KingVessel: To those of you who wanted an immediate sequel to the events of Chapter 1, sorry. But let's fast-forward to the Holy Grail War and how far they've come~


Chapter 02: Winter Days, Into the Grail War


Shirou Emiya's eyes slowly opened as he woke up, sitting up only to notice his (un)expected bedmate. "Illya..."

"Five more minutes, Onii-chan..." Illyasviel von Einzbern-Emiya mumbled into his side, her arms clutching him even tighter.

Over the years, Illya had matured into a beautiful young woman, especially as she now had the potential to grow into her mother's figure. It especially showed in the thin nightdress she wore, the cloth clinging to her womanly curves.

With them having undone the modifications that would've halted her aging and set her to die at a predetermined age, Illya started to properly age and grow as time passed, albeit she was still biologically two years behind and had been known to all as Shirou's younger cousin rather than elder.

Surprisingly, Illya hadn't minded in the slightest, simply relishing the miracle that had allowed her a chance to live the normal life she'd earlier been denied.

"Onii-chan..."

Allowing himself to be pulled down, Shirou raised an eyebrow as Illya draped her body over his, the sleep in her eyes slowly being replaced with something else. "Illya, I need to see my mother off."

Illya pouted down at him, before shifting back and rolling her hips over his crotch. "Really~? Not even a little~?"

A roll of his eyes was her only warning before Illya was suddenly laid flat on her back, Shirou standing up and beginning to change. "We both know you won't stop at just a 'little'."

Illya smiled at the brief sight of his muscular upper half. "Just-"

"Illyasviel-sama, leave Shirou-sama's room at once!" Sella's sharp voice interrupted them, causing the two to regard the homunculus maid now at Shirou's open door. "Seriously, you need to stop sneaking into his room in order to seduce him!"

"But I got Aunt Riruka's permission." Illya pouted as Shirou got off and allowed her to stand. "Besides, you say that but you want him too, don't you?!"

"N-No, I don't!" The maid sternly denied, although the red in her pale cheeks gave her away. "Unlike Leysritt, I am a proper maid of the Einzbern Clan. Unless he directly ordered me to, I refuse to engage in such depraved acts."

"I haven't ever ordered anybody do such things!" Shirou protested.

"And that's what so sweet about Onii-chan." Getting up from his bed, Illya rubbed an admiring hand over Shirou's arm before sighing and leaving his room with a noticeable sway in her hips. "He's never done so. You should learn from Liz, Sella. Unlike you, she took initiative when she got interested."

Shirou groaned at the memory of Liz 'flirting' with him. "To my immense frustration."

While Illya and Sella got into a mild argument as they left his room, Shirou sighed while continuing to get prepared for the day as briefly flexed his hearing. Noting nothing out of the ordinary, Shirou finally left for the bathroom.

He wasn't sure how this had exactly come to start, but the moment puberty hit Illya, she seemed to have fixated her sight on Shirou as her ideal male. And from there, the maids showed interest as well, being one of the two men they'd ever been close to.

While Lara had informed Shirou in being unable to expect exactly how he would sexually react as not even she had ever had sexual relations in her life, the Kryptonian mother was nevertheless pleased that her son was clearly the 'first and best choice' for the three homunculi.

As for Shirou himself, while he did consider them all to be physically pleasing, he was quite more concerned about the social repercussions that would occur if he decided to pursue a relationship with any of them than his mother was.

Of course, if only Illya and Liz would stop tempting him... Even he had a limit, damnit! At least Sakura was a lot more romance-focused in her efforts.

Thirty minutes later, Shirou enjoyed his breakfast with everyone at the table. Lara-El sat opposite him as usual. Illya sat at his right side with Taiga Fujimura sat at the silverette's other side while the maids took the opposite side.

"While I'll be gone for the month, I expect that you'll all behave yourself while I'm gone." Lara warned them sternly after their hearty breakfast, the Kryptonian matriarch staring them all down after Taiga had left on her scooter. "Illya, this Grail War of yours must not end in your death. I will not permit it."

And that was also another issue of it's own league. Apparently, despite the Einzbern Clan's... change in management, the Lesser Grail had still manifested regardless in it's original form as a holy cup a year ago, due to Illya no longer fulfilling the requirements to act as it's vessel.

