It was one thing seeing your dead adopted father alive in the flesh although with a few major alterations, but seeing him as a heroic spirit?

That was something Shirou did not expect.

What's more is that he's also a counter guardian.

A protector of humanity.

An agent of Alaya, the will of humanity.

The same as heroic spirit EMIYA and EMIYA Alter.

This was Shirou's thoughts about heroic spirit EMIYA (Assassin) after meeting him for the first time and going with him on a few singularities with him.

And this...is one of their stories...

Shirou was in a ruin of a town with Ritsuka, Mashu, and EMIYA (Assassin) as they were trying to find the cause of the singularity in the era they were in.

During that time, Shirou was trying to find a way to start a conversation with EMIYA (Assassin).

But like always, his E-rank luck seems to get into the way of things.

In the form of ambushes from monsters/shadow servants and some other things as well.

As so, Shirou could barely get any time to talk to him.

Up until now.

Right now, Shirou, Ritsuka, Mashu, and EMIYA (Assassin) were resting at the ruins as night has fallen upon them. Ritsuka and Mashu fell asleep early because of exhaustion of earlier battles. As Shirou looked at them, he then covered them with his white kimono to prevent them from catching a cold.

"Master...you're going to catch a cold at this rate along with Mashu..." Shirou thought as he looked at them sleeping peacefully. As he looked at them, he noticed that EMIYA (Assassin) was missing. "Where did Kiritsugu go?" he thought as he looked around the area nearby him.

As so, he noticed him on top of the rubble of a building.

"Ah. There he is," he thought as he began to walk towards him.

It was one thing seeing your family members from alternate timelines in which included three little girls (one which is a magical girl, the other is the other side of the magical girl manifested by acquiring a class card, an alternate version of the first girl who happened to be a pseudo servant vessel), a homunculus who happened to be your wife in an alternate timeline who is also the vessel of the holy grail, three versions of your adoptive son from alternate timelines, and apparently a little girl who happened to be one of said adoptive sons' little sister from an alternate timeline.

And then there's the servant in the tiger animal pajamas who would be considered the caretaker of the family in one timeline.

The funny thing about all of that is...each of those timelines didn't have him become a counter guardian.

And for Kiritsugu (AKA EMIYA Assassin), it was quite a thing to hold grasp of.

"Man...still can't believe that I have this many family members from alternate timelines. It's just...way to crazy to wrap all of this around..." he thought as he looked up at the moon and the stars in the night.

As he was looking up at the night sky, he didn't notice Shirou coming over to his side and sitting next to him.

"Oh...it's you...Shirou wasn't it?" EMIYA (Assassin) said as he looked at him.

"Yeah...old man..." Shirou replied as he sat down.

For a while, silence came between the two and it was getting awkward.

Eventually, EMIYA (Assassin) broke the ice first.

"Listen, just to make things straight, I'm not the same man that you know. I'm just an assassin. A counter guardian for humanity." EMIYA (Assassin) stated.

"I know that. It's just that...every time whenever I see your face, it brings back memories," Shirou replied.

EMIYA (Assassin) sighed. "What kind of memories?"

"Some fond memories...I would say."

Silence returned between the two for a while until EMIYA (Assassin) asked him a question.

"Hey. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"What was I like in your timeline?"

"Well...you were kind...and did care about me a lot...and gave me some helpful advice and lessons as well."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You even inspired me to become a hero of justice."

EMIYA (Assassin) chucked after hearing those last words. "Hero of justice...huh...guess his other version of me was the same as me..." he thought as he processed what Shirou told him. "And I suppose you're one now?"

"You could say that...in a way..."

"Is that so...by the way, how did your version of me met you?"

For a second, the tense silence returned as EMIYA (Assassin) asked that question. At that point, EMIYA (Assassin) knew he hit a sore spot in Shirou's life.

Eventually, the silence ended as Shirou took a deep breath and gave his reply.

