Fool's World: The High Priestess (ch. 5) (Patreon)

After lunch, we parted ways with Kirei with our mouths burning and a promise to meet again while we were in town. I think I intended to keep that promise. Kirei was an interesting guy. He made me think. He was someone that was unafraid to share what he thought and he challenged me to form my own opinions.

I still left the meeting with the thought that a priest was the very last thing he should be, but that didn't necessarily make him a bad person.

After lunch, we hunted down an inn to spend the rest of the week in. The clock was ticking down until the Grail War began -- we had a week or so left, but I wasn't feeling too worried yet. The room we ended up booking was a classic Japanese-style room, with futons, low tables, and tatami mats along with hardwood floors. Nothing fancy or all that big, and it wouldn't break the bank so long as we didn't touch the amenities offered.

"My tongue hurts," Nobara moaned through a mouth full of milk. "That guy is evil. Like, actually evil." She added as I stepped out of the bathroom. After hooking us up with somewhere to stay for the night I had taken the chance to have a quick shower. I had a towel around my waist, and was working on drying my hair.

"He offered us an out. It's our fault for not taking it," I remarked, digging through my bag as I dropped the hand towel onto my shoulders. The original Mikoto Majima had a clear sense of style, because all of his clothes were very similar -- dark pants with a white top in various styles and cuts. And the jacket that I wore was the only one I had. I glanced at Nobara, who sharply looked away as she crossed her arms over her chest, heavily swallowing down the mouthful of milk she had been swishing around.

"It was a trick. Who expects anyone to order something that spicy? He laid a trap for us," Nobara argued, earning a chuckle from me.

"Still our fault for falling into it," I returned, grabbing my clothes before heading back to the bathroom. It was pretty nice. The bathtub was more of a hot tub in terms of size, and the water remained hot even when you filled it up to the top. Hanging up the towels I had used to dry, I got dressed for the day.

I heard Nobara sigh, "Well, at least we found out that you like spicy food." She said, and I paused as I put on the long sleeve shirt. Then I shrugged to myself.

"I was more hungry than anything, but yeah, I think I do. It’s not so bad once you get past the pain. Just a few notches down from whatever that was." I agreed, taking a quick look at myself in the mirror. Running my hands through my red hair, I smoothed it back, and it more or less took its normal style. Stepping out of the bathroom once again, I saw Nobara leaning back in one of the chairs by the window.

She looked at me and there was a small frown tugging at her lips. "So, are we just going to sit around and wait? For how long?" Nobara questioned, sounding like she wanted to get out there and start now. I understood the feeling, but the Grail War hadn't started yet. There wasn't much we could do but wait.

"Until Touko contacts us, it might be best to just sit tight. If we go searching for the other Masters, then we'll have to deal with their Servants." Not to mention that the only three Masters that we did know about were the Einzbern, the Tohsaka, and the Matou. All of which were the founding families of the Grail War. all were old as time itself, and because of it, they were practically guaranteed to have the most powerful Servants. The best stuff.

The others were unknown, which made them just as dangerous. Maybe more.

"We wouldn't have to if she showed you how to summon one," Nobara muttered bitterly. "She's the worst kind of teacher! She's the kind that just brushes off questions, and when you figure out the answer for yourself, she takes the credit!" She sounded thoroughly annoyed as she stopped leaning in her chair, landing on all four chair legs with a thump. "I say we take initiative! Scope out the competition!"

I walked over and leaned against the window -- we were on the third story. "If we do that, then what are we willing to do?" I asked her, still looking through the window, but I felt her gaze turn towards me. "The Grail War starts in a week, but the Servants can change hands before then. If we find a Master, what are we willing to do to take the Servant away from them?"

Looking at Nobara, I saw her frowning in thought. “Get the drop on them. Servants are legendary heroes, so I’m imaging they could have reservations with working with the kind of people that can murder kids without remorse. We could reason with them and get them to turn against their Master.”

"Not if the Master uses a Command Seal," I pointed out. Three absolute orders that a Servant had to obey without argument, no matter how they felt about it. They could also be used to boost a Servant's strength. "And we would have to convince them that we aren't cut from the same cloth, when magus are known for being sociopathic liars that'll say whatever it takes to get what they want."

Nobara scowled, "Then what do you think we should do?" She questioned, annoyed that  I had poked a hole in her plan.

