------------------------------------------------------
3rd Person PoV
May 9 / City streets near the Komyo-In Temple / Night
Daiki awaited for his inevitable death, seeing as the small girl jumped towards him with her Kama on hand, swinging them downwards to end the life of the Master of Saber...
...that was the plan. The dual Kama were parried by a katana which forced the girl to back away almost instantly
Saber:"Stay away from my Master, Assassin..." Saber walked in between of them, holding his katana tightly to his grasp with a serious glare onto the Assassin
Daiki:"So she's Assassin...thanks Saber, i thought i was gonna die there..."
Saber:"Focus, the Assassin class is known for being tricky, cautious, fast and deadly all at the same time..."
Assassin raised her head to stare into Saber's eyes, a confident grin forming on her lips
Assassin:"I had intended to kill another person, but since Master of Saber and his Servant appeared...then why not kill them first?" A giggle followed her words, as if a sadist itself was saying them
Saber:"She's really just seeking for preys to kill...stay back Master, this wont be easy"
Daiki raised his hand with the Command Spells to his chest, holding it into a fist as a determined look appeared on his eyes
Daiki:"I'll support you as much as i can Saber, end her!"
Saber:"Roger"
Assassin:"Aww, well, let this be my first Servant murdered!"
Without further advice, Assassin vanished into the air leaving both the Saber and it's Master shocked by it's haste
Saber: Where did-!?
Daiki:"Above!"
Saber didn't doubt a second to slash upwards, managing to block the first strike from Assassin that tried to take him unaware
Saber: She's fast, that's a fact...
Assassin:"Not bad, not bad!"
She jumped off from the sword clash, then began to throw many slashes in a straight pattern that confused Saber with the speed each slash was being executed at, by cheer luck managing to block them all with swift movements from the sword in his hands
Saber:"Alright, my turn!"
Following the battle's technique, he parried one of her last strikes and stunned her for a moment, aiming the sword to strike right at her heard before it was blocked and deflected to the side just in time, Assassin then vanished into the air to reappear back into her initial spot, waving the Kama on her right hand with a smile
Assassin:"You're quick to react, but how do you deal with this!"
The Kama were both thrown one after the other towards Saber, who managed to deflect the two of them swiftly and elegantly by holding the blade's handle with both hands for better movement speed, however the moment they were deflected the Kama went back to Assassin's hands like boomerangs
Saber: Tactical Kama that return to the owner after being thrown? Come on...
Daiki:"Don't give up Saber, i may not know much offensive magic, but i am confident in my support magic!" As Daiki said so, he raised his hand and pointed it at Saber, making it glow at the same time a light blue aura covered Saber's body for a second before dissipating
Saber:"Thanks Master"
Assassin:"Round two, go!"
Her Kama's blades lit up on fire after she shook them for a bit, taking Saber aback but not enough to keep him in shock for too long. With the increased speed that the Master provided to the Servant, Saber had a better chance at blocking and dodging Assassin's attempts to cut him with the burning blades elegantly parrying and deflecting the Kama, the Master's support came in handy enough to corner Assassin at her current speed that's for sure
Assassin:"Hold hold j-just a moment! Time out! A second ago you weren't this fast!?" Shouted in worry the small Assassin as she began getting on the defensive, being forced to protect herself instead of being the attacker
Saber:"Master's support is essential in a battle of Servants, don't you forget that Assassin!"
A last slash from Saber's part made Assassin drop one of her Kama, jumping away before one last slash hit her. The Kama's fire turned off completely, leaving them as they were before
Assassin:"I can't believe i was cornered so quick into the battle..." The dropped Kama returned to her hand, dual wielding them once again
Saber:"I show no mercy to enemies" He pointed the katana to Assassin with a glare, confident in himself
Daiki:"Are you sure that's not because she's a kid?"