"Well...it all started from a fire called the Great Fuyuki Fire. Apparently, the Great Fuyuki Fire was a side effect of the conclusion of the fourth holy grail war that took place at the same time. At that time, I was normal kid. Had a family, friends, and then..."

"The fire took everything from you I suppose?" EMIYA (Assassin) asked.

"Yes. It took my family, my friends, and even my memories away from me. I got caught up in the fire and was trapped under some burning rubble. I would have even died if it wasn't for Kiritsugu."

"My alternate version saved you?"

"Yeah. He dug me out of the rubble. As he dug me out of the rubble, his face looked like a face of joy, knowing that he saved me from the flaming hell that would have killed me. The face he made that day would be carved into my mind forever. Afterwards, I was in the hospital and over there, he found me and adopted me. And that's the story of how he and I met."

At that point, EMIYA (Assassin) was surprised at the events Shirou just told him. "To think such an event happened in his timeline..." he thought as he processed the information Shiou told him, which prompted him to ask him another question. "Say, how is my other version doing right now?"

Shirou let out a sad face and a sigh before saying, "He's...passed away..."

"I see..."

Silence then came between the two again.

"You know what's funny? The setting right now reminds me of the last conversation I had with Kiritsugu when I was alive. The starry night, the moon in the night, everything about right reminds me of the time I had a conversation with Kiritsugu about being a hero of justice," Shirou said with a tear coming from his eye.

"Shirou..."

"I know that you're not the Kiritsugu that I know of, but...looking at your face brings back memories..."

EMIYA (Assassin) then rubbed Shirou's head with his hand and gave him a head pat. "Well...even though I may not be the Kiritsugu that you know of...let's try to get along with each other. Is that okay with you?" he said.

Shirou smiled and said, "Yes. I would like that."

For the first time in his life, EMIYA (Assassin) smiled back at him and said something funny. "Well...let's just hope that you get along with your adoptive mother," he jokingly said.

Shirou chuckled. "Considering that she's an adult version of Illya, I think I'll get along with her."

If there was one thing that you should not give to Irisviel Von Einsbern, it would be a car.

And Shirou learned that the hard way.

Literally.

Right now, Shirou, Ritsuka, and Mashu was holding on to their car seats and life itself as Irisviel was driving around in car like a madman (or madwoman in this case).

And why was Irisviel driving a car?

Because the singularity Shirou and Irisviel were in happened to take place in modern times. In the singularity, Ritsuka was wondering how to finish the singularity faster to save time.

And it so happens that they spotted a car...in good condition...with the keys inside for some reason.

That's when Irisviel took her chance and placed herself into the driver's seat immediately, confusing Shirou and the others for a moment. While nervous about letting Irisviel in the driver's seat, Irisviel did tell them she did have some experience driving.

It was when Irisviel started turning like crazy that Shirou, Ritsuka, and Mashu regretted their decision letting Irisviel drive.

"Yahoo!" Irisviel exclaimed happily as she was turning around in every corner of the street.

Shirou felt like he was going to barf. "Man, never felt this sick from someone else's driving...who taught Irisviel to drive like this...?" he thought as Irisviel took another hard turn, making him cover his mouth in fear of a gag reflex.

Ritsuka and Mashu on the other hand...immediately passed out.

At that point, Shirou didn't even to know to either envy or pity them for passing out in which the envy for them passing out is that they don't have to experience this anymore and the pity for them is that they experienced Irisviel's driving.

"Uh Irisviel...who taught you to drive like this?" Shirou asked.

"I practiced it myself! And call me mom!" Irisviel exclaimed with a grin as she took a hard turn right.

"But don't you think you're driving a bit crazy? I mean...you don't have to take it hard on the turns..." Shirou moaned as he was feeling sick from Irisviel's turning.

"But that would be boring! I mean dangerous!" Irisviel pouted as she took another turn left. "What if the enemy attacks us?"

