An Opportunity of Fate part 15

Issei-

Issei woke to a feeling of contentment. He pulled Ayako closer to him, drinking in her warmth. He also tried to free his arm that had slipped underneath her at some point and was completely numb.

And then he actually woke up and realized he was lying skin to skin with Ayako Mitsuzuri. That they had had sex.

So much for being in control of himself and his emotions. It had all gone so fast. The whole of the night, sleeping next to her, and then… It had all spiraled out of control.

He had failed her at some point. When he had cast the spell to clense her spirit, he must have missed something. Something had possessed her, he could see it in her eyes.

And yet she had been there as well. Issei wasn't quite sure what would happen when she woke. But he knew what he must bear. He stared at the ceiling, "I will take responsibility."

There was a light clink of ceramic on ceramic. And a voice that Issei was quite familiar with.

Mrs. Mitsuzuri, "That is certainly good to hear. I am sure my daughter will appreciate at it."

Issei looked over and there on the couch sipping tea was Mrs. Mitsuzuri. He wished he could read her expression but without his glasses he couldn't quite make out her face clearly enough.

Of course he was lying on the floor with her daughter. Both covered by a single blanket.

And she was just sitting there. Sipping a cup of tea.

Not a normal reaction. And that meant something strange. Something his new skills and knowledge needed to apply.

Issei groaned. He had thought of all of his friends that at least Ayako was normal. But then again this morning she had seemed possessed, to both be her normal self and yet somehow completely different.

He sat up, pulling the blanket with him.

Ayako cried out and muttered, "I'll get up in fifteen minutes. I promise, Mom. Just give me fifteen more minutes." And she pulled the blanket to cover her again.

Stripping it from Issei. He sat there blushing and covering himself. What had he done to deserve this level of humiliation?

Oh. He had slept with Ayako.

"Okay dear. But I will hold you to your promise," Mrs. Mitsuzuri tossed a robe at Issei, "Put these on. And here are your glasses. You are lucky they didn't get broken in your activities. Now go take a shower, and when you are done we will both talk while my daughter gets ready for school."

Issei wrapped himself with robe quickly, grabbed his backpack that had his clothes, and ran into the bathroom. He stepped into the shower and turned it on.

Memories of last night rolled through him again. Ayako had stood under this very shower head, had washed herself at his orders. And he had stood not more than five feet away reading the ancient text to cleanse her from possible contagion from the attack she had suffered.

He had been unable to see her then, to see her beautiful body while she had stood there naked. But he had seen her since. Had seen all of her, and in his mind's eye he could see her as she must have been last night. He shivered slightly as he imagined the water sluicing down her body.

Issei shook himself. What was coming over him? What happened to his control? Even when he had been enamored with Tohsaka, back in Junior High it hadn't been this bad. Back before he realized that she was so very different from the mask she wore at school. Before he had truly understood just how bad tempered and manipulative the woman was.

Ayako was… so much better. Honest. Perhaps a bit blunt at times. But honest. What their relationship would be after this morning Issei wasn't sure, but he knew that she would be honest with him. She wouldn't pretend it didn't happen or that things wouldn't change.

His world had.

He hurried and finished. He walked out the bathroom door and saw Ayako still lying on the floor with a blanket wrapping her, a small smile on her face. He looked up at Mrs. Mitsuzuri.

The woman smiled, looked down at her daughter and cried out in a large tone, "TIME IS UP!"

Ayako bolted up and turned to face her mother, "Sorry. Just I was having such a pleasant dream and…." She looked down and then back at her mother. "Um. I guess it wasn't a dream? I really did…. And last night I nearly…. And Issei is…."

Mrs. Mitsuzuri merely pointed at him.

Ayako held the blanket in one hand, still obviously not awake, and turned around.

Issei couldn't help but smile sadly as he drank in his lover's beauty. His hands felt the echo of the sensations of roaming over her soft sweet curves. Part of him wanted to rush to her and hold her again, to enfold her in his arms.

Ayako eyes widened at the sight of him before she shrieked and covered herself.

Mrs. Mitsuzuri dryly said, "A little late for that dear. I do believe that wave has passed, splashed upon the shore, and is currently pulling back out to sea." She shook her head in amusement, "How you could break someone so repressed is anyone's guess." She sighed, "Come on over so I can test your blood."

Issei looked away. Looking at Ayako like that. Desiring her like that…. It felt both wrong and very right at the same time.

"Mom!"

"Just get over here, dear."

Issei heard Ayako hiss and he turned to see her still wrapped in the blanket, one finger dripping blood. Mrs. Mitsuzuri took a drop of the blood and was measuring it with a small strip, similar to a ph strip. She held it up to the light, a worried look on her face.

The strip was black at the tip and the darkness was spreading. Mrs. Mitsuzuri merely nodded and tapped Ayako's hand and the blood stopped.

Ayako gasped, "Mom? What, what was that?"

She merely forced a smile and said, "Go take a shower dear, we will talk about it when you have finished. I need to speak with Issei first."

Issei slipped a pendant into his hand and began to swing it nervously. For it might not be demonic influence he might have to fear. The fact that he sensed very little magical energy coming from Mrs. Mitsuzuri was actually more worrisome than if he had.

If his pendant had reacted to the residue of magecraft, it would merely mean Mrs. Mitsuzuri was some sort of magus. And it did react slightly.

To the test strip. But not to the woman. A woman who had just healed her daughter. Healing magic was very difficult and rare. Or rather it was very common but also very weak, usually requiring considerable time to have an effect. Modern medicine was typically faster outside of a few Western schools of magic. Even then it took significant power for the healer's od to overwhelm the recipients, and thereby effect a change. It was after all akin to using power to transform someone, in this case from damaged to healed tissue.

Only there was no disruption of nature. Not from the woman. Oh, there were some twists from minor artifacts she was wearing. But no disruption to the local mana flows that such a ripple of prana use would cause. Whatever she had done was within the bounds of nature.

Issei felt as his hackles rose and a cold wind blew through his soul. He had read about such things. About beings who could alter the world without Gaia's interference.

