Midnight

[Luciano Mezzanotte]

2350 Hours, Day -3

The lone figure strolled down the corridor of the lonely glass and steel tower. Inside the corporate complex was something that had its own office charm, distinguishable from others by the little A print logos scattered about the surface of its facilities. Nearly all of its personnel had gone home hours ago, leaving behind a skeleton maintenance crew and a fully-equipped security force.

With the disturbing news of the murders - no, the mutilations - going over the past week, one couldn't be too careful. Indeed, these could only be the work of something not human, not animal, but other. He had attended the meetings with the Church and the Einzberns, it was only natural that he would know. It was hungry, and it would do anything to satiate that hunger. It would summon fourteen Servants this time around, or at least, that was the expected number. Why would a hungry beast stop at twice the usual, after all? For all he knew, it could be summoning as many as it wanted. Which was why he had to do everything to summon a powerful card.

The auxiliary lights were all that were left running at this dark hour. Being weaker than the main lights, and more sparsely placed, they left an alternating pattern of illuminated and darkened sections along the hallway. Security cameras visible and hidden swept in their preprogrammed arcs, switching in their randomized mode patterns. It would be humanly unpredictable to know whether they were watching you normally, through thermal vision, radiation scan, or... several other means that had appeared in recent years.

It appeared lonely on the outside, yes, but the matter of fact was, much like in Orwell's book, Big Brother was watching. Big Brother was in a security room at the moment, keeping tabs of everything going on within the complex, as well as the area immediately outside of it. Yes, Big Brother saw everything, even the very heart of the building itself. But that was not a problem. Only two members of Big Brother's team was allowed to see that specific place. And their eyes were sharp.

On one side, the night janitor waved in greetings before continuing his work. The lone figure passed him by and went around a corner. Still in his expensive executive suit, he pressed his hand into one part of the wall that lay at the knee level, inconvenient, certainly, but easier with which to fool would be intruders. It was an unnatural position to hide an entrance control panel, unlike most such panels you saw in fiction, which for some reason, happened to be at a height of convenience.

After the panel had finished reading and verifying the palm and finger prints that had been fed to it, a hidden path opened up on the wall behind the executive. As soon as he stepped inside, the wall shut behind him, and he continued his lonely trek, the hall illuminated only by painful incandescent lamps. The darkness was even more pronounced, concealing the ports of the automatic .50 calibre turrets hidden in the wall.

If an intruder had gotten this far, there was only one thing to say about that. It would not be human.

Finally reaching the end of the hallway, the executive faced a tungsten door over a foot thick. Next to it stood another panel, upon which he placed his hand. After reading the prints, a camera lens opened up, and scanned his eye, first for verification, and then for dilation. Had it been disembodied and thus dilated, the turrets would open up and unleash a rain of fire to slay the impostor. The panel then opened up, and he pushed his forearm inside. Equipment checked for a pulse, while a needle pricked his finger to extract a sample of blood. Finally, after releasing this arm, the panel revealed a microphone. It was quite obvious what it wanted.

The executive smirked and spoke.

"Spirito de Fuoco."

The panel revealed an alphanumeric keyboard, and his fingers danced over it, as though conducting an opera in text. The tungsten door slid open and the executive stepped inside. What awaited was a pleasant and familiar sight. A sizable workshop, neatly organised. Shelves of books on one side, next to a desktop computer. A fully mounted gun-rack on another side. Artifacts on display and under various stages of testing. All monitored by several little familiars.

At the center of the setup lay a summoning circle. Just outside it, a woman in black, holding at gunpoint a man who was strapped to the centre of the circle. He wasn't going anywhere. The executive smirked. "Don Riccardo, of the Torpolinni Clan. Welcome to my workshop. What do you think?"

"Charming, Gregorio. Charming." No, the man was not in the mood for talk. [blue]"What are you planning now?"[/blue]

"Surely, a magus of your stature should know." He raised his hands in a shrug. "It's no secret that the Grail War will be starting soon, and I thought I needed... an extra kick." Don Gregorio placed a rock, wrapped up in cloth, next to the bound man, and removed its coverings. Certainly, this was no ordinary rock, but one taken from the furthest East, with a special curse that haunts it. "With a history like yours, this should be more than enough to boost my chances of winning."

The captive's eyes narrowed as the Don glanced at his watch. "It's time."

Without a word, the woman pulled the trigger, placing a bullet in between Don Riccardo's eyes. The blood spilled onto the circle.

0000 Hours, Day -2.

Two days before the beginning of the War. Two days before the beginning of school. An ideal time to get started... was to get started early. It was no coincidence that his family was called Mezzanotte. The ideal time, when their prana was at its apex, was the stroke of midnight. Even as the gruesome red slowly trickled out, so did the executive trigger his circuits. A familiar pain coursed through his body, a burning energy that was typical of a magus. Every single time you used this unnatural power, it would burn you.

But that was fine. He was used to it. The flow of power was now decided. It ran into the circle. The executive spread his arms wide, and began the incantation. "Ye first! O silver, O iron! O Archduke of the contract!"

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZYcApRm318

Just a moment... just a moment...

"Let the descending winds be as a wall!" He pictured it, the cursed rock, in all its flavour. No potato chip could argue with that. "Let the gates in all directions be shut, rising above the crown, and let the three-forked roads to the Kingdom revolve!" His anticipation was unlike any he had experienced before. The Don fought the urge to break out into maniacal laughter. This was a superior card. It was by no means the most powerful one, but it wasn't all about power. No, he preferred to fight with intelligence, with a mix of some strength.

The blood continued to trickle, filling out the grooves carved into the floor. There was more than enough, and it was all that he needed. The woman stepped back from the circle, watching it intently with steely eyes.

"Shut... shut..." A euphoric smile found its way to his face, eyes shut, as he waved a hand, much like the conductor of an opera. For a brief moment, he might have been mistaken for a child having blissful dreams of heaven. "Shut... shut... Shut! Five perfections for each repetition! And now let the sigils be annihilated in my stead!"

At that moment, his eyes shot wide open. At that crucial moment, he saw a full view of his work so far. All of the preparations, all of the hard work... "SET!" Prana surged through his circuits, all thrown into the fire, fuel to prepare a sumptuous feast of victory. This was the starting point. This was where the game would go up to the next level. The blood had now fully filled the circle, and this, this circle, began to glow. Its appearance was subtly, brooding, lingering. But it was there.

The magus stretched out a hand to the array he had made. "Let thy body rest under my dominion. Let my fate rest in thy blade! If thou submittest to the call of the Holy Grail, and if thou wilt obey this mind... this reason... then thou shalt respond!" If it was there, if it was going all out, years of preparation, if it had to come to pass, the culmination of all that effort, to be summed up in a single moment, that moment neared.

"I make my oath here! I am the person who is to become the virtue of all Heaven!" A hand rose up and pointed directly above. Now, the room had begun to shake. "I am the person who is covered with the evil of all Hades!" The circle glowed brighter, illuminating the room as if with the glory of the chorus of a thousand angels. "Thou seven heavens, clad in a trinity of words, come past thy restraining rings and be thou the hands that protect the balance!"

This was it. The single, defining moment. Even as the prana burned, even as the light enveloped all, so too did he see the clear visage. All went silent. Perhaps his senses had been overtaken by a grand delusion. Perhaps, the glory of a thousand angels was truly here, their chorus of lamentation ringing in his ear. Or perhaps, he had died, and was about to see the true nature of origin. It was only bright. But whatever it may have truly been, he didn't care. Because he knew, from that very moment, he knew... Victory was at hand.

[Tamamo no Mae]

The light intensified beyond the levels of the ordinary and began to dance with the shadows, malformed tails sprung forth the circle and tried to swallow the bright light that were a symposium of warmth and gentleness - maybe a rival for the sun itself. The shadow creature was pure malice and hatred given a physical form. The shadow shaped like a fox tried to break out of the bounds of the spell created circle. A beast worth 1000s wishing to consume everything, a perfect monstrosity ready to claim its summoner as its first victim.

Yet, a raise of the claw was all the beast could muster before being torn apart from within. The light had stayed victorious and absorbed the shadows. The eery light-show only lasted for a couple of seconds, but felt like an eternity - at least for the woman who had struggled to appear in proper form before her master. Dressed in the finest clothes worth of being worn by Members of the Japanese Imperial Court. A fresh fragrance streamed through the air and replaced the horror that had previously tried to come forth, while the light was finally lessening and the massive surge of mana began to adjust to normality.

"Hmmm," was the first response to her newfound existence as a servant in this Grail War and began to scan the surroundings. Her eyes appeared gentle and cold at the same time. An obscure mix of conflict and knowledge. Servants were naturally fed with information about the upcoming conflict and about servants, but it was more. Nobody could deny the wisdom she had shown in her previous life, and she felt that many of her children were participating.

The young appearing servant had been lowered from divinity in her past life, brought down to Earth and had lived a normal life as but a shadow of herself. And now as a servant, she felt that her power had taken yet another dive. Nonetheless, she was not willing to go under as before.

