Hey hey! New update! I'm really fired up about this fic. And the chapter turned out to be a lot longer than I expected. Whelp :D

Also, I wanted to give a shout-out to Kono and Christy, who are both really great for supporting and cheering me on in the background while I write about this. Anyways, onto the next chapter.

-::fate/INVERSION::-

-:Chapter IV – Strength in Character:-

"Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name…" a single man chanted, cradling a leather bond book in one hand, his other arm behind his back. Dull eyes looking down as his mouth slowly spoke the words inscribed on the pages before him.

"Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us." His dark clothes, a priest's attire, fluttered against his form as his legs moved with casual and precise steps. His eyes never left the book, his stride never slowing as he trekked past the empty pews.

The morning sun spilled through the towering windows, the dark walls returning to their marble white splendor. "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever—"

"Amen." The man stopped, clicking his heels together and closed the book. A twisted, hollow grin was on his lips, his empty eyes far-reaching, gazing out and recalling the bloodbath he once partook in. "Let the Holy Grail War begin."

The morning air was almost icy, Shirou noted as he wrapped the scarf tighter around his mouth. He reprimanded himself for not bringing a coat with him, only dressed in his school uniform and a measly scarf that hardly prevented the winter breeze from blowing right through him.

Even worse, ever since he stepped outside his home, he felt something in the pit of his stomach. He couldn't quite place it, but something was… off about today. He racked his brain for possibilities, a test he had forgotten, a promise he had yet to fulfill, something that was, to be frank, a part of his mundane life. Yet this dread didn't seem to fit any of these criteria. It was almost as if he was afraid he might be put in some serious danger, and that thought alone made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

Maybe it has something to do with the recent gas leaks, he mused to himself. Maybe I am actually concerned, unlike what I told Taiga this morning. If so, maybe it would do me some good to be a bit more cautious.

Ironic, in the midst of his thoughts, he didn't notice the young girl in the purple coat, white hair flowing over her shoulders and wide red eyes glittering with a wicked spark.

"You better summon your servant soon, onii-chan, or you're in going to be in big trouble."

Shirou was not expecting such a small voice so close to him, nor, after taking a moment to process what she had said, did he understand the meaning of her words. Whirling around, he only found an empty street, void of activity or even a single life form.

Yet another chill ran down his spine, but he knew he couldn't linger. He had his duties as vice-captain to attend to, and he didn't have time for a child playing a ridiculous game. It wasn't anything he had to be concerned with.

By the time he reached the school, he had brushed the strange little voice out of his mind. The horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach, however, had worsened the moment he set foot on the school grounds. So, he took the time instead to busy himself with stringing his bow for morning practice at the archery dojo. Mitsuzuri was talking with some early arrivals when she turned to Shirou suddenly.

"So, Shirou, about yesterday…" she began, sounding as if she were choosing her wording carefully for once.

Shirou didn't look from his work as he answered her. "What about yesterday?"

"The thing with Matou. You gonna kick him out of the club?"

Shirou sighed as he finished with adjusting the bow. "No, I'm not. After all, I'm only vice-captain. Either you decide to kick him out of the club or he decides to honor his side of the bet and leave willingly. Which, to be honest, he probably won't. Shinji never follows through on these types of things."

Mitsuzuri laughed humorlessly. "Ah, good point. Knowing him, though, he's probably not gonna come to practice for a bit, and then he'll waltz in as if nothing happened." She groaned, tabbing the bottom of her own bow on the wooden floor. "Honestly, Shirou, how were you even friends with this guy? You must've had some kind of tolerance level to deal with his crap."

Shirou shrugged, a whimsical smile working its way on his face. "I dunno myself. I guess I wasn't in my right state of mind." Looking at her for the first time since beginning the conversation, he added, "Although, it's not like Shinji's horrible. Sure, he's hard to deal with and a bit of a drama queen, but the guy does have some standards."

Mitsuzuri snorted ruefully. "Oh? Like picking up only two chicks a day instead of three?"

He laughed in reply. "You know what I mean. Now, come on. Looks like the rest of the club got here." He gestured towards the front, where Sakura and a few others had begun to enter the dojo. Mitsuzuri gave him the stink eye as a reply before playfully sticking her tongue out at him, then switching into Archery Club Leader role in the blink of an eye.

From the corner of his eye, he caught the sight of something red. Turning his head slightly, he noticed Tohsaka Rin making her way up the stairs. Huh, that's the first time she came early to school. Today was truly an odd day.

"Archer, did you sense that?" Rin couldn't shake the horrible chill that ran down her spine. A magic field, or how mages like her knew it as, a bounded field, had somehow been placed on the school.

"Yes, I do." Archer's voice sounded disapproving, as if the mere thought of a bounded field was repulsive. "There is a negative energy in the air. You know what this could mean, don't you?"

