Oh yeah, been meaning to ask for a while, some of you may have noticed that I've never actually given you any art for Henry, only a written description.
Now that you've been through over 200k words through his eyes, I want to ask what you image him as, and if there's any corresponding art to that.
-
It took almost all I had to keep myself from breaking out in laughter when faced with Rin's comical misunderstanding. She wasn't stupid either, not even gullible or easily convinced, no, she was opposite all those things… Yet, somehow, she missed something so obvious I may as well have slapped her across the face with it.
Maybe such a trait came with being a genius… but no, that just couldn't be. I was also a genius so I'd know.
Ah well, that was a thought for another time. Right now, I was being shielded by a stubborn and headstrong lady for the second time in my life. Nobunaga too seemed hell-bent on making it into a 1v2 with her in the disadvantage.
Truth be told, her performance was a bit above even my own exception. The clash with Berserker was nothing at all like our little altercation with Lancer. No, it'd be accurate to say Nobunaga was wiping the floor with the giant, at least till now.
Every time he even came close to touching her, dozens upon dozens of rifles would blow his limbs to kingdom come from some unknown direction. What they did not stop, was brought to heel with her own blade.
The oddest facet was that I knew for a fact Berserker was FAR stronger than Lancer, Cu Chulainn, in every aspect.
Berserker howled and shot for the Demon King. She only tilted her head, raising a hand. Her eyes burned. The rifles all around her swirled haphazardly. Then, a series of bangs and flames tore through his flesh. He powered through them. She simply waved her hand. This time, more rifles fired. He fell back, smouldering.
"Do not presume to near me, puppet." She said, calmer than ever.
I'd never even seen her so calm before past the first time I summoned her.
She moved her hand again, without looking, and the rifles moved to point at me instead. Rin immediately seized up. Archer narrowed his eyes. I… did nothing at all, past hum curiously. My new teacher was not so moved by disinterest in the apparent threat. She shook my shoulder with a hand.
"What's wrong with you, you idiot?!"
"Miss Tohsaka, I enjoy your nerve but…" I gently removed her hand from my shoulder, "I don't like being pushed into things. I'm sure the Clock Tower can back me up on this."
She opened her mouth to say something but Nobunaga fired before she got the chance. For what it was worth, Archer intercepted most of the shots with his sword but some of them got through. They tore into the wall behind us, blowing it to bits of steel and concrete.
"And, I don't think she's too keen on letting anyone run."
"What kind of servant are you?" Nobunaga inquired from atop the streetlight, studying Archer. "I do not recognize you." She then let her head fall towards the howling Berserker ever so slightly, "That one… I do. And, he stands not a feather of a chance against my ambition."
Archer glanced at me for a brief moment.
Yeah, he definitely knew something. There was that odd familiarity in his eyes. He clearly expected me to intervene, to act out. I really wondered why. He was supposed to be a heroic spirit, a hero of legend. There was no way such a person would be able to know me.
He then turned to look at Nobunaga, "Your quarrel is with Berserker. We're just observers. Right, Master?"
Rin was pulled from her stupor by Archer calling for her. She finally stopped staring at me to shake her head roughly. "Wha-… Wait, yeah, that's right. We're only here because this is attracting too much attention! Both your Masters are breaking the rules right now!"
"Yeah, yeah, what she said~"
"That is an easily fixed issue."
One of Nobunaga's rifles moved to hover beside her feet. Easily, she stepped atop it. Just when it seemed like she was about to drag the fight elsewhere, Nobunaga stared at Rin again.
"And yet, who are you to presume you have any right to enforce these rules of yours upon myself?"
Rin stammered intelligibly at that, suddenly faced with the full, undivided attention of a being that brought a flaming hell with her everywhere she deemed fit. Berserker took advantage of that. One moment he was snarling on the ground, the next he was beside her, already swinging that jagged sword-cleaver-axe abomination he wielded.
Nobunaga drew her sword from its hilt till the very tip just in time for it to take the full brunt of the hit. Her hands trembled, then Berserker roared again. He was stronger this time, faster. Sparks dragged across the steel. With a mighty heave, he threw her to the skies. Mid-flight, she snapped her fingers with a massive grin and when he shot after her, a hail of bullets tore into his back. By the time he reached her, one of his arms was barely hanging off the bone.
She drew her blade fully the instant he reached her. It caught aflame, brilliant and immense. She swung it. A great explosion thundered over the dead of night as a sea of flames passed the sky. Berserker shot out like a meteor from the sky, crashing out of sight.
