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

Jewels and Crows

Chapter 9

Rin reached out and pulled. "Hey…!" Sakura protested as Rin pulled away the red ribbon which kept her hair tied back into a ponytail. "Give it back!"

Rin just laughed at her sister as Sakura lunged for the ribbon. Rin danced away, and then stepping into Sakura's guard forced her to a halt. As Sakura gasped in surprise, Rin reached up and tied the ribbon around a lock of hair on the left side of her face. "There we go." She said cheerfully. "That looks much nicer than a ponytail."

Sakura looked mutinous, but a laugh from Kariya stopped her. She glanced at her uncle, who nudged her along. "Now, now…" he said. "…don't argue. And I have to agree, that looks better on you than a ponytail."

Sakura grumbled incoherently under her breath, but subsided. Kariya smiled at the woman beside him and shrugged helplessly as Sakura yelped, dragged along by her sister into the crowd thronging around the festival stands. "Don't run now…" Aoi called after them. "…and don't forget your manners."

"Yes!"

Kariya waved after them, and then regarded Aoi briefly. As might be expected, she was dressed for the occasion though in a way that reflected her age: a yukata with a matching obi in dark blue, the former tastefully decorated with hexagonal frames in yellow and red. Kariya wore a similar yukata, only dark violet instead of blue and without any decorations.

In contrast, both Rin and Sakura wore more elaborate attire for the occasion, both wearing full kimonos as opposed to mere yukata. Rin's kimono was a bright red, with obi in orange folded in places to expose in contrast the green underside, and an under-robe in pale lavender. The kimono was decorated with images of plum blossoms, and embroidered stars ran diagonally along her skirt.

Sakura's kimono though – purchased for her by Aoi – was black with an under-robe of red and decorated with flowers and leaves, the former in various shades of yellow, blue and red. Her obi was a dark red, also folded in places to expose the golden underside. The kimono was well-received, though Sakura hadn't actually said anything. She'd simply held the kimono tight, and then letting it fall ran to and hugged her mother in silence.

That was thanks enough, and no one brought it up.

"It's such a shame." Kariya observed.

"Hmm…?" Aoi said as she led Aoi towards a stand selling takoyaki. "What is?"

"Those two…" Kariya said. "…it's only at times like this do they actually act their age."

"It's not like they've any opportunity to act it anywhere or anytime else." Aoi said with a sigh. The two of them waited silently in the line, and then after buying their snacks walked towards a quiet spot in the nearby park.

"So…" Kariya began lamely after they finished eating. He paused and scratched his head. "…how are things?"

"Things…?" Aoi echoed.

"Yeah, you know…things…" Kariya fumbled. Aoi gaped at him for a moment, and then began to laugh. She laughed for several moments, all the while Kariya glanced sourly at her before sulking.

"Sorry, sorry…" she said. "…I can't help it it's just that…the way you were talking just now…it's just…it's just like we went back in time you know? Back when we were younger and…"

"Things were less complicated." Kariya finished for her before taking a deep breath. "Yeah I suppose that's true. Where did all the years ago?"

"I wonder about that too." Aoi said, sighing and leaning against a nearby plinth. This deep in an urban area, few stars were visible over the lights of the city at night, but even so she enjoyed what she could see. Around them and a short distance away she could hear the sounds of the crowd, people laughing, chatting, talking and shouting among other things, just the perfectly-normal doings of ordinary people at a festival. "I've seen better days."

"Did you come down with something?" Kariya asked with sudden concern.

"Not really…" Aoi said with another sigh. "…I'm just…tired, I guess. There's just so much to do and…"

Aoi paused and sighed again. "Rin helps out around the house." She said. "But between her schooling and her magical training, there's only so much she can do. But I…I have to manage both the house and the family properties. I'm handling things fine but still, I won't be grumbling when I have to dump the latter on Rin when she gets old enough."

"Hey, hey…" Kariya said with a teasing smile and tone. "…that doesn't sound like you."