Saber:"Oh that too, just didn't feel the need to say it"
Assassin saved her weapons and stood straight, placing her hands behind her back with a smug grin
Assassin:"If that's so...then i don't need to hold back at all do i? You just took me by surprise, that's all!"
Showing her hands again, she threw a set of three hand grenades at Saber that had been activated before they were thrown. Saber reacted quick enough to deflect the grenades to the sides letting them blow up on the buildings at his sides before getting back on his guard. Assassin was nowhere to be found as the grenades lifted a smoke screen from the damage done on the surroundings, leaving Saber to remain on the defensive
Saber: Where did she even take those from-
A strong gust of wind hit his head from behind, alerting him of the incoming attack, though it was late enough to react as Assassin delivered a clear hit onto his face and made him back away with her fists holding a pair of iron brass knuckles, luckily enough they didn't have any sharp edge to deal any deadly blow though. After regaining his thoughts, Assassin and Saber began to clash their weapons in and endless exchange of attacks that Assassin was slowly but surely winning, even with Saber's increased speed he was still nowhere near to the girl's speed
Daiki: She had those hidden? Impossible, we would've noticed...could she be a Caster?
Saber deflected a last fist from her, leaving the two in a clash of strength to see who could surpass the other faster
Saber:"Where did you have these hidden? I never saw you with them before we faced" Asked the question the confused Saber, trying to win some ground in their exchange
Assassin:"I didn't, that's the catch!"
A swift kick from Assassin's part tried to hit Saber's face, it was blocked by his hand holding her leg on the spot right before it connected
Saber:"Then i assume you must've made it somehow!"
He lifted the kid by her leg and spun her around, then threw her towards a street lamp in an attempt to hurt her in a reliable way, however this didn't work much as she recovered quicker than he intended and boosted herself to rush around him at blinding speeds after jumping on the lamp before hitting it
Assassin:"That's more like it, but revealing everything about me would be no fun, so lets just end this right here and now!"
Saber remained still, unable to follow her with his sight, he knew the best that he could do is listen for her steps, the air that violently hit the surroundings with each boost she took from the walls and floor, and the sound of her voice echoing through the street all around him thanks to the inhuman speed that he was facing
Daiki: Can we really beat her? Saber's not attempting to attack her, i'm not sure if this will be better...
Saber:"Master" Called out the Servant to his Master, keeping his eyes closed
Daiki:"Yes?"
Saber:"I think it's clear i cannot keep up with Assassin's speed, it is impossible to follow up with a monster such as her..." Those words got a sigh from Daiki, knowing that the best course of action would be to escape or use Saber's ultimate skill
Daiki:"I understand-"
Saber:"But"
A smile formed back on Saber's face, not one covered by fear or much less, but one that showed that he just came up with a plan
Saber:"I, too, have my own dirty tricks"
Assassin attempted to attack him using the now appearing afterimages of herself as a distraction, due to Saber having his eyes closed and concentrating on everything around him the afterimages were barely anything to distract him, Assassin's attempt at attacking with her dual Kama was blocked by the katana of the Saber, being blocked the several times that Assassin attempted to attack him at her neck-breaking speed as if it was an everyday thing, casually avoiding each and all strikes as Assassin was only growing more and more tired
Daiki: How's he doing that!? Saber doesn't even have his eyes open!
A long while passed like that, Assassin grew tired of the same thing happening over and over again and decided to quit her attempts, jumping back to remain on her guard and stopping her attack. Saber opened his eyes again and stared at her
Saber:"Do you surrender, Assassin?" Confidently said Saber with a mocking tone in an attempt to provoke Assassin, managing to do so as a growl was heard from her part
Assassin:"How did you block all of those!? That was unreal!"
Saber:"Says the one who moves faster than the human eye can see, that wasn't you fighting seriously was it?"
