A Fire That Chills [/fin]

[Seikou Arigatami]

Wha... What had just happened? No no no, this wasn't real; it was a dream it just had to be! There was nothing left around, the entire terrain in a 5 meter radius was flattened down to its base level. There was signs that pressure and indented into every crevasse outlining some of the bricks in his foundations but still essentially in the same spot. However, the man with the knife wasn't any where to be seen. In every direction he looked there was no sign of a body?... maybe... maybe he got spooked and ran off? Yeah, that had to be it! Seikou was having a hard time peeling his hands away from his face, the gaps between his index and middle finger were what he now looked at the world around him through. While eventually they did end up away from his mug, they were only used as props so that their host could crawl over to the edge of the bridge that he was mounted upon. Seikou used one hand to secure himself on the guard rail while peaking over the dangling chain meant to dissuade people from getting too close.

What he saw wasn't a welcome sight in the least, at the surface of the water had been some of the contents that the bridge was supporting a few moments ago. Now they were just debris that didn't have the proper weight to submerge. That was fine, it was something that the kid could get over. However despite the fog clouding up his glasses, he could still see the outline of a very still floating form with clothes and a hair style he noticed. It was him, the robber from before. Staring in horror at the form, Seikou was too scared to do anything besides run away from the truth as always. Sinking his face away so that it could no longer observe the carcass in the waters bellow, he'd slightly curl hugging onto himself. "What'd I do, What'd I do... please, I don't like this situation. Don't forgive me, I don't want this to be real..."

Seikou only had one way to deal with pain and that was to do with it what he did to everything in life, reject it. His mind started to make up ways that dis-attached him from the situation, impossible circumstances that he forced himself to believe in order to make the fear go away, to make the hurt go away. " He fell off, he must of been drunk. That's what happened isn't it? Maybe hes still alive! Water wakes people up, it's how people are woken up in movies. Hes going to wake up and walk away soon... I should leave too... I really should." It didn't take much for his mind to believe something, even a lie that he invented on baseless grounds only a few moments ago. Reality and logic were thrown to the way side so that he could have a level mind again. It may of been his own derangement that made it possible for him to be fooled by his own delusion. Placing trembling palms on the surface of the bridge, he'd gradually push himself up on his legs, crawling the first few paces forward but eventually ending up on his feet and started into a wobbling trot forward.

[Kosviel von Einzbern]

They called it an aqueduct. In the ancient days of that dead empire this city was once part of, it quenched the city's thirst and tended to its hygienic needs. It withstood the test of over two thousand years. In a sense, Kosviel could look at it as a sort of a distant relative. Both she and this edifice were products of an ancient art aged in millennia, one, an artificially crafted lifeform, and the other, a mighty structure of concrete. Even in this regard, both were paragons of the age. Roman Concrete was stable even up to this day, evidence of its superior formulation. And of course, when it came to the coinage of homunculi, the Einzbern House was so adept that even products that fell beneath their standards, that is to say, the failures, were superior to a hundred garden variety magi.

What more a success like her? This vessel was created for a glorious purpose, a thousand-year crusade to regain a lost miracle. Yes, the homunculus Kosviel, who had the name Einzbern bestowed upon her, was a crusader bearing the face and body of the Saint of Winter, the great archmagus Lizleihi Justica von Einzbern. This was her pride. An outstanding pedigree even amongst homunculi, with their superiority to humans in terms of performing magecraft.

With all this supporting her, it was no surprise, then, that she could go around this city at night, scouting and paying close attention to objects that she could possess in the future. The first step, really, was to know thy enemy. And for that, a reconnaissance network was necessary. Behind her, the butler stoically followed, all business, even as she touched the ancient surface of the aqueduct and analysed its structure.

"Meisterin, something seems to have happened."

It didn't take an expert to know that either. Klaus was operating a metal owl familiar, using it to keep an eye on the general area. The times were dark, and though the other Masters were probably unaware, as the creators of the Grail, her family knew best. Servants were no longer the only threat lurking in the shadows of the night. No, there were other creatures, abominations seething from the bowels of the corrupted Great Grail, and spilling out into this world.

The Church was notified of this little fact, and was very likely the reason why they had recently deployed several Knights to supplement the three Burial Agents who were already stationed here in preparation for the war. But it was also highly likely that the Church would simply call upon the Masters to do the dirty work of cleaning up these creatures. In Kosviel's case, it was at the moment better to have company like Klaus, rather than operating alone.

"An innocent attacked?" If so, then there really was nothing that could be done for the pathetic soul that was lost. She wasn't really concerned about them, either. Though Berserker would most likely be disappointed, from the fact that "you didn't kill him yourself", or something like that. These Italians apparently irritated him that much. Sighing, the homunculus activated her circuits and examined the ground structure. Not that far below her was an abundance of metal pipes, already rusting in some places. Traces of carbon, and other necessary trace elements were also there.

"I'm not quite sure, Meisterin. It seemed to be an attempted robbery, but..."

Kosviel just stopped short of clapping her hands like that little alchemist upon hearing that. If it was something as mundane as a robbery, then the police should handle it. Still, there was that trailing off. "But?"

"I believe there has been a prana discharge as a defensive measure."

"Huh." She once more considered going through with the move. "So some two-bit crook ended up trying to mug the wrong magus, huh?" Technically, that wasn't even right, since there was no such thing as 'the wrong magus'. By definition, a magus was already very definitely the wrong person to try to rob.

"Should we engage?"

"You're the one with the eye in the sky, Klaus. You tell me." Kosviel pocketed her gloved hands. And to think she'd just come from that AniCon a few hours earlier.

"It would not be so far off to assume that this magus is a Master. Nevertheless, we have no guarantee, as this familiar is incapable of detecting heroic spirits."

"Hmph. And if it was a Master, then their Servant wouldn't be too far off, either. Tch." The alchemist was going through quite the dilemma. If it was a Master, then would she attack without a Servant? No. Only an idiot would assume that the Master did not have a Servant with them. And since her job tonight was only to establish possession points, it would be foolish to attack and reveal herself so early on.

"Your orders, Meisterin?"

"Keep an eye on that magus. I'll think of something eventually. But for now, I still have to examine the rest of this aqueduct."

"Jawohl, meine Meisterin."


OOC: First of all, please register this thread in the Calendar Registry Thread, so that we can add it to the Calendar. Second... well, that's about it, really. Enjoy your potential dinner date with me~

[Seikou Arigatami]

Seikou hadn't gone very far yet, while in this unbalanced state of making reality disappear and replacing it with a false one, there was no real way to concentrate on the terrain around him. Why did he even come out here alone? Daisuke and Kenshi told him not to wander off alone... Ok that wasn't right, Daisuke said "Leave my sight and i'll drill your head into a pole Arigatami." and Kenshi said "Don't do anything unnecessary." so it really wasn't the same except for the underlining message of "be careful." But he really was! It should of been a easy 10 minute walk in both directions... but after being confronted by the man with the knife Seikou had gotten scared and ran away... he ran without thinking in any given direction. This is where the chase ended, Seikou was caught on top of the aqueduct and the second knife threatening was far more vicious than the first... so his powers triggered and now... now... "Drunk man at the bottom of the bridge, drunk man at the bottom of a bridge. That's what happened, no ones dead... no ones dead." Both hands latched back onto the side of his head, it was too soon to have completely repressed the memory. Usually it took around 20 minutes and he'd only decided on this story about 2 minutes ago.

