The next few months were tedious at best.

They were all called to the Clock Tower and had to give their renditions of events. It did not go badly, however. Bazett had allies – the reason she was chosen to represent the Association in the first place – and no one was that fond of the Einzberns. Yet, they also weren't happy that the Grail had been destroyed and liked even less Bazett's insistence that it be dismantled entirely.

That, alas, did not happen. Instead the Association hatched a place to keep the structure of the Grail but separate it and drain all power from it, cleansing the impurity before reconnecting it. Karna was vague on the details. Bazett and Rin both seemed dubious. Apparently, it could work but it was a herculean task. Karna only hoped they'd get it right.

As for himself, false documents were arranged for him. He was given the name Emiya Karna and was now known as Emiya Shirou's long lost sister. It was bizarre but allowed Karna to keep the home, which was important. The Tohsaka manor had been destroyed in the fighting so Rin would continue living with him until she graduated. Oddly enough, the Einzberns also gave him a settlement. The homunculus who told Karna advised him that it was an apology for Ilya's actions and the money had already been put into his bank account. Karna could only accept it, although he did not trust it. Then she offered him something else, to his great surprise.

This was found in the ruins of the castle. We thought you might want to keep it, she said with a sweet smile and Karna's breath had caught at the sight of the gold sun in her hand. He took the earring, feeling stunned. How had the relic remained? It had not been part of his summoning, it should have vanished with his body. Karna had thanked her in a daze before clipping it to his ear. It was heavy but it was a comforting, familiar weight.

The only other thing of interest to happen in the Clock Tower was a full examination of himself. As Karna had expected, they found that his mage circuits were optimized. However, he hadn't realized the extent of it. Putting a monitor on him they'd requested that he keep his mage circuits at full power as long as he could. It had been odd, just generating mana and bleeding it off, but Karna had done it. And done it. And done it. Like the energizer bunny, he'd never tired. He'd only stopped when he fell asleep, which had signalled his mage circuits to automatically shut off.

That was impressive and made him a workhorse of mana, but what was equally interesting was his Origin. Instead of Sword, it was now Lance. Karna could trace swords but they required more effort. Lances were much easier and he smiled to himself as he held his own lance in his hands. Regretfully, though, the divine weapon required too much mana for easy use. Instead he was allowed to examine and trace a much weaker weapon, a naginata once owned by a very minor hero. It had some wind powers that Karna quickly learned to harness.

Before they left, Karna was given an invitation to return to the Clock Tower when his studies in Japan were done. He accepted it graciously, advising them it would be several years but he would definitely consider it. Karna wasn't sure he would take it, however. He would be a weak magus at best.

When he said that to Rin, though, she had a slightly different take on the situation.

"Actually, the way you can constantly put out mana makes you valuable." Karna blinked at her questioningly and she elaborated. "For a magus doing research you would be like a mana jewel, one that never breaks. You would make an incredible assistant."

"…Ah." That did make some sense. "I do not know. I will have to think about it," Karna finally said. Did he want to be a living mana supply? Well, if he was respected and allowed to contribute it would not be bad. "I need to find some way to store my mana." If he could discover something like the Tohsaka gem magic for himself, Karna thought he could accomplish some truly interesting things.

"You don't mind me staying with you, do you?" Rin asked and Karna gave her a small smile.

"Of course not. I am glad to have the company," he said, feeling a touch wistful as Rin smiled. She had a beautiful smile and the part of him that was Shirou felt a tug. Regretfully, Karna shook the attraction away. They were no longer the same person and the body they had was a gross impediment.

When they got back to Japan, they settled into the Emiya home and went back to school. Karna immediately took up where Shirou left off, handling odd jobs around the school. It was difficult because no one really accepted him. He was too strange looking, yet also a bizarre echo of Shirou. One day, Issei flat out told Karna that he could not replace Shirou. Karna had just accepted the reprimand, swallowing the soul deep hurt. He did wonder what Issei would have thought if he'd realized he was speaking to what was left of his best friend.

In the first year, Karna began developing a sense of style. It was partly driven by necessity. His dramatic coloring and muscular build convinced many young women he was a man. Karna was approached far too many times by girls who were emphatically not lesbian and disgusted when advised of his gender. Karna also found that he was no longer attracted to the female sex. An odd side-effect of being placed in a female body? Most likely.

