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

Snow White and Her Children

Chapter 5

"Ah…Rin and Sakura…I am gratified that you have responded to my request so promptly." Kirei Kotomine grandly said with a bow that had an ever so slight touch of theatricality to it.

"We have common interests in this matter." Rin said, walking up the central aisle to meet with Kirei before the altar, the priest glancing to where Sakura had stepped a couple of steps to the side. Sakura briefly met his eyes, before turning away while leaning against one of the pews, arms crossed over her chest. "I'm sure the Holy Church has no more desire than the Association has to risk breaching the Masquerade."

"Certainly not…" Kirei said with his usual oily smile. "And as the local representative of the Church, it's only expected I take the lead in carrying our share of this…developing, issue. Just as it is with you and your sister, as shared holders of the post of Second Owner for the Mages Association."

Rin hummed while clasping her hands behind her waist, and slowly pacing back and forth. "…our family's agents are already looking into the details," she said after a few moments. "But you may just already know what we're looking for, or at least some of it."

Kirei hummed in his turn. "…perhaps I do." He admitted after a few moments, and Rin stopped her pacing. "Though if you wish for me to enlighten your concerns, I will require specifics."

"Hikaru Matou," Rin said immediately. "And his parents, Kariya Matou and Aoi Zenjou. Do you know who these people are? And have you noticed any indication that Magus Matou may be involved in this incident?"

"I do not know of Hikaru Matou beyond what the NPA have publicly-provided." Kirei answered at once. "That said, I have already made inquiries into his background. His parents though…oh yes, of them I know. Though it has been a long time since I've heard either of their names…"

Kirei trailed off with deep breath, briefly looking up while holding his hands behind him. Then pressing his fingers together, nodded slowly, as though in reminiscence. "Kariya Matou is the younger son of Zouken Matou." He said, smiling ever so slightly as Rin's eyes widened and Sakura's eyes narrowed. "He was also the last hope of the Matou lineage of magi, as his elder brother lacked real talent in magecraft. Oh Byakuya Matou could manage the basics, and had enough talent to summon and sustain a Servant during the Fourth Holy Grail War, but…"

Kirei trailed off, while Sakura snorted and shook her head. "Yes…I remember him…" she said with a mocking tone and a light in her eyes all too reminiscent of her mother. "…or I remember father speaking of him the last time we met. If I remember correctly…father turned him to ash, didn't he?"

"So your father did." Kirei agreed with a nod. "But it should not have come to that, for as I said, it was long known that Byakuya Matou lacked real talent in magecraft. Their father decided early on to make Kariya Matou his heir. To be sure, he was of average potential, but that was still far superior compared to his brother. And average need not mean mediocre or untalented…your father's example proves that much."

Rin and Sakura said nothing, though both smiled fondly at the memory of their father. Tokiomi Tohsaka had made no attempts to hide his average talent in magecraft, and indeed, readily-admitted it. And yet for all that, genuine and dedicated effort not only allowed him to make the most of what talent he had, and earned him the respect and acceptance of the rest of the greater Edelfelt lineage the Tohsaka belonged to.

"As for Aoi Zenjou," Kirei continued. "She is the heiress to the Zenjou lineage of magi. Or former lineage of magi, I should say. They'd stopped practicing the Art a long time ago, and I myself am uncertain if they are even able to nowadays. That said, they do have a unique ability, one which actually had your father competing with Kariya Matou for Aoi Zenjou's hand in their youth."

"What?" Rin said, while Sakura said nothing, though she narrowed her eyes regardless.

"Peace," Kirei said with raised hands. "I make no insinuations against your parents, and simply state the facts. Indeed, the facts speak for themselves: your father chose your mother in the end, and you are the product of the love between the two of them."

"…fair enough," Rin said, accepting the figurative olive branch and moving on. "And? What is this unique ability that the Zenjou have, leftover from their days as magi?"

"I believe it is similar to the Ore Scales you and your sister possess." Kirei said. "Though in Zenjou's case, it was less the ability to effectively have two heirs per generation, as much as they could enhance the abilities of their offspring beyond the norm."

"I see." Rin said with narrowed eyes and slow nods. "I can see why father would compete with the Matou for such a prize."

"Indeed," Kirei agreed with a nod. "Though with your father choosing your mother in the end, Aoi Zenjou was ultimately engaged to Kariya Matou."

"Things seem rather straightforward getting to this point," Rin remarked. "But I imagine this is where things go off the rails, don't they?"

