The journey was considerably longer than she had planned for... the Church's knowledge had been embarrassingly out of date, and after summoning having to cross the breadth of Japan, from Kyushu to Honshu. Oh, it wasn't the largest internal journey, but it was certainly one that assiduously avoided ending up in major population centres for long. The funds she had for this journey had become even more depleted than she thought...

Though nobody could be to blame but the nun herself, of course. There had been no need to pay the fare for two people, with a Servant able to occupy a spiritual form for the entire journey if they chose, but would that not be wrong? There were two of them travelling after all. And if Lancer had decided to manifest this would have been quite the problem.

Now... now she had to fight, and find out if this was THE holy grail. It probably wasn't, but nonetheless... at least she might have some small advantage in this war? Her Servant might not have been the most powerful of Heroic Spirits but this was Japan, which might just tip the scales in their direction.

Looking out of her hotel room--and at least this small town had enough tourism for that to be relevant--at the afternoon sun, Frederika thought the scenery was quite beautiful. If only they could talk this out rather than fight.

---

Elsewhere, in a house of little interest, a delicate lady was sat and putting the finishing touches on her calligraphy. "I hope that your preparations are complete, conjuror. Communications with the outside should soon be delayed, and with that tunnel closed... nobody will be able to quickly leave."

"I assure you, ojou-sama, my preparations have gone off without a hitch."

This was truly an opportunity to be valued. To have a chance to walk this world again... not only for its own sake, but indeed to see those who had shared his time among the living once more.

That would truly be a delight, wouldn't it?

The black-haired young man smirked as he bowed.

"With me by your side, you're going to find nothing but success."

He straightened, slowly.

"Now, if you'll excuse me... I have some observation to do."

With that, the Caster-class Servant turned on his heel. Yes indeed... he had quite a bit of observation he wanted to do. As he walked, his body changed, clothing dissipating into black mist and reforming in a different state... by the time the Caster had reached the doorway, a young teenaged girl with casual clothing stood in his place.

"Bye-bye, ojou-sama~!" she declared, still smirking, before departing.

@Raineh Daze

---

The sky was red.

Everything else was cast in black, save for the crimson flowers blooming around the rather stately mansion. There were some who had seen this place, when its owner was feeling particularly bored. When they were able to leave, they simply added to the mystery, and the fear, surrounding the legendary Higanbana Shoujo.

She found it all rather amusing.

Sekiguchi Akane delighted in fostering the fearful narrative that surrounded her. The local people, even those who had never seen her before, often came to believe in the stories of 'Higanbana Shoujo', the legendary spirit said to inhabit the land. Of course, it was true. At least insofar as her presence was concerned.

But there was something new and exciting coming to this town. Not that Akane would simply forget about how much she enjoyed teasing the locals, but this was something new altogether.

The Holy Grail War.

How could she pass up such an opportunity? Even if she had no particular goal in mind, to participate simply for the novelty of it was enough of a reason for her.

The small girl, clad in a crimson kimono, brushed her silky black hair back as she approached the main doorway to her mansion.

Perhaps there would even be opponents interesting enough to bother killing...

"Caster, are you ready to go?"

@KoL

Even by the strange standards of magical workshops the Angelozzis' was really something else. They had rented out an old wooden house near the edge of town, creaky yet spacious, and had immediately set about dividing it up between them.

Thing was, where most brother-sister pairs would have drawn a line on the floor and called it good, the twins had quibbled and squabbled over every inch of space, divvying it up according to some arcane agreement that only they seemed to fully understand. A single room could be divided into no less than five or six separate areas, half of which would be neat and tidy with elegant diagrams and symbols drawn in tastefully simple fashion and stacks of books or crystals tucked carefully away in the corner, and the other half of which would be an anarchic mess of discarded materials and half-finished spells, tomes lying open alongside unwashed items of Karizma's clothing. To make matters worse, the divisions were enforced by a myriad mess of Bounded Fields, cleanly cutting each mage's slices of space off from their sibling's. It was like someone had shattered two workshops into a hundred shards each and then jumbled them together without any regard whatsoever for the overall structure.

And yet somehow, it worked. For anyone else it would have seemed a mad labyrinth, but the twins moved through their divided space with a familiar ease, even popping into each other's workshop fragments at times to steal certain items or texts. The whole place hummed with power, each mage's workings seeming to feed off the other's but not a whit of it leaked outside the perimeter. The outermost layers of their Bounded Fields were a work of art, combining the quirks of each twin's methods and forging them into a whole far stronger than the sum of its parts.

That didn't mean they always got along, though.

"I'm telling you, that's not a viable strategy!"

"Your face isn't a viable strategy!"

"That's really not what's at issue here..." Sighing, Costante turned to their shared Servant. "Archer, I'm right, aren't I? In a many-sided war, it's best to hand back at first and let our opponents take care of each other. With your ranged fighting style, we can easily avoid risky conflicts. If we can pick off targets from afar without them striking back, then all the better."

