Chapter 7 - Chapter 7: New Hire

Beta read by Shigiya, FabledLife, Paragon of Awesomeness and GamerCrusher55.

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-???-

If Ingrid were to point out one of the most tense yet awkward moments of her life, the first answer that came to mind would be what happened with Emiya. Even now, her face went pure crimson with shame just from her mind summarising the events. She genuinely hoped for such an event to be forgotten by all parties involved. 

'Hah… concentrate, Ingrid.' Right now, she had more important matters to deal with. 

As the surroundings began to change and take shape, an office appeared, bathed in shadows, the only light emanating from a massive window that dominated an entire wall and from a few strategically placed lamps. The room exuded luxury, with walls adorned by original paintings from various eras, their ornate golden frames catching the dim light. Glass display cases housed intricate golden relics and artifacts from ancient civilizations, their surfaces gleaming with a soft polish. A massive mahogany desk, its surface polished to a mirror sheen, sat centered in the room, with a high-backed leather chair positioned behind it. 

The city beyond the floor-to-ceiling-sized window stretched across the night like an endless sea of light. Towering glass skyscrapers stood shoulder to shoulder with older districts packed beneath them, their rooftops disappearing among the urban sprawl. Neon signs painted entire streets in shifting colors, while streams of headlights flowed through elevated roads and broad avenues far below. Here and there, the curved silhouettes of traditional rooftops interrupted the modern skyline, remnants of an older era nestled amongst steel and concrete. A faint haze lingered above the city, softening the distant lights into a glittering glow that reached all the way to the horizon. It was a remarkable view, the kind worth standing still for, yet neither occupant of the room spared it more than a passing glance.

'So this is where he's been… the Chinese branch failed to inform me. That is unacceptable.'

Ingrid stood before the desk with her usual disciplined posture despite the tension lingering from their previous encounter. Her holographic form flickered every so often, the distortion crawling across her body like a faulty projection struggling to maintain stability. Pieces of dark armor framed her figure, leaving much of her torso exposed beneath a flowing black cloak that draped from her shoulders. Facing her was a man seated comfortably in a leather chair, a crystal glass rotating lazily between his fingers as crimson wine swirled within. The darkness concealed most of his features, leaving only fragments visible whenever the city lights caught the edge of the glass.

"The arena got off light on damages," the woman reported, not bothering to wait for his nod. Whatever bad blood still ran between them, she kept it tucked away beneath duty. "Repairs started right after the incident and should finish by the end of the event. We've shuffled a few things around in the opening match's schedule, but nothing major should impede the other operations."

She paused briefly, looking for any changes to his expression before continuing. "Personnel losses, on the other hand, have proven more problematic. The guards' casualties were extensive enough that replacing them all within the available timeframe is unrealistic if we are to maintain the standards we expect. Subsequently, security remains below the required threshold, though the Ministry of Defense has agreed to provide additional android units to compensate for the shortage. They will not completely replace experienced ex-military personnel, but they should be sufficient to maintain operational readiness."

The man remained silent, continuing to swirl the wine while listening.

"As for public perception, the situation is under control," she continued, this easily being the most stressful part of her recent task. "News coverage has been successfully redirected. The incident has been attributed to recent seismic activity that allegedly compromised structural integrity within the facility. Faulty welding and construction defects have been identified as the primary causes. The company responsible for the original construction has already been designated as the source of negligence. Several of their executives were arrested earlier today and are currently being processed. I made sure to release details of their criminal business activities and other scandals related to their personal lives to gain more media attention, and public attention has largely shifted toward them rather than the arena itself."

Only after finishing did she finally lift her gaze from the floor. The city lights reflected faintly in her eyes while the room once again fell into silence, broken only by the soft hum of the air conditioner.

The man said nothing, instead rising from his seat to face the beautiful city. His gaze drifted to the distant flying lanterns that dotted the night sky. "What happened to Oboro?" he asked after what felt like an eternity.

"She is in the midst of recovery," the Hell Knight replied. "Her wounds are not severe, and medical staff expect her to return to active duty within the week."

"She failed again, didn't she…" the man stated rather than asked.

Ingrid nodded slightly. "Yes," she confirmed, her face betraying no emotion, though a faint trace of amusement and smugness could be seen in her eyes when discussing the other woman's failure.

Black narrowed his eyes, the movement barely perceptible in the dim lighting. "She has been given a second chance, yet she failed again. Clearly, she has not taken my warnings to heart. Still, it's strange for her to fail consistently." He began pacing slowly behind the desk, his footsteps making no sound on the plush carpet. Then he stopped and asked a question that confused the woman. "Give me the details of the damages."

"Sir?" Ingrid paused before obediently continuing. "Aside from the arena's underground tunnels getting destroyed by the heavy pillars and pieces of the ceiling collapsing, there is no other damage to the foundation itself. The inner areas just need to be cleaned of all the blood, and the bullet holes and dents from the weapons fired during the intrusion need to be repaired. Murasaki has been returned to her cell and is currently being overseen by myself and Doctor Ky—"

"That's not what I'm asking!" the man interrupted, his voice loud enough to startle her. "The pillars. The ceiling. How did they come down in the first place? Did anyone bother to check if they were cut?"

"Cut?" Ingrid repeated, quickly gathering herself. "It doesn't appear so. I checked the spots myself and found signs of rust and natural degradation. The kind of wear and tear you'd expect on steel beams that have been exposed to the elements. We suspect Igawa Asagi set this up as a distraction; it's not the first time a Taimanin has done something like this."

"Have the cameras picked up anything just before the ceiling collapsed? Anyone who may have been responsible for the destruction behind it?"

"No," she replied, her digital form wavering slightly as she spoke. "Our analysts have reviewed the footage several times. There was no tampering or signs of a secondary party interfering. The moment the ceiling collapsed, Asagi had managed to escape. Initially, her whereabouts afterwards were unknown, but we soon found that she had simply returned to her residence the next morning. We have spotted signs suggesting she is preparing to depart the city, given she must know we are on to her. Should we send a squad to capture her?"

Rather than answering her question, the man asked, "Did you spot anything that could look like arrows or strange swords during the attack?"

This question made Ingrid even more confused… Asagi was not known to use such weapons. Her speciality lay in a mastery of traditional bladed weapons that Gosha Village's Taimanin had trained for centuries, such as the katana or hand-to-hand combat. Never had she been shown or recorded to use a bow. His intense focus on such details garnered Ingrid's attention. It was clear that Black was not even thinking about the damages, Oboro, or even Asagi, for that matter. 

Something else entirely was on his mind. 

"…"

Still, she answered instantly. "No, there was no such thing. Is there something in particular you want to look into from the event?"

Black said nothing for several seconds. "Has the one I gave you the details about been found yet?"

Ingrid clenched her fists before answering, feeling that he was once more being a tad too secretive about his goals, with her of all people. "I have already tasked the assassins working in our organization and given them the description of the person in question. But with how little of a description you've provided me of the person in question, it is not easy for even our very best to find such a target."

For a while now, it had become quite clear that other than Asagi, Black had just kept thinking about that mystery person again and again in a non-stop loop. She recalled the description he had given her of a man with red and black armor under a white hood who wielded a large bow along with a myriad of unique swords, but with barely anything else to work with, it was nearly impossible to find this unknown individual in a city of millions. His description of the man's actual physical traits could be attributed to practically anyone, given how little there had been. 

'He's been thinking only about him this entire time?' She recalled him asking questions about an individual who used swords and a bow previously, and his capability of transforming his swords into arrows, each with a variety of abilities. While the powers were especially detailed, it clearly wasn't unique enough that one would expect to find some clues about this person.

Still, the abilities alone pointed at a Taimanin or a demon, which did narrow down the source, but still, nothing came.

"…You can go."

Ingrid clearly had something more she wanted to say to him, but she hesitated before nodding and leaving, her hologram disappearing from the room.

…

Several seconds passed after the hologram dissipated. The Vampire King remained seated in silence, staring at the photographs spread across the desk. The city lights reflected faintly across their glossy surfaces while his wine glass sat empty beside him.

Slowly, he lifted it and tilted the last traces of crimson liquid into his mouth. The wine swirled briefly before disappearing down his throat. He set the glass aside and rested his hand against his face, his gaze never leaving the images.

Again and again.

His eyes moved across the same ruined structures, the same shattered walls, the same devastation captured from different angles. Searching for something. Anything… 

"Is it you?" he whispered.

The room offered no answer, nothing but vague guesses or hypothetical worst-case scenarios. The more time passed, the more instances of such his conscience kept creating, much to his dismay. His fingers tightened slightly against his cheek. 

The photographs suddenly seemed far more important than they should have been. His gaze lingered on details most people would never think to notice, jumping from one image to another before returning to the first. The longer he stared, the more rigid his posture became.

'…The absence of evidence could fit the skillset. That one's abilities did vanish into nothing after they did their work, but so did many others' abilities.'

A bead of sweat rolled down his temple.

