"Murama–no, you're not." 'Tohsaka muttered, although Shirou Emiya could barely register her words over the raging stream of thoughts threatening to overrun his mind.

The distance between them was now but a scant few feet. Yet despite the visual evidence staring him straight in the eye(quite literally), he still had trouble believing that what he was seeing was real.

It was that Tohsaka after all. Rin Tohsaka. Their school's idol.

Shirou knew. Knew that her perfect school idol persona was one that she carefully crafted. One that she worked day in and out to maintain. No one from their school could claim to have witnessed anything but the absolute best from Rin Tohsaka. No one from their school could claim that Rin Tohsaka was anything but a paragon of virtue and elegance. And it was this dedication that Rin Tohsaka held to maintaining that facade that Shirou had grown to admire.

So how could he not, after witnessing that Tohsaka standing before him in naught but a strange cosplay bikini, without even a shroud of shame or alarm at being caught in such a state, be forgiven for thinking that none of this made any sense?

But even more shocking to him than that was the sight of the girl pointing her finger at him from just behind Tohaska.

Sakura. The sweet, demure girl who would show up at his house almost every morning to help him with cooking and chores. The girl who at first had kept a stoic countenance and showed him little in the way of emotions, but who now showered him with such warm expressions. The girl who along with his guardian Taiga had become like family for him.

She was one of the few people he allowed to truly get close to him. Someone he knew quite well, or at least believed that he did.

Yet here she too was, standing along Tohsaka and the other two as they formed some bizarre troupe of madness. Wearing a smile on her face that felt foreign to him, one that felt far more mischievous than the soothing one that usually adorned her face.

It was the incongruence he felt upon seeing Sakura, even more than the unexplainable sight of Tohsaka, that had that little voice in the back of his mind screaming at him that something wasn't right. That the sight before him just couldn't be real.

"Sakura?" He muttered her name as if asking a question. As to what that question was not even he was aware of. Was he asking for an explanation to this bizarre situation? Or was he trying to ascertain that the girl before was indeed the Sakura he knew.

But whatever response Shirou Emiya may have hoped to gain from his ambiguous question, it was certainly not the sudden shift of expression from the girl before him as the smile on her face disappeared in favor of an expression of shock.

"You." Sakura called out "What did you just call me?"

Had he said something wrong? He couldn't remember a time that Sakura had ever felt offended at him calling him by her name. No, instead, it was something that she insisted on. Maybe she was acting dumb? Perhaps too ashamed of being discovered in that strange getup along with a group of friends Shirou didn't know she had.

Perhaps Tohsaka too felt this way, and it might be in his best interests to simply walk away and forget about anything saw. After all, he doubted that dealing with an angry Tohsaka was anything he wanted to deal with for the rest of his High School career.

Still, it was just too much for him to ignore. And so, regardless of Sakura's intentions, he planned to worm an explanation out of her.

"Sakura, what's going—"

But Sakura didn't allow him to finish his question. And instead asked him with an intensity he had rarely seen from her. "What's my full name?"

Shirou was now stumped. He no longer felt he had any clue as to what Sakura might be thinking, just what she was trying to get out of him answering such a basic question. As the silence went on as he tried to process his thoughts, that nagging feeling of his that told him that something wasn't right continued to grow stronger. He took the moment to give a good look at Sakura. A really good look.

After ignoring her outfit, it didn't take long for him to notice what was wrong. Her hair. It was far longer than what he had seen just a few hours ago. Tohsaka too for that matter had different colored eyes. They were scarlet, unlike the aqua blue ones that had stared him down on more than one occasion.

But those differences were far too small for him to trust in his intuition. Not when the faces before him were a perfect reflection of the ones he had grown used to see every day. Not when the differences could be explained away with some hair extensions and colored contacts.

During Shirou's moment of silence, the red-haired girl had tried to intervene,

"BB—" She said. But Sakura held out her hand and stopped her before she could get any further.

"Please wait, Master." Sakura said, before sternly asking again, "Tell me. What's 'my' name?"

Was she really that confident in her disguise for her to try to pull off acting like she didn't know who he was?. Or maybe…

"So, what is it? What's 'my' full name?"

