A Candle Lit in the Eclipse

by DSDAD

Many things can affect the development of a growing mind be it the loss of something vital, the birth of a new ideal to strive for, or the will to face any obstacle head on as it is in your family's nature. Shinji's case was a lot more complicated than that; let it be known that the sins of the fathers must be absolved, especially if you've bear witness to every single sin yourself

6. Prelude to War

Happy Spooktober, ya goofs

I do not own the works of Kinoko Nasu

Did a bit of rewriting here but by now, you guys should expect this type of shiz

DISCLAIMER: New content is an interlude placed between chapters 2 and 3. Rereading all of this fic from the beginning is recommended since I added a whole lot

---

Prelude to War

January 12th 2004

It was still dark out.

Not an unfamiliar sight but Shinji imagined that many rarely saw Homurahara's Kyudo dojo like this. The school's courtyard was completely empty, understandably so, though a few of the more earnest teachers had begun to ready themselves for the school day, and the high school behind the teenager was slowly coming to life.

Fishing in his pocket, Shinji pulled out a key with a cute mascot tiger attached to it and inserted it into the locked door to the dojo.

This in itself was a relatively new thing that Shinji did, only having started this five o'clock routine once winter break had ended a few weeks ago, though it wasn't all that different than what he was used to. Coming to the Kyudo dojo an hour or two early had been a part of his mornings ever since the beginning of this school year when Ayako had become club captain. The girl was probably the most skilled person in the club when it came to Kyudo but she was also a pretty normal person all the same.

Waking up at twilight to practice shooting things with a bow wasn't exactly the first thing that came to mind for most.

Both Taiga and Ayako trusted Shinji well enough to allow him to use the spare key to the dojo from the main office, as the vice-captain usually didn't have such a privilege.

Shinji made his way to the back wall of the building where all of the Kyudo uniforms were, each nestled within a shelf with one for each club member. He grabbed his own and changed swiftly, not bothering to go to the changing room. Putting his school uniform on the same hanger, the Matou put his right hand through the glove and went to the other end of the wall for a bow and arrows.

Something like this was a necessity for Shinji nowadays, he just couldn't stand to waste time sleeping anymore so he just filled in those hours with either self-study, creating his own medicines and drugs, or Kyudo. And even with all the things happening in Fuyuki right now and the fact that he had been up the better part of the night looking at the news reports, two hours of rest was still better than usual.

His aversion to sleep wasn't only because the boy felt that he needed to occupy that time productively, it was also because staying at home was not exactly desirable. Dreams weren't so much the problem, at least not any more than they normally were, instead the place itself was becoming more and more problematic. The atmosphere of the Matou household had changed ever so slightly as the war crept closer and closer, though Shinji was sure that Sakura had only noticed his own changes.

For the past year and a half, the girl had made it her mission to aid Emiya, even after the boy had gotten better. Shinji had told her from the start that it was foolish to get attached to him but Sakura had ignored him, making herself almost a fixture of the Emiya household ever since.

Shinji supposed that it would have been good for him to have cut off their contact as soon as he could, after the excuse of helping the injured Emiya had passed but he didn't. He wasn't the girl's keeper; if she wanted to play with fire even after being warned, it wasn't his problem when she gets burned.

And even with his own feelings about Emiya Shirou and his family aside, that foolish girl should have noticed how closely Grandfather was watching her nowadays.

Shinji made his way to the end of the wooden flooring of the dojo, around three feet from when the lawn began, and set down his arrows, kneeling silently with his bow at rest in his left hand and his eyes closed.

The sun had begun to lightly illuminate the skies in its rising, peeking slightly over the roof of the dojo and into the lawn in front of the Matou. The ground was still a bit damp from the rain that came last night and the tiny drops of water that sat on the grass glimmered in the morning light. It was the peak of tranquility, the only sound around was the quiet murmurings of the wind blowing by.

But none of that mattered.

The world around the teenager ceased to exist as he focused only on two things, breathing and the bow in his hand. Eyes still closed, Shinji grabbed two arrows from the ground and took on his shooting stance, left side of his body facing downrange and body completely balanced. He readied his grip on the bow, positioning one arrow in between the pointer and index fingers of his left hand and the second arrow held by its head with the pinky and ring finger of his right hand. Shinji raised the bow above his head, grasping the bowstring with the thumb, index, and pointer fingers of his right hand, and inhaled deeply.

The teenager's eyes shot open as he pulled both hands apart, stretching to his full arms span with the nock of the arrow made parallel with his jawbone. Even with his vision returned, Shinji only acknowledged himself and the bow in his hands as real and existing.

Nothing else mattered.

For a second that lasted an eternity, the Matou held that form, sightlessly looking ahead with the arrow poised to strike. In his mind, the boy saw not a target to shoot at but a point so far ahead that even the suggestion that it was able to be reached by his own means was laughable. But that didn't dissuade Shinji at all, if anything it only made his desire to reach and go even further beyond that distance even stronger.

After all, this was no different than his own goals; something that was insurmountable, intangible for a person talentless like him yet he struggled for it all the same, weaknesses and flaws be damned.

It didn't matter.

The arrow leapt from his grasp and flew true, only a scant moment had passed before Shinji heard the familiar sound of the target being struck and the arrow being halted. Paying that no mind, the teenager began the process once more, grabbing another arrow to hold in his right hand as the other rested on the bowstring.

It wasn't that he didn't care for knowing if the arrow had stuck the center or not, it's just that wasn't his intention. As foolish and as impossible as it was, Shinji only wanted the arrow to strike through the target and never stop; always seeking that point he imagined beyond the horizon.

But just because it was impossible didn't mean that it couldn't happen, it only meant that he had to try once more each time he failed.

As Grandfather had once said hundreds of years prior, "To be of this blood, to be a Matou is to challenge your own humanity and win."

And Shinji was never one for giving up.

---

Ayako yawned as she made her way to the dojo, stretching upwards once she reached the door to the building and fumbling with her bag for the key.

Thwack

She was a morning person through and through but getting back to the swing of things after having a vacation from school was always difficult for her. The act of her checking out the dojo key from the front office had been a complete blur, Ayako knew that she had said thank you to the office lady but hadn't been able to make out a single word the woman had said. There was a chance the woman might have said something about someone familiar coming to see her earlier but the girl still hadn't been fully awake yet, only nodding and smiling until the woman waved goodbye.

Thwack

Breakfast had been much of the same, her being awake before anyone else in the house. Ayako could faintly remember the taste of grape jelly and the sensation of crunchiness so she thinks it was probably toast that she ate. Minori was still snoring loud enough to be heard from outside his room and both Mom and Dad didn't need to be up until 6:30 so she had to make a hasty meal for herself.

Thwack

Ayako once again cursed the fact that pockets were somehow not an essential part of female clothing, hating that she had to rely on a big bag to hold things like her phone or keys. Her morning was already less than ideal because of that annoying sound so not being able to find the dojo key was starting to piss her off.

Thwack

Reaching into the depths of her bag, Ayako felt something jagged. "Finally! I thought I might have lost the damn thing." Grinning victoriously, the girl pulled the key out and began to unlock the door.

"Huh? That's odd, the door's not-"

Only to stop when she finally recognized what that damn noise was. The girl groaned though she wasn't sure why she was even surprised.

Pushing through the already unlocked door and into the dojo, the Kyudo captain glanced up at the clock in the club's meeting room and her expression of tired annoyance deepened.

It was a quarter past six.

And even with the unignorable sounds of Ayako coming into the dojo, the impact of arrows continued at the same rate, almost robotically.

Ayako entered the shooting range and spotted the annoyingly familiar sight of Shinji at the firing line, completely oblivious to her.

Well, that wouldn't do.

She waited until he had fired his last arrow, inching closer and closer to the teenager until she was right behind him and he had put his bow in a resting position.

And then she whacked him in the head with her bag.

"OW DAMNIT, what the hel-" The Matou stopped, cursing abruptly once he turned around and caught sight of his assailant, letting out a sigh and rubbing the smarting area tenderly. "…I'm not surprised it's you but why?"

Ayako thought about hitting him again for the stupid question but settled for just glaring. "Because, dumbass, I thought that both Fujimaru-sensei and I told you to take it easy. That means not showing up at the dojo before the captain or club advisor gets here." She paused for a moment and then reconsidered her words. "Well, Fujimura-sensei is a different case since takes a bit to get here since she drops by Emiya's place most mornings but you shouldn't be here before I am."

"I am taking it easy. I only got here a few minutes ago."

"Liar," Ayako reached up and grabbed Shinji by his chin, craning his head down, "those bags of yours have gotten even worse. I can tell that you haven't been getting enough sleep, even less than you did when I first met you."

Shinji shook off her hold dismissively and turned back downrange, walking off the wooden floor onto the lawn.

"I'm fine, Ayako. I would have thought that the two of you would be glad that you had such a diligent club member."

"Not when the same member is putting his health at risk." She leveled another glare at him, this time hoping his stupid back would catch on fire. "I know that you've been here since five, Shinji."

Shinji had reached the target at the end of the lawn by the time Ayako had replied but even with his back turned she could tell that had caught him, with how he had halted in grabbing his arrows and his shoulders raising up to his neck.

Ayako sighed almost amused, even though it had been over three years since they had become friends, there were still some things that never changed between them.

Chiefly, her ability to see through any of Shinji's lies.

"Alright, fine, fine. You got me. What would you have me do instead of this in the dojo the school made specifically for archery? You do realize that's why we're here, right? As members of the Kyudo Club?" Shinji asked, walking past Ayako to return his bow and arrows.

"You, of all people, don't need any more practice. Here," Ayako pulled him by the arm to the dojo's common room and pointed to the electronic kettle, "you make tea for the two of us while I change into my practice uniform."

"And then?"

"And then we'll sit and talk. At least until Fujimura-sensei arrives. I'd like to just relax a bit before everyone else shows up and I know such a concept is unheard of for you," The blue-haired teen opened his mouth, almost assuredly to complain but Ayako poked a finger into his chest before he could let out a single word, "but you can at least try to do this for me."

Shinji only sighed in response, running a hand through his long blue hair before beginning to make his way to the kettle.

Ayako grabbed him by the wrist before he got too far and he turned back to her with an odd expression on his face. She wasn't exactly sure what her own face was displaying to Shinji but the fact that he now looked a bit worried told her enough.

"…You know even though we've hung out every day for the past week, I can't help but feel like you've been going through the motions. I can barely tell if you're there even if you're right next to me. Shinji, please. I really want to understand what's going on with you."

The girl saw his features soften at her plea and she let out a breath as the tension left her body.

"I- You're right. Completely right, Ayako." Shinji's gaze hit the ground before flitting back to lock eyes with Ayako. "I guess I've been a pretty big ass to you the past few weeks, huh?"

She bit her lip and gave his wrist a comforting squeeze. "It's no big deal, I'm sure you had your reasons… I'll get changed and you get on that tea."

Shinji stood there with no response, still looking straight into her eyes, and was only shaken from that state when Ayako let go of his wrist. Shaking his head, he only nodded and turned away hesitantly before going to the kettle.

Ayako lingered there for only a moment, sensing that Shinji had something on his mind to say but she could tell that whatever it was, the boy had decided against it. She left the room and grabbed her uniform, heading to the club changing rooms.

The girl changed quickly, wasting no time in the action though her movements were still somewhat sluggish as her mind wandered.

Ever since Shinji had taken a trip to Russia during the winter break only a few weeks ago, his personality had changed. Not drastically and not even enough for most people to notice but for Ayako, the change worried her immensely.

He was silent almost throughout the day, staring off into space and looking through people rather than at them. Before she could barely see him without his face in a book but now he looked way too distracted to even attempt reading. Add that to the fact that he was obviously working himself to the bone, for God knows what. Coming to the dojo to practice for hours even before most teachers arrived and staying up late every night for the past month, the toll was apparent on the boy.

And all this worrying she was doing only reminded her of what she was told last summer by Shinji's aunt.

"Shinji… He's got a lot on his plate, you know that better than even Sakura-chan. He has it in his head that there are certain things that he has to do no matter what, even if it ends up badly for him. My nephew is determined, I'll give him that but you are right to be concerned. Shinji is stubborn to a fault and is almost incapable of letting anyone know when he's overwhelmed. Heh, he shared that same quality with his mother… Mizuki and him really are too much alike… That's why I'm asking you, keep an eye on him the next few months. Both of us already know that the boy barely has any sense of self-preservation ever since that business the two of you got caught up in those three years ago so, at the very least, I'll know he's in good hands."

Compound that and what she now knew about that certain field trip and why Shinji even had wanted to go there in the first place from Aki-chan and Ayako was convinced that something big was about to happen.

Whatever it was that Shinji was hiding from her, it was beginning to consume him. But that didn't matter because whatever it was, she was going to find out. One way or another.

Ayako reentered the meeting room and saw that Shinji was sitting at one of the corners of the kotatsu with a cup of tea placed in front of him. There was another cup on the table, adjacent to where he was sitting so Ayako made her way to the spot.

The two were only separated by a foot of distance, though being this close in the clubroom didn't happen that often as the two were always too occupied with helping the younger members. Moments like this came far and few between so the two enjoyed when they had downtime like this.

Ayako glanced down at the cup in front of her and looked back at Shinji.

"Did you-"

"Yes, poured a bit of water in your cup to begin with, prepared the tea as usual for my cup, and then poured the rest of it in yours. A slightly diluted cup of not quite as bitter green tea for a completely unfiltered girl."

"I'll ignore that comment since you made it the way I like."

Both Shinji and Ayako sipped their tea silently, thinking to themselves on how to even start a conversation without it coming out awkwardly. In Ayako's case, she was involuntarily tapping the side of her cup and shooting glances at the boy, trying to figure out what was bouncing around in that head of his.

She didn't have to wait long as Shinji set his tea down on the table and began to speak, though he didn't turn to face her.

"Did I ever tell you what I wanted to do after we graduate?"

Ayako blinked owlishly.

"…No, I don't think we've ever really talked about that before. But what does-"

"I've been thinking about it a lot as of late and honestly it's surprising that, up until I had taken that trip during winter break, I had never once actually thought about what I was going to do after high school. I had always had it in my head that there was only one thing that I ever needed to accomplish in my life and had only worked towards making that goal a reality." Shinji smiled to himself and glanced up at the ceiling. "I know that is such an odd thing to notice now of all times but I really never even gave a thought to what came after and now… it all seems kinda foolish to me."

"Why does it seem so odd to you? We're still in the middle of our youth, Shinji, it's completely alright for you to not know exactly what you wanna do with the rest of your life. You've got the rest of this year to figure that out, I still haven't smoothed everything out either. I'm still looking for a college that fits."

Shinji's grin deepened and he turned to Ayako, an amused expression on his face as he lightly shook his head in response. "Right, college. That's what comes next, huh…" The boy laughed to himself as though what he had said qualified for even the lowest bar of jokes.

Ayako was still utterly confused by the boy but she could tell that Shinji wasn't talking about schooling when he brought up the future.

"What's wrong with that? Going to college, finding a nice job, getting married, and then having kids, isn't that how it usually goes?"

"Not me." The boy shook his head. "Maybe after graduating, getting a nice spot of land someplace quiet, fertile throughout the year and out in the country far enough that I couldn't be bothered." Shinji's expression softened as he thought aloud, staring into space a little over her head. "Enough land for both fruit trees and vegetable patches as well as some crops. A few flowerbeds tossed around the place for a splash of color. I can imagine that but… anything more than that, no way."

"As much as the idea of mini Shinjis running around scares me, I think you'd be a great father." Ayako felt her cheeks warm as Shinji locked eyes with her once more, a question in his gaze. "W-what? It's not that surprising that I'd think that, what with how you take care of your household almost single-handedly. I don't think there's anyone that I know that has to take care of both a sibling and a grandparent, all while keeping their grades at the top of the year and being a part of the leadership in an athletic club." She turned away and stared down at her cup of tea, her reflection in the green liquid being a preferable alternative to the Matou's intense stare. "Plus, I know you have a soft spot for kids, don't think I didn't notice you giving little Tsuna sweets while I was talking to Shiori-san yesterday. And I remember seeing you watching over the elementary schoolers when we were in middle school and that was when you were at your worst in attitude. For all your gloom and doom, you still go out of your way to make children happy."

The boy looked at her, mildly surprised if his raised eyebrows were to be believed, and shrugged his shoulders as if giving up. "Sure, guilty as charged. I admit that I do like wasting time spoiling brats, Kaito and Shiori-san's little munchkin is no exception. Probably because it's not much different than keeping you occupied; just about the same attention span."

The affronted girl sputtered out the beginnings of a retort but Shinji continued despite that, eyes twinkling.

"Never said that was a bad thing, it just means you're probably one of those eternally young types. Like Taiga-san." He laughed once more upon seeing the dry look Ayako gave him. "Joking, joking. And for what it's worth, I have no doubt that you'd be a great mother, Ayako."

The warmth that had only just subsided on Ayako's face burned anew at the words and she could tell that her whole face was red, with the way the corners of Shinji's mouth raised after speaking. Her eyes narrowed at the mirth in his and she forcefully calmed herself down.

It was supposed to be him on the backfoot, not her!

"Of course I know that but that's not what we were talking about. Someone like you would love to have kids of their own, why don't you?"

The laughter stopped and Shinji just let out a big sigh, smile gone and his eyes hardened.

"It'd be nice but I can't." He shook his head again. "Won't rather. It's just that simple. I'm not egotistical enough to ignore my own morals and I'd rather not tempt fate any more than I already have." He looked away and whispered something else but it was too quiet for the girl to hear despite their close proximity. She could only make out hearing "too cruel" and "ends with" but before she could ask Shinji to speak up, he trained his eyes to the ceiling again and continued. "Marriage, kids, I'm just not cut out for that kinda life. Maybe if something changes in the future but really, I don't think I have time to worry about things like that. Not now."

Ayako thought about not letting that topic come to a close but decided against it. There were more important things to address.

"Shinji, what exactly is that thing you are preparing for? What is it that has got you acting so out of it lately?"

Shinji sucked in a breath and let his head fall, his tired gaze meeting her own.

The teen's eyes had a quality to them that was only shared by a handful of other students, Emiya Shirou and Tohsaka Rin in particular, came to mind, but his were different. While all of them had a kind of hardness in their stares, a maturity that didn't fit with how young they were, Shinji's didn't look out of place. His eyes didn't just give the image that he had seen too much too young, they looked far too aged and weary to be the eyes of a seventeen-year-old. It fit perfectly with the way the boy acted, way more mature than anyone their age. Shinji must have never had the chance to be a kid, having to become an adult far before he ever should have. That was the only way a teenager's eyes would end up looking that jaded, that old.

It made sense, the death of his mother during childbirth, his uncle passing away during the Fuyuki fire without even a body to bury, his father succumbing to his battle with alcohol only four years ago and the loss of someone he saw as a kindred spirit only months after that but Ayako couldn't help but think that those eyes formed from something deeper. *

"Something came to my attention recently, it's the reason that I even went on that trip to Russia a few weeks ago. I had a question in mind and set out to the one place I knew would have an answer and well… I got it answered. A whole lot of things I've been questioning my entire life now make perfect sense but… Now knowing what I do, I'm almost certain that I was better off just wondering aimlessly. Ignorance is bliss and all that noise." The boy wore a smirk that seemed to be directed at himself, a self-amused light in his eyes. "It's been a lot to… digest and I guess that I haven't been a hundred percent in the moment since."

