I do not own the Fate Series or Lupin the Third.

"Please Risei… please tell me there's something you can do..." Aoi peeked out of the closed blinds ever so slightly, and saw that there was still a news reporter filming his story outside. Several photographers were still milling around aimlessly, waiting for someone to exit the house.

"I'm sorry, Aoi-san." Risei apologized from his end. "But I'm afraid that this matter is out of my hands."

Aoi bit her lip as she closed the shades. The media's obsession with the 'Tohsaka Scandal' had died down like she'd initially hoped. In fact, if anything, the media frenzy seemed to get worse. For days she had been hounded by reporters and journalists alike who never stopped asking about her involvement in Sakura's fate. Like a good Magus, she kept her mouth shut. It was hard, but in the face of all the pestering and accusations she had maintained the secrets a magus was expected too.

However, things had been worse for Rin. Aoi had to take her out of school so that the insensitive reporters wouldn't hound her daughter and so that the teachers and students couldn't ask her any questions. While Rin also knew that she had to keep things a secret in regards to Magecraft, she was still just a child. She could let something slip if she was put under enough pressure. While Aoi had taken steps to make sure Rin wouldn't accidentally reveal anything, she was too late to keep her daughter from hearing things. Now Rin was asking uncomfortable questions, like why her father was taken away by the police, if all the mean things she heard about him were true, what really happened to Sakura, and when she could see her friend Kiyone again.

Aoi's parents had tried offering condolences and advice, but there was really nothing they could do or say to make the situation any better. They had never had to deal with anything like this before.

With all the threatening phone calls, accusations by the television, and swarms of reporters and photographers Aoi had not been able to sleep well at all. She couldn't relax even for a second. She felt as if she would go mad at times from all the stress. She cried fairly often nowadays.

"How can you say that?" Aoi asked in disbelief. "You're the overseer of the Holy Grail War! It should be easy for you to end all this and have my husband return to me and Rin!"

Any phone call to Risei was protected from anyone who wished to overhear his conversations. Another safety precaution the Association and Church had covered to ensure secrecy.

"Unfortunately even with my position as overseer, given how things have escalated, I'm afraid I can't do anything for you." Risei admitted. "This story is much bigger than you think. It has become the talk of the nation, and spreading throughout the world. Everyone from every nation has had their eye on Fuyuki because of Lupin the Third. Nearly anyone who turns on the news now has this case on their mind due to it taking place in 'Lupin's' town."

"But the Association and Church need to ensure the secrecy of Magecraft if nothing else!" Aoi argued, desperately trying to press her case. "Surely this situation, and its relationship to Sakura's training, should have them ensure my husband does not stay in a jail of all things! Tokiomi wouldn't reveal anything related to the Association, I'm sure… but shouldn't the Association take action to be sure? Isn't it better to free him and keep him under watch rather than leave him in the hands of those who can't understand our world?"

"...Not this time."

Aoi's eyes widened. What did he mean by that?

"I have discussed the situation with both the Association and Church, and they believe that in order to cover up this situation, or ensure in Tokiomi-kun's release from prison without anyone noticing, would be both a waste of resources and time." Risei gave a sigh. "I'm sorry, but the Association and Church have washed their hands of the Tohsaka family."

Aoi felt her throat become dry. She could barely believe their ears. "They're giving up on us? After years of my husband's loyalty to them and their traditions?"

"They will ensure than no information regarding Magecraft gets out, and that Tokiomi-kun is relatively comfortable, but in regards to the sexual slavery and other charges he will not receive..."

"How could you let this happen?!" Aoi demanded. "You and your son promised to keep my husband safe! To ensure his victory in the Holy Grail War!"

"Kirei and I did everything we could to support your husband throughout the war, of this I can assure you. Rather than blame us, all of this came about due to Tokiomi-kun's own negligence."

"What are you saying?!" Aoi demanded, appalled that Risei would say such a thing.

"Please, Aoi-san, calm down and listen. Perhaps I worded that wrong. That is to say… Tokiomi-kun was not adapting well to a rapidly changing war." Risei stated after a moment. "I tried to impress upon him the gravity of the situation when things started to deviate from his plans, but unfortunately your husband brought about his own demise by ignoring what was unfolding right in front of his eyes."

"But all this...!"

"Is out of my hands. Ensuring the secrecy of Tokiomi-kun's private affairs are his and the Matou's responsibility. Not mine."

