Like all fathers, Risei enjoyed it when his son took the time out of his day to call him. He just wished, lately, that it was under better circumstances.

"And you're telling me Lancer can't find Caster at all, now?"

"Unfortunately not," said Kirei. "According to them, the entirety of Fuyuki and everything in it now reads as Caster, up to a mile from the city limits. Not only can Lancer not find Caster, they also cannot sense anything but Caster. I'm sure you realise the implications, Father."

All too well, Risei thought glumly. Bad enough finding out that the Emiya Kiritsugu he'd briefly talked to was, in fact, a shapeshifting killer – finally witnessing Assassin's true face and methods was scant comfort. Now Kirei's main defence against such an attack was neutralised. If either Assassin or her master realised it, she could strike Kirei with impunity so long as Lancer's attention was elsewhere long enough for her to get close.

Perhaps even more worryingly, Lancer had failed to defeat Caster. Even after putting in an actual effort. Next time, she could only be more prepared – and while she'd seemed genial enough to talk to, Risei had no illusions as to the limits of her ruthlessness.

He scratched the burn scar on his cheek idly.

He'd been so relieved, so proud, when Kirei's Servant had turned out to be apparently invincible, with a built-in guarantee against assassination into the bargain. If his son had to be part of a Grail War, then he was damn well going to have the best possible Servant to survive it. And, rationally, he knew Lancer was still unbeatable. He knew Kirei was more than careful enough to survive without his Servant's trump against Assassin – had planned to enter the War without any such thing. He knew he had no reason to be concerned.

Still. If Risei wasn't allowed to worry, then what were dads for?

Out loud, however, all he said was, "Well, thank you for telling me. You're sure Assassin isn't working with Caster? If she is, all Caster needs to do is tell her…"

"Not sure, no. However, I think it the most likely possibility – their goals are too different. Assassin attacked with genuine intent to kill, while Lancer believed Caster wanted them alive, at least until she decided their fight was over."

Risei sighed. "That's something. I don't like that Caster's intentions remain so unclear, however. Who knows what she'll cook up next, and to what purpose?"

"Lancer assures me that she is no real threat, Father. That said, any future battles will likely involve considerably more collateral damage. Therefore, forcing a battle on our terms, at a time of our choosing, is still advantageous. Lancer is investigating Caster's previous haunts, but has yet to find anything." There was a pause, then Kirei said, "Naturally, I remain within the Tohsaka house, near to Rider, while Lancer is away."

Risei almost laughed – because, although Kirei's tone was as neutral as ever, he could tell when his son was trying to be reassuring. It looked like he hadn't hidden his feelings quite as well as he would have liked.

Kirei was a good kid.

"Well," Risei said. He cast around for the right words to say, but settled on, "Be careful."

"Always, father."

And then Kirei was gone.

Risei put the magical communicator – it wasn't a phone, because heaven forbid Tokiomi include anything invented so recently as the nineteenth century in his house – back on its hook, and stood.

As one got older, you needed less sleep. This was a good thing, thought Risei, because it seemed like the only thing he ever entered his living quarters for these days was to get in touch with one or other of the Masters. After being kept up most of last night with constant updates, and not one but two Servants being removed from the War, he'd had to set up the parley between Kirei – or actually Lancer – and Emiya.

Then, he'd received a short message from Kirei telling him Lancer was fighting Caster in some alternate dimension, and after that a belated message from Rider explaining that Tokiomi had, for some reason, taken his younger daughter back and would be sending her to live with Aoi and Rin. And finally, just now Kirei had debriefed him more fully about how both that fight and the parley had gone.

And now it was evening again, and the War would be starting all over in just a few hours.

And Risei still wasn't done with today. He had a guest to see to.


There were a number of spare bedrooms in the Kotomine church. Officially, these were just part of Risei's living quarters, and indeed that was what he had mostly used them for – when visiting Church members needed a place to stay, or when some member of the congregation needed a place to sleep off whatever troubled them before Risei could arrange more permanent help.

In the Grail War, however, they served another purpose.

