Fate/Stay Double

For all her attitude and eagerness to fight, Rider felt her stomach rise into her throat as the Black Knight walked forwards. She could feel her hands shaking. Why was so so scared of this Servant? He looked tough, certainly, but she had many others on her side, and surely four Servants could defeat one, right?

Still, she didn't feel all too keen on engaging him when the Knight suddenly charged towards them, wielding a lamppost like a jousting javelin. Despite her reluctance, she wasn't about to show her weakness infront of her Master, and certainly not infront of Servants who could turn out to be her foes later. Letting out a battlecry, her gauntlets glowed as her weapons took on a light of there own, and she spirited forward before Tohsaka's Archer could release an arrow.

Meeting the hulking Servant halfway, she swung one blade underhand, as if to slice the lamppost in half, and the other sideways towards the general direction of the Berserker's chest and up towards his neck.

"I will not allow you to go any further!"

-----------------------------

Caenis had slipped into Spirit from as her master approached a little girl, who seemed very unwilling for any sort of assistance. Certainly, she was not afraid, but she two felt the presence of another Servant, and she would not engage them until her 'Master' deemed it necessary.

She itched for battle, but she was unsure how to to react to the fact that such a young girl seemed to have Servants loitering about too, as if she were another one of these 'Masters'.

----------------------

Aimi looked down as she noticed Assassin drew near, then looked over at Archer. Had they not seen anyone cook a meal before, or were they merely curious about what she was making? It was hard to tell, even moreso because she would bet money that her two Servants had not had normal pasts. Then again, they were Heroic Spirits, and she doubted anything in their lives could be considered 'normal' by her standards.

Still, it was a big hard to focus which the two lingering so close to her.

"If you two will sit down, I'll be done with dinner in just a few minutes."

She motioned towards the table in the dining room, traditional style, low to the ground and comfortable pillows replaced Western-style chairs. She then turned her attention back to her cooking, simmering the meat, vegetables, and curry mix together, while she moved the cooked rice onto plates.

It, indeed, only took a few more minutes before she transferred the actual curry onto the plate, then brought them over to the table and set one plate down infront of three of the seats. She sat cross-legged down on one of the pillows, and waited for her two Servants to start eating, eager to see their reactions.

"IDIOT!" yelled Saber, as she charged towards Berserker. She wasn't about to let that idiot get herself killed. Even if she had to use Tyrfing, she was going to make sure that everyone got out of this fight alive.

"BEGONE!" Archer loosed a volley of arrows at the Black Knight Berserker, aimed with great accuracy - none of them would hit Rider or Saber.

"Tohsaka-dono," Saber said, quickly and urgently as she turned to her master, "If you allow me to fight the knight one-on-one, I will surely be able to hold him off while you plan your next move."

She readied herself. Of course, the other servants would have to be called back. Her skill only worked when it was a one-on-one dual.

----

Assassin was as patient as she could manage. Though, while she waited for Aimi to finish the food, she was incredibly nervous. She hadn't been alone in a room with Archer before, and spent most of her time looking very concertedly away from the other servant. She suppressed any kind of show of this nervousness, aside from trembling slightly and looking away. When Aimi brought the food out, she relaxed.

"Thank you, Mother," Assassin said, before immediately digging in. Very, very quickly. Extremely quickly. She wasn't all that messy, none of the food missed her mouth, that was for certain, but she ate with a surprising amount of speed.

Archer sat patiently, waiting for the food to arrive. She passed the time looking at Assassin, she got the distinct impression that the other servant didn't like her. She appeared to be slightly saddened by this.

Archer didn't respond when Aimi entered with the curry, instead sniffing the meal before digging in. Unlike her fellow servant, she ate rather messily, forgoing cutlery and just shoveling handfulls of food into her mouth.

"Believe me, I want you to fight him one on one," Rin said, her hand touching her forehead in a gesture of frustration, "But it doesn't seem like Emiya-kun's servants are the type to let that happen. Considering they just charged in like dumbasses..."

