Chapter 4: Altered Scenario (published 05.22.2012 – beta: none)

The hills surrounding the town of Hinata were renowned for their hot springs and as such they were a heavily frequented touristic location. The paths and trails were illuminated even at night and relatively sure to walk at every hour, but there were also so many of them that chances of running into someone at that hour were pretty slim.

He didn't need to go that far, but he preferred to be sure no one was following him anymore. The girls from the Hinata-sou had apparently trailed him out of personal interest but they could have been used as a decoy.

Half an hour of walking through deserted streets reassured him that nobody was out to get him.

After a few twist and turns he reached a small wooden patio built on the side of the hill and overlooking the entire town.

Shirou could understand why Hinata city was so appreciated by the hot springs lovers. It was a beautiful location, caught in between the past and the present. It was a relatively big town yet not cut away from the wonders of nature. Regardless of his reasons to be there, Shirou was glad to have visited such a place.

He was brought out of his musing by a presence getting closer at a leisurely slow pace. He would have turned around, but by the look of things it would have been a pointless effort. There was nothing to see. There was nothing that could be seen.

"Beautiful sight, isn't it?" He asked aloud once the invisible presence was right beside him. "I wish that Sakura and the others could see it too."

A mystical sound was heard and a figure clad in revealing and tight fitting clothes appeared from thin air.

The light of the moon cast over her revealed an ethereal beauty that Shirou could never grew accustomed to. Even after years of knowing her it was still difficult for him to ignore her astonishing appearance and focus on her eyes. It didn't help the fact that when she wore her most revealing clothes her square shaped pupils were hidden from sight.

The blindfolded woman was a sight that overshadowed the beauty of the nature around her.

"I think she would love it too," the soft spoken Servant said. He composed and reserved demeanor was in deep contrast with her revealing outfit. Shirou was more than glad to have something to look at that wasn't in her direction. Even though she was blindfolded she could always tell when his eyes strayed.

She never openly pointed it out, but she definitely knew. He was sure about it, because every time his gaze lingered were it shouldn't have she made a point of twisting her body to show just a little tidbit more, enough to make him conscious about it and turn his head away in embarrassment.

He was also fairly sure that she was getting her fun out of it.

What was even more difficult to believe was his inability to get in such a situation without blushing or stuttering. He had lived under the same roof as her for an entire year and several months in the following four years. He had seen much more than what she revealed with her battle outfit but was still affected like that. He really was a sucker for women beauty.

"Thanks for coming, Rider," he finally said after a long moment of pause. "And sorry for bothering you with this. I know you wouldn't leave Sakura's side if you could help it."

"My loyalty to Sakura is paramount," she confirmed, "but if you think that helping you is a chore for me, than you're dumber than I gave you credit for. Besides, keeping you safe is what Sakura asked me to do."

"You make it sound like I need a minder all the time," Shirou chuckled.

"Yes. That is exactly what I mean," Rider confirmed without the slightest tinge of humor in her voice.

"Urgh," Shirou groaned. "I thought that I became a little more capable in the past few years."

"You have. You're leaps and bound stronger than you were back then, but you still have the propensity to jump in a situation head first without a care for your own life when someone else's is at risk, and while we consider it your most endearing trait, it is also the source of our worries.

"Ergh," he mumbled not having a single word to counter her argument. "Sorry to bother you."

"it's not a bother," she repeated. "but please do remember that there are people that care and worry about you."

"Yeah. Thanks for reminding me, Rider," he said honestly. Sometimes when you worried about everyone you tended to forget about those closer to you.

"My pleasure. So, how was your first day as a manager?"

"More difficult that I thought it would be," he admitted. "But then again, I'm probably too used to be trusted by the women I know, so I still have to get the gist of it."

"Did you find something strange? Odd behaviors?"

"Eh. They might be one of the strangest bunch of people I ever met," he chuckled. Coming from someone who dealt with Magi on a regular basis, it was quite a statement. "But not in the way we usually use for the term. They tend to become a little violent when I get in their personal space, but since I'm basically intruding in their daily life I can't actually complain. I'm a little annoyed by the fact that they don't give me nearly the same amount of privacy they demand from me, but that's something I intend to rectify as soon as possible."

