Rin hummed to herself as she knocked on the door to the Emiya residence, looking forward to hopefully being able to see Shirou even if she had to wait a bit for him to wake up. As occasionally jet lag had a habit of making his first couple days back from London a horrific time of exhaustion for the boy.
Hearing a rustling inside the building, she wondered who would answer her this morning. Normally it was Liz or Sella as they were their maids, but occasionally one of the others would answer depending on if they were closer or what the maids were doing.
The door finally slid open, getting a somewhat confused but mostly amused smile from Rin as a very familiar face greeted her at the door.
'Speaking of maids…' She thought in amusement.
"Well, hello there, Sakura." She smiled, getting a pleasant smile from the girl in return, a strange glow around her.
"Hello Rin-san. Are you here to see Senpai?" She questioned, getting a small squeak from her at being seen through.
"I, Uh, well I'm just here to make sure that my assistant-"
"Senpai is having breakfast right now, please follow me." Rin pouted at Sakura's complete dismissal of her words.
Though it was unusual for her to do so, especially when Rin added in the fact that Sakura seemed a lot more…settled? sure of herself? She wasn't sure what to call it but it wasn't necessarily bad, just….weird.
"Jeez, really playing into that maid role you've been cultivating. I'm amazed that the heiress of the Matou's would do something like that." Rin teased her, also somewhat subtly prodding her to see how she'd react.
"I have been training with Liz and Sella and being an Heiress doesn't mean I can't enjoy these duties, does it?" She replied, getting Rin to puff her cheeks out.
'You enjoy being a maid? You're the strangest Family Heir I've ever seen….Next to Shirou himself.'
Rin just huffed and followed behind her ex-sister, looking around her once they got to the dining room and seeing Shirou sleepily munching on some food with his family at the table as well.
"Hello Muramasa-kun." She greeted with a cheery expression and happy wave.
With a tired smile and a small flick of his wrist as a wave, Shirou greeted her before going back to munching on his toast. A reaction which got a small, fond, snort from her and made her walk over.
"Hello Tohsaka." Kiritsugu greeted stoically, sipping a coffee and reading a newspaper.
"Hello Emiya-san." She greeted in return, kneeling down next to Shirou as he slowly shuffled over.
"Rin-chan! Hiii! Couldn't bare to be away from my baby Shirou?" Iri teased her, getting a sound more befitting a bird than a human to leave Rin's lips as she leant back.
Reaching out, seemingly on instinct, to stop her from falling on her back, Shirou placed a hand on the small of her back. Given her flustered state and the unexpected touch at the small of her back, Rin squealed and threw herself away from Shirou, basically ending up rolling along the polished wooden floors till she could regain her wits. Though when she did she came back to..
"Haahahhahahah!" Illya giggled, pounding her fist on the table and tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Illyasviel, don't be cruel." Kiritsugu admonished without looking up from his newspaper, barely blinking at the snicker that came out of his wife. "That doesn't mean you can be cruel either Iri."
"But Kiriiiii!"
"No but's or I'm downgrading to economy class." His threat very quickly got his wife to go as silent as a grave, though it didn't stop two of the four teens from perking up about the sudden inadvertent confession.
"You're going somewhere Mr and Mrs Emiya?" Rin asked seeing a similar confusion in Sakura's eyes even though neither Shirou nor Illya seemed surprised at this news.
"Greece." Kiritsugu spoke blandly, flicking the page of his newspaper.
…
…
'That's all I'm getting!?' Rin mentally screamed to herself, giving the older man a deadpan look even as Irisviel piped up.
"Mhm! Mhm! There's been an excavation in Greece that's recently started to pull up some pretty good stuff. So, we're going there." Irisviel informed them excitedly, clapping her hands together and smiling brightly.
"But…why? Neither of you seem like someone particularly interested in some relics being recovered from Greece of all places." Rin asked, giving a small acknowledging nod to Sella as she handed the Tohsaka heiress a cup of coffee.
"Weeeeeeell, normally you'd be right but-" Irisviel mumbled, looking at her husband for helping and getting a sigh from the man as he closed his newspaper and looked at the four teenagers, and now two maids as well, in front of him.
"Greece has one of the largest collections of well-known Heroes." His dark eyes burrowed into each and every single one of them, getting a small gasp from Illya.
"The Holy Grail War?" The moment the words left her mouth, a tense silence permeated the living room of the Emiya residence.
"Exactly." Irisviel answered, every bit the Einzbern heiress she hadn't been in a few years by this point. "With what we know about the Greater Grail and the unusual timing of the next Holy Grail War. We can't trust any part of it. We know for a fact that Illya will be a part of the roster of masters and the three of you are safe bets to be in the roster as well." Her red eyes travelled over Shirou, Sakura and Rin.
"Excuse me, Irisviel-san. How do you know that Illyasviel will undoubtedly be a master?" Sakura questioned; her voice quiet but nonetheless heard in the silent living room.
"Because I was meant to be a receptacle for the Minor Grail." Illya answered easily, popping a slice of orange into her mouth.
"E-Eh?" Both Sakura and Rin faltered at this revelation, though Rin much more physical in her reaction.
"They barely started the procedure on her, but it got far enough that she has a connection to the Grail." Irisviel muttered angrily, visibly bristling in the brief moment before Kiritsugu placed a calming hand on her forearm, though he wasn't without a stony look of his own.
"I see. So, we have one confirmed and three very likely participants. Why did you leave the both of you out?" Rin questioned, having switched into full 'Second Owner' mode now that she'd had time to catch up to the topic at hand.
"We both participated in the last Holy Grail War. Furthermore, the Greater Grail knows that we both have knowledge of the corruption in it and likely won't want to risk us competing after what happened to it last time." Kiritsugu answered, Irisviel sheepishly picking up where he left off.
