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

Different Fates

Chapter 25

The morning dawned over Fuyuki City bright and sunny, the Sun shining down from a clear blue sky. Green leaves danced softly in a morning breeze, while clean water sparkled in the morning light. Birds chirped as they perched on tree branches, or flew through the air in search for food.

The suburbs lay quiet in the morning light save for the sounds of nature, along with the odd vehicle or pedestrian here and there. The Emiya property was no exception, the traditional Japanese-style property sitting in the middle of the suburbs, dark wood, white stone, and clean paper basking in the morning light.

As the birds chirped in the excitement of the morning, their innocent sounds woke a young man from his slumber. Fumbling for a bit under his sheets, Shirou Emiya eventually peeked out from under his blanket before flinching and squinting at the light pouring through the open door. "That's bright…" he complained before closing his eyes and turning over. "…did I go to the toilet last night? I must have…I'm sure I closed the door before I went to sleep."

Shutting out the sounds of the birds outside, he gently grabbed the nearest pillow and pulled it closer. It gave a muffled moan in response.

Wait, what?

When did pillows start moaning?

And why does the pillow feel…warm?

Please let it be a cat…please let it be a cat…please let it be a cat…please let it be a cat…

…

…

…

It's too big to be a cat…and I don't have a cat.

Shirou squeezed the…pillow, and it gave another moan. He opened his eyes slowly, almost fearfully, taking in the peacefully sleeping face of the girl next to him. Her skin looked soft and smooth, pale like snow, with a dainty nose and delicate eyelashes and eyebrows, framed by matching platinum blonde hair.

And she was curled up against him…no, more than that he was holding her close and with one hand on her…

Shirou's scream shattered the morning peace and scared the birds away.

Illyasviel von Einzbern bit into a biscuit liberally smeared with jam, ignoring the 'adults' behind her around the dining table while watching morning cartoons. Saber and Berserker sat on opposite sides of the table, silent and watchful, while Shirou fidgeted under his sister's gaze.

"So…" Taiga Fujimura said with a dangerously neutral tone. "…to sum things up she's your…sister from an earlier marriage of your father's, and these two…um…Saber and Berserker wasn't it?"

The two blondes nodded, and Taiga continued. "They're your father's…foreign contacts…" she said. "…and they came over last night to visit with your sister. Is that about it?"

"Pretty much…"

"Hmm…" Taiga mused while looking in Illya's direction. "…I don't know, this sounds very suspicious to me. Kiritsugu probably did have foreign contacts, but it's not really like him to leave a wife and child behind…"

"He didn't." Illya suddenly said. She didn't look at them, instead opting to speak with her back turned. "Mama died together with papa while he was at work. He just…never came back. He stayed with onii-chan."

Shirou looked guilty at that, while Taiga winced. The silence endured for a few more moments and then Illya straightened before scampering over. "Well maybe papa couldn't come back…" she said with a small smile. "…so I don't really blame onii-chan."

"Yeah, there could have been trouble with immigration." Taiga mused before sighing and smiling. "And yes, Shirou couldn't really be blamed he was just a kid after all. Well I'd say you should have called first, but then again you probably wanted to surprise your brother, so I can't really get angry. Still Illya-chan, why'd you sneak into your brother's room last night?"

"Why not...?" She asked back. "I was lonely, and I was cold. And onii-chan is onii-chan right?"

Taiga laughed. "I think I'm just overreacting." She said with a smile. "And Shirou's a perfect gentleman, aren't you Shirou?"

She winked at him and Shirou's face turned red. "What are you saying Fuji-nee?" he said angrily, and she laughed again.

"Now, now…" she said with a grin. "…I was just joking Shirou. Don't get too worked up over it. I'll take care of breakfast, so don't worry and stay with your sister alright."

"Hey wait, Fuji-nee…!" Shirou began to protest before Illya latched on to him.

"Hey onii-chan…" she said cheerfully. "…why'd you scream this morning? It was so loud someone would think your girlfriend walked in on you in the bath. Is it so bad to wake up next to a cute girl like me?"

"Hey what's going on here?" Ayako asked as she walked into the dining room, finding her boyfriend trying to push away a little albino girl clutching his arm while a pair of blonde girls silently sat on opposite sides of the table. "Uh…what'd I miss?"

