Chapter 335: Taiga Fujimura's Nighttime Adventure
The latest episode of Fate/Kaleid Liner Magical Illya had barely aired before the internet exploded with chatter.
After several slow, slice-of-life episodes focused on Chloe, the audience finally got the pulse-pounding action they'd been craving. And the biggest reason? The appearance of Bazett. Her overwhelming power brought a new sense of danger to the main cast, and her striking looks instantly earned her a passionate fanbase.
Soon after the broadcast, the official Fate/Kaleid Liner Magical Illya website updated Bazett's profile:
"A powerful, battle-hardened enforcer magi. It's said that in a parallel world, she once took part in the Holy Grail War—but was forced to withdraw before it began due to the Overseer's schemes."
At first glance, that might not sound like much.
But really—who visits the Illya website?
Would someone who's never watched the Fate/Stay Night trilogy bother with a magical girl spinoff's official page? Of course not.
The people checking that site are the true veterans—the ones who've memorized every detail of the Fuyuki War Chronicles. And they immediately caught on: Bazett wasn't just any new character. She was that Bazett—the first Master of the big doggo himself, Cu Chulainn.
Sure, she was only briefly mentioned in the movie version, but if Shinji was bold enough to drop that setup, then clearly he hadn't given up on patching the gaps left in Fate/Stay Night.
Unfortunately, Shinji had already declared that Fate/Stay Night's story was "completely finished." No more sequels under that name, ever.
Which meant Bazett's tale in the Fifth Holy Grail War would forever remain nothing more than a bit of background lore.
To think such a gorgeous, capable woman would never appear in the main story—fans could only sigh wistfully at her character illustration on the website.
But oh, how naïve they were.
Just because Fate/Stay Night had ended didn't mean the Fate universe had. There was still Fate/Hollow Ataraxia, Carnival Phantasm, and so much more.
Why couldn't Bazett's story be told there?
And if not there, then there's always Today's Menu for the Emiya Family, Fate/Grand Order, or any of the countless other Fate spin-offs!
The end of one story doesn't mean a character's journey is over. In a universe where popular characters can be "revived" endlessly, resurrection is practically tradition.
Thus, while poor fans were being toyed with in Shinji's palm, they remained blissfully unaware—still passionately debating what Bazett's appearance might mean for Illya, and getting all hyped up again.
"Now this is what I call tokusatsu—big fights!"
"Yeah! If the action's not explosive, it's not real tokusatsu!"
"The new lady's so cool! I love her already!! 💖"
"Can't wait to see how Miyu takes her down!"
"Forget her—what I want to know is whether the Clock Tower's gonna show up next!"
"Nah, the Clock Tower's forces are tied up with Lord El-Melloi and Velvet. That's why the Sealing Designation Bureau's making moves instead."
"Wait, are you saying the Bureau's playing both sides? They actually sent Bazett to Fuyuki?"
"Hold up—where are you guys even getting this lore?! What databook are you reading?! I've never heard of any of this!! (＊｀д´)!!"
...
From that episode onward, Illya's online discussion boards blazed hotter than ever before.
Not that viewers disliked Chloe—come on, who doesn't like a mischievous, flirty little devil-loli?
Illya, pulling double duty by playing both herself and her darker counterpart, nailed that impish, black-winged charm perfectly. One glance at Chloe, and you could never forget her.
Which isn't surprising, really—according to Hiroshi Hiroyama's manga, Chloe is actually the version of Illya closest to the original Fate/Stay Night iteration.
Having already portrayed Illya in three versions of Fate/Stay Night, our actress handled this darker role with absolute ease.
"After spending so much time with Brother Shinji, I think I'm turning into something that's not human anymore."
The moment she said that, Shinji promptly flicked her on the forehead with a sharp bonk.
"Are you saying I'm not human?"
"At least not a normal one! Every time I go to school now, Reiko and the others bug me for pictures of male idols!"
Illya stuck her tongue out at him in mock protest.
"And that's a problem because…?"
A sly smirk curled across Shinji's lips, that trademark evil charm of his creeping in.
"If it's autographs from the Three Idiots you want, I've got stacks of them lying around. Go ahead, make your classmates happy."
"Who'd want those three morons?!" Illya huffed, arms crossed. "Everyone's into Uncle Diarmuid right now!"
The moment she said that, Shinji froze.
Oh no. Even elementary school girls knew the nickname Three Idiots now.
"Looks like it's about time I fixed their reputation…"
He sighed, already imagining the conversation he'd need to have with old man Kitagawa about boosting the popularity of Lancelot, Gawain, and Tristan. He just needed them to seem… well, human, at least.
But it was the end of the year—peak season in the entertainment world.
Johnny's agency was already swamped just keeping up with their scheduled events; there was no time to plan a new campaign for an un-debuted idol trio.
