WHO WE ARE – It's who we are


Disclaimer: For the ninth, and last time, no. I don't own Harry Potter or Fate/Zero and their characters. This cute little monster of a story, however, is mine.

Shout Out: Finally, the end. /exhausted/. So. All gratitude and good wishes to Luna13 who checked over this story, making it better both in English grammar and frenchpertise along with butchering up Bulgarian. Thank you, it was a joy to work with you and hopefully, we'll be working on many joint projects in the future. As for my dear readers, thanks for sticking with me and your patience regarding all other works. With Who We Are concluded, the next one in the works is Fire And Ice, so keep your eyes peeled.

Warnings: AU-verse, and of course, our lovely bumbling pairing of Kirei/Kiritsugu (slash). Geez, the pair of them just didn't want to get together in ordinary manner, did they?

Dictionary:

'Okaerinasai' - Japanese for 'Welcome home'

'Tadaima' - Japanese for 'I'm home'


Blank silver masks stared at the snakelike man in the middle of the circle.

"My Lord, you are finally back." One of the silhouettes spoke out, the trembling voice filled with awe. Red eyes glanced at the silhouette. "I never doubted you would return." The male who spoke knelt down, bowing his head as if in supplication.

"Nor did I, my Lord." Another one spoke out, and then, the murmurs of assent echoed among the group.

"Rise, my faithful." Voldemort commanded, prompting the dark forms to move. "I know, some of you were faithful to me…. Even to the extent of having been sent in Azkaban. For that, you shall be rewarded beyond your wildest dreams. " He paused, red eyes looking over the group. "But others... It seems you lost your faith. Where were you when there were rumors of my return a year before?" The monster strode to the nearest shadow and ripped it's mask off of its face, revealing an aristocratic face with silver eyes and pale blonde hair spilling forth from the hood.

Lucius Malfoy. Lucius Malfoy, of all people. Kirei knew he should have been shocked, but he wasn't. Not really.

"Where were you?" Voldemort repeated as he continued his walk of blame among Death Eaters, unmasking them one after another.

The twins. Another man, with cruel facial features, slugging an axe along on his shoulder. Faces, faces, and more faces, both males and females, all pale, tense and dark-eyed.

"Where were you!?" The snake monster screamed, making them flinch away from the rage bottled in those three incriminating words. The incriminating silence told more than enough.

Dark red eyes narrowed. "No matter. Tonight, I, Lord Voldemort returned, and it's only fitting to celebrate my success."

"Of course, my Lord," "Yes, my Lord," "Absolutely." Such murmurs and similar ones buzzed between the Death Eaters.

"And I will begin with the thorn in my heel, one Harry James Potter." Voldemort concluded, making them gasp and their attention flashed to Kirei.

"My Lord, you caught him!" One of the Death Eaters squeaked.

"Of course I did." Voldemort's snakelike nostrils flared in indignation. The monster turned to the Kirei once again. "I am insulted that you even hinted I couldn't get him from under Dumbledore's hand."

"B-But he doesn't have glasses." One of the braver - or was it dumber? - Death Eaters commented. Not a moment later, he promptly dropped on the ground screaming in agony as the dark red spell slammed into him.

The screeches were horrible. Kirei fought the urge to wince. Whatever it was, it wasn't pleasant. It left the idiotic lackey on the ground, trembling in agony and babbling incoherently before two comrades besides him hauled him upright.

"The Goblet doesn't make mistakes, you fool!" Voldemort practically hissed at the imbecilic human being which shrank back pitifully. "The one that is bound to contract - the real Potter - is this one here!" He sharply pointed at Kirei.

If the situation weren't so serious, the entire debacle would've been one straight for comic books. Evil Dark Lord schooling dumb minions on appropriate enemies, or some such chapter.

"I have to admit, whatever Dumbledore had done to hide you, it was an exceptional strategy." He addressed Kirei, his voice once again silky with a hissy undertone. "However, this night, here and now, your luck is about to come on an end. But Lord Voldemort is not without a mercy, and as such, I shall allow you the privilege of dueling me."

With a flick of wand, Kirei felt himself being released from the tombstone. Another flick, and the chain that bound him to Kiritsugu was shattered, leaving only a shackle on his left wrist and the curious feeling of being bereft within his chest cavity.