None of them were human.

He looked up at Mrs. Mitsuzuri's honey brown eyes. Eyes that in some lighting would look golden. He began to shake slightly as a lesson from the Doctor echoed in his ears.

"Hear now the signs of the Others. Eyes of Silver for those whose sight is pure and those who see beyond. Eyes of Blue for those whose sight is blessed and those who see the unseen. Eyes of Red for those whose existence is a curse unto mankind. And Eyes of Gold for those who exist between."

Issei took a step back. His hands were searching his pockets for his last charm. He had no idea if it would be any more effective on an elemental than it had the youkai they had faced last night. But it was all he had.

Mrs. Mitsuzuri was just smiling at him, her eyes catching the light and all but glowing.

He pulled out some papers in his pockets and a few of them dropped. He bent to fetch them when a gust of wind roared through the open window and scattered them about the apartment. He stared at the window. When had it been opened? He looked over at Mrs. Mitsuzuri.

"Sorry. I opened the window to reduce the smell. You will likely have to come back here and clean up for your good Doctor, don't you think? Certainly the carpet if nothing else." Her smile was if anything broader.

Issei was certain that window had NOT been open just moments before. But he wasn't sure. And it was very possible that she had indeed opened it. The room still smelled musky from his and Ayako's earlier actions. "What are you?"

"My, my. So very blunt. And here you were always so polite and soft spoken. I see my daughter has begun to rub off on you. And so quickly. I must say that particular trait of hers I find quite annoying at times. I do admire the honesty, but perhaps I was too quick to discipline her for lying if she is unable to at least put forward a polite way of saying things. Do you not agree, my dear Issei Ryudou?"

How he wished now he were a more powerful style of magus. To be able to command the elements unaided by device or charm. "A second time I ask you. What are you?"

Mrs. Mitsuzuri dryly asked, "And if I refuse? I have already stripped you of your last ofuda. The charm you wear is more valuable than you likely know, but it is not enough." She smiled, "And you gave one to my daughter. Thank you for that. I likely helped her last night." She then shook her head and laughed ruefully, "And likely precipitated this morning's activities. I knew she was close, but I still had some hope to take her with me." She looked him in the eyes and smiled sadly, "Those hopes are gone now. If I could pry her from Sakura, which I doubt. I doubt I could do the same with you also added to the mix."

"What is wrong with her? With Ayako?"

"Good, I was right you do care for her." She sighed, "There is nothing wrong with Ayako, Issei. And you do not mind I call you by your first name? You can call me Eiko if you wish. I feel we will be spending a considerable amount of time together in the future. Assuming that you children survive this coming storm." She took another sip from her cup.

Issei closed his eyes briefly and said, "It is fine for you to call me that, I suppose. But I wouldn't dare call you anything other than Mrs. Mitsuzuri. It would not be proper." He looked again at her.

And took a step back. For she was angry.

She stood up, setting cup down on the table. "So you will not use my given name?" Her eyes shifted from a pleasant honey color to a brighter burnished gold. And she changed ever so slightly. The years that had poured onto her seemed to disappear until she looked to be just slightly older than her daughter. "The name my mother gave me? You will instead demand to use that which was given to me by my husband, or perhaps the one by my father?" She began to slowly walk towards him.

Issei found himself backed against the wall, terror pouring into him from the sight of the being who had been Mrs. Mitsuzuri. He ran through a series of strengthening exercises. The chief of which was to control his breathing. To let the terror pass through him and to clear his mind so he could do something productive.

"Perhaps if you wish to continue to be formal you can call me Lady Eiko. Or perhaps the truth. Eiko-kami!"

Issei's eyes were wide, "Impossible."

Just as fast the woman in front of him was Mrs. Mitsuzuri again, "Impossible, no. Improbable, yes." She ruffled his hair. "Sorry about that, but I so seldom have the opportunity for that trick. Impressive, huh?"

Issei could only nod. His breathing was firmly under control and his heart was beginning to calm.

She turned and walked back to the kitchen, "So my dear Issei, call me Eiko, please. If only in private, if you must. I can play the part of a dutiful Japanese housewife just fine, but there are parts that chafe more than I ever believed they would."

Issei slowly made his way back towards the kitchen, "So you are, are?"

"Kami? Probably not. Well, maybe. I don't actually know. It depends on how you count it. My mother definitely is. My father was a just a broken man. But broken in some amazing ways. He was a Western Magus, like your friends. He didn't visit her secluded valley for her, but to practice his magic in peace. At some point they fell in love, and I was the result." She pursed her lips, "I suppose I could be thought of as a part elemental." She looked up at him, "And so too can Ayako. Now that she has inverted once it will be impossible to ignore. She will need help too. Do you love my daughter, Issei Ryudou?"

Issei looked at Mrs. Mitsuzuri, "Yes." He looked down and sighed, "But I don't know what that means. Yesterday I was fairly certain I knew the world I lived in. I knew there were things I still had to learn, about myself and the world as a whole. But yesterday…. Everything changed."

She poured a cup of tea for him, "And Ayako would likely say the same." She handed it to him, "My question is, will you be there for her during this difficult time? Hiding her nature from you is likely impossible. I knew it the moment I came in and saw the two of you occupied." She shook her head, "Not a scene to warm a mother's heart. But I could tell she was inverted. Her Elemental nature immersed in the moment." She looked at Issei, "We are closest to a true Elemental when we invert. Past and future become less important. They live in the now. Right and wrong blur, they don't disappear but they do change. Having sex with a boy she liked would seem natural to her. And she would twist the world however she needed to make it happen."

"So Ayako made this morning happen?" Issei asked skeptically.

"Yes. Oh, I doubt it was a conscious decision. One of the reasons I didn't want her to come home was fear of inversion after all. And she will have to stay here in Fuyuki when I take Minori with me. I don't feel like struggling with her all the way to my in-laws home." She smiled, "So I trust you to protect her."

"Just like that?"

