Fragments of Heaven's Feel

by Cadarnn

A new Singularity has been detected, where it is possible to watch fragments of real or fictional events as long as a catalyst is used. Cú Chulainn gets excited, uses himself to watch the war where he and the others 6 servants fought (UBW route), but when the fragment starts they quickly realize that maybe is not the right route...

14. enveloping darkness

"Snow! Snow!"

Mash smiled when she saw Ritsuka and the little girls jumping through the streets of Fuyuki City, trying to catch the cotton flakes falling from the black curtain that covered their heads. Every time Mash lifted her head, it was like looking into the bottom of an abyss, wondering what would happen if she had the courage to took her feet off the ground; should her fear a fall towards the sky, to be swallowed by the darkness?

She shouldn't be smiling. She didn't want to be smiling. But she smiled anyway.

If Ritsuka could do it, it was her duty to do it too.

But it was hard. It made her wonder how Ritsuka kept a strong face all the time. Mash was nothing but a pilled of nervousness. Once again her Master had the consciousness stoled and thrown into an unusual Singularity. A precarious routine that would drive anyone insane.

The occasion was more friendly than normal. A whole cinema to be enjoyed.

But that was only the surface.

They had just finished the first fragment of a trilogy that told about another version of the Fifth Holy Grail War.

At first living in the same world as the story being told felt exciting, but any emotion the characters felt, they also felt. Happiness, sadness, frustration, fear, adrenaline. Everything. To a lesser extent, but still there nonetheless.

It was a nightmare.

Things only got worse with the disappearance of some of the servants. Sasaki, Medea and Cú Chulainn were captured before tens of servants, and not a single one of them could do anything.

The reason theorized by those still safe was that the death of the servants in the movie affected their Chaldean's counterparts.

"That's what I thought before Sitonai and the others appeared," El Melloi II had explained. "Now I'm not so sure."

Sitonai, Circe and Jason told that several servants in their viewing room had disappeared as well. None had anything to do with the servants in the movie — except for Medea Lily — but they disappeared just like the trio who, in fact, had some connection.

Saber's situation only made that theory more uncertain. It was clear that the enemy had tried something with her, but it had not succeeded. Was he losing power over them, or was there another reason?

Either way, this was an attack. The Singularity formely seen as peaceful now had an invisible enemy with a lot of power, trying to destroy them in a way they haven't figured out yet.

By the time Mash was walking with other servants through the shopping district in Miyama Town, it had been three days since the first movie had started.

The entirety of the first day was watching the movie and when it ended, the lived Fuyuki City became a ghost town. Shirou and Sakura disappeared; the people, cars, animals and sounds that complemented the background disappeared too; the only things left in that fragment were the city itself and the servants.

Calling the sky a black curtain was not an exaggeration. The clouds, the moon, nothing was there.

The second movie didn't start after the first one ended, so exploring the city dominated the second day. In pairs or groups, everyone searched for the enemy, but found no sign of anyone there.

On the same day, they became even more confused by the enemy's form of attack.

"I bet this asshole will starve us to death in this empty town!" Mordred growled in frustration.

But whoever it was, he or she didn't let them starve. The hollow city held no living thing, but the markets were still as loaded and fresh as if they had been recently stocked.

And, most important, the food wasn't poisoned.

It was because of that mysteriously-existing-food that Mash and few others were "shopping" on the third day.

In the end, they decided to wait for the second movie to start. That specific group was getting everything they would need for lunch and dinner, and the rest was at the Emiya house or walking around Fuyuki.

"So, Sieg, what do you like to eat for dinner?" Martha asked.

Siegfried was surprised by three things at that moment. The first was she calling him "Sieg"; the second was the question itself, to which he had no answer; the third, last and also the most surprising one was Shirou.

Irisviel dropped the bag of food she was carrying on the floor. "Shirou!?"

The group had Ritsuka, Mash, Jack, Nursery, Tamamo, Gareth, Siegfried and Martha. Surprised and confused, everyone followed the boy. There was still no one in the city, it was empty as usual, but where Shirou passed through people who, in theory, would be around him sometimes flashed before their eyes.

"Did the movie start again?" Jack asked. "We're kinda confused."

"I dunno. Maybe?" Gareth replied. "No one felt that tingle thing telling us where to go, right?"

"We weren't split into groups either. Or teleported to another location," Tamamo added. She then sighed. "Well, let's follow him. What else we can do?"

[After a long journey, Shirou finally arrived at the forest on the outskirts of the town.]

"Man, where the hell is he going?" Ritsuka complained, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

"He's already recovered from his injuries?" Mash asked. "At the end of the first movie, he could barely move."

"Maybe the fragment skipped a few days?" Martha said.

"I have a better question." The whole group turned to Irisviel. She was serious and intrigued. "There's only one place in this direction. The Einzbern castle."

One more time, the group was surprised.

Nursery, who was walking beside Shirou, stopped looking at Irisviel when she noticed the boy not walking anymore. "KYAAAAAA!" she screamed when faced with the suddenly unexpected.

[Shirou kept walking, but for some reason, something impressive blocked his way.

"... Hello? Can I ask what you're doing here?"]

"Heracles!?" "Berserker!?" Jason and Sitonai exclaimed at the same time.

"OH MY GOD!" Ritsuka didn't know if she got scared by Illya's servant or her own servants. "Where did you two come from!?"

"We felt his presence!"

[Berserker grunted in response to Shirou's question. Shirou didn't know if that was "yes" or "no".

"... A gatekeeper, I guess... Is it okay if I enter the forest? I need to talk to Illya."]

"So, is Shirou going after Illya!?" Gareth asked, surprised. "Bold move! I'm impressed with his courage!"

"I'm more surprised that Berserker didn't already killed him!" Tamamo said.

[Shirou decided to believe that Berserker's silence was consent for him to pass.

"Okay. I'll be just passing through..." Shirou raised his hands and, slowly, passed along the servant's side.]

Irisviel frowned. As much as it made her happy to see Shirou going after Illya, she didn't believe that he or her daughter already had a relationship strong enough for him to enter the forest so peacefully. Or rather, for him to run into Berserker and not give a damn.

[Berserker roared in response.

"Eeeeeeek!?" Shirou squealed.]

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Nursery, Jack and Gareth hugged each other.

"Shirou!" Mash almost ran to protect the boy, but her brain reminded her that none of that was real.

"He's going to die!" Martha exclaimed in concern.

"Mikon! What Shirou had in mind when he decided to come here!?" Tamamo yelled.

[It was as if Berserker was saying, "Move any further, and I'll send you flying back to Miyama."

"I-I-Is that a 'no', sir? Are you perhaps suggesting that I should just call it a day!?" Shirou stuttered, walking away.

Berserker roared again.]

"Just run, idiot!" Ritsuka complained.

Jason and Sitonai looked at each other.

"I don't think Heracles wants him dead," he said.

"If he wanted, he wouldn't be wasting his time now," she agreed.

["What an uncouth visitor. Coming to a lady's house without an appointment, it's only natural that you'd be turned away... Wait. Why, if it isn't Shirou."]

"Illya!?" Irisviel sighed in relief as she saw the girl emerging from behind Berserker with a smile.

["That's right. Good afternoon, Big Brother! It sure is rare to see you here!" Illya waved her hands energetically.]

"I mean, yes, obviously. Isn't this the first time he's been here?" Ritsuka was confused.

["Hey, Illya! I want to go to the castle for a while, so would you mind telling Berserker to let me pass?"

"Oh, I see. You came so you could visit the castle, not so you could see me." Illya scowled and shrugged. "That's no good. Our house is under construction and is not accepting visitors at this time. You, who does not understand a girl's feelings, please go back home." Illya waved goodbye.]

The group's bafflement and perplexity were intangible.

Shirou talking as if it was normal for him to go to the castle, Illya surprisingly friendly and the castle under construction...? They were waiting for some explanation to come from the heavens.

"Did we skip a movie?" Siegfried broke the silence.

"No ideia..." Ritsuka scratched her head, feeling her brain working harder than it should, trying to understand what the hell was going on.

["Hey, wait. Going to the castle and going to see you means the same thing to me." Shirou tried to bargain.

Illya was surprised to hear that. "... For you, that was well done, but it's still a no-go. There's nothing in the castle, anyways. There's nothing that will benefit you if you come, and there are no clues regarding the Holy Grail War, either."

"That's not true. Your castle is a lot of fun."]

"She mentioned the war! She mentioned the war! So we're seeing the right thing, right?" Gareth asked.

[Illya gave up trying to send Shirou away, knowing he would come back anyway. "But since you insist, I'll prepare a special performace just for you." Her solemn expression suddenly changed to a suspicious-looking grin.

"Heeey, Illya? You're thinking of something naughty again, aren't you?"

"Oh yeah, if I'm going to do that, I have to hurry and get ready. I'll have to clear the forest, make a cliff, then prepare a tank to greet you, and..."]

Ritsuka abandoned the confusion and was satisfied with just amazed. "A tank!? I want to see that!"

Meanwhile, Mash feared for Shirou's life, the terrifying white-hair girl made Berserker the least dangerous being in that forest.

["You see, Illya, I only want to get to the castle, right?"

"Alright, once everything's ready I'll gladly welcome you. For now, enjoy this brief moment of peace." There it was again, the smile of an imp plotting the torment of several souls in peace. "Hehe, prepare yourself, okay? When this is complete, I'm going to rush you off your feet more than you'd ever imagined."

After proclaiming Shirou's death sentence, Illya disappeared into the mist.

"This doesn't look good..."

The giant remained silent.]

"Hah!" Jason chuckled. "Heracles is saying 'Don't lose heart, boy.' Even he is feeling sorry for Shirou. But serious, what's wrong with this girl that he arranged as a Master? She's a pure and faithful troublemaker!"

