random scenario.

[wingclip]

[From the lone balcony of a refined hotel amidst a sea of trees, a woman wrapped in a butterfly-patterned haori stands looking out. In the distance a dark dot approaches and soars closer towards the building's flared roofs and the flap of wings beat against her shadow overhead. A sleek black crow lands on the wooden rail before her, a slip of parchment attached to its thin leg. The woman coaxes the corvid closer until she's able to run a small hand down its slender back. She takes the note from its slot, unrolling it slowly— revealing its message to the early afternoon sun.

ARCHER SUMMONED.

NO NEWS FROM CHURCH.

STANDBY.

[Kochou Shinobu hums to herself and rolls the message inward. The breeze of Japan's waning summer season tousles her hair.]

Did you know...?

Special class. [She says the title as gently and affectionately as any True Name.]

Comments

[fangshi]

[ it's in that voice that xu fu is ripped from the hand bound notebook she'd been poring over in the corner of the room.

the softness of its tune always startles her like wind chimes singing about an upcoming storm, and the contradiction unsettles her, just a little. her master is charming, beautiful, kind — but in equal parts fearsome and intimidating, with her own set of secrets she covets as one of the last standing heroes of the modern age.

overall, disarming. xu fu lowers the book to the polished wooden desk she'd been standing in front of. ]

What was that, Master?

[ ah. "special class." servant title as a name feels odd on a good day, but in that flowery voice it feels especially ill-fitting. ]

Uh, i-if it's all the same to you, 'Alter Ego' is fine. [ then, quieter: ] ... Though, even Xu Fu is alright, considering the Bounded Field ...

[wingclip]

[Shinobu appears at the threshold— the sun at her back, shoulders straight as she tucks a wayward strand of gradient hair behind her ear. She peers at her servant in the corner of the room, her rosey smile tilting up pleasantly.]

Ah, you have a point. It never hurts to be too careful.

Ehe, even though we're technically on a break.

[Her padded socks silently cross the distance. Xu Fu's subdued presence adds a careful mixture of color to her room, darker in palette compared to Shinobu's pinks and purples. A gentle relief follows Shinobu's careful gait as she approaches the Alter Ego— the servant aligned with her interests, as though she had been plucked from the Throne of Heroes specifically to aid Shinobu in her path towards a greater good.

A greater good... for the world, that is.

Shinobu extends her hand, the piece of parchment caught between her fingers.]

News from the Mage's Association.

[fangshi]

[ when her master approaches, xu fu feels herself take half a step back as she faces the shorter girl, unconscious as the way she squints her eyes, as though giving her the space she needs to meet that radiance.

xu fu takes the paper just the same — and her expression instantly falls along with a weight in her stomach, dragging her thin shoulders down. ]

Eugh. Another one. I thought something felt off this morning.

[ and one of the knights classes, no less. another servant summoned means they're that much closer to starting this war. ]

Probably some great valiant Greek hero, knowing my luck. I hope the next one gets stuck halfway through the summoning circle...!

[wingclip]

[Despite the way Xu Fu seems to deflate before her eyes Shinobu can't help but widen her smile, her eyes glinting slightly as she looks up at her. It was a understandable concern, but justice was solidly on their side—this she knew in her heart. What else could explain the compatibility between her and her Servant?]

Valiant hero or not... each Servant has their weakness.

We'll just need to capitalize on it before they can get the upper hand.

[She glances once out the balcony window, residual energy warming her fingertips as she is greeted by the sight of the clear sky outside. When she faces Xu Fu once more she glances at the notebook in her hands, her brows lifting. With a tilt of her head she leans in, completely disarming.]

Were you working on something, Xu Fu...?

[fangshi]

You make it sound so easy. I just hope you're aware that there's a limit to what I can do... A strict, strict limit.

[ what shinobu says is true, of course, and the stronger the servant, the more widespread their reputation, giving their weaker, lesser-known enemies the informational advantage — a simple way these wars tend to balance themselves.

but the more xu fu imagines having to concoct a perfect strategy fit to take down the knights classes ... the more her legs itch to run away.

—that head tilt all but pins her to her spot, though, and her usually-low gaze drops all the way to the flat book on the desk. ]

No, this is ...

[ something shinobu might recognize as a dusty book plucked from a shelf higher than she could typically reach. it's handwritten, rough and old; the tears in the paper cover fragment its ink and pigment. the twine sewing the pages together is worn, but still holding strong. ]

One of yours, actually. It doesn't look like it's been touched in ages. Not that I blame you — it's borderline nonsensical if you don't know how to read it. I mean "healing by āveśa of hotsugan and the summoning of Dharma gohō-ten"? Talk about ancient word salad!

