Chapter 39: Compilations within Solutions

I do not own Fate/Stay Night and stuffs.

o. o. o.

"So that's what happened." Shirou evenly stared at Saber.

"Yes." The King of Knights nodded.

"You told Rin and Luvia about my Apostle condition."

"Yes."

"After I had passed out from said condition and other peculiar reactions."

"Yes."

"Followed by essentially telling them everything that we have gone over about the War, the Grail, my general plans, my magic, Gilgamesh, what we've gathered on Caster, and how I've been leading everyone for the past two years."

"Essentially." She didn't bother to bring up Archer. She didn't want to put more on his plate at the moment.

"And everything concluded with keeping everyone paired up for their own safety and a possible alliance for so long as Caster is around."

"Potential unanimous destruction keeps people together unanimously."

"Merlin?"

"Lucan, though Merlin did agree with it instantly."

"Hard to see why not." Shirou sighed with a small grimace as he sat on the edge of the open walkway of his home. Not because of the situation, but because from his perspective the midday sun felt unusually oppressive.

Just opening his eyes made him feel as if he was outside in Jerusalem, only with more color. The religious apex of the planet rarely had a day where there was a cloud in the sky, and the vast majority of the buildings there were made out of a white stone found in the area. The combination of the two made it incredibly hard to keep one's eyes open for any period of time during the day when walking outside even if said individual was a day person.

His body had been heavy and sluggish from the instant he had woken up. He didn't know if it was simply because it was daytime, or because his body might have changed for whatever reason during the night. All he knew right now was that it was a pain in his ass. It made his morning workouts take far longer than they should have and even after he didn't feel as loosened up as he should be.

He had been so out of it that Sakura had taken kitchen duty again despite his protests. As if he didn't have enough to drive him nuts at the moment.

He had cleaning duty though. Thank god for small mercies.

His chest in particular was tight for obvious reasons. Even if he did supposedly heal from getting his heart blasted out earlier, it didn't mean that everything was the same. The skin over the new organ was still an irritated red, and breathing deeply proved to be a bit of a chore. Everything under his skin felt tender and he didn't like it. Still with Avalon, he figured it would take another half day to get used to the feeling enough that it wouldn't constantly distract him anymore.

On the other side of the coin, his new heart worked just fine as far as he could tell. It kept steady pace while he was working out earlier. No sudden transformations. No spewing up blood. No tearing apart his insides. No spontaneous heart attacks.

So cardiovascular based issues weren't going to be a factor in his plans after all… unless of course someone blasted or tore out his heart again, but he'd just file that under combat risks along with all the other dangerous shit he'd likely be doing in the near future.

At the same time he realized that his body was tightened up, he felt as if another change had occurred. Much like the tipping of scales, where one factor had been constricted, another had been relaxed… the problem was that he didn't exactly know what was in that latter category at the moment. All he knew was that it was there with absolute certainty.

He flexed his hand again. It felt as if he had been sleeping on it for hours and was still in the process of getting the blood flowing… but even so he couldn't ignore the fact that he experienced the sensation of grabbing the hilt of any sword he wanted when he closed a fist. There were times where he had to convince himself that he really wasn't holding something by actually looking at his empty palms. It was extremely surreal and unnerving for him.

The only reason why he didn't structurally grasp himself, or do any magic in general yet was because of his last change. It wasn't until Sakura pointed it out to him that he noticed that his eyes were different.

For some reason the pigments had changed colors while he was asleep, from his progressively steel grey to the sharp silver that came when he channeled prana to them. His vision didn't change in the slightest, and thankfully his Pure Eyes weren't active, but the fact that they had changed regardless unnerved him. It was not unimaginable to think that one day he'd be unable to control them and he'd be stuck seeing literally everything without limit.

He'd have to do some research into producers of mystic eye killer glasses or contacts in the near future once this whole war mess was dealt with. Until then he'd settle for grabbing some normal colored contacts from a local store in the near future. Asians tended to have one general eye pigment, black. Since that got real old real fast in today's frequently changing fashionable and trending world, it wasn't hard to imagine that there would be places that sold contacts of varying eye color around. Especially in a modernized city like Fuyuki.

It was times like this that he really was grateful he lived in Japan. His country came up with some messed up things from time to time, but most of it tended to be available at the drop of a hat.

In the meantime, he'd just have to get by on his meager hypnosis abilities and convince people on the street that he has European ancestry and his eyes had always been just bluish grey. Wouldn't be too hard to do since people assumed as much for his red hair anyways.

Still, with his body and eyes suddenly changing, he felt it was best to not use any thaumaturgy at the moment in case activating his circuits triggered something unpleasant.

That was one of the first rules of magecraft safety really. If it looks off, don't fuck with it unsupervised with magic. Especially if what is currently abnormal is a part of, or connected to, your body.

It should be common sense but, well… it was funny how so many people tended to ignore or forget that rule.

His first thoughts were to go to Merem or Rin for this kind of issue. In his opinion if there was anyone that could figure out what the hell was going on with him it was them.

Unfortunately the former was being, quite frankly in his opinion, a mysterious ass at the moment, and there were no rats hiding about anywhere to relay a message. As for the latter… yeah, she was likely not in the mood to do him any favors at the moment.

Not like his mood was doing much better.

Now that he wasn't recovering from a vacant heart, blood deficiency, and having his body go awol, he could now focus on the finer points in life. Like, Caster's theft of Rider, Rin's and Luvia's awareness of the situation, Illya staying at his house, Assassin's identity, Marjatta's condition, Bazett's enslavement, and figuring out what the hell Kirei was going to do once word finally reached him.

"The situation is still salvageable." Saber patted him gently on the shoulder. "The fact that everyone left has yet to resort to mindless bickering and independent action is proof enough that they feel the same way."

"No doubt it was a close thing though." Shirou shook his head in tired frustration. "I really owe you one, Saber. Thinking back at it now I doubt I could have gotten everyone to stick together as well as you did. Maybe it was a good thing I blacked out when I did."

"I merely did what was expected." A small wry smile graced the King's face. "And you don't give yourself enough credit. Most of what was done so far, for better or for worse was due to your actions and guidance. Everyone recognizes your potential."

"You can say that again." He knew that she intended it to be a compliment, but in the grand scheme of things, it was anything but good. "Everyone" included allies and enemies alike. Caster wouldn't drop her guard around him anymore. No one would, Master nor Servant. He had lost one of his greatest assets. Things would only be harder from here on out.

"You know, after all that you've done and all I've heard, to see you like this is rather disappointing." A new voice joined in from behind the pair. Turning around, Shirou and Saber glanced back to see Illya looking down on the former with her crimson eyes, cheeks puffed out in a childish manner. "Of all the things I imagined when I came here, seeing you sitting here and pouting like an old man wasn't one of them. I can't say I'm pleased about it either."

Shirou couldn't help but snort in amusement and patted the floor next to him in a welcoming way like she was a cat. "This is my thinking spot, Illya. You're welcome to join us if you want."

For a moment it looked as if she would take him up on the offer but quickly reigned herself in. "I'll stand, thank you. You still haven't earned the right to have me sit with you so informally."

"Suit yourself." He didn't think she'd open up that easily, but it was worth a shot. "How did you sleep? Have you gone through all the notes yet?"

"As well as I could, given the situation. I haven't memorized every last detail like you likely have, but I did manage to cover all the main paths," she admitted offhandedly. It took her the majority of the night to get that much reading done, but it was well worth it in her opinion. The bedroom she had gotten was a Japanese style, so it took some time getting used to, but it wasn't unpleasant. She had a better idea of how Shirou managed to maneuver everyone so easily in addition to predicting their moves. Obviously he wasn't perfect and some of what he had done was quite frankly suicidal, but he had been getting the job done.

"And what about my plans for you?" he asked as if talking about the weather. "You must have a good idea of what I'm going to do after the war is done to keep you alive by now."

Her heart jumped for a moment. A faint light of that which she had discarded, of actual hope for herself, pulsed. She didn't grab onto it though. She wasn't the desperate sort that grasped at straws. "It's… tempting despite the likely repercussions. And possible. However until I see more than paper I won't commit to anything."

"Ideas are but ideas until made into reality, regardless of how enticing they are." Saber nodded in understanding.

"So it's a 'We'll see' then." He chuckled in relief. "Good. That's much better than what happened last time."

"I tried to kill you with Berserker last time," the albino deadpanned.

"Yep." Shirou's smile widened. "Like I said. Much better."

"Is he always like this?" She turned to Saber with a look of disbelief.

The Servant looked at her Master with mixed curiosity and bemusement. "Honestly I am not sure. Shirou has been more focused than relaxed since I was summoned. This is actually the most unwound he has been since the war began when I met him."

"You make it sound like it's my fault I was so high strung." He glared at the blonde.

"I have yet to see evidence that proved otherwise." Saber looked away innocently. "You spent most of your time either plotting, fighting, sleeping, cooking, or learning how to fight adequately."

"Oi that was uncalled for. Expecting me to be as good as a Servant is crazy. Reasonable teachers don't hold their students to impossible standards."

"That only applies to reasonable students," Saber shot back, clearly amused by his complaints. "I have yet to see you be reasonable at all since our contract was formed."

"… Why are you so relaxed?" Illya stressed the words coming from her mouth as if asking herself the question as much as the others there while at the same time getting the bickering pair to notice her existence again. She pretended as if her eyebrow wasn't twitching. "After what happened last night I thought that he would be tearing his hair out to think of more plans, or training to master some long forgotten super spell, or something to deal with what happened! Instead he's just sitting here like an old man with tea and crackers next to him!"

Shirou and Saber both glanced at one another knowingly before the former shook his head. "There's no single reason, Illya. I've finally come clean to everyone about what I've been doing. I've just gotten my heart blown out. I've finally gotten you to at least listen to me a bit. I've learned more about Caster's situation. We've learned about Assassin. Rin and Luvia probably won't talk to me again after we're done. I'm definitely going to have to come clean about this whole debacle to Barthomelloi after this is done. And we lost control of Rider."

He looked back at his sister and smiled peacefully. "Is it really so hard to suspect that I've just gone full circle in terms of stress?"

A shiver went down the girl's spine. Even with Berserker right behind her in spiritual form, she couldn't help but feel as if the kind teen in front of her had for a moment become something incredibly dangerous. "I… but… you have a point, but you still aren't doing anything."

"There's no purpose in acting now." The answer came as easily to Saber as it did to Shirou. "Both sides are recovering from last night while reorganizing themselves. No one would risk any action for at least another day or so lest they leave themselves open. Caster and Archer are more suited for surveillance activities than we are, so until they report on the enemy's tactics and setup it is best we hold back and recover. Moving too early could hurt us even more than going too late."

The homonculus pouted in annoyance. Under most circumstances, attacking now when Caster was still confused and reorganizing herself would actually be for the best. Unfortunately they couldn't risk it while the independent Servant could blow up the mountain and by extension the Greater Grail at any given time. Finding out a way to sneak in and do things covertly was also made infinitely impossible simply because the one in charge of the enemy was a Caster and she had Kiri… Assassin under her thumb.

She had heard what Shirou had done last night in how he managed to get Sakura into the Servant's workshop, and was admittedly impressed. She also highly doubted that such methods would work a second time.

"That still doesn't mean that you should do nothing," she grumbled. "You could at least try to figure out how to attack her."

"You make it sound like I haven't." Shirou yawned and rubbed his eyes. The light really was bugging him. "Given the layout of the area and who she has under her control, it's easy to figure out some things already. Even if Caster has no experience in warfare, there are a few basic moves that she would see and make right off the bat. For example, Lancer is clearly going to be stationed at the front gate of the temple, right at the bottleneck. Just like last night. He's the only one that can hold off Saber or Berserker if they decide rush through and he can handle a hell of a beating before actually being finished off."