-twitch- The golden eyes, a clear sign of power, narrowed as she was overcome by anger, feeling disgust and hatred for her betrayers. But the feelings did not last long. She had stayed for countless years as a stone that killed people and this as the so called goddess of the sun. How could she have allowed to turn into a monster of death? It was natural to be struck with self disgust at the same time and overcome by sadness for she would certainly have to strike people down in this conflict. A single little tear rolled down her cheek. What was she really willing to do in this grail war and what should she do with this second chance? Simply Killing, trying to get her revenge or eventually reclaiming the heavens?

The decision was made in the blink of an eye. It was none of the above. After giving up the 'throne' all she had cared for mankind to improve. It was limited to Japan before, but her interest in mankind all encompassing. Her wish was simple, so simple and laughable that it could not really come from a terrifying beast.

"I wish you a wonderful night." Her words were spoken with a more amused tone than her previous grimace of pain and bitterness suggested, but she bowed in traditional form. "You must be my master." Her eyes focused on Luciano before a smile began to grow on her face. And a tail... A tail!? Yes- not just one of those hobby cosplaying items, but the lady with Imperial look soon began to grow a tail and first one and then a second long ear, shaped like that of a fox, popped up from her head. It was a slightly embarrassing fact, but she was something one may call a foxgirl. A blush reflected the little 'oops' moment, before she glossed it over with a giggle.

"Oopsie. Now they just popped out on their own. I can't really hide anything from you, can I? Now then." The ears and tail were companied with a smiling almost childish expression, but did not void her grace. Her posture was still very ladylike until she decided to break the ice with a rather unorthodox salutation. The woman with pink hair and golden eyes had decided to go at it with speed. She had waited long enough for her happiness.

"I am Caster. I am most pleased to make your acquaintance dear master. When will the marriage be held? Western, Asian, it does not matter. I am ready whenever you are~ <3"

[Luciano Mezzanotte]

The woman examined her liege's new Servant. She was mostly human, but maintained some features of the animal. The ears, the tail... and the golden eyes, of the fox. The fox woman was adorned in regal blue garbs that were very likely to be the kind that had once been showcased in the Imperial court itself. She nodded to herself. There was no doubt about it. Her liege had chosen wisely. That was only natural.

The Don himself, however, was not so much stunned by the appearance. No, he had expected something like this of the legendary fox spirit. A nature spirit of the highest calibre, not different from the faeries of the west. She was not a True Ancestor, who took power from the planet itself. She was the goddess of the sun, who came down to Earth and suffered a tragic betrayal. It would be very understandable to desire revenge.

Luciano would grant that, if she wished. He had no wishes of his own. No, he played this war for its entertainment value, only for the sake of victory. That was all it was to him. Masters, Servants, a prize of ultimate power? Meaningless. To him, the whole point was a lot simpler: it was a game and it had to be won. And those partners who would fight with him, would receive their due reward in the end for their loyal services.

He had expected a spirit hungry for justice. Perhaps that which was a shade in the circle just moments ago was a manifestation of that. Deep down inside, the nine-tailed fox spirit might have wanted that. If that was what she would ask of him, then so be it. He had expected her to manifest as a stunningly beautiful maiden, perhaps with some vulpine features. That was true. Given her nature as the motherly sun goddess, it was not surprise either, that she would shed a tear in such a way. What information the Grail had planted in her mind would bring any loving benevolence to tears. He had expected her to now be familiar with Italian, which she indeed spoke with native fluency.

What he did not expect, was for her to ask for his hand. This was not as planned. He took a step back in surprise at the declaration as he tried to regain his composure. "Th... that's right. I am your Master." His circuits throbbed for a moment, as the connection took form. It would only be temporary, however. The Substitute would arrive just in time for the War to start. And then, his mask would be complete.

Without a connection to trace, and with his command spells meticulously concealed, there would be no way to tell that he was a Master. Luciano adjusted his tie. To try it out, he would start by playing dumb, and confirming whether or not he had just misheard the Servant. "I'm afraid I'm not sure when the marriage will be. I'm not really sure who's going to get married, either. Could you possibly mean... us?"

[Tamamo no Mae]

Hmmm~~~

There it was again. The familiar thinking 'phrase', when Caster gave up on the magic circle and began to float to her master. Somehow he seemed confused, but he was definitely one of the brighter candidates under the sun. Servants liked to keep the identity a secret, very often even to their own masters, but he already knew who and what he had summoned. He knew well about her and now also what she wanted.

Was he playing for time? How cute. Indeed, his light was quite appealing. Somehow the connection alone was enough to say that he was of the ambitious kind. He was attractive, but the pink haired servant did not care as much for the physical shape as for the soul inside.

"I like beautiful souls~."

And she meant the facettes of it. A well drawn mosaic could instill more awe on the viewer than a shiny little stone and Amaterasu herself was more than shiny enough for that matter. His soul was certainly not perfect and his black spots were clearly visible for her. It was a naturally given ability of this remnant of a goddess. Judging people was her forte and this young man was her master no less. Their connection allowed a little more insight than usually, but she decided to not dig too deep.

It would only ruin the surprise. She desired to shed it off slowly during their honeymoon and not right off at the beginning. Even if she wished to hurry, there were some things that could not be done in a haste and she decided to live with her curiosity for a bit longer.

"Of course I meant us. We are master and servant. Master and loyal housewife, husband and wife or don't you like me?

The question was partly teasing, partly curious and only the final part 'don't you like me' - showed a slight hint of worry and sadness. Could it really be that she was unattractive to him? The tail and ears were certainly a hindrance to go through as a human being in human society, but with some training and a good supply staying in human shape was really the least of a problem for the shape shifting fox.

Her greatest worry was to be casted aside again. Like..... no. It was not the time to get sentimental and ruin her image any further in front of him. What kind of woman did he like? The cute one or was it eventually the brisk and violent type? She could be either. It was no problem to adapt accordingly, and this was also the cue. Her golden eyes locked on the woman. How did she dare to intrude on the first meeting between HER and darling!?

A dark, jealous smile appeared on her otherwise so friendly face. One may still call it a smile, but the eyes betrayed her attempt of faking her way out. She was in all honesty more than just a tad angry. Violence! A nice impetus and it would have been a justified notion, but Caster was not a person of violence. Where others would resourt to this barbaric action and might tear her apart, grind her flesh from her bones, she considered a more suitable shape for this ...this woman. What about a ferret? They were cute and in all honesty did not really seem to be interested in male humans.

"And....? Who is this woman?" The threatening undertone in her voice was certainly more than just a vivid imagination.

[Luciano Mezzanotte]

"I like beautiful souls~."

Yes. He was transparent to her, much like an open book. She was a goddess, and held the power to see the blemishes that littered the soul. Much like the ramblings of the Church, about how God could see what was hidden in the hearts of men. Now, Luciano felt that he was under such a divine spotlight. Now he knew what it felt like to be in the hot seat.

But his rational mind would not allow this to defeat him. No, it wasn't a foe to be conquered. It would only be another thing that made this game interesting. There was no doubt that lying to his Servant was pointless. No, for this one person, he would have to be completely frank. This was, more difficult than it sounded. He had grown accustomed to a life of layered lies. Even that magus he'd sacrificed hadn't realised, in the darkness, that it was not Don Gregorio, but his younger brother Luciano, who was standing not all that far from him.

So close, yet so far. That was the only difference between the veil of Gregorio, and the truth behind Luciano. Mere feet. But now, he had to bare himself completely. Well, surely, it was possible to get along with that. There was nothing that people could not adapt to if they tried with all their effort. Luciano renewed his efforts to remain calm as his suspicion was confirmed.

"Of course I meant us. We are master and servant. Master and loyal housewife, husband and wife or don't you like me?"

Caster, this Servant... wanted to marry her Master. There seemed to be something potentially wrong with that. Of course if you looked past the obvious cons, it wouldn't be quite a marriage indeed. Who else would be able to boast such a feat? Yet, a Servant was an incorporeal being, a heroic spirit planted in a body of ether, and fuelled by the Grail. It would be tricky keeping her around.

Luciano's quick mind moved on, tracing back to her history, which might give a clue as to the motivation behind such a desire. Was she playing around? Or did she just want some genuine affection? In that case, in order to win the game, he would have to develop this at some point. You could not trust someone who you knew truly didn't love you.

The magus carefully examined her. Beauty as such as the legends said. It was no wonder that she was admitted to the imperial court. However by nurture, Luciano cared not about outward appearances. The only thing that mattered to him in a person was their usefulness. Excepting Enrica, at least. There was just something he could not quite understand, why he had gone through all these hardships, and wanted only to keep her safe.

He had plotted the downfall of his own elder brother. Then why did he view his sister in such a light? Well, that was another issue for another day. At this time, however, one had to put the pieces together. First, in order to maintain her trust, he had to be completely honest. That was going to be a challenge, but not something he couldn't handle with enough practice. Second, he had to appease the Servant's loss and comfort her. Why? Again, to ensure proper trust and an effective team operation.

She would get her wish. He would grant it for her upon his victory. This was only fair. It was the only thing he would be able to give her, aside from the prana. Luciano preferred satisfied partners to grumbling ones, after all. The latter never worked out.

