Remaining Days: 2
Morning comes sooner than I'd want to and I'm woken by my terminal. "So very kind of them to build an automatic alarm that can't be turned off into it," I grumble dozily. I have not a clue how Saber can sleep through this deafening noise every morning, she doesn't show any reaction. As if the alarm had never gone off.
I get up and get through with my morning routine and leave for the classes, looking a last time before noon at my Servant. With such a peaceful expression, it's hard to believe she shows such bloodlust in battles, I think before silently closing the door.
Deciding not to bother and wake my Servant yet, I go to the rooftop for my lunch break. There I meet a familiar twin-tailed girl—Rin Tohsaka . Resting her arms on the railing and looking at the landscape, she doesn't seem to notice me.
"Morning, Ritsuka," she says grumpily as I step closer. So, she had noticed me after all.
"Uhm, morning ? It's noon," I reminded her. She groans in response.
"I know ! But it's still too early for a day to start, if you ask me." I chuckle at her remark. Her sleeping habits remind me of Saber.
"Anything you want from me?" Rin turns to me, showing genuine concern. She knows that, besides her and Saber, there is no one at this school I could ever ask for help or support. I shake my head and explain to her that I came just to not disturb my Servant's sleep.
"That's so sweet of you," Rin smiles.
I blush slightly, "Not really… I just want her to get all the rest she needs. She works hard to make up for my incompetence, after all." The black-haired sighs, I'm sure it's because I seemingly take my lack of skill too lightly.
But apparently, that's not it.
"You are really scared of your first Elimination Battle, aren't you?" I nod weakly.
"It's not that I don't trust Saber. But I'm no good as a magus and I'm just starting to learn how to write my own CC's. Shinji is far ahead of me in all Master-related matters, so… I can't help but worry, really," I admit, honestly.
Rin seems to ponder whether to mention something or not. "Not in all aspects as Master," is all she says. I give her a questioning look. What could I be better at than Shinji, or any Master here, for that matter? "Your bond with your Servant is pretty strong already. It's more like you are friends, growing closer. That can't be denied and hardly happens between a Master and their Servant, especially in such a short time."
So, my friendship with Saber is not exactly normal, usually Masters don't treat their Servants equally it seems. But I'm happy I can call that girl my friend. "That's no way to compete with skill such as Shinji's, though," I say.
Rin shakes her head. "Actually, having such an affectionate and trusting base, it can compete with any skill level easily."
Now she got me intrigued. "How? Please, Rin, tell me," I beg her as I notice she hardly wants to talk more.
That's very understandable, as showing me a way to compete with actual skill could also be dangerous for her in the future. Rin blushes. "You… You have to get closer to your Servant," she explains and, noticing my dumbfounded expression, adds, "Physically, I mean."
I still have no idea what she is referring to. "But… She carried me on her back one time and I kind of hugged her once. Do you mean that?"
Rin's eyebrow twitches in irritation and her cheeks's reddish tone deepens. "How can you be this dense?!" I wince at her sudden outburst.
"I-I'm sorry! Can't you show me what you mean?" She looks like she is going to slap me for suggesting such a thing.
"…Fine," she says before turning around and order, "Leave! I don't need some perverted guy watching." I cock my head at her. What does she mean, perverted?
As soon as her Servant has apparently left, she turns to me again. "Give me your hands." Not sure what she was going to do, I hold my hands towards her. Reluctantly, Rin takes my hands, caressing the back of my hands with her thumbs softly. I can't help but have my cheeks heat up at this sweet sensation.
"You need to do things like this… Y-you know, affectionate things," she says, stuttering. While I'm still reflecting on what she means, suddenly, I feel her lips gently pressing on mine. My eyes widen in surprise, the seemingly perfect girl is so close to me.
Pressing up against me, I can't think about anything but, this feels nice. It's a warm kind of feeling, a safe kind of feeling, simply put, just really good. After merely short seconds, Rin distances herself from me, averting her gaze.
"Got it now?" Her question is barely more than a whisper.
"I-I think so," I say, flustered, though I don't really understand why this kind of contact embarrasses me so much—after all, Rin is not more than an opponent, maybe a friend.