She smiled again and ruffled his hair. "Yes. You love her. I can tell when people lie to me. Tell her what you think she should know. Tell her to trust her instincts. Oh, and contact your father after school as well. I told him of this particular situation, and he wanted to speak to you about it."

Issei stiffened. He wasn't looking forward to that conversation. He took a sip of his tea and tried to make sense of this new chaotic world.

Ayako opened the bathroom door and stiffly walked out. She looked at him briefly and then at her mother. "I want to stay."

Mrs. Mitsuzuri put on a pair of sunglasses, "Good, I expect nothing less from a daughter of mine. I will be discussing why I let you and Sakura be friends despite what I know about her. I will be telling her this afternoon, so be there if you wish to know."

Ayako stared at her mother, "I demand to know now! Why have you hidden all of this from me? What, what am I?"

Mrs. Mitsuzuri pushed the glasses firmly on her face, "We don't have time. I have already told Issei much. His training and knowledge should allow him to answer your questions. Let's go."

"Mother!"

Mrs. Mitsuzuri pressed the sunglasses so that Ayako could see solid golden eyes, "You will get in the car now. Both of you have caused my time table to be pushed back far enough I am not sure I will reach my destination before dark. And you know how much I hate driving at night, Ayako."

Ayako grabbed Issei's arm and pulled him towards the car.

Issei looked back. Had he locked the door? He couldn't remember. He needed to check….

Mrs. Mitsuzuri was getting into her car. "The door is locked Issei."

"But…."

"Locked. Trust me."

Issei saw the still open window. The last thing he needed were vandals or animals getting into the Doctor's apartment. "The window. I need to go back and….."

Mrs. Mitsuzuri glared at the window. And it closed. "Get in the car Issei."

Issei calmly sat in the back. Ayako climbed into the seat next to him and smiled softly at him. She looked scared, a look that shouldn't be on her face. He reached out his hand to her.

She took it and gave him a smirk.

For just a moment all was right with the world. And they were driven to school.

-Scene Break—

Medusa-

Medusa had a plan. Part of it required her Master to be an idiot, in which she didn't see any difficulty. He also acted as the perfect bait.

And if he died…, oh what a shame. She wouldn't have to go through with the damn ritual. Or the stupid Blood Fort. She could see the value of it but a School?

She could have easily rigged an industrial plant to fall. Toxic chemicals would have explained everything. Sure there would be some investigations about all the disappeared people but, still plausible to hide. A school, one that the elite of the city sent their children to?

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

But orders were orders. And that damn Book made them binding.

So how was she going to survive this? And try to keep stupid alive.

The forest behind her was the key. While it was slightly dangerous to have Servants so close to her Temple, she didn't really have much choice. So she had layered a series of Bounded Fields on the forest, acting as a labyrinth to keep trespassers out.

She had already picked out her two sacrifices already, and the forest would hold the rest of both track teams hostage if she needed more. They would be trapped inside the labyrinth until she let them go.

She held the third sacrifice in her arms, waiting for the pieces to be in the right place. She looked down at the small blissful girl, her neck still seeping blood. "Are you ready for your part my little Yukika Saegusa?"

Yukika weakly placed an arm on Medusa's cheek, "Will you come back? Come back to finish me?" She began to cry, "I know you are killing me, but I want it so much! I don't want to die, but I want it so much!"

Medusa gave her a peck on the cheek. "You my sweet are too precious to kill. I want you to live. Time will give you what you desire. Should we meet again, we will sup on Ambrosia and Nectar."

"And Kane and Kaede?"

Medusa had to swallow back her own tears, "I will do what I can for them. Their fate is uncertain, but if I can manage it, they will return." She looked down at the kind soul in her arms, "I swear I will do so. If it is possible, they will return."

"Thank you. I am so sleepy."

Medusa checked her familiars. Yes. Right about now. There were three of them. Sakura was one. If her plans worked, she would be the one to tend to little Saegusa. The man and his female Servant would chase her into the woods and be lost for a time.

She lifted Saegusa higher and whispered into her ear, "It is time, dear heart. Know that I wish you to live and that you have my blessing." A couple of whispered Ancient Words and there was a tiny rush of prana from her to the girl.

She would be healthy and blessed. Of the few souls she had tasted, only this girl had tasted of pure light. Killing her had never been an option. She had reminded her of her sisters. So kind.

Saegusa began to struggle in her arms as the other spells she had set wore off, a weak "Help me!" Came from her lips.

Medsua could only smile as the would be heroes rushed to save the girl.

Time for the first part of her plan.

-Scene Break—

Shinji Matou-

Shinji bit his lip. At first this plan hadn't seemed so risky. All he had to do was draw Tohsaka towards the forest. Caster had assured him that when he got her there, her traps would take care of Tohsaka.

And her Servant.

That was what was frightening him now. He was walking quite openly without his own Servant to protect him while she distracted Emiya and his Servant. He glanced at the potion she had given him. Supposedly it would enhance his ability to run, should he need it.

Caster had told him to meet the woman outside the Administration office. So Shinji lounged near the main door and watched for her.

Tohsaka exited, a large happy smile on her face. She always acted so sweet at school. Always helping and going the extra mile.

And it was all a lie. How she managed to keep it up, Shinji would never know. But he knew Tohsaka a little from outside of school, when she would hang out with Emiya. Her bitchiness did not detract from her beauty. Not one bit. Her apparent unattainability only heightened it for Shinji.

For whatever reason she disliked him. He really didn't know why. So many of the other girls were interested in him, whether for his looks, his charm, or his money. Shinji really didn't care, so long as they recognized that they were disposable, and that they would have to put out at some point.

He stepped out, making sure that students were nearby but not close enough to hear. "So, Tohsaka. We should talk. About alliances." He let his gaze wander, "And other things."

Rin looked at him with utter contempt. She moved as if to strike him, stopping only moments from actual violence. She glanced around and took a series of deep breaths.

Shinji tried not to flinch. He HAD spent time with the girl. She might not look it, but she was strong. He had felt the sting of her tongue and tiny fists before. It was part of what made her so desirable. "I didn't know you were so passionate about me, Tohsaka. Maybe we can go somewhere and discuss this in length. Do you prefer hard and fast, or slow and gentle? I am skilled at both."

