Fate: Hammer Time

by TedTheRabbit

Shirou Emiya wanted to become a hero. That was clear to all who truly know him. For a long time though, he lacked the power to actually achieve that goal. No longer however. No longer will he lack the power, now that the Hammer of the Odinson has chosen him as new wielder. Prepare for Thunder. ShirouxMultiple, Thor-Shirou.

20. Administrative Business

Administrative business

Osaki Koyo was in a rather foul mood.

He had tried his very best to hide it from his daughters, his partner, and his colleagues, not wanting to bother or worry them, but he suspected he had fooled no one. He had been in a foul mood often enough during the past few months for everyone to know the signs by now.

This time however, the cause for his bad mood was, surprisingly, not Rakurai. Osaki had long since made his peace with the elusive vigilante, having realised that getting upset about not catching him was nothing but a waste of energy. Rakurai was innocent today.

No, the reason of his current bad mood was a problem that had plagued him since the beginning of his career, one that had soured his mood already far before Rakurai was even a thought in anyone's minds.

He had once more seen yesterday what cruelties mankind could be capable of, and just as it had many previous times, it both disgusted and greatly saddened him.

He hadn't planned on becoming a part of the force that was supposed to keep civilians away from a burning house, nor had he planned on stopping a distraught teenage girl from committing suicide in a vain effort to save her friend from the inferno.

Seeing the girl break down in front of him had wrenched his heart something fierce, even after his many years of service. Even if she hadn't reminded him of his own girls, he still would have pitied her greatly.

To lose a friend to such a gruesome death was always terrible, especially for one so young. The girl would probably carry the scars for the rest of her life.

All because some punk had decided to set fire to a residence, all because a criminal had suddenly decided to kill people for reasons Osaki couldn't even begin to guess at.

He couldn't even imagine how it must have been for the people trapped inside the house. He had burned himself many times while cooking, and knew very well just how painful even tiny first-degree burns could be.

He actually felt queasy when he tried to imagine how it must feel to be burned alive, how insanely torturous that had to be.

What a callous and cruel world this was, for people to be capable of such cruelties, and even revel in it perhaps.

He wasn't on the investigation, but he would gladly help the officers assigned to the case wherever possible. That kind of evil couldn't be permitted to exist, the perpetrator had to be caught before he did something similar again.

Which was why he was currently sitting on a chair on the second floor of the precinct, just dumbly staring at the wall in front of him, waiting to be called into the nearby office.

His own workspace was on the third floor, and he would be getting up there later to continue his hunt for the vigilante, but for now, he had to give a witness statement about the arson committed on the Matou-estate, as well as his role in the events following it.

Shimada Kyuwa, an old friend of his, was the one overseeing the investigation. He was a good man, intelligent and driven, one of the few that Osaki would trust with his life in the Fuyuki-City Law Enforcement.

He was confident that Kyuwa would work on this investigation with everything he had, either until he caught the perpetrator or until the trail went cold.

It would not bring back those who had been murdered yesterday, but perhaps it would allow them to rest easier if the perpetrator was caught and sentenced.

The second thing that annoyed him however could not be handled like that. It was far more complicated, and it greatly worried him. After all, it concerned his faithful partner, Yomaura Taya.

She hadn't been present the entire day yesterday, and would not be today either. She was far too sick for that, so she had stayed home.

Osaki feared it was far worse than a simple illness though.

He sat back in his chair with a deep sigh, thinking back on that fateful evening where he had discovered his partner's problems ran far deeper than he had ever anticipated.

---

After having finished up at the wreckage that used to be the Matou-estate, Osaki went back home, his thoughts with those poor people who had just lost their friends, especially that brown-haired girl.

She had walked away still in tears, with the intention of telling her other friends about what had happened. Osaki wished her the very best, fully aware of how heavy a burden such a thing was. He himself hated it when he had to have such talks with people.

With his tasks done though, he was free to leave again. Instead of going home right away however, he took the time to try and call Taya again. She hadn't been at the office today, and neither had she called or responded to any of his own calls or messages. Everything stayed silent.

Now again, the phone went over several times, but he only got the voicemail, just like before.

At this point, he was starting to get concerned, having heard nothing at all from her the entire day, and after a moment decided he had enough time to visit her home, to see whether something was perhaps wrong.

He went home and, after telling the girls he would be out for a while, grabbed his car to drive to Taya's place. He had felt incredibly tempted to break speed limits, the worry in his gut intensifying with each second, but he managed to hold himself back, if just barely.

There was something wrong, he could feel it in his bones now.

When he arrived at the apartment complex where she lived, he sprinted up the stairs at full speed, using the key he had gotten from Taya to get past the closed doors.

Fumbling slightly with the key, he managed to get the front door of Taya's apartment open, after which he ran inside, looking around frantically to find her.

He had been in her apartment several times before, so the bedroom was easily found.

To his immense relief, she was there, fast asleep, her chest rising and falling evenly.

That relief turned into shock and horror however when he noticed the sloppy bandages on her fingers and wrists, still bloody, some reaching all the way up to her forearms, clearly not replaced even once after they had been applied on the wound.

Worse, he could see bloody needles, knives, and… stones even, in the closet. The door hadn't been entirely closed, allowing him to see the macabre contents poorly hidden behind it.

Had Taya tried to…? No, no, certainly she wouldn't have…? There had been nothing to indicate that she would…

No…

A groan interrupted his horrified thoughts, and his gaze went back to his partner's face, which was, on closer observation, very red, and damp from sweat.

A quick check proved that she had a bad fever, much higher than was in any way acceptable. She had to cool off, or this might actually harm her even more. A fever could at times be even deadlier than the disease it was supposed to fight after all.

Osaki immediately went to get water from the small kitchen, slowly poured half of it over her head and then made her drink the rest, which she fortunately did easily enough, despite her unconsciousness.

Some fumbling led to him finding ice in the fridge too, which he immediately applied to her forehead. It barely helped. The fever was just too high.

Eventually, he replaced her bandages, hoping it would help somehow, but if it did, the effect wasn't noticeable.

After several hours, litres of water and buckets of ice though, he managed to get her temperature back to acceptable levels. Not long after, she finally woke up, greatly relieving a still-nervous Osaki.

"Hnng." She groaned as she slowly opened her eyes, casting a bleary and surprised look at the drenched sheets covering her, before she started, eyes widening in shock, as she saw him standing next to her bed. "Senpai? Wha-What's going on? What are you doing here?"

"You weren't at the office today." He answered, seeing how her eyes became even wider. "It's- Well, it's about nine in the evening Yomaura, and you haven't been answering your messages all day. I was worried."

He took a deep breath. "I didn't expect to find you like this though, and I certainly didn't expect…"

He didn't say it out loud, but he did make a motion with his hands towards the bandages on her lower arms.

She didn't seem to understand his insinuation for a few moments, but realisation followed quickly, causing her to avert her eyes in… shame? Pain?

"S-Senpai, I can explain." She murmured, clearly searching for an excuse to placate him with. "I-I…"

"You don't have to explain yourself." He interrupted her mid-sentence. "If you don't want to tell me anything, you don't have to. I won't pry into your personal issues, no matter how much I want to, but I have to insist that you come to my place for tonight, for the week if possible."

No way he was going to let her remain alone at her apartment after… that.

Taya looked aghast at the demand, but an imploring glare from him made her cave in easily enough. Getting her out of bed however was not so easy.

Her legs were shaky, and she clearly had almost no strength in her muscles. A fairly normal symptom of a fever, which nonetheless clearly annoyed her to no end. Osaki was happy to assist her though, lifting her up in a bridal carry and taking her to his car.

He had honestly expected her to protest against being carried like that, but strangely, she didn't seem to mind all that much, though she did press her face against his shoulder.

Once in the car, he drove her to his home immediately, and then put her to bed at once.

Almost at once. His girls, worried and caring as always, made her eat something before she fell asleep, if only to make sure she had some sustenance. They then tucked her in until they were certain enough that she was as comfortable as could be.

Osaki sighed, wondering what could have happened with his partner, as he prepared himself for the night as well.

He had noticed she had been a bit more down lately, but certainly that wouldn't have resulted in…

He shook his head. It was of no use to wonder about that right now. He couldn't jump to conclusions. He would have to wait until his partner confided in him.

Until then, he would support her to the best of his ability.

---

The next day, Yomaura had still been far too sick and tired to go to work, so she had stayed in bed, with the girls staying home as well to take care of her. It hadn't been entirely voluntary on her part, but he and his daughters had accepted no arguments.

He really would have to give Chiho and Suki something nice for all the effort they put into helping Yomaura and him. They really were good girls.

Still, he couldn't help but worry greatly for her. If all the drama and horror of her life had accumulated to a point where she actually…

Osaki sat there for a while, his mood dark, and thoughts with the deceased and ill. A few minutes later, he was joined in the hallway by the Mitsuzuri-family.

They too had to give their witness statements after all, and to save time, they would all do so together.

Strangely enough, there were now five people walking towards him. Three of them he recognised from the day before, but the other two, a boy with red hair and golden eyes, and a girl with purple hair and equally purple eyes, were new to him.

The next thing he noticed about them was the happy atmosphere around the group as a whole. The girl, Ayako, if he remembered correctly, was beaming brightly at the other teens, while her parents were softly smiling down at her.

Never let it be said that Osaki was an idiot. If the death of the girl's friends no longer seemed to be an issue, while two unknown people had suddenly appeared, it wasn't all that hard to come to a conclusion.

Osaki's mood cleared up as soon as that conclusion was reached, the metaphorical dark cloud above him disappearing, as a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Mitsuzuri Ayako was the first one to see him, giving him a surprised look, before she alerted the others to his presence. Her parents seemed to recognise him as well, but the other two didn't. That was okay though, he didn't recognise them either.

"Good morning, Osaki-san." Mitsuzuri Ryozo said with a nod, a slight smile on his face. "We have good news."

"They're alive!" The man's daughter squealed, throwing her arms around the purple-haired girl and the redhead as if to further illustrate their 'aliveness'. "They're alive. Can you believe that? It's amazing!"

After being prodded by her mother though, the girl then looked to the floor in sudden embarrassment. "And I'm sorry for causing so much trouble yesterday. I made your work harder than it had to be, please forgive me."

"There is no need to apologise." Osaki instantly dismissed her apology, as the girl had hardly been any trouble. He had dealt with far more annoying people in past after all. The girl's heart was in the right place, and that was what counted. "It delights me to hear your friends are in good health. I suppose they are the ones you are embracing right now?"

"Ah, y-you are half-correct." The purple-haired girl mumbled, shyly looking away from him. "I am Matou Sakura, but my brother is not here right now."

Osaki frowned slightly, casting a glance at the boy currently present. Who was he then if not Matou Shinji?

"Emiya Shirou, here for emotional support." The redhead introduced himself with a small bow. "A pleasure to meet you. I am afraid though that Shinji has left town, in order to find some peace of mind."

"Left town?" Osaki asked in shock. "What do you mean he left town?"

"They mean just that." Mitsuzuri Chiaki huffed. "The brat apparently left as soon as Shirou took him and his sister away from the Matou-estate, not even waiting for the police or anything."

"…There is a lot I want to ask you about that, but let us wait for the officer in charge of the investigation." Osaki said after having recomposed himself from the bomb dropped on him. He then turned towards both Matou and Emiya. "My name is Osaki Koyo; it is a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is ours, Osaki-san." Sakura smiled back, as everyone present missed how Shirou's eyes momentarily widened at the name, before he quickly straightened his expression. "Thank you for trying so hard to help even though you weren't on duty yesterday."

Osaki was about to reply, when they were suddenly interrupted by an opening door, the officer in charge of the investigation poking his head through the opening right after.

"Osaki-san." Kyuwa smiled at the detective, before nodding at the others. "And the Mitsuzuri-family. Thank you for your patience, please come in to give your statements."

Quickly shelving the rest of the conversation for later, everyone entered the office, each taking a place on the chairs that were standing around for these kind of occasions. They weren't exactly comfortable, but they would do.

After the introductions were over with, and Kyuwa had expressed his happiness over the unexpected survival of the Matou-siblings, the 'interrogation' could start in earnest.

"Yesterday, around four o'clock in the afternoon, the Matou-estate burned down rather spectacularly, leaving nothing behind but ash and charred remains. It is heavily suspected, if not outright confirmed, that it was arson. The fire spread too quickly for it to be natural, and our investigations tentatively rule out gas leaks or similar causes." Kyuwa read from the report in front of him. "Is there anything you would like to add to that?"