Silently, Berserker grabbed the gauntlet aimed at his chest with his free hand then in a quick motion, spun and threw her at Archer. He then proceeded to use the lamp post to parry the arrows coming at him. His strikes were quick and precise as if he had trained his body to react on instinct.

Aimi looked, well, surprised by Assassin's extreme eating. Gently, she reached over and stopped Assassin's hand before she could take another bite. She then reached up and gently patted the young girl on the head, smiling at her affectionately.

"I'm glad you like it, but slow down a little, alright? I don't want you to choke or get a stomachache. You can always have more if you're still hungry after this."

Her concern for Assassin's eating habits decreased.. significantly when she saw how Archer literally dug into her food. At first, she couldn't really do anything except stare in disbelief, before shaking it off.

"A-Archer! You're.. you're making a bit of a mess," she said, reaching out towards her, holding a napkin in one hand, which she used to start wiping Archer's face off a bit, before handing it to her. "Ahh.. you really need to use a spoon for this sort of thing. Please go wash your hands and face, alright?"

As she, she was still trying to wipe Archer's face clean as much as she could. It was like she was taking care of a child that ate like a wild animal.

-----------------

As Rider felt herself get grabbed and tossed out of the way like a ragdoll, she felt a mixture of emotion, ranging from embarassment over her foolish act to releif that she wasn't stabbed through. She yelped in surprise as she slammed into Tohsaka's Archer, anding up sitting on top of him.

".. Alright. This time, I'm not rushing in like an idiot. Sorry about that."

Rider stood and reached down to pull Archer to his feet. She then quickly turned her attention back to the Berserker, spinning her blades and letting out a huff. She pondered summoning her dear pet, but it may not be the time to use that much energy in one blow.

Illya smiled at her opponents' failed attempts, "My Berserkers are the best! You won't be able to defeat them so easily, Onii-chan,"

She turned to Tohsaka, "Well? Tohsakas should be better than this at least, right? Though I can't expect you to do much against my Berserker,"

-------

True Assassin was immediately on guard. There was no way she wouldn't notice the presence of servants immediately. She had become invisible quickly enough that nobody would have recognized who or what she was. Since Caster was also already in Spirit form they hadn't seen her.

And so, it would seem that Takako would get to go to bed tonight...

----

Sakura shook her head, "No! You mustn't hurt Onii-chan. Ever, understand?" She sighed, "Just go get what you must to keep up strength, then go into spirit form to rest until you are called on. PLease..." She was tired tonight... she actually started to close her eyes.

Assassin blinked when she was stopped. Not eating when she had food? But... why would she ever do that? There was food, why was 'Mother' stopping her? Needless to say, she was dismayed by Aimi's decision not to allow her to eat at the same pace. What if the food was suddenly taken away? "But... Mother, I... alright..."

It was her Master's decision, after all... Assassin began to slow the pace of her eating, until she saw how rapidly Archer was eating. It was like a train wreck of food, no wonder Aimi stopped her... she was losing a lot of it! Losing food wasn't good at all.

...

Assassin swallowed hard before speaking.

"A-Archer, y-you... y-you might l-lose some f-food, eating l-like that..."

----

"Tohsaka-dono, may I join the fight now?" Saber asked, taking her gaze off the little girl who was the Berserker's master, and Berserker himself, and turning to Rin once again. She wanted, very much, to hold off Berserker at the very least.

Archer blinked and looked up. Her 'mother' had never really said anything about her way of eating. And her father hadn't really cared about his daughter, so long as he could marry her off and get an heir. So the servant had never really learned much in the way of table manners.

"Ah, my apologies master. I was going to eat all of it." she replied, blushing slightly as Aimi started cleaning her face. "Understood."

As Rider flew past her; Saber seriously considered making a hasty retreat. There was no way she could fight that thing without revealing her noble phantasm; and even then she wasn't so sure of her chances. Not to mention that she no longer had to worry about Rider going up against that thing at close range...not that she was worried.

