aww yeah swag

She was a big girl now (as … awfully childish that sounded), she wanted to show her father how much she had grown. And to maybe prove that when he had passed, that his efforts did not go to waste. She had wanted to become a magus that not only she could be proud of, but the other, if he were to ever see her again. The thought was foolish, at the least, and she knew it. There was some sentimental value in the thought, she would conclude, and would continue to read whatever text she had been practicing.

But the matter of fact was that this was .. actually happening. And it was still hard for her to believe. All she knew was that she was a bit too excited ..! Rin didn’t expect a hug, or perhaps a touch of hands—

—she was fine with him by her side.

Fortunately, things obviously had gone well so far and his daughter had become what she was fated to be. A strong leader with the fitting attitude she needed to properly represent her family. Tokiomi had to admit though that he still needed to get used to see his daughter at this age, had she only been a little girl during his actual lifetime. He always had wished for her to become a strong woman who would be successful in everything she was doing.

"That is good to hear, Rin. I am glad my expectations in you haven't been too high and due to me being present again, I will test you to see how strong your abilities really are by now once there is a good chance to do this." 

Lips raised in an almost gleeful smile, something that would seem almost alien to the other man. The one he took on as a pupil had long since died, replaced by a man fully corrupted by the depths of his own depravity. At the question and threat of the child, the Priest couldn’t help but let out a peal of laughter before responding.

“Is there a problem, Tokiomi? Was it not you who decided I would be a fit guardian for Rin Tohsaka? She learned rather well, and became an excellent mage. If I may so myself, I did a better job than you could have. Though that means very little, considering I didn’t give her off to the Matou.”

The man in front of him hardly had anything in common anymore with the one he had once taught and kept as partner during the last war he had seen alive, til it had ended rather unpleasant on Tokiomi's side. Humans really quickly became corrupted, didn't they?

"There is no problem. You are educated well in what is important to be a guardian for Rin, I give you that. I am not surprised to hear that she became a good mage, after all she is a Tohsaka and the new head of the family. There is no other way but her becoming one of the strongest magi of this world.

How do you make a good first impression?

That was something Elliot Reid kept wondering about. She came all the way to Japan on a whim, following JD’s and Cox’s footsteps and now was stuck in a school full of weirdos. That godforsaken place was guarded by dozens of people straight out of some fantasy novel, even a guy wearing a pyramid on his head! A pyramid! Maybe it’s a new trend?

Becoming a school doctor seemed okay at first, but then everything went to hell and got pooped on by a monkey. She couldn’t find anyone familiar, save for catching a glimpse of Janitor, and remained all alone in a crowd of students that seemed like thousands. After getting used to her situation, instinct told her to wake up at 4 AM, put on some make up and go hunting – for a boyfriend, of course. Surely the men were responsible for her failure – half of the male teachers were nutcases, and the other half ignored her. She did receive a few matrimonial offers – and a letter saying ‘ILU YOUR BUTT 9/10’ - from the students though. One of them was 14 years old.

Feeling miserable, she sat on a bench and wept.

Humming pointlessly, she saw a cat approaching her. Oh no. No no no. The animal got comfy on the ground before her, staring. And staring.

Even taking a walk outside was part of it. Even the most simple things could be pieces of a huge puzzle to enter the path of success and zero chance of losing.

And what a nice coincidence it was that he wasn't the only one who had thought so. Not that this was surprising, considering the amount of people attending this academy in one way or the other. This woman clearly looked too old to be a student, yet not smart enough to be a teacher. Of course Tokiomi wouldn't judge people that easily, but it was merely common sense. A woman like that could never have any intellectual position.

But what was that? Did she have the ability to understand animals? How interesting. It sounded rather useless though, but for lower magi this might be an amazing skill to have.

…

And so much had changed.

“I did not know what I fought for, so I blindly followed you. It’s humorous, but it was Gilgamesh that showed me the way to the Grail. We were the victors of the 4th Grail War in the end. I received my greatest desire as well. It was a sight to behold. Shame you were not able to see it.”

Betrayal. What could lack more honor than that? For Tokiomi nothing was more clear than teaching this priest had been a huge mistake and he had never realized it until it had been too late.

"Your greatest desire? What might that be, Kirei?" He wouldn't even bother with commenting on anything he had said about the outcoming of the 4th war. Not all thoughts had to be spoken out loud.

