Ch 172: Putting the cards on the table.

"Akeno, Rin, would you mind having coffee with me? I wish to talk about something." smiled Sayaka.

She had waited for them just outside the gymnasium after the end of the kendo session.

"I do not mind. The food court?" asked Akeno, and Rin nodded.

"Yes. Thank you."

They followed her and took a table at the café, and Sayaka chose a table at the corner. They made some small chat until their orders were served, then Sayaka visibly tensed, as she tended to do when starting a spar.

"In all Magic high Schools, magic grades have the highest importance. But don't you think it's wrong that they decide everything?"

"Yes." nodded Rin. "The admission tests don't even cover every aspect of an individual's talent for magic. Only raw power and execution speed."

"Course 2 students only get limited coaching on practical magic, and that's only if they chose to become combat magicians. Magical Engineers are basically just given a bunch of education materials and left to fend off for themselves. And because we do not have that coaching, we are being discriminated against in class."

"I can only agree with that." sighed Akeno. "I made my stance clear on the discrimination. It's unfair, and I hate it. But that how things are."

"Just because I can't use magic well, they even mock my sword skills." bitterly said Ayaka. Akeno could hear the anger in her voice.

"I can't stand being ignored anymore. I won't let them reject everything I have just because of magic!"

"…Please excuse me if I'm being insensitive, Sayaka, but you seem to be referring to a particular incident." said Akeno.

Sayaka stared at Akeno for a few seconds, then sighed.

"…Yes. During a national kenjutsu competition, I once sparred against Mari Watanabe, a course 1 student and the Public Morals Committee Chief. She defeated me. That is perfectly fine, but before she left, she told me that I wasn't suited to fight with her."

"Ouch. That's harsh." said Rin in commiseration.

"I am sorry to hear that, Sayaka." nodded Akeno.

"But this isn't just about me. This year, we want to create an organization separate from the Club Management Group, to tell the school what we think. That there is more to us than magic! Rin, Akeno, I would like you to help us."

"Tell the school what we think?" asked Rin. "Do you mean, by going on strike? We're just going to be ignored."

"…Not necessarily." replied Sayaka, choosing her words with care.

"We have a… plan. Something to force the triumvirate ruling the school to a public debate, where we Course 2 students can voice our thoughts. If we can pressure them into a vote, all the Course 2 students will vote in favor of reforms, and some of the Course 1 students we will have managed to convince will as well. We are almost guaranteed a majority."

"You're not thinking about doing something violent, I hope." frowned Rin. "Using violence would kill any credibility you have."

"We are aware of this." said Sayaka. "We… look, how about meeting our leader? I do not know every detail, but I am sure he would agree to answer any question you may have."

Akeno and Rin made a show of looking at each other and nodded in sync.

"Well, as long as you understand that we just agree to speak to your leader for now, and we do not necessarily accept to join your group just yet, I do not see anything wrong with that."

"Thank you." smiled Sayaka. "I am sure he will be able to convince you. But we do not want to attract the attention of the government, because they support the discrimination. So are you okay with meeting at night?"

"Yes. When?"

"How about tonight at midnight."

"Okay for me." nodded Akeno.

"I'm fine with it, too. Where do we meet?"

"How about the bus station in front of the school?"

The girls agreed, and with the serious matter out of the way, they started to speak about kendo, their classmates, and boys.

…

"What are you going to do with Sayaka?" asked Rin as they waited alone beside the train station.

"She's a good person, though a little gullible, and she desires strength to compensate for a small inferiority complex. I'm thinking about offering her another spot in our Magecraft lessons. And maybe more, if she wishes for it."

Akeno and Rin were both careful with their words, as they wore their CADs. They hadn't found any malware in the code, but that didn't really prove anything.

"Yes, I don't disapprove. I'm fond of her, too."

"And maybe I'll actually be able to learn something, after… You might have a hard time believing me, with the way she kept trashing me around, but I miss Scathach a little."

"Oh?" snorted Rin. "Are you a M? Or maybe this is your times after the lessons you miss?"

"As it happens, yes, I am a M as well as a S. But only Noah gets to scratch that itch of mine. And you're also correct on the post-training sessions. But it is also that since she started training me, I have grown significantly stronger. Now I feel like I'm wasting my time."

"Yeah, good luck with finding someone stronger than her. She spends a little less time training me, and I have grown stronger, too, but I'm still not looking forward to the next time... Maybe you could search for some local teachers? Surely there are some experts not too far that would give even you a challenge."

"Hum, that isn't a bad idea. I'll ask Mayumi and a few other people. And you'll participate, too."