However, if she turned and ran, there was the chance that it would threw the street post at her and impale her from behind. Being stabbed in the back while fleeing an opponent didn't appeal to her. Instead, she drew her sword, and held her ground. She really hoped this wouldn't be her last stand.

Archer stood up, blinking, still somewhat disoriented from such a... personal view of Rider.

"Eh, what? Oh-oh right, yeah, it's fine. Or something." He aimed his bow at Berserker once more. "So, back to the fight?"

----
"Aye, Master." Lugh saluted, before running off somewhere. About half an hour later, several unharmed, though unconsious prostitutes would be able to be found in an alley. Lugh regretted that he lacked money to pay them.

----
"...very well then." Said Sukoshi. "I shall leave you be." Slowly, the swordsman walked past Takako, continuing on his way.

What on Earth had happened to these two to make them so.. awkward at eating? It was endearing, in it's own right, but also slightly worrisome, especially when she saw Assassin's reaction to having to slow down. Firstly so, she would show her that she wasn't trying to be harsh or anything.

Scooching over a bit, she gave Assassin a little hug, hoping it would cheer her up.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to be cruel.. it's not that I want you to stop eating, or that I'm going to take it away or anything. I just want you to be able to relax and enjoy the food, alright?"

She looked over at Archer and chuckled.

"Same to you. I'm glad you were still going to eat all of it, but, while it's slightly cute, it's still not proper table manners, okay? I'm not mad or anything, though, so neither of you pout. But, really Archer, go wash your hands."

------------------------

"Back to the fight! I'll be right behind you both! Literally!"

There was no way in hell she was going to charge at the guy again. He was ridiculous, and he could probably tear her in half without too much issue. She wasn't ashamed to admit she was not comfortable with fighting this guy anymore.

Which she displayed by courageously hiding behind Archer.

Assassin colored faintly as Aimi hugged her. 'Mother' really was kind, she knew that, but when it came to food... she didn't want to slow down. But she would listen to Aimi. Hesitantly, she hugged Aimi back. "I... I understand, mother, I just... I... ah... I am used to eating quickly, when there is food."

It was understandable, at least to Assassin. She was used to the food being there only for a few moments, after all, and being in very small amounts. She returned to eating, significantly slower now. She was still perplexed by the eating habits Archer had displayed.

Archer nodded, "My apologies master, I wasn't taught much in the way of table manners growing up."

She hesitated, she was brought up in a place where leaving one's food unattended was just asking for someone or something else to come in and take it. But her master had said she wasn't going to take anyone's food away, and Assassin, well...If Assassin tried to take her food, she'd give it to her, the child needed proper nourishment more than she- She's a Heroic Spirit, not a child. Archer shook her head. She stood up and left to find the bathroom.

---

Caster sensed something. A servant? So this was one of the people she'd have to kill to get her wish?

She considered letting the other servant deal with it. After all, it could be amusing to see how that went. However, she had a purpose, and it wouldn't do to gamble on the second rate skills of one of these knuckle draggers.

Caster exited spirit mode and pulled a large red jewel from within her sleeve.

"Alright, everyone stand down, we're not getting anywhere by charging in all at once," Rin said calling the attention of the others, she was not particularly pleased by Illya's gloating, but she needed to keep her head in this situation. "Saber, you have a plan ri-"

Before she could finish that sentence, an arrow whizzed by her head. She couldn't tell where the arrow had come from, but it was obviously not any of the Berserkers doing. Which could only mean... "Keep your guard up! There's someone else here helping her!"

----

Miyu notched another arrow in her bow. She had taken the form of an arching hero in order to support Berserker from the safety of the shadows.

----

Mulan reacted instantly, also exiting spirit mode and pointing her sword at Kaguya. To anyone that didn't know her, they would think her an extremely handsome boy in Chinese armor, "You will not lay a hand on my Master!"

Saber immediately inserted herself between Rin and the location the arrow had come from, a look of grim determination on her face. Her katana was raised in her right hand, and her wakizashi was held back-handed in her left. "Yes, if I am able to face the knight one-on-one, I'll be able to gain speeds enough to hold him off. But it has to be one-on-one."

