Quick note: If you haven't, you should reread the last chapter because I rewrote it. Yes it's important, because I set up for something completely different in that chapter compared to what it was originally. Don't worry if you read it after the 15th of November.

It was with hurried shuffling that Sakaki moved back to his desk and took a seat. With a confused, and slightly worried, look on his face, Shirou followed suit, taking a seat and waiting for Sakaki to begin.

It actually took a minute or two, with Sakaki shuffling his notes (read: flicking to various pages on his tablet) and occasionally taking his glasses off and breathing deeply. When Shirou felt Sakaki was calm enough, he asked the main question that was on his mind.

"Professor Sakaki... Are you okay? What's wrong?"

Hearing Shirou, Sakaki's head snapped up, before he, with one final exhale, calmed down and began to speak.

"I'm... I'm fine. Physically, at least. All 206 bones in my body are in fine condition for a man my age-- except for my back, that is. Did you know that the main cause of back pain in people my age is because of the loss of the back muscles' elasticity over the years? I found that quite interesting. Did you also know--"

"Professor."

Having had his rant interrupted, Sakaki looked at Shirou in surprise before taking his glasses off, rubbing his eyes, and sighing.

"Ah... Sorry about that. What was the question? Am I okay? Quite honestly... I'm not doing too great. Oh! But it's not because of anything to do with my health! As I said, I am doing quite fine for my age and--"

"Ahem."

"Right, sorry. I'm not doing fine because of certain readings that we had picked up which worried me greatly."

Shirou thought. What could possibly worry Sakaki so badly that he lost his wits? Sakaki, who had been the Director of the Far East Branch for over 10 years, and dealt with legendary, world-ending manmade Aragami like the Arda Nova, the Arius Nova, the World Opener, and the World Closer. He asked as much.

"Well... It was actually a familiar reading. One that left a disaster in its wake. But, the reading was there for merely an instant, so it was likely nothing like the original. However, I should still send out some God Eaters to investigate it."

"Okay... but still, what could have possibly scared you so bad at just the trace of it? Was it a Nova?"

With another deep breath, and a dry chuckle, Sakaki answered.

"Shirou... No, it wasn't another Nova. Nor was it one of Dr. Rachel's creations. It is in fact an Aragami you are quite familiar with. After all, it did cause the fire that killed everything you cared about."

Those words caused Shirou to go numb. He couldn't feel, couldn't think, couldn't understand. The only thing that managed to escape him was a quiet 'what?'.

It was a few days later when they finally decided to confront Shirou. After all, he had been worrying them a lot recently. It was small at first, just him going silent randomly in conversation. Then it just exponentially grew from there. Sometimes he wouldn't talk to them but would listen, sometimes he would just end up ignoring them altogether. Not just them, he ended up ignoring everyone.

Everyone became worried for the resident brownie, and so it came down to these three to get answers. As the trio walked up to his door, it was Saber who spoke up first.

"Rin... Are you sure this is the best course of action? I am sure that if we just ask him--"

"No, Saber! How many times have we tried that already? Too many, that's how many! The only way to get to the bottom of this is to get to him directly and aggressively! Right, Sakura?"

"E-Eh... I-I don't know Tohsa-- Rin. Are you really sure we should be invading Senpai's space like this?"

"Of course I do. Why else would this be my plan?"

"Yeah but, what if... What if... What if..."

Suddenly, Sakura's face began to turn red and her eyes became swirls.

"Hmm? What if what, Sakura?"

"W-W-W-What if... W-What if Senpai is... Whatifsenpaiisnaked!?"

Then, she squeaked and turned away from the other two girls. Unknown to her, Saber and Rin were looking at her in surprise, their faces going red. An awkward silence permeated before Rin decided to break it.

"A-Ahem. W-Well... that's just a risk we'll have to take."

Now it was Rin that was being stared at in surprise. Ignoring their stares, Rin slapped her cheeks before knocking on the door.

"Shirou!"

There was no reply. Knocking some more, Rin called out again.

"Shirou!"

Still no reply. Getting annoyed, Rin knocked on the door once more (read: punched the door) and yelled out.

"Shirou! I swear, if you don't open this door I will break it down and destroy you!"

And still, silence. With a cry of rage, Rin raised her leg before kicking at the door. Since it was a metal door it didn't break, but it wasn't unscathed either by the force of an angry God Eater, leaving it slightly dented in. With another cry, Rin kicked at it again, but with less force, seeming more content to just let out her anger rather than cause property damage.

