Ch 143: Is it luck, or fate?

Rin was a little late when she walked down the street to her house. She found Akeno, Chisato and Asuka waiting in front of the gate.

"Hi, Rin. How was your day at school?" called out Chisato with a waving arm.

"Tiring. Let's speak inside."

Once they were all in the living room, Rin sighed as she removed her coat and sat on an armchair.

"You can all go to school starting tomorrow. We're in class 2-A."

She pointed to the sofa, and the girls sat down.

"Thank you, Rin." smiled Akeno.

"And it looks like you weren't the only ones getting the idea, because there are two new students. Bell Cranel and Darkness. Does their names ring a bell?"

"Pun intended? Anyway, that's great. We won't have to waste our time searching for them." nodded Asuka with a satisfied air.

"Darkness is the Master of Rider, and Bell has Berserker." added Akeno.

"And we have a new teacher, who is a Servant. She says her name is Medb, and she's well on her way to enslaving the whole class."

"Enslaving the students?" frowned Chisato. "I don't think those who sent us would approve of that."

Rin snorted.

"She's not doing anything too overt, aside from enhancing her charisma. But I'm pretty sure that half of the boys are now dreaming about being stepped on by her. Some of the girls, too. Darkness was positively panting this afternoon." said Rin with a disgusted expression.

"We'll assess the situation tomorrow. If that new teacher is too troublesome, we'll rein her in." said Akeno. "Did they speak to you?"

"Yes. Bell came to me during lunch break. He wanted to befriend me, I guess. And his Servant, a tall burly one with a naked torso full of scars, wanted to fight you own servants. Bell gave me his number."

"Later this afternoon, at the end of class, it's Medb-sensei who asked me to stay behind. When only I and Darkness remained, she straight out said that she knew I was a Magus, and that she required me to help her win the Holy Grail War. She made it sound like I should be grateful for the opportunity to cooperate with her, and that saying no was unthinkable."

"What did you tell her?" asked Asuka.

"That I already agreed to help Akeno. Then she laughed and said it was fine, and that I would serve her after she defeated Akeno and Lancer. She even praised me for wanting to respect my agreement with you."

"That reminds me of someone." grinned Chisato as she glanced at Asuka, who snorted as she pointedly ignored her.

"That's the name of the game." shrugged Akeno. "Rin, do you know if Bell and Darkness are cooperating together?"

"I don't think so. They barely spoke to each other, as far as I can tell. I think Bell is put off by Darkness's perversion. I certainly am."

"Can you share Bell's phone number, please? We may as well settle this little competition of ours quickly, so we can focus on the real threats."

"Sure." shrugged Rin as she took her smartphone and transmitted the contact to Akeno's. "What about you guys? Have you been sightseeing the city?"

"Yes." said Asuka. "Assassin has found one of the Magus that is likely going to participate in the Holy Grail War. A man named Atrum Galliasta."

"That scumbag!"

"It seems you know him." grinned Akeno.

"A vile womanizer who uses magecraft to brainwash women. Among other things. He's asked me out a few times back in London, and I shot him down. And he really doesn't like being told no. If not for the rules being very strict, I wouldn't be surprised to see him try to get violent with me."

"Well, that Magus's days are numbered. We don't necessarily intend to kill the opposing Masters, but we've seen enough about this guy to make him an exception." shrugged Asuka.

"Glad to hear it. And I won't ask what you've seen, I can imagine well enough… Now that I think about it, have you visited the Church to make your participation in the Holy Grail War official?"

Seeing the reactions of the three girls, Rin had her answer.

"We'll do this tonight. And I need to summon my own Servant as well, considering how fast things are moving. May as well do it right now."

"Do you mind if we watch?" asked Chisato. "I'm curious to see what servant you'll summon. What catalyst do you have?"

"…I don't have any." sighed Rin. "I'll do the summoning blind… In fact, it would be better if your Servants are there, too, in case the summoned Servant turns out to be one of the evil ones."

"Yes, we'll be glad to help, if need be." smiled Akeno.

"If we have to fight, we'll use a reality marble to prevent damaging your house." said Asuka.

Rin, who had left her seat and was headed to her attic, froze mid-step.

"You… can create a reality marble?"

"Yes?"

"That's the pinnacle of Magecraft! Being able to create an alternate dimension is something only one or two Magus in the Mage Association are able to do!"

"I see." shrugged Akeno. "We were given an artifact that can generate reality marbles, so we can fight each other without disturbing the neighbors. And yes, I see your expression, I'll give you some time to study mine later. You better not break it."