"And…well we both have our own reasons for not wanting to participate."
"Ok. That still puts us at the majority against the other masters if none of them can be convinced of the danger the current Grail poses." Rin muttered to herself, hearing a small shuffle next to her and looking over to see Shirou looking at her intently.
"What class do you think you'd want?" Rin gaped and fumbled to speak for a moment, having not expected such a mundane question at this time.
"What- why did you suddenly ask that, Muramasa-kun?"
"Because you seemed like you were starting to spiral so I thought I'd help." He answered simply with a kind smile, his right eye closing as he did, so he missed the way that her face flushed, and she leant back from him.
"Hehe. So long as you don't choose Saber, you're good Rin-chan." Illya teased the black-haired girl, getting a haughty yet challenging look in return as the girl turned to the Semi-Homunculi.
"Oh? Are you saying that you have a claim to the sought-after Saber-class?" She probed the smaller girl, getting a giggle in return that made her challenging look fall flat into annoyance.
"Me? Noooo, that honour goes to Onii-chan." She revealed, gesturing towards him like she was presenting some kind of prize or exhibit.
"M-Muramasa-kun?" Rin whipped around to peer at her crush, seeming him looking at Illya with a flat look.
"I'd rather avoid the whole hassle of the Grail War if I'm honest. But there's more than one force trying to rope me in and if I don't summon a servant, I don't think that'll stop them. Also, I already have a catalyst." He huffed, seeming more mildly aggravated than anything else at the idea of having to join such a powerful ritual event.
"Alread- You already have a catalyst!?" Rin shouted, pressing her palms firmly on the table and leaning towards him.
"It was Papa's old catalyst from the 4th war." Illya chirped, getting a grumble from Rin as she resumed her proper kneeling position.
"Long story short. We're heading to Greece." Kiritsugu finally wrapped up, finishing off the last of his coffee at the same time.
"Well, if you're going to be in the general vicinity, somewhat, could I get the aid of both of you if possible?" Rin asked the two adults of the Emiya clan, getting a bewildered look from Iri and a curious one from Kiri.
"Depends on what it i-"
"Absolutely! What do you want Rin-chan?" Irisviel asked, cutting off her husband exuberantly and getting a tired sigh from him.
"I've had some Gem suppliers from Syria suddenly stop supplying and I was hoping the both of you would be able to check it out? See what's happened and why they so suddenly stopped business without warning."
"Syria?... Yeah, we can totally do that! Can't we Kiri?" She turned to her husband, seeing him pensively mulling it over.
"It'll have to be a rush job getting accommodations, information and preparation but it can be done." He nodded stoically, getting simultaneous dry looks from everyone in the living room, sans Shirou.
"I wasn't asking you to assassinate them, Emiya-san." Rin muttered, head sinking.
"I'm aware. Assassinations take much different work than recovering financial and business documents."
"…How many times have you done both?"
"You don't need to know that. Iri we need to double check our bags and get ready to leave."
"Oh right! We'll be back in a moment to say goodbye kids!" She smiled and hopped to her feet, heading into their room alongside Kiritsugu.
"Your father worries me Muramasa-kun." Rin deadpanned.
"I admire his dedication and experience." Sakura countered with a pleasant aura and smile.
"Your maid worries me Muramasa-kun."
"HAH!" Illya tipped back and hit the ground, giggles escaping her desperately clasped lips.
XXXxxxXXX
Five Minutes later, Fuyuki Roads
"So, what do you think we're going to find in Greece, Kiri?" Irisviel asked, looking out the window of the car as they drove down the streets.
"I'm not sure, from what little I've heard about the excavation there's going to be potential artifacts from some fairly old Heroic Spirits. Like Medea or Atalanta." He spoke, speeding up a little as the speed limit changed.
"Or Heracles." Kiritsugu's foot slammed on the brake.
By the time that the forces of the sudden acceleration died down enough for Kiritsugu to turn his head towards the voice in the back seat, Irisviel's metal wires had already been torn to shreds and the pistol he had hidden under the driver's seat was spinning around the finger of the arrogantly smirking man in the back seat.
"Miss me, Mongrels?"
"GILGAMESH!?" Irisviel screamed, her skin lighting up with Prana as she prepared to attack once more, internals of the car be damned.
"In the flesh. Now cease your screaming and you, Saber's Master, continue driving." The gun twirling around his finger was dropped to the floor of the car.
"And why should I?" Kiritsugu asked emotionlessly, staring dead into the eyes of Gilgamesh even as they began to narrow.
"Because I ordered it. Now drive." With a grimace in his expression, Kiritsugu turned back to the road and began to drive off once again, ignoring the angry drivers behind him.
What else could he do? Anywhere they were in proximity he had them in checkmate, especially in a space as enclosed as this car. And it's not like either of them could fight off or escape Gilgamesh. It was best to continue towards the airport and hope that whatever Gilgamesh wanted, he'd receive by the time they got there.
"Why are you here?" Irisviel asked, turned around in the passenger seat so that she could look at the golden-haired man who had somehow been in/gotten into the car without either of them noticing.
"Why must a King have a reason to do something that amuses them? Your reactions were certainly entertaining enough." He smirked, rolling a hand in the air as he spoke and lying across the backseat of the car.
"You're still here." She pointed out, getting a snort from the man.
"How astute. Would you like a tablet of reward, by chance?" He snarked at her, something which got the smallest of snickers from the woman.
A snicker which, of course, prompted a full-blown death glare from the First Hero of Humanity.
"What is so funny, Homunculi?" He asked, his voice basically demanding that she answer.
"You've picked up Shirou's snark." Irisviel giggled, having to stop herself from laughing even harder as Gilgamesh seemed too visibly cool down.
Though he was still angry and very, very dangerous.
