Ever since she unlocked her armor, Kaede had spent several hours learning how to use a sword from Gil. Taiga was a good instructor, but only if one wanted to learn how to use a katana. Shiro was decent, but they learned early on he specialized in two sword style and a rather obscure one that Kiritsugu recognized but didn't know the name of.
Which left Gil as the only one able to train her in the use of a broadsword.
The Kaleidostick, which was thankfully not a pervert like the others, would turn into a sword on Kiritsugu could identify.
Caliburn, the sword that chose the rightful king of Britain.
According to Amethyst, this sword was preloaded into it's weapon selection by Zelretch himself, though where he found this sword which had been lost long after Alturia had taken Excalibur they had no idea. Probably snagged it from another world, Kiritsugu had reasoned.
With that sword the comparison to Saber, Alturia Pendragon, was almost impossible to ignore.
Kaede just wished that she never had to set foot in England again, because she had no desire to rule over it as the rightful heir. She had enough problems.
It didn't hurt her case that over in Britain, things had gone from poor, to worse.
Rumors spoke of the one called Voldemort somehow finding a forbidden ritual and coming back to life. Death Eaters, who had remained inactive for the better part of a decade, were dusting off their old gear in preparation for a new war.
A few months after the Tournament, the Academy got some new students from England. Shortly after their arrival and the spread of rumors of Voldemort's return, all magical travel outside of Europe ceased entirely. Old protocols from the seventies were updated, and new warnings of any terrorist attacks were made into top priority.
England and the surrounding countries might be unprepared and poorly matched for Voldemort, but everyone else was waiting for the beginnings of a new war. Europe could fall, but the world would keep on turning the second Voldemort tried to move past his isolated world.
Fred, George, and Luna were welcomed and allowed to stay in Japan once the transfer papers were finalized. Luna would live with her father, who would continue the Quibbler from their new home in Misaki city while Fred and George took up Kiritsugu's offer to stay at his house.
"What's this?" asked Kaede, looking at the box Gil had dropped in her lap.
"Open it and see," he said cryptically. Kaede was turning fifteen soon, and he had been planning this for months.
Kaede's breath caught when she saw the beautiful amethyst and diamond ring inside the box. It was charmed to fit any finger she put it on, and it was obvious what the ring was meant for.
"Gil, this is..."
Gil got on one knee and asked her the question.
"Kaede, once the Grail War is over will you marry me?" he asked.
"Oh Gil..." she said, hugging him tightly.
"Well it's about damn time!" said Rin loudly.
Kaede realized that they had an audience. Kiritsugu, Rin and Shiro had all come to watch the show.
"You knew?"
Rin rolled her eyes.
"Kaede, the only one who didn't see this coming was you. You're the closest one to Gilgamesh and everyone knows he had fallen for you by the time the two of you danced at that ball. Hell, even he knew about this coming!" said Rin, hooking a thumb at Kiritsugu.
"To be fair, he had already brought out the ring long before the second task," said Kiritsugu. Shiro nodded.
"You're not mad?" she asked him.
"Gil is likely the only person who could possibly understand you after the hell you went through. And it's not illegal so long as both parties are recognized as being human. Gil is a Servant, and the Japanese Ministry recognized him as human enough to take your place in that damn tournament. As far as I'm concerned the two of you were made for each other," said Kiritsugu flatly.
If this had been his daughter Illya, he might have raised more of a fuss, but this was Kaede. Kaede needed someone who she knew she could trust to be there for her when things were at their worst, and there was no one better to stand by her than Gil.
"Besides..." Kiritsugu added as an afterthought. They all looked at him, "It will be amusing to see the look on Alturia's face when she realizes that her granddaughter is betrothed to the same Servant who kept trying to get into her pants during the last war."
Kaede grinned outright evilly.
"I can't wait for the war to start... when Saber comes back the first thing I'm going to say to her is 'Hi Grandma!' Think she'll faint?" asked Kaede innocently.
Gil snorted before he laughed outright.
"If you do that then please, make sure someone has a magical camera to capture her reaction to the fact she's a grandmother and that I'm your boyfriend!" he said laughing.
Oh yes, Alturia Pendragon was in for a lot of ribbing once the Grail Wars started up again.
Sirius Black, godfather of Rowena Potter, was not having a good time. After the near ill-fated adventure almost two years ago, he had thought his goddaughter was safe at Hogwarts.
He found out the hard way that not only was Rowena missing since she was seven, but that she had never stepped foot in the school. It was only thanks to a brilliant muggleborn witch and some good luck that he had escaped the school again with his life.
