Thankfully, there were still a few eateries that were still open despite the extremely late hours, as Ichiraku's was one of them was where they all found themselves later.

"Five Oden dishes with fishcake, tofu fritters and an egg each." The server called out as she handed Shirou his orders. "Here you go, Shirou-kun. It's pretty lucky of you guys to catch me just minutes before I close up."

"Thanks, Ayame-san." Shirou replied with genuine cheer, thankful that he had taken along his wallet in his normal clothes. Using his original magecraft always seemed to make him hungry. Turning about, Shirou arranged the dishes before all of the girls. "You girls should eat. Hunger is the enemy, after all."

Ruby giggled loudly for some reason.

"I-It's been a while, Emiya-kun." Tohsaka still seemed unsure of how to speak to him, despite (or maybe because of) the passed time. "Don't you think that a 'talk' between us trumps the need for a meal?"

"No, especially since I finally know why my sister had been too nervous to finish her dinner earlier." Shirou bluntly replied before focusing on the other child present beyond his sister, who had already started to eat. "How do you like the meal, Miyu-san? I hope the ingredients aren't too strong for you."

The young girl blushed when he addressed her, now dressed in normal clothing. Compared to the backless leotard she'd been wearing as a Magical Girl, Shirou still found it difficult to believe that the well-behaved and dignified Sapphire had a preference to dress her Masters like... that. "It's tastes very good, Onii- Ah, I mean, Shirou-san."

"It's fine, if you want to address me like that." Shirou reassured her when he noticed a sadness filling the amber eyes that resembled his, patting her head. Whoever Shirou reminded her off, it was very likely she wouldn't be seeing him again anytime soon. "So please don't be sad."

It seemed to be the right thing to say, because Miyu reached up to his wrist and nestled her cheek against his hand with a whisper. "Onii-chan..."

Illya choked beside him, a look of horror on her face at the sight before turning to him. "O-Onii-chan, I'm full now! Will you answer my questions like you promised?!"

"Emerald, shield our conversation from the others." After Emerald did something that caused a wave of green to encompass them before vanishing, Shirou turned to his sister. "Sure. What do you want to ask?"

"Who gave you a magic stick like Ruby?!" Illya immediately asked, the other girls' attention fully tuned in at this question.

"Nobody." Shirou replied. "I found Emerald by accident, who then contracted with me and alerted me of the Class Cards' presences in Fuyuki. I've already retrieved one of them, and tonight was supposed to be my second-"

"What?!" Luviagelita Edelfelt slammed her hands upon the table, her impressive bosom jiggling in tune with her movement. "You've already retrieved a Class Card on your own?!"

In answer to her unspoken demand, Shirou fished out the two Class Cards, Assassin and Rider nestled together in his fingers. When it looked like both her and Tohsaka looked ready to snatch them both right out of his hand, Shirou put them back in his jacket. "I won't lie by saying it was an easy thing to do. Even now, I still find Assassin scarier to deal with, even if Rider was a lot more harder to beat."

"Then are we to assume that tonight was your second ever combat experience with a Kaleidostick?" Tohsaka hedged.

"Yeah." Shirou replied. "Of course, I have transformed a few times in between to get a feel of how much my physical abilities got enhanced."

"Ah, that's right." Illya gasped in realization. "I was a lot faster than I normally am, back then."

"So, how about you answer my question?" Shirou pressed. "I'm now sure that the thing that flew through the window and knocked me out last night was Ruby in question-"

The mentioned Kaleidostick teehee'd nervously.

"-so tell me, Illya..." Shirou's eyes narrowed. "How did you meet with your Kaleidostick?"

"Ah, well, last night was the first time for me, too." Illya then launched into a tale, which while she did try to soften the blow, made it clear to Shirou that she'd been all but conscripted by both Tohsaka and Ruby.

