Shattered Blades Reforged

by DrakeValkyr

Rewrite of the original Shattered Blades early chapters. After several years of traveling the world's battlefields, Enforcer Shirou Emiya finds himself in Shin Tokyo. Leave it to him to go on vacation and end up trapped in yet another battle royal between magical beings. Inspired by Gabriel Blessing's In Flight.

1. Chapter 1: Vacations are Over Rated

Shattered Blades: Reforged

Hello, longtime readers and new faces. As some of you who've spoken to me in comments and PMs during the original posting of the early chapters of this story, the first three chapters were all written in at the end of a 3-day sleepless bender. As such, I always thought they were a bit rough and had planned to expand on them in Fragments along the ways.

So some of the early chapters are getting re-written/edited to fit that view. Some scenes are going to be added. Some are going to be altered slightly.

With that all said, I hope you all enjoy as much if not more than the first go round.

Chapter 1:

*Prologue start*

It had been a long time since his dreams had been haunted by the images of swords. Back then, he had dreamt of wonderous blades, made by ancient magic, the interference of gods, demons and fae. Weapons of glorious creation and purpose wed to those of terrible presence they carried.

An innocent time, when his only dream was to become a hero. Before he knew what it truly meant to be a hero.

This time the dream was untainted by the ridiculous influences of a mind grown on Sentai shows and childhood daydreams. Of haunting, soul-smelting smiles. This time the sword he dreamed of was so much more like the true fate of all swords; forged in purpose, drenched in blood, battered in defeat and betrayal. A sword, like an ideal, can only take so much pressure before it knicks. Shatters.

It was nostalgic, in a sense of the word, to dream of a sword forged of an ideal, to be wielded to protect others at the sake of the self.

And so it did, in a way. One kill after another. Drenched in blood so thick it drowned it in. But to protect – to shield – could no longer be the purpose of a blade that only saw death. So the sword did what it was trained for, what it learned best: the sword cut. It cut at its wielder, at the values that couldn't live up to, at the ideals being smashed upon reality, at the allies who grew distant… at the friends and comrades who wouldn't – couldn't – understand.

With every cut it chipped. Fractured as every victory turned to ashen defeat. Every sacrifice turned pyric.

Its wielder, no longer recognizable, a warrior who fights because to stop now would mean acknowledging the mounting mistakes and trials that sent them on their path also trapped them into becoming the very thing they fought against.

This time, I dreamt of –

The world turned, startling me from unrestful sleep to complete awareness as only the momentary panic of freefall can.

Already, the dream began to fade from memory. Dismissed as easily as the others. It wasn't the first dream of a sword after all…

…Nor the only time Archer resonated in his soul.

"Attention passengers," The intercom came to life in the cabin as the airliner banked a wide right. "This is your captain speaking. We apologize for this interruption of you regularly scheduled flight. We regret to inform you that we will not be able to continue to our destination final of Fuyuki Airport. There is an unforeseen technical issue that is preventing regular operation of the runway. All flights are currently being diverted to Shin Tokyo. We apologize for this inconvenience and will help make sure everyone gets to where they're going once we land. I repeat, we will not be continuing on to Fuyuki Airport. All air traffic is being diverted to Shin Tokyo."

I stifle a yawn, my muscles making their displeasure at the cramped, seventeen-hour flight known. muscles protesting as I stretched. Visions of a nice, comfortable bed at home… well, what used to be home faded. Fuyuki was roughly four hours from Shin Tokyo as far as public transport went. Longer for driving or bussing.

The question was, did it make more sense to wait at the airport in the hopes of a connecting flight opening up whenever whatever was happening in Fuyuki was cleared up, or to take a train? Either way, I'd have to call Taiga and let her know I would be late in coming home. Hopefully she had forgotten I'd asked her to pick me up again and wasn't waiting on me to land.

Still… Shin Tokyo… that was its own complication.

Rin and I, back when she joined me on this once yearly trek home, had avoided the city. In part no doubt, due to Rin's stubborn nature she would have had to notify the second owner and Rin wasn't one to ask for permission. Or forgiveness. Or the thoughts of others in most instances.

Otherwise, I snorted at the not-quite-charitable thought, that tyrannical devil-woman wouldn't have cancelled my last mission, all-but banished me from the Clock tower and threatened/browbeat me into taking an enforced vacation.

That said... after almost a decade of travelling from one bloodstained battlefield to the next, it would be good to see Ilya again. It had been too long.

Shaking my head, I focused on the other, more prominent reason: Mid Bio Informatics.

Mid Bio Informatics, or MBI as their logo went, was a multi-national super corporation mostly dealing in medical technology, equipment and pharmacology that had its roots in Shin Tokyo. Rather, it was the root. As the seat of MBI's power, the city had rapidly increased from a small city to a bustling metropolis from the influx of jobs, wealth and technology produced.

It was also the hub of civilian and corporate espionage. Even in the remote parts of the world I tended to dwell, news of MBI's rise was inescapable. Their products made it to every corner of the world. There medicine was sometimes the difference between life and death for some of the people I had helped here and there…

But it was also the cause of more than a few deaths. With its prolific rise and wealth of the company, and the efficacy of its products, people came to take those bounties. Sometimes it was the local doctor killed for his supply. Sometimes it was the family that couldn't afford treatment. Sometimes it was the rival company blockading and stealing from convoys.

It was not official policy… but Magi and Enforcers were encouraged to avoid Shin Tokyo as a precaution. While I could know with a cursory glance and a bit of Structural Grasping where the cameras were… that didn't stop the camera from still working. And while I might not quite have followed in the footsteps of my father, the assassin Kiritsugu Emiya, but I couldn't honestly say there weren't parallels. A video capture of a careless encounter or even a recorded glimpse of what might be a mystery could make a future mission more difficult. It could make my next fight my last.

Or it could be grounds for the Clock Towers politics to catch up to me.

First, however, I really needed to stretch my legs. Nothing said I couldn't just stay in the terminal and avoid the security of entering the city proper, right? Yes., I nodded to myself. For as Saber would say, 'fatigue is the enemy. Hunger is the enemy.'

*Scene Break*

"I'm sorry, sir." The woman behind the terminal help desk did at least sound apologetic. Strained, maybe, but genuine. "There are no scheduled flights from here to Fuyuki."

"None?" I didn't growl at the woman. She was just doing her job and it would have been impolite. There may have been a bit of stress in my tone though. "What do you mean you don't have any scheduled flights? What about tomorrow?"

"I really am sorry sir. All flights to Fuyuki have been indefinitely delayed. If you wish, we will provide you transport to a hotel until such flights become available."

I signed. I really should have known better. Whether from my own personal bad luck or some lingering curse Archer gifted me. A stay in Shin Tokyo was exactly what I had wanted to avoid. "How much will that cost me?" I did have money tucked away. Living with Rin had taught me the value in hiding away rainy-day funds after the second time she blew up our apartment.

