Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Snow White and Her Children

Chapter 4

"Worthless incompetents!" Zouken Matou raged, slamming a fist against his desk in fury.

"I completely apologize." A terrified servant forced out with head bowed. Zouken growled low in his throat while glaring at the cowering man.

"People do not just disappear into thin air." He spat. "Especially since our men reported back two nights ago that they had my grandson in hand, and again when they arrived at Fuyuki yesterday afternoon. No, this was deliberate. Someone stopped them on the way here, and did something to make it seem as though they'd just disappeared into thin air. And I want to know what, why, and who. I want my grandson and heir."

"Y-yes, sir!" the servant said with another bow. "I'll personally look into answering those questions, and bringing your grandson here where he belongs. That said…what if the culprits have taken his life?"

"For your sake," Zouken said with soft menace. "I hope they haven't."

"Y-yes, sir!"

Zouken made a dismissive wave, and the man bowed himself out. Alone with himself, Zouken let out a sigh of frustration. He shouldn't have to go this far in order to get a proper heir. Not that he actually needed one, of course, but appearances had to be met regardless. The problem was that the lineage had all but completely withered away, with his most recent progeny being a mixed bag of success and failure alike.

Both had been born with magic circuits, but the elder of the two, Byakuya, had circuits of such low quantity and quality that he could barely perform the most basic of mysteries. Zouken had hoped that by marrying the man to a woman possessing the Inheritor Sorcery Trait, their offspring would be a proper placeholder for the position of family heir, but that had been for naught.

The younger of the two, Kariya, had started out with much promise. True, his quantity and quality of circuits were average, but he should have been able to manage more than just basic mysteries. He'd have made a proper heir, and Zouken had even planned for him to marry one of the Zenjou lineage, who possessed the ability to magnify any offspring's potential magical talent.

Kariya though had ended up a disappointment much like his older brother. He'd turned his back on the family, despite everything it had done for and given to him in his youth, and eloping with his fiancée had apparently decided to live a life of obscure mediocrity away from the supernatural.

Zouken had let him leave, finding the potential effort to track down and bring that foolish son of his to heel too troublesome at the time. Instead, he'd gambled everything on Byakuya's progeny.

Speaking of which…

"Grandfather…" Shinji said while entering the room, wearing an expression on his face that Zouken recognized as the one Shinji usually had when he was about to demand something.

"Shinji…what are you doing here?" Zouken asked. "You should be leaving for school already. You wouldn't want to be late, would you? That wouldn't reflect well on you, or our family name."

"I should be able to make it so long as I leave in the next few minutes." Shinji said. "But more importantly…I overheard that conversation you had with that flunky Yamada."

"Eavesdropping is a bad habit." Zouken remarked with a faint note of warning. Typically, Shinji missed or just ignored it.

"Grandfather," Shinji said with a building petulant note. "You didn't really send some people to grab my Uncle Kariya's son, did you?"

"Whether I did or not is none of your business." Zouken said.

"It is when it sounds like you're planning to make my cousin your heir in my place!" Shinji exploded. "My father was your eldest son! He sacrificed himself to try and win the Grail during the last Holy Grail War! I spent my whole childhood studying magical theory in my free time! I still do in fact! I can recite the whole curriculum for the Clock Tower's entrance examinations if you ask me to! Hell, I'll ace any of the mock tests provided as preparations for those exams! By all rights, I should be your heir, not some nobody who probably never spent even a few seconds studying all the magical lore our family's built up over the centuries! Much less the son of a disgrace who abandoned our family and his duty to it!"

For several long moments, there was only the sound of Shinji's heavy breathing. But as he calmed down, Zouken looked at him evenly. "Are you satisfied getting all that off your chest?" he asked, ignoring the way his grandson's eyes bulged at the casual dismissal in Zouken's words. "Whether you are or not, you should leave for school."

"WHY?" Shinji shouted. "WHY DO YOU KEEP REFUSING TO MAKE ME YOUR HEIR? WHY DO YOU KEEP REFUSING TO TRAIN ME PROPERLY? I KNOW ALL THE THEORY, HELL, I'VE EVEN DONE PLENTY OF EXPERIMENTS WITH ALCHEMY! SO WHY WON'T YOU TEACH ME REAL MAGECRAFT?"

Zouken set his jaw. "Break your own nose." He said, while twisting prana around the words.

