---

Hmm, that wasn't good. An obvious magus, an obvious 'flag' to draw attention in an obvious place, and the faint trill of music winding along through the air. Contante was right to be worried, in his mind, that this could very well be some kind or trap or the like. Not that Karizma's whimsical attempt at anime-drenched Japanese terms wasn't whimsically amusing, but this was more serious than the girl seemed to be wont to treat it-...wait. What?!

Did she just calling attention to them to whoever was over the bridge without support? At least she wasn't running over there with a 'shoot me' sign hung over her neck, but what in the world was she thinking? Was she thinking? Well, he needed to act before anything potentially went more quickly south.

'Constante, please keep an eye for any sudden changes. Anything indicative an of attack perhaps, or preparing a spell or something.'

The boy would hear Archer's message in his own head in return, as the servant materialized (having dematerialized along the way) before grabbing Karizma by the back of her shirt collar and immediately pulling her with him into a nearby big bush among several.

"...Rule One of any kind of 'War': Don't just immediately call out to an enemy waiting for someone in an obvious setup or maybe trap. Now please sight tight for a moment while I see what the deal is here. If a battle breaks out, then don't get shot by stepping into the crossfire. If they wanna' talk, then we can talk. Just let me figure it out, ok?"

Was he babying the girl by whispering to her in this bush he pulled her into? Yes, most definitely and simply yes. Was he trying to keep her alive despite her lack (but not total absence thereof) of survival instincts? Yes. She could not like him for this, she might appreciate it, but regardless she and her brother were under his wing. That was something he took seriously.

Dematerializing, the Archer would remove himself from the bush and take up a spot on he and Karizma's side of the bridge, re-materializing as he sat on a light post. From there the man gave a seemingly casual wave towards the other end with his free hand, his bow firmyl gripped in the other hand as it sat in his lap, albeit his manner almost seemed like someone who just wanted to share a drink. Or maybe it was a friendly idiot act.

"Yo! Is this one of those ambush traps, a nice little challenge for a duel, or some kind of friendly signal to come and talk over some sake? Either way I'll need to know veeeery soon though, or I will have to assume the worst."

In this era he preferred a more casual approach to life, not that he was taking it any less seriously. But if he was making noise and drawing the attention to himself, especially in a manner that made him stand out loudly, that might help Karizma's case if she stayed put in the bushes for the moment being. Maybe. He prayed to the gods of his family that she kept in the bush. Regardless, he would handle things on this end first.

They would be able to find out real fast if those on the other end had one kind of intention or another in doing this. He would be better off taking the attention first in a bad situation, however, than his master would.

@Anza@KoL@King Cosmos

---

Well, that answers that. Haru figured it would be fine as Archer said. If this was only starting up now, there was no reason to go all-out in a sense. At most, it would take a few days for some to start enacting their strategies. That was what she thought on this. So with that, she could rest easy that there really shouldn't be any drastic action taken for the day.

"O-oh, right... then this should be okay. Yeah." She responded before thinking about where to start their scope-out of the town. There wasn't much to help her with where to start, so that became a matter of winging it as they went for now.

"I guess we can start heading out. From here, there's a bit of farmland before we hit a fork in the road that leads either into the main part of town or a forest path... so we could go with this for now and see where that takes us... does that sound good, Archer?" Haru inquired, seeing it as something to start with.

@Raineh Daze

Someone approached the bridge before Saber had the chance to answer Subaru's questions. "It seems like chat time is over," she said to herself.

"Hmm? Are you—" Subaru turned around and looked at the other girl with a confused look in her eyes. However, before she could say anything a not so subtle figure dragged the other girl away to a nearby bush. Subaru could only hope that wasn't any particularly harmful plant or full of bugs. The countryside was full of them, after all. Just the thought of it made Subaru's skin itch.

"Sometimes, music is just music," Subaru said when the far-too-obvious Servant came out of their impromptu hideout. "If we were mounting an ambush would we stand around in the open like this? At any rate, I think you know how this goes, right? If you want to cross this bridge, you gotta beat us first. I suppose that's a duel declaration, then."

"Just so that you're sure, we aren't opposed to the idea of an alliance as well. But, even Yoshitsune had to beat Benkei before they became friends," she added.

---

@Anza@Crusader Lord@King Cosmos

”Understood.” Costante had just done a quick sweep over the rest of town, but saw nothing notable enough to catch his eye just yet. As such, he kept his focus squarely on the bridge, alert for any sudden movements from the dark-haired enemy Master. If it came to a fight, then Karizma would be counting on him to provide support from afar.