"Are you going to tell me what it was or just leave me in suspense?"

Shinji had picked up his cup again and had turned back to face the side of the table opposite to him. He paused mid-sip and trained one eye on the girl after hearing her question, bearing a rather stiff expression in the act. Ayako huffed upon seeing the boy ignore her and instead continue drinking, the oddly discontent look on his face remaining until he put down the cup.

"Well, the main reason that I had even gone on that trip was to see if what my grandfather had said was really true, that the Matou were the only living members of what used to be the Zolgen family." His voice had taken on a more subdued tone and he had hunched over the table, supporting his head with his left hand. "I wasn't expecting much, I had read letters and traced paper trails to see if there was any chance that he could have been wrong but found nothing. And going there, maybe I was holding on to some buried hope and that's what made it so difficult to accept, only proved it further. There hasn't been a single person living with the surname, Zolgen, for four hundred years. Other than the ones who came to Japan, the entirety of the Zolgen are long since dead. The only family I have left, or rather that I've ever had, is here in Fuyuki."

"You have your grandfather and Sakura at least." Shinji turned away from her, only keeping a sliver of his face in view, at the mention of his sister which Ayako found weird but the siblings always were odd to begin with. "And your aunt and cousin out of town."

Shinji only hummed in response, his back still facing her.

"If you were trying to distract me from my initial question, you're not doing a very good job. Shinji, I know that all this isn't enough to faze you, you're still hiding something." The girl faltered for a moment after saying that and then, hesitantly continued. "…This doesn't have anything to do with SH- With him, does it?"

A smile flickered into view, a fusion of pain and fond nostalgia that wouldn't have fit on anyone else's face but looked perfectly natural on the teenager. "No, believe me, it would probably be easier to deal with if it was. At least he had the class to let things end after he died, my own feelings about it aside." Shinji glanced over his shoulder to lock eyes with her and Ayako could tell he was doing that just to reassure her. "It's been almost three and a half years since, I've had more than enough time to get over it. And even if it was about that asshole, I would have either brought it up to you earlier or call those two and then gone running to you, the same as I've done anytime I wallow in self-pity like a damn child. This has nothing to do with Tohno, I promise."

Ayako let out a breath but didn't relax fully. It may not have been as bad she thought it was but the fact that Shinji would rather willing relive what he called the downright worst moment in his life over what was currently weighing on him spoke volumes.

"Well then, go on."

"Tell me, Ayako. Do you believe in superstitions?

"Shinji."

'I'm going somewhere with this, believe me. Just answer the question."

Ayako sighed, wondering why she even bothered to worry about this idiot. Especially when he did his absolute best to never answer her clearly, always sideways responses and his hairpullingly frustrating habit of deflecting the conversation somewhere else.

"Yeah, sure. You know as well as I do that I love things of that sort like ghost stories, especially the ones that are local like Little Red Riding Hood." The girl stole a glance at Shinji after mentioning the Fuyuki original scary story, a tale that the teen had expressed he never liked listening to. There was almost no perceptible reaction from the Matou but after knowing him for this long, the subtle way he set his jaw and the small spark of intensity behind his eyes was evidence enough his feelings were still the same. Ayako shifted her gaze down to the cup of tea in front of her as she began once more, moving past the sore spot. "I've even gone to those fortunetelling booths that have been set up in Shinto a few times and given what those old ladies have told me after looking into their crystal balls and my own experience, I know for a fact that sticking around with you is bad for my health. If it turns out that you just pull in bad luck, it wouldn't surprise me."

The tension that had formed on the boy's face faded at that, an almost jagged look of amusement taking its place. Shinji's shoulders shook briefly as he once again laughed and Ayako flinched.

The laughter was hollow this time.

"Ha ha, you really aren't too off base there." Shinji said, turning his head back to her and grinning with that same enduring and complacent expression on his face as always, as though being in pain was normal and to think otherwise would just be a comforting falsehood. Something that was a common sight on the boy's face even from when she had first met him and one of the few things that Ayako could say she truly hated. "A bad luck charm, huh?" He snickered again and looked down at his lap with an amused shake of his head. "Couldn't've put it better myself."

Before she had even noticed it, her hands were in motion, grabbing Shinji's right hand in both of her own. The Matou started at the contact and looked bewildered for a moment and to be honest, Ayako felt the same way. But this was the easiest way to get it through his thick skull, that he wasn't alone and that she cared.

"Shinji, even if you were the unluckiest guy on Earth, I would stick with you." She squeezed the boy's hand to emphasize the sentiment, already intimately aware of how warm her palms felt and how that paired rather nicely with Shinji's ice-cold skin was but did her best to ignore both. "I still don't understand what you're skirting around but honestly, whatever it is, it wouldn't change how I see you. We've been through way too much together for something as dumb as luck to get in the way. You are my best friend, Shinji, superstitions and the like wouldn't change that." Any embarrassment Ayako had felt faded away the more she spoke and her confidence grew with each word. "And because we're best friends that means that you don't always have to be a stoic broody loner." Her voice lowered in intensity, staring meaningfully at him. "You don't have to feel like it you against the world. I've leaned on you plenty in the past, you can do the same to me. It's how this thing works."

Shinji's gaze moved from their hands to meet her eyes and after an impossibly long moment of silence, a smile, a small but genuine smile, spread across his face. The sight of it was contagious as Ayako could feel her own grin growing in response and she couldn't help but be relieved.

This was the first time in a long time that she had seen Shinji smile so brightly.

The two spent a moment just beaming at each other and before long the sight of both of them grinning like idiots caused them to bust out laughing. The oppressive atmosphere from before was forgotten as the sound of snickering bounced around the room and Ayako felt as though a weight had been lifted from her heart.

Shinji schooled his expression down to his usual disinterested self but the remnants of a grin could still be seen.

"Ah damnit, you've playing unfair with that. How can I dismiss the heartfelt words of my club captain? I swear I felt my heart flutter for a second." The boy dodged Ayako's swipe to his head almost instinctually and continued despite the promise of harm. "No need to worry about snagging a boyfriend if you talk all cutesy like that."

Ayako could feel her face heat up and start creeping down to her neck again. She grabbed the floor cushion next to her and tossed it at the boy but once again he deftly dodged.

"Or at the very least, you won't have to rely on that backup plan of Minori pretending to be your boy-" Ayako's cup impacted the wall only inches from Shinji's head and she grinned vindictively as he looked blankly at the wall and then back at her.

"Funny that you become talkative when it's my worries and other things I've told you in confidence. Keep in mind that I missed on purpose."

The boy shrugged despite the promised danger to his well-being. "All I'm saying is that if you start warming up to him now, I'm sure by the time graduation comes around you'll get a button from Emiy-" **

"SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!" Ayako began chasing the insufferable ass around the room, always frustratingly just out of reach. "ONE MORE WORD FROM THAT MOUTH OF YOURS, MATOU SHINJI, AND YOU'LL REGRET IT!"

He stumbled on the previously thrown cushion which gave her the chance to grab onto the back of his collar and was about to throttle Shinji to death, a respectable punishment for his crimes, when the sound of laughter reached her ears.

"Aha ha ha ha, you two are so lively! Ah, to be a high schooler again would be such fun!" Fujimura Taiga spoke from the doorway, grinning even wider upon seeing the surprised look on both Shinji and Ayako's faces.

"Fujimura-sensei? Wh-when did you get here?" Even though she was thoroughly shocked at the woman's arrival, Ayako tightened her grip on Shinji's shirt the instant he had tried to escape during the distraction.

"Right about when Shinji-kun dodged the floor cushion. I would have let you know that I was here earlier buuuuuuut I would have missed out on this so I decided against it. Now, normally I would have to scold you two for fooling around in the clubroom but since you two are some of my favorite members, I'll let it slide."

"Taiga-san, save me," Shinji's voice came out monotone from his seated position on the ground, collar still balled up in Ayako's hand and having realized it was futile, did nothing to escape, "the club captain is abusing her power and is resorting to violence, as usual."

"I'm sure that you deserve it so I'm willing to turn a blind eye. And call me sensei!"

"Allowing concessions to the rules for those in power is the first sign of corruption in the leadership, I demand a resignation from both of you and a written apol-gak!"

"Can it, you drama queen." Ayako sighed as she released her hold on the boy, though she did do it a bit rougher than necessary and given Shinji rubbing his neck, he thought so as well. "Fujimura-sensei, you're here earlier than usual."

"Am I? It's about to be 6:50, that'd make me late today. And sorry for that, Shirou and Sakura-chan made a huge breakfast this morning and I just couldn't resist. There was smoked salmon, radish and carrot miso soup, pork cut-"

As Taiga continued listing the many things she ate for breakfast, Ayako turned to the clock and saw that what she had said was true. She and Shinji had spent almost forty minutes together without even noticing it.

The girl glanced at Shinji and saw that he was back on his feet and seemed to be studying her as well, though he looked away after a few moments of eye contact. Ayako opened her mouth to interrupt Taiga but Shinji beat her to it.

"Taiga-san, I'll let you and Ayako begin getting things together for the practice routines the newer members have to learn. I'll handle getting the range ready before anyone else gets here."

Shinji made his way out of the room before either of them could say anything and the two were left feeling a bit confused at his abrupt departure. Ayako was about to ask if Taiga had heard what Shinji and she were talking about and if she did, how much, but she was stopped once again when Shinji stuck his head back into view from behind the door frame.

"Thanks for that, Ayako. I was feeling out of it ever since I got back and no matter what I did, I couldn't get out of this funk. But now that you dragged it out of me and forced me to tell you about it, it doesn't feel like it's weighing me down nearly as much anymore. I know I don't say it enough but I really appreciate how good you are to me. It means a lot, so thanks."

Shinji didn't bother sticking around for a response and left again just as swiftly, his footsteps being the only noise throughout the entire dojo. Taiga turned her attention from the now empty door frame to the girl with a tender smile.

"That boy… He really can be a sweetheart when he wants to be."

Ayako sighed but couldn't fight the grin that had formed, a warm feeling blossoming in her chest that reminded her of a fateful night in a playground with a boy covered in blood making a promise to a stubborn girl.

"Yeah, he really is a softie, isn't he?"

---

Normally, Shinji spent his lunchtime with Ayako, either in the dojo's meeting room or up on the school's roof. Occasionally, he would have lunch in the student council room with Issei, when Emiya's unwanted presence was nowhere to be found. Rarely, he would spend time in the teacher's lounge talking to Kuzuki-san or helping Taiga with the club paperwork since the woman often complained, "it was too boring to do alone and Kuzuki-san's handwriting is too neat for me to let him help. Mou, how can a man have better penmanship than a cutie like me?".

Once in a blue moon, would Shinji spend lunch in the presence of a Tohsaka.

"Shinji, why exactly did you want to talk to me? I thought there was an agreement between our families to limit our contact as much as possible."

Rin had agreed to meet Shinji on the rooftop after he had shown up at her classroom right before classes started, much to the surprise of Ayako and the track and field trio as well as the girl in question. He had only spared the time to wave to Ayako before whispering that he needed to speak to the Second Owner, at which Rin dropped her hostility and nodded.

Rin had beat the boy here and was waiting for him with her back against one of the large AC units. Her lunch rested on the ground near her feet unopened and Shinji had a feeling that it would stay that way.

There was hardly time to waste when the Fifth Heaven's Feel had already begun.

"Don't try and act like that applies to the three of us, that promise was made by men that are either dead or should be."

Rin only huffed in response.

"Are you aware of what has happened so far?" Shinji said as he joined her, leaning on another unit a few feet away. "Has Kotomine let you know or have you been left in the dark?"

The girl gave him a sidelong glance. "…It is rather infuriating that you always act like you know more than me but if you have something to inform me about, I'd appreciate it." She sucked in a breath and nodded. "As far as I'm aware, there have been three servants summoned so far, one for the Einzbern master and the other two, magus of the Mage's Association. The Einzbern summoned theirs a little under two months ago and, from what Kirei said, both Clocktower magus have met with him shortly after completing their own summoning. He had said that they each came to the Church sometime last week, though he didn't say anything more other than the classes that have been taken. Berserker, Lancer, and Caster have all been summoned so far which leaves only Saber, Archer, Rider, and Assassin. Which is surprising since I would have thought the Einzbern would have summoned Saber like they had in the previous war."

"Well, it's good that the Second Owner is at least attempting to keep an eye on the situation even if most of the information is coming from the Overseer." Shinji could feel the glare thrown at him but he chose to ignore it. "The only thing I can say about the servants is that the Einzbern were already burned once using Saber last time, I have no doubt that they are looking for more firepower in their summoning this time. Especially after the showing during the Fourth Heaven's Feel, Berserker would seem the most promising servant for them."

Rin gave Shinji an appraising look and he could tell that she was trying to discern if he was lying or not.

"Did Zouken or your father inform you of what happened during the Fourth Holy Grail War?"

"Did Kotomine not with you?"

Rin clicked her tongue and began to look away but froze, turning back to the Matou when she realized something.

"What did you just say? Heaven's Feel?" ***

Shinji studied the girl for a moment, searching for a sign of recognition before sighing. "It's just another name for the conflict, the original name back when it was only the three founders and the Wizard Marshall who knew about it. It was only later known as the Holy Grail War when they began calling for participants."

Shinji hadn't exactly meant to address the ritual by its true name instead of the colloquial term but he supposed that finding out Rin was just as clueless as he had previously thought was worth letting it slip. The only reason he knew about it was due to his visions of the Matou's past, witnessing the Wizard Marshall himself oversee the creation of the Greater Grail and the three founders' intentions with that immense well of magical energy once it was completed. There was no way in hell he was going to tell her about the Third Magic if she wasn't already aware, not when he would already have the Einzberns already trying their damndest to attain it. There was little chance Rin would ever actively try to reach the Root but the idea still scared him; the world hardly needed any more Magicians. The Second Magician was essentially an eccentric meddlesome hobbyist with the ability to manipulate parallel realities and a penchant for saving the world and the Fifth Magician, well the Matou had heard tale after cautionary tale about the cheerful and insanely destructive woman from people that are powerhouses in their own right. There was a reason why people around the world feared the name Blue. Both of them were truly good at heart unlike most magus but even still, they were some of the most dangerous beings on Earth. With an ability like manipulating souls, who knows what Rin would do with such a power?

Then again, that sort of thinking was a bit hypocritical now that he thought about it. Oh well.

"...That doesn't sound wrong but..." The Tohsaka heiress tapped her foot irritably as she racked her brain. "There's something familiar about it, even more so than it just being a name."

"Rin, are you sure you want to waste the little time we have to talk pondering about a phrase?"

The girl glared at him, arms crossed. "It's your fault for distracting me! Maybe if you didn't talk so matter-of-factly all the time I wouldn't be so wary of the things you say. Half the time I talk to you, I have to spend an hour after pouring over ancient texts and occult tomes to know what the hell you were talking about. Sorry for thinking it'd be the same case here!"

With a growl, Rin turned her back to the boy, muttering darkly to herself. He flatly noted that her hands seemed to have gone in the positioning for a Gandr shot, though whether that was a conscious decision or unintentional was still up in the air.

"All that aside," Shinji spoke as amicably as possible, it wouldn't do to have her storm off or shoot a curse at him before he said his piece, "there's something I feel you should know. One of the Clocktower masters has already been killed, happened last night."

"What?" Rin turned back to him, eyes wide and skin blanched. "The war hasn't even officially started yet, battles between servants and master aren't allowed to occur!"

"And yet, one of them is already dead."

The twin-tailed girl got into his face, her own set in a grim scowl and her eyes, a hardened teal.

"How do you even know this, Shinji? What if this is just you trying to fool me?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm a lot of things, Rin, but a liar? Even I thought you had more faith in me than that."

"I trust you about as far as I can throw you."

Shinji snorted. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, really feeling the love."

Rin's only response was to intensify her glare.

"There's really not much to gain by doing this so early into the war, deception works better when there are actual stakes." Shinji replied with a lighthearted grin though his tone showed the veiled annoyance by the girl's continued suspicion. "And anyway, have you not been keeping your eye on the news? There was a whole story that broke late last night about a penthouse in Shinto being burned down due to an internal fire throughout the entire building. I doubt there's a single person who hasn't heard about it by now."

"…No," Rin avoided the Matou's eyes and her voice became tinged with embarrassment, "I don't have a television or computer in my home."

Shinji paused in his retort, giving the Tohsaka heiress an incredulous look that only made the girl squirm even more. Shaking his head, he continued from where he had left off. "Apparently, there were no survivors though strangely enough, there were fifty orphaned children wearing the same light blue gowns found in the vicinity of the building only an hour before the fire. A bit weird to be a coincidence, don't you think?"

"Fifty children? That penthouse was a magus workshop?"

"Yeah and from the sound of it, one of the Mage's Association's dogs were prepared to siphon the lifeforce of all those raw, young materials to fight the rest of the masters."

Rin began pacing as she took in all the information that he had told her, whispering to herself and occasionally shaking her head. She turned back to Shinji after stewing on it for a bit, tension still prevalent on her face.

"You still haven't explained how you know that a master perished. Did Zouken tell you this?"

"Unlike you, I don't have magecraft to rely on when it comes to my information gathering." Shinji shook his head. "And no, my grandfather has said nothing to me about the war so far other than what servants have been summoned though, when it comes to this particular master, I doubt that he is unaware." He looked away from the girl and instead focused on the cityscape of Shinto visible from the school's rooftop. "I've made it a habit to keep an eye on all the things that happen in Fuyuki for the past few years. Who owns what buildings, recent purchases of land and vacant properties, what families have lived here and for how long, and keeping an eye on suspicious foreigners when they arrive in Fuyuki. I learned that only a few months back that previously vacant penthouse was purchased by one Atrum Galliasta, a member of one of the more alchemy-rooted families in the Clocktower. The fact that there were the charred remains of only one male when there were over twenty other corpses throughout the entire building, well, it didn't take long for me to connect the dots. If you still don't believe me, here."

Shinji pulled out a small notebook and tore out a few pages before holding it out to the Second Owner. She eyed it curiously and upon seeing that the boy wasn't about to explain yet, took it and quickly scanned over it.

"The address of the penthouse… Sketches of the building's layout… What Galliasta had been up to for the past three weeks prior? Battle ability and notes on his build and appearance? Shinji, you've already rounded up this much information?"

"Yeah, but there's still a bunch that doesn't make much sense. But that doesn't matter to me, the guy's dead so I have no need to keep investigating. Though I imagine that you planned on doing your own snooping so what has no more use to me is better in your hands."

Rin glanced at the pages and then back at Shinji before letting out a sigh. She folded them up and pocketed them, looking both grateful and annoyed.

"I appreciate it but since I don't like the feeling of being in debt to you, I'll let you know if I find anything more on my end. Though," The girl folded her arms under her chest and gave Shinji a glare, "I wonder if you have such comprehensive notes on me as well."

"Hey, keeping track of what you know and don't know is better for the long run. Don't hate me for trying to get a leg up."

Rin continued to burn a hole in Shinji's head with her eyes for a little longer but seeing there was no reaction, turned away with a huff and refocused on the matter at hand.

"Galliasta's death, it had to be the work of the other Clocktower master though knowing which servant was used is difficult to say right now. Either Lancer or Caster-" The Tohsaka heiress' head whipped back to face him, eyes wide. "Wait, was Galliasta's servant killed? Do you know what class it was?"