'The strength matches, at least if I assume his goal this time wasn't completely destroying the arena… Still, Ingrid's right, it could have been charges planted by Asagi. It would be possible for others to display that level of strength, but still, the ease of so badly damaging the Chaos Arena when it's already fortified for the battles within it, does narrow the list down once more.'

Then another.

His breathing had grown uneven without him realizing it. Not fast enough to draw attention, but no longer steady. His chest rose and fell in shorter breaths while his eyes remained fixed on the destruction before him. 

"Is it really him…?"

The question escaped his lips almost involuntarily. His throat felt parched, swallowing once to get rid of the dryness, then again moments later, yet the sensation refused to leave. A knot formed in his stomach. It wasn't pain exactly, though the sensation but an unpleasant weight that made him feel vaguely sick. His jaw clenched. Beneath his ribs, his heart hammered harder than it should have.

The city beyond the windows remained unchanged, millions of lights stretching toward the horizon. He raised a hand toward the glass, and darkness gathered immediately.

Crackle!

A sphere of black energy condensed above his palm, small at first before slowly expanding. The air inside the office became heavier and distorted, as if reality itself began bending and tearing apart in accordance with his whims. Papers trembled across the desk, and the wine glass and bottle alike rattled against the polished surface. 

Far below, faint vibrations rippled all through the building itself.

The sphere continued to grow. Becoming larger, pure darkness belonging to that of a black hole… swallowing all light and leaving nothing untouched.

Denser.

More unstable.

For a brief moment, his hand shook.

"Hah…" Then he stopped, his eyes shut tightly. The muscles in his jaw stood out beneath his skin as he gritted his teeth.

The spell vanished, and the pressure disappeared instantly. "Ugh!" A pained groan escaped him before it turned into a violent coughing fit. He doubled forward, one hand bracing against the desk. Dark red droplets splattered across the polished floor beneath him.

When the coughing finally subsided, he remained hunched over for several seconds. His remaining hand slowly moved toward the prosthetic attached to his shoulder.

Pain.

A dull ache at first, then it came sharper, like a knife getting plunged within his heart and just left there for the amusement of a sadistic demon. Twisting and turning, no different from a form of sick torture, one not even he could get rid of completely. Black closed his eyes briefly as the sensation spread through his side.

He reluctantly dislocated the artificial limb and set it aside. His fingers moved to the fastening beneath his suit jacket, pulling fabric away from his torso. The wound hidden underneath had opened once more. Fresh blood seeped across skin and bandages alike, staining them a deeper shade of red.

It just refused to heal.

No matter how much power he possessed. No matter how many methods he employed. No matter how much time passed. 

Black's expression remained unreadable as the vampire reached for a small blade resting nearby. A faint glow emerged from it as he gripped it tightly, before pressing the flat of it firmly against his bleeding flesh. 

The smell of burnt flesh filled the room. His body stiffened immediately. The fingers of his free hand dug into the edge of the desk hard enough to leave cracks in the wood. A muscle twitched near his eye. Sweat rolled down the side of his face.

Yet not a single sound escaped him.

The glow faded.

Smoke rose from the blackened wound.

"Finally." A primitively crude method only used by the weakest of demons or humans, not something he'd ever believe he'd have to use on his body. Yet it had proven itself to be the only working method to temporarily close this terrible wound that bled anew whenever his body got pushed a bit too far. 

Only once the bleeding finally stopped did he lower the dagger and allow himself to exhale, his gaze drifting back toward the papers waiting silently upon the desk.

He put the arm back on and sighed before returning to his seat. "No…It can't be him. This stealth approach doesn't match how the man bombards through all obstacles… Must be another Taimanin that got involved in order to support Asagi's efforts. Being quiet is not that thing's approach or style." Not to mention, if it were him, the entire city would have been gone by now… That man never once showed such restraint. "Just a bit more… there has to be something."

The time of his arrival always varied greatly between each reset. From days to even decades apart. Attempting to pin down the moment of his arrival had always been a fruitless endeavour. Just one more infuriating aspect of that man.

Beep!

His attention shifted to the desk as the hologram system chimed once more. A moment later, his newest temporary secretary's voice came through the speaker, informing him that the scheduled visitor had finally arrived. The notification only deepened the irritation already simmering beneath the surface. Fingers tapped once against the armrest before he pressed the button.

"About damn time. Send him in."

The office fell quiet again. Several minutes later, the doors slid open and a young man stepped inside. He looked to be in his early twenties, tall, lean-physique, and broad-shouldered, with lightly tanned skin and white hair that brushed the back of his neck. 



The moment those strangely familiar features came into view, the vampire's jaw tightened. He forced the tension down with a slow breath and leaned back in his chair. He knew it was not him, but his body just reacted by pure instinct to any reminder at this point.

Meanwhile, a smirk immediately appeared on the newcomer's face. "Hoh, did you just exude killing intent my way? You really did miss me after all, Edwin."

"Do not call me that, and it is none of your business. Also, you're late, Kuroi Ryuuji. You were supposed to be here yesterday."

The accusation earned nothing more than an amused chuckle. The white-haired man strolled further into the office without the slightest hint of concern, treating the atmosphere as though it were completely normal.

"So many years of conflict between us Demon Kings, and to an extent, you've always ignored my existence. Always busy with your own affairs, running this company, and pretending the rest of the Demon Realm doesn't exist. Sometimes it's just impossible to know what's going on in that head of yours." His gaze drifted around the luxurious office before returning to the man behind the desk. "Though I will admit, the private jet was appreciated. It made the trip much more comfortable. I felt so relaxed, I had to check out some of the local nightclubs. The women were delicious."

Without waiting for permission, Ryuuji dropped into a chair across from him and crossed one leg over the other.

"What I'm curious about is why someone like 'you' wanted me here in the Chinese Union instead of meeting me in Japan or the UFS." The smirk widened slightly. "I also heard a rumor that you were trying to get in contact with another Demon Lord… I can't remember who exactly, Bismarck or Marjaana? That's not exactly the sort of thing you do without a reason, especially when you shunned us all and came here to the Human World."

Silence lingered between them for a moment. One remained relaxed, almost entertained by the situation. The other looked as though he was questioning whether inviting this man had been a mistake from the very beginning.

Black said nothing during Ruuji's spiel, merely observing the man. His appearance alone irritated him, but his personality only brought that to a whole other level. Amongst all demons, this incubus king had a knack for getting on his nerves. Both of their personalities couldn't be more opposite to one another. Not to mention that Ryuuji and his incubi have been trying to gain more power than Nomad. Yet he had to put aside his distaste and called him here in his hidden base, a secret he'd long kept in the Chinese Union territories, where he felt safer than anywhere in Japan.

"If you are so keen on going down that path of reconnecting with old faces, Incubus, I've gotten word that you started meddling and getting yourself involved in the private matters of Japan. Something about disguising yourself as a student?"

Ryuuji didn't even deny it. "Just having a bit of fun. There's nothing wrong with that. The Demon Realm can get boring at times." He clapped his hands together. "Alright, enough of this chit chat. Did you call me here to end our dispute? Because I'm more than willing to take you on."

"Humph! Do not delude yourself, there is only so much a person can dream before being pulled harshly back to reality." Black scoffed, finding the idea that this fool Ryuuji thought he had a chance against him ridiculous. But the pain that rose from his chest immediately made him realize that perhaps, currently, the incubus wasn't all that wrong after all, even if he wasn't aware of such. This made it even more infuriating, but he did not allow so much as a hint of this to show on the outside. 

"I'm looking for a favor. I want access to some records held by your organization. All of them would be preferable, but I believe proper compensation is appropriate if we come to that point."

This made Ryuuji confused, as it was clearly the last thing he expected to hear from Black of all people. Nomad alone should grant him access to any knowledge he could want. "Seriously, that's it? I thought you were calling me to let go of my goal of taking over Japan and then later the world. You do have a similar goal as well, do you not?" 

"No." 

Conquer the world… that wasn't a problem for him. Not with vast power, wealth and connections. Not even this jumped-up incubus king who thinks himself his rival would barely be on the list of things he needed to deal with. "In exchange, I'll lend you a hand with that pet project you've been nursing. That Taimanin you've been so fixated on — Mizuki Shiranui, wasn't it? The so-called 'Phantom Taimanin'?"

Ryuuji narrowed his eyes, with a serious gaze that otherwise contrasted greatly with the almost carefree attitude he had been showing previously. "How do you know about that? I never shared that with anyone."

Black did not give him an answer. "Are you interested or not?" 

"…"

The conversation merely became muted with neither side giving the other an answer, both of them just staring at each other with a narrowed gaze as time went on.

"…Fine. Tell me what you need."

Black smiled, glad that he didn't have to use… force to get him to comply this time around.

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-Igawa Household-

The living room sat in near darkness, every curtain drawn tight against the daylight outside. What had once been a warm, lively space now felt empty. The private contractors had done their job well enough. The physical damage from the attack was gone, patched over like it had never happened. But the repaired walls might as well have been freshly painted over bloodstains.

