#fgo oneshots

[zaczenemiji]

⋆˚࿔ Fanfic Masterlist 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

Series

Skate With Me (Viktor Nikiforov x Reader)

The rink is her stage and history is but a story she writes legibly.

Daughter of the Gods (Gilgamesh x Reader)

"But we were destined to cross paths even by the hands of the gods."

Dream Upon A Star (Morpheus x Goddess!Reader)

Dream falls for the goddess who challenges.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 (ongoing)

Kenji Sato

Requests are closed 😞

The Winning Pitch [Cheerleader!Reader]

Kenji wins himself a cheerleader.

Curtain Calls and Curveballs [Actress!Reader]

Enemies to lover with slow burn progressing.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 (completed)

Oneshot Requests:

Emi’s Favorite - Emi with a giant moth mommy

Too Good, Too True - you’re too sweet for him

Shattered Pride - Kenji realizes his mistakes

Kaiju Heist - flirty spidey trapped in a web

Glam Before the Slam - Kenji looking bonita

Don’t Prove ‘Em Right - you could do better

From LA, with Love - LDR with Kenji

In the Heart of Danger - you take a hit for Kenji

Second to None - relationship struggles

[bittertomato]

The Nanmei Yumihari Eight Dog Chronicles event was great. Cute doggos, Bakin was fun, and I got THIS scene at the end:

Barghest is such a good bean.

Baobhan Sith is such a drama queen.

I can't believe she's a brat who normally drinks fruit infused water.

4. She's such an ass I love her. Definitely a bitch whose personality screams "only child pampered and spoiled by a single mother powered by spite". I'm glad post LB6 at least kept that side of her while letting it play out in a more controlled and healthy setting. She did absolutely NOTHING in this event and she would NOT have wanted to anyway. You go girl.

5. It makes me giggle that Barghest knows that the "teacher's pet" behavior pisses Baobhan Sith off but she does it anyway.

6. I mean look at how smug Baggie looks while Baobao is utterly horrified.

I love them your honor.

[dmitriyuriev]

Point of no return.

[artblock-tm]

SURPRISE! Sudden fate series writings be upon ye!

Rating: Mature Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Category: Gen Fandom: Fate/Grand Order Character: Lancelot of the Lake | Saber Additional Tags: Gender-Neutral Fujimaru Ritsuka, non-specific Master (could be Fujimaru but could be an oc! whatever you like!), Blood and Gore, Lancelot Goes Through It, Character Study, Kind of? Honestly I just wanted to write Lancelot losing his mind a little, He’s MY blorbo and I get to cover him in blood and viscera, no beta we lose sight of ourselves and devolve into madness like Lancelot

Summary: Lancelot fights his way through a blizzard with his unconscious Master in his arms.

[sealer-of-wenkamui]

Brief story summary of the new Douman oneshot that I am currently obsessing over. It's about human Douman, and seems to be after he starts heading down the dark path and behaving more like Limbo.

It starts with him hearing about a house on the edge of town where a bird calls and everyone there is so happy and blessed, and they say the bird sings for them and their happiness. Douman goes and visits this house and they welcome him in and say they want to share their happiness and they treat him to food and sake.

He brings up the bird, and they're all like yes its wishing for our happiness! But he says he hears it saying how long are you going to keep ignoring things (How long=itsumade, which is the name of the youkai that shows up later)

He then talks to a girl who was married into the family, and who claims they're oni. She tells him how girls married in would then be killed, then the family would tell their parents how they died without giving any children, and were useless, and basically used that to exploit the family and get gifts and stuff from them.

They then start hearing the bird's cry "Itsumade itsumade" and Douman tells them to listen closely... They hear something coming from the back, though the old lady tries to deny it but everyone is clearly freaked out by it. And then the dead come back and brutally murder the whole family and they come together to form the vengeful spirit Itsumade, which appears in the Taiheiki, a famous Japanese epic.

Douman is quite excited about it and asks if it plans to eat him too. And how when he returns to the capital one day he's going to curse Seimei to death and so he's going to take its rage and resentment. Then its the fight scene, and finally as he leaves the young girl from the beginning asks about if he went there and he said yes and how he had a wonderful meal there and then laughs.

[melonisopod]

End of a Dream (oneshot)

Characters: Oberon Vortigern, Blanca, original character

Setting: Lostbelt 6 Avalon le Fae

Summary: After the Autumn Woods' destruction, Myra reaches out to comfort her friend.

In the wake of Tam Lin Gawain’s onslaught, there was only ash. The smoldering ruins of the Autumn Woods billowed with smoke. Despite the best efforts of Artoria and Myra to help search, not a single survivor was found.

With nothing left to save, the group had quietly departed. Everyone had turned in for the night, save for three - the Child of Prophecy and the Chaldea Master were about to see off their friend, as he was about to slip out under the cover of night.

“You wanna talk to him?” Myra aksed Artoria.

“I think you’d be better at that than me,” Artoria said. 

Getting up, Myra could see him a ways off, wearing his traveling attire, his hair as silvery as the moonlight in the darkness. He hadn’t seemed to notice her following him, so she quickened her pace a bit and caught up to him, catching him by the wrist.

“Can’t sleep again?” Oberon asked teasingly, but was suddenly cut off when, without warning, Myra threw her arms around him in a hug. 

“I’m so sorry about what happened to you,” she said, “Oberon, I wish we’d gotten there sooner. I wish we could have saved the Welsh Fairies,”

In the soft light of the moon, he could see her dark eyes glistening with tears. 

“Oh, is that what this is?” Oberon asked innocently, “Don’t worry yourself sick about me, alright, Myra? It was my own fault, and it’s a burden I have to bear,”

“You shouldn’t have to deal with this all alone,” Myra said, “I’m your friend, and I care about you too. If you ever want to come to me with anything…well, I’m not really sure what I can offer. I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say,”

Oberon looked at her for a moment with an unreadable expression, his eyes almost seeming to glow a bit in the darkness. Then, he answered her with a rueful smile.

“What is there left to say?” he shrugged, “What’s done is done, and I was never going to be strong enough to save them. All I can do is move on,”

“You’re lying,” Myra said, “I know you must be heartbroken over this. You don’t have to hide that from me,”

“That’s just the kind of person you are, isn’t it?” he sighed, almost sounding exasperated, “Listen, Myra, you’re a good friend for reaching out to me, but I don’t want you getting choked up on my behalf. You’ve got your mission to worry about, no need to concern yourself with me,” He smiled “And now that the Welsh Fairies are gone, I can devote all my attention to helping you and the Child of Prophecy! That’s good for you, isn’t it?”

“There’s no way you’re happy about any of this,” Myra said sadly, “but you’ll just keep turning me away, won’t you? Fine, I get it, trust me, I do. I’m exactly like you are, burying my feelings so no one has to see how weak I really am,”

“Nah, it isn’t like that, Myra,” Oberon said, “I’m just handling it in my own way. Now go on, get back to the camp and get some rest, I’ll go and gather intelligence,”

“Alright, I’ll leave you alone,” Myra said, “And I didn’t mean to call you weak. I’m sorry,”

“Hahaha, I don’t take it personally, Myra!” Oberon chuckled while he playfully patted her on the shoulder, “You meant well, didn’t you? You’re such a good friend, I’m lucky to have you!”

“If you ever need a place to stay,” Myra said, “You can come to Chaldea,”

“Okay, I’ll see about it,” Oberon said, “Goodnight, Myra. Go and get some sleep, you’ve got an early day ahead of you!”

“Take care, Oberon,” Myra said, before finally running off back to the rest of the group.

Once she was finally out of sight, Oberon rubbed his temples in frustration, letting out a heavy sigh that sounded more like a low growl.

“That’s exactly what I hate about you,” he said to himself, “As if you had any right to console me, when your end goal was always to destroy Fairy Britain. Did I ask for your pity?”

In truth, he couldn’t help but feel comforted by the girl’s compassion for him, and this is what disgusted him more than anything else. She was supposed to be his enemy, (not that she knew that), and yet, here she was, offering a shoulder to cry on like they’d been long-time friends.

It was only a testament to how stupid she really was, how easily fooled she was. It’d be all the more satisfying once he’d revealed to her the truth.

He made his way back to what remained of the Autumn Woods, his hair as black as the burnt husks of the trees that were now reduced to ashes. He searched the rubble for the bodies of the Welsh Fairies, finding the wings that were the least damaged, the least charred from the smoke.

He could not save them, and he never made any pretense that he ever could, and yet, they accepted him, made him their king, gave him a place and a home. Though he detested being Oberon the Fairy King, he could never bring himself to hate the Welsh Fairies, even if they repulsed him.

They had given him all they had, and yet, he couldn’t even save them. 

But no matter. He would make sure all who had rejected his subjects would suffer unimaginably. Especially that Fang Clan woman. For her, he’d only reserve the most horrific torment. 

But for now, he’d bide his time. He gathered together the delicate wings, hairs, bits of broken limbs, carefully weaving them together into one massive cloak. 

He would carry their bodies as his regalia, always keeping a piece of them with himself. Even with his kingdom in ruins, he was still the Fairy King. 

Wrapping it about his shoulders, he saw that it was a bit bigger than he’d anticipated, but he didn’t mind. It just served to make his form appear bigger as well, which suited him fine.

His attention now turned to the large white moth who watched him with her unblinking black eyes. His shoulders slumped.

“I’m sorry, Blanca,” he said regretfully, “Well, I never did promise I would be of any use to your people, did I? It’s your own fault for putting your hopes in me,”

The Princess of the Welsh Fairies saw through him, as she always did. She fluttered around him and landed on his shoulder, taking a moment to examine his cloak with her antennae before crawling just under his chin, brushing her fuzzy body against him before finally stopping with her head rested over his other shoulder. 

This was her way of consoling him, of forgiving him. She never faulted him for his weakness, as he never faulted his subjects for theirs. 

“Do you like it, Blanca?” he asked her, reaching a hand up to pet her soft body. “How miserable, that even an insect would pity me! That stupid girl was right - I really am weak,”

He stood amid the ashes under the glow of the moon, holding his princess in his arms.

[otaku-tactician]

lmao had a dream where fate cu chulainn and i actually got along this time. proto and lancer were my servants and we overcame some wild ass fights together, including gilgamesh on a fucked up train. one of the cu said my confidence in them helped them fight better 🤣 and there was also a fgo bond 100 mode.

creepiest part was when writing this dream i keep feeling weird touches against my neck. ok...

also dreamt that robin hood had a psychological play in the theatre set against a backdrop of cherry blossoms

[keikaru]

sailor of the stars - fate/grand order (romani)

He is Doctor Romani Archaman, leading director of Chaldea.

He conducts research and work in pristine gloves, white with the familiar smell of disinfectant.

Ritsuka notices how he never takes them off. Medical and clean, his hands work methodically in the infirmary wing.

One day, she notices the indention of a ring on his hand.

Without thinking, she reaches out and takes his hand in hers.

“Doctor, do you have someone dear to you?”

It takes a moment for him to register her touch. His reaction startles her—he flails his hands and mentions Magi Mari in passing but retracts his statement when Ritsuka quiets and gives him a stare akin to pity.

Romani’s words dissolve into an incoherent stammer, and he rests a hand on the back of his neck. A meek expression crosses his face.

“O-Oh! The ring holds significance to me. I didn’t think it’s worth mentioning to anyone. Ahh…please let this be a secret between us. There’s no need to tell Da Vinci, although I think that mad scientist has suspicions…”

Ritsuka takes back her hand and clasps them behind her back.

“My apologies, doctor. I didn’t mean to pry.”

“Hahaha. Don’t worry about it!” His smile is kind but steadily grows sheepish. “I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea. But I already see you have the wrong impression of me…so please forget I said anything. It’s embarrassing...”

Ritsuka smiles. It's a genuine and kind smile to the doctor.

[marblesphere]

Fate/Alternate Reality (Part 1)

My version of what happened in the Fifth Holy Grail War in Fuyuki and the aftermath. This is sorta self insert fanfic, feel free to change the mc's name.

!!Warning!! Tooth rotting fluff, angst, suggestive theme, violence.

Happy Reading

Part 2

“…a little more… just a little more… I got it!” my small hand makes contact with a thick book in my late father’s study. It’s a book that contains a lot of pretty circles. I just love seeing those pretty things.

And so, today too, I am going to draw the pretty circle and play with it. “Today’s picture is…” I flip open the book to see which one caught my attention today. “…this! I am going to draw this!”

Humming a song, I draw the pretty circle on the floor. ‘Better finish this before Yume-san comes…’

Yume-san, is my guardian… at least until I am 18 years old. Papa and Mama are not here anymore… so… their assets will be inherited by me when I grow up. For now, my school fee will be directly paid each month by Yume-san and I will get my weekly allowance. Yume-san always plays with me if she has spare time… but…

‘I am a little lonely…’

“It’s done!” I cheer as I look at the finished drawing. “So pretty!!!” I gush as I run around the circle. “Let’s see what kind of pretty circle is this…” I look at the book again.

“…servant summoning circle…?” I tilt my head at the words. “…what is a servant?” a light bulb appears in my head. “At a time like this… here it is, dictionary!!”

“Servant… servant…” I search for the word in the dictionary. “Servant… a person who is employed in another person’s house, doing jobs such as cooking and cleaning.”

“Cooking and cleaning…” I gasp in realization. “It’s maid-san!”

“Amazing! This pretty circle calls out a maid-san.” My eyes sparkled. “If…if maid-san lives with me… then, I won’t be lonely anymore.” my small brain made that conclusion. “Yosh! Let’s call the maid-san.”

“I wonder what kind of maid-san will appear. I hope she is super pretty… she will become a super maid-san.”

Let the silver and steel be the essence

Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation

Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall

Let the four cardinal gates close

Come out from the crown

Rotate the three-branched road reaching the Kingdom

Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill

Repeat five times

But when each is filled, destroy it

Let it be declared now

Your flesh shall serve under me, and my fate shall be with your swords

Submit to the beckoning of Holy Grail

Answer, if you would submit to this will and this truth

An oath shall be sworn here

I shall attain all virtues of the Heaven

I shall have dominion over all evils of Hell

From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power

Come forth from the ring of restraint,

O Guardian of the Scales

A small whirlwind suddenly picks up around the pretty circle as it starts to shine. “Eh?”

