjected abruptly as she spun around to face the golden-haired Servant that shared her face. "Given that it's entirely because of your existence, I no longer have Add? That I am now powerless because of you, and on top of that, I should be asking you for help to the person who is the source of all my problems and my soon-to-come death?"
"N-No… that… I meant…" Saber hesitated, her lips parting slightly as if to speak, but no more words came. The Heroic Spirit looked down, her gaze falling to the ground, a clear expression of guilt on her features. "I'm sorry, Master. I didn't mean it like that."
"Save it," Gray said, turning away again. "You've already taken so much from me. I can perfectly manage on my own, with or without Add. Just let me be."
"Understood," she replied quietly.
"Hah," Gray's shoulders slumped, clutching the grocery bag filled with bread and other items tighter, her eyelids feeling heavy. Dark circles were visible beneath them, a clear sign of her recent lack of sleep. It had been one disaster after another from the moment she set foot into this town. Nothing was going as planned. At this rate, forget about getting to the Holy Grail; she would be lucky to be alive by the time this war ended.
'Saber's right,' she thought, the words echoing in her mind — as much as she wanted to deny them. 'I literally have no clue where to start. Sir is still searching for clues, but time just keeps passing by. With each day, I feel more and more of myself slipping, changing into something I'm not.'
Lost in her thoughts, she didn't see the person in front of her until she walked right into them with a soft thump. "Ah!" The impact nearly sent her and the several bags of groceries she was holding tumbling to the ground. "Oh no!" She flailed, trying to regain her balance, but an arm shot out and steadied her, while another hand caught the bag that was slipping from her grasp.
"Careful," a feminine voice said.
"So-Sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going, oh." Gray said instinctively as they both straightened up. The girl found herself staring at a familiar girl with long, lustrous violet hair. Her memories flashed back to a few days ago, to another time she had bumped into someone who looked exactly like this.
The violet-haired girl's face broke into a look of surprise. "Oh, you're the one from back then!"
It was only then that Gray realized this wasn't just someone who looked familiar; this was the exact same person. "Y-yes," she managed, a bit of awkwardness in her voice.
'I'm surprised she remembers me.'
Their last encounter only lasted a handful of seconds, with each one going their way soon enough.
"Here, let me help you," Sakura said, taking the other bag of groceries from Gray. "You're carrying a bit too much. I can help you carry these back to wherever you're going."
The closeness initially made the blonde take a step back, both uncertain and a bit overwhelmed by the kind gesture. "There's no need for that," Gray protested very weakly, low enough that her voice sounded no different to a mosquitos'
"It's fine, it's the least I can do," the Matou heiress insisted with a gentle smile.
"It w-was my own fault, I wasn't paying attention."
She simply waved the words away. "It's all right. You shouldn't be walking around town carrying this much to begin with; you can easily trip and fall in the middle of the road." She then started walking in the direction Gray had been heading, forcing the latter to hurry and follow along. Gray felt a flush of embarrassment; she really needed to get her focus back. Bumping into people like this was getting ridiculous.
"You seem to be new around these parts," the girl noted, studying her for a moment. "I've never seen you in Fuyuki before."
That made Gray give her a small nod. Feeling that she had already been asked such a question by someone else, the answer came naturally. "I-I arrived not long ago. I'm from London." Truthfully, this moment ended up distracting her from the prior stressful thoughts. Even if the conversation happened to be a brief one with a stranger.
She knew Saber was not trying to harm her, but memories of the past had left plenty of scars within her mind that had not even begun to heal. Her current state is also doing a lot to make the mere act of standing beside that woman a difficult task. So for that moment, when facing this person, she just tried to behave like a regular person for once.
A thoughtful hum followed. "You look rather young. I was wondering if you came here to settle down, or if you're only staying for a while."
"Just a few weeks," came the reply, with a faint addition of restraint lingering in the back of her mind. Holding herself back from having dark jokes rise in her mind about how, if things would even last that long.
The other girl's expression shifted, the earlier curiosity easing into worry. "You don't seem to be in the best state of mind. Is something bothering you?"
A slight shake of the head answered that. "No, nothing like that. I'm just… distracted." It wasn't something she intended to explain to someone she had only just met.
