Fate/Stay Night Sea of Souls

Chapter 5

Rin Tohsaka sat on her armchair. Apart from what happened last night, having a short debriefing of the day's events became the norm for them. She had visited Kirei Kotomine for some intel. After some convincing, she only managed to get number of Servants that were already summoned. Apparently, five out of seven Servants have been accounted for.

Without a doubt, out of the five, her Servant was the first considering even the priest was surprised when they showed up in the Church a little over a month ago. From there, she and her Servant have been made aware of three more summonings within the last two weeks. They didn't know about the fifth Servant, but taking into account the authority of the Three Founding Families, it was likely summoned by a candidate from the Einzberns considering they are not from Japan.

On her Servant's part, he was starting to learn more about his powers, the power known as Persona. Earlier, she got to experience teleportation for the first time as she was brought to the Church. Although, according to her Servant, he remembers a better version of this skill that covers more ground in one spell, as opposed to what he did which was a series of the same spell in order to cover that same distance. Unfortunately, he cannot use it at this time.

After finishing their own agendas for the afternoon, they met up during the evening for some recon. They decided to pass on investigating the temple for now. Since it was built on a fallen leyline, they couldn't risk any surprises, especially in the middle of the night. It also proves that whoever conducted the summoning knew exactly what they were doing and shouldn't be taken so lightly.

They concluded that the best choice is to investigate the place during the day in order to limit the unknown Master's actions. Then again, if the Master doesn't act or not a proper magus, it'll be difficult even with Harbinger's help. Also, her Servant will have to do so alone considering Issei Ryuudou, son of the head priest, dislikes her very much. The last thing they want to do is to draw attention to themselves.

On another note, their guest has yet to show signs of waking up. When her Servant got back to pick her up, he handed her the woman's luggage. Firstly, to look over the woman's possessions. Lastly, so that she can help the woman change in a set of clean and undamaged clothes.

The blue-haired teen would have done it himself, but he considered the unconscious woman's decency. Also, the agony in Harbinger's voice for missing a 'perfect opportunity' has become music to his ears.

After finishing the main points of the day, Rin decided it was time to turn in. She did notice, however, that there was something in her Servant's mind. Although the young man had shown to be quite exceptional in keeping his composure in check, the time they had spent together made it easier to discern that there was something plaguing his mind.

When she asked about it earlier he said it was nothing. She didn't really believe it, but she trusts her Servant's judgment enough to let it go.

After Rin left to go to bed, the young Servant had a small discussion with Harbinger.

[Why are you hung up on this? Ash. Dust. Does it really matter?]

From what Rin uncovered from the woman's luggage, the plane ticket they found shows that their guest only arrived a few days ago. Considering the hotel's standards, it can't be dust since its texture was too fine. If it was ash, what was it the ash of? The signs show it is a non-smoking room, there were no cigarette butts in the trash, and none found on the woman or her personal belongings. It can be concluded that it was the ashes from paper. It that was the case, could there be something important written on it that it needed to be disposed of?

'You're right. There's nothing we can do about it until she wakes up.' The Servant conceded. There may be no point in this line of thought since it could be completely unrelated to the reason why their guest is in this city.

He then pulled out a large brown tome and started reading. It was the only other book Harbinger didn't mind him reading. A better understanding of his capabilities might just be the edge they needed to stay ahead on things.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

[Honestly speaking, I didn't think things would turn out this way.]

Harbinger jovially voiced out his thoughts as his host contemplated his current predicament. He supposed that since his employer said everything would be fine, he should just go along with it. However, riding the same vehicle with a yakuza made him question a few things.

"We are here." Said a man in a black suit as he waited for the car door to open. He was bald and had a very stern look. His build was almost twice as big as the young blue haired teen he was escorting. After getting off the car, he motioned for the young man to follow.

As he exited the vehicle, the young Servant found himself in front of the gates of a large Japanese style mansion. A few people also in black suits walking around here and there. He continued to follow the large man as they navigated the large house. Every once in a while they would encounter more men in black suits and they would bow at the bald man as they passed by. They finally came to a stop at a sliding door, upon opening showed a fairly spacious audience hall.

"The boss will be with you shortly." Said the large man simply as he closed the sliding door behind him.

This left him to his own devices. Apart from the looking around the room, he had no other choice but to take and a seat and wait. During this time, he decided to reflect exactly how things turned out the way they did.

FLASHBACK

Five days before meeting Lancer

"Here Yuki. You go pay for the groceries. I'll get the van ready." Otoko Hotaruzuka handed the money to her employee before exiting the store.

They only had to buy a few items and there wasn't much of a line so it wasn't long before the teen was out the door with their purchase.

When he didn't find the van outside he decided to put his headphones on and listen to some music. Even after listening to one song, his employer still hadn't arrived. He then decided to walk over to the spot they parked on. The fact that it wasn't that far from the store only perplexed him more.

Making his way to the parking lot he saw the reason why Neko was taking so long. Near the van was his employer and three men in gaudy suits surrounding her. The men seem to be standing a little closer than what most people are comfortable with when around friends, even more so as strangers.

"Excuse me, but my employer and I have somewhere we need to be right now." Said the blue-haired teen.

The older men, who upon closer inspection were drunk red, were a bit surprised. When they looked in the direction the voice came from, the young man was standing right behind one of them. This startled the unfortunate man causing him to trip over himself.

"Hey kid! What the fuck do you think you're doing?" One of the men managed to slur out as he helped up who seemed be the leader of the group with dyed blonde hair.

"Don't worry about it, Yuki. I can handle this." Said Neko with confidence as if she's got something up her sleeve.

Before the young teen could take the chance to stand down, the leader shook of his comrade's helping hand and sent a punch flying towards the bar employee.

The blue-haired teen casually ducked under the incoming fist. The last second evasion caused the man to overextend into a spin, lose his balance and once again land on his rear.

