A/N: Loads and loads of characters? Oh yeah, I can handle it.

Merem leaned against the wall, looking down at the group gathered around the table in Shirou's living room. He frowned, "Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, huh? It's likely that the near death experience you spoke of caused them to manifest since you have strong magical circuitry."

"I wouldn't know anything about magic. I grew up in a regular home... er... I thought I did anyways," said Shiki.

Merem nodded, "The Tohno clan yes? I've heard many rumors, but I've never bothered to look into them."

"They have demon blood in their line," said Ciel, "A despicable thing really, but Shiki's sister doesn't seem too bad. I hated her for her demon blood and putting Shiki in danger at first."

"What changed your mind?" asked Merem.

"When I was taking care of Shiki after the whole incident I paid a visit to his mansion under cover of night. I saw how worried and broken she was... and it was hard not to relate."

"I see. Well, I obviously won't be taking Tohno anywhere anytime soon. Not with three mages and the church's most powerful defector guarding him."

"Thank you Merem, I was hoping you would see things our way."

"I wouldn't want to come to blows with you Ciel. I've worked with you a few times and we make a good team. Besides, you know I joined the church for selfish reasons. The only opinions that matter to me are my own and those that are close to me."

From the darkness in the hallway stepped a tall, old man with spectacles, dressed in a priest's garb. The man was clearly taller than everyone in the room, which was even more noticeable when he took his place next to Merem, not saying a word.

Merem took a deep breath before nodding firmly, "I believe I have an idea as to where the church has taken Tohno's glasses."

"Something tells me there's a 'but' at the end of that," grumbled Rin.

"But," he continued, "It will be extremely difficult to retrieve them. There's something we have going for us though."

"What's that?" asked Shirou.

"This is just a theory I have, but I believe the Burial Agency is acting without the Church's permission. I said once before that I could not trace the order to take Tohno, this is possibly because there was no order to begin with."

Ciel raised an eyebrow, "Why would they be doing this though?"

"The agency has grown in the past few years," said Merem, "Perhaps a few bad seeds have been planted while my head was turned. This bodes ill for all of us, I'm sure Miss Tohsaka and Miss Grey know exactly why."

Lillian frowned, "The magic association doesn't exactly distinguish between church members. To the seats and the directors it must seem like the church as a whole is declaring war, when it could just be a splinter faction."

"That's a huge problem," said Rin, "And if anyone tells the council otherwise I seriously doubt they'll listen. You'll be outvoted in a heartbeat Lillian. Well anyways, Shirou and I have school tomorrow, and I don't want to suddenly arouse suspicion by us skipping every day. It's less feasible now that there's so many people involved in this. All of you should stay here until this situation is resolved."

"Wait," said Shirou, "YOU'RE telling them it's okay to stay in MY house? There's something wrong with this picture."

"Can it idiot, you're the one who wanted to help Tohno, and apparently everyone else on the whole frikkin' planet does too so you better brush up on your cooking skills."

"I'll be fine without food," said Merem, "But thank you for the hospitality."

Shirou sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Everything seemed to be spinning out of control, and he knew that it could only get worse before it ended.

Day 7: Visitors

Rin had gone on ahead of Shirou the next morning to see Sakura and Shinji at the range, leaving him to walk to school alone, pondering on everything that had happened up to that point. It seemed that his entire town was a magnet for strange occurrences, but what frightened him the most was the fact that they were becoming commonplace.

He feared that in time he would become all too used to the things happening around him.

This had been his ideal all along, even if he was more rational about it now.

Still... it felt strange.

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt something collide with his shoulder.

"Oh, I'm sorry!"

His bag hit the ground, spilling out its contents onto the asphalt.

Luckily his notebook stayed closed, so papers flying everywhere wasn't an issue.

The girl he had bumped into looked rather ashamed of herself, and a bit embarrassed. She was a bit shorter than him, with blonde hair cropped to her shoulders. She wore a red t shirt and regular jeans, but what caught his attention the most weren't her overall looks.

It was her eyes.

He had never seen crimson eyes before.

"It... it's alright, I wasn't watching where I was going."

"Nah, I was spacing out anyways," she said, laughing sheepishly as she squatted down to help him pick up the spilled bag.

He wasn't too far behind, "It's no big deal. Not the first time it's happened on this road. I haven't seen you around here before."

"Yeah, I'm new in town. It's a weird place."

"You don't know the half of it," he said with a laugh, stuffing the last notebook where it belonged and once again shouldering his school bag, "I'm Emiya Shirou, you?"

