Topic: Hollow IV: Kotomine and his amazing friends (Read 4,898 times)
arai kρ\΅c@The Twenty Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors member is offline
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Hollow IV: Kotomine and his amazing friends « Thread Started on Dec 11, 2005, 2:08pm »
Hopefully, hopefully, there shouldn't be any encoding problems. I'll be adding more to this tomorrow. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Visitor
When I went by the Matou residence on a whim, I caught eye contact with Sakura who was fidgeting in front of the entrance way. "Oh, Sempai. Do you need any help?" "Ah no. I just happened to be passing through. What about you Sakura? Did you lose your key?"
"I-I'm fiiine. I might be clumsy but I don't lose things that often. And even if I do lose it, I can open it by myself."
Hmm? So an autolock system has been installed? I'm betting it's same as the sorcery locking at Tohsaka's. Things have been getting wild again and that kind of mechanism is really useful except...
"Say. How's Shinji supposed to get in?" "How? Nii-san should have the keys for the front door, the living room, the bathroom, and his own room?" "......" So basically if Shinji loses them, he's going to have to roam the streets.
Besides that, seems that all the doors inside have locks. Yeah, that's a pretty strict education policy. Plus, I don't think I could get in. Whenever I come over here, I'll make sure not to stray away from Sakura.
"....Yeah, that would explain why Shinji's keyholder looked a lot like a jailkeeper's. So changing topics, what are you doing in front of the door if you haven't lost your key and don't need any? "Ummmm.....Ojiisama told to me to wait by the door since a guest will be coming. He mentioned that the guest's supposed to have come from abroad. He really woud like to chase her off, but he has to treat her with some respect." "....Sounds complicated. A guest of Zouken?" "Well, normally she would go visit Nee-san but since she's away, she'll be visiting Ojisama as a representative."
Ah ha. So someone from either from the Association or Church is going around making the typical round of courtesy visits.
"Guess I shouldn't be here then. I'll take off before they try to start something with me." "Thank you. Nee-san keeps saying that we can't let you be seen by either the Association or the Church. 'He's a like animal designated to be on a protected list' are the exact words I think." Oh and who might be the one abusing that animal? Next time I see her, I'm going to be pointing the finger at her.
"I'll be going back home. If it looks like you're going to be late, call me. I'll come pick you up." "Ok, I'll call."
I waved my hand lightly and was about to leave. .....but, because of my in-born curiosity, I think I'm going to want to hear just a little more of this in detail.
"Say Sakura. What kind of person is your guest?" "Ah....I heard that she's a newly dispatched overseer. Ojiisama said that she'd move in as an acting priest of the Church once an official order was dispatched." Which means that Dilo-Jii-san will be returning to his country. Well, yeah it was strange that a bishop would be assigned to one church in a little city. Makes more sense to have a priest taking over.
"Sakura, are you feeling down about Jii-san going away? That person really was fond of you." "Yes, I am. But, I had heard before that he'd only stay until a successor was appointed." Ah. After all, Dilo-Jii-san did originally come for an after inspection of the Heaven's Feel. He couldn't stay here that long without any particular reason."
My curiosity was satisfied. So then, this time I did leave the Matou residence.
------Epilogue. Sakura spent half the day waiting for someone that never showed up.
arai kρ\΅c@The Twenty Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors member is offline
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Re: Kotomine and his amazing friends « Reply #1 on Dec 11, 2005, 2:10pm »
Successor
Oh! Hey look! A delinquent Epic Spirit sitting like a Yankee in front of the church!
"What are you doing Lancer? Enjoying the sunshine?" "The hell I'm not. I got chased out, so I watered the flowers, sprinkled water on the road, and now I have nothing better to do other than hanging around.
.........Uh, that's what people mean when they say enjoying the sunshine. Then again, it might actually be what this guy considers warming himself up is the teppanyaki level. Total blackness that would devalue Archer's stock.
But I'll put that aside.
"What do you mean chased out? Is there someone inside?" "Yeah. Somebody came. Maybe a guest, maybe Kotomine's replacement. Has to be someone from the Church judging by the shabby robes."
"...Somebody from the Church huh. So you got kicked out by that somebody?" "That's right. Had something to check up on so I was told to leave for a while.... Not the type of person I can handle. Yeah, she'll go back soon enough so here I am wasting time."
Lancer complained bitterly.
....It's surprising though. There's actually somebody that this man, who can have a friendly conversation with even Saber and Rider, "can't handleh,
"Lancer, can I go inside?h "Yeah be my guest. I wasn't told to guard the church.h
So said an irresponsible Lancer. Getting bored of even that, he began to sprinkle water again with the watering pot in one hand. I waved to Lancer and opened the door to the church.
There was nobody at the altar. The priest that had greeted me here half a year ago was still gone, just like he was at the end of that battle.
"Jeez, there's nobody here.h
I went around to the inner garden, the stairs to the basement, the stairs to the second floor, Kotomine's private room, but the church was an empty shell.