This is the way he did things his entire life. How did Seikou's mom die? If one asked the boy he'd say she had a weak heart and died from it, reality played a much more gruesome scene. One of the psychologist at Clock Tower had a broken arm for the rest of their life, there was reality and then there was a accident where his arm was crushed behind a broken automatic gurney. It probably didn't help that the agents also pandered to his delusions so that they could keep Seikou's power from surfacing at inopportune times. There was a whole mess of events that took place because of this cross-dressing boy and not one of them did he take responsibility for. This was how he played the game of life, reject pain and only accept the good times. It made for a pretty bright and happy kid really, but incidents like this really put a damper on that life style. Besides, Sayaka still couldn't touch him even though she tried to. Seikou reached out for her too, but she was always out of reach. But this war was going to change all that, they were going to be together even if he had to kill 6 other human beings to make it possible. For Sayaka it was worth it, no amount of souls could ever stack up her value... she was perfect in every way. Besides, he could repress the deaths of those magus just like he'd done to everyone else.

Seikou got back on the move again, both hands were clung onto his for-arms shaking the palms quickly against the flesh trying to get warmth back to his lithe form. There were still some smears of mascara that hadn't been properly removed, the eye make up was always the hardest part for him to get off... but he went out like a boy because getting prepped as a girl would of took a lot of time in which that Daisuke and Kenshi would of noticed him preparing to leave. They usually left the Asian boy alone when they knew he was just in his room laying down, staring at the ceiling with his head phones on. Seikou knew the way they thought, that's why he knew how to get passed the other two boys.

Despite the night being a cold one, the running in fear trying to save the robber from his power had effectively soaked his school shirt in sweat... he really needed a shower now. There was blood too, he just now noticed it. Pausing a bit at the shock of it being there, he'd raise one of his hands up to touch his cheek causing a slight sting as it touched a open cut. Pulling it away just as quickly, he saw the red. It was a cut that was put a crossed his face while the thief was being thrown back.... wait no, he cut his face open on a branch of a tree... yes that was what happened. " Yeah, I can be really clumsy sometimes." Just like that he made it real, minor things which much easier to suppress. It was hard to believe his memory was so good when he locked so much of his mind behind a vault door.

[Kuroboshi Kinou]

This girl wasn't afraid of monsters.

She rode on fearlessly into the night like it was nobody's business. The roar of her Brough Superior Motorcycle echoed arrogantly into the pre-sunshine morning.

If the girl feared something, she definitely never showed it. Riding along at seventy miles per hour (or whatever system of measurement they used in Europe) without her lights on, faulty breaks, and total disregard for traffic lights, crosswalks, and stop signs; as well as making it a point to speed up the moment she saw someone jaywalking. You'd think this girl had absolutely no respect for the law or just rules in general.

And you would be right.

If there was something the girl feared, it definitely wasn't monsters. Demons, Devils, Vampires, Servants, and other magi...basically anything that someone could possibly be afraid of, she wasn't. She would stare down Death itself with the same stoic, immovable features and fight even if it was impossible to win her life back. "So you're Death? So what? You think your some kinda big shot?"

And if she wasn't afraid of monsters, how could she ever be afraid of regular people? It also helped that she had a gun.

Her name was Kinou Kuroboshi and Hermes. No, wait. The motorcycle's name was Hermes.

She liked naming things. She also liked talking to them. I guess you would have to be a bit insane if you didn't fear anything.

Some might've found cruising through Lucca Vecchio relaxing. The oldest, most historical part of Lucca, a heritage-rich city full of ancient wonders. Kinou found it so boring she would hurl if she wasn't traveling.

It had been three days since she met the Lord Ashley Woodcock for the first time at that fancy hotel. Three days since she heard of the mythical Holy Grail War, and it's wonderful wish-granting machine. Since she decided to take on the task of locating and cataloging each of the Masters participating. It had been three days since.

A war was starting. A war with battles so out-of-the-scope of human imagination that they were truly impossible. So past the realm of modern man that many simply refused to believe it existed.

"SO WHY HAVEN'T I SEEN ANY OF THEM YET!?!?!"

The inky blackness around her received the plea, but did nothing to help the poor girl out.

"This is ridiculous," she muttered over and over, "totally ridiculous. How am I supposed to find these Masters in a huge city like this? Are they even here? Grrrrrrr...what the hell's taking them so long to try and kill each other?"

Kinou was on the brink of wishing that a whole city block would suddenly explode under mysterious circumstances. At least that would mean something was going on.

When she finally had to stop at a gas station was when she sensed it.

It wasn't a special, magus-y kind of sensing. Kinou had no psychic powers to speak of, and she wasn't exactly the most gifted magus around. It was more of just a regular, gut-feeling kind of sense.

The gas station was right outside Lucca's old Aqua Fivizzano. And something told Kinou to go there.

Of course she did.

It wasn't long before she found what looked like a battle scene. Except there was only one guy dead. Yes, he was dead. Kinou poked him with her revolver and everything.

So much destruction, but only one guy dead? Kinou could only think that she just missed a battle between two magi. Or even better, two Servants.

She walked Hermes on for a little while, turning on his light so that she could see. She was pretty sure she wasn't going to find anything else. If it really was a battle of magi, or Servants, then they wouldn't have stuck around once one of them died.

But there he was. A young Japanese boy. Kinou could tell because he looked really thin.

Hermes's headlights shone on him like a spotlight.

"Oi, you okay over there?" she called to him from a distance.

[Kosviel von Einzbern]

"A new piece has entered the puzzle, Meisterin."

Leave it to the Klaus-Type model to say things in such a melodramatic way. Kosviel had had it with relying on second-hand vision. There was simply something about witnessing an event with your own eyes, or at least, the 'eyes' of an object you possessed, that made all the details much clearer than if somebody else was manning the familiar. "Put it on standby and sever your link."

"Jawohl, Meisterin." The butler raised a fist to his chest and bowed, acknowledging the command before executing it. Yes, that was one of the kinks of this model. The family used it during the Nazi era nearly eighty years ago, along with the Frieda-Type Model, to infiltrate the government and collect test subjects from amongst the many people that the Hitler regime was rounding up. Thus, some old habits were retained, even in the present day and age, when doing those kinds of salutes were old-fashioned.

Suffice to say, these test subjects were better off dying in the gas chambers, as the Einzbern family's experiments were by far, more terrifying. Had the UN known about them, death would have been a far insufficient punishment, not just for the atrocities they conducted to live subjects during the war, but to live subjects over the course of their existence, dating back well beyond a thousand years.

Kosviel took the necessary steps and climbed the aqueduct to the very top channel. She was no Lancer, but those ten years weren't for nothing. The climb wasn't exactly something she would call difficult, nor was it something she would call easy, either. The metallic owl perched upon her shoulder as she crouched atop the edifice, looking down at the scene itself below. There were people talking down there. How charming.

Maybe she could just watch them at work for a bit, instead of having to confront them directly. That way, she would be able to determine once and for all, whether or not she should approach these people. "Really. The start of the war, and this is what happens. I'm stuck spying on these guys like an Assassin. Heh." The homunculus smirked. She would smash these people later, if they got in her way, with a barbaric satisfaction that her Servant was trying to teach her.

It was like that, this new War. Not really that different from the last five. To the victor go all the spoils. But only the Einzbern knew that the Grail was corrupted. Otherwise, nobody would participate in this absurd tournament. The last disaster was explained away cleverly by a representative of the family, that the Grail was achieved by an undeserving Master, and thus reacted violently.

In any event, they would be prepared this time, to make sure nothing went wrong. They would not have put this much effort into it, after all. "Go back to the car, Klaus." She didn't need to turn around to know that the faithful retainer was already there. His presence was like a heavy cloak that slowed her down, in a sense. All servants were like that to her, bothersome babysitters who were a necessary evil to have.

