She was so radiant.

                〘  ❝   Look, I said I’d win this stupid war for you—                             you’ll get your pansy wish granted, and I’ll                             rip this world to   shreds   right after. Fair                              trade, right?       ❞    〙

                〘  ❝   Never mind that— I’ll kill anyone that gets in                             our way, so don’t worry about it.    Just make                              sure  you  don’t screw up, either, and we’ll be                             juuuuust peachy…                             You can leave it up to me to do all the hard work.                                                               Anyway, explain this to me.                             What exactly do I have to do to get outta here?  ❞    〙

"Rip this world to pieces if you want, it's not this world or anyone in it that I make this wish for in the first place. Though try not to get too ahead of yourself, you're strong, even stronger with me as your Master, but you're not the strongest class." And she would not have any possibilities of failure open, even if he was so confident that he could destroy anyone in their path with force, there was no telling what someone with smarts could do.

"You can dirty your hands all you want then if you're so bloodthirsty." It was obvious he was not a good listener, but she could show patience. "As for getting out of here, I suppose you mean leaving the war? It's simple. There can only be one Master/Servant pair standing, as long as the winners are decided, the war will end and all the servants, including yourself, will be sent away."

            He takes a glance at Manaka to assess her outward countenance and it was as she said. It was as if the cold wasn’t affecting her person at all. Nevertheless, the Knight decides to be wary just in case anything should happen.

She laughed, they were polite but cautious, choosing sweet words that were also genuine in order to apologize for something. It reminded her of conversations she would have with her prince in the past, it was so lovely.

                     Once his gaze had settled on the petite physique of a blonde haired, blue eyed girl, his first assumption was far from believing that she was innocent— he’s met some real pieces of work in his life, so he wasn’t buying her kindness especially since she hardly looked perturbed by her servant. Something was up, and the god was far from idiocy. Her amiable smile was returned with a cruel one that twisted upon pale tiers after she spoke her last words. While her words were light, his words were heavy; they were crude. 

                〘  ❝   Listen, lady, cut the load of bullshit you’re                             trying to feed me. I get it— you want to win                              this stupid game; you might as well tell it                             to me straight.      ❞    〙

                〘  ❝   Anyway, the name’s Gig. Since we’re going to                             be fifty feet up each other’s asses throughout                              this thing, let’s get one thing straight: I’m not                             your bitch. I’ll win this little ‘war' for you, so                              don’t worry about it— I’ll twist the heads off of                               any peons that gets in our way.  ❞    〙                                                                                     ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅɴ·ᴛ ʙᴇ ᴀʟʟᴏᴡᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʜᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴛᴏ ʙᴏᴡ.

He was practically the polar opposite of her first servant, but she had no problems with that, no rather it was quite interesting. Her Saber has issues with how she dealt with things, which is why she did them quietly and discreetly, after all, ignorance was bliss. But now this Berserker, he was of the same mind as her, to do anything and everything to win, even if at the cost of others.

"How crude, but I suppose that's fine. I never said otherwise that I didn't want anything else but to win." Even then, the smile never left her face.

"Gig, I see. Don't worry, I never expected you to listen to every single one of my commands. That's even more ludicrous considering your class. As long as you do not fail, you're free to do as you will. Feel free to destroy every Servant in your path, I am capable of convincing everyone else to join my side, whether they want to or not."

The words still airy, but there was something strange about them.

Death truly wanted to say, “All hell’s gonna break loose,” but that seemed a bit ominous so he merely shrugged his shoulders.

True though, he sensed a strange disruption in this city, like an invisible barrier was putting a stopper on his senses. The crying and screams of the dying were growing quieter in Death’s ears until he could barely hear them. The other concern with that barrier was, if Masters were to die, their souls would be stuck here, unless they went straight to Death, which he doubted. The Grail wouldn’t allow such an easy way out. So perhaps each and every one of them was caught in a cycle perpetuated by killing.

Sad.

It was a lovely city.

           Frigid winds carrying frosted droplets of water blew through the city without so much as a second thought for the creatures that would have to persevere through to survive. For the Knight who has lived through many a storm similar, there was something eerily off about the weather’s violent nature. 

           Not that his current situation was any less strange.

           Looking upwards to take a glimpse of the monotone sky, beryl optics stopped short at a figure, who just like him, was trudging through the mountain road. That is, until their forward movement stopped. They weren’t too far ahead and a well-voiced word would reach them without having to shout. “Excuse me,”The Knight’s voice reaches out to the other; concern, curiosity, and a desire to help evident in his tone. 