"Matou Sakura." He chose to finally answer. Trying to just get to the end of whatever Sakura's intentions were.

"I see…" Sakura muttered as she lost herself in her own thoughts. Then, baffling him once more, her expression once more took a drastic shift as an enigmatic smile made itself present on her face.

"Well then." She began, her stare pressuring Shirou in a way that those violet eyes had never done so before. "Why don't the five of us have a chat? I think we might just discover something mighty interesting."

His eyes trailed to Tohsaka who had stayed quiet during the whole exchange. Upon meeting her now scarlet eyes, Tohsaka returned to him a simple smile that showed that she agreed with Sakura;s request.

Shirou could no longer claim to have any idea of what the two were planning. He felt as if he had somehow ended up in an alternate dimension where everything had gone insane, and that trying to make sense of it would only drive him insane.

And so, for the sake of his sanity, he decided to simply agree in hopes of solving this strange puzzle.

"Sure, Let's go." He answered as he began making his way home. He didn't know where the four were planning to stay the night. But considering the late hour and how they were dressed in this winter climate, he felt it would be for the best if they just headed over to his house.

And so the group silently made their way towards the Emiya state, no doubt both sides lost in thought about the familiar face or faces they had just come across.

Fujimaru Ritsuka watched the red headed boy sitting across the table from her pinch his nose as he let out a sigh.

"A goddess of war and beauty using Tohsaka's body…I don't think that girl needs any more boosts to her ego as it is."

Ritsuka took a quick peek at Ishtar and saw her smile grow slightly larger at the boy's words. She then turned her attention to the tea that the boy had offered her as soon as they had entered his home. She took a reserved sip and found the drink to be absolutely delicious. Something which was not at all surprising considering the identity of the person before her.

Shirou.

Shirou Emiya.

She knew who he was, who he would become. They all did. And he, in turn, recognized the appearance of half of their group.

Perhaps it was a coincidence, but Ritsuka felt that it was more likely fate that the city where their Grand Order had begun ended up being the home to so many familiar faces.

And that led Ritsuka's thoughts to one particular familiar face. Or more clearly, a certain someone who had decided to keep his mouth closed about some rather interesting information. In fact, Ishtar had confided with her that she could feel a sense of familiarity about the city they were in, a feeling that only got stronger as they entered the rather large Emiya estate. That was something that was very interesting to hear, and she, along with Ishtar, made sure to remember to have a nice chat with a certain Archer as soon as they returned.

But for now there were more important things to worry about. Such as how much the four of them would share with the young Emiya. At the very least, they felt they owed him an explanation about the perfectly identical appearance that the two Chaldean servants shared with two of his acquaintances.

And so, to ensure there were no doubts about the veracity of their words, Ishtar proudly revealed her identity while summoning and unsummoning Maanna. And with that, any and all thoughts Shirou could have had about the woman before him simply being Rin Tohsaka telling him some ridiculous lie, had disappeared. Leading to their current conversation.

"Is that so?" Responded Ishtar with some amusement. Then, after a brief silence, she leaned over the table as she asked, "Say, Emiya. Do you and Rin know each other? Personally, that is."

"We see each other here and there but, I wouldn't really say the two of us are well acquainted." Shirou replied.

"Hmm…" Ishtar hummed as she retreated back to her cushion, her chin resting on her hand as she gave another look at the chef-to-be.

Then, breaking out into a smile, one that was familiar to both Ritsuka and Shirou for different reasons, Ishtar asked, "But it still sounds like you know her character quite well, right?"

Ritsuka took another sip of her tea as she watched Shirou slowly walk into Ishtar's trap. She almost felt a little sorry about the Emiya back in Chaldea, blissfully unaware that his younger self would soon be giving ammo with which Ishtar, and by extension the entirety of Chaldea, would be able to use against him.

"Well, Tohsaka is quite famous in our school. I don't think there's anyone who doesn't know about her."

"But would you say that you have paid special attention to her?"

"I…guess."

"Then" And at this moment, Ishtar's smile widened ever so slightly as she said, "Could it be that you're interested in Rin?"

