"Thank Truth for tablets," said Shirou. His workshop was entirely on the electronic device and backed up online, where no traditional Magi would be able to find it.

He had initially only had a workshop to get Unlimited Blade Works up and running. Now he was doing it for almost the same reasons a Magus would.

He wanted to expand his horizons. He wanted to do more than just spam copy swords at people, or launch Broken Phantasms.

He had awakened a scientific curiosity he didn't know he had, and gained the one thing that he gladly cast aside to accomplish his goals.

Pride.

It was as if Truth had given him a piece that had been missing, filling the void that had existed his entire life.

Shirou could honestly claim he liked Truth a lot more than Gaia.

"It does seem convenient," agreed Enkidu. He was like a silent watcher waiting for the other Servants to arrive, so that they could kick start the war.

"Plus it makes it so much easier for me to notice my stalker," snickered Shirou.

Enkidu couldn't help the amused laugh that came out. Gilgamesh was never subtle, but at least he didn't draw too much attention.

Shirou was even generously covering for him by claiming his fellow blond was his 'older brother' checking up on him on orders from their parents. Ironically it served the purpose of easing the minds of the adults consistently around him, who took the fact he hadn't dragged their now favorite bookworm out of the city that the parents approved.

The fact that they did look and act a lot like each other didn't help. Not that Shirou realized this fact.

Still, he kept himself occupied in a way the adults couldn't argue against, didn't really cause waves, and more importantly he had been able to identify whenever a Master appeared.

He had debated on whether to allow Caster's Master to live or not, but felt that allowing Medea to live in the war simply wasn't worth the effort. The damage she had caused was just too high, even if he did feel some sympathy learning the full story.

Shirou Emiya might have spared her life, or become her Master out of pity, but Shirou Elric was pragmatic to the core.

It was better to take her out before she had a chance to establish herself, and he had at least given her the dignity of having a proper Servant battle before he killed her.

She hadn't liked the fact she lost because she killed her Master, but at least there wasn't some lingering resentment over the issue. She had fought Lancer, and he had given her a fair shot of survival, even letting her get some of her magecraft off before Enkidu killed her.

There was nothing personal about it. Even if one Servant had now been taken out before the others had been officially summoned.

Besides, he was still a bit pissed at the way she had taken Saber from him the first time with that damn Rule Breaker of hers.

Of course that meant Assassin would now be up for grabs, as he knew Medea has used her superior skills to fool the Grail, but that was a small change and he could handle Assassin himself. Enkidu just had to lure the Servant out where Shirou would be waiting.

He might have lost his height, but all the hard-earned skills he had gained before he almost made that deal with Alaya had remained. And with Unlimited Blade Works, he could be mistaken for Saber or his old Archer class.


It was amazing how quickly things settled into a new routine. A single meeting had brought him into contact with Shirou Emiya in a rather unusual way.

Most of the thugs that were considered the "lowest of the low" by the professional criminals had moved to easier cities. And while the crime rate had taken a hit, the more disgusting crimes had come to an all time low. A fact Raiga intended to continue, as he disliked their sort to begin with.

The fact it earned him brownie points with the local cops didn't hurt either. About the only stipulation for the Yakuza families he had set was that they leave the true innocents out of it.

That included anything from children younger than twelve to people who had married in from normal families and only found out after the fact that they were now part of a yakuza clan. So long as they had zero part in the criminal day to day operations, they were generally ignored.

If they defended their families, that was different. But other than that they were left alone.

Shirou found it rather ironic that the small suggestions he had made to the families had resulted in a workable relationship with them.

For one thing, the number of homeless had taken a hit, as they had started employing said people as informants, or taking them into the families if they were still considering minors. They couldn't force them into the life until they were at least sixteen, but it did wonders for their public image.

They accepted he was there for the next year at the least, and he didn't interfere if he saw one of the families doing something many considered illegal.

It also seemed Truth had it out for him, or Gaia. Because during the meeting he had been properly introduced to Taiga, and his recommendations had won her over.

Which meant he was now living in his old house after she found out he mostly slept in abandoned warehouses rather than deal with nosy neighbors.

Shirou (Emiya) had accepted the new boarder with ease, which gave Shirou (Elric) plenty of opportunity to wear down, or at least give him a more reasonable goal until he attracted Truth's attention a second time.

He had to admit though, introducing his past self to Waver and showing how a little common sense would allow him to keep his actual research out of the hands of the more traditional families, who would hate the Emiya name for the way Kiritsugu had dealt with them (especially the von Einzberns) was a lot of fun.

It would make watching the show between Rin and Emiya that more amusing. Especially since he knew how to awaken Unlimited Blade Works, and with how stuck in the past most Magi were, no one would be able to realize that Shirou Emiya was researching how to properly deploy a reality marble.

Especially if he used some damn common sense to hide the folders.

Emiya had accepted his presence in the house because he knew how to do chores, gave a few minor pointers on how to make his storage shed a proper workshop, and helped with the cooking since there were now five people eating at the table.

No one questioned Enkidu's presence, or his hair color. As far as they knew, Enkidu was a bodyguard from his family in Germany. One from an area were internet access was a luxury. The fact he could name a place where that held true meant no one really questioned his story. He covered for the odd hair color by claiming his bodyguard liked the color green and so decided to dye his hair that color.

