Shirou sat at the dining room table cradling a cup of coffee and nursing a splitting headache. He gingerly took a sip of the stuff wincing as he did so his muscles aching despite the presence of Nolava II inside him. Across the table his servant sat inspecting him with a look in her eyes that he couldn't quite identify.

"So let me get this straight," he said. "Arcueid and her servant went off to meet up with a magician who may or may not be friendly. Satsuki on the other hand went to track down and inspect the lesser grail to determine if it was still functioning or not."

"Your butler also followed that girl," Ishtar said taking a sip from one of the guest mugs before quite firmly placing the coffee away from her.

"He's the only one that I can honestly say made the correct decision. Honestly what happened to strength in numbers," Shirou leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Honestly they seem determined to make my headache worse."

"You should be back in bed," his servant asserted herself. "You're in no condition to be fighting right now."

Shirou paused for a moment. "You're right he admitted. It would probably be best if I rested up. Unfortunately I can't do that at the moment," he admitted. "I sent Rin out of the temple because it was the best action at the time. However I expected to finish up and properly remove the curse later. That obviously didn't happen and so I find myself in the unenviable position of having to go to Rin's house to see if I need to remove her curse or attend her funeral."

Silence filled the room at that last pronouncement and Shirou got up dusting himself off. "Let's go," he said his voice containing an undercurrent of resolve. Taking the goddesses hand he faded from his kitchen and reappeared in Rin's entryway. While the last time he did this he was concealed, he wouldn't be able to use it on both himself and Ishtar at the same time.

Therefore he found himself momentarily surprised when five men burst into the first room they entered wielding mystic codes. However Shirou found himself reluctantly giving them credit. Besides the really stupid move of suddenly entering the room and attacking two unknowns they acquitted themselves quite well. Of course they were going up against two servant level opponents so 'quite well' ended up with all five of them incapacitated and on the floor within five seconds.

"These simpletons really have no idea who they decided to attack did they," Ishtar spoke up with scorn in her voice. "Next time they should bring another hundred and maybe I can get a light warm-up."

Shirou just shook his head. Rider was not even exaggerating. While a quick glance confirmed the mystic codes that were wielded were powerful and they attacked in a disciplined manner they were far too slow too even mount a defence against the invading duo. Ignoring the unconscious bodies on the floor they simultaneously stepped into the next room and came face-to-face with the Vice Director of the Mage's Association. Upon seeing the pair her saber lowered fractionally as she took in their appearance.

"I trust none of them have been seriously injured," she said her brown eyes boring into the two of them.

"Only their pride," Shirou replied casually. "Have you perhaps seen a young magus? She's about this high with black hair in twintails and a penchant for unreasonably short skirts."

Lorelei merely blinked at the description. "Your friend is upstairs," she said. "She is being tended to by one of my men, please try not to injure him. He's a loaner from the Wandering Sea and one that I have to return in good condition."

Shirou merely nodded to the Vice Director and headed up to Rin's room. Entering the room with Ishtar close behind he took in all the details of the room. He noticed the grown magus who was inspecting Rin using some kind of magecraft, a family magecraft that was based on water he identified with use of the fourth. Shirou also briefly noticed that her room also contained antiquated English décor like the rest of the house. However these images were unimportant as he took in the form of Rin in the most adorable yellow cat's head pyjama's he had ever seen. He felt his lips curl up in a smile as he took in the sight.

"Nice Pyjama's Rin," he said as she raised her head to look at him. She blushed furiously, her whole face turning red and she sat up before her face contorted into a grimace and she fell back onto the bed.

"Please don't disturb the patient," the man in sunglasses said standing up to face the magician. "She needs rest."

"What she needs now actually," Shirou said, "is to have that curse removed." He walked past the man brushing past him. Bending down and ignoring the man's splutters he placed a hand over Rin's forehead taking note of her blush for future reference. After a mere moment's contemplation and ignoring his own headache he grasped the curse analysing the concept of divine poison and crushed it.

Instantly Rin's body reacted as all her muscles tensed up and then she relaxed as all the tension went out of her face and the stress out of her body. Almost immediately she lay back in those cute cat pyjamas' and closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep.

"You can finish healing her now," Shirou said to the magus who had been restrained by his servant while he was performing the procedure. "The curse is gone."

