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

Purified by Fire, Dancing with Fairies

Chapter 20

"Glitter, Fairy Lights."

Fairies flew out of the golden light between Ayame's hands, travelling between realms and settling into orbit around her. Moments later, and they broke their orbits, picking up speed as they climbed into the air before abruptly diving down, and plunged into the ground. As befitted their nature, they simply sank into the earth, neither harming the plants that grew on its surface nor breaking the ground itself.

"…those are actually fairies, aren't they?"

Ayame turned a wary eye on a clearly-awed Rin. "Yes…and?" Ayame asked.

Rin shook her head. "You know beings like those…to be able to summon them from the Inner World…and to control them as familiars…" she said slowly. "It's equivalent to True Magic. You know that, right?"

"I do." Ayame admitted. "And I'm taking a huge risk letting you know my greatest secret, Tohsaka. I'll say this now: I have absolutely no reason to become some kind of guinea pig for magi and their insane quest to reach the Root, or to simply become more powerful by somehow getting my mysteries."

"You shouldn't be so judgmental." Rin said, though her voice seemed uncertain. "Not all of us are greedy and…ruthless, you know."

"You probably aren't." Ayame conceded. "Many…minor, magi probably aren't. Most of those with established names? The bunch in charge of the Mages Association? I wouldn't be surprised if they're not so different from the Matou Clan I wiped out a few days ago. They may not be as…corrupt, physically, but their souls are just as black and their minds as inhuman."

Rin opened her mouth to protest…and then closed it before nodding slowly and silently. "Come on," Ayame said after several moments. "The fairies are done. There were some protective mysteries, and apparently a hive of some sort, to protect the graves. Though from the look of things, it's all just an elaborate setup."

"What?" Rin asked as she walked beside Ayame.

Ayame didn't answer at once, instead muttering words while setting up a bounded field around them before turning to Saber. "Keep an eye out, please, Saber?" she asked.

The Servant nodded and walked off, away from the two girls, while Ayame turned to Rin. "Apart from your sister's grave," Ayame said. "There are no bodies inside the other Matou graves, or even urns to keep ashes in. My guess is, upon death the bodies of the other Matou were simply fed to the worms."

Rin gasped in horror while Ayame thought for a moment longer. "Though," she said thoughtfully. "That does beg the question of why would there be protections on the graves if they're just for show? Or why is Sakura Matou the one exception?"

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Rin snarled, her anger and hatred rising to a crescendo. "Even if there's nothing to protect, Zouken Matou must have suspected that someone might try and exhume his family's corpses to see if there's anything that can be learned from them. That monster wouldn't have passed up the chance to get some fresh meat for his worms if it came blindly along."

"…that…makes sense, I guess." Ayame conceded. "And Sakura Matou?"

"…appearances…probably…" Rin muttered, her anger and hatred dying as they were smothered by grief. "He might have been worried…that if there weren't any remains to be buried…I might have gotten suspicious. And while I couldn't have done anything at the time…in the future…if I became an enemy…then…"

"Then he would be under threat, and with your position as the Second Owner, you're not just someone he can challenge easily." Ayame concluded, and Rin nodded. "That also makes sense. The political element you'd represent could mean bringing down the Association itself on his head. Huh…imagine that. The Association being a force for good."

Rin looked like she wanted to say something, but ultimately decided not to. As they approached Sakura Matou's grave, fairies rose up from the ground, and zooming closer settled into orbit around Ayame. "I'll take care of this." Rin said, and removing a shovel from where she'd stored it inside a gem.

"You sure you don't want any help?" Ayame asked. "Six feet of dirt is a lot of time and work you know."

"I know." Rin said, hefting her shovel. "But so would have been saving my sister. I skipped out on that…so I won't skip on this. Or anything else, that I should do, from here on out."

Ayame met Rin's eyes for several moments, and then nodding, sympathetically patted her on a shoulder before stepping back. Rin nodded back, and then lowering the shovel to the ground, plunged it into the earth.

It took slightly more than an hour to dig down through the earth, and to finally reach the crypt wherein was Sakura's urn. A sealed concrete box, it took only a single blow from a reinforced fist to break its top, revealing the urn within, covered with the broken debris of the surrounding crypt.

