(A/N) Hello! And welcome to another episode of Dragon Ball Z. Hopefully, everyone is staying safe amid current irl happenings.

Before anything else, I'd like to ask that people please (pretty please, with a cherry on top) stop trying to argue whether or not Emiya could or could not use guns because of Miyuverse or Extra. Other than material books, there is no material that is canon to the fate stay night universe outside of the original vn, so it's already troublesome enough to sort through what can or can't be applied/expanded upon through the countless and barely-noticeable AU that exist within the franchise. The closest (and most reliable) sources we have are the likes of Case Files, Zero, Garden of Sinners, Magician's Night and Tsukihime.

Please don't talk to me about Notes. because I won't have a clue what you're saying.

Other than those, I will accept Riyo lore as a viable source of information.

Examples include:

- Gawain has the power level of a Saiyan Oozaru when he sunbathes

- Irisviel would have 100% gone mom-mode on Shirou

- Medb belongs to the streets

And such.

I am not saying I know everything about fate (hell no). In fact, there is so much that has slipped my mind it's not even funny. For things that are open to interpretation (such as mastery vs mystery is in UBW's energy consumption), I am more than willing to go back and change things if there's a general consensus that the community is more comfortable with.

That whole bit was much longer than it should have been. My apologies for wasting time.

Enjoy, mi amigos.

X

It was with great scrutiny that I made sure the handgun I was tinkering with was working properly. Thankfully, my predisposed talent with structural analysis ensured that the process didn't take longer than a moment.

I picked it up, tilting it from side to side. This should be fine, right?

One more time, then.

Nimbly, I stripped the firearm and laid its components on a clear space before me. It barely took an instant longer to put it all together.

Much better. Not to bad, I'd say.

"Hm…"

What time was it now? It couldn't be too long past midnight.

"…"

I crossed my arms in thought. Should I call it a night here?

…No. I should definitely take advantage of whatever free time I have. Even if I wouldn't catch much sleep, it would be worth it in the end.

One could hope, at least.

I took a deep breath. Another. The time of day didn't allow for my magecraft to be at its peak, but it would do just fine regardless.

"I am the bone of my sword."

So far, so good. As the words left my lips, they felt right. My reality marble hummed, in a sense, stimulated by the opening line of my aria. There was no issue here.

"Steel is my body, and…"

I couldn't help but frown as I trailed off. I couldn't feel anything. Not an ounce of magical energy passed through me or the Unlimited Blade Works. It remained unchanged.

Shit.

My incantation was very close to a ten-count aria. To be missing everything after the first line meant that close to ninety percent of its effects were no longer at my disposal. Summoning Noble Phantasms was one thing, but actually trying to use certain mysteries would be a no-go. Without a strengthened "veil" provided by the reality marble, they'd be shut down by Gaia too quickly to be of any use to me.

Arms like Gae Bolg or even Caliburn wouldn't be nearly as effective as they normally would. A simple projection would still offer me a weapon of peerless quality– along with the means to use it to a limited extent– but the reversal of causality or the manifestation of humanity's will wouldn't work.

Rather, they would, the only issue is that it would be for less than a sliver of a second and I'd likely explode along with my abused circuits.

Or something dramatic of the sort.

It was a small mercy that the first line wasn't lost to me. Even a crack-sized opening of the "floodgates" would alleviate that disadvantage– if only momentarily. In a pinch, I'd be able to use a Noble Phantasm or two to something close to full efficacy without damaging myself terribly.

Still, it went without saying that I would have to figure out why my aria wasn't working as quickly as possible.

Full usage of the Unlimited Blade Works requires me to have a complete understanding of myself. The incantation was deeply personal –more so than I would have liked– which meant that every word was an admittance of every abnormality that lead to me becoming a human sword.

The most evident explanation was that I wasn't as sure in my beliefs as I thought I was– Alaya rejecting me was as good of an assurance to that as I was going to get. I would assume –and hope– that seeing my new self-assigned "mission" through would help me sort things out.

I started to feel a sting in my eye. Maybe it was a good time to pack it in. Tomorrow was the last day of school, and being late for that would only bring me more pain than it's worth.

"Sigh."

My eyes were another issue, weren't they? I did… something when I was at the church, and ever since then the color of my eyes has become something eerily similar to The Eye of the Mind. Not quite the same –after all, they were merely a representation of my extensive combat experience in the form of a servant skill, not mystic eyes– but my vision was enhanced in some capacity.

It wouldn't make sense for it to be anything more than that in the first place, though I haven't seen any combat to say that with any sort of confidence.