Slowly, he unclenched his fists, and then clenched them again to get the feeling back in his fingers. His head was a little bit light from the blood loss, but it was nothing that he couldn't deal with. Dark eyes zeroed onto the monster in front of him, calculating and recalculating the ways to cull it for good.

'Kill the spare.'

No. Kiritsugu couldn't be dead.

He just couldn't.

Kirei remembered the feeling of crushing the Magus Killer's chest cavity when they had been fighting for Holy Grail - how the bones snapped under the pressure, that shocked look on the assassin's face as he fell - and then his own shock when the man stood up and fought again

"You shouldn't have killed him." His words were cold, detached, but the meaning behind them was clear.

'I'll kill you for it.'

"He was just a spare." Voldemort waved his chastisement away negligently. "Now, Harry, it's customary to bow before beginning to duel. Bow to me."

Kirei stood still, dark eyes cold and void. "I don't bow to monsters."

Blood-colored eyes flared with surprise and fury. "You dare to spurn my mercy?" The Dark lord hissed. "I. Said. Bow!"

This time, there was some kind of a compulsion lacing his words, seductive, soft and gentle, and so utterly alien to Kirei that he immediately rejected it. It was too like the seduction of that succubus…that it made him sick. To have his own mind subverted against him… was forbidden.

"And I refuse." Those words spoken, Kirei's world immediately bloomed within the lightning of agony as the red spell collided with his body, making his nerves spasm and bubble within his bones, muscles and organs - it felt as if he were simultaneously electrocuted and on fire.

Clenching his teeth, Kirei had a brief flash what this kind of attack could have done to Kiritsugu, and something within him snapped.

"I. Said. No!" The last word was practically a bark of unrestrained fury, making the Death Eaters unconsciously flinch back at his tone and Voldemort pause.

"Very well." The Dark Lord sneered, but his sneer was thoughtful. "Malfoy, you call out."

The platinum-haired Death Eater bowed. "As you wish, my Lord."

Calling out was a standard beginning of a duel, after the bows were over and done with. Usually done by an impartial judge of witness that was beyond reproach and in more rough times, by an accidental bystander who had the bad luck of being roped in a duel just by being here.

The Malfoy came between them, his hair glinting dully in the darkness. "This is the duel between Lord Voldemort and Harry James Potter. On my mark… ready… steady… Go!"

The world exploded in a violent red light, but Kirei was already away from the center of the attack. Throwing two Black Keys forward, he found them to be blocked by the marble wall, effectively nullifying them. However, that wasn't Kirei's plan. Instead of that, he shot forward -

-'Fast!' – was Voldemort's only thought -

-it looked like he had apparated from one side to another, his strike missing by the width of a hair as the Dark Lord immediately disapparated from the place he was standing, forcing Kirei to agilely jump into the air to avoid the pit that appeared beneath him.

Another pair of Black Keys whistled forward, this time finding their target with unerring accuracy, one blade sinking into Voldemort's right shoulder, causing him to drop his wand, and the other into left knee, forcing him to collapse, with a scream of pain from his lipless mouth.

And then, everything devolved into chaos.

The Death Eaters surged forward en masse, spells alighting the night with their colorful appearances, but despite their colors, they were a true danger.

Kirei had already lost much of his blood, and using speed like he had been using it right now wasn't the wisest course of the action.

But he had dealt with worse. So he delegated both the pain and feeling of lightheadedness into the back of his brain and concentrated on dodging the oncoming curses.

"Cruccio!"

"Avada Kedavra!"

"Ira flagellus!"

"Erum - gurk!"

The third Death Eater's chant was interrupted via him choking on his own blood as a cold knife pierced his stomach, and letting the gravity spill out his innards.

'No time -!'

Kirei jumped into the fray, the Back Keys lodging themselves in the throats or hearts of the rest of the attackers before he had to rely on his martial arts to stop them. He slid forward, kicking on the side and breaking the would-be attacker's right leg completely, making the man crash on the ground with a pained scream. Next one, crushing the thorax of the fool that thought himself sneaky enough to caught Kirei unaware by attacking him from behind via elbow strike, and then, pouncing forward, using a combo to crush the woman's chest cavity and causing her to spit out blood. Mindless violence he knew only too well how to dish out.

