Luvia blinked, her expression carefully blank. The words that Shirou had just spoken to her bouncing around in her mind for a moment before finally finding a place to settle and allowing her to fully register the meaning behind them.
"You… Wish to join me on a contract Sherou?" She spoke slowly while reaching down to grab a cup of tea.
The both of them, plus Gray who was sitting next to Shirou, were sitting at a very fancy dining room table inside Luvia's dormitory. Besides him, Gray constantly went from prim and proper to shy and antsy. Switching to the former whenever her mind seemed to be on something else before something brought her mind back to what was currently happening, and she switched to the latter.
While both Shirou and Luvia found her constant switching of decorum strange, both of them were polite enough, and well versed enough in Magi and their strange habits, to leave it alone.
"Only if it involves Dead Apostles somehow." Shirou answered simply, getting straight and to the point as he rested his hands on her table.
"Specifically Dead Apostles? What brought this on Sherou?" The blonde wondered, looking at her 'business associate' with curiosity.
"A commission. They want a blade made of Dead Apostle materials." Shirou answered simply, getting a squeak from Gray and a shocked look from Luvia.
"A blade made of Dead Apostles. How do they intend to even get them? Dead Apostles disappear once they're killed. They have no magic to hold them together anymore."
"They said they'd handle it and not to ask any more questions if I wanted the commission." Shirou grumbled, drumming his fingers on Luvia's table in a sharp rhythm.
"O…k?" Luvia responded with an unsure look "So this client of yours is positive they can give you the means to keep a Dead Apostle's body from disintegrating upon their death?"
"Certainly, seemed so. I'm supposed to be getting details in a couple days."
"Ok. Probably a person or item that needs to be procured from somewhere." Luvia guessed, getting a nod from Shirou.
"I thought it might have been an item, myself. Gray thinks it's a person." Shirou commented, nudging his head in the direction of Gray.
"Speaking of, not that I don't enjoy her company as the apprentice of Lord El Melloi II, but why did you bring her along to this meeting?" Luvia asked, trying to keep her questioning as respectful as possible despite her confusion.
"I am conducting an experiment with Shirou." Gray answered stoically, shifting her cloak and hood to try when she felt them slipping slightly.
"An experiment? Of what kind? Trying to get Sherou to participate in an experiment is like trying to get Lord El Melloi II to stop smoking." The Finnish Magus joked, getting the tiniest upturn of Gray's lips and a huff from the boy in question.
"I don't wish to reveal something meant to be kept a secret. But it's regarding a Mystic Code." Gray answered her diplomatically, blinking rapidly in surprise for a few moments after her words left her lips.
Though that didn't last long before her gaze subtly drifted towards Shirou's chest. Where she could sense the bright light from their first meeting. Calling out to her and denying her at the same time. Brightening, dimming, brightening, dimming. A cycle that repeated over and over again, as if it was confused.
"Of course." Luvia replied dryly before giggling "Sherou and his smithing are slowly becoming famous within the Clock Tower. Even my sister isn't able to deny it any longer."
"Oh really? Last I'd heard she tried to snap one of my blades because it came from an 'easterner' and thus wasn't worthy of her." Shirou commented with an annoyed look.
"I don't know why you're looking like that, Sherou. I know I told you she failed to break it."
"She still tried and that's all that's needed."
"You break your blades all the time?" Gray piped in quietly getting a blank, confused look from Shirou while Luvia just calmly asked August to pour her another cup of tea.
"They aren't blades yet Gray. A real blade is one that's been through the entire forging process and comes out the other side without any major or large number of flaws. Whenever one of those 'blades' becomes flawed in the forging process, it's better to start from scratch than try to save scrap and make a mediocre blade." Shirou lectured her, leaking an aura that seemed to get more and more oppressive as he went on.
Busy as he was lecturing Gray, he never noticed her pale even further and begin to lean away from him in her chair. A bead of sweat trailing down one of her pale cheeks and a nervous smile crossing her features. As if she was trying to keep up a polite, proper decorum but was simply too nervous and anxious to do so without breaking.
"So Sherou," Luvia began, snapping him out of his impromptu swordsmithing lecture and bringing his attention back to her "You wanted to do a mission to eliminate some Dead Apostles, right?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"With myself?" She puffed her chest out whilst placing a hand on it, winking at him "Or with some Enforcers/Exorcists?"
"Personally, I don't really mind. So long as I manage to gather enough materials to create the blade, probably enough for two actually, to do some experiments on the forging techniques. Actually, I wonder how much I could grab. Making blades out of Dead Apostle materials is sure to lead to some interesting abilities or changes."
"Sherou. I don't think you having Dead Apostle materials lying around for blacksmithing is a remarkably smart idea…" Luvia awkwardly butted herself into his self-musing, getting a click of his tongue.
"Yeah, I suppose too much, and people might think I want to experiment on Dead Apostles." Shirou groaned, going back to tapping his fingers on the table in a consistent rhythm.
