I have returned! Neolyph is back readers to bring you a new chapter of the story. Sorry about the long time between updates. I meant to have this out last week, but I just moved and it took like five fucking days to get the internet back on. I couldn't write during that time. For future reference, I'm aiming for weekly updates, but that may vary a bit due to scheduling. I am really impressed with how well this story is doing and I know I've said this before, but I'd like to sincerely thank all of you who read, review, favorite, and follow. You guys are the ones who motivate me to write.
Also, I feel I should note that I did change Illya's age around so that she is ten when the war starts. This is primarily because she's going to Hogwarts at the end of the war. I'll leave it to your own imagination what this age changes in canon history. As I'm much more familiar with Fate/Stay Night than I am with Fate/Zero, I don't know how important that change is. Now to answer some reviews!
Thundramon: Yeah, the story will continue to Hogwarts and beyond. I will also indulge in some Dumbles and Ron bashing. I've always held Dumbledore to be fucking despicable and Ron to be really annoying. Regarding Ginny, I always think people give her too much of a hard time, so yeah, Ginny gets a pass, just like Mrs. Weasley, who I always kind of liked. And yes, I don't think it will be much of a question which house this cold, calculating Harry is going into. Regarding the true magics, yes, Harry will learn the three gradually. He won't instantly master them, but he will have them from Zelretch's interference and the Grail. Oh, and regarding the Homunculi names, they're named off some actual triplets who are friends of mine. Thanks for the idea about the parseltongue, didn't think of that. Saber will join the harem, and I have plans for Kiritsugu. Glad to know you're enjoying the story!
Temsen: Mwahaha... the harem shenanigans shall begin...
Silent Reader: Rin will not be joining the harem. Plotwise, it's because Sakura still holds a grudge against her and is jealous that the Tohsakas kept her while abandoning herself to Zouken. Writing-wise, I'm not including her because I've always felt she was kind of a bitch. For the rest of your questions, read and find out.
The Illusion: Who says Illya is going to kill Kiritsugu? MWAHAHA!
Lupine Horror: Hey! Great to hear from you! Big fan of your work. I do kind of agree that up to this point, the story has been going a bit fast. The main reason for this is that I outlined how I want the war to go and realized that Zouken would not let most of that shit fly. Due to that, I had to rush things a bit to take him out before things started to really heat up. Now that he's out of the equation, I can afford to slow things down a bit. Regarding Kiritsugu and Avalon, Harry made it his business to know everything about the previous war and uncovered information on the excavation the Einzberns did that uncovered Avalon and put two and two together. The rest of his information comes from either Zouken or Zelretch.
Pedo: ...I'm not really sure how to respond to that... In all actuality, I don't know if I'll write true lemons, as I don't know how well I'd write them. We'll see in the future.
Akuma-Heika: Jesus Christ that's a lot of questions. I appreciate the honest questions and criticism, but I don't have time and space to answer all of them. To be broad, most of your questions regarding magic are answered simply that I'm fucking with canon magic so that I will be able to more easily crossover this. Regarding plot inconsistencies with canon, the same applies: I'm fucking with it so I can mesh these two universes a little better.
harlequin320: Yes. Yes he does.
DksDarkstrider: Thanks man. It makes me really happy to hear that.
Caelleh: Thanks, call it low self-esteem. Whats the old saying about all artists hating their work? While I wouldn't exactly call this art, that might just be proving the point. As you'll see in this chapter, the homunculi do get some fleshing out. I always felt unsatisfied with the fates of the Matous in canon, so I decided to change that in this story. Thanks for the support.
Chapter 5: Family Reunion
"Sella! Leysritt! I'm going out!"
Just as she finished calling, Illya heard movement in the next room before her maid Sella bustled into the entry hall, looking stern.
"Mistress, it is not my place to tell you what to do, but it is my duty to see to your well-being. I must advise against going out like this, even during the day. Wasn't the original strategy to simply wait for most of the participants to kill each other off and then sweep up the remainder?"
