Emiya Household
Golden brown eyes fluttered open, fighting off the drowsiness and exhaustion of last night's activities. A groan escapes their lips before they find strength, pulling themselves up in a seated position.
Shirou Emiya turned his gaze around, he was in his shed, his workshop. He fell asleep while working on his craft, again.
"Aaah, Medea will kill me." He muttered, scratching his head in embarrassment towards his temporary guest.
Suddenly, the door to his shed opens.
"Senpai?" Sakura's purple head peeked through the opening, searching for the owner of the house.
"Sakura." Shirou called back, waving at the girl to enter freely with a carefree smile to hide the nervousness beneath.
Being friends with Shirou for a long time, Sakura can already see through the facade. With a giggle, she entered to deliver a killing blow to the boy's core.
"Senpai, Medea-chan asked me to wake you up. Breakfast is already ready." Upon the news, the redhead slumped in defeat.
Looks like he's getting an earful today.
"Senpai? Is this what you are working with?" Sakura suddenly asked, her eyes focused on the items laid on the floor haphazardly from last night's work.
Following her gaze, Shirou's eyes landed on two pairs of rings. Each one personally forged and crafted by him. Still, each one is still missing its main core.
A perfectly cut gem.
"You're still working on those. Didn't Medea-chan already tell you she's content with her current arrangements? She will be very cross with you again." Sakura pouted, making the boy flinch.
"I didn't overwork my circuits this time, I swear!" He raised his hands in surrender, "I just made sure to find the correct cut and output. These are still prototypes for Medea." He said.
Sakura hums, not convinced but his earnest efforts aren't something she can simply ignore. It's been a week since Medea, the caster servant of the Holy Grail War, entered their lives. Nothing more than a lost servant, who killed her master and simply surrendered her stake on the Holy Grail to fade away back to the throne. Then Shirou somehow came and changed her mind. Sakura hasn't a clue what happened but Medea had decided then and there to protect Shirou in the upcoming war.
Which is a relief for Sakura.
Unlike Shirou, whose knowledge of the said ritual came from nothing but words, she had far more intimate knowledge and experience. Knowledge that makes her feel dirty of knowing and experiences she would rather take to the grave.
The moment she learned about the unexpected early reenactment of the ritual, something that should take years, she was gripped by fear and worry.
Not for herself but for the boy she loved.
It's why despite her conflicted emotions, Sakura accepted Medea's company as the servant's loyalty is too much to Shirou despite not being her Master. Speaking of masters, Shirou did deny becoming the Servants master despite her loyalty and subservience, opting for mutual benefits of both parties.
Medea's freedom and her expertise in Magecraft.
On the subject of magecraft, it was Medea who revealed Sakura's deception on Shirou, outing the girl as a fellow Magus. The misunderstanding ended in a very long discussion and revelations. By the end of it, the bonds between the two were actually solidified even more.
Not to mention, Medea offered to be their mentor in Magecraft for the meantime while safeguarding both of them from the crossfire of the ritual.
"Alright, let me clean up first before breakfast." Shirou said as he stood up, stretching and returning some blood to numb limbs.
Sakura smiled before joining him as they left the shed together.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Twak!
"Aw! Medea!" Shirou whined, rubbing his head at the rather weak yet painful hit from the irate servant.
"Didn't I tell you not to overwork your circuits yet? You just had them for a week!" Said servant patronizes the boy, waving a staff and culprit to Shirou's new bump.
"I already did warn you, Senpai." Sakura chimed in, bringing some dishes to the table.
"I'm sorry, alright. I'm just excited to work on something." Shirou mumbled with embarrassment. Not because he got caught, he's not a child nor the experience of one, but because of the image of Medea who looked far younger than him with her short stature patronizing him. It's somewhat cute.
Bonk!
"Ugh!" Another hit to the nogging.
"You're thinking something rude aren't you?" Medea asked with scrutiny to which the boy shook his head vigorously in denial.
Thankfully, it was Sakura who saved him from more bruises and headache.
"Now, Medea-chan? Let's have breakfast for now. I think Senpai will be really happy once he tries my fried rice." Sakura said, grabbing Shirou's bowl and adding said meal. Shirou muttered a thanks, surprised at the sudden forwardness.
He didn't even notice the two girls sharing a look. Sparks flying between as Sakura smirks a little, making Medea narrow her eyes.
Time to take action before this one hogs it all!
