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

Different Fates

Chapter 2

His sister and grandfather were both monsters.

Shinji Matou wondered why he had ever coveted the Matou inheritance, understood why his father had descended into the bottle after what had been done to his mother, and questioned why his uncle had ever returned…only to meet his own wretched death. Anyone who ever touched the Matou mysteries in the slightest form was doomed to either die or become a monster.

He didn't want that, and he feared that with all the study of the theory he had made – back before he realized the truth – he'd meet the fate meant for those of his blood and name.

He didn't want either of that.

He'd already planned to leave as soon as he'd finished schooling, not just the property or even Fuyuki, but the country as well. Where would he go? Good question…Shanghai or America both sounded good, someplace big enough and with enough people to lose himself in just in case his sister went after him.

These were not the thoughts a ten year-old boy should be having, but then again Shinji wasn't just another ten year-old boy. He wasn't just a failed and scorned scion…not anymore. Not after the incident a few years ago, after which he'd decided to stay out his of sister's way to the best of his ability.

But things had changed. Even though he knew that this could mean crossing his sister, he owed it to his friend to warn him of what he was getting involved with. At that he wondered: was he always this protective of his friends?

Probably not…but being forced to see the reality around him had changed him so utterly, to the point that he was, no had already decided to abandon all ties to his family as soon as he could, and damn the consequences so long as he could get away from them and their apparent fates.

As the lunch bell rang, Shinji rose from his seat and made for his friend Shirou's desk. He'd only managed to take a few steps before a feminine arm made its way around his shoulders, and his heart skipped a beat – and not in a good way – as a familiar voice whispered in his ear.

"We need to talk, little brother."

They were of the same age to be honest, but Shinji didn't dare bring up the issue. Instead he followed his sister out into the hallway, and thence to a secluded corner. Shinji swallowed dryly as Rin Matou regarded him coolly. "What do you want to talk about?" he asked softly, his throat dry.

"Oh nothing much…" Rin said off-handedly. "…I was just wondering that's all…considering how nervous you were, and fingering your leg…and the way you looked at Emiya-kun…and considering how we've recently become acquainted…"

"He deserves to know what he's getting involved into!" Shinji spat with more venom than he intended, and in the next moment his eyes widened in horror as Rin smiled. It was the same smile from two years ago, the smile of a predator eyeing prey, the smile that haunted his dreams and opened his eyes to the abomination of his name and blood.

"…leave!" the eight year-old boy shouted at the other girl, who'd silently endured his tirade even as he accused her in every way of being nothing more than a common thief that had somehow managed to get into the family, steal their appearance and name, and now sought to steal their greatest secret and treasure: the magic that should be his, the rightful Matou heir.

"Leave and never come back…!" he shouted again, and Rin just tilted her head to one side mockingly.

"Do you want it that badly, what I already have?" she asked, and Shinji saw red.

With a scream of childish anger, he reared back and tried to backhand her with all he was capable of…'tried' being the key word. Instead she caught his arm before its hand could strike her face, and before he could react she stepped forward, bending and twisting his arm back as though she was ripping a branch from a tree.

He screamed as pain erupted from his destroyed shoulder, collapsing writhing and whimpering in agony on the ground at Rin's feet as she released his arm. She wasn't finished though, and a tearful but defiant glare turned to one of pure terror as she raised a foot over his leg. More insults and invectives turned to fresh screams as her reinforced limb broke his thigh bones, and Shinji collapsed crying, all anger and defiance gone.

He was after all, still just an eight year-old boy.

It didn't end there though. Ignoring his pleas, Rin had dragged him down by the hair all the way to the basement, right up to the very edge of the pit he'd spied her lying in during the previous night, her nude body writhing and covered with worms, insects, and all sorts of filth…the same filth that still writhed in the pit.

"Is that what you really want?" she spat at him, pointing at the pit with her purple irises all but glowing with magical power. "Do you want those…things all over you…in you? DO YOU?"

Shinji broke, babbling and begging at the girl with purple eyes and hair and pale skin standing out like a demon in the darkness of the basement. With a sneer and a snarl of contempt, Rin turned and left him alone.

Left alone with nothing but the sound of…things crawling about in the darkness, Shinji cried for what felt like hours at the time, but he'd later learned was barely ten minutes. Help finally came…

Grandfather…

Initially he'd rallied, showing off his injuries and accusing Rin of attacking him out of nowhere. To his horror the old man had simply laughed at him, and then had 'healed' him. He would never forget those…things the old man – if man he still was – had allowed to burrow into his leg and arm, and the sheer pain and wrongness as they writhed in his flesh.

