5th day – part 1 – Scheming
Shirou woke up in the shed. "Huh." Maybe he just didn't realize that after he was done training strengthening magic he hadn't moved back to his room. Still, why were those swords so fascinating? He doesn't remember having ever seen them, yet they were all so terribly familiar.
Shirou quickly washes his face and goes to ask Rider to wait in her room for breakfast. "Oh, it's already six. Let's start to make breakfast." As he enters the living room, some sort of dark brown haired ghost passes him by and greets him lazily.
"Good morning, Shirou." Rin looked like she hadn't really woken up yet.
"Hey, Tohsaka, good morning, you okay?" He felt like she could just as easily run into a wall as find whatever it is that she's looking for.
Rin turned lazily to Shirou. "I'm fine, I'm always like this in the mornings, anyway, how do I get to the bathroom from here?" Shirou gave her the proper directions and quickly turned to the kitchen. He was about to step inside it when he heard the bell. Oh, right, Sakura. "Shirou, it seems you have a visitor." Yeah it is Sakura.
Then it dawned on him that maybe the current situation wasn't exactly normal. He ran to the entrance and saw Tohsaka Rin and Matou Sakura looking at each other. Strangely, the only one that looked surprised was Sakura.
Shirou tried to say something but was unable to as the Rin unleashed a torrent of teasing in a blatant attempt to convince Sakura to go home, in the surface it seemed quite cruel, but on a more deep level, Shirou realized that maybe his home wasn't exactly a very safe place anymore and that as long as the Holy Grail War continued, it would probably be better for Sakura to stay home.
However, in the end the teasing was a failure and Sakura acted in a manner quite unfamiliar, defiantly deciding to stay and acting in clearly opposition to Rin's presence. Sakura went straight to the kitchen to prepare breakfast with a defiant expression. Shirou decided that then it wouldn't be a very good idea to let her know of Rider, Rin would probably do the same with Saber. Rider took it quite calmly.
By the time breakfast started things seemed to have gotten calmer. At least until Fujimura Taiga arrived. Then the tension shot up for a little while there, until Rin was able to talk her into accepting the whole situation. It was quite impressive, or so Shirou thought, the way Rin broke down one by one the arguments put forth.
Finally, as breakfast ended, Shirou went to talk with Rider about school. While she didn't seem very comfortable with him Shirou going, she relaxed somewhat when he said that he would be with Rin. "Just remember to mentally call for me if anything suspicious happens, even if you don't use the Command Spell, I can arrive along with Saber very quickly on my horses. Still, don't hesitate to use the Command Spell if there's an emergency. Okay?" She made him swear to that before she let him go.
Hopefully it would be a peaceful day at school.
Once again, Matou Shinji caught himself looking at the back of his hand, admiring the Command Spell engraved on it. That he was able to claim such a thing was due to great sacrifice on his part, but despite still having to deal with it he still felt it was worth it. Being some sort of fake Magus was better than being no Magus at all, perhaps it was even better. Unlike Tohsaka, who was born with talent, the only way he found of wielding magic was going through that surgery. It hurt so very much, it still hurt. Every moment that magic is running through his fake circuits Shinji is feeling pain, which meant that ever since Assassin became his Servant, pain was his constant companion.
"Assassin, are you there?" He shouldn't need to ask, the Servant was always watching his Master when not performing any other duty.
The spirit answered the call. "Yes Master, is there something you need?" It was uncommon for Shinji to call Assassin at such a time, not too long after he woke up, after all even the act of Assassin talking increased Shinji's pain.
"I've been thinking. What you said about my uncle possibly having participated in the fourth war isn't baseless." Shinji smiled to himself. "That crappy old man, he probably didn't realize the slip of tongue. I'm pretty sure that I was sent abroad then so I wouldn't know of the Holy Grail War. It's quite possible that uncle Kariya came back for some reason and entered the war as Matou's Master."
"So you wish to know of his fate?"
"Yes. I think I understand it now, Assassin." A distorted grin appeared in his face. "If I wish to become a true bearer of vengeance, then nothing would be better than also carry the grievance of others." He covered his eyes with his arm as if trying to visualize it. "Nobody would question the righteousness of my wrath then!"
"What are your plans for today then, master?"
"They are slightly altered. I believe that the supervisor, who is said to have been a Master in the previous war, would know something about uncle Kariya." He then looked regretful. "You're going to have to deal with Emiya. Walking undetected around the school, even at day should be no problem for you. First of all, check if he's a Master, no matter how ridiculous of an idea that might be, I guess it was you who told me not to take stupid chances. If he's a master, persuade him, if he's not, just bring him here forcefully. No matter what you do, don't kill him. It will lose its meaning if done so quickly." Out of sheer laziness, he put on his school uniform, even though he had no intention of going to school.
