Fate: Bonds Beyond Humanity

by Apprentice of Life

In a world where all can be real, what does it mean to be human? What is the meaning of humanity? A meeting between a human and a devil will have them discovering the truth while chasing their dreams. My take on the combined worlds of Fate and DxD with characters from other franchises if they can be adapted to it. Harem.

21. Chapter 21

Fate/Bonds Beyond Humanity

…..

21- Fathers and Sons

…..

A few days have passed since his family was properly reunited and Shirou still doesn't know how to act.

Everyone is acting normally, or at least how they would have acted before Shirou became a more active member in the moonlit world. His mother got everyone to go around town, Sella took her place cooking some days like she never left, his sister still teased him while enjoying a vacation and his father acted like a normal person instead of some famous killer that everyone is supposed to be afraid of.

There is not even a tension in the air, mostly coming from Shirou himself who is tense when he is at home but everyone else didn't act any different than they normally would. He had so many questions he wanted to ask, so much he wanted to say but he just doesn't know where to begin.

When to begin.

The end of the year break has started and snow is falling in Fuyuki almost every day. Just the day before his family had a snowball fight prompted by Iri and Illya. Even with everything on his mind, Shirou didn't hesitate in participating and for a while that was the only thing on his mind as he spent time with his family.

But as the days pass by he starts to get nervous, his energy is getting too pent up since he is barely leaving the house or working, just training, wondering about his family reaction, their motives and every secret they all have from each other.

A part of him wants to stay silent, to not say anything and let the peace continue in the Emiya residence. "Shirou, pass the salt please." Asks Illya.

At the moment they are having breakfast, it was his turn to cook and he just made a simple barbecue. "Sella, pass me the mashed potatoes." Iri requests.

"Of course Irisviel-sama." The maid does it dutifully, even extending her arm a little too much instead of asking another to help her. Someone does it anyway. "You don't need to bother yourself Kiritsugu-sama. I was almost there."

"Sella, just let Kiri help." Iri says with her jovial smile and the maid relents.

Shirou takes another bite of his food, watching his family interact. At his right is Liz, with Sella at hers, Kiritsugu, Iri and Illya at Sihrou's other side. The table is round but big to carry all the food their family usually eat, not only Liz has a healthy appetite but the same can be said about everyone with white hair in the house with the maid with the shorter hair being the champion in devouring food.

Taking another bite of his food, Shirou stays mostly silent, something his father also does. Father and son's eyes meet and the man stops a second to look at his son before turning to talk with his wife about something.

"So, Shirou...have you met anyone interesting at school?" Illya asks her younger brother with a smile. "Made any new friends?"

'Is she...referring to...is she trying to be subtle?' Shirou isn't sure what to think about his sister's question, it can be coming from a place of sincerity or be something else entirely.

"Yes Shirou! Tell me, have you found a girlfriend yet?" Iri asks with a happy smile.

""Mom/Mama!"" Both siblings look at her, one blushing and the other frustrated.

"What?" The woman tilts her head cutely to the side. "Kuoh was predominantly a school just for girls. Even with transfers and relaxing of the entrance conditions there is still a predominant higher number of girls in the school." She explains with a smile, her hands together over the table. "A ratio of at least 5:1. I checked."

"How?" That is what Shirou wants to know.

"A mother has her ways." Iri says proudly and the redhead doesn't even know where to begin with that statement. "Now, you tell me: did you meet a nice girl? Have you already shared your first kiss? Did you guys have sex?"

"A mother shouldn't be asking things like that!" Shirou wanted to shrink and hide beneath the dinner table.

"Why are these questions escalating?" Illya questions her mother in frustration.

"Because I want grandchildren." Was the mother reply.

"You can't demand that from Shirou? He is not ready for that?" Illya says with rage in her face.

"Indeed! Irisviel-sama, you should be demanding that from Illyasviel-sama!" Sella gets up, her words full of passion. "It is the duty of the young mistress to be the head of the family in the future and one of her obligations is to make sure that there is a next generation of the Einze- No! The Emiya Family!" Now it is Illya's turn to be embarrassed but her maid isn't done. "Even when many of her coworkers have shown interest, she has refused to initiate any romantic pursuits!" She sounds moderately irritated, nodding at every other word. "I understand that 'trust' is not something recommended to have but she still should be thinking about the future."

"Seeeeellaaaaaaaaaa!" The growl from Illya's throat was audible to all.

"I would prefer if she wasn't looking in such places for company." Kiritsugu says with a growl of his own and Shirou immediately turns to pay attention solely to his father, almost afraid of what he is going to say.

'Is he going to talk about the Khaos Brigade now? Are we going to hear how he actually knows everything about it and plans to kill them all? Or how he plans to betray Sirzechs and help the group with whatever final goals they have planned?' All these questions run in Shirou's mind.

"She is still too young." Kiritsugu's voice sounds calm and carries little concern. "Illya is still not ready for such commitments. I also will evaluate and test whoever shows interest in her, getting the right to veto if I don't approve."

"Papa!" Illya is annoyed and a little ashamed. "And Sella, keep your mouth shut! I already chose my husband to be and I am sure that you will approve of him papa."

Instead of looking happy, satisfied or even sad, Kiritsugu just gives her a bland look. "Your brother is out of question."

"What?" Now Illya sounds really upset. "WHY?" She shouts, standing up.

"Illya! There is absolutely no reason to react like that!" Irisviel is quick to reprehend her daughter. "Sit down."

The younger albino obeys, her pale skin now red like a tomato. "I apologize father." He didn't ask for it but she apologizes either way.

"There is no need to worry about that." Kiritsugu says back. "Doesn't change the fact that Shirou is your brother and you two are family." The implication is clear on what he is saying.

"Not by blood." Mumbles Illya. Kiritsugu just looks at his daughter with his usual cold eyes for a couple of seconds before the young woman throws her hands in the air. "It is the truth!" This is not the first time they had this conversation.

"But what about you Shirou?" Iri takes over the conversation again in an attempt to skew the subject out of uncomfortable territory. Unfortunately for the woman she is still a little too curious about her son's love life to let it go. "You must have found a girl that you like. Oh! Or maybe just one that makes your heart skip a beat!"

Once again Shirou's mind leaves the hipoteses of what his father does or might do and focuses completely on the last few words that his mother said. He begins to blush a little because he can't give his mother a straight answer.

But the woman notices the blush. "There is one, isn't there?" Her realization caughts the attention of everyone at the table.

"No!" Shirou protests, trying to lie. But his tells are all there, his frown, inability to look anyone in the eyes, the fact that his voice was a little louder and that he looks more nervous at every passing moment.

Iri lets out a little 'squee' of joy while Illya glares at Shirou. "Are we going to meet her?" His father's question actually makes it worse as he feels like the ground could open and drag him to the center of earth and that would be better than staying at the table.

"Tell us about her! Tell us about her!" Iri is practically bouncing on her chair while Illya retains her glare. "Come on Shirou! You have to give us something!"

The son of the family doesn't even know where to begin this kind of conversation for a huge pile of reasons that he can't even comprehend himself.

It is then that Shirou realises something. This is a normal day in the Emiya household, a normal time after the family finally gathered together after so long. And the redhead is hating it because it is almost like the only one acknowledging that things are not the same as they were in the past.

His hands slamming on the table, Shirou then says. "Why are we talking like this?"

"Shirou?" His mother looks at her with concern but Shirou just looks at his father.

"You work for Lucifer." He says bluntly, getting no reaction from his father but that wasn't what he wanted anyway. Turning to his sister he tolds her. "And you are in the Hero Faction." Illya actually looks nervous and turns to her father to see how he is reacting.

"So you joined the Khaos Brigade?" Kiritsugu asks coldly. "Was the story about the Clocktower a lie?"

'He didn't know?' Shirou is surprised by that revelation.

"Yes and no…" Illya says, almost sounding like she had her hands in a cookie jar instead of an unknown, potentially criminal organization. "I am registered in the Clocktower and did show up for some classes-"

"But you left with false pretences." Kiritsugu interrupts and Irisviel shakes her head.

"You shouldn't have lied to us, Illya." At her mother's words, the young woman feels like a child again. "What if something happened to you? How would we know then? We would be looking for you in the wrong places when you could have been lost forever and we would never know."

"I would be fine. I am fine." Illyasviel replies confidently. "I may not like many of my colleagues but they are all fairly competent and I am in research so my risks are minimized." Sella nods and follows up with her own input.

"I can assure you that, while some of the individuals around us are dangerous, Illyasviel-sama was in no danger whatsoever. Her research is just too important to risk alienating her in any way." Irisviel frowns at the maid's explanation.

"Heaven's Feel again?" Her daugther nods with a smile but the adult shakes her head. "Illya, we told you how dangerous that magic is."

"And that you won't help me research it." Illya said with a bit of bitterness. "But you guys agreed that if I managed to get materials by myself you wouldn't get in my way."

"And we are keeping that promise." Kiritsugu says, much to his wife's annoyance. "I honestly knew you wouldn't manage that on the Clocktower, if that is the path you chose then I have nothing else to say."

"Wait? You knew I wouldn't find anything in the Clocktower? Why let me go then?" At her question her father gives her a small shrug while replying.

"It was your choice." Shirou is getting annoyed at how the conversation is going.

"That is all either of you have to say?" The redhead fights to not scream or shout but everyone is hearing the anger in his voice. "'Her choice'? Fine, it was her choice to join an organization that wouldn't hesitate to massacre innocents. Was it also your choice to become a killer, father?"

"Shirou! That is no way to talk to your father!" Irisviel is quick to reprehend but at this point the redhead's patience finally is done.

"What else should I call what he is? What else should I say? Every single member of this family has been keeping a secret, or better yet, it wasn't even a secret since only I didn't know!" He looks around the table as everyone is looking at him and his outburst. "I thought when father got back we were going to talk about it! It has been days and all of you are acting like everything is normal! Damn it! You are treating the fact that Illya joined this Khaos Brigade as if it wasn't even a big deal!"

"It really isn't." Kiritsugu said after calmly finishing his meal.

Illya feels bad for her brother and decides to try and explain something. "Shirou, the Khaos Brigade is more complicated than you think. Especially us of the Hero Faction."

"Actually, it is not that complicated." Kiritsugu interrupts his daughter with an almost bored look, much to her irritation.

"It is complicated!" She protests but her father just gives her a cold look.

"Your Brigade is the first of its kind, a joint effort with members of many species and resources." He explained no differently than if he was reading a book. "But it is still the same as any other organization or faction on this planet."

"We are different. Our goal is not just power or conquest. We want to make the world a better place!" Illya rushes to explain as she stands indignation, only for her father to still look disinterested.

"You are already divided into so many factions inside yourselves that I will be legitimately surprised if this Khaos Brigade does anything more than give others a headache." His tone remains cold as he continues. "You all have no real teamwork and are just putting together resources from what I could gather; the devils banked it, the humans are in general the foot soldiers, the fallen give the best equipment and some members of other pantheons ofer minimal contributions compared with those three." Illya sat back down again realizing how much information her father and by extension Lucifer actually have on the operations of the Khaos Brigade. "I only had difficulty to find how many members of Heaven are part of the thing, if any. The fact remains that you are divided anyway and potentially will get more in each other way than on anyone else's."

"That would be true, if the Hero Faction goals were the insanity that some of the others want to pull off." Illya says confidently and Kiritsugu has no retort but Shirou has.

"You mean genocide?" Hearing her beloved brother's harsh tone puts Illya on the back foot.

"What did that blond bastard tell you?" Illya almost screams the question.

"Illyasviel! Language!" Her mother scolds her immediately.

"Genocide huh?" Kiritsugu used for a moment. "Makes sense I suppose."

"'Makes sense'?" Shirou turns back to his father but the man's face remains the same. "How does genocide makes sense?"

"The Hero Faction's goal is to separate humanity from the supernatural as it is." Kiritsugu replies before Illya can give her input but she can't disagree with him. "Considering the way that the world works than genocide makes sense even if it is impossible, Gilgamesh's descendent or not."

Once Kiritsugu finished, Shirou knew for certain he talked with Sirzechs before he returned home and with that deduction he questioned. "Did you really have no idea Illya was with them?" The older man shakes his head.

"Not at all. Sirzechs told me about what happened in your school and basically ordered me to come back quickly, no excuses. I thought you were in peril but our people around town kept telling me you were safe so we came back like we planned previously." The admittance was in the same tone as before, a tone Shirou is starting to hate.

"I needed to speak with you earlier, much earlier!" The redhead fights to keep his anger in check but every second feels like he needs to fight harder to remain calm.

