Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Transposition

Chapter 2

High above Fuyuki City, two figures stood on top of a skyscraper, looking down at the cityscape glittering deep in the night below.

One was a tall man, with tanned skin and iron-grey eyes, prematurely-whitened hair sweeping back over his head. He wore a long-sleeved coat of red tied at the collar with white thread, under which he wore armored boots, black trousers and a silver-patterned and contoured cuirass of black metal.

The other was a young girl of average height, if leaning slightly towards the higher end. Her dark brown hair was cut short, just above her shoulders, the wind whipping through it and her open, sleeveless vest of serviceable brown. Under the vest she wore a white, short sleeved shirt with a red band around the middle, white stars running in a circle through the band, along with dark-colored jeans and a pair of black rubber shoes.

"Well," Sakura asked. "It's a nice view, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is." Archer agreed with a smile. It really was, and it was a familiar sight too, very nostalgic no matter how many times it happened. Rin always brought him here in his memories, and now, it seemed Sakura would have and had too.

"If you'd brought me here earlier," he added his usual response. "There'd have been no need for us to spend the whole evening going around the city."

Sakura chuckled and nodded. "Maybe," she admitted. "But while you can see a good view of the surrounding city from here, unless you go around it on the ground you won't get a really good feel for the place. And it's not like you can see everything in detail from here."

"I see." Archer said, briefly closing his eyes but smiling with a mix of nostalgia and agreement. "Your point is a good one, but it's not completely correct."

"Oh?"

"As you say," Archer said, glancing at Sakura with a smile. "Going around the city on foot may be necessary to get a good feel for its layout, but seeing in detail…well, I can't see the other side of the city very well, that much is true. But, I can however, easily count how many bolts there are on that bridge over there."

"Seriously?" Sakura asked, wide-eyed. Archer smiled wider, and offered an arm, internally wondering if she'd accept it.

A couple of moments later, and he would have laughed if he could, the two of them leaping out across the night sky over the city, to the rooftop of a lower building nearby. "The war has already begun." Archer said as they fell through the air. "I can't have you being surprised by things that happen from here on out."

"In that case, sorry." Sakura said with a small, rueful smile, as she and Archer landed before leaping off the building in but a moment. "Looks like I've insulted you by accident."

"It's fine, I'm not offended." Archer said, smiling at the similar but all too different dialogue, relishing the nostalgia and novelty in equal measure. "I'll just take it as a test of my abilities. How about you though? Are you ready for this?"

Sakura's smile twitched wider, turning into one of confidence and resolve. "I never play to lose." She said, and Archer laughed, the two of them continuing to jump across the Fuyuki skyline.

"That's good to hear, Sakura."

Morning was bright and sunny the following day, if a bit crisp early on as winter had yet to end. Spring though, was just a few weeks away, not just according to the calendar, but given the slowly-growing warmth of the passing days.

Rin Matou stood silent by the stove, carefully holding a bowl filled with egg mash over a pan coated with hot oil. The egg mash hissed initially as it was poured into the frying pan, and the quieted down as the cold liquid filled it.

Rin stepped back, adjusted the stove's heat, and then turned to the other breakfast options she was preparing. "Good morning." She heard Shirou say, and glancing in his direction while continuing to gently stir the soup smiled at him.

"Good morning." She returned the greeting, Shirou smiling at her while walking into the kitchen.

"You alright by yourself there?" he asked while looking over her cooking.

"Yes." Rin said with a nod. He always asked that question every day, either or sometimes both before breakfast or dinner, and she always gave the same answer. It should have been annoying and yet…

…it wasn't.

Maybe because it's so…normal. So…caring…something I can only dream about…something I can only hope to feel…when I'm with him…that's why…I…

"Alright then," Shirou said, heading over to the refrigerator to get a drink of water. As he replaced the water pitcher back inside and closed the door, he drank from the glass while opening the china cabinet. "Let me help out a bit."

"You know the drill, Emiya-kun."

"Yes, yes."

Shirou first placed out the serving dishes, bowls, and utensils she'd need, placing them on an empty corner close at hand to the stove. After returning a grateful nod, Shirou returned to the china cabinet to get the china and utensils for the table, while Rin returned to her cooking.

"I'm still not sure what you see in him, Master." The mental voice of her Servant echoed through her mind, and Rin smiled sadly.

