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Fujiwara no Mokou     It's late evening. Kazusa and Saber are returning from their visit to the current mediator of this Fuyuki's Grail War. Perhaps they were even treated to mapo tofu, if it flows in the family.

    There's nothing unusual about the night or area. No ominous signs, much less any unwanted presences to be felt. That's probably what makes the state of the Warp Gate, when they reach it, a bit surprising. A flurry of ofuda have been set up around it, powering a sealing spell. It's nothing they couldn't break through by destroying the paper slips, but it immediatly lets them know someone doesn't want them leaving the area.

    They might suspect a Caster, maybe even an Assassin, but there's definitely no Servant in the area (or at least, if there's one, it's very well hidden). Doesn't really take a tactical genius to figure out they should be on their guard, though.

    What will the two do about this?
Kazusa Ujikane     "-don't know how she can just dig into that stuff. I felt my sinuses clearing just getting a smell of it..."

    Kazusa has had a good, hearty Chinese-style meal, and the sight of a lady priest digging into a dish so spicy she's certain the spoon should have melted. All in all, it has been a good night, despite having to report to Miss Kotomine that the Rider and possibly Caster of this Grail War are out attacking civilians in other worlds. Kind of shitty, that, but there's not much they can do for now but keep their eyes open for future attacks and try to crack down on them. It's possible the two Servants and their Masters aren't even hiding out on this world.

    Of course, there's always the possibility trouble could come looking for them. "-ah, Saber... th-that's... all those ofuda can't be good!" Them being where they are, there's one place her mind goes immediately. This must be the work of an enemy St- er, Caster! So she's already going for her purse, keeping one hand ready in case she has to draw her one 'active' card. It's the Beast, but if this gets dicey, she might not have a choice...
Moonlit Saber "Something that spicy is... a bit much for me." Saber wrinkles her nose slightly. She can't help it. She's a princess! She's delicate!

"I do not like needing to have an incentive to stop them, but I suppose many Masters in the War are more selfish than you are." Saber tilts her head slightly, giving her Master a fond smile as they walk.

But then she sees the ofuda and her senses are instantly on high alert. Both swords materialize at her hip, and she sets a hand on the hilts, ready to draw at a moment's notice. "I do not sense the presence of another Servant, but these seals are not the work of an amateur. I did not expect Caster to come to us so soon..."
Fujiwara no Mokou     With neither of them touching the ofuda, nothing happens for a moment. Off to the side and hiding behind a large truck, Mokou clicks her tongue in frustration. Of course it wouldn't be that easy, they've done this dance too many times. Even disguised, Kaguya wouldn't touch such an obvious trap. She'll take things in her own hands and escalate right away, then!

    A hail of fireballs surges out from behind the cover, headed for Saber. They're flashy, there's several dozen, but they're not powerful on their own. In their midst, flying in the distraction of the bright orange flames, slips of paper inscribed with paralyzing spells fly for Kazusa, specifically, where the flames very obviously focus on Saber.

    Mokou surges out of cover in their wake, another several dozen flaming spheres flying around her. She's hovering off the ground, a feet at most, hands in her pockets. She doesn't look too happy.

    "KAGUYA! That lame disguise fooled me and I'm going to take it out on you! To think you'd try to run around under my nose like this! YOU PISS ME OFF!!!"

    At least there's no ambiguity here.

    BGM HIJACK >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOefbCXJ0Sc
Kazusa Ujikane     "I've got The Beast with me if it comes to it, but- AWAWAWAWA!" If there is one reflex of Kazusa's that has been trained by all her adventuring, it is her reflex to get the hell out of the way. She doesn't even /see/ the ofuda hidden in among all the fireballs; she just hurls herself out of the way purely on the fact that there are fireballs being thrown in her direction and the sincere desire not to be on fire. That panicked evasion leaves her rolling along the ground briefly, but the roll turns into a scamper, and the scamper turns into 'scrambling to get into cover behind the nearest tree'. "Saber, do you have some rival you didn't tell me about?!"
Moonlit Saber Fire. Saber's hand quickly falls to Kusanagi's hilt, and she draws the sword, swinging it out in a wide horizontal slash. The wind from the tip of the blade disperses any fireballs which come close to her, as well as disrupting the flight of the nearby ofuda somewhat. "Master, get to cover!" Not that she had to give that warning, but she wants to be sure that Kazusa doesn't get any Ideas. "N..no, I did not..."

