The Prodigal Son Returns

by bubbajack

Emiya Shirou may have lost the Fifth Holy Grail War, but he defended his flawed ideals. Now with the threat of Angra Mainyu contained he has a new challenge to overcome... His past, parents, and a nebulous future. Is the hero of steel ready? Only time will tell. Shirou x Harem (Its DXD come on XD). Citrus of course. More serious take on DXD.

2. Chapter 2

Prodigal Son Returns

By: Bubbajack

Editors/Co-Authors: Antagonist, Icysnowsage, First Hassan/Darklord 331, and LoamyCoffee.

Special Consultants: Heliosion

Special thanks go out to my Super Donors: Special thanks go out to my Super Donors Alexander Murry, Ben wanless, Blacksanta557, Bobby Glass, and Jareth Norris.

Ch.2: Blood Ties.

Currently, Sirzechs Lucifer was currently facing down an enemy even his Power of Destruction couldn't conquer...

Paperwork. In truth, being the unofficial leader of the Underworld wasn't all it was cracked up to be.
'I want to see Rias-chan!' He whined. His sister's smiling face never ceased to bring him solace. The Super Devil never got tired of seeing a smile on his little sister's face. It stopped him from worrying about things he couldn't control. Like his missing younger brother. He shook the thought away. Yet try as he might. It was a sore reminder that his strength was nothing to circumstance. That even with his strength, he couldn't be everywhere at once for everyone he cared about all the time. So with that thought in mind. To make sure nothing happened to his little sister, he began to orchestrate things. To make sure she was surrounded by strong people who could protect her. A nudge here, a push there and a suggestion in the right ears at the right time. And soon enough, Rias was surrounded by a strong peerage who were in her debt and loved her dearly. He would not have the same fate befall another sibling of his. Yet his feelings of overprotectiveness did not just extend to his sister. He was also very protective of his own son. His son was protected and secluded within the Lucifer estate. 'It's for his own good to keep him safe from the assassins and all others who would try to harm him to get to me.' At least that's what Sirzechs kept telling himself. In truth, the Super Devil was just afraid. Afraid of loss more than anything else. His self-ruminations were interrupted when a letter teleported directly onto his desk bearing the seal of his father, Zeoticus Gremory. 'What could this be about? Is father sending another missive complaining about Rias' upcoming nuptials again? I've already told him I can't interfere without losing face. That, as one of the New Satans, I can't show favoritism. Even to my own beloved sister,' So thinking, Sirzechs tore the letter open and began reading.

At first, he scowled upon finding out his family had been robbed. But thought nothing of it, for only one thing has been stolen. Then it took all of his willpower not to incinerate the paper in his hands with his own Power of Destruction, when he found out the thing that had been taken from them was his own brother's set of Evil Pieces. " Who dares?" Sirzechs asked with power, flecking his tone. "Who dares to steal my brother's inheritance?"

At this moment feeling a spike in his power, his wife Grayfia Gremory nee Lucifuge, poked her head into his study. "Sirzechs, what is the matter?"

"We're going to the Gremory Estate, Grayfia," Her normally docile husband imperiously declared.

The strongest Queen reminded her husband, "You have a meeting, Sirzechs-sama? With the other Satans?"

To which he immediately replied, "It can wait. If it really is so important, tell them to meet me at the Gremory Estate. Either way, we are leaving now." He said before making a crimson magic circle that acted as a portal to the Gremory estate.

(...)

Zeoticus Gremory couldn't help but pace up and down, back and forth in his own office. Someone had stolen the last memento he had of his late son. And while he may not have the Power of Destruction, his own power had a certain weight to it. He wanted nothing more than to tear up the very underworld until he found the culprit. But he thought it would have been more prudent to contact his eldest son first. Pouring himself a glass of wine, he drank half of it in one gulp. 'To think I have been reduced to this. Not only have I lost my son, but now I lose his inheritance and my ability to get revenge on the thieves on his behalf. Am I nothing but a washed up old devil?' Zeoticus thought to himself.

Zeoticus stopped pacing when the arms of his wife wrapped around him. "Calm down, you're scaring the maids," She gently chided.

"Calm down? Calm down? Venelana, do not tell me to calm down when somebody has stolen my son's inheritance."

A firm squeeze from his wife had Zeoticus pause. He sometimes forgot how strong his wife was, "Listen, I know you are angry. You don't have much to remember your son but think more about others as well. We need to keep a calm head and think who could have taken it and why? But there is also someone else you should probably inform what's missing as well before she goes on a mad hunt across the underworld causing untold destruction to find the culprit."

Zeoticus sweat dropped thinking about who his wife spoke of and shivered in fear. "Perhaps I should go tell her before Sirzech arrives and she thinks I was hiding something from her about our son. Thank you Venelana. Where would I be without you?" spoke Zeoticus as he went off to inform one of his other wives not before kissing Venelana on the head in thanks. Zeoticus then stalked down the halls of his estate, looking for one of his many wives. He ended up finding one of her attendants before he found the woman herself. She was buxom with long silver hair, and purple eyes. Though she was wearing a maid uniform, Zeoticus knew better than to hit on her. For Sylpha Langis was no ordinary maid. In fact, it was a well kept secret that she was quite possibly the only person who rivaled his daughter-in-law Grayfia in strength. "Sylpha, is your mistress in?"

The woman bowed at the waist and replied, " Of course, Master Zeoticus. Shall I let her know you're coming? Perhaps brew some tea?"

"Tea sounds like an excellent idea. She might need it after what I am about to tell her," The lord of House Gremory replied, wringing his hands worriedly.

"Master Zeoticus, is something wrong?" Slypha asked, raising a perfectly manicured eyebrow.

Sighing and rubbing at his eyes, Zeoticus replied, "This is something I need to say to your mistress directly. Go make the tea, Sylpha."

"Yes, Sir." Sylpha said with a brisk nod of her head. Normally, he would have been much kinder to the woman, but he was stressed out enough as he was, and Zeoticus didn't want to have to explain himself more than once.

The smell of Japanese green tea wafted through the air by the time he had reached his mistress's apartments. He knocked before he let himself in. The place was well decorated in the Japanese style. All tatami mat floors, rare vases, and a rather open floor plan. Kicking off his shoes and settling into a pair of sandals by the door, Zeoticius let himself in. He found her there, sitting at a low table. A steaming cup of tea next to her as she folded what seems to be a one of a dozen origami cranes. Her crimson hair was red, like blood, and her eyes were a startling amber. Today, she was wearing a blue yukata that sharply contrasted with her hair. She hardly glanced his way when she noticed his presence. Her eyes were filled with the same dull listless unhappiness that they had been since their son had disappeared ten years prior. "Zeoticus,"

"Ritsuka dear, what are you doing?" He asked conversationally, thinking of how to broach the topic without enraging the mother of his lost son.