"Me and my big mouth." sighed Rin. She was about to add something when a vehicle turned a street corner and headed toward them.

A black van, with opaque windows on the rear compartments. It stopped near them, and the side door opened, revealing Sayaka and three young men inside.

"Thank you for waiting, Rin, Akeno. Please come in." smiled Sayaka.

Akeno nodded and took place beside Sayaka, followed by Rin, and the driver wasted no time getting the vehicle on the move. The windows allowed passengers to view the outside.

"How far are we going?"

"Only about ten kilometers away. You haven't told anyone about meeting with us, right?"

"Do we look like idiots?" asked Rin.

"We are victims of the discrimination just as much as you guys do." reminded Akeno. "The arrogant jackasses of Course 1 only leave us alone now because we verbally cut them down to size a few times, but that doesn't mean I appreciate the glares they send me, or the rumors behind my back."

"Yes. I do not wish to imply you would try to betray our cause or anything, sorry about that. It's just that sometimes, even smart people make stupid mistakes."

"Yes. No, we didn't tell anyone." said Akeno with a softer tone.

That was a lie, as she had called both Miyuki and Mayumi to warn them about what was going on. Akeno had been given by Miyuki a phone number to call in police reinforcements, and a high-altitude drone would keep them under observation as Sayaka and her accomplices led them to their base.

Rin and Akeno waited silently as the van left the city and moved into an industrial complex. The driver stopped in front of a gated factory, spoke a few words in a radio, and the gate opened.

The van stopped in front of a large, abandoned warehouse, and the passengers as well as the driver got out.

"Let's go. You'll see, our leader is a kind person. You can ask any question you want." smiled Sayaka.

"Yes. I'm looking forward to it." smiled Akeno.

Sayaka opened the warehouse's main door, and they entered, closing the door behind them. Most of it was plunged in darkness, but with their night vision, Akeno and Rin could easily see about twenty people waiting for them, all of them males. Some of them were armed with rifles. Akeno didn't stare at them to give away her night vision, but she recognized many members of the kendo club. Those who had escorted them joined them, aside from Sayaka who stood to the side between them, as if to act as intermediary or arbiter.

The lights were turned on, and two men stepped in front of the group.

"Captain Tsukasa." nodded Akeno to the first of them.

"Hello again, Himejima-kun, Tohsaka-kun. You do not seem very surprised to see me."

"I am not. And I see you recruited a lot from the kendo club." lightly said Akeno.

"Yes. Anyway, let me introduce you to my brother, Hajime Tsukasa." said Kinoe as he pointed to the second man, dressed in a light gray outfit with a red stole across his shoulders. He was tall, had golden eyes and short lavender hair hiding the right side of his face. A weasel's face, although Akeno admitted her impression might be colored by what she already knew of him.

"It is nice to meet you, Himejima-kun, Tohsaka-kun. I have heard a lot about you since you humiliated that arrogant Course 1 student on the very first day of school." smiled Hajime.

"It is nice to meet you, too. I have a few questions. Do you mind if I ask them?" smiled Akeno.

"Of course not. That is why you're here."

"Yes. First, why are some of you armed with rifles?"

"That's right. I wanted to ask, but what is the meaning of this, Tsukasa-kun?" worriedly asked Sayaka.

"Only a precaution, in case someone would try to be violent. You can't blame us for wanting to be ready to defend ourselves, can you, Mibu-kun? Himejima-san demonstrated that she can be quite dangerous, after all."

Sayaka frowned, wondering how they had acquired those weapons in the first place, when Hajime stared at her and put a hand in his pocket. Akeno pretended not to notice Hajime's eye glimmer slightly, and Sayaka relaxed, forgetting her concerns.

"Should I go on with my questions?" asked Akeno.

"By all means." smiled Hajime, his right hand still in his pocket.

"How much does the Great Asian Union pays you to betray your own country?" asked Akeno with the same smile.

To say that Akeno's words caused shock and anger would be an understatement. Angry exclamations rose from the crowd, and the rifles were pointed at her and Rin.

"W-what are you saying, Akeno!" asked Sayaka, outraged.

"I know a few things about this so-called leader of yours, Sayaka. Your group is called Egalite, right?"

"How do you know? I never told you."

"I know a few things, as I just stated. Egalite is a branch of Blanche, a terrorist group operating in multiple countries and targeting magicians working for the military. The government is trying to keep their existence a secret, although I'm not sure what they're trying to achieve with that, but whatever. Hajime-kun here is the leader of Blanche's Japanese branch."