But then came my dilemma.

As much as I appreciated the boost, I couldn't see them as anything other than a huge pain in the ass right now. I still had to act like a normal child in public so as not to attract any unwanted attention, but I learned that it was considerably easier to conceal my use of thaumaturgy than physical features that make me look unmistakably not normal.

Getting silver eyes overnight was not normal.

It was much to my chagrin that I was forced to wear coloured contacts to school every day. It was terrible.

Hence the itchiness. In all my apparent wisdom, it didn't cross my mind to take them out before heading out to the shed.

Bah.

It took all of my willpower to not throw them on the ground right here and be done with it. Instead, I would suck it up, go to the bathroom, and put them back in their preserving case.

In front of the mirror, I groaned in pleasure as soon as I was free from those god-awful–

"Shirou?"

Hm?

Standing at the bathroom entrance was a tired-looking Sakura.

"What are you doing up this late?"

She averted her eyes. It was only after her lips quivered for longer than a few seconds that I realized she was struggling with her words.

"I, uhm… I wanted… are you…"

Honestly. The least she could do is save me the pain of trying to decipher her babbling at this dreadful hour.

"Tell me. What's wrong?"

"You… you and mister Kiritsugu… you're leaving, right?"

Ah. So that's what it was.

The old man made it no secret that he wanted us to move to England– at least for the length of my year-end break. He argued that living somewhere within a day's travel of the Clock Tower would make it easier to reach a large majority of the people he wanted to get in touch with.

Who those people were, he didn't say.

Actually, he was being pretty secretive about the whole thing. He admitted that this was something he was planning for a while, though he didn't tell me upfront until he found out about my peculiar situation.

Disregarding my displeasure with how little I was being told, a more pressing concern –as I was beginning to realize just now– was where Sakura fit into all this.

Sending her back to Zouken was out of the question. Could she stay with Raiga?

…No. That wouldn't work either.

Were this a mundane threat, he'd be perfect. He had men, money, influence, and he could definitely be trusted. Lamentably, Zouken was so far from a mundane threat it was maddening. There were no words to express how much easier this would be if the bastard could just keel over and die.

Sakura shifted awkwardly. Right. I was a little lost in thought.

In what I hoped was taken as a reassuring gesture, I ran my hand through her hair and shook it up playfully. If I did this to someone like Rin, I wouldn't have a hand anymore. She seemed to take it just fine, though.

"We won't abandon you. Just leave it to me."

Easier said than done, unfortunately.

Hah. What a troublesome girl.

I took her silence as a sign of acceptance. Even if it wasn't, it was time for rest, not conversation.

"Come. Let's bring you back to bed."

This was something I'd have to talk over with Kiritsugu.

X

"Congratulations Tohsaka, Emiya. You've both had perfect grades all year. It will be our pleasure to have you back next spring."

After the year-end announcements, the homeroom teacher pulled Rin and I aside. I was a little curious to know what he had to say, but it turned out that he just wanted to gush over his two academically gifted pupils.

Well, pupil. I couldn't say I was anywhere near the girl next to me in terms of intelligence. I just had a big head start.

"Thank you," responded the little magus with a gracious bow. It was well executed; I could tell she'd been practicing.

Oh?

Her fists were clenched. She was mad. What could she possibly be mad about?

She conversed amicably with the teacher in a way that was endearingly similar to a child trying to talk like a grownup. It was the knowledge that she wasn't too far off in intellect from the said grownup that muted my amusement.

The teacher took off with one last goodbye. He was passionate about his job, if nothing else.

It was just the two of us left in the halls now. The other kids had already been taken home.

That was my queue, then.

"Have a nice break Tohsaka. See you–"

"Emiya-kun."

A hand held me in place before I could turn around to leave.

"Hm?"

She squeezed me like she was trying to turn my shoulder to dust. Honestly, what a frightening little kid.

"You… I'll beat you next time for sure!" she shouted.

Eh?

She continued, "Don't think that you're my equal just because we got the same grades! I'll make you understand why you won't be able to keep it up!"

It would be cocky, coming from anyone else. Cockier, at the very least. She cared about her image a lot more than I did, so I didn't doubt for a second that her perfect record would eventually outlast my own.

"I know," I agreed easily enough.

For whatever contrived reason, my efforts to appease her only pissed her off more. She puffed out her cheeks. There was so much blood rushing to her head that she was beginning to look like a twin-tailed cherry tomato.

"Stop looking down on me!"

Was that how she saw it? I couldn't see why.