"Folding cranes," She replied, looking down at the folded pieces of paper, "When Rias last visited, she reminded me of the tradition of senbazuru. That if you fold a thousand of them, your wish would be granted. I thought maybe if I managed to fold that many of them… that I could see our dear Hersei again,"

"Ohh Ritsuka…" Zeoticus sighed, he really hated seeing her like this, so dejected, despondent, and lifeless. There was a time before the incident that she was boisterous, full of life and determined. That was the woman he'd fallen in love with. The woman he'd made his bride. The woman before the incident, that had cost them both their son.

She suddenly snapped at him, "Don't you dare ohh Ritsuka me!" fire suddenly burning in her amber eyes. "It's easy for you to move on. You have an entire harem of women waiting to warm your bed every night. Me? I've had to deal with this alone! You, Zeocitus? You lost a child. I lost my son!"

With heat entering his tone, the Head of the Gremory house reminded her, "That's not fair, Ritsuka. We both lost a son that day."

"Yet you still have another, a grandson, and a daughter besides that to help fill the void!" She near spitefully pointed out as tears coalesced at the corner of her eyes " Me though? I lost everything the day we lost Hersei!"

"You think I haven't been grieving him the same as you?!" He roared at her, raising his voice and taking her aback for a moment. "There isn't a night I don't go to bed half drunk thinking about him. What could I have done better or different? So don't you dare tell me that I have spares, Ritsuka. I lost a son, the same one as you."

"How the hell would I know?! You never came to visit me before now, never shed tears in front of me, never even tried to comfort me. I've just been left here to rot in my grief, alone." Years of poison and vitriol that have built up had come out all at once. "So what do you want, Zeoticus Gremory? After ten years, why have you bothered to grace my doorstep again?"

Slumping down to his knees in front of the table, All his bluster and fire gone, Zeoticus admitted, "Somehow and I don't know how, a thief managed to get into the manor and stole something."

"Hersei's evil piece set." Ritsuka said coming to a realization that quickly turned to fury. "How could you let the last memento of our son be stolen right out from under your nose!?"

Zeoticus grimaced but took the insult. He really had no excuse for this one.

Ritsuka carried on "You'd better find them, Zeocitus. Find them and bring them to me. I want to look them in the eye and handle this personally."

"I'm already on it and have also informed Sirzechs. He has more pull than I do. He'll get to the bottom of this faster."

"Bring them back here alive, Zeo," She reminded him again using her pet name for him, her amber eyes locking with his sea-green ones. "I want to hear what they have to say for themselves before I kill them myself. I want to see the life drain from their eyes as they know it was me that killed them. For daring to cross Ritsuka Fujimura."

Zeoticus bowed, "Your will be done, my dear…" He turned to leave, but not before saying, "And for what it's worth, I am sorry, I never meant to make you feel like I'd abandoned you."

"You want forgiveness, find a priest!" Ritsuka snapped at him causing Zeoticus to flinch. "I'm past the point of forgiving Zeoticus, now all I want is to take my anger out on those who would dare defile what little remains of my son's memory."

'Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves, one for your enemy, and one for yourself.' The Gremory Head thought to himself as he left his mistress' chambers. He worried if this wasn't resolved soon there would be a bloodbath.

(...)

Sirzechs burst through the front doors of his father's estate like a coming storm. Turning to a shocked maid, he asked, "Where is my father?"

"I-In his study, Lord Lucifer."

He offered the maid a kind smile, "I apologize, I didn't mean to frighten you. Should the other Satans arrive, Lead them to the study, would you?"

"Yes, Sir," The maid said with a bow.

With that, Sirzechs walked off briskly, his cloak flapping behind him in a gale of unleashed power. Walking in her husband's wake, Grayfia nodded to the maid, "I apologize for my husband's rudeness."

No sooner had the new Lucifer stalked off, Then the new owners of the titles of Leviathan, Beelzebub and Asmodeus arrived at the Gremory Estate.

Ever the charmer, Serafall Leviathan bounced up to the maid, and asked, "Hi, hi! Sirzechs didn't happen to come this way, did he? We need to talk to him about something important."

"He's in his father's study. Lady Leviathan."

"Please call me Levia-tan," replied, striking a magical girl pose.

"I love your show. Can I get an autograph?"

"No problem!" Serafall replied, quickly signing her maid uniform, before dashing off up the stairs.

"I apologize for Serafall. She's… Serafall…" Ajuka replied with a half sigh.

But the maid shook her head, seemingly in awe of getting to meet all four new Satans in one day. "No, it's fine." She said in shocked tones.

"Let's go before you break her completely, shall we Ajuka?" The lazy general, Falbium Asmodius said between yawns.

"Fine, fine. Let's hurry this along. I have experiments to get back to." As the two remaining Satans headed up the stairs.

(...)

Sirzechs found his father in his study, downing what looked to be a second or third shot of whiskey. It was called the Devil's drink, after all. Thus, it was a favorite amongst devils in the Underworld. "Father." The former eldest son of the Gremory clan greeted his patriarch.

"Sirzechs," Zeocitus greeted, raising his shot glass, "I wish we were meeting again under better circumstances."

"How's Ritsuka taking the news?" asked Sirzech, waving away the offer of drink with a shake of his head.

"Not well," His father replied, "She seems to have grown to resent me, not that I can blame her," Finishing another shot, he continued, "After the loss of your brother, I couldn't bring myself to be around her. I left her to her own grief, and in doing so, that grief turned to anger, resentment, hate. Then, the first time I visit her in years, I tell her I've lost the only memento she has of our son? I'm sure you can imagine how she took it."

"What do you mean you lost Hersei's Evil Piece set?!" This sudden outburst was backed by a cold, Winter wind that seeped into one's bones, and came directly from the door of the office.

Standing there with fury blazing in her sapphire eyes, was Serafall with fury etched into every ounce of her being as she slowly stepped forward, ice trailing in her wake as she did so. It coated the floor, the ceiling, the walls. Terraforming Zeoticus Gremory's study into an icy prison. And the head of House Gremory knew that if he wasn't careful, this prison could very well be his tomb. Placing both hands on his desk as she loomed over him, and coating the old desk in a layer of thin hoarfrost, Serafall said in a dangerously quiet tone. "Explain yourself now."

"Serafall," Sirzechs said warningly, "This is a family matter that does not involve the other Satans."

Her eyes, burning with cold fire, landed on the new Lucifer as Serafall all but hissed, "You know damn well, he meant more to me, if not just as much as he did to you."

'Was she still carrying a torch for him after all this time?' Sirzechs wondered to himself. It was a well kept secret amongst the four Satans and Clan Sitri at least, that Serafall was something of a failure amongst the Sitri Clan. For while the Sitri were known as water masters, Serafall was not. she simply had too much demonic power and too little control over it. To the point where any water spell she tried to cast, turned to Ice. During the civil war with the Old Satan faction, this was incredibly useful to the point where she was allowed to take the name Leviathan after the war was over. As this came as a boon to her as well as her family for within the ranks of the Sitri Clan, she was something of a pariah. For being unable to cast the clan's Genetic magic of water manipulation, it was considered for the best that she take up the clan name Leviathan rather than to be considered a continuous shame upon the Sitri clan name. Serafall had everything she could want. Power, Fame, Fortune, A loving fan base. But not the love of her parents. Her sister, certainly. But to her parents, she was always considered the black sheep.

