James reckoned it was high-time to introduce himself to the rest of the undesirables prancing about the city. If they were anything like the rest of magi he had encountered thus far, he would have no issue dispatching them all nice and quiet-like.
And, to be certain, they most likely would be.
He'd met about a dozen of them so far, and all of them were about as nasty as you'd expect from maniacs who spent all their time tuckered away with nothing but their thoughts and their research. They were like a couple of bookworms really, if said bookworms had a streak half as mean as a backed up horse and an affinity for torture and murder in the name of 'science'... magecraft, but magecraft tended to have parallels with science when it came to research.
Then, there were the egos. Oh, the egos.
He'd met one who liked taking the skin off his 'subjects' for some form of mimicry and was proud to show it off. Then, there was the group of shamans who brainwashed children into soldiers hopped up on mana. Of course, there was also the blood-sucker that darn near ripped his head off if a certain blue-haired Church executor didn't end up doing it to him instead before he could get James. And many more, such colorful folks.
Needless to say, they had all gone up in smoke and gunpowder one way or the other and he felt none too bad about it either.
James felt the chances of the Masters being just like that were none too low.
And, hiding wasn't all that fun either. That time was better used for recon. Honestly, he just needed to get away from that place on account of what he'd seen there. He needed some air and time to adjust again.
So, while Medea and Vritra bickered amongst themselves over petty things like who the better servant was as the former set up her workshop over the Church, James quietly slipped out with neither of them none the wiser about him.
The Sun had begun to set by now, bashfully peeking out from behind some clouds on the horizon. The blue of day slowly reddened and faded away as the dark of night slowly crept in, announcing the end of the second day of the Fuyuki Holy Grail war.
Or rather, the start of a new round of combat.
Adhering to the doctrine regarding secrecy, most Masters would prefer to fight it out during the night, with the city asleep, when they were less likely to be found.
The number of vehicles on the roads had slowly died down, and as he walked idly, a number of eyes from passers-by slowly settled on him. But, unlike back home, these folk were too polite and reserved to do anything other than harmlessly stare at most.
Well, the guns would draw attention, but currently they were little more than pens in his pockets so he wasn't all too worried about it.
Suddenly, his stomach grumbled.
-
"I'm getting hungry."
Rin Tohsaka walked on the pavement, hands behind her back, leaned forward just enough that the bit of her dark hair done in ponytails fell to the front.
She didn't expect to find much from her recon mission today. She had found little to nothing the day before, and nothing so far either. From what she'd managed to glean off her father's notes, the masters were supposed to be elite top of the line magi with little in the way of competition.
It stood to reason that they would be hard to find unless they wanted to be, and so far, her unknown competitors were the ones dictating the terms of the war. It wasn't right. It certainly wasn't adequate for the head of the Tohsaka family to not find even one smidge of information.
Impatient, Rin tossed a lock of brown hair over her shoulder.
"They destroyed most of Miyama and somehow we missed them. How does that even work?"
"Patience is a most beneficial practice, Master." Her servant, Archer, replied coolly through their connection. He was nearby, in spiritual form, and ready to intercept any form of attack on her person... but, honestly, she had to question how much he could really do.
She didn't even know his name. He didn't either. Claimed, he had amnesia because of some issue with his summoning. What was that? It was absurd! It made no sense whatsoever! It got worse when she couldn't place him at all.
There was no figure of legend she could identify with his tanned skin, greyed hair and his odd way of dressing. The black shirt lined with silver, the red coat, or the shroud over his arms bound together by a metal over the back.
"Maybe instead of chiding me, you should keep an eye for some master." She complained, not too amused with his veiled snark. "The masters are highly trained and probably a lot more experienced than I am. I guess it won't be all too easy to find one."
"What?"
"I'm saying the Master could be any one of these people. They could be right with us."
Archer appeared right next to her, face drier than she had ever seen. Without a word, he raised a finger to point at... He was a good foot taller than her so she had to follow his gaze.
"...You have got to be kidding me!"
The servant just snickered at her.
Down the road, under a lamppost, with a hamburger in hand, was someone who looked like he'd walked straight out of some old out-of-fashion western flick, with blonde hair and pale grey eyes complete with the plaid shirt and the jeans and even the hat and high leather boots.
He was sitting beside the pavement, eating a burger. Someone stopped nearby, and he tipped his hat... They offered him a hundred yen bill... He appeared confused, but thanked the person with a tip of his hat and shamelessly pocketed the money.
"So he gets money just for sitting around?"
Okay, he was decently handsome, but here she was, barely making ends meet, known as a pauper amongst her peers, while he just got money thrown at him for... sitting and eating?
"I think you're focusing on the wrong thing, Master. Look, he didn't even hide his command seals."
It was true. She could make them out even from here. Wait, that didn't matter right now! Rin shook her head, gathering her thoughts. There was no way a Master would just be sitting around like that.
"There's definitely a servant hiding. For all we know, that's a trap and we already got caught in it."
"I would assume so..." Archer faded away again, "still, best to just talk to him right now. He's already noticed us. Distract him for a bit while I find his servant. He won't attack you."
Why did Archer sound so certain about that last bit?
But well... it was true that they'd been noticed. The unknown master was looking right at them as he wiped his hands on a napkin. With a sigh, Rin resolved herself. She groped at the ends of her short black skirt and cleared her throat before... stomping right up to him.
He tipped his hat again, out of habit, and spoke in English, "Howdy, miss. James Sullivan."
"Rin Tohsaka." She managed. There was no real emotion on his face beside curiosity and his accent was distinctly NOT of someone associated with the Mage's Association or the Clock Tower. She even had some difficulty making out just what he was saying.
What was his game then?
"We ought to get along I reckon, hurtin' each other's not allowed from what I hear." He offered politely.
"...Where's your servant then?"
He smiled. "About. Where's yours?"
Two could play at that game.
"About." She smiled back capriciously.
-
Are you all liking this so far or is it just meh?
P.S: Feed my addiction. Hand it over. That thing, your power stone.