Archer stood close to his Master, in spirit form, his eyes drawn towards a plethora of distractions. A city as modern as Shinto was almost too overwhelming for the likes of Archer, who was far too used to the trappings of the wild. Such distractions were so much for Archer, he almost couldn't sense the disturbance within the land itself... At least, until his Master had mentioned such.
"
The land's harmony seems to be shifting." Archer stated, sniffing the air as he slowly materialized from a mist of blue energy. "
Today wouldn't happen to be a holy day, would it?" Such a thing was only a logical conclusion to Archer. Not that he would bother really explaining why. Whatever it was, it did not concern Archer too much, as its scent was rather faint. And if it was of any real concern, then Archer would simply pinpoint the threat and eliminate it. Simple.
"
Understood." Archer nodded at his Master's orders, gazing above at the tall building. In his mind, he envisioned a vast fortress from a bygone age. The walls weren't quite as tall as Shinto's Center Building, but it looked just as insurmountable from below. A blue-haired man, familiar to Archer, had prepared to scale the fortress's walls not by simply climbing them, but by simply stepping back, crouching low, and taking a deep breath. Archer emulated these movements from his memory...
... Before making a great leap upward, propelled to the sky like a salmon swooping through the deadly rapids of a fast-flowing river.
As Archer was making his ascension to the building, he briefly heard of the conversation of clothes between his Master and tomorrow's lunch. Archer never really thought about what he wore, so long as the furs on his back kept him warm during the colder nights. Of course, wearing darker colors to blend in with one's surroundings was also something a hunter should be wary of, to stand out less. That said, he didn't see much of an issue with his current outfit, as it stands, much less his Master's. Everyone in this city was wearing a colorful assortment of attire, after all! What is so odd about a boy in bare furs?
Of course, the horns might be a point of contention, no matter the case.
Reaching the top of Center Building, Archer would perch himself up rather seamlessly on one of the building's corner edges like a gargoyle. His eyes, honed with years of hunting through the thick forests of his homeland, would scan the many streets of Shinto. The boy could hardly keep his mouth from opening in mere wonder at the sight of contemporary Fuyuki. Of course, he did make sure to scan every bit of the city he could within his sights.
As a matter of course, Archer was also able to spot quite a few suitable targets within Shinto alone.
Is there anyone here you wish to hunt, Master?
Matou Estate, Foreign District
Mentions:@YankeeThe simple statement of monsters in Fuyuki was no mere conjecture. It is true that there are quite a few monsters that have found themselves in Fuyuki. A surprising amount have turned up, really. Of course, to assume that monsters were not always in Fuyuki even during an event such as the Prime Holy Grail War would be incorrect.
Monsters have always been a part of the city in many different forms. Some have sequestered themselves far off from the city, their existence not to be interfered with the likes of mortals, while others have hidden in plain sight, becoming notable members of their own community. One such monster stood within a grand estate in the heart of Miyama's Foreign District. This monster took the shape of a rather young-looking man with dark purple hair, wearing a colorful suit underneath an... apron?
Well, it seemed that this monster was in the middle of cooking.
The young man watched his pan carefully as he seared his steak to perfection. Procuring a long and narrow wormlike creature from his sleeve, he would poke it through the meat gently before waiting a few moments.
"
... Ah, there we go. Perfect internal temperature!"
Retracting the worm from the meat, the young man would transfer the portion of meat onto a cutting board. His right hand would shape itself into a sharpened, almost metallic edge, as he started to cut the meat into even, perfect slices. It was an expensive piece of meat, Kobe beef ordered straight from Hyogo. More importantly, it was meat that would be served to very important people. It was paramount that this beef was to be prepared with utmost perfection.
Such devotion to perfection was indeed a notable characteristic of Shinichi Matou, a man whose own journey to perfection had cost him much of his humanity.
Shinichi laid the beautifully marbled cuts of wagyu ribeye within a portable bento, packed and garnished neatly within the box. Pulling out a Sharpie, he began to write the name "Tohsaka" onto the box with beautiful calligra-
"Ochinchin! Hurry up! If you aren't done soon I'm going without you!"
Startled and perturbed, Shinichi looked towards his Servant with a furrowed brow. The smile on his face became strained as he glared at Berserker, her rude interruption messing up his handwriting. Shinichi wondered to himself just how he got himself stuck to such a cantankerous Servant in the first place. This was not the first Berserker Shinichi had summoned after all, and surely not the first Grail War he had participated in. In the past, it was simply a matter of summoning a Berserker and 'assimilating' it, and it should have been as simple as it was before, even more so with the fact the Matou heir had used his new body as a catalyst.
Shinichi knew something was wrong the moment Berserker would try eating him as soon as she was summoned.
"
No need to be in a hurry, Berserker. I'm just about done~" Shinichi said, with a friendly smile, as if his irritation had disappeared all at once. He slid off his apron and wrapped the bento up nicely before grabbing a bottle of Chardonnay off the counter. "
The banquet's just a few blocks down, after all. Just stay in spirit form and don't eat anyone we see. This includes any stray animals we see on the way."
To coexist with such an uncouth Servant was a challenge, to say the least. Throughout the many Subspecies Grail Wars that Shinichi had participated in, he did not have to worry about interactions with his partner. Of course, this also wasn't the first time Shinichi was forced to coexist with those he had once seen as beneath him. The Hyenas to the south and the Dolls to the west would surely come to mind. And to coexist involves some level of compromise, however dire it may seem.
"
Worry not, Berserker... we shall find ourselves an even grander feast after we finish our business with the Tohsakas."
As far as that business was concerned, Shinichi was more than happy to call a truce with the other families of Fuyuki. This was, after all, a ritual of their making. At the same time, he was not interested in forming any sort of lasting alliance. In the past, allying with the Tohsakas and Einzberns was merely a means to an end, to make up for past mistakes and return the Greater Grail to its rightful place. The other families were great allies then, but now it is different. The threat of the Three Families together would easily be identified by the other members of the war, and a coalition may be formed against them. Shinichi will honor their kinship with a non-aggression pact, but anything else would simply paint a target on their backs.
After all, it is the very nature of the weak to work together and eliminate the strong.
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