"You're as beautiful as the legends say. But I'll have to be honest with you, Caster. I don't measure my liking of people by how they look. Beauty is a garnish to what can be found here." He tapped on his own heart. "The things I value are character, and talent." Ever so slightly, a smile took form, the charming kind of little thing that would make those brainless rich snobby girls at school swoon over him.

"And from what I know of your talents, and can see of your character, I like you a lot." Yes, she was a kind, rational soul who would only resort to violence if unavoidable. She was the goddess of the sun, the mother of the Japanese people, and thus the source of all its heroes and legends. That was character. That was talent. From that standpoint alone, he knew, he knew that he had chosen a superior Servant.

Years of painstaking research, poring through the vastness of the internet, and using it to see general overviews, then purchase specific references... All to find the perfect Servant. There were many candidates, but amongst the offerings of the cadet families, and what his resources made available to him, this one choice came out on top. There would be challenges along the way, no doubt, but what fun was a game with no challenge?

Just as he thought that, the first challenge made itself known. Her focus shifted to the woman on the side, her golden eyes very telling... The goddess of the sun was a jealous goddess, especially with regards to her new Master. So be it. He would have to deal with that side, as well. The woman remained stoic and unmoving, as though she was prepared to face the end. Indeed, that was the value of this maid.

Evgeniya had her final loyalties.

"She is my assistant, a loyal aide of the family, who protects my sister and myself." A playful smirk. "No need to get dangerous now, Caster." It was quite clear that she became easier to read in this particular state. Well, that was some interesting and potentially useful information, too. "I don't have any romantic interest in her, if that's what you're thinking."

[Tamamo no Mae]

Caster's main interest was never this woman, but she was a risk. She could be potentially dangerous and even if not Amaterasu's own little disappointment about being disturbed had made a small dent into her mood, the one called a maid would be a risk for his secret.

A magus should not trust normal people. It was sad and she disliked the sheer idea of this, but it was better than losing one's life and Luciano had now become her master, her husband, her lover, for she would not just let him get away after his promise and so did not want to lose him.

Her golden, friendly gaze wandered to Luciano, while she absorbed every little word with her big ears and ready to lick every single bit of information from his lips, like a hungry kitty. She only hoped that he would not offer her some food that she could not digest. Fortunately for her, his words were friendly. Although she could not oversee his intent in it, she played along. A seriously well performed move.

"Hihihihihi," she giggled and could not hide her embarrassment. Blushing and pressing her eyes close shut, she wiggled slightly, like a teenager in love - a very childish teenager. This was a nice compliment. He liked her! He really liked her! Was this already the end of a beautiful Shoujo Manga or eventually the beginning?

Those words were for certain the most positive thing she had heard in hundreds of years, and her emotional reaction understandable. Yet, even by trying to hide it behind a mask, her tail had already begun to dance by itself. It shared the fox girl's opinion about the compliment.

"That's really nice," she said and marked the end of her happy dance. And this comment was not only reserved for Luciano but also the little support maid there. Her finger playfully moved in front of the Miss, who had not given her name yet.

"A sister, hnn~~~" A little sister was nice, she was already willing to accept the little one, AFTER being welcomed as a part of the family, of course. She only felt a bit heavy at heart while he mentioned this particular word. Was it jealousy? He certainly seemed to light up a bit or the bright parts of his soul lit even brighter while mentioning her. But then again, family was a wonderful thing.

"She protects the both of you. Hmmm. But you don't need a maid anymore, master. You now have me. I could also cosplay a maid for you." She floated around the woman and spread a series of 9 tails out. They were a symbol of her power when needed, but now they were just a little shape shifting trick, they had no power, besides their sheer 'destructive' fluffiness. All tails moved over maid-chan's skin and began to tickle her. A little reaction at least. You are too boring, missy!

While performing her tickle massage on her play-maid, the prankster goddess, called upon Luciano's name and decided to finalize their agreement. "Luciano, my master. There is no need for fear. You don't need to worry, because I might be a servant. That can be changed easily. Sooooooo, my dear hubby~~~ How about tomorrow 14:00?"

He had his faults, but she was not willing to let him fall into the abyss of darkness and despair. She was clear that he was walking on the path to his own destruction, perhaps readily so, even if just subconsciously. She had to save him.

[Luciano Mezzanotte]

[red]"Ng.... ngahh...!"[/red] the little squeal would have gotten some serious moe moe points, had this been some sort of Japanese cosplaying pageant. But the little Russian maid had had her share of acting in that particular manner, as was only proper as the protector of her masters. Secrecy at its finest. Even as the nine tails 'assaulted' her, she already began to wonder if this playfulness would eventually be her undoing. But fortunately, it was the childish behaviour and not the wrathful eyes that had performed this 'attack'.

Or was it?

She now had a difficulty to tell, but this was indeed the nine tailed fox spirit, the very Servant her liege had chosen. Yes, she was very different from what they had expected, but if she did have that power, then she was now a key player on this team. Enya spent over a decade performing small unit tactics under GRU. She knew better than to refuse working with a person just because of their personality.

She would be prepared for a possible betrayal, as the Servant was clearly fixated on the Master. But she would not be caught blind-sided again like what happened when backstabbing Sergei "sold" her services to this family. There were no regrets, sure, but a betrayal was a betrayal. She served this family with a loyalty that she did her former employer.

"That's part of what she does." How was one exactly to explain the importance of the piece that seemed obsolete to the new arrival? It was not sentiment. "Evgeniya here also serves as a magus killer, in modern terminology. Like all the other members of this team, like you, she has been chosen for select talents and characteristics that I trust. Our cooperation, our pooling of our talents will be the key to victory."

The woman in black took her bow to accompany her polite speech. [red]"It will be an honour to work with you on this endeavour."[/red]

Luciano smiled and took her hand. "Of course, that doesn't mean that I don't have room for another maid, if you wish to cosplay one for me." Of all the things the Grail could have planted into her consciousness, why cosplay? Well, he did not question the whims of the Grail, nor did he care to dislike them. There were too many things to dislike in this world to bother yourself with the absurdities of a lucky cup. But perhaps it made sense in context, as his new... fiancee... was a shapeshifter. And to cosplay, was of course, in a way, a class of shapeshifting.

On the bright side, who would not wish to be married to a goddess? The stories of such things happening were many, of course, and each would have an important lesson, that the man would have to know how to cherish his divine spouse. He had read enough to know that acting foolish would meet with disaster. And he was too much of a gentleman to let such foolishness happen to such an otherworldly wife. "Tomorrow at 1400 it is."

She said that she was fine with either kind of wedding. Then that would be easy enough. Of course, it would be dangerous to go out accompanied with a Servant now. Casters had the best ability whenever it came to detecting other Servants, but with there being more than one Caster present now, it only meant that he could not afford to be too careful. "The War might not have started yet, but it is important that we remain undetected. As you probably know, you are not the only Caster present in this city. I will need to know your capabilities in concealing yourself and detecting other Servants, that I can more effectively plan our next moves."

He paused to think. "And of course, your Noble Phantasm is always a key element in case we'll need it." And now, his mind began to work, tracing all the plausible routes to either of the two churches, whether the small one in one section of the city, or the cathedral that the leader of the Executors made his new seat in the downtown area. Hopefully, she would understand the need of a low profile. It would only be four of them. Himself, Caster, a witness, and the priest, of course.

He would promise a grander reception when it was safe. That was sure. But now, Luciano began to wonder specifically, if her true wish was to be married and start a family? That would be... hilarious. It would mean having to end his cover relationship with Ilaria, not that he actually had feelings for her, of course. He could always say they could still be friends. He could even play the matchmaker and find someone else for her to be smitten with, though that could be difficult without using some form of magic or another.

Which would be bad not because he would have difficulty casting it, but because it could potentially incriminate him as a magus, thus destroying the clever cover he had set up, that Don Gregorio was the family's heir, and that he was just some clueless boy. Well, that was really a matter for later. He truly tended to overthink things. That was his nature. The Don tapped on his temple as if to get himself out of the specific train of thought, and pulled up one of the chairs to the coffee table. "Perhaps you would like to sit down, while we talked?"

[Tamamo no Mae]

LOVELY!!!! It was odd, as a goddess she never had much interest in pranks, quite on the opposite, they were more of a problem for her and she even once almost had caused a major problem on earth because of it.

As a human, she had also decided to stay true to her origins and remain a proper lady and guide. Only after they had decided to cast her aside and hunt her down, Tamamo no Mae had begun to act like a fox and trick them to avoid conflict. It had not been as effective and blood was shed..... but those feelings of wishing to tease others, it remained.

Especially those boring soldier types needed to wake up sometime. A childish smile crossed over Caster's face, willingly accepting that some might not take her fully serious, but was soon lead away by her master.

Her form returned to the basic form with ears and one tail, she accepted his guidance and blushed a bit embarrassed after finally hearing her request accepted. "No need, except you really wish for it." She would be his bride and following those rules, very loyal and devoted.

She would win this war and get the grail and all without killing! Well.. that was maybe a bit naive. The heartbeat in this artificial shell of hers slowed down, after the initial burst with energy and happiness.

