EDIT: To protect the ring we must kill the hobbits. Sorry, was watching LOTR and got it stuck in my head.

We reached two new milestones with the last chapter on the same day! The first one I've been anticipating for some time was the first 10 thousand views! That's right, on 01/05/2018 we reached 10,000 views! On this very same day, Fate: Unbalanced scales also received 1.1 THOUSAND views! I had always wondered what it would be like, never would I have thought it would become so popular. A few days later we also reached the THIRD milestone. 100 total favourites!

If you missed it last chapter, there was a small error in writing. I had written that Kiritsugu was healed by Avalon following his fight at the Einzbern castle however this is NOT true. He never removed Avalon from Shirou and his wounds were healed by the Sowulo rune. I had initially planned and written as if Avalon had been taken but after some consideration, I decided it would be better to leave it in Shirou. I apologize for any confusion this may cause.

All my thanks goes to you, my readers and my wonderful beta who has provided unbelievable levels of assistance throughout these last two chapters.

Without any of you, Fate: Unbalanced Scales would never exist! If I hadn't received such inspiring reviews and an astonishing amount of visits I would have never continued beyond the first chapter. What had been some idea at 3 AM on how to vent my stress and entertain myself would have ended right there.

The level of pride this fanfiction has instilled in me is indescribable. To check in every day and see new viewers interested in my writing and leaving such kind words never fails to bring a massive smile to my face. Since this website is linked to my phone, every time I get an email notification I'm hoping it's another review. Even if it's critiquing my work I'm always interested in what anyone has to say. It's why I've allowed guest reviews and try to push people to speak up so much!

I've seen some pretty cool fanart acting as the cover image for a lot of these fanfictions. I'm terrible at art but if a dedicated fan is good at art I'd be more than happy to allow it to premiere as the cover of Fate:US. I just found the current one on google and figured it fit enough with the main message.

Before I start sounding like an old lady reminiscing about her grandchildren though, I should really move on to what you've all come here for - the next chapter!

Oh! Check out my new fanfiction I've started! It features an entirely new story with all new characters in the Fate world. Give it a try, if you like my writing style then you'll probably enjoy it!


The first streams of a rising sun began to peek into the room. It was almost empty. There was a small desk free of knick-knacks or dust, a child's suitcase and a futon with a thick yellowish-green blanket. As the room slowly grew to hold a warm orange shade, the lump beneath the blanket jerked suddenly and sat upright. It was Shirou. He didn't scream or shout, but his chest was heaving and his eyes were panicked. A thin layer of cold sweat covered his body and he was trembling uncontrollably.

It was that nightmare again. He was getting used to it, but he still woke up terrified each time. The nightmare had been reality a few weeks ago and it refused to leave his mind no matter what he did. Those cursed flames and endless screams were almost etched into his brain at this point. It was starting to get so bad that the orange glow of flames could be seen every time he closed his eyes.

Wiping his forehead, the boy got up from the futon and looked himself over. He'd need to have a bath this morning for sure. Feeling disgusting, he peeled off his pyjama top and threw it towards one side of the room. He'd put it through the wash after he put himself through one first.

Unlike other children his age, Shirou liked waking up early. It was peaceful in the mornings. Animals were waking up to greet the gorgeous sunrise, breakfast was being made and families were preparing for work and school. Shirou slid the door to his room open, peeking left and right down the hall before stepping out and creeping towards the bathroom.

It was down the hall on his left and looked just like any other door in the house - they should really get some sort of hanger or indicator that someone was inside or that the room was a bathroom in the first place. Since every door in this house - besides a handful of the bedrooms - was a sliding door, there was no lock or way to stop someone from walking straight into the bathroom. Stopping outside, Shirou knocked on the wooden frame of the door. Two seconds passed without response so he slid the door open and walked into the empty room.

It was a simple bathroom, modernized with western elements - specifically the two-in-one bathtub-shower. It was incredibly different when compared to the rest of the house which was traditionalist Japanese. Maybe the previous owner thought this style was better?

Shirou turned on the water and tested its temperature with his hand. Hopefully, a nice bath would clear his mind from that nightmare. When the water was pleasantly warm and the bath was filled, Shirou disrobed and settled in. Immediately he felt the grime of his sweat wash away and the post-nightmare stress left with it. Sitting in the water, he took a moment to look around the bathroom. Above the bathtub was a double-wide frosted window set high on the wall. It was mostly to let sunlight into the room rather than provide any vision to the outside. Shirou wouldn't call it private, however, since it pointed towards the house of their next-door neighbour.

Shirou had taken over cleaning the rooms of his own accord. Kiritsugu had tried the first few days but after Shirou watched what he was doing, the old man was banned from housekeeping. Neither of them minded that decision. Kiritsugu hated cleaning while Shirou found it relaxing, if not slightly pleasant.

Shirou washed his hair and listened to the early spring birds sing outside before trying to relax. The first night he had these nightmares he had woken up screaming. Kiritsugu had thought he was being murdered and had practically cannonballed through the wall. After he found out the cause, the old man made him some tea and stayed up all night until dawn. Kiritsugu suggested Shirou do something he did whenever his past started getting to him. Forget.

Could he really forget something like the Great Fire? Shirou could relive that moment in such vivid detail whenever he wanted - and sometimes when he didn't. If he thought hard enough it was almost like he was back walking through the flames.

There was a soft thump from a nearby room but Shirou was too deep in thought to notice. After a few seconds, footsteps pattered down the hallway. It wasn't until the door to the bathroom slid open that he realized someone was even coming.

There was a splashing noise as Shirou jerked in panic, then another as he ducked his head to sit just above the surface of the water. He squeaked out a noise of embarrassment while looking to see who had stumbled in. It was Illya, standing in the door rubbing her eyes sleepily. She was wearing her pyjamas and had probably come in because she wanted to brush her teeth.

She blinked twice before realizing what was even happening. Her face changed colours to match her eyes and she slammed the door closed while shouting apologies. "The door wasn't locked!" she defended herself.

"There isn't a lock!" Shirou pointed out, cheeks burning with embarrassment.

"Well we should get one!" Illya shouted back. Frustrated footsteps sounded as she walked back toward her room. Shirou let out a breath and tried to relax again. It only took a couple seconds for him to realize that wasn't going to happen - he was too startled now. Deciding that his bath was good enough, the boy left the warmth of the water and wrapped a relatively large towel around himself. Cautiously, he opened the door and looked to the right...nothing. He turned his head left and found himself inches away from Illya's frustrated face.

"Are you done in there?" Illya mumbled with some frustration. She squeezed past him right into the bathroom. Doing his best to avoid her, Shirou awkwardly moved into the hallway while the door almost slid closed on him.

He blinked in confusion as he slowly stepped back towards his room. "Why's she so mad?"

"I don't know," Kiritsugu commented, scratching his jaw as he stepped out of his room. "She usually likes mornings, that is, if she has something to do anyway." He shrugged. The old man hadn't shaved in a while - all the stubble coming through on his face and the poorly cut, half burnt hair made him look wild in Shirou's mind.

Shirou looked up towards his father and felt a pit growing in his stomach. Shirou and Illya had been yelling rather loudly earlier and Kiritsugu wasn't a very sound sleeper; even little movements in the house seemed to disturb his slumber. "Did we wake you up?"

Kiritsugu chuckled briefly before shaking his head. "I've been up for an hour or so."

From the bathroom, Illya shouted a language Shirou didn't understand. "Liar! I heard you moving around four hours ago!" Did Illya know how to speak other languages?

Whatever she said made the old man flinch. "I might not have been able to go to sleep." Shirou frowned, accusing the old man with his eyes alone. Shirou didn't like hearing his father was having problems with rest. Being experienced with lack of sleep first-hand meant Shirou was familiar with the effects himself. "I'll have a nap in the afternoon alright?" He smirked, stepping into the hallway and past his son. "Go get dressed, then you and I can argue about sleep alright?"

Shirou looked down at himself, noticed the state of his appearance and hastily moved to correct it.

… … …

The newly formed family knelt around the table in the dining room. While Kiritsugu knew how to cook, he couldn't execute it properly. Shirou was the exact opposite, so with the two of them working in the kitchen, they were able to make a simple breakfast. Their groceries were rather limited in terms of variety. Rice, eggs and bread were all they had. Still, Kiritsugu combined his knowledge of Eastern and Western breakfast meals to get something on the table. When they were done, they all ate toast with jam and a dish Kiritsugu had called "tamago kake gohan". It was simple after Shirou learned what it was - steamed rice with a raw egg dropped on top while the rice was still hot. With a dash of soy sauce the quick meal was rather tasty.

Kiritsugu took a sip from a mug of coffee he had made himself. "I was thinking of calling Taiga to see if she wanted to do something with you two today," he mentioned, looking into his cup for a second before glancing between his two children.

Shirou didn't even have to think twice. "That'd be cool! Taiga told me stories about all these places in Fuyuki I've never heard of!" He glanced towards Illya, who seemed excited just to be able to explore outside the house.

"That's great, it will give me some time to get a few things we'll need. Just don't cause the girl too much trouble alright?" Kiritsugu smiled as the two enthusiastically agreed. He took another drink from his mug. "I'll give her a call right now and you two can go get dressed." The old man stood with some effort before moving to clean up the dishes.

Shirou was suddenly pushed over onto his side by a giggling girl as she leapt from her kneeling position and bolted towards the door. "Hey!" Shirou shouted with a laugh, scrambling to chase after her.

Illya turned a few steps down the hall and stopped abruptly. "Daddy says I don't have to wear a coat since I'm used to the cold, but you do!" She put both hands on her hips and stuck out her tongue teasingly.

"What? That's not fair!"

"You're both wearing coats!" came Kiritsugu's voice from the kitchen.

… … …

… … …

Taiga had been more than happy to show Illya and Shirou around town. She had come by like a lightning bolt after Kiritsugu called even though they weren't even ready to leave. Was everyone around here a morning person?

Shirou noticed something in Taiga's eyes everytime she looked at Kiritsugu but for the life of him he couldn't figure out what it was. She seemed to move closer to him whenever he could and she listened to his words like gospel.

It was a mystery for certain. Shirou stood on his toes to peer into a window of a nearby shop. This one was smaller than the others and it held all sorts of rings, bracelets and earrings. Shirou noticed they were all very small and discreet but the prices posted nearby were anything but.

Taiga leaned over top of him. "Have you already found a girlfriend, Shirou?" she teased, smirking as the boy flustered and tried to defend himself. "I can only guess how many girls would want to date the strongest boy in Fuyuki," she teased, ruffling his hair and snickering.

Illya suddenly joined the conversation, looking between the two. "Shirou has a girlfriend already?" she asked, almost sounding upset. Was she pouting? Suddenly her face turned to confusion. "What do you mean the strongest boy in Fuyuki?"