"...Tohsaka." The pigtailed girl flinched from Shirou's tone, as she should have. The air around Shirou grew hazy and Illya had to shift away from the heat now rolling off him. "Tell me exactly what you were thinking to demand such a thing of my sister. Explain exactly how she qualifies as your slave for your fuckup."

"Oh, shit." Emerald cackled like a devil above Shirou's head.

"Oh, shit." Ruby fled to hide behind Illya's hair.

"Oh, dear." Sapphire hovered before Miyu rather than fleeing, her butterfly wings spread out in a rather protective manner.

"W-Well, it's not like I didn't try to take Ruby back!" Tohsaka replied, shimmering sweat starting to break out across her and the blonde girl's skins. Curiously enough, Illya and Miyu didn't seem to have been affected as much. "But the stupid stick rejected me! I'm well aware that Illya doesn't want to hold Ruby away from me, but as it was proven tonight, it's suicide to go up against Servants without the Kaleidosticks."

"And did you know how dangerous it would be before so?" Shirou had yet to stop glaring, actual steam now rising from the bowls on the table as the soup within began to boil anew. "Did you really intend to have Illya fight alone against a monster like that?"

"Hey, don't think that I wouldn't have stepped in to help if I could!" Tohsaka shot back, a hint of ice in her aquamarine eyes. "There's absolutely no way I'd be okay with any of this. If I could take Ruby back and let Illya free away from our world, I would."

"I see, then." Shirou's heated gaze shifted from Tohsaka to Ruby. "Illya, bring her out."

"Sorry." Illya betrayed Ruby immediately by handing over the struggling Kaleidostick.

"Magical Ruby." Shirou grabbed the sentient tool with a Reinforced grip, well aware that she couldn't get damaged no matter how much he squeezed. "It's now your turn. Explain your reason for abandoning Tohsaka."

"The same reason Sapphire did for the drillhead." Even in this situation, Ruby spared no hesitance for throwing insults at the girls. "These two blockheads keep going at it more than against each other than against the Servants like they're supposed to! It got so bad right above Fuyuki, they were actually going to use the Archer and Lancer Class Cards to duke it out through us last night!"

"Wait, that light show last night was you guys?!" Illya stared at Tohsaka and Luviagelita, the two female magi looking rather chastened. "Then the whole incident with Onii-chan's nose nearly breaking really was your fault, too!"

Shirou's nose twitched in phantom pain. "What was that about Cards? Are you telling me you already have at least two of your own?"

"Indeed." Luviagelita displayed a card with the image of an armor-less man with a spear in his left hand, the word 'Lancer' written below in English.

As for Tohsaka herself, she showed off a card with the image of a lightly armored knight drawing back their bow, the word 'Archer' written below in English.

"After tonight, there should only be three left." Luviagelita returned her Card. "I will admit that my resorting to demolishing the barbarian with Sapphire and the Class Card was rather improper-"

"Who are you calling a barbarian, you sausage-curled freak?!"

"-but I believe that we can still come to an understanding, Mr. Emiya." Luviagelita ignored Tohsaka with the righteousness of a selfish woman, reaching across the table to grab Shirou's hand, wincing at the heat but refusing to let go. "Ally with me and we shall dominate all opposition as we collect the Cards!"

"Stuff it, Edelfelt!" Tohsaka growled with no small amount of venom, slapping their hands apart. "I'm the one who actually knows Emiya-kun, compared to a total stranger like you!"

"But I'm the one who hasn't burned her chances." Luviagelita shot back with a smug grin. "True, Sapphire may have abandoned me, but unlike a lower-class magus like yourself, I didn't force or cajole Miyu into anything. We had a proper negotiation of terms and agreements, which she willingly accepted."

"Really?" Shirou turned to Miyu, who nodded in confirmation. "Okay, then."

"So what does that say about the brute who strong-armed Mr. Emiya's own little sister, despite supposedly knowing hi-" Luviagelita choked on her words when Tohsaka suddenly slammed a corkscrew punch into her cheek.