Sitonai pointed her finger at the back of the captain's neck and blew a small breeze cold enough to freeze a glass of water in a single second.

Hairs all standing on end, Jason cried as he rubbed the back of his neck, trying to create heat.

But nobody cared about that.

"They... disappeared...?" Siegfriend stood still where Shirou and Berserker occupied before, neither was there anymore. The forest just had the Chaldeans. The movie characters simply disappeared, again.

"You're late!" Jeanne Alter complained. "What happened? Did you guys get lost on the way?"

"It pains me to agree with her, but lunch time ended two hours ago!" Artoria Alter was very angry.

The two Alters found the group returning from the forest. Apparently the duo had been looking for them for quite some time.

"Sorry, girls. Something crazy happened while we were shopping. You won't believe this." Ritsuka justified as she continued walking back home.

"Oh, something strange happened back there too," Jeanne said.

"What?" Tamamo let out.

"Two more idiots appeared from nowhere."

---

"Again, I'm really grateful for your help, Lady Atalanta!" Prince of Lanling bowed his head for the twentieth time in the last three hours.

Atalanta was cleary uncomfortable. "Please, I hardly did anything..."

While some servants were getting frustrated with Ritsuka and her group taking so long to come back, she felt new presences in the house and went out to search it.

When she finally found the origin, Atalanta's shock in seeing Yu Mei-Ren lasted as longer as one of the huntress runs when she was serious, because the crazy woman was tying a rope around her neck, on top of a chair, with a empty face and dead eyes, ready to jump.

"I really owe you a debt of gratitude. I only left the room for a few moments and my lady was already ready to try suicide again..." The beautiful boy sighed. He was very tired.

"Let me see if I got this right. After the movie ended, you two were left alone in this house?" El Melloi II asked.

"Yes. I found it strange. A lot of servants disappeared, but in the last scenes our total was still fifteen servants. When Shirou entered the house with Sakura and everything turned off, everyone outside me and my lady was gone..." Prince of Lanling looked as confused as those listening to him.

"We thought the only servants who disappeared were those with some connection to the movie, but we're cleary wrong..." El Melloi II looked at Artoria listening to them in silence.

The King of Knights woke up on the morning of the second day, in good shape. She was a bit tired because of the lack of magical energy, but nothing really serious.

"How strange. Just three were gone by the time Lancer got killed? In my viewing room, a lot of us evaporate just in the first death. When Caster died, a few more go away too."

"And about the scene they saw in the forest?" Jeanne pointed out.

"Run that by me again, Ritsuka."

"We were walking around Miyama Town when Shirou appeared out of nowhere. Of course, we followed him. He tried to reach the Einzbern castle, but Berserker got in his way. And then Illya showed up, super friendly! She didn't let him pass, though."

"Sometimes, we saw some people walking around Shirou, as if it were a mirage," Irisviel completed.

"People popping up must be just a simulation error," Circe replied. "This whole place has as origin magecraft, it's not modern technology or anything like that. I already had this opinion in the previous fragments, but now I'm sure this culprit is some amateur when it comes to magecraft. I don't have a answer to his odd way of attacking us, however I'm sure that we're not the only ones confused about the simulation."

"What do you mean?"

"Just as we're trying to understand this place, I felt the same can be said about our enemy. But I don't have concrete evidences to justify this thought."

"... And how about the scene itself?" Irisviel said. "Did your Shirou went after Illya, Artoria?"

"No," she answered. "I know he tried. But he wasn't alone. Rin was there. Both didn't meet neither Heracles or Illyasviel. By the time they arrived, Gilgamesh was already attacking the castle."

Artoria avoided specifying that Gilgamesh had killed them both, but everyone already knew the end of that story without needing to be told.

"There's nothing too surprising about the strange scene," Emiya said from the kitchen. "The fragment it's already an alternate world to the one Saber and I fought. Nothing prevents these scenes from being from another alternate world."

"He's right," Reines said. "The Shirou you guys know apparently became Rin's boyfriend. And the Shirou from this movie only seems to be interested in Sakura. The one I know isn't Rin's boyfriend, and from what Flat let out from his big mouth, he didn't have any girl in mind either."

"The hell's we s'pose to do then?" Muramasa complained.

"..." Ritsuka crossed her arms. "How about we all leave tomorrow and see if we don't find any more of these random scenes around town?"

"Fragments inside a fragment. Heh, how ironic." Tristan chuckled. "Like shards from a broken mirror."

On the morning of the fourth day, everyone split into groups to explore the city, looking for new scenes. A task who itself was one extraordinary search for the improbable. Hours and hours spent without any result.

When the first scene finally appeared to someone, most groups were already giving up. Fortunately, as soon as the first started, the rest followed obediently.

["Okay, I'm opening it... I'm repeating myself, but don't be too disappointed, Shirou."]

Irisviel felt her throat close when she saw Illya and Shirou leaving the castle. No matter how many times she witnessed those two together, it still felt like one big and unlikely dream.

She had chosen to go back to the forest and then go to Einzbern castle hoping that she would find the continuation of the previous scene there, or at least one starring the siblings. But when she entered the castle, the only one who didn't gave up quickly from finding something there was the woman herself.

The girls Emiya gave up pretty quickly, tired of exploring the castle just to gain nothing from it. Of course, Artoria, who was also there, kept motivating her friend, but Irisviel knew that king was losing hope too.

Gladly, like a wish being granted, when they came back to the courtyard for the second time — the girls ready to go explore others places after that last attempt — a new scene was triggered.

Irisviel didn't know what started the scene and she couldn't care less.

The pitch black above their head became a gray sky, a vision who wasn't inviting, but more comfortable than darkness. At the same time, the siblings' voices reached their ears.

["See, you're disappointed, aren't you? Sella tried her best, but when it's so cold you can't really grow any more flowers than this." Illya voice lacked confidence.]

"I can't believe she lives alone in this castle," Illya said. "It's so big."

"I wish I had one like this..." Kuro pouted. "Man, our room is too small!"

[Shirou and Illya aimless strolled through the courtyard.

"Look! Look, Shirou! There's a little bird on that branch over there! Wouldn't it be nice if she'd build a nest!?"]

Miyu had to admit that she felt a little envious of Illyasviel in those scenes. Although she tried, it was difficult to separate that boy from the brother who raised her and, in her mind, had they spent more time together, she could imagine walking side by side with him like that, having similar conversations.

["Shirou, Shirou! See that budding branch up there? Know what it is?"

"Huh? Ummm, that would be... I wonder what kind it is? I don't think it's walnut, that much I can tell."

"Bzzzzt, wroooong! That is indeed a budding walnut tree! This one is known as a wingnut, and though you'll note its shape is different, it's a member of the walnut family all the same!"]

"I don't see Berserker around this time," Irisviel noted. The girls were closer to the duo, but she and Artoria weren't, they were a bit behind. "I'd like to imagine this is taking place after the war we're watching. And that it's a spoiler that everything is going to end well."

"Maybe it will, Iri. You never know."

["Shoot, is that right? You sure know your trees, Illya."

"Yep, I know all about different kinds of walnut trees. Kiritsugu was such a sneaky guy, I ended up remembering all this too before I knew it."

Shirou was caught off guard. "Kiri...tsugu?"

Illya did noticed his reaction and became a bit more serious. "Kiritsugu means Kiritsugu, duh... Oh, that's right. I shouldn't suddenly bring him up in front of Shirou. The reason I first came here was because I heard about Kiritsugu's son and came to kill him."]

Irisviel chuckled when she heard the complaining about Kiritsugu's lack of honesty.

"I'm serious when I said to not get your hopes up, Iri, but this scene in particular could fit very well in being a sequel to what we've seen so far. Maybe it really is something in the future."

"I'd be happy..."

"I know you would."

[Shirou realized that she didn't make a mistake, but HE did by destroying the good time they were having until now. "Sorry, that didn't come out quite right. I know you didn't mean anything serious."

"Heehee, no need to apologize. I was just as careless. Neither of us handled that very well, so let's forgive and forget." Illya smiled gently. And, then, said smile turned to a provocative one. "And besiiiides, I don't know what to do if you apologize like that... Hehe, you sure are quick to look relieved, aren't you, Big Brother? I'm still sooo upset, after all."]

Kuro laughed softly. Shirou as always was one easy boy to tease.

"In these moments, she reminds me of you, Kuro."

"Illya is right. It's the only part of her I don't like," Miyu completed.

Kuro held back the tears. "It's her best quality!"

["Got it. I'll be more careful. Since I don't want to die just yet, I'll prepare myself so that if you're going to come at me, then I'm ready for you, any time."

From a kind smile to a mischievous smile to, now, a genuine and happy smile. "Okay. Then whenever I feel like being spoiled, I'll come assault you. And no excuses next time."]

Artoria smiled too.

"Are you okay? I know I've asked many times, but..."

"Don't worry about me, Iri. I haven't felt any more danger since I passed out. The event itself doesn't bother me, especially after hearing what you all saw in the Matou house while I was unconscious."

"And about that other thing...?"

"I... don't how to feel about what happened to me in the fragment. I'm just glad that Rider appeared. If Shirou... if he'd died in that scene, I would never forgive myself." Her gaze was a little lost for a few moments. "I take comfort in knowing that Rin and Archer are still alive and well, and I know they'll help Shirou if needed. Archer maybe forced."

Irisviel chuckled.

"But about the scene with two of me... who knows what that could mean..." Artoria sighed. "Fuyuki was on fire in Singularity F and Master's first enemy was a corrupted version of me. I can only hope that nothing like that happens here."

["Ah... But about what you were saying before. What did you mean when you said Kiritsugu was a sneaky guy? Did the old man do something to you, Illya?"

