Note:
" Speech." = Regularly Speaking.
' Speech.' = Internal Thought
" Activation." = Magic/Np/Skill used.
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Fuyuki City
Matou Residence
February 1
Late at night, Rider's master scrolled through the internet to search for her servant history and information about him.
After some time, Sakura finally found the source she was looking for. A website that detailed Rider's history alongside an overview to that.
Ankit, a character mentioned in the Vedic texts, primarily in Shiva Purana. He is the central figure that vanquished The king of Asuras, Andhaka.
He was raised by a Rakshasi, Sara. From an early ages he excelled in archery and swordsmanship which was further improved under the guidance of The Supreme God, Shiva.
Lord Shiva didn't reveal his identity to the young hero at first, despite that the young hero still treated his mentor as though he were a God, if not greater than one.
Having seen his devotion and honesty, Lord Shiva revealed himself and asked what boon Ankit wanted, the great hero rather than asking for some greater power asked the blessing to see through all falsehood. Lord Shiva impressed also granted the Divine blade Chandrahasa to his disciple.
Along side his martial capabilities and devotion, he was a figure renowned for being the Greatest Hunter of his time.
He was a hero also known for his honesty, justice, sagacity, tolerance, good behavior and discernment.
He is widely considered the greatest Hero ever mentioned in Vedic text, that weren't of Divine Origin.
So much so that in the The Great Epic of Mahabharata, Lord Krishna speaks of him as the greatest Hero mankind gave birth to, one who could best both side of Kurukshetra war in a single day.
A figure of great strength and devotion, one who forever upheld his Dharma.
" …" Sakura was shocked as she scrolled through the site about her new companion, about the deeds performed by him and his journey.
For someone like her, from modern times, acts of that level was bound to be extraordinary supernatural or not.
"You know if you want to know about me, you can just ask Master." A voice suddenly appeared beside Sakura, causing the girl to scream in surprise.
Looking back Sakura saw the companion in question, with a sly grin adorning his face.
"Ankit-san, What are you doing here?" Sakura hurriedly asked, as she closed the computer.
"So, you dislike me being here master?" Rider pretending to be saddened.
"No.. That's not what I meant." Sakura looked at her servant, who was smiling at her. "You said you would arrive late. So, I was surprised you arrived so early."
The playful smile on Rider's face vanished, something hat didn't go unnoticed. For as long as she had known him, which wasn't that long, he was a cheerful person with an ever present smile on his face. Well, except for the incident that happened a while ago…
"Did you encounter another servant?" To which Rider nodded.
"From the outskirts of Fuyuki City, in the forest I felt a powerful presence of a servant." It was a rare moment for Sakura to see such seriousness on Riders face.
"And judging from the pressure I felt, the servant is either one of demonic origin or a Berserker." Rider said with a grim tone, not hiding anything. "The rage and madness I felt from that area was abnormal to say the least."
" A Beserker.." Sakura murmured, Rider had already explained to her what Classes of Servants represented alongside their capabilities and Beserker was among the worst of them.
"Worry not, so long as I draw breath none shall ever harm you." Rider proudly puffed his chest out, somewhat easing Sakura's worry.
"You aren't afraid of this Beserker?"
"Wary Yes, but afraid No." Rider could see Sakura tilting her head. " Always approach the unknown with care, approach the unknown with fear and you will end up making the wrong decision."
"Don't you feel afraid?"
"I do, and at various points in my life have felt that." Rider looked out the window, reminiscing about his past lives. "But fear doesn't matter, what matters is how you choose to handle it and overcome it."
A moment of silence passed between the master and servant, with the former understanding the meaning behind the latters words.
Rider approached his master and sat on the floor, next to his master and his partner, Sers. Rider calmly stroked his lazy partner's fur.
The partner in question being, a white tiger who had shrunk himself to the size of a household cat.
"Ankit-San?" Rider looked up at his master, who had stood up from the chair. "Could we go on a walk?"
"Right now?" Rider asked looking at the wall clock, which displayed 12:10 PM, to which his master nodded.
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"Ankit-San, Why do you look like that?" Sakura looked beside her at Rider, seemingly see through yet able to be seen?
"You know. Of all the things, this question was one I least expected?" Rider said as they walked in the dead of night. " Though that is an important question, no doubt, especially given our current situation."
"So why would someone described as more than 6 feet tall, someone in his late thirties and someone with skin like that of beaten gold look like current me?" Sakura blushed , as she realised for how long Rider was there observing her, especially when she was reading about Rider.
" Well some of that has been moulded by people to make me similar to them or praise me beyond my deeds." Rider looked around, internally praising the park they were in.
"Most want their idols or heroes to be one they can relate to, a natural human behaviour, good and bad." Rider looked at the star filled sky.
"What about the part about you being older?" Sakura sat the park bench near them and gestured Rider to do so as well, which he complied.
"That too is not wholly correct, I passed before I could reach my thirties. At 22 to be precise."
A moment of silence passed between the two, this was worse than what Sakura read about him.
Rider at his death wasn't even a decade older than her, he died quite young.
Although there were times that she herself contemplated….
"Do you desire the grail?"
"Hmm, The holy grail. An omnipotent wish granting device, who would reject that." Before Rider could answer that, a different voice interrupted the Master-Servant duo.
Sakura realised her mistake, she physically spoke this time rather than speaking telepathically like she has been doing after she entered the park.
Looking at the source of the interruption, she saw a rather tall man in his mid twenties wearing a cassock, with a smile adorning his face that unsettled her.
She looked towards her servant, who seemed very relaxed as though he already knew the stranger was coming.
An assumption solidified as Rider placed his hand on hers, to assure her.
"Ah, how rude of me. Let me introduce myself, I am Kirei Kotomine, the overseer of this Holy Grail War."
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A/N: Do comment and leave a review, that would help as I have been away for a while.