Shirou and Illya stared in united shock, the former flummoxed at the immediate exchange of violence that had started to occur between them. The two seemed to fight and quarrel like siblings, except Shirou was quite sure that they most likely had a habit of overdoing it if Ruby and Sapphire's complaints were any indication.

"So, um..."

Fortunately for Ruby who was still being crushed in his grip, Shirou released her and downed his cup of water. Inhaling deeply, he slowly breathed out a long sigh. His breath came out as thick steam as his anger calmed.

"Woah..." Illya said as he got back the arguing girls' attention.

"I'm willing to work with the both of you, only on the condition that you both try to win back your Kaleidosticks' trust." Shirou decided, his words causing the magi to regain their senses and separate from each other. "I don't have the right to tell you two to stop hating each other, but if you can't keep it professionally enough to keep others out of it..."

Tohsaka cleared her throat. "Still, there's still one thing that bothers me, Emiya-kun. Why did you, on your own, decide to start hunting down the Cards despite the danger? You don't strike me as someone in it for the power."

"Because Emerald warned me of what would happen if the mana distortions got too high." Shirou replied. "It doesn't matter how terrifying Servants are, as long as I can stop the danger from occurring. After all..."

Shirou placed a hand on Illya's head, his gaze full of protective love. "Big brothers don't need to be told to protect their little sisters."

"Onii-chan..."

How weird. While Luviagelita squealed at the sight of platonic sibling love, Miyu's brief flash of envy was understandable.

Tohsaka's own wasn't.

Anyways, it was about time that they headed home and finally got some needed sleep, so that Shirou could get some normalcy in the morning.

-:|:-

Assassin: Hassan-i-Sabbah of the Intoxicated Smoke(Zaynab)

-:|:-

Rider: Medusa

-:|:-

"Servant Assassin has heeded your call from the shadows and have arrived to aid you. I am known as Hassan-i-Sabbah and I await your orders, Master."

"Servant Rider has answered your call into this vessel. I am called Medusa and I am at your service, Master."

Shirou should have known that 'normalcy' had died from the moment he bled on Emerald. Speaking of which- "Explain."

"It's just a wild guess, but I'm guessing that your Origin 'Household' had something to do with this." Shirou didn't know how she'd managed it, but the sentient toy fucking shrugged. "The term 'Household' can actually refer to many things such as house, home, clan, family, kin, community, etc.. But it can also refer to society, fellowship, rapport, guild, etc.."

"So my Origin's building me up into some kind of commander-type character?" Shirou groaned, his drowsiness not helping matters. "Edelfelt-san mentioned the Cards were basically links to Heroic Spirts that allowed users to draw upon their power, but I've gone and summoned them fully?"

"Still more like copies, actually, but yup!" Emerald cheered. "And with me handling the prana cost, you've got a budding personal army on call! Not to mention, these two are way stronger than the corrupted versions you fought!"

Shirou noted her words as he looked the two women over.

Rider looked rather different compared to earlier, especially with her marks of corruption gone. Her current outfit was a simple strapless dress with a pink trim along her cleavage baring top. The color scheme was also reflected in the long gloves on her arms, the long boots that went up to her thighs, and even the choker she wore around her neck. Even her ridiculously long hair had deepened in vibrant color, smooth lilac locks now free of the constant snake-like motions as they nearly touched her ankles. Frankly, the most disturbing thing of her appearance was the rather strong blindfold over her eyes, but given her name...

As for Assassin, she resembled the one corrupted female of the many false Assassins, but was just as vibrant as Rider post-corruption. Her hair was cerulean and shoulder length now, with her black skin unblemished while wearing a lowered hooded cloak. And unlike the black masks with cracks and cyclops holes, her mask was clean white with thin but properly placed eyes, the nose and mouth extending downwards and stopping at the upper row of teeth.

"Were you among the Assassins I killed?" Shirou asked with a confused frown.

