Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Purified by Fire, Dancing with Fairies

Chapter 2

A series of soft beeps echoed through the empty bar, Ayame tapping in a selection on the stereo player sitting in one corner. Pressing the 'play' button, the girl nodded and went back to the counter, the soft sounds of a piano prelude for a jazz piece beginning to play out from the stereo's speakers. Moments later, and a saxophone joined in, the piano continuing to play in the background, providing accompaniment to the saxophone though every so often it would rise to the fore before sinking back into the background, complementing the saxophone's parts with its own.

Otoko 'Neko' Hotaruzuka nodded in approval at the counter. "Good choice, Ayame-chan." She said.

"Thanks." Ayame said, beginning to wipe freshly-washed glasses sitting on a drain cloth with a disposable towel. "Though, it's not really a surprise anymore, is it?"

"…guess not," Otoko agreed with a laugh, Ayame joining in after a minute.

"Honestly," she said. "Working here has given me a taste for jazz…"

"Hey, that's not a bad thing you know." Otoko protested. "Jazz has class to it, not like some or even most of what passes for music these days. It has maturity, and charm to it, fresh and not old-fashioned at all. Anyone who thinks otherwise, has no sense of taste at all."

Ayame giggled. "Yes, I know." She said. "I think so too, after all."

The two women laughed, and then they returned to their work, Otoko working on a balance sheet and Ayame on wiping glasses dry. After several minutes the latter finished, and disposing of the disposable towel first began replacing the now-dry glasses onto shelves below the counter. "Hey, Ayame-chan," Otoko began.

"Yes?"

"Peel an apple, will you? I'm feeling a bit hungry over here." The older woman said. "Let's split it between us."

"Uh…sure, okay. Just let me finish here first."

"Okay."

Ayame shrugged, and returned to her work. Finishing about a minute or so later, she went to the fruits basket to pick out an apple, and rinsed it before beginning to peel it. Cutting it into slices, she placed them on a saucer before placing it next to Otoko. "Here you go." Ayame said.

"Thanks." Otoko said with a nod and a smile, and taking one of the slices. "Do you want?"

"Don't mind if I do."

Otoko nodded as Ayame took a slice, the two women taking several moments to enjoy the fruit afterwards. "So," Otoko began. "How are things?"

"Things?"

"You know, things." Otoko said. "You'll be graduating come March, won't you? Any plans for after that? College maybe, if so, you might want to start submitting some entrance exam applications. Or will you go look for a full-time job straight away?"

Ayame sighed and bit into her apple slice before answering. "You too, Neko-sempai?" she asked. "Fuji-nee's been bugging me about that same topic too, and for quite a while now."

Otoko hummed unhappily, and scratched at her head. "As much…as I'd rather not…agree, with the tiger," she said. "I'm going to have to agree with her on this one. You'll be an adult once the year ends, and you can't count on your dad's trust fund indefinitely you know. And even if it can somehow last your lifetime, well, you're a bright girl. It's such a waste for you not to make anything for yourself, put your talents to use and be recognized for them, and just…depend, on what others left for you."

Ayame nibbled at and finished her slice before answering. "I know." She said, and picked up another slice. "It's just that…I…don't, really know, what I want to do with my life yet after graduation. I mean…yeah, I get what you mean about wasting my…life, I guess, by not making anything out of it, but…"

Otoko nodded as Ayame trailed off. "Yeah, I get you." She said, also finishing her apple slice and taking another one as well. "Forcing yourself to just…do something, you don't really want to for the rest of your life, is just as much a waste as not doing anything with your life. Still, don't waste too much time looking for your calling. Sometimes, adapting is just as much a part of growing up as it is necessity."

"What's that?" Ayame said with a grin. "Are you saying I'm a child?"

"You're not?" Otoko said with a grin, and ruffling Ayame's hair with her clean hand. "Seriously though, I get what you mean, but you should also be realistic…and smart about it."

"Yes, I know." Ayame said with a sigh. "What we get from life aren't always what we want. Still, hope for the best, huh?"

"Pretty much." Otoko said with a nod, and finishing her slice took the last one. "You want this?"

"No, you can have it."

"Thanks."

