Fate: Hammer Time

by TedTheRabbit

Shirou Emiya wanted to become a hero. That was clear to all who truly know him. For a long time though, he lacked the power to actually achieve that goal. No longer. No longer will he lack the power, now that the Hammer of the Odinson has chosen him as new wielder. Prepare for Thunder. ShirouxMultiple, Thor-Shirou.

20. Administrative Business

Administrative business

---

Osaki Koyo was in a foul mood.

Not because of Rakurai this time, surprisingly, but because of a much older issue, one that was inherent for his line of work and would continue long after Rakurai had disappeared. The bane of his life and that of so many others.

Humanity's evil.

Yesterday, Osaki had once more witnessed the cruelties that mankind was capable of. He had seen a poor teenage girl break down in front of him, crying bitter tears of grief over her friend, all because some punk had decided to set fire to a residence for reasons Osaki couldn't even begin to guess at.

He truly pitied that girl, who had lost her friend at so young an age, and that wasn't even mentioning the people trapped inside that residence. Osaki had burned himself many times while cooking and thus knew very well just how painful even tiny first-degree burns could be. He actually felt queasy when he tried to imagine how it must feel to be burned alive, how insanely torturous that had to be.

This kind of evil, the kind that burned people alive for no reason at all, couldn't be permitted to exist. The perpetrator had to be caught before they did something similar again.

Which was why he was currently sitting on a chair on the second floor of the precinct, waiting to be called into the nearby office, to give a witness statement about the arson committed on the Matou-estate.

Shimada Kyuwa, an old friend of his, was the one overseeing the investigation. He was a good man, intelligent and driven, one of the few that Osaki would trust with his life in the Fuyuki-City Law Enforcement. He was confident that Kyuwa would work on this investigation with everything he had, either until he caught the perpetrator or until the trail went cold. He too understood the importance of stopping such evil in its tracks before it could do too much damage.

But the arson wasn't the only reason for Osaki's foul mood. He had a second problem, a far more personal one, concerning his faithful partner, Yomaura Taya.

He sat back in his chair with a deep sigh, thinking back on the past evening, when he had discovered his partner's problems ran far deeper than he had ever anticipated.

---

After having finished helping out as much as he could at the wreckage that used to be the Matou-estate, Osaki tried to call Taya again. She hadn't been at the office today, and neither had she called or responded to any of his calls or messages. He hadn't thought too much of it at first, but now that a housefire had been thrown in his face like this, he couldn't help but worry.

He only got the voicemail again however, and after a moment of thinking, decided to visit her at home, if only to settle his nerves.

He had visited her apartment complex before, so it didn't take him very long to drive there. Then, using the spare key she'd given him, he entered the complex and made his way over to her apartment. When he rang the doorbell however, nobody answered.

Now actually getting worried, he opened the door with the spare key, before rushing inside and looking around for her. To his immense relief, he found her on her bed, fast asleep, her chest rising and falling evenly.

That relief turned into shock and horror however when he noticed the sloppy bandages on her fingers and wrists, still bloody, some reaching all the way up to her elbows, clearly not replaced even once after they had been applied on the wounds.

Worse, he could see bloody needles, knives, and… stones even, in the closet. The door hadn't been entirely closed, allowing him to see the macabre contents poorly hidden behind it.

Had Taya tried to…?

No, no, certainly she wouldn't have…? There had been nothing to indicate that she would…

No…

A groan interrupted his horrified thoughts, and his gaze went back to his partner's face, which was, on closer observation, very red, and damp from sweat.

A quick check confirmed that she had a bad fever. She had to cool off, or this might actually harm her.

Osaki immediately went to get water from the kitchen, slowly poured half of it over her head and then made her drink the rest. A quick search through the freezer got him some ice, which he immediately applied to her forehead, before replacing her bandages with new, clean ones.

After about an hour, litres of water and buckets of ice, he managed to get her temperature back to acceptable levels. Not long after, she finally woke up.

"Hnng." She groaned as she slowly opened her eyes, casting a bleary look at the drenched sheets covering her, before she started, eyes widening in shock, as she saw him standing next to her bed. "Senpai? Wha-What's going on? What are you doing here?"

"You weren't at the office today." He answered, trying to keep his voice level. "It's- Well, it's about nine in the evening, Yomaura, and you haven't been answering your phone all day. I was worried." He took a deep breath. "I didn't expect to find you like this though, and I certainly didn't expect…"

He didn't say it out loud, but he did make a motion with his hands towards the bandages on her lower arms.

She didn't seem to understand his insinuation for a few moments, but realisation followed quickly, causing her to avert her eyes in… Shame? Pain?

"S-Senpai, I can explain." She whispered as her eyes flitted about, clearly searching for an excuse to placate him with. "I-I-"

"You don't have to explain yourself." He interrupted her. "If you don't want to tell me anything, you don't have to. Nevertheless, I have to insist that you come to my place."

No way he was going to let her remain alone after… that.

Taya looked aghast at the demand, but an imploring glare made her cave. He wasn't going to budge on this matter, and she was smart enough to see that.

She then tried standing up, but found that she couldn't.

Her legs were shaky, and she had no strength in her muscles. A normal symptom of a fever, which nonetheless clearly annoyed her to no end. Osaki was happy to assist her though, lifting her up in a bridal carry and taking her to his car.

He had honestly expected her to protest against being carried like that, but strangely enough, she didn't seem to mind all that much, though she did press her face against his shoulder in slight embarrassment.

Once in the car, he drove her to his home immediately.

His girls, worried and caring as always, made her eat something, before they then tucked her in, after which Yomaura fell asleep almost immediately.

---

The next day, Yomaura had still been far too sick and tired to go to work, so she had stayed in bed, with the girls staying home as well to take care of her. It hadn't been entirely voluntary on his partner's part, but he and his daughters had accepted no arguments from her.

Osaki himself had also wanted to stay home, but since he wasn't ill himself, he would have to ask for leave, which could only be done two weeks in advance in Law-Enforcement. As such, he'd been forced to go to work anyway.

Now, he was sitting in the corridor at the second floor of the precinct, his mood dark and his thoughts with the deceased and the ill.

A few minutes later, he was joined by the Mitsuzuri-family, who were also here to give their witness-statements. Three of them he recognised from the day before, but the other two, a boy with red hair and golden eyes, and a girl with purple hair and equally purple eyes, were new to him.

As he looked at them, Osaki suddenly noticed the happy atmosphere around the group. The girl, Ayako, if he remembered correctly, was beaming brightly at the other teens, while her parents were softly smiling down at them.

Never let it be said that Osaki was an idiot. If the death of the girl's friends no longer seemed to be an issue, while two unknown people had suddenly appeared, it wasn't all that hard to work out what had happened.

"Good morning, Osaki-san." Mitsuzuri Ryozo nodded politely at him once the small group came within hearing distance of him. "We have good news."

"They're alive!" The man's daughter squealed, throwing her arms around the purple-haired girl and the redhead as if to further illustrate their 'aliveness'. "They're alive. Can you believe that? It's amazing!"

After being prodded by her mother though, the girl looked to the floor. "And I'm sorry for causing so much trouble yesterday. I made your work harder than it had to be, please forgive me."

"There is no need to apologise." Osaki shook his head. "It delights me to hear your friends are in good health. I suppose they are the ones you are embracing right now?"

"Ah, y-you are half-correct." The purple-haired girl mumbled. "I am Matou Sakura, but my brother is not here right now."

"I am Emiya Shirou, here for emotional support." The redhead introduced himself with a small bow. "A pleasure to meet you. I am afraid that Shinji has left town, in order to find some peace of mind."

"Left town?" Osaki asked in shock. "What do you mean he left town?"

"They mean just that." Mitsuzuri Chiaki huffed. "The brat apparently left as soon as Shirou took him and his sister away from the Matou-estate."

"…There is a lot I want to ask you about that but let us wait for the officer in charge of the investigation." Osaki said after having recomposed himself. He then turned towards both Matou and Emiya. "My name is Osaki Koyo; it is a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is ours, Osaki-san." Sakura smiled back, as everyone present missed how Shirou's eyes momentarily widened at the name, before he quickly straightened his expression. "Thank you for trying so hard to help yesterday."

Osaki was about to reply, when they were interrupted by the office's door opening, followed by Shimada poking his head through.

"Osaki-san." Shimada smiled, before nodding at the others. "And the Mitsuzuri-family. Thank you for your patience, please come in."

"Don't mind if we do." Emiya smiled as everyone entered the office, taking a place on the chairs that were standing around.

After the introductions were over with, and Shimada had expressed his happiness over the survival of the Matou-siblings, the interview could start in earnest.

"Yesterday, around five o'clock in the afternoon, the Matou-estate burned down. It is heavily suspected, if not outright confirmed, that it was arson." Shimada explained shortly. "Is there anything you would like to add to that?"

"Ah, Senpai got me and my brother out that morning already." Matou spoke up shyly. "So I don't know what could have caused the fire-"

"Zouken caused that stupid fire. Please don't make excuses for him, Sakura." Mitsuzuri Ayako interrupted her, sounding absolutely certain of herself. "That guy was crazy."

"That's… a rather heavy accusation." Shimada noted carefully. "Is there a reason you make claims like that, and can you substantiate them?"

"I would like to say that I completely support my daughter in this." Mitsuzuri Chiaki declared before her daughter could reply. "I didn't speak with Zouken very often, but I managed to force him out of his hole once or twice, and I can say the man was positively unhinged. I have no concrete proof, but it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if he was the one to set fire to his own house."

Ryozo and Emiya also gave their support to Ayako's words, and even Matou nodded.

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind during the investigation." Shimada promised, writing down their statements. "Now that we are on the subject however, why did you, Emiya-san, decide to take away the Matou-siblings from their house?"

"Because for as long as I have known them, Zouken has been abusing them." Emiya said, placing his hand on Matou's shoulder. "He terrorised, manipulated and gaslighted them, and recently even began threatening them with bodily harm."

"Then you were completely correct in getting them out of there." Shimada nodded. He turned towards Matou then, softening his voice as he spoke to her. "While I understand this can be difficult to talk about, can you confirm what Emiya-san said?"