"Hey Lancer. There's nobody inside. That guy must have gone out through the back.h
....Hey. Lancer's gone too. I guess he realized the lack of fulfillment in devoting himself to sprinkling water and went out to the parking lot in front of the station again. The water pot was left out on the plaza. This would be a good experience. Since I already came here, it'd be a shame to do nothing. So I poured some water on the flowerbed with the leftover water pot and then departed the church.
arai kρ\΅c@The Twenty Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors member is offline
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Re: Kotomine and his amazing friends « Reply #2 on Dec 11, 2005, 2:11pm »
A familiar boy
Since I'm already loitering out in the city, I'll try walking across the bridge. The sky's clear. The sunlight was slightly warm, the breeze from the ocean cooled my cheeks appropriately. It was the first day of a three-day break, and it was just the right Saturday weather for the perfect picnic.
"Oh, looks like there's something going on over there.h In the park, I could see children. There were a lot of them. They had brought with them bats, soccer balls, and other items, in fact they brought so many that there was no way they could use all of them within one day. The East and the West forces that they were broken up into were competing against each other.
Feeling in the mood to bask in the sun, I leaned against the railing and observed the decisive battle in the park. After some twists and turns, it looks they decided that the match for the morning would be in basketball. Each force would select their finest and develop a great game that couldn't be shrugged off as just for children. Cheering, booing, excitement, disappointment. Now that I looked around, there were many people sitting on the grassy area of the park caught up in the thrill of the game along with the children. So I'm not the only spectator.
"---Ah-, hmm.h There might just be a little bit of danger with the Heaven's Feel, but it's not so bad to spend time like this. I'm not having that much fun, but to not be bored....I don't think it's time that has to be earned through hard work.
I've heard the loudest moment of cheering from the park. The game was over. It was a tight race, but the team that controlled the game wasn't the team with the three over-sized primary schoolers. It was actually the extremely orthodox composed team of the West.
"I knew it. That kid got a complete grip of the flow of the game.h The players on the winning team were all average, but there had been one commander that stood out. The little commander didn't just issue accurate orders to his teammates. He also let out more than enough brilliance as an ace player. Also, he was a foreigner, with rich blonde hair. It would be strange if he didn't stand out.
The little blonde commander seemed to be the idol of the children, After the game, he praised everybody's work with a smile all the while being squeezed in by them after the game. With that much knowledge, it would only be natural for him to start bragging but he didn't. He really was the perfect boy.
Hm?
"???h For just one instant, I got eye contact with the blonde kid in the park. I've got good eyes, but to eye contact at that distance had to have just been a figment of my imagination. Or so I thought. "Huh? He's coming here.h The blonde boy excused himself a bit and came in a straight line which cut through the park and walked up the stairs that lead to the bridge.
"Gooood morning!h "....Uh?h I accidentally made a mindless response. "Oh? At this time of day, should I say good afternoon? Ok, I'll do it again the right way. Good afternoon onii-san!h "Uh, yeah. Good afternoon.h I followed suit automatically. The blonde kid happily gave me an adorable smile. "....h Oh oh. I seriously didn't remember him. I don't remember ever being greeted by this unfamiliar boy...to make matters worse, he came all the way from the park just to see me..... I tried to look back into my memories thinking that I must have met him before. "I'm really sorry. I don't know who you are at all. Sorry, have we met before?h "Oh, you don't remember me?h
The boy looked at me with a surprised expression. I felt really, really guilty, but sadly I didn't have a clue.
"Hmmm, oh that must be it. Onii-san, you seem to be the dense sort so I can see why you wouldn't know who I am right away. But we have already met each other many times. Well I might have been wearing something a little bit different though.h "You were wearing different clothing?h No. If it was just clothing, I shouldn't have forgotten about a kid this distinctive....
"Hmmm. Not really clothing but appearance? Weeell, when I mean back then, it does feel like I'm talking about someone else. We are the same person but there isn't much of a link.h I'm getting more confused. The blonde kid frowned and reluctantly continued.
"I'll give a hint. I am probably the person onii-san hates the most. There aren't that many people that you can think of right? Onii-san, you have just as many people that don't get along with you like any other person, but there shouldn't be many people that you hate.h
There wasn't any tone of hate in the boy's voice. He's still smiling at me purely even though he knows that he's disliked. His blood red eyes looked at me straightl....y? Wait a minute...? Red eyes and gold hair...yeah, I think I know one guy that fits that profile.
"....Ah.h Nah, can't be. It can't be, but that boy somehow looks...no, more like has similar parts to that guy.
"Um...did he by any chance have a little brother.....?h "Too bad, but I have no blood relatives. I've always wanted to have a brother or a mate though.h He gave an innocent, angelic smile.
"Ah, but please don't worry. Saber-san isn't my type yet. Well, if I lose to her now, I might actually fall for her, but anyway I'm not pursuing her.h
Crack "....h
The water in my brain just evaporated. So basically.... This blonde boy is, that,
"I'm him. It was along the lines of: eWhat an infantile mess. I refuse to put up with this nonsense.' So it looks like I drank a youth potion. I really don't get myself.h
"-That's impossible.h This can't be right. No, this really couldn't be right. No, even if there was some mistake, this really, really, couldn't be right.
