Ch 10: Rin's Roundabout Quest

School had ended, the sun had set and I was seeing that fake priest of all people. The little white haired brat was behind me with a sour face. Our Servants were waiting outside and hopefully nothing will happen. The annoying brat isn't someone that breaks promises so easily and that's really the only good point about her. Despite all her posturing, she didn't seem to know much about the Emiya family or the world in general for that matter. I would have found her pitiful, if not for the content of her character. Still, I could tell that brat wasn't lying or misleading me. That's a lot more that can be said about the fake priest in front of me.

"You didn't answer my repeated calls and yet now you bring a guest. Hmm..did you surrender already Rin, without fighting no less?," he says in that annoying way that no one else can replicate.

If anything can be said about the priest, is that he helped me temper my patience. There was no one more annoying than him after all.

"Kirei, as a participant in the last Grail War, does the name Emiya ring a bell?"

I can sense his surprise, but more importantly, I can feel him smiling, while trying to keep himself composed. He found something really funny, and considering his sense of humor, something was up.

"Yes, Emiya was a competitor in the last Holy Grail War, but how does that pertain to you?" he says to me.

"An Emiya is the Master of Saber."

There is a short pause. He was clearly grinning right now.

"And?" he responds.

"Emiya, dubbed the "Magus Killer" was living in this very city and you didn't notify me, the Second Owner for how many years?"

He's supposed to be my legal guardian, but why do I expect anything of him? This man who deliberately gifts me clothes for my birthday that I would look bad in.

"Anyone with a connection to the moonlit world should know the name Magus Killer, are you saying you didn't find out until now?" is what he says through his teeth.

"Yeah, Rin is pretty hopeless," the brat behind me adds in.

I'll ignore those words for now. From my sources, I knew that the Magus Killer was the boogeyman of my parent's generation. A freelancer not bound to any organization. Even that fake priest while working as an executor answered to the church. The white haired brat described her father as a cheater, but that's what made him scary. Magical or mundane, he did not overlook any method on his hunt. He did not have pride as a magus, but in that sense, he was truer than the real thing. Even magi followed certain conventions, but he ignored them. He did not let anything sway him from his goals, whatever they were. No pride in his victories and no pity for the defeated. A machine chasing his own death. That was what I knew at face value from secondary sources, but Kirei was a primary source.

"I'll be brief. The Magus Killer died 5 years ago. The Holy Grail War 10 years ago was the last time he had been seen operating professionally, so I didn't think you really needed to know. It would only have been an unnecessary burden on you," he says in a tone that contains no concern.

"He was one of the three, including you who came out of the last Holy Grail War alive, so you must know something about him and his family after fighting against him."

"So, you've already phoned up the Clock Tower," were words with genuine surprise.

"Surprisingly talkative. Something about him being obligated to tell the story of his king."

The words of the fake priest could never be trusted, but as long as there were multiple accounts available to me, I can sift out the incongruities. What I know was that Lord El-Melloi II's predecessor was killed by the Magus Killer, but other than that, Lord El-Melloi II, stressing the second claimed that he did not interact much with the other contestants; it was a death battle after all. Still, it was pretty fishy that he participated in the very competition in which his predecessor died. Something must have been up, but the only other first hand account available to me was the one I was getting from the fake priest right at this moment.

"Then I don't have anything new to tell you." were of course what he would say.

"W-wait."

"Give it up Rin, I don't think this person knows anything and wouldn't tell us anything even if he did," Illya says with a sigh.

I wait, staring down the priest. The brat doesn't know, but Kirei was always like this. Have patience. Observe, analyze, then act. Forget the Magus Killer, focus on the present.

"Y-you….just tell me about the kids of his living in this city."

"The orphans from the fire? Well, what is there to say? That man found them in the fire and took them in," were the honest words of the fake priest.

If there was no blood relation, then the degree of which mage-craft can be passed was limited. Just as with Kirei, there was a limit my father could teach him. Reinforcement and the healing arts were things I knew for certain he was adept in. Still, there are many cases of magi acquiring children for experimentation. A magus adopting too many kids at once just draws the eyes of the heretic hunters.

"Can you say those kids are completely human?"

Noble Phantasms are not meant for human hands. There are only a handful of exceptions and I didn't want to face them in this war. Still, the Noble Phantasms that girl used clearly belonged to Saber and Lancer of this war. The bow Emiya used was the same as Archer's, though I couldn't call either bows a Noble Phantasm, though the strange arrow he had yesterday was undoubtedly one.

"What is this now?" the priest speaks with something akin to glee bubbling on the surface.

There is a long pause.

"To be a survivor is one thing, but for a new life to be conceived in a place where all manner of life was being consumed, could such a thing be called anything but a miracle?"

The contents of the Holy Grail were spilled 10 years ago. That was the truth of a fire. For a young boy to survive was one thing, but for a newborn child, such a child should have been the first to die in such a tragedy, yet to be as healthy as she is today, it couldn't have been natural. No, maybe she's completely unrelated to the fire and the fire was simply used as a cover story by the Magus Killer to facilitate the fabrication of a family registry. Still….

