I could have handled this chapter better.
I don't own anything.
Hakuno Kotomine lived with Kirei and Gilgamesh for about a year and currently is eight years old. His first year in this world was fairly normal considering that Hakuno lives with a fake priest who teaches him martial arts and magic, as well as the worlds first king and legend who stands out from the the crowd like sore thumb but somehow manages to integrate himself in to modern society without arousing suspicion from anyone, except Rin who just came over to the church once. Hakuno just said that Gilgamesh lives in the church and he is related to Kirei.
Rin didn't buy the lie, but she didn't inquire about 'Goldie' ether.
Hakuno kept his promise to Rin, and started to come over to her house every day if he had free time. The boy expected to do all the cooking himself, but Rin always comes out and does half of the work. To be more precise both of them help out each other. Rin, helps Hakuno to improve his magecraft, while Hakuno helped to save her a lot of money and acquire more jewels.
Most of the shopping Hakuno did was at Mount Miyama. Since a walk to Rin's house took about an hour, it made the most sense to shop there. Plus everything was cheap, and for whatever reason the restaurant that sold the Mapo tofu both him and Kirei liked to eat. So every time the boy was near the shopping district he bought a few portions for himself and his father. Gilgamesh just gave him a murderous glare, but since Hakuno either brought some of the food both him and Rin, or just cooked something else the Kings of Heroes silenced his complains. Of course he could go and buy something for himself, but giving away his treasures for anything is the last thing that the King of Heroes does.
At first Rin mostly kept to herself, continuing living up to the Tohsaka family name. She stopped going to school and rarely left the mansion. The only person who she had any significant connection to, was the boy. Hakuno came over as often as he could, usually carrying two huge bags of groceries that he bought with the money Kirei gave him. Both of them cooked meals and ate together, after which Rin helped the boy with his magecraft.
Hakuno felt fulfillment in his new life. Under his fathers guidance he continued his Bajiquan training. With, Rin's help he could be considered an average magus, honestly Hakuno was already used to being average at everything that it didn't bother him. And, Gilgamesh continued to broaden his worldview, for better or forworse.
For now his 'normal' life continues.
Currently it's 7 in the morning, it's the 29 of March and the sun was shining brightly, which could only mean one thing. It's the time of the year when the Sakura trees blossom. The fake priest and his son are walking through the Fuyuki bridge and heading to Miyama Town. Both of them have their own plans. Kirei is leaving town due to his duty as a member of the church, even though his post is Fuyuki city, he suddenly was called back to the headquarters of the church in Japan. Hakuno is seeing his father off, after which he and Rin will start the preparations for the flower viewing.
No one except the two of them were walking on the bridge and cars rarely passed drove by them. Hakuno already knew why, the most popular places for watching the followers bloom were already packed with people. Some of them woke up early in the morning, while others have been waiting since the day before. Finding a spot to sit down comfortably is nigh impossible. But, Kirei told his son an interesting piece of information that would guarantee a good spot for the flower viewing. Of course there was a catch, the territory where the event will happen is a little... unusual.
"Are you planing to stay at Rin's mansion for this night, Hakuno?" Kirei said while both he and his son were walking through the bridge. They walked in silence before the 'fake' priest spoke up. Both of them didn't mind the silent environment. Kirei usually had nothing to say, while Hakuno said everything he needs to his father, and the King of Heroes beforehand.
"Well, Gilgamesh will be walking around town as usual and you'll return only tomorrow evening, if everything goes smoothly with whatever the church needs from you, then there is no point to stay home." Hakuno answered. After a year living as a Kotomine, he was used to calling the church his home. Kirei intentionally took shorter steps making possible for the boy to keep up with him.
"I would never have expected you to actually go to a territory inhabited by criminals. One would expect that his son is some kind of trouble maker." the priest let out a dark chuckle. "Did you inform Rin about the place I told you about?"
"...If I did, then she would just call me an 'idiot'." while Hakuno could handle being called an idiot, and he wouldn't really deny it since what he planned to do was idiotic, and that's putting it lightly. But he wanted to watch the sakuras blossom, and bring Rin out of the mansion. Bringing the girl outside was much more important, she mostly spends her time reading books and practicing magic. So going outside without a reason for her is unforgivable. And there isn't much places where they can go to begin with. Since, Shinto is still being rebuilt after the fire. The only place where Hakuno and Rin can spend time is in Myama town, Rin's house or the church. But since the girl dislikes sharing breathing-space with Kirei, much to the fake priests amusement, she doesn't come to the church often.
"That would be putting it lightly. I'll just consider this being a part of your 'savage bravery'. I believe that's how Gilgamesh called it." Kirei said in a mocking tone. While all of the people that Hakuno interacts with know that the boy is unbelievably cautious and rational, they also know that rarely he can be impulsive and reckless. But since he always comes out unharmed out of the situations no one can actually lecture him.
"I don't have much of a choice, and if it gets dangerous, I could just defend myself." the boy said in a calm voice. Kirei didn't teach him how to fight for nothing and Hakuno was confident that he could take out an untrained adult without using reinforcement.
"And, Rin? Do you intend her to fend off for herself?" Kirei got no answer from Hakuno. Turning his gaze to his son, he saw that the boy had an unconfined look. "...It seems women should not be underestimated." the priest knew why his son had a look of uncertainty on his face. Hakuno could overpower a magus at close range, but he lacked any kind of offensive spells that could be used from a distance. While, Rin herself had a little actual hand-to-hand combat training, courtesy of Kirei, the boy could beat her ten times over before the girl could even react. But she is a talented magus who's full potential is immense, she could beat the boy before he would get a chance to close the range. Unless, Hakuno heals himself at an extremely fast rate, gets lucky, or uses some kind of tool that could reject magic. He won't defeat her in a direct confrontation.
"How long will it take for you to come back?" Hakuno doesn't want to even think about fighting Rin, so he decided to change the subject. If he wouldn't have saved her back at the Moon Cell, she could have becum his enemy. And it would be either kill, or be killed.
"Who knows, tomorrow at earliest and never if by some whim of fate I die." Kirei spoke in a tone that had no worry in it, just a little dark humor. Hakuno wasn't worried ether, in his opinion 'Kirei Kotomine would not die even if his killed'.
Oh, how right the boy was.
"What do they even want from you?" the fake priests son fully understood what his fathers job is, or to be more precise, was. Since Kirei decided to stay in Fuyuki, he never left the city, so when a letter arrived saying that he was called to headquarters for something really important Kirei felt confused and unamused. But he had nothing say in the matter, and if the matter could not be discussed by letter, phone or in person.
"The letter did not specify anything, but if I'm called to the headquarters, it must be something of great importance." Kirei had a hunch, and if it's right then the priest has a few things to think about and prepare.
Then the silence set in again. Kirei thought on how will he get to his destination. The first thing he needs to do, is go for the outskirts of Miyama town, and meet up with an agent of the church, who will drive him to an undisclosed location where a plane will fly him to another location before he will be brought to the church headquarters. All of this reeks with 'caution'. There is an airport in Fuyuki city, but if it was decided that the fake priest cannot use it, then the church really is calling him for something important.
Hakuno was thinking of insignificant things. Like what should he and Rin cook, what should he do if the yakuza attack him, and what to do about that strange girl that he saw. About cooking, Hakuno already had ideas, he would probably just make some simple snacks and some anmitsu, nothing too complex, while Rin will probably make some Chinese food, he will help her of course. As for the yakuza, Hakuno could just reinforce his body, which would be enough to beat them down. It could also accidentally kill them but that's very unlikely. Asking Rin for help isn't an option, since magic is supposed to be a hidden from normal people. 'Bajiquan it is then.' the boy thought to himself.
But interestingly enough, the issue that nagged Hakuno the most was the girl he saw. He recognized her, at least he thinks he did. But every time the strange girl saw him she would give him a look of weak resentment, not hatred, but resentment. That confused the boy greatly, he felt that the resentment was not aimed at him, but at someone else. He could never even get a chance to talk to the familiar looking girl, but he still keeps trying.
"Hakuno, I would like for you to consider something important." the priest asked after he and his son finished the one hour walk, both Kirei and Hakuno are standing by the crossroad where both of them will separate. Kirei will go to the shopping district and eat some Mapo Tofu, before heeding for the outskirts of the town. Hakuno will head for Rin's mansion, wake her up, cook together, head for the location of the flower viewing, then get called an idiot and accept the insult.
"Important? What might that be?" the boy turned his head to his father and gave him a questioning look. Of course he had to raise his head, because of the height difference.
"Something that I was considering for quite some time." Kirei's voice got a little more serious. "Hakuno what are you intentions for the future?" the priest decided to start with this question.
"My intentions..." the boy thought silently for a little. "... I never even thought of that."
"Of course not, then I want to give you an offer. But first you are aware that the next Holy Grail War will be held in this city." the boy nodded. "And are you aware that both the Church and the Magic Association are supervising the war?"
"Supervising?" Hakuno didn't understand what Kirei meant. While he possessed the knowledge of the Moon Cell Holy Grail War, the war in this world is completely different. And he knew only minor things about this worlds war.
