The clear blue sky was devoid of clouds, allowing the glistening sun to envelope the city like an overprotective mother. Buildings were stacked all around the city, creating a landscape that looked like it was sculpted by a famous painter.
Tourists flooded the city with shocked expressions, phones out, and taking pictures of whatever they found interesting. The sharp sound of trumpets and other percussion instruments reverberated through the place. For the citizens of the city, it was a feeling of familiarity; the sound of jazz and all sorts of music was something that practically existed in New Orleans.
Cobbled pavement stretched boundlessly across the city, firmly cut off by the cement road on which a variety of cars drove past. On the pavement, a mix of different people of different backgrounds or ethnicities calmly walked across the street.
There was a mix of black, asian and white people in this city. Adults calmly walked towards their destination, some chatting with friends along the way, while others calmly looked at their phones.
Children, on the other hand, screamed and yelled, making sure that all attention was brought to themselves; some were annoying their parents and guardians, while others played recklessly with their friends.
Not a single piece of rain had touched this city in the past week; it was as clear as the ocean. This was a huge surprise to the people of the city, considering that it was February and nearing spring, the season infamous for bringing rainfall.
It was currently 4pm in the afternoon, the time when students from all over got released. It was usually a time of pain and havoc for bus drivers, a time where stupid and overheated arguments happened, or sometimes school fights, where parents or outsiders would usually have to contact the school in some way.
However, most of the time, that only applied to the younger generation of people, those in Middle School or High School. Reaching college often gives those a feeling of maturity, and if it doesn't, then it will most likely tire you out to the point where such behaviour is seemingly pointless and time-consuming.
College is a time where people either think it was the best or worst time of their life, for a different range of reasons.
For some, it was the financial struggles that they came across, the inability to spend as much money or buy the foods that they wanted, despite technically being an adult. For some, a 'struggle meal' was often a daily meal of theirs. And the debt that came after college didn't seem to make it feel any better for them.
For others, it was the best time of their lives, where they could hang out with friends and had more freedom than they did in earlier forms of education, especially when they got 'rowdy' in the dorms.
And for others, the mere education system was too rough for them, with countless sleepless nights, the inability to understand half of what their professors were teaching, or the pressure to get good scores because of their parents' pressure to achieve greatness.
And this is where our story starts, with a 19-year-old college student.
Melina Redwood.
Melina was a young girl of average height who most of the time had black eyes, black silky hair, and wore a long slip dress. She often found herself in precarious situations, was often the center of mischief, and rarely took anything seriously.
She had just departed from her college lessons; she was one of the few who had college life a bit easy. Her parents had managed to fund enough money for her that she pretty much didn't need to worry about student loans. She had a few friends who liked her despite her 'unique' behaviour.
Melina was currently walking towards a bar, which was known for not exactly the best reasons. Just know that when the people in her get drunk, it's not exactly the friendliest place to be.
Their walls were painted white, but the blue and dark LED lights that governed the place made it seem professional. There was a glass-covered cupboard filled with all types of liquor for display, and there were a bunch of tables with people drinking and talking.
As she arrives, she slams open the door, and a loud echo of the door slamming into the wall draws everyone's attention towards her. She doesn't care, though, and continues walking on until she sees the bartender.
The bartender is a fairly elderly man in his 50s; you could see that his hairline was thinning and also had grey hairs, his fingers were wrinkly, and his face was even worse. He was wearing a clean black suit and a black tie.
The bartender looks at Melina suspiciously, "Sorry, miss, but you are going to need some I.D."
Melina grumbles and pulls out some I.D, the bartender takes it and takes a firm look at it before handing it to her.
"It says here that you are 22?" he whistles out.
Yes, it was indeed a fake I.D, which Melina had been using to get into places where she wasn't allowed.
Melina raises one eye, "Yeah, that is what the I.D is for, I mean, don't I look 22?" she says, doing a little twirl to show her figure.
The bartender sighs, "It's common procedure for someone who is not a regular, of course."
"Right, right, right, but say I was an old man on the brink of death, my hairline was as bad as yours, and I looked like I was one 'achoo!' from death, would you still ask for I.D?" Melina narrates.
The bartender has a puzzled look on his face.
"I will answer that question if you ever become an elderly man like myself, but for now, I want to know your order."
"Right, right, right, now you see I would order, but my budget is a bit on the low end," she says, opening her wallet and seeing three one-dollar bills.
"I would appreciate it if I could get a student discount by at least 30%," she says with eye contact to the bartender, "And if you're feeling really kind to help a poor college student out, then you could get me a drink for free!"