Now the place was little more than a quiet prison for two. The sisters hadn't spoken much since Asagi had stumbled through the door a few nights back, barely able to stand as fresh blood fell on the floor. Sakura had been tending to her wounds ever since, working in silence while her sister recovered.

Sakura, still dressed in her high school uniform, used cotton swabs dipped in alcohol on a naked Asagi's wounds, treating them methodically as she slowly treated the cuts and bruises. She tapped Asagi's stomach with a swab, causing the dark-haired woman to flinch. 

"Ouch! Not so hard, be careful," Asagi requested. "Don't do it so harshly since the wound hasn't yet fully healed."

Sakura pouted. "I'm doing my best and being as gentle as I can, you know!" she retaliated while taking another cotton swab and applying another layer of pure alcohol. She also made sure to replace some of the old bandages around Asagi's stomach, where a large bruise in the shape of a boot could be seen. "Whose fault is it for coming back half dead a few nights ago? I nearly had a heart attack seeing you like this! And without telling me anything!?"

Asagi, at the very least, had the conscience to look guilty. "I didn't expect things to go this badly. I'm sorry for worrying you."

"…"

Sakura went silent at first, this atmosphere becoming awkward until she opened her mouth again. "You went to that Chaos Arena, didn't you? The damage was all over the news, even if Nomad did blame it all on some construction company cutting corners! Are you truly serious about taking up the blade again? Why didn't you just tell me? I could have helped."

"NO! Ah!" Asagi immediately said, getting up and then immediately regretting her action as an intense pain shot up across her body. She went back to resting on the couch, then, continuing instead with a calmer voice, "You don't need to get involved with this."

Anger clouded the blonde's face upon hearing that. Veins became prominent on her forehead, and worry lines formed across her face, showing how much Sakura was infuriated at her sister's decision. 

"I already know your answer, Onee-san, but no matter what you say, it won't change the truth. I'll do whatever it takes to avenge Kyousuke, same as you! You were his fiancée, but I also saw him as my brother! He was practically family at this point. If you truly care about me, you'd better not deny me this opportunity to get revenge for him also. You shouldn't take all of this burden onto yourself, because if something were to happen to you as well, I wouldn't know what I would do with my life." She said those words with sadness as tears threatened to spill at any moment, the sight making Asagi feel guilty.

The older Igawa grabbed her sister's hands with both of hers, squeezing them, pressing them gently against her face. "Nothing like that will happen. I'll always be here, and I won't ever leave you alone. And there were many reasons other than just revenge as to why I went there."

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "You won't tell me, though, will you?"

She shook her head. "It's… complicated, and I'll tell you eventually. But not now, because I know you well enough that if I were to tell you what happened, you'd definitely go there without a plan."

"Seriously? So I'm just supposed to sit here and do nothing! I'm not weak, I have the blood of the Igawa clan flowing through my veins too!"

"That doesn't matter! If you're also someone who bears the blood of the shinobi, then you should know never to rush into a situation without being ready for anything and everything!", Asagi screamed her reply to Sakura, not letting any rash decisions be made.

This surprised Sakura, but Asagi knew her sister better than anyone else, and Murasaki and Sakura were also close, having grown up and attended classes together. If Sakura were to find out about her capture and imprisonment, there was absolutely no way she would not rush over there to save her. Impulsiveness remained a trait firmly ingrained in the girl's very being.

"Hah… This can't keep going on. Even staying at the house feels gloomy and stressful. It doesn't feel like home anymore," Sakura said, changing the subject to something else, but also just as somber.

Asagi didn't say anything because she also agreed. The house felt almost empty without Kyousuke. Losing him had also made them lose something crucial — their sense of family and home here.

"I understand," she admitted. "Perhaps it would be best for us to just go back to Gosha village after all."

"I don't know, maybe we can try something else. I mean, we moved out here trying to get away from that life, didn't we?" 

"What do you have in mind?" Asagi asked with genuine curiosity, willing to listen to what her sister had in mind at the very least.

"Why… um, why not just come work at Copenhagen Café with me?" 

"What?" This surprised Asagi. "How would that help?"

"It actually helps me a lot!" Sakura explained enthusiastically, "Whenever I felt depressed these past days, going to work at the café generally helped me to brighten up, and Emiya knows how to treat me right whenever I feel down. He can somehow tell exactly what kind of mood I'm in and knows how to brighten my day. Maybe what we both need now is some breathing room, you know, some place safe where we can adjust to what happened while surrounded by people. I believe you'll feel the same way if you go there, and it will definitely help you to at least momentarily keep yourself away from staying all day in this empty house — right now it just has too many memories for both of us."

Asagi tried to smile at Sakura's attempts to help her, but it came off as forced. "I appreciate the offer, but there's no need for that."

"Oh come on!" Sakura moaned in displeasure. "I even talked about the idea with the Boss, and he was okay with it. Ouch!"

This made Asagi flick her sister's forehead. "No, that was a bad idea, and exactly why I called you too brash in your decision-making! Emiya-san already has a lot of things to deal with, and I don't want to have him be involved with our troubles. And I know that you also don't want him to get into trouble either, right?"

Sakura looked down, clearly agreeing with her, even if she didn't enjoy the realization.

"You shouldn't have been so hasty in telling him I was going to work there before you even pitched the idea to me, of all people, you know that. We'll both go to the cafe today, and I'll tell him of our plans to go back to Gosha Village and also apologize for the misunderstanding about my employment. We should also thank him for everything he's done for us during this time."

"…Are you certain?" her sister asked.

The dark-haired Taimanin nodded with certainty, "Yes, I'm confident in my decision. There's no point in me working there, and it's just not the right time. More importantly, if we did, we would just be putting him in danger. No, I would be putting both of you in danger now that I'm already being targeted. It is not something I can allow to happen."

"…Fine."

Clearly, the blonde wanted to say more, but held back.

{Break}

-Demon Capital Tokyo- 

"Hah… hah… hah…" 

The sound of frantic footsteps echoed through the sewer tunnels as a large, scaly entity barreled through the darkness, splashing through filthy water and nearly stumbling over itself in its desperation to escape. Every few seconds, it risked a glance over its shoulder, only to run harder afterward. 

"Shit! Shitshitshitshit!" The creature's breathing was ragged and panicked, while blood dripped from countless shallow wounds that disappeared into the flowing brown water beneath its feet.

Far behind it, where the barely lit dark tunnel obscured all sight from one's eyes, another set of slow footsteps followed. They were unhurried, but it felt as if they somehow were able to keep up with him, despite his inhuman form running as fast as his feet could carry him; the haunting footsteps of his pursuer casually kept pace. 

"Hah… hah…" 

The fact that they echoed through the tunnels with unnerving regularity did not help make it any less terrifying, as though the pursuer was just behind him. The damp underground passage amplified every sound, water dripping from rusted pipes overhead. Thin streams trickled through cracked channels and cut into the floor. The air smelled of mold, sewage, and old decay.

Only when the distance between them narrowed did the figure become at all clearer beneath the dim lighting. A darkened white cloak hung from broad shoulders, its lower half stained with the blood of his freshly slain compatriots. White strands of hair emerged from beneath the hood, while steel gray eyes remained fixed on the fleeing target ahead. 

"S-Stay away! I wasn't even involved with the gang for that long!" 

EMIYA's gaze swept across the carnage surrounding him. Old, rotten, or half-eaten bodies littered portions of the sewer system, some collapsed against the walls while others floated partially submerged in the murky water. Most likely a dumping spot for several corrupt groups that lived above. The runoff flowing through the channels had turned a murky crimson-brown from the sheer amount of blood and waste mixed into it.

'This place has got to be one of the most vile places I've ever seen. If the inhuman presence wasn't so strong here, I wouldn't be surprised if a Beast showed up.'

"…"

Ahead, the fleeing creature continued its escape.

The lizard-like demon was in terrible shape. Deep cuts covered its scaled body. Blood seeped from wounds on its arms, chest, and legs. A trail marked its passage through the tunnels, making it easier to track for anyone, let alone him. Nearly a hundred meters separated it from its pursuer, yet the distance meant nothing.

Its breathing came in desperate gasps.

More than once, it nearly lost its footing before forcing itself onward again. It knew what would happen if it stopped.

EMIYA watched it calmly, taking another step forward until his figure vanished entirely. There was no burst of speed visible to the eye, no dramatic motion of a powerful wind gust or even any sound to alert the fleeing demon. 

"Ah!?" 

The next moment, he stood directly in front of his prey, with the wretched creature having no time to react. "Gah!" A choking sound escaped it when a hand grabbed onto his neck in a swift motion and applied enough force to block any attempt at breathing. 

Its feet left the ground.

The creature found itself staring directly into the Counter Guardian's face while suspended over a foot in the air. 

"D-Do-rrgh, don't! K-Kill… grh!" The sheer disbelief on his face remained clear, despite outweighing him several times over, despite possessing enough muscle to tear apart an ordinary human, it could not move him even an inch. Could this person even be called a human? It wasn't one!

It had to be a Taimanin… It was the only explanation that made any iota of sense. 