"Caster is also a coward," Saber added offhandedly. "She only fights if it's to her advantage. Given that nearly everyone in the War has something to gain from her demise, it would be safe to assume that she would minimize risks to herself and her projects at all costs. As such she will almost certainly be stationed in her territory the entire time when the fighting begins."

"The real problems are Rider and Assassin. There's no telling where they're stationed and set up. Depending on where they are, the entire flow of the fighting could change completely," Shirou continued without missing a beat, causing Illya's head to rotate back to him expectantly. "Overall, you can split the fighting into three main areas."

"The temple, the stairway, and the city itself." Saber nodded in agreement.

"Each area has their own rules and limitations that can be used for and against us." Illya was starting to get dizzy from switching her attention between the speakers so frequently.

Shirou and Saber seemed to be perfectly in sync. They easily read the intents of the other and follow up where the other stopped. Despite being together for barely a week, they acted as if they had known one another for much longer and were completely comfortable with the other's presence. Instead of acting like Master and Servant like the other teams, the two were more akin to old war veterans that had worked alongside one another for years.

The two trusted one another unconditionally whether they knew it or not already.

Deep down, Illya admitted she was somewhat jealous of their closeness. She didn't know why exactly though.

"By having Luvia torch the stairway and the forest around it, we prevented Assassin from being able to protect it effectively with his traps and limit his ability to fight there as well, but at the same time it's now open for him to snipe anyone there from the city."

"Likewise Rider is capable in any of the environments thanks to her speed and dexterity. Overall she'd likely be more efficient in the city as well thanks to the wider area available to her." Saber put in her two cents. "She's more suited for fighting in irregular terrain than most of us."

"Wait. Why not the temple?" Illya pointed out. "You make it sound like Assassin and Rider won't be in there. And why would anyone fight in the city in the first place?"

"Like we said. Caster's a coward," Shirou pointed out. "After it was revealed that she only has one Command Seal, we forced her into a corner. She won't risk leaving herself open for a potential backstabbing for anything if she can help it. As for the city, well, the Masters have to hide somewhere while the Servants fight, don't they? There's next to no protection on the stairs or in the Temple, and after last night Caster's going to curse, trap, and rig as much of the forest that isn't burnt down as she can to prevent us from trying to sneak in again, so the city is the only option we have. If we send out all of the Servants from the get go, we're pretty much opening ourselves up for an attack from behind, or above for that matter."

Saber leered at her Master skeptically. It didn't take an expert to tell that his biggest concern was Assassin. One slipup or opening and they might as well kiss victory goodbye. The fact that there were four Masters to keep an eye on when things went down was not lost on her at all.

Overall, Kiritsugu was going to be the biggest hurdle for them to overcome regardless of what strategy Caster employed in the end. Unlike the other Servants, there really was no way of accurately predicting when and where he would show up regardless of what methods the Witch employed with the other Servants.

"I suppose that you're trying to find some sort of opening to exploit then?" Illya frowned. From what she had heard, Shirou had only woken up an hour or so ago. The fact that he had managed to dissect the battleground and the enemy's territory with the situation so thoroughly and naturally was rather impressive. She had done some brainstorming herself during the night, and had come to some of the conclusions that he had as well, but she didn't get nearly as many results as he did.

There had been more behind how efficiently he had been controlling the war after all. The ease of how quickly he managed to process the situation and produce accurate and reasonable conclusions was quite frankly scary. Being well informed was one thing. Being able to utilize information to make the right decisions was another entirely. Was it merely because he had been studying Fuyuki and the War for so long, or because he was unnaturally good at it? Illya could not determine which.

"That's what strategists and tacticians do in general. Don't tell me that you haven't been doing the same." He avoided answering the question, a wry grin threatening to make its way on his face.

"You don't need much in terms of strategy when your weapon is Berserker you know." Her response was flat, as if what she said was the most obvious thing in the world.

Shirou blinked several times before snorting in amusement. "Haha. Right. Forgot about that. Sorry. Sorry."

"That still doesn't explain why you really aren't doing anything." Illya glared at him. "If you've read that far into what her strategy is, then shouldn't you have an easy time getting through what she's set up? Even though you're not a Servant, you might as well be Assassin. You almost killed Caster yesterday. And we have a Caster of our own too."

"Mmm. Maybe," Shirou agreed with her statements. If all that was needed to qualify as Assassin was "stealthy and capable of killing the enemy in some way", then he did technically fit the criteria, barely. He'd never consider himself on par with a Servant save maybe Gilgamesh for obvious reasons, even the weakest ones, but he was still a threat to them. "But I don't like fighting with so many unknowns. Caster's conditions for victory and defeat are different than ours, so we have to act accordingly to that."

"I believe that the modern term for it is asymmetrical warfare." Saber mused thoughtfully. "Most battles fall under this category, even in my time."

Conditions for victory and defeat. Goals that must be absolutely achieved and avoided in order for a conclusion to be met. Depending on what they were for each respective party, it was possible for all sides to win or lose at the same time, or for one side to win or lose and the other to be in a stalemate where neither condition is met.

For Caster, her goal for victory were for her to achieve the grail, either through her makeshift means, or through legitimate means. Either was a real possibility and option at this point. If one could consider secondary goals, it would very likely be to eliminate Shirou as an obstacle, followed by capturing Saber, and the removal of the other Servants.

On the other side of the coin, her conditions for failure were either her death, or if someone removed her control over the temple. If either was met, then even if she controlled the other Servants, the foundation that she built her power on would crumble instantly. She wouldn't have the power to support the Servants under her command and thus would be sapped dry of prana and die within a short period of time. She wouldn't be holding the temple and essentially the city hostage. And she wouldn't have a makeshift grail at her disposal.

For their side, things were different. Their conditions for victory were to get the Princess into the temple and prevent the mountain from going off. From Shirou's point of view, he would not accept any form of it that involved the deaths of the combatants other than the Witch herself for one reason or another.

The idea of such a victory was preposterous to those more rational and realistic than he was, but that would not stop Shirou from trying to achieve such a possibility regardless. Given that he was essentially the unspoken leader and strategist of their side, everyone else was more or less unwillingly roped into the path.

The real problem though was their conditions for defeat. If the mountain exploded. If the Princess died. If they were unable to break through Caster's defenses in time. If Caster got the Grail. They all lost.

If Caster got overzealous and sapped the city dry of prana just before they killed her. They lost.

If they pushed too hard and Caster decided to take everyone out with her with her dying breath. They lost.

If too many other Servants were killed and Caster's artificial Grail activated, they lost.

Simply killing her was not enough. They had to do it in a way that wouldn't give her any time to pull a last second fast one on them. A battle with no victors was a very real possibility in the current situation.

They had too many conditions against them to act recklessly. What they needed to do in order to win was simple on paper, but incredibly difficult do to in execution. Their target was slippery, vindictive, and had her finger perpetually hovering over a portable big red button.

"What do you intend to do then? What will letting her build up her defenses do that will help our situation that will make things manageable?"

"You can tell much from how a person arranges their troops for a siege." Saber's eyes clouded as she recalled her past. Of the wars and battles she waged, both on the defense and offence. "In many cases, certain weaknesses are only revealed, established, and able to be exploited after a strong defense is made."

"It's kinda like deconstructing the mystery of another magus." Shirou shrugged. "It's easier to figure out and counter the mechanics of a well-established and polished spell than some thrown together chaotic mess that some third rate magus slapped together after coming home half drunk on a Friday night."

"Speaking from experience?" Saber asked wryly.

"The poor guy just broke up with his girlfriend and I was roped into his lamenting." The Master divulged without shame. "Brits these days can't hold their booze well. I held his hair back."

"Shameful." Saber shook her head. To think that her people had fallen so far as to have low alcohol tolerances.

"Comparing the temple of a magus from the age of the gods to a simple castle and modern day mysteries. Don't be insulted that I am not convinced with such an oversimplified analogy. You actually believe you can find and use these currently nonexistent weak-points?" Illya had trouble being convinced. It was hard to argue against the King of Knights in regards to warfare, but given who the opponents were and the current situation she was having doubts.

"It all depends on how she uses Rider these next few days." Saber nodded. "Where she positions Bloodfort Andromeda will be the greatest indicator of not only how Caster wishes to fight, but how she expects us to move as well. It's too great of an asset to not utilize in this situation. Too tempting."

"Too visible. Especially with a Caster on our side that can scan the area for it." A dark look occupied Shirou's face.

Bloodfort Andromeda. If there was one Noble Phantasm that he would never use in this war, it was that one. A bounded field that essentially converts any and every living thing inside into prana for the user. Even if only partially established the results of its use were nauseating.

However its full effects were what he was really concerned about.

It had never been witnessed in his father's visions. With Shinji being an incompetent Master at best and Rin constantly interfering with the seals that established it, the Noble Phantasm barely reached half completion at any point.

He had asked Rider about it when they had some time to talk. The bounded field was a B ranked Noble Phantasm after all. Outside of its large area of effect and its tenacious nature, he had not really seen anything that would warrant such a high rank. Had Rider had a competent Master, the field would prove to be near useless if it had little impact on enemy Servants when finished.

Rider's answer sent shivers down his spine.

In its complete form, the bounded field would instantly vaporize and convert all living things inside for power to be used by Rider. That much was known. However against Servants the effect was more interesting.

If the Servant was relatively low on prana, in general or in stats, they would also surprisingly be unable to resist the effects of the field and be turned into raw fuel for Rider. Those that weren't would instead would constantly have their reserves sapped until they too succumbed or they somehow managed to escape. In the meantime, their strength, endurance, and agility stats would be lowered by a full rank regardless.

If she fought in such an environment and used her Mystic Eyes, Rider could overwhelm all but the most powerful of Servants single handedly. Realistically she could probably even handle two or even three normal Servants at the same time in such conditions. While she used her guerrilla tactics to exhaust her targets until they fell to her bounded field or her abilities, she would be kept fresh and rested from the power she drained from them. She probably wouldn't need her Pegasus in such situations unless it was used to counter any last ditch efforts from her prey.

It really was a disgustingly unfair combination of abilities in his opinion. Only the strongest Servants would be able to hold their own under such crippling conditions. Rider could likely have even defeated Berserker using these tactics if Godhand wasn't so broken when it came to granting him immunity to anything below A rank and anything that killed him once before.

Thankfully the list of cons of the Noble Phantasm was just as long as the pros. It took a long time to set up the bounded field. Too long. Ten days under ideal normal conditions. Even with Caster's and Lancer's help, Shirou doubted that it would be completed by the time the final showdown took place. Plus there could only be one of them in existence at any given time, so that prevented the user from trying to litter the battleground with conveniently placed battlegrounds at any time.

It also could only be used once per setup, and Rider had to be within it to activate. The field itself wrecked the leylines below once activated so it wasn't as if the user could just wait inside of it for the rest of the fighters of the war to come inside one at a time. Once used, Rider would have to set up the entire field from scratch all over again in another location.

Taking into account that almost all the Grail Wars have barely lasted longer than two weeks, the idea of being able to have another one set up in time and actually use it was miniscule.

That didn't mean that he wouldn't try to have Luvia and Caster try to run interference in the meantime though.

Actually, given that latter fact, there was good reason to assume that Caster wouldn't set up the Noble Phantasm on the stairway. Destroying the major leyline coming from the temple would hurt her more than help. She wouldn't trust something that powerful inside her territory, especially with her project being subjected to the effects, so that left only the city… meaning…

It was apparent to anyone that saw Shirou that he wasn't looking at his back yard now, but his mental image of the future battleground. "The witch can't afford to hold back now. She'll have to risk it, even if she does figure out that doing so will reveal her hand. If I was in her position, I'd be incredibly tempted to do it too. Between Caster's knowledge and Lancer's Runecraft, I wouldn't be surprised if they manage to get the field up to near peak condition in two to three days. Once the foundations of her defenses are established, we will have a reasonable view of where her weaknesses are too."

"And how she'd try to counter those weaknesses," Illya pointed out.