"Yes, well I'm not here for a social visit. Such a thing, with mongrels like you, is below me entirely." He grinned, waving a hand through the air without a care in the world.
"Then what brings you here?" Irisviel asked seriously, feeling the tension in the air.
"Well, there's specific events that I want to put into motion, and to do so. I have to share valuable information." There was a golden glow before Kiritsugu could see a golden, jewel encrusted chalice in Gilgamesh's hand.
"Specific events?" He questioned, moving his eyes back onto the road.
"Parroting a higher being won't make you any closer to them in stature." The First Hero 'reprimanded' the Magus Killer, getting a small twitch of his finger.
"What events were you speaking of King Gilgamesh?"
"Do not kiss up to me, Homunculi. The events I'm speaking of revolve around both the coming days and the upcoming Holy Grail War. You're surely aware of that, are you not?" Even the way he asked it was aggravating, basically inviting one of the two adults to get explode or attack him.
Sadly, for him and his selfish wishes for entertainment, both of the adults in the car with him were more than capable of keeping themselves in check. At least when they wanted to.
"We need to know something for the Holy Grail War?" There was a hard edge in Irisviel's voice, one that got an intrigued hum from the first King.
"Oh? Yes, I imagine that someone that's seen the darkness of the current Grail with such a close eye would be rather worried about the upcoming war. Wouldn't you, Homunculus?"
He didn't get an answer to his mocking question, getting a rather rude and angry scowl to form on the King's face.
"When I ask a question you answer me, Homunculus."
"Messing with the Grail isn't smart, Gilgamesh."
"Are you telling me what to do?" The car began to shake and rattle from the force of the King's aura, making both Kiritsugu and Irisviel pale and break into a light, but cold, sweat.
"Of course not. I'm merely warning you. The figure inside is evil. Pure evil."
"I'm terrified." The sarcasm was palpable, "Now silence. When you are in Greece. You'll be surrounded by hundreds of Mages. Both allied with that ridiculous Clock Tower and not." Neither of the adults said anything, both of them hyper focused on every word that left his lips.
"Go to the excavation sight they are all clambering towards. There you will find a catalyst for your daughter. Then, in Syria, across from the business is a shop. There, you will find a catalyst for the twin-tailed fancy of my Smith." Irisviel giggled at the mention of Rin being a fancy of Shirou, evidently enjoying the idea.
Meanwhile, Kiritsugu hummed as his mind swam with ideas and theories. Wondering what the catch was, why Gilgamesh was telling them this and not keeping it to himself for more entertainment as he usually would.
"Why are you telling us this? Why be so kind?"
"Kind? Do you know nothing about Mythology? Being given a quest is very rarely as cryptic as you Neophytes believe. Rather the challenge is figuring out how to complete the task despite the complications that arise during the quest. So ignorant." He sighed as if disappointed in a child, a thought that got yet another twitch of the finger from the professional assassin.
"A quest giver as renowned as you is a real honor, Gilgamesh." Irisviel smiled, getting an actually amused snort from the King.
"Finally. You are not to re-enter the country for the next 10 days." The words pressed down on both of them like an anvil on their chests.
His hands tightened on the steering wheel, something unnoticed by Kiritsugu as he visibly grew aggravated, not even bothering to try and hide it. Meanwhile Irisviel's eyes grew cold and hard, turning to level a rather impressive glare on the King of Heroes, one that didn't let up even as he gave her a light glare in response.
"What do you want with our son, Gilgamesh?" Kiritsugu questioned, voice quiet yet gravelly.
"What makes you think this has anything to do with my smith? Perhaps I have other business that I wish to do in the city. Or perhaps you simply need to remain within my old country for a certain number of days to find the necessary catalyst."
"If that's the case then why are you telling us of this?"
"To make the war interesting of course! What's the point of summoning regular old servants when the future I see within my dreams is so much more interesting!?" He exclaimed, laughing loudly and proudly as he lay on the back car seat.
"Future in your dream?" Irisviel asked sharply, ignoring the gritting of Kiritsugu's teeth.
"Servants from all over the world and history! A Servant that can be a fun challenge to me! One that your old family will be forced to find once you receive the first catalyst."
"You want us to stay away just so that you can have a fun fight?"
"Are you angry with me? Humanities' King? Are you annoyed that you cannot understand my thoughts? That you cannot understand a warrior, nor a King? Do not speak to me with such frivolous annoyance and petty misunderstanding." The bite in his voice was practically a Noble Phantasm in its own right.
"I don't believe this has nothing to do with Shirou. You have something planned for him, and you're not telling us." Kiritsugu muttered, pulling into a carpark across from the airport that they were getting on their flight from.
"Believe me or not. There's a correct choice here. And failure to comply will be punishment."
And by the time that Kiritsugu turned off the engine and turned back to face Gilgamesh, the man was gone. Never a trace of him to be found.
"Kiri… Come on. Our flight leaves in an hour. Let's go." Irisviel tugged his sleeve, getting a grunt from him as he opened his door.
XXXxxxXXX
Two Hours Later
"Ahhhh, Fuyuki city. The home of my rival." Enhance breathed in deeply through his nose, spreading his arms to the side and leaning back ever so slightly.
The Dead Apostle Ancestor in question was standing atop a tree outside the limits of the city, looking over its tall center and beautiful, sprawling suburbs from his heightened position.
"Now let's see. If I were to be a swordsmith to rival the Authority of Swords, where would I live? What would my Od signature feel like to my senses?" He muttered to himself, crouching atop his tree and bringing a hand to his chin.
Crack!
"Probably somewhere that my unparalleled skill would be noticed, even by regular people. Inner city perhaps?...Nahhhh. Not enough room for a forge." The tree began to sway dangerously. "But maybe?"
