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[eien_no_chou]

It's not cowardice, it's tactics.

Unlike some foolish masters and their far more foolish servants, Chiyo is content to observe the battle from a distance, with the occasional assistance of binoculars, and then recieve a more detailed account from Rider once he returned. Fewer casualties for her side, preventing people from discovering her identity, and much less likely to ruin her clothes.

After all, the second anyone local discovered that she was in the Grail War... well, her house was the largest in the city, the most obviously placed, and the most well known, never mind the numerous other properties she had dotted around the place.

And she couldn't trust the other servants or masters to be above involving children in the matter. So she would wait here, occasionally sipping her tea, watching the battle draw to its conclusion.

Comments

[toomuchbull]

This time, Rider hadn't returned to the Tohsaka house bleeding. That he had not run into the thick of things might have been a sign of acclimating to Tohsaka strategy, but to think that would be to not know Rider and his story.

He takes his form next to Chiyo, standing and waiting for her to jump or react in some other way to his sudden presence.

[eien_no_chou]

She looks up at him sharply, but shows no other sign of alarm. "Well, that's one down, I suppose," she commented lightly. "At least from what I could see. What do you have to report?"

[toomuchbull]

Well that was barely worth the attempt. Rider makes a point of putting distance between them. "Well if you saw what happened, is there any point in me telling you anything?"

[eien_no_chou]

"I saw, but not in detail, and I couldn't hear anything. You seemed to be having a nice chat with Saber, for example," Chiyo knows it's in as much Rider's interests as it is her own to win the Grail War, so she doubts it's much to worry about. Still, knowledge is power, and power is control, and Chiyo does like to be in control.

[toomuchbull]

"Fine, why don't you pick out the parts that interested you most and I'll magnify the detail instead rather than having to give a lengthy narrative?" Rider folds his arms over his chest in annoyance, letting out a long, aggravated breath once he has done so.

[eien_no_chou]

Chiyo can see her Servant has little patience today. Something has set him on edge, and she'd put good money on it being something Saber said in their private conversation that Rider is pointedly not telling her about. She won't be able to get too much out of him. "Mostly, I'm interested in the disposed of Servant. Do you know his name? Class? He was impressive, either way."

[toomuchbull]

"No name, the only clue there was that his phantasm was called the Helm of Hades. I can't say anything about his class either." He pauses, running the scene over again and again in his mind, and realizing that is the disappointing truth.

"How good a look did you get at the face of the servant in red?"

[eien_no_chou]

Chiyo purses her lips. "A fair view, particularly when he was protecting his master, that Matou girl," she sneers a little, then composes herself. "I could be wrong of course, but with that weapon and that armor... I believe I know his name." Childhood stories arose in her memory, the tales her mother had told her when she was young and not yet burdened with the responsibilities of the family. "Sanada Yukimura, the Crimson Demon of War."

[toomuchbull]

"Local story then?"

Well, local meaning Japan, in this case.

[eien_no_chou]

"Indeed it is, he even passed through this very town once, according to the stories," and that had used to fascinate her as a child, standing on the same ground as such incredibly powerful people.

[toomuchbull]

Enkidu stares pointedly at Chiyo. "Well--?"

[eien_no_chou]

She snaps out of her memories, and clears her throat. "He's a dangerous opponent, to be sure. His skill with his spear is said to be unmatched, if you can get close enough to him to see it. He laid siege to Osaka castle twice, so he's a masterful tactician. I'm not sure if they'd be included as a Phantasm, but the Sanada Ten Braves under his command are in themselves legends worth fearing..." she clicked her tongue in irritation. "The Matou have chosen well, irritatingly so."

[toomuchbull]

"Assuming they are, what's to be expected of them?" Rider can easily imagine if he is attached to that accursed bull, then this servant's comrades can easily appear as well.

"It's also worth confirming that the pale woman on those docks was Saber's master, although I can't say what house she serves."

[eien_no_chou]

"Considering her attack on the Matou girl, I assumed as much, but thank you for the confirmation," Chiyo said, dredging up more memories of the tales surrounding Yukimura. "Let me see. Sarutobi Sasuke is the first that springs a mind. A ninja - an assassin, to you - with incredible skill in information gathering and quick, silent death. He's said to be a wild-looking man. Kirigakure Saizo is another, in contrast to his comrade, he's a master of illusion and disguise, not to mention better kept, nearly to the point of femininity." To her surprise, she has trouble recalling the finer points of some of the other Braves. "After that there's Miyoshi Seikai and Miyoshi Isa, Anayama Kyousuke, Unno Rokuro, Kakei Juzo, Nezu Jinpachi, Mochizuki Rokuro and finally, Yuri Kamanosuke."

After a moment's pause, she sighed. "I'll need to get reading those stories again, I'm afraid I can't recall much detail about the last eight Braves. It's been a long time since I thought about such fanciful tales from childhood."

