Day 3: Outings and Discoveries

Ryouko opened her eyes to a bright light shining in from her windows and from her lamp. Her body was hot and heavy, and her Od was low. She raised her arm to shield herself from the glare, and struggled up. Well, I'm not doing that again. She thought. Seriously. Who in the world would make up a ritual that draws directly from the user's own Od? That could be lethal in the wrong circumstances!

Still... she had gone and used that ritual herself, so it evidently had some use. She bent backwards to stretch her back, and promptly toppled over with a crash. She cursed internally at the pain. When her mind cleared, Sakura was there, wearing her apron over her uniform, while gently holding Ryouko's shoulders.

"-" Sakura spoke, her voice not reaching Ryouko, who blinked, trying to regain a sliver of consciousness, but the only thing in her mind was a raw haze of heat. In that thoughtless state produced by a lack of blood flow to the brain, all she noticed was the distance between her face and Sakura's, and the ease at which that space could be crossed.

But then there were more people in the room, and Ryouko felt a strange warmth in her chest, a light that dispelled the haze around her thoughts. Still, it did not cure the lack of prana. Avalon? She shook her head, dismissing the thought, and looked around her. Sakura, Taiga, and Saber were all clustered in her room. Sakura, as she had noted earlier, was gently holding her shoulders, and was... very close. Taiga was standing with her arms crossed, and Saber had an expression of concern on her face, slightly marred by the fact that there was a piece of pasta hanging out of her mouth.

"I'm disappointed, really." Taiga said. "First, you hide your sickness, then you stay after school to investigate a meteor strike, with only Lily-san accompanying you."

...What? Ryouko thought. Wait, that must've been Saber's alibi. I gotta play along. "What, did you want to investigate it too?" She said dismissively.

"Of course!" Taiga said. "I have experience in these things, you know."

"...You do?"

"Yeah." The tiger responded. "Meteors fall around me all the time. Granted, it usually only happens when I'm alone, but I have gained experience in working with them."

"Oh, you too?" Saber asked. "I used to think it happened to everyone, but nobody seemed to have it happen to them, so I thought it was just me."

"Huh." Taiga said. "So I'm not the only one..." She began to consider that new information. "Anyway, while I respect the fact that you brought an experienced meteor handler, I am clearly older and more experienced with them, so you should have come to me first. Got it?"

While the two crazy people were sharing their experiences, Ryouko had managed to push herself up, and was sharing an equally confused and horrified look with Sakura. "Um... Sure." She agreed, eyes wide.

Taiga nodded, satisfied. "Good. Also, you aren't going to school today."

Ryouko immediately straightened. "What! Why?" She asked, shocked.

Sakura, by her side, gave a smile. "While it would be amusing to see everyone in the school worried about catching your illness, you're sick. You should be resting. Here. At home."

Ryouko's mouth opened for a retort, but then she closed it. "Okay, that is fair." She agreed finally. "It's not like there are multiple persons of interest at the school, in addition to a project I have in the words. Of course not. Why would you think that?"

Silence reigned for a moment.

"So..." Saber spoke up. "Breakfast?"

Sakura nodded. "We may have started without you, but we weren't that far into the meal." She looked apologetically at Ryouko, who waved off the concern.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it."

\==*==/

Ryouko was having issues.

She desperately needed to debrief Saber on literally everything that had happened last night, but couldn't, because even though she was sitting not five meters from her servant, she could not discuss those sensitive topics in the presence of the other two people at the table: Taiga, who was digging in happily, and Sakura, who was currently wiping a bit of soy sauce from Saber's mouth, exuding the much more "mom energy" than Ryouko'd seen from her in a while.

Ryouko shook her head, returning to her meal while trying to think of a solution. This was going to take some precise on-the-spot magecraft... except she was low on Od, and she didn't trust herself to draw on the Mana in the air while in her current state.

So that's a bust. She thought. Now I need to get Saber alone without it seeming suspicious. How do I do that...? She skimmed through Saber's profile in her head, looking for something to spark inspiration. Prana Burst, too overt. Journey of Flowers, basically useless. Riding... huh? That skill had something strange about it. It was apparently C-ranked, but in parentheses, it said that it was A-ranked as well. Further inspection revealed something even more strange. According to the information she received from the grail, it was conditionally A-rank when Saber was riding vehicles from the modern era. Namely, cars and motorcycles.

Now, Ryouko was no history buff, but she was fairly certain that there were no cars in Camelot, let alone motorcycles. Something was extremely, obviously wrong about this situation, but she had far too little information to make the slightest determination as to what, exactly. However, she was on a time crunch, so she really couldn't afford to get all worked up about the cause of that... abnormality. She had to use it while she still had a chance.

"Say, Lily-san." Ryouko spoke up, getting the attention of her servant.

"Yes?" Arturia answered.

"You said that you knew how to drive, right?" Ryouko asked rhetorically, winking twice at her.

Thankfully, Saber got the message. "Yes! That is a thing that I know how to do. Why?"

"Well, I was thinking that I should show you my motorcycle, so you know where to find it if necessary." Ryouko said.

"Uh... Sure." Saber replied. "That sounds like a good idea."

Ryouko got up with a little effort, barely managing to not stumble, before motioning for Saber to follow her to the shed, leaving Sakura and Taiga alone at the table.

"Well, that was just rude." The Tiger huffed, unaware of Sakura smiling sadly, her brows betraying an expression even more pained than her smile.

\==*==/

"Lancer figured out your identity!?" Ryouko said, shocked. "Already!?"

"Well, to be fair, it is the Sword in the Stone." Saber excused. "Although Rider and Archer probably have also figured it out by now."

The two of them were on the ground floor of the shed, where Ryouko stored her motorcycle. She'd already given a five-second rundown of it and its capabilities, in order to complete the alibi. Now, all they were doing was reviewing their information, in order to make better plans going forward.

"Damn." Ryouko cursed. "So that leaves just Caster, Assassin, and Berserker who don't know who you are. Did you at least manage to get one of their identities?"

"I'm fairly certain Rider is the Gorgon." Arturia informed. "Other than that, though, no such luck."

"Oh yeah, Rider's 100% Medusa." Ryouko said. "Confirmed by the Servant herself."

"You talked to her?" Saber asked.

"Yeah. Apparently her Noble Phantasm lets her do that, and she didn't think I'd survive, so... hooray for being lucky." Ryouko took a breath, and then changed gears. "Anyway, our first priority is to devise an approach to Tohsaka Rin. You said she invited you to meet with her over lunch?"

"Er... yeah." Saber said. "She did, but I think she expected you to be there as well."

"Well, I can't really go to school in my current situation." Ryouko said. "So she'll just have to deal. What's your read on her?"

"Wouldn't you know more about her than me?" Saber asked. "You've at least known of her for much longer than I have."

