Emiya Residence.
Upon her return to the home that now sported a collapsed shed, Saber knew she'd come too late. Speeding her bike and hopping off of it to see the ruins, she had to compose herself upon seeing the blood splattered all over. 'No, no, no—!'
"Don't bother. Neither of them is here." Kiritsugu said as he sat on the main home's porch nearby.
Her true Master kept the usual frown, but this time, he was burning through a cigarette with a huff. A look down and she spotted a burnt-out butt of his first, meaning he'd been here but waiting alone for some time already.
That he wasn't berating her on-sight was a surprise to the Servant of the Sword.
"Then, who's blood is all this?" she asked.
"Our guest, Lady Sola-Ui." It seems the poor woman couldn't escape the war no matter how hard she tried. "Seems whoever came in decided to get rid of her soon after taking them… I came back as soon as I felt the perimeter alarm I set up triggered. Only, I find this mess, a shattered boundary field, and you are absent from the premises." He levelled a blank, yet accusing, stare her way. "What happened, Saber?"
Arturia would've been reluctant to share, but considering this was partly her fault, she relented and spoke of Rider's sudden appearance, her accepting his challenge, and the attempt to take him out which resulted in her victory by default.
"Victory? You call this 'victory'?" His tone was low like it was holding back the anger apart from the urge to cough venom. "You left them alone the moment an enemy Servant demanded a one-on-one. Did you not stop to consider it might've been a trick or distraction aimed at you, Saber?"
Apart from the veiled animosity, his voice ran thick with disappointment. As if he was talking to a child. She stared at him. "It was the King of Conquerors. Despite his braggart nature, he isn't the type to plan something like this. Even a barbarian like he has the modicum to not involve regular folk—"
"And it is with that naivety that you are blind to our other enemies!" he snapped back with a momentary rage. Tossing his half-burned cigarette to the ground and crushing it with his heel, Kiritsugu approached the ruins of the shed. "You may be right about Rider's character, but you fail to remember that it is not just the King of Conquerors who are our foes. Your focus on him has blindsided you of your descendant and his own Servant, Avenger."
"Lelouch?" Saber felt offended despite having expected Kiritsugu to pin the blame on someone. It still didn't help that she felt a bit defensive of her progeny. "How would you even be sure it was he and not Berserker's Mas—"
"Matou Kariya has neither the capabilities to go up against a normal human, much less a weakened magus." interrupted the suit-clad assassin. "Even if he sent his Servant on the errand, Berserker neither has the rationality nor self-control to minimize damages, much less kidnap their enemies unharmed." Falling to his knees, Kiritsugu studied the shattered remains of an electronic device. "One of Maiya's communicators," he explained. "Destroyed by a bullet shot. The same with the shed. It's riddled with holes that can only be made by a matchlock volley. Avenger's signature weapon."
Saber couldn't respond to that. If the evidence was that damning, then she had no choice but to accept it as such. But… to think her blood would resort to kidnapping Irisviel…
"The boy's clever. He made sure to leave no evidence behind. Nor did he leave witnesses." Kiritsugu might've sounded impressed if he wasn't sporting a frustrated glare at the remains of their base. "Hm. I should've taken him out when I had the chance…"
Saber would've snapped back, but she didn't. Maiya being absent meant she was either dead or taken as well. The crushed remains of their captive, once Lelouch's ally, meant he also chose to remove her before she could talk any further. What more could she do to defend someone whose deeds were as clear cut as the blood on the broken building?
Arturia could only sigh as she turned to her Master. "What do we do now?"
"Search the city. We can't leave Iri in his hands. I don't know if he's aware of it, but she's too valuable to—" Kiritsugu stopped when he felt something vibrate in his pocket. In a swift motion, he quickly pulled out his phone and narrowed his eyes when he saw who was calling. "Maiya's spare phone number…"
Saber looked hopeful, but the sharp look Kiritsugu was giving his phone snipped that hope in the bud. "What's wrong?"
He didn't respond to her. Instead, he just accepted the buzzing of the patient caller and waited. Stepping closer, Saber heard neither her Master nor the caller spoke until Kiritsugu broke the silence first. "Lelouch Lamperouge, I take it?"
"Hello. You must be Emiya Kiritsugu, the Magus Killer I've been hearing so much about." The boy's familiar polite voice said. "I've been wanting to speak with you for some time now. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Where is my employer?" Kiritsugu, still keeping up his ruse as a hired mercenary, demanded calmly.
"And why is it that you still seek her?
"I won't get my payment if she's dead, now can I?"
"Would you secede from the war if I offer to pay you in her stead, tenfold, no less?" That Kiritsugu didn't reply must've been a telling enough answer for the boy as Saber heard a light chuckle on his end. "Don't worry. I have no intention of hurting the only person who can lead me to the Lesser Grail."
