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.

26. A Short Interlude

A Short Interlude

---

Just as Sakura had predicted, Taiga became absolutely furious once Shirou told her what had transpired at the harbour, how Raiga had betrayed his trust and used him to kill Galen. She barely stuck around long enough for Shirou to finish the story before she stormed out of the house again, her eyes spitting fury as she left.

Knowing how vindictive she could be, Shirou almost felt sorry for the Yakuza-boss. Almost, but not quite. He might have been a forgiving person by nature, but like the girls had said, he wasn't going to let the man get away with so blatantly betraying him.

Hence, when Taiga came by about a month later to brag about the latest punishments she'd doled out to her grandfather, Shirou listened with more amusement than was probably proper.

"I had him check the entire inventory of all the family's possessions, thrice, just to begin with." She told him in a voice filled with vindictive pleasure, her plate yet untouched, showing how seriously she took the matter. "And I'll make sure he'll be looking back on that task with nostalgic desire as I increase his work-load until he's broken and begging for mercy."

"Thank you, Fuji-nee." Shirou smiled, glad that the man had gotten at least some form of come-uppance. "I really appreciate it."

"No problem, no problem." She waved it off with a laugh, before frowning again. "Not that it seems to have helped much. He is still completely remorseless over the whole matter. Keeps saying that 'Galen had to die'."

"…Well, he isn't wrong about that." Shirou admitted, drawing a surprised look from Taiga. "It did save him a whole lot of trouble down the line. I don't agree of course, and I don't like how he went behind my back with it, but I can see why he did it."

"Well, he does seem to be remorseful about betraying you at least." Taiga rubbed the back of her head in thought, before her expression hardened. "Not that that's going to save him from his punishment of course. I'll show him what happens to backstabbers around here."

"You get him, Fujimura-Sensei!" Sakura encouraged her in a darkly joyous voice, raising a fist in the air, her smile positively evil. "Make him regret what he did to Senpai!"

Sakura's merciless proclamation appealed to Taiga far more than Shirou's measured response, and before long, the two were happily conversing about possible methods of further punishing the Yakuza leader for his terrible actions.

Their enthusiasm elicited an unsure look from Shirou though, as his feelings about the matter were starting to get complicated.

On one hand, he agreed that Raiga shouldn't get away with what he had done. That trick he played on Shirou had really been underhanded, and Shirou felt genuinely hurt about it.

On the other hand, it had been almost a month since it happened, and Taiga had been grilling and punishing the man for almost as long. At some point, enough had to be enough.

Raiga had only done what he did because he believed it to be the best course of action, and although Shirou couldn't agree with his methods, he could see that Raiga truly had the good of the city and indeed Shirou himself at heart.

So even if he had been underhanded, it wasn't entirely unforgivable.

The most rational thing for Shirou to do would be to face Raiga himself and talk things out, so Taiga could stop doling out her creative and unusual punishments.

But unfortunately for the man, Shirou wasn't always rational, so he decided to put that conversation off until he came back from London. Letting the man sweat for a few months was honestly the best punishment Shirou could think of at the moment. The rest he would leave to Taiga.

That said, he should probably curb the worst ideas that his big sister and girlfriend were coming up with right now.

He truly appreciated what they were doing for him, but there was no need to force Raiga to clean the entire harbour with nothing but a toothbrush.

That was going a little too far.

---

The Copenhagen, where Shirou and Sakura both worked parttime, was a nice, medium-sized café in the middle of town that doubled as a liquor store and bar in the evening. It had been there for many years already, and enjoyed an excellent reputation in the city.

The atmosphere inside was warm and cozy, the food and drinks were of good quality, and the owners were very hard-working and kind people. Additionally, the prices were very reasonable for an establishment of its kind.

Among the citizens of Fuyuki, it was known as a place of relaxation, whether you were meeting business partners, going out with family and friends, or catching up with old acquaintances. A warm, homely establishment that tried to create an atmosphere of friendliness, where everyone was welcome.

That was the Copenhagen in a nutshell.

However, despite said homely atmosphere, Shirou couldn't help but get the impression that his current conversation-partners weren't exactly relaxed. Rather, they were coiled like springs, their eyes flitting in all directions as they kept scanning the café for possible ambushes.

The redhead had hoped that inviting Osaki Koyo and Yomaura Taya to a café in the afternoon, when there would be plenty of other people around, would be enough to set their nerves at least slightly at ease, but it seemed he had been wrong.

The simple meeting, meant to give them a chance to ask him about the events of the past months, had turned out rather differently than he had expected. Rather than a pleasant chat, it had become an awkward and difficult affair.

And for once, he was not the one at fault.

From the very start, the detectives had been extremely wary of him, of the café, and of everything else around them.

It began with them standing in front of the café for at least thirty minutes, paying close attention to the staff and the customers alike, trying to find any discrepancies in their behaviour that would reveal any nefarious plots.

When they'd finally deemed the place safe enough, they entered, but hadn't sat down at his table until they had made three rounds through the building, checking every nook and cranny for possible ambushers or nasty surprises.

When they finally did take their seats at the table with him, they had categorically refused to drink or eat anything, most likely out of fear he had poisoned or otherwise messed with it.

It had been well over a month now since he'd had his fight with Yomaura Taya, but their fear and caution of him clearly hadn't lessened in the slightest.

That was understandable of course, considering how much the power balance was skewed in his favour, but after close to twenty minutes of silence, even Shirou was starting to get the urge to snap at them in impatience.

But he controlled himself. Acting impatient would only make the awkwardness last longer, so the redhead kept smiling at them as they looked around, sipping from his tea as he waited. They couldn't go on like this forever after all.

Indeed. At the twenty-five minute mark, even Yomaura finally seemed to grow tired of the suspicious silence.

"You chose quite an open and public place." She spoke up, leaning forward over the table. "Are you sure that was wise, Rakurai?"

"Please do not use that name here. Call me Shirou." The redhead admonished her lightly. He did not give them his last name, unsure whether Yomaura or Osaki would have heard of the name 'Emiya' before but not willing to risk it. "And yes, it is safe enough. If we stay calm and composed, others will have no reason to eavesdrop on us and the surrounding noise will drown out our voices."

"If you say so, Shirou-san." Osaki nodded, the name coming out weird, as if the detective was tasting it on his tongue. He didn't seem to remember meeting Shirou during the fall-out of the Matou-mess, and Shirou wasn't going to remind him of it. "Well then, where do we start?"

"I do not know, Osaki-san, that depends entirely on what you want to hear from me." Shirou shrugged. "I am here to answer all the questions you might have, though I reserve the right not to answer some of them. Please, ask."

Silence fell over the table once more, but this time not one of caution and suspicion, but one of contemplation, as the detectives tried to think of any questions they had for Shirou.

"You did your vigilante work using Magecraft, didn't you?" Yomaura suddenly began, having enough sense to keep her voice low as she spoke about Magic. "I noticed several criminals had been Hypnotised. That was your work, wasn't it?"

"It was." Shirou nodded, to which both detectives narrowed their eyes, prompting him to hold his hands up in a soothing motion. "I only told them to confess to their crimes, nothing else. Hypnotism also doesn't leave any marks on body or mind, I assure you."

The glares kept up for a few more seconds, but then Yomaura cast her eyes down with a sigh and Osaki closed his eyes in resignation.

"I cannot say I approve of taking over people's minds." The black-haired detective grumbled, before his eyes opened again. "But I suppose it's no worse than shooting people or locking them up for life. There's no law against Hypnotism anyway."

"Did you ever Hypnotise us?" Yomaura continued, to which Shirou shook his head.

"I swear that I did not." He vowed. "I swear it on my dead father's soul."

"…Hm, fine." Yomaura didn't seem like she was entirely sure she believed him, but she let it slide. "It's not like you can Hypnotise Magi anyway, so I'm safe, and I can check for myself whether Koyo's mind has been messed with."

Shirou very wisely did not say anything in response to that.

"Leaving the matter of Magic aside for the moment, I would like to know why you did it." Osaki took over when his partner fell silent. "Why did you feel the need to become a vigilante and turn Japan on its head?"

"Ah, well, this is sort of embarrassing, but, basically, I want to become a Hero of Justice." Shirou admitted, before sheepishly rubbing the back of his head when the detectives stared incredulously at him. "I became Rakurai to help people and stop evil. It is my dream that one day, there will be no more conflict and pain in the world, and there will be no more need for people to cry. I thought that becoming Rakurai was the best way to achieve that dream."

Osaki's incredulous stare persisted, but Yomaura frowned after hearing his reasons, biting her lip, before speaking in a dry voice.

"Normally, I'd assume you were lying. At first sight, your reasoning is very much unlike a Magus. However, the impossibility of your goal, your dogged pursuit of it in which you do not account for anyone else, and your sheer arrogance in believing you can succeed actually do make it almost Magus-like."

"…You don't hold back at all, do you, Yomaura-san?" Shirou sweatdropped at the woman's merciless remarks. "I assure you I am aware of the impossibility of my dream, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth pursuing anyway-"

"Kid, you don't have to convince us. We aren't going to tell you what you can and cannot pursue." Osaki didn't seem the least bit impressed by his conviction, the incredulous stare having been replaced with an uncaring gaze. "In fact, I wish you the best of luck with your dream. We only wanted to know your reasoning, and apparently, it's a bit purer than we expected."

"Ah… That's good, right?"

"It is."

The conversation stalled again after that, and Shirou found himself a bit stumped.

This was perhaps the first time ever that he encountered people who treated his dream with such… flippancy.

He was used to people being in awe of his dream, people doubting he could ever achieve it but respecting him anyway for trying, or people actively mocking him for being naïve and foolish.

He wasn't used to people brushing the whole matter aside after a few sentences and wishing him good luck, as if he told them he dreamed of being a CEO at a big company or a doctor, instead of some kind of fictional hero.

"You have stopped being Rakurai since… that mess at the harbour." Osaki went on, and Shirou eagerly focused on what promised to be a different topic. "It's been over a month since you last did something. Your fans sure are disappointed, but I must urge you not to give in to them."

"I generally try to forget I have fans, Osaki-san." Shirou's laugh was hollow, the reminder of those people threatening to give him a headache. "I won't pay attention to what they have to say."

"Good."

Yomaura then mumbled something, but aside from the words 'daughters' and 'disappointed', he didn't hear her well enough to understand what she was saying.

Noticing him looking at her, Yomaura narrowed her eyes again.

"A month ago, I was possessed." She balled her fists at the memory, but relaxed when Osaki placed a hand on her arm. "I do not know what it was, but I get the feeling you do. I want you to tell me."

Shirou pursed his lips, before looking around the café. When he had ascertained there was enough noise to drown out a yell of surprise, he answered his fellow redhead's question.

"It was Alaya."

"EH!?"

As he had expected, Yomaura recoiled in surprise, unable to suppress a startled cry.

Shirou didn't blame her for being shocked. It wasn't every day after all that you heard the entity that had possessed you was the Will of Humanity itself.

"No!" Yomaura shook her head resolutely when she'd gotten over her shock. "You are lying. Alaya wouldn't possess people, that is ridiculous!"

"Yet it is what happened." Shirou remained calm under Yomaura's growing agitation. "For some reason, Alaya possessed you in order to fight me. According to her, the Counter Force didn't function properly and the deployment of Counter Guardians was impossible, so she came herself."

"No. I don't believe you! If it is true what you say, then humanity is doomed. It should have been doomed already. Without the Counter Force and the Counter Guardians…"

"I do not think it is completely impossible for her to use those. She just can't use them against me for some reason." Seeing that she was still doubting him, Shirou turned to her partner. "Osaki-san, why don't you describe what you saw when your partner here was possessed, in as much detail as possible please."

"Well, it was quite clear you weren't yourself." Osaki, who looked happy to be contributing something again, told Yomaura. "Your eyes were all white, your veins black and protruding, and you had the aura of an army around you."

"…An army?" Yomaura repeated in a strangled tone.

"Yes. I know it sounds weird, but it felt as if I was watching a huge army on the march, bringing technology and progress everywhere it went." Osaki described the situation, which was in line with what Shirou had experienced. "You, or well, she, was talking about balance and protecting humanity, and how that guy there was doing something with the Counter Force, though I didn't catch the part after that- Oi! Taya?!"

Osaki's shock was warranted, as Yomaura had gone as pale as a sheet and had fallen backwards into her chair, looking seconds away from passing out.

Her mouth moved, but no sounds came out. Her eyes were wide in shock and fear, and her body was simultaneously tensed in fright and weak in despair.

"T-Taya?!" Osaki cried, grabbing a menu card to fan her. "Taya, speak to me!"

But she didn't speak. Not for a good while. Not until she directed her gaze at Shirou again.

"…Alaya." She brought out, fear warring with incredulity in her eyes.

"Yes, but you don't need to worry." Shirou tried to assure her, reasoning she was probably scared Alaya would come after her again. "Her ire was aimed at me. I think if you stay away from me, she shouldn't come after you. She wouldn't have a reason to."

It was unclear whether his words got through to her though, as she didn't react in any way.

"Who is this Alaya anyway?!" Osaki demanded, still hovering over his catatonic partner. "She seemed like bad business to me!"

"Ah, no, well, she… She is mostly a benevolent being, just not when she decides you are a threat to her interests." Shirou tried to explain, well aware that the concept of Alaya could be a difficult one to grasp. "She is the collective Will of Humanity, a goddess created from mankind's desire to survive and prosper, and she can take it pretty far when she thinks something is threatening mankind's survival."

"…And such a being considered it necessary to come after you in person?"

"It… ehm, it would seem so."

His admittance did not seem to set Osaki at ease, to the contrary even, but after a few moments of staring incredulously again, the detective let out a long-suffering sigh.

"Oh, what does it matter? She seemed to like you well enough at the end anyway."

"…" Shirou didn't reply. Frankly, he'd been trying to forget about the last part of the battle. He didn't know what it meant to be 'liked well enough' by Alaya, and he didn't want to find out either.

The men then fell quiet, focusing on the only woman present at the table, who still didn't seem recovered, remaining pale and in shock no matter what her partner did.

Fortunately, help arrived quickly.

And when she did, she managed to drag Shirou's attention away from the two detectives in the blink of an eye, effortlessly drawing his gaze to herself like a moth to a flame.

Lovely and elegant, beautiful and tantalising, confident and self-assured, she was like a bomb that blew Shirou's mind, and she knew exactly what effect she was having on him, judging by the glimmer of amusement in her eyes.

It was Sakura.

In a maid outfit.

"Here you go." The purple-haired girl smiled, handing Osaki a warm compress to put on Yomaura's forehead. She also poured some Camille tea in a cup and placed down some calming pills. "Please give her these and see if she improves."

"Yes, thank you." Osaki nodded gratefully at her, before blinking in confusion. "Hey, wait a moment! You seem familiar… Aren't you Matou Sakura?"

"Yes, that's me, Osaki-san." Sakura nodded happily, looking unsurprised he recognised her. "Pleased to meet you again."

"Yes, me too." The detective answered automatically, after which he turned to Shirou, studying him closely. "That would make you Emiya Shirou."

"Indeed." Shirou confirmed, not too bothered with his identity getting out as long as it stayed within the café. "And before you ask, yes, I was the one who killed Matou Zouken and burned down his estate. The man was practicing Dark Magics, and he had changed himself into a ghoulish creature composed of worms. You can ask your partner later why that is bad."

"…" Osaki looked flummoxed for a few moments, his mouth open in shock, before he strongly shook his head. "You know what, never mind. I don't even care anymore."

True to his word, Osaki didn't ask any more questions, instead dedicating himself to getting his partner back to her feet.

It took a few minutes, and a liberal appliance of the warm compress, tea, and medication, but eventually Yomaura was mostly coherent again, at least enough to join the conversation once more after her partner filled her in on what she'd missed.

To Shirou's slight amusement, Osaki neglected to tell her his family-name was Emiya. The man probably didn't consider it important enough to mention.

His reaction to learning what the Emiya-name actually meant in the Moonlit World was undoubtedly going to be so amusing. Shirou almost wished he could see it for himself.

…Perhaps Rin was rubbing off on him more than he'd expected.