Shinji grimaced and shook his head, that was one of the things he wasn't aware of despite his frantic digging late last night. That wasn't all that surprising since a servant wouldn't leave a body when killed but the idea there could be a rogue element in Fuyuki before the war even officially started left a bad taste in his mouth.

"No clue and as much as I would like the idea that there will only be six servants to worry about, it'd be foolish to assume that so early. If it was Lancer then there is little chance that it could sustain itself without a master but if it was Caster, that poses a big problem. That class is notorious for having magical energy high enough to compare to hundreds if not thousands of mature magus. I have no doubt that if it was Caster, they are still around and have already created a workshop to keep themselves from fading away. And there's a chance that it could be even worse."

"How could there be something worse than a rouge servant? Damnit, the war has already gone to hell and there's nothing to show for it!"

Shinji paused, allowing Rin a moment to compose herself. To be honest he felt much the same as she did. He had known that it was going to go south no matter what; even putting the corrupted Greater Grail aside, the first three Heaven's Feel rituals failed spectacularly with no help from an evil god. But for it to happen so soon, only spelled for even more headaches to come.

With a sigh, the Matou continued. "There is also the possibility that the other master from the Mage's Association has taken Galliasta's servant as their own, now having two heroic spirits under their control."

"What?" The incredulity in Rin's voice was as authentic and pronounced as the expression of frustration on her face. "That's virtually impossible, the strain from supporting even one servant is already taxing, to say the least! There can't be more than twenty magus alive that have either the capacity or a high enough grade of magical circuits for such a burden!"

"I agree with you but I have a… contact that has been keeping an eye on Clocktower in preparation for the Fifth Holy Grail War. They informed me that a Sealing Designation Enforcer was chosen as the other master by the Mage's Association though who it was, I don't know. But even with their identity unknown, the fact that this particular magus is at the level of dealing with those that have a Sealing Designation speaks to their own ability. You'd have to be a force of nature to deal with some of those cases, the idea that a magus of that skill level would have deep enough magical reserves for such a feat isn't impossible."

Rin raised an eyebrow at his hesitance to even say the word "contact" but ultimately just shook her head and muttered to herself.

"As much as I'd like to dismiss what you said," Rin looked like she had swallowed something vile just by admitting this, "you make a fair point. It'd be stupid for me to ignore the possibility though I have to ask, what do you gain from telling me all this? Don't tell me that the Matou are dropping out of the war this time."

"Nah, I'll be in your hair just as much as usual, Rin. I just thought that as the Second Owner, you should be aware of such things especially if the Overseer isn't passing on that information. And more importantly, I am actually fond of Fuyuki and don't want to see a repeat of the last war. If letting an enemy know about a common threat is the way to prevent that, I'll take that chance."

Rin's expression softened a touch and she looked up into the sky, twirling one of her black hair ribbons with her left hand.

"Was that all you wanted to tell me?"

"Yeah, that's everything."

There was a beat of silence as the wind picked up.

"Tell me, Shinji, how is Sakura doing?"

The boy hummed, joining her with his eyes gazing up to the clouds. "She is doing fine, spends her free time either in the Kyudo club or trying her hand at gardening. Apparently has made it a personal mission to get the sakura tree in the Matou courtyard to bloom by the time of her graduation, admittedly strange but it's a hobby and it's hers. She's pretty anti-social even since becoming a first-year but compared to being a fake social butterfly like you, at least she's close to one specific person."

"Emiya Shirou… I'm glad that he's been good to her then."

"Yeah well, at least someone should be."

Rin only smiled sadly in response.

The two older siblings of Sakura shared a moment in the calm before the storm, the last chance before being pulled into the same conflict that had plagued their families for the past two hundred years.

---

For the most part, leaving the rooftop and heading back to his classroom wasn't a big affair for Shinji. He did it a few times a week with Ayako and no one seemed to care then. Now, however…

"Tohsaka-san and Matou-kun spent almost all of lunch together!"

"Ehh, really? Those two?"

"Tohsaka-san's too good for that guy, you know he made Minako-chan cry during Kyudo practice once."

"Damn bastard, who knows what the two were up to all alone."

"Like hell, Tohsaka's been an ice-cold bitch for as long as I can remember. She's rejected every other bastard that tried to go out with her, what makes Matou any different?"

"But I thought Matou-kun and Ryuudou-kun were an item, they always leave school together and Matou-kun looks like he tops."

"No, Ryuudou-kun and Emiya-kun are together, Matou-kun is trying to take him away from Homurahara's Brownie!"

And given the last two comments, some people cared much more than he thought.

It seemed that Rin found the situation amusing considering her smug grin and giggles, sounding much like another haughty elder sister he knew.

"You and Ryuudou-kun, hmmm?"

"Shut it, Tohsaka."

If it was just the words of a few imaginative girls Shinji supposed there was no reason to address it, no matter how disturbing it was to know that fellow classmates thought of him that way.

Besides, there was no way that's how the two really looked to the rest of the school.

A familiar voice called out to him, breaking the Matou from his thoughts and freezing him in place. "Shinji, there you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

There was a squeal from those same girls as Issei made his way to Shinji.

The boy could only cover his face.

"I had spent most of lunch trying to find- Gah, Tohsaka!"

"He he he, glad to see you as well, Student Council President."

"Don't tell me…" Issei's voice became indignant. "Shinji, has this vixen put her claws in you? Do not fall for her tricks, I will not lose you to her!"

There was a louder squeal and Rin's giggles grew to full-blown laughter.

Shinji let out a pained groan as he sank to the ground in a squat, wishing that the ground would just open up underneath him and swallow him.

"What have you done to him, you-" Issei's tirade was cut short by Shinji raising one hand from his face.

"Please, for the love of God, just tell me what you wanted me for."

Issei gave a cursory glance to the hallway and noticed the rather large crowd of students around them.

"Not here, it's too public. Let us go to the Student Council room."

Ignoring the third cry of elation from the BL peanut gallery and even more subdued snickering from Rin, Shinji trudged in the direction of the room, not even bothering to reply. He could hear two separate sets of footsteps following him but the boy refused to raise his head.

So this is all he amounted to in the eyes of the student body, delusions of being the "pitcher" to Issei's "catcher", and nothing else. He never really cared about his reputation, especially when it came to something as juvenile as high school hierarchy, but even he had to admit, not a good look.

Issei was still bickering with Rin though the girl seemed far too amused to actually take any of his complaints seriously.

Shinji was hoping to make it to the Student Council room without incident but of course, it seemed like nothing was going to go his way today. A first-year girl had stopped in front of him and looked like she was mustering up the courage to talk to him.

He could just walk around her, he could. But honestly, how much lower could he fall in one day?

The girl attempted to look Shinji in the eyes but gave up almost instantly, instead meekly speaking with her gaze trained on his chest instead. "Ex-excuse me, Matou-senpai, is-is it true that you and Tohsaka-senpai are dating? I-It's completely fine if you are o-or if you aren't but, it's just like, there are a few rumors flying around since Tohsaka-sempai doesn't eat with boys normally and you don't usually eat with anyone other than Mitsuzuri-sempai, not that I watch her or you for that matter, it's just an observation and I- w-well not just me but my friends and ohmygodI'mstilltalkingsorrysorrypleasedon'tyellatmeI'llstartuglycrying."

The Matou could hear the distinct sound of gagging coming from behind him in stereo. It seems like both Issei and Rin found the thought a tad unappealing.

Wait no, Rin actually sounded like she was on the verge of throwing up.

Shinji opened his mouth to respond with a simple "no" and be on his way but stopped himself. There was opportunity in the girl's question.

And you know what, it'd be worth the BL rumors if he could get one over Rin. Plus, this first-year was too cute not to mess with too.

The Matou looked over his shoulder at the temple heir and put on an admonishing expression, complete with a manufactured sigh he knew convinced no one. "Come on, Issei. I know Tohsaka is no prize but she's not that undesirable, she might be a bit stuck-up but at least her one good quality is being rich." Shinji paused and covered his mouth as if he came to a startling realization."Oh wait sorry, bit my tongue, I meant being a bitch. Though now that I think about it, not really a positive." The boy took on a fake thinking pose with a hand to his chin as the first-year in front of him seemed to start trembling due to something behind him. "Well, being unattractively haughty and poor isn't a deal-breaker for everyone so I have no doubt Tohsaka will find a way to trap a pauper of her own."

There was a silence throughout the hall that seemed almost mournful, the crowd around Shinji staring behind him with abject horror. He turned around to see Rin smiling at him, though with the way her left eye was twitching despite being closed and how hard she was clenching her hands into fists, it was easy to tell that the girl was less than amused.

"I think this is where we part ways, Matou-kun. I would love to say that I had a pleasant time talking to you." Her voice betrayed nothing of her internal thoughts, sounding just as prim and proper as always even though Shinji saw bloody murder barely restrained right underneath that mask. "It'd truly be nice if I could spit out nonsense as skillfully as you can but alas, that just isn't the case."

There was a moment of pure silence as the venom from the girl's voice washed over the hallway.

"Ano, Toh-Tohsaka-senpai, did you mean you loved to say-" The poor first-year's feeble attempt at smoothing over the situation was instantly killed by the Red Devil.

"I said what I said."

With that, Rin made her exit as elegantly as usual, with a flourish of her hair and a dismissal of all those around her. All the students that had crowded around them paused after the Tohsaka heiress's departure and then, almost in unison, nodded to themselves and dispersed, leaving only himself, Issei, and the shell-shocked first-year girl.

The Ryuudou pushed up the bridge of his glasses and glared down the path his self-appointed nemesis had taken. "It seems like those of weak will would rather refuse to accept what they had witnessed instead of acknowledging reality. Too sly, too cunning! That fox has the whole world wrapped around her finger."

Shinji gave the Student Council President a tired look but the teenager was too busy agreeing with his own stupid theory to notice. The Matou only sighed to himself and turned away from his fool of a friend, prepared to leave before noticing the first-year still in front of him, doing a rather impressive impression of a statue.

He waved his hand in front of her face, grinning slightly when the girl blinked and glanced up at him, features gaining life once more after realizing that her life was not actually in danger. Though with Rin involved, you never could be too sure. "You can head out now, kohai-chan. Didn't intend for you to get caught in the crossfire between Tohsaka and me but thanks anyway. I guess I owe you one." He gave the girl a pat on the shoulder as he walked past her, gesturing for Issei to follow.

"W-wait!" The first-year seemed to have gotten a second wind as she called out to him, still visibly flustered yet oddly determined. "You didn't answer my question!" Upon seeing the rather confused look Shinji gave her, the already impressive blush on the girl's face deepened. That didn't stop her from continuing however. "You and Tohsaka-senpai, the rumor about two of you being in a relationship. Y-you didn't make it clear if it was true or not."

Shinji glanced past the girl to Issei who only shrugged his shoulders dismissively, giving him a look that said "you're on your own", and the Matou resisted the urge to sigh once more. Of course this four-eyed bastard would be of no help, it was foolish for him to believe any different.

After all, this was often the case with the two.

By really no real effort from the two teens, both Issei and Shinji were rather popular with the fairer sex. It could be attributed to their athletic physique, their social standing in the school, or even their natural disposition, the last of which was something they found surprising. Even Issei could admit that he was a bit of a hardass when it came to his duties as a monk and Student Council President and Shinji knew that being an aloof dick was more of a conscious choice rather than something forced upon him but apparently those were appealing traits to the ladies. Not to say either of them hated the feeling of being desired but frankly, the two boys were far too busy to spend time having girlfriends. While it wasn't exactly common, the two of them had been confessed to a pretty large amount of times; though the sum from adding both of those numbers together was still easily dwarfed by the amount of times Rin had to turn down aspiring suitors.

"I think Tohsaka made that pretty clear, kohai-chan. I wouldn't exactly say that we hate each other but the idea of dating a girl like her..." Shinji winced at the thought of such a relationship, being in love with such a bossy, prideful girl. It wasn't appealing to say the least and that was before the teen threw his own problems with the Tohsaka heiress into the mix. "Barely needs to be said but Tohsaka and I are not dating, nowhere close."

"Great!" Cheering loudly and looking absolutely relieved at Shinji's answer, the first-year threw a fist in the air. Her celebration was cut short when she noticed the amused stares from the two upperclassman boys, flushing instantly. "I-I mean, uh, I'm not, hearing that didn't, you weren't-" Realizing that she was stumbling over her own words, the girl coughed and began to exaggeratedly fan at her face. "Wow, is it hot in here or what? I'm gonna get a drink before class since I'm super thirst- Imeantdehydratedohmygodpleasepleasepleaseforgetthatbye!"

As if shot from a cannon, the girl ran to the other end of the hallway and rounded the corner. Before Shinji could even react, the first-year popped back out from behind the corner and called back to him. "Matou-senpai, stay single for at least a little longer! I need a little more time before I'm ready!" With a red-faced giddy grin, the girl disappeared once more, the sound of her footsteps gradually fading away.

The two teens shared a look and they both shook their heads at the girl's rather cute antics. Which was dropped rather swiftly by Issei when the boy remembered whatever was bothering him earlier.

The Ryuudou nodded towards the Student Council room and Shinji, still bearing a grin from the situation, made his way down the last stretch on the hallway, through the door.

He was more than relieved to see Emiya was nowhere to be found, dealing with him after that nonsense would just be rubbing salt into an already extremely annoying wound. He waited for Issei to enter the room, raising an eyebrow upon seeing the boy close the door behind him so stealthily.

"Issei, why are you being so careful about this? Just tell me what it is, at this rate, we'll be late for class."

Strangely enough, mentioning that they could be tardy did nothing to dissuade the Ryuudou from making sure that the two of them weren't followed, a statement that would normally cause a spike in his heart rate. Seeming to be satisfied with their privacy, Issei turned back to Shinji with an odd look on his face.

Like extremely odd, as if it was an amalgam of every intense emotion shoved into one expression.

It looked like it hurt.

"Issei-"

"Souichirou-ani brought a woman home yesterday night."

Shinji made to speak again but found that he couldn't vocalize the words. Shaking his head, he tried again, putting all his mental facilities in overdrive for the sole purpose of responding to that ridiculous claim.

"Whatbuhhuh?"

Honestly, he was proud of himself.

Issei nodded sagely.

"I wouldn't believe it either if I hadn't seen the woman myself. She came in the dead of night, none of us in the temple even found out until this morning and something like that," The boy paused in his tale for a moment, shivering as the memory took over, "is something that I never want to experience again."

Shinji managed to pull himself together enough while Issei was talking to make sense of the words he heard individually since there was no possible way putting them together made a coherent thought.

"Issei, wha-"

"Aniki joked that Souichirou-ani had to have paid her to have such a beauty over. It didn't go well for him."

"Issei-"

"He didn't see it coming. A pincer attack from both sides; Mom and that woman, without even a word to each other, struck at once."

"Hey, liste-"

"And the way their eyes looked afterwards, so empty and lifeless, as if the brutal attack on him meant nothing to them. Terrifying, Shinji, they are truly terrifying creatures."

The temple heir looked as though he was going to give himself a panic attack and Shinji knew he had to intervene before damn fool relapsed.

"Oi, Issei, get a hold of yourself, man." He jostled the boy's shoulder but found that gave no response so he went to the next best thing. "What Tohsaka saw you in this sorry state? Can you imagine what she would say, what she could hold over you?"

"I'D NEVER ALLOW THAT FOUL WITCH THE SATISFACTION!" The bespectacled teenager broke free from his self-induced trance with a roar.

Shinji blinked. "…Right. Now tell me from the start, what the hell are you talking about? Kuzuki-san is one of the most strait-laced guys I know, I'm not even sure that he's ever even been alone in a room with a woman, barring professionally."

Issei took in a big breath of air and exhaled slowly before meeting Shinji's eyes, looking much more composed.

"Ehem, apologies. I had been wanting to tell someone about this the moment I set foot in school but you were nowhere to be found. Emiya said something about you going to Mitsuzuri's classroom before I made it to homeroom and you arrived right as class begun so I couldn't tell you then. The fact that you then disappeared with Tohsaka during lunch before I could pull you aside led to my, admittedly, odd behavior."

"Water under the bridge, just tell me what happened."

"Well, you were aware that there was a bit of a downpour last night, right?" Seeing the Matou nod the affirmative, he continued, "It seems Souichirou-ani had met a woman on his way back home after he closed up the school. She had been in poor condition and apparently was seeking asylum up the mountain though wasn't able to make it all the way to the temple before losing all her strength. Souichirou-ani found her laying there and carried the woman onto the grounds to care for her. Once she had rested a bit, he had asked her about her circumstances and if she needed a place to stay and she had said yes. I don't know all the details yet but once everyone in the temple had gotten up for the day, Souichirou-ani came up to my father asking on her behalf. Dad said yes, of course, and well you know the bit about Aniki but I don't know… that woman…"

Shinji turned his attention back from Issei's voice to his face and saw how his demeanor had instantly changed, becoming a bit restless with his movements and taking on a more agitated expression.

"What about her?" Shinji probed.

"There's no way that a woman like that would be a good match for Souichirou-ani! She looks like she is far too much trouble, with how she refuses to remove her hood and how she didn't even know how to use chopsticks during breakfast. Mom has no idea what she's talking about, good match, my ass!"

Shinji blinked again and then sighed. Of course, under a few choice circumstances, this guy had just as much of a one-track mind as Kuzuki. It was no surprise that he would fixate on useless things rather than anything of real importance.

"So you're telling me that there was nothing actually weird about the woman? Did she have a certain atmosphere or air about her that was odd in any way?"

Issei put a hand to his chin and thought for a moment. "Hmmm, other than that and my own personal feelings about her, not really. She has blue hair but so do you and I know that your hair color is natural. The only thing else I could say is that she has this… thing about her. A kind of… timelessness, like looking at The Great Wave off Kanagawa or one of those Greek life-like marble sculptures. The sense of immortality that only a work of art could replicate… I can't say that I've ever felt the same way looking at anyone else but that might be why she's so off-putting. In a way, she doesn't feel real, doesn't feel of this world." The Ryuudou suddenly realized that Shinji was staring at him with an intense look in his eyes. "Ah, sorry. I was rambling a bit at the end."

Shinji chose to ignore the bit about blue hair, he was pretty sure that wacky hair colors like his own were a side effect of having magus blood running through his veins. That at least explained how a born brunette with teal eyes like Sakura now had eggplant purple hair and matching eyes after being subjected to the Matou Magic Crest. But what he had said about the strange woman, there was definitely something off about it. Issei was known to be an eloquent and measured speaker as well as having an even temperament no matter what, at least when Shinji or Rin weren't involved; for someone to almost instantly get on his bad side…

"Well then, today's a Saturday so I guess I'll be able to see this mystery woman for myself."

Issei's eyes bulged behind his glasses and he grabbed Shinji by his shoulders. "You're telling me that you want to see her? I said all of that to dissuade you and help me convince Souichirou-ani that a no-good woman like her should be left at the curb, not welcomed in with open arms!"

"Be that as it may," Shinji eased off the Student Council President's hold and turned towards the door, "the situation has got my attention. For a woman to have piqued Kuzuki-san's interest, she really must be something."

"Really must be-" The boy let out a groan and pinched the bridge of his nose before inhaling deeply, giving the Matou a familiar defeated look. "Fine, fine. I should have known better to expect common sense from someone like you, Shinji. I despair at the fact that my two closest friends are different breeds of foolish." Issei wisely ignored the unrepentant smirk on Shinji's face. "Alright then, I know I'm not going to be able to change your mind so we should just return to the classroom before it is too late."

