7Remaining Days: 1
"Fa… ther…"
Groggily I wake up to a quiet mumbling which's words I cannot quite make out; I haven't even heard my alarm go off yet. Getting up or even just moving seemed hard and upon getting used to another day with sunshine, despite it not being real, I realise why: My Servant's face is buried on my chest while her arms are wrapped around my waist. It doesn't seem like she'd let go easily.
Her peaceful, sleeping expression, her messy bed hair, and her closeness made me unable to contain a faint smile. I wrap my arms around her as well, pulling her closer and closing my eyes again, enjoying this moment. It feels warm and somewhat at home .
Only mere minutes later, I fall asleep again.
Sitting in class, I touch my lips. It's been a day since Rin kissed me and a bit less since I kissed Saber. I cannot make out why they both are on my mind. Each contact felt good, despite their differences; I have to admit, Rin's lips are softer. I wonder if they think about it, too? About me?
Rin seems to be avoiding to me, even skipping a class. Though, actually, it's rarer for her to not skip a class. Maybe I'm just overthinking. But I don't think I should talk to her about this. She kissed me for demonstration only, she doesn't want to form a "stronger bond" with me, like I do with Saber.
She, on the other hand… I should talk to her later. I am not sure why, but I feel like it is the right thing to do. I should also try to convince her to get underwear, while I'm at that…
As soon as the morning classes are finished, I find myself in front of my room's door. Suddenly I'm anxious to get into my own room. I wonder why things seem so awkward now? I know I can't flee and I especially don't want to, considering I'm not even sure what I'm running away from.
I take a deep breath, type in the password and open the room's door.
My Servant is already awake for once, though still in her new sleep wear. Upon noticing my arrival, she frantically rubs her eyes. Don't tell me… Did she cry?
I walk the very short distance to her, "Uhm, Saber? Something wrong?" She laughs it off. "Nah, I'm just tired. Just got up myself." That relieves me, it was a misunderstanding. Thankfully, there's nothing bothering her. "Good! But, don't rub your eyes so forcefully, they're kind of red."
…And swollen, I notice when I get closer to her to take a look at her face. After all, her well-being is something I, as her Master, care deeply about. "Uhm, Master? Are you gonna… you know… again?"
It takes me a short while to understand what she's getting at. I shouldn't complain… After all, I wanted to talk about this myself.
"N-no, I'm not! Well," I try to bring my mind to order, "I just, I don't know. I wasn't really sure how to calm you down yesterday and… that just came to my mind. I'm sorry." Saber holds up her hands in defence, shaking her head. "No, no! No need to be. Was just… surprised, that's all! I mean, I did agree to… do that."
"Later on—Before the Elimination Battle," I add. She nods at me.
I'm glad we're on the same page—she's not mad at me and the awkward, tense atmosphere around us is gone, too. We can keep going like we did until now and there's nothing between us. "How about some lunch?" I still have time until afternoon classes, so why not take Saber with me when she's already up for once?
"Huh? You do realise I'm not human and thus don't need to eat as long as I get mana from the Moon Cell?"
I sigh. "I know. And me neither, since my body here is virtual or something, too. But it still tastes good and I'd feel weird not eating something once in a while."
My Servant seems to be pondering.
Finally, she gets up. "Okay, let's go! You pay, though."
I agree, but one thing is somewhat bothering me. "Aren't you going to change into your usual clothes, Saber?"
She shrugs at me. "Why would I? This is comfortable to wear and the SERAPH forbids battling outside of the Arena."
I know I can't reason with her if she's so set on it. "Fine. But next time you'll at least wear a spare school uniform I'll get you, okay?"
Saber grumbles. "Fine."
I already figured she wouldn't really like this idea and I suspect it's the skirt bothering her, but that's something I shouldn't worry about for now.
The school's cafeteria is rather crowded, which annoys Saber visibly. "Can't wait until there's less participants," she mumbles before we have a meal in rather silence.
She is looked at a lot, probably more because she's a Servant, not in spirit form and having a meal instead of the fact that she looks like she just got up a minute ago—which isn't really wrong, after all.
Against her will, I pull her into the afternoon classes. She would sleep either way, in our room or in class, and I enjoy the company of a friend in this hostile place, so I can't really leave her a choice.
After the last class, in which I almost fell asleep myself, Saber gets almost immediately more energetic.
Knowing that Shinji and his Servant avoid us, there is nothing to worry about in the Arena. No traps, no attacks from behind, no disturbance. We can train all afternoon and then, this evening, prepare a strategy for tomorrow's Elimination Battle .
