"Hayato, I have to go to work tomorrow, so you need to go to sleep and be good."
"Yes."
"Ara, how unusual. He's actually listening to you for once."
Watching her son go off to bed without any of his usual grumbling, Shinobu Kawajiri felt a sense of bewilderment.
"We're father and son, after all. As long as you communicate properly, things work out," Yoshikage Kira (in the guise of Kosaku) replied gently.
"Phew... I guess so. We are a family, after all."
Shinobu blushed at her husband's kind words, but Kira wasn't paying her any mind. His attention was focused entirely on the crimson mark flashing on the back of his right hand.
'Should I wear a glove?'
'No... that would only draw more attention.'
'But I have to find a way to hide it. Otherwise, it will be noticed immediately.'
He turned over the tactical problem of the next day in his mind. Hayato knowing his secret was no longer a concern. Saber had handled that masterfully; the boy would never be able to reveal Kira's identity for as long as he lived.
There wasn't even any need to use [Bites the Dust] on the child anymore.
Back in his room, Kira began searching for a way to mask the hand. Those [Command Spells] were far too conspicuous. If a Stand user like Jotaro Kujo ever saw them, the secret of the "other battle" would be out, and he'd be exposed instantly.
"Saber, do not reveal your presence for now. Even you would find it difficult to escape the pursuit of Jotaro Kujo."
"He possesses the power to stop time. It's only for a few seconds, but it's more than enough for a lethal blow."
The translucent figure hovering in the corner of the room paused. Crimson eyes, marked with three tomoe, fixed on Kira.
Stopping time?
It was a power he had never encountered before. If one were caught off guard, even the leaders of the Akatsuki would find themselves meeting an abrupt end.
This world was proving to be far more dangerous than he'd initially anticipated.
"WHOO-HOO! Josuke, you summoned a girl! And she's in a maid outfit!"
Okuyasu Nijimura threw an arm around Josuke's shoulders, his face practically glowing with excitement as he whispered in his friend's ear.
"She is pretty cute... but why did using Mr. Jotaro as a base result in a maid?"
Josuke responded to his friend, his own expression one of complete bafflement. What could this girl, who looked about their age, possibly have in common with the stoic marine biologist?
"Caster, answering the summons."
A pair of deep blue eyes scanned the room. The girl let out a long sigh, but she maintained a professional, composed demeanor as she announced her class.
Yet Jotaro could sense a trace of "detachment" in her cold tone.
"Your name?"
"Sakuya Izayoi."
"I've never heard of it... but you're still pretty cute!" Okuyasu chimed in.
Sakuya didn't seem particularly interested in entertaining the group. She shifted her weight and moved toward the door, her movements fluid and unhurried.
"!"
In that single instant, Jotaro's pupils dilated.
"Huh?"
Josuke and Okuyasu blinked. One second the girl was standing in front of them, and the next, she was already at the door.
"Teleportation?" Josuke asked hesitantly. He hadn't seen her move at all.
"No... this woman!"
Jotaro was the only one who realized what had actually happened. He was uncharacteristically animated.
"Oh? You were able to see that?"
"Is there a human here who possesses the same power as I do?"
"Well, as long as you aren't an enemy, I suppose it doesn't matter," Sakuya remarked with a casual air.
Even the slow-witted Josuke caught on then.
"The same power... mr. Jotaro's power is..."
"To stop time."
That meant this girl could also...
"I'll end this war in a single second."
"It'll be over soon."
Miyu looked at Homura Akemi, her head tilted in confusion at the Archer's declaration.
Then she saw the small shield-like device on Homura's left hand.
Click-click.
A mechanical sound echoed through the park, and then... Miyu's consciousness was effectively suspended.
"It's even more convenient than I imagined."
Homura jumped onto the roof of a nearby building, looking down at a world where every single thing had ground to a halt. The wind, the falling leaves, the very movement of the stars... everything was frozen.
Her time-stop wasn't limited to a few measly seconds.
Her plan was simple: while time was frozen, she would track down every other Master and put a bullet through their head. Morioh Town might be large for a single person, but in a world of infinite, frozen time, distance was an irrelevant concept.
The war had only just begun; the other Masters wouldn't have had time to hide their identities yet. Finding them would be easy.
She began to dash across the rooftops, her eyes scanning the silent streets.
'A gaze?'
Suddenly, she felt a prickling sensation on the back of her neck. Someone was watching her.
She froze. How was it possible for anyone to be watching her in a world where time had stopped?
She whirled around and saw a girl in a maid outfit standing atop a telephone pole, watching her.
Not only was she watching... she was moving.
"Ho. A power that's normally so rare... and yet I keep running into it today."
"And unlike that man I met earlier, your control over time seems to be quite formidable."
Sakuya jumped down to the street, her eyes fixed on the black-haired Archer.
"A Servant?"
Homura drew a handgun, her brow furrowed. She hadn't expected another Heroic Spirit to be able to act within stopped time. This changed everything. If she couldn't rely on her time-stop as an absolute advantage, the war would be much harder than she'd thought.
"A gun?"
Sakuya looked at the weapon with curious eyes. She lifted her skirt slightly, pulling a set of throwing knives from a band on her thigh.
In a heartbeat, the single knife in her hand became several, fanned out between her fingers.
"Then let's see who is the true master of the void."
Without another word, Sakuya lunged forward. She had decided to erase Homura Akemi here and now.
A Grail War didn't need two time-manipulators!
"Ah... has it already started?"
A boy in a tracksuit stood in an empty street, sensing the surge of magical energy clashing in the distance. He'd never expected to be picked for such a messy, chaotic ritual.
"Seriously... this is such a headache."
Even though time around him had stopped, he was moving as if nothing were wrong.
"Since I have such a perfect opportunity..."
"Who should I summon?"
He stood there for a long moment, deep in thought.
"With a Servant out there who can stop time, it's normally impossible to win, right?"
"Hmm..."
Natsuki Subaru stared at the [Four-Star Dragon Ball] in his hand, and a sudden idea struck him.
"What am I worrying about?"
"I have the ultimate catalyst right here!"
He tossed the golden sphere toward the center of the summoning circle. If he wanted raw, overwhelming power... if he wanted someone who made the very concept of 'invincibility' seem like an understatement... there was only one choice.
"Son Goku!"
"If I summon him... it's an automatic win, isn't it?"
Subaru scratched his hair, a grin spreading across his face as he looked at the star-studded ball.
No matter what kind of Servant the others brought, they wouldn't be able to stand against him.
With that final, confident thought, he began the invocation.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]