She looked side to side, as if unsure of something, "Um... Arcuied Brunestud."

Shirou blinked, he could have sworn he had heard that name before. It was ringing all the bells in his head but he couldn't quite figure out why the name was so familiar, "That's a... unique name."

"I'm from out of country," she said quickly, "I'm here on... business."

'She's almost as bad of a liar as Rin,' Shirou thought.

"Sorry again," she said softly, looking down and to the side.

A moment of silence passed...

And then it hit him like a ton of bricks. His eyes widened, "Wait... I've heard your name."

Her demeanor changed from gentle to what he would call paranoid, "Where?"

"Erm..."

Her eyes narrowed, "Who are you?"

"I could ask you the same thing. I only heard your name, not who you are. If you want to hide your identity you shouldn't give random strangers your name."

For some reason she blushed at that.

"Anyways," he said, "I heard your name from a kid, well... not really a kid. It's hard to explain."

"What was his name?"

"Merem Solomon."

Her eyes widened. She stepped forward and grabbed his arm, dragging him across the street and into a nearby alley.

"He... hey! Let go!"

She tossed him onto the ground and glared down at him, "I'll ask you one more time, who are you?"

"I already told you that!"

"Emiya Shirou huh? I've never heard the name before, and why should I believe you're just a high school kid?" Shirou stood, dusting himself off. He let his bag drop to the ground, carefully this time. "You're strange," she mumbled, "I can't sense anything from you for some reason."

"I'm a mage if you have to know, your turn..."

She seemed to consider for a long moment before answering, "A true ancestor."

"What's that?"

"You would call me a vampire, but I'm not like Solomon, if you've truly met him that is."

"Weird kid with an old guy that looks like a priest, older than he looks probably. You seem like you don't like him much."

Even from a good distance away he could almost hear her teeth grind, "He's not the reason I'm here, but it might not hurt to drop by on the way."

"Hold on, drop by?" Shirou stood, "Why? What are you doing?"

"Hunting."

"Merem?"

"... Maybe."

Shirou's eyes narrowed and he dug his feet into the ground, "I can't let you do that.

The woman, Arcueid, glared at him. Her fists tightened and Shirou suddenly felt a pressure on the air, much like the pressure when he had first encountered Lancer, or Gilgamesh...

No...

This pressure was heavier, baring down on him like a physical thing.

"Oh really? Tell me Emiya Shirou, because I still don't know. Who exactly are you?"

His vision pulsed.

For some reason he knew...

He knew he wouldn't be able to win against her.

"I don't want to fight you," he said, "But Merem is helping me with something important. There's a lot of stuff going on right now."

"I see." The pressure didn't let up even as she spoke, "But if you intend to stop me then we have no choice but to fight."

"Why do you want to kill Merem?"

"He's a Dead Apostle, isn't that reason enough? You're human, why defend him?"

Shirou gritted his teeth, "If I explain then will you listen to me?"

"Do you intend to stand between Merem and I?"

"Only if you want to kill him."

Arcueid sighed, "Very well. I suppose it can't be helped then."

Her hands unclenched, and her fingers became long and thin, extending out into sharp claws.

Shirou set his right foot back, "Trace... on."

Kanshou and Bakuya were in his grasp.

Arcueid raised an eyebrow, "Projection? Interesting. I'll go easy on you, but you really should stay out of my way."

"Sorry." Shirou kicked his bag to the side, causing it to collide with the building wall.

Arcueid was the first to move.

Shirou's reaction to her first strike was slow, the heavy atmosphere was hindering him.

She was extremely quick.

The problem was that Shirou knew she wasn't lying when she said she would take it easy.

There was no way out of this situation.

It was stupid, but... he had enough mana.

He would just need the opportunity.

He moved to block the next blow, crossing the two swords together on their flat ends.

They shattered under her hand as if they were nothing.

He kicked into the ground, jumping back just as her claws grazed his stomach.

"I haven't seen a human able to move that fast in a while. You must be an exceptional fighter. I don't intend to kill you, but I can't guarantee anything."

"That's alright," he said with a smirk, "I've had a lot worse."

He stepped back, letting the swords reform in his hands. "I am the bone of my sword."

Arcueid's eyes widened, "A chant?" She moved even faster this time, shattering both of his swords and bringing her left hand down on his shoulder.

He took the blow, gritting his teeth when he felt the pain and the blood seep into his shirt, "Steel is my body, and fire is my blood."

"Oh no you don't."

She brought her other hand down, but this time...

Shirou held Excalibur.

It cracked under the sheer weight of her strength, but it didn't shatter completely, "I have created over a thousand blades." He pulled it away, stepping back and swinging in one fell motion.

