A/N: This has to be the longest time I've been sick to date.
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That night, I didn't need Nobunaga to come barging into my room with a gun in hand and drag me out for fun by force. I was already prepared. No, that was wrong. I'd gone a step above just being 'prepared'.
Most of my afternoon was spent browsing a high-end clothes chain offering suits so expensive my inner street rat wanted to run into a wall the moment he saw the tags. Yet, it appeared Luvia had rubbed off on me... in ways not simply isolated to our bedroom. I bought everything that caught my eye, without even looking at the total.
I also gave Caren one of my cards before telling her to do what she wanted. Expectedly, that ended in disaster when she threw money at someone's child to buy a 'worker'... I had to shake my head and remind her we weren't in a sweatshop in a certain nation across the sea.
In the end, by the time the Sun was fully hidden behind tall mountains in the distant horizon, I was standing on my roof, dripped out from head-to-toe in a burgundy suit with gold buttons and a black cotton shirt under a vest that had a golden chainlinks hanging between two rows of buttons.
I looked fresh.
I felt fresh.
Hopefully, someone would notice the fit, especially now that I easily filled it out thanks to my physical training.
They'd have an easy time spotting me considering I was standing on my roof. Nobunaga stood beside me, both hands resting over the hilt of a katana buried in roof tiles. Her crimson cloak fluttered with the chill winter wind sweeping over the city.
"Oh?" She raised a brow, craning her neck to glance at the Tohsaka Mansion.
Ah, wait, no, the mansion of my 'teacher'.
Boy, that pay-off was going to be fun. The broke young overseer of this city clearly failed to recognise me even slightly.
"I feel it. She's summoned a servant of her own."
I deadpanned. "So, do you 'feel' it cause of the bright explosion of light that just came from there or has your unparalleled genius allowed you to put together that a master would eventually summon a servant?"
The Demon King rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.
"Don't mind the little details, you nitpicker! People don't like-"
"But they definitely adore a person who took skulls as trophies."
Nobunaga pursed her lips for a moment, "Like you wouldn't do it back then..."
Fair enough.
"So are we going to attack her? Are we? I would love to see what noble phantasm this one wields."
I considered her idea, then shook my head. It wasn't going to be as fun if we went at her now. Besides, I'd built something of a rapport with the irritable lady... though even that was just an excuse.
I turned to gaze at a lone hill rising in the distance, near Miyama Town. It stood oddly amidst well-developed neighborhoods, covered in dense forestry that made it seem like a hunched-over, dark, hairy creature in the dark of night. No doubt, the people of Fuyuki were used to the sight but to an outsider... it indeed caught the eye.
According to Rin, that hill was the site of the sanctuary for this Holy Grail War. Home to the priest assigned to assure that the war proceeded in accordance with all the rules agreed upon by both the Holy Church and the Mage's Association. For some reason, her expression soured terribly when she brought him up before she dropped the topic entirely.
Naturally, my curiosity was piqued.
My encounters with the Holy Church thus far had been nothing short of exhilarating.
"We're probably gonna set fire to that hill. Imagine how everyone will-"
Nobunaga cut me off by raising a hand, "You had me at 'set fire'. I require no further explanations! Let us set off with haste!"
Appreciating our shared interest in bothering others, I casually stepped off the rooftop, instead of falling, I appeared next in the sky. A moment later, Nobunaga was beside me again... Her way of flying atop her rifles was admittedly, much cooler than mine.
"You can stay here for a bit, I'll take the long way up. Chances are he'll try to jump me on the way."
She mumbled intelligibly in protest but relented, "Fine, but I drop in from the sky at the first sign of fun-... I mean, trouble. Yes, trouble. Really, you should be grateful for how much I worry for you."
By that she meant how much she worried I'd do something fun without her.
Chuckling, I shook my head.
"Sure."
Shifting to the foot of the hill, I let Limitless go and landed on the paved road leading up the hill with a gentle thud. With a deep breath, I reeled in my excitement, put on an amiable smile, then finally started walking.
Not a minute later, I heard footsteps behind me.
