"Grunt work, huh?" Fujimaru's shoulders were slouched as he spoke. An unimpressed look on his face.
Jean patted his shoulder lightly, "Welcome to the club." The group had left the throne room only a few seconds ago, only after negotiating with the king to do some grunt work and make a name for themselves.
"Please do not worry," Siduri's voice came from behind them, making the small group turn towards her. "We will make sure that you are all supplied with what you need while you stay here."
"Well, if you've got them covered, I'll just be on my way to my room. After a long day like this, I'd rather take a nice bath and go to sleep," Jean stated before walking back in the Ziggurat to her chambers.
She sighed as she walked in, her form being covered in blue light as she changed out of her battle gear. She sat down on the bed before running her hand through her hair. "So, Rin's being possessed by Ishtar and Chaldea has finally arrived. This is certainly to make things more interesting in the coming weeks," she fell on the bed, her arms spread out as she looked at the ceiling of her room. She closed her eyes, 'I hope Aoi and Diarmuid are alright...'
<><><><><>
"Mom! Look!"
Jean looked down towards her daughter, a small smile on her face as she saw a soft blue light erupting from her daughter's hands. "I can do magic!" Aoi gleefully said, her golden eyes sparkling with excitement.
"That's amazing Aoi!" the female replied as she brushed through Peaches mane. The horse leaned down and nuzzled Aoi's cheek, making the girl lose her focus and lose the magic at her fingertips.
Aoi giggled as she pushed the horse's snout away, "Peaches, you messed it up," a small pout appeared on the little girl's face as she saw the blue light gone.
"Don't worry, Aoi, I'm sure that you'll get it back. You are already on your way to becoming a great mage!"
Jean opened her eyes, her blue eyes latching onto the Ziggurat's ceiling. A small frown fell on her face as she looked towards it, tears pricked her eyes as the memory was present in her mind. She sat there, silently crying as she realized that she would probably never see her daughters smile again.
"Mrs. Jean?" a small knock next to the doorway, snapped Jean out of her sadness. She quickly wiped her eyes as she sat up from her bed.
"Yes?" she turned her head to the doorway to see Siduri, a stone tablet in her hands. The female's brown eyes showing slight worry at the redness in the Servant's eyes.
"King Gilgamesh has told me that you have no duties other than training with Mash," she spoke softly. Jean nodded, showing that she understood. "Are you alright, Mrs. Jean?"
"Yes, I'm fine. Just a few things that came up in a dream last night. It's nothing to worry about," she spoke sending the King's assistant a smile. The woman nodded before leaving the room, planning to head back to the throne room. Jean's smile fell as Siduri left, memories of her life still present in her mind.
After a few more minutes, she got up fully. She stretched, feeling a satisfying pop from her back as she did so. She looked out the window in her room, seeing the sun had been up for at least an hour before she woke up. It was rare when she got to sleep in when she was in Uruk. With a war going on just outside the city, sleeping in was a leisure not many had.
Jean had quickly made her way to the training grounds after a bath and changing. She had wanted to get there before Mash arrived, wanting to let off some steam on one of the few training dummies on the training grounds. Although, that hope was soon crushed as she saw Mash waiting in the middle of the grounds, Fujimaru and Ana in the shade not too far away. "Mrs. Jean, you're here," Mash said, a smile on her face as she spoke.
"Yeah, so let's see how much you've improved. Fujimaru, do me a favour and stand behind Mash as if you two were in a battle," Jean replied. The Master nodded, moving behind Mash with a slightly confused look on his face. "Alright, this is going to be like a real battle. Fujimaru will be in danger to any attacks, note that I will mostly likely be focusing my attacks on him for most of the time. Do your best to protect him."
Jean didn't give Mash much time to materialise her shield as the female charged straight for the Shielder. The short-haired girl blocked the attack by sticking her shield in the ground, Jean's sword scraped against the middle of the shield. She backed up after the attack, Mash charged towards her, planning to swing her shield and attack her. The red-haired girl dodged the attack, getting on the other side of Mash and running towards Fujimaru. The male not moving, having full trust in Mash's abilities to keep him safe. Jean raised an eyebrow slightly as the man did not flinch as she came closer.
Mash turned towards her Master, a look of worry in her purple eyes as she saw Jean rush towards him. The Demi-Servant ran towards the two, getting in between them just before Jean could attack. The Servant's sword made contact with the shield again, Mash let go of her shield after sticking it in the ground. She jumped over the shield, planning to land a kick on Jean's upper body. The Wielder dodged the attack, backing up quickly. Mash landed in front of her shield, it disappearing as she did so. "You've definitely improved," Jean commented. "However..."
Fujimaru turned as he felt a tap on his shoulder, he backed up quickly as he saw the female in front of him. He turned to Jean, "How?"
"A simple duplication spell," the one in front of him stated. The duplicate of Jean in front of Mash disappeared, the original being the one with Fujimaru. "Always be aware of your surroundings. Any of your enemies, especially mages, can come in and duplicate themselves."
Mash nodded as she came up to them, "Right. I'll keep that in mind."
Jean turned to Fujimaru, "So, are you ready?"
The smile that Fujimaru had one his face left as he looked towards the girl, "Wait—what?"
