7 Divorce & Fight

Ryker returned to the room after his talk with Saber, in order to await Iris' return. Upon entering he noticed that there was one of the Einzbern maids holding a crying Illya in one of the chairs. As they had often helped look after Illya whenever Iris or himself were busy he wasn't too surprised.

Illya was a rather rambunctious baby, and the maids often had a hard time calming her down once she got going. So he walked over and offered to help the emotionless homunculus maid.

After the maid had passed Illya over to Ryker, he used his right arm to support her delicate little body and he placed his left hand near her stomach. Once in his arms it didn't take long for Illya to stop crying as she grab ahold of one of his fingers with her tiny hands. He knew she liked to grab onto anything she could get her hands on and had adopted this poster whenever he held her, as she seemed to like it.

Walking over to his favorite spot next to a large window, to the side of Iris' bed. He slowly bent down so as not to disturb the now asleep Illya, and sat upon the window ledge, as he waited for a certain white haired angel, whom was currently skipping down the hallways, heading towards his location.

(Iris POV:)

Iris was in a good mood as she walked back to her bedroom. Her talk with her Ex. husband had went smoother then she thought it would.

Having talked with Ryker earlier in the day, Kiritsugu had known what she was there for without even needing to ask. They had mainly talked about their feelings on the subject of the divorce, and how they were going to proceed from then on.

She mainly told him about how she wanted to move on and how she had found happiness with Ryker. Making sure that he knew that although she would always care for his well being and wanted him to be a part of Illya's life. She would no longer hold onto the feelings she had for him, and would instead dedicate her future to Ryker and Illya.

Something they both agreed on was that they didn't want their feelings to negatively impact Illya. There were still seven and a half years until the grail war, and if they were to treat each other poorly, then it might affect Illya's happiness.

Kiritsugu told her bits and pieces of the conversation he had with Ryker, and asked for her opinion on the points Ryker had made. Kiritsugu hearing that she agreed with Ryker in the fact that he needed to change how he viewed things, wasn't that surprise, but it caused him to question things even more deeply then when Ryker had said it. He also told her that he agreed with the divorce, and that he knew with his goal for world peace, and an end to the conflicts, that there was a good chance he would end up hurting her feelings somewhere along the line. He was ready to let go, and wanted to focus on achieving his dreams.

Which happened to spark their next conversation. They talked about what their plans were going forward and the fact that during the grail war, Kiritsugu had originally wanted Saber to be solely in charge of her safety while leaving the servants for Ryker to deal with. Using his information network he wanted to find the locations of the other servants or their masters before having Ryker assassinate them. Iris didn't like that Ryker would be the one placed in the greatest amount of danger, and wanted to protest, but Kiritsugu beat her to the punch and told her that Ryker already did. Ryker as if knowing she would reject seemed to have come up with another plan rather early on. So Iris came to learn about how, not long after being summoned, Ryker talked to Kiritsugu about the grail war.

(Kiritsugu's POV:)

~A few days after the summoning~

Sounds of swords clashing echoed throughout the forest around the Einzbern castle.

Kiritsugu was looking towards his front with a serious face, as he watched the spar between their two servants. This wasn't the first time he had seen them spar, and it wouldn't be the last, but watching the battle made Kiritsugu once more realize how powerful servants summoned for the holy grail war were, and he reaffirmed his earlier plan of hunting only the masters during the grail war and leave fighting servants to other servants, or at least if he could help it.

Once more hearing the clash of metal, Kiritsugu snapped out of his thoughts and refocused on the fight.

Rematerializing as if out of thin air, was a man who looked to be around the age of 20 with long black hair that was tied into a pony tail. His hair, which ended just above his waist, seemed as if it was flowing behind him similar to water flowing down a stream, every time he moved. It wasn't the only unique trait of the man however, as he also possessed beautiful red eyes, and a handsome face that looked like the face of a god. A lean yet muscular body, that was sculpted to perfection. Standing firm as he wore the standard armor of a knight. The actual armor parts were silver in color. While the tunics part were a deep blue. Attached to the back of the armor located near his neck, was a black and white hood that he usually donned, yet at the moment, was off.

The man was the Caster servant summoned by his wife, named Ryker. Standing opposite of Caster, was a beautiful young woman who looked to be in her late teens with a slender physique, soft skin, and green eyes. She has blonde hair that looked as if it was shinning whenever the sun landed on it. Her face shows some signs of naivety and displays elegance. Wearing a set of shining silver armor with an old styled dress, made from an old-fashioned blue colored cloth, underneath. With the two wearing similar clothing, if viewed from an outsider one would think they were part of the same legion.

The two, unearthly beings stared into each others eyes with serious looks on their faces. They were precisely Ryker and Saber who were dueling to not only hone their skills but also their familiarity with one another's combat style for future cooperation. They would find themselves fighting side by side against other servants, and one misshape due to lack of knowledge pertaining to each other's or even their enemies strength, is all it could take to tip the advantage during a fight.