"Is there anything else you'd like to know?" He asked eventually.

"Not really." Osaki shook his head. "We just wanted to know why you were doing this and that you were going to stop, as well as what kind of being did that to Taya. We don't care for the rest."

"Wait, what?" Shirou blinked in surprise, taken aback by the sudden indifference. "You don't?"

"No, we don't." Osaki repeated, making a dismissive motion with his hand. "We wish you the best of luck with your future endeavours, but we'd rather that you kept us well out of it."

"…Of course." If they didn't want to get involved with his business, that was their good right. "Then please allow me to say one more thing."

"What is it?"

"I recently met one Bazett Fraga McRemitz." Shirou didn't miss how the detectives tensed at the name, but he kept his expression carefully neutral. "She told me she was looking for her cousin."

"Was she?" Yomaura tried to sound uninterested, but there was an undertone of tightness in her voice that betrayed that she wasn't nearly as indifferent to the topic as she pretended to be. "What does that have to do with us?"

"…Nothing, I suppose. I merely wished to let you know." Shirou inclined his head. It wasn't his place to comment on a family-matter, so he didn't. "She will not hear anything from me."

Yomaura looked at him for a moment, her eyes nearly hawk-like as she studied him, before she turned away.

"Well, thank you for meeting with us." Osaki huffed, before he rose from his chair, quickly followed by Yomaura, who looked like she couldn't wait to leave. "But I think we shall depart now. Do you want us to pay for our share of the bill?"

"No need. I invited you, so I should pay." Shirou also stood up, before bowing slightly. "Thank you for accepting my invitation. If you have any more questions, feel free to visit the café and leave a message for me with the owner."

"Thank you for the offer, but we'll refuse." Yomaura shook her head, looking rather cross with him, but at least not as paranoid anymore as when she'd come in. "No offense, but we're done with this. We're going back to work tomorrow, and we would prefer everything to go back to normal."

"Of course." Shirou nodded. "I won't bother you again."

The detectives nodded back, accepting his promise, before they left the table and walked straight out of the café, not looking back even once.

It seemed Yomaura Taya and Osaki Koyo were completely fed up with him, sufficiently so to turn their backs on him with finality.

In some of Ayako's stories, most notably the one about the bat-like figure, police officers and commissioners tended to choose to join the hero in their efforts, to support them from within the agencies that they were a part of, but it was clear that Yomaura and Osaki were decidedly not going down that road.

Something that actually gladdened Shirou to know.

Some people might think that having more allies was always better, but frankly, having a mundane person and a former Magus, now confirmed to be a Fraga, constantly involving themselves with his business would create far more problems than it would solve.

Hence, this really was for the best.

They'd had a good conversation, had cleared up matters between them, and had parted on at least neutral terms.

Yes, in the end, Shirou had nothing to complain about.

…Okay, so that was a lie. He did have something to complain about, as petulant as it might seem.

Their impolite behaviour.

It might appear a bit odd, to be hung up on that after everything that had happened over the past weeks, but it actually vexed Shirou that lord El-Melloi, a Magus in an unfamiliar environment, had been able to muster the effort to be polite, while the detectives, who had been invited onto neutral ground by a man who had pretty much been their ally from the start, couldn't do the same.

They had been overly paranoid, they hadn't reacted to his greeting, they had been on edge constantly, spoke rudely, and hadn't even taken a single bite from the food he had ordered, the food Sakura had worked so hard on to prepare.

Especially that last one was bordering on unacceptable!

Shirou wasn't too proud to admit he was sulking a bit, and eventually, he decided to just eat all the food himself. The detectives had no idea what they were missing out on, and the redhead would make sure to savour every bite in their place.

So he sat down, pulled his chair closer to the table, placed a napkin on his lap, and started eating.

He hadn't even gotten past the first bite before he let out a sigh on content, the first of many that meal.

The miso soup was excellent, the pickled vegetables nigh perfect, and the stew had improved leaps and bounds over what Sakura had made only months before. It was as good a meal as his own, perhaps even better in some ways.

He had ordered enough for three people and then some, but with it tasting like this, he wasn't going to have any trouble eating it all himself.

And as he feasted on the meal, he could only thank his lucky stars that his tastebuds were still in their normal condition.

That gratitude didn't come out of nowhere. Since his fight with Alaya, now about a month ago, his Mystical powers had grown and increased exponentially, and they showed no sign of stopping soon.

This included his combat-capabilities, his Magecraft and the Mysterious Power, and most notably, his senses and perception-abilities.

Where before he was limited to senses that were a bit above a normal human's when not Reinforced –save for his ability to smell Magecraft from a mile away of course— they had now improved to absolutely ludicrous levels.

He could now see straight through walls if he so desired, and could spot a rabbit on the ground from three kilometres in the sky. He could smell well enough to actually track people down over several kilometres. He could hear people whispering on the other end of a street, or again, straight through a wall. He could now feel even the air-currents that were produced when people were just walking past.

And there was far more that had been enhanced, most of which he hadn't even discovered yet.

So in light of that, Shirou was immensely grateful his tastebuds hadn't gotten too much of a boost. He liked his current ability to appreciate good food perfectly well, and he had no desire to change it.

Who knew what could happen after all? He might be unable to ever enjoy food again if he wasn't careful. He could potentially ruin his palate forever.

The mere thought of not being able to appreciate meals like the one in front of him right now almost brought him to tears, and it was in that state that the beautiful cook who had prepared the food found him.

"Senpai." Sakura, still clad in her maid-uniform –which had been an idea from Ayako that the plum-haired girl had immediately embraced— sat down in the chair across from him, smiling brightly. "How did it go?"

Shirou's mood improved instantly at the sight of her, and he gave her a bright smile back. He'd never been one for smiling too widely, but right now, he almost couldn't stop doing exactly that.

She was just… too adorable.

Sufficiently so he almost forgot to reply.

"I told them what they wanted to know, and then they left. Really, that was it. It seems like they didn't want to stay in my presence for a second longer than absolutely necessary."

"They did seem a bit rude when I was here." Sakura frowned cutely. "Did they even eat anything?"

"I'm afraid not." He shook his head, and Sakura's face twisted in disapproval. "Which is why I am eating it now."

"Can I have some too? Neko-san said I could take a break for a few minutes."

"Of course."

Taking some of the food for herself, Sakura also started eating, and Shirou found his attention wasn't focused on the food at all anymore, but rather on her.

Sakura.

His girlfriend.

It was still incredibly strange to think of her that way, but strange in a good way, a pleasant way.

Every morning, when he found himself on his futon with Ayako and Sakura next to him, more often than not wrapped in his arms, he realised anew that they were now 'together together', and every morning, that realisation filled him with warmth again.

It was just… unbelievable. That was the best description he had; unbelievable. An absolutely life-changing event that might have been the best thing that had ever happened to him.

Of course, most things remained the same. They still cooked together, ate breakfast together, went to school during the day and back home in the evening. Sakura and he still worked at the Copenhagen, Ayako still attended her martial arts practices, and so on.

Eating and sleeping together was nothing new for them either, nor was watching tv or playing games together.

What had changed however, completely and fundamentally, was the way in which they did those things.

It had become very normal for them to say hello and goodbye with a kiss. They sat much closer together than before during meals, and cuddling together was now the rule rather than an exception. During breakfast and dinner, they even took turns feeding each other with spoonfuls of soup or stew.

Ayako had insisted that they wear fewer clothes at night, and as a result, Shirou now slept shirtless while the girls wore tank tops at most, and often not even that, but just a bra.

It had made him painfully aware of just how soft their skin was when they lied flush against him in the night, but rather than feeling guilty about it, he actually dared to enjoy the feeling now.

All in all, it was something that would take some time getting used to, but it was amazing. Shirou could say with full confidence that he'd never been as happy as he'd been during the past month.

They hadn't told anyone about their new relationship however, and weren't planning on doing so just yet. In time, they would, but they had decided to wait with that until after Shirou came back from London.

It would be easier to deal with the fallout if Shirou didn't have to leave for at least two months right in the middle of it all.

So they had to be a little stealthy and clandestine about their relationship, which was literally the only reason why Shirou wasn't kissing Sakura silly right now, as well as taking her into his embrace as tightly as would still be comfortable for her.

He couldn't help it. He just really, really appreciated seeing Sakura in a maid outfit. From the tight-fitting bodice and the headpiece to the short skirt and the thigh-high stockings, it was perfect on her, to a point where he constantly wanted nothing more than to cuddle and kiss her.

And judging from the teasing twinkle in Sakura's eyes as she ate her stew, she was well aware of the effect she was having on him and was enjoying every second of it.

Shirou was just grateful though that she wasn't aware of the… less than pure thoughts and desires that seeing her in the maid outfit brought out in him. Thoughts that mostly involved Sakura wearing a lot fewer of the outfit's pieces, while she provided Ayako and him with an entirely different kind of servi-

"SO!" Sakura started in shock when he brought down a fist on the table, the sound audible through the entire building. "How long will you be working tonight?!"

"Uhm." Looking nonplussed at his sudden shout, Sakura nevertheless answered promptly. "Until the café closes tonight, Senpai. We are a little understaffed, and there are a lot of customers, more than expected, so Neko-san asked me to stick around."

Yes, Shirou had noticed that too. There were far more people in the Copenhagen than there should be. It was a normal Tuesday, nothing special or unusual about it, yet the crowd was almost as good as it was on Fridays and Saturdays.

That was already a lot of work, and to make matters worse, many customers also kept asking for Sakura specifically, which only added to her workload.

Ever since she'd sat down at his table, most customers had waited eagerly and impatiently for her to return to work, and some of them, men and women alike, had even been giving Shirou jealous looks for monopolising her attention.

It seemed he was far from the only one who deeply appreciated seeing Sakura in a maid outfit. As was only proper of course. She was beautiful.

"Would you like some help?" Shirou offered, not seeing a problem in lending a hand should it be necessary.

"No thank you, Senpai." Sakura shook her head however. "I believe I can manage by myself. Also, the problem isn't really that we are understaffed, it's just that the customers keep asking for me instead of the others."

"Yes, I noticed." As appropriate as it was for them to be in awe of Sakura, Shirou was actually starting to get a bad feeling about that. "Then would you like me to stay until the café closes so we can walk home together? Ayako is at her martial arts practice anyway, so I don't have anything else to do."

Sakura opened her mouth, before closing it again. She then looked around the café, meeting a lot of eyes that had been turned towards her the entire time, before turning back to him.

"Please wait for me, Senpai." She accepted his offer meekly, apparently getting the same feeling as he did.

"Of course." Shirou nodded sharply, and Sakura gave him a grateful smile, one that made his heart beat faster in his chest.

For the rest of the evening, Shirou stayed at the café, ordering drink after drink as he patiently waited for Sakura's shift to be over, keeping a very sharp eye on anyone who tried a little too hard to get his girlfriend's attention.

Eventually, it turned out his caution was warranted.

The café closed at midnight, and after the employees kicked out the last customers and cleaned the place up with some help from Shirou, they were released for the night.

When Sakura stepped outside however, a few paces ahead of Shirou, she immediately spotted several young men she recognised from the café.

The reason they'd stayed so close to the café after closing time became clear right away, as the men, who all stayed at a distance from each other and were clearly not acquainted in any way, started walking towards her.

They broke off immediately however when Shirou exited the building as well and took her hand, apparently not willing to talk to her when another man was around.

Sakura sighed as she watched them leave. From what she'd seen and heard of these men, she could deduce they probably didn't have any worse intentions in mind than chatting up the pretty waitress, but she was nevertheless glad she had her Senpai with her to keep them at a distance.

She'd rejected more than enough men over the course of her job to be quite used to it by now, but it never quite got any easier. She hated disappointing people.

Still, it was too bad for those men, but Sakura already had her Senpai and Ayako, and she was perfectly, totally happy with them.

Walking hand in hand with him, her boyfriend, still sent flutters through her stomach, and made her feel like she was walking on sunshine.

Every day, she fell in love with him again, and every day, she hoped that would continue forever and ever.

---

Ayako vaguely knew about the existence of maid cafés. Mostly, she'd seen them in a manga or the like, often as fanservice, but she was aware that maid cafés were also a thing in real life.

She had never spent much thought on them however. Sure, she enjoyed it whenever they appeared in the fiction she read, and at times, she wondered how it would be to visit such a café herself, but she didn't think maid outfits were that great. At least not enough to warrant a trip all the way to Tokyo to visit one.

Now however, she was smacked right in the face by the fact that she'd been utterly wrong. That pretty girls in maid outfits serving dinner were among the greatest and most amazing inventions mankind had ever made, right up there with the wheel and fire.

Just like Shirou, the sight of Sakura setting the table and serving dinner in the traditional, if slightly sexualised, clothes of a European maid was enough to steal Ayako's breath away every time she saw it.

There really was no better way to describe the feelings that the sight generated in her. Those desires to grab Sakura tightly around her middle, hug her for all she was worth, and then keep her on your lap for as long as possible while she smiled cutely and made cute sounds and was just generally cuter than should be legally allowed.

It was like seeing little rabbits and kittens playing around, filling you with the desire to hug, caress, and pet them, though in this case, there were more than enough impure desires thrown into the mix as well.

In short, Ayako would rate the sight of Sakura in a maid outfit as a definite twelve out of ten, would stare creepily at again.

"Here you go, Ayako." Sakura smiled happily as she handed the brunette her plate. "Please be careful, it's still very hot."

"Thank you, dear." Ayako replied, using the traditional form of address of husbands to their wives, which got her an amused look from Shirou and a blush from Sakura that increased her cuteness factor by ten. "It looks delicious."

"Y-Yes. P-Please enjoy." Sakura stuttered, before rushing to the kitchen again.

Shirou watched her go for a moment, before turning to Ayako with a wry smile. "So, you're the husband in the relationship now?"

"Nah, not really. If there was a traditional form for wives to address their wives, I would have used that instead." Ayako shrugged, pursing her lips a bit at the reminder that Japan still outlawed same-sex marriages. "Maybe one day."

"Maybe one day." Shirou agreed, before he smiled himself. "Until then, we'll just have to wait, dear."

"…Wow, that scratches a particular itch in my brain I didn't know I had." Ayako breathed in slight surprise, slowly reaching up to scratch behind her ear.

"Dear." Shirou repeated, and the brunette twitched happily, like a dog getting its scritches.

"Here you are, Senpai." Unfortunately for Ayako, Shirou was distracted by Sakura, who came in with his plate and a blinding, if slightly shaky, smile. "I'm sorry it took a bit longer, there were some issues I had to deal with."

In other words, she had to get her blush down before coming back to the dining room.

Ayako smirked knowingly at Sakura, whose blush returned upon seeing it, causing her to accidentally drop the cutlery she'd been carrying.

"Oh no." She gasped, before holding up a hand when Shirou made to get up. "Oh, please let me handle it, Senpai. I'll just put these in the dishwasher and get you new ones."

The plum-haired girl quickly put the plate she'd been carrying in front of Shirou, before she did something that almost gave Ayako a heart-attack.

She bent over to pick up the cutlery.

She bent over at a perfect, ninety-degree angle without bending her knees in the slightest, her legs remaining perfectly stiff, inadvertently giving Ayako a perfect look at the outline of her skirt-covered behind.

The brunette made a choking noise at the sight, her hands tightening involuntarily, something Shirou would have picked up on if he didn't have to deal with the perfect view of Sakura's cleavage that she gave him by bending over like that.

Ayako didn't know if Sakura had done it on purpose, but she had just knocked both her boyfriend and her girlfriend out of the teasing-fight in one move.

Hats off to her.

It took a few seconds for Ayako and Shirou to gather themselves again after Sakura straightened back up and went to retrieve a new set of cutlery, and it was only when Sakura herself had also sat down at the table with her own plate of food that they were capable of coherent speech once more.

"So, Senpai, Ayako." Sakura began shyly, idly plucking at the hem of her skirt. "What do you think about the outfit? Does it look good?"

""Yes!""

Both Shirou and Ayako answered with nothing less than complete conviction, their answer exactly the same and perfectly true.