It's safe to say that Melina did not get the student discount, nor did she get a free drink.
But she still decided to sit down near a man who was currently taking shots of alcohol faster than Melina had seen anyone do before.
"Hey, mister, would you mind getting me a drink?" she politely asked, "I promise to pay you back 10x fold."
The man put the drink down. Melina could see that he looked Asian, maybe Japanese? He looked like he was in his forties.
"Ahh, sorry, my budget has gone down, maybe another day," the man calmly replied as he walked out.
"C'mon, don't be like mister, just a quick one."
"I might be a doctor, but by no means am I rich, miss. Maybe another time," he waves back and closes the door.
"You're a doctor??" Melina asks in shock, "I want to be just like you!"
Not only did she get aired, but she was majoring in nothing related to the medical field.
"..."
"Fuck you!!"
Melina realized that she had said that a little bit too loudly, and all heads were turned against her.
"Huh? Do you want a fight? Come at me, people, I'll give you a beating like no other," she taunts, swinging her arm up and down.
The men take one last drink, and they put their drinks down in unison as if they had been practising this for ages.
*BANG*
They stand up and glare at her.
"WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT!!!" she yells.
"I was just kidding, I'm a petite little girl, please don't beat me up!" she squeals quietly in a baby voice.
"Embarrassing."
"Pathetic."
The men proceed to laugh at her as Melina turns a profound shade of red in shame.
"Calm down, guys, you were really getting ready to hit a woman, have some respect, will ya, and now you're laughing at her," one of the men said.
"How drunk they must be, right?" Melina adds.
"And don't take the blame away from you as well, don't provoke people when they are drinking, it won't end well," he corrects.
"Well, miss, as much as I appreciate the quick laugh, I must ask you to order something, or I'll be forced to kick you out of this establishment," the bartender interrupts.
Melina sighs, "Anything for $3?"
"I could recomm–" he was cut off by the man from earlier.
"Hey, miss, drinks are on me, order whatever you like," he said with a smile.
Melina bit her lips and smiled, "real gentlemen are ya'," she mumbled.
The man bent over to her level, initiating eye contact, "You could say that," he winked back.
Melina huffed and broke eye contact, her face lit up in joy, "two vodkas, two beers, three red premium wine… and ooo over there something a little pricey, Japanese sake? Oh yes, I'm in, that too!"
The man glared daggers. Melina yelped back, "W-wha?? You said drinks were on you, I would never possibly get this chance again, please forgive me… I'll make it up, just one Japanese sake and I'll be good, I swear!"
..
She never did end up getting the free drink; she never even ordered. It was made clear to her that she wasn't welcome; spitting in the face of a kind man was not something that could be tolerated. And as such, she took the walk of shame out of the bar and onto the streets.
"The French quarters are bound to be a bit more interesting," she whistles out.
She turns a sharp corner, and all of a sudden, she is met by the most intricate and beautiful landscape she has ever seen.
The French quarters are known for their architecture and multicultural diversity.
A vibrant palette adorned the city buildings, towering four stories above the wide, sun-drenched road; every inch of this place seemed to show the cultural brilliance of this place.
"Ahhh, it's pretty good to look at, not going to lie, but most magus don't seem to think otherwise, maybe it's because of their weird practices," she pointed out.
"Apparently, there is like voodoo magic going on or something, I'm honestly unsure, but most magi are boring, insufferable losers."
Yes, Melina Redwood is also a magi. She is quite experienced in the world of magecraft and has a few abilities up her sleeves.
However, she was abandoned by her family at age 10; she did not inherit their family crest, but due to a 'strange' accident or 'awakening', she seemed to gain an ability that could put her at the top.
As she walked through the road, something on the floor caught her attention. It seemed to be a magic circle, but she was unable to identify it for some reason, though. The patterns were strange and unlike the usual.
"What does this do?" she wondered, "if something cool happens, then I'll probably buy it a drink."
Melina proceeded to press her hand against.
The air twisted.
Melina stepped back.
She focused her magic on her eyes. Her iris quickly turned a dark crimson red, and two black tomoes circled around them.
Melina's hair went in shambles as the wind pressed against her, and sparks of lightning bounced up from the sky, nearly hitting her. She jumped back and prepared a spell, but her focus was disrupted.
*CRACKLE CRACKLE*
The circle lit up in a bright blueish light, the abrupt change of light was something that her eyes were never ready for, she closed them as fast as she could, and soon enough they turned into their normal black.
As the light fades away, she opens her eyes.
"Motherfucker," she groaned out, "what the hell was that!"