"And nobody wants that." Luvia giggled, taking a sip of her tea.
"No…" Gray agreed.
"I'll see what I can arrange for you Sherou. It's the least I can do after all. But you may need to make me something when you get back~" Luvia said in a teasing voice, getting a snort and a roll of his eyes.
"Yeah, once I'm done with the commission. I'll get right on it." He snarked, unaware of the deadpan look Gray gave the side of his head for such a comment.
"Excellent. Now if you don't mind me asking, and if you're allowed to disclose it of course, who is your client?"
"I have no reason not to?" Shirou answered, making Luvia realise he didn't know about Geas contracts "It's Lorelei Barthomeloi. You know her, right?"
Luvia's glass shattered in her hand as all of her Magic Circuits lit up, getting a surprised yelp out of Gray.
XXXxxxXXX
Fuyuki
Rin mumbled something to herself as she walked through the streets of Fuyuki, having just finished some 'training' with Kirei. As much as she hated the man, and knew that he had been, and still was, lying to her about Gilgamesh and how the last Holy Grail War ended, he still had valuable skills to teach her.
And she would be damned if she didn't milk that scummy man for everything he did, does and will ever have or be worth. Reaching into her pocket, she slowly brought a gem out, holding it up to eye level and twisting it slightly in her grip.
"I suppose the same applies to you, huh?" She mumbled to herself, still gazing at the gemstone.
The reason for her thoughts shifting to this specific gemstone was the fact that Shirou had given it to her after acquiring it from the Edelfelt heiress. Something which grated on her nerves to no end. Normally she wouldn't have even accepted it on principle, though that wasn't accounting for the fact that it was Shirou giving it to her, but she wasn't in a situation to give it away either. And sadly, for her pride, her magus pragmatism won out in this particular instance.
Had she been older, she would have the finances and connections to get such a gem by herself, quite easily in fact. But she wasn't older. She was 12 and her finances were being managed by her legal guardian.
Aka Kirei-Fucking-Kotomine.
And because it was Kirei that was in charge of her family's finances, she was finding it harder and harder to get new gems without wasting all of her budget. In all honesty, she wasn't surprised. Kirei probably found her floundering financial situation funny. He was probably even purposefully hampering her budget specifically to make it harder and harder for her to flourish for some kind of sick, twisted kick.
Growling and clenching her fist around the gem, she slipped it back into her pocket, glaring ahead of her until she reached the front door of her manor. With an annoyed grumble, she grabbed her keys out and opened the door, stepping inside and closing the door behind her.
The motions of getting home were very familiar by now. Step into the house, close the door, put her jacket on the hanger, lock the door, slip her shoes off, go further into the house to do whatever it is she chose to do. It was such an ingrained habit that she honestly just let her mind wonder once she stepped into her house, going over what to study tonight as she walked further into her house.
Only to pause at the sight of a golden-haired man sitting on her couch. One she knew intimately from her father's accounts and from stories Shirou had told her, but had never met in person before until now. This man was Gilgamesh, and he was very clearly waiting for her, given how once she noticed him, he tilted his head up minutely and opened one eye to gaze at her. A smug yet subtly cruel smirk crawling across his lips as he did so.
"Well, well. My entertainment's little peeress finally arrives home. I left the church after you and still got here before you at a casual pace. You should feel ashamed for making your King wait."
"Gilgamesh…" Rin gulped, paling slightly as the full implications of what could go wrong began to dawn on her.
"Yes. That's my name. You forgot the title however." He answered, his voice low and dangerous.
Rin stumbled back a step and her hands shook from the sheer danger the Incarnated Servant on her own couch gave off. Without the slightest bit of mana output, nor even a weapon drawn or raised in her direction, he had her fearing for her life.
A small, extremely petty and dark part of her soul wanted to find out how he did it so that she could replicate it.
"K-King Gilgamesh?..." She tried instead, walking towards him when he made an impatient gesture for her to come closer.
"Ugh. You even sound like your Sire when trying to kiss up to people." Gilgamesh groaned, tilting his head back and rolling his eyes.
"My father….You're mocking my father?" Rin muttered, tilting her head so her hair shadowed over her eyes, clenching her fists by her side.
"Hoh?" Despite her anger, Gilgamesh continued to lackadaisically sit on her couch, both of his arms across the top of his couch and one leg crossed over the other.
"How could you mock my father after allowing him to die!?" She exclaimed, glaring at him.
Now normally she would have gotten a glare in return that would have instantly shut her down. A glare belonging to the strongest and first servant in the Throne of Heroes.
The key word, however, was 'normally'. As in this instance, Gilgamesh only began to laugh. Quite heartily at that. The King laughing so hard and so loud he ended up clutching his stomach and bending over on the couch.
"W-What's so funny?!"
