Awakening to the sound of an intruder, the fourth beast of humanity’s doom arose from the grave to stalk her prey. Slinking from her tomb, she crossed the halls with nary a sound to be heard.
A sudden bright flash appeared before her eyes, as the intruder flipped a switch on the wall.
Alas, rather than catching the intruder, she herself had been caught. A familiar voice that was absent from last night's dinner called out to her. “Aiko? What are you doing hunched over like that?”
If you asked her at a later date, Aiko would forever deny that her words came out as more of a whine than actually intelligible words. "Aaawwwww, iiii aaalmooost haaad youuuu!"
Raynell’s eyes scrunched. “Had me for what? Breakfast?”
Rin panicked in the background, hiding behind Raynell who broke into a light chuckle.
Leering at the two of them with a hungry stare, Aiko decided to play along. "Haaah? I am hungry, but not that hungry. Yet."
A bop to the head from a laughing Raynell broke the falsified tension between the two.
Looking on in horror, Rin had the expression of a person watching a train about to hit her car while she was still inside.
“Hey, are you guys done dawdling? Breakfast is getting cold.” Iihito’s voice rang out to the group.
“Great! Cause I’m starving.” Raynell walked past Aiko towards the dining room without a second thought.
Bounding into the kitchen with an impressed look on her face, Aiko called out to Iihito. "And I thought I was being stealthy! You're a freaking ninja, Ozi!"
Iihito scratched the back of her head. “Puns aside, I only used a bit of fairy magic to wake me up without alerting the others. Also to silence my steps and the building. I gotta practice my cooking skills somehow. Most people are still asleep at this hour, you know?”
Raynell looked back to the door and found a shaking Rin. “Is everything alright, Rin? You’re looking very pale.” He ran back to her and held her hand in an attempt to comfort her.
With a few deep breaths, Rin brought her shaking under control and adopted her trademark Magus Face. "I will be fine... I have to be."
“I’ll be here for you if you need it.” He spoke with a tone of gentle conviction.
Blushing profusely, Rin began to feel a lot better. ‘"Th-thanks."
Aiko's lips twitched mirthfully. "Heh. You two love birds gonna get some food? You're gonna need the energy later if what I'm smelling is any indication."
Her blush reaching nuclear levels, Rin became incredibly flustered, forgetting about her fear of Aiko. "L-love birds? What are you talking about! I'm not in love with him, stupid!"
“But I haven’t even started exercising yet.” Raynell looked at the floor in thought. “Although, I do need a shower.”
“At least grab a toast or something. You don’t wanna skip on breakfast do you?”
He went to the table, pulling Rin along. “Oh don’t worry. I’m ready to eat what you whipped up for us!”
As soon as they sat down beside her, Aiko's ears began to twitch. Sending a cheeky smile toward Rin, she decided to help move things along. "We're gonna need to talk to Archer real soon. Might wanna call him down from the roof. Definitely need that Rule Breaker if we're gonna get Lancer back for Bazett."
Blinking in utter confusion, Rin mumbled a quiet, "Excuse me?"
Joining in on the confusion, Raynell interjected. “Bazett came over already? And why do you need Archer specifically? Could you have done it without us?”
“Bazett wants Lancer back. We don’t have anything that could take other people’s servants.” Iihito raised a finger.
"And Archer does?" Rin asked skeptically.
Staring at Rin as if she was surprised she didn't know already, Aiko took a moment to think and then palmed her face. "Counter guardian EMIYA! Get your ass down here and explain to your master just who she's contracted to or so help me god, I will shoot you in the dick."
Raynell cast a side eye towards Aiko. “Watch your language! Don’t say the Lord’s name in vain.”
Materializing into the room, a red-clad man looked back toward Aiko. “And what does her majesty want from me exactly?”
Giving Archer a disdainful look, it was clear Aiko did not like him. "Drop the tone Shirou. Just because we need your help doesn't mean I'll just take your snark laying down."
Walking into the room, Shirou blinked. Noticing a new face. “Did someone say my name?”
Archer tilted his head towards Shirou. “Yes, I believe this one over here was calling you snarky and I for the life of me could not find out why.” Archer nonchalantly pointed toward Aiko.
Turning her head towards the younger Shirou, Aiko sighed. "Shirou Emiya, Meet future Shirou Emiya from a failed timeline. Don't be surprised if he tries to kill you later in a failed attempt to cause a paradox and erase his own existence. Pitiful, am I right?"