"Nah," Ryouko waved off the theory, "I never interacted with her, not really. Besides, you've encountered her in the context of the War, while I've only heard of how she acts at school. People tend to act differently when in vastly different contexts, after all."

"...Okay." Saber readied herself to give a rundown on the Master. "She was... kind and caring, but also willful, decisive, and strong. I don't think I've really met a magus like her before. Both Merlin and you are... confusing. Maybe a little capricious. But her... she's amazing, elegant, and... stunning." By the end of her explanation, Arturia was looking off into the distance, a wistful expression on her face. If Ryouko didn't know better, she would've sworn there were stars in her servant's eyes.

Ryouko chuckled, an amused smile growing on her face. "So then you view her as a potential ally?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Saber snapped back to reality, blushing. "Erm... yes. That is my assessment."

"And what of her Servant?"

Arturia had to think more on that one. "I... really couldn't figure out anything about him, aside from getting the impression that he was... stern, I guess?"

"Hm..." Ryouko hummed, nodding. "Then I suppose that I approve of an alliance with her. Don't make any permanent commitments, but outside of that, I trust your judgement." Ryouko finished, then moved on. "Our next most pressing priority is to make sure your identity isn't unduly exposed. In order to do that, we need to find a way to disguise or outright hide your sword."

Saber took a long breath. "Do we have to? I feel like hiding my identity and stuff is... it feels like we're lying, y'know?"

Ryouko considered the question for a couple seconds, before coming up with a response. "Think of it this way." She said. "Our opponents don't show us the courtesy of revealing their identities, so until they do, we shall repay their discourtesy in full."

"But that isn't being chivalrous!" Saber complained. "The king must be the perfect knight, and I won't be the perfect knight if I act dishonorably. Besides, someone has to be the first to stand up for honor, or else the flame will die in the hearts of all those who revere it... Or something like that. Merlin was always better at explaining these things."

"You did plenty fine at explaining that." Ryouko consoled. "As for the matter of chivalry... well is it really dishonorable to use another sword?"

"Well, no."

"So all you have to do is use another sword and not mention that you normally use Caliburn, and everything should be fine!"

"That's literally just bending the rules in order to suit immediate needs." Saber pointed out. "It would still be dishonorable."

Ryouko bit her lip, trying to think of an applicable response. "Well..." She mused. "From another perspective, an objective of any battle in the grail war is to figure out your opponent's identity. Because of that, there is a contest over who can figure it out first. It isn't dishonorable to take part in such a contest, no?"

"I can see what you're saying." Saber considered her words. "Just as it would be dishonorable to seek an unfair advantage, it would be dishonorable to surrender in a battle without doing my best to win, so long as the battle is one with mutual consent and for a just cause." She looked Ryouko in the eyes. "I understand. So, how are we going to go about this?"

Ryouko grinned. "The easiest option is to get you a new sword, and I have a few stockpiled."

What followed was an extensive testing of numerous different swords, all with roughly the same amount of success-that is to say, most of them ended up exploding after full application of Saber's Prana Burst ability. The Blazing Sword, Wind Burst Sword, and Mass-Shifting Swords were all annihilated, alongside the Cauterizing Edge and even the Gun-Sword. However, some of them weren't destroyed, but were rejected for other reasons. Namely among those reasons was the fact that the Sword of Raging Winds, the Sword of Flame, and the Lightsaber all lacked real blades, making Saber rely far too much on her Instinct in order to judge the location of her blade and the required force behind each strike. In the end, only one sword remained.

"Are you sure you want me to test this?" Saber asked, looking at the sword in her hands. "I don't want to destroy yet another one." The sword in question was not made of steel or elemental energy, but rather Quartz Crystal, with a series of metal wires coiled on its insides.

Ryouko smiled. "I have a feeling that this one won't shatter. Try it."

"Okay..." Saber walked up to the testing area, and concentrated, still unsure of this. She let her prana flow into the blade at a slight trickle, feeling it build up slowly.

She breathed. In, out. In, and out. Centering herself in a guard stance, she increased the rate of flow, seeing as the blade did not burst.

Strange. As the prana built up in the weapon, it didn't explode, but it seemed to begin to glow. No matter.

When the energy reached its critical point, she swung the blade, expelling the prana contained within. Instead of leaving as a simple burst of prana, she heard a massive crack, even as lightning arced from the blade, striking the ground in front of her, turning the sand to glass where it struck.

Her eyes widened in awe as she gazed upon the sword. "Well... this should work."

"Yeah, it should." Ryouko agreed.

They stood in silence for a couple moments, before Saber remembered something. "Say, shouldn't I be getting to school by now?"

Ryouko's face took on a shocked expression. "Yeah. Probably." She said with wide eyes.

\==*==/

When they got back to the table, most of the rest of the food was gone, eaten by a certain ravenous tiger, who was also gone. Thankfully, Sakura was able to get some toast for Arturia, who ran to school as she ate it.

"Think she'll make it in time?" Sakura asked, closing the door and walking back inside.

"Probably." Ryouko answered, coming up astride her, before stopping in place. "...Say, shouldn't you be already at school?"

Sakura turned around and smiled teasingly. "I got the impression that if I left you unsupervised, things would probably start blowing up within the hour."

Ryouko blinked rapidly, then chuckled. "Well, you aren't wrong. Any idea what we could do to pass the time?"

Sakura put a finger on her chin. "We could get out some board games. It'd be fun to play shogi with someone who won't inevitably win."

"Sure." Ryouko said as she shrugged, dismissing the possibility that Sakura's suggestion had anything to do with her late night encounter with Rider as they sat down to play.

\==*==*==/

Ryouko was bored.

"Checkmate." Sakura said, moving her rook in order to put Ryouko's king in check. A quick assessment revealed that if Ryouko moved the king at all, it would remain in check. "That's game 45 to me."

Ryouko nodded, then groaned melodramatically, lowering herself to the floor. "I'm bored." She complained, and proceeded to half-roll, half-tumble into the middle of the floor. Her Od had recovered almost completely, to the point that she could trust herself to be active and draw in Mana. But instead, she was playing games with Sakura over and over again, and that had gotten old after the 15th game.

Sakura watched Ryouko's antics, chuckling. "So it would seem. I was wondering how long it would take for you to admit it."

Ryouko pouted at the ceiling. "If you had realized it earlier, then why didn't you say so?" In response, Sakura got up, walked over, and sat down next to Ryouko.

"Because you need practice with actually noticing your own feelings." She said, gazing at Ryouko with a soft smile on her face. "Besides, you can't rely on others to notice what you're thinking. You have to make those feelings known."

Ryouko turned her head to look at Sakura, a slight heat rising to her face. "Well, you were able to notice what I was feeling, right?" She pointed out. "That's good enough for me."

