Write your Oath in Blood

[William de Torquemada]

She wept, even though blood came rather than saline. That was a curious effect of what had happened to her, though it wasn’t unexpected. Her eyes had been removed only two days prior; the poor girl had never had time to become accustomed to living without them. Obviously she couldn’t see where she was going, but the cane in her left hand helped her pick out what she needed to do.

At the same time, she leaned heavily on the boy beside her; she had been cut so many times that her clothes were tattered, bloody rags. Every time she took a step, a bloody scab ripped open on her legs. The path she had followed was splattered with her blood. Only the cane and the boy’s guidance kept her from falling every time she took a step. Still there was hope in her heart; she was leaving this terrible nightmare.

She had been trapped in this place for almost two weeks. Nothing had happened to her the first day, but she had been left alone in the darkness. The only sounds she heard the entire day was the opening and closing of her cell as the plate of food had been passed in. She had shouted and cursed, demanded answers, demanded to be set free, but the more she talked the more her captor only grinned. After her spirit had been broken by the darkness and the silence, then he began to appear.

An involuntary shudder ran through her frail frame at the thought of that, starting another bloody flow of tears from the holes where her eyes should have been. The exertion only made her lean more heavily on him, dripping blood onto the boy as she tried to cry. The strength to fight back had long since left her. Her tenuous grasp on life faded with every second.

Mercifully, he lowered her into a chair, speaking for the first time she had heard—her mind froze when she heard that voice. This wasn’t a boy come to save her. This was the man who had brought her here, who had held her down when she tried to fight like she was a child. This was the man who had cut her thousands of times, who had cut out her eyes and questioned her with barely feigned interest while he did. Not even her screams had stopped his polite questioning.

“Shh. It’s over. This was all a mistake. I’m letting you go.” She started to cry again as hope was rekindled. He was letting her go? How could that be? After all he had done, after trapping her for so long, after cutting her open and asking her how she felt, he was letting her go? She felt giddy with excitement. She would live! She would be okay.

“My experiments were no place for you,” the man whispered, a touch of sadness in his voice. “I had thought you were a suitable subject, but I was wrong. It is a terrible thing. So I am letting you go. You should never have come here. I will take you away from here as swiftly as I am able.” She nodded gratefully and reached out to him, but her right arm was missing below the elbow. She had lost that a strip of flesh at a time. She was just happy that it had happened after he had removed her eyes, so she hadn’t been able to watch the gruesome torture.

He took her stump in his hand and for a moment she thought he was giving her some small token of sympathy. But his hands were cold, callous, moving along her skin as if he couldn’t feel anything at all. After a moment, he took her other hand as well, lifting them above her head. Her elation froze and shattered as she heard two heavy chains click shut around her wrist and elbow.

“You… said you were letting me go,” she croaked, completely lost. How was he doing this? She wanted nothing more than to find somewhere she could be safe, but he had given her all this hope only to snatch it away from her at the end.

“I am. Do not think me a liar. I do regret bringing you here—subpar materials cannot further my experiment. You have only wasted my time spent working on you.” William de Torquemada showed no true expression as he checked the connections that lead to the girls arm, then quickly turned the wheel that would lift her into the area above the circle he had drawn with her blood earlier. Suspending her in midair had been his way to keep her blood from ruining the lines he had painstakingly drawn.

It was rather ingenious, if he could say so. He would have had to dispose of this wretch somehow, so using her as a catalyst to summon forth his Servant would be infinitely preferable to accomplishing nothing with her life. He had expected more from her, but she had consistently failed to perform. As had all of his subjects thus far.

William pulled out his book of notes and scratched down a few more, then, at the bottom of the page that held a small picture he had drawn of her face, he wrote ‘DECEASED’. With the entry completed, he tossed the book down and stepped toward his circle, once again examining it for any flaws. Everything would have to be perfect here. He would not tolerate any sort of failure.

“I am going to make all of your pain go away, Italiani.” He spoke the language easily; Spanish was his native tongue, after all, and the two romantic languages were very similar. Even with his accent, it was clear that the woman could understand what he had said. She began to shake and fight at the chains, but there was nowhere for her to push off of to get any force. Instead she just swung in rather ineffective circles, threatening to splatter blood all over his work.

William gave a sigh as he strode forcefully through the circle, making sure not to smudge anything, and put a dagger against the woman’s throat. “You did not deserve a place in my world anyway.” With that final quip, he dragged the blade across her neck, splitting a thin, bloody smile into her. With his hands holding the corpse still, the blood all fell into a container he had prepared to catch it. She would have died no matter what she did, of course. No magi would allow someone to leave with knowledge of their research, even if all they knew of it was that they had been a part of it.

The perfectionist in him wouldn’t allow him to begin without another check of the circle, so he left the body where it hung as he started to mentally trace each of the lines and compare it to the pattern he had memorized what seemed like ages ago.