"As you wish, Meisterin."

And just like that, the heavy, overbearing presence was no more. Kosviel sat up there with her owl familiar, keeping close watch over what those people down there were doing.

[Seikou Arigatami]

If Seikou actually had any kind of talent, he might of been able to tell there were other people around. Well people was a bit of a stretch, but at the very least he wasn't alone. Then again the boy had an ability that made him unique in that respect, while most might not find it all that amazing; the young Asian had the ability to never actually feel alone. Sayaka was always here, always whisper in his ear what he should do. She offered to put the horrible memories in her mind so that they couldn't touch her host. That was just like her, she could do everything and anything... with her help winning this war was going to be made possible. Then once she was made flesh, they could live out the rest of their lives together with no one else around. Japan was probably the best place to do it, he'd need time to forget all the blood shed that happens here. It wasn't going to be pretty, but Sayaka could swallow the memories into her own mind. This is what constituted as a healthy relationship, well in his mind at the very least. There really wasn't much to compare it too, his experience in life was actually quite limited. Maybe it was a naive notion to assume that victory was possible, but if it wasn't then it sounded like a pretty good way for it to all come to a end.

This trend of a lack of senses was really making a replay. It was one thing to not be able to sense prana in the air but it was another completed to be so out of it that a roaring 7 foot machine took ya by surprise. Non the less that's what happened, Seikou had been walking back toward the main road with hopes of getting to the safety of his dorm and now... a motorcycle mounted by some strange boy was shining its head light directly at him. Instinctively his arms came up to block the light from taking a direct bee-line for his face, he already had to wear glasses and really didn't feel like having to rely on them any further than he already did. Who was this? A normal people might be scared it was the police reacting to some kind of clue they had to come here, but since Seikou had forced away his memory of the real event that thought never even crossed his mind. It was actually a very powerful trick, a lot of people got tripped up trying to juggle different stories for different lies they told, but Seikou actually was capable of making himself accept his deception as reality. Most of everything the boy did was completely reliant on the idea of masking and hiding, it was hardly the ingredients for a master of the grail war... but it matched pretty well with a chameleon, maybe that should be his intimidating magus name.

In the growing list of talents that Seikou did not posses, another would have to be reading other people. Luckily for the boy, it was a weakness he actually was informed about so it made him very cautious about accepting other peoples helps. Usually this is the point where Daisuke would claim to have the situation handled and scare the person off, but in this particular case it was just him and this boy... Telling friend from foe, that was too hard so he made it easier by just assuming everyone was the latter. If that was the case, it meant this person was trouble. This was a war ground now right? So was it a civilian who didn't know what was going on, or someone who sensed as prana flux and came to destroy the cause? What was he supposed to do in this situation. Taking a step out of the light since it hurt trying to see through it, Seikou was able to lower his hands again and uncover his face... The best course of action was to play dumb and dis-attach himself from the situation... "Ha... Ha... Hai, i'm fine... Arigato kenen." If he knew Japanese, that was a simple "Thank you for the concern... if not, well then the boy might be confused as to what Seikou just said then wouldn't he? Feeling cleared of the situation though he went back into his walk along the side of the road, trying to resist the urge to look back.

[Kuroboshi Kinou]

Kinou was staring down the frail-looking boy. She probably didn't look too imposing, either. Wearing a blue T-shirt, black, skinny jeans, a bike helmet, riding goggles, and a long cream-brown colored overcoat that looked like it was made from a sofa; it looked like she just went into a department store and took the cheapest things available.

She may have looked like an idiot, but she wasn't one. They were still pretty close to where the battle took place, and that boy had a cut on his cheek.

From her observation, Kinou could see that the boy was in shock. She had been in shock a couple of times, herself, so she knew what the boy must be feeling. But something didn't make sense. This kid was in shock, but the other guy was dead? Usually, if you're the winner of a magi fight, you'd walk away calmly and gloat it up, maybe go get a drink and laugh about it with some friends. But this kid looked genuinely afraid. More than afraid, he was terrified.

So the situation wasn't as clear-cut as it seemed. Was this kid even a magus? If he wasn't, then what caused all that damage? Kinou took a step forward towards the boy, pulling Hermes along, when it suddenly occurred to her that he might actually be a vampire or something and she stopped dead in her tracks. Just because she wasn't afraid of them doesn't mean she's raring to meet one.

"Hey, are you a vampire or something?" She called, and immediately realized what a stupid question it was. For some reason, she just started getting frustrated at herself. This whole interrogation thing obviously wasn't going to work from a distance.

"Oi, I'm going over there, okay?"

Kinou was starting to realize that she was sounding like an idiot, and we've already said, for the record, that Kinou wasn't an idiot. So there was something out there that was making her sound like one. Something that was making her nervous enough to sound so dumb. Halfway towards the boy, she realized that it was the feeling of being watched. It was very irritating.

She didn't know who or why, but she did know that whoever it was probably wasn't friendly. A war was supposed to be starting, after all. She had to be careful not to get caught in the crossfire.

Hermes' engine was off, so his squeaky rear wheel was suddenly made apparent to Kinou. She was thinking about it the rest of the short way towards this nameless Japanese kid.

Oh, wait. Had he already said his name? Seikou, right?

"Nice to meet you, Seikou. I'm Kinou the freelancer. Oh, yeah..."

By the time she was close enough to introduce herself, Hermes' headlights were so close to the boy's face he was probably blinded for a minute. Kinou switched them off so that he could see. Of course, if he was a vampire, it probably didn't matter.

"Well, you don't look like one, though," she said aloud, "a vampire, I mean. That's good..."

It meant she didn't have to kill him. Vampire or no, a direct shot from Cannon at this kind of close range would've definitely turn the kids' head into...well, nothing.

"Cannon," was the name of Kinou's Mystic Code. An M1851 revolver. Only it wasn't a revolver.

But the kid didn't need to know that.

"So," Kinou said, managing her most winning smile, "you look like you've had a rough night. Whaddaya say we get you to a hospital or something?"

[Kosviel von Einzbern]

She chuckled. Well, what else was there to do? It was like watching an episode of one of several slice of life shows, with some Higurashi thrown in for the gore factor. Or something like that. Too bad Kosviel didn't have binoculars, else she wouldn't need to strain so much. That street light not too far away from them actually looked like a good thing to transfer consciousness to, but it was definitely a foolish idea to do something like that out here in the open.

If anything, she was probably being watched too, by some Master. Well, if that had happened, she would be dead by now, since her Servant wasn't with her. But regardless, the fact remained that, watched or not, it was a foolhardy idea to possess something, especially now that Klaus wasn't around to watch her back. She was already finished with the AniCon, and her work of scouting around for ideal spots. This was the last section of the city to be reconnoitered.

Everything, from the walls of the palace, to any random chair in the amphitheatre, to the security cameras lining the halls and rooms of that public high school, could become her eyes and ears now. She only needed to hide in a nice, comfortable, and most importantly safe place, then activate the spell. But that was the idea, the reasoning, behind why it would be impractical to possess that street light while her body was up here, wide open and exposed to any would-be enemy.

No, every split second counted. She would not leave anything to chance. Even with this familiar keeping watch, the time it took her to shift back to her body from whatever she might have transferred consciousness to, was enough time to get killed. Kosviel von Einzbern decided to wait juuuuuust a little bit longer, before making her decision.

