Sup everybody? Hope you've all been well, making the most of life and doing what you want to do instead of what others want for you. Hasn't been that long since my last post. I guess that I simply enjoy writing this story as much as you guys like reading it apparently. I'm glad that so many people enjoyed it and I am happy to continue writing this piece. Thank you for all of the support you guys have given me. The ratings and warnings remain the same and I don't own Fate/Stay Night or Tokyo Ghoul. Disclaimers are so annoying.

ultima-owner: "can change his "face" to a different one and most people will miss the fact it's the same person?" Not really, but close. You do get the idea, though changing faces isn't really what Kaneki's Noble Phantasm does. You'll get a slightly better understanding of it this chapter.

Guest: I can understand why you would think that, but Kaneki wasn't at full strength then. Trust me, he will be a complete beast later in the story.

Enjoy!

Kaneki Ken, now otherwise known as Berserker, took the time to observe his surroundings for the first time since being summoned.

He was in some sort of cellar or more likely a crypt given the smelly chilly air as well as the copious amounts of grime that was lathered all over the stone walls. There even looked to be some kind of parasitic worms on the floor, the pale horrors crawling away to hide in the shadows. Now at the ritual had ended the only source of light were a single lit candle laying in the corner. The morbid atmosphere along with the presence of something dark and malicious registered on his senses, originating from that thing that stood nearby. Berserker simply refused to refer it as a living creature.

He briefly entertained the idea of attacking it even though he had received no order to do so. However it, whatever it was, appeared to be an ally of some sort to his Master so he stayed his hand and retracted the crimson tentacle from behind his back that he had subtly taken out upon being summoned.

For now.

His Master's health took priority.

Information from the Throne of Heroes flowed through Berserker's mind. He found it to be quite a foreign sensation, akin to a mental caress.

Deciding for the most part to ignore the details pertaining to the modern era, the ghoul/human-hybrid instead focused on the revelation of magic, his brain eagerly soaking up every last detail like a sponge. Despite himself, Kaneki couldn't help but feel fascination as he went over the details. Eventually, though, he was forced to take a break and focus on reality when he got to the point of trying to pull out too many details at once. He swore to himself that he would have a further examination at a later date.

Touka had on many occasions accused him of being a complete nerd, although in a teasing manner.

Dry coughing brought Berserker's attention back to his summoner.

Thanks to his new source of knowledge, the Servant understood the significance of the man who was kneeling in front of him.

Walking to the man's side, Berserker knelt until he was level with him and offered him his shoulder. The white haired man looked surprised at the gesture, but accepted it a moment later by wrapping his arm around his shoulder. With ease, the Servant hoisted his Master to his feet. He was quite light.

"My orders, Master?"

He shook his head. "Just a moment."

He turned to the thing. Berserker noticed that there appeared to be some tension between the two, given the seriousness and distrust on his Master's face.

"Remember our deal Zouken. You live up to your end of the bargain and I'll live up to mine."

Ah, so a trade?

The being that apparently had a name snorted in response, throwing back his head and laughing, reminding Berserker of some of the less savoury ghouls that he had encountered in his life. Inwardly, the horrible noise filled him with irritation.

Finally done, Zouken responded.

"A deal is a deal Kariya. Now run along would you? After all, you wouldn't want to keep my granddaughter waiting any longer then she has to. Correct? Now take your Servant and get out of my house."

The now named Kariya scowled, pale lips twisting, but he didn't bother to grace the thing with a response. Instead, he gestured to Berserker. Taking it as a signal, Berserker nodded and slowly made for the exit with his Master in tow.

Roughly one half of an hour later, Berserker carefully deposited Kariya on a simple couch that he had found in the apartment that was apparently going to be their base of operations for the duration of the Grail War. The half-ghoul walked across the room and leaned against the wall. He ran a careful eye over the mediocre decorations. It seemed simple enough to secure. It likely would not take very long. He also noticed the lack of any kind of magical defences except for some basic familiars, but didn't comment on it. There was really nothing much else to take note of.

He already knew some information about the man whose will he would be carrying out.