"Oh—right, I never introduced myself," she said, letting out a small, almost embarrassed laugh. "My name is Sakura."
"It's a beautiful name," the blonde-haired girl answered without hesitation. "I'm Gray."
The conversation dipped into a brief silence after that, not awkward, just still. Then Gray spoke again, her tone lower this time. "U-Um, was it really that obvious? That I looked… off?"
Sakura gave a small nod. "Yes. There's something in your eyes. It gives it away. Like things aren't going well, even if you don't say it outright."
"It might just be the way I dress," Gray offered, glancing down at herself as if that could explain it. Not saying it out loud, she stared at her apparel and frowned ever so slightly.
'I'm wearing a large cloaked hoodie after all. It stands out, and the colour doesn't contrast well with my surroundings.' Still, she liked them for they offered both comfort and a great deal of flexibility during combat. Convenient for when it rained, especially for someone who grew up somewhere where the sky poured regularly.
"Maybe," Sakura said, not dismissing the idea entirely. "But I think it's more than that… in any case, I can tell you that talking to someone you trust might actually help."
Gray immediately thought of Waver, but despite his knowing her issue and trying his best to help, it wasn't enough to lift her worries, even when she trusted him with her life and everything. A few seconds later, another face surfaced in her mind: a certain red-headed boy. "My issues are a bit... particular," she said carefully, unsure how to even bring it up without sounding strange.
'Master, it would be wise if we don't speak too much about our issue with others. Something about this person feels off.' Saber mentioned a wave of irritation filling her body upon hearing her voice. Saber's words were correct, but… it still felt uncomfortable agreeing to her every word.
'I know, I've noticed. It's just a question.'
She could not stand this going on any longer. One way or another, she just had to help Waiver somehow to acquire the information about that Mystic Code! With a goal in mind, her nerves relaxed enough to avoid thinking about anything that would not help her in this quest.
"They can be dangerous. Involving other people could lead to trouble for them, and I don't wish to do that."
"I understand," Sakura said softly. She continued, "I know someone who would tell me that regardless of what trouble may arise, for someone who is truly close to them, they would still help out, no matter the issues."
"Someone stubborn," she noted.
Sakura smiled. "Yes. If there is such a person in your life, even if you try to push them away, they'll just come running."
As they reached the front of a modest house, Gray said, "This is my place. You can just place the grocery bag on the porch." She took the bag from Sakura and set it down. "Thank you for helping me."
"It's not an issue," Sakura replied. "I'm just doing what a person precious to me would have done. I'm trying to be a bit more like him." They said their goodbyes, and Gray watched her walk away, contemplating the girl's words. She couldn't help but think back to Shirou.
"I sensed someone observing us from afar."
"A Servant?" Gray asked, her frustration mounting.
"I don't know," the Servant replied. "The person stopped observing us."
With a groan of frustration, Gray slapped her own cheeks with both hands. "Sitting here doing nothing won't help," she muttered to herself, getting to her feet. "I may have an idea on how to get things started." She turned and left the porch, heading towards the house of a certain redhead.
…
(Present)
The memory faded, and Gray found herself standing in front of a familiar Japanese house. "Hah…" Taking a deep breath, the evening air against her skin. Her hand, holding the cage containing the silent Add, hesitated before knocking on the door. She remembered the chaos from the last time they had met, the sheer intensity of the situation. 'He might be busy,' she told herself, her resolve wavering. Looking down at the box in its cage, a pang of anxiety hit her.
Gathering her courage, she pressed the doorbell.
No answer came.
After several seconds of silence, a new worry crept in. She was bothering someone who already had enough to deal with, adding another problem to his plate. Her mind made up, Gray turned around, ready to walk away. Behind her, Saber looked from her retreating back to the house, her own silence a barrier between them. The atmosphere between Master and Servant was still awkward, neither having spoken a word to the other since Waver's office.
Just as she took her first step away, the door swung open.
"—!"
"Gray?" Shirou's voice called out.
She froze in place, turning slowly to see him standing there, wearing a simple apron over his clothes. A tired but genuine smile was on his face. "It's been a while. Please, come in." He gestured for her to enter before she could even formulate a response.
With a small bow, both women followed him inside.