[wingclip]

[Upon further inspection she finds she does recognize the book and Alter Ego's words confirm that suspicion almost instantly. Her large eyes drop down to its worn cover as she delicately takes the book from where it sits on her desk. Recognition softens her gaze and for a moment she remembers a time without red-tinted vision, without thoughts of rage and revenge.]

Ah...

[She opens a random page slowly, noting the way the book resists the motion as the length of its spine pulls downward.]

You're right. This book was one of many residing in my father's collection. Most likely something he picked up during his studies.

[Her eyes scan the print briefly before closing the book, a small smile on her lips. Her hand brushes across the worn cover and there she feels a nearly invisible layer of dust.] Completion through spiritual and mental cleansings... I can't say I ever read anything like this on my own.

Did it catch your eye... [Not that it would be so surprising. With yet another tactful tilt of her head Shinobu holds out the worn book to her Servant.] Xu Fu?

[fangshi]

Th-There you go again...

[ she, too, mumbling away as she avoids looking directly into those moon-round eyes, seeing the tips of petal-colored hair sway into her periphery. it's nearly a complaint, tone put upon by the relentless charms her master casts on her, if not for the slight smile that lightens her expression.

xu fu takes the book, thin fingers idly slipping through the pages. ]

Your dad must have been one well-traveled guy. Or maybe he simply knew just the right people? Either way, it's faint, but there are traces of magical energy on the pages. It must have belonged to an onmyouji from back in the day.

[wingclip]

Onmyouji?

[Her expression takes on a clearer visage then— less of the teasing Master prying into her Servant's space and more of the young doctor who had meticulously calculated each step of her plan. Her eyes glance down back to the book, her brow pinching ever so subtly.]

If it were that faint then none of my magic-sensing devices would have been triggered by it.

[Even with one with a particularly powerfuls set of Mystic Eyes would find such a worn book to be of suspect. She wonders then just how long the book itself had gone untouched, left aside once the industrialization of country and culture began to take shape.]

... I would not have known either.

[Is what she admits after a moment, her hand coming up to touch her own chin thoughtfully.] Xu Fu, can you tell which onmyouji it belonged to?

1/2

[fangshi]

[ something about that shift in shinobu's gentle features, noticeable even in the flitting of xu fu's habitual glancing, along with that admittance, surprises xu fu. is shinobu impressed, worried? ... something else?

whatever the case, that she can bring this to light for her master brings her a little confidence.

... that question, though ... ]

Which?

[ her brow pinches as she looks down at the worn book in her hand, flipping its cover. there's an author etched on the inside, but it's in code, an alias in a mismatched language, on top of being faded and difficult to read. ]

Well, I guess I could do a little divining on it, see what I find, but ...

[ she directs that pinched expression towards shinobu, frowning ]

... no offense, Master, is it all that important? I mean, believe me, I'd totally love to spend the rest of my summoning just helping you organize your library, but don't you think we should save the arts for our preparations?

[fangshi]

[ she cuts that pause in half with her sigh, frown falling to a certain color of despair, ruminating on the sound of her own words. ]

... On second thought, I take that back — the idea fills me with dread.

[ "preparations"? ugh. xu fu fans a single, unoccupied hand back and forth in front of her face, fervently swatting the idea of getting back to war work soon. ]

Anyway, it's breaktime now. B-r-e-a-k t-i-m-e. I should be napping.

[wingclip]

[At that moment Shinobu feels a strange attachment to the book, as though she were just seeing it anew for the first time. Still, she doesn't reach for it or ask for it back and instead stares at it intently as she mulls the idea over in her head. If one really did think on it— did it really matter who the book belonged to before? That person was most likely long dead, taking with them the last of their remaining secrets. Her own father was gone, so there was no way of really knowing where or when the book suddenly came into being within her ever growing collection.

It really was a fruitless endeavor, even if her Servant was able to pinpoint an origin to the residual traces of magic.

And yet...—] Oh?

[Her chin lifts back up as her Servant once again wilts before her, those drooping bangs obscuring Shinobu's view of her face. She blinks slowly— patiently... and lets out a small chuckle at that swatting hand.] Hehe.

Xu Fu.

[Her voice is quiet and calling— familiar. Her hand lifts up and attempts to gently brush aside the wayward bangs falling over the Alter Ego's eye, a delicate gesture considering the ribbon that was also swathing the rest of her brow. She only moves it ever so slightly, allowing her to pin that hesitant gaze with her own.]