'What the hell is a Taimanin even doing here!?' The scaled creature thought in terror as he thrashed wildly. Clawed hands hammered against the arm holding it, to no avail.

His tail lashed through the air with a powerful snapping sound. One heavy fist crashed into EMIYA's shoulder, yet nothing happened. Claws did not even leave marks on the armor, with it feeling sturdier than solid steel.

The grip around its neck remained absolutely motionless, as solid and unyielding as industrial clamps. 

For the first time since the chase began, the lizardman's running finally stopped.

"Aaaaaah!" The lizardman roared and then tried to scratch, cut, bite, and crush EMIYA for the next several seconds, doing his absolute best to escape. But as the claws grazed EMIYA's armor, they sparked, leaving not even a scratch for his efforts. 

"—!"

The world around him moved, and the next thing he realized was the back of his head being slammed onto the floor. Wet coughs filled the area, and more blood spilled as his scales and other protective parts of his body were damaged by the impact.

"You're a slippery one, aren't you?" 

"Wait! Wait… cough! W-wait wait! I'll talk, I'll talk!"

The lizardman stayed there helplessly atop the filthy, blood-filled sewer water. Despite his initial begging for mercy and compliance, his claws still continued to try and scrape against the arm holding him, but it was like trying to bend a steel beam with his bare hands. Panic was written all over his face. His chest rose and fell rapidly as blood from his earlier wounds continued to drip into the water below.

Finally, the Counter Guardian opened his mouth, and his voice was chillingly calm.

"I know this is not exactly the safest of neighbourhoods. But lately, the streets have become far, far more dangerous than they've been before. More demons. More gangs. More trouble around my café from people like you." His eyes remained fixed on the creature. "I doubt that's simply because the upcoming Chaos Arena match is attracting attention. Now, you said you'll talk, so talk."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" the lizardman blurted out immediately. "I'm just a small-time guy! I don't handle that kind of information!"

The hand around his throat tightened, much to the demon's shock and panic. A strangled gasp escaped him as his claws immediately grabbed at the arm restraining him. His struggles became far more frantic.

"Agh—w-wait! Wait!" he croaked, coughing up more blood with each passing second. "We were paid! We were paid to do it!"

That answer finally earned a reaction.

"Paid? Someone paid you to monitor my café?" His grip loosened just enough for the creature to breathe properly. "I can already guess the answer, but I'll still ask. Who hired you?"

"We don't know!" the lizardman cried. "I swear we don't know! Nobody tells us anything! We receive instructions through a middleman and dead drops. Sometimes messages, sometimes money. That's it! Our clients almost never reveal themselves! Th-They use fake names, disguises, magical communications, anything that keeps their identities hidden. We only know the jobs. Nothing else, I swear!"

For a moment, only the distant sound of running water filled the tunnel.

'It would definitely be trouble if someone was 'that' dedicated to hiding themselves and was monitoring me.'

Then another question came.

"If your assignment was just surveillance, why did you start harassing my customers? Spying is one thing. Intimidation of the public is another."

The demon swallowed hard.

"…Because that was also part of the job," he admitted. "The client w-wanted more information than just what got reported to them from the observation. We were told to pressure people a little. Make them nervous. See if anyone slipped up and revealed something useful a-about you!"

He hesitated before continuing.

"We were also told to stir up trouble around the area. Scare away some of the local residents. Watch how people reacted. Look for anything unusual. Get some of the nearby businesses to move out."

"Unusual how?" 

The creature shifted uncomfortably.

"We were specifically told to watch for hidden operatives, Taimanin, bodyguards… anything! Basically just people pretending to be civilians." His gaze flickered away nervously. "And… there were two other people they wanted us to pay special attention to."

EMIYA's expression did not change.

"The wa-waitress… and a dark-skinned female customer with pink hair," the lizardman said quietly. "Our client wanted reports on their movements, too."

The more EMIYA listened, the more he became certain about who this might be. "Alright." He'd known full well that it was only a matter of time before 'that woman' got interested and got herself involved. He couldn't forever hide Sakura's involvement, and the fact that Ingrid also kept frequenting his place would eventually draw attention.

He let go of the creature, dropping on a puddle of sewer water. The lizardman struggled to get up, fearfully looking at EMIYA, who seemed to ignore him. Seeing the latter walking away, the creature took it as a signal to also leave. As he tried to run away, a sharp pain bloomed from his chest. Looking down, he saw a sword piercing through him before his entire body was engulfed in flames, burning him to ashes before he could even let out a scream of agony.

Emiya gave the pile of ashes one last glance, knowing that letting that thing go would have been foolish. The creature had seen his face and could inform his employer, which would make things messy for him. Besides, "You shouldn't have tried to eat my customers."

Walking up the stairs, he pushed open a hidden latch, entering a large bar that was covered in the blood and bodies of humans and demons. Though most of the carnage wasn't actually his doing. Two gangs — one belonging to the lizardman and the other a local one — had been fighting. It was one of many disputes that had occurred, and it acted as a great cover-up for him to catch his target, making it seem as if the lizardman had died not by his hands but from just another gang dispute within the district.

Leaving the cleanup to those who would come after, he put on his hood before disappearing, his body turning into its spiritual form right as the door was busted open by reinforcements from the second gang that had attacked. They froze in place upon seeing the carnage.

Leaving an alley near his café, he seamlessly blended with the passersby. He casually sniffed himself before frowning. 'Gotta take a shower before I open Copenhagen.'

…

The familiar interior of the café greeted him once again. Letting out a quiet sigh, EMIYA removed his cloak and draped it over the back of a nearby chair before heading upstairs to take a shower, then going down to unlock the front door, and beginning his morning routine. Cups were arranged, ingredients checked, and equipment prepared with practiced efficiency. Moving behind the counter, he started brewing a pot of coffee for himself before shaking his head with a faint chuckle.

"It's a little concerning how normal this has become," he muttered. "I'm actually getting used to all of this."

The aroma of fresh coffee soon filled the room. While waiting for the brew to finish, he glanced through the front window. The streets were noticeably busier than usual. Cars rolled past one after another, pedestrians crowded the sidewalks, and groups of visitors could already be seen moving through town. The upcoming Chaos Arena event was drawing people in from all over, and the difference was impossible to miss.

The bell above the entrance chimed, marking the arrival of his first customers.

A group of familiar women stepped inside, immediately brightening the atmosphere with their presence, this time dressed casually rather than in their work attire he had become accustomed to. They looked far more relaxed than usual, he noted.

"Well, if it isn't the handsome owner himself," one with long flowing red hair greeted with a playful smile. "How's life treating you today?"

"About the same as always," he replied. Looking between them, already knowing the answer. "The usual?"

"You know us far too well."

They settled into their preferred seats while he prepared their orders. As he worked, his attention drifted briefly toward their clothing.

"No work today at the brothel? I have to say, with how beautiful all of you are, I find that concept very hard to believe. Mind filling me in on what happened?"

One of the women with short black hair waved the question away as though it were obvious. "Trying to work during an event like this? That's asking for all kinds of trouble."

That answer earned a curious look.

"Really? I would've thought the opposite. So many new arrivals in the district should mean more customers."

Fresh coffee was placed in front of them alongside a small assortment of pastries. None of them hesitated to take them. The sweets disappeared almost immediately, several content sighs escaping around the table as they helped themselves.

"Normally, sure," another woman with short blue hair replied after taking a bite with a look of disgust. Not for the food, but for the topic of discussion. "But not with the kind of crowd this thing attracts. Too many drunks, too many idiots looking to prove something, and too many people carrying more money than they have sense. But honestly, that's not the problem, given that if it were only that, then we would have benefited from those idiots and made ourselves a quick fortune. Rather, it's the more unsavoury clients that tend to come out around now that make working during these kinds of events not worth it."

A series of nods followed around the table.

"We'd rather spend the day somewhere peaceful." A woman with wavy, long blonde hair stretched her arms above her head with a lazy sigh, her fitted top pulling tight across her chest as she settled back into her chair, before taking a sip of her cup with a soft smile. "Which is why we'd like to hang out here until this Chaos Arena thing runs its course."

"It is a shame, though, you'd think this would be the perfect time to make enough to get out of this business," the black-haired girl from earlier said. "But that's something only a doomed newbie would think to try. Even if there are way more clients, there are far too many of the dangerous clients mixed in with that crowd for it to be worth the money. Our establishment already earns enough for us not to worry about day-to-day matters, and taking a few days off won't hurt our financial situation. Among such customers, you'll hear that some of them are the more demonic and sadistic kind that have a fetish for torturing the women they sleep with to death. In fact, last year, one of the girls did in fact get a bit too greedy and accepted a client who choked her to death."

EMIYA made a sorrowful face at the turn of affairs, though not at all surprised on the inside. "I'm very sorry to hear that."

The girls just shrugged. "It's a normal thing in our line of work."

The redhead escort leaned forward conspiratorially. "Would you believe us if we said it was actually a demon in a human disguise?"