"What a bunch of nonsense." exclaimed Hajime, while his brother had shifted his posture, a hand on the hilt of his katana. "If you want to accuse me of such things, have at least the decency of looking me in the eyes while you're at it!"

Akeno and Rin looked at him squarely as his left eye glimmered for a second. And again. And again. Hajime's face changed from angry, to shocked, to worried.

Akeno laughed.

"No luck for you. You may have managed to hypnotize and brainwash your accomplices with your Evil-Eye technique, but that won't work with us."

"Hey, Akeno. You're starting to monologue like a two-bits villain. How about you skip the explanations and just do your thing?" sighed Rin.

"Yes, you aren't wrong. So..."

Akeno and Rin erected multiple layers of shields just in time to intercept the incoming fire from the rifles, and Akeno used her Bakudo magic once again, with the same results.

Rin looked at the struggling Hajime, manifested a light sword, and pierced his eyes, rendering him blind.

Hajime screamed in pain, and Rin knocked him out.

"You could also have stopped him from casting his Evil-eye magic by depriving him of his CAD, you know?"

"He's a terrorist. You're going to take pity on him?"

"Not at all. But you just traumatized poor Sayaka." shrugged Akeno as she took her smartphone and called the number they had been provided with.

"Hello?" asked a young woman's melodious voice.

"Greetings. This is Akeno Himejima. Miyuki Shiba gave me your number."

"Yes. We are on our way. We started when we heard the gunshots."

"Yes. We have incapacitated all the suspects. One of them has a head injury, but not a life-threatening one."

"We will be there in thirty seconds."

"Thank you. Rin is going to open the door, please be so kind as to not shoot her by accident. See you soon." smiled Akeno as the ended the call.

"They better not, or I'm really going to break a few bones." muttered Rin as she headed for the door.

…

Kyouko Fujibayashi didn't quite know what to expect as she entered the warehouse after the first wave of soldiers had declared it safe. She had heard a lot of screams and insults in the background of Akeno's call, and expected to see a scene worthy of a battlefield.

Instead, Akeno and Rin were standing quietly near the door, talking to Sayaka Mibu, but she didn't seem to be in the mood to listen. The twenty or so men who seemed to be struggling as if their feet were glued to the ground, and their arms bound behind their backs with no visible restraint, were a strange spectacle. One, that she recognized as Tsukasa Hajime, was sprawled in the ground, blood and other body fluids seeping from under his closed eyelids.

The soldiers were busy kicking away the discarded rifles and putting handcuffs on the captives.

Leaving the soldiers to do their jobs, she approached Akeno and Rin with a smile.

"That was a really fine job, to neutralize so many opponents so fast, and without harming most of them." said Kyouko as she saluted. "I am Lieutenant Kyouko Fujibayashi. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is ours. I didn't expect to meet you for a few days." smiled Akeno, looking at her up and down. "Please forgive me for asking, but isn't a white dress uniform a bit inappropriate for the situation?"

"Not any more than a student uniform." smiled Kyouko, and Akeno acknowledged her point with a nod.

One soldier handcuffed Sayaka and took her away.

"If I need to fight, something has already gone seriously wrong. The front line isn't my specialty. Regarding those people, did you paralyze them using magecraft?" said Kyouko.

"Not Magecraft, but another type of magic." said Akeno as she shook her head.

"It looks to be a potent one, with obvious application for law enforcement as you demonstrated. Would you be willing to teach us this as well?"

Kyouko waited in silence as Akeno didn't answer immediately. Eventually, she nodded her head, and looked around to see who was close enough to hear, before speaking in a low voice.

"Lieutenant Fujibayashi, would you know what I mean if I mention something called a world fragment?"

Rin looked in shock at Akeno, then observed Kyouko carefully.

Kyouko blinked at the sudden change of subject, but kept her face neutral and only allowed herself to display some confusion.

"World fragment? I do not know what this refers to. A piece of the world?" smoothly lied Kyouko.

"No, you know about it." said Akeno. "I will give you this, you are a good actress. But you didn't fool me. You have listened to my conversation with Noah, or heard of it at the very least, and the government was rather blatant in volunteering you to learn some of our abilities."

"You know, and we know that you know, and Tatsuya-kun knows that we know that he knows that we know about him. And it's getting pretty darn confusing to try to keep track of what each party likely knows or doesn't. So, how about we put our cards on the table and have a frank conversation? I won't necessarily tell you everything, but I will answer a lot of the questions you likely have."

Kyouko pondered for a few second as she considered things. She could try to deny it and end the conversation. But since she was already suspected, her infiltration mission, if such an obvious attempt deserved to be called that, was dead in the water, and she would come back home empty-handed.