Risei knocked on a door, and there was a shuffling sound. After a moment, Matou Kariya answered.

Matou had dragged himself to the church in mid-afternoon. Despite the fact that he no longer had a Servant draining his energy, he looked… exhausted. In the literal sense. From his body, to his magical energy, to his mental capacity, everything he had had been used up. Frankly, it was astonishing that he'd managed the trip across the ruined, clogged city in the first place.

Risei had accepted his request for sanctuary, and Matou had collapsed onto the floor then and there. He hadn't woken up, even when Risei had carried his worryingly light body to a room – Risei wouldn't have woken him now, but he needed to understand what was happening, especially if Matou had any insights into Assassin from Archer's last hunt.

After a few hours sleep, Matou didn't look a whole lot better than he had, but he was at least coherent, his one good eye focusing on Risei.

"Ah, Father," he said. "What do you want? I was trying to sleep."

"To check on you, naturally," Risei said. "Now that you have claimed sanctuary, I have a duty of care, after all."

Matou grumbled, unintelligibly. "Fine," he said, stepping aside. "Come in."

Risei did so. It would have been churlish to note the smell of rot that already permeated the room, or the suspicious stains on the bedsheets, so he didn't.

"Are you well?" he asked instead.

The incredulous look Matou shot his way was answer enough, but it was punctuated quite nicely by a muscle in his cheek deciding to spasm at that moment.

"Alright, let me correct myself," Risei said. "Are you about to keel over dead in my church? Because if so, I'm going to need to fetch my tools for doing last rites."

Matou managed a weak chuckle. "Nah. I'm going nowhere." He sat down on the bed, heavily, as though even that much had tired him out. "Nowhere at all…"

Risei smiled. "Well. As it happens, neither am I, right now. And as one man going nowhere to another, I think I can recognise when such a man has a burden on his chest that he might find it useful to share. Perhaps, freed of it, he might go somewhere after all?"

"I'm too tired for word games, Father."

"Very well. Tell me about your problems, Matou Kariya. I won't promise I can help, but I can promise that I'll listen. I have often found that to be enough."

"I don't think it'll be enough this time."

Risei's calm smile was solid as a rock. "Nevertheless."

Matou slumped, forehead resting on one hand, moving as little as possible while his other hand spasmed weakly. For a moment, Risei thought he'd fallen back asleep. Then he spoke, voice a hollow monotone.

"I've lost… everything. Literally, I think. My Servant… you probably know about that. Sakura. My house… or, the Matou house. It's poisoned, by the way. Assassin…" He trailed off, breathing deeply but weakly.

At this point Risei felt compelled to interrupt. Partly because he needed more detail than this, but partly out of sheer pity.

"I am aware of Assassin's poison, but what do you mean when you say she poisoned the house? How does it work?"

Because Kirei might well have to deal with the same, he didn't say.

Matou shuffled in what might have been a shrug. "Dunno. It's what I heard. The house isn't fit for life any more. It's a deathtrap. Don't know if Byakuya got out OK, haven't heard… also, I think the Magus Killer planted bombs or something." A pause, and Matou's face twisted. "Even if all that hadn't happened, I'm not welcome there."

"Why's that?"

A snort. "Look at me! I've lost the Grail War. My Servant's gone. I have no magecraft left. I couldn't keep Sakura safe. My grandfather has no use for me any more. The last thing he told me before… leaving… was that he was washing my hands of me, and this War. Finding somewhere to lay low until the next War, I don't know."

Hm. Risei was… not entirely up to speed on the Matou family. As far as he could remember, he'd never met the current patriarch, and he wasn't sure if Tokiomi had either. Unlike the Tohsaka, who involved themselves with the administration of Fuyuki as Second Owner, the Matou kept themselves to themselves – if Risei hadn't been the Grail War Moderator, he'd never have known they existed.

Perhaps he ought to have worried about that a little more.

Filing that under 'things to talk to Tokiomi about later', Risei turned his attention back to the task in front of him.