As she did this, Saber and Sakura looked to each other before nodding their heads. Saber moved to Rin and half-heartedly held her back from destroying his door. Sakura, meanwhile, reached for the door's opening switch. While normally they would be locked, Sakura was willing to bet it wasn't. Shirou had a bad habit of not locking his doors in the years they knew each other.

As she pressed the button, she was proven correct by the door sliding open. As Rin lowered her foot with a disappointed huff, they all looked inside of the room, only to see Shirou standing in the middle of the room, not naked, his back facing them.

"Shirou?"

Yet again, only silence greeted them. Shirou stood still, as if he never even heard anything being said. With an anger now re-lit, Rin stomped into the room and up to the Shirou, reaching for his shoulder.

"Damn it Shirou! Stop ignoring me or so help me--"

"Wait."

It was Saber that called out. Rin, who was still on her way to grabbing Shirou, stopped, feeling as if something important might be gained by listening. There was also that slight fear instilled in her from upsetting Saber. She doesn't want to get kendo'd. As Rin stopped, Saber moved towards her and Shirou, before moving around them so she was facing Shirou. With a nod, she said aloud,

"As I thought."

Rin and Sakura just looked at her in confusion before actually voicing it. Saber heard their questions and gestured them over to where she was. Looking to each other, they acquiesced and went to her. As they did, they saw Shirou, and what they saw confused them. Specifically, it was the look in his eyes.

"What the...?"

It was Rin who had spoke, the confusion she was feeling forcing itself into words. While there was nothing wrong with Shirou's eyes structurally, both of them being the heterochromatic gold and steel he had been toting for a year, it was how his eyes were working that confused her. That is to say, they weren't.

Even though she and the other two were standing in front of him, his eyes didn't seem to even pick up on their presence. He couldn't see them. It wasn't just that. The way the light reflected on his eyes made them seem dull and unseeing, yet it was like he saw something beyond what was in front of him. Like an odd cross between a look of thoughtfulness and despair. Rin had heard of something like that in a book she read. It was...

"A thousand yard stare."

Rin's attention was drawn away from Shirou's eyes towards Sakura, who had spoken. She looked particularly saddened at her own words. Saber gave her a slight look of surprise.

"I am surprised. I was not expecting someone so young to know what one looked like. While many have heard the term, most have not actually seen an expression to compare it to. Most would likely associate it with a look of despair."

"Well... Shinji... Nii-san would often wear one back when we were under the... care of our Grandfather, before I was brought into his experiments."

At the mention of her older brother and her grandfather, the atmosphere became awkward. Saber and Rin never really got around to properly speaking of the events that took place, the most they would hear being her's and Shirou's lamentation on her brother.

It was with great effort that Saber coughed into her fist, ignoring the awkward atmosphere, and spoke.

"Y-Yes. It is normally those that are contemplating past events that are heavily tied to their hearts that would bear such an expression. But it would often appear on those who experienced such suffering a long time ago, long enough for it to no longer be fresh, but still retain meaning."

Rin and Sakura nodded along, no longer being stifled by the awkwardness. Instead, they were now full of curiosity and worry. After all, what could Shirou be so hung up on? While he was a God Eater, he hadn't experienced too much personal loss besides Berserker and Shinji. Could he possibly be reminiscing on his father? If that was the case, then why did he look so sad when he only ever mentioned his father being a good man.

There were too many possibilities, which just lead to the two becoming distracted. As they were, Saber decided to wake Shirou up. Reaching for his shoulder, Saber gave him a light squeeze (which for a God Eater is enough to crush a soda can) and called out to him.

"Shirou."

His awakening was gradual. First, his body tensed, before his hand reached for the hand on his shoulder and his eyes slowly began to focus. With swift movements he took Saber's hand off of his shoulder, and his eyes finally focused enough to actually take note of the trio in front of him. With a confused blink, he asked,

"Saber? Rin? Sakura? What are you all doing here?"

At once, the trio flinched back in surprise from Shirou suddenly saying their names. It was strange how him not properly talking to them for a few days could cause all of them to miss the sound of his voice so much. Shaking off the embarrassment, or at least most of it, Rin answered Shirou's question.

"W-We're here because someone has been making everyone at the Den worry because of how quiet he has been lately. Not just that, but a certain pain in the neck has been missing her big brother lately."

"O-Oh... Sorry..."

Shirou looked away in shame. He had a feeling that he may have been neglecting everyone, but he has just been so distracted recently. After all, what Sakaki told him...

"Yeah, you better be! I was really worried abou-- I mean, we were really concerned for you. You haven't been talking to anyone or paying attention to anything at all! Just what has so much of your attention that you're barely aware of anything!?"