He took a step back at the look in her eyes. Not even Sakura had looked at him with such hate.

Rin said quietly, "You know that Sakura is adopted right? That you are considered such trash that your family had to search for someone worthy enough to be heir to the family legacy?"

Shinji just snarled, "Sakura is just gutter trash salvaged by my family out of the goodness of its heart. I am the true heir. You will see."

Rin glared at him, "I think I know your wish now, if nothing else." She shook her head and smiled at him. It was not a pleasant smile at all. "Are you aware of the family that your sister came from? A woman of her talent doesn't just grow on trees you know."

Shinji was starting to become concerned. The way she was looking at him wasn't… right. "Why would I care? A pack of fools to give anyone willingly to my Grandfather."

Rin looked away for a moment. "Yes. They were fools. A father too blinded by the prospect of another Family Crest, a mother too weak to fight the father over it." She gripped her fists tightly, "And a girl too wrapped up in her own concerns she missed what was happening to her beloved sister. A sister she feared would become a rival to her. A sister she convinced herself was content with her lot."

Shinji backed up; one hand reaching for the potion Caster had given him. Every hackle was raised, every sense screaming at him to run. To run NOW.

Rin continued, her voice still even and calm. But her body shook with emotion and her eyes were beginning to tear. Her face was flushed and her stance rigid. "Sakura was a Tohsaka once, you see. She is my blood sister. She hasn't told me everything. But she has told me much. And I can read between the lines, Matou. I can see some of what I was blind to before, things, horrific things she is trying to shield me from. Things I ignored that were happening to my SISTER!"

And she hit him. She was so FAST!

"You HURT her!" Another blow.

Shinji was trying to fight back, trying to use the little he knew to resist her. But he had never studied martial arts. He had never seen the point. His money and his family reputation had always shielded him from such things. But not now.

He tried to hit back. He did. But she blocked everything. His breathing was a little ragged but he couldn't resist commenting, "I always knew you wanted me, baby. I just didn't realize you wanted to play rough."

That earned him a punch to the head that he partly blocked. He needed to keep her rattled. Until someone stopped this fight. Until someone saved him.

Because the look on her face…. She was seriously going to hit him until he died. The potion he had gotten out of his pockets was lying on the floor. Much too far for him to reach without leaving himself even more open than he was.

Comments from other students watching began to filter in.

"One thousand Yen on Tohsaka!"

"Even fighting she is elegant and graceful." Sighs of adoration.

"Looks like that bastard made one pass to many."

"And she can fight too? No wonder she is the ace of Homurabara!"

Shinji just gritted his teeth. Here she was beating the crap out of him for no reason and they STILL loved her? It simply wasn't fair! Why did the world smile on her and not him?

The crowd went silent at her next exclamation which was neither calm nor quiet. "You RAPED her. You raped your own sister! Someone who trusted you! And I let you. I let you hurt her. Damage her. I stood by and paid no attention assuming her dead look was a sign of contentment." She stopped for a moment and shook, wiping tears from her eyes. "I never even asked. I hate myself for that. My unforgivable blindness."

Shinji took the moment to move towards the potion that would let him escape this nightmare.

Tohsaka took a moment to calm herself, breathing in slowly. The damn woman had barely broken a sweat!

He was sodden with sweat and his lungs felt on fire. His body was bruised and he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold on. Where were the damn teachers! Out of one eye he could see the strict teacher Kuzuki waking towards them slowly.

Rin continued, her voice now completely calm and serene. "But I am blind no longer. With these classmates as my witness, I declare Sakura Matou my sister by blood and by birth, given to another family to restore its honor and vigor. And they despoiled her. By my family's noble honor and by tradition I declare the actions of the Matou, and in particular that of Shinji Matou to be anathema." She blew a speck of hair out of her eyes, "Shinji Matou, you have raped my sister. And for that you WILL die."

He was so close; he had grasped the potion and was moving it to his mouth when the first blow landed.

So fast. She was so very FAST.

The beating he had experienced had been merely a prelude. Within moments he was curled up in a little sobbing ball and the blows continued to rain in.

And then it mercifully stopped.

There was an argument above him. He whimpered. Why wasn't anyone helping him?

The hallway became strangely quiet and empty. And still no one had come for him. What was wrong with the nurses office? Why wasn't he being sent to the hospital or something? Anything?

Two arms wrapped around him. "Shhh. You failed in your mission, but this will likely serve almost as well."

"Caster?"

"Sleep."

And he slept.

-Scene Break—

Shirou Emiya-

Shirou heard the cries for help. He, Arturia, and Sakura raced around the corner and saw a woman in white holding one of their classmates to her mouth as if drinking her blood.

Molten from the forge

Hammer Strikes Anvil to Shape

A Blade forged Anew

Shirou felt the rush as his Reinforcement spell was cast. His senses were sharper and he could see the woman in white dropping the girl and turning to run. "Rider, stop her."

Arturia glared at him for a moment. "It's Lily remember? I vastly prefer that to Rider." And she was gone. A veritable blur of motion.

Sakura fell behind, but he heard her mutter something and she began to speed up. Both of them reached the fallen girl as Arturia chased Caster into the woods.

It was Yukika Saegusa, the leader of the track team. There was a hole on the side of her neck and blood continued to pulse out of it. She reached for him and pled with her eyes, "You have to save them. She took them. She took them all!"

Sakura caught up and placed her hand on Saegusa's neck. A bandage of shadow covered the wound. Sakura looked up at him, "Sempai, she has lost a lot of blood. She needs medical attention."

"Caster has the rest of the track team. I have to go save them. Sakura, you stay here and get Saegusa some help."

Sakura frowned but nodded, "Help me get her to her feet. If people believe she can at least stagger in they won't suspect I am basically carrying her."

Shirou looked up at Sakura in shock.

Sakura sighed, "Sempai, I haven't really hid I am a magus for a little while. I may not be a combat mage like you or Sister, but I do have a few tricks up my sleeve."

