12 A Big Sisters Resolve!

(Manaka POV)

"Can I get my gift now?" Minori asks the moment she wakes up, like a robot she doesn't show any signs of having just woken up, no yawn, no hazy eyes, it's like she simply turned on. It's a bit cute that she can have that much energy from the very start of the day.

"You don't seem as tired as you were yesterday and you even played with me without complaining too much so I guess you've earned it~" I say as I hop off of the couch and begin heading to my room,

"What about breakfast?" Lancer asks flatly from behind us,

"We can make breakfast after I get my gift! I mean we can't just hover over this minor plot point when there's a whole bunch of crap still going on!" Minori exclaims much to the displeasure of Lancer who breaks off from us to head for the kitchen.

"You're awfully excited for this Minori."

"Of course I am! The best things in life are free gifts." She says happily,

"Luther Vandross? Why does someone like you even know about him?" I ask her somewhat baffled by her finally making a reference I can understand, except without the Akashic records I still wouldn't have understood that given how old it is.

"Who the hell is that?" She asks as we enter my room,

'Of course, she managed to say a quote I could actually understand by mistake…' I think unable to hold back an endearing sigh,

Moving across the rather bland room with simple white walls and a bit of teal here and there I stop in front of my bed.

"It's under here Minori."

"Alright, why are you telling me that? Just get it." She says in a slightly annoyed tone,

"I want you to get it though~" I coo while sauntering out of her way with my hands lightly held behind my back,

"Really? Why do I feel like you're just trying to make my life harder…" She mumbles as she moves to my previous location and bends down to look under the bed.

"Your skirts riding up Minori~"

"Y-You- ouch!" Clambering to pull down her skirt she ends up hitting her head on the underside of the bed,

"What are you Miharu Shimizu or something you perverted loli." She mumbles in response to my unrestrained giggling,

The loud screeching of a box sliding across the ground brings me out of my laughter as Minori comes from under the bed with a large box and a faint blush decorating her cheeks.

For a moment she simply sits there on the ground in front of the box staring at it with glittering eyes.

"Aren't you going to open it?" I ask jokingly, only to get those sparkling eyes zoning in on me for a moment.

Turning back to the box she slowly opens it to reveal…a maid outfit, the kind you'd find someone wearing for cosplay at a convention. Slowly she turns to me once again this time with a deadpan look on her face though it's easy to see what question she wants to ask,

"Look under it~" Not saying anything she turns back to the box and moves the outfit out of the way to find a sheathed sword in a wooden scabbard which she happily takes out now with the sparkles back in her eyes.

"This is a… Shirasaya katana right?" She asks hesitantly,

"Yup~"

"Aren't these mostly for decoration?"

"Supposedly."

"Well, the rule of cool always wins out in the end anyways…" She says her voice lacking its previous spark of interest,

"You don't like it?" I am for once somewhat uncertain of my decision. I had started preparing this gift a few years ago when she really started getting into kendo, but now with the servant that Emiya summoned, it might be considered obsolete. It can't cut through causality, can't negate magic, nor can it even reliably cut through tougher material without some extra effort.

"It's a bit simple…" She drawls while shifting her eyes to me with a fake frown,

'Oh I see, she's trying to tease me,'

"Well, of course, I chose it because it reminded me of you~" I tease back attempting to shift things back into my favor,

"Well, no wonder It's so gorgeous then! You really captured my image, simple at first glance but super amazing in reality!" She exclaims standing up rapidly to stare at me with an odd kind of passion,

"Eh?" I say stupidly as I feel my cheeks heat up slightly at the compliment, without giving me a chance to really process how I should respond. I feel my body enveloped in a warm hug with Minori's cheek so close to my own I can't tell exactly how much I'm blushing.

"You worked pretty hard on this right?" She asks while letting go of me, I wish it had lasted longer, Minori isn't ever usually so open with her affections unless it's towards her brother.

"Yeah…" I did work hard on the sword as well as the maids' outfit. Depending on the psychic and their level of ESP/ bloodline their level of tolerance to magecraft is questionable. Some can use regular mystic codes and some can't use them at all unless they're specially made for them. Minori is the latter meaning I had to study her ability closely to make those items compatible with her. Unfortunately, that means the complexity of them had to be lowered drastically so no amazing magical sharpness and the like. Truthfully she probably wouldn't understand any of this if I told her, but… I'm happy that she at least noticed to a degree.