It shines brighter and brighter until I can’t see anything. And when the wind dies down… someone is standing in the midst of the pretty circle. “Super…maid-san…?”

“Who summoned a needless servant like…me…” super maid-san bends down his tall body to look at me. “A… kid…?”

“I am Rein. Mutsuki Rein. Nice to meet you, Super Maid-san.” ~”~

Brown coloured big doe eyes and long wavy black hair with brown tips. ‘This… no matter how I see this… is not my own appearance.’

The assimilation is getting faster recently. ‘Well, if worse comes to worse…’

“Rein-chan?”

“Nothing.” I shake my head.

“It’s finally time.”

“Don’t be so nervous, Hakuno.” I giggle at her.

“How can I not be nervous? This Holy Grail War and mine are so much different.”

“The difference is only on how it was conducted,” I reply.

“But…”

“Don’t worry. Don’t worry. I will win this war and we will get our wishes granted.” I smile.

“Okay…”

“Come forth from the ring of restraint, O Guardian of the Scales.” The summoning circle shines bright and then fades away.

“Oh, Ar… who are you?” I ask the servant in front of me.

“That should be my question. Are you my mas…”

The servant in front of me is a man, in his late twenties with his tanned skin and slicked back white hair. Wearing red mystic code. This servant is…

“Archer…” my mouth moves on its own and I quickly clamp it shut. ‘As I thought, it’s not my Archer, it’s her Archer.’

“You are… How?!” he grabs my shoulders and I hiss at the sudden pain. “I apologize, Master.”

“Rein. My name is Mutsuki Rein. Your master in this Holy Grail War.”

“I am Archer…”

“I know.” I nod. “Let me take you to your room.” ~”~

“This is Holy Grail…?” I gape, looking at the big floating chalice that keeps pouring out black mud.

“Tsk. So it’s a corrupted grail after all. Fall back, Master. I’ll destroy that thing.” Archer summons Kanshou and Bakuya.

“But!” I open my mouth to protest.

“This is not the time to make a wish! The black mud will destroy everything it touches!” Archer growls as he engages in a fight with black mud. “Rin! Take care of my idiot master!”

“Eh? Ha?!” Rin is perplexed by the sudden command.

‘Then, what about my wish…’ I clench my fist.

“Rein, there’s no time standing here. We’re going to the bank before the mud reaches us.” Rin urged.

“…” my mind is conflicted. ‘Is there really no way for this grail to grant my wish?’

“Hurry up!” Rin snapped, unaware of the mud that had slithered right behind her.

“Rin!” I pushed her out of the way. ‘No! If that touches me, the two of us will die!’ my mind quickly turns as I use magic to push another soul out of my body.

*Stab*

A piercing pain shot through my body. The mud tentacle pierces through my chest. “Not…Yet…” I coughed up blood. Using my last strength, I transfer my command seals to her, Kishinami Hakuno-san. ‘I hope… at least she got her wish granted.’ I closed my eyes, welcoming the darkness. ~”~

“REIN!!” Rin yelled in horror as she saw Rein suddenly split into two and one of them was stabbed by the mud.

Her shout is heard by Archer. The servant quickly turns back to check his master and Rin, only to be shocked by the phenomenal sight. “No…way…” He muttered. Archer is running back to his master’s supposed safe zone, but in his mind only one thought running through, ‘Why is she here?’

She, Kishinami Hakuno. His previous master in another Holy Grail war. She is supposed to be an NPC made according to the data of the real Kishinami Hakuno. An irregular that had already been deleted by Moon Cell. So, how can she appear here? With a body no less…

‘No, that’s not a body.’

That’s just a materialized spirit much like a Heroic Spirit does. But why and how could she possess his current master? Is it because his current master is somehow her ancestor or predecessor or they are linked in a way or another, considering how much they look alike?

“Master.” Archer landed on the ground. “What…” His eyes widened.

“Re-Rein… What…how come…. Which one is Rein?” Rin panicked, looking at the two fainted females.

On the ground, instead of two look-alike females, one of the girls looks completely different. Instead of long wavy brown hair like his previous master, her long hair is as black as night. Not only that, even her face has changed into a completely different person. There’s nothing alike with his previous master, even her faint lingering magic also changed. Another thing that captures his attention is the command spells that are carved in his previous master’s hand.

“Hnnn….” Hakuno groaned before opening her eyes. “Re-Rein-chan!” She quickly scrambled to her feet.

“Hakuno…” Archer breathed out.

Hakuno turns her head, finding Archer staring at her. She can clearly see a lot of emotions reflected in his eyes. “Archer…” Her voice is barely above a whisper. How much she yearns to see her beloved again.

“Archer! Behind you!!” Rin’s warning snapped them out of their daze.

Archer quickly slashes the approaching mud.

“I know you have a lot of questions, but ask them later. We must deal with that first.” Hakuno also regained her composure.

“I know. Let’s go” Archer too, composed himself again. ‘Right. First, we need to destroy that thing. Everything else will come later.’

“Rin, can you heal Rein-chan?” Hakuno turned to the confused Rin.

“Mou… I don’t know what’s happening anymore. You better explain clearly later.” Rin said as she pulled out her gems.

But fighting a corrupted grail is no small task, the mud is unending as it keeps overflowing from the grail. “Archer, use your Noble Phantasm,” Hakuno said.

“If I were to use that, you’d disappear,” Archer argued. Using Noble Phantasm required a lot of mana supply from the master. He finally meets her again, there’s no way he’ll let her slip out again.

“Don’t worry. I won’t disappear. I promise.” Hakuno smiled. Yes, Rein has supplied part of her mana to herself every day. That’s why she can materialise her body.

“But-”

Suddenly magic circle appears beneath Rein’s body. “Wh-what’s going on now?!” Rin shielded her eyes from the gust formed around the magic circle. A book flies out from rubbles near them, floating right above the also float-standing Rein. The book opens by itself and the pages are turning with incredible speed.

“System activated.” A mechanical voice came out from the book.

“W-wha?!”

“Magic circuits scan complete.”

“Magic circuits condition all green.”

“Magic circuits connection complete.”

“Synchro percentage 100%.”

“Link complete.”

“Excellion Palladias, activate,” Rein said softly.

“Ignition.” Mana gathers around her, enveloping her in half sphere of light and suddenly bursts out, creating a pillar of light. As the light dissipates bit by bit. The fatal injury on her stomach is completely healed. Even the clothes have been mended. When her eyes opened, they were not the brown doe eyes like they used to see, instead her eyes were vivid purple, like a gemstone . ~”~

‘I can feel the mana is welling up inside me. A familiar and nostalgic sensation.’ I can feel how my magic circuits work and the flow of the mana even more clear than usual. It’s as if my body had woken up from a deep sleep. I softly land on the ground. The Grimoire is floating on my right hand.

The black mud is starting to attack again as it senses a new threat. I hold out my left hand, creating a magic circle which deflects the incoming attack.

“Niflheim.” Icicles formed around me and shot toward the mud, freezing it. But it only affects a small part. ‘I need more time to cast powerful spell.’

I narrow my eyes. Another bigger magic circle appears on the ground few steps ahead of me. “Servant summoning.”

“Summoning.” The mechanical voice of the book repeats. The magic circle glows brighter and brighter, creating a small whirlwind.

“Come, my servant.” Another pillar of light shoots up to the sky, and now standing in front of me is a familiar red figure… and another hooded servant. ‘??? …how come two of them came out when it’s supposed to be only one.’ I blinked my eyes rapidly.

“Which master summoned a needless servant like me.” The red figure spoke in a familiar manner and voice. “…That’s what I want to say. But this is the first time I have been summoned while facing a corrupted grail.” He leered. The hooded figure beside him is also staring at the Grail.

“You know Archer, you really should change your first words to Master. For example, ‘Defender of Justice is here!’ or ‘I will fight for your sake’.”

“What kind of creepy lines are that?! And just for your information, I am not some kind of defender of justice.” Archer turns his head to look at me.

“Are you my…master…?” Archer trailed off.

“You are… Saber?” I focused my attention on the hooded figure.

“Yes. I am Saber.” The hooded figure answered.

“Oi! Don’t ignore me!” Archer raised his voice.

“Oi oi oi. What kind of joke is this?” Archer (Nameless) frowned.

“T-there are two Archers…” Rin gaped.

“…the explanation will take a lot of time. I will explain it later. Besides, your first word is supposed to be ‘You’ve grown up’ or ‘Nice to see you again’… Well, I guess the nature of the summoning makes it impossible to retain any memories from previous war…” I sighed in disappointment.

“Hm… that face… no, I do somehow remember the memories of my previous summon…” Archer murmured. “You are…”

“Eh? You remember?! Why?!” It’s my turn to be surprised.

“Umm… Rein-chan, I think it’s better to focus on the Grail first…” Hakunon raises her hand.

“Ah, that’s right,” I said flatly.

“Don’t answer like you just remember it!” Archer (Nameless) exclaimed.

“Haa… I can’t believe my luck.” Archer sighed at his unfortunate situation.

“Aren’t you being a little mean to me?” I pout. “Well, whatever.” I sigh. “Archer, Saber, buy me some time. I will freeze the whole grail.”

“Roger, Master.” They replied.

The temperature around me drops drastically, a white puff of breath becomes visible and frost begins to form as more mana condenses. And then I shoot the condensed mana to the Grail, freezing it. Part of the frozen mud breaks off, revealing the core.

“Destroy it!”

My two servants are quick in their actions. The moment the core shatters, the mud slowly recedes and vanishes, leaving no trace at all. The only evidence of it was the destroyed properties around us.

“Good…work…” I suddenly feel all my strength leaves me and my consciousness is fading. ‘Still…need…to…explain.’  ~”~

“Good…work…” Rein swayed and collapsed as she finished her words, which fortunately was caught by the good reflex of the hooded knight.

“…Master, you can’t just faint like this. You still need to explain to us.” Archer sighed and picked up the fallen grimoire.

“Let’s go to Rein-chan’s house first. I’ll explain what I know.” Hakuno spoke up.

“Then I am going too. I have a lot of questions, especially about you and those two Archers.” Rin huffed. ~”~

The guests are seated on the sofas in the living room while Hakuno is taking a look at the storage, given her and Rein’s last conversation was, ‘Storage room, effigy for you.’

In the living room, Rin is looking back and forth at the two Archers. Somehow, the atmosphere is quite awkward.

“It feels weird seeing another me.” Archer sighed.

“Agreed. We always got to draw short sticks.” Archer (Nameless) nodded.

“You said it. I have a lot of questions to ask, but my master is still asleep. Yare yare… even though she understood the situation the most, at least I think so. But I never thought I would be summoned again, by the same master no less.” Archer said.

“You-”

“Sorry for the wait.” Hakuno came back to the living room.

“Master, are you alright?” Archer (Nameless) asked.

“I am fine.” She smiled.

“Your body…” Rin pursed her lips.

“Ah, Rein prepared an effigy for me. From now on, this will be my body.” Hakuno said.

“I see… Then, can you start explaining about this situation?” Rin flicks her hair.

“By the way, that Saber over there. Are you going to stay anonymous?” Archer told him.

“Ah. My apology.” Saber took off his hood, causing gasps of surprise from the others.

“Sa-Saber?” Rin pointed at him.

“Yes. I am Saber.” Saber nodded.

“No. That’s not what I mean. You… aren’t you a girl?” Rin gaped.

“Girl? I am sure I was born and raised as a man.”  Saber blinked.

“But you are…” King Arthur. The last word stuck in her throat.

“Did you mistake me for someone else?” Saber asked.

“Saber, is your true name, by chance King Arthur?” Archer looked at him.

“Yes. That’s true. My True Name is Arthur Pendragon, the King of Britain.” Saber affirmed.

“The King Arthur I know is a girl.” Archer’ knitted his brows.

“I see… so, this world’s Arthur is a girl,” Saber muttered.

“This world…?” They repeated the word.

“Yes. The girl Saber you know and I share the same past and legend with me, but we are different people. You can say I am King Arthur from a different world.” Saber said.

“It’s getting more and more complicated.” Rin sighed.

“Agreed, but we can sum up the most important point is she and he are different people. That much is certain.” Archer sighed.

“Then, don’t tell me you and her also came from a different world.” Rin raises her brow, looking at another Archer (Nameless) and Hakuno

“You could say it like that.” Archer nodded.

“The question is, how did you two come here? Saber might have to do with the summon system Master used. But you two…” Archer looked at them.

“If it’s about that, I’ll explain.” Hakuno finally spoke up.

“My name is Kishinami Hakuno and I was a winner of a Holy Grail War in my world. My contracted servant at that time is Archer. Our war was done inside virtual reality. We enter cyberspace and participate in the war.”

“The cyberspace we entered was not on Earth. It was in Moon.” Archer supplied.

“Moon?” The others blinked.

“Yeah... in the Moon, there is a massive collection of photonic crystals that comprises a giant supercomputer of sorts. We call it Moon Cell. The Moon Cell is the Holy Grail.” Archer (Nameless) explained.

“Wait a minute. Then it’s different from the grail we destroyed just now.” Rin knitted her brows.

“Yes. Actually, rather than getting Moon Cell itself, we gained the right to use Moon Cell after we won the war. And the war itself is different. In our world, each participant will enter the arena and have one on one battle, the last one standing will be the winner of the war.” Hakuno said.

“Then how can it grant a wish?” Rin frowned.

“Those two are still wish-granting devices but, since Moon Cell and the Holy Grail are fundamentally different, so the way of using them is also different. There’s no need to think too hard. In the first place, we also don’t really know the true nature of the Holy Grail.” Archer said.

“True…nature?” Saber mutters softly as he tries to remember something. Something that seems to be missing from his memories.

“What’s wrong, Saber?” Archer asked the dazed Saber.

“No… nothing. I was just thinking too much.” Saber shook his head.

“But unlike the life and death battle royal here. Your war is quite tame.” Archer said.

