Vol 2. Chapter 21. Moonlight.

Particles of golden light spilled out from under Morgan's palm that was pressing down on Sakura's chest. As the light grew, Morgan slowly pulled her hand away from the girl's bare chest, causing the motes of lights to explode out from Sakura's ribcage.

The further her hand moved away from her patient, the more intense the glow, and slowly the motes of light coiled together into larger clumps. 

As the last particles of light withdrew from Sakura, they slowly coalesced to shape themselves in the shape of a see-through golden sheath with blue highlights.

The sight reminded me of my first glimpse of Excalibur.

My scant memories of the sheath from the anime didn't do it any justice, or rather couldn't, as half the beauty was in the feeling it radiated.

Unlike Excalibur, which felt like all your hopes and dreams were within arms reach, and that all you needed to do was grab them.

Avalon felt like that feeling you have when you've found that one warm super comfortable spot, that you know you'll instantly lose if you move an inch, paired with the feeling that everything will be alright.

To put it simply, it radiated peace. A comfortable one, where you know that you are in good hands, and that nothing will hurt you.

It was… beautiful.

As the sheath was about to fully solidify, Morgan moved it towards her own chest, and the particles rushed into her, much faster then they had left Sakura.

Without even properly 'shoving' it into her chest, its particles were practically sucked into her upper body in the blink of an eye.

Standing up from my chair, I strode over to the 'medical' table, and stood next to Morgan, while looking down at Sakura.

"Anything to note, other than her probable mental instability," I probed, while slightly furrowing my brows.

Morgan gave a hum, but she didn't respond for a minute, seemingly gazing at Sakura, before answering. "Her body is fine, but I was unable to reverse some of the physical effects of her 'training'," she said the last word with disgust, "but she is otherwise in pristine condition."

Placing A hand under her veil, I imagine she was cupping her chin. "Though… more importantly, I managed to revert the change to her Element," she gave a slight pause. "And I must say, having 'Imaginary Numbers' as both her Element and Origin is…" I could almost hear the grin that was probably forming on her face. "Most useful."

Slowly turning my head, I gave Morgan the most neutral look imaginable. "Morgan," I said in a slightly chiding tone.

Removing the hand from under her veil, she turned her head to look at me. "Your undertone makes me think that you are skeptical of my intentions," she replied in a calm tone.

Keeping the dry look up, I continued with a dry undertone. "You just called her 'most useful'... and from my knowledge on magi, any and all would love to pick apart someone with matching Origin and Elements…"

Huffing, she crossed her arms, turned her head away, and tilted it up in a show of dissatisfaction. "Please, I'm better than that," she huffed.

I continued to give her a blank stare in response.

Morgan stood there for a moment, before seemingly catching on to my silent denial of her statement.

Uncrossing her arm, she turned to look at me. "It has less to do with your," she emphasized harshly, "interpretation of what I'd do, and more with the fact that she could probably pick up some of my magecraft, or witchcraft even, despite the lacking mysteries."

That made me draw a blank.

Blinking a few times, I forced on the important aspects of what she just said. "How would she be able to circumvent the lacking mysteries?"

Morgan turned to look at the sleeping girl, before answering my question. "Through the use of 'Imaginary Numbers', she'll be able to react with the illusory aspects of the world, like shadows."

"And given my own expertise with the subject matter, I am sure that with the boost of her Origin being the same, that I'll be able to augment some of my mysteries to become viable for her to use in the current age," she explained with an underline of eagerness.

Pausing for a moment, I mulled over her words, causing me to notice something. "Morgan," I called her name out gently.

Slowly, she turned her head to look at me, while slightly cocking it to the side. "Do you wish to stay past the war?" I asked in the same tone.

After all, if she wished to see if she could train the girl in her craft, she'd need to stay longer than the short duration of this war.

Morgan stared at me for a whole minute, before giving a shallow sigh. "I do," she stated matter of factly.

She didn't remove her gaze from me, probably either waiting for a refusal, or a rebuttal. Instead, I gave her a nod.