That is, until she met Hersei. He didn't care that every time she tried to use a water spell, it turned into ice. Or that sometimes the reminders of the war kept her up at night when she visited Sirzechs. He was just there.To listen to her when she needed any air, to offer comfort when she needed to cry. To listen, as only a child could, of war stories and think of how amazing she was. And that meant the world to her… Then one day, he was gone in a tragic accident. She always told herself when he was old enough… and then she cut off the thought before it could fully manifest. But then he was gone, and she had to deal with the grief of that. And the start she left unspoken, repeated in her head for over a decade. 'When he's old enough, I'll ask him out. When he's old enough. I'll ask him to marry me,' for the one thing Serafall Leviathan wanted more than anything, was a loving family. Yet she seemed to be denied at every turn.

"Explain this to me, Zeocitus… Explain this to me in a way that makes sense as to how you could lose Hersei's evil peace set… You didn't have it under lock and key. You didn't have it under every conceivable spell known to devil kind?"

"That's just it, Lady Leviathan. It was under lock and key and behind every conceivable spell I could think to add or pay another to put it under," Zeocitus replied as he downed another shot of whiskey. "Yet It was stolen all the same."

"Surely, the culprit must have left some kind of clue?" Ajuka Beelzebub, foremost genius among the New Satans, asked. "There is no such thing as untraceable magic. It always leaves some kind of trace."

"Feel free to look for yourself, but I have detected nothing," Zeocitus replied, slurring his words a bit, even as he sounded despondent.

Taking the shot glass and bottle away from his father before he could get even more drunk, Sirzech continued, "I think you've had enough, Father. Is there any way we can even begin to find these culprits? Because there's no way it could be just one person. It has to have been planned out by a team, possibly an inside job. Ajuka, is there not some way to track Evil Pieces?"

The genius of the new Satan shook his head, "No, if I could do that, I wouldn't be searching high and low for the missing king pieces."

The living embodiment of destruction sighed to himself, "Right, of course not. Perhaps you could examine the crime scene and see if you could find any evidence my father might have missed?"

The genius of a devil shrugged, "I can give it a shot, but if your father can't even detect anything and this is his house under his magical protections," was Ajuka saying in his own way that the results didn't look good.

"Look anyway, please," The Lucifer requested.

"Fine, fine, but only because it's you asking. Besides, this case intrigues me." Turning to the head of household, he said, "Lord Gremory, if you would be so kind as to show me the crime scene?"

"Of course, right this way Ajuka,"

Once his father and Ajuka were gone, he turned to Serafall and said calmly, "You can't let the past get to you this badly. We're Satans now, Serafall. We need to act like it."

"For Devil's sake, Sirzechs. He's your brother. You should be more upset than I am!" The devil tube star replied hotly.

"I am furious." Sirzechs replied, allowing his self-control to slip just a little bit, and with it, his Iron like grip he held over his power of destruction at all times. It was only for a small second, but that small burst of power was enough to destroy the ice on the floor as if it had never existed in the first place. Taking a few calming breaths, He continued, "I'm more angry than you can possibly imagine. Serafall. But I can't let it get to me because if I do, I will lose control. If I lose control? Here in the netherworld. It'll be the equivalent of a tactical nuke going off for human beings. And I can't afford to let that happen,"

"So what do you propose we do then? Just sit here with one thumb in our mouths and another up our asses and maybe rotate them every five minutes?" The new Leviathan snipped.

"We're going to wait for my father and Ajuka to come back. Then see if Ajuka can come up with a plan. If you can't, come up with something to track down these missing evil pieces. We'll have to hunt them down ourselves."

"How?" Serafall questioned. It was a one word with an immense amount of weight behind it. A question with no clear answer.

"I don't know yet," Sirzechs replied as he rubbed his temples, trying to ward off the incoming headache he felt growing behind his eyelids. 'This situation can't get any worse.' He thought to himself.

But then, The magic circle of House Gremory appeared on top of his father's desk. And there would only be one person who would be calling in the first place…

'Fuck me.' Sirzechs thought to himself, As the face of his little sister showed up in a hologram from the magic circle.

"Onii-san? What are you doing there? I was hoping to talk to Tou-san?" to say Rias was surprised to see her brother home was an understatement.

"He's busy at the moment, Rias. Maybe I can help you with whatever you need?" he replied while beaming at her.

She frowned, pouting a bit before replying, "I don't think so… But then again, I guess you would know as well as Otou-san… We don't have any cousins living in Kouh Town, do we?"

"Cousins of the Gremory Clan? I don't think so? Why do you ask?"

"Well, I ran into someone who looks just like me. Or similar enough to be related to me, anyway." The Gremory heiress replied as she scratched the back of her head in confusion. "He has red hair, amber eyes, He's pretty well built, and looks like he could be a clone of Auntie Ritsuka and Dad… But they never had a kid, right?"

'No, it couldn't be. He couldn't be, could he?' Sirzechs didn't dare hope, and yet, he found himself doing it anyway. So he ordered his little sister, "Rias, This person… He's in Kouh town now, right? Like, right now?" Sirzechs asked deathly seriously, as all color drained from his face.

"Yeah, he's hanging out with my Peerage at the Occult Research Club? Why? Is something wrong? Sirzech, you're scaring me…." Rias said with genuine fear, flecking her voice.

"Whatever happens, do not let that person leave. Do not hurt him. Do not scare him.
Do not let him leave until we get there. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Oniichan, I understand. I'll do everything I can to keep him here until you arrive." Rias said with an affirming nod.

'Now, how do I break the news to Father and Auntie Ritsuka, that their son might just well be alive?' As he turned around to think of how to do just that, He saw Serafall with an insane smile on her face. 'Crap, I had my Rias-tinted-glasses on, and forgot she was in the room.'

"He's back!" She shouted at the top of her lungs in absolute joy. And before he could stop her, she had created a portal to the human world.

"Ah crap baskets." Sirzechs swore. Things are about to get a whole lot more complicated.

(...)

"Hell looks an awful lot like Japan, doesn't it, Aoko-san?" Shirou honestly expected more brimstone, sulfur and fire. Or at least some red skinned horned people with pitchforks torturing sinners.

"It certainly does, Shirou." Aoko agreed as she stubbornly held onto his hand. This was no depiction of hell she was familiar with. 'Unless the communists were correct in saying that capitalism really was hell.' She thought as she continued to walk down the street.

The third-rate magus turned to the magician, "Can I ask you a question, Aoko-san?"

She smiled at him and replied, "Go ahead, I'm an open book."

"Why are you being so… forward… no umm that's not the right word… kind to me? I don't feel like I deserve it." Once again, Shirou's survivor's guilt had reared its ugly head.