"Nothing, sir." She seemed to perk up once I went from the possibility of being a belligerent customer to defeated by her corporate overlord. "We've been instructed that all of the Fuyuki passengers are to receive complimentary accommodations and transit for the delay. We have even offered some of the other passenger's taxis or trains to continue to their destination."

"You'll pay for me to take a train to Fuyuki?" That was… unprecedently generous.

"Yes, sir." She nods. "We just received word that there was an unexpected power issue with Fuyuki airport. While we cannot be certain when their power will be restored and regular flights can resume, we have been facilitating the travel expenses of this disruption." She leans forward from the hips over the terminal enough to whisper to me, a bit of her uniform top falling slack about her neck.

"To be honest, its part good will and part so no one sues." She winked and rose back up. "Would you be interested in staying with us? There are a lot of things to do and see in the city. Or, if you have pressing business now, we can arrange for your transport. We can accommodate which ever you decide."

It wasn't the plan but… actually, it was a terrible idea. For all the reasons I already told myself. But I was tired. Sore. And there was already a camera right over her shoulder that I could do nothing about. Fuck it, I sighed, if the strategic objectives were already lost then at least I could make a tactical victory.

"Okay, you win." I said, causing her to giggle. "I won't lie, a nice bed would be nice."

"Of course, Sir. If you can place your hand right here then we can let you past the terminal." She took out a small handheld device. It looked like a cell phone if it were the size of a notebook. It was attached to a box behind her desk not much larger than a breadbox.

"What is it?" I cocked the trigger in my head, sending a small activation of prana to my eyes. One of the most basic mysteries I ever learned was Structural Grasping, the ability to convey information about an object through sight and touch. With practice and skill, a user could learn everything about what they held from what it was named, made of, when and where it was made and even sometimes aspects about the owner. It was my first bit of magecraft I ever fully mastered, so much so that now I could do it just by looking at an object.

I dutifully ignored the disembodied voice of Rin (who told me many times at great length) that only mastering three spells wasn't an accomplishment, it was slacking.

The box was a pretty complex series of electronics and chips. If it weren't for the different configuration than I was used to, how small it was, and the handful of parts I couldn't recognize the purpose for, I would have said it was a desktop computer. It was, however, also attached to not just the object (some touch sensitive panel and integrated screen?) but also an alarm above the help desk.

"Have you been to Shin Tokyo before, mister…?"

"Emiya," I answered. "And no. I've never been here before. Most of my work takes me outside the country and when I get time to come back," I didn't need to say the only thing I did was attend a gravesite and clean an old home. "I don't go anywhere but back home."

"Then let me be the first to welcome you! This is a DNA scanner made by MBI. When they bought the airport, it became policy to scan all incoming passengers." My face must have shown my hesitancy. The things you could do with a bit of blood… "It's completely safe, believe me. No needles, no blood and no pain."

"That…" seems impossible? How was it supposed to scan DNA without a sample? I might not have had a lot of experience with DNA testing of the non-magical variety, but I had seen enough of Taiga-nee-san's crime dramas to have a rough (but probably not entirely accurate understanding) sense of the technology.

"Impossible?" She finished my sentence with a practiced but charming smile. She was a good choice for being the first person anyone new to the city met. "I can't go into too many details. One, you aren't a Mid Bio Informatic employee and thus cleared for confidential information. Two, I'm just a customer representative. If I'm being honest, a lot of it goes way over my head. I've been told to assure you and every passenger that this prototype is safe, and non-invasive. No data is saved. It's merely a test for the technology so MBI can get testing data."

"I like this less and less." I griped. Maybe waiting was a better Idea.

"Oh, don't be like that." She chided. "Here, let me show you." She placed her hand on the tablet and it lit up, not unlike a copy machine. After a second, it flashed yellow twice and rest. "See? Simple and clear! I can go anywhere in the city I want now. Wanna try?" She asked, holding out the device to me.

"Fine, you convinced me." Either that or the sleep deprivation, anyway. After all, what could it hurt? I placed my hand on the screen just like she did.

"I did, huh?" She tapped a button and the screen flared to life, scanning…whatever it was. "If you liked that then why don't you let me convince you to stick around some? I could show you all the –"

The screen flashed green, not yellow. Then it flashed green again, followed by a lingering red screen.

"Oh my. That's odd." She cut her previous statement off, "I haven't seen that before."

"I didn't break it did I? I don't think I can afford to replace it."

"No, no. Here, let me reset it. I've seen it flash green like that sometimes, but never twice at once. Okay, try again sir."

Green, green, and a lingering red.

…

Then the phone at her terminal rang.

"Um… one second sir." She picked up the phone. "Hello, this is." Her face blanked. "Yes. Yes." Her eyes flicked to me and away. "Yes sir. Understood. One moment."

…

And then she very casually triggered the silent mechanical alarm under the desk. If I wasn't looking for it, if I wasn't actively Structurally Grasping and seeing the mechanism trigger, I might even have missed it.

I took a deep, settling breath. The front facing camera had seen me the second I stepped into the terminal from the plane. I balanced myself lightly on my feet. Silent alarm was probably already calling some sort of security.

I cocked back the hammer in my mind, but didn't pull the trigger. Maybe, if I was lucky, this would just be a normal computer issue. Maybe, if I was polite, this wouldn't end in bloodshed. Mistakes were made at airports all the time…

"Excuse me sir, but would you wait here a moment." Professional delivery. Only slightly less casual that she was a second ago and…right on time. Two security guards rounded a corner from the periphery. "It seems like there may be an issue on our end. Would you mind waiting while we sort the matter?" She pointed to section of seating behind the kiosk next to an 'Employees Only' door. "We will send someone to go pick up your luggage and bring it up here for you in the meantime."

"Of course," I smiled, a polite but brittle thing. Either this was an innocent mistake… I was starting to think that was a long shot, or this would be bloody. A running battle through the terminal was nonoptimal. Too many bystanders. Now then, was this a trap set for me, or for anyone form the association? "Will this take long?" I debated the merits of running versus waiting.

"I'm afraid I can't say until I get more information." She shook her head sadly. "But I have been told that one of MBI's technical experts will coming personally to investigate the error. I promise we will do our best to resolve the issue as soon as possible."

With that ominous sendoff I took the indicated seat. Moments later the guards I noticed took up standing positions just far enough behind me to be in the not actively threatening but clearly ready should anything happen.

Forty minutes later, the same woman came back to me holding a thick, book sized electronic devise in her hand. Like a laptop screen without the integrated keyboard. It looked almost like a modern version of a stone tablet or an electronic clipboard of some sort.

"Hello again Mr. Emiya." She greeted. "The expert has arrived. If you'd please follow me?"

The security men moved with us as I followed towards the 'Employees Only' door. One of them moved past to open the door for us while the other followed just behind me.

Classic behavior, keeping me pinned. Very by the book. Light duty vests with emblazoned 'STA Security', helmets but no visors. Open faces, no flickering eye movement. Bored. Service weapons – pistols, not rifles – present but holsters clipped. Batons sheathed and without resting hands. The help desk woman followed us into the hallway only a step behind, which was odd. If it was a trap, it was not a trap for me personally then. They would have walked me into a bullet to the head as soon as I walked through the door. Or should have if they were smart about it.