"Ah, Senpai got me and my brother out that morning already." Matou spoke up shyly. "So I don't know what could have caused the fire…"

"Zouken caused that stupid fire. Please don't make excuses for him, Sakura, familial loyalty is not applicable in this situation." Mitsuzuri Ayako interrupted her, sounding absolutely certain of herself, as she gave the other girl a small hug. "That guy is- was crazy and everyone here should be aware of that. It would make the investigation a whole lot easier if they knew who did it after all."

"That's… a rather heavy accusation." Kyuwa noted carefully. "Is there any reason for you to make claims like that, and can you substantiate them?"

"I would like to say that I completely support my daughter in this." Mitsuzuri Chiaki declared before her daughter could reply. "I didn't speak with him very often, but I managed to force him out of his hole once or twice, and I can say the man was positively unhinged. I have no concrete proof it was him, but it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if he was the one to set fire to his own house. Ask anyone who knew him, they will all confirm it."

Ryozo and the redhead, Emiya, also gave their support to Ayako's words, and even Matou nodded after they were done talking, with an air of someone who had to face the facts.

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind during the investigation." Kyuwa promised, writing down their statements and their description of Zouken and his mental state. "Now that we are on the subject however, why did you, Emiya-san, decide to take away the Matou-siblings from their house?"

"Because for as long as I have known them, Zouken has been abusing them." Emiya said, placing his hand on Matou's shoulder. "He terrorised, manipulated and gaslighted them, and recently even began threatening them with bodily harm. I decided to take them away from there as soon as I learned of it, which was much too late I might say."

"Then you were completely correct in getting them out of there." Kyuwa nodded, frowning heavily now. He turned towards Matou then, softening his voice as he spoke to her. "While I understand this can be difficult to talk about, can you confirm what Emiya-san said?"

Matou seemed to fidget for a few moments, breathing deeply as she gathered her courage. When she looked up to Kyuwa again though, it was with a steely gaze.

"…Yes, it is true." She whispered. "Even in my earliest memories, he was always telling me and Nii-san how worthless we were, that no one would ever want us, that we were lucky he was there to take care of us, because no one else would. A few days ago, he suddenly started threatening us as well."

"Threatening you?" Kyuwa asked sharply. "What did he say?"

"That he was mad that we were having fun when we were away from the house." Matou answered, a slightly bitter note in her voice. "He was angry that we made friends for ourselves. He told us that he would kill them if we didn't immediately break off the friendships we made."

Osaki gritted his teeth slightly, the image of his girls being in such a situation filling his veins with fire. While his experience as a detective had led to him seeing several similar cases, the thought of people that could actually, casually, do things like that to their very own family was sickening all the same.

Neither he nor Kyuwa even thought of commenting on how it was nigh impossible for a man as old as Zouken to physically harm strong-looking teenagers. Matou Zouken had clearly been abusing the Matou-siblings from a very young age, and had conditioned them to fear him, even if they could easily outmatch him both mentally and physically. That was the evil of child abusers.

"So I took them away from there as soon as Shinji told me what was going on in their household." Emiya said as Osaki tuned back into the conversation, Ayako meanwhile hugging the other girl again. "I couldn't accept to stand back and just watch Zouken continue doing this to my friends."

"Entirely understandable." Kyuwa nodded sharply. "What was the situation in the Matou-estate when you took them away from there?"

"Not good." Emiya said grimly, while Matou seemed to shrink in on herself even more. "Zouken was yelling and throwing things around. He tried to prevent Sakura and Shinji from leaving in just about any way possible. He even tried fighting me, though I was able to easily overpower him."

Kyuwa dutifully wrote that down as well, just like all the following statements from everyone in the room about Zouken's deteriorated mental state and his abuse of his grandchildren.

"Alright, thank you." Kyuwa eventually said, holding up his hand. "I think I have a pretty clear picture of what happened last night, and I understand that Zouken was… crazy, to put it mildly. I would like to hear Osaki-san's statement now, and then you can leave again."

"No." Chiaki said sharply as Osaki was about to speak, rising from her seat with determination in her eyes, ignoring the disapproving looks from the teenagers in the room. "There is still the matter of Sakura's brother."

Kyuwa stopped writing after she said that, and Osaki nodded slowly, remembering what was said outside of the office.

"Shinji apparently decided he no longer wanted to live here after everything that had happened." Chiaki continued unprompted, throwing a disapproving look at the teens present. "And these kids thought that it was acceptable to give him supplies, a suitcase, money and a pat on the back as he left. If possible, I would like him brought back here."

"He chose to leave the city of his own free will, to try to find himself after living with Zouken for so long, and he didn't want anyone following him or searching for him." Emiya countered, meeting her gaze and glaring until she looked away.

"T-That may be true, but I hardly think a boy of barely fourteen should be allowed to make such an impulsive decision, especially when he probably wasn't in the right state of mind. We can help him here."

"How? By locking him up in a cell? He will try to leave again, and all the 'help' in the world isn't going to stop him."

Osaki rose from his seat and stepped between the arguing woman and teen. It hadn't looked like they would become violent, but stepping in-between people often put them off balance enough for the third person to seize the initiative in the conversation.

"Alright, enough." He said sternly. "Let us not blow this out of proportion. We are all adolescents and adults here, not bickering children."

Both woman and teenager seemed thrown for a loop for a moment, before what he had said settled in their minds. Emiya then sighed deeply.

"…Right. I'm sorry, Mitsuzuri-san. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that."

"Ah, right back at you, Shirou-kun. I suppose your opinion is just as valid as mine, as is Shinji's."

"Well, excellent then." Kyuwa said with a smile as Osaki sat down again. "However, Emiya-san, while we understand you merely want to support your friend in his decisions, it is not our policy to let underage children travel Japan on their own. I'm afraid we'll have to file a missing person-report for him and have the police be on the lookout for him."

"That's fine." Emiya answered calmly, not looking at all upset or annoyed as Osaki had almost expected him to be. "You have your duty after all."

Unbeknownst to everyone, the level of static electricity, normally at standard levels, dropped back from the incredibly high levels they had been at, causing the hair of the woman present, that had started to rise slightly, to fall back down again. Simultaneously, the pressure on the electronic equipment in the building disappeared, allowed everything to continue like normal.

Shirou didn't know about those happenings, but he would have been greatly annoyed at the lacking control if he did.

"Right." Kyuwa nodded sharply. "Can we continue with Osaki-san's report now, or is there something else you want to add?"

The Mitsuzuri-family members, as well as Matou and Emiya, shook their heads, so Osaki told his part of the tale.

He gave a quick summation of last night's events: He had been walking with his daughters, whom he quickly sent home after seeing the cloud of smoke rise above the city, then made his way over to assist in any way he could, which was mainly keeping the curious bystanders away.

He had his altercation with the Mitsuzuris there and, after the fire had been extinguished at last, aided the firefighters in searching the house for clues that would point them to the origin of the fire, either arson or accident, though they had found nothing supporting either conclusion.

"So after I helped at the Matou-estate, I went home and went to sleep. Nothing else of note happened in that time."

"Excellent." Kyuwa nodded, putting all papers together in a map, before rising from his seat. "That was everything I wanted to talk about. Thank you for your cooperation."

"It was no trouble at all." Mitsuzuri Ryozo said with a nod, a statement echoed by the others in the room. "If there's nothing left to talk about here, I suppose we can all get back to our lives now."

Ryozo's suggestion was met with unanimous agreement, as everyone left Kyuwa's office.

Before Osaki could head off for the third floor however, Ryozo stepped up to him, stopping him in his path.

"Osaki-san, to continue our conversation from before, thank you again for your hard work yesterday." He said, his family nodding to his words. "Even though you were off duty and busy with your own investigation, you still took the time to help. We all appreciate this, very much."

"It really was no trouble at all." Osaki reassured them. "Working at Law-Enforcement is more than just filling your hours and filing reports, it is also about helping people where you can. I did nothing but my duty yesterday, and I would do it again, every day, if necessary. Now, I don't want to be rude, but I have my case to attend…"

"Please, don't let us keep you here any longer." Ryozo smiled, before his daughter spoke up again.

"What are you working on?"

Osaki… couldn't say he was very surprised at the sudden question, nor at who asked it, and after some internal debate, he decided to tell them, leaving out any details of course.

"I am currently working on the investigation into Rakurai, to track down the vigilante and arrest him."

That one sentence was enough to strike them all silent, as the adults gaped in shock and the girls gasped in surprise and… awe? Though the Matou's gaze held more interest than shock or awe.

There was barely any reaction from the redhead though, who just blinked once. That, combined with his calm demeanour earlier, painted a picture of a very composed person. Quite impressive for a kid his age.

Or creepy, jury was still out on that.

"Really?" Ayako asked once she got over her shock, her eyes sparkling. "You are one of the policemen going after the vigilante?"

"Yes, though judging from your reaction, you are a fan of his?"

"I am." She shamelessly confessed. "But that doesn't mean I don't support you. I hope you'll have a lot of success. That would make following the case a lot more interesting than if he continues unoppos-"

"Ayako." Emiya smiled thinly while covering the brunette's mouth with his hand. "Please don't be so open about using the Law-Enforcement's efforts as a source of amusement."

"Eh, my daughters do exactly the same every day." Osaki laughed, feeling relieved it wasn't just his girls that behaved like so. "They have even taken to calling me Rakurai's nemesis, though honestly, I doubt the guy even knows I exist."

"You sell yourself short, Osaki-san." The redhead protested, still keeping Mitsuzuri Ayako's mouth covered, though the girl didn't really seem to mind all that much. "I'm sure Rakurai knows to be very careful whenever you are near."

"Thanks, but I don't think he ever has to account for me." Osaki said with a dismissive wave. "That guy is seriously good."

"Okay everyone, don't bother the officer anymore." Mitsuzuri Chiaki then fell in, taking her daughter and Emiya by the shoulders and gently steering them away. "I'm sure he has a lot of work he still has to do."

"Don't remind me." Osaki grumbled, already dreading the pile of paperwork waiting for him.

"Goodbye, Osaki-san, thank you again for the help." Matou smiled, giving a little wave as they walked away, Emiya now releasing the brunette from his grasp, who merely huffed, before grabbing his hand, Matou taking the other.

Osaki chuckled at the sight as he made his way up the stairs to his office.

Once he reached it, the first thing he noticed was the very empty desk of his partner. It was so… abnormal, to see her missing from her usual place.

As if she had heard him, his phone started ringing, his house-number displayed on the screen.

He answered it right away. "This is Osaki Koyo speaking."

"Good morning, Senpai." Yomaura said softly, her sleepiness clear in her voice.

"A good morning to you as well, though I wonder, should you be on the phone right now?"

"It's alright, I have Suki and Chiho right here, watching over me. They said it was alright as long as I stayed in bed."

"Hm, well, alright then. Don't overstrain yourself though."

"I won't, I was just curious. You had that witness-stuff this morning, right? How did it go-o-o-o?"

Her sentence was interrupted by what he assumed to be a jaw-cracking yawn, yet her message had gotten across well enough.

"Pretty well actually." He answered her question. "It turns out the Matou-siblings left the house well before the fire, and thus aren't deceased. Only their grandfather is, but he turned out to be both abusive and probably also guilty of setting the house on fire himself."

"Really? That's amazing news, the first part I mean. I reckon that Mitsuzuri-girl is pretty happy with her friends surviving?"

"She was indeed, and so were her parents and her friend, one Emiya Shirou."

"…Emiya?"

Osaki felt a shiver up his spine as his partner repeated the boy's name, her voice suddenly holding a very dangerous edge to it, something that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. It was a voice that demanded he explain further.

"Yes, Emiya. He's apparently a mutual friend of both Matou Sakura and Mitsuzuri Ayako. He's a pretty normal kid as far as I could see. Red hair, golden eyes, average height for his age, nothing out of the ordinary."

"I see." The edge largely disappeared from her voice, and Osaki breathed out in relief.

"…I can hear that you are still tired, but do you feel better than yesterday at least?" Osaki asked her in concern, dismissing the matter of Emiya. He hoped her fever hadn't come back at least.

"I do, Senpai." Yomaura replied, a smile audible in her voice. "I'm sorry about my state yesterday, and about worrying you so much. It was just something with my family."

Her family…

Was she insinuating her family had done all of that to her…?

"…Well, please watch over yourself in the future." Osaki admonished her, refraining from prying into her personal life. For now. "The girls were very concerned about you last evening. You were barely capable of moving around without collapsing, let alone speaking coherently."

"Y-Yes, t-they told me. As I said, it won't happen again, Senpai."