"Indeed," Kirei agreed again. "For a reason that is beyond my knowledge, Kariya Matou turned his back on his family. No, more than that, he took his fiancée with him, eloping into obscurity…at least until recent events, as we now know they started a life together in Osaka."

"…what reason could an heir to a centuries-old lineage have to turn their back on their family?" Rin murmured while pacing again. "Especially when they're effectively the family's last hope for the future?"

"Perhaps that itself is the reason?" Kirei observed. "Kariya Matou may not have wanted to place such a burden on himself and his fiancée, to say nothing of their future children. He may have simply thought a simple life in obscurity and normality was worth turning his back on his family's legacy and wealth."

"Possible…" Rin admitted.

"…that," Sakura chimed in while running a hand through her hair. "Or much like our mother with regard to Magus Matou, Kariya Matou too found a reason to distrust his own father. But either unwilling or unable to challenge the man, simply opted to flee rather than face…whatever it was…"

Sakura trailed off with a smile, while electrical discharges ran over her fingers. "…perhaps this incident will give us all a chance…" she murmured, causing Kirei's eyes to narrow and for Rin to look at Sakura disapprovingly. Sakura just shrugged and looked away, crossing her arms over her chest once more.

"…while I do not share my sister and mother's shared…antipathy, for Magus Matou," Rin said after a moment. "If he is involved in this incident, then yes, action will have to be taken."

"Oh?" Kirei asked. "You suspect he is involved in this?"

"His other grandson, Shinji Matou, lacks functional magic circuits." Rin said with a shrug. "And while Magus Matou could just take an apprentice, an apprentice lacks…something intrinsic, a blood heir has. Not to mention even if he successfully-trains an apprentice and said apprentice impresses Magnus Matou enough to convince him to name them as heir in Shinji's place…"

"…lacking a bloodline link, it'd be almost impossible for them to inherit the Matou Crest." Kirei said with a slow nod. "Yes…Zouken Matou does seem to have ample motive to be involves in this incident."

"Well, if he is then he's all but breached the Masquerade." Sakura retorted. "He's drawn attention to himself and his affiliates, which we are through our ancestors' shared efforts, and his motive for it too…invested, in our side of the world. You both know as well as I do the penalty for taking such liberties with the Masquerade."

"Indeed," Kirei agreed with a nod, before narrowing his eyes. "But while he certainly has motive, there is no proof as of yet that Zouken Matou is involved in this incident."

"Innocent until proven guilty, Sakura." Rin firmly pointed out. Sakura just grunted unhappily in response, while Rin turned back to Kirei.

"We'll need to find Hikaru Matou, then." She said. "Finding him and returning him to his parents should resolve this issue at the basic level. Giving the authorities some answers would also go a long way to divert their attentions away from where it's not wanted."

Kirei nodded. "If things go well," he said. "Then this could purely be a mundane affair, and the incident can be resolved quickly and quietly without further complications."

"But if it isn't?" Sakura asked, pushing off the pew and coming closer. "Regardless of whether or not Magus Matou was involved, if the kidnapping has supernatural circumstances, then can we count on your and by extension, the Church's support?"

"But of course," Kirei said with a slightly-offended expression. "Our…cooperation, with your family aside, the Church is in full support of the need to keep the supernatural a secret from the world at large. Whether or not Zouken Matou is involved, if the incident has supernatural circumstances as you put it, those behind the incident have put the Masquerade at risk. If so, they must be dealt with extreme prejudice, lest inaction merely encourage them to repeat their actions or worse in the future, and even set a bad precedent for others to follow."

"…yes or no would have worked, but thanks."

Kirei smiled. "You are welcome." He said. "And now I must ask: what do you intend to do going forward?"

"We'll keep our agents looking." Rin said. "What you told us is very helpful and clears the water a great deal, but we need to know as much of the details as we can if we're to plan and make our future decisions properly. Of course, we'll also have our agents start looking for Hikaru Matou. Like we said earlier, he's the lynchpin of this whole incident. Find him, and we can more than just begin bringing things back under control."

"We'll also keep mother informed." Sakura added. "It's only polite, after all. Not to mention we're not officially the Second Owners until we turn twenty, so she's still our Regent. And this incident might also cause ripples in the Clock Tower and greater Association, which she'll need to keep ahead of. It might affect her business in London otherwise."

