The press conference had gone as expected. The public didn't really care about the illegal pistol used in the killing of Uryuu Ryuunouske; they were more focused on the discovery of the many small corpses and the unconscious missing children in that dark sewer.
Since we kept our illegal dealings on the cold stuff and with low frequency, the public called us honorable and just, and were willing to forgive all minor crimes. Of course, the police know better, they made themselves be the obstacle in our path. They want us to give someone out to be taken to prison at least, so no one else would get any idea about committing any more vigilante killings using fire-arms.
The Boss had decided on a young member in our rank, joined a year ago. The Boss sat beside him along with his underbosses during the press conference. On the table was an old wartime 1911, presented as the pistol used in the job. The young man put on a great act, confessed to it all with a mighty air out of his lungs.
For the killing of Uryuu Ryuunosuke, no one is going to be mad at him for it. Those that do are perverts just like Uryuu. But for illegal possession of a fire-arm, he will be away for a year at least.
With the public and police satisfied, our image has gone from street gang to honorable men and the police left us alone once again.
I celebrated our victory with my captain and underboss in a well-deserved lunch. Towards the end, my underboss gave an envelope and said: "Here's the money for the thing. Now, I'm a busy man as you might know, and I must get going. So can you pay for everything with what's in the envelope? Thanks."
"Sure," I said. They excused themselves and left me with not even a pistol worth of money after I've paid for everything. This is par for the course. But that doesn't matter; my business right now is the Holy Grail War. So I took one of many pistols hid under the tatami in our house β a Browning Hi-power, one of these is sixty-thousand.
First place to be: The Fuyuki church. I've heard of this Holy Grail before, only bits and pieces of it. But from what I can gather from whenever I heard about it before last night, it seems to have ties with Christianity.
At the altar of the Fuyuki church, a priest greeted me with a warm smile.
"I didn't expect any visitors today. What can I help you with?" He said.
I approached him until we were two seat rows apart.
"I just want to ask you about something," I said.
"If there's any worry I can lift off your shoulders then I'll do so gladly," he smiled gently.
"Well, do you know anything about a Holy Grail War involving Servants and Masters?"
The priest still kept his gentle smile, said: "You're either a non-magus or an ill-informed magus if you're asking me that question. Which is it?"
"The second one," I said.
"Then I don't suppose you're capable of any magecrafts?"
I rolled down the sleeve on my left arm. Extended my switchblade and cut a line down the back of my forearm. The wound bleeds red for a second before stopping, the wound has been closed but the blood is still on my forearm, leaving them to drag down towards my elbow where it drips on the floor.
Cleaning the blood off my arm, I said: "Convinced?"
An amused smirk replaced the priest's smile; it's as if what I did was child's play. "So what is your name, my son? I am Kotomine Risei, overseer of this Holy Grail War."
"Yuki Makoto," I said. "Shall we take a seat?" I gestured towards the wooden bench to my right.
"Of course," father Risei took the seat and I sat next to him.
The air lightens, I felt comfortable to be around him. As an overseer of this War, he must be neutral and his only jobs are to make sure everything turns out well and that the Holy Grail would fall into the hand of the winner.
"You're an overseer of this conflict," I said. "That means you have authority over the seven participants. Who gave you this authority?"
"You already know the amount of participants in this War?"
"I had a talk with a participant last night."
"Interesting, are they your employer?"
"No, they are Caster. My employer wants him dead, and my employer is no magus."
A short silence befell us as father Risei gave me an odd look. I continue:
"My boss is a rather crooked man, you see. He can't let a good tragedy go to waste. He figured that putting a stop to the killings this past month would improve our image. So he put us on the job and I just so happen to be caught up in this Holy Grail War after finding out where Caster and his Master β Uryuu Ryuunosuke were."
"And your boss is�"
"He's just a normal criminal looking to exploit a tragedy. Don't worry about him; he doesn't know anything about this Grail War."
"How does a magus like you get involved with a group such as that?"
"I was down on my luck, let's leave it at that."
"So are you here to gain more information about the War so that you can better participate in it?"
"Well, I will get involved."
"Is it for prestige? Or perhaps you wish to restore your magus line back to its former glory?"
Former glory... right, I can see why he'd make that assumption. A proper magus probably wouldn't choose to work for the people I'm under employed.
"I want no such things", I said. "What happened to the children that Caster and his Master kidnapped and the faith of their family was abhorrent. It was absolute moral degeneracy. I need to make sure such event never happens, ever again."
"I can assure you that the crimes committed by those two are not representative of the integrity and virtue of the rest of the Masters and Servants. I must also ask, how did you kill Caster? I thought that it was beyond impossible for a mere human to be able to kill a Servant."