"Just watch over yourself." He repeated softly. "I know things are difficult for you now, but don't break yourself trying to keep up. You can always come to us for help, and remember, just because they are family doesn't mean they own you in any way."

"Y-Yes, I know. Thank you, Senpa-a-a-ai." Yomaura answered, again being interrupted by a large yawn, and then yet another one.

"If you are that tired, you should go back to sleep." Osaki huffed. "Just get your rest, and make sure you get better."

"Will do, Senpai. Much love from the girls by the way."

"Much love back, for all three of you. Take care, Taya."

He hung up the phone, now in a slightly better mood than before. He then put his phone in his pocket, before making his way over a colleague that had been beckoning for him to come over since he had set foot into the office.

In another part of town, Yomaura was staring silently at the phone, a warm feeling settling in her stomach after hearing her Senpai's last words.

Now was hardly the time to feel warm and fuzzy though, after she'd worried him like that. She had to think of something to explain what he had seen.

Her thoughts strayed however, to what she had just heard.

A Matou, in the presence of an Emiya.

Coincidence…

Or not?

---

'Ding-dong.'

Rin cracked open one eye when she heard the doorbell ring, the annoying and very unwished-for sound echoing through her house way too early in the morning.

Rin was not a morning person; she never had been one and never would be one either. Sleeping in was one of her favourite things to do in a morning.

She almost never got to do so though. If one forgot about the, admittedly quite numerous, times she overslept, she would always rise at seven, either for research or for school. She only got to actually sleep in once or twice a month, at most.

Those were fantastic mornings though, where she could just lay in bed without worrying about being late and without feeling guilty about wasting precious research-time.

And now someone was disturbing her, forcing her out of bed, on one such special mornings.

'Ding-dong'

With an annoyed groan, she lifted herself off her bed and went into the bathroom to make herself presentable. The incident with Emiya seeing her after she'd just crawled out of bed was still fresh in her mind. There was no way she was going to allow such a thing to happen again.

It was around ten minutes later that Rin made her way to the gate, intending to give whoever it was a piece of her mind. Had they never heard of visiting at a proper time? Like, after twelve or something.

She didn't however have any idea as to who it could be. She wasn't expecting anyone, mail wouldn't be delivered until later and she hadn't ordered anything that had to arrive in a package.

At this point, the only thing she could think of was that the Magus who was living in her territory without permission felt the need to bribe her again after the spectacle from two nights ago.

Hopefully, he hadn't used Emiya-kun for that again. She really didn't want him to become involved in this whole mess.

Only because it could endanger the secrecy of the Moonlit World! That was the only reason she didn't want him involved. Nothing else. It wasn't like she was angry at him for only visiting at the behest of others and then leaving as quickly as he came!

When she opened her door however, she wasn't greeted by Emiya, or anyone else around her age, but by a classy-looking man with an almost sour look on his face and a redheaded woman instead.

"Who are you?" Rin blurted out, caught off guard by the strange people knocking on her door.

"Good morning, Tohsaka-san." The man said, giving a small bow. "I am lord El-Melloi the Second, from the Archibald family. I am here in my function as a representative of the Clocktower to speak with you about the recent developments concerning your case. The woman next to me is Bazett Fraga McRemitz, Enforcer in my service. May we come in?"

Rin froze, a feeling of immense shock, dread and utter shame pooling in her stomach as the man introduced himself.

A lord! There was a lord standing in front of her door! A lord was visiting her! Her!

S-She had made an actual lord from the Clocktower wait for her! She had taken all the time in the world to answer the door, while a lord had been the one standing outside!

What the hell was she supposed to do now?

"…Welcome. Please come in."

It was said almost mechanically, as Rin tried suppressing all of her emotions to prevent stuttering, flailing, or even a full breakdown. She couldn't afford to look even worse than she no doubt already did.

Her mind was reeling however, as she tried to think of what was going on. What developments did he mean? What was that about her case? Did he mean the Magus who had been running rampant through her territory? Did he mean the mercenary that had been delivered to Kirei and sent to the Clocktower by the priest? Or did he mean something else entirely, something she hadn't even known about?

"Thank you, Tohsaka-san." Lord El-Melloi nodded, walking past her as she took a step aside, the Enforcer following behind him.

After closing the gate, Rin led them inside through the empty hallways to the dining room, sneaking glances at her guests. While the redheaded woman maintained a fully professional demeanour, the lord seemed to be getting antsy, as evidenced by the shifting eyes, shaking hands and light sheen of sweat on his forehead, even though the house was cold due to a faulty heater.

Nonetheless, by the time they arrived at the table, he had composed himself again.

Rin made sure they sat comfortably, before serving tea, which, after a quick check for poisoning, was gladly accepted by both guests.

"Thank you for the tea." Lord El-Melloi said, nodding slightly at her as he took a sip. "Please be at ease, Tohsaka-san. You are not being accused of anything and nothing that has happened was in any way your fault or responsibility. I am merely here to inform you on several matters that we think you should know of."

Rin could only just suppress a sigh of relief at those words, the notion that they weren't here because she did something wrong lifting a load off her shoulders. She limited her reaction to a small nod however.

"The first of those matters is that several Sealing Designees were recently captured, here in Japan, by a bounty hunter, in a town called Hiraizumi, about a four-hour drive away from here. These Magi had been hunted by the Clocktower for several years but were finally captured recently." The lord explained.

"Ah, that is good to hear." Rin said carefully. "But what does that have to do with me?"

"I'm getting to that." Lord El-Melloi answered after another sip of his tea. "You see, these Sealing Designees concocted a scheme several years ago, a plan to abduct as many people as possible in order to use them in their experiments, without permission of any kind from the Clocktower or anyone else. They abducted and killed thousands before an end could be put to it."

Rin nodded in understanding, carefully hiding the utter disgust she felt at the actions of those Magi. Once again a small part of her mind questioned why she even continued devoting her life to a Craft that only seemed to take from her, as it often did while she was particularly done with the play that was her life now.

Those thoughts were quickly forgotten as the faint memory of a large hand roughly patting her head and a smile that would have better suited being called a grimace arose from the recesses of her mind.

"However, these Magi were not content with just that." The lord went on. "They wanted more than just Mundane test subjects. They wanted a real Magus, for a greater progression of knowledge than if they experimented on just ordinary people."

Lord El-Melloi leaned forward, his eyes gaining a sharp look, and Rin's stomach twisted even further, as she realised what he was about to say.

"They hired the mercenary you recently sent to the Clocktower through the Church, with the explicit purpose of abducting you, so that they could use you for their research. I assume I don't have to tell you what that would have entailed."

Rin felt sick, absolutely sick, her fingers tightening unconsciously around her cup. To think she had come close to falling into the hands of such scum, to being used as a test-subject by those, those monsters.

Next to sick however, she also felt nervous. If they were captured already, then why was this lord here? Did he expect a reward? She couldn't afford giving him any kind of substantial payment.

She wanted to hurl, yet with great effort, she managed to keep her expression neutral, her Magus-persona smoothly sliding into place to hide her emotions with practiced ease.

"Then I am glad that you managed to capture them." She said after a few seconds, having recomposed herself enough to answer the lord in a neutral tone and steady voice. "It would have been… unpleasant to fall into their hands."

"Quite unpleasant most likely." The lord agreed. "Forgive me for asking though, but can I assume from your words that you had no idea you were being targeted, even though you did capture the mercenary they sent to abduct you?"

Rin didn't allow a single facial muscle to twitch in response to the lord's question, even though she wanted to flinch hard.

"I… didn't capture that mercenary myself." She reluctantly admitted after a few moments. "He was delivered at the Church with a note that we, the priest and I, could claim the bounty for his capture. We didn't wake him up, we just handed him over to the representatives of the Church."

"Who delivered him to the Clocktower, and into my hands." Lord El-Melloi finished, seemingly deep in thought, before a realisation seemed to hit him. "Never mind that then, someone else must have captured him."

"Right." Rin said, bowing her head slightly. The man seemed to know more than he let on, but she was hardly in a position to pressure him for information. "My most sincere apologies that I cannot help you further."

"There is nothing to apologise for." The lord said with a casual wave of his hand. "Now, I actually came here to inform you that the Magi themselves were also captured, by a bounty hunter, who turned them over to us. There is no need to fear them anymore."

Rin nodded again, inwardly sighing in immense relief, yet outwardly only allowing a small smile to form on her lips.

"I also came here to question you about any knowledge you might have of them, but if you know nothing, then there's nothing more to talk about." Lord El-Melloi continued after a few seconds. "Except if there's anything else you might wish to report now that I am here?"

"…Hm, no. I have nothing more I can tell you about this." Rin said, tightening her hold on her Magus mask even more, trying to envision she was just having a conversation with Emiya and Mitsuzuri. "Nothing else of note has happened in my city."

There was no way she was going to confess she had been unable to deal with a rogue Magus in her territory up until now. No matter how understanding this lord might be of her situation, that information would make its way to the Clocktower and it would ruin her reputation before she had even set one foot inside.

She had to stay in control now, show no single sign of more nervousness than was appropriate. She couldn't allow him to notice that she was lying.

"Understood. Now, that concludes my official business here. Off the record however, I have a few private matters I have to take care of as well." Lord El-Melloi continued, reaching into his jacket to pull out a small bag, which he opened to reveal four gems. "I would… appreciate it if you could stay silent on the matter in your capacity as Second Owner."

"Of course." Rin said without hesitation, relieved with the change of topic and not about to deny a lord a favour, much less one he actually paid her for. Furthermore, she still owed him for dealing with the Magi where she had been unable to. "As long as you do nothing illegal by Magical law and cause me no trouble."

"I won't cause any trouble for you, Tohsaka-san, and I'll keep to the law."

"Very well."

That concluded their conversation, as the lord and his… assistant, rose from their seats. Rin walked them back to the gate, where they politely said their goodbyes.

"Be well, Tohsaka-san." Lord El-Melloi smiled kindly. "If you ever come the Clocktower, seek me out. I'm sure we'll have a lot to talk about."

"Take care, kid." The redheaded woman said unceremoniously. "You seem alright, I'd hate it if you died."

"Have a good day, I look forward to seeing you again." Rin replied pleasantly, finally managing to get her emotions under complete control and put her mask back on… now that it didn't matter anymore.

Closing the door and walking back to her room, Rin fell down on her bed, groaning in agitation. Her first conversation with a lord, and she had been caught off guard so many times she hadn't been able to even remotely approach the subject of a sponsorship, or even the Clocktower in general.

That barely mattered however, compared to the massive Gandr-shot she had apparently unwittingly dodged recently.

A group of Sealing Designees had been planning to abduct her for their sick experiments, to further their studies. She had been extremely close to being reduced to a labrat or worse. What was she supposed to do with that information?

She knew Magi were hard and cold, that they barely cared about who they hurt in their pursuit of knowledge, but this drove that home harder than any story or warning ever could. If the Clocktower hadn't interfered when they did…

Or had they?

Wasn't it actually that bounty hunter who had taken them down before they could actually harm her? Could that be the same one that had caught the mercenary before he could abduct her?

If so, then they had effectively saved her from a gruesome fate twice already.

Rin wasn't naïve enough to believe they had done it for her though. It was probably more for the profit they could make off capturing wanted criminals than to help someone else, but still, she owed that person a debt, one she wasn't planning on shrinking from.

If only she knew who it was.

…

Maybe the Matou knew something? Zouken had lived here for a long time, and it wasn't unlikely that he had ways to watch over the city she couldn't even imagine yet.

She normally wouldn't even consider visiting them, yet with the rogue Magus running around and Sealing Designees targeting her before being stopped by strangely altruistic bounty-hunters, she couldn't afford to be picky with her allies.

Besides, she was the Second Owner. It was part of her duties to check up on the Magi living within her borders, yet she had never done so. It was high time by now that she laid down the law and reminded them that this city was in fact being watched over.

She would visit the Matou tomorrow… Hopefully when Sakura wasn't home.

For now however, her bed's siren calls were drawing her right back to its warm embrace.

---

The conversation with the Second Owner had gone pretty well, all things considered.

The walk to the mansion had been nerve-wracking, and his stay there even more so. Every second spent there reminded him of that day eight years ago, when Archer, the very same Archer that served the Tohsaka-family, had killed Rider in front of his eyes. It had been the first time Waver had been confronted with that kind of power, power that could crush him like an ant, and it had clearly left its mark on him.

He hadn't been able to suppress his irrational fears, his stupid mind constantly reminding him he was in the liar of the beast, warning him that Archer was just around the corner, that there was no escape from the one who had killed his Servant and liege. He supposed he should be happy his outward reaction had been limited to some nervous ticks, instead of, for instance, tripping over his own feet or something.