The Matou nodded and turned away, heading for the door when he felt Issei's hand on his shoulder. He gave the other boy a quizzical look, both at the mentioned hand and his oddly red face, and the temple heir cleared his throat.

"Apologies, I just wanted-" Issei removed his hand and turned away, rubbing the back of his head self-consciously. "I noticed that you are much livelier today than you have been since we returned from winter break. You had been closed off ever since then, more so than any other time in recent memory. The only other time you were like that was over three years ago and I'll admit the thought of you falling back into that kind of depressive state concerned me greatly but I see now that isn't the case. Your interactions with Tohsaka and that first-year from earlier make that very apparent. I just wanted to say that I'm glad you are back to your regular self."

The Ryuudou fidgeted in place, ignoring the gaze on him as he stared purposely at the bare wall next to him. Shinji had been confused at first but now he could feel the beginnings of a smile.

He really was a fool, to ignore the world around him over something he had no power to change and end up worrying those that cared for him.

Shinji clasped his own hand on Issei's shoulder, the boy jolting slightly at the contact. "Most people don't try to apologize for being a good friend, you know. I appreciate that you were worried about me. Ayako gave me a bit of a pep talk earlier today and managed to get me out of that mood of mine. I was stuck in my head for a while and didn't notice that I was causing trouble for you two so thanks, Issei. You really are a good guy."

"Humph, of course I am!" Issei must have regained some confidence since he now stood back straightened and gazed directly at the Matou. "A monk must always be the model of discipline and benevolence, there's no way that I'd ignore a close friend like that."

Shinji only shook his head amusedly as he reached for the doorknob. He opened the door but stilled as, for the first time in a while, he had a particularly childish thought. He glanced back at Issei and gave the boy a wry grin.

"Last one to the classroom has to ask Kuzuki-san if he lost his virginity last night."

"WHAT? H-h-how uncouth! You can't just ask th-" Shinji took off, leaving Issei behind. "W-wait, you! You're supposed to wait for both parties to be ready, you damn cheater! You're giving yourself an unfair advantage, Shinji! Wait up, damnit!"

---

The walk from Homurahara was just as uneventful as usual. Issei led the trio up the steps to the temple as he had pointedly refused to talk to Shinji after the stunt he pulled following lunch, leading to the Matou and Kuzuki taking up the rear.

Both Issei and Shinji had their own afterschool activities to attend but they had ended up leaving the school later than usual due to Kuzuki's needing to finish up some work, meaning it was already a little after six.

Shinji thought about springing the question on Kuzuki now that it was only the three of them out here but decided against it, it wasn't long before they made it to the temple so he could just get the full picture there.

That didn't mean that he couldn't have fun with it for the time being.

"So, Kuzuki-san, I heard you had an eventful last night?"

Kuzuki only looked at Shinji, raising an eyebrow when he heard Issei sputter up ahead. Taking that as an urge to keep going, Shinji continued.

"Well, Taiga-san had told me this morning that you were the teacher assigned to lock up yesterday and that you must have been at the school pretty late before being able to head back to the temple. That and the fact that there was a bit of a storm, I imagine that you must have been wiped out by the time you made it up all these stairs."

The man nodded. "Ah, that. It was no trouble since I have gone through the same circumstances many times before. There was nothing about that night that I would consider eventful."

The two teenagers paused momentarily upon hearing that but kept going.

"Nothing about last night?" Shinji made sure to keep his eyes on the man's face for even a hint of emotion. "Even though I had heard that you rescued a woman or something like that? You didn't happen to get a girlfriend, did you?"

"No, she's just someone who needed help and I was there to give it. Other than listening to what she needed from me and allowing her refuge in my room, there was nothing of note that I did that night."

Kuzuki kept walking up the steps despite the fact that both Shinji and Issei had stopped dead in their tracks with baffled looks on their faces. The pair turned to each other with the exact same thing in mind.

""There's no way that he had sex.""

It wasn't the idea that a man like Souichirou Kuzuki couldn't end up in that situation, though that in itself was as odd as him not even acknowledging that it happened. It's not like they were expecting Kuzuki to be a completely changed man but at the very least, you would remember the days you got laid fonder than the rest.

"Either we got this completely wrong and that woman really was only looking for help or Kuzuki-san is used to just hooking up with women. One of those is a hell of a lot harder to believe than the other."

"Ignoring your rather crude way of putting it, I think you're right, Shinji. There is no way that Souichirou-ani would ever have such fleeting relationships."

Before they could continue to make sense of the mystery that was Souichirou Kuzuki, a new older voice interrupted.

"Hey, are you two knuckleheads gonna stay down there gossiping much longer? Natsumi and her new sous chef have been waiting for you three to get here all day, at least Souichirou-kun understands it's not good to keep ladies waiting."

Looking up at the torii, the two boys saw Ryuudou Genkei waiting for them with Kuzuki behind him. The man had a wide grin on his face as he saw the still befuddled faces of his son and Shinji and laughed to himself as he motioned for them to come up the stairs.

The teenagers gave each other a sideways glance but ultimately made their way up the final few steps to where the two men were.

"New sous chef, huh? So the mystery woman has already gotten used to the temple, has she?" Shinji said once he stood level with Genkei at the top.

"Ah, so you've already heard about her, Shinji? I guess it's no real surprise since Issei here had been muttering about it as he left this morning."

"I still think that she's shady, nothing that you or Mom say will change my mind!" came the instant rebuttal from the man's son, walking past the pair to where Kuzuki stood.

"I had hoped that you would have cooled your head after spending time with your peers but I guess not. Well, we'll see if that's the case after dinner." The temple head turned back to the Matou and nodded in the direction of the Ryuudou family's room. "Come on, Shinji. They've got a feast prepared and I get the feeling that you want to meet the woman that Souichirou-kun brought in."

Shinji only nodded in response and the four began to walk from the torii through the temple. The monks throughout the property all gave their greetings to the group as usual but there seemed to be something a bit odd with them. The men acted even more energetic than normal, no doubt due to the new arrival, but Shinji could see signs of fatigue. Shadows around their eyes, a sluggishness to their actions, and few of the younger monks even stifled yawns, something that would never be seen from men as disciplined as those that resided in Ryuudou temple.

Once they had passed through the main part of the temple and into the pair of hallways behind it, Shinji turned his attention back to Genkei.

"Old man, have you noticed anything off lately?" Upon seeing the man look over his shoulder with a questioning gaze, Shinji built on to it. "Starting from about last week to today, has there been anything that's been odd?"

"Since last week, huh?" Genkei paused as he thought for a moment but kept walking after lightly shaking his head. "Not really, no. I know that there's been a bit of excitement recently in the city with that building fire but as far as the mountain and all us up here, nothing comes to mind."

Issei turned around the moment his father finished speaking, an annoyed look on his face.

"Both you and Souichirou-ani seem to be forgetting that the fact that some mystery woman showing up in the middle of the night, during a storm I might add, and seeking shelter here would be considered odd, Dad. Her clothes should have been the first red flag, wearing cosplay that late at night like some kind of deviant!"

By this point, the quartet had made it most of the way there, the door to the room being at the end of the hallway.

"Well then, it sure is a good thing that Natsumi took her shopping so you can't have that against her." Genkei let out an almost exasperated sigh. "Seriously Issei, I would have thought that a son of mine would understand that we welcome all here. Besides, you seemed to warm up to Souichirou-kun quite fast once he started living here so I don't see why you have such a problem now."

"Souichirou-ani is as close to normal as you can get!" Issei had turned to gesture at Kuzuki's back so he missed the knowing looks that Genkei and Shinji gave each other. "The only thing interesting about him is how uninteresting he is. That and how good he is at martial arts compared to even Aniki."

"I assume you meant that as a compliment so I will take it as such, Issei-kun. Though I must ask that you extend that same courtesy that you gave me to her as well." Kuzuki added his own piece with as little emotion as usual though, with the way the Ryuudou heir wilted, you would have thought he had yelled it out.

"…I'm just staying on the cautious side. There have been too many weird things happening in Fuyuki lately and for someone to come to our doorstep in the midst of it, well I'm not the only one who finds it odd. So Shinji does."

Genkei only glanced back at Shinji and shook his head with a grin, walking up ahead of the group to slide open the door.

"I'll admit Shinji does have a good head on his shoulders and a sense for reading between the lines but I can tell you right now, that girl is as sweet as can be if a bit awkward. Just watching Natsumi trying to teach her how to use a food processor was proof enough that she's relatively harmless."

Issei sighed but just followed Kuzuki as he walked into the room, rubbing his temples the entire way. Shinji made to go in himself but stopped upon feeling Genkei's hand on his shoulder.

"Believe me, I have my eye on the situation but that won't stop me from helping someone in need. Issei isn't wrong, there is something more to the girl but she came here out of all places for shelter. I wouldn't be a very good monk if I overlooked that. Well, that and the fact that she's so eager to impress Souichirou-kun, I can't imagine someone that wished to do harm to anyone would spend their time learning how to do chores from a housewife. "

Shinji met the eyes of the temple head and upon seeing the same carefree expression on his face as usual, let out a sigh of his own and gave the man a sideways grin.

"Yeah, both of us realize that. Issei is just being his normal paranoid self and I can't say that I liked hearing that some stranger would be joining up for dinner but don't mind us. I trust you when you say that you believe she's harmless, you and Natsumi-san are kind and understanding, not stupid. If it's coming from you, I know not to take the words lightly but you know me. Gotta see it for myself." Shinji walked past the man and into the room but turned back after a few steps, a real smile on his face this time. "Though I do hope you're right about that last part. A normal, harmless woman would be perfect for Kuzuki-san, he's intense enough on his own. If this one ends up being some kind of femme fatale or something like Kuzuki-san himself, I wouldn't know whether to laugh or run."

Genkei let out a hearty chuckle and followed the boy into the room, the four men seating themselves at the table in the middle.

"What were you two talking about out there?" Issei gave the pair an appraising look, scanning over them and then turning his eyes to Kuzuki. "I only heard you, Shinji, say something about that woman and Souichirou-ani."

"Nothing, just thinking aloud. Your father is the same as usual, trying to change my cynical thinking and corrupting me into monkhood." The Matou grinned at the odd look the Ryuudou gave his father before noticing something. "Wait, where's Reikan? He normally would have been greeting us with you, old man, or with the monks we saw on the way here."

"Ah, that." Genkei scratched the back of his head and let out a forced chuckle. "Well, after the stunt that he pulled this morning, and I have no doubt in my mind that Issei has already told you about it, Natsumi decided that he would be helping her all day with getting that girl acclimated here as punishment. That meant going clothes shopping with them and holding all their bags, dropping all their purchases off here while those two went off to get their nails done or whatever women do with their free time, and carrying all the groceries they bought for dinner tonight. Last I saw of Reikan after they returned to the temple was him being forced to help those two cook."

"Ah, that is pretty harsh."

"Yeah well, better him than me."

"Glad to hear that you feel so strongly about the suffering of your first-born son, Dad." The new voice came from just outside the room, right behind the door. The door slid open and Ryuudou Reikan there stood carrying a large pot with both hands, looking even more dead inside than his voice had implied.

Genkei had no sympathy for his offspring. "Maybe next time you won't shoot off your mouth without thinking. Or at the very least, not in the presence of a woman as scary as your mother."

"I heard that, Anata. Maybe I should act more like the scary woman you imagine me and teach you a lesson as well."

Ryuudou Natsumi appeared from the same hallway and all the men in the room, with the exception of Kuzuki of course, cringed at the sickly-sweet tone of her voice. The mother of two was smiling with both eyes shut but the act fooled no one. She was carrying an assortment of sliced meats, vegetables, and tofu on two large platters that seemed to dwarf the rather small woman but she handled them with a grace that only a veteran housewife could have. Reikan placed the pot on the table and his mother followed suit with the hot pot ingredients.

Genkei's face had gone through an interesting array of emotions the second he had heard his wife's voice but schooled his expression just as quickly with a disarming smile. "I meant scary in the sense of how scary it is a woman as beautiful as you exists in the world. And how the thought that an angel like you could be whisked back into the heavens where you belong at any moment terrifies me."

His wife opened one of her eyes and peered at the man from her peripherals, standing there silently for a moment. She then nodded and took her seat next to Genkei, her hand finding its way to his cheek and his arm settling around her shoulders. "Of course that's what you meant, there's absolutely no other way you could have me and the word 'scary' in the same sentence. Why, if you really did think that way, I think I might hold it against you." Natsumi smiled up to her husband expectantly and he just let out an exaggerated sigh.

"So I'm not off the hook, huh?"

"Nope but nice save. You always were quick on your feet when it came to compliments. Because you praised your wonderful wife so well, your only punishment is helping with the dishes after dinner."

The man shook his head in defeat but still pulled Natsumi in closer, having her head rest on his shoulder. "Oof, putting an old man like me to work? You never have pulled your punches for as long as we've been together so I should have expected something like this but at the very least, I'll have you right next to me. Won't be too bad then."

With the crisis of a scorned woman averted the other men, with the exception of Kuzuki once more, relaxed. Issei glanced at the table of food and then turned to his mother.

"Mom, is that everything or do you need me and Shinji to grab more things for you?"

Natsumi lightly shook her head and gestured back to the hallway. "No need. Your brother and I handled bringing in all the food for the hot pot, my new protegee is on the way with the tea set. Once she gets here, that'll be everything."

Shinji perked up at the mention of the mystery "protegee" and also turned to Natsumi.

"Seems that this new woman Kuzuki-san has brought here has already got a good grasp of the temple if you're already sending her through this place on her lonesome. When I first came here, I couldn't move more than five steps without someone shadowing me."

Natsumi giggled as her eyes bounced between the two teenagers. "That's only because Issei here was afraid that you would end up lost on your own and not want to come back."

"Mom!"

"What? It's true. You wanted the first friend you ever had visit here to like coming back. I always thought it was so incredibly cute how hard you tried."

Issei banged his head into the table and stayed in his bent-over position to avoid showing his no doubt embarrassed face to everyone else in the room. Shinji decided to take pity on the boy and get Natsumi's attention away from him and back to that woman.

"I heard from both the old man and Issei that you've taken this lady under your wing. What's she like?"

The woman's eyes lit up and she pulled a bit away from Genkei but still kept his arm around her. "The girl is such a sweetie, Shinji! Always so eager to help and even more so to learn, why, she's like the daughter that I've never had! I took her shopping earlier to get her out of those rather heavy robes that she came here with and we had so much fun together. Dressing up such a beauty like her was like a dream come true and the fact that she was so bashful was the cutest thing. She was rather quiet at the beginning but after we got our nails done, we just clicked! She even said that I reminded her of her aunt!" She let out a sound of glee. "Can you believe that? I've always wanted to be an aunt! You'll love her Shinji, I have no doubt."

The Matou's eyes had widened a bit upon hearing the pure elation in Natsumi's voice but found his own smile growing as she gushed about the woman. Since he had never experienced having a mother figure for most of his life, Shinji hadn't ever known what he was missing until he met the mother of Issei and Reikan. The woman, almost instantly after learning his circumstances, had showered him with unconditional love and had told him that he was always welcome with their family. To say that Shinji appreciated the Ryuudou family would be an understatement, they were one of the few reasons that the boy hadn't hardened his heart to the world and he would never forget that.

"Well then, it sounds like Kuzuki-san really lucked out bringing that woman here." Shinji shot a look back at the aforementioned man but other than meeting eyes with him, there was no reaction from him. Turning back to Natsumi, the boy heard the sound of footsteps coming down the hallway and remembered one vital piece of information he was missing. "Oh yeah, what's her name? I still haven't heard it even after all this talk about her."

"You haven't?" Reikan had apparently gotten back some of his vitality while everyone else was talking since there was a liveliness in his voice that hadn't been in there before. "It's rather odd but she says that's just because it's not a common name outside of where she's from. She goes by Caster-san."

Shinji froze.

"What? What did you jus-"

Before the boy could get out any more words, a woman made her way into the room with a tea set in her hands. She was wearing a jean jacket with a black top, paired with a long tan skirt, and had long periwinkle blue hair and oddly enough, pointed ears. There was a long braided strand of hair that she kept behind her left elf-like ear with a tiny gold hair bead at the end, swaying softly with her movements. She bowed her head quickly as she placed down the tray onto the table and then bowed once more to Natsumi.

"Ah, sorry for the wait, Natsumi-san! I should have been right behind you but I wanted to double-check everything so that it would be perfect." Turning away from the widely grinning woman, she scanned the room and found what she was searching for. "Souichirou-sama, you've finally arrived! I-I helped Natsumi-san cook and I worked really hard to learn from her. I hope that you'll enjoy the meal that we've prepared for you."

Ignoring the rather loud squee from the housewife, Kuzuki nodded emotionlessly. "I have heard that you have taken the offer that Natsumi-san made this morning about learning from her. For someone under the tutelage of such a skilled chef, there is little doubt that what you have prepared will be anything other than delicious." Noticing that "Caster-san" had lost some of her elation after hearing that, he added, "I am sure that you provided much-needed aid to Natsumi-san and I will let you know what I think of the food after the meal."

"…the hell is she here?"

"What was that, Shinji? I couldn't hear you." Genkei spoke up from next to the Matou but the boy barely acknowledged it.

"You're not human, Caster." The woman next to Kuzuki turned to face Shinji and he could tell with the way she stiffened that she was instantly recognized what he meant but he didn't give a damn. "What the hell do you think you're doing here?"

"Shinji! Have yo-" Whatever Natsumi had planned to say to chastise the boy was swiftly interrupted by Caster. Without even an outward sign that she was channeling magecraft, the blue-haired woman caused everyone in the room, with the exception of herself, Kuzuki, and Shinji, to slump over like puppets with their strings cut. That action had been instantaneous but Shinji had also made his move, pulling a switchblade out from his waistband and somersaulting backwards to make space between himself and the pair. The blade shot out with a single action and the teenager held the knife to his left hand, trying momentarily to steady his breathing but glancing at the bodies of the Ryuudou family made his blood boil.

"What the hell did you do to them, you bitch? You better not have-"

The earnest and soft-spoken woman from earlier was replaced with a foreign being that radiated absolute power, glaring at the Matou with the promise of pain.

"Better not have what, boy? Who are you to speak to me in such a way, powerless as you are? I cannot even sense a hint of magical energy in that body of yours yet you dare to run your mouth in the presence of Souichirou-sama? For your insolence, I'll do more than just end your pathetic life, there won't even be any ashes left to scatter to the wind when I am through with you!"

"You said that before, Souichirou-sama…" The Matou's eyes darted to the man in question, blood boiling in the face of such treachery. "You mean to tell me that you're her master, Kuzuki? You bastard, have you been lying to me and Genkei-san this whole time? Knowing you've killed before is one thing but to know that you're willing to betray people that trusted you, you're fucking scum, Kuzuki!"

Caster's eyes flared with rage and an ornate metal staff appeared in her hands, magic circles forming behind her. At the same instant, Shinji ran forward toward Kuzuki, slashing his left palm and flinging his blood at the servant as he did.