"Archer's a samurai, silly." Karizma grinned. "A cowardly strategy like that wouldn't be honorable at all! And besides, victory goes to the daring and the strong, not the ones who slink on the sidelines waiting for things to magically go their way. We should carpe diem the shit out of this and go take some famous names while the getting's good."

Costante let out a huff of disapproval. "You're so reckless..."

Karizma stuck her tongue out. "Better than gutless."

"You'll end up literally gutless if you're not careful out there."

"I'll be fine! I have a literal legendary hero on my side!"

"So does everyone else in this war!

"Well, yeah, but they don't have you serving as their mana tank. I mean, come on: between the three of us, we're unbeatable!"

At an impasse, they glared at one another for a moment, before both turning to Archer at the exact same time.

"My plan is—"

"—totally better, right?"

---

With a small click, a pop and a fizzling of an opened can of some branded soda, Akari would open up the hatch and down it in short but frequent gulps. Her right hand raised up in a 'one-moment please' type of posture, three red Tomoe now on the back of that non-dominant hand. She needed to take a short moment to process this. Considering less then a few minutes ago she had fallen over in surprise from the sudden appearance of a woman in get-up completely flubbing any sense of 'decency' or 'class' the summoning ritual could have had.

She'd take the small moment of downing this Soda to reflect on what had happened today. She had woken up. She had received her paycheck. She had brought the animal blood from the butcher and some meat for her pet cat Tomoe. She had come here with the book and had set everything up trying it completely out of curiosity and out of the fun of trying stuff in old dusty books. Problem was that it worked.

"Ah." She said with relish as she finished drinking the Soda. "I don't know if you'd like this brand, but here feel free to have one Miss!." She said gently rolling along a branded can to admittedly cool-looking woman opposite her whom would have to deal with Tomoe, her pet cat brushing against their leg. A friendly smile on her face as she continued. "Sorry about falling square on my butt when you... I suppose manifested? Its not every day I see mysticism." She said honestly. The last time she had seen anything supernatural in the flesh was like years ago. So it wasn't a lie at all.

"But regardless of that." She laughed with a hint of embarrassment, a hand behind her head. "Why don't we introduce each other more yeah? I'm Akari Matsusuke, None of that calling me master stuff or whatever." She said standing up and holding out a hand. "So what's your name? I don't think Berserker is your actual name"

"It's not..." The curvaceous warrior looked faintly embarrassed at the word 'Berserker.' "I should be a Saber," she told Akari, "If I'm summoned like this... Then..." Trailing off, she stared down morosely at the can of soda clutched in her hands. For a moment, it seemed like she might burst into tears.

Why Berserker? Why had she been forced into a Class so deeply tied to rage and madness? The difference seemed negligible at first; her thoughts and speech rang clear and true as they ever had in life. Yet she was deeply aware of what lurked inside her, the demon hiding just beneath her skin. If her Class were to somehow weaken her hold over that, then... The consequences hardly bore thinking about.

On the other hand, she had a Master now, a sweet little girl who clearly didn't have the slightest idea what she had gotten herself into. Even if she'd been able to perform a summoning, this person was no great Onmyoji, and had no means of defending herself against the many enemies who would doubtless appear in this War. In short, this Master was relying on her. And no matter her personal feelings, no matter how dangerous she knew herself to be, the one thing she couldn't bear above all else would be to see this child suffer.

Sniffling a little, the Servant pulled herself together and rose to her feet, before taking a graceful bow. "Forgive me." She would take care of this girl. Even if she had to fight against herself to do so, she would protect her Master to the end.

Slowly, she straightened, taking Akari's hand in her own and meeting her eyes with a warm, gentle gaze. "I am Minamoto no Raikou, Oni slayer of the Heian Era. Her cheeks flushed a little. I... may not be the best woman to stand by your side in this situation, but I hope that you can still accept me as your Servant."

---

He was not the kind of person to just back down over a challenge that lied before him, but even he had to admit that his master situation was not one he envied either. He'd almost expected a single master to be before him, perhaps some kind of magus who just wanted to get their hands on the Grail's wish for one reason or other, but more surprising was the two faces that had met him instead. Two constantly bickering and divergent faces in regards to each other, but two faces all the same. It was commendable that they had been able to divide the burden of mastering a servant, but the Archer had soon found out very fast that this came at its own price when the one supplying your mana and the one bearing the Command Seals differed about how to go about things. It reminded him of a certain council of a formerly human "Great Disaster of Japan" who had bickered amongst themselves and cast aside any thought of a unified front beyond sitting in their little fort...and look at how that had turned out for everyone as a result.