She’ll be fine. I’ll protect her. And she has Archer by her side… Keeping his eye to the telescope, Costante took a few deep breaths to try and remain calm. Why was it that sending their Servant out alone with his sister got him worked up like this? The man was a hero of old, proven in battle, so he was definitely reliable. And besides, the other mage wasn’t trying anything yet. Maybe this encounter wouldn’t end in conflict after all. [color=39b54a][i]I shouldn’t worry myself,[i][/color] he thought, even as his hands clenched tight into fists.

At the same time, Karizma was blinking rapidly, trying to adjust to the sudden change of lighting after being yanked off her feet and into the pitch darkness of a nearby shrub. How fast was he moving just now? He's so cool... It was a shame he’d interrupted her entrance, but he was probably right about not getting shot. If that happened, then she’d have to listen to Costante grouching at her for hours about taking too many risks. Or, even worse, she might actually die! Neither of those seemed like pleasant options, so she gave Archer a tiny nod of assent and then resolved herself to keep still and silent as could be.

It took about five seconds for her to start speaking again, though at least this time she had the good sense to transmit her thoughts directly to his mind. ”Wow, there sure are a lotttt of bugs in here… Are all bushes like this in Japan? Seriously, I don't think I've ever seen so many all in one place. Literally... a metric shitton of… Ohhhh fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. Archer?”

Costante’s voice piped up. ”What’s the enemy Master saying? I can’t quite read her lips from this angle.”

"Archerrrr! This centipede is TWENTY CENTIMETERS LONG and it’s crawling towards me VERY FAST what do I do??!“

"Knowing the lay of the land is vitally important... why, know it well enough, and you can attack a force ten times your size and come out victorious!" the short archer cheerfully said... marching right out of the door and leaving Haru to catch up. She should probably check out the farmland first and see where might be a good place to attack from or... defend. Defend, probably, depending on what riders might be here. If Takeda showed up, then recreating Nagashino would definitely need a good scope of the land...

She could go explore the town later and try to get dinner off of Haru. That seemed like a good plan.

“Ah…yes. Very good.” Kiyohime. Thomas wasn’t familiar with the woman or her legend, but he understood enough about her to know what she was capable of; that would have to suffice for now, anything else would need to wait until tomorrow. At the very least he grasped that she was as mad as her title of Berserker would suggest and that her mind seemed to be entangled in some delusion about his relation to this man Anchin. He himself doubted that the roots of his family tree reached as far as Japan, but if keeping up the illusion helped him keep the volatile woman under control then he wouldn’t try to challenge it.

Her devotion and enthusiasm towards him was disconcerting, but as long as he was careful not to lie she should pose no threat to him. And after spending decades navigating the murky waters of the Order’s regular meet-ups he knew his way around words. “Our goal for tonight is information above all else, we should avoid conflict as much as possible.” If he so much as managed to acquire a clear image of someone’s face he would be able to start making preparations to track them down with his magecraft. If possible the only fights they would engage in during this war were ones that he had meticulously prepared for, and no others. “That being said, should anyone spot us… well, I’ll be counting on you to protect me, my dear.”

@Gummi Bunnies

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“Hmm, not Benkei.”

Saber was the picture of casual as he leant on the railing of the bridge next to his Master, one arm resting on the railing and the other on the hilt of his blade. The swordsman hadn’t moved an inch as the other Servant appeared, apparently unconcerned with the bow that was almost, but not quite aimed in their direction. “Personally, I’d prefer if we could just skip the duel and go straight to being friends, you know? You seem like the type who knows when to take it easy.”

If Archer was putting on a ‘friendly idiot’ act then so was Saber. Should things go south then he was prepared to pull his Master out of there in a flash. Protecting her was more important than any tactical advantage they could gain from this meeting after all.

@KoL@Anza@Crusader Lord

---

"If we were mounting an ambush would we stand around in the open like this? At any rate, I think you know how this goes, right? If you want to cross this bridge, you gotta beat us first. I suppose that's a duel declaration, then."

"Just so that you're sure, we aren't opposed to the idea of an alliance as well. But, even Yoshitsune had to beat Benkei before they became friends."

“Personally, I’d prefer if we could just skip the duel and go straight to being friends, you know? You seem like the type who knows when to take it easy.”

The servant relayed the words and actions of his opponents back to Constante, though as for his 'other' master it was going to be more of a situation. He could practically feel the panic in Karizma's communication, and in response the other master-servant pair would only see him let out a sigh.

'Er...just step on it? Maybe crush it with your fist? Just don't set yourself on fire.

Ah, barring that all just make sure you keep in the bushes somehow."

He was rather calm communicating back to the girl, not apathetic but almost a bit deadpan in his delivery of the message.

---

"Well well well, so reasonable you seem to be for an opponent! I am thankful. Taking care of a newbie is a challenge of its own, especially when they're still learning."