I mean, how could he have been such a nice little kid when he was young....!
"Onii-san, I know what you're thinking. I did ask a lot of other people and got the same reaction so I know it's my fault. ....Why do I end up doing things that make people hate me....h
It was hard to answer even though it was about himself, no, more like because it was about his own self, sighed the blonde boy.
"Oh, everyone's calling me. Well I'll see you later onii-san. Oh and you shouldn't do anything dangerous by yourself. Mmm, I think it would be a good idea to do a lot of other stuff first. If you do that, I'll be able to go back to my old self.h Bye, he said politely bowing. With that, he was about to leave.
"Wai....wait. What do you mean?h "I'm sorry. I can't tell you. I was told by my Master that I couldn't tell you. Remember? I have a past record. I was told to stay put until Lancer died, but there I went, off to see Saber-san. -Why do I have to do I end doing that kind of stuff....h
"Wha...h That was during the Heaven's Feel half a year ago when he impaled Caster. But-
"Master? But Kotomine isn't here anymore. That's the only absolute fact.h
Yes. Even if all the Servants are remaining, even if a Master is here that shouldn't be. Only Kotomine Kirei was definitely dead.
"Yes, that's right. My Master is Kotomine. But, Kotomine is certainly dead. He's already gone. Because of that Kotomine Kirei has nothing to do with this current situation. You should just think that I'm just part of the peanut gallery. Yep. I really have nothing to do with this.h
The blonde boy ran down the stairs. The children rejoiced at the return of their idol. I looked at that, stunned as I was, and locked the fact that that boy was HIM in my memory.
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Re: Kotomine and his amazing friends « Reply #5 on Dec 11, 2005, 11:02pm »
Quote:
The water in my brain just evaporated. So basically.... This blonde boy is, that,
"I'm him. It was along the lines of: eWhat an infantile mess. I refuse to put up with this nonsense.' So it looks like I drank a youth potion. I really don't get myself.
"-That's impossible. This can't be right. No, this really couldn't be right. No, even if there was some mistake, this really, really, couldn't be right.
I mean, how could he have been such a nice little kid when he was young....!
That was during the Heaven's Feel half a year ago when he impaled Caster. But-
The blonde boy ran down the stairs. The children rejoiced at the return of their idol. I looked at that, stunned as I was, and locked the fact that that boy was HIM in my memory.
....Of course, it doesn't make any damn sense.
Holy crap. Gil is that cute .And he impaled Caster. And he is so cute.
ΏΥ€ΞΎ³½η ΤΒΌ§ Fate/Stay Night EmagEvil, le Jeu de la Vie. Playing Devil Summoner: Kuzunoha Raidou VS Abbadon King for the third time! I know, my daily routine will definitvely change when i will get a PS3!
arai kρ\΅c@The Twenty Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors member is offline
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Re: Kotomine and his amazing friends « Reply #8 on Dec 15, 2005, 10:38am »
That past is already over
There was a familiar face at the harbor. Lancer can be found anywhere, but in the afternoon he devoted himself to his own personal hobby as he was doing now. Now what should I talk to him about.
....Maybe I'll ask him about his past. I was curious about what he thought about the current state of affairs, but another part of me also wanted to know about how he felt about his life. Saber had blamed herself strongly. Someone like him that lives as freely as he does might have some regrets about the past.
"You're asking me if I have any regrets? I've got disappointments about the old days, but regrets? Not one bit."
So. That would be the reply of the ill-fated hero of Ireland, made while looking at a fishing rod that was totally missing its target.
"....I thought so. You've really got nothing on you huh. Y'know the other Servants all seem to have some longings for the pasts."
"You don't say. I didn't think the others wanted to go back home as heroes now of all times. ....Yeah, Caster ought to be full of regrets. She was supposed to have originally been a sheltered princess. She would have been happier if she'd had been kept in that castle. The world and you'd be safer that way.
Fuwaaa, yawned Lancer loudly. I wonder if it was the lack of any hits that was irritating him or if he just didn't like talking about the past. Lancer just reached an all-time record in lack of enthusiasm.
"How about if you did get a hold of the Holy Grail? Isn't there something you wanted from it, like getting another chance of life as a human being or going back in the past?" "Beats me. I can't think of any random wish until I actually get it."
This was it. Basically, he spent what he has the day he earned it. What he wants was mostly gained when he was alive. As a result, he wouldn't leave behind any regrets like "I should have done this" once the party was over.
"Must have been a full life....oh yeah. Hey Lancer, if you don't mind, could you tell me about your life story? I just realized that I really don't know much about your story."
"What? It's a little too late to gain anything from it buddy. Or are you guys looking for a fight?"
"No, me and Saber aren't interested in that. Didn't I tell you before that I was grateful that you were going to be neutral?"
"Yeah... maybe you did. Ok, if you said you did, then you probably did. So what is it? You only want to hear other people's stories, nothing other than that?" "Yeah, just pure curiosity, not secret motivations attached."