And there, in the corner of his eye, he saw a shadow slipping past him, almost invisible in the darkness, and his heart jumped.

Could it be…?

The blinding pain caught him unaware, making him drop like a sack of potatoes.

And the world exploded.


Kiritsugu's body was at its limits. Going from Triple Stagnate to Double Accel in the space of a breath was a foolhardiness to the extreme, his heart had already simultaneously exploded and collapsed, followed by repairing itself and it was only by the grace of housing Avalon within his body, that he was now even alive. Instead, he forced his body above its limits as he tore in the Death Eaters, his bowie knife glinting with the blood of his victims.

The terrified screams, curses and howls of utter agony of his victims accompanied his way, but Kiritsugu didn't care. He was long used to causing carnage, even if not so directly, but these Death Eaters were the scum of the lowest order and he didn't feel any guilt, whatsoever, for gutting the fools that attempted to attack him.

The less of them lived, the better off his chance for survival were.

Swiftly, he ripped away the pin and hurled the grenade in the middle the group of Death Eaters that were lagging behind, quickly rolling himself on the ground to avoid the brunt of shrapnels. Somehow, he managed to look at Kirei, and the blood in his veins froze.

Only one thing could Incapacitate Kirei like that - only one person - and Kiritsugu was sure that they were stashed back at Hogwarts!

He coughed, spitting out the globs of blood that gathered them in his mouth. The warm, frothy, metallic taste felt like a failure on his tongue. Grunting, he felt the ropes wrap around his body, biting mercilessly in his already overly sensitized skin and muscles and making him lose his balance.

The fall was a blistering agony in and of itself.

This was not a clusterfuck.

This was a super-clusterfuck.

And Kiritsugu definitely wasn't paid enough to deal with that shit.

If they got out of there alive, Kiritsugu swore, Kirei would pay for the inconvenience he had caused to him with pounds of his own flesh.


The graveyard cum battlefield was strewn with the pieces of human bodies, in various states - sliced off appendage or two, pink, pale white and violet entrails, and bits of blood, flesh, skin and bone that originated from the epicenter of the grenade's explosion.

Carelessly, a foot stepped on the lone eyeball with blue iris and squished it.

The air was heavy with the pungent odor of blood and stomach acids. It looked more of a particularly messy slaughterhouse's floor than a proper battlefield. Dead bodies that remained there were also mutilated - either missing guts, or having a crushed air pipe or even caved in chest. Instant death in some cases. In others, rather messy one.

A lone clapping sound reverberated across the space, like a mockery of congratulations to the violence that had occurred just scant moments before.

"Extraordinary." A boyish voice commented as indifferent green eyes looked over the battlefield coolly. "So, Voldemort… Still thinking that Muggles are something to underestimate?"

"Ssshut up." The snake-like monster on the floor hissed out peevishly as he clumsily waved his wand to repair the damage done to his knee.

Darkness and silence reigned the once dignified, even if a little bit shabby graveyard. There were four people in total - four living, at any rate.

The two others were currently indisposed.

Kiritsugu was bound with ropes, dark eyes glaring at the culprit who managed to foil him, and the other one was Kirei who was currently clutching at his head while he was curled into the pathetic little ball on the floor.

Unacceptable.

That was the thought that ran through Kiritsugu mind at the moment.

The assassin never saw Kirei so undignified like he did now - not even when they were almost at the end of their little fight for the Grail, riddled with wounds and barely surviving Kiritsugu's Origin bullet, this man didn't beg. Even if he had killed his beloved Ilya, Kirei didn't ask for perdition. Not that Kiritsugu would have given it to him – on one side, Ilya was a casualty of war, and on the other, Kiritsugu held enough of sentiment for Ilya and resentment for Kirei at the time that he didn't even think of just plain forgiving the priest.

But this - this travesty of a fight had no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

For Kirei to be crippled by the mere presence of that brat - dark eyes glared at the green-eyed teenager - Kiritsugu couldn't accept that.