Matou fidgeted for a few moments, breathing deeply as she gathered her courage. When she looked up to Shimada again though, it was with a steely gaze.

"…Yes, it is true." She whispered. "Even in my earliest memories, he was always telling me and Nii-san how worthless we were, that no one would ever want us, that we were lucky he was there to take care of us, because no one else would. A few days ago, he suddenly started threatening us as well."

"What did he say?"

"That he was angry that we were having fun." Matou answered, a slightly bitter note in her voice. "He was angry that we made friends for ourselves. He told us that he would kill them if we didn't immediately break off the friendships we made."

Osaki gritted his teeth slightly in anger. While his experience as a detective had led to him seeing several similar cases, the thought of people doing things like that to their own family was still sickening to him.

Neither he nor Shimada even thought of commenting on how it was nigh impossible for a man as old as Zouken to physically harm strong-looking teenagers. Matou Zouken had clearly been abusing the Matou-siblings from a very young age, and had conditioned them to fear him, even if they could easily outmatch him both mentally and physically. That was the evil of child abusers.

"I took them away from there as soon as Shinji told me what was going on." Emiya said, while Ayako was hugging Matou again. "I couldn't stand back and just watch Zouken continue doing this to my friends."

"Entirely understandable, and no one will make any trouble over it." Shimada said soothingly. "What was the situation in the Matou-estate when you took them away from there?"

"Not good." Emiya said grimly, while Matou seemed to shrink in on herself even more. "Zouken was yelling and throwing things around. He tried to prevent Sakura and Shinji from leaving in just about any way possible. He even tried fighting me, though I was able to overpower him."

Shimada dutifully wrote that down as well, just like all the following statements about Zouken's deteriorated mental state and his abuse of his grandchildren.

"Alright, thank you." Shimada eventually said. "I think I have a pretty clear picture of what happened last night, and I understand that Zouken was… crazy, to put it mildly. I would like to hear Osaki-san's statement now, and then you can leave."

"No." Chiaki said sharply as Osaki was about to speak, rising from her seat with determination in her eyes, ignoring the disapproving looks from the teenagers in the room. "There is still the matter of Sakura's brother."

Shimada stopped writing after she said that.

"Shinji apparently decided he no longer wanted to live in Fuyuki-City after everything that happened." Chiaki continued, throwing a disapproving look at the teens present. "And these kids thought that it was acceptable to give him supplies, a suitcase, money, and a pat on the back as he left. If possible, I would like him brought back here."

"He chose to leave the city of his own free will, and he didn't want anyone following him or searching for him." Emiya countered, meeting her gaze and glaring until she looked away.

"T-That may be true, but I hardly think a boy of barely fourteen should be allowed to make such an impulsive decision, especially when he wasn't in the right state of mind. We can help him-"

"How? By locking him up in a cell? He will try to leave again, and all the 'help' in the world isn't going to stop him-"

"Alright, enough." Osaki said sternly, interrupting the argument. "We are all adolescents and adults here, not bickering children."

Both woman and teenager glared for a moment longer, before looking away. Emiya then sighed deeply.

"…Right. I'm sorry, Mitsuzuri-san. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that."

"Ah, right back at you, Shirou-kun. I suppose your opinion is just as valid as mine."

"Well, excellent then." Shimada said as the two sat down again. "However, Emiya-san, while we understand you merely want to support your friend in his decisions, it is not our policy to let underage children travel Japan on their own. I'm afraid we'll have to file a missing person-report and have the police be on the lookout for him."

"That's fine." Emiya answered calmly, not looking at all upset or annoyed. "You have your duty after all."

"Right." Shimada nodded. "Can we continue with Osaki-san's report now, or is there something else you want to add?"

The Mitsuzuri-family members, as well as Matou and Emiya, shook their heads, so Osaki told his part of the tale.

He gave a quick summation of last night's events: He had been walking with his daughters, whom he quickly sent home after seeing the cloud of smoke rise above the city, then made his way over to the Matou-estate to assist in any way he could, which was mainly keeping the curious bystanders away.

He had his altercation with the Mitsuzuris there and, after the fire had been extinguished at last, aided the firefighters in searching the house for clues that would point them to the origin of the fire, either arson or accident, though they had found nothing supporting either conclusion.

"So after I helped at the Matou-estate, I went home and went to sleep. Nothing else of note happened in that time."

"Excellent." Kyuwa nodded, putting all papers together in a map, before rising from his seat. "That was everything I wanted to talk about. Thank you for your cooperation."

"It was no trouble at all." Mitsuzuri Ryozo said with a nod, a statement echoed by the others in the room. "Well, I suppose we can all get back to business then."

Ryozo's suggestion was met with unanimous agreement, and their group quickly split up again.

Before Osaki could head off for the third floor however, where he worked, Ryozo stepped up to him.

"Osaki-san, to continue our conversation from before, thank you again for your hard work yesterday." He said. "Even though you were off duty and busy with your own investigation, you still took the time to help."

"It really was no trouble at all." Osaki assured them. "Working at Law-Enforcement is more than just filling your hours and filing reports, it is also about helping people. I did nothing but my duty yesterday. Now, please excuse me, but I must continue my own investigation."

"What are you working on?" Ayako asked, and Osaki didn't see the harm in replying to that, as long as he didn't give any details.

"I am currently working on the investigation into Rakurai."

That one sentence was enough to strike them all silent, as the adults gaped in shock and the girls gasped in surprise and… awe?

There was barely any reaction from the redhead though, who just blinked once. That, combined with his calm demeanour earlier, painted a picture of a very composed person. Quite impressive for a kid his age.

"Really?" Ayako asked once she got over her shock, her eyes sparkling. "You are one of the policemen going after the vigilante?"

"Yes, though judging from your reaction, you are a fan of his?"

"I am." She shamelessly confessed. "But that doesn't mean I don't support you. I hope you'll have a lot of success. That would make following Rakurai a lot more interesting than if he continues unoppos-"

"Ayako." Emiya smiled thinly while covering the brunette's mouth with his hand. "Please don't be so open about using Law-Enforcement's efforts as a source of amusement."

"My daughters do exactly the same." Osaki laughed. "They have even taken to calling me Rakurai's nemesis, though honestly, I doubt the guy even knows I exist."

"You sell yourself short, Osaki-san." The redhead protested, still keeping Mitsuzuri Ayako's mouth covered, though the girl didn't really seem to mind all that much. "I'm sure Rakurai knows to be very careful whenever you are near."

"Thanks, but you're really giving me too much credit." Osaki smiled.

"Okay everyone, don't bother the officer anymore." Mitsuzuri Chiaki fell in, taking her daughter and Emiya by the shoulders. "I'm sure he has a lot of work to do."

"Don't remind me." Osaki grumbled, already dreading the pile of paperwork waiting for him.

"Goodbye, Osaki-san, thank you again for the help." Matou smiled, giving a little wave as they walked away, Emiya now releasing the brunette from his grasp, who merely huffed, before grabbing his hand, Matou taking the other.

Osaki chuckled at the sight, before making his way up the stairs to his office, entering just as his phone started ringing, his house-number displayed on the screen.

"This is Osaki Koyo speaking."

"Good morning, Senpai." Yomaura said softly from the other end, her sleepiness clear in her voice.

"A good morning to you as well, Taya, though I wonder, should you be on the phone right now?"

"It's alright, I have Suki and Chiho right here, watching over me. They said it was alright as long as I stayed in bed."

"Hm, well, alright then. Don't strain yourself though."

"I won't, I was just curious. You had that witness-stuff this morning, right? How did it go-o-o-o?"

Her sentence was interrupted by what he assumed to be a jaw-cracking yawn.

"Pretty well actually." He answered her question. "It turns out the Matou-siblings left the house well before the fire, and thus aren't deceased. Only their grandfather is, but he turned out to be both abusive and probably also guilty of setting the house on fire himself."

"Really? That's amazing news, the first part I mean. I reckon that Mitsuzuri-girl is pretty happy?"

"She was indeed, and so were her parents and her friend, one Emiya Shirou."

"…Emiya?"

Osaki felt a shiver up his spine as his partner repeated the boy's name, her voice suddenly holding a very dangerous edge to it, something that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. It was a voice that demanded he explain further.

"Yes, Emiya. He's apparently a mutual friend of both Matou Sakura and Mitsuzuri Ayako. He's a pretty normal kid as far as I could see. Red hair, golden eyes, average height for his age, nothing out of the ordinary."

"I see." The edge largely disappeared from her voice. "I'm sorry for my tone, Senpai."

"…I can hear that you are still tired, but do you feel better than yesterday at least?" Osaki asked her in concern.

"I do, Senpai." Yomaura replied, a smile audible in her voice. "I'm sorry for worrying you so much. It was just something with my family."

Her family…

Was she insinuating her family was the cause of what she'd done?

"Well, please watch over yourself in the future." Osaki admonished her. "The girls were very concerned about you last evening. You were barely capable of moving around without collapsing, let alone speaking coherently."

"Y-Yes, t-they told me. As I said, it won't happen again."

"Just watch over yourself." He repeated softly. "I know things are difficult now, but don't break yourself trying to keep up. You can always come to us for help, and remember, just because they are family doesn't mean they own you in any way."

"Y-Yes, I know. Thank you, Senpa-a-a-ai." Yomaura answered, again interrupted by a large yawn, and then another one.

"If you are that tired, you should go back to sleep." Osaki huffed. "Just get your rest, and make sure you get better."

"Will do, Senpai. Much love from the girls by the way."

"Much love back, for all three of you. Take care, Taya."

He hung up the phone, now in a slightly better mood than before. He put his phone in his pocket, before making his way over a colleague that had been beckoning for him to come over since he had set foot into the office.

In another part of town, Yomaura was staring silently at the phone, a warm feeling settling in her stomach after hearing her Senpai's last words.

Her thoughts strayed however, to what she had just heard.

A Matou, in the presence of an Emiya.

Coincidence…

Or not?

---

'Ding-dong.'

Rin cracked one eye open when she heard the doorbell ring, the annoying sound echoing through her house way too early on the day, on one of the few mornings she actually got to sleep in without having to worry about anything.