"I'm not the only person you'll ever interact with, Ryouko-chan." Sakura said chidingly, her smile not fading from her face. "You still need to work on how you approach everyone else."

"But I don't care about 'everyone else,' so how I interact with them doesn't matter to me." Ryouko countered. "I only care about you."

And so it was Sakura's turn to blush. "W-what about Fujimura-sensei?" She said, stuttering. "Don't you care about her at all?"

"I mean, sure. Still, I wouldn't trust her to change her behavior significantly if I just told her how I feel. You are the only person I care about knowing how I feel." Ryouko reiterated matter-of-factly.

Sakura sighed, and lay down beside Ryouko, gazing at the incredibly uninteresting ceiling. "And what about being able to recognize how other people feel?" She asked.

Ryouko turned her gaze upwards as well. "Only you." She said softly. "Even if other people's feelings become actions that affect my life, I only really care about yours."

"I know." Sakura said, her voice carrying an emotion that Ryouko couldn't place.

A spark of sadness grew in Ryouko, who sighed uncomfortably. "If... you're saying that I'm not good at telling how you feel... Yeah, that's fair." She said in a downcast town, falling silent afterwards, thinking.

Sakura didn't respond.

Ryouko sat up suddenly, looking down at Sakura. "...But that's only because I haven't been putting enough effort into that aspect of our relationship, a fact I intend to remedy." She said resolutely. "To start, I just remembered that we haven't been out to eat together, and it's..." she glanced at the clock, "somewhat close to lunchtime." Ryouko grinned. "So, shall we?"

Sakura blinked in surprise. "Uh... s-sure. Where should we go?" She asked, sitting up.

"Um..." Ryouko faltered. "I... didn't think that far. Maybe we could look around town for a place to eat?"

"That should work." Sakura agreed. "We should probably change out of our uniforms, so we don't get recognized as students who are... skipping."

"Yeah." Ryouko agreed, getting up to go to her room. At that moment, the phone rang.

"I'll get it." Sakura said, standing up herself. "You go change."

"Okay." Ryouko said.

When Ryouko finished changing into her casual clothes - a white t-shirt under a black long coat with red lining - she walked back into the living room. "So, who was it?" She asked Sakura, who had been waiting for her.

"Oh, it was just my grandfather." Sakura smiled nonchalantly. "He wanted me to swing back to the manor and pick up some things I'd forgotten there."

Now, Ryouko could have brought up her concerns about Sakura's incredibly creepy grandfather, the fact that he knew far too much about Kiritsugu and the Einzberns, or the fact that if Shinji was a Magus, then his grandfather must also be a Magus, or the fact that Zouken simply made her uneasy with his presence, but she didn't. Instead, Ryouko asked the only question that would be relevant to their situation.

"So, how does this affect our plans?"

"I thought that we could go out together, I could split off to get my things, and then rejoin you at the park. After that, we could go get lunch." Sakura said, giving a general overview.

Ryouko nodded, ignoring that tiny irrational voice that just wanted Sakura all to herself. "Sure, that works." She said.

And so, after Sakura had changed, and the two of them took a couple more minutes standing around awkwardly, the two socially inept teenagers left on their first outing as a maybe-not-quite couple.

\==*==/

Ryouko relaxed on the bench, enjoying the peace and quiet. On one level, she was thinking about absolutely nothing at all, but on another, she was reflecting on the entire situation she was in. If yesterday was a good example of how a night during the Grail War went, then she could tell she was going to be in for something... very brutal, tense, and stressful.

Raising her left hand to block out the sun, she gazed at the marks that had appeared there, resembling an arrow flanked by twin flames. Whatever they were, they seemed to be the mark of a master in this conflict. ...I wonder what the other masters are thinking? Ryouko considered, trying to place herself in the shoes of the other combatants. They all have their own plans for this war... and their own wishes. I am unique among them, because I was thrust into this by circumstance, and not by choice. But, if I was in this in the same way they are... then I'd be proactive. I would search for the other Masters, and find a way to take them out. Everyone is ultimately acting for themselves, or at least their own desires, so I wouldn't be able to trust anyone. I would be acting swiftly and decisively, and if I encountered another master, I would eliminate them post-haste... Obviously, I'm not going to do that sort of thing if I can help it, but I'm going to have to step up my game either way.

What should I do about Shinji? He has Medusa as his servant, so... I'll need anti-Gorgon countermeasures. Without any idea of how exactly her abilities work... I can still make basic suppositions about them, and work from there. Pulling up the information manual in her mind's eye, she reviewed Medusa's profile. ...Oh, so she was the one who set up that Bounded Field. Anyway... really, the only way to defeat that Sealing Noble Phantasm of hers is to double-team her. Or if I want to take out Shinji instead, triple team. So I will need Tohsaka-san on my side for that one. If Archer and Saber can occupy Rider, Tohsaka-san and I can engage Shinji and defeat him. That Magecraft of his seemed pretty weak, so we should be able to take him. After that... Well, I'll burn that bridge when I get to it.

Plan made, Ryouko shook her head. She was supposed to be relaxing, forgetting and ignoring the presence of the War while she spent a day with...

What did she think about Sakura, anyway? Or more importantly, how did she feel? In her second family, she'd briefly experienced what having a sibling was like, and she would assess her relationship with Fuji-nee as one of that variety. But Sakura... Sakura was different, in a way Ryouko couldn't fully actualize. If a sibling was a friend born of circumstance, then Sakura was... a friend born of need? Or maybe of want? Ryouko didn't know. It was like she felt a... desire to get closer to Sakura, somehow closer than she already was. She wanted to connect and... just share everything, a desire that had certainly been brought to the surface by their most recent discussion. But how could she actually share how she felt if she didn't even know how she felt herself?

Ryouko bit her lip, stewing in emotions she was distinctly unfamiliar with, turning over the multifaceted aspects of their relationship over in her head. It was then, when she was stressing, the exact opposite of what she had set out to do, that she was approached by somebody she hadn't expected to see again, much less on... friendly terms.

"I'm glad you didn't die, Onee-chan." A familiar voice said from in front of the bench Ryouko was sitting on. Ryouko looked up, and saw the little girl she had encountered the night she entered the War. Considering that she knew Ryouko had probably almost died the previous day, there was no doubting the fact that she was involved in the war in some respects. Moreover, it lended credence to the theory that she was an Einzbern, as the Matou clan was undoubtedly involved in the war, and it would make... some sense for two families involved in the conflict to know each other.

Ryouko composed herself, resigned to whatever madness would result from this encounter. "Hello, Oujo-chan." She said, giving a smile that was only slightly strained. "I'm glad you're alright too."

The girl climbed onto the bench beside Ryouko, and began to pout. "I'm not the one who just jumped in without thinking."