He was quite sure however that his host had noticed his reaction.

What was interesting to note was that Waver had been able to pick up that, just like him, the Tohsaka-heiress had been incredibly nervous herself, from the moment she laid eyes on him and Bazett until the moment they had left again, maybe even after.

A bit curious, but he had seen no reason to point it out.

He understood her nervousness, truly. Having a lord suddenly appearing at your door on any random morning would be shocking and unexpected for almost everyone, especially in Japan, where the culture of respect was quite a bit stronger than in the Western World.

Hearing she had been targeted by a group of Sealing Designees that wanted to turn her into their personal guinea-pig probably hadn't helped either.

In turn, he had been shocked to hear that she hadn't been the one to capture the mercenary, even though she had in fact been the one to send him off and receive the reward for his capture.

His confusion hadn't lasted long though, as he had recalled almost instantly just who had taken down the Magi. He might not know Fujimaru all that well, but he could already tell that letting someone else claim the reward for his work fit his character perfectly.

He had allowed Waver to do so after all, while receiving almost nothing in return.

He had not told Tohsaka of Fujimaru however. The boy had asked him to be as discreet as possible about his existence, and Waver was planning to do just that. He prided himself on being a man of his word after all. Besides, it was unlikely Tohsaka would ever meet the boy in the first place.

Anyway, once he had informed her of everything that involved her and she had admitted she had no further knowledge about the Magi, their conversation was over. He didn't want to be rude, but he had more to do today.

Ultimately, his impression of the girl was a tentatively positive one. He had a strong hunch she might actually be a soft-hearted person beneath the possible masks she was wearing.

Not that it seemed to impair her ability as a Magus. Nothing had indicated she was in any way below average with that, and as a teacher, he certainly would have noticed that.

Fortunately, the girl had not protested when Waver had practically bribed her to allow him to handle his private matter in peace. To be honest, he was quite sure she would have let him even if he didn't bribe her, but he didn't want to pressure her without giving anything in return. Moreover, his years had the Clocktower had taught him the importance of incentives.

Anyway, now that the Magical side of his plans was over and done with, it was time to move on to the Mundane side.

He had dismissed Bazett a few minutes ago, telling her to head back to the hotel, before he walked to the other side of the city from where the Tohsaka-estate was located. This was something he wanted to do alone. Something he had to do alone.

The house he eventually reached looked the same as it had all those years ago, complete with the owner of the house mowing the grass, something he still did every week, and his wife sitting on a bench in the garden, watching him work as she poured his tea.

It made for a peaceful picture, one Waver was loath to disturb, yet that choice wasn't his to make anymore. Not when he had already walked up to them so openly.

"Waver, my boy." Glen McKenzie called out from where he stood, a large jovial smile on his face, his appearance suggesting nothing but a harmless old man, hiding the immense amount of willpower that had allowed him to break free from Waver's hypnosis through sheer stubbornness alone.

"Oh, my dear Waver." Martha cried in joy, rising from the bench as soon as she saw him. "What a happy surprise to see you here, it's been too long."

"Far too long." Waver agreed, bowing formally, before stiffening slightly as first Glen and then Martha hugged him. His unresponsiveness didn't seem to bother them though, and he went on. "I was in Fuyuki-City for business, and I couldn't just leave without visiting you first."

Glen laughed out loud, patting Waver on the back, while Martha smiled gently, reaching up to pinch his cheek.

"That is very kind of you, Waver." She laughed softly. "I wish our every grandson would have a mindset like you, but I suppose not everyone can be as kind as you."

Waver smiled, but it was a brittle thing. He didn't know if he could be considered 'kind' in any way. He was a Magus after all, and a liar besides. He had hypnotised Glen and Martha, and though Glen had broken free from it, Waver knew he was more akin to a cuckold.

He was shaken from his musings by a hand on his shoulder, which turned out to be Martha, who was looking at him compassionately.

"I mean it, Waver. You are a kind man, no matter what you believe you might have done wrong. I'm sure the people around you won't judge you as harshly as you judge yourself."

Waver was silent for a few moments, the gears in his mind turning rapidly, before he nodded silently.

"Come in, my boy." Glen then called out after putting the lawnmower in the shed, already on his way to the door, breaking the contemplative mood. "I'll make some more tea and we can talk about what you've been up to recently."

"You don't have to drop everything you were doing just because I came by." The Magus protested, but it fell on deaf ears as Glen walked inside and Martha, after gathering the cups in the garden, followed right after him.

So with a sigh that was equal parts consternation and fondness, Waver followed them inside.

Inside the house, nothing seemed to have changed since he had left. The walls, the interior and even the general mood of the house were the same, and Waver could almost swear he had last been there only yesterday, rather than over ten years ago.

The same decorations, the same carpets on the floor, the same colours on the walls, even the same tv where Rider had played his games, wearing his advance T-shirt. Waver still didn't understand just how that piece of clothing had fit the enormous man.

He could almost see it before him, Rider guaffing loudly at some corny joke Glen told him, while slapping Waver on the back, Martha watching them fondly from the side as she cooked dinner.

He knelt at the table just as Martha poured him a cup of tea, she and Glen already sitting primed and ready to start one of their tea-time sessions.

Waver truly appreciated their efforts, and he wouldn't say no to tea either, but it was still a bit much for them to just upend their entire schedule merely for him. From what he had heard of them over the years, they had kept themselves busy since he left, and didn't want to intrude too much in their lives.

When he brought that up however, Glen and Martha laughed merrily again.

"We don't really have a schedule, my boy." Glen chuckled. "These days, we just go where our mood takes us. We've told you a bit in our letters, but those were just the big things, like those cruises to the United States and the trip to Europe, but we also do a lot of other things. Cycling, driving through the countryside, going to festivals and concerts, we try everything we can find."

"Indeed." Martha smiled. "Why, just last week we were off to Urayasu, to visit an old friend of ours. We hadn't seen her in quite a long time, but we were delighted to find that it was going so well with her. It's a lot cleaner than it used to be, that city."

"Not to mention last year, when we went to the Northern mountains for a week or so. That was quite something, Waver, let me tell you. All those young daredevils skiing down the mountains, what a show that was."

"It sounds riveting, and I suppose I am fortunate that you aren't on one such trips now. It would have been a shame to miss you completely on the one day I was able to visit you."

"Ah, worry not, my boy. We don't go on large trips like that anymore. Visiting a friend in a nearby city is the limit of it these days. We can't quite manage larger trips anymore."

"What do you mean you can't manage it anymore?" Waver asked in concern. Surely they couldn't be sick? They both looked fine to him. "What's bothering you?"

"Nothing but old age." Glen smiled reassuringly. "So don't you worry one bit. We aren't as young as we used to be, and the time is nearing that we have to make room for the next generations. We've had our time, and neither of us have any regrets. Not now that you have visited us again, my boy. We missed you a great deal, and a visit is so much better than even all the letters in the world."

"But enough about us, Waver." Martha interrupted, handing him his cup of tea. "We've still got quite a few years left in us, even if we have to take it easier these days, so there's no reason to worry and fret about these two old people. Now, why don't you tell us what you've been up to these past few years."

Waver held the teacup in a grip that might have been a tad stronger than necessary as he contemplated on what to tell his surrogate grandparents, and what he should lie about, or just not mention.

They might know some things, such as him being far from normal, but that didn't mean he could just tell them about the Moonlit World so freely. That way lied only disaster. Telling a few people here and there really started to stack up after a while.

Perhaps an altered version of the truth would do…?

"I have been pretty successful over the past years." Waver eventually began, deciding to tell the truth as much as possible while omitting anything relating to the Moonlit World. "I even managed to take over the position of my former mentor, which is a pretty good job, if I do say so myself."

"Take over his job?" Glen asked with a raised eyebrow. "I do remember you mentioning that in one of your letters, but you never elaborated on what happened exactly. Did something happen to him, did he leave it to you when he retired, or was he a jerk that you rightfully pushed from his place?"

"We were certainly on very bad terms." Waver huffed, remembering the dead threats and everything else that had been heaped on him by Kayneth. "But he was murdered around eight years ago."

Martha pressed a hand to her mouth in shock, and Glen frowned heavily. Waver blinked in response, before he almost facepalmed as he remembered brutal murders were decidedly not normal outside of the Magus Community.

"Was he killed because of his position?" Glen asked sharply, setting down his teacup with great force. "Are you saying you are also at risk of being murdered?"

"No, no, not at all." Waver shook his head, trying to calm them down. "The position I hold is a wanted one, and I'm definitely making enemies with it, but that goes for almost every high-end job these days. I'm not at particular risk of being murdered soon, my mentor merely made the mistake of picking battles with the wrong people while there was no need to."

His words didn't really seem to set them at ease, but they didn't press the issue, merely urging him to be careful.

Waver promised he would be careful, but he knew very well that his position was a dangerous one. He was a Magus after all, and a Lord besides, of course he wasn't safe or free from risk, death was a fundamental part of his whole lifestyle.

But then again, Kayneth had strolled into battle with his Crest, a fiancé that practically hated him and a Servant who he treated like trash, while being up against Emiya Kiritsugu…

One would almost think Kayneth had just been tired of life and committed suicide-by-Grail-War, his actions had simply been that stupid.

"Never mind my job and its risks though, why don't we talk about my students." He quickly went on in an effort to distract Glen and Martha from the dangers of his profession. "Or perhaps my research?"

"You are a teacher?" Martha asked in surprise. "Didn't you say you were a researcher mostly? I wouldn't have assumed you to be a teacher after all of this talk about murder and risk. I mean, aren't teachers really wanted these days? Why would they want to murder you?"

"It's not my main job, teaching is what I do on the side." Waver explained quickly, inwardly frowning as the conversation again went to uncomfortable places. "I teach other people and I do research in all kinds of subjects in the time I have left, mostly."

"I never knew that teaching and doing research could be side-jobs, especially when one does both of those." Glen said ponderously, rubbing a hand over his chin. "What is it that you do that allows you such freedom, while still bringing you so many enemies?"

"…I work for a big conglomerate, a research centre of sorts where people from all over the world can pool their work to compare it, and work together to discover new things. It's a big organisation, and my main job is to play a small leading and administrative role in the whole."

"Some kind of leadership function?" Martha asked in an awed voice. "How fitting for you, Waver. What the name of this organisation though? I'm sure we can find some information on the phone-"

"I'd rather not say." Waver interrupted her sharply, before wincing at his own tone. "I-I'm sorry, I… cannot tell. It is forbidden to tell outsiders of… that place. We… are quite secretive, I guess."

He had expected the look of understanding in Glen's eyes, but it was a bit of a surprise to see the same look in Martha's. It was only then that he recalled Martha's words:

'I wish our every grandson would have a mindset like yours'.

She had said 'our every' grandson, not 'I wish every', nor 'everyone's', but 'our every'...

She knew…

She actually knew he wasn't her real grandson, or at least heavily suspected it, yet she still accepted him as a grandson? Her grandson?

He didn't know if he should laugh in delight or flail in confusion, but either of those two emotions, or both, was about to shut down his brain.

All fell silent after his words, breaking eye-contact and directing their attention elsewhere, choosing to refill the cups or fiddle with the carpet. An awkward silence stretched out, as all three tried to think of something to say without addressing the elephant in the room.

"It's… quite a fun job though." Waver eventually tried, after several minutes spend composing himself, his face morphing into what felt like a hundred different expressions. "I have some annoying superiors, but on the whole, they don't bother me much. I think I've really found my place in the world."

"Excellent, truly magnificent, my boy." Glen proclaimed quickly and proudly, trying to push the awkwardness away. "It's good to hear that you consider your life a success."

It mostly seemed he was happy to see that, in what was his opinion, Waver was no longer risking his life recklessly, a lesson the old man had tried to impart on him on the very rooftop of this house, after having broken free from the hypnosis and having deduced that Waver was partaking in a life-and-death battle.

"It's truly amazing, my dear Waver." Martha smiled tenderly, placing a hand on his arm. "What about your colleagues though? You've talked about what you do, and your bosses, but you haven't mentioned any friends."

"That's because my job and working environment doesn't allow for friends." Waver sighed, feeling a long-held knot in his stomach finally loosen with the frank admission. "Everyone is out for their own gain, and the ones that you can trust as few and far apart. Just recently one tried to steal my latest research, and though that failed, it is but one example of the bad crowd."

"That doesn't sound like a productive place to work, surrounded by those people." Martha said aghast. "Why do you interact with them if they are so-, so rotten?"