"My Sharingan was unable to pick it up… IT WAS like a huge FUCKING mess of mana," she said, rubbing her eyes.
But what she failed to notice was the man standing right in front of her, in the middle of the circle, looking confused.
He had long black flowing hair which reached down to his back, he had a strong chiseled face and fair skin, he had no t-shirt, so his muscles were out for the world to see, they were defined and compact, a perfect body mass as well. He had a singular gold ring that seemed to be squeezing his biceps. Red, baggy, clean training pants and a robe to tie them up were the only things that he was wearing.
"Whoa… hello there, handsome," she waved, then bit her lips.
"Are you my master?" a soft but masculine voice called out, eyeing her down.
Melina rubbed her eyes, "Your master? How would I be your master?"
The man sighed and pointed towards her right hand, "If you are my master, then there should be three command seals on your hand."
Melina looked at her hand, and what would you know, there seemed to be tattoo-like symbols engraved into them.
"W-what? YO STAY BACK!" Melina shouted, "WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME!! I'M NOT ALLOWED TATS!!"
"MY PARENTS WILL KILL ME!!"
While abandoned by her biological magi family, she was soon sent to an orphanage. At the age of ten, most children don't get a chance to enter a foster family; teenagers or older children were not usually the most sought-after children.
Luckily for her, a family who had recently lost a daughter due to terms they themselves did not know decided to adopt her, just her luck that she looked just like their daughter. And so for the past ten years, Melina had known them as her family.
The man raised an eyebrow, "Were you not the one who summoned me?"
"W-Well, I mean I still don't know how I did it!" Melina exclaimed in shock.
She rattled her brains for what could be the cause of it, and yet she couldn't seem to find any viable reason.
"You don't know? You don't just summon a servant by accident. What is it that you seek?" the man calmly said, moving closer, towering above her.
Melina stepped back in fear; her brain was still preoccupied with how this could have happened.
'He had said servant and had also said master. I know there are several different magecraft techniques where scenarios like this are plausible, where someone becomes a master, and another becomes a servant, but summoning a conceptual being is still crazy,' Melina thought.
'And if I were to do so, then it wouldn't just happen by mere accident, just like he said,' Melina groaned.
Melina racked her brain for information.
She was by no means a genius. But when she had her Sharingan active, she awakened photographic memory.
The use of this most of the time was used during class. She would wear contact lenses and memorize everything during her lectures. It also meant that she didn't have to do an independent study to pass an exam; she still had to do the assignments sent to her, so it wasn't exactly easy for her.
This also applied to magecraft as well, she was essentially able to perfectly remember everything needed to use a form of magecraft, whether it be: conditions, Od, Mana, etc. She could perfectly replicate this.
However, due to not having a family backing her up, she did not have the exposure needed to properly use this technique to her advantage.
"What is it I seek?" Melina repeated, her mind wandered off to scenarios of herself in positions that no woman should seek for themselves to be in
The man listened in closely.
"Oh, I seek nothing silly, except for good grades and having fun!" she said, moving her hand up and down dismissively.
The man sighed, "Do not try to deceive me, the grail calls upon those who have a will, those who have a dream, so I ask you again: What is it you seek?" he voiced out.
"But I swear that is really my dream!" Melina replied playfully.
"Do not take this as a joke, something as simple as pursuing education or having 'fun' can easily be acquired through normal means," he shook his head.
"Why is it that you seek a supernatural object? Something so powerful that if fallen into the wrong hands could risk the end of humanity as a whole," the man said.
Melina went back into deep thought.
'He said 'the grail' so that means that it has something to do with him being summoned,' Melina thought, 'and honestly, I don't really know what I want. What does he even mean by that question?
"I'm sorry, but what do you mean, 'what is it I seek?'" she replied, "I'm heavily confused."
The man faced-palmed, "You really don't know what you are doing, huh?"
"Yep!"
Melina started walking about, "To be honest, I have no clue what is going on, you keep on spouting this nonsense that makes no sense to me!"
She stopped strolling, "Would you mind explaining what is going on? Oh, and try to keep it simple, I'm not very good with long explanations."
She activated her Sharingan, turning her previous black iris into a crimson red, with two tomoes circling slowly around her iris.
The man sighed and started to explain, "I am a heroic spirit summoned by you, and you are a master chosen by the Holy Grail, a mystical wish-granting device. You are to fight other masters and servants, and the last one standing gets a wish," he calmly explained.
"A wish-granting device? And I can wish for anything… Like ANYTHING!?" she exclaimed in shock.
"Yes indeed, some would even go to say it is omni-potent but I don't know the limitations and strengths of the grail, but I do know that if held in the wrong hands, it is dangerous."