Even though their 'leader' was the first to throw the first, and so far only punch, from the two older men's drunken perspective it was perfectly reasonable to retaliate and exact vengeance. One of them threw a punch of his own while the other bull rushed to tackle the offending teen.

Said teen effortlessly dodged the attacks, with the first whizzing past his face and the second with a sidestep.

The result was mildly catastrophic for the violent drunks. After missing his opponent, the leader managed to stand up. However, the man failed to notice the bare white knuckles of his comrade connect with his jaw at full force until it was too late. This left the unfortunate drunk lying flat on the ground this time around. He was still conscious, but evidently in pain as he clutched at his injury.

The second man was left surprised, but not enough to delay a second attack towards his intended target. Unfortunately for him, his other comrade's vision was obscured sending him crashing into him.

The third man was oblivious to the whole event. This unexpected collision knocked the wind out of his friend, and at the same time his head got wedge under the other's arm which instinctively tightened around his neck. The two came crashing down at such a force that his face was driven straight to the ground and his body flipping vertically with his legs landing heavily on their leader's groin.

With the three ended up knocking each other out, the teen walked away towards his employer. "Shall we get going, Neko-san?" Asked the young man, groceries still in hand.

Neko sighed at what just transpired. However, considering the circumstances, she couldn't really blame her young employee. Drunks were particularly troublesome to deal with, especially those who become violent when they had a little too much to drink. She could only hope they were intoxicated enough to forget the whole thing, but she needed to make a call just in case.

Two days before meeting Lancer: Earlier that day

Both employer and employee were out once again purchasing ingredients for the bar. Their errand went relatively uneventful. This time around, the two went to the van together. Just as they were loading up, Neko realized that she forget to purchase something.

The young man offered to go back, but the woman declined saying it was some personal items. He decided not to pry. Placing the headphones on his ears, he waited until his employer got back and closed his eyes to savor the music.

One song later, six older men in gaudy suits came out to surround him: three in front and three behind him. Three are whom he is already acquainted with. Despite the situation he found himself in, he made no move and continued listening to music.

"Oi! What's the matter? Not so tough now are ya?" Said someone in between the beats of song he was listening to. He could sense he was surrounded but tried to ignore them, to no avail. Opening his eyes, he recognized some familiar faces with a few new ones.

The older man to his left with poorly dyed blonde 'leader' wearing a pink suit jeered over the shoulder of a man in a dark purple suit who seems to be the one calling the shots.

A round of arrogant laughter came from the men. One was cracking his knuckles, and another was cracking his neck, trying to make themselves as intimidating as possible.

"This the guy who had you tripping over yourselves like a buncha idiots? How can you expect me to recruit you guys if you can't handle something like this? Heh, he's nothin but a pretty boy, and a kid no less." The purple suited leader of the group said mockingly as he shook his head at his companion's expense.

"Bro, this kid just got lucky the other day. Things will be different this time, right boys?" The blonde, apparently, second-in-command said, as his companions jeered.

With the second song done, the sole teen took off his headphones and rested them on his collar before speaking. "Can I help, you?"

Flustered at being ignored, the dyed blonde man lunged to throw a punch at the young teen. Although he was sober this time around, the man still missed completely as his target moved out of the way.

Seeing this as their sign to act, the underlings moved to attack the blue-haired boy. Despite their numbers, age, and strength, they were easily overwhelmed by their opponent's speed and agility. With some well-timed evasive maneuvers, the five men ended up hurting each other and more worse for wear than the teen.

Witnessing his candidate's futile attempts at physically getting a point across, he decided to intervene. Unfortunately, his opponent was more vigilant than he thought and he ended up fumbling face first into a nearby lamp post. Infuriated by this humiliating display, he picked himself up and pulled out a pocketknife. With a roar of frustration, he lunged with the blade in hand.

However, instead of sharp metal plunging into flesh, everyone was graced with the sight and sound of a grown man being thrown into the ground with a loud thud. His was face was firmly planted onto the concrete and his arm twisted vertically behind him. With some additional pressure being placed into his arm, he quickly lost the grip on the knife just missing his nose by mere millimeters as it dropped to the ground by tip of its blade.

Surprised by the boy's sudden retaliation, the older men were left speechless. The silence made them aware of heavy footsteps making its way towards them. Looking to its source, their eyes were met by those of a large bald man in a black suit. Apart from the detained man and the blue-haired teen, the older men bowed immediately with a chorus of 'Aniki' upon seeing the large man.

The burly man merely grunted at their gesture as he crossed his arms. His stern expression quietly scanned scene

"Aniki! I'm sorry about this. We'll take care of this punk in a-" The detained man managed say before being interrupted by a woman and running footsteps coming up from behind their superior.

"Hey! Leave my employee alone!" Neko exclaimed as she realized who actually needed help. Everyone's attention was suddenly on her.

At the sight of the woman, the restrained man's expression turned from pained arrogance into silent terror. It didn't get any better when his blonde acquaintance decided to interfere.

"Don't worry! Once we're done with him, we'll make sure you-" The blonde dyed man said as he walked towards Neko. Before he could finish, however, a crunching sound echoed throughout the parking lot as his vision darkened.

In a split second, the burly man swung a fist and landed it squarely on the blonde's jaw. Blood and teeth flew out as the man went unconscious before hitting the ground with aloud thud. Within that same second, the same large man grabbed the nearest thug by the collar with his other hand and threw him towards the other goons, knocking them down like a pyramid stack of cups in a carnival game.

From everyone's faces, only three didn't look all that surprised. Neko and detained man, who both seemed to know exactly what was going to happen, and the blue-haired employee of Copenhagen, whose expression remained unreadable despite not understanding what just transpired.

Sensing the resistance disappear from the man he held in his grasp, the young teen let him go and went to his employer. He then watched the man quickly crawl towards the larger man, his hand and forehead planted to the concrete.