"Enough, both of you." The monotone voice of the high school teacher filled the room. Caster stopped her attack the moment that the man spoke but Shinji continued on only to find himself slammed into the ground with one hand on the back of his neck and the other holding his right hand behind his back in an instant. The boy struggled despite his situation and the moment that he was turned from his stomach to his back, tried to headbutt Kuzuki but failed once more as the man calmly held him down. The servant seemed to have noticed that Shinji had purposely sent his blood her way and had erased it while it was still in the air with a wave of her hand, now gazing down at him with unbridled disgust.

"Souichirou-sama, there is no need for you to dirty your hands with this insolent fool. If he is truly so low as to fling his disgusting blood as a last resort, then he is certainly not worth your time. Allow me to dispose of him myself. I must repay him for insulting you so thoughtlessly."

"Not worth his time? You don't know a damn thing, servant! This man owes everything and more to the Ryuudou, if you think that I'm going to let him get away with this, you're dead fucking wrong." Shinji growled at the woman, struggling even harder as he looked into the eyes of someone he considered a close friend. "You're a real bastard, Kuzuki, you know that? I would have thought that if you had to kill someone, you'd do it yourself but you're completely fine with letting your servant handle that kind of work, huh? I guess I shouldn't have expected decency from someone who wouldn't even bat an eye after seeing the bodies of the family who took you in and cared for you strewn about. I don't know how the hell you got a servant but I swear to it, I'll make you pay for what you did, Kuzuki!"

Kuzuki blinked and looked up from the Matou to Caster, eyebrows slightly furrowed. "Caster, the Ryuudou family, what exactly did you do to them?"

The blue-haired woman refocused from glaring a hole into Shinji's head to the man, pulling her staff close to her chest when she saw how intensely he was looking at her. "A-ah, that. They are only in a deep slumber, I didn't want them to get involved with this, and this way they won't remember what happened, Souichirou-sama. You had expressed that you wanted them to not be pulled into the Holy Grail War last night and I thought that this was the best way to go about your wishes. If you would like, I can send them away while we deal with this boy, then I can just erase their memories of him after."

Even in his state of being put into a hold, Shinji could tell that Caster had gained a kind of lilt to her voice, reminiscent of how Natsumi sounded when she bantered with Genkei but he shelved that thought just as soon as it had occurred to him. There was something way more important in what the woman had just said.

"They're- they're not dead? All of them are just sleeping?" The boy lost all resistance after saying that and he fell back to the ground, turning his head to see the Ryuudou family once more. Earlier, he had only been able to tell that the family had fallen once Caster had gotten hostile and he hadn't had the time to check on them but now that he was actually observing them, Shinji saw the gentle rise and fall of their chests in their induced slumber. He let out a sigh of relief, they were safe.

"You did well, Caster." Hearing Kuzuki praise her, the woman's cheeks colored but she still puffed up at the comments. "Now, can you do something about Shinji's hand?" Said preening halted the moment those words left his mouth.

"What? Souichirou-sama, the boy threatened to kill you and he even knows about the war, there is no reason to heal him! It would be much better if-"

"Caster, will you heal him?

Caster glared daggers at Shinji and he would have done the same back at her but he was too busy staring at Kuzuki, completely baffled.

"Why are you trying to help me, Kuzuki? You may not have harmed the Ryuudou like I thought but the fact that you have a servant proves to me that you are a threat. If you're just doing this on some notion of sentimentality, save it. It won't stop me from doing everything in my power to stop you from getting the grail."

The man only regarded him with a nod and then turned back to his servant. "Caster, if you will."

"Souichirou-sa-" Her voice cut off after seeing something in Kuzuki's gaze and just let out a growl. "...As you wish, Souichirou-sama."

Caster walked to where Kuzuki was holding Shinji down and kneeled in front of the boy's body, the word furious could not possibly describe the amount of anger on the woman's face.

"Be grateful, boy, that my master is more forgiving than he should be. If it were up to me, I would have each drop of that useless blood of yours turn to the foulest poison even as it flows through your body. You would be on the edge of death and would beg for reprieve but I wouldn't allow you to die so easily, not after the disrespect that you gave to Souichirou-sama."

The woman waved her hand over the boy's own and he could feel the cut skin knitting itself back together, all without an incantation or use of a mystic code. There was no doubt about it, this woman was a heroic spirit brought to life by the holy grail. It was the only way that someone could perform acts like this so effortlessly.

Before he could say or do anything, Shinji felt Kuzuki's hands release their hold and the man stepped back. The high school teacher ignored the looks of incredulity that the two other awake occupants of the room were giving him and went back to the table, sitting exactly where he had been originally.

"Souichirou-sama, what-"

"Caster, join me." Not waiting for the woman to respond, he turned to the Matou. "You as well, Shinji-kun. It seems as though there is much to talk about between us."

Both Shinji and Caster continued to look at the man in utter confusion but tossed each other exceptionally scathing glares when they noticed they were doing the same thing. The teen broke eye contact first, biting his inner cheek when he saw the woman rather childishly grin in response to winning their unspoken staring contest but paid that no attention as he made his way to the table as well.

Or at least tried to; for some reason Caster seemed to just annoy Shinji by existing but that was probably a side effect of her acting like a bitch for all of the minute and a half he had known her.

"I don't know what you plan to gain by talking to me, Kuzuki, but fine. I have some questions for you as well and I'm not leaving here until I get answers." A good amount of anger had bled out of Shinji after seeing that the man wasn't trying to kill anyone, at least not yet. The teenager folded his switchblade back into its housing and slid the weapon back under the waistband of his pants before sitting opposite the high school teacher. He still didn't trust him but he wasn't about to throw away a chance to make sense of this mess.

"Souichirou-sama, do you not think it unwise to-" Apparently, the pair were able to communicate with just their eyes since this was the second time that the man had managed to change her mind without saying a word. "Fine then, have it your way!"

Looking positively agitated, Caster dematerialized her staff and walked to the other side of the table, sitting next to Kuzuki and pointedly glared at Shinji. Before the two of them could have a rematch, the man cleared his throat and made eye contact with the boy.

"You are knowledgeable about this Holy Grail War, are you not?" Shinji only nodded and he took that as a sign to continue. "Then you understand what kind of danger you were in, trying to take on both Caster and I. Even if you dismiss her as a threat, you are one of two that know of my past and of the skills that came with it. Why did you still attempt to fight?"

Shinji let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "Honestly, I was pissed off seeing the Ryuudou just knocked out like that and wanted to make you pay. Pretty dumb but I had thought, and still kinda do, that you had stabbed them in the back and well, I wasn't about to let you get away with it."

"Then you are even more of a fool than I had first thought, boy." Caster's voice was much calmer than before but there was still a bite to it. "If you had managed to harm Souichirou-sama, then not even his requests to keep you safe would protect you."

"Ugh, threats and killing, that's all it is with you. I pity any man that had the displeasure of being around you, it probably spelled tragedy for the poor bastard to be near someone as unhinged as you."

"YOU DARE-" Shinji was honestly surprised at how angry Caster sounded, the unadulterated rage leading him to believe that she would lash out at him but she had apparently stopped herself at the last moment. "…Do not presume to know a thing about me, boy. Hold your tongue or you will soon find it removed."

An air of awkwardness filled the room as Shinji digested the rather explosive reaction from the servant but it was just as quickly broken by Kuzuki.

"I was told only last night by Caster of her circumstances but I noticed when she arrived in this room, you were not so much surprised by the fact she was a servant but instead that she was here. Were you already aware that Caster was in Fuyuki City?"

At that question, Caster stilled and looked at the boy, studying his every movement. Shinji ignored the pointed look he was getting and leaned backward, holding himself upright with his hands. "Yeah, and as it appears, I'm definitely not the only one who knows. You're at least lucky since no one knows she is on the top of the mountain but it won't be long before that gets out too. I'd say if you aren't attacked in the next few days, then you'll be fine until the last servant is summoned and the war truly begins."

"You think that there will be others that come to the temple in search of Caster that soon?"

"The death of her master wasn't exactly the stealthiest of kills; frankly there's no way that any master worth a damn would ignore a slaughter of twenty-plus people and the death of one of the two Clocktower magus sent here for the Holy Grail War. The only reason they wouldn't come after you is if they decide to save you for last but I wouldn't count on that happening." Shinji regarded the still-present icy glare with his own. "And now that I'm piecing it together, it would make a hell of a lot of sense for someone to sweep in and take out the rouge servant who killed her own master. Kill her before she is able to make a contract with another master."

"And what about it, boy? Magus have never been known for their honor, even I know that fact has stayed true no matter how many centuries have passed. My previous master was a pathetic, talentless man who sought to be rid of me after seeing how much I overshadowed his paltry attempts at magecraft, having arranged to have that Lancer sent after me just so he could replace me." Caster's voice never raised in intensity but as she spoke, there was a cold sharpness in the words that grew. "I was betrayed first by that vile man, I was forced to do what I did to survive."

The teen stayed silent, only staring back at her as he thought to himself. Throughout the short time that both he and the servant had been at each other's throats, never once had Caster sounded so spiteful. Everything that had happened prior had definitely angered the woman but based on how she acted after mentioning that man, even now with a darkness in her eyes eerily reminiscent of the gaze that many of his family members shared, there was no doubt that this woman had hated her previous master with every fiber of her being.

And such contempt could only form from being broken beyond repair. Shinji should know, he's watched every single Matou destroy themselves with a hell of their own creation, slaves to their own hatred.

"I'm not saying that you were wrong to kill Galliasta, I'm just telling you there were consequences to doing it. It's more than foolish to think that you could hole up on top of the main invocation site for the holy grail and not expect for this to be one of the first places your enemies will look."

"Enemies…" Shinji returned his attention to Kuzuki as the man mused aloud. "Then I only have one other thing to ask you, do you also plan to take part in this war? You understand that if you do, I will not hesitate to kill you if we clash once more."

"Yes, I do. I'm sure that the two of you have your reasons for wanting to win but I can't let that happen. This is something that has to do with my family and I'm letting you know now that I will stop at nothing to make the grail my own." Shinji paused for a moment and then looked the man in the eyes. "I don't want to be your enemy but if it comes down to it, you'll find no mercy from me, Kuzuki."

Caster turned to face her master, presumably to request removing Shinji's head from his shoulders but the man just continued to stare into the boy's eyes. After a few seconds, Kuzuki nodded.

"That is good then. I wouldn't expect anything else from you, Shinji-kun. You never allowed anyone to dissuade you from what you believed you needed to do before so I am glad to hear that you will keep with that conviction even now. I have asked everything I wanted to; if you have your own questions, go ahead."

Shinji considered his options before letting his eyes fall on the servant next to the man. "…This isn't a question for you, Kuzuki. I already know the answer but tell me, Caster, Kuzuki isn't actually your master, is he?"

The woman gave the boy her standard glare as usual but it was missing the intensity from before. "I suppose that telling you I don't know what you're talking about won't work, will it?" Caster sighed before shaking her head, Shinji's flat stare being answer enough. "No, he isn't. Though he may have acted as an anchor to allow me to begin self-sustaining myself, Souichirou-sama does not have the ability to manifest Command Seals."

Shinji looked between the two and felt an oncoming headache forming. This was simultaneously great and terrible to hear at the same time.

"So it was just as I thought, huh? He's not a magus." The boy trained his eyes on the man across from him. " What exactly do you gain by participating, Kuzuki? You never had shown interest in really anything before and I never imagined that you would jump at the chance to kill others again, not after you put that life behind you. This war is far beyond your understanding, no wish of yours is worth certain death."

The man stared back at him just as intently. "You are right, there is still much that I do not understand about it but that is not my concern. I had only joined in the conflict on the behalf of Caster and have no desire other than making her wish come true; whatever this grail is, I have no wish for it."

The teenager let out a growl at the dispassionate answer. "This isn't something that you join on a whim! You want to find meaning in your life, to do good on behalf of someone else, then become a damn monk like Genkei-san wanted or go on a pilgrimage to find meaning in life! The moment that someone else finds out that you are with Caster, real master or not, you will be killed. You aren't the type to act so recklessly, this isn't like you. You've only had a normal life for four years, don't just throw it away so willingly!"

"…I will admit, you are right. It is very unlike me to involve myself in matters outside my duties. I have never once felt driven to do things that are unnecessary and that still stays true even now." Kuzuki closed his eyes. "This one, she is not unlike myself. Maybe that is why I was motivated to aid her, maybe not. The reason has no meaning to me, she asked me to help her and so I shall do anything in my power to aid her."

The Matou scion continued to glare at the man, knowing full well that his anger was just being wasted on the hardheaded fool in front of him, before shaking his head. "To risk your life over a simple request, I don't get you. I don't really care about the why and how, I'm just telling you what you're doing is stupid." Shinji exhaled deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose. "But I know better to judge when my own reasons are just as simple. If you want to risk your life for someone you've only known for a day, far be it for me to stop you."

The man had no outward response but he knew that Kuzuki was listening.

The teenager turned his full attention to the servant next to the man, noting that she was still looking at him with a sour expression. "You have a problem with what I said? Don't try to tell me that even you don't find it odd how willing this guy was to help you. Especially if you had just gotten out of a fight with another servant, there's no way that you were in an approachable state. Any normal person would have just called the police and maybe brought you down to the street, not care for you themselves in their home."

Caster was silent for a moment before turning her head away from both men, answering at almost a whisper. "…Then I am even more so glad that Souichirou-sama is not like most men. I know too much of those you call normal and I detest them more than anything else. The faceless masses that only know to hate when told to hate and laugh when told to laugh. While I may hold contempt only for one man, the world is far crueler than any one person can be; one of the few truths that I know will never change no matter the years that pass. I can only be grateful that such a man like Souichirou-sama exists. Even I realize him doing such a thing was foolish but cannot, will not ever think ill of Souichirou-sama and I certainly won't allow some child to make light of him."

Unsurprisingly the last part was said with ire, something that seemed to be the default for the woman when addressing Shinji but for the first time, he wasn't put off by it. It really wasn't what he needed to focus on, not when something infinitely more noteworthy was revealed to him. The boy had known that Caster was fond of Kuzuki just by witnessing how earnest she was to impress him with her cooking but he hadn't been aware that the affection ran this deep.

"Are you-" Shinji stopped himself, noticing that Caster had now rested her hand on Kuzuki's knee. He looked back at the man's face and after seeing no sign of acknowledgement to her touch, the Matou felt his head start to throb even more painfully.

There's no way that anyone could possibly this dull, right? Being in a relationship, that's not just something that you just forget to mention when someone asks what happened the night you took in a woman.

And then Shinji remembered this was Souichirou Kuzuki he was talking about.

"Kuzuki, I am going to ask you this clearly now since implication apparently means nothing to you." He pointed at the pair across from him, waving his pointer finger back and forth between the two. "Caster and you, are the two of you in a relationship?"

The man nodded. "Yes, a purely physical one at the moment. After Caster had told me of what had transpired to leave her such the state I found her in, the two of us engaged sexual intercourse to anchor her in this world."

"So-Souichirou-sama! Why are you telling him this?" Came the outburst from the now blushing servant but both men ignored her.

"I had thought that Caster had made that clear earlier, Shinji-kun."

Shinji massaged his temples and Caster gaped at how forthcoming her master was, both of them struck dumb with the man.

"I mean this in the politest way possible, Kuzuki, what the hell? Why didn't you say that when I asked right before we made it to the temple?"

"Why were you even asking about that, boy?" The servant's voice was still colored with embarrassment but Caster managed to sound affronted despite that. "It has nothing to do with you!"

"Believe me, whatever goes on in Kuzuki's bedroom, I want no part hearing about it but it's still something that I have issue with. This dull bastard may not have any idea what it is like to be around those that use magecraft but I do. Even if I ignore the very real chance that you hypnotized him into helping you, the fact that you two had sex puts everyone on the mountain in danger." Shinji glared right back at the woman, for the first time legitimately annoyed with the pair's lack of discretion. "I can tell you are a skilled magus, Caster, so you know as well as I do that the transfer of magical energy from one to another is like setting off a damn signal flare to other magus, even more so if it's with someone as powerful as a Heroic Spirit. You being a rouge servant already means that you've got a target on your back but now this whole damn temple is on the radar, even the Bounded Field around it can't hide that. If not for the fact that there is only one other servant-master pair in Fuyuki right now, this place would have already been a battlefield due to your stupidity."

"I have my own plans to remove any chance of being attacked here, boy. Souichirou-sama has already said that he didn't wish for any of those in this place to be involved and I have the same desire as well, I'm not so stonehearted to disregard the kindness that has been given to me by this family and those they surround themselves with. I haven't done anything to bend the will of anyone on this mountain, let alone Souichirou-sama and even if I did, they would be safer here under my protection than anywhere else in this city. I was attacked in my previous master's workshop only because it was hidden away from public eyes. These modern magus are much too afraid to show the mundane masses how vast the world truly is, hiding their abilities as though it is something to be ashamed of, I have no such fear that this temple would be sieged in any way while I reside here. As for servants, well, I am not in this class container for no reason. My own abilities are able to reach their full effectiveness in a place like this mountain." Caster didn't retreat from the boy's gaze, glaring back just as intensely. "And you still have no grounds to poke your nose in our affairs, especially if you are to be an opponent to the both of us."

Shinji cocked his head to the side, noticing for the first time that when the woman's face heated up, embarrassed or otherwise, the tips of her pointed ears reddened from where they peeked through her blue tresses. He would have thought it was cute on probably anyone else but in this case, those ears were attached to a growing annoyance. He shook his head to dispel such thoughts when he noticed the servant was about to open her mouth once more, no doubt to say something else that would piss him off.

"Don't be so overdramatic. I would still give a damn about Kuzuki even if the two of us were at each other's throats, we've known each other for far too long to just cast all that time spent together aside. If it comes down to me or him, that's a whole other story, I'd come at him with everything I've got but so long as that's not the case, I still want him to remain unharmed." The teenager paused and glanced at the man in question. "And I have the feeling that he feels the same way about me." Kuzuki nodded once to the dismay of his servant. "But I feel like we've already wasted too much time with unnecessary back and forth, I need to know what happened with you and your master."

Caster crossed her arms under her bust and leaned back, lips set in an even deeper scowl than before. "And, pray tell, why should I? So far all of this talk has been for your benefit, there hasn't been a thing to gain by listening to you thus far. I see no reason to even entertain your presence anymore."

Shinji leaned forward, elbow on the table and chin resting in his right hand, bearing an unrestrained smirk. "Because I have something that you desperately need, information. I don't know how much you learned from Galliasta but his being a second-generation magus from a new family in Clocktower tells me that he only had money to throw around and nothing concrete to depend on." The boy stopped and thought for a moment. "Well, that and the fact that he's dead with nothing to show for on his end. Even with whatever contacts and scraps of info the man could have scrounged up, there are few in the world that know Fuyuki and the people in it as well as I do, and even few still that know the inner workings of the Holy Grail War like I do. And besides, it's not like you can go to the Overseer anymore, what with the two of you not being a true servant-master pair. Sure, you could send out familiars and even scout things out yourself but given your unique circumstances, it wouldn't be long for a real servant-master duo to catch on and smoke you out. I'm really the only thing you have to find out how the war is progressing, at least without showing your hand any more than you already have."

Caster only clicked her tongue and turned away, a completely unsurprising reaction. Shinji thought about getting Kuzuki to convince her to talk or better yet, tell him the account that the woman had given him last night about her circumstances but the man acted without anything from the Matou. Kuzuki put a hand on his servant's shoulder and whispered something in her ear inaudible to the boy. She had stiffened and looked back at the man incredulously, the high school teacher's expression not giving anything away in Shinji's eyes but apparently, there was something that Caster could see in his impassive face as she faced the teenager curtly once more.