So to send the proper signals, Karna began experimenting with makeup and buying dresses. In particular, he bought many sari's, finding the styling comfortable. Then he followed by buying enough costume jewelry to sink a ship. That was even more comfortable, recalling all the gold chains he'd worn as a Heroic Spirit. That made him exotic but sadly, Karna attracted very little male attention. Putting it aside, he concentrated on his studies. There was no time for romance anyway.

Karna graduated from school with top marks and could have pursued a scholarship. He could also have gone to the Clock Tower. Instead, though, he decided to pursue a homelier dream. The money the Einzberns had gifted him with was enough to purchase a small business with a cushion for safety. So Karna decided to set up a curry shop, which Fuyuki was sadly lacking.

The first year gave him many hard lessons on business ownership and the hardest to swallow was drilled home by one of his employees, a grandmotherly woman named Sachiko.

"Karna, you are generous to a fault," she said with a smile. "If you are not careful, it will lose you your business." That caught Karna off guard.

"I, what?" Karna said, truly focusing on her. Sachiko kept stirring a pot of curry as she spoke and Karna managed to continue his own task, which was loading the dishwasher.

"Too many free meals to the poor. Karna, this is not your food to give away," Sachiko said chidingly and Karna stared at her. What did she mean? "It belongs to the business and the business cannot afford your generosity." …What?

"But I own the restaurant," Karna said after a moment and Sachiko shook her head.

"That is how businesses go bankrupt. The business is itself, its own entity and money is how it survives. The rent and salaries must be paid with some left over for you. If it is enough, then you can give away meals from your own pocket. But you must not squander the businesses' resources," her tone was mildly scolding but then turned benign. "I am telling you this because I like you and I want this restaurant to succeed."

"I… see." Karna said slowly. He could tell, with his Discernment of the Poor, that she meant every word. Yet, was she right? "I am generous to my employees as well," he said, wanting to see what she would say. Sachiko frowned slightly, her attention still on the curry.

"Yes, and that is not bad. That is part of how you earn loyalty. But even there, remember that some will always take advantage of your generosity," she said and Karna flinched slightly as memories of the past abruptly came over him.

"Yes, I know," he muttered, remembering the many times his charity had been used against him. Two of the instances, together, had led to Karna's death at Arjuna's hands. "Ah." Karna shook his head, pushing away the memories like a bothersome fly. "Perhaps instead of giving free meals to the poor, I should volunteer my time at the community kitchen." Karna said aloud. Time was a precious commodity, after all. Sachiko was pleased.

"Yes, they need help all hours of the day. You could help them with breakfasts," she encouraged him and Karna nodded. Although if he was going to devote himself to that, he thought he would give one of his evenings too. Karna's curry shop was closed Mondays and Tuesdays, which were the slowest days for any restaurant. One of those evenings, he could devote to charity.

That was what Karna did. Instead of giving free meals to anyone who asked, he began devoting time and some money to the community kitchen. He also learned to keep the business finances strictly separate from his own, so he could adequately assess the health of the business. Managing people was harder – Karna had never been particularly good at it – but Shirou's skill with people came in handy. By the end of the year the business was already turning a small profit, even with Karna's wages taken out.

That was good because the second year was when the Emiya residence had a massive leak and it was discovered that the roof was almost twenty years old. Paying to have it replaced almost wiped out the last of Karna's savings. Realizing that charity started at home, he began squirreling away as much money as he could. When the Grail War began again, he would need it.

The third year, Rin came home unexpectedly.

"Rin!" Karna was surprised but beyond pleased to see her at the door, suitcase in hand. It was winter and her cheeks were adorably reddened from the cold, a black scarf twined around her neck. "Please, come in!" It was Monday, the one day Karna allotted entirely to himself. They could spend all evening together. "You did not tell me you were coming," Karna said, a touch bemused, as he let Rin in. She dimpled at him as she began unwinding her scarf.

"I wanted it to be a surprise! …And this is a surprise too," Rin said as she glanced around, wide-eyed. Karna almost blushed.

"I've redecorated," he admitted, knowing it was an understatement. The interior of the Emiya house, despite still showing all the signs of traditional Japanese architecture, was now decorated more like an Indian palace. Karna favored a warm color palette, red, orange and brown with a few odd splashes of royal purple to liven things. "My pillow collection is becoming excessive." He liked them though. And so did the cats, of which he owned two. One of them prowled into the room, gave Rin a look of feline disdain and promptly left, her tail held high.

"I… see that… what is this?" Rin kicked off her boots before venturing towards the living room table. There was a rather elaborate bronze statuette on the table.