"I understand that but our work," the man stops for a second because his wife is uncomfortable, but it was only for a second "is important. I understand you are troubled but I also trusted you to wait without doing anything harsh."

"The problem is that the wait itself was consuming me." Shirou closes his eyes, feeling the weight of all those months of isolation and doubt when he was always wondering when he would finally get some answers. "Please dad, tell me why, why did you kill all those people?" He didn't even know how to narrow down which people he was talking about, in his mind he would like to know the answer to all of them, even if it was impossible.

Finally the eyes of Emiya Kiritsugu changed from their frozen stoic look to a sad and resigned one. He lets out a sigh, making a decision he knew many at the table aren't going to like. "I understand Shirou. I am sorry for letting you suffer in silence." He lowers his head, surprising his son while everyone else fears his next words. Their fears are quickly confirmed. "I shall tell you my story but to make sure you understand it I would like you to accompany me on a trip."

"Kiritsugu, no." Irisviel protested but she can see in her husband's eyes, for him it was already decided. "Shirou doesn't need that, he needs his father, his family, not to go on a trip."

Shirou is about to agree, he only wants an explanation but Illyasviel is faster in her reaction. "She is right, father. There is no need to take him away, we are all here. Let's just talk first. See if we can reach a better solution or something."

"Unfortunately that is not going to be enough." Kiritsugu states with his stoic expression not revealing his thoughts. "The deeper Shirou goes in the moonlit world the worse it will become. He must understand the rules if he wants to survive."

"Can you all stop talking like I wasn't here?" The anger finally escapes Shirou's control. "And what is this about a trip? Is it like the ones you took Illya in the past?"

"Yes." Kiritsugu replies and silences the rest of the table. "It is a trip to prepare you for the challenges that the moonlit world will throw at you. Since we raised you as far away from that world for as long as we could, you can consider this trip a sort of remedial lesson." It was the best metaphor he could think of for comparison. "For your sake I would like to take you on a trip just one since you are more combat oriented than your sister."

"I don't need remedial lessons. What I need is answers." Shirou looks determined and his father nods to that.

"And I shall give them, don't think I won't, for I shall tell you the story in full." At Kiritsugu's words Iri perks up.

"Then you two don't need to go traveling. You can tell the story here and we can spend the new year's eve together." Her excitement dies when her husband shakes his head.

"Unfortunately that won't be enough. You know that, Iri." Kiritsugu looks truly sad.

"I agree with father." Irisviel turns to her daughter, a little shocked by . "It will be better if Shirou knows exactly how the moonlit world really is and that trip may be what he needs." Illyasviel gives her brother a sad smile, reminiscent of her father's. "It will make sure he can survive on his own if he ever needs to."

"I can survive on my own just fine." Shirou almost feels offended by the implication he couldn't.

"No you can't Shirou, you are too nice." Is Illyasviel answer. "It takes much more than just knowing how to fight to survive the moonlit world. If it was just that our father wouldn't have to take me for that many trips." His sister turns completely at him with a frown on her face. "It is not about what you can do, it is about what you are willing to do."

"Like what?" His sister took her eyes away from him but his father didn't hesitate.

"Like killing." And just like that he has Shirou's full attention once again. "You already have plenty of skills and to be honest in a fair fight I am sure you would do well enough to survive on your own. I knew that even before my last trip and as you trained and practiced you grew even stronger." Kiritsugu describes everything calmly, waiting for his son to process what he is saying. "But killing is another thing entirely. It is why your mother and sister don't want me to take you on this trip. The purpose of it is to help you to do whatever it takes to survive, even take another person's life".

"And Illya had more than one trip with you?" Shirou feels considerable anger but shakes his head to shrug it off. "That is not right. You shouldn't be doing things like that." It contradicts the way he was raised by the same person who wants to do it in the first place.

"I agree. But it was her choice, the same choice I want to give you." Kiritsugu clarifies. "I wouldn't allow her to go to the Clocktower," and the man made sure to throw a little glare to his daughter to show she is not off the hook for the lie just yet, "before I felt she was ready. I didn't make her kill on every single trip either since your sister had many faults that needed to be corrected to make sure she would be safe away from home." He raises a hand with three fingers up. "Her constitution, her defensive capabilities and her awareness. I took my time to correct all three of them before we even began to talk about killing."

"Then you don't need to take me on any trips either." When Shirou spoke he sounded almost frightened. "Just tell me why you are a killer. Tell me why people fear you or hate you so much that they are willing to kill for it! I don't need to go on a trip or to travel! I need answers!"

The way that the youngest child of the house raised his voice surprised all of those present with the exception of one. But the maid chooses to remain silent a while longer while the matriarch just looks at her son with concern.

"Shirou...what is wrong?" Irisviel wanted to get up and go to her son but contented herself with just extending her hand across the table.

For a moment there is only silence, Shirou accepts his mother's touch but says nothing while Illya and Kiritsugu didn't take their eyes from them. The redhead just shakes his head again, ready to insist that his father just talk to him, to tell him why he is a killer.

"Shirou killed someone." Someone decided to take the matter out of his hands.

"Liz!" Shirou quickly separates from his mother who just looks at him sadly.

"Oh Shirou." And Irisviel can't hold back the tears that left her eyes in that moment, something that Shirou never saw in sadness.

"You should tell them." Liz looks at him, her eyes making clear her instance on this matter. "You talked with Rias, there is nothing wrong with talking with your family."

"Why did you go to the devil?" Illya sounds irritated but what she said had Shirou looking at her again with anger.

"Because none of you were here. None of you were here and I couldn't find any way to talk with you." With such a response all Illya can do is look down since Shirou was right. "Not that I want to talk about it either, it has been settled."

"It isn't." Kiritsugu's eyes also look sad, a deeper sadness than before. "You are feeling guilty aren't you." Deciding to be honest about it Shirou nods. "Have you been eating well?"

"Yes, I did what I had to do." Shirou says automatically.

"That is not what I asked and not what I want you to say." Kiritsugu cuts his son off. "Have you been eating well?"

"Yes."

"And sleeping?" Shirou hesitated to answer. "If you are having nightmares that is normal. It is your subconscious telling you what you did was wrong and your guilt manifesting your mind."

"I stayed awake for a whole day and night after my first time. Papa helped me deal with it" Illya reassures her brother but he shakes his head.

"No nightmares. Actually when I sleep is when I am most at peace." It felt weird to admit it but Shirou confessed to his family.

"That is odd." Illya says after a second. "What do you dream about?"

Shirou closes his eyes, if he relaxes he can see himself there. "An open grassfield. The grass isn't that big, almost like it was tended to." He can see himself walking around, his bare feet are not bothered by it. "Around me there is nothing for miles except swords."

"Swords?" Iri leans on the table to get closer, trying to decipher Shirou's dream.

"Yes, there are other weapons too but mostly there are swords." He opens his eyes. "No nightmares. I understand that I did what I had to do."

"But you still feel some guilt." Kiritsugu affirms and Shirou can't deny him. "Then the trip that I planned will help."

"Kiritsugu! Our son just admitted killing someone and you still want to do this trip. There is no reason for it anymore." Her husband looked at Iri and shook his head.

"No, there is more than enough reason now." He says before looking at Illya and then back to Shirou. "I already have a plan to help Shirou deal with similar guilt. The circumstances may have changed but the plan stays the same."

"You found a convenient job like that?" Illya sounds impressed but skeptical.

"I know my children." Kiritsugu replies looking at her again then back at Shirou. "I am sure that this will be the ideal job for you Shirou." The redhead looks back.

"Fine." The son accepts his father's wisdom. "But you better tell me everything during this trip."

"I promise." The two stay looking at each other, one is full of sadness while the other full of determination.

"Kiritsugu-sama, if I may be bold enough to ask." Sella catches everyone's attention. "Where are you going?"

For a moment the blackhaired man didn't reply, his thoughts and eyes focused on his son before turning to his daughter again. After thinking about it he decided to finally say it. "Somewhere close to the Mediterranean. I can't give you the precise location."

"Then how are you planning to get there if you don't have a location?" Illya is sure that her father is not telling them everything, he was always a secretive individual.

"By boat." Is all the man is willing to say.

"Then I will go get ready." Shirou announced as he stood up.

"Why are you getting up? You didn't finish your food." Kiritsugu stops him with the question before his son fully leaves the table.

"You just said-"

"That we have a job, not that we are going to do it right now." Kiritsugu explained in a deadpan tone. "We are departing in a couple of days, not immediately." He waited for his son to get the message before motioning with his head towards his food, barely touched. "You said you aren't having problems eating, so eat. We leave later in the week."

It didn't take long for everyone to realize that meant that the men of the family would be away on Christmas and possibly also on the new year's eve.

…..

After the conversation, things changed around the house. Kiritsugu acted more cold than usual, spending more time in his office. Irisviel was upset with her husband and avoided talking with him while the maids were the only ones acting normally.

Shirou is getting ready for the trip, packing his bags with a couple of clothes and other utilities. They still have a couple of days before departure but he is nervous, packing and unpacking for almost a whole day.

"You should calm down, Shirou. The way you are acting is starting to make me nervous." Another person that is acting normally in their home is Illya but that only began after she and their father had another conversation on the side.

Amber eyes turn to look at her and Shirou notices that she is using light purple clothes today. Going back to his packing he decides that staying silent is not going to help him. "I am sorry if the idea of leaving to kill someone doesn't appeal to me."

With a frown on her face Illya stays at the door. "You do realize that you don't need to kill anyone right? That isn't how papa does things for us."

"If you are still calling him 'papa' then I suppose you two reached an agreement?" He still doesn't know why he is messing with his stuff that much, he will go with his faithful blue and white anyway, with armor beneath to be safe.

"Kinda. You could say that we are going to be out of each other's way." Illya comments while fixing her long hair. "He won't ask me questions and neither will I. I am free to do as I please." She sounds proud of that.

"Odd considering he works for your enemy if I am not mistaken." He puts another pair of jeans on the bag.

"Look, father is just going to give you a choice and is going to put the implications of the choice in front of you. That is it." The older sibling explains, not giving much details.

"Is that he did for you?" He turns to ask but Illya just raises an eyebrow. "Gave you a choice?"

"Uhum." She says with a smile. "It wasn't that bad Shirou. I ended up saving a ton of people that were going to become slaves."

That actually did sound like something good to do. "Really?"

"For real, no joke." Illya says with a smile. "I killed a vampire that planned to sell and kill. That bastard deserved it."

"In comparison I killed an idiot." Shirou points out.

"An idiot?" Illya grows curious, in a way the whole family is avoiding stepping on the landmine that is talking about Shirou's first kill but now she just can't stop herself. "Who was it?"

"An old classmate of mine. Someone that I actually knew my whole life." He never will be able to say that he knew Shinji well but Shirou did know him well enough. "He was prideful but hardworking, an idiot because of what he wanted to do but in the end that didn't matter much. If he just...if he just had listened then he wouldn't need to die."

"Then it wasn't your fault." Illya says with a shrug. "If you gave him a choice and he didn't take it then you are clear."

"I know, I know." He is already growing tired of this conversation, it is pretty much a repeat of what he talked with Rias. "Doesn't change the fact that I ended him."

"Nah, he probably will reincarnate anyway." Illya says offhandedly, surprising Shirou.

"Reincarnate? Is that how…"

"'How' death works?" She shrugs. "Don't know. The gods of death and angels probably know about it but they don't share, bunch of pompous pricks." Illya looks around the hallway to make sure her mother didn't hear her swear. "But that is how it works for magicians from what I learned. We have so much contact with the mana of the world that we can reject going anywhere and remain in the world, either as a ghost and then disappear or we can discard our memories and reincarnate."

"Who told you that?" Shirou is curious about someone that offered such knowledge.

"If you join the Hero Faction I will introduce you to him." There is an annoyance in her tone that Illya can't hide from her brother.

"And you trust him?" When she didn't reply immediately Shirou just shook his head in annoyance. "Can you even trust your so-called comrades?"

"Can you trust every devil you ever met?" Illya asks sarcastically.

"No." Unlike her, Shirou replies instantly. "But I know them well enough to give them a chance." He looks at her with sad eyes. "Why do you hate devils so much?"

"It is not about hate. It is the principle." Illya said with a roll of her eyes. "We don't need them and they need us. It is about that we took them down a peg or two. That blond bastard must have told you that." Shirou could detect some reluctance in her voice but chose to not comment.

"And the lengths you all are ready to go for 'a peg or two'?" That is Shirou's problem.

