Hello! I'm glad you've enjoyed the last chapter, and I hope you'll enjoy this one. Also, if you have any comments, please review. I need feedback pretty badly. Oh well.

Thanks to Wrathie Winsre for editing!

Disclaimer is still in effect

Enjoy!

Chapter 4: The Partners-in-crime

"...So you're my babysitter?" I asked, a frown on my face. I felt a little embarrassed. It was a little sad that Shirou didn't trust his Nee-san enough to leave her alone for a few weeks. Sure, I inherited my bad cooking skills from Father, but aside from that, I could hold my own! Even if I was fine with having another babysitter, I didn't want another Master lurking about our estate. Rin seemed to take a sadistic pleasure in my suffering, as she simply smirked and poured herself another cup of tea. Taiga – who was supposed to be our guardian but ended up just leeching off of us – just giggled, probably thinking of something ridiculous like Rin changing a chibi-Altria's diaper. At that thought, a cold shiver ran up my spine. "Not to be rude, but do I look like I need someone to look out for me?"

"Well according to Emiya-kun, neither of you know how to cook, so unless you guys want to eat out every day for the next few weeks, then let me do what he wants me to do," said Rin, eloquently shutting down most of my arguments. Heck, even if I still had good arguments to present, Taiga would shoot them all down... if Rin's food turned out to be good. Taigas are very picky. Also, Sakura couldn't save the day, since she had morning archery practice. I was cornered; cooperation with Miss Tohsaka was a must now. I wonder how this would affect the war. She and I would have to discuss it eventually. Oh well. Come what may. "Alright, so if there are no more objections, then lets go to school."

Needless to say, the walk to school was very awkward. It's rare to see a school idol walk with someone, much less two kouhais and a batchmate at the same time. I suppose it would've garnered more of a reaction from the student population if she had only been walking with Shirou, but the stares we were receiving were still a little overwhelming for me. I could practically feel the weight of their gazes fall on my shoulders. Luckily, the tension in the air dissipated after we all went our separate ways. After that horrendous experience, I kind of pitied Rin. She had to deal with her public image and her Magecaft all at the same time. Oh well. Too bad she was an enemy.

After we were all dismissed, we left for the train station in the commercial zone. I felt a bit weary about going into this part of Fuyuki for obvious reasons, but I had no reason to fear unless Night suddenly fell and a little albino girl popped up out of nowhere with her big bad Servant in tow. Luckily, Fate didn't screw me over; we made it to the train station unscathed. "Stay safe, Shirou."

"Of course, Nee-san. Take care, you two!" hollered Shirou as he boarded his bullet train, heading for Misaki City. The second the train left the station, I felt some prana radiate off of Rin, dissipating into the air a few meters around us. She turned around, her stoic face instantly turning into a smile. Now, she definitely wouldn't kill me with so many witnesses around, but her smile was still something to be feared.

"Alright, Altria, feel free to ask me anything you want. We are partners in this little War," said Rin, confirming my suspicions. She was going to "take care" of me during the War, probably keeping me safe from harm for Shirou's sake. Still, why did she accept? She didn't have much to gain in helping an amateur; then again, I was the master of Saber, one of the most powerful classes in the War. I could prove to be a useful tool in her eyes; a tool that was to be taken care of, but a tool nonetheless. "Go ahead. No one will be able to eavesdrop thanks to the Bounded Field I just placed around us."

"...Why take up Shirou's request?" I asked the pig-tailed magus. She smirked. I was beginning to grow tired of that smirk. It was almost as annoying as that priest's. Maybe they were related or something. After the smirk, I felt Rin's prana fluctuate again, signaling for the placement of another Bounded Field. She then... took off her shirt. All I could do was stare. No, I wasn't ogling her midriff or anything (it was very flat, though). I was ogling the scar on her midriff. It was an angry red scar, large and ugly. It marred her perfect skin, and it reminded me of my own scar.

"A few years ago, I saw a woman getting robbed. Before I could step in and try to save the woman, this magus jumped in – literally – and knocked out the guy. I could tell he was a magus thanks to the sudden spike in ambient mana. Anyway, since I knew that the only other magi that I know are on our property is the Matou – whose magic circuits have already died out – I knew that the magus was a trespasser, however benevolently intentioned he was. I made a small familiar and tagged him. After a little investigation, the magus turned out to be a boy named Shirou Emiya. One day, I tricked him into coming out, and I confronted him then and there. He had no idea that you were supposed to answer to the Second Owner. I didn't believe him, so I decided that eliminating him would be the quickest and best option."