"I don't have much of a choice." Waver admitted sheepishly. "They are after all my employers and employees, my teachers and students, my colleagues and my partners. Besides, when you understand what makes them tick, it isn't all that difficult. Most of them want respect, they want to conduct their research, to get everything they need for it, regardless of how many people they hurt in the process. Everyone wants to be important and feared, and jealousy is a large part of the community. If you remember that, navigating through it isn't very difficult."

"Sounds like a bunch of spoiled brats to me." Martha huffed condescendingly.

"…" Waver really wanted to protest that, but, when he really thought about it, he found he couldn't dispute her statement. The scales were very different, and the stakes were a lot higher, not to mention it was a lot eviller and more cynical, but in essence, Martha was right.

They were really a bunch of spoiled brats…

Well… more insight was always a good thing?

A laugh from Glen pulled his attention back again.

"Don't confront that poor boy with the truth like that." He reprimanded his wife. "Just because this brings to mind five-years-olds pulling the legs of a spider to see what happens, and savagely beating each other over toys, and happily backstabbing each other to gain the teacher's approval, doesn't mean you can just say that to his face."

"Thanks for your consideration, old man." Waver sighed.

"You are very welcome, Waver." Said old man beamed. "That said though, I have been meaning to ask, how's that business of yours going? The stuff you came to the city for?"

"Oh no, old man." Waver answered sharply. "I have been talking for way too long now. Let us first bring the conversation back to you again for some time, then we can continue talking about me."

"That is sweet of you, Waver." Martha smiled softly. "Well, like we said, all in all, we are doing quite well. We are still capable of going around town whenever we want, we keep up with the news and we are in good health according to doctor Tanaka."

"It's been a bit boring around here, I have to admit." Glen continued when Martha fell silent. "But we get by. We certainly aren't going to die any time soon."

"That's a relief to hear." Waver smiled. "Though I suppose a stubborn lot like you two wouldn't die that easily."

"You got that right." They answered simultaneously, prompting Waver to shake his head in fond exasperation.

"We old people are just a tough crowd, Waver, that's how things are, always have been." Glen said sagely, which actually fitted his appearance quite well. "It's also evident in the people we know, and we know a lot of people."

As they went on talking, Waver was surprised to learn just how well-connected his honorary grandparents were. From Julia who lived around the corner and Akina who worked at the barbershop, to Ekiken who owned a cosy little restaurant three cities over and Yakamochi who was a funeral undertaker at the other end of Fuyuki-City.

They were more well-connected than he was, and being connected was supposed to be a part of his job.

Was it true then, that all old people knew each other?

Would he have to be afraid of Zelretch, that old vampire, appearing behind him now?

A frightening prospect, and not one he wanted to think about. Therefore, he was grateful when the conversation moved back to him.

"I was in town to deal with a few old business partners of mine." He said, feeling that was close enough to the truth. "On arrival though, I discovered that they had been taken in by the police for unethical experiments and other similar charges."

"What were they doing the-" Glen started, before he fell silent. "I-I mean, damn, your co-workers are indeed a difficult lot if that's what happens to them."

"I never liked them anyway." Waver responded with an uncaring shrug. "There is not much more I can say about it though."

"So there's room for questions now?" Martha asked with an innocent expression, which turned evil when Waver nodded, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. "Is there, perhaps, anyone you currently fancy, Waver? Can we expect great-grandbabies soon?"

"W-What?" Waver almost reared back in shock at the sudden question. "W-Why would you even ask that?"

"Come now my boy." Glen laughed, again clapping his hand on Waver's back, the previous mood seemingly forgotten. "You are our grandson, of course we want to know if you're going to settle down someday soon. We want great-grandchildren after all, as we've told you so often."

"You never told me that."

"Is it perhaps that maid that you mentioned in one of your letters? Dear, a forbidden office romance, that sounds like something out of the neighbour's eldest daughter's dramas."

Well, yeah, he did have a maid, but Waver didn't have the heart to tell them that said maid was made of mercury and would start trying to kill people if the word 'terminator' was so much as mentioned in her presence.

Not exactly dating-material, even if the whole mercury-thing had been absent.

Perhaps it was the painful expression on his face that caused Martha to follow up with her next blow.

"Oh, but don't worry, my sweet Waver. If you have your eyes on a nice man, that's completely fine too. We won't judge you. After all, condemning people over things like that is so previous century."

"Are you trying to bait me? You are trying to bait me, aren't you?"

"No idea what you're talking about. When are we going to meet your boyfriend though?"

"I don't have one." Waver stressed frantically, rapidly waving his arms, while Glen and Martha were struggling to hold back their laughter.

Despite his embarrassment though, Waver couldn't hold back a smile. It had been years since he had been able to talk so freely, not since… well, the last time he was here, now almost eight years ago.

Somehow though, it felt like it had only been yesterday since he had heard the old man and Rider laugh together in the living room, working hard at out-drinking each other and constantly engaging in arm wrestling competitions… which they always dragged him into as well. He could still feel the pain of his fingers breaking as Rider 'lightly' enveloped Wavers tiny hands in his own.

It was nostalgic.

Before he knew it, many hours had passed already.

"Oh dear." Waver said as he looked down at his watch, his eyes widening as he saw the time. "Please forgive me, but it seems I have to leave again. I can't leave my team alone for too long, they might misbehave if I'm not there."

"You've been here for several hours already." Martha said with a grateful smile. "That is plenty. Don't forget to write us, dear, and don't go insane with the spoiled brats."

"I will endeavour not to." Waver laughed. "I hope your lives won't be too interesting from here on, and do stay in good health. I pity the Shinigami that will be tasked with picking up the two of you."

Martha burst out in delighted cackles at his last jibe, while Glen huffed.

"Our lives will be plenty interesting. We have found a new hobby these days." The old man said with a smile that belayed how pleased he was at his own words. "We are following the famous vigilante Rakurai on his quest to defeat all evil."

"…Pardon me?"

"The new vigilante, Waver. He has been going around for a few months now, catching criminals left and right, all the while evading the police. People are going crazy about him. Look him up if you have the time."

"…Sure."

After saying his goodbyes to both Glen and Martha, along with a promise to write and to visit them again if it was at all possible, Waver left for the hotel he and his team were staying at.

His tasks here were done now. All that was left was going home, or what counted as home for him, and wait for Fujimaru to contact him.

As well as a thousand other menial tasks of course. The work of a lord was never done.

---

Sakura was pondering deeply about the future. Her own future to be precise, but also that of her Senpai and that of her closest friend, Ayako.

She, along with her Senpai, had just returned to his- their house, after finishing their statements at the police office and saying goodbye to the Mitsuzuri-family. Giving their accounts had taken the whole morning, and it was almost time for lunch now.

Fujimura-sensei had already told them she wouldn't be present for the meal. She had been there for breakfast today, and would be for dinner, but she couldn't make it to lunch because of a meeting at her school.

That was actually quite convenient for Sakura, as she had some… sensitive topics she needed to discuss with her Senpai.

Preparing lunch was as fun as ever, even more now that the issue with Zouken was over. Without the enormous weight and stress pressing down on her, Sakura had more fun than ever before, even though cooking with her Senpai was something she had done hundreds of times.

The meal was finished in the blink of an eyes, and before long, Sakura and Shirou were peacefully eating as they chatted about mundane things.

Sakura flinched however as she received yet another minor shock from somewhere when she sat down. She wasn't completely sure why, but there had been a lot more static electricity in the air than normal.

She was almost certain Senpai was the origin, but she didn't really know how to address it. Since it was getting less and less over time though, she had decided to let it be for now. They had far more important issues to deal with after all.

"Senpai." She suddenly said in a far more serious tone, making him sit up straight as he noticed the change in atmosphere. "How exactly are we going to do this? L-Living together I mean. I don't think I can just move in expecting that everything will just go smoothly, so maybe…"

"Ah, good that you remind me." Shirou said, snapping his fingers in realisation. "We do have several things we need to discuss about that. You are of course right that we do have to take care of several things in order for you to live here. First of all, keys. I have several spare ones, so you can have one of those."

After a quick trip to somewhere in the house, he returned with a key, which was promptly handed over to her.

"Besides that, I have a bank account that I use for the daily expenses. I'll allow you access to it as well." He continued, writing a reminder on a piece of paper. "Some of dad's money and the salary for my job go there. In about three days, your cart should arrive and then you can take money from it as well."

"You already picked your room, you have a futon, and we can go buy more stuff for you this afternoon. I saw you didn't have much, so you'll need some new clothes, perhaps a computer, toiletries certainly and some other things."

As her Senpai kept writing down point after point on the piece of paper, the plum-haired marvelled at just how much went into managing a household. It was a good thing he was so capable already, because she would have floundered hard at this point.

Really, it was a good thing her Senpai was taking care of that, because Sakura had actually only intended to use her question about living together as a way to bring the topic over to Ayako.

Sakura had had the immense luck that the brunette had interpreted Sakura's offer to let her have Shirou as a proposal to share him, and though she felt terrible about the deception, it meant that a relationship with Senpai and Ayako was still possible.

Not that she minded sharing with Ayako of course. In fact, it would probably only help her a lot to have a friend with her in a relationship. Being a proper girlfriend sounded like it would be very difficult, so if she had someone to share with, all the better.

However, a relationship with Ayako would be nigh-impossible if they kept more than half of their life a secret from her, the Magical half to be precise.

If they didn't tell her, then either it would cause friction when Ayako would inevitably realise they were hiding things, or she might find out herself regardless of their attempts at the contrary, and freak out.

Shirou had been able to keep him being a Spell Caster a secret from both Ayako and Sakura before, but only because Sakura herself had never dared pry into his personal life and had dogmatically avoided everything that reminded her of Magecraft, while Ayako simply wasn't around enough to notice anything strange.

Sakura herself knew all about her Senpai now, so there were no problems anymore on her end.

Should Ayako become their girlfriend however, the girl was bound to notice their secrecy, and that would cause arguments and friction.

As such, preventive measures had to be taken.

She patiently waited for her Senpai to finish his list, taking careful note of everything he said. It was all practical and very useful information to remember, and it was only polite to listen.

While she did so however, her mind started to wander. She still could barely believe it, that she was actually here right now, in Senpai's house. It all felt like a dream, yet no matter how often she pinched herself, or held her breath and counted to ten, nothing changed.

She was still right here, living with Senpai, being friends with Ayako, having them both by her side. Fujimura-sensei was still a bottomless pit, and gran- Zouken was still dead.

She was free now. She was free. She was free. She was free and everything seemed alright.

Granted, Nii-san was still gone because he couldn't bear to stay here, but he would return one day. She was sure he would.

"And that's usually the schedule I maintain for the washing machine." Shirou said as she tuned back in, writing it down to better remember it. "That's everything I wanted to say. Don't worry if you didn't remember all of it, I will repeat it as often as necessary."

"Thank you, Senpai. I'll be sure to do my part in the household." Sakura promised, before taking the chance to present her own issue. "But there is something else that we really need to talk about right now."

"Oh, what is it?" Shirou asked curiously.

"Ayako. She is becoming a… very good friend, isn't she? She's getting closer and closer to us, and I… heavily suspect she will get even closer in the near future."

"Ah, I suppose so. That's not a bad thing though, right?"

"Not at all." Sakura said with a happy smile. "I am very glad about it, Ayako is amazing, but I merely worry what will happen when she realises that we are keeping things from her, because I do not doubt she will realise that sooner or later."

"She is certainly intelligent and socially aware enough to see through us if given the opportunity." Shirou agreed with her. "I take it you have an idea to deal with that though."

"I do. We simply tell her the truth."

Sakura sat up straight after her blunt proposal, ready for the dismissal that would no doubt follow her suggestion. Revealing the Moonlit World to Mundane people without a very good cause was heavily frowned upon at best and downright illegal at worst. Nevertheless, she had prepared several arguments for when her Senpai would protest against her decision-

"That does sound like the best idea. We'll tell her at the first opportunity then." Shirou nodded.

"…Eh? Just like that?" Sakura asked in astonishment.

"Well, yes." Shirou said with a shrug, giving her a lopsided smile. "I am no Magus, and neither are you. We are not affiliated with the Clocktower or the Church and they barely bother with Asian countries anyway. I think we can tell her without consequences. After all, isn't she our friend?"

"She is." Sakura agreed instantly, having no doubt in her mind about that. "When will we tell her though?"

"Well, let's see. School is starting tomorrow again for me, so the mornings are out, but the afternoons and evenings are free, except the day after tomorrow, then Neko-san needs my help again at the café. Perhaps we can ask when Ayako is free and go from there?"