"Since Souichirou-sama seems to think so highly of you, I'll set aside my own judgement and tell you." She glanced back at the man and sighed, voice lowering to a mutter. "Even though the thought of doing so pains me more than I'd like to admit."

Shinji wisely didn't acknowledge the woman's side comment, calling out Caster's utter weakness to Kuzuki wasn't worth giving her more chances to threaten his existence.

"Did Galliasta speak to you about his plans? Was he trying to accomplish something in preparation for the start of the war or was there any type of alliance that he was setting up?"

The servant snorted. "Hah, you give that fool far more credit than he deserves, you look to be a better magus than he ever could be and you don't even have the body to support magecraft!" She shook her head, the one braid in her hair swinging gently as she did. "That man only had delusions of grandeur, seeking the grail for the sole purpose of protection for himself and his future. Spouting off that he desired the glory of winning this conflict but having no such ability of his own to make it a reality, relying on useless, inefficient devices to do the work of magecraft for him. That coward summoned me so that he could stay safely hidden away while the war raged on around him. For a man who had only the end in sight, I'd say it is fitting that he was removed before this battle truly began. Any and all plans crafted by that man died with him."

"That's… good. Really good, even. Knowing that Galliasta had only schemes and nothing substantial means that there's no need to worry about him have done something to mess with the war even after death. But," The teenager reached toward the tea set Caster had brought in earlier and filled up a cup for himself, "you said something earlier, something about him sending Lancer after you. Doesn't that mean that Galliasta was at least in communication with the other Clocktower master, for the only other servant in Fuyuki to have attacked you?"

Caster glared at him for getting the tea but her gaze softened a touch once she saw him filling up two more cups. "Maybe so but there is no way to tell at the moment. The two of us were not exactly joined at the hip even before the fool's death. If he did have correspondence with another master, there were multiple chances that he could have contacted them throughout the day and a half he was my master."

Shinji placed the other two cups of tea in front of the servant-master pair, warming his hands with his own cup. "Was there any time where he was gone for an extended amount of time, long enough to have a face-to-face conversation with someone? It's suicide for a master to go meet another without their servant but maybe the two were well acquainted, they were both from the Association after all."

"There was only one moment like that, he had said that he needed to meet with the Overseer and had taken one of those car vehicles. He was gone for more than an hour for that meeting but those were his words though so it's anyone's guess if he was telling the truth." She took a sip from her cup and gave the Matou a rather smug smirk. "If he had gone to Lancer's master for aid, it was too late for him. I had gotten rid of that vermin before Lancer showed up."

The boy hung his head back and let out a groan, much to the surprise of Caster. "No, if that bastard priest was involved in any way, it's stupid to just assume that Galliasta's plans fell through. The Overseer of this war is probably the most dangerous man in this war, even on the sidelines. I have no doubt that Galliasta met with that man, it was already too late for him. If he wasn't killed by you then there would have been something else that dealt with him."

"…Then how do you explain Lancer's appearance only seconds after I engulfed that fool in flames? Are you trying to say that Lancer's master wanted to take out both of us, by that Overseer's order?"

The teenager shook his head. "Not exactly. There are a few other magus families in Fuyuki other than the Matou and I had met with one member that has the potential to be a master recently. They've been in contact with the Overseer and said that the man had met with both of the Clocktower masters this week, meaning that he could have served as a go-between for their correspondence. That way, even if Galliasta and the other master were allied, that priest could have made it so Lancer arrived too late to save him from you. And then this war would be down a servant and master before it even began." Shinji took a sip from his tea and winced minutely at the taste as the two before him digested what he had said.

"Those are quite a few claims that you have made, Shinji-kun." Kuzuki spoke for the first time in a while eyeing the boy calmly nursing his drink.

"And all of them sound like baseless conjecture! Is the Overseer of the Holy Grail War not supposed to remain as only a supervisor, making sure that the conflict remains hidden from the masses? It sounds more like you are trying to make us overly wary." The woman's voice transitioned into a growl, noticing the teenager hadn't looked up from his cup. "If you have any solid reasoning to bring forth, do so or I'll have no reason to believe you."

Shinji only let out a sigh as he placed his tea down, still not looking up from the liquid. "The Overseer is a priest by the name of Kotomine Kirei, he's one of only two men that I know who will stop at nothing to reach their ideal, no matter the cost, no matter the depth of depravity in the act. To ignore that fact just because he is not an active member of the Holy Grail War is to willing work toward your death. That man is no ordinary member of the church, he is a meddlesome sadist at best and a threat to everyone in Fuyuki at worst." The boy glanced up, catching the eyes of the servant. "After all, he was the final master of the Fourth Holy Grail War and the cause of the Fuyuki Fire at the end of it, a man who caused the deaths of over five hundred people and laughed as it happened. If you value your life so little, I'm sure that he'll tell you the same as he stabs a Black Key in your chest."

Caster stayed silent with a complex expression on her face, though her master had no such problem speaking.

"Is that… not a conflict of interests? To have such a man moderate this event?"

Shinji barked out a laugh, the harsh sound filling the room. "Ha ha, it does seem rather idiotic, doesn't it?" The boy chuckled a bit more to himself before looking at the two with a rueful grin. "Well, the church doesn't exactly care for this ritual, only having one family in this backwater section of Japan to be prepared for such a task and even that is more for formality rather than function. It's no surprise that they'd allow for him to take on the mantle of Overseer after his father rather than replace him, they can't even control the most powerful of their exorcists even as they operate in the damn Vatican, the heart of their operations. They've still refused at even attempting to give Sensei any kind of orders or real restrictions even after all this time and she doesn't even have any of her supernatural bells and whistles anymore." Shinji turned his eyes up to the ceiling, the smile on his face becoming less bitter and more tired. "The Church has long since shed any trace of dignity and it's been like that for hundreds if not a thousand of years. With a few exceptions, they're nothing more than a bunch of selfish self-serving bastards who follow the rules when it suits them and commit atrocities at the drop of a hat." He shook his head lightly, pushing away any more thoughts on the subject, this wasn't the time to bring up personal grievances. The boy trained his gaze back on the two in front of him and continued. "The choice of sending some greenhorn clergyman to a conflict that has led to the deaths of more than three-quarters of those that participate over a man who has experienced said conflict firsthand, there's not really a reason they'd do the former."

Caster kept a measured look on her face as Shinji was speaking but her expression grew dark once he had finished. "So you are saying that even the one person who should be a neutral party, someone who aids those that cannot fight in this war, is not to be trusted?"

"That's exactly what I am saying. Put any faith in that bastard and you are asking to be stabbed in the back. Figuratively, literally, with him, who knows? Maybe you'll be unlucky enough for both." Wouldn't be the first. "And well," The Matou shrugged his shoulders at the pair and looked away, "it ultimately doesn't matter if you believe me or not, not my problem if you kick the bucket."

And even if the priest let you live, there was the issue of the King of Heroes to address.

"Then, we will keep that in consideration, Shinji-kun. Is there anything else you wish to know?" Kuzuki said.

The teenager shook his head. "No, that about covered everything I wanted to ask. Besides, I think I've gone well above my threshold of feminine glares today, best not to push it any further."

"And I've had enough of you for two lifetimes, you utter annoyance. Here I thought blondes were the bane of my existence, to think one that shares my hair color could make me question such a thought." Caster seemed just as worn out by their conversation as he was but that didn't stop her from spitting out the words like they were venom.

"You're no prize either, Princess." Shinji snarked right back instantly. "You got looks but that personality of yours, Kuzuki must be a saint reincarnated to be able to put up with you."

Hearing no rebuttal from the woman and not caring enough to see her glare at him for the umpteenth time, Shinji glanced around the room.

"Don't you think we should wake them up? It's not exactly easy to explain why all the food has gone from piping hot to room temp and waiting any longer will just add to the questions."

Kuzuki nodded. "Caster?"

"…Fine then, I will release the spell." The servant pointedly did not look at Shinji and her voice seemed different somehow but he couldn't place why. "You should prepare yourself, boy."

"Wha- OW!"

"-u lost your mind? Why in the world would you think saying something like that would be fine? You know damn well what is appropriate after being around us for this long!" Ryuudou Natsumi's hand had shot out and whacked the back of Shinji's head hard enough to knock the boy over, the woman finishing the action she had started prior to the forced slumber. Realizing something was amiss only after hitting him, she looked around and saw the rest of her family also had odd looks on their faces. "What was I… Did something happen? I can't quite remember…"

The rest of the room's occupants ignored the boy grumbling on the ground with the exception of Caster who watched with a particularly vindictive look on her face.

"I... don't think so, Mom. Caster-san had only just arrived in the room with tea and then Shinji…" Issei seemed to notice what he was saying and clammed up, not wanting to give the Matou a second helping of his mother's ire. "I-I think we were just about to start dinner."

"Yes, I think that sounds about right, Issei. Let's get a start on that, shall we?" Genkei chimed in a bit more earnestly than necessary, eyeing his wife warily.

"Hmmm, I guess you are right. Well then, I'll just have that serve as a warning, Shinji-kun. Seriously, I have no idea where you boys get your manners from. Both you and Reikan, in one day even."

"…Warning, my ass. If I wasn't already used to your abnormal strength, I'd be out for the rest of the night." Shinji muttered lowly but given the sharp look Natsumi sent him, it wasn't quiet enough. "I meant not human the same way as the old man, Caster-san has inhuman beauty like you or whatever he said. Almost like she doesn't belong here." He ended that off with a pointed look at the now fuming Caster.

He couldn't say that he despised the woman, the only person he could maybe give that honor was a certain maid. That one and Shinji had gotten over their differences as the years went by but that didn't mean that they were even close to saying they liked each other. In the case of Caster, her being here and messing with the peace was a royal pain in the ass. One he was sure would get worse with every passing second.

"The hell are you doing roping me into your mess, kid?" The temple head hissed in Shinji's ear but the boy continued to glare at the servant.

The housewife studied his face rather intently for a moment and then huffed and looked away. "Ah fine then, be that way! That just means there's more of Caster-chan for me alone, you and Issei can just sulk together while we have fun."

"Shall we start eating before anyone else ends up annoyed? I haven't been able to eat all day with all the errands that I was sent on." The eldest Ryuudou brother moaned from his seat, a growl escaping from his stomach only seconds after.

"Yes, let's all dig into this wonderful dinner these two beautiful ladies prepared for us. I imagine that it will be so tasty and filling that there will only be praises that leave our lips, isn't that right boys?" Hearing an affirmative from all but the boy who the statement was directed to, Genkei repeated himself. "Don't you think so, Shinji-kun? That the food will be so good that no unnecessary comments will be made, only words of thanks and praise. Right, Shinji-kun?"

Shinji looked away from Caster and sighed, running a hand through his hair as he nodded. "Yeah, let's eat. Guess being hungry makes me more prickly than usual so don't mind me."

"That's more like it! Well then, everyone dig in!"

---

"Don't think I'll be around for a bit, old man. Have to do a few things with my family and I'll be busy for a good while. And besides, I think it'd be better for the peace on the mountain if I stayed away."

"Normally, I'd say that was nonsense but after seeing just how much you and Caster-san dislike each other, even I can't make excuses. To think the two of you had even a worse first meeting than her and Reikan, I have to say I hadn't expected that." Genkei laughed good-naturedly despite what he had just said and patted the boy soundly on the back. "Just understand that if you need anything, don't be a stranger. You can come here for anything, remember that, Shinji."

Caster had stepped outside with Souichirou-sama since the man wanted to walk the boy out with Genkei and she didn't trust the child to not badmouth her if he was left alone with her master. Both of Natsumi's sons had decided to help their mother clean up after dinner so it was just the three of them there to see him finally leave. Her master had said his own goodbyes personally and walked back to her side but the fact that the boy had smiled after admittedly annoyed the woman.

"Gotcha, thanks again." The brat turned around to leave, not soon enough if you asked her, but stopped just before he made his way through the temple's bounded field and spoke over his shoulder. "And let Natsumi-san know that I didn't mean to be as big of an ass as I was tonight, I told her I'd make it up to her but you know how she is. Could barely make her accept that birthday present last year so maybe she'll think about it if you tell her. Night, old man."

With that, the biggest bother Caster had met since she was summoned into this world continued down the stairs, waving back those who saw him off without looking back. Like a prick.

"Caster-san, I know that you and Shinji may have gotten off on the wrong foot but I have to admit, I don't think I've ever seen glare at someone for the simple act of waving goodbye. At least not with that much intensity."

Apparently, she had lost herself in the act of willing a meteor to hit the fool so she hadn't noticed the temple head was now looking at her rather oddly.

"O-oh, apologies Ryuudou-san! I guess what the br-boy said earlier must have gotten under my skin more than I had thought."

The man studied her silently, face completely blank, only to shake his head shortly and laugh loudly. "Yeah, that kid really does shoot his mouth off, most of the time at the worst possible moment. I hope you won't hold it against him, he usually attempts at being cordial for first impressions."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Besides, for as long as I've known him, Shinji never did say unnecessary things. Don't imagine that he'd start now." Without waiting for a response, he turned around and begun to make his way back to the temple. "I'll get to my punishment now, the boys must have rounded up everything by now and Natsumi never did like to wait. Have a good night you two."

Caster didn't need a mirror to tell that her shock at the man's words was present on her face.

"So even he had noticed, those two must be even more attentive than I previously thought…" Her savior spoke aloud from behind her, pausing as though he expected a response. "Caster, are you well? You have not spoken or even moved since Genkei-san left."

It seemed that such an expression was enough for someone as stoic as Souichirou-sama to make note of it.

"…That man… he suspects something of us."

"Yes, even more so than before. Both him and Natsumi-san."

Caster whipped her head back to face her master with an irate huff. "So that didn't pass your gaze either, the two of them sharing quick glances after what that blasted boy had said. His damnable mouth has caused this many problems for us in such a short amount of time!" She growled and stamped a foot into the ground, imagining that it was that irksome child's face she was stomping before remembering who she was with. "Ah, please excuse that rather petulant act, Souichirou-sama! I don't know what came over me."

Her master trained his eyes on her body and she had to fight back the urge to shiver. The man's default intense gaze was something she had gotten used to in the short time she had spent with him but during moments like this, when the two were alone, she could only remember how it felt to be the sole thing in Souichirou-sama's mind. Being held in his arms and knowing that he would never turn away from her like all the others, someone she could truly love with all her heart.

"I wonder, Caster, do you hate Shinji-kun?"

Said heartfelt feelings were ground to dust upon hearing the pest's name. Caster could feel the headache from before forming once again but she did her best to ignore it.

After all, Souichirou-sama liked the boy enough to say he trusted a brat like him with his life.

"…No." She sighed and shook her head. "No, I don't hate him. Even I couldn't hate a child without good reason. It's just…" The woman tried to make sense of her feelings in the most coherent way possible, "he's annoying. More annoying than any other being I have ever met."

That was saying quite a lot, she had encountered the meddlesome gods of Olympus, all of those braggart Argonauts, and of course, the man who had ruined everything for her. But with all those, Caster knew that they acted with malice at heart, consciously or otherwise, it made no difference. They betrayed her and left her to a torturous fate. But with the boy, she sensed no such hatred or hostility. There was just something about him that set her off, seemingly his very existence. Since the moment they had met eyes, there was a mutual feeling of ire the two had shared for the other. There was only one other thing she could compare the feeling to but at least in that case, she could just seal it away before it said something to annoy her.

And as helpful as it was to have around, Caster didn't know if she could handle having to deal with the two of them at the same time.

"…You see him as an annoyance? Truly, is that the extent of your feeling towards him?" Shockingly, Souichirou-sama's voice wasn't as devoid of emotion as usual, her master sounded almost surprised.

"Yes, that is really how I feel about the boy. It must have just been the fact that both of our tempers were running high, for us to be at each other's throats like that so I must apologize again for the undesirable way that I acted. That being said," The servant straightened up and looked the man in the eyes, "are you absolutely sure that it was wise to allow him to leave here alive? He has already proven to be much more knowledgeable than any child should be and he didn't even hesitate when he attempted to fight the two of us, even knowing that he was up against a servant. No normal human would ever do so, not unless they were truly a fool or-"

"Or if they had faced such adversity before. That is the only way one could act so fearless in the presence of such overwhelming opposition."

She nodded, her reluctance clearly displayed in the action. "...Yes and loathe I admit it, the boy is more likely to be the latter. That is why I ask, was it truly necessary?"

"I am certain with my decision. There is no doubt that Shinji-kun will be a formidable opponent if he ends up against us but that is alright." The man turned his eyes down the path the boy had taken. "This was a suitable way to end things off, the two of us were able to share one last meal together, the same as we have for the past four years. There will be no lingering feelings of regret, we understand each other well enough to know that what happens now is only a product of our desires, nothing else."

Caster also followed her master's gaze for a moment and then just shook her head, less annoyed and more baffled, something she feared would become a familiar feeling where the boy was concerned. While Souichirou-sama may have accepted her circumstances with no issue without truly understanding or even caring about them, she really couldn't say she could do the same. Having a comprehension of what type of man he was, was something Caster cared for deeply though it was proving to be more difficult as each day passed. His willingness to aid her in this death game was something she was still trying to make sense of and now this sense of… comradery that he displayed with that child, her lover continued to surprise her in ways she never imagined.

"If that was your wish, Souichirou-sama, I will accept it."

"I do realize that you see my actions today as foolish, Caster. I must apologize as this is what I feel I must do, from this point on there shall be nothing else that stays my hand."

"It's nothing, Souichirou-sama. I understand that you and that boy have known each other for a long time so wanting to have one final night as companions, I have no issue with such a thing." Caster looked back at her impassive master's face and winced. "Alright, I do have some problem with it but that is beside the point. You have asked so little from me while I have asked so much, if allowing you this one thing can even begin to show you the gratitude I feel towards you, I happily accept it."

"…I thank you for understanding, Caster. Even if you have some reservations about it."

"Most of which I can just ignore as he was acting like a nuisance purposefully. There is only one thing that truly concerned me about my meeting the boy." The servant moved her blue tresses behind her ear, exposing their pointed feature. "I was a bit… shocked when he called me princess. I had thought that he had somehow… someway discerned my True Name."

"True Name… Your identity from when you were alive, is it?" Caster nodded so the man continued. "Princess Medea of Colchis, that is who you said you are. I assume that you have not been called by that title in a long time, for it to surprise you so."

"…Yes. I was rarely called by even my name, let alone 'princess' after I left my father's court. Only that accursed brand given to me by that foul man, Witch…" Her heart clenched at her own utterance of the word but she shook off the feeling and met the gaze of her master, tentatively. "To be called princess, even as a sarcastic barb, it was something that caught me completely off-guard. It took me back to a time that I can scarcely remember, to a place that I long to return."

She had been shocked completely silent when the boy had called her that so nonchalantly. Even when she was a young girl, before the gods and their heroes could whisk her away from her happy life, there was always a feeling of respect in the voice of those that called her princess. The only ones who would ever dare to say it in any other fashion were those closest to her, like her parents and Aunt Circe, when they teased her as family does. When that Shinji boy unknowingly did the same, even with how much of a pest he was being, it felt… nice.

It felt like Colchis, like being home.

"I see…" Caster had apparently been too caught up in her own thoughts to have noticed the pensive look on her master's face.