<><><><><>
It had been a few weeks since Mash and Fujimaru had come, they had finally been able to leave the city work on missions for the King. "This is nice," Mash commented as her and Fujimaru rode on a wagon.
"Yes, but I've got to admit, I wasn't expecting the extra company," the black-haired male turned behind him to the two people on the wagon. Jean and King Gilgamesh sat across from each other, glaring harshly. Jean had refused to leave Mash and Fujimaru with Gilgamesh, saying how he could easily be the villain without them knowing and kill them off. The latter had argued that if he wanted them dead they already would be. But, Jean wouldn't back down, leaving them in the predicament that they are in.
The glaring contest ended as Gilgamesh looked away, turning to Mash and Fujimaru. "How exactly did you leave though? I thought you would have some kingly duties," Mash spoke.
"So did I..." Jean muttered, her gaze softening as she thought back to what had happened in the town. 'He really isn't the Gilgamesh I know,' she thought, memories of how he handled his kingly duties as well as how kind he had been to some of the kids on the street entered her mind. 'Maybe I misjudged how he acted after Enkidu a little bit...'
"If you think that I have left my duties to Siduri just because I supposedly crave excitement then you are mistaken," the male changed his sitting position, turning cross-legged to the two driving. "Now, tell me of some your adventures."
'Looks like he's craving excitement after all,' Fujimaru thought. "Well, it's about time for lunch so why don't we pull over and have something to eat?" He suggested. "While we're eating Mash and I can tell you of our adventures."
"Yes, that seems like a fine idea," Gilgamesh replied, nodding and agreeing with the Master. After a few more feet, the wagon pulled over and stopped at a shaded tree. Jean was the first to hop out of the wagon, grabbing the two baskets of food as she did so. She stretched slightly as Fujimaru and Mash came to the open space.
"I'll get the blanket and then we can talk!" Mash stated as she went back to the front of the wagon. She came back later and set down the blanket, putting it down and allowing the others to sit down. "Alright, as I recall we're supposed to talk about our adventures, yes? If so, than it would probably be best to talk about when I first met Senpai. It was a few months ago and when I had met him, he was sleeping on the floor in the hallway," the Demi-Servant spoke.
Gilgamesh laughed lightly, "You must be joking, only an idiot would fall asleep in a place like that."
Fujimaru laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head, "Actually..."
"So, you are an idiot," Jean stated, looking towards him with an unimpressed expression. "Honestly, is it too much to ask for a Master that isn't an idiot to save the world?" She questioned herself, her mind going to Shiro as she spoke. "First Emiya and now you."
"Hey, he made it this far didn't he?" Romani spoke from the Master's watch. "He's survived the past six singularities so he must be doing something right."
The red-haired girl sighed, "You make a fair point. Anyways, go on Mash."
"After meeting Senpai..." the female started to recall what happened in their travels, often laughing with Fujimaru at some parts. After they were done, Gilgamesh spoke.
"That was a truly boring story."
"You didn't like it?"
"No, I did not. However, you did seem to have enjoyed yourselves in your travels and adventures."
"Well, do you? Do you have any travels or stories that you'd like to share?" Fujimaru questioned before turning to the other female. "Or you Mrs. Jean?"
The Wielder looked away from the group, suddenly finding interest in a group of ants going up a tree. "No. My adventures when I was alive wasn't what you would say enjoyable." Memories flashed through the girls mind as she spoke before shaking her head and closing her eyes. "Speaking of which, I have been meaning to ask you for a favour Romani."
"Oh, what is it?"
"I—I need you to check on something for me."
The male on the other end of the communication nodded, "Of course. I'll have some of my people look into it."
"Thank you, Romani."
<><><><><>
After a few more hours had passed, the small group made it to the observatory next to the Persian Gulf. Jean sat down on the beach, her feet in the water as she stared at the sun setting. 'The others have probably already put the stuff in the wagon. We'll probably leave soon,' she thought. 'But...' the sea breeze moved her hair slightly, 'I don't exactly want to go back to the city for now. It's so much more relaxing out here.'
"Mrs. Jean! We got everything ready, we're just waiting for King Gilgamesh to finish up his business," Mash said as she came up to them. Fou ran past Jean into the water, letting out a happy cry as he landed in the water. "Fou! Don't go too far!" the pink-haired girl stood next to Jean as the small animal played in the water.
"It's really peaceful out here," Fujimaru commented as he walked up to the two.
"It was..." Jean mumbled, looking to the side as she spoke. 'But, now they are here and the peacefulness is interrupted slightly.'
"The peaceful moments up!" Romani called, "There's something headed towards you! A Servant by the looks of it!"
Mash and Jean got up, their weapons out and ready for the incoming attack. The pink-haired Servant stood in front of Fujimaru, her shield in front of them as she got ready to defend. Jean took steps back out of the water, the grip on her sword tightened and Fou came out of the water and took a spot next to Fujimaru. "Impact in three!"
The Servant's clenched their fists on their weapons.
"Two!"
Jean stared closely towards the sunset, trying to spot the oncoming Servant. Her eyes widened at the green-hair and white outfit.
"One!"
'Shit.'