“I wonder about that. The losers of the war will be deleted from cyberspace and their real body will be eliminated as well.” Archer (Nameless) sneered.

“Haaa…. I take that back. No matter where it is, the nature of the Holy Grail War is still like that… Ruthless.” Archer sighed.

“I’ll continue my story. As the winner of the war, I was granted the right to use the Moon Cell. But at the same time, the Moon Cell recognized me as invalid data.” Hakuno took a deep breath.

“Invalid data? Bug?” Archer narrowed his eyes.

“The reason being, I was just an NPC which somehow gained awareness.”

“NPC? You mean, you aren’t….” Rin looked at her wide-eyed.

“Yes. I am not a human. I was an NPC made according to the data of the real Kishinami Hakuno, who is in hibernation due to brain disease. But strangely enough, in the preliminary round, Moon Cell approved me to join the war. My wish at that time was to learn about myself since I didn’t remember everything. But in the end, I was deleted due to being invalid data, since it took time to delete me due to the contradiction caused by the frozen body in the real world. I have time to enter my wish, to know the truth about me and send the information of my other half to Rin.” Hakuno said.

“Me?” Rin pointed to herself.

“The Rin in my world.” Hakuno smiled. “And I thought that would be the end of me. But the next moment I woke up, I was in some kind of dark place. I kept calling for someone but no one answered me, until one day I heard a reply.”

“I see, the one who replied to you is…”

“Yes. It was Rein-chan. The moment Rein-chan replied to my call, an exit appeared in that dark place. I thought I would get out of that place only to find I was inside Rein-chan’s body.” Hakuno finished.

“I understand how you were linked to Rein’s body. But how do you explain about her appearance? She looked exactly like you.” Rin said.

“This is only my hypothesis, it might be part of me still connected to the Moon Cell and at that time I wished I had a body, that might be the cause of how her appearance changed to be like mine. Rather, that’s the only plausible explanation.” Hakuno gripped her hands tightly. “And as for Archer being summoned here… must be because of me too.”

“This is really unbelievable…” Rin put her hand on her forehead.

“Haa… I also couldn’t believe this. At first, I thought she was related to you or something. But her personality is 180 degrees the opposite of you. But… she looked like she had a personality change after separating from you…” Archer (Nameless) frowned.

“Personality change? I thought she was still the same as 10 years ago.” Archer blinked.

“No, she’s definitely different. When she still looked like Hakuno, she was really handful, so haughty, arrogant, selfish, easily throwing tantrums and egoist.” Archer (Nameless) described.

“You sure you are talking about the same Master? How come I feel like you are talking about Rin instead.” Archer sweatdropped.

“Hey, how rude! I am a Tohsaka. A Tohsaka is always elegant.” Rin snapped. “I am not rude or selfish. Well, I don’t really know her well before the war but… she was very contradictory…” Rin said.

“Contradictory?” they tilt their heads.

“…It was like she was suddenly hot and cold to her servant,” Rin said. “…No, not only to her servant, she sometimes is contradictory in everything…”

“I bet the cold part was Rein.” Archer lets out a wry smile. “But handful is an exact word how to describe her, and I am afraid she’ll be getting more handful to handle.” Archer sighed.

“Rein-chan originally is a gentle girl. The reason her personality changed is because of me.” Hakuno bit her lip.

“You?” Archer knitted his brows.

“Yes. Think about it. You were possessed by another soul, and because of that, your original appearance changed and then that soul’s feeling influenced your own. Rein’s change is because she was trying to protect herself and draw boundaries between her and me.” Hakuno said.

“But that doesn’t mean she has to change her personality…. I see… it was my fault, huh…” Archer mocked himself.

“I see. I have a grasp of it.” Archer nodded.

“What do you mean? I don’t understand at all.” Rin frowned.

“Because I didn’t see her as Mutsuki Rein,” Archer said.

“Haaaa?”

“My actions thus far were treating her like my previous master, Hakuno. Given their similar appearance, I unconsciously treated her as such and if she did something different than what Hakuno should have done, I would feel uncomfortable. She might have seen through it from the start and she was trying to instil that she was in fact not Hakuno. It doesn’t help that sometimes Hakuno’s feeling spills out, thus the hot and cold treatment to me. How pathetic, I couldn’t even face my master properly….” He sighed forlornly.

“This is Rein we are talking about. If you apologize to her, she’ll definitely forgive you. Though there might be a consequence, she’s just unpredictable like that.” Archer sweatdropped at the last sentence.

“I see… Okay, I understood most of the situation already. It’s already late too. It’s time for me to go home.” Rin stood up and stretched her hands up.

“You are going home now?!” Hakuno blinked.

“Of course. I’ll come back tomorrow. I need time to process this information.” She sighed.

“But, it’s already late and it’s dangerous.” Hakuno frowned.

“She’s right, Rin. It’s better for you to stay here. Besides, we might need your help in case something happens.” Archer agreed.

“…You are a slave driver, you know what?” Rin stares at him with a deadpanned look. “...Fine. I’ll stay for the night.” Rin gives in in the end.

“I’ll arrange the guest room.” Archer stood up.

“You knew her house well.” Rin blinked at Archer's natural host-like movement.

“Didn’t I tell you I was summoned by her 10 years ago?” Archer said.

“You did say that…Wait… 10 years ago… the fourth Holy Grail War…” Rin stared at him wide-eyed.

“Yeah… But she didn’t participate in it. I was summoned here accidentally, at that time the war had begun and she herself refused to enter the war.” Archer explained.

“Hmm… Then why did she suddenly enter the war this time?” Rin blinked, she didn’t understand. It might be because she now has a wish to be granted.

“She might be, probably, no, certainly entered this war to grant her wish.” Archer turned his head to Hakuno. The said female nods her head confirming the suspicion.

“Haa? She entered a war for another people's wish?!” Rin’s jaw dropped. “Unbelievable. She risked her life to grant another person's wish.” Rin’s head is throbbing now due to the very unpredictable fact she was revealed to.

“She’s unprecedented. That’s our master.” Archer said as he had given all hope concerning his master.

“Pfftt….” Saber is trying his best to hold his laugh. That’s indeed true. He has met a lot of people and there was someone that fits into this ‘unpredictable’ category in his era. Someone he holds dear.

“By the way, I just remember this,” Rin said suddenly causing everyone's attention to focus on her.

“The war should have ended because we had destroyed the grail. So why are you all still here?” Rin blinked.

“Usually, we are sent back to the Thrones of Heroes.” Archer put his hand on his chin. “Might it be because the summoning was done differently?” Archer blinked.

“Rein might know something. Let’s ask her tomorrow.” Rin finally said. In any case, she needs time to process this and she is very tired too. Thus, they bid each other good night and rest in their respective rooms. ~”~

Corpses…

I can see corpses lying everywhere…

The staunch and heavy smell of blood invades my nose…

It’s as if I am standing in that place… even if I know this is just a dream…

The place that was the remnant of a battle…

In the midst of the unmoving corpses…

One person falls to his knees after being pierced with a sword to his stomach…

He won’t last any longer…

And then I see a blurry-faced girl crying…

‘Why… are you crying…?’

‘…Why… am I feeling so sad…?’

A familiar ceiling greets me when I open my eyes. It takes me a while to recognize it. “My…room…” I sat up on my bed and rubbed my eyes. “Yesterday…” Bit by bit yesterday’s memories come back to me. “I see… I summoned Archer.” I blinked. On my nightstand, a familiar book is placed there. “Excellion.” I muttered.

“Good morning, Master.” The book greeted.

“Ah, now that I think about it, you can speak.” I blinked.

“Yes, Master.” It replied.

“Then, good morning Excellion.” I smiled.

“Good morning, Master.” It greeted again.

“Please take care of me, Excellion.” I smiled.

“Likewise, Master.”

I take a quick shower after chatting for a while with Excellion. “Master, are you awake?” a question was heard accompanied by a knock on the door.

“Yes. I am awake.” I tie my hair in a low ponytail and open the door. Coming to my view is a handsome young man with familiar blonde hair and green eyes.

“Good morning, Master.” He smiled.

I blink owlishly at him, “Saber… since when did you become a man?” I asked.

“Yes?” Saber seemed to blank for a moment before he understood my question. “Master, I am the Saber you summoned yesterday.” He smiled.

“The Saber I summoned yesterday?”  I tilted my head.

“Yes.”

“But you really look like the Saber I know. It’s like her gender has swapped.” I said.

“Yes. You can say I am a King Arthur from another world. We are not the same person.” He explained simply.

“Oohh, I see… Hm? How come you know I was talking about the girl King Arthur?” I tilt my head.

“Everyone had the same reaction yesterday when I took off my hood. So, they talked about her a little bit.” He chuckled.

“Ah, no wonder...” I nodded convinced.

“Let’s go downstairs, Master. Breakfast is ready.” Saber smiled.

“Just call me Rein. Even though I summoned you, I’d like us to have a friendship than a master-servant relationship. I feel more comfortable this way.” I said.

“Of course, Rein.” He smiled.

“Nice to meet you, Saber.” I extended my hand to him.

“Nice to meet you too, Rein.” He shook my hand. ~”~

“Good morning.” I come down to the living room with Saber.

“Good morning.” Archer greeted back.

“Rein-chan! Are you alright now?!” Hakuno grabs my shoulders and checks for any leftover injury.

“I am fine. As you can see, I don’t have a scratch at all. How about you?” I smiled.

“I am alright. The effigy is quite comfortable. It’s good you are alright.” Hakuno smiled in relief.

“Rein.” Archer (Nameless) called suddenly.

“Yes?” I answered. ‘Come to think of it. This is the first time he called me by my name. Usually, it’s either ‘You’ or ‘Master’. Oh, there’s ‘Stupid Master’ too… Somehow, it’s irritating.’ I narrow my eyes.

“I am sorry. I failed as a servant.” He bowed 90 degrees.

“…Did you eat something wrong?” I blinked.

“I am sorry for not facing you properly.” He said.

“Ahh, that…. So, you realized it.” I sighed.

“Yeah… Even though I just realized it yesterday.” He said still bowing.

“Hmmmm….” I hummed and slowly walked to him. The said servant seemed like wouldn’t lift his head until I finished venting my anger. ‘Actually… there were times I got really angry…’ I raised my hand and chopped his head.

“We are even now,” I said.

“Eh?” The spectators are dumbfounded.

“Oww… What kind of head do you have? Why does my hand hurt so much?” I nurse my now poor reddening hand. “Why are you looking at me like that?” I looked at them oddly. Only Archer continues serving the breakfast without even batting an eye.

“…No, I know I am the one saying this but is that okay just like that?” Archer (Nameless) finally lifts his head.

“You let me chop your head for free so it’s even now. If you are still unsatisfied you can start crossdressing to amuse me.” I sat down at the dining table. “…I have a maid uniform that will fit perfectly for you.” I smile brilliantly. “I will go take it now.”

“No no, I am fine with this.” Archer (Nameless) said, grabbing the scurf of my neck.

“Didn’t I tell you she’s unprecedented? Common sense won’t work on her.” Archer said.

“Archer, why are you talking like I don’t have common sense.” I pout as I sit down on the dining table.

“Because you have none.” Archer rolled his eyes.

“So mean. I definitely have one. Boo! Boo!” I waved my utensils in protest.

“Only one then. And don’t wave the utensils. Today breakfast is Omurice.” He put the plate on the table.

“Desert?” I asked excitedly, not caring the dumbfounded look from others.

“Custard Pudding.”

“Yatta! It’s my favourite. Thank you, Archer.” I grinned. “Bon appetit… It’s so delicious! As expected from Archer. Hm? Why is everyone standing over there? Let’s eat the breakfast.” I look at them.

“Ah… yes…”

Archer only looks at them with ‘See, I told you, my master has no common sense’ expression. ~”~

“Hmmm…” I knitted my forehead.

“What’s wrong? It’s not to your liking?” Archer asked.

“That’s not it. I was just thinking how to call you two.” I said looking at the two archers.

“Why don’t you use a name derived from their True Name?” Saber suggested.

“That’s-"

“KYAAAA!!!!!”

“It’s Rin’s voice.” I blinked.

“Ah.” The four of them looked like they had just remembered about her.

Arriving on the second floor, we are just in time seeing something blue fly out from the door, crashing to the wall.

“Bwahhh!!”

“Pervert!” Blushing Rin glared from the doorstep, looking down at the so-called ‘pervert’.

“His scream seems familiar,” I muttered.

“Damn woman! Are you trying to kill me?” The pervert stood up and yelled back.

“Ah, Lancer.”

“Ha?” Lancer turned to us.

“I think that kick just now has messed up my brain. Two Archers and Saber becomes a man…” Lancer closed his eyes and started murmuring incoherent words while deep in thought.

“For now…. Let’s go downstairs and have breakfast first.” I scratched my cheek. ~”~

“Aahh… I am stuffed.” Lancer plopped down on the sofa.

“Lancer, mind your manner.” Rin frowned.

“…That sums it up.” Hakuno finished her explanation.

“I think I understood most of it. But I have one question.” Lancer said. “How do we call them? Faker 1 and Faker 2?” Lancer sneered.

“We were discussing about it just now, I was thinking about using names deriving from their True Names, but…” Saber trailed off.

“I am a Nameless Heroic Spirit. I don’t have a name.” Archer (Nameless) said.

“Archer’s True Name will cause a lot of complicated things, so I decide just to give him a name,” I said.

“Didn’t they have the same names? I mean their manner and looks are the same. They must be the same person.” Rin said.

“No.” We answered in unison.

“Eh?”

“No matter how similar they are, they aren’t the same person, though they are the same existence.” I shook my head.

“Same existence yet different person….” Rin muttered.

“Just call me Nameless, he will continue using Archer,” Nameless said.

“Eeeh… that’s pretty boring. I have a lot of names for Archer, for example, Shiya, Barcher (Baka Archer), Archie…nah, sounds funny, then Emishi… this actually sounds good…” I mumbled.

‘But it lacks an impact.’

“Ah! I know! Super Maid-san!” I remembered the nickname I gave to him.

“Objection!” Archer raised his hand in protest.

“Hahaha! This is priceless.” Lancer burst out laughing. “I love the last one.”

