A Knight Does Not Die with Empty Hands [F/SN / Infinite Stratos / ???]

[X] Of a war against equals; of other heroes of yore, and your chance and pennance.

 

[X] A duel; you unarmed against a fellow knight unarmed. Victory the proof of your prowess

 

[X] A duel; you unarmed against a fellow knight unarmed. Victory the proof of your prowess

 

[X] A duel; you unarmed against a fellow knight unarmed. Victory the proof of your prowess

Come on Empty Knight.

 

[X] A duel; you unarmed against a fellow knight unarmed. Victory the proof of your prowess

 

[X] A duel; you unarmed against a fellow knight unarmed. Victory the proof of your prowess

 

You know if this was the fifth war I would be guessing Houki was Medusa. But the King of Conquerors would be downright weird considering how downright manly the guy was... *Sigh* I'll wait for more clues, if she does have a past life at all anyway.

[X] Of a war against equals; of other heroes of yore, and your chance and pennance

 

[X] Of betrayal and lust; of how your actions brought ruin to what you upheld and fought for

 

[X] A duel; you unarmed against a fellow knight unarmed. Victory the proof of your prowess

 

[Z] A duel; you unarmed against a fellow knight unarmed. Victory the proof of your prowess

 

[X] A duel; you unarmed against a fellow knight unarmed. Victory the proof of your prowess

 

[X] Of a war against equals; of other heroes of yore, and your chance and pennance

 

[X] A duel; you unarmed against a fellow knight. Victory the proof of your prowess

You were a knight, noble and courageous; and upon your travels you had happened upon a castle, from which a falcon flew off and landed upon a tree. Once it landed, the lines on its feet became entangled in the branches, and the bird was trapped.

Shortly thereafter, a fair maiden cried out from the castle; asking for help. She needed you, the fairest and most noble of all knights, to recover the falcon. It was her husband's, and in his foul and hasty temper, he would slay her if the falcon wasn't returned to the castle. Being of noble stature, you gladly offered your assistance to reclaim the bird. Taking off your armor, with the assistance of the lady of the castle, you hung your blade among the branches and climbed the tree. Once you reach the falcon, you untangle the line and instead tie it upon a rotting branch. Once you do, you break the branch and throw it to the fair lady, returning the bird to her.

But it was a trap, for the lord of the castle had been seeking your demise for some time now, and challenges you to a duel. Unarmed and unable to reclaim your blade, your death seemed inevitable; even as you dodged several blows from the dishonorable cur.

Is this your fate; to die unarmed and in such a shameful, dishonorable fashion?

No. You refuse to believe that; you refuse to die without honor and empty-handed. Seeing the tree behind you, you rip out a branch and block the cur's sword. Then, you proceed to push him back with immaculate skill and boundless strength; until you disarm him and hold his blade in your hand.

For his crimes and treachery, the punishment was death; so you cleaved off his head. Then you rearmed yourself and rode off.

Soon, word of your prowess spread forth; and it was universally accepted: you above all others, was deemed the Perfect Knight...


Then, you woke up. It was still nighttime; but that dream...the fighting, the nobility, the passion; it got your blood racing and now you couldn't sleep. You decided to get some water or maybe milk to help you go back to bed.

Quietly tip-toeing through the halls, you manage to overhear someone talking, "I'm glad Houki made a friend, especially since Tabane at that age..."

Was that Houki's dad? You stop for a moment and try to listen in; curiosity getting the better of you, "Dear, we both know that Tabane is...unique. And while that causes problems, we love her regardless."

"I know, I know; but when I see how she acts with her little sister, I can't help but feel..." Feel what? Was something wrong with Tabane-san?

"Dear, are you saying that you don't-"

"No! No, nothing like that. I love our daughter; but I don't know if our daughter loves us." After that, there's nothing but silence.

Finally, you hear Houki's mother speak again, "You know, when she first saw Houki; her eyes lit up brighter that I've ever seen them for anything else, even her own projects. She helped me taking care of little Houki so much that you could say she was more of a mother to her than I was. Even now she dotes on her little sister, doing anything she can for her..."

"She looks at Houki with so much love and caring...Is-is it wrong that a part of me envies my youngest daughter; for having something I never will?"

"...Only if it's wrong for me to feel the same way..." Feeling uncomfortable after hearing that last sentence from Houki's father; you leave and head to the kitchen to get something to drink like you meant to in the first place.


After drinking a glass of milk, you head back to the room you were staying in; only to overhear another conversation, "So Chi-chan, Ichika's gonna have to go to school in a couple of months; have you found a school to enroll him in yet?"

"*Sigh* No, things have been a little hectic, so I have to take care of that soon. I'll probably just enroll him in the local primary school, though."

You hear a rustling of papers for a moment, "Here."

"What's this?"

"Enrollment papers; it's the same school Houki's going to." That's nice of Tabane-san; making sure you and Houki go to school together.

"Oh; I didn't think you'd actually-Tabane, these are enrollment forms for Sendai Private Academy; that's the most expensive private school in the country! No, it's the most expensive and prestigious school in all of Asia and arguably the Eastern Hemisphere! Even the worst students from there get full rides from Toudai! It's a school for the one perce-no, it's for the one percent of the one percent. How are you affording this?!"