"Yeah, well... I tend to do that a lot." Ryouko chuckled sheepishly, then braced herself as she asked the most important question on her mind at the moment. "Say, I don't think we've actually introduced ourselves yet. I'm Ryouko, Emiya Ryouko. What's your name?"

"I am Illyasviel von Einzbern." The little girl said, puffing out her chest proudly. "But you can call me Illya!" She smiled at Ryouko, but the teenager's head had gone to a completely different place.

Illyasviel... It was the name of the sister that she had, but never met, only heard about from her father, and even then, only once. But she had not forgotten, always remembering Illyasviel as a loved one that she failed to protect, despite having never met her... until now.

Ryouko's eyes began to water as she impulsively put her arms around a confused Illya. "I'm sorry." She said tearfully. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to help you." Immediately after doing that, a small part of Ryouko started to regret it, afraid of being pushed away by Illya, or the girl having no idea who she was, or really anything going wrong.

But just as quickly as those fears had sprung up, they were quenched as Illya shifted in her arms, and reciprocated the hug. "I know." She said. "I've been waiting for this for a long time, too."

Eventually, after they broke the embrace, Ryouko realized something. "Wait... you should be older than me..." She pointed out. "So... how?"

Illya's comforting smile faded ever-so-slightly, becoming more strained. "I am a homunculus." She said. "I wasn't designed to undergo puberty, so I didn't."

"Oh..." Ryouko echoed in understanding, then sighed. "So, I suppose you're here because of the Grail War?"

Illya shook her head. "No, I just came out here to see you!" She said cheerfully.

"Huh-"

"...Although that is the reason I'm in Fuyuki, yes." Illya finished, with a contemplative look on her face, causing Ryouko to raise a bemused eyebrow. "Anyway, enough of that! Tell me about yourself, Onee-chan."

"Wait, aren't I the younger one, at least existentially speaking?" Ryouko questioned.

"Well, yeah."

"So then shouldn't I be the one calling you 'Nee-chan?'"

"But then what would I call you?" Illya pouted.

"Presumably, 'Ryouko-chan,' or something similar."

Illya thought about that. "Very well! I shall address my younger sister as 'Ryouko-chan,' and she shall address me as 'Nee-chan.' The deal has been struck."

Ryouko giggled. "What even was that about?"

"It was a momentous occasion, so..." Illya trailed off, murmuring to herself. After a bit, she looked up apologetically. "I'm sorry, Ryouko-chan. I have to go now. Can we meet up at the same place tomorrow?"

"Um... sure..." Ryouko hesitated. "Why do you need to go?" She asked, but Illya was already gone.

"Ah, Ryouko-chan!" Sakura, said, walking up. "It took a bit longer than expected, but I'm here now!"

Ryouko sat up, startled. "Oh, yeah." She said, still thinking about Illya, but she quickly composed herself. "Well, shall we find a place to eat out at?"

"I think I'd like that." Sakura said.

Ryouko began to stand up, but then she heard something strange.

"...Say, do you hear a squelching sound at all?" Ryouko asked.

"No, why?" Sakura responded, confused.

The sound faded.

"...Never mind." Ryouko said. "It's probably nothing."

\==*==*==/

When Ryouko thought about it, it was really no surprise that she had fallen asleep in the position that she was in. After all, she'd had a soft, warm "pillow," and had felt... distinctly tired, after her long day of human interaction. Still, she wished that she hadn't done so, especially in such a compromising position.

Not only was Taiga able to take a picture of her sleeping in Sakura's lap, but the teacher had also been somehow press-ganged into fixing the night's dinner. Ryouko blamed the fact that Sakura was too nice to disturb her while she was in that position, as well as Taiga's... meddlesome tendencies. Needless to say, when she woke up, it was to a rancid smell that not even she would be able to make while cooking. Granted, her dad would have also been unable to make that sort of smell, just for entirely different reasons.

"I still don't get why you let her do that!" Ryouko protested to Sakura for what had to be the fourth time. It was just the two of them sitting at the table: Saber had mentioned off-handedly that she was experienced with the sword, and Taiga had quickly challenged her to a duel, leaving Ryouko alone with Sakura.

Sakura smiled slightly. "I just didn't want to disturb you." There was a hint of... was that playfulness in her voice!?

"Sure, but the fact that she did that disturbs me far more than being woken up from a nap would have!" Ryouko said.

Sakura shook her head. "But you were so adorable. How could I pass up the chance to have that face immortalized in photography?" By now, her slight smile had grown to a full grin.

Ryouko squinted. "You're not usually this laid-back. Why the change?"

Sakura raised her eyebrow. "I need to take care of you all the time. Who knows how many things would explode if I left you completely unsupervised?"

Ryouko thought back to the previous day, considering its events, as well as her plans for the current night. "You... may have a point." She said, unconsciously brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. "But seriously, why did you let Taiga take a picture of me in that... situation? I can't imagine that it was just because you thought I was cute."

"You are cute." Sakura said, with not a single trace of doubt in her voice.

"...Oh." Ryouko averted her gaze, blushing at the statement. She felt... what was that feeling? Tumultuous, a current that set her off balance while drawing her towards her first and only friend. "Say, have you ever-"

The door was thrown open, and Taiga came barreling into the room. "We have an emergency!"

Ryouko whirled around, eyes widening as she prepared to jump up at the slightest threat. "What is it!?" She asked urgently.

"Lily-san's British, but she hasn't seen Monty Python!" Taiga exclaimed, while the Servant in question came walking up behind her.

"I must say that I'm curious." Arturia said. "It'd be interesting to see a modern adaptation of m-" She bit her lip. "King Arthur's life."

Ryouko took a few seconds to process that, forcibly turning around her mindset into one that would actually manage to function with the sudden shift in mood. Arriving upon a conclusion, she nodded sagely. "Indeed. That is an emergency of the highest proportions. What do you recommend, most honored teacher?" She said with an obvious affect in her tone.

"The only thing that can be done in this situation." Taiga replied.

"Oh? And what is that?"

Taiga grinned. "A movie night."

"Of course." Ryouko then turned to Sakura, who was looking on with amusement. "Are our stores of popcorn sufficient to support this endeavor, Sakura-sama?"

"Once, I may have answered in the affirmative." Sakura said, joining in on the overly-formal speech. "However, given the appetites of our compatriots, I believe that it may not be possible. If they were to restrict themselves to a reasonable quantity, perhaps." The two of them looked at the far-luckier members of the household expectantly.

"I swear upon my honor!" Saber proclaimed resolutely.

"If such a thing is possible!" Taiga said in the exact same tone.

\==*==/

Naturally, it was Saber who ended up eating the vast majority of the popcorn, but everybody tactically decided against mentioning that. Even those who were unaware of her true nature believed that it would be better for her to have her sense of honor intact. The servant herself was rather baffled at a number of things, such as the time period and the rather... decrepit depiction of society at the time, but quickly gave up on caring about accuracy, accepting its nature as a parody.