"Huh? Kiritsugu never told you? Shirou was one of the few survivors from the Great Fire..." As Taiga began telling the story, Shirou closed his eyes while still facing the store. He didn't really feel like looking at anyone right now. The cursed flames filled the darkness of his mind and Shirou found he couldn't escape. His eyes weren't listening to him anymore and they refused to open. The ambient noise of a busy morning shopping street was overridden by the screams and wails of the dying. The scent of blood, burning hair and burning flesh clogged his nose and made him want to gag. Shirou tried to force his eyes to open - he didn't want to live through this again. He wanted to scream in frustration but before he could, Illya shook him.

The outside contact seemed to break the trance. "Shirou? Were you even listening?" she asked, giving him a shake.

He couldn't tell Illya that he was having problems. If he did, she would tell Kiritsugu and Shirou didn't really know what he would do. He had to come up with an excuse, and fast. "Sorry, I was looking at the man in the store." It was pitiable, but it was better than nothing. He turned to face his sister, who stepped forwards and leaned close to him. Shirou made a noise as he leaned back but Illya grabbed onto his shirt and held him in place.

Illya squinted, peering into his eyes and examining his very soul. "Don't lie to me Shirou, girls can always tell when you're lying to them you know." There was something smouldering in those eyes that warned him not to test her words. She was way too close to him right now and Shirou rapidly came to realize that crimson eyes could be terrifying if they were angry.

"I was just - uh - thinking about some things?" Even though it wasn't a direct answer it was evidently enough to satisfy the girl. She leaned back and seemed to return to her happy self as if on a switch.

Shirou caught Taiga smiling fiendishly at the display and he silently cursed her for allowing this. "Well I won't punish you since this is your first time, but don't ever lie to me again alright?" Illya didn't even wait for an answer before turning and continuing down the street with Taiga.

"Listen to your sister, Shirou. She's a very smart girl," Taiga added, snickering while she followed the albino.

Shirou gaped in shock before realizing they were walking off without him. Calling out, he jogged a bit to catch up before falling into step with the other two. A few minutes of window shopping later, the conversation changed from comments about what they were seeing and what they wanted to buy to questions.

"Have you kids ever been to Koshuensaikan Taizan? It's the only Chinese restaurant in Fuyuki," Taiga pointed out with pride. "It's got some of the spiciest food in town as well, that chef loads everything with chilli peppers." Taiga fanned her mouth as if it was on fire.

Illya giggled at the display while Shirou only shrugged with a smile. "As far as I know, I've only ever seen the hospital and my house…and I guess everywhere we've been today."

Taiga's face split into a rather angry looking snarl, one fist raised up to rest on her forehead. "That's right, I forgot about that." She chastised herself, suddenly returning to her normal smiling self. "Well then we can go anywhere! I don't know if grandfather would let me use a car today but we can check out all the places around here! I can show you the main bridge between Shinto and Miyama, then maybe Mount Miyama and that restaurant I was talking about." Taiga listed off plans in her head. "Then after that, I can show you where you'll be going to school in a few years, Homurahara Academy! I'd show you Ryuudou Temple, but it's still closed to the public for repairs." Taiga's head lifted and her eyes locked onto something in the distance. Shirou followed where her eyes were looking and spotted someone who stood out from the crowd.

A man with navy-coloured hair cropped in a clean no-nonsense style extended a hand to wave at Taiga. From this distance, Shirou thought his eyes were closed but upon looking closer he realized they were only near-shut. With his wide inviting smile and pleasant face, the visage was actually rather fitting.

"Taiga!" he called out, crossing the street to get closer. He noticed the two children upon nearing and spoke while smiling at Illya. "On babysitter duty? That's good, you can learn some maternal skills early," he teased, laughing at his own joke. The man's voice was deep but in a jovial sort of way. Shirou could only guess how intimidating it would be if he spoke in a serious manner.

"You're lucky I don't have my shinai or you'd be on the end of it, Reikan," Taiga growled, spacing her feet like she was prepared to strike him at any moment.

Reikan only laughed harder. "Yes, you've never been one for… Well, it doesn't matter. Who are you babysitting for?" he asked, turning his gaze to Shirou who suddenly felt as if he was being examined like a lab subject. As if all his flaws and weaknesses were being displayed openly. It made him want to hide behind something or someone. Reikan had looked at Illya first and if she had felt the same way Shirou had it was no surprise she hadn't spoken yet.

"You know that man, Emiya, who moved in down the street a week ago?" Taiga began. As she spoke, Shirou lost interest and tried looking around to find something to eat up his boredom. Illya seemed to be in a similar state and the two siblings looked at each other.

Illya leaned over behind Taiga and whispered to him. "This guy gives me the creeps. We can probably make a break for it before they notice we're gone - I wanna go to the playground and play with Emiri, Taiko and all the others." Shirou glanced back at the two teens lost in conversation with each other. Illya was definitely right about Reikan, he was weird. If they left without telling Taiga they might get in trouble, but how bad could it be? Also, if he declined, Illya would probably leave anyway and Shirou had been told to protect her. In a sense, his decision was already made for him. Carefully, Shirou slid around Taiga and closer to Illya.

"I think I know the way, but we have to stay off the street so Taiga doesn't catch us," Shirou complied, looking around for somewhere they could hide before Illya tugged on his arm.

"Let's just go through these alleys, we can figure out where to go from there."

Shirou verified their guardian was still distracted before silently sneaking off towards the alley with Illya. Looking at Reikan, the man's eyes snapped onto his and they exchanged glances. Strangely, he remained silent and allowed Shirou to follow Illya into the nearby alley.

Illya was so much faster than him and it wasn't fair, she must have been gifted or something because she was almost twice as fast as him even though she was just as small. Shirou bet she was using magic, but Kiritsugu told them not to use magic or reveal their status as magi in public. He had said an organization would blow up the whole city if they did. Shirou didn't want to believe someone could do that, let alone would.

His sister turned and waited for him to catch up like he was a lame dog, she wasn't even winded! "Shirou you need to get a lot faster," she complained, placing her hands on her hips as he bent down to catch his breath.

"Did you just run around your whole life? How can you be so fast?" Shirou huffed, sucking in lungfuls to try and level his breathing.

"I ran around the castle lots," she mumbled, twisting the sole of her shoe nervously into the dirt below. "It was a big castle." She spoke sheepishly as if it were embarrassing.

"You lived in a castle?" Shirou asked, stamina returning to him. "Like a princess?"

Illya's face split into surprise and immediately her cheeks grew several shades of red. "Idiot!" she shouted, flicking him on the forehead. She was a lot stronger than she looked because even a simple hit like that hurt a lot. Shirou recoiled and held onto his head in pain. "Don't say stuff like that! I'm not a princess…I don't think." She barely sounded out the last part. She turned away from him and tried to hide her face.

"Alright, alright!" Shirou acquiesced, rubbing the spot on his forehead. "I just thought since you lived in a castle and you're so pretty you were a pr-" He was cut off as another flick hit him on the same spot.

The shade on Illya's cheeks was almost bright enough to illuminate the alley. "You - you idiot!" she nearly screamed. Amidst the pain on his head, Shirou looked back towards the street to make sure nobody had heard that.

"Illya, keep it down or else Fuji-nee will find us!" Shirou whisper-yelled, grabbing onto her hand while running further down the alley. Shirou could see there was a turn to the right up ahead and the light on the far wall revealed it opened up into the street. They could take that and double back around to head towards the park. Shirou might not be very fast or smart like Illya but at least his memory was good!

"Do you even know where we're going?" Illya asked, easily keeping up with him and actually tightening her grip on his hand.

"Of course! Just follow your big brother and we'll get there safe," Shirou toted confidently. The kids rounded the corner and entered a much less traffic-laden street. When they hit the sidewalk, Shirou took a moment to look around and get his bearings. He realized he was still holding Illya's hand and let go only to find she was still squeezing tightly.

If she was scared of going out on her own, why did she suggest running away from Taiga? Oh well, he wouldn't comment on it for now. In the distance, Shirou spotted one of the few three-storey buildings of the area he had seen before while at the playground. It wasn't very much of a landmark, but it was something to go off of at least. Pulling his sister behind him, Shirou crossed the street and began walking to where he believed the playground would be.

"Shirou, is what Taiga said true? Did you really survive a big fire?" Illya asked suddenly, making him twitch instinctively. There was no doubt she had felt that.

"Yeah, but I don't really know how," he replied with a dark tone. "All I know is Kiritsugu rescued me and that I'm here now."

"Well of course, Daddy is the best! At least now you get to have the best family ever right?" Illya tried to look at it optimistically but Shirou couldn't feel the same way. It was hard to think about it, but Shirou really didn't know what he'd lost. He might have had a big happy family but he couldn't remember anything before the Great Fire. An awkward silence descended over them until Shirou tried to wash away the sadness and move the topic away from himself.

"You used to live in a castle right?" An agreeing noise sounded from behind him. "So why do you think Kiritsugu wanted to move to Fuyuki rather than live in a big castle?" he asked, turning back to look at his sister.

She bit the corner of her mouth as if she didn't want to talk about something. "It was too far away and there was nothing to do. When Mommy and Daddy left, all I did was wait for them to come back."

"When did Kiritsugu and your mother leave?" Shirou asked, scrunching his face in confusion. He never knew Illya had been separated from Kiritsugu. Then again, Shirou didn't really know all that much about the old man anyway. Illya took a second to think about the answer.

"Two weeks ago?" she answered. "I think a little bit longer."

"Huh?" Shirou replied intelligently. "If they only left you that long ago, where's your mother?" Shirou raised a good question that had been unaddressed until now.

"She's gone," Illya quietly answered. It was something he hadn't been expecting and it made Shirou want to take his questions back. If she had been lost so soon, all that pain would still be fresh. Shirou couldn't relate to such trauma himself but he at least had the decency to understand it would be damaging. The two were sort of similar then, they had both lost something recently.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," Shirou replied. What had initially begun as a simple topic change had brought them right back to square one: awkward silence. Shirou decided that it would be better if they just finished travelling to the playground. Illya must have shared that thought because she didn't try to speak again either.

… … …

… … …

When Daddy had told her Mommy had died, Illya had cried for hours. He had told her in the plane and she had cried hard enough to pass out and hadn't woken up until they landed. When she did finally wake up, she had resolved to be strong for her mother, because Mommy had said she would always be there for her. Mommy was always watching her so she couldn't cry her whole life.