The Fifth Magician looked down and away before sighing and saying, "Forty times," seeing his clueless look she continued, "During the Holy Grail War just now, through various decisions you could've made, you died forty times. In fact, very few decisions on your part end up with you even surviving the Grail War."

"Oh…" Shirou took a moment to digest that information then continued, "But I did survive so it's fine, right?"

In response, Aoko flicked him in the forehead. "No! You dying in multiple horrible ways is not okay!"

"But I didn't die, other… me's did?"

Aoko took a breath and let it out, "It's… hard to explain to someone who isn't a magician but I'll try. You've heard of the thought experiment about Schrodinger's Cat, right?"

The red-haired teen nodded, it was an experiment about whether or not a cat placed in a box with poison would be dead or not. One couldn't confirm nor deny the existence of the cat until the box was opened. "Yeah?"

"Your very existence was like that of the cat for the past two weeks during the Grail War. You were stuck in a state of quantum superposition. Neither dead nor alive both and neither… until you met with the Old Man," She paused before continuing, "You had in essence, become a living Quantum Timelock."

"I was a what now? You lost me when you went into quantum physics?" Shirou admitted.

Aoko rubbed her temples, again she reminded herself how much it sucked to explain certain concepts to a non-Magician. "The actions you take in the Holy Grail War after summoning Saber, became the start of various parallel worlds. At least six of them that we know of."

"Oh wow… So the Fifth Holy Grail War is that important then?"

"Yes Shirou, the Fifth Grail War was very important." Aoko said, giving a little giggle at how simply he had surmised everything down to. "A Quantum Time Lock only happens every hundred years after all. Congratulations, you've secured humanity's future for the next century at least."

Shirou shook his head in confusion, "I'm sorry Aoko-san, but I still don't get it? How is my simply surviving the Grail War that big of a deal?"

Turning to face him and putting her hands on her hips, Aoko said bluntly, "You've seen the thing sleeping inside the Grail haven't you?" Shirou nodded, he'd seen it, that malformed half born mass of flesh. Angra Mainyu Gilgamesh had called it All the Evils of the World. Seeing he had some comprehension of what was at stake, she continued, "In every instance where Emiya Shirou dies, the birth of Angra Mainyu is all but assured. Your existence itself acts as a deterrence to its ascendance and the destruction of at least half the world." Putting her hands behind her back and smiling, she told him, "Congratulations, Shirou, you're a hero."

The red-headed magus grimaced as he clenched his fists. As much as he hated to admit it, Archer was right. Even though knowing he had saved half the population on the planet, he didn't feel satisfied, and he knew why. 'It's because in the end, I didn't get to see someone smile at me, the same way the Old Man did when he found me during the Fire. Like I was their salvation. I wanted to feel like that, just once.' It was then he realized quite profoundly that he was jealous of the look on Kiritsugu's face when he found him. 'Is that my reason for wanting to be a Hero? Jealousy? Is that what Archer meant when he said everything about me, even down to my own ideals, were borrowed?... He would know, after all, he's me. If that's true, then have I been trying to become a Hero for the wrong reasons all this time… then do I even deserve to become a Hero in the first place?'

Shirou was brought out of his thoughts when a yen coin smacked him in the forehead. Picking it up, he looked at Aoko who said, "Yen for your thoughts?"

"Sorry, I just realized something I don't like all that much about myself."

Putting her hands behind her head, the Fifth Magician replied, "Introspection is never a bad thing. After all, how can we change the world without first changing ourselves?"

Shirou blinked, "That was rather deep, as expected of a Magician I suppose."

"Hahah! Thanks but I didn't say it, an American rapper, Biggie Smalls said it first. Just because he said it first, doesn't make it any less true though." Aoko mused aloud.

"S-Shirou-sama, w-wait for me p-lease!" Turning around Shirou spotted Gray running up to them, her cloak flapping behind her.

"Ah Gray-chan, you followed us." Shirou said, surprised only for Gray to cling to Shirou's arm and rather cutely glare up at him.

"Mr. Shirou! Please d-don't r-rush off into potential danger like that! I-I owe you m-my life and I can't repay you if you die!" She shouted up at him while still somehow coming off as meek.

Scratching the back of his head confused at this sudden turn of events, Shirou replied, "I'm sorry Gray-chan… but you don't owe me anything, I was just happy to help."

Gray puffed her cheeks out like a chipmunk as she replied, "That's not good enough, Mr. Shirou! I-I would like to f-formally request to be your k-knight!"

"Eh?!"

"Stupid Gray, if you wanna repay him you could just sneak into his bed tonig-GAHHH!" The sentient Mystic Code began only to be silenced by his now red faced owner.

"Shut up, ADD!"

"Oh hey everyone," Shirou called seeing the rest of the group, Zelretch included catching up fast.

"We're not interrupting your date, are we Emiya-kun?" Rin said, her tone and smile was downright glacial.

Now poor Shirou was utterly flummoxed, "Date? Me and Aoko-san?" He looked at the Fifth Magician who was acting innocent with her hands behind her back as he replied, "But she's totally out of my league though?"

'I don't know whether I should facepalm or hit him!' Rin thought to herself. Truly her boyfriend was so dense he should be a blackhole, and yet, his gravity and propensity for pulling in women was nothing short of extraordinary. She should know, it worked damn well on her. 'Seriously a magician though? Is clueless seduction yet another unknown Sorcery Trait of his?' she couldn't help but wonder to herself.

Aoko for her part just laughed at his exclamation and pinched his cheek. "Not so out of your league as you think, you big lug," Patting the very cheek she just pinched affectionately, she said, "We'll have to finish our date some other time, as far as first dates go, a quiet walk alone was nice. I think I'd like to try dinner and a movie next time though, m'kay?"

Shirou looked at the Magician in utter confusion, his thoughts in disarray. "Okay?" Was the only thing he could think to say at the moment.

"Oh my my! Emiya-san is much like Lord Trambelio, it seems," Reines giggled at his misfortune. "Then again, it was only less than four-hundred years prior in your country that having many mistresses was considered normal for the nobility of the time wasn't it?"

To which Shirou replied, "I'm not the Shogun, Reines-san,"

"I knew Oniichan was a Playboy!" Illya exclaimed as she pointed a finger at him.

"Quiet you," Shirou replied, shutting the now not so little homunculi down before she could get started.

"Excuse me, sir," a new voice got everyone's attention as a young woman with messy brown hair. She was wearing a nice blouse that made Shirou think she might be into cosplay. She was holding a piece of paper with symbols on it that Shirou couldn't read.

"Yes, how can I help you?" Shirou spoke hard, turning the conversation away from his love life.

"I am handing out talismans to offer good luck. Take one and if you pray really hard maybe your wish will come true," smiled the woman as she handed a talisman to all of the people with Shirou. Most were confused at the language except Zelretch who just laughed as he put the talisman in his coat pocket.

"Thank you," Shirou graciously bowed as the woman giggled and walked away.