"My father, Surya. I found it in a second-hand store," Karna said, feeling a bit of heat on his cheeks. The bronze was a bit gaudy. In fact, everything was a bit gaudy, if he was being honest. Was it wrong that he loved tassels with glitter? "Please, make yourself at home. I'll make some tea!" Karna hurried to the kitchen to make tea. The kitchen had been redecorated a bit as well, mostly with symbols of the sun. Karna felt rather self-conscious. He loved the sun though, just as he loved his true father. Finding a statue of him in a second-hand store in Japan had seemed like fate.

Karna began preparing the tea, finding it was calming. Soon he had the tea tray ready – it was the same set he'd always used, simple and unadorned – and he set it on a black and gold, lacquered tray. A little basket of shortbread biscuits and he brought it out to Rin. She was teasing one of his cats with a tassel when he came in, which made Karna smile.

"Tea," Karna said, placing the tea set down on the table. Then he sat down across from Rin on one of the cushions, this one dark purple with gold and purple tassels. Rin smiled at him but it was a touch pensive before she took her tea. "Forgive me, I love having you, but to what do I owe the visit?" It was a long trip from London. Rin looked into her tea before taking a sip.

"I would like to spend a week in Fuyuki, if you don't mind?" Karna shook his head with a smile and Rin smiled gratefully. "Thank you. I… didn't want to call because some of it is a bit sensitive." Oh? "The Holy Grail war is being resumed." …Ergh. "The Einzberns are sure they've purged the corruption and they've instituted new rules… once a Servant is eliminated, a Master is stricken directly from the contest." Karna blinked as Rin smiled, a touch sadly. "They're trying to stop needless casualties. Masters are expected to retire if the Servant dies."

"Servants like Caster and Assassin will still need to strike at Masters if they hope to win," Karna observed and Rin nodded, darkness in her eyes. "But it is something." At least a few more Masters might survive the War. "So former Masters can't try to steal Servants." That had previously been an acceptable tactic to re-enter the War. Rin nodded. "When will the next one be staged? And will you be participating?"

"I'm not sure yet. It depends on something…" Rin shook her head before smiling slightly. "And not for another three years. They're still reconnecting it to the ley lines in Fuyuki. Will you be participating?" The question startled Karna for a moment.

"I…" Karna paused to think about it. There was really only one answer. "If I am called, I will answer." Karna said firmly. "Not because I have a wish, but to ensure the Grail is not a threat." Karna stretched out a hand and concentrated hard, activating all his circuits to maximum output. For just a moment, his divine lance appeared. Then he had to release it, exhausted just from that. "If necessary I will find a way to end the Grail myself," he said calmly and Rin scowled at him.

"Don't be a self-sacrificing fool!" She snapped and Karna blinked, taken aback. "Using that would blow every circuit in your body. You couldn't possibly survive."

"Archer sacrificed himself for the same. Can I do any less?" Karna asked and saw Rin bite her lip sharply, her eyes watering. "Rin?" This was more than concern for him. "What is wrong?" Something was wrong and Karna wasn't sure if it had anything to do with the Grail War. Rin's shoulders hunched.

"You're the only one I think I can talk to about this," Rin said, her voice small as she gazed into her tea. "I've had a proposal of marriage." Karna blinked. That was not really surprising. As the last scion of the Tohsaka lineage, with beautifully formed and functioning mage circuits, Rin was a marvelous potential spouse. A younger son could have children bearing a Mage Crest. Or if Rin married another Mage Crest holder, their child could have a double inheritance. That was rare but it could be done. However, most of the proposals Rin had received so far had been laughable, from men both arrogant and unattractive, who thought she could be bought. Rin had dismissed them with utter contempt. Her current manner…

"This is a serious proposal?" Karna asked and Rin hesitated before nodding. "Who is he?"

"Barthomeloi Andowyn. He's a bit older than me but not by much," Rin said and Karna could sense she was terribly torn. "The Barthomeloi are such a powerful lineage and many of them are arrogant but he's not. He's actually a cousin, not in the main line…" That would make a difference. "He's, he's handsome and kind. We've been working closely together as lab assistants and going out for coffee. I knew he was interested but it still caught me off guard," Rin said, chewing her lower lip so hard that Karna was afraid she might hurt herself. He reached out to gently catch her hands.

"Rin, please be calm," Karna said gently and saw some of the tension go out of her. "You're considering it?" Rin nodded, her eyes dropping to her tea again.

"It would be a wonderful match. I could be happy with him," Rin said softly and Karna could not help but feel that that was wrong.