Matou Kariya seemed to live a rather basic lifestyle and from the various pictures and newspaper clippings that Berserker had seen on the way in made a living as some sort of freelance photographer or journalist. He was solely participating in this conflict for the sake of someone else, uncommon of a magus. He wasn't even a proper one ether, this Berserker knew from the information that he had been provided on magi. Kariya apparently had also quite recently taken on quite a large amount of stress and pain, if the unhealthy colour of his face and hair were any indication.

It would seem that the Grail seemed to be more than 'just good' in making decisions when it came to pairing a Servant with their Master.

Perhaps another test to judge his character?

"Master, if I may ask you, what are our plans for the immediate future?"

Kariya's condition seemed to have improved somewhat. He was more at ease and no longer looked to be ten minutes from death's door, good enough for basic conversation. He was still in pain, obviously, but Berserker could see the steel in his remaining working eye.

The sick man acknowledged the question with a nod. "Scouting for information on the other Servants and Masters at the moment. I know the locations of some and have posted several of my insects to keep watch. There's one Master in particular I want to focus on so he'll be our target once the war begins."

The Servant digested what he been told for a moment. It was a decent strategy. He was no stranger to such tactics, given his time spent with the CCG as Haise.

Preparations were in order, but first-.

"Is your illness going to be a problem? If so, then we'll need to add time for you to rest and recuperate if you wish to win."

Kariya slowly shook his head. "It's not an illness. A p-part of my family's magecraft . . . gives me the mana I need to keep you m-m-manifested," he broke off, a coughing fit overcoming him. Berserker waited patiently. Eventually, the Matou continued once he recovered. "I'm sorry Berserker, but my condition will be a slight hindrance, so could you please dispel for now?"

Underneath his mask, Berserker frowned slightly. Kariya, despite his disfigured body, was obviously a decent person. He had been polite and respectful towards the half-ghoul so far.

Out of the corner of his eye, Berserker noticed a framed, well-kept photograph sitting on a dusty dresser next to the couch. It was comprised of three people standing in an unfamiliar park in front of a pair of swings, one of whom he recognised as Kariya after a moment. The other two occupants were young girls of around four or five years of age. All three were smiling happily.

Something stirred inside the Servant. Berserker dematerialised his mask and eyepatch, watching as Kariya reacted with surprise at the sight of a face much younger than the one that he had seen just a short time ago.

"Kaneki Ken."

"Berserker?"

"My real name." The Servant explained, pointing a black nail index finger at his bare face, a small grin tugging at the edge of his lips. "I do have a wish, but I don't really need the Grail to accomplish it. Thank you, by the way for giving me a chance. Even if I don't need the Grail, I'll help you win Master."

Kariya shifted where he sat, hands stuffed in the pockets of his hoodie, looking confused. He stared hard at his Servant, looking carefully for any signs of deceit. Eventually, the suspicion faded away and was replaced with a grateful smile.

"No need to thank me. Thank you for your kindness Berserker." A small pause. "By the way Berserker, I'm curious. What is it that you want?"

The Servant expression turned neural. Something resembling nostalgia and sadness appearing in his eyes.

"To say goodbye to my loved ones."

Kariya silently admitted to himself that his Servant was continuing to surprise him more and more with every passing moment.

First Berserker had been summoned without the Mad Enhancement, was intelligent and quite well-spoken. Then he had helped Kariya, lending him his body to lean on back at Zouken's. The Servant continued to show what appeared to be genuine concern for his Master's safety, even showing enough trust to decide Kariya worthy enough to know his true name just a mere hour after his summoning.

However, none of it even came close to the last revelation

'He . . . Berserker wants to say goodbye to his loved ones?'

The implications of the previous statement was not lost on Kariya.

"J-Just, how long ago did you die?"

Berserker frowned as his face tightened, his expression becoming a heavy scowl as he turned to look away. Just as Kariya was beginning to think he had asked a question that was too personal, he got a response.

"We passed some advert flyers with dates on our way here. Based on those, my guess is about four or five years. That's the best estimate I can give at the moment."

The sick Matou was floored.

