A side-story set within the Convergence Series, set after The Ultimate Game and just before Right Hand of the Crimson Moon.
Fuyuki City was an odd place. An ordinary, peaceful city just like any other place. Or so, the normal people there would believe. A city that hid many secrets underneath, of mages, killers, and those who held the secrets of the multiverse in their palms.
It was only in the early stages of Winter, but it was still rather cold regardless. At least, in the night. It was bearable during the daytime, but if you were caught without a jacket and a scarf during nighttime, you'd better hope you were close to home. Of course, according to the forecasts, it was bound to get colder even in the daytime anyway. Then again, a mage like Rin Tohsaka did not watch the weather forecasts. Mainly because she wasn't exactly confident in her skills on working a TV and flipping through the channels, hence why she didn't have one in her mansion. The most advanced pieces of technology she had in her mansion were the AC, stove, microwave, and fridge.
Tohsaka Estate, a Western-style, relatively small mansion with only two residents; Rin Tohsaka and Frank Castle, who had come with the young girl to her world sometime around the Akibahara Incident. Over the course of the months that had passed since that incident, the two of them had gotten closer, with Frank essentially taking over Kirei Kotomine's role as Rin's official guardian, even though she was nearly 18.
Our tale would begin on a morning like any other. It was presumed to be about 7 AM. At least, according to the old grandfather clocks scattered all over the mansion anyway. Stumbling out of her bedroom like a zombie, Rin, still in her pajamas and her hair ribbons nowhere to be found at the moment, dragged herself into the main sitting room, rubbing her eyes like a child.
"Mm... Frank, are you up?" She called out with a yawn. Evidently, she had stayed up late fiddling with her jewels the night before, too absorbed in her work to realize that the next day was a Monday. Such was the fate of inattentive students, it seemed.
Frank hadn't led a life this quiet and simple in... well, ever. Even as a child, Frank had been involved in some sort of conflict. Granted, there was still a lot to deal with here, but nowhere near as much as there was back where he came from. The mages were powerful, but there were nowhere near as many of them as there were criminals. So he was confident he could stay alive.
So far, he hadn't killed a single criminal that hadn't made some sort of threat against Rin. The city like it was, though, it was hard to not encounter trouble somewhere, and Frank had to... intervene... when this occurred.
Despite his attempts to change to keep Rin happy, old habits died hard for the now-retired vigilante. So, parked out back was a van full of various weapons he had worked for quite a while to amass. He hadn't kept it a secret from Rin, of course, he just said it was for her protection anytime she got mad about it.
Perhaps the most difficult items for him to obtain were the magically forged ones. It had taken him working for months to get what he had, earning and calling in favors with other mages, or even secretly resorting to blackmail and coercion on a few occasions. So far, he only had a few: a small knife, a Civil War era rifle with somewhere around fifty magical rounds, and a longsword. He practiced with the sword regularly, as the style was unfamiliar to him.
Needless to say, though, Frank didn't have many friends among the mages.
He never stopped his nearly fanatical exercise and fire-arm practice regime, either, and was even considering trying to teach Rin how to use a gun, in case she needed it some day. There were several hours that he set aside specifically to be with Rin, though, in contrast to his schedule before.
When she came in, the viglante stirred. He had not been awake, but he was a very light sleeper, so he was now. Grunting, he sauntered out of his bedroom. "Am now..."
"Mmm... make breakfast for me. And tea, please. 'Kay, thanks," Rin ordered tiredly, marching back to her room to get changed without even waiting for a response. As close and personal as they were with each other, Rin had usually treated Frank like some sort of servant, but not an inferior as a person.
Perhaps "butler" was the better word. If butlers went to war alongside their "masters." The Fifth Holy Grail War, which was in its beginning stages, at this point. The Fifth Holy Grail War, where Rin Tohsaka was chosen to be a participant. Whenever she was asked about it, Rin would explain, but not too much in detail. She felt somewhat awkward explaining the workings of the mage world to an ordinary human. Even if Frank claimed to know quite a bit about the workings of magecraft from his own world, she imagined he would still be lost if she'd bring in words like "thaumaturgy" and "Noble Phantasm," so she was a bit lax on the details.
