Entent Cordial

[eien_no_chou]

Chiyo barely manages to prevent herself from circling the neighbourhood again just for fun, for the sake of riding this wonderful machine a little while longer, but it seems as though if she tarries for too long her passenger may expire entirely, and she can feel herself getting chilled thoroughly to the bone by her clothing.

The last thing she needs mid-grail war is a bout of pneumonia, so she brings the rumbling beast to a stop in front of the driveway of her house. Shizuka is in the doorway, and if Chiyo cared to examine her expression for more than a moment she might have chastised her for the open shock - said something about catching flies with a mouth hanging open like that. She steps off the bike and leaves Michel languishing in the sidecar.

"Have Madarame drive the bike and the boy back to his hotel," she says lightly, breezing her way past her bewildered servant. Once inside she can hear her clothes dripping water onto the floor, and her socks make wet splat sounds on the wood once she discards her shoes. She makes it all the way to her bedroom and immediately sheds her sodden clothing, wrapping a towel around her middle before collapsing into a chair with a breathless laugh.

That was quite possibly the most fun she'd ever had before in her life.

Comments

[toomuchbull]

"--The two wheeled things?" Rider tries to picture it, then laughs harder. This is not the same Tohsaka he's been arguing with for the past two weeks, and the laugh changes from mocking to genuine surprised. "Where did you even try riding one, and does that explain the fact you aren't in your usual foul, unattractive mood?"

[eien_no_chou]

"It became necessity. You missed quite a scene out to the east." Ah, right on time, Shizuka appears with a bottle and a glass and leaves silently. This time, Chiyo catches the downright disturbed look on her face. "A localised hurricane, among other things."

[toomuchbull]

Rider takes form at that, so Chiyo can see the creases in his brow. "I missed a battle?"

[eien_no_chou]

"I saw no particular need for you to be involved. I intended only to observe," she uncorks the bottle and pours herself a somewhat generous glass of wine. "I had to interfere to rescue a fool of a mage who may still be useful to me, and from there matters became more complicated. I had to climb a tree to get a good shot at the enemy, which lead to falling into a large water spell, hence my state. Well," she sips the drink and enjoys the burn of it in her throat. "in the end, it was fine. Lancer has fallen."

[toomuchbull]

Rider chokes. "Wait, what?"

[eien_no_chou]

"Berserker took him out. Hence why I saved the mage - he was Berserker's Master. Couldn't have the whole thing fall to pieces because of some silly Einzbern homunculus."

[toomuchbull]

Something here isn't right. It isn't. Chiyo had been giving him a wide berth lately, he had barely gotten yelled at for taking Satoshi riding at the horse farm outside the city and. And.

"Did you know this fight was going to happen? And how did you know that boy was Berserker's master, or where he was or anything relating to this?"

[eien_no_chou]

"While you have been out gallivanting with enemy servants and local wildlife, I have been making preparations of my own," she can sense the incoming tantrum and tries not to roll her eyes. "So yes, I did know this was going to happen. And I did not inform you purposefully because of your current reaction. You were too attached to the enemy to be involved in killing him. I could not risk wasting another command seal on inevitably withdrawing you. Again."

[toomuchbull]

For a few moments, Rider has no words, only in articulate anger. The equality he has so treasured in a fight has time and again been undermined, but this is a step too far. Deliberately keeping information is not only an insult, it prevents the basic and agreed upon goal of winning - the only thing that matters, in the end - from being reached.

Not that he has been entirely honest or open about his dealings with Saber, but that's another matter entirely.

"How long were you planing this?"

[eien_no_chou]

"A few days," she does hope he doesn't take his anger out on the wine bottle, since Shizuka seems to have dug up quite a vintage. "It was not entirely out of spite for you, Rider, it was simply tactics-"

[toomuchbull]

"No," Rider spits out. "It doesn't work like that, a lack of communication is not tactics and you don't get to talk down to me when you know nothing about fighting, when you aren't the one doing it yourself. You're ignorant and now you are being spiteful."

[eien_no_chou]

Chiyo scowls. "You speak as though I have not been out on the front lines of battle this very evening. And it's not like you have not been hiding your own movements from me!" She sets her glass down, drained to a small drop at the bottom. "The amount of times you have vanished without informing me where you have gone off to, and come back with injuries that I have to heal to boot, speaks of a great deal of hypocrisy in your previous statement!"

[toomuchbull]

"Those were nothing of consequence, the only important one was against Saber's master!" Rider snaps back. "This? This was important and I ought to have been present. Never mind that you interrupted the fight I had with Lancer and I was looking forward to settling it properly!"

[eien_no_chou]

"If you had fought Lancer again the result would be the same as before. You are ill matched. Berserker was the better option as far as assurance went," she folds her hands in her lap and unconsciously straightens her back. The last of her hair falls out of its binding, and she takes the butterfly pin out before it can fall. "You're behaving like a child that had his toy taken away, Rider. Do be mature about it."