"But, it's not that I don't have plans for after graduating." Ayame said, taking the empty saucer to the sink behind the bar, and beginning to wash it. "It's…not really concrete, yet, but…yeah, I think I might travel around for a while, see more of the country outside of just Fuyuki…who knows? I might get a tip from it on what my calling in life could be."

"Oh, that's a very good idea." Otoko said with a very big grin and a thumbs up at Ayame. "I approve. Get some new perspectives on life, the world, and society, and maybe even get some variety to your future choices in life. And it's not like you can't afford it, is it?"

"No, it isn't." Ayame said with a laugh. "Really, thanks for the support. Though, I'm not sure if…Fuji-nee, would take it as well as you do."

"Yeah, about that…" Otoko said, scratching at her head. "I think…she's…probably going to raise a fuss over it at first but…I think once she sees you're not doing it simply for the sake of doing it, she'll respect your decision. She really does care for you, in her own way, for all that I think she's a bad influence in some ways."

"I've never doubted she has."

"And you shouldn't." Otoko said, completely serious but giving a small, maternal smile. "She's not perfect, but I think she's an overall good example."

"Really?"

"Yes, really." Otoko said with a nod. "And to be honest, I don't believe that 'perfect' parental figures make for good role models. It's the opposite actually. Flawed parental figures make for better role models, examples that children can compare themselves to and develop ambitions to be better than."

Ayame snickered at that. "That has to be the most backhanded compliment I've ever heard." She said. "I'm sure that wherever she is right now, Fuji-nee's probably sneezing her nose off."

Otoko snickered as well. "Well, I can sleep easy even knowing that." She said with a grin.

"Ah, that's mean, Neko-sempai!"

Otoko just laughed at that.

Ayame cheerfully hummed to herself while walking home from her part-time job, arms swinging at her side, bag hanging from her right hand. The night was pleasantly cool, not cold like it was even this late in winter, though the lack of a wind probably also helped keep the air from being (or seeming) too cool.

The young woman blinked as she approached the road's crest, the road climbing up a hill in this part of the area, and slowed to a step. There, standing on the crest, illuminated by a streetlight, was a little girl, probably about ten or even younger. She was dressed in rich winter attire, with just the barest hint of white socks or stockings between her shoes and the edge of her skirt.

Long, white hair flowed out over the girl's shoulders from her head, crowned with a tall, Russian winter hat, colored a rich violet like the rest of her clothes. The girl happily smiled down at Ayame, who stared and then slowly turned her head, following the little girl as she walked down the road, towards and past Ayame.

"Hurry and summon one soon, onee-chan." The little girl said. "Otherwise, you'll die."

Ayame's eyes flared, and she turned and sprang back, magic circuits flaring across her body. Only…there wasn't anyone there, and it did not help reassure Ayame in any way.

"Did she teleport or something?" she frantically thought. "Don't joke around, teleportation is near-magic…someone like that…what the hell?"

Forcing herself to calm down, Ayame bit down on a thumb while getting a handle on her thoughts. "It could also have been an illusion or a projection of some kind…" she thought, and then narrowed her eyes, the little girl's words echoing in her head.

"Summon one…summon…what…oh no…no, no, no…" Ayame thought in mounting horror. "That girl…could she have been referring to a Servant? Then she knows I'm a potential Master…how the hell could she have known…but more than that…no, no, no!"

Ignoring the fact that she was out in the open, Ayame shouted wordlessly in frustration and kicked a nearby lamppost angrily. "Damn it!" she spat. "How the hell, no, that's not what's important."

Trying to control her temper, Ayame ran a hand through her hair. "What's important," she thought. "Is that one potential Master out there knows I could also be a Master…and if one of them knows, others might too. Shit! Fucking damn it!"

Taking a deep breath, Ayame shouted in frustration again, though much softer this time. "What should I do?" she muttered. "Damn it…should I run? I could do that, but…damn it, I…I am not getting chased out of my own house all because of this damn ritual those irresponsible bastards from the 'founding families' set up!"

Biting at her thumb again, Ayame began to pace, and then taking another deep breath looked around before hurrying along to her house. "Damn it," she mentally swore. "I know that I can't really complain, the founding families were here first, but still…this isn't right! Just because they were here first, people shouldn't have to end up needing to join despite not really wanting to, or in the case of most people, being put at risk without even knowing it."

