Hongan-ji Temple.
It was night when he witnessed the attack.
It was night when they attacked. The old temple was surrounded and her retainers were slowly pushed back. Her soldiers were trying to kill her. However, she wasn't angry because of it, he could feel it. She knows they were deceived by Akechi Mitsuhide into believing the temple was full of enemies. She couldn't understand why Mitsuhide did it, at least not at that time.
Violet eyes watched as she went back to the temple, followed by her young page, all of them carrying torches in their hands.
"Do whatever it takes but make sure that traitor doesn't get my head!" screamed the woman who wanted to unite the entirety of Japan and almost succeeded. Her hair was long and black but he could see red among it too. Her eyes were the same. Same red eyes that he sees every day. They were full of anger, hurt and sadness.
While her loyal servants were setting the temple on fire, she allowed herself to look at Kyoto. There were many things on her mind, but the biggest among them was regret. Regret that she couldn't finish what she started all these years ago. Regret that her dream won't be fulfilled with her as the ruler of Japan...and finally regret not seeing the outside world as she dreamed.
As the temple was slowly consumed by fire, Oda Nobunaga pulled out her sword before kneeling. She lived her life as she pleased and she will go out the same way.
That night Demon King of Six Heaven died from her own hands. Her body was never found, consumed by fire.
That night, the Demon Emperor silently witnessed this memory.
***
Fuyuki city.
Avenger knew from the moment she was summoned her master must be an unusual individual. To call for someone like her, especially in her current form without catalyst, said person must have had a unique life to say at least. It must have been some kind of war veteran or tyrant who was just as ambitious as her. Then why was she summoned by a young man such as Lelouch? Avenger knew that her life wasn't easy, it was full of trials and errors. If Lelouch was similar to her then Avenger didn't know if she should be concerned or happy that there was someone similar to her?
'And then there are these dreams...his memories.' The first dream raised many questions but it showed her that Lelouch wasn't a simple man from a foreign land. No, there were things she couldn't understand about him...Namely the last dream she saw after returning from the hotel. Right now both of them were in the city.
This...this wasn't right. What Avenger saw wasn't right, it was wrong. All of it! What she saw the first time and now again were memories of Lelouch's past life. She couldn't understand what she had seen, not yet at least.
'I have destroyed the world and created it...a...new. That's what he said, his last words...but this plan...Zero Requiem...I don't understand!' Avenger placed a hand on her forehead, trying to think about it all over again. Her dream was to create a new empire in Japan under her rule. Better than previous ones, one that will be remembered as the greatest empire in Asia. She wanted to travel and spread her hegemony further beyond the tiny island. Avenger was ambitious but it wasn't because she was power-hungry!
'I was born when Japan was divided, the current system of that time was weak and ineffective. Someone should have changed all of it and I took it upon myself...Lelouch had a similar situation but at the same time, it was different...Still, doesn't explain why he decided to end everything like this.'
Right now Avenger was in civilian clothes, in the middle of the city.
After what happened last night her master suggested looking for a potential new base. Seeing that Kayneth was tracked down and his hotel destroyed, Avenger agreed. Having a backup place to hide was a nice idea. Right now Lelouch was looking through some motels, trying to find a cheaper one. While they had money, spending more than needed would be a waste.
While Lelouch was talking with another owner of a motel, Avenger was staring at his back. She saw something last night, something she didn't know how to react to. She should have been amazed by the sheer absurdity of what she learned last night. This Zero Requiem and everything that led to it...it was wrong.
"Okay, this place isn't too bad and the price is tolerable but maybe we might find a better choice. Do you think we need to look somewhere else?" Lelouch asked while standing next to her.
Avenger blinked, lost in her thoughts before answering. "I suppose we can look for a cheaper place. We have nothing to do until the blonde idiot calls us anyway."
"Hmm, in that case, let's go, Avenger." Both master and servant left the building and headed further into the city. Finding a place inside the city might minimize the possibility of attack by a servant, of course, both of them understood that it was too optimistic. However, no doubt someone like Saber will think twice before starting a fight in the middle of the city.
The red-haired woman didn't stop staring at her master, still thinking about that dream. Lelouch, on the other hand, decided to stop paying attention to how his servant was eyeing him like a hawk. The former terrorist had an idea but didn't want to test it until he got enough evidence. Still, the raven-haired boy decided to distract his servant.
"Avenger, we didn't have a good dinner for some time now. Do you want anything for tonight?" The last few days were busy with a war going on. After summoning her, Lelouch quickly learned that his servant wasn't against the idea of eating until she was full. The former emperor smiled warmly, cooking for someone brought up many memories of his past life. However, he immediately dismissed them and shook his head, trying to forget about it.
"Well, now that you mentioned it." A predatory smile appeared on her face. "I wouldn't mind trying more western food...and some sake would be welcomed too." Lelouch raised an eyebrow.
"Drinking during a war doesn't strike me as the best decision, Avenger."
She quickly waved away. "Come on, master. I never had a problem with drinking, not to mention servants can't get drunk...I think. Wait." a smirk appeared on her face and Lelouch for some reasons felt unsafe. "Don't tell me you can't handle a bottle or two, master?" she teased while Lelouch quickly shook his head, too quickly.
"Of course not! I'm just worried about you, that's all." Avenger smirked before placing a hand on her chin.
"How cute."
Lelouch narrowed his eyes, remembering a similar experience from the past. They continued looking for a new hideout for some time. Soon both servant and master decided to take a rest inside a small coffee shop. Avenger wanted something to drink and Lelouch accepted by ordering some tea. When it was brought to them Avenger was first to taste.
"Compared to what that Sola-Ui woman made, this one is way better." Her master nodded.
"Indeed, this place seems nice enough." Lelouch looked around and noticed that the cafe looked more like a pub than he first thought. Not to mention that it looked western, remembering the name of this place he blinked. "Copenhagen. That was a name written over this place. I think it's a pub."
"Uh, do you think they sell liquor here?" Avenger asked hopefully while her maser sighed. "Come on, master! You need to relax a little. Living without any fun isn't a good life I will tell you. Makes me question how you had fun before the war." she asked with a smile but her eyes never left his face, watching every emotion he made.
Lelouch's face changed to a more thoughtful one when he raised his left hand to lay his head. Avenger noted how melancholic he appeared in her eyes. 'It would appear Lelouch doesn't want to remember his old life, in that case, I better stop.' She needed to learn more things about his former life before she could make any final decision but making her master uncomfortable sounded awful to Avenger.
"You know, master." another smirk but this time more dangerous appeared on her face. "Alcohol can be used for many things besides drinking. Let's say, making something flammable." she wanted to laugh when her master's face changed from melancholy to interest. "Ara, someone is interested?"
"Of course." chuckled Lelouch. "That idea has its merit. Just imagine if instead of shooting at the master of Rider, I threw a Molotov cocktail. Rider would have a harder time protecting him." a malevolent smile formed on his face, but Avenger couldn't help but find it cute.
The idea of Rider panicking while trying to help his master who was on fire was so ridiculous, it almost made Avenger burst in laughter. Of course, she didn't care enough about Rider's master to hurt him this much but Lelouch's suggestion was fun to say at least. The red-haired woman looked around, still laughing a little after what her master said.
"In that case why not buy some right here?" she smiled hopefully but her master declined.
"We still need to find a new place to stay in if our current base of operation gets compromised… However, after that, I don't see a problem with buying some." Lelouch chuckled with closed eyes when Avenger's face brightened. Even someone like her could get excited over small things. "Maybe in a different place though. This one looks decent enough but saving some money would be good."
"And here I thought I managed to crack through you, master." Avenger sighed before looking around them. Right now this 'Copenhagen' was pretty empty save for two girls in the bar. One had orange hair while her friend had brown. One of them was the employee working and brought them tea. The former leader of her clan raised an eyebrow, both girls looked young for being here. With the information the Grail provided to her, Avenger was sure both of the girls must be still studying in school. "This place has cute girls at least. Won't you agree, master?" she glanced at him, hoping to see the interesting reaction but got disappointed.
Lelouch spared a quick look at the two other occupants of the pub before turning to her. "I suppose," he said with clear indifference in his tone while Avenger sighed.
'Well, I saw something in his memory. There were a lot of beautiful women in his life, I can't deny that.' While what Avenger has seen last night inside her dream was akin to a quick overview, she noticed that some faces appeared frequently. Especially the face of three girls who had green, blonde and red hair colours. Green and red were appearing more than others. 'Were they his lovers or something?' For some reason, she eagerly wanted to know about it.
"I think we should continue with our search, Avenger." She nodded. Soon both of them left 'Copenhagen'. "Hmm, I wanted to stay somewhere closer to the centre but I suppose looking on the outskirts might be worth something too."
"I don't mind. Just walking around this city is nice." she looked around. Buildings both tall and short surrounded them on both sides of the street. Her master said that Fuyuki was a tame place compared to some cities he visited before and that made Avenger curious. Of course, after witnessing his dreams she could guess that her master in truth was talking about cities from that place. However, Avenger was interested to see other cities of Japan, especially Kyoto.
'Lelouch summoned me at Hongan-ji Temple but we immediately departed for Fuyuki. We couldn't stay there any longer because of the war but it is still a shame.' When Avenger was called as a servant in this war, one of her motivations, besides winning, was seeing how much Japan changed. 'I spent my entire life on this tiny island while the rest of the world could have been explored and conquered. And even as a servant, I stick out in this city. This seems like some sort of irony.' she clicked her tongue in irritation.
"Something wrong, Avenger?" her master easily sensed the feelings of his servant. Avenger nodded.
"I'm just pissed that even now I can explore the world as I wanted during life...I suppose it is nothing major, I'm just annoyed that this Grail War couldn't be somewhere else." Maybe the country of Portugal? She was always curious to see the country where her first arquebus came from.
Lelouch smiled. "I think I understand where you're coming from...I will admit that I wouldn't mind a change of scenario. Sometimes it feels like everything important in my life happens in Japan." he allowed himself to smile before quickly realising that he might have said too much. Lelouch looked at Avenger, only to see her smiling at him.
'...I'm still unsure about some stuff but at the same time it feels strangely relaxing talking to Lelouch like this.'
They continued their walk in peaceful silence. Lelouch was glad that Avenger didn't ask what he meant. For some reason, Avenger was sure that both of them would talk about it sooner or later. Of course, she intended to have the conversation sooner. It was easy to see that her master knew what she was thinking about or at least had a suspicion. Right now they could focus on their current objective.
However, it would seem fate had another idea. The female servant immediately froze.
"An enemy servant is near." Violet eyes went wide before narrowing and looking around.
"Attacking in broad daylight...I knew it was a matter of time before someone tried it." he sighed, while Avenger thought about transforming into her battle attire. However, they were still in the centre of the city standing among civilians. She and her master could hide in some corner before she changed in fighting mode. Then she could take Lelouch and escape through the roofs of buildings. Fighting or retreating will be easier this way.
And once again, fate had another plan for them.
"HAHA! I can't believe we meet again so soon!" laughed the loud male voice. Avenger let out an irritated sigh. Her master on the other hand quickly became more relaxed or at least made it look like he was relaxed seeing a familiar servant. Avenger didn't want to look at the enemy while Lelouch smiled.
"I'm surprised to see you so soon too, Rider." The large man and his puny master stood a few meters away. When Avenger turned to look at them she noticed that the King of Conquerors was wearing some kind of shirt while his master was in the same clothes from their previous encounter. However, the moment her red eyes fell on the younger boy, the enemy master clenched and turned away. Good, fear was always a tool in her hands. "...I suppose we both didn't come here to fight today. Don't you agree, Waver Velvet?"
The boy in question gulped before nodding. "Indeed. I and Rider are here for another piece of business. We have no intention of fighting you."
"Right now," added Lelouch and she could feel how this Waver's fear grew as he nodded, trying to stay confident.
"Yes."
There was a long silence. Rider was smiling but again was staring at her master's face, waiting for him to say anything. Waver was nervous but Avenger will give him credit, the boy was doing his best. Lelouch had this fake relaxed smile on his face, thinking about something before speaking.
"In that case, I see no problem," he declared happily. Avenger saw how Waver sighed in relief while Iskandar let out another loud laugh.
"See, master? I told you it will be fine!" male servant slapped his master on the shoulder, the poor boy almost fell ahead. "Avenger and her master are smarter than to start fighting in the city!"
'While I will prefer to avoid starting a battle in the centre of Fuyuki it doesn't mean my hand cannot be forced.' Avenger thought to herself while her master asked.
"Still, I'm curious about what you're doing here."
Rider looked at his master with a curious gaze. "Hey, master, how about we call them as well? Avenger calls herself a ruler of Japan after all. So she will fit there." his master looked at him with wide eyes while Lelouch and Avenger blinked in confusion.
'What is he talking about?' Iskandar said something about her being a ruler but Avenger didn't understand.
Waver wanted to say something in objection but stopped. He glanced at her and Lelouch before turning back to Rider. The young master turned away from them, Iskandar immediately followed his example. Both servant and his master were discussing something. The female servant glanced at her master who was just as confused as her.
Soon they turned back to them. Waver was the first to start.
"Avenger and...uh?"
"Lelouch." her master smiled while giving his name. Waver nodded.
"Avenger and Lelouch. I and Rider would like to ask you to join us at the banquet tonight." Avenger raised an eyebrow.
'Banquet? What are they talking about? We are in the middle of a war and they want to have some sort of tea party?' it would seem her master was asking himself the same question as he spoke.
"Pardon, but is this a good time for something like that?" Lelouch was confused but at the same time, Avenger could feel through their connection that he was curious about it. It was Rider who answered.
"After yesterday, I grew curious to learn more about other servants." he quickly raised his huge hand to stop them from asking the obvious. "I don't mean their abilities or fighting style. I want to learn what kind of people I'm fighting against in this war. I want to know their wishes." as he finished, Avenger's eyes went wide.
'What kind of wish that we all have?' Well, it was obvious to her what she wanted. 'Be reincarnated in this age with a body that won't disappear...' she lowered her gaze and stared at her hands. Now, remembering this Avenger forgot that she had a certain unpleasant truth. 'In the end this form of me...'
"Interesting." started Lelouch, his eyes narrowed. "So that's what you want, King of Conquerors." He studied Rider, trying to learn if he was sincere. The redhead man smiled but unlike before this was one was careful, almost challenging.
"If you think it is some sort of trap then feel free to refuse our invitation, Master of Avenger, Lelouch." The female servant stopped her thoughts and once again focused on Rider. The large man chuckled. "However, it will be a big waste on your part if you refuse."
Red eyes narrowed, she asked. "And why exactly?"
Enemy servant grinned. "Because it isn't every day that you have the chance to drink with three kings from the past. Me, Archer and Saber… Four if you will come, Avenger."
Lelouch and Avenger both froze. Three kings? Was Rider talking about the Golden Archer and Saber. 'Wait, Saber isn't Jeanne D'Arc? If this is not her, then who is he talking about?'
While Avenger was lost in her thought, her master spoke. "Does that mean you already invited Archer?" Unsurprisingly, Rider nodded.
"Yup." he said proudly, placing a hand behind his back."We met him accidentally too. Archer was looking for this place called a swimming pool, said that they might be worthy of his attention. Funny fellow." Funny wasn't the first-word Avenger will use to describe that guy but a swimming pool? The Grail provided her brief information about it and she had to admit she started to get interested in this place too. Maybe she and her master should visit this place too.
Lelouch turned to her and used their mental link.
"It might be a good opportunity to learn more about Archer. Not to mention Jeanne D'Arc...but why would Rider call her a king?" Avenger didn't know either but agreed with her master. Finding more information about their enemies is too important to ignore. When she nodded, Lelouch continued. "...Not to mention I'm curious about their wishes as well."
Avenger didn't miss a look in his eyes. It was like back in Copenhagen. She wasn't sure if she liked it but for now, Avenger needed to focus on the current situation. She and her master returned their attention to Waver and Rider who were silently waiting for an answer. Lelouch opened his mouth and started.
"King Iskandar," he said with respect, the older man smiled. "It will be an honour for us to share a drink with you. We will be there." Rider laughed.
"Great! The more people, the more interesting it gets!... By the way, do you know any place where we can borrow some wine?" he asked innocently while his master's eyebrow twitched.
"Rider! We won't steal anything anymore!" Avenger raised an eyebrow. What did he mean anymore?
"Okay, okay master. Jeez, sometimes I think you need to drink something yourself." his servant waved away.
"It would appear Rider and Waver don't have problems with each other," Lelouch whispered only to her. Avenger nodded, ignoring how a young boy was scolding his servant at the moment, she could see that they were friendly with each other.
"They are better than Kayneth and Lancer, that's easy to see," she smirked while her master chuckled.
"Not too difficult but I see what you mean," Lelouch said with a soft smile but Avenger wanted to ask if they were having a good relationship as well. Of course, Lelouch and Avenger already said to each other they like working together but she wanted to know more. Seeing his memories, and he undoubtedly also saw her own, she wanted to find out if he felt the same way.
'Uh, maybe it would have been better if I didn't go to sleep the last night...no, I shouldn't think like that. That was important!' Avenger immediately shook her head. It would have been worse if she didn't see it. Lelouch most likely knows who she is while she didn't know who Lelouch Lamperouge was. Just because that last dream was important to her. Now, thinking about Rider's offer she thought about something. '...maybe I could use this opportunity.'
"Oi! I almost forgot!" suddenly shouted Rider. He turned to them and said. "I chose Saber's place. Be there at night."
His master let out a tired sigh. "Be there at ten p.m...Also, no. We haven't talked about it with Saber yet." he added the last part, sounding a little embarrassed. Avenger wanted to ask something but Lelouch stopped her.
"Very well. We will be there...for this Banquet of Kings."