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

Transposition

Chapter 15

"This is good grub." One of the men sitting around the drum with a burning fire inside said drum. He paused to take another bite and chewing it down, swallowed before speaking up. "Better than what we usually get…how'd you get a hold of this?"

One of the number of homeless sitting around the fire shrugged before giving the stew bubbling in the battered pot over the drum a stir. "They had a sale." She said, wearing clean if clearly worn-out clothes. "Enough that I could get more than what I usually get with what I earn on the odd jobs we get every other day. Sure, that means the stuff's probably not worth the attention of the richer folks, but hey, I'm not complaining."

There was a ripple of agreement at that. Given their circumstances in life, the people who could barely make a living from day-to-day (either on alms or on odd jobs that usually lasted only a day or so) and who had to live on the streets or other, out of the way places, had no inclination to turn their noses up on food that people better-off would consider close to being too old for consumption.

It wasn't like they could count on three square meals a day, after all. Sometimes, they might barely get one meal a day, if at all.

"Their loss." One of the homeless quipped, and there was some laughter at that. Smalltalk rippled among them, mostly on what happened earlier during the day, along with other everyday chatter that wasn't particularly different from between those with better circumstances in life. People were still people, no matter their circumstances.

The clatter of a pile of junk collapsing nearby caused everyone to jump, and the talk to end as people turned in its direction as one. Soon after, the sound of something like feet skittering loudly across the ground and fallen detritus was heard. "What was that?" one asked.

"Probably a rat."

"That'd have been a big rat then…very big."

"A dog maybe?"

"Can dogs even move that fast…or sound like that?"

"A cat then?"

"Maybe…hey, Tohru, go and see what it was."

"Why don't you do it?"

"Because you're the closest, and you have a thing for dogs?"

The man gave the other man the stink eye, and then with a sigh went to do as asked. "Fine," he said. "But if I get bitten, I swear…"

The other man shrugged as Tohru muttered to himself, setting his food aside before cautiously walking over to the disturbed pile of junk to see what had caused it to fall down. "Well?" one of his friends asked.

"I don't see anything." Tohru said, stepping closer and on a battered wooden box to look up and over the pile. "Just junk…no wait, what the hell?"

"What is it?"

"There's a drain here, by the wall!" Tohru said, squinting and double-taking at what looked like saliva dripping down in long, sticky threads between torn metal. "And it looks like something chewed its way out…what the…"

Tohru blinked at the sight of something seeming to scurry around in the drain's darkness, and then blinked again, his mouth dropping slightly open as he saw…something, or the suggestion of something that wasn't a rat or a cat much less a dog, something that snarled at him in the shadows. "What the hell…" he began to say, stepping back.

And then screams and shouts broke out as something that looked a small, quadruped…thing, jumped at him, biting into and tearing his face off even as it knocked Tohru to the ground. More of the things followed, ghastly, skinless things that dripped slime over raw flesh and eyeless, elongated and backwards-sloping heads with fanged mouths that rent and tore into Tohru's convulsing body.

The homeless scrambled to their feet, the women among them falling back as the men grabbed the nearest weapons or what could pass for it before charging with shouts of anger and loss. But more of the things came jumping out from the drain and the pile of junk, and then the women too were screaming, as more of the things jumped down from the street above, pouncing and forcing their prey down to tear at them, or even taking bites out of their bodies while the women were still standing and flailing about.

No one could hear them scream.

It wasn't long before silence fell, silence save for the sounds of tearing flesh, of breaking bone, of monsters snarling and nipping at each other as they fought for scraps of flesh and bits of bone, until they scampered off into the darkness searching for more prey, leaving only splatters of blood behind.

Elsewhere, Rin sat in a shadowed alcove, coldly looking out into the night, the Moonlight casting her face in shadow as the wind blew through her hair.

"Oh?" Taiga said as she stepped into the living/dining room, and looked across the divider into the kitchen. "Rin-chan isn't here?"

"She said she had some family business to take care of." Shirou said from where he was pan-grilling some fish. "So, me and Sakura went out for groceries earlier, and here we are."

"I see." Taiga said, stepping closer. "Well, I suppose it can't be helped. In any case, it's nice to see you back up on your feet again, Sakura-chan."

"No one's happier than I am, but thanks." Sakura said with a small smile, energetically stir-frying green vegetables next to Shirou. Taiga blinked, and then seeing something set aside visibly began salivating.