Used to her maid and guardian's stern attitude, llya put on her best "Puppy Dog" eyes, which she used whenever she wanted to something that her Homunculus servant disagreed with. While she loved Sella and Leysritt very much, they were sometimes a bit too protective of her. Now that she wasn't cooped in the Einzbern castle anymore, she wanted to explore the town a bit. After all, no matter how mature her upbringing had made her, she was only ten, and wished to see the world instead of always being cooped in castles and mansions, no matter how luxurious they were.
"Pleeeeeeeeeeeease, Sella? It's during the day, and I'll be going to a public park. I just want to make some friends."
With that, she upped the eyes' effect up to eleven, and they began to water. By now, even the most hardened, emotionless solider would be feeling bad, and most would already be cooing at the small, silver-haired girl. Sella for her part just sighed, before finallyrelenting. She knew that whenever her charge was like this, there was no denying her, and a small part of her did agree that she could use some friends.
"Be safe, Mistress."
Illya beamed, the tears instantly disappearing.
"Of course Sella! Even if I'm leaving Berserker behind, there's very little I can't handle!"
With that, the cheerful ten years old skipped out the door towards the nearest park, humming.
Harry Potter awoke in a dark, unfamiliar place, unable to move. For a brief moment, he panicked, only able to feel some sort of strangely warm restraints on all of his limbs. His head shot up to survey his surroundings, but the room was too dark to make out anything that he could use to comprehend his current situation. He was laying on something oddly soft, but completely foreign to him. It wasn't until he heard a familiar voice mumble in her sleep and the body connected to that voice shift against his arm that he remembered where he was. The Emiya Estate. Because he and Sakura burnt down the Matou estate. Because they finally killed Zouken. Because the worms had been removed from himself and Sakura. Because they were finally free. When that information finally sunk in, he involuntarily fell back down on the bed, which he remembered was the foreign object he was sleeping on. He wasn't too comfortable with the bed itself, it just felt odd, but with seven warm bodies attached to various parts of him, he was strangely comfortable. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he opened them and surveyed his bedmates.
Sakura was innocently holding his left arm, smiling like she was experiencing a pleasure unknown to mankind. He would have reached over to brush her hair, but his right arm was occupied by Rider, who was squishing his arm between her breasts and gently holding on, like a child with a stuffed animal. He was unsure as to whether she was awake or not, on account of the blindfold, but either way she didn't look too keen on getting up.
Looking down, he saw that Assassin was awake, still clutching his leg tightly, the limb having completely disappeared into those squishy watermelons she called breasts. She was looking at him with those cold but simultaneously zealous eyes, filled with unquestioning devotion. He wasn't exactly sure how long she'd been up, but judging from the lack of sleepiness in her eyes, she had been awake for quite some time, if she had even gone to sleep in the first place. Now that he thought about it, she had been in the exact same position staring up at him when he had fallen asleep last night. He genuinely hoped she hadn't stayed up all night watching him, both because he didn't want her to neglect her own well-being in favor of his, and because he wasn't sure how he would react to the knowledge that a centuries-old being, who surpassed mankind in every aspect, spent her time watching him sleep.
He gave his devoted Assassin a brief nod before turning to look at Caster, who was looking every bit the princess she was. The effect was only slightly ruined by the fact that she was naked and holding onto his left leg softly, giving cute little snores. Logically he knew that she was a vicious killer and betrayer, entirely lacking in morals, but like this, completely naked and defenseless, she just looked sweet and innocent.
Looking to his left, he saw that Leanna had stretched herself slightly over Sakura to lay her hand on his bare chest in a comforting sort of way. She was also awake and smiling at him. Despite the homunculi being triplets, Leanna was always viewed by the others as the youngest of the three due to her slightly clumsy and bubbly nature. The only time she acted maturely was when a serious situation arose. When that happened, it was like a switch was flipped and emotion shut off. Her Master was threatened and it was like a cold, calculating machine took her place. Then again, that was true for all the homunculi.
Lying beside Leanna, it appeared that Joy was also awake, in a similar position. Joy was the "middle child" of the three and had a quiet, studious nature. She had an overwhelming love of plants and animals, and had been incredibly disappointed when Zouken had forbidden her to start a garden at the Matou estate. Harry had made it up to her by starting a small hydroponic farm in a corner of his workshop, and she had hugged the stuffing out of him for that. A lot of the ingredients he used for cooking had been grown in that small garden, so it wasn't like it wasn't killing two birds with one stone either.
