What was it with me and my dumb luck since the time I woke up in my mother's womb this time around? For starters, I know it's been about 15 years since the day I was born, going on 16 in October, but to have had my parents in this life be the same as the previous life? How does that work?

Still, I had to be careful, at least regarding the fact that something came up about eight years back. I was minding my business then, wanting nothing to do with the supernatural world of the Shinto faction, especially considering the fact that I'm a devout Christian in this and the previous life when half of the entire town I was staying in at the time went up in flames! Can you believe the audacity of the arsonist that handled this?! If I wasn't an eight-year-old boy back then, I would have gone after the arsonist, except... I probably would have died in the attempt to get out alive.

Yes, if you're reading this, this means I evidently became Emiya Shirou. My parents died in the fire, and I so could forget nothing about the incident or what led up to it. I blame my Gamer's Sight Sacred Gear for that. That Sacred Gear had to be preparing me for something, which means I needed to be careful about where I go for training. Emiya Kiritsugu refused to train me on how to use my Magic Circuits, much like in canon, at least until I woke up my other Sacred Gear.

Hoo, boy, where do I start with that bombshell?

[Start from the beginning.]

There will be no Alice in Wonderland for you, interface.

Still, the system interface I'd been given as a part of my reincarnation was right. I needed to start from the beginning.

It started something like this...

"Okay, Shirou-kun," Kiritsugu said to me when I had first asked him to teach me how to use my Magic Circuits. "Why would you want to pursue the path of the Magus? It's completely outside of the realm of normal people like yourself."

"Well, it deals with how I survived the Fire of Fuyuki," I said. "I was going home from school one day, and something alerted me I only had a few hours left before the city went up in flames."

Still, I didn't know how to best explain any of this to him, so I had to start small. I didn't want to be seen as an absolute liar from the getgo.

Kiritsugu's eyes gained a bit of the steel that he had when he was active in the mercenary field. "Okay, then. Prove it to me."

I grimaced when he said that. "Unfortunately, this is not something I can prove so easily."

Kiritsugu gave me a long and hard look. "Is there any aspect of this power that works as you'd like it to of your own volition?"

I blinked for a few seconds. "Actually, there are aspects that work that way. Let me figure out how this works first." I cleared my throat for a moment. "Invite Emiya Kiritsugu to the party."

At that moment, Kiritsugu blinked as he saw a box that appeared a few feet in front of his face. "What in the world...? Where did this come from?"

I looked at him eagerly. "What does it say, old man?"

Kiritsugu looked at me for a moment, before he gave me a forlorn expression. "It says 'Emiya Shirou invites you to the party. Do you accept?' It even has a pair of buttons underneath the message that presumably say yes and no, respectively." He reached to touch one button, but paused as he was about to click on the one he chose. "Do you mind if I say yes to this another time?"

"Er... when do you plan to say yes?"

"I have a goal that I need to accomplish that revolves around rescuing someone, but I don't want to drag you into it. I plan to give you that answer when I return."

With that, I gave a sigh. "Okay, old man, but you need to understand that I'm here for you when you need me."

Kiritsugu gave a soft chuckle. "Fair enough."

A few days later, Kiritsugu left to go take Ilya-onee-sama back from the Einzbern family, with explicit instructions to have me stay home in Fuyuki for the time I would be alone. However, because of the stress I was feeling back then, I had accidentally awoken Telos Karma the night before. It was considerably lucky of me, come to think of it.

Here's what I meant. My use of Telos Karma would revolve around the probability of Kiritsugu finding me before I wanted to be found, even hiding me within the same cabin of the airplane where the old man would fly in. Convenient, no?

After that, I had to make sure that I followed him to the Einzbern Castle, wherein I would manipulate all the probability of the world to trick the Einzberns into letting old man Kiritsugu into the old building to retrieve his daughter. No guns, no nothing, however.

Then again, it took me until we were headed into the Berlin airport before my Sacred Gear gave out on me. This was a pain to deal with...

Old man Kiritsugu had to be more than hyper aware of his surroundings when he got off the airplane then, because he spun around to face me getting off with my special backpack on my back. "Shirou?! Why are you here when I gave you instructions to stay home in Fuyuki?!"

"I had a bad feeling, old man."

"A bad feeling? What sort of bad feeling are we talking about?"

"You won't return with the one you wish to rescue if you don't take me along, old man."

"And what sort of abilities do you have that can work in this situation, Shirou?"

I placed my left palm on my face. "How long did it take for you to notice I was around?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I have an innate ability to alter probability to such a ridiculous degree, though its main limit right now is that it can only work from home to here for that amount of time."

Kiritsugu blinked for a few seconds before he drooped his head. "You mean you've been following me successfully for the last 22 hours of travel?"

"Yep."