"Wow!" she gushed. "Is that what I think it is?"

Sakura grinned. "Yes, it is!" she said. "They had some fresh liver at the grocery earlier, so I thought, why not? Stir-fried green vegetables with liver!"

Taiga gushed with anticipation as Shirou chuckled with amusement. "Really," he said. "Everything's fried tonight, it's so unhealthy. Well, it's not like we have fried food regularly, so it's fine I guess."

"Oh come on Shirou," Taiga said with an exaggerated tone. "Oh fine, you do have a point, but…yeah, well as you said it's not like we eat fried food regularly. And the fish isn't fried…what else do we have for tonight?"

"Fried rice and agedashi tofu," Sakura replied, and then she promptly winced as Taiga gave a yell of delight.

"Agedashi tofu!" she cheered. "The anticipation is killing me!"

Sakura chuckled uncertainly. "Yeah, so uh, maybe you should sit down, sensei." She said. "I mean, it's more comfortable to sit while waiting, isn't it?"

"Oh yes, it is!" Taiga said. "And come to think of it, my show is on."

"Then go ahead and make yourself at home." Sakura said with a smile. "In the meantime we'll just be cooking here, and serve dinner when it's done!"

"Alright!" Taiga said with a grin and a thumbs-up. "I'll leave it to you, but don't take too long now!"

Sakura nodded, looking on in silence as Taiga went over to sit at the table, and taking the remote, turned the TV on and set it to her channel. Once Taiga's attention had been diverted, Sakura sighed and turned to Shirou with a slightly exasperated expression on her face. "Is she always like that?" she asked.

Shirou laughed weakly. "Not always," he said while turning the fish. "But you get used to it."

"Is that so?" Sakura said with a laugh of her own. "Well, it keeps things lively at least."

Shirou chuckled. "I guess it does." He said.

Sakura blinked, and glanced towards Shirou. "Sorry about just now though," she said. "I told sensei to 'make herself at home', which is kind of rude, seeing this isn't really my house or anything."

Shirou looked surprised before smiling and nodding. "It's fine." He said. "It's nothing really worth getting all worked up about."

Sakura nodded back, and then focused once more on her cooking.

Taiga could only gasp in awe and anticipation as Sakura and Shirou finished setting the table. There was grilled fish, fried rice, agedashi tofu, stir-fried green vegetables with liver, miso soup with tofu, radish, and seaweed, and of course white rice for those who wanted it. "Sakura-chan, Shirou…this is…this is amazing!" Taiga gushed. "It's definitely worth the wait!"

"It wasn't that long a wait…was it?" Sakura asked with a raised eyebrow.

Taiga faux-tutted, a finger wagging in the air. "With all the delicious smells coming from the kitchen," she said. "It was a long wait, even if it actually wasn't."

Sakura chuckled. "I see." She said while taking a seat. "In that case, I'm honored by your praise. But, it's nothing really special."

"What are you saying?" Taiga said, already taking the rice scoop and serving herself some fried rice. "Excelling in the kitchen is a wonderful skill to have! It's something to be proud of! So yes, it is special."

Sakura chuckled again, rubbing the back of her head as her cheeks turned back. "As I said, I'm honored by your praise." She repeated. "But, I can't really take all the credit. Emiya-sempai was the one who cooked the fried rice and the fish, and he was also the one who insisted on adding more than just tofu and radish to the soup."

Taiga nodded, crossing her arms over her chest while smugly smiling to herself. "As should be expected of Shirou," she said, before smirking at Shirou. "His skills in the kitchen are honed by years of experience and high standards set by yours truly. Certainly, the girl who marries him should consider herself fortunate and honored to have such a skilled husband."

"Fuji-nee…" Shirou said with an exasperated expression on his face, and Taiga snickered at him.

"Yes, yes," she said. "It's an exaggeration, I know, but seriously, considering how most men are content to just go with passing skills in the kitchen with expectations that the women in their lives now or in the future will take care of the rest…"

Taiga trailed off and shrugged. "It's an exaggeration," she repeated. "But not by much. Whichever girl gets you in the end should consider herself fortunate that you are who you are, and not just because of your skills in the kitchen."

Shirou just stared at Taiga with a lost expression on his face, mouth hanging silently for a few moments before regaining his wits. "Y-yeah…" he managed to say.