Inside his mind, he felt frustrated when he was unable to come up with anyone that he knew who went by the name Kaneki Ken in Japan. He realised that the Japanese name didn't necessarily mean that his Servant hailed from the country and tried to think any significant heroes from who went by the name. Even after a few moments had passed, Kariya couldn't come up with anyone famous that he knew that went by either name. For some reason though, he still believed Berserker's words.

Still, he intended to look up the name later.

"Master."

Kariya turned his head and saw that Berserker was looking at him again. There was a strange gleam in his eyes.

"If this is Fuyuki City and if my memory is correct, some former contacts of mine do still live here. It might take a few hours to find them, but I'm sure when we do, they'll be more than willing to lend a hand to our cause. The resources that they can offer could provide a valuable answer to your condition."

Kariya blinked.

"Really?"

Berserker nodded.

"How?"

Berserker chuckled.

"Self-replenishment. Ghoul style."

It had taken Berserker almost three hours the night after he had been summoned, but he had found who he was looking for . . . in less time than what he originally thought would take.

The half-ghoul had tracked his target(s) to an abandoned warehouse that resided close to the residential district. In a way it made sense that they would set up shop here. Though there actually was a branch office here in Fuyuki set up by the CCG, it was understaffed meaning that the ghouls here were either few in number or merely stuck to suicide victim spots and morgues. Either way, it would make things much easier. Convincing them that he was Kaneki Ken and to keep their mouths shut about the matter would be a whole other world of trouble.

Thanks to Kariya's admittedly useful familiars, they knew that one of the other founding families, the Tohsakas, had already summoned their Servant. Watching the houses of the three founding families was common sense, so in the end Berserker supposed not staying at the manor was a very wise choice on his Master's part.

They hadn't been able to find any others, but making haste with their plans would be smart, considering they didn't know when the final Servants would arrive on the battlefield. They had already signed up, Kariya having rung the overseer of the war to add himself to the roster of Masters.

Waiting and getting ready was the next step.

Completely unbefitting of his Servant-class, Berserker stealthily stuck to the shadows. Reaching the building, he scaled the wall until he reached a broken window three stories above the ground floor. Jumping inside feet first, the Servant landed almost silently the steel grating rail and observed his dark surroundings. Spying a staircase leading downstairs, he leap down. As he did so, loud, black energy erupted from his body. By the time he had reached the bottom step, the wild mana disappeared to reveal the One-Eyed King.

A recognisable face would help in this situation.

He suddenly sensed movement in the shadows, feeling a hostile presence moments before he saw it.

A gloved fist emerged from the darkness.

Berserker lifted a hand and lazily caught it, flipping the owner over his head. A single kick slammed the attacker into the wall.

He had been the strongest ghoul in existence at the time of his death. Now that he was a Heroic Spirit, he had become even stronger. There wasn't a ghoul alive that could best him.

Two more masked ghouls made their move, one attacking from the front with the other attacking from below.

Berserker dodged as crimson shards erupted from the ground below him, followed shortly after by the shooter himself. The two briefly grappled, the two looking into each other's eyes as the third circled around. Even as brown orbs widened in shock, Berserker easily broke the hold and slammed a closed fist into soft flesh. A ranked strength sent the ghoul flying thirty feet.

The darkness ended, overhead lights springing to life, revealing the arrival of three more ghouls, kagune all drawn.

"Stop!"

The half-ghoul turned to the one who had shouted the order, the one that he had kicked.

The ghoul stared at him, beady, black eyes staring in utter disbelief.

"My King?"

Berserker tilted his head in puzzlement. He knew that voice.

Even as the mask was pulled off, the Servant knew who he would see underneath. A shaven head, save for a black mohawk. Sharp eyes and shrunken cheeks gave the owner's face an aggressive and intimidating appearance.

"Is that really you?"

Just as he remembered Fuka.

Berserker gripped his scarf and pulled it down to his chin, revealing his features. Gasps and exclamations of shock and awe went all around.

"I'm sure you're all extremely confused. I owe you a very long explanation."

Two days later, Kariya watched very closely through Berserker's eyes (or eye as the Servant currently had the other covered by that eyepatch of his) as the half-ghoul scoured the city in spirit form.

