Altered Mordred

Arc 2 Chapter 7

Kiritsugu POV

The night was young in Fuyuki City. Party goers and drunkards roamed the streets as they enjoyed the night. On a street corner was a small family-run ramen shop. The establishment was void of customers, though not on the faults of the owner. The shop was closing for the night and the family was cleaning their wares. Any respectable person would notice the hints and respect the rules of the establishment by finding other places to party.

The tables were empty, say for one man. The individual had barely touched his noodles and had gone through half his pack of cigarettes before entering the shop. That person was none other than Kiritsugu Emiya. After the events of the docks, he upped his defenses and redoubled his efforts.

Even so, his efforts fell short when the master of Lancer (Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi) and Kirei Kotomine were nonetheless able to infiltrate Einzbern's castle. He was relieved that Maiya and Irisviel came out alive and troubled for not killing the Lancer's master, only crippling him.

The overseer of the Third Holy Grail War also released the statement of suspending the war until Caster was eliminated. The task was an improvement towards his circumstances. In the time of the ceasefire, he could remove Lancer from the war. Kayneth was highly vulnerable due to the damage inflicted by the Contender pistol. It wouldn't take much to finish the man off; another bullet to the chest could do the trick.

He was supposed to be on his way to chase down Kayneth and finish the deed. Yet, he took a short breather to reassess a more problematic subject...The existence of the mysterious black knight servant.

Every servant, including Caster, was accounted for. The knight he conversed with was not in the bounds of the Holy Grail War, unless it was identified as a class he was unaware of. He was aware of the Einzberns' attempt to summon an eighth servant in the previous Grail War--the avenger. The spirit was potentially within that category.

He recalled his encounter with the knight on the docks to Irisviel. She revealed that no one seemed to notice the knight during the entire skirmish. The ability to almost perfectly hide itself was a fearful power that made the spirit harder to track and defeat using indirect methods.

Irisviel hypothesized the knight as a defensive measure by the Holy Grail or a participating master trying to get an upperhand by summoning an extra servant. Both theories were daunting prospects that upsetted his stomach.

He also revealed to her the proposed alliance presented by the knight. She left the decision to him as she would follow whatever road he chose to take. Her reply was comforting, yet left him hesitant on how to proceed.

Kiritsugu gazed at his bowl to take his mind off of his paranoia. The toppings were colorful meats--a specialty of this shop--that neatly settled on the noodles like a bed of flowers. His food was presented two hours ago. The broth had gone cold; the taste became stale.

Eating ramen with a pack of cigarettes on hand was a nostalgic pastime for the man, but there was too much to ponder on for him to enjoy the moment. He stared at his bowl, never to savor the taste of the noodles.

The owner of the shop, an elderly man, gave uneasy peeks at Kiritsugu. The assassin noted the chef walking towards him to conceivably confront him about the food.

The next moment, the chef passed him. Kiritsugu curiously followed the chef's line of sight to see an abnormally tall foreigner entering the restaurant.

"Got room for one more?" She energetically asked the chef.

"Well, if it isn't the new talk in the block. Here to eat me out of business like what you did to the place a few blocks from here?" The chef sarcastically jokes.