Aoi bit her lip. Risei was supposed to be her husband's friend and ally. An influential person that would have Tokiomi reach every Magus' desire. And now he was abandoning them? In their greatest moment of need?!

"But Aoi-san... haven't you prepared for a situation like this?" That question caught Aoi by surprise. "Surely when you understood the necessity of giving Sakura to the Matou's, you and your husband considered the possibility that the community would take notice and question things."

"No, we didn't think it would be an issue." She replied truthfully. "We made the necessary arrangements that no one would recall. Using Magecraft, we made it so our neighbors believed we only ever had one child. What would they have to question? Besides, they are not Magi. How could they understand that this was all for both Sakura and Rin's benefit?"

"You must always consider every possibility, especially those concerning non-Magi." Risei pointed out. "Magi are not the majority. The Association and Church have a lot of influence, but they are not God. To dismiss the possibility of non-Magi finding out and creating a situation far too big for either the Association or Church to cover up, just because they are not Magi and their opinions are not important, is beyond foolish."

Aoi breathed in and out as she heard this. Was it truly foolish? For years, the world had been ignorant of this secret world. Ignorant of the strange, wonderful, ugly, and frightful things that were right next to them but out of sight. How could they know about a Magus' way of life?

But perhaps that rigid mindset was why Aoi and her family were in this situation.

"J-Just tell me why..." Aoi swallowed the saliva in her throat. "Tell me why Lupin the Third brought this about."

"..." Risei was silent for a second before he answered. "Tokiomi-kun was the type of man who believed he understood everything, and believed because of this understanding he was infallible. That all his decisions and viewpoints were the correct ones, and nothing could happen that would contradict this. Honestly, I suppose one of your husband's outstanding qualities is his absolute confidence in everything he does."

Aoi frowned. Even though it seemed like Tokiomi was being complimented, Risei's tone didn't make it sound like it.

"However, that attitude is probably why Lupin the Third decided to steal from him, or perhaps engineer things so that his world would come crashing down. All for his own sheer amusement. Because now Lupin has stolen his worldview."

"How cruel."

"Indeed."

"And Sakura?" Aoi asked desperately into the phone. "What about her?"

"I know of her location. However until the Holy Grail War is over, it would not be safe to let you see her."

"Risei-san...!" Aoi gasped. "Please! She's my daughter! At least tell me-"

"Not in the eyes of the public, she's not." Risei responded with a sigh. "And Aoi-san, it was also my understanding that you and Tokiomi-kun did not have a second daughter. Is this not true?"

Aoi's words got caught in her throat at Risei's sharp words.

"You have my sympathies for the chaos Lupin the Third has brought upon your family, but you must also accept that fact that your decisions also played a part and led you to these consequences. Now, if you'll excuse me I must go attend to a prior engagement. Be strong, Tohsaka Aoi, and may God be with you."

With that, Risei hung up on his end.

Aoi set down her phone, and looked down at the ground. Be strong? With Tokiomi in jail, Rin suffering from all the attention their family was getting and when she had no idea where Sakura was?

"What a cruel piece of encouragement." Aoi muttered to herself.

Aoi wished she could talk to someone, anyone, about this. Without hiding anything for the sake of secrecy or politics. To talk to someone like a regular human being, with her heart on her sleeve without any fear. To have someone to confide in and help share the burden with her when her husband was absent and when she had to appear strong for Rin.

…She wished she could talk to Kariya, her closest and dearest friend.

"But now he's dead." She read it in the paper's obituary. Dead via gunshot wounds. He was no longer in this world.

And even if he was... he probably wouldn't want to talk to her. Not after what she said in response when he'd asked her if she had supported her husband's decision to give Sakura to the Matous.

He probably died hating her.

With that, Aoi brought her hands to her face and let out a sob. She cried softly and let the tears she had been holding back flow.

Unknown to her, Rin was watching from behind the door. She had been listening.

Tohsaka Rin would grow up to hate her father, the church, and especially Lupin the Third.

xxXXxx

Risei hung up the phone in the church's kitchen with a frown on his face. That hadn't been a pleasant conversation. Then again, a lot of the conversations he'd had recently hadn't been very pleasant.

"What a mess all this has become." Risei sighed to himself.

"Risei-san…?"

Forcing a friendly smile onto his face, Risei turned to face who had addressed him.

"What is it Sakura-chan?"

Sakura was looking at him with sad eyes, which was an improvement from the normally joyless ones she had for a few days. "When can I go home?"

Risei frowned at that. "I thought you liked it here Sakura-chan?"