Melina took a step towards him and reached for his arm, "And you are a summoned heroic spirit? And yet you are the servant, wouldn't it be me who the servant is since I should be weaker, right? Unless you're weak but you look… hmmm very strong, mister," she said.
"That would be the case, but…"
He put his right hand up and stared at it, "You see the three red marks on your right hand, that clarifies that you are a master who participates in this war," he calmly explained.
"Oh yes, I forgot to ask what they do!"
"They are command seals; they essentially allow you to control your servant three times. You can give any order to the servant, you can make them kill themselves or even make them grow extra limbs," he explained.
Melina grinned.
"Don't even try it, command seals are not omnipotent and, to some extent, are useless. The main reason heroic spirits listen to masters is mostly out of respect and because you are 'one' of the anchor that holds us to this world," he said.
"I'm so confused, I understand nothing," Melina repeated again.
"Alright, do you want me to go over it again, but more simply?"
Melina nodded.
While the Sharingan helped her memorize everything, it didn't necessarily mean that she understood it. (A/N: This sequence is only for new viewers. I don't want to get them confused with a huge info dump)
"You have summoned me: a heroic spirit. And you also have three command seals on your arm that allow you to control me three times, and for that reason, you are my master. And now you are participating in a war."
"Are you with me?" he says.
"Gotcha," she replies with a thumbs up.
"And the reason you are in this war is that there are others just like you, who have summoned different heroic spirits."
"And now we are all fighting for this thing called the Holy Grail, which allows you to wish for anything and anything, said to be omnipotent, but I'm unsure."
"So now, do you understand the gravity of the situation you've found yourself in?" he asked.
Melina gulped, "So I accidentally managed to find myself in a death battle between heroic spirits! Why?... Why did it have to be me!" she groaned out.
"Honestly, I don't know. The Holy Grail itself seems to have chosen you," he said.
"Well, I'm sorry, you're going to either disappear or something, I don't really need the grail."
"..."
"HUH?" the man shouted out, "What do you mean? To ignore the call of a servant is blatantly disrespectful!"
"Sorry, sorry, it's really just got nothing to do with me, and honestly, I don't feel like risking my life for something I don't need."
"I'll get my goals fair and square, I don't need to fight for a magical genie," Melina says.
"And do you not care if it gets into the wrong hands?" the man said.
"And so what, what are they going to do?" Melina mocks.
The man shook his head,"Friends and families, gone and dead, while you, at the last second, regret everything and wish for a second chance to save them." The man reenacted.
Melina's eyes flicked, "A second chance…"
"I see, thank you, but just know that is pure peer pressure, I'm not really into this whole Holy Grail War thing, it doesn't really amuse me."
"It's not supposed to be amusing," he flatly replies.
"But now that you understand everything that is happening in this war–" he was cut off by Melina's sharp voice.
"Sorry, but one last question."
"And what would that be?"
"I remember you saying that I am one of the anchors that hold you in this world by providing mana. Last time I checked, wouldn't it be a hefty amount to create something like this?"
"Ahh, most of the heavy-lifting and 'technical magecraft' is done by the grail," the man replied.
"Ahh, I see, so what exactly is the grail?"
"That might be for another time, take it easy," he replies.
Melina chuckles, "Yeah, I guess so, but this is such a new and unique level of magecraft that I can't help but be curious."
"And confused?" he joked back.
"Just a tiny bit."
"Well, back to my original question, what is it that you seek?" he says.
Melina thinks for a bit before replying, "That's a secret!" she remarked.
"Sorry, but I'll be unable to serve you unless I know."
Melina comes closer to him, and he bends down; she whispers in his ear.
"Something admirable. I am pleased to serve you, master!"
Melina smirks, "Appreciate it, servant? What is your name? Mine is Melina Redwood. When we are in public or something, you can either call me Melina or Mel."
He goes on one knee, "I have been summoned in the Saber Class in this grail."
"Sorry, Saber class?"
"Another time."
"So in public call me Saber, but my true name is Heracles!" He announces.
***
[A/N] What do you guys think of this chapter? I'm not really too good at this but I made sure to keep it interesting, at least I think so. My head canon for their voice would be: Heracles = Tsukasa (from Dr Stone). Melina = Power (from Chainsaw man)
Btw, what heracles says is not entirely correct nor is it incorrect. I just thought of it as a good starting base for a servant.
I was only supposed to make this chapter 3.8k words but went a tiny bit overboard (4k).
See you later, feel free to ask me any questions.
This Young Master has finished the chapter.