On his right, still sleeping, Harry saw Monica had stretched over Rider to duplicate her sisters' position, though in a slightly more reserved fashion. Had there been a need to use only two words to describe Monica, they would be "professional" and "mature." As the "oldest" of the three, Monica was given charge of them. When not overseeing them, she served as a sort of secretary/assistant to him when he did research. As the only homunculi capable of magecraft, she was much better suited to the role than her "siblings". Her younger sisters used to joke that if he had been a CEO, she would have been his hyper-competent secretary. Surprisingly, or at least as surprising as it was for someone so serious, her secret vice had always been sweets. Monica had a sweet- tooth that was to be feared. Harry couldn't bake a single batch of cookies without her sweeping in and disappearing with half the batch. Her other passion (with the exception of himself) was books. Monica was a complete bibliophile. You could give her a stack of novels and she'd go through them in a day. The strange thing was that this reading never seemed to interrupt her various duties. Harry has once seen her levitate a book in front of her and read it while perfectly forming a complex array in his workshop. How she managed the focus, he would never know, but it was something impressive, for sure.
Satisfied with his examination of his surrounding, he exchanged greeting nods with Leanna and Joy before searching for a clock. It was hard to see over the various bodies, but the alarm clock on the nightstand read 5:30 A.M. While that was normally the time he woke up, apparently it was not so for most of his bedmates. It was Sakura's first night of true rest in years and he thought she deserved to sleep in without him interrupting it. He motioned towards the clock and the two awake homunculi seemed to get the message. Assassin just continued watching him, but he didn't expect her to go back to sleep, if she had slept in the first place that is. He felt Monica and Joy settle back down and heard their breathing get more regular as sleep finally took them. Finally, he shut his own eyes and returned to his dreams.
When Harry awoke again, the sun was up and it appeared that all of his bedmates were finally rising. Sakura looked absolutely adorable as she sat up, still instinctively clutching his arm. She blinked a couple times to get the sleepiness out of her eyes and he reached over to brush her bed-head down. Feeling his hand on her head, she seemed to realize he was brushing her hair and blushed up a storm, before smiling contentedly and leaning against his side.
On his other side, Rider also seemed to have woken up. She looked over to him, smiled warmly as she watched him interact with the young Matou, as if reminded of something, and smoothed his own hair affectionately. She leaned over and whispered a "Good morning, Master. Hope you slept well," in his ear before she stepped off the bed and materialized her clothes onto herself before taking up a position beside the bed.
Caster rose up, stretched regally like a cat, and duplicated Rider's action in affectionately smoothing his messy black hair and wishing him good morning before standing, clothing herself, and taking up a position next to Rider.
Assassin, who was still in the same position she had been in last night, released his leg, and in what looked like an attempt to duplicate her two counterparts, smoothed his hair, whispered, "Good morning, my god. I hope you had a most pleasant sleep," to him, stood, and dressed. Not ones to be left behind, Leanna, Monica, and Joy all smoothed his hair, whispered their good mornings, and went to the corner to dress in their maid uniforms. Harry wasn't exactly sure why they wore the maid uniforms. When he had first created and grown them, he had intended for them to simply assist him wearing normal clothes, but Zouken had for some reason insisted that they wore maid outfits, insisting that "lower lifeforms and dolls" had to properly show their subservience to their masters. Ever since then, he had been entirely unable to convince them to wear anything but the French maid uniforms the Matou patriarch had supplied them with. All he could do was alchemically reinforce the materials to make them function about as well as top-of-the-line military Kevlar. He never could figure out why they still wore them when they had taken regular clothes from the estate.
Deciding to let it go, he chuckled as he heard Sakura's stomach let out a slight growl and he was reminded that they were too exhausted last night to eat a proper dinner. Harry figured that since he was a guest, he should repay his host by helping with the chores, especially since Kiritsugu stroke him as the type to live off takeout food. He stood with Sakura, motioned his Servants to follow him, and went to cook a massive breakfast. His Servants eagerly followed, knowing what was in store.