Currently, she was being addressed. She had already felt their presence, it was difficult not to feel a Servant without a Master, especially one who was being sustained by the Vessel, however their appearance made her eyes widen slightly. She had wanted to shout Saber, which probably would have been correct but it wasn't her Saber, they only looked similar. Perhaps had similar traits as well, but he was not him. But a frown would not mar her angelic face, instead the smile stayed..

   About a block away from where she had originally been summoned, Yuuki entered a street that seemed to be lined with cafes, small restaurants, and even a couple of stores. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply as the aromas met with her nose. She ended up choosing a simple fast food place since it was closest and waited outside for Manaka to join her. There were quite a few people inside, most of whom looked like teenagers. It then occurred to her that if she ordered something, she would need to pay for it.    Yuuki opened her menu once again for the sake of looking and saw that she had plenty of Yrd left in her storage, but that wasn’t a currency they’d accept here, she was sure. Out of curiosity, she began scrolling through her items and sure enough, everything she had on the other side were still with her, such as x99 Lizard Tail and the like. One new item, however, appeared to be a card she’d never seen before. Yuuki tapped it and materialized into her hand to find that it was a debit card or something similar. Had she been given this when she was summoned to use in the city? She supposed she’d find out.

   After she’d closed her menus, Yuuki pointed inside the restaurant to show Manaka where they were going first, then opened the door. “Here looks like a good place to start. It smells so good!” It was probably nothing special to people who ate there every day, but to someone who hadn’t had something as simple as a hamburger in almost four years, it was a big event to Yuuki. The Imp headed inside and while most ignored her and focused on their friends and food, she did gain a couple stares from her clothing, hair color, armor and sword. She soon heard the word ‘cosplayer' chattered and paid them no more attention. She looked up to the lighted menus and checked out each item over and over, leaving her to look over at Manaka for ideas. “Are you hungry? What are you going to get?”

Back in her own city, she hadn't liked venturing out too much, for starters she already knew the layout inside and out, and then also because she didn't want her Saber to get unnecessarily hurt. They only went out when he would insist and when she would take care of matters by herself, sometimes with a picnic or two between those moments. Now though, she didn't particularly care if her Saber was injured or not, they would fight with her or she'd find someone new, all for fulfilling that wish.

In any case, back to the matter at hand, Yuuki had stopped at what appeared to be a place teenagers frequented at. It wasn't a place Manaka had often visited, nor cared to visit, but she did say whatever the girl wanted. Although, hearing the whispers of the crowd around her made her note that they would need to either keep Saber hidden(which she was sure the girl would protest about) or find them new attire. Each one was of no matter and could be discussed later.

"I'm not that hungry, but please do go on and order whatever you like." A smile.

Love. Death rarely spoke about love, but the two of them shared more similarities than one might suspect: strange, inevitable, and poetic. Human beings were condemned to both love and die and suffer from the two.

What strange creatures.

Perhaps that was why she felt so drawn to the being before her, not that she could have known at least. Manaka could be seen as the embodiment of an obsessive love, one she would take unto death, one that she would love even to or after death. But that could be a conversation for a later time.

"Oh? ‘m surprised you didn’t guess sooner… Just look at me: black hair, black coat, pants, shoes… and a closet full of black suits back home. What would one think otherwise? Besides, yellow on a suit looks somewhat tacky, I think."

Death chuckled lightly at the girl’s words, which seemed cordial enough. He would probably keep her at arm’s length either way, but reciting a few verses over coffee seemed innocuous enough. He’d been around long enough to recognize a viscous gossamer web when he saw one, and this was coming pretty close. Behind that honey-sweet singsong voice something seemed oddly… dissonant.

Dasoku Winters continued to smile without much further rumination.

She laughed at his explanation, a sweet melody, a soft chime, and an angelic smile to go with it. "Yes, I suppose you could be right. Most would only look on the surface and make their guesses from there, yet the core always has the possibility of betraying appearances. I believe whatever color you like best would suit you, though."

She walked a bit in front of him for a bit, and twirled, her dress fluffing up slightly from the action. Afterwards she met his gaze, and continued on with her response, "Although, the colors I wear are my favorite. I enjoy blue and silver," A pause as she saw a slight change in the man's expression, "Well, I suppose it would be white and that is just fine as well. There is another color I enjoy, but I love these colors the most." Love, the word seemed heavy from her mouth, a contrast to how light everything else sounded. It must have been strange, for anyone that noticed at least.