"Aniki! I didn't know that-" The smaller man stammered out before the larger man grunted for him to stop talking. He then gave a quick bow as he made the downed men get up and leave.

The large man lightly shook his head in exasperation as the group left in a hurry before facing towards the woman.

"New recruits, Gohda-san?" The woman asked the large man. After a nod of confirmation, she continued. "Yeah, Yuki-kun here is new too. Didn't see the pins on those guys so I haven't had the chance to explain things to him yet."

"I see ..." The man now identified as Gohda paused before facing the young bar employee with a light bow. "I should thank you for protecting Neko-san. If anything untoward had happened to her, it would have my head on the line."

At this moment, the large man's phone decided to ring before he could shed the light behind the meaning of his gratitude. Neko then decided it was the perfect time to explain what was going on. As it turns out, she is close friends with the granddaughter of a local yakuza boss operating in the city. This friendship grants Copenhagen immunity from the organization's operations.

The two were about to leave when the yakuza lieutenant caught their attention. The yakuza boss learned about what happened today and few days prior, and wants to meet the young man. Neko didn't seem to mind on account of the fact he's been working hard lately.

With a decision made, the teen followed the older man to a black car after his employer bid him goodbye. Neko was then escorted by some of Gohda's men who were on guard to make sure she got back safe.

END OF FLASHBACK

Shortly after, the sound of a sliding door interrupted him from his thoughts.

An old man stepped inside the room as the door closed behind him. Despite his age, his movements doesn't show a hint of frailty like most who are in their sixties or seventies. He wore a green kimono and a hakama with darker shade of the same color. What stood out the most was the sleeveless tiger print haori he wore which matches the aura coming off of him.

Plopping down on a cushion in a cross-legged position, the old man remained silent as he gauged the blue-haired teen in front of him. His heated gaze would have any normal person sweating buckets. However, the one in front of him was unfazed and actually matched his stare with cool indifference.

A minute went by before the old man decided to break the silence by introducing himself as Raiga Fujimura, which in turn prompted the teen to do the same. The old man gave his thanks for preventing something stupid from happening by one of his own. But after the pleasantries were done, the conversation suddenly turned serious.

"Now that we got that out of the way, I want to ask you some things, kid." Raiga spoke slowly.

Despite the teen nodding for him to continue, he spoke in a way that did not take no for an answer.

"My family has been in this business for generations. Did you know what you were getting into when you got in the way of my recruits?" The old man asked.

The teen simply nodded, prompting the old man to continue.

"Even if it meant that you could end up as nothing but a bloody stain in some back alley?" The yakuza boss asked further.

Again, the teen nodded without a word, but with strength and conviction evident in his eyes.

"Let me tell you something. With your attitude and how you handled the entire thing, do you know what kind of future you have?" Again the old man asked.

This time however, the teen didn't make a move. He had an idea what the old man was getting at. Nothing good will come from messing with a criminal organization. If they couldn't get to him, they will likely use those close to him to do so.

Seeing no movement or answer from the boy, the old man started ... with a smirk. "A future as a yakuza!" Raiga spoke with vigor. "How about it kid? Ever see yourself as one in the near future?" By this time, the yakuza boss had a full blown grin so you can't even see his eyes.

It didn't show on his face, but he was surprised with how the conversation ended up like this. He was completely wrong in his assumptions, and Harbinger laughed at his expense.

Crash!

Thou art I ... And I am thou ...

Thou hast established a new bond and awakened an earlier one

With the blessing of the Devil Arcana,

thou hast come closer to thy answer to a new journey

"Hey gramps!" A familiar voice chimed from the doorway. "There's something I have to ... Ah! Yuki-kun, what are you doing here?"

He hoped that it was merely a coincidence, but this just disproved it. At least, Harbinger is entertained.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

[Please, I'm begging you. Can we do something different for a change?]

Harbinger moaned his complaint at their usual routine. A reading session from night to dawn. One of the many characteristics of being a Servant is the need to sleep, although sleeping can stop their energy from depleting.

If it was any other day, the young man would have ignored the voices pitiful plea. Since it is only a few hours until sunrise, the Servant wanted to test something with his abilities. Not his Persona's combative capabilites, but something just as practical.

Personas can wield tremendous power and share it with their user. However, since they are only constructs of the user's psyche, their forms will dissipate after sustaining enough damage. While the user remains physically unharmed, it causes enough stress in one's psyche that it will prevent summoning the Persona for a short period of time.

Aside from that, as far as the young Servant knows, a Persona and user can share their sense of sight and hearing. What he wanted to test is how far apart can he be from his Persona. Ideally, it is safer and more productive to have a Persona scout for him while he stays home. The problem with this is that Harbinger doesn't seem like to be in the mood to cooperate if he's not doing anything, or worse, reading.

For the past few days, he has done some training and a bit of experimentation which resulted in some very useful information. Even without summoning a Persona, he is still capable of casting the same spells as his currently equipped one. However, he can only unleash up to 50% of power with the same cost of energy. The Persona also doesn't need to be summoned, but must be currently equipped. Lastly, although he could sense other Personas within the Sea of Souls, forcing a summon would greatly deplete his energy reserves. If anything this would only be used as a last resort.

In this experiment, he will have Pixie looking after the house and its sleeping inhabitants while he's gone. This allows him to use teleportation from one place to another, an ideal skill in escaping dire situations should any arise. Although the small fairy has some offensive capabilities, the tiny woman's skill is much more suited for support.

After some last minute preparations, he set out to check on the temple. With a series of teleportation spells, the young Servant arrived at the foot of the mountain behind some trees. As expected the streets were empty, but who knows what might be lurking in the woods. Last time he entered a forest, he found a woman in a pool of her own blood and almost got skewered by a ponytailed spearman.