"I guess not." Aoi said with a laugh. "Alright how about this: when she comes of age, it will be both an obligation and a privilege to return to her what is rightfully hers."

"Stop that!" Kariya said, though his badly-hidden smile was a stark contrast to his stern voice. "You sounded like Tokiomi just now."

Aoi smiled cheekily at him. "Well…" he said. "…he was my husband."

Kariya made an uncomfortable sound at that, though Aoi was polite not to press the issue. In hindsight she probably shouldn't have brought it up, given the…rocky relationship between her late husband and her best friend. "How about you?" she asked in an effort to keep the conversation going while steering it to safer ground. "How are things on your end?"

Kariya coughed, and then he sighed. "To borrow your words…" he said. "…I've seen better days. Though, from the sound of things you might have it easier than I do."

"Oh?"

"Just like you I have to manage most of the housework – Shinji and Sakura help out when they can thankfully – along with the family properties." Kariya said heavily. "Zouken's input and output is needed for anything major since he's the family head, but seeing as he's so…busy, with his research I'm practically in charge. The problem though is…Byakuya. He's always been a drunk but recently he's…gotten worse. I won't go into the details but let's just say that even Zouken's beginning to be fed up with him."

At one point I had to step in to stop Zouken and Sakura from murdering him on the spot. Though considering what he did…what he tried to do…no, no I don't want Sakura to be a murderer. Never that…it's true that magi walk with death but even so…!

"That bad, huh…?" Aoi said, taking and squeezing Kariya's hand reassuringly. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Why?" Kariya asked, genuinely puzzled. "You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for."

Aoi smiled and shook her head. "Just…sympathy…" she said. "…and besides, he's your brother isn't he? Deep down, you still care for him."

"Blood is thicker than water…?"

Aoi shrugged while leaning back. "I'm not really sure if I can believe that." She said with just the slightest hint of bitterness. "Once I might have, no I did believe once, but now…? After…after…"

She fell silent, her voice trailing off as she looked down with a mixed expression of sadness, regret, bitterness, and self-loathing on her face. "It's alright." Kariya said, suppressing the urge to hug her in favour of a reassuring squeeze of the hand still in his. "She doesn't blame you. I don't. Both of us know you had no real choice in the matter."

"That's cold comfort." Aoi murmured. "And it's a lie as far as I'm concerned. Well not really, just a convenient and hollow excuse. She's my daughter. I bore her. I gave birth to her. And when Tokiomi made his decision, I just swallowed the bile and nodded my head, parroted the words he wanted to hear, and let her go. I let her go. I let her go."

"Aoi…"

The woman in question didn't respond, and Kariya briefly subsided. And then taking a deep breath, he pulled her close and hugged her. Aoi's eyes widened in shock, her hands moving to push him away, and then she relaxed as she felt his hands patting her on the back. "It's alright." He told her. "Don't be so hard on yourself. Sakura's already forgiven you, assuming she even blamed you in the first place."

"How can you be…?"

"Okay she probably did blame you…" Kariya conceded, still whispering in Aoi's ear. "…for a while at least, but think about it. Would she have been so…welcoming a few years back in London and today of all times if she still blamed you?"

"I…"

Kariya pulled back, but kept his hands on her arms. He smiled at her. "I have never blamed you for what's happened." She said. "Am I still your best friend?"

"Always…" she said at once, and Kariya's smile widened.

"Then take my advice…" he said. "…forgive yourself, because the one you've wronged has already forgiven you. Don't you think you're making light of her forgiveness by still blaming yourself?"

Aoi looked down, and slowly nodded. "You…you're probably right…" she said. "…but…can I just really…"

"Eh…" Kariya said while rubbing the back of his head. "…I'm not saying that you can let it all go in one night, but…agreeing to stopping from blaming yourself as a first step works fine."