".......I guess there's no harm then. I'm not catching anything so I'll talk to you just to waste time. There was also one thing I wanted to beat into your head." Lancer's lethargic expression changed slightly. His relaxed shoulders became even more relaxed and his eyes which had been attending the ocean surface lazily moved towards the sky.
Yes, that's right. He became even more unenergetic.
Lancer. Cu Chulainn was a hero of ancient Ireland. His land was split into 5 countries and of them, Cu Chulainn served as a warrior under the Northern kingdom of Ulster, under King Conor. Since this was Celtic mythology, he wasn't that well known in this part of the world, but over there, he was a great hero that outmatched a certain King Arthur.
There were many factors at work in his birth. Cu Chulainn's mother Deichtire was a princess born between a gifted druid and Maga, the queen of Ross the Red, who was the father of King Conor. Princess Deichtire disappeared in the Land of the Young without marrying anyone. Over there, she would bear a child of the sun god Lugh. That child was Setanta, later to be called Cu Chulainn.
Setanta was sent to the army of Conor's army as one that would "one day become the shield of Ulster" and he would have a life that followed that destiny.
Setanta became called Cu Chulainn when he was still a child. It came from the killing of the guarddog of the swordsmith Culann, with his barehands.
One day, King Conor was invited to the house of the famed swordsmith Culann. The king was going to bring the boy Setanta with him, but Setanta was in the middle of a match of hurling with his friends. If he left then, he would lose. So he said to the king, "I'll catch up after I win, so go right ahead.-" The king who was humored by this allowed him to come late and went to the house of Culann first.
The tragedy began when one of the servants of Culann inattentively closed the gate. Setanta who had come late was attacked by the guard dog. He then strangled it to death. The people inside heard the commotion and assembled but once they knew that Setanta defeated the guard dog they were shocked but then praised him.
But there was some sadness in Culann's eyes at losing his prized guard dog. Setanta, ashamed of his actions, then told him:
"Does this dog have children? If he does, could you allow me to take care of them? I will raise him to be a guard dog just as strong as his father. Until then, I will be your guard dog."
The swordsmith Culann was impressed by the boy's offer and responded to him with assurance.
"I have no need of that. I will be the one to raise the dogs that will protect my manor. You on the other hand must train yourself. After all, one day you will the guard dog of all of Ulster." All the warriors on the scene nodded in uniform.
From then on, the boy was called the "Hound of Culann", Cu Chulainn. IT was the boy's first battle. And to honor that noble declaration, he would....
"Yeah, I already know that much.....but just how old were you then?" "I think I was younger than you. There's a separate group for the kiddoes before they'd become full-fledged warriors. It was a group of warrior apprentices that weren't adults yet. I was one of them."
"Geh. You're telling me that you strangled the nation's top hound when you were around 12-13 years old?" "It was just the adrenalin rush. That was the first time I would take a life. Since then, I could eat anything except dogs since I got a geas on me." It'd be a dog eat dog, he added lightly.
"So anyway, some time passed after my name changed. The kiddy group gathered around this druid. They were all in a stupid uproar, asking him to prophesize their future fame. That druid, yeah I'll admit that he actually was a pretty tough old man. His divinations were strong enough to not "see the future" but to "determine the future". The old man didn't know what to do so he decided to just do it for those that'd take up arms on that day."
"Wow. So what happened?" "Wasn't much of a divination. Ugly enough that nobody tried to go through the rites of warriorhood. "....Uh huh. What were you doing then?" "I wasn't interested so I leaned against a hazel tree and did some fishing." "....Sorry. What was the point of this story?"
"Don't get it huh? In other words, I went through the rites of warriorhood on the same day. The king was acting bitchy that day.'What good can come from a child like you becoming a warrior? Rear yourself in properly until you grow up.' Or something like that. So that ticked me off. I wound of smashing the spears of the castle, wrecking a chariot. 'Now try telling me one more time that I'm not strong enough to be a warrior."
"...." Threatening a king, oh boy. This guy actually has settled down in comparison to the old times? According to Saber, he also would fit in the Berserker class but I didn't believe it.
"So then you became a warrior? ....Of the Red Branch Knights was it?"
"Yeah, but if you ask Saber there wasn't any knightliness to it. After all, that time as long as you didn't do anything disloyal, you could do whatever you want. If I felt like it, I could pick a fight with another land then have a party that night and forget all about it. There were a lot of loonies among the knights, so I had to keep my eyes on my own country more than the other countries."
He laughed with some amusement. ....I see. This free-spiritedness was the difference of the world he survived in. That pride wasn't the complicated pride of a human. It was simple like an animal.
"So then, once I became a warrior, I was busy with fighting. Then one day, I fell head over heels at this princess at first site and went as far as her castle to kidnap her, but this princess...she was my kind of woman... Except she bitched about not wanting to go to the hearth of some fameless kid." "Wait a minute. Kid? Just how old were you then?"
"Aah. I should have been 16 prob? Anyway, I went on a journey in search of fame. There was this warrior woman named Scathach in this place called the Land of Shadows. I heard rumors that she was strong like a monster and many warriors went over to be her apprentices."