"But you do not love him," Karna stated and Rin winced.

"I think I could though. I think I could. It's just…" Rin said and Karna stared at her patiently. "…I love someone else. Someone who is lost but maybe I can find him again." What?

"Archer," Karna suddenly realized who she was referring to. "Ah, Rin." This was worse than being in love with a ghost because with a new Grail War on the horizon, Archer could be summoned again. Rin had the correct catalyst. "He might not remember," Karna said gently and Rin shook her head.

"If he can't remember me I'll kick him in the head until he does," she said firmly and Karna had to stifle a chuckle. Ah, he could picture that! "And if I can win a wish I can keep him with me forever." Ah, that was a viable plan. No wonder Rin was so torn. "But I don't know… he's… not a good match. He can't give me children," Rin muttered, her cheeks coloring. Karna nodded sympathetically. For a magus, that was never a minor concern. Although.

"This is the modern era, Rin. It might be troublesome to find a donor, but surely artificial conception would be possible?" Rin's blush deepened and she glared at him. Karna smiled serenely. "Archer would be a good father." Rin glared a moment longer before shaking her head and taking a sip of her tea.

"But all of this depends on me summoning Archer and then winning the Grail War. It's such a long shot," Rin said gloomily. "And Andowyn is so nice. I… don't know what to do." Rin's shoulders slumped and Karna could sense how terribly torn she was. "I can't expect him to wait three years for an answer," she said softly and Karna nodded. That was ludicrous.

"Perhaps you should ask him to give you another year?" Karna suggested and Rin frowned. "You could spend more time courting, making certain this is the correct decision for you both." Karna paused for a moment before giving what was, to him, a painful piece of wisdom. "But if you do not love him I strongly suggest that you do not marry him. At the behest of my foster-father, I married a woman I never loved. I honored her, I treated her well, but I never loved her," Karna said softly, feeling a pang in his heart at the thought. "I still feel it was the worst decision of my life." Karna had loved his children with all his heart, but in every other way his marriage had been painfully cold.

"But didn't you have ten children with her?" Rin asked and Karna winced before giving her an understanding smile.

"Six at the most. Perhaps less," Karna said and Rin's confused look was amusing. Karna's smile warmed a touch. "The others were not mine although I loved them just the same."

"Oh!" Rin looked terribly embarrassed as she caught his meaning. Then she squared her shoulders, her expression taking on the firm Tohsaka look. "I don't want a marriage like that. I think I'll take your advice," Rin said decisively and Karna smiled. "We've only really been dating six months. Another year would be wise."

"Excellent. Now, what would you like for supper?" Karna asked. "I can make sushi or yakisoba chicken."

"Not a curry?" Rin teased and Karna sighed, finishing his tea and pouring himself another cup. Hmm, a shortbread biscuit would be good. He took one of those as well.

"I eat curry every day of the week. On my days off, I prefer to have something else," Karna said firmly and Rin laughed softly. She seemed far more cheerful now, which gladdened his heart. "Sushi?" He was in the mood for it and he was a decent amateur sushi chef.

"You know, I think I would. The sushi they make in London isn't very good, although you can get some excellent curries," Rin said with a smile and Karna nodded, drinking his tea and eating his biscuit. "I'm going to be busy all week so don't worry about me. I'm arranging to have my land sold," Rin said and Karna blinked. "I don't think I'll ever live here again so I should get rid of it. When I do come by, do you mind if I stay here?"

"Not at all," Karna said warmly. "You are always welcome." Rin was no longer a love interest to him, but she was still a good friend.

After finishing his tea, Karna went to prepare supper. As he made the sushi, he thought about the Grail War. If it happened again, who would he try to summon? Karna didn't have the money to search for a relic. Then a thought occurred to him and he blinked, reaching up to touch the solar earring hanging from his right ear. Could he do that?

There's no reason I couldn't, Karna realized after a moment. I am still inscribed in the Throne of Heroes. Not as the degraded version he was now, but the true Karna. In fact, if he summoned himself again, there was no chance the Heroic Spirit would remember anything of the past Grail War. Because Karna's 'copy' had not returned to the Throne, his experiences had never been inscribed into it. Karna would still have some problems supporting himself with such a small mana pool, but the steadiness of it would help compensate.

His mind made up, Karna fully devoted his attention to the food, making a quick miso soup. That would go beautifully with the sushi. As he worked, he smiled to himself.

It would be nice to have company for a while.