"Then go already, geez! Shinji won't be wasting time like this, neither will other opponents. Get your ass into the Arena!" Rin tries to sound harsh but instead, especially with her deep red face, it's clear even to someone as oblivious as me that she's merely flustered.
I leave, going for the afternoon classes.
After a more than tiring school day, I'm happy I can head to my private room now, where Saber is still waiting, probably asleep. As I'm opening the door, I'm greeted by my Servant sitting up on her desk. "Yo, Master," she says drowsy. I can't help but smile at her attempt to have me believe she's actually been waiting for me, like a puppy.
"You just got up when you heard me coming in, didn't you?" Saber harrumphs in response but in the end admits to it. The thought was very sweet so I'm more than thankful for her attempt to make me feel more wanted. "Any news?"
As Saber asks that, I can't help but think about what Rin had told and showed me. "More or less," I say, getting a rather confused look from the blonde, "No news on informational stuff, neither about today's classes. But well… Uhm, if there happened to be a way to grow stronger… Would you do it? Even if it's kind of… embarrassing?"
The confusion of my partner doesn't decrease, if anything, it increases . "Depends on what exactly it is. Why?" I take a deep breath, mentally preparing myself for what I am going to suggest.
"Rin showed me a way to use our friendly relationship to improve the connection between us… By getting intimate. So," but Saber cuts me off, blushing furiously.
"W-what do you mean, intimate ?!" I scratch my cheek softly, growing nervous.
"Well, like embracing each other and… kissing," I murmur. Somehow, with Saber this kind of talk is much more embarrassing than it was with Rin earlier. Especially now that I know what Rin meant and also what it feels like to do this kind of thing.
The blonde seems to be lost in thoughts, her cheeks coloured light reddish still. "I suppose… We could try," she says, "But only before the Elimination Battle! Just to make sure I won't get badly hurt." Her eyes add I wouldn't lose either way. I nod at her, relaxed that this question is somewhat solved now.
"Now, let's head for the Arena," my Servant voices my plans, probably she also wants to distract from the earlier topic. As we reach the entrance, we are greeted by Shinji. I only manage to sigh, before he starts talking. "Seems you've been training seriously every day here, hm? Don't forget your protein shakes!"
I'm glad Saber is holding back from attack him now, physically, at least. "Yeah, we've been. Now move so we can prepare to kick your ass!" The blue-haired laughed.
"Oh, come on, I'm doing bottom feeders like Ritsuka a favour! I sealed the Arena, it's dangerous after all."
"How are we—" Shinji grins at my question before I can even finish it.
"Going in now? You gotta find the two magic sigils I've hidden in the school, loser! Have fun and good luck—you'll need it." After finishing his provocation, he steps into the Arena, laughing like a maniac.
"…I hate this guy." Saber agrees with me.
But there's no helping it, we have to find the sigils.
"Let's start at the library? A book seems a great hiding place for a sigil," I suggest and Saber agrees, despite her apparent frustration.
"Looking through so many books will be a pain…"
***
"Master, look at this!" I run towards my Servant who just called out for me, surrounded by piles of books. "Did you find a sigil?" Saber shakes her head.
"No, but the ship's name from the log was… Golden Hind ? It's mentioned in this book." She gives the book to me and I take a look at it.
"Originally called Pelican, a 16th century English galleon… Renamed to reflect the crest of its chief benefactor… raids against Spanish shipping interests," I read aloud, "The only really useful information is that it's from the 16th century, I guess. But it's something!"
However, we still have no clue on where both of the sigils are. After writing the newly acquired information into the Matrix, we leave the library and head downstairs. "Wait, what's this?" I ask, pointing at the door of the Nurse's office. Strangely glowing marks appear on it.
"There's mana emitting from it. Must be a sigil," Saber remarks, looking at me expectedly. After a short moment, she asks, "Don't you want to deactivate it, Master?" That's what she meant. I'd love to, but I really don't know how. Except…
I take out my terminal and start typing.
"What are you doing?" the blonde asks.
