PROLOGUE
Chapter -2
They lived their days in relative peace. It may be a far cry from the peace of common folk, but for magi, one can never ask for too much.
Located near the river Thames, is the British Museum. A timeless masterpiece of British architecture serving the purpose of housing relics and pieces of history in a showcase of history, culture, and the arts. At least, according to common folk. To a certain group of people called magi however, therein lies a secret far older than the foundations of the building.
The Clock Tower.
Many generations of magi have converged to this place to enhance their knowledge of magecraft and to pass their craft on to the next generation. Centuries of arcane knowledge is pursued and refined here away from the prying eyes of the world as we know it.
One such individual continues her pursuit of her family craft. Having graduated with first class honours five years before, Tohsaka Rin spent those years further refining her family craft and expanding her Magic Crest. Rin has established herself as one of the top Magi of the Mage's Association, and to some degree. Many have acknowledged her as a once-in-a-generation magus, a prodigy come of age, and a maven, among many other superlatives tossed around by students and lecturers alike.
Not all things said about Rin were nice things, however.
"I'm heading out, Tohsaka" is a line Rin hears every so often. The man she loves is also the man usually reviled at the Mage's Association.
"Calling me 'Tohsaka' again? Haven't we been married for five years already, Shiro?" Rin says, stopping Shiro dead in his tracks.
"Well, not according to the Association, with all that crap about two family heads not being able to marry and all that," Shiro mumbled
"That's too bad for them. Besides, why do you even care less about what they say?"
"Nah, it's not that.. never mind." Shiro continues to mumble. "Anyway, I have to head out now."
Before Shiro could leave, Rin swiftly turns him around, tiptoeing to give him a quick kiss. "Be careful out there, Shiro. We'll be waiting for you" Rin says.
Shiro smiles. "See you later, Rin." His reassuring tone never fails to redden Rin's face. "Watch over the children while I'm away."
"Of course I will."
With that, Emiya Shiro leaves for his "job". The Mage's Association, despite officially not recognising him as a magus due to Shiro's rejection of their offer to join the Clock Tower, continues to work for the Association as a Freelancer, taking on certain tasks that the Association needs done under wraps. Years of relentless application of his craft is now evident in his ability to Project weapons with ease, and as much as the Association considers it taboo, the continued improvement of his ability to deploy and use his Reality Marble. That, along with him finally coming to grasps with the potential application of his rudimentary knowledge in Reinforcement, made him into a person who's craft sets him apart from the vast majority of magi belonging to the Association, and one with a convenient set of skills to make use of, as much as they would hate to admit it.
"Mama, did Papa leave without saying goodbye to us?"
Rin wheeled around and picked up the little girl who was tugging at her shirt. "Papa had to leave before you and Kenji onii-chan got home from school today, Akari." Rin told the girl. "He won't be gone for long this time."
"When Papa comes home, can he play with onii-chan and I?" Akari asked.
"Of course he can!" Exclaimed Rin. "He will definitely play with you and onii-chan. Come now, time for the both of you to practice your magecraft."
When one looks at the expression on Emiya Shiro's face, there is a very high chance that they would notice he is living his dream. If one were to ask Shiro if he was indeed living his dream, the chance of one getting a positive reply would be 100%.
Shortly after turning down the offer to join the Mage's Association after two years of study, he was stopped from attending classes. Well, not officially. Someone high up in the Clock Tower took notice of his talents and tutored him privately, albeit harshly. That, if one were to scrutinise Emiya Shiro's growth in the field of magecraft, would have been the catalyst that spurred the full understanding of his sparse skillset. A full year of his training passed, and coinciding with Tohsaka Rin's graduation and employment with the Clock Tower, Shiro married her in private and the two set out to travel the world, taking on work for the Association until the birth of their children.
Now, work for Shiro usually meant travelling to places where he could devote his energy to helping others, and at times, saving people from any form of injustice. At other times, he takes up bounty offers from The Association to either disable, capture, or kill magi who have violated the strict rules of a magi, or worse, those with Sealing Designations. For Shiro, if taking down a rogue magus means saving innocent lives, he cannot turn away from such jobs.
Tonight however, was one of those nights. He still had some ways to go in order to be stronger and faster. "I need to work on Reinforcing my body after this," Shiro thought to himself as he picked up a keepsake of his target to serve as proof of his kill. This should do more than to bolster his family's finances for many months ahead. It didn't really matter, as Rin already earns a very respectable amount of money every month thanks to the Tohsaka magical patents passed down from previous generations, on top of the magical patents that Rin developed and secured through her own effort. Any extra he earns is a luxury for his family, even if he is reviled by magi at the Association for his using of magecraft to earn a profit.
"Emiya Shiro."
"Huh?" Shiro turns his head to look at the figure standing in a darkened corner who called out to him.
"I see that you have already taken this rogue magus out. Well done, for someone so bloody inept at magecraft." The figure stepped out from the darkened corner revealing a tall man, his long locks of hair giving his identity away to Shiro.
"Lord El-Melloi II." Shiro turned to face his once tutor.