"Hmm, it seems a small history lesson is in order. As you know there were four Holy Grail Wars in total, the first two wars were supervised only by the mages which had dire consequence. While the first war had zero casualties, the ending of second one could be considered much worse than the war that I survived." at this Hakuno started to pay much more attention. The idea of something being worse than the fire was almost unimaginable for him. Kirei noticed the small change in the boy and continued. "Due to lack of precise rules and someone to make sure that they are upheld, the second war was a massacre. All of the masters died and many innocent lives were lost. In the end no one could claim to be the winner, since all of them were dead. After an end like that a third party needed to be involved, specifically the Church."
"And the supervisors are from the Church?" Hakuno started to connect the dots together. Due to the lack of control the second war was a catastrophe. The war the boy participated in did not lack rules, that's for certain. So it would be only natural that more thought would be put in to the rules.
"Yes, the supervisor was my father, Risei Kotomine. During the third war he was one of the regulators. The third war was held during the Second World War, so the cover up of the war for the grail was very easy to perform."
"It's ironic, to have a war during another war." Hakuno remarked.
"Yes, it seems the grail itself loves irony." the priests son nodded to this. "Well, the grails love for bloodshed aside, after the end of the Second World War my father was appointed as the supervisor for the fourth war. He lost his life preforming his duty as the supervisor of the war, passing his position on to me as his only son." Kirei's voice showed no sadness, but his son could feel that his father had a little displeasure in his voice.
"How did he die?" the boy knew that what he was asking was insensitive, but he knew his father well enough to understand that this question would not bother him.
"He died protecting me." was the priests short answer. "Now since I said what needed to be said, let's get back to the matter I would like for you to consider. My son, what are your thoughts about becoming a member of the Church."
"...Do you really want to kick me out of the house that much?" Hakuno only seemed surprised for a second but quickly shot back with a question of his own.
"That is not my intention. The reason I want you to join the Church, is to make it possible for you to become a member of the Assembly of the Eighth Sacrament and become my successor."
"The Assembly of the Eighth Sacrament is an agency that gather and research holy artifacts all over the globe, isn't it?" Hakuno asked for confirmation.
"Correct, my father was a member and I'm still a member of the agency. You understand what I am implying." Kirei said with a smirk, he understood that the boy was surprisingly smart and knowledgeable for his age making spelling everything out for him unnecessary.
Yes, Hakuno already knew what Kirei meant. If he would become a member of the Church and the Assembly of the Eighth Sacrament he would stay in Fuyuki with Rin, Kirei, and Gilgamesh and also watch the grail. In the boys' opinion if he would ever join the Church he would be only consider joining the same agency as his father. Becoming a member of the Executioners is not something a normal human being would do. Even thought Hakuno wasn't normal he still does not see himself going on a hunt for vampires, magus or any other thing the church wants to wiped clean from the planet. There is also the Burial Agency, but that was completely out of question.
"I understand, but, why are you asking me this so suddenly?" the boy said while raising an eyebrow. Kirei considers this being one of the boys unchildish actions.
"Both you and Rin don't go to school. I am aware that you two study when you have the time, but it still leaves me uneasy knowing that my own son could lack education in the future." Kirei answered in a mocking tone. And what the priest said was true. Both of the children don't attend school, even though the priest planes to send both of them to middle school when both the boy and the girl will be old enough, but that's still a few years away.
"What does that have to do with the Church?" Hakuno mumbled.
"Absolutely nothing. As for the Church I just felt that you should dedicate yourself to doing something." the priest continued in his mocking tone. "While learning magecraft with Rin is nice, you should extend your abilities further."
"So if I decide to join they will just accept me?" Hakuno was a little sceptic about that.
"With my recommendations, of course they will." Kirei assured still smirking. "Just to make one thing clear, you can refuse." that caught the boy by surprise. He didn't expected his father just to say that he could refuse and continue to live his life as it is. "You can even join the Magic Association if you so please, but considering your limitations with magic I would not recommend doing that."
"So, you don't care if I join the Church or not."
"It matters little to me, but I would like if the decisions you make are of your own choosing, not someone else's." Kirei then went silent for a moment. "...So what are your thoughts on this?"
"..." Hakuno did not know how to answer and looked down. He had no reasons to refuse, nor accept. If he joins, his life would remain identical for the most part. The same reason applies for not joining, nothing substantial would happen if he refuses. Except two other reasons that popped up in the boys head.
The first one was Rin. As, the sixth head of the Tohsaka family, she has no choice, but to continue being a member of the Magic Association. And since there is some tension between both the Church and the Magic Association, Hakuno had some worries about a conflict between the two organizations which could tear them apart. But that was unlikely.
The second reason, is the possibility to watch over the next Holy Grail War. The boy's father already explained that due to the fourth wars abrupt ending the fifth war will start earlier, but when the priest was not sure when. The news of the premature occurrence of the next war frightened the boy a little, but it made him determined to not let anything similar to the likes of the fourth Holy Grail War to happen.
"..." Kirei stood and watched his son musing about his choice. After another minute of silence he spoke up. "It seems you are taking this choice seriously." he said in a calm voice, he was already used to his son taking everything seriously.
Hakuno looked up to his fathers face.
"Of course I am, this is an important decision." he answered.
"Good, looks like you understand the weight your decisions carry. I will give you some time to think about my offer."
"How much?"
"Until, I return from my business." Kirei answered and turned around towards the shopping district. "Well then, I expect that you will be on your best behavior while I'm gone."
"I will. See you later, dad." Hakuno turned towards the district where Rin's mansion is.
Both of them went to their destination at the same time. Hakuno had nothing else to say and neither did Kirei...
Because eating Mapo Tofu is serious business for the Kotomines.
Walking through the southern district, Hakuno takes in the familiar sight of the foreign looking buildings. This sight is completely engraved in the boys mind due to visiting Rin almost daily. As he expected the streets are empty, either people are sleeping or they already went to take places for the bloom.
Walking up to the Tohsaka mansion the boy put his left hand in to the pocket of his brown shorts and after a second pulled out a key. It was a copy of the mansions key that Kirei ordered to be made when Hakuno and Rin met for the first time. Or to be more precise when Rin met Hakuno for the first time. The first time when the boy used the key, and the girl found out about it, she really wanted to punch Kirei. After some time Rin came in terms with Hakunos intrusions and even asked to wake her up if she's still asleep when he comes over.
As Hakuno started to put in the key in to the keyhole he felt someone staring at him. He already knew who that is. With a sigh he turned his back to the door and faced the familiar looking girl with purple hair and pretty eyes. She was wearing a purple dress, socks and black shoes with a red ribbon on hear head. While he knew who she was, he never expected to get that sort of treatment from her. She's giving him her expression of resentment, it's weak, but it's there. Her brows are not frowned nor are any of her facial features indicating her dislike for the boy, but he could feel it. Maybe he was just more perceptive than others. Her unusual expression could give anyone a small fright, but Hakuno just stood and met her gaze. He faced people much worse than a small girl.
For a few minutes no one moved. The girl looked at Hakuno as he tried to think up anything to say. Before he could think of anything the purple-haired girl started to walk away further in to the district. Hakuno guessed that she lived somewhere in the foreigner district, since the only times he could see her was when he came to Rin's house. As usual the boy didn't follow, if he's disliked, he doesn't want to bother anyone. He'd rather just leave the talking to Shirou, Hakuno isn't really good at pretending to be a kid. So he'd rather let a real kid do the talking.
And with that he turned the key and entered the mansion.
Kirei Kotomine's attention was caught by an interesting sight while he was on his way to 'Koushuuensaikan Taizan' the restaurant where his and his sons favorite Mapo Tofu is served.
Emiya Kiritsugu was walking together with a red hired boy and a teenage girl with brown hair tied in a ponytail. He watched as the man with empty eyes was talking with his companions. After watching for a few seconds the fake priest turned his back on them and continued to walk towards his destination. Disappointment continued to fill him. The man he so desperately wanted to meet during the Fourth Holy Grail War was dead and his body already began to rot.
The red-haired boy did not interest Kirei, his son already informed meeting a boy by the name Shirou Emiya a few times and the priest recognized him as the child who was carried by Kiritsugu during the fire. And the girl with the ponytail was completely unrelated to anything.
When Kirei thought about the fire, he remembered the facial expression of the former Magus Killer. He smirked. Yes, the face that the Magus Killer had that day lighted up Kirei's mood once again. The despair his face showed was overshadowed by the disappointment of the killers state of mind and the surprise of finding the boy who become his adoptive son, which is why he probably ignored at that moment. But it truly was something when Emiya Kiritsugu wanted to save the world but instead brought death upon many innocent people, and when Kiritusugi realized what he has done, it completely broke him. And the face he made when he understood that the fire was his doing, was something that Kirei will never forget.
With the face of terror that Kiritsugu showed during the fire fresh on Kirei's mind, the priest continued to walk toward his destination with a wide smirk on his face.
Standing inside the Tohsaka mansion Hakuno hanged his jacket and started to take off his shoes. The first time he went inside, he was in for a little shock. The mansion was filled with expensive looking antiques, and a numerous number of books, and a gigantic tea collection.
But the thing that mostly surprised the boy about Rin is her dislike for technology and inability to use it. When he was in the Moon Cell she would always give advice that would help him survive, and her knowledge of hacking did help Hakuno win in the final round against Leo. So it would be only natural that it was a shock when he found out Rin's dislike for technology.