Regardless of those more vague reminders of the past, however, the heroic spirit had felt a certain kinship with both of his masters thus far. The more thoughtful Constante, a boy who had a good heart and a real confidence problem and frankly a lack of social aptitude and bravery despite his gifts. Then there was the loud and proud Karizma, who seemed to remind him more of himself in her bravery and charging forward...but also in other particular ways he didn't like. A mixed-bag situation, as the modern term went, and even as they'd arrived in this more relaxed area of Japan and set up the sheer amount of noise kept rolling along in turn. Even he'd hoped they'd take a second to breathe before tearing into each other at least...but hey, family was family as well. He could recognize even that much and take notes from his own life.

Not that he hoped these two would turn out like his family did anyways. Was not a very good situation at all there. But if the worst came to worst, he could hang in there for a week tops without them.

At the behest of his two masters, however, the formerly-relaxing Archer swung his legs over and swiftly stood up from where he'd been lying on a nearby couch faster than a normal human could manage. Putting his hands on his hips and asserting his size, the rather tall and large man of a servant looked over the two with a slightly tired eye before he finally spoke up.

"Look, both of you have some valid points and you need to learn to accept that if you want to survive this conflict," Tametomo said, rubbing the back of his head with one lax hand before putting it back on his hip again, "Constante, you are right in that picking them off and not rushing in is a good idea.

But if we sit about here, then frankly we get nothing done and are a big target for anyone that wants to take out the obvious threat someone like me poses. Likewise, if any alliances form we get left out of the talking and could get ganged up on among other things. Failing to act is one thing we need to avoid."

The Archer then looked to the female twin in turn.

"Karizma, you're right in that getting out there and involved gives us a good chance to strike or make deals while things are still very new. Gives us a chance to see the layout of things and really get hands-on with this before people start gaining ground in one way or another. If we don't 'get the ball rolling' then we risk falling behind or otherwise, meeting the other competitors or fighting them and otherwise.

But if we just charge out there and start shooting at people, then we will die. If we had the right situation sure, I mean, it'd work. Blindly doing that off the cuff is another thing entirely, though, and your brother is right about that much."

Tametomo let out a long, drawn sigh that seemed to hang in the air.

"So here's what we're doing. Karizma and I can go out there, play her off as if she's my only master and give us that much to work with here. See if we can find anyone to shoot, or talk, to while we're out there. See if we find any bases or workshops out there.

Constante, you hang back here and keep hidden. Maybe get some familiars out there or something, or whatever mages tend to do while they sit back in their workshops? While we take the public front out there you can get us eyes out there and shore our defenses up.

Then we come back by the end of the night, and see where we go from there. Ok?"

As much as he wanted to shout something far more simple at them other than doing this, simply to get his point and intention across just how he liked it, at the same time he felt responsible for these two somewhat. If they died on his watch, that was in part connected to him and...well, he'd seen one master he served fail and eventually die to come back and curse the entire nation. It was almost like he could feel the former emperor's lingering curse on the land, frankly, but perhaps he was overthinking it. These two were children, running headlong into something they were not guaranteed to survive or get out of. He could handle an island of oni and make it is own, but these two gave his patience a run for its money already.

"Do I make myself clear?"

Who knew, maybe he'd get to meet his nephew in this war! Never got to see the kid in life anyways, so why not now on the field of battle? It wasn't a guaranteed chance, but it was something to look forward to and keep his mind off of this clatter.

@Anza

---

The young girl gave a twirl of her loaded Tanegashima in her hand as she walked around the workshop she'd completed in the samurai-compound-like hoome she had acquired for this war. Of course these 'distant relatives' were out of the country on a holiday, rather than stick around here for this, but she didn't mind one bit! Or perhaps they were a small family who had moved onto a distant hill in this rural area for peace...only to be sent off by simple magecraft to forget this all and her as they took up a long and coerced vacation in the USA for a week. Either way, it was something that the young mage felt would fit her and her servant's situation perfectly! They had a spot located a bit out of town, but close enough to be able to travel there safely and casually unless enemies came out here to get them. It also somewhat reminded her of home to boot, and given her time to set up her things and get ready for the first night.

Maybe her servant could set up here as well, if he wanted to.

"Rider, what do you think would be a good idea for tonight?" she called out into the house, her voice ringing through the otherwise silent sliding doors and paper walls, "I was thinking we could take to the town, see if anyone wants to talk or get shot in the face. But I don't wanna' be rude, and we do need to give this some thought anywho~!"

Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a truly legendary figure in Japan's history who had a rather interesting nature about him. He also had a wife that spent him into ruin, but that was another matter entirely. As much as she trusted his judgement and skill, she also knew he had to 'get going' for his true power to shine here as a servant. A mixed-bag that was what it was, she was glad to have summoned him all the same. Perhaps she would survive through this conflict, as her and her family hoped. Though on that more serious note she was inclined to worry at least a little bit internally over it all.