"Oh my," Rider chuckled. "How unusual to see you use the iron fist. You're usually so compliant around women."

"That's because you're normally reasonable enough to sit and listen before trying to kick me into oblivion. I can't afford the same luxury here. Not with one of the tenants being an adept to ki based attacks."

"Ki-based?" Rider asked pensively with a hand on her chin. "That is rather unusual in this time and age. Does she have a connection with the Clock Tower?"

"I'm looking into it, but I don't think so. According to Haruka she's from an ancient family that passed the technique generation to generation. They might be a little more aware of the mystical side of the world, but I don't think they qualify as Magi or have a relation with any."

"… Who's Haruka?"

"My aunt. I found out about her only yesterday. Apparently I have a younger adoptive sister too, although she's abroad now."

"A… sister? Oh."

"What? I don't like how you said that. What's the matter?"

"Nothing, nothing at all. I was just imaging Illya's reaction at this news."

"Oh," Shirou said in acknowledgement. "OH!"

"Yes, my thought exactly. I'm afraid that she'll come claiming he Onii-chan before this new challenger gets a chance to."

"No. No-no-no," Shirou shook his head frantically. "You can't tell her. She mustn't know. She'll come here and blow the entire inn to Kingdom come."

"Shirou," Rider sweatdropped, "aren't you exaggerating a little?"

"Am I? Rider, just how many Einzbern still walk the earth after she went back to the castle? "

"…," she replied stoically.

"Yeah. She has taken a little too much after Berserker. She can't deal with a situation without extreme measures. Either she'd love my long lost sister like her own sibling or she'll wage war on her. How do you think it would end if the latter came to pass?"

"A bloodbath," Rider whispered softly. There was a tinge of fear in her voice that only those who had witnessed the snow haired girl's wrath could understand. "I will keep this news to myself then."

"Thanks. On another note, have you found anything interesting?"

"I did," she answered shaking off the chill brought up by Illya's eventual fury. "I'm surprised you haven't noticed it yourself."

"Hm? You mean the leyline? How could I not notice it? This city is saturated with Mana. It isn't surprising considering the number of springs around here. It's a little wild compared to Fuyuki and definitely not as strong but it's still preponderant."

"Yes, that is certainly true but I was referring to its source. The leyline reaches the surface exactly under your inn."

"Say what?"

"Furthermore there is a complex system of caves flooded under it. I couldn't explore them fully as the flow of raw Mana is too strong for me to navigate through, even in spirit from, but I can't tell that they are untouched."

"Whew. For a moment I thought…"

"That it was like the Ryuudo Temple? No. While I'm not Caster even I can tell that the leyline is too weak and unstable to fulfill the requirement of a system as elaborated as the Holy Grail was."

"Hmm….," Shirou said. "I don't like this."

"Too many coincidences?"

"Yes. It would have meant nothing for nearly everyone else, but that my long lost family is hell bent of having me, a Magus, reside there is too suspicious to just brush off as a chance."

"It still could be just a coincide though. Places of power like that have always been the site of historical building often unrelated to Magi. Perhaps your family used to be important in the past."

"Perhaps. I can't discard any theory at this point, but I'm going to keep my guard up until I find out exactly what's going on."

"Do you still think there has been some sort of foul play?"

"No. Three different laboratories have verified the blood sample. I 'm related to the Urashima without a doubt, but there's definitely more going on that a simple matter of finding a lost member of the family."

"Shirou," Rider said after a moment of pause. "I hate to point this out, but aren't you thinking too much like a Magus?"

"Uh? What do you mean?"

"I understand that within the Clock Tower family conspiracies are normal, but I believe that you are projecting that mentality on the rest of the world as well."

Shirou scratched his head sheepishly and sighed. He couldn't deny Rider words. Four years working with Magi from the organization forced him to adopt a cynical and suspicious approach to everything. It was a required trait since it was common practice to exploit other Magi and their families to gain status within the organization. In the Clock Tower everything could be traded, from spells to family members and every word had to be weighted properly.