Kiritsugu Emiya awoke to the smell of cooking food. He was very confused, as he had never known Saber to cook, though truthfully, he actually knew very little about her other than her identity as a king. It wasn't until he had cautiously made his way to the kitchen that he remembered his guests. Standing in his kitchen were Harry and Sakura. The kid, who had somehow ended up contracting three Servants, was throwing ingredients around like a master chef, and the smell was enough to make his mouth water. Beside the young cook, Sakura was taking the food he was rapidly producing and plating it with the ease of a regular routine. At the table, six people were sitting, eagerly watching the proceedings. Still focused on his task, Harry nonetheless addressed him.
"Good morning, Mr. Emiya. I hope you don't mind my making use of your kitchen. I figured I could cook as a thanks for your hospitality."
"Uhh... that's quite alright Harry. Just call me Kiritsugu by the way. Where did you get the ingredients for all this? I don't cook a lot, so the only real thing I had on hand was a lot of frozen meat..."
"Oh, I specialize in alchemy. I just went outside and transmuted some plants in your yard into the ingredients I needed."
He sweatdropped at Harry's casual admission to something most experienced alchemists would consider very difficult. Not only that, but most of them would scream that the casual use of the noble art of alchemy for the menial use of creating food was heresy, but then again most Magi had odd quirks, although Harry seemed to have more than most.
"I see. Thank you kid. I must admit, I am not a particularly good cook, and it is one of many things Saber resents me for. If you're willing to cook, I would be most honored to enjoy your meal."
At the mention of her name, Saber wandered in, seemingly in a trance at the smell of Harry's heavenly cooking. It was rather comical really, like in a cartoon when a character smells a pie or something and they levitate towards the smell a foot off the ground. As she took her place at the table, a sound like a fork stuck in a garbage disposal filled the room. Harry's six Servants leapt up into defensive positions around him. Everyone glanced around the room tensely before all their eyes landed on the blushing Saber still sitting at the table, holding her stomach.
"When will the food be ready?" she said shyly.
Harry just stared at her for a moment before chuckling.
"It just finished Saber. My apologies for interrupting your dinner last night, I hope that this breakfast will make up for it."
Saber just blushed further as Harry brought out breakfast dish after breakfast dish and piled them onto the table. Saber immediately piled a truly impressive stack of pancakes onto her plate and set into them like a starving wolf. The rest of the Servants took similar portions but ate at a more sedate pace. Noticing Harry's amused glance, Saber once again blushed and looked down, embarrassed, and meekly offered:
"Hunger is the enemy?"
Kiritsugu sat at the table watching the various people at the table tease Saber. It was all good hearted, sort of like what a family would do at a dinner table. He took the moment to examine the various people Harry associated with. The Servants had been astralized for most of the previous night and the homunculi were occupied most of the night, so he hadn't really had the chance to get a feel for any of them. The three homunculi were easiest to identify. He'd heard their names, but he couldn't tell which was which. They were three seductive beauties, with pale skin, massive breasts, shoulder length black hair the same color as Harry's that fell off their heads like a wave, and were all wearing maid uniforms. One was occupied with making fun of Saber, a second was eating quietly and watching the conversations amused, and the third was reading a book with one hand while eating with the other.
The boy's Servants were more interesting. The first, Rider, was an ethereal beauty. She had long purple hair, like Sakura, and was wearing something that looked out of a BDSM magazine. Her other unique features were the odd blindfold she wore and the archaic symbol on her forehead. Between her outfit and her smooth, seductive voice, he got the sense that she was a very dangerous individual to provoke, and she seemed to have firmly attached herself to Harry. Every movement she made had the predatory grace of something inhuman accustomed to killing. Despite all that, she seemed to be rather calm at the moment, so he just made a mental note not to threaten Harry in her vicinity. It cut a sharp contrast between her appearance and the fact that she was occupied with joining one of the homunculi in ribbing Saber.