EMIYA chuckled. "Demons exist, huh? Well, I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case with how bad things are around here. Hopefully, any demons that come through this café won't cause any problems if they can help it."

One of the girls, the one with electric blue hair, shoved the one who mentioned demons toward EMIYA, while the others suggested she stay quiet. He pretended not to notice, though he clearly sensed they were trying not to get involved with the other side, not knowing what had happened just an hour ago.

One of the women, a long black-haired and rather well-endowed beauty who had stayed quiet during the talks, grabbed EMIYA's hand gently, hugging it to the point her breast was pushing against the back of his hand. "Given that we're free for the day," she told him, "maybe you wouldn't mind trying out some of our own services for all these treats in lieu of cash? It'll be on the house, no charge. I pro-mise you🩷."

He showed a polite smile, gently pulling his hand from her grasp. "Unfortunately, I would have to decline the offer. It looks like I'll be busy today after all. I still need to make more coffee, snacks, and pastries for the customers yet to arrive, and I'm sure you girls wouldn't like it if I were to stop making them just to have some personal fun. Maybe some other time."

The girl pouted as she let him go, as he returned to his counter, continuing his work of preparing for the day ahead.

…

A stretch of time passed, somewhere between a few minutes and nearly an hour, before his phone buzzed with a message from a certain blonde employee of his. "Hoh? So she'll be a bit late, huh?" Nothing too surprising, given she's most likely looking after Asagi. So, he simply acknowledged it with a reply that he understood and returned to work. More customers had filtered into the café as the morning progressed, some familiar faces and others new, drawn in by the growing crowds outside. It actually felt like he was working up a chef's sweat as he zoned in on his work. 

'I guess I really would like some help right now, it does help keep the customers distracted.'

A regular took a seat at the counter and looked around.

"Oi, boss, where's Sakura today?" The middle-aged man asked with a disappointed look on his face. "I can't enjoy my drink without some motivation from her!" 

The urge to roll his eyes grew stronger by the second. "Running a little late, she'll be here soon."

"That's a relief. I was starting to think she quit," the man said while exhaling loudly. "This café would be down the gutters without her." 

"…" The strained smile just could not get any more obvious. "Funny, I thought people came here to enjoy my cooking and beverages. Perhaps I should just have Sakura serve you some water and plain bread since you don't seem to like my current menu." 

"…I'll stay quiet."

The conversation drew a few chuckles from nearby tables. As the morning continued, the discussion gradually shifted toward the Chaos Arena. One man leaned forward in his seat as EMIYA slid a coffee over to him.

"So boss, are you going to the Chaos Are—"

"AHEM!"

The interruption was immediate, with one of the women seated nearby clearing her throat far louder than necessary before raising her hand.

"Another slice of cake over here, please and thank you," she announced sweetly, fixing the man with a glare sharp enough to make him visibly reconsider his life choices. The warning was understood immediately.

"A-Actually," the man corrected himself, clearing his throat, "I was going to ask if you had any plans for this week."

Watching the exchange unfold, EMIYA found it far more amusing than he probably should have, as he kept working. Keeping a straight face, he answered, "Not really." Then, after a brief pause, he added, "Are you trying to ask me out? I don't swing that way and will, unfortunately, have to shoot you down if that's the case. It's got nothing to do with you, it's just how I am."

The reaction around the café was immediate as a round of laughter broke out.

"What!? No!" the customer blurted out, nearly choking on his drink. "I mean, gambling! Big crowds! Pretty girls! That's what I was talking about!" He pointed accusingly across the counter. "You're a handsome fella, sure, but I'm as straight as an arrow!"

"An arrow tends to bend quite a bit when fired from a bow in reality," he replied dryly without missing a beat. 

"You know exactly what I meant!"

That only made the laughter around the restaurant louder. Some of the women joined in with a few even pumping their fists under the table in victory at his confirmed preference, while the unfortunate victim of the joke buried his face in his hands and muttered complaints under his breath. The atmosphere remained relaxed and cheerful, conversations flowing easily between tables as the scent of coffee and fresh pastries filled the café.

The peaceful mood continued for two whole hours until the entrance bell chimed once more.

Ring~!

The door opened, letting in a gust of air from the busy street outside. "Hm?" He glanced up automatically, only for his expression to shift slightly in surprise before he adjusted himself.

'Well, there's one surprise after another this week. But I guess it was only a matter of time.'

The bell above the café door chimed softly as another customer entered. Emiya looked up from behind the counter and immediately recognized the pink-haired woman dressed in ordinary civilian clothes — Oboro.

At least, the closest thing to civilian clothes that she would willingly wear. Most of her skin was still exposed, along with a large portion of her cleavage. Somehow, it seemed to show off just as much of her body as her combat gear.



Unlike the cautious observation he had expected, she simply walked in through the front door as if she belonged there. There was no attempt at subtlety. No effort to hide her presence. She briefly surveyed the café before picking up a menu and choosing a table in the corner.

It didn't seem like she recognized him from being the one to save Asagi; at least, she would have been far angrier.

He had expected someone in her position to be more careful. Then again, perhaps such directness suited her personality. Or maybe she simply underestimated him enough not to bother with caution in the first place. Either way, he kept his expression neutral as he wiped down a cup and watched her from afar, his smile long gone. There was no sign of recognition on her face. To her, he appeared to be nothing more than the owner of a small café.

His thoughts briefly drifted back to the information he had gathered earlier. 'She really couldn't wait. That lizard wasn't exaggerating about her being antsy about the lack of information.'

If someone had been tasked with observing the place, it would have made sense for the person who hired them to stay hidden. Sending subordinates hired through middlemen was about as safe and undeniable as it got. Instead, she had apparently decided to investigate personally. The idea almost made him laugh. For a brief moment, another thought crossed his mind.

'I wonder what would happen if Ingrid walked through that door right now, at this moment.' The mental image alone was enough to make him suppress a sigh. While this place served as nothing more than just a basic daytime cover, he still spent quite a bit of time and effort building it up. Setting the thought aside, he calmed his face, picked up a notepad, and approached the woman's table.

"Welcome to Copenhagen Café. Have you decided what you'd like to order?"

The woman glanced up from the menu. "Black tea… Actually, no. I'll have a black bubble tea instead. Been a while since I had one of those."

One eyebrow rose slightly, but nothing else. "One black bubble tea, then. Coming right up." 

Leaving the table, EMIYA headed into the kitchen and began preparing the drink. The familiar sounds of the café seemed quieter than usual. Conversations had lowered to murmurs, and more than one customer kept glancing toward the beautiful woman seated alone in the corner. It was not difficult to understand why. Unlike Ingrid, whose face was known mostly within certain high circles as a respectable figure, Oboro's reputation had spread much further among the Tokyo City ground level…and not in a good way. Even people with only one foot in the underworld knew who she was, and the stories surrounding her had only grown with time.

As he finished sealing the cup, one of the escort girls approached the counter and placed money down.

He blinked. "You know that's not necessary."

"I know," she replied quietly and pushed the money forward anyway. "Just take it."

Setting the drink aside for a moment, he looked at her. "Is something wrong?"

She glanced toward the corner of the café. "Be careful around that woman."

His gaze briefly followed hers before returning. "Dangerous?"

"Very."

"Just as long as she isn't causing trouble, she's welcome in my establishment the same as anyone else."

The escort girl frowned even more. "That's not the kind of trouble I'm talking about."

He raised an eyebrow. "Then what kind are you referring to?"

For a moment, she looked as though she wanted to elaborate. Instead, she simply shook her head, not wanting to attract any ire from behind her. "I've already said what I came to say. Just… stay safe, okay?"

The man studied her for a second before giving a small nod. "I'll keep it in mind."

"Good."

With that, she returned to her table. A few minutes later, she and the rest of her group gathered their things and left the café. Several other customers who had been waiting around for Sakura eventually did the same, offering their farewells as they headed out the door.

Before long, the café had grown noticeably emptier. The atmosphere remained calm, but there was a lingering tension in the air that had not been there earlier. Behind the counter, EMIYA picked up the finished drink, glanced once toward the magenta-haired woman sitting by herself, unbothered by the sudden emptiness, and made his way over to her table.

"Your bubble tea."

He placed the cup down in front of her.

Oboro hummed and looked around. "It's a quaint little place. Quite small."

"Thank you, I did my best to make this place presentable as well as comfortable." A subtle threat on her end? Most likely, finding it humorous as if to test his nerve or just see if he would react to her words in some other way. Not that he was interested or had the time to play this little game with her. 

"It's not every day that such a lovely little place opens up in this part of town. I wonder if you've heard of the rumors about how dangerous this place can be. Murders, rape, kidnappings, drugs; all manner of dangerous crimes are quite common here."

"Not as big a deal as many make it out to be. Not all people around here are bad, and nothing so far has happened, thankfully enough." 

She chuckled. "Yes, nothing bad has happened, 'yet'." A light flashed across her eyes like a glint of sorts. She was not even trying very hard to hide why she was here. At least, that was the impression he got. Part of him had expected something far more direct. An attack. A kidnapping attempt. Maybe a hidden group of demons was waiting outside for a signal. Instead, she simply sat there with her drink, occasionally looking in his direction before returning her attention to the café itself.