Holding Kusanagi defensively, Saber squints up toward the floating girl. "...Miss Mokou?" Green eyes blink several times in confusion. "I do not understand why you are angry, but I would appreciate you not attacking my Master. If you are angry at me, then come to me." Her grip tightens on Kusanagi's hilt as she prepares for the worst, but she does hope that someone else in the Union might do better than to attack an ally for no reason. "...and explain to me why you are angry." Keeping a cool head is something she's good at, but this sudden and violent accusation is unnerving her.
Fujiwara no Mokou     That's it, that's her reaction? Being polite, insisting on the disguise's identity still being intact? Mokou frowns, more and more with each word that leaves the Saber's mouth. She has no interest in Kazusa, thankfully, so that's not a request the Servant will have to press.

    "Oh I'm SORRY, MISS SABER, I guess I forgot we're ROLEPLAYING this time. That's not original, we've already tried it! And that sword doesn't suit you at all, you have all the elegance and grace of the Oni that hangs around that crazy shrine maiden's place, you damn NEET!"

    Conclusion: Mokou is mad. That doesn't help.

    "Now stop messing around and bring it! I'm not falling for that stupid OH MY, I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN MOKOU, FU FU FU routine of yours!" Somewhere her Kaguya is watching this and laughing just like that, because that's the kind of thing she does.

    "SPELL CARD! EVERLASTING, PHOENIX'S TAIL!"

    True to the name she produces a large fancy card, which is consumed by fire when it's activated. Fire surges up everywhere, and the motif of a phoenix overlaps with Mokou, blazing wings of fire coming out of her back.

    Fire shoots out in every direction, though Kazusa is mostly spared. The flames are a distraction ultimately, with the girl flying further up and then coming down with a nasty dropkick, which explodes into yet more fire on impact. The flames mostly buffet the area directly in front of her.
Kazusa Ujikane     "Wh..."

    Kazusa blinks.

    "...what the hell are you talking about?"

    This kind of confusion is something she's not used to. The confusion of someone spouting complete and utter nonsense at her - it's usually HER inflicting it on someone ELSE. The oni? Shrine maiden? Mokou's talking like she knows Saber, and there seems to be some bad blood here.

    But there are some points she feels compelled to dispute. "H-hey! Saber's got plenty of elegance and grace! She's really pretty and her sword style is cool!" Pause. "...and she's not a NEET! She goes outdoors plenty when I take her places and she's officially employed by the Union as an Elite, so she's got a salary and every- YEEP!" She quickly pulls her head into cover again. "HEY STOP THROWING THAT FIRE AROUND YOU'RE GONNA START A WILDFIRE OR SOMETHING!"
Moonlit Saber This is all so very confusing for Saber. Wasn't Mokou friendly the first time they met? "I do not know what has happened since the last time I have seen you, but..." She pauses again and blinks, one eyelid twitching a bit. "I will have you know that I have more elegance and grace than any oni! I refuce to be compared to--" Saber tilts her head slightly. "...what is a NEET?" She assumes it's bad and fixes Mokou with a very perturbed expression. If she knew what it was, she would probably protest even more. She definitely gets out! Nevermind that she enjoys watching dramas on television.

"...and I do not fu fu fu!" Glancing toward her Master's hiding spot, she adds, "...do I?" Well, perhaps she does a little. But not all the time!

"I am aware this sword does not suit me, but it is a precious gift entrusted to me... both of them are. And I refuses to allow you to insult the honor of the nation which entrusted them to me." A little fire, she can handle. A lot... well, Saber can still handle it, but it's a lot more difficult. "A phoenix?" She has little time to wonder, though, as Mokou begins shooting flames everywhere. Kusanagi swings out, tugging on the winds and sending air currents to extinguish the fireballs heading directly for her... but at Kazusa's warning, she pouts more mana into the blade, extending its influence and sending a series of small whirlwinds toward the fireballs to help usher them up past the trees and into the sky.