"No. The Heroic Spirit most fit for the Assassin Class is always Hassan-i-Sabbah, but I and your opponent are two different people." Assassin answered with a bow. "If a Summoner were to ever request our aid, the answering Hassan would be the one most compatible with your temperament or fighting style. I am the sixth to bear the name of 'Hassan-i-Sabbah', the Hassan of Intoxicated Smoke."

"...I see." Shirou didn't see, finally giving up on making sense of it all as he immediately made for his bed. "Okay, then. Let's get along, Assassin, Rider. I'll see you both in the morning."

And with that, Shirou finally went to sleep.

[Master, your teacher appears to have an announcement for you all.]

Shirou startled awake from Rider's warning as Kuzuki cleared his throat. It seemed that his morning coffee was starting to wear off. [Thanks, Rider.]

"One last thing. Our class has a new transfer student from overseas." The bespectacled man spoke. "She's from Finland, so be patient if her Japanese isn't up to par. Come in, Edelfelt-san."

Shirou eyed the door and choked on his spit when a familiar blonde with drill locks walked through, now wearing a modified female uniform of his school with long white ballroom gloves.

"This is Luviagelita Edelfelt." Kuzuki introduced Edelfelt to the stunned class. "As for your seat... take that empty one behind Emiya, that boy with the red hair-"

"This is..." Shirou stood up from his chair, outright gawking at Luviagelita while his classmates stared between them. "This can't be real, right?!"

"Oh, no." The smile on her face would've fitted better on a cat who had just caught a particularly elusive canary. "I'm very much real, Mr. Emiya."

"My name is Issei Ryuudou." The bespectacled boy, latest and most restrained in the long line of boys that had approached her, greeted her respectfully. "I'm the student council president. You can rely on me for any of your questions, alright?"

"You have my gratitude." Luviagelita replied before continuing on her way towards Emiya, the redhead in question giving her a dreadful glare. "Mr. Emiya, may I beseech you to give me a tour of the school grounds?"

"...fine." Emiya got up from his seat, which then prompted envious howls from most of the other boys. "Knock it off, already! I just ran into her last night!"

Not waiting for their replies, Emiya led the way out of the classroom and gave his best in actually fulfilling her request despite his clear dislike for her.

Luviagelita always liked a man who could stay professional. Which was why it was oh so jarring for Rin Tohsaka to insert herself into their walk, the low-class magus seething in clear jealousy. "Miss Tohsaka, would you please make yourself scarce? I'm clearly in the middle of a discussion with Mr. Emiya here."

"Shut up, you drillhead." Tohsaka replied before turning to Emiya. "Emiya-kun, if you know what's good for you...?"

Tohsaka's words trailed off, her eyes widening at the masked figure who had stealthily risen out of Emiya's shadow and had placed the sharp edge of a dirk against her throat. "Wh-What?!"

"Tohsaka, Edelfelt-san, meet Assassin." Emiya introduced the masked woman, who only gave a slight nod in acknowledgement. "I won't go into details, but I've become able to manifest the Cards' Servants into much more stable forms."

H-He could do that?! Just what kind of magecraft did he use?! "Mr. Emiya..."

Luviagelita stepped forward so that his eyes fell upon her, while subtly pushing out her chest. To his credit, his eyes only noted the motions for a fraction of a second before returning his gaze to her face and easily keeping it there. A man who appreciated the female body but also respected it's owner was a rather rare breed back home. "I believe that we would be better suited to an exchange of questions, if you will agree."

Emiya frowned as he thought it through. "Fine, then. Assassin, let Tohsaka go."

The masked Servant pulled away from Tohsaka before smoothly sinking back into her Master's shadow.

"I'll start off." Emiya leaned back against the wall, Emerald popping out from within his clothes to rest on his shoulder. "I was just retrieving the Cards since the mana distortions they'd cause would jeopardize my home, but what are you two getting them for?"