The Archer let out a loud laugh visibly, before standing up on the light pole he was on with ease as took up a stance to hold his bow. Not a stance to fire yet, as the bow was lowered, but rather a stance to prepare for battle and with an arrow nocked. He made his intentions clear as day, though without a doubt a big grin was writing itself into his face.

Sure he wanted to care for his masters, that he had told himself he'd do by answering their summons, but he was also a Heroic Spirit to boot. He was a warrior, a man who had known battle all his life, an archer who'd intimidated the demon of Onigashima into serving him, and a former exile who had finally returned home again. He wanted to feel alive again, even if just in this form, just for a moment to help satiate that memory of a lonely man exiled to an island.

It was electrifying.

"I'd normally love to skip the duel and just have a drink, frankly even just continue on without trouble to go looking if there's any relatives of mine out here too...

...But I must confess, it has been a long while since I last felt the thrill of battle in my prime. So if it can be agreed the masters stay out of this, I am more than willing to engage in a duel someone who is probably a famous swordsman," Tametomo said, drawing his bow back with his arrow at the ready, the glint of excitement in his eyes as he spoke in a more jovial tone, "Then let's both at least drink to it after this, win or lose! Let us become alive again, fighting upon the grounds of our homeland!"

He wasn't targeting the Saber's master at least, but he could not help himself in this instance. He was ready...he'd really been ready for a long time. Such a long time indeed since his last bout, with bow or sword.

@King Cosmos@KoL@Anza

---

---

...Hmm?

As the tanegashima-toting mage walked down one of the roads with her servant, having long left her base behind and made good tracks to get here, the Command Seals on her hand seemed to burn. It was an odd sensation, but it also gave her the impression that someone else was nearby. Someone with a servant and their own Command Seals, if she had to place to a guess based on what she could understand out of all of this so far. Yes.

But would they be opponent, challenger, or ally? Hmm. That would be for her and her servant to determine, but for now with him at a lesser state she felt it would be better to try to keep it less 'stabby' for the moment. That would suit them nicely to avoid just attacking everyone they saw on a whim.

Besides, as she got closer she couldn't help but note the cute but somewhat older woman who had a cute little jean jacket! Though for someone to be wandering out here, it almost made her wonder if they were scouting or potentially a local. Either way~

"Hey there, Miss! Hate to interrupt, but would you happen to know the way to a good place to eat around here?"

Izumi twirled her gun one last time, before letting it rest back on her shoulder with one hand holding it by the butt. She gave a light and quick bow to the stranger before putting a hand on her hip. Her face was beaming with a smile that spoke volumes of 'eager friendly face', though the fact she was a kid with a matchlock was something odd in and of itself.

'Eh Rider, detect anyone else out here?'

@1Charak2@Raineh Daze@Gummi Bunnies

---

Watching the way her servant was acting and the fact that her servant seemed to be all manners of pleased with whatever she seemed to say. It filled Akari up with a bit of pride that she was so easily making friends with the stranger before her. This conversation couldn't be going better, and this woman seemed reasonable, Powerful and...

"Mom...?" She would say in surprise at what the woman wanted to be called her eyes would widen for a moment as she would consider for a half second of any potential alternatives. Racking her thoughts. A school dress wouldn't work. Raikou was much too mature looking. Ok, guess Mom would have to do right? After all it was just a disguise. She had no idea how much this meant to Raikou, her next words. "Ok Mom!" She would say trying to get into the role immediately right? if she started saying it often, it'd seem more natural.

"So, R-Mom, Mom. We should probably get up and get going right? I. I haven't entirely wrapped my head around it, but there is other people to beat and mysticism is real right? So maybe we should head towards the most mystical place here right? I know this shrine. We might be able to run into someone there!" She'd say setting her mind on visiting the shrine. Scooping up some candy to put in her pockets She'd look over to Tomoe. "Oh! and say bye to Tomoe for now." She'd say not wanting to consider at all that she might not come back.

And after a moment of brushing herself off, and pepping herself up, She'd step out towards the shrine, Leading the charge!

"And here was I hoping for something like a duel right out of Kurosawa-sensei's movies," Subaru said in a dejected voice when Saber attempted to skip right ahead and ignore the duel. "The opponent is right ahead of us and, judging by the difference in your parameters, you are much faster than him. There's no way he'll be able to shoot before you close the gap," she finished, explaining her logic.

"Aren't you giving up too much information, Mister Archer?" Subaru spoke after Archer made his intentions clear. "The fact that you are looking for relatives means that you come from a clan that would have plenty of Heroic Spirit candidates like the Taira or the Genji. Isn't that a pretty big hint? At any rate," she prepared her violin again as she continued speaking, "I'll have to refuse that part about us being out of it. If you mean to guarantee that Saber won't strike your Master, that's something I can concede. Slaying Masters isn't the objective of a Holy Grail War, after all. On the other hand, I'll fight with Saber and we will defeat you. Also, isn't it kind of rude for a familiar to be so condescending toward their Master?"