Essentially, all Frank knew about the incoming Holy Grail War was that it would be fought between seven mages, known as "Masters," alongside magical familiars that would be summoned, known as "Servants," which happened to be the Heroic Spirits of legendary figures long past, like King Arthur and Francis Drake to even Hercules and Medusa. How exactly they were summoned, Rin didn't explain in greater detail, but she figured he didn't need to know that. She had everything in the bag, after all. Or so she imagined. The reason they would fight was to gain the Holy Grail, a mystical and legendary device said to be able to grant a single wish to the victor. Simple enough, though like the other details, Rin didn't share what her intended wish was.
Though Rin disapproved of Frank's efforts, thinking they were unnecessary and unrefined, she eventually let him be for a small number of reasons. For one, she knew how stubborn he could be, and even though Rin was also somewhat stubborn herself, it seemed like older men beat out teenage girls in the unyielding department. The second, and more practical reason in Rin's eyes, was that she remembered what Kotomine said about the Fourth Holy Grail War that he had participated in ten years earlier.
Some could say that either no one won the Fourth Holy Grail War, or that it resulted in a tie due to the two last Masters never reaching a conclusive ending to the fight for the Holy Grail. The last two Masters, of course, being Kotomine himself, and a mysterious man known as Kiritsugu Emiya, the "Mage Killer." From what Kotomine had said, Emiya was an unorthodox man with unorthodox methods. At least, from the eyes of a mage with little use for conventional weaponry. While the other mages were busy charging their spells and reciting chants, Emiya was busy counting his magic-disabling bullets, planting strategic bombs, finding blackmail material, or just shooting the Masters dead with a submachine gun. Hence, Kotomine admitted that Rin would be at a huge advantage if Frank was anywhere near as cunning as Emiya, which he likely was.
Once Rin was done changing into her uniform, she stumbled back outside, mumbling to herself about jewels or something of the sort.
While Frank was no five star chef, thirty years of having to cook for himself had fostered some skill in this area. So, he made her a simple breakfast of eggs, bacon, and biscuits. Not the healthiest meal, granted, but the high protein might help the scrawny young woman actually beef up a little. The meal tasted pretty damn good, by the time he was finished. The coffee he made, which was just the typical heart attack in a cup, was decent but nothing special. Frank didn't eat or drink any of this, simply having a protein bar and some milk.
As for the Holy Grail War, Frank was kept in the dark, but it didn't change that he was planning ahead. Even if Rin had a 'servant', the former vigilante doubted that whoever it was would prove quite as effective as a good fashioned .50 caliber sniper rifle. The mages were cocky little shits, for the most part, and didn't bother hiding their patterns and typical hideaways. He had already done quite a bit of research on the other contestants and even placed surveillance in the less secure areas they frequently visited, and a bomb in one of their homes.
As far as the servants went, he had gathered enough information to know that standard weaponry wouldn't cut it. In fact, that was why he had the Civil War rifle made. It had a long enough effective range that nobody that didn't see the bullet coming would be able to avoid getting their brains blown out.
Was all of this cheating? Quite possibly.
Did Frank know? No.
Would he care if he did? Not even a little. Rin's life was at risk. He was prepared to do just about anything to protect her, and that required him to do his homework on his enemies. Going in blind would get him killed just as quickly as a bullet to the head would end his miserable life. Of course, he had kept his research and... initiative... to himself, preferring that Rin didn't know in case it was against some sort of rule.
When she muttered something about gems, Frank chuckled. "Stay up late working on your toys?"
"They are not toys. They're mementos from my father, and they're also gonna be useful weapons for the Holy Grail War. Just you wait. I'll make great bombs outta them in no time," she grumbled, beginning to eat the meal prepared for her with a brief "Thanks for the meal."
Considering the identities of the other Masters were a secret from each other, and some of them had not even been admitted into the War just yet, tracking down and researching the others was harder than suspected. One such Master that Frank would be able to track down was already dead, funny enough, presumably betrayed and murdered by his own Servant given the nature of his autopsy report, though naturally, the motivation for his supposed murder remained unknown. Either way, it was still considered relatively safe for Rin to go to school without the threat of someone coming after her looming over, though she figured that safety wouldn't last for long once every Master had been chosen, and after every Servant had been summoned.
Rin had yet to summon hers, but the young girl insisted she had it all figured out. She had expressed her desire to summon the "Saber" class Servant, which was considered the most balanced, and by extension, possibly most powerful class, and thus, took steps to make it so that a Saber would be summoned. What exact steps were made were a mystery to Frank, but it was to be noted that in recent days, she had been spending most of her free time in her father's study room.