The smile on her face had never left as if etched into a porcelain doll.

   Yuuki didn’t mind being taught lessons; school was something she really enjoyed, so she was happy to listen to others explain things she didn’t know. Still leaning against the brick wall, Yuuki folded her hands on her lap as Manaka answered her. It was mostly as she expected, though the mention of ‘special containers’ caught her interest. As all the different classes were listed off, Yuuki compared them to the types of classes she was familiar with and had a general idea of what they’d be like. “Oh, I see. In my old group, I had a few Sabers, Lancers, and Casters of my own, haha.” It wasn’t the same thing, but they were close enough.    When asked if she had any other questions, Yuuki smiled and shook her head. She had all she needed to know for the time being. There would likely be other things she’d ask later on once things began heating up, but she felt she was prepared enough to stop the lesson there. “No, that’s all for now. Thank you for filling me in, Manaka-san.”

   Over the past fifteen minutes, Yuuki had been so swept up in everything new to her that she hadn’t taken much time to notice her surroundings. Pushing herself from the wall, Yuuki stepped to the edge of the sidewalk and gazed down the street to let her eyes wander. The city they were in didn’t look very different from the one she grew up in, very modern and ordinary, not a place you’d think would be the stage for a war. As she looked over the cityscape, Yuuki could only think about sightseeing since she was unable to physically experience her own city for the last few years of her life. Turning back to Manaka, she held out one hand, urging her to take it with obvious excitement in her voice. “Do you want to go see the city? I wonder if there are any good places to eat nearby?”

"By a whole lot, actually."

Of course, there were few who even had half the quality of her own magic circuits, she was Rank 1, the most powerful master. But, there would be no boasting, she just nodded in confirmation of Yuuki's findings.

"I'm glad you understood well enough from that brief explanation," better to have a smart servant than an imbecile. And Manaka sometimes grew tired of lessons, whether it be giving or receiving, but that was before when she knew everything. When you had everything at the tips of your fingertips, it could be difficult to find learning enjoyable. Those musings could wait however, since the Imp had decided to call for attention once more.

"See the city?" She paused, really, with Manaka's abilities it would be of little issue to see everything within a very large parameter. The moment she looked into Yuuki's eyes though, she knew that denying this request would most likely bring the girl's morale down. For now, Manaka could indulge her, there weren't any pressing matters to get to at the moment anyway.

"Yes, if you'd like then. As for places to eat, surely there are. Lead the way, Saber. Today we shall go wherever you desire."

   As her head was patted, Yuuki nodded beneath Manaka’s hand, then took a step off to the side to lean her back against the adjacent building. With the mention of stats and support, Yuuki thought about how she was now a Saber class. That probably meant the other fighters summoned to the city each had their own classes. Yuuki understood what role the Masters would be playing, all that was left to ask about was the other Servants she would be facing. “If I’m a Saber, what are the other classes?” She gave a small pat to her sword with her left hand, “It’s obvious that I’m a Saber since I’m a swordswoman, so do other classes reflect the Servant’s personal fighting styles?” Manaka seemed like she knew all about this and if she’d already done this once before, she could probably answer any question Yuuki had.

"Is that so? I'm glad that you have experience," another small smile. They might not have had experience with a Grail War, but if they knew how to handle themselves in battle, that was usually enough. The Servants that she had fought against previously were also new to the War, so she supposed it would not be too troublesome. "I believe you can handle most cases with your own abilities though, at the very least your stats should have gone up due to the quality of my magic circuits. It was the same case with my previous Servant, he was also a Saber class." And he was the best of them all, but he wasn't here so she would have to fulfill his wish on her own.

"Hm, I see that a lesson is in order." Boring, considering this knowledge had been engraved into her being since the beginning of her life, but there was no helping it now. "You're correct, that usually the weapon-choice and fighting-style decides what class you are. Although, there are Servants who can be summoned as more than one type of class and there are "special" containers, but that can be discussed at a later time." She paused, thinking about the one class the Grail was made to summon, she would get there eventually...

There was a distinct ethereal charm to her words, nothing short of captivating, and Death imagined it would hold many hearts in thrall. That smile seemed both without pretense and thoroughly beguiling at once. It made a puzzle of the girl’s countenance when her true nature should have been apparent. This only augmented his hesitation about imparting much of himself.

