Remaining Days: 5
Walking down the hallway after my class, a small hand suddenly grabs my wrist and soon after another one holds my other hand. "Come, Big Sis, play with us," says a childishly innocent voice, coming from the white-haired girl on my right, while the girl on my left looks like an exact copy of her, except that their clothes are different in colour.
The girl on my right is wearing a black dress and hat, while the seemingly shyer one on my left wears the same dress, albeit in a light blue with thin, white stripes. "Uhm, I'm sorry, but I don't have the time…" I am not sure if this is the correct reason as to why I would not play with those strange girls. While they do not seem any dangerous in particular, I cannot help but feel wary around them.
"Aww, that's too bad. Alice looked forward to play with you," the girl in black pouts, disappointed of my rejection. "… Please, Big Sis," mumbles the girl in blue on my left. It is hard for me to refuse anymore, seeing those puppy eyes of hers. But wait… Alice?
I turn to face the girl on my left, she cannot be older than 10, I would assume. "Is your name Alice?" I ask, though it could not be more obvious. She nods, while her 'twin' voices a response. "Yep! We're Alice, your opponents for this round. Let's have lots of fun!"
And with that, she lets go of my wrist, takes Alice and they run off. Before taking the corner, they stop, turn around and Alice's twin speaks up again. "Let's play Hide and Seek! We hide, you have to find us. Better not think about fleeing into the Arena!" And off they go, before I even get the chance to repeat that I cannot play with them.
Somehow, the last part sounds like a warning, though. Better not think about fleeing into the Arena, she said. Maybe they set up a trap, in case I refuse to play along? No, not maybe. They definitely did. I have no clue as to what I may be facing here, so for now, I better follow their plan. Especially if it just means playing with them.
I take a step, as realisation suddenly hits me—this was Alice. The one who is my opponent for this Round. The one who seems to have a twin, though I never heard or thought two Masters could share a Servant. The one who already killed twice, just like me. Suddenly I feel sick. They cannot be much older than Shinji really was, and now I have to repeat trying to kill a child. No, not a child. This time it is two of them, making it twice as bad.
However, unlike Shinji, they are not innocent. No matter how they did it, they survived two rounds; meaning, they already killed two Masters and two Servants. I doubt anyone but me could get this far by sheer luck, even me pulling this off seems so unlikely I still have trouble believing this is all real and not just a kind of dream. Lost in thought, I fail to see where I am going until I bump against someone.
"…'s sake," I hear an irritated mumbling and when I come to, I see Rin sitting on the floor. Did I seriously run into her again? "S-sorry, Rin," I say, as I reach out my hand to her to help her up. "You again? Ritsuka, you can be such an airhead," she remarks as she accepts my aid to get back on her feet. Rin pats her skirt to get off any dirt that may still be lingering on the fabric, though I suppose this is more a habit or reflex from real life. I have never seen any clothes getting dirty in the Moon Cell, unless they got bloody in a battle.
"I see you made it to another week? I'm glad," she says, her cheeks taking a faintly pink colour. I chuckle a bit—it is kind of funny, the possible enemy of another week being genuinely happy that I am still around. "Yes, you made it, too. Though that isn't as surprising," I say. Of course, I never saw Rin in any form of combat. But from rumours and her help with Saber's condition last Round I can tell she is not an enemy you should underestimate.
After all, about as much people see her as a possible winner as do so for Leo. And thinking about it, them having a duel for the victory of this deathmatch tournament is an idea that does not seem far off at all. It seems actually quite likely. Should it come to this, I wish Rin will come out victorious.
"How's this week's opponent? Did you meet them yet?" Them is really the right pronoun, now is it. "So to say," I respond. I tell her about my meeting Alice and her twin earlier, and their warning. "Alice of all people? That's… tough. Are you even over Shinji's death yet?" Rin is really blunt about such a matter, but, then again, this attitude is probably much more normal here than me still moping.
"More or less," I continue giving answers that barely reveal anything, though I add to it, "I still have nightmares. And I'm not sure I can pull this battle off, to be honest. Saber will yell at me for hesitating, though." At this, Rin sighs. "Sounds like her. But I can identify with that. Really, no one at this point is any innocent anymore. Everyone's a murderer, don't hesitate to take their life, because they surely won't."
I nod. Of course, I know Rin is right, but that does not make killing any easier for me. "What do you know about Alice and her Servant?" It may be a useless question, considering Rin cannot probably have faced her. Otherwise only one of them would be around anymore. But maybe she caught onto some information that I have not heard of.
"Not much, honestly. I just know they seem kind of similar to you? You know, like something's wrong about them. But I can't really tell what," Rin says, seemingly in thought. Similar to me? "Anomalies, you mean?" She seems glad that, for once, I caught on. "Yeah, that's my guess." If Alice is an anomaly like me, maybe that is why they looked so forward to "play with me". Maybe she knows and wants to spend time with someone who understands.
"I gotta go now, though. Get some training in and all. Good luck," says Rin as she turns away and waves, disappearing from my sight pretty soon. "You'll need it," I hear Lancer's voice, though he is still in spirit form. "Shut up," Rin scolds him.
I spend all day looking for Alice and her twin, but I cannot seem to find them. The sun sets and I know I should go to my room. I have not seen Saber all day, she is probably worried about me. Though, not like she would admit it. She will only seem mad.
My guess turns out to be very accurate as soon as I get into our room. "Where the hell have you been?!" Saber practically shouts at me. I have barely ever seen her this enraged, not counting her general expression in battles. "Sorry. I really am. I met Alice and—"
"You met Alice ?! And you didn't call me," Saber interrupts me. Apparently, I just poured some oil into the fire that is slowly turning into an inferno. Not much more to lose now. "How could I? She and her twin—" Yet again, I am interrupted. "I don't care about her twin ! And to call me in such situations, just use one of your Command Seals. That's what they're there for!"
In her rage, she does not seem to notice that a Master being with their twin is really strange. I sit down on the bed next to her and wrap my arms around her softly. "I'll keep that in mind. And I am really sorry… But I'm unharmed and fine. Okay?" This seems to ease her anger enough. "But this day's wasted."
I cannot do much else than agree. We did not get to train or even spend time. "Sorry… again. Won't happen another time." I slip into my pajama and pull her down as well. "Let's sleep? Please? I'm tired," I say, and it is true. This whole day tired me out so much, I think I can now understand how Saber feels after a day of training. "Fine," Saber says and wraps her arms around me tightly.
"Just so you won't escape anymore without me noticing," she explains. She's that worried, huh. "I won't," I promise. And I really mean it.
From now on, I rather face her grumpy morning self than to worry her like this another time.