Was it a smart idea, no, definitely not.

She was a serial killer, probably a mass murderer… but I literally lived under the same roof as Altrouge, who is most certainly worse on that front, so I was a bit more flexible when it came to that stuff…

And I'd certainly not complain if she stuck around, especially with her recently having mellowed out a lot more, it had made her more likable overall.

"Sure, I see no real problems with that. But you'll need to handle Altrouge on your own, as I am fairly sure that she said she'd gut you if you came back," I stated with a hint of amusement, before returning my gaze to Sakura.

There was a minute of silence as I waited for Morgan to respond, but seeing as she was either content to stay silent, or having issues taking it in, I decided to break that silence.

"We should probably get her clothed and tucked into bed… and I should probably check in on Kariya, and inform him of the good news," I suggested reflexively.

That seemed to do the trick, as Morgan snapped her finger, conjuring a small piece of paper.

"Yes, I'll inform him of your arrival, and send you over to explain things. In the meantime, I'll take the girl with me to Rosalind," she said somewhat hurriedly.

Words quickly drew themselves onto the piece of paper, before it vanished in thin air, causing Morgan to turn her focus to me.

"He's in the same apartment as before," she explained in a slightly calmer tone.

Raising a brow, I gave a slight nod. "Suppose I'll leave now, say hi to Mom for me," I said while turning around, heading for the door.

"I'll give you a lift," Morgan said from behind.

Quickly turning, I watched as she slowly raised her hand. "Wait, I don't have sho–" I was cut off by the snapping of her fingers, and I felt as if I folded in on myself.

The feeling was as uncomfortable, as it was brief, and I suddenly felt myself 'unfold' half a meter over the ground.

Deftly sticking the landing, I felt my feet drench themselves in muddy water, causing me to groan.

{Morgan… I don't have any shoes…} I informed the witch with mild displeasure lacing my tone.

In the next moment, I watched as multiple shoes appeared mid air, as in more than two…

Quickly, I snatched them out of the air before they could fall into the same puddle as myself, causing me to barely hold five different shoes…

While a bit annoying, the situation was exacerbated by the fact that none of them matched, and that there was only one left-shoe…

It was one of my nicer brogue shoes, while the other four were a trainer, loafer, slipper and a stiletto… Safe to say, but I'm not wearing that last one…

I don't think this was a prank, or anything conscious on her part, as she seemed to be a bit off her game, after I accepted her wish so easily…

Some might even say, flustered…

Which was a nice change of pace, though I don't think I'd be able to pull it off again in the near future, let alone by accident like this time.

She probably just wanted to be alone for a moment or two, so I wouldn't begrudge her this, even if it was a bit annoying.

Walking out of the puddle, I stepped onto the nearest dry patch of pavement, while idly checking my surroundings.

Luckily, despite Morgan's somewhat absentmindedness, she had dropped me off close enough to the apartment complex, in an area that just happened to be devoid of people.

With a simple application of a water magecraft, I pulled out the moisture in my socks, before putting on my shoes, picking to pair the brogue with the loafer, as they were the closest to matching.

Not really knowing what to do with the other three shoes, I haphazardly stuffed them into my jacket, causing them to awkwardly poke out from my pockets.

Looking somewhat like an imbecile, I started moving towards the only large building in the surroundings, marking it as the apartment building I was looking for.

Walking for a few minutes, I entered the apartment complex. Passing the reception, I walked up the seven flights of stairs, before landing on the right floor.

Passing by a few apartment doors, I stood in front of the one I knew Kariya had acquired.

Giving the door a few good knocks, I waited patiently outside the door this time, so as to not startle him.

It didn't take long, as the door slowly creaked open, revealing a bleeding Kariya, who had blood soaked bandages on the left side of his face.

… It would seem that the worms inside of him were 'stimulated' thanks to our battle… Oops…

"Pendragon," he wheezed out, while his one eye stared at me with clear hope shining though.

Raising a brow, I gestured inside. "May I enter?"

Gingerly, he stepped aside, allowing me inside.

