Breaking Stride [Private; Invite Allowed]

Akantha's slight scowl at Kariya's words made her feelings about the subject clear, but she knew it was important to discuss. "Well, I suppose there are two things I am most well known for, if you boil things down. One is the reason, I assume, that I have been summoned under the Berserker class. As for the other... where I come from, there is no better assassin than me. I may not have been as powerful as some of my sisters, but when it came to assassination..." She sighed softly. "The events surrounding my death are why I am a Berserker, but my skills are more attuned to an Assassin. I suppose this gives me some.... interesting versatility, but I can already feel that I am not in peak condition..."

"Not your peak, huh." Kariya mused. It was true her parameters weren't particularly excellent, but nor were they particularly terrible. Furthrmore, while her Mad Enhancement was active, she'd be above average in Strength, and her already impressive speed would--

--his thoughts were interrupted as a worm in his limp arm struck at one of its few receptive nerves, sending a spasm of pain through his body. Hissing, he rubbed futilely at the sore. "...that's two of us, eh? Alright..." Exhaling and getting his breathing under control, "...if your strength doesn't lie in a straight battle, we'll just have to keep our ears to the ground and wait for a nice chance."

Akantha nodded softly. "That would be my suggestion, yes. I am not proud of my specialty in assassination, but I will not forsake an advantage... doing what we can to remain hidden until we have a better idea of who all of our opponents are just seems to be the best course..."

So it was "Master" and "Servant" waited in a forgotten corner of the city, between a warehouse and a meat factory near the river. It wasn't really long before Kariya's limited stamina finally gave out after the day's exertion, and it would be it would be several long hours before he would wake.

There would be little to disturb that rest tonight, beyond the nightmares and pain wrought by his Grandfather.

Akantha kept watch through the night, while reflecting on the situation. She wasn't thrilled with the fact she was a 'Servant' to another, or that she had to kill at least six other Servants to get through this situation. However... it also was a chance to save an innocent child from a terrible situation. As for getting her own wish from the grail... while it would be nice, she just didn't put much stock in it. Did she have a wish? ...There were countless things she could wish for. She wanted her remaining family to be safe and happy. She wanted her lost family to be back. She wanted Vertex to be destroyed. She wanted to have the chance to kill all of Vertex herself.

But...she didn't put much stock in wishes. Despite the situation, despite what she was promised, she didn't really believe she would get a wish. Even her 'Master' wasn't getting the Grail, he was giving it to someone else. For all she knew, her 'Master' not getting the Grail may mean she wouldn't either. Besides that... getting her hopes up for something unproven was a bad move. Akantha believed in facts and concrete results. Saving Sakura was something she could get behind, because it was a tangible goal. She could believe in it, unlike a wish that may or may not be available to her, that might not be capable of what she wanted. No... she'd focus her attention on what she knew was possible. She would win this war, and save that innocent little girl.

Morning brought with it little of note save for its light and an end to the monotonous boredom of that night. Below, Kariya groaned into wakefulness, his nerves screaming in pain as the worms fed slowly, but steadily and voraciously on his body. His stomach groaned for something to appease their appetite and his own.

...however, that presented something of a problem. He had no food on his person, and he wouldn't be accepted in civilized company - certainly not enough to pass without notice. At least he was used to hunger by now...

There was more important business, besides. 'Berserker, did anything happen?'

Akantha was brought out of her thoughts by the voice in her head, and frowned slightly. She was currently perched on the edge of the roof above them, but leapt down to land in a crouch next to Kariya. She straightened, giving him a slightly annoyed look. "...If you must refer to me as Berserker among others, that is fine, but I do not like being referred to as that... even if only in private conversation, call me Akantha. I'd prefer to be treated like... a person." Her brow furrowed as she said this, glancing off to the side, before she shook it off. "Regardless, things were quiet."