"Can you tell me how Archer died?"

A glare. "Is that important?"

"I am sorry to push you so, but it is relevant to my duties as Moderator. It is surprising that Assassin managed to best her in straight combat."

Matou gave a hacking cough, that could have been an attempt at a laugh. "Straight combat? Nah. Just tricks and traps, until Archer failed to dodge one. After that, that was it. Nothing special. Run into a minefield prepared by the Magus Killer, and that'll happen."

Oh. Disappointing. Kirei was already careful and cautious, and was unlikely to pursue Assassin himself. Risei made a mental note of the fact that Emiya employed minefields and could co-ordinate their use with Assassin, and moved on.

"Very well. And, Matou Kariya, what is it you plan to do next?"

A tiny shrug. "Die, I guess."

Um. "I have a professional objection to that," said Father Kotomine of the Church. "Apart from anything else, it'll make me look bad in front of all my priest friends if I let someone pass away under my care. I can't convince you to reconsider?"

Matou started to laugh, but was interrupted by a series of hacking coughs, each worse than the last. When he wiped his mouth, he left a small red streak on his sleeve. Risei waited for him to collect himself. For his part, Matou was apparently focusing on, um, trying not to die. His breathing was almost regular, but in a deliberate way that said it was the result on conscious effort. If Risei didn't know better, he'd have said he was severely hungover.

But Risei had seen enough of the terminally ill in his time, and did know better. In his semi-professional opinion, Matou Kariya was not long for this world, no matter what he said.

Eventually, Matou gathered enough strength to raise his head and look Risei in the eye.

"You've got me wrong. I don't want to die. But I'm going to anyway. Even if Archer sniped all the other Servants and Masters on the first day, I'd still be dead within a year. With how the War's gone, though… I've got weeks. Days, maybe. Suffering all the while. Every magus pays a price, and that's mine. Worse than most, I admit."

With a clinical eye, Risei was forced to agree. "In that case, let me rephrase my question. What would you like me to do for you?"

"I don't suppose there's any chance you can kill me? Quick and painless?" Matou's tone was light, but his eye was deadly serious.

"Professional objection again, I'm afraid," Risei said. "I can at least make you comfortable while you remain. Painkillers, I can certainly do."

"Hrm. Well. I wasn't expecting you to be of any use." Matou subsided, and for a long moment there was silence. If Risei was any judge, Matou was thinking about… taking matters into his own hands, so to speak.

That was a train of thought that ran through terrible neighbourhoods and didn't stop anywhere easy to return from. Time to derail it.

And Risei had an idea of precisely the leaves to scatter on this particular line.

"Well, while you wait to expire," he said, "Is there anything in particular you would like to do? I'm sure we have some packs of cards or board games around. For the kids at Sunday school, you know." He paused, and sprang his trap. "Or, is there anyone you'd like me to get a message to? Or invite to the church?"

Through a warzone, he didn't add.

The mention of children, and contacting someone, seemed to spark the right stuff in Matou's brain, because he sat up, quickly, like a spider jerking into motion.

"Ah! Right, there's that. Father, you're friends with Tohsaka, right? He'll listen to you, right?"

"Yes…" Risei said, taking care to sound reluctant and not at all like he knew exactly where Matou was heading with this.

Matou nodded. "Then, I know what I want. Yeah… I do have something to live for. One thing. Three things, maybe. Father. I want to see Sakura, one last time. And Rin, and Aoi, if I can."

Bingo.

If Risei had suggested this, Matou's natural distrust and pessimism would have immediately turned him against the idea – he'd have thought of ten reasons why not to take Risei's suggestion. Much better he think it was his own idea.

"Well, certainly I have no objection," Risei started, slowly. "But, you must understand, this is hardly something in my gift. Tokiomi has only just reclaimed Sakura – I doubt he would be willing to confuse her by putting her in contact with you again so soon. And, further, he would not see any benefit to himself in such an act of kindness."

