I gave slow, steady breaths as the water I poured over myself evaporated into wisps of steam. The water wasn't necessary for my own benefit (it had been a long time since heat had truly made me uncomfortable), but it could be problematic for other people if my skin was as hot as a stovetop and they happened to run into me. As I idly glanced around the concrete basement that was under my apartment building, I made note of the new scorch marks I had made and would need to take care of later.

One of the main reasons I picked this particular building to live in was that it had a rather large room in the basement that was meant for storage. I was a bit different from most other Executors and Exorcists that the Church employed in that I was a full magus rather than someone with just skill, Mystic Codes, or maybe a rare ability. While I hated using the term to describe myself (given how others who bear the title behave), that didn't change the fact that I needed a workshop to research my magecraft. Given how rare incarnations are, there's not really much existing material I could work with, so I had to build up most of what I knew from scratch. And given the necessary trial and error combined with the how volatile of my particular incarnation was, I was glad that I could find a place I could set up my workshop that was made of reinforced concrete.

I strolled over to a nearby table at held my research material. Some might wonder just how much a person could study fire, but the answer as it turns out is quite a lot. I've made a decent study of chemistry and physics to understand the phenomenon on a mundane level, which is to say nothing of the number of ways I've found to warp, bend, and outright change the things I have learned with magecraft. My particular favorite is burning things which should not be able to combust at all. Then again, I might be biased in that, as that ability comes from my rather… particular state of mind.

In any case, that material wasn't what I was looking at, and what I was happened to be a cross section of a human eye. My latest research involved the creation of Mystic Eyes, a mutation in the magic circuits in the eye area that grants the wielder special abilities. In this, the Church was able to help somewhat, as they had some collected notes about how to artificially manufacture them. However, the only kind of Eyes ever created in this fashion were those of Binding, Charm, and Whisper, and I was not attempted to make any of those.

I was attempting to make the very rare Mystic Eyes of Flame, which have been said to allow the user to ignite anything within line of sight. I was sure that if I possessed them, I could use them to increase the potential of the rest of my magecraft, maybe even increasing the speed and potency of my spells. Most magi would consider it a foolish and impossible endeavor to try, but most magi aren't fire incarnations. Still, it was slow going, and at the moment I only had the basic frame work of what I needed to do.

After about a half an hour passed, I glanced at the clock and noticed that it was just about noon. I have to wrap this up. Mom and Yukari will be here soon, I thought. It was the first Saturday of the month, so the two would be showing up soon for our regular luncheon. I needed some time to get cleaned up and tell Rin about it.

Oh yeah, and I should probably get around to telling her that I had found my biological family. I had intended to last night, but things had gotten emotional and every one was so tired that once we got back we did little more than pulled out the spare futon and went to sleep. I hadn't had the chance to talk to her this morning as she was still asleep when I woke up, so I had just whipped up some breakfast before heading down to my workshop.

I was putting everything away when I got to the pile of mail I had grabbed on the way down to the basement. I sorted through it quickly; bill, junk, junk, menu-

I stopped at the last letter, and my breath caught at seeing that it was from Fuyuki Memorial Hospital. It had been awhile since I told them where I was, so they had probably sent it to my PO Box in the Vatican which was then forwarded here. I quickly tore open the letter and read its contents. It was fairly short, but I spent a few minutes rereading it.

I then calmly put down the letter and picked up my phone, dialing the call back number that was listed. It ringed three times before the voice of an older man answered. "Hello?"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S GONE?!"

Rin sat at the table, munching on the breakfast that Shirou had made for her before he headed down to his workshop, or at least that's what the note he had left for her said. While there was plenty to do today, given how tired she was she had slipped back into her old habit of sleeping late whenever she could afford it. As she planned her day, she figured that the first thing she needed to do was head back to the Izumo House to set up a room, and then head back to the hotel where she had accidentally left her bag behind when Musubi… got ahead of herself. Such as it was, she had to borrow one of Nero's nighties to sleep in, and even though it was probably the most modest piece of sleep wear the former emperor owned, it was still a little more blush inducing that Rin would have like.

That small blush increased when Rin remember waking up that morning to find that not only had Musubi had latched onto her in her sleep (again), but that Nero somehow had as well. It was likely that the blonde woman had migrated over to her futon after Shirou got up, wanting another warm body to sleep next to. This wouldn't have been as much as a problem if Nero's night time apparel wasn't incredibly revealing or simply not wearing any at all. This morning was the latter case.

