I'm gratified, both at the response to the prior chapter of this revised version of Hadrian Kotomine, and at my announcement of possible Code Geass fics. Keep in mind that, while the Potterverse is not the only crossover I have in mind for a possible Code Geass story, it's the most likely one. Given how I'm unlikely to be able to improve on how Lelouch does in fiction (due in part to my ignorance of military tactics and strategy, and partly because a lot of people have done that already, like SeerKing with Code Geass: The Prepared Rebellion amongst others), I'd prefer to basically throw a character into the Code Geass universe and have them act as a spanner in the works. For both sides, frankly, given the Westeros/Blake's 7 level of moral ambiguity at times. Or maybe throw a Code Geass character (other than Lelouch or the various military chessmasters from the series) into the crossover world...like CC and her ability to grant Geass powers. Hmm, that has potential for causing chaos...though I have to wonder, why the hell is her name pronounced 'Cee-Two' rather than 'Cee-Cee'?


HADRIAN KOTOMINE (REVISED)

CHAPTER 2:

THE SUMMONING

Hadrian Kotomine's return to school, along with that of his girlfriend, had more than a little comment attached to it. Of those present, only two knew anything of the truth, and they were very much contrasts: Shirou Emiya, and Shinji Matou. One Hadrian and Sakura's friend, the other…well, not.

If one was to describe Shirou in a single word, despite his desire to be a Hero of Justice, it'd be earnest. He was eager to please, eager to help. Hadrian and Sakura had known that Shirou was a Magus for some years, and had helped him with his Magecraft, although it was highly specialised. He seemed only able to use Structural Analysis, Reinforcement, and Projection, and they needed to correct how he used his Magic Circuits, but he was a pretty skilled guy.

Hadrian liked to tease him, though. Shirou was too eager to please, often doing things without placing his own interests first. He was a naïve idiot…but his heart was in the right place.

Shinji Matou, though, was another matter. While handsome and something of a smooth talker most of the time, Hadrian knew that he was actually a vicious bully against Sakura…and worse. The blue-haired little bitch, Sakura had confessed during their time on that other world, had raped her on a number of occasions, at least until Hadrian's magic began quelling the Crest Worms. And Shinji had always been jealous of Sakura being friends with Hadrian and Shirou, as if only he had the right to have any relationship with Sakura. And judging by the scowl he gave him as Hadrian arrived at school, he also knew about Hadrian and Sakura sleeping together.

Of course, he was bombarded with questions from his classmates about what had happened. He restated the cover story, speaking for Sakura, as the shy girl didn't like the attention she was drawing. However, few failed to notice how much closer Hadrian and Sakura were now.

In order to get away from it, Hadrian and Sakura had their lunches on the roof of the school. Hadrian looked over at his girlfriend, the love of his life. Well, he hoped so. Raised in as twisted an environment as he was, he wasn't sure what he felt for Sakura was true love, but he cared for her as much as he was attracted to her.

She was surprisingly buxom for her age, with dark purple hair framing gentle features that often had a lugubrious air to them. While she had a mask of warmth and demureness, Hadrian knew it was a mask. The girl was sorrowful, even broken inside, and had been that way for a long time. The only two actual friends she had was Hadrian and Shirou. For a time, she had been torn between considering either of them as more than friends. Hadrian was grateful that she chose him.

As they ate lunch, Sakura eventually said, "Grandfather has an offer for you. If you bring him the Grail, he'll let me go."

Hadrian scoffed. "Bullshit. You and I know that Zouken wouldn't let you go. He gets off on tormenting you. Don't get me wrong, I'll play along…but one thing I share with Kirei is a hatred of that decrepit old worm." His tone softening slightly, he said, "Sakura…you haven't been chosen by the Grail yet, have you?"

Sakura shook her head, showing her hands, free of any Command Seals. Harry wore fingerless gloves to conceal his. "Apart from Grandfather, I'm the only one in the family capable of magecraft. I may not have them now, but it's only a matter of time. There is always a representative from each of the Founding Families of the Grail War. I would represent the Matous, and Rin, the Tohsakas. The von Einzberns will no doubt send someone."