"Hah! Of course, I'm mocking him! Such a boring man. Acting as if he was above everyone else despite the things he did and the things he couldn't do."
"My father wasn't-"
"How's your sister again?" Gilgamesh asked cruelly, smiling wider as Rin's mouth clicked shut audibly "She's also a confidant of my entertainment, is she not?"
Rin said nothing, now actively glaring at Gilgamesh, a glare that he met with a cocky smile and a smug gleam in his eyes as he went back to lounging across her couch.
"Why are you here? Muramasa-kun's told me about what you think of regular people." She admitted, getting a soft chuckle from him.
"Oh, and knowing him, he's not wrong either. People are boring. In this modern age they go about their days without change or excitement. Over and over again like mindless cattle. There's none of that spark that those of my glorious kingdom held. That I fought so hard for." He began to rant in an extremely arrogant tone, placing a hand on his chest.
"R-Right…" She looked at him warily, as if expecting him to try and kill her at any possible moment.
Which, being honest, he could do if the whim struck him.
"But of course. Even in such a dull age, those that stand above the rest can still be found."
"Muramasa-kun." Rin guessed with an uneasy expression, her fists tightening in her lap.
"Exactly. My entertainment! My last bastion that you mongrels of this age have any use left. But of course, if left entirely to his own devices I'd run out of entertainment eventually. His novelty, his strength, would run its course and fade. Likely by the time he reached his physical prime." Gilgamesh sighed, talking about Shirou as if he was some toy to play with, or play to watch.
Rin gritted her teeth and had to consciously stop herself from grinding them together as she felt her gaze on the golden king morphing into a fierce glare. Her fists tightening to the point her knuckles went bone white and her fingernails began to almost painfully dig into the skin of her palm.
"Ah. There it is. My entertainment is such an easy switch for your emotions. If you didn't seem so aggravatingly similar to someone I'd met before, I might take you as my court jester!" Gilgamesh exclaimed, having gone from annoyed when mentioning her similarity to joyously mocking.
"C-Court Jester!?" She could feel the heat rising to her face, only getting worse as Gilgamesh grinned cruelly at her, basically begging her to lash out at him.
"That's right. But unfortunately, you're not comedic enough to get around those similarities." He waved her off "Now since you're so easily distracted. It seems like it's my job to keep the conversation on topic. It seems like even social skills have diminished in this Age."
Rin could feel her eye twitch at Gilgamesh's backhanded insult, knowing that he was the only reason they were off topic in the first place. If it weren't for the minute glance he took in her direction when her hand twitched, she would have been reaching for one of the many gems on her person right now. But unfortunately, he did, so she chose not to.
"Without any interference my Entertainment would lose that quality that makes him the usable ore in this otherwise useless age of sandstone and pebbles."
'If nothing else. His insults for humanity are top-notch. Unfortunately, I don't know if that makes it better or worse…' Rin thought to herself with a mental sweatdrop.
"Therefore. Like any good play, any good story, there needs to be plot hooks and development. If my entertainment was to be the 'main character' in this scenario. Then the antagonists and side-characters must progress to bring him even higher. To make the story even more entertaining." Rin began to gnaw on her lip, the slightest hint of blood beginning to well out of her palms and into her stockings.
"W-What does this have to do with me?" She murmured out in a quiet voice, but nonetheless one that was heard by the King, who laughed uproariously at the question.
"Hah! You still can't figure it out? Truly Tokiomi failed at every task he set out, didn't he?" Rin flinched at the mention of her father "I have come here to facilitate your development. You're close to my entertainment, more than almost any other. Therefore, if you were to grow and learn, so would he."
"Y-you're….helping me?" The flat look she got in return only stroked the flames of anger within her.
"I'm doing no such thing. You're neither strong enough nor worthy enough of my attention. Instead, I'm merely saying this. The homunculi and her husband, the ones going to conduct tests on the Greater Grail. They will find out the truth and likely notify you. Once they do, you will know your time limit. You will know when you need to grow stronger, and thus push the growth of my entertainment. But not how strong you'll need to be. Because I promise this. Not to you. Nor to my entertainment. But to the grail itself."
Gilgamesh slowly stood up, standing to his full height while staring apathetically down at Rin with shadowed crimson eyes. More and more of his aura begins to leak out into the Toshaka residence, causing Rin to begin having a harder and harder time breathing.
"I will make sure that this upcoming Grail War is the greatest of all those that came before it. One filled with the brightest lights of both humanity and heroic spirits alike to find out if this age as a whole truly has any worth left. Or if I should raze all but a chosen few, to begin anew."
"Y-You- W-what- W-WHY!?"
"Make sure to push my entertainment to newer and greater heights, daughter of Tokiomi. Else you won't even make it to the Grail War." In a singular instant the full force of his aura expanded outwards.