The sound of breaking bone echoed across the room, followed by a cry of pain and the sound of a body tumbling to the floor. Zouken hobbled closer to where Shinji was rolling around in pain on the floor, clutching at his broken and bleeding nose.

Then the young man was gasping, as Zouken prodded him sharply in the belly with his cane. "Is that answer enough?" he rhetorically asked. "Even your father as worthless as he was with or without our…crest, would have been able to put up token resistance against the compulsion I just used on you. A second-rate like Emiya's son would have put up more than that, to say nothing of Tohsaka's Golden Twins or the heirs of other, equally-established lineages. The fact that you cannot even put up token resistance says it all: you are unworthy of being my heir."

Zouken withdrew his cane, and sneered at the resentful and frustrated expression on his grandson's face. "Make no mistake," he said. "You are still family. You are still of my blood. You still have duties and obligations to fulfill to us all. That is the only reason I indulge your childishness and petty pleasures. Eventually I will collect our family's due. But not as I would from a magus, because you cannot be a magus, no matter how hard you try to force the issue."

"A-a-and my c-cousin…?" Shinji gasped in outrage. "He can be one?"

"By all accounts, he can be a magus." Zouken said with a weary air. "Probably an average one, just like his father could have been, maybe more considering who his mother is. I will not know for certain until he has joined us…but I do know for certain he will be more useful in that sense than you or your father will be or have ever been."

Shinji grit his teeth and glared furiously in pain and humiliation…

…and then he was screaming, as Zouken jabbed his cane at his broken nose, moving as fast as a striking snake. The blow repaired the damage quickly, but it was painful, though not much more so if at all compared to the burning numbness of magic circuits in activity.

Yet more proof of Shinji's worthlessness in that capacity.

"You may go." Zouken dismissively said. "And be sure to wipe that blood off your face before you head out."

Choking back what were undoubtedly curse words of one kind or another, Shinji scrambled to his feet and ran out of the room. Zouken looked after him with an air of resigned disappointment. How could he not? Shinji had been a disappointment the moment he'd been born.

No, more than that. His very existence was a backhanded insult. For it wasn't so much that he didn't have magic circuits, as much as they were dead. They had no ability to produce prana whatsoever, though in theory – not that it was useful beyond the academic sense – they could conduct it.

Now if only there was actually something to conduct.

Shinji's mother had paid for that fact with her life. The worms had feasted well for weeks on end, until finally Byakuya had been allowed to grant her the mercy of a quick death.

"In hindsight," Zouken thought to himself not for the first time. "It was a mistake not keeping tabs on Kariya ever since he left, or letting him leave in the first place, for that matter. I wouldn't have to go this far if not for either of those."

Sighing and shaking his head in regret for shortsighted mistakes made in times past, Zouken silently hobbled away.

The telegram crumpled in Valkolumi Edelfelt-Tohsaka's fist, which then slammed down hard on the desk in rage. "Two days." She hissed. "I've been gone for only two days, and that decrepit gnome already dares to throw his weight around? Does he think so little of our authority? I wouldn't be surprised if he does!"

"With respect, my lady," one the Edelfelt retainers present in the room with Valkolumi began. "While Magus Matou's actions do demonstrate a lack of respect for and recognition of proper authority and procedure, they are also well within his rights both as head of his family and as a magus."

"That said," the other retainer in the countered. "Neither do the actions of Ladies Rin and Sakura call for sanction and reprimand. As you yourself said, Magus Matou has demonstrated contempt for Edelfelt-Tohsaka's authority in their territory. On that basis, Ladies Rin and Sakura's actions were well within the bounds of their shared position of Second Owner."

"This is a delicate situation, Lady Valkolumi." The first retainer said. "Swift but considerate action must be taken to resolve it in a satisfactory fashion."

"You think I don't know that?" Valkolumi snapped, and throwing a glare at the man that had him backing away a step. Then turning away, Valkolumi took a deep breath to calm herself, before pulling her woolen shawl tighter around her shoulders. The telegram had arrived at three in the morning, forcing her to attend to this matter only in a silken nightgown. And with autumn already advancing, it was getting cold here in the London (though not nearly as much as it would be in Lapland far to the north), especially at this time of the night.