"Alright then! As the protagonist I'll make you this vow, I'll find a present in the future that will make you cry your eyes out!" With that proclamation, her eyes glow red for a split second with the activation of her mystic eyes.

A sudden shift in the Akashic records forces me slightly off balance, and quickly I check it to find that for the very first time since meeting her Minori appears in 2 records for the future after the grail war.

One record shows Minori standing over a grave with something blurry in her hands. I can't see her face though I can tell she's at least 3 years older based on her body being a great deal fuller though her hair is still being kept childishly long.

The next record shows me in a hospital bed clearly heavily injured with a broken version of the same sword I had gifted to Minori in my hand and a note with the words, "losings no fun so let's play again sometime!" - Minori Matou

I can't see the context nor anything else besides the scenes themselves which I'm thankful for as that would just ruin everything for me, but it does bring into question what just happened. It isn't as though scenes are appearing in the records as a possibility, nor are they appearing as a complete certainty. By the end of this grail war, I WILL be getting a gift, no if, ands, or buts.

"I'll be looking forward to it Minori," I say genuinely looking forward to whatever surprise she may have in store for me. It could even be a penny and I wouldn't be particularly disappointed.

"You'd better." She huffs while grabbing the maid outfit,

"What are you doing?"

"I'm gonna go take a shower."

"You're going to change into the maid uniform?"

"Of course, I don't have anything else to change into." This causes me to smile at her vanishing back,

--

(Ayaka POV)

Waking up in the morning to the smell of a freshly cooked breakfast I get changed into my school uniform and head downstairs to find Lancer sitting at the dining table with a large slice of cake sitting in front of her.

"Good morning Lancer." I greet getting a slight nod in return, moving to the kitchen where the smell is coming.

"Minori are you… not wearing any underwear?" Is the first thing I hear from my sister as I enter and see her pulling up Minori's skirt slightly with her fingers.

Irritated by this action Minori shoves her index finger up Manaka's nose causing her to stagger back.

"Obviously you idiot. I don't have any spares. I also can't borrow any of yours as well for… obvious reason noppai." She states smugly while wiping her finger on Manaka's skirt.

"Heh, you can carry around a picture of your own brother's privates but not a single pair of panties?" Manaka chastises jokingly,

"Huhhh? How do you even know about that?!?"

"I wonder~" She coos though it looks a bit ridiculous with her holding her nose, this causes me to giggle a bit. Ever since Manaka met Minori she's become more full of life, maybe not quite like a kid her age, but we're magus so that much should be expected.

"Hm? Ayaka?" Minori says hearing my giggle though Manaka doesn't seem very surprised at all, as usual,

"Good morning. Ummm why are you wearing a maids outfit?" I ask Minori, while Minori has always been pretty… overt in her sexuality I can't understand how she can wear such a skimpy maid uniform and even go commando without batting an eye, but gets embarrassed when Manaka calls her cute or points it out. It makes me a bit jealous, she really only cares about the opinion of her brother and my sister, everything else is just white noise.

"She made it for me." Minori states flatly as she digs her hand in a small heart-shaped hole right on top of her cleavage and begins rummaging through it with her eyes closed.

"Uh…" Before I can ask what she's doing she pulls out a pistol and looks at it for a moment, her eyes glowing red, but simply decides to drop it back inside.

"Yeah… Ayaka do you have anything that could fit me?" She asks seemingly not finding what she was looking for,

"Sure I have some clothes still leftover from when I was younger but… what were you looking for?"

"I thought I might at least have a bikini or something just in case we all had an impromptu beach episode to increase the show's ratings or something, no dice though."

"Alright…" I respond not really getting what she's talking about past the fact that she doesn't have a swimsuit.

As me and Minori speak I can feel Manaka's eyes on us while she sets the table for breakfast, my skin doesn't crawl when she stares at me with her eyes so filled with suspicion anymore since by this point I'm a bit used to it. The way she stares at Emiya whenever Minori speaks to him though… It's really scary. You can practically see her planning to do SOMETHING and you can almost definitely be sure it isn't anything good.