"No, you probably don't." Rin said. "Not at once anyway. Honestly, it took me quite a while to see it myself."

"Yes, so you've told me."

Rider had been surprised when the day after her summoning, Rin had woken up early to go to Shirou's house to cook him and his guardian breakfast, and afterwards, travel with him to school. To see her Master, her proud, determined, powerful and hateful Master act equally as humble, relaxed, submissive and caring even…

…it had been quite a shock to Rider. Even more shocking was when Rin told her of how she – Rin – had fallen for the boy.

Apparently, she'd first noticed him when she saw him from a window in their school, spending hours trying to jump a high jump too high for him…and from the wrong direction to boot. It sounded stupid and Rider said as such, and Rin had laughingly agreed. But, as she had watched him keep trying for hours, refusing to give in despite repeated failures, no matter how stupid it was…

It was like staring into a mirror, you know. He knew he shouldn't be able to do it. He knew it was stupid of him to even try. And even so, he kept trying. He failed. Again, and again, and again, he kept on failing. But he kept trying, until at last he succeeded.

Maybe it's just coincidence, and the obstacle he was trying to overcome, the goal he was trying to achieve, they're nothing like what I face and what I want. But even so…if someone like him trying to accomplish such an infinitely smaller yet just as impossible challenge succeeded despite repeated failure through sheer determination, effort, and will…no matter how stupid it seems…

…I…I can't really condemn it.

Because I'm just as stupid as he is, it seems.

Rin had never told Rider what such cryptic talk really meant beyond how it applied to the boy she clearly held an interest in, beyond that she wanted and – stupidly – sought to achieve something similarly impossible, and so couldn't really condemn him. And Rider never pressed.

It was clearly something close to Rin's heart, and while Rider would be the first to admit she wasn't the most understanding sort, she was understanding enough that whatever secret it was, it wasn't something to be told to someone who'd barely known Rin for a few days. It wasn't like she too did not have some things she had no desire to share to others, having met none she could trust with her most hopeless and yet all too dearly sought after desire.

Father…why?

"You alright there, Rider?" Rin suddenly asked. "I sensed something…off, through our link."

"It's nothing." Rider said with the telepathic equivalent of a weak fluster and a cough. "I was just…reminiscing, about some things."

"I see." Rin replied. "My apologies."

"No," Rider said. "It's fine. And I was the one who first disturbed you from your cooking, with my reminiscing, so it's me who has to apologize. So, my apologies, Master."

Rin smiled at the thought. "It's fine." She said while transferring the scrambled eggs to a serving plate.

As her Master continued to busy herself with her cooking, Rider turned back to observing Shirou Emiya while remaining in astral form. The boy had just finished setting the table, and was now sweeping what little dust had gathered since the previous night. Rider rolled her eyes at such a fastidious attitude, while going over what she knew – or rather had been told – about the boy, all the while examining his body language.

According to her Master, she'd been introduced to Shirou a couple of years ago by her half-brother, who had been and was a good friend of the boy. Shirou had apparently fallen ill, and in that time Rin had helped out around the house, cleaning and washing and cooking for him among other things.

In that time apparently, despite what she clearly was there for, Shirou had tried to lessen the burden on Rin, even going so far as to try and help her around the household, despite being sick himself. In short, despite her purpose being to help out while he was ill, Shirou had treated her as a guest.

And more than that, he'd shown a hint of his true character, leading an intrigued Rin to stay on as his unofficial housekeeper even after he recovered. And unlike most men and boys who'd probably if not inevitably moved on her given the plenty of time they spend alone with each other so often, Shirou apparently knew his limits, and shown and proven what kind of person he really was.

"His determination drew her in," Rider thought. "And his kindness and purity of heart won her heart…what the hell am I saying?"

Rider sighed to herself. "Who'd have thought my Master would be such a maiden at heart?" she asked. "Especially given her…circumstances…"

Rider clenched her immaterial fists, taking great care not to bleed her emotions out through her telepathic link with Rin. She'd seen what the magic of the Matou Clan involved, and even one such as she, who had seen great and terrible sorcerers and sorceresses in life had recoiled in horror and then rallied in blazing fury at the sight…

…only to be reined in by her Master. Initially to her shock, but after it was explained to her, with respect and even admiration.