"We can talk more once you come back." Illya says with a smile. "Trust me, it will be a life changing experience."

"For better or worse." Shirou turns back to finish working on his back only for Illya to give him a hug.

"It doesn't matter what you choose to do, remember that you are always going to be my brother. I will be here for you if you need me." She says with her face on his neck and Shirou smiles.

"So I am not to be your husband anymore?" Illya lets go of him and punches his shoulder.

"Look who got some bite on them now." She said with a smile before it turned serious. "Take whatever you need to survive Shirou. Depending on what father wants you to do it is better that you are prepared."

"What exactly are you referring to?" He has a sneaking suspicion and she easily reads his intent, rolling her eyes.

"Muramasa, what else?" The Noble Phantasm isn't in his room but she was looking for it. "Can you show it to me?" He nods and both exit his room.

In his first workshop there are some of his projects but the main star in the center is still Muramasa, lying on a table with some pieces of armor at its side.

While Illya approaches to inspect Muramasa herself Shirou just looks in depression at the parts of black armor spread around the table. They are his attempts to make more than just the upper body protection but the material is just too complicated and with too many components to make smaller armor parts..

His best idea at the moment is doing the same thing he did with the latches of Liz's armor, to make the smaller parts separately. It wasn't only extremely hard and delicate work but with his mind in confusion it wasn't a thing he actually focused on much.

But Illya didn't notice him, her eyes stuck in Muramasa. It wasn't the first Noble Phantasm she ever saw but she wanted to see it anyway, approaching it slowly she studied both the weapon and the scabbard that covers it.

She knows of the curse and she won't dare to touch it, the idea of a version of her solely focused on her goals is not one that much appealing to her. "I can barely feel any power from it."

Shirou rolls his eyes even if he was impressed his sister could dodge the sheath's protection. "If you are comparing with Gilgamesh's then that is hardly fair." She nods in agreement.

"Can you show me the blade?" Illya steps back to give Shirou space and he decides to indulge her, drawing the sword and presenting it to her. "You know, there is this guy in our group that will be so jealous when you show up with that sword."

"And why is that?" He chose to not comment on the 'our group' bit.

"He also has Noble Phantasms, half a dozen of them." The information shocked Shirou. "But none of them was made by human hands, none of them is a Muramasa. Even if they are stronger you can bet this is another sword he would want."

Shirou sheaths the sword. "Pity, this one is mine." Illya chuckles at her brother's comment.

"Don't worry too much about it. With his sacred gear I doubt that Siegfried will do more than bother you for a spar or two to see what you can do with it against his swords." Shirou looks at his sister, focusing on the name he just heard.

"I am sure I heard about Siegfried from somewhere." His sister chuckles and puts a hand on her waist while lifting the other.

"It is the same name of the hero of Nibelungenlied and the Slayer of Fafnir." Shirou starts to record hearing about it but he is not getting it until Illya continues. "Maybe this will help; he was the owner of Balmung."

Illya's smile is very similar to that of a cat, he can't help but remember when Yoruichi smiles like that, as if he was just pranked because he was shocked by something but it couldn't be helped. "Does he have it?" Shirou questions with some concern.

"Yes, that and others." Illya's smile didn't diminish. "Gram too."

Siegfried and Sigurd, there are academics on both aspects of the world that debated which was the real deal of if both were real but in different moments in time. The Slayer of Fafnir, the Slayer of Jorn, both dragons of great power and reputation.

Besides the name, both men share a legend in many aspects of the journey they went to, the weapons they use as swords of legend, their wisdom, kindness, both receiving power from slaying a dragon and, most important and confusing of all, their names.

There are differences between their legends as well, mostly how each met their demise but even that has similarities; the love of a woman and a curse.

"Don't you want to see them? Those legendary weapons?" Illya whispers in his ear but Shirou is barely bothered.

"Sorry but if treasures were enough I can assure you that Gilgamesh would already have me in your group." It is something that the redhead can admit rather easily, hard not too when most of those treasures can defeat all his creations.

Puffing up her cheeks, Illya frowns. "Again with that blond bastard. What exactly did he do?"

"Besides talking and trying to kill me once? Not much." Shirou saw the moment his sister lost her nerve.

"He tried to kill you?" She grabs him by the shoulders. "Why? What happened? And how are you still alive?"

"I misspoke." Shirou manages to say before she asks another question. "He just beated me up a bit. He wasn't really trying to kill me."

Illya lets him go and stomps her feet to the ground. "Definitively! I am going to make him regret ever being born." Any hesitation on talking about the man is gone, there is only anger.

"Illya, calm down." If there is a thing Shirou doesn't want is his sister challenging the strongest guy he has ever known. "It is fine. I was looking for a fight anyway at that point."

"What? Why?" With her focus back on him, Shirou breathes a sigh of relief.

"Because he wanted to convince me by showing some Noble Phantasms and a fight was the best way for him to do it." His response only has Illya frowning more.

"That doesn't sound like you." The ruby eyed woman raises an eyebrow. "You wouldn't fight just for that."

"I was irritated because of guilt and he managed to goad me into it." His sister rolls her eyes.

"Was that really it or is there something else you are not telling us?" At the question Shirou looks at his sister's eyes. "Come on Shirou, I am you onee-chan! You can tell me anything!"

"I stopped feeling guilty about killing Shinji right after I did." He confessed.

"Then what is the matter?" Illya just feels more confusion.

"Shouldn't I feel more guilty?" Shirou questioned not only Illya but himself. "After I decided to kill Shinji, I just did it. Wasn't even hard. Before I had made my resolution he could have begged and asked and I would have spared him, even after I cut off his arm I could have stopped and offered again. Instead, I just killed him and it was easy." Looking at Illya he gives her a moment before asking. "Shouldn't it have been harder? Shouldn't I feel more guilt?" Shirou chuckles. "After our father's questions I wondered if I should have cried, or had a nightmare or something. But there was nothing." He shrugs with a small smile. "Quite weird...don't you think?"

For a while they stand there, just staring at each other. Illya has no answer to that.

…..

"I should be going with you." The night before Shirou's departure with Kiritsugu, Liz approaches him just before he enters his room.

"You heard father." It was still weird for him to call the man that instead of 'dad' or 'old man' but everyone in the house can understand why he is using the more distant term. "It must be just the two of us. It is my trial, or my 'job' as he called it."

Both were dressed for bed with comfortable clothes, even in the more cold climate of dezember they are still using simple shirts and Liz still has her preference for extremely small shorts to leave her legs free.

Some are already in bed for various reasons, Kiritsugu always made a habit to turn in early when at home and upset with him or not his wife didn't deny her husband their bed.

Illya, even after having been away from her home for some time, returned to her old habit of working until late at night. She is usually the last one in bed but that night is an exception and she was actually the first since tomorrow was the day of departure for her brother's job.

It is a thing that bothered the short haired maiden, Shirou is about to embark on a dangerous journey and she isn't going to be there to protect him. She doesn't even know how to put her concern into words properly and she hates herself for it.

"Are you taking everything you need?" She asks suddenly.

"Yes, I believe I am." Shirou confirms. "I am taking clothes for five days, mostly just my favorite types." She knew what that meant, long sleeve shirts and a jersey's jacket of blue and white with jeans.

"Anything else?" She insists.

"I am also taking my armor and Muramasa." That comment relaxes Liz a lot more. She can't see anything else that could need in such short notice for whatever job his father has for him.

"You are going to be fine...right? "But she is still concerned and at the question Shirou smiles.

"Don't worry, I will be fine. I don't know what father has planned but after the last few months I think he can hardly throw anything I can't get away from." He is being completely honest with what he is saying. 'Especially after Gilgamesh.' However he keeps that thought and the frustration that comes with it on the back of his mind.

Unlike the incident at the mall Shirou knows he only lived because Gilgamesh's goal was not to kill him and in his previous fights his life was only in peril because of his mercy, mistakes or surprises like in the mall brawn.

Even if Liz and all his friends were there to help him against the blond they would have just died if he wasn't in the mood to be merciful to anyone else.

So he trained, tried to get the hand of touki and practiced altering his Muramasa on different kinds of swords. He even works with the original since that sword is also 'incomplete' but for him it feels like that sword exists with the single purpose of cutting and nothing else.

'Muramasa is at its best as a pure sword.' That was the conclusion Shirou arrived at. 'But it can still go beyond that.' Is what he believes.

Completing the original Muramasa became a challenge for him because he wanted to see what its final form would look like and what it would actually be able to do.

"Shirou." Liz calling his name snaps Shirou out of his thoughts. "Are you tired?"

'Actually I am full of nervous energy because we are leaving tomorrow for a job that involves killing people.' He wanted to say it, he really did. But he also didn't want to concern her. "Not really."

Liz nods at the answer but she frowns as well, not knowing what else to say. She looks at Shirou with a sense of sadness she just can't shake off, feeling like there is something that she needs to say or do to help Shirou but she doesn't know what.

Looking at him, both in silence she can see he is nervous, not knowing what to do and say. Even if she is not the most socially aware of the house she can tell all of those things because she is the one that knows him best.

"Can you promise me something?" Liz asks, almost shy.

"Of course." Shirou is full of confidence that anything she asks he can do.

"Promise me you will come back." The request was weird for Shirou, especially coming from Liz.

"Of course I will come back." He raises an eyebrow, waiting for an elaboration on what Liz is talking about.

"Do you promise?" Instead she asks for a real promise, a simple thing that Shirou saw no problem giving it to her.

"I promise." He says with certainty. "Now, are you going to tell me what this is about?"

She tilts her head for a moment and shakes her head soon after. "Don't know." And with that she turns around and leaves to her room, leaving behind a very confused Shirou.

"What was this about?" He asks himself in confusion, also going to bed and not noticing the other presence in the hallway.

Sella watched everything, not being able to reveal herself since she felt she would be intruding in something she shouldn't. A shock for the serious maid who stands there for a few more minutes before going to bed herself, doubt seeded in her heart.

…..

Unlike when Illya left, this time they would be separating at their house. With their bags ready, Shirou and Kiritsugu are waiting for a ride that the older man said would be coming for them. The family ate their last breakfast together and now they are all waiting outside for the ride.

Shirou is dressed as he planned for any dangerous physical activity, blue and white with his black armor fully repaired and ready beneath the clothes. However, when he looks at his father he notices the man is dressed in the same clothes he always did when leaving the house, an all black suit and long coat.

Kiritsugu didn't use other colors, at least he never did every time Shirou saw his father always just used black and he remembers a younger version of himself asking his father if that was his favorite color.

He also remembers Kiritsugu telling him that it was the easiest color to wash dirt off. Now that Shirou is a little older and wiser he can understand what his father really meant.

"Remember to eat well, to stick by your father and to not do anything harsh." Irisviel says while embracing her son, it is clear she is nervous in the same way she was when Illya would be the one going on these trips.

"Don't worry mom, I will be fine." Shirou tries to reassure the woman but she gives him a sad look and a shake of her head.

"Just...listen to your father, please. For your own safety." The way the white woman begged was enough to make Shirou nod. There is no way the redhead was going to upset her anymore than she already is since they are already going to lose her favorite holiday and he doesn't want to see her any sadder.

"Don't worry about it mama." Illya smiles at her mother. "Papa is going to be there and they will get back safe. That is how he works, after all." Sella then takes a step forward offering Shirou a bento.

"This is for the flight, something for you two to eat." Shirou takes it with a nod.

"Remember your promise." Was all Liz said, her eyes directly in his.

"Of course." For Leysritt that is all it needs to be said even if some look at her with question marks on their eyes.

Kiritsugu is not one of them, his eyes remained in the road close to their home. There isn't much snow to stop cars from passing, a discrete use of magic from the boundary field made sure that the streets were comfortably set up for the residents of the neighborhood even if the majority of those living in it didn't need to know that.

But the man also is watching his family reluctantly letting him take their youngest child for what everyone expects to be a life changing trip, something that can be extremely traumatic.

'If everything goes as planned then it will be easy if not simple.' Kiritsugu thinks while repassing the plan once again in his head. 'But that also depends on Shirou. If he chooses the harder path, then so be it.' The only thing that may make his plans more difficult is going to be how his son is going to act about him during the trip.

Their relationship is damaged, that is a fact he can't deny. Both the secrets and the lack of contact had harmed it but not in an irreparable way.

And Kiritsugu is not the only one in this condition, while Shirou is still talking with Illya and being nice to her Kiritsugu noticed some small things that indicate that the redhead is still treating his sister a little coldly even if he is more generous with her since her lie is technically smaller.