Illya pouted, very very angry. "Yeah, he did! He was really sneaky, so when we went looking for winter buds together, he would count all kinds of walnut trees I'd never even heard of, like wingnuts and platycarya. I only knew what regular walnut trees looked like, so there was no way I could out-count Kiritsugu. But even though he knew all that, he never told me there are other kinds until I noticed myself!"]

"He truly did that!" Irisviel put her hands on her hips, upset. "I kept telling him to stop, but he never listened to me. 'Is that fair to your own daughter?' I said. And he answered 'In battle, everything is fair!' or something like that. In a serious tone! Can you believe it?"

Artoria smiled. "That sounds exactly like what I wouldn't ever expected him to say. Yikes."

The three girls stopped walking ahead of them and turned to look at the king, strangely.

"I'm... trying to speak in more modern terms..." Artoria blushed. "Did I use it wrong?"

"N-No!" Illya waved her arms desperately. "It's just weird to see Your Highness saying these kinda things!"

"I-I understand..."

["Hahaa. You only knew what red walnuts looked like, so you could only count those, but Kiritsugu would count the blue and yellow walnuts, too. That really is totally unfair. How can you hope to win against three to one odds like that? My old man was pretty immature himself."]

"Anyway. Shirou and Illya have a very special relationship. Even in the movie we were watching, only in the scenes with her did I see him acting so relaxed," Artoria said. "Of course, Shirou was very comfortable with Sakura too. But with Illya it's a bit different. I don't know how to explain..."

"Um, was he too serious in your war?" Irisviel asked.

"No, he was not. Shirou mindset maybe is weird for some people, but outside battles and magi world, he's just a ordinary boy. A very good-natured one, though. It's just that when he's with Illya... he's different. What I meant is that I'm seeing a side of him I never saw before."

["I know! And even though Mother knew, she never told me and I had to figure everything out myself."]

Irisviel felt a judgmental glare from Artoria. "In my defense, I didn't mean to destroy a child's innocence!"

"That's just like feeding a child nonsense about Santa Claus only to find out the old man doesn't exist and it's her father giving the presents! The first trauma in a child's lifetime!" Ruby said.

["She even said she was jealous that I got along so well with Kiritsugu. Even though they got along really well themselves and were together all the time."]

"Oh!" Irisviel gasped startling everyone.

"What it is, Iri?" Artoria asked, worried.

"They will talk about me!" She opened a big smile. "Shirou is going to actually talk about me!"

Artoria didn't have a reaction for a few moments until she opened another smile. "I bet he will."

["Hold on. You said that your mother and Kiritsugu were together all the time, but Saber told me that Kiritsugu was living alone. That he left his wife and daughter behind and came here to fight alone."]

"I don't remember my counterpart talking about you at all in the movie," Artoria said.

"Maybe happened off-screen," Illya guessed.

"Why would you say that, Artoria?" Irisviel looked disappointed.

"For the same reason I refrained from mentioning you completely in the movie. These are things I'd rather leave behind and I was sure that Shirou would probably like to know more..."

"I mean, she didn't even want to say her true identity, let alone personal matters," Kuro said.

"Kuro!"

"She's not wrong. I judged that the less he knew the better. If it wasn't for Kirei, I'd probably never opened my mouth about the previous war... although with the eventual appearance of Gilgamesh, I'd have to talk anyway."

["Ahh, that. Like I said, Kiritsugu was a sneaky guy. Certainly, during the previous Holy Grail War, Kiritsugu fought alone without leading Saber. But that's a lie. Kiritsugu brought Mother along with him to Japan, and he was definitely using her in a Master's role, having never really talked to Saber."]

"Serious?" Kuro asked.

"Kind of. He did speak to me, eventually..." Artoria frowned.

The girls decided not to ask any more questions after noticing the atmosphere turning black and heavy around the king. Irisviel just smiled awkwardly.

["But because of that, Mother died. Kiritsugu decided he would fight alone, win alone, and continue on to the next round alone each time. But no way everything going to go that smoothly for him, right? In the end, Kiritsugu could not betray himself. He chose to leave my mother, Irisviel—]

"She said my name to Shirou! She said my name! Hihihi!"

Everyone outside the excited mother just smiled to see her like this.

[—no, both of us behind and fight alone."]

"What?" Artoria frowned.

["So. When Kiritsugu came to Fuyuki, you were left all alone."

"No, that's not it. Even after Kiritsugu left, Mother was always with me."]

This time the one who frowned was Irisviel, confused.

["But the woman who died for Kiritsugu's sake in the fourth war was definitely the same Mother who gave birth to me."]

"... What?" Irisviel's confusion in that moment was more strong and palpable than the cold or the snow falling from the fake sky.

["And furthermore, I think the one who was really all alone wasn't me, but Saber. I said so before, but Kiritsugu and Saber never understood each other right up to the end."]

Illyasviel was right, but Artoria was more worried about Irisviel at that point, she had lost all joy in seeing that interaction. Irisviel's daughter had just spoken about her with some very weird and cold words.

["... I see. So that means Saber was acting independently of Kiritsugu?"

"She'd have had to, wouldn't she? There had to be some times when they worked together, but most of the time they went their separate ways, is what she said."]

The problem with those isolated and random scenes was that Artoria could be watching a conversation about something that had been talked about between the protagonists and she'd had no ideia, or it could simply be a world where the fourth war was completely different.

Knowing herself, Artoria wouldn't go into detail about what happened in her first war to Illyasviel in the middle of a war. So how did Illyasviel know so well about what happened?

["Saber was always really open with me, even knowing that I was Irisviel's child. Oh that Saber, she even thought I was just a standard Einzbern homunculus at first and not Kiritsugu's daughter. Awfully rude of her, don't you think?"]

Artoria had actually thought that and was embarrassed by the fact, but the movie's Artoria seemed to realize it right away during their first meeting. And then, she noticed the way Illyasviel talked about her being open with her... Is she implying that we've been talking? In Artoria's eyes the possibility of her choosing to stay in that world after the war ended was impossible. Maybe that scene really was happening during the war, maybe right at the end of it.

["Come on, Shirou, don't make that face. We can't forget about the past, but we don't have to drag it back out either, right?" Illya smiled gently again. "We are who we are. It's fine if we just go living our way." As though to cheer him up, Illya turned to look straight at Shirou.

"Thank you. I'm really happy to hear you say that... But still, it feels like something doesn't add up. You said something about still feeling unsatisfied before."

"That's another story. There's no changing how things turned out with Kiritsugu, but that doesn't change anything about you, right? Which meeeeans, that chasing after you, Big Brother, is already my life's work!"]

Illya smiled seeing that scene, it reminded her a lot of her own relationship with her brother, but at the same time it made her feel envious of her counterpart's courage, Illyasviel was much more willing to advance on the boy than the magical girl.

["So, now that we've cleared that up, let's talk about something less boring. We finally have time for ourselves, let's use it properly and go play!"

"Alright, then let's go play until the sun sets. Let's see, why don't we head towards the forest?"

"Yeah, let's! And I can teach you all about the different kinds of walnut trees while we do. Even though it's far away, this is still the Einzbern Forest. There's probably more walnut buds than we can count out there!"]

Irisviel stared at the duo of siblings leaving the garden, initiating a search for walnuts that spanned the divide of ten wears. It was like seeing the baton being passed from father to son. She wanted to be more happy, but right now, after hearing weird things from Illyasviel, Irisviel could only use her brain to think about what "Irisviel" was her daughter talking about.

Who was the Irisviel that said all those things? Or better, who took Irisviel form?

Sadly, Irisviel felt that she wouldn't find her answer there.

---

Irisviel's group was the first one to find a scene, the other groups found they shard a bit after, and most about the same time.

The fact that wasn't the enemy making the groups gave them the opportunity to choose the members themselves. Of course, because of this, the groups formed had a good relationship or the same interests. There were no random matchs.

Therefore, when they found a scene to watch, the group consisted only of Round Table members was in the park by the bridge connecting Miyama Town and Shinto.

"Goddamnit!" Mordred threw herself onto one of the benches. "I bet everyone found some scenes to watch, just us that didn't!"

"I wouldn't be so sure about this. It's perfectly possible that others are suffering the same as us," Lancelot answered. "At least I hope so. I would like to see something about our king."

"Yeah..." Gawain sighed.

From the start, the knights had mixed feelings about watching the Fifth Holy Grail War and only got worse when the King of Knights perished before the enemies.

The death itself was a mystery. No one had the certainty about her end, the scene where an Alter-like appeared made them doubtful, but everyone hoped that was, in fact, the end of the King of Knights in those fragments.

If not... maybe death would be better.

To say they weren't fine was the same as pointed out that Mandricardo was shy and be proud of it.

The six knights just wanted to see something nice about Artoria Pendragon for a change.

"It's just me or the sky has color now?" Bedivere asked.

"Now that you said, it's true..." Lancelot said.

It wasn't just the sky that became blue and bright, the weather suddenly was refreshing and the sound of children filled their ears.

"Look!" Gareth jumped like a child. "Shirou! It's Shirou!"

"Oh shit! Where!?" Mordred flew off the bench and looked in every direction that existed.

[Shirou Emiya, holding a bento, was looking for a place to sit. He just wanted a good lunch, but the benches were pretty much all occupied. Still searching, he walked along the riverside.]

"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!"

"Wait for me, Mordred!"

The youngest duo from the knights ran towards the boy without hesitation, the rest just followed in their on pace. There was no really need to hurry, the boy was not that far away.

[The voices of children cheering and the sound of a ball being bounced around reached Shirou. They were on the other side of the row of swaying radiant golden ginkgo trees.

A game of soccer, huh? Yep, did that. Together with Shinji. It was a snowy day, very unusual... Back then, Shinji lost one of his shoes... Well, whatever.]

