Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Adventures in Canon

Part IV

"Very intellectual, Archer." Arthur remarked as he took a protective stance between his Master and the newly-arrived enemy.

"Indeed," Altria agreed, doing likewise but much more aggressively than her brother. "This presents a golden opportunity, as it seems to me. I shall take the left…brother. The right is yours."

Arthur narrowed his eyes while nodding slowly, while Archer looked grim but determined. Before hostilities could commence though, Ayame cut in. "Stand down, this doesn't have to come to a fight." She said.

"What?" Altria asked.

"Ayame's right." Shirou put in. "I don't even…"

Shirou broke off at a sharp glance from Ayame, and quickly gathering his thoughts, took a different track. "Look…it's late, and things have gotten out of control." He said with a sigh. "So, why don't we all just calm down, and call it a night, alright?"

Arthur nodded slowly again, though he remained in a defensive stance, however Altria was more belligerent. "I will not obey those orders." She snapped. "If an enemy comes before us, it is only a matter of course that they must be defeated."

"Oh?" Archer's Master remarked, in a voice that had Ayame's eyes narrowing in recognition. "The Saber refusing her Master's orders?"

Altria looked offended, only for Rin Tohsaka to walk closer seemingly unconcerned. "Won't you lower your weapons?" she asked, hands held out on either side.

"My weapon is not lowered before an enemy!" Altria snapped, but Arthur relaxed, lowering his sword if keeping a wary eye on Archer.

"…sister," he began. "Knights should not raise their weapons against unarmed foes, even if they be magi who need no weapon to fight with."

Altria briefly shot a glance at Arthur, and after a moment followed his lead. Rin smiled. "Well then," she said, running a hand through one of her pigtails. "Good evening, Emiya-kun."

"…Tohsaka-san?" Shirou asked in confused recognition. "What are you doing here?"

"Now that, is a very good question." Rin said with a cheerful smile and tone. "Could I come in to answer you properly?"

"Um…I guess…"

"That is out of the question." Ayame interrupted. "If my brother has any questions about this matter, then I will be the one to answer him."

Rin looked displeased at the interruption. "Who are you?" she demanded.

"Ayame Emiya," Ayame immediately said. "Now why don't you go home now, Tohsaka? My brother and I have family matters to discuss. You understand how it goes, don't you?"

Rin's face was like carved ice. "You understand that I am the Second Owner of this territory, don't you?" she asked just as coldly.

Ayame laughed, causing Rin to growl and for Archer to place a calming hand on her shoulder. "You are the Second Owner, yes." Ayame admitted before theatrically raising her hands to indicate everything around them. "And this is the Fifth Holy Grail War. Your authority, and the protection that your office grants you, is null and void in such a situation."

Rin narrowed her eyes. "That may be so," she said. "That said, this is the first I've ever heard of you, Ayame Emiya. If that's who you really are, of course."

"She's who she says is." Shirou said before taking a deep breath and massaging his temples. "Look…as I said earlier, it's late, and things have really, really, gotten out of hand. I'd really like to not have to fight right now, and as my sister said we've got…family business, to talk about. Privately: you're a magus, aren't you Tohsaka-san? I'm sure you understand what that means."

Rin pursed her lips, and Archer squeezed her shoulder. She glanced once at her Servant, and after a moment he nodded at her. Rin sighed. "I suppose I do." She said. "One question: is Ayame Emiya really your sister?"

Shirou didn't hesitate. "She is." He said, and Rin sighed again.

"Alright, I'll take your word for it." She said. "In any case, it does look like I'm at a disadvantage here, so I'd be better served to back off…for now. But,"

Rin paused and shot a glare at Ayame, who met it without flinching. "This isn't over, Ayame Emiya." Rin warned.

"No, it isn't." Ayame agreed, and after a moment Rin turned to leave, Archer vanishing into astral form as she did so. Shirou and Ayame watched with their Servants until Rin was no longer in sight, and then Shirou turned to Ayame.

"What was that all about?" he demanded.

"Not here," Ayame said while gesturing to the house with her head. "Inside."

Shirou looked at her hard, but after a few moments he sighed and nodded. "Alright," he said. "Inside then."

"I must agree with your brother, Ayame." Arthur said, once they were all safely inside. "That was unnecessarily belligerent of you."

"Hold that thought." Ayame said with a raised finger, and then turned to her brother. "I'm going to make a reasoned guess based on some of the things you said earlier, and ask some simple questions. Answer them, and I'll answer all your questions later."

"…um…okay…" Shirou said with some confusion. "…that seems fair…"

"Right," Ayame said with a nod. "What do you know about the Holy Grail War?"

"That it's the cause of all the strange things that have happened to me tonight?"

"Strange things?"

"Let's see…I think it was Lancer and Archer, or rather me running across them fighting it out at school," Shirou answered crossly. "Then Lancer noticing me and chasing me down to stab me in the chest…"

"He did what!"