The second Servant was apparently Caster. She was wearing a robe with a hood, which was currently down. She looked like a princess, with light blue hair and strangely enough, pointed ears. She was eating elegantly and making polite conversation where she could. It seemed Saber wasn't the only royalty at the table. One of the things that had helped Kiritsugu in his line of work was his ability to read people, a very useful skill that had saved him a lot of trouble more than once. It was a tremendously useful skill to have in his line of work, but even with all his experience, this woman in front of him was totally unreadable. It was like she was some sort of professional liar or deceiver. He just knew that if she put her talents to something like being a con artist, she could probably bankrupt Japan within a couple days. Ironically, despite the obvious air of betrayal and deceit the woman gave off, she was the least bloodthirsty looking of the boy's Servants.
It was perhaps the boy's third Servant though that was most unnerving to him. Standing at Harry's left shoulder was Servant Assassin. Harry had tried to get her to sit down and eat, but she had adamantly refused, something about "it not being a slave's place." Eventually, the boy had just sighed and allowed her to take her usual post at his left shoulder. Kiritsugu took a moment to get a good look at the enigmatic woman, and he had to admit, she was a wet dream walking. She was tall, with shoulder length black hair, like the homunculi, but it was as if someone had materialized a patch of darkness to use as their hair. It seemed to drink in the light around it. She was wearing a low cut dress that barely contained her stupidly large breasts, that despite their size, did not seem to sag in the least. Honestly, he had learned over his many years to completely suppress his sexual desires through his mercenary training, but even he couldn't help but stare at this woman's chest. What unnerved him most about this woman though was the look in her eyes. She had the look of one who had been broken beyond all repair and somehow restored. The way she looked at Harry held nothing but untold zeal. Just by looking at her, he could tell she would do literally anything Harry told her to. That kind of devotion in a person was a scary thing. That kind of devotion in a Servant, a being that any one of which could likely single-handedly take out every magus in the world combined? Kiritsugu was legitimately terrified of what this woman could do if Harry let her off the leash. He just made a mental note to never insult Harry in this woman's presence. Yeah, Rider and Caster would likely kill him painfully, as would the homunculi unless Harry called them the five of them off, but this woman wouldn't just kill him. She would drag it out for years and years on Harry's orders without question or doubt. So yeah, he made sure to be careful around this woman.
He was interrupted from his thought as he realized that Saber had stolen his entire plate when he wasn't looking. Foodless, he resigned himself to stealing a bit or two when he could. Upon tasting Harry's food, he resolved that he would never cook for himself again. Kiritsugu was the sort who burned water when he cooked. He hadn't even known cooking like this could exist. He must secure a steady supply of this food!
Harry walked down the sidewalk in a residential section of Fuyuki. After breakfast, he'd had a strategy meeting with Kiritsugu. After working out a plan of cooperation, Harry went out to scout for the final master. Since it was a stealth mission, he had left Rider and Caster to reluctantly stay behind at the Emiya estate while he took Assassin out scouting. He took Assassin because with the level of power she'd been summoned at, her presence concealment could keep Gaia itself from finding her if she dialed it up enough, which made her perfect for a stealth mission. Between her presence concealment and his ability to clamp down on his prana leakage, nobody would be able to tell he was an enemy master. Though impassive as normal, he noted that even Assassin seemed conflicted between what he imagined to be a desire to have all his Servants protecting him while also having a desire for some alone time with him.
Apparently, the first desire won out as she gave him a somewhat reluctant look when they first set out. For the usually inexpressive Assassin, that said quite a lot. Regardless, she dutifully followed after him, taking her usual position a step behind him and to the right. Though she was astralized and as such he couldn't truly see her, her presence bolstered him.
He had decided to set out at nine thirty AM under the logic that few Masters would start a fight in broad daylight, so even if Berserker's Master noticed him, he would have time to escape. He honestly didn't think he was going to find anything in this nice little suburb, but he could detect the faintest amounts or prana in the air. Following it with Assassin in tow, he finally came upon a park. The park was a small one, just a couple swings, a slide, some monkey bars, and some grassy area for moms to take their children to play. The park was mostly deserted with the exception of a small, white haired girl with red eyes sitting melancholic on a swing. Harry instantly recognized her for what she was: a homunculus. He had plenty experience with them after all. From the prana this girl was leaking, he didn't think it a coincidence she was a homunculus in the middle of the Grail War. He had a sneaking suspicion that this girl was the Master he had been seeking out. Normally, he'd have approached to make a deal or simply ordered Assassin to take out the Master since her Servant didn't seem to be nearby, but this girl was his age. The lonely look on her face reminded his of what his own had looked like with the Dursleys all those years ago. It was the face of someone facing the world alone and losing. Steeling himself, he took a seat on the swing next to the girl.
