Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night or Bleach.

Italics are used for emphasis in sentences and to denote thoughts

Bold is used for emphasis in sentences and to highlight separate portions of the narrative.

Shirou Emiya had had a very long day at school. Not that he was complaining; actually, he was more than happy to stay after classes ended and fix up the school heaters. Apparently they had taken too much strain over the winter and a number were already broken or nearly there. Nothing a quick application of Structural Analysis and a few good hours of work couldn't fix.

Helping people made Shirou happier than anything else in this world, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

So when he saw a...well a purple clothed, blue-haired woman lying on the side of the street, he could do nothing less than run over and ask if she was okay.

Upon receiving little to no answer, he decided that leaving a woman passed out alone on the street was just wrong, and picked her up, placing her arms over his shoulders and wrapping her legs around his stomach. Now, he was fit. Far stronger than any other boy his age, Shirou could handle carrying a stranger to his house, but that didn't really mean that he was ready to host her there.

So when he ran across one of his teachers on the way home, he of course asked for assistance.

"Kuzuki-sensei! Could you help me out here! I found this woman passed out and she has no ID or phone."

The stern man stopped and glanced over before nodding and walking up to Shirou. "Should you not take her to the hospital?"

Shirou shook his head, "I don't think so. She doesn't seem very sick, she's just passed out. Besides, my house is closer. If you want, you could stay over for the night and we could talk to her tomorrow about getting her home."

Souchirou Kuzuki looked at the woman for a second before nodding again, "Tomorrow is Sunday, so we could take her home without skipping classes. That is acceptable Emiya-san."

As the two walked home, Shirou felt a sudden burning pain in his hand, but when he glanced over all that he could see was a strange tatoo of some sort. Unsure of just what had happened, he took a look at the sleeping woman's features, but his face instantly reddened.

Nope, no answers there.

When Ichigo woke up, it was to a haze of pain and laughter. Actually, it had been so long since his dad had initiated one of his crazy wake-up calls that the boy found himself reacting instinctively, before the memory hit like a sledgehammer:

Blood. Too much blood. And a sword, a sword of illusion, looking all too real as it stabbed through his father's heart right in front of him. At the center of it all, responsible for the situation but barely acknowledged, the coldly joyful face of the man who wanted to become a God.

The lapse in the present faded, and Ichigo yelled out, "That's it you brats! I'm going to destroy you two for that!"
Leaping out of his makeshift bed, Ichigo sprinted into the living room where both of his sisters were pointing and laughing at him. His body hurt all over, twinges of pain from bruises protesting every movement, but he ignored them and swiftly closed, blanket in one hand and pillow in the other.

Both Karin and Yuzu leapt up to meet him, brandishing their own pillows. A swift melee ensued.

With his first strike, Ichigo laid Yuzu out flat on the couch before turning to Karin, but he was met in the face by a flying cushion. Reeling, he began to trip on the blanket he held. Karin took advantage of the opening and jumped in close, pillow swinging for his legs. With a twist, Ichigo freed himself and kept his balance, bringing the blanket swirling through the air around his sister.

A practiced movement had the blanket wrapped tightly around the thirteen year old. Ichigo barrelled forward and swept Karin off of her feet, depositing her on the couch that Yuzu had vacated in her attempts to rescue her sister.

With a wild battlecry, Yuzu took to the air and landed on her brother's shoulders, and Ichigo winced. Both Karin and Yuzu grinned in triumph at that, and Yuzu proceeded to batter her brother about the head and shoulders with a pillow.

Desperate, Ichigo stumbled into the bedroom and yanked the blanket off of Yuzu's bed, unmindful of the vaguely amused, mostly bewildered look they were getting from Saber.

With another swift movement, Ichigo twisted his sister off of his shoulder and dropped her on the bed, blanket cocooning her as well. Knowing what came next, he juked to the side to avoid the projectiles from Karin. Dropping to the ground, he caught the charging girl around the middle and upended her on the bed. Before she could react, he jumped over to the adjacent bed and stole that blanket as well, throwing it like a gladiator's net to entangle her.

Making sure that Yuzu was still restrained, he grabbed Karin about the middle and rewrapped her, head and all, before placing her beside the struggling Yuzu.

A muffled huff came from the bedcover, "He went out and got in a fight again, didn't he Yuzu."

Yuzu nudged her sister's head, "I think he might have got the lesson this time, Nee-san."

Karin growled, "He never gets the lesson. And if I have to ambush him all day, he will learn to stop getting into trouble or his bruises will be getting bruises."

Ichigo stood over them, "Hey, I didn't get this from a fight. I got it from a lesson. Saber over here decided that she was just as fed up with my...uh...fighting, as you two. She tried to teach me the same lesson as you guys, she's just better at it."

