Her Knight

“Geez…I really wish people would stop looking down on me just because I’m younger than them. I’m 19 years old, you know.” It had been three years since he’d met Arcueid. It had taken him a year to track down her castle and get to her, and he’d served as her knight for at least another two. He’d lived under the name Satsujinki that whole time, burying his past life as Tohno Shiki. He’d only come to this school and gotten this job to try and find her, but he’d taken to it quite well…in between night-patrols spent tracking down or trailing Servants or Masters, at least.

“Ryougi Shiki…the same first name? That’s a weird coincidence, don’t you think?” He scratches at his cheek as he laughs awkwardly. Something about this girl was giving him a bad feeling. Like if he would slip off his bandages, he’d be looking into a mirror. At another god of death.

Despite her natural state of discomfort, she couldn’t help but smirk at his sentiment. It was always the wish of the young to stop being treated that way. In turn the old dreamed of the days when they were young. It was something of amusement for Shiki due to the fact that she’d slept through this ‘stage’ in life and failed to observe any in it either.

“You still have a way to go. Do not forsake your age.” Her words, was she trying to be playful? There was a strange comfort about this boy being both a mystery and so similar. A reason must be placed for it. Was it due to her loneliness subsiding? Never once had she met someone who felt so close to her state of being.

She would give him her full attention. The stars would just have to shine bright in the sky and pin for her love. “Tell me Tohno,” It would be best to address each other by last name alone less they grow confused. Shiki’s joy at this moment beginning to shine through as she leaned in closer to the youth.

Yet she never got a chance to speak more. As if growing any closer would cause a reaction to him he began to have a fit. Her not being one for comfort she could only stand and watch with a bit of interest. Not even her eyes were needed o see that whatever was wrong would become a killing factor with time.

"I have Anemia. Too much stress causes these attacks. Ah, but the world doesn't stop just because I want it to..." It was the basic excuse. He couldn't just come out and tell anyone about his eyes, after all. Anyone who knew about his eyes was one of two things: an ally or a target.

He straightens out a little, bringing a hand up to make sure that his bandages hadn't been loosened by the attack. Satisfied that they hadn't, he lowers his hand once again, making sure that the motions match that of one adjusting their glasses. The charm hiding his bandages as glasses was strong, given to him by his Sensei, but it wasn't infallible. It only fooled the eyes, not the other senses, and if his first impression of this woman was correct then simply fooling the eyes wouldn't be nearly enough.

“Yeah, but that’s my job…I’m a security guard, after all.” He opens one side of his jacket to show the badge that had been given to him when he got the job. It was a good cover for moving around, after all. “My point still stands though. It’s late, and even teachers need their rest.” He walks a few feet to the side of her and tilts his head back, giving the impression that he’s looking at the stars. He could still remember every one of them, and had even stolen glances at them from time to time, between the folds of his bandages. But never for very long, in fear of setting off his anemia once again, or taking that one final step over the line between life and death.

She wondered if the claimed security guard was actually a bit lonely himself. Normally people would give their two cents in and then take leave when she ignored them. He was a persistent though.

“Reflection huh..?” In a way she was starting to do something of the sort while staring up at the night sky.

His name only proved to spark her interest more. Nanaya Shiki, Ryougi Shiki, and now Tohno Shiki. If she wasn’t mistaken this boy would also carry the same kind of eyes as her also. Three mystic eyes all drawn to the school without death. There had to be a deeper meaning behind it all that she couldn’t place her finger on. Touko had lied to her. More than one interesting thing for Shiki could be found her, but which one was it that the magus said would hold the answers she sought?

"Geez...I really wish people would stop looking down on me just because I'm younger than them. I'm 19 years old, you know." It had been three years since he'd met Arcueid. It had taken him a year to track down her castle and get to her, and he'd served as her knight for at least another two. He'd lived under the name Satsujinki that whole time, burying his past life as Tohno Shiki. He'd only come to this school and gotten this job to try and find her, but he'd taken to it quite well...in between night-patrols spent tracking down or trailing Servants or Masters, at least.

"Ryougi Shiki...the same first name? That's a weird coincidence, don't you think?" He scratches at his cheek as he laughs awkwardly. Something about this girl was giving him a bad feeling. Like if he would slip off his bandages, he'd be looking into a mirror. At another god of death.