"Okay, thank you." smiled Rin, before leading them to the attic. Once there, she pushed aside a few pieces of furniture and moved a carpet, revealing a magic array identical to the ones Akeno, Chisato and Asuka had used. Britomart and Tamamo also materialized, ready to act if necessary.

With a look and a nod to the girls, Rin steeled herself and started her incantation.

"Set.

For the elements, Silver and Iron.

For the foundation, stone and the Archduke of Pacts.

Raise a wall for the wind that shall fall.

Close the gates of the four directions. Come forth from the crown.

And follow the forked road leading to the Kingdom.

Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill!

Repeat every five times.

Simply, shatter once filled.

I announce.

Your self is under me, my fate is in your sword.

In accordance with the approach of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this covenant, then answer.

Here is my oath. I am the one who will become all the good of the world.

I am the one who will slay all the evil of the world.

You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, come forth from the circle of binding, O guardian of the Scales!"

As she chanted her incantation, the red spots on the back of her left hand started growing and changing, taking a more defined shape.

The magic array, glowing with red light, reached its peak, and with a flash of blinding light, a Servant appeared in its center.

Akeno blinked as she took in the Servant's appearance, and her eyes widened.

"Oh dear…" she muttered, before turning her head to one of her equally shocked companions. Asuka instantly understood, while Chisato, Britomart and Tamamo needed a second or two to realize just who that new Servant was.

The Servant was an extremely beautiful woman with perfect proportions, red eyes, and long, straight purple hair. She wore a black and dark gray bodysuit with metallic shoulder pads. She looked at each person gathered in turn before focusing her attention on Rin, and the command spells on the back of her left hand during the summoning ritual.

"I am summoned as a Lancer-class Servant. Are you my Master?" she said with a soft, melodious voice.

"That is correct. I am Rin Tohsaka. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Lancer. Can you reveal your true name?"

The new Lancer glanced at the three Masters and two Servants standing to the side, and Rin quickly understood.

"Those are our allies, and they can be trusted."

"Understood. I am Scathach, the Queen from the Land of Shadows."

Rin made the introductions, and when everyone greeted Scathach, Asuka sighed.

"Rin, there's… an issue. My own Servant is… Aife. And she has a complicated past with Scathach."

"…Oh." muttered Rin. She was well versed in folklore and legends from all over the world, and she knew about it.

Scathach squinted her eyes for a second before the nodded in understanding.

"I will not seek conflict with her, if you are worried about it."

"I'm relieved to hear that, but I am more worried that she will seek conflict with you." nodded Asuka.

"Then as her Master, you should be responsible for reining her in. If she attacks me or Rin, I will not stand by."

"I understand. I'll do what I can. I'll even use command spells if I have to. But if it does happen, please avoid fatally injuring her if possible."

Scathach nodded, and Asuka relaxed slightly.

"I'm going to go out and find some quiet place to break the news to Aife." said Asuka, leaving the attic.

"Scathach, this Holy Grail War is going to have fourteen Servants and fourteen Masters. This is the second Lancer." said Rin. "Let's down downstairs, it will be more comfortable to speak."

A while later, as Rin was explaining the situation to Scathach, Akeno received a call from Asuka, informing that Aife had, reluctantly, agreed to keep the peace with Scathach. The revelations earlier about their pasts being somewhat predestined, as well as their current mission to save the world, had mellowed a little the anger she felt toward her sister for revealing to Cu Chulainn what her most precious possession was. An information that the Irish hero had used against her in the middle of their fight to trick her.

She had warned Asuka, however, that while she was willing to tolerate Scathach, she would not extend that tolerance to Cu Chulainn himself. If she ever met him, one of them would die.

Akeno ended the call and informed her companions. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang, and Rin stood to go open the door. She came back accompanied with a beautiful young woman with purple hair, several shades lighter than Scathach's.

"Everyone" said Rin with an awkward expression. "this is Sakura. Sakura, those are Akeno Himejima, Chisato Nishikigi, Asuka Shikinami, Lancer, another Lancer, and Caster."

"Greetings, everyone. I am Sakura Matou. It seems I am going to live here for some time. I hope we'll get along." replied Sakura, a little intimidated, and puzzled by the mention of two Lancers. She knew about the Holy Grail War, and there should be only one of them.

"Hello, Sakura. It is nice to meet you." smiled Akeno, standing and walking closer to her. "Do you need help with your luggage?"