"So I see." Kirei said with a nod. "Very well, it seems you have charted a cautious course for the near future. No, rest assured. It is a prudent and wise decision, considering your youth and with it your lack of experience. Until your mother returns, you are at a disadvantage should this incident prove more complicated than it appears. While I of course will assist you should it prove necessary, that may also cause complications for your family if my assistance went beyond a certain point."

"As you say," Rin said, and Sakura nodded.

Kirei nodded back, before tilting his head with a smile. "One more thing," he said. "There is the matter of the upcoming Holy Grail War…"

"…which won't be for a few more months," Rin interrupted. "This issue though is immediately-pressing. If we don't focus on it and it gets out of hand, we'll be lucky if we simply fail to prepare for the contest."

"Hmm…true…" Kirei conceded with a thoughtful nod. "Though I suppose that's even more reason to resolve this incident as soon as possible. If it has not been resolved before the contest begins…"

The priest trailed off on an ominous note, while the twins shared an indecipherable look between them. "If there's nothing else," Sakura said. "We'll take our leave."

"Very well then," Kirei said with a polite bow. "God be with you, and have a good night, Rin, Sakura."

The twins nodded at him, and turning away, walked out of the church.

"So how'd you like my performance?"

Rin and Sakura sat in the back of their Rolls-Royce, being driven back to their house from Kotomine Church. Rin glanced at her twin at the question, before giving her a wry smile.

"I'd say you were enjoying yourself a little too much." She said. "Though, I don't really mind, as we managed to pull the wool over Kirei's eyes."

"Hmm…the best lies have a grain of truth at their heart?" Sakura remarked, and Rin laughed.

"So it would seem." She said, and Sakura smirked. It quickly fell though, and the blonde looked out the windows at the kaleidoscope of the city at night passing by.

"…I know I've said this before," she began. "But I'm not very comfortable with Kirei's involvement. I might trust him more than I do Magus Matou, but only just."

Rin sighed. "Yes, I know." She said. "And just like you, I don't fully trust him either."

"But…?" Sakura asked with a small smirk, and Rin sighed.

"…yeah, yeah," she grumpily said. "While I'd normally trust Magus Matou more than I would Kirei, given Hikaru-kun's circumstances…"

Sakura's smirk widened further, and Rin gave her a look. "Regardless," she firmly said. "While we'll work with Kirei on this, we have to be the ones in control of the situation. Not him and by extension the Church. Kirei aside, if we let the Church take the lead in this incident, our family will lose a lot of face, no matter how much we plead our lack of experience.'

Sakura hummed and nodded in agreement. "Inconveniencing our family's not something I'd want to happen." She said.

"Indeed," Rin said with a nod. "Though, now that we have Hikaru-kun, and so long as we have him, we have basic control of the situation."

Sakura nodded before narrowing her eyes. "We also have to come up with an official narrative." She said. "That is, any suspicions that we already had Hikaru-kun in hand at this time must remain that: suspicions. Otherwise, it might become just as inconvenient as letting the Church take the lead in this."

Rin pursed her lips in thought. "Our alliance with the Church is likely to be less important once Heaven's Feel is no longer a factor," she said. "That said, it does make sense to avoid completely burning that bridge."

Sakura nodded, and leaned towards the driver. "Change of plans," she said. "Take us to the Emiya mansion."

"Yes, my lady." The driver said, turning the wheel to change course.

Sakura nodded her thanks and sat back, before glancing at Rin. Rin nodded in agreement, and then turning away, looked out the window in thought.

"Hey, you two." The twins chorused as they practically waltzed into Shirou's living room. "How are you getting along?"

"Just fine, thanks." Shirou said.

"Yeah, what Emiya-san said." Hikaru followed with a nod.

"Great!" the twins chorused while joining them at the table. Shirou dropped the volume on his TV, and then gave the twins a smile.

"So," he began. "How'd your meeting go with the people from the Church?"

"Well enough," Rin said with a sigh. "We've dealt with him before, so we have something of a working relationship to build on already."

"Oh?" Shirou asked, Hikaru looking curious as well.

"His name's Kirei Kotomine," Rin said. "He's only a parish priest, but he's also the ranking one among the few here in Fuyuki. He's also a member of the Eighth Holy Sacrament."

"Former member," Sakura corrected. "Though while we have no details, he apparently had quite the reputation when he was around our ages."

"And the Eighth Holy Sacrament is…?" Hikaru asked.

"Members of the Church given an exception to the blanket ban on the practice of magic." Rin said. "As you probably know, the Church considers magic heresy. They used to burn our kind at the stake whenever and wherever they could."