"I do." Sakura looked down sadly. "It's just that… I really want to see Kaa-san and Rin-oneechan again. It's been very lonely without them."

Of course. Despite the trauma she'd been through, Sakura was still an ordinary girl that missed her family deeply.

"Sakura-chan." Rise placed her right hand on her head. "I'm afraid you can't see them yet. There are things happening outside that would make things very hard for you and your family should you meet them."

"Oh…"

"But…" Risei gave a warm smile. "Things should calm down relatively soon and when they do you can meet them again. Just remember, should something happen I will gladly welcome you back here with open arms."

Sakura gave a small nod at that. Good. It seems that promise placated her…

Risei then frowned as his sharp ears heard the front entrance to the church open up. "Stay here, Sakura-chan." Rise then left the girl and got out of the kitchen, walking down the hallway.

Things had gotten quiet the past few days. The end was coming, and when Kirei won the Association and Church would judge Risei's performance. Thankfully, Risei was not an amateur when it came to covering his tracks. His dealings with Tokiomi would never see the light of day. And even if Tokiomi himself confessed in an attempt to get out of his cell, the ensuing investigation would turn up nothing and Tokiomi would be further disgraced. And with Sakura… it was unlikely that she would ever become a member of the Tohsaka family again. With the way things were and depending on how the situation developed, Aoi might not even be able to keep custody of Rin.

"Perhaps I will adopt her." Risei thought to himself as he opened the door which lead to the main church area. "Adopting Sakura would make me seem as if I were merely a kindly priest adopting a poor traumatized girl to the general public, and her adoption would be a sign of peace and cooperation between the Church and Association. Not to mention it would ward off any suspicion from me being anything other than a loyal overseer who wishes to keep the peace between the two sides."

And in spite of Aoi or Tokiomi's feelings about him and his decision to wash his hands of the scandal they had found themselves wrapped up in, he hoped that they would at least be confident enough in his character that they would feel less burdened knowing Sakura was safe with him.

Risei frowned further when he saw the door of one of the confession booths close. "At this hour?" Well, Rise was already here. So he might as well see what the trouble was. Risei went into the booth next door, sat down and opened the shaded window by his head.

"Forgive me father, for I have sinned."

Risei's eyes widened at the voice of his own son, Kotomine Kirei. What was he doing here?

"Kirei, what's going on?" Risei asked immediately. "Where have you been? Where's Assassin-"

"I am not here as a son or as a Master in the Holy Grail War. I have come here as someone who wants to confess their sins."

Risei was baffled by this, but nonetheless he sighed and cleared his throat, willing to hear Kirei out for the time being and save his own questions for after he had indulged him.

"W-What is it that you have sinned, my son?"

Kirei was silent for a few seconds. As if thinking over what he was going to say. Was this perhaps Kirei confessing to any sins he had committed, so that he could battle for the Grail with a clear conscious? What could be the sins that Kirei committed? He only did what was asked of him, always performed his duty in the eyes of God and nothing more.

"I have lied to you. I've lied to my own father for a long time." Kirei let out a sigh. "Lied to you since I was a little boy."

"Lied?" Risei asked curiously. "What lies have you told me, my son?"

"I lied whenever I said that I loved you."

Risei sucked in his breath. That… was not something he had expected to hear from Kirei's lips.

After all, what father expects their son to say that he never loved him?

"K-Kirei, what do you-"

"…Let me explain. When I say that I've never loved you, it's not because of anything you did. I believe that you've been a good father to me. I truly do. You raised me, taught me right from wrong, supported me, loved me… you have all the traits befitting of a good father. No, the fault is with myself… with the way I was born."

"Kirei…?" Risei couldn't bring himself to speak, not able to fully grasp what his son was saying. "The way you were born? What are you talking about…?"

"I am… warped."

"Warped?"

"That is to say… it's not that I don't love you, father. It's just that I can't love you. I can't love anything. Not once have I ever felt anything akin to love. For you or anyone or anything. No matter what I did, no matter how you treated me… I felt nothing. Everything that I've ever done or accomplished has done nothing to take away the emptiness I feel. I'm unnatural. I'm unnatural because I cannot feel the emotions of a normal man. I couldn't attain a normal man's happiness."

"A normal man's happiness? What do you mean?" Risei pressed, trying to find clarification in Kirei's words. "What is a normal man's happiness?'

Risei felt a pit form in his stomach when his question was met with a dry, hollow chuckle.