"Whatever, indeed. Couldn't care less about that dipshit," Mordred said, walking beside the boy. "Soccer, huh? Never played before, but I did see some of you guys running around with a ball."

"It was fun." Bedivere smiled. "Though the name was not soccer or anything like what the sport is these days."

"Do you know a lot about modern sports, Bedi?" Gareth asked, very curious and a bit surprised.

[Having found a nice grassy sport near the playground, Shirou sat down cross-legged. He started eating. Out on the field, four vs. four — eight kids were struggling with the ball.]

"Oh, I have a lot interest in sports actually."" Bedivere was very excited to talk about his modern hobbies. "For example, I love—"

"Wait a minute!" Gawain exclaimed.

"Holy—What the hell, man?" Mordred smacked him on the head, but the gorilla obviously didn't feel it. "Are you trying to scare me or what?"

"Look there! Between the kids!"

[What I thought was a mere child's play is actually looking pretty good. Looks like the attack and defense are well aware of their roles. Despite having an unusual number of players, this isn't just a kid's games, it's more of a mini-match. Shirou then looked at the jeans-clad figure who was cheering. She's really expressing her own joy and sorrow as the match progresses.

The kids seemed to notice it too, feeling awkward whenever they heard her voice. A figure who was definitely not Japanese. The hair was a pretty golden color. A white, slender, girl-like figure—]

"That's... That's..." Lancelot was speechless.

["Alas, so close! Keep on pushing!" Artoria cheered switching between smiles, frowns and sad faces. "Yes, like that! Perfect! Worthy of praise!"]

Tristan's eyes just not opened, but they flew off his head too. "Is that our king!?"

[Artoria was dressed very different from the normal. She had a white shirt, bigger than her, and blue jeans.]

"Why is our king using that boy clothes!?" Lancelot roared.

"What...?" Mordred squinted to be sure of what her father was wearing. "Holy shit, it really is man clothes! HAHAHAHAHA! Holy frickin' shit, she really using his clothes! YOUNG MOTHER, INDEED!"

"There, there. Don't cry, Sir Lancelot! Maybe her dress is just dirty right now!" Gareth tried to help.

"..." But it was too late, Lancelot was already deeply depressed. A woman using the clothes of a man only meant one thing...

[Shirou stood up to wave to Saber, who was completely immersed in the game, but one of the kids stopped the match and turned towards her. The other kids started gathering as well.

"Oh? Is it over already?" Artoria asked, innocently.

"Oh, a woman... Whatever. Big Sister, shut up!" One of the kids said.

As the kids came closer, Saber looked around herself nervously. "By 'Big Sister', do you mean... That is me, correct?"]

Mordred elbowed Gareth in the ribs and then smiled at her. "Wait and see..."

["Not like there's anyone else! We don't care if you watch, but be quiet, would you?"

Several kids voice their agreement.]

"How dare this child speak ill of my king like that, no one has respect in this age!?"

"Impressive. No one from modern days has respect for older people. Even if he didn't know—" Lancelot stopped talking and turned to Mordred. "What are you doing...?"

Mordred started laughing like a madman. "I said, right, Gareth? Man, you're predictable as hell! HAHAHA!"

"He's not wrong, though," Gawain said.

["I apologize for my careless actions. I always happen to see a great number of people cheering on TV. And so I thought I could attempt a little. When a point is scored, like this... A wave started by a mass of people, also quite a spectacle..."]

"Man, that's somethin' I never expected to see. Father embarrassed 'cause of children..."

["I beg your pardon. I will watch quietly from now on..." She bowed her head deeply.

Suddenly, a ball dropped on her lap. And the one who threw it was that very same kid who approached her to complain. "Maybe you want to play with us? Well?"]

"Look, it's a good kid." Gareth smiled. "He noticed how our king was sad."

["... Would that be all right!?" Artoria's eyes were shining.

"Stop that, Geros," said other kid.

"Shut up!" Geros answered. He was the kid who complained and felt sorry for Artoria.

"She's a foreigner."

"You idiot. Where'd you see a Japanese-only team nowadays?"

"Yeah, now that ya say it." A kid with glasses agreed.

"Big Sister, where are you from? France? Germany?" Geros asked.

"England... I am English."

"Ohh!" the kids all let out.

"England? Don't they have soccer as the national sport and stuff? Like sumo in Japan," one of the other kids asked.

"No, they don't. That's, like, Germany or Brazil who did that," other kid replied.]

"If Father really plays with the children I'll have a stroke, I swear!" Mordred couldn't believe that she would see something like that from the King of Knights. Artoria barely used a swimsuit in Chaldea and that was a one-time thing, mostly because Emiya and Irisviel were there too, motivating her. The knights motivated her too, but they overdid it and made Artoria repulsed.

"If I run to some tech store and bring a camera, what's the chances of me losing our king playing soccer?" Gareth asked, uncertain and worried.

Tristan wouldn't lie to the girl. "You'll lose a good portion, I can guarantee it. And I don't think our king would like this to be filmed anyway."

["If you're English, then you must be good at soccer," said the boy with glasses.

"No, that is, I have yet to try it," Saber replied.

"Ya kidding! And you were watching right up there! Are women, like, not supposed to or something?"

"'Socca,' is it? No..." Saber was looking at the ball in her hands. "I was always interested... But with day after day of training, I never had a chance. However, I often watched soldiers amuse themselves with it. I believe I understand the rules a little as well."]

The knights became a little sad when they heard that. As expected, Artoria Pendragon only seemed unhuman outside, in reality she always wanted to experience a more normal life, a dream that she didn't notice until after her became a Heroic Spirit.

["By passing this ball between your allies, you need to deliver it to the goal denoted in the enemy camp, is that correct?" Artoria questioned.

"Right, but everyone knows that."

"Training with soldiers and stuff, who are you, Big Sister? Military?"

"Well, something like that," Artoria replied.

"Ah, an SDF clerk?"

Before long, a representative from each team was chose and, with rock-paper-scissors, was decided which team was going to take the foreign player on. Saber went out onto the field, surrounded by the kids.]

"Bye-bye, young mother!" Mordred said, running to her father.

Shirou decided to stay where he was before and eat his food watching the game. The knights decided to take a closer look, as nobody would see them anyway.

Shortly after the knights left, Shirou finished eating and went to hide in a nearby tree to observe better, but none of them paid attention to the boy, too focused on the king.

["Big Sister, incoming!"

"Not 'Big Sister,' it is 'Saber'!" As Artoria was protesting, her intent gaze was following the ball that was sent high up in front of her.

"Trap!"

"Huh? A trap? Where!?" Artoria asked.

"Block with your body!" Geros said.

"Got it!" Artoria smiled.]

"Father... is... really playing..." Mordred's mouth dropped open in shock.

"And having fun..." Gareth said.

Every knight was shocked by that scene for so many reasons that one would have to sit an entire day to finish hearing all of them.

To start, the game was very awkward because of her. No matter how short Artoria was, she still looked out of place playing alongside kids. So there was one reason.

Another reason was that anyone from ancient or modern time would laugh and don't believe if someone told them about King Arthur playing soccer with children.

And, the most important, also what really mattered to the knights, was that Saber herself paid no notice to how awkward she was in that moment.

She was happy.

[Saber face was shining brightly. Even the kids, feeling the joy, stopped going easy on her and began the real match. The game quickly became a sight worth watching. And the awkwardness died with the king getting used to handling the ball by mimicking the kids' movements.

In a span of a few minutes, her movements changed completely. Even as the ball went outside the field, she casually bring it back into the game.

And even the opposing team could no longer just kick the ball towards the safety zone, their passes were becoming more cautious.]

"That damn kid is managing to keep Father at bay with feints!" Mordred followed the game very attentive.

"Our king is already aware of this strategy. Don't worry, it won't happen again," Bedivere said, smiling.

[Suddenly slowing down, he kicked the ball in a direction entirely different from where he was looking, tricking Saber. What he really meant to do was pass the ball to a nearby teammate.

But Saber saw through the maneuver, she quickly catched up. And, then, the ball was finally hers.]

"Hah!" Mordred laughed. "Suck on this, brat!"

"It seems our king will make a goal now!" Gareth was just as excited as the rest.

[Saber was all alone right in the middle of the enemy field. As if unsure what to do next, she looked back. The response came back as a mix of high-spirited voices.

"It's wide open!"

"Shoot!"

"Okay!" Saber's face suddenly became serious.

Gliding along the grass, she dribbled towards the goal. Saber was now facing the goalkeeper one-on-one. "HA!" And then a straight shot, without a trace of hesitation.

Deeply intimidated, the keeper cowered in fear.]

"Ha! Coward!"

"Poor kid!"

[Grazing the top of his head, the ball hit the top bar, rebounded, and soared high into the sky.

"Awwww..."

"Awesome shot."

"Scaaary."]

"Dammit!" Gawain kicked the grass.

"How sad..." Tristan sighed. "Our king almost made a goal."

"The game is not over yet!" Lancelot encouraged his companions. "Look at her eyes! Our king didn't give up! She'll make an extraordinary goal!"

["As if!"

Struggling to regain the lead, the opposing team came running back and surrounded Saber.

Using her torso and knees as a spring, Saber leaped up in the air, easily over a man's height, and...]

"YES! GO ON, MY KING!"

"She will make a goal!"

"Go, Father, if the kid gets in the way, kick him too!"

"Why is our king taking this game so seriously!? It's just kids!"

[... she grabbed the falling ball.

Her shirt floated in the air as she landed. In front of the dumbfounded kids, Saber throws the ball.

Behind the petrified goalkeeper, the net was shaking. A goal... Sort of.]

"Noooooooo!" Bedivere fell to his knees. "What a sin..."

Lancelot, Gawain and Tristan turned away from their king, embarrassed.