"Hello Sakura." Rin whispered, tears in her eyes as she shakily reached out for the grey-green ceramic, and lifted it clear of the crypt. "I'm sorry I took so long. I'm sorry…I'm sorry for not being there when you needed me the most. I'm sorry I couldn't help you…save you…for being the worst older sister ever. Even now…something like this…it doesn't make everything right. Nothing ever will…"

Trailing off, Rin held the urn to herself, lowering her face and crying softly for a few minutes. "All I can do…" she eventually whispered. "Is make sure…that what happened to you…will never to happen to any of our family ever again. So please…please Sakura…"

Rin's trailed off again, and she stood still and silent beneath the earth, as though waiting for an answer. None came, and after several moments, Rin silently reached into a pocket and pulled out a cylinder of obsidian.

Barely-visible inside was a diamond, along with a pair of quartz crystals. At one end of the cylinder was a metal seal, and which Rin pressed down on. The gems inside the cylinder began to glow, faintly at first only to slowly but steadily grow in strength.

With a cold expression on her face, Rin tossed the cylinder into the crypt, and then reinforcing her legs jumped out of the earth into the air. Flipping through the air, she landed down in a crouch next to a surprised Ayame. "Let's go." Rin said softly and insistently as she rose to her feet, and then quickly hurried away.

Ayame shot a look at Saber in the distance, and then turning back to Rin both quickly moved to match her pace. Ayame looked as though she wanted to say something, but a glance and a shake of the head from Saber had her deciding to just stay silent.

Barely a minute had passed after leaving Sakura's grave when there was a massive explosion, violently shaking the earth and displacing the air away from Sakura's grave. The explosion knocked Ayame and Rin from their feet, and while Saber managed to stay upright, he was still sent staggering several steps.

Ayame shook her head, her ears ringing as bits and pieces of turf and earth rained down all around them. "Fucking hell…Tohsaka…what did you…?" she slowly said, only to trail off as she looked in the explosion's direction. Then Ayame could only gape, at the mushroom cloud rising into the air.

"It doesn't matter that there weren't any bodies inside the graves." Rin said, getting to her feet while holding Sakura's urn tightly to her chest. "They were all monsters. And they don't deserve even the appearance of resting in peace!"

Drawing back at the sheer venom of Rin's last words, Ayame shared a worried glance with Saber, and then getting to her feet, they hurried after Rin.

"Grave-robbing?" Kirei asked mildly. "Truthfully? I must say, that is rather disrespectful."

Rin didn't reply, just shooting an annoyed glance at Kirei from where she was sitting on his couch, Sakura's urn clutched to herself. "Meh," Ayame cheerfully replied instead. "They were just a bunch of monsters anyway. I wish Rin had told me she was going to set off some kind of mini-nuke at the end, but…yeah, no disagreement on the whole 'monsters don't deserve even the appearance of resting in peace' thing."

"Zouken Matou was a monster." Kirei held his ground. "The rest of his family were as much his victims as they were his puppets. At the very least, they deserve pity, not scorn."

"Really?" Ayame asked skeptically. "Because from what I recall, Shinji wasn't a victim or a puppet. He positively was proud of what he was. And you didn't see him once I stripped away what his magic made him look like, and showed him as he really was."

"And what might that have been?"

"A monster."

"…that's a tad vague, is it not? A bit more detail would be appreciated."

Ayame frowned. "Alright then," she said. "His insides were all black and rotten, and his eyes pus-filled sores. He literally looked like a corpse that's been left to rot in water before being thrown out and allowed to fester in the damp and the dark."

The girl paused to think, her expression turning disgusted. "Zouken Matou was a literal pile of worms that clumped together to appear and act Human." She said. "But his grandson was a walking corpse. Disgusting…"

Kirei sighed. "I would say he didn't know better, but I won't. I know better." He said exasperatedly. "No matter what I say, you won't budge on your opinion, will you?"

"I don't see any reason to."

Kirei sighed again. "I thought as much." He said, before looking over at the silent and pensive Rin. The priest stared at the magus for a few moments before smiling and glancing at Ayame, who raised an eyebrow at him.

"Can I help you with something?" she asked.

"How did you come into the care of Kiritsugu Emiya, might I ask?" Kirei asked.

"…what kind of question is that?" Ayame asked after a moment.

"Well, you see," Kirei began with subtle theatrics. "It's just that if not for your white hair, you'd be the spitting image of someone I knew from ten years ago."

"…please tell me we're not related or anything."

Kirei blinked and laughed. "Rejoice," he said, spreading his hands theatrically. "For the answer is as you wish, we are not related."

Ayame sighed in relief. "Thanks for that." She said. "No offense, but I can't help but…distrust you. My dad told me to be wary of…you…hey wait, how did you know I was Kiritsugu Emiya's adopted daughter?"