"That's a question I've been asking myself for many years, father. Indeed, what is a normal man's happiness? In my search and through my own observations, there are many different answers. Some find happiness in leading a rich and fulfilling life. Perhaps it is performing good deeds and helping those around you. Maybe it's excelling in your studies, working hard and living comfortably without any worries. It could be following in the footsteps of one's parents or relatives, continuing a legacy and teaching your work to the next generation. Or perhaps it's taking a wife and making a family, growing old and having loved ones to support you…"

"…"

"…I've tried all of these things. Yet, though I know there are those who have found happiness in these deeds… I feel nothing having accomplished them."

Risei couldn't believe it. He'd watched over Kirei all his life, raising him, seeing him excel in his studies, graduating, then joining the Church, becoming and Executor, retiring and marrying Claudia, playing with Caren… and here he was claiming that none of that brought him any joy? He didn't feel one ounce of pride in anything?

How… How could this be? Rather, how could he, his father, not have noticed his son's despair?

"So… you mean to say that nothing makes you happy? There isn't one thing that you take pleasure in? You haven't found anything that brings you joy?"

There was a long pause before Kirei gave his reply.

"There is… but it is wrong. It shouldn't bring me joy."

That sinking feeling got worse.

"The only thing that moves me… the only deed that stirs my heart… is when others are suffering."

Risei's eyes widened. "That's…!"

"Seeing someone fail when they set out to accomplish something… seeing someone hurt or getting injured… mourning the loss of a friend or lamenting their lot in life… seeing someone die… the emotions that swell up within me when I look upon people like that… the only word I can use to describe what I feel is joy."

Risei felt ill.

"I know it is wrong for me to have these feelings, father. I meant it when I said you've been a good father to me. You've impressed upon me a set of morals and have shown me right from wrong. I understand good and evil… which is why I can recognize my own wickedness. It's why I've worked hard to reject these dark emotions within me and try to find something else that can make me happy. To find joy the way a normal man would. I've searched for years… but it's all been a fruitless effort."

"Kirei…"

"I tried, Father… I really did. I looked everywhere, tried everything I could think of. But there was nothing. Only emptiness awaited me at the end of every path. I confess to you now… my latest attempt… my last chance… it was family. My wife, Claudia."

Risei began to connect the dots in his head. Back then, when Kirei had introduced him to Claudia and announced his intentions to take her as his wife Risei had been happy, but confused. While he was overjoyed that he son had found someone to love, given Claudia's… condition, she only had a few years to live at best. She was a frail woman, falling ill quite often and her condition caused her constant pain. It had been a miracle that she'd even managed to have Caren. While Risei had thought that Kirei had married for love, his confession shed new light on things…

"…I tried to love her. But the only thing that brought me joy was seeing her suffer. Her pain was the only thing that brought me happiness. God help me, no matter how much I wished I could, I couldn't love her. Because I was defective from birth, I couldn't find happiness by loving her or the daughter we had together. On some level, I knew this already, but tried anyway. It's why I chose her, a woman who I knew had no future."

"…So you never loved your family at all? Your father? Your daughter? Your wife? None of them… you couldn't love any of them no matter how hard you tried…?" Risei asked.

"No." Kirei replied. "Claudia… she knew, actually. She was aware of my defect. She tried to cure me, but couldn't. She was just an experiment, my last attempt at a normal person's happiness. I confessed this to her when I had decided to give up. She deserved to know. Do you know what happened when I told her?"

Risei didn't want to ask that question. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer.

"I admit, it's hard to remember the details of that night… but when I confessed everything to her, it was to be my last act. I decided that someone like me, who can only find joy in another's suffering, didn't deserve to live. She… told me she still loved me. She told me that I was wrong, and that I did love her. I watched her kill herself… she slashed her throat while smiling at me. She was going to die anyway, so through this act I believe she was trying to prove that I could feel something… to feel sadness because she had died. And she was right… I certainly felt sad… but not because she died…"

"…What… what do you mean…?"

"I was sad because I lost the chance to enjoy her death. I thought that if she was going to die… I wanted to kill her myself."

Risei's vision clouded as tears began to gather in his eyes. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to think. His own son, his own flesh and blood, was this disturbed? All this time? And he didn't notice a damn thing?

Neither Risei or Kirei spoke. There was total silence. Kirei didn't say anything else and Risei struggled with his own thoughts as he went over everything that had been said during their exchange. After a few minutes, Kirei finally spoke up again.