William had not spent his time idly. It had taken him nearly six months to… persuade Italian authorities to allow mass importation from his home in Spain. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had the tools to continue his work here. It had taken three months during that time to shatter the mortal who owned this hotel’s mind, quietly purchase the deed from her, and turn the entire basement into a dungeon. The floor above was now his personal home, though it was much less impressive than Torquemada Manor. The tools also left much to be desired, but he was here to participate in a War. Such simple inconveniences must be ignored.

Inconveniences… like this hunk of flesh before him. Even her corpse filled William with disgust. Everywhere he looked, he was faced only by incompetence and weakness. She had sobbed before she had ever been touched by his blade. She had screamed and cursed and cried after it, desperately clinging to the sensations of pain to avoid becoming more than she had been. There was nothing he could do for one who was so unable to even comprehend becoming great. Only one of the numerous subjects he had captured since coming to Italy showed any amount of promise.

It was amazing how this woman could remind him of his brother after all these years. Will clenched his fist tightly around the knife until the anger he felt had subsided. His brother should have been here. His brother should have been here, the two of them together, fighting for the glory of the Torquemada family. Like this woman, he had chosen weakness and a slow descent into oblivion rather than clawing his way back to life. William’s body had been ruined in a way that these cowards could never understand, but the damage had only served to make him stronger.

“It is time to begin,” he muttered, twirling the knife easily through fingers that sent only the most minimal signals to his brain. The ritual only called for a few drops of the blood of a magi, so all of the blood of a woman with only a few prana more than necessary to sustain life should be more than enough. William wiped a hand across her throat, coating his palm in her blood, and took the container as he stepped outside of the circle again.

“Ye first, o silver, o iron,” he incanted, as he opened his circuits to allow the Grail to accept him as a master. This was the point where a normal master would slice open their own hand to offer their blood for the ritual; William poured the woman’s blood onto the circle, feeling the thrum of… amused surprise from the grail at his offering. He smiled in return. It seemed that they had similar thoughts about those too weak to defend themselves.

“Shut. Shut. Shut. Shut. Shut. Five perfections for each repetition.” William tossed the emptied container aside, no longer interested in anything the corpse hanging above his circle had to give. She had given her blood to power this miracle. Nothing in her life could matter more. What else could she do that was more important than the work he would do with the power of the Holy Grail?

“And now let the filled sigils be annihilated in my stead.” William’s grin grew. What did this ritual think of the magi competing for the greatest prize? William de Torquemada had faced more challenges than summoning a being that by rights should never be able to be controlled. His father had told him he would never walk again when he was only a child. Not only could he walk, but he had all but mastered control of his body without the sensation of touch. Doing the impossible only took the will to defy the world.

“Set. Let thy body rest under my dominion, and let my fate rest in thy blade.” Surrendering his fate to the Servant was a necessary annoyance. He could not manipulate the holy grail on his own and even as strong as he was, he would not be able to compete against a Servant. They were Mysteries beyond understanding. No man could fight what he did not understand.

“If thou submittest to the call of the Holy Grail and if thou wilt obey this mind, this reason, then thou shalt respond.” The concept of failure was alien to William de Torquemada. He was a boy who had come through worse pain than most men would ever bear, a magus who had taken control of his family with the tip of a blade, and a man who had killed his heart so that he could become a better magus. How could someone like he possibly fail?

“I am that person who is to become the virtue of all Heavens. I am that person who is covered with the evil of all Hades.” Did his crimes weigh upon him? Did the faces of those he had killed haunt his dreams? William would say no. The evils of all Hades meant as little to him as the virtues of the Heavens. Who could possibly judge the things he had done? He had committed patricide, but only after his father had let pride so cloud his judgment that he would have allowed the family to die rather than change his mind. He had committed fratricide, but only after giving his brother hundreds of chances to escape. Guillermo’s death was his own fault.

“Thou seven heavens, clad in a trinity of words…” The curious absence of feeling that always came when he activated his circuits had faded, been replaced by a prickling in the back of his head. It was as if the Grail was curious how he could so easily resist its amorous advances. The pain of the most difficult magic he would ever perform did not even make him bend his neck. The Torquemada line had made William far stronger than that.

“Come past thy restraining rings and be thou the hands that protect the balance!” The small man roared the last words in defiance of any that would attempt to speak against him. The Torquemada family would be represented in this, the sixth Holy Grail War. William didn’t need the grail, except to use as a carrot for whichever hero answered his call.

William had little doubt that this was the secret he needed to discover the method of Manipulation of the Soul. If he rediscovered that great mystery, the imperfections that wracked his body would be meaningless. He would perfect his body in the image of his scarred but unbroken soul, in the image of the mind that had only grown stronger as his father had tried to break him.

“Come forth, my Servant.” William adopted a light, genuine smile as he stood before the circle, blood splattered and still somehow managing to appear noble.