"Ayaka, you're going to be late for school if you keep daddling."

"You guys aren't going?" I ask sitting at the place she prepared for me,

""Nope"" They both respond in such a way that it leaves no room for discussion,

After I'm done eating I put my plates into the sink and make my way to the front door only to be stopped by my sister just before I can leave,

"Manaka?"

"Big sister… Sooner or later you'll have to make a choice. You can't keep running away from conflict forever." She says while taking out a simple gold bracelet and handing it to me.

"W-What?" I say stupidly,

"Listen, big sister, trying isn't always good enough. Sometimes you never get a second chance so you should make sure you're making the right choice when you've decided you're going to give up, you understand?"

"Um… S-Sure." I respond hesitantly while putting on the bracelet. It isn't often Manaka is so serious when it comes to anything besides Minori.

"Have a good day at school then, big sister." She says with a slightly disappointed smile,

"I'll try."

—

"If the room is locked by a chain yet the people inside are dead with no signs of a person having been hiding in the room how did the killer manage to do it?" My teacher Mr.Tatakai or "battler" as he sometimes likes to be called asks the class,

When no one answers he looks around the class before spotting me sitting by the window. It's obvious what he's going to do. It's one of those typical teacher things no one likes, especially me.

"Ayaka, do you think you could take a shot at this?" He 'asks,'

"U-Umm well sir, uhh, wouldn't the people inside have had to let in the culprit? It could be possible it was someone they trust like a family member or a personal servant." I respond while standing up from my seat,

"That's good, that's good, while you are in fact right about that being a possible solution it leaves far too many holes. All the family members were together at the time and the servants have alibis." He refutes my answer leaving me to sit down with my head hung low,

'Manaka would have probably known the answer…'

Manaka always knows the right answer even against all rational odds. She is a lot like one of those child geniuses that are grandmasters in chess from the age of 4. It makes me question whether my father made the right decision when he made me the heir of the Sajyou household. I mean sure her magic circuit quantity is ranked E but mine is not much better, I'm just a C. Despite her setbacks, she's so good at magecraft that she all but taught me how to fight with it effectively while increasing her own level of skill.

"Does anyone else think they may have an answer?" Mr.Tatakai asks the class once again this time getting a raised hand from a familiar blue-haired boy with a permanent scowl on his face,

"Shinji, I choose you!" the teacher calls on him with a dramatic point,

"The answer is actually extremely simple. The person who said the chain was locked before the victims were murdered is lying. They're likely the culprit or an accomplice." Shinji states matter of factly,

"OBJECTION!!!!" Mr.Tatakai cries with another point of his finger, "That servant already has an alibi in the other servant that was with him. What do you make of that?"

"He's probably in on it too. The servants were the primary suspects to begin with so they could be considered unreliable witnesses making their testimonies invalid."

"Hmm, well you're extremely close so I'll give it to you, the chain was in fact cut long before the servants claim." With that last statement from Mr.Tatakai, the bell rings signifying the end of the school day.

Letting out a sigh I stand up only to jump back in surprise as I find Shinji standing over my desk when I look up.

"O-Oh good evening Shinji." I greet only to get an unimpressed look in return,

"Did Minori stay at your house yesterday?" He asks not bothering to return my greeting,

"Ah, yes she did."

"Is she still there now?"

"Yeah…"

"Alright then." With that confirmation, he simply turns and walks away,

'Of course he only really cared about Minori…' I think with a sigh, though I wasn't expecting much I wish I had a friend group like his or even was as close with Manaka as he is with Minori. I wonder how he looks past her oddness.

—

When exiting the school an odd evening mist envelopes the area, before I can think too closely about it a slight ding sounds off from my pocket.

"This must be the work of an enemy stand!" The text on my phone reads from an unknown number,

'What?' I am slightly confused by the random text. Looking up I find that I'm deep in the mist. My throat burns with every breath I take, my body feels heavy as I look around frantically, unable to tell which way is what or where I'm going.

Suddenly the bracelet my sister had given to me glows and I feel a sudden impact behind me as black feathers float around me.

Spinning rapidly on me to the now falling barrier of black feathers I can only catch a glimpse of something falling back into the mist and escaping from my sight.

