Chapter One: Hey You
-(=O=)-
"In most worlds, during the first year after the Fourth Holy Grail War of Fuyuki City, Shirou Emiya would encounter a little girl on his way home from school one afternoon. There would, in many circumstances, be a small group of children bullying the girl, all because of her hair color," the man said, one of his hands wrapped around the handle of his cane, with the other being waved around to add emphasis of some sort.
"But, in this world, at this day, Shirou Emiya would not see the girl being bullied, because he was not going to his home during this time. He was going to the home of Rin Tohsaka, because due to a 'business trip' that his father had, he was staying at the Tohsaka Mansion."
The man leaned back. "So, the girl was bullied that afternoon, with no hero to step in and save her, and thus, in this world, due to the actions of Tokiomi Tohsaka and Kiritsugu Emiya, the girl named Sakura Matou never met Shirou Emiya until after she entered middle school, and with no hero to protect her, she had to learn how to protect herself."
All of the children nodded. Their interest was peaked by the man's description of Iskander to the world, they had heard his stories of the previous Grail War, with the King of Conquerors.
"Guess what she learned so she could protect herself?" the man asked the children.
The children murmured out various things, such as karate, sword skills, and various other things that children consider to be the "most amazing thing a person can learn for self defense."
"No, she would later learn Magecraft, but that would come at a price, to be a Magus of the Matou family. She would lose much, but, gain much in return."
-(=O=)-
[Nine Years, One Week Ago]
In the time since Shirou Emiya had met Rin Tohsaka, the Emiya house had changed dramatically. When Irisviel von Einzbern first established a workshop in the Emiya house during the Fourth Holy Grail War, it was more-or-less just for the remainder of the war. Since then, with the hard work of Kiritsugu and Shirou, it had transformed into a rather functional workshop in which Kiritsugu could teach Shirou the basics of magecraft.
Of course, Kiritsugu had started using the attic as storage for weapons and equipment, but also as a miniature war room of sorts. Various papers were attached to the walls via pieces of tape, each one detailing what he currently considered critical information. A packed duffel bag was beside him, and grabbed it after he checked all of the intel he had gathered in the room one last time.
In a few short hours, he would be leaving Japan, on a private jet owned by the Fujimura Group. He wasn't sure how long he would be gone for, so he had asked Tokiomi to let Shirou stay at the Tohsaka Mansion until he returned. He checked his equipment once more before he left. His Contender, and a small amount of Origin Bullets. A Glock 17 was his sidearm, and a Steyr-AUG was his selected rifle.
He had his weapons, and plenty of ammunition to spare. Now all he had to do was leave. He grabbed a picture of him and Illyasviel, and Irisviel. One of the few pictures he had of all three of them. He placed it back onto the table, and left it there. It wasn't as if he was forgetting them, no he didn't want the picture to be destroyed.
Because he was a new man now. He was no longer the one once called "The Magus Killer." The Magus Killer died in that fire. He was now just Kiritsugu Emiya.
With a sad smile, he closed the door to the attic, and left his house. He had somewhere to go. He had someone to save.
-(=O=)-
"FREAK!" they screamed at her. They shoved her, and laughed, and punched her with their own, childish hands. But why wouldn't they? She really was a freak. The things that her Grandfather did to her made her like this.
Her raven colored hair now stained purple, and her once sapphire eyes morphed into the same shade of violet. Everything about her had changed ever since she became a Matou. Even her skin tone had lightened severely, although she wasn't sure if it was the worm's fault or because she spent so much time inside now.
But, to her impressionable young mind, these older, more 'normal looking' children, if they called her a freak, then that's what she must be. When they finally left her, she climbed up. Bruised and battered, she wandered her way home. She went out of her way to avoid being seen, because if anyone saw her, she feared that they too, would laugh at her. Purple hair and eyes, with the blue and black bruises from the other children.
She stumbled into the Matou house, with one of the few terms that could be used to describe her as "Bruised and battered." Eventually, she would learn that sometimes, the true monsters in the world are children, thanks to their ability to attack anyone who they didn't like. She dropped her shoes and walked inside, her eyes as empty as they were when she left the house, if not emptier.
She looked up from the floor to see her grandfather, Zouken Matou. He stared down at her, his eyes pitch black, and narrowed. He was, no doubt, examining her injuries, to see whether or not she had enough strength in her to survive that night's training.
He approached her, and she shied away slightly. He placed his hand on her chin, and lifted Sakura's head, until he made eye contact with her. He turned her head, and examined each side of her head. Satisfied, he turned away, and shuffled out of the entranceway.
Zouken turned, and looked at Sakura. The girl stared back at him, as she tried to avoid eye contact. Originally, he had wanted to the girl to be just a tool for him to use in the next Grail War, which, from what he could tell, would be occurring in around a decade. However, thanks to the meddling of the Magus Killer, the Grail would not be forming in the usual manner, which made his plans of turning the girl into a secondary Lessar Grail obsolete.
