Haruka & the Great Holy Grail War

The next day dawned bright and sunny. Haruka slept in until around noon, when she woke up and promptly began farming more EXP. To her surprise and delight, the EXP cards could be taken out of her phone, manifesting as shiny gold crystals. She immediately made Karna try one. The white-haired lancer had obeyed his Master, commenting later that the crystals were quite tasty, but extremely crunchy. Haruka decided not to try one. The apples she used to refill her AP also gave massive mana bursts, and Karna advised Haruka not to use them during combat unless he was using his Noble Phantasm.

Currently, Haruka was exploring Sighisoara again, Karna present at her side. While the current Mystic Code she was wearing didn't really fit Karna's skillset, she enjoyed the professional feel Royal Brand gave her. People were gazing at her and Karna like they were rich business employees or something like that, and Haruka was internally laughing at the effect she had on them.

After a few hours of just mapping out the city, Haruka bought some cakes for her and Karna, and they sat on a bench, quietly enjoying the peaceful scenery as the sun began setting.

Finishing the last bite of cake, Haruka turned to Karna. "Jackie's in this city, right?"

"She is," Karna agreed. "While I never had any contact with her in this war, this is the first place where she made her presence known. I believe she and her Master moved to Trifas a few days later."

"I was thinking about allying with them."

"Haruka, I know that you are well-informed of how Holy Grail Wars work, especially this one, but you are currently proposing to ally with the enemy. In this timeline, Jack will not recognize you as the mother she perceives you to be in Chaldea as well, so she is more likely to cut you down."

"Eh… you're right. Although bribing her might work. She killed her previous Master and contracted with a regular civilian, so she's not getting a lot of mana. I give her some Assassin EXP crystals and some mana apples and we should have her at least say that she won't attack us."

"Are you going to look for her now, then?"

"Hm… I don't know. She's in one of the houses, right? I'd rather not do any breaking and entering. I know I'm unethical at times, but I'm not that…" Haruka trailed off as she noticed a green-haired woman in the distance, her mouth moving. But she was alone. "Is that…" Haruka quickly scrolled through her list of Craft Essences and smirked as the faces matched up. "Karna, let's go!"

"Is that…"

"Rikudou Reika, Jackie's Master. Negotiation time, start!" Haruka ran off, leaving Karna with no choice but to follow his (most likely insane) Master.

***

"Which place do you think would be a better place to stay?" Rikudou Reika asked softly. To normal people, it looked like she was talking to herself, and they steered clear of her.

But Reika wasn't alone. In spiritual form, a young child replied, her childish voice ringing clear to Reika's ears. "I dunno. Whichever's easier for us to hide out in?"

"Is that so? I'll look around some more, then."

"Wait, Mother. Someone's coming and she has a Servant with her. We think she's from the Red Faction, but any Servant is an enemy to us."

"In public? It's almost nighttime, but there's still so many people out…"

Sure enough, Reika noticed a red-haired girl approaching them, a white-haired man behind her. "Do you think they'll attack?"

"I dunno… be careful, Mother."

"It's okay, Jack. I have you to protect me, remember?"

Reika said no more as Haruka stopped in front of her. "Hello! My name's Haruka! Mind if we talk for a bit?"

Reika nodded back, subtly reaching for the gun tucked into her jacket.

Haruka raised her hands in surrender. "I don't think you'd want to draw attention to yourself in public by shooting me, don't you, Rikudou Reika? And Jack the Ripper?"

Reika's eyes widened in surprise.

"I swear not to do anything to you guys until we finish talking, okay? I know you're quite logical, Reika-san, so hear me out before you tell Jack to attack me."

"And your Servant?" Reika asked guardedly, staring at the man. Even without circuits, her instincts told her that the man was very, very dangerous.

"My Master has orders for me to not harm you."

"Fine."

Haruka led Reika to a bench, where they both sat down. "Now then… how to put it this way… no offense, but you two are probably not going to be able to get the Holy Grail. Reika-san's a civilian and therefore can't provide Jack with a lot of mana."

"Before you say any more," Reika retorted, "How do you know about me and Jack?"

"Yeah, how do you know about us and our identity? You shouldn't be able to sense us!" Jack said, materializing in front of Reika, knives in her hands. Haruka's Servant tensed slightly, his eyes sharpening.

"Would you believe me if I told you I was from the future? I know how the war's going to turn out for you two if you don't listen to me."

"Do you know?"

"Oh, I know. After all, you told me everything, Jack."

"We did?"

"The you in the future did. I'm not asking you to believe me, but I am telling the truth. To be honest, I really don't want you two to disappear from the war that quickly."

"So? What are you going to do?"