After taking of his shoes Hakuno started to climb the wooden stairs. He considered the house to be pretty fancy and big. Of course while the Kotomine church was big and had some interesting architectural design, Rin's mansion felt much more homy to the boy. Probably because unlike the church this mansion is a home.
Hakuno opened the door to Rin's bedroom and entered. The room had a lot of open space and it was mostly wooden like the rest of the mansion. Two wooden chairs, one tables, and one bed stood in the room. On the bed a small figure was lying beneath the bed sheet and breathing softly.
"She's still asleep, not surprising." the boy mumbled with a smile. Rin Tohsaka is not a morning person and it's still 8 o'clock in the morning so ofcourse she's still asleep. Hakuno came up to the bed, and saw that Rin's face was turned towards him but covered up with her black hair. She was sleeping peacefully and while the boy didn't want to disturb her slumber both of them had already made plans for the day.
"Rin, wake up." Hakuno said in a normal voice but the girl didn't react. "Rin, wake up." he raised his voice a little and shook her by the shoulders.
Rin opened her eyes and slowly lifted her upper body. She sat in a daze with half-opened eyes for a few second after which she turned her face towards Hakuno.
"Good morning Rin." Hakuno said happily, his mood always gets better after seeing Rin. Probably because she's the only person he considered to be his true friend.
"..." Rin still was in a daze but she smiled a little. "...hod monin." she mumbled 'good morning' while not being fully awake.
"You should wash your face, I'm going to make breakfast and tea for us, okay?" he received an incomprehensible mumble and a slow nod from the girl. Rin tossed her bedsheets aside and stood up. She was wearing yellow pajama that looked like a dress with chibified tiger faces. She tiredly wobbled towards the door which Hakuno left open and went towards the hallway, the boy followed after her making sure that she wouldn't hit a wall.
Of course Hakuno didn't need to worry. While Rin walked unsteadily, she only had the trouble at grabbing the handle of the bathroom door. After making sure that Rin didn't hit or break anything, Hakuno went down to the living room.
Rin stood in front of a mirror and looked at her reflection. Her hair was pretty messy due to not being tied by her ribbons and her eyes were only half open. After stifling her yawn she started to wash her face with cool water. Bit by bit she started to wake up and her mind started to work more clearly. After washing her face Rin pulled out her ribbons form a pocket of her pajamas.
With the ribbons in her hand, she returned to her room, fixed her bed, and started to dress. She tied her hair in twintails, put on her long socks, dark skirt, white shirt, and then proceeded to tie her red necktie. After taking another look in the mirror and making sure that she looks okay, Rin steeped out of the room, started to climb down the stairs and headed towards the living room.
In the living room, two plates with English breakfast and two empty tea cups stood on the table. Rin is always surprised by the sheer amount of dishes that Hakuno can cook. Japanese, Chinese, and so on. The boy definitely knew a wide arrange of different much about different foods. Rin herself could cook, but not as well as the boy. She noticed that while Hakuno could cook a lot of different things he could not make anything perfectly.
So she decided to learn something substantial about cooking and focus on dishes from a single country. When she asked Hakuno what she should learn, he replied Chinese. Of course she knew that he could cook Chinese dishes himself, and when Rin asked 'Why Chinese?' Hakuno responded with 'I think it would suit you the best.' Rin decided to go with Hakuno's suggestion, and in the end she kind of started to enjoy making Chinese. Especially when Hakuno was the one eating her food. Now the girl understood why he liked to cook so much.
Rin moved towards the kitchen, since both the kitchen and the living room are connected by a single door way she could see what Hakuno was doing. The boy was standing in front of a closet full of different kinds of tealeaves. Rin had a huge selection of tea, and Hakuno didn't know much about tea at the start, but due to Rin constantly making fun of him, he needed to adapt.
"What kind of tea do you want to drink today, Rin?" the boy said without turning around and kept looking at the closet full of tea. He's used to making tea for both himself and Rin every time he comes over to her house.
"Hmm, I guess black tea, it does go well with breakfast." as Rin replied Hakuno reached out and took a small bag full of tealeaves. There wasn't any indication that the bag was full of leaves that made black tea, Hakuno just knew which bag he had to take.
"Ok black tea it is. Can you bring the teapot to the table?" the boy received a nod and went back to the living room, soon followed by the girl with a teapot full of hot water in her hands. After making the tea, both of them sat down on the couch next to each other like usually. Both of the children had their legs hanged down from the couch, since both the boy and girl weren't high in terms of heights. Hakuno was a little taller than Rin, and if his future body will be anything like in the Moon Cell then he will still be the one taller than the girl.
"Thank you for the food." both of the children said and clasped their hands.
Both of them ate slowly, but differently. Rin ate slowly and elegantly, projecting the image of perfection, Hakuno didn't understand why but he didn't mind. Hakuno just ate like any other normal person would. After finishing their food and washing the plates, both of the children started to drink their tea.
"So how was breakfast?" Hakuno asked Rin's opinion as he sipped his tea.
"Do you really have to ask that every time you cook for me, why don't you ask Kirei's or Goldie's opinion?" Rin replied and took another sip of the tea.
"I would try, but dad only eats Mapo Tofu, since other food can't 'touch his heart'. And Gi... Goldie's tastes are so fancy that he doesn't even judge my food." Hakuno answered holding the tea cup in his hand and turned his head towards the girl who was sitting to his right. "So that makes you the only one who judges my food."
"Sometimes I wonder how can you handle living with those two." Rin said with sigh.
"I got used to it." Hakuno replied with a small smile. He found it ironic that Saber and Gilgamesh had similarities between each other, which is probably the reason why he has an easier time getting along with him, unlike most people. "So how was breakfast?" the boy repeated the question.
"It was good like usual, and even if it wasn't you who comes to my house wake me up and even makes breakfast, so I can't exactly argue about anything." Rin said and turned her head towards Hakuno. Both of them had their faces close, and since Rin was a child she wasn't conscious of Hakuno as a member of the different sex. But since the boy was mentally older, he was aware of the distance.
"Good, breakfast is the most important meal of the day so it's important that you ate well since, you know..." Hakuno replied as naturally as he could and leaned back on the couch to put some distance between Rin and himself.
"Ah, that's right, today's the flower viewing." the girl said as if she forgot, and placed the teacup on the table. "Did you find a place where we could go?" Rin seemed more motivated after remembering the plans that the both of the children made.
"Well... yeah... sort of." the boy whispered the last part. He also decided not to tell that Kirei was the one who told him about the place, if he did Rin would definitely refuse. "And you seem exited about doing something else besides training, that's pretty rare."
"I can't slack off and neither can you." she crossed her arms and frowned. "I'm the sixth Tohsaka family head so I need to keep improving my abilities. And you asked me to help you with your magecraft didn't you?" the girl spoke in a serious and harsh voice. Hakuno gave her a quick nod, looks like Rin is really taking her magic seriously. "But taking a break isn't bad once in a while." the girls frown disappeared and a tired expression appears on her face.
"Rin, did you stay up for the whole night again?" the boy guessed from her tired expression.
"...maybe." she replied quietly. And the boy sighted.
"You taking this seriously, maybe even too seriously." he said and sighted again.
"I'll be fine you don't have to worry about every little thing I do."
"I know that you'll be fine, but if something wrong just tell me. You collapsed once out of overexertion and I think you should take it easier on yourself."
"You worry too much, and haven't you ever fallen sick or something."
"No, and considering the training dad gives me it would be strange if I did." Rin thought about what Hakuno said. Kirei gives her a sort of pseudo-karate lessons and even though everything he teaches her are just the basics, some of the exercises are really hard on the body. She couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of drills the fake priest gives a child who's trying to fully master a martial art. And considering from Hakunos build it had to be something difficult.
"Or idiots just can't catch colds." Rin whispered. "Well whatever, do you have any request for today?" the girls mood has risen again and she got off the couch.
"Requests, hmmm. I'll be fine as long a your the one who does the cooking."
"Ok then, but your helping too. I'm not letting you off the hook just because you are acting all nice."
"I'm always nice to you, and I planed to help from the start. Why do you think I bought so much food two days ago?" Hakuno said and got off the couch. The boy really wanted to be prepared for the flower viewing so he bought as much food as he could and luckily all the food was selling cheap that day. He also got the nagging feeling that he'll really need the food, but he wasn't sure why. "And do you have any requests?"
"I'll be fine as long a your the one who does the cooking." Rin answered in a joking but pleasant tone and the boy just smiled back.
The ancient king of Uruk laid on top of the couch in Kirei's study, with his right hand behind his head and a glass full of wine in another. His eyes were closed, he was breathing calmly and taking drinks from his glass from time to time. Unlike usually, he gave of a calm atmosphere but gave of an aura of danger. If anyone would dare to disturb the kings rest they will meet his full wrath. While Gilgamesh took a enjoyment out of his rest, unbelievable amount of boredom plagued him.
Most of the kings activates begin at night, and seeing the worlds ugliness is harder at night as well, which is why Gilgamesh rarely leaves the church at day and only at night, against his masters bitter judgment. And his only ways of entertaining himself in this place was conversing with Kirei, drinking the hilariously huge supply that of wine that Kirei has either alone or with the priest. The final way Gilgamesh could entertain himself was talking with Hakuno. The King of Heroes decided that it would be his job to make sure that the boy would not grow up with a rotten brain and if the king makes his decision he will rarely go back on it.