"That does seem like the best idea." Sakura agreed. "I'll ask her when I see her again."

"Weren't you excused from school for the coming week?" Shirou asked, cocking his head to the side. "Because your house burned down, your grandfather died in the fire and your brother disappeared without a trace?"

"Yes, I suppose I was." Sakura confirmed with a sweat drop appearing on her head. When it was put like that, it sounded like she had had the worst weekend ever, while it actually had been, rather paradoxically, the best one of her life. "But I'll manage to get a hold of her one way or another, and I'll have her pick a time when you can be present as well."

"Thank you." Shirou smiled. "Do you know when you'll be seeing her again?"

"We were planning to meet at her house tomorrow actually." Sakura informed him, neglecting to tell him just what their 'meeting' would be about. "I can ask when she will be free for a long conversation with the two of us."

"Please do." Shirou nodded. "With you, I had the advantage that you already knew of the Moonlit World. Ayako does not, so the explanation will be lengthy. I would like to get it all over with in one conversation though, so we should pick a day where we'll have plenty of time.

Sakura pondered over that for a moment, trying to remember what Ayako's schedule looked like, before smiling brightly when she remembered it again.

"How about in four days? From what I recall, Ayako will have the entire afternoon free and so will you, Senpai. We should have enough time then if we invite her for dinner and to stay the night again."

He nodded approvingly to her suggestion, making her chest swell with pride. She was always happy to be useful to him, especially since those occasions were so incredibly rare.

"Can you invite her then when you see her tomorrow?"

"I will." Sakura answered brightly. "Though if she refuses, I'll try to find out when she is actually free."

"Thank you, Sakura." Shirou said with another smile, finishing the last of his food, before reaching out to pat her head. "I can always count on you, and I'm very glad you are my friend."

And while they cleaned the dishes and the table, Sakura once again felt like she was floating on air.

---

"Ngh."

Yomaura Taya couldn't suppress a hiss of agitation as she once again stabbed the needle far too deep into her finger, drawing far more blood than she intended, her exhaustion and remaining fever causing her hands to become unsteady and the world to spin and the needle to go awry.

She needed only a few drops of blood to draw the Runes, not entire streams of the stuff, that was incredibly wasteful, and painful besides.

She put the finger in her mouth and let her natural constitution take care of the rest. She didn't let the blood that had come out already go to waste however, drawing furiously with her other hand.

She only had an hour or so before her Senpai would arrive to help her collect her stuff and take it to his house for her stay there, and she had to make the most of it now that she still could, making Runestones and all kinds of other things in preparation for a fight she knew was coming.

After she had seen Rakurai that night, she ran straight home. With the spectacle the vigilante had displayed, it was clear that a few Runes and some Spells weren't going to cut if she wanted to fight him, even on favourable grounds, so she had to prepare herself far better than she had.

She had spent the rest of that night crafting Runic Arrays on several pieces of clothing, as well as on stones and rocks, on pieces of paper and on basically everything else that could be used in combat.

She had created defences around her own and her Senpai's house too that very same night. They were the strongest protective spells and Runic Arrays she could make without alerting the Second Owner that something was amiss, but she was ready to add even more should it be necessary, Tohsaka's opinion be damned.

All of it in a single night too, even though the storm had raged for hours before quieting down. It certainly had a productive time.

It had come at a cost however. While doing all of that, she had pushed far past her limits. Her years of inaction had resulted in a major loss of skill and power, and she was definitely feeling it.

To make a long story short, she was far too rusty to suddenly return to action like that.

She had completely emptied her Circuits of Od, until not a drop had been left, having severely miscalculated her reserves. Or actually, she hadn't even paid any attention to her reserves, she had just worked and worked and worked.

It had greatly strained her Circuits, pushing them much further than they could handle, which was only possible because they had started draining her stamina as well.

She supposed she was fortunate that it had just been her stamina and energy, as her foolish actions could very well have killed her had it gone even just slightly different.

Despite that, she hadn't stopped working until the sun rose, and only because the loss of blood and the exhaustion had affected her so much that she had collapsed where she stood.

Fortunately, she had been at home at the time, and after recovering from the sudden light-headedness, she had bandaged herself as well as she could, before dragging herself to her bed.

To her eternal shame, she hadn't thought about work or her partner at all at that moment, even though she was supposed to be at the precinct in three to four hours. She had completely forgotten about that.

She had fallen asleep at once when her head hit the pillow, and she hadn't woken up until evening, the entire day having passed by, with her Senpai standing over her, ice and bandages in his hands and immense worry in his eyes.

She had realised immediately how it would have looked from his perspective, how shocked and horrified he had to be.

She hadn't known what to say, what to do, and though he had chosen not to press her for answers, she knew this incident would not be forgotten.

She still didn't have a plausible explanation to this day. How could she? How did you explain 'I cut myself bloody and I exhausted myself to the point of a nigh-lethal fever' in a way that would satisfy your loved ones?

She couldn't, and she couldn't see any way to get out from having to give them an explanation some day either.

Anyway, Senpai had taken care of her for a while, before taking her to his house when she had regained a bit of her strength, where Chiho and Suki had fussed over her until she fell asleep again.

She had slept for more than fifteen hours after that.

Fifteen hours!

It was ridiculous, especially considering she was still not healed yet despite that immense waste of time. Not to sound impatient, but she couldn't afford to be sick or tired, not with Rakurai still out there.

She was reasonable enough to admit though that it had all been her own fault. She had completely neglected to recall the lessons she'd had back with her family, and she supposed she should be grateful she hadn't blown herself up or caused critical damage to her Circuits or her body. Both had been very real possibilities.

So she wouldn't do that again. She would take it easier from now on, to avoid another disaster like that.

Senpai and the girls had not allowed her to move back to her apartment, citing that she was clearly not in good health. She had managed to negotiate a few hours to pack her stuff and finish some business however, which she was doing right now.

Packing her stuff had taken barely any time, and now she was continuing to work on her preparation for the fight against the Magus-vigilante for the little time that she had left before she would leave again.

She did take care this time to stay well within her own capabilities. If she managed to mess herself up again, Senpai would forever keep her a prisoner at his house.

At the same time however, she had some unexpected news to process.

When she moved to Fuyuki-City, she had fully intended to never associate herself with the Moonlit World again, in any shape or form.

As such, she had completely ignored the Tohsaka, the Matous, the priest and all others, and hoped that they would either not notice or ignore her in turn.

With these preparations she had been doing however, there was a considerable chance that some of them would in fact start noticing her.

Not Tohsaka though. Yomaura had no intention of being mean or of looking down on others, but the girl definitely wasn't of the observant sort, and her pet-priest just didn't seem to care.

She had far more to fear from Matou Zouken and his ilk. Zouken was old, he was experienced, he was observant, and that made him the most dangerous of them all.

At least, that was what she initially thought. When she had woken up after spending the night at her Senpai's place however, he had informed her that he would have to go and give a witness statement about a fire that had consumed the Matou-estate, leaving no survivors.

It had taken a royal amount of willpower on her part, not to mention the exhaustion from her previous… episode, to not react too violently or shocked to that, keeping her reaction on slight shock and polite empathy for the victims instead, all while her mind was racing.

She didn't believe for a second that the Matou-family would have been killed by something as simple as a housefire, so, logically, it had either been a ruse from them to fake their deaths, or this had been an attack on the family by an outside party.

Later that morning however, her Senpai informed her that the youngest members of the Matou-family had actually survived, and that they put the blame on Zouken himself for the fire that had claimed the Magus' life.

She had been ready at that point to write it off as a family-fight between Magi, a battle over the position of family-head, but Senpai had then casually dropped another bomb on her.

The girl, Matou Sakura if she wasn't mistaken, had been in the presence of an Emiya.

Yomaura, like every other person in the Moonlit World who hadn't grown up under a stone, had heard of the legendary Magus-Killer, Emiya Kiritsugu. The man had been considered to be among the greatest and worst of mercenaries in the world after all, if not simply the best.

According to all reports, he had disappeared after the Grail War. Most thought he had died in the battle, and the doubters came around after there had been no single sign of him for years.

But now, her Senpai had informed her of an Emiya, hanging around in the city of the Grail War, who had been in the presence of a member of one of the three main Magus-families of the city, right after the head of said family had died from a cause he should never have died from.

She doubted that was a coincidence.

Okay, so it was entirely possible the Magus-Killer had survived and had settled in Fuyuki-City with a relative, maybe even a son, whom he had raised to take his place.

Maybe the assassination of Matou Zouken had been practice? Or a favour to a friend? Matou Sakura had clearly disliked Zouken a great deal, and if the man had been anything like Yomaura's own grandfather, she could definitely sympathise.

Maybe she should go and see what that was all about…

'SLAP'

Yomaura promptly slapped herself in the face, trying to beat away that asinine notion.

She had been going way off course there. She had other, far more important things to do than satiate idle curiosity and potentially expose herself to some people she shouldn't mess with.

Even if her theories concerning the Emiya and the Matou were right, it hardly mattered to her. Neither of them was the Second Owner, neither knew about her presence in the city, and she suspected neither would care all that much even if they did know.

Rakurai was a far more important problem at the moment, one she had to tackle with everything she had. She would have to bring her best game, or he would slap her aside.

She was of course more than aware that even her best might very well not be enough to take down that monster of a man. She had seen him in the middle of a storm, wrapped in lightning, and flying, so she could confidently say that he was quite a bit more powerful than she was.

That didn't matter however. Even if he was far stronger than she would ever be, she'd still try her very best to fight him if he threatened Senpai or the girls. It was both her responsibility and the least she could do.

The years she had spent with Koyo and his daughters had been the best of her life. Her time in the family couldn't even begin to compare.

They had accepted her into their home without hesitation, shown her nothing but love even when she refused to talk about her past, and she would be damned if she didn't at least try to repay that.

So no matter how strong and powerful Rakurai was, if he came for them, he would find Yomaura in his way, and it would only be over her cold, dead body that he could proceed.

Why did he have to show up in her life anyway? What on Earth did he want? Which kind of Magus goes around beating up criminals in the night, before leaving them to the police?

She would probably never get an answer to those questions. Hopefully, she would never even get the chance to ask him either. If she went her entire life without ever meeting him, all the better.

She was already planning to sabotage the investigation if needed, should they ever get anywhere in the first place of course, to keep her colleagues away from something they weren't remotely ready to deal with.

It was illegal, not to mention almost treacherous, but she would do it if it meant saving their lives.

Pain then suddenly flashed through her body, making her grit her teeth and almost drop the Runestone she was holding.

Her Od-reserves were getting critically low again, and her Circuits were making their displeasure known quite clearly again.

Not wanting to repeat the mistakes she made two days ago, Yomaura decided to call it a day.

With a sigh, she unsteadily rose from her chair and took small, measured steps towards the bathroom, to grab the last of her stuff before Koyo would arrive to take her back to his house.

Her apartment was a fairly big one, quite luxurious too, with two bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room and even a small kitchen. All for a reasonable price too, and not too far from the precinct either.

It was very quiet though. She didn't have any housemates or pets, and even the neighbours were always silent. A sharp contrast to the lively atmosphere of the Osaki-house, where there was always sound and just a general feeling that people lived there.

Walking into her cold bedroom to grab some clothes, Yomaura found she had to amend her opinion a bit. She might not be able to make Runestones and the like at her Senpai's house, but it was much preferable to stay there than in her own desolate apartment.

Though she still had no story prepared to explain the state her Senpai had found her in…

She had never told him about her past, and neither had she told the girls, and she wasn't planning to either. They had no business in that part of the world, they were far too good and compassionate to survive in there.

Would they even believe her in the first place? Would they think her insane? If they did believe her, would they hate her for lying to them? For staying silent about such enormous secrets for so long?

She didn't know, and she wasn't planning on finding out either, though she liked to think they trusted her enough to believe her on her word at least.

'Ding-dong'.

Picking up her suitcase, Yomaura went to answer the door.

As expected, it was her Senpai standing there, here to give her a lift.

"Good evening." He smiled genially, the sight of it enough to lift her spirits a bit. "Are you ready to go?"

"I am, Senpai." She nodded, showing her suitcase.

"Is that enough for a week?"

"Yes, don't worry." She grinned, mentally wincing at the amount of time she wouldn't be able to use Magecraft. Again though, it was her own fault, she had no one to blame except herself for her insane excesses two days ago.

Now she would have to live with the consequences and the downsides of being foolish.

But then again, she mused as she followed her Senpai to his car.

It didn't feel like such a downside.