Walking into the room, I took a chair from the dinner table, and placed it in front of the couch. "Lay down, you look like shit," I said while gesturing to him to crash on the sofa.

He didn't respond verbally, but he all but collapsed onto his back on the sofa.

Seeing that he had made himself comfortable, I straightened up, and fixed him with a serious look. "I have some very good news, and a bit of bad news," I started off, instantly drawing his attention.

"For the good news," I said while extending a finger. "Sakura is safe, and I have healed her from the bodily effects of the pit." That made him give a relieved smile, and he seemed to sink further into the couch.

"She'll be staying with me for–" "No! Bring her here," he wheezed out, cursing me to sigh.

"She needs stability right now, so I've been thinking of sheltering her for a bit," I patiently explained, before giving him a look. "I have no problems with you taking care of her after the war, though I assume you wish to hand her back to her mother."

He gave a shaky nod of his head at my words. Closing my eyes, I bobbed my head up and down a bit, before opening my eyes again. "The sooner you get her permission to bring her back, the earlier I can hand her back to her, so I recommend doing it once you feel better."

"Though, I will not allow her to be present for when you ask, as Sakura is in enough distress as it is, and I refuse to give her false hope, in the event that Aoi rejects her once more," I explained, causing him to grimace momentarily, as if he wished to counter, before holding himself back.

Although it seems Morgan wishes to keep her, the decision will ultimately rest with Sakura.

Letting it sink in for a moment, I extended another finger. "Zouken has been dealt with, and I will hand him and his research over to the Clock Tower, once the war is over." This time, he grew agitated, and I could see him start to push himself upright.

Raising my hand to stop him, I gave a quick explanation. "While he certainly deserves death, that is too good for him," I said in a cold tone, causing him to freeze up while looking slightly mollified.

"What do you mea–!" He started coughing, cutting himself off.

Seeing this, I raised a hand to stop him from talking, while shooting him a somewhat worried look.

"Try not to talk too much, tap the table instead, one tap for yes, two for no, and three for why."

He didn't look all too well, and I'll have to give him a checkup once I was done with informing him of the prudent details.

"I went with this approach because, once he's a Sealing Designate, the Clock Tower will start picking his mind apart for any useful knowledge he's got. And with him being over five hundred, it will take years, and it'd be an incredibly painful experience for him, comparable to the worst of torture," I explained.

Kariya gave a crooked smile at the description of what would happen to his 'father', and returned to lying back on the sofa.

Naturally, the fact that Zouken was a member of the Clock Tower, and someone ranked Pride, had more to do with it. As me killing him without bringing him in for questioning, would set a dangerous precedent for similar cases, and could lead to others killing people, and framing them post death.

So it was for the best that I brought him in, as it would kick up less of a fuss. And seeing as he is more of a parasite, than an actual human, I was sure that I would not receive any backlash for my actions.

Lowering my hand, I gave him a slight grimace, as the next bit of news was not good.

"Unfortunately, we had to sacrifice your brother to kill Zouken," I explained gently.

Kariya froze, his eyes widened, and his mouth opened, before he snapped it shut, and he tapped his finger three times on the table.

Pursing my lips, I pressed on. "Zouken was hiding inside your brother's heart, as a small parasite, which was too difficult to remove safely given the circumstances, so we had to remove the heart as a whole, killing your brother in the process."

It was a partial lie, but given what Morgan had said, it was close enough to the truth, though she had been surprisingly sparse on the details, so I presume she was leaving out a thing or two.

There was silence, as Kariya moved his head away to look at the ceiling, a small tear running down the unbandaged side of his face.

From what I knew, they weren't close, but I don't think this was how he wished for things to turn out. They might have been estranged, but they were brothers nonetheless.

"Did… he die peacefully?" He asked in a whisper.

Probably not…. As I imagine the worms inside him were running on overdrive, but that was definitely not the right thing to say.

"He passed quickly, and you could host an open casket funeral, and no one would bat an eye," I replied kindly.

I did not answer his question properly, but the answer would at least imply that he died painlessly.

