Wine, Chickens, and Magical Studies

The girl was lead inside, past chickens and rows of grapes in the beautifully landscaped yard. Upon entering she was shown to an extremely comfortable couch, and bid to have a seat while Scathach glided into the kitchen to make tea. Though there was a slight buzz of stress in the air, the atmosphere was a generally happy one. This home had hosted many good times and happy memories in the years between grail wars, and no amount of stress could completely take over the welcoming energy.

Ayaka sat down, nervously taking note of all the other Masters and Servants. "If you're going to be helping me... there's something you all have to know." She took a deep breath. "I'm not quite sure how or why it happened, but... I summoned another Servant yesterday."

Mari was just about to press the green dialing button on her phone. "Eh!? Where are they now??"

Avalon's eyes widened as she spoke at the same time as Mari, "What?! Where are they?"

"She's... not with me anymore." She unbuttoned the first two buttons of her shirt. "After Assassin died, my Command Spells disappeared. But after a few hours, new ones appeared. They looked different than the old ones." She pulled the flap of her shirt back to show them the Command Spells just under her collarbone.



Tears welled up in her eyes. "Grandpa didn't really know what it meant, but since they really are new Spells, and not just my old ones coming back, he made me try to summon another Servant. And it worked." Her lip trembled. "But I didn't want to! I never wanted to be in this stupid War! I thought when Assassin died, I wouldn't have to fight anymore! I wanted out. So... I gave the contract to my brother."

Avalon turned a quizzical look to Mari, "I thought the other Matou kids were like...not useful? Did I miss something?"

"Beats me... that's somethin' Yui might know about, though. Maybe Pops has siblings? That could be the guy that came to visit that night!"

Ayaka shook her head. "Shinji's not a mage, so he can't technically be a Master... Grandpa found a way to give Shinji control of the Servant while I'm still technically her Master. Some weird book thing that acts like a Command Spell."

Scathach returned, handing tea out to all, "Whatever happens, we'll keep you safe. You won't have to fight unless something very terrible occurs. But that's the case with most of life."

Mari rested her cheek against a loose fist. "Wonder if any of the others have heard of a book like that." She finally pressed "Send," and after a brief conversation, she hung up. Her father's voice had come through loudly a few times, and he sounded concerned. She ran her fingers through her hair, affecting a cool demeanor despite blushing with embarrassment.

"Thank you," Ayaka sniffled. "I'm not a very good mage, but I'll do whatever I can to help."

Yui stepped in, ruminating over the developments. "This new Servant. What can you tell us about them?"

"Not much..." Ayaka said sadly. "She's an Assassin, like my last Servant. I never got her true name. She looks like more of a fighter than Semiramis was."

Semiramis. Yui was vaguely familiar with the name, and tucked it away to look up later. Not that it was of much use now that she was dead.

"Everything okay?" Avalon asked Mari.

She nodded. "Yeah." Her voice dropped. "Probably." She sucked through her teeth, scrubbing her own hair with a hand.

"I'm gonna be in trouble. Not serious trouble. Just... Like, if I was Ayaka's age, I'd get grounded. But I'll be fine." She gave Avalon a confident thumbs-up.

She laughed, "I know how that is. Is he gonna come visit?"

"Mmhmm! He, uh, recognized the address." She sighed. "I'm gonna be so embarrassed, aren't I."

She shrugged, "As far as I can tell all parents live to embarass their kids, so no worries."

It passed into the afternoon with little else happening. Ayaka helped with what she could, but with little magical expertise, she mostly just stayed on the couch looking nervous.

Just as the sun was going down, the doorbell rang, and Yui went to the door. Two women waited outside.



"Evening," the woman in front greeted her. She looked fairly laid back, unlike the woman in the kimono that looked oddly tense. She had a suitcase in each hand--one was small and brown, while the other was long and silver.

"Touko Aozaki. This the place I can find Bazett?"

"Yes!" Yui answered. "I'll get her for you. She's been waiting pretty anxiously."

Bazett came downstairs looking much healthier than before.

"Hello!" Touko waved after setting down the brown suitcase. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Bazett looked awkward. "Yeah. Thanks for coming out on short notice. Who's this?" she added, nodding at the woman behind her.

"This is Shiki. Shiki Ryougi. You could say she's my bodyguard."

"Good idea," Bazett said. "Nice to meet you, Shiki."

Shiki didn't respond, but simply looked away.

"You've got the prosthesis?"

"Yup." Touko held out the silver suitcase. When Bazett reached for it though, Touko suddenly pulled it away. "Ah, wait a minute. We agreed on a payment, didn't we?"

Bazett hesitated.

"Too late to back out now," Touko insisted. "You promised."

Begrudgingly, Bazett drew a small but intricate dagger from her belt, and handed it to Touko.



Touko's eyes lit up as she held the dagger and looked over it. "Ahh, now this is quite the beauty. I should only need a couple days with it. In the meantime," she added, turning to Yui and Lazarus. "Is it cool if I stay here for a few days to study?"

Yui stammered. "Uh... well, I suppose there's no harm--"

"Great! If you have any study rooms available, I'll make myself at home!"

Lazarus laughed, "Well what kind of room would you prefer? We have labs and libraries kind of set up everywhere. I prefer the basement more near the leyline, but if you want sunlight there are a couple rooms open on the second floor."

"I'll take a library! If you have one that gets plenty of sunlight, even better."

"Of course! Follow me!" he led the two up the stairs and to a room towards the back of the mansion overlooking the chicken pens. The walls were lined with shelves filled with books, some from the Tohsaka side, some from the Quinlan side. Three of the four walls contained a door, counting the one he'd led them through. The mage gestured to the other two as he opened the curtains, "On that side the door leads to my sister's current room, so I wouldn't open it, but if she stops by you may see her in here now and again. The other door leads to a guest bedroom, which you can both take if you like! We'd offer seperate rooms but we're getting rather full!" he finished tying the curtains back and turned towards the two, "Can I get you anything else for the moment?"

Phillipus raised a hand. "I was drying some ingredients in there, but if they're in the way I could find another place. The herbs have properties that may prove useful, however! Oh, but the fish is just for making stock."

Not long after the two women arrived, a car pulled up to the curb and a man with dark blue hair and flashily polished shoes stepped out. He looked up at the mansion and nervously adjusted his tie, his jacket slung over a shoulder. The butt of his cigarette was tossed to the ground, the cherry stubbed out with his toe, but in a self-conscious moment he picked it up and awkwardly slid it into his pocket.

After clearing his throat, he rang the doorbell.

"Oh, don't worry, I don't need much room. Just a table is fine! I could really use a cup of coffee, if you've got any." She laid down the silver suitcase, and Bazett's dagger next to it.

Once her stuff was laid out, she smiled at Phillipus. "So... you're the real deal, huh? A Heroic Spirit."

Lazarus left to get the lady some coffee, but was distracted by the ringing doorbell. He diverted his path, and answered the door. After sizing up the person before him he broke into a wide smile, "You must be Mari's father! Welcome!" he stood back to let the man enter.

Hideto bowed slightly and followed Lazarus in. "Thanks, Mister... Uh..." He patted down his pockets and fished a business card out of a battered case, handing it to Lazarus by way of introduction. "Hideto Himeno. And you?"

Phillipus smiled and nodded. "Indeed I am! Phillipus von Hoenheim, at your service." He gave a grandiose bow, flourishing with his hands.

He gratefully accepted the card, "Lazarus Quinlan-Tohsaka! But you can just pick one half of the hyphenate if you want. Please have a seat! May I get you anything?"