@1Charak2

An uncommon melody, perhaps not in its origins, but certainly in its methodic execution, was carried by the wind that blew through an otherwise unremarkable piece of the Japanese countryside. Its source was none other than a musician who normally would have nothing to do with a settlement that lacked even a proper theater, much less a concert hall befitting of one of her skills.

However, Subaru's reason to be here could not be further from her usual reasons to go anywhere else.

"The Holy Grail War... to think that I would end up tangled in this. I would rather not tarnish my hands with blood. That's not what my music is made for, but I suppose it's out of the question now, huh?" she said, her introspective tone not making it clear whether she spoke to herself or to her Servant who should be around her somewhere.

At least Subaru could use her funds to secure an old, Western-style mansion that was fitting of her necessities even though it wasn't built in a particularly magic-privileged land.

As soon as she hit the final chord, Subaru took a deep breath and placed her instrument back in its case. "We are leaving, Saber. I want to get an idea of the lay of the land before we get ourselves in any skirmishes. If you have any other ideas, let me know."

A blood-red sunset, in a field of equally crimson-colored spider lilies. The only thing missing to make this a scene out of some ancient folktales was the grim visage of a murder of crows cawing in the distance. But not for too long as Caster was more than willing to provide that last piece of theatrics, being the chief of the mountain's crows had its advantages, after all.

"I was waiting for you, Master," Caster said. Her voice reached her Master crisp and clear even though the youkai was dangling at her perch, in a branch of a nearby willow tree, hidden by the creeping ominous darkness. "I want to go around and take a look if there's a good shrine around here where I can set up shop. It would be a waste to do it here and drag people to your doorstep," she added.

"You can lead the way. Don't worry, I'll make sure no one gets the jump on us."

---

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

Haru Imamura needed to breathe. Flashbacks spiraled in her head. An uncomfortable yet familiar feeling pounded in her head, thus coiling around her throat as if it were a threat to choke her out. Even now, she... couldn't escape this life, could she?

It's happening again.

Breathe and recount the steps that led up to this point. She had to accept this as it is now, so knowing what was going on was practically a matter of life or death.

Haru woke up in the morning to go through the usual routine before work at the nearby hospital. Everything was like she expected, tending to patients left and right. Then the first of the many unexpected events happened. A stinging pain stung the back of her left hand, but it was brief. Fellow nurses told her that she was bruised badly from the looks of it, and that resulted with Haru being let off early for the day to rest her bruise. She didn't want to, but she could admit that the bruise was bothersome. She couldn't burden herself while at her job, so she did what she was told.

So right as lunch break would roll over, she returned home, and soon found herself cleaning out her humble house out of the feverish need to do something. Old boxes and such being arranged in the back storage. This house needed a lot of work, it was originally her aunt's before she chose to move here. Some boxes in the storage room contained possessions that were long forgotten about, loosely reminding Haru of her old life. After some time, it was obvious that this room served as a workshop of sorts, which explained such things being left here and this marking on the floor.

She figured to call her aunt to pick up these belongings, since Haru saw no use for them. Then everything changed. She couldn't tell or describe the process, but obviously a person that shouldn't have been in the room with her was there now.

This was only the first step before being fully sucked into the situation called the Holy Grail War. The bruise on her hand was actually a set of Command Spells, which marks me a participating Master of this Grail War. This other person was called a Servant of the Archer class. There were numerous other Masters and Servants involved with this.

So now as the afternoon is inching to the later stages of the day from the looks of it, Haru pulled herself a chair after she took this all in, taking another breath to situate herself. She couldn't just awkwardly stay silent after Archer had told her these things to catch her up...

"So... I-I take it that I can't back out without being targeted regardless, huh? That this entire village is going to get involved no matter what too... because I'm not the only one with these Command Spells... am I right, uh, Archer?"

@Raineh Daze

“When it comes to fighting, ‘walking away’ is always an option.” Whether the words were meant for him or not, Saber heard them. Ever since being summoned he had not strayed far from his ‘Master’, even if she herself hadn’t noticed it. Though it had been years since he had served under anyone, as a samurai or otherwise, he still remembered that sense of duty and responsibility; as the one who had summoned him it was his job to guard and protect Subaru. “If you don’t want to bloody your hands then don’t; it’s as simple as that. Just walk away.”

Everybody had their reasons to fight, the young musician included, but that didn’t always mean they were prepared for it. Saber himself had grown past the need to fight long ago and had adopted a more pacifistic approach, yet nonetheless he found himself on the battlefield again with a goal in mind.

He entered the room that Subaru had been playing music in a moment ago, waiting as the musician put her instrument away. “There are always alternatives to fighting, but this is a war we’re talking about; once you make the decision to stay it’ll be harder to back out later if you change your mind. If you continue down this path then you won’t be clean by the end of this; blood will be shed whether you like it or not. But, as your sword, I can at least take the burden of killing onto myself. If that’s what you want.”