Ever since their return he hadn't made their favorite dishes once, Kiritsugu can live without his hamburgers but Illya had to have Sella cook her waffles or else she wouldn't have any. And Sella's waffles aren't as good as Shirou's and she knew it.

Still Shirou was patient, he waited for the day of the trip and didn't avoid any of his family members. Now that the day is here, his son still remains calm but from time to time Kiritsugu saw his eyes turning his direction only to turn back a second later.

The mercenary would find it amusing if he had that much emotion in him anymore. Kiritsugu is concerned and worried with what will happen on the job, he fears for his son, not for himself..

But for his family, his wife and children, he fears for them most of all.

A black car with covered windows approaches their residence. "Shirou, it is time." He picks up his duffle bag, also black, and prepares to depart.

Once the car stopped everyone could see that it was a simple four seater with many of its main characteristics removed. If anyone would describe it for a third party all they would be able to say is that it is a black sedan.

Shirou's nose twitched and he immediately understood. 'This car is also enhanced.' He remembered the Lamborghini he used during the last break and even if it is a different model of car Shirou has no doubts that it is not a normal car.

From the car exits a woman that is familiar to the Emiya family. "Aunty Maya!" Illya says with joy as she jumps to the arms of her favorite person outside of the family.

"Illyasviel-sama, it is good to see you." The woman said with a smile that reminded Shirou of his father but his sister paid no mind.

She is a tall and attractive woman with a short haircut that has her hair reaching her chin. Much like Kiritsugu, she uses all black clothes to compliment her hair and eyes. Maya is a rather tall and athletic woman and the only times Shirou could notice a little more life in her eyes is when she is close to his mother.

"Maya." Greets Irisviel with some annoyance.

"Irisviel." Was the reply from Maya, her attitude a little more aggressive and her voice similar to a growl.

It was a thing that Shirou never understood, the hostility that both women have for one another. Every single time they met it was almost like a fight was about to break out, at least the time he saw them meeting.

'And these two work together.' Shirou reminds himself again, more than before now he knows the truth. 'If mom is the organizer of the 'security company' and aunt Maya is father's right hand woman, they must see each other a lot to work together. Are they like that when we aren't there as well?' For a moment he felt pity for his father.

"We have no time to waste or we are going to lose our flight." Kiritsugu is already on the driver seat that Maya vacated, his bag already on the back of the car.

"Ah…" Shirou doesn't know what to say but Maya places a hand on his shoulder.

"Place your bag there. We have to go." WIth the prompt from the woman Shirou turns to see his family and gives them a small bow before just entering the backseat with Maya sitting besides Kiritsugu. "The plane is already ready for departure and all the other preparations are complete."

Her voice was the same but there is a difference in her tone of voice towards Kiritsugu that Shirou can't identify what is the cause. "Report."

His father's voice and demeanor also changed, it was more cold, almost machine-like in how he responded with a single word and nothing specific. But Maya already knew what he wanted. "Operations have been going smoothly on most fronts; we managed to find and raid a previously unknown group operation close to the new base in South America. For now the leaders and purposes of that entity are the usual and we are in the process of assimilating them."

Once Maya finished she waited for Kiritsugu. "Tell me about the ongoing operations." She nods and picks up her cell to look at the details.

"In the Middle East we found the site where the tomb of an old King resides, a magician attempted to open it and died by its protections a couple of years ago, for now we are keeping the place sealed and waiting for the curse breaker division to take a look. There was a bit of a struggle between our group and another in Egypt but Hassan is taking care of it, the man made a note that they may have found the Scepter of Osiris but nothing is confirmed since there is suspicions that the place he located it, an audition, is said to produce fakes for selling. There is also the fact that Horus wouldn't allow his father's belongings to be sold so easily nor in such a place." She stops just for a second to breathe, enough for Shirou to compute everything that is being said and realize how big is the organization his parents and Lucifer really built. "Vampires started to move more in Europe, something is making them agitated but we don't know why. India has been raising their military power in the moonlit world and its influence is spreading but they are staying in the boundaries of their territories. The US government started to poke into the moonlit world again and they want to hire our services for protection and information. Lastly; we haven't managed to find any more descendents of our most recent cold case. Our informants estimate all of them have been killed and we have no means to know the reason. That is all for the moment."

Shirou is barely following everything that was said before Kiritsugu replied. "Tell Hassan to steal the scepter and replace it with a fake just to make sure. Have it made of the best materials that we have at our disposal. We still have plenty of things that some old vampires want, find someone to bribe, kill them if they say no. Leave India alone and I shall take care of the US government after this." Kiritsugu stopped for a moment, his son still staring at the back of his father's head while he talked about things that could reshape the world without a care. "There is still one descendent left but I doubt he will tell us the reason or his suspicions if he has any or even knows what is happening to his distant family."

After that they stayed silent and Shirou didn't know what to say. His mind finally untangled everything his father said and the kind of jobs he has with his company. In the span of a few minutes he heard and learned that his family is involved in, at very least espionage, theft and murder.

But he didn't react much. Shirou heard everything, understood everything and he is sure that his father looked back at him in the mirror at least once but still talked without problems and the redhead just didn't say anything and stayed silent during the ride.

'Besides, what am I supposed to say?' Shirou finally asked himself. 'I don't know why they are doing those things and vampires acting up sound dangerous if he is concerned. He is doing the right thing...right?' Taking a deep breath, Shirou made a decision. "Father-"

"We will talk on the plane." Kiritsugu interrupts Shirou, eyes still on the road.

For a moment Shirou thought about being a little of a brat and demanded them to start the talk now but then he looks at Maya who is messing with her phone and decides to hold back once again.

Instead he decides to ask something more relevant to the present. "Can you tell me at least where we are going or what we are going to do?" Shirou crosses his arms, his stare firmly on his father's back. "You said we were going by boat, then we had to take a flight. All I know at this point is that we are going to an ocean and nothing else."

"Greece." Kiritsugu surprises Shirou with a quick reply. "We are going to fly to Greece and pick a boat from there. It is a mostly unknown village at the coast close to Koroni."

The redhead nods at the information, now having a destination he feels more calm. "I don't know how to speak greek." That wasn't one of the languages his parents tried to teach him.

"We shall give you a temporary spell to help you." Maya informed, turning herself to look at him with a small smile. To him it looked fake. "Most of our operatives that travel too much need the fast translation so we develop a cheap method that anyone can use. Unfortunately the spell only lasts a few days and after that it will have to be reapplied."

"He will only need it for a couple of days anyway." Kiritsugu informs. "While we may stay around for a few days it won't reach a week."

Shirou remained in silence for the rest of the ride, hearing his father and Maya trade ideas and instructions for various other jobs and agents. Some of what he heard confused him and others worry him to his core.

…

Looking at the plane Shirou can now say for certain. 'Dad's favorite color is black.' The thought just appeared in his mind because of what he was seeing.

Even without any real knowledge about planes he can tell the one in front of him is top of the line, sleek and well equipped. It also bore no marks of any company or was big enough for more than just a dozen people, including the pilots.

'It is also private.' Shirou observed. They didn't need to pass by inspections or even the airport, just move straight to the plane in a lane. 'I can see now why he didn't mind me just shoving Muramasa in a bag.' He would admit he was nervous when they got near the airport but his father didn't comment and he knew that Shirou was with armor and Muramasa.

Instead of getting into the building in passing by the normal procedures and security they just entered a private street and got inside with just a check up of identities in a gate for their car.

'Even then there should be more security.' Shirou deduces, watching his father and Maya talking with two other people he guessed are the pilots by how they are dressed. 'How much influence does dad have?' Shirou can't help but wonder.

Maya then gives Kiritsugu a small nod before stepping back to the car, giving a small pat on Shirou's shoulder on the way. "Good luck." She says softly, her smile more genuine this time as she enters the car and begins to leave.

"Shirou." Kiritsugu calls for his son, already going up the stairs and inside the plane.

With a gulp to steel himself, Shirou starts to follow his father up the steps. There are some operators working around making sure the plane is ready to depart but the redhead shakes his head and focuses his eyes up front. It would be the first time he would get in a plane and the first time he would really leave Japan.

If outside looked sleek then outside the aircraft was much more utilitarian. Every wall has a piece of equipment of some kind and someone manning it. Men in women he never met or ever saw were going around messing on computers or work benches with weapons but still stopped for a second to nod to his father in respect.

Not that the man cared, Emiya Kiritsugu walked around, spoke to some people and put his bag in a corner before motioning for Shirou to do the same. The redhead follows the instruction as he watches his father move to a door a little distant from the others and waves for him to get in just before entering himself.

Unlike the rest of the place, this room looked more like what Shirou imagined that a luxurious trip on the first class would look like. Four comfy chairs, a table for games and a mini bar to the side.

Kiritsugu sat down on the table and motioned Shirou to sit in front of him, which the redhead obeyed. Shirou is prepared for this conversation and can't wait to start, even if he didn't know how.

Fortunately for him, his father apparently did and the second Shirou was properly seated he began. "The first person I ever killed was my father." The sudden revelation almost had the younger man falling down even if he was sitting. "It wasn't by hate, or at least I think it wasn't. It was because of fear, anger and despair."

Kiritsugu made a pause to let Shirou recover his bearing but his son recovered faster than he expected, enough to ask a question. "Did he...beat you?"

The question surprised the older magus but besides a widening of his eyes there wasn't much. "No. My father loved him very much. You could say that, after my mother's death I was the person he cared for the most." This time Shirou couldn't react or say anything, the information managed to overwhelm him. Kiritsugu just moves on. "He was...a good father, I suppose. But he was also a true magus who lost himself in pursuit of his goal, the Root."

And with that Kiritsugu doesn't need to say anything else about the man, Shirou realized what happened even before the older Emiya said anything else. The details may elude him, the lack of knowledge meant that it was all possibly just a guess, but prior experiences with Kayneth losing his mind just by the suggestion of reaching the Root means that he can already see what is coming.

Still, Kiritsugu continues without knowing of his son's thoughts. "Like every true magus, my father wanted to reach the Root. But he wasn't a normal magus." The older man's hand moves to his coat to get something but he pulls it back, fist closed. "While he was part of the Mage's Association of the Clocktower he was also someone they wanted to keep an eye on. He had a Sealing Designation and in theory was forbidden from doing...certain things without permission, that is how much they wanted to keep him in check."

"A Sealing Designation?" Shirou remembered hearing about it in Waver's class, of how those who received it were only the best magicians around or whose magic reached a level that it was considered indispensable and impossible to study without the bodies of the original practitioners.

The redhead could recall how the teacher also described it as something no one really would want in highsight since that meant the Mage's Association would actually chase them to make sure the research was actually preserved and running was not really an option because of enforcers from the Association or mercenaries ready for collecting the rewards.

"I thought our family didn't even have a big crest." The Emiya family is small and hasn't a long history in the moonlit world and usually only those that reached a certain level of magical knowledge would receive a Sealing Designation.

"My father was...talented." Kiritsugu said, hesitating for the first time. "He was a genius of a sort, such was his talent that he received a Designation even before I was born." The black haired man's eyes don't leave his son's. "And that is why he had to die. Because his pride became hubris and he did something unforgivable."

"In pursuit of the Root?" The father nods at the son's question. "What did he do?"

"Have I told you about the Emiya magic before?" Shirou shakes his head, they never had that sort of conversation. "It is about time." The redhead leans a little closer on his seat, waiting for something else, something Kiritsugu notices and elaborates on. "As in literally; the magecraft that the Emiya family cultivated is about time itself."

"Like the Agares clan?" Kiritsugu doesn't react to the name, he knew about every devil that resided in Fuyuki in a way or another.

"I am not surprised you met her. Even if your skills are not directed to the Emiya magecraft, your own abilities would make it attractive for anyone to attempt a pact, even if she would have to try and pass by Gremory to get yours." The plane begins to move during the talk and Kiritsugu notices his son looking for a belt. "Don't worry, like the cars this aircraft is also special. Not only is it hard to put down but turbulence and other bothers were removed to not interrupt anyone's work."

Instead of asking about the spells around them, Shirou chose to continue the conversation. "You didn't answer my question."

"Yes, it is similar. To be more exact, the Emiya magecraft is more about manipulating our own time while the Agares magic focuses on the external flow of time." He raised both hands and joined them in a prayer. "Now imagine that someone managed to combine both of these aspects." Kiritsugu gives his son a moment and the redhead nods, remembering how Seekvaira made a boundary field that accelerated the time of those present much more than Shinji's crystals could keep up. "In theory by stopping the world from spinning and by finding a way to extend their own time, one individual would have enough time to solve anything. Or do the contrary; if controlling one space or oneself is proven possible, then can't do the same to other people? Or just go beyond stopping time in a single space or for a single person besides themselves? Or maybe accelerate another person's time in a way that a minute could be an eternity? Maybe do the reverse and make it so that the person never has been born in the first place?"