Kirei was his opponent. Only Kiritsugu had come as far as to have that lost monster of a priest on his knees and staring death in its eyeless sockets. But for this brat to have the same privilege, and not only that, his mere presence was causing Kirei agony beyond words – Kirei didn't hate many things, but this kid, he found out he could hate with a passion of thousand suns.

"Really, and you are supposed to be a Dark Lord?" The youth sneered at the snake man once again. "Shall I remind you that you lost to a babe of all things, and let's not mention how pathetic your performance was in the last four years. If it weren't for me coming right then, you would've been deader than door-nail. "

Red eyes glared at Harry Potter. "Potter, if you value your miserable life, you will shut up."

A sarcastic laugh. "You already owe me, Voldie. And in case you've forgotten, I am a part of you!" The youth dodged the hex, dancing out of its range effortlessly, much to the monster's rage.

"Pathetic. That's what you are. Those two Squibs nearly decimated your inner circle - wait, no, they totally decimated it. " Merciless green eyes zeroed onto the priest and then, the youth strode forward, crouching in front of Kirei.

"I have to admit, I didn't think that my opponent would be a priest of all things." He mused, wincing as he rubbed his right temple before he bent down. Then, Kirei's jaw was grabbed into a merciless hold and yanked upward. Pain-darkened brown eyes stared into green ones as the boy's breath caressed his face in a mockery of touch.

"You know, I don't believe in God. God never helped me. He didn't help me when I was stuck with your overbearing relatives. He didn't help me when I had to suffer their holier-than-thou attitudes, coping with minuscule amount of food while they helped themselves with sumptuous feasts. He didn't help me when I was chased by Ripper or that kid of theirs, Dudders." Thin lips quirked into a mirthless smirk. "He sure as hell didn't help me when I was saddled with that title of yours. As I see it, you owe me one long overdue death. And I, 'Harry Potter', intend to collect." He ended with a morbid chuckle at the priest's wince.

Kirei winced. The pain was unbearable and he barely could concentrate on the teen's crazed ramblings.

"He is mine." The snake man hissed. "I will kill him, as it's my right." Conjuring a stick, he managed to drag himself upward as to glare at the scrawny teen. "He was the one that rebounded the curse and doomed me to the fourteen years long existence as a ghost!"


Kiritsugu's thoughts froze at the Dark Lord's innocent comment as he had an unexpected light bulb moment. 'Resonance. How didn't I see this sooner?' The assassin asked himself silently, horrified at his own oversight.

Now everything was clear. Kiritsugu breathed out an expletive, not daring to be loud. It didn't mean his cursing was any less vehement.

Dammit. Somehow, Kirei managed to create a homunculus of all things. A homunculus who was now hell-bent to kill him.

The thing was in theory very simple, but in execution, it was nigh impossible.

In rebounding the curse, both Kirei and Voldemort basically created an impossible situation – an unstoppable force moving an immovable object. Avada Kedavra never failed… until then. And if Kiritsugu had to hypothesize…Kirei's, then Harry's natural disposition was of a Magus, and his Origin being Spirit and Heal, practically rebounded the curse back to the caster… but not without a hefty price.

That night, it wasn't only Voldemort's soul being ripped out of his body and doomed to roam the world…but also Kirei's. And not only that – Kirei's soul had been ripped out of time and space and deposited in the dying body of an abandoned baby which was later on found by Father Risei.

And because of the forceful vacation of his original body, a part of Voldemort's soul had been sucked into the baby's body, essentially adapting to the identity of 'Harry' as it were. It wasn't a coincidence that 'Harry' had a gift of Parseltongue of all things, while none in the Potter family had it.

Still, this 'Harry' was, for all intents and purposes, a Homunculus. A Homunculus in a living body, a fraction of a soul that gained the personality of its previous owner.

The resonance was the key. Both of their spirits - souls - resonated with each other, causing an imbalance within their bodies, thus causing the headaches and in the long run, tearing their bodies apart. It dislodged tentative connections between the material and spiritual body hard enough to chafe them, because their placement was essentially wrong, as neither of the spirits was in their correct body.