While she was eating, the (somewhat primitive) phone began ringing. Without missing a beat, Rin quickly spoke. "Oi, Frank. Could you get that for me? I don't feel like responding..." She'd say, somewhat akin to that of a spoiled princess, "Tell them to pass on a message to me or something. Heh, look at me... It's almost like you're my secretary or something."
While finding the others that were announced might be hard, Frank had accomplished much more difficult tasks. He'd hunted down criminals unfindable by global intelligence agencies. Kept track of organizations even more clandestine than the wizards. This was his world, even though it really wasn't; the only thing that separated this from his old home was that he wasn't allowed to go around killing people. Now, the contestants that hadn't been decided were beyond his reach, of course.
Upon hearing about the death of one man at the hand of his Servant, Frank made his distrust of the beings very well known with Rin. Anytime it came up, he flaunted that he would kill the thing if it threatened her in any way, shape, or form.
"Yeah, I know, Rin. I'm sure you'll do 'im proud." Frank smiled an almost fatherly smile, though his feelings were anything but paternal. Rin had become his life. Every waking moment of the day not put towards his own health or her protection was spent just spending time with her. Getting to know her. Since leaving the Coalition headquarters with her, he had been trying very hard to figure out if she felt the same way. It was hard to tell, sometimes."
The former vigilante answered the phone with an annoyed grunt at being described as her "secretary."
"Hello. Is this Tohsaka?" A familiar, deep voice asked on the other hand. Kirei Kotomine himself. The overseer of the Fifth Holy Grail War to make sure everything went according to plan. He had returned to this world along with Rin and Frank, making preparations tirelessly, as he had wasted enough time dillydallying in the Monokuma Incident and during his time at the Coalition. Without waiting for a response from Frank, Kotomine began to speak again. "Ah, a lack of incessant yelling in my ear and despondent breathing. How are you this lovely morning, Mr. Castle?" He asked in a somewhat condescendingly nice tone. The priest knew that the two of them weren't exactly on the best of terms, but now was not the time to let personal vendettas get in the way.
"Could you inform Rin that the Holy Grail War is well on its way? If she wants to be branded a Master, she'll have to summon her Servant tonight," Kotomine said, "That's her ticket to being admitted into it after all. I'd appreciate it..."
"I'm tired of your shit, is how I am." Frank felt no such responsibility to be civil. "But I'll tell her." He hung up the phone without giving Kotomine a chance to respond. Rather laconically, he relayed the message. "You need a Servant." Rin was smart and Frank wasn't much of a talker, so he didn't see the point in elaborating excessively.
"Just remember, if it even seems like it's going to turn on you, I'm going to kill it. No way I'm letting you die for some damn familiar's pride." This he did elaborate on, though it might actually be a bit flattering that he did so. Despite his gruffness, he was expressing concern for her well-being.
"Ah, don't worry. Like I said, I have it all under control. I won't even give him a chance to attack if he turns out to be hostile," Rin said somewhat confidently. Well, as confident as a tired schoolgirl can be while eating bacon, eggs, and biscuits anyway, "They'll probably go through some process where they examine me, try to see if I'm worthy, all that old-timey stuff, and then try to attack me if they decide I'm not good enough. Emphasis on try," she would continue.
Servants were considered magical familiars of the highest order when it came to statistics. They were so strong, the "average" Servant was able to move and react at just under the speed of sound. Their many statistics, like Luck, Mana Energy, Agility, Noble Phantasm (which was their ultimate attack, essentially), and more, were all dependent on how notable the Heroic Spirit was in the past. For example, if it was someone was well remembered today as King Arthur or Hercules, they would be given extra boosts, compared to a relatively obscure figure like Diarmuid of the Love Spot.
However, the most notable thing that decided the potency of their statistics was how strong the Master was. If a low-level mage came to be a Master, the Servant's capabilities would be comparatively low to what it could have been with a high-level mage like Rin. This worked as an advantage and a disadvantage. The former because it would give them a better chance of winning the war, naturally, and the latter because that meant that if it turned out to be hostile and attacked without warning, not even Kirei Kotomine, one of the most powerful Executors in both direct and strategic combat, could match whoever Rin would summon, let alone Frank.
However, Rin's confidence stemmed from the Master's trump card. Upon a Servant's summoning, each Master will receive a mark on his or her hand. This mark was known as the three Command Spells, which would brand the Master an official participant of the war. Each of the three Command Spells can be used to force a Servant to do something, whether they wanted to or not. Hence, if whoever Rin would summon was hostile, she could quickly use one to force him to obey her. However, she'd have to be careful. If she were to use up all of them, her "official" authority over the Servant would be gone, and if that happened, well... she'd best hope that she had earned the Servant's natural respect.