The mood in the room became more heavy as the topic began to revolve around the actual war and she could not just play it down with a joke. People would die in this war and even though she would try to stay outside of battle and not slaying them herself, she was still willingly allowing those children to harm each other.

She sat down and thought for a moment, her ears like a cat's moving for the best reception. "So we will work together. I hope you will get over your worries Evgeniya-san." If she was really a part of this family, then she would also receive her protection. Caster was more of a guide, a supporter and protector, rather than a great heroine. Some may even wonder what someone like her would do in a grail war. But she was nonetheless a strong opponent.

The cards had yet to be played and the ex goddess certainly lacked a bit in this card reading, only able to read souls relatively well, but sometimes people had to made cards themselves in order to win and that was where the Trickster's real strength was. Knowledge of the city and using the environment, nature and also their relations against them, making them fight each other to only clean up the remains, that was a Caster's style and she was not different.

"My Noble Phantasm, hmmm. I would prefer to not use it. I might end up destroying the city." A mild smile crossed her face as she tried to ignore that part of her powers. She did not joke. Being much weaker than before did not change that her original powers were enough to destroy the earth or at least big parts of it. Although she had not enough to consume everything in light, it would still lead to catastrophic results, if she were to use it at full power.

And she would not... there was another. Caster had done well in remembering his name, Gilgamesh. Even he, only his arrogance overshadowing his power, knew well to not use his ultimate weapon at full power, someone like her would find it easy to do and hoped that nothing would happen to ever really anger the otherwise so playfully fox girl.

"The number of this war, it is big, sources of prana are everywhere. The city is filled with prana and darkness. I can feel them all around, even without concentrating much. I am sure that there are also other Casters like me. Unfortunately making them clearly out will be more difficult without revealing myself and this house alone is already for its sheer presence alone a nice target for any type of Caster. It is useful."

Her eyes locked on her master, when she turned a bit serious. "I can detect servants very well. No Assassin will skip past me, but they still may rudely interrupt our wedding night. We might need to keep it short!" This was awful, serious business! The war could really ruin everything, even the holy ceremony!

"U-umm.. dear husband.. how many children do you actually want?" She began to nervously fiddle with her fingers and stared down at the table. Tama-chan had some time before this became a problem, because she was still a servant. Her priorities just lay in other areas of planning.

[Luciano Mezzanotte]

The woman would, in the meantime, wonder how the Servant would go about. Would she always be with her Master? But that would be very detrimental to his plan of keeping his identity secret. Then in that case, what exactly was he planning? She responded to the Servant another respectful curtsy. The mother goddess of the Japanese people. She had descended, sure, but she was no less worthy of praise. This was not someone anybody had the esteemed honour of working with, in a very long time.

It was just, when the goddess you worked with had a penchant for teasing you in such ways, it would be difficult to not have eventually some kind of conflict. Especially when you were like Enya, who was most of the time, serious. But flexibility was the key. Though she seemed to have a default attitude setting of "Bubbly and light", she no doubt had the ability to decimate foes with divine power. That was not something to be taken lightly.

Now for just the slightest moment, Luciano imagined what she would look like in a maid uniform. The black and white sleeves, the white apron and headdress... She would certainly carry that particular appeal, especially the kind when exaggerating the French Maid fashion style. This was a beauty that was quite literally divine. While the hormones would certainly be raging at such a thing, he was not raised for self-control for nothing. He would most especially need it now, that he was going to lower his gates of security for the first time.

One must never forget that he should not be carried away by emotion when fighting a war. But she kept on that particular issue. Acting like he was interested was one thing, making a true and serious commitment was another whole can of worms to be opened. It would not be personal, not until the end of the war. "I honestly have enough maids as it is. Besides, my bride deserves to be a lady of the house."

At a snap of her master's fingers, the maid brought up chairs for the both of them. Luciano guided Caster into her seat, before taking his own. "You understand, of course, that we can't reveal your existence to anybody outside the inner circle until we win the war and thus secure your freedom to openly roam. Of course, spending less prana while in spirit form is also a perk we can't ignore."

Luciano was no mind-reader, but mind-reading was split into literal mind-reading, and mind-reading based on accurate reading of verbal and non-verbal cues, or 'body language', as some called it. The latter was not a hundred percent accurate, as nothing could beat peering into a person's head. But with enough practice, this science could greatly boost one's accuracy, while taking culture and other difficult factors into account.

With the way she moved, and her tone as she explained how she would prefer not to use her Noble Phantasm, it really only meant that she was not joking about her implications of its destructive power. But of course. Nuclear warheads would pale in comparison to the wrath of a sun goddess. It was an ultimate trump card that would have to be reserved for only the direst of situations, and most likely needed to be fuelled by copious amounts of prana.

He listened quietly as she went on to explain that, as expected, there were many more Servants than originally anticipated, along with some presents that the Grail had started to spit out over the past weeks. As if in preparation for the war and to make itself manifest. Yes, those would be a hazard all the time, and it would be especially difficult to go around operating at night. But he was prepared for that, if need be.

Caster's reassurance that her superior detection abilities would protect him from any Assassin was once again a hallmark of her talent at reading and spotting souls. "Yes, the building here, and my mansion, are both prime targets, as they have been built on key leylines. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they came for us. What I propose, then, would be to operate out of decoy bases set upon some other leylines in the city. I've made preparations and have secured them over the course of the past five years."

Five decoy sites placed in randomised positions along the leylines. No patterns that would connect them to the office building or the mansion. They might as well be independent sites. One in each major district. Nothing fancy, just small properties bought by various independent people whom Luciano's father had paid buckets to do the work for him. The puppet owners were completely unrelated to each other, and to the family. The Grail Unit had already begun preparations to operate from within them.

"By combining our expertise, we should be able to throw their attention away from here and the mansion, and instead bring it over to these five sites." That was going to be tricky, but with a determined mind and the right ability, it would be possible.

There was a military maxim, which he took to heart. Even the perfect plan was only perfect until the beginning of the battle. If there was one thing he never expected, it was his Servant's proposal. In fact, it was the one thing that kept on surprising him. Of course at this point, it really wasn't that shocking anymore. It only took common sense to tell where the discussion about marriage was headed. "Three is a good number." His calm, collected side had resumed control. "We were three siblings."

Granted, his brother died, but that didn't really mean anything to him, aside from being a man who had fully served his purpose. Was there love? There was only jealousy. Hatred. And finally, pity. Or some semblance of it, if Luciano could even feel such a thing. "I wouldn't mind that."

[Tamamo no Mae]

The worries of the killer maid continued. That girl was really awfully serious. Caster reminisced about the not so good old days and could understand some of the teasing she had to go through. She was just like that one and now she had a tail and animal ears... Ooooooookay, something went wrong there. She certainly had always been closer to a Divine Spirit than a Heroic One and humans just preferred humans, or not?

That was also the reason why she had been so awfully worried about getting rejected and becoming filled with desires for wrath. She was not evil in the sense that she would come for her mean husband and cut his heart out, unlike some other examples of Casters. Why was it that Casters had such a bad reputation anyway? Suuure, somehow people were all interested in this Saber, powerful class, most useful, versatile, almost immune to magic. Caster were bad. Yes, she would also have preferred to be a Saber, but can't be helped... erm, why was she complaining again?

Her master had accepted her, AS caster, AS a spiritual being, AS his wife. Wow.... she could curl up and begin to giggle like a school girl in love, but this seemed a bit out of place. They were going on about some serious business, some serious... and boring business. THIS WAS SO BORING!!! But her ears perked up at his notice of 3 children. It would not be her first, but this time it would be a bit different. Three, it sounded like a nice number. There was this proverb about.. umm.. proverb, proverb. Anyway, 3 was nice.

She smiled brightly, ignoring that it would probably not be as wonderful as she just imagined. Leylines and Spiritual Form were not really interesting and she did not like the hidden meaning in those words. There was also a little flaw to that logic.

"My husband, you forgot that prana is not too much of an issue, not everything of my movements really will cost you your delicious energy. I can just use the leylines~~"

She could stay in form 24 hours a day!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA! The only question was what she would do with her overabundance on energy, and this was not only referring to her prana, but her urges to play a prank on someone. Something big, monumental. Everything while working out from an underground base. Her eyes narrowed as she repeated his words in her head.

"So we will leave the best leyline that an opponent could steal it to settle down on leylines that are less powerful and are almost as prone to detection as this one? All of them will be interesting..."

That was one of the reasons, but she also did not really wish to leave the house. The place that would become her new home with her hubby.

"Who will protect the other places, and especially this one when we are not around?"

[Luciano Mezzanotte]

"I don't mean to insult your efficiency for prana preservation," had Luciano ben wearing glasses, this would have been the opportune time to adjust them so that the light of the lamps would reflect ominously off them. Of course, the last thing he wanted to do was appear untrustworthy. After all, if his eyes were hidden behind the glare reflecting off glasses, then that would only trigger some hidden literary meaning about how he had something to hide. From his Servant? There was nothing he could hide. "But one of the strategies I have decided on was to hide my identity as a Master."

