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“No more excuses.” The words were said with a touch of a rumble to them. As if his Servant was trying to make a point. “You must rest.”
Kariya looked sullenly up at his servant, his eyes straying back towards the basement after a moment. They’d gotten Sakura to eat, taken an assessment of the refrigerator and cabinets and then shuffled her into bed. She’d started to open up, just a little bit, and had started actively looking around corners out of caution instead of having to be blindly led places. She would heal, slowly, but she would heal.
“I can’t yet. I still need to go to the library and try to undo what he did to us. We have to get the worms out of her. I-” His voice hitched, as if he had only just processed what he’d said. He had eaten with her, to appease her if nothing else.
Lancelot took a breath, and knelt in front of Kariya’s chair again. He’d not allowed his weakened Master out of his chair, and had been the one to put dishes into the basin to be washed. The tap was new for him, but he’d figured it out quickly enough. It had kept his Master safe. That’s what Lancelot cared about most in this moment.
It had never been quite so easy to kneel before.
Lancelot looked up at Kariya, concern for him pouring out of their shared bond. “You are tired. Will you make progress when you are exhausted?”
“I have to. I have to know how to kill them. I can’t- I can’t stand the thought of that down there. I won’t let anyone be hurt by those things ever again. Never,” Kariya hissed like an angry cat, riled up by the concept.
“Master,” He extended one hand this time, well within Kariya’s view. Slowly. He was going to wait for Kariya to move the rest of the way. “I will help. I will destroy them. I will protect you, and your girl. But I need you to be healthy for that. Tomorrow, we fix it.”
Kariya looked his servant up and down and made a decision. He trusted this Servant, perhaps against the better judgment that any other mage would have had. But Kariya wasn’t just any other mage. He’d left. He’d come back. He’d suffered through a whole year of unimaginable torture in order to save the girl he’d finally been able to save. He’d waited. He’d been patient and smart, and he’d bided his time.
Now… Now he didn’t need to do it alone.
And the adrenaline of the whole day rushed out of his body. He’d been running on fumes alone since the summoning, and with Lancelot right there in front of him, something gave way.
He slumped in his chair, exhausted and only half still looking at his Knight. He’d made his choice already. Knew he couldn’t take it back now. Knew he wouldn’t. Even if he had the option. The Servant that had stepped out of his summoning circle wasn’t angry. Wasn’t impatient. Wasn’t crude. He was a reasonable berserker and he knew it. Kariya had made the choice to take his berserker as he was, and not tack the madness enhancement on top of it by force.
Despite the distinct impression that Kariya was getting, the one that told him that his Servant and Reality didn’t often see eye to eye, this wasn’t the kind of person who was disconnected from that reality. No. Lancelot was painfully aware of it. Had endured it for too long. He wasn’t looking for a fix. He was looking for acknowledgment.
Kariya was his Master. It was his job now.
“Fine. Alright. Tomorrow.” He gently settled his hand in the offered one from his Servant. Just as with every time before, he phased through the armor as if it was made of smoke. As if he had no defense against his Master.
Perhaps it was by design.
“But you can’t let me sleep in. I have to get Sakura ready for class and then we need to strategize.” Kariya allowed his Berserker to help him up out of the chair. The worms had made him strong in his magecraft. The worms also made him weak in every other way. He needed to get them out. But not tonight.
“As you wish.” The words are accompanied by a wash of gratefulness so powerful that it sets his already aching nerves alight again. Not with pain. But with the same emotion. Grateful. Kariya had been starved of kind hands his whole life. He wouldn’t turn them down from his Knight.
Perhaps then, the Armor like Smoke was a choice.
“You’ll stay?” Kariya paused at the door, one hand gracing the handle.
“All night.”