With the image of the Serial Killer at hand, Tokiomi began thinking.
Rin recklessly went out to rescue a friend and took Sakura along for the ride.
While he trusts Sakura to watch Rin's back, the point was they're still kids they were truly lucky they were just confronting a man who possessed a Mystic Code even he could use. The girls felt a magus took advantage of his 'hobby' and made him gather children for their rituals, something that made the girls ill. That also left a bad taste in his mouth as he, like his family, are all Christians. They do NOT condone using innocents for their rituals, ever.
While Sakura wanted to kill him as one bad man dead can mean dozens of innocents saved, she could not kill him in front of Rin as Rin was too young to see murder and death firsthand. Sakura didn't want to rob Rin of her innocence just yet.
He gave the paper to Risei who in turn would give the paper to Kirei for him to deal with the man and find the magus who's a possible Master.
But...
'Tokiomi, about that man...' said Risei, showing him a picture of an unconscious man...and on his left hand, was a command spell. 'That man is indeed not a magus yet even a human can be chosen as a Master...this is an unprecedented event.'
'I concur...but why and how? The Grail is only supposed to choose magi, not humans as Masters. What's going on?' Tokiomi frowned. 'At any rate, I'm confident Kirei finished him off, and surely Caster will fade away after a couple more turns so that's one Servant down. But we should hunt Caster to ensure his or her permanent retirement.'
'Who found him out though?' Risei wondered.
'My two incredibly reckless daughters.' Tokiomi chuckled, shaking his head. 'Rin's friend from school was kidnapped, so Rin took Sakura with her on a rescue mission though I don't blame the girls for not knowing this man is a Master as their primary concern was rescue and survival, not investigation. However, they were fortunate that Caster wasn't around and that this man who's obviously the Serial Killer everyone's wary of is a mere human. Otherwise even they admit they're in trouble.'
'I see...I hear that Caster is harassing Saber lately so that's indeed a stroke of good luck.'
xxx
No more weird adventures since, but after three more weeks...the family was called to Tokiomi's Funeral by his student who now manages the Church in Fuyuki.
While they knew it was coming, it still devastated them...and they returned home one less member.
It was hard to adjust even for Sakura as Tokiomi was her first father figure who was a consistent presence as Sirius was never there for her because he was a fugitive.
Two years went by since then, that Sakura met a boy coming home from grocery shopping.
He's an active magus that started out yet...something's very wrong with this guy.
He can use mana but he never used his circuits. He has no excuse as he has perfectly OK 27 Circuits! 'Hey.' Sakura called out.
'Huh?'
The last thing Emiya Shirou, 9 years old saw is a beautiful girl poking him in the forehead...before he passed out.
That was how Fujimura Taiga found him.
xxx
Emiya Shirou begged and whined to his foster father for two years to teach him magecraft. But he only taught him the very basics with little results thus gave up on teaching him.
But he learned something through a forehead poke from that mysterious girl who may as well be a ghost. He never saw her face, only, long brown hair and that can be anybody!
He realized that his father only taught him how to get mana from the world, not how to use his own Circuits to get spells from. No wonder he screws up!
Now that he knows the right way and his father off to a trip somewhere, he can practice! He can practice using his circuits and the spells dad taught him, as well as what he learned...knowledge about Healingcraft and Bounded Fields. So he'd happily experiment about those...and due to a certain something in him, he found that he had incredible talent in those and he was so happy.
Little did Sakura know that she changed his future and caused the existence of EMIYA to start to disappear, much to his older self's delight.
xxx
Years later...
'Neesan, are you not going to Clock Tower instead?' Sakura asked Rin as after graduating from Junior High and Sakura graduating Elementary, Rin was looking into High School papers which Sakura noted. 'Most pupils go there at fifteen right?'
'I would, but what about school?' Rin pointed out.
'Neesan, compulsory schooling is only Elementary and Junior High as by that time, any Japanese Kid completed the kanji needed to live a normal life in Japan then one can go get a job. The only reason most kids go to high school is in order to go to University to get diplomas needed for lucrative jobs and living in Japan for an average family is expensive, so going to university is mostly out of motivation for money.' Sakura explained. 'We Tohsaka have money raining on us, so we have no such worries.'
'That is why you can go to Clock Tower, High School is merely optional for you while for me university is a necessity as I need legality requirements to keep money pouring into our estate and shut up the nosy people. Neesan should go show them that even if we are a shallow lineage, we too can be great. Who knows, if you always impress, you might get the attention of the family ancestor, and be taught by him personally.' Sakura teased her playfully. 'Of all magi in the world, he's the best in Jewelcraft! You might even get clues how to finish the homework he left our family. Just ignore the racial prejudice aimed your way as long as you're doing what you can to be great.'