The boy trekked up the temple steps in peace, but kept his guard up all the same. The path he followed is between two dense thickets and only illuminated by the dim moonlight. At the foot of the mountain, the woods were quiet as the woods can be. As he went higher and closer to the temple, the sounds of the forest gradually disappeared.

Looking up the stairway, a man could be seen atop the steps leaning against the frame of the temple gate. Had it been a few hundred years ago, seeing this stranger would not have been unusual sight. He had long indigo hair which was tied to a high ponytail. His were traditional japanese clothing: light purple kimono and hakama, and purple haori. What stood out the most was the long japanese sword on his back.

[No doubt about it. That guy is definitely a Servant, but something is strange.]

According to Harbinger, Servants usually have a significant amount energy that moves around them. The samurai, however, doesn't have the same amount as Lancer. Whether this is because of his Servant class or something else altogether is the question. Not only that, the temple gate lightly exude the same kind of energy as the swordsman.

Almost an hour has passed since his arrival but nothing interesting has happened so far. The samurai never moved from his position and nobody else has come. It wasn't until he prepared to leave when the temple gates opened and from the gate out came Issei Ryuudou.

The blue-haired Servant knew the class representative of class 2-B lived in the temple but what the blue-haired Servant needed to know is if he had anything to do with the Servant in front of him. It didn't take long for him to conclude that it wasn't the case. Command Spells were not present on either hand of the bespectacled teen, his body language didn't show any sign of caution, and the fact he just stretched with no regard that his hand just passed through the swordsman.

"Yuki? What are you doing here?" The class rep happened to look in his direction just as the young Servant was about to leave.

Luckily, the young Servant changed to a track suit before leaving the house. He maintained his composure and waved back. "I'm out on a morning jog. I didn't think it would take this long to reach this place, though."

"Yeah, imagine doing it twice a day everyday to go to school." Said the bespectacled boy with a small smile. It explained why he was already in his uniform and school bag in his hand.

Since his cover was blown and the swordsman having no apparent connection with the young teen, he decided to accompany the class rep down the mountain. He could feel the Servant's eyes on him as they left, but acted oblivious to it.

With the amount of exercise Issei Ryuudou was getting everyday, one would think that he belonged to a sports club. In truth, he decided to focus on his studies and duties to the student council. This, however, doesn't mean he isn't interested in sports. In fact, if he had the luxury of time he would have joined the school's karate club.

The transfer student realized his companion's potential when they visited the club on his first day. Its members knew the class representative and seemed to hold him in high regard. They even attempted to recruit him during his rounds.

[Heh. Maybe it's a temple like in one of those old martial arts movies.]

"How about you, Yuki? Have you decided on a club to join yet?" Issei asked as they continued down the mountain. After receiving 'not yet' as a response, he continued. "If you still can't decide, you are welcome to lend the student council a hand. It doesn't even need to be permanent arrangement."

Although this sounded like an offer, recalling his brief encounters the past few days when walking down the school's halls, made it sound more like a request. It would seem that the other council members were neither serious nor as committed to their responsibilities as 2B's class rep. He once overheard him muttering about the ludicrous practice of drawing lots to determine the events for the school's sports festival.

The two continued to chat until they reach the foot of the mountain. The transfer student excused himself since he still needed to get home to change. He also needed to prepare breakfast for Rin, but kept this part from the class rep. Once he was out of sight, he casted the same set of spells to get back home.

Crash!

Thou art I ... And I am thou ...

Thou hast established a new bond and awakened an earlier one

With the blessing of the Emperor Arcana,

thou hast come closer to thy answer to a new journey

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"So Yuki, are you ready for that visit yet?" Kaede Makidera asked the new student. Her two usual companions following closely behind them.

"Is there even a point in asking him that when you're already dragging him by the arm?" Kane Himuro questioned her friend before the blue-haired teen could give a reply.

"Yeah, Maki-chan. I think Yuki-san is pretty busy right now." Yukika said as she followed behind trying stop her friend from being too rash.

"It'll be fine. I'm sure Tohsaka-san can manage without her manservant for just a little bit." The star sprinted stated as they neared the track and field.

The entire boy's team watched as the four students of class 2A arrived, but had no idea what was going on. What they did know is that if it involves Kaede Makidera, they will be in for an earful of aggravating criticism.

"Okay guys listen up! What I have here is the future star sprinter of the boy's team, Makoto Yuki. Please no need to thank me, for I am only doing this for the glory of Homurahara Academy." The star sprinter of the girl's team waved her hands off to prevent the non-existing applause or gratitude towards her.

The boy's looked at each other before a team member decided to speak out.

"What are you going on about, Makidera? The boy's team can find their own team member's. We don't need your help." The young man spoke.

"Obviously, you haven't done a very good job since you missed this diamond in the rough, Background Character A." Kaede accused the boy resulting in a mixture of snickers and giggles from the title she bestowed upon him.

"B-background ...? I have a name, you know!" The young man became flustered at the name.

"Hmph! A real man doesn't rely on the name given to them from birth, they venture out and make a name for themselves!" Kaede declared with a passion, actually managing to awe a few students. "All right then! BG Chara B, BG Chara C, and BG Chara D. Make room for Yuki on the track."

"Hey! That's not fair!" protested 'BG Chara B'

"Why are our names shortened?" 'BG Chara C' questioned.

"I don't think that's the point here!" 'BG Chara D' reprimanded his teammate.

While Kaede and the boy's track and field team continued their exchange, her three classmates who came with her were having their own conversation.

"Yuki-san, please excuse Maki-chan. She must have really been impressed with you." Yukika Saegusa spoke up with a nervous smile on her face.

"Just let her have her way for now. When the time is right, make a run for it before she gets any more ideas and we'll take care of the rest." Kane Himuro said this with an expression that can rival the new student's.