"That…" Shirou has no worlds, the ability to mess with time in a single place is already frightening enough but being able to manipulate their own time and ignore the time of the world sounded too much and when added with manipulating the time of other people the possibilities were just too much for Shirou as chill passed his spine when he could think about what someone could do with such power.

"My father grew obsessed with it. He wanted to go even beyond that." Kiritsugu relaxes on his chair before saying. "Emiya Norikata was an obstinate man that wanted to see the results himself and because of that he attempted to jump some ropes he shouldn't. All for the sake of reaching the Root."

"And how would he do that?" Shirou asks curiously. "I mean, the potential of time magic is impressive but I can't see how it could reach the Root-"

"If you could reach the end of the universe, the Root will be there. In theory." Kiritsugu simply voiced the thought. "It was his theory, the idea that he could create a Reality Marble and keep the time there under control while letting the rest of the world pass by him until eventually the user of the spell would reach the end of the universe and the Root."

"Reality Marble?" That was a concept he never heard before, not even in Waver's classes.

"That is another thing entirely, a field of study of its own that is forbidden to us humans. It is the ultimate form of a boundary field and something that uses the World Egg theory." Kiritsugu can see that Shirou isn't keeping up. "It is complicated but I will try and keep it simple."

Kiritsugu needed to think about it for a while, it has been years since he thought of the subject of Reality Marbles. Because of his father it was a sore topic for him and a constant source of headaches since there were those that attempted to archive it and always ended up becoming targets, either his or others.

"Do you remember the basics of boundary fields?" Another nod and Kiritsugu continued. "Then imagine that inside it isn't the place you created the field on, instead it becomes a reflection or a creation of your soul."

"My soul?" Shirou sounds confused but for some reason he thinks he can understand what his father is saying.

"Like I said, it's complicated." Kiritsugu has no idea how to explain it easily. "I will ask someone to download a couple of books about it on a tablet for you if you want. It will be something for you to read during the trip." Shirou nods once, interested in the concept of Reality Marbles even if just for curiosity alone.

"But, nothing about it sounds 'unforgivable' to me." Shirou points out and Kiritsugu accepts his point.

"In a way just researching Reality Marbles is a crime for dozens of reasons; the dangers and damages that one may cause can be catastrophic or the power one can wield with it are some. Not only was my father already a Designated because of his skills he also was researching something that is taboo for both the Mage's Association and the gods themselves." He paused, knowing that Shirou will have questions.

His son didn't disappoint. "Gods? Why gods?"

"To have a Reality Marble means to have your own world in your soul and at the same time being able to manifest it in reality in some way shape or form. The gods don't like the idea of anyone getting this kind of power, because they don't have it." Kiritsugu is not telling the whole thing but he didn't need to, those were just the necessary facts. "Many pantheons have their own separate dimension and space but none of them is a Reality Marble, most are creations of powerful spells in dimensional frequencies that are away from the mundane space but are still connected to it by our planet."

"Velvet-sensei taught us that." Shirou says and his father nods, motining him to continue. "The Underworld, Heaven, Asgard and others, they all exist connected to our world but at the same time apart from it."

"Correct." Kiritsugu now can go to the important part since he doesn't need to explain everything. "The rules are different with a Reality Marble. Its creation can be done in any dimension the user is in with some difficulties depending on the defenses that the world itself may have." He gives his son a moment. "Then there are other benefits, benefits that many gods, not all, take offense in. Throughout the years there were beings that lived long enough and managed to reach the level where they had Reality Marbles. But that alone wasn't enough to survive the gods or those that wished the power for themselves. They were hunted and killed, some in extremely gruesome ways."

Shirou now can understand the gravity of the situation but he still frowns. The idea that someone was killed just because they could do something that others couldn't actually made him upset.

But that wasn't why they were talking in the first place. "I think we lost track of the conversation." The redhead tells his father.

"You are right Shirou." The man admits. "But you needed to understand why he was on the run, why there were many who wanted either him dead or contained. And what he ended up doing to make sure his dream would go on." Another pause, this time for himself. Kiritsugu doesn't like to dig through those old memories. "He basically wanted to become immortal or at least stop his aging so he could work on his magecraft until he eventually found a solution since he realized that his job would still take centuries until completion."

"That makes sense, considering what he wanted to do." For Shirou the task truly sounded like something it would take lifetimes.

"And in his efforts to do it he ended up destroying an island and all its inhabitants." The tone of the conversation suddenly changed as Kiritsugu looked even more cold and distant. "In his quest to prolong his life he made a potion that would turn him into the more...tamer version of vampire. But it failed, someone else drank it and because of that everyone that lived there died." Shirou is shocked at the turn of events. "He didn't care about it, about what he had done, about the lives he ruined on his quest. If he lived longer he would do it again, I am sure. So, I killed him."

"How?" Shirou asked, trying to connect the dots.

"A shot to the head." Kiritsugu says it easily, like the fact didn't bother him.

"Couldn't you have stopped him?" Shirou asks incredulously. "You were the son of a magus, he must have taught you how to fight and defend yourself."

"I was a child. My education on magecraft is subpar at best even today, you know that." The Magus Killer admits, his eyes still cold. "I had no training besides superficial studies, he never had time to teach me combat."

"Why?" Both of them know why Shirou was asking. A healthy body is necessary for an efficient magus and teaching combat was solving two problems at once in their case; self defense and development by itself.

"Because I was just a kid." Kiritsugu says bluntly.

"How...old?" Shirou is shocked once again.

"Doesn't matter. The fact is that he was my first kill, I stabbed him and then shot him." Kiritsugu avoids some details to not make the situation worse for his son. But something didn't make sense for Shirou.

"How? Where did you get the gun? If he was really a true magus, odds were that he wouldn't have one around." At the end of the redhead's question there is silence.

"Doesn't matter." Kiritsugu choses to not elaborate and regardless of how much Shirou wants to know he doesn't want to dig up those memories.

"How...did you survive after?" There were many layers to Shirou's question, his shock stopping him from saying anything else but the question still left him almost by itself. 'He was just a kid and yet…' The redhead didn't need a sword to tell him his father wasn't lying, his expression was enough, regardless of how distant his eyes appear to be.

"I found someone that I considered family after all that happened." Kiritsugu decides to say. His conversation with Illya hadn't gone that deep, after he talked about his father it was pretty much done with the exception of a couple of details.. "She was a freelancer and ended up adopting me after that, raising me as her own child."

Once again Shirou would have fallen on his back if he wasn't sitting. For the first time since he confronted his father and sister he heard true warmth in his voice, the cold and distant tone disappearing as he spoke about that person.

"Who was she?" As his son, Shirou was really curious about someone that could, with her memory alone, get such a positive reaction from his father.

"Her name was Natalia, Natalia Kaminski. She was there planning to capture my father and turn him to the Mage's Association for an inflated price." Kiritsugu says with a small, almost imperceptible smile.

"Inflated? Why inflated?" Kiritsugu chuckles a little and Shirou almost can't believe that this was the same man that was in front of him just a second ago.

"Her business method consisted of going around and getting the targets before the enforcer could actually do a thing and then sell them for double or triple the reward depending of her mood." He sounds happy, even lost in nostalgia.

"Like a scammer?" Shirou asks with a smile, getting Kiritsugu to chuckle a little.

"Yes, exactly like one." The blackhaired man scratches the back of his head with a smile. "She was a bit of a slob, didn't know a thing about saving money and loved to tease me. She taught me everything I know about the job, how to use guns and how to deal with others from the moonlit world. Her motto was 'no matter what you use, you must ensure your own survival'. I learned a lot from her."

Shirou smiles, his father looks happy now, more like the man he knew for all these years and not the mercenary or assassin. For the moment, he was just 'dad' to him.

"Then I had to kill her too." The cold was back, worse than before. There isn't malice or anger in his tone, neither sadness or depression, it was just cold and empty.

"Why?" Kiritsugu looks at his son and closes his eyes.

There is only sadness in his memories now. "She was in a plane full of vampires. Every single passenger was infected and if the plane landed there was a risk that they would spread and consume a whole city."

"What? How? Where were you?" Shirou was frustrated because of the details his father was skipping but there was nothing he could do.

"On the coast, shooting the plane down." Kiritsugu is completely gone now, there is only a machine in his place. "It was necessary. The alternative was risking landing the aircraft and letting one of those berserker vampires escape and kill thousands."

"But- Couldn't you save her?" Kiritsugu looks at him and Shirou is afraid. The eyes on his father's face were the most empty thing he ever saw.

"It wasn't worth the risk." Shirou has no answer. "It was her life against the life of thousands. I minimized the risks and eliminated the threat. It was necessary and it was done."

The redhead doesn't want to press the issue. His father had completely retreated his personality behind the cold persona he was presenting at the moment. In front of Emiya Shirou is not Emiya Kiritsugu, it is only the Magus Killer.

"Let's talk about something else." But Shirou wants his father back. "Sirzechs told me you received a message about the ritual on the day you found me."

A pause in the conversation and Kiritsugu eyes become a little less cold. "After I destroyed the Einzbern family," another topic for another time in Shirou's opinion, "we moved to Fuyuki to disarm the central control of a system that would initiate a war for a miracle."

"The Holy Grail War right?" Kiritsugu looks at his son and waits for him to elaborate the question. "Tohsaka Tokiomi-san told me about it."

"Very well." He accepts the explanation. "We were deciding if we were going to settle in Fuyuki or not at that point, staying in one of the houses I bought for such purposes but your mother and sister wanted a place more like the home we have now." He spoke with warmth and care. Every word he spokle seemed to banish the Magus Killer away and bring Kiritsugu back. "But someone discovered we were there. To this day I don't know who or how but we know the why." And the Magus Killer was back in full force.

"The message." Shirou says in a somber tone.

"Yes. I shall give you some context first; Before the fall of the Einzbern they were preparing for the war and they had secured a catalyst to summon a powerful servant for the war." The reveal didn't surprise Shirou. "The message knew about it, even if it didn't mention the destruction of the family it mentioned the artifact by name with instructions to take it to a certain location to avoid death because of a dangerous ritual without giving further details."

"And you listened to it?" Instead of a positive reply Kiritsugu shakes his head.

"No, I got your mother, sister, the twins and prepared to get away from the town as fast as humanly possible." That did surprise Shirou since he supposed that his father had listened to it since he was alive because of it. "A strange message was delivered to my door by unknown means when no one should know about me or that I was there. I wasn't going to risk it." Kiritsugu lets out a sigh. "I wish I did." Now the man looked depressed instead of just sad. "If I did, I may have stopped the ritual."

"Then why did you come back?" Shirou asks, remembering that he only lived because his father was there to save him.

"The fire wasn't small, the explosion that happened...all the city could see it. Once I saw where it was coming from I connected the dots, told everyone else to leave the car and raced to the area where the ritual had started, hoping that things wouldn't get worse." Kiritsugu remembers the rush and fear he felt at that moment, that and the guilt. "There was a chance the fire was just the beginning and that something worse was coming. I was wrong, nothing could be worse than the hell made by those flames."

There was no need to describe what kind of hell it was, before Kiritsugu is a person that suffered it from the very beginning and the last survivor. Shirou doesn't need a lesson about that hell, he needs answers.

"When I reached that place I thought that there was no one else to save. I ran, carrying the artifact, ignoring all the fire and death to try and reach the place it should be to 'avoid death'." Kiritsugu lets out another sigh. "But the damage was already done, the more I walked in that hell the worse the damage was around me and I didn't even know where I was supposed to go. There was a moment that I dropped to my knees and wanted to let the fire swallow me for my stupidity of not investigating the message a little more." Instead of sounding sad he smiled. "It was then that I saw you." Shirou also remembers that moment well. "You must have walked a lot to reach that point, your body was badly hurt, your clothes were burned and your skin indicated you must have passed by fire to reach that point. When I saw you I couldn't believe it, I remember thinking to myself; 'is there someone really alive in this hell'?"

Shirou also remembers that moment, the moment his legs finally gave out. The soul was willing, even if it had lost everything else, even if the memories were gone he still wanted to move on and to keep moving. After all that sacrifice, all the pain and suffering he still wanted to keep walking.

Even Shirou can't say why he wanted to keep going at that moment. It could be because he wanted to live or maybe because someone told him to, he can't remember, the fire took that from him.