"I suppose so..." Shirou said before he noticed something. "Wait, stop." He then stepped on the brake pedal.

Irisviel was confused why Shirou stepped on the brake pedal. "Shirou, why did you do that?" she asked. Shirou then pointed at the sight in front of her to tell her why.

There was a small army of shadow servants in front of them and it looks like the only way to get past them was to fight them off.

And the problem was that both Ritsuka and Mashu were unconscious now, leaving the group down to two servants.

"Oh my. This looks like trouble here," Irisviel said.

"No kidding," Shirou said as he looked at the small army of shadow servants. As he glanced at them, he began formulating escape plans in his mind. "What should we do? There's a lot of shadow servants here. I could unleash one of my noble phantasms here, but I don't want to bring harm to master and Mashu here."

However, as Shirou was thinking, Irisviel already had an idea.

She stepped on the pedal, put the gear into reverse, and started driving in reverse.

"What the?! Mom?! What are you doing?!"

"Isn't it obvious? We're escaping of course!" Irisviel exclaimed.

And the group drove far away from the small army...

(A few hours later...)

"Uggghhhhh...I feel really sick..." Ritsuka moaned as he woke up.

"You okay master?"

Ritsuka knew that voice and turned his head to see the source of it. It was Shirou along with Irisviel around a campfire. "Yeah...I think so..." he moaned. "Where's Mashu?"

"She's sleeping in another area," Shirou said as he pointed to where she was, which was by Irisviel's side. "Well I'm glad that you're safe."

"Yeah. Anyways, where are we?"

"We're in a forest right now," Irisviel replied.

"What happened when me and Mashu passed out?"

"Well...we encountered a small army of shadow servants and had to retreat."

"I see. Anyways, we'll be fighting those guys again, so I suggest you to rest master," Shirou warned. Ritsuka then nodded before falling asleep. As Shirou was watching Ritsuka falling asleep, Irisviel noticed the glance Shirou was giving to Ritsuka, smiled, and let out a giggle.

Shirou noticed the giggle and asked, "What's so funny?"

"Oh...it's just that you act like Illya and Miyu's brother, even from another universe," Irisviel said.

Shirou chucked, now knowing that his counterpart in Prisma Illya's universe acted like the same as himself.

However, that's when Irisviel asked him a question that shocked him.

"Hey? What was I like in your universe?"

Shirou stayed quiet.

"Shirou?"

"Hm? Oh...it's nothing."

But Irisviel wasn't going to fall for that excuse.

"I take it that you didn't meet me in your universe?"

"Yeah..." Shirou muttered.

Irisviel sighed, but she continued. "What was Illya like in your universe?"

Shirou took a deep breath before saying, "Well...the first time I met her...she tried to kill me."

That startled Irisviel immediately. "Ehhhhh?! Illya?! The clumsy Illya that we know of tried to kill you in your universe?! How?!"

"Well...it was because of her grandfather's lies that she tried to kill me in which the lies were about Kiritsugu abandoning her for me. Anyways, the first time we met, she tried to kill me with berserker."

"Wow."

"However, after telling the truth about Kiritsugu and berserker's defeat, she calmed down and stopped trying to kill me."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. Afterwards, she started to live with even after the holy grail war."

"I see..." Irisviel was relieved when his world's version of Illya made up with him. "Hey, you were saved by Kiritsugu when you were young right? What was it like living with him?" she asked.

"Well...living with him was...quite fun. Although I'll admit, I wouldn't let him in the kitchen at all times when it comes to preparing meals because...well..."

"He wasn't good at cooking, right?"

Shirou chucked. "That's an understatement. In fact, he tried to make a fried egg once, and the result was rather a black mess."

Irisviel laughed at what Shirou just said. "Really?"

"Yup. It was so bad that I had to learn to cook for him."

"Wow. Seems you had a lot on your hands."