The blue-haired teen took a moment to consider this. He figured that so long as he doesn't make any commitments everything will be fine. It also looks like the sprinter's two friends know how to handle her.

The captain of the boy's team, apparently dubbed as Background Character A by the female sprinter, conceded figuring that they'll never get anywhere with their practice if they kept arguing with the loud young woman.

However, it seems as though they don't hold her in high regard since he wasn't convinced that the new student was as quick as she lead them to believe. It was at this time he gave a condition that the new student will need to beat their star sprinter in a 400m race. He expected the young woman to back off, but was only laughed at in a mocking way.

"Hey, Yuki! Show these guys what a star sprinter is supposed to be like. Don't bother changing for these guys." As she said this, Kaede Makidera crossed her arms with a smirk on her face without looking back.

Ultimately deciding to indulge his classmate's wishes, he made his way to the starting line. He looked out of place wearing his winter uniform when he's about to race, but it saves him the time. His opponent extended a hand for him to shake, which he accepted. However, before introductions could be made Kaede interjected to skip it prompting them to get in their positions.

"On your marks ..." The team captain announced. "Ready ... Set ... GO!"

The moment the signal to start was given, both runners left the starting line in a sprint. The boy's team cheered for their fellow member, while Kaede and Yukika cheered for their classmate. It was only one Kane Himuro watched the race in silence.

At the beginning of the race, not much could be said. It wasn't until after the 100m mark that things began to change. Despite starting on the inner lane, the new student had already caught up and is beginning to take the lead from his opponent. As the race went on, the gap only got bigger.

Around this time, most runners would already start showing signs of slowing down due to fatigue. This was certainly the case for the club's star sprinter, but not for his blue-haired opponent. If anything he seems to running faster than when they started.

By this time, other than Kaede Makidera and Kane Himuro, everybody cheering had gone silent because of the display of sheer difference in speed, stamina, and endurance between the two runners. Even the one in charge of timing the match was left distracted.

It wasn't until a cry of victory from Kaede that everybody awoke from their trance. The blue-haired teen's talent was undeniable. Half way through the race, the team captain was already thinking about what his next action would be. Without a doubt, with the new student's talent the men's team could go a long way. However, before anything else could be done about it, another cry from the obnoxious young woman caught their attention.

"Yuki! You can stop running now! You won!" The female sprinter shouted.

Apparently, after winning the race, the new student continued running and left the field. Everybody was left speechless because the victor of the race seemed to run even faster than he did during it.

"That's your answer, Kaede." Kane Himuro told her friend. She had to admit to herself that even she didn't expect that the boy would take her words literally. Hopefully, her friend will take the hint and let the whole matter go, but she knew fully this would not likely be the case.

It is not like she completely disagrees with her friend. After seeing the boy's speed first hand, it would be a complete waste of his talent. Not only that, there is talk that the archery club is aiming to recruit him as well after his visit.

Instead of being upset, however, Kaede Makidera was actually even more in awe and motivated in having her male classmate nurture his talent. Why she's so adamant in having the boy join up is only known to her. Seeing the look on the self-proclaimed "Black Panther of Homurahara," Kane Himuro walked up to her to listen what plan she's concocting.

Crash!

Thou art I ... And I am thou ...

With the blessing of the Strength Arcana,

Thou hast come closer to thy answer to a new journey

Yukika Saegusa took this time to apologize to the boy's time for her friend's obnoxious behavior before returning to her friends. It didn't go in her friend's favor, but at least it wasn't all bad either. Although their new classmate was reluctant of the idea, he was kind enough to go along with it even for a little bit.

Crash!

Thou art I ... And I am thou ...

With the blessing of the Sun Arcana,

Thou hast come closer to thy answer to a new journey

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

A distortion appeared within the space of the Tohsaka Residence's backyard. From this came out the Servant of the young Master of this house. A close observation of his eyes would show determination and worry that betrays his usual calm demeanor.

It wasn't long after his arrival that a loud crashing noise resounded throughout the estate coming from within the house. This prompted him to quickly make his way to the source while preparing for a confrontation. Running up the staircase the sound of destruction seem to intensify as it reverberated through the house.

Before reaching the door where the chaos is coming from, the wall next to it exploded into a sea of debris. In a fraction of a second, upon seeing the familiar school-attired form of his Master crashing through the wall, he used his momentum to catch her just inches from hitting the opposite wall.

"What took you so long?" Rin muttered and coughed after having the wind knocked out of her. Although she looked worse for wear, it didn't seem like she sustained any serious injuries. Through the tears on her uniform, only a few cuts and bruises were present.

[Sorry for the wait!]

Allowing Harbinger to answer for the two of them, the young Servant noticed that pretty much half of the entire second floor was a complete wreck. In the middle of this wreckage was their 'guest,' relatively unscathed and ready to strike.

[Who knew that our sleeping beauty was actually a slumbering beast.]

Just from the collateral damage caused by the woman's encounter with her younger opponent alone, one could tell that she is a powerful combatant. Under normal circumstances, this scene would seem intimidating to whomever she had to face next. Since, however, it is the young Servant, it didn't have the same effect. That being said, he remained cautious of the situation in case the foreign magus makes a move, which is like the case.

Keeping in mind that their aggressor is their guest, he made a quick assessment of her condition. In spite of the amount of damage during her exchange with Rin, the foreign magus still look weakened. Likely, due to the fact that she was unconscious for the past few days. Lack of proper nourishment would do much worse to a normal person, which just makes it more apparent how tough and proficient she is in her style of combat.

Helping his Master stand up and gain some distance, he began to ponder how to resolve this conflict quickly as the woman lunged at him this time. Even after evading a punch that obliterated the wall behind him, the young man still haven't given up the thought of resolving this peacefully. Realizing, of course, that the peaceful route won't present itself so easily, especially if they are dead, he readied himself for the battle.