Arcueid caught the sword by its blade, gripping it and finally shattering it.

"Unknown to death, nor known to life."

"I wouldn't go any further if I were you two."

Both of them, now a few feet apart, turned to the source of the voice that had called out to them. At the entrance of the alleyway stood Merem Solomon, the old priest at his side as he had been in the Emiya manor. "Brunestud-sama, you're obviously here for me, it's rude to involve other people I think."

"Merem, she's..."

"I know what she's here for, but she is a reasonable woman, and I've done nothing to wrong her. I'm sure we can both explain the situation adequately, in fact I'm sure she would even help us."

Arcueid simply glared at the 'boy', not saying a single word as he spoke.

"It's quite the coincidence that you ran into Emiya on his way to school. You see we're in a bit of a predicament Brunestud-sama, one that could possibly require your particular... style. Members of the Burial Agency are openly attacking mages and attempting to kidnap a young man by the name of Tohno Shiki, I'm sure you've heard of him."

Arcueid's glare seemed to intensify, but she spoke this time, "The one who killed Roa."

"Precisely. I'm sure you'd want to meet with him and thank him. After all, Roa was one of your targets, was he not? I know you must hate me simply for what I am. If you wish to strike me down I wouldn't stop you."

"And why is that?"

"I've always wanted to meet you at least once, and thank you. I was saved from a horrible fate by the original True Ancestor."

The blood faded from Arcueid's face, leaving her white as a sheet, "Wha..."

Merem nodded softly, "He told me a few things, one of which was that he would one day need to return. Perhaps it's to save humanity from the brink of death, or perhaps it would be to make sure what remains is well cared for after they are gone. Ultimately he saved my life, so I am thanking you, and on my honor I wouldn't lift a finger against you Arcueid Brunestud."

"If the church is so openly attacking people then the magic association will step in."

Shirou sighed and shook his head, "That's exactly the problem. We don't know what could happen if the church and the association went into an all out war with each other. Complete chaos probably..."

"So you want my help?"

"Well," said Merem, "It would be appreciated. Besides, you've been hunting Dead Apostles for far too long. Isn't it time for something more... interesting? We'll even help you out with your current problem."

Arcueid sighed, "Alright... alright." She turned to Shirou and scratched the back of her head, "I'm sorry about attacking you."

Then she smiled.

Shirou turned his head to the side, feeling blood rush to his face, "Er... it's no... forget about it I mean."


"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

The shout caused Shirou to pull the phone away from his ear, gritting his teeth. "I won't be coming to school, make sure to let Fuji-nee know."

He could almost hear one of his girlfriend's veins pop on the other end of the line. "What? To think, after I went to the trouble of making you lunch and everything! The nerve!"

"It has to do with this entire thing with Ciel and the church. I'll go tomorrow, but this is more important."

"... Fine, but you better tell me what's going on when I get home!"

The phone clicked.

He pulled it away from his ear and raised an eyebrow, "She hung up on me..."

Shirou sighed, turning around and flexing his wounded shoulder a bit.

The house was getting way too crowded for his liking. Even a place as big as it would eventually be full. The entire group minus Rin and Ciel was gathered around the table.

It was becoming strangely commonplace he thought.

"Um... Emiya..." said Lillian, "Perhaps you should wrap that up."

He looked down at his right shoulder and frowned. The wound had already stopped bleeding, but the shirt was ruined and it obviously wasn't going away on its own.

"I'll take care of it," said Arcueid, standing from the table, "I'm the one that did it."

While Arcueid was in the bathroom gathering everything only silence remained in her wake.

She returned as Shirou sat at the head of the table and pulled his shirt over his head. Setting the first aid kit down, she opened it up and went about disinfecting and cleaning the wound. "Ciel was right about one thing," said Shirou, "We'll need to get your glasses back."

Shiki nodded, "So that would be a first step then?"

"You didn't tell me that Burial girl was involved in this mess," mumbled Arcueid, dabbing at the wound with the small bottle of disinfectant.

"You know her?" asked Shirou.

"She and I have had a few run ins. We try not to get in each others' way but..."

"I wouldn't recommend letting your rivalry brew up at a time like this," said Lillian, "Her magic circuits are sealed."

Arcueid turned to Lillian and raised an eyebrow, "Who did that?"

"The church, right before they kidnapped me."

"What would they want with you?"

"My eyes. I have the eyes of death perception."