"…I was horrified at my own evil thoughts. At the kind of wicked person I was. I hated myself. A defective human being. There was no salvation for someone like me. I sent Caren away after that. Someone twisted like me couldn't raise her. I had given up all hope and I was going to follow through with my original plan to put an end to my miserable existence… but then the Command Seals appeared on my hand and I agreed to join the Holy Grail War at your and Tokiomi's request."

Yes, Risei remembered that day. He had been happy when Kirei had gotten the Seals, because he could assist Tokiomi and take his mind off of his grief. But now Risei knew that those were only his own thoughts.

"Kirei simply had lost the will to care anymore."

"At first, I treated it as another job. I only had a mild curiosity about why I was chosen, and simply accepted Tokiomi's explanation because I could not come up with a better one. But then, I learned of Emiya Kiritsugu…"

Risei leaned forward when he heard the Magus Killer's name. The way Kirei said his name… he had sounded hopeful at first, but sounded disappointed near the end.

"Seeing the kind of life he lived, I became fascinated by him. I thought that he was similar to me in that he was someone without purpose searching for something to fulfill him. Only I thought that he was someone who had succeeded in finding happiness, unlike myself. After all, he spent years and years wandering from battlefield to battlefield aimlessly until he suddenly stopped and joined the Einzberns. If he had found something that made him stop, something that gave him purpose… I had hoped that I could meet him during the war and find out why he had suddenly stopped after soaking his hands in so much blood and endured everything he did."

Though he was confessing to his interest in Kiritsugu, Kirei sounded like he was no longer interested. Had he already met with the Magus Killer at some point? Was he not satisfied after meeting the man? So then why…?

"Yes, I had thought that Emiya Kiritsugu held the answers I sought… but then, I summoned Lupin the Third as Assassin, and things started changing."

And of course, it all cycles back to Lupin the Third. Every damn thing involved that thief one way or the other.

"He asked me questions, difficult questions that made me ask who I was, and what I felt towards things including my wife and Caren." Risei could hear Kirei's body shift. "He is a very charismatic man. So charismatic that I willingly allowed him to subvert Tokiomi's wishes. And even… assisted him."

"Then… when Berserker attacked Archer…!"

Kirei knew. He knew and he allowed it to happen. He knowingly brought down the man who was to make an appropriate and non-selfish wish on the grail because of Lupin the Third.

"He showed me the path of a thief. One where a sinful being like myself can do just things. It is a very tempting path father. One that I accepted with all my heart when Emiya Kiritsugu could not provide a satisfactory answer." Kirei then began to chuckle. "I'm sorry father, but I realized that I could not make any wish that was just in your eyes. So I have decided that I will assist Lupin the Third. Assist him in his heist to steal the Holy Grail. I am here simply to tell you this, because you have the right to kno-"

A flash of metal and knives stabbing through wood echoed throughout the church. Risei's face remained stone cold as the three Black Keys in his left hand stabbed through the booth, in the area where Kirei should be.

Confessing to his sinful nature was one thing, but aiding in Lupin, jeopardizing the Holy Grail War, his intention to abandon the Church to pursue a life of thievery and crime… as much as it pained him, Kirei had forced his hand.

Even as tears slipped from his eyes, Risei acknowledged that he couldn't let his son leave the church alive.

…But Risei didn't feel his Black Keys hit their mark. The blades didn't pierce flesh and he didn't hear any dying breaths. Dropping the Black Keys, Risei got out of the booth and opened the door next to him.

All he saw was a broken speaker, three puncture marks on its sides where the Black Keys had pierced through.

"…He expected I would attack him during his confession then?" Risei muttered sadly.

He didn't know when Kirei had left, but his son was skilled enough so that even if he tried looking it would be impossible to find him.

The revelations had horrified Risei, yes. After all, who wouldn't be horrified and disturbed by their own son telling them these things?

But at the end, Kirei sounded actually happy. As if this chosen path was bringing him true joy after years of feeling nothing but horror towards himself.

Risei couldn't approve. He could not, and yet, part of him was relieved. He was relieved that he hadn't killed his son, and in spite of everything…

…Even after everything he'd heard, Risei Kotomine couldn't bring himself to hate Kirei Kotomine.

Even after the son had confessed to his wicked nature, his father still loved him…

Risei folded his hands together in a gesture of prayer.

"Good luck, my son."

Risei Kotomine would never see his son again.

xxXXxx

Jigen let out a puff of smoke as he sat at the bar. He had long since turned off the music of the radio, preferring to drink and smoke in complete silence rather than listen to a song that was too peppy for the environment or a song that would just make Jigen depressed. Not to mention the noise the kids today called music… "God, I really am old."