Ilya was not amused.

“Yes, I’m your master! You’re going to fight for me from now on, so don’t even try to think of losing.” Trying to hide her annoyance, she glared at the person meant to protect her in this war.

She could see the man shouldn’t be underestimated; his stats proved good enough, and even if the way his life had ended left much to be desired, his family name still meant something. That identity was the main issue as well - Ilya prayed to everything holy they wouldn’t ever have to meet Rin, or even worse, kill her. Somebody else should do it before we find her. She let out a theatrical sigh, wondering about the most important thing.

How the hell was a Caster-Berserker supposed to fight anyway? Since he was a Tohsaka, would he skip around vomiting fire like a dragon - no, a turkey straight out of kitchen or a demonic peacock would suit him more—  Or maybe, just maybe, there was a possibility of him forgetting he was a magus and turning his magic stick into—

To be the servant of a small being like her didn't insult Tokiomi in the slightest as many would think now. He felt how strong her magical energy was and that she was indeed worthy of being a participant in this holy grail war 

"May I demonstrate you my powers to prove you that I am able to bring you nothing but definite success and will never fail in protecting you?" Waiting for his master's reply, because he wouldn't do anything without her ordering to do so, he took out his stab, thoughtfully looked at it and took a few steps, never letting Illyasviel out of his sight completly.

The girl knew her limits, but considering she hasn’t felt much exhausted since her earlier encounter with a certain ginger, she would be fine for a menial task such as this. Bright blue eyes had widened, only by the slightest, as she took a moment to register what was in front of her. Or rather, whom. 

She would question this, most definitely, and she would become suspicious (was she not, already?) .. but, the way that he carried himself and, more importantly, spoke the Tohsaka name with such fondness that she could recognize from her earlier childhood … This was—

— “Father,” and dare she forget the family resemblance, she would’ve thought herself to be a fool. She momentarily chastised herself for failing to respond as quickly as she should’ve. “Of course I will escort you, it’s no trouble at all.” her words were a bit slow, some nervousness and a mix of happiness swelled within as she spoke. The magus made sure to correct her tone, trying to keep that same elegance and poise as it had before.

"Rin?" He spoke the name of his daughter, almost taken aback by the surprise of encountering her of all people. Of course this was a emotion he didn't display; it wasn't that he wasn't prepared for anything possible at all and considering that obviously quite some years had passed since his lifetime it wasn't that surprising actually.

The man nodded, silently accepting her offering. She really had grown a lot, but unmistakeable she had kept the attitude he always wanted her to have.

Her maturity stemmed mostly from having to grow up quickly in the era that she did, which seemed so much more different than this one.  This was probably something she shared with Tohsaka; pride and honor and even strength were important things to grow within a person and the lack of it in some of the students she encountered was troubling.  Troubling, but not surprising.  Otae had lived in an era where the Samurai was a dying breed so it made sense that pride and honor would die out with it.

The brunette brushed her bangs out of the way of her eyes as she leaned against a tree not too far from the school.  It was providing nice shade from the summer heat.  She had not been at the school for very long but was used to taking initiative after being born the older sister.  From a very young age she was forced to take care of her younger brother, Shinpachi, and that meant that she needed to be an adult before she was even a teenager.  It also meant she needed to take charge to ensure that things got done.  Otae was not a simple woman.

So it was odd that she was placed in the category of student, and therefore not surprising if someone did mistake her for a teacher.  She was only 18 but the fact remained that she was still very young and qualified as a student.  Plus it was more fun that way.

So when an older man walked up to her, she barely batted an eye at his question. Instead she heard it out and gave him a calm, soft smile; it was something she naturally did.  If Otae wasn’t surprised or angry then she was most likely smiling.  As with  most things, she hid everything behind her smiles and (sometimes) sweet words.  Giving people the wrong first impression was an advantage, though that wasn’t why she chose to smile all the time.

Smiling was an important thing, not only for herself but for the people she encountered.  If she smiled more than more people would smile with her.

“No need to apologize.  I’d be happy to help you.” She spoke gently, pushing against the tree and standing up with a straight back.  For now she wasn’t in her school uniform but was instead in her usual pink yukata.  Those school outfits were so short!  ”I do happen to know where the faculty rooms are. I can help you find it.”  She clasped her hands in front of her body and just smiled up at the tall man.