Yuzu looked at Saber with starry eyes, "Can you teach me to beat my brother up, Saber-chan!"

Saber gave the girl a non-plussed look, "Um...aren't you two leaving today?"

Ichigo slapped a hand to his head, "Gah! I forgot!"

A knock on the door a few minutes later found Ichigo scrambling to clean up some of the mess while Yuzu struggled to free the squirming Karin. Saber just watched, unsure what exactly would bring about this apparent change in her Master from the surly personality that dominated his younger years and the majority of his interactions with outsiders.

Through the plaster walls of the apartment, a bright and cheery voice called out, "Kurosaki-kuuun! Karin-chaaan! Yuzu-neeee! I'm here!"

Ichigo grumbled slightly before opening the door. His scowl was gone, but only a slight upturn of his lips signified his happiness at seeing an old friend. The door opened to reveal a smiling, burnt-orange haired girl, who made to hug Ichigo only to hesitate.

Seeing this, Ichigo reached out and gave her a one-armed hug, "It's good to see you again Inoue. Karin and Yuzu missed you."

Orihime relaxed and hugged him back, "You too, Kurosaki-kun."

As Ichigo moved to resume cleaning up the mess of the living room, Saber walked out. Orihime stiffened slightly before her overwhelmingly friendly personality forced her to move again, "Hi! My name is Orihime Inoue, who are you?"

Even with her generally timid yet kind nature, Orihime placed a certain amount of demand into her question.

Saber bowed in the Japanese manner, "My name is Saber. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Ichigo groaned slightly, "Sorry about that, I forgot to mention Saber. Orihime, you know the reason that I asked you to pick up the girls is because something is going down in town right?"

Orihime suddenly looked worried, but she nodded.

"Saber here is going to be my partner in the...competition," he continued. "So she's staying with me for however long it goes on. Ishida should be staying here as well when he comes down. By the way, did he say anything about when he could make it?"

Orihime relaxed her face, but an undercurrent of tension remained, "Yes, he said he had to make arrangements to get his work emailed to him, but that he will be here within three to four days."

Ichigo frowned slightly and looked over at Saber, "How long does this usually last? Wait, has the tournament even started yet?"

Saber shook her head, "From what I can tell, there were only two other pairs at the time of my...entry. So it should be a few days or even a week until everything gets started. From there, I expect that it will take another week or two for someone to win."

Karin and Yuzu came in, Karin at a more sedate pace while Yuzu sprinted straight at Orihime, "Inoue-nee!"

The two collided, enveloped in a hug. Karin snorted as she walked to the kitchen, raising a hand in greeting, "Yo." Somehow, she had managed to clean up and get dressed within the short amount of time since the battle royale had ended.

The five people all crowded onto the kitchen counter after Yuzu and Ichigo cooked breakfast. Although it was really Yuzu cooking and Ichigo following directions.

Saber, as the Kurosaki family had learned, ate frankly unreal amounts of food, so the meal was significantly larger than the usual Sunday morning breakfast. Between Saber's inhuman appetite, Ichigo and Orihime's above average meals, and the twins, nothing was left behind.

Ichigo pointed at Orihime with his chopsticks, "I still think you three should leave town right after we eat."

Orihime pouted, "Kurosaki-kuuun, I haven't seen you in months! We should all go out for the day. I'll leave with Karin-chan and Yuzu-chan by 5!"

Ichigo shook his head, "That's too dangerous. It's already almost dark by then and I don't want to risk anyone targeting you guys."

Orihime straightened and pointed at him triumphantly, "Aha! I knew this was a crazy fight to the death between heroes of the ancient past! And I bet you even have some sort of compulsion power now too! And then they will engage each other with legendary weapons summoned from myths and empowered by magic. And all of you are fighting for a godlike artifact with unfathomable powers!"

Saber began to panic slightly, though her face remained impassive, but Ichigo just gave his friend a deadpan stare, "You're letting your imagination run away with you again, Inoue."

Yuzu caught her brother's attention and grabbed ahold of his shirt, eyes shining with tears, "Come on Ichi-nii. We won't be able to see you for weeks! Just let us spend one more day with you."

Ichigo recoiled from the dreaded little sister Puppy-Dog Eyes attack, but he slumped in defeat a moment later, "Fine. We'll all head out to the city for the day. But I'm sticking you all on the train by 5!"

Yuzu and Orihime high-fived happily while Karin and Saber gave each other significant glances. Both were in complete agreement, 'Ichigo is pathetically weak, and you are the only sane person that I can count on.'

