Much faster on the update to be honest. It was a but easier to do once I got going. So then I like to thank everyone who faced or followed this story and to the reviewers.

On with the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own typemoon.


Shirou didn't know why it was that he had grown to feel discomfort about the sun, or rather the day, but he had. Waking up he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and headed into the kitchen to start preparing himself something to eat. Cooking was something that the seven year old had a strange understanding in doing. Even without any memories to pull from he just followed the recipe and instructions with his food turning out to be strangely good. Now for some reason Taiga committed that his cooking was almost perfect.

Maybe that had something to do with his now enhanced sense of smell. Having these senses had a strange familiarity to him. A normal human who was suddenly given enhanced senses like Shirou would probably have trouble with them. Shirou, however, had this almost instinctive understanding of how to control it. Like he had lived most of his life with these senses beforehand. 'Dad seemed to find it strange but hadn't talked to me about it much.'

Actually, if he was honest his adopted father had been distant to him after learning about this. He had said he was going to check on something and after coming back had this strange look about him. Conversation had been rather sparse between the both of them and he seemed focused on something else. 'Did it have to do with Illya?'

The first time he had left Shirou had no idea what the reason was. He had just accepted that it was something he had to do. When Kiritsugu came home he had this look of sadness on him. Learning about Illya he understood why. In the back of his mind he felt like he knew a bit about what was really going on beyond the brief summary that had been told to him. He had failed a task for his wife's family and as punishment they decided to keep Illya from him.

A ting of rage came over Shirou at the idea. Kiritsugu had lost his wife, the woman who had things played out a bit differently would have been Shirou's adopted mother, and instead of being understanding they kept his daughter from him. For a moment a thought crossed his mind. A dark thought of clawing out the throats of the so called family members and taking back his sister from them. An image of their dying bodies crossed his mind but Shirou immediately stopped his train of thought at this.

He had actually been thinking about killing people over something like this. What's weird is that the thought seemed almost natural to him. Like the idea of taking a human life was almost trivial and instinctual for him to do. Almost like he had been born to do it. 'I should ask dad about this when he gets back…'

"Good morning Shirou!"

Taiga's voice rang out as the brown haired young woman entered the room. The scent of cooking was what caught the woman as she took a place at the table. Shirou didn't know how or why she had just started coming over. He did know that she was supposedly the granddaughter of the Yakuza boss in Fuyuki. That and his adopted dad did seem to know her grandfather to some degree. Though to be honest Taiga didn't act like how he expected a Yakuza heiress to act. Still, to be honest it was a bit nice to have someone coming over.

"So, Kiritsugu left on a trip?" Shirou gave her a nod as he finished cooking breakfast. "You wouldn't know why he did so?"

If he had to guess the trip was another attempt to try to get Illya back. Shirou didn't fully know about the details of what he was dealing with but he noticed he had placed the scabbard into a suitcase that he had taken with him when he left. 'Just what is it anyway.'

His old man knew something about it. That much was obvious. For Shirou he felt like he knew what it was and yet at the same time didn't. "Hey, Shirou," Thd redhead was pulled from his thoughts and looked at Taiga. "If nothing happens how about we spend the day together?"

"Sure I guess," It wasn't like he had really anything better to do. Waiting for Kiritsugu to return was basically all he had planned to do besides the usual which wasn't much. "What do you want to do anyway?"


In two days Illya's life had changed more than it had for almost eight years. Her papa had come back and took her away from the Einzbern Castle. Now she was going to live with him and her new brother in Japan. 'A little brother…'

Illya had known that her parents had gone off to compete in the Holy Grail War not long after they had left. Her grandfather made it clear to her about what had happened when he told her that her father had betrayed them. It had been a lie as Illya had learned. Her father hadn't betrayed her at all. In fact, it was her grandfather who had kept him from getting her during the first time he came back. Illya had to admit her grandfather was always cold to her and her mother. Not like how the grandparents in those stories her mother read to her would supposed to act.

As for her mother she had been told she was dead. Another thing her cold golem of a grandfather had done was made it clear what death was. Illya refused to listen or believe that she was gone but her father had confirmed it. Her mother had died and she was never going to see her again. Unknown to her it was why she told her she would always be with her but Illya didn't really understand that connection yet. Nor did she know how her mother had died but for her right now it didn't matter. She had lost her mother and had almost believed in a lie that her father was never coming back for her.