Crossing her arms, Iihito rested her eyes. “Not like the paradox idea would work anyways. This world works with multiverse theory in mind. Even if he pulled it off, he’ll only be killing his young self from a different universe. The fact that Archer is a failed version of Emiya is already proof of that.”
Archer clicked his tongue, before resting his eyes. “From what I’ve observed when dematerialized, I figured. It seems that keeping secrets from you is pointless, so I’ll just go ahead and say it. My magecraft is specialized in creating blades along with any blade I happen to come across. However, I cannot recreate divine blades or anything of that nature.”
Looking between Shirou and well, Shirou, Rin began to think up something rather devious. "Wait. So you're an alternate future version of him?"
“Please do not associate him with me.” Archer sighed. Mimicking Iihito’s posture.
Picking up what Rin was saying rather quickly, Aiko chuckled. "Isn't this the perfect situation? Shirou can learn from his future self later, and his future self can ensure he doesn't make the same mistakes. Seriously, it's a really good idea. Good job Rin."
Rin opened her mouth to retort. "Wha-"
“Oh, and before we do anything I’mma grab another outfit. The one I’m wearing right now isn’t designed for battle. Be right back.” Iihito left the room shortly after.
After stumbling out from the bathroom half-asleep, Issei joined them at the table with his clothes in disarray. Mumbling under his breath, he snatched a cup of coffee that Aiko placed on the table for a moment and drained it in one gulp.
Annoyed by the theft of her coffee, Aiko got up to get another mug from the cupboard to drink from. By the time she made it back, Issei was halfway through the pot. "Bruh, that's my coffee you're drinking. At least make me an espresso or two if you're gonna drink all my drip coffee."
Looking at her with bleary eyes, Issei shrugged. "Sorry, I've been up all night. Didn't realize this was just for you."
Raynell eyed the pot. “Well, do you know how to make more? It’s only fair.”
"I haven't used one before, but it should be pretty easy, right? Just put in the beans and pour in the hot water?" Issei asked.
Aiko balked at the ridiculousness of the question. "How do- no. I'm not even gonna ask. Just pass me the pot before you drink it all."
Illya entered the room, giving out an audible yawn before snatching the pot of coffee. Gulping the coffee dry while her two maids stood behind her silently.
Pouting at the coffee thieves, Aiko began to sulk. "Bruh. My coffee. Again."
Now clad in blue, black, and white, Iihito entered the room. Materializing a coffee machine, she began to prepare her own cup. Pouring coffee beans into the machine, she had the contents blended before it poured into her cup. Bringing up a bottle of milk, she poured the milk into the cup of coffee before steaming the contents. Finishing off with decorating the foam of the coffee. All done within minutes.
Taking a sip, she took a look at everyone. “So, what did I miss?”
Raynell spoke up. “Aiko had her coffee stolen by Issei and Illya. Other than that, nothing much.”
“I see, it’s not drip coffee is it?” Resting her eyes, Iihito slowly took a sip from the cup. “Oh, and the machine should be able to make coffee in an instant if you want, Aiko.”
Before Aiko could touch the machine, Shiro was already standing in front of it. Preparing coffee for everyone. “Feel free to take them.”
Peeking towards Shirou’s coffee, Iihito tapped his shoulder. “Oh, mind if I add a thing?”
“Sure, I don’t see why not.” Shirou shrugged.
Hovering her hand above the coffee, she passed a cup to Issei. “Here, it should be much better than the dripped kind.”
While he took a long sip, Aiko noted how he went from half-undead to fully awake. Tilting her head cutely, Aiko sniffed the air. Snatching a cup from the table, Aiko began to savor her sweet, caffeinated ambrosia.
“Wow, this tastes much closer to home,” Illya muttered while placing the cup back on the table.
After finishing the cup, Issei turned to look at Iihito. "That was amazing! I feel fully refreshed. Is this what coffee is supposed to be like?"
After seeing his reaction, Rin snagged a cup for herself.
“Nah, I spiked it with fairy magic. Don’t abuse it, it’ll make you feel refreshed but it’s no replacement for sleep.” Iihito responded.
Having taken a deep drink just then, Rin began to cough, spilling coffee on the table.