It was nearing 4 o'clock and Ichigo had begun to get visibly antsy. Not that he'd been relaxed and patient all day, oh no. Ichigo had followed his sisters and old friend all over town, from one side of the river to the other, and watched as his hard earned money got spent at a frightening rate.

At least Orihime and the girls had all pooled resources to buy Saber her new casual outfit.

Now Ichigo found himself outside a video game shop while Orihime and Yuzu gushed over the newest action game and dragged Saber all over the store, which he really couldn't understand.

Even Karin was perusing the sports games.

Ichigo had opted to remain outside, watching the passers-by and glancing anxiously at the clock. They really had to hurry to the train station. The street mall that they had walked for the past few hours had hundreds of people walking this way and that, and Ichigo found it hard to distinguish between one face and the next.

As Ichigo turned around to enter the store and drag his siblings straight to the train, his senses blared an alarm at him.

Reacting without thought to an instinct that hadn't been used for years, Ichigo ducked down, spinning into the thin cover of the doorway.

Glass shattered and patrons began to scream.

Ichigo almost didn't catch sight of the attack, the spinning knife nothing more than an indistinct streak of light even to him.

Saber did, and Saber reacted.

Even as Ichigo rushed to gather his sisters and friend up, Saber ran to the front of the store, pushing away several panicked customers. With sharp eyes, Saber attempted to find the Servant, for only a servant could throw a knife at near invisible speeds, that had attempted to stab her Master in the back.

She found nothing but a curious crowd and a few panicked gazes.

"Saber! We need to get them out of here!"

Saber was nervous. There was no way for her to keep watch on all four of her charges, because now she considered Orihime her responsibility as well, in this crowd.

All it would take is an inconspicuous approach through the people scattered about the mall, and one or all of the non-combatants would be dead before she could react.

So how would she do this? Hole up in the store and wait it out? They'd have to stay there all night, exposed to Assassin and other Servants that might come along. Like that battle-mad Lancer she fought when she was summoned.

Her answer was given to her when Ichigo came up and grabbed her shoulder, "Orihime will shield herself and my sisters. There's no way a blade with only that much force will break through."

Saber turned to face her master and wondered at what he meant, when she caught sight of an orange glow out of the corner of her eyes. When she turned fully to split her attention, she realized that some sort of glowing orange oval, just barely discernible to her, surrounded the three other girls. Filing the information away for later, she returned to watching for another knife.

Ichigo continued to scan the crowd and talk at the same time, "I'll watch your back so a blade doesn't slip through. You just make sure to keep away any overwhelming attacks. I'm trusting you to get us to the train."

The group of five moved slowly through the crowds, which had dispersed from around the store and resumed walking the closed off street.

Orihime's orange shield formed an invisible barrier around the three non-combatants, invisibly and intangibly pushing normal people out of the way. Saber had drawn Invisible Air, relying on the concealing wind to both deceive their hunter and keep the crowd unaware. Ichigo had taken out the handle to the Seele Schneider that Ishida had given to him when he left Karakura town, but he had yet to activate it.

Saber was tense, doing her best to reach out with all of her senses and bringing her body to peak fighting condition. Every shift in the crowd, every swish of clothes and reflection of a cell-phone, was spotted and categorized. Her body had begun to twitch at the unfamiliar situation, but she refused to falter or fail. Trusting to her high Instinct skill to warn of an impending attack, Saber made sure to keep a close eye on her exposed Master.

The other four were in similarly condition, high-strung and jumping at any sudden movements. Ichigo in particular was nearly frantic, his eyes darting this way and that until they became a blur.

Karin and Orihime, despite being protected by Soten Kesshun's shield, were almost as bad as the two outside of the secure field.

Ten minutes later they had left the mall's clogged street far behind and relaxed slightly, reasonably safe from a point-blank surprise attack.

Which is of course when several dozen different blades, arrows, bullets, and even musket balls darted towards the group from the rooftops, alleyways, cars, and every nook imaginable.

Saber went into action immediately, darting around Ichigo to block the incoming attacks. The pair was forced to back away from their companions by the veritable rain of projectiles. Orihime's shield flared under the onslaught, but after a few seconds of concentrated assault the assassins apparently gave up on attacking the three.

Ichigo activated his sword, but the attacks were on the far end of his perception, and so exceeded his body by a wide margin. The bullets traveled at several times the speed of sound, far faster than they should have been. In the end, all that the teen could make out was a furious glimmer of reflected light, short streaks filling the air, and the blue and silver blur that was Saber.

Even Saber disappeared from his sight at times.

Orihime ran over with Karin and Yuzu, attempting to place Ichigo within the barrier as well, but a figure materialized in front of the three, bringing them to a halt.