'Ding-dong'

With an annoyed groan, she lifted herself off her bed and went into the bathroom to make herself presentable. The incident with Emiya seeing her after she'd just crawled out of bed was still fresh in her mind. There was no way she was going to allow such a thing to happen again.

It was around a minute later that Rin made her way to the gate, intending to give whoever it was a piece of her mind. Had they never heard of visiting at a proper time? Like, after twelve or something.

She didn't have any idea who it could be. She wasn't expecting anyone, mail wouldn't be delivered until later and she hadn't ordered anything that had to arrive in a package.

At this point, the only thing she could think of was that the mysterious Magus felt the need to bribe her again after the spectacle from two nights ago.

Hopefully, he hadn't used Emiya-kun for that again. She really didn't want him to become involved in this whole mess.

Only because it could endanger the secrecy of the Moonlit World! That was the only reason she didn't want him involved. Nothing else. It wasn't like she was angry at him for only visiting at the behest of others and then leaving as quickly as he came!

When she opened her door however, she wasn't greeted by Emiya, but by a classy-looking man with a sour look on his face and a redheaded woman.

"Who are you?" Rin blurted out.

"Good morning, Tohsaka-san." The man said, giving a small bow. "I am lord El-Melloi the Second, from the Archibald family. I am a representative of the Clocktower, here to speak with you about the recent developments concerning your case. The woman next to me is Bazett Fraga McRemitz, Enforcer in my service. May we come in?"

Rin didn't reply. She'd frozen, had been frozen since the man's first sentence.

A lord! There was a lord standing in front of her door! A lord was visiting her! Her!

She had made an actual lord from the Clocktower wait for her! She had taken all the time in the world to answer the door, while a lord had been standing outside!

What the hell was she supposed to do now?

"Welcome. Please come in."

It was said almost mechanically, as Rin tried to suppress all of her emotions. She couldn't afford to look even worse than she no doubt already did.

Her mind was reeling however, as she tried to think of what was going on. What developments did he mean? What was that about her case? Did he mean the Magus who had been running rampant through her territory? Did he mean the mercenary that had been delivered to Kirei and sent to the Clocktower? Or did he mean something else entirely, something she hadn't even known about?

"Thank you, Tohsaka-san." Lord El-Melloi nodded, walking past her as she took a step aside, the Enforcer following behind him.

After closing the gate, Rin led them inside to the dining room. While the redheaded woman maintained a fully professional demeanour, the lord seemed to be getting antsy, as evidenced by the shifting eyes, shaking hands, and light sheen of sweat on his forehead, even though the house was rather cold.

Nonetheless, by the time they arrived at the table, he had composed himself again.

Rin made sure they sat comfortably, before serving tea, which, after a quick check for poisoning, was gladly accepted by both guests.

"Thank you." Lord El-Melloi said, nodding slightly at her as he took a sip. "Please be at ease, Tohsaka-san. You are not being accused of anything and nothing that has happened was in any way your fault or responsibility. I am merely here to inform you on several matters."

Rin could only just suppress a sigh of relief at those words. She limited her reaction to a small nod.

"The first of those matters is that several Sealing Designees were recently captured, here in Japan, in a town called Hiraizumi, about a four-hour drive away from here. These Magi had been hunted by the Clocktower for several years but were finally captured several days ago, by a bounty-hunter."

"Ah, that is good to hear." Rin said carefully. "But what does that have to do with me?"

"I'm getting to that." Lord El-Melloi answered after another sip of his tea. "You see, these Sealing Designees concocted a scheme several years ago to abduct as many people as possible to use them in their experiments, without permission of any kind from the Clocktower. They abducted and killed thousands before an end could be put to it."

Rin nodded in understanding, carefully hiding the utter disgust she felt at the actions of those Magi. Once again a small part of her mind questioned why she even continued devoting her life to a Craft that only seemed to take and take and take without end, as it often did while she was particularly done with the play that was her life.

Those thoughts were quickly forgotten as the faint memory of a large hand roughly patting her head and a smile that would have better suited being called a grimace arose from the recesses of her mind.

"However, these Magi were not content with just that." The lord went on. "They wanted more than just Mundane test subjects. They wanted a real Magus to experiment on."

Lord El-Melloi leaned forward, his eyes gaining a sharp look, and Rin's stomach twisted even further as she realised what he was about to say.

"They hired the mercenary you recently sent to the Clocktower, with the purpose of abducting you, so that they could use you for their research. I assume I don't have to tell you what that would have entailed."

No, he didn't.

Rin felt sick, absolutely sick. To think she had come close to falling into the hands of such scum, who would have used her as a test-subject!

Next to sick however, she also felt nervous. If these Magi had been captured already, then why was this lord here? Did he expect a reward? She couldn't afford giving him any kind of substantial payment.

She wanted to hurl, yet with great effort, she managed to keep her expression neutral, her Magus-persona sliding into place to hide her emotions.

"Then I am glad that you managed to capture them." She said after a few seconds, having recomposed herself enough to answer the lord in a neutral tone and steady voice. "It would have been unpleasant to fall into their hands."

"Quite unpleasant." The lord agreed. "Forgive me for asking though, but can I assume from your words that you had no idea you were being targeted, even though you did capture the mercenary they sent to abduct you?"

Rin didn't allow a single facial muscle to twitch in response to the lord's question, though she wanted to flinch hard.

"I didn't capture that mercenary myself." She reluctantly admitted. "He was delivered at the Church with a note that we, the priest and I, could claim the bounty for his capture. We didn't wake him up, we just handed him over to the representatives of the Church as soon as we could."

"Who delivered him to the Clocktower, and into my hands." Lord El-Melloi finished, seemingly deep in thought. "Never mind that then, someone else must have captured him."

"Right." Rin said, bowing her head slightly. "My most sincere apologies that I cannot help you further."

"There is nothing to apologise for." The lord said with a wave of his hand. "Everything ended well after all."

Rin nodded again, inwardly sighing in relief again, yet outwardly only allowing a small smile to form on her lips.

"I also came here to question you about any knowledge you might have of these Magi, but if you know nothing, then there's nothing more to talk about." Lord El-Melloi continued. "Except if there's anything else you might wish to report now that I am here?"

"…Hm, no." Rin said, tightening her hold on her Magus mask even more, trying to envision she was just having a conversation with Emiya and Mitsuzuri. "Nothing of note has happened in my city."

There was no way she was going to confess she had been unable to deal with a rogue Magus in her territory up until now. No matter how understanding this lord might be of her situation, that information would make its way to the Clocktower, and it would ruin her reputation before she had even set one foot inside.

She had to stay in control now, show no single sign of nervousness. She couldn't allow him to notice that she was lying.

"Understood. That concludes my official business here. Off the record however, I have a few private matters I have to take care of as well." Lord El-Melloi continued, reaching into his jacket to pull out a small bag, which he opened to reveal four gems. "If anyone asks, I was never here."

"Of course." Rin said without hesitation, relieved with the change of topic and not about to deny a lord a favour, much less one he actually paid her for. "As long as you do nothing illegal by Magical law and cause me no trouble."

"That goes without saying, Tohsaka-san."

"Very well."

The lord and his assistant finished their tea and rose from their seats. Rin walked them back to the gate, where they said their goodbyes.

"Be well, Tohsaka-san." Lord El-Melloi smiled kindly. "If you ever come the Clocktower, seek me out. I'm sure we'll have a lot to talk about."

"Take care, kid." The redheaded woman said. "You seem alright, I'd hate it if you died."

"Have a good day, I look forward to seeing you again." Rin replied pleasantly, waving until the duo had disappeared out of sight.

Only when they weren't visible anymore did she close the door. She then walked back to her room...

And threw herself on her bed, groaning in agitation. Her first conversation with a lord, and she had been caught off guard so many times she hadn't been able to even remotely approach the subject of a sponsorship, or even the Clocktower in general.

That barely mattered however, compared to the massive Gandr-shot she had unwittingly dodged.

A group of Sealing Designees had been planning to abduct her for their sick experiments. She had been extremely close to being reduced to a labrat, or worse.

She knew Magi were hard and cold, that they barely cared about who they hurt in their pursuit of knowledge, but this drove that home harder than any story or warning ever could. If the Clocktower hadn't interfered when they did-

No, wait! The lord had said it had been a bounty-hunter who had found and defeated the Magi.

They had truly saved her from a gruesome fate then.

Rin wasn't naïve enough to believe they had done it for her though. It was probably more for the profit they could make off capturing wanted criminals than to help someone else, but still, she owed that person a debt, one she wasn't planning on shrinking from.

If only she knew who it was.

…

Maybe the Matou knew something? Zouken had lived here for a long time, and it wasn't unlikely that he had ways to watch over the city she couldn't even imagine.

She normally wouldn't even consider visiting him, yet with the rogue Magus running around and Sealing Designees targeting her before being stopped by strangely altruistic bounty-hunters, she couldn't afford to be picky with her allies.

Besides, she was the Second Owner. It was part of her duties to check up on the Magi living within her borders, yet she had never done so. It was high time that she laid down the law and reminded them that this city was in fact being watched over.

She would visit the Matou tomorrow. Hopefully when Sakura wasn't home.

For now however, her bed's siren calls were drawing her right back to its warm embrace.

---

Waver's conversation with the Second Owner had gone pretty well, all things considered.

The walk to the Tohsaka-mansion had been nerve-wracking, and his stay there even more so. Every second spent there reminded him of that day eight years ago, when Archer, the very same Archer that served the Tohsaka-family, had killed Rider in front of his eyes.

He hadn't been able to suppress his irrational fears, his stupid mind constantly reminding him he was in the liar of the beast, warning him that Archer was just around the corner, that there was no escape from the one who had killed his Servant and liege.

He was quite sure that his host had noticed his agitation, but she had been too polite to say anything of it. That, and she had been rather nervous herself, which was only to be expected, considering a lord of the Clocktower had suddenly turned up at her doorstep.

Hearing she had been targeted by a group of Sealing Designees that wanted to turn her into their personal guineapig probably hadn't helped either.

In turn, he had been shocked to hear that she hadn't been the one to capture the mercenary, even though she had in fact been the one to receive the reward for his capture.

His confusion hadn't lasted long though, as he had recalled just who had taken down the Magi and thus probably the mercenary as well. He might not know Fujimaru all that well, but he could already tell that letting someone else claim the reward for his work fit his character perfectly.