"So am I the only one who wonders what this thing is, cause I can't read it at all?" asked Rin while the others tried to decipher the talisman(?) given to them.

"We can discuss that somewhere a little more private. I believe this talisman will be helpful to us," stated Zelretch as he shooed the girls, Waver, and Shirou in a certain direction.

It wasn't until they stood in front of a building did the majority of the group look at Zelretch funny.

It was Luvia who spoke up first while Rin, Aoko, Ilya blushed, "A hotel? I understand the need for privacy but could we not set up a bounded field to prevent onlookers from spying on us?"

Shirou just had a flat look and just stared at the Wizard Marshall before explaining to Luvia, "It's actually called a love hotel, it's where couples go to spend time together and offers a lot of privacy while doing ….. things."

This caused Altria, Luvia, and Gray to blush as well before Waver decided to offer his two cents, "I am guessing this is also not to make our group too conspicuous and that magic would alert the local power players? You did mention this world was still in the Age of the Gods?"

"Correct Twofold, Lord El Melloi II. If we set up a bounded field, we might attract undue attention since we kind of showed up out of nowhere. Also a love hotel, while usually used for love making, can be used for secret meetings and offer a sense of privacy and lack of tracking if paid in cash. Also I just wanted a good laugh."

Shirou sputtered but understood, "So I am guessing that woman?"

"Was working for the second owner or overseer of this area, yes. In fact, if you use your magic on that talisman you will find out what exactly it does."

Shirou did just that. With a quickly mumbled "Trace on," he scanned the paper talisman and understood its function with but a glance. The runes when they come into contact with blood, would summon the second owner or Overseer of this city. 'Spatial teleportation? We really must be in the Age of the Gods if this person can do something so casually that took Caster setting up her territory to perform.' After a moment's thought Shirou said, "I think we should try summoning this person for information."

"Ohohoh! Taking hostages? I didn't think you had it in you Emiya. I'm impressed," Reines' eyes gleamed with newfound respect.

"Shirou?" Altria asked, looking at her former contractor. Taking hostages was not honorable after all. Though truth be told, being held hostage and ransomed wasn't an uncommon tactic back when she was alive. Still she wouldn't want to stoop to it if she had her say. 'Then again, he is Archer, the Servant who does whatever is necessary to get results. Results that cannot be argued with.' The King of Knights begrudgingly admitted to herself. Archer's plan was nearly flawless in execution. His only misstep was giving Rin enough time to form a contract with her. And even that might've all been part of his plan, to allow Rin to win the Grail War in the end. In truth, Archer's only real mistake was attempting to make Shirou give up on his ideals before killing him. When in truth, it would've been better to have just killed him outright in an attempt to achieve his objective of erasing himself from existence. She was thankful he tried to mentally break his past self first, for in failing, Shirou affirmed that while his ideals were flawed they were still worth fighting for.

"I have a good reason for this," He promised, holding his hands up defensively. "If we summon this person, and they end up being hostile, all of us together should be able to subdue them right?"

"Speak for yourself, Emiya," Lord El-Melloi II said. "Of those of us here capable of taking on such a powerful entity, only Saber, Gray, both of the Magicians, and yourself stand a chance. The rest of us are liabilities at best."

Shirou nodded, taking the information in stride before adjusting his plan. "Okay then, the rest of you go wait in the hallway."

"Um, excuse me?" Rin said, sounding offended as she gave him a laser pointer focused glare with her hands placed firmly on her hips.

"If this person is as dangerous as El-Melloi II-san says then it would be safer for you to not be in the room when they show up Rin."

"It's Lord El-Melloi II, Emiya." the Lord of the Clocktower ground out as he bit down on a cigar.

Shirou cocked his head to the side in confusion, "That's what I said more or less isn't it, El-Melloi II-sama?"

"Sir… please?" Gray whined not wanting her wanting her first savior to kill her second one due to a faux-pas.

"Oh, I do like this boy, he's so… uncaring about titles and such." Reines said giggling at the hole Shirou was digging for himself. And she didn't even have to do anything!

Rin glanced at the blonde aristocratic version of Kirei, "Take a number, he's got a full schedule."

"Oh, is there a waiting list to get some of Shero's time? Where do I sign?" Luvia asked, grinning almost maliciously at the Tohsaka heiress.

Rin snapped out, "In hell Edelfelt, why don't you go there!"

Shirou, having had enough of… whatever this was, finally said, "If you're going to argue, take it outside!" As he said this, he pointed towards the door.

"Oniichan… you know you're bringing this on yourself, right?" Illya said as she patted him on the shoulder in a token form of sympathy.

Rubbing his eyes, Shirou replied, "Illya, just… go…"

In response, the Homunculi blew him a raspberry. "I'll go, but you'd better be ready to spend some time with me later Oniichan… we need to talk about some things anyway. Personal private things." She told him as she made her way out of the room, pushing the still bickering Rin and Luvia as she did so with the grinning Reines and exasperated Waver taking up the rear.

Now that only the able combatants were left in a potential FUBAR zone, Shirou bit his thumb and spread a little bit of his blood on the talisman before throwing it to the floor. The moment it touched the ground, a crimson magic circle appeared. "Everyone ready?" Shirou asked as the married twin swords, Kanshou and Bakuya came to rest in his hands.

An audible thrum came from Aoko as her magic circuits fired up, her long dark brown locks turning a vibrant crimson, as she smiled, "Let's rock."

Saber hefted Invisible Air, her holy blade sheathed in wind, and Grey was now touting a gigantic scythe. Zelretch was now holding a sword made out of jewels and bits of inhuman alien technology. The Jewel Sword Zelretch.

Then, from the magic circle, she appeared. Long crimson red hair, sky blue eyes, wearing a school girls uniform with a body like sin that had more curves than a backroad, she was beautiful whoever she was. Shirou could admit that much. The girl who couldn't have been more than a year or so older than Shirou himself by his own reckoning, "You have fulfilled the ritual and summoned me, Rias of House Gremory, now, how may I help… you?"

The girl paused, finishing what was clearly a well practiced speech upon finding herself surrounded by a group of armed men and women.

"Gremory-san," Shirou said, offering her a kind smile that was completely at odds with the holy weapons he was wielding, "We'd like to have a little chat if that's alright with you."

(...)

'Did the church lay some kind of trap?' Rias wondered as she found herself surrounded by holy sword wielders. 'Are they perhaps here for Kiba, did they team up with the Himejima clan to go after Akeno? Or maybe they found out about Gasper?'

The one in front of her with amber eyes and crimson hair holding a pair of yin-yang falchions spoke for the group. "Gremory-san, we'd like to have a little chat if that's alright with you."

Crossing her arms in front of her and narrowing her eyes, Rias replied coolly, "You're not exactly giving me much of a choice," She then asked, "So who sent you? The Church, the Himejima? A member of the Old Satan Faction? The Grigori?"

