Compared to Enji, my own life hadn't been particularly bad. The crippling inflation made life a slog past college, and my routine basically became work and rest and work and rest, with little to no time for any of my hobbies... but still, pity welled up within my heart as memories began clicking in with each and every step I took on that dark road.
Memories of an abusive father who always seemed to expect more and nothing at all at the same time, given solely to drink and gambling. But, being a child, 'I' tried all the same to earn that man's approval, showing grades and awards that only seemed to put 'me' a step back instead.
That longing turned to frustration, then to hate, for that man, and the family who had left me to him.
Yes, indeed, compared to that, the slog was better. At the very least, I hadn't ever known the frustration of being beaten down again and again by none other than your loved ones. No, I'd just known envy before... Now, I felt relief.
Free.
Yes, I was free.
Free from my slog. Free from expectations.
That bastard was dead too, and I'd finally stepped away from that longing for family tucked away within the deep recesses of my self. The debt incurred from education was gone. I had no more deadlines to meet.
The winter breeze on my skin was nice. The scent of rotting wood and wet earth from the forest beside me brought a sense of peace, and the star-filled night sky was a wondrous sight. I had lived here for an entire life, yet the sprawling city down below had never looked prettier.
My lips unwittingly curved into a smile.
Yes... freedom...
What was one supposed to do with that kind of freedom?
"Nothing... Everything."
Confusion was fine. I'd settle in eventually and do all those things I wanted to but never could, though I failed to come up with something there and then.
"No, it's still fine." I reassured myself, shaking my head, "I have time."
I did. Fate was a dangerous world, and I was already caught up in the Grail War thanks to the crimson marks underneath my forearm. Wait, that was it. I did have something to do. The servants summoned to fight were figures of legend. Yes, meeting one of them sounded fantastic, and summoning one just for that was definitely someone given to desire and freedom would do.
But... there was the danger of being targeted by the others. It was a war, after all. No, the truth was that I had no choice other than summoning one lest I be targeted and caught alone. The Ten Shadows were undeniably strong, but I doubted any shikigami other than Mahoraga was presently capable of saving me if I were taken by surprise.
A shiver ran down my back at the thought.
"No, summoning Big Raga isn't the right choice."
Not only would it mean I was following in the footsteps of potential man, but it hurt too. The Divine General hit extremely hard, enough to shatter my entire torso. It was the so-called Crest that had kept me alive and healed me back up, though I could not find it.
The crest... right, the crest...
If memory served, Rin Tohsaka had one too. A magical organ passed down from head to head by older lineages of magi, that stored all their research and spells so that those that came after could build upon it further before passing it on to the next. My ancestor's memory had shown me that the Zen'in crest was a special case, and came with the 'predatory pathogen' passed down by blood instead.
And, Tsumiki's words pointed to something like it entering a dormant state until myself.
That was the extent of my knowledge.
I picked up my pace, feeling the chill wind drag across my bare ass.
For more, I needed those manuscripts... but I doubted the rest of my clan would be too keen on handing them over-
"Oi!"
My thoughts came to a grinding halt at the gruff sound. Shaking my head, I looked around for the source, finding an unseemly trio smoking and drinking under a blinking streetlamp. Two of them wore shiny bomber jackets, sat like they were constipated with empty bottles splayed all around. The third, the bald one who'd apparently called me out, wore a grey wind breaker. All three of them wore pants so baggy I thought the breeze would pull them off.
I awkwardly waved my hand. "Uh, hi there."
"Hand over all ya got, you fucking weirdo!"
Pursing my lips, I stared down at the hospital gown I was wearing, flapping with the wind.
The man was a specimen... a hallmark of the intelligence humanity could produce at times.
"I'm sor-" I cut quickly cut myself off. No, I was free. There was no reason to mince words. "Your mom must be real proud of you."
"What?!"
This was clearly a mandatory isekai event.
"Come on man," I tugged on my sleeve. "Your generic lines aside, why would you approach someone... wearing this-" I tugged harder. "-in the middle of the night. Have you never seen a horror movie?"
"I have too!"