Now he would actually have to train her. So, with a glare, he said to her "We will be skipping training tonight. Tomorrow, I will start training you to use the Matou magecraft."
"Yes grandfather. Thank you grandfather," she replied. If she were to be honest, she was glad that she didn't have to spend the night in the worm room again.
The very next day, Sakura Matou would learn the basics of the Matou's absorption Magecraft. All of this, all of the knowledge she would gain was because Shirou Emiya never stopped the bullies in the park.
All of this, because Kiritsugu Emiya encountered Tokiomi Tohsaka in the woods that afternoon months previously.
-(=O=)-
Gilgamesh was a very happy man. Despite having been reincarnated, he still had access to the [Gate of Babylon] and all of his treasures. Had the Grail reincarnated him without those, he would have likely torn the entire city down by now. He sipped from his glass of wine, taking extra care not to spill on his shirt, which was a finely tailored, hand made from the finest quality of silks, or so he had been told.
He honestly could not care. It costed him nothing to purchase, and he felt that it was satisfactory, or at least as satisfactory as some garbage made in this era could be. Now the wine on the other hand? It was actually quite fantastic. A red wine, he believed that this was called Malbec? If this vintage continued to impress him, he might order a few cases and store them with his other treasures.
Kirei entered afterwards, and looked at Gilgamesh, who didn't even bother to glance Kirei's way. Kirei took a seat at his desk, and proceeded to open a letter addressed to him. He read it, and a smile grew ever larger on his face as he read.
Gilgamesh eventually took notice, and glanced over at the priest before he asked "What are you reading that you're enjoying so much, Kirei?"
"Just information provided to me about in next Grail War. Tohsaka modified the Grail's parameters for the next war."
Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow. Now this was starting to interest him.
"There was an emergency protocol activated," Kirei explained. "It will allow the summoning of fourteen different Servants, and this time around, the Supervisor has been chosen to legally participate as well."
A smile grew on Gilgamesh's face.
"Now Gilgamesh, would you be interested in becoming Archer of Red?"
Gilgamesh placed his wine glass down, as his smile widened. "Of course."
"Let Red be the color I pay tribute to," the priest began, the arm lined with Command Seals outstretched, each one glowing.
"My will shall create your body, and your sword creates my destiny. If you answer the Grail's call, and answer my will and reason, then break free from your confinement, o keeper of the balance!" Kirei chanted.
"I do swear, your offer shall become my flesh. Kirei Kotomine-I am Archer of Red, and you are my Master."
The contract was sealed. Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, and his Master, Kirei Kotomine, had sided with the Red Faction, the faction aimed with preserving the Holy Grail of Fuyuki City.
-(=O=)-
[Eight Years, Eleven Months Ago]
It was time. After a month of wandering the forests around the Einzbern Castle, Kiritsugu finally found it. The final Mana source for the final layer of defences around the castle. While he was about 100 meters away, that was mostly so he could observe the guard routes of the homunculi. He checked his Steyr Aug, and slapped a new magazine into the rifle. He had thirty-one rounds-thirty in the magazine, one in the chamber. He checked to see if the scope was dialed in properly, and then, while lying in a snow bank, he fired the rifle.
There were five guards. He only needed five shots.
Pink mist sprayed out as each one was hit. Their blood stained the snow crimson, and the homunculi dropped into the white powder. He removed his ear plugs, and then he dashed to the Mana source. With a touch, he over loaded it's processors, and fried the entire system.
The Bounded Field collapsed, and revealed the castle off in the distance. Kiritsugu ran towards the building, determined to reach his destination. He had to save her. His daughter. Illya.
When he finally reached the front doors of the castle, he immediately grabbed bricks of C-4 and placed it onto the front gate. He hid behind a tree, some twenty meters away, and detonated the explosives.
They exploded, and lit up the area quickly, before it released a wave of sound and dust. The door fell, and Kiritsugu rushed inside. To his shock, the castle was empty. Kiritsugu wandered the building, each area. All of the secret passages, the chapel. He checked each and every single room. Nothing.
He finally reached Old Man Acht's primary planning room, he kicked the door open, to see a small squad of homunculi and one of the minor Einzbern family members.
With a cry of "Oh shit," the Einzbern boy jumped behind the table, as Kiritsugu open fired on the homunculi. He took a step back to avoid their halberds, before he activated his family crest.
"Time Alter: Double Accel!" was his mantra, as he sped up how fast his body operated.
He ran back ten meters, and quickly shot all of the homunculi that dashed towards him, ready to attack. He released the effect of the spell and fired seven rounds.