I'll take everything he has. No matter how painful…no matter how humiliating…no matter how monstrous…I'll take it all! It will only make me stronger in the end, and just add more to what is owed to me when the time comes!

And when I have nothing more to learn from him, when he cannot or would not offer me more, I will take it all, and leave him with nothing!

Nothing…!

"Such strong spirit…" Rider thought to herself with a respectful smile at her Master, carrying plates and platters of steaming food to the table. "A golden heart that refuses to be tarnished, and a steely spirit that refuses to break, no matter what is inflicted against it…truly, what a Master I have."

Again, Rider's eyes turned to Shirou in the aftermath. She looked on with what would have been a thoughtful frown, and after several moments sighed.

"Well," she thought to herself. "He certainly seems genuine. But if so, how long can he last? A golden heart is all well and good, but a golden character cannot hope to succeed in this world. My Master knows this. Does he? And if he does not, and his character is put to the test, then what?"

Rider narrowed her eyes. "If he cannot endure," she concluded. "What will become of him, to whom my Master would have her heart belong? And what will become of her? Steel is strong…but it can break. If so…then what?"

"…gas leaks during the previous evening at…"

Rin looked up at the news reporter's words, staring at the television screen in silence and taking the report in to the end, and then sighed. "More gas leaks…" she murmured. "Hmm…"

"What's wrong, Rin-chan?" Taiga Fujimura asked.

"Hmm…?" Rin hummed before shaking her head, her violet locks swinging with the motion. "It's just that the council's been given notice to advise students in light of the recent gas leaks not to remain on school grounds outside of class or club hours, and if possible, to go home immediately afterwards."

"And what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing," Rin replied. "However, it only helps if a gas leak erupts at the academy, and if it erupts after official hours. Otherwise, we're still at risk."

"Hmm…" Taiga hummed in thought, and ate a mouthful of rice in the process. "That's a good point, I suppose. But, every little helps, doesn't it?"

Rin tilted her head in thought before nodding slowly. "I suppose that's true." She conceded.

"Yeah, it does." Shirou agreed.

"But, that last part, advising students to go home immediately after class hours," Rin continued. "I'm not sure how effective it's going to be."

"What makes you think that?" Taiga asked.

Rin raised an eyebrow. "Based on personal experience as a former class representative and the incumbent Student Council President," she said. "Leading the student body is like herding cats."

Shirou made an unhappy sound. "That's a bit harsh, isn't it?" he asked.

"Perhaps it is," Rin answered with a shrug. "But it's the truth. And that's at the academy, where I have the weight of official authority behind me. Outside the academy, where I have no official authority…"

Rin trailed off, but Shirou and Taiga understood. After a moment though, Shirou coughed. "That's another good point," he said. "But there's nothing we can do about what our schoolmates choose to do outside of school. Apart from giving advice to help them avoid getting caught in the recent accidents that seem to be popping up in the city, that is."

"Every little helps…?" Rin asked, and Shirou nodded.

"Yes." He said. "Believe me, if I could do something better about those leaks, I would. But…"

"Just do what you can, is it?" Rin murmured with a smile, and Shirou nodded sadly, though his fists briefly clenched in frustration.

"Yes."

Silence and stillness reigned for a few more moments, and then Taiga coughed. "Anyway," she said brightly, reaching forward to grab a piece of meat from a platter with her chopsticks. "Our breakfast is getting cold, and we all have things we still have to do before class starts. So let's get at it, and not get late, shall we?"

"Yes."

"Yes."

The school bells rang the warning note, audible quite a good distance down the street leading away from the academy. Students walking along the sidewalk quickened their paces, including one athletic girl with short-cut hair.

"Damn it, I overslept!" Sakura mentally swore as she picked up the pace.

Jogging forward while agilely slipping between and around her schoolmates, Sakura quickly arrived at the school's gates and through them into the quadrangle. Even then she didn't break her pace, continuing to jog towards the entrance, and she wasn't the only one either. A few others weren't just jogging too they were outright running.

Sakura was about halfway across the quadrangle when she came to an abrupt halt, blinking and looking around her before a wary expression came over her face. "Archer," she said. "Do you sense that?"

"Yes." He replied.

"Is it Matou's Servant?"

"No," Archer replied. "The feel of their aura is different. It's someone else's Servant. Could there be a third Master in this school?"