He had spent the next year and a half looking for his goddaughter. Remus had helped once Snivillus had let it be known that Remus was a werewolf, forcing him to resign. Neither of them had relied on the help of the old crowd, seeing as how it was Dumbledore's fault Rowena had gone missing in the first place. He never should have placed her with Petunia.
Finally the two of them ended up in Japan, after they heard a comment about the barbarians in the East and Remus had put two-and-two together.
They were picked up by the Japanese Guardians five minutes after Sirius' magical signature was registered in the land.
It took them three days and two interrogations before they were permitted to leave the Guardian's temple in Kyoto.
Sirius and Remus were tired. Nearly two years of searching and they still had no idea where Rowena was. Unfortunately Sirius couldn't access his vaults from England since Japan had banned any transport from that area once it was confirmed Voldemort had returned. So Remus decided to try another go at teaching. He found a job at a magical academy between Fuyuki and Tokyo.
Sirius acted as Remus' familiar, since it would be better than to chance fate after all the wanted posters.
"Welcome to the Academy Lupin-san. I hear that you are a werewolf," said Headmaster Sasuke.
Remus tensed.
"Relax. We in Japan do not hold the same bigoted prejudice towards those cursed by the lunar wolf that the Europeans have. So long as you do not purposely bite a student or harm others you will have no trouble from any of the staff or the students. Now I can only assume this is Black-san?"
Sirius shifted into his human form.
"Please, call me Sirius. Hearing someone call me Mr. Black makes me want to look for my father," said Sirius.
Sasuke looked at how frail Sirius was.
"Perhaps a few months in the Academy will do you two good...the both of you look like death warmed over. Now, from what my sources have told me you two have spent the better part of nearly two years looking for Rowena Potter?" he said.
The two wizards froze.
"You know where she is?"
"I do. Unfortunately due to circumstances from before she became a student, it would be ill-advised for you two to meet her at this time. There is also the fact that your Ministry recently tried to force her into a tournament that could very well have killed her last year," said Sasuke.
"What circumstances?" asked Sirius, his mouth dry.
"Both of you should sit down for this."
The headmaster told them of the trauma Kaede had suffered before her arrival and subsequent adoption in Japan, and how she had legally changed her name to avoid the English. How the British Ministry had tried to force her to participate in the Tri-Wizard tournament only to be foiled by Kaede's familiar Gil.
If they hadn't been sitting down, Sirius and Remus might have fallen over in shock at the news they had been given. Sirius looked horrified at the abuse his goddaughter had suffered because he had put revenge first.
"There is some good news however. Kaede-san has almost recovered to the abuse and is able to handle being around people in small doses. However she does occasionally suffer relapses. If you were to come up to her without warning, she might not want to be around the two of you. If you really want to meet her properly, you'll have to go slowly so she can get used to being around you," he told them.
"Forget Dumbledore. I'm not leaving her twice, especially not after hearing how she suffered under that woman's care!" said Sirius vehemently.
"I agree. The Order can go hang themselves...Rowena...no, Kaede, needs us more than Dumbledore does," said Remus.
"Good. Now you'll be happy to hear that we can put the two of you on the staff if you wish, and you can use this time to recover from the past decade or so. Forcing the werewolf down has done you no favors Lupin-san, and you look like you might need some therapy after the damage the dementors did to you Sirius-san," said Sasuke.
"It would probably be best if I did go though therapy. I would likely terrify my poor goddaughter if she saw me right now," said Sirius chuckling.
Kaede went with Gil to the Headmaster's office. The only time students were brought in was if they had done something really bad, or serious news had arrived. She just hoped it wasn't more English come to try and take her away.
"Emiya-san. Gil-san. Please sit. I have news you two will want to hear," he said.
"It's not more English is it?" asked Kaede.
"More English," he confirmed, before adding, "But these at least have seen the light of reason."
Gil snorted in disbelief. An English Magical with reason? He would believe it when he saw it.
"Quite. Now a month ago two English wizards came to our shores and one of them registered as the escaped convict known as Black Sirius. We've recently changed his status from 'criminal' to 'refugee'" said the headmaster.
"I take it that's not all?" said Gil, his arm around his fiancee.
"Sirius Black and Remus Lupin found their way to the Academy. Both are teaching classes, though Sirius is undergoing therapy for the years he spent in Azkaban illegally. I have informed them that you are here Kaede, but they've agreed to wait until you're ready to meet them before they try to talk to you. After hearing how badly Dumbledore screwed up by leaving you at your so-called maternal aunt's home, they are not inclined to remove you from Japan."
"What do you mean Dumbledore left her in that house?" said Gil angrily.