"Not quite actually. I had a lot of fond memories with him."

"I can see that."

"Yeah."

For a few seconds, there was silence between the two until Shirou started speaking again.

"You know...I never thought that I would be able to have a mom again...not after what happened to me in the past. I mean...the thought of it never came into my mind."

"Shirou..."

"It's not that I hate it or anything...it's just that I never knew this type of thing would come..."

Then suddenly, Irisviel then gave Shirou a giant hug.

"M-Mom?!"

"Shirou, even though we may not be blood related or related in the same timeline, I still think of you as my adopted son," Irisviel said with a smile. "If you have any troubles, just call me. Okay?"

Shirou thought of that and said, "Yes. I would like that mom," with a smile.

Irisviel smiled back. "Good. Now there's one more question I want to ask of you..."

Shirou listened to what his adoptive mom has to say.

"Which one out of the girls do you choose?"

Shirou blushed at what Irisviel just said. "M-Mom!"

Shirou Emiya has seen and experienced many things.

But this? This was something he did not expect.

Because it was clearly impossible that something like this could exist and happen at the same time.

And that would be his caretaker, Fujimura Taiga, as a heroic spirit in Chaldea.

"Okay...even though it's been a while since I arrived at Chaldea, one thing that still puzzles me is that how in the root is Fuji-nee a heroic spirit?! I mean seriously, all that I know of her is that she's just a schoolteacher who comes over at my house every to eat food! I'm pretty sure she hasn't done any heroic thing of the sort. In fact, does the word "heroic" come in her dictionary?! This is crazy! What's more, the clothes she's wearing are tiger pajamas! She's not a kid you know!" Shirou thought as he was walking down in one of Chaldea's hallways.

As he was walking, he didn't notice a certain tiger of Fuyuki coming up behind him...

"Shirou!" Taiga yelled out.

Before Shirou could even react, Taiga glomped on him and gave him a giant hug on the back, making him fall.

"Ow! What the...Fuji-nee...what are you doing?" Shirou moaned as he now knew who the attacker was.

"What? It's been a while since you saw your caretaker, and this is how you treat me?" she pouted.

Shirou chucked. She still hasn't changed, even after turning into a heroic spirit. "It's been a while Fuji nee."

"Yeah! Way too long, I think! I mean when was the last time I saw you?!" Taiga exclaimed. "After you left for London with Rin, you practically disappeared off the earth without a trace! And when I finally meet you again, you became a what Chaldea would call, "A heroic spirit." What's more, there's multiple sabers, Rins, Sakura-chans, Illyas, and Kiritsugu who looked like he got a massive sunburn and dyed his hair! Not only that, but apparently every Saber, Rin, Sakura-chan, Illya, and two other girls know you even though I don't know them! Just where the heck where were you after all this time?! I demand some answers Shirou!"

Shirou's mind just blanked out from Taiga's yelling. "Aren't you a heroic spirit too...?"

"Well?" she asked.

Shirou sighed. "Let's just explain this in my room. Is that okay?"

Taiga huffed after hearing Shirou's answer. "Fine!"

After that getting up from Taiga's sudden attack, Shirou then took Taiga to his room, where they can discuss what happened privately. Shirou then sat down on his bed while Taiga sat down on a chair nearby.

"All right now let's continue from where we started. Where were you after you left with Rin to London?"

Shirou took a deep breath before saying his story. "Well...it's kind of a long story here. You see, after I left with Rin to go to London with her, I went to study at a school for mages called the Clock Tower and-"

"Wait. Did you say, "school for mages?""

"Y-Yes?"

Taiga took a deep breath before yelling, "MAGIC IS REAL?! WAIT...YOU BECAME A MAGE?!"

"Yes Fuji-nee. Anyways, can you let me finish?"

Taiga quickly shut up.