Sakura's face briefly darkened, before calming to a neutral expression. At the same time, she began walking briskly towards the entrance, along with her fellow students. "It's not impossible, I suppose." She said. "But it is very improbable for another student to be a Master…the only reason I or Matou-sempai for that matter, are Masters despite our age is because our families have no other candidate available. Were someone older and more experienced are present and qualified to represent our families, then we wouldn't be Masters right now."

"Then perhaps this third Master is a teacher."

"That's also possible." Sakura agreed. "It's also more probable too. But if it is, then who?"

"I don't know. At the very least, we'll have to watch our backs. I can sense – barely – Matou's Servant's aura too, and it's wary. They probably already know about what we're discussing."

A ghost of a smile flickered over Sakura's face. "As should be expected from Rin Matou." She said. "She's sharp, and has already taken basic precautions. I wonder what else we can expect from her."

"What do you think we can expect from her?"

"Smartass…"

Archer's laughter ghosted through her mind before the Servant went serious. "He or she doesn't seem intent on attacking at any rate…for now." He said. "He may just be here to observe you or the Matou girl: anyone with the barest knowledge of the background behind this contest would know that both your families are guaranteed a spot as a Master. And since you're the only Tohsaka left, and the Matou patriarch – his magical prowess aside – is physically infirm, it's likely they inferred both your statuses as Masters and wish to confirm it for their Master."

Sakura nodded, stepping up to her footlocker, and opening it took her indoor shoes from inside. "That makes sense." She said, sitting down on a bench and beginning to remove her outdoor shoes. "I sense a 'but' there somewhere though."

"He may not be planning to attack now," Archer said. "But that may change later. I'm not sure, but it is a possibility."

"Yes." Sakura agreed. "That does increase the probability that there is no third Master in this school though, if a Servant had to be sent to observe myself and Matou-sempai. If there was, they could easily do so in person. The possibility is still there, but I think we can hope that there isn't. It'd certainly be easier on us if there wasn't."

"Agreed." Archer said. "So what shall we do?"

Sakura didn't reply at once, instead staying both physically and mentally silent – except to return greetings from passing schoolmates – while she finished changing her shoes and stowing the outdoor ones in her footlocker. "We'll be careful." She said as she rushed to her classroom. "And we'll stay here after school."

"Throwing down the gauntlet?"

Sakura's lips twitched into a small smile. "I guess I am, aren't I?" she answered to Archer's amused chuckle. "But, it's a good tactic – at least I think so – to force the enemy's hand. If the enemy Servant is here strictly for observation, then they'll back off once night falls and the school is empty, that is the battlefield is clear of any possible hindrances."

"And if they don't back off?"

"Aren't you confident in your skills?"

Archer laughed again. "I see your point." He said. "I'll be sure not to disappoint you, if it comes to that."

"I'll leave it to you then." Sakura said, going up the stairs and then around a corner and down a hallway. "This might also be a chance to flush out the enemy Master, if he or she is a teacher or maybe a student even, in this school. If so, I'll take care of them, while you take care of the Servant."

"Understood, Sakura."

Sakura nodded, arriving at her classroom and sliding the door open just as the bells rang the start of morning classes.

Shinji yawned widely as Shirou joined him and Issei Ryuudo in their usual lunch spot at the council meeting room. "Rough night?" Shirou asked the violet-haired boy.

"Well," Shinji began evasively. "You could say that. Tiring, but not bad."

Shirou smiled knowingly and opened his lunchbox. "You got lucky as you'd put it, didn't you?" he asked.

Shinji grunted but didn't say anything. It wasn't like he could say that he and his his stepsister (not that anyone knew she was really his stepsister and not his half-sister like the official records say) had fucked like animals over and over again last night. And the night before, and the night before that, and so on.

Well he could, but that would go really well, he was sure.

"It's not that I particularly mind," Shinji thought as he began eating lunch. "It's enjoyable, she's probably got the biggest rack in the school, and she really gets into it…but…"

Shinji sighed mentally. "Ever since she summoned that Servant of hers," he thought. "She's gotten way too hungry, just like back when puberty had just started for her. At least back then I didn't have much on my plate. Now though, with all the council business and other stuff she and the old worm have dumped on me, I barely get any sleep these days."