Creeeeeeee
Enhance started to lean to the left as the tip of the tree began to list to the right at an unnaturally sharp angle, brought about by the trunk of the tree doing the same. The man humming the whole time, almost as if he was unaware of the felled tree currently on the collision course with the ground.
And meet the ground it did, with an extremely loud bang and crash as branches bent and snapped and the thick wooden trunk buried itself into the dirt. A cloud of dust shot into the air from where the trunk slammed into the ground, covering the area in a thick brown smog.
"Well well. I wasn't expecting to find an Apostle within my territory. Certainly not one so easy to defeat." A figure walked up to where the tip of the tree had hit the ground, their steps light and steady, covering a matching amount of distance with each step.
Almost to the millimeter.
In a whirlwind, the dust swirled inwards before exploding out, sucking in by a vacuum left behind by the swing of Enhance's blade, a blade that missed as the figure had pre-emptively leant back. Having been outside the danger area before the sword had even begun its motion.
"Well damn, didn't think there were many of you martial art types left. What a funky place." Enhance grinned at the figure while rising to his feet, relaxing his blade across his shoulders as his hair waved in the wind created by his own swing.
"Oh? Straight to violence? What a barbarian you are. Though I suppose expecting more from an Apostle is too much." The figure responded, grinning cruelly at the shorter figure with their hands behind their back.
In response to this, Enhance narrowed his eyes and shifted his grin into something a bit darker and more vicious, clearly annoyed by the figures words.
"Yeah well, you're a few screws loose of polite yourself. Destroying my vantage point and proceeding to mock me. What kind of priest are you?" He snapped back, getting a polite, yet darkly amused, chuckle in return.
"I'm a devoted and faithful priest. And the head of the Church within this town. Of which I protect from outside threats, such as yourself."
"Hah! Yeah, I'm sure." Enhance barked with laughter, shoulders shaking. "Playing a bit above your paygrade here, father. Go run on back to your Holy land and leave me be. I'm not interested in whatever ideas of God's love you have in that head of yours." He waved a hand in the man's direction, turning to look back at the city.
Only to receive a foot to the back of the chest.
The force sent Enhance soaring forwards, slamming into a tree and coating it with blood. And then it wasn't. The Ancestor turning to look back at the once again composed Priest with an amused look and a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, so you do want to die. Good to know."
"Whatever do you mean?"
"You attacked me." Enhance deadpanned at the man with his hands behind his back.
"No. No I don't believe I did. Perhaps God smote you for your unkind words towards his faithful servant?"
"Ooooh. So that's the angle we're going with, is it?" He chuckled and twirled his sword, now facing the man with his full attention.
"Brandishing a blade? When I'm unarmed? Truly an unfair advantage."
"I'm not here for you. Only a specific person. I try not to make a habit of slaughtering humans, unlike my 'companions'. Eugh. Sounds gross just saying it."
"Ohhh?" The man's deep voice seemed to reverberate throughout the forest around them, carrying a deep amusement. "So, you aren't here to slaughter humans as you see fit for a quick meal?"
"What a flattering opinion you have, father." Enhance snorted, rolling his eyes.
"Who might you be looking for? I imagine someone of a heavier weight and larger size. More of a meal for a barbaric glutton such as yourself." Enhance's eye twitched again and his grip on his blade tightened for the briefest of moments.
"Shirou Muramasa. Guy makes blades."
"Muramasa, you say? Hmmm. I may have heard that name before. You're going after only him?"
"He's the only one I'm interested in, in this backwater place."
"Very well. His abode is somewhere within Miyama North."
"'Somewhere'? You don't even know where this guy lives?"
"Unfortunately, not. It seems as if you'll have to search for him yourself." The man paused for a brief moment, giving Enhance the slightest of smiles before turning on a dime and beginning to walk away.
"Search for him myself? What happened to protecting this city from those like me, hm?" Enhance mocked the Priest, not even getting him to look back as his responded.
"What point is there in fighting. I can't protect anyone while dead, can I? It seems as if you'll have full reign of the district. How terrible a fate." Enhance waited for more, except it never came, the priest disappearing into the tree line like a wraith.
For a moment everything was silent before Enhance began to laugh, his blade disappearing into ash and embers.
"What a fucking weird Priest. Must have been trying to keep up pretenses. Oh well. I have somewhere to start now. But how to cover so much ground…..Oh I know!"
The ancestor grinned, stepping through the tree's himself, moving in the shortest possible line to some of the houses that he'd seen before his vantage point had been toppled. He'd be needing some 'assistants' after all.
XXXxxxXXX
Emiya Estate, 9pm
Rin frowned, sitting at the Chabudai table in the Emiya Estate rather than the taller, more eastern style dining table. The girl placing a cup of tea down as she looked across the table at Sakura, the purple haired girl sitting with all the grace that she could muster. Even so, the glow and general feeling of 'pleasant' continued to cling to the Matou Heiress, and after a full day of trying to figure out why, it had finally clicked.
Much to the Tohsaka heiress' ire.
"You want to speak to me, Rin?" Sakura asked, her hands resting under the table on her knees, a position that the black-haired girl had seen Sella, and occasionally Liz, take multiple times.
"You win." Rin muttered, almost bitterly, as she clutched her cup with both hands, staring down at the surface of the drink that had yet to settle from its movement.
"Pardon?"
"I said. You. Win." Clearly having to repeat it wasn't a pleasant experience for the young Tohsaka.
"In what way? I am lost." Sakura admitted, blinking slowly as she looked at her ex-sister.
"I spent all day trying to figure out what was weird with you and Muramasa-kun." Rin looked over at the kitchen, as if to make sure that the boy in question wasn't trying to listen in. "And I finally figured it out. You. Win. Are you happy?"