---

Rin stared with wide eyes at the ruin of what had once been the Matou-estate. The once so large and impressive, if rather decrepit, mansion now nothing more than ash and blackened stone.

She had seen the enormous cloud of smoke above the city, and she'd heard a house had burned down rather spectacularly, but she had never expected it to be the Matou-estate.

She licked her lips nervously, ruthlessly squashing the worry that was bubbling up inside of her. Zouken wouldn't let himself or his grandchildren die in something as mundane as a housefire.

…Right?

But where were they then? And what had happened to the estate that it had been destroyed to such an extent? Zouken better have a very good explanation for this.

He better also have found a good place to stay for him and his grandchildren. I-It would be unbecoming of a Magus to live on the s-street after all.

Pushing away the mental image of Sakura sitting outside in the cold, alone and in the rain, Rin fidgeted nervously, eyes still on the ruin. She… she still had to talk with Zouken, yes, to check if he knew anything about the rogue Magus, so she better search for him and his grandchildren, and o-offer them a place to stay.

I-In her function as Second Owner of course, it wouldn't do to let the Magi in her city bring down her image and reputation by living in bad conditions.

The question was how she would go about finding them however.

Several firemen were still loitering about at the ruin, busy with removing the rubble and checking for any possibly smouldering parts that would be dangerous to the public, though Rin could see they didn't really seem hurried or all that serious in their work.

She immediately approached the closest one. He didn't wear a uniform and seemed more of a volunteer or something, but he would do for now.

"Excuse me." She called out, waving at the man as she approached, making him look up at her. "Could I ask you something?"

The man had black hair, as most Japanese did, a nose that had obviously been broken several times before, a rather weak chin, and shifty eyes that widened when he saw her.

His eyes then roamed over her form, an all-too familiar lecherous glint appearing in them, as he took on a pose that was probably supposed to be macho and self-confident, making Rin stop dead in her tracks, several metres away from him.

"Well hello, little lady." He grinned, in a tone that was likely meant to be suave. "How can I help you? If you're looking for a good time, look no further."

Already regretting hastily flagging someone down, Rin forced a smile on her face and suppressed the urge to run away immediately.

"No thank you, I just wanted to ask if you knew what happened here?" She said, slowly scooting backwards again. There might be several metres between them, but that distance should be doubled at the very least in her opinion.

"Don't know really, some wacko old guy set his own house on fire to off himself. I'm just here because they needed people to work away the rubble. The pay is alright, and I needed the gig." The man shrugged, before giving her another lecherous smile. "I could find out more though, for the right price."

Rin had the distinct feeling he wasn't talking about money when he said that.

"That's okay." She smiled, now actually beginning to walk away. "You helped me a lot, thank you and goodbye."

With those words, she turned around and ran, missing how the man's eyes narrowed maliciously as he looked at her retreating form, his gaze locked onto her behind.

Taking deep breaths, Rin sighed in relief as she saw the guy wasn't following her. She wasn't going back there any time soon, that was certain. Not until all the work was done and she was certain he and his buddies weren't hanging around anymore.

She spared a moment to feel annoyed at the existence of men like him, before sighing deeply in resignation. She knew very well those types were everywhere, if only because they stood out so much. Her reputation of an idol drew them towards her like moths to flames after all, though for her, it was mostly limited to teens for now.

His words did play in her mind though. Zouken had died in the fire? Actually died? That was impossible, he was a very old and experienced Magus, he wouldn't die in a housefire. Not unless someone actively tried to make it so…

Rin froze for a moment, before shaking her head, chiding herself for jumping to conclusions. Zouken probably wasn't dead at all, so it made no sense at all to already condemn Saku- someone, a random person somewhere, for his death.

She still didn't know what exactly happened though, but maybe she should ask the police for it rather than another unknown man on the streets.

As the police station wasn't too far away from the Matou-estate, Rin made her way over there immediately.

Entering and making her way over to the helpdesk, Rin felt relieved when she saw the obviously professional aid sitting behind the counter, wearing a suit, having several files in front of him, reading a magazine of some kind, and all in all giving off an air of a calm person who wouldn't sexually harass her.

"Excuse me?" Rin began again once she stood before the counter. "Could I ask you a question?"

"Certainly, young lady." The black-haired man said, putting away his magazine and giving her his undivided attention. "If you could just me who you are, I'd be happy to be of service."

"Tohsaka Rin, and I was wondering if you could tell me anything about the Matou-estate, and what happened to it." Rin said, trying to not let her nervousness show. They weren't dead after all, they had just relocated after the fire.

"Let's see." The aid mused, shifting through a few papers and typing a few things in his computer. "Ah, here it is. It seems Matou Zouken, the super-old guy that lived there, went bonkers a few days ago, and burned down the house after his grandson and granddaughter ran away from him to escape his abuse."

"Burned the house down?" Rin repeated in shock. "Abuse?!"

"Yeah, it was pretty bad apparently." The man nodded. "Poor girl was traumatised pretty badly, and from witness accounts, that old man was really bad news. It's completely understandable they ran away. After that, the guy torched his place, killing himself. Good riddance if you ask me."

"…What happened to his grandchildren?" Rin asked sharply. "Are they okay?"

"They are, miss, don't worry." The cop said, holding up his hands. "Well, we hope so at least. The brother disappeared after the fire, running away most likely, while the girl moved in with a friend, though we don't know how that's been going either."

"…I-I see." Rin muttered, sighing deeply in relief after a moment of thought. If Sakura moved in with a friend, then that friend could only be Emiya, only he would offer a permanent place at his house at a moments notice. If Sakura lived with him, then that was certainly a favourable outcome.

She didn't really know Shinji, but he probably already had some ideas on what to do, he was annoying, but according to Ayako, certainly not stupid.

Sakura now living with her crush was… good news, though she wondered how the other girl was going to hide her being a Magus from him.

"Thank you." She said, giving the aid a smile, which he readily returned.

"No problem, little missy. I was glad to help."

Giving him a nod, Rin walked out again, missing how the man's eyes narrowed in concentration, as well as how he immediately picked up a private phone once she was out of earshot.

"Hey, boss, Kyuwa-san." He murmured into the phone. "There was someone here just now I think you might be interested in… No, we don't have her on file, but she was very curious about that current case of yours… The one about the arson at the Matou-estate, yeah… A lot of pointed questions, I think she might be closely involved… Her name is Tohsaka Rin."

Completely unaware of her actions being reported, Rin stepped outside of the precinct… not sure of what she should be doing.

The police believed Zouken to be dead, which was, honestly, very unlikely. Again, an old and experienced Magus wouldn't die to a housefire. Rin did not have any way of contacting him however, or any other way of checking his status and health, outside of directly asking Sakura.

Which actually brought her to another point. If Zouken had indeed died, then it was very likely someone had 'helped' him a bit with that, and after hearing about him abusing his grandchildren…

Could it be that Sakura…

N-No, t-that was ridiculous. She wouldn't… She couldn't… Sakura would never…

Rin took a deep breath, brusquely forcing away the sentimentalities from her mind. She had to look at this objectively, with a detached view.

Sakura had been abused by Zouken, or that's what everyone believed at least. Sakura most likely also had the Crest of the Matou-family already, and was thus probably stronger than Zouken. There was also a considerable chance that she still harboured a grudge about what happened in their youth, and killing Zouken made her the head of the family, especially now that Shinji was out of the picture.

It meant she had both a reason and the means to kill him…

Rin shook her head rapidly at those thoughts. No, she was again jumping at conclusions, there was no proof for that at all, it could easily have been another Magus who wanted the research and possessions of the Matou-family.

But those wouldn't have left Sakura and Shinji alive…

She needed to talk to Sakura, and fast. She needed to confirm what had happened to them, and if she was alri- to make sure the new head of the Matou-family knew the rules of the territory.

She would have to plan extensively for that conversation though, as it probably wouldn't be easy at all to talk with her again.

Additionally, she would have to make sure Emiya wouldn't catch wind of what they would be discussing, that would be disastrous.

Y-Yes, the nervousness and fear she was feeling were just because she was afraid Emiya would overhear their discussion, no other reason.

Not a single other reason at all.

---

Waver had returned to the Clocktower, and he returned victorious.

It had been two days since meeting the Second Owner and catching up with Glen and Martha, and it had been about five to six days in total since he had left the Clocktower.

The flight back had taken the better part of the previous day, but at least it was a private plane this time. Not because he wanted more luxury, but more because he had been carrying three dead bodies and two unconscious people with him.

The chances he could have gotten all that past airport security were very small, so he'd had to hire a private plane and a trustworthy pilot.

It had admittedly been as boring as the outward journey, but with his targets already in his possession, he had been able to relax and enjoy the flight somewhat, no longer being as restless as before.

Getting the Sealing Designees from the London-airport to the Clocktower hadn't been any problem at all, and neither had getting them inside the building.

Having said that, it only got more difficult from there on, as he had to bring the Sealing Designees to the appropriate places in the Clocktower.

The three dead Magi would be used for experimentation. A rather ironic fate, considering what they had done to so many others. By becoming Sealing Designees, they had given up their right to be returned to their families or to have their bodies preserved and treated with respect.

The researchers in the department of dissection had been delighted when he had brought them the Magi, and Waver now had three favours from them that he could cash in on someday.

Richard Burgon, one of the survivors and also the leader of their little group, was set to be interrogated for every scrap of information he possessed. From what Waver had heard, his knowledge could be invaluable to the Enforcers. After that, he would be executed, and his body used for experimentation as well.

That had all been fairly easy, but the biggest problem was posed by the last of the Designees, Vincent Balefor, the other survivor and Waver's personal enemy, who was now lying in a cell, still unconscious and blissfully unaware of the mess he had found himself in.

The man was the only one of them to actually possess a Crest, which, since it had belonged to a Sealing Designee, might just be confiscated by the Clocktower or the higher nobles if Waver didn't act fast to save it.

He had already had his men remove the Crest from Balefor's body though, and was now on his way to return it. For the rest, he didn't care much for the criminal.

That fool had not only been Sealed, but he had also murdered a lord and his heir and insulted the Queen of the Clocktower herself.

Everyone would want a piece of him once it got out that he had been found and arrested, so Waver wanted to get the Crest back to the Balefor-family at least before he would make it known that the man had been captured. Once he had done that, they could all fight over the prisoner as much as they wanted, as Waver would wash his hands of the man and be done with it.

He should have known it wouldn't be that easy.

"Lord El-Melloi."

The voice was sharp as a knife, cutting through all other noise in the area and making the hairs on Waver's neck stand on end, despite the fact that the owner probably only meant to call out to him in a neutral way.

Waver stopped walking and turned around promptly, watching as Lorelei Barthomeloi effortlessly walked through the crowd. She didn't push or elbow anyone, rather the mass of people parted for her like the Red Sea for Moses.

Waver kept his face carefully neutral, though on the inside he was frowning. He had thought he would have more time before she would hear of his success, but apparently, he had been wrong.

"I heard from Enforcer Wesley that you managed to capture Vincent Balefor alive." She said, pinning him in place with her sharp gaze. "Is this true?"

"It is, lady Barthomeloi." Waver admitted, setting a reminder for himself to severely reprimand Wesley. The man was far too weak to beautiful women. "He is currently in a holding cell, awaiting trial. I was on my way to have a trusted assistant of mine inform his family before the news of his capture becomes public knowledge."

"I see." Barthomeloi huffed, crossing her arms. "I approve of this course of action. You may get back to it after our discussion is finished. Now come, my office is a far more comfortable place to hold such discussions in."

Not seeing another choice, Waver promptly followed her. He was of course well-aware she was doing him a massive favour by being so accommodating to what amounted to a personal desire of his, so he made a note of the favour he now owed her in return.

The walk with the woman was silent, as neither Magus had anything to make small talk about. Waver could swear though that Barthomeloi had seemed about to start a conversation a few times, but they eventually arrived in her office without her having said a word.

It wasn't the first time he had been there, but the feeling of dread he felt every time he entered was still as prevalent as ever.

"So." Barthomeloi said as she sat down behind her desk, motioning him towards the comfortable-looking chair across from it. "Tell me."

"First, I have to ask how much you already know of this case, lady Barthomeloi." Waver replied, discretely looking around her office. Yes, he had been there before, but it was large and filled with all kinds of objects, so he probably would need several more visits to get a complete picture. "Are you aware of the mercenary that was recently traded to us by the Church?"

"I am aware of that." She answered with a nod. "I recall you left very shortly afterwards."