[Mochizuki Chiyome]

A light shone as the summoning took its place. A discreet little light, filled with the bare sensation of being far away from where it should be. As if to take the secrecy of its Master into account, the light that had shaped didn’t emit any light anywhere but only shaped itself where it was. It might be argued that the way of appearing would make the Servant seem weak, but anyone with capability to sense prana within the faint light knew that was not the case. A standing individual was shaped, standing gracefully still and tall in place with closed eyes. The person was a woman who clearly had Asian origin. Her long black hair was nicely adjusted behind her, the way idealized by ancient japan. Currently she was even wearing a red kimono, the long freely moving garbs worn by Asian women at formal occasions these days. However, hers was a lot shorter than those usually seen… and looked somewhat stylishly torn on the bottom as if to allow easier movement. The way she was standing… she was used to acting very formal.

The Servant had become aware of where she was before she had even taken proper shape. She had been summoned into… a place few could visit while retaining their calm. An underground room, beneath a much larger building. From what she could tell the hideout where the base from which a sinister force held its power. People had bled down here. People had screamed down here. A world of terror, and any person who found themselves in this room would be met with a terrible fate. Even the monster itself must have met a terrible fate, as the woman’s experience told her. She knew torture chambers. Although she had never been subject to one, she was well aware of what they could do to people. Though this… this was worse than one. Those people were not just tortured here. They were emotionally plundered. There was no telling what the corpse hanging above her had gone through, but the wounds which covered her body were older than the one that had killed her.

The Servant knew something about this form of place, and the people who usually kept them. Being a force from the darker regions of her land, she had seen all which some people would desire never were seen. She also knew that the mission to assassinate those same people would arrive soon enough because of the sheer lack of humanity these things kept. That was, of course, excluding those with political power that used such means, but this didn’t seem like one of those cases. This was more inhumane than anything she had ever seen, in fact. Magi… even among their kind, this was morbid. If she had delivered a report about a place like this in her life-time, the command to murder would arrive before she left the door. But this time around… the monster wasn’t her enemy. As she quickly understood, her Master was…

There was a dark-clad magus, standing by the side of the circle. He was a rather short young man, at least by standards of today, with nice black hair and a polite stance. Young indeed, too young to be suspected to have committed these acts and his expression didn’t reveal any intention to carve open bodies or harm people for his own needs. His face was quite handsome, in any other circumstance she would have called him cute. But it was difficult to call upon the cute traits of someone stained in the blood of the girl he had just killed. The Servant could feel it, the dead girl’s blood upon the circle, used in the summoning. So… this was the kind of individual who had summoned her, huh?

Revealing none of her emotions regarding the matter, the Servant instantly went down on her knees before her Master, in Japan’s more polite way. She was used to serving lords, and although her new lord was most likely not the same kind she felt a need to show off her origin by drawing on her own teachings. The move was surprisingly graceful for an act showing submissiveness towards a person of higher authority, and her expression was thoroughly professional. The Servant had not shown a single flinch of surprise, not a single flicker of anger, not anything at all. Just pure professionalism.

‘Servant Assassin.’ She started, her head bowed to the young Master, and her eyes closed. Normally she wasn’t allowed to speak until the lord gave the sign, but this wasn’t entirely the same. There were customaries to follow, after all. ‘I ask, are you my Master?’

[William de Torquemada]

She was a short woman, though she managed to be slightly taller than he was. That was… unsurprising. William was used to being forced to look upward to see others. Still, despite being almost as small as he was, she had a regal demeanor, a precise standing. There was no aura of distinct deadliness around her—no, it was there, it was just hidden by the utter coldness with which she surveyed the world around her.

She got to her knees and bowed her head slightly, unfazed by the blood around her or the corpse that hung above her. The facts of her summoning didn’t appear to bother her in the slightest. That was good. William could provide her prana, but if she ever needed to quickly regain her strength, then killing and consuming souls was the most efficient way. He generally abhorred murder for the sake of death, but if it was necessary, he would put aside his morals.

’Servant Assassin. I ask, are you my Master?’

“That is correct, Assassin. I am William de Torquemada. Magus, obviously. I am uncertain of the ceremonies in this situation, so please rise, Assassin.” William turned away, picking up the book of notes he had discarded and scrawling a few lines into it. Assassin-female, approx. 165 cm. Asian in origin?

He would be able to catalogue more as he worked—not enough that this book could provide vital intelligence to his enemies, but enough for his studies. Servants who garnered the class Assassin held ranks in the Presence Concealment skill, so he couldn’t feel her massive power, but the steady draw on his prana let him know that he was supporting a being far greater than he could imagine. And that was with the Grail providing most of the energy!

“I believe the most important step at this point would be to get to know each other. The Torquemada family’s magic is based in reinforcement; I can quickly enhance my body to be many times stronger than a normal human. I have been trained to fight with a sword and a dagger. I won’t hold you back in a fight. Most magi will have difficulties trying to survive against me in battle.”

The magus picked up a dagger from his table, testing the weight, twirling it along his fingers. It was a nervous tick he had picked up while spending countless hours with his subjects. “It seems rather fitting that I summoned an Assassin. But we can speak of this at a later date if you would like to rest.”