[Seikou Arigatami]

His own attire didn't say much either, just the boys uniform for the local school so really he didn't stand out in terms of clothing. As for his face, well that was another story. Disregarding make-up stains, the cut itself wasn't anything that should of drew too much attention. How deep was the cut anyway? The blood was pretty much dried up and the pain was more of a stinging irritation rather than a constant drive on his nerves. But still white and red didn't go well together, once Daisuke saw it he was really going to get a temple nuggie from heck. Oh this always hurt a lot too, he had to get in the dorm without being noticed and deal with the cut then he could go to be and pretend like this night never happened. Luckily Dai-Dai slept really hard so it was quite the challenge to actually wake him up. Kenshi on the other hand was alert but a lot more forgiving than his partner. Maybe he should be keeping his thoughts on the current situation though, this person could still be a danger. How far was he going to pursue him, would this result in his powers triggering? Why was this happening? Seikou didn't really stop walking, if the other guy had to drag around that motorcycle then it meant he could gain more footing quickly.

A threat analysis, that's what this person was trying to determine. If he came off as weak did that mean the cycler would pick him off with a quick shot? If he came off as strong would the other boy see him as a challenge and engage in combat? Seikou was no good at reading people, but he knew that the more he walked to closer he got to Daisuke and Kenshi which means he'd be safe. It seemed unpractical that they'd walk that long without this guy stopping him in some physical manor... and if that happened. No, focus on getting home. Nothing was going to happen, there wasn't a good enough reason for violence to get involved. Maybe he really should learn how to read people, being scared of everyone around wasn't a good way to win this thing... course neither was not having a servant, but that was a entirely different issue. Then again, you really didn't need to read people when they accused ya of being a non-existent creature of the night. Did he just say what Seikou THOUGHT he said? "...Va...Vaan...paia?" As if, "I vwant tu zuck ur blud?" Who walked around making that kind of accusation? Was it a trick of some kind? No this guy was just genuinely nuts, now he REALLY wanted out of this situation. Well when accused by a crazy, the best defense was redirection so they attacked themselves with their own madness. "How do I know, you're not a vampire?... ARE YOU?!"

Now he freaked himself out, Seikou fidgeted his fingers together wondering if they could be real... and if they were, then this person could be one. He was! Seikou was going to get bit open or something! Was he looking for a mate or something? No, Seikou wasn't dressed like a girl right now. GAY VAMPIRE! A bad situation to a worse one! Looking down at his hands the thumbs were working against each other. "Yo-... You don't wanna eat me really?! I got really bad tasting blood. It's like tar paper really! Yuck nothing good tasting about it!" Put hands up in a "stop" like motion, holding them out in front of himself to prevent the other boy from getting closer and flailing the limbs a bit. When he looked again the guy was gone... creepy vampire move vanish into the mist! Oh wait no no, he'd just moved to a different spot. Bowed in Kinou's direction out of force Japanese reflex to a introduction. "Yoroshiku ne Kinou-San." Wait, did he just say Seikou as if he already knew his name?! How... how'd he know that? Oh god, vampire mind reading!

No, don't panic... Think about things that wouldn't offend him. Umm, bunnies, ponies, broccoli, canned tuna... OMG this guy was a crazy mind reading vampire and he was going to die! Lowered head a bit more being scolded internally. "Hai hai, gomen Sayaka-Chan..." She was right though, he needed to calm down and focus on getting out of this situation without causing conflict. "We don't really need hospital attention, thanks for the concern but i'm just going to head back home now."

[Kuroboshi Kinou]

"Hmmmmm...what an unsightly slip up," Kinou said to the air. Then, digging into her pockets, she produced a student id and read the name with a Japanese accent.

"Arigatami Seikou. And this is a picture of you, right? God, I hope this is right. I mean, it was bad enough you slipped up because you weren't paying attention, but now if you're clever quick-fix plot device doesn't work now, we're totally screwed. I'll be ashamed to be your character."

She ranted to the air, and it totally ignored her. So the air made a mistake, big deal. The air kindly suggests you get back on track before you end up sounding even more like a crazy person.

Kinou sighed, as if constantly suffering a great fool. The air was starting to get irritated and politely asked Kinou to get on with the damn conversation before it decided to write her into a ridiculous impossible-to-escape-life-or-horrific-painful-death situation!

"So, this is yours, right?" Kinou asked, "I mean, it's got your picture on it and everything. I hope, anywayz."

Maybe in the next scene, the air would write about how a sperm whale fell from the sky and crushed Kinou the freelancer flat.

"That is ridiculous-"

Just finish the damn conversation, woman!

"I am not a vampire," she said to Seikou as plainly as she could in actual Japanese.

For the next half of that sentence, she went back to English.

"But I am a magus. And an important one. I'm an administrator for something called the Holy Grail War, working for the Lord Ashley Woodcock. Right now, I'm looking for all the Masters who're participating in the war so that we know who's fighting, what kind of people they are, all that stuff. You wouldn't happen to be a participant would you?"

She had no idea if this kid was a Master, or even a magus. But it wasn't like she hadn't thought this through. If, by the extremely off chance, he was a Master, then no big deal. Once he told her that, she'd make a note of his name and they'd both be on their merry way. If he was just a kid, then he'd probably just think she's crazy. With everything that's been going on, he probably already did.

And if he was just a magus, then Kinou would probably shoot him.

Every magus and their grandmother would want a shot at the Holy Grail. Some might try to interfere in the war for the sake of...whatever it was they wanted. As an administrator, at least, a henchman to an administrator, Kinou couldn't let that happen. Plus, she'd probably be fired.

"You don't have to worry about me," she said, "if you are participating in the war, I'm more or less here for your safety. I'll just ride off into the night and you'll probably never see me again. Okay?"

Even though her voice carried well enough in the night, she still spoke pretty loud. This was because that gut-feeling of being watched was still irritating her. But rather than this being another reflex to make her look stupid, it was actually on purpose. Maybe the person lurking in the shadows was a Master too, and they were just waiting for their chance to ambush them on account of he-or-she also thought they were Masters.

Or maybe they were just some psycho stalker looking for their next victim, and would decide to go for the crazy girl shouting nonsense first and leave the boy walking next to her, who already looked like he had had a rough night, alone.

Kinou already came to the decision that she would shoot the next person who suddenly came out of the shadows acting cool and sinister.

"Can we stop walking for a sec. Sorry, at first I didn't actually realize we were walking."

The comment in italics was once again directed at the air, who was half-thinking about letting Hermes suddenly explode and leave Kinou to burn to death.

"And lugging this motorcycle around is pretty heavy."

It suddenly occurred to Kinou, just that second, that something about his last sentence was off.

"Oh, and who's Sayaka-Chan?" She asked in Japanese.

[Kosviel von Einzbern]

They called this sort of thing, being intentionally loud. It was something like, whistling aloud in a bear-populated forest to make sure you don't take the bears by surprise and trigger an attack. Of course, the difference between bears and potentially threatening people, was that you didn't need to send the bear a message more complicated than a sound that tripped its natural survival instinct. In that regard, people are trickier, because it's possible to send the wrong message.

What if the 'stalker' was say, a psyche ward officer out on the prowl for nutcases? Well okay, that was an unlikely example, but the point of the matter remained. Not to mention, there might have been another person watching. She flipped open her mobile. Yes, a mobile. Much to her grandfather's chagrin, really, but this was the effect of watching all those anime. Especially the ones with the cool gadgets. "Klaus."

"Yes, Meisterin?"

"Man the bird. Double check for any third parties."