'No… why me! Why now! I never even wanted to participate in this war in the first place!' I think as I instinctively begin running though it's difficult with how hard it is to breathe.

From the edge of my vision a black blur passes by me with a childish giggle, forcing me to stop to direct my black feathers in front of me to just barely block the incoming projectiles and sending me stumbling back.

Turning around to the sound of footsteps I feel my body begin to shake, whether from fear or adrenaline I don't know, but what I do know is that running from a servant in what seems to be their own bounded field is a completely fruitless effort.

'Fighting is also worthless too…what am I supposed to do? Am I going to die just like father?'

Gripping my phone slightly tighter I notice that it feels oddly thin almost like a card however when I go to check it the sound of a gunshot and the feeling of pain blooming in my abdomen sends me reeling.

As I fall to my knees with my vision slightly blurred I stare at the now glowing rider class card unable to hold back the tears in my eyes,

'I don't want to die…' I think as I let my hand fall into my lap,

'No... I can't just give up… I don't want to die! I-I, father told me to keep Manaka safe. And I haven't even given it my all yet.' I think while gripping the class card tighter. The sound of knives being thrown cuts through the air forcing me to roll out of the way and causing only one of them to skim me in the leg slightly.

'I'll do it Manaka, I won't give up until I've at least tried my best!' With that simple thought and the sound of another bullet being fired a bright golden light envelopes me.

Slowly as the light dissolves the sound of a bullet being deflected is heard and instead of a class card in my hand a handsome man that could easily bewitch both men and women with spiky gravity-defying green hair stands in front of me spear in hand and a cocky smile printed on his face,

"Did a beautiful lady call for the fastest thing alive?" He says cockily his compliment causing me to blush slightly,

"U-Umm, uhh." I stammer too embarrassed to speak properly,

"Hold that thought sweetheart." He says lightly before grabbing me and in a burst of speed, we're already out of the mist having left a deep cut in it from where we exited.

"If you're standing in front of I one of the greatest heroes of Greece, Achilles, then you must already be prepared for defeat!" He exclaims while setting me gently down onto the ground and readying his spear for the battle about to commence.

Achilles:

Strength: B+

Endurance: A

Agility: A+

Mana: C

Luck: D

NP: A+

--

Class Skills

Magic Resistance (C) - Cancels all spells directed at him with a chant below two verses. However, it doesn't defend against High-Thaumaturgy and greater rituals.

Riding (A+) - Phantasmal Beasts and Divine Beasts can be used as his mounts, however not dragons.

--

Personal Skills

Battle Continuation (A) - Achilles' ability to keep going is so frightening that even after having his heart crushed and his heel destroyed he can still go on for a time.

Valor (A+) - All mental interference is capable of being nullified. It also increases damage in hand-to-hand combat for one reason or another.

Divinity (C) - The divinity granted to Achilles by being a child of the sea goddess Thetis.

Affection of the Goddess (B) - Due to the love from his mother Thetis all his parameters besides luck and mana is increased by one rank.

--

Noble Phantasms

Troias Tragōidia (A) - Achilles' three-horsed chariot capable of flying and drawn by two immortal divine horses along with "A fine and famous" great horse he stole from a city.

Dromeus Komētēs (A+) - A continuous noble phantasm that could be said to be always on as it is the embodiment of his legend as the fastest hero. It allows him to move nearly instantly to his target.

Andreias Amarantos (B) - A skill that embodies Achilles immortality. It makes his body immune to taking damage from "Regular attacks" which include even A rank noble phantasms. The only weaknesses to this skill are servants with divinity or divine constructs are able to bypass this immortality to varying degrees based on their rank, things like a vampire bite won't be registered as an attack, and if his heel is damaged he'll lose 70% of his speed along with his immortality.

Diatrekhōn Astēr Lonkhē (B+) - His hero killing spear which can only be used when he's not inside of his chariot. He can use this spear in order to utilize a skill known as Dual Field which creates an enclosed space in which causality is negated and no one can leave until someone has won the battle.

Akhilleus Kosmos(A+) - A divine construct forged for Achilles by Hephaestus capable of blocking nearly any attack by a miniature world that retells the events of book 18 of the Iliad.