Jigen had never thought he would get to this age. Ever since his late teens, he had silently accepted the fact he probably wouldn't live past thirty. Then Lupin came along, and through sheer dumb luck he actually did live long enough to see thirty and even forty. Now here Jigen was, pushing past fifty still smoking twenty to thirty cigarettes a day as if he were a young man, it's only a miracle that he doesn't have terminal lung cancer right now.

But Jigen still didn't expect to die silently in his sleep. He knew that eventually, one day, his luck would run out and he would wake up at some ungodly hour to hack up pieces of his own lungs. Then spend a few months at most wasting away in a hospital getting pumped with drugs, and then die messily. That was how the legendary Jigen Daisuke would die.

"No wonder that bastard calls me cynical. Jesus. I must be drunk already." Jigen took another sip of his glass.

"LUPIN THE THI-!"

"Just open the damn door and stop making an ass of yourself!" Jigen shouted. At that command, Lupin opened the door with an annoyed look on his face.

"Just gotta suck up the fun out of everythin' Jigen…"

"Well, we didn't partner up because of my sunny disposition." Jigen answered as Lupin walked up to the bar. As Lupin took out a bottle of wine Jigen asked, "So did you do it."

"Yeah." Lupin's voice wasn't cheerful then, but solemn.

"I thought you didn't do crap like that."

"I don't like it, but if I have to then I will." Lupin pored himself a glass. "One way or the other, Irisviel Von Einzbern was going to die. The Holy Grail doesn't just pop out and she walks off to live her life after fulfilling her duty. For the Grail to come out, she has to die. All I did was speed up the process."

"You can be a cold bastard, you know that?" Jigen asked with a frown. Jigen didn't like women. He had been betrayed far too many times by the opposite sex to get into another relationship. And Jogen wasn't afraid to kill women when they tried to kill him. But unarmed women? Jigen didn't think he had the stomach for that crap.

But Lupin did.

"I do what is necessary to get what I want. I have rules sure. But this isn't one of my ironclad ones. I feel a bit crappy about it sure, but I ain't goin' to lose any sleep over it." Lupin took a sip of his glass. "Honestly Jigen, I don't feel like gettin' into a lecture about the morality of what I did. You know I don't care about that kinda stuff anyways."

"I know. And that pisses me off sometimes." Lupin had always been like this, ever since Jigen first met the man. He didn't mind putting his life in danger just to get into Fujiko's face, because the journey was difficult and made it more fun for him. He killed people to get the things he wanted, and only seemed to stop to add more danger to a situation. He did things that were morally good, but sometimes Jigen wondered if Lupin only did them out of sheer coincidence rather than a compulsion to do good. "Ah hell, I spent years with him and it's still hard to figure the bastard out." Shaking his head Jigen asked, "So what is up with you and that priest Lupin?"

Lupin stopped drinking and raised an eyebrow. "Why are you interested, Jigen?"

"I like to know what is up when a partner of mine brings in a person I still have no clue about." Jigen had only talked to the priest maybe once or twice. He was a quiet man who only got to the point and went off to brood or something. People like that often put Jigen on edge. Jigen may be quiet at times but he knew how to have a fun conversation with people. How to get drunk and have a few laughs about things.

But Kotomine Kirei was a man who seemed to be acting as if he were walking through a fog. Analyzing things for a second before moving on, lost in his own world.

However when Lupin was involved, Kirei acted like a student listening to a teacher. Dissecting a conversation again and again in his head.

"Alright then, if you really are that interested." Lupin gave a sigh. "Kirei was a guy who didn't want to have fun. He didn't enjoy a lot of things unless they were related to a specific… thing. And enjoyment in that thing would make him evil in society's eyes. He knew it, so he restricted himself while looking for an answer."

"Sounds like we picked up a psychopath." At least that's how it sounded with the way Lupin was making things so damn vague. A psychopath restricting himself… Why the hell would Lupin be interested in that?

"I never liked how people restricted themselves, but indulging too much makes someone pretty borin'." Lupin continued while looking up wistfully. "Kirei's problem wasn't in what he enjoyed. It's just that he didn't have many options in how to enjoy himself. So I decided to change that."

"So you showed him how to be a thief." Well, if it prevented the priest from becoming a serial killer or a dime store megalomaniac Jigen supposed it was for the best. Still.. "Okay, fine. But did you want him to stick like glue to you?" Jigen glared at Lupin. "Did you only help him out so he could join you?"