Ayame grit her teeth as rationality responded. "The world is unfair, irrational even." She thought before looking away in disgust.

"This is fucking messed up." Ayame said angrily, slowing to a brisk walk while running a hand through her hair again. "I'd thought I could just lie low and weather things out, and had for the past several days but now…"

Coming to a stop, Ayame looked up at the cloudy sky and narrowed her eyes. "Damn it…I don't want to join this worthless ritual…" she muttered. "But, from the look of things, if I don't…"

Hurry and summon one soon, onee-chan. Otherwise, you'll die.

You'll die.

You'll die.

Ayame shook her head and resumed her walk. "Damn you all to hell, you irresponsible and selfish bastards." She angrily thought.

The following day was bright and sunny, warm with plenty of promise for the day…but when the other members of the class arrived, they found a certain white-haired girl slumped over her desk. "Whoa," Ayako asked in concern, approaching her friend. "Did something happen to you last night?"

Ayame slightly lifted her head. "Studying," she said, before slumping back down.

It technically wasn't a lie. She had been studying. She just hadn't been studying for any of the subjects at school, rather she was studying what materials she had inherited from her father on the Holy Grail War.

Sadly, there wasn't much, even after two hours and then some of searching after dinner and her older sister had left. In that time, she'd rummaged through every shelf and every box and container where she usually kept most of her material, but hadn't found much more than the outline and description of what the Holy Grail War was.

Though, as was usual in these cases, that is, searching so hard for one thing usually meant finding plenty of things that one wasn't looking for. Including a gun of all things, plus bullets that felt…really strange, to hold. Plus, some records and notes on her father's past, that she'd just skimmed over…

…she'd read them in detail later, though from what she'd read…

…her father really had been understating things when he'd told her that he'd just been a freelancer who'd done a lot of things he wasn't proud of, and in hindsight had all but wasted his whole life up until he'd found and raised her.

And finally, just when she was on the verge of giving up and deciding to just leave town until the 'war' was over…she'd found a collection of notes and books…in German. This meant another hour's searching before she'd gone and actually broken into a local library to get a German dictionary (she'd return it after she had chance to take the time to buy one of her own).

Most of it dealt with homunculi anatomy and such, which Ayame had no use for and as such had set them aside. She'd read them when she had the time, who knows she might learn something interesting from them.

But it was among them, in a small notebook that seemed to be filled with notes from two people – one was recognizably her father but the other was a woman named 'Iri' probably a friend or colleague of his – that she found what she was looking for. Instructions on the summoning process…plus several magic circles including a suspiciously familiar one…

…and it was perfect match to a magic circle carved into the floor at the back of her workshop.

…

…

…

…

…

She really needed to look deeper into what her father was once like, and if he actually did participate in the previous Holy Grail War…or did he really? Maybe this Iri person did, and she just borrowed Ayame's dad's property…but, that meant that he tacitly supported participating in it, assuming he didn't directly support that Iri person…

…yeah, talk about complicated past, Ayame could understand why her father hadn't told her much, considering she'd only been a child at the time. She wouldn't have understood, not really.

Still…it was annoying, all the blank spots and questions that needed answers, if only because, well, she was his daughter.

That, and the worrying bit about how the Holy Grail Wars were supposed to take place every fifty years, supposedly so the Grail could gather enough mana from the land to support the summoning of Servants and to keep them in the World. Only, it's only been ten years since the previous Holy Grail War, if the dates on the notes were to be trusted.

Something wasn't right there, grand rituals like the Holy Grail Wars – or as they were properly called Heaven's Feel rituals (what a strange name) – were tricky things, she knew that much despite largely being a self-taught amateur. Complex and delicate things, with any…unplanned, change in their variables more often than not resulting in catastrophic failure.

And the Great Fire took place ten years ago too…

…was there a connection there? But if there was, then if it happened before…

…it can happen again.

Fire…

…so much fire…

…pain…

…so much pain…

…screaming…

…pleading…

…silence…

…silence…and darkness…

Ayame blinked the memories of that terrible night ten years ago away, along with her assumptions and ideas from last night's research, rising along with the rest of her class as they greeted the teacher for first period. But as they were filed away, and Ayame focused on the classes for the day, one conclusion echoed in her mind.