"We were sent from the Clock Tower to retrieve them by Wizard Marshall Zelretch." Tohsaka replied.

"The guy who made the Kaleidosticks?"

"Yes, him." Tohsaka confirmed Emiya's question. "How long have you been a magus, Emiya-kun?"

"...two days, now. I didn't know a single thing about the Moonlit World until Emerald's teachings." Emiya's answer shocked both Luviagelita and Tohsaka. How could somebody like him have done so much with only two days worth of experience?! While the Kaleidosticks were cheats, it still remained that their wielders possessed significant knowledge on whatever magecraft they wanted to utilize! Unless...

Shirou Emiya was a prodigy.

Luviagelita wasn't sure which field he exceeded in, but there was no doubt that Emerald knew and had been training him accordingly.

"Now for my own question." Emiya spoke up, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Since I can fight the corrupted Cards with Servants of my own, why do you think I'll be needing either of your help in retrieving them?"

"What?!" Tohsaka shrieked, just as shocked as Luviagelita felt. "What do you mean by that?!"

"What I mean is that I'm capable of finishing it all up without putting Illya or that Miyu girl in any more danger." Emiya clarified. "So why shouldn't I do so, especially as there's no way you two can return without earning back Ruby and Sapphire's services?"

Luviagelita winced from the metaphorical shots to her. Because Emiya was completely correct. Not only was he capable of actually finishing everything by himself, the safety of his sister and Miyu validated his actions. No matter how one looked at it, she, Luviagelita Edelfelt, was in the w-w-wrong.

"You're right, Emiya-kun." Tohsaka relented with a shamed look that Luviagelita didn't actually relish as she would've normally. "I really have no right to drag your little sister into this mess, but the fact remains that while we may have betrayed their trust, we certainly didn't tell Ruby and Sapphire to go and contract a pair of kids."

"...yeah, I can't blame you girls for that." Emiya reluctantly accepted the hidden apology. "Fine, then. I'll be willing to work together with you two until we have caught them all. Assassin, Rider, is that okay with you two?"

This time, Luviagelita was slightly more ready at the sight of two Servants stepping out of Emiya's shadow, the two women clearly subservient to him. Despite herself, Luviagelita couldn't help but compare the last night's Rider with the one before her. Not only was the purified Rider much more sane, she wasn't exuding the malice that she had been before, allowing her to note the statuesque woman's sheer beauty, even with the blindfold on.

"If Master desires it, we shall obey your orders." Assassin said.

"However, we shall only take our orders from you." Rider stated. "If you ever wish to retire from combat, we shall return to the Throne and leave the Cards as they were."

Luviagelita grimaced before deciding that after regaining Sapphire, she would have Emiya give extensive instructions on how he'd managed to summon the Servants and earn their trust.

The fact that they might have to spend quite a significant amount of time together was a surprising bonus.

Looking up from the small spot she'd been mopping, Sakura Matou stared strongly at Rin Tohsaka when she entered into the archery club with Shirou and Luviagelita Edelfelt, hating how she'd enjoyed her former sister awkwardly looking away from her. "Senpai, where were you? Ryuudou-kaichou, Mitsuzuri-buchou and I missed you at lunch."

"Sorry, Sakura." Shirou apologized. "Our new transfer students asked me to show them around the school grounds, especially as I'd already met them before yesterday. I've already met and apologized to Issei. By the way, these are Rin Tohsaka and Luviagelita Edelfelt. Edelfelt-san is a foreigner, but Tohsaka actually used to live here-"

"I know her." Sakura cut him off. "We used to be quite close."

"Really?" Shirou asked with a puzzled look at how Rin winced. "It doesn't seem like that's the case anymore."

"It really isn't." Uncle Kariya would've been disappointed to see the cruel smile that crossed Sakura's lips that moment. "After all, Tohsaka-san back then was quite rude to me-"

Rin gave a small 'urk'.

"-uncaring of those who wished her condolences as her relatives and friends-"

Rin slumped, her head twitching forward.

"-and surprisingly cowardly in emotional matters." Sakura felt a little hypocritical there, but was sure of her ex-sister being much worse.

As for Rin herself, she'd collapsed to her knees heavily, her ego brutally eviscerated.

"Such terrifying efficiency..." Edelfelt whispered before grabbing both of Sakura's hands gleefully. "We are going to be fantastic friends."

"...well, I'm gonna go change." Shirou shamelessly made his escape.

Unfortunately to Sakura's shock, he stepped right on the spot she'd been mopping and she then moved to grab him back. Shirou's foot slipped from beneath him and his flailing hands moved to grab the nearest support. Said support however happened to be Edelfelt's arm when Sakura had already clutched his shirt to pull him up.

This all resulted in the two girls tumbling down upon Shirou in a way that-

"What the fuck is this?!" Rin yelled in mortification as she stared down at them.

"Welcome back to Fuyuki, Tohsaka." Mitsuzuri said with a knowing smirk as she came up to them after redirecting the witnesses/clubmates, patting the pigtailed brunette's shoulder.

"M-My, Mr. Emiya...!" Edelfelt blushed from how hard his hand clutched her right breast, amazingly strong fingers digging deep. "I-I wasn't aware that you were interested in me with such matters in hand- I mean, mind!"

Sakura just quietly relished the feel of Shirou's warm palm digging into her butt after somehow slipping under her hakama and panties, her favorite redhead already stammering out apologies.

"So, how was your day girls?" Shirou sighed as he met up with Illya and Miyu, still feeling the ache of Tohsaka's kick into his ribs. "Better than mine, I hope?"

"Miyu won at everything!" Illya practically cried. "Math, arts, cooking, even P.E.! Nobody was better than her!"

"Cooking, huh?" Shirou gave Miyu a look. "You must have been well experienced."

"I was taught well." Miyu answered demurely.

"Miyu's basically my rival character!" Illya declared with a huff. "Just like Tohsaka-san and Edelfelt-san are your rival characters! And you have to deal with both of them at once compared to the usual one-on-one clichés in magical girl shows!"

"That really isn't something I'm proud of." Shirou patted Illya's head, waving sheepishly at one of the nearby pedestrians who had started giggling. "Or something to be shouted in public."

Miyu blinked. "Emiya-nii, do you mean that statement because of the social repercussions or due to the secrecy of magecraft?"

"Well, both are fitting answers, but I also mean in Illya not applying too much fiction into realistic situations. Magical situations are fine to admire, but not to replace reality with." Shirou answered as he patted her head, too. Just like last night, Miyu's cheeks reddened in a mix of glee and guilt. "That's right. Did you make any friends at Illya's school, Miyu-chan?"

Miyu blinked before tilting her head in confusion, nearly offsetting Shirou's hand. "Is there a need for me to have friends?"

"..."

"..."

Shirou sighed before ruffling the brunette's hair again. "Well, I can't force you if you don't want them. Everybody has their own pace."

"But she kept rebuffing everybody today!" Illya snitched, only to get a finger flick to her forehead.

"I don't want to hear complaints from the girl who revels in attention as a half-German." Illya blushed at his statement, not meeting his eyes. "For someone who makes friends as easily as breathing, you shouldn't make others follow your way."

"Yes, Onii-chan." Illya snuggled closer to his side.

There was a moment of peace before Miyu did the same, the trio walking home in relative silence despite the strange sounds of gnashing teeth from Illya.

At least until they reached home and saw the neighboring manor that both Shirou and Illya were very sure had not been there yesterday.

"Mr. Emiya, it would be a great pleasure to have your assistance in retrieving our next Card at the park by the bridge at midnight. Please grace me with your attendance."

- Luviagelita, Heiress of the Edelfelt Clan

KingVessel: Caster(and Saber) battle on the way! Luckily, Shirou's got a double team of his own~!