Of course, this takes a lot of concentration, and it leaves her unable to properly deal with a speedy attack so close, so the best she can do is raise an arm defensively and take the full force of the kick against her block. For a moment, it looks like it may work... until that explosion sends her flying back, crashing into the trunk of a tree with enough force to crack the wood. "Nnnn..."
Fujiwara no Mokou     "STOP GETTING INVOLVED IF YOU DON'T WANT TO DEAL WITH FIRE!" Mokou barks at Kazusa, as an universal counter-argument to everything she says. Because she's kind of heated right now, and it's much easier to shout angrily than argue the definition of NEET (on which Kazusa is technically correct, to boot). It is true she is being a bit reckless with the flames though. Thankfully there's nothing ESPECIALLY flammable in the area, but if Kazusa has a water-themed card she might want to get that out instead.

    "AND YOU, STOP PRETENDING! YOU JUST ASKED EIRIN FOR A HAIR COLOR CHANGING PILL OR SOMETHING, DIDN'T YOU?! I'M NOT FALLING FOR IT SO YOU CAN STAB ME IN THE BACK!" Again. She should say again, because that's happened before.

    Saber manages to deal with most of the fire, and though she doesn't strike at Mokou and crashes into a tree instead, the phoenix makes an annoyed sound and whips another one of those fancy cards out. "PLAY LIKE YOU MEAN IT, YOU'LL NEVER WIN THE KILL COUNT AT THIS RATE! SPELL CARD!"

    Again, the card is consumed by fire. "LIMITING EDICT, CURSE OF TSUKI-NO-IWAKASA!"

    The flames die down, if momentarily. Instead, Mokou generates a wide sphere of bright green bullets, orbitting her and making getting to her very difficult. At the same time, spell circles appear left and right, forming blue and red knives of generic magic which home on Saber's location, launching in straight lines after they get a lock on her. And it keeps happening.
Kazusa Ujikane     Wait, what? Oh that's just not going to fly. "/Stop/ getting /involved/?! She's my Servant! And you attacked us!" At least the fire is stopping. Kazusa finally tilts her head to actually peek out again. And there's all those bullets, and Mokou's said something about someone named Eirin and a hair color pill and Saber stabbing someone in the /back/, that's something her Kaguya would never-

    Wait.

    "...w-wait..."

    The coin has just dropped.

    "M-Mokou! Mokou stop you've got the wrong idea! You've got the completely wrong idea, stop!" It's probably not very well-advised, but she steps out from behind the tree entirely and begins waving her arms frantically. "Stoooooooop!" She's even saying it in english. Stoppu, stoppu.
Moonlit Saber Saber shakes her head a bit, trying to clear it, though she's still reeling from hitting the tree so hard. "I do not even know anyone named Eirin!" Saber presses her lips together in annoyance, lifting a hand up to run fingers through her hair and give it a neat flick. I doesn't quite match the hairflick mastery of a certain gun-wielding magical girl, though. "This has always been my hair color for all of my seventeen years!"

To the Servant's ear, Mokou is speaking nonsense. She narrows her eyes slightly as she tries to make sense of it, but that doesn't really seem to help her figure out just what this is all about. "I promise you that I will not stab you in the back, as my honor as royalty. But what is this kill count you speak of?"

Right, so. Fire is something Saber can deal with. Energy bullets and magic blades are a little harder, especially since their lack of physical form makes it harder for the wind to alter their course. Kusanagi still swings out, deflecting several of the blasts, but a few manage to strike Saber, cutting small slashes in her kimono. "That... that is quite enough! I shall put up with this indignity no longer unless you calm down and give me a rational answer!" Saber takes a step forward and swings out with her sword, sending a small whirlwind out toward Mokou, then a second slash leaves a wide arc of compressed air in its wake to fly at the phoenix. This may be counter what her Master is trying to do to get this to stop, though.
Fujiwara no Mokou     "I have a PERFECT grasp on what's going on! And she's not even a real Serwhatever, she's playing you for cheap entertainment!" Mokou once again barks at Kazusa with little respect or consideration for what's being said. She's not wrong, that's not something that happens. Not about Kaguya, anyway. It's going to take a bit more to convince her to settle down and listen.

    The wind is knocked out of Mokou pretty violently; if she impressed with her offensive capabilities she seems to have the resilience of a wet paper bag. The wind bursts dizzy and knock her around, but the lack of lethal intent behind them ultimately spare her. And piss her off even more than she already was, to the point she won't even listen to Saber's arguments anymore.

    It's like arguing with a wall.
    An angry wall.

