First, I want to thank the support that all of you had given to this story.
I would also like to explain a few things that some readers asked me by PM.
Frist. Why I didn't use Rule Breaker to cure the girls? That was because when I looked for information about that noble phantasm it said that it can remove any magic contract without any negative effects, with that information I just chose to not use it because the curse was planned to be like a disease, not a contract.
Second. The copies that were conceptualized inside the girls were not copies of Avalon, they were copies of the relic that was used on Tatsuya to stabilize his two magic systems, and in my fic they did that when they found the relic the same day as they found Tatsuya in the river. In the anime, it was the same relic that the step mom wanted Tatsuya to look at.
Finally because my original beta went missing, I just kept on writing and on this day, July 01, 2018, I have written everything up to Chapter 20..
What you can expect on those chapters until the 20th chapter are some little things like:
Irisviel von Einzbern will get Kiritsugu in a very interesting situation.
An interesting turn with the Yotsuba twins.
The servants begin to move.
Gilgamesh and Shirou will meet face to face.
And a battle that will happen in a special place that will make the entire planet see what combat between servants really looks like.
Also I chose to write the sequel to this fic, so I will be adding some elements to create the base of that story to the chapters from here on.
My thanks to balot55, the beta of this chapter.
Chapter starts
It was cold and dark in that empty place, yet for some reason it felt familiar. She could see a light in the distance so she walked in that direction but as closer as she got to the light a series of images began to appear in her mind; a house in the mountains, and a young boy training in the field with an older person looking after him. But then the most horrifying vision of them all came as the house was destroyed by a fire and the old man was surrounded by dark figures as she began to fall. In that moment, felt a sense of desperation she had never felt before.
Thoughts filled her mind.
Is this it? Will I die? No, not now, not this way, I want to live, I want to do many things, I cannot allow those men to win, I need to save that old man.
All of these questions were at the forefront of her mind as she felt the cold take over her body. The darkness grew more and was getting closer. She wanted to fight back, to escape, but she could not run as her legs didn't respond to the commands her brain gave them. She could feel her despair growing as the darkness got closer.
"No! Stay away! Don't come closer! Not like this! No, no, NOOO!" She screamed as the darkness made contact.
It was in that moment that she awoke, taking deep breaths as she tried to calm down.
"Miyuki! Thanks goodness that you are fine." said a familiar voice. She turned towards its apparent direction and saw the familiar face of Honami.
"Honami? What happened? Where am I?" She asked when saw that she was in a room that was unfamiliar to her.
"You are in the Emiya mansion"
"The Emiya? Why?"
"I know that you must be confused, but do not overexert yourself, just stay here while I call your mother and Maya-sama" said Honami as she left the room.
After she was alone in the room she began to think, trying to remember what could have happened to her that resulted in her being in the Emiya mansion, with her mother and aunt of all people. It was then when it hit her, that day at the magic school, the attack, her brother leaving to face the mastermind and then that boy that looked injured. After that, nothing but darkness. She tried to remember what happened after that but nothing came to her. Before she could give it another try her mother and Honami entered the room.
"Okaa-sama"
"It is good to see that you are fine my child, it looks like the seats of Avalon live up to their reputation."
"The seats of Avalon? Mother, what happened?"
"It looks like I have an interesting story to tell you"
While that explanation was happening, downstairs another important talk was taking place.
We can see a group of people talking in an old style western living room. Normally that wouldn't be something of note, if it had not been for the fact that two of those people are some of the members of the Ten Master Clans, the most important magic association of Japan while the others are the leaders of Avalon tech and the seats of Avalon, the magic research team that had changed the face of magic in the last 8 years. And now all of them were together in the same room.
While they were gathered in their own groups, Maya took the opportunity to reflect about the events now that her sister went to see Miyuki, the last of the girls that have yet to regain consciousness from their life threatening experience. The fact that the other two were giving her furtive looks from their wheelchairs, like they were expecting that she might turn into a monster that would kill them all was kind of funny. The way they looked at her meant that her reputation was still the same even after years of inactivity. It was then that she redirected her attention towards the three adults that were the leaders of this house and Avalon Tech as she remembered what happened just yesterday.
FlashBack
"Why are they taking so long?" said Kouichi as he began to lose his patience.
"The fact that it is taking so long is a good thing" said Aoi.
"You just need to have a little more patience and faith in ours kids" added Irisviel.
"And how do you expect me to do that? So far we had received revelation after revelation and so far we didn't have the time to confirm anything that you had told us. How do we know that all that you had told us is even real?" said Kouichi.
"Can you stop being a cry baby for once?" said a calm Maya.
"What did you just say?!"
"Ara, did you also go deaf after all these years? I said stop being a cry baby, we will take action when we know that that situation has changed. Until then, we must remain calm and not act like spoiled children" said Maya.
"How can you say that? Isn't your niece also affected by this? Or do you not even care about her?"
"You should measure your words carefully or have you forgotten what happens when someone attacks one of ours?" said Maya.
"And how do we know that one of your retaliatory actions is not the cause of this entire situation? Your clan has too many enemies because of your actions."
"We may not have taken those actions if the clans that once called themselves our friends and allies weren't so weak and pathetic. By just looking at you, I can confirm that nothing has changed."
"If I discover that this is because of your clan I will.." Began Kouichi as he got closer to Maya.
"I have told you before, threats only work if the person you are threatening is afraid of you." said Miya as she also stood up and began to walk towards Kouichi.
However when they were a few steps away from each other, the last thing that they would expect happened when in a blink of an eye, each of them found themselves inside a bird cage like structure made of light which kept them separated from each other. But that was not the most amazing part; neither Maya nor Kouichi ever felt that magic was about to be used so close to them.
"Stooop" said Irisviel as she revealed herself as the person that had used the magic that put them behind bars. "If you can't play nice together you won't get any dinner later when Shirou is done saving the lives of your kids"
The others that were present couldn't believe that a person using such a childish excuse had managed to place two clan heads of the Ten Master Clans, the strongest magicians in all of Japan in such a situation. Under other circumstances that would call for an immediate response, if it wasn't for the fact that not a single one of them could feel any hostile intent from the strange woman.
As clan heads, they need to keep their image and dignity so they just remained calm for a few moments and that was enough to tell Irisviel that they had gotten the idea as she retracted her spell.
"That's better. I know that you are worried about the girls but you need to have a little more faith in ours kids. I promise you that something amazing will happen."
Seeing this as an opportunity Honami began to talk hoping to get more information about them.
"That may be easy for you to say because you know them, but as persons that had never met them before believing that will be a little hard. Maybe if you tell us a little more about them we could share that same confidence."