"Here, have some eggs I made. Extra fluffy." Medea sweetly said, grabbing an egg roll with her chopsticks and placing it on Shirou's Fried Rice.
Medea then gave the other girl a smug look behind Shirou's back. How do you like them apples?
Sakura simply smiled innocently. Just because you made the dish doesn't mean it's filling. Mine is better!
Thus another silent war in the middle of breakfast was waved once more. A common occurrence since Medea came to their lives. To Sakura, her presence is both a blessing and curse. Blessing as the Caster servant is truly honest in her goal of keeping Shirou safe from the ongoing ritual. A curse as the servant took it as blessings to encroach Sakura's territory.
The kitchen aka her's and Senpai's shared kitchen!
She's not gonna let some old spirit from the ancient world take her only solace and chance with Senpai! Oh no, she's gonna fight for it! Bring it on!
Of course, Medea won't back down easily just because Sakura's first or something like that. It's her duty as servant (lover) to serve her host (True Master) with all her heart. Failing to do so is shameful to her oath and pledge.
Thus it has become a natural occurrence in the household to see these two always compete silently, unbeknownst to their prize, and try to outdo one another while still cooperating and coexisting.
A very strange yet somewhat better arrangement.
And so began their day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fuyuki Entertainment District
Luvia scrunched her nose as the smell of smoke and alcohol hit her. Truly, this place isn't somewhere she would like to visit nor grace with her own presence. It's still early in the morning yet this building's interior is dim and covered in neon lights. The echo of modern music reverberates in the background while foreign sounds and flashes of light flicker in and out of her peripherals.
She's in an arcade, whatever that is.
To the locals, she's way out of place. The foreign looks, the expensive dress and accessories and the way she walked. It all screamed rich, prim and proper. So why would such a fancy lady find herself in this kind of place full of childish entertainment and gambling.
The answer lies with another curious presence in the arcade. A short girl, probably in Middle school, dressed in rather revealing clothes. A thick half jacket that barely covers her flat chest, possibly not wearing a bra by bystanders estimate. A small booty shorts that fit snuggly on her, enhancing her ass of all things. Her most exotic appearance is her purple hair styled in a side ponytail, tied with a dice accessory of all things.
Currently, said girl is playing with a crane game and is trying to win all the prizes inside said game. A pile of plushies and boxes have formed beside her, as tall as her waist.
Seeing the girl, Luvia groaned even more.
"Please tell me you didn't steal anyone's money? I don't even remember giving you an allowance when you said you're taking a trip in town." Luvia approached her, pinching her nose at the inevitable answer she'll get.
"Nah, didn't steal it. Got it from some nice gentlemen in an alleyway." The girl answered, sticking her tongue in concentration as the claw descended to a figurine in a box.
Luvia deadpanned at the answer.
"Gentlemen? In an alleyway?" She asks, conflicted on not wanting to know and curious on what the hell did her servant stumble into again.
In the last time, her servant somehow managed to bed Lord El-Melloi but also the heir of the Archibald family in a freaking threesome.
Luvia is still paying for that stunt.
"Just some really cool guys I met. They said they got something cool in the alleyway so of course I followed them. Then they cornered me and tried to strip me down. Of course I didn't like that so I kicked the guys balls." Luvia winced, nobody wants that experience. Especially if said kick came from a servant.
"You should see it. He screamed without a sound, just collapsed screaming his lungs out but no sound coming out of his mouth! It's hilarious." The smaller girl laughs, accidentally messing up her concentration as the claw dropped the box. She produced a coin out of nowhere into her hand and fed it to the machine for another go.
"Then his friends didn't like that so I gave each one of them a punch to the dick." She continues, puffing up her non-existent chest in pride.
"...You punch them down there?" Luvia questioned, just to be sure.
Her servant frowned, giving her a look that says 'Are you fucking serious?'.
"Master, I'm like underboob level to you in height. Where the hell do you think I can aim my tiny fists?" Okay, now that's a valid explanation and Luvia blushed at the mistake. Sometimes she forgets how miniature her servant is, not that it stopped the tiny thing to give her headaches.
"Let's just go after you're done. Police are already questioning outside for a lost kid." Luvia urged the servant.
"I'm not a KID!!!"
"I know Caspar, you're just adorable."
"That's even worse, Master!" The servant whined.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fuyuki Hotel
A groan escaped Bazette's lips as she finally woke up from her sleep. A palm went up her throbbing head, a result of last night indulging Lancer's invitation for a drink after they arrived in the city last night.