Each bullet hit its target, as the shell casings bounced of the floor with a 'cling.' Kiritsugu stood up, and walked toward Acht's planning room, intent on interrogating the Einzbern boy in there.
"Get up," Kiritsugu said, his rifle pointed towards where his target was hiding.
The Einzbern climbed up, only to see Kiritsugu punch him in the face which sent the boy into unconsciousness.
Imagine this: A man who, in your community, is a famed assassin, and your family had hired him, but kept something that he should rightfully have access to. Now imagine, that you are generally someone that your family wouldn't feel to bad about if you disappeared. Now, while you're hanging around, said assassin comes along and knocks you out, then ties you to a chair with the intent of torturing you.
This is what it's like to be Jan von Einzbern, great-great-grandson to Jubstacheit von Einzbern. Currently, he was tied to a chair in Acht's planning room. Of course, he had been beaten for the past half hour or so, as he denied to answer Kiritsugu's very simple question.
"Where is my daughter?" he asked again.
Jan spat out some blood and a tooth before he glared at the Emiya. "Fuck you."
Kiritsugu punched the man once more. Jan's head flew back, his nose broken. Blood leaked down his face onto his white robes.
"Where did Acht take my daughter? Illyasviel von Einzbern?"
"I already told you, you fucking traitor," Jan muttered, bubbles being formed from the blood that washed over his lips. "If Jubastacheit doesn't want her to be found, then she won't be fuckin' found."
Kiritsugu's eyes were empty. He reached for his side holster, and removed the Glock 17 he had stored there. "Not good enough," he replied as he pulled back on the pistol's hammer.
Jan's eyes widened as Kiritsugu placed the barrel of the pistol on Jan's left knee.
"Answer the question: Where is Illyasviel von Einzbern?"
"I don't know," Jan spat.
Kiritsugu pulled the trigger. The sound of a gunshot echoed out as a bullet was fired through his knee. Jan screamed. There was no way to be able to contain that pain. Even after being beaten repetitively, this was nothing.
"Do I have to ask again?" Kiritsugu said. The man's eyes were cold.
With a wild glare, Jan stared into Kiritsugu's eyes. "I don't know for fuck's sake!"
Kiritsugu fired the pistol into the other knee. Jan screamed once more.
"This is your last chance," Kiritsugu warned, as he leveled the pistol as Jan's stomach. "Tell me what I want to know, or I'll shoot you and leave you to bleedout."
There was a reason why Kiritsugu Emiya was considered a demon to many Magi families. It was because, when he needed to be, he was colder than ice. Eat your vegetables, or the Magus Killer will get you. The warnings were more effective that those of the 'Boogey Man.' After all, the parents weren't scared of the 'Boogey Man,' but they were scared of Kiritsugu Emiya.
So, with the most amount of courage he had ever had in his entire life, Jan decided what to do. "I mean it! I don't know! Please, just don't kill me!" he screamed. All of his courage was dedicated to being able to speak.
Kiritsugu removed a cigarette, and lit it. He took a drag, before he aimed the pistol at Jan.
"Please don't," he begged.
"You bastards have my daughter. I don't care what you want."
He pulled the trigger. Another gunshot echoed out, the bullet impacting Jan von Einzbern. It ripped through him, and left him bleeding in the chair. With a flick, Kiritsugu sent the cigarette flying into a wall, as he left the room. He walked outside, before collapsing onto his knees in the snow.
He cried, as he slammed his hand onto the ground.
"Why? Why god damn it?! Why can't you just let me see her?!" he screamed into the wilderness.
In a week, he would return home, to learn about his son's progress in magecraft. Despite his sadness, over not seeing his daughter, he knew that he'd see Illya again one day. When that was, he wasn't sure, but Kiritsugu would be ready for it.
-(=O=)-
Jubastacheit von Einzbern read the report of Kiritsugu Emiya's return. It appeared that the man had come with the intent on reuniting with his daughter, but that wasn't possible at the time. Thanks to the Magus Killer's actions, Jubastacheit too, had to change the Einzbern family's plans for the next Holy Grail War. With the system for fourteen Servants plus a Ruler class Servant activated, he had to win the Grail War this time, for sure.
And what better way to do it than reversing the modifications on the daughter of the last vessel and Emiya, and sending her to kill her father?
Of course, he'd just remove the contents of the Lesser Grail from her, as well as, the life span and other negative parts of homunculi, but to send the man's daughter to kill him, not even ten years from now? It would be the perfect form of revenge.
-(=O=)-
there was once a man
who had two daughters
both daughters were very special
the older daughter was called an
"average one"
while the youngest daughter had control over
"imaginary numbers"
the man wanted his daughters to succeed
but, he could only raise one to success
so, the oldest one, stayed with him
and the youngest one
was adopted by some old family friends
but the youngest one
was very sad, because
her new family
was very, very mean
she would not have her sister's success
for a very, very long time