Shirou smiled at her, "Right. Thank you."

Shirou helped set up Sakura, and turned to leave.

"Sempai, wait. One thing I have to tell you."

Shirou stopped and turned to face her.

Sakura laughed nervously, "Well two really, but first. Do not underestimate Caster. She isn't a combat mage, but she is still very dangerous."

Shirou smiled, "Just like you, I suppose."

Sakura smile faded, her face became grim, "Yes. Just like me. Under the right circumstances, I can be utterly lethal. She is a Servant, a spell caster from the Age of the Gods. She likely has powers none of us fully understand."

Shirou swallowed once. Sakura seemed so grim about it. And Caster had originally been her summon after all. She should know. "I will be careful."

Sakura smiled sadly at him, "No you won't. Just don't die." She looked away for a moment, when she looked back her eyes were welling with tears and her face had an unusual sardonic look. More like something he would see on Rin. "I shouldn't tell you this. I was going to wait until tonight. But…." She closed her eyes and a few tears slipped down, "I might not get another chance. Things are getting so dangerous."

Shirou was confused. He walked over and wiped a few tears from her face.

She pushed his hands away, "Please don't touch me. I am foul and filthy beyond belief. Infested. Not worth your touch."

Shirou pulled his hands away. "Look, I know what Shinji did. And I will help you anyway I can. I can understand why you wouldn't want any guy to touch you…" He looked away.

He felt as Sakura took one hand and turned his face to hers. And she stood on tiptoe to kiss him. Deeply.

As they broke apart, Shirou cold only stare at Sakura in bemusement. Why had she done that?

Her eyes were wide and perhaps a little wild, "Not want a guy to touch me? Sempai, when Shinji was, when he…." She took a deep breath, "When he raped me, one of the few things that kept me sane was the thought, the dream, that it was you, Sempai. As twisted and perverted as that is, the impossibility that one day you would be mine. That it would be YOUR hands on me, caressing me, that it would be YOU swelling inside of me and pouring your seed into me."

Shirou just stood there, stunned.

Sakura looked down, "And now I have said too much. And yet not enough." She laughed oddly. She looked up, "I know you love Sister. And I will be honest that while she may not realize it herself, she loves you too." Another deep breath. "But Sempai, while I know I am not worthy of you. While I know that as always I will linger in the shadows of you both, I love you as well." She shook her head, "No that isn't right. If I want to say it I should say it."

Shirou simply couldn't understand why this was happening now. And why he hadn't seen it. How many times had she come to visit him, even when he and Shinji had argued? Sakura had become an integral staple of his life. Just like Rin had. Both of them had become precious to him, more so than even Taiga.

He was involved in a love triangle between two sisters who were also powerful Magi. He was so very dead. Worse, he cared for them both. The thought of losing either of them, hurt.

"Sakura…."

"No Sempai. Just let me say this." She closed her eyes for a second and then opened them. She smiled softly and genuinely, "I love you Shirou Emiya." She giggled softly, "There I said it."

Saegusa said quietly, "You two make a cute couple. Your babies would be really pretty."

Both of them turned to their half dead audience.

Sakura flushed.

Shirou did too. He said, "You really should take her to get looked at." He took a deep breath, "And Sakura?"

She looked back at him. "Yes, Sempai?"

"I know some of what happened to you. And that doesn't change the fact you are beautiful, inside and out…."

Sakura shot back, "You don't know how deep the shadows inside me go. Of what I am or am capable of!"

"I don't care! I love you anyway!" Shirou recoiled at his own words. Had he really said that? He rubbed his face.

Sakura chuckled again, "Well at least that is out of the way. And what of Sister?"

Shirou groaned, "I love her too. The thought of losing either of you…."

Sakura tilted her head back and laughed. After a moment she calmed down and said, "Of course, anything else would be too simple. Come back to us. We all really need to talk."

Shirou nodded. "Stay safe and tell Rin where I am going."

"You too, my hero-Sempai. Go do what you were born to do."

Shirou ran off into the forest and hopefully a bunch of rampaging monsters. Anything to take his mind off his more mundane troubles.

As fate would have it. He got his wish. Arturia was fighting off… trees? Caster was nowhere to be seen, but Arturia was slowly cutting down her enemy.

Shirou stood there. A bow would be basically useless. Even with explosives. Incendiaries? He did know how to make them, and he could probably rig an incendiary arrow just as easily as an explosive one.

But that might, no likely WOULD set the woods on fire. A small forest filled with the track team somewhere inside of it. How many were in the combined girl's and boy's track teams? Thirty? Forty students?

No incendiaries.

Okay. The bow was basically useless. Onto… a bat? Useless. Shinai or bokken? He could wield them better than a bat to be sure, but even a real steel katana wasn't going to be that much use against a tree.

He needed something special.

The sword of his dreams?

No. It required elements he did not understand. Likely he would never be able to make it outside of his dreams.

He required something that had been made or existed somewhere in the world of man.

Shirou watched Rider swing her invisible sword. It was effective, more so than any steel blade. But he couldn't see the blade well enough to understand it. In fact the only one he had seen, if only briefly had been.

Durandal. He knew its name and he called to it now.

"Trace On."

Step by step he actualized the blade, just as he would do any of the normal things he used to fix up Rin's house. Only this was a specific thing. A special thing.

A Noble Phantasm.

And it was old. So very old. As the weight of it pressed down upon his waiting hands, the weight of its years pressed upon his very soul. The blade itself was older than most knew.

It wasn't made of steel. Steel was unknown when it had been forged. It was made of a bronze alloy long forgotten. It was plated in enchanted electrum to give it a sheen that never faded nor tarnished. Truly a blade that looked like it had come from the heavens.

It had fought at Roland's side during all his campaigns. It had seen the great Winter War that had ended the Northern Gods and their retinues. It had travelled the length of the Ancient World and had been wielded by none other than Hector himself on the Plains of Ilium.

And beyond. The blade itself was ancient, the hilt itself was not. Remade time and time again for a new user, for a new war. Again and again a new name would touch it, a new user would shape the soul within the steel.