"Jawohl, meine Meisterin!" She could already imagine him doing the salute thing while in the driver's seat. Then he would get out of the car, scan his surroundings, then reestablish the connection. The familiar would fly off her shoulder - which is just did - then resume circling above the area. The sweep wouldn't take long, less than a minute. And then the aged retainer would call again - she picked up just after her phone buzzed - and say, "The area is clear, Meisterin."

The Klaus model was a special infiltration unit designed to steal test subjects from the Nazi prisons. Its scouting ability was superior. Only an equally skilled infiltrator... and Servant Assassin... would be able to get past his surveillance capability. Kosviel was exposed. She was a wide open target up here, easy pickings for any Servant, not necessarily Assassin.

The homunculus slid down the structure of the ancient aqueduct, plaster rubbing against her gloves, pushing herself off as the height reached a manageable level. Kosviel landed on her feet in front of the two, Woodcock's henchman, and the strange boy, at a distance of some twenty-five meters. She couldn't be too careful, after all. Really. That Clock Tower would care enough to send some Lord with his own private army here. Did they really care that much now? Last time, they just sent one Cleaner, and even then, she was killed before the War even started. Perhaps they were now taking things more seriously.

"A good call, Administrator. You can tell the difference between a person and a bear, and chose your message carefully." The smile on her face was calm and cheery. It belied the fact that adrenaline was pumping through every crevice of her body, preparing her for any unpleasant surprises that might turn up. Like, if this was a trap of some sort... precisely why she had set up this distance. "I've only revealed myself to show that I have no bad intentions. The War starts tomorrow night, after all, and it would be bad form to violate the rules just like that."

[Seikou Arigatami]

How'd she get his student ID?... how'd she the girl in the picture was actually him? How'd she know someone was watching them... how'd he know that she was actually a girl? Oh her name, right; not very masculine so it became the default assumption. While it may not of been his place to judge someone for multiple personalities, but was she talking to no one? Seikou constantly talked to Sayaka so he knew when someone was addressing him or... someone or thing else. There was a certain way people spoke, it was like another person was just physically actually there and part of the conversation. Maybe he didn't have much experience in the world, but he know something when it came to this topic having experienced it himself. Did that mean she was completely unstable? Sayaka was a good inner voice buts her could be pure evil... or she could be pure evil and the voice could be one of reason which she ignored in order to keep doing bad things. What to do what to do! She did seem like a threat and without a servant it wasn't like one that he could deal with. Most people left when they made someone feel uncomfortable but this girl was prodding and poking for a reason to stay engaged... not even he was naive enough to believe it was because he had the charisma or good looks that drew someone to him.

Snags the ID away from her in a quick desire to get it back in his possession before other people started seeing it. It was rare for him to react like that, but Sayaka was one of the triggers that could get him to do it. This girls eyes were pretty scary, but there were going to be a lot of powerful people in this war so this wasn't even the tip of the iceberg. Still he'd put the image away back in his wallet...idly checking to see how much money was in there in case she'd managed to get some of that too. This was unsettling, this girls intentions were unknown to him completely. She was trying to come off as some kind of keeper of the peace, however the insanity mounted with the ability to sense combat in some way; it made her come off more as a blood thirsty warrior. Maybe she didn't look the part, but a magus could appear pretty much however they wanted. Typically the more muscle the less magic the person had in his experience. It was hard to devote someones mind and body to two different kinds of strength. Besides she was a girl, there was no real way to judge strength by looking at one of those... being a crossdresser he should know that better. It might be what makes it possible to get out of this situation, Sayaka could walk him through it.

"It's obviously not me, but its someone I know and I'll get it back to her... arigatou for finding it." Was she going to go for it? Was she some kind of spy that saw him at school and now here? If that was true this could be the day that she decided to strike. It made sense, she wasn't going away despite his obvious attempt to make her leave. Tactics weren't his strong point, actually nothing really was; he relied heavily on the advice of Sayaka for any... and practical all situations. But she couldn't do everything since there was no physical ability within her, it was all fed commands. Seikou had to be able to do his part too to make sure they remained safe. Right now the safest thing to do seemed to be to just deny it all and pretend like she was a nut. "Grail War, Masters? Vampires? Are you some kind of movie producer? Were you using the ducts as a setting? I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt your movie! You don't need to call security, i'll show myself off the set." Sayaka suggested this move because normal people weren't allowed to know about the war or see the servants fighting in it. Wording it like this would put Kinou under the impression that he was just some loser in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sayaka really came up with some amazing ideas!

"Sayaka, shes n-..." Cut off as the other girl appeared. This was his best chance, they seemed to really be exchanging some battle ready juices in their eyes. Despite Kinou asking him politely to stop he had no intention of actually doing it. She couldn't deal with that girl and him and his instincts told him she'd be much more focused on a actual threat. As long as the new girl left him alone, he was safe!

[Kuroboshi Kinou]

Kinou was actually glad it all turned out this way. Things would've gotten totally boring if the kid just said "yeah, I'm a Master." Even though it was a stretch for him to actually be one.

Then again, Kinou didn't look like the type of person to be a magus either. A total crazy person, yeah, but something short of a magus.

But she was glad the kid said no. If you want to know the truth, she was getting kind of anxious. The whole situation, with the person lurking in the dark, the strange battle scene from before-

"You're cluelessness making the whole thing even more confusing."

-Shut up. Etc, etc. She was starting to think that it might all spiral out of control. That would be cool, but it was late at night, and she wasn't ready for any excitement.

Even if Seikou didn't stop walking, Kinou did. If he wasn't a Master, then there wasn't any reason to keep going. He seemed to be doing fine on his own. Why was it any of her business? If he wanted to be safe, the best thing he could probably do was stay away from her, anyway. It wasn't like a kid like that could last even a few seconds in this kind of all-out battle, right? So how could he be a Master?

She turned Hermes around and looked at the newcomer. Now this person was definitely a different sort of company than that kid. Even though she looked cute, there was definitely something off about her. Kinou didn't know what it was, but when your a freelancing hermit magus back-packing it across the entire world alone, with no one to help you out, the first thing you develop is the ability to avoid danger. Never leave at night without a gun, stay away from dangerous neighborhoods, always eat at safe places, always know where your going, all those kinds of things.

It wasn't some super psychic power or magecraft, it was just a sixth sense that lonely travelers developed to keep from loosing their lives. Paranoia might be bad thing, but at least it kept one on one's toes.

"Oh, so you finally arrived," she said to the pale looking, red-eyed girl.

Her tone wasn't sarcastic, confident, or arrogant. What was there to be confident about? For all she knew, this person had an impossibly powerful Servant somewhere lurking in the shadows ready to strike at any moment. Kinou's tone was as stoic as the expression on her face.

She had no clue what this person meant be introducing bears into the conversation, but she did like being called an "administrator."

"I'd like to know your name, please," she said, "and your reasons for killing that man back there. Even if he was an enemy Master, like you said, the war hasn't started yet. Preemptivly striking before it even begins is already a violation."

Kinou was playing it cool, but she already had her hand near Cannon and was ready to recite the verses for a spell. She didn't want to start any trouble, but she couldn't say the same for this person. At least, not yet. If it really was her that caused that destruction at the bridge before, then there wasn't any reason not to assume she would try to add another victim to her count tonight. Even if it was an administrator.

She was thankful that Seikou decided to leave her. It would've been really bad if he was here and this became a fight.

[Kosviel von Einzbern]

Had this been an online conversation, her first reply would have been "LOLWAT?" But, since this wasn't an online conversation, which Kosviel had abundance of familiarity with, then she couldn't say that, much as she would have loved to. Yes, having been coined in such an age of information and having been raised in Japan could do that to a person of her fine standing. Instead, the homunculus decided to merely laugh off the accusation.