Rin tried to fight it, her pride and anger not letting her keel over to this disgustingly arrogant and aggravating Servant. Yet she was but twelve years old, and nowhere near strong enough, and so within barely two seconds her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she collapsed bonelessly. Her limp body rolling off the couch and impacting the floor with a hard thump.
XXXxxxXXX
Three hours later, Greater Grail Cavern
"Everything is set up." Kiritsugu called out, his voice flat and his eyes narrowed at the floating object sitting within the center of the cavern.
"You sure?" Irisviel asked, unusually serious as she kept her eyes trained on the Greater Grail.
"I triple checked. It's either now or never Iri." He responded, not wanting to force his wife to do anything but knowing that if she couldn't muster the courage to do her part of the job then they may as well pack up now.
"Now. I need to make sure that nothing has happened to it since the Fire." A frown crossed her delicate features, a dark look in her eyes.
"I'll keep a lookout on its energy readings then." He assured her, walking over to some of the Thaumaturgical field equipment that he had just finished setting up.
"Kiri…It'll be ok. Right?" Her voice was quiet, fragile.
Looking up from his equipment towards his wife, he could see just how nervous she was even without looking at her face. Shifting her weight from one foot to the other constantly, playing with the edges of her sleeves and pulling or tugging at different parts of her outfit. Looking at her face only further showed how nervous she was. Her lips pressed thinly together, and her pupils constricted as she kept switching her gaze from him, to the Greater Grail, and back.
"It will be fine, Iri. The Holy Grail War was only 5 years ago. It would have started absorbing Mana but not enough to be any real threat." He assured her, getting a shaky smile from her before she took a deep breath and spun on the ball of her foot to face the Greater Grail again.
"I'm going to start the diagnostic Kiri."
"Got it. I'll be watching."
Activating her Magic Circuits, she began to chant the Aria to herself. Feeling herself slipping with each word, with each line of the Aria. More and more until finally she…dropped.
Opening her eyes, when the reading that she should have gotten didn't show up within her mind. She froze, recognizing where she was.
It wasn't the cavern where her dear husband was looking over equipment to gauge the mana readings of the Greater Grail, but rather she was back inside the grail. And while it was far from how it had been when she had last been here, it had far too much mana. More than it logically should have stored inside it. Enough to make Irisviel begin to panic and her breathing to start picking up.
"Hmmm. So, the trickster returns to her true place at last?" The deep, dark voice reverberated around her.
And despite the surge of worry that filled her system, it also gave her something to focus on. Something to force her mind on to help her ignore the panic.
"A-Avenger. What is this?" She asked, feeling a coagulating mass of mana behind her and turning around slowly, gulping and clenching her fists.
"So, you do remember me?" The almost perfect mirror image of Irisviel smiled cruelly while leaning forward.
"After what you put both me and Kiri through…" She let the statement hang, they both knew what Avenger had done, there was no reason for Irisviel to state it.
"Some of the most fun I've had in decades~" The twisted form of Irisviel giggled, laughing into her hand.
Irisviel didn't bother listening to the alternate form, looking around the black, inky void surrounding the two of them. Finally noticing that her attire was not what she had been wearing within the real world. Rather it seemed like a simple white dress with golden embroidery around where her legs came out the bottom, where her arms came out, and around the neckline. A look that seemed to be mirrored on Avenger, but with Black and Red instead of White and Gold.
"Grrrrr." The growling of the yellow eyed Irisviel gained the original's attention "I thought it would take longer for you to notice that dress. With how much your head is in the clouds and all."
"Head in the clouds?..." Irisviel narrowed her eyes at her twisted doppelganger, remembering, vaguely, how cruel and twisting Avenger could be with words.
"That's right. Like truly believing that a sacrificial Homunculi could be a good parent!" The white-haired woman flinched and took a step back, getting a crazed grin from Avenger.
"H-How do you-"
"Know about that? Oh, little Iri. After you tricked me, I made sure to keep an eye on you. So, I know who to target~"
"Do not touch them!" Irisviel hissed, taking a step forward and swinging her arm in anger.
It was brief, almost instantaneous, and Irisviel would have missed it, had it happened with anyone else. Except it wasn't anyone else. It was her greatest enemy, her greatest fear in the entire world. When she had swung her arm while stepping forward, her crazed doppelganger tensed up and a hint of weariness entered her eyes while staring directly at the dress on Irisviel's form.
Slowly, an idea began to form in her mind. A crazy idea, sure, but one that based on her limited knowledge as a Justeaze model Homunculi was beginning to make more and more sense…sort of.
"I'm wearing the Dress of Heaven…" She mumbled, seeing the minute flinch of her yellow-eyed form.
"What you wear is a pale imitation of the true thing. You're so pathetic you couldn't even handle it~"
"….Then that must mean you're wearing a cursed or altered version? Yet neither of ours matches the real dress." Irisviel mumbled to herself, ignoring the mocking words of Avenger.
