(A/N) Altogether not an unreasonable update time. Good job me.

On a side note, the last chapter got a raging flame that genuinely made me laugh out loud. I mean, I'd be bummed, but it was just so extra that I couldn't help but feel it was a troll. As counter-intuitive as it may sound, it made my day.

A quick note concerning the previous chapter, I don't want to make it seem as if Shirou/Archer was unwilling to deal with Zouken because he's weak. Shirou knows that Zouken is a little more complicated to deal with than simply running him through with a sword, and didn't want to engage without a plan... which he didn't have, unfortunately.

After many years as a counter guardian, Archer has developed a sharp brain that has undoubtedly served him well. However, he is not infallible, and has definitely had lapses in judgment. He's stuck in a timeline that he is not altogether familiar with and his memories of his time as Shirou Emiya aren't the strongest.

As far as strength goes, he doesn't have any of the physical advantages he had at one time as both a Counter Guardian and a heroic spirit. His body and magical circuits are that of a young boy, though his magecraft alone is technically just as strong as ever.

Please enjoy!

X

I wouldn't say that I was tired, because it would take a lot for me to get to that point. It was more of a growing irritation. I stared at the classroom clock practically counting the seconds until I could leave.

I had unfortunately learned that taking care of a child was not easy. I couldn't leave Sakura unsupervised during the evening, so after we made dinner I had to keep her company until she went to bed.

Naturally, that left me no time to work on my magecraft. My only option was to make time, so that meant cutting down on less essential activities.

Namely, sleep.

I never really slept in much to begin with, and it was something that I've learned to live without. Before my time as a Counter Guardian, I would tread battlefields days at a time before I could get any rest. I didn't think it would have been the case for most others, but it wasn't a struggle for me to adapt.

My brow twitched, however, as I finally accepted that I would simply have to adapt once again.

Five more minutes…

"I have everyone's homework graded," announced the teacher. "Are there any volunteers to hand them out?"

As was expected, there grumbles from some and raised hands from others. Nothing out of the ordinary.

A student stopped by my desk and dropped off my copy. I reached to put it in my bag–

Rin nudged my desk with a painfully fake smile plastered to her face.

Sigh. Really, Rin? I just want to go home…

"So, Emiya-kun. How did you do?"

My eye caught the homework she held to her side, which she tilted conspicuously in an attempt to stop me from seeing the perfect score I already knew she got. Did she want to compare answers? I couldn't see why if she got all of them right.

I chose the path of least resistance and slid my paper her way. "Here."

She took one look at the bright red 100 in the top corner and immediately lost her smile.

"Tch."

Tch?

The happy-face was back. "Thanks for sharing, Emiya-kun!" she chirped, though her actions betrayed her words as she turned around and slumped right back down into her chair.

Her paper was thrown haphazardly –uncaringly, even– onto her desk. She was angry about something, but what? That she wasn't able to gloat about her perfect marks since I tied her?

She'd have to wait for a few more years for that one. There's no way in hell that I was going to flunk a grade school assignment.

My twitching eyebrow found the company of my scowling lips. I really hoped that this didn't light a competitive fire in her. I wasn't too sure that I could handle it.

X

Once again, the Fujimura group picked me up with Sakura and drove us home. I glanced her way, seeing that she had another new dress today and that her hair was pulled into pigtails. It was with great amusement that I realized her wardrobe at my house would soon eclipse my own in size at its current rate of growth.

To my surprise, it was she who broke the silence first. "How… was your day?"

I felt my eyes widen before relaxing into a friendly grin. The run-in with the Worm had shaken her, but it would seem that she had the time to gather herself. I liked to think that she was warming up to me, too.

"It was good, thanks for asking. Did you have fun with Fujimura-san today?"

She nodded shyly. "Yes. Kiba-san brought me to the park. I enjoyed it."

Good. This was very good. With any luck, most of the damage the Matou family did to her could be undone.

I frowned. It was unfortunate that most would never be all.

Our driver pulled to the side of the street. We got here pretty quickly, didn't we?

I got out of the car first, making my way around to the other side to help the shorter girl get down from the ridiculously high-off-the-ground Mercedes-Benz.

Despite myself, my expression eased further when she reached to grab my hand.

X

"Shirou."

My heart slowed as my brain registered who was on the other side of the door.

Kiritsugu stood at the front entrance, arms crossed. He sported a frown of which I couldn't recall ever being on the receiving end.

"You didn't take her home, did you?"

The phrasing was for my own benefit. It wasn't really a question, considering the girl in question was right next to me with downcast eyes.

I didn't answer, but that didn't deter him. He continued, "Considering how you've set up the guest bedroom, I take it she's been staying with us?"

