Chapter 10: The past and the present

"Gray, everything alright?"

"Yes, Sir"

The church is devastated and I think no one is going to visit the priest anymore. Well, Kotomine is gone after all. He is gone… I still cannot believe it. Why, just why did the mysterious woman and Assassin attack the regulator? And for what purpose did they capture him? The most important question right now is, who the hell are those two persons? That man saved my life and he knows about the Holy Grail War. On top of that, this girl, who is called Gray by this man, looks extremely similar to Saber…

"Emiya-kun, what did you think when you ran away without saying a word? If we wouldn't have come to save you, you would have died. Can't you for once use your brain?"

Oh, I forgot, Tohsaka is also here.

"Tohsaka, why did you even come to the church?"

"Well, you just ran away without telling us where you would go. I asked Archer where you wanted to go, because he was the last one who saw you. After a long conversation, he revealed to us that you went to the church. Alone. Without anyone else"

"Archer, why did you tell the others where I am?"

I glance over to Archer who stares at me.

"The others didn't give up and Saber threatened me to get the information by force if I don't give in. Therefore, I said that you headed to the priest. Believe me, I honestly tried my best not to reveal it for my own interest…"

"What?"

"Nothing"

I could not hear the last part of what Archer said, but I should not complain about it. After all, Tohsaka and Archer really saved us there. If Archer would have hesitated a little bit more, that strange man would have died in front of me. He was able to save him, but I… I am unable to save anyone.

"Are you alright, young man?"

I feel a hand pressing against my left shoulder. I turn my head to see the man behind me. He smiles tiredly.

"Y-yeah, thanks for your help back then. The strange woman was just about to kill me with her sphere of pure destruction, but you really saved me"

The man takes his hand away from my shoulder.

"There is no need to thank me. I just came back to ask the priest another question, but then I heard loud noises from the interior, hence I rushed in and saw you getting almost killed. I just reacted out of instinct. However, you really should listen to that girl. If you're a Master, you should have your Servant around all the time; this is one of the most basic strategies in the war"

"Before you lecture me, could you maybe say who you even are to begin with?"

The Stranger sighs and walks in front of me.

"I apologize for my bad manners. I am Lord El-Melloi II and this is Gray, my personal assistant as I earlier said"

"H-Hello", Gray says while waving with her hand towards me. She stands a little bit behind the man.

"Wait, did you just say you are a Lord?!", Tohsaka questions.

She is apparently startled by his name.

"Yes, that is right"

"Is something weird with being a Lord, Tohsaka?"

"Of course, it is! Don't tell me you don't know what the title means?"

"Well, it means you have a lot of money and it is a title for noble people"

For a moment, there is silence. The man who mentioned that he is a Lord takes out a cigar and a lighter. After he lights the cigar, he puts it into his mouth and blows a cloud of smoke as he looks up to the ceiling.

"I didn't know you are that oblivious"

Tohsaka approaches me and she is seemingly disappointed.

"Emiya-kun, that is the definition of a Lord in the normal world. In the world of magi, it is a title for the Board of their respective faculty in the Clock Tower. There are twelve faculties overall. Additionally, the Lords have a great political influence in the Mage's Association, so they-"

"Did you say Mage's Association?"

This is not good. It means this man is a member of the Mage's Association which I am supposed to avoid as Kiritsugu told me. To make it worse, he is a Lord and if that what Tohsaka explained is true, he could use his influence to harm me.

"It is true what that girl described. I am a Lord from the Clock Tower and-"

"P-please, I won't do anything! I will not interfere in your work, so don't say anything to them about me"

I step back and prepare myself to fend him off if required. The Lord on the other hand, seems to be irritated.

"I will never get you Japanese. What are you frightened of? That I bite off your hand? Don't worry, I don't perform such cruel acts for my studies"

"My father told me to avoid the Association at all cost. He said, I should not interfere in their work. Therefore, don't harm me please!"

"He would never hurt anyone without a proper reason. He would never harm you", Gray butts in.