Best of all, of course, if Matou thought he thought he was opposed to Tokiomi on the subject – if he cast himself as the hero standing up for the right choice against Tokiomi's TV villain. Now, forget thoughts of suicide, he'd move heaven and earth to stay alive long enough to meet Sakura one last time out of sheer stubbornness.

… or accidentally kill himself trying, if left to himself, but that was what Risei was for.

"You can intercede, right?" Matou said, as if on cue. His eyes were brighter now – some final spark of life lending him a shadow of his former energy. "More than knowing Tohsaka, you were allied, he trusts you… that was what Berserker said."

Scratching his cheek, Risei nodded. "I can get in touch – Tokiomi will at least hear me out, which is more than he would do for you, I suppose."

"Right… right. As for there no being a benefit…" Matou trailed off, thinking. After a moment, his eye hardened. "Yeah. Fine. I'm no good at peace offerings, but spite? That I can do. And Tohsaka is not the only one to have wronged me.

"Tell Tohsaka this – if he lets me see Sakura one last time, and Rin and Aoi too, then I'll tell him everything about Matou Zouken. His magic, his plans, what he actually did to Sakura, what I think he'll be doing next, how he can be killed, everything." Matou grinned savagely. "Yes, I can't think of anything I'd rather do in my last days on this earth than set the two men I hate most against one another."

This… wasn't quite what Risei had expected. "Tokiomi would find that very welcome, I'm sure," he said. "I'm not certain he will act upon it in quite the manner you'd wish, though."

"Oh, no, he will," said Matou. "Because the other thing I'm going to do? Is let Zouken know exactly what I've done. If I know him at all, he won't be able to tolerate anyone knowing his secrets, and if Tohsaka doesn't go after him first then he's just giving Zouken more time to prepare an attack. Ah, if they manage to kill each other, that would be perfect…"

Risei folded his arms. "Hm. If the information is as dangerous as you describe, that seems like a very good reason for me not to contact Tokiomi to set up your meeting with Sakura."

"Do as you please," Matou lay back on the bed, chuckling weakly. "I'll still tell Zouken that Tohsaka knows all his secrets. He'll believe it in a heartbeat – heck, if I were dying I might have done that anyway even if Tohsaka didn't have Sakura. Zouken's going after Tohsaka one way or the other. Your choice as to how well-prepared Tohsaka is when he does…"

With that, he closed his eyes.

Risei returned to his quarters, deep in thought. On the one hand, being the instrument of Matou Kariya's last spiteful act of revenge was not the role he had pictured for himself when he got up this morning. However… put another way, he was certainly not against fulfilling a dying man's last wish.

No, there was little harm, and a lot of good to be done if he agreed to Matou's request. Apart from anything else, Risei could admit to a certain amount of concern about Matou Sakura's well-being.

It was only a year ago that Sakura had stopped coming to church along with her father and sister. When Risei had asked at the time, Aoi had looked pained before throwing a guilty look at Tokiomi, who had, in turn, very calmly explained that Sakura had been sent to live with a non-Christian family and wouldn't be coming any more. Somehow, looking at his friend, Risei hadn't wanted to push him on the subject.

If she was being mistreated, though…

Risei couldn't really say he'd known Tohsaka Sakura all that well. She'd only been, what, six or so when she stopped coming to church? At most, he'd exchanged a couple of words with her – he recalled a shy, retiring girl, who'd held onto her sister's hand throughout the entirety of the first service she'd attended, and hidden behind her mother's legs when Risei had come up to introduce himself.

For all that, though, Sakura was still someone he knew, someone he was familiar with. Tokiomi hadn't said a thing beyond what was absolutely necessary about where she was or what was happening to her. At the time, Risei had simply trusted in his friend, and assumed everything was fine.

Now Matou was implying that wasn't the case.

… it seemed Risei had a couple of calls to make. First, to Tohsaka. He'd set up the meeting. He'd oversee Matou Kariya's last conversation with his adopted niece.

After that, depending on how Sakura was…

Well. He might need to ask Kirei for some contacts.

Tokiomi wasn't the only one who could make use of the information Matou had to offer.