"I've made arrangements. We will have a few Masters and Servants working for us, both directly and indirectly." On the assumption that something went wrong with those, he also had plans on how to approach the situations. But in the case that they fell apart in a truly unexpected way, well... This only reflected the reality of war. That was why the best approach was always to expect the unexpected, to brace for the worst and prepare for it. Sure, his definition of 'worst' might not be as bad as how bad things could possibly get, but it was better to be half ready than completely off-guard. "They will be operating out of the bases. We can't completely trust them, of course, no matter how apparently trustworthy they are. That's why all their assigned posts are heavily bugged."

He who lived a lie knew the true nature of the lie as a dangerous, two-faced weapon. On one hand, if used properly, it would be easy to stab the unsuspecting enemy in the back. On the other hand, if he let his guard down, well-used lies could be used equally well against him. It was second nature for him to be sceptical of what others said, no matter how trustworthy they truly were. This was a survival mechanism, built to protect against the diabolical weapon that was the lie. An even greater fear of his at the moment, however, was how he might eventually let his guard down, with this emotional investment that he was making.

He decided then to make voice recordings telling himself to get back on track, in the event that he did lose his guard. Not that he was afraid that his Servant would lie to him. No, though the possibility existed, this would only be in extreme cases. What he feared was that he might lower his guard because of practising to be more open and honest to somebody. To the rest of the world, that was an unacceptable mistake. Only his inner circle would know everything. And his inner circle would be the ones he would keep his closest eye on.

"Everybody else believes that it is my older Brother who is the heir and head of the family. Against his image, I am but an ordinary high school student, deprived of the family's greatest responsibility and doomed to a life in his shadow." He sighed, looking straight into his Servant's eyes. "I'm pretty sure that you can see through me right now, that my life is at the centre of a labyrinth of lies. Not even my sister knows the truth. But the very truth... is that my whole life revolves around winning this War. The amount of preparation my father has made, and the amount of arrangements I have organised... it's proof of this nearly obsessive focus."

The Don stood up and stepped forth, perhaps out of some sudden urge, or perhaps as part of a calculated move. Or maybe, he'd just seen one too many romantic movies for some reason or another, and believed that this was what real people did to their lovers. Luciano's right hand clasped around her smaller hands, holding them up to his chest, while his left arm wrapped around her, bringing them into a deep embrace. "We... we might not be able to be together all of the time, but I can promise you that I will do all I can to make that so... We must be strong. We have to look forward to the future, to our victory and how we would be able to be with each other forever, after this... little problem."

If this would be his fate, then he had earned it. It might not have been as planned. His original plan certainly had no references to marrying a heroic spirit. But it was a well-known military maxim that the best laid plans fell apart once the battle started. That was why it was divided into strategy and tactics. Strategy was for the most part, grander, having a focus on a set of end goals, and a general approach to them. Tactics were the step by step process, and by the small scale of their nature, had to be adjustable for the sake of accomplishing the goals laid down by strategy.

He whispered gently into her ear. "I know a great place where we can celebrate our victory. I'll take you there after the War." Was a banquet not a fitting reward for a job well done? "After that... we can fly back to your homeland for our honeymoon." Already, his nature began to work itself, and plans began to lay themselves out in his mind as he spoke. The madness would truly begin soon.

[Tamamo no Mae]

Listening, listening.... VEXING!!!

It was difficult to just listen to him without venting the up building anger on something or someone. She was summoned to be given away as a free be. Hiding the identity as a master? There was no other way to do it other than doing the unfathomable!

Even the promise seemed fake. Was it just a contract for him? Only a promise out of necessity? Could he pity her!? He pitied her!!!!! Not even their honeymoon or his well meant gesture could help her over this tragic knowledge. A smile formed on her face, but it was not a happy smile.

"Hoooooo.... master. So you will assign some reeeliable pseudo magus for me that he can put me on the leash like some pet. Oh yes, I know humans want to be together with each other. Who wants to be together with some animal thing? That's so mean, after the good begin."

A pout formed on her face, while a feeling built up in her chest. One like the sun was going down to never appear ever again. It would really require more than a little comedy show to bring that bright light back on the surface. This stand in master would be better off teaming up with someone else, before tragedy would befall him.

"I think a little misery could befall you master. Hmph, like turning into a bug or something... no, that would be disgusting. Hmmm, yeah, eating a bit of a bad pizza and getting teeerrible tummy aches from them to sit the entire night on the sanitary room would be a suitable fate. And this evil stand in master. He can turn into a mouse for all I care. Yes, a mouse..."

The defiance was clearly hearable in her sulky voice. "And then I will put him on a leash! My little pet.... or maybe a ferret." She liked them. Perhaps keeping a little army of ninja ferrets would be a funny idea, if the idea would work, at least. Nature was not exactly alive in this city of asphalt and steel.

Science and modern life were pushing life out of the planet, driving magic away, it was sad to watch mankind destroying so much. How many animals would she find anyway? Bugs.... they were certainly in countless numbers. Why did it have to be bugs?

Not that she would go on a bug hunt, or would say that they were pointless life forms, but they were just not cute. Her decision was to not keep any. Regardless, the first evil master who would not treat their servant nicely would get visited by spiders. An irrevocable divine decision, but without the blood and all this humbug. It hurt to cut ones finger for blood seals. Magic did not always need to be so cruel and self destructive.

Humans and their thirst for destruction. She sighed and wondered if she was really one of them.... Speaking in an unknown dialect, Caster teleported out of her master's grasp to reappear near the door. "........... Who ...will that one be....?" Her words were unclear and not well chosen, but it was still clear that there could be only one person in her mind. That alternative master who would try to order her around. Would it be that maid!?

[Luciano Mezzanotte]

The first round of difficulty. It was understandable that she would take it the wrong way. Would he negotiate? No, no. This was more than negotiation. This was a battle. A lovers' quarrel? The irony of calling it that.

Luciano stood up and looked her straight in the eye. He could say this with the utmost conviction, for he understood what she thought. He had studied it himself. "You will be on nobody's leash. That would be the most disgusting way to exist, an unthinkable fate."

He could explain the mechanics. But she would know them quite well. "I've made my preparations, and made them well. You will be on nobody's leash." Was it the tank? He had made sure to choose a superior specimen. Yes, it was true the supply was by no means equal to his. But she could have all this! All these fortified positions where she could safely siphon more prana from.

"The decoy will call no shots. He can't." The seals would remain with the true Master, and all he wouldn't dare waste them on something so trite. No, to waste command seals was a crime in any war. And if things got rough? A simple ritual. That was all it took. "I don't lie when I say you'll be free to do what you want. All he'll really be doing is stand nearby and look like your Master. The only claim he'll have, a worthless claim, at that, is that line of prana between the two of you. I can fix that too, if you really don't want it. My family has been studing this for centuries."

"But that's not what you really want. And that's not the real issue here, is it?" The Don sighed and took a step closer. "It's because of my cruelty. That I would bring you all the way here, just so I could hand you over to someone else, like a dog. It's because I'm so calculating and cowardly that I can't even show myself to my enemies. It's because I'm no different from the people you met before. Insignificant little maggots who only thought of themselves. Isn't that right?"

Another step.

"I'm undeserving of your love, because I don't love you back. I only pity you and think that this is some business transaction, while you take it as a scenario far more important than mere business."

In the corner, the woman tensed. What was he doing? This wasn't part of the plan. Well, not that she really knew what most of that plan was. Some things, he kept secret even from her.

This was impromptu. Attitude was one of the most unpredictable things to deal with. What was he doing? Being frank, as he'd decided earlier. He admitted that he didn't completely understand her. He did, however, speak what he believed to be the primary issue. Closer still. "I can't pretend to know what's going on in your mind. But that's what I'm guessing you to be thinking."

"And if so, in some regards, you aren't mistaken. I am a coward, who hides behind thugs and gunmen, behind masks and lies. But if there's one thing I can be proud of, it's that I fulfill my promises to those close to me."

They were three feet apart.

"I don't care who or what you are. A promise is a promise. I will never let you be on someone's leash. I don't deserve your love. But cheesy as it sounds, I wish to earn it." Luciano brought a hand up to his chest. "I give you my life, to keep, to hold, to do as you will. Any time you think I've betrayed you, then your judgement is most welcome."

It was a dangerous gamble. More likely than not, it would prove fatal in the end. He knew fully well that he was now standing at the gallows, with a noose around his neck. He knew that now, anybody could just come and kick out the stool from beneath his feet. He was anxious. And excited. It wouldn't matter if it ended right here. As Caesar said when he crossed the Rubicon, the die has been cast. "I now trust you with my life. All I ask, is that you trust me with yours."

[Tamamo no Mae]

Leash.. Tamamo's ears twitched after hearing the word and they sunk to her head as if she was trying to forcibly shut out all sounds, including the voice of her master. He had said it twice!! How was she supposed to believe him? Was there a need to do this? She could not think of any, stubbornly refusing to see the hint of logic that remained preserved.