"I have a lot of patents and only use about a fraction of what I make from them for my own research and experiments; might as well use the money for something useful, right?"

"That's great for you Tabane, but there's no way for me to afford this; sorry."

"Oh I'll pay for Ichika too; shouldn't be that hard."

"Thanks Tabane, but I'm still saying no; I don't wanna mooch off of you. I don't need free handouts to take care of my brother."

"Chi-chan-"

"No Tabane, I'm not taking it." Yup, that's your sister; stubborn and determined to the end. Having to rely on someone else to take care of her problems definitely seems like the kind of thing to not sit well with her.

"Chifuyu; I never said I was asking you to enroll Ichika. I'm only showing you the forms now because I'm being nice, and because you're my friend."

"...So that's it then, I don't even get a say in this, do I?"

"No, you don't. Because I know the first think my little sister is going to ask when she told she's going to school is 'Will Ichika be there too?', and I refuse to let the answer be 'no'. I also refuse to let my sister have anything but the absolute best that I can get with my own two hands."

Silence, and then; "...You're serious, aren't you? This is actually the first time I've ever seen you care about anything other than whatever you work on in that lab of yours."

"I am; when it comes to Houki, what she wants is what she gets. And if I have to drag you kicking and screaming to do it, then I will."

"You know, you can't keep spoiling her and giving her whatever she wants; sooner or later there'll something you can't give her."

"I can and I will; and if I can't do it, then I'll make something that can."

Another silence; and you decide to head back to bed to sleep. You've also decided that next time, it's better to leave your curiosity alone...


Time passes, as it always does; and now it's:

[X] The start of school
[X] A new friend?
[X] The reveal of IS and the White Knight incident

 

[X] Reveal of the IS and the White Knight incident

Why, yes, we do have the power to turn any weapon we touch into a magical superweapon, why do you ask?

 

Interlude:

The dream was the same again.

"You have failed me, ______"

Always the same, trapped in that horrible place; with no way out.

"Even with the boons I had granted you, even with ascending you beyond the feeble trappings of your inferior mortal body, you have failed"

And he was there; judging you, persecuting you for your failure (for what?). He had granted you power, and promises of greatness (Power? Greatness? Why did you want either?)

But it was all a lie; false machinations by a dark god, and only now did you see the truth. And he was furious.

"Know that THIS is the price of failure, for failing to enact my will upon the word. Did you not promise me you would grind your brother's corpse under your heel?"(Brother? You didn't have a brother.)

Excuses and apologies where piling in your mind, but they were all useless; no amount of begging or grovelling would placate the rage of this monster.

And so it began; pain and agony wracking your body, your mind, your very soul. Black ichor poured from every orifice, as the very body granted by this god was breaking by his very whims. Your body tried to convulse in spasms, but it was locked in pain and bound by the might of he deity before you.

"Yeeessss, behold your punishment; for when you bargained with me, you offered up your very soul as payment. I OWN you ______; mind, body, and soul. And I intend to collect upon it."

You couldn't speak; not only was your mouth unable to move, but you felt your mind fraying and shattering by the second. ________'s very touch defiling your spirit and rotting your mind.

"Oh, do not worry about the fun ending so soon ______; I have had over five thousand years to perfect this craft. I assure you that the time has given me many...CREATIVE and EFFECTIVE methods to try out on those who defy me. Or who have failed me. And so long as I exist here, upon MY domain; you shall live, unable to die, in endless agony for your incompetence."

"Such is my will, and my will is law; for I am a GOD..."

Pain. Pain and endless torment; steadily getting worse and worse. There was no end to it, to the torture and agony brought on by a vile and mad god.

"Hmm...I grow bored with simply watching you squirm; I wish to hear you SCREAM..." (No, please no. No more; somebody help! Mother! Father! Nee-san! HELP ME!!)I'm...I'm sorry brother. Forgive me...


"-ki. HOUKI!" You're shaken back and forth, as you finally snap out of it. You don't know when you woke up, or when the screams stopped coming from the dreams and from yourself.

"Shhh, sweetie; it's alright. It's only a nightmare," A nightmare that never leaves; that never goes away, no matter how many times her parents say otherwise, "Shhh, you're here with us, safe and sound."

You're still crying, and holding onto your mother for dear life; the nightmare still vivid in your mind. Eventually, your nee-chan comes and hugs you, crying and holding on like you're about to go away forever.

You do the same, feeling safer in your sister's arms fare more that you did in your mother's. Deep down, a part of you feels that no matter what happens, your sister will always be there for you.

Always.

Author's Notes: Bah, something that I simply needed to get written; regardless of anything else. It just hit me as I was planning out the rest of the quest. Consider this a hint from a benevolent GM.

Well, benevolent for now at least...

 

[X] A new friend?

 

So I'm thinking either Irisiviel or Assassin (Kinda seems like the type of guy to sell his soul). Unless someone knows the other heroes legends and one of them fits better.

[X] A new friend?