"Bye, bye onii-chan…!" Illya said with a wave, walking away in the opposite direction with Berserker. "I hope to see you again soon!"

Smiling weakly, Shirou waved back and then with a sigh turned and headed for school. "So that Saber chick is staying with you?" Ayako asked. Shirou nodded.

"Dad asked her to keep an eye out for me." He answered with the lie heavy on his mind. It was necessary though, if only to keep Ayako from finding out what she didn't need to know. "Thing is…dad had a…complicated life before he retired. That's why it took them so long to get here."

"No kidding…" Ayako said with her hands folded back behind her head. "…who'd have thought your dad was involved with old German blood though? And business associates my ass…if that's all there is to it, then why'd he go into hiding ten years ago?"

Shirou nodded glumly. "There's more to dad than I knew." He admitted. "And probably more than what my sister knows. And to be honest I don't know if I want to know what I don't know."

Ayako glanced at him briefly and then looked back to the street ahead of them. It was largely empty they were still far from school after all. She let the silence continue for a minute or so before giving a response. "No one wants to know that their parents had skeletons in the closet." She said softly, and Shirou nodded again.

"Especially if they dragged them back from the brink of death…" he thought. "…I was ready to die back then, I knew I was. I'd gotten that far by thinking only about myself, and I ignored everyone else there, even though they begged and cried out for me to help them. And I left them to die. I left them."

Shirou clenched his fists, the old bile tasting as bitter as ever. "To save one life means not to save another…" he thought bitterly. "…I saved myself…and left everyone else to die. I should have died for that…I would have died for it…but dad saved me. He saved me. And so I have to live, if only to give meaning to the ones who died."

Shirou blinked as he felt a hand on his, and he turned to see Ayako looking at him with a worried expression on her face. Their eyes met and she smiled at him before prying his fist open and meshing their fingers together. "Don't let it get to you." She said. "I'm sure your dad hid things from you and your sister to keep you both safe. No one would want to place the people they care for at risk right?"

She paused, and an unreadable expression briefly flitted over her face. "And…" she began hesitantly. "…you'd have done the same in his place, wouldn't you?"

Shirou blinked, and for a moment he just stared at her. "Ayako…" he said. "…you…"

Could she…somehow…?

"Hmm…? What?" she asked, looking surprised at him afterwards.

No…that's impossible. She's not a magus, we'd have known if she were. And…she couldn't remember if she did somehow see me…could she?

"No…" he said with a small smile. "…it's nothing. And thanks."

Ayako smiled and squeezed his hand, but not letting go. "You're welcome." She said.

The gem glittered in the light of the lamp, the magus' eye magnified by her mounted lens as she examined the gem in her hand. The fingers of said hand moved delicately, slowly rotating the gem under the magus' eye as she examined its crystalline framework, while simultaneously scouring its conceptual framework with short, precise, and timed burst of prana.

Gemstones had versatile uses when it came to magecraft. Their orderly crystalline structure made for easy and reliable imprinting of conceptual systems (either as single gems or in appropriate combinations), effectively 'blank slate' miniaturized magic crests that could be used to store and actualize mysteries or even just plain magical energy. Another reason for their versatility was the nature of their creation. Gemstones spent millions of years buried beneath the earth and under the influence of nature spirits (which was in fact the origin of their magic crest-like properties) before fully-forming much less brought to light.

With that said, gemstone use was a two-way street. Assuming the gems weren't destroyed in use (such as being used as an impromptu magical explosive), a spent gem could be reused…or as in the case of Reines Archisorte El-Melloi, as a 'footprint' to be studied for clues to another magus' mysteries.

Two-way street…because when magi imprinted their mysteries on a gem, the gem's own concepts come to reflect the concepts imprinted on them. Of course the data gathered was never clear, and required further analysis.

But it provided clues regardless, and everything after that was up to the magi.

And that was what Reines was writing with her free hand on a piece of paper, jotting down her observations. After a few minutes she placed the gem aside in a receptacle, and examined her writings. Nodding in satisfaction she set the paper aside to join other such observations, and taking another gem from another receptacle along with a fresh sheet of paper got back to work.

Shortly afterwards Rider waltzed into his Master's workshop. "Hard at work I see." He observed, keeping a polite distance but close enough to see what she was doing. He grinned. "Jewels…some things never change."