My first thought was that Nobunaga had reneged on our little agreement but... the truth was worse.
There was a young woman behind me. Fair skin that seemed to shimmer faintly in the soft moonlight. Magenta hair cut short... European, like myself. None of this was an issue. She was even pretty, with a beauty spot under one of her eyes.
No, the problem was the colour of her business suit.
I raised my aviators briefly and scrunched up my face in disgust. She clenched her fists, seemingly bracing for my next actions.
"How dare you steal my flow, you filthy peasant?"
The little shit's clothes were the same color as mine!
Her face froze at my words. Several awkward seconds later, she tilted her head ever-so-slightly, visibly stupefied.
"...Excuse me? I don't understand-"
Her words were distant, measured and professional.
"I will not be slandered this way, okay~? Do you seriously expect me to believe that you didn't pick out that suit just because you knew I was going to be wearing it so you could ruin my mood for an advantage?"
Again, silence.
Then,
"Er...No?"
"Well, fair." I snorted, waving my hand, "Alright, I'll be going now~"
She nodded confusedly before reaching into her coat as I turned my back to her. From the corner of my eye, I managed to see her look between me and a picture in my hand several times... but I had more interesting things in mind.
"Wait... you wouldn't happen to be..." She trailed off.
"Magus extraordinaire? A billionaire?" I whipped around excitedly, "The Pride of Lord El-Melloi II-... Oh..."
In her hand, she held a picture of me nuking the London Museum along with every Enforcer on-duty, as well as every noble magus that just so happened to have the misfortune of waiting there to see an 'upstart commoner' get put in his place by the real heavy-hitter.
"No, that's clearly my evil twin, lady." I pointed at the picture.
She looked it over again. "I'm not a child."
"But I made you look~"
She... was decidedly unamused. I ended up realising that when she retrieved a pair of gloves from her pockets and slowly put them on before raising both fists like she was about to summon a certain Divine General.
"So... you know who I am, and you're confident you can take me in a fistfight? Alone?"
"My name is Bazett. Bazett Fraga McRemitz. In addition to my participation in the Holy Grail War, I was tasked with carrying out your Sealing Designation, for your crimes against the Mage's Association." She declared calmly, refusing to entertain my poking and prodding.
I placed a hand over my heart, and gave a gentlemanly bow, "You have to realise I only did those crimes AFTER the Sealing Designation came through~... I was pretty you all wouldn't have the guts to actually come after me... unless..."
The Clock Tower was a cesspit of corrupt nobility continuously trying to use every little thing to their advantage. It didn't take a genius to notice this with as much exposure as I had. They never stopped until they were forcibly made to realise that something was simply... impossible. They were also the type to use...
"Say Miss Bazett, you're not very popular among your peers, or even in general, are you?"
Her ears twitched at my question.
"H... How does that concern you?"
Yeah... This was just shameless...
Some people, particularly, those who held a dislike for this woman had decided that they were going to use me to get rid of her. Maybe she'd pissed someone off somewhere, or they just didn't want her. There were a multitude of possibilities. There was even a decent chance this was payback for doing a good job... because somehow that would offend those who appeared in a bad light for it.
Somehow, I wasn't in the mood to fulfill their goals anymore.
"Again, I have to ask, you have that picture. You know what happened. Are you sure you want to take me on alone?"
She tightened her fists, "I'm not alone."
Before I could even open my mouth to question that declaration, I felt something pierce my gut. When I looked down, a brilliant red spear wrapped in thorns was protruding from my stomach, wet with my blood.
I coughed out a mouthful of blood.
"I would typically engage you outright but, even I understand that taking you on in that manner is folly."
She pulled on her gloves, and I heard her footsteps coming closer and closer. It was only when I could see her boots that I raised my head to meet her maroon eyes.
"You know... You..."
I looked to my side. There stood a blue-haired man as tall as I with eyes as red as the spear pierced through me. I chuckled at the blue full-body tights over his body... Then, I grinned.
"Sorry, kid." He offered calmly.
"You really should've gone for the head, mate."
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Hope you enjoyed.