I appreciate your help. I hope you realize how much I truly mean that, regardless of our roles.

In the end, we should be saving our energy for the inevitable hurdles ahead... [For a moment her smile shifts, the edge hardening into something a little more rueful. It lasts only for a second before she pulls away, returning to her work desk with a hum— but not without breezing over her shoulder]

Shall we go over possible scenarios then?

[fangshi]

[ it's a series of one-two punches: the first in the way she's forced to consider shinobu's silence, that wistful thoughtfulness on her face that has xu fu on the verge of reeling in and rewording herself.

that is, until she hears her name in that voice, those syllables, her syllables, spoken in a tune far too tender than what she's used to. it makes her heart skip a beat, shocks her cardiac rhythm to a run for the way that round, purple-eyed stare pins her in the same moment, and the way xu fu instinctively wonders where this is going, with so little space between them now—

it happens, then, before she can stop it, before she can tilt her head out of reach, before she can fully stutter out a protest. ]

W-Whoa— ah! W-Wait.....!

[ later, she'll ruminate on the hidden tones in those last words.

as it is, the rest of shinobu's voice becomes static noise, fuzzy and incomprehensible save for the few, select messages that come in clearer on xu fu's bent receiver of a headspace.

"appreciate your help"— "truly mean that"—

the featherlight touch of shinobu's fingertips leaves a trail of fiery red in its wake, and even xu fu's flowing, golden decorations seem to curl up in embarrassment. she pulls away, shoulders hunching all the way up to her bright crimson ears, and hands coming up as if in utter surrender. the book in her hand shields her imperfectly as she raises it in front of her face, turning away. ]

Uhm, t-t-t-time out, please! I need a moment after you tease me like that...!

[ she speaks from behind that worn book, shrinking so much she hardly looks like the taller one between them. ]

D-Do you often touch your Servants, Master? Th-That's a dangerous game you're playing, if so. Ugh.

[wingclip]

[From behind her desk Shinobu smiles sunnily, her head canted slightly as she watches the taller woman cower behind the book. Another chuckle threatens to escape her chest— a warm thing tumbling out of her unknowingly. Who knew her Servant would be so animated, so... endearing?] Ehe, oh?

Isn't that a personal question? [The sound of drawers opening and closing punctuate the teasing question. From beneath she pulls out a silver tray, laying it gently atop her desk between various books and journals. A polished wooden box is set out beside it, followed by a number of ink pens and an ink well. She rummages through more of her drawers— her eyes glancing up and glinting warmly at the flushed Servant across the room.]

If you'd like to know— you're the first Servant I've summoned, Alter Ego.

[Her back straightens as she sets a leather-bound journal atop the tray. Her gleaming is subdued for a second as she runs a hand over its front before looking back up at Xu Fu. Something shifts in her smile then— something almost helpless, almost vulnerable. Her voice comes out a touch quieter as she closes her eyes.]

... I suppose I can't help but be a little happy about that.

[Her shoulders shrug lightly.]

I'm not strong at all. I'm sure you've realized this too.

[A quiet, visiting breeze gently lifts her curtains near the balcony. Shinobu glances out to it once more, her expression thoughtful.] But together, I'm sure you and I will create a turning point that will ultimately decide on the outcome of this war.

[fangshi]

[ eventually, the stuttering beat of her heart allows xu fu to hear her master's voice again, in all its floating, teasing melodies, as well as her own — admonishing in the confines of her own mind. ]

R-Right ...

[ stupid, she thinks, grail wars are a once-in-a-century type deal ... of course you're the first servant she's ever summoned.

the thought is a domino with the weight of several; she's the first servant shinobu has ever summoned, a spell-caster with wanting power, who's ultimate hope rests with a servant who is similarly indisposed.

the responsibility is suddenly crushing. this is their team, and yet, here they are ... here shinobu is, teasing her servant with butterfly touches while she scurries away.

as xu fu's thoughts wander and drag, she lowers the book shielding her face, and shinobu's quieting voice brings her back again.

as does the look on her face. ]

...

[ xu fu is silent for a stretch, seeming like she's grappling for the right to thing to say, searching for the right balm for her master's ailment.

when she speaks, her words are grave, suddenly worldly, speaking her truth. ]

Master ... mage families will spend their entire clan legacy trying to craft an opportunity for them to summon a Servant and participate in a Grail War.

[ "i'm not strong at all." ]

If you're not strong ... then you're incredibly lucky. Oftentimes, blessings like that will decide the fight.