I looked out the window again, "We won't be able to convince them to hand over their Servant. And we won't be able to leverage their lives, because if they have a Servant, then they can kill us pretty easily," I muttered, knowing where I was going with this, but working my way up to it for Nobara's benefit. "For the same reason, we won't be able to get them to freely give up their Command Seals."

Nobara's lips parted ever so slightly, but she had nothing to say as she saw exactly where I was going with this.

"The best thing to do if we want to take someone else's Servant is kill the Master and steal their Command Seals. The Servants need a Master to participate in the Grail War, so they'd be stuck with us. We could try convincing them that we aren't like other Masters, but given we would have just murdered someone to take their place, I don't think that would exactly be the truth." It was a simple and solid plan. The question wasn't if it would work, just how we did it.

I had a gun, which I imagined would even the playing fields a bit.

There was a beat of silence. "I’m not really a fan of the idea, but you gotta do what you gotta do. There’s also an idea I’ve had for a bit now,” she said, catching my attention as she patted her hammer. “My Jujutsu sorcery is meant for curses, but it can work on people just as easily. With my Resonance, if I have something belonging to the person, and one of my straw dolls, I can injure them by hammering my nails in.”

I pursed my lip, “How much damage would that do?” I questioned, earning a shrug in response.

“It attacks the spirit. So, against curses, it’s highly effective and kills them pretty easily. Against humans, it's like normal voodoo -- they’ll feel pain where I hammer in a nail, but unless I deliberately target a vital area, chronic pain will be the worst of it. For a Heroic Spirit…?”

There it clicked, making me completely reconsider our strategy. “You want to target the catalysts used to summon the Servants?” I questioned, earning a nod from Nobara.

“It’s safer than going after the Masters or Servants. After they’re summoned, I’m betting most Masters and Servants wouldn’t think much of their catalyst. It’s a pretty convenient weakness, but there's still the downside that we need to find where the Masters are, and where they keep the catalyst. Even then we don’t know how my Resonance would work against them.” Nobara ran through the idea as we both tried to think of a way to make it work. "Majima, could you kill a person?"

It was a rather blunt question I didn't really have an answer to. All I could do is try to think it through and imagine what I could do. "It's a war game, and we aren't in a position to hold back just to spare other people that will be trying to kill us. If we had a Servant or two, then that could change things, but right now… we have to aim for the throat."

I wasn't sure how much of this was me and how much of this was coming from who I was before. Was this a holdover from my days as wanna be sociopath that saw everyone else as lesser? Or was this who I really was, like Kirei said? Was ruthlessness ingrained in my base personality?

I didn't really know. What I did know was that mercy wasn't a luxury that we couldn't afford. Not yet, at least.

"If it makes it any easier, I'll do it if it has to be done," I offered, glancing at Nobara, to earn a small smile and a gaze that was almost pitying.

"It's sweet that you want to protect me from that, but you don't need to. I've never killed a human before, but I've seen plenty of dead bodies. When curses kill… they don't give humans the dignity of a clean death." She said, reaching out and pinching my cheek. "I'm more worried about you. You're barely a week old. Actually, you're basically an infant. I should be protecting your innocence."

Innocence, huh? "I appreciate the thought, but you don't need to worry about that. We'll do whatever we have to do. If someone has to die… I'd rather it be someone else than us." I voiced my opinion, pulling my cheek free as I thoughtfully stared through the window.

I blinked when I saw a familiar face enter the parking lot below -- blood red hair and eyes, wearing a trench coat that was left undone. In one hand, she carried a silver-colored briefcase. "Looks like Touko came through," I said, my gaze shifting to the person behind her. It was a reedy-looking man who looked around the parking lot suspiciously. Dark hair, dark eyes, and wearing what amounted to summer clothing despite the cold.

Touko looked up, straight at us. I offered a wave and Touko pointed down at her feet, telling me to come down to her. I nodded and closed the blinds, sparing a glance at Nobara. "Are you good?" I asked her, knowing that we both agreed that we were willing to kill.

"I'm good," Nobara reassured, but I didn't fully buy it. She seemed a little sad. But now wasn't the time to press her on it. I headed over and grabbed the gun and the money that we had left in preparation. Didn't seem wise to leave them in the room when we weren't around. Nobara took in a deep breath and let it out slowly before we left the room and headed downstairs.

Touko waited for us to approach before she spoke, "What happened in Mifune City?" She asked, and I shrugged.

"Yakuza business. Someone wanted me dead, so we left the city," I answered, and that was more or less what I knew. The Nishikiyama family was the one that I had targeted under the orders of Shimano, so I guess he wanted me dead over that. Seemed reasonable enough of an assumption. "This the guy?"