"I am glad to hear that." Sakura gave them a sweet closed-eye smile that could make the coldest of hearts melt. "The outfit is lovely, but I wasn't sure it would look good on me."

"It does." Ayako nodded sharply.

"It absolutely does." Shirou agreed wholeheartedly.

"No doubt about it."

"You look perfect."

"Beautiful."

"Lovely."

"Dangerous in all the right ways."

"Just the cutest."

"Ah! Stop it!" Sakura wailed, pressing her hands against her cheeks as they became flaming red. "You're embarrassing me!"

"You're not making it any better by behaving like that." Shirou teased, clearly thinking along the same lines as Ayako. "You're only getting cuter."

"Stop! Please!"

"Alright, alright." Shirou laughed, bowing his head. "I'll stop."

"I'll stop too, but only if you wear that outfit more often." Ayako added.

"O-Oh, y-yeah, sure." The fierce blush was still on her face, but Sakura managed to give a proud little smile. "I-I quite like it too."

"Hehe, it was a really good find, wasn't it?" Ayako puffed up her chest, grinning widely. "I'm glad I took it with me."

"You mean you stole it." Shirou pointed out dryly, quickly pricking through Ayako's ballooned ego. "From your own school even."

"I didn't steal it." Ayako protested, waving her arms up and down in irritation. "At the very most, I liberated it from a terrible fate of gathering dust in a corner of the storage room forever and gave it a second life of being worn by Sakura."

"Right, of course, you 'liberated' it." Shirou's voice couldn't have been more sarcastic if he'd tried, though his amused smile took the edge off.

"Yes, that's exactly it! I liberated the outfit!" The brunette took his words at face value however. "No one will miss it. It hasn't been used in years. If I hadn't taken it, it would have wasted away!"

"If you say so." Shirou nodded in acceptance, taking a sip of his drink. "Still, to… 'liberate' a possession of your school goes quite far even for you. What prompted you to do it?"

"Well, I saw the outfit, and I really wanted to have it. Then I remembered Rin saying that you should only obey laws that make sense, and I decided that it made no sense at all to not have Sakura wear the maid costume, so I took it."

"Nee-san is a bad influence on you." Sakura shook her head sadly, though the corners of her mouth were twitching slightly.

"I disagree. She is a good influence on me." Ayako countered immediately. "She is very intelligent and practical, and surprisingly easy to talk to, you know?"

"Yes, I know. I'm actually going to visit her again today." Shirou nodded, ponderously looking at his plate to decide whether he'd eaten enough yet or not. "She wants to give me an update on what she's managed to achieve with her Magecraft so far."

"And how long will that take?" Sakura asked.

"Probably most of the afternoon."

"So let me get this straight. You, Shirou, are going to spend yet another afternoon at Rin's place, with only the two of you?" Ayako asked, referring to all the previous times he'd visited the black-haired girl already over the past weeks.

"Yes, that's correct." The redhead confirmed, before cocking his head to the side. "Is there a problem with that?"

"Oh, no, certainly not. I just thought it was interesting." Ayako smiled meaningfully, something that sent alarm bells ringing in Shirou's head. "Should we expect her to join our relationship any time soon? Because if so, then I'll have to start preparing some stuff-"

"Now hold on!" Sakura spluttered, bluntly interrupting the brunette "What's this about Nee-san joining us?!"

"I'm talking about the fact that she obviously likes Shirou too. I figured she'll get into a relationship with the three of us soon and we'll make a foursome."

"F-Foursome?! Ayako, Rin is my sister!"

"Certainly, that shouldn't be that much of a problem? In fact, I'd say it is more of a benefit-"

"Hold it right there!"

With a single, smooth motion, Shirou brought his fist down on Ayako's head in a mighty bonk, not hard enough to hurt but certainly enough to put an end to her rambling.

"No such lewd stuff at the dining table." He scolded her, though he was unable to hide his blush at the thought of Sakura and Rin getting up to… stuff like that, together. "And I don't know what you're thinking, but there's no way Rin would be interested in being in a relationship with us."

"You wouldn't know if she was until she'd tell you outright." Ayako countered. "The signs are obvious."

"What signs?" Sakura asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes. "What are we supposed to see?"

"How about her envy and desire whenever she sees us together? You can see it from a mile away. The fact that she's ridiculously nice to us while she's distant with everyone else is also a clue."

Sakura and Shirou made eye-contact for a second, before looking back at the brunette.

"Supposing you're right," Shirou began, sounding very doubtful. "What are we even supposed to do with that?"

"We don't have to do anything with it right away." Ayako answered with a casual shrug. "I don't have the answers myself either. Let's just… Let's just wait until Rin realises it herself, okay?"

"I still don't think there is anything for her to realise." Shirou insisted stubbornly.

"Then it wouldn't hurt to wait and observe, would it?" Ayako lifted an eyebrow, giving him a challenging stare.

"…I suppose not." Shirou sighed after a moment.

"…If you think that's the best idea." Sakura also agreed a second later.

"Good."

The brunette knew there was no use in further speculation. She was quite sure Rin wanted in, but without evidence, there was no way she'd convince the other two of that. That didn't stop her though from imagining a scenario in which Rin did join them, and in which she would get two sisters servicing her together while wearing matching maid outfits.

She managed to stop herself from giggling pervertedly at the mental image, but it was a close one.

"Anyway, I should get a maid outfit myself as soon as possible." She said, changing the subject for now. "I can't let Sakura be the most attractive and cutest person around all the time."

"Quite so." Shirou grinned, while Sakura eeped and hid her face in her hands again. "Do you know where we can buy one?"

"Nope, but I can probably find out if I try." Ayako assured them, before placing a finger on her lip in thought. "I wonder if we could get other costumes as well. Who knows what kind of treasure trove is awaiting us."

"W-Well, shouldn't we buy some actual clothes as well then?" Sakura suggested from behind her hands, which she still had pressed against her face. "The ones we have now aren't exactly… uhm."

"The word you are looking for is 'sexy'." Ayako finished for her, watching with glee as Sakura became even redder. "And I agree. I suggest a shopping trip for clothes and for costumes as soon as I can figure out where to go."

"Y-Yes, t-that sounds like a good idea." Sakura agreed happily despite her embarrassment.

"Will I buy clothes as well then?" Shirou asked, to which the girls shrugged.

"I-If you want to." Sakura replied.

"And if you don't," Ayako added with a shark-like grin. "You can just sit back and enjoy the show."

---

"-So that is what I have achieved over the past two months." Rin told him proudly, having concluded her progress-report.

Covered in chalk powder and standing in front of a chalkboard that had been scribbled full with keywords, formulas, and supplementary drawings, she looked like an old-fashioned teacher, doing her best to educate her student.

Said student, Shirou, was currently sitting at her dining-table, tea in hand and an assortment of snacks in front of him. He'd paid careful attention to her entire lecture, and he was sure that if he'd even had the slightest inkling of what she was talking about, he would have been very impressed indeed.

"The results have surpassed my wildest expectations." Rin continued with a wide grin, gesturing with her piece of chalk as she spoke. "Oh, and I have several other promising projects running as well, but if you don't mind, I'll hold off on telling you about them until I'm certain they'll amount to something."

"Ah, I don't mind." Shirou assured her, slowly rubbing his temples. "Don't worry, I'm sure those projects will go above and beyond your every expectation, just like the others."

"My research has been going quite well indeed. I have discovered so many things recently." Rin beamed in happiness, her immense success improving her mood to the point where she was just about dancing through the room. "If I manage to keep this up, I think I might even surpass the legacy of my great-great-great grandfather, and he is seen as the greatest Tohsaka in our recorded history."

"Then you deserve to be proud. Your research was very impressive." Shirou smiled back at her. It wasn't just empty flattering either. He might not have understood what she had been talking about, but he was absolutely certain it had to be impressive if Rin could give a coherent three-hour presentation on the subject.

"Ho? Does that mean you actually understood what I was talking about?" Rin's beaming smile turned into a smirk as she looked him straight in the eyes. "From how your eyes were glazed over since the third minute, I assumed you didn't understand a word of it."

Damn, he'd been found out!

"But if you understand it so well, then why don't you explain to me what I just told you? A summary will do fine."

"No thank you, I'll leave that to the master here." Shirou hastily refused, holding his hands up in surrender. "I'm sorry I couldn't follow what you were talking about, but Gemcraft isn't exactly something I excel at."

"I guess everyone has their specialisations." Rin allowed, her smirk turning back into a pleasant smile. "I wouldn't know my way around Storm Craft, nor am I all that talented at Runes, so I suppose I can forgive you for being ignorant, just this once."

"Much appreciated." Shirou smiled, picking up his cup of tea again, before frowning when it turned out to be cold. "Though I'm sure that if you really wanted to do something with storms or Runes, you could. I have never seen someone more talented than you."

"Ah, n-no, you're being too kind." Rin shook her head in response to his praise, looking caught off-guard by it.

"No, I'm not." Shirou was resolute, not in the mood for false modesty. "You are the smartest person I know, as well as the most talented Magus I have ever met. If things had gone even slightly differently, I might have been your apprentice and you would have helped me into the Clocktower. Actually, I think that would have been far more natural."

He spoke nothing but the truth, and was rewarded by Rin blushing bright red, bashfully looking at the ground as she wiggled happily in place. He'd noticed before that Rin seemed to react well to being praised, so he'd taken to doing it more often.

There was plenty to praise her with after all.

"…Do you really think so?" She asked shyly, before rapidly shaking her head and straightening her back. "I mean, yes, of course! Really, Emiya-kun, did it take you this long to figure that out? I thought you were smart, but it seems you can be quite slow too."

"…Ayako recently told me she prefers it when you are being bombastic and proud, and I think I agree with her." Shirou looked Rin over slowly, before nodding once. "I don't know how you manage to make arrogant look cute, but I'm not complaining at all."

"Geh?" And Rin reverted right back to bashful and embarrassed. Sometimes, it really was too easy to tease the poor girl. "E-Emiya-kun, what are you saying all of a sudden? D-Don't tease me like that!"

"Right, of course, my apologies." Careful to prevent a tsun-outburst –which seemed very close now— Shirou wisely fell silent and allowed her a moment to cool down, while he used a Rune to reheat their tea.

"I wish you wouldn't use Magecraft for such things." Rin grumbled when she saw him do so, though she sounded more resigned than upset. "It's not proper."

"Ah, but it is easy and convenient." Shirou pointed out, handing her one of the cups. "Especially since you don't have a microwave, meaning we'd have to put the kettle on again if we want hot tea."

"I suppose that would have been a waste." Rin acceded, draining her cup in one go. "Well, Emiya-kun, even if you didn't understand much of my projects, could you at least tell me whether you consider your investment to be worth it?"

"I do." Shirou nodded right away, before he frowned. "Wait, what do you mean with 'investment'? I haven't done anything yet."

"…I meant the gems you gave me." Rin clarified, giving him an incredulous look. "You know, those really expensive, extremely valuable gems you gave me?"

"Ah, those." Shirou nodded, before he shrugged. "I can't say I care much about those. They were a gift, so it is up to you what you do with them. Are you satisfied with what you've achieved with them so far?"

Rin's eyes twitched, before she nodded in a jerky motion.

"Then that's perfectly fine, isn't it?" Shirou emptied his cup of tea as well before it would go cold again.

"…If you say so, Emiya-kun." Rin sighed, looking resigned once more. "Thank you again."

"You're welcome. Also, Tohsaka-san, now that you have finished several of your projects, do you feel like you have enough accomplishments to get a sponsorship yet? I could write a letter to Lord El-Melloi-"

"I certainly don't have enough accomplishments yet!" Rin's reply was immediate and crystal clear as she crossed her arms in front of her chest defensively. "Do not write any letters to any lords yet! Do you hear me?!"

"I hear you." Shirou quickly assured her. "Loud and clear!"

"Phew." Rin let out a sigh of relief, leaving Shirou to wonder why this was such a big deal.

"May I ask why having few accomplishments is a problem? Are you not allowed to join the Clocktower if you haven't achieved enough?"

"Well, no, not exactly." Rin shook her head slowly, before adopting her teaching pose number two, with a finger pointed into the air and the other hand on her hip. "Lords and other qualified people can offer sponsorships to whoever they want as long as they don't violate any laws, but to accept a student who has no or very few accomplishments is a terrible faux pas. Your student had better be a prodigy in such a case, or the student and teacher might find themselves becoming laughing stocks with the rest of the Clocktower."

"I see."

That would indeed be a problem. Shirou didn't care much about becoming a laughing stock himself, but he didn't think he would be able to stay calm if people started mocking Rin.

It did raise a question though.

"Does that mean lord El-Melloi committed a 'faux-pas' when accepting me as his apprentice?" Shirou wondered, well aware his number of accomplishments in the field of Magecraft could be accurately summed up as zero.

"No." Rin gave him yet another exasperated look, as if he was again overlooking something obvious. "Defeating five Sealing Designees and delivering them to the Clocktower is more than enough to get yourself a sponsorship from just about anyone."

Ah, right, he had overlooked that little fact.

"You don't have to worry though, Emiya-kun, I will have enough accomplishments soon." Rin promised, before giving him a wide, closed-eyed smile. "Actually, I plan on having a lot of accomplishments and being a prodigy. I will not bring shame to me or my sponsor."

"I did not doubt that for a second." Shirou grinned, placing a hand on her shoulder, which she didn't seem to mind at all. "From what I have seen of Magi so far, you will easily be the best around."

"Absolutely." Rin nodded furiously, a competitive glint entering her eyes. "I'll be the best around and bring glory to the name of Tohsaka once more. All our rivals and enemies will bite the dust."

"…Rivals and enemies?" Shirou frowned slightly at those words. "What do you mean by that?"

"Eh? O-Oh, nothing you need to worry about." Rin answered quickly, perhaps too quickly to be believable.

A raised eyebrow had her sigh in resignation.

"I meant the families that aren't on good terms with the Tohsakas." She mumbled, before she looked up again and continued strongly. "But again, you don't need to worry about them, Emiya-kun. They are my enemies, not yours and not my sponsor's, and I don't think they would attack you unless you antagonise them."

"If they are your enemies, I probably will antagonise them." Shirou answered dryly, unsure whether Rin really believed what she said or was just trying to set him at ease with a white lie, because if there was one thing he was absolutely sure of, it was that Magi wouldn't hesitate for a second to strike at an enemy's friends and family. "If only because I will help you against them."

"…You don't have to do that."

"Of course I do. I am your friend after all, so there's no way I'll leave you to deal with them on your own."

That brought Rin up short, and eventually, after a few seconds of staring at him as if she'd never seen him before, she looked at the ground yet again, shyly nodding in gratitude.

"So, is there anyone in particular I should be wary of when I am at the Clocktower? Even more so than normal Magi I mean."

"Ah, yes." Rin perked up at the question, now placing both hands on her hips, her blush receding as they moved to a subject she clearly took very seriously. "There are indeed a few families that you should be wary of if you plan to make it known that you are associated with me. Some of those, most notably the Anjou-family and the Breuberg-family, have been business rivals of the Tohsaka for years, though since they have never escalated to violence before, you don't have to be overly cautious of them. Aside from that, there are the Byrons, Egertons, and Warrannes, all of whom the Tohsaka-family has feuded with in the past. There has been peace between the Tohsakas and those families for over a century now however, and they probably won't do anything to change that if I don't give them a reason."

"That doesn't sound all that bad." Shirou smiled, relieved to hear that the Tohsakas apparently weren't very rich in enemies.

"We always tried to be as reasonable as we could be,." Rin told him proudly, puffing out her chest slightly, before deflating again. "And, uh, living in Japan for the past centuries hasn't exactly granted us the opportunity to make a lot of enemies in the Clocktower even if we wanted to. We would need to have more of a presence there."

"Ah." Shirou didn't know quite how to respond to that. Having fewer enemies was always good of course, but Rin looked so forlorn at her family's lack of opportunity to find more foes that such a simple truth almost didn't seem to hold up anymore.

"There is one exception though." Suddenly, all traces of sadness, embarrassment, or doubt disappeared from Rin's face. Her body tensed, her eyes narrowed, and her mouth became a hard line. "The Edelfelts."

