Weird Masters

With the meeting adjourning, everyone prepared to set out in two days. Gudako learned more about Okita and Medea, while Percival took Mash to train. Much to the intense happiness of the girl, she kept her excitement hidden, but her eyes gave away her true feelings.

That left Mars and Atalanta, with the latter wanting to learn more about Mars and what he does. It was like a curious cat following their instinct, which would be correct now, but that was part of Atalanta's character.

"Atalanta, what would you like to do?" The question seemed to snap Atalanta out of her inner world. She was trying to understand Mars silently, like a Hunter surveying its prey from a distance.

The question brought upon a tense silence. The only sound was the ticking clock in the monotone white halls. Mars was going to the kitchen, but Atalanta seemed to follow him like a stray animal. It wasn't weird, given the fact some Servants take the protection of their Master seriously.

"I…you're a Demi-Servant, right? What class are you?"

Mars could tell that the Huntress was caught off guard by his question and avoided it with her own. He didn't expect her to be…like this.

"Archer. Like you," Mars answered softly, his words seemed to spark a flame within Atalanta's emerald eyes, and her ears moved in a cutesy way.

"Then, if that's the case, Iet's train together. Knowing each other's strengths and weaknesses would be wise to cover one another on the field. If these Singularities are dangerous, we need to be ready," Atalanta covered her eagerness with the facade of a mentor.

Which, again, was cute.

"Sure!"

.

.

.

"Okita-"

"Souji!"

"O…..kita-"

"Master…."

"Sorry," Gudako caved, seeing the displeased look on Okita's face. It was more of a pout than anything else, which was like Mars would say, cute.

"Master, may I ask a question?" Medea spoke up this time, her voice laced with seriousness.

"Yes! And stop calling me Master. Gudako or Fujimaru works fine."

Medea could tell her Master was a bit of an airhead and very innocent like she used to be…of course, anyone would take this dialogue as Medea being jealous, but she was way beyond the point of jealousy.

Oh, if only she knew how wrong this would be in the future.

"Your partner, his name was Mars, correct? He and that little girl carry a weird sensation, more so Mars. It's like he possesses some divinity," Medea voiced with her lips curved into a frown. Being tormented by the Gods made her weary of them, and rightfully so. She was ready to eliminate Mars if the need arose.

But would she really do so? When she was summoned, Mars stopped the Doctor from calling out the title she had grown accustomed to. It wasn't anything heart-moving, but more along the lines of being considerate. It also seemed like he didn't take action because Atalanta was here. Surely her wild friend couldn't have been the only reason Mars held back from any action.

"Oh! That's because they're Demi-Servants. Mars has the powers of Gilgamesh, the first hero to be recorded. He was part man, part god, and part arrogant," Gudako answered with a hand on her chin.

Medea's eyes behind their robe widened. "I had no idea such a thing was possible."

"A lot of things here are possible, Medea. I know Servants don't normally eat, but you have to try Mars's cooking! It's the best."

"He doesn't seem like the type to cook, Little Master," Medea said with uncertainty, but then again, Atalanta seemed to like her Master for more than just appearances, and the Huntress hadn't even tested him in a footrace yet.

"That's exactly where we're going now. He should be in the kitchen preparing something. Today is Friday, so he's most likely making Pizza."

"He…has days where he makes specific food?" Was Okita's question a mix of bewilderment and amusement?

"Mhm. Don't worry, it'll be great!"

""If you say so, Master"" Okita and Medea said in unison with a sweatdrop. Their Master was certainly eccentric.

.

.

.

In the kitchen, Percival was sitting down beside Mash. It was as if he was her Servant. Percival had gotten clearance to tutor Mash, but it seems that extended to being her honorary Servant, not that Mars cared much about. It was good to see Mash getting out of her comfort zone.

"Fou!"

Mars, who was shirtless, wearing only a pair of black pants and matching boots, looked to his shoulder to see the… squirrel-like creature. Ever since becoming a Demi-Servant, Mars felt unsure about Fou. He was harmless on the surface, but that was only the surface, the top, to hide what was underneath. As long as Fou wouldn't cause any major damage, Mars didn't care if the cute rodent did whatever he did.

Calling him a rodent would most likely elicit a few scratches. It is totally not worth it.

Mars moved his head, the gold earrings dangling with the chime of a musical instrument. His blue eyes took on the shade of red, with its lizard-like silts expanding as he looked at the various ingredients on the countertop.

"Huh! Mars, where's the Pizza?"

Mars didn't turn his head, but he acknowledged the presence of Gudako and her Servants with a shift of his eyes.

"I'm making something different…it's called Masgouf. From my knowledge, it's a national dish from Iraq," Mars answered, his gaze returning to the sizzling fish on the stainless steel frying pan.

"Iraq? Eh…don't tell me you're making that because of Gilgamesh?"

.

.

.

"...No."

"You're lying, Master."

"Eh? How can you tell?"

"I noticed you tap your earlobe when you're under pressure or being deceitful," Atalanta said triumphantly. Her lips shook into a smirk as she sat down next to Medea.

"I did it again!"

"Atalanta, it hasn't even been a long time from what I can tell, and you already know your Master's traits. Should I be worried that you'll hang him on a post and shoot an arrow through his heart?" Medea teased as her thin lips moved into a mischievous smile.

"Um, Isn't that supposed to be…Oh! Wow, Mars, you move fast!"

Mars felt his brow twitch, and his mouth opened a bit to rebuttal but was interrupted when he felt himself enter a daze.

.

.

.

<i>"Gilles…do you feel that?"</i>

<i>"I'm afraid I don't, Jeanne. What does it feel like?"</i>

<i>"Like a little mouse watching from its corner. I wonder…." </i>

<i>Mars blinked, and his sight was met with pale yellow as they stared back at him. They resembled Saber Alter, but this one carried a flag.</i>

<i>"Interesting…I wonder when we'll meet."</i>

__________________________________________________________________________

<i>AN: And done! This was, once again, a chapter filled with nothing but the group conversing with one another. </i>

<i>I also did some lore research about Medea, and she's actually a descendant of Helios, which is actually pretty awesome. Also, I did some reading about Brynhildr and…I'm actually astounded. My friend likes her a lot and presses me to add her…so I might. It will be interesting. </i>

<i>Oh yeah, the ending. I've seen one story I read actually have their MC have a 'dream' about Jalter before meeting, so I decided to incorporate that here. </i>

<i>The next chapter will be uploaded around Midnight. At the time this was uploaded, I reached 24 Powerstones. That's an extra 12 overnight. Once again, I appreciate the support. I only care if you guys are reading and enjoying the story. Rankings don't matter to me. And since I have an extra 10 Powerstones, next Friday is a guaranteed double upload. </i>

<i>The OMAKE will be in the next chapter. </i>

<i>As always, thanks for reading!</i>