Even as Saber guarded Ichigo from behind and Ichigo darted over, ready to strike the Assassin in the back, an explosion rocked the area.

Orihime, Karin, and Yuzu had disappeared, a cloud of smoke from the explosion confusing Ichigo's view of the aftermath. All thoughts of battle and imminent death vanished as if they had never existed, replaced with uncontrolled panic and a desperate need to find his only family.

Ichigo began to shout, "Karin, Yuzu, Inoue, where are you three!"

A muffled reply barely overcame the clash of steel and invisible wind, "We're fine, we just got dropped into a big pipe.

A wave of relief washed through him, but Ichigo knew that they could easily be trapped. Ignoring Saber's repeated calls, he hopped down into the cratered hole, leaping over cracked stone with far greater agility than any normal human alive thanks to his inhuman reflexes.

Inside the hole, rubble still tumbled downwards into the water and the shadows fell over everything like a thick blanket. Running water, ankle deep, flowed freely around the debris that had been dropped into the man sized pipe.

Orihime was holding up Karin and Yuzu, both of whom had been knocked out by the impact of the explosion on her Santen Kesshun combined with the short fall. Ichigo landed in the water next to her, let into the shield by her practiced control, and he grabbed his sisters and held them under his arms.

Saber appeared at the top of the hole, "Ichigo! I told you to stay near me!"

Ichigo ignored her and began to struggle up the wall, leaping as best as he could atop the rubble and using it like stepping stones to get the dozen feet to ground level. Orihime followed close behind.

The assault had halted when Ichigo jumped down after Orihime, and the three had a quick conference in the open, shielded by Orihime.

Ichigo glared at the surroundings, "I can't let you guys alone. There's enough of these snipers that they'd probably just follow you out to Karakura and attack there. Saber, I think we're all going to have to stay in the house."

Saber nodded, but she still gave Ichigo the stink-eye, "I agree, Ichigo. We must stick together for the time being until we can prepare adequate defenses. Rest assured, as soon as we have time I am going to lecture you quite thoroughly for your idiocy."

Orihime looked back and forth between the two, who were now facing off angrily, "Ummm...shouldn't we head back to the house now?"

The two pinned her with furious glares before nodding and marching off. Oddly enough, they were remarkably in sync despite their different postures and refusal to acknowledge the other.

Shirou had had a very confusing day. First, the woman had woken up and asked him if he would be her Master. Unsure of just what she was asking but knowledgeable about familiar contracts, he'd asked if it was really necessary, at which point she told him that the reason she had passed out on the road was her lack of a Master.

Shrugging his shoulders, Shirou had consented and followed the script the woman laid out. Then she'd told him that her name was Caster. Of course, by this time Kuzuki-sensei was also awake, and when the woman began to describe just what Shirou had gotten himself into, Kuzuki stepped forward saying that there was no way he'd let Shirou compete in a battle to the death.

Then Caster had gotten pissed, Kuzuki had moved faster than Shirou had ever expected anyone to move, and Caster was on the ground.

Pretty soon, they came to a compromise. Kuzuki pledged that he would protect his student and the weakened Caster, following her commands, and in return Caster would protect Shirou and follow his orders.

By this time Shirou had considered just what the war meant, and decided that he didn't really want anything to do with it, though he didn't mention it and promised in his mind that he would at least protect Caster and Kuzuki so long as he could.

The three ended up spending the entire day inside the house, with Kuzuki sparring Shirou, Caster fortifying the property, and Shirou getting his ass handed to him. Even when Shirou used a reinforced shinai, Kuzuki darted through everything Shirou attempted with impunity. And then, as Shirou started his magecraft practice, Caster had shown up and critiqued everything he did.

As was his nature, Shirou had merely taken it as advice and sincerely thanked her. The dumbfounded expression on her face had confused Shirou, but he'd chosen to ignore it. To his absolute surprise, he found that he actually had his own magic circuits, and he'd activated them that night with his Servant's help. Caster had looked visibly more relaxed after that, though she had given him a contemplative look that had shivers running up his spine.

Despite that, she taught him a lot more about reinforcement magic than he'd ever known before.

Several days passed in relative peace for the three, barring Taiga's outburst until Kuzuki stepped in. For whatever reason, Sakura hadn't showed up in the mornings, though Shirou was thankful for small mercies. He didn't really want to try explaining the situation to the girl, not to mention that she was probably safer away from them. After all, so long as people stayed away from the Servants, they should be safe from the war.

Kuzuki opted to move in with the two of them, and Shirou quickly fell into his new routine. Caster kept complaining about the two of them going to school despite being involved in a secret war, but neither Shirou nor Kuzuki listened.