And now a version of it had fallen into his hands. He stared at it in awe. Truly a peerless blade.

Durandal was not its original name, but it would answer to it. Shirou let his stance change. The blade was not a katana. His training in kenjutsu would only help him so far with this different blade. But the memories, the endless memories that filled the blade gave him the appropriate technique.

He charged into the fray, careful to stay out of Arturia's way. When she drifted behind him, he swung the sword and cried out. "DURANDAL!"

A wave if force pulsed from the blade as Shirou felt a small tide of weariness flood him. The wave cut everything within ten feet of the blade's swing. A whole swath of shrubbery fell to it. He laughed until one of the larger remaining trees hit him and tossed him clear across the clearing. Durandal slipped from his fingers and a few small bushes rushed to attack him.

Rider tried to get to him, but she was busy fending off the large tree.

Shirou just smiled and summoned Durandal back to his hand. He felt its now familiar grip and effortlessly cut down the attacking plants. They were strong, but no match for a blade able to cut stone without losing its edge. He stood there gasping as Rider finished off the other trees.

She turned to him, small scratches and cuts all along her body. Her clothes slightly torn. "I didn't need your help."

Shirou nodded, "Probably not. It did speed things up though, right?"

Rider just said, "Hmmph."

Shirou looked around. What had once been a glen was now a tattered clearing. "I hate to imagine what this would have been like with older trees."

Rider just shuddered. "I might have had to use my Noble Phantasm." She looked down at her clothes, "I miss my armor. The trees weren't really strong enough to hurt me. But I couldn't just leave them alone. They kept blocking me and tripping me up."

"Caster got away?"

Arturia growled. "That witch. She didn't cast a single spell at me. Not one. Everything effected the environment." She shook her head, "Give me a good straight up fight any day. These tricky bastards always annoy me."

Shirou nodded and sighed, "Sakura warned me about this. That just because she wasn't a fighter didn't make her any less dangerous."

Arturia nodded and sighed, "Tricky witch." She looked at Shirou, "Where did you get that sword?"

Shirou smiled at her, "It is my gift. I can summon things. Mostly common things. Rin says I have unusual talent at Projection. A fairly useless skill amongst magi I suppose, but it is what I can do."

Arturia shook her head, "I am not so sure, Shirou. This looks too solid for mere bauble made by Projection. And you were able to use its ability. Something you just made… Well I am no magician, but I have known a few. A created bauble only lasts a short time and is, well hollow. Made of air."

"Exactly, Gradation Air."

She reached out to grab Durandal.

Shirou let her take it.

She swung it around, shaking her head. "No. There is more than Projection here. This blade is made of more than just prana and air."

Shirou shook his head, "But what else could it be. I know it has Rin stumped, but what else can it be."

Arturia swung the blade, "This is a good sword. Not as good as Excalibur, or better yet my poor Caliburn. And it is real. I can feel it react to my touch. It is a Noble Phantasm. And it is not mine." She looked at him, "It is yours. Its powers will only answer to your call." She frowned.

Shirou sighed. Why was his life so complicated? Why couldn't things ever be simple?

Arturia spoke up, "It reminds me of Glamourie." She looked at Shirou again, "By my time, the Faerie Courts kept mostly to themselves. Not even the Unseelie Court did much outside the outlying villages But the few Faerie Knights my Court encountered were fell beings indeed. Seelie or Unseelie, they all had unnatural strength and mystic arts that confounded most enchanters of the day. One of the skills they possessed, Glamourie is similar to what you do." She smiled slightly and spoke as if quoting someone, "'Glamourie is the art of creating a temporary real thing. Or making a temporary real change. It is not mortal magecraft, for it is not it is not something altered into something else, but something that temporarily IS something else.'"

Shirou just sighed and shook his head, "So you are saying I am using Faerie Magic?"

Arturia laughed a little, "No. If you did, steel and iron would break it. They were tough, but they had their weaknesses too." She shook her head in whimsy, "It is similar and yet completely different." She looked at him again, "It is like so much in this world. It is so different, and yet the people feel the same. Weaker perhaps, less mystical. But human. Still human after all these years."

How could he reconcile the cold and stern woman he had seen and been told of by his father and this woman before him? That she was a warrior was not in doubt. Any feelings of male superiority had long been drummed out of him by Taiga and Rin. She was a Servant, and was much stronger than he could ever hope to be.

A sudden pang rang through him. He would only know her for a few days. Perhaps a week or two and she would vanish as if she had never been. Anything he could learn from her, anything he could do to help her, all of it would have to be done in that short span of time. "Are you okay, Rider?"

"Call me Lily or rather Arturia when are alone. It is silly and over proud perhaps, but I do not like being called Rider."

Shirou had to grin, "Still mad I didn't summon you as a Saber."

"Yes, you silly Master. How you summoned me as anything less, I will never know. I can't even summon my horse, and trust me I have tried." She licked her lips. "Of course, maybe I was spoiled the last time I was here in this time." She looked off in the distance. "I loved that bike. The feel of the air as it rushed past, Shirou, it was glorious I tell you. The Saxons would never have known what hit them if I had been able to arm just a squadron of troops with them…." She looked fondly, dreaming. "Those damn boats of theirs would never be able to compete!"

Shirou dryly asked, "Why not arm your foot soldiers with guns while you are at it. That should turn the tide."

She waved her hand, "Pwahh. Totally unchivalric." She stretched, "But I understand what you are saying. I had the tools I had. And I used them the best I could." She sighed, "The best I could. Surely another would have done a better job."

Shirou obliviously said, "Who can say? But they were not there. You were. You did what you could. How can you doubt yourself? You are a hero of the highest caliber."

She smiled, although it didn't quite reach her eyes, "Maybe. Maybe so. Are you rested? We should go."

Shirou stood up, "Yeah, there are thirty to forty of my classmates scattered in here."

Arturia shook her head, "That witch is buying time. But for what? That boundary field on the school? Or something else?"