Besides, Illya always had Engel Note to remember her mother by. Ever since she was shown it, Illya had been practicing Storch Ritter before going to sleep and sometimes when she woke up in the middle of the night. The bright blue construct was comforting and calmed her down. It also was how she knew Daddy wasn't sleeping properly. He had been staying awake the past few days through the nights. Her mother had never disturbed him when he got like this, so she wouldn't either.

Shirou had managed to get them both to the park without much trouble. For a plain boy, he was surprisingly dependable. Illya liked that about him, he finished everything he said he would and always tried his best even if he knew he couldn't win. When Daddy had told him to play with Sakura, he had put in as much effort as possible to make her have fun. When Illya challenged him to races, he put in all his effort to try winning even though he had no chance.

It was actually sort of scary how determined he could be.

"I wonder if Fuji-nee is looking for us," Shirou commented to himself absently. The two were walking back home. After playing some games with the other children they had met yesterday, both siblings unanimously decided they were hungry and elected to see if Kiritsugu had come back with groceries yet.

Taiga might be mad at them for leaving for a few hours - but they could take care of themselves! They were powerful magus children that could cast spells to protect each other. Well she could at least, Shirou couldn't. He seemed to be much more nervous than she was at the moment. Maybe it was because he thought they were going to get in big trouble for leaving Taiga. Daddy wouldn't punish them for this, no way, he was too nice!

"I think so, but I don't think she'll be too upset." Ilya tried to calm her brother down. He always worried and seemed to think too much about things. "Why do you think all the other old people were looking at us so weird?" While they had been playing games, the other parents were whispering to one another and pointing at them both from the sidelines. Illya thought it was because Shirou looked so weird, but if that was the case why hadn't everyone been doing that yesterday?

"Because we were there alone. Usually, kids don't go off to their playground on their own without someone watching them," Shirou pointed out, keeping his eyes forward as they walked the path home.

Illya realized he was right, people didn't leave their kids alone because strangers might try to take them away. But they were magi, nobody could kidnap them, right?

Almost on cue, a flash of sunlight off a piece of metal hit Illya in the eye. She stopped and turned to see who it might be but as she did they vanished out of sight. Illya briefly thought she saw something purple, but who would wear something that oddly coloured? It had been dark purple, even darker than Sakura's hair in fact.

"What's wrong?" Shirou asked, stopping himself and turning to look at her. He followed her eyes to look in the alley she was still peering in. "Did you see something?"

"N-nothing, let's just get home quick ok?" Illya rushed past her brother at a jog. Someone had been watching them. Since Illya left the playground she had sensed eyes on the back of her neck. She had brushed it off after she couldn't find anyone around them but when that person in the alley had left, the feeling had gone with them. She didn't like it one bit. She didn't want to make Shirou go into a panic and berate her idea of going alone so she didn't bother to tell him. "Last one there gets to take the blame for leaving Taiga!" she shouted back at him.

"Wait a second, you got a head-start!" he called back, sprinting and blowing past her to try and gain some ground. Poor Shirou, he had no idea just how fast she could be. It was funny to make him think he could win only to crush his spirits near the end when she decided to run for real.

… … …

Shirou was bent over trying to catch his breath. His legs were actually wobbling from how much strain he had put them through. The two had raced a little less than a kilometre back home and Shirou had put all his effort into trying to beat her. It was all in vain of course since Illya could run both faster and longer than he could. She had let him lead most of the way but in the last couple blocks, she sprinted past him as if he were standing still.

"Almost - got you - that time," he wheezed, getting her to giggle.

"If you put in a little more effort next time you just might big brother," she teased, giving the back of his head comforting pats. Having had enough fun with him for now, she slid open the door to their home and stumbled backwards.

Kiritsugu was standing there with arms crossed over his chest. Taiga was behind him with anger written on her face, but that wasn't what scared her.

It was the face of her own father. His eyes were colder than the coldest night in Germany and they seemed to bore holes right through her soul. There was no compassion, happiness or anything in them and the pure emptiness shocked her more than anything. He was usually smiling when he saw her, eyes bright and happy. Who was this?

"Illya, Shirou." He greeted them, voice as cold and heartless as his eyes. "It's nice to see you."

Illya gulped audibly, this wasn't going to be good, was it? "Daddy?" she croaked out in the cutest voice she could muster at that moment. It sounded more like an animal looking for mercy.

He nodded as if recognizing that was his name and nothing else. "I believe you both have some explaining to do. Come inside and you can start from the beginning." He stepped to one side, motioning with one hand for the two to enter.

Shirou looked like he had just swallowed a live toad and it was caught in his throat. Reluctantly, he stepped in first and took off his shoes. Illya followed behind him and the two shambled down the hall as if they were sentenced to an execution block.

Even Taiga was afraid of Kiritsugu. She normally sidled up right beside him but now she trailed a few steps back as he ominously walked behind the two children. They were really in deep trouble. Abruptly, he stopped and turned to Taiga.

"I appreciate what you've done Taiga, but could you please wait outside while I speak with my children? It should only take a moment." His words asked a question but the tone demanded obedience. The Emiya family stepped into the dining room and Illya turned to look at her father. He closed the door as he entered and looked between them with those dagger-like eyes.

He crouched to get on their level then suddenly lowered his head and sighed. "I was so worried about you two when Taiga told me you were gone. I'm just happy you're both safe and weren't kidnapped." He extended both arms and grabbed his children by the shoulders, pulling them close into a hug.

Illya had expected yelling and shouting, maybe even a beating. For Kiritsugu to wrap them both up like they were dying stunned her into silence. He had only hugged her a couple times in her life but each time had been special - this one included. He seemed depressed when he embraced her and held her tight. This hug was almost identical to the one she had received back in Germany before he left with mommy. Illya realized it was because he thought he would lose her.

Was she that important to him? Would losing her actually be enough to destroy him? He had always seemed to strong and stable but at this moment he seemed frail. A sudden well of sadness rushed up from within her and brought tears to the corners of her eyes. "I'm sorry Daddy, I won't ever do something like that again." Illya broke down, hugging onto her father tightly. She didn't catch what Shirou was doing but she heard him apologize at least.

She wouldn't do something mischievous like that ever again if it meant she would hurt her father like this. She would do her best in preventing him from ever getting like this again. She squeezed her father as tight as she could, sniffling against his shoulder.

… … …

… … …

The Magus Killer was at it again. Brooding over ideas in his head during the late evening hours. Ten years, he had ten years to put Illya and Shirou into a position where they would unquestionably come out victorious. Illya was doomed but he could at least give her a good life. She would become the Grail unless he could stop it from ever forming in the first place. One hand toyed with a pen, spinning it around his fingers while the other sat over his lips in deep thought.

He had options, he had time. If he was going to make the most of it, he had better get on something now. News had spread through the Mage's Association quickly. Kayneth El-Melloi had died and the Archibald family needed a new head of house. Rumours of the young upcoming Waver Velvet claiming such a role were swirling around. Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri had apparently committed suicide following the slow death of Lancer. Kiritsugu hadn't even been aware and he hadn't cared about her existence. Apparently, the Cursed Love Spot struck rather deep.

The Archibald debacle was important for a very specific reason: Kiritsugu needed someone to teach his children magecraft. While he might be able to teach them runecraft to a decent level, he was inept in fundamental spellcraft. Kiritsugu doubted Shirou would survive a crest transplant until he was older which eliminated the possibility to learn Time Alter. Kiritsugu only knew a handful of magi willing to help. His first idea had been to ask Waver to teach them. Waver was a skilled magus and Kiritsugu knew him personally. Unfortunately, asking him to renounce his upcoming responsibilities to help teach the children of a freelance assassin was preposterous.

On the other hand, Kiritsugu could ask for a few favours and get the children placed into the Mage's Association. But if he did that, Illya would have a target painted on her back. The Einzberns would know where she was and wouldn't stop until she was dead.

So then only Shirou could go, but his identity would need to be hidden. Unlike Illya, a new alias would be the only requirement. But that was just a hypothetical. Shirou would need to prove his ability with magecraft before the Association would even consider taking him on.

So who did he know that was skilled with magecraft and could be persuaded to help? It took a moment, but Kiritsugu suddenly determined the perfect person for the job. He would see them tonight and see if an agreement could be made. The Magus Killer threw on his coat and prepared to leave. He gave one last glance at his desk, namely the Contender which sat illuminated by a lamp. Taking a second to decide, he figured it would be better to have but never use. Picking it up, he placed the weapon snugly in his coat and put on his boots.

… … …

… … …

It was a few hours after sundown when the doorbell to the house chimed. A visitor at this time of night? They must have very good reason. Nobody was supposed to be living in this house so who in their right mind would ring the doorbell of a supposedly abandoned home?

Rin set the dustpan she had been using down. Since she had arrived back home with her mother, they had been doing nothing but cleaning. Dusting and mopping the floors. Someone had broken in during their time away. After breaking the glass to the back door, they managed to track mud through the entire house. It was rather aggravating and as a consequence, Rin had been steaming mad since she first arrived. Sighing to herself before putting on a brighter disposition, the girl walked towards the front door. "I've got it!" she called out, hoping her mother on the second floor was listening.

She was a big enough girl now, she was eight and could answer the door on her own! Confident, the little magus walked toward the main entrance. Peering up at the small window set into the door, a black silhouette stood in the evening gloom. Why hadn't she reactivated her father's bounded field? It could at least tell her if this stranger was a magus or intended to cause harm.

Since Rin's father had first left for the Grail War, Rin had been acclimating herself to the idea that he would never return. She had cried the first two nights even though she would never admit it aloud. Now, the thought of his absence hardly affected her. Returning to the matter at hand: whoever was on the other side of the door was wearing black clothes in the middle of the night. Were they some sort of burglar or murderer?

Wait, criminals don't ring doorbells. Rin forced the paranoid thoughts from her mind and reached up to pull the door open wide. "Good evening, I hope I'm not imposing myself at an inconvenient time," the man greeted, bowing formally. He wasn't very tall but he held himself confidently. His stance seemed primed to move in a moment's notice and his face seemed locked into a blank slate. This style seemed to extend beyond just his body language. His eyes seemed to be empty, analyzing emotionless streams of data rather than taking in colours, faces or emotions. It was rather intimidating in a strange, professional way.

Rin felt as if she was just another face to be catalogued or someone who was just standing in his way. "Good evening to you as well, sir." Rin returned the bow before glaring up towards the stranger with a convincing smile. This man was an absolute stranger and the vibe he was giving set off all sorts of alarms in her head.

"My name is Kiritsugu Emiya and I understand how peculiar this may sound from a stranger, but is your name Rin Tohsaka?" he asked, stunning her entirely. Lights were flashing behind her eyes. This man, someone she had never seen before, knew her name and where she lived. What would he want with her? He wasn't pulling or holding a weapon, and he wasn't channelling mana, he had just walked right up to the front door and rung the doorbell. He had even introduced himself! There was such a conflicting array of signals, Rin's head started aching from the sheer stupidity of it all. Was he here to kill her or here to offer a basket of complimentary muffins?