Said guy spoke in a language I didn't understand. It sounded rough and gutteral, though. I blinked before I looked at Touko. "This is Ivar Kustov, who possesses the Mystic Eyes of Recognition. He's agreed to help you at a cost that I have most graciously covered for you."

"When you say it like that, it doesn't sound very gracious. Actually, it sounds like you want something in return," I pointed out, earning a slight smile from Touko. "I already gave you your payment. Not my fault you decided to set it on fire."

"I would point out that paying a Magus up front is the definition of stupidity, but it's worked out for you in this case, so it defeats the point," Touko sighed. "The point being is that he can show you the events of the Fourth Grail War. You could even find out what happened to your parents," Touko remarked.

I shrugged my shoulders, "Eh, I'm good," I dismissed the idea. Touko pinned me with a look like she could see right through me. Then her lips curled into the faintest of smiles when she saw I really couldn't care less about who my parents were. I knew everything I needed to know about them to know they weren't worth the time or the effort.

"Let's go, then," Nobara spoke up. "To where the last Grail War ended."

…

The city park was dead. I noticed it before, but the moment I stepped foot on the barren dirt, brown wilted grass crushed under my foot. The park wasn't dying, it was dead. I could feel the death in the air as an unnatural chill raced down my spine. I kicked up the brittle grass to see that it was sod. Underneath it was blackened dirt.

"This place feels vile," Nobara muttered as we entered the park.

"This is where the Fourth Grail War ended," Touko stated, sounding unaffected by the sinister chill in the air. The park rubbed me the wrong way. It felt like… danger. In the same way that a drawn knife was dangerous -- your eyes were drawn to it, and your instincts were on a hair-trigger to either fight or flee. Except in this case that trigger was never pulled, leaving you with a sense of anticipation that something would happen if you let your guard down.

Ivar walked forward, looking around uneasily before he came to a stop. Taking a seat, he reached into a briefcase to take out a pad of drawing paper and a pencil. Then, without a word, he began to draw. I took a peek at his eyes, curious what Mystic Eyes would look like in action. I saw that the dark brown of his eyes had been replaced with a blue glow filled with stands of shifting gold. His hand moved in a blur, a picture taking shape as he drew what he saw.

"While he's doing that, you two need to decide something," Touko spoke, getting our attention. "To summon a Servant, you need a catalyst. Something that was connected to the legendary figure. The stronger the connection the more likely you'll summon who you want to." She held up a hand, "What you want in a Servant is two things -- fame and deed."

"The more famous they are, the more powerful the servant. The greater their deeds, the more powerful the noble phantasm they will have. If you have to choose between the two, then choose the former. A trump card can turn the tides of battle, but it's meaningless if you're too slow to play it."

I spared a glance at Ivar, "I'm guessing that these catalysts aren't so easy to get." I remarked. To that, Touko shook her head.

"No. Families like the Einzbern have spent the past four hundred years searching for various catalysts and even with the resources they expend doing so, they have yet to win a Grail War," Touko explained, and that was telling. I didn't know any famous legends, but I did peruse some to see what I could be going up against. The fact that the people in them were real figures was crazy. The fact that the three main families still haven't won a Grail War despite summoning the best of them was crazier.

Nobara stepped forward, "Me and Majima discussed trying to steal a Servant. What are the odds you would give of that actually working?"

Touko offered a single shoulder shrug. "That's one way to do it. Or you could try stealing a Master's catalyst. It's possible to summon another version of a hero in a different stage of their life," Touko took out a pack of cigarettes and lit one, "But those are a hit and a miss. Stealing a Servant means you have to give up the right to choose which one you want and make do. Not to mention, you're a trash magus. Your magic circuits can turn a great Servant into a mediocre one, so you can't afford anything less than great." She said, directing the last bit at me.

I let out a sigh, "You have a point. You also clearly have a suggestion."

Touko smiled thinly, "Kiritsugu had issue with the Einzbern after the Grail War. No one could give me details why exactly because the reasons were muddled on account that most people thought he was dead -- Either it was because Kiritsugu failed to activate the True Magic of the Grail after winning, or because he stole something from them."

"You think he stole a catalyst?" Nobara questioned as I frowned. I had done what Touko said previously and investigated the last winner of the War -- the Magus Killer was a notorious figure rather than a famous one. There wasn't a whole lot exactly known about him beyond he traveled to the worst battlefields on the planet, and instead of using magecraft, he used guns.