"I wouldn't be surprised, either way." Kirei said with a smile. "Your father and I crossed blades more than once, during the Fourth Holy Grail War. With such background between us…it cannot be helped that he distrusted me, and passed it down to you. That said, while I do not expect things to change overnight, and I admit it's only natural for you to follow your father's example, I would express my hope that you keep an open mind and judge me fairly."

Ayame stared at Kirei for a few moments, and then looking away, scratched at her head. "Well," she said. "I guess it's only…fair…"

Kirei bowed lightly. "I am grateful." He said. "As for knowing you are your father's daughter…well, to my knowledge your father had no other family in this city. Seeing as your last name is Emiya, I simply – correctly as it turned out – assumed that you were his adopted daughter."

"Okay…that also…makes sense, I guess."

Kirei bowed again. "Anyway," Ayame began. "Who's this person I resemble?"

"Your mother of course," Kirei said, and causing Ayame's jaw to drop. "Kaname Tachibana."

Ayame gaped at Kirei, who stared back for several moments, and then tilting his head leaned closer. "You don't remember anything at all, do you?" he asked.

Ayame pulled herself together. "You try getting burned to a crisp, and only surviving thanks to magical help courtesy of my dad, and even then the shock still turns your hair white…let's see you remember anything from before the Great Fire." She pointed out.

Kirei nodded sagely. "A fair point." He said before turning to Rin and frowning. "Going back to your birth mother…she, and originally I assumed you as well, died during the Great Fire. Her residence was well within its radius."

Kirei paused, and narrowed his eyes at the urn in Rin's arms. "It's strange." He said. "He gave and did so much for his heiress, but when it came to his other children, he didn't seem to have cared much, considering what happened to you and your half-sister."

Rin blinked, and slowly turned to Kirei, while Ayame narrowed her eyes. "This sounds very interesting." She said. "Though it could also be just a very good story. How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"How many magic circuits do you have?"

"Enough."

"Indeed…and where or rather who do you think they came from?"

"…it's not unknown for first-generation magi or at least people with the potential to be one to pop up every so often. Random mutation, as far as I know."

"Indeed," Kirei said with a nod. "However, most of those are usually quite pathetic, potential-wise. Certainly not enough to properly support as powerful a Servant as you possess, much less stand their ground against powerful magi like of the Matou and Tohsaka Clans."

"There are exceptions."

"Yes," Kirei agreed. "But those are exceedingly-rare…so much so, that it's more likely that you, Ayame Emiya, no, Kuchinashi Tachibana, are born of the Tohsaka Clan. And so you are."

Ayame made to say something only to be preempted by Kirei. "Come, come," he said. "I knew your father. He'd have suspected something, and I'm sure he'd have said something to you, one way and reason or another."

"…he might have." Ayame conceded after a long moment. "What's it to you?"

"You are already involved in the affairs of the Tohsaka Clan, one way or another, whether you like it or not." Kirei said. "Best to deal with this matter now, before it can become an issue later on."

"Kirei…" Rin began, only for the priest to gesture for her silence.

Ayame sighed, and briefly closing her eyes sat back in her armchair. "We had our suspicions, yes." She finally admitted. "My number and quantity are…average, for your typical magus. But for a first-generation? They're positively exceptional."

"And?"

"It's possible I'm just that rare first-generation born with exceptional potential, but…well, exactly that." Ayame said with a shrug. "People like those are really exceptional. I'm not."

Barring my Sorcery Trait, of course.

"So they are." Kirei conceded.

"Of course, that leaves only one possibility left: I'm descended from a clan of magi, most likely from some outcast bastard from one point or another in the past." Ayame said. "Well, there are two clans of magi living in Fuyuki, both of whom have lived here for two hundred years or so. Plenty of time for bastards to be born and forgotten."

Kirei chuckled. "Indeed," he said. "But incorrect, ultimately. If you or your father had looked deeper, you'd have discovered that you are not some distant relation, but an immediate descendant of one of the two clans living on this territory."

"Yeah…if we'd 'looked deeper', that is."

"Why didn't you?" Rin asked, looking at Ayame with a desperate light in her eyes. Ayame glanced at her, and Rin recoiled at the sudden iciness in those blue eyes. Those familiar, blue eyes…yes, very familiar.

She saw them every day in the mirror, after all.

"What's the point?" Ayame said. "Magi clan politics are nasty business, and neither dad nor me wanted to get involved in that kind of bullshit. And when all is said and done, neither of us wanted me to become a magus."

"But…why?"

"To be a magus is to rip out your own heart and soul, and to sacrifice them on the altar of inhuman ambition." Ayame said. "Why would my dad want me to become someone like that? Why would I want to become someone like that?"