A simple drink turned into a bottle and then she forgot. What the hell did that capricious woman do to her last night?
Then a pair of arms wrapped around her body that pulled her closer to another warm body. A very nude one.
Checking down there, yep. She's also nude.
"Goddamn it, Helsing." Bazette facepalms before hitting the sleeping servant's forehead.
"Aw!?" Lancer whined, nursing her forehead as she sat up, not minding her own nudity and exposing herself to her master.
Meanwhile, Bazette climbed off the bed to get medicine and maybe find her suit while at it.
"What did I tell you about trying to bed me?" She said, rummaging in the bathroom cabinets.
"Not to fuck you? But that's too boring. We're monster hunters. We need it!" Lancer whined, acting like a child for someone her age.
Bazette is already aware of this trait of hers. Van Helsing is typically a professional while on the field but indoors? The woman turns into a childish yet sisterly figure, always concerning herself about Bazette's lifestyle and current mental health.
Not like she needed it.
"You're my fricking teacher, act like it." She replies, finally finding some pills and drinking it with water.
"That's not what you said last night when I used the ruler." Lancer sang smugly, her smile growing wider as her master spits out the water by surprise.
"God, you got me that drunk last night?" Bazette asks in awe. What kind of kinky shit did they do last night? Looking at the room, everything is clear and nothing out of place.
"Would you like to know?" Bazette doesn't like that smile of hers.
"Okay, that's it. Nope, I'm out. We're ending this conversation. Let's focus on today's work."
"Aw no fun." Lancer blew air but relents. Bazette is right afterall, they are here for a war and that needs a lot of effort and work.
"Got your contact here?" The Helsing servant asks this time, summoning her usual suit and armaments hidden beneath.
Bazette looked at the damned servant with jealousy, if only she could suit up that easily.
Shaking her head, she replies to the servant, "Yes. Kotomine and I go way back and he is currently the mediator of the war. If there's someone who can give us info, it would be him. Also, we would officially register ourselves to the war too." She explained as she dressed up in her usual suit, finding the articles of clothing neatly arranged in the sofa.
Strange.
"Engagement?" Lancer asks, pulling out a knife and beginning to bless it with holy water in her stash. Not useful against fellow Heroic Spirits but those with Evil alignment? Might as well rub salt to the wound.
"No servants allowed in the church. You'll stay out while I engage with the priest." Bazette said, tightening her tie.
"Sounds risky." Van Helsing looked up from her work.
Bazette snorts, "It's a neutral ground with the mediator. There's no risk on me. You're still biased on the Church even while using their craft?"
Van Helsing scoffs back, "It's not biased when you have my experience. The church ALWAYS has an agenda of their own. So unless I meet the guy, he is on my stranger danger list."
Bazette can only shake her head at the reasoning.
Still, it does raise some risks. Like it's been years since she had met with Kotomine, last time he was just an executor of the Church and apprentice magus. She had lost contact with him since then when joined the previous Holy Grail War. She's not certain if it's the still stoic and strange priest she met years ago or if the Holy Grail War changed him.
"By the way, remember the park we passed by yesterday?" Lancer disturbed her thoughts out of the blue.
"Yes?"
"What do you think about why the Church hasn't purified the place? Damn place is a hotspot of evil and rot. Just staying a little longer on the damn place is enough to make you weak and lethargic by the curses in the damn place! Just another reason why I don't trust your guy!" Lancer points out.
It was something they passed by, the park. On the outside, it was pristine and beautiful because the work of the city did to cover the disaster that happened years ago. But deep beneath, is the smell of rot, decay and malignant curses seeping on the ground. Van Helsing has trained her to be sensitive and able to detect curses and other hazardous magics. When she sensed the park, it was like standing before a corpse pile after cleaning up a Dead Apostle den.
It was downright disgusting.
So why didn't the church purify it? She knew Kotomine ain't that complacent nor incapable of purifying such curses. So why?
"I don't know." Bazette admits with a frown, "But I would like to find out myself to the source."
"... I'll join you inside, no buts. I'm also part of the Church, remember?" Van Helsing smirks at the bold faced lie, dangling a silver dagger which is shaped like a crucifix.
"Ugh, you better behave then."
"No promises."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All pieces are now set.
The wheels of fate begin to roll...
The Holy Grail is about to begin!