Plans for Caster
TYPE-MOON Universe, Earth, Japan, Fuyuki city.
The morning after the run in with Illyasviel and Berserker, Tatsuo, Elicia, Sakura, and Rider had breakfast together before Sakura left the hotel and headed for school. And because of how much further away the hotel was from Homurahara Academy than the Matou Residence, she had to leave much earlier than usual. And Rider naturally left with her.
As for Tatsuo and Elicia, Tatsuo was getting ready to do another reconnaissance run while Elicia was working on clothing designs, thinking that she would get all the designs for the winter collection at her clothing shop, the Taylor Shop, in her world out of the way during her spare time in this world.
"Be careful out there." Elicia said without looking up from her sketch pad. "I know you have [Stealth] and that [Noble Phantasm] of yours that lets you slip through anything unimpeded, but Medea is on a totally different level when it comes to Magecraft than someone like Matou Zouken."
"I know." Tatsuo replied as he wrapped his scarf around the lower half of his face. "I don't intend on digging too deep. I just wanna see the state of the Greater Grail. I don't know what Medea is crazy enough to do with it. But I'm sure she knows its below Mount Enzou."
"Well, as long as you're careful." Elicia replied with a shrug. "I'll be paying attention to how things are going with you over there."
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Tatsuo drawled. "I'll be careful. Okay, Mom?"
Without looking up from her designs, Elicia only shook her head as Tatsuo left the suite.
"It looks like he's going through his rebellious phase." Elicia said, raising her head from her sketch book to look at the door. "*Sigh* a rebellious dragon sounds like a handful. I just hope Mar'e's rebellious phase isn't that bad."
["If he follows in yours and Fonzie's footsteps to become a wizard, then of course, it's gonna be bad."] Scylla replied from Elicia's inner world. ["Because he'll probably be a Fairy Tail wizard. And I don't need to tell you how they are."]
"*Sigh* The worst part is, I can't even deny that." Elicia said, shaking her head once again as she returned to her sketch.
Meanwhile, Tatsuo quickly descended the hotel with the use of [Maiestas Divina]. Then, once he was on the ground floor, he switched to his astral form and made his way through the city, heading in the direction of Mount Enzou.
About half an hour later, Tatsuo arrived at the base of Mount Enzou, standing in front of a long set of stone steps leading to the temple at the top.
"Damn… They mentioned this in the games and anime, but there are a crap ton of [Bounded Fields] set up around this mountain." Tatsuo muttered to himself while [Perceiving] the flow of mana around the mountain. "And for most people, the only way up is by taking the stairs. She made one hell of a choke point."
As Tatsuo mentioned, Medea, after finding her new Master after she killed Atrum, the one who summoned her, spent nearly all of her time setting up the entirety of Mount Enzou to be her workshop. And in doing so, she set up all kinds of defenses in the form of [Bounded Fields] around the mountain ranging from simple detection spells, to spells that disoriented anyone caught in their effects, to spells that will attack and/or counterattack any intruders they detect.
"*Sigh* And unfortunately, I'm not sure if [Maiestas Divina] will be able to phase through Caster's defenses like they did with the Matou Residence." Tatsuo muttered to himself as he started walking up the stairs leading to the temple. "Like Lici said, she's on a totally different level than Zouken in terms of Magecraft. Plus, she's probably powering all her [Bounded Fields] with the leylines running under the mountain."
Despite his complaints, Tatsuo climbed the stairs step by step. On top of that, he was exceedingly cautious while he did so. Because unlike in the canon, Caster was unable to summon her own Servant to act as a guard dog at the temple's gates. So, the [Bounded Fields] were probably even more dangerous and numerous than they were in the canon.
And as if to prove Tatsuo's thoughts correct, he was forced to flip backwards, moving down the stairs to avoid a detection [bounded Field] that swept across the stairs. And that was not the last time he had to evade detection on his way up, either.
Nearly halfway up the stairs, Tatsuo was forced to limbo under a [Bounded Field] to pass. Then, not even ten steps further, he was forced to basically play hopscotch to avoid stepping on certain tiles that were saturated with mana.
But it did not end there. And the further up the stairs Tatsuo went, the more densely packed were the [Bounded Fields]. Even so, Tatsuo continued up the stairs. And thanks to his ability to [Perceive] the fluctuations in mana and his sharp instincts he managed to get through the proverbial minefield without tripping any of them.