But he remembers his father, that stranger that showed up with a strange light on his hands that looked like the sun.

"I cried from joy." Kiritsugu admits with a small smile. "'Someone is alive. I have to save him'. Those thoughts were in my mind as I ran towards you to save you. But it was too late, your lungs and body were at their absolute limit and I never knew anything about healing magic." The man's smile didn't diminish. "But I refused to give up, I wouldn't let the only life I found in that hell die."

"You used the artifact." Shirou heard that before but a question always plagued him, a small thing that wasn't important to him until now. "What was it?"

"A Noble Phantasm, I dare to say that one of if not the most powerful defensive Noble Phantasm." Kiritsugu is still smiling. "It was a miracle I think, it shouldn't have worked as well as it did, you are not the person that it was made for. But it is a powerful artifact and it must have some connection to the ritual to be able to neutralize its effects, that may be why the message was sent to me." It was the only theory that he had to work with anyway.

"And its name?" Shirou wanted to hear it, he didn't know why but it was an impulse that was born from his soul.

"Avalon, the scabbard of Excalibur, the sword of King Arthur." Once Kiritsugu finished talking Shirou couldn't believe it.

"Avalon: The Everdistant Utopia." Even Shirou heard about it. It was from his mother, she told him the story of King Arthur, possibly in a way to tell him about Avalon indirectly.

Because of Iri, Shirou knew plenty of stories about King Arthur and his Round Table, his mother enjoying telling them as bedtime stories even if he said she didn't need to but both of them enjoyed them. And she put a lot of envasis on what Avalon is and what it means, the dream that Arthur chased, a Utopia.

"And it still is…"

"Inside you." Kiritsugu replies. "It has been with you since that day, protecting and taking care of you."

Shirou's hand goes to his chest and he closes his eyes. He never thought that Avalon was on him, even when he knew that there was something he never bothered to look too closely at to what it was protecting him, what saved him.

But human curiosity finally got to him and he wanted to take a look at the legendary scabbard, just a small peek.

There he was again, in a grassfield. But this one is different, the grass is taller and he can't see any of his weapons around him.

For the first time Shirou also can see the sky and he finds looking at a beautiful blue and in a comfortable summer day.

It is a different experience, he can say that for sure. Usually he couldn't look up to the skies almost like they weren't there yet to be seen.

Now Shirou sees it clearly but it isn't the same place.

Looking ahead he can see the sun, it is dawn and the sun is going up. 'Is that Avalon?' The thought came to him from nowhere as he felt himself bask in the heat that the sun provided, another image came to his mind and his eyes opened to his father once again. "Gold and blue. Also, bigger than any other sheath I have ever seen before. Certainly bigger than most swords."

Kiritsugu nods at his son's words. "That is Avalon no doubt."

"Why did you leave it inside me?" Not that Shirou thought Avalon was dangerous or anything, it is a defensive Noble Phantasm first and foremost. "If it is capable of making such miracles…"

"Because I don't know what will happen if we remove Avalon." Kiritsugu thought about removing it, more than once. "While it is a powerful resource I decided that I wasn't willing to risk your life for it." His eyes gained a hard edge. "You must never tell anyone about it Shirou." The redhead blinks and looks at his father in confusion. "I am not joking here. Avalon is too valuable and many people wouldn't hesitate to rip you apart to get it if they caught a whisper about it. You must not tell a soul."

After a nod Shirou knew what he needed to ask now, knowing about Avalon and the mystery of how his father found him helps in a lot of things but raises a couple of other questions. "Why did you decide to adopt me?"

"You mother and sister insisted, in their words; they found you cute." The redhead can believe that. "After that I was still nervous about who sent the message and how they found us. I decided to take some...drastic measures."

Both know what he was implying, the pact with Sirzechs and the gutting of Fuyuki's criminal population. "And how did it end as a 'security firm' again?" Shirou asks making quotes with his hands, both to keep away from things he already knows and to avoid bringing out more unpleasant memories.

"It was a good cover up." Unfortunately it failed as the Magus Killer took hold. "All you have to do is someone call for a private contract and you can pretty much enter anywhere if the person is high ranked enough." He motions to the aircraft transporting them. "It also is an excellent center of recruitment and resources. It can be subtle in its approach or direct depending on the job." The cold may not be all there as it was before but it was hanging on every word. "With the resources we managed to gather, it became easy to compete with other big entities on the planet and be part of some of the wars that people don't see."

It is clear for Shirou that Kiritsugu is not completely on the conversation anymore, that he is already thinking of the next job, the next mission. That is another difference between Emiya Kiritsugu and the Magus Killer, when the man is gone and in his place there is only a machine all it thought about is the work and little else in the redhead's opinion.

Shirou hates that. Before him is not his father, just a mindless killer that closed off any feeling that he could have in favor of his mission.

"Is there anything else you want to know?" The Magus Killer asks with his empty look and Shirou doesn't want to answer.

In reality there are many things that he wants to know but none of them are important, he already got plenty of what he needed.

His father is not a monster, just someone that has been dealt a bad hand in life that made up most of his thoughts and actions, many downward cruel but for the sake of the beliefs he grew up in. Philosophies shaped by the world he grew up in.

An idea starts to form in his mind. "Can you tell me a little more about grandmother?"

"Grandmother?" Confusion completely fills his tone in a way the Magus Killer usually avoids. "I am sorry if I gave the impression I knew her but I don't recall my own mother."

"But you do. She is one person you could never forget." Shirou is sure of that for it was her memory that snapped Kiritsugu out of the Magus Killer. "Tell me more about Natalia."

The man retreats in the machine. "I told you already how she died."

"That is not what I asked." Shirou replies with a smile, coaching his father out. "Tell me how she lived." He can see in his father black eyes the surprise and the questions. "Tell me about her, how she was on her normal days, what she thought about things, what she liked. Tell me how Natalia Kaminski lived."

The machine couldn't comprehend the request and even the man was having difficulties processing what his son had just said, his mind going in loops and trying to figure out exactly what had just been said and why.

In the end Kiritsugu never could find the reason because he began to smile, a smile that soon turned into a laugh. It is something small, almost imperceptible since the man covered his mouth with his hand but the way his eyes are full of mirth and the shoulders were trembling anyone could be able to tell he is laughing.

Shirou blinks for a moment but smiles a little too, waiting for his father to stop laughing. That was the first time he really saw the man laughing and the redhead wouldn't dare to interrupt.

"I think," Kiritsugu began talking again, a little more in control but his eyes didn't hide his happiness, "that if she heard you she would shoot us both."

"Wasn't she your mother?" Shirou pushes on. "Then she was-is my grandmother. Come on; tell me about her."

With a smile Kiritsugu relaxes. "Fine, I suppose there aren't any problems in talking about her. I already told you how bad she was with money but I think that I should elaborate a little or else you think I am undersealing how much of a problem she had."

"Oh come on, she can't be that bad." Shirou also relaxes while his father shakes his head, for now the Magus Killer is far away and neither remembers they are going into a job.

"No, she was absolutely awful with it. Why do you think we have so many reserves and savings? It is because growing up with her while running around trying and failing to save money made me see the value in having something for emergencies." Kiritsugu says it all in good humor.

"How was she that bad? Did she spend a lot?" Because if so Shirou could imagine Rin in her place.

"Not at all, she just didn't know how to buy things." The older man has fond memories of the woman's bargaining skills. "She was determined and stubborn when she wanted something and always wanted the best equipment for any work. Unfortunately for us, most of the time she ended up overpaying or trying to trick someone for a discount after she blew all our money on something else..."

For the time being the Magus Killer is away and both father and son share stories about a woman who lived her life doing her best. The flight would take a good while to arrive in Greece and the stories wouldn't last long enough to keep the parent away from his obligations.

But for a while they are just father and son again.

…..

Athens is the city where they landed and Shirou was surprised to know that apparently they had permission from the goddess herself whose city is named after for such the landing and operations. The Greek goddess of war still watches over her city to the modern day and she is the one that keeps a hold and control of the more supernatural aspect of the region.

Kiritsugu explained that the only reason they can land and act is because Athena favors their endeavour to an extent. Their job is actually something the goddess started and as a patron of heroes she welcomes anyone that takes the mission. That was all the man said about their job as they disembarked, another black car waiting for them.

"Are black vehicles your brand?" Shirou asks with good humor but his father didn't react and the redhead knew that Kiritsugu wasn't there, the Magus Killer is.

They advance to their car, another almost unidentifiable sedan, and the driver offers the keys to Kiritsugu with a nod as he moves to the airplane. Shirou learned that it is a mobile base and would be running around Europe for a couple of other stops before returning to Athens to collect them in a week or so.

"Out of curiosity, why use a plane? Why not teleportation?" Shirou asks with a tablet in his hand as he places his bag on the back seat. The dispositive in his hands isn't connected to the internet, even if it is capable, but has a huge collection of books for him to study in many diverse topics.

"Because teleportation is actually far easier to detect." Kiritsugu informed, turning on the car. "Depending from where you want to teleport to, they can be easily traced down and tracked. That is why we use planes. Most of the moonlit world doesn't pay attention to it and you have no need to even bribe anyone. Due procedure is only checked by some factions and as I stated previously, we have Athena's permission as does anyone else that is going to take this job. We are allowed here because we sent a message to her representatives."

The car exits the airport but instead of entering the city proper it sticks to the coast, Shirou can see the ocean and the snow around them, winter hitting as hard in Greece as it did in Japan to his surprise.

Hours later and the ride is silent, Shirou focusing on reading while Kiritsugu focuses on the road.

Until a pump on the car snaps Shirou out of his reading to notice that the road is gone and they are now going in the snow. "Dad?"

"Secret village, only moonlit world inhabitants. No roads lead there." Getting close to a farm Kiritsugu turns the car to the side and Shirou's nose starts to twitch. "We are close now."

Then they passed by an invisible barrier, the snow disappearing as they are now in an open plane with a road of stone around them. The car is jumping around, not really good for this terrain but Kiritsugu keeps his control as they start to see what appears to be a small town.

But the redhead quickly realized it isn't any simple town. It reminds him of a picture of an old Greek city he saw in a book but there are also modern buildings around with stone and marble gathered together.

There is a huge wall surrounding the place, manned by warriors with all kinds of armor and weapons, magicians of kinds he never saw walk around with staves, dressed in white and using their magic openly.

A gate stands as an entrance, the type that would be used in castles but the illusion of antiquite disappears as they can see cars and motorcycles around the huge open doors that look to be made of bronze with people entering and leaving constantly.

"Didn't you say 'secret village'?" Shirou couldn't help but ask.

"Secret village or town, it doesn't matter. It was a village years ago and just got a little bigger." Kiritsugu replies as he moves the car to park with the other hundreds.

"I wouldn't say a little." Shirou points out as he looks around. "It looks like a parking mall around here. I don't have a good story with those."

"Modernity tends to do such things." The older man informs, finding a place to park. "Don't worry, if we lose the car we can get another or call for a ride."

They begin to leave the vehicle. "This lack of snow...Is it because of a boundary field?"

"Yes, however the boundary field doesn't belong to this place nor was it made by human hands." Kiritsugu gets his own bag and begins to walk to the entrance, his son following. "This is just a glorified outpost in a way and the only thing that it contributes to the field is the camouflage ."

"An outpost like this? Does it mean they have an enemy to fight against?." Shirou wonders, following his father with his bag while unzipping his jacket because of the heat.

"Yes and a powerful enemy at that." They keep walking until arriving at the bronze gates. Now that Shirou is closer he can tell that there are many merchants with their wares in open transports or baskets and warriors with weapons of all kinds, both of the traditional kind like swords and spears or the more modern kind like rifles and machine guns. "Here."

Kiritsugu gets something from his coat, a bottle with pills. The man quickly pops it open and gets one to swallow before offering the bottle to Shirou. "What is this? Medicine?"

"No, the translation spell. Our most skilled magicians worked together with scientists to synthesize a pill." That just made Shirou more curious about the details of his father's organization but he didn't complain, swallowing one of the pills. "The effects last for three days and then you will have to swallow another. With a whole bottle you can spend two months without learning to speak the language."

"But not reading it." Kiritsugu nods at his son's observation as they reach the gate. The guards are about to call them out but the older man pulls a paper from his coat. The tall man in armor and feathered helmet observed them and the redhead looked back, trying to analyse the spear and shield the man carried. He succeeded on the first but the shield surprised him by having much more moving parts than it appeared to have.

The man gives a nod and lets them in with a salute. "Why not a spell?" Shirou asks, surprised to notice he wasn't speaking Japanese.

