Speaking in mundane terms, Sako really was just like any other third-rung city in Japan. Dull, drab, and rapidly bleeding youth and talent to Tokyo. Still, it had its charms. Like affordable, quality sushi.

Rumi finished her last serving of mackerel and made to pay the bill for her dozen or so plates of conveyor belt sushi, walking out of the restaurant not long after. Truly, she'd missed some of the comforts of Japan. Anything of similar quality in London would have costs magnitudes more. And she'd complained about that often...to...

She pursed her lips. Best not to think of it again. Beatrice had made her decision. She wasn't worth the time or effort spent thinking about her. Instead, Rumi slipped her overcoat on and started making her way through the streets again.

"Assassin." She murmured through the magical link binding them. "I'm almost to the church now. Discover whether there are any other Masters around and then return to me, preferably while sane. There's little reason to alert the overseer while we deal with this farce."

Rumi wasn't exactly enthused about having to register her participation, of all the utter inanities thought up by the ones behind this system. Especially not as the master of Assassin, of all things. Best to just be done with this quickly, preferably without anyone else discovering her participation. Unlike the majority of Clock Tower magi, she knew when to stay under the radar.

@Eisenhorn

"Jekyll. Jekyll. Jeeeeekyll. Hey, asshole!"

Assassin was pointedly ignoring his lesser half as he scanned the surroundings, discreetly moving along the paths towards the church. A woman had stood out before departing for the main route, though he had not had the time to seriously analyze her, especially if he wanted to avoid drawing unwelcome gazes and attention so soon into the goings on. He had been lingering around the edges of the church, watching for both his Master, as well as others that stood out as such, one figure that stood out had otherwise concealed himself decently well. Scarification had stood out on his hands, something that was just not normal as far as he had gathered. He recognized a sign of magecraft when he saw it, even if the good Doctor himself had been far from what one might consider a practitioner in any formal regard. For his part, Hyde seemed to notice that Jekyll had finally clued in and mouthed off, mentally, once again.

"About time you perked up to him Doc, you make for a real poor lapdog. Got mages both outside and inside, sure I can't take over for a few to clean things up early?"

"And let you defile not just the concept of this war, but who knows how many innocents along the way? Absolutely not, furthermore..."

Jekyll's intent to lecture his lesser half was interrupted by the mental signal of his Master, who bid him return, ideally sane. An annoyed feeling emanated from Hyde, though the general calmness and lack of true danger made it unlikely for the man, and Jekyll used that term very sparingly, to get a solid grasp on the control of their shared form. Assassin began making their way back to intercept and reunite with Rumi, falling in step beside her before speaking on the mental wavelength they shared. No sense letting eavesdroppers of any sort catch wind of what might be passed along in terms of information. Assassin was just physically far away enough to not be easy to peg as a companion of Rumi's, while still being present enough to act on a moment's notice and allow his Master to be keenly aware of his arrival.

<"Master, fortunately for us both it is far too civil for my lesser half to even care to reach for control. There are Masters already present in the Church itself, and one likely one along his way as well. No overt signs of Servants outside the church as of yet, it seems the others intend to maintain civility until this War formally begins.">

<"Yeah, Doc here was opposed to getting the drop on anyone so soon and break that civility. Came trotting back along like a good little bitch to the Master's beck and call.">

Much to Jekyll's annoyance, exposure to modern slang and media, brief as it was, was having a stark influence on Hyde's vocabulary. At least in the Victorian era he was at least well spoken, now he was little better than some poor soul living in destitution and poverty. Still, while Jekyll maintained a firm grip on the control of their shared body, there was little to be done for keeping the mental presence of Hyde, ever present and ever crass, from mouthing off and manifesting himself. A small mercy that he was content to just run his metaphorical mouth. Still, it was a downside of this particular Assassin, though not being one of the classical ones had its strengths as well, at least one would hope.

@Psyker Landshark

---

@Fish of Oblivion

---

After slipping away from Beatrice, Lancer had quickly found himself a secluded place in which to hide and watch for any others approaching the church. Inasmuch as he could watch in his intangible form; useful as it was, it was still much more limiting than having his actual physical senses to rely on.

But it was useful nonetheless.

Even without actual vision to use, he could still sense the flows of power, and any spirit on approach would be as obvious as the sun at noon. From there he could decide to alert Beatrice immediately or shift back to gather any physical description. In the meantime, he was perfectly concealed from sight, as evidenced by the officer that had completely failed to notice Lancer's presence mere feet away as he patrolled outside the church grounds.