It was like playing with a crystal glass, sliding with a finger pad on its edge. The finger's pressure has to be light and yet firm enough for the glass to give off a sound - but the faster you are sliding your finger along the glass' edge, the higher and faster are the vibrations, until you reach to the point the glass simply can't hold on and shatters.

Them being essentially at the same place, was like playing the glass' edge at a higher pace, and it was only the question of time when one of them would shatter.

And Kiritsugu could only pray that the one at loss wouldn't be Kirei.

Because his next gamble could very well be their last one.


Kirei could barely think with the sheer mass of pain his head was causing him. He had been tortured, had his bones broken and his flesh was sliced apart, and he was fine with that kind of pain. Of course, it hadn't been pleasant, getting such injuries never was, but this - this was the next level of unbearable.

This strange… soul-doppelganger or whatever it was of Voldemort, effectively held him in a checkmate.

Helpless. That was how he felt right now.

He hadn't felt so powerless since that disastrous mission with ghouls back when he was eleven years old and everyone in his squad aside from him had died. Kirei had survived, but at the time, even he had to admit it was by some kind of sheer dumb luck. Since then, he trained, double and triple and quadruple as to ensure he would never again be in such a position.

It was like his brain was on fire and being fried with electricity along with his nerves being pounded via ten ton hammers. His eyes involuntarily watered from the pressure, and he blinked as to remove the annoyingly blurry picture in front of his eyes.

Kiritsugu was not much of a help, what with him being tied with ropes – if he were a lesser man, Kirei would have laughed at the irony of a wand-brat catching a Magus Killer within such a simple contraption.

"So… How do you propose that I deal with you. And before you say 'duel' this choice is not available. But hmmm… we have decapitation, stabbing through heart, going with good old Cruccio or Avada Kedavra - no, let's stay with manual methods. Messier, but less chance to backfire on us, no matter how interesting the experiment would have been." The kid mused, green eyes roving over Kirei's messed up appearance critically.

The priest didn't cut a good picture, what with the gunk of Acromantula's guts drying on his person and his forearm still bleeding, his right sleeve wet with life-giving substance that dripped on the ground silently as his fingers twitched helplessly for the Black Key or two.

Kirei remained silent, only his mouth tightening a margin betrayed that he was still living.

The wand caressed his left cheek.

"Maybe a cutting curse or two at first, if you don't mind." The teen in front of him purred before he winced. "And maybe I will toy with your little friend later on. A helpful toy is always welcome, after all." The smirk on the homunculus' face incensed Kirei. "After all, a good assassin is hard to come by."

The hand with a wand lifted in the air, the tip glaring with a sickly red light preparing to carve in his flesh.

"Kirei. By the power of the Holy Grail, destroy him!"

The priest's spine stiffened at the half-snarled, half-gurgled out voice.

Kiritsugu's voice. It electrified him, made him move, as if he were the beast on his behest. The sound of both his doom and salvation at once. The heart within his chest thumped - hard - and thumped - once again, hard - and Kirei moved.

His muscles coiling, one hand automatically reached for the Black Keys, igniting it almost in the same moment that his fingers touched the weapon, his body sprang forward in an automatic movement, honed from the long hours of practice and use, whitish-blue blades seemingly moving at a lightning-like speed.

His aim was true. The blades found their place - three in the boy's chest and one of them was lodged straight through the lightning bolt on his head, making Voldemort scream with fury and pain.

"Avada Kedavra!" The Dark Lord bellowed, pointing his wand at the instigator, red eyes alit with wrath. This time, the green light found its target, slamming in the assassin's back ruthlessly, making the youth gasp and those dark eyes widen before his face became blank - truly blank - and he crumbled on the ground.

Kirei's heart may as well be stopped and changed to stone and ground into tiny powder at once.

No link anymore.

Not this time.

Nothing.

"You…" He ground out, glaring at the Voldemort, dark eyes for once filled with fury.

The Dark lord stood up, a little bit awkwardly, but it seemed that whatever Healing charm he used, must have worked exceptionally well as he wobbled minutely before stabilizing himself. Shakily, Kirei followed his example, inhaling and exhaling slowly as to maintain his crumbling equilibrium, his body screaming at him to rest, but disregarded it's messages.

This was more important.