Taiga shrugged and turned to Saber, who was looking at the agedashi tofu with veiled interest. "Anyway, enough about that, let's eat up before it gets cold. Saber-san, you want some agedashi?"" she asked, before taking the serving dish and happily passing it over. "Please get some then."

"Thank you very much." Saber said after a moment of surprise, and taking a portion for herself. Taiga nodded, served herself, and replaced the agedashi back on the table. Pouring herself some sauce on a small saucer, she offered it to Saber.

"Here you go, Saber-san." She said with a cheerful smile. "This goes with the agedashi."

Saber nodded with a small smile, and letting Taiga pour her some sauce on a small saucer. "Thank you very much." She said again, and Taiga nodded in acceptance.

"Wow, they get along so well now." Shirou murmured to himself. "Considering how things went the first time around…"

"Here you go, sempai." Sakura said, returning Shirou's rice bowl with a serving of rice. Jolted out of his musings, Shirou took the offered rice bowl with a nod.

"Thanks." He said with another nod and a smile.

Sakura smiled back, and then turning to her own bowl, served herself some fried rice.

"If I remember right," Sakura began, she and Shirou sitting in her makeshift workshop on the Emiya property after they'd finished cleaning up and Taiga had gone home. "Last night you mentioned that for some reason or another, the only spells you could ever use were reinforcement and…tracing, wasn't it?"

"Yes, that's right." Shirou said with a nod.

"Hmm," Sakura hummed thoughtfully, arms crossed over her chest. A few moments later and she nodded. "Do you mind showing me 'tracing' again?"

"Okay." Shirou said with a nod. He held out both hands and closed his eyes. "Trace, on."

A familiar and yet all too different heat shot through his body at the mental image of a gun's hammer striking the firing chamber, but at the same time, he could sense that it was easier to channel and mold prana than before. "I really was doing it wrong for years." He thought ruefully. "But, I'm sure you did your best, dad, so rest easy. I don't blame you at all."

Shirou opened his eyes as he sensed his spell achieve completion, and smiled as he held out a steel ladle to Sakura. "Here you go." He said.

Sakura nodded, taking the offered ladle and examining it closely. Her fingers ran over the item, pressing down and pinching here and there as though to test its sturdiness, and Shirou noticed her trying to bend the ladle slightly a couple of times. Sakura's crest flashed once, and a veiled expression of awe seemed to appear on her face.

"So…what's the verdict?" Shirou ventured.

To his surprise, Sakura raised the ladle, and firmly struck the ground a couple of times. "Uh, what are you doing?" Shirou asked.

"Amazing…" Sakura said softly, again running her fingers over the ladle. "You basically projected this, didn't you?"

"Well, yes," Shirou admitted. "But, dad said it wasn't like projection at all, at least not completely…"

"Of course not," Sakura agreed. Shifting Shirou's ladle to one hand, she held out her own hand, and projected an identical ladle in it. Raising it once, she struck the ground, her construct shattering into glittering motes in an instant. "It's…a similar, mystery, but it's not the same. I mean it works the same way, that is using prana to create a tangible construct or replica of a real object. Normally however, since a projection is basically something made out from nothing, it will return to nothing, and is an extremely fragile thing. Almost completely useless in fact, usually useful only to make something meant to not last long and for trivial or similar reasons. Apart from that…well, it's useful as an exercise in shaping prana, but…"

Sakura trailed off, holding up Shirou's ladle and striking the ground once. She looked at Shirou, and flicked a finger against the ladle. "This is…this is just amazing." She said, shaking her head.

"Um…thanks…" Shirou said, looking really confused. "So…what now?"

Sakura sighed, and placed the ladle on the ground between them. "I'm not completely sure yet," she said. "But if you say you can't use any other spell despite your dad having tried to teach you other spells beyond those you say you can use, then…then I think you're a specialist."

"A specialist?" Shirou echoed, and Sakura nodded.

"It's exactly what it sounds like." She said. "They're magi who have exceeding potential in a single specific branch of Thaumaturgy, but no matter how hard they try, they can never manage anything outside of it."

"Sounds familiar," Shirou said with a small smile, which Sakura returned.

"It does, doesn't it?" she asked, and they shared a laugh. "From the look of things…yes, I think you specialize in material transmutation. It fits too, given projection falls under that branch, along with reinforcement, and those are the spells you can use, aren't they?"

"Yes."