"Unfortunately no, I'm the daughter of the maid hired by the Tohsaka to clean up their house for their arrival." She thought on her toes. Rin had been expecting a lot of things. Anger, attempts at her life or doubt in her words. Surely if he knew her name, he would know what she looked like. She definitely had not expected the man to slouch onto himself and take on a depressed look.

"I see," he dejectedly spoke while letting out a sigh. "Do you know when the Tohsaka will return? I have a matter of utmost importance to discuss with them, specifically with Rin."

His reaction offered new light into Rin's evaluation. It was strange how many details could be derived from a person just through simple conversation. He knew her name and where she lived but not what she looked like. That meant he wasn't stalking or trying to kidnap her. He was more disappointed than upset at her supposed lack of being present so he might have been telling the truth about wanting to talk. A subtle motion to her coat pocket allowed Rin to grasp her magical compass. It was motionless, which meant this man was likely not a magus. So what reason did he have to be here looking for her? "Actually…" Rin began, tilting her head to one side. "I thought you were going to try and hurt me, so I lied."

As if on a switch, his face brightened and returned to its bland state. He actually seemed a little happier than he had been with a little smirk coming to the corners of his mouth. "I see, that's very wise of you. So I suppose you are Rin Tohsaka?" he asked for verification, getting a short nod from Rin. "So you're alright, wonderful." He breathed a sigh of relief.

What did that mean? She was alright? Of course she was, what else could she be? "You're scaring me, mister," she responded, getting an awkward chuckle from him.

"I'm sorry, I guess I spoke out of turn." He cleared his throat. "If it's more comfortable I can come inside and speak with you and your mother. This will take some time, so it may be best if we all sit down and have some tea." He paused, scratching the back of his neck. "Your mother is familiar with magecraft, correct?"

Rin was stunned again. Once more he had blown her expectations out of the water. So he was a magus but he was being sly about it. Whatever he had to say was of incredible importance. Not just anybody would wander up to the front door of a known magus family. "She does, but not like I do," Rin admitted.

"I see. Well, then what would you prefer we do, Miss Tohsaka?" So he was letting her decide? Rin's mother never seemed too interested in magecraft. Whenever it was brought up or used near her mother she seemed to go quiet and become distant. It was probably because of what happened to Sak-

"You haven't gone into your father's study have you?" The man asked an odd question as Rin was thinking about her answer to his first question. He knew about her father's study? This was getting more confusing and sketchy with each word he spoke.

Rin decided to be honest. "I haven't yet. Why is it that you're asking?" Rin narrowed her eyes, continuing her attempt at playing this cool and confidently. Inside, her brain was trying to figure out escape routes and possible ways to kill this Kiritsugu should he turn aggressive. So far she had nothing in either department.

"It would be better if I could come inside and speak to you privately." He paused to look behind himself. "I can answer your questions and I will be as honest as possible," the man admitted, nodding to himself.

Rin hummed, looking him over once more. She was hoping it came across as if she were sizing him up as an opponent she could handle but the dead glare in his eyes revealed she wasn't fooling anyone. Defeated, she sighed and stepped aside. "We can talk in one of the rooms on the lower floors. My mother is upstairs cleaning out her own room."

The man entered and took the time to remove his heavy-looking boots. Rin closed the door and shouted up the stairs to her mother. She fabricated a story explaining that one of the neighbours had come by upon seeing the lights to the house on again. Aoi thankfully seemed to believe the story.

Holding one finger over her lips as a signal to be quiet, Rin motioned for the older man to follow her. She led him down the hall into one of seven identical doors. If Rin had anything to comment on about this house it was that it was too darn big.

The room was just a simple reading space with bookshelves lining the walls and two luxurious armchairs facing a well-used wooden fireplace. Rin had seen her father in here multiple times, glasses perched on his face and nose stuck into a book. Casually, she ignited the fireplace with a simple "von asch". With the room lit up, Rin hopped up to settle into one of the chairs while the man sat on the edge of the other.

The two looked into each other's eyes while they both thought of what to say. Blue-green battled with inky black to see which one could come across as the most stoic.

"I've committed myself to being honest with you, any questions you ask will receive truthful answers," Kiritsugu began, clasping his hands on his legs. "If you doubt my authenticity, I am willing to sign a Self Geass."

Rin furrowed her brow. He was really determined to reveal the truth to her, wasn't he? A magus willingly signing himself to a Self Geass was no joke. Or was this some ploy to gain her trust? "No…if you're so willing to sign a Geass then I believe you," she denied, finding herself rapidly becoming interested in this man. Who was he exactly? "But as a test, I'd like for you to explain to me who you are."

He nodded. "My name is Kiritsugu Emiya, son of the sealing designate Norikata Emiya. I am better known by my nickname as the Magus Killer." Rin gulped. Would now be the time he pulled a sword out of his ear and cut her head off? "It's a name I've grown to hate the more I hear it." Rin relaxed. So he was one of those mushy I never asked for this types. "I am also the sole victor of the Fourth Holy Grail War."

If Rin had been drinking something it would have been spat all over his face. This man won the War? Then why was he here in her home? What reason would he have to…had he killed her father? Anger began to spark within the girl. Her sensibility flew out the window and there was only one question in Her mind. Both hands clenched atop her lap and she lowered her head so she wouldn't have to look at his face. "If you fought and won the War, did you kill my father?"

There was silence for a few seconds, then a shuffle of clothing. "Yesterday I broke into this house through the backdoor. I believe I saw you cleaning up the broken glass. After searching the house I discovered your father's study and found him strung up as a torture subject. I will spare you the details, but I will let you know your father was in incredible pain." His voice held sorrow and honesty in it. He didn't express anything consoling but his tone let her know he at least meant it. "After witnessing your father's servant, I have little doubt that they were the torturer. Archer, the epic hero Gilgamesh, was still a servant and could be shackled by Tokiomi's Command Seals. To prevent this, he destroyed your father's mind with pain so he could have free reign." Rin shut her eyes tight and did her best to control herself. She wasn't going to cry in front of a stranger, she was stronger than that - she had to be. Kiritsugu paused for a moment as Rin sniffled. It was the only display of emotion she'd shown since asking if he had killed her father. Lightly coughing to clear his throat, the man resumed. "There was no way to save his life and at that point, he was no longer able to be considered human. Extensive healing over decades may have restored him to a non-vegetative state but his mind would have still been demolished from the event. I killed your father as quickly and painlessly as I could." He reached up to scratch the back of his neck to break the awkward silence. "I'm sorry. While we were competitors in the war, even I would never wish such a fate upon him."

The anger was still growing within her, but it was no longer directed at Kiritsugu. If he was telling the truth then ultimately Archer was to blame for her father's murder. "Is this why you asked if I had been to the study?"

"Yes. I was unable to fully cleanse the area of traces regarding the event. I have removed the body and did my best to preserve your father's family crest - what was left of it," he explained.

"Are you going to return the crest?" Rin asked, finally looking up into the man's eyes. Those cold black pools were the last sight her father would have seen, it couldn't have been much of a send-off.

Kiritsugu nodded slowly. "I haven't brought it with me but you are free to collect it whenever you desire in exchange for certain privileges." The man bargained. This was where his wisdom shined through. A magus family crest held a lot of weight as a trading token. Did he come to extort money from her family?

"And what might these privileges be?" she asked coldly, scowling with accusatory eyes.

"You are to become the Second Owner of Fuyuki," he stated more than asked. So he did know of her family. "I wish for effective immunity and for my presence here to be undocumented."

There was only one reason someone would want to stay out of the eyes of the Mage's Association and Rin hoped it wasn't the case. "Why? Are you a sealing designate?"

The man shook his head, much to her relief. "My reputation has granted me an unhealthy number of enemies. I have a family to protect now and I would rather they not become a target in someone's attempt at getting to me. I will not be conducting any sealing-worthy experiments or developing magecraft at all in fact. I've never been interested in the Root or magic in general so your risk in this is minimal. Beyond that, I have ways of making my signature invisible to even first-rate magi like yourself."

Rin hummed, clasping her hands on her lap. "I suppose if you are discovered I could feign ignorance of it all. You're correct in saying this is rather low risk," she agreed. Few magus families ever visited Fuyuki which meant the overall level of exposure was negligible. Risk of this man entering the next Grail War was also low. Rin would be sixty-eight when that time came, Kiritsugu would be in his nineties if her guess about his age was close. If he was still alive by then, he probably wouldn't even be able to eat his own food let alone fight in another Grail War.

Rin closed her eyes, taking a moment to breathe and collect herself. It wouldn't be right to get heated over this conversation. If she grew too angry, she might miss crucial details due to clouded judgement, just like she had earlier when he brought up her father. "So why have you come to me then? If you have ways of masking your presence then you didn't need my permission in the first place," she decided on asking next. It would be good to get the basics out of the way before continuing to anything more advanced.

He looked her straight in the eyes with an expressionless face. "I need your help."

This man was the literal embodiment of unexpected surprises. When would this train of shock end? "What could I possibly help you with?" she asked, face full of genuine confusion.

"Magecraft training," he replied simply, getting a blank stare from the girl. Rin blinked twice, then moved a hand to rub her ear. Had she heard that right? She definitely hadn't heard that right.

"I'm sorry but could you say that again? I thought you had said magecraft training." She laughed awkwardly.

"I did, although it wouldn't be training for myself," he clarified, his gaze the epitome of absolute seriousness.

Rin tilted her head to one side, trying to comprehend what he was requesting. "Just to get this absolutely clear, I'll say it how I understand it." She paused briefly to try and put the current situation into words. "You want an eight-year-old girl to teach someone you know magecraft rather than just teach them yourself?"

The grave glare remained as he nodded. "I was never taught as a proper magus which means I cannot teach my children anything beyond the most basic of magecraft," he admitted, laying his cards on the table as it were. From a magus' perspective, it was an incredibly stupid move. The only purpose she could see in doing such a thing would be to further authenticate his statement of honesty.

"How basic?" Rin asked, trying to get a grasp on how difficult this would be. Surely a magus who came out of the Holy Grail War victoriously could cast some decent spells, enough to start his own children on the path of magecraft.

"I can create Cleansing Flame and I am decently skilled in reinforcement magic. Beyond that I was briefly trained in runecraft just before the War." He paused to scratch his head. Rin wondered if this was as awkward for him as it was for her. "Without my crest, neither of my children will be able to utilize the Emiya magic."