Rin had hammered this notion into his brain for months before they left Fuyuki for London and he hadn't a chance to stop acting like that since, with the exception of his short vacations back in Japan.

He felt doubly ashamed of how trusting he used to be and how suspicious of others he became. He went from an extreme to the other and he was now having an hard time finding as middle ground. If there wasn't any nefarious plot behind this entire charade it would be a good occasion to find his mental balance again.

"Yeah. I can't deny that I do. I didn't have the time to unplug the 'Rin Mode' yet. Being attacked by my tenants didn't help me getting comfortable either."

"So long as you don't forget who you really are, Shirou. Sakura would be most displeased if she were to lose her Senpai and have Archer instead."

Shirou winced, but said nothing. There was no denying that a few years in the world of Magi had done much to make him act like his red-clad counterpart.

"Thanks for reminding me, Rider."

"Anytime Shirou. Just don't worry too much about it. We won't let you become like him."

"… I know. Thanks."

"Besides, if you're worried about your tenants I could move in with you."

"Rider, I wouldn't dream of forcing you in spirit form for so long," Shirou said honestly. While it wasn't a burden for Servants to remain incorporeal for an undefined amount of time, Rider has since long grow accustomed with being materialized all the time.

"I didn't mean it like that. Your inn is a women dorm so there wouldn't be any objection with having me there."

"… The idea has merit, but let's wait for the moment. I prefer having someone looking in from outside the scene until I'm confident that there's no threat from inside the dorm. Besides, I've got the feeling that if a woman I know moves in two days after my arrival it would cause a major uproar. I don't want to have to deflect any accusation of turning the Hinata-sou in my personal den of debauchery."

"Oh my," she chuckled as she stepped closer to Shirou. "Why would they think something like that?"

Her slender arms circled his neck as she molded her body against his.

"R-R-Rider…," he stuttered, face aflame.

"Hmm… what is it, Shirou?"

"I… this…."

"Fu fu fu," she laughed softly, her mouth dangerously close to his ear. "You're just so cute. I can't believe how shy your still are despite everything that passed between us."

"I… don't… I mean…"

"Shh, enough words. Just stand still and let me devour you."

It was all the warning he received before he mouth clamped on his. He felt his Prana being drained away from his body, but his brain was too busy enjoying the feeling that her tongue brought to his own. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that Rider didn't need to latch on somebody to sustain her existence.

It was a gesture of affection from a being that was vampiric in nature. He guessed that if he had similar abilities he could reciprocate, but as it was he could only wrestle gently her tongue with his own.

She pulled back an indefinable amount of time later, but didn't let him go. Instead she opted to rest her chin on his shoulder while he supported his weakened self against the handrail that overlooked the town.

"Hmm," she moaned into his ear, sending a shiver down his spine, "It's been quite a while since the last time I had you all for myself. I missed this."

He rubbed his hand against the small of her back, resting the intense urge to let his touch slip further south.

"To be honest… so did I," he admitted. "The past four years have been sort of lonely, what we me traveling the world by myself and all."

"Rin was lucky to have you all for herself for an entire year."

"We didn't exactly have time to ourselves. Being the apprentice to the Wizard Marshall takes most of her time and I had my own classes to attend too. In fact I've seen more of you and Sakura than I did her."

"Oh. I have to let Sakura know then," She chuckled. "She was so worried that you and Rin would be so taken with each other that you'd forget about her. About us."

Shirou sighed. That was exactly what he feared it would happen when he accepted that kind of relationship.

"Rider I could never forget…" he was silenced by a slender finger across his lips.

"I know. We all know. You always keep your promises. You kept the one you made to Illya, the one you made to Sakura, the one you made to Rin and the one you made to me. Hmpf. You also kept the promise you mad to Saber, even if she's no longer in this world."

"I still feel like I'm holding all of you back."

"Are you dissatisfied with out arrangement?"

"No! It's not like that. It's just that I don't understand. Why me? You all could have much better."

"Fu fu fu. Could we now? And why would we? Shirou, none of us is what you'd call a normal person. Even if there was someone else in the world capable of accepting the madness that each of us carries, it would take too much time for us to trust that person. Any person capable of understating what we are would rather dissect us that have a relationship with us. If it wasn't for the bizarre circumstances of our meeting not even this relationship with you would have been possible."