Of course, Illya had leapt at the opportunity to claim the Grail and finally put a proper end to the Wars.

"Yes, Aunt Riruka." Illya curtsied.

"Kal, even if it's unlikely that you'll become a Master like her, be sure to protect Illya when she cannot protect herself."

"That goes without saying, Mother." Shirou smiled as he raised and clenched his fist. "I won't let anybody or anything hurt a single resident of this house."

"Good." The tension in Lara's shoulders lessened a bit. "Finally... I am aware of Illya's... habits of propositioning you getting bolder. Be sure to utilize contraceptives as you are still too young to become parents."

"Nothing like that will happen." Shirou deadpanned before pulling his mother into a hug. "May Rao's Shine guide you in your journey."

"And may Rao's Warmth keep you safe in your home." Lara whispered back before walking forward into the active warp gate hidden in their shed. From there, she would be teleported to an area in the artic where she'd stored their spaceship, along with other Kryptonian and alien tools and technology.

And from there, she would head off-world.

"Now then." Shirou turned around to look at his little sister. "Are you staying home today or will you still head to school?"

"To school, of course." Illya crossed her arms in triumph. "I already have everything I need for tonight anyways."


"Going for the chef's choice for lunch today, huh?"

Shirou turned his head to acknowledge his yearmate. Ayako Mitsuzuri was a cute girl with short brown hair and an athletic figure, which was natural for the school's archery club captain. "Good day to you, too, Mitsuzuri. I just wanted a drink."

"Not eating with your little sister or Sakura-chan today?" Ayako questioned.

"Cousin, and no, she took off with Sakura for something." Shirou replied as he took his drink from the machine. "Speaking of which, how's she been doing in your club?"

"Sakura's been doing alright." Ayako replied as she followed him to an empty table. "It's her brother that's the problem. He's been tearing into the first-year boys lately."

Shirou frowned at Ayako's report about Sakura's elder brother. "What for?"

"From what I heard, he got shot down pretty hard by Tohsaka." Ayako whispered in a conspirational tone.

"Did he ask out Tohsaka?" Shirou spoke up louder than he intended, drawing a few gazes.

"Keep your voice down!" Ayako shushed after they both took their seats. "Anyway, Matou's been in a foul mood ever since yesterday. I've had to keep a close eye on him during practice, so I get exhausted quicker than I normally do. Can you feel my pain, kendo club captain?"

"Even I've had my share of troublesome clubmates, archery club captain." Shirou replied before looking to the side, his X-ray Vision picking up Shinji near his class. "Still, it's no good for your second-in-command to act like that."

"I've even heard a rumor that he's planning to do something to Tohsaka in retaliation." Ayako huffed as she started to eat.

Shirou thought of how an alteration between Rin Tohsaka, a magus in Ayako's class with active Magic Circuits in her body, and Shinji Matou, a normal human unlike his sister, would go. "Does he want to die?"

"While I don't think that Tohsaka would go that far, Matou's still bound to snap if she pays another visit to the club." Ayako revealed after swallowing. "I don't know why, but Tohsaka's been coming to watch at the dojo a lot lately. It's a relief that she didn't at least come to school today."

"I see..." Shirou replied thoughtfully.


Later during club hours, Shirou focused as usual on properly restraining his strength during a match against one of his clubmates, the girl practically radiating frustration despite her usually stoic expression.

"Dou(Body)!" Shirou finished up with a thrust of his bamboo sword into her abdomen, sending his opponent flying back. "And that's the end of that. Good job, Kane-san. You lasted a lot longer."

"I only lasted almost a whole minute longer than last time." Kane Himuro grumbled as she accepted Shirou's hand and pulled herself up before heading to retrieve her glasses.

'And that's still three whole minutes overall, which is a lot more than anybody else other than Fuji-nee in this club has lasted against me.' Shirou barely held back from replying to his vice captain as the club disbanded for the day.

"Wait a minute, Emiya-buchou." Himuro called out as he was about to leave. "Can I have a word with you?"

"What is it?" Shirou asked as the bespectacled girl with grey hair came to stand at his side.

"Last night, there was a... disturbance at the park." Kane revealed as she gave him an expectant look. "I didn't think much of it as I think they fought there in order to avoid witnesses, but..."