Once inside, she took a seat on the living room sofa, the cage containing Add placed carefully beside her. Shirou disappeared into the kitchen for a moment before returning with a tray. Setting it down on the table, placing several cups of steaming tea alongside two plates of snacks. One plate held simple senbei crackers, while the other had a few neatly arranged onigiri. He then picked up a cup and one of the plates, walking over to Saber, who stood silently by the wall.
"This is for you," he said, offering them to her.
Saber looked at the offering, her brow furrowing slightly as if she were about to politely refuse. He cut her off before she could speak. "And don't even try to refuse it like last time with some line about how a Servant's body doesn't need sustenance. I've heard that one dozens of times from Rider, and it doesn't work on me."
He gestured with the plate again.
"Just have a taste. I noticed you seemed to like it last time, so I made this specifically for you in case you visited again." The smile on his face was open and genuine, and for a moment, Saber seemed taken aback. She gave a firm nod, accepting the cup and plate. "I will not let your effort go to waste. I appreciate your gesture."
Gray, on the other hand, remained silent, simply picking up her cup and taking a sip of the tea. The quiet in the room was punctuated only by the soft clink of Saber's cup on its saucer.
Shirou returned to his seat on the opposite couch. "It's been a while since you came here."
"It has only been less than a handful of days," she corrected, her voice neutral.
"It feels longer," Shirou replied, leaning back with a sigh. "With how much is going on lately, anyway."
Gray gave a slight nod. "Yes, I cannot argue against that." She set her cup down. "Speaking of things going on, is there anything new? Any information I need to know? I heard there was quite a commotion last night."
Shirou's expression grew more serious. "Yeah, there was. That commotion was... kind of because of me, technically."
The admission didn't shock Gray so much as it made her curious. She leaned forward slightly, waiting for him to continue.
"It was a brief conflict," he explained. "A confrontation against one of Caster's main supporters."
Her eyes widened. "You faced Caster? That would explain the large sensation of magical energy I sensed over the city last night. It was followed by a massive explosion."
Shirou held up a hand. "Kind of. It wasn't the kind of confrontation you're thinking of. I didn't even get to see her or talk to her. Caster just fired a spell at us as we had our target cornered."
Gray was confused. "Us? Wait, can you recount everything from the beginning to the end?" Gray asked, her voice steady.
"Eh? Sure, it was mostly after my encounter with Rin after the attack on Fuyuki that we ended up coming up with this plan to find Sakura." He gave her a brief summary, detailing the events after her last visit. Explaining his meeting with Rin, their shared goal of finding Sakura, and how Luvia had unexpectedly become involved, concluding in the three of them confronting Sagara. Throughout his explanation, Gray listened carefully without interrupting, as did Saber, who remained silent but kept nodding along.
After several minutes, Shirou finished his story. Gray took a moment to take in all the information before speaking. "I'm sorry you weren't able to accomplish your task and find that person," she said. "But at least your actions stopped a man from killing more innocent lives in the future."
He just sighed again, shaking his head. "Hopefully, I thought I saw plenty of horrifying things in my life, but being in that room just makes me sick just to think about it."
She pondered his words for a moment longer. "The one who intercepted Caster's attack must have been an Archer-class Servant."
Shirou nodded in agreement.
"It must have been the same one who intercepted the attack on the mansion," she continued. "But why protect you and your group? Was Archer's Master also there? Or were they trying to catch Caster off guard and eliminate her?"
"It's unlikely," he replied almost instantly. "Rider didn't sense Caster nearby when we arrived there, along with Lancer. Though it's very possible that she was just canceling her presence, there were plenty of opportunities for her to attack us when we weren't prepared. That spell was definitely a long-range attack."
"So much has happened in such a little time," Gray murmured with a shake of her head. "Did everything go well? Are you not hurt?"
"Everything went fine for the most part," Shirou said. "It could have gone much worse, but thankfully Rin and Luvia were quite versatile. They were able to put aside their differences for the most part to work together."
"Are those two enemies?"
Enemies? He almost laughed when hearing that description.
"They're actually great friends," Shirou explained with a sigh. "They just refuse to acknowledge it and pretend to hate each other."
"That sounds complicated."
"I share the same opinion," he admitted, then his expression softened with concern. "Have things been going well for you? You don't look that well."