Tomato Rin stomped her foot petulantly. "You're the worst! Just because you know a few things, you think that you can hold it over my head like that?"

"When have I once held something over your head?"

She looked like she wanted to bury my head in the ground.

There weren't any words to be heard from her mouth. Despite her evident… dissatisfaction, she couldn't call me out on any one thing without it sounding forced.

I sighed. "Look. Let's get along, okay?"

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. What could she say, though? No?

Of course not. It would be an inexplicable grudge that would do nothing but ruin her public image.

I got her.

Tomato Rin huffed, but looked away. "Until next time, then, Emiya-kun."

Finally. Maybe she'd be a bit more civil from now on. Not that I'd ever express that relief to her vocally, lest I find myself catching a "mysterious illness".

I smiled at her, though it just made her turn away even more. "Yeah. Until next time, Tomato–"

Urghk.

For a moment, there was nothing but a dead silence between us. I likened my stiffness to staying absolutely still in the presence of a dangerous predator.

It took her a few seconds to process my slip-up, and it retrospect those were valuable seconds that would have allowed me to escape.

Too late now, though.

"…What did you call me?"

"Nothing. You must have misheard."

The least I could do was try.

"Did you just call me a tomato?"

"…"

"…"

Her brow twitched. Her eye followed, then her lip.

The alarms in my head went off one by one. Before me, I witnessed all the signs that foretold a great suffering.

My suffering, I could more than assume.

She must have realized that she was dangerously close to doing something illegal because her response wasn't a response at all. She turned about-face and walked away.

…Stomped away.

Sigh. So much for getting on her good side.

X

As I prepared dinner, my eyes landed on my tiny assistant. I reminded myself that I had to talk to Kiritsugu at some point. Unfortunately, I didn't have an opportunity to do so in the morning. I had to go to school right after breakfast.

I did have a little more time than usual to come up with something, thankfully. We were making much more food than usual.

The reason was that I was serving five people instead of the usual three. Ever since the old man came back from his trip, Raiga didn't have a reason –or an excuse– to spoil Sakura rotten all the time. To compensate, he made it a habit of coming over for meals along with his granddaughter whenever he could, and he'd bring little trinkets with him.

My gaze found the clock. They would be here soon.

Not much else needed to be done now that the roast was in the oven. I tapped Sakura lightly on the shoulder. "We're done for the next little while. I gotta talk to dad."

At her nod, I went to find my adoptive father out in the yard.

"Old man."

Sitting on the porch, leaning comfortably on his arms, he didn't bother turning around. Instead, he gave a pat to the spot next to him.

I accepted the invitation, joining him on the wooden floor. I decided to get straight to the point. "What do you plan on doing with Sakura when we leave?

"Hm?"

This time, he did turn my way. "What do you mean? She's coming with us, of course."

…What?

I didn't know what I was expecting, but that wasn't it. While it would keep her safe, taking her out of Fuyuki would be much easier said than done. It was risky, and Emiya Kiritsugu did not do "risky".

Evidently, he took notice of my confusion, for he told me, "To this day, I wonder what would have happened if I never left Illya behind; if I didn't weigh the risks of leaving her in Acht's care against the many intangibles that bringing her with us would have brought to light."

"…It was the right choice," I tried to placate him. Who in their right mind would bring a child into a bloodbath?

He laughed. "Maybe so. And yet… here we are."

He didn't have to explain what he meant. As I knew him, he'd live out his dying days in regret, not able to see his daughter ever again.

"You've done many things to keep that girl safe, Shirou. Frankly, many foolish things. If possible, I'd like to know if your efforts will prove to be any more successful than my own."

Me too, pop. Me too.

That still left one glaring, light-up neon flag for us to deal with.

"What about Zouken? He's not going to let us get away easily," I told him matter-of-factly.

He smiled whimsically. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there.

"…"

He had a plan. The bastard definitely had a plan, and he wouldn't tell me what it was. Whether my ignorance played a role, or he was just being difficult, I didn't know. I'd have to place my trust in him.

For now, I'll go tell Sakura the good news.

X

Bellies full, we said our goodbyes to the yakuza boss and his granddaughter.

"Take care you three!" exclaimed Taiga jubilantly from the front entrance. "Have fun on vacation!"

All three of us responded with a smile, even Sakura. She had an awkward grip on the large bear plush that Raiga had brought for her.

It was good that she was smiling. Evidently, it had been a relief to hear that she wouldn't be left behind. She was still hesitant at first, but my promise that her "grandfather" wouldn't be able to do anything assuaged her a great deal.