"Oh yeah…"

Rin and Sakura grinned, making starburst motions with their fingers. "NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!" they loudly chorused in English.

Shirou coughed. "Anyway," he said. "What did Father Kotomine want?"

Rin and Sakura shrugged. "He wanted to talk to us about this incident." The former said. "Much like us magi, the Church prefers to keep the existence of the supernatural from the rest of the world."

"And?" Shirou prompted.

"He also agreed to cooperate with resolving this incident if and when needed." Rin continued. "And while our respective investigations will remain separate, we also have an implicit agreement to coordinate them."

"I see."

"He doesn't know about Hikaru-kun being here, though." Rin added while looking at the young man in question. "As far as he knows, you're still missing, and we're also still looking for you."

"And the reason you didn't tell the priest is…?" Hikaru asked.

"…sorry, Hikaru-kun." Rin apologized after a moment. "We really do want to help you. It's just that…"

"There are politics involved." Sakura continued as Rin trailed off. "If we don't take the lead in solving this, and even more than that let the Church do, we'd lose face. That's on top of the other reasons we want to keep you secret for now."

Shirou looked very uncomfortable, while Hikaru stared impassively at the twins, who looked genuinely-apologetic. After a few moments though, Hikaru sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Well…I can't say I'm happy to hear that…" he said. "…but I know enough about your world to understand why you think that way."

"Again, sorry, Hikaru-kun." Rin said.

Hikaru sighed. "Thanks," he said. "But it's fine. I'm not so…naïve, to think the world is all black and white. I know that much from dad's work."

The twins looked curious, and Hikaru shrugged. "He's a freelance journalist." He simply said, and that was answer enough.

"…thank you for understanding." The twins chorused with a bow.

Hikaru nodded again. "That said," he began. "While I'm willing to cooperate so your family can get out of this without at least losing face, I'd like to take this chance to ask for something in return. Nothing much, but it'd mean a lot to me."

"Oh?" the twins chorused.

"Yeah…you see, my mom's a really delicate person." Hikaru said. "She's probably worried sick about me right now, maybe even literally. That's why…I'd really appreciate it if we can somehow get word to her or to both my parents, and explain this whole business."

Rin hummed in thought for a few moments. "It's not an unreasonable request," she said. "In fact, I'd say it's more than worth your cooperation."

"But…?" Shirou prompted.

"It has to be done carefully." Sakura said while crossing her arms over her chest. "Old man Zouken might even count on whoever rescued or kidnapped – from his perspective – Hikaru-kun getting in touch with his parents to find out where he is."

"Yeah," Shirou said while sharing a look with Hikaru. "We talked about that."

"We're not ruling out being able to do that just yet." Rin firmly said. "Like I said earlier, it's not unreasonable. We'll just have to think it over carefully to come up with a working plan."

"Take your time." Hikaru said. "While I want to get in touch with my parents, there's no point in doing that if it only makes things even worse than they already are."

The twins nodded. "Just leave it to us." Rin said.

"On another note," Sakura began. "Father Kotomine gave us some interesting information about your father and his relationship with old man Zouken."

"Huh?" Hikaru asked.

"Yeah, you see…"

"You were holding something back earlier, weren't you?" Shirou asked.

The three magi were in Shirou's workshop, Hikaru having insisted on being the one to wash after dinner to avoid simply being a freeloader in Shirou's house. In that time, the three magi retreated to this private place, supposedly as a surprise inspection of Shirou's research to make sure it wasn't going to go boom anytime soon.

Everyone knew that was just a pretext though. They just needed to talk in private, though Hikaru seemed to understand and made no attempt to pry.

"Kirei's also the Overseer for Heaven's Feel." Sakura said while prodding and rapping her knuckles against various plates of metal lying over Shirou's worktables. Then she blinked as she noticed some of the plates weren't made of metal, but of some kind of ceramic instead.

"Ah…I see…" Shirou said. "…he doesn't know about your family's plan to end the ritual, does he?"

"Not yet," Rin said while fingering a handful of lead shot she'd taken from a brass receptacle sitting on a shelf along the wall. "If only because we don't completely trust him."

"…him being a priest aside, I get the feeling there's more to this." Shirou suspiciously asked.

"He was father's apprentice before and during the Fourth Holy Grail War." Rin snapped. "He was supposed to watch father's back. Instead, he let some cutthroat slip past and stab father in the back."