The sick Matou wasn't far away, hooded and hidden from public view in a back alley. He rolled the muscles in his working shoulder and sighed, feeling relief coursing through his veins. He was still obviously very far from perfect, but the last time that he had felt this good was probably going back several months when he still had two working arms. The pain was still there, but nowhere near as severe as before. Muted would be a good term to describe the feeling that blocked out most of his discomfort. The Crest Worms were being quite docile at the moment, gnawing on his flesh less than before, all thanks to Berserker's work.

Self-replenishment, Kariya had learned, was a Servant class skill that allowed the user to self-produce their own mana. While Berserker was in possession of the skill, a requirement was the consumption of human and ghoul flesh, considering that he was a ghoul himself.

Another clue to the identity of his Servant.

Ignoring the shock that he had felt at that particular revelation for the moment, Kariya could see the sheer brilliance in his Servant's plan. Whilst the secondary mana source wasn't enough to solely rely on, the energy that Kariya had to feed Berserker was now only a mere third of what he originally would have had to give him. Thanks to the suicide victims that those ghouls had supplied them with, Berserker's body would continue to produce mana to last until the day after tomorrow, more than enough time according to his Servant's subordinate, a ghoul by the name of Fuka.

Kariya had honestly been quite surprised at the sheer loyalty and trust that the leader placed in Berserker, accepting his words without question. Some small part of him wondered what he had done to inspire such devotion in others. Berserker's Master didn't mind the half-ghoul revealing the existence of the Holy Grail War, considering that he had never ever really cared for the rules magi set for themselves since he had not considered himself as one for many years. Even if they tried to turn on them, Kariya was more than confident in his Servant's abilities to take care of it. With the small gang of ghouls gathering food and acting as lookouts in Fuyuki for enemy Masters and Servants, the slight risk was well worth it.

Last night, one of his bug familiars had picked up a disturbance near the Tohsaka estate. Through it's eyes, Kariya had observed a Servant that was unmistakably Assassin sneaking onto the grounds. Assassin had almost completely cleared the bounded field until he had been ambushed and killed by another Servant that was without a doubt Tokiomi's.

Kariya's lip curled at the memory. Even with the golden light almost completely obstructing his vision, he had just been able to make out the man's face, looking down at Assassin's corpse like the Servant of Murder was a lesser being, nothing more than a dirty rat.

A fitting Heroic Spirit for a bastard like Tokiomi.

Berserker's Master had of course been elated at Assassin's death. The Master's Servant, however, had expressed some suspicion surrounding the circumstances regarding the intruder's death. After some thinking, Kariya had seen what Berserker meant. Until they received further proof that Assassin was really dead, they would tread extra carefully.

Which was why Berserker had assigned him a bodyguard.

Kariya shook his head, half amused, the other half mildly irritated at Berserker's final decision. His Servant was behaviour was more akin to that of a mother than a actual Heroic Spirit.

"Something wrong?" asked Fuka, smoking a cigarette with his back to the wall opposite Kariya's.

Kariya made a quick 'be quiet' motion with his hand and went back to watching Berserker's nightly activities.

Not far away from his Master, standing on the edge of the roof belonging to an apartment complex, Berserker could feel the soft, cold winds moving against him even with the mask and bodysuit covering nearly the entirely of his body. He hummed in pleasure at the nice feeling, the odd sensation reminding him of the various joys in life.

Joys that he either hadn't experienced that much when he was alive or hadn't learnt to appreciate fully. His life had always been one of torment and misdirection, losing what little he had, slowly one piece at a time whether it be stability, meaning, home, sanity and so on and so forth. Even the loved ones that he had gained had been torn away from him as fast as they were made, either due to the separation that was death or to the circumstances of the cruel world that they lived in.

Unfortunately for him, his passing had come just mere months after he finally began to appreciate his life.

The world they lived in truly was a cruel one. It was beautiful, without a doubt, but that just added more fuel to the fire.

Fuyuki was a beautiful and peaceful city, it's people making their way home, preparing dinner, tucking in their loved ones. All content and happy.

Completely unaware of the dangers lurking in the shadows that housed much more than just hungry ghouls. In a way, their gullibility was a blessing in disguise.