Filing the name away, Kariya shambled into a standing position, "...Alright, as long as we're somewhere secure." He sighed, "I don't know to be happy or upset... It's just the first day, so it's not surprising, and one would suppose I should enjoy such quiet nights while they last, but... I don't have many in me to begin with. Maybe two or three weeks, depending on how much prana you use."

Akantha's brow furrowed again. "I see... your condition is that dire then... may I ask... once Sakura is free, do you... have any plan for where to take her, or who will take care of her once you are gone? I'd hope that she isn't doomed to be taken from one bad situation into another. I doubt a girl that young and seemingly sheltered from the outside world would fare well on her own."

Kariya frowned. He hadn't considered that at all, to be honest, because... "...there's no one. Perhaps the Church? Anywhere would be better than... that place."

Akantha sighed. "I can agree to that... I don't know the full details, but infesting a young girl with... whatever those parasites are... that is enough reason for me to want to personally kill that old man... which brings to mind... you've made it clear that trying to betray him won't work, since those things will inflict pain on you if you try... but what is to stop me from going after him on my own? You can't honestly even attempt to stop me, command seals or not."

Kariya hissed, as the worms writhed within him. They were... almost chortling at the thought. "Because..." He said, with as much calm as could be drawn through the pain, "...that these same worms which cause me such pain, are also in her. I've no doubt... they've the same abilities... Or worse."

Akantha paused, her eyes focusing on Kariya's with sudden intensity. The phrase 'if looks could kill' was possibly created for this very moment. But her anger was not directed at Kariya, even if he was the only one here that had to deal with the oppressive weight of her gaze as she stepped forward, leaning in until her face was inches from his. "If that is the case... then I am making it my personal mission to ensure that girl's safety. I don't care about the grail or anything else. I will remove whatever obstacles are in that path. So long as that path aligns with yours, then you have my complete cooperation. But I need to stress this again... the instant you stray from that path, that you do anything that jeopardizes that little girl's safety, whether you mean to or not... the instant you attempt to use a command seal to force me to do something I refuse to do... I can find someone else to take over as my 'Master.'" She was silent for a moment, and pulled back.

"That said... I doubt that will be an issue. Maybe my threat was completely unnecessary. But I need to make sure you understand that I am your 'Servant' in name only. We are equals in this, and Sakura is the goal. Everything else is secondary."

"...that's fine..." Kariya assented, to his credit stumbling back only half a step. The worms within him writhed indignantly [or perhaps with more amusement], and he hissed. "...but I won't last long until we figure out some way to get food without... drawing attention to my affliction."

Akantha nodded slightly at that. "Do you have an idea? Or should I steal something? I'm not keen to start breaking laws already, but considering everything else, it's the least of my worries..." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "We also need to come up with some sort of plan... we need to work fast. The less they know about me, the more effective I will be. And the longer this 'war' drags on, the more they will learn about me."

"...it might risk giving away our general location, but it doesn't seem like we have any other option but theft. I have some money but... if we stretch it, it might last two or three days. Maybe." He let out a hissing sigh, "As for the opposition... My best guess is to take out whoever the most threatening actor seems to be first. Your ability should protect us for a little while after that, so if you can use your first assault to get the drop on the biggest threat..."

Akantha sighed softly. "A sound idea. Take out the biggest threat, then disappear. Should leave the rest scrambling... though I doubt that said biggest threat will be stupid enough to just give me the opportunity... not that I won't look for it..." She shifted a bit. "I could probably change my form and steal something that way. On the off chance I'm spotted, I can get lost in a crowd by changing forms again. That way if anyone notices the theft, they wouldn't think magic was involved..."

Lacking any other options, Kariya let out a rasping sigh, "Just.. be careful, when you do. We should probably keep moving..." He couldn't set up a base of operations, so his best bet was to stay untraceable. To that end, lingering in the same area was a foolish decision. Unfortunately, to avoid traffic cameras [not that he expected most enemies to know how to use them, there was no point in being careless] and public apall...

He wrinkled his nose; the 'sewers.'

They might have been built over large to help reduce flooding from the river, but... They were still sewers.