@KoL

"It can't be helped," the Archer said with a grin, folding her arms. It was good for her Master to get on board with everything so quickly; it simply wouldn't do to waste time persuading her to get on board when there was reconnaissance to be done and enemies to assess. Who knew if any of the other famous warlords had shown up? It wouldn't do to let them get an advantage in building an army if the war headed in that direction. "The only way out for you is if someone kills you and I find another Master, so we have to stick together until this all ends."

Still, looking more serious, the Archer couldn't avoid letting out a disappointed huff, "It's a shame that it has to be happening out here. I would have liked to see how much all of Japan has changed since the Sengoku Jidai, not in a town that has barely changed since the province was renamed."

"The first thing we have to do, Master, is look around. There can be no strategy without knowledge of the land."

The twin Masters both listened attentively to Archer’s advice, Costante standing still and calmly taking notes while Karizma shifted her weight impatiently from one foot to the other. When their Servant had finished talking, they instantly looked towards one another, unspoken thoughts passing between them in a flash as their eyes met.

He makes good points.

And he does know what he’s doing!

Then I can trust him to take care of you.

And I can trust you to watch our backs.

They both smiled, and then without any sign or signal nodded to Archer in perfect synchrony.

“Clear as crystal!”

“Clear as day!”

It wasn’t any magecraft or telepathy that allowed them to communicate so quickly, but simply years of experience, a fraternal bond tested and strengthened by time and external forces. When it came to their feelings, each could read the other at a glance, and reach an agreement without so much as a whisper spoken aloud.

Specifics, however, still needed to conveyed the old-fashioned way. “In the interest of caution, I’ll keep my surveillance focused around the two of you for the most part,” Costante said, already heading for the stairs. “Archer, make sure to relay the position of anything you see back to me; I’ll do likewise if I spot anything with my telescopes.” His talent hadn’t been hailed by the Clock Tower for nothing; there was plenty he could do to support them from here.

“Right then!” Karizma skipped her way over to Archer’s side, bowing to him with a girlish giggle. “I’ll be in your care, Senpai. Isn’t that how they say it here?” She winked as she stood up, ignoring the bright red flush on her brother’s cheeks across the room. “Let’s go poke around and see what we can find… Maybe Nobunaga’ll show up! Or Miyamoto Moosashi!” It’d be tempting to try and kill them if they did, but she reminded herself that this was only the first night of a potentially weeks-long event. This would be like the teaser, getting a taste of their opposition so that they’d be ready to go all-out when the time really came.

Assuming Archer had no further comments to share, Costante would quietly disappear off to the upper floors while Karizma threw on a coat and led the way out the door, chattering happily about all the Japanese figures she’d heard about in popular culture. “You think you can beat a ninja? Because I just bet there’ll be ninjas…”

"I am quite happy to hear that," Akane began, "I place my faith in you, Caster."

Akane smiled. Ah, this was really the perfect acquisition for her, the perfect Servant to summon. She was certain her time during this Holy Grail War would not be dull at all.

As she proceeded out of her mansion, the doors slide open under their own power the moment she approached. Softly, silently, she walked down a path through the field of higanbana.

All that could be heard was the faint sound of the wind, and of cicadas chirping. Crows calling. It was just how Akane desired it, in all honestly. Anyone who wandered into this place would think they had passed into some kind of boundary between the mortal world and the underworld.

In a way, perhaps that was not an entirely inaccurate way of considering it.

As Akane reached the edge of her territory, the air seemed to ripple. She exited her bounded field, from the outside seeming to simply fade into existence.

Here, it appeared to be nothing more then a clearing in the forest. Though... it was notable that there were still several clumps of higanbana, sprouting here and there...

"If it is a shrine you want, I know just the place," Akane continued as she proceeded out of the clearing, "Fufu, I wonder if there will be anyone nearby? Perhaps, if there is, a little light entertainment could be in order..."

It wouldn't be the first time she'd used the shrine's surroundings to play a little game with some of the locals, or tourists. Tourists tended not to believe in her, which made catching a glimpse all the more entertaining.

@KoL

So far this war had not lived up to Thomas’ expectations, but he was having a thoroughly enjoyable time nonetheless. The battleground was decidedly more… rural than he had anticipated for one, but at least he wouldn’t have to worry too much about collateral damage when there was so little collateral to damage in the first place. Before departing he had ensured that he still had access to ample funding so that he might secure whatever resources he needed, even after cutting ties with his old compatriots, but it seemed that such measures were unnecessary; he could probably buy this entire town if he wanted to by the looks of it. Instead he had opted for purchasing a small dwelling on the outskirts of town, a little run down but suitable enough for his needs, before spending the better part of a day securing it with a complex array of bounded fields and other apotropaic methods.