"He stabbed me in the chest!" Shirou said, patting at his bloody uniform. "Not sure how I'm still alive to be honest…anyway, I somehow survived, came home, found myself chased down and forced to fight Lancer, only getting kicked around for it…if I hadn't somehow…summoned, Saber here…"

"…you'd be dead by now." Ayame said deadpan before massaging her temples. "Okay…that's weird alright…and I'd like to look into how you survived getting stabbed by Lancer and in the chest no less, but that can wait…"

"…in short," Arthur cut in. "We're still in the early, if not the very beginning of the contest. Huh…I admit that explains your belligerence to Tohsaka, Ayame. Wise and prudent, too."

"Thanks…"

"Hey now," Shirou began. "I'm not sure what you're trying to say, but Tohsaka…okay, I'll admit she can be…cold, and aloof, but I don't think she's a bad girl, and I think you're being a bit judgmental about her, and saying too much bad things about her without knowing much about her…"

"She looks, sounds, talks, and act the same as she did in our world." Ayame interrupted. "At least up until a certain point…and until she reaches that point, I won't trust her."

"That's not…"

"You know what magi are like, brother." Ayame interrupted again. "You said as much earlier. If so, then you know just how dangerous she can be."

"Yes, I do." Shirou said grimly but resolutely. "But just because she could be my enemy, it doesn't mean she has to be my enemy."

Ayame stared. Shirou stared back. Ayame sighed and shook her head. "You're too trusting, brother." She said. "You're actually serious about everything you've said. Well, if that's how you are…I can't really stop you. That said…"

Ayame paused, and this time it was Shirou's turn to be taken aback by the cold fire in her eyes. "You should be more careful, brother." She said. "Otherwise, you might not get through this alive. Anyway…this way to the living room, right? If I'm going to explain to you just what we're all stuck in, we might as well get comfortable for it."

"Hmm…yes, of course…um, this way."

Shirou led the way to the living room, and on arriving Ayame yelped at the wrecked state of the place. "Yeah, sorry about the mess." Shirou said with an exasperated sigh, and rubbing at his head. "But, my fight with Lancer started here, and well…"

Shirou trailed off, letting the scene tell the rest of it. He sighed afterwards. "How am I exactly supposed to fix this, especially the doors…" he muttered.

Ayame glanced at him with a raised eyebrow, and then thinking for a moment nodded slowly. "I'll take care of it." She said.

"Huh, what?"

"I'll take care of it." Ayame repeated. "I am imposing in your house, so I might well earn a little of my keep."

Shirou stared, slightly agape, as Ayame walked forward and gathered all the broken pieces of wood and paper that made up the sliding doors leading out to the veranda. Piling them up near the ruined doors, Ayame held her hand over them. Blue lines glowed over exposed skin as her magic circuits opened, and with a slight hint of ozone in the air, the broken pieces of wood and paper flowed and knitted back together. A moment later, and the sliding doors were as they were meant to be.

"A bit crude and simple," Ayame said with a pat on the doors. "Just alteration really, where most magi would probably use elemental magic or some other stuff. Personally, I like to think doing things the simple way to work just fine."

"…I guess I can't argue with that." Shirou said with a cough. "Anyway, let me fix up this mess. I can clean up the spilled food and furniture easily enough."

"Ah, let me help out."

Shirou smiled. "It's fine." He said. "You're a guest. You shouldn't have to push yourself. And you've done enough already, fixing the doors. This much I can handle on my own."

"Nonsense," Ayame scoffed, already helping Shirou gather the spilled food. "We're family. And family is meant to help each other."

"Well, that is true." Shirou conceded, before smiling wider. "Then, thank you for your help."

Ayame smiled and nodded. "You're welcome." She said.

"This is not good at all."

Rin and Archer were standing in the former's living room. Well, Archer was leaning against a wall, while Rin was pacing back and forth. "Two Sabers." Rin muttered to herself. "Talk about an unfair advantage."

"Is that even possible?" Archer asked.

"We saw it, didn't we?" Rin snapped. "And, it's happened before. I don't remember the details, such as the classes of the Servants involved, but during the Third Holy Grail War, the Edelfelt Clan sent literal twin magi as Masters to participate in their name, and they summoned two variants of the same Servant for themselves. So yes, it's very definitely possible."

"Yes...but the Emiya…siblings, don't exactly look alike…"

"They could just be fraternal twins." Rin said dismissively. "If so, then they don't have to look alike."

