The stairway leading to a temple, beautiful and traditional, now stained by blood. It's steps were wrecked and corpses were everywhere. Among the corpses of fallen warriors, there were two servants continuing their duel to the death.

"It seems that I might have underestimated you, Rider." Assassin complimented Rider

"But, there can only be one victor." the samurai added

His katana shone bright, reflecting the sunlight. He stances himself, preparing to give the finishing blow. His clothes were tattered, and he has a small cut on his cheek. Rider, on the other hand, was barely alive. Given her immense speed, her fighting style was no match for the skilled samurai's blade.

She was able to give him some critical hits, but at the same time she leaves herself open to be stabbed by the samurai. She was unsure as to how her quick dashes can be predicted by Assassin. Carelessly, she left herself defenseless after her daggers parried with Assassins's blade. The samurai slashed her continuously until Rider was able to dash backward.

"Is this...the end?" Rider thought to herself

"Concealed sword technique..." Assassin preparing himself to kill Rider

"Sayonara, Rider" Assassin seductively murmured

"Sa-Sakura..." Rider whispered, now accepting her fate of death

"Tsubame ga-"

*KLING*

*KLANG*

Assassin slashed two arrows fired directly at him. He stood back as he saw more arrows being fired.

"You vixen, help me out here!" Assassin yelled towards Caster

"Ara~ it seems that the best swordsman in the Kuzuki empire can't fend off arrows." Caster teased the samurai

"Tch, I'll deal with you later." Assassin huffed

Rider felt a surge throughout her body. It gave her enough strength to properly stand up; she was being ordered.

"By the order of a command seal...return to my side, Rider!"

Rider stared at Assassin whom was still parrying incoming arrows. She smiled and told the samurai, "We'll settle this next time, Assassin."

Assassin nodded, and briefly smiled before frowning again as he kept slashing arrows. Rider turned into spirit form and spawned next to Sakura and Shinji on the carriage. She fell on her knees, as she was drained from the fight with Assassin.

She looked up, and saw that it was Shinji whom was firing the arrows. Rider felt thankful but she was searching for somebody else. She finally found Sakura, rushing towards her.

"Rider!" Sakura yelled

The Matou princess got down on her knees to check Rider's condition. Rider smiled so Sakura wouldn't worry, but Sakura wasn't buying it.

"It's okay, Oujou-sama. I'm fi-" Rider flinched due to her wounds

"I'm sorry for forcing you to fight Assassin, Rider. " Sakura said, showing pity to the servant

"No. I will do anything to protect you, Oji-sama, and the entire Matou, even when it costs my life." Rider honorably said

Sakura smiled, and helped Rider get up. She sent her to the carriage's infirmary to rest, even though her wounds would eventually heal up. She felt her body heavy, and she was losing consciousness. Just as Sakura left the room, she fell asleep.

...

"Set a course towards the kingdom, we're falling back!" Shinji ordered

The Matou carriage left the battlefield as their numbers were greatly reduced thanks to not only Assassin, but to Caster's skull creatures as well. The Matou prince was irritated that they had to leave the battlefield.

"If it wasn't for that God-forsaken witch!" an angered Shinji yelled

He sat on the throne at the middle of the carriage, still angry due to the end result of the battle. Just as he was about to rant out loud again, Sakura passed by.

"Onii-san." Sakura called out to Shinji

"Oh, Sakura. How's Rider?" he asked

"I left her in the infirmary. She'll recover soon." Sakura replied

"Well, that's good to know." Shinji replied as he turned his attention away from his sister

"Onii-san." Sakura called Shinji once more

"What?" a slightly irritated Shinji said

"It seems that your friend, Prince Shirou Emiya, paid a visit to the Tohsaka's." Sakura said with a slightly devilish grin

It caught Shinji's attention. Shirou Emiya, the man he once thought as his friend, turned out to be the son of Kiritsugu Emiya, the deceased king of the Emiya clan and the man who aided Tokiomi Tohsaka in invading one of the Matou's villages up north. Shinji stood up from his seat, walked towards Sakura and whispered

"Tell me, how'd you know?"

xXx

It was 10 years ago when the Tohsaka's, with the help of King Kiritsugu Emiya were able to invade and drive off the Matou's away from their village in the North. It was a peaceful village meant for those who followed and praised the Matou. No magecraft, no fighting, no warriors, nothing. It was just a simple village meant for citizens. But for no absurd reason, it was destroyed.

Shinji was there when it all happened. He accompanied his uncle, Kariya Matou. He was like a father figure towards young Shinji. They paid a visit to relax around the village, interact with it's inhabitants, and to be free from all the 'royal' work they have at the kingdom.

Just then, the thundering steps of horses could be heard from afar. It caught everybody's attention. They were getting louder and louder, and the sound was getting closer too. Just then, from the long valley towards that leads towards the village, Tokiomi Tohsaka was riding alongside Kiritsugu Emiya.

"Chaaaarge!" Tokiomi yelled

The horses galloped faster, and everybody panicked. Kariya left Shinji in an empty shed saying,

"Oji-sama, I'm coming back for you. Stay here!"

Minutes passed by, screams of people could be heard along with slashes of swords. Blood could be seen everywhere and houses were burned. Luckily, Shinji was unharmed. As time goes by, Kariya never returned; his body, was nowhere to be found among the sea of corpses of innocent people. Shinji was the only survivor.

xXx

"Oji-sama, are you alright?" a knight asked

"Yes." Shinji numbly replied

He stood atop the carriage, teary-eyed and filled with rage. He hated remembering that day, along with the day he met Shirou.

'I'll kill you, Emiya Shirou!' the thought kept running towards the mind of Shinji

"Change of course!" Shinji yelled, garnering everybody's attention

"Communicate with the kingdom and ask for more warriors to send out to the field." he added

"Why, Oji-sama? Is something the matter?" a Duke asked Shinji

"We're heading towards the Tohsaka kingdom." Shinji uttered

Everybody was stunned, for they were about to go to the strongest kingdom.

"Are my orders clear?!" Shinji clarified his warriors

"Yes Oji-sama!" they replied, though some were hesitant

The carrier set course towards the Tohsaka kingdom, and Shinji laughed in satisfaction. Just as he was to return to his seat, Sakura was standing along an alley in the carrier, overhearing Shinji's new plan. She walked away with a mischievous yet frightening gaze.

"Onee-chan...!"

A/N

Yo! It's time for the Matou's to shine! More backstory in the next chapter before we proceed in the showdown between the Matou's and the Tohsaka's along with Shirou. Thanks for the constant support! Reviews are always welcome :)