Rin didn't want to answer. The air was heavy around her, filled with magecraft that would be used for who knows what. She knew, of course, that because today was the first day of the Holy Grail War, masters like her would be taking measurements to prepare themselves for the battles to come. But to place a bounded field on a school, and one so large and heavy on top of it.

"We'll need to find its source," she thought aloud. "Destroy the sigils holding it together…"

"Still, this is completely reckless of whoever made this." Rin paused in her ramblings when she heard Archer speak. Nodding, she added, "I agree. For a bounded field to be noticed so easily… this was probably made by some third-rate mage."

"A third-rate mage with quite an ambition," Archer countered. "Such a large field could only be conducted by one of the following; a powerful mage or—"

"A Servant." Rin knew where he was going with this. That meant that, unlike her previous opinion that were most certainly no mages in her school, a Master of the Holy Grail War was within their midst. One she had no idea existed.

Shirou managed to push the tension from earlier away as soon as homeroom began. After a rather animated entrance by Taiga, he found out what sort of meeting she had to attend to so earlier in the morning.

According to Taiga, the school board had decided to allow students to be dismissed earlier to help prevent any student from wandering around alone at night. Club activities, in particular, were required to dismiss early for the time being, until they deemed it safe.

Shirou had no idea how Mitsuzuri would take it until he stumbled across her in the hallway right after the last bell rang.

"Emiya, thank god I found you!" she said, slowing down to stand in front of him. "Hey, I hate to ask you this, but I have a huuuuuuge favor!"

He blinked in confusion before responding. "Oh? What is it?"

"Family matters," she said as she held up her phone. "Something happened and I gotta head home right away. Can you do take care of the club activities for me this time?"

Shirou shrugged. "Sure, I don't see why not."

Mitsuzuri clapped her hands, exhaling in relief. "Great! Thanks a lot, Emiya. You're a real life savior! Let me know if Matou shows up and tries to cause crap again!" She cried the last part out as she dashed towards the stairs to the first floor. Shirou let out a chuckle and shook his head.

He wasn't really a life savior. Considering he was the vice-captain and Taiga wasn't going to coming over this particular night, nor did he have any work, he saw no reason to not help out. Things happen, so he merely did what he felt was the responsible choice.

Still, he got accursed of being "too nice of a guy." He did help out the Student Council, mostly by Issei's request, but again, he never really had any reason to turn down those requests. People seemed to confuse the concept of "helping out to be a nice person" with "helping out because it was proper and there didn't exist a reason not to." Oh well, it's not he cared much for how others perceived his actions, even if it got somewhat annoying.

Regardless, he had club activities he now had to handle in Mitsuzuri's place. He better get to it before it gets dark.

"Here it is."

On the roof, far from prying eyes, was one of the sigils. Rin's eyes narrowed, and her knuckles became white as she squeezed her fists tightly. Archer, standing beside her in physical form, whistled lowly. "That's some dangerous magecraft right there."

Part of Rin was relieved that Archer seemed to know what it meant. She hated the idea of saying what this was for aloud.

Whoever this mage was, they were disgusting. They clearly did not care for human life if they were willing to turn innocent bystanders into mana for the servant to use.

Although, it made sense. After all, servants were a type of familiar that could feed off the energy of human souls. Even Archer—

"Hey, Archer…"

"Hmm?" She felt him look at her, but she continued to stare at the ugly symbol on the ground.

"As a human spirit, you have the capability to convert souls and minds into energy, right?" She heard Archer scoff, clicking his tongue in disapproval.

"Yes, I have the capability, but I find your lack of faith in my integrity disturbing." He huffed, sounding almost like… was he pouting? "To think my own master would accuse me of such a barbaric action. I feel as if my very honor has been slighted."

Rin looked towards Archer, seeing him crossing his arms and frowned, faking a look of hurt on his face. She couldn't help it; she began to crack a smile at his ridiculousness. "Ah, I'm sorry, Archer. That was rude of me to think so lowly of you. Will you forgive me?"

Archer made a show to look doubtful, his mirthful eyes, however gave him away. For once she noticed a spark of gold spiraling in the center of his irises. Had he always had heterochromia? She thought she would have noticed, but then again, she had always been distracted by his personality to really note his physical features as anything special.

"I shall think about it," Archer finally stated before a wicked smile appeared on his lips. "In the meantime, you can prove your sincerity by removing that abominable sigil from my sight."

Giggling slightly, Rin turned around. "Alright, alright. I understand, Archer." She began to wonder if summoning him had really been a mistake. He seems a truly kind person, she thought. Even if he has a boorish personality.

She was about to begin working on removing the sigil when, from above her head, she heard a voice, sharp and dangerous.

"Hope you two don't mind I intrude on this lover's quarrel?"