Taiga had tried to convince Shirou Elric into attending school, but when he started quoting books and theories way above high school level she dropped it. And any social interaction could be gained by living with Shirou and Sakura. And he could fake any official ID by borrowing someone else's and then using alchemy to make his own.

So it wasn't like he was strapped for cash.

He was just waiting.


Shirou (Elric) was grinning wickedly. Sakura was hiding her smiling face as Shirou (Emiya) tried to act as peacemaker. Enkidu was firmly with Sakura's side on this. Shirou (Elric) had provoked the woman deliberately.

Taiga was fuming because Shirou (Elric) had stolen the last piece of fried tofu made specially by Sakura. It was her best dish, and she had gotten hardly any!

But that wasn't what set Taiga off. No, that was entirely due to the fact Shirou (Elric) had smugly commented on having "tiger-like" reflexes.

She had clearly taken the reference to the infamous nickname she had, because you could see the shadow of a tiger behind her.

"That does it shorty! You're in for it now!" she roared.

"I'm not short you lazy tiger! I just hit a proper growth spurt yet! We're called late bloomers for a reason!" Shirou (Elric) roared with equal enthusiasm.

"Care to prove that blondie?!"

"Calm down!" said Shirou (Emiya) frazzled.

"Bring it on, old woman! I could kick your ass any time, anywhere!" challenged Shirou (Elric).

Taiga took the implied challenge, and before Shirou (Emiya) knew what was happening Shirou (Elric) was in the dojo with a pair of swords while Taiga had her Tora Shinai in hand.

"Why doesn't anyone listen to me?" said Shirou (Emiya) with a slight whine. It wasn't that big a deal.

"They're just having fun," said Enkidu, pitying him.

"It seems rather harmless enough," said Sakura in agreement.

"But did he have to rile her up like that?" complained Shirou (Emiya).

"Last chance to back out, short stuff," said Taiga.

"Prepare to meet your maker, tiger," said Shirou (Elric) evilly.

"Begin!" said Sakura, seeing as how Shirou (Emiya) wasn't too happy with either of them.

It was abundantly clear that Shirou (Elric) was far more skilled than Taiga. He not only stole her sword, he bopped her on the head twice. But that proved to be a ruse. She pulled out a second one, and the one he took turned into a bouquet of flowers.

"For me, you shouldn't have!" she cackled.

This time Shirou (Elric) didn't play around. He let Taiga get a few hits in, but it was pretty obvious that he was playing with her. He left holes in his defense, but when Taiga went to attack them, they became perfect traps.

Shirou (Emiya) was fascinated by such a style. He had no idea Shirou (Elric) had counted on it.

He was bored, and after several months of frenzied studying and upgrading his limited knowledge of magecraft to a higher standard, he wanted a decent opponent. None of the real movers or shakers of the War would be showing up for two more months.

More than enough time to beat some sense into his past self, if only because he had nothing better to do.

Which was why after Taiga and Sakura had left for the night, Shirou (Elric) was not surprised in the least when his past self approached him.

"You want to learn real swordsmanship, not the sport version Taiga uses."

Shirou (Emiya) blinked at him. Was it that obvious. Shirou (Elric) grinned.

"I know I would have jumped at the chance when I was younger to be apprenticed to a semi-competent teacher. I can even show you what you're doing wrong with your circuits if you like," said Shirou (Elric).

"What's the catch?"

"You have to actually listen when I tell you why becoming a hero isn't as easy as saving everyone. There are some people in this world that don't deserve to be saved, there are some that can't be saved, and some you won't be able to save because of your skill level. I'm going to beat it into you so that you'll be able to tell the difference on you're own," said Shirou (Elric).

Shirou (Emiya) fumbled a bit to catch the sword Shirou (Elric) tossed him.

"Shall we begin?"


Time skip two months...

Today was the day. Not that Shirou (Emiya) knew that. The day he stayed behind too late to clean the Archery club and then summoned Saber. If things worked out like it did before, one of the Servants would show and fight Archer, only to follow Shirou (Emiya) home. It would force him to summon Saber, and thus kick start the entire war properly.

So Shirou (Elric) waited patiently.

"You seem on pins and needles today," commented Enkidu.

"Saber is going to be summoned today. I guess I'm just glad that the waiting is over," admitted Shirou (Elric).

Enkidu blinked.

His Master had not been idle waiting for the war to officially begin. Far from it.

He had spent countless hours speaking with Waver, training his body and magic, and learning the finer aspects of the gift this "Truth" had awakened in him.

Enkidu had to admit, this alchemy was a devastating weapon. A single clap of his hands, and Shirou could utterly destroy his opponents with a touch.

But at the same time he could create wondrous things that not even Gaia could remove.

Shirou (Elric) was so eager that he decided to play around with his alchemy.

Whether it was fate or nostalgia...but when he went to make a spear, he made a credible recreation of Gae Bolg...only without the curse.

It was looking at the red spear that he realized a problem.

"What is it?"

"The reason Emiya summoned Saber was because of a fight or flight response when he realized Lancer was about to kill him for witnessing the first Grail War fight. It was a fight against Archer."

"But he won't have to worry about Lancer, because you summoned me," said Enkidu, seeing the problem immediately.

Shirou (Elric) grinned viciously as an idea formed.

He could cause problems for his counter-guardian self and convince Emiya that he had to use the incantation Shirou (Elric) gave him two days ago.

"Let's go cause some chaos in the name of Truth!" said Shirou (Elric). This was sure to confuse Archer to no end, if things went the way they did before.