After falling into traps repeatedly, she did not want to get hurt again. NEVER EVER AGAIN! A child like stubbornness fought with an equally childlike and strong curiosity, but the later won the upper hand. Caster was willing to keep listening, while remaining cautious about that so called master.

Judging from Luciano's words the master stand-in was male, removing the maid clearly out of the roster of candidates. Or 'he' had impressive skill in shapeshifting.... But her question remained unanswered, and she still was left in the darkness about the master. A much too depressing thought when one took her role as the sun goddess into account, but she was really not shining brightly at the moment. Her previously friendly and anticipating smile has hid itself away into a cave of despair.

She regretted having kept listening, she regretted to have been summoned. Her love had begun to dishonor himself and of course herself as well in the process. Did a normal person really say those things after receiving a love confession and arranging a marriage? Each of his words pierced her heart and she felt extremely cold and lonely. Her cheeks reddened worse than he could do by slapping her into the face and tears began to well up in her eyes.

Luciano Mezzanotte had betrayed her, all her expectations and wishes. What was the meaning of fighting this war when he despised her so much?

like a dog... So, she really was no more than some animal or beast to him.... Tamamo could not have been more shocked, if he had really hit her with something hard into her head, and the lady in her human form once held highly as one of the most beautiful females alive swallowed hard under the heart breaking onslaught. For a moment she had considered to have misunderstood his words, but it did not matter after the continuation.

I don't love you back...? I only pity you ...?[/i]

She bit her lips hard, fresh blood running down her small chin and mixing with the fluids from her eyes. Of course she could bleed like any other servant, even if she was just a despicable monster that did not deserve any love, but pity like a stupid little dog, who was given away to fulfill the master's desires to get business over appropriately. Tamamo was willing to call out for someone at her side to hand her a tissue, but there was nobody, just the aggressor who seemed to enjoy to torment a naive girl.

He had clearly no intention of treating her like a woman or a partner. She was no more than a tool for him, that he would use as he saw fit. The distrust grew stronger and stronger, only stronger was the pain Tamamo felt. Did he really not know what she was thinking, although her feelings could not be any clearer!? Weren't they supposed to have a strong bond because of the summoning? The fallen goddess, who had grown so fond of mortals became aware of her mistake.. and took a big step back to increase the distance between master and servant.

"....My love?" Why would he want to earn it when he did not need it? Did he only want to take? Caster rose her small tightened fist to her aching chest in hope to shield herself from his verbal attacks, but to no avail. It was already too late. He could not really say anything else to make this experience anymore painful.

It was very confusing and the final lines did not seem to match up with the beginning. They seemed empty... just like her heart and mind. She could not think anymore and was unwilling to listen to his cruel words anymore. He had really done everything in his ability to push her away, and maybe away into the next cage to serve as an attraction for business. He did not care who or what she was, after all!

"Like I would!" she responded to his final question and screamed out like a teenage girl after her father had forbidden her to meet her boyfriend anymore and ran. She ran as fast as her feet could carry her, out of the room and aiming for the darkness. She did not want to face him anymore, she wanted to be alone to think.... ending this war that had gotten completely meaningless....

"ƒ‹[ƒVƒB‚̂΂©‚΂©‚΂©‚΂©I"

The sound of her uncontrollable sobbing and wailing were the only comrades accompanying Tamamo no Mae out of the Mezzanotte fortress.

"How could he...," she continued to question herself over and over again.....

[Luciano Mezzanotte]

“…”

People gambled, and people lost. There was no question at this point that what he had said did not have the intended effect. What had just transpired was perhaps one of the more serious examples of times when the plan completely fell apart, forcing him to roll with the punches and adjust accordingly.

“Like I would!”

That was what she said, before disappearing. From the connection embedded into the command seal on his hand – a command seal that he hadn’t even cared to examine – she was no longer inside the building. It was a truly impressive feat, but one that you expected no less of from the Goddess of the Rising Sun. He had no time to muse about such power, though.

Theorising about how one could possibly bend space-time to achieve teleportation, yes, he had no time for that. Rather, what was more important was to review exactly what had happened.

“Sir, if I may have a word about this?” The woman in black had her usual stoical lack of expression, but he could sense an underlying tension.

“Hit me.”

The last thing Luciano Mezzanotte expected was a literal interpretation of his metaphorical acknowledgement of a request for permission. One moment, he was standing on his feet dumbstruck by the preceding walk-out. The next, he was on his back on the floor, several feet from where he had been standing earlier, with a horrible pain in his nose. Had it been a reinforced punch, he suspected it would have done a lot more damage, though.

He looked up from his second big daze tonight to see his aide retracting her arm from the punch she had just landed on her boss’ face. Still expressionless, but the tension was even heavier than before.

“If I may advise you, Sir, I would suggest treating your Servant with the dignity and care that a woman requires. Where I come from, we do far worse things to men who do not treat women with more respect.”

“I guess I’ll have to take that as a sign of your loyalty, then.” There was an appropriate gesture for this, if he could recall. He’d seen it done before but couldn’t quite remember how it was done, other than hitting one’s self with the palm. So, instead, all he could do was laugh at his own misjudgement, the recognition of how wrongly he had approached this situation. Was it suicidal overconfidence? He was usually far more perceptive. Perhaps he was focusing on the wrong thing as well. She was already there, saying what she wanted, and he cast it aside for his own plans.

There was no doubt that this kind of situation would call for more flexibility, the kind that he wasn’t too used to.

He stood up and dusted himself, fixing his clothes as he did so. “Now to properly approach this, I would have to…” There were many options. But the most obvious was to apologise, with all the sincerity of an idiot. The attempted use of charm would only turn on alarms of deception, which was the last thing he wanted to happen. And from there, the structure of the strategy would have to be rearranged, adjusted to surround this new platform. That was of course, on the assumption that his stupid ploy for forgiveness worked. If it failed, he would be looking at a dangerous situation, one that put his entire plan for the war in jeopardy.

“How would Signorina Enrica feel, if you scorned her?” She said this with such a casual tone that the Master was taken slightly aback.

“I would never.”

“To put it bluntly, Sir, you just did.”

What was she saying, exactly? He couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Oh yes, it was definitely there, but the actual meaning of the word? Did she actually understand what Caster wanted? How she felt?

“She just wanted your love in return. I’ve seen you shower your sister with so much affection, and that affection is what she asks for. This business, this war, is meaningless without it.”

“You’re saying I need to make her Enrica.”

“I’m saying you need to love her for who she is, not for what use she is to you.”

They spent a few seconds looking each other in the eye, one trying to comprehend the thoughts of the other. And then he felt it: the agony. There were many notes about the incidents that can be brought about by the connection between Master and Servant: sporadically shared feelings, emotions… sometimes, even dreams. Was this Caster’s? Of course it was. He wasn’t particularly agonised at the moment. But still, it was at that point that he began to understand.

Luciano nodded. “I think I’m starting to get what you mean.” He turned to face one of the exits. There was another useful thing the connection between Master and Servant: tracking them down. She wasn’t exactly near. But she wasn’t too far either. If he ran, it wouldn’t be long until he found her. And then, well, there was only the smallest chance. But he was a man who took the smallest chances and rolled with them. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the slightest hint of a smile. That was something Evgeniya rarely did.

“I’ll be waiting here for the good news, Sir.”

“Don’t wait for me.”

And with that, the Master made his way out of the winding web of hidden tunnels armed with traps. He made his way out of the modern tower that was his fortress. A shower of water greeted him as he ran out of the front doors without greeting the guards good night, the guard in question being puzzled beyond understanding of why his boss was running. It was raining, and raining hard. But it would take more than that to stop him. If one could only look into his eyes, one would see a fire, a determination to see this through to the end.

Down through the parking lot, to the main gate, where a wave of his hand was all that had to be said for the guards to open it and let him out. Calculating as it were, he was almost run over by a passing car as he crossed the street, its horn blaring in irritation at the seemingly crazy man who wasn’t watching where he was going. But in fact he was. In fact he knew full well that the car wouldn’t be able to hit him, not at the speed he was going. He rounded a corner, following that sensation on his hand.

Not too far, now. She seemed so close that he might have mistaken his hand to be on fire had he not known what the difference was.

The rain did not abate, but that didn’t worry him. It was his element, after all. Had his family chosen, they would have been dealing with water itself. But they preferred something else.
He soon stopped. It was a small park, the kind that children went to every now and then to play after school, or just sit down and enjoy the tranquillity. Either way, it was a nice park, albeit the downpour gave it such a gloomy feeling. Nothing he wasn’t used to. She might not have been in the park itself, but she was certainly very close by. He looked around, searching the general area, with, predictably, no results. No, there was a better way to do it, actually.
Luciano called out into the midnight rain.

“Caster! Caster, where are you?”

[Tamamo no Mae]

The pink haired Caster had considerably slowed down after her 'narrow escape'. She was simply lost. Another country, another time, and no place to go. All that remained was the connection and bitter memory of rejection. Tamamo actually wondered for an instant why he had not just ordered her to kill herself, now that it was proven that she was not willingly playing the doll for him. A servant who was actively searching for a master would become a danger for the previous one.... .... but there was no desire to look for another magus.