I could hear the sarcasm loud and clear, though I didn't think it was meant to be humorous.

I chanced a look at my relatively younger charge. I knew that the old man said he'd be back before the week was up, but I didn't expect him back so soon. I could only hope that she didn't take his displeasure the wrong way.

"I'm gonna talk to my dad for a sec," I told her. "Do you mind waiting in the other room for a moment?"

To her credit, she only hesitated for an instant. With a nod, she was off and I was left alone with my adoptive father.

I didn't waste any time. I tried to get straight to the point while divulging as little detail as possible. "I couldn't do it. Her family is hurting her."

To his credit, he actually grimaced a little. "I figured it was something like that. That doesn't mean you can just take a child away from their family, Shirou. That isn't the right thing to do."

Who was he trying to convince with that load of horseshit? We both knew that the only reason he gave two hoots was because this particular family belonged to a magus lineage that he didn't want looking his way.

I took a deep breath, knowing that I had to calm down. Strange… I wasn't one to get worked up like this usually.

"I couldn't just stand back and do nothing."

Heh. It wasn't lost on me that I took the words right out of a certain red-haired idiot's mouth. Though the intent behind the words wasn't the same, the parallels were there. As they say, the more things change…

Disconcerting, admittedly, but a problem for another time.

My old man's face slackened. "It's something a child your age wouldn't understand yet."

Despite myself, rage began to bubble under my skin. I wasn't about to let him pull that one on me.

"Oh? Then please tell me what I should have done."

Judging by the widening of his eyes, he didn't expect a sarcastic tone from a kid who looked like he was still on training wheels. A pity it may have been that I couldn't keep my less than stellar traits from showing themselves, I wasn't so concerned about that for now.

His expression steadied, but I knew the man well enough to see that he was wrestling with something in his mind. No idea what that would be, however.

In a sudden movement, he grabbed me firmly by the shoulders and did his best to look me in the eyes. It threw me off-guard; Kiritsugu was not a man who cared much for physical contact. "I told you that I was a magus, didn't I?"

I nodded, not knowing where he wanted to take this.

He was always tired, but now… exhaustion seemed to consume him entirely. "Despite that, I… It's not a world I wanted to introduce to you for a long while– no, maybe not at all. It's a cruel, unforgiving way of life that will bring nothing but pain and misery.

"That girl… Sakura. She part of that 'moonlit' world, and her family is just as cruel and unforgiving as the next. More so, even. It was my intention to keep you away from her so that she couldn't drag you the dangers that surround her."

I could understand where he was coming from. Like with most things, Kiritsugu was quick to label her as a lost cause and figured that it would be easier to keep me safe if he left the Matou to their own devices.

To him, that's what was required to be an ally of justice. Despite her plights, leaving Sakura to her fate would simply mean there would be one less magus breathing the same air as the rest of us. In return, he could make sure that I would be safe from their schemes.

If lives were weighed on a balance, the death of a magus would potentially save countless lives from whatever atrocities they would pursue in life. As a child of a traditional magus household herself, Sakura's life held less value than that of another child.

I disagreed.

"I told her that I would save her, so I will."

Kiritsugu looked as if he wanted nothing more than to tell me that I was being naïve, but he wouldn't. Though his way of thinking was faulty, it was nothing more than the corruption of a much more beautiful ideal.

A world where one could save everyone.

"You can't save everyone."

"I know," I agreed easily. There was something to be relished in seeing the man who cursed me make such a funny face. "But I'll save her. Not everyone."

The more I said it, the more feasible it seemed. Comparatively, at least.

I liked to think he realized right then that I would never follow in his footsteps. The dream of being a hero of justice would die with him.

He smiled.

"Even so, you're still a growing boy. There's little you can do for her by yourself."

Growing? Technically. Nothing I can do? I wouldn't say that.

He stopped me before I could contradict him. "She can stay with us for the time being. In exchange…"

His smile fell. The straight, dead look of the Magus Killer replaced it. "I'll need some assurance that you'll be able to keep yourself alive."

He shifted right back to the easy-going man I knew in my youth. Before I could get a proper explanation out of him, he walked away in order to tell Sakura that her stay was welcomed.

X

Sakura calmed down once she was told that she wouldn't be sent back to her grandfather. Now that everything was settled –at least for the most part– I took my time making a meal that was a little more elaborate than normal.

The atmosphere was nice. I encouraged Sakura to join the conversation, something that the old man was surprisingly good about helping me with. We all ate our share, and Sakura went to bed soon after. Unlike me, most kids her age needed plenty of sleep.

Her early bedtime worked in Kiritsugu's favour, apparently. The moment he was sure that she was slumbering, he beckoned me to follow him into the shed.

I stood by, not knowing what I was supposed to say. Was he going to explain what he meant earlier, or not?