He had allowed Waver to do so after all, while receiving almost nothing in return.

He had not told Tohsaka of Fujimaru though. The boy had asked him to be as discreet as possible about his existence, and Waver was planning to do just that. He prided himself on being a man of his word.

Anyway, once he had informed Tohsaka of everything that involved her and she had admitted she had no further knowledge about the Magi, their conversation was over.

Fortunately, the girl had not protested when Waver had practically bribed her to allow him to handle his private matter in peace. To be honest, he was quite sure she would have let him even if he didn't bribe her, but he didn't want to pressure her without giving anything in return. Moreover, his years had the Clocktower had taught him the importance of incentives.

Anyway, now that the Magical side of his plans was over, it was time to move on to the Mundane side.

He had dismissed Bazett a few minutes ago, telling her to head back to the hotel. This was something he wanted to do alone. Something he had to do alone.

The house he eventually reached looked the same as it had all those years ago, complete with the owner of the house mowing the grass, something he still did every week, and his wife sitting on a bench in the garden, watching him work as she poured his tea.

It made for a peaceful picture, and Waver felt almost sorry to break it with his presence. Not that he had a choice anymore, not after walking up to them so openly.

"Waver, my boy!" Glen McKenzie called out once he laid eyes on Waver, a large jovial smile on his face, his appearance suggesting nothing but a harmless old man, hiding the immense amount of willpower that had allowed him to break free from Waver's Hypnosis through sheer stubbornness.

"Oh, my dear Waver!" Martha cried in joy, getting up from the bench to rush over to him, followed closely behind by Glen. "What a happy surprise to see you here, it's been too long!"

"Far too long." Waver agreed, bowing formally, before stiffening as first Glen and then Martha hugged him. "I was in Fuyuki-City for business, and I couldn't leave without visiting you first."

Glen laughed, patting Waver on the back, while Martha smiled gently, reaching up to pinch his cheek.

"That is very kind of you, Waver." She laughed softly. "I wish our every grandson would have a mindset like you, but I suppose not everyone can be as kind."

Waver smiled, but it was a brittle thing. He didn't know if he could be considered 'kind' in any way. He was a Magus after all, and a liar besides. He had Hypnotised Glen and Martha, and though Glen had broken free from it, Waver knew he was little more than a cuckold, pretending to be their grandson to get a free place to stay during the War.

"I mean it, Waver." Martha interrupted his musings. "You are a kind man, no matter what you believe you might have done wrong. I'm sure the people around you won't judge you as harshly as you judge yourself."

Waver was silent for a few moments, before he nodded silently.

"Come in, my boy." Glen then called out after putting the lawnmower in the shed, breaking the contemplative mood. "I'll make some more tea and we can talk about what you've been up to recently."

"You don't have to drop everything you were doing just because I came by." The Magus protested, but it fell on deaf ears as Glen walked inside and Martha followed right after him.

So with a sigh that was equal parts consternation and fondness, Waver followed them inside.

Inside the house, nothing seemed to have changed since he had left. The walls, the interior, and even the general mood of the house were the same, and Waver could almost swear he had last been there only yesterday, rather than eight years ago.

The same decorations, the same carpets on the floor, the same colours on the walls, even the same tv where Rider had played his games.

He could almost see it before him, Rider guffawing loudly at some corny joke Glen told him while slapping Waver on the back, Martha watching them fondly from the side as she cooked dinner.

He was pulled back to the present when Martha poured him a cup of tea, she and Glen already sitting primed and ready to start one of their tea-time sessions.

Waver felt it was a bit much for them to upend their entire schedule merely for him though. From what he had heard of them over the years, they had kept themselves busy since he left, and he didn't want to intrude too much in their lives.

When he brought that up however, Glen and Martha laughed merrily again.

"We don't really have a schedule, my boy." Glen chuckled. "These days, we just go where our mood takes us. We've told you a bit in our letters, but those were just the big things, like those cruises to the United States and the trip to Europe, but we also do a lot of other things. Cycling, driving through the countryside, going to festivals and concerts, we try everything we can find."

"Indeed." Martha smiled. "Why, just last week we were off to Urayasu, to visit an old friend of ours. We hadn't seen her in quite a long time, but we were delighted to find that it was going so well with her. It's a lot cleaner than it used to be, that city."

"Not to mention last year, when we went to the Northern mountains for a week or so. That was quite something, Waver, let me tell you. All those young daredevils skiing down the mountains, what a show that was."

"It sounds riveting, and I suppose I am fortunate that you aren't on one such trips now. It would have been a shame to miss you on the one day I was able to visit." Waver commented dryly.

"Ah, worry not, my boy. We can't quite manage large trips like that anymore. Visiting a friend in a nearby city is the limit of it these days."

"What do you mean you can't manage it anymore?" Waver asked in concern. Surely they couldn't be sick? "What's bothering you?"

"Nothing but old age." Glen smiled reassuringly. "We aren't as young as we used to be, and the time is nearing that we have to make room for the next generations. We've had our time, and neither of us have any regrets. At least not now that you have visited us again, my boy. We missed you a great deal."

"But enough about us, Waver." Martha interrupted, handing him his cup of tea. "We are fine. Why don't you tell us what you've been up to these past few years instead."

Waver held the teacup in a grip that might have been a tad stronger than necessary as he contemplated on what to tell his surrogate grandparents, and what he should lie about, or just not mention.

They might know some things, such as him being far from normal, but that didn't mean he could just tell them about the Moonlit World. That way lied only disaster. Telling a few people here and there really started to stack up after a while.

Perhaps an altered version of the truth would do…?

"I have been pretty successful." Waver eventually began, deciding to tell the truth as much as possible while omitting anything related to the Moonlit World. "I even managed to take over the position of my former mentor."

"Take over his job?" Glen asked with a raised eyebrow. "I do remember you mentioning that in one of your letters, but you never elaborated on what happened exactly. Did he leave it to you when he retired, or was he a jerk that you rightfully pushed from his place?"

"We were certainly on very bad terms." Waver huffed, remembering the dead threats and everything else that had been heaped on him by Kayneth. "But he was murdered around eight years ago."

Martha pressed a hand to her mouth in shock, and Glen frowned heavily. Waver was momentarily confused, before he almost facepalmed as he remembered brutal murders were decidedly not normal outside of the Magus Community.

"Was he killed because of his position?" Glen asked sharply, setting down his teacup with great force. "Are you saying you are also at risk of being murdered?"

"No, no, not at all." Waver shook his head, trying to calm them down. "I'm not at particular risk of being murdered soon, my mentor merely made the mistake of picking battles with the wrong people while there was no need to."

His words didn't really seem to set them at ease, but they didn't press the issue, merely urging him to be careful.

Waver promised he would be careful, but he knew very well that his position was a dangerous one. He was a Magus after all, and a Lord besides. Of course he wasn't safe or free from risk, death was a fundamental part of his whole lifestyle.

But then again, Kayneth had strolled into battle with his Crest, a fiancée that practically hated him, and a Servant whom he treated like trash, while being up against Emiya Kiritsugu.

One would almost think Kayneth had just been tired of life and committed suicide-by-Grail-War, his actions had simply been that stupid.

"Never mind my job and its risks though, why don't we talk about my students?" He quickly went on in an effort to distract Glen and Martha. "Or perhaps my research?"

"You are a teacher?" Martha asked in surprise. "I wouldn't have assumed that after all of this talk about murder and risk. I mean, aren't teachers really rare and desired these days? Why would they want to murder you?"

"It's not my main job, teaching is what I do on the side." Waver explained quickly, inwardly frowning as the conversation again went to uncomfortable places. "I both teach and I do research in all kinds of subjects, mostly as hobbies these days."

"I never knew that teaching and doing research could be hobbies." Glen said ponderously, rubbing a hand over his chin. "What exactly is your job, if it leaves you enough free time to do both?"

"I work for a big conglomerate, a research centre of sorts where people from all over the world can pool their work to compare it, and work together to discover new things. It's a big organisation, and my main job is to play a leading and administrative role."

"Some kind of leadership function?" Martha asked in an awed voice. "How fitting for you, Waver. What the name of this organisation though? I'm sure we can find some information on the phone-"

"I'd rather not say." Waver interrupted her sharply, before wincing at his own tone. "I'm sorry, I… cannot tell. It is forbidden to tell outsiders of… that place. We are quite secretive, I guess."

He had expected the look of understanding in Glen's eyes, but it was a bit of a surprise to see the same look in Martha's.

Did she know...?

All three fell silent, breaking eye-contact and directing their attention elsewhere, choosing to refill the cups or fiddle with the carpet. An awkward silence stretched out, as they tried to think of something to say without addressing the elephant in the room.

"It's quite a fun job though." Waver eventually tried. "I have some annoying superiors, but on the whole, they don't bother me much. I think I've really found my place in the world."

"Excellent, truly magnificent, my boy." Glen proclaimed quickly, trying to push the awkwardness away. "It's good to hear that you consider your life a success."

"It's truly amazing, my dear Waver." Martha smiled tenderly, placing a hand on his arm. "What about your colleagues though? You've talked about what you do, and your bosses, but you haven't mentioned any friends."

"That's because my job and working environment don't allow for friends." Waver sighed. "Everyone is out for their own gain, and the ones that you can trust are few and far apart. Just recently one tried to steal my latest research, and though that failed, it is but one example of the bad crowd."

"That doesn't sound like a productive place to work at all." Martha said aghast. "Why do you interact with them if they are so-, so rotten?"

"I don't have much of a choice." Waver admitted sheepishly. "They are after all my employers and employees, my teachers and students, my colleagues and my partners. Besides, when you understand what makes them tick, it isn't all that difficult. Most of them want respect, they want to conduct their research. Everyone wants to be important and feared, and jealousy is a large part of the community. If you remember that, navigating through it isn't very difficult."

"Sounds like a bunch of spoiled brats to me." Martha huffed condescendingly.

"…" Waver really wanted to protest against that, but, when he really thought about it, he found he couldn't dispute her statement. The scale was different, and the stakes were a lot higher, not to mention it was a lot eviller and more cynical, but in essence, Martha was right.