Sakura was silent for a few moments as she looked between Rin and Shirou, and then back to Rin, and once more back to Shirou. Finally settling on the girl who she could see was growing increasingly agitated by her actions. Her aqua eyes narrowed into pinpricks and a vein visibly throbbing along her temple.
"Oh. I see what the issue is." She muttered, getting a twitch of Rin's left eye.
"Do you? Do you really? You aren't too busy enjoying your victory to see what it's like for others?" She growled, not realizing how her words happened to apply to her as well.
"Becoming one with Senpai was amazing." Sakura sighed, almost dreamily, her 'pleasant' aura increasing ten fold.
"I don't need to know!" Rin slammed her hands on the table, seemingly forgetting about the boy in the kitchen currently.
"And I'm sure you'll learn that one day." Sakura smiled brightly.
"E-Eh?" A flush of red scurried up Rin's complexion before cooling in an instant as she levelled a deadly glare on the purple haired Heiress.
"Are you planning on leaving him?" She hissed, the barest hints of Od travelling to the tip of her pointer finger. "You had your fun and now you're just going to throw him away? Like he's some kind of toy?"
"You know nothing." The hiss that left Sakura's lips was as assured in its lethality as the one that had left Rin's, the faintest hints of red creeping its way into her dark purple irises.
"Oh really? Enlighten me then, O' great victor." Rin snapped, her eyes flicking over to Shirou for the briefest of moments and seeing that he was still fully immersed into his cooking.
"You're under the assumption that I'll be the only one that Senpai takes. I don't believe that to be the case. Senpai is far too great for me alone to be able to handle." She answered, the red in her eyes disappearing as if they'd never been there and a soft fondness coating her features in a way that made Sakura feel better than she had almost ever felt before.
"So, you're fine with him taking multiple…partners?" Rin muttered, a furrow in her brow and a hesitancy to her speaking that Sakura couldn't quite understand.
"Potentially multiple wives, absolutely." She nodded assuredly, a smile on her lips.
"So, you just want to be the head, right? The one in charge of all the other partners?" Rin gauged, taking another sip of her tea.
It was the only way that she could justify Sakura's opinion on Shirou having multiple partner's, especially given the purple haired girls devotion to him. Usually in the world of Magi such a devotion would lead to the single-minded focus on keeping them to oneself. So, she needed to know what Sakura's angle was, because at this rate she was going to drive herself insane trying to figure it out.
Sakura only giggled quietly and shook her head, the action seeming so much more natural and fuller of life compared to when Rin had seen her do it in the past.
"Do I want to be in charge? Hmmmmm. No. I do not think so. I'm a little too good at being a helping hand by this stage to be in charge of much of anything. But I'll cheer everyone on and help them however I can. So that you all, and Senpai, can be as happy as possible."
"That's- You're completely discrediting your own happiness. How can you be ok with something like that?" Rin snapped, clutching the cup in her hand with a tighter grip.
Was…Was Rin getting angry for Sakura? Wow today really was a weird day for the Matou Heiress. But a good weird. A weird she'd like to see and have around again.
"I'm not discrediting my own happiness, Rin. Making sure that Senpai is happy makes me happy. And just being with him already makes me happy and fuzzy inside, like a puppy rolling around inside my stomach."
'Disturbing imagery aside, and Sakura's complete nonchalance at saying something like that, she's being completely serious. How is she completely serious? I….I don't know what to think. She really wants him to have multiple partners and doesn't want some sort of "right hand" position. She can't possibly want that. But….if she does, does that mean…maybe?' Rin thought to herself, a small but powerful geyser of hope beginning to gush and fill the container of her heart.
Though she didn't let anything besides the smallest of smiles and an unsure furrowing of her brows show.
"That's…uh, good to know, Sakura. I'm glad." She hummed awkwardly, placing her empty cup on the table.
"As am I. Now let me fill up your- Oh! Senpai." Sakura squeaked, nearly running into him as she leant over to grab Rin's cup.
"Dinner's ready." He cheekily smiled at both girls as he placed the food down on the table, subtly putting each girl's favourite food closer to them as he did so.
"This looks amazing Muramasa-kun." Rin mumbled in awe, the food looking and smelling so great that she didn't even try and mask her amazement at his ever-growing skill in the culinary arts.
"Thank you, Ri-"
"I made the best parts." Sella cut in, a quiet confidence which very poorly masked a competitive, vindictive, glare aimed at Shirou.
"Whatever you say miss Tablespoon." Shirou replied, not even looking at her, but the grin that spread across his lips let both Rin and Sakura know that he knew the exact effect he was having on her.
That being a clearly rising anger aimed solely at Shirou's back as he finished placing everything down. Evidently whatever the name referenced, Sella clearly didn't enjoy being reminded of it.
"I'm going to go grab Illya, I'll be right back." He told the three girls, heading off down the hall with Sella on his heels.
Though she was heading for her sister's room rather than Illya's. Planning on having to drag Liz out of her bed if she had to. Though knowing how Liz was with food, it would be pretty easy to get her to come out.
And she was proven right, as the second she mentioned dinner being ready, the short haired homunculi was out of her bed and at the door before she could even finish her statement. Leading to the both of them getting back to the table before Shirou and Illya, though they came in only about two minutes later.
Getting everyone seated and situated, a few smiles were shared and with a unanimous cheer, they dug in.
"Itadakimasu!"
XXXxxxXXX
"Hm? A Bounded Field? And so many Magi in one place. Could it be? Well. Even if it isn't they'll either survive or I won't have to worry about them anymore."
Enhance grinned, standing atop a building and staring in the direction of the house that one of his Dead had managed to stumble across.
"Let's roll the dice!"
XXXxxxXXX
( /VCLT0HNJLWw)
(Epic Build Up Music - The Storm - Secession Studios)
"Oooooh! She's so full of herself!" Rin growled, tearing into a piece of meat.
