Chapter 13 Tom: Spread your hands and start swinging!
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"It seems the first shot of the Holy Grail War has already been fired, Sensei," Kirei reported to Tokiomi through special means, standing in a dimly lit corner. His tone was calm, but the implication behind his words carried weight. "It was that rather reckless Master and Servant."
"The Rider who so boldly declared war on the entire city of Fuyuki?" Tokiomi reclined in the sofa of his mansion's study, holding his wineglass with an air of refinement. "It seems his Master has immense confidence in their Servant's strength, to act so impulsively in initiating the first battle of the war."
"Indeed," Kirei affirmed. "This Master appears to be someone who simply entered the Holy Grail War without much thought or preparation. There seems to be little to be concerned about, aside from gathering the necessary intelligence to secure an advantage."
Tokiomi, always meticulous in his planning, continued, "What of the Servant who answered this so-called challenge? What class do they belong to?"
Kirei hesitated momentarily before responding, "It remains unclear for now. However, according to Assassin, the opposing Servant was dressed almost identically to Rider. It is possible that the two share a common origin in legend. They appeared to exchange words before the battle, but..."
"But?" Tokiomi prompted, his interest piqued.
"...Assassin reported that she could not hear the content of their conversation," Kirei admitted reluctantly.
Tokiomi's frown deepened. As an observer tasked with clandestinely gathering information, failing to eavesdrop on a critical moment was an unacceptable lapse. "Could it be a magical effect? Or perhaps the influence of a Noble Phantasm?"
Kirei's explanation was both unexpected and, frankly, ridiculous. "No, Sensei. Assassin claimed that her inability to hear was simply because her hearing isn't very sharp. She said the conversation was distant, akin to the buzz of a mosquito."
"Why not let Assassin move closer, then?"
"That is... difficult," Kirei replied, clearing his throat awkwardly. "You see, Assassin's Presence Concealment skill is mediocre—it can only be maintained while crouching and remaining completely still. Furthermore, Assassin suffers from a unique debuff: 'Sickly Weak.' This causes her to vomit blood intermittently, which disrupts her stealth. Although her life-support device restricts the symptoms, the device itself generates noise. If she moves closer, she will undoubtedly be discovered."
For a long moment, silence reigned between the two men.
"...Are you sure you summoned Assassin?" Tokiomi finally asked, his voice tinged with disbelief. It was as though a series of metaphorical question marks had materialized above his head.
Standing beside him, Saber glanced over with an equally perplexed expression. Tokiomi quickly covered his mouth with one hand and pretended to cough, maintaining his air of sophistication. No, as the head of the Tohsaka family, I must remain poised and elegant.
Internally, however, Tokiomi could not suppress his irritation. An Assassin unable to maintain stealth? This is beyond absurd. This isn't just a flawed Assassin—it feels like a counterfeit one!
When he first learned that Kirei's summoned Servant was not one of the Hassans but rather a native Japanese Heroic Spirit, Tokiomi had been cautiously optimistic. After all, Servants tied to their homeland gain significant advantages on their native soil.
Moreover, the fact that their Assassin was not a Hassan could potentially blindside the other Masters in the war. It was a rare opportunity to gain a strategic edge.
But now, with each new revelation, Tokiomi found himself questioning whether something had gone fundamentally wrong from the start. Why did everything seem so off-kilter this time?
Even his own summoning had been riddled with anomalies. Despite using an authentic relic belonging to Gilgamesh, he had inexplicably summoned King Arthur instead.
The absurdity of it all was almost too much to bear.
Although King Arthur should be very strong, Tokiomi couldn't help but feel disappointed. He had painstakingly gathered the necessary relic to summon Gilgamesh, convinced that doing so would secure his victory in the Holy Grail War. Yet, instead of the King of Heroes, he had summoned King Arthur.
"It should be a real Assassin… Wait, she said she's found new targets entering the battlefield at a faster speed," Kirei said suddenly, breaking Tokiomi's train of thought.
Hearing this, Tokiomi's irritation was momentarily replaced by curiosity. "Oh? Is it a Lancer? Or a Berserker?"
Listening to his Servant's account, Kirei hesitated briefly before responding, "It's… a large, blue-gray cat running wildly with a man in its arms."
"...Ha?"
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At this time, in front of Homurahara Academy, Hephaestion and Alexander were locked in a tense standoff.
On one side stood Hephaestion, caught in a difficult position. She had no desire to battle her former monarch, yet her Master's commands left her with little choice. On the other stood Alexander, bursting with excitement, convinced that there was no avoiding a proper fight.
Unable to delay any longer, Alexander initiated the attack. Hephaestion had no choice but to raise her sword to parry. Their weapons were moments away from clashing when a strange jetting sound broke through the tense silence, drawing their attention to the source.
"Slow down! Slow down! It's too fast!!!"
The voice, high-pitched and panicked, carried over the battlefield.
Charging up the incline was a large, blue-gray cat—Tom—racing forward at a ridiculous speed while holding a man in its arms. The man, Elric Bradley, clung to Tom for dear life, his face frozen in a mix of fear and disbelief as he shouted.
Tom, for his part, looked back at Elric with a confident grin, as if to reassure him, Relax, I've got this.
However, Tom's cocky demeanor quickly faltered. Despite his best efforts, he was unable to slow down. Each attempt to brake only seemed to accelerate his momentum.
Frustrated, Tom planted a paw on the road, trying to use it as a makeshift brake. Sparks flew as his paw scraped against the ground, wearing down to nothing before regenerating instantly. Yet even this effort proved futile.
Now fully panicked, Tom began swinging his arms dramatically in desperation. His grip on Elric loosened briefly, but instead of falling, Elric inexplicably began to swing through the air as though tethered to invisible lines. The motion was strikingly similar to Spider-Man navigating the city skyline, though the mechanics of how Elric achieved it remained a mystery.
Tom, realizing his attempts to brake were futile, resigned himself to the chaos. He produced a white cloth from seemingly nowhere and tied it around his eyes. Then, in an even stranger twist, he lit a cigar, took a long drag, and exhaled a puff of smoke before grabbing Elric once more and continuing his mad dash up the hill.
The steep slope of the hill acted as a natural springboard. With a final burst of speed, Tom and Elric launched into the air, soaring high above the battlefield.
Below, Alexander, Hephaestion, and Waver could do nothing but watch in stunned silence.
Against the backdrop of a full, luminous moon, Tom and Elric's silhouettes passed perfectly in front of the glowing orb. From Waver's vantage point, the scene looked eerily reminiscent of the iconic image of a boy on a bicycle flying across the moon in E.T.