Good for them that they do not have the threats we had to deal with. Indeed, the modern world seemed to have far less to worry about in terms of roving hostile spirits than in his day.

Once he was sure that the patrolman had left completely, he shifted back to his physical form, sinking deeper into the shadowed hedges at the edge of the church grounds. Scanning over the path leading to the church he quickly made note of some that were making their way up—one of whom he'd been sure he had already witnessed coming and leaving not long before. If any of them were Servants, they'd no doubt sense the strength of his own presence soon; that he couldn't sense any of theirs did nothing to reassure him that they might be masters or mere bystanders.

"Be ready, Beatrice. It looks like you may have other visitors incoming."

"Not much," the woman said, gesturing at the church, "The Lucias have been keeping the church in order, and there isn't much call for pastoral support in this backwater town. But that's not what you're asking about.

"Four of the Masters have introduced themselves, and two of those might be choosing to keep themselves hidden. As for the last... well, you came just in time," the woman said, knocking back more of the cheap brew, "It seems that the last Servant in this war was only summoned tonight. Exactly on schedule, but it's not surprising if our last Master hasn't made it yet."

---

"Tonight? Something light, perhaps," the flouncy blonde said, keeping her voice lowered for once to not be overheard over at the other end of the nave--fortunately, this building wasn't quite so echoey as the churches they had visited across Rome. "It is of no concern to me, but if the fighting starts immediately, I would hate to see you forced to run around on something too heavy."

She rubbed her thumb on the back of her Master's hand, more as a distraction to herself--all this waiting and planning was annoying; if another Master and Servant was here then why should she not introduce herself fully and properly? Even this slight skulduggery of hiding her presence was aggravating, this technical violation of neutral ground. Not that she would ever let a Master come to harm here, should they be a worthy opponent, where would the excitement be in that?

But getting to see the Masters now--that would make finding them on a suitable battlefield later easier, somewhere she could show her true brilliance. That would be worth it.

Assassin knew what he was doing, at least. He? They? Dissociative identity disorder was rather difficult to classify when the second identity had a magical consciousness of its own.

Hyde's crudeness was mildly irritating, but nothing that Rumi viewed as getting worked up over. And it wasn't as if she detested his mannerisms so much as what they reminded her of. Unpleasant memories aside, Rumi simply nodded to herself and responded over the mental link.

"Fortunate for all of them that I still have my doubts as to the validity of this Grail War. Otherwise, so many in one place is simply asking for a massacre." That, and that Assassin wasn't exactly a Class suited towards surviving such a situation. It wasn't how a proper Association magus would conduct themselves, but the fact that Lord El-Melloi the First hadn't came back from the Fourth Grail War spoke volumes as to the efficacy of that particular approach.

Frankly, she wasn't intending on staying long. Or in the presence of other Masters.

<"We'll set up observation near the church. I want to at least see who else is present before we make our next move. That, and it would be exceedingly stupid to announce myself as Assassin's Master, of all Servants, in the presence of others. Do either of you boys have any objections?">

The trek to the church had not proven terribly eventful, though Killian had been cautious in making sure the more identifying features of his methods of magecraft. That was one unavoidable downside to scarifying runes into his flesh, but most of it was hidden. His hands were a harder one to avoid while keeping them unimpeded, as one should in case of a sudden encounter with another Mage or, if especially unfortunate, Servant. Strolling along casually, he reached a point of relative safety that he could pause at, formally on the church grounds now. Given all parties involved were, at least thus far, playing by the rules of the War it meant he could safely wait here and summon Archer to his side, something he wasted no further time in doing so.

<"I have arrived at the Church Archer, once you arrive we will proceed. I have yet to spot anything of note during my approach.">

<Of course. My apologies for the delay, but it turned out rather a fruitful diversion.> Came the Servant's response, after a moment's pause. <I'll update you when I arrive. I'm closing in on your position now, and the path forward seenms clear. Although->

There was a brief lull in his response, as if he was checking his workings.

<I can't say I'm detecting anything quite as distinct as our erstwhile guest, but seems as if we're not alone. Something just outside the Church, not quite material but not quite intangible.> Though the Servant wasn't quite able to see his fellows while they were dematerialized, it seemed his keen senses were able to perceive the way in which their sublimated presence yet distorted the air around them.