“I don’t care about what has to be done. Just as long as this nightmare finally ends. If I must kill the Assassin, so be it.”

“Aren’t I needed yet? Is the war not yet over? The wait grows more excruciating by the day…”

“…you’re saying that Lancer killed his Master and took her Command Seal?”

Since the moment he had chosen to become Her knight, Tohno had walked in the darkness. When his eyes had grown too strong for his glasses, the darkness had become literal, rather than metaphorical. His sight was lost to him, only used as a means for killing. And even with them sealed…his body was failing. It was only a matter of time before…

“…ugh.” A wave of nausea washes over him as he adjusts the bandages covering the cold blue eyes that see death. But he couldn’t simply let it stop him. He had a job to do, after all. So long as people looked to try to hurt Arcueid, he would be there to kill them. But for now, he simply wanders around in the night, looking for some kind of relief from the anemic pain that ravages his body. As he stumbles through the darkness of the night, he pauses as a shape makes itself present in his senses. A human, by the feel of things…but something was different about them. This person felt altogether too similar to himself. Ensuring that the illusion disguising his bandages as glasses is still in place, he approaches the person with slow, measured steps.

It was only as she turned to take in the sight of the youth did it come to her. His appearance was a familiar one. It had not been long ago when she was challenged on the school grounds. The courtyard having already recovered from the act but she was sure all remembered; she remembered. There was not a day that had gone by that she wondered on the boy known as Nanaya, Shiki. Someone who possessed eyes like her.

"Yeah, but that's my job...I'm a security guard, after all." He opens one side of his jacket to show the badge that had been given to him when he got the job. It was a good cover for moving around, after all. "My point still stands though. It's late, and even teachers need their rest." He walks a few feet to the side of her and tilts his head back, giving the impression that he's looking at the stars. He could still remember every one of them, and had even stolen glances at them from time to time, between the folds of his bandages. But never for very long, in fear of setting off his anemia once again, or taking that one final step over the line between life and death.

Silence. A moment of bliss that ears could enjoy. It was the lullaby of the night that soothed the souls of those who wandered in the dark. Beings that would grow restless in the daylight. The busily joys of life, the kisses of the sun, these things were not something of comfort for these kinds of people.

Here she was, a wanderer. She held no real troubles with the light, it was only a bother. Yet the night attracted her.

There was much to be found in the dark. While others laid their heads to rest she could be free.

There was nothing to hinder her in the dark. Her urges could be released. A certain kind of lust unique to those of her kind.

The grounds were not her goal on this journey though. Instead she wished to greet the sky. To say a hello to every star that now sparkled to life in the sky. She wondered on what it must be like up there. How one so far away and alone could shine so brightly. How they could appear comforted by others that were not in their reach. Someone might find her thoughts to be that of a romancer. Yet affection was unknown to her. The only joy she understood was the kind she ripped away from others.

Since the moment he had chosen to become Her knight, Tohno had walked in the darkness. When his eyes had grown too strong for his glasses, the darkness had become literal, rather than metaphorical. His sight was lost to him, only used as a means for killing. And even with them sealed...his body was failing. It was only a matter of time before...

"...ugh." A wave of nausea washes over him as he adjusts the bandages covering the cold blue eyes that see death. But he couldn't simply let it stop him. He had a job to do, after all. So long as people looked to try to hurt Arcueid, he would be there to kill them. But for now, he simply wanders around in the night, looking for some kind of relief from the anemic pain that ravages his body. As he stumbles through the darkness of the night, he pauses as a shape makes itself present in his senses. A human, by the feel of things...but something was different about them. This person felt altogether too similar to himself. Ensuring that the illusion disguising his bandages as glasses is still in place, he approaches the person with slow, measured steps.

He could only glare, his body shaking with unrequited hatred. There was nothing he could do and he knew it. He wanted to rip the kid apart, tear him limb from limb, rip the flesh with his bare fucking teeth. He forced himself to keep calm though, biting down on his tongue to try and keep himself sane. It was a lost cause, trying to fight the boy now. He had more going for him the last fight and he was butchered like a pig. It was sickening to think about. Unfortunately that was the only thing that could come to mind. Not the good events of the day, not of the time with Micaiah.