[toomuchbull]

"I'm putting my foot down on principle." Rider tries to keep his voice level, tries to quelch the heat in his tone, but it fails. "You are not allowed to treat me like a pawn in a little game you're playing for your own entertainment!"

[eien_no_chou]

"I am doing this for the sake of my family!" Chiyo's voice finally rises as Rider's falls. "Should the grail fall into the hands of any of those other mages, who knows what will become of us and the world? You know for a fact there are unsuitable people taking part in this war, you killed one yourself." Her hands clench in her lap. "And as for games I've not been stumbling around the city drunk at every opportunity! Lancer's death is only an irritation to you because you don't get to continue your little play-fight against each other!"

[toomuchbull]

"Piss and blood, Tohsaka, what else do you expect me to do with myself?!" His volume increases, and he has no care for who hears. "You take quarrel with me when I fight, you berate me when I don't and then you do this?! Perhaps you would be better off fighting without me, hm?"

[eien_no_chou]

"By this point I'm beginning to wonder!" she snaps, then takes a deep breath in through the nose and lets it out. She grieves the loss of her good mood from earlier, long since slain by this odious beast of a man. "But a mage cannot touch the grail, only a Servant can. Hence, I have no choice."

[toomuchbull]

"You don't have a choice on that but you could attempt to not look at me like I'm mud beneath your feet!"

A statement, that after he says it, would be quite funny if he wasn't spitting venom in his words.

[eien_no_chou]

"I could respect you more if you listened to me as your Master!" She remembers hearing in a previous argument that respect is earned, not given, and she wants to throw it back in his face, because how is she meant to earn the respect of this man if not by doing what she did best - subterfuge.

[toomuchbull]

"You've given me no reason to and you continue to do so even as we speak!" Rider spits. "It was like this from day one!"

[eien_no_chou]

"I think I may have misread your story," she hisses back, nearly rising from her chair. "I thought I would be getting a noble aide to a king, instead I got a brute who should have stayed dead as the stones he was made from."

[toomuchbull]

"We were friends and equals before we were anything else," Rider snarls. "And how dare you bring him into this argument!"

His feet curl, his hands curl, but nothing is hit. "We fought once, found each other equal in strength, and became dear to each other. That never negated recklessness or making foolish mistakes, it only made us act as ourselves.

"I was never a servant for him. Why would I act that way for you?"

[eien_no_chou]

Chiyo grits her teeth. "Indeed, why would you," she ponders if she should pour herself another drink, if only to get this bitterness out of her mouth. "When you were alive you were a king's equal - or so you say, I find it hard to believe with your manners. But that was when you were alive," she stresses the word coldly, like icicles hang off every letter. "Now, however, you are a Servant, and you answer to your Master."

[toomuchbull]

"You treat me like an equal or we can continue to argue like this until someone else takes that cup," Rider says coldly.

[eien_no_chou]

For a moment Chiyo opens her mouth to immediately refuse, but something stills her tongue. Something that burns her more than the wine.

Rider is right.

It stings to admit to herself, but it's true. As long as they stand here arguing they are not making progress towards the grail. And what is all this for, all this summoning and running about and being blown out of trees, if not for the grail and its magnificent power.

She draws a deep breath in through her nose, and stands from her chair. Her cold wet hair slips over her shoulder as she holds out one hand towards Rider, as though beginning a business transaction. Wearing only a towel no less. "Very well. From this point forth, we work in tandem. We communicate, explain and share information. And we enter battle together. Is this acceptable?"

[toomuchbull]

Rider's anger doesn't quite disappear, but it does take on a completely baffled look. It's enough for his fists to straighten again and he lets the words run over and over in his head.

"You actually mean this?"

[eien_no_chou]

"I am willing to make an alliance if it means we actually make some progress towards the Grail," she says simply, considering dropping her hand. "Unless you consider me too odious to work with."

[toomuchbull]

"If you mean this, then it is accepted, although I feel like we should both have insurance on this matter."

Rider takes the hand though, and looks Chiyo dead in the eye. Well, down, and dead in the eye. "Neither one of us have track records, and I think there's one wildlife matter I want to settle before moving on."

[eien_no_chou]

Chiyo only realises how cold her hands are when she can feel Rider's warmth in comparison. She should really get dressed. "And that wildlife matter would be?"

[toomuchbull]

"Oh, I have some tanuki to apologise to. I probably gave them a scare during the incident with Saber's master."

[eien_no_chou]

"Ah," Chiyo says, as though she completely understands the train of thought that lead to this.

She adds to her mental notes. One, buy a motorbike. Two, make sure no Tohsaka ever makes the mistake of summoning from the Epic ever again.

[toomuchbull]

Enkidu lets go of her hand, still not sure what to make of this. Being in a proper fight must have done something to her head, he figures, and he'll ask about it later.

For now, he has a church to visit and some friends to talk to.