He wiped down a cup while watching her from the corner of his eye. 'What exactly is she planning? Gathering information? Looking for weaknesses? Seeing whether the rumors are true?' Whatever the reason, she had come alone. No weapons on her person. No visible backup. No dramatic entrance. If anything, she looked more like a customer checking out a recently opened popular restaurant than one of the most infamous figures in Tokyo's underworld.

The silence between them felt awkward from his perspective, yet she appeared completely comfortable with it, as if enjoying how nervous she seemed to believe he was feeling. Every now and then, her gaze would wander over the interior of the café, studying the handful of remaining customers, the decorations, and the foodstuffs on display. It was difficult to reconcile that calm behavior with the image of her he had built in his head. He had expected someone far more aggressive. Instead, she was quietly just drinking bubble tea.

The bell above the entrance suddenly rang.

"Hello~ Boss!" 

Upon hearing the cheerful greeting, he looked up just as Sakura ran through the door straight towards him. What caught his attention, however, was the person she was dragging along by the wrist.

"Asagi?" 

The older woman didn't get the chance to protest as she was pulled fully inside. Sakura looked entirely too pleased with herself.

"Sorry again for being late. Getting Asagi out of the house was a bit of a challenge," she said cheerfully.

Before he could respond, a loud sputtering noise echoed through the cafe.

"Cough! Cough!"

Several heads turned. The source was easy to identify. The violet-haired woman with short hair had nearly choked on her drink. Though she recovered quickly, bringing a hand to her mouth and composing herself almost immediately, the reaction had already been noticed. Her eyes had widened for the briefest moment before she forced them back to normal.

The Almighty Taimanin's eyes instinctively snapped toward the sound.

For a second, she simply stared.

Her eyes widened.

The usual composure vanished from her face as she looked directly at the woman seated at the center table. Likewise, the traitor Taimanin's gaze remained unusually still, cup in hand, her gaze fixed on the newly arrived pair. EMIYA looked from one woman to the other and immediately realized the atmosphere inside the café had become infinitely more complicated than what may have happened had Ingrid stepped through that door.

'Welp, my café's about to be destroyed. It was nice while it lasted.'

Completely oblivious to the silent yet intense exchange occurring behind her, Sakura let go of Asagi's wrist and hurried over to the counter, stopping in front of him.

"I really was busy," she said, bowing her head apologetically. "I realize it wasn't very clear in the message I sent you, but my sister wasn't feeling that well this morning. I wanted to make sure she was okay before leaving."

As she spoke, the white-haired man could practically feel the tension radiating from elsewhere in the room. One woman had gone completely rigid, her face morphing into a look of hatred and bloodlust, while the other was trying a little too hard to look unaffected. It was the sort of situation that would naturally make anyone who noticed curious.

Unfortunately for them, he had long since learned that sometimes the smartest thing to do was pretend not to notice the giant disaster starting in the middle of the room.

"It's fine," he replied calmly. "I got your message, and considering you tried to come in on a day I told you to stay home for your own safety, I know you're not the type to skip work."

"Thanks for trusting me, Boss. Anyway, I really tried to make Onee-san change her mind all day today and even yesterday. Having her work at the café to take her mind off what happened back at home seemed like a good idea, but unfortunately, it doesn't seem like we can do that since she already made plans for us to leave the city for a bit to go back to spend some time with our parents."

Emiya raised an eyebrow. "Your parents?"

"Yup~! Our parents live in a village in a rural area far away from the city. It's very isolated, so going there takes time. We don't get to visit much." 

He guessed this must be the Taimanin's secret village Kyousuke talked about. It wasn't too surprising, he figured that Asagi would go back there sooner or later. He didn't expect her to go now, though, after just failing a single mission. Though perhaps she wasn't retreating, rather going there to retrieve something or refine her skills. Maybe to find reinforcements. Not that he cared or was worried, given that at the end of the day, he wasn't her caretaker. If she wasn't going to take his advice seriously and forgo any advantages he gave her, then it was her business and her funeral.

After Sakura finished speaking, EMIYA nodded his head. "Wanting to go back home to see one's parents after a loss is understandable and shouldn't be disparaged. Will you be leaving as well, then?"

The blonde put on a look of uncertainty. "Maybe, but I'm not sure. I genuinely don't want to leave this place. But given how shaken my sister is, I probably should join her."

"I understand, and I'm not blaming you. These things happen. It's always important to hold family close," he mentioned while looking at the two women in the background. It would be quite inconvenient if they started fighting. But if Asagi killed Oboro on the spot, he wouldn't mind it, truthfully; he would just pretend to be merely an observer who got caught in a murderous disaster.

Surprisingly, neither of them started fighting, though. Oboro even raised her cup with an almost mocking smirk on her face as she looked at Asagi, who looked like it was taking every fiber of her being not to leap towards her and snap her neck. 

"Eh, Onee-san? Why are you so quie—!" Whatever words that were about to come out of Sakura's mouth immediately came to a halt. Upon her glancing at Oboro, Sakura became horrified, while the woman who'd so recently upended their lives just went back to sipping her drink casually, even turning her back to the two of them. 

"…Onee-san." Asagi clenched her fists as her hand went to the side of her waist, instinctively trying to draw a weapon that wasn't there. But as Sakura rushed over and touched her shoulder, Asagi came out of her trance and back to reality, jumping back after being shaken by her sister's touch. She realized both Sakura and EMIYA were looking at her.

"Is everything alright?" he asked, "I heard from Sakura that you were leaving to visit your parents. I'd like to prepare you a meal to give you a final fond memory of this place before your departure."

Before he managed to finish his words, Oboro got up from her seat and walked towards the counter. This made Asagi extremely tense to the point that she consciously went into her battle stance, her eyes immediately eyeing some of the cutlery on the nearest table. She looked like she was about to grab a fork and plunge it through the woman's eyes and kill her on the spot. 

But Oboro didn't even seem to acknowledge her, just walking to the counter, leaving some cash on it. "The bubble tea was quite exquisite," she told him with a polite smile and even with something that sounded earnest. "I understand why my colleague comes here every now and then. I'll make sure to do the same when I have the time, and see if anything else worth my time and money is produced here." 

With that, she calmly walked out the door and left, the bell's chiming being the only break in the sudden silence.

He truly believed that this was going to escalate to a death battle between the Taimanin and Oboro. It was probably only the unprepared shock of both parties that had stopped it.

Before his mind could fully process the sudden de-escalation, Asagi stepped past Sakura and slapped her hand on the counter hard with a resounding slam, startling Sakura and even surprising him. "No, I will not be leaving," she said firmly, eyes filled with a determination that felt like it could shred him to pieces. "I heard from Sakura that you were looking for someone else to work here?"

EMIYA raised an eyebrow as he looked at Sakura, who now seemed more interested in the floor than anything else. 

'Best not to interfere too much with her affairs, as long as she remembers my advice. Things might get a bit complicated now, I should be careful as well with these three here.' Figured the man as he brainstormed for several alternatives. Trusting Asagi not to go absolutely berserk was a far-fetched idea. After all, the person who technically killed her fiancé had just casually stood in front of her, tauntingly, and basically promised to return to this very location.

"It was just an idea she brought up every now and then to reduce my workload," he said. "I honestly don't think I need anyone else to work here just yet. Not to mention the café doesn't earn that much to necessitate hiring more people, even if I pay below minimum wage."

"I'll work for free," Asagi said. "There's a big event happening nearby right now, so I know you need the extra hands at least for now."

This caught him a bit in left field, not because she said she would work for free, but because of how insistent she was. What did she realize the moment Oboro knew about this place? Was she afraid that the woman would kill him, as some form of payback for escaping back then?

He mused on this while on the outside, he put on a difficult expression. "How can I do such a thing, especially for a grieving woman? It wouldn't be fair, I'd be taking advantage of you."

"I'm not doing this for the money. As Sakura told you, I'm just doing so to distract myself. You really would just be doing me a favor by keeping me occupied. And just like Sakura said, even if the café may not be that big, with the amount of stuff you're making in the kitchen and selling from the side as pastries, it's enough to even overwhelm two people, let alone one. So I'll help you in any way, whether it be with cooking, cleaning, waiting, or keeping records; I have past experience in any field in the restaurant business and will double your profits." Asagi replied rather firmly.

Sakura originally would have been excited about this, but with Oboro's sudden presence, she did not look so sure. Nonetheless, she knew that Asagi wouldn't stop now and pushed Emiya to accept it, jumping in place with a forced giddy face as she agreed with her sister.

She'd always stand by Asagi, after all.

As for the Counter Guardian, he ran the merits and demerits over in his head, eventually thinking it might not be such a bad idea after all, since it would allow him to keep a closer eye on her. But then again, he did agree with Kyousuke not to focus too much on Asagi, so that Black wouldn't notice him. "I certainly appreciate the offer, but wouldn't this kind of ruin your plan to visit your parents? I'm certain you have your own reasons for going there after what happened."