On Tuesday, Caster called Shirou over and told him that after the night's practice the two of them would try something new.

Unfortunately, halfway through his nightly routine Caster had stiffened and begun cursing in a foreign language.

"Shirou, get inside the house. I added a number of bounded fields that should keep anyone from sneaking in. And get that bastard Kuzuki out here!"

Shirou, not entirely sure what was going on, sprinted for the door and called out, "Kuzuki-sensei, Caster needs you!"

Kuzuki sprinted past Shirou, headed towards Caster at the gate. The Servant had opened the thick wooden doors and balls of light were beginning to gather in the air around her, a half-dozen eldritch powers ready to strike out at whatever had her in a semi-panic.

Even as the two came abreast of her, light shot across the street in a blinding pattern of iridescent colors. Shirou had finally realized exactly what was going on, knowing that his Servant was engaging another of her number.

Kuzuki kept moving forward, but Shirou stopped beside Caster, as determined earlier by the three. The fledgling magus felt his power burn, drawn by the contract and fed to the no longer human magus nearby. Looking to the right, he saw a slight scowl on his Servant, and felt a stab of guilt. His Servant was limited by his own shortcomings.

Annoyed that he couldn't really do much of anything, Shirou prepared to reinforce himself and made a vow to aid Caster in any way he could.

Turning back to the other Servant, Shirou found his mind suddenly yanked forwards. The red-clad knight wielded two swords, how Shirou knew he couldn't begin to guess because the only distinct impressions that he could get were blasts of light and whirling red. Even as Shirou became distracted by the incredible fight, Kuzuki kept moving forwards alongside the barrage being put out by the walking artillery that was Caster, yet the other Servant seemed distinctly unconcerned.

And then he felt the rest of the world fade away, replaced with two swords of midnight and midday.

The first was bright white, a white so pure that it banished the witching hour from about itself and shone like a fallen star. The only mar to its unnaturally perfect surface was a yin-yang symbol on its crossguard. And Shirou could feel a draw, a connection, to the pitch black sword in the swordsman's opposite hand.

The other blade disappeared into the background, so dark that it showed not as a distinct object but as a void within the night. A gleaming spiderweb of hexagonal shapes was the only thing that marked its otherwise imperceptible surface. A wordless cry, an eternal call for its partner, sounded across the distance to the white counterpart, an inverse yin-yang decorating its crossguard.

The two blades flew in tandem, one with the Servant who wielded them.

A storm of light and shadow reasserted itself in Shirou's mind. The twin swords were now distinguishable as two black and white streaks and a lack of magical energy, cutting apart and slashing aside the spears of magic sent by Caster. Confused by his increased perception but nonetheless thankful, Caster probably did something, Shirou watched the graceful dance of the enemy Servant carefully.

Every movement seemed just...right. Each strike flowed seamlessly into the next, each block adding power to the opposing slash and each step moving just the right amount to avoid or intercept an attack. The three beings, for both swords stood out as distinct entities in Shirou's mind, moved with a harmony far surpassing any natural or unnatural occurrence that Shirou had ever seen.

And then another dark streak made itself known, backlit by the lightshow created by Shirou's Servant.

Kuzuki had darted forward to attack the enemy, apparently deciding that he knew enough about the Heroic Spirit's fighting style to handily win. Shirou vaguely recalled Caster stating that she would be reinforcing Kuzuki-sensei to act as 'a meat shield to repay her with his skills.'

And then the two forces met, Caster's attacks peetering out.

An indistinguishable arc shot out, met by a white blade that shattered on contact. A black sword answered, only to be similarly shattered by the black snake. An instant later, both blades reformed in that waiting hands of the red and black knight.

A flurry of blows, faster than before. The dance had become less graceful, more forceful. Defense was overwhelmed, kept off balance. A fist hardened to the point of magical steel slammed into a sword made from pure prana, cratering it in a single blow but rebounding nonetheless. A second sword shot out to take the hand off at the wrist, but like a snake the arm twisted, catching the back of the blade and shattering it even as it aimed for the wrist that connected hand and arm.

Hazy magical energy filled the area between the two warriors, scattered steel dissolving and filling the air. The unpredictable hand swept through, swirling the air and pushing the red knight back. The two moved slowly down the street, Kuzuki steadily forcing his opponent back but the other fighter stubbornly refusing to be backed into a corner.

And then, like a spear, Kuzuki's right hand shot out, straight for the swordsman's heart. In that unreal moment, that instant of victory, Shirou felt clarity. Suddenly, like the tracery of positive streamers that reach for the heavens, Shirou's perspective shifted at the speed of light.

And Shirou's gaze was sharp and experienced. He was taller, faster, stronger, and broken.