"Are you just having fun with semantics?"

I was about to ask what had happened to the orphans that survived which were supposed to be under the protection of the church, but I really didn't want to know. It was just one of the many things that made me wary of the fake priest. No matter what anyone says, that man is a "fake". What does it say about me that I'm turning to such a man for information?

"All I have is conjecture and I doubt it would be of much use to you," was that fake priest continuing to be cheeky.

"The younger Emiya, his activities these past 10 years, you helped cover them up didn't you? You must know something about what he was up to."

"If I must confess, back then, you weren't truly ready to act as the Second Owner. If you must know, the heir of Emiya was simply undergoing something akin to mock training. Rest assured, he wasn't harming any of the locals, in fact, his actions simplified some work for me," he continues to say without elaborating.

"He knew that the war would start 50 years early?"

"The previous war ended without a result by the Magus Killer's own hand, so the accumulated magical energy was simply carried over. The Einzbern master beside you can explain in it better than I can," were his words as his eyes turned to face the brat beside me. The brat simply sticks her tongue out in response. The only thing this conversation had confirmed was that wasn't just me; the fake priest was hated by everyone of all walks of life.

"If he's been your mentor in the absence of your father for these past 10 years, then that explains…... a lot of things actually. You really had it rough," is what the brat says in a tone closer to condescending than pity.

"Now that I think about it, the Magus Killer's bombing of the leylines may have been a deliberate diversion, to hide the existence of his heir's training exercises," was the answer the priest didn't seem so sure about himself. The brat's eyes lighten up for a moment.

Then those Noble Phantasms of theirs corresponding to the very heroic spirits of this war were…...

"What were these training exercises you're talking about?" was a question I didn't need to ask.

"You should know that I'm the Overseer of this Holy Grail War, so telling you what preparations the other contestants have made would be against policy. Besides, surprises are one of life's spices," was his dubious claim of neutrality with that seedy smile of his again and the brat's expression sours.

Life is not like a bowl of Mapo Tofu, yet this fake priest keeps trying to make the connection.

"This was all a waste of time!" the brat says with a pout. She simply turns and storms out of the church, but unfortunately, she wasn't wrong.

I follow behind and our Servants follow in tow in spiritual form. Kirei doesn't even make an attempt for to stop us.

"Faith is certainly dwindling in this age…" were his parting words.

Maybe my faith wouldn't be dwindling if you did your actual job correctly.

The door closes behind me. The church disappears into the distance as we walk away.

We walk along the empty streets. Hopefully, we won't have to deal with ordinary folk under the light of the moon.

The physical evidence of the last Holy Grail War had been largely wiped away by many things from the fire, the kidnappings to the various associations of the moonlit world. Mulling over dubious first hand accounts won't get me any useful information. The world of magi was always one of deception and mystery, so it was expected that the truth be elusive and those who guarded it to be troublesome.

So what did I know so far?

"Shirou based on age, the story of him being a survivor checks out. Those irregular patches of tan and white hair he's hiding are similar to my Archer. He must have been some sort of trial run in an attempt to infuse a human with a heroic spirit's traits, coincidentally, the traits of my Archer."

"You only realize this now?" that brat continues to say.

"That's why I wondered if they were part homunculi! I mean, based on Miyu's age, the story of her being a survivor found in the fire is dubious. More than likely, she's some sort of artificial product the Magus Killer created using stolen Einzbern secrets. Does that sound reasonable?"

It was then I hear that laughing that was bubbling on the surface. Laughing that she was desperately trying to hold back. She was even wiping away tears. That's how ridiculous she found my conjecture.

"What's so funny?"

The laughing stops for a moment.

"That priest was misleading you. Kiritsugu barely counts as a magus, so he wouldn't be able to do any of those things," the brat continues to chime.

"You really look down on your father don't you? How about you Archer?"

"From personal experience, mercenaries don't make good researchers," my own Servant chimes in.

"Were you a mercenary in life Archer?"

"Being a mercenary would suggest I made money off of what I did," Archer quips.

"If you know that about yourself, you remembered who you are right?"

"Not at all, though don't blame yourself too harshly," my so-called Servant says to me.

"Am I the only one taking this seriously?"

"Considering how much you don't know, it's hard to say you are," the brat continues to run her mouth.

"I-it couldn't be helped."

The Holy Grail War in Fuyuki is held every 60 years, but the 4th one where my father died was only 10 years ago. It was perfectly reasonable that I wasn't fully prepared. It shouldn't have occured this early, but it seemed like everyone else but me was in the know laughing at me.

We make our way to an intersection. My breath stops for a second.

"Did you sense that?"

"Of course," the brat says without much emotion.

A distant scream, a pulse of magical energy and a fading presence. A Servant out there was actually feeding on human souls. Magi may follow different rules than ordinary folk, but to deliberately involve ordinary folk in this very city was something I the Second Owner could not abide.