"If she sees them in the first place. You'd be surprised at how careless magi can be at times. Past and present. Overall I'd say the odds are in our favor. Saber's been doing this all her life, and to be honest I've been punching more holes in her setup than anyone else's' since the war started. It's starting to get kinda tedious really. If I didn't need Rule Breaker, I would have killed her long before things got to this point. If you look at it for a certain angle, I guess that it really is my fault that things have devolved to this point."

If Illya had to be honest, it was how casually Shirou had dismissed Caster that got to her the most. The fact that this teen boy seemed to consider a hero of legend as an annoyance that should have been addressed earlier like a chore… and the terrifying thing was that she was inclined to believe him.

… What sort of monster did her father truly make?

She silently tried to figure out the answer to the question for the rest of the afternoon as Shirou and Saber conversed, exchanging ideas, strategies, and friendly verbal jabs. The more she listened, the less she understood.

She may have been born and reared in absurd conditions, but even if she didn't know it already, she could tell that something was off with boy raised to be her brother.

o. o. o.

"So how long do you wish to coddle them?" Archer asked casually as he leaned against the doorway to Caster's observation room.

"Really?" The Princess incredulously drawled without taking her eyes off of her crystal ball. She had been attempting to monitor her counterpart's actions as much as possible since the Masters went to rest, but it had been slow going. "You have the nerve to ask that after what you did?"

"Don't blame me. You lot are the ones that gave me the inquisition and used the Command Seal." He brushed off the accusation as if it wasn't his problem, or would have if his voice wasn't laced with deep irritation. "The truth hurts sometimes. They forgot that."

"And it is even more damaging when timed poorly." Caster glanced at him irritably. "You do realize that this could have been avoided if you had even the slightest bit of intelligence to inform your Master that you were from a different timeline so she would be at least a bit less suspicious of you."

"In the words of my currently emotionally distraught Master, I'm the king of idiots. I really don't have any reason or proof to argue against the claim," he admitted his fault without a care. "That doesn't change our situation though does it? Your other has half of the war under her thumb and the other half is already falling apart just trying to keep itself together. If we want any hope of preventing things from getting worse, we're going to need our distressed hormone saturated partners to get a hold of themselves soon."

She couldn't argue against that. The situation was dire and they would need to organize themselves if they wanted to see the end of this debacle. It was one of the major advantages that her other had at the moment. Everyone may be out for her head, but she was, for better or for worse, in complete control over her forces. She could organize them however she wished with ease unless said forces managed to push for but a few moments of independent action before succumbing again.

They didn't have that. They had a far better strategist and better muscle, but there was no cohesion in the troops. No organization. Just a heavily frayed web of links between them so bizarre and messed up that it would be at home on Olympus with her extended and extremely dysfunctional family.

Legends, Power, and Gods be damned. No matter how perfumed the stories were, everyone in Ancient Greece knew that the Divine and their extended families were frequently messed in the head and couldn't see two feet past whatever suicidal chore the new bloods had been given from the ones upstairs… or their libidos. She knew as much considering she had been one of them.

Hell, half the reason why the Kings during her time paid so much heed to those with ichor running through their veins was because they needed to keep an eye on the overpowered nuts that ran through their territory. They caused more problems than they solved more often than not. Better to know where the damage was going to be in the first place. It's not like they could do much to stop them once they got going.

Archer came to her about the issue simply because she was the only one that would bother to listen to him at the moment. Luvia was pretending that he didn't even exist now unless he had a job to do, and Rin had locked herself in her room after his rather traumatizing revelations the previous night. Likewise, Caster was the only one that Luvia would listen to other than Sebastian, and oddly enough Luvia was the only one that Rin would possibly take seriously.

Allowing the forgotten magics of old to ebb away from her grasp, the runaway Princess sighed and turned to the man. "What do you suggest I say then? That we should just ignore what you told us last night? That we can trust you for some heart wrenching reason?"

"I suggest that you do what you made me do." His face hardened. Perhaps it had been because he had finally exposed everything, but since their conversation he had been more expressive when his emotions hit a certain point. "Tell them the truth, or more accurately remind them of it. It's not my fault that women, if not everyone else, tend to be better at delivering it than me."

"The truth of the situation won't make them forget the truth about you," she countered. "No one in their right mind would trust their backs to someone who had been endangering and lying to everyone since the beginning, and don't you even dare try to hide under the pathetic excuse of merely omitting facts. That annoying bit of stool is older than my great grandsires."

"Then why bother with my other self? He's just as bad if not worse than me." He really meant it too, which was a first. Most of the time his younger self was completely useless at the very beginning and only situationally capable at the end.

This time his younger self played the damn game almost like he was Kotomine from the get go.

"Because, as much as we despise him for it, he is trying to do good and help us," Caster snarled, annoyed with the fact almost as much as she was with the one she was talking to. "His methods are just as bad as yours, but his reasons and goals are nowhere near as lacking."

"And look where we are now. Staring down the barrel of a four on four Servant war that's bound to leave more problems in its wake than solve." There was no way that such a battle would end ideally for anyone. There had never been a fight like this before in any of the previous wars, and there likely would never be another one like it.

"And where do you stand in regard to that, Archer?" Caster's prana levels rose to distort the air around her. "Are you going to be one of those problems? Are you going to make them? That is our biggest concern right now. As foolish as your younger self is, I believe it is safe to assume that he won't be actively pursuing any additional unknown issues anytime soon. Not in our current situation."

"If I had anything to wager, I'd take that bet." His grumbling didn't go unheard but no one bothered to pretend otherwise. "What do you want from me, Caster? Do you want me to say that I won't snipe you the first opportunity I have if I think I can benefit from it? That I won't go for my other self once the dust settles? A petty declaration that I've changed and realized the futility of my hope to not spend an eternity endlessly massacring humanity? Unless you haven't noticed, I can't lie to Rin."

"I want you to give us a reason to actually trust you." Given the look on her face, it wasn't hard to believe that she had as much trouble believing the words coming out of her mouth as Archer did.

"… You're serious." His irritation ebbed away as he digested her words.

"And you are still a bigger fool than I," Caster snapped back. "You are many things, Archer, but you are not a result of this world's Shirou Emiya, and you are not blind. I have spent only fleeting moments with your Master and I can already tell that she is more than smitten with your other. She has invested herself into him. He is a goal for her, a task, a project, a puzzle that she wishes solved before or likely until her time is up with all her might. After she had learned of all the danger he had put himself in right under her nose, your declaration of what your version of her may or may not have done was the finishing blow. It more or less shattered the child's pride and self-esteem. The only one that has a hope of rectifying the situation now is you. Not me. Not your other. And certainly not my Master."

Archer had the decency to look away in some shame and annoyance. "Tch. Damn it, Rin. You really can't just leave well enough alone can you?"

"Well?" The woman took an accusing step forward.

It took a few moments for the tan man to respond before he sighed and raised his hands in defeat. "Fine. I'll see what I can do, but no promises. My Master's a stubborn one. Talking sense into her when she's in a mood is nearly a miracle in itself. Don't be surprised if she ends up using her seal to make me kill myself though."

"I take it you know from experience." The words left her mouth before she even thought better of it.

A dry smirk made its way onto his face as he slowly vanished into spiritual form. "Who knows?"

The seconds seemed to drag by in silence before a set of footsteps was heard. Before Caster could ask who it was, Sebastian appeared with a tray full of tea and snacks. "You know, you'd make a surprisingly good mother."

The seemingly random comment threw the Servant off completely. "… What?"

"He's quite childish isn't he?" the butler asked, clearly amused by her completely defenseless expression. "He's unnecessarily stubborn when it comes to things he is focused on but goes with the flow once his defenses are breached by someone that isn't an enemy. A stern personality is needed to deal with people like him. His current version is much the same. Perhaps that's why he doesn't fare well against strong willed women. Forgive me for eavesdropping, but I was on my way to offer you some service when the conversation began."

Caster resisted the faint urge to chide the butler for his offer. Ever since the current Shirou Emiya served her that meal all those days ago, her ability to resist such service had been reduced to near zero. Allowing the power around her to cede, she allowed herself to sigh in frustration before donning a weak smile. "You have my thanks. I feel that such luxuries are almost a necessity at the moment. Your timing is convenient."

Walking over to a table stationed to the side of the room, the old man placed down the tray. "Sometimes the smaller things are needed to solve the larger problems."

"True, but I fear I may have just caused a larger one." She grabbed a small biscuit and bit off a small piece. It was artificial and had too much sugar in her opinion, but the distraction helped calm her nerves.

"Oh, I'm not too sure about that." The man smiled briefly. "On the contrary, I believe you made the best move you could given the circumstances. Men like that are too honest. When they break down, it takes a certain kind of person to manage them."

"Honest?" He had been that at one point, hadn't he? True to his dreams. True in what he wanted. Even when the lies of the world killed him, he was honest. It was only when he couldn't turn away from the truth that he finally started to crack. "Maybe at one point, but now he is something else."

She glanced at the butler with some curiosity. "You have seen battle I take it?"

"A mercenary, once upon a time." He bowed formally. "Experience and age accumulate with time, but the human body peaks only once I'm afraid."

"And what can you say of Archer?" she pressed with mild curiosity. She may be a Servant and far more powerful than any human in the current world, but she was not a warrior. She did not have their experience.

"… He is as he appears." The old man's face grew solemn. "He tried to push his well-intentioned agenda and the world pushed back. Obviously the world won and then some, so now he is disillusioned, if not disdainful with anything with regard to what he once was. Faith and hope have been abandoned for nihilism and practicality that mask the desperation in his being. Risky gambles don't deter him if he truly feels they can yield the results he is looking for, but he does not approach them blindly. He is a desperate man that tries to keep himself arm's distance from everyone around him at least, but not a foolish one."

"Then why was my decision the right one?" She picked up her cup and looked at her reflection. There were aspects of the one looking back at her that she still despised, no matter if the reasons were of her making or not. The difference was that unlike Archer, she was able to look away. "If he is as you say, then it would be safer to cull him now before he causes another issue."

It was a sad but true fact. She didn't hate Archer, not exactly. Annoyed, wary, suspicious, and angry at him, but he wasn't an enemy. Not an ally either though. Just as she may be a threat to his plans, he was a threat to hers and her Master's. The plans themselves didn't have anything to do with one another outside of the individuals coincidentally involved. They merely valued their own agenda more than they valued the welfare of the other.

"Hmm. True, but as I said, he is like a child. Irrationally stubborn." The old butler smiled in a way that reminded the Servant of her Aunt whenever bestowing upon her a unique piece of information. "He may be broken, but people like that tend to still have a few parts of their old selves intact. If he had been anything like the boy that I have spoken in length to over the past two years, then I believe that he will manage to at least somewhat rectify his actions."

o. o. o.

He could have phased through the door to his Master's room, but given his history of doors and women on the other side (now that he could actually remember said history), he thought better of it.

Half an inch from knocking on the door, he realized that he probably should have brought some tea or coffee with him as a peace offering. Oh well, no point in lamenting on more stupid mistakes now. Why break the streak?

"Rin. I'm coming in," he announced after announcing his presence to the one inside. He knew she was awake from their connection. Not exactly coherent and stable, but awake.

Given that there was more surprise coming from her side and not alarm, it was safe to assume that he wasn't walking in on her getting dressed… again.

Without waiting for her to respond, he opened the door at a normal speed, but still with barely a sound.

Despite how much Rin and Luvia despise one another, it apparently didn't extend to the latter's sense of hospitality. If he were to be honest, the blue and white walled room was worth a few hundred thousand yen more than Rin's room back home with the paintings, carpet, table, and massive bed, not to mention the bloody chandelier hanging in the middle for who the hell knows what reason. Apparently this version of the blonde was just as wild with her money as the one he remembered when he was alive.

He had no doubt that if his Master wasn't such an emotional trainwreck at the moment she would have raged over how luxurious the room was on first sight.