"Writing a Code Cast to deactivate it… at least trying to." Saber nods, accepting, yet in confusion. When I'm done, I kneel in front of the door, put my hands in front of the seal and run the program.
connect(MoonCell);
CONNECTION SUCCESS!
check(front);
SIGIL FOUND!
check(sigil[0][creator]);
CREATER OF SIGIL: SHINJI MATOU
disconnect_from(sigil[0]["SHINJI MATOU"], MoonCell);
DISCONNECT SUCCESSFUL. SIGIL DEACTIVATED.
disconnect(MoonCell);
The sigil disappears and Saber gives me a thumb up. "Nice work!" I nod at her but at the same time remind her there's one more sigil to find. Making our way through the school, the blonde suggests, "We haven't checked the classrooms yet, have we?" Thankfully there aren't much.
First, we head for my own. On the way, a white-haired, slightly tanned girl passes us, mumbling to herself. "I… I must find him. I must find the one my professor spoke of." I turn around but before I can take another look at her, she's gone.
"…Weird." My Servant agrees.
Finally reaching classroom 1-A, where I spend a lot of time, mostly before noon, we don't have to search for the sigil. "What kind of dumbass hides a seal on his own desk," Saber wonders, irritated. I can relate, but in the end, it saves us time. As last time, I proceed to remove this remaining seal as well.
connect(MoonCell);
CONNECTION SUCCESS!
check(front);
SIGIL FOUND!
check(sigil[1][creator]);
CREATER OF SIGIL: SHINJI MATOU
disconnect_from(sigil[1]["SHINJI MATOU"], MoonCell);
DISCONNECT SUCCESSFUL. SIGIL DEACTIVATED.
disconnect(MoonCell);
At last, we can now go into the Arena. Saber badly needs this, she seems still somewhat stressed out from our earlier conversation. Maybe I shouldn't have brought it up… It's weird, after all. Maybe it's going too far for friends, especially since we are supposed to be Master and Servant to begin with.
***
"Huh, they got here faster than expected."
"Got scared? Should I go and have that swordsgirl eat some bullets?"
"…Nah. Leave them be. Just means they didn't prepare so well."
"What a coward you are, Master."
"Shut up, Rider!"
Stepping into the Arena, I am on edge. It's another floor of the very same underwater spectacle that I came to love for its raw beauty. If not for this violence of a death match tied to it, I couldn't imagine a more calming surrounding. What keeps me from enjoying the view; besides my worries for my Servant; is that Shinji could be hiding behind any next corner.
Or he could have prepared traps. Anything is possible.
As much as Saber enjoys cutting through the big and strong Enemy Programs to hone her skill while making short process of the smaller ones, I know she feels the same. She as well cannot focus completely on the short battles she's fighting because, just like me, she's expecting a bullet or dirty trick from any possible and impossible direction at any second.
The whole mood makes this day in the Arena so much more tiring than even the short sparrings we already had with Shinji and his Servant before.
Finally, we found the next Cipher Key—Trigger Code Beta—the last thing we needed to qualify for the Elimination Battle. Holding my terminal up to it to save it, we are done here for today.
"We can leave now, right?" Saber asks in annoyance.
Not because of me, but because she'd been on edge as well and would just love to end this day for good. "Yes, nothing else to do here."
If we just had an actual bed in our room to rest tonight.
Leaving the Arena without any more of a hassle, Saber seems even more irritated than before. "That son of a… !" I look at her bewildered, I knew my Servant wasn't one to speak really formally but this amount of swearing is still a surprise.
"Calm down, Saber," I say, but I doubt it will do much.
"No, I will not 'calm down'! He is such a cocky little shit and then he ended up being too much of a coward to even show his face in front of us?! I'm gonna—" I stopped her small fit of rage by kissing her, just for a short second, but it helped.
Her face is flushed, she is visibly trying to comprehend what just happened. I am not so sure myself why I did this, it just seemed like the best idea to calm her down in this situation. After all, words are no help with her and she outpowers me easily. The awkward silence now makes me feel like it was a mistake, though.
Maybe I've gone too far? But then again, it's just a kiss. Rin kissed me much longer and I know her less than Saber. Yet, it feels… different. This kiss felt better than the one I shared with Rin, like sparks in my veins—but in a good way. A very good way.