By the time Tatsuo reached the top of the steps and stood in front of the Ryuudou Temple, nearly two hours had passed. On top of that, he was completely covered in sweat from the exertion. But he eventually made it to the top undetected.
Even so, there was no joy in Tatsuo's expression. Only annoyance and bitterness. And the reason for that was…
"Fuck…" Tatsuo muttered quietly. "I'm gonna have to go through all that again on my way down. Fuck... Should I just kill her? I mean, I know that I'm not supposed to fight during the day… But… I could probably assassinate her if I really tried."
Shaking off those thoughts, Tatsuo looked around to see if there were any more [Bounded Fields] set up on the temple grounds. Luckily, there weren't nearly as many. Though, there were a few in the temple and the housing area for the monks.
"She set one up around the cave where the Greater Grail is stored, too." Tatsuo grumbled. "Just great. And I'd bet my piano that she's in there right now. Especially since I can't sense her at all right now."
Deciding that just relying on his gut instincts was a bad idea, especially when dealing with a Magus as experienced as Caster, Tatsuo decided to search the temple and its living area, one room at a time. And if he was able to find Caster in one of the rooms, he would silently get rid of her. And if he could not find her, he would expand his search, making his way to the cave where the Greater Grail was housed.
Like that, another hour passed as Tatsuo carefully searched the area.
Meanwhile, at Homurahara Academy, the students were on a break between classes. And Sakura, deciding to buy a drink from a vending machine, ran into an acquaintance who was thinking the same.
"Sakura…" A male voice said, calling out to Sakura in the hallway.
Looking back after buying her drink, Sakura saw Shirou, someone she spent a lot of time with, in the past.
"Good morning, Senpai." Sakura said while bowing her head politely. "How are you?"
"I'm fine." Shirou replied in aweary tone. "Didn't get much sleep last night, though."
Though she knew exactly why that was after the conversation with Tatsuo and Elicia last night, Sakura did not mention it. Though it pained her to think this, as Shirou was the only person who gave her a sense of security during the years she was living with the Matou Family, she knew that he was a potential enemy thanks to his status as a Master.
'I should go with Taylor-San and Assassin when they go to talk to him.' Sakura thought to herself. 'I really don't want him to become our enemy. Maybe I might be able to convince him to work with us.'
"I'm sorry to hear that, Senpai." Sakura replied. "If you're really feeling tired, maybe you should go to the nurse's office. There are beds there, you know?"
"Nah." Shirou replied while waving dismissively. "Thanks for worrying about me though."
Shirou then stepped forward, making his own way to the vending machine and putting in enough money to buy the drink he wanted. Then, after pressing the button for his choice, he spoke again while crouching to pick up his drink.
"I'm actually more concerned about you." Shirou said as he stood up, can of juice in hand. "Are you all right? I mean, your family---"
"I'm fine, Senpai." Sakura said in her usual gentle tone as she cut of the rest off Shirou's sentence. "In fact, I'm better than fine."
Hearing that, Shirou widened his eyes.
"I know you've suspected it for a while, that I was being abused." Sakura said, her tone firm but gentle. "And although I don't' want to go into detail, your thoughts were correct."
In response to Sakura's admission, Shirou clenched his fists, his strength enough to make the metal of the full, unopened can of juice strain in his grip.
"But with them gone, I'm free from that life." Sakura continued, a genuine smile creeping onto her face. "I've also been reunited with my real family again."
At first, Shirou showed confusion when he heard that. However, when he remembered the rumors floating around school about Sakura and Rin having lunch together nearly daily for the last couple of weeks, he put two and two together.
"Are you talking about… Tohsaka-San?" Shirou asked, his tone uncertain.
"Yes." Sakura replied with a nod. "But please excuse me for not wanting to go into detail. Those memories are quite personal for the both of us."
"Oh… I understand." Shirou replied, nodding hesitantly. "But… Why didn't you tell me how you were being treated by the Matous? I could have helped."
Though Shirou's concern made her feel the familiar warmth he had given her over the years, Sakura gently shook her head.
"I appreciate the thought, Senpai." Sakura said gently. "But there was nothing you could have done. You know how powerful the Matou Family was in Fuyuki. Even if you had brought the issue to the police, nothing would have happened. I might have even brought you trouble. And that was the last thing that I wanted to do."