"Ara, ara, that may be true, well you must know that Shirou-kun is a polite and well-mannered young man that is also an excellent cook that we .."
"I mean about their magical background," said Honami when she saw that Irisviel was changing the topic of the question.
"I believe that the fact that they are the seats of Avalon speaks for itself." said Aoi, joining the conversation.
"I must say that I am curious as well. After all I never expected the seats of Avalon to be so young." added Miya.
"In this era of magic age means nothing." said Aoi.
"Yet their talent is incredible, I must admit that should you decide to make it public in a few years you could become the leaders of the Masters clans with the talent of your offspring and your power." said Miya.
"If that is what you are worrying about, you can rest easy because we have no intention to get involved with the Master clans." said Aoi.
"Why? With the magic that you taught your kids and the resources at your disposal, you could gain a great deal of power in all the fields of this society. The magic that you just used was light based magic. Did you teach it to your kids?" asked Kouichi.
"We don't agree with the definition of power that you seem to like so much." answered Irisviel.
"And the light magic?"
"You shouldn't ask a married woman her secrets, you know~"
"You all are very strange; any other people would be jumping at the opportunity to join the Master clans, not as Numbers but as an actual ruling family."
"What did membership in the Master clans have done to you that you think that it is so important that others join or follow you just for that? I had already experienced that with Tokiomi and the Tohsaka family. They were all about power, prestige and the improvement of their position to the point that they didn't care for anything else, not even their own family. It was then when they became a danger to my daughters that I realized that enough is enough and left that place." said Aoi. "We live happily as we are. We do our very best in the way that we chose to live. If others don't like it, well that is their problem."
As she said that Aoi walked towards the couch where Kiritsugu had been watching the events in silence with his guard up. She sits on his left side since Irisviel had taken his right and took Kiritsugu's hand for support as she had to remember a bad part of her past. This action was not unnoticed by the others.
"You three seen to be very close" said Honami.
"Aoi is a close friend that is part of the family" said Kiritsugu. As he tries to keep the true nature of their relationship a secret.
"But she is also my and Kiritsugu's wife too" said Irisviel dropping the bomb.
Well that was something that none of the persons currently present expected. Normally the magic clans not only in Japan but also in the rest of the world practice the concubine system in order to increase the number of magicians in each clan, but that is something like a closely guarded secret because in many cases, ninety percent in fact, the relationship between the legal wife and the concubine is a bad one and in the other ten the wife pretended that the concubine did not exist. Seeing someone, a wife of all people that accepts the concubine in a brazenly open manner is something very strange.
"You are too careless Irisviel." said Kiritsugu.
"There is nothing wrong about that, after all Aoi-chan is a very important member of our family."
"That is interesting. If I may ask, how did this happen?" asked a surprised Maya.
"Ara, ara, do you want to know? It is fine with me because it is such a beautiful story. It happened when I was still living in Europe with my family, in those days the tension with the Belarusian faction was beginning to boil over, but my grandfather kept telling us that the situation was under control. It was also during those days that a young man with the Japanese forces that were part of a multinational effort had come to my family home requesting information about some old stories and artifacts that some people believe my family had information about, and while we had great stories about these artifacts, we never had anything factual. I guess my grandfather felt important having the whole world believing that we had some kind of secret. Anyway, under normal circumstances my family would have rejected anyone asking questions but Kiritsugu-kun was very persuasive and he didn't came only asking questions but also sharing information that he had gathered in his journeys. That attracted my family's attention so we shared part of what we knew." said Irisviel as she saw how everyone was paying her attention.
"As time went by Kiritsugu-kun and I began to spend more time together, hearing stories about his journeys and home that I really enjoyed because as member of the von Einzbern family my freedom was very limited. Then one day, he told me that that his mission in Europe was over and that he had to return to his country. I was very saddened but I always knew that this small taste of happiness will have to end at one point. So the day of his departure arrived and we said ours goodbyes. By that time I had already developed some feelings for Kiritsugu but I did not want to admit it. It was too late to say anything and he was gone. I spent the next few days daydreaming like a lovesick teenager. Everything changed when the Belarussian faction attacked. It looked like they were waiting until the International task force left the place to launch the attack. Many of my relatives left the place as soon as they saw that the front lines were getting closer but my grandfather adamantly refused to leave our mansion. I had lost my parents since I was little and because of that, my grandfather had to raise me by himself. I had to stay with him. I really loved my grandfather but he was a very prideful man. Even when the servants quit their jobs and ran for their lives, he still adamantly refused to leave the mansion. That left us with a just a couple of relatives that were just as prideful as our grandfather, Sella, Leysritt and myself. I thought that the time for us to meet our ends is growing near and in some way I accepted it and was fully prepared for the inevitable. But when the day I was dreading arrived the Belarussian forces didn't destroy our mansion with their big guns. I can only think that they believed the stories that there were treasures that many said were there and wanted to get their hands on them, so they sent their magician soldiers to go inside the mansion but my grandfather and the relatives that stayed to fight killed them. The way that the soldiers changed how they fought after that now that I think about it tells me that the strong defense that we placed was all the confirmation the needed that there were really strong treasures inside instead of making them reconsider." Making a little pause to gather strength, Irisviel continued.
"The battle lasted for hours and one by one I saw the members of my family die one after the other. The last one who fell was my grandfather; even in his last moments he kept fighting but by nightfall, he was dead leaving Sella, Leysritt and I in the safe room. They were too young back then and they clung to me like I was their lifeline. When the sounds of battle transitioned into silence, we believed that a miracle had happened and that everything will be alright. But that idea evaporated when the soldiers came and took us outside. They began to question us about the treasures, scrolls, and books that the people said we hold in our possession. When I told them that those were just rumors they didn't believe me and they threatened doing unspeakable things to my person when I do not tell them the information they needed. After some time their commanding officer said that even without the treasures, they will receive generous rewards when they deliver the last member of the von Einzbern bloodline to their magical forces. By then I already knew what they were about to do and what I, Sella's, and Leysritt's future will be. It was in that moment that I was overwhelmed by the despair and terror in regards to our situation." While listening to the story, Maya could only squeeze her fist hard to keep all those bad memories under control.
"As I was wallowing in despair and terror, the head of the commander suddenly exploded, followed by the heads of many soldiers. Their comrades, mundane and magical alike reacted, ready to face the aggressors when Kiritsugu-kun walked from the shadows of the forest and said 'release that woman and the girls'. But the soldiers and magicians disregarded what he said and attacked, Kiritsugu then ran towards them and then he began to.."
"Honey, please do not tell others about my secrets" said Kiritsugu wanting to keep the secret of his mysteries from outsiders
"Oops, sorry dear. Anyway I can still tell you that Kiritsugu was amazing and that he defeated around twelve magicians and soldiers, he was tired and a little injured at the end of the battle. When he began to walk towards us, I was so overwhelmed by joy that he had come to save me that I ran to him but instead of the relief I expected, I watched as the expression on Kiritsugu's face changed from one of worry to one of fear, and I could see him look towards my left side. When I looked towards the direction he was looking at I saw a soldier that we had believed to be dead was pointing his gun towards me and before I could react he fired. I closed my eyes expecting my death when I heard the sounds of the impacts but there was no pain. When I opened my eyes Kiritsugu was there in front of me hugging me -shielding me from harm- while the bullets impacted his back. When the sounds of gunfire stopped and the soldier was about to reload to attack us again, Kiritsugu used his magic to kill him." said Irisviel remembering the moment.
"I know that many people would be scared of being close to a man that they just saw kill another but to me Kiritsugu was amazing. He was my knight in shining armor. He then took my hand and began walking to where the girls were. He told to take one in my arms while he took the other and we slowly left the place. As we were about to enter the forest I turned around to look at my home one last time only to see how my home was now reduced to ashes and rubble by the fire. I started to follow Kiritsugu again, and I noticed that he was bleeding from the gunshot wounds on his back. He told me that he was fine and that his body armor protected his vital parts but I knew by the expression on his face that he was in pain and that we need to stop the bleeding as soon as possible. But he insisted that we need to leave the area and I knew that he was right. When we arrived at our destination, there was a military vehicle that was hidden next to the road. I thought that Kiritsugu's friends in the military will be there to help us, but there was no one. Kiritsugu then told me that he disobeyed direct orders and had come to rescue me by his own will. After that I knew that he was the love of my life, I healed his injures with my magic once we were far from that place and as you can see the rest is history and we had been together since then."
"That is a wonderful story, but how did Aoi-san got involved?" asked Miya.
"My story is not as epic as the one of Irisviel." said Aoi answering the question. "Kiritsugu and I were friends since childhood. I came from a family were my both parents were magicians, but he was the first in his family to be able to use magic. We became best friends, but as we grew up I was the one that started to become distant and created a rift in our friendship. As my family gained influence because we were magicians, my parents began to believe that the bloodline is important. When I turned 18 they arranged a marriage between me and the heir of the Toshaka family, Tokiomi Toshaka. He was nice and charming at first but it didn't feel right being so close to him. Kiritsugu tried to convince me to stay away from him, to make my own life with my own hands, but I felt that I should follow my family's wishes and ended up marrying him. That was the worst mistake of my life. The last that I heard about Kiritsugu was that he was planning on joining the military. After the weeding, Tokiomi showed me his true colors and my worst fears had come to pass when my family kept their distance as if they were done with me, like I was some product that they just sold. Tokiomi then began to make very suspicious deals. Our relationship deteriorated even further after Rin and Sakura were born, it seemed like I was just some baby making machine to him and after a few years I had learned that he made a deal to give one of my daughters to the Mato family."
"Wait a minute, do you say Matou family? THE Matou family!" asked surprised Honami, it was not a surprise that Honami was surprised to hear that name. The Matou was the family that had been involved in one of the major scandals of the magic world that had given the magicians of Japan a very bad reputation. It took the 10 Master Clans years to fix the problem but even after all this time new issues connected to the one that the Matou caused still pop up today. There's nothing like kidnaping kids to use as sacrifices to parasitic insects to be able to collect their power to give the best image of magic and while their crimes were exposed and the Matou family were disgraced with many of its members arrested. The fact that the family head Matou Zouken managed to escape is something that brought shame to the Japanese magical community for years. Mysteriously, they had also never heard of Tokiomi Toshaka as well in all these years.
"I tried making him reconsider but his greed for more power is all that filled his mind. He kept ignoring me because I had already accomplished my role. I was nothing more than a trophy wife. Fearing for my children's lives I took them, got into a car and ran away. I knew that my family will take Tokiomi's side and I didn't had any friends that were willing to face the Toshaka and Matou families to help me, but luckily I learned that Kiritsugu was living in this area with his wife and children. I knew that I was a terrible friend and I should have listened to him when he warned me about Tokiomi and I felt really distressed in asking for help in running away for the same situation that he warned me about before but I chose to swallow my pride and begged for help so I could leave the country. Thankfully, he was the same decent man that that I met years ago. He helped me and he told me that it wasn't necessary to leave Japan that he could protect me and my daughters. I wasn't so sure but he told me to give him one chance and if he fails that he will make sure that I manage to escape to the USNA. Europe was off limits because of the political climate of and the connections that the Toshaka still had in that area. I wasn't sure at first but then I realized that many years ago it was a bad decision to not trust Kiritsugu, so this time around I did the right thing and he managed to resolve the situation. Tokiomi even came to beg me to come back to him without his usual pride, but I knew that it was only an act because he had lost all the support from his family after the deal with the Matou was terminated when the scandal happened. With no power behind him to force us he just disappeared that night."
"Wait a minute, are you saying that.." began Honami but was stopped by Kiritsugu.
"Sometimes the universe works in mysterious ways and gives you a present. When that happens you better do not ask questions."
Deciding to continue with her story Aoi began.
"Anyway, I was free of that nightmare, but I realized that also got nothing, no money, no place to stay or a career that will help me to provide for my daughters but thankfully Irisviel told me that I could stay with them and that she will teach me how to manage an enterprise and after a few years they trusted me with the magazine that was related to Avalon tech. Working there is one of the best experiences of my life and I finally understood what Kiritsugu meant when he said that I should make my own future. I was also happy that Irisviel accepted me and became my best friend. Normally a wife wouldn't be happy if an old friend of her husband that also happen to be a woman comes back to his life and becomes dependent of him, but Irisviel was different and received me with open arms. As the years went by, I saw the kind of father and husband that Kiritsugu was I realized that letting him go all those years ago was a mistake. I understood that all of that was in the past and that I would never do something that might endanger his marriage and my friendship with Irisviel, but again Irisviel surprised me when she told me that she knew what I feel and that she was fine with it. After that she proposed an arrangement for the three of us to be together and I had never been happier in my all life. I feel like I am living my golden time."
"Just like that?" asked Honami.
"Just like that. We knew that the magic clans had the concubine system that is an open secret, but with us and our family all are equal." said Irisviel as she finished Aoi's story to show her support.
For a moment no one said anything until Maya the Queen of Night stood up from her seat and walked towards where Irisviel, Aoi, and Kiritsugu were and stood right in front of them.
"So you fought a squad of special forces that included enemy magicians to rescue the woman that you love from a terrible fate. You even used your body as a shield to protect her and even ignoring your injures until you managed to bring her and two other girls to safety, doing all of this while disobeying orders from your superiors." Said Maya while looking at Kiritsugu, then keeping the same position but turning her eyes to see Kouichi, she continued. "You then challenged two Numbers families to protect someone close to you, but the most impressing thing is that you actually were successful and you managed to build one of the most important magical companies in the world and had raised a wonderful family with talented kids under your care. I can see that you are a REAL man and that Irisviel-san and Aoi-san thought wisely in deciding to share you because real men are scarcer than real magic relics." She then turned around and walked back to her seat. "It is a shame that there are no more real men like him around anymore."
Kouichi knew that those words were an attack and insult directed towards him, but he could not find the words to stop her. Once she was in seated in her seat, he tried to say something but was interrupted.
"Actually Shirou-kun and Tatsuya-kun had shown that they had grown well and that they will become men at the level of Kiritsugu, so you can say that there are 3 real men in this mansion." Said Irisviel. Intentionally or not, it made Kouichi feel more depressed.
The conversation would have continued but the sound of the door being opened and the smiling face of Illya when she went through the opened door told them all that they needed to know.
The girls will be fine.
End of the flash back
The sound of the door opening made Maya come back to the present. Where she could see how her sister arrived being followed by Miyuki in a wheelchair with Honami pushing said wheelchair.
"Miyuki-chan." Said Mayumi as she stood up and walked towards her friend.
"Mayumi, you shouldn't force yourself." Said her father.
"Do not worry father, I feel fine and even Illya-sensei said that the wheelchair was just a precaution. Besides I was worried about my friend." Said Mayumi as Suzune walked to her side.
Normally the fact that a Saegusa is calling a Yotsuba a friend would be strange enough in other circumstances but after the events of the past few days it is not that big of a deal.
"Well, now that all the involved parties are present I would like to ask you if you had been informed about the latest events." Rin, who looked tired, asks. In fact Shirou, Sakura, and Illya looked the same as Rin after the last couple of days that were every hard for each of them.
"Yes. We were informed about what happened after we woke up Rin-sensei. Or should I call you Lady of the lake?" said Mayumi. She, together with Suzune, was informed by her father about all the events that had happened since the attack. She still couldn't believe that the new teachers and the boy that she liked to tease were the famed seats of Avalon.
"We would prefer if that name only stays in this room." answered Rin.
"That is fine with us. You saved our lives after all. Though we still have some questions." answered Suzune.
"We will talk about other things some other time but for now we have more important matters to discuss." added Illya.
"The attack at the First magic high school." answered Mayumi.
"This attack was not a normal one, even if you take the participation of the GAA." Said Sakura.
"You mean by the existence of the other Thaumaturgy expert?" asked Honami. Getting a nod from the seats of Avalon.
"That is correct, in fact this is a situation could represent the biggest danger that this world had faced since the end of the last global war." said Illya.
"Aren't you overreacting a little? I now know that the magical world had underestimated the Thaumaturgy users, but will the threat really be that high?" said Kouichi.
"That is if you believe that all a magic spell needs to be able to do is destroy a city to be considered dangerous. What we have here is someone able to do things that many never even believed that were possible, with resources that many would have ignored. By just uttering a few words, they can attack you with something that you may have no defense for." Said Rin.
"Are you very sure about that?" asked Miya.
"We have been studying Thaumaturgy magic since we were younger than Mayumi and the others and still are discovering something new each day. You need to understand that Thaumaturgy is not a recent phenomenon. It has been around for six thousand years, maybe even more; each part of the world that had practitioners developed their own magic arts for centuries. Some were lost without a trace and some left scrolls and others scripts behind. If any of them fell into the wrong hands, there is no way to know what kind of damage could happen." said Sakura.
"But you managed to resolve this situation." Said Miya.
"We were lucky that the curse that was used affected a field that we were familiar with. Had it been different and there is no way to know if we could do something."
"If what you said is true then what options do we have to deal with this problem?" asked Maya.
"Find them before they do something else will be the best option." Answered Rin.
"We had spent a great deal of time and effort to change the role that magicians have in this society and the tool that we used to accomplish this was Thaumaturgy. If the negative aspect of this kind of magic became widely known it could destroy or damage the work that we had been doing in the past few years." said Illya.
None of those present said anything and even if they had their own reasons, they all agreed that something needed to be done about this matter.
"That reminds me, from what I was told Miyuki, Mayumi, and I now have magic circuits. Does this mean that we are now Thaumaturgy users? Or can we still use both systems?" asked Suzune.
"You do not need to worry about that because you have the capacity to use both magic systems which leads us to the next topic." Said Rin as she looked at the girls. "We had to take a couple of magic circuits to act as a template to make a magic crest as we conceptualized the copy of the relic inside you. All of you need to understand is that all persons have magic circuits and the magic calculation area but once the body activates one, it loses the capacity to activate the other. But in some very strange cases -like one in a billion- a person is born with the capacity to use both systems to the fullest, they just need an element to stabilize both systems."
"The relics." Said Mayumi understanding what element they were referring to. "My goodness. I still can't believe that not only you have a real relic but you even managed to make copies of it. If the world got out it will change the face of magic forever."
"Wait a minute, did you say sample? Is there a person here that is the one that you mentioned, the one in a billon?" asked Suzune. Even if she had received the basic information of what had just happened from Mayumi's father, she had the feeling that they still needed to know the full story. By the way that they were looking at each other, she knew she was right.
"There were mine." said Tatsuya from the corner that he was sitting.
"But that means that you-" began Mayumi but was interrupted by Tatsuya.
"Can use two magic systems? Or had a real magic relic inside me? Because the answer is yes to both questions."
"Tatsuya-kun other things will have to wait for another day because now we need to inform you about your own circumstances that will be part of your life from now on." Said Illya as she looked at the girls. "What we did was use Tatsuya-kun's magic circuits as a temple to create a magic crest that will activate your latent magic circuits that from now will grow around the magic crest that looks like this." she removed her vest to show her left shoulder as she activated her own crest to show the others how a magic crest looks. "Normally the magic crest is located in the left shoulder, but in your case that would reveal that you can also use Thaumaturgy magic. For that reason we placed your magic crest over your hearts."
"Excuse me but what are those magic crests? Not all of us knew about them." asked Honami.
"The function of the Magic crest is to store, use, and transmit magic spells in the form of mystic codes or magic sequences if you prefer call them that way. There are two main types, the ones that are used in an object that can be activated by an external stimulus that do not always have to be with magic. The other type are the ones used on persons; you can store some specific magics that will improve as you use it over time and then you can transmit it to your descendants or someone that shares the same bloodline or DNA. The person that receives it will have a great advantage in the use of those magics when the magic crest of that person changes to incorporate the mystic codes of their predecessor into theirs. It can also incorporate more than one, for example if the mother came from a family that specializes in a special kind of magic and the father came from family that specializes in another, they could share both their mystic codes with their children. This is the reason why many magic families in the past carefully considered the marriage partners of theirs children."
"That is amazing. So you are telling us that each generation will be stronger than the past one." said Honami, even if the other members of the Master clans remained silent they were equally surprised.
"That will be more likely with the magic that they are best at, their specialty in other words. It only means that for the next generation it will be easier to learn and control that magic and it will be stronger because of that. The magic crest can also store secondary magic that can be unique to their current users, for example when we created their magic crest we included the same three spell that we include in all our students when we give them their magic crest" said Sakura.
"You mean that they are more people outside with those crest?" asked Kouichi
"They are Thaumaturgy users so to create a magic crest for them was easy. You also have to remember that they are the first generation to have it, so their specialized magic had yet to be defined and added to their crest." said Sakura.
"Which ones do we have?" asked Suzune. Even if she projected a calm exterior, she was getting excited by this.
"As you know modern magicians need a CAD to cast some spells, and Thaumaturgy users use a magic tool. In both cases only a few groups can use magic without them. But Thaumaturgy that have a magic crest only need to activate the mystic code of the spell that they wanted in their crest. In this case there are three; flight magic, a protective bounded field, and a telepathy communication spell." answered Rin,
"Bounded field? Telepathy? We already knew about the flight magic that your Company developed but I am afraid that I am not familiar with the other two that you mentioned." said Miya. Even that was not completely true since she still remembered the information that Miyuki and Honami told her about their first time talking with Tatsuya.
"A Bounded field is a defensive magic that can be used in many different ways. For example if you want to have a private conversation with someone and it is not possible to go to a more private location, you can create a Bounded field that will make others see the place as if there was no one there and in the case that someone comes toward your location it can send them the suggestions to go use another road." Said Rin.
The members of the Master clans were equally impressed and worried by the existence of that kind of magic.
"But the one that we gave the girls and our other students is different. It is one that creates a barrier in the form of a sphere that has a mystic code that can reflect around 30% of the energy of a magical attack." added Rin.
"That sounds like the Juumonji phalanx." said Kouichi
"The Juumonji phalanx acts as a solid barrier made of condensed Psyon particles that resist attacks based on their own strength that depends on that of the magician that is using the phalanx. The bounded field adds the advantage of reflecting part of the energy of the attack so even if they are not very good with this kind of magic, they can still perform them to an acceptable level that can save their lives." said Rin. "The telepathy communications spell is just that, a communications spell that can be used with others that also have magic circuits, and the flight magic is the one you all know about. All these spells can be used without magic tools or CADs." said Rin.
"So we can use those magics now?" asked Mayumi.
"It will take a couple of days before the crest completely integrates with you. We prefer if you refrain to use them in public. It will attract unwanted attention if out of nowhere three first course students can suddenly be able to use Thaumaturgy magic. You will also need to learn how to use your new kind of magic, so if you want we can arrange that either after class or in the weekends so that you can receive the training that you need." said Illya.
"Are you the ones who are going to teach us Thaumaturgy?" Asked Suzune. The idea of learning from the seats of Avalon is very tempting to her. When she first realized that the knowledge and resources to complete her dream can only be used by Thaumaturgy practitioners, she feel depressed and began research to see if it was possible to use modern magic to have the same results. But now the opportunity to get the tools that she needs to complete her dream has conveniently fallen on her lap.
"Actually only one of us will be your teacher." said Illya. As she, Rin, Sakura, and Shirou turned to look at Tatsuya.
"Tatsuya-kun?" asked Mayumi
"He is the only one that has experience mastering the two kind of magic systems." answered Sakura.
Miyuki was paying more attention to this development because that would mean that she will have the chance to spend more time with her beloved Tatsuya nii-sama.
"Are you sure that that is necessary? It wouldn't be enough just to not use these magic circuits?" asked Kouichi.
"Now that they are activated, unless they learn how to control them they could turn into a danger to themselves and the people close to them." Was Sakura's reply.
"We recommend that they rest for the rest of the week before they return to their classes at magic high school. That will also give them time to fully adapt to their new magic circuits." said Rin. "That reminds me, Suzune, we heard that you live alone so we would like to invite you to stay here."
"I do not want to be a burden and I can take care of myself."
"There is no way that you could pester anyone and besides it will be for the best if you stay with someone until we are sure that there are no secondary effects. This is the best place to be until then." said Illya
"If you are sure that I wouldn't a bother…"
"Of course not. You do not have to worry about that." added Rin.
"Will that mean Suzune-san will get more training than Mayumi and Miyuki?" asked Kouichi. The part of him that was a clan head is always looking for an advantage.
"For the first few days she will rest like the other two should. After that we still need to determine if we will teach them on the weekends or a couple of hours after school." said Illya. "After that it will all depend on the circumstances and the time that they want to spend learning this new power."
"If that is the case and if I am not abusing your kindness I would like to master this new magic as soon as possible." said Miyuki. Her real objective was to spend more time with her brother and finally have something in common with him.
"If Miyuki and Suzune are up to this challenge, then there is no way that I will lose to them." said Mayumi.
"Are you sure my child, going to school and then travelling here to train and then travelling home afterwards will be very difficult." said Kouichi
"It will not be a problem if Sakura-san here uses her teleportation magic to help them travel to their homes in a fast and safe manner." said Maya. Ever since that night when Sakura -even with that innocent look of hers- showed that she can fight way better than many members of her clan, she had been wondering about how she managed to get in and later escape without leaving a trace. As crazy as it sounds, teleportation is the best explanation for what she saw. This not only gave her the chance to get more information about her suspects but also it shows Kouichi-baka that she will always be ahead of him.
"Teleportation?" asked Kouichi in confusion.
"Sure, it will be my pleasure to help Tatsuya-kun's friends." answer Sakura in less than a second, as if revealing that skill meant nothing to her. But by the looks of both clan heads it was obvious that for them this information means something. In the case of Maya the confirmation that her crazy theory was correct and in the case of Kouichi to learn that kind magic really exists and that young woman could do it.
They then began to make the arrangements for the private class of the three girls next weekend. After that was done it was time for the guests to return to their homes. Suzune meanwhile was taken to the guest room by Leysritt.
But these things couldn't be done with one last moment of tension that happened when Miya, who was about to leave the mansion, called for someone.
"Tatsuya" said Miya, but then she realized that she didn't know what to say. What could she possibly say that could justify her actions? Is there something that she could do to fix the relationship between her and her son? The way that he tensed and brought his guard up when he heard her told her that the answer was no. "Thank you for helping Miyuki." and with that she left that place as fast as her feet could take her but keeping a dignified step.
"Well, these past few days were something crazy. Are you ok Tatsuya?" asked Illya.
"Yes I am fine. To be honest I didn't know what to expect from the beginning of all this. I am glad that they are all fine but I still do not know what this was all about. At least I know that my situation with Miya is still the same."
"By the way, are you sure that we shouldn't have told them the about the rest of it?" asked Tatsuya.
"At this moment, as they travel towards their homes in their cars they are trying to understand and adjust to what we told them and that Thaumaturgy is more useful than what they believe. If they learned a little more that may be too much for them and it might make them do something stupid."
"But that leave us with one big problem." said Shirou.
"The identity of that Thaumaturgy master that is out there." said Rin.
"Do you think that we were their target?" asked Sakura.
"There is no way to know until we find him, her, or whatever, for now the best we can do is to stay alert." said Rin.
As the two cars took different roads that will take them to their respective destinations, the clan heads took the opportunity to tell their respective daughters that they should take this opportunity to learn as much as they could in the Thaumaturgy magic system and about the Emiyas.
But the most significant moment of the night happened when the Yotsuba twins were alone in their clan complex.
"Are you all right?" asked Maya
"Why shouldn't I be? It is true that I am a little tired but after the events of these past few days that is normal."
"I saw you trying to talk with Tatsuya." said Maya in a matter of fact tone. When Miya remained silent, Maya continued. "Do you have any plans to fix this situation?"
"Do you really believe that there is a way to fix this entire situation?" asked a depressed Miya.
"The fact that Miyuki will have to spend more time with her brother maybe could give you an advantage."
"And how do you believe that the clan will react to all this?"
"I just told them that Miyuki will use this chance to learn all that she can from the Emiya and also made it so that that our best magic engineers will be here present when that Sakura girl arrives with Miyuki after the end of each lesson, saying that the opportunity will give us a chance to learn how that spell works."
"What if they try something stupid?"
"I told them that I will personally deliver the punishment to anyone who disobeys my orders."
"I see that you had taken care of everything sister, but can I ask you something?" asked Miya. "Back in the car I saw you being too serious, too meditative. Is there something that worries you?"
For a while, Maya remained silent. As soon as Miya thought that she will not get her answer, Maya spoke,
"Did you know that Kiritsugu and we were schoolmates when we were at the First magic high school? At the same time, in the same year but we were in different courses?"
"Really? I never saw him."
"We did, but more likely we never paid him any attention. Back in the day all those prejudices about the broken window syndrome were very strong, so we just ignored him."
"Are you sure about that?"
"When we were in their mansion and were waiting in that hall I saw some photographs. One of them had Kiritsugu in his school days; he was standing under a tree and did you know who was in the background? Us."
"Really? Well even if that is true I still don't understand why you were so distracted in the trip home?"
"It is that after I heard Irisviel and Aoi's story and after I saw that picture I couldn't help but wonder, what if I had seen the kind of man that Kiritsugu is back then? Will my life be different by now?"
"Maya please; you know that the past can't be changed, so please stop hurting yourself."
"You are right. Besides the clan would have never approved that union and the me back then only cared about the Yotsuba clan. That is why I accepted the engagement with Kouichi in the first place because I believed that it would make the clan stronger. However, do you want to know what the sad part in all of this is? When Irisviel was telling us her story I could see myself in her place. I knew what she felt back then when she believed that everything was over, because that is what I felt that terrible night. I could see myself in Irisviel's place waiting for a miracle, for my knight in shining armor to arrive and rescue me. But that is where the similarities end, because in her case her knight arrived and rescued her and gave her a life full of happiness, a knight that according to our clan and the rest of Japan should had been a failure, while my knight that was from one of the more important families in Japan was a complete loser. Both faced equal challenges yet the one that was belittled was the one that proved his worth. And that is only with Irisviel's story. The one with Aoi also made me think; they challenged the clan's system and yet they are happy. They care for each other equally, not caring about the prestige and power of the magic clans and they really are happy. I could see it; there was no acting, just pure joy and love. So Miya, can you tell me what I have been doing all this time? Because the only thing that I know is that I have not been happy for many years now."
Miya couldn't give her sister a direct answer because as she heard her express her thoughts and feelings like she hadn't done in so many years, she also began to question her own life and what she had accomplished. After a few moments of thinking she could only feel empty inside so she decided to turn her eyes towards the night view that was outside the window. Maya, knowing that she will not get an answer decided to join her sister at looking at the night view.
Time skip a couple of days later. Lemon alert
It had been about a week and a half since the attack at the First Magic High School. The damage to the school has been repaired, the classes were ready to resume next Monday, and it will also mark the beginning of training for their newly acquired Thaumaturgy magic for Miyuki, Mayumi, and Suzune;. Finding some free time will be a moot point for the foreseeable future, so Shirou, Sakura, Illya, and Rin decided to spend the free time they currently have in a special way.
"….AS I SAY, UNLIMITED BLADE WORKS"
Shirou finished the last verse of his aria that allows him and the girls to reach the magical place that have become a representation of their bonds with each other.
"Are you sure that you want to be here?" Shirou asks the girls.
"This is the best place if we want to be alone." said Sakura.
"Why the resistance Shirou? Do you want take each of us on separate dates instead? Even after what happened last time?" Illya jokingly asks.
"So you finally became a pervert? That's great! We've fallen further in love with you." Says Rin, joining Illya in her attempted joke.
"NO! That is not true!" Shirou panics as the memory of that particular incident came to his mind.
It all happened a few days after their first night together when they decided to stop pretending and accept their feelings and love for each other but more importantly, that they will always will be together. They had agreed to have their own private moments with each other. Each girl will have their dates and romantic moments alone with Shirou and the order will be decided by luck of the draw. Thanking her lucky stars, Sakura won the right to have the very first date alone with Shirou. Sakura thought that the date was magical; it like was everything that she ever dreamed of; the time alone, the food, the view, and the entertainment were things that she could only experience in her dreams when she was living her past life. But now this is her reality.
At the end of the date they had planned to stay in a motel where they can have their alone time in a more intimate manner. On that day, they learned that what they said during one particular night many years ago was true. They really are a single soul split in four different bodies because during the moment that Shirou and Sakura became one and their magic circuits made contact with each other, something very interesting happened to Illya and Rin. They were thankfully in the Emiya mansion when it happened. Illya and Rin were able to feel all the pleasure that Shirou and Sakura were feeling in that moment; every kiss, every caress, and every sensual touch was felt. It was all unexpected. Rin was reading a book in her room and Illya was in the kitchen drinking something she got from the fridge. But as soon as the sensations began and became more intense she hurriedly went to her room. That night both girls just allowed their bodies to drown in pleasure, but they felt that something was wrong; like an itch you cannot scratch. The fact that Sakura wanted to be greedy and made Shirou go for hours didn't help either. The next day when Shirou and Sakura returned to the mansion, both girls looked like they hadn't slept at all. Before Shirou had the chance to ask them what happened, Illya and Rin took Shirou to his room. Sakura followed them hoping to get an answer about what had just happened but ended getting involved in another session with Shirou that this time also included Illya and Rin.