They were really a bunch of spoiled brats…

"Don't confront that poor boy with the truth like that." Glen reprimanded his wife. "Just because this brings to mind five-years-olds pulling the legs of a spider to see what happens, and savagely beating each other over toys, and happily backstabbing each other to gain the teacher's approval, doesn't mean you can just say that to his face."

"Thanks for your consideration, old man." Waver huffed.

"You are very welcome, Waver." Said old man beamed. "That said though, I have been meaning to ask, why did you come back to Fuyuki? You said you were on business, but what did you mean by that?"

"I was in town to deal with a few old business partners of mine." He said, feeling that was close enough to the truth. "On arrival though, I discovered that they had been taken in by the police for unethical experiments and other similar charges."

"What were they doing the-?" Glen started, before he fell silent. "I-I mean, damn, your co-workers sound like a difficult lot."

"I never liked them anyway." Waver responded with an uncaring shrug. "There is not much more I can say about it."

"So there's room for questions now?" Martha asked with an innocent expression, which turned evil when Waver nodded. "Is there, perhaps, anyone you currently fancy, Waver? Can we expect great-grandbabies soon?"

"W-What?" Waver almost reared back in shock at the sudden question. "W-Why would you even ask that?"

"Come now, my boy." Glen laughed, again clapping his hand on Waver's back. "You are our grandson, of course we want to know if you're going to settle down someday soon. We want great-grandchildren after all, as we've told you so often."

"You never told me that!"

"Is it perhaps that maid that you mentioned in one of your letters? Dear, a forbidden office romance, that sounds like something out of the neighbour's eldest daughter's dramas."

Well, yeah, he did have a maid, or rather, his little sister did, but Waver didn't have the heart to tell them that said maid was made of mercury and would start trying to kill people if the word 'terminator' was so much as mentioned in her presence.

Not exactly dating-material, even if the whole mercury-thing had been absent.

Perhaps it was the pained expression on his face that caused Martha to follow up with her next blow.

"Oh, but don't worry, my sweet Waver. If you have your eyes on a nice man, that's completely fine too. We won't judge you. After all, condemning people over things like that is so previous century."

"Are you trying to bait me? You are trying to bait me, aren't you?"

"No idea what you're talking about. When are we going to meet your boyfriend though?"

"I don't have one." Waver stressed, while Glen and Martha were struggling to hold back their laughter.

Despite his embarrassment though, Waver couldn't hold back a smile. It had been years since he had been able to talk so freely, not since… well, the last time he was here.

It was nostalgic.

Before he knew it, many hours had passed already.

"Good gracious." Waver said as he looked at his watch, his eyes widening as he saw the time. "Please forgive me, but it seems I have to leave again. I can't leave my team alone for too long, they might misbehave if I'm not there."

"You've been here for several hours already." Martha said with a grateful smile. "That is plenty. Don't forget to write us, dear, and don't go insane with the spoiled brats."

"I will endeavour not to." Waver laughed. "I hope your lives won't be too interesting from here on, and do stay in good health. I pity the Shinigami that will be tasked with picking up the two of you."

Martha burst out in delighted cackles at his last jibe, while Glen huffed.

Then, after some more goodbyes, Waver left for the hotel where he and his team were staying at, though they would be leaving the next morning to head back to London.

This particular task was over, but a thousand other were waiting for him back home. The work of a lord was never done.

---

When Sakura and Shirou returned to his- their house, it was near midday. Giving their witness-reports to the police had taken the whole morning, and it was almost time for lunch now.

Fujimura-sensei had already told them she wouldn't be present for the meal. She had been there for breakfast today, and would be for dinner, but she couldn't make it to lunch because of a meeting at her school.

That was actually quite convenient for Sakura, as she had some sensitive topics she needed to discuss with her Senpai.

Lunch was finished in the blink of an eye, the experience made all the sweeter by the knowledge Zouken was dead and burned, and before long, Sakura and Shirou were eating while they chatted about mundane things.

Sakura flinched however when she received yet another minor electric shock. She wasn't completely sure why, but there had been a lot more static electricity in the air than normal. She suspected Senpai was the origin, but since it was happening less and less, she hadn't addressed it.

There were far more important things to talk about.

"Senpai." She said in a serious tone. "How exactly are we going to do this? L-Living together I mean. I can't just move in expecting that everything will work out, so maybe-"

"Ah, good that you remind me." Shirou said, snapping his fingers in realisation. "We do have several things we need to discuss. First of all, keys. I have several spare ones, so you can have one of those."

After a quick trip to somewhere in the house, he returned with a key, which he promptly handed over to her.

"Besides that, I have a bank account that I use for the daily expenses. I'll allow you access to it as well." He continued, writing a reminder on a piece of paper. "You already picked your room, you have a futon, and we can go buy more stuff for you this afternoon. I saw you didn't have much, so you'll need some new clothes, perhaps a computer, toiletries certainly, and some other things."

As her Senpai kept writing down point after point on the piece of paper, the plum-haired girl marvelled at just how much went into managing a household. It also made her feel somewhat embarrassed. In all honesty, Sakura had actually only intended to use her question about living together as a way to bring the topic over to Ayako.

Sakura had had the immense luck that the brunette had interpreted Sakura's offer to let her have Shirou as a proposal to share him, and even though she felt terrible about the deception, it meant that a relationship with Senpai and Ayako was still possible if she played her cards right.

She didn't mind sharing with Ayako of course. In fact, it would probably only help to have a friend with her in a relationship. Being a proper girlfriend sounded like it would be very difficult, so if she had someone to share with, all the better.

However, a relationship with Ayako would be nigh-impossible if they kept more than half of their life a secret from her, the Magical half to be precise.

If they didn't tell her, then either it would cause friction when Ayako would inevitably realise they were hiding things, or she might find out about magic herself, and freak out.

Shirou had been able to keep him being a Spell Caster a secret from both Ayako and Sakura before, but only because Sakura herself had never dared pry into his personal life and had dogmatically avoided everything that reminded her of Magecraft, while Ayako simply wasn't around enough to notice anything strange.

Sakura herself knew all about her Senpai now, so there were no problems anymore on her end. Should Ayako become their girlfriend however, she was bound to notice things, which would cause no end of trouble.

As such, preventive measures had to be taken.

She patiently waited for her Senpai to finish his list, taking careful note of everything he said. It was all practical and very useful information to remember, and it was only polite to listen to the man she wanted to be her husband one day while he talked about domestic matters.

"And that's the schedule I maintain for the washing machine." Shirou eventually finished after several minutes. "That's everything I wanted to say. Don't worry if you didn't remember all of it, I will repeat it as often as necessary."

"Thank you, Senpai. I'll be sure to do my part in the household." Sakura promised, before taking the chance to present her own issue. "But there is something else that we really need to talk about right now."

"Oh, what is it?"

"Ayako." Sakura intertwined her fingers as she rested her lower arms on the table, trying to appear casual. "She is becoming a very good friend, isn't she? She's getting closer and closer to us, and I heavily suspect she will get even closer in the near future."

"Ah, I suppose so. That's not a bad thing though, right?"

"Not at all." Sakura said with a happy smile. "I am very glad about it, Ayako is amazing. But, Senpai, I'm worried about what will happen when she realises that we are keeping things from her, because I do not doubt she will realise that sooner or later."

"She is certainly perceptive." Shirou agreed, ponderously rubbing his chin as he cast his eyes upwards at the ceiling. "I take it you have an idea to deal with that though."

"I do. We simply tell her the truth."

Sakura sat up straight after her blunt proposal, ready for the dismissal that would no doubt follow her suggestion. Revealing the Moonlit World to Mundane people was heavily frowned upon at best and downright illegal at worst among Magi, and it would only be logical for her Senpai to be against it. Nevertheless, she had prepared several arguments-

"Sounds good. We'll tell her at the first opportunity then."

"…Eh? Just like that?" Sakura asked in astonishment.

"Well, yes." Shirou said with a shrug, giving her a lopsided smile. "I am no Magus, and neither are you. We are not affiliated with the Clocktower or the Church and they barely bother with Asian countries anyway. I think we can tell her. She is our friend after all."

"Indeed she is." Sakura agreed instantly. "Let's tell her as soon as we can!"

"Well, let's see. School is starting tomorrow, so the mornings are out, but the afternoons and evenings are free, except the day after tomorrow, then Neko-san needs my help at the café. Perhaps we can ask when Ayako is free and go from there?"

"That does seem like the best idea." Sakura agreed. "I'll ask her when I see her again at school."

"Weren't you excused from school for the coming weeks?" Shirou smirked, something he did so rarely it seemed to carry an exotic tint in Sakura's eyes. "Because your house burned down, your grandfather died in the fire and your brother disappeared without a trace?"

"Yes, I suppose I was." Sakura said, blinking once. When it was put like that, it sounded like she'd just had the worst weekend ever, while it actually had been, rather paradoxically, the best one of her life. "I guess I won't see her at school then. Oh, but I'll be going over to her house tomorrow. I can ask then when she will be free for a long conversation with the two of us."

"Please do." Shirou nodded. "We'll need a lot of time for this. You already knew of the Moonlit World, but Ayako does not, so the explanation will be lengthy."

"I will try to find a date where we'll have as much time as we want."

"Thank you, Sakura." Shirou said with another smile, finishing the last of his food, before reaching out to pat her head. "I am really glad you are here. I can always count on you."

And while they cleaned the dishes and the table, Sakura once again felt like she was floating on air.

---

"Ngh."

Yomaura Taya couldn't suppress a hiss of agitation as she once again stabbed the needle far too deep into her finger, drawing far more blood than she intended, her exhaustion and remaining fever causing her hands to become unsteady and the needle to go awry.

She needed only a few drops of blood to draw the Runes, not entire streams of the stuff; that was incredibly wasteful, and painful besides.

She put the finger in her mouth and let her natural constitution take care of the rest. She didn't let the blood that had already come out go to waste however, drawing furiously with her other hand.

She only had an hour or so before her Senpai would arrive to help her collect her stuff and take it to his house for her stay there, and she had to make the most of it, making Runestones and preparing Spells for the upcoming fight.

After she had seen Rakurai on that stormy night, when she'd realised he was in any and every way a superior Magus, she'd spent all her time preparing for their inevitable battle.