He was absolutely useless. How could a magus with such little in the way of skills actually win a war designed specifically for first-rate magi? "You didn't secure your crest in one of your children before leaving for the War?" Her father had done just that. Before he left, he had given her a large portion of his crest for her to carry on. "Are you an idiot?" she blurted out, hand coming up to cover her mouth as her eyes widened in surprise.

He laughed at her words. "Some might call me that, yes. I'm unable to properly transfer my crest unto my children for a handful of reasons. My son cannot accept the crest as he was recently adopted into my family, and my daughter is unable to utilize it as she has developed a crest of her own. It's far from fully-fledged but I wouldn't want to try introducing another crest in case there are compatibility issues," the man explained, introducing logic to his decisions.

"I see, so you're rather stuck aren't you?" Rin asked, getting a neutral agreement. There was a long pause as she thought over his request and all the details she had learned. She didn't really have an incredible grasp on magecraft herself, so learning it and teaching others simultaneously would detract from her own ability. On the other hand, if she helped Kiritsugu she could gain an incredible ally with a wealth of information. She would also have two willing participants for any experiment she wanted to conduct. Rin shrugged impassively. "Then I suppose I'll have to help you." The smile that suddenly spread across his face warmed her heart. "But I'm not committing fully to anything yet, I'll give training them a try and see how it goes alright?" she stipulated, trying to leave her end of this contract as open as possible.

"That's perfectly understandable. If you require funding or items for training I will be able to provide those as well. The man reached into an inner pocket of his coat and withdrew a folded piece of paper. "I don't know your schedule but you are welcome to come by when you please." He handed her the piece of paper and she took a moment to open it. There was nothing more than a simple address, most likely the man's home. It was near the very northern edge of Miyama, in essence, as far away from her own home as possible. The Tohsaka manor was on the southern edge of Miyama. Rin supposed she could visit after school seeing as how her school was just north of her house, so the trip wouldn't be as bad.

"I'll see what I can do, you might understand if I say I'm a little busy with recent events," she commented. "While you're here and under an oath of honesty, I'd like to ask a few more questions."

Kiritsugu shrugged. "Shoot."

"What were the identities of the servants involved?" she began.

"King Arthur as Saber, Gilgamesh as Archer, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne as Lancer, Alexander the Great as Rider and the others I was unable to identify. Berserker was some sort of mad knight, Assassin was a skinny man with blackened skin who supposedly died within hours of the official start and Caster wore a red cloak and utilized a reality marble." He explained it all from the top. "I won't explain every detail of the War to you. It's both unnecessary and personal." He squinted his eyes, challenging her to provoke him on the matter.

She wasn't biting. "Then tell me about your adopted son, why would you choose to strike up a family in the middle of a War?"

"I adopted Shirou following the end of the War. One action after another near the end lead to the Great Fire. I found and rescued him and he was the only living survivor I came across." He paused to swallow. "He lost his memories and I decided it was best to offer him a home rather than to leave him for an orphanage."

Rin's eyes softened. "That's very noble of you as well as quite unfortunate for Shirou. I hope he's not too disturbed by the event."

Kiritsugu narrowed his eyes suddenly. "You're very mature for your age, I hadn't expected such a conversation from a little girl."

It was Rin's time to smile now. "Sometimes people aren't what they seem. Besides, you can't always be the unexpected one," she shot back, getting a soft chuckle.

"You might just be right." His eyes flickered to a window outside before his body moved to stand. "It's getting late. You have cleaning to get back to and I really should return home." Rin nodded in silence before following him out to the front door. Respectfully bowing, he left and rapidly blended in with the night.

Rin closed the door and pressed her back against it. She let out a great sigh and closed her eyes. Why did she feel as if teaching magecraft was going to be incredibly frustrating?

… … …

… … …

… … …

"You idiot!" came a shout from the left. Shirou's head whipped around to focus on who had spoken, but the only thing he met was a fist inches from his face.

A loud crack sounded as he was entirely laid out on his back. Reeling, Shirou groaned and lifted a hand to his face. Dabbing his fingers around his nose revealed fresh blood. Feeling around further let him know the punch had broken his nose. Through the dark haze and the whirling stars, shimmering turquoise eyes and raven black hair suddenly draped over his face. Was this an angel come to take him to heaven? Was he dying? At least his escort to the afterlife was a pretty girl. Shirou blinked heavily to try clearing the distortion. No, this wasn't an angel, more like Satan incarnate. A few seconds passed before crimson eyes and white hair also made their appearance.

"Do you always have to hit him so hard?" Illya asked, looking between Rin and her semi-conscious brother. She held a face of sadness, probably because she never liked seeing her brother get hurt. Shirou remembered how mad she was the time he came back home bloody and bruised after protecting Sakura. The purple-haired girl had been getting bullied by some of the bigger kids when Shirou went to play with her. He had taken their attention off her but received a pretty nasty beating because of it. Coincidentally enough that was also the day Illya decided to learn healing magecraft.

"An enemy wouldn't hesitate in striking without mercy," Rin pointed out like a wise old man while she wiped blood from his face with her finger. It had been flowing from his nose and threatened to drip into his eyes. From experience, both of them knew how painful and irritating that was. "I'm actually surprised that punch didn't kill him," she mumbled.

Illya frowned and looked like she was about to give Rin a dose of her own medicine before another voice joined the conversation. "You're absolutely right, Rin," Kiritsugu spoke up from the sidelines. Casually, he threw an already bloodied towel towards the group. "If you don't experience what real blows feel like, you'll grow to be overconfident that attacks won't hurt. Repeated exposure to vicious attacks will also increase your resistance. If you become familiar with pain you can overcome it."

Rin reached for the towel, picking it up and pressing it under Shirou's bleeding nose. "Are you with us in there?" she asked, snapping the fingers on her other hand in front of his eyes a few times.

Weakly, Shirou lifted a hand to the towel to maintain pressure. Slowly he tried to sit up but his muscles weren't fully cooperating. "Mh-hm," he hummed from behind the towel.

"You can't focus on a single target like that. You have to keep your senses open so you can be aware of the entire area." Illya cooed, placing her hands across various parts of his body. Every time she did, a pale green glow washed over his skin. The glow removed bruises and stitched cuts back together. Each spot she touched was as good as new in a few seconds.

"Mh-hm," Shirou replied absently, finally succeeding in sitting up. They had been training since four this afternoon after they had all gotten off school. Kiritsugu had spoken with Aoi to let Rin sleepover. It was more effective to stay the night after having to travel so far. Since they had started training, Shirou had been the main person receiving injuries.

Supposedly these fights were a free-for-all and the main goal was to put the others out of the fight however they could. Illya was using Engel Note and normal magic bullets to defend herself. She wasn't nearly as physically strong as Shirou but her magical power was almost greater than Rin's. Rin was perfectly balanced in terms of physical and magical ability. She had trained in some of the same martial arts Shirou had but her focus was primarily in spellcraft. She was skilled in reinforcement, jewelcraft and a very specific runic curse called Gandr. From what Shirou understood, it was essentially magecraft's own version of a pistol. Rin hardly used it in their training for two simple reasons: it was dangerous, and it had side effects following the end of fights. Those struck got incredibly sick for the next few days. When Rin decided to use the spell in training, its power was decreased significantly to the point where it was almost worthless.

Shirou, on the other hand, was entirely focused on the physical. It wasn't as if this specialization was intentional. He had done his best to get into everything he possibly could. At school, he was in junior kendo and archery. The Homurahara Academy clubs had already expressed their interest in his joining when he was old enough. Outside of school and official clubs, Shirou had learned martial arts with several trainers. Kiritsugu had taught him what he knew, including basic combat with knives. Reikan, Fuji-nee's friend, had taken over after. The very first day Shirou had come to the crashing realization that Kiritsugu's style of fighting was vastly different to a professional's. Kiritsugu reacted to each movement and simply moved naturally to counter the attacks. Reikan took advantage of a single misstep and piled on follow-up strikes. It was as Reikan was planning six moves ahead in chess while Kiritsugu still thought they were playing checkers. Once Shirou learned all he could from Reikan, he would have to move on to other mentors to continue advancing his ability. It would be preferable if the teacher was also a magus. That way Shirou could use reinforcement like he would in a real fight.

The old man had also taught Shirou how to fire guns and had even given him two pistols. They had custom grips with designs of black roses and pearls. A simple tracing revealed the grips were recent additions compared to the rest of the gun. Engraved on the grips was a name Shirou had never seen before, "Maiya", in beautiful golden cursive. When Kiritsugu had been asked who Maiya was, he had simply responded that she was someone important and that they had helped him understand things better. Unfortunately, Shirou couldn't keep the guns. He had just been shown them, but he would get them back to keep when he was older.

As for Shirou's ability in magecraft, it was almost nonexistent. Rin had done her best teaching him but he never seemed to understand or get everything right. The best he had done was in reinforcement, which he oddly excelled in. Rin had called reinforcement a useless branch of magecraft but Shirou could see potential in it. Reinforcement didn't just mean making something harder or sharper, it could mean making something more potent or effective. Water would provide a greater level of hydration, food would be more nutritious or tasty and plants could be reinforced to grow faster. Since Shirou was good at it, he decided to work on it in his spare time outside of Rin's training. He had tried to keep to a schedule of practicing every night since Kiritsugu had stuck it in his head that discipline in a craft was of absolute importance.

Illya was a self-proclaimed prodigy. Whenever Rin taught them something new or discovered a new spell, Illya mastered it after watching Rin cast it a single time. If Rin didn't show her, however, she couldn't seem to understand how the spell worked. Shirou just thought Illya was a visual learner, but when Rin tested her knowledge of magecraft fundamentals she hadn't known a single thing. Shirou had been able to answer Rin's questions but Illya just guessed.

Rin was always so mad after seeing Illya master spells that had taken weeks just to understand the fundamentals for when the albino didn't know a single thing about magecraft processes. A few days ago Rin had boasted about how she had extensive reservoirs of mana and explained how she could easily defeat Illya in a battle of endurance. Shirou thought she did it just to feel better about herself. Illya had argued that Rin was wrong and a full-scale battle had almost ensued. To settle things before the two destroyed the backyard, Kiritsugu pointed out that he could run a simple test on the two to determine their magical potential.

Rin had forty natural circuits and with her father's completed crest she had a total of one hundred and thirty. Each circuit was capable of outputting fifteen units of magical energy which meant she could output nearly two thousand units in a single burst. Kiritsugu had said it was a mind-boggling number for someone her age and that it would continue to grow as she got older. Her circuits would develop further and their capacity would increase. Shirou was almost nothing compared to Rin. He only had twenty-seven circuits and they were very low quality. Each one could barely handle ten units of energy which capped his output at around three hundred. Rin had been confident and full of herself until the old man looked at Illya's circuits. Doing his best not to laugh, he revealed his daughter had over three hundred natural circuits and her crest wasn't even fully developed yet. They weren't quite as high in quality as Rin's, but the sheer number alone had her beat.