Instead she was probably where she had been all night since their conversation last night. In the bed. Under the covers with her sleepwear on, and her back turned towards him with her legs curled up.

"I know you hate mornings and getting up, but it's past lunch now," he offhandedly noted while closing the door behind him. "Sorry, but I didn't bring coffee with me this time. It's not healthy to have it this late, no matter what your addiction claims."

Silence was the response that he got, not that he had expected anything else. Rin's mute treatment was an exceptionally rare occurrence. This wasn't one of those childish "I turn my head away from you and pout while making obnoxious comments that compare you to the wind" schoolyard situations, but a complete shutout. Between what he recalled from his living memories and his near infinite summonings in the Grail War, he could confidently say that the odds of him actually winning the thing were higher than witnessing the sight before him.

After all, it wasn't every day that the proud and confident Rin Tohsaka completely lost faith in herself.

"You know you can't stay like this," he continued on. "With the way things are now, I wouldn't be surprised if the Witch tried a sneak attack on us while everyone is recovering. Trying it on a team of Saber and Berserker would be simply stupid so we would be the prime targets. Having you mope here while everyone else is fighting for their lives wouldn't exactly be the best thing to do would it?"

More silence.

"Honestly." He sighed and walked closer to her but not overly so. He didn't try to pull the sheets away from her. He had done that only once when he was alive. He never made that mistake again. He'd have to resort to cheap and petty shots. Essentially fighting fire with fire. "People do gain weight from doing nothing in bed all day you know. Believe it or not, not every version of you that summoned me was the same. If possible I'd rather not be stuck with a Tohsaka that appears to have a thyroid issue again."

There were some worlds that were better off forgotten. Carrying about a two hundred forty pound Rin while jumping about the city was… ugh. It wouldn't have been nearly so bad if she hadn't been dressed the same as her light weight versions, short skirt and all.

On the plus side, she had hit the Caster of that world like a fucking tank at one point after he had tried to do the tried and true betrayal trick there. Girl nearly offed the Servant in a single blow.

That managed to get a reaction, as the bed sheets began to shift just enough that a head emerged from the folds. With messed up black hair, bloodshot blue eyes, and a pale complexion, Rin glared at her Servant accusingly. "Why are you doing this?"

Her voice was dry and raspy, a perfect match to her imperfect image. The girl probably barely got any sleep at all last night.

EMIYA knew that she would hold the weight comment against him for later. Rin was many things, vindictive, shrewd, and had an excellent memory for these sorts of things. He paid it no mind though. "You're still in your night clothes, curled up in your bed, with a terrible complexion, and a war is still going on. You're the genius."

Her face scrunched up in frustration. "You know what I mean. Why are you doing this?"

That was a loaded question and they both knew it. Unfortunately he wasn't able to lie. "If you must know, Caster was rather insistent on it when I asked her to play the role. Admittedly, the idea of asking another Servant to help my Master is a rather stupid idea, but given the circumstances I thought it was the least terrible. You are clearly not in the mood to deal with me. And Luvia obviously won't listen to me now, plus leaving her in a room with you alone in your state would be by far among my dumbest decisions to date."

Obviously his decision to become a Counter Guardian was not being counted.

"Out of everyone here, Caster was the one that I felt would have the easiest time talking to you and vice versa. Even if she is an enemy Servant, she has a decent head on her shoulders and isn't the sort to do foolish things with the situation as it is now," he concluded as if it was only natural to come to that answer.

The girl admittedly agreed with him, as much as she hated to admit it. She was in no condition or mood to deal with or tolerate her Servant at the moment, but clearly some people thought otherwise.

"The island recluse has better bedside manners and people skills than you. Why am I not surprised?" She sat up more but it was clear she had intended to hurt him with the comment.

"Because I don't really care about impressions and she does." Archer had no doubt that was the case. The Princess was an accommodating individual. Very kind and considerate, though she didn't take betrayal very well. Someone like her really wasn't suited for a War like this.

That much is blatantly obvious. Rin kept her thoughts to herself as she stared down at her Servant and once more felt like tearing her hair out in confusion, rage and frustration.

Trying to figure out and deal with Shirou was a lifelong project in itself. Trying to figure out another one made her feel like she was going mad.

She… she had been there.

Archer may not have been sure, but if their relationship had been anything as close as it had sounded and her other had been like her, she was certain that she would have been at his execution.

To say goodbye? To save him? That she didn't know. She doubted that her other did either. As much as a genius she liked to claim to be, she really was indecisive when it came to things like this.

She hated that fact almost as much as she did everything else that had been dropped on her this past week.

She hated Shirou for not telling her about anything that had been going on.

She hated Kotomine for killing her family and ruining her heritage.

She hated Sakura for having sex with Shirou when they agreed that they would both be needed to keep him in line, and then not telling her about it.

She hated her father and Zouken for what had happened to Sakura.

She hated EMIYA for being such a stupid idealistic idiot in life and dragging her into his problems.

She hated the Einzbern for coming up with this stupid ritual and then subsequently screwing up the damn thing later on.

She hated Luvia because… well she just naturally hated Luvia.

Above all… she hated herself.

She had missed the signs. She had not helped anyone. She had been thinking of herself only.

She had been useless. Completely and utterly useless. For all her skill, power, intellect, and resources, no one had really considered her a notable ally or individual to keep an eye on. She and Archer had been lead around all this time with no idea of the real games that were being played.

Even Luvia caught onto things faster than she did. Hell, the blonde was the one that had pretty much pointed out everything to her in the first place.

But the one she had summoned, the one that she thought she could trust above everyone, past present and future… to turn out as he had… and to hear that she had actually given up on him…

When she looked at her Servant now, all she could see was her failure, her greatest failure. It didn't matter that it was another Rin Tohsaka that had done the deed. She had screwed up again, and now she was reaping the consequences.

If this is what her efforts had yielded… maybe it was for the best that Shirou didn't trust her with anything in the first place.

"You can go now." Sighing, she turned away and slowly took herself out of the bed. "I can take care of myself."

Archer frowned at the dismissal. He had half expected the girl to make some sort of scathing comment. There certainly was no short of those elsewhere in the building. "I see. Far be it for me to be concerned about my Master's wellbeing. Would you like something prepared from downstairs when you're done?"

"No. I'll find something for myself," she dismissed his offer without any emotion in her voice, as if he wasn't really a person.

The Servant stared at the girl walking towards the dresser with some concern in his eyes, but didn't press the issue. She had dismissed him and was clearly not in a state to debate for the moment. He had come to get her out of bed and had managed just that, but it didn't mean that he didn't have a bad taste in his mouth seeing her in such a state. "Then by your leave."

He turned to the door and began to walk towards it. The Rin of this world was so much like the one he remembered it was scary. Then again, she rarely differed between the worlds he was in, but this was one of the few times that he had genuinely seen her this broken down.

Caster was right, she was invested in his other self, and the actions and intentions of the two that shared the name Shirou Emiya had completely destroyed her self-esteem unintentionally.

Affection.

The word was almost foreign to him and his tongue. To feel genuine sentimental attachment to something other than swords was a near bizarre sensation to him now. Many of the things he thought he could feel such things for had devolved into at best an honest respect. He had been killing for so long that the things that he could apply the word to could be counted on one hand with fingers left over.

But Rin was one of them.

"Rin…" He stopped at the door and grabbed the handle but didn't turn around. He didn't need to make eye contact to get the message across. "I won't claim to have a perfect record of protecting you every time you summoned me, and I won't say that I haven't gambled on your life in certain situations when I thought the opportunity to achieve my goals were looking rather promising, but…"

The door opened.

"… I can say for a fact that the worlds that Rin Tohsaka died during the Holy Grail War should she summon Counter Guardian EMIYA are exceptionally few and far in between." He walked through the doorway. "Well… of her not dying before her Servant at least. After that she is often unfortunately left in the care of a third rate magus with an impossible ideal. I suppose that's just another thing I should apologize for."

Rin turned around to speak, but the door had already been closed.

o. o. o.

"Kotomine Church," Kirei answered the ringing phone politely.

"Is this the head priest I am speaking with?" an unremarkable voice on the other end asked in fluent Japanese, but the hint of an accent was still detected.

"This is he. How may I and the Lord be of service today?" The overseer hoped that he wasn't dealing with someone that was trying to do a confession over the phone again. He had no issue messing with the lives of those that put their faith in him regardless of the distance. He did however have issue with the fact that doing over the phone cheapened the experience. It just wasn't the same and in all honesty it made him feel like a whore.

"Overseer Kotomine, this is Ashlund Coppergate, your contact from the Magus Association." The voice's tone dropped a few octaves and became more articulate, exposing more age from the owner.

"Ah. Ashlund. It's been a while. How's the family?"

"They've been better." Once could practically hear the grimace on the other man's face. "Work's been keeping us apart lately."

"One must have a strong foundation for any form of livelihood to grow. Be it spiritual or financial. You are both magi. You are wise enough to know this," the priest advised with sincerity.

If he didn't enjoy doing this so much he would have asked the Church to pay him for sewing discord in the Association so easily.

"Yeah well. Never mind. This call isn't a social call. The people upstairs have been keeping tabs on the reports you have been sending us and are a bit concerned," the unknowing man reported. "Other than that guy you reported that was interfering with the system, there hasn't been any deaths yet, Servant or Master. Considering that we have one of the top Enforcers, two Edelfelt mercenaries, and the bloody Silver Dog running around, most here assumed that half the city would be painted red or on fire by now. Or both."

"I take it that the gambling pools have taken a bit of a hit," Kirei absently noted.

"Over a third of the wages have been snuffed out from the time limit alone." It wasn't a secret that many members of the Magus Association held bets and wages on events like this. True the Grail War was among the more violent and potentially world changing than most rituals around the planet, but that just made it the more interesting.

"I take it you lost a pretty penny as well?"

"I will if Emiya doesn't wipe out the competition by Thursday." There was no shame in his tone.

"Is that so?" Kirei was slightly amused that he wasn't the only one intrigued by the boy.

"Kid's the safe bet. Barthomelloi doesn't take just anyone under her wing. I know people that would literally sell their first born to work for her even just temporarily." Given the nature of the Clocktower's politics, he probably wasn't stretching the truth.

"Fair enough. Personally I think that the Enforcer's and the Einzbern's odds aren't too bad either." He wasn't lying. He had seen firsthand how competent Bazett was, and the Einzbern's latest Servant was certainly a piece of work. "However your concerns are quite valid. To have no fatalities or withdrawals a week after everything has commenced is quite peculiar now that I think about it."

"Any reason why this might be?" And right there was the purpose of the roundabout conversation. It took a bit of conditioning to get used to, but Kirei soon realized that he got more meaningful material from the supposedly meaningless drabbles than he did with the main subjects. People tended to be far looser with the truth when it wasn't the main topic of conversation.

"We are dealing with a ritual involving heroes of legends, nobles and mercenaries of varying backgrounds, untold magics of immense complexity, and an unlimited wish granting device. There a multitude of reasons why this has come to pass."

"Can you be a bit more specific than that? My superiors aren't as fond of amusing sarcasm as I am." Given from the tone of the man's voice, he seemed to be quite enthralled with the practice as well.

"There has been much fighting going about so it clearly the lack of deaths aren't from an absence of effort, if you were wondering. Surprisingly the majority of them have been group battles if my reports are accurate, which is somewhat peculiar," Kirei admitted whimsically. "The Edelfelts were not a surprise, however Emiya and Matou registered together as well. Interestingly enough, the one who interfered with the system that was dealt with was the head of the Matou himself… and Emiya was the one who set up his execution."

"No kidding," the voice on the other line mused thoughtfully. "Sounds like the dog has other things in mind for the war than just a wish and glory, but even then pinning the lack of deaths all on him would be ridiculous. He's good but he's not that good, and even if he was distracted there's no reason why he wouldn't focus on the rest of the competition once his main target was dealt with."