Instead of answering, Haruka tapped her phone and, to Reika's surprise, pulled out 5 golden apples as well as a pile of golden crystals. "Without mana, Jack will go on rampages at night, killing magi for their hearts, since they have a lot of mana stored in them. You'll be found out and taken down, and I don't want that happening. My proposition is this: take these items—they're rich in mana—and don't attack civilians or magi. Want to try one, Jack? They're not harmful, I swear. They taste really good."

Jack cautiously reached out with a hand and took a crystal, gazing at it curiously. Sniffing at it, she slowly took a small bite, the crystal crunching loudly in her mouth. Her eyes lit up in delight and she quickly ate another one. "These taste so good! And we can feel more mana in us!"

Reika watched Jack eat with a smile, before turning back to Haruka. "What's in it for you if you do this?"

"Honestly? I don't know. You and Jack will meet a pretty tragic end, and I don't want to repeat that. Besides, looking past her homicidal tendencies, Jackie's pretty cute. We bonded a lot when I summoned her and she told me a lot about you. She really does love you, you know?"

"She does?" Reika asked curiously.

"Yeah. She saved you from death and you saved her from disappearing from the world by contracting with her, despite your lack of mage circuits and experience."

Reika said nothing, her eyes drifting back to Jack. The young girl had a delighted grin as she quickly downed an apple. "I don't know if you really are from the future…" Reika started. "But if you're seriously helping out an enemy like us… well I guess we owe you. I suppose we can refrain from opposing you, and only you, in the war. I cannot do much as I am not a mage, but I will listen to your words."

Haruka nodded. "That's really all I wanted to hear." Checking the time, she sighed. "Lancer and I have to go. I'll give you some more crystals and apples. Use them sparingly, okay?"

Jack looked up. "Thank you, Onee-chan!"

Haruka smiled and carefully reached out with her hand, a silent question in her eyes. Jack nodded slowly, and Haruka ruffled the younger girl's hair, causing the latter to giggle. "No problem, Jackie! Be careful with your mommy, okay?"

"Okay!"

Haruka shook her phone and a small pile of crystals and apples fell out. Waving to Reika and Jack, she and the man disappeared into the crowd.

Reika sighed. "That was certainly strange… don't you think, Jack?"

"That onee-chan's pretty nice though, Mother. We hope we can see her again!"

"Is that so? Let's just be careful for the next few days, then."

"Okay!"

***

"That didn't go too badly," Haruka sighed in relief as she and Karna walked down another street. "At least Jackie didn't attack me on sight and Reika-san was up for negotiations."

"I advise you to stop telling people you're from the future," Karna said. "You are not invincible with the knowledge you have."

"I know, I know. But I really did want to change things up for Jackie. I wonder though… since I summoned you directly from Chaldea, would I be able to summon someone else? After all, all I did was toss some quartz along with your catalyst and you popped up. Another Servant would be a great asset to us."

"Think about the amount of mana you will have to provide," Karna warned. "I am no longer linked to Chaldea's system, so you are the only one giving me enough mana to exist right now. Once I battle, the requirements will tax your reserves."

Haruka puffed her cheeks out in thought. "Oh yeah… I literally didn't have to provide any mana for you guys back at Chaldea thanks to the system which was further augmented when Merlin decided to show up… but I still have around 100 golden apples, it's okay. Anyways… shouldn't Amakusa be calling now?" As if on cue, her cell rang and she picked up. "Yes, Amakusa?"

"Please call me Shirou for the duration of this war. I have a mission for you and Lancer. Should you decline, I cannot guarantee you safe residence in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon later."

Haruka laughed. "Blackmailing us, are you now? Well? You want us to ambush and take down the Ruler who's currently heading towards Trifas, right? Jeanne d'Arc?"

"…You are more informed than I am. Yes, I wish for you to annihilate her if possible."

"Not going to happen."

"You refuse?"

"Lancer can attack her all right, but Saber of Black and his Master are going to ambush us as well. Point is, I won't be able to get the job done. Relax, we have plenty of time to take her down later and turn things in your favour."

"…I see. I will give you the coordinates then. Who is Saber of Black, by the way?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot to reveal the Black Faction's Servants's identities. You'll get them soon enough. Saber of Black is Siegfried, though."

"Siegfried… I see. Your current orders still stand. I want you to report back to me tomorrow."

"Sure, sure."

Amakusa gave her the coordinates, and Haruka promptly hung up afterwards. "He's so much nicer back in Chaldea," she complained. "Forget him, though. This time around, I plan on beating up Siegfried's master. Which Mystic Code would work though…" She scrolled through her list. "The standard one should be alright but you were able to outclass Siegfried and you have Kavacha and Kundala, Karna… maybe the battlesuit? I wonder if I can switch during battle since Zelretch messed with my phone." Tapping the icon, her Royal Brand mystic code shifted into her orange battlesuit. "Karna, let's go."

Karna nodded, picking up Haruka bridal style and jumping over the rooftops to the exterior of Shigisoara, where empty lands and roads greeted them.