Subaru's hands went to work as she spoke, playing a rather elaborate melody that provided a minor boost to Saber's Agility, making him even faster than before. "Very well, Saber, we have our victory conditions. Don't harm the girl and try to not kill Archer if possible. Now, show me your best game."

---

@Anza@Crusader Lord@King Cosmos

Karizma stared down the beast across a dark and leafy field, her green eyes filled with disgust and determination. The centipede reared its head, poisoned claws biting at the air. ‘Ahahahaha!’ it seemed to say, ‘You’re finished, Karizma! Against my poison and my armor, your soft and girlish body is useless! Trash like you should just accept your place at the bottom of the food chain, and be eaten by those greater than yourselves!’ It reared even higher, repeating its earlier cackle while looming an entire five centimeters off the ground.

You’re wrong, centipede! Karizma clenched her fist and set her jaw. There’s a power greater than flesh and blood… The power of the heart! So long as Archer-san believes in me, I’ll never lose!

‘Oho?’ The centipede flicked its antennae in amusement. ‘So you would still resist, even now… Then die, insolent mammal!! Lowering its head, it skittered towards her, shockwaves rippling about its segmented body as it accelerated to its maximum velocity. ‘This is my ultimate attack! Eat the full power of my Centi-Charge!!’

It roared towards her, certain doom on dozens of legs, but Karizma only dug her heels in and stood her ground. With my feelings as my only guide… For the sake of the planet itself! She raised one foot, her muscles straining to their absolute limit. Angelozzi Secret Technique… Karizma STOMP!!

Her shoe came crashing down and smashed the evil arthropod with a mighty SPLAT. Two more SPLATs closely followed, as the moment of impact was recaptured twice from different angles. At the end of it all a tiny crater was left in the dirt, the centipede’s corpse lying flattened beneath the exhausted yet victorious mage.

I won… It had been a close thing, but in the end the power of her faith and her bonds with her friends had let her push past her limit. Now that the main threat had been dealt with, she could go and help Archer with his fight!

Without warning, everyone else on the scene would witness a bush instantly triple in side, then triple again, expanding swiftly outward to engulf the entire end of the bridge. At first glance it might have seemed like some sort of explosive plant growth, but even a moment of observation would reveal the trick. The patterns in the leaves repeated over and over: it wasn’t a larger bush but rather the same bush, a series of overlapping mirror images forming a dense field of cover. The entire process was silent but for a small rustle, the sound of Karizma emerging from her bug-infested den in favor of her new magical concealment. Though the illusions wouldn’t offer much in the way of actual protection, they’d keep her just as well-hidden as the real plant would. Even her magical energy wasn’t easy to pinpoint, so long as she remained within the confines of her own spell.

”So we’re fighting, then?" she sent to Archer. "If she’s going to support him, then it’s only fair that I support you too. Even though I’m still young, my magecraft isn’t weak, you know?” Her confident grin was practically audible.

“Aligning lenses. I’m assuming you don’t want me to kill her?” Costante sounded a little uncertain, but he’d clearly been keeping up with the situation. High above the town, his reflective crystals broke out of their observation alignment, leaving only the bridge in his field of view as they slowly shifted into a more dangerous formation. Taking out the enemy Master was probably within his capabilities, but he wanted to avoid that kind of business if he could help it… Unless she tries to harm my sister, that is.


Raikou kept herself composed, and inclined her head with a pleased look while Akari familiarized herself with the ruse. “The shrine? A place such as that is a likely spot… Let’s go there together, then.” She smiled briefly down at her Master’s cat as well, though this time it was more out of politeness than genuine affection. The creature’s name had brought forth a pang of jealousy from within her, and she wondered whether the pet had been named after that Onna-Bugeisha who rose to fame a century or so after Raikou’s own death. To think that Akari might hold such admiration for another woman…

Oh, but it was only a pet. The real Tomoe Gozen was unlikely to appear in this era, and if she did, then Raikou would show her who the superior warrior was between them. Calming herself, she gently reached down and let the cat rub its furry face against her hand. “Farewell, little Tomoe.”

Then, with that formality done with, she immediately hurried off to join Akari. “Now now dear, slow down! It’s not good for children to be running around after dark… And you wouldn’t want your poor mother to get left behind, would you?” She fussed and worried all the way out of the house, though as soon as they were in the open her voice quickly quieted down. Enemies might be lurking anywhere, and thus it was important to stay alert and be ready to cut down anyone who came buzzing near her Master.