Shirou couldn't say he knew that family, but from the way Rin looked ready for a fight at the mere mention of them, they were probably bad news.

"The Edelfelts and the Tohsakas have been at odds for centuries." Rin elaborated when she saw his confused expression. "Both families specialise in Gemcraft and Nordic Curses, such as Gandr, making us rivals in Magecraft. Aside from that, we have fought and warred at many different occasions for a variety of causes, often without reaching any kind of resolution, which only increased the tension between us. Tohsakas and Edelfelts were often the first to slaughter each other in Grail Wars too, the first three I mean. They didn't participate in the Fourth."

As she spoke, Rin turned around and walked away, gesturing for Shirou to follow. They went upstairs and eventually reached a room, which turned out to be full of paperwork and files. It was much like Shirou's own command centre, though centuries of activity had filled this room with more paper than he would use in a lifetime.

Rin seemed to know her way around perfectly well though, and dove into the sea of files with knife-like precision, emerging with several thick journals mere seconds after she'd gone in.

"The Tohsaka and the Edelfelt have fought over gem-sources, over knowledge of Runes, over who invented several curses both our families use nowadays, and there was even an accusation that the Tohsaka's Crest is partially made up of Circuits stolen from the Edelfelt." Rin went on, handing the journals over to him. "That last one is of course completely untrue, but that doesn't stop them from repeating it every generation."

"You are definitely on bad terms then, if even your Crest is getting involved in this." Shirou nodded, looking the journals over, noting that they ranged from recent to clearly several centuries old. "Do you want me to check?"

"Check what?"

"Well, your Crest, whether there really are Edelfelt-Circuits in there."

"You can do that?" Rin seemed very impressed when he nodded in confirmation, and she bit her lip for a moment, before holding out her arm. "I-I suppose it would be nice to get resolution on this. J-Just, p-please be gentle when you touch me inside."

Okay, she totally did that one on purpose! No one's phrasing was that bad by accident!

Suppressing a blush with notable difficulty, which was made harder when Rin gave him a smile that could only be considered 'witchy', Shirou reached out and placed a palm on Rin's upper arm, where he had already sensed her Crest.

Of course, really studying a Crest on a deep level was far beyond him still, even with his unusually good and recently improved 'Structural Analysis' spell, but a light scanning over the surface to ensure all the Circuits were really just from the Tohsaka-family and no one else was well within his capabilities.

It didn't even take him a minute to reach a conclusion.

"What the Edelfelts said is not true." He told the black-haired girl as he removed his hand again. "I am absolutely certain there are only Tohsaka-Circuits in this thing. Nothing else."

"Really?" Rin asked eagerly, before grinning widely when he nodded. "Alright! Take that, Edelfelt! I'm going to rub this in their faces!"

"Well, before you do that, I have to ask. How are the relations between your family and theirs currently?"

"I… I'm actually not sure." Rin admitted, her grin dropping again. "Several decades ago, all conflict just… stopped. I do not know why, but the Tohsaka and the Edelfelt have ceased interacting entirely since then. We haven't sent even a single letter to or from."

"Would it be too much to hope that this situation will continue for a while?" Shirou asked with a wry smile, receiving an equally wry smile in return. "Yeah, I thought so already."

"It's not that I want another conflict with them, especially since I'm the last Tohsaka left." Rin rubbed the back of her head in frustration. "But since the Edelfelt have a strong presence at the Clocktower, it is likely they will gladly pounce on me once I show my face, since, again, I'm the last Tohsaka left, and thus 'easy' prey."

"I assume we don't have to expect much honourable behaviour from them then?" Shirou asked, not expecting much yet daring to hold on to a slight hope that the Edelfelt might be like Rin or Bazett; Stubborn and proud, but not unreasonable. "If they are so ready to attack a lone enemy at her weakest?"

"They call themselves 'the most elegant hyenas above ground'." Rin replied dryly, looking at him with a fond gaze that also held exasperation at his naivety. "Does that answer your question?"

"It does, though it also makes me wonder about something else."

"What?"

"If they call themselves the most elegant hyenas above ground, does that mean they are more elegant hyenas underground?" Shirou asked aloud, placing a hand on his chin in thought and frowning exaggeratedly. "Or more elegant other animals above ground? It seems strange to add so many provisos to their title."

His little joke got a huff of amusement out of Rin, which made it a victory as far as he was concerned.

"You know, I never thought about that, but you're right, it is strange." She smirked, before turning serious again. "The Edelfelt are known for being mercenaries, bounty hunters, war profiteers, thieves, and blackmailers, and from what I heard from the few sources I still have in London, the members of the current generation definitely are chips of the old block. You should be very cautious when dealing with them, Emiya-kun."

"Understood." Shirou nodded, already planning on gathering as much information on that family as he could, starting with reading his father's notes and the journals Rin had given him. "Anything else I should watch out for?"

"I believe I have told you the most important things." Rin placed a finger on her chin with a ponderous expression. "Just make sure they don't tempt you into taking one of them as your apprentice."

"Of course not." Shirou huffed. "That goes without saying."

"That's a good boy." Rin smiled, reaching up to pat his head. "Oh, and I suppose the Einzbern are also rivals of the Tohsaka-family, though they are so isolationistic and reclusive you probably will never meet one in your life."

"…The Einzbern?" Shirou should have seen that coming –it was only logical that the founding families of the Holy Grail War were rivals after all– but the sudden mention of that family still took him by surprise.

"Yes, the Einzbern." Rin nodded, not noticing anything amiss. "They are a very rich, very powerful family located in Germany. They used to specialise in the Third True Magic, the Materialisation of the Soul or 'Heaven's Feel', but since that has been lost, they have specialised in Wishcraft and creating Homunculi instead."

"Homunculi?" Shirou was aware he sounded stupid, repeating Rin's words like a parrot, but he couldn't help it.

"Homunculi are fake humans, constructs made to look and act human, though they aren't." Rin explained, still not noticing anything amiss. "They are tools meant to serve as bodyguards or servants."

"That does not sound good." Shirou muttered, wondering how much Rin knew about the subject and trying to tempt her into speaking more.

"It isn't. It is quite commonly known that Homunculi have emotions and feelings like humans do, at least to some extent, yet they are treated like objects anyway." Rin's face twisted in disgust at the notion. "They are worked to the bone, sacrificed on a whim, and worst of all, only live for a very limited number of years even when treated with nothing but compassion and gentleness."

Shirou gritted his teeth. He knew about the limited lifespan of Homunculi of course, his research had long since pointed that out, but to hear it so bluntly spoken aloud was not pleasant.

"Is there any way to lengthen their lifespan?" Shirou asked, hoping Rin might have an answer, or at least a clue that could lead to one. Even the merest rumour would do.

"No." Rin's answer was definite and resolute however. "To do so would require changing the very composition and nature of a Homunculus, right down to their very soul. That is something that can only be done with the Third True Magic, and that has been lost for many years."

Shirou had expected an answer like that, but it still made him feel hollow on the inside.

So besides rescuing Illya and keeping her out of the hands of the Einzbern, he would also have to find a way to make sure she would live past her twenties? A way to mimic an effect that was only reachable through the Third True Magic itself?

Under normal circumstances, that would have been entirely impossible, and even with Mjolnir and his new powers, it would be a beast of a task. One he might not finish in time.

But that meant it would all be for nothing…

"Emiya-kun?"

The deterioration of his mood had not gone unnoticed by the black-haired girl, and she leaned closer to him, trying to meet his gaze, which revealed there was a flicker of concern in her eyes.

"I know it sounds terrible, and the injustice of it is grating." She began, misunderstanding why he was upset. "But you mustn't let it get you down. I'm sure if you work hard enough, you can do something for the Homunculi."

It was an honest effort to make him feel better, and Shirou was about to thank her for it when she suddenly pushed him away from her.

"So don't start wallowing in despair now, idiot!" She scolded him, holding up a finger as if she were a teacher reprimanding a difficult student. "It is entirely unbecoming of you. I thought you were a determined person."

"Right, right, I'm sorry." Shirou laughed, feeling his spirit soar under Rin's admonishment. She was completely correct. If he had time to mope, he had time to find a solution. "Thank you, Tohsaka-san. I needed that."

"Idiot." She huffed again, pointedly looking away from him. "I-Isn't it time for you to go home? I'm tired of this conversation and I want to do some work before going to sleep. Sakura's probably worried about you."

"Of course, I will go now." Ayako and Sakura both weren't home, Ayako because her parents wanted her home for the night and Sakura because she was working, but if Rin wanted him to leave, he would. "Good night, Rin."

"Hmpf." She kept looking away from him, and Shirou left the room to head downstairs to the front door.

The presentation she'd given him had been confusing and too difficult for him to understand, but the conversation that had followed it had more than made up for it.

Perhaps he should visit her more often, and take Sakura and Ayako along.

Rin would probably like that too.

---

It was when he came within a street's distance from his house that Shirou noticed it.

He'd just come back from visiting Rin, only several minutes ago, and had been pondering the matter of Homunculi the entire way home, trying to think of something that might allow him to lengthen their lifespans, when he suddenly noticed the lights in his dining room were burning.

How odd. He could have sworn he'd turned them off before leaving.

It could have been an innocent mistake on his part of course, it was even likely, but someone in his position didn't have the luxury of making assumptions like that.

Yes, he had Bounded Fields guarding his house, Bounded Fields that had never failed him before, but even that was no guarantee. As his father had always said, no defence was ever perfect.

So Shirou immediately did an active scan of his house, keeping the Wards responsible for defence and attack on stand-by, ready to strike when needed. He also kept Mjolnir at the edge of being summoned and fired up both his Circuits and the Mysterious Power, in case he needed to fight.

In the meantime, he continued walking, trying to make it seem as if he'd noticed nothing amiss.

The scan soon came back negative, which would have been a relief, if it hadn't been for the fact that Shirou was now close enough to see a figure sitting at his dining table through the window.

He had a visitor, one who had completely fooled his Bounded Fields.

At this point, most Magi would have refused to enter the house. They would have fled immediately, unwilling to face something that had shown itself to be so much more powerful than them.

Shirou on the other hand went inside without hesitation. This thing was clearly after him, meaning that fleeing would have no use, and furthermore, Sakura and Ayako were bound to return home soon, and he was loath to have them face the creature in his place.

So he stepped inside, taking off his coat and shoes, before heading to the dining room.

There, he found something that defied his every expectation.

The person inside wasn't a ridiculously skilled Magus-noble with a grudge against his father. It wasn't a team of Enforcers sent to kill him. It wasn't a Sorcerer or a Servant.

In fact, it wasn't even a person to begin with. It was…

It was…

…

Well actually, Shirou did not have a single clue what he was looking at.

It did have a human shape. Two legs and two feet, two arms and two hands, a single torso and a single head on top of it. There were even five fingers on each hand and five toes on each foot.

The outfit the being wore was nothing too strange either. It was a simple, blue toga, with a belt and a brooch to hold it closed. The being also wore a white cape with a high collar, white gloves on its hands, and sandals on its feet.

It could almost have passed for a human, if it hadn't been for two major factors.

One, the being's immense size, making it tower above Shirou even when sitting down.

Two, the size of its head, which was disproportionately huge even when compared with the rest of its body, as if it had been ballooned up at some point in its life.

The completely blank eyes –without pupil or iris– that seemed to look at nothing and everything at once and the aura of immense, cosmic power surrounding it finished the picture, leaving Shirou with one conclusion.

This creature might look mostly human, but it was no more human than ORT was.

This was an alien, a life form from beyond the stars, just like Mjolnir, and for some reason, the word 'Watcher' came to mind when looking at it.

Shirou stared at the being and the being stared back, neither saying a word, before the alien was the first to break the silence.

"Welcome home." It spoke in a warm timbre, as if it were a guest welcoming its host back from the shop. "I mean you no harm, successor of Thor. Forgive me for breaking into your house, but I did not think it wise to remain outside. Rest assured though, for I have touched nothing but the table I am leaning on."

"I see." Shirou had to suppress a feeling of immense panic when the being made it clear that it knew about Mjolnir. Left with barely any options, he fell back on the rules of hospitality. "Welcome to my house. I hope you will enjoy your stay. Can I offer you anything?"

"I would greatly appreciate a cup of tea. The flavour of it is of no consequence." The being replied, before it rose. With its size, it should have collided with the ceiling well before it had stood up completely, but somehow, the ceiling warped and twisted to make room for the massive head. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Nasu, a member of an ancient race of aliens known collectively as the Watchers. I have been put in charge of observing this verse, in which I am normally not allowed to interfere, yet when you were chosen as successor of Thor, I felt I had to act."

There was a lot to unpack there, alien races and observing verses chief among them, but Shirou held off on that for the moment, instead walking to the kitchen to prepare two cups of tea.

"Well, my name is Emiya Shirou, though I am sure you already know that." He replied shortly, rummaging through his cupboard to find the largest cup he had, before giving up and Projecting one that seemed big enough to comfortably fit in the being's- in Nasu's hand. "May I ask what you are doing here?"

"Perhaps some background information is required first before we can have a proper conversation. I can see you are still very confused." Nasu smiled, before holding up a hand and making shimmering images appear next to him, as if he'd suddenly placed a tv-screen there. "It all began, well, at the beginning. Fifty billion years ago to be precise, when the current Omniverse exploded into existence."

An image of a truly gigantic explosion was visible next to Nasu for a moment, and Shirou realised with an immense start that he was looking at the Big Bang itself.

"During the first years after this event, countless universes and realms started forming. It wasn't long after that that the first life-forms appeared, and that in turn was quickly followed by the evolution of sentient life."

In the shimmering images, planets and star systems could be seen, quickly followed by a short depiction of the emergence of the first organisms that quickly changed into larger beings.

"One of the very first races to develop sentience was us, the Watchers. Ancient and powerful beyond belief, we felt like it was our duty to guide other, less-developed races to reach our level. Why else would we be so powerful?"

The images shifted to show a crowd of beings like Nasu, which then spread across the galaxy to uplift other civilisations, trying to bring wisdom, kindness, and utopia. The next image however showed violence, fire, and war.

"We failed however." Nasu's voice became sad, mourning at the self-proclaimed failure that was depicted in the images. "The other races often destroyed themselves, or became violent and imperialistic, forcing us to stop them. Not a single civilisation ever survived our attention, and eventually, it was decided that we would stop altogether. We would cease interfering and merely observe, limited to acting only when events became of multiversal importance."

Watchers stationed on many different planets and moons became visible, all of them observing entire universes on their own, taking note of what happened, but staying out of other beings' business no matter what.

"I have been charged with observing this universe, which has been named the Nasuverse, after me." Nasu inclined his head slightly again, appearing somewhat bashful when he mentioned that the verse had received his name. "And I have done so for many, many years, without acting even once. You being chosen as successor of Thor however is a multiversal event, leaving me somewhat free to come and visit you."

The images showed Nasu standing on the moon, observing uncountable dimensions all at once, before his eyes focused on Shirou, and the image shifted to the Watcher standing in Shirou's living room, being handed a cup of tea, precisely depicting what was happening in real time.

Shirou blinked at the image, which then disappeared.

"An incredibly short summary that explains what I am and why I am here." Nasu smiled gently, slowly taking a sip of his tea. "To say it more bluntly, I am here to say hello to my new neighbour."

"Ah." Shirou was extremely grateful he could sit down at the table, because his legs had gone wobbly during the explanation, and they completely gave out at Nasu's last sentence. "Well… hello."

"It is nice to meet you." Nasu didn't seem offput in the slightest by Shirou's lacklustre answer, and happily continued talking. "I am aware it might be a bit of a shock for you to suddenly meet an alien –especially since your people have had such bad experiences with them– and I apologise once more for breaking and entering, but let me assure you again that I mean no harm."

"Right." Shirou didn't quite squeak, but it was close. "Nice to meet you as well then, I suppose."

"Indeed." Nasu, who had taken place at the table as well now, put his empty cup down, before looking concernedly at Shirou's cup, which was still full.

"Can I ask you what you are doing here?" Shirou managed to get out. "You say you came to meet me, but is that everything?"