“This place is the basement of a hotel I have claimed for myself. Above us used to be the Servants quarters, but I had it partially remodeled to make a better home for myself. The threat of being discovered by some of the staff was neutralized before I began your summoning, and as an Assassin you can easily mingle with the guests above us. I have placed a bounded field around this building as well, though its only effect is alerting me when a magus enters my domain.”

“If you have questions, I have plenty of time to answer any of them for you. There is a bed for you in the master suite above if you require rest, a kitchen, baths, whatever would be needed for you to feel more comfortable in this place.”

William gave her a full smile as he turned back to her, slipping the knife into his pocket absently. There were more subjects, but he doubted they would yield anything important to his work. The people of this city were weak. Besides, Assassin was a being formed of prana, perfect in her creation, formed by his will, her memories, and the Grail’s nearly limitless power.

He doubted that Assassin would give him the opportunity to actually examine her as fully as he would have liked, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t study her. He had a mind for details; every Torquemada must, because there was no way to guarantee that even the smallest cry of pain couldn’t hold the key to something greater.

[Mochizuki Chiyome]

William de Torquemada... While his looks didn’t quite look the deal, the name sure did. Something about that last name of his just sounded… ominous. Hm. Assassin wasn’t someone who’d judge anyone more than necessary from their looks or name, being that she was one who had during the entity of her life trained those skilled at making other people make false such judgments. In any case. It would appear that she was likely to undertake morally deprived missions in the future.

Upon her Master’s words, Assassin stood up. She wouldn’t have minded staying kneeling before him, but having a lord she didn’t have to kneel to was a… interesting change. William turned and withdrew a book while she was raising herself to her full height. She was… taller than him? That was rare. That book. He wrote something in it. No doubt he kept data on important things within that book. But what kind of data? Assassin knew better than to guess given the state of the current location. She swallowed all emotion and simply stood straight, one hand in the other, professional expression.

And so it was time to speak of one another. Her Master assured her that with his strength many magi would have trouble. Really. Assassin could feel his amount of power. He would have no trouble to handle it if he had summoned a Servant from any of the “stronger” classes, and yet he seemed entirely fine with an Assassin. Very well. The Servant wasn’t planning on letting him down, despite the kind of person he was. That’s simply how a professional worked.

‘Is this place safe? Should I speak about myself using my voice…’ or this separate channel? Depending on his answer, the following would be said in a way depending on his answer.

‘Very well. I specialize in espionage, assassination and the teaching of my arts to others. I have a wide array of equipment which can harm and kill from distances close, medium and long range with adequate strength. I am capable of disguising my appearance and hiding in plain sight, as Assassins can. I hold a wide array of skills with which I infiltrated many occupations with during my lifetime to get closer to my target. You may use these skills as you see fit, Master. As for my identity and Noble Phantasms…’ Identity… some Masters would want to keep it hidden away. Some Servants would want theirs hidden away from their Masters. But… that’s potentially strategically unsound. ‘Should I tell you now or later?’

It appeared William had prepared well for his conquest. Securing a hotel and remade the basement like this… It was somewhat dangerous should it be found, but rest assured that risk would have been there no matter what place was chosen. Her Master… he was a good one. As in good at what he does. For the other definition of good… certainly not. But this did increase her chances of winning. Tactically, she probably couldn’t ask for anyone better. Then there was that other part. The part about him that was currently twirling with a dagger which purpose was obvious. But she’d face that side soon enough.

‘I thank you for taking the time to prepare for my arrival.’ She bowed her head lightly towards him. ‘As for the moment, I have no questions other than if there are any objectives you wish me to fulfill.’ She kept her professional expression, seemingly unfazed by anything in here or anything out of here. Assassin was ready. As always.

[William de Torquemada]

“You do not need to worry about the security of this place. We are safe here in the basement, and in the floor above. You only need watch yourself in the actual hotel.” William was pleased to hear her businesslike tone as she analyzed her own abilities. She did not embellish or hide. She was completely professional about everything—including the nature of the room they stood in.

“Your identity is your own. If you choose to share it with me, I will be better able to plan, but such things are not entirely necessary for our goals. What I would like to know, Assassin, is why you desire the Holy Grail. The promise of a wish attracts many; I would like to know what it is that motivates you.”

His pen tapped against the page, waiting for her answer. Motivation was everything to his research. After a moment, he wondered if he was asking too much. “Allow me to go first. The Torquemada family has existed for nearly nine hundred years. While most magi search for Akasha, the root of magic, we seek a smaller but equally important prize. My family has worked since its creation to discover that which makes men different from beasts. We seek the Soul.”

William cast a glance at the woman to see how she was reacting. He couldn’t believe that she wouldn’t be trying to figure out what all of this was for. She was observant; she’d noticed the blade in his hand, the book. He wouldn’t be surprised if somehow she’d managed to read the notes he’d started to take on her. Oh, what he’d give to be able to study her.