Ryouko supposed that it was for the best. She hesitated to imagine what Saber would do if she thought the movie was supposed to be representative in any way - or worse, if she got ideas from the film.

She shuddered in her seat at the thought of her servant pretending to ride a horse while she followed, banging coconuts together.

"What's the problem?" Saber asked from behind her. They were on Ryouko's motorcycle, heading to the meeting place Rin had arranged with Saber: they had numerous topics to actually discuss.

"Oh, nothing." Ryouko dismissed. "Or at least nothing relevant to this situation." She pulled up at the park that her fellow Master had chosen, parking and swiftly dismounting along with her servant.

\==*==/

Rin was waiting for Saber's Master, sitting on a bench, arms crossed. She'd known of Emiya Ryouko for some time now: mages tended to leave noticeable traces in areas they frequented, so Rin had been easily able to deduce the presence of another mage at Homurahara simply via the ambient mana. Beyond that, it was simply a matter of connecting that presence to a girl she'd investigated some time ago. It was her unofficial duty to make sure Sakura was friends with the right sort of people, after all, and Emiya had thusly required inspection.

...Not that she knew about that, of course. Rin had been sure to be discrete in her gathering of information. However, based on her results, she was sure that the girl probably wouldn't know even if Rin was overt. Frequently oblivious to her surroundings and the social climate, Emiya was nonetheless looked upon with respect by her classmates, many of whom took the girl's disinterested demeanor towards anyone she didn't know as an "awareness of the importance of her time" or something like that. That fact, combined with her casual intellect, made Emiya largely unapproachable to many, which Rin would normally have to do something about, but she seemed to have a good relationship with Sakura, and was a legitimately decent person, despite her... issues. So, Rin finished her vetting of Emiya.

"So, this meeting..." Archer said from her left, in spirit form. "Why exactly are you holding it under these circumstances, here and now?"

"Hm?" Rin was confused by the question. "Elaborate, Archer."

"The fact of the matter is that, given Saber's explanation earlier today, there is no reason that you could not have negotiated this alliance with her Master tomorrow. Instead, you have chosen this hour to do so, and wasted precious time waiting when you could spend the time investigating these 'Gas Leaks.' So again, Rin, why here and now?"

"That is true, of course." Rin conceded. "However, as the presence of Matou-kun's Boundary Field indicates, there are any number of things that can go wrong in that setting, given that it is a public location that we are known to frequent. It's best to not let hypotheticals come into play, and to not leave things like the success of this meeting up to chance."

"In that case, why not go with Saber to her Master's house?" Archer said, turning her logic against her. Still..

Rin grimaced. "Because that could potentially risk violating the agreement between the Tohsaka Clan and the Matou Clan."

"And what-" Archer began, but it was then that Rin heard the roar of a motorcycle's engine, accompanied by a relatively familiar pressure - the method she perceived magical energy - approaching. Archer most likely also sensed the presence of Saber.

Rin waited for the engine to quiet and for the pressure of Emiya's Magical Energy to indicate sufficient proximity, then began to speak.

"Ah, you're here. Now we can g- eh!?" Rin said, looking up, faltering when she noticed what exactly Saber's Master was wearing. Instead of anything reasonable like casual clothes, she was clad in what looked to be some sort of armor, consisting of white plastic armor plates fitted over a black mesh. Her face was covered by a completely smooth helmet made of the same material as the plates, giving no indication of anything resembling holes for seeing or breathing. What looked to be a bow was strapped to her back, while a strange metallic cylinder hung on her belt alongside numerous... were those grenades!?

"What?" Ryouko asked. "And why are you just wearing normal clothes, Tohsaka-senpai?"

"I don't think every mage has a full suit of armor, Master." Saber pointed out from beside Ryouko. "I'm pretty sure that's just you."

"Well, if they're participating in the Holy Grail War, they probably should, right?" Ryouko responded. "After all, it's extremely dangerous. I mean, I've gotten almost killed twice in just as many days, partially because I hadn't been able to actually put on armor."

"You were fighting the servants." Saber pressed. "Most of the time, it is us who are going to fight against our fellow heroes."

"Past experience begs to differ!"

Just as Saber was about to formulate a retort, Archer materialized. "As much as I would like to listen to you two bicker, we have things to discuss." He looked to his own master. "If you would?"

Rin, having since regained her composure, cleared her throat. "Right. What I am ultimately proposing is that we do not fight each other until we are the last masters in the war, and collaborate on issues that concern the both of us. For example, the situation at the school."

Ryouko nodded. "I can agree with that. Although..." She tilted her head. Rin guessed that she had a contemplative expression on her face, but she really had no way of knowing.

"Yes?" Rin prompted.

"Why are you proposing this alliance?"

Rin sighed. That was the second time in not even ten minutes that a bow-wielding individual had questioned her about her plans. "Based on the discussions I have had with Arturia-chan, I can tell that I would rather have this war be decided between us, instead of between myself and another party. I can't imagine many will be... as moral as yourselves, nor would their servant have as many favorable traits as Arturia-chan here." She tactically refrained from mentioning that Sakura would prefer it if Ryouko had a higher chance of surviving.

Ryouko seemed to consider that, then nodded. "Fair enough. I assume you have something in mind?"

"Indeed." Rin said, standing. "You are aware of the 'gas leaks' that have been happening recently?"

"Um... Yes! Totally." Ryouko assured.

Rin raised an eyebrow, not convinced in the slightest. She continued anyway. "I have a hunch that they are not actually caused by any gas leaks, but are instead the work of a Servant, draining the Od of the city's inhabitants, with sometimes fatal consequences. In order to confirm that; however, I need to investigate the site when it's actually happening."

"An evildoer, I see." Saber observed. "We shall help bring them to justice!"

"About that.." Ryouko said, scratching the side of her helmet. "I actually have a thing I need to do around now. Saber could go with you, but I can't as of now."

Rin opened her mouth to respond, but Saber beat her to it. "Even though you almost died twice in just as many days?" She pointed out.

"That was because I was unarmored." Ryouko dismissed. "Haven't we already had this discussion?"

Rin cleared her throat. "I see no problem with this. After all, if you get in danger, you should be able to just summon Saber with a command spell, right?"

"A command spell?" Ryouko asked.

Rin rested her forehead on her fingers, sighed, then began to explain.

\==*==/

Ryouko pulled up at the school building on her motorcycle. It was a good thing that she'd gotten that lecture from Rin, otherwise she very well could have gone through the entire war without knowing what the red marks on the back of her hand actually were supposed to do. Still, Rin had decided that after they had taken care of their respective businesses, she would bring Ryouko to the Church for a more succinct explanation, and Ryouko had no idea what to make of that. She knew about the... tensions between the Holy Church and Mage's Association, of course, so maybe they had put aside their differences in the case of the Holy Grail War? She really had no way of knowing for sure either way.