So she wanted to kill Shirou!? Unsurprisingly, I wanted to cut her down for even thinking of hurting my brother. The sword on my back seemed to grow heavier, as if I just had to unsheathe it and kill the pig-tailed magus in front of me. It would be so easy. Since her shirt was off, she had nothing under her sleeves, and I doubted that she'd keep anything dangerous in her bra since it was so close to her heart. All she had to defend herself was that weird Crest and her Servant. If Saber could hold him off, I might just be able to close in on her and fell her with one clean swipe from Clarent. Then again, Shirou wanted us to be partners in this war. He trusted her. I know that Shirou may be gullible from time to time, but he would definitely be wary if I was involved. In the end, I decided to not try to murder the shirtless magus in front of me.

Rin, noticing my inner turmoil, quickly continued, "I tried. I fired one of my strongest weapons at him, and he batted it away without even a drop of sweat. Of course, I just happened to be in the trajectory of the returning attack. I blacked out. Next thing I knew I was in the arms of a boy and had a patched hole in my abdomen. He... saved me. Even if all I wanted to do was kill him, he still saved me. Heck, he even apologized for deflecting my attack. I definitely owed him my life, and a Tohsaka heir always repays her debts."

"...I see." I decided to believe her story... to an extent. She could still be lying. (Father did made sure to beat "constant vigilance" into my head when it came to dealing with Magi.) Of course, from what I've seen - although I do admit that I've seen very little of her so far - Rin Tohsaka seems to be too proud to make the story up. I guess I could be slightly comfortable with this arrangement. "So Shirou's a vigilante. Why am I not surprised?"

"It's his nature, I suppose. To be honest, after years of observing him, he seems to value other people's lives over his own. It's... kind of disturbing, really," commented Rin. With a snap, the Bounded Field around us crumbled, opening us up to the real world. Wait... did she just say "after years of observing him"? My brother had a stalker all this time and I didn't notice. Man, I'm a horrible Nee-san. I swear, Shirou, I will try harder! Rin's eyes narrowed, giving me a sad look. "...Why do you look constipated?"

I wiped my "determined sister" face off and looked away, my visage slightly red, and said, "I-It's nothing."

The rest of the way home was pretty uneventful. All we did was talk about school, shopping places, boys: anything to keep the semblance of normalcy alive, even if it would die down anyway when we got to my estate. I let her in. "Go ahead. Make yourself at home."

"Your house has nice defenses, by the way. I almost didn't notice them this morning till I stepped in," commented Rin. She obliged, sitting on one of the couches in the living room. As I walked towards the kitchen to get us both some tea - you couldn't plan a battle royale without something to quench your thirst, after all - I took a look at the wall clock. 3pm. We had around three hours till the sun set, so we needed to think up a game plan quickly. After I served some Earl Grey to my guest, the mood suddenly dropped, tension suffocating the atmosphere. Rin's eyes narrowed.

"We'll have to actively scout out Masters if we want to win the war. Since we have the advantage in numbers, we have to go on the offensive." It was a good plan. Most Servants would be overpowered by two cooperating Servants, except for maybe a Berserker King Arthur or something. It would be a waste not to use that trump card. "One of us we'll have to be bait, though."

"Well, I do have a Master that's already out to get me," I commented. Miss Einzbern (at least I think she's an Einzbern) was definitely out to get me. She probably had a feud with Father or something. Still, I don't think her relationship with Father - if she even has one - is coming from just some random person from the world of Magecaft. All that aside, since I've gotten one Master to target me, it shouldn't be too hard to goad the others into wanting to kill me too. Wow. I would've never thought I'd say that. Anyway, Rin didn't look surprised, taking a long sip before refilling her cup. Oh, I just forgot. Lancer's Master is probably after my head too. I feel so wanted right now. "Er… make that two."

"Huh? I thought you were only concerned about Lancer," replied Rin, motioning to me with her tea cup. I was surprised it didn't spill. I guess she was used to taking that pose when lecturing someone, and to be honest, it was really effective. I felt pretty intimidated under her gaze with just her posture. She really is a school idol. "Hm… so who did you encounter? Since you got off without a scratch, I'm assuming that an Assassin came and your Servant just came to your defense."

"It was a Berserker," I countered, causing Rin to drop her pose out of surprise. "His Master might be an Einzbern. Do you happen to know what the Einzbern heiress looks like?" Rin put a hand on her chin, deep in thought. I decided to take the opportunity to give the pig-tailed magus a bit of help. I reached into my school bag and pulled out a sketchpad and a pencil. I quickly drew a decent portrait of the little girl who stood by that colossal Servant, making sure to point out things like color using text. Silky silver hair, purple long-sleeved shirt, white skirt, and cold red eyes: I tried to capture her. I would have never thought my drawing hobby would actually help me in a life-or-death situation, but I guess I was wrong. Once I was done, I handed the sketch to Rin, who was still thinking it over. "Does this ring any bells?"