He could clearly see his death approaching, an unyielding fist lancing forward to take his heart, ready to shatter his already weakened black armor.

Magic gathered in his hands, the prana resolving itself into a white falchion of peerless form, and the streak of dark lightning met white steel with an ear shattering clang. The paths of battle stretched before his cold grey eyes, only for a single line to illuminate, the path to survival.

The white sword tilted, shattering under the impact but shifting the impossibly fast fist slightly.

Just enough that only most of his heart would be taken.

His mind reeled, his mouth gasping for air. In the corner of his vision, Shirou was aware of the splash of blood, even as Kuzuki brought his left hand around to tear out his target's throat.

An indistinct shout reached his ears, a muffled command. "Archer, disappear!"

Stumbling, Shirou looked up to see Kuzuki standing there, hand outstretched to clutch the air.

Organizing the last few moments in his mind, Shirou tried to separate the muddled insights and viewpoints as best as possible, but was distracted by a sudden gathering of magical power from nearby. He jerked around, still attempting to bring himself under control against the disturbing feeling of his body being wrong, and faced Caster, who had a small ball of magic in the air again.

He whipped around for the target, refocused, only to see a faint red form that had been obscured by the light show and dazzling fight. Even as Caster prepared to strike the person down, Shirou shouted out, "Caster, STOP!"

His Servant actually snarled at him when her continued attempts to attack were stymied by the activation of a command spell, "Master, what the hell are you doing?"

Shirou glared at her and said, "You don't get to kill a person just for being here, even if they are a Master."

With that said, he began to jog over to the indistinct onlooker, Kuzuki following and Caster stalking along behind him.

The red form resolved itself into a recognizable face that actually had Shirou stopping short, "T-Tohsaka-san?! What are you doing here?"

The smaller girl glared at him, "Well, Emiya-san, I was patrolling the land that I have been charged to protect as Second Owner, and leading my Servant around town so that he could get a feel for the land. When, imagine my surprise, a veritable wall of light shot from a house not ten meters away and nearly killed me."

Shirou fell back a step at the anger in the girl's gaze. Where the hell had the school idol gone?

She did just get attacked didn't she. I guess anyone would be irritable after that.

He chuckled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck, "Uh...sorry about that? I didn't know you were a Master Tohsaka-san."

Rin stopped for a second and her glare disappeared, replaced by a tight-lipped smile and a ramrod straight back, "Oh really? That's certainly interesting, since I had no idea that you were a Master either."

Somehow, the smile made Shirou more nervous than the glare.

The inexplicable smile marched closer, increasing Shirou's apprehension with every step, "In fact, I had no idea that you were even a magus. Me, the Second Owner of Fuyuki City and the person responsible for monitoring all supernatural activity, unaware that an unregistered magus was going to the same school. It makes me wonder just why you were hiding."

Shirou took another step back, holding his hands out in front of himself in a warding gesture, "N-now wait just a second Tohsaka-san. Isn't it natural for a magus to keep their magecraft secret? And just what is a Second Owner?"

Rin froze, and a few seconds later she brought a hand up to her face, "You're a third-rate aren't you."

Shirou cocked his head to the side, trying to divine her meaning. Upon realizing her statment, he sighed in relief and despondency, "Yeah. I didn't even know I had magic circuits until Caster told me. And it seems they're underused and really low quality too."

Rin stood up straight, "That's no excuse. Come, lets get some tea and talk about this in your house."

What?

Shirou's mind reeled, trying to keep up as Rin swept by and dragged him along with her presence. Caster followed along behind, muttering under her breath, and Kuzuki walked calmly and silently beside the fuming woman.

Shirou felt even more off balance thanks to Rin's proximity, unable to focus on anything but her being so close to him. The random statements and knowledge that he wasn't the only magus at school swirled about but remained unresolved.

In Rin's case, she stuck nearby the only person who had so far refrained from attacking either her or her Servant.

Beyond that, her mind whirled furiously as she tried to survive the hopeless situation she had just found herself in. Doubtless, they would demand her Servant's death, even if Emiya was remarkably merciful. She had managed to bluff her way through, seeing as the boy offered no resistance, but she held little hope that Caster was the same.

If she was lucky, she could survive. If she had the divine blessing of a god somewhere out there, she could get away with her Servant intact, but her only hope was to talk it out. Shirou seemed willing to negotiate, and easy to run over, but he could be simply acting. Not to mention that she very much doubted Caster would let her get away scot free. So for now, she would deal with Emiya and hope he had enough control over Caster to hold her off.

As for Kuzuki...well, it was better if she didn't think about going to school with an apparently efficient and merciless killer every day.