Shirou knew that what Sakura said was correct. So, the only thing he could do was clench his fists and grit his teeth at such a powerless feeling that washed over him.
Seeing Shirou's reaction, Sakura felt a little bad for him. So, she decided to give him some advice while revealing a little more about herself. She was never asked to keep her status as a Master a secret, anyway.
"Anyway, Senpai." Sakura said, bowing politely once again. "The next class will begin shortly. So, I'll return to class. But you really should find a way to bring your Servant to school. I don't think you, Onee-Sama, and I are the only Masters here. And I wouldn't want you to get hurt."
With that, Sakura turned to walk away. Shirou, on the other hand, froze in shock.
"Sakura… You're a…" Shirou, unable to find his voice for a while, long enough for Sakura to leave his line of sight, murmured in disbelief. He then lowered his head to contemplate the rest of Sakura's words. "Is there another Master here at school? Does Tohsaka-San know?"
With too many thoughts going through his head, Shirou absent-mindedly returned to class. And for the rest of the morning, until lunch time, he was lost in his thoughts. And this worried everyone who knew him at school, most of all Issei.
At the same time, back at the Ryuudou Temple, Tatsuo had just finished searching the grounds for Caster. Unfortunately, his search came up with nothing. Though, there was a room in the living area that clearly belonged to a woman, a strange sight in a Buddhist temple.
"*Sigh* She really must be doing something in that cavern." Tatsuo groaned as he looked around the room he suspected to be Caster's without leaving any physical or magical traces of his presence. "And I'm certain that she's got the biggest, baddest [Bounded Fields] set up around it. So, I can't just rush in there like I want to, to slit her throat… Then again, do I even have to go through all that trouble?"
While thinking about how to deal with the issue of Caster, Tatsuo silently left Ryuudou Temple and made his way down Mount Enzou, once again having to avoid all the [Bounded Fields] that were set up along the way.
{"Hey, Lici."} Tatsuo said over the telepathic link once he made it to the base of the mountain.
{"What's up?"} Elicia replied quickly.
{"Does Medea have the Independent Action skill?"} Tatsuo asked, a hint of struggle in his tone.
{"Now that you mention it, I'm not sure."} Elicia replied. {"But she did kill her summoner and have enough time to find a new Master, so… Maybe?"}
{"Well, that's not good."} Tatsuo muttered. {"Getting rid of her by targeting her Master is seeming less likely when you put it that way."}
{"Well, there's always a chance that you could get close to her without her knowing."} Elicia said, her toen playful.
{"What are you talking about?"} Tatsuo asked curiously.
{"Well, I remember something about her having Jason's Golden Fleece."} Elicia explained with a giggle. {"And from what I remember, if she throws it on the ground, she could summon a dragon. So, there's a chance that you could just show up next to her one day."}
Hearing the term, "Golden Fleece," Tatsuo's eyes started to shine. In fact, his instincts as a dragon almost made him turn around on the spot, rush back up the stairs, and find Medea so he could take it from her. But he eventually squashed that thought.
Lucky for Tatsuo, however, he had not laid his eyes on the Fleece. Otherwise, there was a chance that he would not have been able to hold back from trying to take it for himself.
{"Anyway, she's definitely there."} Tatsuo said, shaking the thoughts of stealing the Golden Fleece from Caster... For now. {"But I doubt she's coming out on her own. We need to do something about her and her Master, though."}
{"Yeah, let's just set up a trap for him on his way from school."} Elicia said nonchalantly. {"If we put enough pressure on him, he might use one of his [Command spells] to summon her to his side. Then, we can deal with them both."}
{"Sounds good to me."} Tatsuo replied as he started making his way back to the Grand Hyatt Hotel. {"We'll just have to be careful. I'm sure our fight with those two will draw some attention."}
{"I'm sure we'll come up with something."} Elicia replied. {"We've got a few hours before school lets out, anyway. And as a teacher, Kazuki will probably leave even later."}
{"Sure, then, I'm heading back."} Tatsuo said, his tone making it clear that he agreed with Elicia's plan. {"I'll be back soon."}
And with that, Tatsuo shifted to his astral form and sped back to the hotel to start planning the attack.