"Did you not hear my words from before? It's because you can't handle it. Honestly, you're so sad it's amusing. A failure of a lesser grail, a failure of a Magus, a failure of a wife, a failure of a Moth-"
"Shut up!" She snapped, losing her temper in an instant, something which made Avenger grin maniacally once again "If I'm so pathetic then why are you missing so much of your own dress huh?"
Was it a juvenile retort? Very possibly. Yet it served its purpose of getting under the smug cover that Avenger put up, making both women wear almost identical scowls as they stared each other down.
With a deep sigh, Irisviel proper shook her head and focused back on the task she was originally trying to do. Trying to sense around her for the mana held within the Greater Grail, since she was currently within the Grail itself. As her senses spread, more and more worry began to seep into her every pore. This was more mana than it should have been able to save up in in a mere five years, even counting in the odd ending to the latest Holy Grail War. The amount of mana held within the Greater Grail was closer to 55 years as opposed to the 5 it had actually been!
A small part of her mind also noted the 3 invisible lines of mana leading out of Avengers back and stretching into the endless abyss of the Greater Grail, but quickly shelved that information for later.
"W-what is this!? What did you do?" Irisviel asked, demanding an answer as she whirled on her giggling opposite.
"Me?~ I did nothing little Homunculi~ It was all that husband of yours."
"Kiri? He wouldn't mess around with the Greater Grail. Try again." She scowled, her fingers flexing open and closed, wishing she could use her alchemy in this place.
"I don't blame you for not realizing. You're a one-track mind. A moron most people would say~" Avenger mocked her, beginning to walk around Irisviel with long, playful steps.
"How did you accumulate this much Mana in so little time?" Irisviel snapped, getting a glare from Avenger for a moment before it melted into an easy smile.
"I don't know what you mean little Homunculi. I've accumulated five years' worth of Mana."
"What a blatant lie."
"Ahhhh, but it's not. A wish was never made, was it? Sure some of my Mana went towards Incarnating that golden King and you as well-" Avenger glared and scowled at Irisviel, getting the briefest moment of a smug grin from the woman "But there was only one other drain to my Mana stores that night…"
"The fire!"
"Aaaaand she finally realizes. Well, done little Homunculi, would you like a participation trophy? You took a little too long to get a medal."
Irisviel said nothing despite her downright lethal glare at Avenger, who only gazed back with gleeful yellow eyes. As if the black dress wearing woman was just begging her to try and attack. Instead, Irisviel began to think over everything she had just been told.
"I'm leaving." She announced simply, glaring at Avenger, daring her to try and stop Irisviel.
"Oh?~ Whatever for? I thought we were having a downright dreadful conversation~"
"You're too dangerous to indulge. Kiri and I had a contingency for the next Grail War. But if you've got this much saved up. A new plan has to be made." She spoke, eyes melting into blankness and tone even as she stared impassively at Avenger.
Turning her back to the other woman, Iri began to walk. Thinking of how she could leave this horrid mindscape and finding herself walking up a glowing staircase before she even realized it was there.
Had she turned around, she would have seen the ever so slight bout of sheer panic that covered Avengers features before they forcibly smoothed their features out.
"You wish to disassemble the Greater Grail? With this much Mana? Be my guest~" She tried not to act 'out of character' as she taunted the white-dress wearing woman.
She needed this to work with every fiber of her being. If she faltered for even a moment against this woman in particular, she'd know that there was something up with Avenger. And if she couldn't trick Irisviel somehow, she lost everything.
Pausing in her ascent up the glowing staircase, Irisviel turned just enough to look at Avenger without fully facing her.
"You don't sound very worried? Not afraid of death, Avenger?" She asked, channeling her best 'Kiritsugu impression'.
"Not in the slightest~ Because if you just think that all of this Mana will dissipate harmlessly, by all means go ahead. But if I can create the 'Fuyuki Fire' with less than a sixth of my total stores. What could I do with five times that amount?" Avenger's smile spread wider than a human body should allow a smile to spread, and her eyes seemed to glow a pale yellow.
"The damage that would cause…. Do you not care how many people you'd kill!?"
"The more the better~"
Irisviel tightened her fists so much that blood began to leak from both of her palms, the woman turning back and ascending the staircase with a speed and poise that betrayed how childish she usually was.
Feeling Irisviel's presence leave the Greater Grail, Avenger breathed a sigh of relief before grinning maniacally and starting to cackle madly. Knowing that now they had another chance to burn this pathetic world to a lifeless husk.
XXXxxxXXX
Real-World
Kiritsugu snapped his gaze up from the monitor to his wife as she gasped heavily and stumbled away from the Greater Grail, nearly falling over if he hadn't run over to catch her.
"Iri?"
"Kiri? Kiri! It's not good. Not in the slightest! We can't even stop it from happening and-"
"Iri." The woman looked up as Kiritsugu gripped her shoulders and squeezed slightly to help both comfort and ground her in reality "Speak concisely, what's happened? What are you talking about?"