"Right. Looks like it's already beginning." Shirou sighed. "Himuro, find a way to influence your classmates and friends not to come out at night for any reason. False rumors, superstitions, whatever that won't want to make teenagers leave their homes for the next month."

"If you're not telling me anything about 'it', then is it safe to assume that I can't do anything about it myself?" Kane accurately surmised.

"Don't worry. I'm involved in it, so I'll be trying to keep the casualties to a minimum." Shirou assured her.

The two of them had a weird relationship, in which the very intelligent girl had somehow discovered his nonhuman status with nothing more than small clues she'd picked up over the years.

Shirou, on his part, was just a bit glad to have a friend he could almost be honest with while he suspected that Kane liked the thrill of being friends with someone as unique as him. Not even his mother knew about Kane knowing about him, even if he hadn't told the bespectackled girl his true species yet. "Is there anything else you want to talk to me about?"

Kane's head tilted slightly as she thought it over before shaking her head with a tiny flush on her cheeks. "Nothing more that won't stroke a teenage boy's ego. The girls in the changing room like to compare."

"Fine, then." Shirou shrugged. "So I'll see you..."

He trailed off as he looked sideways, seeing an empty spot where Kane had been standing two seconds ago. "Okay, I really want to know how she always does that."

Even as Shirou marveled on how Kane had somehow vanished from his super senses when he wasn't paying attention, he was still due for a special hobby he liked to indulge in.

^Wha- What's going on with the brakes?!^

Shirou tilted his head before swiftly making his way out. It seemed that there was already trouble nearby.


"Get out of the way!" Masayuki screamed as he clutched the steering wheel of his speeding car, the brakes still failing as he stomped hard on it. The blaring of horns from other drivers didn't help his anxiety as he sped past his third red light, still desperately focusing on not colliding with other vehicles. "Fuck!"

Why did his brakes have to fail now of all times?! He hadn't even paid insurance for the car yet! Cursing again, Masayuki swerved dangerously, thanking his ridiculously small luck at the moment that it didn't seem to be a busy afternoon.

However, the next thirty seconds crushed his hope. Rushing into a downhill road, Masayuki choked at the sight of the backed up traffic at the end of it, leaving him with only three choices.

First choice: Head straight forward and smash headlong into the traffic, causing untold amounts of death and destruction.

Second choice: Swerve right into one of the alleyways speeding past and hope for the best that he hit in a way that didn't have him either smashing against a building and dying immediately, smashing through a building and potentially killing people within them or let it get wedged in and hope to not break his neck from the whiplash.

Third choice: Swerve left into the Fuyuki river and hope that he didn't die from the impact.

"FUUUUUCK!" Masayuki screamed as he chose the option with both the greatest chance of living and least amount of casualties, swerving left towards the river. The car followed the steering wheel's movement and was soon soaring through the air from how fast it went up a nearby ramp. 'Oh god, I never apologized to my brother for stealing his credit card.'

Then, a sudden jolt went through the airborne car, stopping it dead from impacting the rushing river below. For several seconds, Masayuki stared in disbelief as his car was slowly carried back towards the bank.

While Masayuki's car was placed down gently, he noticed quite a few onlookers taking pictures of whom he was now quite sure had saved him.

"The Red-Blue Blur..." Masayuki muttered as the rarely seen vigilante opened up his door.

"You alright, bro?" He asked in English-accented Japanese, his eyes hidden behind a set of red tinted sunglasses that meshed surprisingly well with his wavy white hair.

"Huh?" Masayuki muttered as he processed the words, looking upon the vigilante in full view for the first time ever. "O-Oh, yes. I'm fine. Just pretty shaken up." 'He sounds quite young... and that accent... is he a foreigner?'

"Yeah, that tracks." The Red-Blue Blur nodded as he gave the car a rather piercing glare through his shades. He appeared to be in his late teens, wearing a dark red leather zip-up jacket with what looked like a large 'S' within a diamond-shaped shield indented on the front, along with blue gloves, blue jeans and red combat boots. "Well, I'm glad to note that the worst you've suffered is some shock. Also, I recommend replacing your car brakes."

Masayuki nodded in complete seriousness. "Absolutely."