"You noticed that?" Gray asked, a bit surprised.
"Yeah, you've been pretty quiet," Shirou observed.
"I've been talking with you more than I would regularly," Gray countered. "And I just naturally look gloomy, according to some."
"Those are wrong," Shirou said firmly. "You were a tad bit more energetic last time you came."
Gray let out a soft sigh, her shoulders slumping slightly. "Things have not been going well. They've been stagnating, and I hate it. It's wasting time, and I don't have a lot left." She picked up the cage containing Add and placed it on the coffee table. She looked at Shirou, her gaze resolute. "Recently, I've been trying to find a way to fix Add."
"Add?"
"It's my mystic code," Gray explained. "It can change form into a weapon I can use in combat, like a scythe. But recently, due to circumstances, it's been rendered in this state. He… he doesn't even respond to me anymore."
As she spoke, Shirou's eyes glanced towards Saber, who shifted in her seat, her composure faltering slightly at Gray's words. His curiosity piqued, but Gray continued.
"Sir—I mean, lord El Meloi has come up with two possible solutions. The first is finding a specialist, either back in London or by travelling to the Atlas to find people who are experts in this field. But I don't have that luxury and time, I don't even know if I will still be here by next month. Which leaves me with only one option."
"What is it?" Shirou asked, leaning forward.
Before Gray could answer, a loud voice shouted from outside. "Shirou!"
This was followed by a different voice exclaiming, "Holy shit, this place is huge!"
Realizing the first voice sounded familiar, Shirou heard several knocks on the door. Then, Taiga's familiar voice called out, "You can go in, okay? Shirou won't mind! Tell him I said hi and don't stay there too late!"
Just like that, the living room door slid open. Ayako stood there, a big smile on her face, about to announce a surprise visit. Her voice slowly died down as she took in the scene: Shirou, Gray, and Saber in the room.
"..."
"..."
Every soul in that room just stared at the others in silence.
"Wow," she breathed. The redhead did not even need to ask why she reacted like that upon seeing her expression. As if she couldn't believe she was seeing so many women in one place. She then gave him a suspicious stare, slowly sliding the door closed and whispering, "Playboy."
Why was he not surprised? Best to stop her before rumours start to spread across the entire school.
"It's not what you think!"
…
Soon after clearing up the misunderstanding with Gray being an acquaintance of his father who came to visit, Ayako had joined them, another cup of tea and a fresh plate of snacks placed before her. Gray and Saber sat awkwardly on the sofa as she observed them. While munching on a senbei cracker, her gaze settled on Saber for several seconds. "Are you also a cosplayer?" she finally asked.
Saber reacted with a face of clear confusion. "Excuse me?"
"Your clothes and armor look familiar," Ayako continued, "but I can't remember from which game or anime I saw them." She then looked at Gray. "I didn't expect him to be friends with twin sisters."
"..."
Damn it, he should have known this was going to happen.
The atmosphere in the room turned sour. Gray looked away, and Saber focused intently on her snacks. Seeing that something was off, Ayako asked, "Did I say something wrong?"
Shirou immediately intervened. "It's… nothing. Why are you here, Ayako?"
"What?" The girl shot back, crossing her arms. "Are you sour that I interrupted your private meeting with so many beautiful women at the same time? No wonder you're not happy to see me. With beauties visiting your house regularly, my presence wouldn't change anything."
"It's not like that," Shirou said, running a hand through his hair. "I'm glad you came here. But since this is the first time you've visited, I was wondering if there was a reason behind it."
"It's nothing, really," she said, her tone shifting. "I actually just met with Taiga, and we had a conversation. The topic at one point gravitated towards you, and Taiga suggested I visit your house." Shirou massaged his temples, somehow not surprised that this was the second time Taiga had invited someone over, the first being Illya.
The girl looked around with a wondrous expression. "This place is amazing. I never got the impression you were a rich kid."
"I'm not rich."
She waved his words away. "That's what all rich folks say. I expected you to live in some sort of apartment or a regular family house, but this is not bad. It's the perfect place to invite all the beautiful women." She then turned her attention to Gray. "Are you a foreigner?"
"Yes," Gray replied shyly, her voice lower than her conversation with him. "It's nice to meet you."