“My father experimented on me when I was only a child.” How strange it was that he could say those words without a twinge of emotion. His early years had been marked with a near constant hatred and loathing for the man who had broken him. But he had settled that account with a blade; what good was it to continue hating a man who was already dead? “My body was irreparably damaged. In some ways, it has made me stronger. In many, it is a liability that I cannot shake. My quest is not to gain the Grail. It is to find the magic that will allow me to create for myself a body that is not broken. If the Grail can provide for me a shortcut, I will take it without hesitation.”

William stood and looked around the dungeon, humming quietly to himself. He did not want to begin cleaning up from the ritual, but it would be sloppy to leave it and unforgivable to force another to dispose of the garbage for him. He put down his book and knife, then went and took the dead girl from her position above the circle, bundling the cooling corpse into his arms with practiced ease. He didn’t want to stain his clothing if he could help it.

“My family has always believed that the soul manifests most strongly when a person is put through extreme duress. But it is too difficult to follow men and try to observe them in such situations, so we captured them and recreate such situations. A strong person can last weeks no matter what we do to them. I log every moment of pain every subject experiences and examine the information, attempting to find out what it all means.” William lowered the body into a trolley and closed the lid over her empty eye sockets. He gave a small, self-deprecating shrug as he started to push it toward the furnace.

“Unfortunately, I’ve found nothing. I do not know what any of it means. Perhaps my subjects are of lesser quality, or perhaps I overestimated my skill. I know that I need the materials provided by this Holy Grail War to find what I need.” The magus opened up the furnace, stoking the flames. It would take time for the flames to be ready, but he had nothing but time. “I mean to watch my opponents and learn from them. But naturally, you desire the grail, so our first course of action will be to win this War.”

Finally, it was ready. The Torturemagus tossed the young woman’s limp corpse into the furnace and sealed it up, letting her body be consumed like all of those before her. “So, I would again put the question to you. Assassin, what is it that you desire?” Despite the gristly nature of his task, William smiled as he began to scrub the blood off the trolley. He enjoyed the mindless work, despite how tedious it could become. It allowed him time to think, and examine the woman who would be his partner through the most dangerous part of his life.

[Mochizuki Chiyome]

Assassin stood silent as she listened to the tale her new Master told her. What he wanted, and the reason for it. The means with which he achieved his tasks. Throughout it all, the woman merely stood, inspecting her Master with a steady professional expression. He was correct. She was trying to figure out her Master behind that expression. The contents of the book was correctly assumed and confirmed, although large portions of it was still hidden. This man was doing some form of research with all this. The reason…

Seeking after the Soul. Damaged as a child by own parent. Gained strength and conviction through this event. Conducting torture on people to find their soul. Examining them. He found nothing. And all this without a shred of feelings for the humans he killed like this. Naturally, he had been brought up knowing this was how life worked. There was no way to follow a moral code that never was learned. This was definite proof that without a proper teacher, there is no telling how a child can end up. This was in fact proof of what can happen with all the wrong teacher. A father causing pain to his own son… is not a good teacher. This young man would need guidance to ever have a chance to return. But… there was no person available to provide such guidance. Assassin watched blankly as William dumped the corpse of the girl in the furnace. She herself was only here to bring him the Holy Grail. It wasn’t her purpose here to do anything like that. This man was going to be continuing his journey on a dark path, and she’d be assisting him in killing his opponents. That was simple how this partnership would play out.

‘In that case, Master, I will fully present myself as to increase our bonds and tactical knowledge.’ All said in an unmoving, professional tone. There was a risk involved in telling him who she was, but Assassin wasn’t someone who’d let something like that impede on her mission. With this knowledge her Master would be more capable of coming up with plans and rely less on that she would provide the right information at the right time. Perfectly professional. However, there was that risk. The risk of telling a person such as this one about a certain aspect of herself. But there was no use hesitating on such a thing.

‘My name is Mochizuki Chiyome, Chiyome being my “first” name.’ Japanese style of naming appeared to be different from western, after all. ‘I am a female ninja, a kunoichi. My origin is Japanese. I was born in a ninja-clan and taught all the secrets of the trade. Afterwards I was married off to a noble general in order to please the daimyo, the lord of said area. I was never supposed to use my skills as a ninja again. However, the daimyo of my husband met with me and told me to arrange for him a system of ninja which was for him to use. Ninja were usually rather expensive to use, after all, and as the wife of his general I was his property as well. So, I did.’ If he hadn’t contacted her, Chiyome would never have accumulated anything. If it hadn’t been for Takeda Shingen, Chiyome would never have achieved the rank of Heroic Spirit, and wouldn’t be standing here. How… amusing that she could have been spurned to this level, by the effort of someone else.