But there weren't cameras or windows in this hall. That meant a capture. Interrogation over assassination. Possible. Don't want people watching either. This hall might not be, but past the door at the end of the hall was probably soundproofed. That's where they'd hit me either way.

We just hit the middle of the hall. I'd have to make my move before –

The scent hit me first. It was sweet, almost cloying, like honey left to sit in the sun too long. The sickly-sweet smell of spoiling sugar. The sour tang of fermentation. The metallic, copper scent of blood.

For a moment, I was back in high school watching the flesh melt off my classmates, fighting for my life in the red haze that was Rider's Noble Phantasm. The great barrier Blood Fort Andromeda also smelt of blood and honey. It smelled of magic.

I was being led to the abattoir after all.

Then the scent of honey and blood exploded, only less literally than the door at the far end of the hall.

A blur crossed the distance in less time than it took to blink.

"Down!" I yelled, pulling the trigger. Prana flooded my body. One foot kicked out at the guard on my left and I pushed shoving him away and myself into the guard on my right as a silver streak carved through the floor and ceiling we were just standing.

The woman behind me stumbled, fumbling her tablet into the air. Her mouth open with the start of a gasp before the scream. I grabbed the other guard I slammed into and pulled, yanking him off his feet as the follow up reverse cut would have decapitated him on its path through my ribcage as I frantically back-peddled over the sprawling – but alive! – bodies.

Shoulder checking the girl to the side, out from underfoot as I passed, I grabbed the spinning block of electronics from the air. Prana flooded it to the point of breaking as I Reinforced it. Hardening its structure past its mundane nature.

The tip of the sword still carved through the first half like a hot knife through butter before it caught stuck inches from opening my throat.

"Tch." The figure pulled back, ripping the tablet out of my hand and stabbing again, the lunge coiling and uncoiling inhumanely fast. I flailed, slapping the machine as I regained my footing, barely diverting the e stab, leaving a paper-thin line of blood across my cheek instead of being buried in my eye. The next one I was more prepared for; a raised forearm caught the tablet again at the next thrust and I shoved, diverting the blade further away and out of the range of motion for another lightning fast rechamber.

A high heeled boot swung up as my assailant – grey haired, female? – kicked the impaled device off her sword, sending fragments of electronics flying. I caught a passing, jagged piece of casing, Reinforcing it to be durable, Altering it to be sharp and letting it fly.

The woman ducked as the improvised shiv sawed through the air where her head was a moment ago, taking with it a few strands of grey-white hair as it lodged itself firmly in the ceiling behind her. Though I missed, the unexpected strike paused her assault long enough for me to out of range of the pile of bodies at my feet.

"Trace."

My hands, currently empty grasped the hilts of swords not yet Projected. Feet planted, blood roaring as she adjusted – miniscule movement in her hand, forearm and trailing foot. My body reacted to the automatically, one hand – one blade – to catch where hers would be. The other taking the opening, seeking her neck.

"On-"

"Stand Down!" A woman's piercing shout. My gray-haired assailant hesitated. I held the Trace, phantom swords resting lightly in my hands, waiting but not materialized. "Karasuba! Stand down!" Presumably the same woman yelled, panting as she leaned on the remains of the broken doorframe.

…Just as the help desk woman hit the floor, finally finishing that initial gasp and letting out a scream.

"Still alive?" A pink tongue flicked over chapped lips. Her grey eyes met mine and her pupils dilated. The heat of the Prana circulating from her Reinforcement – or whatever physical boost mystery she was using – brought the barest hint of a flush to her cheeks. The tip of her sword wavered, her fingers tightening to white knuckles in response. The scent of honey and blood, so thick and viscous was heavy all around her, poisoning the air like a miasma. I could tell she was magic user.

It was possible to sense the use of magic in an area. Some people were more adept than others, but for every mage that could, the presence of magic was linked to another sense. Some, like Rin, could feel magic on their skin. Others could hear a tone or taste the mana in the air. For me, I could smell magic. My sensitivity often led Rin to accuse me of being a bloodhound. For such a strong scent of magic, she had to be using a lot – unless she was covered in runes or mystic codes. Or, as we were in Japan, she could be someone with inhuman lineage.

"How delightful…" She spoke again. Her legs tensed, readying for another lunge.

"Stop! I said stop fighting!" The woman, Takami gasped out as she tried to catch her breath. The two security guards groaned painfully on the ground. The young woman who helped me earlier stopped screaming now that the violence was temporarily halted. The gray haired woman didn't move. I could read the anticipation, the desire to strike the moment I relaxed. "You're not to kill him!"

I didn't.

"Karasuba, God dammit, I said stand down!" She began a quick walk down the hall. "We're here to talk. I told you. If you don't listen, I'll send you back."

'Karasuba' snorted, her eyes crinkling until they were merely slits in a manner too cheerful to be genuinely benign. The nearly five-foot blade lowered and sunk into the heavy looking sheath fastened at her side by a thick leather belt. A slow, languid pace took her to the side of the hall with the grace of an apex predator without ever taking her eyes off me.

I let the Prana flowing through me cut off, easing back on the trigger, though my magic relaxed the rest of me couldn't. Our engagement from guards to ceasefire was less than five heartbeats. To say this woman was dangerous didn't do the word justice. Even with her eyes closed, I could feel the phantom sensation of her killing intent piercing me just as she tried to physically do less than a second ago.

"I'm sorry for the misunderstand, but you can leave him with us for now." The one named Takami addressed the two men and the terrified woman, slowly helping them up form the ground. "Please, see the health office and take the rest of the day off."

I shrugged off the fearful and vengeful looks, my own eyes never straying from the one named Karasuba.

"Are you okay?" Takami asked me as gave me a once over. "I was worried I wouldn't get to you in time before she would injure you."

"That's…" nice? Or something. I really wasn't in the mood. "Something. Look, don't play nice. Not after having me assaulted. Now am I getting an explanation for all this anytime soon? Because I'd like to think I've been very polite and reasonable, but I'm tired. I'm irritable. If someone doesn't either explain things properly or apologize and let me go home, then I'm going to be going through you."

Karasuba twitched, a hand inching towards her blade.

"Karasuba!" Takami hissed, the other woman pausing, only relaxing again after a sustained glare. "I would prefer to settle this without any more violence. I was told you go by Mr. Emiya, correct?"

"Emiya." I nodded tersely. "Yes."

"Then let me make a long story short. The device you used today is a prototype genetic testing machine designed to take non-invasive scans of the user's DNA and compare them to a sample set. The future of the project is to make cheap and easy genetic testing for things from parentage to cancer screening and genetic disorders."

She pulled out from a shoulder bag another version of the computer-like box the help desk girl had scanned me with and held the scanner portion out towards me.