It was a pleasant enough little stroll to begin with. Even in this modern era, this kind of town was not too unfamiliar, and she passed the time by asking Akari a few innocent questions about her life here. The closer they came to the shrine, however, the more the Oni slayer’s old instincts began to prickle at the back of her mind, warning her that something was afoot. Her hand rested on the hilt of the Doujigiri Yasutsuna, and she checked again and again that Akari was staying within arm’s reach. “You were right, Master,” she said, with an irritated frown, “the air here stinks of insects. But do not worry: I will sever them cleanly as soon as they appear.”

"It's no small wonder that I summoned you, then," commented the black-haired girl as she walked. Indeed, a famed yokai and herself, who could be considered as an entity disconnected from humanity and far more connected to such creatures... It only stood to reason, really. It only made sense that they would come to be partnered together as Master and Servant.

Ah, this truly would be enjoyable, wouldn't it?

A part of her couldn't deny her curiosity, of course. Ushiwaka... the childhood name of none other than Minamoto no Yoshitsune. What had he been like? Ah, but asking questions like a curious child would undoubtedly run counter to her image. Rather, Akane would inject the matter into conversation at another point later on.

For the moment, chief in her mind was simply obtaining the shrine as a position to establish a workshop. From that point onward, they could operate quite freely.

And Akane could see if this war had anyone worth killing. Or, perhaps...

Well, that could be seen to when it came to it. For the moment it was best to focus on the task at hand.

But it seemed that would not be so simple. There was no way to ignore the voices coming from the direction of the shrine.

"... It seems there are others who have had the same idea," Akane commented, with a sigh, "Very well. I should like to meet them, Caster."

One of her geta tapped against the floor, and a red hue surrounded her.

"And so I shall. Please do be wary, but do not feel undue concern for me."

Surrounding her feet was a clustered of crimson, gleaming higanbana. As they spread from here her geta made contact with the ground, they too paradoxically appeared ahead of the shrine, in her line of sight, sprouting seemingly from the stone path to the building. Soon, a reddish haze in the rough shape of a young girl had appeared in their midst...

And then Akane was there. By her nature as an entity connected to the land, such feats were simple for her.

On her shoulder rested a crimson paper umbrella, and she cocked her head lightly.

"... Hello there," she began in a pleasant tone, "'Tis only natural to run into such people tonight, I suppose."

@Anza@KoL@1Charak2

Although she had started out more or less leading the way for her Master, Archer had stepped off the track a handful of times to do basic reconnaissance... though all this confirmed was that yes, this was farmland, and not particularly interesting farmland at that. There was a bit of varying elevation between the rice paddies, but not somewhere she would really want to defend; most Servants wouldn't be remotely troubled by such a thing.

One of these brief breaks from her Master meant returning to an interesting site. Oh, one of the figures was holding a matchlock--that was definitely an out of place choice for a modern country, but she wasn't one to complain--but behind them was a shock of vibrantly blonde hair and an unmistakeable presence...

Her initial greeting, from somewhere off the road, came by way of the unmistakeable sound of a gun: one matchlock, whipped out of thin air and fired sailing above the duo's heads, only to melt back out of existence now that attention was firmly in her direction. "Monkey! I guess if anyone else was going to be summoned, it would be you."

The short girl continued hopping from field to field, approaching the road with remarkable speed--to a normal person, that is. "You're looking really shabby, though. Where's that ridiculous helmet you picked up after I was gone? Or even some armour at all? I don't think Chacha could spend everything even after we're all dead..."

@Crusader Lord@VitaVitaAR@Gummi Bunnies

Saber pushed himself away from the railing. Letting out a sigh as he took a couple steps forward so that he was standing in the middle of the bridge, not quite taking a fighting stance just yet even as Archer nocked an arrow to his bow. There was no rush to react; if he was the honourable sort then the duel wouldn’t start until they were both ready. “The Masters aren’t to be harmed; that’s fine with me. That’s the way Servant’s should fight.”

It seemed Subaru wouldn’t be staying out of this fight entirely. Saber felt the surge of strength as the music flowed through him, boosting his agility slightly and making him even faster than before. That meant this Archer’s Master would be able to do something similar, under the ill-defined rules of this duel, and sure enough a nearby bush exploded into something ten times the size as some kind of magecraft took hold of it. That both of them would have supporters during this fight made things more complicated, but not to the extent that it worried Saber any.

Still… he didn’t want to do this. He didn’t want to fight this battle.

