DISCLAIMER
The following is a fan-based
FICTION
F/SN, F/Z, F/KPI and other products related to the Fate Series are all owned by TYPE-MOON, Kinoko Nasu and Takashi Takeuchi.
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Chapter 4: In the Shadows, the Plotters
It was a quiet evening at the modest-sized house owned by the Emiya family.
It took them years to make it as homely as possible, but the end result pleased Emiya Kiritsugu as it fit with what he had many times envisioned as the ideal family house. Here he was, having happy thoughts while cleaning his guns. The nights were soon going to get intense due to the Holy Grail War, and he had to be ready to assist his children once troubles started.
The Fourth Holy Grail War had been a learning experience for the retired Magus Killer. Also, a horrible one. From what should have been a simple fight since they had King Arthur as their Saber and with Kiritsugu putting his best tactical effort on the matter, the things that came out of 1994 were enough to still bring him to shivers. And to remember the long nights where he couldn't sleep as his bed was constantly empty and cold...
A sigh left his lips, and he stopped for a moment in his weapon-cleaning duty. From his shirt's breast pocket, he retrieved a cigarette's box, then a lighter from his pants' left pocket and he took a smoke break. Something that didn't last long as his lone shift was interrupted by a knock at the office door. He glanced first, pondering on who it could be and... he shrugged.
"Come in."
Rin came through, polite and stiff as usual, the girl looking calm and yet nervous at the current circumstances.
"Father," The girl greeted quietly.
"Rin," He replied with a note of warmth.
Many would think the cold and vicious Kiritsugu had purposely groomed her into a tool. Like it happened with Maiya. But the truth was that the Magus Killer was driven by his wife to take care of the orphaned daughter of the Tohsaka Clan. Rin was just a child- around Shirou's age, yet more fragile due to her loss. Shirou was aided by his amnesia, having little to 'recover' from his trauma, with the girl remembering everything and loathing herself for things she wasn't even connected to.
An act of kindness, just like he used for Shirou, but the girl was not... happy. She was not completely 'whole' too due to her lack of friends and social interactions. She latched on to her brother, dangerously so, but it worked well within what Shirou had in mind to do with this Holy Grail War. Initially, the wish felt too much for Kiritsugu to support- it was none of what he had tried to achieve in the previous competition, but the real issue was the scope of it: to get Illya back.
Considering the circumstances, and the things that Kiritsugu had purposely left unsaid, that wish may as well be within reach already as Illya was the 'replacement' for Irisviel as a Lesser Grail. Still, were they going to send their baby girl on her own to deal with this? Doubtful. Acht may be desperate, but he could tell that the situation would dictate a similar arrangement to the one he pushed on him and Iri. A man would act as the main Master while Illya would work as support and the 'package' to protect.
Which meant there was a high chance they may soon face someone with military experience in that regard. Still, there was a discussion here and now, and he pulled away from his thoughts.
"I suppose dinner is ready?"
"Almost," She replied. "Shirou is close to being done but... I wanted to tell you something rather than wait for lunch. It's about a Master we found at school."
"A Master? I suppose they are students too."
"Yes," Rin replied, her eyes flickering red for a brief moment as her face scrunched in remembrance. "It's the Pendragon Spawn."
...
"Elaborate."
The mere mention of that name 'Pendragon', was enough to make his blood boil. Even though Kiritsugu had no genuine hate for King Arthur, the family that came from him was the source of great hatred from the Magus Killer.
It was because of them that their chance was busted, that Iri got hurt, and that they all had to go through a horrible few years to get the Einzbern woman's condition stabilized and sheltered from potential issues with this new war. It had been enough to keep her safe, alive and stable, but it left her mostly paralyzed and fragile. Too fragile at times due to how quickly she could get 'sick'.
"Artoria Pendragon has a Servant, I can't tell which one, but I can say it is neither an Assassin or a Berserker. Too prim and proper-"
"What color was his hair?"
"Dark brown," She mumbled quickly, causing the man to relax.
At least it wasn't King Arthur himself. That was... relief. To an extent.
"What else can you tell me?" Kiritsugu pressed and Rin was happy to answer that.
"Well, I believe- No, Shirou believes that Artoria may have had a chance to form an alliance already. We believe there's another Master at school, but we couldn't detect who it was."
Three Masters all in Homurahara? That sounded like a good reason to plant some hidden cameras for any suspicious behavior.
"I suppose that's all."
Rin nodded. "That's what we learned today. I think we will learn more in the next few days as Ria is at school."
That was acceptable, yet, while that gave him some confidence, it still left behind a sense of worry towards the girl he was talking to.
"What about you, Rin? Is Ishtar giving you issues?"
The former Tohsaka closed her eyes and sighed. "At times. But it's manageable."
"If it gets too difficult, remember to take the pills."
A nod, the girl grasping something in her pockets, one of which containing the box with the special pills meant to give her greater control over the Divine Spirit that was inhabiting her body.
"I will not forget."
"And... I am proud of you. You and Shirou."
She looked happy, she smiled- she looked like she was when she first hugged Iri. The child in her was the best way to reach her soft side. And that was something Kiritsugu was glad he could still do.
"Thanks, da- father."
"I wouldn't mind 'dad'."
"I would," Rin blurted out, head bowing sheepishly. "I should go. Shirou-"
"Should be done with dinner," Kiritsugu finished, his initial smile quite feeble by now, but still holding as he ceased cleaning his weapons and followed Rin back to the living room.