It felt good, actually, to laugh off something like that. After all, it was the best medicine, right? "Dude, had I been the one who killed that sad pile of rubbish in the water, there wouldn't be any evidence left!" A confident smirk appeared on her face. "For you see, the Einzbern family has its standards, and I, Kosviel von Einzbern, intend to uphold them."

Her gaze shifted to that boy who was walking away. "Jeez, you know, I really thought tonight was just going to be uneventful, like the last month I've been setting up recon posts in this city. But it turns out that I'd be treated to a little show." She strolled over to a street light. "I mean, you and I both know the rules, right? It's not fair play to kill an enemy before the war even starts. But well, we're not the ones who're ignorant of the rules, and... well, that guy over there wasn't even a Master, anyway."

Leaning on the street lamp, the Einzbern kept up her smile. At a touch, it was easy to tell what was in here. A typical steel construction, copper and other conductive metals to channel electricity through the wiring and up to the lamp... nothing unusual with the setup. "Of course, you should really do something about that crazy kid who goes around killing random criminals who try to rob him. I mean, I don't mind the whole 'self-defence' thing, but really, if he's going to do that, he should at least get rid of the evidence."

All she needed for a weapon was already inside the structure that her back was leaning against. "My familiar saw it." Better to say that the familiar saw it, rather than herself, lest she be questioned about it and be unable to answer. "My butler saw it. You can't beat the testimony of two. Isn't that right? Magus in denial?" No way was she letting that culprit go without learning her name, at the very least. From there, it was a simple matter to use her connections to identify him from name, it wasn't important where he came from. Whether from the Clock Tower or the Sea of Estray... Well, Atlas was another matter entirely, but none of them would have circuits potent enough to do that.

Yes, just a name, and Kosviel von Einzbern would know who this person was, and whether or not he was a Master. Because thanks to her preparations over the past month, she could now use the entire city as her eyes.

[Seikou Arigatami]

It went over pretty smooth, yeah. Sayaka's instincts were always dead on, if Seikou couldn't figure it out then it was up to her to do it. In reality the situation shouldn't of been that dire, in fact by stressing about it he probably exaggerated and forced his body to prepare for the worst with no help for the best. Without Daisuke and Kenshi here everyone situation could break down into the crucial category, even something as simple as walking through a park apparently. It was over, Kinou had been the threat and she was letting him go.

Still despite the apparent victory, his breathing rate had picked up as a result of these events. Swallowing back hard on a knot that was building in his throat, it felt like the whole world was silent and he was in a abandon room with piercing eyes waiting with the subtle nonchalant desire to just end his existence. Sayaka was scolding him constantly, telling him to calm down. She gave words of reassurance but in the end even she knew that Seikou wouldn't feel safe until he made it back to the dorm room where the Clock Tower students that were assigned to protect him would be able to do their job. Relying on others was a good thing right?

Then again when did Seikou Arigatami ever rely on himself? Daisuke, Kenshi and Sayaka; every time the situation heated up they were the ones his safety relied upon. Luckily non of them minded, perhaps it was their job or perhaps they genuinely felt compassion for this pathetic boy. Whatever the case, the child himself never had to rely on his own ability because they were always around.

However hope was a fickle mistress, there were still some sounds entering his mind and they happened to be the dove like voice of that girl that landed before. The way she entered the scene reminded him of one of those heroes that stepped out while someone was being raped or attacked out in the open in a generic way. The hero presented themselves by standing in a place that revealed them entirely so that their prey knew full well that unless this person was over come, they would not be able to continue their abuse of another person. Typically the dark gradually introduced them into the light, each step gradually showed more and more of them until they stood with confidence and presence that over whelmed their would be opponent. The cowards that attack like that didn't do well with open challenges, they were about attacking someone when they were vulnerable and when confronted they hid behind their victim or a weapon of some kind.

But those words the opening monologue to scare their opponent into submission, it wasn't directed at Kinou at all... she caste them straight onto him. Seikou felt every part of his body lock up and freeze, Sayaka seemed to gasp as well which meant he was completely helpless for that instance. At that point he couldn't just keep walking, there was no doubt she'd give pursuit... on top of that Kinou now knew who her enemy was and had a motorcycle that would cut down any distance he tried to make quite quickly.

Closing his eyes starting to reject the obvious reality that was being put before him, he could see his vision was starting to clear... or rather his glasses were starting to become irrelevant and he needed to look over there rim to see clearly. This was only the warning sign right before he blacked out, it meant he had to get out of this situation. Whenever the darkness came and the world disappeared, he came back to a different setting then he left behind... and someone was always hurt badly. That wasn't his fault though, he didn't know what happened! That was the best rational he could come up with, it wasn't him. What was that girl accusing him of?

Don't stop, keep going. If you make it to the streets they'll be too scared to act with witnesses. Go now, GO! "...Eugh." The locked position finally let go as the accusation sunk in and Seikou found the strength to move again. Throwing one foot out ahead of him, he'd push off as it made impact taking into the fastest sprint that his body could produce. A warning, he needed to give them some kind of warning about what happened when people got near him when he was like this... there was nothing rational to say while yelling, so the basics of the concept were all he managed to mouth. "Ju... JUST STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

[Kuroboshi Kinou]

Now it was Kinou's turn to say "what?"

"...What the hell are you talking about?"

Was it even possible that the situation got even more confusing? First, this person appears out of nowhere, then she starts making Kinou doubt her understanding of the situation using confusing talk about bears. There was supposed to be a good guy and a bad guy, and a person in distress. That was her situation. She was the good guy, this pale girl was the evil person, and the princess in distress was that kid.

But now everyone's roles became muddled in some stupid plot twist! Was she the villain now? That was so dumb!

The fact that what little she had grasped of the situation was starting to slip through her fingers was making her want to hop on Hermes and zoom out of the scene screaming the first few verses of "'O Sole Mio" just out of sheer frustration.

Somewhere in Kinou existed a person who just wanted to go mad, simply because it would make things much easier.

Kinou stared at the pale girl like an iguana would suddenly discovering a wet, fresh fig had been sitting in front of her the entire time she was hungry. Somehow, some way, if anything at all came out of this, she had at least found one Master! Even the fact that she had no idea who the von Einzbern didn't offset anything.

Over the course of the past couple days, Kinou had begun to feel a sensation she could only dub "foreboding loneliness." She'd started to feel really out-classed by all these big-names in magecraft, names that she didn't even really know. It made her feel like back in the good old days at the Sea of Estray, where she'd be the dumpster-hunting street rat that everyone liked to whip around.

She didn't like feeling that way. Not because of the degrading memories it brought back, because she could live with those. It reminded her of that person and those kinds of feelings.

But now, like Kinou, you're probably wondering, 'what the hell kind of digression was that? Get on with it already!'

"Look, you," she said to the pale girl, "thanks for telling me your name and everything, but can we just stop with the whole double-talk thing? If you're going to say: 'Hey, that kid's a magus,' why can't you just say that?"

For Kinou, the world would be a lot less confusing and peaceful if everyone could just quit it would the whole "oh-I'm-so-wise-and-sinister-I-talk-in-riddles-so-it-takes-hours-to-get-what-I'm-talking-about" stuff and just get to the point.

It was also starting to get irritating that this Kosviel person seemed to be talking past her.

"He did kinda incriminated himself by running away," she said, "but the fact of the matter is, if I were in his shoes, I would've done the same without any hesitation. And even if he is a magus and I blabbed about the war, I don't have to do anything until he actually tries to interfere in it."