With that in the air, she looked at Shirou, expecting an answer. However, what she received was him looking away, a tightening around his eyes. His jaw locked, and his eyes seemed to become duller. With worry, Rin called out once more, gently.

"Shirou?"

A slight twitch was all she got as a reaction. As she began to move towards him, a hand reached out and grabbed her shoulder. Instead, it was Sakura that moved forward, her purple hair swaying slightly. Directly in front of Shirou, she slowly brought her hand up towards his face, laying it against his cheek. With a deep breath, she spoke.

"Senpai... Please, tell us what's wrong."

At that, there was more of a reaction. His head turned slightly to face them, and his eyes became less dull. Seeing him react, Sakura took another breath before speaking again.

"We only want to help, Senpai. I want to help... Please."

As if her voice were a source of comfort, some of the tension in Shirou's body left. Then, his mouth began to open, and he began to speak, still not properly looking at any of them, or even being all there.

"Sakaki told me... 10 years ago... The fire... It wasn't just an Aragami attack... Kiritsugu... He and others... caused it all..."

That was all he said, his eyes seeming to revert back to their prior dullness. As he did, the trio made their own conclusions. All three knew about the fire ten years ago, but none of them were sure how Shirou related to it. Sakura had once been told by Taiga that the fire was of importance to Shirou, but never why. The assumption she made was that someone he cared for had passed away.

Alongside that was the mention of Kiritsugu. Saber, having known the man personally, immediately made the connection between him and the fire. After all, she was there that day. She remembered being with him on that day, how suddenly in the centre of the Outer Ghetto there was fire. She also remembered his expression, one of absolute despair. His expression and subsequent actions spoke volumes to her, and when she eventually got around to speaking to him about it a few hours later, once the flames died down, he gave her a short and simple answer.

"It's all because of me."

No matter how hard she tried, he would never give any other answer. She was soon sent back to Europe, nursing a hate for Kiritsugu, and one for herself, for not being able to help anyone.

The last thing that stood out was the mention of others. While Rin didn't know at all about the relationship between Shirou and the fire, nor did she know much about Kiritsugu, she was able to piece together how Shirou's father must have played some part in it, whether that was the fire itself or the Aragami. The fact that Sakaki was the one that told him made her suspicious, and she promised to go speak to him later. More importantly...

Shirou was standing there, still staring off into the distance, a thousand yards ahead. They all wanted to comfort the man, but didn't know how to. Instead, it was Sakura that made the first move. Moving her hand from his cheek, she brought both hands upwards to grasp his head and brought it down to her bosom, before gently wrapping her arms around his head in a hug.

"Senpai... It'll all be okay. So please, don't worry."

Saber and Rin were looking at her in shock, while Shirou himself, now hunched over, began to slightly shake, before bringing his own arms up to wrap around her. As he did, the sun seemed to shine through the window just right, bathing the four in a golden light.

Meanwhile, four God Eaters entered into a large open 'room' in the cavern they had been exploring. There was nothing of any real note, except for what seemed to be a path leading upwards towards a small plateau. As they all investigated the entire 'room', one of them, who wielded an orange Long Blade, moved his hand to his earpiece.

Crackle.

"Director, this is Cicada 1. We've reached the end of the cavern and haven't found any signs of the irregularity. All we have left is a slight alcove, then we can say for certain."

Cicada 1 heard a relieved sigh on the other end of the earpiece, before being ordered to report back once they were done and out of the cavern, or if they found something. Taking his hand off the earpiece, he looked around to see the other Cicadas giving him the all clear before one of them, someone wielding a blue Charge Spear, made his way up the path towards the alcove. However...

"Hoh? Who dares approach the King without permission?"

A person slowly walked into Cicada 1's field of view. A blonde man with crimson red eyes, wearing a black leather jacket over a white shirt with black jeans and shoes. And on his wrist was a steel-gray Armlet, similar in appearance to three bangles bolted together. Cicada 1 started at the sight.

"Are you a God Eater!? What are you doing here!? What Branch are you from!?"

The blonde man's eyes briefly flicked over to him, stunning him into silence.

"Did I ask for you to speak, mongrel?"

Looking back to the man with the Charge Spear, he eyed him up and down, before closing his eyes and nodding. Then suddenly, he began to laugh.

"Fuhahahahahahaha!!!"

It was an oddly charming laugh, yet only filled the ones that could hear it with dread. When he was done he swept his hair back, off of his face, and grinned towards them in a way that made all of their hearts stop.

"Truly, you are weak. Well, come on. If you are going to die anyway, then you may as well entertain me!"