Aoi stared at Kariya, looking at him in the eyes. Kariya looked uncomfortable, but didn't break the stare either. After a few moments, Aoi looked away, her face showing herself deep in thought. And then she took a deep breath, and nodded. "Yes…" she said. "…the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. So…yes, taking this step is…good…"

"That's the spirit." Kariya said, stepping back and patting her reassuringly on a shoulder. Aoi looked at him slyly.

"You can be pretty cool at times, do you know that?" she asked, and she laughed as Kariya laughed nervously while looking away with a small blush. "Thanks…for being my friend, for taking care of Sakura, for tonight, and…well, everything. I wouldn't have it any other way."

Kariya smiled a bittersweet smile. "You're welcome." He said. "Though, I also have to thank you for being my friend too. It goes both ways, don't you know?"

"Yes I guess it does." Aoi agreed with another laugh, tilting her head curiously as Kariya gestured at the festival grounds.

"Come on…" he said. "…let's go see some of the sights. And we need to find the girls too. I'll buy you a snow cone too, if I remember right you used to like Uji Golden Hour don't you?"

"I did, and I still do." Aoi said, stepping forward and walking with Kariya back to the festival grounds. "Thanks for the offer, and I accept. There's just one problem though: how do we find the girls in this mess?"

Kariya grinned and whistled. They stopped walking, and then a few moments later a raven circled down and landed on Kariya's outstretched arm. "I didn't know you could use…" Aoi said, trailing off and not using the 'm' word.

"I don't." Kariya said, stroking the big black bird on the back. "I just have a contract with a few of Sakura's…friends."

Kariya fell silent, staring at the raven for a few moments before it gave a cry and flew off in a whirl of black feathers. "Shall we go?" Kariya asked, offering an arm which Aoi accepted. "Also, I don't think we really need to hurry, but from the look of things Rin's burning through her allowance fast thanks to that competitive streak of hers."

"Oh?" Aoi asked with a sly tone so reminiscent of her eldest. "And Sakura's not competitive?"

"Okay so she is, but she has a tendency to look at things in the long view." Kariya conceded. "Zouken taught her that. Don't win today, but tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that and so on."

"My…" Aoi remarked cheerfully. "…is that criticism I hear?"

"Wait, that's not what I…!"

Aoi laughed and nudged Kariya in the ribs, the man muttering to himself while rubbing his head in embarrassment. Aoi smiled at the sight, and took a liberating breath. It had been…too long since she felt this relieved, this…relaxed. She needed to do this some more.

And it's not like her best friend wouldn't mind helping her relieve her stress wouldn't he? And it wasn't like she wouldn't be relieving his stress too. It would work out for the both of them.

Chatting about their everyday lives and its comings and goings, they passed through the crowd to where the two girls that were the centre of their existence were waiting. Along the way they passed by a snow cone stand, Kariya buying a blueberry-flavoured one for himself, and an Uji Golden Hour-flavoured cone for Aoi.

As they approached where Sakura and Rin were supposed to be, they noticed a rather larger crowd than usual surrounding it. Sharing concerned glances, they stepped closer and pushed their way to the crowd, slipping to the front just in time to overhear Rin give a particularly vile oath in German.

"Rin…!" Aoi chastened her, causing the eleven year-old to jump in surprise.

"M-mother…?" she gasped. "W-what are you…?"

"Busted…" Sakura remarked deadpan, though her eyes glittered with amusement. She was holding a half-eaten snow cone in one hand, her other hand holding a plastic spoon. Kariya glanced at it, and noticed that she had the same flavour as Aoi's: Uji Golden Hour. He then glanced to where Rin was trying to excuse her foul language to her mother, and noticed the half-melted strawberry-flavoured snow cone beside the girl.

"How long have you been here?" he asked.

"This is just the second stall we've…patronized since we bought our snow cones." Sakura supplied helpfully.

"Don't tell me…" Kariya began incredulously while watching as Rin – who he noticed was looking more than a little wild – tried to catch a goldfish with a paper scoop. The paper melted apart in the water, eliciting an amused response from the crowd and even Aoi (who masked her amused smile with a hand). Needless to say, Rin was not amused.