“Just like he said. He will stick with Nameless, I will stick with Archer. I tolerate no objection.”

“You are no fun.” I pout.

“Hahahaha! You are the best.” Lancer is laughing until his tears come out.

“Now, it’s our turn to ask. Lancer, how did you appear here? Who summoned you?” Archer asked.

“That’s what I want to know too. I am sure I was killed and sent back to the Throne of Heroes. But the next thing I know I was already in her room.” Lancer said.

“Rin, don’t tell me you summoned him while you were sleepwalking?” Archer asked.

“There’s no way I could do that. I don’t even have that kind of habit. Besides, there are no command seals at all.” Rin snapped back.

“There’s the strange part. My body and mind acknowledge her as my master, even without command seals. It’s like an instinct.” Lancer said.

“Geeeee…”

“Why are you guys looking at me like that?” Lancer frowned.

“That…” I grinned.

“Must be…” Saber continued.

“Love.” Hakuno finished.

“You like her.” We said in unison.

“There’s no way I/he like(s) her/me.” The people of interest slam their hands on the table and pointed at each other.

“You two are in perfect sync.” I giggle.

“Oi, you bastards,” Lancer yelled.

“Let’s get back to the topic.” Archer clapped his hands to get us back on the track. “We still don’t know how servants materialize even after the Grail is destroyed.”

“Hmmm…”

“Rein, do you know something about this?” Saber asked.

“To be honest… I am not completely sure about this. But the Grail we destroyed yesterday… that might be a fake Grail.”

“!” they turned to me.

“No… rather than a fake, it’s more like a small part of the Grail,” I murmured.

“What do you mean by that? How can you know?” Rin asked.

“Just… it’s just my hunch…” I scratched my cheek.

“Just a hunch?! We thought you have some kind of solid evidence here.” Rin stretches my cheeks.

“Sowwy…”

“But Master’s hunch might not be completely false. That theory is plausible. So, whoever has the Grail right now might tamper with it and the result is the summoning of servants.” Archer said.

“Speaking of summoning… Rein, you used a different kind of summoning ritual.” Archer said.

“Ah, that’s right… actually, I am not completely sure about it too.” I smiled sheepishly.

“You really…” Rin stretches my cheeks again.

“Sowwy…” I cried out. “But Excellion might know.”

“Excellion? Your grimoire?” Nameless asked.

“That’s right. Let me go and get it.” I ran back to my room and took the magical tome with me. “So, Excellion, how did I summon them?”

“It was FATE system. The FATE system allows a master to summon a servant per agreement of purpose between master and servant.” Excellion said.

“The book talked….” Lancer is looking intently at Excellion.

“But I didn’t agree or anything.” Archer denied.

“No, you agreed.” I smiled.

“What do you mean?” Archer blinked.

“10 years ago, you promised me, you’ll come if I call out to you.” I smiled.

“That counts too?!” Archer sweatdropped.

“Then, does that mean Saber also agrees to your purpose?” Rin blinked, fascinated by the summoning system.

“No, I think my case is a bit different. At that time, I think I was chasing for something.” Saber knitted his forehead, seemingly trying to remember.

“Chasing something?” Hakuno blinked.

“Yes…. Though I can’t seem to remember what I was chasing. It’s strange.” Saber says, looking very troubled that he is missing a part of important memories.

“Calm down.” I stretch his cheeks. “There’s no need to force yourself to remember. Take it slow, you will be able to remember in due time.”

“…” Saber’s eyes widen a bit. “That’s right. I shouldn’t be so hasty. My apology, Rein.”

“Hehe.” I grin. “Whether Saber comes here by accident or not, he is now my servant, right, Excellion?”

“Yes. Without a doubt.” the mechanical voice answered.

“By the way, does the summon system mess up the memories?” I shift my attention back to Excellion.

“This is the first time the FATE summoning system was used. It might be a side effect. I’ll keep a record for further use.” Excellion said.

“But how do we maintain our form? The command spell serves as a link between master and servant. It is used to supply mana from master to servant.” Lancer-san said.

“If we assume we can supply mana automatically to servants without command spell. I should have collapsed by now, considering the fact that I have two servants. But I don’t feel a thing. My mana is not flowing out at all.” I said.

“Ah, you are right! There is no mana leaking out!” Rin gasped.

“I also don’t feel my mana reducing at all.” Hakuno nodded in agreement.

“Then, there’s only one explanation.” Archer (Nameless) smirked.

“We, servants, can recover our own mana,” Archer said.

“That might be the only explanation left.” Rin sighs, massaging her head.

“Hmm… Saber, give me your hand.” I said.

“Yes.”

I grab his hand and pour mana into him. Trying to test if mana transfer is still possible or not. “…I can receive your mana…” He said in awe.

‘I know servant was summoned to be compatible with the master. But who would have thought that we are this compatible, even more so that he is an accidental summon.’ Our mana basically easily mingles with each other with zero resistance.

“So, the mana transfer is still possible,” I conclude. “Then next, Lancer, hand.”

“O-ou.” He obediently holds his hand out to me.

“You are really a dog.” Archer mocked.

“Don’t call me a dog!” Lancer snapped back.

The moment I pour mana to him, a burning sensation appears on our palms. The two of us quickly draw our hands back. “Are you okay?” Saber panicked. “Let me see.” He meticulously inspects the injury.

“Just a small burn. Nothing big.” I smiled.

“Here, press it to your palm.” Archer is back with a cold compress.

“Thank you.” Saber is pressing the cold compress on my palm.

“It looks like aside from our own master, we can’t receive mana from another person,” Archer said.

“Rein-chan, why are you getting hurt again? You should treasure yourself more.” Hakuno reprimanded me.

“I am fine. This is nothing.” I calmed her down.

“How can it be nothing? Yesterday too, you were stabbed-Mmmph.” I jumped across the table and clasped her mouth.

“Hooo… What does she mean, Master…” Archer glared at me. I can feel my back sweating buckets.

“Nothing. I am very healthy as you can see.” I quickly answered. ‘No no no, he mustn’t know, or else I’ll have to endure his nagging.’

“Mmmphhh!! Mmmmphh!!”

“No, but yesterday I saw it clearly too, you were stabbed-”

“Nameless, looks like the head chop was not enough. Maybe I should have you tried the maid uniform.” I smiled at him.

“No, sorry.”

“Master.” I was suddenly grabbed by my back collar. In the end, I have to endure Archer’s nagging for 2 hours in seiza.

“But but but…”

“No buts, how many times I told you ‘don’t be reckless’ why can’t you listen to me!?”

“I agree with Archer. That was a reckless move, Rein.” Saber too frowned.

“Then, Saber. will you ignore people in trouble?” I pouted.

“Of course I’ll help them.”

“See, I was right then. Hakuno was in a pinch, and I helped her. That wasn’t wrong.” I said, appealing to him.

“That’s…certainly true….” Saber hung his head.

“Didn’t I tell you common sense won’t work on her?” Archer sighed. “Besides, it’s already reckless enough you entered the war for another people’s wish.” Archer frowned.

“That, actually I have my own wish too, that’s why I participated in the war.” I scratched my cheek.

“Your wish?” Archer blinked.

“Yes. My wish can only be granted by participating in the war. Since I also wished to help Hakuno, so it was counted as killing two birds with one stone.” I said.

“…What kind of wish you have? Don’t tell me…”

“No, it’s not that. I’ve accepted that from a long time ago. You should be clearer than anyone else. This time I only wish to meet you again. To show you I have grown up healthily. That’s why I was disappointed when Nameless was summoned.” I pursed my lips.

“You…really…” Archer smiled, “ARE STUPID!!” Archer gave me a hard noggie.

“It hurts…hurts… my head…” I hit his arms. “I give…I give… I am sorry!!!” ~”~

I feel like my head is emitting smoke from the friction. “Are you okay?” Rin sweatdropped.

“I…I am fine….” I was lying down on the floor, still recovering from the punishment.

“But you are amazing too, you could tell he was not the same person.” Rin praised.

“What are you talking about? It’s so obvious, anyone can tell.” I blink, sitting upright. “Hakuno knew it too, right?” I asked the girl.

“Well, more or less?” She made a (strained) smile (and averted her eyes). ‘To be honest, I was not completely sure at the start… Let’s not say anything…’

“No, I think it’s only you.” Rin sweatdropped.

“Oi, you guys. I found something while you were playing.” Lancer said.

“What did you find?” Rin asked her servant.

“I can’t dematerialize,” Lancer stated.

“That’s it?” Rin looks at him with a deadpan stare.

“What do you mean that’s it? It’s strange.” Lancer retorted.

“There are already a lot of strange things happened, so much that I think ‘can’t dematerialize’ is possibly the most common strange thing that could happen.” Rin sighed.

“If that’s the case, let’s go shopping.” I clapped my hands, happy to find another topic to escape from punishment.

“Shopping?” They blinked.

“Yes. Since they can’t dematerialize, then you’ll need casual attire to wander around the town. They can’t possibly step outside using their servants’ attire. They’ll cause commotion.” I said.

“That’s true.” Hakuno nodded.

“We’ll need to fill your wardrobe too,” I said.

“Eh? Mine? You don’t need to.” Hakuno waved her hands.

“What are you talking about? Of course I need to, you have your own room now.” I blinked.

“I am staying here?” Hakuno asked dumbly.

“Did you hit your head? Why are you talking nonsense right now? Of course you are staying here. Where else will you be staying? Or maybe should I put you and Nameless in the same room?” I giggled.

“No no no no no, there’s no need to do that. I’ll have my own room.” She said flustered.

“But didn’t you two stay together in the previous war, in the same room no less,” I smirked.

“Th(That)-w(was) bec-(because)-“

“Anyway, tell me your preference.” I laughed.

“Aren’t we…going to shop together…?” She blinked.

“Yes. We are. but you and Nameless are on the grocery team.” I smiled.

“Eh? EEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHH??!! Rein-chan, that is, but I-”

“How do we explain about those two?” Rin asked.

“They are twins. Problem solved.” I shrugged my shoulders.

“Ah, that actually will work…” Rin deadpanned.

“Listen well, Nameless, you have to escort Hakuno well, okay. Remember. It’s escort, not S-court.” I said emphasizing the words.

“Wait wait wait! What do you think I am?!” Nameless exclaims.

“Someone who has no experience with women,” I answer like it’s the most obvious thing to say.

“Who says I didn’t have any experience?!” He countered.

“That so? So, tell me how you treat your dates.” I baited.

“I… wait, why are we talking about this now?” Nameless changed the subject.

“Tsk. He escaped.” I pouted.

“You did it on purpose.” Rin sweatdrops, while Lancer is already on the floor laughing.

“You were playing right on her palm.” Archer laments in pity. ~”~

“Hmmm….”

“Do I look weird?” Saber smiles wryly.

“No. It’s the opposite. You look good in everything you wear, so I have a hard time deciding.” I murmur.

“Customer, please try this next.” The saleswoman excitedly brought another outfit for him.

“No, I think it’s enough.” Saber declines politely.

“It’s fine, just try it on,” I said.

“…I understand.” He took the clothes and went back to the changing room.

“Excuse me, Nee-san.” I smile looking at her excited face. “I will buy all the clothes he tried on.”

“Oh my, dear customer. That’s great. He looks perfect in all of those clothing.” The saleswoman nods her head furiously.

“I feel this one is more comfortable.” Saber comes out wearing a casual clothing.

“There’s no need to change, just wear that.” I smile.

“Yes. Thank you very much for your patronage.” The saleswoman nee-san smiled.

“You sure bought a lot,” Archer commented as he looked at our bags.

“Archer, did you finish yours?” I asked.

“Yeah.” Archer nods, showing us his few shopping bags.

“Not enough.” I frown.

“They are already more than enough.” Archer rolls his eyes. “Remember, you bought me some 10 years ago.”

“It’s not enough at all. Saber, please watch our bags, I’m going to help Archer choose his wardrobe.” I said.

“Understood.” He replied.

“Wait, for now, I don’t want to go to that store.” Archer sighed.

“Why?” I blinked.

“That.” Archer motions with his chin. The two of us follow his line of sight and we are greeted by the bickering Lancer and Rin. They seem not to notice the onlookers.

“They are like an old married couple.” I laughed.

“Agreed.” My servants sweatdrop. ~”~

We spend our time scouring Fuyuki for something strange to get any lead of this strange phenomenon or maybe evidence of my theory. Instead of leads, all we found is, our friends/former rivals disappear one another. It was Illya at first. Shiro notified us and we contacted other masters, including Souichirou-sensei. All of us agreed to search for the missing Illya.

“How was it?” we have our routine meeting in Shiro’s house.

“Nothing. I found nothing. Not even a trace.” Rider said.

“This is absolutely abnormal.” Caster said. “My magecraft couldn’t even track her.” She frowned. And if Caster says this is abnormal, then this definitely is. Caster, her True Name is Medea… nobody in modern times can beat her in a battle of magecraft. If there’s one, it will be servants from the age of gods… or the holder of True Magic.

“Not even the lingering traces of her mana?” I asked.

“Yes, it’s as if she has never existed at all. That’s why I said it’s absolutely abnormal.” Caster says, frustrated that she is beaten by whoever the mastermind is.

“We scoured through the city, but found nothing.” Archer (Nameless) quipped. “Her castle was left as it was, untouched. There was no sign of moving. Actually, it seemed as if they were still living there recently.”

“Then we can rule out she went outside Fuyuki theory.” Lancer narrows his eyes.

“Illya’s… maids…” I mumbled.

“Them too… I thought we might find them, but they were not there. Maybe they tried to search for missing Illya and vanished or…” Archer (Nameless) says.

“Or the two maids also vanished along with her at the same time…” Saber (Male) finished the hypothesis.

“There’s no other Einzbern coming here. So, Illya’s disappearance hasn’t been informed.” Archer concluded.

“…” gloomy silence fills the air.

“Caster, can you make protective charms for the kids?” Souichirou-sensei opens his mouth.

“Souichirou-sama…”

“Also, a tracking charm and one that can show the location of charm holders.”

“I see. If anything were to happen to us, the rest would be alerted quickly and rush to the site. Not a bad plan.” Archer said.