Perhaps if she wasn't harboring a small grudge against their resident chef she might have put a stop to Ishtar's antics for his sake. But she did have a small grudge, and was also curious about what kind of feelings Emiya may have had towards this 'Rin Tohsaka.'

"I don't think there's anyone in our school who isn't interested in Tohsaka in one way or another." Evaded Shirou.

But Ishtar refused to back down as she clarified with a smirk, "I am referring to romantic interests, Emiya."

Ritsuka could see the clear glee in Ishtar's face at the internal conflict the young Emiya was having as a result of her antics.

But it seemed the goddess wasn't done just yet. And before Shirou could mount a respond, she sat straighter, allowing Shirou to get a better look at her body.

"I wouldn't blame you, honestly." Ishtar said, "She does have a body fit for a goddess after all."

Had it been someone else, perhaps Shirou wouldn't have shown such a strong response. After all, It wasn't as if Ishtar had done anything in particular to gain his attention. But considering her skimpy attire, and that the body she was using was that Rin Tohsaka's body, Shirou found it almost impossible to not respond in some form to the familiar beauty before him.

Ishtar's smile absolutely blossomed at the mess she had left the young man in, and she let out some very satisfied giggles as Shirou struggled to mouth a response as well as find a place to settle his eyes.

Ritsuka had felt that this was more than enough. As interesting as it maybe, they had more important things to get to than simply teasing the young Emiya. But before she could intervene on Emiya's behalf, a coat flew over the table, covering both Ishtar and an innocent MHX in the process.

"Hey, Emiya." BB said, completely ignoring her actions and the disgruntled reactions from the two across her. "I want to hear more about Sakura, so would you mind telling me more about her?"

"Sakura, huh." Shirou replied as he began to think, no doubt thankful for the sudden change in topic. "Well, what do you want to know about her?"

"Tell me more about her personality, and…what you think about her."

"Sakura's personality hmm…she's a very diligent person, and quite shy too, at least at first. But once you get to know her she can be quite sociable. Oh, and she can be oddly stubborn too."

"Really? In what way?"

"Let's see…right. Well, after I got hurt and had to withdraw from the archery club, Sakura came to help me out. At first, both Fuji-nee and I tried to tell her that it wasn't necessary and that she should go back home, but each and every time we did she shook her head and refused to leave. After that, she kept on showing up each and every day until both Fuji-nee and I simply gave up. Seeing as she still comes over pretty much every day…well…you can see what kind of person she is."

BB listened with a smile on her face at the description that Shirou gave of Sakura Matou. It was a smile Ritsuka had never seen on BB, a subdued one. Not one whose cause was mischief or pride. But one that seemed to be happy for someone else.

"Tell me, Shirou. Is Sakura someone precious to you?"

Unlike Ishtar's earlier question, BB's tone made it clear that the question was not asked with any intention to tease Shirou, but genuine curiosity. And so, Shirou answered without hesitation saying, "She is. Both Fuji-nee and I already consider her family."

Seeing BB like this was a reminder to Ritsuka that she didn't really know the moon cancer all that well. In fact, she knew almost nothing about who BB was before arriving in Chaldea. It wasn't something that strange for her to not know much about a servant's backgrounds, after all, some liked to keep their privacy. But the drastic change in character definitely made her feel inadequate as a master. No, as a friend of BB's. She definitely planned to close the gap between them a little in this incident.

"I'd like to meet her, Emiya. Won't you introduce me to her?" BB asked.

"I don't know if that's a good idea." Shirou replied after some thought. "Sakura is just a regular girl, I'm not sure if I feel comfortable exposing her to the world of magi."

"I highly doubt Sakura is a normal girl." BB countered.

Having tossed the jacket away, Ishtar also chimed in the conversation as she said, "And for that matter, I can assure you that our dear Tohsaka Rin isn't any stranger to such things either."

"...What are you two saying?"

"They're probably right, Emiya." Said Ritsuka as she finally entered the conversation. "The kinds of people the grail calls upon to act as hosts for servants are those who have a connection with a Holy Grail in some form. And that usually tends to be people who have participated as a master in a Holy Grail War."