"T-The Greater Grail. It's got more Mana than it should have."
"How much more?" He asked suspiciously, his gaze narrowing and his jaw clenching as Irisviel only seemed to get ever so slightly more panicked.
"Fifty-five years' worth of Mana instead of five." Kiri's own eyes widened in shock and horror as he realized just what that meant.
The next Holy Grail War wouldn't be in Fifty-five years like they'd been expecting. It would be in five. This threw so many things out of whack that it wasn't even amusing if you looked at it in the right way. This was a straight up code black situation.
"We need to dismantle it then." Irisviel was worried that would be where his mind immediately went.
She couldn't blame him of course; her own mind had done the same. But knowing what she now knew, she couldn't let him make that mistake. Not after how he'd been after the fire.
"No!" He actually looked alarmed at this, doing a double take and leaning back "Kiri. Kiri you don't get it. If we try to dismantle it with that much mana in there-!...It'll make the Fuyuki Fire look like a campfire." She admitted weakly, feeling his grip get tighter, but not painfully so.
"Even worse?" He asked in alarm, and she slowly nodded.
"The Fuyuki Fire was only a sixth of the Greater Grails total reserves…"
"That's…" He began, his hands limply falling away from her arms as he sat down on the ground next to her "We can't let that happen." He said resolutely.
"I know. But how?..."
"We may need to-"
"I-I'm not participating in the war." She said before he even suggested an idea, practically able to feel his gaze on her.
"You don't want to participate?"
"After last time…I can't do it Kiri. I just can't." She admitted, her voice heavy with guilt as she hugged her knees to her chest.
"…I understand." He mumbled in understanding, wrapping one arm around her softly.
"We'll figure something out….right?"
"We will Iri. We always have."
XXXxxxXXX
Two Days Later, Clock Tower
"Sherou? Mind if I come in?" Luvia called out after knocking on his dorm room door.
After a moment the door opened, showing Shirou who smiled at the sight of her. His hair was a bit frazzled and a small soot mark on his cheek that Luvia only thought made him look cuter.
Nevermind the thought that he was cute in the first place.
"Hey Luvia. Come on in. I was just testing out a small fire spell." He stepped aside while gesturing for her to come inside his dorm room.
Thanks to his connections as both Shirou Emiya and Shirou Muramasa, the pre-teen was able to get a nicer dorm than the average Magus at the Clock Tower. But still less than a dorm that someone like Luvia herself had.
'Though. If the family that his lineage comes from were to become public knowledge….' She thought shrewdly, smiling innocently at Shirou when he gave her an odd look at the gleam that momentarily passed through her eyes.
"So, what brings you here? Usually, I go to your dorm, or we just meet in class?" Shirou asked casually, grabbing a towel and wetting it slightly to rub the soot off his cheek.
"It's about the request you requisitioned of me a few days back." She began diplomatically, trying to stifle her giggle at the look he gave her.
"You know I can't talk politics Luvia…" He moaned as he walked over and sat on a stool.
"I believe you just don't credit yourself enough Sherou. When it comes to your swords you can play the game quite well." She both teased and praised him at the same time.
"I'm not about to be scammed out of a proper sword by some Magus that threw a bunch of big words at me to try and confuse me." He grumbled, having had a few orders where the client had tried that.
As much as he hated diplomatic speech, breaking down those idiots' offers into something that the average person could understand and calling out how unfair the recompense was, was therapeutic in its own way. Along with the fact that Luvia, in a very vexing personal mission apparently, had taken it upon herself to randomly slip into diplomatic speech in the middle of a conversation and expect Shirou to keep up.
Unknown to Shirou, this was just the beginning once everyone back at Fuyuki heard about this.
"While that may be true. It shows that you do understand it quite well." She pointed out with a satisfied smile.
"Yeah, I guess so…"
"Regardless. I managed to find a contract that you could join in. But it's rather…difficult? For someone who's never gone out on a mercenary contract before. Along with having next to no time to properly prepare for such a thing."
"What is it and when?" He asked curiously, leaning forward slightly on his stool.
"It's a Dead Apostle extermination. Like you were looking for. But one on a slightly larger scale than your average extermination contract. In all honesty Sherou, I suggest you don't take this one. I've had experience taking mercenary contracts before and even I wouldn't take this one."
"That bad huh?" He mused while leaning back, resting his elbow on his workbench.
"One of the members taking the mission is Bazett Fraga McRemitz." Luvia stressed, trying to impart on him the dangers this mission could hold.
"Who are they?" He asked cluelessly, getting a sigh from Luvia.
"Bazett Fraga McRemitz is a Clock Tower Enforcer. One of the best in fact. Anything she's on isn't something a first-time contract taker should also be on."
Shirou whistled at her explanation, his mind beginning to conjure up an image of what this 'Bazett' could look like. Despite how little description he had been given regarding her.
