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If she was rejected because of his taste for women, that she still could accept. Seeing that she’s far too plain with her appearance.
She doesn’t have any pulchritudinous features. Slim and slender—Gilgamesh had once commented that she was too thin (but he’d complaint if she were to gain weight). Well, all in all, even if she wasn’t that beautiful like Rin or Rani, Hakuno still contend to be herself.
Appearance aside, her manner might not be so decorous and impeccable in any way like a noble woman, but she still has her dignity. A wretch dignity, like what Gilgamesh would have called her.
But his last word! “Four thousand years too earlier,” what a complete rejection that was…! And for that matter, she wonders why she felt upset and had taken the damage by this frivolous discussion. Not that she did give her answer when Gilgamesh had proposed to asked “Which man would you want to hold you?” to her before as a serious answer.
But by Jove, she nearly choked by that question.
There are others that she could name instead, like Leo – but he was still young for Hakuno. Maybe their age only has a year different, but for her, Leo was like a little brother.
Or Julius – while she can be sure that Julius is a nice person (although he was trying to kill her ever since preliminaries), she doesn’t have that kind of romantic feeling for him. Hakuno looks at him more like a friend whom she respects.
If it was Gatou… well, she was sure if she says his name, Gilgamesh would just scoff. So, scratch that.
Gawain would be perfect to be an ideal type of man. He’s a knight and was so humble with himself, even though sometimes he didn’t realize that he has a sharp tongue. Well, Hakuno couldn’t blame him, he was just that too honest as a person. Deep down inside, she knows that Gawain is a good man. But as handsome as he may be, she had no feeling for that Servant of Leo either.
Shinji would be out from the list, his appearance might look like fifteen years old boy, but in the reality, he was eight years old. And plus his attitude is just... no better than Gilgamesh.
And the last one within the student council president was Gilgamesh himself. She thinks, what does she feel towards her Servant? If she says that she like him… there’s no aspect that she could like him at all. Sure if she were to compare Gilgamesh and Gawain, Gilgamesh would definitely win. He is all but perfection, nary a fault in his creation but only his arrogance attitude was the turnoff.
But still, out of other option, she chooses to say his name. At first, she just wants to know what his reaction might be, but only to meet with such crude respond.
“Ridiculous. Don’t make the obvious choice. What will I do if you answer seriously to the questions I ask as an amusing distraction. Hm. Well, it is unavoidable. Being exposed to the aura of the king at such close range, such insolence will occur. Very well, I will forgive you this time. But give up. You are far from being my tastes. Four thousand years too early.”
If only he was a bit nice – a little bit nice. But no! He just needs to be the King of the Asshole he always is!
She regrets a little too late. Why does she even bother with him? She doesn’t even know herself. Hakuno puffed, staring at the golden King who sat on the throne in his glory, he had brought forth a single carafe from the vault that keeps all of his treasure, the vessel in his gauntlet hand was ornamented with sophisticated design, made of who-knows-what. He poured his exquisite wine from that lustrous and translucent decanter into his glass to drink it.
Aware that she had been staring at him, Gilgamesh returned the eye contact, mildly amuse, “Hn. What are you looking at? Have you finally noticed the greatest pleasure in this world is to look at my glory and has it stolen your very soul? Very well, I will grant the permission. Stare at me to your heart’s content until the stars perish and spend your time be awed by me till then.”
-- You don’t have to point that out you magnificent bastard…
She has but one question that has been bugging her, Hakuno choose to ignore what he has said and ventured to ask (though it was still baffling and she’s trying hard not to roll her eyes).
“Gilgamesh, do you ever have your first love in your life?”
He almost drops the glass that he holds but immediately poised himself with her question and give her what-the-tarnation look.
…….
A silence descends in the room.
Gilgamesh clears his throat, “… What a quaint question that is. I suppose, as a King, I shall answer whatever you have queried. By all means, what kind of a King am I if I don’t have experience with my first love.” Hearing his assertive answer, her curiosity peaks up.
So even a person like him have a first love eh?
While that shouldn’t be unexpected, but that was still a surprising fact.
“But my love is different from all of you mongrels might have in mind. While I did bed with a woman in my life, I deign that I had felt towards one certain woman, who had a golden hair that seems as if sprinkles with a gold dust, with her emerald eyes that full of her naïve ideal. A fool who let herself being betrayed as her downfall. Truly a pitiful sight, but that’s all the more that make her to my tastes. A flower to be keep and to be trample as I please.” A fiendish smile ghostly etched on his visage, Hakuno shudder at how different his view is, far from what ‘first love’ supposed to be.
“… O-oh.” Is what she could only reply. It was impossible to understand this Heroic Spirit, to begin with.
Gilgamesh then raises an eyebrow to her, “Hm. While I concede that all treasure and pleasure in this worlds belong to me, those things that we can’t obtain are the most beautiful one. Don’t you agree?” He hummed as if looking back at a pleasant memory from his past.