Pausing for a moment, allowing him to make peace with his thoughts, I moved on with the conversation.

"Now that I'm done with the good and bad news, we have to get to the meat and bones of this meeting," I pressed, causing him to slowly turn to look at me, with his slightly red eye.

"I'm going to have to give you a detailed checkup, along with healing what needs healing, as in your current state, the likelihood of your death is sky high, and I'd rather keep you alive," I explained, before pushing myself up from the chair.

"I'll see if I can remove any of the worms without lowering your combat efficiency, but given you're lacking talents in magecraft…" my words trailed off, as I gave him a pitying look. "You need all the juice you can get, so I wouldn't keep my hopes up."

Kariya looked stunned for a moment, before bursting into a coughing fit. "You—"

Stopping, he took in a few shaky breaths, before continuing. "You'd be willing to cure me?" He asked in disbelief.

Shrugging, I fixed him with a look. "Think of it this way, if Sakura ends up in your custody, I can't have you dying on her anytime soon," I replied with a hint of warmth.

"Thank you," he wheezed out gratefully, and I shot him a dubious look.

"You won't be saying that in a few minutes, as my healing magecraft hurts like a bitch."

~~Fate/False Order~~

Pursing my lips, I quickly teleported some shoes from the entry's shoe-rack, to Alistair's location in a hurry, before practically collapsing onto a chair.

I was not feeling all too good… or rather, I didn't know exactly how to feel.

Alistair's simple acceptance of my wish was a good thing… but I was expecting some push back, or rather, a lot of pushback.

While me and Alistair got along well, more than well actually, but my reputation should have been more than enough of a reason to deny me, as I would have probably done the same in his shoes without getting an explanation, or excuse on my intentions and past behavior.

Him seeing my past should give more credence to that decision, as I don't think there are any good, or rather sympathetic memories, other than my early childhood.

It just didn't feel right.

I could be lying, I could be scheming, as the deal between us ends with the war, so I could be planning to stab him in the back at the end of the war… which means he's either a moron, and he is, but not to that degree… or he is trusting to a fault when it comes to me… which is even worse than being a moron.

Inhaling a shaky breath, I pushed myself up from the chair, and looked down at the little girl. I had slipped up thanks to her, but it was for the better, so I should give her something small in return.

Humming to myself, I moved over to a dresser, and pulled out a dress I had gotten Alistair to buy for me. While it was nice, and I'd rather keep it, we didn't have clothes, or pajamas for the size of a six year old.

Walking back to the operation table, I conjured some threads, and started getting her measurements. The dress floated out from my hands, and hovered above the child, as to give me a general idea over how it looked.

The floating dress cut itself down to size, while knitting itself together into a more suitable shape for Sakura.

Soon it formed a white pajama, but it felt a bit plain…

Frowning, I added a few effects to the piece of clothing, turning it into a high end mystic code, but it was worth the effort.

Now it gives the wearer a comforting feeling, while adjusting its heat to a comfortable level, while being incredibly tear resistant, along with being able to shrug off most low level magecraft.

Tapping my finger on my chin, I added a few pink sakura petals to the design, as it being pure white was a tad boring.

Clapping my hands together, the newly minted Mystic Code moved on its own, and clothed little Sakura, making her look somewhat cute in her new outfit.

Satisfied with my work, I cast my illusion on myself, before picking her up, and headed for 'Rosalinds' house.

Reaching the front door in record time, I gave the doorbell a ring.

It didn't even take two full seconds for the door to slide open, revealing Rosalind in her own set of blue and green checkered pajamas. 

She looked somewhat expectant, and a smidge worried as our gazes met. She quickly looked at the sleeping Sakura, before stepping out of the way.

"How is she?" She asked, as I was making my way inside.

"Likely traumatized, but she is physically fine," I calmly explained, before turning to look at Rosalind, who had given a sigh of relief. "Where should I put her?"

She quickly extended her arms, and I followed the unasked request, and placed Sakura in Rosalind's arms, who quickly cradled the child, while giving her a worried look.