"Well, gotta bounce." The Red-Blue Blur did a finger gun salute, before proving the second part of his name to not be a hyperbole as he immediately disappeared in a gust of displaced wind.


Surprisingly, it had been quite the busy afternoon for the 'Red-Blue Blur' before he decided to return home for the day. Dashing into his shed faster than any of the homunculi could perceive, Shirou swiftly undressed himself of his vigilante attire and traded it for his school uniform.

Still, he'd been unable to discover the cause for the demolition he'd discovered earlier in the day, which was very troubling for him. With none of the usual suspects in Fuyuki having been the culprit, that left the obvious situation of it being a newcomer.

Or worse...

"There can't be another repeat of the Caster problem..." Shirou muttered grimly, remembering one of the events his uncle had told to him and Illya regarding his own personal experiences in his Grail War.

After finally returning his wavy white hair back to it's usual spiky red with a spray of special aerosol, Shirou locked it all away behind his personal locker before leaving towards the house.

"Onii-chan, where've you been?" Illya pouted the moment Shirou entered the house. She must have tried to look intimidating, but Shirou just found her adorable. "One of my familiars reported seeing Lancer and another Servant already fighting each other at the school!"

"Really?" Shirou raised an eyebrow. 'So that was the weird noise I kept hearing from over there. I didn't hear any cries for help so I just ignored it...' "Sorry for worrying you, Illya."

Shirou patted Illya's head reassuringly. "I'll make it up to you later."

The predatorial smirk that appeared on her face almost made him take a step back. "Oh, you will. But for now, you'll just help me in summoning my Servant."

"Fine, then." Shirou set his bag aside while nodding at Leysritt as she lounged on the couch. "What do you need me to do?"

Soon, he was with her back inside the shed, pushing various stuff aside in order to make room for the large Summoning Glyph Illya was carefully making with a vat of mercury.

"Done!" Illya stood back and admired her work, accepting the rag from Shirou to clean her hands.

"So, what's next?" Shirou asked.

"Now, I begin the incantation to summon my Servant." Illya explained once more for his benefit as she tapped her stomach before summoning out a beautiful blue and golden scabbard with runic symbols from her abdomen. "With this as a catalyst, I'll be sure to get the same Servant that Mama and Papa used. I mean, she won't remember me but..."

Illya shrugged before handing the scabbard over to Sella, the maid placing down on a spot placed up at the opposite side of the Summoning Glyph. Casting a nervous glance to the incomplete Command Seals on the back of her hand, Illya gulped and begun.

"Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill.

Repeat five times, but destroy each when filled."

As Illya chanted, her glyph started to glow as a sign of response from the Throne of Heroes.

"Let silver and steel be the essence.

Let the Archduke of Contracts be the foundation.

Let Justeaze Lizrich be the ancestor I pay tribute to.

Let a wall be risen against the wind that shall fall.

Let the four cardinal gates close.

Let the three-forked road from the Crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate."

As Illya chanted, her glyph started to glow as a sign of response from the Throne of Heroes.

"Heed my words!

My will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny!

If you heed the Grail's call and obey my will and reason, then answer me!"

The Summoning Glyph intensified, with Illya wincing as the billowing wind increased in pressure.

"An oath shall be sworn here!

That I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven!

That I shall have dominion over all vices of all of Hell!

"From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power, come forth from the ring of restraint, Guardian of Scales!"

Illya finalized her chant with the Command Seals on her hand burning red as the Summoning Glyph before her brightened into a sky blue color with hints of gold in the air before erupting powerfully enough to blow the girl back into Shirou's swift and careful embrace.

When the wind and light finally died down, the Kryptonian couldn't help but gasp at the Servant that had been summoned.

"She came..." Illya broke into a wide grin.

Before them was a young woman with her short golden hair tied into a bun at the back of her hair while a stray strand jutted forward from the crown, piercing green eyes while adorned in a feminine blue dress with steel gauntlets, boots and shining armor with Fae runes inscribed on it.

"I ask of you... Are you..." The woman stared straight at Illya, her eyes widening at the sight of her Master as her prepared words failed instantly. "...Irisviel?"


KingVessel: I'm not gonna lie, this feels a bit subpar even to me... Gimme your reviews!