My legs take me to the origin of the scream with Archer close behind me. Running around at night, it's somewhat nostalgic. Hopefully, I had gotten more capable in these past 10 years since that time I was searching for Kotone. I enter the park, this park, this was where uncle Kariya...….

"Shinji," was the name that escapes my lips.

The third rate turns his back.

"T-tohsaka?" was that annoying voice.

An unconscious woman was having her existence sucked out of her by that woman in black who could only be identified as a Servant. The victim had become something of a doll. She would die if nothing was done in the next few minutes.

"Archer!"

Archer responds to my desire and a barrage of arrows is fired at the enemy. The enemy Servant in the black gown drops the victim on the floor and parries a few. She prepares herself for the inevitable battle, but it was then, the white haired brat finally caught up to me.

"I let you go yesterday considering the Holy Grail War didn't officially start yet, but Rider won't be able to beat my Berserker no matter how much she eats," was the voice that caused Shinji to freeze.

I knew that the brat had mystic eyes of binding, but I sensed no expenditure of magical energy from her. Shinji was simply scared stiff, nothing more.

"Y-you….." were Shinji's words before trying to break into a run. Stress on "trying".

"Berserker," the cold little girl casually calls out.

"Rid…." was all Shinji could say before his legs were swept underneath him by Berserker's chunk of rock mimicking a sword.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh.." was the second scream I heard tonight.

Berserker was ridiculously fast. Faster than Rider. Faster than Archer. So fast that he could probably negate my Archer's range advantage with a single step in most scenarios. I didn't think that far ahead, but how as I beating that brat later? Still, this isn't the time. I turn my focus on the discarded woman on the floor and do my best to treat her.

"I-I don't want to die...I-I don't want to die…," were the meaningless ramblings of the legless Shinji as he tried to drag himself away. So ready to take life, but unable to risk his own; such a person could not be called a magus.

Illyasviel von Einzbern stands over the result of Berserker's handiwork.

"Crawling like a worm," the girl says with an innocent smile.

The book that was in Shinji's hands burns away along with Rider's body, but the sound of burning could not be heard with his incessant screaming. I barely noticed it, but a new presence had joined us.

"You really are a disappointment, Shinji," were the words of an old man, sprouting from the darkness of night itself.

"So the oldest of worms shows himself," were the words of that little girl sizing the newcomer up.

The youngest one stares down the oldest one, with Shinji writhing in pain in the background. He was Sakura's brother and I had contemplated helping him out, but my attention is drawn to that old decrepit man.

"You must be the one my granddaughter was angry about today. To mess with another of her possessions once again, I don't know how she'll take it," the old man says with a heavy sigh.

"The war officially started yesterday. It would be no fun if it ended too quickly, so you Makiri better be glad I'm not killing him. Besides, he isn't even a real Master. Rider just ran away didn't she? That granddaughter of yours must be real coward to use a proxy," were words said by the little girl with no playfulness whatsoever.

"I see, so even a short-lived artificial puppet wants to live as long as possible, but I'm afraid what you have done today goes against that interest," should have been the ramblings of a senile old man, but I couldn't see it that way. Even without a Servant at his side, I knew his confidence was not unfounded. That was the way all old magi were with all sorts of indiscernible tricks.

I couldn't follow their conversation, which was more evidence that once again, everyone around me knew things that I don't and are flaunting it in front of me.

"Was that a threat? To stand before me right now with your rotting body, you must gone senile or maybe you're just tired of living?" the brat says with a smile that belonged to someone much older.

"No, daughter of winter, I'm just warning you about my granddaughter. In all honesty, I'm a failure of a grandfather. I wasn't able to raise that girl right. In those rare moments she desires something, I can't stop her. Forgive this old man, but she forced me to disclose the location of that old Einzbern castle of yours before chasing me out of the house," were his final words before turning to Shinji, whose leg stumps were being treated with phallic worms.

Something in the brat snaps, but still, that isn't the issue here. My hand had already formed the shape of a gun and that old worm was in my sights.

"Sakura's involved in this?"

"OH, Tokiomi's heir! Why yes, Sakura is involved in this. If you are involved, it's only natural that she would be, or do I expect too much of today's youth? Still, are you really going to kill this old man or should you focus on saving that woman before you, Second Owner?" was that old worm's way of talking that forced me to remember that fake priest from an hour prior.

I check my surroundings once again and realize that the Einzbern brat had already run off on her own if that giant crater on the floor is any indication. A giant of that size shouldn't be that fast! Still, I can't leave Sakura to that brat's Berserker.

"Archer, you go after the brat and make sure she doesn't do anything too outrageous. She seems to like you, so you might be able to persuade her to stop."

"You're making a lot of assumptions, but let's hope you're right," he comments with that characteristic grin before giving chase with his red coat fluttering behind him.

The life of the woman in front of me was draining away. With reinforcement, she wasn't that heavy. Still, in my mind, the only person I knew that could deal with spiritual injuries was that fake priest. I was seriously going to return to that church again wasn't I?