"I haven't heard that in a long time," sai Arcueid, pulling out the gauze and bandages before starting to wrap Shirou's wound. She smiled faintly, "I guess the world really is a small place. Shiki Tohno, right."

Shiki nodded.

She finished wrapping Shirou's shoulder and gave it a light pat, "There you go, all better."

"Heh, makes me afraid of what you would do if you weren't going easy on me."

"Anyways," Arcueid turned to the rest of the group, "I'm Arcueid Brunestud, a True Ancestor. I was here on the tail of a Dead Apostle when I ran into Emiya-kun."

Lillian raised an eyebrow, "So you attacked the boy?"

Shirou's general impression of vampires was that they didn't... or couldn't blush. It seemed he had a lot to learn.

"He mentioned Merem's name and I ended up thinking he was a follower."

Merem smiled, "It may have been jumping the gun, but it was a rational conclusion. Did you know I was a part of the same agency as Ciel?"

"Yes, but I've never met you, so I just treated it like I usually do."

"I see, I apologize then. I should have spent time tracking you down and trying to speak with you. Because of my carelessness Emiya ended up getting hurt."

Arcueid shook her head frantically, "No, no I mean... so you and Ciel have both defected from the church?"

Merem sighed, "In a manner of speaking. As far as I can tell the Burial Agency seems to be acting on its own, but that doesn't mean its any less of a threat."

Shirou pulled his shirt back over his head and sighed, "So where do we start looking for these glasses?"

"They would most likely be kept in a secure location," said Merem, "Nothing an average church goer would know about. Ciel is out looking for leads right now."

Shirou nodded, "I see. I'm gonna get started on lunch." He stood from the table and cracked his neck, turning towards the kitchen.

Arcueid frowned, "Are you sure you should be up and about? I kinda..."

Shirou laughed as he walked into the kitchen and opened up the fridge, "It's no big deal. Like I told you before, I've had worse."

"I was going easy because you were a human, but you seem more like a freight train to me now."

"I can relate to that," said Shiki.

"Speaking of which," continued the vampire, turning towards Shiki and smiling widely, "I should thank you."

"For what?"

"That man you killed a while back was my original target. You got to him before I could. I didn't think it was possible for a human to be able to do that. Even with your eyes it must have been difficult."

Shiki sighed, "Not as difficult as what came after that. There's no need to thank me, I did it to protect someone important."

"Well in that case you deserve to be thanked even more," she said with a laugh.

Shiki gritted his teeth and turned away, blood rushing to his face, "You shouldn't be so weirdly enthusiastic about it."

Arcueid just kept on smiling.

Shirou sighed as he grabbed a pot and a pan from the cupboard.

'My house is becoming some kind of gathering place for weird people,' he thought.


They checked into a five star hotel on the far side of town. Kohaku set their things in the closet of the large room and Akiha ordered her to stay put while she and Hisui went searching. They left early in the morning and hadn't been back since.

Things were... strange.

Kohaku sighed and sat down on the bed, looking around the room before switching on the TV with the small remote.

Where there was emptiness there was now worry.

Where there was numbness...

There was now her heart, pulsating violently when she thought of what could befall Shiki or her sister... even Akiha, her master.


"He's my brother," Akiha said softly.

The man behind the counter of the convenience store shook his head, "I'm sorry young lady but I haven't seen him around here. If he's missing you should be contacting the police."

'I can't do that,' she thought.

"No, he's not missing sir. It's just that I came down for a surprise visit and it slipped my mind to look up his address."

"I see, well in that case you should check the local addresses."

She wished she could, but it was inconceivable that he would have his own place.

But... he was in the city.

That much she knew.

"Akiha-sama, I understand your worry, but blindly searching isn't the way to go about this, perhaps you should..."

"Oh hello."

The duo wheeled around to the door of the convenience store.

When the jingle of the door stopped playing and it shut behind the blue haired girl, time itself seemed to freeze.

Even the man behind the counter felt the pressure in the air.

Ciel adjusted her glasses and smiled wide, "It's been a long while... Tohno Akiha."

"Not long enough," grumbled Akiha.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot," said Ciel, "The way Shiki talks about you, one would think you were Japan's number one idol or something."

Akiha glared, "What have you done with Nii-san?" she shouted.

"Aside from take him in my care and make sure he's getting back to you in one piece... not much really, we talk now and then if that counts. We should go somewhere else."

Ciel turned and walked from the store.

Akiha was loath to follow her, much less to trust her, but...

"Akiha-sama?"

"Be ready to run Hisui, I don't know what she's up to."

"Ye... yes."

With that, she left the store after Ciel, leaving a very befuddled and confused cashier.