“Got that right! Coffee isn’t for me anyways. Just a five-to-ten-minute power nap and I’m good to go for the rest of the day.” Raynell grinned before continuing to eat.
“Rin, please don’t do that again. Me and Shirou gotta clean that all up...” Iihito muttered.
Scrunching up his face, Issei didn't know what to think. "You spiked it? Isn't that supposed to be a bad thing?"
[[Usually, the spell is supposed to act as an aphrodisiac, but she instead used it to make you feel refreshed. It has no other side effects besides that. Honestly, I didn’t think Fairy Feast could be used that way until now. She could probably remove your ability to feel pain temporarily if she wanted now that I think about it.]] Ddraig chimed in for all to hear.
With a thoughtful look in her eyes, Rin began to contemplate the uses of such a thing. "That sounds useful. I wonder how long the effects would last?"
“For the pain-numbing thing, that’s a bad idea. You could be pushing beyond what your body could handle without knowing if you did that.” Iihito rebutted. “Though I could see that acting as a painkiller for migraines... Oh, and it lasts until I decide to cease the effects or someone removes the effect manually.”
“I suppose it’s not a stretch to say you could make a beverage that could heighten reaction speed.” Archer raised a brow.
Iihito shrugged. “Sure, I just didn’t think about that yet.”
Pinching the bridge of her nose for a moment, Rin soon began to rub her temples. "True magic is such bullshit."
Pausing for a moment in realization, Aiko began to chuckle. "Wouldn't migraines count as a debuff? Pretty sure you guys can just Thanos snap those away."
Iihito shook her head. “Then I’d be revealing my Noble Phantasm, a big no-no in holy grail wars. Raynell could very easily deal with it though, but he isn’t always around.”
"True." Aiko nodded. "Hey, should I take overwatch this time, and you can take point for this one? I wouldn't want to steal your fun here, but I will still be there for when you need me."
Smiling at Iihito, Aiko continued. "After all, you haven't had much of a chance to let loose and have a bit of fun, right?"
“I don’t know how happy Archer would be if I were to take Rin’s job for her...” Iihito smiled, incredulously.
Before Iihito could continue, Archer interjected. “It’s fine, I wouldn’t want my master to be thrown into the line of danger anyhow.”
Raynell added to Archer’s statement. “We’re kind of throwing this at her. If she wants to stay out of harm's way, that’s fine by me. There’s always another way.”
Waving it off, Rin made her views clear on the subject. "I'll be fine. I doubt whoever stole her command seals would be able to deal with this many servants."
Iihito’s eyes twitched. “Uhh, Rin... I don’t mean to be a joy kill, but the guy who stole Bazett’s command seals has a servant with super clairvoyance...”
Rin paused. "... Shit."
Iihito continued. “Yeah, his name is Gilgamesh. The blonde goldie likes to throw around Enuma Elish when he gets into deep trouble. That thing is effective against all kinds of servants if it connects. Like... Super effective...”
Raynell leaned forward. “What does it do exactly?”
“It shoots a giant laser, enough to kill off Tiamat after she was introduced to the concept of death. Beast class 2 if you are wondering by the way. Technically it's a cutting wind that separates heaven and earth but it punctures the world and stitches it back together with a giant red beam of light, that’s a laser in my book. Oh, and it also breaks reality marbles as you can guess.” Giving off a sigh, Iihito rested the cup of coffee she was carrying on the desk.
He cupped his chin in contemplation. “That’s going to be a problem, to put it lightly.”
“If you ask me, we’ll have to speed-blitz him. No time to stall, take him down before he could throw the death beam. What do you all think?” Iihito looked towards the party.
“Seems reasonable.” Archer nodded. “So long as you gave me those buffs before we were thrown to the battle.”
Iihito raised a brow. “Wait, how did you know what my skills were?”
Archer deadpanned in response. “Structural analysis.”
Slumping, Iihito finished off her coffee. “Right, does anyone else want to pitch in?”
With a bright smile, Aiko was glad her friend was going to get some serious action soon. It would be fun to see her go all out. "Not really. I'll just take overwatch and keep an eye out for anything unusual."
“Oh and Issei, if you want to help, go hang around with Aiko. She’ll need a spotter. Feel free to jump in when you feel like we are in trouble though.” Iihito commented, noticing Saber entering the room.
"Right!" Issei exclaimed.
Raynel clasped his hands. “Now that we got everything figured out, let’s go!”
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