Steam practically poured out of the girl's ears as she glared down at her plate, still taking great care not to spill any of the food.
"Heh. You have such a hate for a girl you've never met before, Rin-chan." Illya giggled, slurping up some noodles as she enjoyed the anger of the other girl.
"I don't need to meet her to know that she's aggravating!" Rin exclaimed, grinding her teeth together as she rested her fists on the table.
"Perhaps you're misinterpreting her written words?" Sakura suggested, ever the mediator.
XXXxxxXXX
Moving down the street. Shambling footsteps of a single figure turned to two, then four, then eight.
With a single target in mind, more and more of the figures started to link up. Their actions slow and unthinkingly deceptive in their instinct-controlled minds.
XXXxxxXXX
Illya twitched, her gaze sliding in the direction of the front of the house.
"'I am so sorry I could not be there to watch your failed experiment I have heard of. Perhaps some proper tutelage, like that of the Clock Tower, would do you some good?' How am I supposed to read that as anything other than antagonistic!?" Rin recited, getting Shirou to scratch the back of his head as the black-haired girl collapsed back onto her mat with an exhausted sigh.
"Perhaps as helpful advice?" Sella questioned, getting a scoff from Rin as she buried her face into her folded arms.
XXXxxxXXX
A crowd began to head towards their destination. A crowd made up of many smaller groups, from many different orientations. Low, hissing breaths filled the streets as they made their way towards the destination.
From atop a rooftop, a figure worked on symbols unseen to anyone else. Preparing for the inevitable.
XXXxxxXXX
Shirou's singular open eye looked towards the front of the Emiya Estate, a curious hum leaving his lips as he drummed his fingers in a rhythm on the table. Inhaling deeply through his nose and finishing off a small bowl of rice that he'd been slowly working on.
"It's not that. No way. She's mocking me. She must be." Rin denied, speaking loud enough so that even muffled by her arms, she could be heard by all.
"I don't know Rin. Seems like you're being too dramatic." Illya teased, moving her gaze from the front of the house to Rin, and then towards the back yard.
Goosebump's spread from the Tohsaka Heiress' hands and up her covered arms. Sakura hummed and opened her mouth just the smallest amounts to breath in. Both Homunculi maids shifted their heads ever so slightly to give their ears more prominence.
XXXxxxXXX
The figure atop the roof watched as the barrier shimmered into life to only his eyes, originating from six blades sticking out of the ground at the perimeter as if they had sprouted tip first from the soil and concrete.
A hexagonal barrier made from interweaving, overlapping double triagonal method Bounded Fields.
The figure watched as the barrier stretched upwards, each side meeting at a singular point above the center of the barrier, creating a hexagonal pyramid and completing the Bounded Fields.
Preparations were complete. It was time for the crowd to move in on their unlucky targets.
XXXxxxXXX
"Interesting usage, I have to say." Sella commented, seemingly out of nowhere, as she looked straight up at the ceiling.
"Father went over something similar once. Triangles are the most stable shape. With Hexagons a close second. Creating a Hexagram from two triangles and transitioning it into a Hexagonal is the best way to create something like this." Illya murmured, now moving her gaze towards the direction of the house that her parent's room was.
"Do you think they're aware?" Rin asked, almost bored, amidst drumming her fingers on the table similarly to Shirou, a faint glow emanating under her sleeve.
XXXxxxXXX
The crowd continued to move. No longer seeming to care about what noises they made as they began to speed up. Turning from a shambling mass to a soon to be rushing horde.
XXXxxxXXX
"They wouldn't come with so many if they weren't." Shirou answered, his singular amber eye trained on the front door of the house.
"You can tell?" Sella asked, almost impressed based on the tone of her voice.
"Vaguely." Was his only response as he poured himself a cup of tea.
"Might I have one as well?" Rin asked kindly, extending her cup out to him and smiling as he filled it up.
"Is now really the time you two?" Illya snorted, evidently finding their actions quite amusing.
"There's never a better time. What better way to win than by showing a lack of care before anything even happens?" Rin muttered, placing her extended fingers under the cup and tilting them up to begin drinking her tea.
Placing his cup back on the table, Shirou exhaled slowly. Rin following suit a moment later.
rrrrroooaaaaaa
"What a foolish mistake." Sella sighed mournfully, shaking her head.
Shirou opened his mouth.
"Doors open!"
CRA-THUD!
( /mBBjhkc1m-M)
(3-Hour Greatest Aggressive Battle Music Mix: Tian Ling VS Qian Ye - MrEpicOSTs)
"RRRROOAAAAAAA!" Wood, metal, rice paper and a myriad of other materials and items exploded out from the front of the house as hands and drooling, gaping maws became visible to the six individuals.
"He said it was open." With a beatific smile on her face, a swirling ball of cursed Prana slammed into the face of the first of the shambling figures and dented it inwards, causing the undead corpse to drop before even the debris from their entrance had finished falling.
Immediately the peaceful aura, and immaculately cleaned and maintained interior of the Emiya Estate, was shattered as the small horde of Dead rushed through the hallway leading from the front door to the dining room. Four girls and one boy leapt away from the table as it was flipped onto its side by a grip that could crack metal, food flying through the air and hitting the floor as a foot met the flat top of the table.
Tensing her leg and pushing against the table, Leysritt flung the furniture into the oncoming undead. The wood slamming into the first seven and bowling them over before shattering and showering the back of the horde in hundreds of splinters and wooden shards.
"Four confirmed down."
Bouncing off the floor and into a crouch, a sheathed katana found its way into Shirou's hands as he crouched low, his momentum dying down through a gradual sliding across the wooden floor. The first Dead to get close to him lost its life before it could even realize he had moved. The next three to approach him losing their lives in a flash of silver and a glowing golden and blue eye. Three Black Key's appearing in his hand and skewering a Dead Apostle each as they rushed towards the last four girls.