"What sort of innate ability are we talking about?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but then I realized it was a bad time to give my answer. Why? Because there was a strange scent in the air that I picked up on.

"Shirou?"

"We have to go, old man."

"Go where?"

Instead of verbally replying, I rushed and grabbed his hand, yanking him along in time for a spear of light to pierce where I was beforehand.

"Anywhere but here?"

"Yes, that's right, old man."

However, before we could escape the airport, we ran into a problem... okay, make that several problems. There were several Fallen Angels surrounding the airport, and the leader of this group of Fallen was Kokabiel... shit. How did this happen?!

One grunt held out what had to be a supernatural megaphone and activated it, sending his message into my mind. "Nowhere to run, Sacred Gear holder. Give yourself up to the Grigori, or die. Those are your only options left to you."

Kiritsugu turned to face me. "Shirou, what is with this group of angelic beings that seems to target you?"

I shrugged, even if I knew the answer in full by now. "I wish I could tell you the truth as you'd understand it, old man."

"Well, well, what do we have here?"

That voice... I know that voice from somewhere!

Turning my attention to the inside of the airport, I gaped when I saw the one who spoke. Tall by at least 190 centimeters, closed eyes behind his red-rimmed glasses, long blond hair tied up at the bottom, and wearing the cassock of the Roman Catholic Church, it was indeed who I thought it was. It was Valeria Trifa!

"Could someone please tell me why there's a flock of Fallen Angels here?"

Before old man Kiritsugu could say anything, Kokabiel flew down to face the priest who stepped out of the luggage area to where we stood. "I'm searching for the holder of Telos Karma, you priest of little importance. Why don't you run along and report to your superiors why there had to be an avoided bloodbath?"

"Telos Karma? You don't mean the probability manipulator, do you?"

Somehow, I could tell that Trifa was duly unimpressed by the Sacred Gear.

"I do," the present leader of the Fallen Angels said to him. "Now, how about you do as I asked, you priest of little importance?"

This got the flock of Fallen Angels laughing and jeering at Valeria. Ugh... those morons. I don't know if True Longinus is the same as the Longinuslanze Testament, but it certainly is not to be trifled with, either.

Which did I mean isn't to be trifled with, exactly? Longinuslanze Testament or True Longinus?

The correct answer is yes, to be fair.

Now, here was a fight about to break out between several Fallen Angels and a member of the Longinus Dreizehn Orden... ugh. Someone please kill me.

[Sorry, but no. You may not get yourself killed that easily, Gamer.]

I was afraid of this...

So, with no preamble, I got to watch the fight that was about to break out in the front row. Just my luck.

"I'm afraid that you don't get to order me to do anything, Kokabiel, Cadre of the Grigori," Valeria said while shaking his head.

This had the expected consequence of getting the flock of Fallen to stop laughing. Now, instead of vile humor, they were filled with the sort of hatred that would make a lesser man have a heart attack if directed at them.

Valeria, it seemed, didn't have a heart that would be affected by the hatred, even as he continued his speech. "Instead, I will offer you one chance to flee, before the Church and those around who would take offense to your actions here arrive and force you to withdraw."

Kokabiel scowled as he prepared to do something with his fist. "What makes you sure that we should flee? You aren't an exorcist, Stray or otherwise, and you don't have the countenance of the higher up leaders of the Church."

"Maybe, or maybe you misjudged who I am in the entirety of everything."

"What in Father's name do you—"

Valeria raised a hand into the air, extending a finger to say something. "First off, I was born with the ability to read the hearts and minds of men. That ability has since been lost to me ever since I gained my current form, but it has been rather useful in the time I was younger." He then extended a second finger. "Second, I have been with the Church for all my adult life, mainly to seek purpose I have since gained in my current age." He extended a third finger. "Finally, I am not just a mere priest, as you would call me, but a man who has been around for close to about a century, with most of my power coming from a man who can make Holy Relics out of anything."

Kokabiel gave a bark of laughter upon hearing that. "You're lying. Father can't make any further Holy Relics for the masses, and there is no mortal alive who can match him in that depart—"

"Who said that this man was mortal, or that he isn't your Father?"

I couldn't help but gape. Was it possible that blinking MERCURIUS was the guy who made Sacred Gears to begin with? If it weren't because I was a little kid, and because I don't plan to drink alcohol, I'd say I needed a freaking drink.

Still, Kokabiel had the look of someone who was rather perturbed, come to think of it. "What makes you think you can know what happened to Father?!"

"I know more than you realize, having worked with him in my youth to make me the person I am today, a Transcendent-type being."

At that, Kokabiel's skin looked paler than normal. It seemed he got the picture. "Fine, we'll fall back."

"But, Lord Kokabiel, we're—"

Kokabiel turned to face his subordinates. "Now is NOT the time to quibble with someone who has worked with Father on anything! Pull back all of our brethren from here, immediately!"

As one, all the Fallen Angels in Kokabiel's assigned flock flew away, Kokabiel included.

"Oh, my..." Valeria turned to face my old man and me. "How can I help you two out of this mess?"

This time around, old man Kiritsugu spoke without obstructions. "What happened here? How did you bluff a group of Divine-class beings that had no right being away from the Reverse Side of the World?"

"Hmm? What made you think I was bluffing?"

Those words alone stopped old man Kiritsugu in his tracks. "What are you—?"

"Ah, but you're a magus that's loosely affiliated with the Mage's Association, so of course, it makes sense to you I was bluffing. As for what the Fallen Angels were doing, they had the failed opportunity to kidnap someone who could house a power capable of altering probability called Telos Karma."

This got us both more alert than normal. Ugh...

"Old man, what are we supposed to do now?"

Kiritsugu looked at me out of the corner of his eyes. "Honestly, I'd rather we go do things the right way, what with the reason I'm in Germany to begin with." He then turned his focus to Valeria. "However, I doubt you'd let us go with our lives intact. Is that right?"

Valeria chuckled at that. "Honestly, no, it's not. I was actually on my way to Japan right now, but the Fallen Angels interrupted my travel plans. If you ever plan to go to Japan in the future, then please consider going to the Church in Suwahara City to meet me, so that I can explain this better for you."

I didn't know what was wrong with this situation, if anything even was, but it seemed old man Kiritsugu had some resistance to the idea. He reached into his coat for something that wasn't there, but then he stopped himself. "Why should we trust you? You'd realistically deduced that I'm a magus, and that means we should keep out of each other's business—"

Valeria raised a finger in Old Man Kiritsugu's direction. "Actually, that's all the more reason you and I need to have this discussion in Suwahara City. After all, there are many people here that should not know of what you're about to say right now. Besides which, my wife and I are those who have strong ties to both Thaumaturgy and the Church." With that, he lowered his finger. "It's just something for you to think about, what with your son holding onto something that the Church itself normally covets, Emiya Kiritsugu." At that, he turned and walked back into the airport. "See you in Suwahara City before the end of March."

I was probably not the only one confused when, a few seconds later, he had somehow vanished into the crowd.

I still couldn't believe that Old Man Kiritsugu was aiming for a gun that didn't stay at his side for this trip. What was I supposed to do with him?

Well, no matter. I had to be careful, of course. It took a few days of traveling to the correct place, but —

"Shirou-kun, are you awake yet?"

I had barely gotten out of bed when I heard the snow fairy herself call me out of the land of dreams, though her timing still needed work. What was I supposed to do with Ilya-nee at this rate?

Yes, truth be told, I helped Old Man Kiritsugu rescue her from the Einzbern family. Now, instead of her being in the body of a little kid, she looked to be the same in form as her actual age would suggest. Why that was the case, I didn't really know, not yet... oh, wait.

"I'm awake, sis," I called out from the side of the bed. "Sorry, was reminiscing on the time when Dad and I got you out of there."

"Ah, okay, thank you for that again, Shirou-kun," Ilya-nee said from the other side of the door. "Big sis really appreciates it. Now, though, you need to get ready for the day. After all, you're the only one in the family that can cook, and your little girlfriend is almost here on that front."

I blinked a few times in rapid succession. Since when was Ilya-nee shipping Sakura and me together? Did it have anything to do with the fact I am her guardian against the Matou family?

Then again, Sakura possesses the tainted Grail fragments of the previous Holy Grail War, with some issues coming up that say the war will start in the winter of my Second Year of High School. Why am I even worrying about this so far?

Oh, wait, it's because Homurahara High School and all the other Fuyuki schools are being shut down for maintenance. Whose bright idea was it for the entire city to go under construction in terms of the schools?

Meanwhile, in a certain Church Basement, a certain King of Heroes sneezed.

"Okay, Ilya-nee, I'm getting my clean clothes on right now," I said, going over to the closet and collecting my clean clothes for the day. "Could you tell Sakura I'd appreciate it if she could start cooking while I'm getting dressed if I'm not out there before she's here?"

Ilya-nee walked away from the door at that. "Okay, Shirou-kun. Be sure to take it easy in terms of what you need to do."

Er... what was that about?

Oh, well... I was going to get ready to go to school again, even though the second semester needed a lot of work to be ready for me. What was I supposed to say?

Well, whatever. I got my Homurahara High uniform on, followed closely by me walking out of my bedroom to make it to the kitchen. With times like this, I needed to help Sakura out with today's preparations. It wouldn't do anyone any good if I let her do all the work, except for one person on the list of known moochers... well, she's technically my legal guardian here. Yeah, I know I shouldn't talk smack about Fuji-nee, but she makes it so easy to do so.