Illya had skipped all the way out of her castle to the city of Fuyuki. It was only upon arriving there that it occurred to her that she had no idea how to find or make friends. Her upbringing had been focused solely on her studies of Magecraft, and on how to act as an Einzbern, so she just started wandering around, feeling somewhat lonely without Berserker there. Normally she took him everywhere, but even astralized, he radiated so much bloodlust that nobody would get within a hundred yards of her when she brought him anywhere. Since the mission was making friends, she elected to leave him behind. She had been wandering for nearly an hour before she found what she was looking for: a park! The park was currently empty, but she was just sure that if she waited long enough, other kids would come along and she could make friends! Just the thought made her feel excited!
Making friends was apparently harder than Illya thought. She had been waiting at this park for what felt like two hours and nobody had come along! She was about to move along and try a new place when she heard the swing next to her rattle. Looking to her right, a boy her age had sat next to her. He was a couple inches taller than her, with a thin but strong build, hair the color of night marred only by a streak of purple, looking like a comet streaking across a starless sky, circular glasses, and warm green eyes that seemed to look right through her. He smiled warmly at her and stuck his hand out for her to shake.
"Hi! My name is Harry! What's yours?"
Illya smiled as she knew she'd finally found her friend.
"Hi Harry! I'm Illyasviel von Einzbern! It's a pleasure to meet you!" Harry watched as the young homunculus hopped off the swing, stepped in front of him, and gave her introduction while curtsying formally. He just chuckled at the girl's obvious lack of knowledge of childhood norms. Another part of his brain registered that this girl was apparently the Einzbern representative of the war. Why exactly they sent a ten years old, he didn't know, but he would find out.
"So Illya, what are you doing out her all by yourself?"
The girl looked down sadly and quietly replied.
"I just got to this town. Where I used to live, there wasn't really anybody around, so I didn't have any friends. Then I came here, so I decided to go out and make some."
Harry just smiled at her and took her hand.
"Alright then, I am going to be your friend Illya! Come on let's go play together!"
With that, he dragged her away from the swings and towards the rest of the park.
Illya was having the best day of her life! Even though she had been really sad when nobody was at the park, she had waited patiently and sure enough a boy had arrived to be her friend! Big Brother was the best! Though when they had started playing in the park she politely called him Harry, he was just so warm and kind and caring that by the time they left the park and went to something called an "arcade," she had already subconsciously started addressing him like an older sibling.
After the arcade, which was amazing, Harry took her to something called a "burger joint" where she ate a "burger" and it was amazing! It wasn't the fine cuisine the Einzbern homunculi made, but something about the greasy, unhealthy food just appealed to her and she ate a whole three of them! She had initially been embarrassed, but Big Brother Harry had just laughed it off and patted her on the head affectionately.
The only thing that had spoiled the day somewhat was that Big Brother had slipped up with his long sleeves and with her eyes and the fact that she was the Lesser Grail, she saw that he had command seals on his arm. She had initially been very angry and planned to kill him for daring playing with her feelings, but growing up in the serpent's den that was Castle Einzbern, she knew when someone was tricking her and whether or not it was malicious. She couldn't pick up an ounce of hostility from Big Brother and she trusted him, so she decided she would let it slide, knowing that he would explain in due time, and that if he didn't, she could always ask him.
Finally, at about 4:00 PM, she and Harry ended up back at the park they had met in. Sitting side by side on the swings, Harry spoke up.
"Illya, can I make a confession?"
She smiled, already having a good idea about what he wanted to say, and felt relieved that he hadn't misjudged him.
"Of course Big Brother. You can tell me anything."
"Will you promise not to freak out?"
Her smile widened, it was nice to have someone who cared enough about her to try and ease her into something, instead of adopting the "sink or swim" approach prevalent in the Eizbern castle.
"I promise, Big Brother."
He chuckled and held out his little finger towards her.
"Pinky promise?" he said, grinning.