‘I searched the country for girls that would be willing to become ninja with me. So, I started picking up girls that had been abandoned by society. Girls that had their families destroyed, girls that were forced to take desperate decisions, girls that had nowhere to go. It became rumored that I saved them, took them to a better place. A phantom appearing to pick up these lost souls. That’s where I gained my first amount of fame. If I brought them to a better place or not, I cannot say. But I did tend to them better than society did.’ So it was… one who was viewed to be a savior of a certain kind of human was teamed with one who was the bane of them. How ironic. Though, Chiyome was far more than just a savior of girls…

‘These girls were then taught to be ninja, by me. They didn’t have a choice. Becoming ninja was the only way out of their lives at that point. Our ninja village grew steadily since I constantly picked up more girls. Soon enough, we were prepared to start operating for Shingen, our daimyo. We performed well enough for me to be standing in front of you today.’ Well, as a Heroic Spirit, it did mean she had some bragging rights… ‘We became feared as a new sort of ninja, the female ninja which infiltrated the enemy before doing our jobs. Feared enough to gain a new title separate from just ninja, kunoichi. And I was their teacher. Somehow my name was leaked at one place or another. I became famed for being the teacher of all kunoichi at the time and creator of a network which spread across Japan. To a lesser degree, I had the entire country shivering in fear. Every time a kunoichi struck, my name was the one that was uttered, for ultimately it was my doing. And so I became famous without ever being seen.’ Despite all the potential bragging she was doing, Assassin kept her professional stance and merely spoke of herself.

‘This does not mean I was merely a commander. I am more than capable of operating by the commands I laid out myself. I did so often, in fact. And my skills are now yours to use, Master.’ And that was her story. Now… for that other part.

‘What I desire from the Grail.’ If this was wise to tell her Master or not was of no consequence. Her Master had asked, she’d comply. ‘During my time, I raised many girls to become ninja. They went to make me famous, and yet I was the only one who survived in history. The fate of a ninja is always to remain unknown. My own face was only known to a handful of individuals. I taught my students all I could, and they performed well. However, their destiny was always the same. I could always only provide the skills, never the rewards that should come with performing well with them. This is my one regret as a teacher. With my wish I would immortalize the names of every one of my students, make them known throughout the world and have them join me in death. They deserve as much.’ Chiyome felt she might have gone a bit too personal on that, even though she remained professional. Her Master had asked, after all. As for what he’d do with this information… that was up to him. Then, she remained silent, announcing that she was done by doing so.

[William de Torquemada]

“Mochizuke… Chiyome…” William had a hard time shaping the words, but he continued to mentally struggle with the puzzle while Assassin spoke. Had he been willing to leave his cleaning only half done, he would have dropped what he was doing and catalogued her story. A girl trained to be a killer, then instructed to forget killing, then instructed to begin again. She had lived her entire life as a tool. It reminded William of what his family had so graciously intended for him.

She had been a teacher and a friend to the dregs of society and made something for them. William could hardly suppress his excitement. Even if Assassin didn’t realize it, she obviously had the ability to comprehend the value of a soul and meld it into a weapon. If she could create deadly ninja, what else could she create? This was an unexpected stroke of luck.

“Your story is certainly more impressive than my own, Assassin… if I may, I would like to call you Chiyo—Chi while we are alone. It seems more personal than ‘Assassin’. Likewise, you may call me Will. I would not like to seem petty enough to tout some perceived superiority in this War. We both need each other to achieve our goals, after all.” Her goal was… to immortalize the deeds of others over oneself? How interesting. He had thought that many spirits would be fighting for the chance at a second life in the modern world.

William needed time to process all of that information, but it was a better start than he had anticipated. He had a Servant who would surely understand the necessity of his work, one who hardly even seemed fazed by the gore that surrounded them. That was good. He needed a Servant willing to do anything to win. He had come too far to allow himself to be stopped by morality or weakness.

The magus finished his work and washed his rag out, turned off the furnace, and gathered his notes. Before bed, he would log everything that he remembered from this conversation. It would be important later to understand the motivations of this marvelous woman before him. A Torquemada would do almost anything to have a gift like hers, but William himself simply lacked the ability to easily understand people.

“There are still some hours before I retire for the night. How would you like to spend this first night? We could have some tea and relax, but I imagine you must be rather anxious to begin your work. It has been several hundred years since you had the chance to stretch your legs, no?” William smiled slightly, amused by the idea. “Are there any preparations you would like to make immediately? I will trust in your ability to identify the protections I have already placed and decide if you wish to improve them.”

Even if he thought the place secure, it would seem like child’s play to a Servant of the Caster class. An Assassin might know a few things about magical security, though William did have some understanding that Oriental magi did not practice thaumaturgy like western magi did. It was unlikely, then, that Assassin would be able to reinforce this hotel, but at the least, she might request that they make their true base of operations somewhere less conspicuous. William would bend to her will in that matter; he needed this place only for his experiments, not as a place to stay.