“Rather. This is the only option we have now.” Archer (Nameless) said.

“Understood, Souichirou-sama.”

“And it’s best we stay together before the charms are completed.” Souichirou-sensei is very decisive about this. But right now, this is the best option for us.

So, we are going to have a big sleepover party at Shiro’s house today.

“Okay, we have a lot of spare rooms here. Feel free to choose whichever you like.” Shiro nodded.

In the end, the girls choose to sleep together, including Caster, Rider and Saber (Female). The rest of the night… of course it’s full of girls talk… for example…

“Caster, which part of Souichirou-sensei do you like?” it started as a genuine question and genuine curiosity from me.

“E-eh?!” Caster squeaks in a high-pitched voice. A rare sight coming from her. “Which part do I like about So-So-Souichirou-sama?!” her voice even cracked at the end.

“Yup.” I nod, the rest of the girls who hear my question are also staring at Caster, waiting for her answer.

“Th…that’s…” she takes her soda and finishes it in one go. “...Of course it’s his everything!” now she is talking like a drunk. We have no alcohol here as we are minors, besides, can servants get drunk?

Then, Caster rants about how wonderful Souichirou-sensei is. From his looks, down to his personality and to his habits that sensei might or might not noticed himself. But… it doesn’t matter if they are servants or not. Girls in love will always be supported. Like now, everyone is talking about which outfit is suitable for Caster for her dates later.

Then we shift to Hakunon and Archer (Nameless) relationship. Poor girl is red from head to toe due to the teasing from the girls.

“So, how far have you gone with him?” Rin smirked.

“Umm… that…” her eyes are swimming as she is thinking how to answer Rin’s question.

“Um… senpai, what kind of romantic thing he had ever done to you.”

“Hmm… I can help you by providing information on how to please a male.”

“Hakunon said they have gone all the way.” I know what I am doing and I am telling them because it’s more interesting that way.

Six pairs of eyes are instantly on me. “Let me think, it was when she was pent up due to the lack of physical touch and she made the first move.”

“Hoo… not bad for a little girl,” Caster commented.

“Yes, very daring. Master Sakura can learn confidence from her.” Rider nods.

“Hakuno/Senpai, tell us more!”

“E…eeehhhh???!!!”

And then, to get her revenge, Hakunon, who escaped from interrogation hell, asked me this, “Which one you like more, Saber or Archer?”

“Ah?” I blink, tilting my head.

“You can’t escape by playing dumb, Rein-chan.” Hakunon is smiling, I think even her hair is moving on their own.

“Hmm… like… I like them both.” I answer and now they are looking at me. “Archer is like a brother to me. I was an orphan. I summoned a servant because I thought servant was a housekeeper. I thought I would have a friend to chat with… living alone is quite lonely. And when I did, Archer appeared.” I mused, remembering the past event.

“And I felt less lonely at that time. Archer basically did all the household chores and even fed me. He listened to my babbling too. Those days were the happiest.” I smiled.

“Oh… sorry… I didn’t mean…” Now Hakunon is feeling guilty.

“It’s fine. It’s not a big secret anyway.” I laugh it off. “Come to think of it, I never talked this to you. But I am glad I do now.” I giggled.

“Rein-chan…” Hakunon sniffled as she rushed to hug me.

“There there…” I pat her head.

“So, what about Saber?” Rin quirks her brow.

“Saber… hmm… he is like… a friend who is looking after his friend’s sister? Something like that?” I muse, giggling at my own thought.

“Then, if you were to choose as romantic interest… who would you go after?” Caster casually throws in her question.

“…” I blink rapidly while processing her question. “Hmmm… probably Saber?” it comes out as a question rather than a statement.

“Why?”

“I mean… I can’t seem to see Archer as a romantic interest… it makes… my skin crawl in a bad way. He is like the best brother ever existed to me. I can’t change that perception anymore.” I answered truthfully.

“Indeed, I can sense Master has zero interest in Servant Archer as a romantic interest.” Excellion

“So it leaves Saber as the only potential…” Saber (Female) stated.

“Yup.” I nod.

“So, what’s your opinion of him?” Sakura asked.

“Saber… Saber is… someone looks like a prince straight out of fairy tale?” a smile broke on my lips.

“Ah… he does give that feeling.” The women nod their heads, absolutely convinced that seems like the case.

Lastly, we shift to Saber (Female) and Shiro’s relationship… hmm… this is quite a pickle… because Shiro is in not triangle love or square love… he is in the pandemonium of love.

“Shiro likes this shirt better!” Rin argued.

“No. I know Shiro likes this long-sleeved one better.” Saber (Female) interjected.

“Se-Senpai like this one better!” Sakura is also joining in.

“So, actually… I am curious, how does Shiro transfer his mana?” my question earned me a look of gaping and jaw-dropping from the 3 heroines.

“I mean, Shiro can’t supply her mana effectively using the command spell, so… ah, do they-” I stopped when I saw them glaring at me.

“So, what’s Shiro’s favourite food?” I quickly changed the subject before I got murdered by the heroines.

Thus, the nth round of argument between 3 heroines who know Shiro the best continued. ‘Let’s slip away.’ I use this chance to sneak out.

“…you are evil…” but not before being told that by Rider and Caster.

“Teehee!” ~”~

I sit on the veranda, enjoying snacks I found in the refrigerator and a bottle of tea. The night breeze is really nice.

“Nicely done, Master.” Excellion state, it’s as if it is giving me a thumbs up.

“Hehehe, this is called the misdirection technique.”

“I will store this information.”

“I will teach you a lot of things, Excellion.”

“I will gladly learn everything.”

“Rein?”

“Hm? Oh, Saber.” I look at the newcomer.

“What are you doing here?” Saber (Male) asked.

“Escaping from pandemonium of love.” I laugh.

“…???”

“It’s girls talk’s secret.” I laugh at his confused face. “Come and sit here, I have a snack.” I pat the space next to me and he obliges. I share my snack with him, humming a random tune.

“Rein…”

“Yes?” I look at him.

“…no… it’s nothing… are you living well?”

“???” I stare at him for a few seconds. “Yes, I am living very well. Even though it’s not always peaceful.” I say, vaguely referring to Holy Grail War and the current strange phenomena.

“…Is that so… then, I am glad…”

“Why do you suddenly ask?”

“Oh… I heard few tidbits from Archer…”

“Ah…” I know now he is worried about me living all alone. “Don’t worry. I live very well. I eat well, sleep well and play well… ah, I study quite well too.” I added the last one after a beat.

“That’s good… I am happy that you are doing very well…” I feel a gentle palm on top of my head, stroking my hair.

‘It feels good.’ I think I almost purr like a cat and secretly nuzzling to his palm. A giddy and happy smile never leaves my face.

‘I think I will have Saber pat my head every day. This is a must-do routine.’ ~”~

The second one to vanish is Caster and Souichirou-sensei. They were out for an errand. And with Souichirou-sensei as a bodyguard… nothing should happen. But it still did, the gravity of the situation finally sank in. Whether they are alive or not now is also debatable. The charms did tell us the last location of Caster and her master. It’s right outside of the supermarket they frequented.

“…” The routine meeting is filled with nothing but silence. We found Caster’s message on that place.

“The enemy has Holy G-”

We can deduce the rest. The enemy has Holy Grail, which means, I was correct about the fake Grail. Sadly, she did not have enough time to tell us how many and who are the enemy.

“We will act in pairs… two masters and their servants…” Archer said. “When we are ambushed, one master will retreat as soon as possible to tell us about the enemy. Of course, I would prefer if all of the engaged masters to retreat with information.”

And so… even though we have acted in pairs… in the end… we are still being spirited away. Starting from Shiro-Saber and Sakura-Rider team, followed by Rin-Lancer and Hakuno-Nameless team and finally me and my servants. ~”~

“Ugh…” I groan and crack open my eyes. They feel so heavy as if being glued together. “This is…” pulling myself up, I am trying to squint and have a better view of my current surroundings.

‘Dark.’ That is my first impression. The room is too dark for my liking.

“Master, you are awake.”

“Excellion!” I grab my floating grimoire. “Do you know what’s happening?”

“We were sucked by a vortex of magical power. This is most likely a different dimension of our world.”

“Parallel world?”

“Not quite. To be more precise, this is the other side of the world. It’s like we are in the mirror version of our world. I analyzed the surrounding area and concluded as such.”

“A mirror version… Speaking of which… this is…my room…?” I squint to get a better focus. The position of the furniture, the colour of the painted wall, and even the books on the desk are in the same position as I had left them. And…

“…this is my handwriting…” I am unmistakably in my room and if Excellion is right, I am in the mirror version of my room.

“Ah! Where are the others? Saber and Archer?”

“I have detected Saber and Archer’s mana on the first floor.” With that said, I rush to the first floor.

“Saber! Archer!” I found the two collapsed on the floor.

“Mas…ter…” they groan and slowly open their eyes.

“Are you two alright? Feel hurt anywhere?”

“…we are fine…” they stand up and check for any abnormalities in their body.

“How about you, Master? Are you okay?” Archer asked back.

“I don’t feel anything weird in my body. So, I am fine.”

“Where are we…” Saber asked.

“Excellion.”

“I shall explain.” My floating grimoire repeated what it had explained to me.

“So, did the other masters and servants were transported here too?” Archer asks Excellion.

“I have no sufficient data to conclude. But this is a high possibility.” Excellion states with its mechanical voice.

“Let’s secure our perimeter first. We will see if this can used as our base of operation.” Archer’s suggestion is what we can agree on. We quickly found out that even though we can see the vast city in our peripheral vision, our room of movement is only limited to my house and the yard. In shorts, we can’t get out of my house. Some kind of invisible barrier enclosed this space. ~”~

“Seems like we are really on the other side of the world.” Archer sighed. The house itself is a perfect replica of mine, the only evidence that we are in fact, are not our world is the round big yellow moon that is hanging in the sky. The moon looks bigger and feels closer and it does exude eerie feelings to whoever gazes at it.

While in our small patrol, I cast bounded fields here and there to prevent anything jumps on us in surprise. From now on, at least temporarily, this will be our home base operation.

“Now, our next agenda is, searching for the exit along with the disappearing masters.” Archer continued. “Any idea?”

“…” We look at him with a blank stare.

“I thought so.” He sighed.

“Maybe we can blast the bounded field leading to outside?” I said.

“…Excellion also doesn’t know what kind of place is waiting for us outside. It’s best not to rush.” Saber said.

“Let’s take a break for now,” Archer says and I nod. “I will go make a drink then.” Archer then disappears into the kitchen, leaving me and Saber in the living room.

‘…I am worried… is everyone okay…? I hope nothing bad happens to-’ I blink as I feel a small poke on my forehead.

“Don’t get so worried, Rein.” Saber, the culprit who pokes my forehead smiles. “Everyone is strong, so they will be alright. We will find them and go back to our world. I promise.”

“…”

I wonder why… despite just knowing for 3 weeks at most. Somehow… I feel I can believe everything Saber said. What a strange and funny feeling.

“Resting your mind is also part of the job.”

“…okay…” I nod. I do feel better after his little talk.

“Good.” Saber smiles in satisfaction and pats my head. I blink and nuzzle my head to his palm, enjoying the gesture (of affection).

‘…Cute…’ the said knight thinks as he sees imaginary flattened cat ears and swishing tail and he is trying hard to stifle his laughter. ‘…I will protect you… this time… for sure…’ his eyes soften ever so slightly.

“I guess you get how to handle Master down to pat.” The amused voice of Archer rings out.

“Archer, I am not a pet.” I pout. “It’s rude… boo…” I puff my cheeks as big as possible.

“…you look like a squirrel.” Archer quirks his brow.

“Eeeh… I prefer cat though…” I protested.

“…then you look like a cat.”

“Much better.” I nod in satisfaction.

“…Saber, as you can see, our master needs extra protection against humans.” Archer looks at Saber.

“It’s most certainly so.” Saber nods in agreement.

“I am always worried if she would go with a stranger if she was offered a candy.” Archer sighs.

“I am not that gullible!” I exclaimed.

“Here, your favourite hot cocoa drink.” Archer takes one of the mugs.

“Oh! My favourite.” I bound to Archer to get my drink. I look at him expectantly while waiting for him to hand me my drink. “Mine.” I hold out my hand and Archer gingerly hands it to me.

“…” They look at me blankly while I sip my hot beverage.

“…I am really worried more than ever…” Archer lamented.

“Should we cast a magecraft that will beep loudly if strangers approach her?” Saber is seriously thinking about this.

“That’s a good idea. And when it’s activated, it will send her location to us…”

“Caster’s charm!” they look at each other in realization.

“Man, after we find her, we need to ask her to make one that lasts a lifetime.” Archer grins.

“It might not as durable as hers. But we certainly can learn that magecraft from her.” The servants’ discussion has certainly taken a strange turn.

“I will see if I have that kind of magecraft in me. I will offer my help too.” Even Excellion is joining the discussion.

The playful atmosphere disperses instantly the moment we feel a new  presence of a new mana. “It’s coming from the backyard.” I say, pinpointing the location.”

“Heh, even a bounded field is useless.” Archer sneered.

“Let’s go check it out.” The three of us cautiously go to the backyard.

“This… a Sakura petal…?” a pink small flower petal floats away. A breeze blows, carrying more petals. The strong scent of the Sakura flower makes us stop dead in our tracks. There, in my backyard, a large blooming Sakura tree is standing. The flowers rustle along with the wind.

“I will perform a scan.” Excellion floats near the tree and does its thing. “Scan complete.” It floats back to my side.

“What is that?” I asked.

“That is a gate.”

“A gate?” we blink.

“Yes, regardless of its appearance, it’s an entrance to another place. I don’t have sufficient data to pinpoint where we will end up. But it’s a high probability, it will be in some sort of space.”

“A space within a space…” Archer sighs.

“…my bounded field is still intact with no holes… Either the magus is a genius or this has been here from the start and now finally activated because we somehow fulfil its requirements…” I muttered, analyzing every possibility.

“So, this is an invitation for us then?” Archer quirks his brow.