["How about that!?" Saber smiled. Striking a triumphant pose, she turned to face the kids, only to met with blank stares. "So-so?... Oh!" She hurriedly tucked her now messy shirt into her pants. "D-Did you see it? The jeans got a little loose..."]

"So Father doesn't wear a bra..." Mordred whispered.

"Neither do you!" Gareth said.

"Yeah, but ain't the one who dresses like a noble with pretty clothes. Mine is a badass jacket and a good jeans shorts!"

["T-That's not it!"

"As if I could, you idiot."

"I saw it."

Joining in with the kids' reddened cheeks, the palm of Shirou's hand met his face.]

Mordred rubbed her arms after feeling a shiver spreading out in her body. Man, feel young mother from afar is really creepy!

[The kids began explaining Saber's mistake and how soccer should be played. Then, they decided the teams again.

"The numbers do seem different from before. They have five people. We have four, including myself, do we not?" Saber noticed.

"It's a handicap."

"You're worth two people, Big Sister. So it's actually 5 on 5."

"That ain't it. Geros may as well not be here, he doesn't count."

The kids then started teasing Geros saying he was terrible outside the goal, but as goalkeeper he was actually really good.]

"Little shits, how gave 'em the right to bully that kid!" Mordred complained.

"Oh, so you take a like to him?"

"Of course. He's kinda cool. And he likes Father, so we have something in common."

"I wouldn't say they're bullying Geros, but just saying where his forte is. That's a step very important if he wants to grow in soccer!" Gawain said.

["But even then, I am also a beginner. And Geros, you are on the same team—"

"Don't call me Geros!" Saber tried to made the boy feel better, but he interrupted her.]

"Damn, he's angry..." Mordred said.

"Hmmm, wasn't his name Geros?" Gareth asked. "So must be a nickname."

[Having procured the drinks, the kids plop down onto the grass in small groups and took a break.

Saber was kneeling down next to a boy sitting cross-legged. She looked at him several times, remembering that she wasn't using a skirt that day. Carefully checking around her, she timidly tried the cross-legged pose. "How's that?" her satisfied expression seemed to say.]

All the knights chuckled.

["It looks like I used an inappropriate nickname just now. I apologize for being overly familiar," Saber said. "However, is it alright to leave it like this?"

"It's not like I'm mad or anything. Sorry for raising my voice there."]

"See? I like this brat!" Mordred smiled.

"He's not that bad..." Lancelot admitted. "There's still hope for young people."

"You sound like a old man, Sir Lancelot..." Bedivere chuckled.

["Huh? What's his name before that? He said something, didn't he? 'I'll be Gerston from now on,' or stuff."

"Wasn't it Garickson?"

"... Nah, not that." Geros pouted. While scratching his head, the boy said, "See, in Spain, in the Liga Espanola, there's this one awesome striker. Tristan..."

"Ah, that guy!"]

Tristan's eyes widened again.

[Right that moment, Saber's eyes flipped wide open, and her gaze fixated on the boy in front of her.

"W-What now. Stay away."]

Then Tristan became worried. The fact their king was fine and alive made the knights already aware the scene wasn't from the war they saw few days before, but it was still in Fuyuki City and maybe during or, somehow, after the war... so to the Knight of Sorrow that Artoria probably had bad memories about him.

["Tristan."]

Artoria repeated his name and Tristan felt his blood turned to ice.

["Yes?"

"Are you Tristan?"

"Told ya, I'm fine with 'Geros'. It's embarrassing, stop it already."

"A magnificent name, is it not? Tristan. You should definitely have yourself called that!"]

"Dude... are you crying...?" Mordred asked.

"I'm not."

"You are."

"I'm not."

"He's not." Lancelot put a hand on his companion's shoulder.

"He's not." Gawain did the same.

"He definitely is!"

[They started playing the game again and—]

The scene was over before its end. The characters just disappeared.

"What the fuck!?" Mordred screamed. "YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING WITH ME!"

---

Emiya chose to stay in the Emiya's house, he didn't have the slightest interest in finding scenes. Cooking dinner was more important. He knew that it would be necessary countless meals to satisfy the hunger of a whole day walking and looking for something that probably wouldn't even show up. And that was just about one person: Artoria. The rest would need some food too.

Boudica, Tamamo and Martha left as well, so Emiya had only himself to do everything. Raikou wasn't there too, but unlike the rest she had only gone to get some missing ingredients that a certain someone had left behind in shock of seeing Shirou... and no one cared about retrieving these same ingredients.

Emiya had too much work to do for just one person, but at least the house was silent and comfy. Everyone's stupidity multiplied when they were together, like a bunch of kids.

So when someone else joined him in the kitchen, Archer was certainly caught off guard.

Parvati started cutting some vegetables herself, she didn't even ask for permission or greeted him, she just arrived and that was about it. Of course, Emiya remained quiet, but he couldn't deny the curiosity in seeing Parvati there, after avoiding him for a long time.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"You could at least say something..." Parvati sighed. "What a difficult man you are."

Emiya shrugged. "So, why are you here? I thought you were better off far away from me."

"I am. I mean, I was. But now I've a different opinion..." Parvati smiled a bit. "I've lost so many nights just thinking about what I felt for you. You know, when I arrived in Chaldea and saw you for the first time, I felt nothing. But when I decided to participate in your kitchen team, beside you, calling you 'Emiya' and seeing your face so close..." Parvati made a pained expression, just the memory of what she felt that day seemed to hurt. "I never felt so dirty..."

"Dirty?" Emiya asked. He noticed that she stopped cutting the vegetables, probably Parvati had started just as an excuse for them to talk.

"Yes. I love Shiva with all my heart. But in that moment, my heart opened to another man." Parvati bit her lip.

She squeezed the knife so hard that the blade began to crack the chopping board. If Emiya was insensitive. he would take it from her, he didn't have time to go to Miyama Town to get another one, or magical energy to spend projecting one.

"That horrible feeling that rose in my chest made me unfaithful to the man I love. And with each passing day these same feelings only got worse..."

"So, you ran away from our team."

"And so I ran away from your team..." Parvati repeated, disappointed in herself. She became silent after that, mulling over that turbulent time. "I even dared to..." She stopped. Whatever she would say, the goddess saw it as something shameful. "I even dared to... curse the girl... this body... For making me feel this way..."

"And what changed?"

"As someone who loves another person so much, I now understand why I was affected by this body. Sakura has the same strong love for a man that I do... I bet if someone divided my existence as Sitonai and Lady Skadi do with goddesses, that person would have to deal with my love for Shiva too... if he ever show up, of course." Parvati looked at him, a little flushed, and smiled. "I know that all this confusion of mine may seem a bit silly. That I should have come to this conclusion a long time ago, but... only now, after seen how Sakura Matou loves Shirou Emiya, I finally had an answer to the heart I carry as a Heroic Spirit. I will respect her feelings and accept they will continue to exist! But this strong love is hers, not mine. I'm sure of it now! And it will stay like this. It won't affect me anymore!"

Emiya just sighed and closed his eyes, still chopping vegetables. "You made the right call by walking away from me. But you don't have to look back worried about anything. Not once did you look at me with more than confusion. Whatever this body tried to make you feel for me didn't happen, not even close. I'm not Shirou Emiya, the boy she loves. Your loyalty to Shiva was never broken."

"Do you really think so?"

"Yes. I do."

Parvati smiled like a child, proud of herself. And Emiya slightly opened one of his eyes, subtly checking how the goddess was doing.

"I hope you didn't come here just to say your things and leave," Emiya said in a serious tone. "Since your confusion is finally over, I would like a extra pair of hands."

Parvati turned to him, surprised, and then smiled. "The girls are right, you really are a good listener."

"I'm not. Now stop talking. Chop-chop."

Parvati chuckled. "Alright, senpai!"

Emiya cringed upon hearing that. "I thought Sakura's bad side only went to Kama..."

"I have some too!" Parvati had a cute smile on her face. She was much better now.

Emiya hid his smile, but the goddess saw it even if his face had nothing.

"About Kama, she's strange these last—" Emiya started talking, but...

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" A scream interrupted the Archer and alerted the two Heroic Spirits in the kitchen.

A few minutes before the scream, Prince of Lanling decided to go wash his face. A servant didn't need to sleep, but stare at Yu Mei-Ren all the time without doing anything else was making him sleepy.

Since the first movie had ended, the interaction with the world became even more realistic. During the movie, they could only walk through doors as if they were in spiritual form, but now they had to open like a normal door.

And, so, when he opened the door to the bathroom... he found three naked women and an almost-naked Shirou.

"Oh, a new face!" Medb smiled in relief. "It seems we finally joined other servants."

"Hello, cute boy." Shuten smiled and waved.

The queen and the oni were in the bathtub together, each on one side. The two had glasses, drinking and watching something.

That "something" was Shirou almost-naked washing the hair of a completely naked Medusa.

["Alright, I'm gonna start from the scalp," Shirou warned.

"I will leave it to you... nhm..." Medusa let out a soft moan.]

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Prince of Lanling fell behind. "I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to pry, my ladies!"

"How cute." Shuten chuckled.

"Meh, too cute..." Medb lost interest.

"What happened!?" Emiya and Parvati came running from the kitchen.

"Are you well!?" Parvati asked, worried about the boy.

["When I see it in my hands like this, you really do have an amazing amount of hair," Shirou said.

"Indeed, and the weight increases as it absorbs water. Would it be easier to understand if I said it was like having another person clinging to your head?"]

"Oh, new servan—WHAT'S HE DOING!?" Parvati exploded in rage. "Shirou's cheating on Sakura with her own servant!?"

Emiya frowned. What the hell is this?

["Wow, that's surreal. Washing this by yourself would take a while right?"

"Well, yes... I do not mind if you are a bit rougher, by the way. You may also stop midway if your hands gets tired. Since you have to wait for the petrification to wear off."