[Mochizuki Chiyome]

I wouldn’t appear that her Master was at all sad to have gained but a ninja of the east rather than one of the greater heroes of the world. There were many heroes known world-wide, great leaders of civilizations and warriors far more powerful than herself. She was almost unknown, but she had still retained enough fame in her remote part of the world to survive in history. It would appear her Master was excited. She was able to conclude from the way her Master behaved. It almost seemed as if he thought he had hit a jackpot of some kind. Chiyome didn’t know what he was thinking, but it was fine with her.

’You need not fear that my tale may outshine your own as this would have been the case no matter who you summoned. As a Heroic Spirit, your Servant was already sure to be a remarkable individual before even appearing. Calling me “Chi” is fine. In turn, I hope for a successful cooperation, Will.’ Being more personal with her lord was not something she was used to, but Assassin was sure the magus here was far different from her olden day lords. Nevertheless, Chiyome was fully intending on keeping her professional aura up. Her Master finished up while the Servant stood and considered the situation. She then listened to what he had to say. Asking what she wants to do as if it is up to her? Very well, then. After looking up into the roof as if considering what she could feel above…

‘I do not mind taking it easy, however that will hardly help our cause towards turning this war in our favor. As you may be aware of, whatever preparation you have may be detected and torn asunder by Caster or even normal magi that simply happen to be more accomplished than yourself. As for me, I am more accomplished at taking myself into defenses than actually making them myself. However, I do feel the need to inform my Master about all my skills. So, because of that, Will…’ She lowered her head to look at her Master again, her expression still professional. This was a point she needed to tell at some point anyway to properly share options with her Master.

‘I have two major Noble Phantasms that would be considered my special advantages and a third which is a helpful accessory.’ To make sure their strategy would be as well-developed as possible, both of them would need to know about her skills. ‘One of my Noble Phantasms is my network of information which I once spread across ancient Japan. I am capable of placing nodes of power capable of transmitting information to other nodes certain distances and eventually to me. These stationary nodes watch the streets around them, and search for things I’ve told them to watch for. As long I am in range of one node, I can take part of what all nodes connected to that network has seen and sees. They all share my Presence Concealment, but they will gradually lose Presence Concealment if I continue placing too many. They can, as you might have figured, be used to search for enemies, keep track of those we already know of and inform us if someone is approaching us.’

‘My minor Noble Phantasm is one I gained from my reputation as an infiltrator and being unseen. It allows me to change my appearance and my outfit. It also allows me to infiltrate places using manipulation of normal people to temporarily take up occupations or simply be let in somewhere. However, whenever I change appearance or manipulate someone I must drop Presence Concealment. When using it, precaution needs to be taking so enemies do not catch me while I am… “changing”.’ Yes. Now that would be horribly embarrassing. From a professional point of view.

‘My third takes form in the shape of the school which I took the young girls with no future to in order to train them to become ninja. I became famous for bringing them to a safer place, to some rumored “haven”. While I cannot say for sure that’s the case, I can admit it was never attacked. This takes shape through a field Nobel Phantasm. Using the field I can make a place imitate the safety-bounds of the school and make an area practically invisible. My safe-haven cannot be sensed through. If you are ever in deep trouble, Will, and need someplace to rest then my Noble Phantasm is the place to go. I merely need to cover an area with it and then I decide what is sensed through it. Also, enemies inside will not be able to sense out, so it can also be used in reverse if needed. However, it isn’t solid in any way, so the field can be stumbled through by someone who didn’t even know.’ Chiyome paused a moment, and then proceeded with the next part.

‘However, there is a few details about the field that you might want to know. As long as it is up, a certain kind of human can find it. It is a safe-haven, made for those in trouble. As such, people in trouble and has nowhere to go, mainly young girls like those I once saved, are drawn to the field. No magi, though. It is a matter worth noting. Also, the field takes a fair bit of prana and it isn’t recommended to keep it up simultaneously as a network of nodes or after I’ve been deeply exhausted. However, if our situation is dire I can attempt forcing myself even if I am low on prana. I am sure you know of the ways to solve those troubles should such a situation arise.’ Chiyome finished her explanation of her Noble Phantasms there. She needed to tell about them to be professional, after all. [Just take it as if she has told everything that is said in the profile, if you want.]

‘As for cause of action at the moment, I would like to take a look at the surroundings from a suitably high location for the moment and possibly around the building while in Spirit Form. I will sustain myself from taking any further cause of action until we have further identified our situation and plans. If you can think of a good use of the Noble Phantasms at this moment then I will listen. Do I have your approval?’ Chiyome looked towards her Master and waited for his response. … It would appear that many times holding lessons had rather accomplished her ability to talk a lot.

[William de Torquemada]

So Chi wanted the freedom to make her own decisions as to what would best benefit the two of them in this crusade. That was more than fine with the Torturemagus. He could easily answer questions on how to best break the spirit of a subject, or how to take accurate, detailed notes on the exact words that spilled out of a deranged target’s mouth and thoughts on how to interpret their meanings, but he had never waged a war. His attack on the Torquemada family had been a coup; an attack from the one who it was thought would never be able to betray them.

