Chapter 14: Hindrance
(Ayaka POV)
"W-What just happened?" I ask while staring at the spot Shinji was previously standing in. With his disappearance, the mist that was hindering us has dissipated, but still, I haven't fully processed everything that's happened so far.
Slowly I begin stepping towards where Shinji once was only for a gunshot to ring out from a nearby building.
"Eep!" I cry out with a flinch only to hear the slight ting of a bullet ricocheting off of Riders spear,
"Master, the battle isn't over yet." The green-haired man says lightly,
"Is it another master?" I ask cautiously as a few more shots are blocked by Rider,
"Nah it's probably Archer… though he's using a gun so I guess that doesn't make him much of an Archer." Rider stands still for a moment as if to think about it further,
"Is that really what we should be worried about right now?"
He looks at me slightly curiously while continuing to block a few more shots,
"What else would I need to worry about right now?"
"A-Are you serious?" To my question, he simply shrugs before his eyes grow a tad sharper and he jumps back pulling me along with him a small red explosion taking the place of where we once were.
"Is that guy firing swords at us?" Rider mumbles though he sounds more amused than bewildered,
"I-I thought you said he was an archer. Why're they using swords and guns?"
"Hell if I know Master, maybe you can ask him yourself." Rider responds casually while pointing towards the smoking crater in front of us with his spear,
There standing tall is a dark-skinned man with white hair cut in a military-style wearing black dress pants with a yellow cloth belt and white shoes holding two guns. One gun is white and black while the second one is red and black with both of them having a curved blade just under their barrels. Honestly, he looked pretty intimidating, especially with him being slightly taller than the already tall Achilles.
Quickly I begin to back up only to be stopped by Rider who looks at me with a raised eyebrow.
"Master, you can't just back up in front of the enemy." Blushing slightly I hold up my hands calling on black feathers to rest around us ready for use,
"W-Well what else am I supposed to do? I can't fight against a servant…" I stammer out,
"Heh, isn't that why you have me, sweetheart~" He words it as if it were a question, but it's clear he's being more so flirtatious than anything else which causes my blush to crawl its way to my neck, with a sister like Manaka, and people around me like Rin and Minori it's not very often any guys try approaching me unless they've been rejected by one of if not all of the three. I mean my looks are average at best and the glasses probably don't help at all…
"F-Fine then I'll count on you Rider!" I exclaim while pushing up my glasses slightly,
"Alright!" He cries just as Archer seems to be becoming impatient,
Archer points both of his guns at me and Rider before firing powerful blasts our way. Each blast is deflected adaptly by Rider with his spear, but with each shot it seems to become more and more difficult as Rider begins to visibly slide backward slightly.
"Huh, I thought this guy was just a pretty normal human. Maybe I didn't give him enough credit?"
Realizing that we won't get anywhere if this kind of pressure continues I send a barrage of black feathers to converge on his position from both sides as if anticipating the attack he crosses his arms cooly and fires dispersing all of the feathers.
'Why did I even think that would work…' With that dejected thought, Archer points his guns back at us but chooses not to fire,
"Tsk, what a joke." The white-haired man says in an annoyed tone,
"Heh, what's the matter, getting tired already?" Rider mocks, Archer's glare hardens slightly, letting his red and black fall to his side while keeping the white one trained on us. Slowly red energy seems to pool into the barrel of the gun,
"Oh, that's not good." Rider says before grabbing once again,
"Caladbolg." Archer utters darkly just as Rider speeds away carrying me with him, seeing that the large red explosion is quickly gaining on us I put up a barrier of feathers.
Once the blast finally subsides I feel my eyes widen in dread at the blast radius, behind the huge crater in the middle of the street Archer stands there not even winded, and fires a few more times only to be blocked again by Rider though this time it's noticeably more awkward with him holding me.
"Maybe it's been a little too long since I last fought with a beautiful lady in my arms." Rider says snarkily,
"Ahh, I'm sorry!" I exclaim while attempting to squirm out of his grip,
"Whoa hey!" In this moment of distraction, a shot manages to get through his defenses and skims him slightly on the shoulder creating a shallow cut.