…if the Great Fire was caused by the last Holy Grail War…then, this battle…my joining this damn contest…it's not just about surviving anymore. It's about keeping another Great Fire from happening…especially when she had the power to do so…

…and as a survivor, she owed that much to those who couldn't be saved like she had been.

Rin silently sat at her desk, listening as the teacher in front of the classroom lectured away on his topic. In truth, she didn't particularly care much for the topic, but just in case, she was listening, even if she wasn't paying attention. To that end, she kept her magic circuits partly-open, allowing her to passively commit to perfect memory what the teacher was saying, even if Rin's mind was elsewhere.

Should she need to, it would only take a thought to recall what she needed to recall, and apply it. Until then, she could focus her attention on – relatively – more important things. The Holy Grail War, for one thing.

Even now, Rin could feel the slightest hint of Shinji's Servant's presence. The Servant was clearly trying to hide its presence, but as it likely was not an Assassin and thus lacked the skill 'presence concealment', now that Rin knew what to look for, she could find it with some effort. It wasn't perfect, the Servant could try with a good chance of success to throw her sense off, but it was better than nothing.

And more to the point, it was a reminder that she needed to summon a Servant, and soon.

Rin had no doubt that if she failed to summon any one of the seven Servants before others did, Shinji would not hesitate to end her as he said he would. Not that she didn't expect him to, they were magi after all, and they were perfectly capable and willing to kill each other if they needed to, to say nothing of the bad relationship between them.

It wouldn't be this bad if Shinji wasn't such an asshole, and…

Rin didn't finish the thought, crushing and dismissing it as…unworthy, of a magus. What happened was…normal, expected even.

But…even so…

As the teacher began calling students for recitation, Rin sat back and briefly glanced out at the window. Spring might still be some way away, but the clear blue skies echoed the promise of the next season ahead of its time.

"I'll be graduating soon." Rin thought. "And then it's off to the Clock Tower. If I win this Holy Grail War, or even just make a good showing, it'll be a huge boost for my prospects there. Not that I'll be satisfied with anything less than winning, of course. But…before any of that…"

Rin let the thought trail off, and sighed. She scratched her head and turned her head to look at one of her classmates, reading from a book at the teacher's behest. "Shinji's not just the only one gunning for my life." She thought. "Every Master will be, so I really need to summon a Servant soon. And it's not just about staying alive, there's also the shame and embarrassment if I fail to join the war, and I somehow survive to the end of it. No way am I letting that happen."

Rin leaned forward, resting her chin on folded fingers, elbows propped up against the table. "Tonight," she thought. "No, tomorrow morning, very early tomorrow morning, and the timing and prana concentration should be just right. And then all that will be left, will be to wait for the contest to properly begin."

Rin narrowed her eyes. "Just you wait, Matou." She thought. "I'll teach you what a real magus is like, just you wait."

"Did you hear the news this morning?"

"Which one?" Ayame asked. "There was plenty of news this morning."

The two girls and a few other friends of theirs were sitting at their usual spot in an out of the way corner of the school grounds, eating lunch under the shade of the trees. Ayako finished chewing and swallowed before answering.

"The one where a family of four were found murdered in their home early this morning." She said.

"…oh, that." Ayame said with a nod, and narrowed her eyes as she thought back to the news report. "If I remember right, the official police report on the news said they didn't have any concrete leads or any suspects yet, right?"

"Yes," Ayako said with a nod of her own. "Though, from what I managed to see on that newspaper while passing by the staff room earlier, they managed to figure out what the murder weapon was."

"What was it?"

"A bladed weapon of some sort, like a spear or a naginata, though a katana hasn't been ruled out yet either."

Ayame's eyebrows rose at that, as did several of their friends'. "That's…really, unreal there." Ichiro Tachibana said. "I mean really, who uses weapons like those today?"

"We do, for sports." Ayako said.

"Oh yeah…but, that's sport. We don't…um…"

The boy fumbled and gave up, though others looked thoughtful. "I think what Ichiro's trying to say is that," Hajime Miyaguchi said. "Who'd use weapons like those to kill today? That's really flashy, a really good way to attract attention, or something like that."