The angered look on Assassin's face turned to a smirk in a short time, her eyes covered by a shade made by her hood covering her head
Assassin:"I'm glad you noticed, however spoiling it all now would be no fun, we just barely started the war so doing so wouldn't be fitting now would it? And besides, my Master's calling for me"
She disappeared into the air as she jumped over a building, landing over the nearest one to the duo of Servant and Master and turning to look down at them from the moonlight
Assassin:"Next time we see i'll make sure to kill you, bye bye~" Her figure vanished into the dead of the night, her presence disappearing along and leaving the two in peace at last
Daiki:"We...we actually won" Said in excitement the young Master with an excited smile on his face, the first Servant battle was a success and the damage was minimal. Saber let out a sigh of relief as he saved the sword back on it's sheath
Saber:"We're free from Assassin for tonight Master, now i believe we should make our way back home right?"
...
Daiki:"Liv is gonna be so mad..."
Saber:"Is she now? From what i noticed she's a real airhead" Said the Saber as his body vanished into his Spirit Form, becoming invisible to their sight
Daiki:"You never know with girls..."
Timeskip
For Daiki's luck, Liviana had already fallen asleep by the time they arrived, the clock marked a late hour since he left the house for the sake of his chores, and the battle between Servants only took more time from his hands
Saber:"Lets go to your room, i need to speak with you about something" Said the Saber in Spirit Form, earning a quiet nod from Daiki
Just as told, Daiki closed the main entrance's door and locked it before walking silently up to his room, making the least amount of noise that he could to avoid waking Liviana up. Once he arrived to the room and locked the door, Saber returned to his Physical Form and left his katana leaning on the wall, as well as his other sheathed sword that remained on his waist up until now
Saber:"We should be alright to speak here"
Daiki:"So what did you need to talk about?" Curiosity overcame the Master due to the sudden offering to talk about something amongst the duo, specially if Daiki had no idea of what it could be
Saber:"I remember you said something about a murderer on the loose, someone who had been killing people that wander at night and such...my suggestion is that Assassin is behind those crimes, her and her Master approving of it"
Daiki:"Yeah i figured as much on my own, it was...weird to see Assassin on her own, and fight on her own too, i thought Master and Servants always fought together in every battle they played on"
Saber:"It seems either her Master is a coward and he had planned for us to meet with her, he didn't want to risk his life so he remained hidden...or it was an early game plan to get to know as much as possible of me" He reached up to the center of the room and kneeled right in the middle, measuring the position right to get the most accurate spot possible
Daiki:"You're good with deductions..." Daiki took a necklace off his neck and stared into it, opening it to reveal an image of his younger self and an older figure next to him
Saber:"What are you holding?"
Daiki:"Oh...just a necklace, it was a gift from my grandfather, and it has an image of him and me when i was younger"
Saber took the necklace after his Master offered it to him, letting him see the photo of the two
Saber:"Where is he now?"
Daiki:"He died already...the best man i've known, and the only one in my family that really even bothered to care for me, the only one who believed in me" Daiki took the necklace back and placed it over his neck again
Saber:"Sorry for your loss"
Daiki:"It's alright, i just owe a lot to him...if i could thank him for everything he did one last time, i definitely would take the chance"
Both remained in silence as Daiki placed everything back in order inside the room, Liviana had entered while he was away to probably look for something inside, but whatever it was Daiki didn't seem to have it as everything was still there. Saber opened his mouth to speak and break the silence after a moment
Saber:"Master...remember when you summoned me?" Daiki turned his gaze to look at Saber, intrigued by his words
Daiki:"Yeah..?"
Saber:"I said i had no name"
...
Saber:"My name is..."