"…Me, you say? It’s flattering to hear you ask, truly. I am quite bland in my most humble opinion, but I will essay a suitable answer. Hmm… I do have a fondness for most literary works, particularly those of the 19th century. Contrary to what others often believe, my favorite color is not black, but blue, or maybe yellow. Should I find myself with spare time I try to seek out a flowering garden and sit amongst the greenery, perhaps drumming up a sonnet or two if I’m feeling poetic. I like the smell of coffee in the morning. And, oh yes, my name is Dasoku. Dasoku Winters."

He’d hardly stopped to breathe as he churned out various factoids, none of which delved too deeply into his psyche. Death smiled while looking quite pleased.

There is no need to be afraid, her entire being seemed as if it was emitting this signal to all who came before her. She was as pleasant as a spring breeze and had beauty beyond that which should be allowed for mortals, it was all so enchanting... that it was a little bit odd. But the moment she spoke, her voice seemed to lull those away from any insecurities they might have. A special charm she gave just to them.

"Now, now, you're anything but bland." Words sounding airy and playful. "Contrary to what others might believe, so who is it that thinks otherwise of you?" The small things were what she liked to pick up on the most. "A poet, how wonderful, I would love to hear some of your work. I can even offer you a cup of coffee in return." A promise for future gatherings, she laid down the path.

   Yuuki smiled and nodded, staying airborne for a moment longer to twirl about for emphasis. “It is! Aerial fights are really fun, especially when it’s swordfighting. I don’t think everyone here is able to fly, though…” But that was probably what Manaka meant by a trump card, even if it was a little unfair, although she supposed fairness had no place in a war.    Choosing to hide her wings once again, they faded from sight and brought Yuuki floating to the ground, landing en pointe before she lowered onto her heels. “Sorry I can’t show you more just yet, I’d need an opponent for that. Let’s see…” she looked up for a moment, touching her index finger to her chin to think of anything else, “Mm, since my race is an Imp, I can see in almost total darkness. I guess that gives me an advantage in night battles? I also have a few healing spells.” She shrugged lightly, unable to think of anything else. As she’d told her Master, her other talents would be made clear in combat.

   “What about you, Manaka? Do you have any special skills? If you’ve been training for the Grail War your whole life, you must have a few tricks, right?” She was curious and took a small step forward, her bright, amethyst-colored eyes looking on intently. Yuuki’s role wasn’t just DPS, she was also the main party leader for all of her guild’s raids, so if she and Manaka were going to work well together, she wanted to know all she could ahead of time to better form strategies. “Actually, what exactly are a Master’s roles here?”

"At the very least, not many Saber classes should be capable of flight." But she couldn't be very sure of it, there were peculiar things happening with this particular war and it had barely even begun. That just meant she actually had to put a little more thought into her plans than usual, but it wouldn't be much of a problem, if any at all.

"That's alright, I'm sure you'll show me much when you're in battle." She smiled. Not too much if they were efficient, but enough. Perhaps it was unknown how much strength they really held, but while Yuuki handled things publicly, Manaka would do what she did best. Take care of things behind the scenes.

"Special skills? I suppose you can say that," and she paused there, answering with a smile, both warm and terrifying, before continuing. "A Master usually supports the Servant, whether it be through projectile support, stat boosting, or otherwise. You have no need to worry about me, dear," and she gently pat her new Saber's head. "I've done this before and it wasn't that hard."

Death coughed out of habit before he removed the hat from his head and tucked it comfortably beneath his arm. This girl did not too strongly resemble the average Japanese citizen, yet something told him she wasn’t a foreigner. Perhaps it was that she seemed so relaxed in her present environment.

Her words seemed to float into the air, lightly and sweetly, but perhaps it seemed odd or maybe it seemed normal after all. She was smiling so it could only be normal, right?

Death did consent to perambulate by this girl’s side, yet with undisclosed justification he found doubt niggling at the back of his mind. She exemplified youthful beauty, a fair and meek blossom kindly disposed like a sculptured angel, little of which suggested anything otherwise. Therefore, lacking evidence, he would not repudiate the undue incertitude, perhaps against better judgment.

Circumspect nonetheless, Death began prattling about the first matters to occur as suitable for conversation.

“It is the most inclement weather we are having… You have arrived at a fine time, my lady.”

He set two expectant amber eyes upon the girl, spoken words sweet and airy.

And she was, he interested her greatly. Manaka wanted to know about him, about everything, especially since there was so much unknown to her now. After being cut off from what was so easily given to her, she found that she desired that which she did not know. Perhaps her willingness to get to know another made her form even more appealing to them than usual. It was easier to become closer to one if they were drawn to you first.