"Ah!" I cry out in surprise as Rider drops me behind him to defend against a sudden hailstorm of bullets.
"Master, can you defend yourself if a few shots get past me?" Rider asks while putting more pressure onto his right foot in preparation to charge.
"U-Umm Well I don't know…"
"Alright then, just do your best and I'll handle the rest!" With that declaration, he charges at a speed he had not previously shown, so quickly in fact that even Archer couldn't track him between the instant he left and the instant he reappeared within melee range.
Archer barely blocks the thrust of Rider's spear the moment he appears, deflecting the spear to the side he brings up his other gun only for Rider to use his previous momentum to spin and hit Archer with the side of his spear. This sends Archer skidding off to the side with a grunt.
'Without me holding him back Rider really is super strong huh, though I guess that should be a given with him being THE Achilles and all…'
Dropping his guns as Achilles charges him a long double-sided curved sword that looks oddly similar to his guns manifests in his hands with a few tealish sparks of electricity. With his new weapon he blocks another spear thrust with the white blade only for it to crack.
With a tsk Archer blocks another attack which completely shatters the entire polearm. Instantly this turns into a dance of Archer constantly projecting his weapon only for it to be shattered in the next instant. Although Rider doesn't appear to be struggling at all he's unable to properly score any substantial hits on the white-haired man.
Eventually, Archer takes a step back creating a tiny opening that isn't missed by Rider who takes it and attempts to stab Archer through his side only for him to jump back though he doesn't escape without taking any damage as a small cut rests just below his ribcage.
"This is becoming ridiculous." He says causing Rider to smirk slightly only to lose the smirk when Archer's gaze shifts to me for an instant.
Realizing something is amiss I begin to move only to feel a sharp pain in my leg which causes me to fall to the floor. Trying to stand up the pain in my leg only increases further. Looking back I notice an average-looking straight sword pinning me to the ground.
For a moment the light pattering of feet gets closer to me before Rider appears in my view pulling out the sword.
"Let's end this. I am the bone of my sword…" He begins just as Rider recovers from helping me his newly formed gun glows ominously, his finger ghosts over the trigger about to fire however with a tsk he lowers his gun and turns around running to the buildings he came from initially.
"What just happened?" I ask absently,
"His master probably called him back." Rider says simply,
"Rider… You didn't have to leave yourself open like that…"
"What do you mean sweetheart?" Rider asks curiously,
"W-Well you shouldn't get punished for my mistakes… what if you had died from that last attack."
"Heh, you really don't get how this grail war is meant to be fought, sweetheart."
"What do you mean by that?"
"We servants are shields for our masters. If we 'die' we can always come back as long as our cards still exist. However, if the master dies we're out of the battle completely unless of course, another master takes our card."
"I-I already know that."
"Then don't tell me not to save you anymore k? It's not often I get to have such a cute master after all. I wanna ride this out until the end!" He proclaims,
His somewhat childish proclamation actually brings out a giggle from me,
"Alright master, brace yourself." Rider says just as he picks me up in a princess carry.
"R-Rider w-what are you doing?!?" I ask frantically with a blush,
"You can't move with your leg like that."
"Couldn't you j-just carry me on your back?"
"I could buuuut~ I don't think I want to." He jokes with a charming smirk,
'Aren't I supposed to be the master in this relationship?' I think dejectedly as Rider begins walking.
"Ah wait Rider we need to go check on Shinji! He was probably attacked too."
"You mean the guy that tried to kill you?" He asks skeptically,
"Uhhh, W-Well yes…" I respond pushing up my glasses,
"No offense master but that sounds pretty stupid."
"Look he's the older brother of my baby sisters, maybe girlfriend okay!"
"... Alright…" With that, he turns us around and begins lightly jogging in the direction Shinji had disappeared to.
The moment we arrive at where Shinji is we find him lying on the floor in a pool of blood with a frantic looking assassin in front of him staring down a blond-haired nun holding a still bleeding hole in her stomach and a pink-haired woman wearing a wedding dress.