She had crafted Runic Arrays on pieces of clothing, as well as on stones and rocks, on pieces of paper and on basically everything else that could be used in combat. She had created defences around her own and her Senpai's house. She had retrieved her knives from where she'd stored them all those years ago. She had even bought herself a sword, which she had greatly amplified with Runes as well.

All of it in a single night too.

It had come at a cost however. She had pushed far past her limits. Her years of inaction had resulted in a major loss of skill and power, and she was definitely feeling the results of suddenly overdoing it after all those years.

To make a long story short, she was far too rusty to suddenly return to action like that, and it had backfired severely.

She had completely emptied her Circuits of Od, until not a drop had been left, having greatly miscalculated her reserves. Or actually, she hadn't even paid any attention to her reserves, she had just worked and worked and worked.

It had greatly strained her Circuits, pushing them much further than they could handle, which was only possible because they had started draining her stamina as well to make up for the missing Od.

She supposed she was fortunate that it had just been her stamina that had been drained, as her foolish actions could very well have killed her had it gone even just slightly different.

Despite that, she hadn't stopped working until the sun rose, and only because the loss of blood and the exhaustion had affected her so much that she had collapsed where she stood.

Fortunately, she had been at home at the time, and after recovering from the sudden lightheadedness, she had bandaged herself as well as she could, before dragging herself to bed, completely forgetting about both her Senpai and her job.

She had fallen asleep at once when her head hit the pillow, and she hadn't woken up until evening, with her Senpai standing over her, ice and bandages in his hands and immense worry in his eyes.

She had realised immediately how it would have looked from his perspective, finding her in bed, bloodied and fevered, and how shocked and horrified he had to be. She hadn't known what to say or do, and though he had chosen not to press her for answers, she knew this incident would not be forgotten.

She still didn't have a plausible explanation. How could she? How did you explain 'I cut myself bloody and I exhausted myself to the point of a nigh-lethal fever' in a way that would satisfy your loved ones?

She couldn't. There was no way she could explain any of that without also mentioning Magecraft.

As she had no explanation for him, her Senpai had then taken her to his house, where Chiho and Suki had fussed over her until she fell asleep again.

She had slept for more than fifteen hours after that.

Fifteen hours!

It was ridiculous, especially considering it had still not been enough to heal her. She couldn't afford to be sick or tired, not with Rakurai still out there.

She was reasonable enough to admit though that it had all been her own fault. She had completely neglected to recall her lessons, and she supposed she should be grateful she hadn't blown herself up or caused critical damage to her Circuits or her body.

So she wouldn't do that again. She would take it easier from now on, to avoid another disaster like that.

Not that she had much of a choice in the first place though.

Senpai and the girls had not allowed her to move back to her apartment, citing that she was clearly not in good health. She had managed to negotiate a few hours to pack her stuff and finish some business however, which she was doing right now, but after that, they would physically drag her back to the Osaki-house if necessary.

Packing her stuff had taken barely any time, and now she was continuing to work on her preparation for the fight against the Magus-vigilante during the little time that she had left.

She did take care this time to stay well within her own capabilities. If she managed to mess herself up again, Senpai would forever keep her a prisoner at his house.

While she was working however, she had some unexpected news to process.

When she'd moved to Fuyuki-City, she had fully intended to never associate herself with the Moonlit World again, in any shape or form.

As such, she had completely ignored the Tohsakas, the Matous, the priest, and all others, and hoped that they would either not notice or ignore her in turn.

Tohsaka had never noticed her. Yomaura had no intention of being mean, but the girl definitely wasn't of the observant sort, and her pet-priest just didn't seem to care.

She had far more to fear from Matou Zouken. Zouken was old, he was experienced, he was observant, and that made him the most dangerous of them all.

At least, that was what she initially thought. When she had woken up after spending the night at her Senpai's place however, he had informed her that he would have to go and give a witness statement about a fire that had consumed the Matou-estate, leaving no survivors.

It had taken a royal amount of willpower on her part to not react too violently to that, keeping her reaction on slight shock and polite empathy for the victims instead, all while her mind was racing.

She didn't believe for a second that the Matou-family would have been killed by something as simple as a housefire, so, logically, it had either been a ruse to fake their deaths, or this had been an attack on the family by an outside party.

Later that morning, her Senpai informed her that the youngest members of the Matou-family had actually survived, and that they put the blame on Zouken himself for the fire that had claimed the Magus' life.

She had been ready at that point to write it off as a family-fight between Magi, a battle over the position of family-head, but Senpai had then casually dropped another bomb on her.

The girl, Matou Sakura if she wasn't mistaken, had been in the presence of an Emiya.

Yomaura, like every other person in the Moonlit World who hadn't grown up under a stone, had heard of the legendary Magus-Killer, Emiya Kiritsugu. The man had been the single greatest mercenary and assassin in the world after all.

According to all reports, he had disappeared after the Grail War. Most thought he had died in the battle, and the doubters came around after there had been no sign of him for years.

But now, there was an Emiya hanging around in the city of the Grail War in the presence of a member of one of the three main Magus-families of the city, right after the head of said family had died under mysterious circumstances.

She doubted that was a coincidence.

It was entirely possible the Magus-Killer had survived and had settled in Fuyuki-City with a relative, maybe even a son, whom he had raised to take his place.

Maybe the assassination of Matou Zouken had been practice? Or a favour to a friend? Matou Sakura had clearly disliked Zouken a great deal, and if the man had been anything like Yomaura's own grandfather, she could definitely sympathise.

Maybe she should go and see what that was all about-

'SLAP'

Yomaura promptly slapped herself in the face.

No, she was not going to see what that was all about.

She had other, far more important things to do than satiate idle curiosity and potentially expose herself to people she really shouldn't mess with.

That whole business hardly mattered to her anyway. Neither the Emiya nor the Matou knew about her presence in the city, and she suspected neither would care all that much even if they did know.

Rakurai was a far more important problem, one she had to tackle with everything she had. She would have to bring her best game, or he would slap her aside.

She was of course more than aware that even her best might very well not be enough to take down that monster of a man, but she'd still try her very best to fight him if he threatened Senpai or the girls. It was both her responsibility and the least she could do.

The years she had spent with Koyo and his daughters had been the best of her life. Her time in the family couldn't even begin to compare. They had accepted her into their home without hesitation, shown her nothing but love even when she refused to talk about her past, and she would be damned if she didn't at least try to repay that.

So no matter how strong and powerful Rakurai was, if he came for them, he would find Yomaura in his way, and it would only be over her cold, dead body that he could proceed.

"Ahg!"

Pain then suddenly flashed through her body, making her grit her teeth and almost drop the Runestone she was holding. Her Od-reserves were getting critically low again, and her Circuits were making their displeasure known quite clearly.

Not wanting to repeat the mistakes she made two days ago, Yomaura decided to call it a day.

With a sigh, she unsteadily rose from her chair and took small, measured steps towards the bathroom, to clean up a bit before Koyo would arrive to take her back to his house.

Her apartment was fairly big and quite luxurious, with two bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room, and even a small kitchen. All for a reasonable price, and not too far from the precinct either.

It was very quiet though. She didn't have any housemates or pets, and even the neighbours were always silent. A sharp contrast to the lively atmosphere of the Osaki-house, where there was always sound and just a general feeling of people living there.

'Ding-dong'

Picking up her suitcase, Yomaura went to answer the door, smiling as she found her Senpai on the doorstep.

"Good evening." He smiled genially, the sight of it enough to lift her spirits a bit. "Are you ready to go?"

"I am." She nodded, showing her suitcase.

"Is that enough for a week or more?"

"It's more than enough." She confirmed softly, inwardly wincing at the fact that she wouldn't be able to do Magecraft for at least a week. That was a lot of preparation-time wasted. But then again, staying with Senpai would be enough to offset that.

She would enjoy the peace for as long as she could.

---

Rin stared with wide eyes at the ruins of what had once been the Matou-estate, the once so large and impressive, if rather decrepit, mansion now nothing more than ash and blackened stone.

She had seen the enormous cloud of smoke above the city, and she'd heard a house had burned down, but she had never expected it to be the Matou-estate.

She licked her lips nervously, ruthlessly squashing the worry that was bubbling up inside of her. Zouken wouldn't let himself or his grandchildren die in something as mundane as a housefire.

…Right?

But where were they then? And what had happened to the estate that it had been destroyed to such an extent? Zouken better have a very good explanation for this!

He better also have found a good place to stay for him and his grandchildren. I-It would be unbecoming for a Magus to live on the s-street after all.

Pushing away the mental image of Sakura sitting outside in the cold, alone and soaked to the bone, Rin fidgeted nervously, her eyes still on the ruin. She… she still had to talk with Zouken, yes, to check if he knew anything about the rogue Magus, so she better search for him and his grandchildren, and o-offer them a place to stay.

I-In her function as Second Owner of course, it wouldn't do to let the Magi in her city bring down her image and reputation by living in bad conditions.

Though to invite them, she'd first have to find them, somehow.

Several firemen were still loitering about at the ruin, busy with removing the rubble and putting out any remaining fires. She immediately approached the closest one. He didn't wear a uniform and seemed more of a volunteer or something, but he would do for now.

"Excuse me." She called out, waving at the man as she approached, making him look up at her. "Could I ask you something?"

The man had black hair, as most Japanese did, a nose that had obviously been broken several times before, a rather weak chin, and shifty eyes that widened when he saw her.

His eyes then roamed over her form, an all-too familiar lecherous glint appearing in them, as he took on a pose that was probably supposed to be macho and self-confident, making Rin stop dead in her tracks, several metres away from him.

"Well hello, little lady." He grinned, in a tone that was likely meant to be suave. "How can I help you? If you're looking for a good time, look no further."

Already regretting hastily flagging someone down, Rin forced a smile on her face and suppressed the urge to run away immediately.

"No thank you, I just wanted to ask if you knew what happened here?" She said, slowly inching backwards again. There might be several metres between them, but that distance should be doubled at the very least in her opinion.

"Don't know really, some wacko old guy set his own house on fire. I'm just here because they needed people to work away the rubble. The pay is alright, and I needed the gig." The man shrugged, before giving her another lecherous smile. "I could find out more though, for the right price."

