The start of the Holy Grail War should have been far different--that was the opinion of Tohsaka Shion. The past few months should have been spent seeking out the most potent of catalysts for her heir, planning and preparing to take down the other six Masters before claiming the Grail and the ultimate prize. She had almost finished preparing an expedition to the Middle East before this betrayal. Instead... instead, one of the other family heads--and such a reliable one--had been taken out in the very ritual that he had assisted her in engineering, and the group of Masters assembled was sorely lacking in one thing...

[i]Experience.[/i] Even the magus sent by Atlas was clueless, and she could only hope that the homunculus they were opposed to had every bit as little knowledge as the previous Einzbern Masters.

Thus, instead of beginning the war by scoping out the opposition through some means or another, her family's Servant's identity a closely guarded secret from all beyond it, the magus had granted their team a day to get to know their Servants... before convening for a meeting the following afternoon. It was her hope that they could function [i]as[/i] a team, but in the worst case scenario, then at least everyone would be able to identify who was an ally in the fight ahead.

Now, the chances of everyone staying for long enough to formulate a plan would be helped by food and drink; even famous heroes could surely enjoy a bit of hospitality. With Shion's interests, this only meant one thing... an afternoon tea. Dainty cucumber sandwiches, a selection of fluffy sponge cakes, scones with all the attendant requirements... and of course, tea itself. Black tea, with milk, not anything more Japanese. Perhaps it was a bit juvenile to indulge her interests like this, but...