It didn't matter if they left once his arm and leg were fine…

…it was at that moment, with the memory of what had just been done to him by his 'sister' and 'grandfather'…with the memory of what had been done to his mother…

…it was at that moment he realized the hollowness of his ambitions and dreams.

The Matou inheritance…? He should have known better.

"Does he now?" she asked. "It seems that someone is forgetting his place."

Before he could respond to that, she took a step forward, a foot between his legs and her face inches from his own. "You know as well I do that ordinary people don't need to know what they don't need to know." She said, and he swallowed dryly. As their shared breath washed over their faces, something flickered in her eyes and over her face and then she was stepping back.

"And until Tohsaka comes back…" she said sweetly. "…it's mine and grandfather's jobs to keep the rules in place."

She tilted her head in that same mocking fashion. "And why do you care about what Emiya-kun's getting into?" Rin asked. "All you care about is yourself, don't you?"

"I care about my friends." He hissed. "Not that you would know about caring for others!"

She blinked, and something else flickered through her eyes and over her face. "You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about." She said softly and dangerously. "So shut your mouth, little brother."

Without another word she left, and leaving Shinji alone. For a few moments the boy wondered about what she said, and then shook it off. It was just a ploy, that's what it was this…implying that he was wrong about her.

He wouldn't let himself be fooled, not after what she said passing back then, when his eyes had been opened.

Now you know better.

"Anyone that gets in her way gets put down…" he thought bitterly. "…uncle…father said uncle came back because of her…was he her victim too? Father had no reason to lie. Uncle…then me…and now Emiya…can't I do anything?"

…Tohsaka comes back…

The words echoed through Shinji's head, and he narrowed his eyes. It was a small chance, and it probably wouldn't work but…

"Rin and grandfather aren't quite vampires…" he thought. "…but I know enough that some of our mysteries could be considered as grounds for sealing. If I can convince Tohsaka when she comes back…"

Was it worth the risk though?

If he managed to convince Tohsaka to slap a sealing designation down on his family, he might get caught in the fallout. But then again…he had no magical potential of his own. More than likely he'd have his memories altered and that was that.

Was it worth it?

Shinji swallowed. He'd lose his memories, but at least…at least the monsters would be gone. Maybe by then Rin hadn't grown tired of having Emiya as her boy-toy and he could save his friend from being disposed of.

My brother…your uncle…he got fed to the worms because he came back…he came back because of her…

Shinji grit his teeth. In the past he'd derided his uncle for running away as soon as he was old enough, turning his back on the magic and wealth of the family. But after what had happened to him, he'd gained respect for the man, for having the courage and insight to see the truth and escape while he still could.

He could have lived free of the family's fate.

But he just had to come back.

It was all her fault, and now a truly-respectable man was dead, no worse than dead.

"Emiya…" he thought as he looked out over the school grounds from a window. "…I hope you can keep her interested until Tohsaka comes back. Uncle…and any gods out there that exist and can hear me…please…please let me be able to convince Tohsaka…even if I'm killed instead of having my memory altered…"

Shinji smiled, remembering Shirou Emiya's defending his ridiculous dream of becoming a hero, even if it meant dying so others might live. It didn't sound so ridiculous now though.

"…if it means ending those monsters with my blood and name…" he thought. "…then it's worth dying for. And if it's worth dying for, it's worth waiting for the right time."

Rin Matou splashed her face repeatedly with cold water, breathing heavily as her body shuddered in response. "Damn it…" she muttered, running a hand over her face. "…I shouldn't have gotten too close."

At that she remembered her brother's face inches away from her own just recently, his nervous breathing wafting over her face. She hissed as the memory triggered a reaction from her crest worms, and she nearly collapsed at the heat that suddenly pooled in her core. Ceramic cracked as her hand tightened on the sink's edge, and her irises briefly flashed red as she desperately drew mana from her surroundings and fed them to the crest worms.

Satisfied, they subsided…for now.

An interesting aspect of her crest worms were that they had the unusual ability of allowing her to draw on the World's mana at a level comparable to that of a homunculus. She suspected there was more to it than that, or that that ability was never intended to exist to begin with, given her grandfather's suspicious smile and veiled reticence to explain more about the ability.

Still, it came in handy at times like this, as over the past year as the crest worms began to manifest their side-effects on her growing body. Specifically, the crest worms' tendency to drive female magi into heat in an effort to obtain more prana by means of sexual intercourse.

By simply drawing on the World, she could calm them for a time.

But she knew that it was a stopgap solution…but then again, so would be the 'normal' method of calming them down. At least this method didn't necessitate her rutting around.