“Most likely.” I nod. “It’s as if we are invited to play a game. Either we get out or we will be trapped forever.”

“…But we only have one option from the start,” Saber said. “…which is continue to step forward.”

“Then, we have decided our next course of action,” Archer smirks. “Let’s eat something before we go.”

“Macaroni gratin!” I declared. “I want to eat macaroni gratin!”

“Ah, macaroni gratin? Hmm…” Archer is thinking. “Let’s see if the ingredients are available.” Surprisingly, the ingredients are still edible, hence the hot cocoa earlier.

Not long after, a hot steamy plate of macaroni gratin is placed on the table. “Woah…” my eyes sparkle. “This looks delicious.” I almost can’t hold back myself to dig in.

“Better thank Saber. He somehow made it work.” Archer said. “It’s an eye opener to make a macaroni gratin like that.” I heard him mutter.

“Really?! Saber made this?”

“Yes. I hope it’s to your taste.”

“Then, bon appetite.” I chomp down on the meal. “…” and then I put down the fork.

“Is it not to your liking?” Saber becomes worried.

“…no… it’s just…”

“Just?”

“…Somehow… it’s a very nostalgic flavour…” I say while in a daze. ‘It has a very kind taste.’

“Oh…”

“It’s very delicious.” I beam and resume my eating. “Thanks for the food.” I finish it in a record time.

“I am glad you like it.” Saber smiled. “If you’d like. I will cook it again.”

“Really?!” my ears perk up. “You promised! No take back!” I quickly sealed the deal before he could change his mind.

“Well then, it’s time to see what kind of things they have for us in the store,” Archer said. ~”~

“Ah, heroes from another world, please help us to vanquish the Demon King Illya.” Row and row of people… in a very familiar wardrobe and setting are kneeling in front of us.

“…Demon King Illya?” Archer repeated the word with such an absurd tone.

“Ah… Shiro did say Illya likes to play JRPG old school game.”

“…so, we are the heroes now?” Archer feels like he is going to puke.

“It appears to be so.” Saber nods.

“I see. So, this fall into the isekai trope that is in trend right now.” Excellion flat tone is somewhat making the whole situation funnier.

“Umm… Heroes…”

“Tell me about this Demon King Illya.” We turn our attention back to the big shots of the country.

In short, Demon King Illya has been wreaking havoc for her last 100 years and every brave hero that ventured to the Demon King’s castle never made it back.

“Saber, can your Excalibur kill Heracles in one shot?” Archer looks at his fellow servant.

“…Heracles is known to have 12 lives. So, 12 times if I can take one live per shot.” Saber answers seriously.

“…Just keep him occupied long enough so we can knock some sense to Illya,” I say.

“I have some restraining magecraft at my disposal.”

“Are we going right away?” I ask my servants.

“I prefer to go after we prepared more thoroughly,” Archer said.

“And I concur.” Saber agreed. We are given rooms to rest, but Archer insists that it’s better for us to stay in one place for my protection, in which all of us agree. It’s better safe than sorry. Thus, the 3 of us plus a talking book are discussing our next move.

“Excellion, do you feel anyone we know here?”

“Although it’s faint, I do feel the mana traces of Tohsaka Rin and Rin nearby.”

“!!” that catches our attention instantly.

“You should tell us sooner!” Archer said.

“My apology. I will prioritize this information next time.”

“Where are they?” indeed, our first priority is to search for our friends.

“Northwest of the castle, approximately 60 km from here.” Excellion said.

“Let’s go. Saber, I will leave Master to you.” Archer opens the balcony and jumps down.

“Roger.” Saber turns to me and smiles, “Excuse me, Rein.” With ease, he lifts me up… using only one hand. I automatically wrap my hands around his neck to stabilize myself. “Then, I will jump down now. Please close your eyes if you are scared.”

The feeling of the wind whipping on my body as we jump down actually feels great. “Let’s do it again later!” It’s actually a very addicting feeling, granted I have been given a perfect safety measure.

“If you’d like, I will do it again and again.” Saber laughs a little and then rushes to keep up with Archer.

Archer… is fighting Lancer by the time we arrive at the designated site. “Tsk, a reinforcement.” Lancer clicked his tongue.

“Rin, are you here? We don’t want to fight, just want to talk. If you are here, please answer me.”

‘No answer… I expected this.’

“Do you know, Shiro told me a long time ago that he might or might not have a crush on Rin?” I pretend to talk to Saber.

A rustle on a tree and then, someone jumps down. “Tell me more about that.” Rin… wearing a black hooded cloak on top of her usual red-themed outfit finally shows up herself.

“Master, I told you not to show yourself no matter what.”

“I know. But they know about that man.”

‘That man?’ I blink.

“Name yourself.” Rin glared at me. She doesn’t seem to recognize me.

“I am Rein. A hero that was summoned to defeat Demon King Illya.” I used the handy identity I was given not long ago.

“Hero? You?” Rin is jaw dropped.

“Hahahaha!” Lancer laughs out loud. “What kind of joke is this? Did they seriously think a sheltered princess can defeat Demon King? I know they are getting anxious because no more people dared to challenge the Demon King. But to think they got so desperate that they sent a little girl who is still wet behind her ears…” he shakes his head in pure amusement.

“Eeehhh… I look that young? I am at the same age as Rin though.” I do think my features are pretty average, just a little shorter than average girls.

“…you will look more convincing if you don’t talk in that kind of position…” Rin deadpanned.

“…In what kind of position?” I blink and then make an ‘o’ shape mouth. I forget I am still literally sitting on Saber’s arm. “…It feels comfortable though,” I comment offhandedly. ‘And I oddly like it.’

“…” Rin and Lancer stare at me.

“I guess, I should get down first.” Saber gently lets me down at that.

“So, how and what do you know about that man?” Rin glared.

“That man? You mean about Shiro?”

“Yes. And you seem to know about me too. But I don’t know about you. Speak. What is your true purpose.” Rin said while pointing ‘Gandr’ at me.

“I know you, yes. And I know Shiro too, but in different way than you imagined. Rin… what is the last thing you remember?”

“What do you mean?” she narrows her eyes. “I am Rin, the guardian of this forest. I have been born and raised here. Until that man… stole this forest heart.”

“So you are hunting Shiro down now?” Archer quirks his brow in amusement.

“Spill everything you know about that man.”

“Okay.” I nod. “Shiro… his full name is Emiya Shiro, adopted son of Emiya Kiritsugu, 16 years old, currently living with Saber (Female) and Sakura, his kouhai visits him every single day. Rin, you too used to live with him.”

“?!What?!!!”

“And the four of you are engaged in pandemonium of love.”

“Don’t say that!!!! I am not in love with him!” Rin shrieked while blushing.

“But your face is red!”

“No! You see it wrong! I am-”

“Master, I have finished my scan. There is a spell put upon Lancer and Tohsaka Rin.”

“Can you undo it?”

“Yes, I have finished the counterspell.”

“Good. Saber, Archer.” They know what I am going to do, so they used this chance to subdue Lancer who realized a second too late.

“Restrain.” I use a binding spell on Rin and Lancer for extra measure.

“You cowards! You lied to me!” Rin hissed.

“I am not. Don’t worry. I will make you remember everything. In fact, you will be thankful for me.” I smile.

“No… don’t come near me! NO!!!!!”

“...I didn’t do anything bad.” I pout. Rin and Lancer have successfully regained their memories. “Why does she scream like I was going to harass her?” I sulk, drawing a circle on the ground.

“So-sorry, Rein. I didn’t mean it like that. Yo-you see, I didn’t remember who you are.” Rin tried to appease my mood.

“You even pointed ‘Gandr’ at me,” I mumbled.

“I told you, my memory was manipulated. Besides, when you smile like that in that kind of situation, everyone obviously will think you are going to do something bad.” Rin stretches my cheek.

“It hurts… It hurts, Rin. My cheeks are going to fall off.”

“So, what do we do next?” Lancer asked.

“Obviously searching for Emiya Shiro,” Archer said. “You two said he stole this forest’s heart. Which means, you two met him.”

“…wait a minute…” Rin takes a deep breath and begins to sort her memory.

“Excellion, how was it? Do you feel anything?”

“Yes. There is indeed a trace of Emiya Shiro and his servant, Saber here.” Excellion stated.

“Can you tell us where he is?”

“100 km from here, to the east,” Exellion said after a while.

“Then, we got ourselves a lead. Let’s finish this and smack whoever threw us here.” Lancer grumbles.

“We are in agreement for once,” Archer said. ~”~

When we meet Shiro and Saber, the first thing Rin does is... send Shiro off with a flying knee kick. The kick is so marvellous that Lancer and Archer are clapping their hands in awe. “I get Shiro-Saber team.” I giggle as if I am collecting Pokemon.

“So, our next team is Hakuno-Namless.” Archer cranked his neck. Someone recognized his face and told him to give his wife their best regard.

“So, they are married now?” my mouth turns into a cat-shaped due to excitement. “I guess I have more material to tease them more. Ah, it’s so fun.” I literally skipped due to the excitement.

“…Rein… I didn’t raise you to be like this.” Archer sighs.

“Eeehh… best friends tease each other, no? This also counts as a payback for Nameless.” I smile innocently.

“You are still holding a grudge about it?” Archer sweatdropped.

“Not really. My main reason is because Hakunon is fun to tease.” I answered.

And so, we finally arrived at the house where the two of them were supposed to live. I knock on the door, waiting for either Hakunon or Nameless to open the door.

“Yes…” Hakunon opens the door and is surprised to see a group of people whom she has no idea of, is crowding in front of her front door.

“I come to get(read. kidnap) you.” I smile.

“Yes?” Hakunon blinks, tilting her head.

~Hakunon-Nameless team… GET!~

“This leaves Sakura-Rider and Sensei-Caster… Illya is obviously in the Demon King Castle with Berserker and probably her maids.” Rin sighs.

“So, what is our plan next?” Saber (Female) looks at us.

“I don’t feel anything of Matou Sakura-Rider and Kuzuki Souichirou-Caster.”

“…Rather than wasting time with no lead. We should pick Illya up first. Who knows she might have known something.” Nameless suggested. And so, our next course of action is to pick (read. capture) Illya-Berserker team.

“Welcome to my castle, O’Hero.” Illya’s voice echoes in the hall, at the same time spotlights are turned on, revealing Illya on Berserker’s shoulder.

“…I have a feeling it will turn out this way…” Archer sighed.

“I commend your bravery to step into my castle. But from now on, it won’t be so easy. To conquer this castle and to conquer me, you have to show your dauntless bravery and wits.” Illya smiled.

“I will await you in my throne room. Don’t disappoint me, O’Hero.” The spotlights turned off and the hall lit up, but Illya and Berserker had gone.

“Huhuhu, before you can get to the throne room. All of you will die in my hands.” Another familiar voice said.

“Ah, Sakura.” It’s Sakura alright. But this Sakura… looks a little different. She is wearing a long black dress with red stripes, and bare feet, there’s a line marking like a tattoo from her neck to her cheek. One thing to note is the dress seems to be alive.

“I am Dark Sakura.” She laughs evilly. “I am the right second in command of Demon King Illya. Now, Heroes who came from far away, we shall have our showdown. I will present my liege with your heads.”

“Ah, Shiro told me he likes Sakura.” I suddenly said.

“Eh? I don’t say-” Shiro gaped at me.

“Is…is that right?” the Dark Sakura who was the epitome of evil has become a shy maiden.

“But you said, Sakura will surely become a good bride.”

“That’s! I did say it, but that doesn’t mean-”

“What’s the meaning of this, Shiro?” Saber narrowed her eyes.

“That’s right, Emiya-kun. You can’t just lead people on! It’s your bad habit.”

“I never lead people on.” Shiro tried to argue.

“…she is scarier than when she was being haughty and selfish…” Nameless shivered.

“Master…” Archer sighs with a pointed look.

“Don’t worry. This is the best method to not hurt Sakura unnecessarily.” I grin. Even though I like to stir the drama, I still do my work properly. I have been weaving a spell little by little to avoid being detected. Rider is nowhere in sight, but she is nearby. The moment my spell activates is probably the moment she will spring out to protect Sakura.

“Restrain.” A magic circle appeared beneath Sakura’s feet and a shadow sprung out.

“There you are.” Archer and Nameless fired their arrows at her to distract her, and I successfully bound Sakura.

“Master Sakura!”

“Rider!”

“Lancer!”

“Right o!” Lancer dashes forward, and spear clashes with Rider’s weapon. I quickly cast another restraining spell on Rider. Now… I have two of them, hands and feet being bound, kneeling on the floor.

“Excellion.”

“Yes, Master.”

“…I do feel like we are being villains here.” Hakunon sweatdropped.

“No… no… save me, SENPAI!”

“MASTER SAKURA!!!”

“…Why were they yelling again? I was not harassing them…” I grumble in the dark corner again, feeling sulky.

“So…sorry, Rein-senpai.” Sakura who is feeling mighty guilty is trying to cheer me up.

“I am very sorry.” Rider bowed her head repeatedly.

“Rin kicked Shiro, yet nobody said anything to her. I was only trying to undo the spell yet…”

“Ah, please, don’t cry, Senpai. I will cook your favourite later, okay?”

“…really…?”

“Really. I will cook a lot of your favourite.” Sakura nods her head quickly.

“…okay…”

~Sakura-Rider team… GET!~

Now, we are standing in front of the throne room. At long last, we will be facing Illya. I hope she has a lead about sensei though.

“Illya!”

“Huhuhu! As expected from Hero! You easily converted my second in command to your allies in a little time.” Illya laughed.

“…” all of them are averting their eyes, while I just smile at Illya.

“No matter. My Berserker is the most powerful servant in the world. He can easily squish your puny bodies. Behold, the power of Demon King. BERSERKER!”

Berserker lets out a loud roar, signalling the fight is on. With numbers on our side, an overwhelming win is not hard. The problem is we fight not to kill, but to restrain Berserker. That is taking a lot more than we would have thought. In the end, we managed to undo the spell after killing Berserker once and bound him before he revived. We are transported back to our base of operation right after we subdued Illya and Berserker.

“Ouch…” Illya finally regains her consciousness. “What happened?” she blinks.