"I.., guess…"

"You are too humble and don't realize your own worth. Besides, it's not like our lives are dedicated to you. We all are busy with our goals and wouldn't have too much time for a different relationship in any case. We are fine as we are."

"But…"

"No buts," she chided. "Stop underestimating us. We are more than capable of deciding for ourselves. Rin is trying to keep up with the Kaleidoscope and Sakura has her duties as the new Second Owner of Fuyuki and her desire of developing the Makiri's Magecraft in a different direction from Zouken's. It's not like they're living their lives for your sake."

"And what about you?"

"Me? I'm simply happy of having a place to call home and people to call family. It's more than I could ever ask and wish for. Is it so difficult to understand, Shirou? We are happy as we are. You just do what you need to do and don't forget that you can come back to us anytime. We are, and always will be, your family."

"Sorry," he answered meekly, at loss for words.

"Stop apologizing, you idiot."

"Would 'thank you' be better, then?"

"Much better," she confirmed.

They remained like that for a little while more, simply basking in each other presence. Shirou took the time to regain the energies he needed to move. Rider hadn't dried him to the point of passing out, but his legs felt a little weak nonetheless.

"I should go now," he said at one point. Rider removed herself from his embrace and stepped back, her usual composure restored. It was like the previous exchange did not happen at all.

"I will return to my hotel as well. Shall we meet again tomorrow?"

"Yes, that would be best. Come over in spirit form and take a peek at the inn if you feel like it. I'll probably be there the entire day. The place is practically falling apart so I'll have lot of work to do."

"I'll make sure to stop by."

"Rider," he began, "try not to harass my tenants. I don't want the place to gain the reputation of being haunted."

"Of course," she replied plainly, but there was a slight drop of her shoulder signaling he disappointment. "I'll see you tomorrow, then. Goodnight."

She faded from view and Shirou felt her presence getting farther away.

"Goodnight, Rider."

Shirou pulled the entrance door open and slid inside. The lights were still since it was still relatively early.

"I'm back," he announced.

"Ah. Welcome back, Emiya-san," Shinobu greeted cheerfully. She was sitting at the kitchen table with Kaolla, playing some odd card games he never saw before.

"Play with us, Shirou," said dark skinned girl demanded.

"Maybe another time," he said apologetically watching Kaolla's shoulders drop. "I have to get up early tomorrow and start with the repairs. Let me get everything in order and I'll find some time to play with you afterwards."

"Promise?"

"I promise," he confirmed. On his way back, heeding Rider's words, he decided to have a more open attitude toward his tenants.

"Yay!" Kaolla cheered ,running in circles around him.

"I'll be going to sleep now. Maehara-san do you mind if I take care of breakfast tomorrow? You can have lunch."

"Of course," Shinobu accepted, glad of not having to get up early without being completely removed from kitchen duty. She liked to cook after all.

"Great. Goodnight then."

"Goodnight, Emiya-san."

He waved them off and went to his room. Rider's kiss had drained in more than one way. Thankfully, he was the kind of person that would get immediately back on his feet, so he wouldn't have any problem getting up the next morning.

He passed Kitsune, Motoko and Naru in the corridor on his way to his and greeted them more cheerfully than he ever did in the past few days.

The trio joined the younger girl at the kitchen table.

"He seemed in a batter mood than before," Motoko commented off-handedly.

"Yes, but he looked a lot more tired too."

"Eh," Kitsune chuckled. "I would be happy too if I was him."

"What do you mean, Kitsune-Senpai?" Shinobu asked. She couldn't see any reason why Shirou would be tired and happy for it. He didn't go out for a jog and he was out for less than two hours.

"You didn't notice?"

"Notice what, Kitsune-san?"

"The perfume," she said with a grin. "I definitely smelled a woman's perfume on him. Our new manager must have been quite busy tonight. Not bad for his first day in town."

"Eh… Eeeeeh," Shinobu squealed. "Emiya-san did… Emiya-san…. No…"

"Tch," Motoko snarled. "I knew that he would be up to no good as soon as he was out of sight."