But since Kirei has gone out of town for some time and his son already made plans Gilgamesh was left to his own devices. There was nothing for him to do but to wait till night fall. So he silently laid thinking of the events that transpired during the year. Nothing much of worth happened during the year in the golden kings opinion but a few things did interesting things transpire. First the adoption of Hakuno, second finding out that his former master had a daughter who arguably is more interesting than her father and she will only grow. In Gilgamesh's opinion Tokiomi's death only made this disgusting world more tolerable and the girl more interesting. And the final thing was a boy that Hakuno told Kirei and Gilgamesh about after meeting with Rin a few times.
The boy was named Emiya Shirou, who was Emiya Kiritsugu's new adoptive son. Hakuno knew some things about the Fourth Holy Grail War and the participating masters was a part of his knowledge. The younger Kotomine told both his father and his guardian that he didn't reveal his family name to the red-head boy and that he even saw his father a few times. Both the master and servant reacted differently. Kirei showed no interest in the new Emiya family, while Gilgamesh showed some curiosity and decided to see what kind of worm this Emiya Shirou is. Kirei was annoyed with the servants wish to leave the church during day time but his command seals were lost after the war ended. And even if he retained them he still would not use them to stop Gilgamesh, the priest would not want to damage his relationship with the golden king.
And when the King of Heroes saw the red-haired boy, he had a sudden wish to create a new word synonymous with the word 'unsightly'.
What he saw wasn't a human boy but an empty shell trying to fool everyone in to believing that he was like them. He had no self-worth, selfishness, desire, nothing. Without any of that he can't be human, anyone should have something they want for themselves, but the husk wanted nothing. He just gained false sense of accomplishment from the most stupidest things and he didn't want anything else. Gilgamesh understood that just from seeing the boy once. While, Hakuno was not even close to being perfect, the King of Heroes could call him human. He had things he wanted, he wanted to gain new knowledge no matter is it good or bad. And most importantly he had something that most people don't, a wish to live no matter what. While that empty doll might possess some of those qualities, the King of Heroes already made his judgment. That Faker is not human.
After throwing those thoughts aside the king opened his red eyes. Looking over to his empty glass and wine bottle he let out a sigh, stood up from the couch and placed his empty glass near the wine bottle. The church only had one room that was suited for sleeping and that was Hakuno's. Kirei does not require any sleep so he mostly plays the part of a priest or stays in his study. Gilgamesh occupies the couch in the study and if he feels like taking a rest and he uses it as his bed, the priest and his son don't mind since there are other chairs in the room.
Besides the study and Hakuno's bedroom there was the courtyard which was used for Kirei's and Hakunos training or on the rare occasion that Rin came over, the boy and the girl spend their time in the courtyard or the boys room. The basement shrine and the basement were used only by Kirei. As for the churches main hall, mostly visitors came by and Kirei sometimes spent his evenings there. The rest of the rooms were unused, except one where mostly of the clothing were kept.
The Kotomine's didn't care about about clothing, Kirei had a lot of spare church uniforms while his son only kept a few different sets of clothing each for a different time of the year. Only the king cared for fashion, and most of the clothes were his belongings. Gilgamesh uses his clothes as 'playing attire', to fool every other, except Kirei and Hakuno, in to believing that he is just another person living in the city, and it also helps to ward off the immense amount of boredom that Gilgamesh feels.
So the King of Heroes went to change for cloths more suitable for his early outing. He had a few words to say to Hakuno, and something to 'give' him as well.
The the sun was shining brightly as the younger Kotomine and the Tohsaka family head were walking through the southern district towards the location where Rin's good mood, will inevitably plummet towards the earths center. Or so Hakuno thinks. But Hakuno tried not to think about that, he was trying to think up a way to calm Rin down when she'll see where both of them are going. Hakuno carried two huge lunchboxes in each of his arm's. Rin of course wanted to help, but the boy refused since he could carry everything himself with no problem. Rin felt like she was using the boy, but she knew that he didn't need any help and decided to let him do whatever he wanted. Rin just carried the cloth that both of them will use when they find a spot to sit. She also carried a thermos full of black tea.
"Rin have you ever watched the sakura's bloom before? " Hakuno decided even though he could already guess the answer, but he still was curios.
"What's with that question? Of course I have, don't tell me that you haven't?" Rin said as she walked, the girl expected to hear a 'yes I have', but instead...
"No, this is my first time." the boy replied in a completely normal tone. Rin turned to him with a surprised expression but did not stop walking. The boy noticed his friends look and turned his face towards her. "Hmm, what's wrong?"
"...This is your first time?" her facial expression did not change.
"Yes it is." the boys tone didn't change.
"..." that explained why Hakuno was so persistent when he asked if Rin could come to the flower viewing together. Rin didn't really want to go, since just seeing the cheery blossom brought the feeling of guilt to the girl, but because of Hakuno's persistence she decided to go together with him. Now when she knows why he wanted to go and watch the flower viewing, she could not refuse. Plus the boys helped for Rin to forget the loss of her family, and while not completely it still helped her to carry on with her life, she was grateful to him not that she will admit it. "I'm not even going to ask why." Rin said and turned her face back in front.
"Did I something wrong?" the boy questioned, Rin's reaction puzzled him, and she was a little bit confused by his anwser.
"No, it's just surprising that you never went to such event, I expected that you watched the bloom." Rin said, but did not use the word that brought her the feelings of guilt.
"Well, it's not like I don't know how it looks like, it's just that I never saw it happening in person before." Hakuno added after he understood that what he said about watching flowers bloom for the firs time sounded strange. So he decided to add that statement. And he wasn't lying in the first place, all of the common knowledge about the world was 'drilled' in to his brain by The Moon Cell so the lack of knowledge wasn't the problem. It was the lack of experience, he understood it after eating taiyaki with Rin in the park. He didn't feel like the part of this world, even after spending a year living here. But even if he would not become a part of this world the boy was still glad that he was alive. That he had a family, a strange family, but still a family, and that he meet the girl who he held very important to himself and who's friendship he values deeply. Even if she is not the same person as the last Rin he meet, Hakuno was still very happy to have meet her.
"Sometimes, I don't even know what so say to you." Rin spoke as she walked. The boy confused her sometimes, but she just believes that it's a part of him. "I hope the place you chose doesn't have much people there." the girl said in a somewhat disheartened voice. A lot of people gather in one spot for such an event so finding a place to sit is inposible unless you reserve it really early.
"Don't worry there won't be any people where we are going." the problem is, will a certain type of people be there.
"I'm surprised that you managed to find a place like that. Usually where ever you go it's flooded with people, how did you even manage to find it found a place like that." Rin spoke curiously.
"Dad found it, not me." Hakuno replied.
"Kirei, huh?" Rin whispered, if the priest had something to do with anything the girls mood always fell. That priest always got on Rin's nerves, and mentioning the boy's adoptive father always made her suspect things. "Where is this place, anyway?"
"..." Hakuno was silent for a second. "...Somewhere near the northern district, dad told me that people never gather there, for some reason." Hakuno decided to withhold some information from Rin.
"Really, if there was such a place in Miyama town wouldn't people gather there?" for Rin, it sounds too good to be true.
"Well we just need see if it's true for out selves." Hakuno said as both of the children came out to the crossroad which leads to the different parts of Miyama town. He looked towards the shopping district while still walking, the boy could see that there wasn't much of a crowd there only a few passerby's . "There isn't much people in the shopping district, I rarely see that." the brunette remarked.
"I think everyone went to the gathering spots in Shinto, and all of the places here are taken since yesterday."
"People actually gather at Shinto? It's not even fully rebuild yet." Hakuno sounded surprised.
"Pretty much, if there is an area where the cheery blossoms grow people will gather there. As for Shinto, I think the rebuilding is rushed, it was nothing more than ruined buildings a year ago, but now whoever is in charge is rushing the redevelopment. They won't make it in to a part of a living city, but an artificial city completely unconnected and unrelated to the rest of Fuyuki."
"Yeah, since I pass by the that sight every day, I can tell that Shinto will definitely seem artificial compared to Miyama when the redevelopment is done." Hakuno nodded, agreeing with Rin's statement. He knows the difference between reality and artificiality.
"You actually agree, with me?" Rin was a little surprised. Most people would disagree with her.
"Of course, while I like modern technology and the possibilities it provides, I prefer simple things more."
Artificiality means careful planing, while reality means improvisation. An artificial city will have everything laid out carefully: the buildings, shops, even the trees are carefully laid out by human hands. Like the school in the Moon Cell, it will seem laid out not by nature but by the planing and oversight of someone else. The boy already knew that after the redevelopment, Shinto won't seem as alive as it probably was before the Grail poofed Hakuno in to this world.
Miyama will seem much more natural, compared to the soon to be rebuild Shinto. And even if the amount of modern technology and entertainment will be lacking here, Hakuno will prefer Miyama rather than Shinto for two reasons. The first and most important Rin lives here, and the second is that this district has heart. And the boy knew that Rin will agree with him, since most magus, Rin included, hate technology.