"Holy Grail War? That's what you mentioned allows servants to be summoned, right?

"Right. The purpose of a Holy Grail War is for seven magi to battle each other using servants as proxies for the sake of attaining the holy grail. The team that wins the battle is granted one wish each." Ritsuka explained.

Shirou fell into silence as he tried to process what the Chaldeans had just told him. Then, after a brief silence, he asked, "Wait. So what you're saying is that Tohsaka and Sakura…"

"Right. That If they haven't already, it's likely that they'll be involved in an upcoming Holy Grail War. And if they are meant to become masters…"

"Then It means that they're magi." Shirou finished. He looked stunned. Completely flabbergasted by the possibility that Ritsuka had brought forth. "But…that still doesn't mean that they'll necessarily be masters, right? Sakura…Sakura just doesn't seem like the kind of girl that's involved in that sort of thing. As for Tohsaka…"

"Tohsaka Rin is a magus" Interrupted Ishtar as she spoke with a certainty that left no doubt to the truth of her words. "The grail doesn't pick a host for a servant by random assortment. It looks for someone who is compatible in mind, spirit, and ability to the spirit that'll be summoned. And as the girl was chosen to be my host, you have my guarantee that our dear Rin is anything but an ordinary person."

"So Tohsaka is a magus, huh? I never noticed." Shirou sank deeper into his cushion, the newly learned information just too much for his sleep deprived mind to handle. "But what about Sakura? Isn't there a chance that she could be involved without being a magus?"

Ritsuka wanted to refute, but then looked at her own command seals in the back of her hand. She wasn't a traditional magus by any means of the word. No, it was doubtful if she could even be called one at all if it wasn't for her position as a master. She was a complete novice, someone who had gone all their life without realizing the tiny potential they had. Perhaps Sakura too was someone who had yet to be introduced to the moonlit world.

"Matou Shinji." BB's silent mutter drew her out of her thoughts. Then, once noticing that the attention of everyone in the room was on her, she asked Shirou, "Do you recognize that name?"

"Shinji? He's a good friend of mine and Sakura's older brother. What about him?"

BB's eyes closed as a pensive expression showed itself on her face. Then, after a brief silence, she answered, "I believe Matou Shinji to be a magus, and most likely one of the upcoming masters of the next Holy Grail War. Which means it's very likely that Sakura is also aware of magecraft, even if she herself is not a magus."

Shirou let out a sigh. "I guess I'll have to ask her next time I see her. But Shinji too huh?...Wait, is that why he and Tohsaka are always fighting?"

As Shirou and the rest of the group lost themselves to their own thoughts the room grew silent. Then, after a few minutes of silence, MHX let out a yawn, leading to the two humans in the room to follow suit. Taking it as a sign, the five decided that it would be for the best to call it in for the night before resuming their conversation in the morning. What to do about the two girls and any other questions they may have for each other was left for the morning.

For now, Shirou prepared a bath for them before setting up one of the guest rooms for the four to stay in.

By the time she hit the futon Ritsuka was absolutely exhausted. Nonetheless she found it hard for sleep to come to her as her mind kept trailing to one certain topic.

The Holy Grail War.

More clearly, the Fuyuki Holy Grail War. The cause of Singularity F, and an event which looking at the calendar was but a few months away.

For now, the night was quiet. The air was clear and refreshing. And the sounds of humanity could be heard. But in only a few months, there was a chance that the entire city, along with Shirou and the Emiya estate, could be up in flames.

Rituska turned to face the snoring MHX to her left, her relaxed expression helping Ritsuka shelf her worries for a later moment. Nonetheless, she couldn't help comparing that carefree expression with that of the King who had maintained Singularity F long enough for them to arrive, allowing them to embark on their journey to save the world.

She would prevent whatever it was that had led to that catastrophe from happening. After all, there was no way she could allow Emiya's home to end up in such a pitiful state.