It was too dark to discern just what was firing the arrows.

Rider stepped out from behind Archer and instead went to stand in front of Shirou. She couldn't take the Berserker on, that was for certain, but at the very least she could protect her Master from getting impaled in the face by a shadowed archer.

That would ruin her chances of winning horrendously.

"Master, want me to go after our new sniper friend? I can make up for my utter failure with their Berserker."

---------------------------

"Like I said, Archer, it's fine. I don't know about either of your pasts, but I'm not going to pry, and I'm not going to judge you n how you act because of them, alright?" Her serious tone dissolved a bit as she smiled at Archer before she left. "But I don't want curry-fingers all over everything, either way."

As Archer left to go get cleaned up, Aimi turned her attention back to Assassin. From the young Servant's words, she could gather that it was common in Assassin's past for her to miss out on meals, or have food taken from her. She could find a slight twinge in her heart, and she couldn't help but hug the girl again, tighter, even though it may not be entirely welcome, as they hadn't known each other long. She was also interrupting her eating again, which she now knew Assassin didn't like.

This thought caught up to her, and she cleared her throat as she gently let go.

"A-Anyway. Assassin. I know you can't change your. .eating habits.. so quickly, but know that as long as you are here with me, I won't let you go hungry, okay? If you want something to eat, you just let me know."

Then, slightly embarrassed by all this seriousness and affection, she scooched back away to her own seat and started eating.

--------------------------

Like Mulan, Caenis instantly went hostile, her spear materializing in her hand, which she spun once to reacquaint herself with its weight, before getting into a fighting stance, the longest blade of the spear pointed in Kaguya's direction.

"Be cautious where you step, witch. You do not want my wrath directed towards you."

Assassin blinked. She... couldn't say she didn't like being hugged like that... no one had ever been this nice to her before. She was glad, really, that she had been summoned by someone like this. Her 'Mother' was so thoroughly kind to her... Assassin continued returning the hug, even though she was almost instinctively worried about her food getting taken away. Being hugged by someone, being hugged by her 'Mother' was a warm feeling unlike anything she'd felt before.

When Aimi let go, Assassin was left smiling. "Thank you, Mother..."

She paused for a moment, to let Aimi speak. "I... thank you..."

She wasn't sure what else to say, though her gratitude was evident in her expression. Assassin returned to eating, pace still slowed as per Aimi's request.

"Tch," True Assassin grabbed hold of Takako as she entered full physical form and pulled her aside and away. "Master, I suggest you move away from here immediately," She could tell that they weren't exactly going to win this fight.

However, taking down at least one of them would be welcome. So this Caster she was fighting with had better be able to back up the bad attitude she had shown when summoned.

Meanwhile she would defend the master since, as the rules were, the master could not die if the servant is to obtain the grail.

-----

Illya smiled at Miyu's attack. Then turned to Berserker Two, "If any of them move to attack the other one, stop them," She said low enough only he would hear.

---

Sakura fell asleep.

----

Shinji sighed as he stepped into his room. Kariya appeared next to him, making Shinji jump. "GAH! Don't do that!" He said, jumping into a weird pose.

Kariya smiled, then said, "My mana is fine, and it seems Lugh is taking care of his own situation. I will now set my Territory around your house. Is this acceptable?"

"Tch, whatever," Shinji said. He had been dissapointed that this servant couldn't even remember his own name, and in fact was rather useless as a Caster. He then went to sleep as Kariya set barriers around the house that far exceeded that of the Matou Family's current barriers.

A small figure appeared before the Servant, "Oho! Seems you intend to make this area yours, hm?"

"Is this a problem, Old Man?" Kariya said, feeling a sudden distaste he couldn't place in the old man.

"Hm... I suppose not. Your powers work well with our family's, after all," He said, smiling creepily at him.

Kariya shrugged, "Coincidence I'm sure. I still don't remember who I am," He stared pointedly at the old man, as if daring him to say something further. Why did he not like him?