"Outside of the Clock Tower, you may address me as Waver Velvet. If you're wondering why I'm here, I heard of your whereabouts from the higher-ups, and I figured that it would be faster to come meet you directly."
"Is something the matter?" Shiro asked, leaning on a nearby wall.
"I will be returning to Fuyuki City two years from now. You and Tohsaka Rin will be coming with me..."
Luviagelita Edelfelt never liked the idea of cooperation. She is far too much of a perfectionist to even entertain the idea of working alongside another person. After all, no one else comes close to her in terms of magecraft. A mere whisper of another person messing up her plans could send her into a state of near hysteria, and as such, absolutely abhors teamwork.
Now, however, she has been forced into cooperation. 'Your talents would be wasted should you choose to not participate in this undertaking,' was what she was told. Truth be told, she would rather have wasted her talents than to participate in something that required team effort, but for someone so widely lusted after by women in the Clock Tower to massage her ego like that, she couldn't refuse.
"But why am I here?"
Luviagelita Edelfelt. The Finnish genius. Commands respect and admiration from many in the Clock Tower. Now standing at the doorway of an old bungalow about to knock. She could still back out of this, however she had no choice but to do this.
Knock knock.
As the door swung open, Luviagelita braced herself for who she was about to see. And surely she would rue having missed the opportunity to back away from this earlier.
"And why might you be here, paying me a visit, Luvia?"
Standing before Luvia, carelessly leaning against the frame of the door, stood Tohsaka Rin, in a white blouse worn together with her black leggings jeans. Rin's hair now hangs luxuriously down to her back, her once-signature pigtails no longer seen in years, probably a sign of her outgrowing what Luvia thought was a silly-looking hairdo. All Luvia could do was to click her tongue in reply.
"Well, Luvia? Would you care to tell me why someone like you would care to grace me with your presence?" Rin's turquoise eyes shot daggers at Luvia, betraying the sarcasm in her words.
"Well, obviously I'm not here for Shero, although I wouldn't mind you lending him to me for a bit," Luvia shot back. "Now, I'm sure you should know by now that it is rude to leave your guest standing at the door," Luvia continued as she walked right into the bungalow, pushing Rin aside.
"W-w-wait just a second right there! Who the hell invited you in?" Rin stammered loudly.
"Well, obviously you did, Miss Gorilla." Luvia replied nonchalantly. "Although it is somehow expected of one to behave in such an uncouth manner."
"Who are you calling an uncouth gorilla, you-" Rin raised her voice.
"Let's just get to the point, shall we?" Luvia raised her hand as she sat down on the sofa, interrupting Rin's outburst.
"I'll throw you out if it's nothing important," Rin grunted, crossing her arms, still standing at the doorway.
"Have you considered returning to Fuyuki City at some point?" Luvia asked.
"Probably."
"How about in two years time?"
"Funny how you wanted to get straight to the point when you yourself are not getting halfway there" Rin sighed. "Just tell me what you wanted to say, will you?"
Luvia glared at Rin for a moment before exhaling. "The Holy Grail." Luvia said at last.
Rin's interest was clearly piqued, judging by the quiet manner she shut the front door to the bungalow. "What about it?" Rin asked, sitting opposite Luvia.
"Lord El-Melloi II had a long, heated discussion with the people up in the Clock Tower," Luvia began. "He says that the Association should dismantle the Grail and 'end this meaningless bloodshed'. But, the Clock Tower disagreed."
"Why on earth would they even want to have anything to do with the Grail?" Rin muttered.
"The Association desires to make use of it, since it is an omnipotent wish-granting device," Luvia replied.
"Ugh, this is stupid of them" Rin replied, her face darkening.
"This is apparently where we come in," Luvia sighed, leaning back against the sofa.
"Wait, what do you mean by 'we'?" Rin asked suddenly, taken aback by the mere suggestion of the word 'we'. "It is absolutely strange for someone like you to even think about working together with someone.."
"Silence! I didn't want to, okay? Lord El-Melloi II requested for us to work together! He is meeting Shero now as we speak" came Luvia's exasperated reply.
"Lord El-Melloi II is meeting Shiro now?" Rin replied.
Luvia sighed. "I actually meant to tell Shero instead of you, but Lord El-Melloi II insisted for me to come and tell you instead."
"Hah, I owe him one, then. Knowing you, you would flirt and get all chummy with my Shiro instead of telling him a word about this," Rin replied, barely hiding a chuckle.
The door opens, with Shiro and Lord El-Melloi II walking into the house.
Rin was first to react. "Shiro!"
"SHEEROOOOOOO!"
Rin used all of her strength to keep Luvia from running to Shiro, the resulting scuffle causing both Shiro and Lord El-Melloi II to sigh.
"I still don't think this is a good idea," Shiro said.
"Too bad, the three of you are all I have," Lord El-Melloi II replied.
"So we need to participate in this Grail War again?" Shiro asked.
At this point, Rin and Luvia stopped scuffling and sat on the floor.
"At least that is the plan," Lord El-Melloi II answered. "For now, Tohsaka Rin and Luviagelita Edelfelt, the both of you are to do everything necessary to be picked for the Holy Grail War."