"You killed him." He breathed out. "You killed Kiritsugu."

The snake-like man watched him, his pale, snake-like face dispassionate. "Shame. He was a good opponent." Voldemort muttered, snakelike red orbs flicking at the downed form of one of his enemies temporarily before zeroing back to Kirei. "He had figured it out… not many would." Pale hand lifted, the glint of the light on the dark wand's wood ominous. "Like my Horcrux said, he could've been invaluable." He lifted his wand again, ready to curse the living daylights out of the priestly annoyance in front of him.

Dull brown eyes widened.

A Horcrux. Of course.

Kirei had read about those abominations when he had been in Vatican for his trials as Executor. There was not much about them, and they were more of speculations than true blue accounts, but in this moment, this was the only logical reason for the boy's total turnaround.

Harry was never Harry. Harry was Tom - or at least part of him - brushed on with a new brush, so to speak. A Horcrux molded into semblance of 'Harry Potter', an ugly painting painted over with a fresh, vivid colors that had a job to hide it's true, hideous nature from the world. The trump card of Voldemort's survival.

His body still thrumming from the shock of revelations, he absentmindedly dodged the oncoming curse smoothly and a moment later, there was a blood-curdling scream being torn out from the throat of his adversary.

"AARGH!" The wizard clutched at his stump of an arm, pale white hand already staining with red and sliver. "You fucking bastard, what have you done to me!" He backed away, but it was already too late, even if he didn't know about it.

Kirei didn't answer. Instead of that, he strode toward the monster that killed what was his, mercilessly kicking it into the stomach, the force of the kick propelling the snake-like man forward against the broken tombstone and making him crash into the edge of the granite block.

A sickeningly loud crack of the bone was heard in the night, and Voldemort wheezed through the additional load of pain.

Spinal injury. He couldn't feel anything below legs and his spine felt as if it were on fire itself.

But how!? His body should have been durable, beyond human limits, but this - this priest had broken him apart like it was nothing! Heart hammering loudly in his chest, if he wanted to live -

"W - Who are you?" He managed to choke out, red eyes wide with terror as he watched his nemesis' approach him.

Deep, emotionless, merciless eyes glared at him. "It doesn't matter. You took what was mine to take. Your life will be a poor compensation, but – "

A strong right hand was placed on the struggling man's head, and remained here despite the Voldemort's increasingly desperate attempts to dislodge it.

Then, Kirei opened his mouth once again.

"I kill, I give life. I injure, I heal. There are none who escape from my hands. There are none who escape from my eyes.
May it be so that you are shattered."

This miserable soul that dared to kill Kiritsugu who was Kirei's to kill -

"I welcome the defeated, the aged. Surrender to me, learn from me, obey me.
May you be at rest. "

If it was by Kirei's will, Voldemort would have been granted the absolution. Because Kirei would never again see those dark eyes glaring at him, feel that cold, scrawny, mamba-like body snuggling or struggling against his own, depending on the situation, never rest –

"Do not forget the song, do not forget the prayer, do not forget me. I relieve you of all burdens.
May it be so that there is no deception."

The golden light that began to emanate from Kirei's hand, placed on the monster's bald head began to intensify, creating a startling contrast between those dark, merciless eyes and the paleness of the priest's skin, making him seem more like terrifying devil of wrath than heavenly angel of retribution.

The monster beneath priest's hand opened its mouth in a wordless scream, the sharp fangs flashing in the dim light, blood red, snakelike eyes wide as his lone hand tried to scrabble against the priest in an attempt to stop him, to survive for some scant moments longer.

"Retaliation unto forgiveness, betrayal unto belief, despair unto hope, darkness unto light, death unto life.
May you rest in my hands. Let there be mark of your sins. Eternal life is found only in death. "

The claw like hand froze in the air, as those red eyes glazed over, as if they were seeing something indecipherable, while their owner was being presented an unexpected solution. Its mouth moved, trying to articulate whatever the monster had seen in the light that was now a warm, bright golden light, which was slowly fading into white. The body slumped in defeat.

"Forgiveness is before you, and so my incarnation vows:
'May God have mercy of this soul (
Kyrie eleison)'"

The light changed from pale gold into the blinding white for a heartbeat, and then, it was over.