Shirou swallowed heavily. Something worse than having an entire school swallowed up and converted to prana?

They needed to hurry and find a way to stop Caster. Before it was too late.

-Scene Break—

Ilyasviel von Einsbern

Ilya stared at the book, long since stopped paying attention to the words. "I am so bored."

"Mistress?" Leysritt asked. "Is there something I can do to help?"

Ilya grumpily got up, "Where is Sella?"

"She was managing the Garden last I saw her. She had finished a report gathered from the various Familiars scattered around the City. I could get that if you wished."

"I am so BORED!" Ilya waved her hands imperiously, "I expected many things when I came here. Violence, death, destruction, not BOREDOM!"

"But we promised Shirou…."

Ilya glared at her, "Don't remind me of my brother. Surely he wouldn't mind a little mindless violence hitting Fuyuki. I mean Caster has to be behind those drug deaths. Golden Fleece, hah! Any competent Alchemist can see that is a high ordered enchanted drug! The fools taking it are just ASKING to have their souls ripped out. And it serves them right!"

Leysritt paused, "So do you think it means we are facing Medea? She is the sorceress most linked to the Golden Fleece."

Ilya sighed deeply, "No. I was reading my mythology and she was a plotter. A good one too, always managing to weasel her way into a new court, even when they KNEW who she was. The fact she usually got booted out later doesn't mean as much as she was usually able to land on her feet somewhere else. A truly tricky bitch. Fortunately we probably don't have to face her."

"Language Mistress."

Ilya glared at Leysritt, "Are you turning into Sella now?"

Leysritt folded her hands nervously, "No Mistress, but I know how much it hurts you to get scolded. So, maybe if I help you watch your tongue…."

Ilya raised her hands in frustration, "Gah! She is rubbing off on you!"

Leysritt looked down, tears beginning to form. "I am sorry Mistress." She turned and then began to slowly walk away.

Ilya looked after the sensitive homunculus and sighed. She ran after her and gave her a hug, "Oh, don't be like that."

Leysritt opened her eyes wide as she looked down at Ilya, "I just don't want to disappoint you. I love you too much."

Ilya looked up at her slyly, "You love me, huh."

Leysritt nodded, her eyes wide and earnest.

Sometimes her homunculi seemed so much older than her. Other times, like this one, it was hard to imagine them being any older than their actual two years. Leysritt in particular wore her emotions on her sleeve, and often didn't really understand what they were in the first place. It was actually amusing at times.

Leysritt continued, "Sella does too, although you would probably have to torture her to get her to admit it."

Ilya danced away and spun for a moment. What could she do to alleviate this horrible boredom? Leysritt was only two, but hey, maybe she might think of something. "So what should we do?"

"Watch a movie?"

"Boring."

"Watch TV or read a book?"

"Boring and boring."

"Play a board game? Go out for a run? Go shopping?"

"Boring, boring, boring!"

Leysritt stood there thinking. Her face suddenly blushed and she looked down and softly said, "Bake cookies?"

Ilya's eyes tightened for a moment. It wasn't that baking cookies sounded any more fun than any of her other ideas. But what had prompted the physical response? "Bake cookies? Why? I thought you left most of the cooking to Sella?"

Leysritt looked down at her feet, "Sella is better at it. But I was just thinking. When we go over to Shirou's on Wednesday, shouldn't we bring something? And I thought, well everyone likes cookies. So…"

"And so you thought you might alleviate my crushing boredom by baking cookies?"

Leysritt shuffled her feet nervously, "Well I was thinking that maybe if we baked good enough cookies, we could, well visit Shirou early. Just to say hi. And give him cookies."

Ilya tilted her head slightly, "So baking cookies equals visiting Shirou early?"

Leysritt's voice could barely be heard, "It was, it was just a thought."

"Why?"

Leysritt flushed a pretty red and she looked up at Ilya guiltily, "I can't stop thinking about him, Mistress. I was so close to him, I could have just reached out and touched him. At first I was just, you know, curious. But I've been thinking about it and it has started to occupy all my thoughts! Even when I am cleaning I am thinking of him! He occupies my dreams, my thoughts. I, I need to see him again Mistress. Or I, or I might just wither and die."

The look of pure woe on Leysritt's face. Ilya took a deep breath. 'I mustn't laugh. I mustn't laugh.' "You have dreams?"

Leysritt looked down. "Sometimes. More now than I used to."

"And these last couple of days you have been dreaming of him. I presume following the actions of the book I let you read?"

Leysritt's voice was glum, "Somewhat. Not exactly the same. Each time is a little different. And…." She looked down guiltily, "And I am sorry, Mistress. But I am usually the heroine. I even, I even betrayed you in one of my dreams!" She said scandalized. "I save him from your wicked clutches and we went off into the sunset and had a wonderful life full of sex and babies."

Ilya put her hand in her palm and sighed. What had she done wrong in mixing Leysritt? Had it been her own tainted essence, necessary for the links, that had driven this?

Leysritt looked up and stared at Ilya, her eyes tearstruck, "Can I even have sex and babies? I am a combat model. Optimized for combat efficiency. I can outrun a train and lift a car. Can I, am I close enough to human to bear a child?"

Ilya looked at her carefully, "Yes. You would need alchemical assistance to bear the child, but it has been done." She cleared her throat, "My own mother in fact was a homunculus, and I was carried in a human fashion."

Leysritt reached out to Ilya's hair. "Is that why your hair isn't pure?"

Ilya shook her head, "No, I spent my first eleven years with solid white hair. It was when I hit puberty it began to change." Then again from what she understood, she hadn't been designed to hit puberty. Some of the changes she had been subjected to had been designed to prevent it, after all.

Her feelings were mixed about that failure.

Leysritt looked at Ilya again and shyly asked, "Do you mind that I want to have sex and babies with Shirou?"

Ilya laughed. "Not at all. I must say I am surprised."

Leysritt frowned, "But didn't you want him too?"

Ilya smiled wryly, "Maybe a little, but then again he is my brother."

Leysritt frowned, "I don't see why that should matter."