Archer shrugged to concede the point, while Rin continued to pace. "More importantly," she said. "To think there was another magus living on my property without me knowing or even noticing. Talk about an oversight…and how shameful…"

"On that note," Archer said. "I don't think you can be held responsible. No offense, but you are fairly young and inexperienced as a magus, so…"

Archer broke off and held out his hands in a gesture of peace as Rin glared. "I'm not saying anything against your abilities, and all the effort you've put into getting this far." He said. "What I'm saying is the undeniable fact you are still…what, sixteen? Seventeen? Even if you started training at say…four, you couldn't have been exposed to much at that age or indeed, until you reached a certain age, like say, ten or so. Academically-speaking, you're a fine magus, just being able to summon me proves that much, but based on your age, in terms of real experience…"

"You'd be surprised." Rin interrupted coldly before sighing. "But I see your point. And while I hate to admit it, it is a valid one. Thank you."

Archer nodded. "You're welcome." He said.

Rin stopped pacing to stroke her chin. "Emiya though," she said with narrowed eyes. "The sister…I've never heard of her before…that could be because she was training or studying or something somewhere else all this time but still…"

"Rin…?"

"I've never felt much prana coming from Emiya-kun before, if at all." Rin said. "It's possible that he may be the spare between them, and only ever received the most basic of training for one reason or another. His sister though…much of what I could sense was swamped by the presence of so many Servants all in one place, but it was much, much greater than her brother's, there's no doubt about that."

"So you're saying then that the Emiya boy is no real threat?" Archer asked.

"No, he's a threat too." Rin said. "Even with only basic training, he managed to summon a Servant. Best not to underestimate him…but, it can be safely assumed the Emiya sister is the real deal between them, and her brother just support. In short…"

Archer nodded, and narrowed his eyes. "He's the weak link." He said, and Rin nodded as well.

"Yes, that just might be the case." She said. "And if he is, then there should be a way we can use that knowledge."

"What would you wish for?"

As promised, Ayame answered all of Shirou's questions. They were very professional, concerned about the Holy Grail War, what the Holy Grail actually was, and of course the Masters and Servants. And having learned all that, Shirou asked the question that naturally followed them.

"I…don't really know, to be honest." Ayame answered with a sigh but making sure to meet Shirou's eyes. "I joined this war for three reasons and three reasons alone. One, I didn't want to get killed by being dragged into all…this, without a fighting chance of getting through it alive, then to keep the mistakes of the past from getting repeated, and finally, to keep people who can't be trusted with the Grail from winning the prize."

"Mistakes of the past?" Shirou echoed, and Ayame's expression turned grim.

"We were born in the ruins of the Fourth Holy Grail War, brother." She said, and Shirou's expression turned horrified.

"Then…that fire…"

"Yes," Ayame nodded. "That fire…the cause of which is officially unknown, was caused by the Fourth Holy Grail War. I don't know what the Masters and Servants of that war did to set it off…but the results…"

Ayame trailed off, looking away and Shirou doing likewise. "I…I believe you." He said after a moment and a deep, shuddering breath. "Having gone through that hell myself…and knowing what caused it…I too would want to keep it from happening again, and to keep it away from anyone who'd try and set something like that off again. And of course…I don't see any reason why I should die in something as selfish and stupid as this…contest."

Ayame met Shirou's eyes and after several moments closed her eyes with a laugh. "We really are siblings, aren't we?" she asked.

"Siblings…I like that." Shirou said with a laugh of his own. "Sounds better than 'parallel selves', when you think about it."

"Ha! It does, doesn't it?"

Ayame and Shirou shared a laugh, and Arthur smiled at the children being children, and while Altria was more stoic, she did manage a small, barely-noticeable smile of her own. "Well," Shirou said with a nod at Arthur and Altria. "I won't ask about…Arthur and Altria's wishes."

"You'd trust us that easily?" Arthur asked.

"I like to think the best of people I meet." Shirou said with a smile and a shrug. "And besides, Ayame did say Masters and Servants reflect each other. So I assume your reasons for joining in this war are the same or at least similar to Ayame's own. I can accept that."

"I see."

"As for Altria," Shirou said, pausing to lose himself in Altria's face for a few moments. "Well…we've only just met. If she wants to tell me her wishes for the Grail, then I'll wait for her to tell me at her own time."

Altria met Shirou's eyes, green staring into gold, and then after several moments Altria closed her eyes and bowed her head. "I am humbled by your trust." She said. "I can only hope I can repay it in time."

Shirou nodded, and then yawning glanced at his watch. "It's getting late." He said, and getting to his feet. "We should talk some more tomorrow. Shall I show you to your rooms?"

Ayame glanced at Arthur, and then rising to her feet, bowed to her brother. "Please do." She said.

Shirou nodded, and gestured for them to follow. "This way, then." He said, and Ayame nodded before following Shirou's lead.

A/N

Pretty much just something to bridge events. Nothing too important happens, apart from Rin's completely erroneous and alarmist – not that we can blame her – conclusions with regard to Ayame and Arthur.

Next chapter will be more impactful, what with the iris meeting the cherry blossom at last.