"Impossible," the blonde-haired man stated running back to the sleeping girl and scanning her again and again. Shirou left him to it and headed downstairs to talk to the Queen. Walking into the living room felt a lot like walking into enemy territory. The magi that had been knocked unconscious in their original entrance were now awake and watched Shirou with an intensity of those that refused to be embarrassed a second time. Shirou ignored them and instead focused on the brown haired lady who now sat at the dining room sipping tea. He took a seat next to her and immediately met her eyes, while aware of Ishtar who had stood behind him protecting his back from the others in the room.

"This is a bit of an odd place for you to set up a base," he said leaving the obvious question unasked.

"I met the Tohsaka injured and poisoned today," Lorelei said. "It is necessary for even those who may not like each other to band together to face the common threat." She took another sip of her tea. "I have already prepared a number of bases to use for the duration of the war."

Shirou merely nodded at this. "I have already identified six of the masters on our side," he said. "On the other side I have only got the names of four. Gransurg, Trvhmn, Altroughe and Rizo-Waal," he announced causing the normally stoic Lorelei to noticeably frown in displeasure."

"I see," she finally said. "That won't be easy. Those are four of the strongest Apostle Ancestors that are currently free."

"Worse," Shirou said. "All of the servants I've fought so far have been really strong. In fact the servant I fought today was far more powerful than anything I've ever seen." He resolutely ignored Ishtar's noise of dissatisfaction behind him. "While I believe that my servant and I could beat him, I do not think that it would be a safe bet by any measure."

Lorelei just nodded at him. "Do you know where the lesser grail is? I am concerned about what they could do if they managed to get their hands on it."

"I do," Shirou said. "I am confident that it is safe for the moment. Whether it will remain so in future would be the question. I assume they need the contents of the grails in order to actualize the ritual."

Lorelei nodded. "Indeed," she said. "If you say that it is safe then I will trust you for the moment. Do not betray that trust," she said, the room becoming colder as she fixed Shirou with a glare.

Shirou just nodded ignoring the change in mood. "Have you seen any signs of other Dead Apostles? If I'm correct then they should have brought some of their followers into the city."

Lorelei nodded, "They've taken up refuge in the sewers. I have assigned my brigade to clear their hideouts and curtail the vampire population."

"Think they can handle it Shirou," said as he scanned the room dubiously.

"I have become slightly more sceptical recently," Lorelei said looking at the surrounding magi punitively. Obviously she wasn't too happy that Shirou and his servant defeated them so quickly. The following sight of experienced battle-hardened executors acting like children that had been scolded by their parent almost caused Shirou to burst out into laughter but he restrained it. Behind him Ishtar let out a melodious titter, obviously she found it just as funny but lacked his control.

"Indeed," Shirou said. "I have cured Rin and she should be fine fo…" Suddenly they were both cut-off as the door upstairs was flung open and Rin's doctor came running downstairs.

"How?" he said as he reached the ground panting. "How did you do that? That curse was from the Age of Gods and now it's gone. What did you do?"

Shirou just placed his hand over his face. Next to him Lorelei sighed. "I would like to reiterate," Lorelei said. "I don't normally use him, he's on loan from the Wandering Sea. Britchers get out of here before I do something that will sour relations between our two organisations." This last sentence was punctuated by a glare that caused the man to go stumbling back.

"I should be going," Shirou said before tossing Lorelei a cellphone. "It's a burner," he explained. "It's already programmed with my number. I assume you will bring the delightful Miss Tohsaka up to speed."

Lorelei nodded although Shirou could see a slight hint of disdain on her face for having to use such recent technology. "Shall we go," he addressed the goddess behind him. "Anything you want to say before we go?"

"Not to these mooks," Ishtar answered back flippantly ignoring the looks she received. "Let's go," she said laying an arm around Shirou's neck.

Shirou nodded to that and with a wave of his hand bid the room goodbye as he teleported the two back home.

"Any more ventures outside Shirou," the goddess asked as she once again sat down at the table, her manner of movement and general lack of any concealing clothing made the act appear incredibly sensuous.

"No," her master replied clutching his head. "I'm still not up to one hundred percent," he admitted. "Quite frankly those short exertions nearly made me want to take a nap right there." He fixed Ishtar with an inquisitive look. "Do you know precisely what happened while I was trapped inside the sphinx?"

"No," Ishtar said, her voice dripping with dissatisfaction. "One moment you were sucked into the sphinx and the next," she made an explosion hand gesture, "boom. No sphinx and then you were on the ground looking like you had just got back from the war."