"Souichirou-sama?"

"Then Caster, would you like… Would it be better for you if I also called you Princess?"

"Pfft!"

She tried not to laugh, she really did.

"Ha ha ha ha, S-Souichirou-sama, please. It is q-quite alright, you don't need to do that." The now grinning woman stifled another bout of giggles as the man blinked at her curiously. "I am more than happy to just know you are willing to do so for my comfort. Caster is fine for now."

"I understand." He nodded and then looked ahead to the temple. "We should retire for the night. After those warnings Shinji-kun gave us, being well-rested and attentive for the coming days is vital."

"I agree. Let us return to our room then, Souichirou-sama."

The two began to make their way back through the temple and as Souichirou-sama said his nightly goodbyes to the passing monks, Caster was brought back to those cautionary words that the boy had said. There certainly was something afoot, oddities like Lancer showing up and then not even attempting to strike a killing blow and the fact that the Overseer of the war could be actively meddling in this conflict.

All of this meant that she needed more protection. Thankfully she had the resource to make that a reality right underneath her feet.

"Ah, before I forget, dinner was exceptional. Thank you, Caster, I am truly grateful for the effort you made for me."

And the sooner she got that protection, the sooner she would be able to stake her claim on the Grail.

"...Thank you, Souichorou-sama. It warms my heart to hear your honest praise."

The sooner her better-left forgotten past could be replaced with this warm, beautiful present.

---

It wasn't too terribly late by the time Shinji walked through the doors of the Matou manor, only just turning eight. The walk back was peaceful as ever, the full moon in the sky illuminating his way and just adding to the serenity of the night. There was no one to greet him as he entered but that had been the norm ever since Sakura started going to Emiya's place. The teenager made his way up the stairs to his room, tossing his school bag and blazer on the bed.

He was about to grab his towel and night clothes to take a shower when he heard the front door open. It could only be Sakura.

He had been thinking about waiting until the morning but now was as good a time as any. He wouldn't have cared earlier but that changed the moment he was face to face with a servant, letting her do as she pleased wasn't an option anymore.

Shinji stepped out of his room just as the girl made it to the top of the stairs. She looked startled for a moment but put on a halfhearted smile.

"Y-you're home, Nii-san. I thought you would have been out later."

"No, dinner with the Ryuudou finished up a bit sooner than expected and I thought it best to come home early."

"I see…"

Keeping her eyes to the ground, Sakura began to walk to her room.

"You're out of time, you do realize that, right?" Shinji called out to her, still relaxed but his tone frigid.

The girl stilled.

"The Holy Grail War is upon us, really it's already started, yet you still want to act like everything is normal. It's not just stupid, it's dangerous."

"W-what do you mean, Nii-san?"

"…I know I just said that you were acting stupid but I know for a fact that you aren't an idiot. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

She refused to look up from her feet but Shinji could tell she understood, the way she was clenching her fists spoke volumes.

The Matou sighed. "I told you from the start that associating with Emiya was a bad idea but despite that, I let you play house with the fool. Now, I'm doing what I should have done back then." He walked up to her and put a hand under her chin, raising her head to look him in the eyes. "Sakura, you will stop going there."

Sakura screwed her eyes shut and turned away. "No. You can't. Y-you can't take this away from me, Nii-san. I-I refuse!"

Shinji let out a growl. "Taking this away from you? The hell do you mean I'm taking anything away? You're the one coveting something that you've never had, something that doesn't exist." He could feel himself getting annoyed and honestly, he was exhausted from the circus show that the dinner at Ryuudou temple had turned out to be so it wasn't all that surprising that his patience was running thin. "The ordinary high school life of Matou Sakura doesn't exist, hell Matou Sakura doesn't exist either! Everything that the world outside these four walls knows about you is a damn lie! It's time that you realized that."

The former Tohsaka flinched and opened her eyes, pain etched in her expression. "Stop it, Nii-san! You're wrong, I'm not lying!" She grabbed his hand and wrenched his hold off, glaring up at him even though the act seemed to physically harm her. "I'm not letting you separate me from Sempai!"

"You think I'm doing this because I give a damn about you and that dumbass? Like I'm jealous or something? Grow up, Sakura. You going there is only going to put you in danger, get that through that head of yours!"

"Why does it matter? Once you and Grandfather have a servant, what other use am I to you? Can't you two ju-just let me have this, please Nii-san?" Her voice cracked as she begged him.

Shinji closed his own eyes and grit his teeth.

"No, I can't. A master has already been killed and if you don't listen to me, the very same could happen to you. Just put whatever sentimentality you have for that idiot aside and understand what I'm saying damnit!"

"I-I don't care! Whatever happens to me, I don't care! Please, Nii-san! Don't-"

"And then what? I let you run around with that bastard without a care in the world, acting as though any other master wouldn't be able to pick you out by your damn Command Seals?" His eyes snapped open and he got in her face. "You are being an idiot, Sakura! Why the hell do you even care that much about Emiya?"

Sakura recoiled at his intensity but replied softly. "Because he cares about me despite my own flaws. My ugliness, my impurity, none of it matters to him. Sempai brings out the best in me so I don't even think the way I had before I met him! I don't wish for bad things to happen to people anymore and I try my best even though I know I'm inferior. Because of that, I trust him a-and I know that he trusts me!"

"…What does that trust matter when all of it was formed on lies?" Shinji's voice was deadly even. "The Sakura that Emiya Shirou know is just a damn fabrication, nothing more."

The girl's whole body shook but he didn't stop.

"Every single piece of the person you've shown him has been polished up as well as you could manage and everything else is hidden away under piles and piles of lies. So what if a few cracks show glimpses of who you really are, the hateful and lonely little girl who was thrown away and forgotten by her family, given to the big bad Matou, you can just lie to him like you lie to yourself." He sneered at the girl. "And I know you do, feed him those same desperate lies every damn day, hoping and praying that he'll never find out the truth."

Sakura hugged herself, not even attempting to talk back anymore, face screwed tight in anguish.

"I don't know why you're so distraught, it's not like I'm saying anything you didn't already know. And besides," Shinji stared at the moonlight peeking in through the windows. "you aren't the only one who is hiding things."

"W-what?"

"Emiya, he's been lying to you too. Ever since you've known him, again, just like you. It's kinda cute, is it like a couples thing you do?"

For the first time in almost ten years, Sakura's eyes became lit with anger and she snarled at him. "You're lying! Sempai, there's no reason for Sempai to lie to me! You're going too far, Nii-san! He woul-"

Shinji cut her off with laughter, empty and lifeless laughter.

"There's no way! There is no possible way that you are this dense, right?" He caught a glimpse of the girl's aghast face and his laughter renewed, the boy snickering in malevolent glee as he spoke. "After all this time, you never realized that Emiya was hiding that from you? Being by his side for this long but still ignoring all the signs? No wonder your father picked Rin over you, you're hopeless!"

There was an empty quality to Sakura's eyes now, a vacancy that reminded Shinji of when he had first met the girl. A lack of emotion which could only be created when the stress of the world around you was closing in but Shinji knew that even this much was nothing to the girl. After what Tohsaka Sakura had been through, something as weak as insults could never break her.

Though now that he was this close to her, staring into those empty eyes of hers, he noticed something. A glimpse of something oddforeign there but just as soon as he saw it, it disappeared.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Sakura. If you want to lie to yourself and hide away from the truth to keep the happy little Emiya in your head faultless and perfect, fine. I'm done discussing this with you, just get it through your damn skull and understand why I'm saying all this."

"Sempai, Sempai-" Her voice broke but despite that there was still a quiet defiance in her, repeating the words like a mantra. "Sempai, he would ne-"

"A fight between siblings, is it? Here I thought the two of you had outgrown such antics."

Shinji and Sakura both froze as a familiar old voice called out from the shadows, interrupting the two.

"Of course, Kariya and Byakuya fought even past your age of adolescence, continuing to do so even to the end of their days so such a thing is not surprising." Matou Zouken cackled to himself as he walked in from the other end of the hall, the sound of his cane tapping asymmetrically with his steps. "I do hope that the two of you prove different, far too much potential to waste if you ask me."

"Grandfather!" The two teenagers bowed their heads as the ancient magus stopped in front of them, studying them with an expression of intrigue.

"At the very least, you both know to give your elders the utmost respect. Now then, what is this quarrel about? I have yet to have heard the two of you argue amongst yourselves like this and never would I imagine with this much intensity."

Shinji returned to his natural height and met the Matou patriarch's eye, face set in a grim scowl and gaze sharp. "…There is no need for you to concern yourself with this, Grandfather. The two of us were just having a bit of a disagreement about what is to come, I've advised Sakura not to take any unnecessary risks and she had issue with it. We've come to an agreement though, isn't that right, Sakura?"

The girl still hadn't raised her head and still was shivering but despite the obvious toll it was taking on her just standing here, she weakly shook her head.

Zouken gave Shinji a crooked grin and the boy cursed.

"An agreement you say? It doesn't seem like that to me, Shinji-kun. Here, allow me to aid my dear grandchildren." The old man made his way in between the two, placing his free hand on Sakura's forearm. An act that would normally provide reassurance if it had come from anyone else but only caused the girl to flinch, though with the way the wizened magus' smile deepened after, Shinji imagined that was the desired result. "So, Sakura-chan, you wish for things to remain as they are even with the ritual upon us?"

Sakura's face had been obscured by a curtain of purple hair but when she raised her head to answer, helplessness was replaced with tentative desperation. "Yes… I do. Grandfather, please, please don't take this away from me. I-I'll do an-"

"That is quite alright, child, you need not speak more. I am nothing if not a generous grandparent though I personally must ask are you certain? I know that your brother is only speaking out of his concern for you, but if you truly wish for it, there is nothing more to discuss."

Shinji let out a growl as a choked gasp came from the girl and she fell to her knees.

"Re-really, Grandfather?" Sakura whispered up to the Matou patriarch, voice hesitatively colored with the smallest hope. At his kindly smile, her frame shook, only this time in relief. "Thank you, thank you, Grandfather!"

Shinji stepped forward between them, prompting Zouken to move back, the ancient magus grinning even wider still at the boy's action. Sakura must have noticed that he was purposefully isolating Grandfather and himself since he could hear her shuffle behind him.

"If that is what you think best, Grandfather, I won't stand in your way." Ignoring the amused old man, Shinji looked over his shoulder to see the girl shakily getting to her feet. "Fine then, Sakura, you get your wish."

"I-I apologize, Nii-san…" She kept her eyes to the ground like before and spoke meekly but that only annoyed the boy further, though his ire was quickly moving from her to the only other Matou alive.

"Enough. Get out of here and go to your room." A clipped command was the only thing Shinji gave her before he turned away to face the man across from him, not bothering to even give the girl even a second more of his attention.

Sakura must have looked to Zouken since the magus laughed to himself and nodded once more. "Yes, I think that would be for the best. It seems that Shinji-kun and I have much to talk about. You may retire for the night, Sakura-chan."

He could hear the sounds of her quickly making her way to her door and one more whispered apology though right as she opened it, Grandfather spoke once more.

"Before I forget, child, do try to get a good rest tonight. The summoning is tomorrow night and all things considered, it wouldn't do to not be prepared." The old man's eyes flickered as he looked past Shinji. "After all, goodwill should be met with goodwill."

"Of course, Grandfather…" If the wobble in the girl's voice was noticed by the two men, there wasn't any outward sign of acknowledgment. "I will be ready for it. Goodnight." The door closed and the sound of a lock being turned was heard.

There was a beat of silence as the two Matou stared at each other, one amused and the other close to anger. Without either of them communicating it, they both walked down to the other end of the hall and entered the private study. Shinji closed the thick oak door behind him as Grandfather took a seat behind his desk.

"Why, my boy, you look awfully cross, is something the matter?" Even in speaking, the smile never left Grandfather's face.

"What the hell was that, Grandfather?" Shinji was frankly through with niceties for today.

The magus laughed, this time without restraint, the dry cackle echoing slightly in the room and Shinji's temper reached its limit.

"Is this truly funny for you, Grandfather? I thought you would have agreed with me about keeping Sakura here for the duration of the war yet you allowed her to do as she pleases. I know you are aware of what happened just last night with that magus from the Mage's Association. Why would you indulge in that girl's stupidity?"

"Why? Hmmm, why indeed. I was hoping you would be able to answer that yourself, Shinji-kun."

The teenager wound his fist tightly as Zouken continued to dance around the issue like it didn't matter.

"Enough games damnit! Do you even care about keeping Sakura safe? There is a rouge servant in Fuyuki as we speak and you don't seem to give a damn! About the war or anything that matters!"

"You should watch that mouth of yours, child. I am in a good mood at the moment, you will find that both of us will be displeased with the outcome if that changes."

With that utterance, the entire atmosphere of the study inverted, the air feeling dead and the shadows darkening. Grandfather's voice turned to ice and his presence felt threatening despite his small stature.

Shinji could safely say this preferred this familiar sight over the always grinning Matou Zouken, he at least knew how to deal with this one.

"I hope this means you are finally ready to talk instead of just speaking in riddles, Grandfather."

The elder Matou studied his progeny for a moment in silence before replying. "…You know, you reminded me awfully of Kariya right then, mouthing off to me like some emotionally compromised fool. While it was mildly entertaining to imagine that idiot in your shoes, do not test me like that again."

"Not a problem, just answer me without any deceit or games. Why are you still allowing Sakura to go to Emiya's place? There is no doubt in my mind that he will become a master, that fool will end up putting everyone around him in danger."

Zouken hummed, the sound not far from the chirring of insect wings. "I wonder, are you not underestimating Sakura's own ability to protect herself?"

Shinji scoffed. "What ability? The girl is as harmless as a newborn, there's not a damn thing about her that's threatening."

Other than how much she made him want to bash his head into a wall with her useless apologies and downright maddening dependence on the redheaded dumbass.

"So that is how she appears to you." The old magus chuckled. "I suppose taking your own outward appearance as an example, Shinji-kun, how it betrays nothing of your own skills makes it rather clear to me now. Forgive me for asking such a foolish question."

The boy studied his ancestor closely, trying to decipher if there was any hidden meaning to his words but found that he was already too distracted with current issues to waste any more time. "Never mind that, tell me why you're entertaining such a foolish wish?"

Zouken shook his head, amused but seemingly disappointed. "You still have much to learn, child, when it comes to making one compliant to your demands. Simply breaking their will is never truly effective, you must give them a sliver, a glimpse of what they hold dear as well. Do that and they will more than happily follow your word with absolute obedience, the thought that their desires could be actualized often being enough to make them bend, make them willfully ignorant to your own intentions." He looked Shinji in the eyes and grinned once more. "After all, the Holy Grail War is the perfect example of that, is it not? Foolhardy magus willfully joining a conflict in hopes of a prize they truly know nothing of, ignoring all but the promise that their desires will be brought to fruition if they act accordingly."

Shinji wasn't impressed. "So this is all some ploy to keep the girl under your thumb later? Don't you think that it is needlessly reckless?"

"That is not something you should concern yourself with, Shinji-kun. I will not allow the girl to die no matter what ends up happening, this damnable city will fall to ruin before such a thing occurs." Zouken turned away and gazed out the window at the aforementioned Fuyuki. "And besides, I imagine that this will prove to make this conflict even more interesting."

Shinji continued to glare at the old man. "That doesn't provide me with the most confidence, Grandfather. I don't care for theatrics, especially not at my own detriment."

"Then ignore it, my own enjoyment and the girl if you can. It is only for insurance, after all."

The teenager crossed his arms. "You think I'll fail that easily, do you?"

Zouken turned back to Shinji, another twisted grin on his face. "As much as it pains me to say, Kariya was a downright failure and yet he had a better chance at attaining a victory for the Matou. At least when it came to his magical ability; comparing you to the masters in this war so far puts you in a better light when it comes to knowledge and tactics but it is still a slim chance. You not having the capability to be a master is quite the handicap to overcome after all." The gleam in the magus' yellowed eyes was almost scornful but the boy could hear the challenge in his ancestor's voice. "However, don't let that stop you from proving me wrong, Shinji-kun."

"…I must ask, why are you in such high spirits? Are the developments of the war so far that much to your liking?"

"Hmmm, I will admit that having a master removed so early, especially one that came from that detestable institution, does please me in a minute way but no, that is not why." The Matou patriarch tapped his cane on the ground, smirking as he watched the tip collide with the floor. "It seems like this one will be far more intriguing than any before it, the ritual is making quite sure of that."

Shinji stilled at the words.

"What do you mean by that, Grandfather?"

"I'm sure that you're aware, Shinji-kun, you've already met with the product of it." Seeing his grandson still on edge, the old man laughed. "If you haven't noticed it, no need to say more. I imagine that Sakura's servant will prove my point."

"You meant with the summoning?"

The teenager winced internally as Zouken raised an eyebrow, he had sounded far too relieved for the magus not to have noticed. Ultimately, his grandfather nodded and his eyes fell to the ground once more.

"Yes, with the summoning of servants. The effect of the Einzbern's servant from the Third Heaven's Feel has already shown itself and I doubt that it will stop with only one instance. Just as the Fourth had tainted souls summoned as servants in Caster and Berserker, there is little doubt that the same will not occur here. Whether this comes as an advantage or disadvantage, it concerns me not. If it can cause even half the chaos that it did in the conflict ten years ago, then the grail will be safely in my grasp."

"Of course, Grandfather."

For a moment, Shinji had thought that the man was talking about Avenger and its unique case as a sentient, active party in the war but it seemed as though the servants that were to participate in the Fifth Holy Grail War which had drawn his attention. While the boy wasn't unaccustomed to the atmosphere that magical entities like spirits gave off, his sense wasn't nearly as finetuned as even a beginner magus. He could locate the mass of magical energy that a servant gave off but to be able to tell if the being was one that would normally be summoned from the Throne of Heroes or if it was one that only came to form due to the state of the grail being corrupted, that wasn't something Shinji could do. To be fair, that wasn't exactly something to be ashamed of, most if not all masters wouldn't have that kind of refined sense since knowledge of the Throne of Heroes isn't exactly all that accessible even to the highest echelons of magus. Grandfather of course, as one of the creators of the ritual, would know instantly upon seeing it, if a servant summoned was one that was intended by the system or one that bypassed the normal parameters due to the grail's corruption; an Anti-Hero.

"If that is all you have to ask of me, Shinji-kun, then we are done."

"If you are saying that I assume you know of what I learned at the Ryuudou Temple earlier."

The old magus smirked at the boy. "An interesting development to say the least, for a servant to find refuge like that. A tool of that caliber, the fool who got himself killed truly was a blind idiot. This Caster is leagues above the one from the Fourth, to have that power at your beck and call would make even the most useless master quite the challenge to overcome. I do hope that any affection you have for that school teacher will not prevent you from doing what must be done."

"Of course not, Grandfather. Nothing will stop me from being the victor of the grail."

"Then we are finished here. You may go, Shinji-kun."

Shinji nodded and turned away, walking to the door out to the hallway and opening it. He was halfway out of the room when Zouken spoke once more.

