Miscellaneous Anime/Manga One-Shots!

cheers (Fate/Zero)

A confetti gun blasted with a migraine-inducing bang for what seemed like the umpteenth time in a row, sending little pieces of colorful paper floating from the ceiling.

Arturia winced, gripping her glass of water so tightly that her knuckles turned white, watching in exasperation as the sweaty mass of teenagers roared in approval, chugging back their icy cold beers and gyrating to some obnoxious EDM song. Even more vigorously, if possible.

She wished that she could be anywhere but there, trapped inside the mansion that belonged to the ridiculously wealthy Kirei Kotomine (whose house had been chosen solely for the reason that his parents never seemed to be home) for some stupid after-prom party, with none other than the king of arrogant pricks as date.

And at that moment, Arturia knew that she wanted out. For Christ's sake, this was way too much for her to handle. Avoiding him among hoardes of mostly inebriated teenagers, trying to dodge the projectile vomit? No thanks.

She shouldered her way through the crowd, occasionally stumbling in her clunky white heels. Invigorated by the sight of the door, she lunged forward to quick her pace, only to run into something that felt sort of like a refrigerator.

An insufferably arrogant bastard of a refrigerator, to be exact.

"Hey, Gil," Arturia grated out, failing to mask her scowl. 

"Oh, come on, is that all I get?" Gilgamesh grinned crookedly, gulping down what was left in his beer can. Wiping a dribble off his chin, he frowned patronizingly at her. "Is it just me, or have you been avoiding me?"

Arturia just barely bit back a sarcastic retort. "Well, I'm kind of tired. You know, studying for exams and all. My mom's picking me up in about five minutes, so if you'll excu-"

"Nothing to worry about, Artie!" Gilgamesh exclaimed, slinging his arm around her shoulder. "She told me that she was dropping by at 12:30, so we have plenty of time! She seems to like me a lot, y'know."

"Oh, that's...nice." She was more disturbed by her new pet name than the fact that her mother was in regular correspondence with the douchebag.

"Why don't you lighten up a bit? We're here to have fun, aren't we?" Gilgamesh tilted her chin up and pulled her closer to him; just inches away from his face, she squirmed away from the stench of vodka on his breath.

"Well, I guess I'll stay a bit." Arturia feigned reluctance, hurriedly surveying the surroundings for an escape route. Her gaze landed on the spiral staircase. "I have to go to the bathroom, so...see you later!"

Before he could even begin to process her words, she was off, taking the velvet-carpeted staircase two at a time. Brething heavily, she swept her gaze across the second floor. Fortunately, it was deserted, and only the bathroom door was propped open.

In other words, a perfect place to hide out for a little while.

Arturia took off her heels, sighing in relief as she wiggled her numb toes, and scurried over to the bathroom barefoot. immediately slamming the door shut behind her and locking it. Once she deemed the coast Gilgamesh-free, she exhaled shakily and turned to the gilded mirror, pressing her palms to the frigid marble sink.

Letting out a growl, she twisted the intricately carved faucet and splashed a jet of cold water in her face, hoping that it would help to clear her head and give her a peace of mind.

Unfortunately, it did neither of those things.

Ugh, leave it to me to get myself into this mess, she thought, glancing around the bathroom. Behind her was the fanciest toilet she had ever seen in her life, and just to her right, an enormous bathtub obscured by a mauve curtain.