Once Rin was finished with breakfast, she'd bring the plate to the kitchen and quickly wash it, before grabbing her bag and heading for the door. "Well, I'm off to class. I'll be back in the afternoon. Don't pick a fight with Kirei while I'm gone. 'Kay?" She said, exchanging farewells with Frank before beginning to take off.
Frank had no intention of fighting the Servant head on if things out of hand. Besides, having a reaction speed just below the speed of sound would do you no good if the bullet hit you before the sound reached you.
When she tried to leave, he caught her arm for a moment. "Please be careful, Rin. I know you can handle whatever happens, but... promise me you'll be careful." There was an almost pleading look in his eyes. It was clearly very important to him that she exercised the utmost caution.
"Eh?" Rin blinked in mild surprise, before offering a smile, "Jeez, you always gotta worry. Dontcha? Don't worry, I'll be fine. Thanks though. I'll see you when I get home," she said, before finally taking off for the day, leaving Frank alone for now.
Because of their time together and the talks they had during the Coalition, before the dreaded Akibahara Incident, Rin had taken Frank's advice and made amends with her younger sister. Though she still lived with another family, the process was still being worked out, though it was interrupted at the moment due to the impending Holy Grail War, what with Rin's life being put on the balance. Still, their relationship was recovered, and Rin would never know of the dark path that her sister would have taken to had she not followed Frank's advice, nor would she likely be aware of the actual full extent of how she suffered. Perhaps both were for the better.
Before long, however, only a few hours later to around noon, a sudden "crash" would heard from upstairs, specifically Rin's bedroom, followed by three thumps. Undeniably, it could only be one thing. Three people had just crashed through Rin's window and broken into the room. They were likely under the impression that the mansion was empty, given that the heir, still a schoolgirl, was off at class right now. Even though the Tohsaka Estate was protected from intruders by a magical Bounded Field that only let familiar people in, there was no mistaking that other people were here, likely having undone Rin's Bounded Field somehow.
Frank was not exactly taken with her promises. He knew there was still quite a bit of risk, no matter how much she blustered about how she could handle the Servant if things got out of hand. So his precautions would remain in place. Chances are, when he wasn't killing the other Masters, he would be stalking Rin and her Servant.
He heard the crash and several things went through his mind. First was the fact that he was unarmed, and the nearest fire-arm was in his room... which would require him risking getting caught empty handed. So he scooped up a large kitchen knife not entirely dissimilar to his favored Ka-bar knife, it just had a wider blade. Second, was that they, whoever they were, shouldn't have been able to get into the house. Clearly, they weren't any sort of pushover in the way of magic. Finally, whoever these people were, they weren't friendly.
Frank peered around a wall towards the source of the sound. If there was someone there, he would quickly move back so as to avoid being seen.
From outside, Frank would be able to hear rough shuffling in Rin's room, the door still closed. It seemed like they were smart enough to bypass Rin's Bounded Field, but improvident in believing that they were alone in this estate. At least, until the door would open, where a man in armor, a mask, the works, armed with conventional weaponry would then walk out and make his presence be known, cautiously scanning the area to check for sure that they were alone.
Quietly, his footsteps barely audible on the carpet, the man would begin walking in Frank's direction. The shuffling from inside the room would grow louder and rougher, the sound of a lamp crashing into the ground and drawers being forced open being heard from outside. Two more thumps would be heard, signifying that two more people had landed inside the house. From there, a mysterious voice would be heard.
"Hmph. What a pain. I gotta deal with the honcho's plans for him, and the worst part is he's probably gonna take all the credit for it..."
Frank remained completely silent. They were heavily armored, and extremely well armed, but there were only three of them, from what he could hear. Now, there could be more. He wasn't one to assume anything in a situation like this. So he quietly made his way out the farthest exit and moved around to his van. Hopefully, he could remain undetected whilst doing this.
He knew there was little he could do with a kitchen knife. Granted, he'd taken out two SWAT teams with a knife, but he never pushed his luck when he could avoid it. So, he grabbed an AA-12 automatic shotgun from the van and a small 1911 Colt handgun, sticking the handgun in the back of his pants. There were twenty shots in the AA-12's drum and eleven in the Colt's mag... that should be plenty, unless things got really out of hand.
He reentered the house from the same entrance, with the caution and skill he was taught in the military. Coming around the corner, he fired three of the armor-piercing AA-12 rounds at the first soldier he saw before ducking back behind cover.