    "Try seventeen HUNDRED you old hack! Who do you think you're fooling lying about your age, PRINCESS?!"

    She gets up, producing another card-- as getting knocked around completely halted the groove of her currently active one, the energy spheres and knives no longer a threat. This card looks a bit more ornate, though, even as it goes up in flames.

    "AND DON'T YOU KEEP INSULTING ME BY BEING ALL MERCIFUL AND NON-LETHAL!" You know, if Saber WAS her Kaguya, she'd have already won this a dozen times over just on account of getting under Mokou's skin so much. "LAST WORD! LET THIS WHOLE WORLD BURN AWAY TO NOTHING!"

    She's gathering energy. A lot of it. The phoenix's flames glow brighter and brighter, blue fire mingling into the blinding orange and red. Predictably the area is getting hotter, too. Is that a self-destruct? Because it sure feels like it.
Kazusa Ujikane     "No, no she's /not/ playing me for-" Kazusa stops herself, realizing at last that Mokou's too angry to actually listen to a word that's being said. This calls for drastic steps. Drastic, probably painful steps. Painful for who? The answer to that may well be 'yes'.

    Because she's going with basically the first idea that comes to mind.

    Mokou seems to actually not want her involved in this whatsoever. She's focused entirely on Saber and seems to have actually wanted the nerd to butt out? So Kazusa's got a hunch here. A hunch she acts on without even thinking about it, dashing out at Mokou as fast as her underworked legs can carry her. Fast as she possibly can, heedless of danger, even of the possibility that those great big flaming wings might burn her on the way in... or afterwards if this doesn't work.

    Because she's taking a great big leap with the intention of wrapping her arms around Mokou's waist and clinging on tightly.

    "STOP! I don't know what's got you so peeved but I'm not letting go until you stop and /listen/ to what I have to say!" Kazusa yells, holding on as tightly as she can. And while that's ordinarily not a lot, with adrenaline it's... actually pretty impressive for a bookworm teenager. "...a-and if you don't, I'm... I'm gonna start headbutting you in the boob!"

    What.
Fujiwara no Mokou     "H-Hey!"

    Mokou is really hot right now. In the sense that she was building up enough heat to blow herself up, and while she's not on fire (her wings aside) she's radiating that heat. It's probably not comfortable for Kazusa, but it's not flesh-scalding hot yet either. Thankfully.

    "Let go, damnit! You're going to get hurt if you keep clinging like that!" Mokou can try to struggle but she's not physically much stronger than Kazusa. Those kicks are just nasty because she uses Danmaku to supplement them, really. Explosions and fire can go a long way to make up for not being able to kick through armor.

    "KAGUYA! Tell your new pet not to meddle when immortals duel and stop watching already!" A pause. Mokou glances down, towards Saber. "Wait, hold up. Why aren't your injuries healing?"
Moonlit Saber It really is like arguing with an angry wall. Saber is getting frustrated, but she's not sure how she can convince Mokou to finally listen to her! "O.. o... old?!" Saber positively -fumes- at that accusation. "I am seventeen years old, a right and proper age for an unmarried princess! Do not insult me by implying otherwise!" Huff. Huff!

But then some other bad things happen. She's not sure what that spell will do, but it -sounds- bad, and she can certainly see the gatheirng of energy. She's unable to directly interfere, though, as Kazusa beats her to it. "M..master!"

Kusanagi dips down slightly as Saber sees her Master latching onto Mokou. She can't swing her sword like this, not without the risk of injuring Kazusa! After a moment's hesitation, she slowly sheathes the blade again and begins stalking toward the two. "She is -not- my pet. I do not know who you think I am, but you are sorely mistaken." Her steps are slow but deliberate, closing the distance in just a few moments. "My injuries will heal in a few hours. But for now, this fight is going to stop before Kazusa is hurt." Thin, delicate arms reach out and grab onto Mokou's shoulders with a vice-like grip. Dipping her head slightly, Saber looks directly into the girl's eyes, her own green ones beginning to gain an otherworldly shimmer. "Are we understood, Fujiwara-no-Mokou?"
Kazusa Ujikane     "Pet-?!" Kazusa's eyes go wide, first with shock and then with outrage. "I- I should headbutt you just for that!" No! No, Kazusa, you need to focus on defusing this! "And I'm /not letting go/ until you listen!"