But that didn't matter now, because she had a school to blow up! She dismounted, and walked to the center of the courtyard. Her water bucket explosives had gotten enough time to fully charge themselves, and it was thus time to detonate them!

She closed her eyes, and began gathering enough Magical Energy to activate her bombs, counting down until the optimal point. "In three... two... one..." Her eyes snapped open.

"Ignition!"

A long pause.

A longer pause.

An even longer one.

Ryouko cursed. Nothing was happening. "Did somebody disable those when I was away!?" She exclaimed to the empty air.

\==*==/

Rin sneezed, throwing off the aim of her Gandr shot, giving the skeleton enough time to close the distance, only to be slain by an arrow from Archer.

...It was cold outside, after all. Maybe she should wear something warmer? She shrugged, and continued firing.

\==*==*==/

Well, her previous plan was a bust, but that didn't mean Ryouko was going to give up. Far from it. Every day that people went to Homurahara with those sigils up was a heightened chance of her loved ones having their life-force completely drained, and she could not allow that to happen.

So now, it was less a question of if she would wait, and more one of how she would enact her planned destruction. She sat cross-legged in the middle of the courtyard, contemplating that question, searching for an answer. Then, something Rin had said earlier came to mind.

"...Gas Leaks, huh?"

\==*==/

Rin watched as Saber swung that new sword of hers towards a group of skeleton warriors. The blade didn't make contact, but the electricity did, arcing outwards and annihilating them.

...Why couldn't she have been the one to summon Saber!? If she was with the golden-haired servant herself, then she would have the Holy Grail War as good as won! Ryouko had given Saber a quartz sword, even though Jewel Magecraft was her thing. If it was Rin who had made that, then nobody could stand up to their combined might.

Yet, for some reason, it was not meant to be. Instead, she had summoned that infuriating Archer!

Rin sighed. He was the card she had been dealt, so she needed to make the best use of him that she could. And besides, he wasn't that bad. She turned away from Saber to face the group of skeletons that she was suppressing. She could try to fight them up-close, but she didn't fancy getting skeleton gunk on her. So that left Gandr. She fired a volley of Finn shots at the undead, watching as the bolts of red-black energy tore through their rib cages. She smiled. If nothing else, this was cathartic.

\==*==/

Ryouko knew what she needed to do. It was honestly kinda embarrassing that she hadn't gone with this method yesterday, but she simply hadn't had the idea back then. If she could make it look like a gas leak had happened in the school, then she could not only have the incident be significantly more plausible, but also lend even more credibility to what was apparently the cover story for Od being drained from the city's inhabitants...

Who's in charge of that, anyway? Ryouko thought. ...Eh, I'll ask the Church's representative.

She had bigger fish to fry, anyway. First, she established a pair of boundary fields around the school, one to prevent gas transfer across the boundary, and the other to mix the gasses within the boundary until they were distributed evenly. Next, she established a third boundary field, a significantly smaller one, with the simple purpose of producing a small flame when the ratio of methane to oxygen in the air was the optimal ratio - two moles of oxygen for every mole of methane.

Ryouko then went around the outside of the school, using a bit of earth magecraft to seal the areas at which the predicted explosion would be able to escape, aside from the exit closest to the boiler room. Finally, she opened a couple of the gas lines in the school, and bolted out the exit she had left open, sealing it behind her. She turned around, took down the redundant sealing boundary field, and waited.

And waited.

And waited...

Ryouko sighed. Has something gone wrong agai-

WHOOSH!

A fireball bloomed throughout the school, expanding and incinerating anything it could. In an instant, it blossomed past the points at which it could be contained, and burst free, fire pushing its way out into the open air.

"...Never mind then." Ryouko said, thinking aloud. "Well, I guess my work here is done." She took down her boundary fields, and hopped onto her motorcycle, following the stream of magical energy that linked her to her servant.

\==*==/

Rin opened the map of Fuyuki on the table, doing her best to ignore the purple fog that covered the floor. Archer, Saber, and she had hopefully cleared the skeletal warriors out of the building, and so she could assess the situation without interference. It was dark, so she pulled a sapphire out of her pocket and, with a short incantation in german, it began to glow with a soft light. It wasn't ideal, but it was better than no lighting at all. With that, she accessed the records of Fuyuki's leylines from her crest, and began to examine the situation.

...It was as she had thought. The building they were in was sitting on top of a leyline. Of course, given Fuyuki's unique situation, that was not exactly conclusive, but it would help her narrow down where this mage had their base, or at least the location from which they were draining the Od of civilians.

Because Fuyuki had three leylines that didn't all intersect at the same point, while simultaneously not being parallel, there were three points at which the lines intersected. She could discount the Tohsaka Manor by the fact that it wasn't on this leyline, and the more significant fact that she owned it, which left the Fuyuki Fire Memorial Park and Mount Enzou. The Park was unlikely, but it still had a strong spiritual presence regardless.

She closed her eyes, and focused on her magical energy senses, the pressure differentials unfolding in her mind's eye. She let the waves of energy wash over her, determining their direction... There. She took a compass out of her pocket, and found the corresponding direction on the map.

So it was Mount Enzou, as expected. It was prime territory, after all, and it wouldn't be remiss to surmise that the servant located there was a Caster... but she had no real way of knowing for sure at that point in time. Besides, she had bigger issues, such as making sure her ally was caught up to speed regarding the war.

Just as she thought that, she felt a sharp pain in her command seals, and heard the distant roar of a motorcycle. Well, it's most likely her. She thought. Let's get going.

\==*==/

After her servant had gotten on the back of Ryouko's motorcycle, she turned to her fellow master.

"So, how are you going to get around, Tohsaka-senpai?" Ryouko asked Rin.

Rin smiled. "I have my ways."

"What she means is that she's going to use me as her personal taxi service." Archer grumbled, materializing.

Ryouko blinked under her mask. "...What?"

"Archer has kindly volunteered to carry me around the city, as my Servant." Rin said, without an ounce of regret in her voice.

"That brings up more questions than it answers." Ryouko said. "Why is he carrying you around? How in the world is it efficient? How do you manage to do it without being spotted?"

"We could see if it would be efficient if I carried you around, Ryouko." Saber said.

Ryouko sputtered. "W-what? Why!? That poses the same issues!"

Rin smiled. "It's because we're, or rather he is jumping between buildings. We take the high road."

Ryouko was temporarily speechless. "...Can you do that?" She asked her servant.

Saber looked contemplative. "Perhaps I could, but I do not think it would be a very knightley course of action."

"Why not!?"

"It's windy, and somebody might look up at just the wrong moment."

"Oh come on, you're wearing armor under there!"