Fuyuki City was an odd place. An ordinary, peaceful city just like any other place. Or so, the normal people there would believe. A city that hid many secrets underneath, of mages, killers, and those who held the secrets of the multiverse in their palms.
It was only in the early stages of Winter, but it was still rather cold regardless. At least, in the night. It was bearable during the daytime, but if you were caught without a jacket and a scarf during nighttime, you'd better hope you were close to home. Of course, according to the forecasts, it was bound to get colder even in the daytime anyway. Then again, a mage like Rin Tohsaka did not watch the weather forecasts. Mainly because she wasn't exactly confident in her skills on working a TV and flipping through the channels, hence why she didn't have one in her mansion. The most advanced pieces of technology she had in her mansion were the AC, stove, microwave, and fridge.
Tohsaka Estate, a Western-style, relatively small mansion with only two residents; Rin Tohsaka and Frank Castle, who had come with the young girl to her world sometime around the Akibahara Incident. Over the course of the months that had passed since that incident, the two of them had gotten closer, with Frank essentially taking over Kirei Kotomine's role as Rin's official guardian, even though she was nearly 18.
Our tale would begin on a morning like any other. It was presumed to be about 7 AM. At least, according to the old grandfather clocks scattered all over the mansion anyway. Stumbling out of her bedroom like a zombie, Rin, still in her pajamas and her hair ribbons nowhere to be found at the moment, dragged herself into the main sitting room, rubbing her eyes like a child.
"Mm... Frank, are you up?" She called out with a yawn. Evidently, she had stayed up late fiddling with her jewels the night before, too absorbed in her work to realize that the next day was a Monday. Such was the fate of inattentive students, it seemed.
Frank hadn't led a life this quiet and simple in... well, ever. Even as a child, Frank had been involved in some sort of conflict. Granted, there was still a lot to deal with here, but nowhere near as much as there was back where he came from. The mages were powerful, but there were nowhere near as many of them as there were criminals. So he was confident he could stay alive.
So far, he hadn't killed a single criminal that hadn't made some sort of threat against Rin. The city like it was, though, it was hard to not encounter trouble somewhere, and Frank had to... intervene... when this occurred.
Despite his attempts to change to keep Rin happy, old habits died hard for the now-retired vigilante. So, parked out back was a van full of various weapons he had worked for quite a while to amass. He hadn't kept it a secret from Rin, of course, he just said it was for her protection anytime she got mad about it.
Perhaps the most difficult items for him to obtain were the magically forged ones. It had taken him working for months to get what he had, earning and calling in favors with other mages, or even secretly resorting to blackmail and coercion on a few occasions. So far, he only had a few: a small knife, a Civil War era rifle with somewhere around fifty magical rounds, and a longsword. He practiced with the sword regularly, as the style was unfamiliar to him.
Needless to say, though, Frank didn't have many friends among the mages.
He never stopped his nearly fanatical exercise and fire-arm practice regime, either, and was even considering trying to teach Rin how to use a gun, in case she needed it some day. There were several hours that he set aside specifically to be with Rin, though, in contrast to his schedule before.
When she came in, the viglante stirred. He had not been awake, but he was a very light sleeper, so he was now. Grunting, he sauntered out of his bedroom. "Am now..."
"Mmm... make breakfast for me. And tea, please. 'Kay, thanks," Rin ordered tiredly, marching back to her room to get changed without even waiting for a response. As close and personal as they were with each other, Rin had usually treated Frank like some sort of servant, but not an inferior as a person.
Perhaps "butler" was the better word. If butlers went to war alongside their "masters." The Fifth Holy Grail War, which was in its beginning stages, at this point. The Fifth Holy Grail War, where Rin Tohsaka was chosen to be a participant. Whenever she was asked about it, Rin would explain, but not too much in detail. She felt somewhat awkward explaining the workings of the mage world to an ordinary human. Even if Frank claimed to know quite a bit about the workings of magecraft from his own world, she imagined he would still be lost if she'd bring in words like "thaumaturgy" and "Noble Phantasm," so she was a bit lax on the details.
Essentially, all Frank knew about the incoming Holy Grail War was that it would be fought between seven mages, known as "Masters," alongside magical familiars that would be summoned, known as "Servants," which happened to be the Heroic Spirits of legendary figures long past, like King Arthur and Francis Drake to even Hercules and Medusa. How exactly they were summoned, Rin didn't explain in greater detail, but she figured he didn't need to know that. She had everything in the bag, after all. Or so she imagined. The reason they would fight was to gain the Holy Grail, a mystical and legendary device said to be able to grant a single wish to the victor. Simple enough, though like the other details, Rin didn't share what her intended wish was.