<And a woman, not too far behind you.> But it seemed there were more immediate concerns. <Be on guard. By the way she's carrying herself, she's not here on a whim.>

<"Massacre might be the most fun I have heard all day, and of course none of that is going to happen. Slap a church and these other jumped up fucks in the face, but no, we play nice since none of it may even matter.">

<"In this regard Master is correct, tipping our collective hand too early is only asking for an early, ignoble end to the both of us. No objections from me, it is wise to observe the quality of the character we are dealing with in the other pairings, and needlessly announcing ourselves early is unwise.">

As always, Jekyll not only chastised Hyde, but kept him firmly in check right now, taking advantage of the calmness of the circumstances that kept Hyde too bored to make grabs for the control of their shared body. Still, him being this chatty was irritating, but little could be done about the matter. Hyde, for his credit, seemed begrudgingly willing to at least go along with the observation plan for right now, if for another set of reasons completely. Ones that utterly repulsed and disgusted Jekyll, the feelings of such being met with smug satisfaction from the lesser of the two, if Jekyll was to be believed, though he did nothing else to force a change of control at the current point in time.

<"Fuck, I have to agree with Doc for once? I can complain all day, but this will making hunting them later more fun, and make gutting them and stringing them up by their own gore that much more satisfying. Not like I care enough to make otherwise happen right now, all this boring walking around and pleasantries is Doc's thing. Never understood how he ever enjoyed it, especially since we are still one and the same. Even if he won't admit it. Though it looks like our spotted ">

<"I look forward to your briefings, then. As for the spotted individuals, the woman is the more overt concern, a sense of purpose betrays much. I will watch for her as you continue to monitor, and see what she gets up to while you position yourself as you see fit. Should she be another Master, her Servant should not be far away at this juncture.">

Killian did not insult Archer's intelligence by adding needless instruction to his directions, such as statements such as 'be ready to act' and other such obviousness. The man knew he was looking for a woman of some purpose, one who had not been too far behind, and finding himself a spot to dilly dally at without standing out too much, he began observing and watching for the woman in question. Right now, he had to play things without planning too far ahead, given the number of unknowns, even with the observations being given by Archer currently. He was confident in a meeting of minds having the potential to serve them both well. His servant situation was not the most ideal, frankly, Archer was potent, no doubt, but in a contest where most Servants excelled in not only fighting in melee, but closing the gap, he would find it wise to find allies early, even if they would need dealt with later. Even if this was a faux Grail War, it would behoove him to take measures to ensure his survival, and knowledge went a long way to doing so.

<"If the situation calls for it, then by all means, feel free to indulge yourself. So long as it doesn't expose either of us."> Rumi responded to Hyde specifically, reaching the street the church was on. Not much in the way of height for vantage spots. Though if she had to choose...well, no one could fault someone for idling in a coffee shop. Shame that it had to be a Starbucks.

One order of a grande caramel macchiato later, Rumi sat down at a corner table through which she could see the church entrance out the glass storefront. She fished a paperback out of her purse, pretending to read all while keeping watch over the church out of the corner of her eye.

<"Assassin. Keep watch over the street. Given the presence of Masters within the church, there have to be Servants in the vicinity. And do let me know if you want a drink before we leave, yes?">

<"I would suggest not encouraging him, when he gets out of hand things never end well for anyone involved.">

<"Ignore Doc, believe me, when the time comes I'll really put these fucking spirits to shame and see how much they can bleed.">

Assassin, having his orders, found a bench to seat himself at, procuring a newspaper first and settling to seemingly relax and read the news. In practice, while his eyes overtly skimmed the mundane goings on worthy enough to reach the presses, every passing person was analyzed and observed carefully. Master seemed to choose a coffee shop, a Starbucks, as this day and age referred to them, which sounded like a form of needlessly gaudy advertising. A rare point both halves agreed on something, was how gaudy some advertising and modern capitalism seemed to go hand in hand. However, while on watch, the Servant spotted the scar handed individual, a likely Master, heading for the coffee shop as well. Too much innocent traffic for him to be making any sort of attack play, but still, Jekyll took the moment to warn Rumi well in advance.

