Kapitel 1036: 50
050 - Dawn of the fifth day
I wake up to discover Sakura and I have become the bread in a Medusa sandwich during the night. Or, considering the way she's a fair bit taller than either of us, more of a Medusa hotdog, I guess.
Careful not to wake anyone up, I lift my head from the admittedly comfortable nook of the Servant's neck to take a look at them. Sakura's face is buried in the other woman's breasts while Medusa's chin rests on the crown of her Master's head, arms posessively wrapped around each other's body.
I'd say they look more cute than sexy, but… They're still two gorgeous naked women wrapped around each other in my bed. As I'm reflecting on this, Medusa tenses slightly, holding Sakura closer and freezing in place for a second before tilting her head to send me the closest thing to a side-glance one can do with closed eyes.
… Seems like I wasn't as subtle as I hoped. Then again, getting out of bed without waking her up was kind of wistful thinking in the first place.
For a moment, I consider the merits of fooling around until Sakura wakes up. To hold the bare shoulders of the Servants in my hand, tease her neck and ear with my mouth and maybe bury my morning wood between those sexy asscheeks of hers.
But I have plans for this morning, plans that necessitate me being up and about earlier than anyone else. So I content myself with planting a kiss on the back of her neck and patting her shoulder silently before moving away. This… doesn't mean I don't stop and turn at the door to watch the Servant's ear tips turn an intense red.
Feeling inordinately smug about flustering the normally unflappable woman one last time, I make my way towards the kitchen. Competition is stiff to make lunch or dinner in this household, but nobody thought about calling dibs on breakfast, so I have it all for myself.
I'm thinking some strawberry waffles will be a good start, so start getting out the ingredients. Flour, sugar, salt, milk, egg–
"Good morning, Daddy."
I almost drop the egg carton when an apathetic greeting comes out of nowhere, right behind me. Turning around with a (panicked yelp) manly grunt, I find Jackie standing there with her hands innocently held behind her back and a perfectly neutral expression on her face. It would've worked better if she'd bothered hiding the smug amusement lurking in her yellow cat-like eyes.
The little shit did it on purpose.
"Good morning, Jackie." I greet evenly, taking great pleasure in her disappointment when I don't rise to her bait. "Did you sleep well?"
"We slept with Mommy." She replies, as if that actually answered my question. Then her eyes narrow accusatory. "Daddy didn't."
"Awww… did you miss me?" I coo, easily ignoring her insinuations to pat her head instead. "Sorry about that, Jackie. I'll play with you today, promise."
"We–!" Whatever she was about to say, it cuts off as soon as my open palm lands on the top of her head to gently rub it. It takes her a whole minute to jump away with flushed cheeks, as if her brain had bluescreened and needed to reboot to find the proper reaction. "We didn't! It's Mommy who missed Daddy!"
I swear I'll miss it when she stops reacting like that.
Jackie isn't exactly a standard Servant. She's a host of evil spirits borne from the abandoned children of prostitutes born and dead in Victorian London, forced into the shape of a legend that they may or may not have inspired in the first place.
Did some of these unfortunate souls experience warmth and happiness before? Undoubtedly. Did those memories survive all the way through whatever process created Jackie's current existence? Maybe, maybe not. After getting to know her a bit, I'm inclined to believe they didn't.
If so, what does she know about warm homes, loving families or father figures worth the name?
In spite of how she acts around me, I doubt very much this girl actually dislikes me. I'm fairly sure all her passive-aggressive bullshit is just her not knowing how to deal with me. Like a stray cat settling on a new area, testing the waters carefully before taking the plunge, always ready for the other shoe to drop, but too tempted by what I represent to simply walk past.
Any progress must come from her side, I can only keep my own act together and wait for her next move. Sooner or later, she'll lower her guard and lean closer, and she'll finally learn what she was missing out on. That or she'll push too far and I'll have to take less pleasant measures, but I haven't missed how her acting up doesn't seem to be escalating.
Deep down, Jackie's a good girl, needing but a chance to shine.
"Yes, yes… You are a good girl and only worry about Mommy." I play along with a chuckle. "Now, want to help me make breakfast for her?"
Her whole demeanor changes immediately, face brightening up with a wide smile as she rushes to get her tiny apron from the hanger to put on.
"We want to!"
I spend the next while instructing Jacke in the fine art of waffle-making and orange-juicing while I focus on more delicate aspects of breakfast. Like sunny-side eggs and French Toast. Yes, I know, not exactly a Michelin star cuisine. I might've gotten up early to claim the kitchen, but I'll admit to feeling a bit lazy after last night.