"I agree completely. It would be far too much for a single person to accomplish, even if said individual was extremely competent." This really was too easy. "Even if he worked with Matou's heir and had two Servants under his influence, with the opposition he faced it would be near impossible to achieve such results with just those resources."

"Careful now. You make it sound like the kid's been brewing up some sort of conspiracy with half the war. We're just talking hypothetically. Last thing we want is to step on the toes of the monsters at the top."

"Of course. I'm just making some observations from my previous experience as a participant in the war. The fact that it took place fifty years early is already an irregularity that no one could have predicted." It was amazing how the human mind could make assumptions from facts that did nothing to answer the question at hand.

"But other than the lack of deaths and the early teams, you haven't seen anything off?" the magus asked skeptically.

"Not particularly. One master is taking a large amount of prana from the local populace, however it isn't a problem yet, and it's not unexpected. The only other thing of note is that one of the participants has made base at a local temple that has some particularly strong natural defenses. Most of the fighting lately has been focused around there, and it has been rather heavy each time. It's starting to become a chore to cover up everything as each time the landscape on the mountain it's on changes drastically. Given the frequency and intensity of the battles, I would not be surprised if there are multiple Servants in there and most of the other participants are focused on them in particular."

He really was grateful for the Caster on the Mountain helping him out with the damages, even if she was really doing it for herself. Dealing with the paperwork covering up the same area over and over again was starting to get annoyingly tedious.

"Yeesh. Sounds like hell. Don't know who has it worse, the poor shmucks holed up there or you for dealing with the aftermath each time."

"The lord bestows trials upon us all. It is not my place to question them or their timing. I can only surmount them or fail trying."

"Sure. Here's to you and your trials then." The halfhearted cheer wasn't taken seriously by either party. Both men knew that religion and belief were in short supply in the Clocktower. "So nothing else worth noting?"

"Outside of the Matou's death and the reasons for his execution, most everything so far has been within my expectations. I send my reports every morning, so feel free to inspect them if you feel the need to." Kirei honestly replied. From his perspective, the curse in the grail and Gilgamesh had long since been moved outside of his notable category. "Given from what I've seen, things do seem to be reaching a peak within the next few days, so we should see a lapse in the lack of mortalities soon. I shall inform you if anything catches my attention though. I shall put all my efforts into addressing this quandary."

"Very well. Expect me to contact you within the next few days then. Please continue your good work."

"And you." Kirei nodded as he hung up the phone.

"What a greedy individual you have become." Gilgamesh chuckled from the couch a few meters away. "Grasping at straws, you decide to sow your seeds the first opportunity received even if the location and story are not yours."

"What is a story but entertainment for the audience?" The priest looked to the last of the paperwork needed to manage the previous night's events. While Caster had cleared up much of the damage on the mountain, she had done next to nothing in regards to the buildings at the base of the property. Thankfully such things could easily be written off as shoddy construction. "I have every intent to keep tabs on what happens to the end. It would be irresponsible not to."

"Fair enough. I find playwrights that do not finish their work to be meaningless existences. Incomplete products produced by incomplete beings. I did not allow anyone incompetent and lazy like that live in my kingdom," the King of Heroes declared. "Even the worst tales completed possess greater value than unfinished sagas. It is an insult to all to allow such things to exist."

"I agree. A task started must be a task completed. If not, then the only thing the piece will represent is a waste of time." Kirei nodded as he signed the form in front of him.

He moved the paper to the top of a pile to his left and started to work on the next one when he paused and looked up. "It seems that we have guests."

"Oh?" The Golden King's smirk twitched somewhat in amusement. "Hopefully they won't start anything here. It would be a shame if you had to relocate all your documents."

The priest stood up casually and moved to the door. "Indeed. It would be a shame if you were stuck watching me sit at my desk for days on end drinking wine instead of something more interesting."

He left the room pretending to ignore the bitter chuckles coming from his accomplice of ten years.

o. o. o.

"So?" Lorelei Barthomelloi leered at the third generation Coppergate at his desk.

"He's without a doubt hiding something my lady." The man didn't beat around the bush. "Real good at insinuating things in a way that won't lead back to him too. I wouldn't have noticed what he was doing either unless you warned me beforehand."

He also made a mental note to go spend more time with his wife and kids. He had a lot of ground to make up for after following the bastard priest's advice for the past six months.

"Did he say anything of worth that we weren't already aware of from the reports?"

"The priest did say that one location, a temple, was being hit hard. Whoever's holed up there is definitely standing their ground, probably against half the war from the way he described it. Think it might be Emiya?"

"No. He's not foolish enough to stay in one spot if multiple parties are after him. He's without a doubt one of the attackers." She shot down the theory almost instantly.

"Must be defended pretty well if he hasn't cracked it yet," the man muttered to himself. "That or something's stopping him from wasting the place."

The Queen didn't bother to comment on that. She already knew that there was only one temple of note in Fuyuki and that it was on top of the Greater Grail in addition to a major leyline. There was little doubt that the issue had something to do with either one of the two. "Continue your investigation, but do not get caught. I want to have perfect understanding of the situation from all angles before this comes to light."

"Of course." The man nodded. "And Emiya?"

"This is nothing more than a test for the dog. What happens to him depends on how he performs and behaves."

o. o. o.

"So he really does cook." Illya tilted her head to the side curiously as she caught glimpses of Shirou moving back and forth around his kitchen to make dinner. She had to admit, she was somewhat surprised at how swiftly he was moving in the small area with the ingredients and tools considering how sluggish he was earlier.

"Whatever you heard, I can assure you that they pale in comparison to the real thing." Sakura laughed sheepishly. "Even a Servant would have a hard time stopping him once he gets going."

"Only a fool would attempt to stop nature in action." Saber nodded sagely. "Or an unfortunate soul with no tongue."

Illya's eyebrow twitched. She wanted to make some sort of snarky comment, but it was hard to argue against King Arthur. Any insinuation she made could be interpreted as an insult to the Servant's tastes... even if everyone in the culinary world technically agreed that British cuisine was lacking in most areas.

Instead she kept her mouth occupied by one of the many snacks on the table and temporarily lost herself in the wonderful delight that was Pocky.

"So are you staying the night again, Illya-san?" Sakura asked curiously and with concern. She knew that the childish albino was actually older than her, but it really was hard to treat her as such when she was acting as her appeared age.

"I haven't decided yet." She hadn't taken her eyes off of the snacks at all, mumbling with a candied stick in her mouth. "Sella and Leysritt are mad that I'm staying here and they are trying to convince me to come back. If I do have to go then by default you all have to come with me too."

It was suicidal for anyone to be alone now and she acknowledged it. Even Berserker didn't do more than one of his Labors at a time. Her handmaidens put up a fight against her decision, and she had to admit that they did have points…

But if she was going to die, she wanted the damn truth for once. Out of everyone involved in the whole mess, Shirou for better or for worse, was the only one that wasn't lying to her face, actually wanted her to ask questions, and urged her to find more questions to ask.

She didn't miss how ironic that was considering how badly he had been misleading everyone else.

The sword he had given her the day they met… it had been made out of Kiritsugu's remains.

She didn't figure it out until she had read the notes that her father had left them, but it made sense now. The cursed nature. The dual origins. What Edelfelt said about how it was infected before the park…

The blonde had figured out what it was when they met and didn't tell her. That spell she made Caster use with her hair was nothing but a simple genetic testing mystery, maybe even a paternity test. She knew and didn't tell the albino.

Illya… couldn't blame her for that decision. Even she wouldn't know what she would have done if the mercenary had informed her that she had been lugging about her father's weaponized remains without knowing for half a day.

Scratch that. She probably would have gone into an angry rage and killed Shirou like she wanted to in the first place after venting her rage on Luvia and Caster. Hell she still was a bit irked at him for doing that to her.

But he had done his job. He had made her curious. About this curse. About the War. About what happened ten years ago. He had infected her with curiosity to pursue answers before revenge. It would not do to die with unanswered mysteries on her mind, especially when she was related to most of them.

After her encounter with the Apostle, she had decided to take a different approach to everything, less direct. It had only been secondhand information from that Fuji-something woman, but it was a new angle on her brother that she had not heard of before, and an angle of her father that she had long forgotten.

"You haven't spoken to Shirou much today." Saber brought her out of her musings with a seemingly off handed comment that drilled right through her defenses.

It had been an unfortunate truth that everyone in the building had been aware of but didn't bring up. Both children of Kiritsugu Emiya had woken up exceptionally late for their own reasons. So much so that they had not been fully active until the afternoon. They had exchanged a few words and conversations with one another, but it had almost been like they were strangers instead of estranged step-siblings. Even then, the two had kept their distance from one another for their own reasons.

Shirou didn't want to make Illya uncomfortable. He knew that almost everyone was pissed at him for one reason or another. It was hard not to notice that. With the forced lull in the war, he believed that now was the time to not be proactive and give everyone some space. To give them a break from him. If they wanted to talk to him, they could come at any time, but…

In all honesty he was afraid that trying to push himself on anyone other than Saber and Sakura at the moment would cause the delicate bonds he had established to further fracture if not shatter. The War had pressed everyone to their limits, both physically and emotionally. He doubted anything would be the same once it was finally over. The best he could hope for was that the ones he cared for would make it out alive.

Illya on the other hand was… well, uncomfortable regardless of Shirou's efforts. She didn't really know what to make of her supposed brother.

A cold indifferent man. A clueless teenager. A doting male waiting on her every whim. A badass. He had been none of these things today.

Unlike the caring individual from the previous night, he was acting more like a distant relative that was unsure of how to treat or take care of someone they used to know a long time ago. He was polite and kind, but kept his distance.

After all that she had heard. After all that she had imagined and planned and been through… the actual results in front of her were… disappointing.

"He's… different," she managed to get out, still wary of the two other females at the table.

Saber and Sakura looked at one another skeptically before quickly understanding what the girl was getting at.

"Not like what you expected, is he?" Sakura smiled gently. "I can't really argue against that considering the rumors I've heard about him as well."

"Rumors are the bane of any individual of worth," Saber confirmed. "Meaningless prattle that is only true at the worst times. It is best not to take everything you hear too seriously unless from a reliable source."

"If the rumors aren't true, then what is he like?" She hesitantly got to the point and looked at the other two at the table. "Ever since he woke up he's been with either or both of you. It's weird but he almost looks more comfortable with Saber than with Sakura."

The comment caused both females to blink in surprise before looking at one another with confusion.

"When he talks about the War, he and Saber are so in tune that they nearly complete one another's sentences," Illya pointed out.

"Come to think of it, I've noticed that too." Sakura looked at Saber in mild interest. "But I thought that was simply because of the link between Master and Servant."

Saber couldn't help but chuckle in amusement at the fact. "Ah that. You do have a point Illyasviel, but it is not such a grand indication of our relationship as you might think. Once a warrior spends enough time on the battlefield and strategizing, certain facts and tactics become apparent to them. Despite his age, Shirou has developed these instincts rather well. As such we often figure out where the other is going halfway through our explanations."

"He's really that good?" The Einzbern blinked with some skepticism. "But you've been battling all your life and Shirou's only been at this for two years."

"I've waged war of all sorts during my life, both on and off the field." Saber nodded sagely. "Shirou on the other hand was trained by your father to be an assassin of sorts. Rather than battle, he is more focused on observation and infiltration. Defenses, buildings, and workshops, more than combat styles and offensive spells. Thanks to his magic, he is more suited for finding and exploiting weak points than overwhelming his opponents with raw might, peerless skill, and overwhelming power. In a world and War such as this, a person such as him can excel greatly. In addition to that, this is his home town. He grew up here and knows it better than I do which balances out our respective experience even more."

"Does it really make that much of a difference?" Sakura tilted her head in confusion.

"He would have made a fine squire and assistant." She declared proudly.

"I heard that!" Shirou shouted from the kitchen.