"Well, I'm glad that both of think similarly." the girl said as both of the children were walking through the northern district. The foreign styled house were replaced by traditional Japanese styled ones. Rin looked around. "Where to now?"
"To the end of the district, after walking far enough we'll see it." Hakuno said and started to walk uphill together with Rin.
He really hoped that today would be peaceful, but he knew that it won't turn out that way. It never does.
"Come on Shirou, don't be such a spoil sport. An event like this only happens once a year, and you don't want to go and enjoy it?" Taiga stood up from the dining table with a angry expression.
"Fuji-nee, we already went together last year so there is nothing wrong with skipping this year." said the redhead who was siting across the girl, with annoyance prominent in his voice. "And you don't want to watch whats happening anyway, you just want to stuff your face with as much food as you can." now his voice sounded even more annoyed, Shirou knew what Taiga wanted, you didn't need to be a genius to figure it out.
"Well that's... no excuse for refusing. I won't let you to get off the hook so easily." the high-school girl was determined to get what she wanted. Food.
"You know that dad is leaving, today for another one of his trips. So I want to help him carry his luggage." the redhead replied. He wanted to ask some advice on how should he proceed with his magic, and asking with Taiga around is stupid. Of course he already suspected, that Kiritsugu wouldn't give any straight answer as usual.
"Using Kiritsugu as your excuse is not fair." Taiga pouted. It was true that the man, wasn't in his top condition for quiet some time. It was strange that a year ago he was feeling much better, and then his condition suddenly become worse. But Emiya Kiritsugu still stubbornly continued continues to go on his trips.
"Dad needs help so there's no way that I'm going to leave him alone. And can't you wait till diner, you won't die just because you skipped a single meal." Shirou crossed his arms and looked as if he's scolding a child. Sometimes he didn't know who was the adult, Taiga or him.
"No, that too long, I can't believe that your going to let me starve. You are going to turn in to a bad person and disappoint Kiritsugu if you don't feed me!" Taiga tried to move the boy by speaking dramatically, of course to Shirou the sight seemed stupid rather than dramatical.
"I'm still not feeding you till diner." he replied coldly. He expected for the soon to be woman react calmly and maturely. But...
"...sniff."
"Um, Fuji-nee-" the boy didn't get to finish his sentence, as the girl ran away leaving a trail of tears and a loud scream.
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, Shirou you meanie!" the scream was so loud that the whole neighborhood could hear it. Shirou didn't take that action seriously, that was another of Taigas dramatics. But he still was sweetening a little. Because that reaction was definitely unexpected. Then there was a sound of the doors being shut.
"There is a more polite way to say no, Shirou." the boy turned his head to the right and saw his father standing in the doorway. He had his usual blank facial expression but there was some amusement in his eyes.
"If you don't act strict around her she will definitely won't stop trying to get whatever she wants." the redhead responded. "Did you hear the conversation we had?"
"Yes, Taiga was so loud that I could even hear her from the shed. ...Don't forget to apologize later." Kiritsugu said and sat near his son.
"Fuji-nee will comeback latter and act like this conversation never happened. So there's no point." he liked Taiga but, sometimes he couldn't help to act this way.
"If you plan to keep that sort of attitude, you won't go far in life. Also you'll have to deal with her by yourself until I come back. " Kiritsugu spoke and Shirou sighted.
"Of course I have to. I just hope that she won't start attacking other people for food. Ugh, I wonder what Hakuno is doing right now."
"..." Hakuno sat on the ground covered by the blue cloth that Rin brought along. The lunchboxes had their lids open and Rin was siting near him. The pink petals were dancing in the wind and the cheery blossoms completely surrounded the place where both the boy and the girl were siting. After going uphill through a slope and walking past a fairly big Japanese styled house, both of them came out to a place that could as a forest of sakura trees. But surprisingly for Hakuno it was..
"...too quiet." the boy whispered.
"Too quiet? Did you expect something else?" Rin heard her friends whisper and asked.
"No it's not that..." he was referring to Rin getting mad because the the land both of them are currently siting on belongs a yakuza group, but the grounds where empty making it impossible for Rin to find that out. Since the girl was calm, Hakuno's thoughts shifted on to another question.
Why wasn't there any stereotypical looking men in suits with katanas around here in the first place?
"I'm actually surprised that Kirei managed to find a place like this. There isn't even a single person besides us." Rin said with a surprised tone. When Rin heard that the priest was the one who found this place, she was a little skeptical about
how peaceful it would be, but looks like everything just fine. She still hate Kirei though. "But why isn't there anyone besides us here?"
"That's a good question." Hakuno had the answer but decided to keep quiet and just reached for the dumplings that Rin made. There were four lunchboxes, two of them were filled with Chinese food that Rin made while the others were made by Hakuno and were filled with food from various countries. Rin was drinking the tea from the thermos using the top as a cup. "Hmm, this is good." Hakuno said after eating the whole dumpling in one bite. The meat. vegetables, and the dough tasted great. "Your really getting the hang of cooking Chinese."
"Thanks, I never actually liked Chinese food, but after cooking for you, I grew found of it." the girl said and returned to sipping the tea and eating the cookies called kleicha. "But you sure know a various amount dishes. Where did you learned to cook this?" she pointed at the cookies she was eating.
"Oh that, a certain someone demanded that I make something similar to a dish from his country so I made those cookies." he said and reached for another dumpling. Gilgamesh wanted to eat food similar to something during his life, and with his knowledge that the Grail provides him he found out a sweet that originates from Iraq called kleicha. And Hakuno being the only one who could cook he, it become his task to make those cookies. The King of Heroes also gave Hakuno a large amount of money for the 'ingreadients of the finest quality'. And whith his Collector skill Gilgamesh had money just falling into his lap. "So how does it taste?" the boy asked after eating another dumpling. While cooking for Gilgamesh, Hakuno used the ingredients that were used in Iraq like nuts and rose water he also used expensive spices. For, Rin he used just cherry's due to the lack of the huge budget.
"Of course it's tastes great, it seems Goldie has good taste in food." Rin said and took another cookie.
"Umm, why do you call him Goldie?" the boy decided to ask his friend this question. He was guessing that she gave Gilgamesh that nickname because he was blonde, but he wanted to make sure.
"Well he just seems like a person who lives a rich and luxurious live. So Goldie suits him fine." she answered and continued to drink the tea.
"Ah, I see." well, the boy expected something along those lines. Since Gilgamesh needed to hide his true name to not arose suspicion, and calling him Archer was just retarded, both in the priests and his sons opinion, since Rin is aware of the Holy Grail War calling the king, Archer isn't the most smartest choice. And when Rin meet the oldest king for the first time she just called him 'Goldie'. Gilgamesh wasn't amused, but Kirei was so Goldie become Archers new cover up name. Gilgamesh was annoyed, but due to Kirei threatening using command seals he decided to stand the insufferable name. It was also a good thing that Rin didn't ask too many questions about him.
"By the way, where is he from?" well, she could get curios from time to time.
"Iraq." that wasn't fully correct but Hakuno didn't want to go in to detail.
"Hmmm, I didn't know that Kirei had any relatives there." Rin said in a sarcastic tone. The girl used this opportunity to find out the truth about 'Goldie', since she didn't believe the story bout him being a relative of the priest. Of course Hakuno was already prepared for this.
"I guess everyone has family in strange places." was the boy's short response. Rin gave him a annoyed looked, but Hakuno with his chopsticks reached for the Kang Pao chicken made in a traditional Sichuan style.
"Both you and Kirei just love toying with me, don't you."
"That wasn't my intention, it's just that dad doesn't really tell me any details." the boy said and reached for the chicken again.
"Never mind, just forget it." Rin said in a calm tone, she just decided to continue drinking the tea.
"...Please don't get mad."
"I'm not mad at you, it's just that Kirei manages to get on my nerves even without even being near me." the girl said with irritation that was directed at the priest. But other that that she was calm. She also was getting a feeling of deja vu, but ignored it.
The boy sighted, and continued to eat the chicken while watching the sakura petals dancing in the wind. His soul was at peace, probably due to Rin being near him and the fact that the sakura petals reminded him of something, rose petals to be precise. The feeling of nostalgia started to flood Hakuno's soul.
"It's looks beautiful." he said with a smile.
"I guess it is, but it's unusual for you to call something 'beautiful' all of a sudden."
"It is, but I just felt like saying that." he stooped and looked at all the food they brought. "I think we made a bit too much." the boy remarked.
"If there are any left overs left, we'll just eat them later." after a short pause Rin started to talk quietly. "...Hakuno is it just me or are we being watched."
"..." Hakuno didn't answer. Straining his ears he paid attention to any abnormal sound around. Looking around was pointless since there was a lot of trees around, and the petals dancing in the wind didn't help either. Hakuno somehow managed to hear breathing, from somewhere near them. "Hey we know your there so come out right now!" Hakuno let out a shout.
"Eh! H-How did you notice me!?" A voice that sounded familiar to Hakuno, said from behind the children. Turning back both of the children saw as another person walked out from behind the tree. It was a girl dressed in a high-school uniform which both Hakuno and Rin recognized. It was the Homurahara Academy's uniform, both of them sometimes saw other students walking around Miyama in those uniforms. The girl had light brown hair and eyes, and for some reason she looked familiar to Hakuno but he wasn't sure why. The girl in the high-school uniform had a surprised facial expression.