Though Rin disapproved of Frank's efforts, thinking they were unnecessary and unrefined, she eventually let him be for a small number of reasons. For one, she knew how stubborn he could be, and even though Rin was also somewhat stubborn herself, it seemed like older men beat out teenage girls in the unyielding department. The second, and more practical reason in Rin's eyes, was that she remembered what Kotomine said about the Fourth Holy Grail War that he had participated in ten years earlier.
Some could say that either no one won the Fourth Holy Grail War, or that it resulted in a tie due to the two last Masters never reaching a conclusive ending to the fight for the Holy Grail. The last two Masters, of course, being Kotomine himself, and a mysterious man known as Kiritsugu Emiya, the "Mage Killer." From what Kotomine had said, Emiya was an unorthodox man with unorthodox methods. At least, from the eyes of a mage with little use for conventional weaponry. While the other mages were busy charging their spells and reciting chants, Emiya was busy counting his magic-disabling bullets, planting strategic bombs, finding blackmail material, or just shooting the Masters dead with a submachine gun. Hence, Kotomine admitted that Rin would be at a huge advantage if Frank was anywhere near as cunning as Emiya, which he likely was.
Once Rin was done changing into her uniform, she stumbled back outside, mumbling to herself about jewels or something of the sort.
While Frank was no five star chef, thirty years of having to cook for himself had fostered some skill in this area. So, he made her a simple breakfast of eggs, bacon, and biscuits. Not the healthiest meal, granted, but the high protein might help the scrawny young woman actually beef up a little. The meal tasted pretty damn good, by the time he was finished. The coffee he made, which was just the typical heart attack in a cup, was decent but nothing special. Frank didn't eat or drink any of this, simply having a protein bar and some milk.
As for the Holy Grail War, Frank was kept in the dark, but it didn't change that he was planning ahead. Even if Rin had a 'servant', the former vigilante doubted that whoever it was would prove quite as effective as a good fashioned .50 caliber sniper rifle. The mages were cocky little shits, for the most part, and didn't bother hiding their patterns and typical hideaways. He had already done quite a bit of research on the other contestants and even placed surveillance in the less secure areas they frequently visited, and a bomb in one of their homes.
As far as the servants went, he had gathered enough information to know that standard weaponry wouldn't cut it. In fact, that was why he had the Civil War rifle made. It had a long enough effective range that nobody that didn't see the bullet coming would be able to avoid getting their brains blown out.
Was all of this cheating? Quite possibly.
Did Frank know? No.
Would he care if he did? Not even a little. Rin's life was at risk. He was prepared to do just about anything to protect her, and that required him to do his homework on his enemies. Going in blind would get him killed just as quickly as a bullet to the head would end his miserable life. Of course, he had kept his research and... initiative... to himself, preferring that Rin didn't know in case it was against some sort of rule.
When she muttered something about gems, Frank chuckled. "Stay up late working on your toys?"
"They are not toys. They're mementos from my father, and they're also gonna be useful weapons for the Holy Grail War. Just you wait. I'll make great bombs outta them in no time," she grumbled, beginning to eat the meal prepared for her with a brief "Thanks for the meal."
Considering the identities of the other Masters were a secret from each other, and some of them had not even been admitted into the War just yet, tracking down and researching the others was harder than suspected. One such Master that Frank would be able to track down was already dead, funny enough, presumably betrayed and murdered by his own Servant given the nature of his autopsy report, though naturally, the motivation for his supposed murder remained unknown. Either way, it was still considered relatively safe for Rin to go to school without the threat of someone coming after her looming over, though she figured that safety wouldn't last for long once every Master had been chosen, and after every Servant had been summoned.
Rin had yet to summon hers, but the young girl insisted she had it all figured out. She had expressed her desire to summon the "Saber" class Servant, which was considered the most balanced, and by extension, possibly most powerful class, and thus, took steps to make it so that a Saber would be summoned. What exact steps were made were a mystery to Frank, but it was to be noted that in recent days, she had been spending most of her free time in her father's study room.
While she was eating, the (somewhat primitive) phone began ringing. Without missing a beat, Rin quickly spoke. "Oi, Frank. Could you get that for me? I don't feel like responding..." She'd say, somewhat akin to that of a spoiled princess, "Tell them to pass on a message to me or something. Heh, look at me... It's almost like you're my secretary or something."