"And yet," Kirei remarked. "A powerful magus you are. A paradox, yes?"

"Spell-caster," Ayame corrected. "I'm no magus. I don't want to reach the Root. I just need the power to keep people who want to take advantage of me away from me. That's all there is to it."

"A spell-caster indeed." Kirei said with a smile. "And given your record in this war, your father would have been most proud."

Rin didn't say anything. How could she? As much as she wanted to deny Ayame's words, on how magi sacrificed their hearts and souls for the sake of the Art…she couldn't. Not with Sakura's remains so close, reminding her of what had been lost, something so cherished but could never be regained ever again.

A wish-machine could not grant that, and neither could True Magic.

"…like to say you're generalizing," Kirei was saying. "But alas, I cannot. The facts of the fate decreed by your blood father and his ally, Zouken Matou for your younger half-sister, and that he took no precautions for you and your blood mother the same way he did for Rin and her mother during the Fourth Holy Grail War proves it. Spares are of limited use for a magus, after all. And Tokiomi Tohsaka was, ultimately, a…perfect, magus."

"And a terrible person, I'm sure." Ayame scoffed. "Though I don't need his example. I just need to take a single look at the general state of magi society, how it reflects the lifestyles and mentalities of the majority that make it up…and that's all I need to see how dad was right."

"Kiritsugu Emiya was most wise in that light." Kirei admitted.

"…so, who was I?"

Kirei laughed. "Suddenly interested, aren't we?" he asked.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm just curious." Ayame said. "I don't plan on getting really involved in Tohsaka Clan politics."

"Very well then," Kirei conceded. "But before that, a question of my own first: why did you and your father did not – as I assume – consider that you were born of the Matou Clan?"

"My eyes." Ayame said. "Matou have violet eyes. A side-effect of their magecraft, so profound it's actually affected their genetics. My eyes are blue…and so are Tohsaka eyes ever since an Edelfelt married into their clan back in the 40s. And of course, the Matou are a withered clan."

At that, Ayame blinked, and looked thoughtful. "I see." Kirei said, nodding slowly. "Very well, as for your question, as I said earlier you were born Kuchinashi Tachibana. The eldest daughter of Tokiomi Tohsaka…"

"WHAT?" Ayame and Rin said at the same time.

Kirei blinked. "The eldest daughter of Tokiomi Tohsaka." He repeated. "You'd have been his heiress, were it not for the fact that your mother was a mistress, and not his wife. Hence, Rin, who was born two months after you, became the heiress."

Ayame whistled. "Lucky for me…" she muttered.

In contrast, Rin looked extremely torn, which Kirei did not fail to notice. "Unwilling to accept your father would have another woman beside your mother?" he asked. "Don't be. Your father was rich and powerful. And it is normal, expected even, for rich and powerful men to keep mistresses."

Rin flinched at such blunt words while Ayame burst out laughing. "Wow, Father Kotomine." She said with a grin. "That was good."

"I merely state a fact." Kirei said with a small smile.

"Right…let's go with that."

"Indeed we shall."

"Anyway," Ayame said. "Going back to earlier…the Matou Clan were supposed to have withered away, right?"

"Yes." Kirei said with a nod. "That is the reason why they asked for and obtained your youngest sibling, and from the sound of things one reason why your father discarded the potential for you being descended from them."

"Yeah, except Shinji Matou was not only able to properly-support a Servant, he was able to fight as a magus very well."

"Hmm…" Kirei hummed thoughtfully. "I see your point. Indeed, in hindsight I recall the boy is supposed to be a blunt. And yet…yes, I've missed that fact for years. But then…how? How was he able to be magus?"

"Maybe it was all just a ruse," Ayame said darkly. "And they just wanted Tohsaka's little sister as a guinea pig."

"…that is certainly possible." Kirei said. "Compared to you, your siblings are quite exceptional. Despite being born as sixth-generation magi, their quantity and quality of circuits are what you'd expect from eighth-generation magi. Also, Rin herself is an Average One, while Sakura possessed the Sorcery Trait Imaginary Numbers."

"Son a bitch…" Ayame muttered. "I've been kicking ass…and more importantly, eighth-generation potential? Imaginary Numbers? Considering how powerful Shinji was, I'd bet that they really just wanted Sakura as a test subject…"

Rin slammed her hands on the table. Kirei and Ayame turned to her, and after a moment, Rin turned to them both. "Did…did you know?" she whispered.

"Did I know what?" Kirei asked.

Rin exploded. "THAT MY SISTER WAS…!" she roared before Kirei held up his hands.