The boy in front of her blinked in confusion, "Umm, I think we got off on the wrong foot?" he lowered his weapons, causing her to relax a smidge, "We're new here and are in dire need of information, so we summoned you. Not knowing what we were in for or what type of temperament you might have, naturally we armed ourselves."

Rias didn't know why, but she felt like trusting this boy in front of her. He came off as incredibly earnest, "I see… well in that case, might I suggest we reconvene in someplace that isn't a love hotel?"

The boy shared a look with the others who just shrugged, and an old man replied, "This is your show, boy."

"Right," He nodded, "Gremory-san, my name is Emiya Shirou, and I'd like to take you up on your offer if you're willing."

Pulling a flip phone out of her jacket pocket, Rias replied, "Okay, just let me make a few phone calls first and then we can head over to Kuoh Academy. My servants will have tea and snacks prepared for us by the time we arrive."

She watched as Emiya Shirou heaved a sigh of relief, "Thank you."

Rias made her phone call, but once she got a moment she had another call to make. For this boy looked oh so much like her father and her Aunt Ritsuka. 'But they never had a child, did they?' she wondered to herself.

(...)

Rias was kind of bewildered by the strange group of people Emiya Shirou had around himself. Rias felt uncomfortable around the blonde headed girl in knight armor and the gray haired girl in robes. She couldn't place the reason why. The other girls were at least close in age to her so she felt comfortable enough bringing them into her club house. Though she could sense one of them was a devil. The white haired girl didn't seem to know she was emitting magic energy in WAVES. The young blonde aristocrat Reines reminded Rias of Akeno somewhat but less sadistic, maybe? She couldn't place the exact nature she got from the girl. The brown headed older woman seemed nice enough but Rias felt a sense of wrongness the longer she looked at her. Like she wasn't there but was? It was an odd feeling.

The two men with Shirou though seemed professional enough. The Lord El Melloi II as he requested of her to be called seemed like a firm and no nonsense kind of man. Something Rias wished her brother was like more often. That left the old man. Rias thought he was the most dangerous. The sword(?) he wielded emanated a power she could not fathom; it felt bottomless with no end in sight. The man himself seemed a little jovial like a grandfather even. That didn't stop Rias from noticing his glowing red eyes and that he seemed to know more was going on then he let on. She also felt the man knew her but she never remembered meeting him in her life.

Then there was Shirou himself. He was polite, courteous, and ever the gentlemen, he wouldn't stop apologizing about how they basically ambushed her even as the girl Rin chastised him. She understood. Honestly she did. Ending up in a new territory or awareness of the supernatural is a scary experience. Hence why she and her family had to erase memories of people who couldn't or wouldn't keep quiet about the supernatural. Honestly, humans were known to destroy what they don't understand and most depictions of devils were not ahem flattering to their desires or needs.

She gently knocked on the Occult Research Club door as she let herself in while alerting her family that she was back. Akeno was the first to greet her with a smile on her face that died as she saw the many people following. She gently put a hand on her chin and signed with a false smile returning to her face, "President, I didn't know we were expecting so many guests, or I would have brewed some tea and made snacks. Are they here for business, or are they related to the club?"

An innocent question to most had a hidden meaning to Rias, are they aware of the supernatural or not. Rias smiled gently putting Akeno at ease, "There seems to be a slight misunderstanding is all. It seems Shirou," Rias pointed to the boy in question, "And his friends wanted to meet with me but didn't know how to, luckily my familiar just so happened to give them a summoning circle. If you wouldn't mind grabbing Kiba, and Koneko, I think everyone should be present."

Akeno nodded and Rias led the group of people to the meeting room. She noticed all the women seemed to almost consume Shirou and made Rias giggle. The older man Zelretch sat next to Lord El Melloi.

Rias sat behind her desk and cleared her throat a little to clear her nerves, "Now, what official business do you have in my territory? Hopefully, your intentions are not malicious. It would be a shame to find out new guests I just offered hospitality are here to threaten me."

Shirou, looking a little lost, looked to Zelretch and Lord El Melloi II. He understood why they were here but didn't know how to explain it properly. Zelretch just smiled and understood the cue, "Lady Gremory, I am grateful and thankful for your hospitality. Your family's benevolence and kindness are well known to me and I am pleased to be on the receiving end of it. Now to cut to the chase as it were. I have brought young Shirou here to help find his lost family. He suffered trauma at a young age and doesn't remember anything before his seventh year of age. I was hoping that with your connections to the underworld, you might be able to help us."

Rias was a little put out that they came to her because of her family name and not herself but it wasn't the worst reason to meet with her. Though finding out Shirou lost his family left a niggling sensation in her head like she should be reminded of something. She let go of the feeling and tried to be as business-like as possible, "I might be able to contact my family of course. We are well connected and have a vast amount of resources. However as you understand, nothing comes cheap. I only have so much good will. What can you offer me in exchange?"

This is where Lord El-Melloi II spoke up, "Besides Shirou, I would like to also offer a form of contract if you will. I am a practitioner of magecraft and would like to know more about your evil piece system if possible. It is simply fascinating how you are able to extend one's own life span and even do pseudo reincarnation. I am willing to offer you a nominal amount of funds or artifacts if that would be alright with you. Knowledge is important after all and I believe that the value brought forth by the evil pieces might help revolutionize the magic community where I am from."

Rias hummed in thought before deciding to delegate since this territory wasn't hers alone, "I have an associate who might be able to better answer your questions then I. She is well versed in multiple topics and can help you. As for payment, you might have to talk to her on that front. Evil pieces are a well guarded and protected resource for my society."

The Lord of the Clocktower, formerly known as Waver Velvet nodded and then added his own two cents, "Those are agreeable terms. I will have to speak to this person later. Now as I have the second highest rank of authority, I will offer the terms for Shirou. As I owe him a small debt for helping my apprentice." The meep from the gray haired girl sitting near Shirou alerted Rias to who said apprentice was. Shirou was about to interrupt but was shushed by Rin, Luvia, Reines, Ilya, and Aoko.

Lord El-Melloi II continued, "In return for your assistance in finding his family, the boy will be willing to help you in anything you should require as long as it does not endanger human lives for a year and a day. Does this sound acceptable to you?" As he said this he looked back and forth between the Emiya boy and the Second Owner of Kuoh Town.

"This sounds agreeable to me." Shirou said after a moment's thought.

Rias had to admit it had been a while since she had heard a typical contract of this nature. A year and a day contract hadn't been done since her brother was her age. Still, she could work with this. "I too have no problems with this."

It was then that Zelretch added, "I could throw in a few bits and bobbles here as well."

Just then Shiro noticed a small white haired girl with amber eyes. She reminded him of Ilia, Well, Illya before he gave her the Rook piece anyway. Sitting next to her on the couch was a blonde haired boy with blue eyes. A natural pretty boy, I guess you could call him. In an annoying way, he kind of reminded him of Gilgamesh. He hoped he was less arrogant and a lot nicer.

Noticing the new arrivals herself, Rias commented, "Ah, Koneko, Kiba. When did you both get here?"