    But no, there's Saber, and Mokou finally seems to be /listening/. Kazusa can't help herself; the words tumble out in a torrent because she feels like she has to get them all out while she still has the firebird's ear. "It's like I was trying to /tell/ you, she's not Kaguya, I mean no she's Kaguya but she's not /your/ Kaguya, do you not know anything about the Multiverse, my world has a legend of Kaguya too and she's not the Kaguya from my world either, the Kaguya from my world is probably just a myth, she's from /this/ world, the one we're in /right now/, and I know she's not lying because I turned into her more than once and I've got the Command Spells right here on my hand and everything!" She's visibly sweating by this point. Mokou really has turned on the heat.
Fujiwara no Mokou     "What."

    This isn't like Kaguya at all! She doesn't look like she's enjoying herself. No, she looks dead serious. The kind of dead serious that couldn't ever be attributed to the Lunar Princess she knows, even if she were pretending. The injuries haven't healed instantly, either. She hasn't used Danmaku a single time. Wind slashes? That's not even... she can do that?

    It's when Saber stares intently into Mokou's glowing red eyes and recites her name that she really gets hit by the weight of everything at all. The heat dies down, as quickly as it built up, and she starts flailing.

    "You're not my Kaguya... not even a little bit. I was so sure you-- because she does this sometimes and-- you know after so many years we tried the whole roleplaying thing to spice it up so I just thought-- I mean it was so convincing and fishy but it was just like something she'd try and---"

    This got really awkward really fast.

    "I'm so sorry! I-I mean I guess a little part of me is still find fighting any Kaguya but you're not... just seventeen, so you haven't had a chance to grow into a spoiled brat yet... g-geez..."

    Honesty might not be helping her THAT much here but it's better than fire and aggression right?
Kazusa Ujikane     Kazusa realizes that Mokou has finally calmed down and realized the situation she's in. Good. Saber might be injured but it's not that bad and things have finally settled down.

    It is at this point that Kazusa realizes the situation /she's/ in.

    Specifically, 'clinging to Mokou for dear life'.

    In approximately a heartbeat, Kazusa has let go of the immortal, practically teleported to Saber's side, and degenerated to a beet-red stammering mess.

    "I-I- I mean if- as- w-well as long as you've realized your mistake!" Huff. I'm not embarrassed. Huff! "...but you hurt my Servant," she adds, turning to look at Saber with a frown. "I'm alright, Saber, just a little banged up from jumping out of the way. But /you/-" Here she rounds on Mokou again, pointing an accusing finger. "You need to be more careful about gettting other people involved! You got Saber hurt, you owe us more than an apology."

    Armfold. "You owe us dinner."

    Does Mokou know what a cruel pronouncement Kazusa has just delivered?
Moonlit Saber The heat dies down, and Saber ignores the scalds on her hands. Those will heal soon enough. She certainly was not expecting the righteous anger to fall to... flailing and stammering, though. "Roleplaying... thing?" It's probably a good thing for all involved that Saber doesn't quite get what Mokou might be implying.

Saber is, admittedly, a bit older, but she will always give her age as seventeen. She's nowhere near the centuries old that the girl thought she was, though. This is still confusing, but at least it all seems to have worked. "I am going to release you, then, and there will be no more fighting." After a few more seconds of that intense green gaze, Saber does just that, releasing her deathgrip on Mokou's arms. "I was not aware that you hated the Kaguya from your world so much that you would do such a thing. I..." She pauses and looks at Kazusa, quirking an eyebrow slightly. That is a very heavy punishment.
Fujiwara no Mokou     "Ah, well... we're both immortal, so we don't really have a concept of... proportionate response between us, anymore..." Mokou explains, in the simplest terms she can manage without saying something stupid or putting too many cards on the table. "We've been fighting for centuries, you know, it's kind of... our way to say hello now. Don't misunderstand, I hate her guts. It's real fighting. She deserves everything she gets. She's a spoiled brat to the core who only thinks about herself."

    Kazusa's offer gets a mild stare, and then Mokou smiles, relieved. "That's it? I'll treat you guys to yakitori sometime, it's not a problem. I was expecting something way worse... I think I'm going to go now and try to save what little dignity I have left. I'll answer your questions over grilled chicken, alright?"