"That's a good point." Ayako said with a nod. "Serial killer, maybe? That's what the police currently think of about the motive."

"I don't think 'serial killer' counts as a motive, Ayako."

"I meant that a serial killer is behind the killings, since those guys are all loony anyway, and whatever motive they might have behind killing people and how they do it wouldn't make much sense to us. Not without really thinking about it."

"Yeah, that makes sense."

The group of friends shared nods with each other, and then Ayame sighed. "It's getting dangerous." She said.

"No kidding." Kyuichi Ichihara agreed. "Serial killings aside, there's also those gas leaks that have started popping up across the city over the past few nights. I don't know about you guys, but I get a really bad feeling that something bad is on the way."

"I think so too." Midori Mitsugi said. "The fortune teller my family sees, she said that…"

"Fortune teller, really?" Ayako interrupted. "You don't really believe in that superstitious nonsense, do you Midori?"

"Well actually, I do!" Midori snapped. "I don't know about other fortune tellers, but Kitamura-sensei's never been wrong with her predictions, and my family would say the same if you ask them."

"Now listen here…"

Ayame just sighed and smiled slightly as Ayako and Midori argued on fortunetelling and superstition, fighting as usual to avoid laughing at how ridiculous the argument was for both sides. They were both right, after all. Much of what was superstition, really was just superstition with no basis to it at all. Sometimes though…

…like in the case of the fortuneteller that the Mitsugi family patronized…

…sometimes, it was all true.

"I'm going to miss these calm days." Ayame thought, looking up at the evergreen canopy overhead. "After tonight…really, just damn it all…"

"Wow, Ayame-chan…" Taiga gushed while all but drooling at the food laid out on the table for dinner. "So much…delicious…food!"

"Thanks, but would you mind not drooling over the table?"

"Oh sorry!"

Taiga laughed apologetically while sitting down on her side of the table, Ayame sitting opposite with a smile and a shrug. The rest of the day had passed without incident, things going as they usually did. Classes and clubs alike ended for the day, Ayame went to buy some groceries, cooked dinner, served it, and now was about to eat it with her sister. Just another day in her life…

…and for all that, it felt like the calm before a storm.

"Why so much though?" Taiga asked. "Did something special happen today?"

"Hmm? What? Oh, nothing like that…just, really hungry, that's all." Ayame said with a laugh and a shrug. "I…didn't really get much sleep last night, I had to catch up on some pieces of schoolwork that I'm behind on. I nearly overslept this morning so…I, couldn't really prepare as big a lunch as I usually do."

"Oh, I see." Taiga said with a nod. "Yeah, I understand. Things pile up, we have to deal with them, and this causes all sorts of trouble for us…but life's like that. We just have to deal with it as it comes."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too." Ayame said with a nod of her own. It wasn't a complete lie, in fact it was largely true, except for having only a light lunch. However, the heavy dinner was also for tonight's summoning ritual, to bolster her stamina seeing as summoning rituals like those needed for beings as powerful as Heroic Spirits – even limited by the Servant system – were just that much more strenuous compared to summoning lesser beings (her summoning of fairies don't count since she had a sorcery trait to simplify things for her).

"Well, I'm not complaining." Taiga said with an eager grin, already picking up her chopsticks and held out her rice bowl to Taiga. "About tonight's feast, that is! Rice please!"

"Honestly, nee-chan," Ayame said with a laugh. "Alright, here you go."

Ayame took the rice bowl, filled it up, and handed it back to Taiga before filling up her own rice bowl. "DELICIOUS!" Taiga gushed from across the table. "Ayame-chan, full points! You should consider going to culinary school after graduating, you've got a real talent for it, and it's not like tuition's going to be an issue."

Ayame just shrugged, and focused on her dinner. "Boosting my stamina, huh?" she thought. "Considering what can happen with a botched summoning ritual of this caliber, this could also count as a condemned man's – or woman's – last meal. Might as well enjoy it, just in case."

A/N

Filler for the most part, but necessary one to keep things from getting rushed. Though, as you can see, Ayame does share some similarities with her brother from canon.