"Well, before I answer that. As an overseer, do you have a method that lets you keep track of all the Servants in the War?"
"Yes, I do. It's called the spirit board. The spirit board keeps tracks of not only the number of Servants present but also their attributes and class."
"Okay. So to answer your question, I guess you can say what I have is a powerful familiar. Powerful enough to rival a Servant, or at least buy me enough time to run away."
The priest snorted a small laughter, "What does this familiar looks like?"
"Bronze skin, bronze wing, three meters tall, male humanoid wielding a spear," I said.
Father Risei hummed and nodded to himself.
"So back to my question, why do you have authority over these participants of the Holy Grail War?"
"It's because I'm a man of the Holy Church," Risei answered. "Anything that involves a holy relic or a suspected holy relic falls in our interest."
"So you can safeguard them from the wrong hands?"
"Correct," father Risei nodded.
"Then why have a war at all? Why not take it by force?"
"Because this Holy Grail is not the Grail of the Son of God, rather this Grail is the construct of the three families who are also participating in this war. Being a participator, they and four others have now in their palm a powerful Servant, so it wouldn't be wise to just take it. Another reason is because the Holy Grail is currently nonexistent. It would only appear when it has amassed enough energy from the downed Servants in the war."
"The three families, who are they?"
"They are the Tohsakas, Einzberns and Matous."
"If you can just say their names to me while we're in a war in which I assume that hiding ones identity is a key to survival, then can you tell me their locations as well?"
"No, that's for you to find out."
"Well, you should. I'm going to set things right in this Grail War and you should help me."
"Help you against all the Masters and their Servants? No, Yuki. You're on your own. And how are you going to set things right in this Grail War?"
"I'll have a talk with each one of the Masters; if their wish is morally just then I will spare their life but take the life of the Servant. If it's the opposite, then I will kill them both."
"You want to decide who gets the Grail?"
"I don't want anybody to get the Grail; I want to put it away. This wishing device is too bloody to setup, seven Masters, seven Servants, six must die or forfeit the fight, and six must die once again. It would do everybody a favor to get rid of such a thing."
"Wanting to remove what must be a great hope and dream to some people, hopes and dreams that they are ready to go to battle for, yet you wouldn't kill them if they're morally just, why?" Father Risei asked, his tone was not judging but it was simple curiosity.
"Answer's in your question: they're morally just." I said.
"Even if they stand in your way and make all effort to stop you?"
"I will only kill those that deserve it."
"Humph, you have to be too sure of your own abilities to be able to think that such things are possible in war."
"I don't have to be too sure of anything when my familiars are at the level of a Servant."
Father Risei cracked a smirk, I'm unsure if he's amused or was he mocking me. "The Tohsakas has a resident in Miyama district. As a magus, it shouldn't be hard for you to find them. I must say that the Tohsakas are the only one of three families to be still on the right path. The other two had gone astray."
"Maybe I can talk to them as well."
"That is unnecessary those two families won't help you in the slightest. The head of the Matous is now only a crooked corpse looking to extend its existence on this plane. And the Einzberns have no interest in fulfilling the original righteous goal of this conflict; they have all forgotten their wish for a better world."
"And the Tohsakas doesn't?" I made my disbelief clear.
"Find and talk to Tohsaka, you will see it for yourself. I will send word to him that you're arriving."
"Are you trapping me father? Sending me to a man who'll no doubt disagree with my plan for the Holy Grail. You have no subtlety."
Father Risei gently shook his head. "No, you're wrong my son. Go to Tohsaka, you will see his good heart for yourself. The Holy Grail was constructed by his ancestor and the ancestor of the Einzberns and Matous as a means to bring forth a better world, but somewhere along the way, the other two families went astray. Go to him, go to Tohsaka. You will see no better man to support in this War."
His sincerity shows, he speaks with urgency as if I don't help Tohsaka then terrible things occur. I stood up and offered the priest to shake my hand, he took it. "Well, I can take it from here by myself."
"Don't be too sure of that, there are still the other two magi you don't know about." Father Risei said.
"Two?"
"Oh, you don't know. Assassin was killed already."
"Right, I won't make the same mistake he made. I will win this."
"Don't be too confident. Strength and magecrafts are not enough to win a war."
"Dread not father, I have more than just strength and magecrafts. I have faith in God."
A great mansion in the Miyama district ticked me off with its strange aura. I rattled its gate, making enough noise to annoy anyone inside to come out and greet me. Eventually, somebody did. In a red tuxedo this man strides, with elegance and dignity that of a noble. In his right hand is a staff with a red jewel on its head, which I immediately assumed to be a magic catalyst.
With the gate separating us, he said: "Are you that boy the father sent?"
"Yuki Makoto," I said.