His Servant too, was a surprise. The catalyst he had ‘borrowed’ from the Order had proven to be less effective than he had hoped; instead of summoning a fabled hero from Britain’s distant past he had summoned, well, her. How effective she would be in this war would remain to be seen, but his first impression was not a hopefully one; she was not a warrior or a witch or anything of the sort, just a young woman who fell to madness after her love was rejected. Being allied to such a character in a war like this seemed more likely to cause him harm than his enemies.

“Berserker.” Still, he intended to see this through one way or another. At the very least he could see who his foes were before deciding what course of action to take. “What do you say we take a walk around town? See what we can find,hmm?”

@Gummi Bunnies

---

Right. Of course. As long as she's been branded as one of the Grail War's Masters, there wasn't an easy way out of this besides death. However, if she wasn't given these Command Spells... who knows what else could happen to this village she's planned to start her new life at? Silently acknowledging Archer's words, Haru wasn't sure what exactly decided the fact that she would get a Servant of this caliber. She wasn't that experienced as a mage, and she couldn't muster it up as pure dumb luck.

No, she couldn't waste time in her thoughts needlessly. It didn't feel right for her to hide away and turn a blind eye to this widespread battle composing of different Masters and their Servants. It wouldn't be long for the sun to set, and the night's shade was practically cover enough for any other mage to set up something...

"... Okay, yeah... let's look around. I'm at least familiar with the area, but under this new circumstance... well, I'll have to get used to it, I guess." Haru agreed with that plan of action. She had her routine of a simple walk around town to unwind from any form of stressors, but now it has an added factor of keeping an eye out for anything remotely off. Though, a random thought poked her at what felt like a last second reminder as she got up to put her coat on.

Oh, she overlooked that, didn't she?

"Wait, wouldn't the other Masters be doing this too? The scouting around part, I mean. Is there a way that you can... erm, hide yourself?"

@Raineh Daze

---

---

---

This was fated to be. Being summoned by someone who had relations to Anchin. Kiyohime was extremely certain on that. There was no convincing her otherwise. Her word was the truth to her, despite how delusional it came off to be. If he were to prosper in this Grail War, she saw no problem with burning away the competition. They were only obstacles, and she was more than ready to be rid of them.

Yet, her Master proposed a different approach, but she saw no problem with it

"If you suggest so, my Master, I shall walk by your side in stride. Always. I won't let anyone ambush you. Ever." The fair maiden smiled happily. Whatever Thomas suggested, she would agree with all her heart. A late evening to night stroll with her beloved. How could she ever deny this? Just about anything, she would find herself doing for his sake, even if it were to mean her end.

As long as he never told a single lie to her.

@King Cosmos

---

Akari would blink again. Yeah, She would never get used to the fact that someone was bowing to her. Right. She would shake her head for a moment, not at the fact her 'servant' had declared loyalty to her but at the idea of having to respond as anyone that would own a servant. Instead responding in a very Akari way. "Hey! don't worry! I don't mind if your not a Saber? You still have a really cool sword, so what does that matter and if you are who you say you are, such things like that shouldn't matter right, your strong miss!" It was a very innocent response from a girl who didn't really know the danger of her situation, it was also slightly rushed in speech, as if having her hand grasped so suddenly by a stranger had caused her to act in reflex.

Indeed. She didn't know how to respond to having her hand touched. Did she pull away or did she just let Raikou let go when they felt like it? Well, Akari would sit there awkwardly, her cheeks becoming similarly flushed in embarrassment as she didn't know how to move the conversation onward. "Y-yes I accept you as my servant, but I am not calling you my servant all the time Raikou" She would stammer initially as her embarrassment would reach its peak from the hand thing. Finally retracting her hand after the embarrassment boiled over but not before trying. She took another gulp of her soda to recollect herself before sighing.

"So do we head out to the town then or something? Are there more people like you? and do you want me to call you anything for short? I don't know if you want me saying your identity to others. So we need to figure out something else to call you." Akari would say getting back into business whilst also trying to get her head in the game. As she gave that Akari-brand smile.

Meanwhile Tomoe would be trying to get attention from the strange woman, rubbing against the servants leg.

---

Hideyoshi was not in the most grandest of states when he had been summoned, he looked barely more noble then a peasant, although his true name alluded to someone much greater. The Hideyoshi of the current was perhaps the weakest servant present in this war. This would bothered him slightly and with this outlook in mind he'd need to court an ally, strong enough that his ally wouldn't fall early on in the war, but weak enough that if he needed to betray them he could. That was the line of thinking that ran through Hideyoshi's mind.

"Master, if i may request, I feel the first port of business for us would be for us to find an alliance to team up with, I need to swear myself to a lord of some standing to become useful to you." Hideyoshi would say plainly laying out the first port of call they'd have to address before they could truely participate in this grail war.