Rin was started from her thoughts when Emiya opened the screen to a small, traditional Japanese dining room.

"Uh...go ahead and take a seat at the table. I'll go and get the tea started," he said.

Nodding, Rin sat down gracefully, her composure at least mostly returned. It almost fled her when both Caster and Kuzuki sat across from her, both of their faces closed and unreadable. Then again, that was to be expected for Kuzuki: the stern and serious air he usually projected had somehow morphed to terrifying. Rin figured that it had to do with the cold-blooded murder attempt.

Her own Servant was at her house, returned to the circle which summoned him and the mana-rich environment Rin had created there. Even if he would be useless, she would feel considerably better if he was at least at her back. And to be honest, she was beginning to regret complaining about summoning Archer. He certainly displayed the skills of a Saber class Servant.

A small clack again broke her from her thoughts, and Rin almost cursed herself for getting so easily sidetracked in the presence of enemies.

Shirou smiled nervously, gesturing to the tea, "There's enough for everyone. So...what is it that you wanted to talk about Tohsaka-san?"

He was answered by a sweet smile, which Rin held for a few seconds before answering, "I was actually looking for an explanation to your presence in the city. You are perfectly correct that magi keep their craft secret, but having a magus hiding in a city without contacting the Second Owner is indicative of...other activities."

Shirou was reaching for his cup when she finished, and nearly upended it when his eyes widened and he stared aghast at Rin, "You can't mean...!? No! I'm not a Sealing Designate or anything crazy like that!"

Rin nodded, still smiling, "And I did not say you are, merely that your actions are reminiscent of that. So I ask again: why are you hiding in my city?"

"I'm living here because this is the house that my dad left me when he died. As for him, I have no idea why he chose to stay in the city," Shirou said.

Rin took a sip of her tea but paused, looking down at it with knit eyebrows, "Did you use teabags for this?"

"Um...yes?" Shirou couldn't keep the confused expression off of his face, the topic changes a little to random to keep up with.

Rin huffed, "At least buy the triangle bags next time. Anyways, back to business. So your father moved here with you for an unknown reason and decided to keep his presence secret to any magi? I assume that he was a magus as well?"

Shirou shook his head slightly, "No, he didn't move here with me. I was an orphan of the Fuyuki Fire with no memories from before it and he saved me. He ended up adopting me and we moved into this house afterwards. He took care of me and taught me some magecraft after I begged it out of him, but he died only 5 years after taking me in. I never did figure out just what was wrong, but he looked to have caught a terminal illness of some kind prior to adopting me."

Adopting a thoughtful pose, Rin considered his information for a bit, "It sounds like he was either running from something or had simply given up and decided to raise you in peace."

A not uncomfortable silence filled the room for almost a full minute. Rin sat considering her options, hoping against hope that she could twist this situation to her advantage. So far, the only angle that she could find to play off of was that her guardian was the Church representative in town, and that technically she was in charge in the area, making her word more official than Shirou's. But threats didn't work very well against Heroic Spirits or super-assassins, so that route seemed unworkable. Luckily, Shirou made her a new route altogether.

"Look," he started. He stopped to stare down at his tea, Rin cautiously hopeful that he might reveal something useful. "I really don't have any need or want for the Holy Grail. My wish is not the type that can be accomplished so easily" he elaborated.

Rin suppressed a start in surprise that there was a Master with no real wish. Nearby, Caster also twitched before turning to her Master.

Rin asked the question for them both, "Why are you a Master then?"

Shirou faced Rin, but his attention was split between her and Caster, "I am only participating in this war to aid Caster. The fact that this is a war to the death disgusts me, and my only real option is to help those available to me. So for now, my only goal is providing a home and a Master to Caster, seeing as I have fairly low od capacity."

He paused and breathed deeply, then fixed his gaze on Rin, who froze at the unexpected steel there. "To that end, any threat to Caster is a threat I intend to take seriously. But that doesn't mean that I want to go around killing people; instead, I was wondering if you would enter into an alliance with me and Caster. For now at least, your Servant is incapacitated and you are unable to fight. When your Servant does recover...well, we can decide that later."

While Rin reeled at quite possibly the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard, Caster voiced her displeasure. "What in Hades' name are you trying to do Shirou! She's an enemy, and I will have to fight her Servant at some point, regardless of whether or not I kill her. This is the perfect opportunity to finish the Servant!"

Shirou calmly took her anger, "I know it is, but as I said I have no wish for the Grail. Right now, I am trying to save as many people as I can. Ideally, I would save everyone, and this is the perfect opportunity to do so. Why do you even want the Grail, Caster? Surely, as a legendary mage you could outdo something created so recently?"