Saber crossed her arms. "It's the principle of it. Also, now that I think about it, Sakura would probably be mad at me. And you, for that matter."

"When did she get brought into this!?"

"Obviously, she wouldn't want me to carry you around."

"How is that relevant!?"

"You two are together, right?"

Ryouko inhaled sharply in surprise, glad nobody could see the blush rising to her face. "Um... I, we..." Her thoughts were in a jumble: she couldn't properly understand the information conveyed by the question: she had never considered things in that context. Thankfully, she received a distraction, in the form of Tohsaka Rin, whose expression had since shifted from smugness to exasperation.

"So... Archer and I will be leaving now. Feel free to argue amongst yourselves or whatever." She said, and Archer picked her up, before jumping up onto a rooftop. Ryouko shook herself out of the stupor.

"Fine. You take the high road, and I take the low road." She revved up her motorcycle. "And I'll reach Scotland before you."

So, they began driving towards the church in Shinto, hoping to beat their counterparts in a race only they were running.

\==*==/

As it turned out, those who took the high road reached the temple the most quickly, despite Ryouko's best efforts. Oddly enough, it was difficult to outpace a servant on a motorcycle while obeying traffic laws to at least some extent. Thankfully, it seemed that Rin had decided to stop and wait at the gates for them to get there.

As Ryouko was parking, she felt a sharp pain in her command seals, which apparently signified another master who was not concealing its magical traces. Ryouko and Saber began to approach their fellow master/servant pair, but Rin held up a hand, motioning them to stop beside her.

"Another master?" Ryouko asked.

"Yes." Rin confirmed. "Thankfully, the Church is neutral ground, so we don't need to worry about any attacks. At the same time, however, entering at this point could signify hostile intent, and we do not know the capabilities of this enemy."

Ryouko nodded seriously, and waited alongside Rin. Eventually, from the church, there emerged a man with disheveled blond hair and who wore a lab coat. His face was kind, with a western cast to it, and marred by a grave expression. Beside him, there walked a girl in some sort of black and red body armor, carrying a cross-shaped shield. Her short hair was black, her eyes were red, and at her waist there rested a sword in its scabbard, with a similar color scheme. Overall, they made an interesting pair, to say the least.

The two parties stared at each other for what felt like minutes, and Ryouko's heart was beating wildly. She wasn't scared of conflict, far from it, but this situation was far more tense than any others she had experienced in the short time since she began to fight in the war. There was the matter of which servant this was, too. She knew of Rider, Lancer, Saber, and Archer, which left Caster, Berserker, and Assassin, all of which were unlikely for their own reasons. Still, given the servant's mode of dress, Ryouko tentatively placed her under the "Berserker" category.

Eventually, the group leaving the church turned slightly and wordlessly passed them by.

After the potential danger had passed, Ryouko let out a long sigh of relief, before rallying her flippancy.

"Well, that was a thing that happened!" She noted, glancing nervously at the other people in the group. Rin and Archer were stone-faced, as expected, yet Saber... was staring at the Servant, who was still walking away. "Do you know her?" Ryouko asked, curious.

"No..." Saber said contemplatively. "Yet... she felt familiar to me somehow, especially that Shield."

That same answer. Ryouko thought bitterly. First, Dad's name, and now this! What is going on with her anyway? ...She smiled thinly. Well, no matter for now. I'll need to figure it out later.

"Well, anyhow, shall we go?" Ryouko asked.

Rin nodded. "Yes, let's. Archer, you perform overwatch."

Archer nodded, dematerializing.

They walked through the gates and pushed open the front entrance. The priest of the church turned around from the altar, shutting a book. He was tall, an effect only accentuated by his large cassock, with moderately long brown hair and a creepily satisfied expression on his face.

"Ah, the Master of Saber." The Priest said. "I, Kotomine Kirei, humbly welcome you as the seven- no... Eighth Master in the Holy Grail War."

Ryouko blinked.

"How are there eight masters in the Holy Grail War!?" She exclaimed.

Kirei's smile remained as he returned to his full height. "Why is it so surprising?" He asked. "On what knowledge do you base the assumption that a war must have seven masters, instead of six, eight, or even fourteen?"

Ryouko crossed her arms. "Information given to me by Saber, who should have received it directly from the Grail. How can there be eight masters if there are seven servants?"

"Didn't you notice?" Rin said. "There are eight servants. That was a Shielder we saw."

How did she... Right. The information Masters are provided by the Grail. Ryouko mentally slapped herself, and focused, opening the journal visible only in her mind's eye.

...It was true. That Servant was a Shielder, with not only the Endurance one would expect from her class, but Strength and Agility on par with Saber. That... may be a problem. She thought, before letting out an annoyed sigh.

"Okay, there are eight servants, but why are there eight servants?" She said.

"I would like to know that as well." Rin corroborated, leaning against a pew.

Kirei sighed heavily, beginning to pace around the church. "Did you not understand my earlier point? There is no specific reason for there to be any specific number of masters or servants. The grail may decide to give more people a chance to claim it, or fewer people a chance. There is nothing strange about it."

Ryouko stared at the man, agawk. "...Okay, that's bullshit, and you know it."

"Oh?" He smiled. "And what makes you say that?"

"I..." Shit. She didn't have any actual evidence, did she? "My bullshit detector."

"Bullshit detector?" Was that a chuckle she heard?

"Yes, my bullshit detector. It's a mystic code I possess, which is capable of detecting when people are just pulling things out of their ass."

"And I imagine that such a device would need to be constructed with heaps of the substance it is designed to detect, yes?"

Ryouko's eye twitched. "How come you can call me out on my bullshit, while I can't?"

"It helps when you are actually telling the truth." Kirei informed. "All pretenses aside, while this is certainly an irregularity, it is most definitely not the only one. This is a very irregular war, you see."

"How so?"

"Take your servant, for example." He then addressed Saber. "Arturia Pendragon, yes?"

Saber's eyes widened. "How did you..."

"I aided Rin's father in the last war, in which you were summoned." His gaze began to make Saber shift uncomfortably. "Yet you were not in this form, were you? Instead of the King of Knights, the Once and Future King who will one day return to rule over England, you are the Knight-Princess, the yet-imperfect king who has yet to become worthy of the throne."

"So what?" Ryouko interjected. "I don't see how that's necessarily an irregularity. We used the same catalyst to summon her, my father and I."

Kirei grinned wider at that statement, but Ryouko could not tell why. "Can you enter spiritual form, Saber?"

Now, instead of being uncomfortable, Arturia was simply confused. "No...?"

"And that was a characteristic of the last Saber, due to her... unique circumstances, which were specific to the 'her' in that form."

"Your point being?" Ryouko said.

"Your servant should not be in her form as the Knight-Princess, yet somehow, she is. In other words, you could say that she is pretending to be the person she is now, but I doubt she is fully aware of it. This is an irregularity, to say the least. To my knowledge, there is not one servant in this Holy Grail War whose circumstances are normal, whether that is the result of their summoning itself or events following their summoning."