Still, what was it with today, anyway? I guess I need to be sure of what I'm going to do next.

"Sakura, thanks for helping prepare today's meal," I said. The two of us were about to sit down at the dining room table of the house Old Man Kiritsugu left for Ilya-nee and me. Not only was Ilya-nee there already, but the local mooch wasn't in the house yet. That... might be a problem.

"Oh, it's no problem, Senpai," Sakura said. "After all, it's not like we'll be split up too much for the trip to our new school location." She walked over to her place at the table, wearing her normal school uniform for being in Middle School, which comprised a knee-length skirt and a sailor shirt.

I blinked. "What do you mean?"

Sakura looked at me mischievously. "It's because we're both going to Kuoh Academy to continue our education."

That threw me for a loop... or ten. "You got the acceptance letter, too?"

"I sure did, Senpai," Sakura said. "I didn't know you were accepted until yesterday, when I went to check your mailbox for the mail that you allowed me to send to your address."

This little minx... and yet I love her for being a great friend, and so much more. What else was I supposed to say? Then again... if I were to be honest with myself, I'd rather Shinji never got his hands on an acceptance letter from Kuoh. Whose idea would it be to make him go there?

So, as we were about to dish up the food for breakfast, I heard the distinct roar of Fuji-nee's stomach growl from outside the property. "Er... this doesn't sound good, does it?"

"You mean you heard Mount Fujimura-sensei go off within her stomach?"

"Correct, Sakura."

Ilya-nee got up and walked off. "I'll let her in, Shirou-kun, Sakura-chan. Don't serve breakfast without her here with me."

Such a responsible older sister... or maybe it had to do with the fact that Fuji-nee was working on her mooching problem a bit more? I dunno...

About a minute later, Ilya-nee and Fuji-nee made it to the dining room table. Fuji-nee had this air around her that meant she was depressed, based on what I've seen of her before now. What I needed to keep in mind that morning was I had to be going to a different school soon, which meant —

"Shirou, when were you going to tell me you'd transferred successfully to Kuoh Academy?"

— that was not what I thought would come out of Fuji-nee's mouth. It sounded like she was questioning reality about this.

Still, I had to be diplomatic, even if I also had to be honest about the situation. "I was going to tell you today, Fuji-nee, as soon as I could. Besides, I didn't plan on this being a permanent arrangement unless something came up that required me to stay in Kuoh Town."

"Okay, that makes sense," Fuji-nee said, putting a hand to her chin. "I just worry that somehow, some way, you'll get in trouble with the wrong sort of people. Don't do that to us, will you?"

I sighed. Of course, she'd be worried about that. Why am I not surprised?

Still, come to think of it, my Gamer's Sight Sacred Gear still hasn't popped itself up into existence yet. What was I supposed to do to wake it up? Actually, wasn't it already awake, in such a way that I could call it passive?

At that point, the world around me grayed out, alerting me to something new... what now?

[Time to introduce you to your stats and Gamer life.]

About time! What were my new abilities going to be?

[Please read the tutorial to get started.]

Ugh... figures. I had to deal with a tutorial of all things. When will this go away and let me live in peace?

[There will be no long-term peace for you until you die. That's the way it works around here.]

Er... fine, I'll look at the tutorial. What did it have to say to me today?

[Welcome to your Gamer life. Ever since you were a little kid, you had been delegated to live in strange times as a hero in the making. Therefore, you are now given the ability to access your full power as provided by Gamer's Sight.]

That makes sense to me, but it didn't explain what the tutorial was going to be about... ugh. Stupid UI, right?

[To access your stats, please say "Status" and allocate the points you have on hand.]

Okay, this is interesting... what sort of stats would I have access to? "Status."

Suddenly, a new screen appeared in my face, showing me the status menu I had access to.

Shounin/Emiya Shirou

Class: Gamer

Level: 1 | EXP: 99.99%

HP: 50

MP: 30

CP: 27

STR: 1

DEX: 1

CON: 1

INT: 1

WIS: 1

CHA: 1

LUK: 1

AP: 100

SGP: 0

Well... this looked rather interesting, did it not? I mean, I had access to a lot of stat points that needed to be maintained properly. How was I supposed to do that, though?

[Start by figuring out how to upgrade your HP and MP properly. Your CP can't be upgraded at all. It's literally how many Magic Circuits you have in your body at all.]

Er… well. That was oddly helpful.

What else did I need to do, anyway? I hope I wasn't stepping on any boundaries with the ability to upgrade my scores... well, I'm guessing AP is what I need to make use of to upgrade my stats, right?

[For making an accurate deduction, you have gained 80 AP. Please spend them wisely.]

Okay, so that would mean SGP would be Sacred Gear Points, right? Why am I getting AP this early in my level up time when I literally have no SGP?

[Sacred Gear Points have to be earned on level up, and can only be increased by what your level was beforehand.]

Is there a level limit I should know?

[Level limit? What level limit? There is no level limit for you or anyone else in your party, regardless of when they join or leave it.]

That... I think, okay, make sense. I hope you don't backtrack on that decision later, and that you aren't lying about it at all.

[What reason would I have to lie about it? Trust me, will you?]

I dunno... is there anything you're neglecting to tell me?

[Actually... I forgot something to tell you earlier.]

What did you forget?

[I forgot to mention that you can only get SGP for the Gamer's Sight Sacred Gear that you have. It's incompatible with anything else.]

Well... this sucks. How was I supposed to upgrade Telos Karma now?

[Give it time. You'll be able to handle that soon enough.]

I hope so... still, here's where things need an explanation. What's the conversion rate for AP?

[AP is best used like this: Every ten points in an Ability Score costs 1/10 of the high end. You gain AP based on several factors in life, like noticing something that you normally don't pay attention to when going over things for the first time.]

Okay, I think I get it so far. So... how to best adjust my ability scores when looking at it like this. Should I even mess with them now, or do I have time before I can't do anything else about the situation?

[You don't want to die this early in life, do you? World pauses are optimal times to increase your ability scores. Not only that, but your first trial comes after the first world pause winds down. Please be careful with how you act from here on out.]

Hmm... this is gonna be a problem for me. I can feel it in my bones. So... how to best handle this mess. What do I do?

Well, I guess I'd better distribute my Ability Points properly, then. Here's what I did. First, I set each of my attributes up to 10 all across the board. Then, the rest of it was like this: I placed ten AP into Dexterity, to give me 15 Dexterity altogether. I did the same with my intelligence and wisdom, too, since I figured it would be helpful. After that, I placed 20 AP into Charisma, making my total in that attribute 20 even. I had the feeling I needed the charisma to get out of certain trouble. Afterward, I increased my Luck Score by adding 32 AP to the pool, making it 24. Finally, I added 35 AP to Constitution, since I needed the ability to stay alive in this life.

Er… why do I feel that I might have messed up my build?

Now... with that out of the way —

[I would like to praise you for thinking of the 10 across the board strategy, young man. You do not know how many morons there are that refuse to do anything with that strategy.]

Er... thanks, I guess? I was just making sure I had a safety net involved with this. That was a good idea, right?

[Oh, so very much a good idea, young man. Thank you for thinking of it, too.]

Well... you're welcome. I don't know what else to say to that.

Either way, I needed to get my bum off my chair and get ready to go to school in the next semester. It's currently a week before summer break, too. What am I supposed to do to enjoy this time away from Fuyuki for now?

I have a lot to do, and so little time to pull it all off, as the saying typically goes. What all is available for me today? Hmm...

Wait a second, hold up. The boxes said that my first trial was coming up shortly after this. Who decided that this would be a good idea? Not me, that's for darn sure.

Still, I needed to be ready, in case whatever is going on is nearby as we speak. That would suck... where would I go from here? Wait, can I even move my body in times like this? I attempted to stand up from my place at the table.

Key word there being attempted.

What was I supposed to do, nothing? I could not protect my loved ones from harm? What a load of baloney! That is not a good thing to deal with...

[Oops... sorry, didn't realize you wanted to move about while in a world pause, Shirou. That's going to cost you five SGP when you have that amount.]

Ugh... why do I even bother?

Now, it would be a prudent idea to figure out how the skills worked in this rendition of video game logic, especially with Luck as an attribute. Any ideas for what to look for?

[Luck, at its basic sense, is the ability to change how lucky you are outside of your use of Telos Karma. Telos Karma acts as a multiplier when you use your Luck score within combat, to be fair.]

Okay, that made sense. So, when using Telos Karma in combat, it acts as a multiplier of... how much of a multiplier are we talking about?

[Before you awaken Balance Breaker, your multiplier is 200% of the score. After you awaken it, however, it goes up to 500% in base form, with an additional triple while using Balance Breaker.]

You're... kidding, right?

[Just like you're Albert Einstein.]

Point taken. I'll keep that in mind.

Still... I'd better look into the different ability scores. What do they mean, other than my Luck Score so far?

[Think like in the D&D Player's Handbook, and you're about on track to the truth.]

Is that right? That's good to hear. So, when it comes down to it, do I have any further increases for AP per level, or is that not in the cards?

[Actually, it's not in the cards. Be judicious with how you increase your attributes per gain of AP. Otherwise, you'll run out of opportunities to get any.]

Wait... if I don't get AP on level up, then what sort of opportunities am I supposed to get in order to up my AP?

[You'll figure it out on your own, I'm sure of it. Now, do you want me to let you out of the world pause for now?]

May as well... I'm not sure what else I can do in here. This is getting more than a little claustrophobic. How do I get out of this on my own next time?

[You don't... at least, not until you get to a certain point in time. This point in time will be made clear to you when you wake up tomorrow morning.]

Er... what? I hope you're making any sense.

[I am. Trust me, will you?]

Fine... may as well. Now, though, what else was on my itinerary?

As the world pause faded back out of the picture, I had to catch my breath for a bit. What was going to happen now? I hope nothing bad was going to happen... ugh.

At that point, the wireless landline rang from the cradle. Eh? We still have that thing?

Before I could get up to answer the phone call, Ilya-nee got off her butt… which, much like her boobs, acted rather bubbly as she walked on her way… no, bad Shirou! Don't be a pervert like that! She's my older sister in all that counts! "I'll get it."

I sighed. Stupid hormones were kicking me in the testicles. I just know it. What next? The person on the other end is Shinji, or something?

"Hello, this is the Emiya residence... oh, hello, Matou Shinji-kun. Are you looking for Shirou-kun?"

I planted my head on the table with a loud bang.

"Hold on a second," Ilya-nee said, before walking back to me with the landline. "It's for you, Shirou-kun."

I grimaced. However, there was no real reason yet to get him to shut up on his antics around me, unless there was some truth that I hadn't noticed about this. "Hey, Shinji. What can I do for you?"

"You're not gonna believe this, Emiya, but the national government is holding a tournament in the middle of the Greater Tokyo Prefecture for all forms of Martial Arts from around the nation! The winner of the whole thing takes home 15 Trillion Yen!"

Er... what? "Where are you getting this information, exactly?"

"It's being advertised on TV right now! The best way to get access to this information is on local Channel 4, so get your TV turned on!"

I grabbed the remote for the TV and turned it on. Fortunately, the TV was set to Channel 4 last time, so there was less need to fuss about it. Unfortunately for me, there was nothing about the tournament going on. "Are you pulling my—"

At that point, Shinji hung up the phone, and the current advertisement ended... to reveal the information about the tournament?

"We interrupt this broadcast to bring you information about the latest from the nation's government. Last night, the joint authorization of Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and Emperor Heisei had decided that a widespread search for combat entertainment had to be held with the people in mind. This tournament is good to last for as long as there are combatants for this branch of entertainment in the entire Nerima ward of Tokyo. The entire nation is invited to take part in this tournament, as long as they have some experience in a dojo for formal training."

Well... that's got to be something to keep in mind. What do I do about this tournament? Actually, where in Nerima ward is it? Did they literally mean the whole ward?

"As for the prize of this tournament, we are giving the winner 15 Trillion Yen as a cash prize, all of it tax-free!"

This... was legit? I did not know it would even be a thing… ugh. Where's the list of exemptions for this tournament? I'm pretty sure that Fuji-nee would be exempt from taking part in the thing. Still... shows what I know about how the government is spending its money.

"Remind me, Shirou, Sakura-chan..."

Both of us blinked as we turned to face Fuji-nee. "Yes?" I asked.

"Isn't Kuoh Town in Nerima ward?"

That made the two of us facepalm.

It took a bit, mainly a day later, but Ilya-nee also got her acceptance letter to a new school outside of Fuyuki. Oddly enough, she took her chances to get into Kuoh Academy, primarily as her backup choice. Why she thought it would make a good backup option, I do not know, but she needed it. Why do I say that? She flunked the test to the other school rather spectacularly.

Still, it's not like we know where Tohsaka Rin, Sakura's older sister by birth, wound up going to. This is getting rather embarrassing…

So, with no fanfare, we made our way over to where the train station would take us from Fuyuki City over to Kuoh Town. The main reason we had to do this was to make sure that the territory knew we were moving on into the town for until the end of the school building renovation in Fuyuki. It was only proper that any true Magi knew we were moving into their territory... wait. Wasn't Kuoh Town ruled by the Gremory and Sitri families?

That would make things even more difficult than normal, I'm sure of it.

Anyway, while we were on the train station platform, I looked around for any sign of Shinji trying to do something stupid with any of the girls around town. Fortunately for the true-born Matou, I saw nothing like that. He'd just better watch it with Sakura from here on out.

Meanwhile, in a Karaoke bar in Fuyuki City, Shinji sneezed all over his dates from Homurahara Gakuen.

"So, Shirou-kun," Ilya-nee said, dragging me out of my thoughts as she leaned towards me from my left. "Where are we supposed to meet the Second Owners of Kuoh Town? Do you have any insight about that?"

I looked at Ilya-nee momentarily, before I sighed, even if it seemed like I was blushing up a storm. I mean, I was trying not to do that, dammit! "Well, I think this might be a case where we have to be sure there even are Second Owners in Kuoh Town."

"Senpai? What do you mean?"