Illya then sent power through every circuit she had to reveal bright red lines that ran across her entire body. Kiritsugu commented that Illya was rather balanced on account of having poor regeneration. This meant she acted more like a high capacity battery than an efficient factory like Rin. With this new information, the two decided that they were about equal and left the argument there. Illya had reserves while Rin had constant replenishment. They had both left out the fact that Shirou was an absolute lost cause who wasn't even comparable to either of them. Not only were his reserves and generation poor, he couldn't cast spells if his life depended on it. Unfortunately with Rin Tohsaka as a teacher, sometimes it did. At least he could reinforce better than his mentor, he had that saving grace.

Shirou pulled the towel from his face and touched under his nose. His bleeding had stopped and the swirling in his head had subsided. "Nice reinforcement, Tohsaka. I hope my face didn't hurt your hand too much," he said with a weak smile.

Rin's eyes widened before blinking several times. Blood rushed to her cheeks and she turned away. "Of course not. Next time I'll make sure my punch knocks you out." She huffed, standing and walking some distance away.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright?" Illya asked, pressing her hand to his face awkwardly to set his nose through magecraft. "This will make the fourth time you've lost, aren't you tired?" There was a disgusting crack as the cartilage and bone settled into its rightful place.

Shirou stood up after Illya was done. He wobbled on his feet and gave his head a shake. Blinking a few times to clear his eyes, Shirou smirked. "I'm fine. The old man, Reikan and Fuji-nee have put me through a lot worse," he assured her. Testing his muscles, he flexed his arms and legs before rotating both shoulders. Everything seemed to work properly, at least for now.

This fight he would win for sure. He didn't want to hurt the girls, but he could make them surrender if he put some effort into this next bout. Or he could knock them out with single strikes. While Illya walked to her own starting position, he began taking deep breaths.

The boy closed his eyes and looked inside himself. Not so deep as to see the golden light shining in his core but enough to see his body and its inner workings. He focused on his muscles and began channelling Od. He clenched his eyes tighter as searing pain stabbed through his body like a hot blade.

He didn't know why magecraft always hurt to cast, but he was too afraid to ask Rin since he didn't want to be yelled at…any more than he already was. With mana flowing through him, Shirou directed its flow to fill up the empty space between his flesh. This was simple self-reinforcement, filling the empty pore space with mana to make a harder structure and increasing its efficiency. In this way, one might think objects with greater porosity would make better materials for reinforcement. However, that wasn't the case. Objects with extreme porosity become dangerously unstable upon being reinforced to capacity. Sponges and bones were good examples of porous objects. Mana becomes unstable when compacted upon itself and as a consequence, it tends to explode violently without warning. Skin and muscle were great materials to reinforce because one often had an incredibly detailed view of their own body and the pore space was perfect for filling. Shirou wasn't going to reinforce his bones for a simple spar and besides that, he didn't feel like exploding from the inside out.

Shirou opened his eyes upon finishing his reinforcement. Clenching both hands into fists, he moved into a familiar combat stance with his eyes darting between the two girls.

It had been around four years since Rin started training them both. In that time, Rin and Shirou had grown much taller and matured greatly over the years. Illya had stayed identical. She might have grown an inch and her face might have become a tad more angular but she was still just Illya. When he told people Illya was, in fact, two years older than Shirou and Rin, they were shocked and refused to believe it.

Rin cast a glance between the two of them and nodded as a signal to begin. Shirou took a brief second to look towards Kiritsugu sitting on the edge of the engawa. He was sipping tea as he watched his children train. The first year he had effectively given them a break. Illya and Shirou had trained in magecraft with Rin, sure, but there had been no physical element to their training. Once Shirou turned nine, Kiritsugu had practically forced him to join everything he deemed "advantageous to combat ability".

"Shirou!" Illya's voice came to his ears. Turning back he was met with a familiar sight - Rin's incoming fist.

If he hadn't reinforced his muscles he would have found himself in an identical position to last time. Since he had reinforced his body this time, he was able to duck beneath her fist towards her outside shoulder. Moving around the smaller girl as she tried to re-adjust, both his arms snaked around her waist.

Blowing out a breath as he squeezed her abdomen, Rin suddenly found herself airborne as Shirou suplexed her onto the hard - albeit grass covered - ground below. With a whump, Rin made a noise of pain then fell silent.

She had actually struck her head and been knocked out entirely from the unexpected move. Shirou frowned and cursed himself for hurting her, but at least he had taken one of his enemies out of the fight. Now it was just Illya - but could he really hurt his little sister?

Standing up, he took a second to brush the dust off his back. That was when a magic bullet decided to singe some of the hairs on his head. Looking up at her sister, he found her to be smiling devilishly. "Angry about losing so many times, big brother?" she asked casually. Three small versions of Storch Ritter fluttered in front of her ominously, making strange crystalline tweets. "You wouldn't hurt your poor little sister, would you? Just give up so I don't have to heal you anymore."

Shirou wished he had weapons as easy to create as Illya's. Being able to create whatever weapon he wanted on command would be amazing. All she needed were hairs and she definitely had plenty of those. Shirou just had his fists and he couldn't use a bow in spars. His kendo stick might work, but he wasn't allowed to bring it home from school yet. Taiga had just let him borrow her old one whenever they fought at home and he didn't want to break one of her weapons. If Shirou had to choose between an angry Rin and an angry Taiga, he would choose Rin every time.

In the midst of lamenting, a blade landed on the ground beside him. Shirou realized it was the old man's blade. Kiritsugu had one on him at all times for reasons Shirou felt were better left unexplained. Rin had told him about his father's other name a couple years ago. It never changed Shirou's opinion on his father, but it certainly made him curious about the Magus Killer's bloody past.

Reaching down and rolling forward in the same motion, Shirou simultaneously recovered the blade and avoided three incoming magic bullets. With the blade in his hand, Shirou mumbled his practiced aria under his breath. "Trace on." It began, activating his circuits and causing searing pain to shoot through his body. He continued, already having a specific purpose for this blade. "Examining basic structure." He sidestepped to avoid another magic bullet. One avian construct dove too low and a quick thrust upward put the knife into its trajectory. A grinding noise sounded as the blade sliced off one wing of the bird. With a shattering noise like breaking glass, the construct fell apart. In Shirou's mind, a wireframe of Kiritsugu's blade appeared, gently rotating as if it were some special artifact.

"Brother?" Illya asked nervously, taking a step back as she looked into his cool eyes.

"Examining and minimizing flaws," came the third line and with it, material to fill in the wireframe. If this plan were to work, he needed to perform an alteration to the knife as well. He would need to manipulate its entire design to pull off the right effect. "Supplementing ideal design." The design pictured in his mind merged with the original design of the weapon. The two schematics melded together to match the traced materials to the proposed design. Shirou got careless in his movements and a magic bullet struck him in the hip. It disrupted his movements forward and left a burning, aching pain but it was nothing he couldn't fight through.

"Aim for the limbs, disabling motion is better than wounding center-mass!" Kiritsugu called out the suggestion to his daughter. Let it be known that the old man definitely did not pick favourites.

"Executing alterations." With the fifth line completed, his alteration could be pulled off. It was being performed much faster than he was used to but the alteration wasn't very complex in the first place. The two remaining birds held their positions as they prepared to fire more magic bullets along with their master - this was the perfect situation.

Gripping the knife tight, Shirou moved the design from his mind into the physical blade in his hand. Golden sparks crackled from the surface of the blade as the entire shape changed to fit Shirou's mental image. It wasn't a simple bayonet knife any longer, now it was a wickedly curved weapon of strange design. It almost looked like a boomerang.

Shirou stopped running and planted his feet. His arm cocked back and with considerable force, he whipped the blade towards the nearest bird. A satisfying cutting noise sounded as it bisected the construct horizontally. His alteration was successful as the weapon arced towards the final avian automaton and shattered that one as well.

Without constructs to protect her, Illya was rather defenceless. Magical bullets could only do so much and with the small distance between the two, it was unlikely she could even break Kiritsugu's altered blade. Shirou extended his right hand as the blade returned to him, the handle landing comfortably in his open palm.

Illya seemed to cower under the harsh glare he was giving her, looking at him with an unfamiliarity like he was a different person. "I - I give up, you win!" she shouted, collapsing on her knees. From behind, Kiritsugu sighed.

"You can't get scared in situations like these, Illya. You could have used your magical bullets or delayed Shirou with a wall of flame while you prepared another wave of Engel Note constructs. Shirou may be strong physically but your ability to quickly fire off spells can keep him at range for a considerable amount of time." There was a light noise of clattering china as he set his cup down. It was followed by a grunt as he stood and stretched. "Good use of alteration, Shirou. Next time leave the dramatic pause and pose out of the spar. We're doing this to prepare all of you for real combat. I know you don't want to hurt your sister but imagine her as an enemy that wants to kill you."

He strode past Shirou after giving his hair a ruffle. He neared Illya and held one arm over her head. In response, she gripped his forearm and he easily lifted her back to her feet. "I think that's enough for today, Shirou why don't you go get cleaned up and start on dinner? After that, you can trace a gift I got for you."

The boy in question looked down at himself. The top half of his shirt was stained with his own blood and sweat. He was an absolute mess, but at least he had won once in training. He could rub that in Rin's face when she woke up.

As the adrenaline from the fighting wore off, Shirou rapidly realized his body was much sorer than he had thought. Halfway to the house, he gained a limp and the right side of his body wasn't cooperating with his brain fully. Most of that had probably been from Rin's Gandr, it looked like there would have to be a break in training while he recovered. Taking some extra time to move, Shirou eventually stumbled into the bathroom and prepared to bathe.

… … …

In a little while, Shirou was in the kitchen pulling items from the fridge and cupboards to begin cooking. Rin, Illya and Kiritsugu were sitting at the dining table holding conversation as the evening news gently filled the blank space. Shirou couldn't really listen as he was incredibly busy with fixing dinner. Turning on the oven, Shirou mixed sauces and prepped what he could with a sharp knife. If she was going to show up at all, Fuji-nee would likely arrive soon which meant he would need to feed five people. Just in case, he would make enough for at least six. Usually, someone was extra hungry and took on another serving so there were never any left overs.

As if on cue, the doorbell sounded. "Illya could you go get the door?" Kiritsugu asked, eliciting an enthusiastic agreement as she hopped off into the hall.

"So could I get the insider hint on what you're giving Shirou?" Rin whispered, believing Shirou couldn't hear them. What neither of them knew was that he always listened, or at least he tried to listen anyway. His ears were quite sharp when he wanted them to be.