“You don’t remember?” Rin sighs.

“I remember I was going to visit Shiro and then…”

“I shall explain.” Excellion floats in front of her.

“A talking book?” Illya blinks, and her hand tentatively touches my grimoire.

“…that’s about it…”

“I see… to be honest, I don’t know what happened to Sella and Leysritt. I think I was caught first… I also have no idea about Caster and her master's whereabouts.” Illya said.

“Don’t worry, Illya. Sella and Lyseritt will be right. They are strong, you know?” Shiro assures her.

“Um…” Illya nods.

“The grimoire did say that there is another layer of space after the first one. We might find something there.” Saber (Female) said.

“That’s right. Sensei, Sella and Leysritt might be there too. So, Illya, lend us your power.” Shiro extends his hand to her.

“Well… since Shiro asked nicely. I will help you just this once.” Illya, with her tsundere-like words, accepts the offer.

“By the way, Shiro.” Saber (Female) called out to her master.

“What, Saber?”

“I am hungry.”

“…”

“I am hungry too.” I look at my servants pitifully.

“Actually, me too. Even though I have no real body.” Hakunon raised her hand asshamed.

“Well, I guess after a fight like that, hunger is inevitable.” Archer smiled wryly.

“We will need to cook a lot to feed this army of hungry people.” Nameless sighs.

“Ah, I will help too,” Shiro said.

“Then, I will be going to help. Please endure a little longer, Rein.” Saber pats my head.

“Yes~” ~”~

“Hm? What was I?” I was suddenly gasping in realization. “Mutsuki-san, is there any problem?” Souichirou-sensei asked.

“Ah, no. it’s nothing. I apologize, Sensei.” I recomposed myself.

“Then I will continue the lesson,” Sensei said.

‘???’ I sort my memories bit by bit. I got up early as usual, freshened up myself, ate breakfast, packed my lunch and walked to school as usual… nothing is out of ordinary… so why… do I feel uneasy?

“Rein-chan! What are you dozing off for? It’s lunch break.”

“Ah?” I blink. “Already?”

“Yes… are you really alright?” Hakunon, my best friend asked worriedly. “It’s rare for you to daze like that in a lesson.”

“Sorry to worry you. I am fine.” I assured her.

“Oh, it’s Ayaka! As usual, Proto Archer and Proto Lancer are pushy as ever.” Hakunon sweatdropped.

“Aya…ka…?” I repeated slowly as I followed her eyes to see the scene beneath the window.

“Saber?”

“Ayaka?”

“Eh? Why? Why are you here? Where is this in the first place?”

“Calm down, Ayaka.”

“Jou-chan, what happe… you! Saber!”

“Lancer! You are here too!”

“Man… what the hell is happening?”

“Saber! This time for sure I will beat you and take Ayaka’s hand!”

“…Archer… I won’t allow it!” Saber's eyes are set to a glare.

“Wait wait wait! It’s not the time for that!” the bespectacled girl known as Ayaka quickly diffuses the tense atmosphere.

“So, everyone knows each other?” I finally speak up and in instant, they look at me.

That’s right. We go to the next dungeon after a break… and then… we meet Ayaka, (Proto) Lancer and (Proto) Archer… and then… what happened next…?

“Rein?! Are you alright?!”

“Ah… yeah… I am alright.” I nod. ‘What…was that…?’

“You really should go to the infirmary just in case.”

“Don’t worry, Hakunon. I will be fine after a while.” I smile.

“But…”

“Ah, it’s Saber.” I quickly shift her attention back to the Ayaka and Saber…

“Oh, Saber comes to save the day again.” Hakunon chirps. Saber who is always coming to save Ayaka from her pushy suitors… like a knight in shining armor.

‘…why is it… Ayaka… not me…?’ My eyes widen as certain memories begin to surface.

‘Oh! No no no!’ I shake my head. ‘I shouldn’t think about that… I am no longer…’ ~”~

“You sure as busy as ever, Ayaka.” Hakunon laughed as we finally had our lunch.

“They really should cut it out and give me a break. They are doing it every single day. How can they not feel tired?” Ayaka sighs.

“Ahahahaha! Don’t say that! Even though they look like that, they are still very popular.” Hakunon laughs heartily.

“I don’t need it.” Ayaka chomps her lunch.

“But you got to see Saber saving you like a prince on a white horse every single day. What’s so bad about that?” Hakunon teased.

Ayaka looks at her dead in the eyes, “Saber and I are not like that.” she says firmly.

“Eeehh… even though he keeps hovering around you like a bodyguard?” Hakunon put on her disbelieving expression.

“I see… I guess I sorta understood what situation we are in now…” Ayaka nods her head. “But… I have never thought I would see you again, Saber. I am glad you are doing well.”

“Yes. I am glad that you are doing well too, Ayaka.” Saber smiles.

‘Oh…’ I blink at their interaction.

“Keh! There they are being lovey-dovey again.” Lancer… or now to be called Proto Lancer made a face at them.

“We are not in that kind of relationship.” Ayaka sighed for the umpteenth time.

“But Jou-chan is clearly playing favourite.” Proto Lancer protested.

“Heee… what’s this?” Lancer smirked as he finally found something worth his time. “Saber… you sly dog, you have a cute girlfriend yet you were flirting with your current master.”

“Lancer, Ayaka is not my girlfriend.” Saber frowned. Now now, he can’t make his master misunderstand him now, can he?

“That’s right. Saber is like a saviour? A brother figure… he is like that for me. So, don’t go around spreading nonsense, errr… Lancer.” Ayaka backed him up.

“…”

“Rein?” I blink my eyes at Archer’s voice. “Are you alright?”

“Of course. Why won’t I be?” I tilt my head at my unusually worried servant.

“If you want, I can knock some sense to him…” he narrowed his eyes.

“…” I burst out to a little giggle. “Thank you, but it’s not needed. This is… what it should be…” I spoke softly… so soft that I am the one who can hear it.

“Rather, I am hungry, Archer. I want to eat.” I pulled a puppy dog's eyes on him.

“I will whip something real quick for you.” Archer sighs in defeat, not prying what I don’t want to say.

“Then, Archer’s special hamburger steak.”

“…you know that it takes a long time to make, don’t you?”

“Eeehhh… then, Archer’s special omurice.”

“Let’s go with that then.” ~”~

“…haaa…” I exhale a long sigh. “The same trick, but stronger…” I mumbled. But this doesn’t work well for me. Because I have started remembering what had happened before this and it couldn’t even touch the other part of memories… I guess that’s given with how I protected those.

“…I should lock them again… before… before it causes trouble for everyone… and… him too…”

I can already imagine how my teacher will nag at me because of this.

“You should just put him under your slave spell. I will bet my whole entertainment that even if he finds out, he will happily oblige to whatever you want. He’s just down that bad for you.”

“…you are wrong, sensei… He… had someone else saved his heart… a feat that even I couldn’t do…”

“…That’s why… I have no right to insert myself into his heart anymore…” a leaf falls down right on my awaiting palm.

“Rein!”

I shift my attention to the source of the voice. “Ar…Saber? Are you alright? Why are you so out of breath?” I get off the bench and walk to him. “I will go get some water for you.”

“Don’t go!” my hand was roughly gabbed. “Don’t go anywhere! Don’t disappear on me again!” and I was pulled into a tight embrace.

“Ah? I am not going anywhere nor I am disappearing though. I just want to get water for you.” I stated.

“…”

“Besides, I am your master. Where do you think I will be going without my servants?” I awkwardly pat his back, trying not to let him know how much I missed this.

‘Liar… you are a liar, Rein… You never noticed that your voice trembles ever so slightly when you lie. It’s the habit only I noticed…’

“Oh!” I pull back slightly when I realize something. “You remember!” I beamed.

“Remember…” Saber's eyes tremble. “Do you mean the time when we were a-”

“I am glad. I noticed everyone doesn’t remember that we were swallowed into a black hole. Their memories must be manipulated.”

“Oh…” Saber slowly blinks into realization. “We… where are we…?”

“What’s the last thing you remember?” I asked.

“We were attacked and a black hole opened up, swallowing us,” he answered.

“And this is the space inside the black hole. This space manipulated our memories. Must be made to trap us here forever… or until the time that the master of the dungeon feels she is bored enough and let us out.” I grumble in distaste.

We all know who the holder of the real Grail now. Ayaka told us she saw the attacker that transported them to the other side of the world. It’s none other than her sister, Sajyou Manaka, she was supposed to be dead… twice…

She was stabbed by Arthur when she was alive and Beast 666, the true enemy that Arthur must vanquish before he can go to Avalon. Beast 666 who was created by Manaka, imprinted to her as its mother and revived her. Manaka then was killed for sure in the Second Holy Grail War, which Ayaka accidentally joined in.

But now… for whatever reason she is still alive… but if I were to be honest… the reason she must still alive… no, she is not exactly alive. She is dead and now the one in front of us is her lingering attachment to… Arthur…

Her attachment is strong enough to form an astral projection and she moves solely based on her feeling to be with Arthur. She will do anything to be with him and that’s how she stole the Holy Grail from our world and dragged us to this mess.

Everything is for… him…

“Haaa…” I sigh. ‘Really… just what kind of seduction technique this guy used. He even managed to charm a ...supposed omnipotent girl.’

“What’s wrong, Rein? Are you feeling sick? Shall I take you to the infirmary?”

“…” When I look at him fussing around like this… I can’t help but want to tease him a little. “Yeah… I feel sick. I will feel better if you cross-!”

“That’s not good, I will take you to the infirmary now.” Arthur carries me princess-style straight to the infirmary, ignoring the shocked looks everyone gives.

‘Ah… I think I just made my life worse…’ ~”~

[localhornist]

The first thing Gudako noticed was her head really fucking hurt.

The second was that she definitely wasn’t at Chaldea. To be honest, she wasn’t anywhere she knew. Wherever it was, she noticed one thing.

It. Stank.

Slowly, she pulled herself up. What on earth had happened? She’d been at Chaldea, in some briefing, and-

The explosion. Right. Something had gone wrong, and there’d been an explosion when Team A had been about to rayshift.

And now, she was here. Wherever here was.

Had… she rayshifted, then?

Well, she certainly wasn’t in Fuyuki, at least from what she’d seen in the briefing. Pulling herself up, she looked around. There were no lights on, and rubbish lined the street she was on. The place seemed abandoned. That, or whoever inhabited it didn’t care for cleanliness. Sighing, she began to trudge on. Sure, she was just at the organisation for work experience. But she was still a magus. She could manage, find some way to get back to Chaldea and find out just what had happened. Heck, she bet they were coming after her right now-

*Click*

There was barely a second for Gudako to cast a shield before bullets began to fly. Desperately running, she ducked behind a wall, gasping.

As she caught her breath, she could feel a sting in her leg. She looked down. Red.

That wasn’t good. In any way. Either she’d cut herself running or-

A sharp pain. Yep. It was the second option. Still, it didn’t stop her from hearing whoever her adversary was slowly creeping along, boots hitting the wet concrete. She slowed her breath. If she could just bear the pain…

…closer…

…closer…

…NOW!

She darted out, shock spell ready-

And was immediately blasted back as flames erupted in front of her. She threw her arms back, shielding her eyes from the sudden light as the sound of screams and the smell of burnt flesh were flung into the air. Tripping and falling, she cursed as another shot of pain wracked her leg, making her see stars. Gasping, she clutched it, wincing. Then, she heard steps.

She looked up, terrified. But, she wasn't met with a soldier as she expected. Instead, a woman around her age stared back, with ashen hair and covered head to toe in black - black plate armour with a lighter black decorative skirt, and a strange headpiece, along with a fur-trimmed cape. She’d just been just placing a slim sword back into its scabbard when she noticed Gudako and regarded her with a sinister grin, yellow eyes gleaming in the dying firelight.

“Well… what do we have here?”

[homeinchaldea]

LB6 Super quest done!

[sealer-of-wenkamui]

Maybe you’ve read it too, but Ive recently read the Douman-centric chapters of Abe no Seimei Monogatari, and the little we’ve seen of Seimei in Fate seems close to his characterization in it, especially his relationship with Douman. I totally forgot about that line from Koyan, but that too seems pretty accurate, if exaggerated.

For one thing, I was surprised how overly trusting he is of Douman, to the point he gets himself killed by him as a result. After Douman loses the contest with him he came to the capital for, he becomes Seimei’s student and Seimei immediately lets him take care of his place for 3 years while he goes off to China and studies under Hakudou. (During which Douman has an affair with his wife that leads to him getting a chance to copy Seimei’s kinu gyokuto and hoki naiden) And then he blatantly ignores the warnings Hakudou gave him about heavy drinking, one sided arguments and his wife, and bets his head on Douman not having those texts while drunk and gets beheaded by him. And it’s not like he was unaware of Douman’s nature, he calls him out as arrogant and only seeking fame and fortune, but still had faith in him.

After being brought back from the dead by Hakudou the way they kill Douman is for Seimei to hide and Hakudou asks to see him, which of course Douman says is impossible cause he’s dead, and Seimei is wearing a smile on his face as he reveals himself as alive to him…

So reading all this I could see the influence it has on what we’ve seen of his characterization so far (and Douman’s too with his extreme obsession and pettiness) and I thought it was cool.

Since Douman vs Dios Dioscuri part of the anthology was translated, Seimei was mentioned there. Wanted to ask what's the overall Seimei's characterization is it Nasuverse so far and what exactly his nature with Douman is?

The first mention of Seimei is Tamamo's backstory in Fate/EXTRA. Tamamo describes him as a sexy monster of darkness with an underworld-colored soul. Medusa levels of negative bias toward her killer, but it's interesting that Tamamo can't deny that he is hot. There's a lot of speculation to be made based on what Tamamo finds attractive, but that would have been a post of its own and not one I personally want to write.

But right from the bat, Nasu's Seimei shows deviations from the original myths. Traditionally, Tamamo no Mae is outed by Abe no Yasuchika, the descendant that comes 5 generations after Seimei. Because Tamamo's story is set a whole century after Seimei's death. Tsuchimikado Yasuhiro's reveal later was a surprise to me because EXTRA had me assuming Seimei was posing as his own descendant to this day.

