Elimination Battle
I have not really slept well, again. It has been a while since such a situation occurred, but here I am. I simply dread talking to Rin. In hindsight, rejecting the threesome right away would have been more sensible than running off crying. I am more than thankful that Saber came after me, though. But, I am sure, had it happened the other way around, I would have followed her as well.
This is just the kind of relationship we have—no matter what, we would care about and support each other.
I get to Rin's door, and knock. I do not really want to procrastinate this as much as the last time, I fear it would only make things worse. I have muster up all the courage I possibly can, but it will be worth it. There is no answer to my knocking, though. What should I do now? Try again later? There may not be a "later".
I decided to just try opening the door—after all, if Rin really wanted peace, she could lock her door. Turns out, she has not done so. When I step in, I can see her still in bed, tapping around on her terminal. The dark bags under her eyes tell that she has not really slept tonight.
"I am sorry for running off like that, yesterday," I say as I bow down slightly. I really feel bad about it. Not as bad as I felt yesterday and I still cannot help but feel somewhat angry and hurt looking at Rin, but I need to learn to swallow those feelings. If Saber can, then so can I. Especially because I should not have to worry about Saber's loyalty. It meant nothing.
"No, it's… not your fault. It's mine. I shouldn't have suggested that," Rin gives in, though she averts my gaze. I do the same, though, trying not to meet her eyes.
"I could have refused. I was… stupid. And selfish," I say. And I know it is true. The only reason why this has not worked out is because I felt so hurt, jealous and insecure upon seeing them kiss. If not for that, we would have had a threesome and Saber would have gotten such a boost that there would be no reason to worry about the battle later.
"You? Selfish?" Rin meets my eyes, visibly shocked about what I said. "You're way too self less ! I was selfish. I didn't suggest it for what I said… for the most part. I just…" Rin does not need to finish this sentence, I do understand her intention. I sigh, then take a deep breath.
"Still, I should have refused but… I am doing this now. Okay?" Rin nods at me, understanding.
"I'm sorry. It won't happen again," promises Rin. I accept her apology and leave her room, giving her space.
I do hope she keeps her promise, because I cannot really stand up for her against Saber in any form of fight if she cannot treat me as just a friend. We will never be more, so I sure hope she finally accepts that.
When my eyes wander to the bed, I find Saber is already awake.
"Ready to go?" I ask her, and with a swift motion she jumps up, materialising her armour, but leaving out the helmet.
"Anytime. Don't you want to repair your jacket?" Saber points at the black sweater I am still wearing as the only thing covering my torso, over a bra, of course. She was the one to rip my uniform's jacket, though.
"There is not so much time left. I am fine like this," I smile at her. Also, what I would prefer not to admit, I do not want to have a perfectly fine jacket. The shredded remainders of mine will always remind me of Saber's built up anger, when I leave her jealous for too long. I would like anything that reminds me of Saber.
In the elevator, Rani and her Berserker, Lü Bu Fengxian, are already waiting for us.
"I see you have come early?" I try to strike up a conversation with this mysterious girl, who may as well be nuts judging from the last time I talked to her.
"Of course. I do not particularly enjoy losing time," she says nonchalantly. Great. She plans to kill us off in a single strike, I think.
"Then, let's just not," says Saber irritated. She seems to have taken offense, but of course. She hates losing so the thought of anyone thinking they could beat her within mere seconds would majorly anger her.
When we step out of the elevator, Saber readies her stance. Now, in the Coliseum, the battle could start anytime, but charging in would be a bad idea. We will wait until Lü Bu strikes, dodge and when he shows an opening attack. Fast. Saber's speed is probably our only advantage.
But, Lü Bu does not move from his spot. Saber seems tense, but very attentive. She would notice any small movement of his to react accordingly.
"Allow me one question—What do you fight for? Why do you want to win?" Rani surprised me with the question, and even Saber glances back at me. Of course, she would wonder about this as well. When we first met, I could not have told her of any reason to fight, but I think I have found one yet.
"I want to be with and protect the ones I love. I may not be able to do much… But I just cannot allow myself to give up, I want to live. I want to live with Saber," I tell her. And this is how I really feel.
I suppose most Masters have a very important wish to them, one that is worth risking their life for. Me wanting to "live" and risking my life for that seems a bit paradoxical in comparison.
"But, you will not live. You cannot. You know this, do you not? Out of the Moon Cell, you are as good as dead. What would your wish even be, if you could name one?"
I swallow hard. Yes, I… feared this would be the case. I may not be able to return to the real world, but I am sure there is a solution. Just any solution to allow my wish.
"I want to keep going, I want a peaceful life for Saber. And I want to be there to share it," I say. Yes, if I have to name a wish, that would be it. What I know about Saber's life as Mordred does not sound nice. I want her to have a normal life, one without battles, death and rebellion. Just a normal life, one I have lead before this war.
And, if it is not asking for too much, I would love to be there to share this time with Saber. This happiness is all I want.
"Also, I want to save Rin," I add. I do not want her to die, of course… even though I cannot really imagine how I could fit her into my wishful thinking of my life with Saber, I cannot abandon her either. She is my friend, after all.
"Interesting," comments Rani.
"Are you done already?! Come at me!" Saber grows impatient. From behind her, I can only see that her ears have reddened, so she must be blushing. Maybe what I said was a bit too much for her? We never really talked about what I would wish for, should we win. Maybe Saber even disagrees, but we will talk about this later.
"We are," says Rani, taking out her terminal, seemingly texting someone or at least typing a lot, really fast. "But, there will be no battle. He told me not to fight you, I was to study you. After all…"
Rani casts a Code Cast, similar to the one she used with Rin, though the barrier is forming already between us, despite the fact that we have not laid a finger on her, neither the other way around. Rani smiles at us, though she seems sad.
"After all, you are his Soul. "
And with that, an explosion engulfs her.