"Good morning." Medea walks into the kitchen a while later with a warm greeting. "Something smells wonderful in this kitchen."
"Ah, Mommy!" Jackie perks up at her presence, only to immediately frown and protectively try to hide the waffle platter with an arm. "You can't be here yet! We're not done with the waffles!"
"Oh? Should I go hungry then?" She retorts with amusement, taking a hand to her forehead in faux dismay. "What a cruel daughter I have!"
Judging by Jackie's miserable face, she's just discovered the meaning behind the expression 'contradictory feelings'.
"Good morning, Princess. Don't worry and take a seat, we're almost done." I come to the rescue with a chuckle. "Jackie, how about you finish a couple of waffles for her? Just like I taught you earlier."
"Un!"
Medea takes a seat at the kitchen table, where she gets enthusiastically served breakfast by the world's cutest murder machine while I focus on piling more food on a set of trays for the rest of the household. And another one set for Ecchan.
"So…" I ask, half my attention still on the frying pan. "How are things with the project?"
"That Apocrypha failsafe of yours has been dealt with." Medea replies smugly. "I've even had time to start with a customized Mystic Code for Ayako-chan."
"That's great news! Thank you for your hard work, Princess!"
"Yeah, good work." A new and distinctly grumpy voice joins in. "That magecraft thing of yours is really impressive."
"Awake already, Mitsuzuri?" I check the kitchen clock, it's still early even for morning club practice. "Good morning. I hope you slept well."
"..." For some reason, her only answer is a baleful (and half-asleep) glare.
"What?"
"You know what you did."
I share a confused and perfectly innocent glance with Medea. Why, without access to the bond between us, you can't catch even a hint of the shared amusement going on there.
"I sure don't." I lie with a shrug like the filthy liar I am, focusing back on Medea. "So, what's the Mystic Code about? A weapon, a tool?"
"Armor." She replies. "At least as the basis. Anything else would be useless when Ayako-chan is so vulnerable to even basic magecraft."
"I guess that makes sense." I nod sagely as Jackie takes one of the waffle trays to offer to Ayako. "No much point in giving her a laser sword or a rocket launcher if the first half-competent magus will hypnotize her into using it against us."
"Wait, I could've had a laser sword like Ecchan?" Ayako perks up at the idea. "Or a rocket launcher!?"
"Talos was my first inspiration, an indestructible armor impregnable to both magecraft and brute strength." Medea utterly ignored Ayako to continue explaining, causing her to dig into her breakfast with a sulky expression. "There's some obvious problems to work around, but I'm confident I can do it."
"... Weren't Talos' insides filled with molten metal?"
"Wait, what?"
"That's exactly what I'm hoping to work around. The goal is to make functional semi-autonomous hollow pieces that can fit around a user." Medea nods along, elegantly ignoring Ayako's complaints once again. "It won't have the utter ridiculous durability of the real thing with a squishy fleshling inside, but I can manage a passable imitation as long as I can find a suitable power core. It should be more than enough to deal with anything this pathetic age can throw at it, anyway."
"Something like the Iron Man suit?"
I can't deny that the idea makes me feel a bit giddy. Iron Man is one of the first super heroes I learnt about, back when 'Marvel Super Heroes' was a brand new arcade game and I needed a stool to reach the controls.
"Iron Man is lame!" Jackie pipes in cheerfully. "We like Black Widow!"
"You and me both" I agree with a chuckle, Internally wondering where Jackie had learned about the Avengers in the first place. "Looks like we have something in common."
"And the Hulk!" She continues "The Hulk punches aliens in the face!"
"... The Hulk is pretty cool too, I guess." Maybe Haku played the movie while Jackie was around?
"Didn't Iron Man have lasers and rocket launchers?" Ayako pipes in again, looking suddenly enthusiastic, only to frown when she realizes my surprise. "What? Rin is obsessed with those western manga. I know at least a bit, if just by osmosis."
"Well, the armor will indeed be capable of deploying weaponry… at a later stage of development." Medea answers dismissively. "For now I'm trying to figure out an intuitive interface that's compatible with a practical transportation method."
"Extremis." It hits me like a bolt from the blue, and thus I blurt it before thinking.
"Extremis?" Medea asks with an arched eyebrow, her knowledge from the Grail no doubt insufficient to recognize the reference.
With all the calm intensity I can muster, I return her gaze, telepathically sending the broad strokes behind Iron Man's Extremis Armor concept through our bond. Once I'm done, she takes a piece of waffle to her mouth, carefully chewing it as she considers the idea. Finally, a coy smile forms on her lips as she gives me a nod.