"Why would you have to avoid the Mage's Association, Emiya-kun? You did nothing wrong, so where is the problem?"

"There is truly no need to be frightened. I assume your father had a bad relationship with the Association, but I'm not here to harm or capture you or your father"

"Really, but why are you here then?"

"Before I give you any further information, wouldn't it be polite to tell me your names when I revealed you mine?"

I am still not sure about this guy. He comes out of nowhere and says I should not fear him, but how can I trust him? Kiritsugu pointed out more than one time to avoid the Association.

"You are right. I think there is no problem when I give you my name, although I will not tell you this man's name"

Tohsaka points to Archer who is still standing next to her. The Lord nods as a response.

"I accept your condition. It is indeed reasonable not to tell me your Servant's name"

"Wait, how do you know about-"

"Your name please. I heard you are a Tohsaka, is this right?"

The Lord appears to be honestly interested into Tohsaka's name. Does he by any chance know her family?

"Y-yes, that is right. I am Tohsaka Rin"

"Do you know anyone by the name of Tohsaka Tokiomi?"

Tohsaka's eyes get bigger and she is once again frozen in her movement.

"H-how do you know my father?"

The Lord blows out another cloud of smoke and then looks down on the ground.

"I see", he only says.

"What do you mean 'I see'? Did you know my father?"

Tohsaka is kind of upset and angered at the same time. Why does it bother her so much that he knows her father?

"Tohsaka, is everything alri-"

"I fought in the last Holy Grail War"

"Huh?", Tohsaka and I both say.

"You were… a Master as well in the last Grail War?"

The man lifts his head and views us very carefully.

"Yes, I participated in the last Grail War. That is why I know your father, Tohsaka Tokiomi. I would have never thought his descendant would participate in the next War, but come to think of it… It only makes sense that a Tohsaka is once again a Master…"

Suddenly, Tohsaka approaches the Lord quite fast and she is really angered.

"Tohsaka, wait!"

I try to hold her back by grabbing her left arm and pulling away from the Lord. If she harms him in some way now, we will be in huge troubles. Meanwhile, Gray got in front of the Lord and is now prepared to defend him.

"Gray, please"

"But, Sir!"

"There is no danger, Lady"

Gray hesitantly moves away from him, but Tohsaka still wants to get to him.

"Were you the one who killed him?! Do you know him because of that?!", she shouts.

I let go of her arm and fall on the ground. Did she… did Tohsaka just say her father got killed? Her father… is dead?

"Calm down, I only knew that your father was a Master, too- after I heard about his death. I concluded that he must have died in the Grail War, but we never met each other"

Tohsaka is still raging and is obviously not satisfied with this answer. It makes sense, though. Despite, she raises her arm to shoot at him. As I realize this, I stand up and jump forward to her, thus she falls down.

"Tohsaka, please! You can't shoot at him, get a hold of yourself"

"Let me go, Emiya-kun! Archer, why are you doing nothing! Help me or do I have to use a Command Spell?"

"Tohsaka!"

Archer grabs me and throws me away.

"Satisfied, Rin?"

"I am really sorry for you. I am truly sorry that your father was killed in that cruel war. We all lost something in that war… something precious"

The Lord turns away as if he is remembering something.

"It must have been hard when he didn't return and you never got to learn how he died…"

Gray walks to Tohsaka who is still on the ground. The hooded girl sits down and reaches her hand out to Tohsaka.

"May I help you?"

Tohsaka looks up at Gray furiously. However, she averts her eyes and grits her teeth. After she closes her eyes and exhales, Tohsaka finally accepts Gray's help and grabs her hand. Simultaneously, I stand up, too and run to Tohsaka.

"Tohsaka, I didn't know your father, I really… I mean… I-I…. I am really sorry"

"No, it is all okay, Emiya-kun. Still, thanks for your concern"

Tohsaka seems to have regained her composure again. She wipes tears from her eyes with her sleeve. That means… she was close to crying, I guess.

"This explains why you know so much of the Grail War. You were a Master, too"

The Lord turns around again and views Tohsaka.