"As its still in the testing phase, we programmed it with a dummy list of things to look for just so we could test if the machine was working properly. You happened to come up with not one, but two matches to this dummy database."

"So, all of this is to tell me I have cancer?" I snorted. "A little heavy handed to kill me before you could treat me."

"No." She didn't look the least bit amused. "The dummy database isn't yet at the point for screening for diseases. Instead, it holds the genetic information of around 240 Mid Bio Informatic employees. A control group of those who don't need to leave the city and a group of those who travel for the business."

"And that," I felt a sinking feeling in my gut. "Means what?"

"It means, Mr. Emiya, that at the terminal you matched with the known database enough to throw an error." She responded. "I would have said all this sitting down in a private room, but since that didn't happen and we're now here, would you please put your hand on the scanner again? As part of the project, I can diagnose the error here and now."

I stared at the thing in her hands like it was a particular vicious curse. "And if I do?"

"When you do, I can fix the issue and you can be on your way." From they way she glared I could tell she was as well practiced as Rin. Were I a lesser person (or perhaps less used to Rin's abuse), I may have instantly caved to her order.

…

I still put my hand on the scanner. There was a green flash. And then another green flash. Then the same red screen as the last two times.

"So?" I asked as she pulled the machine away, silently pulling up windows of esoteric data. "Same as before. What's the problem?"

"The problem is complicated." She said, scrolling through the different windows. "Do you have any family? And yes, before you ask, this is supremely relevant."

"Not anymore. I was orphaned in a fire when I was young." Her fingers stopped. "I don't remember anything before that, but I was adopted from the hospital by my father."

"And your father?" Her voice was hoarse. Tentative where it was authoritative and commanding before. "Would you know if he works for MBI?"

"I would be surprised if he did. He died not long after adopting me. That's the reason I was flying to Fuyuki, if it matters. I try to go visit my fathers and my sister's gravesite when I can." I paused. "It has… been a while since I've come home."

"Fuyuki?" She almost whispered.

"Yeah. If not for my flight diverting here, I would never have set foot in Shin Tokyo." I give the woman and her escort a small scowl. "Given the reception I've been given thus far, I'd have gladly skipped on this city for the rest of my life."

"Then I know the error." She didn't look up. No, refused to look up when I tried to catch her eyes. "You didn't fully match any single person in the database. However, you did partially match two members of the control group." Her throat bobbed, swallowing down an emotion before it reached her face. "Mr. Emiya, our machine may have identified your birth parents."

Oh.

Oh.

"I…" I started, stopped, and started again. "I think I would like to sit down after all."

"If you would follow me then? Takami's tone, strangely, was just as shaken as mine. "I'll have someone bring us some refreshments."

*Scene Break*

That was how I had come to share an interrogation room with Takami Sahashi and Karasuba no surname. As interrogations went, it wasn't the worst, but it was definitely the strangest I had ever been apart of. Instead of blood and misappropriated dental tools, the table was littered with mostly empty water bottles, two picked at single-serving airplane meals and a full ash tray.

The latter of the two 'interrogators' was Karasuba, currently leaning against the wall to my right, toying with a bit of the casing to the machine I threw at her and not seated at the table like her compatriot.

Without the threat of death, it was easier to get a good look at her.

She was tall, for a Japanese woman. I was still taller than her, but not by much; I during my time in Europe I had grown so that my full height was greater that most of my countrymen. Her hair, as I'd noticed in the fight, was a light but uniform grey, lacking the usual shading that would indicate it had faded prematurely and was pulled into a long ponytail with a single strand escaping it to hang over her face. For a moment, I almost suspected it was dyed if not for her visible roots and matching eyebrows.

She wore a tight black leather top with a matching black miniskirt that ended high on her thighs, bordering on indecently so with one leg raised to lean against the wall. Long, black stockings trailed up said firm looking muscular legs nearly to the hem of her skirt leaving a region of unblemished skin between them. Over her shoulders rested a long grey coat she must have ditched before trying to kill me, though she wore it over her shoulders like a cape instead of putting her arms through the sleeves.

The most striking aspect, more so than her statuesque looks, was the 'smell' that accompanied her. The first part of it was sweet, almost cloying, like honey left to sit too long in the sun; managing to combine the sickening scent of decay with the sweet freshness of honey. The second cent was the overpowering and even more ominous copper tang of spilt blood.

Before, I had thought the smell indicated the use of her magecraft; she moved too quickly and struck with too much strength. I assumed she was under some sort of reinforcement mystery. However, except for her first explosive strike, the scent of her magecraft had not once altered or fluctuated. It filled the room around her in a way that indicated active magical use that would have left a lesser magic user drained of Prana and possibly even steaming the air around them.

But this Karasuba was not a normal magic user. The brief recollection of the Rider, Medusa, from the Grail War was the clue I needed to figure out her secret: Karasuba was not human.

My second interrogator… was much more complicated.

She was slightly shorter than Karasuba, though still of an impressive height, and was wearing a stark white lab coat. Beneath it was a pair of black suit pants and a white, button up shirt with black tie; the kind of combo outfit that was common among office workers. A lanyard hung around her neck, holding up a laminated card enscribed with the letters MBI with her picture on the back. She looked middle aged, but it was hard to give a good estimate off the bat. Her skin was in good condition, but she was developing the signs of stress wrinkles around her eyes. If not for that her hair was pure white (of a nostalgically familiar shade), she might be the picture of any career woman to be found in Shin Tokyo.

But she wasn't just any woman. She was Takami Sahashi. She was human.

And she might also be my mother.

"We can send out for additional verification." Takami spoke around a cigarette. Her voice was still a bit shaky from crying.

"I think…" I put her phone back on the table, reaching out to grab my own cigarette to settle my trembling hand. We both watched as the display, a younger Takami from when she was about my age – her hair just starting to turn white in places the same places as my own – holding a young boy with red hair and golden-brown eyes on her hip, turn off like it didn't just upend what we believed about our lives. "I think that would be best."

Was it wrong that I would have preferred this to be a real assassination attempt instead of…

When she had first started her story… I didn't believe her. I couldn't. I was an orphan twice over: my parents, my biological parents, died in a fire born from the horrible culmination of the Fourth Grail War like so many others. Kiritsugu, my adoptive father, died a few years later when the cursed injuries he sustained from that fateful night finally overcame his weakening body.

"Okay." She began to pull out sample collection vials from her bag. "We'll both need to produce samples then. I can have my lab verify the results."

The logs she pulled from the machine showed the identities of the partial matches I was being linked to in the system. One of the two matches had the ID T. Sahashi. It was the fourth identical positive ID from the experimental system.

"And an independent lab." I added, my voice strangely hoarse. I was unknown to them. Takami was one of MBI's lead scientists apparently, so I could understand her skepticism. Even if she did help design the technology and the database, she couldn't leave the possible positive identification of her long-lost son to anyone else. She'd have to verify it herself.