With his back to the table, Shirou heard a shuffling. It was probably Kiritsugu looking to see if his son was paying attention. Even though he was old, he was still ridiculously sharp. Shirou did his best to look as natural as possible. Quieter than the girl, he spoke. "I think we have an eavesdropper." He chuckled. Rin joined in with a giggle before taking a drink of her water.

"Shirou!" came a call from the front of the house. It was Illya, this wasn't going to be good, was it? "Your girlfriend is here!"

There were several noises at once. The clatter of a dish as Shirou dropped it into the sink, the noise of someone spitting out their drink and a loud snort from someone seeing through the tease. Shirou thought he heard a squeaking noise coming from the front of the house.

"You have a girlfriend?" Rin blurted out, rapidly realizing what she had just asked. "I - uh - well, how did you meet?" She decided on digging her hole deeper than it already was. The door to the kitchen slid open and Illya tugged someone into view. Taking a second to look, Shirou spotted Sakura who had bright burning cheeks. Looking further back, Shirou noticed Rin's face was in the same state.

"She's here~!" Illya sang as she stepped back into the dining room. "Give your boyfriend a big kiss hello, Sakura!" Illya teased, sending her father into a bout of laughter.

"Illya don't tease them too much. Let Shirou finish cooking first." Kiritsugu laughed, motioning for her to sit down before she got too excited.

"I don't have any girlfriends," Shirou mumbled to himself in defence. He faced forward to focus on his cooking while blood rushed to his cheeks. How could he have a girlfriend? He only spoke to two girls besides his sister and they were both just friends. Rin and Sakura were good looking, but he didn't think they were attracted to him - or that he deserved anything in that sense in the first place.

He blinked as the water near him began to boil. He could start actually getting things ready now.

… … …

Shirou rolled out several large dishes of various foods. Fried pork belly, xiaolongbao, fried rice, char siu, mapo tofu and various vegetable plates with a light miso soup to warm everyone up. The soup was served first while Shirou settled the other dishes on the table. Years back, Kiritsugu had bought Shirou cases of recipe books. The old man had seen how much he enjoyed cooking and decided to offer a few gifts. It broadened Shirou's culinary repertoire greatly and allowed him to make meals from almost every culture. He was still fuzzy on some strange European and American meals but he had most of Asia down.

Once everything was placed, Shirou removed his apron and settled opposite his father at one head of the table. He carefully filled his plate with what he wanted before looking around the table. If the TV hadn't been on, he reckoned the sound of chewing would be suffocatingly loud. "Well, since nobody is talking I'll take it I did a good job?" he asked, getting various agreements from his guests.

"I should have started staying over for the food a long time ago," Rin mumbled through bites, missing the glare she received from Sakura across the table. "Even if you fail as a magus I'd be more than willing to hire you as a personal chef." Kiritsugu snorted in amusement.

"Senpai has always been a good cook," Sakura added sheepishly. "Even when he was just starting out his meals were amazing." Her head was down as she spoke as if she were ashamed to say anything at all.

"Shirou just suddenly learned how to cook this well out of thin air?" Rin asked with some amazement. "Are you sure you're bad at magecraft or are you just toying with me?" She pointed her chopsticks at the boy accusingly.

Shirou paled, holding up one hand in surrender as he tried to look as passive as possible. "Nope, still terrible at magic. Please don't throw me to the wolves in the forest again," Shirou pleaded, remembering the last time Rin had thought he was holding out on her.

Sakura lifted her head and looked at Rin with a considerable shock. Illya noticed and chimed in. "Uh-oh, Rin." She leaned towards the Tohsaka and held one hand in front of her mouth as if it would silence her words. She still spoke loud enough for everyone to hear of course. "Looks like that upset Shirou's girlfriend." She giggled, laughing harder as both girls turned a lovely shade of pink.

Shirou looked towards his father who only offered a mischievous smile. It seemed like he knew something Shirou didn't, and it made him feel strange. Was he missing something the old man could see?

"Shirou learned to cook all by himself and he used me as a test for all his food experiments," Illya continued, speaking with pride.

"That explains all the extra weight you've gained," Kiritsugu teased, getting a laugh from the table at her expense. It broke the strange tension that had been growing. Kiritsugu was always good at doing those little things that Shirou couldn't.

Just as Ilya was about to whine, the front door slammed open and closed. "That'll be Fuji-nee. She's rather late actually," Shirou commented, munching on a piece of eggplant. On one hand, he counted with his fingers. One - two - three and the dining room door slid open.

"I could smell your cooking from three blocks away!" she shouted, practically leaping over the table to sit down and begin filling her plate. Oddly enough, nobody seemed to mind the sudden intrusion. It was almost like this had become a daily occurrence. For most of the people at the table, it had.

Eating meals in a large group like this had become anything but uncommon. Fuji-nee always dropped by for free food, that had started right after discovering his talent for cooking. Rin had started staying for dinner only a few months ago. After being convinced by Shirou, she reluctantly stuck around. Her entire disposition changed after she ate the first time. She actually wanted to come for dinner the next day and everything fell into place from there. Since Rin had always stuck around outside to continue training Illya, she had always thought Kiritsugu had done all the cooking. Secretly, the Emiya family thought it was funny to lead the Tohsaka along into this way of thinking. The day she found out Shirou had been the true chef was also the day Shirou had had to "train" his resistance to magic by receiving dozens of Gandr shots.

Sakura began visiting two years ago. Kiritsugu had always taken on a sad smile and the two shared little glances between another when they thought nobody was looking. Over time the level of sadness in the old man's features had faded away. On her first visit, Kiritsugu had informed Shirou and Illya that Sakura was a magus as well. Or that she knew of magecraft anyway. Sakura had seemed upset over being revealed like that, but Kiritsugu had explained his reasoning. According to him it was better if they were all on the same level. He didn't want anybody to be walking on eggshells around another and that seemed to placate the girl. After that, Sakura came around every couple days and occasionally prepared meals in Shirou's stead. She was discovered to be much more experienced with traditional Japanese meals than Shirou, so the quality of meals were about the same. This kitchen-sharing program wasn't something agreed upon, it was actually forced. Shirou had tried to convince Sakura to let him cook but she wasn't having any of it. According to her he "worked too hard" and "needed to take breaks".

Shirou thought the opposite and so did the old man. He was always trying to work harder and push himself to be better, he had to. If it made Kiritsugu happy then Shirou was prepared to push himself past his own limits and beyond. Pain was temporary and skin grew back so if that was all Shirou had to offer to get Kiritsugu to smile, it was worth it.

The rest of dinner was filled with idle chat. The adults brought up topics while the children filled in the blanks or added their own input, sometimes skewing off in tangents before starting all over again when Taiga or Kiritsugu moved onto something new. It was a fluid dynamic that sustained a pleasant atmosphere full of laughter. With good food and better friends, even the dullest day could be made enjoyable. Even Rin and Sakura - who always seemed to be avoiding one another - spoke and had a pleasant conversation.

As the night drew on, Taiga eventually said her thanks and left with a full stomach. From what Shirou picked up, she had to study for upcoming exams and couldn't stay any longer. Taiga was taking courses to become a teacher at Homurahara Academy. If everything went well, she would be teaching there in another two years. It meant Shirou would have to deal with her as his teacher and that meant he'd have to make lunches for her, otherwise, she would steal his.

With Taiga gone, the conversations were more relaxed and sombre. Shirou found out how school was going for the two girls and discovered they were both excited for high school. Sakura specifically said she wanted to join the archery club as soon as she could. Since she was younger than him, she would have to wait an extra year to get her wish.

Sakura left around nine, fighting everyone who said she shouldn't go alone. Shirou asked if she could stay over just to be safe but apparently, she was needed at home. Shirou didn't like her walking all that way alone but there wasn't much he could do.

Rin decided to go to bed early around ten after helping Shirou clean up dinner. When they had been alone in the kitchen she'd complimented his tactics in the last spar. This nice side didn't last since she followed it up with "but I'll get you back next time" which left him feeling uneasy. She was going to amp up her Gandr, wasn't she?

When everything had been cleaned up and most of the house had gone to sleep, Kiritsugu invited Shirou out to the yard to keep him company over a cup of tea. The two of them hardly had any time alone so a moment to sit, relax and talk in private was more than welcomed. Shirou knew Kiritsugu better than most, so while he made a cup of tea for himself, Shirou also brought out a cup of coffee for the old man.

Walking through the engawa to the backyard, Shirou found said old man sitting right where he had watched the training mere hours ago. He was looking up at the stars and the full moon looming above. Just a cursory glance revealed the constellations Taurus and Orion. Ursa Minor and Major were visible as well, but they were quite common. Settling down beside his father, Shirou offered the cup of coffee which was graciously sipped.

There was a long period of silence where the two were just content looking at the stars. This side of Fuyuki was dimly lit compared to the Shinto area, which meant stars could really make themselves known. It made Shirou sad whenever light pollution hid the beauty of space. The twinkling stars were inspiring but depressing at the same time. They were pretty, but they also represented how small Earth was - how insignificant everyone really was in the grand scheme of things.

"I've never told you why you've been training so hard." Kiritsugu suddenly spoke without warning, taking another drink of his coffee.

"I thought it was just because you wanted me to be a good person and because I had to protect Illya." Shirou shrugged. If he were being honest, he hadn't really thought about his father's methods all that much. If he was stronger, he could protect people and defend them from powerful evil people. At least that was what he believed, Kiritsugu had made it clear in his training that saving a "good" person from an "evil" person was subjective. Sometimes, those perceived to be "evil" were actually doing good things. Immediately, Shirou thought of Kiritsugu himself. To most, he was known as the Magus Killer, but if he could settle down and raise a family could he really be that bad? Perhaps his actions were just misunderstood. One of these days when he was older he would have to have a chat with the old man.

"I want both of those things from you, but there's another reason beyond that. Four years ago, before you were adopted, I was involved in a War." Shirou focused on the old man's face. He was looking toward the stars distantly as if he were remembering something he would rather forget. "It was a War between magi fighting for an artifact that could grant any wish the victor had. I won, but it had been revealed to me that this artifact, the Holy Grail, was a lie. No matter who used it, no matter what sort of wish was asked of it, the result would be the same: unfathomable suffering." He paused to take a drink, looking down into the cup now.

"Is that what caused the Great Fire? Your wish?" Shirou wisely put two and two together.

"Not exactly. I could stay here all night and explain to you the entire workings of the Grail and the War, but there's a much faster way. I've watched you develop your own form of reinforcement magic. You've created your own aria for the process, right?" he asked, turning to look at Shirou directly. The black eyes of his father were slightly glazed. The emotion held within choked the boy up. He had never seen such a gaze from the old man before. "You call it tracing."