"What makes her so dangerous?" He asked curiously, his mind running through weapons of all shapes and sizes.
"Her Hand-to-Hand combat is remarkable, and her mind is razor sharp according to rumors." Luvia hummed, shifting slightly on the seat that she had claimed as hers. "But in my personal opinion I'd say it's her experience. She gets sent on incredibly dangerous missions and given equally dangerous contracts because she has an ace strong enough to get her out of them in one piece."
"An Ace?" He perked up slightly.
And seemingly having forgotten who she was talking to, Luvia hummed and nodded, raising a finger as she kept talking.
"That's right. A genuine Noble Phantasm tied to her family line by a genetic 'sickness'." The sound of two hands slamming down on the table beside her made her snap her eyes open and yelp when his face was held right in front of hers.
"I'm taking this contract. When do I have to be ready by?"
"S-Sherou its very dang-"
"I'll do any one thing you want me to." Luvia felt her heart thump loudly and a red blush come to her face at just how seriously he said it while his face was so close to hers.
Of course, being twelve, her thought process was still incredibly innocent. Had this exchange happened in another five or so years, Luvia might have just passed out from a nosebleed.
"O-Ok! But you need to sign a Geas, Sherou. To show you mean that." He just nodded instantly.
"Ok. What's a Geas?"
"You'll see in a moment Sherou. I'll write it up as quickly as possible since you'll need to meet the Enforcers at the West Lobby at 10am tomorrow."
"Got it. After I sign this Geas thing I'll make sure to tell everyone I'm going." Shirou leaned back away from Luvia, getting a slightly sad pout from her before she focused on making the Geas and not on doing something potentially embarrassing.
XXXxxxXXX
An Hour later, Department of Policies
Lorelei Barthomeloi looked up from the papers she was signing with a somewhat cold yet also inquisitive gaze. Wondering who exactly was knocking on her office at 8:42pm, and who was even brave enough to come to her office.
"Enter." She spoke, watching the door click open quietly on perfectly oiled hinges.
The answer to both of her earlier questions seemed to be the Muramasa heir. Someone who she was working on trying to bring over to the Aristocratic faction whenever she had a free moment. Also, someone she had paid for a commission for only three days ago.
"It's been three days and I know for a fact you haven't made my blade. Have you come to cancel my commission?" She tested him with a raised eyebrow, placing her quill in its proper place and folding her fingers together elegantly.
"Not in the slightest, Miss Barthomeloi." He surprisingly denied with a shake of his head. "Just to inform you that I've joined a contract leaving the Clock Tower tomorrow morning to acquire the materials for your blade. I thought I should let you know so that you can prepare whatever you had planned to get the remains back without them turning to ash."
Lorelei hummed, her expression perfectly tailored and smoothed over. Making it look as if she didn't care what he said in the slightest, despite her interest that flared up as she realized what contract he was referring to.
"You speak of the contract being completed by a team of Clock Tower Enforcers? Meeting in the morning at 10am?"
"That's the one, Miss Barthomeloi." He answered simply, if nothing else she had to respect his confidence.
Of course, that was if it actually was confidence and not pure idiocy and arrogance. But only time would tell on that particular issue.
"Such missions are difficult for even our own Enforcers to get a position on. How did you manage such a task while still futilely hiding your pedigree?" She pondered, wondering if just maybe he actually had revealed his heritage.
It would certainly make it easier to involve other Aristocratic sub-factions in convincing the Muramasa heir. Not that she'd let him join any faction except her own of course, especially if this blade of his turned out to be of a quality worthy of the skill spoken of his ancestor.
"My investor arranged it for me." He answered, an answer both cryptic and telling at the same time.
'The Edelfelt are willing to help him out to such an extent? Clearly their interest in him goes beyond just simple charity or minor gains. Are they aware of something regarding Muramasa that the rest of the Clock Tower is unaware of?' She thought shrewdly before pushing such thoughts to the side for the moment.
"I see. Very well, I'll make sure the preparations are prepared by then. If that's all?" She asked in a monotonous voice.
"Anything else can wait until I have the materials and when I am about to start making the blade. So have a good night, Miss Barthomeloi." He said kindly before making his way out when he saw that she obviously had nothing to say, nor was trying to stop him from leaving.
As the door closed behind him once more, Lorelei pulled out a piece of paper and an envelope, beginning to write out a letter to be sent almost as soon as she had finished writing it.
As she wrote, however, a part of her mind wondered just what the Edelfelt could know about Shirou Muramasa that the rest of the Clock Tower, and most importantly she, didn't. An enigma that would take up her mental faculties more than once and with a ferocity a tad bit stronger than a passing wonder.
XXXxxxXXX
Omake: Greater Grail testing: Worst case scenario
"I'm going to start the diagnostic Kiri."
"Got it. I'll be watching."