"You too," Ayako returned the greeting, before finally getting to her real reason for being there. "I actually came here to confirm that you weren't going to chicken out of our deal."
Shirou just raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but sigh. "You're still on about that?"
"Of course!" Ayako declared. "I brought Kane and the others yesterday to check out some places, but we came up empty-handed. They won't be able to join our next session; they're busy with personal matters and homework. Which leaves only you."
Shirou grumbled, "I'm also a student who can be busy with homework and personal stuff."
She raised an eyebrow. "I asked you for some help with our assignments recently, and you told me you'd already finished them."
Realizing his mistake, Shirou stayed quiet.
"It would be best for you to be there because..." Her voice trailed off as her gaze shifted to the girl sitting beside him, and she finished a little awkwardly, "...because you're an expert." The word 'magician' was clearly avoided. "Ghost hunting is still a fun activity, and if we find nothing, I won't bother you ever again, that's a promise."
The hooded blonde-haired girl, who had remained quiet until now, showed a hint of interest. She turned slightly. "If I may ask, what is this about?"
Brightening at that, the brunette wasted no time explaining. "I'm actually doing some ghost hunting! Well, more like running a small paranormal research group. We go around town checking out places tied to creepy stories and rumors, trying to see if there's any truth behind them." She leaned forward a little. "So, do you believe in ghosts?"
A simple nod followed. "They exist."
That answer drew an immediate reaction. "Finally, someone who's not so close-minded!" she said with clear relief. "And Shirou here already agreed to help me look around these places. He'll be my knight in shining armor if anything does happen."
That earned a small pause before the next question. "Aren't you afraid? If those stories turn out to be real, it could be dangerous."
"I know it can be," came the reply, without hesitation, "but I trust him. And if things really get out of hand, we can just leave." She continued more calmly, "Lately, we've been looking into a story about the Little Red Riding Hood."
That caught her attention. "What kind of story?"
The mood shifted slightly. "I should warn you, it's not exactly pleasant. It's about a family that lived in an apartment a long time ago. The father lived there with his wife and three-year-old daughter, whom he abused along with the wife. The wife snapped, killed the father, and herself. Since then, people say the daughter's ghost still lingers there. Some claim they've seen a small figure in a red hood, covered in blood and bruises she got from her father."
"That sounds scary," Gray said.
"It is," she agreed. "It's one of the oldest stories in this town, has been around for almost a decade. For some reason, no one's really looked into it properly."
Gray's focus shifted at once. "Say that again. When did the rumor start?"
The sudden change caught her off guard. "We don't have an exact date," she admitted. "But roughly ten years ago… eight maybe? Even if there was one, things like that tend to get mixed up over time, so that's the closest estimate."
She then turned back to Shirou. "Look, I'm not trying to force you. If you really don't want to go, I'll drop it and won't bring it up again." A small shrug followed. "It wouldn't be much fun dragging along someone who doesn't even want to be there."
Shirou shook his head. "No, that's not the case. I'm just worried about your safety, looking into things like this. But if you're truly adamant, then I can accompany you for a night or two."
This made Ayako excited again. "Great! We might as well start tonight! It's the perfect time. If we wait any longer, we'll just get busier with school matters." She then looked at Gray and quickly added, "Oh, not right now, right now. You guys finish what you're doing, and I'll just come back when you're free."
As she stood up, thanking Shirou for the tea and snacks and preparing to leave, Gray's voice stopped her. "Wait."
This made Shirou, Ayako, and even Rider curious. Saber, who had been silently observing, widened her eyes slightly as if realizing what was about to happen.
Gray looked directly at Ayako. "If you don't mind... could I join as well?"
{Break}
(A few minutes later)
It felt like she had been floating in darkness forever, her weightless body floating in the sea of nothingness where she barely felt anything, both physically and mentally. It went on for longer than she cared to think, having no concept of time there until a faint white light shone in the distance that slowly but surely enveloped her in a world that was hard to describe… but one that she inevitably became attracted towards and sought to embrace as it was better than the nothingness she was in. She went further and further until her entire world woke up; the quiet was now replaced by the sound of crickets and distant car horns.