"… At best." The King's smile turned slightly cruel as she grabbed a cracker from the table. "Truth be told though, I would not have risked him out on the field. I would have kept him as my personal chef at all costs."

"Damn it!" the only sane male in the house swore in annoyance, causing the other girls to laugh lightly in amusement.

"I take it that the subject is a sore point for him." Illya glanced at the blonde with a grin. That had been the most expressive and energetic she had heard Shirou been all day.

"It came with me whilst turning his entire body into a large bruise when he asked me for training." Saber matched her expression. "He does not shy from punishment. An admirable quality."

"So you say," Sakura pouted and looked to the side with a slight blush. Apparently Shirou had double standards when it came to pain depending on the situation and location. "But Illyasviel does have a point about you being close to Shirou, Saber. You're the only one that he's told all of his plans and knowledge to from the get go, and you're the only one that he talks to when he's thinking of new ideas. Even now there are things that he's only trusted in telling you. I'm somewhat surprised that he warmed up to you that quickly. He's normally far more guarded around new people."

Saber paused in her assault against the pile of snacks that dared to still exist in front of her to ponder Sakura's observation. "… You do have a point. It was rather reckless of Shirou to put that much faith in me from the get go, even if he had knowledge beforehand. True, he did pass out right after summoning me and gave me time to make my own impressions with the letter that Kiritsugu left me, but I do admit that we got along far faster than anticipated."

The albino in the room was grateful that Saber didn't do anything to remind Sakura that she was the reason why he had passed out that first night.

"I think the bike helped. Don't think I missed how you and Rider…" Sakura's whimsical smile faltered as she remembered her Servant's current condition. "… how you and Rider were hovering over it."

"Bike?" Illya repeated the word slowly, as if trying to process it. "You mean, like a motorcycle?"

Sakura could practically see the young looking girl trying to picture Shirou in a biker gang outfit, riding on some chopper and swinging a chain above his head like a delinquent from an old comic book.

"It is not a motorcycle," Saber stated stiffly. "It is my mount, and it is a fine beast worthy of my use."

"Uh…" Illya turned to Sakura for some help.

"From what I know, Shirou prepared one for her before the war to take advantage of her Riding skill, and she really likes it." Sakura laughed sheepishly.

"What does she like?!" Shirou called from the kitchen.

"The bike!" Sakura shouted back.

"Oh! Yeah! I have trouble keeping her out of my workshop because that's where I keep it!" Shirou laughed.

"I don't see why me being with it is a problem," the Servant pouted uncharacteristically.

"Because the thing runs on premium gas and nitro, not prana!" Shirou's answer spawned a blush of embarrassment on the Servant's face, causing her fellow females to struggle futilely against their giggles.

"It feels like it's been forever since I've seen him like this," Sakura mused as she got her amusement under control.

"You mean he's normally incredibly blunt to others?" Saber tried to change the subject to get people to forget her faults, but her blush was making it hard.

"Yes… no… I mean, he's relaxed enough to speak his mind without hesitation. He's actually as bad as Rin sometimes if you let your guard down," the youngest one there elaborated. She honestly blamed her sister's bad influence on him as a child as the source for this habit. "Ever since everyone started to focus on the War in interest, he's been winding himself tighter and tighter to the point that… well, I think he had trouble trusting people almost as nearly everyone does him now."

"Mmm." The King frowned as she lost herself in memories. "Your description reminds me of my previous Master."

"So you do remember the previous War." Illya glanced at her with an unreadable expression. She wouldn't betray the Servant's secrets, but she wouldn't go out of her way to hide them unnecessarily either.

"For better or for worse." Saber nodded. "Many unsavory events took place during it."

"What was my father like?" She didn't pull any punches. She wanted to know the unfiltered truth and Saber was the best source she could ever hope for.

If the Servant had been surprised by the question, she didn't show it. The only thing that exposed her discomfort was the fact that she didn't look at the girl staring at her with crimson eyes. "… He was a cold man. Throughout our entire partnership, he only spoke to me directly three times, using your mother as a liaison at any other point. His methods and perspective on things completely contradicted mine, so much so that under any other circumstances we likely would have tried to kill one another had we attempted to be partners out of sheer principle."

Sakura cringed. She couldn't imagine not getting along with Rider. It made no sense to her to summon a Servant that couldn't get along with her, or to not even try to get along with them. After seeing firsthand what they were capable of, the mere idea of ordering them around carelessly was akin to suicide to her. She'd rather drop out of the War from the very beginning if that had been the case.

Saber continued. "He was a cold man… but ruthlessly efficient and remarkably skilled at what he did. I cannot deny that, though again, I found that his methods were often needlessly and excessively cruel. He was also unwaveringly dedicated to what he set his mind to and had a clarity that few rarely possess. Not even in my time had I encountered someone of his like. There is no mistaking he trained Shirou either. The tactics and methods of reasoning they employed are near identical, and the tenacious nature they share when focused is something to truly behold firsthand. The only difference in that regard is that Kiritsugu didn't care about those that could possibly get in the crossfire of his actions while Shirou prefers to rely on precision tactics to ensure that only the target is dealt with."

"Cold." Illyasviel knew that word all too well. The castle in Germany she had been raised in since birth was synonymous with it ever since her parents left.

Saber glanced at the girl before a reluctant smile danced on her lips. "The only time I ever saw him in another state of mind was when he was playing with you in the forests outside the castle before we left for this country. To this day I find the idea and sight of that man laughing and smiling to be an anomaly. Make no mistake Illyasviel, no matter what people claimed of your father, good or bad, he without a doubt loved you and your mother."

"… What about mama?" This time, the homunculus sounded like her physical age. Young. Innocent. Hopeful.

A kind smile appeared on Saber's face. "Irisviel was a person like no other, and not simply because of what she was. She had a great heart, and you and your father took up its entirety. She knew your father better than anyone else, faults and all, and still accepted him. She was as wise as my advisors at some points, and as innocent and carefree as a child as others, but a good friend at any time. Her greatest wish was for the fourth war to be the last, for you. You look so much like her it is unnerving."

Illya briefly smiled for a moment before her face fell. "Papa… Papa's a cruel man. What he did to Shirou…"

"Mmm." Saber agreed with a frown. "Out of everything that he's done, I believe that that is one of Kiritsugu's greatest sins, and I believe he was aware of it as well. Even if it was for a just cause, he still put all his regrets into his son knowing what it would do to him. Shirou is essentially defined by the lamentations of his father."

It was ironic in a sick way. Counter Guardian EMIYA had inherited the flawed golden dreams of Kiritsugu Emiya and thus was cursed on the Throne of Heroes. The current Shirou on the other hand had inherited the many regrets of his father, putting him on a fundamentally different but just as bloody and dangerous path as his counterpart.

The only other main difference is that their Shirou had been guided to entrust himself to others of his choice. His destruction would be in the hands of those he cared for the most. While the ones that he had chosen were for the most part aware of their positions and did care about him to one degree or another… they were still human. They obviously weren't perfect, and thus mistakes would be made in time.

"Dinner's ready!" Shirou stated proudly from the kitchen entrance with his arms full of food.

… Except when it comes to cooking apparently.

The various large dishes of meat, spices, rice and vegetables practically glowed in front of the females as Shirou approached like a professional waiter, balancing all of the meals on his arms without fault.

It the girls didn't know any better, they could have sworn that the dishes were all glittering.

"It looks so good." Illya's eyes widened, unaware of the small amount of drool coming from her mouth. Perhaps her father hadn't been completely wrong when he left everything to Shirou.

"So this is what the ideal food in this era looks like." Saber's gluttonous side reared its head with a vengeance. If she could eat like this every day, then perhaps it would be best to put the idea of accepting her fate and dying on the shelf for another decade… or five.

"Wow. He really did go full circle." Sakura blinked in surprise. She had seen him overdo himself whenever he needed to calm down, but this was taking it to a whole new level. Thinking back on it, she wasn't even sure how he managed to come up with this many meals by himself in the time he was in the kitchen.

Fuck magic. They had the real Holy Grail being delivered to them as they spoke.

And then, in tradition, a chaos on par with Angra Mainyu ruined everything.

SLAM!

"SHIROU!"

"For the love of god." the accused male literally cried to the ceiling. "Why? Why must you do this do me now? I haven't even put the plates down yet!"

Sakura uncharacteristically groaned in agreement.

"That voice, it couldn't be…" Illya tilted her head confused.

"I TOLERATE MANY THINGS ABOUT YOU YOUNG MAN!" The raging, albeit somewhat congested female voice echoed through the halls of the home. "YOUR PROJECTS! YOUR DEALS WITH OTHER UNDERWORLD ORGANIZATIONS OTHER THAN MINE! YOUR TRIPS AWAY FROM HOME! EVEN YOUR PERPETUALLY GROWING HAREM!"

"Harem?" Saber blinked and looked at Shirou in confusion. Illya and Sakura just held back a groan and shook their heads in embarrassment.

"No Fuji-nee. It's a misunderstanding. Please calm down. Here, have some food that I went through all this trouble to make for my sister after I nearly got killed last night. Aha. Ahahaha." The accused merely stood in place, food still in his arms and his eyes clouded in a way that clearly indicated that he had decided to not deal with the real world at the moment. His delusional laughing was just icing on the cake at this point.

"BUT THIS IS WHERE I DRAW THE LINE!" Taiga Fujimura stomped into view, her pale face red and swollen due to her sinuses swollen up from the cold she had, but did nothing to stop her energetic raging. How dare anyone assume that a mere minor infection could interfere with one of the greater forces of nature itself?

It did not stop those in the room from noticing the two Einzbern maids standing right behind her. If they were at all surprised by the woman's behavior, they sure as hell didn't show it.

"MAIDS, SHIROU!? MAIDS?! REALLY?! JUST WHRE WILL YOUR DEPRAVITY AND FETISHES END!?"

The room was quiet as the two groups stared at one another in awkward silence.

"DAMN IT! I WAS TOO LATE! HE'S GOTTEN THE LOLI TOO!" Taiga shouted at the top of her lungs while pointing at the albino before pausing as her brain caught up to her. "… WAIT WHY THE HELL IS ILLYA HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE?!"

Illya's respect for Shirou dropped inversely proportional to her pity of him that moment.

o. o. o.

"Forgive me for asking, but how on earth did that woman get qualified to be a guardian, let alone a teacher?" Illya asked in mixed confusion, disgust, and awe as Sakura dragged the freshly hypnotized and full Fujimura Taiga into one of the guest rooms of the home.

"My lady, I do not see the significance of knowing such a thing," Sella chided her charge as she sat next to the girl with perfect poise at the dinner table, her plate as empty as everyone else's.

"Her family's in charge of the largest Yakuza group in the city. Dad and her grandfather apparently had some history back when they were more active. A few favors were owed here, some strings were pulled there and well, I have this big place all to myself now. Most of the bounded fields had to be tweaked to let her in on principle since she does sometimes have important things to do." Shirou sighed in both defeat and relief. He really did love Taiga like a sister, but she had the worst timing.

Really it was like she purposefully showed up and barged into his house when important people and events were there.

"She was, funny," Leysritt added, her broken Japanese barely noticed by the others in the room. "Very loud. Energetic. Friendly. Different from home. I like her."

"Leysritt," Sella chided her partner as if she had just said something unspeakable. Given that the maid didn't trust Shirou at all, they were in enemy territory, and that they were brought up to deal with magi and other politically influential individuals, it wasn't hard to see why.

"It's fine. It's not like we all weren't thinking the same thing." Shirou laughed feebly and raised his hands to signify his surrender. "Fuji-nee has that effect on people."

"Sella. Leysritt. I thought I told you to wait for me and that I was fine." Illya really wasn't surprised by their appearance. Sella was a bit of a worrywart at times and she was staying at Shirou's place. Given how obsessed she was about killing her brother for the past two years, the turn of events was likely to cause some concern.