Irisviel took a deep breath, activated her Magic Circuits, and dove away from he Greater Grail as a section of the cavern roof caved in. The sound of metal clinking and striking stone being heard before a figure jumped out of the dust.
Sliding to a stop grey eyes stared at Irisviel and Kiritsugu as they tensed up, both of them preparing to fight at seeing the bow and arrow that the figure had drawn and aimed at Irisviel.
"Who…Are you?" Irisviel asked, narrowing her eyes as the mans grey eyes widened.
"Where did you come from?" Kiritsugu raised his Calico at the man, dressed in surprisingly modern combat gear to have a bow and arrow.
The man's expression smoothed out even as he lowered the bow and arrow. Both adults unable to get a read of him as he silently stared at the both of them.
'This man. He's trouble. I can't get a single read of him.' Kiritsugu thought, adjusting his grip on his gun.
'He could be thinking anything right now. Who even is this guy?' Irisviel mentally muttered, still looking at him bewildered.
'-CKING GREAT! MY ADOPTED FATHER AND HIS DEAD FUCKING WIFE AND BOTH OF THEM ARE STILL ALIVE IN 1999!? WHAT THE FUCK ALAYA!? YOU EXPECT ME TO JUST TAKE THIS LYING DOWN! TO JUST FIRE AT THE SIGHT OF THEM OR SOMETHING!? FUCK THEY'RE STILL LOOKING. THEY'RE EXPECTING SOMETHING. THINK EMIYA. THINK. WHAT CAN I SAY TO MAKE SURE THIS DOESN'T TURN INTO A FIGHT? SOMETHING, ANYTHING!'
In a flash of blue motes of prana, a badge and badge case were formed in the hand that was previously holding the arrow. The man stoically staring at both Irisviel and Kiritsugu as they held the badge case up and flipped it open.
"Agent EMIYA, Counter Guardian Division."
"Counter…."
"Guardian?" Irisviel finished off her husband's stupefied statement with a stupefied question of her own.
Meanwhile the man just stared the both of them down, fully serious in both tone and body language.
'What…..What the fuck just came out of my mouth?' Mentally however…
It was just best to say that the mental image of Heroic Spirit EMIYA was far more emotional than his physical counterpart and leave it at that.
XXXxxxXXX
AND HERE WE ARE. The end of chapter 9 and the end of this crazy month of updates.
So! How'd you enjoy the chapter? Once again, a bit more set up for both this arc and arc's to come but we get some proper action next chapter. Shirou vs some Dead Apostles. Also Shirou meeting Bazette. I'm sure that'll go well. Because everyone knows that things in the Nasuverse always turn out going well.
God I can already picture the comments about the Irisviel and Avenger scene XD This will either be really good, or a complete fucking shitshow. But I'll prepare a blastshield and some popcorn either way.
Also Gilgamesh is making a move. Sorta. -ish. Slightly. He's making others make moves for him? Yeah, yeah that sounds better. Once again, I can only imagine that, that'll go well.
Sooooo, it's my birthday today! I'm pretty excited, because not only does it mean that we're going out to a nice restaurant for dinner. But also that I'm giving myself a small present after all of the work I've been doing.
I'm not updating during the month of December. Not a single story. Not a single chapter.
This was done to give myself a break since between this story and Emerald Fang (on Ao3), I've been writing minimum 10K words per month to continue the monthly updates. And while I love that system and want to continue it. I just need a break. And what better time than good ol' X-mas?
Now in an ideal world, I'll be back to updating during January and going forward, but if that changes I'll be sure to write an Author's Note chapter letting you guys know what's going on.
REVIEW REPLIES:
Zelenin-02: I'm glad you're enjoying this version of Shirou. He's fun yet sad to write, whenever I have to remind both the readers and myself that he's still infact a very broken human being. And absolutely he'll learn a thing or two from Gilgamesh. Its inevitable. Thank you for wishing me a happy birthday.
Chainharte: Well you know the answer to number one, now don't you? XD And also number two was answered during this chapter. No, she commissioned a sword, but a future commission may end up being her gauntlet-type Mystic Code.
1740: I love her as well x3
NotSpecialDude: Does mentally traumatized and incredibly paranoid count as 'ok'? Asking for a friend.
RinboHengoku: Thank you for the compliment! And he might, but definitely not soon.
Sandmanwake: By technicality that's true. However I like to think of Ruby as an inferior copy of Gray.
AngelicWisdom: Of course she'd butter up one of her potential future daughter-in-laws. More of a chance she'd end up with Shirou xP and you'll have to find out about best snek won't you?
Razigibran: Yes, Shirou inherited more from his blood family than just his crest. And the rebuilt Muramasa manner is a very traditional style manor, similar to the Emiya estate, yes.
AAAAAND THAT'S IT FOR THE REVIEW REPLIES.
Now real quick before I go radio silent for a hot month. I'm still gonna be on my discord, so come say hi to me on there.
Discord: /ctMzhq3