Standing with him the homunculus looked at the place that was her new home. The place where she was going to live for now on with her father and her new little brother. Someone who her father had adopted after the Fourth Holy Grail War. Illya actually didn't mind the idea of being a big sister though some part of her wondered if the reason her papa hadn't come straight for her was because of him.

Walking into the house the both of them were greeted by a young woman and a redhead boy who looked around her age. "Kiritsugu you're back," Taiga eyes noticed the albino girl next to him. "Whose this cute little girl?"

"I'm Illyasviel von Einzbern, but I please call me Illya." When she said that Shirou realized just who she was.

Taiga turned to Kiritsugu who realized that the yakuza granddaughter was going to ask. Why he had brought a little girl back with him. He already had a somewhat truthful explanation for this. "Illya is my biological daughter, I just managed to get custody of her from my late wife's family."

Shirou was the only one who had any idea of the truth about what had gone on. Taiga, however, stared at the little albino girl stunned at what she had heard. Kiritsugu had been married and already had a daughter. A daughter who was being kept in the custody of his wife's family seemed strange but what did she know? Regardless it seemed dumb if you asked her. "So, that's why you left," Taiga took a closer look at Illya and back at Kiritsugu. "I take it she takes after her mother."

"She does." The hint of sadness on his voice was small but Taiga caught it. Whomever Kiritsugu's wife was, her passing had hit him hard.

Shirou and Illya stared at each other as a silent acknowledgment of just who each other was. Shirou thanks to overhearing and being told briefly about her and Illya had been informed by Kiritsugu about him. Neither one knew that of course. As far as each one knew the other had just met them. "I'm Shirou, I guess I am your new brother."

"Yes, papa told me about you on the way here."

Taiga looked at the newly minted siblings. A smile on her face as she looked at who she assumed was the older of the two Emiya kids. "Well Shirou looks like you're now a big brother."

Kiritsugu couldn't blame Taiga for thinking that. Compared to Shirou, Illya did look younger. An issue he was going to have to deal with and he hoped soon. "Actually, Illya is a year older than him."

Taiga blinked for a second, looked back at Illya and Shirou and then felt like she had made a mistake. It wasn't like she had expected Kiritsugu to have a daughter, or another kid for that matter. Then again she probably shouldn't have assumed that. "My bad I didn't know."

A few minutes passed as after some introductions and showing Illya to her need room, which admittedly was a bit bare bones being only a futon, he had both Shirou and Illya go off to play in the yard to get to know each other and talked to Taiga about events, or rather found him doing so as she to more or less wanted to ask a bit about his daughter. "So, Einzbern, I take it Illya's mother was German?"

"Yes, we met each other almost a decade ago in Germany during one of my jobs," Technically it was all correct. He had been hired by the Einzberns and had met her in the Einzbern Castle which was in Germany. A small smile formed on his face as he thought about his time with her. As he thought about this he sighed.

On the way here Kiritsugu had thought about the situation with his daughter's last name. Fuyuki did have two mage families who had dealings with the Einzberns. Illya keeping her last name would be too suspicious. Besides that he really didn't like her having that last name anymore. Neither her or Irisviel were seen as much more but tools by their family in the end anyway. Even Kiritsugu had to admit that if it wasn't for Irisviel having come to completely believe in his ideals and actually told him to, he very likely would have run away with her and Illya. Something he really wished he could have told himself back then.

As much as he didn't care for his family anymore, nor about the future of the family crest like most mages, he at least knew that it was better for her to be Illyasviel Emiya then Illyasviel von Einzbern. Yet, Illya would probably still use the name she had known for years. The same name Irisviel had given her on the day she was born.

"Maybe our child should have your last name?"

Maybe he should have taken up Irisviel's suggestion after all.


The newly formed siblings walked out into the yard and started to share a bit about each other. Well, they would but Shirou pretty much had no idea about anything about himself before Kiritsugu saved him. Which did catch Illya a bit off guard. "You don't remember anything at all?"

Shirou shook his head. Everything before the fire was practically a blink. He did know some things like basic math, how to speak, and what not but beyond that it was all not there. It was like whoever he was before the fire was gone. For a moment the dream he had not that long ago replayed in his mind but it was pushed away. It didn't seem to give him any memories so it was probably nothing. "The only thing I remembered was that my name was Shirou."

It sounded terrible to Illya to lose basically everything about one's self. Her new brother barely had any idea of who he was which made the fact he had become Shirou Emiya so easy to him. As far as he knew that was all he was. A boy saved from a fire and adopted by her father becoming his son and now her brother. "I can't image what I would do if I forgot about papa or mama."