"Forgive me if I did not trust what you said at face value." The maid's voice clearly indicated that she didn't trust easily. No one needed a hint or sign to tell that she was accusing Shirou of foul play.

"Funny how she starts saying these things after helping herself to the food I made," the host grumbled under his breath.

"It was very good." Leysritt bowed politely. "Much better than Sella's cooking. Thank you for the meal."

"Leysritt!" the lesser chef snapped with more energy and less control this time. There was a clear blush of embarrassment on her face this time.

"No problem." Shirou smiled and nodded in thanks.

"I don't see what the problem is." Illya took the high ground and donned a superior attitude. "His cooking was clearly better than yours. I don't know why you are so desperate to pretend otherwise."

"His cooking isn't the issue here!" Sella tried to get back on track.

"I should hope not." Saber calmly drank some tea, acting as if nothing was wrong in the slightest. "I would be concerned if anyone could see a flaw in such a feast."

The maid was clearly being frustrated by everyone's focus on Shirou's cooking given her irritated facial expression. It really was good even if she would never admit it. After taking a few deep slow breaths to calm herself down, she got back on track. "Lady Illyasviel. Please do not tell me you have forgotten why we are here in this borderlands country? What purpose our lord has tasked you to fulfil?"

If Illya had been put off by her maid's inquisition, she didn't seem to show it as she drank some water without care. "I have not forgotten, Sella. However, I have come across information regarding that which requires investigation that cannot be overlooked. Yes, Shirou has provided me with a majority of it, but I have also witnessed firsthand evidence that supports his claims that cannot be written off as mere coincidence or fabricated. Regardless of what our history may be, it would be remiss of me to ignore any legitimate potential threat to the cause."

Shirou couldn't help but smile in amusement as he watched his sister act her age. It really was something interesting to witness, but not surreal to him in the slightest. He had spent more than enough time with Merem to grow numb to the voices of adults coming from the bodies of children.

"One of the Caster's has also managed to gain control over three of the other Servants," she continued. "Obviously they don't compare to Berserker, but if should they work efficiently I could be at risk should I work alone. Shirou has kindly offered his services and his hospitality for the duration of our temporary alliance so we can deal with the matter at hand. The Masters of the remaining two Servants have also agreed to a limited cease fire with us so we may deal with the greater threat."

The maid glanced at the only visible Servant in the room warily. It did not take much to see the gears turning in her head. "A partnership between Saber and Berserker would prove to be a mighty force. And thus incredibly tempting."

Judging from how Sella's eyes were darting from Saber to Shirou as if examining them, it wasn't difficult to determine what she was likely thinking. With Berserker's God Hand, it would be near impossible for any single Servant to kill him off for good. It had been predicted that Shirou would summon Arturia in the first place, so her abilities were known. That meant that the only wildcard would be Shirou's Apostle Ancestor killing magic, which there were a hundred and one rumors for… but clearly they were overblown and he wouldn't be a threat to the giant.

So, it would be a simple matter for Illya to pretend to be an ally while they take out the competition. Then when all was set and done, Berserker would kill Saber, and later Shirou, in a one on one fight that she wouldn't have a hope of winning.

Shirou and Saber shared a single glance with one another, a lone word was exchanged in that moment.

Amateur.

The interaction was not missed by Illya. "Sella, please don't embarrass me further. Clearly strategizing isn't your strong point if Shirou and Saber have already dismissed you as inconsequential."

"I-I… But!? What?!"

"I have no idea how you came to such an absurd conclusion," Saber diplomatically denied the girl's statement with a politically stoic face and tone. She didn't lie as she did not outright deny what the girl had claimed in the slightest after all.

"Don't be too harsh on her, Illya. She's just trying to look out for you." Shirou tried to play the peace maker while failing to hide his amusement.

"Scary," Leysritt noted, never taking her eyes off of the two sword wielders.

"Once Caster is dealt with, I will address the issues that Shirou has brought up with me as the representative of the Einzbern." Illya's tone brokered no argument. "I cannot allow the possibility for my family's wishes and goals to be a liability to everything we have worked for and more. It must be verified without a doubt before anything else happens and then addressed."

"Rest assured, I have no intention of allowing any harm to come to her," the host added for added measure. "Before and after conclusions have been made. You have my word as a representative of Lady Barthomelloi."

Sella flinched at the declaration. Distrusting the boy was one thing, but openly going against a decree with the Queen's name was another story completely. It was something that everyone in the magus world took very seriously. You couldn't trust the word of most magi as far as you could throw them (magically enhanced strength omitted), but the Barthomelloi prided themselves on perfection. They did not lie, and they held anyone that they deemed worthy enough to be their representatives to the same standards. Throw it about carelessly and you'd find an enforcer on your ass sooner rather than later. Dishonor it and you'd have a whole platoon of the bastards come in to drag you to the Queen bitch herself.

And if the Queen really wanted someone dead without getting her hands dirty… well, he was currently sitting in the room.

"… Fine. I merely spoke out of concern for my lady's status and wellbeing," the maid relented. "I doubt that Lord Jubstacheit will be accepting of your decisions."

"I will handle grandfather when the time comes." Illya confidently stood her ground. "I am concerned that he has missed some of the issues that have come to my attention, especially as they apparently originated from our family in the first place. Not to mention I have some questions of my own to ask."

"One at a time Illya. Trust me. Multitasking these things isn't healthy, much less fun." Shirou tried to calm his sister down.

"Says the one that pretty much managed everyone at once." The girl leered at him skeptically.

Shirou wanted to retort that it wasn't exactly easy surviving an encounter with Berserker but he held his tongue. All things considered, he did desire it. "I'm just giving you some advice. Don't want to make my mistakes now do you?"

Illya puffed out her cheeks childishly in frustration. Considering she was one of the many people that had essentially been ripping him a new one for the past 24 hours about how badly he had been messing things up, she really couldn't argue against his claim.

"I finally got her to bed," Sakura claimed proudly as she walked into the room. "Really, Sensei is something else. I've never seen someone sick like that move so much in their sleep."

"I'm just glad she calmed down and stopped yelling." Shirou couldn't help but rub his temples to lessen the stress.

"It was quite irresponsible of her to visit others while she was ill," Sella noted.

"Knowing her she probably wanted me to make her soup out of pity. She tends to do that when she catches a bug." The host sighed. "I'm surprised that she's sick at all. She was perfectly fine a couple of days ago."

"You made her soup when she was sick?" Illya asked with an unreadable expression.

"Or hurt. Or when she wouldn't stop begging for it. She's actually a fifth dan in kendo before she stopped, which is extremely impressive, especially for someone at her age." The host shrugged. "I used to take care of her a lot after she'd hurt herself from practicing in one way or another."

"She'd get hurt even after she quit. She's surprisingly clumsy when she isn't focusing on anything." Sakura sighed in dejection before shaking her head and picking up some plates. "Anyways, since I'm up already I'll clean up the plates."

"Allow me." Sella began to get up. "It is only proper seeing as I have intruded unannounced."

A sudden chill went up everyone's spine at the maid's suggestion.

"No. That's fine." Shirou's smile seemed genuine, but there was no mistaking that something was off. "Sakura said that she has it covered. There is no need to bother yourself here. You are my guest."

"Nonsense." Sellla stood up with her plate. "It is my duty as a maid to perform such mundane actions. You have more important tasks to discuss and complete than cleaning."

"A-Ah. Sella-san." Sakura began to shiver as the ominous feeling grew stronger. Unlike most in the room, she knew where the source of the terrible feeling was coming from and why. "It's ok. I enjoy cleaning and without Rider I'm not of much help to everyone anyways. I have stayed here so many times that it's only fair that I carry my weight."

"I consider it an insult to not let me do what I was designed to do." Sella frowned. "The Einzbern made me to perform tasks such as these with the utmost efficiency. Rest assured that I am more than capable of performing something as mundane as cleaning dishes."

Illya was having a hard time controlling Berserker now. It was clear to everyone that Shirou was the source of the terrifying sensation, but she for the life of her couldn't understand why he was so angry. Looking around, she saw that Sakura was desperately trying to ignore the owner of the home while Saber was… eating the remains of the feast that still lingered. Really, she was a Servant but there should be a limit to how much she should be able to pack down. Some people actually like leftovers.

"I am not insulting your capabilities Sella-san. Make no mistake, I have the highest expectations of the Einzbern's craft," Shirou smoothly retorted. "It is merely a matter of the rules of hospitality that are used in this home. I do not feel comfortable letting visitors, no matter how able they are, to do such work when I and my fellow hosts are fully capable of performing them. Please, sit and allow Sakura to serve you for the time being. Should we come with you to Illya's home, we would no doubt show the same respect for the rules there as the ones here. I only ask that you respect mine in turn."

The maid bristled. This was no doubt but another meaningless powerplay by the child. Much like others of noble decent and backing, the boy wished to flex his authority like a peacock by establishing meaningless rules that others were expected to obey regardless of how foolish they were.

No matter. Regardless of who or what he was, this boy had no reason to deny her her purpose. The only person that could tell her what to do was lady Illyasviel, and she had done nothing to dissuade her from her decision.

She took another step forward to the kitchen.

She would no doubt be scolded and looked down upon by others later. However she had no interest in playing by the rules of one beneath her. From how dire the situation was, there was no way that he would willingly risk the alliance over her disobedience and take action against her. She was a homunculus made by the Einzberns, entrusted with Illyasviel's life.

"Sella."

That was the farthest she made it to the kitchen.

Shirou's smile had turned borderline angelic. In contrast, the killing intent he was giving off was near suffocating to the average human. True, no one in the room was normal by any means, but that didn't mean that he was not currently scary as hell.

Sakura grimaced as she slowly backed away from the table. She had tried to help where she could and stop things from escalating, but her efforts had apparently been in vain. Nobody could claim that she didn't do anything. The maid was on her own now.

Saber merely rose an eyebrow in mild curiosity.

"Since you do not know much about me, I am giving you the benefit of the doubt this one time. Allow me to clarify something. I value my kitchen as much as my workshop if not more. It is where I go to when I want if not need to calm myself down. It is my happy place. The only people allowed in it are the ones that I have given explicit permission to enter. Saber has not entered it. Rider has not entered it. Lord El Melloi the Second, my teacher who I trust like an older brother, has not entered it. Sirius McGinty, my other teacher and someone that I consider akin to a grandfather, has not entered it. Luvia Edelfelt has not entered it. Lady Lorelei Barthomelloi has not entered it. Merem Solomon has not entered it. Fuji-nee has certainly not entered it. And unless I say otherwise, they will remain unwelcome in that room regardless of who they are. Until you show me that I can trust you, both as a person and as a chef, you cannot enter it either. I believe I am being more than reasonable in this regard seeing as this is my home. Do I make myself clear?"

There had been no threat spoken. His voice had not raised a single decibel or changed tone. No ultimatum, or punishment declared of what would happen should she break one of the biggest rules of the household.

There had been no need for him to do so.

Barthomelloi had taught him well. As her dog, he did need to know how to bark and growl properly after all.

"Scary." Leysritt shivered even though her face was still blank.

Frozen where she stood, Sella could only nod dumbly, slowly putting her dish back onto the table and sitting down in her spot again. "Y-yes. M-my apologies."

"Never mess with the chef's domain," Saber stated to herself as if confirming a fact of nature, her Master's disposition not affecting her in the slightest. Instead she merely wiped her mouth with a napkin and politely placed down her chopsticks, indicating that she was at last full.

'U-um. D-Does that mean that I can't go in either?" Illya nervously rose a hand. She knew that he wasn't angry at her, but for some reason he was far more terrifying now than when he was at any point the previous night.

Shirou's intent dropped dramatically even though his face didn't change. "You can go into the cabinet and fridge for snacks and drinks whenever you want Illya, but for anything else you have to ask me for permission before doing so. I have some rather expensive equipment and tools there that are both dangerous and expensive, and I don't want you to get hurt by accident."