She breathed in sharply and sighed long and regretful, hoping in vain that it would ease her pain. Fortunately for her surroundings, the fallen goddess in servant form was more sad and disappointed, than clearly angry and thirsting for revenge on the innocent. Even Luciano was not able to change her good willed nature to that of a ferocious beast, one that was in legends said to be strong enough to fell thousands of heroes, and they seemed to have tried actively in the past.

The result was still an uncomfortable remain of regret and pain that was ominous enough to kill people who dared to come in contact with it. A real mass of malice and hatred.... a shameful past that she wished to erase. Maybe this was the reason why her master had pushed her away in a form that hurt more than a battle wound.

Giving love, but not receiving any.... that's so unfair.

It was often just accepted that the sun gave the warmth out of its free will and that there was no need to respect it, nowadays. In the old days, they had at least prayed, but now so many things seemed like they were taken for granted. Surprising was that in the case of Caster's master, he also took his servant for granted. Weren't they rare? There was also the fact that she was not exactly the common hero, without trying to get arrogant or anything. Well... the Caster was probably an issue.

Saber, Saber, Saber... why was this class so popular? This was not some card game where you could just give your Caster Cards away to get a more desired Saber Card, and she was not really such a bad choice, was she? -sniff- .... It was dark, not exactly the time for a sun goddess, and the entire War would be fought during this time of the day. Could life be anymore depressing!?

Darkness wherever she looked, a time which was formerly known to be the time of demons. She was really now one of them, huh.... Amaterasu, as she once was called took another glance at the surroundings and called herself happy that nobody was around to complain about her ears or the tail, both not clearly visible in their current state of hanging down or clinging to her body. But not even the fluffy tail wrung around her own body could spend her the so much desired warmth, and the ears slumped down and resting on her head were mere decorations, as she had already begun to withdraw her senses from this world.

If she could find a cave, the fox lady would hide in it and seal the entrance shut, but all that she could see were rivers of asphalt, mountains of steel and glass, and technical devices wherever the eye went. No wonder, gods were not needed anymore, they were already beginning to step up for themselves. It was to some extend nice to see the children growing up, but still sad and lonely to realize that you simply were not needed.. or loved anymore.

That must be the feeling of old people....

"cas..." Something awoke her from her dream walking and the ear twitched automatically. Was there something that required her attention? She stubbornly refused, but her heart and body reacted against her own will. "ster" One ear finally perked up and shifted slightly like a satellite receiver to get the most out of the signal. She was no cat, but in this moment they shared a bit of a resemblance.

"Caster?" It seemed to be no more than an illusion or imagination, but could it really have been that someone had called for her? For a moment her heart began to race, as it switched from ultimate depression to a strive for hope, and then to shock. The only people who would call her that would be her master or enemy servants. Did they already detect her? Wasn't she an expert in detection!? Alarmed she spun around and saw a scene, like from a movie.

Her master was running around to look for her...... Huh?, was the most intelligent thought she could muster at this moment and her facial expression displayed this lack of understanding very well. Tamamo simply could not believe her eyes and looked a bit to the side, as if she had to think, while a finger began to massage one side of her cheek. Naturally, this was not helping to understand the situation, but there was someone approaching her or she simply had gone crazy.

"Yes....?" Probably a mistake, but she was willing to take her chances. If she was crazy or not could still be decided later on, and ...it would be too late by then, anyway.

[Luciano Mezzanotte]

She had answered his calls.

And surely enough, he found her. Despite the sheets of water pouring out of the blackened sky, he found her. That fox tail was wrapped tightly around its owner, already soaked and proving to be only a meagre defence against the pouring. Caster was drenched and alone out here. An incarnation of the Japanese Sun Goddess Amaterasu, roaming the abandoned streets of a sleeping city as the midnight rain poured at its strongest. The irony was the first thing on his mind as he saw her. Never mind that someone might take advantage of this vulnerable situation. While the War was still three days away, it paid to be keep in mind this possibility, no matter how distant.

On the other hand, Luciano was dressed in a suit, the jacket of a prestige label and make which for some reason, was also designed to be strongly water resistant. Its marketing emphasis on both “style and practicality” was what had caught his interest, of course, and was why he had bought several of them, just in case he had forgotten his umbrella, and it suddenly rained. While he had never considered the possibility of leaving his umbrella behind, it paid to be prepared. Sure enough, this had paid off in some way.

However, that was far from the issue at the moment. Luciano undid the jacket and hung it over his left arm as he drew closer to Caster. She definitely needed it more than him. A lonely woman wandered out in the rain, searching for the warmth of someone’s love – was this really what she was? It seemed so mind bogglingly overused. In fact it sounded just like something he had seen in theatre some years ago. Yet he now found himself in a bizarrely similar situation.
He stopped in front of the Servant and draped the jacket over her shoulders, the difference in height making it easier to do.

“You’re right.”

He kept his hands in place over her shoulders. It didn’t necessarily matter that the rain was loud enough to drown most words.

“I’ve said some very cruel things, things that I shouldn’t have said. And I’m sorry for that.”

Was she listening? Would she listen to anything he said now, after all that had happened before? Things didn’t always go as planned, and when they didn’t, he was always prepared to make adjustments as necessary. But there was just something about this moment that screamed at him to ensure that he got it right. Luciano took the time to choose his words. “Nothing I say can excuse those actions. But I want to make up for them. I seek redemption from my crass mistake… but… I suppose what I really want to say is, I’m begging for your forgiveness.”

Like Orlando himself before his Emperor, Luciano went down on one knee. And like a man proposing marriage, he took up one of Caster’s hands and kissed it, tenderly.

“May I have this chance?”

[Tamamo no Mae]

Tamamo was clearly in a situation where she would require a warm bath to get back in shape. But above that some kind of re-assurance that she actually had a master. It was difficult to stay loyal to someone who had decided to throw you away, and yet she was actually more shocked than hurt, albeit the pain had clearly taken a harsh toll on her mood and appearance. She just could not believe that the light she had believed to have seen was just a mere fake, and yet he managed to surprise her again.

Why was he running after her? It really took a while to click and Caster was not the stupid or slow kind, albeit at the moment certainly a bit affected by the extra weight of her clothes. And then she received his jacket, it was not helpful against the cold or the heavy rain and no better than receiving a wet towel, but the gesture itself was better than anything else he could provide her with. The fox lady looked up to him like a confused little girl, and tried to find an answer for his action, when he answered kindly.

She felt like someone decided to bind her to a wheel and spin it repeatedly, this first day having taken so many turns into unexpected directions that it was difficult to find the direction of the rising sun, before the first rays made this easy. A pity that she had not spend some quality moments in an entertainment park or the little 'goddess' could come up with another comparison that might describe the inner roller coaster of her feelings a bit better. Tamamo was already extremely involved with Luciano, because he already knew her identity and past.

This strong bond that she already felt between them, right after her summoning, and also considered it a reason to be closer to her original powers than she thought possible. Well, Tamamo was the Avatar of Amaterasu, or closer yet a direct incarnation, the original powers flowing through her core, even if they were still partly sealed away. Unlocking them fully would take a bit of efforts, but she preferred this over ending up as a wild Beast so far. Tamamo as a Berserker? NOT POSSIBLE~

Her eyes became bigger, and both eyes stood up in attention. The sound of the rain, falling directly on her exposed ears dampened the sound a bit and while they were usually more effective than human sense of hearing, their position provided some uncomfortable problems right now. But even without her sharpened senses, nose, ears and her 'divine vision', if she could dare to call it such, there were things in this World where she did not need any of that. Tamamo could envision his words, there was no need to hear them right now, and even the greatest noise could not hinder her from receiving the information like it was meant.

Caster made a small jump and smiled, before starting to almost perform a little dance of joy and gesturing energetically with her arms, albeit her silhouette still covered by clothes that could only be classified as oversized.

"Okay, Master~~" It would probably remain for longer on her mind, but even if her self-doubt stood in direct opposition to her visible and more energetic behavior, her head was now only filled with positive images. The sun goddess had forgiven him and decided to take his offer.

"Don't mind, don't mind, everyone makes some small mistakes now and then, but we should head back before you catch a cold. You look like a wet dog.. is the saying, isn't it?"

Or not, but it was not important and if one fitted the image better than the head of the Mezzanotte family, than it was actually herself. Just that she did not mind it at the moment at all. Fortunately for her, Tamamo possessed a little extra talent that should easily take care of her current appearance. Life was quite amazing and whoever handed Luciano the item to summon the Divine Fox Lady had to be praised. Re-enlightening Amaterasu like a nuclear explosion of yet to be She brimmed with energy and resolution.

He would win this war, there was no doubt in her heart. "We will show those people what you are made of.~" She raised the hand to her face and giggled in anticipation of their future deeds. Who would their first victim be? Whoever the dice befell, they were not in their immediate surrounding, as Caster could not sense anyone.

"This will be funny."