"I think we are supposed to ask the questions here since you were watching us this whole time." Rin said and crossed her arms without standing up.
"Well, I was running back home when I saw you sitting here." she answered with a embarrassed face.
"Why were you watching us and who are you in the first place?" Hakuno asked.
"Me? I'm Taiga Fujimura, and who are you two?"
"...You didn't answer the second question." Rin decided to not let the suspicious person change the question. While Hakuno had a puzzled expression on his face. He wasn't surprised to see Taiga herself since he meet and got by Kirei who was an NPC in the Moon Cell together with Taiga, but instead he was surprised to see in what form she appeared.
"Well, you see... I'm a little hungry so-" she was interrupted by the rumble of her stomach. "Yahahaha." she let out an embarrassed laugh.
"She wants to eat our food." Hakuno stated the obvious while still being in a surprised state.
"..." Rin just stared at Taiga as if what Hakuno told her was a joke, but Taigas next 'statement' proved otherwise.
"Please. Pretty please. Please!" now Taiga sounded desperate.
"...Well, I do feel a little sad for her, maybe we should let her eat with us" Rin turned towards Hakuno as she answered calmly.
"Hey, who are you calling sad?!" now Taiga sounded offended. Rin didn't respond to her, but instead spoke again in a that sounded calm but a little bit more annoyed.
"...something tells me she won't leave until getting what she wants." the boy added.
"Am I being bullied by two kids?" that question Taiga directed at her self.
"..." Hakuno was quiet still surprised at the meeting, but after a few seconds he spoke up. "Well we have too much food so I don't see a problem any problems in sharing. I'm Hakuno by the way, and this is Rin, it's nice to meet you." the boy decided to introduce himself and the girl.
"Nice to meet you too, I never thought that anyone will ever come here." Taiga said as she sat down and started to look on the contents of the lunchboxes. Hakuno quickly grabbed the glass cup warped in plastic wraps with anmitsu in it. He guessed that Taiga will 'attack' the anmitsu sooner or later, so the boy just decided to eat it right now. He took a spoon in the bean paste and started eating.
"Do you know the reason why there is no one is around?" Rin said, since it seemed that Taiga knew something
"Hmmm, I'm not rally sure every year this place is empty even though it's opened for the general public." Taiga answered as she reached for the tteok a class of rice cakes from Korea. Hakuno made them for Gilgamesh once, since the king wanted to eat something new. Taiga was eating the hwajeon variety which meant that it was a flat cake with flower petals on top. Hakuno just quietly ate the anmitsu.
"So you check this place every year?"
"Pretty much, this place does belong to my grandpa so I can't help to come here every year." at this Hakuno stooped eating and looked at his 'former teacher' with a surprised but at the same time confused facial expression.
"Your family owns this place?" he received a nod from Taiga. After processing the new information the boy came to a obvious but ridiculous conclusion. Taiga Fujimura is a English teacher, kendo master, and technically a yakuza. That sounded as ridicules as Gilgamesh suddenly becoming a idol producer and nicknaming himself Golden P-
Then Hakuno got goosebumps all over his back for some reason, he really didn't want to know why. He ignored it and dicided to continue to eat his anmitsu.
"These are some good cakes, and these flowers taste good too." Taiga said as she continued to stuff her face.
"Emmm, some sakura petals feel on the cakes and you were eating them this whole time." as Rin said that the brown-haired girls eyes shoot open, but after few seconds she just continued to chew like nothing happened.
"Well, at least she has a good appetite." Hakuno said after he finished his anmitsu.
"I'm not even sure who's older here anymore." the dark-haired girl said jokingly.
"I am! And it's not my fault that both of you are too mature."
"How can someone be too mature?" Rin mumbled beneath her breath.
"Let's just take that as a compliment." Hakuno said to the dark-haired girl. He had to agree with Taiga about the 'mature' thing. Hakuno has trouble communicating with the other children around his age, the only exceptions being Rin and Shirou. Rin is all around easy to talk with, and she is really mature for her age. As for Emiya Shirou, Hakuno didn't know how to explain it.
"Hmph, you better take that as a compliment." as Taiga said that she reached for the dumplings that Rin made. "Since both of you came here does that mean you live in Miyama?" the oldest one of the three said and started to eat the dumpling.
"I do, but Hakuno lives near Shinto so he has to come here on foot." Rin answered.
"Shinto? I don't come there often, since it was mostly destroyer and all. How is the rebuild by the way?" Taiga turned towards Hakuno and asked as she took another dumpling.
"It's going, I live nearby with my dad and a guardian of sorts, but I don't come to see the progress up close nor do they." the guardian was obviously Gilgamesh, he does seem to go to Shinto from time to time but he never comes back satisfied only disappointed.
"Hmmm, so you come here often."
"Pretty much all day."
"Awwww, that's so adorable." Taiga had a huge smile on her face.
"Wait! What kind of ideas are you getting now?!" for some reason Rin got flustered.
"Noooothing, I'm just hoping that you two will continue to be great friends in the future." she said and reached for another dish.
"I sure hope so." Hakuno whispered to himself.
All of a sudden, Hakuno felt a wave of exhaustion hitting him. He closed his eyes and felt that his head started to drop. The boy used his right hand as leverage to stop his head from falling. He had a feeling that if he won't hold his head he will literally drop to the ground.
"Huh, Hakuno you seem a little bit out of it. Are you feeling all right?" Rin asked asked worriedly. Opening his eyes the boy saw that Rin had a worried look on her face, and while Taiga was chewing an onigiri she seemed surprised at Hakuno's sudden change.
"Just... a little tired, I'll be alright." maybe it was the anmitsu?"
"Maybe you should take a rest you don't seem very 'alright' to me." Taiga added.
""You sure, that you don't have any alternative motives"" both of the children said in unison.
"Of course I don't!" the oldest child said after chewing and her food. "Sheesh, you really don't act like normal children should."
"Ugh, she's right maybe you should take a break. Don't worry if something unexpected happens then I won't hesitate to wake you up."
"Yeah leave the fo- I mean yourself in our hand, and don't worry I'll eat all of the food you made." Taiga said in a happy tone earning a sight from Rin.
"Yeah, you do that." as he said that, Hakuno lied down on the cloth, even though the ground was hard and uncomfortable, the boys hazy conscience already started to drift away.
While Rin kept a worried look on the boy.
Hakuno opened his eyes and motionlessly laid on the huge king sized bed that was clearly meant for two people. The room was dark but the moon light illuminated the shadow and gave a pleasant glow to everything in the room. The young man laid on the bed and just stared out the window. It was night and the moon was shining, Hakuno found it strange that the Moon Cell goes that far to give the feeling of reality giving you a day and night cycle, a food court, and even a church. Of course it did that to observe other humans giving them a sense of normality. But to the brunette it seemed twisted and monstrous considering what kind of event is the Holy Grail War.
The young man raised himself up and sat in the edge of the bed hunched over with his hands resting on his legs still continuing to stair out the window. A few things weighted on his mind, two things to be more precise. The first was something that pressed on his concessions, the death of Shinji Matou. Hakuno Kishinami had taken away a human life, and even though he had every right, to he still felt terrible for doing that. If it was a simple death of a person about his own age then maybe he wouldn't feel so much guilt, but the young man didn't kill a teenager about his own age instead he killed a eight year old boy. The final moments of Shinji Matou were not pleasant, even though this is the first time Hakuno saw anyone die he was sure that some people could find pace in death, but the kids death was as Saber had put 'unsightly' and the young man had to agree on her with that. But that issue wasn't the biggest thing that was on Hakuno's mind, it was ether life or death, continuing to exist or being erased to the abyss, Hakuno already knew his answer. He is determined to fight even in hopeless situations and to never give up, the young man's mind was made up in the land of death, at the moment when he meet his Saber, his sword.
Soft breathing could be heard through the room, and anyone who wold hear it would be able to tell that the voice is beautiful even without hearing it. Hakuno turned his head to his right, towards the small figure slumped in her self-made throne. The woman in the reveling crimson dress was resting peacefully, opposing her usual boisterous behavior she was not moving. Hakuno didn't move and just watched her, she and him were tied together in a way that the young man could not understand, but knew that they suited each other. Every word that Saber said somehow rang out towards Hakuno's soul which was strange considering his amnesia. In his own opinion Hakuno thought that she was stuck with a useless master who weakened her, but she didn't seem to mind it. It was strange to the young man, but he felt happy that she doesn't raise many complains to him and guides her useless master, considering that Hakuno doesn't remember ever being happy, Saber is someone important to him even though he knew her only for a week.
After a staring at his servant for a little, Hakuno stood up and walked towards her. He stood up near her and took her in to a princess carry. She was light which is surprising considering how big and heavy her sword looks. After walking towards the bed Hakuno softly put her down on the opposite side of where he sleeps. He never liked that she slept on that uncomfortable looking throne so he finally had the courage to put her near himself. Hakuno isn't too embarrassed since there is a huge bath in the room, but it's only obstructed thin curtains so the young man could see the silhouette. So Hakuno isn't too embarrassed about sharing a bed, but his still a little embarrassed.