"Hm…" Reika opened her eyes, emerging from her sleep as the details from that particular dream already started to elude her. Dull aches surrounded every part of her body, along with a mild headache that pulsed in her head. "Nrg…Eh?"
The green-haired woman did not even have time to think about any solutions on how to get rid of these ailments weighing on her, but instantly realized two important things. The first being that she did not wake up from the sounds of the children playing around, one of them coming to wake her up from her sleep on an old futon filled with holes and covered in unremovable stains.
Instead, her eyes gazed at the old-fashioned Western room styled in brown tiles. A desk was by her side, and around her were windows pouring light onto her as the soft and fragrant western bed she was lying on revealed itself to be in the corner of the room. "Wh-Where am I…," instantly, memories of the recent few days rushed back into her mind, from the moment she got captured by Sagara and brought back to his mansion. To then find herself in the middle of some conflict between strange people with powers, where that man whom she most trusted then, her lover, revealed that he was more than willing to sacrifice her life for his own gains…and so she responded in kind, "Sagara…"
"No, it's Shirou's house."
"—?"
Rather than reacting with shock and fear at that unknown voice that appeared out of nowhere. Reika instead turned her head towards the source, where she saw a beautiful purple-haired woman she hadn't noticed appear. Her eyes widened as she stared at her standing right next to the door.
The first thing she noticed was that the woman was a dazzling, unearthly beauty…one that could stand above the most beautiful women at her former workplaces and put them to shame. Reika instinctively scrutinized the fellow women of beauty, a habit she had formed over many comparisons with coworkers, as they could often or not steal her business. The result was a deep blow as the woman before her had no make-up whatsoever, denoting a natural beauty that could inspire any lesser woman to burn with jealousy, and that was even with the strange purple blindfold she wore over her eyes — was she blind? She had such long and beautiful purple hair that flowed down to a hairpin in the back… so luscious and silky, not to mention its length and volume.
This was hair that had been grown all one's life.
Not to mention her hourglass figure that could drive any man to desire, especially in such complementary clothes. Most thought tight clothes, such as black turtlenecks and blue jeans, would be off-putting, but all they did was further accentuate the woman's curves, giving greater attention to her chest and ass. Scrutinizing them further, she found it difficult to ascertain the woman's waist with her thick sweater, but found a minor relief to find her hips were wider than hers by a good margin, and her bust had barely surpassed this woman's own by at least two centimeters.
"Who are you?"
A question she asked calmly, something that made the beautiful woman curious at first, given how she tilted her head ever so slightly. Perhaps trying to understand why she did not see any expression of fear or shock. "You may call me Rider."
"I see, I'm Reika," She wasted no time introducing herself, as she continued observing this person a fair little bit longer, a growing sense of familiarity forming within her until it finally dawned on her. "You're… that person who attacked Sagara?"
"Kind of? I barely did anything; it was mostly my Master and two other girls."
"Y-Your Master?!" Oh, so this person was a… uh, honestly, she was not sure. Any person seeing a woman appear in such a situation as last night would have easily been frightened, especially looking as she did. On top of that, calling someone else Master…was it her lover's fetish? Regardless of how frightening it was, though, Reika merely addressed it with the same dull reactions that she had always done, just nodding, then closed her eyes.
"Yes."
Rider gave no further explanation, greeting her own muted action with her own.
"I see." A rather sour sensation bloomed inside her heart for some reason, the feeling being quite perplexing as she did not know why it occurred in the first place. A silence formed as Reika went over what she knew in her head, remembering the dangerous situation she had found herself in last night. The life and death fight out of an action flick, Sagara's threat, her failure to keep the children out of harm's way… and now this, "Can you make it painless, please?"
Rider just stood there in silence, not giving any hint to what she was feeling, "What do you mean?" She asked.
"I know I can't save myself from this situation. So just take it as my final request, should the moment arise."
Again, another moment of silence passed between them until an amused hum echoed across the room. Leading Reika to look up and find that the woman was still just standing there. It was hard to tell if she was even looking at her, given the blindfold, but it sure felt like it. "My apologies if that's what you want, but it would be a waste for us. My Master risked his life to save you, and until anything unexpected comes up, we still intend for that. Understand, we did not bring you here to kill you."
Her master?