She reached out and wrapped her own finger around his,
"Pinky promise."
He sat there for just a moment before finally saying it.
"I'm a magus, and I know you are too."
"I know."
He blinked, looking at her.
"You knew?"
"Of course Big Brother. When we were in the burger place, your sleeve slipped up and I saw your command seals."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"Because I trust you, Big Brother. You are one of the first people in my life to have been kind to me. Ever since Kiritsugu left and mom died, the only people around me either hate me, see me as a tool, or view me as a burden."
Harry gently reached over and put a hand on her shoulder. It was a moment before another part of that statement registered in his mind.
"Wait, Illya, did you say Kiritsugu? As in Kiritsugu Emiya?"
Illya's eyes hardened. How did he know that much? Of course, her father was rather infamous, but she doubted that Harry was old enough to have been warned about him, especially since Kiritsugu had disappeared when they had barely been old enough to study Magecraft.
"Yes. What of it?"
"How exactly do you know him?"
"He's my father."
Harry almost fell off his swing, but kept his composure. Kiritsugu was the Eizbern's representative's father? And given her reaction to his name, it was obvious she held a grudge against him.
"If he's your father, why did he leave?"
Illya's glare deepened, looking as if she was attempting to burn a hole straight through the ground to wherever Kiritsugu was.
"I have no idea. That bastard just up and abandoned me after he killed mom."
"He killed your mother? Why?"
"He didn't directly kill her, but he was responsible. Grandfather told me so. That's why I've come to this city. To kill him."
At the mention of "Grandfather" Harry became suspicious. You didn't get to be the head of a magus clan without becoming a straight manipulative bastard. Zouken was proof enough of that.
"Illya, I don't know your grandfather, but I do know his type. I spent five years as a ward of the Matous. Zouken was the most manipulative bastard I've ever met. I don't mean to call your grandfather a liar, but I do know Kiritsugu Emiya. He doesn't seem the type to do something like that, not without at least a very good reason. I'll make you a deal. I'm currently staying at the Emiya estate. Come back with me, and I'll sit you down with him and you can ask him all the questions you want. If it will help, I'll even have Caster write up a geass scroll to prevent him from lying. If you're not completely satisfied with his answers, you can summon your Servant and kill him."
Illya thought the offer for a moment before finally nodding and taking Harry's hand. It was perfect! The day just kept getting better and better! Never had she imagined that she would be able to see Kiritsugu so fast, nor that she would be able to get some answers as to why he had abandoned her. She was not stupid, even if she was convinced that he had left her, she had grown up in an environment that made it easy for her to see the interest in getting some straight answers instead of just killing him.
"Thanks Big Brother. Let's go confront dad!"
At the Kiritsugu estate, Caster got a strange message from her Master. Following his orders, she went to Kiritsugu's room and knocked. There was some shuffling on the other side of the door before it opened to reveal a coughing Kiritsugu Emiya, looking ill.
"What is it? Oh, Caster. Can I help you?"
"I'm going to come right out with it Emiya. Do you have a daughter named Illya?"
Kiritsugu choked for a moment on his coughing, not having expected that question.
"Yes," he answered cautiously, "Why?"
"I just got a message from Master. Apparently he met up with her and learned that she's the Einzbern representative and has her heart set on killing you. He suspects that the Einzbern patriarch has poisoned her mind with lies to get her to participate in this war. She has agreed to meet with you under the condition that you sign a geass scroll guaranteeing your truthfulness during the meeting."
He was stunned. His daughter was here? In the Grail War? And hated him?
It took him a moment to reply, but when he did, it was as if some life had returned to him despite the curse eating away at him. He had always regretted being unable to get Illya, despite his best efforts he had been blocked at every turn by the Eizbern family, who had not forgiven him from wasting their chance to get the Grail. So if he could finally see his daughter, he was going to take that chance, and would tell her the full truth. If she still wished to kill him afterwards, then so be it, at least he would have seen her one last time, which was more than he could have hoped for.
"Of course. Write the scroll up and I'll sign it in front of her."