"What I mean, Sakura, is that there are Supernatural people that don't have human traits in them that otherwise look just as human as you and I. I have the distinct feeling they live in Kuoh Town and preside over things for the Supernatural world."

Still, it's not like the entirety of Kuoh were Devils. In fact, I'd say it's probably a small amount of people that were. What was there for us to worry about? I hope nothing.

"I see," Sakura said. "So, where do we need to go to register ourselves as Magi temporarily living in Kuoh Town?"

I gave an aggrieved sigh. "I think we'll need to speak with Tohsaka about this, much as I'm sure we're all averse to doing."

"Speak to me about what, Emiya-kun?"

The three of us stood ramrod straight as we heard Tohsaka Rin from right behind us. This... was going to suck.

"What a coincidence, Emiya-kun," Tohsaka said after we finished explaining the situation at the train station. "I'm headed in that direction, and I am aware of who the Second Owner is supposed to be in Kuoh Town."

"That works," I said. "What we need to know is who the Second Owner of Kuoh Town is. Could you please tell us who they are?"

Tohsaka pinched the bridge of her nose when she heard my request. What did I say that warranted that reaction? "Emiya-kun, the reason I'm giving this info to you for free is because I'm working to figure out who the Second Owner of Suwahara is, and I don't want to cause others to struggle because they were unlikely to find the Second Owner on their own."

That made sense... wait, she got accepted into Suwahara's High School?! Hmm... this might be a good idea, telling her the name of the Priest who presides over the town. He might inform her of the name of Suwahara's Second Owner, if it even has one.

Then again, Suwahara's a modern city, built after World War 2 took place. Who in their right mind would consider making Suwahara their territory if it doesn't have that good a connection to the ley lines needed? I don't know... did it even have ley lines?

With that, I had to decide about what to tell Tohsaka. My choices were pretty obvious in hindsight, so I think... and then, just like that, I had a choice made in my mind. "Why not go talk with Father Trifa in the local Parish of Suwahara? He might tell you what you need to know."

"I see..." Tohsaka said, putting her hand to her chin. "In that case, I'll tell you who the Second Owner of Kuoh Town is. The name of the Second Owner is Hyoudou Goro."

Wait... Issei's related to Magecraft?! Er... Iruka's related, I mean? Wow... it's been quite a while since I last thought of her. How's she doing?

The last I saw her, then again, was when we were both babies, to be fair. I doubt she'd even remember me, not under my current surname, or even my original one in this life... ugh. What do I do with myself?

"I get it, Tohsaka," I said at last. "Thank you for the info."

Tohsaka nodded at me. "You're welcome, Emiya-kun. Now, we'd better work out the details of what goes on later. I think our train's on its way over here."

That led to us heading over to Kuoh and Suwahara, respectively. I just hope that Tohsaka stays safe, in this case. Because the Longinus Dreizehn Orden is a thing, I hope she doesn't get dragged along, to be fair. I literally didn't want to deprive Sakura of her older sister at all.

"So, you wish to be an outstanding student in Kuoh Town, Emiya-kun?" Tohsaka asked me while we were on the train.

"Yeah," I said. I knew she wasn't using magecraft to make me talk, otherwise I'd have smelled the attempt on us. "I mean, it's not like my legal guardian would accept any less out of me."

"Your legal guardian?"

Sakura interjected with her words. "He means Fujimura-sensei, Tohsaka-senpai."

Tohsaka barely recoiled when she heard that, as if I was being accurate about her body language. "Is that... so? Say, Sakura, could you please do me a favor?"

Sakura's voice seemed to darken with what she said next. "What favor would you have me do for you, Tohsaka-senpai?"

Tohsaka, rather understandably, was shocked by the tone of voice, though it was hard for me to tell more than that initially before she schooled her features within moments. "Please call me Rin, onee-chan, or any derivative thereof that combines the two of them."

I had to look between the two sisters, since my outside knowledge told me they were sisters to begin with. Right now, Tohsaka stood in the train and to my left, while I was facing the window looking outside of the moving contraption, as the old people of before trains being invented would call it. Her face looked impassive, but her eyes had to be more honest than that. She literally had hope shining in her eyes.

To my right, Sakura was gaping at her older sister, though I could tell that the former Tohsaka's eyes had longing within them so she could be with her sister again. I don't know how I could, mind you, but I knew it. Let's hope this is a sweet moment for her...

"Why...?"

Rin tilted her head to one side. "Why? Because I want to reunite with my family in all the ways possible, and our father was an idiot for sending you away."

Sakura, understandably, stayed rather silent for most of the trip thereafter, mainly to collect her thoughts on the subject... or so she'd say if asked. I mean, I think she'd say that, to be honest. Then again, what did I know about Sakura's true feelings in this world, anyway?

Finally, we got to the train station before Kuoh Town and were waiting for people to get on and off as needed when Sakura walked over to Tohsaka. "Okay, onee-chan, I understand. Please bring me back to be in the family immediately."