I wonder, does my Servant feel the same? Or just any similar?
"Ritsu—" interrupted by a cough as to correct herself, "Fujimaru-san!" It's obviously Fujimura-sensei, but she is trying to sound like a really responsible, harsh teacher. "What you two did just now, uhm, it's wrong between two girls! If you want to improve your link, please do that privately!"
Saber averts her gaze and crosses her arms in front of her chest. Well, in fact, she did nothing, unlike me…
"Y-Yes, I'm sorry, Fujimura-sensei," I apologise, despite not really understanding why it's a problem. It wasn't something indecent, after all.
My Servant nudges my arm softly to get my attention, and that reminds me: This is the perfect opportunity to give my teacher the tangerine she asked us for! Using a short Code Cast, I get the digitally stored tangerine to materialise in my hands, before holding it towards her.
"Fujimura-sensei, here's the tangerine you asked us for." Her eyes are sparkling, like a little child's when you get them a new toy. She grabs it from my hand, "Oh, thank you two so much!"
Then, she runs off. "O-oi, what about—-" the blonde next to me speaks up.
"The bed? Oh, no worries! Just step into your room, it's flagged to appear right after you gave this to me," my teacher explains and I'm reminded she's just an NPC as well.
Of course. This isn't reality. There is furniture scripted into our room even though it doesn't show, and we can unlock it in one way or another—just like in a game. Maybe I should try tinkering with our room's code to unlock them earlier or mod it….
But, then again, if I mess up we might end up with explosives or inside a volcano. So rather not.
My Servant grabs my wrist and pulls me towards our room, overly excited to check out our new and for now only piece of furniture. I feel the same anticipation, this is just what I need to relax well at night. It's highly likely to work the same for Saber, and thus simply having a bed should improve our chances at the Elimination Battle.
When we step into the room, my Servant's cheeks appear to turn slightly red. "So, uh, she meant one bed for two people…?" I nod at her. I'm not sure what she expected, after all Fujimura-sensei had said she will give us one bed. And so she did.
"Yes, we'll have to share. Is that… a problem?" She shakes her head furiously, as to not have me think she'd despise me. Taking off the covers, we see my teacher even provided us with sleep wear—a red shirt with a yellow pattern that reminds of her chest piece and dark red shorts for Mordred and a long sleeve light brown nightgown for me.
"Huh… this makes up for it, I guess," Saber says, holding her new clothes. Before I could even answer, she's dematerialising her armour, if you may call it that, and slips into her pyjama replacement. Being a Servant comes with perks in the Moon Cell, I suppose, being able to dematerialise your armour just like this with no need to take it off yourself.
"You didn't have to go full nude to wear it," I chuckled at her. Maybe in her time underwear wasn't really a thing, maybe it's just her.
"Hm? What do you mean?" I take off my school uniform, making her see that usually girls wear a bra and panties underneath their clothes, then get into the soft, silky nightgown.
"Well," I explain to her, "You wear something under your usual battle wear, don't you? Like… panties or maybe a bra?" I am almost sure she doesn't wear a bra; if she did it would have been obvious due to the amount of skin her chest piece still shows.
"Panties? You mean, like the super short kind of pants you wear?" I stare at her in utter disbelief.
"D-don't tell me…" My face heats up at the thought.
Turns out, Saber is not just not wearing a bra, she also has no panties. Doesn't she ever worry with an unlucky gust of wind or some unfortunate movements her crotch might be seen? Doesn't it feel uncomfortable? Isn't she embarrassed?
I sigh, which seems to irritate her slightly. "Sorry, Saber. Let's talk this through tomorrow, okay? I'm pretty tired," I take her hand softly and pull her onto our queen-sized bed. Burying my face into the soft pillows, I know it won't take me so long to fall asleep.
"Goodnight, Saber."
"Goodnight, Master."
Tomorrow is the last day to prepare. But, for once, I'm not as scared or insecure anymore. I trust my Servant and her skill and I will do my best to support her in any way I can.
There's no way we would lose.
…
At least I hope so.