Lelouch likely didn't see it, but Saber did. The moment it was mentioned, Kiritsugu's stone-faced expression flickered to shock and silence. So surprised was he that the boy could somehow tell without anything being said.
"Oho? I take it your silence is due to being aware of it as well. My, how interesting! A mere mercenary assassin is aware of the intricacies of war only its Master participants should be aware of. It makes one wonder just how much an outsider like yourself knows—"
"What do you want…?" Saber had never heard Kiritsugu sound so beaten before. The man looked just about to snap. And he did when the boy continued to play the silent game. "Answer me, kid!"
"Oh come now, Master Emiya. I know you take pride in your professional title, but let's not kill the fun so soon into the game."
"You think this war is a game? Is that it?!"
"What else can you call the Holy Grail War if not just a big deadly game? I mean, it's full of farces, lies, deceit that is even played against one closest of allies. But despite it all, it's still a bit entertaining so long as one watches from the sidelines, is it not? Being dragged into becoming a participant, I'm just here, trying to make the most of it. Wouldn't one prefer to enjoy their life to the fullest?" The moment Kiritsugu heard it, his expression froze. Memories of the deranged child-killer flashed through his mind as the caller continued. "And let's not forget, this is a fight between legendary figures! Heroes from across space and time! One cannot fathom just how much of a game-like scenario the old families designed such a ritual—"
"Cut to the chase, Lelouch Lamperouge."
The boy sighed from the other side of the call. "No love for dramatics, I see. Very well, I want a duel. Between Avenger and Saber. Meet us in the community centre building of Shinto tonight. Of course, no funny business like involving the police or attempting to form a truce with the other surviving Servants. Not unless you want Lady Einzbern to die fruitlessly. See you there, Magus Killer."
With a quick beep, the call ended. And, as his arm lazily fell to his side, Kiritsugu marched towards the exit of the estate.
"Where are you going?" Saber asked but he didn't look or even speak to her. He just continued to walk like a dead man heading to the gallows. Despite everything being her fault, the fact that he just ignored her rubbed her off the wrong way. She attempted a second time. "Oy! Kiritsugu—!"
"I'm getting my equipment. Your successor is acting like this is a game and is playing with fire. In that case, I will make sure he gets burned for it."
"But… this is obviously a trap!" She tried to reason with him once she realized he was seeing red. The fact that he was gunning for Lelouch was the least of her concerns, it was the fact that he was willingly going along with it without much in the way of explanation.
"Rider being a trap didn't seem to stop you, did it?" the comment had her reeling but she kept her childish retort back long enough for him to add. "We will play along until we're close enough to either free Iri or kill Lelouch Lamperouge. I'll be acting on my own as per usual while you distract Avenger."
"But… Kiritsugu—?!"
"Because you allowed this to happen in the first place, ensure she will not be able to help her Master," he snapped, this time with a little more venom. "I will take care of the mess you made as well as your long lost problem child."
With that, he vanished out the gate. The hum of a car engine fading in the distance told Saber she was now alone in the half-destroyed backyard of their once-new base. The girl in a suit couldn't help but sigh as she held her face in one of her gloved palms.
'Dammit… Dammit. Dammit! DAMMIT!' Stamping the ground hard enough to dig a mini-crater, she sighed once more as she lifted her gaze to the red sky. The King of Knights narrowed her eyes when she was met with the rising sun on the horizon, bathing the day in a bright orange-red. 'How the hell did things get like this…?'
From one depressing mess to a whole fuck-up, Saber wondered how she was supposed to save her allies and friend if her actual Master was this adamant in refusing to cooperate with her. But, knowing not why he continued to hate her and knowing very much that she would never get a proper answer, Saber did the only thing she could do. She prepared herself for the upcoming fight.
She'd drained a lot to use Excalibur once today. Considering their foe's identity, apart from her former kingdom's heir, was still unknown, she needed to be fully charged in case she needed to let off more than one blast.
However, the fact of the matter remained. She would be going at this alone.
While it wouldn't have been a problem at the beginning of the war, it became a bit harder considering that the one person she could always speak with now had their life on the line. And while she didn't understand Kiritsugu's refusal to work alongside her in rescuing his wife, she did understand that it was still her fault.
'Please be safe, Irisviel.' She prayed as she entered the cold and lonely house to rest. The knight only felt a small breeze in response. The silence was damning, a result of her poor choice of action. 'I will save you… On my honor, I shall return you to your husband… even if he does not expect me to…'
***
Author's note:
Hi everyone! Hope you enjoyed this chapter and be prepared! We are entering the endgame! Now, I know that Lelouch and Arturia aren't related by blood in any way but I will explain it later, please wait a little bit.
Also, I hope everyone who rolled for the latest Lost Belt King got him. I skipped the banner because our favourite Avenger is coming soon and I managed to save 666 sq for her :D
Special thanks to ReavesTheReader as usual!