"Ohohoho, do not worry Servant. If it is for my wish, then I will not stop you," He disappeared into nothing, leaving behind only the creepiest of sounds ever, which Kariya could just barely make out to be him laughing...

"Yes Ma'am!" said Sigmund, as he observed the fight. He really hoped one of them would move to attack the vampire girl. He was getting hungry.

--

Takako shook her head.

"I can't leave you two! I can fight too!" she said.

Archer soon found her way to the bathroom, and simply stared at the sink. Aimi had told her not to get curry fingerprints everywhere...but she needed to turn on the sink to get the curry off her hands. After several attempts, she managed to activate it with her elbows and began washing her hands and face.

"Shall I continue firing, Master? Or shall I offer him a Horse?" Archer asked, emphasis obvious, his bow still aimed at Berserker.

----
Sukoshi drew his blade, pointing it at Caster. So this was their first enemy... "Prepare for battle." He said to Rider and Lancer. And then Takako spoke.

"A good idea, child! Perhaps you may allow me to honorably duel your Master, while you battle my Servants?" He asked Caster. He didn't expect a 'yes', but nonetheless it was worth a shot.

Caster considered responding to Sukoshi, telling him 'go ahead' and then blasting him the moment his back was turned. After all, a little sword wound wouldn't stop the child maintaining them. But perhaps she wouldn't be able to dispatch his servants before the brat got herself killed. "It appears that word has lost quite a bit of meaning through the centuries. Although I didn't expect much honor from you cretins anyway." the moon princess sneered.

She glanced at the man's servants, the first was a woman with a spear, well...the class was obvious at least, but she wasn't exactly able to guess the servant's identity by that alone. The other one appeared to be a man, Chinese if his armor was anything to go by. His weapon was a sword...that didn't narrow it down as much as Caster had hoped, it was probably best to assume he was a Saber though.

"She is a magus, is she not? If she has no magic to even our battle, then I cannot knowingly face her." Sukoshi said, lowering his blade slightly, but still keeping it trained on Caster.

Caenis, too, was insulted my her Master's use of the word 'honor'. There was nothing respectful about attempting to beat up a child, who most likely didn't even have full control of her full prowess yet.

"With all due respect, stay out of this battle," she glared at her Master for a moment, before looking over at the child across from them. "You as well, young one! There is no need for you to get involved. This Holy War is between Servants, Heroic Spirits of old, not between you.. humans with small bits of magic mixed in."

With that, she jabbed her Master in the stomach with the blunt end of her spear, forcing him backwards, then took a step forward, pointing her weapon at True Assassin. "You look entertaining, masked one. You also seem full of sense, pulling the child out of the way. You are a worthy challenger, I presume, unlike that.. young woman in a dress."

-----------------------

Aimi still looked sheepish, even moreso at Assassin's earnest expression and her thanks.

"I-It's really not that big a deal. I mean, you're helping me in the War and.. you know.. so taking care of you and Archer is a given."

Still, seeing Assassin start to trust her more, trying to get out of her eating habit for her sake, warmed her heart. Archer had even gone ahead and started washing herself, evident by the sound of water. She hoped she hadn't taken that 'curry-fingers' comment too literally.

As Aimi ate, though, she couldn't help but worry about how she was trying to get close to her Servants. Even if they didn't end up.. gone.. by the time someone reached the Grail, she would probably still lose them afterwords, wouldn't she? An uncharacteristically dark expression crossed her face momentarily, but she shook it off, unwilling to allow herself to be taken in by negative thinking.

When the time came, she'd decide then what to do. For now, she would try to keep these two safe, and enjoy their company.

"No Archer, we don't need to reveal your identity so soon," Rin ordered. Then turned to Saber, "With the sniper out there, I don't think fighting one on one is an optio- watch out Saber!"

Berserker had took this moment of distraction to charge at Saber and Tohsaka and was currently swing the lightpost at them. He put all his power into the blow, probably trying to take out both in a single hit.

---

Shirou finally blinked out of his stupor due to the fear. What had Rider just asked? To go out alone to take on a hidden Sniper? "Idiot! You can't go do that! You'll get yourself killed!"