I knew what came next. Cu Chulainn would reach the Land of Shadows, a land of the supernatural, and would receive from the lordess Scathach the arts of leaping and the demonic spear Gae Bolg.
"Oh man, don't try to make things that simple. That woman's warlust is enough to make that Tohsaka girl run away on her bare feet you know? Anyway, she was dangerous. By the time I got there, she quit being human. ....She ended up that way because the Land of Shadows is close to the world of spirits you see. She basically turned into a guard that warded off the dead."
"There were even some near-gods among the dead. She was able handle shutting them in with a human body. You can understand how crazy that'd be right?"
"Yeah. Just the idea of a powered-up Tohsaka is enough to scare me." "Yeah, that's it. Anyhow, there were other pupils under that scary master. These were all warriors that came to be taught by Scathach. One of them, happened to be my equal. He went by Ferdiad, warrior of the neighboring country of Connacht. When we were competing for Gae Bolg, we somehow managed to pass the vow of brothership."
"....Yeah well. I've got three priceless friends, but out of them, this guy had a special place in my hearty as an older brother." And with that done, Cu Chulainn would learn many techniques, many spells. .... Still, to think that the deeds of Cu Chulainn had been accomplished when he was 16.... As far as I've heard, this man caused havoc everyday at maximum velocity. Like an already fast horse in a hurry.
"You're getting it wrong. I stayed in the Land of Shadows for a long time. I felt at home over there. Had a great teacher and good rival with me. So, there was this retard that was going to attack that homely land. There was this lord Aife of a neighboring country that started a war with us. Scathach didn't let me go out on the battlefield for some reason so we often argued about that."
"Anyhow, in the end I did get to cause hell with Scathach and Ferdiad. After a one on one duel, I captured Aife alive. But guess what? We started off as hated enemies, but once I caught her, I realized that she was my kind of woman. So then I started getting seriously into her, but then Scathach found out. That earned me a stoning. Gae Bolg style."
Ha ha ha, he laughed like a mad man. Ah, so the lord of the enemy was female. Hey, wait....
"Hold it. When you meant got serious, you meant that!?" "Hell yes. If you like her, of course you'd make love with her right?" "Gah." -Ah, yeah. With great power comes great womanizing, meaning there were no chaste warriors back in old Ireland!
"Still, one of these days we had to part ways. I split up with Aife. If she bore my child, I asked her to name him Connla and send him to Ulster. When he did come, he had to follow three vows. To not answer his name when asked. To not change course. To not back down from a fight. Yeah, the worst possible rules for my son.
"Me and Ferdiad left the Land of Shadows on the same day. Once we got out of the castle, we both asked each other the same thing at the same time. 'How about coming to my country?'We laughed, realizing that neither us was going to budge. Scathach....no, I didn't see her when we left. She already passed down everything to me so she didn't have anything more to tell me."
That was the tale of the Land of the Shadows. From here on, Lancer became less talkative about his tale. Returning to Ulster, Cu Chulainn had started up dramatic battles and became known throughout Ireland in an instant. With exploits that no one else could ever repeat, he came as promised for the princess and literally killed King Forgall and all that opposed him, thus also achieving victory among the knights that waged their honor as Ulster's finest warriors.
This illustrious record was at the same time the youth of the hero Cu Chulainn.
Which is why afterwards. The battles of Cu Chulainn would bear a heavy shadow.
The neighboring country of Connacht was controlled by generations of queens. Queen Medb was one of those warmongering ladies, the type that really hated giving up. Yeah, a lot happened to her so she had her forces march into Ulster."
"First off, one of the reasons for Connacht attacking was that good old Uncle Fergus defected. Our king was one of those strange big shots too and killed Fergus's sons out of lust for young women; that'd be the reason why he left."
"....Say, wasn't Fergus the knight that took you from Deichtire?"
"Yeah. So my uncle who was the pride of the Red Branch Knights, served Connacht out of hatred for the Ulster King. So my uncle influenced Queen Medb's aggressiveness. Plus, there was this curse affecting the people of Ulster. All the men were rendered too feeble to fight."
"Say what!?" What the hell. And how does a country affected by that manage to prosper!
"Wh-what happened! That's the same as an all-you-can plunder bargain!" "Adding insult to injury. Thing is, I wasn't really born of Ulster. Nah, I was born in a fairy mound. That's how I was totally up on my feed."
"You ought to know the rest right? I went around killing Medb's forces every day. When they begun to lose we came to agreement to change the war to a one on one fight."
At the fords in the Ulster gorge, I dueled. The Connacht army was only allowed to advance during the duel. It was a matter of losing 5000 men in one day or advancing only slightly at the cost of one man. Medb agreed to it reluctantly, and then that was the start of the duels."
"I see..."
That's what's more widely known as Cu Chulainn's rune of vows. Ath nGabla, an arena formed from four branches, guaranteeing one on one combat with honor at stake.
"Good idea. The hound of Culann would never lose in single combat. So that's how you stopped Connacht."