"Lest I forget, boy." The air turned to ice once more and Shinji could feel the presence of his grandfather right behind him. "I'll advise you not to overstep yourself. Toying with our Lesser Grail is welcome, even encouraged, but I will not have you breaking the girl's will so early into the conflict. There are over two centuries of effort put into this one plan, if you do anything that puts it in peril, consciously or otherwise, I'll have no problem tearing you apart like I did your mother." The elderly voice lacked any sort of intensity but that didn't stop Shinji from involuntarily shivering. "Sakura's state as a Lesser Grail makes her far more valuable to me than you ever could be so remember that before you act out of line again." The elder's cane was jabbed hard enough into the teenager's back to knock the wind out of him and send him out into the hall. "Remember this well, your one and only job is to secure the grail, nothing more, boy."

The door slammed behind Shinji, leaving him alone in the hallway. He lay on the ground wheezing for a second and then laughed bitterly.

"I suppose that you would catch that, wouldn't you?"

The boy got back to his feet, feeling the area that was struck and wincing. Despite that rather frail appearance of Grandfather, he could still wield that cane just as well as he did ten years ago.

Shinji walked back to his room and shut the door behind him with a heavy sigh.

Today was too damn tiring and the war still hadn't truly begun. And it was only going to get worse.

But he knew that already. And he knew he would keep going down this path no matter what.

No matter the cost.

He closed his eyes and remembered with perfect clarity Sakura begging him for the one thing that made her happy in the world. And then her look of utter joy hearing Grandfather allow her to keep it.

Shinji punched the wall as hard as he could. Other than a short period of aggravated chittering from the worms in the walls, there was only silence, though the teenager was more than certain he had heard a dry cackle as the insects skittered away. Bits of plaster sprinkled off the wall as he pulled his fist back, bruised but no more worse for wear.

Perks of being more resilient than the average human, whether it was the magus blood in his veins or the fact that he was a psychic, who knows.

He sighed and let his back rest against the wall, letting gravity take over as he slid down to the floor before turning his tired gaze to the ceiling.

"Grandfather and me… soon I don't think I'll be able to tell who's worse."

---

January 13th 2004

"You're late."

"And you're on time for once. I guess it's possible for a dumb cat like you to be punctual."

The bespeckled blue-haired woman took a seat across from the blonde woman. The café was rather empty, the sun on the cusp of setting with only a handful of patrons dispersed about.

A setting that perfectly fitted the pair.

"What kept you? A new curry place open up while we were out of town, your big butt couldn't fit into those robes?"

"Neither, I just had a phone call go for longer than expected."

"Oh." The blonde looked stumped. "He waited this long to call you? He talked to me yesterday and said he'd get to you right after."

The blue-haired woman let out a sigh, exasperated.

"He's an idiot, what do you expect? Not as bad as our own but still stupid. He said that he was being conscious of jet lag. I know I told him I'd be flying into Japan the last time we talked but still, that was almost three months ago. For him to remember the exact time I was landing even after all this time..."

Despite the dismissive way she said it, the blue-haired woman found a small grin forming on her face and the blonde giggled.

"That sounds like Shinji. He always did care for the little things like that." The blonde tapped her fingers one after another rhythmically on the table and looked out the window. "So, what do you think about it?"

"I think that it's incredibly stupid and even more so, dangerous."

"So we're both on the same page then."

"I told him as much."

"So did I."

"And he said he was doing it anyway."

"Same here."

The two women shook their heads, bearing bittersweet smiles.

"I told him that I would go to Fuyuki to help him-"

"But he said that this wasn't your problem, right?"

"Yes, which is extremely hypocritical of him. None of us asked him to get involved with our problems, yet there he was, a thirteen-year-old against two Dead Apostle Ancestors."

"Don't get me wrong I'm thankful for it, everything ended up better than expected with him there but… I don't think I'll ever say that I wanted Shinji to do that. There was so much that could've gone wrong." The blonde stared down at the table. "And a good bit that did go wrong..." She sighed and glanced back at the blue eyes across from her. "You know it's only been half a year since he stopped calling about his night terrors? I can't even tell if he's gotten over them or he's just not telling us because he feels like a burden."

"…I can't tell either. When the two of them came during summer vacation last year, Shinji looked good, happy even. I was glad to see it but… anytime the attention was away from him, he'd just… retreat in himself." The blue-haired woman took off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose. "And I know that it's a common thing for him since Ayako-chan wasn't at all surprised, she just snapped him out of it with a pinch or a tug. She's no doubt the reason why he's gotten so much better over the years but I don't think any of the guilt has gone away. He still blames himself for what happened."

"Which is completely not the case and everyone knows it. Heck, even that guy said it wasn't Shinji's fault and it was him who was dying. Shinji's the only one who doesn't see it that way."

The two of them sighed, knowing there was nothing they could do about it. The boy was stubborn in everything he did.

"He brought up Aylesbury when I said I was coming anyway."

The blonde snorted. "Same with me. How does he even know this stuff?"

"Even if he isn't a magus, the Zolgen have connections throughout the world and after everything three years ago, it makes sense that he'd pay attention to what the Dead Apostle Ancestors are up to. Besides, this is Shinji we're talking about. The kid who came from one side of Japan to another just to find someone else with Pure Eyes and then stuck around while three killer vampires were on the loose because he saw a vision of the Grand Wizard Marshall and you together when he passed you on the street. He isn't exactly the definition of rational."

The blonde opened her mouth to respond then shut it with a groan. How could a guy so smart be so stupid?

"Our idiot said that Ayako-chan called his place yesterday." The blue-haired woman continued.

"To talk to Imouto-san?" It only made sense, other than the schoolgirl turned Dead Apostle, that flat-chested demon was closest to Ayako-chan.

"She wanted to know what actually happened three years ago with all of us and Shinji, said that he was acting odd since his visit to Russia a few weeks ago and that she was worried it had something to do with Shinji and that guy."

"And she told her? Shinji made all of us swear not to tell Ayako-chan anything more than necessary and you would think out of all people, Imouto-san wouldn't want to talk about him or his relationship to Shinji."

"It appears that her maid had a hand in convincing her to tell Ayako-chan. Whether it was to help Ayako-chan or to piss off Shinji, I really can't tell."

The pair each let out a sigh. It seems that even after all this time, the two of them would never get along.

"Well," the blonde smirked, "there's at least one good thing about that."

"What would that be?"

"It means that even Ayako-chan is fed up with Shinji's broodiness. Which is great. Between the three of us, she's got the best chance to get through to him."

The two women smiled at the thought.

The blonde was the first to drop her grin. "So that's it, huh? We can't do anything to help him then?"

"Even though I want to, Shinji's right. The Church knows that Aylesbury Valesti could happen at any moment now and there's no way they would let me disappear for something like this. Even Narbareck was serious for once. Gave me a warning that she'd come herself to kill me and anything with a pulse within a fifty-mile radius around me if I left instead of waiting for the ritual to begin with the rest of the Agency. That woman is already unhinged to begin with, if anything she's looking for an excuse to go on a rampage." The blue-haired woman massaged her temples with a huff. "It sounded just as empty as her usual threats but even still, I'm not willing to test her."

"And I can't because it would bring too much attention, from Clocktower, the Church, the Dead Apostles Ancestors, damn near everybody. I bet even the Old Timer has his eye on me right now too and last I checked, he's not even in this world." The blonde let out an exasperated groan. "It'd be a mess no matter who's watching if I stepped in any sort of way. There's no doubt that Altrouge and her pet would follow me either to fight or for curiosity's sake and in both cases, everyone in Fuyuki will be dead or worse. And that's before mentioning either of her bodyguards, those two would have a field day turning the city into a barren wasteland while fighting servants." She shook her head, her chin-length tresses swaying with the motion. "The risk is far too great for me to do that, not when Shinji's life is in the balance."

"Our hands are tied but I'm sure Shinji wouldn't have asked anything of us even if we were able to help. He'd rather face his demons alone like an idiot than even give the chance of someone else being caught in the crossfire and ruining whatever master plan he's cooked up, the selfish brat." The blue-haired woman's voice was soft despite her harsh words, shaking her head ruefully. "Shinji still has that knife from back then and the shroud I gave him the last time he was here but other than that, there's nothing else we can do for him. Nothing for him in Fuyuki at least."

A resigned silence fell upon the pair, the lingering glow of the setting sun ebbing away with each passing second.

The blonde's hands joined together in an almost prayer-like gesture, hand clasped over fist, gaze firmly down at the table and murmured. "...Would it be so wrong to be selfish just one more time? Keep him away from this whole mess even if he ends up hating us for it, would it really be so bad?"

"I wish." The formally immortal exorcist said with a sigh before shaking her head. "But we can't, not when we were in his exact same shoes." Her eyes fell just the same as her counterpart. "He needs closure just as much as we did back then."

The flaxen-haired True Ancestor didn't look any more pleased than before but she hummed in agreement.

The final reaches of light faded from the sky as the two met eyes.

The only thing that they could do was hope.

---

3rd of Ianuarius, 1570

This is madness, absolute madness. First, a plague that has crippled Russia as a whole and has taken away many of our clan, both young and old. Then the famine, the ground beneath us not sprouting life no matter what we try, the merchants charging prices that not even royalty would pay for crumbs. And now this, an attack from all sides. The Tsar's damnable Oprichniki tear entire cities apart under orders from that blasted zealot, killing and looting as they please. The Catholic Church sends executioners masquerading as those same masked bastards, massacring both Orthodox Christians and magus alike, in the name of cleansing the world of heresy. And now lastly, even our own kind rise up against us. Fools who were either jealous of our blood's talent with magecraft or disgusted with it, the same that dined at our table only a short time ago, brandish their weapons to take what little we have left from us and to leave us to die. We are still safe, our clan hid away as best we can manage, but this conflict shows no sign of stopping. Novgorod, I have heard that Novgorod has fallen. What was once one of the largest cities in all of Russia has now been ground to dust, its people slaughtered and defiled, all at the hands of that blasted fool in power. There is little choice that we strong few have left, we must fight back. To keep the rest of our blood safe, there is nothing that I wouldn't do.

I will keep them safe. No matter the cost.

Makiri Zolgen

Excerpt from the Diary of Makiri Zolgen

---

I apologized last time for a big chapter. Not this time, you're gonna have this huge wall of text and you're gonna like it.

Once again, basically a part of my posting ritual, I edited the last chapter to make things gel a bit better. Nothing groundbreaking but hey, I think it's better.

This chapter was supposed to get out a little over a month after the last one but school started up again, so no more staring at a word document for hours on end without changing a single thing all day. Now it's only most of the day.

On the real, updates will be a bit more spaced out from now own as more things start taking up my time. Don't think I'll ever commit to a schedule, so don't quote me on this, but I'd say expect a chapter once every 1 1/2 to 2 months.

Really haven't had much happen in my life, babysat my sister's dog for a few days, had a few family birthdays to celebrate, and that's really about it.

Have not touched FGO at all, other than logging in for daily rewards. I kinda did this weird thing where if I was playing FGO, I would think, "Man, writing that chapter is way more productive" and then vice versa so my Gilfest was sad and uneventful. Didn't have the team comps for it anyway but I admit, not my smartest play.

I'm thinking that chapters from now on will be at this length, I feel like its a great amount of space for the story I'm trying to tell. The 20,000-30,000 word range is my sweet spot.

Oh yeah, I'm about to do that whole step-by-step analysis of the chapter I've been doing and please let me know if you guys actually like reading it. I like doing it but if no one reads it, it's just bloating my word count.

Without further ado, let's get to it.

Once again, Ayako is rapidly becoming a favorite of mine to write, it's just so much fun having her play off an asshole like Shinji. Well, to her, Shinji is decidedly less of an asshole. She's one of the few normal characters in Fate and that makes her abnormal so things like crushes and worrying about college are what she is most concerned about. In direct opposition to Shirou and his hero complex and Shinji and his desire for the grail. And of course, everyone else's laundry list of issues and motivations.

On the topic of crushes, damn near everyone that is female in Fate/Stay Night had a crush on Shirou and Ayako is no exception. If you watch the first Heaven's Feel movie, right at the beginning, Shirou is shooting in front of his club and both Shinji and Ayako are watching. Shinji is edgy/jealous and Ayako blushes, watching the ginger's every move. You do the math.

* Do keep in mind that some of the things that other characters say about Shinji and his circumstances are not exactly true, a good bit of their information is either assumed or a half-truth from the boy. Like with Ayako, think about the people Shinji has lost and his hardships, no one other than Shinji and Zouken (for the most part) know the real truth. Byakuya didn't (as in the cause of his death) lose his battle with alcohol, Kariya didn't (at least not before dying from the strain of his servant) die in the Fuyuki Fire, things like that.

Also, expect little references throughout chapters like the one with Minori being Ayako's pretend boyfriend, ones from Hollow/Ataraxia are my favorite.

** There is a thing in Japan where graduating male students will give the second button of their blazer (second down, the one closest to the heart) to girls that they like. It's not at all mentioned in Fate/Stay Night but Shirou and Sakura have a cute interaction in Hollow Ataraxia regarding it. It's not too terribly important to know about but I imagine that a reader with no clue about this would be confused why Ayako would be embarrassed at the thought of Shirou giving her one.

It makes the most sense for me that Kirei would tell Rin at least a little bit of what is going on, such as exactly what servants were summoned so far. Probably nothing more but at least that much. And please, don't get too up in arms about Rin saying that she has to research a bunch of things Shinji says, when it comes down to it the two are very similar in intelligence. The only reason my Shinji has the edge is due to the Matou library being 500 years old at the least, the Tohsaka, while not stating clearly how old the family is in any source material, has really only been around and important for 200 years. Shinji has access to over 300 years more knowledge than Rin and that's why he's more knowledgeable about things. Shinji is all information and no real practical use as a magus while Rin is like 2/3 of that information and an extraordinary amount of it that she can use as a magus. To make up for the fact that he can't apply much if any of the knowledge from the Matou library, Shinji made himself as educated on as many things as possible since it was the only thing he could do.

*** Also, other than Nagato and maybe Ayaka, no other Tohsaka knew that the Holy Grail War was actually just a ritual for the Third Magic. Tokiomi knew that you could reach the Root through obtaining the grail but did not know that was the entire purpose for the war itself and it stated that Rin had no clue the grail could be used like that since her father died before he could tell her. That's why Rin didn't exactly recognize the term, Heaven's Feel.

I tried my hand at humor with the Issei and Shinji segment. I personally liked it, being able to play with both Shinji and Rin's image in school and Issei's Isseiness. And plus Issei is also a fun character to write.

I added a bit more depth to the first-year girl that asks Shinji about Rin and his relationship and I'll admit the girl's initial inclusion was just to serve as a way for Shinji to make a dig at Rin and to be forgotten right after. Upon another read, I felt that, like Shinji, there was opportunity in her question and in her existence. So now she's a way of showing that Shinji is still very similar to his canon counterpart, being pretty popular and desirable to the other students. I hoped you liked her as much as I did, writing her dialogue and reactions was so much fun.

I really doubt anyone will comment on it but yes, I realize that the term "thirsty" wasn't used as a substitute for horny until around the mid 2010s but who cares. I certainly don't, this is fanfiction after all.

I also wanted to showcase how both Ayako and Issei are people that are close to Shinji, whether he realized it or not. I have a lot more planned for the three of them so stay tuned, there'll be more cute moments like this.

The Ryuudou temple segment, this was a doozy. I love it a lot, every single character is fun to give a voice to but I had trouble with it. Having a bunch of characters interacting with each other is cool but it's a bitch to get them all to flow smoothly. I imagine that it'll get easier the more I do it but yeesh, shit was hard.

NOW INTRODUCING MY FAVORITE CHARACTER INTERACTION! Holy shit, writing Caster and Shinji is some of the most fun I've had writing so far! I think it was believable for the two to almost instantly have disdain for each other and so having the two constantly throw barbs and be passive-aggressive seemed to fit perfectly.

It always confused me how Illya finds the threesome trio in the Fate route. Either she can instantly see them no matter where they are in the Einzbern forest's bounded field and was just dicking around while Shirou got laid or she just got lucky. This is my own explanation, sex makes magical firework that other magus can see.

Also, Kuzuki and Caster allow me to write probably the most interesting relationship dynamic in Fate/Stay Night. I'll admit I've been watching Carnival Phantasm for inspiration and I think it's working.

With Shinji and Sakura, sorry if you liked their almost sibling relationship, training wheels are off. The two had a bad relationship in canon that got worse with the war and as such, the same is the case here. For anyone waiting for the good old prideful asshole Shinji, you're gonna get him at his best. Or worst, whichever way you see it. He's not a piece of work to everyone like canon Shinji, he has his reasons and all of them make sense, at least to him.

For any that are doing a reread, I removed Sakura crying. It's not that it felt out of character exactly but after having going over the VN again and Chapter 3 of this fic, where I had Sakura react to the death of her mother, it just didn't fit. Sakura is a character that buries emotions to the point that it almost overwhelms her completely, her crying here just doesn't make much sense. She hasn't been pushed nearly far enough for that to happen yet.

And the last segment, not much to say other than a tiny bit more Shinji development. I know nothing of Executioners and True Ancestors, what are you talking about.

Now on to the reviews!

TodayParade, RayDjok, BlueCore, viftech,tarrasque698, Langas, DutDutDut, and gamechanger . exe: Thank you kindly for all the support. Knowing that you guys are loving what I'm doing makes me want to improve in every facet of my writing. Thank you for the reviews!

Mokkel and FakerHero: Honestly, when it comes to why Shinji was angry at Shirou, it doesn't matter in his eyes. For someone like Shinji (at least my version), family is everything to him. For someone to not acknowledge their sibling is a great sin, no matter the reason. In this case, Shinji knows that Shirou is ignorant to his connection with Illya so he hates Kiritsugu for keeping it from him and since he's dead, all the hate goes to Shirou. In Shinji's eyes, Shirou isn't blameless either but that his own irrational anger speaking. Keep in mind that Shinji has already witnessed how Rin and Sakura act in front of him for years, seeing another case of sibling abandonment would more than piss him off.

GreenEyesOrigamiDragon: Yeah, I'll admit that I also thought that the chapter's flow was a bit wonky after that point. I tried to make this one a more "whole" feeling chapter so I hope you like it.

Sidenote, if you guys are hungry for even more Shinji, look no further than GreenEyesOrigamiDragon and his fic, Shinji's Paradox. It's already great and I can tell it's gonna get better.

D . N . Works: Yeah, Shinji's being a little shit but he has reason to. He cares more about how Kiritsugu considered his actions as a means to an end, a necessary evil, even though the idea itself was selfish. Shinji already has seen the outcome of the desire of a world without evil in Zouken, knowing that and the fact that Kiritsugu and Shirou wished for it as well, more than pissed him off.

Oh yeah, there were two reviews that asked why Zouken killed Shinji's mom, Mizuki, instead of just keeping her around until she and Byakuya had a suitable child to be the heir. There are multiple reasons for why he got rid of her, the simplest reason probably being the canon reason (at least after adding Fate/Zero and Hollow Ataraxia into the mix), her sorcery trait didn't work as intended with Shinji. Zouken picked her to be Byakuya's wife for that reason alone and her not birthing a child capable of using magecraft was a sign that she was useless. There are more things at play as well but nothing I'm willing to reveal just yet, just know that Mizuki's identity is one of the reasons.

Well, that was everything for this chapter. The next one will be Day 1 of the Holy Grail War.

Congratz, we've left the introduction. It's gon' be fun.

Drop a review, positive or negative, they are appreciated no matter what.

Gonna play through every Type-Moon VN again and make copious notes so that I can do this next part justice.

Probably not going to get another update out this month, so happy early Halloween!

DSDAD out