A whirlwind filled the house as Rin brought out a Topaz, gaze blank as it sucked in and tore apart the undead caught within it. A series of magical shots hailing into it as Ilya and Sella teamed up to thin the numbers alongside Rin. Sakura, meanwhile, was extending thin strands of dark purple Prana, looping them around multiple Dead Apostles.
In a flash of bright light, every Dead Apostle with the pencil thick strands wrapped around them dropped to the ground lifelessly, circuits lighting up across Sakura's skin.
"Bind and Paralyze." With the Aria spoken, the Magecraft initiated and dark purple stakes were fired out of the Matou Heiress' palms.
Every undead within the house struck by the stakes reared back as if they had been struck. The magic constructs sinking into the horde and binding them in place in a swirl of Prana. Only for them to be shattered moments later as a swirl of attacks tore through the Dead, leaving the stakes nothing left to anchor onto.
"Backyard!" Was the only warning any of the girls got before Shirou launched himself through the house and into the yard of the house.
Hitting the ground in a swirl of dirt, dust and grass, Shirou could feel the two small hordes heading towards him. Hordes that were about the hit the fence line.
Reinforcing his legs, the fifteen-year-old shot into the air. The blade in his grip fading away into motes of Prana as his ascent began to slow to a halt.
"Trace." Green-blue lines lit up across Shirou's skin.
"On." His singular Fairy Eye glowed with an animosity that would have surprised anyone who knew him.
'With the insight given to me by this eye. My knowledge of archery from the club at school. And the experience of having watched Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon so often. I finally think I have it.'
Besides him, blades began to form. His skin heating up and his condensated breath washing over his face.
"Sword Barrel. Open."
The Dead Apostles, who had begun to climb, leap over and break through the fence lining the Emiya Estate had no chance. The newly created corpses crumpling under the calculated rain of steel. The final undead hitting the ground just as Shirou did, getting a grunt from the teen as his Reinforced legs took the blow. Rather than snapping and leaving him in pain until Avalon could heal the damage.
"Senpai!" Shirou spun around, seeing Sakura running over to him alongside Rin, Illya held by Sella as the maid leapt out of the premises and slid to a halt besides the red-haired teen.
"Girls?" He asked confused, only for his head to snap up to look at the now ruined house with an intensity that actually made Illya and Rin yelp.
"There's a man. Stronger than the others. Liz is-" Sella's voice cut off as the top of the roof exploded in a hail of debris and dust.
Spear-heading a column of dust was the form of a silver haired man in a long, blood red, trench-coat and black clothes underneath. Combat boots adorning his feet and fingerless gloves on his hands. Held in his right hand was a broadsword that made Shirou's eye itch just to look at, and in his left hand was a pure white, sawn-off shotgun.
The man shouted something, but what it was, Shirou couldn't hear, and a moment later a second figure rocketed out of the hole in the roof. A figure which turned out to be Liz, wielding the gigantic war-axe that Shirou had witnessed only a few times before. The white-haired homunculi met the silver haired man in the air with a concussive burst of wind, proving the power of low-servant level strength.
But the man didn't so much as blink, appearing to be almost laughing as he tried and failed to shoot Liz in the head. Looping his blade around the shaft of Liz's axe and leveraging it to flip them both around so that the man was closer to the five of them than Liz was.
Kicking Liz in the back, the man sent her rocketing down towards the front yard of the house while gaining the momentum to move further back, almost directly above the five of them now. And beginning to rapidly fall as all of his upward momentum died.
"Scatter!" Rin shouted, seeing that man smiling with battle-lust as he fell, his exposed forearms seeming to turn black and purple, and then going back to their regular skin tone.
Leaping away, everyone managed to avoid being caught in the epicenter of his impact with the ground. One that indented the ground and cracked the radius of the indent into large boulders. Only for a red and silver blur to shoot out of the crater and into Shirou. The both of them disappearing in a burst of air, reappearing at the side of the house as Shirou was pinned to one of the wooden support beams.
The slightest of shifts created sparks that leapt out between the broadsword in the man's hand and the identical broadsword in Shirou's. The teen's held up by both of his hands, one on the hilt and one bracing the flat the blade. Meanwhile the man's was held in a single hand, the man using his more mature musculature and height to lever Shirou against the support beam and not let him get away.
"Shirou!"
"Onii-chan!"
"Senpai!"
"I…Didn't give….This blade to you." Shirou growled, gritting his teeth and trying to stop the man's blade from getting any closer to him.
"Nah." The man agreed.
He leant his face in towards Shirou's as his silver eyes stared into Shirou's mismatched pair. One pair mockingly gleeful and one pair determined and angry. Enhance grinned.
"But I took it anyway."
XXXxxxxXXX
Side Story: Parents arrive in Greece
Kiritsugu exhaled deeply as him and his wife stepped off the plane, looking around and able to catch more than one source of Prana as he did so.
'Evidently not Enforcers if they're using Thaumaturgy this liberally in public.' He thought to himself, though it wasn't like it was overt spells in their defense.
"Jeez. Not the brightest bunch, are they?" Iri mumbled into his ear, getting the smallest of snorts from him as they made their way through the airport.
The man himself moved with a practiced ease through the levels of the airport, his wife close behind and evidently a little less used to it than him, but no less composed.
"I'm worried Kiri." Irisviel mumbled, getting the blank look to return to his face as they walked, going unnoticed by the various Magi around them.
"I don't trust 'him'. But trying to sneak back into Fuyuki won't work." He shook his head, making his way down a set of steps.
"Of course not. But that's even more worrying. Why does he need us out of the city for so long?"
"I can't say for certain. But I imagine something will happen or someone will arrive, and he wants us away from Shirou."