"What? Come on Jigen, who do you take me for?" Lupin gave a smirk. "I never intend to do anythin'. I just do whatever seems like a good bit of fun, and then just go with the flow. If he wants to be partners with me because of what I taught him, I ain't gonna stop him."

Jigen looked into Lupin's eyes, just to see that spark of knowing that joy he feels when he hides something just so he could reveal it later in some dramatic fashion just to amuse himself.

But there was nothing. Lupin the Third was telling the truth.

Jigen gave a sigh. "You're never going to change, are you Lupin?"

"Nope. I'll never change."

"Humph. You damn shady bastard."

With that, Lupin and Jigen raised their glasses before tapping them together and taking another sip.

Their heist was going to start soon. Jigen could feel it in his bones.

Time to see if his luck was still good.

xxXXxx

Kotomine Kirei looked up at the ceiling as he laid on the couch. "So I finally told father about who I am, and what I intend to do."

Kirei felt oddly satisfied with that fact. While Kirei could not say that he truly, honestly felt love for his father he did respect him as such. And at the same time, he felt that odd compulsion to be the equivalent of love in a sense.

Kirei had often considered confessing to his father as a last resort. If he could not find an answer to who he was or what he could do to prevent himself from becoming a monster, Kirei would confess to his father before slitting his own throat right inside the confession booth.

Kirei did feel shame at the fact he would probably get some satisfaction at his father's horror towards who his son really was and then seeing his son's dead body. But Kirei had long since resigned to himself that if things came to that then he just couldn't give a damn anymore as to the fact the action would give himself some sick satisfaction.

But now, Kirei felt… clean. As if he had gotten a weight lifted off his chest. "Perhaps I had secretly hoped I would eventually do this."

"Mornin' sleeping beauty."

Kirei sat up and looked towards the seat opposite of him. Assassin was sitting there with a grin on his face. There was a small coffee table in between them with a single bottle of wine and a pair of glasses on top of it.

"Or night is the more accurate term I guess."

"I'll take your word for it. This room does not have any windows." Kirei relaxed himself a bit. After all, why would he need to be anxious or tense around Assassin?

Assassin gave a chuckle as he picked up the bottle and opened the cork. "So, ya said goodbye to your pops?"

"Yes." Kirei answered simply as Assassin poured the liquid into the glasses. "Though he'll likely kill me if he sees me again. He's obligated to, after I told him what I plan to do."

"Eh, nobody said this life would be easy. But danger is just the spice to the life of a thief."

"Indeed." Kirei let out a chuckle as Assassin set down the bottle again. "There is no going back for me. I now have nowhere else to go, and I do not plan on walking back from the path I have taken. I will follow you until death Lupin the Third, and see that we steal the Holy Grail."

And see Kiritsugu's expression of despair as Kirei forces him to watch them take away his prize. To strip him of the one and only thing that could fulfill his childish wish of 'saving the world'.

"Come on Kirei my man. Don't say 'to death'. It sounds so morbid." Assassin gave a sigh while shaking his head. "You should at least look forward to seein' your daughter sometime in the future."

"Caren." Now it was returning. The feeling he had when thinking about his daughter… was it parental love? Perhaps not considering his character, but it must be something close enough to it. After all, he had once told Assassin to silence himself when he brought up Caren. So maybe, just maybe, he did want to see her again. "But perhaps it would be best if she never saw me again."

"Come on Kirei, has our little adventure taught you nothin'?" Assassin gave a laugh. "To be honest, I only needed to spend a few days with you to realize what you were: a man who felt joy from the pain and sufferin' of others."

Kirei looked down. So Assassin did know what he was all this time…

"Now, if ya had just gone on your merry way, you woulda probably conceded that this is who you are. Then either killed yourself or just turned into a really borin' guy who just didn't give a damn anymore." Assassin then patted his left breast most likely referencing his heart. "That woulda hurt me right here. So I decided to help ya out a bit." Assassin smiled. "I decided to show ya a much broader route to take. One where you accepted who you were, but ya get to act out against those who deserve it. And all the while ya get to explore this wide open world, filled with possibilities and wonders. All while doin' what you love."

Kirei was silent for a second before letting out a chuckle. "Yes, yes I do have much to thank you for Lupin."

Indeed. Before he was lost. Lost and trying to find an answer that did not exist. Placing his hope in a man who turned out to be nothing more but a bitter disappointment.

Finding this out in any other situation would have likely driven Kirei mad.