Early the next morning, Akantha was making good on her plans to 'acquire' food. She'd run through a few ideas in her head based on the layout of the city and proximity to their current 'hideout', and had settled on a fairly safe option. Using her shapeshifting abilities, she disguised herself as a rather shabby and willowy young woman. With old and worn clothes, somewhat messy black hair, and a bit of dirt smudged on her nose, she looked like an average, unfortunate woman that lived on the streets. With her rather inconspicuous disguise, she made her move in a way that, on the off chance she was caught, nobody would suspect magic was involved.

And so she broke into a library to steal from a vending machine. While not the most nutritious food, it was not something that would draw a great deal of attention or warrant some sweeping manhunt. If she was discovered, it would simply be seen as a homeless woman desperate for food, stealing snacks from a library vending machine. Of course, she still had no desire to be caught, so she still employed her old tactics that were, at least, physically possible for a human. That is to say, she moved carefully, no unnecessary movements, making sure she didn't make a sound...

...and then the security shutter over the doors was ruptured with a horrible shriek of metal as a veritable giant of a man strode in, just in time to catch her popping the machine in the lobby open. There was a minute pause, before he grinned. "Haha, you see, my Master, we aren't even the first to seek to relieve this place of its valuables!"

"...How is that good, Rider!?"

Akantha froze at first, unsure how to react to this sudden development. Throughts rapidly flitted throuhg her head, before she finally settled on some important realizations. These two didn't seem likely to turn her in, the big one actually seemed happy to see her... and more importantly, the small one had called him Rider. That could not be a coincidence. It seemed she had already encountered another Master and Servant... and in possibly the best possible circumstances.

After staring at them in shock for a moment, and looking them both up and down, she shrugged and went back to stocking up on snacks. She'd have to play this carefully if she was going to use it to her advantage.

Somehow, Rider managed to laugh even louder and more outrageously, "The important things first, I see; Leave worrying for later!" He glanced meaningfully to his Master at that, causing the boy to frown and look away, then strode over to the book-cases. World history? "I like your nerve, good woman." He complimented, before glancing back to the shelves and frowning, "By chance, would you be able to direct me to an atlas of the world? It seems none are here."


Outside, Rider's Master groaned with a mixture of despair and frustration.

Akantha paused at that. She had actually cased the place earlier; partly for show, partly to make sure there were no surprises. After a moment of thought, she resumed stocking up. "Check the Reference section. Should be a sign or something." She had modified her voice as well, to make it sound young, but also with a bit of an edge, to sell the idea that she'd been on the streets for a long time.

"Ahah, indeed there it is!" The gargantuan man exulted, retrieving the book. On his way out, he paused. "Here," something blurred her way - a silver coin? - "Fine silver still has value in this world, does it not? For your troubles, good woman, and perhaps a fond memory!" And then, without care the bombastic man left the scene of their shared crime. "Enjoy the night, it is still young!"

Already, she could hear his Master lecturing him. "Why!? She's just a homeless woman... actually, I should hypn-- hey! Put me down, Rider!"

Even as it grew more distant, the Servant's loud voice did not fail to carry, "Boy, is there no heart beneath your ribs? It is a King's prerogative to be magnanimous when it suits him! For a conqueror, the hearts of the people he shall rule are of no lesser value than the ones his men shall spear! Besides, she had good eyes. If we meet her once more, perhaps she could become a fine subject indeed!"

Akantha stayed where she was, carefully listening to the booming voice as Rider and his Master went on their way. That... had gone surprisingly well. She had at least a little bit of information to work off of. She at least wasn't going in completely blind about her opponents. The fact that the two seemed like decent people was also heartening; it meant she was less likely to have to worry about underhanded tactics. Not that she'd let her guard down.

Once she was sure they were gone, and had gathered the supplies she needed, she finally made her way out, making sure that she wasn't spotted or followed. When she got back to Kariya, she filled him in on what she had seen and heard. Things were fairly interesting so far.