I couldn't help but clap my hand and whistle and hoot in applause.
This was everything I expected from a clash amongst heroic spirits and so much more. Berserker did not have his mind, no tactics and no techniques, just brute force, raw power, and he was still able to fully measure up against her… Yet, Nobunaga was all the stronger for his legendary strength.
I suspected it had, again, something to do with the nature of her existence. With such incredible strength, his legend was surely great. If ancient enough, his lineage was that of the Divine. Nobunaga was tailor-made to burn such Divinity. Her strength was proportionate to its immensity.
She even said she recognized.
I'd ask her later.
Rin seemed so enthralled by the night sky swept over by brilliant red-hot flames that she simply ignored my outburst. No, my 'teacher' was staring dumbly at the spectacle unleashed with her eyes as wide as saucers and no strength in her legs. I was kind enough to catch her when she stumbled back. This brought her back to her senses.
I was rewarded for that by her becoming a tomato.
"Huh. That's exactly how she reacts too. Anyway, Miss Tohsaka, how was your first taste of the Holy Grail War?"
In the end, while waiting for the war to begin, I ended up starting it myself. A true honour. Hopefully, it'd spur the rest of the pussies in the city into actually getting to doing something instead of sitting on their asses in the dark all day.
Rin stood in silence until the flames had sputtered out and then the first rays of sunlight broke onto the new morning sky
"So, this… is the Holy Grail War."
"It's been a real experience." I nodded to her words, "When they started fighting, that big guy wasn't even taking damage."
Nobunaga's first few shots had simply glanced off his bare skin as though it were the toughest armour in the world. Courtesy of several more borderline lobotomies when they were fighting, I now knew that that had actually been the case indeed.
I also knew the identity of the mad hero just because of that.
That said, I had no idea what it actually was. Just that something was covering his form, something that my eyes could not perceive. It was a real revelation, to be honest. I could see Gilgamesh's Gate, but not Berserker's Noble Phantasm or defense. I saw him as any normal person would, well, save for the ancient mystery wading off his being. Mystery as old as Atrum's Caster.
Of course, that just served to excite me all the more.
"Archer, mate, do you think you have a chance against that?" I hummed, shoving my elbow into his ribs.
He sighed. "I sincerely doubt it. The other one too. I really have to wonder what class she was. You wouldn't happen to know, would you?"
… He was shamelessly taunting me.
With a silly smile, I whistled.
"Same. You could tell me either was a Berserker and I'd believe you It was so scary~"
"Then why the hell did you even come here?" Rin scolded out of nowhere, her hands on her hips as she leaned forward to glare at me. "You put yourself in unnecessary danger."
What was she? My mom?
"I was in no danger whatsoever."
"That's bullshit!" She shouted at me.
"Woah! No need to get so heated." I backed away with hands raised in surrender. "Why do you even care if some random magus gets hurt?"
Of all the things to be convinced by, those words of mine managed to throw her off her game. Rin Tohsaka's eyes widened. She stepped back, and looked around like she'd find the answer written on the road somewhere.
"Well…"
"Well~?"
"I-It doesn't-… I took you on so I feel a bit responsible is all! Okay? H-Hm!"
Damn.
I didn't know how to respond to that either.
"Uh… I'm sorry?"
"I believe him, Master." Archer backed me up, "The ru… The rules are strict about civilian casualties."
I stared at him, "Hey, why'd you almost laugh in the middle there?"
"It was your imagination."
Rin cleared her throat, interrupting us, "Alright, listen to me, both of you."
She pointed a finger at me, looking all bossy and annoyed.
"You, go home. I'm going to get ready for school. We'll talk about the danger you put yourself in when I get home."
I wanted to respond. I would have. Just, I heard a crash the moment she finished. From the way her expression tightened, she heard it too. When the both of us turned towards it, someone let out a startled cry and then… footsteps. Someone running, to be precise… in the other direction.
Pursing my lips, I patted Rin's shoulder.
"You go ahead. I'll take care of our little interloper."
"What are you gonna do?"
I dragged a finger across my throat. Her face dropped.
"I-Isn't that a little too-"
Archer snorted, turning his head aside. Unable to control myself, I did the same.
Rin's face reddened as realization dawned upon her face.
"How are you two so annoying? You barely know each other!"
"Yeah…"' I stared at Archer suspiciously. "Anyway, toodles, Miss Tohsaka~"
With that, I disappeared.
-
Hope you enjoyed.