"Yup…" Sakura said while spooning another spoonful of flavoured ice into her mouth. "…we've been here for nearly half-an-hour now."

"It's been an hour since we came here." Kariya said just as incredulously. Sakura nodded as Rin gave a sound of disgust and frustration. Before Sakura could say anything to that Rin was up on her feet and standing right in front of her. She held out a hand.

"What?" Sakura asked with a suspicious expression and tone.

"I'm out of money." Rin replied to the amusement of the crowd, the staff, and Aoi, while Kariya palmed his face. "Give me some."

"I don't want to!" Sakura refused. "Why do I have to give you money for a goldfish? And it's not like you'll actually catch it."

"Stop being so stingy, so come on…! And I'll catch one, you'll see, I just need a few more chances."

"No!"

Kariya palmed his face again as Rin and Sakura began pawing at each other – well Rin mostly – the former trying to cajole the latter into giving her some of her allowance while the latter tried to fend the former off without spilling her snow cone. Aoi nudged him in the ribs and winked. Kariya rolled his eyes and with a sigh stepped forward. "Hey come on you two…" he said as he placed his hands on their shoulders and gently pushed them apart. "…you're making a scene and…"

Suddenly Kariya's mobile phone was ringing, and with a sigh he reached into his pocket and pulled it out. "Zouken…?" he muttered as he saw who was calling. He answered at once. "Kariya speaking…WHAT…?"

Rin and Sakura blinked at their uncle's wide-eyed exclamation, and then glanced at each other.

"Come on dad, you can do it!" Shirou encouraged his father as Kiritsugu wound his arm back to take a shot. Kiritsugu wondered where all that confidence was coming from, and then discarded it as a pointless.

Even if he goes up against Altrouge Brunestud, I'm sure my boy will stay cheerful even as she sinks her fangs into his neck.

Fighting off the disturbing mental imagery that came with the thought, Kiritsugu turned back to the game. Though his strength had since left him, he should still be strong enough for this. He threw the wiffle ball and watched it bounce off the stacked bottles.

"Sorry sir." The man working the counter said. "But they're full of water. It's not going to be as easy as it looks."

Kiritsugu shot him a sour look and then picked up another wiffle ball. The man just shrugged it off. Kiritsugu paused to think. The water bottles were arranged like a pyramid, with three bottles on the bottom, two above them, and one on top. In hindsight considering how light a wiffle ball was compared to a bottle filled with water…

…yeah, just throwing wiffle balls at the whole thing would be an exercise in futility.

I've gotten short-sighted. In the past I'd never have forgotten to think first before acting. But then again…it's been a while since I couldn't afford to just take things as they come.

Kiritsugu drew his arm back, and threw. The wiffle ball struck true, knocking one of the bottles on the bottom slightly out of alignment. Smiling, Kiritsugu picked up another wiffle ball and threw it again. Again, another bottle was pushed out of alignment, and Kiritsugu then threw another ball.

This one brought the whole stack falling down, and this time it was Kiritsugu's turn to smirk at the surly counter operator. Kiritsugu stood back as the man handed the desired doll to Shirou, who thanked him for it before turning to Kiritsugu. Kiritsugu raised an amused eyebrow.

"I didn't know you were into dolls, Shirou." He observed, and Shirou scowled.

"It's not for me!" he said. "It's for Fuji-nee! You know she's been down recently since she found out that jerk of a boyfriend she had was two-timing her. So I want to give her something to cheer her up, so yeah, here we go!"

Considering that the doll in question is a tiger, it might have the opposite effect.

But then again, Taiga isn't stupid or petty either, and she'd probably see that Shirou just genuinely just wants to cheer her up.

"That's a good idea." Kiritsugu said with a nod and a pat on Shirou's head. "After what's happened, she could use some cheering up."

Not that Taiga is in any way depressed, more…broody and sulky. Well what did you expect? She was cheated on after all. Though what she did to the poor bastard with a shinai…ouch…

He did have it coming though.