"I plan to, Sakura, don't worry."

Sakura walked over to Tohsaka's waiting arms and embraced her sister, tears flowing down her face, as if the sound of her sobbing was any sign. Well... there's a good thing when I see and hear it.

"Oh, right, that explains it."

I turned to face Ilya-nee. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, Tohsaka was working on something before the schools shut down in Fuyuki for who knows how long. What she was doing had to be a spur-of-the-moment decision, right?"

I snorted. "Yeah, that might be the case, onee-chan."

"Still..." Ilya-nee looked out to the outside of the train. "I can't help but get the feeling that we're being watched by someone..."

I had to wonder what she meant, but I didn't dare voice my suspicions out here, not when there's no Bounded Field to keep our conversation private. However, I had to be sure that we were not being watched by anyone who was malevolent, like anyone from the Grigori who sided with Kokabiel and wanted the Great War to restart. This was going to be a hassle... how do I get that resolved safely?

When I looked out the window of the train, though, I saw something ridiculously out of place in the sky that nobody else seemed to be aware of. I saw a dual-headed snake wrapped around a pole in the sky, as if it were absorbing the surrounding light to be visible in the day. That... didn't bode well for me, not one iota.

"Shirou-kun?" Ilya-nee asked me.

I turned my head to face her again. "Did you see a pole up in the sky earlier?"

"What pole?"

"The one with the twin-headed snake wrapped around it."

Ilya looked out the window at that moment. "No, I don't think it's there. Are you feeling okay, Shirou-kun?"

"I should be, onee-chan," I said weakly. "How else do I explain this to anyone?"

"Ah, to be young and naive. How wonderful a feeling, Shounin Shirou. I don't think you'll need to worry about the distinctive worries that all Sacred Gear users need to be wary of normally."

"Karl, who are you talking to?"

"Oh, my dear, dear friend. I was talking to myself, while addressing a new actor on this stage."

"Who would this new actor be?"

"This new actor is someone who would normally not be involved with the affairs of the Longinus Dreizehn Orden, but he has a lot of potential in his blood to be an amazing warrior. He even has one of my side projects in his soul, a prototype of the Holy Relics that the Orden uses. However, because of the bugs that I haven't ironed out in the prototypes, they seem to get far stronger with due time than I had initially given them credit for."

"I see... I hope this new actor is able to help our goals out a lot."

"That is my hope as well. I need someone to help guide the future into being."

"And you don't trust yourself with that job?"

"Exactly. Of course, my reason for this is simple. I have a lot of baggage that needs to be rid of, but nobody to talk with about it until the tme is too late."

"I see... what will this actor's name on the stage be?"

"His Demon Name? I have the feeling his name will be a surprise to everyone, especially himself. However, I doubt he'll be the one to wield the Bois de Justice at all."

"The Relic of your successor?"

"Precisely."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because the requirements for that Relic are stricter than most, barring the Longinuslanze Testament."

"I see what you mean. I hope that you find out for a fact what's going on with your Holy Relic prototypes soon."

"That has been my plan from the very start, I can tell you that for a fact."

"Good... now, what's going to be next on the agenda?"

"Well, Reinhard, it's like this..."

I suddenly shuddered. What was with me today? Am I feeling even remotely under the weather right now? I hope not... this would be a massive problem.

"Senpai, are you doing okay?"

Thank you for noticing, Sakura. "I'm fine for now, Sakura. I'm just worried that there are people who will take advantage of our peaceful time to make chaos happen all over the place."

"That's an understatement," Tohsaka said, snorting a mere moment later. "Face it, there's no way we're able to have peace and quiet for long as Magi, not least because we're supposed to walk with death on a regular basis. Still, I'm glad that you noticed things were probably going to go wrong, Emiya-kun."

"Thanks, Tohsaka... I think," I said. "Still, we're one stop away from the Kuoh Town station. What's your plan for later on? Do you want to visit Sakura or get in touch with her over the phone?"

"Eh?" Rin's face looked as if she had ice fall down her back. "Well... preferably both, after we all get settled in where we're staying for this duration, at least."

I nodded. "That makes sense to me."

A/N: This was where I left off, over on Questionable Questing, because I literally didn't know what all I needed to do to continue it from there. However, now that I have the stats needed to advance the story after this chapter, I can write what needs to be done. Hopefully, I don't end up killing the hero off, even by accident... what? It could happen.

Still, for those of you who read the chapter and voted on QQ, thanks for the ideas. In fact, thanks for the choice made about if Rin would go talk with Valeria Trifa. That option chosen meant the Rin flag has been raised, and the romance is about to begin... on top of whatever else she gets up to in Suwahara City.

Until We Meet Again... Farewell.
~Xamusel