"If he did, then it would be because the catalyst had some useful property. What I got from the Magus Killer is that he didn't respect traditional magecraft," I offered before I spared another glance at Ivar. "I suppose we'll see how true that is soon enough," I noted as Ivar set down his pencil.

He said something in what I'm guessing was Russian before he handed me the stack of papers. The drawings were actually really good, especially with how fast they were done. The first one I saw, however, made a stomach clench. Nobara saw my expression tighten, "What?" She asked before I showed her the picture.

There were four figures in it. A Servant in golden armor. A feminine-looking warrior wielding a sword of air. Kiritsugu, the Magus Killer. Then, lastly, a young-looking priest.

"Kotomine?" Nobara questioned, looking floored by the picture. "What's he doing there? He was a part of the Grail War?" She questioned, looking to Touko for answers. However, she received a shrug in response.

"What I know about Kotomine Kirei is that he's a member of the Church. His father was the mediator in the last Grail War but was killed. This one, he seems to be taking his father's place." That was… huh. Was that actually dangerous, or…?

"We ate dinner with him," I remarked, looking at the picture. "I don't think he knew I was a magus, though," I said, but I was less than certain about that. What were the odds that someone would come to town just as the Grail War was starting up? I did have the excuse of the anniversary, but…

"Does it really matter? Kotomine is supposed to be neutral," Nobara pointed out.

"Keyword is supposed to be. I'm betting that his father was less than impartial when Kirei was a part of the Grail War," I pointed out. "But that's not necessarily a bad thing. He seemed to like us so he could bend the rules in our favor." Nobara offered an absentminded nod in agreement while Touko remained tellingly silent. I flipped the page, and…

"Kiritsugu destroyed the Holy Grail?" I muttered, and even Touko seemed surprised by that. The picture showed the four in an opera house of sorts, the feminine warrior holding a sword in a slashing motion, light racing from its blade toward the Holy Grail, while Kiritsugu held up a hand that was free of Command Seals. Inspecting the previous picture, he had had two.

I worked the pieces together, clenching my jaw. The second picture, it was clear some time had passed. There were marks of battle and Kirei was gone, while Kiritsugu seemed wounded. And it couldn't be denied that his Servant was destroying what was undeniably the Holy Grail. Against his servant's will from the look of it -- there was raw anguish in the warrior's expression.

I flipped to the third and final page… "The destruction of the Holy Grail caused the fire ten years ago… meaning… this was what was in the cup," I muttered, looking at the toxic sludge that poured out, setting everything that it touched alight.

Touko blew out a breath of smoke, "That, I didn't expect." She didn't sound shocked, but the admission went contrary to her tone. She eyed the dead park around us, "This place is soaked in malice and curses. Did Kiritsugu wish for this?"

"Then he wouldn't need to destroy the grail," I pointed out. "That sludge was already inside it."

"What does that mean for us, though?" Nobara questioned, and that was a good question. The issue was that I really didn't know. My lack of an answer was answer enough for Nobara and there was a glimmer of fear that appeared in her eyes. "If the Grail has that in it, then can it still bring me home?"

I took in a deep breath, preparing to answer, but Touko beat me to the punch. "Too soon to tell. We don't have enough information to say one way or the other. What we do know is that this is an abnormality and the destruction of the Grail caused the fire. Everything else is pure conjecture." There was a cold edge to her voice, the kind I only heard when she was giving a lecture. But, beneath it, I heard a trace of excitement.

This entire situation caught her attention, and I wasn't so sure that was a good thing.

"If the Grail is fucked, who would know?" I asked Touko, making her gaze shift behind me. And above. In the direction of the Church.

"As Overseer to the Grail, Kirei Kotomine would know," Touko said, making a damning accusation. Because he had been there when the Grail was destroyed. He would have seen first hand what spilled out. If he did nothing after that, when he was in a position to do so, that meant that he allowed whatever that muck was to taint the Grail.

Nobara frowned deeply, "He would, but he might have done something about it already. Would the Church announce that something was wrong with the Holy Grail? You're the one that says that Magus are always secretive," she pointed out, jabbing a finger in Touko's direction. To that, Touko nodded, seemingly conceding the point. "I say we just ask him."

"It would tip our hand," I pointed out. I looked down at the drawings before I pointed at Kiritsugu. "Touko, ask him what happened to Kiritsugu.  What happened next?"