Later FGO has Seimei as a character a lot of people mention and the descriptions we get of him get very mixed. Most oni characters have little respect for him. Even the human-aligned mixbloods Raikou/Ushi and Nagiko express respect for him as a professional but dislike him as a person. Meanwhile, the fully human Murasaki respects him as a person but not as a teacher. And Kiichi is laughing too hard to voice their opinion.

But our biggest Seimei commenter is obviously Douman, who unfortunately never gets coherent enough about this subject to give a clear account. Koyanskaya describes Seimei's and Douman's situation as "one is an arrogant bastard who thinks he can domesticate a treacherous friend, while the other is a rotten degenerate who will get rid of said friend through backstabbing". Negative bias befitting of her Tamamo face but it doesn't paint an accurate-looking enough picture. The two summer events featuring Douman had moments of Seimei disciplining him, and Seimei's overall respect for Douman really shows in their last Heian interaction.

Meanwhile, Douman sees Seimei as a generic good guy and projects his image in Fujimaru as early as Shimousa, something even his summoned version continues to do in his Valentine's scene.

Seimei still hasn't appeared in FGO, but without appearing, he's still a major character in two of its stories. Heian and the summer event in Treasure Island. In both situations, we get to see him as confident, competent, and prone to insufferable jokes. He shows off his clairvoyance by having a total view of the plot and using modern slang to communicate with Fujimaru. He also transparently tries to make Kintoki feel better by saying Douman wasn't his Servant, a lie that even the gullible Kintoki doesn't buy.

Interestingly enough, the character Kintoki finds the most similar to Seimei is Holmes. I still don't know what he meant with this one.

And the last story to involve Seimei so far is Fate/Samurai Remnant. Seimei left his playthrough summary of Fate/stay night for his descendant Yasuhiro to make the Waxing Moon with. Yasuhiro was desperate to restore the Tsuchimikado reputation damaged by his father, but with or without Waxing Moon, Takatoshi's son would make the Tsuchimikados the authority on onmyouji again. All Seimei's notes accomplish is to give Yasuhiro a taste of hope that he wouldn't have in Pan-Human History despite the completion of his goals being assured. Yasuhiro's hope comes at the cost of many lives, but I still can't but feel the meaning of Seimei's choice here.

Overall, I can't perfectly summarize Seimei's characterization through comparison with a character from another series, but I have one I feel comes close enough. Muhyou Tooru, protagonist of Muhyo and Rouji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation. He's arrogant, unmotivated to teach talentless people, trollish, scary, and determined to leash and redeem an evil friend. More a mishmash of the comments we get about Seimei than the stuff we from him directly, but I still can see Muhyo as a great source of inspiration here.

[randomlywanderingmoth]

I heard that FSR was almost made a soulslike, and I have opinions. I'm getting them out of my system now: I'm actually super happy they didn't make Fate Samurai Remnant a soulslike.

(Warning: tedious rambling below the cut.)

Here's the thing, right? Soulslikes, as a point of ludonarrative, are meant to demonstrate "a relatively normal human (or human adjacent) being" (excepting Sekiro). It's good, but not a universally good idea- and if there was ever going to be gameplay as a Servant FSR could absolutely not be a soulslike- Servants are inherently incredibly superhuman.

Fate gameplay with a visible demonstration of the difference between Servants and Masters in mind would best be given to musou gameplay, actually. You play the very human Miyamoto Iori about 90% of the time, and for the early and mid game he isn't that incredibly strong- more capable than common thugs and misbehaving ronin absolutely, but there are demonic spirit enemies and Servants that have these break shields that you need to whittle down gradually, and in the latter case only in very specific windows. If you've played Fate Grand Order you might recognize some of the enemy designs, and demonic spirits you normally would kill in a single turn without a spare thought are suddenly challenges you have to laboriously chew through.

The remaining 10% of the time, you can optionally switch gameplay to his Servant Saber (and later Rogue Servants you ally with)- and immediately you can feel the difference. Enemies with break shields are rapidly shredded, and you're no longer bouncing off enemy Servants- the Servant hits much harder and is much more durable than the Master. Those enemy designs from FGO I mentioned before? They're suddenly much easier to beat to a pulp- the only reason they still take effort is because you can't stack buffs on your attacking Servant and spam your Noble Phantasm like you would in Fate Grand Order.

It also makes a small degree of sense that, in the very late game, Iori eventually becomes so incredibly strong that it becomes less and less necessary to switch to your Servant- he's been training against enemies of such caliber, after all. There's also a dedicated Support Servant in Rogue Rider, and buff spells you can stack on yourself, and Iori eventually develops techniques not unlike Noble Phantasms, so suddenly you can really feel like you're back in FGO, wiping out massive waves of enemies with only minimal effort- but the path to that point is very tactile. You can actually feel Iori's growth from "difficulty fighting simple demons" to "competently capable of bearing his own against Servants."

There's a notable moment, early on, when you can optionally duke it out with Rogue Berserker. This is generally considered a bad idea since Rogue Berserker can tear you apart effortlessly (and on the harder difficulty can outright oneshot you in several ways), but it does serve to highlight how Iori, a reasonably capable but still human-level samurai, stacks up against a stronger Servant- that is to say, poorly. At this point in the story, Iori simply isn't strong enough to duke it out with the titan of a Servant, so if you elect to take this challenge you'll be very reliant on Saber's support- making it functionally a fight of Servants in which you are largely trying to keep from being crushed underfoot. (You can also fight him later, after Iori has completed his growth, and it also serves to demonstrate how strong Iori has gotten that you are no longer at risk of instantly dying just because you got palmed by Rogue Berserker.)

If it had been a soulslike, it would be very difficult to emulate those feelings. Soulslikes are not the best place to demonstrate an individual's ability to effortlessly dismantle an army with the single swing of a divine sword, or contrast the player-side power of a human alongside a Servant so concisely- if Fate/Soulslike had you playing the Servant with a permanent escort quest of keeping the Master safe it would only be tedious. Soulslikes are also not the best place to demonstrate being a Master fighting alongside a Servant- traditionally summoned allies in Soulslikes are more a support factor, than "the entity meant to carry you through a hairy fight". Fighting against Servants as a human, you could ostensibly argue, would not be remiss in a Soulslike, so there's that, but as I stated it would not be the best place to try to fight a Servant by proxy of your own Servant.

Could there be a hypothetical Fate/Soulslike in the future? Possibly. It would take a lot of fiddling to do, and it would have to have a premise vastly different from what Samurai Remnant set out to accomplish- presenting a Grail War from the perspective of a Master. I think FSR completed their assignment quite competently.

[hollowfaith]

1, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

QUESTIONS FOR MUN

1. Who has been your favorite muse to play?

ughhhh this is hard...im gonna cheat and go for nostalgia ok

although i think i missed the mark with her muse in some places i have a special fondness for dahlia hawthorne and her specific brand of caustic sarcasm.

i don't think i've ever come up with so many different creative insults during her runtime...also she had the neatest mix of relationships with random muses, not just in AA cast (tho i remember her tormenting at least 3 different feenies??) but beyond, notably izaya and edward cullen comes to mind.

i also really liked my run as kasen kanesada because he's a very lyrical sword (or at least works hard to cultivate that image) so i had to express that in writing and ended up having a lot of fun doing flowery replies and making up poetry and generally going big ham. (it did take a lot of mental energy though so i started losing steam later on.)

i remember he had a thread with FGO Shakespeare that was pretty nice cause we got to be nerdy and talk about eastern/western literature lolololol, then for his challenge he had to kill like 5 ppl in 24 hours so i actually got 5 volunteers to get decapitated and RP'd mini threads with them all, which was wild (and again a very, very random mix of muses including X-Files Fox Mulder)

i didn't RP OCs back then but i like them a lot now too! the lack of art is an unfortunate reality but the amount of customization you get in exchange...so powerful.

5. What is the most difficult thing about writing your current muse?

stupid guy won't just kiss klaus and marry him that would solve 99% of their problems hey klaus are u listening u need to seduce this idiot or something so his brain has nothing but u all day to keep him out of mischief hey hey klaus

ahem

also his unspoken obligation to be lawful good (in his POV) really limits his ability to "act out," so sometimes i need to find different ways to de-escalate situations before he hits moral event horizon. you know, flattery and adoration goes a long way in wrapping him around your finger, i'm surprised more people don't try (i guess they can't stand him long enough to get there lol)

7. Who was the very first muse you ever wrote?

i remember answering this question on another meme maybe...?

there's a more accurate answer now: pre-tumblr, i remember RPing a Lopmon on some digimon forum once upon a time. also remember the mod that was RPing with me called me out for "slight godmodding" because i was describing how my digimon was crossing a bridge and apparently that was taking things too much into my own hands LOLOL

8. Have you ever written a novel? If not, does it interest you?

i've started written novels but i haven't finished any except for like, a couple of original oneshots. technically Veoc is a supporting character/love interest (spoilers: he's not the canon pairing) in a sci-fi story where i have the general plot laid out but y'know, actually writing it is... *flops down*

9. Do you write fanfiction, or have you in the past?

i definitely wrote more in the past but i've slowed down to a trickle since then. uhhhh i want to start up again, maybe with drabbles/oneshots, but i need to catch up on canon first before i try to do the characters justice

10. Do you like stylized icons and formatted text or do you prefer to keep things simple?

god a part of me regrets giving Aury his fancy brackets b/c i have to copy/paste that thing in every reply

so yeah i am never doing that again i just wanna open up a post and type my reply and be done with it, bless.

same with icons as long as they show a face and expression (or even body part) im happy wheee i've got plots to write

11. When did you start roleplaying?

i can't remember...gotta be probably early to mid high school cause i didn't know RP existed back then

12. Have you roleplayed anywhere other than tumblr?

forums, emails, tried a LJ group but my app got rejected so i didn't even get in (ROFL), tumblr has been the most stable medium with most long-term interactions though

[artblock-tm]

Hello!!

New pinned post! Since I can't edit the old one... but this post will be regularly updated whenever I think of something to add!

My name is DoodlePerson, but you can just call me Doodle or Artblock.

My inbox is open for anyone who wants to talk- about fandom things, my OCs, my stories, or just in general. Please be kind and remember not to send weird things unsolicited to strangers!

Doodle requests are also always available, as long as its for a fandom I'm in or an OC. I will draw your OC if you provide references!

If you'd like to know which fandoms I'm in, there's a list under the cut.

My art tag: Doodle Gallery

My doodle tag: Doodle Doodles

My writing tag: Writeblock-TM

My talking tag: Artbabble-tm

My fics:

Masked Collection (AHiT)

Shadow Rift (AHiT)

My oneshots:

Vanishing Point (FGO)

All ocs tagged with oc: [their name].

Fandoms I'm in:

-AHiT

-Amphibia

-Black Clover

-Centaurworld

-Everhood

-Fate series

-Gravity Falls

-Hollow Knight/Silksong

-Little Nightmares

-Omori

-Super Paper Mario

-Tangled The Series

-The Owl House

-UT/DR

-Aaaand more, probably, but I just can't think of it!

Anyway! Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a good day!

[e17omm]

what IS your favorite fic? or maybe a rec list?

Undoubtedly the one fic I enjoy the most and will recommend to anyone that knows of the Fate series is: "Fragments of Chaldea" (just search it on AO3, should be the top result)

You want 100+ different Servants developing realistically over 120 chapters?

In total, the Fragments of Chaldea series (The main Fragments Series, the Lost Shards (concept chapters that arent finished) and supplemantary fics that are too big to be their own Fragments) has a total of 2,049,162 words.

That is more than Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings COMBINED. And FoC's quality never really drops. It just keeps getting better the further you read.

I know that 2 million words is just, a lot, but ALL of it is great character development for so many different characters that never feels like "that character would NEVER do that" no. It all feels real. It all feels like if these Servants lived at Chalea that this is how they would develop. GhostXavier nails down so many different personalities and makes it feel real.

My Snippets of Sirin Schariac's life is loosely inspired by Fragments. Maybe more in hindsight. Fragments are connected oneshots as all Fragments progress the story, but each chapter is like a oneshot focusing on one, sometimes more, Servant(s) at a time. One chapter we follow Jeanne d'arc, another we follow Artoria Pendragon, another Kiyohime, another Mashu, another Hyde and Jeckyl, another Scathach, another Mozart, and so on. But they all move the story forward.

Now, Fragments is more straight than my Snippets, it barely jumps back and forth in time, so it is (admittedly) far easier to follow than my Snippets. Basically just connected oneshots is the most borrowed idea from Fragments.

Now, given that, the tag list and character list for Fragments is HUGE, too much to list here. And it is a heavy AU setting - the surviving Chaldea staff is over 100 rather than the measly 20 in canon, plus theres a robotic staff. As they explain in the notes of chapter 1: "A humanity saving organization on such a tiny staff count is beyond absurd."

So, a basic understanding of Fate lore is needed to be able to comprehend Fragments of Chaldea, but if you want to REALLY enjoy it, you kind of need to play Fate/Grand Order and clear the first 7 Singularities, the 4 Epic of Remnant Singularities, and have started the Lostbelts. That's kinda far. But that is just for full enjoyment and attention to the changes. But if you know what Fate is, you can watch a summary explaination of FGO and enjoy Fragments plenty.

Sadly, due to burnout, Fragments technically ends at chapter 116. The last 4 chapters are overviews of the planned storyline that GhostXavier had for the future and Lostbelts.

But there is still enough for days of enjoment from Fragments of Chaldea

Now, I have some other fics that I really like, but I wont go into as much detail about them here because this post is already long enough.

There is Matters of the Heart by Vengfulfate, it's a RWBY fanfic where Ruby gets a heart injury and her father becomes overprotective, which results in her running away while still young, and she ends up growing up to be far more serious than she is in canon. It also gets rid of the worst parts of RWBY, being Cinder and Salem, writing them completely out of the story to focus on Ruby and her family drama.

There is also There Are No Thought Crimes (HI3 fanfic), which is a horny FuKiMei story with vampires. Its a fun and spicy read. Instead of Honkai there is vampires and a lot of horny vampire biting.