"Like a trial?"
"Of sorts." Kiritsugu muttered, coming to a stop besides the bag conveyor.
"Shirou has to go through whatever that is, and we have these associates to deal with." Iri muttered, though Kiritsugu didn't lag behind for even a moment, knowing why she had so suddenly switched up her terminology.
The man two meters from them was a Magus after all.
"Yeah, well someone's clearly embezzling money and we're needed to clean house. Hopefully some of the higher ups will be willing to lend a hand."
"They're probably in on it."
"Well, that's why we came here. And who knows. Maybe we'll be able to straighten some of them out without having to call the police." Kiritsugu shrugged, leaning forward and grabbing both of their bags, handing his wives to her.
And as they made their way out, the Magi was completely unaware of the Mystic Code snatched clean off his wrist. The pristine, almost Rolex-looking, watch being snuggly fitted to Kiritsugu's wrist as they walked out of the building.
"That was dangerous Kiri."
"I wouldn't have grabbed it if I wasn't sure." He responded evenly, the Prana stitched into the device clearly visible to his eyes and his personal style of Prana detection.
"So…Why did you grab it?" She questioned curiously as they made their way to the carpark.
"One less tool for a potential enemy to use." He answered, reaching into a potted plant at the edge of the carpark and pulling a set of keys out.
"I still never know how you set these things up, Kiri."
"It's probably best if you don't." With a simple insert and twist, the side door of the car unlocked and was opened by Kiritsugu, clearly waiting for Irisviel to get in.
"What a gentleman." She giggled, kissing his cheek as she got in.
"Occasionally."
XXXxxxXXX
So! Another month comes and goes. And the shockwaves of June still haven't subsided. (I barely managed to finish this chapter).
For me, June of 2022 has been the worst period of my uni experience. And that includes the beginning of 2020 when I was in my first year and covid hit.
But how did you guys enjoy the chapter? Originally, I thought it was going to be a pretty short chap (by this stories standards) at around 5-5.5k words. And instead, we got this 7.8K chapter. So, I'm pretty happy with that. We start this chapter off with the morning after the very fucking controversial ending of chapter 15.
Seriously. There was a lot of controversy over that.
And then we get Gilgamesh being Gilgamesh as usual. The arrogant, insufferable prick that he is. Fun fact: I nearly had him appear by just landing on the hood of the car and fucking denting it in. But then I decided that, that was a little too showy in the middle of a road populated by non-magic individuals.
And then after that is my favourite part of the chapter. Enhance arriving in Fuyuki and hunting down Shirou. And the others by proxy. The talk between Sakura and Rin got a bit of flak from two of my beta's so I'm interested to see what you guys will think about it.
And more importantly, how was the build up to the horde of Dead attacking the Emiya Estate? It's my first time trying to write something like that so thoughts and/or feedback would be great!
Finally, we have the side story of Kiri and Iri getting to Greece. Where in Greece? Don't worry about it.
For those who wish to get small snippets and discuss the fanfic, come join my discord!
Discord code: ctMzhq3
REVIEW REPLIES:
Nikkless: thank you. I somehow forgot that while I HAD HER WIKI OPEN. I'm retarded.
NotSpecialDude: Yeah pretty much. That's the reasoning I went into it with anyway.
Joshucka333: It's a harem my dude.
SentinalSlice: That's completely fair. And they aren't really meant to have a lot of chemistry at this stage compared to the others. Shirou and Sakura work from going to extremes and then toning it back. Shirou and others work on small steps and heating up to the extremes. At least that's how I think about it.
Hermitfan: For the FGO sequel I have planned for this story he was originally going to be a servant actually
Raventus Dracoria: You'll have to find out if Gil gets involves. And the mention of Zelretch's granddaughter is sorta undecided but leaning more towards yes. At the time it was more of a teasing probe to see how you guys reacted to her possible inclusion to the story.
Sandmanwake: Actually, no XD Shirou's ancestor was the one that created the sword that cut everything that touched it. The one who created the other blade was Masamune, as opposed to Muramasa.
FireFox614: Nah it's fine! I have noticed that people just genuinely don't like Sakura, especially in the comments for this particular chapter XD And trust me, his confrontation with Enhance is going to leave some very lasting effects on our resident smith.
Raging Drake: Yeah. Even though I'll imply it. I have no plans to ever actually write a lemon scene. Just not really my cup of tea.
TetsuChris: Let me clear up the confusion. Yes. Yes it's a harem fic.
AnimeFan13579: I really enjoyed reading this review! It actually got me thinking about some of these possibilities, funny enough XD I'll definitely keep some of these ideas in mind and thanks for spending the time to send this review!
The Ruler's Haven: Yeah. I haven't gotten to Wodime in FGO yet. I'm really not far into the game. But my server and beta's were telling me about him and I took a dive into his wiki. And the Animusphere family is actually fascinating to look into and theorise Magecraft for. So I'm glad you enjoyed my custom prophecy spell XD
Torukeru: She would be, but unfortunately the split in the timeline didn't happen soon enough for her to be saved. Also, I will shed light onto it. Probably in a more enigmatic way though. Rather than just outright stating 'this and this happened and now this is the result'.
MastaofBitches: She is, isn't she? And if that's good or bad is up for others to decide. And yeah, more Rin and Luvia is always good.
Toxiclogical: He may just do that. Who knows? The future is a weird and wacky place after all.
Bosmi: At the very least, that should be the most busy part of the year out of the way. Should.
WhinyShin: Completely far. And yes, Iri loves her baby boy and she'll tell the entire world if she has to.
AAAAAND THAT'S THE END OF THE REVIEW REPLIES
I hope you guys enjoyed your July and enjoy your August and hopefully I'll still be able to get a chapter out next month. Later!