Seeing us approaching both parties seem to tense slightly causing Rider to stop his jog,
The nun specifically turns to us with a wary look still holding her gut,
"This is just bullshit, I thought this would be a walk in the park because you guys were ranked lower than me." She whines
"Ranks don't mean anything with a guy like me around." Rider says cockily in response,
"Yeah, sure casanova. Berserker, we're heading back." The moment she says that the two of them seem to disappear into the background.
Noticing two other threats are gone, Assassin focuses all of her attention on me and Rider.
"We aren't going to attack you." I say though this doesn't make her any less guarded.
"Assassin, we both know if I wanted to kill you I wouldn't even need to put my master down to do it." He taunts though the truth in his words rings true to Assassin and finally she turns her back to us and kneels over her master.
Me and Rider watch as she crudely and quickly stitches up Shinji's wounds with reckless abandon.
"I-If we take him to my house I'm sure my sister can treat him fully."
"You two go and I'll follow behind with Aniki." Assassin says cautiously,
"I wasn't planning on carrying a dude anyway." Rider Jokes,
"It's that way…" I point out not wanting Rider to aggravate the little girl.
(Manaka POV)
'It's almost time for them to arrive.' I think as I look at the clock near the front door,
"Hey, Manaka! You listening? I'm only gonna sing this crap once you get me?" Minori says standing in front of a TV with lyrics on it.
After a full day of bets and playing games, Minori has not only been stripped of everything besides her apron but also now her dignity will go. Truthfully I have to wonder why she's always challenging me when she knows in the end I'll always be the one to come out on top.
'Honestly, if she just cheated a bit rather than playing so fairly I probably wouldn't be able to be so comfortable in my victory.' Hilariously Minori is far too straightforward to notice when I do card counting or any other regular cheat that wouldn't be misplaced in a casino.
"I'm listening Minori~"
"Grrrr, *Ahem* Let's gather 'round the campfire and sing our campfire song. OUR C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E S-O-N-G song. And if you don't think that we can sing it faster then you're wrong. But it'll help if you just sing along~ C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E S-O-N-G song hey! C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E S-O-N-G song-" Suddenly Minori coughs and waves her hands in front of her mouth with her tongue sticking out slightly,
"Did you bite your tongue Minori?" I ask very much already knowing the answer,
"Shu ut tis is yor falt!" She cries, putting my hand in front of my mouth to hold back the laughter,
"Go get some water or something."
"Les pay agin, tis time Iwil win!" She exclaims with a dramatic pose as she points at me with one hand while the other rests on her forehead as if she were holding an imaginary hat.
"If you insist Minori. Lancer, are you going to play as well?" I ask the now decloaked Lancer sitting on the couch next to me in a nightgown.
"Are you two going to be betting your clothes again?" She asks skeptically,
"Neither of us really have any clothes left to lose do we?"
Looking at me up and down seeing that I'm also in nothing but a nightgown she sighs,
"Right, then let's play blackjack," I say while getting up,
The three of us make our way to the dining room and once we arrive Minori along with Lancer go into the kitchen for a moment. Lancer comes out with a tub of vanilla ice cream and Minori comes with a glass of water just as I finish taking out the cards and clearing the previously cluttered dining room table.
"I'll be the dealer," Lancer says calmly while setting her ice cream on the table, though she sends a knowing glare my way.
"That's fine with me," Minori says after taking a big gulp of her water,
"If not our clothes then you guys must have something else you're willing to bet?"
In response Lancer pushes up her ice cream and Minori pulls out two stacks of US dollars.
'Where does she even get half the stuff she keeps on her?' I wonder,
"One scoop is 10,000 yen."
"Minori can you get me a cup?"
"I have however much money is in these fat stacks to bet," Minori states while reaching out a slightly sparkling hard towards the kitchen, moments later a metal cup flies into her open hand.
"Thank you~"
"Mhm"
"I'll be betting with the amount of money I'll spend on you two when we go out shopping."
"But I already have money though…"
"Minori… are you really going to get all of that converted to yen?" Taking a moment to think about my question she seems to realize she made a mistake by ONLY having money from the US.