Asagi repeated the "Parents" word before looking at Sakura, who once again decided to keep glancing at the wall, suddenly finding it a thousand times more interesting than the conversation, pretending as if she didn't exist. 

Asagi coughed. "It's not that urgent. I can always call them. Not to mention, I visited them just last month, so it's not like we haven't seen each other for a while. They would understand if I need to clear my head for a bit with physical labor, with something closer to home."

Not pushing the matter further, knowing full well it was nothing more than just a lie, Emiya decided to accept the request, at least for now. "Alright, fine. Since you're so insistent about working here, even for free, I'll admit the extra hands would be appreciated. But I'm paying you regardless of whatever you intend, since I refuse to leave you without any monetary compensation if you're going to double my profits, as you claim. It would make my blood run cold and feel like I'm running a sweatshop. As long as you don't feel like I'm taking advantage of your efforts, I'm more than willing to have you work here." He extended his hand. "Welcome to Copenhagen Café."

Asagi accepted it instantly with a strong, firm handshake that belied her small hands. "I have something to handle first," she quickly said before turning on a dime and practically running out of the café with a hard ring of the bell.

Sakura called out her name exasperatedly and worriedly followed after her, telling Emiya she'll be back in a few minutes.

"I'll wait."

As the door closed, he silently thought to himself that Asagi was probably going to try to kill Oboro right now, wasn't she? 'Honestly, her not killing Oboro right here was probably more than she could ever provide for the store in any capacity.' 

It wouldn't be that easy, though.

If that vile woman left so confidently in front of the person she was just about to kill not that long ago, then she would be a fool if she didn't have the means to disappear at any moment without being tracked by another Taimanin.

He took a seat at the counter while glancing at the clock and at his now-empty café before letting out a sigh. "It's going to be a long day today," he said before grabbing a nearby newspaper and sitting back with a coffee nearby, reading the news calmly with faint, relaxing jazz-like music playing in the background from the radio.

{Break}

-Chaos Arena-

An endless torture… that's all that could be described… as she remembered living through hell. 

Her body was pushed past its limits again and again, subjected to countless forms of torment. 

Immortality had become less of a blessing and more of a curse. 

No matter how much damage was inflicted upon her, as long as enough Taima Particles remained within her system, her body would eventually restore itself. Bruises faded, wounds closed, and broken flesh returned to normal, only for the cycle to begin again.

Yet it was not the pain that had crushed her spirit.

What broke her was the sight in front of her. Across from her stood a woman who had already lost. 

A woman she respected and admired more than any other person in the world. Someone she aspired to be and who brought nothing but pure happiness to her very soul more times than she dared to count.

A woman who made her heart race just by being close to…

More than anything, she had wanted to make that woman happy.

But now, that very woman was in a state that made her truly wish to die. Her body was covered in sticky white fluids, her skin marked by abuse, her eyes vacant and just… dead. Whatever spirit she had once possessed had long since been worn away. When the demons finally grew bored of her, they simply released their grip and let her collapse onto the floor with a wet splat. She did not even attempt to get back up.

Then their attention shifted elsewhere.

Several of the creatures turned toward her with eager, malicious grins, carrying an assortment of tools and restraints as if selecting toys for their own amusement. The realization of what was coming next filled her with a familiar dread. 

Pain, humiliation, exhaustion, pleasure enhanced, it all blended together until she could no longer tell where one sensation ended and the next began. Her body trembled. Her thoughts became sluggish. Eventually, something inside her simply gave way.

And thus a living nightmare came to be…

.

.

.

"Aaaah! Noooo!"

Murasaki's eyes snapped open.

A loud gasp escaped her throat, followed by a violent coughing fit. Sweat drenched her body, clinging to her skin and leaving her breathing heavily. For several seconds, her vision remained blurred and unfocused, the nightmare refusing to release its grip. Only after forcing herself to calm down did the surroundings become clear.

She was still inside the cell.

Heavy chains restrained all four limbs against the grotesque wall of living flesh behind her. The organic surface pulsed faintly beneath the dim light, a sight she had grown far too familiar with during her imprisonment.

She carefully examined everything around her before realizing that the sight she dreaded most in this world didn't lie before her. As her memories finally caught up to her, she finally let out a sigh of relief, as her heart slowly calmed down.

Again.

The same dream. "Hah… hah… hah…" 

It had haunted her for months, if not the better part of a year by now. Coming and going when she least expected, only growing in intensity these past few weeks. At first, she had dismissed it as stress from overexerting herself and from not being around her idol anymore, paranoia of no word of her, or now simply the product of a mind trapped in captivity for too long. Yet the nightmares only returned again and again with such consistency that ignoring them had become impossible. Every detail remained the same. Every face. Every extreme sensation of both pain and pleasure. Every horrifying outcome.

And it was all so vivid! So real that she dreaded going to sleep to even experience it. It had gotten to the point she assumed it to be an enemy ability affecting her mind.

She had searched for answers wherever she could. Questions directed toward elders, veterans, therapists, and anyone who might know something had yielded nothing. Nobody could really explain it well enough. Nobody even had a proven theory.

Of course, in their eyes, she was just obsessed with the great Igawa Asagi.

Her brother had tried his best to help her, and she was truly grateful for that, but having been called in his capacity as a Taimanin recently had crossed that off for now.

Her fingers tightened around the chains as she grabbed them tightly.

"Hngh!" With a frustrated huff, she pulled against them. Metal groaned under the strain, the restraints rattling loudly throughout the cell, but they refused to break. The effort sent pain through her arms and shoulders, forcing her to stop before exhaustion overtook her. "Hah…"

Breathing heavily, she lowered her head.

Whether the dream was a warning, a prophecy, or simply madness no longer mattered. After everything she had witnessed, especially what had happened to Asagi just a few days ago, there was only one conclusion she could reach now.

She could not allow that future to become reality in any shape or form. Even if it was nothing more than just paranoia, if it even had a single percent likelihood of happening, then she would act on crushing it.

In a way, a part of her also wanted to prove that it really was nothing more than a nightmare, that nothing like that could ever happen to the person she admired so much. She came to Tokyo after getting information on Asagi's presence and location from the elder. At long last, she had found her. But the more she stayed in this town, the more familiar everything felt to the point that she generally panicked. When she arrived and went to check on Asagi's house, she found that the place had been attacked, with no one inside. In a panic, she made the irrational decision to head over here and got herself captured as a result.

The girl remembered what happened recently with Asagi coming to her rescue and nearly getting captured. "This can't be real. I knew this was happening for so long; how can I let this happen?" Her frustration and tears flowed out as she expressed her anger at herself.

"Oh, finally awake." 

Another voice came from outside the jail cell before she saw several shadows approaching from the other side. One person in particular was a simple man, not an orc or vampire. He had glasses on with light reflecting off his lenses, and was tall with short black hair, and was draped in a white lab coat. The jail cell door opened as the tall man entered. 

"Yatsu Murasaki," he called out while holding a clipboard and reading through several pages with a smirk on his face. "It is quite an honour to see such a renowned Taimanin here. Even though you may still be attending Gosha Academy, your fame has already begun to rise and has gone beyond that of many Taimanins who have been in this field for years, thanks to your sudden spike in active missions. A true prodigy with a very interesting ninja art."

"…"

Murasaki answered him with just silence. Bound against the fleshy wall, she stared at him with undisguised hatred, her violet eyes never leaving his face. Every instinct she possessed screamed that the man standing before her needed to die just by looking at his face. The urge was so strong that her muscles tested against the restraints without conscious thought. The chains rattled loudly as she tried to move, but the metal dug into her wrist and ankles, refusing to give her even an inch. 

The scientist seemed to notice her attitude towards him immediately. Adjusting his glasses, he wore an amused smile that only made her anger worsen.

He gave her a curt bow first and foremost, "Greetings, you can address me as Kiryuu Sabato, chief scientist of Nomad and lead researcher in gene manipulation."

Once again, Murasaki said nothing, just glaring at him with pure hatred. "Oh, have we met before? That level of hostility is usually reserved for someone with a personal grudge. But as far as I recall, there is no such thing between us yet." 

But she once again kept her silence.

Rather than becoming annoyed, the researcher appeared entertained by it. Stepping closer, his hand went up and harshly grabbed and started to fondle her body without so much as a care in the world, making her wince and break focus. 

"A-Ah!" 

An involuntary yelp came out of her mouth from that sudden action. 

"You have a gifted talent. A body that can only be described as a golden goose for someone in my field. An immortal physiology capable of recovering from virtually any injury as long as your heart and the brain remain intact. Or rather, as long as you still have Taima Particles, truly you are fascinating."

"L-Let go," Murasaki told him, but he did not listen. Instead, he continued to observe her, this time grabbing her face rather harshly and raising it so that her face was facing his as he looked at her with a smirk.