"R-right. Thanks, Onii-chan." The words escaped her mouth before she knew what she had said, and instantly berated herself. She hadn't called Shirou her brother since the last night in a moment of weakness and honestly still wasn't comfortable admitting it after everything she had learned and gone through.

Given the look he gave her, he had noticed the slipup as well, but thankfully he didn't comment on it, much to her relief.

Then most of the mood was killed as Sakura lightly tapped the small stack of plates she was carrying on his head. "That's enough, Shirou. You've made your point. Stop scaring everyone."

"Fine. Fine." There was something bizarre about someone who had just terrified everyone so easily sulking like a child.

"If you're done showing off, you should focus on the real problem at the moment." The girl sighed as she moved to the kitchen. "If we are moving to Illya-san's place tonight, then you really should make up your mind soon. It will take us a while to pack and get ready."

"I for one feel it's best to stay here," Saber voiced her opinion. "It's sufficiently defended for what we need. We are already set up in terms of armaments and supplies. Most importantly is the location. We are a suitable range from our enemies and allies to react to any event. The Castle is better fortified, but a poor distance should we need to provide quick action."

"Mm. I thought so as well. While the castle is likely to have greater resources in quality and quantity we can use and far better defenses, it is too far out of the way. Saber and Berserker are a near unstoppable combination under most circumstances. There's next to no need to relocate to such an isolated location." Shirou nodded in agreement before cringing at a fact that just came to his mind. "Hopefully the fight will take place outside. I'm not exactly fond of the idea of Berserker doing his thing in my home."

The Emiya household was a fairly sizeable property. The problem was that Berserker was more… sizeable. As was his ability to cause mass collateral damage.

"Caster's not in a position to attack us, even if she managed to recover from last night," Illya added her two cents thoughtfully. From what she had seen, if Shirou and Saber immediately agreed on something tactics wise, they tended to be right so there was no real point in arguing against them. Honestly, she wanted to stay in Shirou's home more. Her stay had been awkward to say the least, but it was… warmer, than her castle. "She doesn't have the resources or the troops to take the fight to Saber or Berserker right now, let alone both. She's safer and better off preparing for our eventual attack instead on her home field."

"That may be the case, but it still does not excuse you from managing your home, my Lady." Sella managed to regain her composure. "You are the highest born individual in this city if not country. You must live in conditions that match it."

"Food matches standing," Leysritt pointed out factually.

"There's more to it than just food Leysritt." Sella tried to keep calm but her eyebrow wouldn't listen to her.

"Blasphemy." Saber's stomach spoke for her before her mind processed what she had said. By the time everyone had turned to her in response, she had used her inhuman speed to pick up a cup of water and proceeded to drink it incredibly slowly to avoid eye contact.

Shirou coughed to divert everyone's attention from his embarrassed Servant. "Sella-san. I fully understand that you have Illya's interests as your greatest priority. However you seem to be overlooking the War itself. As strong as Berserker and Saber are, they are not invincible. Proper tactics and planning must be employed during this event, and things would be made significantly more complicated if we relocate to…"

He paused. Not because he had realized that he had overlooked a fact or detail that could be used at a later point. Not because they were being attacked. Not because he had come up with a plan.

He paused for the same reason that Illya and Sakura had stopped listening to him.

Their Command Seals were pulsing.

Kirei was calling the Masters to the Church for an announcement.

"Another one?" Sakura frowned as she returned from the kitchen concerned. "But why?"

"Last time was when you killed Zouken." Illya tried to solve the puzzle. "Do you think that the Priest found out about Caster?"

"… He shouldn't." Shirou stared at the seals on his hand, intensifying in tandem with his new heart. He ran through facts and scenarios in his mind as quickly as possible. Of all the things he had researched and studied for the war, it was Kirei's mind and way of thinking that he pushed hardest to get down the most. Know thy enemy. "He doesn't have the resources to find out what she's doing without exposing Gilgamesh. Rin and Luvia wouldn't dare try to get near him now that they know what he's done. He wouldn't make a big move like this early in the War unless… shit. That bitch actually did it."

"… Tch. Of course." Saber grimaced as she came to the same conclusion that Shirou did. In an instant she stood up from the table on guard, eyes darting everywhere for a possible attack.

"What? Shirou what's going on?" Sakura felt a chill go down her spine as he closed his eyes and frowned in thought.

"We were out played. Caster made both the simultaneous best and worst possible move she could have in her position. Sakura. Illya. Get your things ready. There's a very good chance that we're going to the castle tonight. Bring essentials and anything else you think might help for the War. In the meantime set up your familiars to send to the Church as if nothing is wrong. Be prepared to move at a moment's notice. I could be and hope I'm wrong about this but my gut's telling me otherwise."

"This is… dare I ask what's going on?" Sella blinked in confusion at the sudden change in Shirou's demeanor. Where there had been a boy, a chef, or a rather intimidating monster, there was what could only be considered a commander of sorts. Barking out orders with practiced ease that made those who listened instinctively want to obey them.

"He wouldn't make big announcements like this to everyone unless something or someone was affecting the War as a whole. He prefers to stay ignored and forgotten so he can move as he likes with everyone being none the wiser until he can control everything in a single precise move." Shirou started to walk away from the table and towards the door that led to the back yard. "Sella, how did you get here? Car? Foot?"

Instinctively the maids and Illya followed him, half driven by the urgency, half by curiosity. "We took the limo that was provided for us. If my lady was in a poor condition, then travelling on foot would not do."

They walked out into the winter night air. The redhead paused momentarily as he was exposed to the full moon, making his body feel… energized, clean, smooth, and efficient for lack of better terms if he didn't want to simply say really, really, good. He shook off the sensation and kept on going, ignoring the new euphoria he was experiencing.

"Good. You'll take Sakura and everyone's luggage to the castle." He muttered a single word and channeled prana to open all of the doors to his workshop. "The priest doesn't move unless he finds a reason to do so without looking suspicious, meaning he's working in the full expectations of his position as a moderator. Since we didn't tell him anything. And there's good reason to believe that Rin and Luvia wouldn't…"

"… Caster." Illya's eyes widened in realization. "She found out what you were doing from Rider. She told him that you're getting in the way of the War to stop the ritual!"

"And she expects to get rewarded for it too, or at least is trying to get closer to him." Shirou spat. "She's trying to get Kirei's Command Seals."

"What?!" Sella balked. "You're trying to interfere with everything the Einzbern has been trying to accomplish for the past six centuries?!"

"Not now, Sella!" Illya snapped as they walked into the workshop. Had things not gotten out of hand so quickly, she would have swooned slightly at all the television monitors, mechanical equipment, floating swords, jewels, books, notes, runes, and the motorcycle inside. "What's the alarm then? Why aren't we going to the Priest to stop her from taking them?"

Shirou began turning off all the electronics in the room as quickly as possible before looking for the notes and books that he thought were most important to bring with him. "The same reason why we're getting the hell out of here as soon as possible. Gilgamesh."

"Gilgamesh?" Leysritt blinked in confusion as she absently examined the Hayabusa.

"Caster won't try anything on Kirei directly with him around. She'll tell him a selective story about what's happened so she won't incriminate herself and focus his attention on me. It won't work but the priest won't care. He knows I've been up to something since the beginning... but he knows something else that's the bigger problem."

"What's that?" Illya shook her head in confusion. Things were moving too quickly for her to keep track of.

She stalled as Shirou looked at her dead in the eyes with an even face.

"He knows that you and Sakura are Lesser Grails and that you are with me. So long as Caster doesn't tell him about Marjatta, then from his perspective I have in my possession the two keys to the Grail ritual itself. If things are as bad as I think, then Gilgamesh is going to come after us."

From the way he was looking at her, Illya knew what he was really saying.

He's going to come for you.

o. o. o.

A/N:

Again, thanks wayfarer for betaing.

Yep. Another chapter. UBW the anime is done. I got a job at Ford as an electrical engineer. And… stuff.

So this chapter was a bit of a breather chapter mixed with character development. A bit of Archer and Rin here, a bit of Shirou, Illya and Saber there. Overall I think it balances out their characters a bit more.

I admit, I've been a bit lax on Saber's for a while in particular, so this chapter kinda helps expand what her relationship with Shirou a bit. Instead of a romantic one, the pair are more akin to war buddies at the moment. They are very much in tune with how the other thinks but are fully aware of their own deficiencies when compared to the other. Saber sees Shirou as a reliable tactician that has more knowledge than her regarding the War, its combatants, and magic in general. As far as she's concerned, his proficiency in assassination methods is a mere side fact as he doesn't rely on them as much as Kiritsugu does. Shirou sees Saber as a powerful and experienced warrior that is wise enough to read the situation and make her own plans if needed.

Both of them have spent enough time with one another to understand how they function and where they excel. Because Shirou doesn't alienate everything Saber is and stands for, like Kiritsugu did, they get along quite well. In fact, in terms of battle compatibility (if supplying prana was not an issue), they would be the strongest combination of Master and Servant behind Bazett and Lancer.

Seriously, I've been ripping on her through the story, but Baz is by far the strongest Master in the War in terms of raw fighting potential and her abilities match up with Lancer's perfectly.

This chapter is also a nice inversion of what most people see when Illya stays at Shirou's place, both in canon and in most fictions. Or at least I'd like to think so. Most of the time, Illya's in control of the situation, or at least the mood. She knows what's going on, knows how to manipulate people, and Shirou's a pushover who has no idea what's going on for the most part.

This time around it's the complete opposite and it shows in the character interactions. Shirou's the one in control, and Illya's the one scratching her head. It's because of the latter situation that Illya's behavior is so different than the norm. She's on guard most of the time in comparison to when she's a near perpetual child because she's not in charge.

That does not however, stop funny things from happening. Nothing can stop the Taiga from happening.

As for Archer. Ok. It's really hard to write a true neutral character sometimes. Here's why, and some people may or may not have noticed this: outside of his goals, EMIYA is not proactive in the slightest. It is very hard to write a non-proactive main character. They tend to not do much on their own.

In the visual novels, he does not bother to go out of his way to kill any of the enemy Servants unless it's to progress his goals, and instead merely just focuses on keeping Rin alive.

Well… that or when he's trolling Gil at the end of UBW.

He has a very wide range of tools at his disposal, like Gilgamesh, that he could have used to finish off his enemies FAR faster than just using Kanchou and Byakuya or the other hundred nameless weapons he has, but he doesn't.

And before anyone argues that he wants to keep his abilities hidden, I must remind you of a saying from dear old Ben Franklin: Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead.

So yeah, for all his talk, Archer never really bothers to back it up most of the time. He can, obviously, he just… doesn' he kinda gets stiffed by the plot when it comes to giving him a shot of killing his enemies, but he never seems eager... focused on… interested on, doing it.

So if he's not aiming at Shirou, Archer just kinda lets things play out until a convenient opening shows up.

… Or plays his role as Rin's butt monkey. Seriously, he does literally everything she tells him to in most cases. Command Seal be damned, he would have done it anyways. He's perfectly fine being her whipping boy so long as he actually remembers who she is. Don't tell me he won't.

As for Rin… yeah, my comments last chapter caused the kinda of reaction that reminds me of… well, how people think of the fic in general.

A ton of people agree with me.

A ton of people don't.

… Damn I'm good at this.

It's like politics! If I says something, I piss people off and make others happy at the same time! And the greatest thing is, even if they tell me I'm terrible, they're still reacting because they still read my work and thus supporting me! Squee!

Anyways. I believe I've left you all hanging on a good bit. Shenanigans aside, the oncoming fights will be quite interesting won't they? I've had some of these in mind since the early stages of this fic, and I'm jumpy with eagerness to get to them.

So that's about it people! REVIEW! WORSHIP THE LOG! I'MMA GOING TO DETROIT FOR WORK! AND REVIEW AG- OH FUCK I'M GOING TO DETROIT FOR WORK! I'M SCREWED!

"He's going to come for you."