And she'd have to use it more and more in the coming years, she just knew it. Puberty had already begun after all.

Sighing, Rin washed her face again. Her thoughts turned back to her brother, and she winced at the fear and hatred he held for her. She regretted what she'd done all those years ago, but…

"I couldn't control myself…" she thought bitterly. "…I just couldn't…the way he said as though I wanted to become like I am now, to have these…things in me…"

She shook her head. She shouldn't have lashed out like that, it made her no different from the 'man' who tortured and twisted her body every night. At least some good had come out of it though.

Shinji had been so traumatized by her actions that he'd completely given up on his family.

Rin knew that Shinji was plotting to run away as soon as he was old enough to live on his own. She bitterly remembered her uncle's death, wallowing in delusion even as the worms consumed him. "Leave and never come back…" she thought. "…it's better that way Shinji. Go and live a normal life…you deserve better than what you'd get by staying…anyone deserves better…"

Sighing, she wiped her face with a paper towel and tossing it into a trash bin, stalked out of the toilet. As she approached the stairwell down the hallway, she found herself crossing paths with a new acquaintance of hers. "Hey there Matou…" Shirou Emiya said with a small grin. He blinked at her. "…are you alright? You don't look so good."

"Yeah I'm fine. Just a bit of stomach trouble." She said with a smile.

Poor boy…he was just so nice to everyone, that she felt she had to care. Being nice wasn't good. People like that got taken advantage of, they were used and then left to rot when there was no use left for them.

She used to be like that too.

After all, if she wasn't so lenient with her sister, she wouldn't be in this situation in the first place.

It was only with a herculean effort that she managed to keep the subsequent horror from showing on her face. Her father couldn't have known what her grandfather was planning for her. Her sister…Sakura…

I don't mind being what I am now…defiled and infested with parasites…if it means that Sakura didn't have to go through this…then it's worth it all…

Swallowing dryly, she walked with Shirou back to their classroom.

The setting Sun lit the sky orange, Rin staring through the fence at the empty and sealed Tohsaka mansion beyond. No one had lived there for three years, and it would remain empty for years more to come she knew.

Father sent Sakura to London in the event of mother's death.

Rin sighed again at the thought. In end, she couldn't even attend either her father or mother's funerals, or even say goodbye to her sister when she left the country. After all, she never had them.

In the past the thought would have filled her with resentment…now, just resignation.

There really wasn't anything she could do but obey her grandfather, including his advice that it was better that she forget she had any relatives outside of the Matou family…at least openly. In secret though…that was a different matter entirely…

Holy Grail…

She'd once overheard her grandfather muttering to himself about how the Grail would be starting decades early, how unusual that was, and how little time he had to prepare for it. He didn't notice her listening, considering that at the time she was…otherwise occupied.

Purple irises flashed red as heat flared up in Rin's core, and she slumped against the Tohsaka property's outer wall. Her body…it was too…sensitive for lack of a better term. The training might be torturous, but paradoxically the mind-numbing pain was always paired with equally mind-numbing pleasure.

She hated it, but she couldn't control her body's reactions…yet.

Someday she would be able to.

Taking a deep breath, Rin pushed herself off of the wall, and bitterly sensed the warning buzz of the Tohsaka bounded fields. They didn't recognize her anymore, either because she'd been wiped from the identification matrices or her blood didn't sympathize with them.

Rin took one last look past the wall and the unkempt grounds at the mansion beyond. She didn't know why she came here every so often, she just did. "Sakura…" she thought. "…you'll come back eventually, won't you? Will you recognize me when you do? Will you…"

Rin shook her head and walked back home. There was no point in hoping, she'd just get disappointed. Sakura had no reason to suspect anything was wrong, and even if she did, did she even stand a chance against her grandfather?

If so, all well and good, but if not…then better that she continue to suffer if it meant keeping Sakura safe. Ignorant yes, but at least Sakura wouldn't have to go through what she was going through night after night.

Time to go home, she still had to prepare dinner for herself and her brother after all and then…

"There's no point in hoping things will change on its own or that others will change it for you." she thought to herself. "If anything will change, it's because I made them change. And the only way I can do that, is if I get the Holy Grail. That's the only sure way to change things. If I fail, I die, and the nightmare ends for good. If I win, then not even grandfather can stand against the Grail's power. I'll be rid of him at last."

Smiling slightly to herself, Rin paused as she crested a hill and stared out over the city at the sunset. She swallowed as another thought occurred to her. "Let the Grail war come soon…" she pleaded in silence. "…before I am forced to have my children trained…"

She knew quite well that eventually she'd be forced to provide an heir, but if that happened…

I would sooner kill them than let them go through that. Death would be a mercy by comparison.