"According to Lupin, Dumbledore, McGonagall and Hagrid were there when he left Kaede on the woman's doorstep. Hagrid was inconsolable and the woman warned Dumbledore repeatedly that those people weren't the best placement for you. From what Remus heard she had spent the entire day watching them."
Kaede looked beyond angry. She was furious. Gil looked even more pissed.
"Another thing you should be aware of is that Lupin-san is a werewolf. Black is an animagus."
"Are you sure they won't try anything?" asked Gil.
"Like I said, I gave them the terms for them to meet her openly. Black is undergoing therapy and Remus will wait until you are ready to meet him first. They seemed ready to rip these...people...to shreds when I told them of the years of therapy you had to go through before you could handle being around men."
Kaede winced at the reminder. That had not been the best part of her life. She had gotten over her fear, but she would always avoid men, particularly if they were yelling.
Gil had learned the hard way never to raise his voice in her presence. While she would still stay around him when he was shouting, that didn't mean she wouldn't flinch.
"Coincidentally, congratulations on your betrothal Kaede and Gil," said Sasuke winking at them both.
"You knew?" she said.
"There's an ongoing bet between the staff and the students as to when Gil would propose. Suffice to say you two won me the pot since I had wagered on it within a year after the tournament those idiot English had set up," he said laughing.
Kaede pouted, but her eyes were laughing. Gil smirked.
Six months later...
Sirius was practically wearing down a grove into the floor. It had taken the better part of a year before the therapist had cleared him to meet Kaede. Of course she had also warned of the girl having a very overprotective boyfriend, but Sirius could care less about that part.
So long as this Gil never hurt his goddaughter, he wouldn't mind if the boy was a werewolf or a vampire. Though from the rumors he had heard, this kid looked like a vampire...
"Sirius, sit down already!" said Remus tiredly.
Japan had been good for the two of them. Some of the gray in Remus' hair had started to go back to brown, and Sirius looked like he had quite a few good meals under his belt.
There was a knock at the door, and it slid open. A red haired boy with brown eyes walked in with a girl that had black hair in twin tails and a red outfit.
Sirius looked at Remus. He shook his head. This wasn't Kaede...besides she was far too confident from the report the headmaster had given.
Suddenly Remus stiffened. His inner wolf was yelling at him to get the hell out of there and now before he was killed. Wondering who could cause that reaction he tensed visibly as a blond boy with bright red eyes walked in like he owned the place...next to a red and gold haired girl with green.
Sirius took one look at the second girl and knew without a doubt that this was Kaede. Her eyes were pure Lily, though he had to wonder why her hair was such an odd color.
Having streaks of blond amid the red is not normal unless you were a metamorphamagus. And last time he checked, his goddaughter wasn't one of those.
Gil looked at Black first. He seemed to be the bigger threat.
"So...you are Kaede's godfather," he said calmly.
"I take it you're the boyfriend?" he said in return.
"Gilgamesh of Uruk," he said flatly. Remus choked behind Sirius, recognizing the name immediately.
"Sirius Orion Black," he said in return.
The two snorted, having sized each other up and dismissed the other.
"For the love of kami, pack it in already!" said Rin.
Kaede snorted. Trust Rin to diffuse the situation.
"So...why is your hair two different colors?" asked Remus, trying to ignore the golden-haired teen in the room for fear that he would kill him on the spot.
"We suspect that her body is changing in response to a Sorcery that is slowly taking hold. Being able to sustain a Servant, especially Saber class, before learning about any magic is nearly impossible. However if she had been born with a predisposition to a specific Sorcery, then it might be possible," said Gil.
"Sorcery?" said Sirius.
"The Third True magic, or the Materialization of the Soul. Basically she would be a walking prana battery," said Gil.
Sirius looked torn between horrified and intrigued. Wizards considered the soul sacred, and even the idea of harming it was deemed beyond dark magic. There was a reason why they hated Horcruxes.
Remus had no such reservations.
"What is the difference between Sorcery and Magic?" he asked.
Rin recited the poem to describe the five remaining True Magics. Any true Magus knew of it.
"The beginning first changed everything.
The following second acknowledged many.
The resulting third showed the future.
The linking fourth concealed itself.
And the final fifth had already lost its meaning."
(Taken from the Type-Moon wiki.)
"Kaede, from what we know, has the potiential to unlock the third true magic, what some call the Heaven's Feel. We don't know what would trigger her gaining the Third True Magic, but we know it will happen sometime during the Fifth Grail War at least," said Gil.
"Fascinating," said Remus.
As they chatted, Kaede stayed close to Gil, but she hadn't run from the room screaming yet either. Considering how this meeting could have gone, that was actually a good thing. Sirius and Remus were allowed to be within five feet of her, but only as long as Gil came with her. At least they had made a start.