"I should probably have her sleep in my room, as I wouldn't want her to wake up alone in an unfamiliar place."

I gave a slight hum, before turning around.

As I took a step towards the exit, I felt my sleeve being tugged. Turning my head, I saw Rosalind looking back at me with a small smile. "Would you mind staying here for a moment?"

Pursing my lips, I mulled it over.

I had all but thrown out Alistair, and he was bound to be gone for an hour or so, given it would take time to help and explain things to the last proper Matou. Meaning that I had a good bit of freetime.

Shrugging, I turned fully, meeting Rosalind's large smile.

"Let's tuck her in then," she said, before moving off, and I naturally followed her lead.

Reaching her room, Rosalind opened the door, and walked over to her double bed, gently placing Sakura on it, and tucking her in.

Rosalind sat herself on the edge of the bed, and used her hand to brush some of Sakura's hair away from her face, while giving the sleeping girl a small smile.

Seeing how content Rosalind looked, I walked into the room, and leaned my back on the wall, while looking at her.

"You seem to be rather smitten," I voiced my observation, and Rosalind didn't turn to face me, but her smile turned wry.

"It's a bit hard not to," she replied matter of factly. "I poked around in that monster's library once Artoria and I got done with the extermination, and after reading his notes on what she had gone through…" her voice trailed off, and she looked at the child with hints of sorrow. "It's hard not to want to comfort and spoil her."

Pausing for a moment, I pressed on a bit. "Thinking of adoption?"

The question made her sigh while idly twirling a lock of Sakura's purple hair. "She's a 'high maintenance child', as in she'll need a lot of help and care to get better… So I'll need my son to pick up either one of my positions in the Parliament or Clock Tower for me to give her the attention and care that she needs."

"So it's as much his decision, as it is mine, if we're going to take care of her…" Her words trailed off, as she turned to look at me. "But I'd appreciate it if you helped in convincing him," she said with a cheeky wink, and a thumbs up for good measure.

It might be a bad idea to mention that Sakura has a desperate uncle that wishes to use her as the key to her mother's heart. And I am all for keeping her, despite Alistair's wish to give her family a chance to reunite, I find that notion ludicrous.

"Sure, I see no issue with that."

Rosalind's smile became a smidge more happy, as she returned to looking at the sleeping child.

"I'm happy you and Alistair get on so well," she commented offhandedly, causing me to raise a brow.

"That makes it sound like you weren't happy with your own partner," I commented with a hint of suspicion, causing Rosalind to snort aloud.

"I had something close to a shotgun wedding, as my parents suddenly died in a plane crash when I was twenty, and I needed to secure the family line, while simultaneously dropping out of university and starting two new jobs," she said tiredly, causing her expression to turn somewhat sour.

"I had always been focused on my studies and training, thanks to that I only had one friend in Amelia, who was a godsend, as without her I would have run the family into the ground after the first month in charge, with all the extra work I had on my plate."

Shaking her head tiredly, she continued. "So after I went through a few marriage interviews, I wasn't able to spot the signs of someone pretending to be someone else for their benefit, thanks to my lack of exposure to others and my overall tiredness."

"So your husband was a bastard?" I asked dryly, earning another snort from Rosalind. "That and more," she responded with good humor.

"We barely spoke, and the only good thing he did was aid in the conception of Alistair," she said with a hint of derision in her voice. "I would have divorced him in a heartbeat, but I was busy being pregnant, and juggling two jobs, so it wasn't with the stress and he got to stay in the house."

Crossing my arms, I tilted my head to the side. "That's rather sad, if I'm being honest," I commented with a hint of pity.

Rosalind waved her hand dismissively. "I was stupid, and rushed something that shouldn't be rushed, so it was on me. Nothing that didn't resolve itself in the end, anyways…"

What a nice way to say that she killed him.

"But less on my love life…" Her tone had changed, and she turned to look at me with a smile. "And more on yours…"

Rosalind looked a bit too smug, and I assumed this was in an attempt to leave the subject matter, while getting something out of it.