"That is right- I hoped that I would never ever set a foot upon this cursed land again. I came to hate Japan and its people due to the war"

Wow, that hurts. What must have happened in the last war to changed a person that drastically?

"However, you still have not answered our question. Why are you here, why is the Mage's Association interfering in the war? I thought they dislike the Holy Grail War and they have an agreement not to involve themselves in the war if I remember correctly?"

"We are here to investigate a certain incident that happened here during the Grail War", Gray responds.

"So, the Association really altered the memories of the people there! But why did you first alter their memories to believe the food was poisoned and the pipes have a damage and later deleted the day?"

"Hm, you noticed it? Are you students from the school?"

"Yeah, we were there when it happened"

The Lord eyes me fascinated.

"Well, at my command the other magi of the Association here altered the memories of the victims again. It is much easier to let them believe the day never happened or else we would have to create traces that the food was really poisoned and we also would have to damage the pipes. It is less work to do it this way"

In other words, this man was the true cause why Fuji-nee cannot remember anything. Although it is a very reprehensible method, it is hard to argue with his assessment.

"Still, you said that you were present during the incident?"

"That is correct", Tohsaka replies.

The Lord switches the pressure from one leg to another; he is pondering about something.

"This environment is not the right place for this, but would you mind if I could contact you later for this issue?"

"How can we be sure to trust you? We have only known each other for a short time. Maybe you are actually the one who caused all of this and now you want to eliminate all traces that could lead to you", Archer says.

Archer has not done much since he arrived here except saving the Lord from getting killed. He was just a bystander over all this time.

"He would never do that! He is not that kind of human, we really want to know the truth behind this all"

Gray tries to defend the Lord. She is quite riled about Archer's statement.

"Moreover, I won't interfere in the Holy Grail War. We will only investigate this incident and then return to London. After all, I don't even want to interfere in the war"

The Lord looks at Archer with a serious expression. He is honest about it.

"I believe you"

"What, are you dumb… well of course you are. I forgot with whom I was speaking"

"What does this mean, Archer!"

Why must he always say such things to me? What I have done that he is so annoyed about me. It is like he is annoyed by my presence at all, although I am annoyed by him, too.

"Relax, you two! Didn't I tell you to not to harass Emiya-kun anymore?"

"Rin, he is just stupid! I can't ignore that"

"What did you say-"

"Heh, those two really hate each other. They will never get along, that much I can say"

Archer and I look around for who said this, but it sounded like it originated from… the cage Gray is holding? Wait, since when does she have a cage? And where is her giant scythe? Gray looks down at the cage indignantly. She then proceeds to shake the cage.

"Hey, hey! Stop, please stop, have mercy!"

Someone… is in the cage?

"Add, stop being so rude to others"

"I apologize, I apologize! Just stop"

Gray stops shaking the cage and looks to us surprised. She remembered that she is not alone.

"Who… was that?", Archer asks confused.

"Th-this was Add. He is a good friend of mine. I am sorry, but he is unfortunately dirtymouthed"

"Wait, you carry a whole human in this… bird cage?", Tohsaka questions.

"No, you idiots! I am a mystic code, thus I fit into this cage"

"A mystic code?"

Gray lifts the sheet over the cage to reveal… a cube. Add is a cube with patterns all over his surface which is colored blue and yellow. On the front is a face which is currently staring at us.

"I know a lot of magic, but I can't explain this", Tohsaka concludes.

"That it is not relevant now", the Lord interrupts.

He walks past Gray and us, but then stops on his way to the exit.

"It is so devastated here, let us talk outside"

Gray follows the man and they both leave. We three, who are left behind, exchange some looks, but still follow them. As we exit the church, I look behind me. From the outside, no one would assume that there was a battle in the building. The church looks innocent and pure, but harbors a lot of secrets.

"Where have you been all the time, big brother?"

I turn around to see Gray and the Lord, but now there is another person besides them. It is a young girl with brilliant blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Matching her eye color, she wears blue colored noble clothes, although I must say that her skin is rather pale.