"This prideful and hatred-filled look on your face is quite amusing. I'm curious to see how long you can keep this act going. But I also have a lot of work to do, and you might be my golden ticket to achieve what I've been searching for all these years." He wondered out loud, "What would be the outcome if I were to inject this body of yours with demon genes? Would you instantly die, or would your immortal body keep you alive and fight back to destroy the foreign substance? Or maybe you'd incorporate it somehow, creating a hybrid that would technically keep you alive while also making you evolve into something far greater?"

"—!?"

Murasaki started trembling when he said that, with fear starting to flash across her eyes as the man grabbed a scalpel and ever so gently pressed it against her abdomen. "Hn!" It cut through some skin, making her bleed, but it did not go that deep inside and merely went through the upper layers of her skin. The man removed the scalpel as the slight cut on her belly immediately regenerated, making his eyes grow in wonder ever so much more.

"Fascinating," remarked Kiryuu like a child spotting his favourite toy at the mall. "I'm feeling giddy. This gift is beyond anything I could have expected from Oboro, and I'm forever grateful to her." 

Soon, he called one of the demons, an oni who came in with a briefcase, from which he retrieved a syringe with strange content inside. Murasaki tried to struggle and free herself, but was unable to break the chains.

"No, no, no, no! Don't get any closer!" she said, but he did not listen.

She still remembered Oboro using something similar on her just a few days ago. Heightened sensation made even a simple touch feel almost unbearable, but after Asagi escaped, that traitor made sure to fully take advantage of that and unleashed hell. Cuts, broken bones, getting nearly drowned, getting her spine snapped in two, and much… much more. The flesh wall itself explored every corner of her body, as Oboro herself indulged herself in the pleasure of her torture using her body. Whatever had happened that day had led to that woman letting out her fury on Murasaki. 

She did not know what kept distracting her so much, but it helped give her some breathing room at times. Despite the hours of torture Oboro inflicted on her, she knew it could have gotten much worse.

"It's nothing to worry about. It's nothing major, just a crude experiment of sorts, just to test the waters at first. I'll just be playing around with your sense of pleasure and touch to see just how much your body can endure before it either shuts down, or to see if, instead, maybe you'll continuously feel this extra sensitivity to a point your brain becomes a vegetable? I'm so very curious. I believe Oboro used a lesser version of this on you, but this is the enhanced one. A multiplier of a thousand at least,"

He brought the syringe to her neck, and just as she felt the needle press against her skin, another voice called out, "Kiryuu Sabato," which immediately made the scientist stop in place. He frowned and looked behind to see Ingrid standing there, with all those demons from earlier having made space for her. 

"Tch, not her." He quietly clicked his tongue but showed no such emotions on his face as he faced her inside. "Oh my, what might be the occasion of your visit, Miss Ingrid? I'm just beginning my interrogation of the prisoner and will come back with the results very soon. I will guarantee you that the result will be more than satisfactory."

Ingrid's next words only served to put a stop to that. "You are relieved of your task. From now on, I will be handling the prisoner instead."

"What!?" He exclaimed in disbelief, clearly stunned and angered at the sudden change as he barely managed to hold himself back. "Wh-Why is this the case? Oboro herself had me work on this matter."

"Oboro is no longer responsible for handling this prisoner; her duties of fulfilling Black-sama's primary orders take priority. That responsibility has been handed over to me."

This visibly surprised him as he took a moment to try to understand the situation, but clearly was not willing to back away so easily. "I… I have spent so much time preparing this experiment, and it could be quite helpful to advance our medical research and other biological developments. I would very much prefer to continue it." 

Ingrid walked inside and stood right in front of him, her face almost intimidatingly close as she looked at him with cold eyes that made him shrink backwards a bit. "I'm not telling you not to do these experiments and to abandon your duties. Instead, Murasaki has a duty to attend the events of the Chaos Arena first and foremost. If you were to conduct your research now, there is a high possibility you will break her before she is capable of performing there. I will not have another failure happen under my supervision, in addition to the Chaos Arena repairs. So you have two choices: if you keep insisting, then I will have no choice but to make sure to handle your complaint personally right here, right now, and you won't be happy with my answer. But if you choose to back away for now, I will make sure you get your chance later."

"This…" Kiryuu struggled and hesitated, unwilling as he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. In the end, he had no other choice but to agree. "Fine, as you wish," he said before putting his tools back in the briefcase and walking past her with angry footsteps.

As he left, Murasaki noticed the dangerous look he was giving Ingrid, a look of someone who vowed to get payback or seek revenge of some kind later. But before she could ponder this matter any further, as soon as the last of the demons walked out, she noticed Ingrid walking towards her and looking at her with a cold stare. Unlike with that man, she did not feel much from this person, as she genuinely felt like a complete stranger.

"Yatsu Murasaki, you have quite the audacity to infiltrate Nomad and expect anything good to come out of this. You should count yourself lucky that you didn't just get either executed or thrown inside a breeding pit by now."

The blue-haired Taimanin struggled and whispered quietly with great effort, "Wh-where is Asagi? What have you done to her!?"

A flicker of surprise crossed Ingrid's face at the question, one brow rising slightly. She studied the chained woman for a brief moment, but no answer came.

Instead, her fist drove into Murasaki's stomach.

Bang!

"Gah!"

The impact slammed the air from her lungs. For an instant, her vision went completely dark. A choked gasp escaped her throat before she doubled over as much as the restraints allowed, coughing up a mixture of saliva and blood onto the floor. Agony spread through her abdomen, only to slowly recede as her unnatural regeneration began repairing the damage.

The Hell Knight watched the process without the slightest hint of sympathy.

"I did not give you permission to speak." Her voice remained calm, which somehow made it worse. "Nor do you have any right to ask questions."

A gloved hand seized a handful of the kunoichi's hair and forced her head upright.

"You are a prisoner. Nothing more." A faint frown tugged at her lips. "And soon, you will be entertainment for our guests. That is the price you pay for infiltrating Nomad."

Pain still lingered in her body, a dull ache beneath the healing flesh. Murasaki clenched her teeth but refused to give the woman the satisfaction of hearing her cry out. Her glare alone promised exactly what she would do if the chains ever came off.

Ingrid checked the chains. "While Oboro's methods are quite crass, she did a good job of putting in a plan B inside you in case you were to escape this place. At the very least, I could commend the woman for looking out for such things."

Ingrid's gaze remained fixed on the captive for a moment longer, cold and unyielding. "Unfortunately, unlike Oboro, I have little interest in dragging things out. Elaborate punishments and crude torture methods are a waste of time."

The words had barely left her mouth when steel flashed through the air.

"Iyaaaaah!" Murasaki screamed as the sword punched through her shoulder and buried itself deep into the fleshy wall behind her. Agony shot through her entire body. Her chains rattled violently as instinct made her struggle, only for the movement to drive the blade deeper. Blood ran down her arm and dripped onto the floor beneath her feet while her regeneration desperately fought to repair the damage.

The Hell Knight stepped closer, her expression unchanged.

"I prefer methods that are direct and effective." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Try anything foolish, and I'll drive a dozen more blades through your limbs. Then another dozen after that. I can pin every part of your body to this wall and keep you alive throughout the entire process. As long as your Taima Particles continue sustaining you, I have all the time in the world."

She rested one hand on the sword's hilt.

"Consider this your first warning. There will not be a secon—"

Then, out of nowhere, a rather out-of-place ringtone suddenly cut through the room. "—Oh!" The interruption stopped her midsentence. Irritation briefly crossed her face before she reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone.

Still struggling against the pain, Murasaki watched as something unexpected happened.

The coldness vanished. Not completely, but enough to be noticeable.

The woman's posture relaxed slightly. The hard look in her eyes softened, replaced by surprise and a hint of hesitation that had not existed a second earlier. 

"Y-You're signing up for a seat already? There is still a day left." The difference in her voice was so abrupt that it almost sounded like a different person speaking. "Just wait there. I'll be there in a minute." Her tone had become noticeably calmer, even gentler. "Listen, on the day of the event, go to security and show them the barcode I sent you. They'll scan it and guide you through a private entrance."

She paused, listening to the response on the other end.

"No, don't use the main entrance. Trust me, it's safer this way. You won't have to deal with the crowd, and nobody will bother you. Your privacy will be guaranteed, even from our own records made for special clients."

For the first time since entering the cell, Ingrid sounded almost concerned about someone else. The contrast was unsettling. One moment, she had been threatening to nail a prisoner to a wall with swords. Next, she was speaking with patience and care that Murasaki would never have believed possible if she hadn't witnessed it herself.

The Hell Knight quickly ended the call and then left the cell without even talking to Murasaki again. Instead, she gave the other members outside instructions on keeping a close watch on Murasaki and that if she tries to escape or tries anything else, not to hesitate and just cut off her limbs. These words made Murasaki shiver in both horror and uncertainty. 

Despite all of this, she clenched her fists, telling herself that she wouldn't give up. 

"Just wait for me, Asagi."

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The next 5 chapters of Snafu, and my other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters, Steel Eyed Faker soon to be 3 chapters, Taimanin with 3, Hound having 3 and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.