Remaining Days: 3
Even after a full night of rest, I cannot make sense of Rani. Who was she talking about? Who is the "other one"? Is she referring to Leo, assuming that either him or I will be the one to win this? There is no other possibility, is there? Maybe I should procrastinate this for now, it is not important to figure it out. For all we know, Rani could be insane and there is no sense to her words at all.
I look at the new door in our room. Well, at this point, you may call it a flat instead. When Saber and I got back yesterday, Rin was not to be found in the room, but there was a new door, opposite of the door to the bathroom. There was a note on it, too.
Made my own room here, so I won't bother the two of you. If there's something urgent, you're welcome anytime, Ritsuka.
… You as well, Saber.
—Rin
I knew I could count on Rin to find a solution, though I fear she feels lonely. Due to that, and because I want to talk to her about Rani, I knock at her door. I wonder if she is even awake already.
"Come in, Ritsuka," I hear her voice from behind the door, so I open it and step in.
"How did you know it was me?"
"Would Saber knock?" … Probably not.
"Good point." Of course, Saber would not knock, she would just come in. That is just the kind of person she is. "She is still asleep." Yes, that is a reason, too. Saber would not be awake at this time, unless I woke her up. "Nice room," I add. It at least looks like a normal room, with a decent bed and desk and everything you would imagine in a teenager's or young adult's room, unlike the former classroom Saber and I share.
"Not so much, but thanks. Is there something you want to talk about?" Straight to the point, I see… Well, I cannot blame her. I know she wants distance.
"So to say… I have met my opponent. It is Rani," I tell her, though Rin seems not that surprised to hear of that.
"I know. I found that out last night," she informs me. "Her status is similar to mine… So someone must have pulled her out of her suicide bombing." Someone else did the very same thing?
"She mentioned someone… He is supposed to be similar to me, but also different," I tell her.
"Great, Ritsuka, could be literally anyone." Ouch. Her biting remark stings a bit, mostly because I am not really used to Rin acting like this towards me. "But there's only three Masters around, apart from you. Well, Leo seems to have made it, so two."
"Does Rani not count?" She is my opponent, after all.
"Not likely. She's an anomaly like me, she shouldn't exist anymore. That's also why the bulletin board showed an error." This goes way over my head.
"That means there is a Master around who will not fight this round?" There is no other conclusion, or is there?
"Possibly. Or not. I don't know, really," Rin shrugs.
"Thanks for the talk," I say disappointedly, as I leave her room.
"Anytime."
This 'anytime' can stay as far in the future as possible, I do not look too forward to another conversation of this kind with Rin. I sigh, as I drop myself down on the bed. Apparently, this has woken up Saber.
"What's wrong, early bird?" She asks while poking my cheek, as if to see if I am still alive and any responsive. I just let out a louder sigh and pressed the pillow to my face.
"Rin hates me. I know I hurt her pretty badly, but she cannot even talk to me like a normal friend anymore," I mumble into the pillow, not even caring about how understandable my muttering is for Saber. "It sort of hurts, and I think I relied on her help too much." It is true, I never should have relied on a possible opponent so much in the first place. One-sided feelings just make everything more complicated.
"Cheer up, now's not the time to sulk," Saber pouts. Well, I cannot see it, but from her tone of voice I am sure she does. I mumble incomprehensibly into my pillow in response. I do not even want to say actual words. Unexpectedly, I let out a yelp—Saber buried her finger into my side, effectively startling me with this sudden ticklish sensation.
"Stop that," I say, pulling the pillow away. I wish I would be sounding just any serious or angry, but from Saber's chuckling I can tell I definitely do not.
"You're so red for once!" Does Saber really have to mock me for that?
"T-That is just from the pillow. Really!" She obviously does not believe me and I have to be real fast to avoid her hands. "Okay, okay! I will stop. Let us just go to the Arena!" Thankfully, Saber agrees to the suggestion. We still need the second Trigger, after all.
"A frown doesn't suit you," comments Saber on the way to the Arena's entrance. I can feel my cheeks heating up slightly.
"Shut up already," I tell her off, increasing my speed.
The Arena still has not changed too much. The Enemy Programs still prove to be mostly not a real challenge for Saber and she seems almost bored to kill them off. Almost. But, not really.
"Does Rani never train here?" I really wonder about this. We have not met her in the Arena yet, and half of the Preparation Period is over.
"Probably no need. Her Servant's Berserker and she seems to be a high-level Master," Saber says nonchalantly, though it hurts a bit. We only have to train so much because I am a failure. But, in the end, being diligent got us very far. I should not complain or take offense, Saber probably meant no harm.
"I see."
It takes us quite a while, but we find the second Cipher Key after all—Trigger Code Mu. With this, we are set to face Rani… more or less.
"What can we do from now on?" I ask, as we make our way out of the Arena. My invisible(); Code Cast really is handy for such moments, as we do not have to fear being attacked and thus interrupted. Saber shrugs. "Do you need more training?"
"I think I'm fine. It's more up to strategy at this point. Figuring out stuff about her Servant, I mean," says Saber, looking at me apologetically, albeit not really in a genuine way. She probably thinks it serves me right for inviting Rin to us in the first place, now I have to deal with this. It is fair but Saber could at least pretend she feels bad for me.
"Yes, yes. I will talk to Rin. Tomorrow or the day after."
Or, preferably, never.