It wasn’t due to fear of losing, as his Master seemed to assume, nor was it because he had some aversion to combat. No, he’d simply hoped to avoid this pointless scuffle because it didn’t achieve anything. He’d long ago reached the stage where battles for the sake of battle no longer interested him, so he had to ask what purpose this duel served other than to sate this Archer’s urge for battle? It wasn’t necessary for them to fight before forming an alliance, it was simply an indulgence. Unlike Archer, Saber didn’t yearn for the thrill of battle, they didn’t make him feel alive; that might have been the case in his youth, but he’d given up that kind of life a long time ago.

“Haaa, I’m showing my age again.” Saber inhaled, taking a deep breath of cold night air. He exhaled and placed a hand on the scabbard of his odachi, just below the tsuba, and with a flick of his thumb loosened the sword from its sheath. “Alright, let’s do this!”

Saber bent his knees and in the blink of an eye dashed from the centre of the bridge to the base of the light pole Archer was balanced atop. As he came to a stop he drew his sword and swung in the same, smooth motion, the blade slicing through the light pole at an angle without making a sound.

With his opponent’s footing now hopefully disrupted, Saber straightened his legs and launched himself upwards towards Archer. With a twist of his wrist and flick of his arm he brought the sword around and up with his ascent in another stroke. He aimed to hit his opponent with a shallow cut from navel to shoulder, spacing himself in such a way that only the tip of his long sword would reach his foe.

Hideyoshi had been uneasy since his summoning, it wasn't that his master was incompatible. But rahter hte well founded worry that if he didn't find someone of a decent character to offer his servitude to, he would likely be rebuked, or worse attacked. So he had been staying cautiously near his master the entire time, Brain wracked in such deep thought only to sharply be brought back to his senses as they approached another, hearing his master raise their voice Hideyoshi would be placed on an immediate alert.

Then he saw her of all people and of course The fool of Owari would introduce themselves by Gunshoot. The sudden woosh of the accurate bullet flying safely overhead missing them completely, Hideyoshi not even flinching for a second. He knew when Nobunaga of all people was aiming to kill. Still, She might still end up shooting him anyway if the matters of her niece was brought up. So! Swiftly answering and directing conversation would be the only way to avoid such a thing.

The only person who ever had the right to call him a monkey would be coming right this way. Right? There was no way she'd bring up her Niece immediately. Hope and pray for an easy transition of a conversation and... The first thing the great fool would say would relate directly to her own niece. Scratch that! go with it.

"Well Boss it appears that my servant class sort of derives that i need to serve someone first." Hideyoshi would say almost immediately becoming his old self as he eyed up Nobunaga's outfit. "Nice Outfit though boss, Though with the helmet I could ask you the same, I doubt you have your full armor either." He'd say in his peasant clothing. He may not be at a recognisable state of wealth, but that smile and that demeanor it was all Hideyoshi. Smiling genuinely in front of an enemy servant just because they had known them in life. They were after all friends even if they were enemies.

@Raineh Daze@Crusader Lord@Gummi Bunnies

---

Just like my usual leisurely strolls... nothing out of the ordinary... nothing too different...

Constant banter to herself. Constantly convincing herself that everything will be fine. Going off of what Archer said to her, it was unlikely that something terrible would transpire. So to Haru, this was no different than the times she's walked this path frequently before this very moment.

So far, so good, though. Haru kept herself from saying anything unnecessary the first few times that Archer briefly wandered off the trail. Well, she figured that the Heroic Spirit she happened to summon out of chance knew what to do when it came to recon. That only left Haru to act natural as possible. That shouldn't be so hard, right?

A surprised sound came out from Haru the moment she found herself being approached and greeted by a young girl with a... wait, was that a matchlock?! Okay, that was not an everyday thing to make an observation out of, but surely this was someone not from the village. Maybe a tourist or...

A burning sensation radiated from her left hand. That meant something, didn't it? The fact that it only did so when she got near this new face. Even so, she poorly tried to save face here, not wanting to fall for the trap that is paranoia.

"Oh, um, there's a place I know of... in the center of town. I believe it's... still open, yeah. If not then... um..." A complete mess of words danced out of Haru's mouth, and next thing she knew, she saw that Archer revealed herself in an attention-grabbing notion. If that's anything to go by, that meant that this girl and the man accompanying her were involved with this Grail War. She didn't see much reason to say anything else once this was made clear, and furthermore, something about the two Servants' conversation was... hitting the nail on a single detail.

What... do they know each other? Like... from their past lives... And that mention of Chacha... being called Boss... her choice of weapons... If so... then... Her thoughts raced once she started to piece together something crucial about her Archer. Oh, that said a lot. A whole lot.

Haru awkwardly stood there in silence, this was something she wasn't really prepared for and it was REALLY starting to show.