"Ah, no, thank you, but that isn't necessary."

"Can I call you Sakura? And please call me Akeno."

"Ah, yes." said Sakura, blushing a little as she made a half step back.

"I'm sorry if this is a little abrupt, Sakura. It must feel a little overwhelming to you, suddenly being asked to come here to live with us. But you are safe with us. Would you mind showing me your right hand, please?"

Akeno smiled as she extended her own right hand, and with a short hesitation, Sakura placed her right hand in Akeno's.

Akeno held Sakura's hand gently, but firmly, and turned to Rin.

"Rin, can you come with us to a private room?"

"Tohsaka-senpai?" asked Sakura with trepidation.

"Don't worry, Sakura. You're safe with us." said Rin as she led Akeno and Sakura to the closest bedroom and closed the door behind them. "You know I'm not ever going to hurt you, right?"

"Y-Yes."

"Let's begin, then." smiled Akeno as she lifted a little Sakura's right hand and drew a Stop rune on its back.

"A-Akeno-senpai? What is this?" asked Sakura with apprehension.

"It is just a little bit of Rune Magic."

Rin was closely looking at the slightly glowing blue rune, with both concern and interest. Akeno drew a second one just above the first.

"How does that work?"

"Rune Magic is different from any other type of Magic I know about, because it is an all or nothing thing. You need to spend years studying a single rune to be able to do anything with it, but once you have mastered it, your imagination is your limit. The Rune Magic will read your intent as you draw it. Those are 'Stop' runes. The first is to temporarily prevent Sakura from using her magic circuits. The second is to stop her from feeling pain." explained Akeno as she drew a third Stop Rune.

Sakura felt her knees gave under her and started collapsing, but Akeno caught her and gently deposited her on the bed.

"And the third one is to stop her from moving her limbs. Do not panic, Sakura, we're not doing anything bad. I can now tell you what is going to happen. I am only going to remove those Crest Worms from your body."

Sakura had started to really panic as she lost control of her limbs, but Akeno's words shocked her greatly. Hope, an emotion she hadn't felt for a long, long time, surged in her mind, but was quickly crushed by deep shame.

They knew. They knew that her body and mind had been defiled by insects. Sakura's eyes filled with tears.

"Rin, can you help me remove her clothes and put some towels under her?" asked Akeno.

"Yes." nodded Rin as she also got to work. "It's okay, Sakura. We'll get those things off you, and then it will only be a bad memory."

"I'm… I'm sorry, Tohsaka-senpai…" started sobbing Sakura. "I am… disgusting!"

"Of course not." said Rin. "Do not ever speak like that about yourself, Sakura!"

It took less than a minute for Akeno and Rin to strip Sakura and put a few towels under her.

"It could have been me, you know?" muttered Rin as she looked deep into Sakura's eyes, her own eyes filling with tears. "If I had been born the youngest, or if I had been a little less talented in Magecraft, I would have been the one being sent to the Matou."

Sakura shook her head, but said nothing. She couldn't trust herself with her words right now, and felt like she was about to let her resentment explode. What Rin had just said was something she had asked herself, again and again, for eleven years now. Why her? Why was she the one sentenced to a hellish existence, her body defiled by disgusting worms, while her sister got to bask in the attention of their parents? Why had they all turned their backs on her?

Once she matured, Sakura learned enough about the world of Magus to understand their reasons, and was already aware that Rin didn't really deserve her anger. But just knowing wasn't enough to make the resentment disappear.

"Let's get started, then." said Akeno, using item creation to create a box made of thick, transparent Plexiglas, and a pair of long pincers. She handed them to Rin, who didn't need to be told to understand what she was intended to do with those.

Akeno placed a hand on Sakura's stomach, and activated Purge. A green glow surrounded her hand.

Sakura gasped, as she started feeling things moving inside her body. Long black worms, thinner than crayons and coated with blood, started being expulsed from her body by small holes dissimulated in her armpits and inner thighs. Thicker and shorter worms were forced out of her crotch.

Rin tried to keep the revulsion from showing on her face as she got busy, seizing the bugs with the pincers and shoving them inside the box.

"Only one left, but that is the most troublesome one." said Akeno as she hardened light into a scalpel.

Rin followed Akeno's gaze and saw a bulge between her sister's breasts, just under the sternum. Where the previous bugs were only slowly squirming, she could see from the movements under Sakura's skin that whatever it was, was struggling fiercely.