"Well, it does look like an Einzbern. Also, the Einzbern aren't really specialized in combat, so having a Berzerker that can protect them would be best," said Rin, taking a less intimidating pose. I'd call it "Tohsaka Lecturing Pose #1". She took a large sip of her tea, then continued. "There's a small possibility of you being wrong, but I believe you. Still, I wonder how they're handling that Berserker. Last Grail War's Berserker practically tortured his Master, at least according to some… sources of mine."

"She looked pretty calm to me," I replied. She was. In fact, she was pretty confident, despite the drain that a Servant that powerful had on her Circuits. Plus, there were no signs of strain on her face even while that colossal beast was in combat. It was pretty confusing. Maybe the Einzbern had something up their sleeves, or they hired someone from the outside. The latter was very unlikely; Father made sure to tell me that the Einzbern were… less than pleased with him throwing away the Grail.

Speaking about that, he never told me why. I never put much thought into it - especially since Father avoided the topic like the plague - but why did he destroy it? Father… why? You've given Shirou and I so much, but in return, you've left so many mysteries for us to unravel. Anyway, Rin must have noticed my dismay, since she waved a hand in front of my face. I said, "S-Sorry. I was just deep in thought."

"It's fine, though you need to get your head in the game," said Rin. "Alright, so we have a plan. You walk around at night with Archer and I tailing you. Once a Master reveals themselves, we gang up on them. Not the most elegant way of taking out the competition, but even a Tohsaka head can see the advantages. Any objections?" I shook my head. Just before Rin could close our impromptu war meeting, the doors to my estate swung open with a bang. We both hastily got up, my hand on Clarent's hilt and Rin's on the hem of her left arm's sleeve, as if to roll it back. Sweat rolled down my cheeks, my eyes focused on the hallway in front of me. What's next? If I can survive being lanced in the heart and being in the presence of that Servant, then I can probably bullshit my way through this fiasco. Wait… Father's Bounded Fields aren't sounding off-

"Altria!" cried an overly-excited Taiga Fujimura, who tackled me to the ground. With the wind knocked out of me, I couldn't fight back against Taiga's deadly hug. She slowly yet surely squeezed the air out of me. As I signaled for my partner-in-crime to save me, Rin instantly sweatdropped and looked the other way, deciding that now is the best time to cook. Oh well, it was for the greater good, I suppose. Unfed, Taiga would go on a rampage. Rin was the only one who could prevent that, and to accomplish her mission of cooking us food, she had to leave me for dead. Er… why does this sound very foreshadowing? "I miss the old lug already!"

"T-Taiga, please l-let go!" After I pried the crazy teacher off of me, we ate dinner. It was as good as the first time I tried the pig-tailed magus' fare. Her rice just melts in your mouth, and the scrambled egg was as fluffy as a cloud. Aside from knowing that she's a competent Magus, I can sort of see why Shirou chose her. Her food was insanely delicious. Poor Sakura… wait… what happened to Sakura? She usually came over for dinner. "Taiga, have you seen Sakura?"

"No, but I did see her walk home with her brother earlier. I was dragged to a meeting before I could say 'hi' though," mumbled the teacher, too busy eating to properly enunciate. I sighed. Hopefully Shinji would take her home; I wouldn't want her to get caught up in this Grail War mess. Speaking of Shinji, I hate that guy. Whenever I see him hang out with Shirou, I just want to bash his head in with Clarent. I honestly don't know that Shirou sees in that jerk to stay friends with him. Oh well, no point in dwelling on that, especially since my brother isn't here. I wonder how he's doing…

"Hey, Altria-san, I kinda need to pick up something," Rin said, cutting our conversation short. She looked away, her face intensely stoic. It was a very sudden spike in emotion, almost as if she had something to hide. Did she happen to have a hand in Sakura's absence. I swear, if she laid one finger on that sweet girl-

My more calculative side cut that thought short. Unless she had Archer or other accomplices do the deed for her, Rin had to be innocent. She was with me for the whole day. Even so, there was that "other accomplices" option, so there was still reason to suspect the female Magus. I had to admit, though, that Shinji was way more questionable. Patting my satisfied tummy, I replied, "Um... okay. I can escort you, if you want. It has been getting more and more dangerous at night lately. I wouldn't want our new guest to get hurt."

"I'll go with you too! As your guardian and teacher, I have to protect you," interjected Taiga, raising a hand. She then held out her thin arm, bent it at the elbow, and flexed. "Plus, I'd be nice to whack a few criminals around with Torashinai." I looked at Rin. It was obvious that what she was about to get was not something to be seen by a mundane like Taiga. Plus, if we did get attacked - most likely by a Servant - we'll have to wipe her mind of all the Magecaft we'll be flinging around. I didn't really feel comfortable with that. Also, I sucked at hypnotism. I hoped that Rin had something up her sleeve; I wasn't that good a liar. It's a trait that Shirou and I share, sadly.