"For now? Yes." Nasu nodded, taking Shirou aback. "From what I have seen of what is to come, future events will force us to work together on several occasions, and I thought it best to have already met you, so that we may unite swiftly when the situation calls for it."

The mention of future events that would force him to work together with an alien unnerved Shirou more than he'd ever like to admit, but he pushed past that for now. "That is all?"

"Almost all. I am also here to offer you a deal."

That made Shirou's eyes narrow in suspicion. Deals with unknown entities were always a bad idea, and while he couldn't fathom what this creature would want from him, he did know he would have to be extremely cautious about it.

"It is rather simple." Nasu continued, reaching into one of his toga's pockets and pulling out a bundle of papers. "I would have us become allies, or even friends one day. As a sign of friendship, I will give you these papers."

"Friendship?" Shirou frowned. He would never claim to be privy to the inner workings of the mind of an alien, but friendship sounded like an odd price to ask for. "That's what you ask? Friendship in exchange for these papers?"

"No, not quite. Friendships cannot originate from bribery." Nasu shook his massive head slowly. "I wish to build a friendship naturally. This gift comes at a different price."

"What price would that be?"

"That you read this." Nasu presented a book to him, one that had Nasu's own face on the cover, with 'Watchers' written under it in beautiful golden letters. "This is… you might call it a 'codex'. It tells the origin story I just shared with you, but in much more detail. I would ask that you read it cover to cover before you return from London, for I shall visit you again then. By that time, I hope you are sufficiently used to the idea of my existence that we can have a proper talk and start building a friendship. In exchange for that, I will let you have these papers."

That… didn't seem like a high price to pay, no matter what was in those papers Nasu kept referring to. Reading a book about an alien race, one that apparently actually existed, wasn't much of a chore. It made Shirou wonder what the reward could be.

"I will read the book." He promised the alien, who inclined his head in response. "What are those papers?"

"It has come to my attention that you seek to save your sister, who, tragically, is a Homunculus, making her lifespan rather limited even if you do succeed in saving her."

"Yes, and?" It was a curt and impolite answer, but since Shirou wasn't in the mood to listen to an alien repeating his dilemma again, he made no attempt to rectify this.

"And these papers are to help you with that." Nasu's smile persisted under Shirou's impatience. "They contain a step-by-step manual for altering a Homunculus' existence into another type of being."

"…Ha?" For a moment, Shirou wondered if his ears were playing tricks on him.

"No tricks." Nasu assured him. "I took the liberty of writing down a little ritual that can help solve your dilemma. Now I am giving it to you."

"B-But that's…! That cannot be-! You're giving me the Third True Magic?!"

Shirou was honestly dumbstruck. Was an alien actually handing him a long-lost Magic? Just like that?

"No, nothing so crude." Nasu shook his gigantic head. "It is a ritual that makes optimal use of your new… nature, to alter Reality itself and change someone into a blood-relative of yours. In other words, she would go from being a Homunculus to the mix of Asgardian and human that you are now."

"She would become like me?!" Shirou dropped his, thankfully empty, cup, the porcelain shattering upon impact with the table. "That's… how…?"

"She will become like you, but only as you are at the time of the casting." Nasu corrected him sternly. "Based on the timeline I have seen, she'll be a bit Asgardian, but mostly human, and unlike you, she won't change after that."

Shirou let out an explosive breath of relief. There was no way he wanted to change others into gods, least of all his little sister who had already gone through so much. He then looked at the papers, which he now knew to contain invaluable information.

"The ritual is long and tedious, but well within your capabilities." Nasu went on. "When you have your sister here, simply cast it, and she will become your true blood-relative, which will also drastically increase her lifespan."

"…Thank you." Shirou whispered, his eyes transfixed on the papers.

"You are welcome. Now, I must leave again. Please read the codex before I return so we may have a more productive meeting next time, and also take a closer look at your Vault. Ask Mjolnir if you don't understand what I mean. Goodbye."

"Ah yes, goodb-" Shirou turned back to the being, only to find it had already disappeared. "-ye…"

Suddenly, he was the only one present in the dining room.

The alien had left.

After a few seconds of silence, Shirou rose from his place to grab a broom and clean up the shards of the cup he had dropped.

That had been a very strange conversation, and Shirou had trouble accepting it had actually happened, but the bundle of papers and the codex remained, no matter how often he rubbed his eyes, forcing him to accept it had indeed been real.

Apparently, there were beings out there that constantly watched the universe, that had sworn not to interfere but would in his case, and that wanted him to read a book and prepare for their next meeting.

Oh, and that would hand him a ritual capable of saving his little sister's life.

Safe to say, despite his reservations about Nasu's words and actions, he was going to read and study this ritual until it had been imprinted, no, branded into his mind. He wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth, no matter who it came from.

So Shirou pulled the papers closer to him and started reading.

There were more than fifty pages filled with text and illustrations, and he could already see it was going to be a hell of a task to understand and properly implement it all, but that didn't matter one bit. Now that he had a shot at saving Illya, truly saving her, he wasn't going to be stopped by anything, least of all a bit of work.

He was going to implement this ritual without fail.

---

Naturally, Shirou told Ayako and Sakura of Nasu's visit at the first opportunity.

The girls hadn't reacted nearly as shocked as he'd expected though. Of course, there was surprise that an actual alien from beyond the solar system had strolled into their house and spoken with Shirou, and their jaws dropped when he showed them the ritual that Nasu had given to him, but that was all.

There was no panic, no existential crises, no catatonic behaviour when the rug of reality was pulled out from under them, only a bit of surprise, which was very quickly put aside in favour of the planned shopping trip.

When he asked about it, his girlfriends replied that getting shocked every time something impossible happened to or around him was a total waste of energy and time, and that they would rather do something productive.

And that was how the trio found themselves in one of the best clothing stores in Fuyuki-City the day after Nasu had visited Shirou, without a care in the world.

"So, what do you think, Senpai?"

Sakura asked the question while twirling around in the blue skirt she'd just taken off the clothing rack, the motion making the material flip up to dangerous heights, almost revealing what was underneath.

Almost, but not quite.

Though her thighs were visible for a few seconds, Sakura made sure nothing else could be seen, and if that caused a flash of disappointment to appear in Shirou's eyes, Sakura and Ayako made sure to pretend not to see it.

Though it didn't stop them from feeling very satisfied at his reaction, which was yet another one on top of a great number of similar reactions their little showing-off had drawn from him so far.

Of course, they hadn't worn anything too risky. Mainly tops that were a size too small –they had tried two sizes too small as well, but wearing those was just too painful– skirts that were shorter than was strictly decent, stockings that fitted extremely snugly and showed off their legs amazingly, and more.

Perhaps some people wouldn't consider that to be very impressive, having visions of visits to lingerie shops, skirts so short they didn't hide anything, or tops that were completely transparent, but it was more than enough at the moment.

Torn between appreciating what his girls were willing to show him as much as he could on one hand, and making sure not to appreciate it so much that it would trigger certain, inconvenient reactions on the other, Shirou was in quite a bind at the moment.

Which was exactly what Sakura and Ayako had been going for.

Hence, Ayako was clad in a gym shirt and bloomers that were definitely shorter and tighter than they were supposed to be, and Sakura had just walked out of the changing booth wearing a top that was a size too small and a skirt she definitely shouldn't be making any wild movements in.

"Well, Senpai?" Sakura repeated after a few seconds, during which Shirou still hadn't answered. "What do you think?"

"Uhk?! A-Ah, I-I think it looks good on you." Shirou snapped back to reality with a start, blurting out his instinctive opinion without thinking. Fortunately, even his instincts had enough sense not to say anything lewd.

"I am glad to hear that." Sakura smiled gently, moving a hand over her forehead as if wiping away a few drops of sweat, taking the opportunity to sexily cock her hips to the side. "But does it look good enough to buy, Senpai? If we do, you might have to look at us wearing this more often, you know? Are you sure you want that?"

"…Yes." Shirou nodded with a steely expression, keeping a very firm lid on his emotions. "I definitely want that."

His words prompted a blush from both girls, before they both nodded, making a mental note to place these clothes onto the 'definitely accepted' pile.

"What else should we wear?" Sakura wondered after they'd walked away from Shirou again, placing a finger on her lower lip as she looked around the shop with a critical eye. She wanted to continue the little play she and her girlfriend were putting up for their boyfriend, but she wasn't about to wear the same kind of clothes twice, that would ruin the show.

Additionally, Ayako and she had made the agreement not to go too far. The important bits had to be properly covered at all times. They were a little too young to go further than that, as Ayako's mother had said.

So they had saved the part where they would show off sexy underwear and lingerie to Shirou for later, when they were all a bit older. For now, Shirou would have to be content with a few glimpses of their panties here and there when they were a little too enthusiastic at flipping up their skirts.

With those restrictions in place however, and after close to two hours of going around the shop grabbing every piece of clothing that looked good, there was very little left in the store they could try out.

A pity, but it did mean they could move on to part two of the shopping trip.

The costume store in downtown Fuyuki-City.

After the enormous success of Sakura's maid outfit, which Ayako had 'liberated' from her school's storage facility, the brunette had made some subtle inquiries at her school as to where the costume came from in the first place.

It was the drama teacher who eventually told her that it had been bought from a costume shop at the edge of Fuyuki's shopping district. It had been meant for the drama club, for a performance of 'A Christmas Carol', but after repeated complaints that such a foreign story shouldn't be shown at proper Japanese schools and that the outfits selected to be worn –not just the maid outfit but many others as well– were too improper, the poor costume had been banished to the storage facility and never seen the light of day again.

At least, until Ayako had given it a purpose once more.

After a bit of searching, the brunette had managed to track the shop down, and after verifying that was indeed just a costume shop –and not a sex shop with a euphemistic name– had cleared it for a visit.

So Ayako and Sakura returned to their changing booths and put on their normal outfits again. After that, they gathered all of the clothes that had elicited a positive reaction from Shirou, which turned out to be nearly all of them, and brought them to the store's counter.

The bill for the clothes turned out to be quite high, but Shirou paid for it before either one of his girlfriends even had time to reach for their own purses.

What was the use of having superhuman powers if you didn't use them to be faster at paying the bills like a proper gentleman after all?

Though Shirou admitted freely that his motives for buying the clothes weren't entirely pure, and judging by the amused smirk of the woman behind the counter, she was perfectly aware of that as well.

The moment the payment was complete and he had picked up the bags again, he was dragged away by his eager girls, who were wasting no time in making their way over to the costume shop.

Considering they were already in downtown-Fuyuki, it wasn't a long walk, though they did almost trample several other pedestrians on their way before reaching the store in question.

Who knew Sakura could be so forceful?

"There it is!" Ayako grinned widely when they reached their destination, nearly skipping inside, followed closely behind by her boyfriend and her girlfriend.

And when they stepped through the door, they found themselves in costume paradise.

There were costumes and outfits everywhere they looked, on shelves, racks, clothes lines, and even mannequins. There were butler-costumes on display, Grim Reaper costumes, flight attendant costumes, and much, much more.

There were spooky outfits for Halloween, various sorts of costumes for stage plays, and many other clothes for a variety of other purposes, all of them of the highest quality, as far as Shirou could determine.

There seemed to be no other customers present, though there was a young woman behind the counter at the back, who looked up from her magazine upon hearing them enter. She seemed a few years older than them, with shiny black hair, adorably large eyes, fair skin, and a mouth that seemed made for lazy smiles.

"Oh, hello. Welcome to our costume shop." She rose from her chair to greet them with a bow. "My name is Watanabe Yuki, pleased to meet you."

"Pleased to meet you." Shirou said at the same time as Sakura and Ayako, all three speaking and bowing in sync.

"Are you looking for anything specific or are you just browsing?" Watanabe asked, before she spread her arms wide like a merchant showing off her wares. "We have quite the assortment, so there's a good chance we have what you are looking for, no matter what it is."

"No, we aren't looking for anything specific." Ayako shook her head, suddenly looking a bit self-conscious about randomly showing up to buy costumes for unspecified purposes. "We're just, ehm, we're just browsing."

"Please look around as much as you like then." Watanabe smiled, not a trace of judgement to be found anywhere in her expression. "Feel free to ask for my help at any time."

Sakura and Ayako needed no more encouragement and rushed into the shop, with an eagerness that was not uncommon for the brunette but certainly was unusual for the normally so composed plum-haired girl.

For a moment, Shirou contemplated looking around as well, before deciding that, contrary to what Ayako had just said, he was in fact looking for a particular costume. As such, he approached Watanabe, who was still looking after Sakura and Ayako with a smile.

"Excuse me." He began, attracting her attention. "May I ask where the butler costumes are?"

"Of course." She beamed, before getting out from behind her counter. "I'm always happy to help out a customer, mister…?"

"Emiya Shirou."

"Emiya-san then. Please follow me."

She led him further into the store, towards a specific section that was labelled 'costumes for men', talking animatedly about all the different sizes and kinds of butler costumes they had available.

Apparently, it was quite a popular outfit.

Which made Shirou wonder just how many costumers this store saw on a monthly basis.

"We sell more than enough to pay the bills." Watanabe told him when he asked her. "But most of the orders we get are in bulk. Drama clubs, Halloween parties, school-performances, and so on. Usually, they just call us on the phone with their order and we have it delivered to them. People who visit us in person usually have… other intentions, with the outfits they are looking for."

She gave him a very meaningful glance, before giggling a bit when he flushed slightly.

"As long as you purchase the costumes before you use them, it's none of my business." She assured him, before making a noise of satisfaction when they arrived at a specific rack of clothes. "Here we are, the butler costumes."

True to her word, there were dozens of them, in varying sizes and shapes, and after going over them for a bit, Shirou selected one that seemed the correct size for him and was of the highest quality available.

"There are changing rooms over there." Watanabe nodded towards a curtain a bit further into the store. "Feel free to try it on."

"Thank you." Shirou smiled, before heading off to do just that.

The butler-costume consisted of several parts. To start with, there were slim black pants with a proper fold and an equally black jacket with a deep satiny collar that gave him an air of propriety and poshness. The pure white shirt underneath the jacket was adorned with a bowtie and a matching waistcoat that made the suit look more elegant. The white gloves and fancy shoes finished the whole look quite well.

He looked ready to serve the most expensive of wines at the most extravagant of mansions, if he did say so himself.

A second opinion was always useful though, so he stepped out of the changing booth again, to ask for Watanabe's opinion.

"You look good in that." She nodded with an approving glint in her eyes. "And I'm not just saying that to convince you to buy it, it really looks good on you."

"Thank you." The redhead smiled, carefully moving his arms and legs to see if any parts of it were too snug or too wide. "It also fits quite well."

"As far as I can see, it fits you perfectly. If you have no complaints about it being too tight, I'd say you got the right size in one try."

"I don't think I have any complaints about its size."

"Then the only question is whether you like it enough to take it home."

Did he like it?

Yes, he did.

In fact, he was downright impressed with the outfit. Just like the maid costume, it looked professionally made and really consisted of different parts, rather than one piece of cloth that had everything attached to it, like the cheap props on the internet.

"We pride ourselves on authenticity." Watanabe puffed out her chest proudly when he expressed his approval. "In here, we sell none of that one-piece, plastic stuff that falls apart after wearing it three times and makes you sick from all the pollution in it. We only sell quality, even if that means our prices are a lot higher than most of the competition."

"A price I will gladly pay then, if it means I won't get sick."

"Don't worry about that, Senpai!" A new voice joined the conversation as two pair of feet came patting closer. "If you become sick, we'll take care of you real good."

"Ah, Sakura." Naturally, Shirou recognised her voice. "Did you find what you were looking… for…"

Shirou's voice tapered off, as he turned around and saw…

…That the girls had indeed found what they were looking for.

Nurse costumes.

And not the naughty nurse costumes that made you wonder what aspect about it did in any way remind one of a nurse, but proper outfits consisting of white dresses that reached the knee, adorned with red buttons and two red crosses on the sleeves, a nurse headpiece with its own red cross, and short aprons that seemed actually functional. On their feet, they wore comfortable-looking shoes, red in colour with very light heels, that seemed well-fitted for long days of walking around in a hospital.