"What was she like?" Shirou pondered as he felt like he had some understanding of who Illya was talking about when she talked about her mother.

Illya thought about her now lost mother. A sad smile came over her as she thought about how she would react to Shirou. A little fantasy of all of them together played out in her mind. "I missed her, she was the best mama ever and the only other person in the castle besides papa that played with me," A few tears but Illya wiped them away. "I had hoped that papa and mama would return after their trip."

A brief silence came over the two as the reality didn't need to be said. They both knew about it as their current situation was brought on by the aftermath. Even if neither of them knew the details of what had happened for the eight and seven year old the answer was obvious. Irisviel had died never to see her daughter ever again nor to know the son she could never met. Even Shirou felt saddened at the thought of a mother he would never get to fully know.

"Hey, Illya you said you lived in a castle before?"

"Yeah, it was big and located in the middle of the forest!" Illya talked with a bit of fondness but quickly she looked down as that illusionary memory was broken. After the six months spent being lied too by her grandfather she could see it for what it was. It was just a castle in the middle nowhere. The only things that made it fun were really her mother and father. "There wasn't anything to do, no kids to play with, and no one wanted to play with me," The maids who were technically her aunts didn't even do anything more but do what they were created for. As for her grandfather that was obvious. "I was all alone when mama and papa left."

Shirou thought about that as for some strange reason the idea of being cooped up in a castle reminded him of something. Something at the back of his mind. A sense of familiarity that he had. Touching on this a memory played in his mind.

He was young, maybe five or six years old, and he was allowed to play within the forest nearby under watch by several animals. Each one a familiar whose purpose was to monitor the area who were now doing another purpose of watching over a young boy. To make sure he didn't go past the bounded field that served as the place boundary of where he could go. The young boy didn't think anything of it as he played within the wilds. Tiny claws swinging as he tried to cut into the trees or something. After a bit his head turned back to the gothic looking castle that hung overhead.

"Hey, are you ok?"

"Oh, yea sorry I just spaced out there," Illya's voice pulled him out of his… memory? Looking at his hands Shirou nails lengthened and edged themselves into the claws he was viewing in his memory. 'That was a memory…'

He had lived in a castle at one point. Just like Illya did. Though his train of thought didn't go anywhere else as Illya looked at his claws with surprise. "You can grow your nails?"

"They're claws," Shirou answered back without much thought.

"Claws?" Illya decided to speak about the more obvious point. It wasn't like her new brother didn't know about Magecraft. Her father probably let him know about it after all. "Is that something to do with your spells?"

His first thought was to wonder what she meant but that was quickly pushed away when he remembered that she was Kiritsugu's biological daughter. She probably was a mage just like him. "Dad hasn't actually taught me anything like that actually."

The red eyed girl looked at the red eyed boy with confusion for a moment. How could her new brother do that without the use of Magecraft? Illya's mind went for the most logical choice as she stared at his red eyes. The only people she knew who had red eyes were herself and her mother's family. "Are you a homunculus like me?"

"What's a homunculus?"

"It's an artificial human created via alchemy " Kiritsugu cut in as he had caught the conversation about Shirou's claws. Apparently, it brought up something that Kiritsugu hadn't want to talk about between them at least for a while now. Though perhaps it was best for both his children to know what the other one was. "Illya's mother was one while she was born the way most kids are."

By appearances if those who knew anything about Einzbern Homunculi looked at Illya they probably would point out her similarities to each other. If she grew up naturally Kiritsugu had no illusions that she would look extremely similar to Irisviel and by extension Justeaze. Even if Illya was his biological daughter it was more like his genetic code and traits was just absorbed into her makeup as a homunculus. It still however meant that if he had wanted to, he could pass on the Emiya Crest on to her without fears of rejection or problems. It was something of reassurance, and possibly motivation, that he was given by the old golem.

Shirou took all this in about his new sister. That Illya wasn't human, or rather wasn't a normal human due to her mother. His eyes turned to his claws while his mind turned too his flash of memory from before. "What about me?" He knew what he was Shirou just knew it. "You know what I am right?"

Kiritsugu closed his eyes for the moment before answering. "Shirou, you're a vampire."

"What?"

"A vampire?" Illya had some idea of what that was. It wasn't as relevant to the Einzbern family due to the idea that no vampire would bother coming after them. "Is that why his eyes are red?"