A pause followed, no word being spoken for some seconds that seemed as if hours had passed by the contained excitement of the Master. Before answering, Saber looked around the room until his gaze stopped on the book that was on the ground, same that helped Daiki perform the summoning
Saber:"...i am a nameless Heroic Spirit, you will know me as Saber from here until the end of the war" His words had a small hint of an annoyed tone, one that Daiki didn't seem to get
Daiki:"Oh...that's alright. My name is Daiki Yoshikawa, i hope we can get along well Saber" He extended his hand to greet the newly summoned Servant, who only threw a glare at him in response
Saber:"...right, i will be your sword in this battle, do not hesitate to use me" In the end, Saber shook his Master's hand to accept the greeting, but instead of smiling like Daiki did Saber remained with a neutral glare over him, a stare of distrust upon the new Master
...
Saber:"I'll be honest. After seeing that you needed a book's help to summon me, i felt a little disappointed that you would be my Master, but just a while ago in that battle with Assassin...your support magic actually worked out better than i expected it, you proved to be a far superior Mage than i anticipated" For the first time in a while of their talks, Saber showed a genuine smile to his Master not hidden behind any sign of regret or disappointment
Daiki:"I...don't know what you mean-"
Saber:"I mean, that i believe in you"
He stood up from the ground and walked up to Daiki, standing infront of one another this time with Saber being much more friendly than any other time before the day
Saber:"You can be the best Mage the world can ever see, and i know you can accomplish it. We will win this war and claim our wish, then everyone who disrespected you will see how wrong they were by underestimating you. Daiki Yoshikawa, Master of Saber of the Holy Grail War"
Daiki:"Saber..."
Saber extended his hand first this time, aiming to get a handshake from Daiki
Saber:"Lets give it another shot. You who have summoned me, i am a Saber-class Servant, and i shall be your sword in this battle for the Holy Grail. My true name..."
A silence filled the air for a moment, intentionally building a small tension for Saber's revelation before he finally spoke up again with a welcoming, warm smile directed to his Master
Saber:"...is Ryo Arlan, the Emperor's Sword"
Missionary Church / Late Night
Nanashi and Kazuki made their way to the signaled church by Daniel and Kazuki, walking at their own rhythm after confirming that nothing was gonna chase them that night
Lancer:"Looks like we arrived"
Said and done, both finally arrived to their destination after taking a long walk from the shop. Nanashi sighed in relief as they entered the grounds of the Church happy that he wouldn't need to walk much more
Nanashi:"Finally..."
Lancer:"I'll keep guard outside, the Church is a neutral zone so don't worry about being attacked, call me if you need me kid!" A soft bonk from Kazuki's spear followed before he turned around on the gate and stood making guard, Nanashi turned around as soon as he felt the tap on his head with a slightly annoyed expression
Nanashi: Whatever, let it go...
Regaining his thoughts, Nanashi went to the main entrance to the Church and prepared to open the door, confident that nothing could happen after Kazuki confirmed it. Once the doors were open, a voice greeted the Master of Lancer inside from the other edge of the building
???:"Welcome Master of Lancer, i was expecting you" The voice was calmed yet serious, kind yet neutral, but overall it gave a slight sense of security after deducing whoever was speaking to him was just the one that saw over the war
Nanashi:"Are you the Overseer?" Asked outloud Nanashi while closing the door behind him, walking further into the Church with a confident step
Overseer:"That's right, and you came here to ask about the Holy Grail War, isn't that right?"
Nanashi only managed to nod, action being visible enough under the moonlight for the Overseer to see it and confirm his thoughts
Overseer:"Then, ask away, it should be confusing for you being dragged into the war out of the blue specially if you were just a normal shopkeeper before this all began"
Nanashi:"Wait wait, how do you know about that..?" The sudden exposition of knowledge shocked Nanashi, he didn't expect the Overseer to actually know that much about him
Overseer:"This title is not for decoration" The Priest walked up to the center of the building where Nanashi had been speaking from, now both being some meters apart from the other
Nanashi:"I see...then, Overseer, i'd like to have some questions answered regarding the war"
Overseer:"Ask away...and, no need to refer to me as Overseer, it's too long of a name anyways, so instead just call me...Priest"
------------------------------------------------------
[Word count 3273]