"This method is cheaper and doesn't leave you with a headache as a side effect. Only real downside is that once you swallow the pill you will only be able to speak what the pill was made to allow you to." His father replies in perfect greek and Shirou understands every word.

"What is on the paper?" The redhead changes the subject.

"Our job. There are two here, first is the defense of the village; many mercenaries and magicians come for this one. The salary is decent and if you want it is a way to begin your life in this place." Kiritsugu informs him as they turn a corner and Shirou's eyes grow wide.

'Village? This is a full blown city!' He is surprised because not only did it look like soldiers from history books were walking around but he could easily think he was back in the times of Helenistic supremacy mixed with modern day architecture.

There are no cars but there are lights, skateboards and bicycles going around as people walk, both with classical togas and armor or jeans and shirts. Neither can see any skyscrapers but many of the buildings around are big enough to go beyond the wall even if just a little.

The place is also clean, not a piece of trash on the ground can be seen as people walk normally, run around looking at their watches or just stand around or sit somewhere talking and eating without a care.

Old met new as the place looks like a normal town but heavily fortified and has no big roads while the people looked like the place, a blend of the modern and the old. "Why these defenses exactly?" Shirou asked while trying not to be distracted.

"This place is attacked by monsters weekly at the very least and everyone here needs to be ready to either defend themselves or run." The two keep moving as Shirou keeps observing the sights. "That is why the place is big but cars and bigger means of transport aren't allowed, to avoid accidents in case the defenses break."

"What monsters?" Shirou immediately is on guard as he looks around, almost afraid that the defenses would fall at that very moment. Only to dismiss his paranoia a second later as people are going around doing their business without much care.

"We are close to an island that is full of monsters and many of them attack this place from the coast." Kiritsugu points to the left and Shirou can see the ocean and a landmass a huge distance away but that speaks more of its size since he can still see how big it actually is. "They swim in an attempt to leave that place. To make sure that the secrets of the moonlit world aren't exposed, this settlement was created by the Greek pantheon as a wall to stop the monsters from getting too far on the mainland."

"Why don't they just, I don't know, destroy the place?" Shirou asks with a little bit of sarcasm only for his father to stop moving and turn to him.

"Careful how you talk here Shiro. There are many here who are completely devoted to their gods and they may take offense." Both looked around but with hundreds of conversations going they weren't heard. "Besides, on that island is a being they can't really face without risking themselves and so they hire humans to attempt to kill it."

"What kind of being scare gods that humans can kill?" Kiritsugu decides to not answer the question for the moment, names have power and the place hates their monsters. Instead he just turns and keeps walking again.

"We have to go to the hotel to make our preparations. Our boat leaves in a couple of days." Shirou can already see where his father is going.

"We are going to that island aren't we?" His father looked at him for a moment, gave him a nod and turned back to keep walking. "An island full of monsters...fantastic." Again the sarcasm escapes Shirou but he is starting to enjoy being snarky now and then.

It took another couple of minutes but they arrived at a building close to the coast that Shirou believes is a hotel. It is a big place that looks like at least to be on the higher end of the spectrum of comforts and luxury.

Most of the color scheme is a mixture of whites and grays with touches of gold all around. The employees of the place were all polite, even the security guards still gave friendly smiles while keeping a hand on the swords at their sides or a firm grip on the spears on their hands.

It was something of note for Shirou but every single guard of the city walked around with at least one or two more classical weapons, even those with modern day firearms. Usually it is just a short sword but the majority uses a spear and shield combo with many different kinds of paintings on them.

The hotel security has their own icon for their security and staff, an owl of gold and one of the symbols associated with Athena herself.

Kiritsugu ignores everything and moves to the reception to talk with one of the receptionists. Soon they receive a key and are going to an elevator that is half full. Around them the people talk about the sights, the baths and pools making Shirou believe for a second that this place is just a normal tourist trap.

That belief disappeared as they stepped on their floor, the fifth one as Kiritsugu steps out and Shirou follows right behind only to be greeted with more armed people chatting in the hallways and entering the elevator.

His father keeps walking, his eyes on the doors as he looks for their room. While the Magus Killer's eyes are not focused around him, the man is aware of every presence and pays attention to everyone in the place while ignoring the irrelevant details.

Shirou is not used to his father's methods or his silence. He is also not used to just ignoring some things he is seeing like three people fighting on a corner, a group talking about their weapons as they move around or a man and a woman grabbing themselves as they move to a door to begin their activities in the middle of the day. Shirou blushes at the last one but manages to stop himself before pumping in his father as the man opens a door.

Their room is spacious with two beds and some closets. Like a normal hotel there is a phone, a window for the view and the beds look soft enough to be compared to clouds.

There is also a ring for sparring, the walls are lined with weapons of average quality that have some story in them but not much and there is also a white board for planning in it. "I assume this is not a normal hotel around here?"

"It is the norm for this place." Kiritsugu places his bag on one of the beds making Shirou blink and shrug before claiming the other. "This is the main hub for the travelers and temporary residents for this job. Depending on how it goes, many of the ones here are going to be dead soon enough."

The information snaps Shirou back to reality. "Dead?"

"Yes." Kiritsugu turns to his son before elaborating. "There are the permanent residents and the temporary ones. That happens because of a single event." The man goes to the board and starts to write in it with a black marker. "Once every six months the monsters on the islands start to grow too much in number and an incursion is imminent." The Magus Killer draws two circles, one big and one smaller. The smaller one he wrote the name 'Perseus'. "While this place has a beacon to attract the monsters, for centuries there were many that ignored it and attacked the towns around it. Because of that the defenses were spread thin and many people died." Shirou nods, understanding the fact that such invasions were a possibility and the defenders couldn't be everywhere and keep a consistent defense. "A solution was thought centuries after it started, instead of waiting for the monster to attack, volunteers and mercenaries would go and attack the island to diminish their numbers."

The blackhaired man draws arrows to represent the attacks departing from 'Perseus'. "Why not just attack them in full force ?" Kiritsugu turns to look at Shirou but says nothing. The redhead waits for a couple of seconds but when it is clear that his father is not going to say anything it means that his father believed that he already knew the answer. "This is about what the gods fear isn't it?" He gets a nod in affirmation.

"It was revived in some way and has been on the island since then. During the first few attempts to truly attempt to pacify the place many tried to kill it only to never return." The man starts to write in the big circle that represents the island. "It was decided that they couldn't push too far or else they would encounter the being that stays at the center of the island, deep in a cave of its own making. Usually finding her means death to all who did it, some managed to return but they were few and they warned the others to not even try." Kiritsugu finishes writing the name and Shirou recognizes one of them from old legends that even heard about.

"Medusa? The Medusa? The Gorgon Queen that the hero Perseus killed?" Shirou couldn't believe that such a being was still around and alive but his father's nod confirms it. "We are going after her?"

"No." Kiritsugu says coldly. "We are here to get rid of your unwillingness to kill. Easiest way to do it is to put you against a bunch of creatures that want to eat you alive like the beings on the island." Below 'Medusa' is written 'Shapeless Isle'. "It is a big collection of ruins, caves and tunnels that makes a maze with dozens of entrances and exits. The odds of finding the Gorgon are low and that is how it has been done for the last few decades, humans of all kinds would go in, kill as many creatures like lamias, nagas and other serpents before the Queen herself appears. We shall make part of that mission and you have no reason to hesitate, they are monsters that thirst for the blood of humans, not even animals that can be tamed or left alone. Killing them is absolutely saving someone else."

Shirou nods at his father's explanation, understanding the logic behind this job and the time sensitivity on it. "When do we leave?"

"I already had someone make the preparations for us. We will leave with the rest of the invasion or culling wave in a couple of days. During that period we shall talk about our capabilities, strategies and the monsters that inhabit the island." The Magus Killer informs upon Shirou truly accepting the job.

"What about Medusa? Can we do something about her?" Shirou looked at the name and waited for a reply.

"We can survive. This place sells glasses and weapons to those who are going to venture on the island." A hand goes to his coat as he pulls out a case that once he opened it revealed one pair of said glasses. "These can protect us from turning into stone. Maybe Muramasa can kill her since it is a Noble Phantasm but don't underestimate her. If turning people to stone was the only thing the Gorgon could do then she would have been killed long ago."

The redhead nods somberly, it took a hero like Persues, a son of Zeus, a demigod to defeat her the first time and even he needed the help of the gods to defeat Medusa and five different Noble Phantasms to actually do the deed. "Why is she here? Wasn't she dead? I think her head became part of Athena's shield from what I can recall." Greek was never his best subject.

"Nobody knows." The Magus Killer has no idea why the Gorgon had returned a few centuries after her death but she is there and that is what matters. "All we can do is deal with the threats to the town and reduce their numbers. We shall plan, we shall go in and we shall leave after the job is done."

'Only that they will return to their full number six months from now. Where is the Hero Faction when you need them? Why aren't they dealing with this?' Shirou thinks about it, a little bitter. 'But then again, maybe they tried. Maybe they are in his hotel right now.' He has no way of knowing. "Can't we stop this more permanently?"

Kiritsugu shakes his head. "No one has managed to do it so far." His voice is absolutely cold on his next line. "There are theories that killing the Medusa will allow the gods to intervene. If the biggest monster disappeared then nothing would stop an army to go there and deal with the rest."

The Magus Killer turns back to the drawing board, not seeing as his son's eyes develop a dangerous edge while fixed on a single name. 'Medusa.' The redhead clenches his fist as his father starts to write details about the creatures on the island. 'I may not be strong enough, but Muramasa is.' He was happy to have brought the true sword with him on the trip. It would be his best chance to defeat the mythical monster.

…..

For the next few days the Emiya men talked and planned. Strategy, resources and training, that is all that the Magus Killer focused on during their stay. He made sure to teach Shirou all about the monsters of the area and how to deal with them to the best of his ability.

The older man was not good at teaching much about the place or showing his son how to blend in as a tourist. While Kiritsugu is a decent spy it was not because he could blend in with other people but because he could use his resources to collect information in ways that most people don't expect.

Regardless of his preferences, the father couldn't keep his son contained for the whole trip. Realizing that is an easy way to incentivize some rebellion from any teenager, Kiritsugu allowed some leeway for his son.

Shirou had permission to explore the town for a minimum of three hours per day but he always had to return to the hotel for dinner and then for more lessons on the dangers of the islands and the monsters that lived there while they also talked about tactics and weapons they could use together if the chance arose.

During his exploration he ended up buying a pair of glasses for himself and a belt to put Muramasa in. Now he can walk without having to hold the sword the whole time, the blade resting on his side when not in use.

Kiritsugu is sure that his son can survive by himself with some restrictions and instructions. But the whole point of their strategy sections was to put them on the same page and to help Shirou understand his father's strengths and weaknesses so they can work together and vice versa.

The Magus Killer fighting style is actually similar to the redhead's with some key differences. While Shirou is more physical and would work as the front line, Kiritsugu is more of a ranged fighter and uses his firearms and other modern weaponry for support. It is in the parent fighting style that the coat really gets into the picture.

Every time his father would get something or place something for safe keeping he wouldn't put it in his bag, it is always the coat and once Shirou asked why his father revealed that every inch of his coat is covered with either runes or magic circles to transport things to a different dimensional space that is connected to his personal arsenal that is maintained by himself and his most trusted allies.

The man still has a couple of guns but most of his weapons are connected to the coat and to demonstrate its capabilities Kiritsugu started to take out as many guns as he could fit on the bed. Shirou saw a huge collection of small pistols, huge rifles, shotguns, mines and knives before the man deemed he showed enough and made all disappear with a flourish of his long coat.

Eventually the day of departure arrives and the Emiya men are part of the march to the port. It is like most of the town has come to either fight or watch those that are going to take the fight directly to the island.

Shirou can see the people around waving flowers, scarfs and banners with many emblems. He sees a minotaur banner, crossed spears and standing lions back to back, both around him in the march and in the windows of the town.

From what Kiritsugu explained to his son during their stay the town has many guilds and groups that took root in the place during its founding days with promises of defending it until the threat of the Shapeless Isle disappears once and for all. Many have either left or have been extinguished during the years but some did stay while others were formed to replace them.

There aren't just natives living in the town, warriors from all over the world either live in Perseus or have a place to stay during the 'Great Hunt' as the event was called. They came in many sizes and types, from magicians wishing to further their research or mercenaries looking for quick money.

The pay for defending the place is good, the pay for going to the island, surviving and returning, is better with the potential of an even bigger pay possible with the sale of ingredients that one can find of the monsters that don't leave the island like queen lamias and others.