@Raineh Daze @Crusader Lord @1Charak2

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That single affirmation was enough to keep her situated as is. That was nothing more than positive reinforcement that what she was doing was good. If it was good enough to help him survive and win this Grail War, Kiyohime was overjoyed to keep this up. Now came the exact directions on how to go about this. Information gathering. Easy enough. She wasn't the type to specialize stalking for anything else that didn't relate to her beloved, but if it was needed from her, she could do her best. And if they were spotted by the enemy, protect her beloved. Extremely easy. Even if she wasn't told this, Berserker knew exactly what to do. There was no absolute way she was going to let anyone lay a hand on him, harm him.

"Of course!" Kiyohime's eyes sparkled upon hearing Thomas's words, instinctively holding his hand. Being called "my dear," her heart fluttered at the sound of it. "As long as we walk together, I'll make sure that no one hurts you. Now, let's gather this information that you need. I'll keep my eye out for any danger along the way!"

@King Cosmos

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At the slightest hint of movement to his well-trained eyes, the Archer leapt up and back in the air. His opponent was fast, he'd give him that, but he was still faster for the moment and had the eyes of a legendary Archer. From there all he had to do was loose the bow, sending his arrow straight and true towards his opponent's left shoulder. It was no big feat for him to aim for such a place, as he could place the arrow wherever he desired. He could shoot an ornament off the helmet of his brother in the darkness, sending the arrow through the helmet and a mane behind and then into the solid gate beyond.

Already he would begin drawing another arrow to fire as he briefly sailed back, finally landing on another post just a bit farther back.

'Just don't attack the enemy master unless she tries to hurt Karizma. Just support me for now, any edge up like a boost or something would be nice if the enemy wants to play this sort of game."

The Archer communicated his message to his masters at the same time, though already he could feel a thrill run up and down his spine once more. He wasn't bloodthirsty, but to be still for so long and a warrior without a cause to fight for...he'd missed it somewhat. Even the thrill of his youthful days, those years when he subdued Kyushu under him before he'd come back down to earth, had a certain charm that in hindsight waxed every so slightly melancholy within him. He would love to talk after this, and he got the feeling the Saber in front of him wasn't entirely up for this anywho.

But for now the match was on. The Saber's master had made that clear, and he had to work with what he had right now. Win or lose, though, he had to be honest that getting a bit of action to get the blood pumping again was something he also needed. Besides, with the enemy master making such a guess at a potential identity of his it was only fitting he prove his might. Of course not that he'd try to blow anything else here about himself, but hey it was what it was right now.

@King Cosmos@KoL@Anza

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Boss? A badass matchlock gun? Rider reacting to them familiarly? Chacha? Well that certainly narrowed down thing for her. At this rate, they would have a regular Sengoku Jidai on their hands! All they needed was Tokugawa Ieyasu, maybe Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin! It would be great! Well, unless they died. Dying wasn't good, and she was here to ensure this all got sorted out at a minimum without her own death. Yes.

Not caring if it was socially acceptable, Izumi's eyes shot open wide as she began to look Nobunaga over and walk around her a little in a small circle. It was almost like a teenager admiring the outfit of some friend they were shopping with at the mall, looking the Archer up and down before standing again next to her own servant. The gun was especially nice, so vintage in look and similar in appearance to her own...but cooler was the fact she'd just brought it out and then sorta tossed it away!

"Ooooh!!! Oda Nobunaga! Cuter than I'd imagined, but still so cool! Probably bought some guns from my ancestors too, now that I think about it...eh. That was the past."

The mage spoke with a grin on her face, giving her own tanegashima a twirl before letting it rest back on her shoulder again. Yet looking to her side, the girl raised an eyebrow at Haru as she examined the girl's reaction. Truth be told this wasn't rather normal, even for mages, but still it wasn't so paralyzing for herself that she couldn't enjoy the fun right now. That being said, however, this woman looked like a deer in the headlights!

"Ah...did you get pulled into this somehow, Miss?"

Wouldn't be good if a totally mundane person got yanked into this. Not at all.

@1Charak2@Raineh Daze@Gummi Bunnies

"Hmm?" Subaru was intrigued by her opponent's move but didn't do more than raise an eyebrow, not caring to break concentration on her performance.

"Saber, just keep him occupied for a little bit more. I can already discern some of Archer's capabilities if we can get more information it'll be to our advantage. At the same time try not to give too much information on your techniques if you can," Subaru said to her Servant over their mental connection. She had a good grasp on Archer's parameters but if they could keep him fighting for a little longer, she might be able to discern some of his skills too.

In the meanwhile, she tried to keep her senses sharp, trying to spot any ambushes or other unexpected situations.

Caster couldn't help but notice the strange presence laying ahead while she made her way to the shrine along with her Master. Since genuine spirits of such power are a rare sight in this era, it probably was another Servant.