"Nah, he's a bitch. He can't watch-"
"You shut up! Your girlfriend's cheating on you!"
"...What?"
With a grunt, the baldie reached into his jacket and pulled out a folding knife, flicking it open as he took a step closer.
"Empty your pockets!"
"I don't have pockets! Look at me! I need cloth-..." I sucked in a breath of cold air, attempting to push down the devious smile that threatened to break out on my lips. "So, yeah, I'm sorry."
"You better be!"
I gripped my left palm with my right hand, and held the thumbs out such that they looked like ears. Then, I opened the fingers such that they resembled the open maw of a canine. The shadow my hands cast was that of a dog.
"The fact you'd try this, at night especially, is all I need to understand just how smart you are. And you pulled a knife too."
He was standing directly under a streetlight too.
Despite the temptation, I did not make the dogs jump out of his own shadow, cautious about the possible repercussions for freely showing the supernatural Rin had been so wary of in the anime. No, I made them jump out of my own, behind me, such that the movement was never even seen until I stepped aside with a polite smile.
To them, it must have looked like the two wolves were standing behind me all the time. They were impressive creatures, truth be told, and adrenaline pumped through my veins at our proximity even though I knew well that they would not hurt me.
The white one howled at the moon. The black one opened its maw and snarled at the delinquents.
Both of them were bigger than I expected, much bigger, looking more like feral creatures from a by-gone era with thick coats of fur and massive jaws.
To their credit, the delinquents turned on their heels and got the hell out of there. Unfortunately, it was a bit too late for the one with the knife. The black wolf approached him slowly, snarling and biting at the air. He remained frozen. I couldn't blame him. Absently, I scratched the head of the white wolf. He nuzzled against my hand like a good boy.
It felt nice.
"Alright, hand over your wallet."
"W-What?"
"Wallet. Phone too. Or, he gets a snack."
In a panic, he groped about his pockets and threw both his phone and his wallet at the ground. I approached calmly and picked them right up. The phone was a dated flip model, but that was the standard for this time so I wasn't much disappointed. The real haul was the wallet. Two ten thousand yen bills, a couple five thousand ones and a few thousand more in smaller notes.
That could last me a while if I was smart enough.
"Give me your clothes too."
"That's a bit too-" He jumped back with a frightened screech when the black wolf bit at his arm, missing only by a hair's breadth. "Fine! Fine! You can have them! Just get that thing away!"
Before I even beckoned him, the wolf seemed to read my thoughts and retreated to my side. He began rubbing his nose against my thigh. Seemed he was a really good boy too.
A few minutes later, I found myself wearing trousers and a grey windbreaker over a black sweatshirt. Ah, the world really was much kinder to me now. It had even sent free loot right into my hands.
Of course, I made sure to knock out the wannabe with a sucker punch to the chin so that no one would believe him when he woke up.
The small encounter left my new wallet a bit heavier, and gave me decent looking clothes to boot. I even made sure to toss away the SIM card from the phone before pocketing it.
"Now... where was I? Right-" I hammered my palm, "Summoning. Summoning. How do you draw that circle again?"
Before my thoughts could wander, the white wolf... Hm, I needed to give them names, referring to them as black and white was sort of cumbersome... The white wolf, who'd been sniffing my discarded gown, began growling at it. He then dragged it over, and nudged my knee with it.
A paper. There was a paper in there.
An odd-looking drawing with layered circles and strange etchings in languages I did not understand dominated the entirety of it. At the top right side, a silly face that looked like Francesca's was bopping its head with a tiny fist. There were kanji inscribed in a speech bubble too;
"Oops, no time. Well, how's a girl to handle her excitement?! Draw this for a silly surprise! Also, run away from Tokyo otherwise, Scarred Red will find you... We don't want that happening!"
I was... inclined to believe those words. But, I also wanted to summon a servant as soon as possible.
-
Hope you enjoyed.
Also, this absolute bum had to summon Shikigami to deal with a couple of thugs. Actual fraud.
As usual, you can find a couple chaps ahead at patre0n.com/Bleap