Shinji briefly shot Shirou a look from the corner of his eyes. "With all the time she spends over at Emiya's place," he thought unhappily. "And her appetite these days, I wonder why she doesn't just do it with him? It's not like we have any real feelings for each other, we've always been just convenient partners after all. But the guy she's had a crush on for years now…why hasn't she made a move?"

Shinji mentally snorted. "She probably has some sort of romantic notion in her head about it or something." He thought with a mental sneer, though it quickly vanished. "Then again, given how our family is like, and why we're as we are now, I guess I can't really speak badly of a hopeless daydream like that."

Shinji blinked, mentally shuddering at certain memories while focusing on what Issei was saying. Shirou had apparently asked how things were at the temple Issei lived in, and while things were still largely normal, a few days ago a female acquaintance of his father had moved in to stay at the temple until her wedding day.

"…she's quite beautiful, enough to cause something of a stir among the younger monks." Issei said. "Even I'm tempted by her charms."

Somehow, hearing their usually straight-laced friend say that caused Shirou and Shinji to momentarily short-circuit and freeze. Issei quickly realized what he'd said, and broke out into a fluster much to Shinji and Shirou's amusement.

Inwardly though, gears were turning in Shinji's head. "Ryuudo Temple is a spiritually-active spot." He thought. "It stands on top of one of the territory's ley lines, and is in fact, a potential summoning site for the Holy Grail itself. A bit exposed to be sure, but…"

Shinji narrowed his eyes. "It could just be a coincidence," he thought. "That an acquaintance of Issei's father suddenly turns up just as the war begins, and stays over at a spiritually-active location until her wedding day. That last bit is particularly suspicious: I've never heard of a bride secluding themselves over an extended period before the wedding day."

Shinji briefly closed his eyes, resuming eating his lunch. "Could that woman be a Master?" he thought. "Or it is really just coincidence? I need to know more about this woman, before I tell anything to Rin, or we actually investigate anything."

"Hey," Shinji began. "Issei, who exactly is this acquaintance of your father's, and how'd they know each other?"

"In truth…"

"You don't plan on attacking this third Servant?" Rider angrily demanded.

"No," Rin replied, sitting in her office and reading the reports submitted to her as council president. "Grandfather says that this Servant is probably Kotomine's, who stole it from that Irishwoman he killed a few days ago. And he's probably using his Servant to test the other Masters and Servants, or some other scheme of his."

Rin paused, turning a page. "You don't want to play along with a fake priest's scheme, do you?" she asked.

There was a moment of profound silence, followed by a powerful burst of frustration. "No, I don't." Rider snarled. "But, it's still so frustrating, to have a potentially-worthy enemy I can cross blades with and crush within reach…and not do anything!"

"Don't worry," Rin thought with a smile. "We'll fight eventually, there's no doubt about that. But, we'll do it on our terms, the better to win. And while you clearly like fighting, I'll take a risk and guess you like winning more."

There was another moment of profound silence, and then laughter echoed through the telepathic link. "Yes, you've got me there." Rider admitted. "In part: I like winning as much fighting, but against strong enemies I can boast as having defeated. Not much point boasting about having beaten weaklings who can barely if even fight back."

Rin nodded. "Quite," she thought. "You'll get your chance eventually of that you have my word."

"Then I'll take it, and hold you to it."

"And I won't expect anything less." Rin responded with a nod, again turning the report's page. "But for now, let's leave this enemy to Tohsaka. Knowing her, she'll probably try something in line with her cheeky and impudent character."

"From what I've seen, and what you've told me, I like her. She's no helpless or frail maiden that one, not like that whore of Lancelot's, Guinevere."

"Language, Rider." Rin admonished. "And I never said she was, indeed treating her as such is probably asking to be beaten in short order. It's just that she doesn't act her station, and that's not something I can really condone."

"Titles and things like that are empty anyway."

Rin didn't reply at once. "Is that so?" she finally asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Rin briefly closed her eyes, placing the report down on her desk. "No," she said. "I've said too much, my apologies."

There was another moment of profound silence, followed by a snort. "You've got nerve, but I can respect that." Rider said.

Rin smiled slightly, reaching out for another report. "Anyway," she said. "I'll leave familiars behind to see what Tohsaka and that other Servant will do. Who knows? It just might prove useful to us later on."

"Yes, yes."

A/N

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Some of you could probably guess who Rider is this time, and no, Issei isn't dead. I wonder how some people came to this conclusion.