It were their expressions however, their carefully schooled expressions of concern, care, and love, that really made Shirou understand why so many men had a weakness for caring nurses.

Those expressions of concern soon made way for approval though when they noticed the butler-costume, and it wasn't long before Ayako gave him an outright smile.

"I feel sorely tempted to order you to prepare my tea now." She said bluntly, prompting a smile from the redhead in turn.

"You must buy this costume, Senpai." Sakura professed.

"Definitely." Ayako agreed.

"I concur." Watanabe nodded.

"Then I will." With such unanimous approval, he couldn't leave it behind at the store. "You look good too."

"You think so?" Ayako looked down at herself, smoothing out the few wrinkles in her apron. "Glad to hear it."

"Now we can always nurse you back to health, Senpai." Sakura beamed, which made Shirou's heart melt from how radiant it was. "I mean, if you want to?"

"I want to."

"Hehe." The beaming smile turned into a happy grin, one that was every bit as precious as its predecessor.

"Time for the next costume then." Ayako decided, already looking around the store again. "I believe I saw something nice just now. Come on, Sakura, and don't peek until we're finished, Shirou."

"I wouldn't dare." Shirou promised sincerely, before he also turned around, to look for another outfit himself.

Unbeknownst to him, that motion also showed off that the pants were perhaps a bit tighter than appropriate around a certain lower body part. Needless to say, the girls' search was delayed for a good few seconds after that.

Shirou noticed none of this though, as he was looking around the store with a slight frown, having trouble figuring out what to do next.

"That's not unusual." Watanabe stood ready to help him out however. "Most people can only think of a butler costume when they think of roleplaying for men, but have you considered being a strict school teacher, or a huntsman, or, my personal favourite, a tortured artist?"

"A tortured artist?"

"I'm glad you asked." Watanabe beamed happily, before waving him over to another part of the shop. "Everything you need is right over there, and I'll be glad to help you out every step of the way. It's not every day I get myself a doll to dress up as I please."

"What was that last part?" Shirou asked, as she had mumbled the last sentence too quickly and softly for him to hear.

"Nothing!"

It took a few minutes for her to gather everything they needed, but ultimately, Shirou had donned a misbuttoned shirt, torn pants, a thin bandana, brass bracelets, and mismatched socks just in time for the girls to return in their own outfits.

This time, they'd gone for the office lady look, and the tight panty hoses with pencil skirts, high-heeled shoes, matching shirts, and professional looking glasses, coupled with their stern expressions, were a bit too effective a combination for him to shrug off easily.

Though he had to say he wasn't as impressed with the office lady getup as he'd been with the nurse outfits, and he was nowhere near as blown away as with the maid costume.

"I see." Ayako nodded when he made his opinion clear. "Are they still worth buying then, or shall we put them back?"

"You can definitely still buy them, they look amazing. Just not as great as the previous ones."

"So office ladies don't really do it for you? Noted. On to the next one then."

"Ah, before you go, please wait a second." Watanabe's request made the girls pause. "I'm sure you noticed Emiya-san is wearing different clothes now. Perhaps you would like to see the performance that goes with this kind of outfit?"

"A performance?" Sakura asked curiously, before looking at Shirou's clothes curiously "This outfit also has a performance?"

"Yup. You see, 'the tortured artist' is not just an outfit, it's also an act that one has to follow if they truly wish to bring out the potential of the costume." Watanabe explained, before turning to Shirou again. "Emiya-san, please follow my instructions."

"Very well." He nodded slowly, wondering just what he was getting into.

"Then, please lie down on that bench." Watanabe began, pointing towards a bench that was discretely standing in a corner. "On your side please."

Shirou glanced at his girls for a moment, and, upon seeing them nod encouragingly, stepped towards the bench to follow Watanabe's instruction, noticing that the improperly buttoned shirt immediately rode up until his stomach was exposed when he laid down.

"Please put your feet over the edge, prop yourself up on your elbow, and adopt a complicated expression, like you're thinking really deeply."

Shirou followed those instructions as well, feeling a little dumb but going along with it anyway.

"Now, place your hand on your forehead, no, ehm, just your thumb and index finger on your temples, as if you're nursing a massive headache, yes, like that. And close your eyes!"

Watanabe was sounding more and more excited as she kept giving instructions, grinning widely as Shirou followed them to the letter.

Sakura and Ayako on the other hand weren't very impressed.

Oh, they appreciated the abs that became visible when the shirt rode up well enough, and the lying pose was sexy, but the mismatched clothes didn't exactly add anything, nor did the expression of pain on Shirou's face.

But it seemed Watanabe-san was enjoying it, so, after a moment of eye-contact and a subtle nod, they decided to stay quiet and let the young woman have her moment of fun.

To her credit, Watanabe soon noticed that her efforts weren't having the intended effect, and she gracefully back down.

"I suppose it only makes sense." She shrugged slightly, glancing at Sakura and Ayako. "Your boyfriend here definitely looks like a practical man, and if you've fallen for that, a flighty artist would probably not appeal to you."

"You are entirely correct, Watanabe-san." Sakura agreed, a very pleased smile coming to her face when Watanabe casually alluded to their shared relationship without any kind of judgement.

"Well, I might like it if someone else was playing that role." Ayako speculated idly, scratching her cheek with a finger. "It's just unnatural to see Shirou acting the part."

"Oh yes, definitely. Senpai shouldn't pretend to be the opposite of what he really is, that's just weird to see."

"Alright, alright, I get it, no more tortured artist for me." Shirou's put upon expression elicited giggles from all three girls. "I'll go look for something else."

"Something that accurately reflects your strong nature then." Watanabe nodded, before she looked at the girls. "What about you girls? I've been focusing on your boyfriend so far, but is there anything you two would like my help with?"

"No, not really." Ayako shook her head with a smile. "We've been able to find everything we need perfectly well so far."

"Please do not hesitate to call if you need me."

"Of course."

And so it continued for a while. As the girls went through the shop, selecting outfits they liked, Watanabe helped Shirou to find costumes that fitted more with his personality.

A costume was much like a lie, she explained, albeit one that could be worn, and just like with all lies, it was important to have at least a grain of truth in it. Otherwise, no one would believe it.

Under the young woman's guidance, Shirou tried a fireman's costume, a police costume, an outfit that was made to resemble that of a guy called 'Indiana Jones' –which consisted of short, tight, light-brown pants, an brown open jacket, a sable-fedora, and a whip on his belt– a very official looking suit that made him look like a European noble from the nineteenth century –including a top hat– and a kimono that seemed tailor-made for visiting high end, traditional, Japanese parties.

Of the five, only the fireman got a negative review from Sakura and Ayako. The other four were eagerly accepted.

In turn, his girlfriends dressed up as ninja cat-burglars –essentially skin tight, black, one-piece suits with black capes and several knife-belts– Wonder Woman, Olympic gymnasts, school teachers, noble ladies with long and regal dresses that were the companion pieces of his noble suit, and Japanese noblewomen with kimonos that were supposed to be paired with his own kimono.

They'd managed to find a maid outfit for Ayako as well, exactly the same kind that Sakura had, which looked as great on her as it did on the purple-haired girl.

Just like with Shirou's outfits, most of what the girls wore was ultimately approved, except for the Olympic gymnast outfits.

Shirou just didn't like them, even less than the office lady outfits.

That meant that eventually, they had collected a grand total of sixteen outfits. Five for Shirou, five for Sakura and six for Ayako.

As the costumes were of high quality, that meant the cost was quite steep. Shirou nevertheless paid it without batting an eye. He had more than enough saved up from working at the Copenhagen and from the payment lord El-Melloi had given him for the Sealing Designees. He didn't even need his dad's accounts.

Which was fortunate, because Shirou wasn't sure how the old man would have felt about his blood money, earned over the course of a life filled with bloodshed, being spent on such... frivolous things.

Then again, maybe he would have found it hilarious.

"Thank you for your purchase. Please come again." Watanabe waved at them with a blinding smile as they left the shop. It wasn't hard to see why she was so happy, with how much she'd earned from their spree that afternoon.

None of the three begrudged her for it though. She'd been a real help and nothing but kind and pleasant the entire time.

"So, Senpai, let's take this home immediately." Sakura professed, bouncing in place like an overeager puppy. "When we get there, Ayako and I will wear the maid costumes, and we'll-"

"Well, actually, I was planning on wearing my butler-outfit tonight." Shirou interrupted her, smiling gently at her. "You have been wearing the maid outfit every evening for some time now, so perhaps it is time I did something in return."

"Moe, I was hoping I'd get to show off too." Ayako pouted, prompting Shirou to pat her head gently, which put her in a noticeably better mood again. "But Shirou in a butler outfit is also fine. More than fine even."

"Very fine." Sakura nodded, a faint blush high on her cheeks.

"I'm glad you think that." Shirou tried not to blush himself, but the heat in his cheeks indicated he was failing. "I'll put it on and get started with dinner right away when we get home."

"Alright, but it's my turn tomorrow." Ayako insisted stubbornly. "I want to try the maid-outfit."

"Of course." Shirou nodded, not about to refuse what was certain to become a marvellous treat for his eyes.

By now, it was clear enough that the maid outfits were definitely Shirou's favourite, and Sakura and Ayako were planning on milking that for all it was worth.

---

"Is everything to your satisfaction, my ladies?" Shirou asked, putting one arm behind his back and one arm in front of his chest as he bowed deeply. "Is the food to your liking? Is the music still adequate? Shall I fetch some more drinks perhaps?"

"Yes, please." Sakura nodded, clad in her new, fancy noblewoman-dress, holding out her glass. "Some of the best we have, Emiya-san."

"For me as well." Ayako held out her glass as well, just as graceful as Sakura in her own noblewoman-dress.

"As you desire, your ladyships." Shirou nodded, taking their glasses from them and bringing them to the kitchen, where he elegantly filled them with a liquid poured from a champagne bottle.

It was just apple juice really, but it did look very fancy when Shirou was pouring it from an expensive-looking bottle while dressed in his butler-outfit, and even more so when it was drunk by two ladies in fancy dresses.

It had been Ayako who'd come up with the idea of wearing their new fancy dresses by the way. It would really complete the picture, the brunette had claimed.

As usual, Sakura's girlfriend had been entirely correct. The dresses really did make tonight's roleplaying a lot better.

Unlike their normal colour scheme however, it was Ayako who wore the purple dress and Sakura who wore the maroon dress this time.

They could hardly stick to the same colours forever after all. Sometimes, they had to stir things up a little.

If one added the regal-looking chairs and the high table Shirou had Projected before dinner to the picture, it really was as if one was looking at a historical drama about two English ladies and their beloved butler.

"Are my ladies ready for the main course?" Shirou asked while placing the glasses on the table with a flourish and another bow. "Or would my ladies rather have more time to finish the appetizers?"

Since the butler costume and the dresses worn by the trio were European in style, Shirou had done his best to search for and prepare European dishes as well. So far, he'd served some excellent dishes of salmon cream cheese canapés, a bruschetta, firecracker chicken meatballs, and garlic bread.

They had been received very well by the girls, who had eaten nearly all of it, leaving nothing but crumbs and scraps.

"We are finished, Emiya-san. You may serve the main course now." Ayako said pompously, gracefully leaning back in her chair.

"Very good, my lady."

Shirou promptly removed the plates in fast, efficient movements, returning to the kitchen within moments.

"Say, my dear lady Sakura, tonight's service appears to be especially excellent, wouldn't you agree?" Ayako asked, giving a high titter after she spoke.

"I do agree, my lovely lady Ayako." Sakura replied with a bit of snoozy laughter. "Truly, hiring the current staff seems to have been a most advantageous decision of ours."

"Verily, I've never been served so well."

"Quite so. Quite so."

They fell silent then, looking each other in the eyes.

Sakura was the first to twitch, and Ayako wasn't far behind. They managed to keep their faces straight for several more seconds, but then they burst out in hysterical giggles.

"Hihihi, V-Verily?" Sakura spluttered around her laughter. "What does that even mean?"

"I don't know." Ayako admitted frankly, starting a new round of hilarity for the both of them.

They hadn't finished laughing yet when Shirou returned with the main course on a silver food trolley –made of actual silver, though Projected– but as a good butler should, Shirou ignored the strange tendencies of his mistresses and simply did his duty.

"Braised chicken leg with grapes and fennel." He announced the first dish, placing it before Sakura. "As you ordered, my lady."

"Y-Yes, thank you, Senpai." Sakura hiccupped, forcibly suppressing her giggles. "I-I mean, good work, Emiya-san."

Shirou bowed slightly, before turning to Ayako.

"Potato gnocchi with a side of grilled vegetables and a small, medium-done tournedos." The dish in question was placed before the brunette. "As you ordered, my lady."

"It looks splendid." Ayako nodded, having composed herself before Shirou addressed her. "Thank you, Emiya-san. Could you fetch us some napkins though?"

"Of course." Shirou promptly left the dining room for the kitchen again, oblivious to the girls' very appreciative looks at every tight area of his costume.

When he had disappeared from sight, the girls turned their attention towards the food. As always, it was delicious, and for a minute or so, there was no sound except that of happy eating, sometimes interspaced with expensive vocabulary and helpless giggles.

Shirou returned with the napkins quickly, and after confirming that his ladies had everything they needed, he went to stand in the corner, arms behind his back and his head slightly bowed, awaiting further orders.

Aside from refilling their glasses and sometimes commenting on certain matters when his opinion was asked for, he also removed dirty dishes, picked up cutlery when it was dropped on the ground –the fact that it happened suspiciously often and always with clean cutlery was a good indication they did so on purpose– and even once wiped Ayako's cheek with a napkin when she had some sauce splotched there.

The immense blush that last action elicited was a treat for his and Sakura's eyes.

Eventually, he served the dessert as well. Yogurt with strawberry ice, and some tea. It was a strange combination, but his mistresses had asked for it, so he would deliver.

"That was delicious." Sakura smiled happily with a hand pressed against her cheek. "Thank you very much for tonight, Emiya-san."

"It was my pleasure, lady Sakura." Shirou responded, bowing his head again, remaining ever respectful.

It was safe to say that the butler outfit and the accompanying roleplay had been a resounding success.

---

Shirou raised his hand, concentrated deeply for a moment, and then reached into his Vault and retrieved a mug, with the same ease someone else would have picked it up from a table.

He was currently standing in his shed. It was late in the afternoon, on the day after the debut of the butler costume, and he was pleased to say that it had been a major success. Donning it and acting the part of the high-class butler seemed to come naturally to him, and judging from their elated expressions that persisted throughout the entire meal, Sakura and Ayako liked it very much indeed.

It had almost been enough for them to consider having him wear it again today, but their desire to show off their maid outfits together won out in the end.

Not that Shirou minded. It meant he had something to look forward to.

Now if he could only get his research to cooperate with him as willingly as the girls did, then today would really be perfect.

No such luck though. His personal pocket dimension was being extremely opaque and refused to reveal its secrets to him.

He returned the mug to the Vault, before immediately taking it out again. This was repeated several times in quick succession.

The reason Shirou was doing this was because he was trying to better understand how his Vault worked. By using it multiple times in quick succession while paying close attention to the process, he hoped to perhaps catch a glimpse of its underlying mechanism.

He'd never really wondered about how the Vault worked before, regarding the complexities of its inner workings as beyond him, but since that alien, the Watcher Nasu, had told him to take a closer look at the Vault, he had decided to do some research into it.

Not that there was much to see. When he used his Vault, stuff just disappeared and appeared whenever he wanted. He held something in his hands one moment, then the next he didn't. One moment, his hands were empty, then he suddenly held something. There was no flash, or glowing disk, or whatever else pocket dimensions were usually signified by, just sudden appearances and disappearances.

So he'd done some thinking, and after several hours of coming up with theories, some more plausible than others, he had decided that the process of putting things into his Vault was likely to be teleportation to another dimension.

In other words, the Second True Magic; the Kaleidoscope.

Or at least, it would have been, had he not already known that the Mysterious Power had nothing to do with Magecraft or True Magic. It was purely its own system and did not operate by the rules of Shirou's world.