"Idiot. If I did that we'd both catch colds."]

"EMIYA!" Medb smiled as if she had won the lottery. "Cú was in your room!" She jumped off the bathtub, picking up a towel with the hand that wasn't occupied with the cup. "Where is he? I've to embrace my poor Cú after he suffered such a sad fate in the first movie!"

Lanling closed his eyes when Medb walked past him still adjusting the towel and stopped in front of Emiya.

"No need to hide you eyes, a body like mine should be admired, little prince!"

["I will not catch a cold. As you can see, this body is made differently from a normal human's."

"Uwhaaaa!?"

"That was a joke, my body's appearance is no different from that of a human."

"I-I get it, you don't have to show me."]

"You are really happy, aren't you?" Scáthach voice was heard.

"Circe saw Sakura and Medea acting like sisters in the shopping district," Robin explained. "Weird, but a cute scene, I guess. That's why she's so happy."

"We saw Shirou being bullied by some white-hair girl," Scáthach said.

"Illya?" Artoria asked.

"No."

"She was funny, though," Ritsuka said.

Emiya turned to the direction of the voices and found a bunch of servants there.

[Medusa seemed dissapointed. "Is my body so unsightly?"

"Huh?"

"No, it is nothing. I just thought that as an apology, I would do something to please you."]

"..." Artoria stared at Emiya with a basically-naked Medb glued to him with empty eyes.

"Oh, new servants!" Astolfo celebrated.

"Where!?" Ritsuka emerged from the middle of the big group being formed along with Mash. "Medb!?"

["Are there any places that itch, madam?"

"No, not in particular... Fufu, you are like a beautician."]

"Did I heard what I think I just heard?" Ritsuka asked.

"No," Emiya answered. "You did not."

"Shirou is washing Medusa!" Medb smiled.

"He's what!?" "He's what!?"

The Gorgon sisters pushed everyone away and rushed to the scene.

"..." The girls fell silent, shocked. "MEDUSA!?"

["What about you Shirou, does your waist hurt with such a posture?"

"It's fine, my bottom half is firmly rooted in place. It's kind of like I'm just sitting down.]

Artoria wasn't a person to explode like Rin would do, so she did something worse: with a hand in her waist, she glared at Emiya with still empty eyes, but somehow full of judgment.

The king's eyes screamed, "What a disappointment."

"Haha! That's hot!" Ritsuka said, watching the scene between Shirou and Medusa.

"Senpai, don't look!" Mash tried to get her Master out of there.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" This time the scream was not from fear, but from rage.

Emiya had to dodge to avoid being cut in half by a purple sword.

"Lancelot!?" Artoria exclaimed in surprise. "What you think you are doing!?" She demanded, incredulous.

"Sir Lancelot!" Bedivere came running from the corridor shortly after.

He and the other knights.

Emiya had to summon his swords to prevent another blow, noticing that the knight at least wasn't using his total strength (and speed) or he would have problems.

"How dare you to see our king naked and throw her in a closet!?" Lancelot trembled.

"What!?" Artoria gasped.

Everyone did the same.

"My, my!" Medb smiled. "I never expected this from you, Your Highness. Go all-out, girl!"

"Isn't like that!" Bedivere said in hurry. "He's not talking about Emiya! We just entered the house and saw a scene!"

"HAHAHA!" Mordred laughed came from wherever the scene was still happening in the house.

"Stop with that, Sir Lancelot!" Gawain begged, trying to hold him.

Normally, Gawain and Bedivere together would restrain the fellow knight with ease, but the Knight of the Lake had the rage of an army in that moment.

"No wonder he could be summoned as a Berserker too," Jason said. "What's wrong with you people!?"

Jeanne Alter cackled like a hyena and the rest ran towards the knight to stop his madness.

But Mash was faster. She stopped in front of Emiya, between the two, and Lancelot woke up from his anger. But the Shielder wasn't the only one who acted in that exact moment. Artoria did too, but not gently as the girl.

Gawain had a dejavu when he saw Artoria grabbing the man by the neck, throwing Lancelot away. Everyone in the hallway had to duck.

"Y-Y-Your Highness, I don't know what came into my head! I'm sorry!" Lancelot begged as he rolled into the living room.

Artoria entered the living room with empty eyes, but somehow filled with bloodlust.

"Don't kill him, my king!" Gareth begged.

["Shirooou... It's nyat good to let glassesh stay empty, you nyow?" Rin asked.

Shirou looked at the girl, surprised. "Hey, Illya, is this stuff really safe to drink?"

"Eh? That's strange... Could it be..." Illya was confused. "Shame on you, Liz! If you keep your experiments in bottles like these, even I'm going to get them mixed up!"]

Artoria stopped and looked at who was there: herself, Shirou, Rin and Illya.

Many servants came to see what was happening when they heard Shirou's voice in that room.

["Nya'tre nyou saying, Ilnyasviel? I nyemand you nyaxplain nyourself, nyaaa." Rin was red and cleary drunk.]

"Why is she talking like a cat!?" Ishtar cried out, shamed for her vessel.

Jeanne Alter cried too, but for help, she was going to die from lack of oxygen. Artoria Alter helped the woman by kicking her.

["It's a kind of hallucinogen. It alters perception and makes the drinker more susceptible to altered states like drunkenness or hypnotism... Rin loves cats, so it makes sense that this part of her awakened," Illya explained.]

"Look who I found!" Raikou appeared, stealing the attention of some servants. She was very happy.

"Yo, guys!" Kintoki smiled. "Everythin' good with ya?"

"Oh!" This time was Shuten that jumped off the bathtub, but she forgot the towel. "I'm glad to see you here, golden boy."

"Goddammit, not you! Wait a sec... you're naked! Put somethin' would ya?" Kintoki exclaimed.

"Oh, you're right."

"Damn oni, who gave you the right to dirty the eyes of my baby boy!?" Raikou drew her sword.

"Cmon!" Robin ran to stopped that. "Some help here, please!"

Jason hid himself between the servants.

Then, Lanling who was distracted by all that, finally realized how long he had been away from his lady. "Oh, no! My lady, please don't!" And disappeared, running to her room.

["Nyaaafuuu... N-Nyeow that it's come to this, Ilnyasviel, nyou're gonnya get it nya nya nya nyaaaa!" Rin started running after Illya.

"Eeeek! Save me, Shirou!"

"Saber... Are you all right?" Shirou asked.

Saber herself was still silent, head down. "I... I'm okay, ga... gaoo..."]

Right there, everyone froze.

["BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!" Shirou burst out laughing.

"NYAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!" Rin did the same.

"Pff, teehee, what the heck, Saber? You sound so funny!" And so did Illya.

"Gaa, gaa, GAOOO!"]

"Oh, she's a lion, makes sense..." Gareth said.

"My king...?" Bedivere asked, very worried.

Artoria stared at that scene with empty eyes... but this time, really empty.

"Man, did you guys ever saw Shirou laughing before in the first movie?" Ritsuka asked, surprised. "I mean, he smiled and chuckled, but..."

"Now that you mention it..."

"Did Emiya ever laughed?"

"Only a "haha" and that's it."

["Gabu, gabuu! Shirou, you drink some too, gao!"]

Artoria dropped Excalibur on the ground and dropped to her knees.

"My king!"

Emiya who was silent looked at the bathroom scene...

[Shirou frowned, then he noticed, it wasn't just the one bundle of hair moving. Around him, all of the hair was dancing.

"Kufufu, that tickles. Shirou, I can wash my own body..."

"Huh?"

"Mmmm... Haaah, you are pretty bold to touch even there."

"W-W-Whaa!? I-I'm not! Aah, just where is this perverted hair going!?"]

And then his eyes went to the living room...

["Nyat's right, nyat's right! Just nyanjoying nyourself watching us and nyot being part of it is definitely nyot fair, nyaaaa!" Rin agreed.

"If that's so, then Illya should drink it first! I'm sure she'd turn into, um, a fox or something!"]

"I'm going to Rin's house. You crazy people can make your own dinner in this crazy house!" Emiya didn't even give time for someone to say something.

On his way out of the house, he passed by Parvati putting herself between the Gorgon sisters and the confused-crying-desperate-Medusa. He ignored all these crazy women too.

When he slid the entrance door to go out, he found more servants.

"Look who we found it!" Iskandar said while laughing.

"FUAHAHAHA! GOOD AFTERNOON, MONGREL!"

"Good afternoon, Emiya." Enkidu smiled in courtesy.

Emiya just stared in silence the group outside the house. Then, he slid the door back, closing it.

---

"Oh, Emiya. How are you?"

"You don't even wanna know." Emiya sighed. "How's she?"

"She killed herself two times when I was outside..." Lanling sighed too. "My fault. I should be more attentive."

"Don't blame yourself, not when we're talking about that whole scene..." Emiya patted the prince on the shoulder. "Let me do what I do best."

Prince of Lanling got up and Emiya put his mouth close to the woman's ear, whispering something.

"My lady!" Lanling couldn't hid his surprise when Yu got up immediately.

"I'm going to eat! Bye-bye!" And she ran to the living room.

"... how?"

"I assured her of Xiang Yu's safety and promised that if she stopped being a drama queen I would make a special dinner just for the two of them, and shut down the entire canteen just so they could have something romantic, alone."

"You really are impressive, Emiya... but you know she will eventually remember that you called her a 'drama queen', don't you?"

"Yeah, I know. I'm ready to deal with the consequences."

The truth was that Emiya took advantage of the need to deal with Yu's depression to give himself a time from the group of servants occupying the living room.

If Sitonai, Circe, Jason, Yu and Prince of Lanling weren't enough, more servants appeared.