Silently making her way to the mansion window, Valkolumi stared out across the fog and shadow-shrouded expanse of the grounds, and beyond, to the rest of the suburbs in the pre-dawn darkness.

"We'll need to wrap things up quickly here." Valkolumi decided after a few minutes. "I need to get back to Fuyuki and take things in hand. Rin and Sakura can't handle that gnome on their own. Not decisively, at least…"

Valkolumi turned away from the windows, and transfixed the two retainers with her pale-blue gaze. "Inform Father McKinley I am willing to meet with him later this morning to discuss a decisive settlement with regard to the Fuyuki Grail's final disposition."

"Yes, my lady!" the two retainers said with a bow.

"Set up an appointment with the College of Law as well." Valkolumi added. "I will continue with my meetings with Lord Valueleta and company as planned."

"Yes, my lady!" the two retainers repeated with another bow, and Valkolumi dismissed them with a gesture. They bowed again and then left, pausing only to allow Luviagelita 'Luvia' Edelfelt to enter before closing the door behind them.

"Did something happen, Aunt Valkolumi?" Luvia asked. Much like her aunt, the Edelfelt heiress was only in a silken nightgown, though instead of a mere shawl she wore a full robe of wool to keep herself warm and modest while walking around out of bed.

"Unfortunate developments have taken place in Fuyuki." Valkolumi said in disgust, smoothing out the telegram and handing it to Luvia.

Luvia raised an eyebrow before taking the telegram and quickly reading through it. "…so Rin and Sakura dealt with trespassers on their land, big deal." Luvia finally said with a shrug.

Valkolumi gave her niece a dry look. "Did you even read the reason why they acted as they did?" she asked.

Luvia shrugged again. "I did." She said. "Magus Matou had someone kidnapped, likely a relative from a long-estranged branch line, with the goal of forcing them to become his heir. And in the process, risked the Masquerade."

Amused and impressed in equal measure, Valkolumi smiled a wintery smile. "Noticed that, did you?" she asked.

Luvia snorted. "Of course I did." She said, walking past Valkolumi to look out the window herself. "No matter how…sympathetic, his motivation for doing such is, and no matter how he was well in his rights to take such…liberties, with a branch line, the potential consequences of Magus Matou's actions would be much too visible. Oh I'm sure so long as the whole story doesn't get thrown into the public's face it shouldn't be too difficult to sweep the matter under the rug…but the point of the matter is that he risked the Masquerade in the first place. Put all of us at risk…"

Luvia trailed off with a shake of her head, before turning to look at Valkolumi. "If anything," she said. "My cousins are to be commended for taking the initiative and establishing a position from which measures can be readily taken to control and stabilize the situation."

"Yes, they've done quite well, haven't they?" Valkolumi softly said with a tone and expression of veiled pride. "Though it would be unreasonable to expect or ask for more than this from them on their own. Magus Matou is old and powerful. Rin and Sakura should be able to hold him off if it comes to that, so long as they use their heads and stay cautious. But that will be their limit, so I hope it won't come to that, at least not until after I get back."

Luvia raised an eyebrow again. "…you suspect Magus Matou will oppose your decision to disassemble the Grail of Fuyuki?" she asked.

"…his Matou ancestors did help my late husband's ancestors build it." Valkolumi said after a moment, and joining Luvia at the window. "And old men – and old magi especially – are very much set in their ways. It's unlikely he'd accept the reasoning behind my decision."

"…in the end though," Luvia said after a few moments. "You are the Regent for the Edelfelt-Tohsaka line of magi, until Rin and Sakura reach adulthood. And the Grail stands on your land. The final decision is yours, and you are not obliged beyond mere courtesy to consult with either or both of the other founding families."

"Yes…as you say, Luvia, as you say…" Valkolumi said with a nod, crossing her arms while looking up at the overcast skies.

Musical notes tinkled through the air, only to cut off as Rin answered her phone. "Yes, this is Rin Tohsaka." She lightly said into the mouthpiece. "Hold while I put my sister on the line."

"Yes, my lady." Satomi said over the phone.

Rin looked at Sakura, but she'd already pulled out her phone and was pressing it to an ear. A moment later and she gave a thumb up at Rin. Rin nodded back, and spoke into the phone once more.

"Sakura's on the line." She said. "Fill us in, Satomi-san."