And then he heard it, a clear hissing sound. His body reacted before his mind could completely process what was happening. He grabbed Rider and pushed her out the way as an arrow flew toward him and pierced him directly into the shoulder. Pain, so much pain. It dulled his mind. Eventually, everything turned to black as he fell back.

----

Mulan nodded in approval of Caenis' statement. She would never support a Master who would risk harming a child. With that taken care of, she turned her attention to Caster, getting a good look at her face. Definitely attractive, there was even an ever so slight magical compelling to it. Thankfully, her magic resistance allowed her to well.. resist it. "With our Master's out of the way, shall we begin this fight?"

Saber whirled. Her right hand, gripping the katana, led. A lightpost? Normally, she was confident she could cut through it, but this seemed different. Her suspicions were confirmed when her katana met the lightpost and blocked it with the grating clash of metal-on-metal, but didn't cut through it. The sheer amount of strength behind the swing was... expected, really, this was a Berserker after all. The strength Saber had to put into resisting the swing gave her little opportunity to try and get out of the way.

"Rrrgh...." Putting as much strength as she could into it, she began to try and force the lightpost off-course, just a little, so she could move out of the way and to the side.

----

"I am still thankful," Assassin replied, quietly. She did know that it wasn't necessary for a Master to be kind to their Servant. Therefore, Aimi's kindness was... better then she could've ever hoped for. She paused for a moment when she saw Aimi's expression darken. She wondered if she should ask 'Mother' what was wrong... but her inherent nervousness got the better of her, and she didn't want to bother her, so she didn't. And whatever it is seemed to pass quickly.

"... Ah... tomorrow... what will we do?"

Caster's gaze rose to the swordsman servant's face, hoping to find an identifying scar or...she swooned, the servant's handsomeness too much for her.

---

Archer dried her hands and face, content that she'd sufficiently cleaned them. She returned to the dining room and sat back down to resume her meal.

Rider looked down as her Master hit the ground, in utter disbelief. He just pushed his Servant out of the way to take an arrow to the shoulder. Was he some kind of idiot!? This is why she was standing in front of him, because a dang arrow wouldn't make her splat over on the ground with a sound like someone just dropped a Christmas ham. To prevent such a thing from occuring, she caught her Master.

"Stupid. Really, really stupid. Should've just let me knock it out of the way but noooo. You pushed me out of the way like an idiot."

She was tempted to hit him, but no. That'd just give him brain damage and he was already out cold. She was about to pass him off to Tohsaka, but they were currently in a bind of their own, what with Berserker swinging lampposts at them. Then it was time for some subtle Noble Phantasm work, up in here. While Berkserker was distracted, she dragged Shirou off to the side and sat him down. Couldn't pull the arrow back out, it'd rip up his muscles and hurt even worse than pushing it through, so push it through it was.

Breaking off the end of the arrow, she pulled her necklace off and held it up to the wound. "Alright, Master. This is gonna wake you up and it's gonna suck. So, good morning, sunshine." With that, she pretty much delicately punched the rest of the arrow though his shoulder and out, then proceeded to heal the now probably quite painful and bleeding wound with her NP.

--------------------------------------

"Oh good, we're finally starting? I thought we were just going to stand here and stare at each other all da-.. aayy.."

As Caenis lifted her head to get a better look at the 'young girl in the dress', her jaw dropped and she ended up standing there looking like an idiot. By her spear, this Servant was.. absolutely beautiful!

It seemed that whatever kind of magic that had not worked on Mulan worked quite well on the magic-weak Lancer, who stumbled forward slightly, towards the enemy Caster.

------------------------

Aimi looked up at Assassin as she spoke, looking surprised for a moment before calming back down. She'd really have to stop getting lost in her thoughts.

"I suppose, tomorrow, we'll have to start looking for other Masters and their Servants," she answered as Archer came back into the room. "I suppose we can't just hide out here forever, after all. Even if we do, another Master will stumble upon us eventually."