Caster's eyes narrowed, "That's not the point! Shirou, whether you or I want the Grail is irrelevant. The fact remains that the other Master and Servant pairs want the Grail, and they are prepared to kill for it. I already discussed this with you!"

Rin broke into the conversation at this point, "You don't want the Grail?! Why the hell not?"

Both Caster and Shirou ignored her, to Rin's increasing frustration. Shirou answered Caster with the same even tone that he had been using since he started his little monologue, "I understand that, but they are also human beings and deserve a chance. If I can form non-aggression pacts with them, then there is no reason for us to fight."

Caster actually stood, shaking with fury, "No. You don't understand, fool. You are a naive boy who wants to play hero despite never understanding just what this world is like. At least the heroes of my age, despicable as they were, understood that life is not that simple."

Shirou's golden eyes remained cool, "I know very well how this world works, Caster. My earliest memories are flames and death. I have no start beyond that. My very origin is an end. But that doesn't change the fact that I cannot leave anyone in trouble alone, and right now Tohsaka-san is very much in trouble."

Rin's frustration finally reached it's peak, "Don't talk about me like I'm not here! And why the hell do you not have a wish for the Grail? Just what is it that you want!"

The other two finally turned to her, and Shirou answered, though he wasn't quite so calm, "Well...my wish can only be achieved by myself, really. It's not of concern to you guys."

"Shirou, if it is truly your intention to form an temporary alliance with this girl, then I must insist upon a contract." Caster returned to sitting with a straight back and impassive face.

Rin broke into the conversation, scowling fiercely at Caster, "Dammit! Don't make decisions for me!" She turned to smile with palpable menace at Shirou, "Emiya-san, I accept your offer of an alliance. I do so hope that you can control your Servant."

Shirou let out a breath he had been holding, "That's good, Tohsaka-san. My only worry is what you wish to gain from the Grail. I have no problem giving the Grail to you after the war, just so long as you do not harm Caster."

The red-haired boy ended up falling backwards under the force of twin glares of hellfire. Both Rin and Caster started talking at once, "Shirou, I will not accept this-"

"Emiya, there is no way that I will believe-"

The two cut off and glared at each other for a few seconds, before both nodded. Rin spoke up, "A mutual geis contract. No aggressive actions until both parties agree to it. I want the Servant's bound as well."

Caster stood up, "I will go to the Workshop and get the materials for our half together, I suggest that you prepare your own. We will both examine the full contract before we agree."

Shirou looked back and forth between the two, "I assume that this means you two won't kill each other."

Caster scoffed, "As if she were any threat to me."

"We may just find out before this war is over," Rin growled.

A/N: Took forever to get that last conversation done, and honestly I'm unsatisfied with it. But it gets the plot moving along so I'll stick with it.

Bet no one expected Shirou to pair with Caster! Anyways, I think that makes the most sense. I was tempted by a few mentions of Kiritsugu as Assassin, but I decided that I needed an Assassin capable of canvassing the city and beyond. He's not going to be quite as weak as the Assassin from Fate/Zero, mainly because of the nature of his Delusional Illusion knock-off skill.

I wasn't ever aware of the memory seals until I looked at the wiki, but I find them quite useful in this case.

In Type-Moon, it is the soul that stores memories, while the brain merely acts as the anchor. So for Altair's memory seals to engrave his memory sequences onto his DNA, they would have to attach either part of his soul or anchor his soul to the DNA. Of course, he would have thousands of descendants over time, so his soul would either exist in multiple places or it would be 'tied' to his ancestor's DNA.

In this way, Altair, and later Ezio, created a sort of "Throne of Assassins" for their order. Assassins with sufficient fame within their Order, or who used the memory seals, would have their soul stored somewhere outside of space, called upon to give memories and skills to their descendants. One of the Assassin's managed to access this completely, but fractured his psyche to compartmentalize the dozens of ancestors that he assimilated.

So when this Assassin gets summoned, his ancestor's souls come right along with him, attached to the portion of the Assassin's psyche that emulated them. End result? A handful of full powered Assassins, along with a large number of weaker ones, though still not even close to challenging a proper Heroic Spirit.

Only Ezio and Altair, maybe Connor (I haven't played much), would stand anything like a chance against a Heroic Spirit, and then only through the use of a Noble Phantasm.

As for Caster...well I read Fate/Black Reflection, and I liked some of the ideas. Caster won't go nuts with the whole Hollow soldier concept, but she will find a use for them. Credit where credit is due, I didn't even once consider having Caster study Hollows or even bringing them majorly into the war until I read Nameless Flame Wielder's story.

And yes Ichigo will get his powers back, though probably not at Butterfly-Aizen smashing levels. Not within the scope of this story anyways.