But just as I was unknown to them, they were unknown to me. My experience in this city, with their company, so far was hardly ideal. I had no memories of that first family. The same cursed fire that killed them and everyone else I knew at the time, also consumed everything about that me. In order to survive, to flee the flames that devoured everything I shed whatever I could: my childhood home and toys, the clothes that burned into my skin, my memories of the people I saw melt like candle wax, the dreams and emotions of the boy who didn't want to burn too… my memories and my name. Anything to live.

It never bothered me; that I couldn't remember a dead family. I had no interest in pursuing the history I cast aside. I was an Emiya. Kiritsugu taught me more than just magic. He passed down to me something more powerful than blood ties to any living (or dead) relative could ever be.

I was Shirou Emiya, who dreamed of being a Hero of Justice, to carry on my father's dream.

…

Except that dream was impossible…

"Three?" She agreed, passing me and helping me collect the needed DNA samples. "Just to be sure."

…I wasn't the first Emiya to figure that out. Hell, I wasn't even the first Shirou Emiya to do so, from the memories I had of Archer.

"It will take a few days to confirm the tests." She continued, "I can have my team working on it inside of an hour, but even with express couriers it will take time for the independent labs. Maybe longer, depending on how long it takes to gather and verify your documentation."

Was this something I was interested in? A situation so different from the memories I have been chasing. There wasn't anyone to save here… just the possible conclusion to a two-decade old question I'd never bothered to ask.

"I see. So, what happens after that?" I asked, hiding my own apprehension. I already had a family that I loved and lost. The family I had been on my way to pay respects to.

I wasn't sure I was ready for another.

"That," She hemmed, leaning back with a sigh, "Well that all depends on the findings. If it turns out that you aren't Ichirou –"

"Then I get to deal with you." The gray-haired thing spoke up. I could hear the bloodlust under the excitement in her tone.

"Karasuba!" Takami's temper snapped. I could feel the plastic dinner knife in my hand groan under the strain of my own clenched fist – a casual and instinctive Reinforcement preventing it from snapping entirely. "That's out of line."

"No, it isn't." Karasuba snorted. "Just cause you're in a twist about your brood doesn't mean he isn't a possible infiltrator. It would be better to just kill this fake-Sahashi before you're any more compro-"

It was instinctive. I couldn't explain more than that. My body acted without thought.

The sharp, sudden crack brought a tense silence to the room, broken only by the slight wobble of plastic from the knife stuck in the wall next to Karasuba's head.

Three strands of grey hair wafted down between the locked stare between me and the now silent whatever she was.

"My name is Shirou Emiya," I ground out, maintaining the glare. "And the least you can do is have some fucking tact." Without breaking eye contact, she reached a hand up and stopped the quivering of the knife, pulling it out of the wall from where the tip was dug in just enough to hold it up. "And I don't care about whatever corporate secrets you're hiding or why a dead child scheme or whatever sounds like a reasonable attempt to you."

"Unfortunately, she isn't entirely wrong." Takami spoke up, apparently the interruption was enough for her to fully compose herself. "While this would be the most… outlandish attempt, it wouldn't be the first attempt for corporate spies to have tried to fake familiar ties to company executives."

That was… stupid? Complicated? Was the business world just as cutthroat as the Moonlit world? You knew you went horribly wrong when you went about trying to emulate the longest living mage families.

"We will put you in lodgings for time being." She continued. "If our lab confirms the test, we will conclude that you are not after the company, at the very least. Until that time, we will be assigning an observation team to monitor your stay in the city."

"I thought I would be getting a train home?"

She shook her head. "I'm sorry." And she did look apologetic. Unyielding, but apologetic. "Once the test is confirmed, you will either be free to leave or be otherwise removed from the city."

"Great." I grumbled. Family (or in this case potential family) always came with complications with me. At least this time the threat of death was only implied by a supernatural creature and not the opening act. "And if its not?"

"Then you have born the most most monstrous and complicated scheme I've ever seen to get to me and will hand you over to Karasuba personally." She reminded me, in that moment, of Rin.

"Right." I sighed. "That would be bad." And also just my luck.

Takami opened her mouth to say something and paused.

"Yes? Is there something else?"

"Would it…" Her demeanor softened. "I would like to be the one to call you, if the results are positive."

If she were my birth mother, she meant.

That would be… "Okay." Yeah.

"Ugh, great. You're both disgustingly sappy, Sahashis." Karasuba grunted. "Now move. You," She said pointing at Takami. "Need to be back at HQ and you," She shifted to me, "Need to be secured, so follow along." She led the way out of the room.

"I told you, its Emiya." I trailed after the two of them. Maybe Archer had the right idea, never returning home. I had the feeling this Karasuba was, like her namesake, going to be an annoying pest for the duration of my detainment in the city. If she didn't get to try again to kill me first.

*Scene Break*

"Thank you for coming out to see me." Takami said, standing beside a table in a nice, rather upscale restaurant. It was a vast departure from the sealed single serving meals we had last eaten together hours prior. "Did you have any trouble getting here?"

"No," I responded, taking my seat across from her. "The men you sent were very professional. They gave me a brief street tour on the way." For all my current distaste with the city, it was a beautiful marvel.

"Still, I appreciate it." She said, retaking her seat. "You can probably assume that I have the results from our internal lab."

"I take it from the lack of homicidal woman with a sword, that it came back the same." I tried to joke, but it fell flat. The atmosphere between us was tense. While I probably wouldn't have to reimburse MBI for the hotel expense presumably having 'proven' I wasn't an elaborate foreign government and/or corporate plant, the last few hours had the specter of Mid Bio Informatics giving the order to silence me.

An order that would probably involve me, Karasuba, and death. From the metaphysical scent of blood and honey that I had been smelling while trapped in the hotel room, on the ride over, and even as I walked through the door to the restaurant… it looked like a confrontation with that bloody woman had been as inevitable as a fight with my future self.

Instead, the odds were that we were probably, most likely, family. Even waiting for the independent verification… but odds are I used to be Ichirou Sahashi, the supposedly dead son of Takami Sahashi.

It hadn't really sunk in that we could really be related. What did we have in common? We were both tall for being Japanese, but that hardly meant anything. Modern diets and medicine was producing taller and taller generations. Our hair was turning (or in her case had turned) the same shade of white, starting around the same age? Mine was losing its pigmentation due to the use of my Projection magic, not due to some genetic quirk.

Right?

That was what happened to Archer, that was what he told me and while he never outright lied to me… he was a bastard and deserved to die. Turning his back on others, on the very aspect that defined our lives, bad him unfit to bear the name Emiya.

She cleared her throat. "I have the report here, if you'd like to look it over." She looked, from what I was starting to gather from her, uncharacteristically [word.]. "Some data has been redacted. As a representative of Mid Bio Informatics, that information is confidential."

A quick perusal of the file had me sending a deadpan glare to her utterly unrepentant face. So, the identity of my biological father was confidential? What the hell. Sure, why not.

I scanned the rest of the document, but it wasn't like I knew what I was looking at. Genetics was never something I was interested in and my study of it never passed what was covered back in high school. One of the columns could have been a banana for all.. that I… wait, what?

