I thought it was weird. We did not like each other at all, merely tolerated each other because it was my late father's wishes. What could he have left for me? I looked around; already the sun was beginning its decent. The wind was cold and I pulled my jack tighter to my body. I think this winter will be colder than the previous one. Autumn was turning out to be bitterly cold. I quickened my pace. The sooner I got this over with, the sooner I would be at home enjoying my tea.

It has only been a year since the Fifth Holy Grail War. Life had returned to normal and yet I found it impossible to go back to my old routines. Had I matured? Perhaps, perhaps I had gained some wisdom. I did acknowledge that the previous Grail War had seriously forced me to reevaluate my priorities and me as a person. I thought about what had transpired during the War often. The mistakes I had made, my accomplishments, though they were few and far between. I had always questioned my decision to allow my servant, Archer, to sacrifice himself for Shirou, Saber and myself. To this day I wonder if it was the right move. It had ended my quest for the Grail premature and I could not fight to uphold the Tohsaka name. My father's foolish daughter had arrogantly thrown aside everything that she had trained her whole life for. I was sure that I had brought shame to the Tohsaka name and not the honour I desperately fought to restore.

I stopped and look at the ground. I wondered what would have happened if I, too, had chosen to remain with Archer until the end, whatever the end would have been instead of running like a coward. But that is fate I guess.

My father used to talk to me all the time about fate when I was growing up. Back when I was first starting to become accustomed to my abilities. I bet he believed that there would not be another Grail War in my lifetime, as the Grail requires a lot of time to generate another war. But he was doing his duty as head of my family. I caught myself starting to tear up. I missed my father every day. It had not gotten easier like I thought it would. Fate had willed my father to die in the Grail War. I looked to the sky and remembered what he often told me about our fate.

Rin, I want you to hold this information close to your heart and remember it well.

Fate will always play an active role in our lives. While we may think that we can outmaneuver fate, it will always catch up with us. Remember that fate will always know all about you. It will know your fears, your weaknesses, your strengths and your confidences. It will always be ready. And it can be ready at the drop of a hat, for all, when the time is right.

Fate has the ability to move you like a simple pawn in its own game. It can sacrifice you for the good of others or remove your from places you should have never been at. Luck and chance are irrelevant. Fate will always be active and you will find in your life that it will pick on people. And you will wonder why. You may even begin to think that fate itself thinks too much, however remember: you are insignificant when it comes to fate. You may wish to control your own fate and you may find an opportune moment to do so. But be cautious, because that is when it will strike.

Remember well daughter. Fate is the greatest enemy of all and no one can escape theirs.

I understood, even back then, what he meant, but I wondered why he said it at the time. He must have had a premonition of some magnitude that had willed him to give me the warning. And it was true. Over the course of my childhood, every word rang true to me.

I shook my head quickly. I did not like to dwell on the subject of my father for long. It still pained me to think of him. I focused my thoughts back on my Servant.

Archer…

He was so arrogant and cocky to think that he could have defeated the most infamous Greek hero of all.

I continued to walk as a small smile spread across my face. I was impressed that Archer was able to take so many of Berserker's lives. There was more to Archer than he let on. I admit I was furious when I had failed to summon Saber. I had worked so hard, trained so hard and to fail…it was not something I was accustomed to. I had always gotten what I wanted. I wondered if servants were paired with master of similar personalities. I admit that Archer had never failed to amaze me. And yet still I knew he was hiding things from me. My summoning of him did not jumble his memories, of that I was certain. But I promised him early on that I would not pry.

He was a proud servant, but that is to be expected of the Archer class. Notorious for being difficult to handle, prideful and can often act on their own accord. I had had to use a command seal when he first appeared in order for him to listen to me. I was furious. How soon the tables turned though. I knew he was furious with me when I had used another command seal to force him to vanish the first time he had encountered Saber. But I knew he was out matched. He could have easily been destroyed and ended my quest for the grail much earlier. Archer never let me hear the end of it.

I stopped in front of Kotomine Church. The mere sound of it disgusted me. Yet I longed to return to those times. Oddly I found them to be of comfort to me in my time of desperation.

I took a breath and felt the cold air numb me to my core. I was not ready to do this and yet I ready for this to end. Whatever he had willed to me I would toss out, I did not want it. I did not forgive him for what he did. Attempting to kill me. For what purpose other than to satisfy his carnal desires for destruction. It sickened me. I was please when I had given Shirou the Azoth dagger. I knew that Shirou would be successful in destroying him. And the satisfaction I gained from Kotomine being killed with that very Azoth dagger gifted to him by my father was unparalleled. Befitting a traitor. He had destroyed my family in my eyes.