"There'll probably be a couple of Magi from Clock Tower," Hadrian mused. "And then there's myself. So…if you do participate, do you want an alliance?"

Sakura nodded. "Did you need to ask? But…what do we do about the enemy Masters?"

"Rin, we'll knock out once we deal with her Servant, prevent her from getting a new one," Hadrian said. As much as the pair of them resented Rin for her apparent inability to acknowledge Sakura as her sister, as well as her snobbish attitude and bad temper, she wasn't a bad person. "Other Masters, well, we'll make it a case-by-case basis. Kirei told me the Master of Caster in the previous Grail War was a serial killer. If any Masters are as bad as that, we kill them, definitely. That being said…something worries me. We don't know why Kiritsugu Emiya ordered his Saber Servant to destroy the Grail last time. Shirou hasn't even heard of the Grail War when we mentioned it, and Kirei refuses to tell me."

"Grandfather doesn't know, so he tells me," Sakura remarked.

"Then we'll have to be careful. Remember how that park feels, Sakura, the one where the last Grail War ended. I've often had a feeling the Grail may be a monkey's paw. But if it's real…my wish will be to ensure you're free."

Sakura gave him her sad smile, and then leaned in towards him, her lips meeting his own. But as they kissed, their moment was interrupted by someone clearing her throat. A mortified Sakura and an irritated Hadrian broke off to see Rin at the door to the roof, the dark-haired, aqua-eyed girl peering at them with something between annoyance and amusement. "Is this why you two come up here?" Rin asked wryly. "To have some alone time?"

"None of your business, Tsundere," Hadrian snarked. "Haven't you got Issei Ryuudou to annoy?"

"That self-righteous son of a monk is easy to rile," Rin remarked. "I'm more interested to hear what actually happened to you guys. I heard on the grapevine that, when you first reappeared, you were with the Wizard Marshall in Clock Tower."

Hadrian looked at Sakura, who nodded in approval. Hadrian then turned to Rin. "Normally, I would just repeat what I just said, and say it's none of your business…but I guess we can give the abridged version. Short version is, I come from another world, and wizards from that world kidnapped Sakura and me to make me participate in a watered-down wizarding tournament. No Heroic Spirits or anything, just me, a wand, and I had to face a dragon, rescue Sakura from a freezing lake, and go through a maze. Oh, and these fuckwits believed I was their messiah, or else a dark lord on the make."

Rin stared at him. "What," she said flatly.

"I didn't think you'd believe me," Hadrian said. "Anyway, the wizards there are more like those from the Age of the Gods. They're also as full of themselves as the average Magus, but with less reason. Zelretch had to get us out of there in a hurry after I killed a lot of important people, who also were terrorists who discriminated against magic users with impure blood. I dunno why they were so upset."

"Knowing what you do for the Burial Agency, Kotomine, I'm not surprised they were upset," Rin snarked. "How many did you burn?"

"A couple of dozen, I think. I don't tally them, Rin. Besides, I didn't burn them all."

"No, I'm sure you introduced the others to the business end of a Black Key," Rin retorted. "Did you make everyone there your enemy? I mean, assuming you're telling the truth?"

"No, I just pissed off the important people. For all Clock Tower's snobbery and delving into things they shouldn't, there's a lot less stupidity there. I couldn't say the same for the Ministry of Magic. Seriously, the school I was at had the motto of Don't tickle a sleeping dragon in Latin, so you'd think they'd follow their own advice."

"They didn't know your reputation," Rin said with a roll of her eyes. "Even if you're too much like your guardian, your skills are legendary."

"Yes, they are," Sakura said, smiling as she blushed. "I got to witness them firsthand."

"I'm surprised you didn't start screaming from his actions," Rin said, oblivious to what Sakura was insinuating…and setting herself up beautifully.

"Well…I did scream eventually from his actions," Sakura said, her blush deepening.

Rin suddenly realised where she was going with this, and then looked at her flatly. And then at Hadrian. Her eyes narrowed. "You…didn't…"

"Don't worry, Miss Tohsaka," Sakura said, cheerfully digging Hadrian and herself deeper…and loving every moment of it. "We were careful. You won't be an aunt any time soon."