"Anyways, afterwards, I stared studying at the Clock Tower with Rin and had a better grasp at myself and what I am. After I graduated from the clock tower, I became a freelance magus, helping people whenever if I can. However, at the same time, I was wandering the world because of a certain promise."

"And what promise was that?" Taiga asked.

Shirou paused for a moment before saying, "To see a certain someone again..."

"I see...but isn't it said that you broke that promise now that you're in Chaldea?"

"Not quite. I did fulfill the promise...although it ended in a way I did not expect."

"Well that's nice, although now I have a bunch of other questions to ask for you."

"Go ahead."

"First of all, that one girl with the blond drills that keeps calling you "Sherou" and two other girls which one of them has black hair and the other looks like a tanned version of Illya that calls you "Onii-chan," just how are they connected to you?" she asked menacingly.

Shirou sighed before he continued. "First of all, the first girl you were talking about is Luvia who was my classmate in the Clock Tower. The other girls you were taking about are Kuro and Miyu who happened to be my little sisters from an alternate universe.

Taiga's eyes popped out from the second explanation. "EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!"

Shirou covered his ears from Taiga's shouting. "Yeah," he stated.

"But...how...wow, Chaldea can be confusing sometimes..." Taiga muttered.

"Yeah...anything else?"

"Just one more question...how did you get here?"

"Well I had myself fused with, in terms you can understand, a spirit of the dead...and got here because of master..."

Taiga, once again, was shocked to hear that coming out of Shirou's mouth. "Spirits of the dead, alternate timelines, so many Sabers, Rins, Sakura-chans, Illyas, an alternate Kiritsugu, magic and mages are real, and apparently there's a school for mages in London...wow."

"You okay over there Fuji-nee?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, it's just taking time to process this type of information after all..."

"I can feel that," Shirou said as he remembered the time he had to learn all of this when he was plunged into the fifth holy grail war in Fuyuki.

"Yeah...so that means that Saber was a heroic spirit the first time we met...huh?"

"Yeah."

Taiga took a deep breath before asking, "Why didn't you tell me this? I'm your caretaker you know!"

Shirou sighed. "It's because I didn't want to worry and freak you out."

"But-"

"Fuji-nee, I know that you still think of me as a little kid, but I'm already a grown up now. I can make my own decisions and figure out where I can go from here on out. If you truly care about me, then can you trust me to let me make my own decisions?"

Taiga was shocked at the question Shirou just asked her. "Is this really Shirou? The little kid that was staying with Kiritsugu?"

"Fuji-nee?"

Taiga took a deep breath and said, "If that is your wish...then I won't stop you. But...just tell me whenever you are in trouble, okay?"

Shirou smiled, "Yeah. I'll do that Fuji-nee."

Taiga smirked. "Good. Then we're at an agreement then!"

Shirou sighed as the long conversation between him and his caretaker was over. Taiga then soon left, leaving Shirou alone.

However, he remembered he had one question to ask Taiga.

"Ah, I forgot to ask her how she became a heroic spirit..."

Shirou was in an awkward situation.

Why? Simple, he was stuck in a room with his alternate future self who happened to be a counter guardian along with an altered version of himself as well.

And how did they got stuck in a room together?

Blame Irisviel Von Einsbern for that.

"So...I take it that you two have been brought here because of her?" Shirou asked.

Both EMIYA and EMIYA Alter sighed.

"I'll take that as a yes then."

Shirou, EMIYA, and EMIYA Alter stared at each other because there was nothing else in the room. As they were staring at each other, EMIYA thought, "Okay, this is not how I want to spend one of my days. Just how did Irisviel manage to grab both my younger self and my altered self in here? And what's more, she programed the room to be locked at her own will! So now we can't get out of here! What is she up to?!"

"Okay, this is something that I would rather not want to be in. I mean, it's one thing to see your alternate self who isn't altered by a goddess of pleasure, but to see your younger self? That's it, I'm done here." EMIYA Alter thought.