Once everyone was asleep, Ishtar tried to softly make her escape for the room the five were sharing. She was almost at the exit when she noticed a pair of violet eyes staring at her from underneath the covers. Before Ishtar could say anything, the moon cancer gave her a smile and a small wave before turning around and going back to sleep. Ishtar waited for another few seconds before resuming her escape from the Emiya estate. Once outside, she gave a look at the foreign, yet strangely familiar surroundings before simply allowing her feet to guide her wherever it felt right.

It ended up being almost two hours before Ishtar reached a place she was confident in calling her destination. Finding herself outside of a gate inside of which a western style mansion laid. It was a house whose size and style fit its surroundings. However, unlike the rest of the high-class properties, the house and its yard looked unkempt, something which brought a disapproving frown to Ishtar.

She rang the doorbell at the gate, and patiently waited for an answer. After a minute of seeing no movement she rang again, this time only waiting for half a minute before ringing again. After yet again finding a lack of response she rang the doorbell again, and again, and again, until the point in which she was rapidly smashing the button non-stop.

Eventually, out of patience, Ishtar decided to just break in. She knew that the residences of magi tended to be well fortified, and that to break into a magus's home without ample preparations was foolish. But she was not a normal human, but a goddess. One that had A-rank magic resistance.

And so, choosing to deal with the consequences after the act was done, Ishtar hopped over the gate and landed inside the Tohsaka property.

Rin Tohsaka awoke to the sound of an alarm and explosions.

Someone or some group had tried to break into her territory, and seeing that neither the alarm nor the explosions had ceased, it was clear this was not just a case of some unfortunate person or people finding themselves in the wrong place.

She quickly got off her bed, grabbing only her pendant and forgoing any change of clothes as she quickly made her way down to the entrance of her house.

Despite telling herself that she would do, and succeed, in her duty of defending the Tohsaka's home, she couldn't prevent her body from shaking, the nerves threatening to overwhelm her at this moment.

Why are they here? She thought to herself. Perhaps they were here to kill her before the Holy Grail War began. Eliminating the Tohsaka master before they even had a chance. Or perhaps they were after her family's secrets. Maybe they were after her for other reasons.

Regardless, whatever reason they had changed failed to change anything. She would defend her, and her family's home no matter what. For that was her responsibility as the head of the Tohsaka family.

Eventually, the sound of explosions gave way to silence, and after a minute of no clear attempt to break into her home, Rin Tohsaka slowly made her way towards the door.

She held the scarlet gem containing a decade of her mana carefully in one hand, ready to use its power to end whoever had dared to intrude upon the Tohsaka's territory.

She slowly opened the door and peeked outside. Falling to find sign of anyone, she pushed the door open and made her way outside.

She took soft steps, ignoring the feeling of her unprotected feet on the ground as she inspected every inch of her land. And it wasn't long before she found what she was looking for.

Surrounded by craters and scorch marks was a silhouette whose characteristics she could not clearly make out.

She reacted immediately, jumping back to create more space as she held out her hand, pointing a finger in the direction of the intruder as she screamed, "Who's there!"

At that moment, the figure began slowly making its way over to her. As it continued to walk without acknowledging Rin's threat, Rin felt her heart begin to pound in her chest as she tried to bite back any fear. All of a sudden, her no longer sleep deprived brain informed her of just how foolish she had been in abandoning her advantageous position inside of her house. And that she should have done recon of her surroundings first before having ever taken a foot outside.

Still, that did not mean that she failed to act, and fired two shots of the Gandr curse at the intruder. But as was to be expected from the person who had been unaffected by the Tohsaka wards, her spell failed to do anything damage upon coming into contact with the intruder.

She focused on the gem on her left hand, preparing to draw its power for one final attack whose success or failure would decide whether or not there would be a future for the Tohsaka name. In that moment, she thought back to her sister, and made a silent prayer of forgiveness before refocusing on the person before her. However…

"Good evening, Rin."

Before she could draw on the power of the pendant, Rin froze as the features of the intruder became clear to her. It was a face she had never seen outside of a mirror, a face whose familiarity made it all that more bizarre to see it now in this fashion.

"Would you mind allowing me in?"

And so, Rin Tohsaka stared at the reflection before her, unable to form any thought or respond as her mind completely blanked.