The woman rattled her brain as to who this person could have been. Her attention went back to those present, but considering she referred to them as a "he," it could not be those two young girls. Her mind went to the blue-haired man until she recalled Sagara mentioning it was the young black-haired ones. Her process of elimination ended as she remembered a particular face belonging to a young man with red hair who held her as that blinding light descended upon them back at the courtyard. Could that person be her master? It was the one who saved her?...
"Why?"
"Hm?"
"Why did he save me?"
For all intents and purposes, Reika knew full well that she was of no use to this person or anyone else, for that matter. All she had was her body, and that wasn't enough… She thought there was something with Sagara, but in the end, she was nothing more than a sacrifice to be made.
Perhaps because of the beaming rays of light from the windows obscuring her vision slightly, but Reika could not tell for certain if she saw a faint twitch on this woman's lips.
"Because your life was in danger and thus he wanted to save you…a foolish reasoning I know, and quite unbelievable at that, nonetheless it was truly that simple." came the answer, one that was met with silence as Reika pondered the words spoken, waiting for a burst of laughter to call her a fool. For this person to just come out and say that it was just a joke, and wonder if she fell for it. Yet… that part never came; Rider just stood there with the same stoic face as hers.
Was she being serious?
"I am being serious."
"..."
Could this person read her mind?
"You don't have to believe me, but it is the truth. That's just the kind of person he is."
When she said that, there happened to be a faint presence of both fondness and frustration within her tone that caught Reika off guard. But as she pondered on the meaning behind those words, a thought soon crossed her mind, and her eyes widened as she recalled a particular matter she felt needed to be addressed.
"I… Can I see him? Is there something I need to ask him?" As she asked that question, sounds of a familiar voice came from nearby, the same voice she recognized could only belong to that redhead.
It had to be him.
Without even waiting for a response, Reika got on her feet and headed towards the voice, with Rider in the background making no physical efforts to stop her. "Hold on."
She did not stop. "I… I just need to ask him something quickly, it's important. I promise I won't try to escape or harm him." Nor could she, and given her actions against Sagara — she could not blame them for suspecting her as a threat. Strangely enough, no regret or sadness rose from within when she recalled her actions.
"No, that's not why I told you that. You're not—"
Whoosh!
The door leading to what appeared to be the living room slid open, with Reika walking into the room. Only to stop when she realized that there were other people present in the room. Several of them, three who even appeared to be as young as high school girls.
There were twins, with one wearing full armor for some reason and another in a deep black cloak, raising their faces at her, dumbstruck.
And amongst them stood the very same man who shielded her from the blast. The so-called "Master" who saved her for some reason she had yet to wrap her head around. Though for some reason, his face and those of a few others went full crimson red for some reason.
No, not just crimson red-it was full on inferno, the color of lava.
Her confusion was unanswered until Rider's following words behind her reached her ears.
"—wearing much."
Eh?
Looking downwards, the green-haired woman realized something. Not only had she lost her favorite fur vest, which she usually wore all the time, but she also exposed the lingerie-like emerald green front zipper dress underneath. Not only that, but she perspired a lot in her sleep to the point she was soaked, making it become somewhat translucent, granting passing shimmers of what lay underneath. Something that she usually wouldn't mind, given it always worked well with her clientele and Sagara…
Yet even she figured it looked rather awkward right now. Her full, voluptuous adult figure glimmered in the water in front of the four adolescent hormone-filled youths. A substantial blush grew in the only boy's face, and even the twins, as they sat mesmerized at the sight.
"Sorry, I'll get changed." She said while calmly closing the door and slowly walking back to the room, but soon came to another major realization… She had no other clothes.
"EMIYA, YOU DEVIANT! What the hell is going on in this house of debauchery!? I was just joking around about the girl part earlier! YOU PERVERT!"
"N-No! It's not like that, Ayako!" A rustle was heard as movement occurred. "Gray, help me out here!"
"I… should probably sit this one out, sorry."
"Wise decision, Master."
"WAAAAAH! Where are you touching!? You animal!"
Hopefully, she did not make things "too" awkward for him. A powerful blow echoed behind her, no different from divine punishment.
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The next 5 chapters of Snafu, and my other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters, Steel Eyed Faker soon to be 3 chapters, Taimanin with 3, Hound having 3 and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.