"Is that... fighting I hear outside? It's probably coming from the neighbor's next door," noted Rin, feigning ignorance. She maintained steady eye contact with Taiga, most likely influencing my guardian's mind with Magecaft. The flow of prana coming out of Rin confirmed it. I sighed. I was against brainwashing Taiga. Still, it had to be done. "Can you check it out for us, Ms. Fujimura? It might be dangerous outside."

"Hehe, no. It might just be my… family being rowdy again," said Taiga, waving it off. I almost cringed. The plan wasn't going to work. Luckily, Taiga got up and walked towards the door, saying, "Let me just quiet them down. See ya tomorrow!" Once I heard the sound of the door shut, I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding. Looking at each other, we nodded, getting up. The dishes could wait. We had some hunting to do.

XOXOXOX

"...So you really needed to get something?" I asked, standing in front of Tohsaka's manor. It was a large Western building in a predominantly Western-themed village. Nothing special about that. What was special were the waves upon waves of prana rolling off the house. Sure, they were subtle enough that unless you were at the front door and somewhat had a talent for sensing Magecaft, you wouldn't notice, but if you were, it was overwhelming. I could feel the ambient mana press against me, pushing me away from the manor. That was how I could sense Magecraft: through touch. Once Rin entered, the "breeze" of Magecraft abated slightly, as if she disabled a few of her more dangerous Bounded Fields. How caring. Just like the outside of the manor, the place was gigantic, though it seemed that there was no one else. That, combined with the lukewarm lighting and Rin's stoic expression, made the manor seem disturbingly vacant. My introspection was cut off by Rin pointing at the living room couch.

"Mind waiting for a bit? I'm going to get something from my workshop," said Rin. She was surprisingly trusting for a Magus. I was half-expecting her to magically handcuff me to a coffee table leg or something. Then again, I was in her territory. She could simply reactivate whatever defenses she had if I had gone rogue and try to plunge Clarent into her neck. I doubt I could beat a Magus of her caliber in her own house. Plus, there was still that Servant of hers. Speaking about that Servant, he had the same two Chinese blades that Saber had. Still, why would an Archer need a blade? A few minutes later, the pig-tailed Magus emerged from around the corner, a small jewelry case in hand. Jewelry… I pictured the scarlet red pendant I found next to the crimson pool of my own blood. Were they related? "Alright, let's go, Altria-san."

"What's in the box?" Hey, it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot. Rin sweatdropped at how blunt my question was. She clicked it open, revealing many gems. The magecraft they were radiating was very intense; it was like she opened up a bag of winds or something. Just what kind of power did they have? A-ranked Magecraft? As she snapped the box shut, she swung open the door. I made sure to follow.

"It's time. Archer and I will stick to the back. Wouldn't want our prey getting suspicious, would we?" asked Rin. I shook my head, walking along the brick road towards my district. It was eerily silent that night. My footsteps echoed into the darkness, the lamp posts warding off the night just a bit. My hand was on Clarent, ever-present on my back. Needless to say, I was as tense as a bowstring. Then it appeared. The… thing in front of me walked slowly, the lights around it flickering about. It oozed darkness. The only part of it that wasn't dark were the crimson red lines that ran along its body. A Shadow: that was what it was. The Shadow wasn't the only thing creeping me out.

The girl in a skin tight outfit was just as intimidating as the Shadow was. Heck, the only thing keeping me from thinking that she was just another shadow were the numerous slits in her dress, revealing her creamy white legs. Her feminine curvature also gave it away; it was very different from the blob-shaped Shadow. White locks of hair flowed out the hood of the outfit which concealed the person's identity. She might as well be just another Shadow. Consumed by silent rage, the girl spat out, "...You."

"Um… me?" I asked awkwardly. She said the word with intense malice. Her presence was surprisingly pressuring. I felt like I had to take a step back and draw Clarent. I only did the latter. I whipped out my blade, the now-charged sword practically singing as it flew out of its sheathe. She didn't even flinch. In fact, she just laughed maniacally. I wasn't surprised. She didn't exactly look mundane with all the prana radiating off of her. All of a sudden, a black spiral wound itself around the girl, the Shadow slowly making its way towards me. I couldn't see Saber, but I could feel that he was ready to materialize and jump in.

"I was talking about the girl behind you. You mind passing a message to her?" asked the mysterious woman. I instantly tensed. Rin was a kilometer and a half behind me. She should've been masked by darkness unless the girl had an ability that let her see through the night. Maybe it was a Mystic Eye. I wouldn't be able to confirm it unless I could get a good look at her eyes, but since she had that hood on, I couldn't. When the girl raised a hand, I knew that something was about to happen. "Here it is!"

Then the fight started.