"Yes, my lady." Satomi said. "As of ten minutes ago, the National Police Agency has issued a general, nationwide alert for the whereabouts of one Hikaru Matou. It is now officially and publicly a missing person's case. Any and all information should be forwarded to the relevant authorities."

"What about his parents?" Sakura asked. "Was there any mention of them?"

"Yes, Lady Sakura." Satomi said. "His parents are Kariya Matou and Aoi Zenjou, currently residents of Osaka City in Osaka Prefecture. We're looking further into their background even as we speak."

"Kariya…Matou…?" Rin echoed.

"At this point it's inferentially beyond question that Hikaru is of the Matou lineage of magi." Sakura remarked.

"Hmm…agreed…" Rin said with a nod. "…but how so still needs to be answered. As does why did Magus Matou have to go this far to get Hikaru-kun?"

"Basically what happened in the past?" Sakura asked.

"Yes…" Rin said with another nod. "Hopefully Satomi-san's investigation will get us some answers."

"We shall make every effort not to disappointment you, my ladies." Satomi said.

"I know you won't, Satomi-san." Rin said with a smile.

"So we'll leave it all to you." Sakura added with a matching smile.

"I am honored by your confidence, my ladies." Satomi said. "Well then…"

Rin nodded and disconnected the call, as did Sakura next to her. Then Rin walked over to the railing along the edge of the rooftop level, arms folded under her breasts. Sakura stayed further away, looking at her sister silently. The minutes ticked by with only the breeze to be heard.

"Well," Rin finally said. "Things have gotten really complicated, haven't they?"

"Understatement of the century, sister." Sakura said with a roll of the eyes. "We are now facing a potential Masquerade breach. And as the Second Owner of the territory where Magus Matou resides in, we have a share in the responsibility. After all, why couldn't we have prevented him from instigating this incident in the first place?"

"Add to that our involvement by rescuing Hikaru-kun from Magus Matou's thugs…" Rin said in exasperation before shaking her head.

"Maybe we should hand him over to the police?" Sakura asked, and Rin looked at her like she'd grown a second head. "What? It's not like Magus Matou could take him away from them, not with so many eyes on Hikaru-kun in such a situation. Add to that a…properly-doctored, story, and we can have the police take care of Magus Matou for us."

Rin snorted. "And Magus Matou would just use mental interference to make himself effectively invisible to anyone who isn't a magus, before taking Hikaru-kun away." She said. "Then the situation would escalate further, at Hikaru-kun just vanishing from protective custody, and this time with us on the back foot. After all, Magus Matou would have Hikaru-kun in such a situation, and we'd have exposed our hand."

Sakura nodded in agreement. "Well, now we know that idea is unworkable." She said. "Though, it does bring up one valid point."

"And that is?" Rin asked.

"So long as Hikari-kun is in our protective custody," Sakura said while joining Rin at the railing. "We can set the narrative. That gives us an advantage."

"…yes…I suppose the overall situation hasn't changed much." Rin said with a slow nod. "The stakes are higher, but all we still have to do is keep Hikaru-kun out of sight until mother comes back."

"Indeed…though we should update mother on the change in circumstances regardless."

Rin was silent for a long moment, and then nodded slowly. Before she could speak though, her phone rang again. Holding it up, Rin took a single look at the Caller ID, and swore.

"Shit."

"Haven't you found anything yet?" Zouken demanded.

"Please accept my apologies," the cowering servant said. "But while I have men chasing down my lead, I still have no proof to focus on."

"A lead, you say?" Zouken echoed. "Tell me all about it."

"Y-yes…my men were able to obtain the records of the ferry company and port authority." The servant said. "From there, we were able to find the vehicle and plate number used by the men sent to retrieve your grandson from Osaka."

Zouken nodded in understanding, and the servant continued. "We're still working on it," the man said. "But we're trying to obtain CCTV records across the city, along any and all routes from the port to this mansion. From there, we hope to follow their movements right up until they vanished, or more likely, were intercepted by a third party."

Zouken hummed and drew back in thought. After several moments, he nodded slowly. "Resourceful…" he said with veiled approval. "…very well, it holds promise, so carry on. But I want regular updates, understood?"

"Yes, sir." The servant said with a bow. "On another note sir, there is something else."

"And that is?"