Shirou saw in town a billboard with a huge reward for Medusa's blood, even just a drop, and the thing looks old in general except for the number in the reward's value to be given which was apparently increased recently by how pristine it looked.

The redhead doesn't care, dressed in his open jacket white and blue, armor and jeans with Muramasa at his side, he stays close to his father. Their plan is simple, Shirou is going to stay in the front lines as Kiritsugu gives support. The older Emiya told his son many times that his life is in the younger Emiya's hands, if Shirou dies Kiritsugu has every intention of dying too.

For a while Shirou didn't believe it when his father explained that until he pulled out a gun from his coat, gave it to his son and then turned around. "Shoot me if you want. We can also leave if you want. But you must not hesitate if you take the job." Even when Shirou denied, the parent was insistent that this is to make sure the redhead isn't going to hesitate.

And Shirou has no intention of hesitating, sticking close to his father as they move towards their boat. In total twelve different ships are leaving for the island at the same time, each ship was a miracle of engineering that was more advanced than any navy around the globe

Each ship is huge without any painting with the exception of the numbers on the side going from '001' to '012'. The thing has a huge open space for a deck and was large enough to remain considerably above water with railing on both sides with three bars while the front has a ramp that cars wouldn't have problems using.

For the crew there is a cabin for the captain in the back with enough space and access to the lower parts of the ship. The cabin of the captain and the wheel is a cube that has a huge window that allows the men inside to see all sizes with a single entrance.

Crates are finished being transported inside by the sailors who are dressed in gray uniform with light armor and different weapons. Most are older men and they walk with the confidence of veteran warriors. Shirou counted at least thirty in his vicinity.

The trip is going to last only a couple of hours and once there the ships will wait for a full day and night, guarded by the sailors and the staff, all experienced fighters that didn't step on the island but will guarantee the retreat of those that survive.

For what Shirou gathered there are many ways of getting paid for the job and the main is that if any of the sailors or official citizens of the town vouch for the kills then they are accepted since they are under an oath of truth about any conquest someone accomplishes in the island.

But if someone decides to venture inside the dungeons, where the real dangerous but valuable kills are, then they must bring proof of their kills.

Scales, jewels or even weapons that some of the monsters use are proof enough and can be sold as ingredients. The downside is that there is no way of knowing if someone truly did the deed or they stole the trophy of someone else or found the remains of someone that did the job and died in the process.

And then there is the infighting between the ragtag army. Unless they were part of a guild or a group that has bonds of brotherhood and promises of sharing loot, everyone needs to look over their own shoulder since those that are in groups will try and attempt to kill and steal for profit.

It is this environment that Kiritsugu believes can offer the best teaching moments for his son. Where everyone has to struggle to survive against monsters and themselves, where a careless mistake can mean death.

Kiritsugu has no intentions to allow his son to die. Even as he never turns from his goal he can tell that Shirou is right behind him, eyes sharp as his guard is up in case someone already wants to try something. 'Good.'

The older Emiya already knew about his son's instincts and experience, the reports he got from the assassins, the Rearguard and most recently Shinji all confirm that Shirou developed well as a fighter.

A part of him is not surprised, his son is a 'sword' and fighting is part of his existence in a way. 'Sooner or later conflict would appear in Shirou's life.' Kiritsugu tells himself as he remembers the risks he took by letting the assassins enter Fuyuki.

Hassan had been there if necessary but Liz arrived just before the man had to make a move but didn't change the fact that he risked his son's life to help his development in a risky environment where he barely had any control and is about to do a similar thing again.

This time however is different, Kiritsugu is present to make sure that nothing can take Shirou's life. Harm is still a possible and probable but that is part of the moonlit world and the man isn't going to shelter Shirou from it. But he won't allow his son to die before himself, that is something that Kiritsugu decided for both of his children.

As they approach their ride they can see there are already plenty of people on the transport. The boat is not made for long trips but for surviving and being easily defended. It is easily capable of ferrying the fighters to the island and back while having enough space for retreat and healing when there are healers present which is not always the case..

Every transport is spacious enough for at least a couple dozen cars so people have no problem in spreading around and still have enough space for themselves. There are some warriors sparing, magicians talking theory, mercenaries getting ready for the fight and many others.

They come dressed in all kinds of ways, some with ancient kinds of armor while others use suits or kevlar. A group is fully dressed as soldiers, complete with camo pants, jackets and hats while carrying rifles, guns and missile launchers.

There are no roofs or covers for the sun or other elements. However it is still early, just a little after dawn and even if the boundary field keeps away the snow and winter the sun is still the same, covered in clouds and allowing a gentle breeze to go around prompted by the sea.

Still on guard, Shirou analyzes his surroundings and those around him, taking a special look at every weapon and every piece of equipment that is being carried for those present. He needs to enjoy the chance while he can since once he puts the magical glasses he won't be able to use Structural Analysis with his eyes.

Magic spears that return to their owners after being thrown, swords with enchantments that allow them to cut stone with great ease, a whip that can catch fire while being used, a shield that can create a barrier of some sort but is not just magic making the shield the most interesting thing but he knew he would never be able to trace it.

While the diversity is good Shirou finds himself disappointed, most of things he is seeing are similar to works that he has made before or shields that are similar to each other but all are just too complicated because of some technology that allowed them to harness mana. Swords are the easiest for him and he knows that many of his projects are vastly superior, Muramasa doesn't even count since the Noble Phantasm is pretty much the best weapon on the ship.

'Sure I had Rias' help in some of my works but are my weapons that much better?' The redhead keeps looking around for all the mystic codes and weapons he could find but he finds none that impresses him and he can use. 'Then again, it is not just the weapon but the user.'

Yet Shirou has a distinct feeling, even if just studying the weapons superficially, that the majority of the fighters around aren't stronger than some of the enemies he faced in the past, even the assassins in the mall were considerably superior to those in the ship with the Rearguard elite being even stronger by leaps and bounds in their own way, not counting Noble Phantasms again since none of the present appears to have any and he can't identify if anyone has a sacred gear or not to change the whole fight in the blink of an eye.

Shirou then finds something he wasn't expecting, people around his age. At least that is what they appeared to be and they dressed with matching clothes and all appeared to be just around his age group if one of them wasn't a little older.

There are three of them, all with long sleeve blue jackets with blue pants of the same kind as a uniform but the girl of the group, a woman in reality despite her masculine appearance with extremely short hair the jacket open just enough to show the cleavage of her moderate size breasts that complement her figure. Her posture speaks of confidence and excitement while her eyes are unable to stay still as she is also looking around with a huge smile.

The woman of the group has short teal hair that is cut like a man's and not very well kept being a small mess still better than his and she carries no weapons. Her two allies are close to her and both look capable in a fight. One of them is a tall muscular man whose uniform fits perfectly since he is not a monster made of pure muscle with a confident grin. He is also bald and is carrying a spear that appears to be made of silver but Shirou knows it is a special type of steel that just looks silver and yet it is stronger than most other materials but Shirou can't say exactly what it is.

He appears to be the eldest of the three and yet Shirou would put him in a college if nothing else since he still holds an youthful disposition and a smile that holds more confidence than most people he ever met and still looked kind to his surprise.

The last one is the opposite. To Shirou he looks younger than him and has a black spike hair with an ahoge over his left eye but it isn't big enough to impair his vision. He looks also muscular, even if less than the other man but his stare as he looks around is impassive or even aggressive.

Like the woman he carries no weapons but keeps flexing the fingers of his right hand in a way that reminds Shirou of someone warming up to a competition of some kind.

All the three of them have an aura of power around that Shirou can 'smell' without difficulties unlike everyone else on the ship whose presences he believes weren't stronger than opponents he faced in the past.

The same can't be said about the trio, they smell similarly to an empty room after it was truly cleaned, washed and perfumed. But there is still something familiar to him, he is almost sure he has been in the presence of similar mana before but he has no idea where and the three of them are too close together to separate them and pick the smells apart.

A familiar hand touches the redhead's shoulder. "Shirou, it is almost time for departure. Put the glasses on." Kiritsugu tells him, staying close as they planned. "Remember to remain at least 10 steps from me. This way we will be ready to assist each other if necessary."

Shirou nods at the instruction and puts on the glasses. It is just a precaution for the moment and no one else is doing it just yet but his father is not a man who takes risks.

They already have goals and objectives based on what Kiritsugu determined is the best way to break Shirou's out of his discomfort on taking lives.

Basically the Magus Killer gave a number; 100 and no less than that. Shirou must find and kill 100 of a certain monster in the shapeless islands and they aren't leaving until either he reaches the number or the ships are about to retreat in the middle of the night.

If Shirou was a normal magus 100 would be a daunting task, most wouldn't be able to kill 50 or even less without being overwhelmed.

And Kiritsugu knows that, he also knows that his son is not a normal magus by any stretch of the imagination. Ever since he was little Shirou trained both his body and spirit for combat and showed himself very good at it.

That is why Kiritsugu knows that he has to push his son, to make sure Shirou is put in situations where death is common and expected, that he has an enemy that he can fight without remorse so there is no remorse when the enemy has a reason behind their actions.

In a more peaceful world, Emiya Kiritsugu wouldn't train his children like this, or at all if he had a choice. He was always reluctant on how he should approach their education and his wife has the same problem.

Calmly and carefully Kiritsugu looks around, Shirou isn't able to tell just yet but there are plenty of looks going in his direction. More than one or two groups around probably are already making plans to take his head.

Just as he planned.

Kiritsugu has to be extremely careful with everything he says to his son. Even if Sirzechs hadn't informed him about Illya, the redhead did tell him about Shirou's Truthbearer, it was something that Rias knew and told her brother months ago, enough time for the man to mention to his magician in a conversation or another.

For that reason, Kiritsugu manipulated his son. Not in any cruel or even malicious way, everything that he told Shirou was the truth and even if somewhat edited. It was a conversation he planned for months.

He told the truth in every instance but made sure to lead the question properly and in a way that his son didn't lose his trust in him.

Of course Shirou did manage to surprise him sometimes, asking about Natalia's life was unexpected but not anything Kiritsugu couldn't handle.

It was the trip and their goals that Kiritsugu couldn't allow Shirou to look too deeply into, or that the whole thing is actually being manipulated by the Magus Killer to be many times bigger than it should be for the usual event that happened twice a year.

The actual job of the Great Hunt is already something that people mastered over the centuries to the point the veterans of the event can deal with most unexpected events. There are groups that are used to fighting on the island that were created for that single purpose and they are experienced enough that in normal circumstances they can minimize many of the actual risks.

But these are not normal circumstances.

The Magus Killer manipulated the events to make sure that certain parties had access to the island at the same time that some of his enemies received 'rumors' that he would be personally on the operation this time around.

Even with the space of the ship he can tell that there are far more people than there should be, harder for most people to count but not for him. Especially with the fact that the Magus Killer is the one that constructed the situation that no one else can see.

It is all for his son.

Shirou is skilled for his age, his eyes are sharp and besides a small stop for a group that Kiritsugu knows are disguised members of one of the stronger factions around that usually shouldn't be present, he is paying close attention.

But not enough, not on the same level that Kiritsugu can and is doing. The older man grew in this environment of mistrust, surrounded by enemies on all sides with only one or two people to count on, he thrived in it. And he is waiting for those that are going to be aiming for his life.

He didn't lie when he told Shirou many will die. All around them, even if they didn't notice themselves, many of the passengers are from rival factions of pantheons or organizations that hate each other.

Everything is set up in a way that all the ships going to the island at this point are going to escalate the conflict in a way that hasn't happened in the last century thanks to the isolation of the island and the ambition of many present.

The Gorgo is a prize many want, either for prestige or for parts. She is a resource people will die and kill for and that is why the entrance on the Hunt is supposed to be restricted and controlled. Only humans are called and allowed on it and only those that are considered 'worthy', that is why Athena's permission was needed to even enter the hidden town of Perseus and participate in the Hunt and usually not even him would be accepted.

And Kiritsugu sabotaged it. He tricked the Goddess of War, her agents were duped with too many candidates and plenty of false information. He manipulated the information her followers received for months, all for this moment, for this single job where he can bring out the most disaster in a controlled manner.

Magus Killer picked a system that was designed to call for the brave and courageous for the fight and made sure that it would also bring the vultures and corrupt.

All with a single goal in mind.

The world they live in is a cruel one and Kiritsugu is going to show that to his son, he won't allow Shirou to die for a mistake.

Everything is ready, all the pieces are almost in place and the plan is in motion. All the Magus Killer has to do is keep Emiya Shirou alive.

…..