Taking a deep breath as he felt a wave of heaviness and weariness rise up from inside, Kiritsugu placed a hand on Shirou's shoulder. "Sorry Shirou…" he said. "…but do you mind if we go and sit for a while? I just…need a bit of a rest."

Shirou nodded. "Okay." He said, and accompanied his father to a sitting area a short walk away. For a few minutes they just sat there, Kiritsugu taking several deep breaths to calm his frail body down while Shirou sat holding his doll close, his legs swinging back and forth. Finally Kiritsugu managed to recover what little strength he had, and reaching into a pocket pulled out some money and handed it to Shirou.

"Why don't you go buy us some dinner?" he asked with a smile. "I'll be waiting for you here. We'll have dinner while we wait for the fireworks to start, and then we can go home."

"Home…?" Shirou echoed.

"Yeah sorry, but…" Kiritsugu said with an apologetic note. "…the crowds and all are taking a lot out of me."

"Sorry dad…" Shirou said with a downcast expression. "…I shouldn't have asked you to…"

"Oh it's fine Shirou…" Kiritsugu cut him off with a wave of a hand. "…I don't mind. And besides, that counter was more than a bit too high for you to throw balls over. Damn bastard's trying to scam kids."

"I could have stepped back to get some distance…"

"And got in the way of the crowd…?"

"Point…"

"Well Shirou…" Kiritsugu said. "…there's nothing wrong with asking for help from others. There's no need for anyone to be able to bear everything on their shoulders."

Shirou stared blankly at Kiritsugu at that, and Kiritsugu chuckled. "Well I guess that was vague." He admitted. "From that game earlier, well you could have stood or sat on a stool or a box or something to be able to throw the balls over the countertop. Or, you could have asked a friend, a relative, or a companion to do it for you. Just like earlier…"

"But…" Shirou said. "…it feels like a shortcut somehow."

Kiritsugu laughed and ruffled Shirou's hair. "That…? Coming from someone who asked me to win the doll for him?" he asked, and Shirou laughed with embarrassment.

"I was just…trying to get you involved…" Shirou said. "…you seemed a bit down lately so…"

"I see." Kiritsugu said. "Sorry, I should have noticed. But going back to your 'shortcut', wouldn't you say the same thing about standing on a stool or any similar solution to a problem you're facing?"

"That's different."

"How so…?"

"You're still the one putting effort into it, only you're just using tools to make it easier." Shirou said piously. "Asking someone to do something for you just seems, well…"

"I'm not saying you should ask someone to do things for you." Kiritsugu said. "I'm saying you should ask someone to help you with what you can't do on your own."

"I'm…not really sure how that works back there." Shirou replied. "Helping means you all do your part right? But back there, you did all the work."

"Yes I did." Kiritsugu said. "And that's what 'helping' is all about. You do what others can't do but need to do. And you needed that doll to cheer Taiga up, didn't you? Only you couldn't get it on your own, not without too much fuss or inconveniencing others."

"I think I understand."

"Hmm…" Kiritsugu hummed. "…no, I don't think you do, not really. Then let me put it this way: it's the same as being a parent."

"A parent…?"

"Yes…" Kiritsugu said with a nod. "…children can't take care of themselves, so their parents take care of them for them…"

"Dad, that doesn't make sense." Shirou cut in incredulously. "It's not a matter of helping, seeing as it's the parents' job to take care of their children."

Kiritsugu laughed and scratched at a cheek. "Well that's true." He said. "Damn I'm really bad at explaining this kind of thing. I'd never cut it as a teacher."

"No, don't say that dad." Shirou said with a reassuring touch of Kiritsugu's arm. "I really did get it, and even before Waver-nii began teaching me magic, I learned a lot from you."

False…I barely taught you anything, and I didn't even notice that you were slowly killing yourself.

"Oh?" Kiritsugu commented. "Then explain what I just taught you about helping."