"During negotiations, Prez, we didn't want to interrupt." The small white haired girl replied as Akeno handed her a slice of cake. As she took a bite, she subtly sniffed the air, trying to get a bead on their new arrivals.

The first thing Koneko noticed was that the boy in front of her smelt of swords. She would have to tell Kiba about that in a moment. The more pressing thing she noticed was that the girl in the hood smelled like death and the grave. And that old man? He smelled like… Like the inside of a dumpster, because he smelled like everything and nothing all at once. And the blue eyed brunette. She smelled like time. Which was an odd thing to smell like It was a mix of dust, aging, and decay. But the best thing she could describe it as was time itself. That's what our senses were telling her, anyway. She could tell these people were dangerous. And one of them was a devil. The oldest looking one of the bunch outside. The old man who looked kind of like her. Nudging Kiba, she whispered into his ear. "The redhead smells like swords."

Straightening and giving their mysterious guest an odd look, Which he noticed and caused him to say. "Is there something on my face, Kiba-san?"

To which the pretty boy replied, "Not exactly, no, but tell me, does the name Holy Sword Project ring any bells with you?"

Shirou shook his head, "It does not. After a horrible, traumatic fire, I lost all of my memories. That's why I'm here. I am hoping Rias-san can help me recover them and find my birth family."

"I say I'm sorry to hear that," Kiiba replied, finding his words to be genuine. He knew what it was like to suffer tragedy in his past. But for it to be so horrible that it took everything from him? That was something else entirely.

Looking at Rias, Koneko asked."Are you going to help him, Prez?"

"We had actually just come to an agreement on that front. So yes, I am going to help him." She told her Rook with a smile.

Koneko nodded happily, as she took another bite of her cake. She didn't normally get involved in other people's affairs, but that doesn't mean she didn't care. Going through something so traumatic it wiped your memory that would even get to her. She was glad Prez was helping him.

"Ara Ara, I must say though, Emiya-kun must be quite the catch if he has all these women following him around. Are you a harem protagonist or something?" Akeno couldn't help but tease him.

"Harem protagonist, me?" Shirou asked, completely befuddled by her commentary. "No, never. They're completely out of my league."

This caused Illya to sigh and say, "Oniichan is doing it again. Tohsaka, make him stop."

Shooting a glare at the homunculi, Rin snapped back."Why do I have to do it, Einzbern?"

To which Illya replied innocently, "I had assumed this was your designated role in the group, Tohsaka.
Now, please deal with it."

"Please don't talk about me like I'm not here." Shirou requested.

Rin responded by smacking him upside the back of the head…again.

"I really wish you'd stop doing that to me, Rin."

"You're going to have some self worth if I have to beat it into you, Emiya-kun.

Her quip caused Shirou to snark, "Ohh, what an abusive girlfriend I have. Someone help me, I'm getting abused."

"Fufufu," Akeno laughed at the way Shirou and Rin got on, "You can tell they really love each other by how they bicker, can't you Prez?"

"Indeed." Rias agreed, letting out a little laugh of her own.

Rin flushed in embarrassment and hid her head in Shirou's shoulder.

In response, Shirou patted her head, ran his hand through her hair, Saying, "There, there. It's ok, Rin. They're just teasing you a bit."

Burying her head deeper into his neck in the hopes to drown out their words, Rin told him, "This is all your fault, you idiot."

"Yes, Rin, of course it's all my fault and it has nothing at all to do with you and your tsundere nature." Shirou agreed as he continued patting her head.

"Ass, I think you picked up more from Archer than just his combat skills." Rin said as she painlessly hit him in the side.

"Those two are cute together, aren't they, Prez?" Akeno whispered in Rias' ear as she watched the two bicker.

"Hehe, yeah adorable," Rias agreed, but for some reason, watching the scene made her feel uncomfortable. Even though she had no reason to feel that way, that she knew of.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly changed when a giant magic circle appeared on the floor. One that Rias immediately recognized. 'What is she doing showing up here all of the sudden?' Rias thought to herself. 'Is she perhaps here to see Sona? But if that's the case, then why is she teleporting directly into the Occult Research Club?'

"Is this a potential threat? Do I need a weapon?" Shirou asked, his hands half clenched around nothing.

"No, you don't need a weapon." The Gremory heiress quickly assured him.

She was beginning to second guess that opinion when a magical girl showed up in the middle of the summoning circle. She looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties, With long dark hair in two long twintails held in place by a pair of thin purple ribbons, and she was wearing a primarily pink uniform, with black and pink knee socks, black fingerless gloves, and an overly poofy looking white beret. Her eyes were a vibrant blue hue and they were locked onto Shirou with a near manic intensity.

"Umm, can I help you?" He asked politely even as he mentally loaded and cocked the revolver in his mind, preparing to fire. One couldn't be too careful after all.

Grinning like a lunatic, Satan Serafall Leviathan threw herself at Shirou and glomped him all while shouting, "Found youuuu!"

"Help?" Shirou asked while looking at Rias in confusion.

She was about to get up from the couch and do just that when another magic circle appeared, this one even more familiar to her than Serafall's.

Her brother's.

'What is going on?' Rias wondered to herself.

Moments later both her brother and sister-in-law Grayfia appeared and Rias couldn't help but ask, "Oniichan, what is going on?!"

In response, Sirzechs raised a hand and said "Just a moment, Rias." The Super Devil looked at Shirou and his jaw dropped. "By Satan, it really is you… Hersei."

"I'm sorry, but have we met and can you please get her off of me?" Shirou asked politely. As Serafall Leviathan was currently doing her best to crush the air out of his lungs. It was only due to a hasty Reinforcement of his spine and lungs that she hadn't succeeded.

"Serafall, enough." Sirzechs snapped at her, Causing her to lift her head up from Shirou's chest and glare at the other Satan saying,

"Or what? I lost him for nearly a decade."

"Move before I make you, Serafall." Sirzechs replied, a hint of warning in his tone.

The room suddenly got very cold and filled with the smell of ozone at the same time. And the pressure of two satans pushing their power against each other could be felt.

Shirou had had enough, However, And said the words that defined him as a magus and a person, "Trace on." Compress trace. Load. Finalize trace. Lock. Fire.

Before anyone could think of doing anything more than a dozen Black Keys had impaled themselves into the shadows of both Satans. For a brief moment, both felt total paralysis.

In that brief moment of shock, Shirou spoke calmly, "How about everyone just takes a moment to calm down and then you," He pointed to Sirzechs, "Explain what's going on here?" He then looked to the woman who seemed to be intent on strangling the life out of him with a hug. "If you could please get off me, I'd appreciate it."

"I can't move right now. You did something…" She smiled at him seductively and said, "Are you sure you want me to move?"

"Get off him, you damn floozy." Rin snapped at one of the four Satans of the Underworld.

Snapping her gaze to the magus, Serafall huffed, her eyes shifting to a light crimson hue, "What did you just call me? You insignificant little pest?"