 

I'm pretty sure that this dream doesn't fit any of the Servants in the fourth War and there is still the third crossover to consider.

Not to mention that we can't really be sure that any of the other Servants ended up in the same universe as we did.

 

[X] The reveal of IS and the White Knight incident

 

... I actually forgot about the third crossover...

And yes I thought of that as well, actually considering the Kaleidoscope is infinite I figured its actually very unlikely that all of the souls of the defeated ended up there. Unless they were traveling through the Kaleidoscope in a giant clump of... well, souls and popped into he same dimension before separating and reincarnating.

 

[X] The reveal of IS and the White Knight incident

 

[X] The start of school

 

Tally ho! (*= voters on QQ)

[X] The start of school; 8: LightMage, Nightblade, Alexander89, Fellgar, EVA-Saiyajin, Chronic, Yun, Overmind
[X] A new friend?; 4: Happerry, ReinZero, *Selias, ShadowAngelBeta*
[X] The reveal of the IS and the White Knight Incident; 3: *Biigoh, nick012000, R.A.G.*

 

[X] The start of school

 

[X] The start of school

So weeks passed, you spending every day playing with your new friend Houki as she made something new just about ever other day or so. Regardless of whatever she made it was either a huge success or a catastrophic failure; either way it was fun to watch. Sometimes, Tabane-san would get involved and things would get even crazier. The sisters would often improve on what the other was working on, seeing things that the other missed and improving on it. Most times it became a competition between the two; of who could make the better invention or who could make the most improvements, often making this far better or much worse.

You're still trying to repress the sewing machine incident; you don't think you can fully repress it, but you won't stop trying regardless.

And when Houki's birthday came along and you were all celebrating it with her; Tabane-san came in...with a rainbow maned unicorn. Houki squee'd and rushed over to ride it; while everyone else simply gaped at the mythical creature before their very eyes. Hesitantly, you walked up to it and poked it. Muscle, not metal. When the animal lowered its head to meet your gaze, you take a moment to poke at and prod it's horn. That was real too, no a fake attached to it. Tabane-san had gotten Houki a real unicorn. This just proved to you that Tabane would do anything and everything for her little sister; getting her whatever she wanted regardless of how crazy or impossible it might be.

So that's how things were; you played with your best friend, continued your kendo practice; where you excelled, and went about your regular life until school started.

Sendai Academy really did deserve all the praise it's gotten; the buildings and campus were simply goregous, looking more like a palace than a school. All the other students were driven there either in limos or other expensive cars worth more than most mansions. The desks seemed to have built in, top of the line computers in them and the whiteboards seemed to have holographic projectors too. And club activities ranged from regular things like kendo, to advanced robotics and horsemanship, to even falconry.

As far as the actual learning went; you were average, not too bad but not too good. The only real place where you excelled was in PE, but that didn't really count as a class. Houki however, thrived here; skipping several grades after the first day in both math and science. She was good enough to spark interest and recruitment drives from the various science clubs, but she refused. To her they were, 'too boring', so she joined up in the kendo club instead. What's funny was that they kendo club tried to do the same thing to you after hearing about you from Houki, and you gave them the exact same reply: 'too boring'. Nobody was really a challenge for you there except for Houki, and that was because she sparred with you all the time after school, and you still won every time. Overall, school was enjoyable.

However, not everything turned out so well; as some of the more affluent students began to pick on you and Houki for not being as rich as they were and coming from the middle class. Neither of you really cared about the teasing itself; but when some bullies began to corner Houki, you yelled out, "Leave her alone!" and pushed them all away. The ran off, and you though that'd be the last of it.

Except it wasn't; after school they came with kids from several grades above you and cornered you. 'Payback for making us look bad', they said. You think you could take them, you're definitely a better fighter, but one could get a cheap shot from behind if you're not careful. As you get into a stance and prepare to fight back...

...The largest of them begins convulsing and drops to the floor; behind him was Houki with a makeshift taser, and she looked real angry. Everyone ran after seeing her taze someone, but she got a hold of the ringleader before he could run off. That was when you learned that Houki has a temper, as she slammed him against the wall and repeatedly bashed his face into it over and over again; until a teacher came and stopped her.

After the scolding, you asked her, "Why did you do it?"

Still upset about the scolding, she said, "Because you're my friend"

While she got into trouble for what she did; the punshiment wasn't as bad once they found out the whole story. After that, nobody teased either of you again and sensei worked with Houki on her temper during kendo practice outside of school. Still; despite the help, you don't think Houki's actually learning to cool her temper, but hide the aftermath. Mostly because sometimes; when there'd be someone whispering about you two or trying to start up the bullying again, the next day they'd come in with their head hanging low, and flinching whenever they look at either you or Houki.

You're not sure if that's a good thing or not.

Still, the past's in the past; and right now it's lunch time and the two of you need a place to sit.

You choose to:
[X] Sit next to the girl with...blue hair?
[X] The brown haired girl...holding a leek?
[X] The girl...wearing miko robes?

Or if you wanna skip over this stuff:
[X] Skip to the White Knight Incident

 

[X] The brown haired girl...holding a leek?

 

[X] The girl...wearing miko robes?