Illya was given a nod from Kiritsugu. It just occurred to him how little Illya knew about the Greater Moonlit World. Which was rather ironic to anyone who didn't already know given she was a homunculus and they tend to have the basic information fed into them. Illya was, after all, born like any normal girl. To the annoyance of Jubstacheit that meant Illya had to be taught what was usually imparted on to each homunculus.

Shirou looked at his claws as the word on what he was replaying in his mind. 'Vampire…'


Night fell over the Emiya household as Kiritsugu looked at the storehouse. In his nightmare the magic circle had been active. Which wasn't surprising if he thought about it. Even with Irisviel gone it still was functional after all. the former Magus Killer thought about earlier today. Both Illya and Shirou had a general idea about what the other was. Though he knew that more questions and answers would be needed as time went on.

The reason he was in the shed however was him wondering what to do about the circle and about the both of them. Illya already knew a bit about Magecraft. Irisviel had taught her the basics and being an Einzbern Homunculi there was the possibility of her having an inborn gift for alchemy.

As for Shirou, learning Magecraft was pretty much a necessity. Even if he didn't need to drink blood thanks to being half human, something he suspected was indeed the case, he was still a vampire. A Dead Apostle whose existence would likely be hunted down by mages, the church, and others who hunted in the world of the supernatural. Teaching him how to use Magecraft would be the only thing that could keep him alive.

With a sigh he put the briefcase holding Avalon at the corner of what was likely going to become the new Emiya Family workshop. Kiritsugu had a few things from his own father's workshop that were recovered for him. Anything of real note was either destroyed or held under lock and key by the Clocktower. Anything else would likely come about as Illya and Shirou experimented with their Magecraft. Though that did leave only one issue.

He had no idea what Shirou's Magecraft even would be. Illya he at least knew enough that it wouldn't be an issue. Her element was known to him, and alchemy was likely what Illya would be great at but Shirou? He didn't even think he had opened his magic circuits yet!

Walking out of the storehouse/future workshop Kiritsugu decided it was time to get some sleep. Tomorrow he was going to have a lot on his plate both to deal with Illya's transition into the wider world and starting with teaching Shirou magecraft. Funny how he hounded him for months to teach him and it looks like he was getting his wish. Speaking of his adopted half vampire son. "Shirou you're still awake?"

The boy was sitting outside just looking up at the moon. Turning his head he saw Kiritsugu came walking out of the shed. "Yeah, sorry I just had a lot on my mind."

"Does it have something to do with being part vampire?" A nod was earned at this. Kiritsugu took a seat next to Shirou. "Alright, I gave you both a brief understanding of it but if you have any questions ask."

Shirou had a few of them. The most obvious being that he knew enough about vampires to know that he should be drinking blood, strangely enough how he knew that was not known to him, but there was something he had to know. "Did you always know?

Kiritsugu shook his head at this. To be honest Kiritsugu didn't know if Shirou actually was when he found him in the middle of the flames. At the time watching the outcome of his attempt to stop the corrupt Lesser Grail backfiring and lead to so many dead made him so frantic to save anyone he wasn't paying much attention. "No, it wasn't until you removed Avalon that you showed signs of one."

Shirou immediately knew what he was talking about when he said Avalon. The scabbard that had been within him. Whatever it was had likely helped save him and yet it was also harming him. Because of what he was. "Is that why you seemed so distant?"

"Shirou when I was a boy I lived on an island with my father," With that Kiritsugu told him about his early childhood. About the island, his father, and about the girl he saw as a big sister. Then he talked about what had happened. How his father had been studying Dead Apostles and how the whole island had fallen.

"Wait Dead Apostles?"

"It's the actual term for what you are though vampire is also used but while all Dead Apostles are vampiric not all Dead Apostles are technically vampires," As needlessly complicated as that sounded Shirou didn't actually feel like questioning it. In fact he felt like he knew all about it. Like this whole thing was buried deep within his mind.

Another flash of memory sparked before him. Again it was him sitting within a room looking over images of Dead Apostles in a book. One of them listed being a Vampiric Tree that showed up from time to time. Another talking about a vampiric fairy, or fae as was the technical term, that was believed either dead or sealed away. The final image was of a giant demonic dog thing standing in the middle of a battlefield with nothing but dead people at its feet.

"Shirou?"

Shirou pulled himself out of his sudden memory-induced daze blinking as he did. Another memory had flashed before him. "Sorry, it was a memory I think…"

Once those words left Shirou mouth Kiritsugu curiosity was peaked. As was a bit of concern that he couldn't get rid of. No matter how much he would try Kiritsugu knew that he would always have a reflective degree of fear of his son. Years of dealing with and knowing what Dead Apostles could do does not go away just because he wanted it too. "How much do you remember?"

"Just now I remembered reading a book with a vampiric tree, fairy, and this weird dog thing?" All of which he felt like he knew the name for but couldn't pull it up for the life of him. Like something at the back of someone's mind that they just couldn't touch or place. "Oh, and wailer I remembered playing out by a castle with a bunch of animals watching over me."

'A castle surrounded by animals watching him?' Kiritsugu had suspected something was important about Shirou for a Dead Apostle to go through all the trouble in helping him saving the boy. Of course, during his work against Dead Apostles he had heard about those who were a step above the usual that the Moonlit World let freelancers deal with.

The third major player in the supernatural affairs in the modern day. The Ancestors, the twenty-seven rulers of their kind. A group above the "Superior Dead Apostles" that the Mages Association let freelancers and their enforcers deal with on their own. The Church focused more resources on dealing with them and Kiritsugu suspected that a few of his Dead Apostle jobs came from the Church in dealing with them. Suspected as the Church didn't officially use freelancers.

This did at least narrow down just who Shirou's relatives were. He had to be either from one of the Ancestors or at least from one of their chosen successors in case of their death. Which did raise a question on how powerful Shirou actually was as with Dead Apostles the ability to use Magecraft was not the only benchmark. At the level of both successor and Ancestor there was something else that stood apart. Be it the skill and power of age, or something almost close to true magic.

'I almost wonder if Shirou has something like a Reality Marble,' It was a bit of a mental joke on his part with that last thought.

Although that did rest on the idea that Shirou was related to a Dead Apostle. As far as Kiritsugu knew most were… well dead. At least that's what he knew of it. Having the general understanding of the whole thing was really all he bothered to learn. Admittedly it was what most Magi who did not plan on becoming one would learn. Those who were likely a part of the Church who tended to deal with Dead Apostles regularly more than likely had a better understanding of the situation and Kiritsugu had no intention of going to them for answers. For all he knew Shirou might have been made instead of having been born. Oh yes, he did dismiss Illya when she asked if he was a homunculus but how would anyone know if he was given vampirism could theoretically deal with any side effects of being one.


Shirou looked around as he found himself back in the dead landscape from before standing on to the hill. The dream which had been edged into his mind resurfaced. When he had removed the scabbard from this very place and everything changed. He looked around trying to find if his "other self" was here and located nothing.

What he did see was things edged into the ground all around him. It was too dark to properly make out but some of them seemed familiar to him. Shirou was about to walk down the hill and pick one of them up when light started to enter the world from overhead. Turning around a red something started to break through the dark cloudy sky. "Is that…"

Shirou's dream soon came to an end as his senses and body told him someone had entered his room. Opening his eyes he saw that the door to his room was open and could feel a little weight on his body. Moving his head down he saw Illya was cuddling up to him. 'Why is Illya in my…'

He felt his shirt be somewhat damp to his surprise. Looking down he noticed with his vision that Illya was crying. "Mam-mama pl-please…" She mumbled as the tears continued to come. "Come… ho-home..."

'Illya…' It was possible that she had wandered into his room half asleep and was probably wanting someone to comfort her. The words of how alone she had been replayed in his mind. Stuck in a castle with only her parents. With six months without her father and learning that her mother was gone.

Her crying soon stopped as she snuggled up to him. The sad dream she was having seemingly stopped as if calmed by having someone to hold her. Someone to remind her that she wasn't alone anymore. Shirou closed his eyes as he thought about what Taiga had said about him being a big brother. A bit strange to think about given he was the younger sibling of the two. If Illya needed him, he would be her big brother.

Shirou felt sleep take him again as the two siblings rested in silence. For Illya this was the first time in six months that she felt at peace and for Shirou it felt like the start of a new beginning for someone who barely knew who he even was.


I be real I had to cut something out of this chapter as it better fits with the next one. As for the samplings of Shirou past I am operating under the situation that certain phrases, actions, and the like will trigger the memories which can best be described as there but to broken to be put into coherence. Doing it all right off the bat would feel jaring. Though I promise by the time of when the 5th HGW much of it should be revealed.

I have some twists and what not to get ready for that. Yes, I do have the teams set and as few of the major events.

Anyway, I'll check you all next time.