'And if I do it, I'll be his first heir. Not anyone from that long-dead Matou or the Einzberns!' Rin grinned as she smacked her fist into her palm. 'Yosh! I'm going to do just that! I'm going to London!' she decided perkily, motivated and all fired-up.
'Well, its a tough road since I'm hearing nothing but bad things about that place regarding how they treat us asians.' said Aoi worriedly. 'Be careful alright?'
'I will! Sakura and I got the best combat teacher, we'll be fine!' said Rin.
Aoi looked at her chatting daughters.
Sakura was Rin's motivator.
It was Sakura who pushed Rin to who she is today and is the one with the ideas.
Combat training? Hire a Ryougi who can teach them! Sakura didn't like Kirei for some reason. Their teacher Ryougi Shiki was 20 when Sakura called the Ryougi around December, wanting to start at January and willing to pay the Ryougi for their time after the girls finished the basics and the arts they found easy to master as well as physically-conditioning themselves as Tohsaka are martial artists by nature. And Shiki was from a family of Demon Hunters but long since became Yakuza-like wealthy landowners instead as hello, no more demons in this era? But they still kept their training as tradition.
Shiki is a normal human...save for the fact that she possessed the rare Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, something she gained from a car accident and woke up with.
Shiki knows full well how to condition a female body for battle, and she didn't come alone; she dragged Aozaki Touko for the ride, and a young man named Kokutou Mikiya.
Aoi got along well with Touko and Mikiya, while Shiki went to work with the girls. Sakura was willing to pay Shiki 50 million yen a year until both of them are fifteen years old, so Sakura was the remaining pupil left as Rin just finished Junior High. According to Touko, Shiki's combat skills was high-spec with no openings in both offense and defense, and a speed-oriented fighter. Shiki possesses heightened physical abilities, enhancing her mobility in combat. Her most notable ability, self-suggestion, heavily reinforces her physical and mental abilities. The girls were heavily trained and disciplined by her and became capable knife and sword fighters as well as street fighting.
Sakura also took interest in puppetry, begging Touko to teach them was wasn't in their purchased books as she's the best in Puppetry...for 200 million yen(to Mikiya's horror). The reason she could pull off this audacity, was due to her cunning in managing their properties that they're very wealthy. Touko agreed because the money offered, was HUGE and would teach them worth that money. Indeed, Touko lived up to her name as the greatest puppet-maker in the world, but she said that they have to swear NEVER to tell anyone that she taught them as she is still a Sealing Designate.
Because of Sakura's circuits, only she could replicate Touko's greatest work, a puppet closest to the human body. This was why she got a Designate as magi being born with EX-Class Circuits, are 1 in a trillion. And it needed mana of great quality to create it. And as nobody has such circuits, weeell...
The money spent, was worth it.
'The Clock Tower huh?' Shiki frowned. 'So either you make it big there, or get slapped like Touko did.'
'Ahya, I'll be careful sensei.' said Rin sheepishly. 'I can't be a House Head if I got slapped. Where'd Touko go after teaching us Puppetry anyway?'
'Something about going to NASA as she wants to go to Space as a doctor.'
'Well, that's one place Magi can't find her.' said Rin wryly. 'Magi are technologically-illiterate and behind the times in modern technological developments and advances as we found out as kids. Had Sakura not insisted we buy electronics and appliances in order to pass off as a normal family, we'd be just as dumb too. Space is the perfect place that Touko can spend her time there without having to watch her back.'
'That's true...'
Thus Shiki would spend two more years in the Tohsaka Residence for Sakura to graduate as well. As a gift, Sakura gifted Shiki a tanto and a sword made of very dense steel that would require one hell of an effort to break or dull as its very sharp. It has a solid gold guard, hilt and pommel and its a very beautiful sword and knife made for a woman. It has crimson-red wrappings around its hilt and a matching sheath. The tanto given to her was double-edged, and also has gold and crimson designs. Both were as a gift.
And Sakura too, graduated Junior High at 15.
xxx
For Emiya Shirou...
Since the day he met the Ghost Girl, he studied hard, buying many medical books, and find ways in application with his knowledge in Healing Sorcery.
Kiritsugu found that his son has newfound interest in medicine.
'Ohya, found a goal in life, Shirou?'
'Un!' Shirou nodded. 'Dad, what else can magecraft be used for by a doctor?'