"Hey Emiya…!"

Shirou Emiya turned at the shout, and then smiled as Ayako Mitsuzuri ran up to his side. "Going home…?" she asked as they walked down the street.

"Hmm…? Yeah, it's not like I have anything else to do right now."

"Is that so now?" Mitsuzuri replied sympathetically. They walked in silence for several more moments before she continued. "How are you holding up?"

"Huh…?"

"You know…about what happened a few months ago…"

Shirou blinked, and then sighed. "I'm fine…" he began. "…or that's what I want to say. But…"

"He was your father."

"Yeah…" he said with a nod. He sighed again. "…still there's no point in getting too down over it. Dad wouldn't have wanted me to give up because he's gone. He'd have wanted that I keep going, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah I do." Ayako said with a smile, squeezing his shoulder reassuringly. "When you're already at the lowest, the only way to go is up, right?"

"That's right."

Ayako laughed. "Hey Emiya?" she asked.

"Yeah…?"

"You're my friend, right?"

Shirou blinked in surprise. "Aren't we?" he asked back, and Ayako rolled her eyes.

"That's what I asked but I suppose that's a yes. Anyway, there's a new ice cream store about a station away, you want to try it out? I'm buying."

"Well I…"

"Oh come on…" she said while taking his hand and dragging him down the street after her. "…you need to lighten up Emiya! Let's have some ice cream, that'll work!"

"Alright…alright…" he said, smiling despite himself. "…just don't go ripping my arm out, I can walk you know!"

Ayako laughed and let go, but Shirou still followed after her. Well she did have a point he did need to lighten up. It had been months already, but he still felt down for his father's death. And while there was nothing wrong with that, he needed to move on.

Ice cream should help.

"Hey Emiya I heard you got a girlfriend."

Shirou promptly choked on his spoon of ice cream, and Ayako burst out laughing. "What? Where did that come from?" he asked while coughing.

"Just joking…" she said with a grin. "…it's just that…I overheard the Matou siblings arguing, apparently Shinji didn't like the idea of her getting close to you."

"I'm not getting close to her." Shirou protested. "She just…how to say this…she just likes to ask my help after I helped out that one time last month at the Student Council. Issei was sick remember? He asked me to help out, and she was there. We talked a bit, and ever since then she asks for my help whenever she needs it. And to be honest I really don't mind."

"Hmm…" Ayako mused. "…alright just be careful Emiya."

"Careful…? What for…?"

"Ryuudo can be…um…paranoid…" Ayako fumbled, and while Shirou didn't feel comfortable he knew that his friend could be a bit weird at times. "…but about Rin Matou…well I can't feel comfortable around her. She almost seems…well…too mature for our age."

"Well there's nothing wrong about that, is there?"

"No I suppose not." Ayako conceded. "I just don't feel comfortable about her. It's probably nothing…"

Ayako trailed off and sighed before giving a smile. "Sorry Emiya…" she said. "…I shouldn't have said that. Anyway if you want to hang around with her, that's your business."

"You know I'm not going to stop being your friend if I become friends with Matou."

He paused. And then he grinned. "Aha…!" he said triumphantly. "You're jealous, aren't you?"

"What? No…!" she burst out. "Why would I be jealous? I…oh you…!"

Shirou laughed at her expense, and Ayako pouted at him, but after a moment she joined in on the laughter. "Thanks for that Mitsuzuri…" Shirou said as he returned to his ice cream. "…I needed that. I feel better now too."

"Heh, what are friends for?" she asked.

"True…"

"Anyway if you ever need help…" she began. "…don't be afraid to ask, alright? I know you'd do the same if I asked, so I might as well return the favor. Friends help each other, right? So don't go around doing everything yourself, got that Mr. Hero?"

Shirou blinked, and nodded. "Yes, yes…" he said. "…I got it. Thanks for the offer I…I really appreciate it."

Ayako smiled and nodded. "You're welcome."

A/N

Shinji's an idiot, that'll all needs be said about his ramblings.

Not sure about Rin's future yet TBH, so I deliberately wrote this chapter as a 'litmus test' of a sort, and I'll adjust her characterization based on the reactions.

Suzululu4moe: It's not so much as she doesn't recognize who founded the Grail - much less not know about it - as the fact that Matou slipped beneath her notice. Consider the three founders (not including Zelretch): Nagato Tohsaka, Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern, and MAKIRI ZOLGEN. Note that those three names are in western fashion (first name first, family name last), so the princess isn't so much as ignorant as she is laboring under a misconception.