"That.. that… that pervert," Naru agreed.

"I'm going to give him a piece of my mind," the swordswoman declared.

"Wait, wait, wait," the fox-woman said. "You can't just blame him because he smelled of a woman's perfume. We need to catch him into the act."

"What do you propose?"

"From tomorrow we trail him every evening until we found this lover of his," she declared. Her pride wouldn't accept that Shirou could brush off her advances only to run to another woman the very same day.

"Very well," Motoko agreed. "As soon as I catch him harassing an innocent woman I'll separate his filthy hands form the rest of his body. This I swear."

"Whoa. Motoko, relax."

"No," Naru objected, "we can't accept that our manager pervs around. He must understand that he's not allowed to do as he please."

"I agree. If we let him run free it won't take long before he turns his attention toward us. I will educate him properly before that happens."

Kitsune sweatdropped but said nothing. It looked like she had stirred a hornet nest with her comments. She only wanted to be the one to seduce Shirou, not to start a crusade against him.

She should have known better. Her friends were capable of conceiving a positive relationship between a man and a woman.

Well, if she played her cards right she could become Shirou's safe harbor in a stormy ocean. She would protect him from the two violent girls and he would be more than happy to provide for her in return.

She resisted the urge to crackle madly at her own evil plot, opting to return to her room for a late drink while the others were still busy discussing suitable punishments.

In his futon, Shirou lay ignorant of his tenants machinations. His thoughts were focused on something else, namely the family he gained after the Holy Grail War.

While it all happened over five years before the events were still clear in his mind. The fighting, the sense of loss. Sakura plight and Rider's loyalty. Illya's resignation and Rin's resolve and on top of them all Saber's ideals and dreams.

He supposed he should have felt proud with himself. Of all the people he fought to protect only Saber had to disappear and she did the ultimate sacrifice with a smile on her lips.

For a moment he wondered how things would have played out if he used his command seal and summoned Saber a moment too late when they got separated in the Ryuudo Temple, when the Shadow was about to digest her. He didn't want to think what he would have done without her support.

He fell asleep with that thought, his mind replaying the events over and over again.

Holy Grail War – 8th Day

Shirou slammed his fists against the door of the temple. Saber had blocked it from the other side to prevent Assassin from reaching him, but that also meant she had to face him alone.

He was sure that her strength was far superior to the skull masked Servant's but he couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness that crept over him.

He glanced at his hand, were the sword-shaped Command Seal. Maybe she would scold him for interfering with her battle but he preferred to be safe than sorry. He wouldn't let fight a battle without him at her side.

He clenched his fist and focused on the sign of power, willing his command through it.

"COME! SABER!"

xXx

She was lost. Her body was sinking in the Shadow beneath her. It was devouring her from the inside and she had not enough strength to escape. Her last chance was wasted to repel Assassin's cursed arm, but the price of her small victory was the integrity of her soul.

"I'm sorry, Shirou," she apologized to the Master she could no longer protect and resigned herself to be consumed by the ever-growing darkness.

"COME! SABER!"

It rung strong and clear in her ears. An absolute command she could not refuse. Reality bent itself to grant her passage through space and time, ripping her away from the foul grasp of the Shadow.

The world shifted around her and in a moment she was again at the side of her Master . She had to appeal to every ounce of her knightly pride not to hug him right then and there.

"Saber, are you all right?" he asked in concern seeing her stagger.

"Master I…. "

That's all she could say before she blackened out for the lack of energy caused by being nearly consumed and by the forced teleportation.

"SABER!" her Master voice calling her was the last thing she heard before losing her battle against unconsciousness.

xXx

Shirou kneeled over Saber's unconscious form. She looked unarmed, but she was paler than he ever saw her. She was berating normally. but she wouldn't wake up no matter how much he called her.

Further attempts were halted when a raspy old voice revealed the presence of Matou Zouken.

"This is an unexpected development," the elderly Magus said. Shirou found it difficult to distinguish his voice form the cry of the countless bugs that seemed to have invaded the temple "Fortune smiled upon you once, son of Emiya, but a small miracle won't change the outcome of this night. Assassin, finish them both."