She was trying to regain her status as the good guy in all this, but it was getting more and more muddled up. When did the night suddenly get this weird?

[Kosviel von Einzbern]

"What kind of a question is that?" Kosviel had recently acquired a flair for the theatrics, thanks to an overdose of several series. While you could really say that it was her fault, well, you can't really blame her. Like many children, who watched TV and got infected with whatever was playing at the time, Kosviel right now was simply playing the part of 'mysterious heroic person' to a tea. This was most probably the reason why some people, who were more down to earth, were being irate at the moment.

"Don't try to be the metafictional person here and go around pointing that I've got to be like some ordinary bystander." The Einzbern got off that lamp post and put a hand on her hip, smirk still planted firmly on her face. "The mysterious caped heroine doesn't do it the way they do. I have to be dramatic, and speak in some form of doubletalk, after all."

It really didn't help that she was wearing her Lancet Keisse costume at the moment, what with its long red coat and general awesomeness. She'd made it herself, as the rule with any cosplayer, but naturally, she didn't spare any expense on the material used. Yes, it was vibrant and colorful, but it was also as comfortable and practical as any battle dress. "But you know what? Since we're already breaking character, fine. I'll give it you you straight. I didn't kill that mugger, he did, and he's in denial."

Kosviel flipped her braid in irritation. "I really don't care about what you do with him or if you don't do anything at all. But as a hero of truth, I have to set the record straight and set the truth free!" Well this wasn't so much Lancet as it was some other hero, since Lancet was in no way nearly as idealistic as to declare herself a 'hero of truth'. No, now Kosviel was mixing characters into a strange fruity blend that wasn't quite cappuccino, not quite a granita.

"Well, whatever. You do your own thing, and I'll do mine." The homunculus looked over again to the boy, who was now starting to spaz out. "Chill out, kid. I'm not the cops." Then, an idea. Lower the enemy's defence with peace offerings and gifts. Just a name. That's all she needed. "Say, why don't the three of us go sit down at a coffee shop somewhere and have a talk over some coffee, hmm?"

[Seikou Arigatami]

Don't stop, just don't stop. Closing his eyes off as if not seeing the world would make it easier he'd just pump his arms for more speed. This was the best way to deal with life, don't face it unless forced to. Cornered rats may be afraid, but people were scared of them too because they were more likely to bite when out of options. Still it seemed a little desperate to rely on that tactic every time, certainly wasn't the way to win a war. But how could it be said he was even in the war yet? He may of been a magus, a failed magus but a magus non the less; but without a servant that title meant nothing.

For all he knew Kenshi or Daisuke might be the ones to summon a servant instead. That would be bad though, if he didn't fight in the war then he'd never get a chance to wish for Sayaka to have a real body... plus Daisuke or Kenshi might die. Both of them were capable mages but they weren't on the level of the elite of the elite. Well if that was the case then they could all protect each other, Daisuke and Kenshi made a really good team... but Seikou couldn't offer hardly anything to the group... unless they needed a cheerleader, in which case he could totally back them up!... Ok so moral support wasn't much good in a battle like that.

Still they didn't seem to follow, both of them lost interest which meant that for tonight at least he had lucked out. Still it wasn't very smooth, that other hero girl seemed like she was ready to do something... he wasn't sure what and the unknown could be quite scary. Regardless the end of the trail was here and the main city was in sight, he was going to be breathing hard for a while but he could walk that off... then all he'd have to do is explain the cut on his face which shouldn't be too hard since he was already quite clumsy as it is.

A few more kick offs and that was it, he was able to blend into a small populace that seemed to be up this late into the night. Cars were still racing by as well, he was safe.

[] Exit Seikou.[]

[Kuroboshi Kinou]

The pale girl in front of her had just, if it was possible, become even more incomprehensible. She talked as if she were a character in some cheesy anime. Metafiction? What the hell was that? Was she even living in the real world? If she was a magus, then she must've been one of those who went insane because of some freak accident or something.

The above thoughts actually made Kinou a little more at ease. At least now if she were to go totally insane this very moment, she would have a partner to show her the ropes.

Not that she was planning to yet. She was certain that a couple more sleepless nights had to go by.

"Okay, look," Kinou said, putting the tips of her fingers to her forehead, "ah...I'm not really sure what your talking about. I mean, I get some of it, but I have the feeling that some of your inhibitions exist in another world. I'm still going under the assumption that you know what we're talking about when I ask if you're a participant in the Holy Grail War."

Sweet, ignorant little Kinou still had no idea who the Eizberns were, apparently.

"And since you're a magus, you have to know that the Clock Tower is getting pretty serious about this kind of thing. The rules, I mean. Number one is that the war has to be kept secret from everyone, so please don't start trying anything reckless if you start to have delusions about using your Servant or whatever to protect the weak and oppressed. I don't want to hear on the news, say, 'Miyamoto Mussashi thwarts an armed robbery' or something, okay?"

It amazed even Kinou herself to find that she was starting to get into this "War administrator" role. Even if she wasn't officially an administrator, just a lackey for one. She never really wielded any amount of power before, so this was actually kind of fun. Like when you discover the infinite ammo and God Mode cheat in a first-person-shooter.

It was a strange comparison, but that's all Kinou could think about. Guns, guns, guns.

In any case, the situation seemed to be cooling down, now that the kid was gone. That was kinda strange. Maybe the kid really was some sort of weird murderer or something; like, he had a split personality, one of them was a frail, innocent high school boy and the other was some serial knife-killer who took pleasure in dismembering their foes. Hey, that sounds familiar.

But she was still glad he left. Serial killer or not, Kinou was glad she didn't have to blow his head off or something.

"Eh...I dunno," Kinou said, half to herself and half to that Kosviel girl, "am I even allowed to have tea with the participants?"

Wait, what was she talking about? Who cares if she's allowed or not?

"Yeah, sure. Why not?" She responded to Kosviel's offer.

It half occurred to her that this might be a trap or something, though if there was a reason, only that pale girl knew why. All Kinou knew was that Cannon was still strapped to her waist, and she was still lugging Hermes around.

And that it might be fun conversing with a real crazy person.

[Kosviel von Einzbern]

Yes, without a doubt, the boy was afraid. And fear gives reason for suspicion. There was no doubt about it. He was a Master, or at the very least, aware of the situation. He ignored that offer for tea, the opportunity to make an alliance. Well, that depended on whether his Servant was useful, and she doubted this strange choice for a Master would be honest with even what class his Servant was. In that event, she would have to resort to more traditional methods.

She laughed at the comment that Woodcock's lackey spouted. "I'm amused that you would think somebody like me would use her Servant for such a thing. Superheroes only exist in the people's flights of fancy. I'm a Master, not some spiky-haired idiot who wants to save the world."

"And as for the rules, you need not tell me any further, since when it comes to those, you can't beat me." A confident smirk appeared on her face as she closed the gap between them, as per the acceptance of her offer. "After all, we Einzberns started the Holy Grail War." And so Kosviel began to doubt a new thing. Specifically, the legitimacy of this so-called administrator. Surely, somebody like the El-Melloi Party's second highest member would know that the name Einzbern was a cornerstone of the War.

Hold on for a bit, please. She picked up her mobile and called the Butler, who still waited in the car, a fancy Mercedes, which of course, was bought merely to show off her family's great wealth. "Klaus? Wir haben ein Kode Wiesel. Sie wissen die Prozedur."

In essence, it meant 'take the car, take the familiar, keep an eye on the target, and call Frieda to escort me in your stead.' That was the measure for a Kode Wiesel.