'Healing Magecraft aside, you need to know how to make medicine too.' said Kiritsugu. 'But that would be hard as you need to study the ingredients you'd be using to make medicine without a margin of error lest you make the consumer sick.' he said. 'Let's come up with ideas but I'm worried about your magecraft...'
'I can do it old man!' Shirou pouted. 'I guess some stuff's not good with me so let's try and try until we hit the jackpot!'
'That's gambling...'
But Kiritsugu humored him as Shirou found a safer way to be a mage in. And he liked that.
He was also surprised that he excelled in healing. In fact, he has a great affinity for it!
So Kiritsugu purchased magecraft that would help Shirou in his new goals in life. It was a by far, safer attempt to be a magus anyway.
He could die in peace, happy that he saved and nurtured a life after years of nothing but murder, that he felt that Shirou gave him redemption that he wanted.
At the funeral...
'Hey Fuji-nee...dad died with a smile on his face...why?' Shirou asked Taiga. 'People normally are afraid of death.'
'Well, sometimes people die happy.' said Taiga softly. 'Who knows what his life is like, that he was happier dead. Its a sad reality for those he left behind.'
'Oh...'
To stave off depression and loneliness, Shirou buried himself in his studies as a distraction from grief while training his body as his father said no magus has a weak body, for you need a physically-fit, well-disciplined body capable of acrobatics and martial arts to be a good magus.
He dedicated his whole being there.
And two more years passed...that Sakura finished her training under Shiki and is now enrolling for High School when she got a call from Rin from her cellphone.
'Neesan? International Calls are expensive.' said Sakura.
/Nevermind that! That jackass Kirei didn't tell us that the Fifth Grail War is fifty years early for some reason! Send me money now so I can buy a relic!/ came Rin's panicked cry.
'I knew we couldn't trust him.' Sakura growled. It was why she hired Shiki and later Touko as teachers. 'How much do you need?'
/I need to pay 700.000 pounds. How much is that in yen?/
Sakura did fast calculations in her head.
'That'd be almost 100 million yen, neesan. I'll send it over and converted. What class are we aiming for?'
/I want a Saber of course, and I had this eye in a relic. I hope its a Saber./
'Neesan, do your research on this character please...' Sakura sputtered, exasperated at her sister's happy-go-lucky attitude at a time like this. 'And please hurry because Kirei deliberately left us a short time frame, that damn bastard! I only found out about this war because of you when this should be another six decades wait!'
/Hey, its a shard from the Round Table of Arthurian Myth! It should draw Sabers!/
'Ah, no wonder you're confident. Alright, by Japan Nighttime since its still lunchbreak here, you'll get the money.'
/Alright, be waiting then!/ and cut.
'At least we'll be OK somehow...' Sakura sighed. 'Now then...time to get mother to go to her old home again soon next year...'
The war starts at February. Same time and its still spring...there's time to fortify the house again and create familiars for their forces. She wasn't sure how competent her sister's enemies would be. Three Founding Families aside...four from the Tower for sure and she's pretty sure they did their homework on her by now...
xxx
Rin swore.
As a student in Clock Tower, she should have just gone and graduated in two more years but nooo! This just HAD to happen to her.
As soon as she was told of the Grail War happening TOO early by her ancestor, she had a meltdown in his office no less when he called her there if only out of concern(because she clearly had no clue) as she has yet to earn his notice even if she was doing so well. In fact, as soon as she found out while cursing Kotomine Kirei for betraying her family in such a manner when its his duty to tell them that despite all their father has done for him, command spells that was an inverted version of her father's appeared on her hand.
'Well, you're here in the tower and you need a relic to summon your Servant so you should make your way to the Summoning Department. They'll part a relic for you for a price.' said Zelretch.
Thanking her ancestor(and bowing five times) before scampering out of his office, the old vampire can only chuckle.
She was able to talk to and negotiate for a relic. Once she got the money, she paid for it and studied about the Grail Wars.
"I gotta do this on my own...Sakura pushed me for 17 years of my life that I became who I am now, I got to walk on my own two legs for a change!" Rin thought as she studied about the books she found...and since she's got a British Relic, why not summon her Servant in their home country?
After all, people's adoration, becomes a Servant's power.
She looked at her Command Spells.
If it glows, it means her mana reserves are full.
Well, considering she has classes...and it takes her a couple hours to recover...
Well, surely she can stay up late anyway but she'll wait for December. Too early. For now she'll train and prepare herself for survival prospects. If she dies, Sakura can't get the crest...she's incompatible! To be a proper clan head you must have it! That was the rule by magi.
She cannot die here.