"No, Medb broke the conditions of the treaty and advanced. But even still, it was a public vow. They might have advanced, but it was just one unit, not something that would be noticed. Yeah, in the end, it was the best way of holding them back."
"Now, the problem was what I had to deal with. Started off with some pretty good warriors, then some weirdass goddess of war butted in and then there was I had to deal with the Clan Calatin monster and then...yeah, I was really in deep shit. I'm ashamed to say it, but there was a time when I slept for the whole day out of fatigue. So then the kiddo group, right the one that hadn't been exposed to real combat, all agreed to save Cu Chulainn. Them getting slaughtered by Medb instead....yeah, you could say it's my fault.
"....." I shouldn't have said that. The battle at the fords, even with the hero Cu Chulainn, was a land of death. The conclusion to that war, perhaps the greatest of living hells in his life.
"Connacht had the strongest of warriors with them. He was the one man I never wanted to fight."
The warrior that he had trained with in the Land of Shadows. This was the battle with Ferdiad, the man who Cu Chulainn loved as a brother.
This battle was the scheme of Queen Medb, not out of Ferdiad's own will. How much emotional conflict both struggled with wasn't told by Lancer. Both had to serve their lord. To defend that honor, far more worthless than their friendship, that life had to be discarded.
Both were equal to each other. The cornered Cu Chulainn used Gae Bolg to pierce Ferdiad's heart. That demonic spear that had not even used once since leaving the Land of Shadows, was released on his most precious friend. "....Gae Bolg is a glory given to only the most gifted of warriors."
Cu Chulainn holding his fallen brother in his arms.
"In that brilliant hall of learning, you were our pride-"
Thus Ferdiad said his final farewell to Cu Chulainn.
....The battle ended with the defeat of Connacht. The recuperated warriors of Ulster pursued the Connacht army adding a great blow to this defeat. At the end, Cu Chulainn captured Queen Medb. He returned her to Connacht, treating her as a king, not killing her nor shaming her.
"Yeah, but you still let the leader of the enemy escape. ....You never killed a woman before have you." "Yeah, that's right. I didn't really have a fixation on it, so it just happened that way....but that's right. I don't like killing women in a fight."
I'd say that's a problem that come before the matter of like or not liking. Whether you love them or hate them didn't make a difference. As a Servant things were different now, but to the hero called Cu Chulainn, killing women on the field of battle wasn't something he liked doing.
"What happened next?" "There weren't any major battles after that. Oh right....now that you mention it, there was a strange kid that came down to the coast and stirred up trouble. He was a real brat, you see. Beat the living daylights out of the warriors that would try to talk to him. So the king also wanted to butt in and said 'Only Chulainn can defeate this boy'.
"....I think this would be the only other time other than before I died that my princess stopped me. So she cried at me saying 'you musn't go'. But it was a royal order after all, couldn't do anything about that."
"From there, I fought that kid at the coast, but he was strong so I had no choice but to use Gae Bolg. After I did it, he said "She didn't teach me that" before dying. Must have been a student of Scathach's. By the way, that kid's name was Connla." "....."
This was the end of the golden years of Cu Chulainn. The rest doesn't need to be spoken. Queen Medb, who vowed vengeance, assembled warriors from lands with grudges on Cu Chulainn, and cornered him by the use of many plots. To protect Ulster which was once again beset by sickness, he challenged the army of Medb single-handedly. At the end of falling into scores of traps, he was brutally killed.
The great hero that was responsible for countless deeds of valor and was the shield of Ulster. In comparison to that glory, his life was unexpectedly short. The hound of Culann, one that became a warrior when still a boy, closed the curtains to his life as if it was a race.
This was the tale of Cu Chulainn. The sun was about to set. I was only being half-serious when I asked him, but looks like it used up a lot of time.
"I'm about to leave. Thanks for the story." Lancer snorted, turning his face away. He's thinking twice at doing about not behaving like his usual self.
"Oh yeah, almost forgot. You mentioned you wanted to pound something into my head right all the way back. What was it?"
"Didn't get it huh? I wanted you to get that I didn't kill women or masters." "Ah, I see." Of his many battles, Cu Chulainn had not once refused to follow the order of his king, no matter how impossible. His tale also told that truth.
"I'll keep that in mind. I'll pay you back one of these days." "OK. Give some sake to Taiga to pass down to me later."
I left the harbor.
....Well that caught me off guard. To think he'd shoot me down so early in the game.
Velocity_7 rOfbh@Living Dead member is offline
Joined: Sept 2004 Gender: Male Posts: 93
Re: Hollow IV: Kotomine and his amazing friends « Reply #9 on Dec 15, 2005, 1:40pm »
Somehow this reminds me much of those mythological stories where someone creates something, forgets about it for a long time, then destroys it without realizing it was what they created.
In this case, it was Chulainn (encoding error again! The name is messed...) killing his own son, Connla. How sad...
Cade kρ\΅c@The Twenty Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors Bushcraft Sage Ninja member is offline
...what a pain.