Realising that had made Shirou laugh out loud. Other Magi would already be green with envy if they ever heard of what he could do, but now that he had an equivalent of the Kaleidoscope as his metaphorical backpack and a ritual that was an equivalent of the Heaven's Feel, able to change Homunculi into real people, they would likely froth at the mouth in jealousy.

Finding out it was based on dimensional travel had not done much to help him understand the Vault itself though. There just didn't seem to be much to understand in the first place. Stuff entered and left at his will, but that seemed to be the end of it.

Additionally, it was placed in stasis, like the Sealing Designees he had captured and locked up in his Vault, though that turned out not to be as ironclad a rule as Shirou had previously believed it to be.

When he had asked, Mjolnir had stated that things he put into the Vault could be placed in stasis, not that they were by rule.

If that was the case, then that offered certain possibilities. If he placed something like a running camera into the Vault but not in stasis, it might record both the journey there and the Vault itself.

"Is that possible, Mjolnir?" Shirou asked the hammer, immediately receiving confirmation that, yes, it was possible.

"Alright!" Shirou fist pumped in victory and was about to return to the house to grab a camera when Mjolnir suddenly admonished him, telling him that he had an alright idea, but wasn't thinking far enough yet.

That made Shirou pause. Mjolnir only ever interfered like this when the solution was right in front of him, and he was just being dense.

If sending in a camera was possible but not good enough yet, then what was better?

What could give him a better picture of the inside of his Vault than a camera?

…

…Oh.

Seeing it in person.

"Mjolnir, can I enter the Vault?"

It must have been the right question, for the hammer played a happy tune in response.

The next moment, Shirou's surroundings changed, and he suddenly felt as if he was being propelled into the sky at mind-boggling speed.

"Waaaah?!"

The drab walls of the shed were replaced with translucent walls made of rainbow light, shining brightly with ever-shifting colours. Beyond those walls, Shirou could see space itself rushing past him, the stars and galaxies shooting by as time and space bent themselves over backwards to allow for his passing through this… rainbow bridge.

Before he even had time to feel shocked or afraid, it stopped, and the walls of rainbow light disappeared again.

What reappeared before his eyes weren't the drab walls of his shed however. It weren't his garden or his house either, or even anywhere else in Fuyuki.

Instead, Shirou found himself standing in an utterly massive hall.

It was gigantic to the point he almost couldn't properly describe it. The walls seemed kilometres away and the ceiling was so high he could barely see it. The whole place was so big he could have fitted his house into it more than a thousand times with room to spare.

What's more, the hall wasn't empty either. To the contrary, it was stuffed to the brim, and not with random junk, but with riches and treasure beyond Shirou's wildest dreams.

"Odin's beard…"

Massive piles of gold, silver, and many other metals Shirou did not know the names of surrounded him on all sides.

Cases full of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and countless other stones had been tossed around without care, in numbers greater than Shirou could count.

Numerous weapons of all kinds, mundane and magical, were lying around everywhere, his mind automatically performing Structural Analysis on every weapon he could see.

Still shocked by the sudden transportation and dazed by the wealth on display, Shirou staggered away, getting out from in-between the piles of gold, allowing him to see more of the hall.

Or rather than the hall itself, he saw more treasure.

Innumerable priceless tapestries had been put on display, seemingly held up by nothing but Magic.

Statues made from ivory were standing around at random, as if they'd just been thrown there and forgotten.

Cabinets full of cups and plates littered whatever free space remained, and there were so many mirrors Shirou could have given one to every resident of Fuyuki and still have some to spare at the end.

There was even some furniture to be found here and there, all of supreme design and superior materials of course.

Everything in sight was of mind-boggling quality, sufficiently so that they would be ruinously expensive should he take them with him when he left.

Nothing was broken, nothing was marred, and nothing appeared any less than pristine.

It was treasure, plain and simple, and Shirou had not the faintest clue how it had all gotten here, nor how he had gotten here himself for that matter.

"Mjolnir." He breathed out when his brain had jump-started a little again. "What is this?"

The answer was short, succinct, and absolutely insufficient.

His Vault.

"This is…?" The redhead had trouble expressing just what went through his mind at that answer, though it was mostly disbelief. "H-How?! I didn't put this in here. How can this be the Vault?!"

Mjolnir readily explained. This was his Vault, and what he saw lying around was nothing less than Thor's possessions. Everything the God of Thunder had obtained during his time as king and stored away for possible later use.

The spoils of his many wars, the weapons and other trophies of his uncountable enemies, and the rewards from numerous grateful beings all over the galaxy that had been saved by the Asgardian King.

It was an almost infinite collection built up over thousands and thousands of years, containing riches beyond belief, objects that did not and could not exist on Earth, and items that cost more than entire countries.

It seemed unbelievable, but this was what happened when a god had a hoarding problem.

"Okay." Shirou brought out, aggressively scratching the back of his head to try and calm himself down. "Okay, I get it. This is Thor's stuff. Okay, that makes sense. He was a god; it is only natural he had this much stored away."

That was when Mjolnir started thrumming in amusement and dropped yet another bomb on him.

The hall he was standing in now was not the only place in the Vault.

True, it was the main hall, but the Vault contained many other rooms and galleries that were also filled to the brim with Thor's possessions. The stasis-room was but one example of these other rooms, and so were the food-storages, the hall for modern objects, and Shirou's personal facilities, though the last was a bit empty at the moment, as it had only come into existence when Shirou picked up the hammer.

The hammer also told him that for now, most of the rooms were completely off limits to him and wouldn't open no matter what he did. He would have to grow a bit more in both wisdom and power before gaining access to them, for the safety of himself and others.

Shirou, already overwhelmed with what he saw in the main hall, had no problem with being barred access to most other rooms. He would probably have to spend a good long while cataloguing everything he saw in the main hall first before moving on to the scary stuff.

That feeling was only strengthened when Mjolnir showed him a list of objects that were stored in the most secure Vault. No way he wanted to deal with things like 'the Red Shoes', 'the Hand of Visca', 'the Eye of Kruisthet', more than a thousand cursed paintings and a hundred creepy dolls, numerous damned souls, and many, many more objects that were better left undisturbed.

No, it was far better to stay in the main hall, where there were no cursed objects of any kind.

That was not to say there wasn't anything dangerous, because the weapons lying around certainly were extremely dangerous, but they weren't actively evil at least.

After a minute of breathing in and out, while Mjolnir metaphorically patted him on his back, Shirou regained some calm.

The hammer then gently encouraged him to walk around some more, to see what was stored in this main hall. It would be favourable if he knew his way around Thor's possessions.

Especially since they were now his possessions.

The gold and other precious metals weren't very interesting, so Shirou skipped past them pretty quickly. It was good to have of course, for a rainy day if nothing else, but it was still just regular old gold and silver.

No, the fact that most of it came from other planets didn't count, Mjolnir had already told him such things were irrelevant in Thor's universe, making it also irrelevant in Shirou's now. If he took the stuff from the Vault to his own world, it would be nothing more than regular gold and silver, even if it had technically come from the other side of the Milky Way.

Everything that he took from the Vault would undergo a certain treatment that would make it 'fit' for Shirou's world without any problems. That was a special property of the Vault, and one that was rather vital at that, since he wouldn't be able to take anything out without critically upsetting Gaia otherwise.

That didn't go for everything in the Vault however. There were some objects that couldn't be normalised under any circumstances, but since most of those objects were stored in the most secure vaults, Shirou was not going to spend time thinking about them right now.

Like the gold and silver, the many artworks and tapestries and furniture were very nice to look at and very nice to have –Shirou was definitely going to put some of this stuff in his house– but not very important at the moment.

The weapons that were lying around were far more interesting in comparison.

While many of the weapons were as mundane as they came, there were also plenty of magical ones around. If Shirou had to liken the swords, daggers, spears, shields, bows, maces, hammers, and so on to anything from his world, he'd say that they were like Mystic Codes. Obviously magical, possessing interesting effects, but nothing close to Noble Phantasms or Divine Weapons.

There were weapons of that level present in the Vault, and even weapons that were mightier than that, but those were locked away in weaponries, in rooms that were yet beyond Shirou's level of access. He wasn't ready for them.

Nevertheless, Shirou could add at least a hundred weapons equivalent to Mystic Codes to his armoury, copies of the weapons appearing on the Hill of Swords inside his soul.

From there on, he found a corner filled with beautiful jewellery, from simple rings and brooches to the most ornate of crowns and shimmering stones in necklaces that seemed to be made of pure starlight.

He'd have to see if Ayako and Sakura were interested in them.

What was the most immediately relevant however was Shirou's next discovery, that being several chests filled with gemstones of all kinds, most of which Shirou did not know the names of. He recognised rubies, and emeralds, and he could swear that those blue pebbles were lapis lazuli, but that was as far as his knowledge went.

He would have to ask Rin if he wanted more information, so Shirou Projected a small bag and carefully selected fifteen gems, each of a different colour so as to make the sample pool as varied as possible, before tying the bag shut and hanging it on his belt.

After closing the chest he'd taken the gems from again, Shirou looked around the hall one more time, before deciding that he'd seen enough for the day.

"Take me back to the shed." He ordered, and Mjolnir obeyed.

After another trip through space –if it even was space and not something else entirely– Shirou found himself back in his shed.

With his experiment successfully concluded and his research complete, he headed back to his house.

A glance at the clock revealed he still had just over an hour left before dinner, meaning he could visit Rin and still be back in time for the evening's program if he walked quickly enough.

So with a quick goodbye to the girls, who were in the middle of gathering ingredients for dinner, he walked out of the door.

---

Rin was just relaxing a bit, doing some light research while nibbling on a cookie, when the bell rang several times.

"Emiya-kun." Rin greeted once she had opened the door, lifting an eyebrow in curiosity. "Good afternoon, please come in."

"Thank you, Tohsaka-san. Good afternoon to you as well." The redhead replied, taking off his shoes before following her back to the living room. "I'm sorry for visiting out of the blue like this, but I have a favour to ask of you."

"Oh?" Rin's ears metaphorically perked up, and she started calculating how much time she had available right now. It wasn't every day that he came to her to ask for her help so blatantly, and it would be remiss to refuse a friend a favour after he'd helped her so much. "What can I do for you?"

"Gems." Was the incredibly short answer from the golden-eyed boy, who presented a small satchel to her. Upon opening it, he revealed several differently coloured gems inside.

"Oh." Rin smiled at the sight. Not just because of greed –because she wasn't greedy, dammit– but also because these gems were particularly beautiful, even more so than normal gems, their pure, radiant colouring giving them an almost ethereal look. "Those are very nice gems, Emiya-kun. Why are you bringing them to me though?"

"Don't be silly, Tohsaka-san, they are for you of course. You know I can't do anything with them." Emiya immediately held up a hand to stop her however when she wanted to reach inside the bag, the words of gratitude dying on her lips when she saw how unusually serious his expression was. "Before you use them for anything however, I would like you to thoroughly check them."

"Check them?"

"Yes. You see, I'm not entirely sure whether the source of these things can be trusted, so I would like you, as our resident gem-expert, to look at them and tell me whether you think they are usable in any way."

"O-Oh, sure." Rin tried to prevent it, but she couldn't help herself from straightening up ever so slightly in pride when he called her a gem-expert. "I will have it done in no time, Emiya-kun."

"Thank you, Tohsaka-san." Rin gulped and had to look away slightly when he gave her a grateful smile that made her treacherous heart skip a beat.

"Hmpf. It's no trouble at all. Since you're giving them to me and all, the least I could do is check them over for you." She felt the need to explain, before taking the bag from him and looking inside again.

From her first impression, she'd say these were incredibly high-grade gems that each cost more than her yearly income, but perhaps the outward appearance was deceiving.

"I'll get started on it right away. Is there anything else you would like to discuss?"

"Nothing, Tohsaka-san. Thank you again. If they turn out to be dangerous, please let me know immediately so I can dispose of them. I do not want to see you harmed."

"Tschk. Get out already."

With another blinding smile and a sweet goodbye, he left the house, and Rin, after cooling off her cheeks, turned towards the bag of gems she now held.

Taking care not to touch the gems with her bare skin –she wasn't like Emiya-kun, who could just ignore curses like they weren't even there– she took the bag to her Workshop.

Once there, she carefully removed the gems from the bag with tweezers and cloth, placing them in an obsidian bowl, before performing several standard experiments on them. It was nothing much, just checking them for curses, active spells, potential for use in Magecraft, and several other small things. All very easy, she could have done it in her sleep.

As she was working, her mind started to wander a bit.

So far, she'd received over thirty gems from Emiya-kun, if she included the ones she was testing now. That was an awful lot of capital, enough to bankrupt her several times over, but he hadn't even blinked when handing them over.

True, he had already admitted he had stolen most of them from other Magi and that he had no use for them himself, but it remained a princely gift to say the least. One she would have to show the proper amount of appreciation for.

Idly, she wondered if she perhaps had more gems than the Edelfelt-family now, but that pleasant fantasy didn't last long. That family was too skilled at thievery and too infuriatingly lucky in everything they did to be beaten so easily. Undoubtedly, they had hundreds of gems at their disposal and could easily procure hundreds more whenever they felt like it.

Well, no matter. The Tohsaka had never beaten the Edelfelt when it came to quantity –that family even had an ability to duplicate their entire Crest for heaven's sake– but they had the advantage when it came to quality.

If she had one gem and they had a hundred, she'd just have to use that one to its fullest potential while they wasted everything they had on frivolous nonsense.

That was the standard way of dealing with that family, striking hard and with precision while they fooled around, something Rin might have to put into practice soon if her apprenticeship went through.

Like she'd promised Emiya-kun, she wasn't going to actively seek out trouble herself, but the fact remained that she was the last Tohsaka left, which meant the reputation and future prosperity of the entire family fell on her shoulders. If her enemies came for her, she had to win, or there would be no Tohsaka-family left.

Her bloodline would be extinguished, and she would either be killed, have her Crest ripped from her body, or suffer some other horrendous fate.

She'd rather avoid that if she could.

But she would have to think about all that later, because right now, her experiments were finished.

The black-haired girl took a look at the data she had collected, and then she froze.

Then she looked again, before rubbing her eyes and looking again, before rubbing her eyes again and looking yet again.

But no matter how often she looked, the data did not change.

Feeling half-excited and half-dreadful, Rin promptly repeated her experiments, now paying full attention to the entire process to ensure everything went precisely according to procedure.

Again, the data did not change. She'd done it correctly the first time around, and the second set of experiments only confirmed her findings.

Her amazing, mind-boggling findings.

First of all, the gems weren't cursed or otherwise harmful towards anyone.

Second, they didn't have active spells on them or inside of them.

Lastly and most importantly, they had a lot of potential to be used in Magecraft.

A lot of potential.

Rin liked to think she wasn't prone to hyperbole, but she felt it wouldn't be inappropriate to consider them among the best gems available in the world. To call them high-grade would be an incredible understatement that would be the same as calling the sun 'a little hot'.

Her earlier guess of them costing more than her yearly income was wrong. They were worth more than thrice that, each of them by itself. The fifteen she held here in her hands were easily a king's ransom, enough to outright buy half of Fuyuki.

Emiya really was an idiot, giving away extremely valuable things like this, but she definitely wasn't going to complain about it.

She was however going to visit him the next day to make sure he understood precisely what he was giving away. Her pride as a Tohsa- as a Magus allowed for nothing else. She would not scam or swindle anyone, least of all a friend.

And if he wanted them back upon hearing their value, she would return them immediately.

To do otherwise would be the height of inelegance, not to mention unforgivably Edelfelt-like.

---

"Welcome home, master. Would you like dinner, a bath, or perhaps us?"

When Shirou came home from visiting Rin, the first thing he saw when stepping into the dining room was Sakura and Ayako standing side by side, clad in their maid-outfits, smiling at him as they spoke the classical line that maids everywhere used to drive their masters crazy.

It was very effective.

Shirou coughed into his fist once, more to win himself some time than because his throat was itchy, before replying in a voice that was hoarser than he had wanted.

"Dinner sounds pretty good right now. The bath can come afterwards."

"So all three? We would be glad to oblige." Ayako grinned, before hugging Sakura's arm between her breasts to audibly whisper into her ear. "Master is in a greedy mood tonight."