In another word – his love was unrequited? Well, she better not asks him that if she doesn’t want to lose her dear life. Hakuno doesn’t feel that she pitied him, whoever that person might be, she thinks it was normal not to reciprocate such a twist love. Well, perhaps it can’t even be called as love.
“So, what about you Hakuno? Your answer might be boring, considering how mediocre you are. But I shall bear myself to hear it.” Gilgamesh turned the question back to her, he evinced a little interest to know. Although perhaps he could already guess the answer.
“Well, me? – I, urm… I can’t say for sure since I don’t have all of my memory…” She trailed off and fiddle with her thumbs. She wonders if she had her first love even if she has her memory. Although she recovered partial of her memory after defeating Passionlip, she still didn’t have any recollection who she was before she participated in the Holy Grail War.
“Ridiculous. So you are going to say that you don’t have one now? How about that Passionlip who had confessed her love towards you? There’s another choice if you would like to add. But amongst all, she clearly thinks that you’re her first love. Don’t you think it’s a great honor to behold?” Gilgamesh chortled with his snide.
That’s another example of twist love. No, she can’t even tell if it was love at all as well. Although she couldn’t deny Passionlip feeling, however, she couldn’t accept and return it back either.
“Well, for now, I will leave that matter aside since I think only time will tell me when I will finally find my first or true love.” Hakuno clarified, with a faint blush erupted on her cheeks.
She wonders if she would find it one day. The idea about first love for maiden like her would, of course, make her heart flutter a little.
“Hmph. That is something a mongrel would always say. If you really want to find your love, then seek and find it instead of giving an excuse.” He declared and leaned back at his throne. “Not that I would expect anything from a mongrel like you.” And take a sip of his wine again.
While she heard that he clearly said something akin to encouragement, it still weights with how he clearly thinks that she couldn’t. Hakuno cannot tell which one was it that Gilgamesh is trying to convey.
“What can I expect from you too? You’re far too old by four thousand years behind! Surely I wouldn’t think you will understand. That waiting and searching might be a different thing, but there’s something that we called fate that will eventually lead us to meet with our partner, whether or not we’re searching or waiting for it. It was a matter of time that will tell us the story afterward.”
Hakuno refrains herself from saying that back to him with all of her might. She knows if she did, it will only make the Heroic Spirit, her Servant to prolonged the topic further.
She heaved a sigh of exasperation, there’s no way she could dream to win against Gilgamesh in any argument.
Hakuno felt her eyelids become heavier by the second that elapsed, traveling into the dungeon has taken a toll on her body for the day. She lay down on the bed to repost herself, peering at her Servant, she asked again:
“…Do you ever sought out to find someone that you would love?”
“Hmph. Why would I be the one to seek when everything of value in this worlds already belongs to me? It’s a given that all my subjects should offer their love and admiration. Don’t ask something that is already obvious.” Gilgamesh answered her with incredulity. That question alone is utterly unthinkable and ridiculous for him. “It’s a different story if I were to search for treasure or the world’s pleasure. But not something as trifles like that.”
“I suppose you are right.” In your own viewpoint, that is. She let out a small chuckle. Gilgamesh, her Servant is being self-important as always, but if before she thinks that his presence is overbearing with his arrogance that had no degree that could be measure, but strangely enough that it didn’t disturb her so much as it did before.
His haughty voice slowly escorted Hakuno to drifted into her slumber, and she welcomed the darkness that soon embraced her vision. But at the back of her mind, she still wishes to know more about her Servant. Does he really doesn’t have anyone aside from his friend?
She let herself succumbs to sleep. In this virtual world, she entered another realm of dream where it looks like it was far back from four thousand years ago --
-- Where there’s only one man that stand in his path, alone by himself as what he was destined to be. His resplendent golden hair enhanced with the splendor of sunlight that bathed him like a blazing fire, giving the radiance of sublime ruler as he gazed up towards the sky that spanned with eternity since the beginning and until the end of the world—far, far away into the future as the adjudicator of humanity that sentences humans, but still watches over humanity’s course even though he laughs at its deeds from his throne.
Although he has everything at his beck and call, it was just him alone in his sovereignty as the king of men that rules over his domain. It felt lonely just to gaze at him, but he put up with it the moment he sat upon the throne. He needed no one. As he crossed paths with none and taking none as his vassal.
However, four thousand years ago, it might have never occurred to him that he would meet with someone like Hakuno Kishinami, but fate sure lead him to a strange tale.
Mayhap it was a coincidence, or perhaps it wasn’t. That four thousand years later, he would meet her.
Hakuno doesn’t mind if she weren’t his first love or whatsoever (it was impossible anyway). Not that it would matter when she knows her decision to be with him until the end of the time.
But all that she could do as normal human being was just planning for the future that has yet to come and that only time will tell the story afterward, even with four thousand years gap between them, the fate of link that bound by their contract are the one that has connected them together until their contract would be over.