"Originally I was thinking about teaching you magecraft, though after thinking it through a little, I came to the conclusion that such wouldn't go far in ways of making sure you don't die– it would take too much time."

…He lost me. I thought that maybe he was considering running me through the basics –like reinforcement and structural analysis– but he just said it wasn't the case. If not magecraft, then how did he expect me to keep myself out of trouble with other magi?

Of course, it wouldn't be a problem for me either way. Not that he knew that.

He picked up one of the cases that were stacked against the back wall. It was pitch black and made of some sort of high-end polypropylene, but otherwise unassuming.

It opened with a soft click. Despite what I knew about the man, I was still caught off guard for whatever reason.

"Do you know what this is, Shirou?" he asked me, a black metal object in hand.

"It's a handgun," was all I could say. For all my knowledge of swords, I knew next to nothing about firearms. I'd been faced with them countless times, sure, and I knew what differences to expect when faced with a shotgun or a rifle, but beyond that? I'd have better luck giving a lecture at the clocktower.

Hah.

" The Beretta 92F," he corrected me. "That's what this gun is called."

Wow. I kinda… really didn't care. Why should I? If this is about fighting magi, then–

"I used this myself, back in the day. My teacher had me put it together and take it apart whenever I had a moment to spare."

My train of thought came to a standstill. Was he really talking about his professional life right now? I could've sworn I never found out about that until many years after his death. And he had a teacher? It made sense, more so that being an assassin right out of the womb.

He didn't stop for my sake. "I am… very good at dealing with magi, despite not being the best magus myself. In fact, I've earned myself a reputation that I had hoped to keep from you. The Mage's Association calls me the Magus Killer."

I kept my mouth shut. None of this was new to me, and I didn't want to react strangely.

"I'm sure you're surprised," he said, noticing my subdued responses, "but I promise you that I'm not telling you this to frighten you. I doubt this would have ever come up were it not for what you said earlier today: that you would protect Sakura, no matter what. I had a feeling that you wouldn't let that go."

The smile –the same one as earlier– crept back up his face. "I'm relieved, in a way."

"Relieved?" I had to ask.

"I had a dream as a kid… one that I could never let go of. I wanted to make a world where everyone could be saved."

He mistook my frown for something else and laughed. "It's silly, I know, but to this day I still don't think it's a bad ideal to strive towards."

He's more stubborn than I am, then. And that's saying something.

"It ruined me, though."

I blinked. How… blunt.

"I had a beautiful wife and child. I loved them with all my heart. I tore myself apart, forced to chose between those dearest to me and my unachievable dream. I feel as though I would have been much happier were I willing to sacrifice the world for them and not the other way around."

Illya smiled at me. Despite the situation, it was as cheerful and happy smile. Be comparison, mine was bitter. Angry. Sad.

She died and I couldn't do a thing about it.

"I won't call it a mistake– I can't call it that. But if you can be happier than me by following your own path, then I will help in whatever way I can."

Would I be happier this way? I suppose I'll find out.

"Now back to this," he gestured to the gun in his hand. "Compared to regular people, magi are monsters given flesh. Untouchable almost. Tell me, from what little you know about them, what do you think their most common shared weakness is?"

That was a loaded question, now wasn't it? A weakness they all had in common? I admit it wasn't something I gave much thought to. My magecraft allowed me to match the method to the solution so I never had to give much thought to the inverse.

"Arrogance?" I offered.

"No," he shook his head but didn't seem annoyed. "You're not wrong, but arrogance alone won't stop a competent magus from keeping his head on his shoulders."

A fair point.

"The answer is far simpler. For all their strengths, nine times out of ten, they will die if you kill them– given you have the means."

I barely caught my jaw before it dropped. Seriously? That was the best insight the Magus Killer could offer me?

"Though I suppose arrogance plays into that as well," he mused. "The takeaway point is that if they die from your method, then your method is a good one. Whether it's considered to be viable or not is completely irrelevant."

He placed the gun in my hand. "There's a little more to it, but the gist is that if you can reliably put a bullet between another magus' ears, then your bullet is better than any of their magecraft."

I began to understand what he was trying to tell me while at the same time I processed that he was going to teach a kid how to kill someone with a firearm. The fact that I was the kid wasn't the point.

"Like you said, it could be arrogance, but I think it's more denial than anything. The right gun can kill them, but they won't accept it and they won't prepare for it. Rather than waste time trying to teach you how to be a good magus, you'll have better luck keeping Sakura away from her family if I teach you how to deal with them directly."

Actually, I figured I'd have better luck pulling out whichever Noble Phantasm had the best chances of killing whatever it was that I was trying to kill. But going by Kiritsugu's track record, his method seemed to work for him too. I'd humour him, if only because I couldn't really say no.