Caster remained in his position, his stance was firm, with his left leg out in front. He had both hands on his sword handle as it was held to his right side with the blade pointing behind him. The tip of the sword was close to the ground as the sword itself was tilted slightly at a 45 degree angle.

Opposite him, Saber, who was in a wide stance with her invisible sword held parallel to her body to her right side, suddenly moved. Slowly she brought her left foot forward as she shifted her weight around before firmly planting her feet on the snow cover ground beneath her. Tilting her sword tip forward ever so slightly, she began her attack.

From Kiritsugu's prospective it seemed as if she vanished in a sudden burst of speed. He was barely able to follow the distortions caused by her movements, and it wasn't long before she arrived in front of her opponent.

She swung her sword downward in a horizontal slash, only to be suddenly countered by Caster's sword, before finding an outstretched foot colliding with her stomach. Saber, not being firmly rooted at the time of the kick, was sent flying backwards colliding with a few trees on her path through the air.

Something Kiritsugu had noticed from watching their last few fights was that Saber far outclassed Caster in her swordplay. Yet what Caster lacked in technique he made up for in raw power and speed. He seemed more suited to the Lancer class, due to him often utilizing his longer arm and leg reach over Saber. If only he possessed a lance that is.

The Caster class was known for possessing poor physical parameters, yet they made up for it in their sheer overwhelming magic abilities and wide ranged attacks. The Caster class, was often the 'hunter' rather then the 'hunters' during the holy grail war due to them possessing the class skill [Territory Creation] which allowed them to usually always have an advantage when fighting in their own territory.

The Lancer class on the other hands was known for their speed and quick yet deadly single point striking abilities. The Lancer class were usually one of the best 'hunters' as they often utilized hit and run tactics, along with their longer reach, to slowly get a feel for and wear down their opponents, before ending them with one deadly strike.

Kiritsugu believed, the only reason Ryker was summoned as a Caster servant was due to his Noble Phantasm, which allowed him to mimic the abilities of others. Something that wouldn't be to unheard of in a Caster. Yet his raw parameters were off the chart. They were even higher then Saber's, who fundamentally should possess the highest base parameters of any servant class, henceforth 'the strongest servant'.

Yet true to her class, it was but a brief moment before Saber reappeared. Whether due to her parameters or Caster holding back, she had not a scratch on her as she. Immediately she began to strike at Caster with a flurry of deadly blows, all of which were parried by Caster, who still remained in the same location as the start of the fight.

The battled raged for a half hour before the two servants finally called the match a draw. Although Saber seemed to be of the opinion that Caster had in fact won the dual, which Kiritsugu also believed to be the case, seeing as how Saber not once managed to land a proper hit.

If Saber was akin to a righteous sword, or a prideful lion. Then Caster would be like an unstoppable blade, or a unshakable tree when he was in his Saber form. Yet Kiritsugu knew that with that Noble Phantasm that he possessed, his existence was more like that of an illusion, equipped with a bag of tricks. Able to swap his combat style, and weapons at the drop of a hat, causing his enemies to have a tough time getting a read on his next move.

Thinking until here, he noticed Caster was walking towards him, while Saber seemed to have returned to the castle at some point.

Confused, Kiritsugu addressed the man, whom now was wearing casual black clothing, while he donned a cloak. "Did you need something Caster?"

"I wanted to talk to you about the Holy Grail War, do you have a plan yet?" Caster asked in an indifferent tone.

The strength in which Caster and Saber possessed pleased Kiritsugu greatly. They had proven that they were forces to be reckoned with, even amongst other servants. Kiritsugu, even long before they summoned their servants, felt like having the Assassin or Caster class would suit him more. Yet now that he had to deal with that very Caster class, he found himself quickly preferring Saber. Although he couldn't get along with Saber, he could at least control her to some degree, as long as he didn't go against her principles. Every time he spoke with Caster, he felt as if all his secrets and ploys were laid out in the open. It was as if Caster could see into his very heart and soul, and it terrified him to no end.

While such thoughts ran through his mind, his face remained neutral as he stated, "I do, I had planned to have you work in conjuncture with me to assassinate other servants or their masters, while Saber stays behind to protect Irisviel."

With a pondering look, Caster hummed in response before answering, "Hmm, although it is indeed a good plan I have a better one…"

(Author's Note): I'm thinking about having Kiritsugu only call Ryker, by his class name, Caster. So during his POV, Ryker will be addressed as such. I want Ryker's name to have more meaning to it. As you often don't hear other servants being called by their names even by their masters, there are acceptations to this though. iris and Saber will call him Ryker, due to their close relationship with one another, this may or may not change during the grail war. Saber will stay as Saber as I believe most of us have gotten use to believing that to be her actual name ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Artoria just doesn't roll off the tounge like Saber....Meh i mean i guess it kinda does...someone in the comment section said to call her Ria, so I might come up with a nickname for her unique to Ryker down the line, let me know your thoughts.

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