"I like this kind of weather, what do you prefer?"

A simple question in response to his statement. But she continued to move on as he so kindly directed.

"A place not unlike this city, where have you come from? Please tell me, I find myself quite curious about you."

She seemed to accept the offer of help quite willingly; undoubtedly he would be upholding that offer and getting mixed up with her again in the future, but it was preferable than to get on her bad side and become an enemy in the future, regardless of whether she really was a Master (which Shidou had began to consider, though he had no way of being sure).

Their fates had been connected since the moment they were both brought into this war. Whether it be as allies, enemies, or anything else, they would have no choice but to meet again and again until the winner was decided. Manaka would do anything to make sure it was her, whether that included having him by her side or otherwise, that would depend on his usefulness.

   As she’d noted earlier, there were distant sounds of battle in the background that one could make out if they focused beyond the sounds of the passing cars. The muffled rumbles and clashes meant that the war they were in was already underway and other Master-Servant pairs were already participating. Yuuki wondered how long it had been going on before she had been summoned and if Manaka had been waiting very long for her to arrive. The thought made her feel as though she had been late to something and Manaka’s mention of training for the war made her slightly anxious. Yuuki nodded in agreement; it was likely that they could be attacked at any time, so they would need to know each other’s personal battle styles.

   The Imp’s fingers slid from the pommel of her sword to the hilt, then gave it a slight tug to partially pull it from its scabbard. It was a thin, blackish-purple, two-edged sword with silver edges. Having used it as much as she had, the sword was like an extension of Yuuki’s hand and she had the utmost confidence in her skills with it. “I’ll be using this when we fight. I’m pretty strong!” She thought about demonstrating her abilities, but she wasn’t sure if she could even still use Sword Skills now that she was no longer in a game world. Of course, like everything else up until now, another piece of knowledge pertaining to her role as a Servant was triggered. It seemed her Mother’s Rosario OSS had been named her Noble Phantasm, meaning she could only use it sparingly. So did that mean all of her other skills were intact as well?

   “Ah, well, if all of my abilities are usable here, then I should be able to use all of the Sword Skills I’m familiar with from my old world. Basically, they’re special skills that let me do moves that shouldn’t be physically possible, and some of them have strong elemental effects. They let me do more damage than I could with my own skill. I tend to use them as finishers or when I need to do burst damage and rely on my own abilities for the most part.” She could demonstrate, but short of attacking a building, there were no targets. She supposed Manaka would see them in action soon enough, though. “Looks like my strongest skill is a Noble Phantasm now, though, so you’ll have to wait a bit before you get to see that one!” With a small giggle, she stuck out her tongue and sheathed her sword.

   “As for my strengths, I’m very strong and incredibly fast. Most of my experience lies in one-on-one combat, which I suppose will come in really handy here. I’m good at reading and reacting to moves, and to give you an idea, I did have over 70 wins against 0 losses in my last world,” far from bragging, there was a sense of modest pride in her words. She had to admit, she was a little excited to see how far she could continue with that record, even though her battles from here on would be more than simple duels.

   Yuuki elected to decline explaining her weaknesses. She felt there was no need for her to detail all of her past hardships or delve into her shortcomings. She had been summoned as the strongest version of herself, free from everything that hindered her in her real life. The only thing that was relevant now was her strength, skill and how they would help Manaka and herself in the war.    “Oh! I can show you one thing right now, though. Watch this.” Turning her back to Manaka, Yuuki reached back to her neck to pull her hair out of the way, and a second later, two dark purple, bat-like wings appeared from between her shoulderblades. Yuuki pressed off the ground and gently floated into the air, then spun around to face her Master. “I can fly, too!”

They were very enthusiastic about demonstrating their strengths and capabilities. That was good, it meant that they were eager to please and show that they were ready for this war. Although, Manaka had no doubt that with their personality and this being their first war, there would be a few complications but none that would cause a snag in her plans.

With an ever-so-pleasant smile on her face, the magus patiently listened to Yuuki's explanation of her abilities. There were a few terms that confused her, which brought a bit of curiosity as well as enjoyment that there was even more that she did not know. She wondered just what kind of world her Servant could have come from, but it wasn't that important to know.

"Undefeated, I expected no less from the one I would summon to be my partner. I look forward to seeing you continue that record here." Encouraging but high-standard words. Manaka exuded excellence, it was only right that her Servant would do the same.