Joined: Jun 2004 Gender: Male Posts: 1,578
Re: Hollow IV: Kotomine and his amazing friends « Reply #11 on Dec 15, 2005, 2:52pm »
Lancer is a master of coping though. He regrets nothing so he came to terms with it somehow. I already knew the story of Cuchulainn but hearing it again though TM's Lacer has made me appreciate it a lot more.
Arai, I hope you're able to do Rider's story sometime in the future also. She and Caster are such great anti-heros. These are all great, thanks.
Kieran ΕFΜZ€ @The Dark Six member is offline
The world needs more Altrouge
Joined: Apr 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 2,423 Location: In training
Re: Hollow IV: Kotomine and his amazing friends « Reply #12 on Dec 15, 2005, 9:56pm »
Cool - I read the story ages ago, but I'd forgotten a lot of it. They really did a nice job of adapting the tale, which is not always the case when the major media get ahold of stuff like this. Excellent work, and thank you.
arai kρ\΅c@The Twenty Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors member is offline
Joined: Dec 2007 Gender: Male Posts: 586
Re: Hollow IV: Kotomine and his amazing friends « Reply #13 on Dec 29, 2005, 3:43am »
What happened on the night of possession
Once we came down the hill, the town changed at once. The lights died out, all human activity disappeared. Even still, this uninhabited town was full of breathing.
"............,_______!!!!"
A whisper-like uncomfortable frequency. "...." Meaningless hatred arose within me. Must be the beastlike scent in the air. I felt strong anger at this enemy I had yet to see.
"..... Shirou, there is no one inside these houses. Anything with a human form has disappeared completely from Fuyuki."
The term missing would be more appropriate than mass slaughter. It looks like Saber saw the corpseless, bloodless, murder scenes.
"............,_______!!!!"
"This is truly an enigma. Is this the work of whoever restarted the Heaven's Feel?" "Yeah, probably. All the other Servant's wouldn't do this. ...But, more importantly. Saber, what do you think of these voices?"
"Voices? I am not sure what- Actually, I can hear something. Is this....the wailing of a dog?"
Saber squinted her eyes out of difficulty from listening.
"............,_______!!!!"
The voices became louder and louder. The sharpening of the sound reflected between my skull and my brain, stimulating my instincts.
"Shirou, what is wrong? Your face is pale. Could it be that there is poison in the air!?"
"............,_______!!!!"
Yeah. Now that you say it, these voices could be nothing other than poison.
"I have some resistance to poison due to my armor, but Shirou, you are defenseless. ....We should return temporarily. I believe there should be no major trouble as Rider is there, but I am still worried."
"Don't worry about me. I'd rather do something about these voices. There's only 2 hours left before the day ends. Let's find the source before the date changes."
"Shirou, I understand how you feel, but there are no clues. Is it not wiser to simply return?" This isn't like Saber. I've been hearing them since just a little earlier up to the point of blatancy.
"-Let's leave things to Rider. Right now, I want to track these voices." "Sh, Shirou!" I ran ahead of her. My sense of balance is being maddened by the breathing of these beasts being stirred in my cochlea.
"......,......,......_____!!!!"
Shouldn't be that far judging by the loudness. This night, Saber's with me. I shouldn't lost no matter who I fight-
The howling changed into roaring. "______" Once coming here, there is no need for me to say anything to Saber.
The "enemy" is in front of us. This was because those things that wiped out all of the people of this city,
With a girl I've never seen before, had flocked together.
"They....I've__"
I've seen them before but right now I can't remember. Just a little more. One the clock turns past 12, I should remember once somebody tells me, but...
" "
It howled, making jarring sounds of movement. It was in a frequency outside of my hearing range. The herd howled for sure with voices that no human could ever make out.
"____I'LL KILL YOU."
A beast rose its head. Ringing its claws, it sprang at me as if it was crawling.
"Shirou, stay back!" Saber moved forward in a burst.
She cut through the beasts. I don't know what force moves these monsters but it's obvious that they are no match for Saber. Saber should clear them out without any problems.
"In that case-" I'll catch that girl looking at us towards the deeper end of the park. She has to be the one behind this real-life Twilight Zone if she's in charge of these beasts...!
I slipped past the monsters, which were being thinned out by Saber. "Wh, where are you going Shirou ..! Stop, you musn't move away from me....!"
The monsters kept attacking Saber. They herded around Saber desperately, probably out of instinctive knowledge of who was the most powerful in this area.
I don't like leaving Saber behind, but this is my chance. They will never be able to outmatch Saber, no matter how many tens of them group together. The best they could do was buy time. I can use this chance to go after their master.
The girl looked at us without running away.
-I can do this. She doesn't feel dangerous. I already knew that I'd be able to catch her by myself.
"-You're quite the Master. I would have never expected you to leave Saber to fend off those monsters by herself"
She said with a voice lacking emotion. Her clothes reminded me of a lifeless doll.
"______" I'll save the stupid chitchat for later. Right now, I'm going to get my hands on that girl...!
I grabbed her arm. "Got you..! Hey, who the hell are you...! No, stop these guys first. If you won't stop them, I'll___" I was about to say I would use force on her. However,
"You'll rape me violently? I don't mind, except that kind of thinking is awfully unlike you, don't you agree Emiya Shirou?"