"Y-yeah," he managed to croak out.

"That's good, you'll need that," Kiritsugu responded immediately, reaching to his side to reveal a black leather book. The front facing was incredibly detailed with intricate engravings in the material. They were strange almost arcane shapes that gave the book an eerie visage. Shirou was rather suddenly faced with the scent of leather and rich wine. Where the wine smell came from was anyone's guess. "If you trace this book, you will understand what I mean. Your tracing allows you to see the history of objects and the thoughts of the creator. Not only will you be able to extract the knowledge held in the journal, but you'll also be able to see the thoughts I had at the time of writing." Kiritsugu explained, handing his son the book.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Shirou asked after a moment, taking the book in his hands.

"I have no idea, but if I tried to tell the story and explain myself, we'd be here past sunrise around the halfway point. Knowing me, I'd forget something as well." Kiritsugu chuckled, returning his gaze to the stars. "I never wrote my wish in that book." The old man took another sip. "I wanted to be a hero, to save everyone by putting an end to all conflict. I failed, but with all I've learned I've come to understand that you will succeed in my place."

Shirou's eyes widened. He would become a hero? Someone who would save people? "A hero?" he asked, testing the words with his own mouth. It was interesting to hear himself say it on account of the fact that he didn't believe it. "Why can't we both be heroes - together?" he asked, scrunching up his face. "You're not that old, yet."

His father laughed. "I'm pretty sure my time for this Grail War stuff has come and gone. It's not like I'm dying so you don't have to worry about that, but I have the feeling my role won't be as great as yours. I'll do my best to prepare you, but you should know how great a responsibility this is." He paused, looking around as if he expected to find someone listening in. "Rin believes the next Grail War will take place fifty-six years from now, but I know it will start in no more than six. I also know you, Rin and Illya will all be involved in it," he whispered, eyes looking grim. By his tone, this was something Shirou knew to keep as a secret.

Shirou fell quiet as he digested this information. Only he and the old man knew of this. It was likely all written in the black book held in his own two hands. The sight of this journal worried Shirou. What would he discover from tracing it? How would it affect him? Depending on where the old man started writing from, this could actually overload his brain with data and kill him. If he had stuffed it with years worth of material, the mass inflow of memories and details would short every circuit Shirou had. He gently closed his eyes and began to breathe deeply. Looking inside himself he found his magic circuits and ran a quick check to make sure everything was in order. With his enhanced ability in reinforcement, Kiritsugu had been able to teach him how to visualize his own circuits as well as the circuits of others. With it, Rin had elevated his status as former "poster-reinforcer" to the very prestigious "circuit-tester". Apparently, he was only useful to test their magical strength like an inanimate instrument. Shirou counted up his circuits, all thirty-four of them wer- wait, thirty-four? He had twenty-seven a few days ago, how had he gained seven new circuits?

"Kiritsugu, why do I have more circuits than usual?" Shirou asked with his face scrunched in concern. Rin had taught him that a magus' circuits were hereditary, passed down and unchanging. Unless a magus had taken on a family crest, the number would always be the same from birth.

The old man stopped mid-drink to look at his son as if he had gone mad. "That's impossible, you can't acquire more circuits," he began, placing a hand on Shirou's shoulder. He scrunched his face in concentration before suddenly looking just as confused as the boy. "You have thirty-four circuits," he stated, face shifting harder as if he were struggling with something. "Twenty-seven of them are the normal ones I counted the first time but the rest of these are…new?" He paused, humming in frustration. "There's something else wrong here. You utilized magecraft earlier today in your spar with Rin and Illya, correct?"

Shirou nodded. "I used it a couple times. I reinforced my body and altered the blade you gave me."

Kiritsugu hummed, taking the book gently from his son's hands to replace it with a cup of tea. "Reinforce this cup so it won't break when dropped," Kiritsugu ordered, keeping one hand on Shirou's shoulder.

He did as asked, starting his aria with the normal "Trace on". The stabbing shot of pain coursed through his body. How could Rin and Illya make magecraft look so painless if they had to go through this every time they cast a spell?

"Stop," Kiritsugu ordered as soon as Shirou finished speaking. "Thirty-eight." He stated, removing his hand. "Your body tensed when you started, any reason why?" he asked, glaring into his son's eyes accusingly.

"Yeah, of course. It hurts to use magecraft but I've gotten used to it after a while." The face of pure confusion the old man gave him was a bad sign.

"Shirou your original twenty-seven circuits seem unused, even those seven new ones weren't utilized when you started that reinforcement. How are you accessing your magic circuits?" Kiritsugu asked. This was rapidly becoming more like one of Rin's tests with each question.

"I look inside my mind and focus on a point. Then I just start the spell and try to concentrate on what I want to do." Shirou tried to explain his process. It was incredibly hard since the words just weren't there. How he could explain something he didn't fully understand? He just looked within himself, began the casting process and it worked.

"There's no activation? You don't turn on a switch or imagine something happening to activate your circuits?" Kiritsugu grilled, looking dead serious.

Shirou shook his head. "No, never. I've never turned on a switch or anything, I've just started casting and it's always worked," he responded, getting a harsh sigh from his father.

"Then you've been using magecraft wrongly this entire time. I'm surprised Rin hadn't noticed this before me but knowing how stubborn you are, you likely didn't want to bother her." Shirou felt ashamed, his father had gotten the situation right on the nose. "You've been converting your body's nerves into makeshift magic circuits. You're lucky you haven't killed yourself considering magi who've tried to do what you've done eight times now have about a fifty percent mortality rate," Kiritsugu explained, getting a paling glance from his son. "Just don't cast spells like that anymore." The old man reached up to his robe-clad chest and grasped at the air before looking down as if he was missing something. "Shirou, could you go to my room and grab my coat for me? You know the one."

Shirou was confused as to why but he figured it was probably for good reason. Getting up, Shirou left to retrieve the large black trench coat which had come to appear familiar on his father's shoulders. Every time he held it, Shirou marvelled at how heavy it was and how light the old man made it seem.

Returning, Shirou wrapped the coat around his father's shoulders before settling back into place beside him. When Shirou looked again, there was a gun in his hands. "Where did you pull that from?" he asked, surprised at the sudden appearance.

His father paid him no mind, pulling on the piece of metal near the trigger which seemed to break the weapon in half. Gleaming in the night was the brass plating of a bullet. Shirou was surprised to watch his father handle the weapon with the casual nature of doing laundry. He removed the bullet and snapped his wrist upwards to close the weapon back up. Shirou noticed something strange about the bullet itself. Rather than a copper tip, it was off-white, an ivory colour.

"I'm going to give you an image to help with the process of your spellcasting. I'd like for you to picture this as you look to start channelling mana," Kiritsugu explained, lifting the now empty gun towards the shed in the backyard. The moonlight glinted off the surface of the weapon.

It was rather beautiful even if it was intended to cause death. Beautifully engraved metal for the receiver with stained wood for the main stock. It had been an item of loving creation at one point. Shirou watched his father with interest as his face settled into a cold gaze. It was the first time Shirou had ever seen such a glare from his father and it sent chills down his spine. Did he also look like that when he fired guns or used bows?

Kiritsugu's finger squeezed the trigger and a loud click echoed through the backyard as the hammer slammed into the firing pin. At that moment Shirou realized what his father had meant. Shirou had to imagine something activating to convince his circuits to go along. It didn't matter what he imagined, he just needed to visualize something to turn his circuits on at the same time.

Shirou set his hands on the floor of the house and closed his eyes. In his mind, he saw the back of the gun. He imagined the hammer coming down to strike the pin and as the two made contact, an explosion from the bullet within. All at once, his body flooded with a sense of power he had never felt before. The darkness of his mind came alight with the image of glowing green circuitry. He felt as if he had tapped into a reservoir of endless power. Feeling confident, Shirou used this sudden abundant source of mana to trace the entire house.

Similar to echolocation, a pulse echoed from his hands to move throughout the entire structure. A wireframe of the entire area came alive in his mind, rapidly filling with the building's true materials. He saw the kitchen and dining room, he could see himself and Kiritsugu sitting on the edge near the backyard. He could even see Rin and Illya sleeping in their rooms. Everything was recorded, everything was logged for future use. A pipe underneath the sink in the bathroom was improperly connected and might burst in the winter, the oven in the kitchen was going to blow a burner in a few days and a couple of the wooden floorboards needed replacing.

Shirou opened his eyes and smiled with pride. He lifted his hands from the house and the recreated model in his mind disappeared. He could access it at any time, but he needed his head clear for the next task. Carefully, both hands wrapped around the book his father had given him. "Trace on," he spoke defiantly.

Then something snapped. As the data began to stream into his mind, the circuitry in his body crackled and snapped. The pleasing green suddenly turned into an eerie red. The lines began to cross and more interference distorted his mind.

He had already begun tracing which meant data was continuously streaming from the book into his mind. Shirou grit his teeth, trying to keep the pain from overwhelming him. He could do this, he had been training for so long, a stupid book wouldn't kill him.

But it was a losing battle. His body began convulsing and blood vessels within his nose and ears popped. He was trying to brute force mana through his circuitry to try correcting it but that was only doing more damage than good.

His body started convulsing, muscles being triggered by the overwhelming tide of data flooded his mind and sent his neurons into a state of self-destruction. Years of memories and experiences were compressed into seconds. This was going to kill him, wasn't it? He was going to be killed by a book. Rin would laugh and call him a useless magus at his funeral.

He fell onto his back as a seizure took over his body. He couldn't let go of the book since it was being death-gripped by his hands at the moment. Kiritsugu shouted his name and moved to look into his eyes. There was panic in his face, he was worried about his son. Shirou couldn't even speak as his vision collapsed around the edges. His consciousness faded when it reached the point of a pinprick.

Was he going to die here? Was his father's journal going to kill him? He had so much left to do and who would protect Illya?


Something some of you may have noticed is the near 20k words in this chapter. As of late, I've just decided to throw arbitrary limits on chapters out the window. Whenever I feel a stopping point has been reached, the chapter will close. It's unlikely any chapter will ever be under 10k.

Even though I've decided to take up a new project, the speed of chapter additions to Fate: Unbalanced Scales won't be altered. Since I'm working alongside the schedule of someone else, I can write up the new project while I wait for my beta to get at the next chapter. As of writing, Chapter 10 is around 10k words so it should be finished up. Depending on the speed of my wonderful beta, I predict the next chapter to be posted in a week or so.

Remember to favourite and follow if you enjoy it. Leave a review and tell me how you think the story is going so far and if you think Shirou is better paired with Rin or Sakura. (No arguments please!) {Your reviews may influence the decisions of the next chapter, so choose wisely!}