"You are looking flushed. Is the food not agreeing with you?" Nero asked from her position across the table from her, now wrapped in a sheet in a sort of makeshift toga.

"I'm perfectly fine!" Rin snapped. "I'm just not used to waking up and finding naked people on top of me!"

Nero gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "Oh, that is nothing to get worked up over. It certainly is not anything you have not seen before." She gave Rin a sultry look. "Or touched."

Rin's face somehow got even redder. "T-t-that was a tantric ritual! And we all swore we would never speak of it again!"

Nero coyly looked at the ceiling. "I do not remember agreeing to such a thing." She looked back at Rin. "Besides you do not seem to have that much of a problem with your Sekirei, and she was not clothed much more than I."

Rin frowned and glanced at the bathroom, where Musubi was currently taking a shower. "Yeah, well, I've tried telling her not to, but she looks at me with these big, sad eyes that make me think that I'm kicking a puppy, so I've just decided to let it happen."

"Hmm. Well, whatever your reason, it will be good for you to have a bedmate. I cannot imagine that you found many worthy of you at the Clock Tower."

Rin felt her frustration grow at the comment. While Nero hadn't known Rin for nearly as long as Shirou, she had still seemed to hit on a rather sore subject for the magus. It had always been Rin's dream to go to the Clock Tower and in some ways, like the liberties, the funding, and research, it had been just what she wanted. However, she was now also certain that the phrase 'Hell is other people' must have originated in London. Seeing as how most of her colleges were fools, pompous jerks, depraved, or some combination thereof, she had taken to spending most of her time alone. She might have been able to deal with it better if she was used to that sort of thing, but she had had Shirou as a friend she could always reach for so long that suddenly being without left her feeling somewhat empty. Rin thought back to when Musubi first explained to her what the Sekirei were and just what she was feeling when she agreed to become an Ashikabi…

Rin shook her head. No, I winged Musubi because she could provide valuable research, Rin thought stubbornly. It most certainly wasn't because I was feeling lonely.

Before the magus could continue to convince herself of this fact, the door to the apartment slammed open. Rin jumped in her seat and turned to find Shirou standing in the doorway. She may have been distracted by the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt at any other time, but at that moment the man looked very pale and distraught. "Shirou? What's wrong?"

"Sakura is missing."

Rin felt her heart skip a beat. "W-what? What do you mean missing? How is that possible?"

"I mean the doctors found her hospital room empty." He said as he walked into the room. "Apparently, this happened a week ago. I just got the letter today."

Rin's mind raced with the possibilities of what could have happened to her sister. "Someone could have taken her, but why? With Zouken dead, there's practically no one outside of this room who even know who she is, and even then what use could she be?" She paused as a thought came to her. "Do you think she-"

"I don't know!" Shirou shouted. "Damn it, it's been far too long since I checked up on her."

Nero rose and approached her master. "Perhaps, but you are saying that like it would have prevented this somehow."

"Maybe it could have. Maybe I could have figured something out to help her. Maybe I could have been there when…" he trailed off as he looked at the ground, his fist clenched at his sides.

Rin frowned as she looked at her old friend. Their bond worked both ways, as she was just as able to read him as he did her last night. It was natural that he was upset, as was she, but he seemed even more distraught that he should be. Like this was far more personal to him-

Rin's eyes widened when she realized it. As she stood, she said "Oh, you poor, stupid fool. You still blame yourself for what happen to her, don't you."

"God damn it Rin, I put her into a coma! Of course I blame myself!"

"But it's not your fault, dumbass! It a miracle that you managed to keep her alive at all!"

Nero nodded in agreement. "And even if you failed completely and her death resulted because of it, you still would have prevented the darkness inside her from consuming the world. And don't you dare presume that Sakura would have wanted differently. You know as well as I do that she was stronger than that."

Shirou clenched his hands tighter and grit his teeth, clearly holding back his anger. He stayed like that for a few moments before the tension left him and his shoulders sagged. "I know. It's just that… I failed her. I was supposed to fix everything, give Sakura her life back. Instead I scarred her and now she might never wake up again. If only I was better…" His face twisted into an unpleasant scowl. "If only I had the skill he had…"

Rin hesitated. The less that was said about the man she had summoned in the Holy Grail War, the better. Still, she replied. "I don't think that you should be looking to Avenger for a role model."