"There are five comparisons here." At first, I thought it was just tests done in replicate. I couldn't see what was wrong, only that something was wrong. "Were there multiple tests done?"

"They were." She nodded, "All tests are performed multiple times to account for outliers. What you're looking at is the 'control groups', so to speak."

"I don't understand." I think I did but a part of me hoped I didn't. "Control groups?"

"Yes. In this case, other people also sharing the same DNA." She started pointing at and highlighting parts of the document. "Unfortunately, your grandparents on your father's side met with the tragedy in Fuyuki, and my parents died when I was in school. But there are two other people who share your father and I's DNA. Here is where you compared to them."

Siblings? A brother, it looks like and… and a sister?

"Minato and Yukari Sahashi." Takami supplied for me. "My children."

…

"My other children."

It hadn't occurred to me. I didn't see a ring and with the secrecy and way she had been speaking around mentioning my birth father at the airport I figured she was a widow.

There was a pause in conversation as the waitstaff came with food.

A brother? And another sister? I wasnt going to abandon my plans, but… maybe since I was stuck here anyway, getting to know them wouldn't be too bad. I had a few months until the disaster Archer uncovered in Brasil. If I was already on a forced vacation… there were worse ways to spend it.

"I see. Are you planning on telling them about me?"

"Eventually," Takami hedged, "As much as I trust my team, I'd rather have the final conclusions before I let them know anything about this." That this provided an opportunity for her to vet me both professionally and personally (and vice-versa) went unsaid but was a shared understanding. "You understand that they've grown up believing that their eldest brother is long dead." There was a moment of silence on both sides. The sudden reappearance of long thought dead relatives was just as hard a concept for her to grasp as it was for me. She continued in a small, tender voice. "We actually have a small shrine at the house."

I didn't know what to say to that, so I said nothing, focusing on my food.

"So, please, tell me about yourself." She held a much more natural grin at that. Almost shark-like, really. "We didn't get much of a chance to talk much just the two of us. If we're going to, well, you know, then I'd like to know the person my son became."

I took a moment to chew, thinking.

Where did I even start? She knew about the disaster in Fuyuki where I reportedly died, but did she know the cause was the tragic end of a magical death battle – one where I was one of the only survivors? That later, after the death of my second family I then participated in said death battle on with my partner and won (well, didn't die)?

Or did I ignore my childhood and focus on the last few years spent in an on-again-off-again relationship with my last remaining close friend in between hunting down and terminating some of the worst the magical world has to offer? That the last time I got close to someone I was once more powerless to stop them from dying in front of me?

I wanted to smoke.

"Childhood, or more recently?" I asked after swallowing.

"Preferably all of it." Yeah, that made sense. "Were you okay growing up? Did you find another family or were you alone? How was school? What are your friends like?" Her expression turned dire, "Do you have a job? I won't have a lay about!" Then her expression shifted into a smile that I could only call malevolently devious. "Are you seeing anyone? Boyfriend, girlfriend?"

Ah… I think I had a premonition, like someone (probably Archer, the bastard) walking over my grave. Takami reminded me of Rin because she was an adult, non-magical (probably?) and thus mostly tempered (unlikely) Rin mixed with the nosiness and vicious enjoyment of others misery of Ilya.

My (possible) siblings must have suffered greatly.

"Girlfriend. Ah, Sorta." I grimaced as she glowered at me.

"What is 'sort of' about it? You didn't grow into a player, did you?"

"No, nothing like that!" I smiled in what I hoped was a disarming manner. By the unchanging look on her face I could tell that she was hardly amused. "She's a good friend of mine. We got close at the end of high school and ended up in the same university in England. Over our time there, we ended up dating."

Which was more or less the truth. Except for our complicated relationship at the Clock Tower during the period we studied together, I had spent most of the past seven years since leaving Fuyuki wandering from apostle hunt to war zone to massacre. She always took exception to my need to involve myself, to try to save others, from these situations despite being the only person who could understand my motivations. Our contact with the Archer Emiya and her experience with the Dream Cycle leant her insight into my mind that no one still living could hope to gain.

How to say that without actually saying that though…

"After we graduated, she stayed on with the university and I tried my hand at setting up my own business as an independent contractor. Most of my jobs end up coming from the university; either I'm helping her research group or another department. A lot of the time the work, my other contracts, have me travelling to a lot of remote places."

"I take it this is where the 'sort of' comes in?" She asked with a weird look on her face that I had trouble placing.

"Yeah. Same recurring fight. She thinks I should spend less time working and more time with her at home, as it is. I don't necessarily disagree, but when she contacted my last employer and got them to terminate the contract so I'd have more free time, we fought again. That's partially why I'm back in Japan. She can be very scary when she's angry and it was easier to accept the extra time off than to stay and fight for however long. I wont admit it to her, but there are things I need to do here that I've been putting off with work so… here I am." I snorted. "Well, here I was supposed to be. That time off might be eaten by being held here."

"She cancelled your work? Wont that cause any repercussions for you?" She worried, "Or for when you return?"

"Eh, only from Rin and only if I return too soon. I handle my jobs in a professional and dignified manner, so I managed to arrange someone to cover. You don't stay long in my field without skill and tact, not to mention making some friends you can call in favors from." I said, waving off her concern. Which was true. Those who lacked the skill for being a Clock Tower Enforcer often ended up as another body in an unmarked grave, or worse, as an undead monstrosity. And the ones who lacked tact either ended up as a smear on the wall or on an operating table in some magus's workshop. "Rin is also a known factor by most of my clients. When I return to England, I will be able to continue as if I never left."

"I guess I don't have to worry about another son becoming a lay about then." Takami laughed good naturedly.

"You seem to have grown into a dependable young man, you should take pride in it."

It must be a power that only mothers gain; some mystery that allows them to invoke feelings of embarrassment with nothing more than a look and some words. There was a strange warmth that accompanied the words.

"I do worry though." At my questioning glance, she continued. "I know it isn't really my place, but when we had you, I was still in school. A fling at a grad party turned into something more. I was only just warming up to your father being… well, more than just a person who contributed to your birth, when we lost you to the fire."

"What happened?" I asked. It was a question the me before the disaster might have wanted to know, something that I probably should ask even if the answer wasn't truly important anymore. "I have vague memories of fleeing a burning home, but I have no memories of before the fire. I always assumed I was the only one to survive."

"You were." A simple, sad statement. "We were at your grandparents. Your father had finally convinced me, and we had intended to try out being a family. Something big came up at work and we couldn't bring you with us, so they looked after you while we left. It wasn't supposed to be very long, but… well, you know what happened after that."

The pain in her voice was long faded. A wound long healed but still remembered.

"Minato and Yukari came later." She said, surreptitiously wiping away the beginning of a tear form her eye. "Your father and I still worked together, and it wasn't like there wasn't a spark behind the pain…" She shook her head. "Here I am, an old woman rambling. Take it as advice from someone who learned the hard way: make sure you and this Rin girl can commit. If not, you should cut bait. Sometimes relationships are… just aren't meant to be."