After he said that, he looked upon them all expectantly. However, nobody moved, all of them being too stunned by his presence. This lack of action persisted for a few seconds before his grin disappeared.

"You mongrels... How dare you defy me, you King!?"

Suddenly, his crimson eyes shone. The next thing Cicada 1 heard was the sound of metal clanging on the floor, before something else seemed to follow suit. Slowly turning his head, his eyes took in the sight of the blue Charge Spear laying on the floor, and next to it...

"Kaito!!!"

Lying on the floor was the God Arc's wielder, appearing in perfect condition, except for the bloodstain over his heart, highlighting what appeared to be a thin incision that went straight through.

Cicada 1 couldn't react, could barely even understand what just happened. But someone else seemed to be able to.

"You bastard!"

Another Cicada, a girl with a pink Blaster God Arc, ran towards the blonde man and pulled her trigger, sending out three shots. The man, however, didn't seem perturbed, instead grinning slightly, as if in amusement. As the Oracle bullets neared him, they suddenly exploded, almost two feet away from him.

"Wha--"

Then, as suddenly as the Oracle bullets exploded, the girl coughed out blood and fell to the floor. This time, however, Cicada 1 was able to see something. It was like a flash of steel passed through her and went back towards the blonde man.

"Hoh~ She sure had a fire, now didn't she?"

Suddenly, the last member of the once four-member group fired at the blonde-man. They were another man, wielding a black Sniper. Just like with the girl, his Oracle bullet was blocked, but now that Cicada 1 was looking, he could see a steel blade hovering where the Oracle bullet was blocked. The steel blade then flew towards the Cicada. However, he seemed to notice the blade as well and rolled out of the way. The blade suddenly changed trajectory, flying straight towards him, but was blocked by the Cicada quickly flinging his God Arc between himself and the blade.

There was a brief glimmer of hope in Cicada 1's eyes, seeing that the strange blade was finally down. However, he saw another flash coming straight for the Cicada.

"Look out!"

But, he was too late. The second blade went straight through his throat, causing his head to almost tear off. As Cicada 1 stood there, shaking, the blonde man turned his gaze onto him.

"Hmph. You seem to be nothing like your fellow mongrels. Look at you, quivering in place with fear. Not at all a worthy kill for a King. Kirei!"

At the mention of another name, Cicada 1 turned to look behind him, only for his chest to explode in pain. Looking down, he saw...

A hand. No, a fist, covered in blood. His blood. It was a human fist, attached to a human arm, piercing straight through his chest. As he felt the comforting feeling of 'sleep' come for him, he could only choke out a single word.

"Sakaki..."

As he died, a silence persisted throughout the cavern, before the hand was ripped out of Cicada 1's body. Attached to the hand was an adult man, with a brown mullet, dull brown eyes, and wearing what appeared to be a priest's garments. He pulled a handkerchief out from one of his pockets and wiped off the blood before looking to the blonde man.

"So, My King. Did that satisfy you at all?"

"Hmph. Do not be foolish, Kirei. They were no match for the King of Heroes."

The blonde man looked at Kirei in slight anger, and Kirei knew that he should sidestep the topic. Instead, he decided to offer something to pacify him.

"They may have been no match, My King, but do not worry. Soon, you will be able to face a Beast that will give you a true challenge."

"Ha! As if any could truly make me struggle! But, since you seem to believe it is so strong, it may provide me entertainment for a while."

Looking to the various bodies, he then upturned his nose, before turning on his foot and calling over his back,

"Clean that up, Kirei. I do not need the smell of worthless mongrels to accompany me in this place."

Kirei looked to where Gilgamesh was, before looking back to the body by his feet. With efficient movements he hoisted the body onto his shoulder and began to make his way out of the cave, towards a place the temperamental King would not go. As he did, he couldn't help but think on the last thing he heard from the God Eater he had killed.

"Sakaki..."

Then, slowly, a smile that only showed the depths of his own depravity spread across his face, only magnified by his dead, brown eyes.

"Fenrir... Ha ha... I will see you again soon, Kiritsugu Emiya. Don't disappoint me this time."

Thank you for reading. This is Cee and, big plot plays, introduction and murder of four OCs that didn't matter, and most likely terrible writing on the part of Gilgamesh and Kirei. I'm betting money that it's mostly Kirei. I just couldn't remember how he spoke for the life of me.

First and only, I feel I put way too much emphasis on a thousand yard stare. It's probably not that uncommon, but I guess that's how the cookie crumbles.

Goodbye.

Word count: 3694