Medb cried for a long period of 10 seconds when she discovered about the actual Cú Chulainn's disappearance; Shuten, now dressed, had to sit away from Raikou who was still furious; Kintoki was more lost than them; Gilgamesh was really drunk and high, he was... definitely very different than normal and Enkidu by his side was calm as ever, taking care of the crazy Archer.

At the entrance to the living room, Archer listened and watched the current interaction.

"Since you guys weren't with us from the start, I want to know your opinion about the movie!" Ritsuka smiled. "I'm going to ask you questions and I want you to answer them in one or two words, alright?"

"I'm ready, Master!" Kintoki smiled.

"You better ask good questions, mongrel!"

"Sitonai, Circe and Jason, I want you guys answering too!" Ritsuka turned to Yu and Prince who just arrived. "You two too!"

Sitonai, Circe, Jason, Medb, Shuten, Kintoki, Gilgamesh, Enkidu, Prince and Yu got ready.

"Shirou Emiya. What you guys think about him!?" Ritsuka started.

"Big Brother!"

"Interesting piglet."

"Kinda idiot."

"Nice body."

"He's golden."

"He's golde—hey, that's my line!"

"Mongrel!"

"Good-natured."

"Good person."

"You know, he reminds me a bit of you, kouhai, I—"

"Next one: Sakura Matou!"

"Hmmm..."

"Lovely girl!"

"Problematic."

"Too shy!"

"Poor girl!"

"Poor gi—dammit! Stop with that!"

"Mongrel!"

"Good-natured."

"Poor girl, in fact."

"I think she should beat that brother of h—"

"Next one: The Shadow thing!"

"Sakura Matou!"

"Very dangerous."

"Terrifying!"

"I hate that thing!"

"Not golden!"

"Not—Master just look at her, she's breaking the rules!"

"Mongrel!"

"Evil."

"Frighteningly dangerous."

"I think they should go all-out-war in this creatu—"

"Ok, next one is—"

"Let me finish ONE sentence, kouhai!" Yu Mei-Ren grabbed Ritsuka by the collar.

"What was the part of 'one or two words' that you didn't understand?" Ritsuka complained. Then she saw Yu angry. "I'm sorry! Forgive me, my beloved senpai!"

Emiya shook his head. "I'm really going to Rin's house."

---

On the fifth day, they left again to look for more scenes, but no one had much luck. Only a few groups were able to find scenes.

Gray sat on one of the chairs in Shirou's classroom. It was interesting to see one of those, it was quite different from the ones she studied in Clock Tower.

[Until last year, I thought I'd go to a local university, but a lot of things have happened since then. She said it could just be a makeshift one, but isn't this supposed to be a pretty serious report?

Shirou was filling out a paper with his plans for the future, requested by Taiga.]

"Taiga's very funny when she tries to be a matured teacher for Shirou," Gray said.

"Yes, she's trying her best to divide the personal and the professional." Reines clapped her hands once. "She's doing fine, actually."

"... So, Shirou intended to go to an ordinary college?"

"Apparently. Looks like the war really changed his life."

"He escaped the war again. He's alive, so that's good."

"Three times. One in our world, one in Saber's war and now this scene we're seeing right now. Who would've thought he'd escape a dangerous event like that so many times?"

"But what guarantees this scene is not after the movies we were seeing?" Gray asked.

"If Circe's right, then someone is watching us right now. And it's already obvious that he takes pleasure in disturbing everyone: scaring us by disappearing with some servants and dividing us into groups in strange ways. It may seem random, but to me it's on purpose." Reines shrugged. "A sick person, whoever it is. We could be friends." Reines chuckled and Gray shook her head. "So, I don't think he would destroy a story with two movies yet to go. In fact, after noticing that we all are watching funny and cute scenes, I feel that we're going to see something terrible in these two other movies."

"You saying that... Shirou can die?"

"Yes. Or something similar. This right now it's a joke. And later, we'll see the punch line."

["Sorry for the wait. Here, Fujimura."

"Great, good work. Hmm, let's see..."]

"She just demanded that he do it right now because of her own curiosity, didn't she?"

"Absolutely." Reines giggled.

["Hey. Desire #1 is 'undecided." Desire #2... 'study abroad"? Desire #3, "law", huh. So the objective you had in mind up until last year has slipped all the way to the third place? Is there a reason?"]

"Oh!" Gray gasped. "Shirou wanted to be a lawyer?"

"Kinda surprising and at the same time kinda not."

["It's not that I lost interest, it's just that other priorities have become more important. Like, they're all about equal... I guess that's no good?"

"That's an unusually evasive answer coming from you. Is 'undecided' equal too? Does that mean working after graduation?"

"If I find a good place, I'd like to work. You know, someplace where I could be useful to everyone."]

"Hmmmm..." Reines listened with interest.

["Hmph... Okay, so what's with the number two, 'study abroad'? Shirou, your English grades are nothing to write home about. Listening, you may get around with. But pronunciation will be a lot of work, right? I don't get it. Why would you study abroad? Is it Tohsaka's influence?"

"Uh, not so much 'influence' as it is 'resolution.' If I want to really get serious into studying, I won't be able to rely on Tohsaka forever. And so I thought I really should study the genuine stuff."

"I see. By 'get serious,' you mean like Kiritsugu?" Taiga asked.

For a moment, I was speechless. She's asking if I mean wandering from place to place somewhere abroad like my dad. Fuji-nee knows how much I admired Kiritsugu. Better than anyone else, in fact. So when I say 'I'll go abroad' without mentioning Tohsaka, she can guess what it means.

"... Who knows. I don't know what the future holds, but I do think mine will be a different path."

"... Mmh. I see, so you've already decided." Taiga then put a red checkmark next to number two on the report form.]

The commotion of afterschool club activities in the schoolyard resounded throughout the school, even reaching them, and yet the classroom remained lifelessly silent.

Shirou and Taiga spoke in a sad tone, almost as a farewell.

["Er, you know... As a teacher, I can't suppress the students' independence, but can I ask one thing?"

"Sure."

"Shirou... are you coming back?" Taiga said as if making plans for tomorrow, or maybe yesterday... gazing into the distance.

"... I'll be back for sure. Several times a year, even. Can't let our house fall into disrepair, you know?" Shirou said with conviction.

And Taiga brightened. "Oh! Then I'd better be waiting! I'll make sure to keep an eye on it while you're gone! So you're free to go wherever you like!"]

"Life sure is strange. I never expected to learn so much about him."

"When I see these scenes, even the ones from the movie too, I'm become more confused about why's he so fixated on becoming a hero of justice." Gray left her thoughts run free from her mouth. "Isn't that a choice that'll make him left his family behind? I don't know if I should think this is right or wrong..."

"He's following his dream, young Gray, this itself is nothing but a choice that should be respected," Iskandar answered.

"He's following his dream, but it's one that cannot end well," Reines said. "If I've understood it correctly so far, and also by putting Archer in mind, it's a hypocritical and idiotic ideal."

"It may be idiotic, but it's something still worthy to run after." El Melloi II broke his silence. "This scene we're watching happens to everyone. So it may seem sad watch Taiga happy like that, knowing about Archer, but eventually we all have to make important decisions. The ones that change the course of our lives." He knew that very well. "We just know that in this case it's likely not going to end well, but there's no certainty about that either. Archer isn't the only ending Shirou Emiya can achieve, of that I'm sure."

Iskandar smiled proudly.

"I think... If I ever come back to our world with these memories, I'll go out of my way and talk to him." Gray wasn't that good making friends, but she could try, especially when it was someone she already knew so well... even if the person himself didn't know how.

[Her sparkling smile. If I really do go to a far away land... No matter where in the world I go, there's nothing that could cheer me up more than that smile.

"Thanks, Fuji-nee. The chances aren't high, but if it comes to that, I'm leaving it in your care."

"That goes for you too, Shirou. If you're going away, make sure you come back once you've grown up."]

Reines had just said that she thought the ideal was stupid and hypocritical, but she never said it was wrong. It was exactly the ideal that made her interested in the boy. Before, he was a nobody to her. Reines' only contact with Shirou was seeing him chasing Rin like a puppy through the Clock Tower, being a butler to Luvia or playing video games with Flat.

But now was different. As Gray had said before, if she had the opportunity, Reines would definitely offer a position similar to that of her brother to Shirou Emiya and help the boy in his travels as a hero of justice... it would be a great and guaranteed entertainment.

"I've to know if Archer knows how to make good candys too! If he does, then the contract will be closed!"

---

When some groups were already back in the house, a scene started there.

[Shirou heard the doorbell ring from the entranceway. He wondered who could it possibly be, and found a very unusual guest indeed.

For a few moments, Shirou and Shinji looked at each other in silence.]

"Oh, great, this guy." Jeanne Alter sighed.

[I'm so confused that my greeting is delayed, and he doesn't seem intent on greeting me in the first place. If this were martial arts, you could say we were waiting to see who would attack first, but he's probably not here to fight.]

"So... could be happening in our movie, right?" Gareth asked.

"Probably not," Artoria Alter replied.

["Hey. It's rare to see you here, did you come to check up on Sakura?" Shirou asked.

"Not really. I just happened to have something to do in the area and decided to drop by on my way back."

"I see. If you have time, want to come in? Knowing you, I bet you're walking. There's some distance from here to your house, so have some tea at least."

"Tea?... Well, I guess that's okay once in a while. I don't have much free time, but I'll keep you company for a bit."

"By all means. Sakura's out right now, but she'll probably show up soon. Let's wait in the living room until then."

"I told you, this isn't about Sakura. Anyway, where's the living room? Not only is your house a weird shape, it's ridiculously wide."]

"Yes, he don't have much free time 'cause he's probably being a bitch to everyone!" Mordred walked away. "Not interested in watching a scene about this dickhead. Bye."

"To be honest, neither do I." Jeanne Alter left too.