Once we got out of the country, there really wasn't much that the old worm could do short of hiring a mercenary to get her back. The crest worm in her heart was the last shackle keeping her hostage, and the bastard couldn't even do anything with it. If he killed her, not only would he lose his last shot at the grail, but he'd be vulnerable. He wouldn't have a host body anymore, and it would be all too simple to end him then and there.

Unfortunately, that cemented my traitorous thought that the simplest choice was to get her a new body and dispose of her old one.

Again, simplest, but far from the easiest.

Definitely not the easiest.

Our guests now gone, it was just us left in the house. "I'll put away the leftovers," I told Kiritsugu.

Moving on to different thoughts, I might have overestimated Taiga's appetite. I had made enough for a small army, rather than a portion better fit for a mid-sized platoon.

Not to discredit her in any way, however. She ate her share, but the rest of us had normal stomachs.

I frowned once I sealed the fourth container. Would we even be able to eat all of this before the flight? How wasteful.

If only we could pass some of it on to someone else.

…Oh.

"Old man!"

I should at least let him know where I'm going before I leave the house.

X

I made full use of the large knocker hung on the door of the European-styled mansion. Its inhabitant probably wouldn't hear me otherwise.

I heard a stumble– likely the resident being caught by surprise. I doubt she gets many visitors.

The door opened tentatively, and a single eye peered out. I could understand her worry, since her bounded fields would normally ward off any unwanted guests.

"Yo, Tohsaka."

The door swung open, and hesitance gave way to indignance. "Emiya-kun. What are you doing here?" she ordered shortly.

I held up the plastic bag I was carrying. "For you. I made too much food, and I wanted to apologize for upsetting you."

That was only partly true. After having dinner with friends and family, it had occurred to me that Rin had nothing of the sort. She'd go home every day to an empty house and was expected to take care of herself.

The priest was useless as a guardian, I would assume.

I hadn't even given it any thought until now. Understandably –or at least, I liked to think so– my priorities were trying to sort out more pressing issues, such as Sakura and my adoptive sister's family matters.

Howbeit, Rin didn't have it easy either. She was a dear friend of mine, no matter how much she wanted to strangle me right now. I'll endeavor to make things a little easier for her from now on.

"…Tohsaka?"

I tried calling her out. She'd been frozen stiff for some reason.

Her expression was unreadable, but her fingers were twitching vigorously. Poor girl probably didn't know how to respond in this situation.

It only made sense. Should she turn me away? Take my offering? Let me in? Her social instructor was Kotomine of all people, and he was about as likely to teach her proper host etiquette as he would be to grow a heart.

Not happening.

I'd take the difficult decision away from her.

Ignoring her surprised squawk, I pushed past her and entered the house.

"Excuse you!" she shouted.

Fair enough. "Excuse me," I said, as I took off my shoes. I b-lined to where I knew her kitchen was, placing my package on the countertop.

She ran after me. "This… this isn't a good time, Emiya!"

Oh? She sounded kind of rattled. Not that I thought about it, the house did smell of strange, saturated prana. She must have been working on her magecraft.

I played the innocent. "Hm? You've already eaten?"

As if to spite her, a rumble escaped the girl's stomach. A scarlet blush crossed her face.

I frowned. Rin should really take better care of herself. Pushing meals back too late is bad for the health.

I furrowed through her cupboards, disregarding her protests. The food was still warm, so I was able to prepare her dish quickly.

"Emi–"

"Eat," I told her quickly. I had learned a long time ago that the only way to get the upper hand on her was to not let her get a word in, to begin with. She would tear me apart, otherwise.

"I didn't even invite you in, you know…" Rin grumbled. Despite this, she didn't push away the plate placed in front of her.

Picking up the fork, she took a small, almost insignificant bite.

I smirked.

"It's… good."

Her eyes didn't find my own. Her gaze was kept on the meal.

There wasn't much else that I could do without completely invading her personal space, but for now…

"I'm going to Europe with my family for a little while. When I'm back, would you like to come over sometimes? Eating by yourself can be pretty boring."

If she took my comment cuttingly, it wasn't shown on her face. Without finishing her meal, she got to her feet and pushed me towards the door.

"It's embarrassing to eat with someone watching, you know. Get out."

Hah. I tried. 'Till next time, then.

"But… I'll make sure to eat what you've brought me. It won't go to waste."

My shoes thrown out the door along with me, the difficult girl slammed the door in my face.

I couldn't hold back my snort. A troublesome woman, this one.

At least she was grateful.

Probably.