Shirou had barely time to turn and feel a Dark sail through the air, directed with deadly precision to his heart.

Only to be intercepted by a nail-like weapon, wielded by a purple-clad Servant that had no reason at all to rescue him.

What the hell was going on?

He watched her dance around the room, dodging Assassin precise strikes. The black Servant was confident that he could best Rider at any moment, but he didn't foresee the clever trap she had set for him.

With a pull of her hands her chain wrapped tightly around the skeletal body, before she began flailing him around against the walls and sent him flying out of the building like a broken doll. It wasn't nearly enough to kill a phenomenon like a Servant, but it must have hurt like hell nonetheless.

Shirou stood on his feet, cradling Saber in his arms defensively. He was very well aware that if Rider had ill intentions he could do very little to stop her, but he glared at her nonetheless.

Zouken had wisely decided to retreat and the bugs disappeared along with him.

Only Shirou and the two Servants remained in an uncomfortable silence.

"Come, I'll escort you home," she said offhandedly.

Shirou could only take advantage of the situation and accept. Whatever were her intentions, if she wanted to hurt him all she needed to do was not intervene. Besides, he needed to bring Saber to safety as soon as possible.

He would have to look for answers later on.

Shirou's eyes snapped open as the last remnants of his dream washed off his mind. He shook away the cobwebs and stood. He had rested enough, but when he dreamt of the past he always felt a little… misplaced. Like the war was still ongoing and real life was actually a dream.

He got dressed an ready for the day. He had to go out and buy a lot of supplies to get the repairs done but before that he would take care of breakfast. He couldn't certainly begin hammering floorboards early in the morning when everyone else was still asleep.

He set himself to prepare the best breakfast he could pull off. He was going to need the energy and there was no better way to ingrate someone but conquering their stomach. It was a winning strategy every single time.

Or not?

The atmosphere around the table was tenser than ever before. Narusegawa and Aoyama ate their food like they had been forced to all the while shooting him angry glances when they thought he wasn't looking. Maehara on the other hand did her best to avoid meeting his gaze every time he looked in her direction. Only Konno and Suu were their usual normal self. … Well, as far as normal went for the two of them.

Shirou had the distinct impression that something was afoot and that he was at the center of it. How surprising.

Was it because he managed to lose them the previous evening or had they come up with some strange idea on their own. Did it even matter?

He shrugged internally. No use in wasting time over the thought. He had his own schedule set and no intention to let their behavior slow him down. If they had problems with him but didn't want to discuss them it was their loss.

He was willing to help people, even if it meant risking his life, but with the condition that they had to desire being helped. He had learned the hard way that not everyone wanted to be saved and would hate and curse those who tried.

He would deal with eventual problems when they actually presented themselves.

He just had no idea how many problems would come up in the following days

Author Notes:

It's funny that I get the inspiration to write more of this story when I've already labeled it as a major fail.

I began writing it in a spur of the moment, not really caring about long term development and now I'm paying the price of my folly.

I thought that abandoning it was the best thing I could do, but I was never know for doing smart choices so I decided to continue it and actually came up with some sort of plot.

The story will have two sides, at least initially.

One part will revisit the AU Heaven's Feel route you had to begin reading this chapter and will continue through Shirou's post war years.

The second side will explore his time at the Hinata-sou and his changing relationship with the girls. Of course Shirou wouldn't be himself if he trouble don't come looking for him so be reassured that he will soon find himself fighting for his life.

As for the AU Heaven's Feel I always wondered how things would have played out if Shirou summoned Saber before she was consumed by the Shadow, or if he traced Rule Breaker in the cave instead of stabbing her with the Azoth Knife.

Truth to be told I have many Au-ish scenario rolling in my head but not enough to make a single worthwhile story by itself, so I decided to use this particular one as a background for Shirou .

Since I decided to actually apply more effort to this story I would rather have a beta for it. Any volunteers? If you are interested please PM me. This is also the last chapter until I get a one, since I want to keep this story up to standards from now on.

Goodbye for now.