[Luciano Mezzanotte]

Was that really all there was to it? It seemed to have been too simple a resolution of what appeared to be a complicated matter. Something in the back of Luciano’s mind clicked, a built-in warning system of sorts, screaming that something was wrong, that it was too soon to consider the issue resolved. After all, to man, a woman was the most mysterious of creatures. Nevertheless, another part of him was saying that yes, the issue had been resolved for the most part, but, there was nevertheless room for improvement. While women were a mystery, there were some things that could be seen quite obviously, if one didn’t spend too much time thinking about the details.

He decided to go with the latter opinion.

Luciano stood back up, laughing cheerily to the comment as he scratched his head. A cold during the war was unacceptable. “Yeah, that’s the phrase, I’d think.” A racist one, but for some reason, he thought it fit quite well, given the present circumstances. As to just why it was considered racist, he didn’t really bother to check up on that. There were more important things to do with his life than look up the reasoning behind one meaningless slur. Besides, if one really wanted to discuss racism with him, then he would say magi were a completely different race altogether, as far as their prejudices against the normal were, anyhow. After all, most people weren’t born with magic circuits.

The rain, of course, would not abate, and it seemed, from the impenetrable blackness of the clouds in the sky, that it might last all the way till morning. The head of the Mezzanotte family led the way to a nearby bus stop not too far from the playground, sitting down on the relatively drier benches and motioning for her to sit next to him. This was probably the best place to call for a ride – not a bus, of course – exposing one’s Servant to public routes was an unthinkably idiotic mistake. He smirked, as what Caster next said turned to the War. Oh, yes, had he prepared. They were thinking the same thing. This team would win, without a shadow of a doubt.
“We’re made of better stuff than them. That is most certain.”

Luciano rested his hand in a palm as he for maybe the first time, looked his Servant in the eye without his mind being preoccupied with all the stuff that he had planned, written down, and rehearsed to say over the course of a few days. He didn’t expect the situation to go this way, so he could care less for all of that big, macho businessman talk. She truly was impressive, from a purely aesthetic standpoint. Of course, one could only assume the greatest of Japanese gods, divine mother of the Imperial Family and ruler of the High Heavens possessed unmatched lavish beauty.

He pondered for a moment of what those people of old thought of the issue. How they had learned from her wisdom the arts of agriculture and weaving, and how, surely, when she hid in that cave, they fell into a despair that could only be brought about by endless darkness. What a great jubilation must have erupted from the hearts of the people when she came out and saw her own radiance in that mirror. If the gods could cheer for her emergence, then what more the humans who worshipped her whose very lives depended on those bright rays? Yes, that same beacon of light was with him at this very moment, in the middle of a similar darkness.

But together, they would bring light to banish that away. And he didn’t mean it in a particularly nice manner either. Luciano twisted a ring on his watch, activating a homing beacon. It was routed through the company’s private network, and would not be traceable by any thaumaturgical means that didn’t somehow interfere with electronics. And as far as his investigation was concerned, there weren’t a lot of Masters who had that. The ride would be here in a few minutes. There was no hurry.

“So, what would you consider funny, then?” Already, he had started taking mental notes. It was important to synch up one’s strategies with his Servant’s capabilities, after all. Jokes about throwing cursed rocks of death aside – and even a deceptively stupid-sounding ability could find itself very lethal with the appropriate planning – it was quite possible that she held the very power of the sun, a devastating prospect if any. This truly was going to be quite the War.

(OOC: We can maybe wrap up in another cycle, or would you like to move ahead?)

[Tamamo no Mae]

(OOC: Kind of wrap it up to finally invade some threads with other people. I will add another post that can basically end the thread by itself, but you can also certainly add another. There is not much to do left, including that the night should end soon.)

"Kya! Master is so handsome~ oops, said too much. Hihi."

The rain did not lessen, but rather than a scene filled with pain, and the strong down pouring strengthening the visual impact of the drama, Tamamo considered it more to be a scene in the bath, together with her most beloved 'husband'. Well there was not much else she desired. Frankly enough her enjoyment would grow through the bond between husband and wife, master and servant.

"What is so funny, you ask? Hmmmmmm!!!!!! Our road to victory. It won't be always just the greatest of enjoyments, but they will still be interesting, and no matter what happens our bond will grow.~ Oops, I did it again? Babbling around. Let's go back, Master. ¢¾"

Somehow she felt a bit silly, but seriousness was not her resort when it was not necessary. Why remaining grumpy, when you could enjoy yourself? Caster knew that there would be enough times when her master might not be able to smile, no matter how hard she tried. A War was never something beautiful, and all she could do was support him through it and give him the strength to win. She felt that he was the right choice to win, albeit he needed something that he was still lacking.

Nevertheless, she would be his everything, his money, his fortune, his strength, for she was his servant Tamamo no Mae, and the sun was on their side... Who again settled for the Grail War occurring during the night!? Stupid Rule, sheesh. Oh well, then she would also be the shining light during the night. Sounded a bit like a super hero, didn't it? Hmm, but fitting on one of those helmets would not go well with her ears. Yoowch... just thinking about it could cause a serious headache. Luciano on the other hand might look good in it. He would in fact look good in anything, but that was only Tama's opinion, her very profound opinion.

Wheee, he was so cute, wasn't he? Coming all this way just for his sake, and ignoring the cold weather and the strong rain, just for her sake! Oh... cold.

"You must be really cold. We can't have that. Hurry, hurry. Oh, I just had a wonderful idea! I can snuggle up to you and keep you warm, tehe."

That was a standard method applied in countless generations. Some old wisdom should not be ignored, just because they managed to develop heaters and air conditioners and micro waves. ...Micro Waves, the evil disturbance of upright housewives. There was no reason to cook anymore if they overdid it and the sun goddess was despite her most recent appearance in this time well aware of some modern developments and that Italy was living more into that fast food trend than Japan.

Yet, countries were not important and even if they were, the boarder of country or time could not stop Amaterasu from obtaining her happiness. But despite her bubbly and outspoken personality, she was still so only in word, and in terms of taking the initiative and touching just as shy as a pure maiden, and it was no wonder if some people would not take her fully serious. Caster knew about this little fault in her personality, and that it did not fit perfectly to the image one might have of the overly serious Deity that reigned over the Sun in Japan, and accepted some negative comments. But as usual, there were some limits before she would take offense in the remarks of people.

[Luciano Mezzanotte]

It was Luciano’s turn to show some surprise at the comment. Though that look of puzzlement quickly turned into a smile. “I never really paid attention to that before, though maybe it’s because all the girls who said so just wanted to take advantage of me somehow. You could tell from the tones they were using.”

Well, at this point, he really should not have expected any less from the playful goddess, the same goddess who he had earlier promised marriage. She certainly deserved no less than a grandiose ceremony and reception. This would of course, compromise a few things, such as his identity, which was his main concern, if he did hold such a large function during this period. Would she understand if he wished to settle for a small legal proceeding, at least before the War? It would take time to make arrangements for such a big gala, and if his calculations were correct, the War would certainly be over by then.

Silently, the beacon ticked away in his watch, with their ride slowly closing in on that bus stop, a little enclave of dryness in the rain. Luciano reclined onto the bench, putting an arm around Caster and gently tugging her close, as if to say that he thought her suggestion was good one, enough to be implemented. “That growing bond is exactly what I’m counting on.” The two of them sat shoulder to shoulder, just looking outside as the pouring rain.

“And that’s what’s most important. Moreso than any amount of planning.” That wasn’t saying, though, that preparation was meaningless. Planning was most definitely important. Failure to plan was a plan to fail. But maybe Caster would be able to teach him a thing or two about rolling with the punches, something that Luciano, much as he did not like to admit it, was only marginally skilled at.

A black Maserati Quattroporte VII rolled up to the bus stop, finally arriving at its intended destination. For the most part, it was on autopilot, and was definitely worth every Euro in that regard. Autopilot systems had improved greatly the past years compared to earlier decades, and being able to call something like this to one’s exact location, able to manoeuvre through even heavy rain and traffic was a boasted feature of this particular model.

Something about integrating various electronic navigation services into a single comprehensive unit, or whatever.

Regardless of the details, that made this the most logical choice of ride for someone who wanted the luxury of a driver, without having to deal with the problems of keeping private things private. “Looks like our ride’s here.”

With an audible beep and click, the rear doors on the car unlocked and swung open, revealing a plush interior worthy of any big time executive. Luciano stood up and stretched, before taking Caster by the hand and leading her to the entrance, taking a bow as he gestured for her to go in – ladies first, and all – before himself following. It seemed like such a shame to dirty the inside of such a model with soaking wet clothes, but it was one of Luciano’s cars, and it was his choice to mess it up a little. Nothing the servants at the estate couldn’t fix, anyway. But he was also gracing the car with the glory that was the Sun Goddess Amaterasu. That more than made up for it.

“Buona sera, Signore.” It was a synthetic voice used by a computer, but it did a very good job of sounding like a prim and proper butler. “What is our destination today?”

“Home.”

“As you wish, Signore.” The doors shut and locked as the two of them buckled up – it was only natural that Caster understood the purpose of the seatbelt immediately upon seeing them, thanks to the Grail – and the luxury sedan took off into the night.

There were three days until the War officially begun. And there was lots of time for finalizing the preparations.