Chapter 6: Assassin!
'What a bad big brother leaving me behind at school! I wonder if it would actually kill him to wait for me once in a while.'
The door to our home opens easily confirming my brother definitely arrived before me. Quickly after closing the door behind me I move through the house to search for my treacherous older brother in order to talk him to death.
Funnily enough, the first place I checked was exactly where he was. Well maybe not so funny or unexpected since it was his room, but still. He stands there holding a familiar golden card,
"It took you long enough Nori, come on." He says simply as if he were waiting here all dramatic like just expecting me to barge into his room eventually. Walking past me he moves towards our father's old room and throws open the door.
"Hey, hey, hey! You can't just go in there! Mom said that's where all the hocus pocus stuff is."
"That's the exact reason I'm here, idiot." While I stand in the doorway Shinji moves about the room looking for something before finally pulling out an average looking 6 chamber revolver.
"Well I get that you're trying to prepare for the game ahead, but you finding that so quickly is a bit telling you know?" I snark a bit,
Ignoring me he shoves the golden assassin card into my face so close I have to go cross eyed to look at it. I know exactly what he wants me to do, he wants me to look at what servant might be in the card, but to ask in such a disrespectful way is just a bit too cold!
"What's the magic word?" The lack of humor in my voice is enough of a clue for him to pull his hand back before I bite.
"What servant is in this card?" He asks with the slightest bit more politeness to his tone, realizing in not going to get anything more out of him I stare intently at the card. The very moment I begin a familiar warmth comes to my eyes and a small glass like fragment appears above the card showing…
"Oh… that's not right?" I mumble slightly confused,
"What's the matter?"
Maybe it isn't so strange, but I sincerely thought this servant couldn't be summoned in a regular grail war. Or maybe I'm wrong for thinking of this as a regular grail war given the rules? Whatever the case the servant is… actually pretty strong if you ask me.
"Hey! What's wrong Nori?" Shinji repeats this time a tinge of worry settling in his eyes,
"Oh! Well it's nothing major it's just this servant is a bit… difficult I guess."
"Difficult? What servant is it exactly?" The worry in his eyes doesn't wane even slightly as he asks, though it's no longer directed at me.
"Jack the Ripper, the famous serial killer extraordinaire! She's a really technical servant." I exclaim finally revealing that the super jailbait little girl in a thong is the servant we're going to have to be allied with.
"The serial killer? Why would they be recorded in the throne of heroes?" He asks,
"Yeah that's exactly why I was a bit confused, but hey I won't look a gift horse in the mouth!" I joked, only to get a mere grunt in response.
Taking that as his queue he seems to begin the summoning since the card starts glowing.
"Wait! Is that gun loaded?" I quickly run towards him and grab his hand, breaking his concentration.
"Why would I carry it if it wasn't loaded?" He sighs,
"For intimidation?"
"You idiot."
"You should probably summon that servant away from you, or like in a cage."
He thinks on my statement for a few moments before nodding,
"I guess it might be a bit stupid to just summon a well know serial killer, could Minori be rubbing off on me?" He mumbles to himself, I can almost feel the tick mark on my head throb at that statement.
'Why does everyone think I'm an idiot?!'
Throwing the card to the other side of the room he readies his gun prompting me to stand a bit closer to him. While I would enjoy using my psychic powers due to me still being on medication even in a lower dosage I can't really control the voltage properly. I wouldn't want to fry my own brother.
Slowly the card glows on the ground shining brighter and brighter with each passing moment until it finally dissipates revealing a child with white hair and green eyes though her outfit is a bit different and no scars reside on her face she was still very recognizable.
Her outfit consists of a black open front leotard which leaves little to the imagination, long black stockings, and red shoes.
As my gaze trails her body one detail in particular sticks out to me. A horrible red scar directly under her stomach leaks out the slightest bit of blood as if it were just made. Oddly though it reminds me a lot of a C-section scar.