"Enough!" Shirou said, raising his voice. "If I have to, I will pin every single person in place with a black key. Don't make me do it." He looked around the room, showing everyone he was dead serious.

"Ooh, assertive~ Me likey." Reines noted as she licked her lips provocatively.

"Mm-hmm." Akeno couldn't help but agree As she mimicked the young noble woman's gesture.

Flexing his power of destruction a bit, Sirzechs destroyed the Black Keys, as he called them, that was holding him in place with a minor flex of his Power of Destruction, "There will be no need for that. We'll play nice… Do you not recognize me?"

"His name is Shirou Emiya. He has amnesia, And he's here looking for his family. Should he recognize you, Oniichan? You called him something when you saw him before. Hersei, right?" Rias noted.

Sighing through his teeth, the Super Devil replied, "This Is complicated Rias, very complicated." Making a split second decision, Sirzechs decided, "You are going to come with us to the underworld. To the Gremory Estate." Locking eyes with the person who called himself Shirou, he said. "You'll get all the answers you're looking for there."

Holding his gaze firmly, Shirou replied, "Well then, I guess we're all going to hell."

Zelretch laughed at that, "I like you, boy. You have a good sense of humor."

"I don't know how to feel about that joke, Shero," Luvia replied as she put her palm to her head. "On the one hand it was apt, but on the other, ugh."

As Grayfia readied the portal, Rias turned towards her older brother, "Sirzechs, what in the Netherworld is going on here?"

But Sirzechs just shook his head, "Rias just… Just get into the portal. You'll understand everything once we get there… I hope you won't hate me once you learn everything." Sirzechs replied, sounding tired.

Filled with more questions than answers, everyone stepped onto the teleportation circle to the Underworld, to the Gremory Estate.

(...)

Once the red light cleared, Shirou found himself staring at an older man in a white suit with a red goatee. He looked like an older version of Sirzechs. 'His father, probably,' Shirou thought to himself.

"My Satan," The Zeoticus said as he fell to his knees in shock, "You actually found him? He's been alive this whole time?! How is this possible?"

"Could somebody please explain to me why this keeps happening?" Shirou asked nobody in particular. First, he almost got hugged to death by a very pretty magical girl, and now someone who he believed to be Sirzechs' father had nearly collapsed upon seeing him.

Stepping in front of him and placing his hands on his shoulders, Sirzechs smiled down at him and said, "Welcome home for the first time in a decade, Hersei Gremory."

"What?" Shirou asked, utterly confused.

"What?! Rias yelled in confusion and shock. "I don't have a younger brother!"

"I can verify if it's him or not, rather quickly," Zeoticus replied, getting up off his knees. "In this world, cloning, shape shifting and all kinds of other such magic is not impossible. So when a child is born, they are marked at birth by the combined magical power of both parents with magic that cannot be removed by any means. Would you be so kind as to show me your forearm?"

Shirou did so, and Zeoticus turned his arm around, Running a glowing hand down the back of his arm. On the back of Shirou's wrist was the Roman Numeral LVI along with an image of what looked like the overhead view of a castle with numerous crosses.

Zeoticus smiled widely as tears gathered in his eyes, "Hersei, my boy, it is you!" the Head of House Gremory embraced his long lost son, tears falling from his eyes.

"So… I'm a Devil then?" Shirou said the first thing that came out of his mouth. "I always thought I was human?" 'I should hug him back right? That's what I should do…' the broken boy thought to himself, and he did so, not out of any form of relief for himself, but rather to ease the elder man's pain.

"Good Devil! Your mother, she must be informed at once! Your Evil Piece set was stolen by someone… one of your companions perhaps?" Zeocitus was rambling; he was so happy.

"Guilty," Zelretch said, raising a hand and grinning, "I find it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission."

"Yes, yes… Sylpha!" Zeocitus called.

"Yes, milord!" the silver-haired swordswoman replied, showing up in an instant. The moment she laid eyes on Shirou, she stopped and stared in shock. "Hersei, could it be?"

"It's him, Sylpha, he bears both House Gremory's Numeral and Sigil. Go get Ritsuka! Quickly now!" Zeocitus urged.

The Silver Blader disappeared in a blur of speed, and reappeared moments later holding a woman wearing a blue kimono. "Sylpha, what is the meaning of this?!"

"Mistress, please look!" The maid said pointing at the entrance.

She did so and the frown she had on her face melted into one of shock. She paled as she looked at what could only be a male version of herself… her son she lost nearly a decade ago. She hardly noticed that Sylpha put her on her feet and she walked on shaking legs towards her son. 'He's right there damn it! Move!' She told her legs to no avail. Silently cursing as her rebellious limbs gave up on her.

She expected to hit the ground, but found herself in the arms of her own son. "Are you alright, miss?"

She broke down crying in his arms. "I-I'm fine! Now that you're back, everything is going to be o-okay Hersei! I-I'm so glad you're alive!"

"I… I'm glad to be home… mom?" Shirou replied, unsure how to tell them that he couldn't remember anything about them. Yet he couldn't bring himself to ruin the moment. Instead, he just held this woman who could only be his mother and offered what little comfort he could. The truth could come later. Comforting a crying woman was more important right now. After all he was more than willing to sacrifice himself for the happiness of others. That's just the kind of person Emiya Shirou was.

(...)

Word Count: 11,152 Number of Pages: 31 Date completed: 5/21/2024

(...)

AN: Hello everyone and welcome to the second chapter of The Prodigal Son Returns. This chapter was longer than I expected it to be, but it's finally done. Thank God, because now Snowy can stop riding my ass like Seabiscuit to finish it. Motherfucker is more of a slave driver than I am. Anyway, I'm glad this is finally done. I hope you enjoy the extra long chapter and I will see you next time because it is fucking hot and I need to freaking relax. Till, then everybody. Here's the rest of the crew to throw in their two cents.

Snowy: This story was very well made and I hope our fans and reader appreciate the hard work. Feel free to look us up and become a patron. I can say that this story is very well loved.

Hassan: Gahahahahah! Guess that answers most of your questions about Shirou! Those who knew have the right to gloat over it. I know I have…Hello everyone First Hassan here and today we are bringing you another chapter of the series. We Inkblot crew, my editor minions and I have worked hard on with making this a special chapter for all of you. I appreciate the positive feedback you all give us to share. It makes Bubba feel appreciated with all the hard work he's made for us to enjoy. Thank you guys for reading our story, if you want more or want to be a chapter ahead, head to Bubba' account or his SubscriberStar where it hasn't been edited by yours truly. I'll see you guys later! (Turning around while blue flames surrounds Hassan before disappearing)

Antagonist: This was awesome to work on. It's an impressive achievement being denser than a black hole and yet somehow Shirou still accomplishes it.

Loamy Coffee:Ooh, boy! What a surprise for Shirou, reunited with his family in a Love Hotel of all things, but Rias doesn't remember him. Next time is looking to be even more fun!

Thanks again for reading and this has been an Inkblot Bros production. Till next time, peace!