While her Master went ahead to meet them in earnest, Caster decided to take a more playful stance. Before coming into view she changed her shape to that of an inconspicuous monk chanting mantras as she walked down the road, seemingly unaware of the other three until the very last moment.

---

@Crusader Lord@King Cosmos@VitaVitaAR@Anza@1Charak2

"What good would armour do for me in a war like this? I should just take the opportunity to try out some new clothes." the short girl said, dismissing the comment on her lack of armour. It was a perfectly fine choice to go for something new if it would help or have no impact on the outcome... like not wearing armour. She had been summoned as Archer, after all, if she was in combat with someone hitting her enough for armour to maybe factor in then the plans had gone all wrong in advance.

Having apparently satisfied herself with examining Hideyoshi's poor state of dress, Archer was now doing her best to walk around the blond's Master, looking at the gun that she was carrying before nodding in satisfaction. It was pretty outdated for a modern girl to be carrying such an old weapon, wasn't it? There were much better choices if you wanted to shoot something! Still, it wasn't like Nobunaga was one to talk, since she could hardly update her equipment without locating a military base... it was at least something.

"You need to serve someone, Hideyoshi? Well, I suppose every war is better planned from a castle, even if we can't find somewhere as ideal as Azuchi. You can be a sandalbearer again." She said, after some thought, before turning back to her Master, "It looks like we'll be working with this monkey for a while."

@Crusader Lord@Gummi Bunnies@1Charak2

---

The girl's attention was drawn back suddenly, as the Archer-class servant looked over over. Something about that nod of satisfaction seemingly directed at her gun was itself kinda satisfying. She'd worked hard to get this gun made, and it was something she was rather proud of! Not much changed from the warlord's heyday in terms of design, but hey what could you do when you were just a mage working towards perfecting something? You could only do and use so much, after all.

"Like it? May seem old-fashioned, but with all those modern gun laws this thing works great and fires some sweet magic bullets! Being a mage has to have its perks, after all.

But if you need some new clothes, I could take you shopping tomorrow. Not sure if a small town like this has much options locally, buuuut I can definitely show you some stuff on my phone too~!"

Though after making her offer, the teen quickly looked back to Rider and gave him a light elbow and a wink.

"Moving back up in the world again, eh Rider? Even if it is as a sandal-bearer. You got this!"

The teen had almost forgotten about Nobunaga's master and that train of thought entirely, wrapped up in the excitement of the person and situation she was in at the moment. Now Rider would be able to be stronger, at least, and they had a kinda badass ally for the time being. Who else could say they got to work with Oda Nobunaga? None of her family members or peers, that was for sure!

@1Charak2@Raineh Daze@Gummi Bunnies

“Very well.” Even through the mental connection with Archer, Costante’s voice sounded a mite frustrated at being asked to hold back. Without meeting this enemy Master in person, how could he tell she was trustworthy? “If she tries to touch even a hair on my sister’s head, though, any truce we might have is off.”

Frowning deeply to himself, he concentrated on observation rather than offense, reaching out for a small apparatus to attach to the telescope whilst his aerial lenses spread out in a broader pattern. The former was actually a modified camera, which would serve to capture and record images for later viewing, while the latter would let his familiars draw on ambient moonlight and mana, gathering just enough to sustain their current position without any extra resources from Costante. Those on the ground might be able to detect some signs of magical energy overhead, but at such a distance it was hard to pinpoint anything.

Karizma, meanwhile, raised her hands and made a square window with her fingers, centering it on Archer just as he landed. “Il tuo corpo è uno specchio, e la tua anima è la luce stessa. Brilla per me, mio coraggioso e bel guerriero!”

Her servant flared with light, which swiftly resolved itself into several overlapping copies of him. Moving, breathing copies, which followed his every motion… for the most part. Some exaggerated each movement, going further and faster than the real Archer, while others lagged a little behind him like a series of afterimages. To Tametomo himself, it’d only look like a faint and hazy aura, but everyone else would now be seeing her Servant as if through some strange kaleidoscope, his many limbs and faces and arrows all flickering slightly out of sync.

Using illusory copies as a diversion normally wouldn’t amount to much, given that manifested Servants could sense one another’s presence while nearby. When all the copies were right on top of the real thing, however, it became much more difficult to distinguish which was which, especially when taking into account the magical energy of the illusions themselves. Were Archer to fire another arrow, the effect would extend to the projectile as well, making its exact trajectory difficult to follow and thus much more dangerous to its target.

"Let them try and keep up with your movements now!” There was a short pause. "That is how it works, right? You like, read the other guy's style, and predict what he's going to do, and then you're all, 'I was one step ahead of you...'" Either way, this'd hopefully give her ancient Japanese butler-slash-bodyguard-slash-tour-guide an edge.