The sparring with the Enemy Programs couldn't go smoother—Saber cuts through them with ease, as always. And yet, I feel there is a slight difference in strength to before. I see it as proof of Rin's advice to strengthen our bond to make up for my own incapableness as Master.
Now that we're back in our room, it's my time to do actual work. And it's the kind of work that decides whether we'll win or lose… and die . I can't disappoint Saber by making all our effort go to waste at the last moment.
So, I go through all the information we have about our opponent:
Shinji Matou, the Master, is a coward. No trick, no matter how cheap and dirty, would be beyond him. I'll have to be very careful with any Code Cast coming from him in the whole battle, and I hope he isn't as good of a hacker as he claims or he might even be able to cast a debuff on us.
His, Servant, on the other hand… We know her class is Rider, but in battle she only used guns. How does this make sense?
"Uhm, Saber?" She looks up from the paper I'm collecting our information on and looks at me.
"Yeah, Master?" I hope she doesn't hit me for this.
"How is Shinji's Servant a Rider class? A person's traits are aligned with a certain class they fit into, and with that class as a base the Moon Cell materialises them, right? And a Rider is supposed to… ride something. She only used guns against us, wouldn't it make more sense if she would have been aligned with the Archer class?"
"It must be her Noble Phantasm, and she hasn't used it yet. She'd be stupid if she revealed it just like this…" Upon noticing my confusion, Saber elaborates. "A Noble Phantasm is basically a Servant's trump card. It's our strongest possible move. But to summon and use it, we have to call its name—That would reveal our identity, so it's risky." Makes sense.
"But in Elimination Battles that doesn't matter since only the winner, the survivor, would be coming back." My Servant nods, glad I understood right away.
"It's not a risk in that situation, since the loser can't tell anyone. And they wouldn't be able to form a counter strategy so fast."
That just throws up another question—Why hasn't Saber told me sooner? I know I'm a poor excuse of a Master, considering my skill and knowledge and I know she doesn't want me to know her identity because of that exact reason… But it might make my planning easier if I knew her Noble Phantasm. From its kind, I could take a guess on their powers, I could prepare to face another Servant's Noble Phantasm.
"What's your Noble Phantasm?" Saber averts her gaze by looking down.
"Telling you would be pointless… I can't use it." That's a shock.
"What do you mean, you can't use it? Don't you just have to call it?" She looks at me.
"I don't really know myself! The mana supply is fine, it's directly from the Moon Cell, after all. You being unfit as Master shouldn't be a problem. It's more as if… you're not complete?"
That… makes no sense. Is it because I lack skill and knowledge? No, wait… "Is it related to my amnesia?" Saber shrugs, but then nods slightly.
"I'm not sure, but I think so. I guess whatever caused your memory loss is also to blame for my Noble Phantasm being basically locked."
So, it is my fault she can't use it, even if I might not know why exactly. Saber puts her hands on my shoulders to cheer me up. "Don't worry, against a wimp like that guy we wouldn't need it! We can sort that thing out sometime later, then this whole tournament will be a breeze!"
I know she means it. She's not really blaming me, and she's completely confident in her swordsmanship.
Now, we need to get back to the information.
Going from the notes we found, Rider is probably a pirate. Which means… her Noble Phantasm would be her ship. And that ship was named Golden Hind. Rin said something like El Draque. We read in a book, the Golden Hind raided the Spanish, so they gave her that nickname. It was back in the 16th century…
"I know her True Name," I can't help but shout out. Saber flinches, obviously surprised by my sudden outburst. "Sorry, but it just hit me."
Saber seems genuinely curious now. "So, who is it?"
"Francis Drake. The first person who successfully circumnavigated the globe. She was a key in making England a global super power back in her time." My Servant looks at me doubtfully.
"You are really sure?" I nod at her. She can't possibly be anyone else.
"From England, huh… Makes this almost personal," she says under her breath. "Well, I'm gonna sleep now. Don't stay up making plans too long, 'kay?" Saber immediately jumps on our bed, snuggling into the soft comforter.
"Yes, yes… And you make sure to get up on time, we'll have to talk through our strategy tomorrow. Also," I sit myself down on the bed as well, "I'm getting up early either way, I'll finish off our plans then. You remember, right? What we… wanted to do before the Elimination Battle?"
Saber's cheeks heat up slightly. "Y-Yeah. Let's do it."