"Okay...this is weird. I mean, it's one thing to have Archer in the same room here, but another version of Archer who happened to be altered, mind broken, and apparently has a bunch of cracks all over his body...this is not how I expect today to end up," Shirou thought.

Shirou, EMIYA, and EMIYA Alter took a deep breath before of thinking one more thing.

"Just how did I end up here?" they thought in unison.

(A few mintues ago...)

Shirou was walking down Chaldea's hall minding his own business. When suddenly, Irisviel came out of nowhere and asked Shirou for something.

"Help? With what mom?"

"Oh nothing...just something small," Irisviel replied with a giggle. "Can you?"

"Well...I guess..."

"Yes!" Irisviel exclaimed as she grabbed Shirou by the arm and dragged him to a certain room. As they got into the room, Iriviel then pushed Shirou into the room and what he saw in there made things awkward for him.

Because EMIYA and EMIYA Alter were there, sitting on the ground.

"Uh mom...just what is...going on...here...?" Shirou asked as he turned around to see the door closed. "Mom?!"

Shirou then tried to open the door but it failed. He then noticed that there was note on the door.

It said, "Shirou, have some talk time with your alternate selves! Love, Irisviel."

"Mom..." Shirou groaned.

(Back to the present...)

Right now, Shirou, EMIYA, and EMIYA Alter were staring at each other, hoping that someone would come and rescue them.

But sadly, time passed by, and no one was trying to find them.

Eventually, to break the awkward silence, Shirou started off the conversation.

"So...how did mom rope you two into this situation?"

EMIYA took a long sigh before saying, "She just dragged me here."

"I see. And you?" Shirou asked EMIYA Alter.

"Same as him."

"I see..."

The silence returned. For a while, nobody said anything again.

It was then that EMIYA asked Shirou an important question.

"Emiya Shirou, I have something to ask of you." he stated.

Shirou listened.

"Did you ever become the hero of justice you ever wanted to be?"

Shirou took a long sigh before saying, "Yes. However, I did it for a different reason than the one I had a long time ago."

"Oh? And what other reason would that be?" he asked.

Shirou took a deep breath before saying, "To see Arturia again."

This got both EMIYA and EMIYA Alter interested.

"You see, after the fifth holy grail war in my timeline, I made a promise to myself to see Arturia again where she was. I then went to study at the Clock Tower with Rin to get a better grasp of my origin and practice my tracing. Afterwards, I went on a journey to find while saving people in the process, to honor her memory and her wishes."

EMIYA and EMIYA Alter were quiet.

"During my journey, I realized something. You were right Archer. It's true that I can't save everyone, but that doesn't mean that I can't do anything. It may be true that my ideals were borrowed from Kiritsugu, and they were hypocritical, and was a result from a selfish desire to escape the hell I've experienced, but still I went through it, just for the people that I've believed in, including Arturia."

For a moment, EMIYA and EMIYA Alter were stunned at their younger self.

"Just one question. Did you regret the path you went on?" EMIYA asked.

Shirou smiled. "Nope. I had no regrets."

"And did you make the deal with Alaya?" EMIYA Alter asked.

"Nope. I rejected it."

For a moment, EMIYA and EMIYA Alter were glad that their younger self didn't make the same mistake they did many years ago. They were happy that their past self managed to not fall in despair from his dreams and ideals, managed to stay as himself, and didn't sell his soul to Alaya for eternity.

Not only that, but he also managed to save Arturia's heart as well, unlike in their timelines.

"By the way...how did you become a heroic spirit?" EMIYA asked.

"Well...let's just say...I fused myself with Sengo Muramasa."

This got them interested suddenly.

"Sengo Muramasa? The demonic blacksmith?"

"Yup."

"How did that happen?" EMIYA Alter asked.

Shirou smiled as he started to tell the story. "Well..."

Meanwhile, Irisviel was watching the conversation between Shirou and his alternate selves and was happy with the results.