"Jawohl, Meisterin." The answer was without hesitation, and sure enough, the Butler started the engine to perform his new task for tonight.

She shut the phone and turned back to face the so-called 'administrator'. "So, do you have any idea where we can have one of those fancy Italian cappuccinos? I'm hungry." Not that she actually needed to eat, being a homunculus and all, but eating was fun, almost as fun as watching the new wave come out.

[Kuroboshi Kinou]

Kinou shrugged off-handedly. "How am I supposed to know what people do or don't do with Servants? I'm just afraid someone will do something stupid, is all. Isn't it my job to worry about those kinds of things?"

Well, she wasn't really sure what the job entailed, even now. The only thing she knew she had to do was find and list all the Masters and discover what kind of people they were. And make sure they didn't break any of the rules, she guessed. That's what admins did, right?

But the most interesting thing the girl said, not crazy interesting but "interesting" interesting, was that she had a hand in making the Holy Grail War possible.

"Ah...so that's what it meant," Kinou said, "I guess you must be very proud of your family line, then. But sheesh, if you had just said something like that before, you could've saved me the trouble of telling you all that stuff about the rules. There's some precious bits of air I'll never get back..."

Kinou sighed. She wouldn't get those bits back either.

Eizbern...the name didn't click at all, no matter how many times she tried to recall the very little information she learned about the Holy Grail War from that man in the Sea of Estray. All he had ever mentioned were the legends. Heroes, all throughout time itself, would be summoned by the magic of the Holy Grail to do battle over a single wish granted, any hearts desire.

To Kinou, it sounded more like the story of Aladdin and the magic lamp. But he told her that it was really serious business.

"There are a lot of people who don't believe it's a myth," He said, "especially in the Clock Tower. And even here, there are a few people researching into it. I mean, think about it. If you could have your heart's desire granted, any desire at all, wouldn't you do it?"

Back then, her seventh year eating lunch at that cafeteria, a lot of things were very different. The Sea seemed like a far away place, almost in a fairy tale. But Kinou is still the same person now as she was back then. Maybe even a little wiser.

"What would I want that for?" Was her answer, "First of all, I don't believe in fairy tales. And second, I've got everything I need right now. I really can't think of anything I would want so badly that I'd participate in such a crazy thing."

However, if you asked her that question again, in the present day, the response would be the exact opposite.

Eh? Hungry?" Kinou asked, dropping back down to reality all of a sudden. It wasn't like her to day dream.

"Mmmmmmm...it's a little late for caffeine, don't you think? But fine, whatever.

"I've got to ask four things before we go. First of all, if you Eizbern guys started this whole thing, shouldn't you have automatic rights to get your wish granted? Second, do you need a ride to wherever it is we're going? Hermes over here can seat two, if he really needs to.

"Third, who were you talking to just now, and fourth, can he only understand German or something?"

Ah...so Kinou wasn't as spaced out as she seemed. And she wasn't, all current evidence to the contrary, and we've said this many times before, an idiot. Just randomly asking to get a cup of java from a random stranger? Then calling someone up and speaking in a foreign language? That would've been okay, if this person was a tourist. But she was a magus, and a Master at that.

And with an extremely prominent name. A name that was powerful. And, in the high society of magi, Kinou knew enough that "powerful" meant "targeted-on-a-daily-basis."

And "targeted-on-a-daily-basis" was jargon for "always-have body-guards-lurking-in-the-shadows-somewhere-and-kill-any-random-unsuspecting-magi-having-a-chat-with-your-master-in-the-middle-of-the-night-in-a-deserted-park-where-no-one-could-see."

Somehow, just like every situation, Kinou was out of the loop of something. But that didn't mean she was gonna fall for some ambush like a loser. Just hop on Hermes and ride off.

[Kosviel von Einzbern]

"You're an administrator, right?" Kosviel shrugged, looking off into the night. The fun would begin in less than 24 hours. It wasn't a bad idea to spend the last night of the calm before the storm just being, well, a normal person. "I'd assumed you would know that, it being something your superior should tell you. We created the Holy Grail system, the extinct Makiri family created the Servant system to summon heroic spirits and bind them with command spells, and the Mezzanotte are letting us use their land because of its high spiritual quality."

She smirked. "It used to be the Tohsaka, but then they all died when their land was swallowed up by the darkness." Yes, those guys were so long dead that she didn't even know what they looked like. And, she didn't really care. As per the convention of Einzbern hubris, the Tohsaka were insignificant outside the need of their spiritual land holdings. A family of two hundred years and five generations, which reached the pinnacle of its power because they stole one of the two Edelfelt Crests.

She really didn't intend to give a lecture about the basics, but apparently, that faggot Woodcock was too lazy to tell his subordinate anything. "There's only one wish. When the ritual was originally started, those involved naturally fought over it. Overtime, this evolved from a bad case of uncooperative assistants, to the normal way of doing things. Its true name is 'Heaven's Feel'. Holy Grail War just became more popular ever since we decided to just stop kidding ourselves and legitimize the fighting. After all, everybody would want a stake in it, and since there was only one wish, well... you get the idea, right?"

The homunculus briefly eyed her phone pocket. "That was my butler, Klaus. I just gave him some last minute instructions before we set out. That kid who just left is very likely to be a Master. If not, then he's definitely a magus. Can't let those guys run around just like that, you know? We have to at least keep an eye on them in case they break the code. Oh, and he understands a bit of everything, just that he's most comfortable with German."

She looked at the motorcycle. "Two-seater, eh? Alright. Let's roll."

OOC: Say you make the finishing post, and we can continue this in a different thread. Change of location, and all that.

[Kuroboshi Kinou]

"Uh-huh...Hmmmmmm..." Was Kinou's response.

She sighed again. So it was just as she thought. The whole thing was a free-for-all in order to get a wish granted. Could that even be called a war? From her understanding, wasn't a war waged between two opposing sides with huge armies and stuff? This sounded more like a brawl between random contestants. That could be troublesome, if she was really going to have to mediate this whole thing.

"What did I get myself into this time?" She mumbled quietly to herself, "oh well, I kinda knew it wasn't going to be easy..."

Because trying to mod one of the most epic free-for-alls of all time was going to be easy.

Her thoughts turned to that kid from before. Could that really be a Master? Sure, he could be a magus, but he didn't seem like the type to pick fights. Then again, Kinou was still exploring the possibility of that split-personality deal.

And the fact of the matter was, if he was a magus, then he must've already known what he was getting himself into. Which means he's not some poor innocent soul that just got caught up in some strange events. He's got a stake in this thing. He's here of his own free will.

So if he's got something he's willing to die for, then what could she do? If it really was just a free-for-all, didn't anything go? If this Eizbern person wanted to spy on him and maybe even eliminate him with her killer butlers, what could she really do?

That may sound totally immoral, but it was also realistic. Becoming a free-lancing vagabond magus, Kinou learned that the most important rule when traveling alone was this: Never loose your own life.

When you spend most of your life alone with only robotic penguins to have conversations with, you tend to become a lot colder to your fellow humans. But that wasn't to say she didn't care. She was still a long way from loosing faith in humanity and turning into a trench coat wearing, baritone-voiced villain. Well...she was already wearing the long coat, though.

"Ah," she said, kind of annoyed, "do whatever you want. What happens to that kid isn't much of my concern."

Now, finally, she hopped on Hermes and started him up. "Just hop on behind me. There's enough room so don't worry. Then put your arms around me and hang on tight."

Once Kosviel von Eizbern did that, she revved Hermes up and they were off.

And...that's kinda it for that.

((Topic End))