And a lot of servants who rushed to the entrance too. Few decided to watch the scene.

[Shirou and Shinji walked down the corridor.

"Huh? Come to think of it, is this the first time you've come in here?"

"Well, I've never been here before, so doesn't that make it the first time? I've never had any interest in your house," Shinji answered.

"No kidding. We only ever hung out at your place. I felt bad about it and invited you here, but you seemed against it for some reason."

"Of course. Why should I have to come all the way to meet up in the middle of nowhere? Isn't my place closer to the school?"]

"This boy has a strange relationship with Shirou, but somehow it fits well." Enkidu followed the duo not far behind them.

"Two mongrels together, of course it would fit!" Gilgamesh snorted.

"Shinji was your Master in the Fifth Holy Grail War," Saber said. She knew exactly who was the "real Master" and that Shinji was nothing to him, but she didn't care. Her objective talking about that was just one.

"Really?" Mash couldn't believe it. "Gilgamesh following Shinji's orders?"

"That's a lie!" Gilgamesh complained. "I deny this possibility!"

"Aren't you the one saying that Saber couldn't lie?" Enkidu asked.

The king crossed his arms, upset.

"Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?" Bedivere whispered in his king's ear.

Artoria and Mash were just as surprised. Gilgamesh... acting like a child... it didn't help the fact he was locked by Enkidu chains so there was no chance of getting away from his friend. Apparently, Iskandar had found the duo flying around Fuyuki City while the king was shooting Noble Phantasms on the city... on top of a motorbike.

["Okay, here's the living room. If you got right down that hallway we just saw, you'll reach the dojo, and if you go left you'll come out by the outbuilding. That's where Sakura's room is."

"Hmm. That's pretty far off."

"It's as close as Fuji-nee would allow. So, are you a bit relieved, as her big brother?"

"God, Emiya, you're being so annoying. How many times do I have to tell you I don't care about Sakura?" As he said that, Shinji kept glacing towards the outbuilding.]

"I get what Enkidu is saying. It's a unique friendship, in a way." Boudica entered the living room with the others.

"Yes." Enkidu nodded. "It is an interesting relationship. I would like to see more of them together."

While the two were talking, Artoria kicked Gilgamesh away.

["Hey. Which do you want, black tea or green tea?" Shirou called out to him from the kitchen.

Shinji was surprised. "Eh!? What, have you started drinking black tea, Emiya?"

"What are you surprised about...? Well, the majority of the people here are black tea drinkers, so I don't have a choice. So, which one do you want?"]

"Majority of the people, huh?" Boudica said. "We're probably watching something in the pattern of the previous scenes." She turned to Medusa. "How are you?"

"I'm f-fine..." Medusa was still dealing with the aftermath of the bath scene. She endured quite much, even with the help of Parvati.

["Mmm, I don't have much of a taste for either. Anyway, where's your room? Let's go there first!" Shinji smiled, somehow excited.

"It's right there. It's not as interesting as yours, you know?"

"That's for me to decide. Come on, hurry up and show me. I came all the way here, so at least let me see my friend's room once."

"Fine. But no complaining when I do, Shinji."]

"He will complain." Bedivere was sure of that.

At that point, everyone had already seen Shirou's room and there was nothing special there. Literally. Nothing. Even the empty rooms of Chaldea had more personality.

["Here?" Shinji asked. "Ooh, if it's all the way in the back of the house, it must be a good room."

"Well. In terms of the floor plan, it's the best room."

"Ohhhhh," said Shinji, his face shining with anticipation. He was smiling from ear to ear... a smile that quickly reversed itself the moment Shirou slid open the door. "What is this? There's nothing in here."

Shirou decided to defend his room. "It's not like there's nothing at all. There's a desk and a cushion on the floor, and in the corner there's a bookcase, although a small one." He put particular emphasis on the bookcase.]

"The bookcase didn't exist during the movie," Enkidu observed.

"Oh..." Mash hadn't noticed the detail. "I didn't notice it. Impressive, Enkidu."

["The living room was better. Sheesh, you're just as boring as I thought you were, Emiya." Having cursed Shirou, he turned back towards the living room.]

Muramasa chuckled. "He can be funny sometimes."

["So anyway, which do you want, Shinji?"

"Coffe. With milk and two sugars."

"All we've got here is ordinary cow milk, you know."

"What's wrong with cow milk? It's much better than cream. Ah, and I don't want any sweets. Don't make any weird fuss over me."

"Thanks for that. The teacake situation here is pretty dire."

"... Hmph. Not only do you have black tea, but coffe too? You've changed, Emiya. Your tastes have really broadened, for one."]

"This scene is so strange," Artoria said. "In the movie, though they said that Shirou and Shinji were friends, just in this scene I can see a spark of friendship."

"And Shinji praised Shirou for the first time too!" Gareth said, surprised.

["Leaving that aside. Is it true that you haven't been going to the archery club lately? Sakura seemed disappointed."

"Why should I? Don't confuse me with Mitsuzuri," Shinji answered. "We're already in the autumn of our third year, you know? It's not like we can do club activities forever."]

"So, after the war then..." Boudica smiled. "It's good to know that there's a chance for everything ending well. Shirou, Shinji and Sakura seem to be fine here."

[Their rambling conversation continued. Both were on their third cup of coffe.

"But I'm surprised that you're working, Shinji."

According to Tohsaka, the Matous are quite rich. Old man Zouken may not look it, but he's got quite a lot of money on hand for a retiree.]

Medusa felt a terrible shiver upon hearing Shirou talking about Zouken in such a... calm and acceptable way.

["It's just a little diversion... Well, I'll need my own money after I graduate, too. My savings on their own wouldn't be that reliable, so I thought I'd start earning some now."

"Eh...? After graduation... Do you mean you're leaving home?"

"Not really. But I'd look stupid if I did, leaving with no money." Shinji was talking in a very calm way. There was no hostility or arrogance. "But, well, I guess I'm leaning towards going to Tokyo. My mind's about 80% made up already."

Shirou was really surprised. "Shinji... Does this mean you're severing ties with the Matou family?"

"If you asked grandfather, that's probably how he'd put it... My father had a younger brother. It seems he left home and moved away somewhere, and he was disinherited altogether. That's what it means to leave Fuyuki."]

Boudica smiled. "So, Shinji chose to leave everything behind and to abandon his life as a mage. I'm really happy for him."

"I'm surprised too. Maybe young people these days have more brains than young people in my days. Good for him." Muramasa was genuinely surprised as well.

["... I see. Have you told Sakura?"

"I have. I told her to think about her own plans, you know? If I leave home, that's the end of the Matou family. There'll be nobody to carry on the name, so she'll have to leave too."

"Shinji..."

"What? It's only natural." Shinji returned to his normal self. "Ah, just so you know, the Matou family fortune is all mine. Once grandfather drops dead, I'm coming back for it, so tell Sakura not to waste it all, alright?"]

Medusa couldn't believe that boy was Shinji Matou. He was being too nice to Sakura. But if truly was him... even if that scene wasn't after the movies they were watching or even the war where she died so early, at least it gave her hope that Sakura could be free of that family without dying.

["Wow, I can hardly believe it. To think that this is the second time I'm talking about graduation with you, Emiya. When we first met, five years ago, I never thought it would last this long." Shinji had a genuine smile on his face.

"Yeah. Now that I think about it, we didn't have much in common. We spent more time talking like this than we did going out to do anything fun."]

As the servants watched the two friends chatting, one of them noticed someone missing.

"Where did... Senpai go?" Mash got up, confused. The girl was there not long ago.

---

Ritsuka Fujimaru found herself standing in the middle of nowhere.

Nowhere was perhaps an exaggeration.

On the outskirts of Shinto, in the forest beyond the church, there stood a Western-style house and the girl. Somehow, she knew exactly where she was, but she couldn't say HOW she got there.

But that didn't matter. The place was before her eyes, a haunted house. She shrugged and walked towards it, but near the door she stopped.

hmmaybeyou' 'llinviteyoutomycastlebigbrotherTherearelotsoftoolsoncewegettheresolet'scontinuethisthereHas herchestpiercedthroughbyHerchesttakesthegiant'sswordWormsI'veneverseenbeforecomescatteringdownHundredsofpoisonsthatbiteonmyskincrawlinmyfleshandmeltmybones

As if someone was thrusting an iron bar inside her brain, Ritsuka couldn't do anything except place both hands in her own head, shaking with pain.

And there she remained until someone placed a hand on her shoulder.

"EEEEEEEK!" Ritsuka jumped. "YOU FINALLY SHOW UP, VILLAIN!?"

"Villain?" Musashi frowned. "Since when your cute wandering-samurai could be a villain?"

"Aaaah... it's just you, Musashi..." Ritsuka placed a hand on her chest. "You nearly killed me just now."

"You're the one who almost killed us. You just disappeared. Everyone's looking for you, Master."

"Oh, sorry... I was... I don't know..."

Musashi arched an eyebrow. "Oookay...? Well, what's in this house? A new scene?"

Ritsuka turned towards the house. "No, I don't think so."

"Do you want to check?" Musashi asked. "Who knows? Maybe we gonna find Shirou bathing Kirei Kotomine this time." The samurai started walking towards the door.

"Musashi, wait...!" And then, everyone, including the two girls, felt a sign that couldn't be confused with any other.

"The second fragment is ready, huh? That was quick." Musashi said. "Well, Master, we gotta go."

Ritsuka just nodded in agreement.

The two started walking away from the house. Musashi looked up and found Emiya staring at them from the trees, unnoticed by Ritsuka. The samurai waved at him, saying "I found her first, she's fine!", but the Archer just turned his face away.

"Whoa, what a dick."

---

A/N: If anyone is wondering about what the characters reacted in this chapter: all these scenes came from Hollow Ataraxia.