"Extremis."
"Extremis."
That armor was cool as heck. I hope Ayako is ready for whatever magecraft equivalent to a neural implant Medea can cook up. And to have subspace storage containers embedded into her bones. Well, she did say she wouldn't mind a bit of pain or discomfort to have cool (superpowers) magic powers, right?
"Should I feel afraid to ask?" Ayako tries to pipe in again, no longer eating as her eyes shift worriedly between Medea and myself. "I feel like I should feel afraid to ask."
"Ayako?"
"... Yes?"
"You are a very lucky b–" I bite my tongue just in time to avoid letting out a profanity. "Beauty"
She doesn't seem at all reassured by my honest praise.
Emiya Haku.
I'm trapped.
For the uptenth time, I try to surreptitiously slip away from my current plight, only for the steel-like shackles around my wrists to steadfastly hold me in place. It's no use. I'll be free when my captor decides to release me and not a second earlier.
Out of all the potential consequences of playing big spoon for Ecchan, her hands closing around mine like steel cuffs to lock my arms around her was one I never dreamt of. It's been an hour already, I'm bored, hungry and Nii-san is going to claim the kitchen! Ecchan's not even awake!
"Master?"
… Or maybe she is. "Yes, Ecchan?"
"Why?"
I wait for a bit, hoping for some elaboration, but Ecchan remains silent. I can detect anything helpful through the bond, just idle curiosity. Why what? Context, Ecchan, context! "Because you are adorable and I've wanted to cuddle naked in bed with you since I first saw you in person?"
"Not that." The grip tightens almost painfully, and a flood of pleased embarrassment flows from her to me through the bond, but she also shakes her head in denial. "Rin."
"… Oh." Well, there's no way I could've guessed that! "You want to know why I'm like this towards her?"
Ecchan nods once, her golden hair tickling against my chest with the action. "Jealous?"
"Not… exactly." How to explain this? "I just don't like her attitude."
Ecchan remains silent at my answer, but she doesn't feel satisfied. So I take a deep breath and elaborate.
"I don't like how she presumes to be above Nii-san just because he's taking lessons from her. And I used to really hate that standoffish attitude of hers towards him." I frown a bit, thinking about how to explain. I'm not getting my point across like this. "But I guess what really gets to me is how she just… Fails to see his greatness. Sure she wants to get her paws all over him, but that's natural. Nii-san is sinfully handsome. She also knows he's capable, but she thinks that, just because she's a bit talented, she's on his level. She should strip naked and kowtow before him while begging to be taken as a concubine! Where does she get thinking she's better than Nii-san!?"
When I finish my tirade, I realize I'm short on breath. Wow, did I get emotional over this or what? Ecchan snuggles against me while I catch my breath, her small and perky butt digging a bit against my crotch area as her emotions through the bond feel… surprisingly calmer.
Then she delivers the killing blow.
"... Yandere."
"Urk." The calm and confident accusation feels like a spear straight through my heart. "It's not–! I'm not some crazy–!"
My knee jerk denials fall short against the unflinching certainty I still feel through the bond, making me fall silent to reflect upon my behavior and attitude. I'm not… That bad, but… But that's at least partly because Nii-san wouldn't like me acting like that. Truth is, I would do anything for Nii-san. If we're being honest here…
"Maybe a bit? I just feel very strongly about Nii-san." Will he run away from me like those poor main protagonists when they have a crazy psycho after their dicks? "Do you think that's a bad thing?"
"Feeling strongly is dangerous. For you, for others…" Ecchan enunciates softly and slowly before trailing off. Right as I'm about to assume that's all she has to say, she gives my wrists a soft squeeze, letting me feel her support while she continues her answer. "But I don't think it's 'wrong'."
I… might radiate an embarrassingly high volume of relief and affection back through the bond. If nothing else, I have Ecchan's support. And that's hardly a small thing.
"Well, I guess worrying for him is part of my duties as Head Wife, huh?"
Embarrassment flows back to me through the bond as the tips of Ecchan's ear redden cutely. This time too, it's easy for me to guess what she's thinking about. If she doesn't follow me into Nii-san's bed before the week is over, I'll eat my hat. And I don't have a hat, so that'd be a feat!
"Good! Now let's get up already!" I cheer, taking advantage of her lowered guard to pull my arms free. "I'm smelling something divine from the kitchen and that means Nii-san stole the march on me while we were stuck here!"
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein