1stknight | PSL (closed)

I don't- we don't have to do any of that?

[And now Bedivere was backtracking. He caught that flash of discontentment, and he took it to mean that Dazai saw his hesitation as a flaw that made him an unfit bedpartner. Somehow, even though Bedivere wasn't necessarily seeking out sex, that assumption didn't sit right on his stomach.]

It's just a means to an end. You're not a mage, you don't know the spells for transferring mana quickly. So, physical contact is best. And if you don't want that, then we don't need to. We can just hold hands. The only drawback is that it takes longer.

[He was still flustered over it all, but now he also had a touch of disappointment to his words. And he couldn't understand why.]

It's fine.

[For utility. He could do that, he told himself, still do it with the reminder that there was someone else Bedivere was interested in. No different from the time he held himself apart from everyone else.

Here, pressed up against a warm body in a cramped phone booth, he felt cold.]

I'm sure you aren't a bad partner if you want to go through with it, hmm? [This much was certain: he wouldn't be able to stop thinking about sleeping with Bedivere.] You can even close your eyes and pretend I'm whoever you like. Besides, it's good to know there's a way for us to keep up if the fighting escalates.

[Oh, that certainly made things worse. Bedivere didn't even want to consider thinking about anyone else during sex, that would have been terrible. He couldn't do that to Dazai. He would rather take the long route and just hold hands instead of doing that.]

I'm not going to do anything of the sort-

[Whatever argument had been about to happen, though, was cut short. Literally.

Because the top part of the phone booth was suddenly chopped off from the rest, leaving the two men exposed to the sunlight.

A few of Bedivere's hairs fell down onto them. That was how close that attack had come to hitting them.]

[The fuck.

Talk about a rude interruption.

His expression darkened for a moment before slipping into a sharp smile. Dazai hadn't noticed how he pressed himself to Bedivere when the roof came off until he reached for the door, allowing them to step out.]

What a very generous miss.

Let's put this discussion on hold for now.

[Maybe he was more than a little pissed off. Not that he could begrudge the timing: this was the perfect excuse for him to blow off some steam after being turned down.

Anyone waiting outside?]

Edited 2020-10-30 03:12 (UTC)

There's nothing generous about it.

[RIP his hair.

Bedivere was already changed into his armor, sword out, by the time the two of them were spilling out of the phone booth. Which was good, because several bullets would have embedded themselves in his chest if he hadn't been wearing that armor.]

Get behind me!

[Bedivere couldn't see the assailant yet, because he was too focused on keeping Dazai from getting shot.]

[Was the armor magically reinforced? He'd have to ask later.

Dazai could hardly risk peeking from his hiding spot behind Bedivere, and he glanced sideways and up instead - the cut above them was either from an Ability or a Servant, and depending on the number of bullets rained their way, he might have an idea of just who had the funds for it.]

Are they wearing suits? Uniforms?

[Can he even see someone from the phone booth's panels?]

[It was a kind of suit, sure. But Bedivere wasn't sure if it should be called a uniform. Not with how fanciful it was.

Bedivere would have assumed the man was a normal man and not a Servant based on the handgun he held, but his presence was very much that of a Servant. The wrinkled face gave a lop-sided grin, and the man turned to clap instead of shoot again.]

A good show! Your armor certainly is resilient. But rest assured, I won't aim for it again.

[Bedivere glanced back to Dazai. There were only three possibilities here, and one of them was the most obvious choice.]

Master, if it's Archer we will be at a disadvantage. What should we do?

[Bedivere wanted to flee, he didn't like the thought of fighting an Archer like this. But it was Dazai's call to make.]

If need be, I can carry you and run.

[With that kind of getup, the Servant could've fit the Rich and Eccentric Ability User Club.

The mention of a disadvantage, though - setting aside their awkward discussion, that got Dazai thinking about how the other non-Magus masters might deal with the mana drain.

Hmm.

He kept his voice low. Having to tiptoe to whisper in Bedivere's ear without breaking the knight's stance was an interesting experience.]

We need to regroup.

Can you, oh, julienne this door and launch the shards his way as a distraction? Or charge at him with them.

[Fleeing was the better option, but if the Servant forced the fight, Dazai figured Bedivere needed more space. ~~Class mechanics don't matter if you're a crit monster, but that's more Saberlot's territory. Unless you happen to have multiple stacks of Hero Creation EX on you.~~]

Unless he has some other trick up his sleeve, he'll be forced to either fend them off with his cane or dodge. Preferably the latter.

[That pistol seemed to have more rounds than physically possible, if Dazai counted the number of shots fired at them without any pauses to reload.]

[Bedivere couldn't julienne cut the door, no. But there was something else he could do.

Nodding to Dazai, Bedivere sheathed his sword. He wouldn't need it for what he was about to do. Then he focused closely on his silver arm, and for a moment Dazai might have felt a sudden draw of power, like Bedivere was trying to concentrate it all into the metal that served as a limb for him.

And then, a moment later, he slapped that arm across the door. Said door went flying right at their assailant, making the man yell and get knocked over by the door. The element of surprise bought them a few moments, which Bedivere used to full effect by immediately grabbing Dazai's hand with his human hand (since the silver one would be unusable while they touched) and dragged Dazai along as he ran.

It wasn't his proudest moment, but whatever it took to win.]

[He indeed felt that, a tug of energy that left him light-headed before Bedivere pulling him along jolted him to action. Was this what other people felt when they used their Abilities?

Whatever the case, it was time to run, and he glanced behind them to see if their enemy was in pursuit. Was he? Whatever the case, Bedivere might be mistaken as a foreign cosplayer or something, and hopefully noone stopped them for pictures.]

To the park!

[There was one on the opposite end of the station. If Steinbeck deigned to follow their progress with is plant powers, there was a chance he'd have something to use them should he decide to act. If not, at least they'd be away from too many people. Maybe they could take a cab home from there if the other Servant was generous enough to not waste any more bullets?]

[The enemy was not in pursuit yet, because he was struggling to get back to his feet after getting knocked down by sudden door. One turn of stun! That gave them time to flee.

To the park they went, with Bedivere leading Dazai to a shaded area under some trees. He didn't really want to call it 'hiding', since it was a tactical retreat, but that was basically what it was. They needed to stay out of sight long enough for Archer to leave the area looking for them, and concealing his presence by touching Dazai was the best way to do it.

Bedivere glanced to Dazai, checking on him. He wanted to make sure his Master was holding up fine under the pressure.]

Archer will likely be alone here. Archers can move further away from their Masters without suffering ill effects.

[A quick bit of whispered advice, before a hail of gunfire took out one of the trash cans nearby. Locals were scared away, which was good for limiting casualties, but bad for giving Bedivere and Dazai cover to hide in. Bedivere flinched away from the gunfire, and then spoke to Dazai again.]

If I use my Noble Phantasm, I might be able to injure him enough to get him to leave. But it will leave us vulnerable for at least a day, and we will have to hide.

[In the process, Bedivere's identity would be exposed. Now that Dazai thought about it, however, it wasn't the worst idea.

He might not be aware that conceptual weaknesses were actually a thing, but the point was that when he looked up the scant details available, Bedivere's legend had no equivalent of an Achilles heel. No - Bedivere was a good-looking knight loyal to King Arthur, helped the guy fight a giant and several battles, survived Camlann, and had to be convinced to toss Excalibur into the lake.

He supposedly lost a hand or an arm at some point, so unless Bedivere announced his identity, people might still confuse him for someone else.

Right. Now the only issue was having other Servants know how his Noble Phantasm worked, which would only become an actual problem if they were alive to worry about it.

(Incidentally, Bedivere might notice how quickly Dazai recovered from being shot at or having his life put at risk. Turns out being a detective's a dangerous job amirite?)]

We can plan while we recover.

Do it.

[Right as Dazai gave the order, the tree across the path from them exploded from gunfire. Within moments, the Archer would find them and shred them to bits with whatever hail of bullets they were using.

Time to act.

Letting go of Dazai, Bedivere sprung out of their hiding place, running through the trees and ducking around to Archer's side. He knew the Archer would shoot in response, and Bedivere didn't want Dazai to get hit in the middle of the fight. Even if he had recovered quickly earlier, he would need longer to recover from actual bullet wounds.

Once he was out on the path that went through the trees, Archer in his sights, Bedivere began his chant.]

Devour my soul and come forth, o silver shooting star.

[His silver arm began to glow, and the Archer visibly blanched as he realized what Bedivere was doing. He turned and tried to shoot at Bedivere with his cane-gun, but the bullets bounced off harmlessly. That silver arm, it could protect Bedivere while also being used as a weapon. And the way it glowed made it look like a brilliant golden sword.]

...Dead end, Airgetlam!

[He dove in, slashing his arm in a wide motion. It was like he was using his arm as a sword, and the glow seemed to match that use. The raw energy cut into the Archer, making a bit slash across his chest.

Not enough to kill. It wouldn't be enough, not with the class advantage Bedivere was facing. But it was enough to stagger his foe and make him reconsider his actions.

Bedivere stood up properly, taking care to hide just how much that attack had drained him. Dazai would be able to feel it, though. Bedivere had used up most of the mana they had stockpiled last night, and wasn't in a place to fight further. Still, he stood strong and acted like he was uninjured.]

Stand down, Archer. The War hasn't begun in earnest yet. You don't want to be defeated before the final servants are summoned, do you?

[Archer, for his part, made a soft 'che!' sound. Perhaps he would accept retreat for that day.]

[Now that was draining, and Dazai leaned back on a tree, a picture of nonchalance to hide his sudden exhaustion. Even then, he had to whistle - what a brilliant shooting star that arm was, complete with an unexpectedly grim chant. A sign of what lengths Bedivere would go to act on his loyalty, perhaps..?

Ah, now wasn't the time to speculate. Archer might have more leeway to move about, but that in itself wasn't a guarantee that his Master decided to come along.

He clapped, keeping his weight on the tree behind him, a faint smile on his lips. There was a charade they still had to play as long as their enemy was still on the field. How much could he possibly reverse the situation and let Archer think Bedivere just fired off his Noble Phantasm because his Master had mana to spare?]

Well done.

Fancy pistol you've got there, Archer. I know men who'd kill to shave off the time it takes to reload a weapon.

Incidentally: is that productivity also why you have no qualms in taking out the competition as soon as possible?

[Insinuating that Archer might think he had better places to be seemed like a good start. People who preferred the efficiency of striking first - i.e., Mori - tended to be rather ruthless.]

[Even though he knew Dazai was quick on the uptake, Bedivere was still happy to see just how quickly Dazai joined in on the facade. No explanations needed, he just knew what he had to do. There was a hint of fondness to the small smile on his face, for the moment he allowed his emotions to be more genuine.

Archer scoffed as he leaned back against a tree. He may have been hamming it up a bit, but he definitely was bleeding from a large cut on his chest. Only a Servant would be left standing after a blow like that, and Archer seemed a touch annoyed to be hit so easily. Still, he spoke with a cheerful (albeit slightly pained) voice.]

I'm sure you do! And you two certainly make for a good show. Here I thought I would be able to take out an opponent easily right after another fight, but I suppose you two had mana held back in reserves.

[The Archer's words turned a touch darker and his cheerful look became a more sinister grin, though.]

But if the lad here used his Noble Phantasm already, then you two must be spent, hmm?

[Ahh, well. It was a good effort. Still might be. If Archer chose the outfit he did instead of something more battle-worthy, wouldn't that mean his preferred image was that of a gentleman or an aristocrat?

Not that it mattered too much when people like F. Scott 'I'll punch you with the power of money' Fitzgerald existed, but.

Mirroring that smile was simple enough. Dazai's had a lot of practice doing it while pacing his breath.]

Are you saying you'd care to test that? [He drew himself up to his full height and took a step forward.] Even as someone as hardy as a Servant can't afford to linger with your wound. Your Master won't have a pleasant time patching you up.

Edited 2020-11-02 06:32 (UTC)

Can there be reward without risk?

[He was bleeding a lot, though. And though Bedivere was spent, he at least looked physically alright. The bluff was still working, somewhat, and Archer was considering his options.

Finally, the man made a scoffing noise, and he jumped back towards the trees. Out of sight, presumably leaving the area. The risk was not worth it to him, it seemed. Perhaps the threat of his Master being upset was enough to get him to listen.

Regardless, Bedivere wasn't going to stay around and see what happened. As soon as Archer had run off, Bedivere quickly turned to Dazai.]

We need to leave this place immediately.

[Not 'let's go back', because there was still a chance of being followed. But they needed to hide somewhere for at least a couple hours, until it was safe to return to their base.]

[Dazai figured the bluff might only have worked because Archer was injured.

Ah well. Better for them to figure out how to deal with the downtime this early on, rather than in the middle of something like a three-way fight.]

Of course.

[He kept his steps steady as he reached Bedivere.]

You'll have to let me see your arm up close, hmm? I'm afraid I haven't had the chance to properly appreciate the handiwork.

[It was the flimsiest excuse for him to lean onto Bedivere and vice versa, if Bedivere so chose, as he brought them to the park's exit and hailed a cab. Might as well be comfortable on the ride home.]

Will facing normal bullets also be an issue for you?

No more than a stab wound would be. I can heal from it, given enough time.

[That was the nice part about being a Servant: one-hit kills didn't really exist.

Dazai was free to lean, though Bedivere didn't comment on the fact that Dazai wanted to inspect his arm. The two of them could lean on each other and act like they weren't at all involved in the gunfight that had just burst out in a park. It was a good thing they were leaving, as the cops were definitely on their way.]

You didn't get hit, did you?

[Hmm. This sure reminded him of something.]

Once you've rested enough, I'm having you dodge rubber bullets.

Archer isn't the only Servant with a gun. Rider as a pistol, and Q's boss isn't adverse to sending in snipers.

[Better get used to gunfire while you're in Yokohama, Bedivere.

Dazai continued to hold on to that arm after they settled in the cab, tracing the strange lines and glyphs. He'd still do the same if Bedivere chose to transform back into more casual clothing.]

No, no hits here. Like I said, you did well.

[What.]

Rubber bullets? What are those?

[Not a bad idea though. Bedivere needed to learn how to dodge. He was too used to his armor protecting him and just worrying about his head. Too many gun-users put Bedivere at risk.

They could ride in the cab quietly though, keeping talk of the War to a minimum while they rode. Being overheard would do no good. Instead, Bedivere watched Dazai trace those lines on his arm. He couldn't feel them- even transformed back, touching Dazai blocked the magic that allowed his metal arm to function like a normal one- but he was curious about the motions.]

I'm glad you're alright. It is my duty to protect you, after all.

Your introduction to modern warfare. [For a moment, his smile turned grim.] You'd think people would stop romanticizing murder after such impersonal methods became commonplace, but no. Ideologies stick.

[A point he won't elaborate on after they got into the cab. There were nicer things to focus on, because this kind of intricate metalwork? If there was one thing he could say about Bedivere's age, it's that they made their killing implements pretty.]

So you have.

Tell me, as you're an expert in that area of history: what were knights rewarded with?

[Time to pretend they were discussing secondhand information from scholars instead of Bedivere's actual life experiences.]

[That certainly was an odd sentiment to hear, or at least it was to Bedivere who was guilty of romanticizing knighthood. But he didn't question it, since they were in the cab and all.

That question was one he took at face value, not catching the innuendo behind it. He did step into the role of 'scholarly expert' easily though, so the cab driver wouldn't suspect anything.]

It depends on what they accomplished. For a victory in battle, they might be granted lands, or a monetary reward. For loyalty, positions of power in a kingdom. Sometimes betrothal offers were made as well, but those were rare. A king couldn't force a noblewoman to marry, you see, and princesses were usually married off to other princes.

I see.

[Too bad his ability cancelled out everything. Dazai would've wanted to find out if the way he traced the grooves on the silver arm would've affected Bedivere.]

For the sake of discussion, let's say you're one at the present time. What would you like as a reward for your good effort?

[Ah, so there it was. The corner of Bedivere's mouth twitched in amusement.]

I would like to see you eat a healthy meal and get some rest. It's been quite a long day.

[And they would absolutely need to hold hands again all night. Something else would have been preferable, given how much mana Bedivere blew on trying to get Archer to run away, but after their conversation in the phone booth Bedivere had his doubts on if his Master would even want to do that.]

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