"Of course not…" Reines said. She was making good progress, so she was in a good mood and willing to humour her Servant's intrusion. "...diamonds will always be a woman's best friend. Jewels aren't always diamonds, but they're still friends to be cherished."

Rider burst out laughing, and Reines broke off from her work with a smile. "So…" she said, setting the gem and her pen down. "…can I help you King of Conquerors?"

"Just curious what you're up to." He said with a shrug. "You did send out those birds of yours to scavenge or rather loot Lancer and Caster's battlefield from a while back."

Reines raised an eyebrow at his slightly-disapproving tone. "And you're one to talk?" she replied. "Didn't you send three hundred suits of Persian armour back to Greece after the Battle of Granicus River? Along with a rather backhanded insult to the Spartans…?"

Rider laughed again. "Alright you beat me there." He said. "Still, I won that battle so me and mine picking up the spoils of victory isn't really a problem."

"Whereas I'm just an onlooker taking advantage of spoils lying about, is that it?"

"Yes."

Reines looked taken aback at Rider's blunt response, and she coughed to regain her composure. "Well if you put it that way…" she said diffidently. "…would it help if I pointed out that Caster also had his golems salvaging he could? I did lose more than a few familiars to get my samples too you know."

Rider laughed softly and patted her on the head. "You worry too much." He said. "Well you're a magus, so I can't really blame you for doing as you did."

"Don't treat me like a child." She said irritably, pushing his hand away, and then smiling at him. She gave a small bow. Rider nodded, and then Reines tilted her head to look at the book he carried in one hand. "Iliad…?"

"Oh you've heard of it then?"

"More like I've studied it…" She said. "…three units over six months a few years ago, along with the Odyssey. They're the first two items on the reading list for world literature electives."

"Very nice…" Rider said approvingly. "…it's good to see the world hasn't forgotten such great works like the Iliad."

Reined suddenly began to laugh. "No it hasn't." she said. "And I'm not surprised that it impresses you. It is a matter of historical record that you looked up to the legend of Achilles."

"So I did."

"My brother doesn't share your sentiments though."

"What?" Rider said with genuine surprise, and Reines' raised her hands in a placating gesture.

"Well it's not so much as he thinks that the Iliad is a bad piece of literature, it's more that he's…critical of so many 'heroic' archetypes from the epic." She said, sitting back on her work chair. "From what I know, the only ones he actually likes are Hector and Odysseus. I can't really remember right now what he said about Agamemnon and Menelaus, but I do recall what he said about Paris and Achilles."

"Well Hector is a tragic hero and a great man in his own way." Rider conceded sadly. "The poor man was forced to fight a doomed war despite the fact he'd no desire for it, the whole fault being with his idiot brother."

Reines laughed again. "Yeah, that's what he said about Paris." She said. "A complete idiot who chose the Goddess of Love over the Queen of Olympus and the Lady of Wisdom and to top it all off he just had to make off with a married woman and a queen no less."

Rider joined in on the laughter. "Yeah, that was definitely poorly-thought on his end." He agreed. "And…? Did he mention who he'd have chosen to give the Golden Apple to if he were in Paris' place? Keep in mind little lady, don't be so critical of others when you might find yourself in their position with similar choices ahead."

"He said he'd pick either Athena or Hera." Reines said with a shrug. "He'd still have two goddesses on his bad side, but as long as he has either Hera or Athena on his side it wouldn't have come out as badly if both of them were angry with him. And I have to agree with him. Having Hera and Athena as one's enemies? One might as well slit one's own veins."

Rider nodded sagely in agreement. "A choice of poisons…" he said. "…as one's choice would always invoke divine wrath as part of all outcomes. Choosing the least deadly is only smart…but we also have to think about the rewards and not just the shortcomings."

"Well knowing you in that case you'd have given the Golden Apple to Hera." Reines said. "Greece and Asia after all…"

"Really…?" Rider asked with evident surprise. "I'd have given it to Athena to be honest."

"Eh…?"

Rider smirked at her. "Who do you think I am?" he said. "I'm the King of Conquerors aren't I? If Hera just gave it all to me, then that title's empty wouldn't you think? No, the wisdom to hold it together then and after would be a more valuable reward."

"Rider…you…"

"Hmm…?"

"Do you regret it?" Reines asked softly. "It was all for nothing in the end."