I was oddly touched. Despite the awkwardness of our interactions, it was pleasant in an indescribable sort of way. If having a mother was like this, then maybe I wouldn't be so opposed to a positive result to this whole situation. As for what she was saying…

"As much as I hate to say it…" Despite all we had been through, Rin and I continued the motions by habit now. If we weren't fighting, we were fucking and other than that it was mostly silence. "I don't think you have to worry about that anymore. We don't really work out." We haven't since I last went home to Fuyuki. I ignored the whisper that haunted that thought and continued. "There are a few irreconcilable differences."

Which was true. Most of these differences stemmed from my oft called (by her) suicidal nature. Rin was a genius. There were no mincing words about it. As an unfortunate side effect though, Rin was used to instantly understanding things. School or magecraft or even people, she could intuitively solve any problem she faced.

All except one, it appeared.

Even with having seen the memory of the Fuyuki Fire, the horrible pall over the burning bodies littering the streets, people screaming as they melted trapped in under rubble or begging to be saved even after they were long past dead, she didn't understand how I couldn't turn away from that memory. How I couldn't leave those people behind, to live my own life without being shadowed by them. I couldn't leave them. Not ever, for they were those that were not saved

"We may no longer be together," and judging from Archer's memories wouldn't be again, "but she's still a good friend for a short tempered, foul spirited, demanding little spitfire." My smile as I said this might have been a little off putting, but I was honest and not at all spiteful towards the diminutive and manipulative magi.

"I see! That doesn't put me at ease at all, but you're definitely our child." I think Takami's laughter at that was tinged with a little nervousness, but it seemed less like she was apprehensive about me and more amused. "You sound just like we did at your age."

I grimaced, but all that did was set her to laughing and pouring us both a glass of wine.

"Oh, don't be that way." Her eyes were too sharp and her smile showed way too many teeth. I scowled at how she was clearly enjoying this too much. My poor (and appearing to be more than probably) siblings must have suffered greatly. "Drink. You'll learn or you won't. Being young is for making mistakes. Take Minato for instance."

"What about him?" My instincts sharpened. Even now, that instinct to help, to 'save' burned strong in me. "Is he falling in with a bad crowd or something?"

"My Minato? Heavens no." She laughed. "I raised him well enough he knows what I'd do to him if he did!" It took a moment, but at my questioning look, she expounded. "Minato just failed his first round of entrance exams. The next one is in three weeks, and he's on an allowance in the interim while he crams for it." Despite how she phrased it, the statement lacked any heat.

"Perseverance is important though." I nodded to punctuate the words. No one would accomplish anything if they stopped at the first failure. That was as true in magic as it was for high jumping (or in this instance higher education). "Though from how you said it I take it you've no doubts about his ability?"

"Not at all, he's a smart kid." She positively beamed before finishing the last of her meal. "A little self-conscious, but his hearts in the right place. I bet he only failed because he was too nervous about failing during the test. Maybe this will give him some direction for where he wants to go. Yukari, on the other hand… maybe needs less drive."

"Focused?" I could see anyone hand raised by this woman being driven.

"Headstrong in a word." She replied. "All of the confidence to take over the world and the guts to try for it. I don't know where I went wrong," she mused, "the one isn't sure enough in himself and the other is too sure in herself. I think there might be added pressure on Minato to get into a good school since his sister will be finishing her classes soon."

"They are close in age then?" Memories of the few times Taiga and I were close enough to be in the same school came to mind. "Are they both living at home then while they're in school?"

"Yukari is staying at our home, just outside the city, while she's in school out in the country. Minato has a small apartment in the city while he's testing. With them both out of the house most hours of the day I've been staying at an apartment given to me by the company. A little home away from home for when things get busy."

Desert was a deliciously moist chocolate cake. I wouldn't be able to finish it all; it was too rich for my blood, I'd have to box what I couldn't finish.

"What about you? With being abroad so much, do you still have a home in Fuyuki?" She asked. "I remember you said something about seeing family earlier. Were you able to call them?"

"Yes, thank you." I replied, having been able to call from the hotel MBI set me up in. "Thankfully, I managed to catch Taiga-neesan to tell her about my stay here before she sent some of the brothers to come collect me."

"Oh?!" She looked taken aback, almost stricken. "You have a big family then?"

Why would…right! It was one think to intellectually know that your not-dead child had to have been raised by someone else, but it was another thing to emotionally realize that all the memories of them growing up belonged to someone else. That this reuinion was preventing the reunion of another family.

I should have phrased it better… how does one explain growing up next to and surrounded by literal Yakuza and being adopted as a younger brother by the boss's daughter?

"No," I shook my head. "Kiritsugu was a widower when he rescued me from the fire and later adopted me. Taiga was the older girl who lived next door though, and with how often she was over she was really like an older sister to me. It was her family that helped look out for me when Kiritsugu passed a few years later."

"How old were you?"

"Twelve."

"You grew up alone?" The grief shown through her eyes despite her impressive composure.

"No," I denied. "Taiga was always a fixture in the house. Plus her family's business has a lot of young men around, the 'brothers' I mentioned," I said with air quotes, "who helped me too. So I wasn't alone. I had an adopted sister, Illyasviel, as well. She had a weak constitution," and easy lie for the multitude of magics wrought into her flesh and soul by her family to trafe longevity for power, "and passed of her illness a few years ago. I tend to their graves whenever I'm home."

Theirs and… another's. When I thought about it… Everyone I got close to, except Rin and Taiga so far, ended up prematurely dead.

"Ah," I broke the silence between us. But this time it was a companionable silence, a contemplative and companionate silence. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring the mood down like that."

"No, please." We had matching smiles – sad, but happy in a way. "I did say I wanted to know and this is knowing." She laughed. "God, I feel like having a smoke though."

I reached into my pocket for the half-crumpled pack.

"Shall we go give our security a hard time while we relax?" I offered her the pack and a hand up.

"Most definitely."

As we left the restaurant side by side, Takami paused for a step.

"If the tests all come back positive." She stated. "And assuming we don't find each other too grating." It was a nice way to say 'have me killed' or 'get along as human beings and not complete strangers'. "Would you mind it if I called you…"

"Ichirou Sahashi?" I tasted the unfamiliar name on my tongue. No. Regardless of who I was, the person I am is Shirou Emiya. "No. I've lived as long as I can remember as an Emiya, I think I'll continue on as one too."

That felt… right. Somewhere deep in my soul I could feel gears begin to grind away once more.

"But that doesn't mean I'm not up to seeing what the Sahashi's are like." I smiled back at her. I couldn't be her lost child. But we could be two people who found something in each other, I believe.

*Scene Break*

The drive back to the hotel was quiet the time to think by myself – the two silent 'bodyguards' driving me didn't count – was a welcome reprieve. Not that having dinner and talking with Takami was unpleasant. It surprised me just how comfortable talking and being around the older woman was. It felt like there was a deeper understanding between the two of us that, while I didn't understand it, was not unwelcome.