Shirou frowned slightly at his servant's words. "I remember a desert," he began. "Some sphinxes, feeling trapped with no water." He shook his head. "After that it's all blank, I don't remember how I got out."

Ishtar crawled up onto the table the sole covering that was the loincloth that she wore moving beguilingly as she did so. "There was one more thing," she said. "The colour of your eyes when you did this were the most beautiful scarlet. Do you have any idea what that means."

"I have an idea," Shirou said as the goddesses face approached his own. Ishtar didn't seem to be in the mood for talking as stared into his eyes. She reached her hand to cup his cheek and licked her lips erotically. Suddenly Shirou jerked his head to the side.

"Somebody just attempted to enter the boundary field with Arcueid," he said and Ishtar noticed the slightest apprehension in his voice. "We better go meet them."

"By my name," Ishtar said. "They better have a good reason for interrupting us."

Shirou just shrugged and deliberately avoided eye contact with his servant in an attempt to get his hormones under control something that raised a smile on the servants face as she noticed his attempt. Walking to the door he deliberately reloaded his gun as he did so and kept it within easy access. Shaking his head and deliberately relaxing he stepped out into the garden. Walking past the gate he left the area that contained the spatial-temporal protections his eyes fell upon the three females and one male.

The first female and male were Arcueid and Shiki. Arcueid looked rather casual in her situations but Shiki looked more alert. Even with his eyes covered by bandages he still turned right around to face them when they left the house.

The other two were less familiar to Shirou. There was a petite green haired girl in what appeared to be a miko's outfit who clung to the other girl's arm. The last person there had red hair and blue eyes and wearing a white T-shirt and jeans. It took Shirou only a few moments to realise that the person on his doorstep was his sister.

"Hello," he said greeting the assembly neutrally. "Welcome to my house."

"Shirou," Arcueid said turning towards him. "You're looking well."

"I'm still a little sore," he admitted before turning to the two other girls. "I don't believe we've been introduced," he said. "I am the master of this house Shirou Inke. What are your names."

And then his sister Aoko Aozaki punched him in the face.

xxx

The fight had already lasted five minutes. Arcueid had merely watched the fight from the side-lines, deciding not to stop the family meeting and Shiki had followed her. Rider had restrained Berserker within the first few seconds and the petite girl now was struggling from within a sleeper-hold watching the two magicians deck it out.

And the two were still going at it. The fight had started with a display of martial arts until Shirou brought out his gun and then Aoko retaliated by firing multiple bullets of magic that destroyed the ice that Shirou summoned and she was forced to dodge the retaliatory icicles that were sent towards her. With a gesture the area around Shirou had been reduced to a crater that left a solid coffin of metal as the only survivor. She was then forced to dodge a stab from behind by a teleporting Shirou using the fifth to travel to a time that the strike didn't exist. Shirou was then knocked away by numerous unseen impacts but he weathered the blows and produced a black poisonous corrosive fog that managed to get Aoko to back down. And that was their current situation. The both of them stood opposite each other after releasing multiple deadly attacks against the other.

The first person to speak was the magician of the fifth. "Why," she said sounding honestly pissed off. "Why the hell are you wearing his face and stealing his name?"

"Blue," Shirou said. "Stop trying to pretend what is happening in front of you doesn't exist. Delusion doesn't suit you."

The red-headed girl went very quiet for a moment and then her head snapped up her sorrow turning to anger. "But then why after all this time, did you never think to tell me you were alive. Am I going to find out our parents also miraculously survived the fire and everybody I love is suddenly okay?"

"They're dead," Shirou said through gritted teeth. "I was seven, far too young to even find you. You behaved just like Touko and went gallivanting around the world as soon as you reached an age leaving the people who cared for you behind. What right do you have to complain now?"

"What right do I have," Aoko yelled out. "They were my parents, I loved them. I would have taken care of you if I'd known that you were alive. Did you even put any effort into tracking me down?" At Shirou's silence she exhaled. "Nevermind," she said.

The silence was broken by the sound of footsteps in the night street. "This isn't over," Aoko said turning towards the sound of the noise.

"Let's save it until after this war," Shirou replies.

The footsteps intensified until Satsuki emerged from the darkness, Nine following a few seconds behind. Seeing the group she stopped and noticed the new arrival. She looked uncertain for a few moments before Shirou.

"Satsuki, this is Aoko Aozaki," Shirou said.

"Oh, so you're Shirou's…" she cut herself off at Aoko's murderous look.