"Tarunda." With this one word from the young Servant alone, Orpheus made his presence known by the sounds of shattering glass followed by a single strum from his instrument. This time, however, the Master of Strings only appeared for a brief moment to fulfill his part before returning to the Sea of Souls. Quickly after the Persona disappeared, the same shattering noise resounded once again but this time no Persona appeared.

During this time, the same kind of ball of red energy used on Lancer headed towards the foreign magus at an alarming speed. Dazed by what she just witnessed, she could not react in time. All she could do was put her guard up and wait, but nothing came of it. She seemed relatively unharmed. Putting it as nothing but a bluff, she charged at the boy once more.

The Servant took a stance as both his hands was enveloped in a bright light. When the light faded, his once bare hands are now wearing black leather gloves with knuckle studs and a metal emblem of the letter V on the dorsum. He could call out a variety of other weapons: a sword, a long sword, a battle axe, a spear, a bow, and many others. However, they all share a common aspect which is not he was going for right now, they can kill and the potential of getting disarmed. Sure, he could go use a bow to restrain the woman, but it would not be very effective considering how monstrous her strength is, how there is not much space, and how unlikely she would him allow him to create enough distance to use it.

"Please calm down! We mean you no harm." The boy spoke as the woman came at him with her right fist. He effectively parried with his left arm then ducked under an incoming left hook before jumping away from a ground shaking overhand strike.

However, unlike before, wooden constructs no longer exploded into smithereens and the ground no longer formed craters upon contact with her fists. Instead, they would break, splinter, fracture, or crack, but no longer under the same level of destruction as before.

The woman looked at her bare hands upon realizing this. It didn't take long for her to figure out that it was caused by that red flash of energy from earlier. It would be a lie to say that she wasn't slightly perturbed by this particular spell nor is she familiar with its name. Despite this, it did nothing to affect her ferocity as she continued to pursue her opponent.

However, try as she might, her blue opponent proved to be too quick for her to land a decent hit. He would dodge, block, parry, or jump away from everything she threw at him. There was even an instance when she had to throw one of the furniture in the room as a diversion, but to no avail. The interesting part is that regardless of how large an opening the young man created after parrying one of her strikes, he never once tried to capitalize with a decisive counterattack. Instead, he would keep his distance and try to reason with her which would only be met by a punch that would miss at the last second.

Under normal circumstances, when she would face an opponent who is on the defensive, she would power on through and break through their defenses up close. This time around, however, she is fighting an opponent who is always on the move and always kept a good distance from her. To make things more difficult, on top of not having her rune imbued gloves, she also had to carry on with the strange strength sapping curse she was just afflicted with, rendering any attack that managed to connect useless or easily shrugged off.

On the young man's part, he too was a bit surprised at the power the woman possessed. Despite having Orpheus diminish her strength, he could still feel the strain in his arms every time he had to directly block an attack from the magus. If it wasn't for the high defensive characteristics and innate abilities provided by his currently equipped Persona, Genbu, his appendages would have already given way after the first minutes of their battle. Another factor to consider was that although his Persona's speed was quite slow, which also affected his own, he was somehow able to negate it with his special gloves, which was imbued by the special gift of the Hierophant Arcana. Still, he needed to end this fight soon.

As the boy expected, the woman once again rushed towards him. This time, however, he firmly planted his feet and awaited to intercept the incoming attack instead of dodging it. A resounding boom echoed throughout the room as the young man caught his attacker's fist with his hand, his feet skidding on the floor for a couple of feet before stopping. The sudden change in tactics surprised Bazett, but she quickly reacted. With one of her fists preoccupied, she tried again with her other hand but it ended up getting caught as well.

[Wow! Things sure are heating up. Don't you think it's about time we all cool down for a little bit?]

The two seemed to be grappling with each other, the young man keeping both of them in place and the woman struggling to get her hands back. Hostile brown orbs stared down against collected steel blue ones, at least until they momentarily flashed a bright blue accompanied by the same crashing sound from before.

Blue fog swirled behind the boy and began to form a horned figure. Due to their battle, most of the light in the room and hallway have been destroyed. The only light source was the sunlight shining through the windows and from the gaping hole in the wall on the side of the house facing the backyard, the same one creating the silhouette of the dark creature. With its two crooked horns, the large black entity loomed over the two and enveloped the entire room with its shadow. The creature's dark form would rise and fall as its body seemed to heave with each breath it took.

Bazett Fraga McRemitz has been in difficult situations before, but it didn't mean she wasn't mildly intimidated. However, it was a first for her to witness someone risked getting hurt just to keep her immobilized. It might be the lack of nourishment coupled with fatigue, but she found herself a bit shaken by her predicament. So much so that she didn't notice her opponent mutter something under his breath for the creature he summoned.

Upon the young Servant's command issued, the black creature raised its large right hand towards the two. Its palms open towards them showing four large digits. In the same motion, the creature's eyes opened showing its two crimson eyes and its mouth with a wide two fanged grin.

A rush of cold air surrounded the two. Shortly afterwards, the air suddenly turned into frost forming a spherical shape around them before exploding, coating both of them in a thin but strong layer of ice. The magus was frozen in place with just her head and neck free from the ice, while her legs were completely covered that her from falling. The young man, on the other hand, just shrugged it off as he let go of her hands before disappearing through a ripple in the space in front of her. Left alone with the dark hulking figure, she had nothing to do but struggle to get free from her icy prison. Unfortunately, the frozen temperatures quickly sapped her of her strength and body heat.

Any normal person would be mortified by this scene, especially considering they would be subdued with no means of escape. Rin Tohsaka watched not far from the two. Her perception of the towering creature, however, was not as ... frightening.