While finding the others that were announced might be hard, Frank had accomplished much more difficult tasks. He'd hunted down criminals unfindable by global intelligence agencies. Kept track of organizations even more clandestine than the wizards. This was his world, even though it really wasn't; the only thing that separated this from his old home was that he wasn't allowed to go around killing people. Now, the contestants that hadn't been decided were beyond his reach, of course.
Upon hearing about the death of one man at the hand of his Servant, Frank made his distrust of the beings very well known with Rin. Anytime it came up, he flaunted that he would kill the thing if it threatened her in any way, shape, or form.
"Yeah, I know, Rin. I'm sure you'll do 'im proud." Frank smiled an almost fatherly smile, though his feelings were anything but paternal. Rin had become his life. Every waking moment of the day not put towards his own health or her protection was spent just spending time with her. Getting to know her. Since leaving the Coalition headquarters with her, he had been trying very hard to figure out if she felt the same way. It was hard to tell, sometimes."
The former vigilante answered the phone with an annoyed grunt at being described as her "secretary."
"Hello. Is this Tohsaka?" A familiar, deep voice asked on the other hand. Kirei Kotomine himself. The overseer of the Fifth Holy Grail War to make sure everything went according to plan. He had returned to this world along with Rin and Frank, making preparations tirelessly, as he had wasted enough time dillydallying in the Monokuma Incident and during his time at the Coalition. Without waiting for a response from Frank, Kotomine began to speak again. "Ah, a lack of incessant yelling in my ear and despondent breathing. How are you this lovely morning, Mr. Castle?" He asked in a somewhat condescendingly nice tone. The priest knew that the two of them weren't exactly on the best of terms, but now was not the time to let personal vendettas get in the way.
"Could you inform Rin that the Holy Grail War is well on its way? If she wants to be branded a Master, she'll have to summon her Servant tonight," Kotomine said, "That's her ticket to being admitted into it after all. I'd appreciate it..."
"I'm tired of your shit, is how I am." Frank felt no such responsibility to be civil. "But I'll tell her." He hung up the phone without giving Kotomine a chance to respond. Rather laconically, he relayed the message. "You need a Servant." Rin was smart and Frank wasn't much of a talker, so he didn't see the point in elaborating excessively.
"Just remember, if it even seems like it's going to turn on you, I'm going to kill it. No way I'm letting you die for some damn familiar's pride." This he did elaborate on, though it might actually be a bit flattering that he did so. Despite his gruffness, he was expressing concern for her well-being.
"Ah, don't worry. Like I said, I have it all under control. I won't even give him a chance to attack if he turns out to be hostile," Rin said somewhat confidently. Well, as confident as a tired schoolgirl can be while eating bacon, eggs, and biscuits anyway, "They'll probably go through some process where they examine me, try to see if I'm worthy, all that old-timey stuff, and then try to attack me if they decide I'm not good enough. Emphasis on try," she would continue.
Servants were considered magical familiars of the highest order when it came to statistics. They were so strong, the "average" Servant was able to move and react at just under the speed of sound. Their many statistics, like Luck, Mana Energy, Agility, Noble Phantasm (which was their ultimate attack, essentially), and more, were all dependent on how notable the Heroic Spirit was in the past. For example, if it was someone was well remembered today as King Arthur or Hercules, they would be given extra boosts, compared to a relatively obscure figure like Diarmuid of the Love Spot.
However, the most notable thing that decided the potency of their statistics was how strong the Master was. If a low-level mage came to be a Master, the Servant's capabilities would be comparatively low to what it could have been with a high-level mage like Rin. This worked as an advantage and a disadvantage. The former because it would give them a better chance of winning the war, naturally, and the latter because that meant that if it turned out to be hostile and attacked without warning, not even Kirei Kotomine, one of the most powerful Executors in both direct and strategic combat, could match whoever Rin would summon, let alone Frank.
However, Rin's confidence stemmed from the Master's trump card. Upon a Servant's summoning, each Master will receive a mark on his or her hand. This mark was known as the three Command Spells, which would brand the Master an official participant of the war. Each of the three Command Spells can be used to force a Servant to do something, whether they wanted to or not. Hence, if whoever Rin would summon was hostile, she could quickly use one to force him to obey her. However, she'd have to be careful. If she were to use up all of them, her "official" authority over the Servant would be gone, and if that happened, well... she'd best hope that she had earned the Servant's natural respect.