<"A possible Master moving towards the coffee shop, I cannot say if he spotted you but he seems to be moving with a plan. He is the one with scarification on his hands, blue-ish hair, and an ornament hanging from his left ear, well dressed otherwise. I will be ready to respond at a moment's notice, but no sign of any other Servants yet.">

<"Large black coffee for us, Boss, let's see if these modern folks have figured out how to make coffee worth a damn or not.">

<"I spotted the woman in question, going to have a little chat with her and see what has to be said.">

Killian had spotted the woman that Archer had warned him about, heading for a coffee shop. Coffee wasn't a favorite of his, but he wasn't opposed to it either. He wasn't fond of how the caffeine made him feel, but he could always get decaf while holding discussions with this woman. Entering the Starbucks, he would order a large Decaf and seat himself by the woman who had found herself quite the useful vantage to observe from. He deliberately made sure to not block her view of the church, leaning back in the chair adjacent to her table while speaking casually, taking up the age old past time of people watching, seeming to simply be passing time while his true intentions were subtly different.

"Fascinating how complete destruction doesn't even slow down the wheel of ambition, isn't it?"

Ah. So this possible Master that Assassin had mentioned had her made already. Well, this wasn't entirely unexpected. Magi tended to be able to suss each other out among the mundanes. Still, at least he was being subtle about matters. How refreshing.

"Fascinating indeed." She replied in English, taking a sip of her drink. "I believe everyone involved with any semblance of a brain cell is trying to determine what to make of all this. It really was quite a mess back home when this all blew up, didn't it?"

Rumi studied the blue-haired man for a moment. No one she was particularly familiar with, even in passing at the Clock Tower. Unsurprising. The Association was large enough that past one's personal circle, it was rather difficult to pinpoint any one magus.

Someone willing to be reasonable was a breath of fresh air. One of the many reasons his family had, for the most part, operated on their own was the...peculiar nature of the various options available to an aspiring Magus in terms of allies, though such a term was deceptively ill applied. Even his dealings with the Thule Society, arguably the most prominent users of Runecraft, were by their very nature strangling it to death with their steadfast refusal to even consider cooperating with each other beyond the most formal and necessary of activities. It seemed his gamble to approach would not be wholly a waste, at least initially, given the fluent English and equal discretion shown thus far.

"A rather generous way to put things, by all accounts worth regarding it should have been a done deal. Yet here we are, like nothing had changed at all. Quite remarkable, even by the standards of what transpired."

Killian had the chance to consider the woman after he spotted her and while approaching his current seating position, taking a sip from his drink while thinking. Not a member of the Thule Society, which was frankly a relief given how they behaved, which left pretty much the entirety of the Mage Association or, perhaps, one of the Far Eastern associations as possibilities, assuming she didn't simply pay lip service to an organization and operate on her own beyond that. Given her remarks, however, it was worth considering she might not regard this contest as being entirely valid, something very much worth considering by those with 'any semblance of a brain cell'.

"Determining whether or not it is worth risking being grinded to dust, to torture an already stretched metaphor of wheels, remains too early to tell. At least the choice of locale is pleasant enough, even if it runs the real risk of being little more than a sight seeing tour."

"Oh?" Rumi's lips curled up ever so slightly. "Interested in the contest if it turns out to be real? While I can hardly blame you, the first was dismantled for a reason. A lesser imitation of an already-cursed original is bound to end in disaster."

Indeed, Tohsaka had quite a bit to say about the entire situation whenever she was asked. It was why Rumi herself was so cautious about the Sako war, really. And speaking of Sako...

"Believe me, you could do far better in terms of sightseeing than here. Sako is something of a dead-end backwater, really. There are far better options in every regard, whether you enjoy the metropolis or the countryside. This may really just be the worst of both worlds. Even Fuyuki to the north had more going for it."

"A guarded interest in seeing how it plays out, if you will. Nothing worth gambling life and vital limb over, at least not with what has been revealed so far." Killian kept a pleasant tone the entire time, and by all accounts it was genuine at the moment. The contest had not yet started, so there was no sense in driving wedges quite yet. From the sounds of it she wasn't exactly keen on making any undue risks either, something he could work with for now. Her casually disparaging remarks on Sako being such a backwater and not worth the time got a quiet chuckle from the man.

"I shall take your word for it that there are significantly better places to tour, perhaps when this inevitably falls apart and comes to naught I can see some of the more interesting locations then, if this is truly such an irredeemable backwater. Alas, I am at least obligated to be here until the contest, or at least my role in it, has played out. I might stick to the more tourist friendly destinations, at least without native guides, as I understand it certain locations very much do not appreciate outsiders poking their nose in, looking to get it clipped off." He had no problem letting the woman ramble on as she saw fit, the more she talked the more information he could potentially gather. Even if it wasn't immediately relevant to the Grail War, true or not, it wouldn't hurt to know just in case.