She saw through that and replied with heavy words that I had savored before once upon a time.
"You know me____so you were the one that restarted the Heaven's Feel ..!"
"_____Yes, I was the one that restarted it in this form. If you wish to resolve this, you should catch me. ...However, this time was a failure. We were not meant to meet here."
"_____, wha..." My sight flickered, and in an instant,
"_____'Noli Me Tangere'_____"
"Gu, gaah...!?" My limbs were restrained by a cloth with a will.
"Hah, guh-what the, hell_____!?"
My body isn't listening to me. The cloth's only constraining my arms and legs and what's pulling on it is a thin arm of that girl, so why the hell am I having trouble even breathing...!?
"Don't resist." It is impossible for men to break the Holy Cloth of Magdala." My body's grating like a door. The restraint that was holding my entire body thankfully didn't seem to have enough power to shred me apart. ...That's not really the right way of looking at it. This was enchanted garb specialized only in "restraining" its target.
"I have no intention of killing you. Since this meeting was a failure, stay here-____, ch...!"
The girl's face convulsed. I heard a sharp sound. The soft sound of flesh being ripped apart and the smell of blood filled the air.
"N, nrg___...!"
Her face distorted in pain. ___What's going on? I didn't hit her at all, but the smell of dripping came from her body.
"Hey argh...ar-are you ok? That's not normal." I was the one that was tied up but the pain that girl was going through sort of muted that.
"Oh for god's sake, just get this thing off me! You're suffering right? I won't do anything so just take it easy...!"
I wonder how much of that she believed. The girl slowly moved her collapsing body,
"...How could I become possessed so quickly....I knew it. You are..."
Leaving that interesting remark behind, she waddled away.
"Ts......Stop moving around when you're hurt moron! And if you're going to run away get this damn cloth off!"
The red cloth was doing its job right even with its master gone. Couldn't move, couldn't breathe too well, and just when my I was about to pass out,
"Are you all right, Shirou?" Saber's sword cut through the red cloth.
...Around us were still a horde of the monsters. She had come save me while the battle had still gone on no doubt. Not letting her guard down, Saber brought her sword facing them.
"What was that cloth? (Static) These monsters do not have that ability..." "I don't really know either. Anyway, nothing's gone to make any sense until I save...I mean capture that girl."
"What? Did you say girl?" "She went that way. I've got enough time to make it to her. Sorry Saber, but take care of these guys for me...!"
Leaving Saber to cover my back, I ran off. I didn't know the cause, but that girl was injured. I wanted to know who she really was but first those wounds had to be treated....!
The trail of blood continued towards the tufts of grass on the riverbank. She lost a lot of blood. If something isn't done about this quick, she could lose her life.
"....Kuh, ...nn, aa____!"
.....There was a voice of suppressed agony. That girl was lying in that tuft to hide herself.
"Hey, you're in there aren't you...? Don't run away, I'm not going to do anything to you. I just have some things I want to ask you, but I'll do that after I patch you up." "...gh...sto-...run, away......!" I heard the sharp sound of ripping flesh again.
"....!" This wasn't the time to be worrying about traps or a counter attack. Being urged by the smell of blood, I stepped into the tuft of grass.
"Ha____ah, ah, ya....!"
The girl's injury worsened. I didn't know what happened, no, what was going to happen, but I kept walking closer unable to let things go on like this.
"____sto, p,____don't, look___!"
Her suffering increased more. It continued to increase each time I walked closer.
"Ha, a, naah, ah...!"
It seemed like she was having sex. The gasps of pain grew hotter bit by bit. With each step, I moved into her body. Little by little, I dug into her body. If that was the case, the moment I reach her, she'll climax.
"Nn, ha, aauuh, ....!"
One more step. After that, a part of me thought I could treat her body and,
"No___don't! Don't come clos, er...!"
Another part of me also knew that I didn't want to get closer to her because I'll die.
"Bbu_____.....what the, what is this?"
Red liquid backed up, pouring out of my mouth. I looked down at the foreboding weapon that penetrated my stomach.
"Hah, ah, ____yeah, that'll definitely..."
I've seen many things up until now, but that girl's condition didn't match any of them, in fact it surpassed them.
____There were large claws coming out of her slender body.
So that wound came from the inside. The girl while gasping in heat, formed that monster and impaled me when I got close.
....I was fading out. I would die here, not making it to the next hour. But still, what I gained was tremendous. This wasn't the right place. I cannot meet her here. To know her name, I would have to be a place close to the source.
Engraving only that onto my memory, I released my consciousness that I had kept linked to my body.
....Right before I died. I looked at the form of the girl that birthed the weapon and suddenly remembered a demon from a fairy tale
Re: Hollow IV: Kotomine and his amazing friends « Reply #14 on Dec 29, 2005, 4:49pm »
Whaa, another update from Arai heh. Good to see you're still in action on this madman's journey of translation. It's mindboggling what drives you to this kinda stuff, but i can only says "thanks!"
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