The monster's body under his hand was a lifeless husk, which crumbled into dust the moment a breeze blew over. The priest's hand paused in the position for a little longer, before Kirei let it fall, his shoulders slumping in exhausted defeat.

This was by far the worst win he had acquired.

He had paid far too high price this time. And the worst thing was, it wasn't him who paid it, but Kiritsugu.

At his own expense.

He disregarded his still bleeding forearm and his body's overall weakness after using Kyrie eleison.

That little fool.

Kirei's heart twisted with agony, as if it had been torn and quartered to tiny pieces without anesthesia.

He shouldn't have done that.

He shouldn't have used the last Commanding Seal.

Rationally, Kirei knew it was the only way, but that didn't mean he agreed with the results that came out of it.

Clumsily, he headed to Kiritsugu's body, and knelt beside it. Strong hands began to untie the ropes slowly and methodically, with a gentle care, as if their now dead prisoner was to shatter at any given moment.

Kiritsugu didn't deserve to be trussed up like a turkey, not even in death. The task was completed less efficiently like Kirei would have wanted it to be, his hands being unusually clumsy. The assassin's body was clad in his messy attire, suit and the coat over it, both still dirtied with acromantula's gunk and blood, the same with his hair. His face was a little dirty and scratched, dark eyes staring sightlessly somewhere into distance.

He gathered the assassin's body in his embrace, heavy and limp, the still body's chest not rising and falling anymore, that smart mouth not growling or snarking at him. Instead of it, those thin lips were silenced… forever. Shakily, Kirei closed assassin's sightless eyes and for a moment, he managed to imagine that Kiritsugu was just sleeping.

Sleeping an eternal sleep, that is.

"You know what, you are unfair. You still owe me a kiss, Kiritsugu." He muttered to his enemy turned partner, his throat uncomfortably tight with feelings that were rolling in his heart. "Was that victory really worth your life?"

'One for ten, ten for hundred, hundred for thousand, thousand for a million.'

Kiritsugu's maxim was a mockery of his wishes, and now, it was a mockery of Kirei's dreams and wishes too.

Bowing down, Kirei clumsily pressed his lips to the unmoving ones in a gentle close-mouthed kiss, inhaling the scent of winter and gunpowder that still clung to the corpse on his hands.

He held the kiss for a moment, and then, he kissed Kiritsugu's forehead, before looking at Kiritsugu's face once again.

Coffee brown eyes widened as he was confronted with dazed, but open, dark eyes.

Inhale. Exhale.

Not his own, but the breath weakly susurrating through the assassins air passageways.

But that wasn't what made Kiritsugu's breath catch in his chest with almost agonizing intensity.

It was that tiny, almost invisible, smile on the man's lips.

"What did I say about kissing me again?" The hoarse voice teased him, and Kirei choked, his eyesight becoming blurry and then, the callused hand he got to know so well gently wiped the moisture off his cheeks before Kirei grasped it in his own right hand.

"Not to, because I am a priest." He managed to get out, and his lips involuntarily stretched upward into a small smile.

Kiritsugu emitted a weak snort. "Not that you heeded it, you scoundrel." Amused, he watched Kirei's happy face transform into a vaguely terrified one.

"Um. How did you know?" Kirei didn't even try to deny his misdeed, as he eyed the assassin in his embrace cautiously. Better be safe than sorry, after all.

"Curry." Kiritsugu deadpanned, and Kirei turned his head away, embarrassment coloring his cheeks.

He felt his hand being squeezed briefly, Kiritsugu's grip as weak as one of a newborn kitten.

"I still owe you one." Kiritsugu said, making Kirei's eyes snap back to his face, his heart hammering with disbelief and hope. Kiritsugu grimaced, causing Kirei's heart to sink with dejection. "After we get cleaned up." He snarked, and Kirei looked at him with the mixture of exasperation and relief.

"I'll hold you to that."

They were sitting in the middle of carnage and broken tombstones with guts, blood and corpses still cooling down around them, with only semi-darkness and some warm wind as their witnesses, both of them still covered in blood, dried guts and dirt.