In spite of not possessing a mouth at the moment, the spirit smiled, it felt like smiling. It's good that you understand, master. Take on the outrage of others as your own; there is no fury more righteous than that.
Shirou wanted to explain to Sakura about the thing with Tohsaka. It wasn't like he could talk about the Holy Grail War, but he somehow felt that he needed to talk to her about it, he felt like she had the right to weigh in on whether or not Tohsaka could stay there. He tried to think about how to go about the explanation when Rin grabbed him. Apparently she wanted to make use of lunch break as a means of discussing the War.
The roof was quite windy and cold, the exact reason why they were there. It being a unflavored location by students in this weather, made it deserted with the exception of him and Rin.
"So, what is it that you want to talk about?" He tried not to sound as annoyed as he felt. He still wanted to talk with Sakura about the whole housing thing.
If she detected it, Rin ignored Shirou's annoyance. "Well, you can probably guess that it is about the War, but it's actually more specific. About this school." She said it calmly but with a hint of concern.
"The school?" Was there something wrong about it? If she said it like that, then she probably had a reason for it. "Why?"
She took a deep breath as if she was sure the explanation would be long. "Quite early in the War, there was an attack set on this school. This is why I was here during the night in which you summoned Rider. You saw Saber and Lancer fighting then, didn't you?" Shirou realized that it necessarily meant that Tohsaka was close by when he was killed by Archer. He felt he shouldn't say anything and kept that information for future reference. He nodded. "There are only two possibilities I can think of, regardless of which Servant was responsible for the attack." She paused for a moment to consider her words better. "Either the one who set it up knew I was a Master, which I believe is quite improbable, or there is another… Wait." She opened her mouth in amazement and stopped talking.
"Tohsaka? Hey, Tohsaka." Shirou called out, but it was useless, Rin was already thinking deeply about something. He just let her keep thinking, eventually she would snap out of it and tell him about her conclusions. "Tohsaka!" He felt something was strange, as she slumped slightly and seemed as if she was caught by something. An enemy? In broad daylight? Should I call Rider? He agonized over that decision for a moment until a voice came from near Rin.
"Calm down, boy. I just used a simple remedy useful for when the target is distracted. She should wake up in a few minutes. I am not here to fight, let's not make a scene. Now, just so I am sure…" A man materialized holding Rin. He gently put her down and, before Shirou could do anything, jumped at him, quickly pulling back both of Shirou's sleeves and revealing the Command Spell. Despite jumping back, Shirou knew that if the man had wanted, he would be dead.
"What do you want with me?" Shirou restrained himself, he wanted to shout at the Servant in front of him, but knew that such a thing would do nothing but attract unwanted attention. As if to compensate, he put as much as he could into his glare. Something about that Servant rubbed him the wrong way.
"I already told you to calm down, boy, do you not listen? I am not here to fight. Merely to talk. Today, after school, at five o'clock, you will meet up with my Master in front of the Matou house alone. You will tell none about this, neither your Servant nor this girl, with which you seem to be cooperating with. Worry not, I guarantee that this is not a trap. If my master wished for your demise, it would have been so. You would be well advised to pay more attention to what is going on in your surroundings and not having any defense against surprise attacks." The Servant turned back and started to walk away when he suddenly stopped. "Oh, right. Just hold the girl upright for a moment and she should wake up." Then he was gone.
Only after he was gone that Shirou realized why he felt so irritated. He had clerical robes and a cross hanging from his neck. In a way he felt similar to Kotomine. Shirou couldn't say exactly how, maybe it was that both of them felt like fake clergymen.
He did as the Servant had told him and held Rin upright. After a moment she opened her eyes. They were confused eyes.
"Huh? Shirou? What was I doing?" She didn't seem particularly alert; she really didn't realize she was attacked by Assassin. That had to be Assassin.
Shirou's sigh was from relief. "You were thinking about the possibilities of a Master in school, when you suddenly seemed dizzy." He felt that he shouldn't tell her about Assassin. Even if the Servant had not said so, he would probably have stayed quiet. He didn't want to make Rin worry too much, what she had to deal with already was enough.
"Oh I see, I sorry, maybe I was thinking too much about it that I blanked out and even forgot about what I was thinking about." She looked away and blushed. "How shameful." Shirou couldn't help but comment to himself that she really was cute. That however would not last long. When she completely woke up and realized what was going on. "Why are you still holding me?" She pushed him and jumped back. "I don't need your help idiot!" She was quite flustered.
Shirou gave a regretful smile. He wished he could have held her for a longer time. "Sorry, I just thought you might fall."
She crossed her arms. "Who would?"
Soon the bell would ring, signaling the end of lunch break.