'Is that supposed to be some kind of reference to her origin?' As I have the thought I slide my eyes to my brother and stare at him staring at the girl who happens to be staring at us. A wonder how that works.
"You know if you're going to stare at her you could at least stare at her bottom half~" I tease, of course, I wouldn't miss this opportunity, I may never get to see my brother staring so intently at a woman again!
"Shut up Nori." He growls, breaking his gaze away from assassin for just a moment. Just a moment though was all she needed as the only warning of her impending attack was a small spark of electricity coming from my forehead. A blur flies past us before a soft thunk is heard.
My brother reacts instantly turning all of his attention toward assassin,
"By my command seal-" before he can finish his command assassin lunges for him, her blade moving straight towards his throat.
Not having any time to think he dodges to the left away from me, however as if expecting this Jack pivots on her right foot turning both her body and momentum towards me with a crazed smile on her face.
Instinctively I cross my arms in front of my face in some vague hope that it could possibly save me in this situation. The ever quick assassin's blades move in for the kill, her blades slice into my arms causing a stream of blood to pour out.
"Argh!" I grunt falling back onto my butt, this hurts so bad! I knew I'd be getting injured during the war but it seems I completely underestimated the amount of pain I'd actually be put through. It's difficult imagining how much something will hurt if you've never experienced it after all.
Expecting a second attack I raise my right hand towards Jack and immediately a large untamed amount of blue electricity forms. Jack in turn crouches down slightly ready to strike again.
I know exactly what she wants. If I fire this right in front of her she'll be more than capable of dodging and performing a counter attack. I'm certain she won't fail to kill me a second time if I give her that opportunity.
"By my command seal, assassin I order you to stop attacking us!" My brother yells, his arm letting out a red burst of energy stopping the altercation from escalating further.
Slowly I allow the electricity to fade with a sigh, In all honesty, the fact that I was probably about to be killed by an ASSASSIN in a head on fight is a bit worrisome for my survival prospects in this game. It also doesn't do any wonders for my ego.
"Nori are you alright?!" My brother asks frantically scurrying his way next to me,
"What do you think?"
"You're well enough for sass apparently." He states though the worried expression on his face tells me the wound probably looks as bad as it feels.
"Lucky for me Jack has a healing skill," I mumble to him softly, at this point the pain has been replaced by the uncomfortable warmth of blood trickling down the length of my arm.
'It's not as bad as I thought. Probably anime logic.' I wonder if I could secretly be related to Renji Abarai. At least that would mean I never have to worry about bleeding to death. Still, I now know I for sure am not an 'M' no whips and candle wax for me.
"Assassin can you really heal her?" He turns to the now pouting assassin who merely nods slightly in response,
"Then get to it." The hostility in his tone is laid bare leaving no room for Jack to even attempt to argue.
Slowly she trudges herself to me with two blood stained scalpels now in her hands until she reaches. Bringing her scalpels up to my arms she performs an operation that I could only describe as nonsensical. As if she were trying to make it hurt more she dug the blades under my skin, cut portions of the wound, and even opened it further, but the results were crudely made black almost worm like stitches.
"How does that even work?" I question noticing that all the pain is gone and the wound even feels as though it'll heal just fine.
Instead of answering Jack quickly retreats away from me with a forced neutral expression on her face. It's pretty clear she doesn't like me very much.
Before we can decide what to do next a wild Chikako appears at the doorway with a panicked expression on her face.
"Nori! Are you-" She begins only to be interrupted by a coughing fit,
"Mom, you should be in bed," I say dashing to her side in distress,
"I know, but you screamed, as a mother nothing will stop me from making sure my child is safe." She says solemnly, letting out a sigh I gently hold her hand to start leading her back to her room.
"I'll make sure mom gets back to bed, Shinji," I say, though I know he doesn't care, he doesn't even bother to grunt in response after all.