"Father wasn't perfect," Sakura darkly concurred. "But he deserved a more dignified death than getting stabbed in the back."

"Mother's never forgiven him for that failure, and neither have we." Rin snarled. "There's a reason that man has never been allowed to step foot in our house for a decade now, and he never will again."

Shirou looked and sounded uncertain. "…people die in war…" he murmured.

"No excuse." The twins chorused.

Shirou sighed and decided to let the matter go. "One last question about Father Kotomine," he said. "Why would a priest and a former member of the Eighth Holy Sacrament at that apprentice himself to a magus? I mean…if he needed to learn magecraft, couldn't he have been apprenticed to some other magus in the Church's employ?"

"Yeah…we asked that question before too." Rin said. "Apparently, there's something…unique, about Kirei's magic circuits that made him unsuitable for training by normal means. We're not really sure we understand it ourselves…"

"…but his father – Risei Kotomine – was a friend of our father." Sakura said. "And he convinced father to take Kirei on as an apprentice."

"I see." Shirou said with a slow nod.

"In any case," Rin said with a cough. "While we don't necessarily count Kirei as a friend, he's still an official figure in the supernatural hierarchy, and the ranking one for the Church in this city. Duty demands we be professional, and so we will."

"Up to a point, of course." Sakura said. "We won't lose face to either the rest of the family or to magi society by letting the Church take the lead here."

"…fair enough." Shirou said with a sigh. He halfheartedly moved various specimens over the worktable he was standing next to, mostly ingots and coils of steel of varying grades, but also spheres and cubes of other metal like zinc, copper, silver, even gold and platinum. Then he blinked at an exclamation from Rin.

"What's this?" she asked, while pulling a dirty cloth thrown over a large object in a corner. "What the…?"

"Is that a riot shield?" Sakura asked with wide eyes.

"Kind of…" Shirou said with a shrug as the twins turned to him. "Hey, I might not be a good magus, but like I told dad and Aunt Valkolumi, I'll do the best I can."

"So this is your current project?" Rin asked. "A mystic code of some kind?"

"Uh…sure, let's go with that." Shirou said while scratching a cheek.

Sakura tried to lift the shield before turning back to Shirou with a scandalized expression on her face. "What the hell is this thing made of?" she asked. "It's so heavy!"

"Well, there is one-inch thick carbon steel plates on all sides." Shirou said with another shrug, walking over while reinforcing his body. Piercing pain exploded at the front of his face as blood vessels burst from his still-flawed reinforcement, and causing blood to flow from his nose, but Shirou just wiped it away without a care. "Then another two inches of solid concrete on the inside."

The twins' jaws fell open at Shirou's words, even as Shirou grunted while picking the shield up, sliding his left forearm into an attachment built into the back. "It still needs more work though." He admitted, looking at the twins through the narrow slit cut into the top of the shield. "For one thing, this eyehole on top is a weakness. And for another thing, I could use stronger alloy for the outer plating, and lighter but stronger material for the core."

"…is that why there are ceramic plates over on that worktable?" Sakura asked deadpan.

Shirou grinned with mild embarrassment. "Pretty much," he said, putting the shield back in its corner, before releasing his reinforcement. More blood vessels erupted, causing fresh blood to pour from his nose. He wiped it away, then blinked as Sakura stepped in front of him.

A moment later and he relaxed, Sakura activating her crest while gently pressing her fingers against his face. The healing spell sealed ruptured vessels and soothed bruised muscles, while also repairing micro-fractures in bone and cartilage.

"You should practice reinforcement some more, and not on yourself." She chided. "Even this much is too risky. What if you damaged your optic nerves or your eyes? Neither of those grow back, you know?"

"Yeah, I know." Shirou said with a laugh, before raising his hands at a frown on Sakura's face. "Don't worry! I got what you said, and I'll keep practicing while keeping self-reinforcement to a minimum."

Sakura sighed while Rin rolled her eyes. "You shouldn't self-reinforce until you've got it down pat." The former said. "But knowing you…"

Sakura trailed off and walked away along with her twin, and shrugging to himself, Shirou picked up the cloth from earlier to cover his shield. Then turning to look for the twins, walked over to join them as they stood around and murmured to each other over a sealed jar of mercury.

A/N

Kirei makes his appearance, and for once is the one getting fed bullshit instead of being the one to feed others bullshit.

And of course, Shirou will be Shirou, even if he's got better training this time around courtesy of the Edelfelt-Tohsakas.