Without any good preparation, nothing could be won! To planlessly stumble into something could cause you nothing but trouble. An important lesson which surely would become part of his class. Someone had to show those students how they would be able to handle life properly and though Tokiomi didn't really know any of the other adults, he already could assume that not all of them were thinking similiar. No matter the age, not everyone obtained enough wisdom to be a person others could look up to.

But enough of this! He may had to worry about his duty as teacher, but his focus would always solely rely on what his master wanted and to do everything in his power to make Ilya win this war. How ironic that he would serve an Einzbern one day!

Back to the here and now though. It rather was a lovely surprise that someone actually replied to him and wasn't one of those horrible teenagers he had seen from far away already. Encountering them surely would be a horrible thing to do but it was unavoidable, so the presence of such a fine human was really a moment to admire.

"You have my fullest gratitude for what you just said. It is rare to find polite people in these days, so I appreciate a lot that you are so kind to offer your help." 

Ah, how nice it was to meet someone with this attitude that early! This woman surely had class, there was nothing he could complain about, so he looked more than forward to work together with her. Not that this was his priority, but the more companions you had, the more you could use them for your plans, not without giving them something back in return of course.

"You may just call me Tokiomi, Otae. May I ask which position you have at this school? I'd love to hear about it while you guide me to faculty rooms." 

Lancelot cocked his head. Something told him the face of that man was way too familiar to him… But why? He just tried his best to ignore his confused thoughts and looked again at the man.

tokiserker started following you

“……………….”

“Oh. It’s Glasses without glasses. If you’re wearing a blind-fold that must mean you’re particularly stronger now, but you were already overpowered to begin with. Does that make you Servant-Tier or Touhou-tier?”

"Do you always greet people like this without even knowing their names? I am Tokiomi Tohsaka, I am an Ethics teacher. A pleasure to meet you."

Looks like he couldn’t use the alias of Tokiomi Tohsaka anymore.

My will shall create thy body,

And thy sword shall create my fate.

Ilyasviel von Einzbern recited the incantation, staring at the magic circle that lightened up her surroundings. To summon a Heroic Spirit, one needs a proper catalyst; an artifact of sorts that belonged to said hero. Ilya, however, didn’t have anything as crazy as a slab of stone from Heracles’ temple this time. After appearing in this school and losing contact with her family, all she had was an ancient-looking book stolen from somewhere, and a premonition that something would go wrong. With no time to search for anything else, there was only one way to compensate for this - making sure that whoever she might summon, it would be Berserker.

Although Mad Enhancement raised one’s basic parameters, it hindered their ability to think; making it a skill useful only in critical situations. She kept her previous Servant in a state of permanent madness without turning it off even once, which probably wasn’t the best idea after all – she would surely not make the same mistake again. Fixated on the magic circle, she muttered the final, crucial words.

But let chaos cloud thy eyes.

Thou, who art trapped in a cage of madness,

And I, who doth hold thy chains!

And then her Servant appeared.

Ilya took a step back, her mouth opening and closing again and again in disbelief. Before her stood a man in his fourties, clad in a red suit, with a goatee and features that could belong to only one person. 

„Eh? Why, why him?”

Servants of the Berserker class didn’t necessarily have to be strong without the Mad Enhancement, she knew, there was no guarantee it would be a famous hero, Ilya knew all of that, but…

Oh, if there was just any way to fix it. Changing the past, making this unhappen, but this was ridiculous! Even the strongest magus couldn't make this happen. All the man's hopes were now on his daughter, Rin. If just she would win the next holy grail war, the Tohsakas would be honored again, just like in times of his life.

But--

w-what was that? Did he just open his eyes and saw anything which wasn't the darkness of death? What sick game was this?  

"I-ilyasviel von Einzbern..?" Her name left his lips, and as he was summoned by her, everything became clear to him. He wasn't any master anymore, no! He still was a part of the war though, oh what luck he had to be honored like this!

tokiserker started following you

“…Tokiomi…Tohsaka?!” If there was one person he always dreaded to meet again, it would have been this man, his old mentor, one of the few that Kirei could have ever called a friend. Of course, all that met an untimely end by his hand as the student killed the master, and took Gilgamesh as his servant in the process. But that was over a decade ago, which left only one explanation now, and considering the peculiar presence the man held, there was only one liable explanation.

"Kotomine Kirei. What a surprise! You remember my name, I see."

tokiserker started following you