Once Rin was finished with breakfast, she'd bring the plate to the kitchen and quickly wash it, before grabbing her bag and heading for the door. "Well, I'm off to class. I'll be back in the afternoon. Don't pick a fight with Kirei while I'm gone. 'Kay?" She said, exchanging farewells with Frank before beginning to take off.
Frank had no intention of fighting the Servant head on if things out of hand. Besides, having a reaction speed just below the speed of sound would do you no good if the bullet hit you before the sound reached you.
When she tried to leave, he caught her arm for a moment. "Please be careful, Rin. I know you can handle whatever happens, but... promise me you'll be careful." There was an almost pleading look in his eyes. It was clearly very important to him that she exercised the utmost caution.
"Eh?" Rin blinked in mild surprise, before offering a smile, "Jeez, you always gotta worry. Dontcha? Don't worry, I'll be fine. Thanks though. I'll see you when I get home," she said, before finally taking off for the day, leaving Frank alone for now.
Because of their time together and the talks they had during the Coalition, before the dreaded Akibahara Incident, Rin had taken Frank's advice and made amends with her younger sister. Though she still lived with another family, the process was still being worked out, though it was interrupted at the moment due to the impending Holy Grail War, what with Rin's life being put on the balance. Still, their relationship was recovered, and Rin would never know of the dark path that her sister would have taken to had she not followed Frank's advice, nor would she likely be aware of the actual full extent of how she suffered. Perhaps both were for the better.
Before long, however, only a few hours later to around noon, a sudden "crash" would heard from upstairs, specifically Rin's bedroom, followed by three thumps. Undeniably, it could only be one thing. Three people had just crashed through Rin's window and broken into the room. They were likely under the impression that the mansion was empty, given that the heir, still a schoolgirl, was off at class right now. Even though the Tohsaka Estate was protected from intruders by a magical Bounded Field that only let familiar people in, there was no mistaking that other people were here, likely having undone Rin's Bounded Field somehow.
Frank was not exactly taken with her promises. He knew there was still quite a bit of risk, no matter how much she blustered about how she could handle the Servant if things got out of hand. So his precautions would remain in place. Chances are, when he wasn't killing the other Masters, he would be stalking Rin and her Servant.
He heard the crash and several things went through his mind. First was the fact that he was unarmed, and the nearest fire-arm was in his room... which would require him risking getting caught empty handed. So he scooped up a large kitchen knife not entirely dissimilar to his favored Ka-bar knife, it just had a wider blade. Second, was that they, whoever they were, shouldn't have been able to get into the house. Clearly, they weren't any sort of pushover in the way of magic. Finally, whoever these people were, they weren't friendly.
Frank peered around a wall towards the source of the sound. If there was someone there, he would quickly move back so as to avoid being seen.
From outside, Frank would be able to hear rough shuffling in Rin's room, the door still closed. It seemed like they were smart enough to bypass Rin's Bounded Field, but improvident in believing that they were alone in this estate. At least, until the door would open, where a man in armor, a mask, the works, armed with conventional weaponry would then walk out and make his presence be known, cautiously scanning the area to check for sure that they were alone.
Quietly, his footsteps barely audible on the carpet, the man would begin walking in Frank's direction. The shuffling from inside the room would grow louder and rougher, the sound of a lamp crashing into the ground and drawers being forced open being heard from outside. Two more thumps would be heard, signifying that two more people had landed inside the house. From there, a mysterious voice would be heard.
"Hmph. What a pain. I gotta deal with the honcho's plans for him, and the worst part is he's probably gonna take all the credit for it..."
Frank remained completely silent. They were heavily armored, and extremely well armed, but there were only three of them, from what he could hear. Now, there could be more. He wasn't one to assume anything in a situation like this. So he quietly made his way out the farthest exit and moved around to his van. Hopefully, he could remain undetected whilst doing this.
He knew there was little he could do with a kitchen knife. Granted, he'd taken out two SWAT teams with a knife, but he never pushed his luck when he could avoid it. So, he grabbed an AA-12 automatic shotgun from the van and a small 1911 Colt handgun, sticking the handgun in the back of his pants. There were twenty shots in the AA-12's drum and eleven in the Colt's mag... that should be plenty, unless things got really out of hand.
He reentered the house from the same entrance, with the caution and skill he was taught in the military. Coming around the corner, he fired three of the armor-piercing AA-12 rounds at the first soldier he saw before ducking back behind cover.