With the proper lighting, the illusion of menacing beast will shatter. True, the creature is fairly large with skin as black as pitch. The creature, however, did not have two long crooked horns, it was actually wearing a crooked purple jesteresque hat. Its head was as large and round as its body, large arms that reached its knees, and legs that were ... practically nonexistent. The creature's legs were more like stubs wearing large purple boots. Lastly, the entity's face was more like something you would find in a child appropriate cartoon. In fact, it seemed that the more it tried to look scary the cuter it became.

After a moment, the young Servant reappeared with some blankets and something slung over his shoulder before setting it down in front of their guest turned captive. It was a metal cylinder case which the Master and Servant found a few nights ago on their way home after their brief and yet dangerous encounter with Lancer.

"Truce?" The blue haired teen offered.

The foreigner was surprised at the offer. She had her reasons for attacking first, but with how things transpired, she might have jumped the gun a bit. Seeing as that she didn't really having anything to lose, she gave a light nod.

Sensing her sincerity, the boy looked at his Persona. "Go ahead, Black Frost."

"Hee-ho!" The 'evil' Persona of the Fool Arcana ambled beside the frozen magus and plopped down on the floor facing her. Its dark skin started to glow a light shade of red, the temperature of the around it gradually rose as it remained seated, lightly shaking its feet from side to side like a small child.

The ice covering the woman didn't melt, rather it began to disintegrate into the air instead of turning into a pool of water. Black Frost had dispelled the air and merely acted as a heater once all the ice was gone.

The young Servant then took the blankets and wrapped it around the magenta haired foreigner, who gladly accepted the warm bundle of sheets. He then helped her up and lead her to her bed, making sure she doesn't fall because of her still shaking legs. The Persona followed suit and sat on floor in the same manner as before beside the bed.

"Tohsaka-san, could you please help her change while I fix her something to eat?" The blue-haired teen asked. After receiving a hesitant confirmation from his Master, he left for the kitchen to prepare a warm meal for their guest.

Rin took a suitcase that was sitting at a corner and brought it to its owner. Just as the owner was putting in the combination, Rin momentarily shifted her attention to the Persona that began to move on its own.

Black Frost shifted from its seat on floor and turned its body around without getting up.

[NOOOOO!]

Although both Master and Servant parted to accomplish their own tasks, they maintained communications via telepathic means and discussed what to do with their guest. As explained by Kirei Kotomine, Masters who have lost their Servant may seek refuge in the church. Harbinger suggested keeping her around. When asked for his reasoning, the voice answered that the woman wasn't likely to take things lying down and would only endanger herself by going out by herself. True, the woman can hold herself pretty well, especially with that trump card of hers, but it only takes one surprise attack to end it all and staying alert 24/7 is nigh impossible. It also wasn't a bad idea to have another pair of eyes and hands out there.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, the blue-haired teen returned carrying a bed tray table with a sandwich, a bowl of soup, and a cup of tea.

"Please settle with this for now. Dinner will be served in an hour." The boy said as he placed the bed tray table over the foreigner's lap.

Despite how appetizing the food in front of her looked, the woman didn't make a move to touch it. There is, however, some hesitation in her eyes about this decision. She was famished, after all. Considering the circumstances they were in, the boy wasn't surprised at the woman's apprehension.

Anticipating the doubt she had in their actions, he brought an extra spoon on the tray. He took the silverware and scooped a spoonful of the hot liquid. Cupping the spoon below with his other hand, he brought it over to Rin who was standing beside him.

"W-what do you think you're doing?" Rin stammered, clearly surprised by this sudden action.

"Re-assurance" the boy replied.

[Yeah, I don't think she wants to eat anything made by someone she was just fighting not too long ago]

As embarrassing as it looked, it made some sense. As a Servant, there is a distinct possibility that poison won't affect him as it would a person. Not that either of them know this to be a fact.

After a moment's hesitation, she opened her mouth to taste the soup. Just like all the meals her Servant has prepared in the past, it was absolutely delicious.

The woman was hesitant, but after seeing that the younger magus was still alive and exhibiting no visible symptoms of poisoning, she finally gave in and moved to satisfy her hunger. Ignoring the spoon laid on the tray in front of her, she took the soup bowl with her hands and brought the edge to her lips. The warm soup prevented her from finishing it down quickly, but it allowed her to savor the taste. Her skin tingled as the warmth spread throughout her body. Remembering that she had more than just the soup, she set the bowl down for a moment before picking up the sandwich in one hand and the tea in the other. Alternating between the hand food and warm beverage, it wasn't long until finished them and turned her attention back to the soup. It might have been the hunger talking but it felt as though it was the most wonderful meal she's ever had.

With the last of her meal finished, she took a minute to observe the two teenagers. "Thank you" the foreigner muttered.

After accepting her words of gratitude, the two introduced themselves and in turn their guest did the same. With what little information she deemed necessary to divulge, she is an enforcer sent by the Mage Association in order to take part in the Holy Grail War and secure the Holy Grail. Rin questioned why an enforcer was mobilized to take part in the ritual since this is usual not in their scope of duties, but was only given a reply that it was simply an order that the foreign magus was told to follow. The young Servant noticed the slight agitation in her tone as she answered. Instead of pushing her for more info, he decided to change the subject to the more pressing matters.

"We found you three days ago at a clearing in the forest south of the city. That was also when we encountered Lancer." Rin stated.

The enforcer was alarmed at hearing this. "How did you manage to escape?" Asked the foreigner, genuinely curious about this matter.

"He may not look it, but Makoto is actually my Servant." Rin showed the Command Spells on her hand.

"So, it wasn't a dream." The woman muttered under her breath. When asked about this, she explained that after she was attacked, she was falling in and out of consciousness. She saw bits and pieces of Lancer fighting the younger blue-haired Servant, but thought it was only a dream. Realizing this, she quickly looked at her left hand.