Berserker was glad that he had been right concerning Fuka and his gang. With a small number of ghouls supplying them with intel and bodies, he was much more comfortable with their chances of winning the Holy Grail. While not particularly close, Berserker had never once doubted Fuka's loyalty to him which was why he had made the risk of approaching him in the first place. Fuka's silence concerning his return and the Grail War was something that was necessary for the time being. As much as Berserker wanted to travel to Tokyo right now, he had a duty to Kariya first. Getting Touka, Hinami, Tsukiyama, Nishiki, Ayato and the others involved in the magi world while the war wasn't finished would be a disaster of epic proportions.

'Just a few days. No more than two weeks at the very most. After that, I can see them again. One last time.'

Berserker tensed when he suddenly felt a foreign mana source, the presence almost painfully obvious as thought it actually wanted to be noticed. Standing on two legs, the materialising Servant's head rotated in it's direction of origin. It only took a few moments for Berserker to narrow down the rough location. Not very far from his current location, two or three kilometres away, give or take.

The docks.

The mana that he could feel was too large to just be a single magus, even for a combined group of magi. It was on par with Berserker's own level of magical power.

That left only one option.

An enemy Servant.

Silence pierced the air, the world's life turning on it's head. The air was quiet, the traffic was quiet, even Berserker's breathing wasn't heard to his own ears.

Familiar energy warped his form, distorting it until he was no longer visible.

After several seconds, the darkness disappeared, taking with it the mask and eyepatch, white hair, black nails and bodysuit.

In their place, stood a plain, yet unnerving face with a pair of round glasses. Red gloves hid his hands and a ptich black suit and overcoat clad his older and more muscular body. Held in his right hand was a suitcase.

The Black Reaper exhaled, breathing in fresh air.

A small smirk made it's way onto his face, clashing with the grey eyes had held no life in them whatsoever.

The Fourth Holy Grail War had finally begun.

Class: Berserker

Master: Matou Kariya

True name: Kaneki Ken

Titles: Eyepatch, Centipede, Black Reaper, One-Eyed King

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Sex: Male

Height/Weight: 170 cm 58 kg

Stats (Eyepatch):

Strength: B (B+)

Endurance: B (B+)

Agility: B+ (B)

Mana: D (D+)

Luck: D (E)

Noble Phantasm: A++

() indicates use of Mad Enhancement.

Class Skills:

Mad Enhancement: E: the signature skill of the Berserker class, raising basic physical parameters in exchange for hindered mental function. If low enough, the user can retain their sanity and enter a temporary madness when they choose to.

Self-Replenishment: C+: allows the user to self-produce and store their own mana inside their body. A requirement for this is the consumption of flesh of humans or ghouls.

Personal Skills:

Battle Continuation: A: a ability that allows for the continuation of combat after sustaining mortal wounds. It will also reduce mortality rate from injury. This skill represents the ability to survive and/or the mentality of one who doesn't know when to give up.

Eye of the Mind (False): C: a natural talent to avoid danger on the basis of an innate sixth sense, intuition, or prescience, where accuracy of instinct has been augmented by experience or by constant exposure to danger.

Mental Pollution: D: due to possessing a distorted mentality, it is highly improbable to come to any sort of understanding with individuals that do not possess an equivalent rank of Mental Pollution. It is also possible to shut out any sort of mental attack, including mental interference Thaumaturgy.

Noble Phantasm:

Unknown: (Support) A++ (something that allows Berserker assume any identity that he has ever been renowned for in his life. Each identity has their separate own stats, class skills and personal skills. Shown to have two identities so far. The more powerful the identity, the higher the mana cost).

Hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. Sorry if it seemed to be a bit on the short side again, but you see I have a bunch of stuff coming up soon so I don't know when I'll be able to write the third chapter of this story. Will be much longer than this one, but will take longer to complete and post up. By the way, if any of you want to message me at any time, than please by all means do so. I wouldn't mind having discussions with some people every now and then. Now onto the final topic: reviews! Shower me with them! Please don't be shy, throw every thought in your head at me!

Have a good week. See you all another time!