Their relationship has been eroding since we were children after all. It's a tale as old as time, Shinji is the child of a forced marriage without any love attached and I'm the child she had with her beloved. It isn't surprising at all that she's always been more focused with her love when it concerned me. I still wish they'd at least talk to each other like they used to.
"Do you plan on joining the war with Shinji?" She asks, finally breaking the mounting silence as we grow nearer to her room.
"Well of course! How is he supposed to come out of this game alive without his dazzling younger sister by his side?" Rather than giggling at my joke as she might usually do instead, she shoots me a worrying glance.
"If you truly intend to do this then… you can stop taking your medication completely tomorrow, BUT you have to- *cough* cough* be careful."
She isn't resisting as much as I thought she would in all honesty. I mean she's always been just as stubborn as I am, but maybe it's a product of being so weak and sick.
"Of course I'll be careful mom! You just stay here and make sure you try getting better while me and my big brother go get a wish from a magical beer mug." This time as we reach the door to her room she giggles a bit although weakly.
"Alright, I'll take you at your word." She says softly shuffling her way to her bed, her eyes once again for just a moment taking on the same vibrance they had when I was a child. Even with this older look, my mom is still without a doubt a beauty!
--
(Shinji POV)
"Assassin, what do you think about Chikako?" I ask glaring at the door,
"Dangerous just like that other girl." She states plainly,
"You mean my sister?"
"Yeah, somethings wrong with both of them." The certainty in her voice makes me think a bit before my next statement.
"Elaborate."
"I don't know about your mama but the girl is… off." While her certainty is still there she hesitates slightly as if unable to truly find the words to describe what she thinks.
"Well she's always been off, but I understand what you mean." I do know what she means. It's easy to overlook some of Nori's quirks if you don't spend enough time with her, but it's almost like she doesn't have the ability to understand stakes. It's especially obvious now how odd her mindset is given she herself doesn't even notice that she consistently plays down the grail war calling it a mere "game."
"This is going to be difficult." I mumble, with how the grail war is, I'm happy Nori wasn't chosen, but she isn't going to sit still no matter what. If she isn't with me then she'll start running around with that blowup doll Manaka making it even harder for me to protect her.
"I agree aniki, but you don't have to worry, I'm really good at what I do!" She exclaims excitement beaming off her face.
'You act like you aren't a part of the problem.' I think sarcastically while ignoring the fact that she so casually called me her older brother. I can already tell that's just going to be a thing now whether I like it or not.
'I swear before the end of this grail war I'm going to have an aneurysm.'
--
Jack the Ripper:
Strength: C
Endurance: C
Agility: A
Mana: C
Luck: A
NP: B
--
Noble Phantasms:
Presence Concealment (A+) - Natural Assassin skill which makes her difficult to detect.
Murder on a Misty Night (A) - When attacking at night she isn't able to be detected until after she throws her first attack.
Information Erasure (B) - The moment the battle ends all information on Jack is lost to the enemies besides her class.
Surgical Procedure (E) - Allows Jack to heal others using surgical techniques.
The Mist (C) - A bounded field formed of a mist filled with sulfuric acid which causes people to lose their way and suffocate.
Maria the Ripper (B) - A curse that reenacts Jack's murders and instantly kills a target. Three parameters must be met for this to work however, first it must be nighttime, second the target must be a woman, and third it must be misty.
Escape artist (B) - A noble phantasm unique to this version of Jack the ripper. It gives her the ability to escape all bindings regardless of status. Once a day if she's wearing her cloak she may even escape death. (This one is a recreation of the fact that Jack supposedly died drowning in the River Thames.)
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
AvaDumont
AvaDumont I added a new skill to Jack as well as changed her personality a bit to fit the story more and Minoris's psychic power allows her to manipulate electromagnetism so expect railgun spamming lol.
I should have more time to write after tomorrow since it's my last test though I won't promise you a truly consistent update schedule until summer break. I'll make sure not to ever take more than two weeks for an update though unless something major comes up.
In any case, thank you to all those who read this and I hope you enjoyed it!
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