"Tohsaka Tokiomi," he gave a light bow.
Tohsaka opened the gate and turned around, leading us into the mansion's living room. Sitting opposite of each other with a table between us, he said: "I suppose you want to know if I live up to his words?"
"It's part of the reason why I'm here." I replied.
"I can assure you that I do. So far, I've made no violent moves against those that are uninvolved in this conflict. Compare that to the recently deceased Caster and his Master, you can safely say that my violence is nonexistent. All I've done is observe and strategize; I only act when it's completely necessary. No wasted moves, no wasted lives on me."
"That's commendable, but we should talk something else. Father Risei must've told you about my plan haven't he?"
"He did. And I don't like it."
"I didn't expect you to like it."
"Hmm, wouldn't it be better to recruit the person you've deem to be moral on your side? That way β"
"One winner one wishes, right?" I interrupted.
"Not exactly," he composes himself after the rude interruption. "To everybody else, it might seem like it. But the true purpose of the Grail is to reach the Root. Tap into it in order to use its power to create a utopia for us all."
"That sounds impossible."
"If it is impossible, then my heart would shatter. But if it is possible, then we would able to eliminate the idea of impossibility. As a magus, surely you must understand. Despite how ill-informed you are of the world of magi, surely, you must know the desire to discover new knowledge and reach new heights you didn't think you were capable of.
The Root is that kind of wonder. And the Grail is a way to reach it. It grants wishes, of course. But its true purpose is greater than the rest of those Masters would ever know. I'm telling you this now because you seem to possess a familiar capable of killing a Servant, and your desire for peace must surely align with my desire for the Grail. So, will you join me?"
My reply was no and Tohsaka's face became greatly bewildered, as if he was asking me for an explanation. Explanation which I will give:
"It all sounds impossible to me. If what you said were possible, then it must've been done once before, any examples?"
"Unfortunately no," he straightened himself.
"How many times have this war been fought?"
Tohsaka raised his fingers: "Three times."
"So the fourth time is the charm?"
"Have more faith. This system was created by the brilliant minds of us three's ancestors of the Tohsaka, Einzbern and Matou. It just hasn't been activated properly yet. Once it does, you'll see."
"What's your estimation that it would activate at all?"
"If you'd help, then it's a pretty high chance. I can do without your help, though it'd require me to be more subtle so it'll take me a longer time."
"You're confident that you'll win?"
"I must win. It's what I prepared myself for. "
I made to think, but before I can get anywhere, Tohsaka said:
"So will you help me then?"
"Where's your Servant?" I said.
"You don't have to worry about him. He's no sadistic monster like that Caster. I assure you."
It was all right to me. He had spoken with careful enthusiasm and cold hope that I'm tempted to be convinced.
"So, what do you say?" Tohsaka hunched forward to read my reaction.
"I'd say I'm comfortable enough with you to leave you be. But not so sure about your Servant, why isn't he here? I felt no presence of higher beings of magical energy around."
"He does what he pleases. I can't call him to come here to meet you even if I try. He would perceive it as slight against his pride."
"He's your Servant, not the other way around."
Tohsaka gave a weak laugh. "Servants are unlike familiars. With familiars, the Master is more powerful and has total control over the behavior of their familiars. Servants though, are more powerful than their Master, and the Master can only partially control the Servants through command seals. Command seals which the Master only have three. So it is in the Master's best interest to get along as well as possible with his Servant."
"I see."
My knowledge of him is now enough for me to strike a judgment. I won't kill him, not yet anyway. When the time comes that he is tempted by the angel on his left shoulder, I'll strike him down. He lives for now.
"Thank you for your time," I said.
We shook hands and he asked again about my decision. I told him no.
"Can you point me to the directions of the Matous?"
Author's note: This chapter took longer than I'd like because I kept getting frustrated once I reached the point of realization that all this chapter can be is exposition dump and I don't want each chapter to be beyond four thousand words. Makoto really had no reason to kill Tohsaka and having him getting rid of Archer this soon is not only going to take me longer to write but I also don't think Archer would stick around during daytime when the place has no need for guards, Archer does as Archer pleases.
So far, there're only some crime elements in this story. And there will continue to be only some crime elements as I think you're here for the Grail War and not street mob politics. The crime elements will only be in use to get Makoto more and better guns, because why hasn't anybody done this yet?
Another reason this took longer than I'd like is because this is supposed to be the third chapter and not the second. The second chapter is supposed to break away from Makoto's perspective and onto Tohsaka and the father and son Kotomines. The chapter was supposed to be about their discussion on what to do with Makoto after Assassin had reported to Kirei. This was scrapped because I decided to have the story to be Makoto focused instead.
See you next chapter.