Ryouko nodded slowly, more than a little confused. "I... see. So, in other words, there are so many things that are strange about this Holy Grail War that the most sane response to more strange things is to simply shrug and accept it?"

"In essence, yes." Kirei affirmed. "You have been given a chance to claim the Holy Grail, which caught the blood of Christ when he was pierced with the spear of Longinus, and in claiming the holy reliquary, have your heart's deepest desire fulfilled. It would be folly to pass that chance up, as Emiya Kiritsugu once did."

Ryouko's eyes narrowed under her helmet. "More stuff from the previous War?"

"Indeed." Kirei said. "Your father had the chance to achieve his wish, yet chose instead to reject the Grail and its blessings. To this day, I have no idea why he chose to do so..." The priest trailed off, looking reminiscent. Ryouko cleared her throat to bring him back to reality.

"Anyway, I had other questions." She said.

What followed was a question-and-answer session that took around half an hour, with Ryouko asking about topics ranging from the identities of the people responsible for concealing the more dramatic effects of the Grail War - primarily Kirei himself - to the possibility of there being a way to surreptitiously contact one's own Servant, which there actually was. Ryouko just hadn't figured out how to do telepathy before due to having absolutely no expectations of it actually being a thing. Overall, it was actually very productive, at least by Ryouko's standards.

"In that situation, you would still probably want to bring them to me." Kirei said, after a rather lengthy series of questions about where the best place to take people injured by the War in increasingly absurd fashions. "Honestly, I have no idea how you would go about recovering someone from a fifty-ton avalanche of burrowing snakes, much less how that would happen in the first place, but that would be the best course of action that I could advise you on."

"Okay, fair enough." Ryouko nodded, satisfied.

"Any more questions?" Kirei prompted, his voice taking on a slight exhausted edge.

Ryouko considered her answer to that for a couple seconds, before finally deciding on one.

"Have I managed to annoy you yet?"

Kirei's eye twitched, but otherwise, he kept a straight face. "Not at all." He lied. "After all, I would be a rather poor priest if I failed to bring clarity to lost lambs seeking guidance."

Ryouko nodded, and looked at her wrist as if to check the time, despite there not being a watch there. "Okay, I've got time. So, how many-"

"However," Kirei interrupted, "I do believe your companions are getting tired of this, so perhaps it would be best if you left."

"But of course!" Ryouko agreed, grinning madly under her helmet. She turned to Rin and Saber, who were at this point seated at a far-off pew, having a conversation of their own. "Shall we?" She called.

Rin shrugged, and the pair got up to leave.

\==*==/

"By the by, are you okay?" Ryouko said to Arturia, who was once again sitting in the back of the motorcycle. Sure, she could probably drive it better than Ryouko could, but it was her car, damnit! She was going to be the one to pilot it.

"What!?" Arturia shouted over the roar of the street and the engines.

"I SAID," Ryouko shouted, "ARE YOU OKAY!?"

"I STILL CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Saber responded.

Ryouko cursed. This wasn't working for her. Then she remembered that telepathy could be performed via the connection between a Master and Servant. "Are you okay?" Ryouko sent telepathically, hopeful that she managed to make it work.

"Um... yeah. Why?" Saber responded in a confused voice.

Huh. Telepathic communication can convey emotion. Good to know. Ryouko noted absentmindedly, before answering her servant. "You seemed... shaken, by what that priest said about you."

"Oh... that." Saber sent. "It's... troubling, yet in a way, it's also... fulfilling."

"How so?"

"On one hand, I feel like this is something that I should... know about, yet I don't. And... if I really am the King of Knights... Why would she choose to be me? Would she not be the best person for this task, as she would be me after I have managed to become a perfect king? That's the troubling part. As for the fulfilling part..." Saber paused to search for the correct words. "At least I know that I am, in some way or another, close to perfection. If I manage to reattain that, then perhaps I'll understand what my wish really is, and then we'll be able to claim the Holy Grail."

Ryouko bit her lip. That was... quite an issue, to say the least. She needed to think of something to do about all of this. After all, it was the role of a Master to support their Servant, right? Granted, it wasn't actually "support" in that sense, but that was good enough for Ryouko.

"Well..." Ryouko trailed off. "Are you sure that you want to be perfect? I can't really provide much insight, but... well, if I performed all of my experiments absolutely perfectly, achieving the exact same result as perfect contemporary scientific knowledge, then that'd get boring quickly. It is when things don't work perfectly that you're able to learn new and exciting things."

"But what about now?" Saber countered. "If I'm not as perfect as I can be, then there will be people who end up dying, because I couldn't achieve my ideal self. What about them?"

"...I'm not sure." Ryouko admitted. Mental silence reigned for the rest of the ride.

\==*==/

Ryouko exhaled heavily as she collapsed onto her futon. Today, she had managed to take some of the most important steps to making sure that nobody she cared about would be hurt by the Grail War, and, aside from the potential of collateral damage, she was reasonably certain that they would be safe from Shinji and Medusa, as well as whoever else might be striking at the school.

...Except Illya wasn't a student, was she? Ryouko really had no idea how to deal with... that whole situation. She didn't know the slightest thing about her older sister's circumstances, only that she was an Einzbern, had the body of a preteen for some reason... oh, and that she was in Fuyuki because of the Holy Grail War. Did that mean she was a Master? Or was she simply there to observe? Was there another Einzbern Master that Illya was an accessory to in some way?

She supposed that the only way to get those questions answered was to meet Illya again. Why had she left, anyway? Was it something to do with Sakura?

As the topic of the purple-haired girl arose in Ryouko's mind, she found herself quickly consumed by thoughts of Sakura. She wasn't sure what Sakura thought of her, exactly, but that was secondary to not knowing what she thought about Sakura, at least in that instance. Earlier that night, Saber had... assumed that the two of them were together, in context that obviously implied that it was in the romantic sense.

...Did she love Sakura? As a friend and practically a sister, sure, but romantically? Well, Ryouko had never had any experience with romance in the first place, much less with romantic feelings, so there was no real experience there for her to draw upon. Taiga didn't count. She was family, but Ryouko wouldn't trust her farther than she could throw her... when not using Magecraft, obviously. Faced with an unsolvable problem, Ryouko did the only thing she could do in her situation: construct mental models of various situations and then examine her thoughts on each. Or, in other words, fantasizing.

That night, Ryouko fell asleep with her fingers lightly touching her lips.

AN: This isn't dead! Merely sleeping. In light of this delay, I am, in the future, going to deviate from my previous format (writing chapters, and then compiling them into mega-chapters once all the ones for a given day are finished) and am instead going to post chapters as I write them, without compiling them.