Ilya laughed. She patted Leysritt on the back, "That, my dear, is because you are a homunculus." She shook her head, how to explain human life to a two year old homunculus when she herself didn't know all the details. Well the conversation would be enlightening at the very least. "Come, let us bake cookies."

Leysritt looked around, "Shouldn't we get Sella, she is the better cook."

Ilya stood proudly, "I am a master Alchemist, how hard can it be to follow a simple recipe? In fact, I shall improve on it! I will make the perfect cookie!" She began to walk to the kitchens.

Leysritt didn't follow her, still looking off into the distance.

Ilya looked back at Leysritt, trying to hide a bit of hurt in her voice, "Don't you trust me, Leysritt?'

Leysritt shook her head, "No. I was just thinking. I am a combat model, but I was altered to hold the Dress. Is that why I am whole? I don't remember any of the other combat models I trained with worrying about this?"

Ilya opened her mouth and then closed it. Likely they hadn't had any of those thoughts because they didn't have a sex drive. Their genitalia had likely simply been vestigial remnants from the human base stock they were designed from. Sella was a standard magic model. She was likely the same.

But how to explain this to Leysritt.

Leysritt turned to face her, "It is isn't it. No wonder you consider me defective. A combat model thinking pleasure model thoughts." She wrung her hands, "How can I pretend I am best designed to protect you? Now that I know that I am broken? That I am defective?"

Ilya looked at Leysritt sternly, "You are not defective. Not for that anyway. I was looking to push the envelope and, well…." She shook her head, "If you are defective, so am I. Neither of us fits the parameters originally programmed for us. We are special."

Leysritt asked again, "Is Sella special? Is she like us?"

Ilya looked away. Sella was upper middle range for her model. Again, Ilya had been looking to push the envelope. Sella had been within parameters. No more and no less. "She is a standard magical based homunculus." She laughed softly, "I suppose if I made a mistake it was that I didn't make a mistake."

"Can you fix her?"

Ilya raised an eyebrow, "Don't you mean break her? She is already a standard model."

Leysritt shook her head angrily, "You know what I mean Mistress. Why did you make her a girl if she can't actually BE a girl?"

"Female mammals are easier to make. Males are an alteration to the base form. The fewer changes to the base form lead to a stronger homunculus. If I want to make a bird or a lizard, it is easier to make a male. Plants vary from species to species." Ilya shrugged, "It is why most homunculi are female."

Leysritt blinked. "Really?"

"Really." Ilya turned to go to the kitchens, "Come on let's bake cookies."

"Okay. But you will try to fix her, won't you?" Leysritt followed her.

"I suppose I could. But why do you care. I thought the two of you didn't get along."

"Maybe we don't. But I have spent almost every day I have been alive in her company. I might not like her, but still, I care for her. And both of us love you." She paused for a moment, "And these emotions…. They scare me, Mistress, they really do. They make me worried and make me ponder if I truly know who and what I am. I know I am not supposed to feel like this. That it wasn't programmed into me. And yet I still feel it."

"Okay."

Leysritt continued, "But at the same time…. It makes me feel more alive. Almost, almost human."

"You are jealous of humans?"

Leysritt sighed, "Ilya, I thank you for making me. For allowing me to live. And yet there are times when I wonder what it would be like to actually be human. They are weak and frail and yet… They are free. What I knew from the moment I was decanted, they would have to learn. But they could learn anything! They could be a combat model or a pleasure model or a magical model or some other specialty. Or maybe a little bit of all of them. You give us such strengths, but we pay for it by being weak at everything else."

Ilya frowned, deep in thought. "Leysritt, do you really think Shirou can save me. Save us?"

"I don't know. But I know he would try. And if he does. Can you help Sella. If she wants it. Because even if she is stuck up, I still want my sister to feel alive. To feel this heady feeling. Please."

Ilya looked over at Leysritt. "Your sister, huh. So what does that make me?"

Leysritt examined her shoes again.

Ilya sighed, "Alright. Come let us bake cookies."

"The perfect cookies?"

"Yep."

"And then we visit Shirou?"

She patted Leysritt on the back. "Go get me a recipe. It is time to experiment."

Ilya watched as Leysritt scurried around the kitchen, looking through Sella's cookbooks. So. Leysritt considered Sella her sister. She wondered if Leysritt realized that Sella would hear that when she next checked on her internal monitors.

She doubted it. It wasn't that Leysritt was stupid. Rationally in the back of her mind the girl probably knew. But she was so ditzy at times. And she didn't think about the ramifications of what she said.

Because if she considered Sella to be her sister and acknowledged that Ilya had made her. Then Leysritt in her basic way considered Ilya her mother.

It was so simple, and yet Ilya had never thought of it like that. They were simply her servants, there to protect her and to keep her company.

And they loved her. For the last two years they had always been together. They were part of her life.

She loved them. And that knowledge shook her. She could feel herself tearing up. She hadn't even realized that she already had a small family. Her… daughters. Maybe not by blood, maybe simply through alchemy. And yet….

She had to make sure that no matter what happened to her, someone would see to Sella's happiness. She would be heartbroken when Leysritt died. And then when Ilya herself died.

Maybe if Shirou was unable to save her, he could at least save Sella?

Leysritt rushed over and handed her a recipe. "Oatmeal raisin, huh? I am kind of partial to chocolate chip myself…."

Leysritt pondered and began to move to look for a different recipe.

Ilya called her back, "No, no my dear. This is a good place to start." She raised one hand above her head, "Let the conquest of the perfect cookie begin!"

-End Part—

A/N- Ah, another holiday season survived! Barely. Not sure what happened, but the craziness of life around the holidays completely bowled me over. Ending with the last couple days being horribly ill. Sigh. Such is life. Hopefully I will be able to get back to my more regular 7 – 10 days.

Hopefully you folks are still enjoying this. The first minor battles as our heroes struggle through Monday. Let me know what you folks think. I know it is far from perfect, that apparently is beyond my ken. But I hope it is enjoyable.

Take care all. And may the New Year bring us all the best it has to offer.