At the same time, it was a good opportunity to learn important information. She would at least gain something potentially valuable out of it.

"…Fine, I agree with this." sighed Kyouko. "Although you are incorrect on one point. The government didn't volunteer me to learn your Magecraft. I volunteered myself, because I knew they would ask, and having taken the initiative will be good for my career."

Akeno nodded with a smile.

"How about I invite you both to my house for a cup of coffee to continue that discussion? This place isn't really secure."

"That would be a good idea." replied Akeno.

After the Lieutenant spoke to a few soldiers for a while, and she made a call to her superior, someone named Captain Kazama, Akeno and Rin followed her to her car, parked far away from the warehouse, and she started driving away.

"Lieutenant, I have a favor to ask, regarding Sayaka Mibu. I would like for her punishment to be decided by me." said Akeno from the back seat.

"Because she is your friend?" asked Kyouko.

"In part, yes. But also because she has been brainwashed by that guy's Evil-Eye technique, and as far as I'm aware, the only thing she's actually guilty of is associating with them. From her behavior tonight, she wasn't aware that some of their group possessed weapons, nor that they planned anything violent."

"I think I could convince the right people to overlook her involvement." nodded Kyouko. "In return, once we are in my home, tell me about Heroic Spirits."

"That's a large subject, and answering that question will make you ask five more, but I will tell you." nodded Akeno.

They arrived to a modest but cozy home, and Kyouko had her two guests sitting in the living room as she prepared coffee. Once it was ready, she served them, and sat in front of them

"If you do not mind, I will record our conversation." said Kyouko as she placed a recorder on the table. In truth, she already had one of the house's systems recording everything happening in the living room, but she might as well ask for permission.

"I wouldn't expect anything different. So, Heroic Spirits. To answer this question, I first need to give you some context. In Rin's world, magic was practiced openly and on a greater scale in previous eras, before science took the forefront. A time where the ambient mana created supernatural creatures that prowled the land. It was truly the age of Monsters and Heroes. A period of time where calling someone a one-man-army could actually be a literal description."

"Nowadays, magic has receded, and monsters, demons and Onis have been exterminated, save for a few survivors in isolated regions, and became a matter of folklore. Only a few secret organizations and independent families, like the Mage Association Rin and I are members of, still practice it in secret. Our Japan would be very comparable to what your own country was about eighty years ago. We have nuclear plants, cars, internet and all that jazz. In Rin's world, however, there is an entity called Type: Moon. An Artificial Super Intelligence that was created to observe and record humanity."

"What is a Heroic Spirit? It is a being artificially created based on the recording Type: Moon made of particularly influential individuals, who is then enhanced by its own legends. To give you two concrete examples, Medusa looks like a gorgeous young woman, but she could petrify you with her gaze if she chooses to, and Da Vinci, already a great genius when he was alive, is now an even greater genius, able to create just about anything given enough time and materials."

"On top of being boosted by their own legends, even the weakest Heroic Spirit also possess physical and magical aptitudes that would be many times higher than those of normal humans. Most have a great innate resistance to magic as well."

"And you have been allowed to summon them?"

"Yes. But we won't do it if the situation doesn't call for it. Besides, not every Heroic Spirit is a good person. I could name Jack the Ripper or Bluebeard as obvious examples. A good thing Type: Moon is allowing us to select them this time."

"This time? Has there been incidents before where an evil heroic Spirit has been unleashed?"

"Yes."

Akeno started a long explanation about the reason Type: Moon created Heroic Spirits, the stolen ritual of the Einzbern, and how Holy Grail Wars generally worked.

"And you are a Master, Himejima-kun?"

Akeno nodded, and removed the Light rune hiding her Command Seals.

"Please call me Akeno. I have five Heroic Spirits as my Servants. The Fairy Knight Britomart. Artoria Pendragon, a female version of king Arthur, do not ask me why she's a woman in Rin's world. Saika Magoichi, a legendary mercenary from the Sengoku period. Hippolyta, the Queen of the Amazons. And Medea, the famous sorceress from Greece. Rin has Scathach, the legendary Celtic warrior-queen. My turn to ask a question. How did you spy on me back then? I'm pretty certain I didn't miss anything in the cell. I even covered the computer's microphone with gum!"

"…Well, I do not suppose there is any harm in telling you now. It was a laser microphone pointed at the window."

"…Wow. I had believed that she'd been a careless idiot, but even I would have fallen for it." nodded Rin, earning an amused glare from Akeno.

"You're going to pay for that diss, Rin."

Then she looked back at Kyouko.

"You guys really are thorough. I'll make sure to account for that possibility in the next timeline."