The man looked very uncomfortable. "…the police may come asking questions." He said. "It is a matter of public record you are your grandson's grandfather, for all that your son prefers not to acknowledge the relation…"

The man trailed off with a deep bow, but Zouken waved him off. "It's a valid concern." He said dismissively. "I keep you around because you are useful, and not because you flatter me."

"I…yes, sir."

"Hmm…if the police do come poking their noses into this, send them to me." Zouken said. "I'll speak with them myself."

"I understand, sir."

Zouken gestured, and the servant bowed before leaving. Alone once again, Zouken rubbed his forehead in frustration. Not just at the apparent inability to find his grandson – though admittedly, he was perhaps being too demanding seeing as it'd only been a few hours since the search had started, and his servants were apparently competent enough at their jobs – but also at this new complication.

Damn Kariya!

He should have never have involved the police in this.

It's bad enough that his thoughtless actions in the past have forced me to go this far just to find a proper heir. I'd have thought fatherhood and life experience would have taught him subtlety and consideration, but once again he proves to be a disappointment.

Now I have to watch my back in case those upstart Tohsakas or that false priest Kotomine realize I'm involved in this.

To say it will cause problems would be an understatement, and for which I have no time to spare.

Fuming at his prodigal son's recent actions and their potential consequences, Zouken hobbled away.

"You don't really need to wash what you used during the day, you know." Shirou said as he walked into the kitchen after returning home from school, and saw clean china, silverware, and plastic containers sitting on a cloth next to the sink. "Just leave it in soapy water in the sink."

"Emiya-san, I'm already freeloading at your house." Hikaru said while muting the TV. "I should at least clean up after myself."

"You're not a freeloader, you're a guest." Shirou insisted.

Hikaru looked like he wanted to disagree, but he didn't argue. Instead, he changed topics. "You know I saw something interesting earlier today." He said.

"What was it?" Shirou said, while beginning to put away what Hikaru had washed over the day.

"Myself."

"What?"

"It looks like my parents filed a missing person's report back home." Hikaru said. "And now the NPA have sent out a nation-wide alert for me."

"Are you serious?" Shirou asked.

"Why would I make jokes about this?" Hikaru asked.

"Right…sorry…well this is…complicated…"

"Yeah, I know." Hikaru said with a sigh. "I'm not sure why, but I get the feeling showing myself to the police and telling them all about my uncle isn't going to solve anything at all. It'll probably only make things worse."

"Probably…" Shirou uncomfortably agreed.

"That said," Hikaru said with another sigh. "I'm worried about my parents. My mom especially. She's…a delicate person. This might sound like something from a cheap TV drama, but she's probably worried sick about me."

"…we should try and get in touch with them." Shirou said after a few moments' thought. "Let them know you're alright."

"Yeah…I want to…but is it safe?" Hikaru countered. "I mean…for all we know, my uncle could be counting on that to finally get at me. He's already tried to have me kidnapped. Would he stop himself from trying to use my parents against me? I…I don't want to get them into trouble. Especially my mom."

"…I don't know, to be honest." Shirou admitted with a sigh. "We…we should talk to the twins. They might have some ideas about this."

Hikaru nodded in agreement, and then tilted his head. "Where are they, anyway?" he asked.

"They went to see Father Kotomine." Shirou said. "They'll probably check in later, though I don't think they'll have dinner here."

"And Father Kotomine is…?" Hikaru pressed.

"A local priest of the Christian church." Shirou said. "I'm not sure about the details, but as far as I know he's the Church's representative here. Not really sure what's so important about this city that the Church would keep a representative here, but it's probably nothing important."

"That, or you don't need to know." Hikaru quipped.

Shirou laughed. "True," he admitted. "Though, that's not really a bad thing. I mean…not needing to know and not wanting to know don't have to be exclusive."

"Point…" Hikaru conceded. "That said, why'd the twins have to go and see him?"

Shirou shrugged. "I don't really know myself." He said. "I guess we could ask about it later, but it's up in the air if they'll actually tell us."

Hikaru shrugged. "I guess I can't argue with you there." He said, and Shirou nodded.

"Well, who knows? They also might actually tell us."

"True."

A/N

This chapter was…interesting, to write. Especially the parts involving Zouken and Shinji.

Anyway…yes, congratulations to those who guessed it ahead of this chapter. Hikaru's parents are Kariya and Aoi. Guess dreams really do come true, huh, Kariya?