If all of this turned out to be a mistake, if Takami and I weren't related at all (and I was allowed to leave the city without bloodshed), then I think I might be disappointed. I shook my head to banish the thought. What will be will be, after all, and there was no use dwelling on what family I may or may not have. Besides, if it was a mistake, it would make leaving easier if I didn't get too attached.

It would be better that way. Even Rin, the one person uniquely suited to understand me had been keeping her distance. My other friends and family here either dead or were left behind. Hell, some were even actively trying to kill me some days. What were the odds that some strangers I shared naught but blood and a name long since buried would be any different?

I got out of the car when it stopped, taking a deep breath of the cool night air. I could walk the rest of the way up by myself, but knew I'd be watched the whole way.

Unbidden, the image of a young blond woman appeared in my mind. Dressed in a long-sleeved white blouse and tapered blue skirt that went to her ankles – the outfit she usually adorned when not in armor. Golden blond hair was tied into a braid and bound to the nape of her neck by a blue ribbon. The sun was rising from behind her, Fuyuki spread out behind her as we stood on the mountaintop after the War. Her emerald-green eyes locked to mine.

Saber.

I couldn't remember the words anymore. It had been a long time since I last thought of her like that. Something about searching… or was it about a hill of swords? What would she think of what I had become? Would my friend, my faithful Servant, also have turned her back on me?

The memory was dispelled as suddenly bidden by the scent of honey and blood. Of magic. I didn't bother looking for the source, though it did explain the 'freedom' I was given by the men watching me. I already knew what it was from and where I'd find her.

"Sahashi." Lo and behold, there she was, standing right beside the door to my room.

"Great," I sighed under my breath. I could have, and probably should have, just turned around and gone anywhere else. Maybe sleep in the backseat of my watchers' car. Although, given the situation she would have most likely just followed me.

"I thought we established that wasn't my name." Her eyes opened from their (I assumed habitual) squint as she tracked my approach with her steely gray gaze as I moved past her to key open the door. Her retort was a snort. No, Shirou, don't engage. "Good night, Karasuba." I greeted and dismissed her as I opened and went through the door. Maybe if I didn't engage she would just go away or something.

"Hmm, I suppose it is." She murmured, slipping through the door as it closed behind me, apparently not concerned about simple things like 'being given an invitation' or 'respecting boundaries.' Instead, she leaned against the now closed door, looking for all intents and purposes as if I were the one intruding into her space, not the other way around. Fuck. There went my (mostly) good mood – the melancholy musing was old hat enough not to count.

It was a small, single bedroom hotel – more of a motel really. To the left of the entrance was a small washroom complete with a shower stall. Opposite the stall was a wall-to-wall mirror hanging over a full-countered sink. The bedroom itself was dominated by a single bed flanked by nightstands. The wall opposite from the bed was lined with two large dressers and on the far side of the room was a small work desk. It was small and cheap, but it would be home for the next few days.

I dropped off the carry home bag from the restaurant, as well as the set of card-keys to the room, on top of one of the dressers as I passed, heading towards the bathroom. Somehow, instead of splitting a whole cake, I had ended up with my uneaten portion and half of Takami's. I didn't fight the excuse she'd given me, that 'as a middle-aged mother, there was no way she'd keep her figure if she ate everything she wanted to', and just accepted it.

"What did you bring for me?" She grinned, eyes tracking my back as I walked away from her.

"It's cake, its mine, and no, you can't have any." I snorted, yelling through the open door over the sound of the running tap. Leaning over the faucet, I splashed refreshingly cold water on my face to help sooth my nerves. The last thing I needed after such a tumultuous day was to play nice with the blood-soaked fiend currently stalking me. There was some solace, I suppose, in that we weren't actively trying to kill each other yet…

"Ah well." She called out. I could just barely hear her moving in the other room over the sound of the water. Yeah, there was no comfort to be found with her here. Especially uninvited. "I suppose you can't get everything you want right away."

Toweling my face dry I stepped out of the bathroom. "What, did you seriously want me to bring you dessert?" I asked, incredulous, and froze. Apparently, the movement I heard from the bathroom was her opening the box to take a slice of cake. She stood there, body cocked to one side as she held a small slice between a small plastic knife and her thumb. She met my gaze, unrepentantly, from the corner of her eye as she brought the piece to her lips; deftly scooping it from the blade with her tongue.

She even had that initial pause before doing whatever she wanted, like a house cat knowing what it was doing was wrong but doing it anyway right in front of you. The arrogance of this…

Was that…?

"Is that my knife?" I asked. I did not stare at the way her tongue darted across her lips. Instead, I focused on the lingering mana drifting off the Reinforced plastic knife she was eating off. The same knife I threw at her back at the airport. The minute amount of prana should have been burned out by now, or close to it, rendering it mundane in everyway by now…

But why on earth did she have it with her? What could have possessed her to take it?

"Not since you gave it to me." Her smile widened as she sauntered away from the half-eaten remains of chocolatey death and towards the exit door. There was no describing the audacity of this witch. "But enough about me, I want to talk about you." I suppressed the shiver that went up my spine. "How was your date with Sahashi, Ichirou?"

Thunk.

It was reflexive. At no point was there a conscious thought as the hammer pulled back and fired. Alteration was a mystery that allowed for a property or effect to be imbued in an object. In this case, what was given the property sharp. One of the two keycards on the dresser was missing. Its sibling, having been Altered and thrown, was imbedded in the door next to Karasuba's head.

Or rather, where it had been but she – somehow – had expected my reaction and dodged the improvised weapons' impossible edge.

Her eyes stayed locked onto mine as she brought a finger to trace the card-become-razor that was lodged in the door, only to flick her finger as she pulled it back sharply; a single bead of blood left on the key.

"Or maybe you can," She mused, almost to herself as she appraised me once more with lidded eyes. "Goodnight, Sahashi. Sleep well."

"My name is Shirou Emiya." I growled. Ichirour Sahasi, as I had intimated to Takami earlier, was dead. I had lived and fought and loved and died as Shirou Emiya too many times to lose that identity to a dead man. An ember sparked in an endless forge.

The brief violent tension paused her departure, the two of us locking gold eyes to grey. I don't know what she saw, but it made her beam, Her smile filled equally with the promise of suffering and rapture. But her body relaxed from the fight ready posture.

The world took a breath. If there was to be violence between us, it wouldn't be tonight it seemed.

Idly, she pulled the card from the door, taking it with her as the door closed in her wake.

Ah…

Fuck. Fuck!

In that fit of rebellious anger, I had given her (what I just realized in my minds eye) her exact objective in seeing me tonight: the ability to come and go from my room as she pleased. What gods did I anger to deseve this?

What god that mattered and wasn't dead did I anger to deserve this?!

With an aggravated groan I flopped onto the lumpy mattress and close my eyes. I wasn't sure how… but I blamed Archer for somehow being responsible for this misfortune.

*End Chapter*