Regrettably, it looked like the "Operation: Make the Three Idiots Human Again" would have to wait until next year.
The failure left Shinji a little bitter, but thankfully, the Garden of Sinners crew was performing beautifully, which helped lift his mood.
At this pace, he was confident they could finish filming before 2007 arrived.
Of course, there were still difficult scenes ahead—like the showdown between Ryougi Shiki and Asagami Fujino. That one would have to be filmed in a man-made typhoon, of all things. Just the thought made his scalp tingle.
But before The Garden of Sinners's final battle even began shooting, Shinji found himself in a bit of trouble—thanks to another film of his, Fate/Apocrypha.
It all started innocently enough. After several rounds of editing, the theatrical cut of Fate/Apocrypha was nearly complete. All that remained were the finishing touches: a few CG effects and some connecting shots that needed reshoots.
The biggest issue was the sequence involving the Empress's Hanging Gardens.
During the original shoot, Shinji had let the Servants go wild for the sake of dynamic, high-energy battle scenes. But when he reviewed the footage, he realized many of those shots were chaotic beyond repair. They'd have to be redone.
Fortunately, the "Mini Version" of the Hanging Gardens set had just been completed.
And since Shinji hated wasting money, why not use the real Hanging Gardens for the reshoot?
Sure, the real one was smaller than the concept design, but with clever forced-perspective filming, it would do the job perfectly.
To avoid attracting attention, Shinji scheduled the reshoot for night.
So on a moonless, wind-swept night, Shinji led the Fate/Apocrypha production crew into the Hanging Gardens—and with a deep, thunderous hum, the massive structure began to rise into the night sky.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
The night deepened.
Fuyuki City was unusually quiet.
Taiga stumbled out of a bar, swaying a little as she pushed the door open and stepped into the cool night air. She let out a satisfied burp.
It was payday, and she'd celebrated a little too enthusiastically.
"Hic~ As expected, nothing beats Dassai~!"
Her head spinning slightly, Taiga staggered down the street, humming some half-forgotten tune.
The bar was near Shinto's main avenue—a bustling area with plenty of taxis passing by even at night.
In other words, she had absolutely nothing to worry about.
At least, that's what she thought.
Truth be told, even if Taiga decided to cut through the alleys, she didn't need to worry. After all, she was the most dangerous creature in Fuyuki City—the kind no one in their right mind would ever mess with.
Not only was she the heiress of the Fujimura Group, but she also happened to be the teacher of several second-generation heirs from the city's Magus families.
Street punks, magi, mysterious weirdos—it didn't matter. If they were carbon-based lifeforms, they all knew one absolute truth:
This tiger-looking woman was, in every sense of the word, a tigress.
That was why Taiga could confidently get blackout drunk and still swagger through the streets at midnight.
As long as she didn't go looking for trouble, the only ones who'd end up dead… would definitely be the other guys.
"Hic~ it's kinda late… maybe I should swing by Shirou's place for a midnight snack… huh?"
Still swaying slightly, Taiga stopped at the edge of the street, blinking blearily left, then right.
Something felt… off.
The road that should've been bustling with cars was utterly empty. Not a single vehicle passed by. The entire avenue was deserted—aside from a few parked cars, the silence was almost eerie.
"Huh? What's going on…?"
Did she drink that much? Had she blacked out until the dead of night?
Or worse—had she somehow drunk herself into another world?
She scratched her short hair, her alcohol-fogged brain struggling to make sense of it all.
Why was there no one here? Not even a single passerby in this lively district of Shinto?
"Holy Grail War? Zombie outbreak? Sea monster invasion? Aliens attacking? …Or maybe a gas explosion?"
Taiga was the kind of woman whose imagination never stopped running—and with the alcohol fueling her thoughts (plus watching too many of Shinji's movies), her brain was practically bubbling over with wild scenarios.
Then, suddenly, she spotted a group of people running toward her from the far end of the street.
They were all holding up their phones—different models and colors—pointed straight at the sky, shouting excitedly as they ran.
"Wait, seriously? Did something big happen?"
Even in her drunken haze, Taiga's survival instincts hadn't completely deserted her.
She couldn't make out what they were yelling, but since every single one of them had their eyes glued upward… that meant whatever was happening was in the sky.
But before she could tilt her head back to look—
A deep, thunderous rumble rolled past her ears.
The sound was so massive, so low, that even though whatever made it had to be far away, it still rattled her bones and made her eardrums ache.
Then came the lights—blinding shafts of white cutting through the night, streaking down from the heavens like searchlights from another world.
"What the heck…? The police using helicopters now?"
Her last shred of logic immediately told her that was nonsense.
This was Japan. Fuyuki City.
Not Chicago.
There was no way the cops here would be chasing down criminals with spotlights and helicopters.
"What is this, a Detective Conan movie or something…?"
<+>
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