Free at Last

Shortly before Yui left the Temple with the others, she checked back in on one of her familiars. She had sent it toward Homurahara, where Shinji should be attending class. If Assassin was true to her word, she was waiting for something to happen to him. And she wasn't disappointed.

Her familiar spotted Shinji sitting next to the window on the second floor. He was chatting aloud with his classmates, most likely boasting or something. About a half hour passed as she watched him.

Suddenly, the fire alarm went off. Shinji got up as the other students filed toward the door. Shinji was on his way to the door, then stopped. His books were still in his desk, including the tome that served as his temporary Command Spells. He headed back toward his desk as the last student left the room.

Assassin appeared and wrapped her arm around his neck.

"Agh!" Shinji cried. "W-who are you?! What are you doing, you bastard?!"

"Shhhh," Assassin whispered, wrestling him to his knees. "Just let it happen."

"Assassin?! G-get off me! As your Master, I command you to stop!"

"Is that an order? Don't you need a Command Spell to do that? Where is that book anyway?"

Shinji struggled with Assassin, reaching out toward his desk as his head started to spin. But it was useless; he couldn't fight a Servant's strength. In a few seconds, he blacked out and went limp.

"There you go. Sleep well, former Master."

Asssassin quickly went to his desk and shuffled through it. Soon enough she found the large red book, inscribed with an arcane red symbol on top. She smiled, then went to the window and jumped out onto the ground below.

Yui's familiar followed her as she headed away from school and down a dark alley. She started a fire in a garbage can, then tossed the book in. The flames slowly blackened the color, before there was a sudden flash as the red symbol disappeared. All at once, the book crumbled into ash.

It was done. No need to worry about Shinji anymore. She headed to the nearest electronics store and found a cheap burner form. She went to the counter and fished some gold coins out of her pocket. They were ancient coins until she slapped them onto the counter, at which point they had suddenly become a large amount of yen.

She stepped out of the store and dialed Avalon's number. "Hey, Shinji's taken care of."

Avalon looked to Yui for confirmation. Upon receiving it, she informed Assassin that if she hurried, she could make it onto their plane. It would be leaving in an hour or so, but she should have no trouble getting to the airport, and there were still seats left.

"Ah, of course! If you buy me a ticket, I'll pay you back. Thanks!"

Without waiting for a response, she hung up the phone and started off, bounding off toward the airport.

When she finally arrived, she was slightly out of breath, but happy to finally be free of his former Master. She bought some snacks and quickly joined the team as they boarded their plane.

"So... where we going anyway?"

Carlotta clapped her hands together and sang, "Hawaii~"

Mari grinned with excitement. "I've never been before, I'm super excited!" She turned to Avalon, eyes wide. "Have you?? It would be easier for you since you're already American, no visas!"

"Hmm. I'm not familiar with that place." She grabbed a leaflet from the seat and flipped through it. "Oh! It's tropical!" She cleared her throat. "By the way, I suppose I should formally introduce myself. My name is Cleopatra VII Philoraptor. Pleasure to meet you."

A few heads turned when she introduced herself, but they shrugged it off. Must be a cosplayer or something.

After hanging up her phone, Avalon turned to Cleo, "That's so freakin' awesome! Shouldn't you be like...darker though?" based on what she'd seen so far she would never understand why the grail spit people out the way it did.

Cleopatra frowned and looked down at her pale skin. "Ah... you're right. My skin was lighter than many of my countrymen, due to being part Greek, but not like this. As Heroic Spirits, both our appearance and history can be affected by how we're remembered by people." She made a sour face as she thought about it. "So if our history gets twisted over time, it effects how we're summoned. It sucks."

"I'm not sure that's it. I wonder if it has to do with the people who created the grail? Because, no offense Phillipus, we have pictures of this guy and we don't remember him the way he is now AT ALL."

Phillipus laughed. "No no, I was thinking the same thing! Someone out there must think very highly of me for me to be summoned like this." He twirled a hank of his hair with a satisfied grin.

Avalon laughed, "Man everybody else is hooking up. Where's yours? Like, you look really good I'm kinda surprised no one has been making some kind of advances..."

She shrugged. "I suppose it depends on the person. To some degree, we can change our own appearance when we are summoned, but it's also hard to escape certain widespread beliefs and prejudices. For example, if Vlad the Impaler was summoned, he could appear as a vampire. Even though that's clearly bullshit, it would be hard for him to avoid looking that way."

The Caster blushed and tented his fingers, almost defensive. "I've been very busy with work related to the Grail and projects with Lazarus, in addition to the War itself. In that regard, I suppose I'm a bit of a... Er... Slow starter."

Mari snickered in the row behind them. "You mean you're shy!! Bombastus!!" He turned and scowled at the girl, who raised her hands with a laugh.

"I was given the name at birth, thank you, and one's reputation for elucidation and perseverance with their area of study doesn't always overlap with affairs of intimacy."

She let out a long fake snore, head tipped back onto the rest. Phillipus leaned back in his seat, sharply pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Aw, lots of successful people have someone. If Lazarus got married you can pull it off," she said it quietly.

Phillipus smiled politely, only slightly embarrassed. "Honestly, it's not a high priority... Maybe it's something I can pursue after the dust is cleared." He could hear Astolfo's voice running through his head, defending his, what, maidenly honor? It would be a thirty minute rant, at minimum, to his desirability and nobler traits, and then Atalanta might think about reigning him in...

He yawned to cover up the quiver in his lip, and rubbed his eye clear of tears. Fetching a notebook and pen, he began writing a letter.

She patted him on the shoulder, "I'll keep an eye out for ya," she winked at the caster and leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes to relax for the rest of the flight.