But no, now Kirei wasn't mad. In fact he was glad.

Because now, he could move onto a path that brought him joy. A route that was both sinful yet just. One where he forgoes the normal laws of society and forges his own.

"So come on Kirei, pick up your glass and let's drink."

Kirei gave a nod and picked up one of the glasses full of wine. He did not drink out of pleasure. Usually because it was sinful, and Kirei was often fearful of what he would do if he got drunk.

But now he could not give less of a damn.

"But before we have a mighty good time, a toast!" Assassin raised his glass into the air. With a smirk, Kirei raised his as well.

"Here's to theft."

The sound of glass clinking echoed throughout the room.

xxXXxx

"I am glad you are all here."

The room was dark, only lit by candlelight which accentuated the rich crimson curtains that covered the windows. The whiteness of the walls were now muted, and the wooden floor seemed much more sinister.

Owl Men, all dressed in their suits and masks, sat at tables. All of them with glasses filled with wine, looking ahead with their unmoving eyes which reflected the flames.

The Count was on top of a podium, his fingers intertwined while a glass was set on a small table next to him.

"As you all know, within a day or two the remaining Servants of the Holy Grail War will battle for their prize. And when only two remain, our plan will come into fruition." The Count then scanned the room. "But right now, I wish to talk about why we are who we are."

None of the Owl Men let out a sound. After all, it was not their place to interrupt their leader.

"We are criminals. This is a fact. We willingly subvert the laws of governments. We lie, cheat, bribe, murder, and steal to get what we want." The Count gave a light shrug. "What can we be but criminals? To say we were anything else would be, quite frankly, moronic."

The Count stepped back from his podium, and began pacing.

"However, does this make us evil? No it does not. Criminals, in essence, have existed since the dawn of man. They want power and wealth, and in order to get it they must act outside the law. Laws that were made by man so that those who made said laws can be the ones in power. So really, what is a criminal but a man who does not follow the wishes of another man?"

The Count then stopped his pacing behind the table.

"As for heroes? They are but humans who happen to have a bit more power. Just like those who hold the reigns of society, they impose their views over others to hold onto the laws that justify their existence. Or force the people to conform to society because it is 'just' and all those who oppose them are 'unjust'. They made a battle between 'good and evil', knowing full well that so long as they or others like them existed, their place in the eyes of humanity would not change even with the passing of time."

The Count walked over to the small table.

"But we know the truth. We know of how the righteous are nothing more than men, men with desires like the rest of us. Desires which we help to satiate, and all they have to do is follow what we say when we say it. It had taken me years, but with the formula of our drug in hand and millions of dollars in cash, I was able to create a criminal empire that rivals the likes of Scorpion with their pig sow of a leader. We now have judges and politicians on every level in our pocket, the media willing to make their own reporters disappear if they are snooping about in the wrong places, and even the oh-so secret 'Magus Association' became nothing but another piece in our empire."

Now the nervous mumbling began. The Count knew why. To them, these fears weren't worth mentioning now. Not when the Association and Church were flushing out their agents and Interpol was busting their drug ring.

But it was time to end that.

"The Association, for all their boasts of knowing the secrets of our world and having access to skills that are certainly amazing, were in the end nothing more than a group of men. Arrogant men who thought that they controlled things when really they were but children in activities that were second nature to criminals like us. They are like so-called heroes: despite what they show to the outside world, they were but humans who could easily get hooked on our product and do our bidding." The Count picked up his glass. "I understand you all feel that recent events have made the last few moments seem meaningless, but I assure you they are anything but. Our last few losses are but a minor setback that will become irrelevant once we have the Holy Grail!"

One Owl Man began clapping, and then several others began clapping with murmurs of agreement echoing throughout the room.

"Thanks to our actions, we now have the opportunity to take this treasure for ourselves, and once it is mine I shall reward us all with the wish I have in store!" The claps then turned into thunderous applause as the Count clenched his left hand. "And we shall take this treasure as the shadow of Lupin the Third can do nothing but watch us, his killers, win! A toast gentlemen!"

The Count raised the glass with his right hand, the crimson Command Seals glowing from the firelight.

"Here's to crime."

To Be Continued...

Note: New chapter out now with special thanks to Kiiam for his help!

And now we're approaching what can be best described as the final arc, and I do admit I'm nervous because of all the expectations. But with luck what I have planned will satisfy you guys.

In the next chapter, Saber gets to be awesome.

Please check out the TV Tropes page and add whatever you find appropriate.

Please leave constructive criticism.