"I did." Waver confirmed. "The mercenary turned out to have been caught while doing a job for a group of Sealing Designees, which held Vincent Balefor in their ranks. This mercenary had been ordered to abduct a particular Magus for the Sealing Designees, in order to use her in their experiments."

The woman's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, which was entirely understandable. If Magi started abducting and attacking other Magi, then the Association would soon cease to exist.

"The Sealing Designees apparently had set up some kind of program, hypnotising criminals to abduct people for them to use in their experiments, by the hundreds. Kidnapping a Magus seems to have been the next step in that program."

"I recall Balefor speaking out more than once in favour of using such a program here." Lady Barthomeloi said ponderously. "It would seem he finally got his wish."

"The mercenary was caught in the act however, and eventually delivered here." Waver continued, not acknowledging her statement, knowing it hadn't been meant for him. "He immediately told us everything he knew upon discovering where he was, including the location of the Sealing Designees."

"So you went there and arrested them." Barthomeloi guessed. "You seem to have gotten lucky with that, but I can't disagree with the results. Good work then, lord El-Melloi."

"It was actually more complicated than that." Waver admitted, not about to conceal the truth from her. After all, Fujimaru had expressed a desire to study at the Clocktower, and already being in a positive light to the Queen could only help him.

It was certainly better than Waver lying now and Barthomeloi discovering the real story later. That would be a disaster.

"Oh?" Barthomeloi lifted an eyebrow. "What truly happened then?"

"We successfully located the castle the Magi were supposed to be hiding in. The defences had been breached, all of them, and the Workshops burned to ash. Of the Magi themselves, there was no trace, while it was clear several battles had taken place inside."

"Someone beat you to it?" Barthomeloi asked, a glint of annoyance, killing intent, and… sympathy? in her eyes. "Then how is it that you have all five of the Magi with you now?"

"When Enforcer McRemitz and I entered the castle, we tripped an alarm that the one before us had left for the Magi's associates. He returned to the castle immediately and found us searching the place for clues. He confronted us and, after a short battle, we managed to figure out that we were working towards the same goal. He agreed to turn the Magi over to us."

"I see." She nodded. "What did he demand in return?"

"A favour from myself, a sponsorship to enter the Clocktower and a small part of the Magi's bounties." Waver summarised. "He seemed pleased enough to receive only these."

"Will he be coming to the Clocktower soon?" Barthomeloi sat up straighter, her eyes now boring into his. "I would like to meet him myself."

Waver froze ever so slightly, allowing him to feel the shivers working their way up his spine as a cold numbness started spreading throughout his body.

She wanted to meet Fujimaru? Already? After she had only heard about him once?

Sure, he had been aiming to give her a positive impression of the boy, but she had bitten into the bait far too viciously, and now he would have to be very careful to make sure his hook wouldn't be crushed in her jaws.

He could imagine what her game was here. Someone able to match Bazett Fraga McRemitz was not someone to take lightly, and he wouldn't be surprised at all if she was aiming to see if Fujimaru was worth poaching.

"He alluded to having several matters to take care of before he could, but he indicated that was his plan."

"Good. When he arrives, I shall send for him. See to it that he knows to come." She ordered sternly, eliciting a nod from him. "The rest of this case I'll read for myself in the report. Unless you have anything of note to add about your mysterious Magus you are dismissed."

Rising from his seat, Waver gave a small bow, before leaving the office to return to his tasks.

As he reached for the door handle however, he paused, clearing his throat.

"There is one other thing about him." He then said, turning around slightly to make eye-contact with Barthomeloi again.

"He would have done it all for free, no matter who I was or what was at stake for him."

Without saying anything else, ignoring the ever-so-slightly shocked look on her face, Waver walked out of the door.

He had already expected Barthomeloi to give this case at least a second glance, considering the trouble Balefor had caused her even before he became a Sealing Designee, but to actually take him to her office to hear him out was far more than anticipated.

It was a relief she had been so calm throughout it all, yet he still couldn't help but feel nervous for Fujimaru. The direct attention of the Queen was a risky thing to have and could very well end in disaster if he didn't meet her standards.

He would do his best to support the boy of course, and he could only hope that would be enough.

---

Kotomine Kirei was sitting in his personal chamber, calmly reading 'The Count of Monte Christo', after finishing his daily chores and entertaining the flock. To his great surprise, the number of attendants had actually been far higher than normal today, something about a 'pure essence' hanging around town over the last days, so his schedule had been fuller than he had anticipated.

But now he was done, and he could enjoy a calm evening. No one ever voluntarily visited him, especially not at this time, and Gilgamesh was still on his trip, so there shouldn't be anything to disturb his little bit of peace.

Not that he blamed people for not visiting him. He certainly wouldn't visit him if such a thing were even possible.

Pushing the melancholic thoughts to the back of his mind, Kirei went back to reading. He had been begrudgingly gifted the book by Rin as a birthday present, which he had only read because he had been dreadfully bored after the vigilante had moved on.

It was well beyond his expectations that he would be so drawn into the book to be late for his sermon on that day. The story of the Counts near mindless revenge and the thrill of watching him set up dominos to torture those who had wronged him one by one in the worst ways he could conceive had delighted him to no ends. He had even considered adopting some of the Counts methods in his own quests.

But of course, just as he had gotten comfortable in his chair, the sounds of the Church's doors being opened reached his room.

With a sigh, he rose from his chair again to receive the guest, half-considering to just kill them, but ultimately suppressing that urge. Losing his self-control like that would be so unsightly and, to use his dear apprentice's words, inelegant.

When he reached the main hall however, all thoughts of killing disappeared from his mind, and his eyebrows lifted in surprise.

When he had heard the doors opening, he had expected a lost soul in need of guidance, a believer looking for a lost possession, someone wishing for some kind of information, or maybe even Gilgamesh returning.

This visitor was none of those. She was one he had never expected to see in his Church for as long as he lived, as he had never thought her 'grandfather' would let her enter the holdfast of another Magus.

Especially Kirei's holdfast. Had the old man finally gone completely senile, or was this another attempt at manipulating his 'family' for nefarious purposes or dark amusement? Now that was an irksome though, not in the least because Zouken seemed to be thinking he could use Kirei for his own means.

Matou Sakura, in all of her purple glory, stood before him, her body tense and her eyes holding a determined look.

"Welcome, young one." He intoned as their eyes met, a carefully constructed kind smile on his face, though he did not manage to get his eyes to smile as well. "Why are you here in the Church at this hour? Are you perhaps in need of guidance?"

"Thank you for the offer, Kotomine-san, but I am not here for the Church or for you in your role as priest." She said politely, sounding as if she had rehearsed the words several times before coming here. "I-I am here to speak with you in your role as my fath- as Tohsaka Tokiomi's former apprentice."

Kirei's eyes widened even further when he heard that.

"Does your grandfather know you are here?" He countered her question, more to win himself some time than out of actual concern. "I can't very well let you be out if-"

"Grandfather is dead." Matou cut him off, sounding viciously happy about that. "I live with a friend now, and they know I am here."

For a moment, all Kirei could feel was grim satisfaction at the news. Then came regret, that he couldn't have been there to watch as Zouken's grip on his fake life slowly slipped, as his rotten face slowly warped into an image of despair, misery and horror. Like the monster that he claimed to be.

If Kirei were the Lords mistake and a trail for his servants, as he preferred to see himself as, then Zouken would be the filth beneath the devil's foot sent to destroy lambs and wolves alike.

This time, Kirei took greater care time to hide his surprise, though he did not fail to notice that Zouken was still referred to as 'grandfather', while Tokiomi got nothing but his name.

"Very well then, what is it that you wish to ask? I cannot guarantee I'll answer to your satisfaction, but I shall give it my best try."

The girl took a deep breath, clearly fighting off some lingering hesitation, before she took the leap of faith.

"Are you aware what Zouken did to me in the Matou-estate?" She asked. "What he put me through almost every day?"

"I am aware, yes." He nodded, closing his eyes in momentary regret about how happy he felt about that. "Absolutely horrible, and I am glad that man is finally dead. Was that why you came here? To hear that?"

"No, I have one more question." She said, closing her eyes and taking another deep breath. "Did he know?"

"…Come again?"

"Did he know?" She repeated, more bite entering her voice as she almost snapped at him. "Was he aware of what was going to happen?"

He frowned, still not understanding it, prompting the girl to repeat herself once more.

"Did. He. Know?!"

Kirei felt a twinge of annoyance at the vagueness of her questions. "Child, I don't have time to play the pronoun game with you. Either be more specific or leave."

"Did… Tohsaka Tokiomi… know what Zouken was going to do to me… after he gave me away like an unwanted piece of furniture?" Matou clarified, gritting her teeth as she forced the question out. "Did he know?"

…

Oh.

Oh!

'Oh my.'

Kirei felt the smile on his face grow and twist into something he had cursed and anguished over for every second of his life. He tried his very best to suppress it, but he was quite sure he utterly failed at doing so, though the girl didn't seem bothered by his expression. She probably had an idea already what the answer was going to be.

Who would have thought she'd come to him one day to ask such a question? He certainly didn't, that was certain. The irony was not lost on him though. The girl most likely didn't even know that he was the one who killed her father, mother and the one responsible for her 'uncle' dying a dogs death in the previous War. He had already sunk his claws into the elder sister and now the younger sister had come to him as well.

It was time to tell her a tale, the tale of his own friend and teacher…

"He…"

---

Shirou looked up from the closet he had been assembling in Sakura's room, though with little success, as his hands kept shaking and discharging lightning at the most inopportune of moments.

Sakura had been understanding, fortunately, when he had told her his powers would be acting slightly strange for a while. According to her it explained a lot about what had been happening around him lately, and besides, she had already suspected it to be the case.

He… had not told her of Warrior's Madness yet, but he was planning to. He simply didn't tell her because he didn't think she could have handled it that one morning after he had saved her, but he wasn't planning on hiding it or anything. That would be nonsensical.

So basically, everything seemed to be going quite well.

Nevertheless, Shirou had a very strange feeling in his gut, one that spoke of imminent trouble that was coming for him and those close to him.

It was very strange. He had done nothing over the last days but arranging Sakura's smooth transition to living with him, yet…

He had the feeling a lot had happened over the past days that he knew nothing about. Things connected to him. Things that would catch up to him one day.

Troublesome.

---

Done. That was another chapter with some important events in it. I know, it's a bit of a drag, but hold on for a few more chapters, we're almost moving on now.

So, Shirou had no POV in this chapter, save for that last bit, simply because he had nothing happen to him. He's resting now, already having finished his task, while it is to everyone else now to react to his actions.

Next chapter will focus a bit more of Shirou though, as well as Ayako, Rin and Sakura. Don't know how long that will take to write, but I'll try my very best. I'll probably also add one very short Shinji POV, simply to show what he's going to be up to.

As always, special thanks to Lich, liamrodhudson331 and Woggie for checking the chapter.

---

Omake:

A direwolf, with blue fur as dark as the night sky and deep red eyes, watched silently as the mayhem happened down below. Three individuals fighting each other in a battle royal with knifes as their only weapons.

Truly, MidnightFenrir had no idea how things had spiralled into this mess but to see intelligent beings reduced to little more than beasts hungering for blood was... disconcerting, to say the least.

They had to be stopped. The only question was how. And while he knew Primate Murder-nii-san could do so without too much trouble, the aftermath might just be worse.

Hm... Decisions, decisions.

As he pondered the merits of calling back-up, he was startled as a being of mud formed right beside him.

The being smiled down at the direwolf, the malevolent glint in its eyes sending shivers down his spine, as the mud and dark energy that composed it started swirling faster and faster.

MidnightFenrir growled as his fight-or-flight instincts started to kick in. Whatever that thing was doing, he knew he was fast enough to-

'THUD'

A kitchen knife fell to the ground between the wolf and the being, the blade planting the cooking tool into the earth.

For a moment, all was silent as MidnightFenrir looked from the knife to the being several times, as if he was asking it what he was supposed to do with the knife.

Then, the being stretched a long tendril of mud to grasp the knife before raising it in the air...

"FETCH!"

And with that shout, Grail-Kun threw the knife.

Moved by his canine instincts, MidnightFenrir didn't hesitate for a second before bouncing after the knife and catching in his jaws by the handle.

However, direwolves can't fly. And so, with a confused whine, MidnightFenrir plummeted into the chaos bellow.

Grail-Kun laughed as yet another player was added to the game. The Great Knife War was well under way, but it always needed MORE participants.

"Tonight," Grail-Kun hummed merrily, "MidnightFenrir joins the Hunt!

---

Thanks to MidnightFenrir for the omake.

Ted out.