AU for imperial_saga

[killed_shiki]

-1-


[Servant and Servant! You've crossed paths before, but with your Masters - this time it's just the two Servants.]

[Assassin smiles as she draws a small, plain kife. You'd expect someone of her class to be a bit stealthier, but it seems that a straightforward approach is more your style.]

No Masters this time. This is what I wanted from the start. Now we can put aside all worries aside from fighting to the death.

I hope you're ready.


-2-


[Servant and Master! The Grail War is complex, especially during times as tumultuous as these, and planning ahead for the upcoming battles is very important.]

[You've got all kinds of important plans up your sleeve, but Assassin is just leaning against the wall, eyes closed. She doesn't seem to be listening very hard. If you try to get her attention...]

Why should all this matter to me, one way or the other?

If I encounter a Servant, I'll kill the Servant. That's all I need to know. The rest is your problem.


-3-


[Servant and non-Servant! It's dangerous to go out into the woods alone at night, you know. Or at least, that's what they said... and maybe this is why.]

[You just stumbled upon two people. Only one of them has a head.]

[Blood sprays in various directions, making an almost beautiful pattern along the ground. As the freshly-made corpse collapses, the pale woman turns slowly, giving you a bloodstained smile.]

[She doesn't say anything, but you're not here to make small talk, are you?]


-4-


Ooh! What about that one?

[Servant and anyone! Do you know Assassin? Maybe, maybe not - but this appears to be her... but her personality is completely different now.]

[SHIKI bounces through whatever local festival is going on, looking like she doesn't have a care in the world, dragging you along by the hand.]

Hey, have you ever tried this? I hear it's a local specialty, but I've never had any.

You could stand to smile more. Has anyone ever told you that?

Comments

1

[idranel_the_damned]

Lancer spins her spear around to a ready position.

"It's definitely more satisfying without that fool getting in the way."

[killed_shiki]

Oh, good. She understands.

Assassin doesn't waste energy on further words. Instead, she crouches low and springs forward into a terrifyingly fast sprint, aiming to close into close range, where she'll have the advantage with her speed and flexibility.

4

[bejustorbedead]

[He did promise Assassin's master to keep an eye on her, but honestly Ky didn't expect to be dragged out to a festival. In fact, Ky doesn't even know she's a servant in the grail war sense]

Uh...

[Yes SHIKI, Ky heard that. frequently]

Oh, those I believe are barbeque eel - I never had it before.

[killed_shiki]

Can I talk you into buying me one?

[idranel_the_damned]

Yes Assassin found herself facing not one Lancer, but 5, each with brilliantly glowing eyes, all countering her death charge in different ways. Five glittering, humming speartips striking unerringly at the Servant from five different angles.

[bejustorbedead]

Let me check my pouch.

[He fishes out his pouch, pouring out some coins, buying the barbeque eel on a stick for her]

You seem to be enjoying yourself.

[killed_shiki]

[SHIKI gives Ky a very earnest smile.]

What's the point of coming to something like this if you aren't going to enjoy it?

[killed_shiki]

Assassin turns on a dime, dodging the barrage of spears with an acrobatic flip - one of them cuts a few of her hairs a bit shorter, and another cuts narrowly through one of her sleeves, but she manages to escape unharmed.

Her mind races during the split second she has to react. Illusion magic? Duplication? Worry later, act now - as she falls back to earth, her arm lashes out as she stabs one of the five through the heart.

[idranel_the_damned]

Her knife goes directly through the Lancer duplicate as if it were air as the illusion vanishes like smoke. Two more Lancers make their attack, only they're now holding knives just like Assassin's. A third Lancer thrusts her spear of their heads while while the fourth fires blasts of lightning from her hands THROUGH the other three without slowing them down.

[bejustorbedead]

...You have a point.

[He was feeling a little hungry and bought a Beignet for himself]

I haven't been to one myself in ages.

[As they walked, a bunch of kids ran between them, shoving Ky. He steps aside, half-laughing]

[killed_shiki]

[SHIKI looks at the kids as they pass, then at Ky for a calculating moment.]

I know what you're thinking.

[bejustorbedead]

...what?

[Ky stares at her, confused]

3

[armstronger]

[ ...at least she doesn't recognize the other, now headless person. It's not one of her men.

That said, someone is running around the woods decapitating people, and that's a very good reason to draw her sword and point it in the figure's direction. ]

State your name and allegiance, and drop your weapon.

[killed_shiki]

You're wondering how someone named Assassin can be so carefree.

[Yes she just said that in public.]

[bejustorbedead]

What?! No, I haven't thought that at all!

[He had always wondered about her name but honestly it was rude to ask]

3

[dowhatyoudecide]

*Sara is just gaping. She can barely reach for any of her weapons.*

You... Why!? Who was that? Who are you?

[killed_shiki]

[She doesn't drop her weapon.]

I have no name, and I don't believe in allegiance.

[armstronger]

Then no one will miss you when you die!

[ Oh, she also has a gun - she draws the pistol, snapping off a shot before discarding it in favor of rushing forward with her sword. ]

3

[smile_thatkills]

[Someone is smiling too, and has a hand on his sword's handle]

Heh. That's quite a mess there. What might you be? A demon? Or a very nasty rogue?

[killed_shiki]

Assassin retreats, sprinting, rolling and jumping a broad circle around Lancer. Until she figures out which one is the real one, charging in again is risky enough to be out of the question...

But then again, she has a way to identify a real person among fakes.

Assassin's eyes flash blue with a red halo around the iris as she activates her first Noble Phantasm. She glances briefly over the illusory forms, her glowing eyes narrowing as she focuses in on the lines of death criscrossing across the true Lancer.

[killed_shiki]

I needed to kill. To remember what killing feels like.

And now you've seen me.

[killed_shiki]

Really? It's a reasonable reaction. I would have wondered, if I were in your position.

[killed_shiki]

[ The dark-haired woman woman effortlessly deflects the bullet with her knife, before charging ahead, blade-first. If Olivier has any sort of combat instincts, she should know that if this first strike connects, it's not going to be a flesh wound - Shiki's knife radiates absolute death. ]

[dowhatyoudecide]

*And now she's got a handgun shakily pointed at her.* That's not even a reason at all! Why... are there still people like you who exist in this world!?

[killed_shiki]

I'm somebody who enjoys killing.