The young man walked to the other side of the bed and laid down on his side of the bed, now there was someone else near him. Hakuno didn't know how the young woman will react after finding out that her master had carried her to rest near right next to him on the king sized bed. Considering her personality she won't get too mad, probably. Maybe the Moon Cell just gave Hakuno a room like this to make him feel uncomfortable.
Even though his body rested, Hakuno's mind was sill working on a question, which it will never solve. Who am I? What is my purpose? Why did I enter in to this war in the first place? This is something Hakuno Kishinami needs to know, he needs a propose, and he need a reason to continue to fight.
But the time to think had ended and the time to rest sat in, puling Hakuno in to the land of sleep. After he wakes up another battlefield will be upon him and his trusted servant.
Hakuno woke up and started to slowly opening his eyes, he was feeling a little woozy after sleeping. He lied for a little while unmoving and tried to remember his dream. The boy wasn't sure if he saw any dreams, but maybe he just forgot about it. Hakuno was staring up in to the sky become orange and the sakura petals were still dancing in the wind, giving him a sense of pace and security. 'Maybe staying like this isn't a bad idea.' he thought to himself and continued to stare at the sky, there was also this nostalgic feeling in his chest but he wasn't sure why.
Then Hakuno realized that he wasn't lying on the solid ground but on something more comfortable. He lifted his eyes up and saw Rin's face, she was looking absentmindedly at the sky. Which means that he was sleeping in her lap this whole time and since the the sun is down Hakuno slept for long. After slightly blushing Hakuno lifted his head from the girls lap and snapped out her out of whatever she was thinking about. The girl looked a little embarrassed, but didn't move from the spot.
"Were you giving me a lap pillow?" Hakuno said his first words after waking up.
"It not what it looks like, it's because you were sleeping on the ground and you seemed discomforted. So I couldn't just leave you like that! She also said, 'see you around'."
"Looks like we will be seeing her around. Thank you for caring for me, Rin." he happily smiled back at the girl. Rin turned away from Hakuno to hide her blush.
"Your welcome, and you slept for a long time." she whispered quietly. "Miss Fujimura ate everything and left hours ago, she also asked me to say 'thank you for the food' for her."
"I see, sorry for falling asleep and making you watch over me all of a sudden. I just-"
"Don't apologize and just help me carry all of this." the girl interrupted the boy and pointed the things that both of the children cried. The lunch boxes were empty and the cloth was covered by sakura petals. 'Taiga really ate everything.' Hakuno thought to himself as he looked at the empty lunchboxes.
"Still, I'm sorry." the boy still apologized and the girl sighted.
"And I said don't apologize, but you still do. Ugh, don't worry about it, maybe your fatigue is finally catching up, since you train both with me and Kirei."
"Shouldn't you take a break as well. You are working hard everyday to live up to your family name, so you deserve to rest much more than I do."
"I am resting, but in a different way." after saying that Rin noticed that Hakuno was staring at her head. "What's wrong."
"Hold still for a second." Hakuno stretched his hand and put it on Rin's head. After making some rustling the girls head sakura petals fell from it. "There was some of them on stuck in your hair."
"Hmm, I didn't even notice." the girl took her own hand and placed on to of her own head to double check if there isn't anything left.
"You did the same for me, so I did the same for you." the boy said. When he woke up, neither his jacket nor shorts had any petals on them. So Hakuno could only guess that Rin didn't let any of the sakura petals to stay for too long.
"Well, I couldn't just leave you like that." Rin said in a perfectly calm tone, but her face was a little red.
"Thank you Rin." the girl got a little bit more reader but it was barely noticeable.
Both of the children stood up and started to gather the things. Like in the morning Rin carries the cloth and the thermos Hakuno caries the now empty lunchboxes. They returned to the road that will lead them back to Miyama.
"Taiga really ate everything, how big is her appetite could even be?" Hakuno was really surprised at the young woman's appetite. He never saw that in the Moon Cell, but the clues that Taiga Fujimura had a huge appetite were always there Hakuno just didn't notice.
"I was surprised too, I never imagined that people could have such a big appetite." Rin said as she walked side by side with Hakuno.
"I can't imagine anyone having a bigger than that." the boy really couldn't imagine. Well, he could but... the less he thought about that clown the better.
"...You must truly love, to squander my time, Hakuno. If you didn't, than you would not have kept me waiting." as the children walked towards Rin's mansion, a voice spoke up. Turning both of their heads towards the voice the children saw Gilgamesh, who had a frown on his face. His hair was spiked as usually, and he was wearing a white coat, a dark shirt, and black pants. Those strange earrings that look like lockets were still hanging on his ears.
"Goldie? What are you doing here?" Rin asked the blonde man before Hakuno could say a word. In response to the nickname, Gilgamesh's eyebrow twitched but that was all.
"I see you still have not learned manners, girl. You still have the nerve to even have a fading thought of that insufferable word."
"You can't blame me, you didn't even tell me your name."
"There is no need, calling me king of kings or your majesty."
"Why should I?" . Hakuno now wondered, does Rin have an incompatibility with the Archer class? Because for some reason both Gilgamesh and Archer from the Moon Cell have some similarities.
He better not tell that to the king directly or something bad is going to happen.
"What are you doing here?" Hakuno spoke up before the situation escalated.
"I have something I want to show you."
"Can't it wait. At least let to carry all of this stuff back to the mansion." Gilgamesh sighted when he heard the boy say that.
"This is not asking, mongrel. But I would suggest that you hurry up, I am not in the best of moods at the current moment." Gilgamesh said quietly, and Hakuno understood that the king must have searched for him, for quiet some time.
He better hurry up or the King of Heroes will truly be in a bad mood, and no one wants that. Hakuno started to walk towards the mansion, Rin followed the boy but not before looking at Gilgamesh with a angry look. 'At the very least the girl has a backbone, unlike my previous master.' Gilgamesh thought to himself ominously as he grinned back at the both of the children.
"How can you even handle him?" Rin asked the boy.
"When you get used to it, he is rather nice to have around." Hakuno said with a small smirk, the girl just gave him a questioning look.
"Sometimes, I don't understand you at all."
Gilgamesh and Hakuno stood near the bridge in the riverside park. The boy was looking at the river or to be more precise, he was looking at the bottom of the river. The park was empty so only the two of them were standing in it.
"Stop wasting time, you will not see anything looking at the river." Gilgamesh said in annoyance. Hakuno turned and faced the servant.
"I know that, but... are you serious about what you said." to the boys response Gilgamesh glared at him and gave a smirk that could be described as unpleasant or threatening. Hakuno only tensed up a bit, and sweet started to roll down his back from the kings gaze. But he did not move or apologize.
"You dare to question me, that is punishable only by death, mongrel." the kind said in a amused voice with venom in it, but there was no actual killing intent in it. "But I shall forgive you for the offense, since you seem to hold your ground well." Hakuno relaxed a little and let out a deep breath.
"So, you want me to retrieve Vimana?" he asked while getting a heavy device from is hard without proper equipment Hakuno didn't want to whine about that issue. Upsetting Gilgamesh isn't a good thing.
"That is up to you." ...what?
"What?" Hakuno was surprised. Did the King of Heroes just give him a choice?
"Hmmm, has your brain finally rotten, or are you just deaf. I told that I'm bestowing it upon you, if your ears are functioning properly than you would have heard what I said." now he was annoyed.
"Your giving it to me?" the boy was surprised and not just a little, but immensely surprised.
"Don't make me repeat myself, mongrel." even more annoyance was present in the golden servants voice, so Hakuno decided to ask another question.
"Why, isn't it your possession?"
"Everything in this world belongs to me, your life is my possession as well and if the whim strikes me I could just end it right here." the boy knew that, Gilgamesh could end both his and Kirei's life's when he wanted but doesn't. So he knew that the statement that the servant just said was just and example. The servant continued. "As for your question why, it simply has no more use to me, and a certain mad dog dirtied it beyond belief taking my wish, of even touching it, away. Be great-full for this gift mongrel. But if you restore it to even the smallest amount of it's former glory at the very least, than maybe it would be something that would suit me, even if it's not worth keeping it in my treasury. But that's only if the fancy getting it back strikes you. Do you understand now, Hakuno?" after the explanation Hakuno understood what Vimana's owner is saying. Gilgamesh was saying, 'if you fix, it maybe then my wish to use it could return, until I get bored of it and throw it in to my treasury.' At least Hakuno thought that Gilgamesh meant that.
"I got it. Thank you for this gift Gilgamesh." Hakuno gave a bow to the golden king.
"Your thanks has no worth but I will accept it... And you seem to have more questions for me. Make it worth my while." Gilgamesh said in a calm voice
"Well, could you tell me about the war." the boy stood up straight and looked Gilgamesh's crimson eyes.
"Hoh, why do you ask such a thing, hasn't Kirei explained everything to you?" now the King of Heroes was a little interested.
"I just... want to hear your opinion on the events of the war." Hakuno said, while Kirei explained how the war works he did not retell much of it's events, the boy wanted to hear the kings side of the story.
"It was unbelievably dull." now Gilgamesh had a disappointed facial expression. "Most of the other servants were nothing but filth that weren't even worth engaging in conversation with. But..." now he started to smirk. "...there were some exceptions."
"Exceptions?"