"I suppose you are right. Nevertheless, let's set this matter aside for now. Lamenting fate won't get us nowhere," Subaru said to Saber as the duo left her temporary home. "For the time being, I shall put my mind on the task at hand. Being indecisive isn't like me at all."

It didn't take long for them to reach the heart of this rural town. Unlike Tokyo and London, this place didn't have anything resembling a nightlife. As soon as the sun found its way behind the mountains, the city would be dead silent. Strangers walking around aimlessly would certainly gather attention, but that didn't particularly bother Subaru.

"Let's look for a place where we can do our business away from prying eyes. I doubt anyone will choose to fight where any random passersby can spy on us," Subaru said to Saber as they continued their walk. "I remember seeing an old bridge halfway between the town and the train station. I imagine it'll be quite desert at this time. The perfect place for a duel. As long as we don't run into Benkei we should be fine, right?" She joked.

Subaru took her violin out of its case as soon as they about to arrive at their destination. To the untrained eye, it would look just like any other old instrument. A knowledgeable musician would certainly identify it as a Stradivarius. But, only a magus would know its true worth as a superb Mystic Code, much like all the other instruments produced by the great genius. It was no wonder why they commanded such high prices in the market.

"Say it, Saber," Subaru began as she got herself ready, resting her back against one of the street lights at their side of the bridge. "Since you are a monk, do you know how to play the shakuhachi?" She asked as she played a note, opening her magic circuits, a move that any other magus nearby would likely notice.
"I'm quite confident that not even my Ushiwaka could sneak on us while I'm around," Caster said as she materialized in front of her Master, balancing her whole body perfectly on the tip of a single geta while flashing a broad—yet distinctly inhuman—smile. Her ringed staff jiggled pleasantly as they made their way out of the bounded field marking the edge of her Master's home.

"Oh? That's most excellent. I can make a base almost anywhere, but if I can secure a good shrine with a connection to this place's mountains then this war is pretty much in the bag," Caster said as she followed her Master with swift steps, not exactly bothering to go back to her spirit form. "I'll let you know that, once I have set up shop, even that annoying Shuten wouldn't be able to break in without coming through the front door," she added in a rather prideful tone.

Raikou’s eyes shimmered with tiny tears of joy. Even though… Even when I’m in such an unsightly state… Yes, even though she’d manifested as a Berserker, this innocent child had accepted her without question. And Raikou was so overcome by this simple act that it took all her willpower not to melt into a crying mess and hug Akari tight to her chest there and then.

“Master, I… if it’s really all right with you, then…” She sniffled a little. “Then I will be your sword, and your guardian. You may leave the battlefield to me.” Somewhere amidst those two sentences she’d regained her composure, a samurai’s confidence and austerity returning to her posture. Yes, a delirious happiness still fluttered about inside her, but it’d be embarrassing to openly display such juvenile emotions as that. She had to set a good example for her Master, no?

“It’s true that there will be others like me roaming about,” she said, her eyes flicking to one side as if worried some horrible insect might be creeping upon them there and then, “But I’m sure they’ll have no good intentions where you’re concerned. Therefore, I will be staying close with you at all times, understand?” As for the name… Akari had done well to remind her of that. Normally a Master would refer to their Servant by their class, but the thought of being called a ‘Berserker’ by such a sweet little girl made Raikou want to start crying again. No, she decided, that will not do. I’ll have to come up with something else.

“As for my name,” she slowly began, studiously ignoring the cat curling itself around her legs, “Well, you’re quite young, so… would it bother you to call me ‘Mother?’ I could treat you as if you were my child, and no onlooker would suspect a thing.” Yes. This was the perfect plan. Why hadn’t she thought of it sooner? “I-it might be a bit embarrassing,” she added, turning a little pink, “But as a general, I think it’s our most advantageous option.”

---

...They listened? Someone listened to his advice for once in more than a lifetime? Archer almost pinched himself as the light surprise wrote itself into his face, before a moment later a cocky grin wrote itself onto his face. Sure this didn't mean it'd solve all future debates here, as he knew how the family arguments could be, but all the same they had a plan and something to finally do. The green-haired duo seemed to communicate well enough and come to seemingly some kind of silent agreement at least. It was a refreshing change of pace from the arguing of old men, as well as the groveling of myriad demons before his feet.

"Alright! Just be sure to not make yourself obvious back here. You'll be alone until we get back!

Otherwise I'll be relaying everything back to you as we move about," the servant piped up to Constante as he turned to face Karizma, not even looking back as he gave a lazy single-hand wave back and put his hands behind his head.