Sakura nodded. "Well," she said. "All I can say is keep practicing. Tracing seems to be your unique, specialized variant of projection, so all I can do for you about it is measure your progress. Also, keep in mind that, well, it's still fundamentally projection. Your constructs might be more resilient and useful than other projections, but they'd still be a degree inferior to the real deal."

"I know." Shirou agreed with a nod. "On both counts; dad always said I should practice whenever I can. Though, if I feel like not practicing, that's fine too."

Sakura looked surprised at that, but decided not to press. "Apart from that," she said. "I guess I could teach you theory, that might come in handy, stock knowledge being what it is."

"True," Shirou admitted, before giving a weak smile. "You never know about these things, right?"

"Yes." Sakura said, before she blinked and put her fist in the palm of her other hand. "Oh yes, I could teach one spell that you should be able to use. It still falls under material transmutation too, after all."

"Alright then," Shirou said. "What is it?"

"Altering," Sakura replied. "It's an extension of reinforcement, with the difference being where in reinforcement you use prana to increase any or all attributes of a given object, in alteration you use prana to, well, alter or change any or all of a given object's attributes. Within reason, of course: if you change it too much, it becomes unstable, especially when you add properties and such that originally weren't part of what the object fundamentally was. In that case, much like with projection, they're made from nothing, and function as latent flaws in the reinforced structure of what's been altered. And when they collapse, so too does the altered object."

Shirou blinked. "I…think I get what you mean, but, isn't that just, well, reinforcement?" he asked.

Sakura blinked. "So…you've altered before?" she asked.

"Well, just last night I turned a stick of wood into a metal bar didn't I? So…yes."

Sakura put a hand against her forehead. "Okay…that's, alteration." She said. "Last night's battle, right?"

"Yes." Shirou said with a nod before smiling apologetically. "Sorry if I confused or misled you, but I didn't really mean to. I always thought it was just something that could be done with reinforcement, not an entirely different mystery."

"Well, that's not exactly wrong either," Sakura admitted. "It is an extension of reinforcement, so…"

She trailed off and shrugged. "So basically, just practice, huh?" Shirou said with a small smile.

"Pretty much,"

Shirou chuckled and nodded. "I see." He said before giving a sigh. "Alright then, sorry if I wasted your time making you think you could teach me more but…"

"Wasted time?" Sakura echoed. "Do you really think I wasted my or your time tonight and last night?"

Shirou didn't reply, instead meeting Sakura's eyes with his own in silence. After several moments, he smiled and nodded. "No," he said, briefly closing his eyes. "They weren't wasted. After all, you helped me properly open my magic circuits, and helped me focus on where I can take my magecraft. Even just a single one of those is a big help, so, thank you very much."

Shirou bowed, and causing Sakura to blush and look away. "Y-you're welcome," she said before giving a cough. "Anyway, do you mind if I start teaching you magical theory some other time? I mean, I still have to finish working on refining the spells I used last night, and we'll need those if we're ever going to get back to stopping Caster's attacks without burning myself out, so…"

"No, I don't mind." Shirou said with an understanding expression. And then he sighed, his face being one of unhappy resignation but tempered with iron resolve in his eyes. "To be honest, I'm not happy we can't go out tonight to keep up what we were doing last night, but, well, as you said you might burn out if you keep going like last night. And if you do, well, there's no way I can help as much as we did last night without you, and I'm not leaving you here alone on your own, at least until Archer can fight again. Even if Saber and I help other people on our own, it's meaningless if someone takes advantage of you while we couldn't help."

Sakura was taken aback by the fire in Shirou's eyes and words, and briefly looked away with pink cheeks. After a moment, she met his eyes again and nodded. "I understand how you feel," she said before smiling lightly. "And since you feel that way, and I feel similarly, I'll do all I can as quickly and as best I can. Who knows? Maybe by tomorrow night, we can get back out there."

Shirou nodded. "Please do," he said before looking concerned. "Don't push yourself though. You've only just recovered from last night after all."

Sakura smiled gratefully. "Thanks for your concern," she said. "But while I won't push myself too far, I'm going to have to 'push myself' as you put it, if I'm going to get anything done quickly and right at the same time. But, it'll be fine. I'm built tough, and if nothing else, I've got my family's crest to back me up. Given how painful getting it was in the first place, well, I guess it's time to get back what's it worth, right?"