I would not lie to her… well more than I had to, as she has been nothing but kind, even if I created a small rift as she deserved as much for the way she had behaved towards me.

Worst comes to worst, if she asks about something inappropriate, I'll just look shy, and say that it's private.

"Shoot," I remarked in an encouraging tone.

Straightening up, she leaned forwards and gave a smile reminiscent of a girl half her age. "What made you like Alistair?"

Humming for a moment, leaned the back of my head on the wall, and mulled the question over.

"Well…" I said in a wry tone, "from what I can tell, he has never once lied to me, nor withheld anything from me, which is something I really appreciate," I explained with a small smile.

The truth is something that was in short supply during my time, and it was something I was deprived of too often. So him being upfront is surprisingly refreshing, and certainly a quality I could admire, along with it being a virtue which I couldn't properly uphold.

Rosalind however, didn't seem to see it my way, as she fixed me with the most unimpressed look I had seen in a while. "I just poured out my heart for you, telling you stuff that I haven't told Alistair, and the juicy gossip I get in return is: I like his honesty," she said in an incredulous tone.

Rolling my eyes, I gave her a deadpan look. "It's true though."

She gave a snort in return. "If that's all you like about him, then I am truly unimpressed."

Huffing, I tried to think up something that wouldn't totally blow my cover, while being true, and there was only one thing I could think of at the moment that would do.

"You know how I mentioned that I was incompatible with my family craft, right?" Rosalind nodded at my question, prompting me to continue. "Yeah, but I didn't mention that I was so terribly incompatible that I was hit with something equivalent to ten times the harshest backlash possible."

Rosalind's eyes widened, and she looked at me with shock. "You went insane?" She asked with a lot of worry clear in her voice, and I nodded.

"I had a voice in my head for each celestial body in the solar system, causing me to become erratic for a large portion of my life," I explained calmly, and Rosalind's face fell at the news.

"To retain whatever hints of 'sanity', if it could be called that, that I had left, I tried to find out which voice was my own, which lead me to follow the one which was the most unlike the rest… which happened to be the cruelest voice, as it was the only unique one, as the others were kind and naïve."

Sighing, I finished up my somewhat accurate 'backstory'. "I did a lot of things I'm no longer proud of, things that could probably be seen in an Apostles' lair," I finished while sighing for good measure.

"Alistair met me close to right after I was 'cured' of my insanity, which caused me to act in a somewhat… dubious way when I first met him, reminiscent of how I acted when I wanted something," I said with a hint of embarrassment.

Truth be told, I was almost a hair's breadth away from killing him when I saw the green eyes and yellow hair… not my best moment, but I was lucky that I caught on to Alistair not being Artoria.

"While I would still say that it wasn't a terrible first impression, I was lucky that he didn't judge me too harshly, despite the way I acted," I finished with a tired undertone.

"My family member had informed him of most of the things I had done ahead of time, so I was quite surprised that he didn't immediately judge me, or simply dispose of me thanks to all the bad I had done."

It's a bit amusing, but Rosalind is technically the family member that I am talking about, and I am certain that had he been a more skeptical person, that he'd have used all three command seals to kill me, so it's all true.

Taking a deep breath, I finally got to the point of the question she had asked. "What I like most about him, is the fact that he hasn't judged me on my past, but my actions… yes he was on eggshells around me in the beginning, but that was the least he could do for himself, and I do not resent him for it."

Closing my eyes, I leaned the back of my head on the wall.

"I have never once properly gotten a second chance from anyone in my life, nor do I even deserve to get one to begin with," I gave a slight pause at this. "But I can't tell you how nice it is to get one regardless."

I was willing to bet that he had seen at least one or more things that he'd find reprehensible in his dreams of my past, yet I have yet to get any proper talking to, nor received any judgment or an interrogation.

He had allowed my actions to speak for themselves, and I could confidently say that I started that on the wrong foot to begin with, yet he had still given me the benefit of the doubt.

Was it pitiful that all it took for me to like someone, was to be treated as a proper human being for once in my life? Probably, but I'd be damned if that stopped me.