"Errors have been made…" She mutters dejectedly,
With that the game starts, Lancer deals out the cards giving me an Ace and a two while she gets a king and a face-down card.
'Hmmm, 12… her face down is a 4 meaning she'll have to draw as the dealer.'
"Hit me." passing me another card I smirk as I see an 8, which would mean 20 on my side,
"I'll stay." Minori says flatly, I've grown used to her impressive poker face over our times playing together, but I already know what's in her hand,
'A Jack and a Queen with no cheating… where does her luck come from?' I wonder as I gesture to Lancer that I'm staying,
Flipping her face down, it's just as I had expected. With an annoyed grumble, Lancer draws and ends up with 26 meaning that she went bust.
"This is rigged…" Lancer grumbles,
"Well, blackjack is one of the few casino games where the player has an advantage~"
Just as Lancer is about to give up her scoops of ice cream the front door blasts open revealing Rider carrying my injured older sister with Assassin carrying an injured Shinji awkwardly on her back.
"Hey, Manaka…" My sister says with a slight blush,
"Is this what they call 'jailbait' nowadays?" Rider ponders while staring at all of us,
"Shinji!" Minori cries while running for her brother disregarding everything else, though I had expected him to die today miraculously the failure actually managed to make it out alive.
'Will I really have to do it myself?' I don't exactly know why I don't really want to kill him myself, if me and Minori are going to be adversaries it would be the quickest way but somehow I'm afraid. I want to fight against Minori, but I don't think I could handle it if she hated me.
"Just bring him up to the guest bedroom and I'll heal him later." Minori nods slightly while hurriedly taking her brother away,
Walking up to my sister I trace a rune on her leg with my finger which glows slightly before sinking into her skin and easily mending her wound.
"That's some pretty advanced stuff for a kid to be using." Achilles comments,
"Is that so~"
"Do kids run around the house basically naked a lot these days?" Achilles asks Ayaka,
"N-No they just have a gambling addiction."
"I see…" He responds setting Ayaka down on her feet,
"A-Anyways, thank you, Manaka."
"You're welcome Ayaka."
"I mean thank you for the advice when I left this morning to..."
"That's not something you need to be too twisted up about. I mean you're the one who decided to listen to it in the end right?"
"R-Right, but Manaka, how did you do that thing with my phone?" As my sister asks that curious question I stop walking towards the kitchen to look at her for a moment,
"What 'thing' with your phone?" I ask, the records don't show anything about my sister's phone…
"You mean you weren't the one who texted me while I was being attacked by Shinji?"
"Of course not, why would I text you while you're in the middle of a fight?"
"O-Oh…" Her voice comes out small and confused like a child.
'How odd... was false Assassin's warning right? That fake Minori in my dreams I need to meet her again to confirm if she's tampering with my connection to the Akashic Records.'
EMIYA Alter (Edgy)
Strength: C
Endurance: B
Agility: D
Mana: B
Luck: E
NP: ?
Class Skills
Independent Action (A): The ability to act independently of a master. Even when not supplied with magical energy he can continue to sustain his own existence with his own magical energy. Though things like the usage of his noble phantasm could shorten his time.
Magic Resistance (D): Grants immunity to single-action magic usage.
Personal Skills
Bulletproof Treatment (A): A modern version of "Protection from Arrows" which grants an immunity to most projectiles.
Projection Magecraft (C-> A+): The signature magecraft of Archer which allows him to replicate tools. The rank of this skill goes up when that tool is a sword.
Derisive Heart of Steel (A): A kind of brainwashing that makes "The protection of Human Order," Archer's top priority.
Noble Phantasms
Unlimited Lost Works (E~A++): Condenses the power of his reality marble which holds the concept of "Infinite creation of swords" into a single bullet that recreates the reality marble within a target's body. This causes swords to erupt from the target's body, shredding them from the inside.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
AvaDumont
AvaDumont Mr. Edgy man is now here and that 'technically' marks the end of all the antagonists' servants. I hope you all enjoyed the fight scene as well though it didn't show off the true strength of either of the servants involved due to each of their circumstances.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone