Masters, come forth!

Now's my chance! She threw a vertical slash at her opponent, who seemed surprised for a moment but quickly regained her bearings.

Unfortunately, her short stature did not allow her to actually get a good attack in from that distance, resulting in her adversary simply blocking her assault. She was pushed back, losing her footing in the process. While she noticed the other one's attack in time, her quick block was all but useless.

She felt her boken forcefully leaving her arms and couldn't help but curse under her breath as she fell on her butt. Her opponent stood proud in front of her, little to no sweat on her brow and giant grin on her face.

"That was a good match, Arturia-chan," the woman said, extending a hand to help her up.

"I agree, Fujimura-nee," Arturia responded resignedly.

She heard Fujimura chuckle as she pulled her to her feet. The match had been shorter than usual, but also far more intense than one would expect at that hour in the morning. Alas, things weren't exactly normal in the Emiya household.

The woman in front of Arturia was Fujimura Taiga, an English teacher, a kendo practitioner who would have become a national champion were it not for the small tiger strap dangling from her Tora Shinai...and her current guardian following her father's death ten years before.

"Still, Arturia-chan, if you keep getting better, you will best me in no time. Why don't you want to join the kendo club again?" Her guardian asked the same question that half the school had. In all honesty, she was sorry about it, but there was little she could do. In between school, work and that she hardly had time for kendo anymore. In the end, kendo wasn't enough to fulfill her promise to Kiritsugu.

"I promise I'll become a hero."

As she prepared for school, she couldn't help but think about her dream. It had been a childish promise, but she had dedicated everything to that oath. She was closer to being a hero than before, but in the end it wasn't enough. After all, a normal human couldn't become a true hero. No matter how much she trained her body and mind, she would still be just a vigilante at best. No, to help people she needed something to set her apart.

Magecraft. When Kiritsugu had told her he was a magus, she had thought they were like the wizards of fairy tales. Now, after more than 10 years of training, she saw that clearly wasn't the case.

Her abilities were pathetic as far as magic was concerned. Strengthening was her only ability and she succeeded at that one once in a blue moon. The amount of concentration required and the pain it caused made it incredibly useless in actual combat.

Besides, what use was going at twice your normal speed when someone was hurling fireballs at you? Strengthening an object was even harder and even less useful. Analysis was as useless as a pair of binoculars in a fight. Alteration and Projection were so out of her range, it wasn't even funny.

Still, she persisted. She was sure she'd figure it out eventually...

"Morning, Arturia-senpai." That irritating voice could belong only to one person.

"Morning, Medusa." She responded to her friend with experienced calm. In spite of all odds, she and Medusa were getting along. She, calm and polite, and Medusa, sultry and cunning. An interesting pair to see in action. The fact that they all but lived together was hardly any help in untangling the mess that was their relationship. Arturia herself wasn't sure why she was friends with Medusa. The only thing that came to mind was that she could cook well, which was a strangely rare thing in their high school. Even their builds were complete opposites: Arturia was short and thin, while Medusa was tall and voluptous.

Medusa herself probably had no idea why she came there everyday.

"Itadakimasu." The young Emiya dug into her food quickly, not wanting to waste any time. School wasn't exactly close and the match against Fujimura had been quite tiring. Medusa watched her carefully from across the table, but ate her own serving quietly enough. Of course, the silence only lasted until her guardian burst in and happily helped herself with what was left on the table.

"I'm in a hurry, so I'll leave you for now. Don't you dare skip school!" Taiga shouted as she ran off to school, leaving the two alone.

The awkward silence continued until the end of the meal, making the atmosphere strangely tense.

"Is there something wrong, Medusa?" Arturia wasn't used to her friend being silent. She had seen it before, especially when Medusa was in deep thought, but now it seemed almost worrying. The girl was occasionally looking up at her, but otherwise ate her meal in silence. As it was, the girl hadn't even given a reaction to her question. "Medusa!"

The girl jumped up, positioning her arms as if to defend herself. As far as Arturia knew, the girl got into a lot of fights, but this reaction was extreme even for her. She directed her look at her friend's hand and noticed a strange mark, as if someone started a tattoo but didn't finish it.

"What? Sorry, I was..." Medusa trailed off, biting her lip. Something is very wrong here Arturia thought with a grimace.

"Are you getting into fights again?" Arturia asked as politely as possible. The last time something like that had happened, two buildings had burned to the ground and tens of people were hospitalized. Battles between gangs were pretty dangerous, and Medusa usually got involved one way or another. The fact that she spent so much time with Taiga and her grandfather was probably the reason.

"No, it's- I mean yes that's it!" The girl was a good liar most of the time, but she could never really fool Arturia, as far as she knew. Still, she seemed vaguely vehement about it.

"You don't have to lie. We all have our secrets, but" Arturia stopped for a second "remember we're friends, all right? If you need help, I'll be right here." She made her point by picking up her shinai and pointing it at Medusa.
The girl seemed surprised. Still, a smile appeared on her face.
"I'll keep that in mind," She replied. "We have to get to school though."
Arturia instantly panicked. Picking up her bag she started to dash to the front door, only to be stopped by her friend.
"Calm down, this is what you have me for." The girl lazily stepped outside and pointed at her left.
Arturia couldn't help the grin that split her face.

"Finally..." Tohsaka Shirou muttered as he opened the box on his table. The code to his father's will had been extremely hard to decipher and he'd been just about to give up when he'd at last cracked it.

He had had half a mind to just throw the stupid thing away if he couldn't open it. Or better yet, crack that priest's head with it. With his trembling hands, he opened the old box. Inside, there was what looked like a broken sword of some kind and a pendant. Brushing his fingers over the pendant, he felt an extraordinary power emanating from it. It would have taken him at least 15 years to gather that much magical energy.
Still, it was a disappointment. The sword-like thing was in pieces and he doubted it was of much use that way. Sure, the pendant would get him out of a tough situation, but a catalyst would have got him a powerful Servant with which to win the war.

Oh well, at least I'll get one with a similar personality. Shirou was nothing if not optimistic. Honestly speaking, he was hoping for an Archer Class Servant, because he himself was quite good at close combat and he would be able to do much with a support servant.

Letting go of the thoughts of the Holy Grail War, he stuffed the pendant in his pocket and looked at the clock. He froze.

"Eight? Darn, school's started for a while," he said to himself. Brushing his eyes, he ran to get ready. He was sure he looked like hell, having spent the whole night cracking the damn thing. Damn you, father! He thought, running a comb through his hair.

Quickly taking his uniform and his bag, he sprinted to school. The last thing he needed was to lose his Honor Student prestige. Gilgamesh would never live it down. Nor would Medea, for that matter.

It took him no more than 5 minutes to get to school with minimum Reinforcement, almost a third of his usual time. However, he instantly noticed something was wrong with the school. It was too...empty.

"Oh? If it isn't Tohsaka!" A voice came from behind him. Turning around, he noticed Medea gracefully coming his way. "Isn't this early for you? You usually barely make it in time."

Shirou wasn't sure what was going on, but he had the suspicion his clocks weren't exactly correct, which was really eating at him. If he remembered correctly, he'd last checked them 2 days ago. Besides, he hadn't been early the day before, so...

"Are you perhaps ignoring me, Tohsaka-kun?" Medea's voice turned cold and dangerous. Shirou would be the first to admit he was occasionally dense about girl stuff, but this triggered all sorts of alarm bells in his mind.

"Not at all, Medea-san, I'm merely impressed you keep getting more graceful everyday." Gilgamesh had told him it was a good idea to compliment a woman to get her off your back and, while he had initially thought the priest was trying to get him in trouble, ended up using that tactic pretty often, especially against Medea, with varying degrees of success.

"Oh my, always the flatterer, Shirou-kun," the girl replied, giggling. He simply smirked.

Still, the fact remained that he was early today. Not by much, but there was some time for him to plan a bit, maybe see if the school grounds would serve as good headquarters for the duration of the war. Or better, think on what could have caused his clocks to malfunction because he'd be damned if he let that go.

"HAHA!" Arturia shouted, causing Medusa to burst out laughing. If she had known her friend enjoyed this so much, she would have done it sooner. With a smirk, she raised the speed of the motorcycle even further, making Arturia hold on to her tightly.

Spending time with the girl was a relief. She was fairly straightforward, and while that calmness had really ground on her nerves, spending time with her made it easy to ignore the less...savoury parts of her own life. The fact that the girl thought of her as a friend was touching. She didn't think she really deserved that title from anyone, much less Emiya Arturia, whom she was using as a board to hold on to.

In the end, Matou Medusa was nothing more than a broken, empty doll. Before she had met Arturia, she was simply an empty existence, as her family's training had made sure of.

After meeting that girl, she decided to at least pretend to live, not for her own sake, but for her friend's. The whole 'cool' persona was just a mask that she found easy to hide behind. Japan was full of crazy students, one more would not make a difference.

Not for the first time, she wondered what her older brother thought about her. Not Shinji, her real brother. Alas, they were forbidden from interacting. It was probably for the better, hoping he never found out about her training. He was talented, but he had no chance against her grandfather.

Imagining his disappointed face at her current actions, she found herself speeding even further.

It shouldn't matter! She thought with a grimace What right does he have to judge me?

And it was that point that made her feel even stupider. Shirou wouldn't care. He wouldn't judge her, no matter how much she deserved it. That was just the sort of person her brother was.

"Medusa-chan? A-are you alright?" Arturia sounded worried for some reason. Looking up, she noticed they had passed the school for a while.

"I was just thinking, sorry," she replied, making a quick 180 degrees turn.

"It's not that, just..." Medusa was getting worried. Had she done anything strange? Then, she felt something cold touch her cheek. Was it raining?

She wiped her cheek, only to find it was her own tear.

The thought send chills down her spine. With a deep breath, she threw away all thoughts of her brother.

Her grandfather had probably felt the emotion though. It was a small thing, but he was a man that could work with less.

Throwing the thoughts further away, she parked the motorcycle in front of the school.

The place was emptier than she'd thought it you would be. She was pretty sure she hadn't gone over double the speed limit...probably.

The only people who were easily notifiable were a usual pair: the honour student with perfect grades and attendance record, kind but aloof with natural red hair; and the student council president, nice, smart and beautiful among others.

Tohsaka Shirou and Ryuudou Medea turned to them at the same time. Medusa wasn't sure what to say about either of their looks.

Medea was clearly about to lash out at her. To say they had never got along was an understatement. Their perspectives were so different, they almost paralleled each other.

Shirou's gaze seemed impartial, but she could easily detect the hint of eagerness in his eyes. She didn't want to know what he wanted to do, but she didn't want to guess. Clearly, the heir of the Tohsaka's wouldn't want anything to do with her.

"This is clearly going too far!" Despite her usually calm demeanour, Medea had a good pair of lungs on her. "The fact that the headmaster allowed you to come to school on that monstrosity was a miracle in and of itself, but to think you would drag Arturia into it!"

Medusa looked away with a wince. She knew Arturia had wanted to come, but she had to admit it would have looked like a kidnapping to anyone who only knew Arturia from a distance.

"Ryudou-san, it was my idea," her friend said, putting herself between them. Had she been any less stoic, her face would have mirrored a drowning fish's. Medea seemed to agree with her.

"Arturia-chan, I know she's your friend, but you can't cover for her like this!" Medea looked almost desperate. Medusa felt a pang strike her heart. She knew the two were friends and, as much as she disliked the council president, didn't want them to fight like this.

"Arturia, don't worry," she told the blonde. The Emiya turned to her with wide eyes and she continued with a smirk. "I'm used to this. It happens everyday."

Arturia seemed about as ready to believe her as to flying. Thankfully, Shirou intervened.

"Now, now, calm down, you lot." His voice was aloof, but he there was some amusement leaking through. "It's too early in the morning for this much shouting."

"I agree." The second voice was unexpected. Turning around, the four noticed their History teacher, Kojiro, looking at them with a grin. "Such beautiful flowers shouldn't be fighting in the first place."

If the four of them, all known one way or another, hadn't got the attention of the school, Kojiro-sensei definitely did. In a way, this was an all-star meeting. There would be talks about it for weeks.

As if we needed more attention, right before the Grail War!

The basement was dark. That was not something that made it stand out, but Hassan felt it was a way to calm down the laughter that had been going through him at full throttle.

"Guilt!" he shouted hysterically, "Sadness! Envy! So many emotions at once!"

It wasn't even his birthday! Or at least he doubted it was. The years did go on quite quickly.