"Don't overstep your boundaries Hakuno, I gave you an answer. But now I have something to ask you as well." with that Hakuno understood that he won't get any clarifications about the war, for now at least. "How far are you willing to go for your friend?" the boy was quiet for a second.
"By friend, do you mean Rin?" Hakuno asked, since it seems that Gilgamesh was asking something different.
"Not necessary a friend, let's say a important someone, how far are you willing to go for him or her in comparison to others?" now the question made a little more sense, but why is the King of Heroes asking something like that. Hakuno decided not to question, but just to answer.
"...If it's someone important to me, I would hold them as important as my life." Gilgamesh raised his eyebrow. "While every living beings life is important, my own and the people that are important to me are top propriety. I will strive to protect only those who matter to me and the people I love." the young man in the child's body, spoke the similar words to the ones he spoke to Twice. He wanted to say more, but the King of Heroes only asked about how his friend. Hakuno Kotomine spoke everything that he needed. This is the philosophy that the Holy Grail War had placed upon the boys soul. He knows that Saber would agree if she would be around him, Hakuno Kishinami is a greedy and shallow existence that will protect himself and those who are dear to him.
"..." at first Gilgamesh just had his usual frown, but soon it shifted in to a grin. Some people would call the grin scary but Hakuno knew that the servant was satisfied. "Hmmmm, an interesting answer, not many people are able to speak that. And even if they are, you speak the truth while the others give a false sense of bravado. You seemed to wanted to say, but I shall allow you to keep silent." Gilgamesh looked a little bit more refreshed, as if he heard something unexpected. Than his facial expression turned in to a smirk. "Considering that you are not returning back to the church tonight, I shall give you the usual lesson, I will make this quick so strain your ears and listen to every word I say, mongrel." the King of Heroes spoke in a more serious tone, the boy listened. "Don't even try to sacrifice yourself for someone, if you will than you are nothing more than a suicidal fool. You will leave nothing more than grief and pain for others, but if it's someone you hold dear than proceed with your judgment." Gilgamesh then paused, for some reason he felt like he wasn't as composed as usual, so he decided to change the issue. Maybe what his masters son said got to him a little "My point is this, do not throw your life senselessly. If someone even dares to waste it away the reason of 'protecting everyone', they do not understand anything. If you want to see the persons you treasure continue living with happiness, don't throw your life away senselessly, remember this Hakuno." the last sentence was said in a sullen tone, which is unusual. But then the kings spoke up again. "It seems you are worthy of our protection, and while the answer could have been more interesting, it still satisfies me nonetheless. Continue to move forward Hakuno Kotomine, and we will be watching." After saying those words, Gilgamesh turned his back to the boy and started to walk away. But before he fully left he said a sentence in a loud voice. " If you don't understand the worth of your own life then you don't understand the worth of others, remember this until the very final day of your meager existence."
Hakuno watched as the king walked towards the bridge. Even though the boy never said this out loud he considers the golden Archer to be a part of the strange family that Hakuno is a part of. And he doesn't want it to be any other way.
The boy turned towards the river. There still was a problem and a huge problems that needs to be solved, but after some time Hakuno just shrugged and started to walk back Rin's. He needed to ask Rin a favor, a stupid favor. Hakuno knows that she will agree to help, but she certainly won't forget about it. Ever.
As for the purple haired girl, he rather leave her to the other child he knows. Maybe the redhead could play 'knight in shining armor' for the purple haired girl.
"Protect only those who are important to me, is what he said. Hmm, not many dare to say that." Gilgamesh muttered as he walked, and raised his face to look at the sky. "...Is that what you have done all that time, my friend?"
"Your an idiot." Rin said as she lied on her bed in the dark. The only thing that illuminated the room was the moon.
After Hakuno returned back to the mansion both him and Rin continued their usual routine. Magic practice, studying the things that are taught in primary school(Hakuno did it purely for cover) so that both of the children could enter middle school, and diner which is usually cooked by Rin. After that both of them got ready for sleep, and since Hakuno stays in the mansion for a sleepover from time to time Kirei bought a futon for the occasion. They sleep in the same room, since Rin thinks it's more fun that way. Hakuno knew that when Rin grows up, she will definitely remember this with embarrassment.
"...I know." Hakuno responded in a apologetic tone while he lied down in the the futon near Rin's bed.
"If you know that, then why do you ask me for such ridiculous favor in the first place? And how do you even know that there is some kind of device that can fly on the bottom of the river."
"Gil-... Goldie told me."
"Him? Why would you just believe him, he could just be messing with you."
"Please Rin, I will even dive in the river and bring some kind of prof. I'm not going to waste your time for nothing."
"Well if you right and there really is something there, I would just feel stupid for refusing without even checking." Rin let a childish side of her influence her words. "But if there is nothing there, than I'm never letting you to do that again." the girl was worried that the boy would catch a cold or maybe something worse. She really didn't want to let that happen.
"Thanks, I don't know what I would do without you." Hakuno said in a happy tone.
"Ugh, I had enough weirdness for one for one day, I'm going to sleep." then there was some shuffling, Hakuno guesses that Rin changed in to a comfortable sleeping pose. Then there was a big yawn "Good night, Hakuno." Rin said in a tired voice. If the boy was right and there really is something on the bottom of the river, then Rin will need to think up a way about how to get that mythical thing from the bottom of the river.
"Good night, Rin." the boy replied and turned his back to the girls bed and closed his eyes. Hakuno hoped that both he and Rin will have good dreams tonight.
Kirei sat in a jet plane. Yes, a jet plane. The fake priest always thought that the Church liked luxury too much. The plane was mostly empty, except the pilot and the only passage there was no one else occupying the transport.
The meeting Kirei was at was a quick one, and considering the subject of the discussion, Kirei felt like the church was in a rush to finish talking with him. The first thing was good news for Kirei really good news. Apparently the Fifth Holy Grail War will begin approximately in 9 or 10 years. While he expected it to start soon, he didn't expect it to start this soon. The preparations he started making for the war won't go to waist, but the only thing the priest needs is for his son to regain the command seals. He also was appointed as the supervisor of the upcoming war, that didn't surprise him in the slightest.
Kirei also took the opportunity and brought up the topic of his new son and suggested making him a member of The Assembly of the Eighth Sacrament. Of course he didn't forget to mention that the boy already started his training and shows much promise. But he kept quiet about the command seals and the boys ability to use magecraft that's not something he needs to tell anyone.
Smirking to himself the priest looked at the seat to his left with a plain silver case on top. The case was pretty big but light, when Kirei took it in his arms he was surprised how light it was, and deducted that the artifact itself is something light.
The second thing they talked about is the master which the Church will secretly support during the war. They chose Rin Tohsaka, unsurprisingly for Kirei. The case contains the catalyst that must be given to the Tohsaka head when she will be chosen as a master. While four of the wars masters are chosen by the grail, the Tohsaka's, Einzberns, and the Makiri's or as they are known now the Matou's are chosen no matter what, so there is no doubt that Rin will become as a master.
But Kirei Kotomine had other plans for the catalyst. The priest had no doubt that his dormer master Tokiomi Tohsaka gave some sort catalyst to Rin, so she will not require the artifact which is currently in Kirei's possession. He intended to give it to his son when the time comes.
Kirei received no information on who the catalyst is supposed to be connected to, the only thing he was told that the catalyst is not strongly connected to the spirit but that this hero is supposed to be someone powerful. Unless Hakuno has a similar mental deposition, personality, or something in common with the hero or villain he will be unable to summon the heroic spirit with the catalyst.
Of course the grail could give Hakuno a hero similar to himself. But that's risky, while its possible that the boy will receive someone strong its also possible for him to receive a weak servant. Kirei wanted to avoid that. After all a father must protect his child.
The priest decided to take a look at the artifact, he knew that it would be impossible for him to understand to who it's connected but he wanted to see what will he need to safeguard until the war begins.
Kirei opened the case and after seeing what's inside he raised an eyebrow, but his smirk was still present. After staring at the contents of the case he closed it and slumped in to his seat. After a short silence he mumbled to himself.
"It seems I need to inquire about where this was found." after mumbling to himself that the priest returned his gaze on the silver case.
Well here is chapter 3, took me long enough. These childhood chapters are harder to write than I expected, maybe the next chapter will come easier.
The next two chapter is going to be a little different, since Hakuno and Rin will start going to high-school. chapter 4 will be full of simple situations like Kirei, Hakuno, and Gilgamesh going fishing. Or it could be something ridicules like Kirei forcing Hakuno, Rin, Gilgamesh to enter a tournament and compete against other Fate characters for free food. But Kirei will just mess with all of the competitors. The stories will be unconnected and will basically serve to show of Hakuno's other relationships, so anything goes. The 4th Chapter also have some serious parts but only a few moment, since its just Hakuno living his life. Of course if you have an idea on what kind of situation I should write up, leave a suggestion in the comments.
Also for Shirou, both him and Hakuno are acquainted and are friendly towards each-other. But they are nowhere as close as Hakuno is with Rin, since Hakuno knows that Kiritsugu is Shirous father so his cautious around him. Also, due to Hakuno's tinkering, Sakura and Shirou will meet earlier and have a slight relationship change, but it will play out the same as in Fate/StayNight.
Thanks for the favorites, follows, and the reviews.