Ah. So this was going nowhere quickly. Rumi took another long sip of her coffee, the entrance of the church still in the corner of her eye. That was the problem when two seemingly reasonable people were in one place, wasn't it? Both weren't stupid enough to reveal information they didn't have to.

"Oh, don't let me keep you. I doubt either of us has much of import to say to each other at this point. At least, not until we each have more information to share. Regardless, it seems we're working along similar lines. By all means, I won't interfere with you so long as you do the same for myself."

Shame, it seemed the woman was smart enough to not reveal her hand too early. She would be dangerous indeed should this contest be worth pursuing to the end, but that was to be determined. For now, he would be content to accept a mutual understanding to not obstruct the other, at least for the early motions of the impending War. Still, no sense overstaying his welcome and souring a potential avenue he could utilize in the coming days, rather, he inclined his head slightly before taking another long sip from his coffee.

"I won't keep your attention needlessly then, and a mutual agreement to not obstruct the other suits me for now as well. With that, do enjoy your novel, it is a lovely day for such a thing." He wasn't going to overtly call her out on watching the church, it was a good viewpoint for it, but he indeed made himself scarce, strolling back outside while mentally contacting Archer once again, unaware of the eyes on him as Assassin watched him while monitoring the street, Hyde impatiently waiting for his coffee.

<"The woman will prove to be one worth keeping an eye on as temporary alliances and rivalries form, we will enter the Church from another angle so she does not spot you. No need to tip our hand as to who you are quite yet, not until we know who she commands ideally.">

Lucia looked down at where she and Nero's hands connected, frowning slightly. Nero's thumb ran gently across the back of Lucia's hand. Was she nervous? Anxious? Excited? Maybe all of them, but she was definitely uneasy. Lucia knew that Nero would much rather be forward about their involvement, but staying silent and gathering information was their best bet until later. Lucia worried about her own inexperience, but had faith that God had chosen her for a task she could complete.

Surely, the location of her command seals was a sign. Divine providence, communicating to her that she should remain hidden until absolutely necessary. Stay the course, and be rewarded.

But with what? Lucia had no wishes in particular to give the grail. Perhaps her purpose was to find a suitable Master with a wish that would not disturb God's Earth? To find such a person among Magi seemed... difficult.

Not to mention, Nero would likely not accept second place, even if that was Lucia's own desire.

Well, it was no use thinking about such things now. With her unoccupied hand, she gently prodded Nero's forehead.

"No cook wants to hear 'it's no concern to me'. Good food, good wine, good company... all things meant to be enjoyed to the fullest. I want to offer you wonderful, delicious things to make you giddy," Lucia scolded lightly, "but... I understand your concern. We can go easy on the bread, if you like. I'm also preparing a delicious side salad in a light vinaigrette."

Lucia gently let go of Nero's hand.

"Also... thank you for sticking with me. I understand the current leg of our journey is difficult, but I am certain that something wonderful awaits us at the end."

---

@Octo

---

I stare at the woman for longer than I probably should, trying to piece together everything she keeps talking about. From 'Holy Grail War' to talking about classes like this was some role playing game. I'm still not sure I haven't found myself caught up in some elaborate LARP, for the record. It was at least less worrying to imagine that was the case than to stick with the assumption that this girl before me was completely insane. But, on the bright side, she was at least willing to find something different to wear.

"Hold on."

Something else in bothering me much more. I get up, walking over to her side of the short table and kneeling down. "Don't stab your food. Look, hold them like this—" I take her hand in mine, arranging the chopsticks between her fingers the right way. "You saw the way I was doing it, right? You're supposed to grab things with the chopsticks, not skewer them."

Rather than remain too close, I back away as soon as I'm sure she's holding the chopsticks right, returning to my spot. Getting her more normal clothing would at least help keep her from standing out too much until I could figure out how beast to deal with her, sure...although who knows what she'll try and do once we're out and about.

But she keeps calling me her master. And she took direction earlier. Maybe that'll be the ticket to keep her from causing trouble outside?

"So. Kimonos, you were saying? Not a bad idea, but they aren't the most practical clothes in the world. We probably ought to find you some more typical wear, too, especially if you're going to be staying undercover. Unless you do want to borrow some of my spares." I look her up and down more appraisingly than I did before. I already know we're basically the same height, and she's not much thinner than me either.

"Fit should work. You're not too far off from me, shouldn't even be too tight in the..."

My metaphorical train of thought runs off track as one half of my brain catches up to the other. I look back down at the food quickly, not bothering to finish that thought.

"Anyways. Tonight?"