"It's like a pair of knights you see, both surrounded by enemies." Shirou answered. "But since each knight can only fight the enemies in front of him, he'll ask for help by asking his fellow knight to watch his back for him."

"Oh so you do understand." Kiritsugu said, ruffling Shirou's hair with a grin. Shirou grinned at Kiritsugu, and then standing handed him the doll. "Going to buy dinner…?"

"Yup…" Shirou said with a nod. "…you'll be waiting here, won't you?"

"Of course…" Kiritsugu replied. "…and if we finish early, I know a place from where we can see the fireworks better. It's a bit of a walk though, so you should hurry if we're to finish eating before the fireworks start."

Shirou nodded and ran off, leaving Kiritsugu alone. Once the boy was out of sight, Kiritsugu finally allowed his face to fall into his hands, breathing heavily. It took several moments for him to recover from this latest bout of weakness, and then he fell back against the bench. For a while he stared up at what few stars could be seen from an urban area like Fuyuki, and then he stared down at his bony, withered hands.

He clenched them, half-remembered battles coming to mind when those hands were strong, firm, and healthy, carrying weapons to kill his enemies with. He doubted if the same hands could do so now, not that he had any reason to do so again.

Angra Mainyu hates you.

Kiritsugu took a deep breath, running a hand over his face. "It's almost over now." He whispered. "I don't know how long I've got left, maybe a couple of days or weeks or months at most, maybe even tomorrow at the earliest. That's why…that's…"

Angra Mainyu curses you.

"I don't care." Kiritsugu whispered, letting his face fall into his hands again. "I saved the world. I burned so many people to death, and scarred and traumatized so many more, just another step along the path of least bloodshed, and my last. I won't go back to it, nor do I have any desire to do so."

Why?

"I can't die yet." Kiritsugu said as he remembered getting 'spat out' of the oozing mass of pure evil, and confronted by the last remaining active Master of the previous war. "I'm going to die soon. I know that much."

Why did you reject it? You've killed so much for that insane dream of yours, so much so that the Grail agreed to grant your wish over mine, and yet…

"But before that…" Kiritsugu whispered, looking back up at the sky. "…I have something to pass on to Shirou. Something more valuable…more important…than any money or property…"

Yes…I would have accepted what it might have offered me. A magus must be willing to sacrifice anything, his Humanity, his family, even the world itself, to reach the Root. That is our pride, a purity of purpose greater than those of mere spell-casters much less mundane Humans.

"I'll be seeing you soon, Iri." Kiritsugu said with a smile to the stars in the sky. "Even if that abomination took your body, I believe your soul is somewhere out there, waiting for me. Just wait a bit longer…just a bit…just long enough for me to give my last gift to Shirou…and then…and then…I can tell…I can tell you how sorry I am…I couldn't…I couldn't save you…save Illya…and how much I…"

Kiritsugu trailed off, closing his eyes and taking another deep breath.

A gunshot rang in the night amidst the flames, Tokiomi Tohsaka's corpse falling with his head in ruins. The Thompson fell to the Magus Killer's side, his arm slack, and with an expression of grim determination on his face he went to make the greatest sacrifice for the sake of peace in his whole life.

And after that, he would truly save the one and only life he could in his entire existence.

A/N

Will I pair them up, or will I not? Hmm…we shall see. I will enjoy what is to come, of that there is no doubt.

Rin is competitive like that. Not-broken Sakura…she should be like that too, but as Kariya said, and considering Zouken's personality and style (even if he has…'mellowed out' a bit) yeah, she'd probably have been taught to think long-term/big in terms of competition. Going back to Rin, yeah I know she could have reinforced the paper scoop, but using magic in public aside, I'd like to believe that someone like her who upholds 'proper behaviour and the like' would prefer to fight/compete fair.

Granted she's probably not averse to using underhanded methods if she has to, but generally she's a good person (although she does have bad traits one of which landed her a fate worse than death in an HF Bad End).