It was the only time I had truly regretted allowing Archer to sacrifice himself. Kotomine was someone I thought I could trust. And yet he played me like a fool. Without Archer I felt helpless, I did not like feeling like that. I was angry that I had not sensed Kotomine's true nature. He knew that I would not have my guard up around him, making any moment an opportune moment to attack. But it was time to forget about Kotomine and his evils. Life moves on, and I too must do so.

I entered and looked around. Nothing had changed. Though, I was under the impression that it was being managed by a woman named Caren.

I called out and was greeted by Caren, she smiled at me and I returned the gestured. She showed me to what I can assume would have be Kotomine's office. She sat behind the modest desk placed in the middle of the room. It looked like this room could have used a good and thorough cleaning. It seemed that Caren was attempting that very thing, as the room did maintain a scent of lemon.

'Good evening Rin. I apologize for asking you here, as I'm sure it is the last place you wish to be at the moment.'

'I must admit that when you told me Kotomine had willed things to me, it was rather intriguing.'

Caren got up from the desk and pulled a rather deep box out from under a stack of papers. It was dusty and smelled stale. She handed it to me.

'There was a small will that stated this box was to be returned to you upon Kotomine's death. I do not know what it contains.'

I took the box in my hands. It was heavy, I took the lid off and found a box filled with papers, crinkled and stained. A journal as well. What was this mess? I fingered some of the papers that were in the box. Some of the script was written in a hurry.

'Thank you Caren. I can't imagine what this may be.' I stood up and she did as well. She followed me to the exit and I thanked her for her time.

I left that place as soon as I could and started my journey home.

I was getting ready for bed when I looked over at the box sitting on my desk in my room. What could it possibly be? And why did he leave it to me?

I tossed and turned for hours, unable to sleep. I sat up and my gaze was drawn to the box once again. The moonlight cast light on to it, beckoning me closer. I slowly got out of bed and walked over to the desk. I picked the box up and placed it under my arm.

I left my room and took it to the library placing it upon the desk that my father loved to sit at. The windows behind the desk allowed for the moonlight to come in unchallenged. I turned on the light to my right side and walked out towards the kitchen. I passed familiar photos of my family during more happy times. My beautiful mother and my father when they were young. Another of them on their wedding. It was not a happy portrait, though my mother had a smile that was sincere and my father, well, my father's smile was stoic in a sense. I stole a glance at the next one. All four of us. Sakura was just a baby; I was seated close to my mother who was also seated. My father had a hand placed on her shoulder protectively. I wished that we could have those moments back. That we could be a family once again. But when a mage has two children, they must choose only one to pass their knowledge onto. I was that one…

I pushed the thoughts from my mind and continued to the kitchen. If I was going to read those papers than I needed a cup of tea.

I set the tea back down on the table in the library. I looked at the box and took the lid off of it slowly. I moved some of the wrinkled papers out of the way and dug down further. I came across something cool in my hands and I lifted it up. I stared amazed. It was a leather book. The leather was faded in spots and I turned it over. The pages were crinkled and smelled stale. The more I examined it; a small scrap of paper fell out of it and onto my lap. I picked it up and opened the folded sheet.

The best of men cannot suspend their fate:

The good die early and the bad die late

~D.D

What an odd quote. Did it have another meaning? I was perplexed. I quickly decided that this would be a good start into looking into the life of Kotomine. But as I opened it something struck me as odd. The script in this book did not belong to Kotomine, of that I was sure. I slowly set my tea back on the table and felt tears in my eyes. The script before me belonged to my father. I had never seen this book before. And my father gave everything he had to me. I felt a knot in my stomach and it tightened at the thought of reading this.

Was it a spell book? Possibly. But I was certain he had given all the books on magic to me already, the most important one he gave me was on that day. Did he forget about any others? And why did Kotomine have something so personal among his affects? I thought perhaps because he was my father's student, and if it was a spell book, then it was only logical that he had it and forgotten about it.

I had so many questions, and no one to provide me with answers. It seemed the only way that I would seek answers was to discover this book. I allowed myself to get comfortable and opened it up to the first page. What I read would astound me.

~Hello everyone,

It's been awhile since I've been here…wow. Ok so new series, Fate. Loved it. Now this is a cross between FSN and FZ. Now I've looked everywhere for help as I go more into the FZ universe. I can't seem to find a reliable link to watch FZ. Now if you review I would appreciate any tips that you may have for me in regards to things I've missed or conversations that need to be tweaked, etc. It would help me a lot. Thanks!