He finally arrived at the church on the hill. A chill ran Shinji's spine, but somehow it seemed more of a relief since he constantly felt that he had a hot iron rod in his spine. There he would find answers and a good reason, perhaps even a righteous reason.
He put his hands on the heavy doors and pushed. The interior of the church was revealed. "Supervisor of the Holy Grail War, Kotomine Kirei, I demand to speak with you." There was nobody in there, but somehow Shinji felt that wherever the priest was, he certainly had heard him, so he waited.
It didn't take too long for the tall figure of the priest to emerge from the back of the church. "What is it? Intending to retire so soon, Matou Shinji?" He said it in a mocking tone, but Shinji ignored it.
"As if. Actually, I have come here after information from the last Holy Grail War. There's something I'm curious about." He sat on a bench, signaling that he expected an answer, a long one at that.
The priest smiled. "Understand that I cannot give you any information that would put you at an unfair advantage, that would be unbecoming of the War's supervisor, you see. However, if it is something that I can answer, I will answer it to your satisfaction."
"All right then, tell me what you know of Matou Kariya."
For a moment, the surprise was evident in Kirei's face. He obviously did not expect that. A small, cruel smile started to creep into the Priest's face, as if it was a particularly good memory for him. "Now that's a nostalgic name. A name I didn't expect to hear uttered in this War. I don't know where you've heard of his connection to the Holy Grail War, nor will I ask about it. I did say I would answer if I could. Come." He started to make his way to the back of the church. "This is not something to be discussed in the open."
Shinji followed the priest inside the church, passing through the small garden and into a stone room with some furniture. "So, is this place appropriate for this discussion?" Shinji asked with a hint of impatience.
"Don't worry, I shall tell you of everything that you require as long as it is within my knowledge of Matou Kariya." He pointed to one of the chairs. "Have a seat. Unfortunately I have no wine which to offer you, I hope you do not mind that." The priest spoke calmly.
"I do not mind that, I came here for information on Kariya, not wine. Now, if you could, please tell me of the story of Matou Kariya." He was almost trembling in anticipation.
"Fine, it is quite the dramatic tragedy really, almost comedic even…"
By the time Kotomine Kirei was done telling the story, it was time for lunch break, not that it mattered to Shinji, who had skipped school. He was so entranced by the story that he didn't see the time go by, actually, he almost forgot to feel the pain.
Before he realized, Shinji was laughing. He was laughing so much that he couldn't remember the last time he had laughed so much. He laughed so much that his pain got sharper, but he still couldn't stop. The priest just watched him calmly. "What is it? You agree with me that it is such a sad and pitiful story that you can almost laugh at it?"
At that, Shinji stopped laughing and looked seriously at the priest. "It is not. You would do better to respect my uncle, coward that he was by abandoning the Matou family. He was braver and nobler than most magi by throwing everything away for the sake of a little girl, even though he knew his chances of success were astronomically low." He could glare like that at him. That was something that Kirei could respect.
"Then, what is it that you find so amusing, Matou Shinji?"
"The little girl…" He almost burst out laughing. "That Sakura, until she met Emiya she seemed like a completely lost person. She acted as if she had been abandoned by the whole world, like all people ever did was abandon or abuse her. But there was actually such a story… What a bad girl she is, forgetting our uncle's sacrifice just like that." He spoke almost spitting, like he was condemning the girl.
"Well, you can hardly blame her. I'm sure that the Matou's training is not very conducive to an unblemished memory." There was something more interesting for him in what Shinji just said. "So you mean to tell me that Matou Sakura has a relationship with Emiya Shirou?" This could be fascinating.
"Yeah, though it is not as intimate as I think she'd like it to be. She totally has the hots for Emiya, that bitch. Even though she already has me, it is such a shame. But well, I found something more spiritually satisfying than assaulting my bitch of a sister." His smile was quite twisted.
"Oh? That sounds quite promising, would you care to talk about it?" Things seemed to be going to an unexpectedly entertaining direction.
"I guess it wouldn't be much of a problem, as long as you can keep everything from Emiya if he comes asking. I do owe you for telling me about my uncle."
"Please, what kind of servant of god would I be if I could not keep quiet about people's confessions?" He hoped it would be enough to convince the Matou boy.
"I suppose you have a…" At that he started coughing and even spit some blood. The priest looked nonchalant but stood up, ready to give assistance if it was needed of him. "Oh, don't worry, it's nothing. Recently I've been having some health problems, but nothing that will keep me out of the War." Kirei couldn't help but be reminded of Kariya. Was the boy sacrificing something in order to be able to be a Master? Perhaps pitifulness was something that ran in the Matou family, not surprising, considering who their patriarch was. "Anyway, this is what I'm going to do…" The priest listened intently to the boy.