"Do you think I do?" he answered with a mysterious smile. "Do you really think I'd want to change anything given the chance?"

Reines said nothing, and after a while she looked away. "I don't know." She answered in a whisper, and to her surprise he patted her reassuringly on a shoulder.

"Good…" he said with a smile. "…you don't make baseless assumptions, and you have the strength to admit weakness or in this case ignorance. That's a good trait to have on your part, as the oracles once said 'know thyself'."

Reines nodded, meeting his eyes once again. "Well think about it…" Rider said. "…I'm sure a smart girl like you will find the answer to that question of regret."

He turned to leave, only to pause. "By the way…" he said. "…what did your brother say about Achilles?"

"Oh Achilles…" Reines said before taking a moment to think. "…ah yes. Waver said Achilles was an idiot who pissed off a god and didn't even live to see the end of the siege."

"That's a bit harsh!" Rider protested before thinking it over. "Then again…Waver's a scholar, not a hero or a king. Hmm…"

"You think he's got a point…?" Reines asked.

"From his perspective…?" Rider answered after a few moments. "I suppose he does. As a scholar his role is to question, to critique, and to present rational arguments. But as a king…truly Achilles made a mistake when he angered Apollo, a lesson against the pitfalls of hubris. But as a hero, his choice of a short but glorious life over a long and dull one is something I would and have chosen myself."

"But…"

Rider silenced her with a kind glance. "As the King I must be the highest example that all would seek to follow." He said. "Therefore, should I not have given them an example of greatness as great as to outshine everything else even if only for the shortest of moments, but to be remembered forevermore?"

Reines was silent for a few moments and then she shook her head. "No…" she said. "…if you are truly Alexander the Great, if you are truly an example of greatness even among those that appear once every few ages, then you would not have chosen differently. As you say, it's just a brief moment outshining everything else, but that moment is worth it all."

Rider smiled and patted her shoulder again. "Yes…" he said, turning to leave. "…that moment would be worth it all. Well I've taken enough of your time, so I'll leave you to your work."

As Rider strode out, Reines turned back to her papers and the recovered materials from Caster's golems, felled by Lancer. But she couldn't focus, rolling the gem around in her palm. No, her thoughts were on Rider's words.

Do you really think I'd want to change anything given the chance?

An example of greatness…to outshine everything else even if only for the shortest of moments…to be remembered forevermore…

And in the back of her mind, she heard once more the sound of waves breaking on the shores of the ends of the Earth.

The lunch bells rang and students across the school began packing up their things before heading out for or unpacking their lunch. Even the teachers soon followed suit, everyone breaking apart into their respective cliques and groups. And virtually unnoticed was a single group missing its one member, who usually ate lunch together in the student council room.

Shirou wandered across the school building, looking around him with a concerned expression on his face. He'd been staggered the moment he entered the school grounds, an air of unease hovering around him the whole morning. Some including his girlfriend and sister thought he might be coming down with the runs, though they'd kept their suspicions to themselves.

If only they knew…

Shirou checked around the school grounds, but could find no sign of seals holding the field in place. Of course there were places he couldn't check: school storage rooms, girl's bathrooms, the faculty lounge and room, the principal's office among others…

…and the bounded field didn't feel malevolent. It was just there…a sense of slight pressure on the back of his mind, completely unnoticeable to those lacking magic potential. But considering the situation, Shirou couldn't help but worry that a bounded field had been set up over his school, considering how many people were in it.

"Rin's absent today too." He thought to himself as he stood alone on the roof. "I hope she's alright. Also…"

The thought trailed off, Shirou staring up into the sky. His eyes narrowed as he spotted a hawk flying past, the animal giving a cry as it did so. Hawks…in a city…if that wasn't a familiar keeping an eye on the school, then he wasn't Shirou Emiya.

He glanced at his command spells. "Saber…" he thought to himself and nodded. "...no, I'll hold out as long as I can. At the very least, whoever they are they'll probably wait until everyone is gone before doing anything."

Looking back into the sky, Shirou narrowed his eyes as he wondered if he was being arrogant, assuming that whoever the one was behind the bounded field was after him. After all, it was known that Rin Matou was going to school here, and the Matou were an old family as far as he knew. They could just as easily be after her, and were simply ignorant of her absence.