“Do as you believe best. If you wish, this is a safe place to change your clothing to something less conspicuous. As fittingly beautiful as you look in your Japanese clothing, I doubt such things would pass by unnoticed by the Italian populous.” William let a wry grin break through, showing that it was a joke. “I do not think that the current situation demands use of any of your noble phantasms, Chi. If you would like to replace my Bounded Field with your Phantasm, that would be fine, but I believe in the beginning of the war placing nodes to gather information would be more beneficial.”

William looked around the rooms, observing the humans locked within. “However, you do not need to hold back for thought of prana. I should be able to keep you well supplied through the entire war. And even if I cannot, spirits can consume life force to maintain themselves… as you see, I have no lack of subjects. I do not wish to waste their lives in such a way if it cannot be avoided, but our first priority must be winning the war and obtaining the Holy Grail. Little else matters in the face of that.”

It felt good to have a concrete goal again. Even the unshakeable faith of a Torquemada heir began to fail after years of work and nothing to show for it. He was still regarded as an usurper of a sort by those who knew his story, but possession of the crest meant that it did not matter. He did not intend to marry anyway. Even if a pureblood family would turn up their noses at his advances, it would matter little if he actually obtained that which he sought. Perfection would put all of those families to shame—if he had any need to marry, if his life began to end, magi would come crawling to beg for a place within his family.

But that was the future, and he had too much to think of at the moment to plan for the future. “Allow me to show you to the floors above, Assassin.” William slid past her easily, taking his book dropping it into a pocket easily. Much would need to be updated with the advent of his newest and greatest ally. He gave her a slight, respectful nod as he opened the door for her and stepped to the side to allow her to pass.

Though many of William’s niceties were inbred to him and he had little reason or desire to act like anything other than a highborn man from a powerful and noble family. Despite the blood that had created the Torquemada’s wealth and despite the dark nature of their research, they were still nobles. The yearly stipends of wealth from the Spanish crown to hush up the actions taken in the name of God and King during the inquisition did not change that.

Besides, this gave him another chance to examine the Assassin as she moved. For a man lacking any sensation of touch, William was very aware of how much people gave away with the way they walked, the way they carried themselves. He expected a heroic servant to carry themselves upright, with their heads held high, even if they walked toward certain death. A more tragic figure might have walked as if the world was crashing on them, but there was a nobility and strength of presence that must be in each of them. Assassin, as skilled as she was, did not have a presence that rendered him awestruck to look at her. Perhaps it was a side effect of her class, or maybe her pride was not as strong as could be expected of someone in her position. In any case, it was an interesting question to entertain while he waited for her lithe body to begin to move.

[Mochizuki Chiyome]

Chiyome nodded to William’s note about her clothes. If she had been flattered by her Master’s joking comment about her beauty then she showed no sign of it. Supplied with knowledge about how Italian people usually dress in this day and age Chiyome trusted William’s words and let her power flow. Giving her Master a little peek of her full potential power as she had to drop any cloak in order to use her Phantasm she glowed with power for a moment… and then stood in a . Now looking a bit more like she fitted into the area, Chiyome would respond to her Master’s words.

‘There is no reason to replace your field unless you have knowledge of someone specific hunting you. It will be first when we are truly troubled my Phantasm will come in handy. For now, I will avoid excessive or potentially wasteful use of the prana I’m supplied. I am fortunate to have been summoned by an excellent Master.’ Chiyome was a little worried the way she had said that might possibly have implied she wasn’t, so to say, happy with her Master even though she was indeed fortunate from one point of view. For now she simply had to get a grip on the situation, gauge all potential scenarios and continuously act as the patient professional which she was. Anything less would be a shame on the students which she had once taught. She was representing them too in this, after all.

As William went past her to show the way up, Chiyome nodded and allowed herself to be led as he opened the door for her. She did notice he kept his attention on her. The Servant didn’t know what exactly he was looking for, but Chiyome was well intending on showing just about exactly what he’d get. Indeed, the woman’s movements were graceful, upright and filled with pride. While still professional, there was no doubt that these steps were of one who knew no hesitation. Even as an Assassin, she could show pride in herself. Of course, the spy within her was able to fake the steps of many other kind of people, but at the moment it was the steps of a noblewoman of honorable feudal Japan. She trusted this would also be what he expected to see, anyway.

So, she stepped past her Master and escaped the bloodied cellar. Even with her own professionalism, it was a relief to escape that place. Not that she showed it. She simply could not show it to this Master. Though, the fact that the murderer who caused it was right beside her was potentially disturbing. Then the fact she needed to work with him and tolerate everything he had done during this time. Chiyome was one of few people in the world who kept completely calm despite such a situation. It was the truth. But she needed to overcome it in order to at all have a chance of winning this Holy Grail War. And overcome it she did. Easily. So she simply turned to her Master, and…

‘Thank you. Please lead the way, Will.’