Rin had the distinct feeling he wasn't talking about money when he said that.

"That's okay." She smiled, now actually beginning to walk away. "You helped me a lot, thank you and goodbye."

With those words, she turned around and ran, missing how the man's eyes narrowed maliciously as he looked at her retreating form, his gaze locked onto her behind.

Taking deep breaths, Rin sighed in relief as she saw the guy wasn't following her. She wasn't going back there any time soon, that was certain. Not until all the work was done and she was certain he and his buddies weren't hanging around anymore.

The knowledge had been worth it though, and it was certainly very surprising.

Zouken had died in the fire? Actually died? That was impossible, he was a very old and experienced Magus, he wouldn't die in a housefire. Not unless someone actively tried to make it so-

Rin froze for a moment, before shaking her head, chiding herself for jumping to conclusions. Zouken probably wasn't dead at all, so it made no sense at all to already condemn Saku- someone, a random person somewhere, for his death.

She still didn't know what exactly happened, but maybe she should ask the police rather than another unknown man on the streets.

As the police station wasn't too far away from the Matou-estate, Rin made her way over there immediately.

Entering and making her way over to the helpdesk, Rin felt relieved when she saw the obviously professional aid sitting behind the counter, wearing a suit, having several files in front of him, reading a magazine of some kind, and all in all giving off an air of a calm person who wouldn't sexually harass her.

"Excuse me?" Rin began again once she stood before the counter. "Could I ask you a question?"

"Certainly, young lady." The black-haired man said, putting away his magazine and giving her his undivided attention. "If you could just tell me who you are, I'd be happy to be of service."

"Tohsaka Rin, and I was wondering if you could tell me anything about the Matou-estate, and what happened to it and its inhabitants." Rin said, trying to not let her nervousness show. They weren't dead after all, they had just relocated after the fire.

"Let's see." The aid mused, shifting through a few papers and typing a few things in his computer. "Ah, here it is. It seems Matou Zouken, the super-old guy that lived there, went bonkers a few days ago, and burned down the house after his grandson and granddaughter ran away from him to escape his abuse."

"Burned the house down?" Rin repeated in shock. "Abuse?!"

"Yeah, it was pretty bad apparently." The man nodded. "Poor girl was traumatised pretty badly, and from witness accounts, that old man was really bad news. It's completely understandable they ran away. After that, the guy torched his place, killing himself."

"…What happened to his grandchildren?" Rin asked sharply. "Are they okay?"

"They are, miss, don't worry." The cop said reassuringly. "Well, we hope so at least. The brother disappeared after the fire, running away most likely, while the girl moved in with a friend, though we don't know how that's been going either."

"I-I see." Rin muttered, sighing deeply in relief after a moment of thought. If Sakura had moved in with a friend, then that could only be Emiya. That was good news, though Rin wondered how the plum-haired girl was going to hide her being a Magus from him.

"Thank you." She said, giving the aid a smile, which he readily returned.

"No problem, little missy. I was glad to help."

Giving him a nod, Rin walked out again, missing how the man's eyes narrowed in concentration, as well as how he immediately picked up a private phone once she was out of earshot.

"Hey, boss, Shimada-san." He murmured into the phone. "There was someone here just now I think you might be interested in… No, we don't have her on file, but she was very curious about that current case of yours… The one about the arson at the Matou-estate, yeah… A lot of pointed questions, I think she might be closely involved… Her name is Tohsaka Rin."

Unaware of her actions being reported, Rin stepped outside of the precinct, not sure of what she should be doing.

The police believed Zouken to be dead, which was very unlikely. Again, an old and experienced Magus wouldn't die to a housefire. Rin did not have a way of contacting him however, or any other way of checking his status and health, outside of directly asking Sakura.

Which actually brought her to another point. If Zouken had indeed died, then it was very likely someone had 'helped' him a bit with that, and after hearing about him abusing his grandchildren…

Could it be that Sakura…

N-No, t-that was ridiculous. She wouldn't… She couldn't… Sakura would never…

Rin took a deep breath, brusquely forcing away the sentimentalities from her mind. She had to look at this objectively, with a detached view.

Sakura had been abused by Zouken. Sakura most likely also had the Crest of the Matou-family already, and was thus probably stronger than Zouken. There was also a considerable chance that she still harboured a grudge about what happened in their youth. Finally, killing Zouken made her the head of the family, especially now that Shinji was out of the picture.

It meant she had both a reason and the means to kill him.

Rin shook her head rapidly at those thoughts. No, she was jumping at conclusions again, there was no proof at all. It could easily have been another Magus who wanted the research and possessions of the Matou-family.

But such a Magus wouldn't have left Sakura and Shinji alive…

She needed to talk to Sakura, and fast. She needed to confirm what had happened to them, and if she was alri- to make sure the new head of the Matou-family knew the rules of the territory.

She would have to plan extensively for that conversation though, as it probably wouldn't be easy at all to talk with her again.

Additionally, she would have to make sure Emiya wouldn't catch wind of what they would be discussing, as that would be disastrous.

Y-Yes, the nervousness and fear she was feeling were just because she was afraid Emiya would overhear their discussion, no other reason.

Not a single other reason at all.

---

Waver had returned to the Clocktower, and he returned victorious.

It had been two days since he'd met with the Tohsaka and caught up with Glen and Martha, and in those two days, he'd returned home and had delivered the Sealing Designees to the correct locations in the Clocktower.

The three dead Magi would be used for experimentation. By becoming Sealing Designees, they had given up their right to be returned to their families or to have their bodies preserved and treated with respect. A rather ironic fate, considering what they had done to so many others.

The researchers in the Department of Dissection –not its official name– had been delighted when he had brought them the Magi, and Waver now had three favours from them that he could cash in on someday.

Richard Burgon, one of the survivors and also the leader of their little group, was set to be interrogated for every scrap of information he possessed. From what Waver had heard, his knowledge could be invaluable to the Enforcers. After that, he would be executed, and his body used for experimentation as well.

That had all been fairly easy, but the biggest problem was posed by the last of the Designees, Vincent Balefor, the other survivor and Waver's personal enemy, who was now lying in a cell, still unconscious and blissfully unaware of the mess he had found himself in.

The man was the only one of them to actually possess a Crest, which Waver had to get back to the Balefor-family before the Clocktower would confiscate it, and he was also the one with the most enemies, by far, up to and including the Queen of the Clocktower herself.

Everyone would want a piece of him once it got out that he had been found and arrested, so Waver wanted to get the Crest back to the Balefor-family as soon as possible. Once he'd managed that however, he'd throw the man to the dogs and make a run for it. Nice and easy.

He should have known it wouldn't be that simple.

"Lord El-Melloi."

The voice was sharp as a knife, cutting through all other noise in the area. Hearing it, Waver immediately stopped walking and turned around, watching as Lorelei Barthomeloi, the Queen of the Clocktower herself, the Strongest Magus of the Modern Times, effortlessly moved through the crowd in his direction. She didn't push or elbow anyone, rather the mass of people parted for her like the Red Sea for Moses.

Waver kept his face carefully neutral, though on the inside he was frowning. He had thought he would have more time before she would hear of his success, but apparently, he had been wrong.

"I heard from Enforcer Wesley that you managed to capture Vincent Balefor alive." She said, pinning him in place with her sharp gaze. "Is this true?"

"It is, lady Barthomeloi." Waver admitted, setting a reminder for himself to severely reprimand Wesley later. The man was far too weak to beautiful women. "He is currently in a holding cell, awaiting trial. I was on my way to have a trusted assistant of mine inform his family before the news of his capture becomes public knowledge."

"I see." Barthomeloi huffed, crossing her arms. "I approve of this course of action. You may get back to it after our discussion is finished. Now come, I must speak to you in my office."

Not seeing another choice, Waver followed her. She was essentially doing him a massive favour by being so accommodating to what amounted to a personal desire of his –not immediately making it known to the entire Clocktower that a criminal had been captured– so he could hardly refuse her a conversation.

The walk with the woman was silent, as neither Magus had anything to make small talk about. Waver could swear though that Barthomeloi had seemed about to start a conversation a few times, but they eventually arrived at her office without her having said a word.

It wasn't the first time he had been there, but the feeling of dread he felt every time he entered was still as prevalent as ever.

"So." Barthomeloi said as she sat down behind her desk, motioning him towards the comfortable-looking chair across from it. "Tell me."

"First, I have to ask how much you already know about this case, lady Barthomeloi." Waver replied, discretely looking around her office. Yes, he had been there before, but it was large and filled with all kinds of objects, so he probably would need several more visits to get a complete picture. "Are you aware of the wanted mercenary who was recently traded to us by the Church?"

"I am aware of him." She answered with a nod. "I recall you left very shortly afterwards."

"I did." Waver confirmed. "The mercenary turned out to have been caught while doing a job for a group of Sealing Designees of which Vincent Balefor was a member. This mercenary had been ordered to abduct a particular Magus for the Sealing Designees, in order to use her in their experiments."

The woman's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, which was understandable. If Magi started openly abducting and attacking other Magi, then the Association would soon cease to exist.

"The Sealing Designees were Hypnotising criminals to abduct people for them to use in their experiments, by the hundreds. Kidnapping a Magus seems to have been the next step."

"I recall Balefor speaking out more than once in favour of using such a method here." Lady Barthomeloi said ponderously. "It would seem he finally got his wish."

"The mercenary was caught in the act however, and eventually delivered here." Waver continued, not acknowledging her statement, knowing it hadn't been meant for him. "He immediately told us everything he knew upon discovering where he was, including the location of the Sealing Designees."

"So you went there and arrested them." Barthomeloi guessed. "You were very lucky then, but I can't disagree with the results. Good work, lord El-Melloi."

"It was actually more complicated than that." Waver admitted, not about to conceal the truth from her. Partially because he hated lying and partially because Barthomeloi discovering the real story later after he'd tried to deceive her would be an unmitigated disaster, for him.

"Oh?" Barthomeloi lifted an eyebrow. "What truly happened then?"

"When we arrived at the Magi's base, we found that the defences around it had been breached and the Workshops burned to ash. Of the Magi themselves, there was no trace, while it was clear several battles had taken place inside."