"Or preparing in her absence…" he thought afterwards. He sighed and went back into the school. Regardless, he'd prepare himself, just in case.

Rin Matou slowly blinked her eyes open, and began to stir. She regretted it at once as dull pain thudded in her head and staggered her body even though she was lying down in her bed. Her movements did alert one of her dolls however, seated watchfully as it was on a nearby chair.

"Mistress Rin…?" the doll asked, rising and approaching.

"Helen…?" Rin asked, blinking at her doll.

"Yes, it is I mistress." The doll answered. "How do you feel?"

"My head feels like someone's taken a hammer to it." Rin replied. "The same goes for my body. Can you get me some painkillers, and something to eat?"

"It will be done my lady." Helen replied, before departing with a bow.

Rin stayed in bed, relaxing and snoozing to let the pain fade into the background. Pain wasn't new to her in fact she'd been acquainted with it for a long time, even before…even before she'd lost everything. It was a fact of her life, and there was no point to agonizing over it. Better to just let it…fade away…along with everything else that she could nothing about no matter how much she wanted to.

She stirred as she felt someone approach, and she opened her eyes to find herself looking up at her Servant's golden mask. "Greetings Master…" he said. "…I am glad to see you conscious once more. You gave us quite the scare there."

"Caster…?" Rin said, blinking in confusion. "I…what happened?"

"You do not remember?"

"If I did, I would not be asking."

"Of course…" Caster said with a nod. "…an inept question on my part…anyway you had some sort of attack about two nights ago, and have not been with us since then."

"I see." Rin said, giving a nod and regretting it at once. "Well I don't seem to have any problems right now, except that my body hurts all over. And I'm hungry…and thirsty."

"Understandable…" Caster agreed. "…your dolls will be coming to assist you with that."

"What did I miss in the meantime?"

"Unfortunately our attempt to eliminate Lancer and his Master failed." Caster reported. "We lost over forty golems. However it was not a complete loss, for now we know Lancer's true identity: the Hound of Culann."

"I'd say that piece of information is worth twice the number of golems lost." Rin responded more than a bit smugly, and Caster nodded his agreement.

"Just so…"

"Is that all?"

"There was an engagement between Saber and Berserker during the previous night. Indecisive thanks to Archer's interference, but apparently they are Arthur Pendragon and his 'son' Mordred." Caster said, though he paused immediately afterwards. "Although…"

"Go on…" Rin urged.

"It seems that history or legend is flawed..." Caster continued. "…because both the King of Knights and 'his son' appear to be women."

"What?" Rin exclaimed, bolting upright and instantly regretted it. As she slumped over, clutching her head, Caster continued. What he said did not help her feel any better.

"Furthermore, your apprentice Shirou Emiya is Saber's Master, and is now apparently being targeted by another Master. I have no concrete leads as to who they are, but given the presence of a bounded field at your school, the attack has a fair chance of materializing within the day, or at most, late this evening or afternoon."

"What?" Rin exclaimed, staring at Caster in shock and disbelief. "Shirou…? Saber's Master…? An attack at the school…?"

Caster nodded, and Rin – ignoring her body's protests – began to struggle to her feet. Newly-arrived dolls set aside food, water, and fresh clothes to assist their mistress. "Is there anything else I need to know?" Rin demanded.

"Assassin attacked your apprentice about the same time as we confronted Lancer." Caster said. "Apparently his…valour at the time led to his being selected by the Grail as a Master – the final one in fact – and was also the trigger for a…remarkably successful accidental summoning considering the class and identity of his Servant. Oh yes…and Berserker and her Master have offered an alliance with young Emiya. He hasn't accepted to my knowledge but…he may be considering it as they stayed under his roof after Archer's little display of pyrotechnics."

"Damn it all! I go to sleep for a while, and everything goes to hell!"

"What do you intend to do, my Master?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Rin growled. "I'm going to have to try and salvage something out of this mess. Damn it!"

A/N

I'm amazed. Sakura has ambition and seeks the Root…and somehow this makes her 'insane'. I don't know if you've heard but ambition and seeking the Root are all characteristics of magi, and Sakura is a magus. Put her right next to Tokiomi and have them talk about their life goals and he'd be very happy with/proud of her (and so would she be at that, though she'd never admit that as a motivation).

Up next…Shirou has someone out for his blood (again). Poor boy…he never gets a break.