"Peace, I did not know." He said. "Like you, I was told by your father that she was to be Matou's heiress. Of course, it's possible he too was deceived by Zouken Matou."

Ayame snorted. "Yeah, and you know what else is possible?" she asked. "That's what they wanted you to think. The truth could just have been a secret between them."

"That is also possible." Kirei conceded.

Rin shook her head, slowly backing away while holding Sakura's urn tightly against herself. "No…NO…NO!" she screamed before running out of the room.

Ayame abruptly got up as Rin screamed, and then stared after her. She looked thoughtful and sympathetic, and then turned to her Servant nearby. "Saber," she said. "Go after her please. Make sure she doesn't hurt herself. I'll follow in a bit."

Saber nodded, and then sped off to follow Rin. Alone with Kirei, Ayame turned back to the priest. "One last question before we go find Rin." She said.

"Very well,"

"How did you know Tokiomi Tohsaka and…my birth mother, so well?"

"Ah," Kirei said with a nod. "Simple enough to answer. That was because I was Tokiomi Tohsaka's apprentice, that is all."

"I see." Ayame said with a slow nod. "Apprentice, eh?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

"Not really," Ayame said with a shrug. "Though it is rather strange, seeing as you're a priest and Tokiomi Tohsaka was a magus, but…I'm sure you had reasons. I won't pry."

Kirei smiled and nodded. "Now then," he said, gesturing towards the door. "Shall we?"

"Yes, let's."

"Let me go, damn you!"

"Not until you calm down." Saber said, physically lifting a struggling and screaming Rin and all but dragging her back into the church grounds. "You're not thinking straight, and at this rate all you're going to do is hurt yourself. Now, come on."

"I DON'T CARE! JUST…!"

Ayame tuned out Rin's grief-fueled ravings, and picked up her half-sister's urn. "Poor girl," she said, addressing the urn and through it, Sakura's shade. "You deserved better than what happened to you. You should have been born to a decent family, not a messed up one like the Tohsaka."

"You're taking all this surprisingly well." Kirei observed.

"I guess I do." Ayame said, holding Sakura's urn against herself.

"May I ask why?"

"We've been suspicious for a while now." Ayame replied. "So you could say I'm used to the idea. And also…in case it got confirmed one way or another…"

"…you've mentally prepared yourself long since." Kirei finished.

"Well, yes."

Kirei snorted and then laughed. "Truly," he said. "You are Kiritsugu Emiya's daughter. That's the sort of thing I'd expect him to say, from what little I truly learned of his character during the Fourth Holy Grail War."

Ayame beamed at him. "That is the highest praise." She said, and Kirei laughed again.

"Indeed,"

Ayame and Kirei watched sadly as Saber took Rin back inside, and then Ayame sighed. "What now?" she asked.

"Depending on whether or not she calms down," Kirei said. "I may have to sedate her. Hopefully, she can sleep off her…temporary, madness."

Ayame snorted. "Madness, eh?" she said. "I certainly hope so, though I can't say I'm surprised. Or maybe not: that girl, she seemed like a typical magus, but at the end of the day, she was only wearing a mask. She wasn't a magus at heart."

"Yes," Kirei said with a nod. "To use your earlier description, Rin has yet to carve out her heart and soul, much less sacrifice them to her ambition. She has merely stabbed herself with a knife, and bleeds out in agony while torn between going further or not."

"Then I'll hope she makes the right decision."

"Concerned?"

"I like to think of myself as a decent person." Ayame said. "Of course I'm concerned."

"And the fact that she's your younger sister…?"

"…I only found that out today, and I never expected or even suspected that I was an immediate descendant. I'm still processing it."

Kirei laughed. "I see." He said with a nod. "That is good. There is no need to rush into things. Indeed, doing so will only invite mistakes."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too."

Kirei smirked, and then gestured back to the church. "Shall we go back inside?" he asked.

"After you, Father."

A/N

A bit low-key for such shocking revelations? Not really; Kirei's not the kind to be very expressive in his reactions anyway, and Ayame's long suspected she may in fact be a Tohsaka. You could say she's numb to it. As for Rin…well, she's already very shell-shocked. I wouldn't be surprised if after this bout of madness – born of the idea that Tokiomi may have deliberately sold Sakura as a guinea pig – she ends up with what's called the Thousand Yard Stare.

Yes, I know Tokiomi didn't sell Sakura. And so does Kirei. Except he's not lying. He just…neglected, to add a certain line after that. Specifically, he only said "That is also possible." What he didn't say was "From your point of view."

Basically, an Obi-Wan fact.