Shirou gave a snort. "That's an understatement. Still, considering how I kind of absorbed that particular skill from him, it makes me wish that I had gotten more of it."

Nero gave a huff. "If that would have resulted in you becoming more like that lunatic, then you are better off without it. Now, no more talk of the past. What are we going to do about this?"

Shirou gave a sigh. "I don't know. Normally I'd go off to look for her, but with the Sekirei Plan going on I just can't leave. The timing is terrible."

"Well, we're going to have to call in whatever contacts we have to look for her instead." Rin said. "In the meantime, we'll deal with the Sekirei Plan and try to figure out just what happened to her." Shirou didn't respond, instead looking at the ground. She move forward and wrapped her arms around him. "We're going to find her. I promise." She said, trying to mask her own worry.

Nero moved as well, pressing herself into his back. He looked surprised for a moment, but then he gave a small smile and returned the hug, closing his eyes as he did so. Rin followed suit, relishing how warm hugs with Shirou always were. For a moment, the three friends took comfort in each other's company.

The moment ended when a voice from the direction of the bathroom said "Ah! We're having a group hug? Musubi wants to join too!" And then a body crashed into Rin from behind, along with two warm, slightly damp things that enveloped her head. It was reasonable to assume that Musubi was now hugging her and had not yet bothered to get dressed.

Suddenly that hug had gotten a lot hotter.

Well, at least it can't get any more awkward, Rin thought.

Naturally, it was at this moment the she managed to pick up a new voice (even with her head encased in its fleshy prison) coming from the hallway outside the apartment. "Oniiiiiii-chaaan!"

Shirou stiffened. "Oh dear god no."

The voice got louder as it came into the apartment. "Onii-ch-what the-!" That was as far as the new voice got before the owner collided with the group and sent the lot of them tumbling to the ground.

As Rin struggle to escapes the entangled limbs, she finally managed to catch a glimpse at the newcomer, who looked to be a girl in her late teens with short black hair and wearing a student's uniform. There was also an older woman in a lab coat and white hair standing in the doorway, looking at the mess with a flat stare. "The church has really let its moral standards drop these days." She remarked dryly. "Minato, I know that you're too old for me to get into your personal life, but could you at least restrain yourself on the days I visit?"

Rin blinked in confusion at the situation for a moment before realizing what this must have looked like. Shirou, half naked in a pile of naked women (Nero's toga had fallen off), save for herself, though the nightie wasn't really helping things. Rin sputtered and felt like all the blood that was rushing to her face was starting to reach critical mass. Shirou apparently felt the same way as his face matched her own.

"I assure you Takami, this is not what it looks like." Nero said, managing to get to her feet, completely uncaring of her own state of undress. "Shirou is always considerate when it comes to our romantic engagements. Why just a month ago-"

"Nero! What have I told you about talking to my mother about my sex life?!" Shirou said frantically.

Rin blinked. She must have hit her head, because she could have sworn she just heard Shirou say mother.

"Takami-san! It's good to see you again!" Musubi said while waving enthusiastically, causing her chest to bounce in a most distracting manner that Rin most certainly did not look at.

Shirou got over his embarrassment long enough to give Musubi a curious look. "Wait, how do you know my mother?" There was that word again. How hard did she hit her head?

"Takami-san was responsible for making my adjustments. Just like the rest of the Sekirei."

"Musubi, I thought you were told not to talk about that to civilians." The woman said with a grimace before turning to Shirou. "Mintao, pull your sister out of there. I rather this situation not get any more inappropriate than it already is."

Shirou dutifully helped the other girl to her feet, who seemed to be bleeding profusely from the nose for some reason. "O-onii-chan is getting a harem! I knew I should have brought my manga! Now how will I know how the imouto is supposed to respond to this?!" She wailed.

Shirou face palmed. "First of all, Yukari, I am not getting a harem. Secondly, mom, I already know about the Sekirei, and we need to talk."

Before he could go any further, Rin shouted "Wait wait wait! Shirou, who the hell are these people? Why did they just burst into your apartment? And why do you keep calling that one 'mother'?!"

The man blinked before giving a sigh. "Right. I had meant to tell you earlier, but things kept coming up." He gestured to the two new women. "Rin, meet my biological mother and sister."

Rin's mouth fell open at this proclamation, and the only thought running through her head was No complications. Right…