Akeno made a quick incision, then used her fingers to seize the bug, slowly extracting it. It looked somewhat like a gray eyeless fish, with over a dozen flagella in place of tail or fins. The flagella whipped around uselessly as Akeno kept it well away from Sakura's body, and used Greater healing to close the chest wound and deal with everything else the other bugs had done. And she activated Purge again, just to be sure no worms or eggs would be left behind.

"This, Rin, Sakura, is Zouken Matou's true body."

Rin and Sakura both gasped, and the parasite opened its small mouth.

"You! How did you know?"

"That you intended to use Sakura's body as your new flesh suit? I do not need to tell you. I pity you, Elder Zouken Matou. Five centuries ago, you started to seek ways to extend your life because you realized that freeing humanity of Evil would take more than a normal person's lifespan, but along the way, you lost sight of that noble cause, and became so obsessed with immortality that you became Evil yourself. And the irony, is that both Rin and Sakura will become immortal, as a reward for being good, decent persons. Something you long ceased to be. But you won't be there to see it."

Akeno moved her hand, placing it inside the container Rin still held, and squeezed. Zouken screamed for a second before he burst. Akeno removed her hand from the box and Rin closed it.

Akeno then looked deep into Sakura's eyes and smiled gently. "It is done, Sakura Ma… no, Sakura Tohsaka. Now, you are free."

Akeno removed the three Stop runes and headed for the door.

"I'll go wash my hands. Satan, this stuff is gross! I really should have put on some gloves."

Sakura, now able to move her limbs, brought her hands to her face and cried, feeling intense relief. She had long stopped longing to be freed from her torment. And now, she was. Rin smiled as she set the box on the ground and gently squeezed Sakura's shoulder.

"It's over, Sakura. Welcome back to your home."

"…Yes." sobbed Sakura.

…

Hours later, Rin, Sakura, Akeno, Chisato and Asuka made their way toward Fuyuki City's Church. Aife was still keeping watch over Atrum Galliasta, not wanting to be near her older sister right now, while Scathach, Tamamo and Britomart were escorting their Masters in their dematerialized state.

"Is the priest Kirei Kotomine?" asked Akeno as the came in view of the gate delimiting the church's property.

"Yes. Kirei was my father's apprentice for a while, and he's helped me a bit with managing the family's assets after his death. Do you know him?"

"Noah told me a bit about him. A dangerous man, trained as a combat exorcist. He's very good at both unarmed combat and with using long thin throwing daggers. Not quite strong enough to face a Servant or one of us, though."

"Aria warned me about him, too. She said I shouldn't drop my guard with that psychopath. He should also already be aware of Angra Mainyu's taint on the grail, but he will try to stop us if he learns that we want to purify the Grail. Because he's a psycho." said Chisato.

"Yes. Better not tell him about that." nodded Akeno.

They entered the Church's grounds and headed for the Church itself. They could see from the windows that a few candles were still lit.

Rin didn't bother knocking and just pushed the doors open.

"Kirei, are you here?"

Akeno entered after her, and scanned her surroundings. Sitting on one of the pews near the church's altar was a person with short blonde hair, wearing a black leather jacket. That person looked behind, revealing his gender, male, and piercing red eyes, and Akeno frowned, her instincts told her that this man was dangerous. The man made a smug smile before he turned back toward the front, as if he wasn't interested.

"Rin, I asked you several times to be more restrained in the House of God." said another man, dressed in a black priest's outfit, as he came out from the side.

Akeno examined that man carefully. Kirei Kotomine was about 190 cm tall, with short dark brown hair in front, and semi-long hair in the back. His black eyes thoughtfully examined Rin and her companions in turn.

"Can we speak freely?" asked Rin, eyeing the blonde man who seemed to ignore them.

"You can. My companion here is aware of my position as Overseer, and what it represents." nodded Kirei.

"Very well. I have come to officially inform you that I am Lancer's Master."

"So, you have decided to participate, despite your father's demise in the last War." said Kirei.

"Yes. And those guys are Masters, too, aside from Sakura."

Kirei directed his gaze to Akeno as she made a step forward.

"A pleasure to meet you, Overseer. I am Akeno Himejima. My Servant is also a Lancer."

This caused the blonde man to take another look at her, while Kirei frowned.

"Two Lancer servants?"

"That is indeed the case." nodded Akeno, not wanting to reveal anything more than the bare minimum.

"I'm Asuka Shikinami, Assassin's Master." declared Asuka, to draw away the priest's attention.

"And I'm Chisato Nishikigi. My Servant is Caster." smiled Chisato.