Still, the fact was that his puppet, as broken as she'd painted herself, had just revealed a gigantic crack in that armour of hers.

And that armour was called Emiya Arturia. The irony was enough to launch him in another burst of laughter. To think the daughter of Emiya would have such a connection to the heir of the Matou! Tohsaka's other child didn't seem all that distant either! This Holy Grail War was bound to look like a soap opera!

And there is nothing wrong with that! He was quite happy with it, in fact. He had planned to send Shinji in, but this was a hundred times better. He would send her to kill her oh-so-dear Emiya, then, with her spirit completely broken, he would use her to get the Holy Grail.

The Einzbern were quite a problem, but he was sure he could handle them with Medusa's power. Besides, they were bound to want revenge on Emiya, so he could use that too...

If it all came to naught, he could simply steal a Servant and be done with it. He had created the Command Seals and it was about time to put that knowledge to use.

His plans were half-formed already, Archer and Assassin were already accounted for, thankfully, but there were a few variables to watch out for.

First, the overseer wasn't about to keel over any time soon. Gilgamesh was about as whimsical as they come, and he had kept his Servant, Assassin, from the last war. If he found any kind of reason to interfere, things would be quite complicated.

Secondly, the Association had sent in a Master of their own, a so called 'Chulainn' if his sources were to be trusted. Some sort of Enforcer, no doubt. He'd either be an obstacle or a pawn, and his plans would adjust accordingly.

Last, but not least, the question of who would summon Berserker was troubling him. The Emiya girl seemed too interested in swords to summon anyone but Saber, and the Tohsaka wouldn't be stupid enough to take Berserker. He'd take either Caster or Rider. Medusa would take the other and the only one left would be Berserker. God knew who'd summon that, but he would probably keel over right away.

Hmm, I'll have to look over this again, it's too fragile a plan...

He waited. If he had anything, it was time. She would be here in any moment. Today was just a test ride, to see if she was worth anything.

Emiya. That name rang in his ears, made him want to rip something to shreds. His father had left him for this Arturia person, and he'd see what it was that had surpassed even blood, enough to cast away his family, his son.

Slowly, people started pouring in his direction. Students, most likely.

Soon enough, he noticed her. How could he not? Blond hair was rare in Japan, and green eyes only slightly less so.

He watched her walk up the hill, a passive grace in her movements, born most likely from practice. Clearly, the girl was unusual. She was also clearly non-magical. Absolutely no magic emanated from her. Non. Nada.

The idea terrified him. Had his father gone so far to even cast away his magic? What had happened in that stupid War?!

"Calm yourself, Master." The voice snapped him out of his trance. His Servant was right, as always. He needed to control his impulses, else...

To hell with it, he'd go talk with the girl.

"Hey, girl," he said, flashing her his best smirk. Arturia turned around quickly, and with her two more people, a boy and a girl. "Name's Hercules, might I know yours?" He was sure she was that girl, but he needed to cover every possibility.

"My name is Emiya Arturia, Hercules-san." The girl replied smoothly, if a bit coldly. He didn't doubt she'd sensed that he was unusual. The ones around were even more tense, however.

He wasn't making enough progress with the interrogation, so he decided on a more direct method of approach.

Surprisingly enough, the girl dodged his punch and attacked him with a wooden sword. Said wooden sword proved to be more than it seemed at first glance, hitting his Reinforced arm without breaking.

"Oh, my, you're actually a Magus aren't you?" He gave off the impression of being calm, but he was seething inside. How had she hidden her prana?

He most definitely didn't expect to be hit by what he approximated to be a fireball. He actually had to create a small magical barrier to block, else he'd have been burned quite a bit.

Throwing a look at the boy, he recognized the heir of the Tohsaka. Realization hit him like a ton of bricks. Emiya had been living in Fuyuki all this time, so of course she was allied with both the Tohsaka and the Matou.

Indeed, looking at the second girl, he recognized the violet hair that was quite specific to that clan.

The situation had gotten interesting. He couldn't handle this directly, not yet. He would wait for the war to start, so he could crush them in all their glory.

"See you soon, Tohsaka, Emiya, Matou. Tell your families the Einzbern send their best regards." Just like that, he let Archer take him away.

This was going to be a fun War.