[toomuchbull]

"Well, then my question becomes how would they be manifested and how might they be used to our friend's advantage? Comrades in battle or perhaps something else?" Rider feels a pang of sorrow at his own question and forces himself to move past it. Not that his next words help him any either. "If so, he is fortunate to have friends of old in the modern era."

[eien_no_chou]

"If they're counted as a Noble Phantasm, I suppose they would manifest much the same way as any weapon would be," Chiyo theorised. "Only with sentience, perhaps. I'm not sure of the extent of his abilities from here - his legend is certainly strong, though."

She glances over at her Servant, wondering at his additional comment. "Are you homesick, Rider?"

[toomuchbull]

Enkidu pretends he doesn't hear the question. "Are there instances of phantasms manifesting as something other than a weapon? If so, that matter should be taken under consideration, and those are matters I assume you are knowledgeable about."

[eien_no_chou]

"Well of course there have been," Chiyo says, thinking of the documentations of the previous two Grail wars that she'd poured over when she'd first joined the Tohsaka family. "It's usually a marker of a high powered servant. Usually the Rider class comes with their mount, which is sentient most of the time. Phantasms can also be area-effective, passive, or long-running. It's a highly flexible term, 'noble phantasm'." She snaps her fingers in rememberence. "The Assassin class, in the second Grail War, was summoned as not one, but dozens of members of the Hashashin, for example. All equally the same servant, not phantasms."

[toomuchbull]

"So since we're referring to a group of people that are attached to this man's legend, perhaps something like assassin's ability can be their manifestation? Unless you think that there is a weapon to represent them, which seems more sound."

[eien_no_chou]

"I can think of no single weapon that would represent the entirety of the Ten Braves," Chiyo shakes her head, though her train of thought is quickly going elsewhere, backtracking a little from what she'd said before. "Speaking of Riders and their mounts, at what point do you intend to bring out yours?"

[toomuchbull]

"I don't," he replies flatly.

[eien_no_chou]

The short response makes Chiyo raise an eyebrow. "At all? That seems rather pointless."

[toomuchbull]

"Last I checked, names have power in this so-called war," Rider replies, casting his eyes to the Tohsaka gardens. The soft gurgle of rushing water from it's waterfall is calming. "I have to call out the bull's true name to summon him and his mere appearance would give away my identity to all and sundry. That is to be avoided, is it not?"

[eien_no_chou]

"Hm, you may be right there," she allows herself a small smile. "I'm surprised, you're picking up the art of stealth and subtlety." Maybe there was hope for them yet.

[toomuchbull]

Rider snorts at the notion. "That thing stays hidden unless it's absolutely unnecessary."

[eien_no_chou]

"Might make a good endgame," Chiyo comments, studying her nails. "To crush our final opponent, whoever they may be, before they have time to draw breath."

[toomuchbull]

"We'd need an open area then," Rider offers, finally deciding to sit down. "Defeating it is easier if you can trap it in the streets."

[eien_no_chou]

"Personal experience, I suppose," It's phrased like a question but isn't one. She's read to epic and he's lived it. "The forests around Fuyuki are frequently a battleground for things of the metaphysical persuasion. A few felled trees won't hurt anyone."

[toomuchbull]

"No." Rider corrects her without meaning to for once, because he simply knows it won't work. "A forest means cover and I don't think any opponent we face is foolish enough not to use that to their abilities. There is open land towards the east - we stage that fight there.

[eien_no_chou]

Chiyo sighs. "Well alright, but don't make it completely unusable. The city council and I have plans to build there in the future. If the earth is scorched or has a large crater in it, that'll be somewhat more difficult to do."

[toomuchbull]

Rider turns to Chiyo and pointedly rolled his eyes, marking the first time he's actually looked at her during their entire conversation. "Do you want to win and not destroy your precious city by making a few holes in the hinterlands or would you prefer to lose so you can expand your walls?"

[eien_no_chou]

"Is it too much to want to have my cake and eat it too?" Chiyo sighs. It's been a long day, she's tired, she's itching for some sake, and she would like to have a conversation with someone who isn't going to be so short with her.

Then again, if she'd wanted a yesman, she'd have picked a different class than the notoriously rambunctious Rider. For all her training, all her study, she'd no actual experience on a battlefield and she knew it. "Fine, use the east side."

[toomuchbull]

"Smart rulers know that's impossible."

He is, at least, satisfied with her agreement to forfeit vacant land, and with that agreed upon he begins to fade back into his spirit form. "I need to return to the farms and get the car then--"

And with the last twinkle of gold dust, Rider's presence withdraws.

[eien_no_chou]

"Thank you for the unintended compliment," Chiyo says to herself, standing from her position outside the window and lightly shaking out the pins and needles sensation in her legs. Circulation apparently wasn't what it used to be.

"Ameko, Rika, prepare my bed," she calls, knowing her servants would pick up the sound, considering they were hiding behind the door. In all likelihood they'd been eavesdropping on the whole thing. Rider's insistence on not wearing a shirt seemed to attract them to wherever he appeared. Apparently, she was the only one with a sense of decorum left in the world.