They would have to return, and explain entire mess to the wand-wavers. They would be persecuted and feared again. Along with that, the Goblet of Fire still had to be destroyed, completely and irrevocably. But right now, none of this mattered as Kirei bent down once again, capturing those smirking lips in a kiss.

"Okaerinasai, Kiritsugu." He breathed against the assassin's lips, making them quirk in amusement.

"Tadaima." Kiritsugu murmured, and then, he kissed him once again.


Somewhere within Akasha, a beautiful white haired woman smiled, her ruby red eyes sparkling with happiness and relief. She giggled at the memory of her husband's cutely confused face when she met him. Really, the two of them were so cute with their cluelessness. She giggled again as she twirled in the field of flowers.

Being a Lesser Grail was not the fate she would've chosen for herself, but it was worth it, if only because she had meddled with the final choice and her boys. She closed her eyes as she remembered her astonishment when she had seen the red thread binding the duo together. Even if she had been transformed into a chalice, she knew what was going on when the two clashed against each other in the final duel. The red thread had been dancing around the duo like a tiny banner, tied to their pinky fingers while they were fighting.

She remembered her horror when the dark entity within the Grail had tried to usurp her consciousness, to corrupt the process of wishing upon the holy chalice.

No matter who would have won the wish about to be granted would only cause misery to all involved. She had been fighting the entity when the call of that fake Lesser Grail came, calling for Kirei, the strange energy already reaching to grab him, when she intervened.

It took only a moment - a moment when she felt as if she would be shattered into prafactors with the effort required to man such an influx of energy - but she managed to create the temporary bridge between the two Grails, using their Command Seals to confuse the fake Lesser Grail into taking both of them and consequently forcibly shutting down the Grail War in Fuyuki, the part of the excess energy being funneled into making the duo younger. There couldn't be Grail War if the last two masters were without their servants and commanding seals, anyway. So what if that burned out everything she got, including herself?

Kiritsugu was safe. And that was what mattered the most. She chuckled as she recalled his antics with Kirei. Or how embarrassed he was when she asked him when he would finally give in to Kirei. She never thought she would be acting as a love counselor, and giving advice to Kiritsugu - her, of all people! But it did happen, and she had to persuade the stubborn man to move forward. Even if his loyalty was commendable and she was flattered with his devotion to her, he was just silly with his blatant ignorance of feelings between him and Kirei. He had been so cute with all his hemming and hawing about honor and wanting to be faithful to her and Ilya, but she set the silly man to the rights with relative ease. And if that came with bonus of making him flush like cherry, while looking for all he was worth like a deer, caught in headlights, it had been all the better.

She sobered for a moment when her thoughts wandered to Kirei.

She didn't blame the priest for killing her. It was war, plain and simple: besides, she already got her revenge in the shape of the poor man being Kiritsugu's soul mate. Kiritsugu wasn't the easiest man to live with, and she anticipated with gleeful - and a sadistic little giggle - how their next adventure would turn out.

Score one for team Irisviel.

Smiling, she closed her eyes as she enjoyed warm sun rays caressing her pale skin.

The future was bright.

/The END/


**Notes**

Baptism Rite (adapted from Fate/Zero)

Kirei used this technique to completely destroy Voldemort. Why this technique and not Black Keys?

Baptism Rite (jap. 'Senrei eishou') is considered as the magical miracle, and because it's with accordance with the teachings of God, it's basically the Church's greatest weapon when it comes to destroying souls and spirits via the holy words of Bible. If you remember, Kirei had used it once before in this story, when he sent the Hogwarts' ghosts to the other side (golden colored blades). As this works directly on the soul, no matter how broken it was, Kirei had in essence vanquished all of Voldemort, despite of his soul being in different receptacles (cup, lock, etc.).

He didn't use the chant in front of the kids because it was simpler that way, and the Wizards knew less about him needing a chant to activate that particular technique. For Voldemort, he used it because this was his way to directly finish him off, as he still had a grudge toward him for killing Kiritsugu.

Besides, 'normal' Black Keys have whitish- pale blue blades. Blades, which are conducts for the Baptism Rite, are whitish-golden in color. The latter is the 'official' color of the Rite, in original Fate/Zero the blades are not conductors for the Rite.