Shirou chuckled, though it quickly died. "I guess it can't be helped." He said before sighing. "And it's not like I don't understand that magecraft isn't something that should be taken lightly. That's why…"

Shirou trailed off and sighed again, shaking his head. "Anyway," he said, standing up. "I'll just go get some things from my workshop that I usually practice on. In the meantime, well, you can get back to what you were doing earlier."

"Uh, about that, you don't really have to keep me company or show me…"

"No, it's fine." Shirou interrupted with a smile. "For one thing you're a guest, so I should keep you company when it's appropriate, right? And also, you've shown me a lot of your family's magecraft already, so even if it isn't much, let me even the score, alright?"

Sakura just stared, mouth slightly open as she looked up at Shirou's eager face, and then sighing nodded. "Alright," she said with small sigh. "Do you as like."

Shirou nodded, and turning, left the room closing the doors behind him to get his things. "You're nice, sempai." Sakura thought. "It's what I like about you. But, that's not always a good thing. People can take advantage of it, you see, like what happens at school when others make you do their chores for them just so they can laze off. Other magi…"

Sighing to herself, Sakura let the thoughts trail away, and then getting to her feet lit her circle's candles before sitting in the center.

She had work to do.

Let's get to it then.

Pale fingers gently – lovingly even – caressed the hardened cartilage of the creature's head crest, the creature crooning as it nuzzled itself against its mother's hand.

Rin withdrew her hand, her 'creation' retreating into a small crevice it had carved for itself into the ground of the tunnel it and others like it had made their lair in Fuyuki's undercity. Thick, sticky fluids poured from its skin, coating it and filling up the crevice as the creature curled up into a fetal position, the fluids hardening into a firm but flexible exterior with a gelatinous interior.

Others more had already cocooned themselves in their lair, and for all their numbers they were just one brood of many, an army of alchemically-bred monsters forged of Rin and Shinji's own genetics by Matou familiar magecraft and prepared to be gestated and matured over the past year. They were the hammer to the scalpels that were Rin's Jewel-Shelled Beetles, the sword that was her own magecraft, and the crude claws and fangs that were ordinary worms and their higher-state, 'Blade Wing' forms.

Rin turned her head slightly, to regard the armored figure seething with disgust and barely-restrained fury behind her. "You disapprove?" she whispered.

"This is an abomination!" Rider spat, sweeping an arm out to indicate the foul nest around them. "Not even the vilest of…of her deeds and creations ever sank to this depth! This place should burn!"

Rin didn't reply at once, instead looking out at the surrounding nest once again. "You would know, wouldn't you?" she asked.

"What did you say?" Rider whispered, her voice cold.

Rin ignored the question. "Do you think I enjoy doing what I've done?" she asked. "Do you think I would have made this choice if I had any others I could have made? Do you think I don't know what they are, what they were made from, what they could and should have been?"

"Why?" Rider demanded. "Why go this far? Surely victory is assured between my power and your genius?"

Rin glanced coolly at her Servant. "Funny," she said. "I recall a different victor at Camlann."

Silver flashed in the undercity's twilight, but Rin didn't so much as flinch at the steel hanging just an inch from her head. "I warn you, Master," Rider growled. "I warn you."

Rin turned to fully face Rider. "By all means, go ahead." She challenged, and after a few moments Rider lowered her sword. "I thought so. In any case, it seems I've said too much, and I apologize. With that said, as a Rider your abilities are reduced. Berserker or Saber would have been better suited for you. Unfortunately, by the time I summoned you Berserker had already been summoned, and I couldn't really control under which class you would have been summoned either."

Rider snorted. "Apology accepted," she said stiffly.

Rin nodded, half-turning back to her creations' nest. "Your power is accounted for," she said. "And so is my genius. For you see, this is my genius."

Rider shook her head slowly. "Abomination…" she snarled.

Rin was silent for several moments, and when she spoke it caught Rider by surprise.

"I know. But it's the only choice I have. And I also have no choice but to give my all in this war. And neither do you. If we don't, then neither of us will win. And if we don't win, then all this will be for nothing. And I won't let that happen."

A/N

Some slice of life, some more nerdy romance between Shirou and Sakura, and plenty of horror. To be fair, it's not completely Rin's fault. Yeah, those…things, they were the product of her mind. But, who was it who shaped that mind, and provided it with the foul knowledge which perverted Rin's genius and turned it to this abominable conclusion? And who was it who gave her no choice, one way or another, to go this far just to win?