Though as the girl did a bow and a teasing 'senpai', the giant of a man couldn't help but grin back in return. He reached down one large hand and ruffled her hair a little with a laugh. Afterwards he would silently follow her to and out the front door, materializing a bow in his hands as he walked along and listened to her eager and frankly energetic ideas about who or what they might run into. It was enough to make him think back and ponder if he'd run into any family here himself, before or during or even from after his lifetime. Regardless, the itch in his arms to draw the string of his mighty bow again rang out like a siren's song.

"Eh, those Sengoku-period types I'd probably expect to appear here in a conflict like this. Or rather, I feel they'd be drawn to this sorta' thing anyways," the servant chatted back to his master, more jovial as he went along and addressed the other of his two masters, "But once we get back later maybe I can teach you a little Japanese. Things from anime are one thing...speaking like people did back in my day is another! Haha!"

@Anza

---

---

"Mmm, no problem! If we can push ourselves as a weak duo trying to survive this, then that'll help us get a start on things. We have a good location for later on, anyways, but let's just go oooooooone thing at a time~," Izumi said, stopping and turning to face her servant with the tanegashima sitting over her shoulder like she was some kind of soldier, a sly grin on her face as she spoke, "When the sun of your power finally rises on this war, we'll be unstoppable~"

The teenager then gave a lighthearted giggle before clearing her throat and letting out a small sigh. Had to get the energy out before she could really get serious about this! It was so exciting, however, just to be here amidst all of this! Heroes, a potential wish, and all the ilk that could be awaiting them out there! All they had to do was get out there and get involved. Yes.

"Well, let's head into town and see if we can find anyone. Pretty small place, so unless everyone else is hanging out in the woods we should be able to locate someone. Maybe even an old acquaintance of yours?" the girl followed up, lightly teasing with a wink as she began to make her way out and beckoned Rider to come along.

The workshop would be fine, frankly speaking. The bigger worry was what could be lying out there for them in the end.

@1Charak2

"As much as I could hide myself in spiritual form, it would mean not being able to see," the shorter girl replied, already hitting upon the obvious limitation of this. An Assassin might be able to sneak around and find out what was going on without being detected but most Servants, even archers, wouldn't have the level of stealth required to avoid another Servant. "If we run into difficulty this early in the war, most Servants would want to hold back for fear of revealing their identity too early and setting themselves up for defeat."

That she wanted to meet the other Servants was an added bonus. Nobunaga might be an excellent opponent to the older Servants, but if some modern swordmaster were to come along then they would be in considerably more trouble--if she could get an ally able to keep pace with more modern threats, then that would reduce the number of possible avenues of defeat considerably.

And she wasn't going to be blind to any betrayal this time.

Upon reaching the upper floor, Costante closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then got to work.

The first thing he did was crack open a window, tweaking the Bounded Fields around the house to bend the outgoing light and conceal this change. With that done, he loosed five small, translucent crystalline familiars, before wheeling over a heavy telescope and pointing it outward through the opening, its objective lens aimed up at the sky.

For the next few minutes, he made minor adjustments, tweaking angle and focus while his familiars moved towards their destinations. Rather than scouting through the streets as one might expect, they went upwards, ascending high above the town and well out of reach. Only the most skilled of archers would be able to shoot them down from such a height, and that man was already on Costante’s side.

“Begin refraction,” he muttered, once they were all in place. At his command, each familiar unfolded into a new configuration, losing nearly all their mobility but gaining new reflective and refractive properties, bouncing light between one another until it converged on the central unit, which gathered and then reflected a composite image down into the lenses of the powerful telescope Costante had aimed out the window. With this, he had a bird’s-eye view of the entire town, and by tweaking the positions and configurations of his familiars he could adjust the final image as he pleased, quickly zooming in on any points of interest. With this, nothing can escape my gaze. If anyone comes close to Sister…

It took him only a few seconds to find Karizma, since he knew her point of origin and could easily predict her path. She seemed to be perfectly safe for now, although… Is that someone on the bridge, just ahead of her?

At the same time, Karizma was merrily strolling along, her eyes lighting up with joy at her Archer’s offer. “That would be awesome! And then we could speak back and forth, and Costante wouldn’t be able to understand a thing.” She giggled. “Ohayo! Watashi wa Karizuma-desuuu! Sugoi baka onii-chan arigato!”

Then she heard a faint noise, and immediately stopped in place. “Hey, did you feel that?” Carefree as she acted, her senses had been alert this whole time, and while she could only barely make out the violin note, the release of mana was unmistakable. There was either another Magus or a magical being nearby, and they weren’t being careful about hiding their presence.

Her brother’s voice suddenly sounded in Archer’s head. ”There’s someone on the bridge just down the road from your current location. They look like they’re waiting for you, so it’s probably a trap—“

“HEYYYY!” Karizma was already yelling and waving across the bridge. “Hello! Konnichi-wa! Can you hear me?” She was taking care and being cautious like Archer had said, otherwise she might already have been running to greet the (presumably) enemy Master.