"Someone beat you to it?" Barthomeloi asked, a glint of annoyance, killing intent, and… sympathy? in her eyes. "Then how is it that you have all five of the Magi with you now?"

"When Enforcer McRemitz and I entered the castle, we tripped an alarm that the one before us had left for the Magi's associates. He returned to the castle immediately and found us searching the place for clues. He confronted us and, after a short battle, we managed to figure out that we were working towards the same goal. He agreed to turn the Magi over to us."

"I see." She nodded. "What did he demand in return?"

"He was fairly generous. A favour from myself, a sponsorship to enter the Clocktower, and a small part of the Magi's bounties." Waver summarised, figuring it would be a good idea to give her a positive impression of Fujimaru. "He seemed pleased enough to receive only these."

"Will he be coming to the Clocktower soon?" Barthomeloi sat up straighter, her eyes now boring into his. "I would like to meet him myself."

Waver froze ever so slightly, allowing him to feel the shivers working their way up his spine as a cold numbness started spreading throughout his body.

She wanted to meet Fujimaru? Already? After she had only heard about him once?

Sure, he had been aiming to give her a positive impression of the boy, but she had bitten into the bait far too viciously, and now he would have to be very careful to make sure his hook wouldn't be crushed in her jaws.

He could imagine what her game was. Someone able to match Bazett Fraga McRemitz was not someone to take lightly, and he wouldn't be surprised at all if she was aiming to see if Fujimaru was worth poaching for her own forces.

"He alluded to having several matters to take care of before he could come to the Clocktower, but he definitely will come here."

"Good. When he arrives, I shall send for him. See to it that he knows to come at once when I summon him." She ordered sternly, eliciting a nod from him. "The rest of this case I'll read for myself in the report. Unless you have anything of note to add about your mysterious Magus you are dismissed."

Rising from his seat, Waver gave a small bow, before leaving the office to return to his tasks.

As he reached for the door handle however, he paused, clearing his throat.

"There is one other thing about him." He then said, turning around slightly to make eye-contact with Barthomeloi again.

"He would have done it all for free, no matter who I was or what was at stake for him."

Without saying anything else, ignoring the ever-so-slightly shocked look on her face, Waver walked out of the door.

---

Kotomine Kirei was sitting in his personal chamber, calmly reading 'The Count of Monte Christo', after finishing his daily chores and entertaining the flock. To his great surprise, the number of attendants had been far higher than normal today, something about a 'pure essence' hanging around town over the last days, so his schedule had been fuller than he had anticipated.

But now he was done, and he could enjoy a calm evening. No one ever voluntarily visited him, especially not at this time, and Gilgamesh was still on his trip, so there shouldn't be anything to disturb his little bit of peace.

Not that he blamed people for not visiting him. He certainly wouldn't visit himself had he been someone else.

Pushing the melancholic thoughts to the back of his mind, Kirei went back to reading. He had been begrudgingly gifted the book by Rin as a birthday present, which he had only read because he had been dreadfully bored after the vigilante had moved on.

It was well beyond his expectations that he would be so drawn into the book to be late for his sermon on that day. The story of the Counts near mindless revenge and the thrill of watching him set up dominos to torture those who had wronged him one by one in the worst ways he could conceive had delighted him to no ends. He had even considered adopting some of the Counts methods in his own quests.

But of course, just as he had gotten comfortable in his chair, the sounds of the Church's doors being opened reached his room.

With a sigh, he rose from his chair again to receive the guest, half-considering to just kill them, but ultimately suppressing that urge. Losing his self-control like that would be so unsightly and, to use his dear apprentice's words, inelegant.

When he reached the main hall however, all thoughts of killing disappeared from his mind, and his eyebrows lifted in surprise.

When he had heard the doors opening, he had expected a lost soul in need of guidance, a believer looking for a lost possession, someone wishing for some kind of information, or maybe even Gilgamesh returning.

This visitor was none of those. She was someone he had never expected to see in his Church for as long as he lived, as he had never thought her 'grandfather' would let her enter the holdfast of another Magus.

Matou Sakura, in all of her purple glory, stood before him, her body tense and her eyes holding a determined look.

"Welcome, young one." He intoned as their eyes met, a carefully constructed kind smile on his face, though he did not manage to get his eyes to smile as well. "Why are you here in the Church at this hour? Are you perhaps in need of guidance?"

"Thank you for the offer, Kotomine-san, but I am not here for the Church or for a priest." She said politely, sounding as if she had rehearsed the words several times before coming here. "I-I am here to speak with you in your role as my fath- as Tohsaka Tokiomi's former apprentice."

Kirei's eyes widened even further when he heard that.

"Does your grandfather know you are here?" He countered her question, more to win himself some time than out of actual concern. "I can't very well let you be out if-"

"Grandfather is dead." Matou cut him off, sounding viciously happy about that. "I live with a friend now, and they know I am here."

For a moment, all Kirei could feel was grim satisfaction at the news. Then came regret, that he couldn't have been there to watch Zouken's death, leaving him to hope it had been slow and painful. Finally, there was slight surprise, at the fact that the worm had been killed so suddenly and easily, considering the Matou-girl barely considered his death worth mentioning.

Kirei did not fail to notice either that Zouken was still referred to as 'grandfather', while Tokiomi got nothing but his name.

"Very well then, what is it that you wish to ask? I cannot guarantee I'll answer to your satisfaction, but I shall give it my best try."

The girl took a deep breath, clearly fighting off some lingering hesitation, before she took the leap of faith.

"Are you aware what Zouken did to me in the Matou-estate?" She asked. "What he put me through almost every day?"

"I am aware, yes." He nodded, closing his eyes in momentary regret about how happy he felt about that. "Absolutely horrible, and I am glad that man is finally dead. Was that why you came here?"

"No, I have one more question." She said, closing her eyes and taking another deep breath. "Did he know?"

"…Come again?"

"Did he know?" She repeated, more bite entering her voice as she almost snapped at him. "Was he aware of what was going to happen?"

He frowned, still not understanding it, prompting the girl to repeat herself once more.

"Did. He. Know?!"

Kirei felt a twinge of annoyance at the vagueness of her questions. "Child, I don't have time to play the pronoun game with you. Either be more specific or leave."

"Did… Tohsaka Tokiomi… know what Zouken was going to do to me… after he gave me away?" Matou clarified, gritting her teeth as she forced the question out. "Did he know?"

…

Oh.

Oh!

'Oh my.'

Kirei felt the smile on his face grow and twist into something he had cursed and anguished over for every second of his life. He tried his very best to suppress it, but he was quite sure he utterly failed at doing so, though the girl didn't seem bothered by his expression. She probably had an idea already what the answer was going to be.

Who would have thought she'd come to him one day to ask such a question? He certainly didn't, that was certain. The irony was not lost on him though. The girl most likely didn't even know that he was the one who killed her father, and that he was the one responsible for her 'uncle' dying a dogs death in the previous War. He had already sunk his claws into the elder sister and now the younger sister had come to him as well.

It was time to tell her a tale, the tale of his own friend and teacher, during which he'd tell her nothing but the truth.

"He…"

---

Shirou looked up from the closet he had been assembling in Sakura's room, though with little success, as his hands kept shaking and discharging lightning at the most inopportune of moments.

Sakura had been understanding, fortunately, when he had told her his powers would be acting slightly strange for a while. According to her it explained a lot about what had been happening around him lately, and she had already suspected it to be the case.

So basically, everything seemed to be going quite well.

Nevertheless, Shirou had a very strange feeling in his gut, one that spoke of imminent trouble that was coming for him and those close to him.

It was very strange. He had done nothing over the last days but arranging Sakura's smooth transition to living with him, yet…

He had the feeling a lot had happened over the past days that he knew nothing about. Things connected to him. Things that would catch up to him one day.

Troublesome.

---

Done. That was another chapter with some important events in it. I know, it's a bit of a drag, but hold on for a few more chapters, we're almost moving on now.

So, Shirou had no POV in this chapter, save for that last bit, simply because he had nothing happen to him. He's resting now, already having finished his task, while it is to everyone else now to react to his actions.

Next chapter will focus a bit more of Shirou though, as well as Ayako, Rin and Sakura. Don't know how long that will take to write, but I'll try my very best. I'll probably also add one very short Shinji POV, simply to show what he's going to be up to.

Also, discord. Here's the link: discord . gg / YaZvJJj

As always, special thanks to Lich, liamrodhudson331 and Woggie for checking the chapter.

---

Omake:

A direwolf, with blue fur as dark as the night sky and deep red eyes, watched silently as the mayhem happened down below. Three individuals fighting each other in a battle royal with knifes as their only weapons.

Truly, MidnightFenrir had no idea how things had spiralled into this mess but to see intelligent beings reduced to little more than beasts hungering for blood was... disconcerting, to say the least.

They had to be stopped. The only question was how. And while he knew Primate Murder-nii-san could do so without too much trouble, the aftermath might just be worse.

Hm... Decisions, decisions.

As he pondered the merits of calling back-up, he was startled as a being of mud formed right beside him.

The being smiled down at the direwolf, the malevolent glint in its eyes sending shivers down his spine, as the mud and dark energy that composed it started swirling faster and faster.

MidnightFenrir growled as his fight-or-flight instincts started to kick in. Whatever that thing was doing, he knew he was fast enough to-

'THUD'

A kitchen knife fell to the ground between the wolf and the being, the blade planting the cooking tool into the earth.

For a moment, all was silent as MidnightFenrir looked from the knife to the being several times, as if he was asking it what he was supposed to do with the knife.

Then, the being stretched a long tendril of mud to grasp the knife before raising it in the air...

"FETCH!"

And with that shout, Grail-Kun threw the knife.

Moved by his canine instincts, MidnightFenrir didn't hesitate for a second before bouncing after the knife and catching in his jaws by the handle.

However, direwolves can't fly. And so, with a confused whine, MidnightFenrir plummeted into the chaos bellow.

Grail-Kun laughed as yet another player was added to the game. The Great Knife War was well under way, but it always needed MORE participants.

"Tonight," Grail-Kun hummed merrily, "MidnightFenrir joins the Hunt!"

---

Thanks to MidnightFenrir for the omake.

Ted out.