Touko took in a drag, "Calling me by my first name? How presumptuous," she noted, and I guess it was bad manners calling everyone their first name. But she didn't seem to mind too much because she looked over at Ivar before speaking in Russian. A second later, he nodded, taking back the notepad and continued drawing.

I spared a look at Nobara to see that she was anxious. She was doing her best to swallow it down, but anxiety radiated off of her. Her lifeline to get home might be a false hope and that scared her. It would scare anyone. Reaching out, I placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "We'll take care of it," I said, and it didn't matter what the it might be. "One way or the other, you'll get home."

It should have been an empty reassurance that really didn't do much. Like offering someone your condolences over a lost family member -- words that are said because there was nothing else to say. But Nobara took in a deep breath and let it out, visibly calming down ever so slightly.

She offered a thin, slightly forced, smile as a thank you. The moment we were sharing was broken when Ivar stood up after a moment and he gestured for us to follow him. I took the lead, keenly aware that Ivar was a magus. And he would likely understand the implications of what he saw and witnessed with his Mystic Eyes better than I would.

We walked in silence as I mulled over what I had learned, following Ivar. Kirei was the overseer of the Grail War and he had participated in the last one. If the Grail was busted, then he would know. If it was still busted, then it meant he purposely did nothing about it. That seemed… a bit much.

I didn't really know Kirei that well. We shared a single meal together. I didn't exactly trust him, but at the same time, it seemed like a pretty big leap to assume that he intentionally sabotaged the Grail. But, at the same time, I didn't know him that well. Who knew how deep that rabbit hole went?

In a situation like this, it did seem prudent to assume the worst-case scenario, but my attempts to do so were a bit half hearted. Nobara was right. We should confront Kirei about the Grail. We just needed to secure some assurances first.

Ivar led us down back alleys, nearly bumping into a few walls when we came across buildings that hadn't been there ten years ago. It was a winding path. It didn't overlap, but it felt directionless. There were times he would stop for a minute, then move on in a different direction. I wondered what he was seeing -- the fire would offer a clear obstacle, but it wouldn't explain the constant starting and stopping.

He took us on a trip, but half an hour later, Ivar came to a stop before he began drawing again. His hands moved in a blur, and there was too much pressure on the pencil, causing him to snap the tip twice. He drew differently than he had before -- more urgently. Or, rather, there was… passion in the drawing.

That passion translated to the drawing itself. The others had been clinical in nature. The art served a purpose and accomplished a goal of conveying information. The piece he drew now conveyed emotion. Kiritsugu hunched over a young boy that was half-buried in rubble, reaching into his own chest and presenting something made out of pure light in his hand. Not just in the sense that it was made out of light, but that it was something holy, something sacred. The light took the vague shape of a blade, but was too blunt and there was no sign of a hilt of any kind. A scabbard?

The light was being pressed into the boy, passed on from Kiritsugu to him. All the while I inspected the picture, Ivar continued on another. I held it up to Nobara for inspection, "The light from the scabbard and Kiritsugu's Servant are similar, but that could be an artistic choice," I pointed out as Nobara took the piece. The shadows were dark and flames flickered in the background, the two surrounded by absolute destruction.

"Is it the catalyst?" Nobara questioned, earning a shrug from me.

"Either way, it's magical in nature. It's worth checking out, at least," I responded as Ivar finished the last piece. This one, however, I hesitated to take. It was a picture of Kiritsugu weeping over the boy, holding one of his small hands as an expression that could only be described as… as a man finding salvation when he thought all the good in the world had been lost writ across his face.

However, I didn't pay much attention to Kiritsugu. My eyes were focused on the young child whose face was in the picture. I looked to it, then Ivar, who I saw was looking up at me with an unreadable expression. "What color is his hair and eyes?" I asked Ivar, and Touko translated the question. There was a beat of silence before he spoke. Then another small beat as he tacked something onto his original sentence.

Turning to Touko, I saw her light up another cigarette. "Red hair and gold-brown eyes. Like yours," Touko said, and there was a glimmer in her eyes. Nobara whipped her head around to me, her jaw-dropping as the pieces clicked into place.

"Is that your younger brother?" Nobara questioned, sounding shocked, but also happy for me.

My lips pressed into a thin line as I took the picture from Ivar. Despite myself, I reached into my back pocket and pulled out a folded photo from my wallet. The resemblance was uncanny. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that they were the same person.

"Looks like I'll get that family reunion after all."