Aoko took a deep breath, "Yes we're brother and sister," she said letting it out. "Don't mind me I'm just a bit on edge."

"And the green-haired girl," she said looking back to where Berserker was trying to bite into Rider's arms.

"Mine I'm afraid," Aoko said.

"Okay," Satsuki said. Then she suddenly got more serious. "Sumire's betrayed use," she said causing the street to go quiet.

The reactions she got were not all that she expected. Aoko looked merely puzzled and while Arcueid looked completely taken off guard, Shirou merely inclined his head a bit.

"Let's talk more inside," the fourth magician said.

xxx

The collective group of eight sat around the table while Nine busied himself to prepare beverages for them.

"So Sumire destroyed the lesser grail, ambushed you and has a reality marble that summons sea monsters, and you turned into a mermaid," Shirou said reiterating the main parts of the story.

"Yes," said Satsuki gritting her teeth at the reminder. "What will happen now that the lesser grail is destroyed," she asked with concern in her voice.

"Simple," Shirou said. "The other lesser grails will pick up the pace." At the looks of shock that came from the table he elaborated. "I never put all my eggs in one basket there are five lesser grails that are hidden around the city. Well," he said thoughtfully. "Four now. As long as even one is running the souls of the heroes will be accumulated in one of them."

"Is it possible to track them down," Aoko asked.

"Theoretically," Shirou said. "I conjecture is that if a servant is killed the killer may be able to follow the path of the soul to one of the grails." He shrugged his shoulders. "The problem with that though is so few beings have any ability to perceive souls. It's not a very viable solution."

xxx

A magus workshop usually tended to be filled with half-completed works with plenty of notes that documented all research to future generations. It also tended to be a huge giveaway of their interests. For example the Tohsaka's workshop would contain various jewels that were being worked as well as notes on jewels and maybe some mystic codes that employed jewels.

The Matou's workshop contained a pit of a blood worms as well as research into many of the familiars and notes on their family magecraft.

Gransurg Blackmore's magecraft revolved around birds and therefore his workshop contained many diagrams of birds as well as specimens that were altered by magecraft both living and dissected as well as research into the nature of birds and lastly records about his research into the acquisition and storing of souls.

His servant on the other hand's workshop didn't abide by this rule. Diagrams of specimens to be built sat amidst machines both strange and wonderful. Notes on magecraft containing the knowledge dozens of fields were stacked on shelves while breath-taking pictures adorned the walls. Sculptures were periodically dotted throughout the room and one side of the wall was adorned with a massive computer screen.

In the middle of the room lay an operating table. On the operating table lay what remained of Gransurg Blackmore. Of his original body only his head, chest and half of one arm remained. This would have meant death or permanent disability in the eyes of every doctor or magus in the world. Luckily for him the person that tended to him was beyond the ability of every doctor or magus in existence. She had brown hair, blue eyes and a beautiful smile and she operated on the Dead Apostle Ancestor recreating and improving his body to such an extent that Victor Frankenstein would have gone down on his knees to watch the procedure.

"Isn't the technology of this time amazing," the woman remarked to herself inspecting a sample of carbon nanotubing. "If only I had this back in my time I could have done so much more," the woman said showing no signs of regret. "And aren't I fortunate that I have all these resources," she stated looking at the man on the table. "Whatever weapon that caused you to end up in such a state also managed to strip the Curse of Restoration from your body. The only thing that could possibly do that is an Anti-World Noble Phantasm." She smiled and picked up the next tool. "Don't worry though I will have you up and better than ever, as I have to."

Suddenly the sound of a phone ringing broke through the silence of the laboratory. The woman picked it up with one hand not even bothering to glance at the number. "Leone, here," she said. "Oh Sumi it's you. How are you doing?" The woman shifted her attention from the operation to the phone as the voice responded. "So there was more than one. That was a clever tactic." More chatter came from the other side of the phone. "So you would need my master to track down the location of the rest." It took her only a brief moment before she came up with an answer. "I hope you know what you are doing Sumi. He will be up and ready in about a day. Good luck."

Author Note: Took me forever to finish this chapter. Didn't know quite how to do it. I even completed another chapter of my other story in the meantime. I'll try to update more frequently if possible.

Guest: There will be another chapter of After the Date. I'll tell you when it's out. The second person should be guessable by now. The fight with Nine was mostly defensive.

Please Read and Review. It helps me when there is feedback.