I nodded.

"Good," he slapped me on the back, something I found to be quite out of character. "Now take the gun apart, then put it back together.

…What?

"How?"

I barely caught his smirk before it left him. "I'd say you have time to figure that out. I'm tired, so I'll head to bed, but you keep at it. This is the first step you'll need to take before I can show you anything else."

Anything else? The hell did he show me now? The jackass just monologued for a bit then told me to do a tear-down of a gun!

He waved over his shoulder. "Good night, Shirou. I believe in you."

Thud.

I was left alone in a tiny shed at two in the morning with nothing to keep me company but an old gun.

Sigh.

X

I hate to admit it, but I was… grumpy the following morning. Though sleep wasn't something I needed in great quantity, I would've liked to have had more than two hours of it.

Understanding the gun itself wasn't too much of an issue. Though it wasn't recognized as a war tool by my Unlimited Blade Works, Structural Grasp worked just as well on it as any fan or room heater.

Understanding what went where did not, however, give me the skill required to tinker with the damn thing without screwing everything up.

It was laughable how bad I was with guns. And here I thought magecraft was my main deficiency.

It took me the better part of an hour and a half, but I was able to put all the little pieces back where I found them without accidentally knocking anything back out from where I put it.

I hated guns, I decided.

Next to me at the table, Sakura looked at me worriedly. She kept her thoughts to herself, likely too shy to speak her mind.

"I'm fine," I said for her sake. "I just had a little trouble sleeping."

"Oh," was all she said. I didn't doubt that she had the same issues at times.

"You have the day off today, don't you?" asked Kiritsugu from across, who was ignoring irritated redness in my eye. "Do you have any plans?"

"Depends," I answered simply. "Is there anything you want me to do?"

I think he got what I was trying to ask. "No, I don't think so– not right now, at least. Why don't you and Sakura enjoy yourselves for today, and we can talk again later."

Message received. I didn't have to look at another gun for at least a few more hours. I didn't understand why he was pushing for me to stay close to the girl, however. Despite our agreement, I didn't think that he appreciated having to shelter a runaway –stolen, more like– magus child.

I wouldn't argue too much, though.

An idea struck me.

"Sakura. Do you want to come to play at a friend's house?"

She looked unsure. No… rather, she looked positively frightened by the very idea of going somewhere enclosed and unknown. Despite her fears though, she still nodded yes. I could only assume that she trusted me enough to think that I wouldn't take her anywhere bad.

"Excellent. Go on, you two." Kiritsugu shooed us away with his cup of tea still near his lips. If he was going to tell us to get lost, the least he could do is put down the tea I brewed for him.

My eyes narrowed suspiciously. I couldn't help but feel as though he was trying to get rid of us for the moment.

X

We walked hand-in-hand as I directed my charge to our destination. Were it not for our starkly different appearances, it wouldn't surprise me if we were confused for siblings by any onlookers.

Her grip tightened in mine once she saw what neighbourhood we were in. She definitely recognized that we were close to a place she likely had no intention of returning to.

Once the Tohsaka manor was in sight, the purple-haired girl's feet began to drag under her. She didn't stop walking altogether, not wanting to give too much away, but her reluctance was palpable.

I hoped that she could move past it, and that the two of them could forgive me for what I was about to do.

Was this a bad idea? Most likely. Was I going to do it anyway? Yes.

What worked to my advantage was that Rin was all about keeping up appearances. Though we didn't get along too well, she wouldn't shut the door in my face if only to not seem rude. That would allow me to introduce them back into each other's lives, though it would be as acquaintances at best, and they would do it to humour me.

It was absolutely forced, but what else was I supposed to do? If I let them drift apart for too long, then things could only go downhill from there.

Sakura's hand was clammy. Was she really that nervous?

I stopped and turned to face her. "Sakura–"

Her face was flushed, her eyes glazed over. I noticed a tremble in her legs, which allowed me to catch the girl before she hit the ground.

"Sakura!"

I wouldn't call her lucid by any means, by she was conscious– if just barely. Her breath was haggard and looked like she was in excruciating pain.

What could this–

"She may stay with you for as long as she wishes, but something tells me it won't be as long as you think."

The worm's words resonated in my mind. This was what he meant, wasn't it? It didn't matter what any of our opinions were on the matter if the vile familiars inside of her destroyed her body.

I hadn't thought of it– or considered it at all. I didn't even know that this would be an issue.

I grit my teeth. That bastard wouldn't win that easily.

With the sick child held steady in my arms, I wracked my brain for any possible solution. What procedure could alleviate her pain? Who could I take her to that would be able–

I frowned.

I didn't like my solution one bit.