"Quite." Sakura agreed, before ushering the brunette to the kitchen. "But it is dinner he wants first, so go and bring it here."

"Yes, ma'am." The brunette gave a sloppy salute, before she left, and Sakura stepped forward, her stern expression softening immensely.

"It gladdens me to see you have come home safely again." She spoke softly, lovingly, her words striking him right into his vulnerable heart, before she bowed deeply, inadvertently giving him an eyeful of her cleavage. "Please, master, have a seat and rest. I'll bring the menu over at once."

"I-I… R-Ri..." Shirou tried to respond, he honestly did, but in the end, all he could do was stutter like a fool.

"Or perhaps master would like to change first?" Sakura asked, reaching him a straw to clutch.

"Y-Yes." He agreed quickly, realising he might as well wear his new nobleman costume.

"Very well, I'll have everything prepared for you when you return, master."

"S-See that you do." Shirou nodded, trying to take back control and feeling immensely grateful that Sakura ignored the stutter, before he left for his bedroom, to change and to unclutter his head.

Once he returned to the dining room, dressed to the nines and composed once more, he found the table properly set, with the menu waiting for him. Sakura and Ayako were standing on either side of his chair with their heads bowed and their hands crossed in front of them, like proper maids.

"Well then." He said, his voice strong and maybe even a little bit stern. "You can begin."

The temporary maids didn't reply verbally to his order, but they did look up again, their eyes gleaming in anticipation.

With that, the evening meal begun.

In light of brevity, it would be a little superfluous to describe every event of the evening that followed, but to make a long story short, it was amazing.

Ayako had really gotten into her role of inexperienced, somewhat rebellious maid, while Sakura played the stern head maid to perfection.

It was incredibly sexy, made even more so by their tendency to bow and hop and move in such ways that he regularly got an eyeful of either their cleavage or a glimpse under their skirts.

His own butler costume had been tight fitting and snug, and as such, had not allowed for any peeks, but the maid costumes were much looser, and Sakura and Ayako were milking them for all they were worth.

It was definitely on purpose too. The skirts were rather short, but they weren't so short that he should be able to see under them lest they actively tried to make it so.

He certainly wasn't complaining, though he had to take a moment in the bathroom to cool off after Sakura reprimanded Ayako for 'unduly teasing the master' and suggested he spank her to teach her a lesson.

The fact that Ayako hadn't seemed averse to that at all only made it worse.

The food had been delicious, and the mood of the room had been excellent the entire time.

After dinner, Sakura had actually prepared a bath for him, and when he went to bed, the girls stripped their maid costumes off in full view and went to lie beside him in nothing but their underwear.

His strange powers might see him the envy of Magi all around the world, but girlfriends like this would make millions of young men around the world green in jealousy.

It was too bad for those young men though.

These were his girlfriends.

And he wouldn't trade them for the world.

---

When Rin visited the Emiya-estate the next day and told Emiya of the value of the gems he had given her, his reaction was once more completely unlike and yet exactly what she had expected.

"They are that amazing? That is good to hear." Emiya's eyes twinkled in happiness when she brought him the news. "That means they are useful, right? In that case, I'll see about getting you some more of them."

"Emiya-kun…"

Rin felt like facepalming as Emiya once again did something that made no sense at all from a Magus perspective. The only reason she didn't was because it wouldn't be elegant, though the temptation was great.

She'd come to his house first thing in the morning, carrying the gems he'd given to her, to present him with her report.

After exchanging greetings with her little sister and Ayako, which she had intended to be polite bows but turned into hugs very quickly, she managed to speak with Emiya.

Her experimentations had found that those gems were incredibly high-grade, and thus more expensive than anything else she owned, except maybe her Crest.

Rin had half-expected Emiya to fall flat on his back in response, shocked out of his mind, before immediately asking her to give him the gems back. Even if he couldn't use them, they would still net him enough money to never have to worry about anything ever again if he kept up his simple lifestyle.

Instead, he received the news without even as much as a raised eyebrow, merely appearing a bit curious and happy that his gift was so useful to her.

"Why do you keep doing this?" Rin had to ask, gracefully sitting down on the couch.

"…What do you mean?"

"Why do you keep being so… so flippant about things you should take seriously?" She asked, before turning to Sakura and Ayako, who were curiously following the conversation. "Why do you even allow this? Those gems are worth a ridiculous amount of money. You should be telling him to keep them and sell them at the Clocktower later."

"What Senpai does with his possessions is not really any of my business."

"Yeah, same."

"…"

Rin had no response to that.

These three idiots were completely fine with giving away a… a godly treasure, just like that?

Well, fine then. If they were so absolutely certain, then she wasn't going to continue pushing for them to reconsider.

"You can have those gems, Tohsaka-san." Emiya confirmed once more in a voice that allowed for no argument. "They are now yours. Do with them what you want. Use them, sell them, store them away, it doesn't matter."

Well, if he put it like that…

"Thank you very much then, Emiya-kun." Rin stood up from the couch again, her business with them over. "I will make sure they won't go to waste."

"I'm glad to hear it." Emiya gave one of the closed eye smiles she'd become so fond of, one of the smiles that really accentuated everything Rin liked about his appearance.

Really, he was an idiot.

But at least he was a handsome idiot.

That almost made it okay.

---

It was perhaps superfluous to say, but all four of them, Shirou, Sakura, Ayako, and Rin, killed their final exams of the year. Shirou and Rin had top-scores, while Ayako and Sakura were not quite at that level, but not far below.

Shirou, Ayako, and Rin were accepted into Homurahara high school, as had been their plan. Sakura received a letter stating that if she kept up her current results, she would be guaranteed a spot at that school as well the next year.

To Shirou's delight, Issei was accepted into Homurahara as well, and he could only smile fondly when the bespectacled boy expressed his intentions to become president of the school council within the first month of the new school year.

Naturally, the redhead would be behind him every step of the way.

However, the end of the exams also meant the summer vacation had started, and with the summer vacation came Shirou's departure.

A decidedly less welcome event for everyone involved.

---

The fateful day was finally here, and though she'd known it had been coming for quite a while, Sakura still couldn't hold back a few tears as she saw her Senpai preparing to board the plane that would take him away to London.

She had helped him pack his luggage, had sat next to him in the taxi that took them to the airport –with Ayako on the other side– and had stood beside him while he'd been checking in, but only now, the moment he was about to pass the point where only passengers were allowed through, did it truly hit her.

"I'm going to miss you, Senpai." She sniffed as she embraced him tightly, pressing her face into his chest. "Please call as often as you can."

"Of course." He promised, placing a hand on her head. "I'll call every day. I promise you'll grow tired with how often I'm going to call."

"No way." Ayako scoffed, hugging him as well. "We would never get tired of you."

"I will though." Rin, who was standing behind Sakura, spoke up, sending Senpai an annoyed glare. "So don't you dare call me too often, Emiya-kun."

'Don't you dare call me too often'. It was an interesting way to tell a boy to call her while he was away, but that was her Nee-san through and through.

"I will call you every other day only." Shirou promised Nee-san, who nodded in approval. "What about you, Fuji-nee?"

The English teacher didn't reply, too busy bawling her eyes out while she blew her nose in a handkerchief, only wails and whines leaving her mouth.

"I'll call you every day as well." Senpai decided after a moment. "Well then, wish me luck."

"Good luck." Sakura said with another sniffle.

"I wish you nothing but the best." Nee-san nodded.

"WAAAAAAAAAH! 'sniff' 'sniff' WAAAAAH!" Was Fujimura-Sensei's contribution.

"Good luck indeed." Ayako said, before throwing an arm around Sakura's shoulders and smirking at Shirou. "We'll be thinking about you every time we sit back and relax, which is going to be almost always of course, while you slave away at this fancy university you just had to attend. Sucker."

"Oh?" Shirou blinked, before narrowing his eyes. "You seem to be taking a lot of enjoyment in the fact I'll be working hard while you are going to laze around."

"I do indeed." Ayako pressed her cheek to Sakura's, before sticking out her tongue and winking at him.

It was not a gesture Sakura recognised, but nevertheless, as she was in a teasing mood, she did the same, also sticking out her tongue at Senpai and closing one eye.

"I find this more annoying than I had anticipated." Shirou's eyes narrowed even further, before he frowned in thought. "I better give you something to do then. Let's see, Fuji-nee probably already knows, while Rin is discreet enough not to tell anyone."

"What do you mea- hmpf?" Ayako began asking, but was cut off when Shirou grabbed her shoulders and pulled her close, kissing her hard on her lips.

Sakura barely had time to realise what he was doing before he let go of the brunette and grabbed her shoulders instead, kissing her deeply as well.

She greatly enjoyed it of course, but there was also a nagging feeling of confusion as to why he was doing this.

Senpai let go of her again, placing her back next to Ayako, who was swooning with a red face, looking exactly like Sakura felt at the moment.

Then he patted their heads with a large grin. "Good luck explaining this."

Then he picked up his luggage, showed his ticket to the amused-looking attendee, and quickly disappeared out of sight.

Sakura looked after him for a few moments, still feeling confused, when…

"What the devil was that!?"

Nee-san's voice made her jump in shock, Ayako doing the same next to her, before they both turned around to face both Nee-san and Fujimura-Sensei, whom they'd almost forgotten were there.

Fujimura-Sensei was shaking her head in consternation while mumbling 'I knew it' over and over again, while Rin had an expression on her face that was a wild mixture of shock, outrage, and slack-jawed surprise.

It was only then that Sakura and Ayako realised, almost simultaneously, that they hadn't told either of them yet that they were both in a relationship with Shirou, and that Senpai had kissed them in full view of both to ensure they would have to explain things to them.

When Taiga began looking at them with a speculative expression and Rin came out of her shock to give them an incredulous glare, Sakura realised three things.

One, Fujimura-Sensei had clearly expected this already and seemed largely okay with it, which was a relief.

Two, while her elder sister seemed appropriately outraged after seeing a boy kiss her little sister right after making out with another girl as well, there was no denying that there was the slightest bit of envy in her eyes as well.

Three, Senpai was undoubtedly laughing at the two of them as he was boarding his plane.

"Dammit, Shirou!" Ayako hissed, and for once, Sakura didn't feel the need to correct the foul language.

The brunette was right.

Dammit, Senpai.

After a long, uneventful flight, the pilot turned on the comm to let the passengers know they were close to arriving at Heathrow, London. It was currently twenty degrees Celsius, with a cloudless sky and not much wind.

Most of the passengers were shocked awake by the pilot's call, having been asleep, but Shirou wasn't. He was already awake. In fact, he hadn't slept a wink the entire flight.

Partially because he didn't need to, and partially because it turned out that he absolutely, completely, utterly, definitely, unquestionably hated planes.

Not just because of the awful chairs, or the lack of space for his legs, but mainly because his entire being seemed to rebel against the very notion of being stuck in a metal box when he could also be flying freely through the sky.

His skin was itchy, his instincts were screaming at him, and he generally just felt terrible.

As such, the presence of perhaps the most talkative man he had ever met in the chair next to him turned out to be quite the blessing.

The man, an elderly, smaller fellow with glasses and a sympathetic face, kept talking throughout the entire flight, showing off an amount of knowledge that frankly astounded Shirou.

In the eighteen hours of flying, the man managed to cover ancient Aboriginal rituals, regular themes in ancient Greek plays, the inner workings of old cars, the precise stages of decomposition human bodies went through from the moment of death to their complete disappearance, every single flaw and mistake that the current president of Argentina had made since his inauguration, the precise origins of the lemon, the advantages of genetically modified organisms, and a plethora of other subjects.

Among those other subjects was also the man himself. He was apparently returning home to New York from a short stay in Japan. When asked the question why he was going to London when he could have gone the other way, he replied that he needed to pick up a colleague there.

The man had introduced himself as doctor Donald Mallard, a forensics expert and coroner, though if he'd claimed to be the head-professor in every subject at Harvard academy, Shirou would have believed him without question.

By some miracle, the man actually managed to make every subject sound intriguing and exciting enough to distract Shirou from his woes, seemingly without even trying. The eighteen hours had flown past, and the redhead could only hope he'd have someone like that next to him on the way back too.

"Haha! Well, it seems we finally arrived." The doctor said, looking much too spry for someone who'd stayed awake for at least eighteen hours. "My boy, you have been a wonderful conversation partner, but it seems we shall part ways soon."

"The pleasure was all mine." Shirou smiled, truly meaning it. "You have a lot of knowledge about a lot of things. It was very interesting."

"Thank you for the wonderful compliment." The man laughed, tightening his seatbelt when the notice to do so came up. "I have simply read a lot of books and listened to a lot of people. There was once a time I thought I would become an educator, but ultimately, I didn't do it."

"Why not?"

"Oh, nothing bad happened. I just couldn't see myself in front of a class, teaching the next generation. It would have been nothing but odd for me."

"If you say so." Shirou grinned, finding some humour in the old man's words even while the world of educators cried out in grief at having lost such a wonderful man.

The landing went smoothly enough, and before long, they were allowed to leave the plane.

When they descended the ramp that led from the plane to the ground, the old man was the first to be called away.

"Ducky!"

The shout came from an older man, not as old as doctor Mallard, but certainly older than lord El-Melloi or Ayako's parents.

With greying hair and an expression that spoke of subdued happiness to see his colleague, or perhaps even his old friend, the man looked peaceful and harmless enough.

His aura however was that of a veteran killer, one who could probably match Bazett in battle if she couldn't use her Magecraft.

Shirou didn't show that realisation on his face –it was none of his business– and instead bid doctor Mallard goodbye for the last time, after which the old man ran off, loudly calling out for 'Jethro'.

It took Shirou a few more minutes after that to find his own quarry.

Standing at the edge of the hall, lord El-Melloi and Bazett were waiting, making themselves as visible as possible.

Bazett spotted him a second after he'd seen her, and she gently elbowed El-Melloi, before pointing in his direction.

"Mister Fujimaru." El-Melloi said in English as they shook hands. "It is good to see you again."

"The pleasure is all mine." Shirou replied in better English than he thought himself to be capable of. "Shall we go?"

"The car is outside." Lord El-Melloi nodded, before turning around and leading the way. "Welcome to London, mister Fujimaru. I hope you'll enjoy your stay and that you'll return home alive."

And with that ominous declaration, he walked into the garage, followed shortly behind by Bazett and Shirou.

---

Done.

Tried to inject some wholesomeness, unsure whether I managed. Hope you enjoyed it anyway.

The Clocktower arc is now officially begun and Shirou has met up with Bazett and Waver. Hurray.

One of the first things in the chapter is Shirou pondering how his powers have grown. Keep that well in mind in the coming chapters, because Shirou is going to do some awesome things.

It also seems Sakura is starting to see that Rin might be a little too fond of Shirou as well. What will she do with the knowledge? Who can tell? Well, I can, but you'll have to wait.

The costume shop trip just seemed like something those three might enjoy. Of course, it is yet another step on the road to becoming perverts, but who cares about that when there are maid outfits to enjoy.

As for the matter of Nasu, I did make it known he would be visiting in previous chapters. I realise he sort of came out of nowhere, but that would have been the case no matter what. Whether he would visit Shirou at home, interfere in a fight, appear in the sky during the flight to London, it was always going to be an immense shock.

I know I didn't do Shirou's shock justice, but that was very hard to write. How would you react to an alien suddenly standing in your room when you know all known alien life is actively hostile towards humans?

That said, Sakura and Ayako aren't much surprised at all. After learning about Mjolnir, they can handle such surprises perfectly well.

As for the Vault, that one is based on a Thor-comic. What happened is that Thor transported Asgard to Earth and parked it over a field in America (of course it's America). However, that field was property of a farmer, who now had most of his land permanently in the shadows, meaning nothing will grow.

When he went to complain about it (rightfully so), Thor opened his Vault, showing immense amounts of treasures, like I described, and told the farmer he could take what he could carry. That settled the issue.

This is the storage room of an alien that has lived for thousands of years and has accumulated unimaginable treasures. Most of it is still out of Shirou's reach, but even the small part that he can reach is priceless.

Ted out.