"How do you have so many Servants? According to what you told me of the Holy Grail Wars, Masters only have one Servant."

"The catastrophe that is the cause of us coming to your world didn't catch us completely by surprise. We were warned by several Gods that we had to prepare and go to Chaldea. As a result, I used the upcoming Holy Grail War as an opportunity to collect many Servants, Mostly be making alliances with their Masters, like with Rin. There are about eighteen Heroic Spirits and ten Masters now following my lead or being part of Chaldea's staff."

"Gods?"

"Yes, Gods. You heard me mention Lilith-sama in my conversation with Noah. She is a Goddess, and Noah works for her. He supervises several timelines for her, and do various things like curing people from cancer and stopping wars and pushing reforms. But he cannot do this alone, so he is always on the lookout for competent helpers. Which is why he is interested in you, Lieutenant Fujibayashi."

"Please call me Kyouko, since it looks like we'll often interact from now on." smiled Kyouko. "It… feels a bit strange, to learn that I caught the eye of someone who isn't even in this world. How is he aware of me?"

"Sorry, but this isn't something I can reveal." smiled Akeno, shaking her head. "Please ask something else."

"…Fine. Some of my superiors are worried that Noah might be a threat."

"As long as you do not give him a reason to want you dead, you do not have anything to fear from him. He has far too many things to do to care about some politicians or officers in a world that isn't going to be placed in his purview. If you do give him a reason, however… well, yes, you are going to die."

"You sound very certain. I feel a little offended as a member of the Japanese military." frowned Kyouko, but Akeno simply shrugged.

"I will be blunt. The only person in this world Noah fears to some extent is Tatsuya-kun. If it comes to a confrontation between the Japanese government and Noah, he will not play fair. He will patiently wait a few weeks, or even a few months for your vigilance to drop, then perform a decapitation strike targeting Tatsuya-kun, preferably in the middle of the night when he is asleep."

"You will have no warning, no way to detect him, and Tatsuya-kun will die within half a second of the attack starting. With him gone, the rest of you would be lambs to the slaughter. But to reiterate, as long as no one in the government suddenly decides to try to kill Rin and I, and you guys actually follow such stupid orders, you have nothing to fear from him. You guys should worry more about what the GAU is up to."

"You can be assured that we pay close attention to their doings." nodded Kyouko. "I guess I should ask next about the two biggest concerns of my superiors, aside from the world fragment. Immortality, and resurrection? Are they really possible?"

"Immortality is something Noah received from Lilith-sama after he passed her trials. Because having to replace your stewards every few decades would be impractical, at a guess. And after racking up a number of achievements, he earned the right to share it with his subordinates, to make his own work easier, and solve the biggest drawback of immortality, seeing people close to you wither and die."

"The only way to obtain it is to be prepared to swear loyalty to him, and to catch his interest. Or mine, since I have been allowed to act as his emissary and recruit people for him. So, sorry for your politicians, but it is unlikely they will ever obtain it."

"They will be so disappointed." sighed Kyouko.

"As for the resurrection, as I understand it, it is actually somewhat similar to the way Tatsuya-kun recovers from being wounded. Noah borrows Lilith-sama's power, only having to designate the individual he wishes to revive and pay a significant, but not crippling price. The process draws information from the target's past to create a new body identical to the one the deceased person possessed, then retrieves the soul and link it to the new body. There is no time limit. My own mother, who died over a decade ago, has been revived by Noah shortly before I traveled to Rin's world, with her personality and memories intact. She remembers dying, but nothing about the time when she was dead."

"Yeah." nodded Rin. "When this business with the world fragments is over and we're back on our world, Noah is supposed to revive my mother as well. That is part of my deal with him and Akeno."

"I can see how this and the perspective of an endless lifespan would be powerful selling points. I still have a hard time believing it is possible."

"If you wish for some actual evidence, Kyouko, would the government like a live demonstration?" grinned Akeno.

"A live demonst… Ah, you mean the person you referred to in the recording."

"Yes." nodded Akeno. "I'll need to ask Noah, but I think he will agree to do it live, and Tatsuya-kun and Miyuki will be able to speak to her for a while."

"Later this morning, I will contact the government and Tatsuya-kun." agreed Kyouko.

"Thank you. And to be clear, we are still willing to teach you Magecraft, even if you're a spy from the government."

"A spy who got found out barely one minute after introducing herself." chuckled Kyouko. "Now I do not know if volunteering myself will end up being beneficial for my career or not."

"Well, it your career hits a snag, I know someone who is recruiting, and the job has many benefits!" grinned Akeno.