The next few days were going to be rough, but they could at least take a break from this.
Her first assassination attempt went wrong.
There are many things that would normally make Unug Ninsuna pissed, but this was by far the worst possible. A single order to kill someone as close to a civilian, and her Servant failed to accomplish that task. What really pissed her so horribly was the fact Rasputin was expected to be someone that knew how to murder someone.
Hailing from a family that was centuries old and going even further in existence through the birth of Sumerian Civilization, Ninsuna was a young woman that was resourceful, ambitious, and unwilling to compromise with mistakes. A golden mane of hair showed her in a regal 'crown' that was fitted with a pair of rubies which were her eyes.
Despite her pedigree, the heiress to the Unug Magus Family was known to be quite flamboyant. Wearing a sleeveless tank top jacket and matching short pants, the girl was renowned for her lack of shame in displaying her slim frame, with just a furred jacket providing her warmth during the cold days.
Yet now that forwardness was missing as only irritation persisted. Ninsuna was in a punitive mood, and she knew what to do to get her foolish Servant to be useful for once. Taking over the church from the local observer was easy- surprisingly enough, the man that once was Kotomine Kirei was too much of a husk to stop his same-looking foe.
It was ironic that Rasputin would have taken the appearance of such a foolish mongrel, yet it provided her with what she needed: A suitable base of operations, and a place where to browse on knowledge tied to the Holy Grail. Specifically the summoning functions. It would be a lie to say that Caster would provide her with everything she needed to win the War. As a Support Servant, his capacity to win direct flights was night-impossible. However, his affinity to magic provided her with the means to provide herself another Servant.
It wasn't against the rules, and even if it had been, she would have gone ahead with this idea anyway. With the sealing array prepared, Ninsuna unveiled her ace in the sleeves: a powerful mana battery. The Ungan Clan was known to have endless artifacts tracing back to Uruk's rise to power with Gilgamesh, but they never revealed what they really had. And this battery, which could easily provide an entire community with enough mana power to sustain a magical complex akin to modern cities, was meant to last for a millennia or two.
As a substitute to the mana source provided by a Master's body, it was perfect and it would give her second Servant with enough energy to use their Noble Phantasm at their maximum efficiency. Her current hope? That the item she was going to use would have summoned Gilgamesh, her ancestor. It had worked in the previous War at the expense of the foolish Tohsaka Clan, so it should be doable for her to accomplish the same but actually win through this.
"You could have dusted around," Ninsuna scowled as she placed down the archaic battery beside the summoning circle, gaining just a tired sigh from the priestly Servant.
"My humblest apology, Master. I was too busy getting a proper living quarters set for your current stay," Rasputin replied, almost minimizing the fact that stains of blood were still visible lingering by some of the church's benches.
A disgusting sight to be introduced to, especially for the filthy smell to that scum's blood.
Nonetheless, her mood persisted as she started the chant, preparing the right rite as she knew she had to alter a few sentences to favor the use of the different battery. The session was long-winded but the end result was expected to make it all worth it. Soon the circle glowed, sparkles of mana emerged and a familiar flash of light erupted as a figure soon appeared before them together with a pair of new marks now framing by her unblemished left hand.
...
That's not Gilgamesh.
That much was easy to confirm. The Archer Servant she just summoned looked like an elementary-school girl. Quite petite, young, pink-hair tanned skin, yellow eyes and... a particular outfit that made her scowl. It was so hideous that she was tempted to offer her one of her least favorite dresses just to cover that hideous attempt at fashion.
Still, the woman's red eyes narrowed at this development: How and why did this happen? That should have given her straight access to the Babylonian Hero-King, and yet what the summoning gave her as a little child in a risky outfit and that barely looked powerful. The Archer barely looked aware of what was going on inside her Master's head, preferring to just smile at her.
"Hello! Are you my Master?"
Why didn't she get Gilgamesh? Ninsuna was frustrated as this would have been decisive for her win and... it was all ruined. Could she get a refund? She doubted that.
"Ohi, I asked you something! Are you my Master or what?" The pinkette whined, then pointing her finger at Rasputin. "Because I will say no and go back home if that old creep is my Master."
At least we agree on something.
"I am your Master, but I was planning to summon someone greater than a mere child."
The response she got further irked her as the little Archer bowed 'respectfully'. "My apologies, I didn't mean to ruin your chances for a husbando."
Curious that a child her age even knew what that was.
"Duly rejected, brat. Yet, I suppose you shall do."
"Hey, my name is not 'Brat'. I am Kuro."
...What a frustrating brat.
AN
A glimpse on who are some of the other contenders. To summarize a few things: 1) Kiritsugu and Iri are both alive, but where KIritsugu is fine but old, Iri is bedridden because of the 'failed' Holy Grail War in 1994. They blame Uther Pendragon for their current plights; 2) Unug Ninsuna is the current Master of Caster and Archer... or maybe this Archer is not a 'legitimate one'. Ninsuna's presence here is somewhat similar to Gilgamesh's wish for the grail, with her goal being somewhat more noble as entrenched in a sense of rigorous morality to do the 'right thing' by her family's means.
One thing I should also mention is that Ishtar is not complete as Rin has more control over her at the expense of the power available to her. Her stats will thus suffer a debuff in this Holy Grail War.
P.S. I now have a discord server! Discord .gg/ceBMM2Zz6c