Rin saw this and spoke. "They're gone. When we arrived at that clearing, your arm was cut off from the elbow and the Command Spells were already gone when we found it after Lancer left. It's a good thing Makoto managed to reattach it. Considering what happened earlier, it doesn't look like there's any nerve damage."

Bazett seemed to be in a trance as she touched where her Command Spells used to be with her fingertips.

"This brings us to our next question, do you know who attacked you?" Rin questioned, but got a head shake as a response. Apparently, according to the woman, after the summoning ritual she sent her Servant off, but was attacked from behind soon after.

"I see. Was Lancer your Servant?" Rin asked, but didn't get an answer, just as expected.

"We understand your reservations on this matter, Ms. McRemitz. However, rest assured that we mean you no harm. If anything, we want to find who his new Master is before anybody else gets hurt." The boy continued. He explained how troubled Lancer was during their fight and the displeased look he had when it came to his current Master.

The foreign magus clenched her fist at the unfairness of it all. Once given the time to think, the weight of regret and frustration finally managed to sink in. To be taken out before the war even truly began, it bothered her to no end.

"I know there is more to your being here than you let on, but that is fine. In truth, it's probably a far better reason than we have." The young Servant said this, earning a furrowed glare from his Master. Not minding his Master's displeasure from his comment, he took out something wrapped in a clean piece of white cloth from the drawer of the night stand beside the bed.

The woman saw this at the corner of her eye and was genuinely curious. It distracted her from her thoughts.

"Anyone capable of stealing Command Spells from another Master is a potential threat. Personally, I am quite content with being Tohsaka-san's Servant." As he said this, Rin's eyes widened and her face turned a shade of red before turning away. The boy unwrapped the handkerchief in his hand and held it out for their guest to take.

Before the woman was a pair of runestone earrings. The pair of jewelry wasn't just any ordinary pair of trendy accessories, however. These were the same ones the foreign magus was wearing until a few days ago. They also share the same design as the ones Lancer was wearing.

Bazett thoughtfully stared at the earrings as she took it from the boy's hand. After a moment the woman let out a sigh of relief while grasping the earrings in her hand. "I understand. Until we find who the culprit is, I'm willing to work together." Said the foreign magus, extending her hand to Rin.

Rin met the woman's hand with hers and shook it. "If you'll excuse me, I'll go freshen up a bit. Makoto, how long until dinner is ready?"

"It should be done in a moment. For now, I'll be doing some cleaning up." The boy answered as he picked up pieces of broken furniture lying around and tossed it out the backyard through the hole in the wall. Once the larger debris have been taken care of, he took the bed tray table and was about to leave for the kitchen.

"Excuse me, Yuki." The woman stopped the Servant while sitting on the bed. She apologized for her rash behavior, in which the young man forgave her. "That creature ..."

"Black Frost? He's one of my Personas" The boy plainly answered. Seeing that Bazett needed more than just a name for his special ability, he gave a brief explanation of what it is, even admitting that even he doesn't fully grasp it, at least not yet.

Just like every magus he's encountered so far, they've associated his power to what the magus community know as the Third Magic. The magus also noticed that the Servant mentioned that the creature in their presence right now was only one of many and remembering the mechanical being she saw during their battle. It begs to question who or what else can answer his call, so she asked.

"I don't know," the boy simply answered. After giving a moment of thought, he continued "What I can say is that one of them finds it to be quite innovative to wield Fragarach in this manner, and that you should keep up the good work."

To say that the descendant of the Fraga bloodline was caught off guard is a complete understatement. Having been given a compliment is one thing, but to have it come from someone who knows her ace's true form is another. In fact it was already a surprise to identify it was Fragarach at all. She wanted to ask who it was, but the fact he didn't mention it the first time around made her pause. Oddly enough, however, above all this she felt strangely relieved by these words.

The boy could see it in the woman's face so he explained. Due to memory loss, it made it difficult to summon his other Personas. He is, however, somehow able to communicate with some of them from the Sea of Souls, at least up to a certain degree.

"Dinner should be about ready." The boy proceeded to take the tray away. "I'll bring your meal in a moment."

The magus wanted to get up but her strength still escapes her. She decided to lie down for a bit and took a side glance at her makeshift radiator heater. She took a moment to think about her situation. Despite their obvious advantage over her, they offered a truce and even a place for her to stay. To think this is after she attacked the Tohsaka head after they looked after her for the past few days. The Servant's ability is unlike anything she has ever witnessed before. One would think that he is a special type of Caster, but he also displayed impressive skill in hand to hand combat.

The woman's thoughts were interrupted by the familiar form of the blue-haired teen returning with a tray of food.

"Here you go. I hope you enjoy it, Ms. McRemitz" The young man placed the bed tray of food in front of her. "If you need more, don't hesitate to ask."

Bazett looked at the delicious food and front her before turning her attention to the boy. "Thank you, and please call me Bazett."

With a nod, the boy responded "Likewise, please call me Makoto."

Crash!

Thou art I ... And I am thou ...

Thou hast established a new bond and awakened an earlier one

With the blessing of the Justice Arcana,

thou hast come closer to thy answer to a new journey

A/N: I understand there are concerns on the aspect of Social Links. But to say that nobody will take the time to know their enemy is completely wrong. ***SPOILER ALERT*** Some endings in Fate/Stay Night is completely based on the bond Shirou had with certain characters which start of as enemies. e.g. Rider, Ilya, and in a sense Rin and Sakura who are also Masters. ***SPOILER END***

Any concerns revolving around the story having an entire 10 Social Link event can be put to ease. I wasn't planning on doing this. I might include a few events here and there for some characters, but not the entire process of how an unbreakable bond was forged between them.

Also, there is a reason why the social links are present, but that will be explained in a later chapter.

In all honesty, this time I was stuck in a rut in writing this chapter because I kept having ideas for later chapters. I even ended up writing one involving Medea and Orpheus, and one with Elizabeth making preparations for the HGW.