"Oh, this is my little sister, Reines El-Melloi. She accompanied me to Japan, because she liked to", the Lord states after seeing me wondered. He has a sister? That young?

"You mean, because I couldn't believe that you can handle this case on your own"

"Y-yeah, sure. Back to the topic, I would like you to-"

"Hey, we met each other back then!", Reines claims, pointing at Tohsaka.

"Oh, you are that girl"

"You know her, Rin?"

"Yes, she is the reason why I followed you. She said that a weird looking guy with a sword and a mysterious woman were standing in front of the church. This is why I ordered Archer to help you in the first place, Emiya-kun", Tohsaka explains to me before proceeding, "however, she also mentioned that another magus headed to the church, hence I sprinted there as well. I feared they might be the Master of the Servant"

"I only said this, so you would help my brother. You see, my brother is clumsy regarding magic and I thought-"

"Thanks for your explanation, Reines. Could we focus on the important things now please?"

The Lord is visibly angered, but Reines is smirking. What kind of relationship do those two actually have?

"I have rent an apartment here in Fuyuki for my stay. If you really were present at this day, I must have to ask you some questions for the investigation"

"But why would we invest our time into an interrogation? You certainly know magi always offer something in exchange for a deal"

I see, magi are apparently tough negotiators.

"Of course. In exchange I offer you to investigate the death of your father as well"

"Huh?"

Tohsaka seems overwhelmed. She was not prepared for this offer at all.

"Investigate… in this case? You would do that?"

"Yeah, he will truly take on the case. He is the kind of person who loves investigations and my brother is a good detective. You can rely on his deductions, even though he might be oblivious from time to time"

His sister likes to tease him and she enjoys it.

"I accept"

Tohsaka and the Lord turn around to me.

"Emiya-kun, why?"

"You want to know who killed your father, right? It is therefore a sacrifice I am willing to make"

Tohsaka suddenly looks surprised. She diverts her face to the ground and blushes.

"Idiot"

"What?"

"I said you are an idiot!", Tohsaka shouts at me.

Have I done something wrong? Why is Tohsaka so angered about this. Still, for her sake I will cooperate with the Lord. Gray comes closer to us and pulls out a note out of her cloak.

"Here, this is our address. Please visit us tomorrow, at least one of us is always there. I hope we don't worry you too much"

"How can we cooperate with people who quarrel like an old couple", Add says.

"Wh-wh-what? What do you mean by that, i-it is not like that! Emiya-kun, you stupid idiot"

Tohsaka punches me for no reason.

"Ouch! Hey, what is wrong, Tohsaka?"

Why is she all of a sudden so embarrassed and why does she punch me?!

"See, you caused troubles again! Behave yourself, Add"

Gray shakes the cage causing Add to scream again.

"Stop, Stop! Forgive me, I apologize"

Gray hides the cage again with her cloak. I wonder if she also hides the scythe with her cloak somewhere.

"Why should we even work with them anyway?", Reines asks the Lord.

"They are Masters in the current Grail War and said that they witnessed the whole incident"

"I see, so this tall guy there is a Servant? Doesn't seem that strong to be honest"

"Rin, sure you want to work with them?", Archer asks Tohsaka. He is visibly pissed off.

"No, it is alright. She isn't wrong after all; nobody would think you are a strong Servant"

I do not know how, I do not know why, but I have the strange feeling that I am offended by this.

"Rin, if you proceed, I will die due to you before I die in a battle against a Servant", Archer states.

"Chrm, chrm, so I assume we see us tomorrow? Have a pleasant night and sleep well. Goodbye", the Lord interrupts.

"Don't come before twelve AM, my brother sleeps very long"

"I look forward for tomorrow", Gray concludes.

They all leave and go away. However, the Lord stops in his tracks and turns his head around to look to us a last time.

"I am very thankful you saved me back then. I would have died without your help"

He smiles before he proceeds to enter… a car that I will surely never be able to buy ever in my life. Guess, I was not that wrong when I said that Lords have a lot of money.