Rin had trouble speaking, not from anger, though that was certainly a factor, but rather, an inability to comprehend that she was being trolled by her sister. Eventually, she snarled in frustration. "Pervert," she snapped at Hadrian, before storming back the way she came.

After a pause, Sakura said, with a smile, "You are right, Hadrian. Trolling people is fun."

"Very good, young padawan," Hadrian said. "Soon, we shall surpass my guardian, and become trolls on a level that would entertain even Zelretch!"

The pair of them laughed. Then, eventually, Hadrian added, "You didn't exactly scream, though."

"So? Irritating Rin was the name of the game, wasn't it?" Sakura asked. "Anyway, this isn't like an H-Game or something. Or would you prefer me to scream?"

Quietly, Hadrian said, putting his hand on hers, "I'd prefer you to be happy, Sakura. Being an Executor for the Burial Agency may be my job…but making you happy…that's my calling. Did I make you happy?"

"Yes," Sakura whispered.

"Then I will make sure you stay happy. We will win the Grail War…together."


That night, he began preparing the ritual circle in his apartment. Well, he had already done it shortly after coming back from that other world, and he had felt the Command Seals etching themselves into his hand. It was a surprisingly simple ritual to summon a Servant, considering that it was bringing the dead back to life, but the Greater Grail did most of the heavy lifting. The Master merely had to provide the mana, or at the very least, an anchor to the physical realm, lest Gaia erode it.

He double-checked the circle, thinking over the ritual. For the origin, silver and steel. For the cornerstone, gem and the Archduke of Contracts. For the ancestor, my great master Schweinorg, he thought. The alighted wind becomes a wall. Close the gates in the four directions. From the crown, come forth. Trace the three-forked road leading to the kingdom. Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill. Repeat fivefold, and when each is filled, destroy it.

Looks like he got it right. Well, there was no time like the present. Thrusting his hand out, he began channelling his energy into the circle, and began reciting the words. "Heed my words. My will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny. If you heed the Grail's call, and obey my will and reason, then answer my summoning! I hereby swear that I shall be all the good in the world, that I shall defeat all evil in the world! Seventh Heaven clad, and the great words of power, come forth from the circle of bindings, Guardian of the Scales!"

The circle dissolved in a flare of brilliant light, and already, Hadrian could tell he had succeeded. He could feel the slight but noticeable continuous drain, even after the original expenditure of mana for the summoning. He blinked away the afterimage seared into his retinas, even as he heard a sultry hiss of a voice.

"Servant Rider has answered your summons. I ask of you, are you my Master?"

Hadrian finally managed to behold his Servant, and he gaped. What stood before him was a tall young woman, dressed in a strange toga-like dress in black with violet trim. The restraint-like ornaments on her sleeves, combined with a strange, rigid blindfold covering her eyes, made her seem like something out of a bondage fantasy. She was inhumanly beautiful, though her features were stoic. An occult marking adorned her forehead, and her light purple hair was long enough to reach her ankles.

Hadrian shook himself from his reverie, and held up his hand with the Command Seals. "Yes. Yes, I am. It's good to meet you, Rider," he said, before holding out his hand for her to shake. She seemed confused by the gesture at first, seemingly able to see him despite her blindfold, but she took it. "I'm Hadrian Kotomine. Call me Hadrian, I'd prefer that to Master if you don't mind. Otherwise, I may just give you a buzzcut."

"Pardon?" Rider asked. If he could see her eyes, he was sure she was blinking in confusion.

"Shave your hair. I'm a petty person. But seriously, please call me Hadrian."

"Very well, Hadrian." His Servant seemed a little confused, and more than a little annoyed. He'd have to tone it down a little: he didn't want to use a Command Seal to stop his Servant from killing him because he pushed one too many buttons.

"I wouldn't shave your hair, I was just messing with you. It's pretty nice," he said truthfully. "Now, I need to bring you up to speed…"

CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:

So, Harry's summoned Medusa. And Sakura's trolled Rin.

I'm trying to rearrange events from the original version of this fic, so Sakura's not getting Medea (that would clear away too many problems, and make this too easy), so she's getting Assassin instead.

No numbered annotations for this chapter.