Kirei nodded, then looked back at Rin and Akeno.

"Rin, are you and your friend trying to hide the class of one of your servants by claiming it is another?"

"No. Believe what you want." shrugged Rin. "We did what was required of us by introducing ourselves as Masters."

She turned away, but before she reached the doors, Kirei spoke.

"Rin, since you are the daughter or my former mentor, I will advise you to surrender immediately. One of the Masters you will face is exceedingly dangerous."

"Who?" asked Rin, turning back to face him.

"I received information this morning. The Einzbern are going to participate, of course. But they did not produce a suitable Master from their family. Instead, they have decided to hire the Magus-Killer, Kiritsugu Emiya. He may already have entered the country."

Rin twitched as she heard that name. She had of course heard about him.

"Thank you, Kirei." said Rin, before leaving.

Akeno, Asuka and Chisato nodded to the priest before going out as well. When they left the Church's premises, Akeno looked at Rin.

"Kiritsugu Emiya?"

"One of the most feared and hated Magus. He is relatively weak as a Magus. But what is fearful about him are his methods. There was that time where he fired a surface-to-air missile at a commercial plane just to kill one Magus among the passengers. He uses guns and explosives a lot, something that Magus tend to despise, because Magecraft is considered superior. If that guy is a Master, there's no telling what kind of dirty tricks he will use to get us."

"I see…" frowned Akeno.

"Am I the only one who thinks that the blonde guy in the Church may be more dangerous than even this Kiritsugu?" asked Asuka. "He's acting too smug and too uninterested, considering that he must have been aware of what Servants can do. He should have stared at us in the hope of seeing a Servant in the flesh."

Akeno looked at Sakura, Rin and Chisato, and they all nodded, sharing Asuka's impression.

"We have a consensus on this. Let's return home for now. We can always ask our backers."

…

"A blonde guy?" asked Noah, before he used light magic to project the image of a specific individual. "This one?"

"Yes, that's him." nodded Akeno.

"Well, crap. I had hoped this guy wouldn't be there." sighed Noah.

"Yes, same here." sighed Aria.

Rin, Akeno, Asuka and Chisato had improvised a quick conference with the three Champions in the middle of the night to confirm a few things. Although Noah had been hard to reach, for some reason.

"Who is he?" asked Chisato.

"Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes. A stuck up fool I just can't stand. But he's very, very strong." said Erin.

"If Heroic spirits could be compared to normal soldiers, Gilgamesh would be the young master who arrogantly lords over them, and still manages to defeat veterans, not for his skills, but because he has the best armor and weapons money can buy." said Noah. "He's not as good with a sword than a Saber, not as good with a Bow than an Archer, and so on. And yet, he could flat out crush ninety-five percent of the other Servants easily."

"Ah, I remember Noah mentioning him." said Akeno. "He throws swords at his enemies, right? What class is he?"

"He's an Archer." replied Noah. "He had thousands of swords he can throw around, each of them being a Noble Phantasm. Those swords would hit hard, like tank shells. In addition, Gilgamesh possess two Noble Phantasms that are exceptionally dangerous."

"The first, Ea, is a sword-like weapon with its blade replaced by black rotating segments covered by glowing red runes. Where most Noble Phantasms, when they are unleashed, can be classified as Anti-personnel, Anti-Army, or Anti-Fortress, depending on their power and area of effect, Ea is the only noble phantasm that is classified as Anti-World. When it is unleashed, everything in front of Gilgamesh will disintegrate. The enemy, the air, the ground, everything."

"The second, Enkidu, is even trickier to deal with. It is a set of multiple golden chains ending in spear tips. Those chains are said to be indestructible and will make anyone they ensnare unable to use their power. They are his primary form of defense in close combat."

"I can see why he would be considered strong, with Noble Phantasms like this." frowned Akeno. "Do you have recommendations on how to deal with him?"

"…His arrogance is his weakness." suggested Aria. "Maybe if you can make him underestimate you until you can deliver a killing blow…"

"Akeno, please make certain everyone has weapons or pieces of armor engraved with Stop runes. They might be able to neutralize Enkidu upon contact. Alternatively, if one of you is bound by Enkidu, you may try to pull it into your inventory. It may work. And use Divide on him at the most opportune moment."

"Inventory?" blinked Rin.

"A personal dimension where we store equipment." said Chisato, demonstrating with one of her guns.

"Can I learn that?" asked Rin, a gleam in her eyes.

"You can't learn it, but I think I can make you a ring or a belt that will serve the same purpose." said Erin.