After the itch was finally scratched and poor Shirou had no more energy left, they finally got their explanation. After a while Rin determined that the link they share through the magic circuits that were interchanged was so strong that when they made physical contact through sex and their magic circuits, they synchronize with all the magic circuits that they share no matter the distance. That phenomenon also happened on their first night but at that time but they believed that it was because they were all in the same room. This called for more thorough investigation; they made Shirou take them on dates to places that were far from the ones that were going to stay behind too determine how far they need to be apart to prevent this from happening again. Rin and Illya's dates also doubled as a test and they went as far as Okinawa and Hawaii thanks to their teleportation but the results were the same. The cure for the feeling of itchiness that the two girls who stayed behind were experiencing was the same as last time. It left Shirou with no energy left at all during the few days following each date.
For that reason they made the rule that each girl can still have dates alone with Shirou but they can only make love when all of them are together. The most interesting thing about this rule is that as the time went on any reservations each of them had about making love as a group disappeared. The first time that they did it was because they needed the support and courage of each other to confess their feelings and take the relationship to the next level, but now it had become natural to them. Seeing each other naked and being seen naked as well. Seeing how the two girls that you considered your true soul sisters even if only one shares your blood making love to the only man that they will ever love with all their soul in all the universes was as exciting as knowing that they were watching you while you made love to him.
"Never change Shirou." Illya says, as she had her fun watching Shirou's reactions to the jokes that they use on him.
"Are you really sure that you want to have our picnic here? We usually only come here to train."
"That is true, but this is also our special place where no one can bother us." said Rin as she began to walk in a specific direction which Illya and Sakura followed and Shirou following a few moments after.
The place that they were walking towards was not too far away. It is the special part of Shirou's Unlimited Blade Works that had the three special gears that represented his bond with Sakura, Illya, and Rin. Normally, Shirou's Reality Marble should had been full of blades as far as the eye can see with only small paths to walk on, but this part was behind a small hill, on a path that led to a small lake that was under the three gears that represented the girls magics. Around the lake there was a small beach that was free from any blade. Another interesting thing about the lake is that it looks like all the new vegetation and flowers seemingly originate from around the lake in all directions. Once they were at the beach they stopped for a moment.
"I will never get tired of seeing this view." said Sakura
"It is not a mystery that only a Noble Phantasm could look like this." said Illya.
"I had never even heard of a place this beautiful and I also cannot believe that is ours." said Rin
They were not exaggerating. The scenery full of nature alone would have made people travel half the planet just to see it, not counting the gigantic gears that are floating in the air. The lake itself was filled of jewels falling from Rin's gear, light particles from Illya's gear, and the spiritual particles that come from Sakura gears, all of them at the bottom or above the lake giving it a multicolor-like effect like that of rainbow because of all the jewels that are on the floor of the lake as particles of magic energy are seen dancing over the water.
"I will get the stuff ready in a moment." said Shirou as he used his CSD and brought out the food and drinks over a small table that he also brought with him and was about to begin to make lunch when he saw that Illya also used her own CSD to extract her own stuff from conceptual storage. What she took out was something that took Shirou by surprise.
"Two futons? Why did you bring those here?"
"They are old and were about to be thrown away so I thought that they could still be of use here." answered Illya. "By the way you should leave the food for after we have enjoyed our time here."
Leaving the food on the table, Shirou turned around and saw something that stopped him cold in his tracks. Rin, Sakura, and Illya began to undress; normally that would not be a surprise as Shirou knew that they will be swimming in the lake and he believed that they had their swimsuits under their clothes, but to his big surprise that was not the case as he could see that they weren't wearing any swimsuits, in fact they weren't wearing anything but underwear under their clothes. The pieces of cloth fell on the ground one after the other, revealing very beautiful views that could make any man go insane with desire as the naked beauty of this three girls that had become his entire world is highlighted by the landscape around them and the light effect made by the contact of the magic of the place over the water. He had seen them naked before, and even made love to them in a group with all of them together and alone with each girl but their beauty and his attraction towards them only grew as the time went by. When they finished taking their clothes off -something that they intentionally did as slow and sexy as possible- they turned to see the expression on Shirou face with a smile.
"Enjoying the view Darling?~" said Illya as she placed her hands behind her back to give him a better view of her body.
"Did you see something that you want my love?~" said Sakura as she put her body in angle to show him her curves.
"Don't worry because today we had thinking of something special Shirou-koi~" said Rin as she crossed her arms under her breasts to make them look bigger.
Shirou could only remain there watching them. In the past, something like this had happened and the girls were the ones that initiated all the activities that they had done, taking the lead in pleasurable activities. Not that he could complain because he had also enjoyed the experiences, but something told him that this time was different. Sakura began to walk towards him and then walked around until she was behind him, then placing her hands on his shoulders she pushed him towards where Rin and Illya were waiting on the futon.
"I am afraid that you cannot be on this futon while wearing clothes.~" Sakura whispered to his ear in a sensual voice as she took off his shirt from behind in a sexy way. Shirou didn't have too many clothes because he believed that they will be having a day at the beach. However, what happened next will mark this as a completely different experience than the previous ones.
Rin knelt before him and took the last of his clothes off. When his boxers were gone his manhood was shown to the ladies, ready for action and just a few centimeters away from Rin's face.
"It is good to see that you take good care of your most important sword and that it is always ready for action~." said Rin
"So far we had been the ones that take the initiative and while we are all happy that you go along with us and made us feel love and pleasure, we want something more. We also want to be used by you for your own pleasure. To be used by the man that we love.~" said Illya as she knelt next to Rin.
"That is why please use us to your heart's content my love~." said Sakura in a sensual voice as she gave Shirou's ear a small bite that caused his manhood to react even more.
Without waiting for an answer, Rin captured Shirou's manhood with her lips and as if it was a candy she began to lick it.
"Ahhh!"
"Did you know Shirou~? How all the boys back in our school days desired us and looked at us with looks full with lust?~ Even now that we are teachers, our students kept talking about what they would love to do to us~" Said Sakura, pausing as Rin took Shirou inside her mouth, sucking his manhood and bobbing her head.
"Oh god!"
"But their dreams will never come true because we are already yours and nobody else's. Look a Rin-oneesan, she is the object of many boys' fantasies yet she is kneeling in front of you, doing something so erotic that no one would ever believe that the strong willed Rin that always had a smart answer for everything would do something like that. Now can't say anything just because her mouth's full of you.~" said Sakura to Shirou's ear.
As this was happening, Illya caressed Rin's body with her special magic circuits that had were glowing at the tips of her fingers. It is not like they felt attracted to other women even if was with each other, but because they already had learned that whenever they were making love with Shirou, all of their magic circuits will activate; sharing the pleasure they feel while also amplifying it when they participate in the event. "Come on Rin, don't tell me that this is the best that you can do?~" teased Illya. Rin increased her efforts.
"Now Shirou, release your instincts, made Rin-oneesan yours. Make the three of us yours in any way that you want, however you want, as long as you want it until all your lust have been released on us.~" and with that Sakura gave Shirou a small bite on his neck.
That marked the limit point as Shirou could no longer resist his desires and looked at the beauty under him, eyes full of lust as he placed his hands on her shoulders and forced her on her back with him already on top of her.
"Oh Shirou, that is- AHHH!" Whatever Rin was trying to say was cut off as Shirou granted what she desired and took her right there, with only his lust guiding his actions.
"Whoa Sakura, did you do something to Shirou?" asked Illya as she saw the spectacle before her.
"Just something to increase his stamina and a little aphrodisiac to give him a little push in the right direction." answered Shirou.
"OH god Shirou! Yes! That's right keep going!" was the voice of Rin in the background as Shirou attacked her just the way that she wanted.
"I wouldn't say that it was just a little push." said Illya as she started to feel the shared pleasure with Rin.
"Are you complaining?~" asked a joking Sakura, that was also starting to feel the pleasure her sister was feeling in her own body.
"Of course not."
"Then why don't we join them?"
Illya and Sakura joined them, focusing their caresses on the lines of their magic circuits. That and with what Shirou had been doing to her body was enough to make Rin break her limit as she came.
"AHHH KAMI!" Rin's screams filled the air as she was left without any strength in her body as breathed heavily just like Shirou. But unlike her, Shirou still wanted more. Raising his arm he grabs the first person next to him.
"Shiro-Nii!" Illya exclaims with ecstasy and surprise. She was positioned on her stomach and when she felt Shirou climbing on top of her she couldn't help but smile with anticipation for the moment that she was waiting for.
"ONISAMA!" Illya cried with happiness as once again she was one with Shirou. Once inside her Shirou began to speed up, ramming his manhood into her with all his might. His body weight increased the pressure he was exerting over Illya who was loving every single moment of it. At the same time, Sakura peppered Shirou's neck with small kisses giving him pleasure.
"OHH GODSSS!" Illya screamed making everybody present know that her body has been satisfied.
But to Shirou this isn't over, not yet at least. He pulled out of Illya, rose from his position, and turned around to see the last of his girlfriends waiting for him.
"Come." It was the only thing Shirou said as he extended his hand towards her. Sakura took his hand with a huge smile because being desired by the man that she loves was part of her new identity as a woman, just like Rin and Illya.
Raising her chin with the tips of his fingers Shirou captured her lips in a deep kiss and his hands moved towards her back and began to caress her. His hands headed down south and began assaulting her beautiful mounts that formed her ass. Pressing them hard made her rise a little, just enough to that his manhood found his way into Sakura's love hole as Sakura's beautiful legs wrapped around Shirou to get more support. Soon they found their rhythm, moving and gyrating while they looked at each other's eyes. No word was said between them because there was no need to. As their movements become more powerful, the sound of flesh hitting flesh could be heard all around until Sakura arched her back in a silent scream. Her climax making her speechless as her body, now without any strength descended towards Shirou's feet just to fall on her back. Shirou looks at the three beauties that laid around him with a satisfied look on all of their faces.
"Hope that you are ready because we are just getting started." said Shirou. As soon as he said those words, the sounds of carnal pleasure could be heard again and they will not stop until the next morning.
While they were all enjoying themselves and partaking in each other's bodies, not a single one of them realized that the gears that represented each of the girls' magic hovering above Unlimited Blade Works' landscape changed to a golden color and more magic seemed to rain out from them.
End of the lemon part
Time skip. The next morning. Emiya mansion.
The Emiya family were battling with a breakfast that Irisviel tried to make when she noticed that Shirou hasn't arrived yet. However, the thoughts of all those present when they saw what she had created by way of her cooking pot was that maybe she was making an alchemy experiment and quickly tried to escape. But Irisviel, ace of all women, used all her skills in psychological blackmailing to make the other members of the family eat her cooking. They were saved when they heard the sound of the back door opening. Illya was holding the door open so Sakura and Rin can help Shirou in.
"Shirou? What happened?" Tatsuya asked with worry because he had never seen Shirou so tired.
"He is fine, just tired." Illya answered.
"But what happened? You were supposed to have a picnic but later sent a message that you would not be coming home for the night and now Shirou looks like that." asked Kiritsugu.
"Dad, do you really want to know what we did?" Illya asks. After a few seconds, she got her answer.
"On second thought, I do not want to know. Tatsuya, help me take your brother to his room." said Kiritsugu.
Both of them also took the chance to escape from Irisviel's cooking.
"Mom? Have you been cooking?" Illya asks her mother.
"I just wanted to make something nice for them because Shirou wasn't here." Irisviel says defensibly.
"We appreciate the gesture but please do not try it again." Illya and Sakura then started to prepare something for them to eat while Rin turned the TV on to see what's on the news.
"Now on International news, the U.S. government has allocated more money and resources to the Argos project that plans to send a human to Mars. That same project also has the goal of terraforming the moon as a test to see if the same thing can be done with Mars. Many experts are worried about the consequences of these decisions because this will reduce the amount of resources are allocated for Foreign Aid, yet funding for humanitarian aid and funding that aims to improve public infrastructure continue to flow without anybody outside the government knowing where the budget for these projects came from."
When they saw the thoughtful looks on Rin's face, they knew that something was bothering her.
"Is something wrong Rin?" asked Illya.
"Everything's fine. I was just thinking. US magical industry has remained the same as always even after the arrival of Avalon Tech. They focus on the manufacture of raw materials that all the other companies -even us- use. I've been wondering, where exactly did they get the raw material? Only someone with our knowledge should be able to know about those materials yet they do."
"Do you believe that they had something to do with the attack?" asked Sakura
"I don't think so, but I have this feeling that something big is happening there."
They turned their attention back to the news broadcast as they enjoyed the last free day before Miyuki, Suzune, and Mayumi start their special training.