I heard the creak of Rosalind's bed, followed by footsteps coming ever closer to me.

Before I could open my eyes to meet Rosalind's own, I felt two arms snaking their way around me, pulling me from the wall into an embrace.

Blinking my eyes open, I was met with a head of golden hair, as Rosalind had placed her head in the nook of my neck. "You've had it rough, haven't you?" She questioned gently.

I felt my throat go a bit dry at the question. I had no right, no right to complain. But it was hard, so hard to deny her statement.

"Yes," I replied in a whisper, and I felt her embrace tighten at the remark.

"You love him a lot, don't you?"

"More than he knows…"

And if that wasn't the truth… I don't know what is.

~~Fate/False Order~~

{Morgan, can I get a lift back?} Alistair asked in a tired tone, and I was more than inclined to help him back.

Checking in on the raven familiar I had stationed by Kariya's base of operations, I quickly spotted Alistair on top of the apartment complex, and locked onto his coordinates.

With a small smile, I opened a large shadow portal under his feet, causing him to give a slight yelp, as he fell through it.

Quickly I placed one to the ceiling of the courtyard porch, where I was lounging.

The shadow above me expanded, and Alistair gave the most emasculate scream I had ever heard, as he fell from the ceiling.

As he was about to land on the floor, his fall slowed down to a crawl, allowing him to gently land on the floor, with his head landing squarely on my lap.

"Good evening," I said with a smirk, not that he could see it, but he seemed rather unimpressed, or at least that's what the face he was making told me.

"Evening," he remarked curtly.

"Everything go well?" I probed, earning a sigh from Alistair. "Yeah, though he was in worse shape than we had predicted, as the worms acted up during our assault."

That could have been a problem, but seeing that he said it was fine, I can only trust that the damage was nothing he couldn't patch up.

Moving my hand to his head, I threaded a few fingers through his hair absentmindedly, while giving him a hum as a signal to continue.

He gave a raised brow at the action, but didn't comment.

"He's agreed to the plan, and will inform us if, or rather when, Kirei sends him a request for an alliance. And he'll follow our instructions over the phone, and will deploy Berserker according to our wishes," he finished, in a slightly tired tone.

"Good job," I complimented reflexively, while continuing to fiddle with his hair.

Waiting a moment, he shot me a dry look. "Not that I mind this, but seeing as I am finished for the day, I'd like to go to bed."

I didn't answer, instead mulling over if I should go through with this or not. He probably wouldn't understand, but there was always that one in a hundred chance…

Alistair didn't seem too impressed at my lack of answer, as his brow had started twitching.

Taking in a deep breath, I stared directly into his eyes. "Alistair." His annoyance dampened at the soft tone, and gave me his full attention. "The moon is beautiful, isn't it," I said in japanese.

I felt a lot lighter after saying it, but I made sure to scrutinize his expression to see if he caught on… after all, we'd have a lot to talk about if he had.

The look of confusion he sent my way was cute, and his quick glance out from the porch to the cloudy night sky only confused him more.

Blinking a few times, he gave me a skeptical look. "If you say so…"

I felt a hint of relief that he didn't get the hint, but it felt nice to say at the very least… Though it would have been nice if he had caught on…

Maybe I should discreetly give him a book on Japanese poetry…

Closing my eyes, I felt the smile on my face widen.

After the war, I'd have all the time in the world to get a proper reply… but a girl can still hope.

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78 Hours, 2 Minutes And 8 Seconds Until Zero 

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A/N

Welcome back, my reader Overlords, please add this to your library and give me some comments, stones and Reviews, as it would be much appreciated.

Damn, lots to talk about... 6K words.... so what did you all think?

Wanted to give something with a bit more substance, after not giving you all anything but one chapter last week.

Hope the chapter was up to snuff, as I have shit I need to do! So help me out!

Btw, I have made a Discord server for the fic, come on and chat with me!

https://discord.gg/y9HdZ9WN

Now I'm tired and have a fuck ton of Uni stuff to do, so have a nice day, and send me some stones or some shit, I need motivation, or some shit like that.