"That would be great, thanks." smiled Rin.

"Pulling Enkidu into our inventory… Ah! That how you freed yourself from the handcuffs that night." grinned Akeno.

"Yes. Those cuffs looked better on your wrists than on mine. But let's not talk about those matters here, this isn't the time and place. The best chance to kill Gilgamesh would be to snipe him from afar, but as an Archer, he has a high perception. That would be hard to pull off and dangerous." Aria and Erin nodded on their phone screens.

"Thanks, we'll be careful." said Akeno. "Does any of you know about one Kiritsugu Emiya?"

Noah and Erin nodded, while Aria shook her head.

"Kiritsugu Emiya is a ruthless assassin." said Erin. "But he doesn't kill for money. His whole philosophy revolves around killing one to save a hundred. He's willing to do some things involving a high collateral damage, like shooting down a plane or collapsing a building, don't get me wrong, but in his mind, he will consider that he will save more lives in the long run, as long as the Magus he targeted ends up being dead."

"His goal with the grail is to obtain a different method of saving innocent people. He may be ruthless, but he isn't a complete monster, and the innocent lives he killed weight on him." she continued. "He is a Magus himself, with abilities like manipulating time to accelerate himself, or slowing his own time to stop his heartbeat and hide from thermal sensors."

"He also has a special magic called Origin Bullet, that he fires from a very old, single shot pistol. If that bullet makes contact with any Magecraft, like for example a magic barrier, the Origin Bullet will shred the Magus's Magic Circuits. If it hits flesh, the bullet will cause necrosis, and the nerves and capillaries under the surface will never completely heal. The best way to defend against one of those bullets is a purely physical barrier."

"Aside from that, well, be wary of sniping attempts and bombs. He may try to kill you even during daylight."

"If Kiritsugu Emiya participates in the war" said Noah, "He will likely be part of a group of four people. Himself, his Servant, and two young women. The one with black hair is his apprentice, and a competent sniper. The one with white hair will be from the Einzbern family, a strong Magus and the Servant's true Master.

"We'll be careful." said Rin. "I also met two more Masters and two Servants in school. The Masters are Darkness and Bell Cranel, and the Servants are Medb, and an unknown Berserker. At least Medb is the name she gave us. It may be a false one."

"Long pink hair, and acts like a queen?" guessed Noah.

"Yes."

"Sound like it's her real name, then. Medb is very strong against males, far less so against females. Try to overpower her before she can use her noble phantasm, and then, I'm sure Akeno can teach her some humility."

"I'm sure I can, too." sweetly smiled Akeno.

"And the other Servant?" asked Noah.

"A large burly man, with his torso naked, and many scars."

"Is his head half hidden under a steel mask? rambling about oppressors?"

"No."

"Not Spartacus, then. Black skin, or a minotaur mask?"

"He had short dark blonde hair, and a normal tanned skin."

"…Akeno, was the catalyst chosen by Bell something related to dragons or unnatural beasts?"

"Yes. A painting with a dragon sitting on a pile of treasures."

"This may very well be Beowulf, then. Sorry, but the only thing I know about him is that he fights with a red sword and a red lance."

"…In light of the threat posed by Gilgamesh, I will take steps to make us all stronger as quickly as possible. I am not going to join you in school right away." decided Akeno, taking a page from Noah's actions in her own world.

Noah, understanding what she had in mind, nodded.

"I trust you to do whatever is necessary, Akeno."

"Yes. I'll lend my phone to Chisato, so that you and Takina can have a talk with her and Aria."

"Thank you. Good night, Akeno. I miss you already."

Akeno smiled warmly, as she hadn't detected any lie in Noah's voice.

"I'll be inside the Sanctuary with Britomart for a while. See you later, everyone."

She gave her smartphone to Chisato, and left the room.

"Sanctuary?" Asked Rin.

"A small reality marble where time flows faster. I'm pretty sure you'll get to visit it soon, too." shrugged Asuka.

…

Akeno took the Sanctuary form her inventory and charged it to full capacity. She would have about two weeks of private time with her Servant by the time Rin and the others returned from school the next day.

That should be sufficient.

"Are you ready, Britomart? Things are going to be intense."

"Yes, Master. I am looking forward to it."

"Looking forward to becoming stronger, or looking forward to the things I'll do to you?"

Britomart blushed cutely as she lowered her eyes. "Both, Master."

"Let us not waste any more time, then, my cute Servant." grinned Akeno, as she brough them both inside.