It was 5:30 by the time Harry returned to the Emiya estate with Illya and her two homunculi maids in tow. She had insisted on stopping by her castle to pick them up for protection. He didn't bother to attempt to dissuade her as it was a safe thing to do, and if there was one thing he knew about magi, it was that they were paranoid. The maids seemed to be generally good people, if a little suspicious of him. Then again, they were entitled to be suspicious of those near their charge. He walked in the front door into the dining room where his Servants ambushed him to hug him, check him over for injuries, and just generally fuss over him. He just patiently permitted them to do it, knowing it made them feel better about his going out. Illya coughed awkwardly before he remembered his manners and introduced his Servants. His new friend gawked at the fact that her "Big Brother" had three Servants, which should have left him as a dried husk due to the amount of prana necessary to maintain their existence, but also at the fact that they were not only maintained, but were also being given ludicrous amounts of power by a human boy her age. She herself had trouble maintaining Berseker, despite the augmentations made to her circuits by the Eizberns. The amount that Harry was giving his Servants was almost the double of what she herself could use, and she was in Magus' terms, a prana battery! Add to that the fact that Harry had created three homunculi of a quality that matched, if not surpassed, her own, and she was in awe of her new friend.
The group made small-talk for a few moments, while Caster showed the scroll to Illya, who examined it for good measure, before Kiritsugu came stumbling in, looking in shock at the sight of the daughter he'd been forced to abandon. Every instinct in his body was screaming at him to rush forward, envelope her in his arms, and never let her go. He restrained himself based on the suspicious look she was throwing at him. It seemed that Harry had not lied. At least he'd been able to talk her down from outright murder to suspicion and questioning.'
"Hello, sweetie," he said awkwardly.
"Hello, Kiritsugu," she greeted coldly. He winced at hearing that tone of voice from his daughter, especially the way she was addressing him. It seemed that she hated him enough to not call him Father or Dad anymore, not that he could begrudge her for that. He hadn't exactly been the best father around, after all.
"Look, sweetie, I know I've made a lot of mistakes in life. I want to make it up to you. To start with, I'm going to sign this geass scroll Caster gave me. Then we can talk in the other room."
With that, he took out a pen and signed the bottom of the paper Caster had produced. The parchment glowed for a moment before settling down and Kiritsugu felt the geass weigh down on his brain, compelling him to not lie.
"Let's go into here sweetie, and we can talk."
He motioned towards a side room and opened the door. Illya spared one last look at Harry, hugged him, and then followed after her father, determined to get answers.
With Illya and Kiritsugu gone, Harry started on dinner. Sakura came in after hearing the commotion, gave her own hug, scolded him for not informing her that he was back and for going out in the first place, and started helping him cook.
Eventually, the smell caused Saber to levitate out of her room again, but Kiritsugu and Illya remained in the study. Even after everyone had eaten their fill, he had cleaned up, wrapped up some leftovers for the father and daughter, and prepared for bed there was still no indication of them coming out of that room and her two maids had taken up positions outside the door. He sent Assassin to stealthily check on them and she confirmed that they were both crying and yelling and hugging each other. His concerns put at ease, he went back into the bedroom where everyone was preparing for bed. Right as everyone was about to climb into bed, the door opened and Illya walked in, eyes red and puffy from crying. Then her eyes locked on him, and she almost stumbled in her haste to wrap him in one of the tightest hugs he had ever gotten, all the way crying in his chest and thanking him profusely.
Eventually, she stopped crying, and he was shocked as she started stripping down for bed. Apparently, Kiritsugu had offered her another guest room but she had insisted on sleeping with "Big Brother" (he could almost feel Kiritsugu's glare on his back, the man most likely would kill him if he did anything to his daughter), and, for some reason unknown to him, seemed to share the lack of concern about by almost naked with a male in the same room than the other females in his life.
She was slightly put off by the number of people she would have to share a bed with, but after considering that he had convinced her to hear her father out and because of that they completely reconciled, she decided to put up with it. As she was smaller than both Harry and Sakura, she squeezed in between himself and Rider, though she still didn't take up a lot of space. Aside from that, the sleeping positions remained the same as they had been the previous night. As Assassin clicked the light off, it wasn't long before the loving warmth all around him drove Harry into a deep sleep, ready for whatever tomorrow would bring.
