Bright red flames lit the dark sky, the warmth of the flames even reaching a tall building somewhere deep inside the city. Dull and bitter eyes looked at the flames with discontent. A bug flew from near his feet to his shoulder, making chirring sounds.

"Yes, you are right. It seems that servant has been summoned in this war as well."

The bug slowly slipped into his yukata as his fingers tightened around the walking stick held in his hand.

What good was a pawn if it couldn't follow the simplest instructions given to it. Even a strong pawn could turn out to be more harmful in the long run. Rider might be strong and useful to an extent in eliminating other servants but it wouldn't amount to anything if he got in his way later down the line.

Even if there was some downside to his mana consumption, the golden servant would have been an ideal partner to his cause. If only...

The man disappeared into the wind as countless bugs burst out into the open.

There was no other choice. He had already expended a substantial amount of financial power than what was needed and Shinji just had to do something useless and cause a lot of trouble to him. His grandson was just an incompetent fool who was incompetent in every way. It was either all or nothing now, meaning he needed something to exploit and bring the girl under his control or try to rebuild the losses he had and wait for the next Grail war.

Just who the heck was the brat that couldn't even deliver a piece of box properly?

Chapter 7

(((Finding oneself)))

The air in the room felt heavy and silence reigned over the living room. The overly enthusiastic sensei surprisingly remained quiet as well, silently crunching onto a few crackers, her nose crinkled as she changed the channels over and over to check on the news in vain.

Sound of static filled the air, uneasiness growing inside the purple haired teen's chest. Sakura impatiently waited for Shirou who had been out for a while now. She didn't understand what had been so urgent that caused the older teen to step out.

She had been totally against letting Shirou go out this late at night, not after the brief wall of flame they witnessed an hour ago. But her upper classman said he wasn't going too far and would be back soon. Not like it helped her heart ease even a little, and she couldn't understand why she can't tag along when Saber could accompany him.

"Most of the channels are down briefly," Fujimura sensei whined, finally giving up and slumping onto the tatami table in front. She took a small bite out of a cracker, a small sigh escaping through her lips.

"I think something happened to the transmitting towers. It must be because of that blast."

Sakura spoke in a gentle tone, trying to push through the fatigue she was feeling at the moment.

"Yeah, you are right," Her sensei mumbled into the cracker, before she suddenly slammed her palms on the table startling the timid girl. Her sensei continued on in an energetic tone with an enormous grin which could probably split her face in half, "But still what was up with that blast though! It was so bright that I reaalllyyy couldn't see anything!"

Fujimura was right... It had been so bright like the sun had risen briefly for a moment in the dark night. Like it was almost done by a-

"I am back!"

Her current anxiety and worries were put to a rest as she heard the doorbell and the familiar 'I am back' shout from the entrance. Shortly after that, Emiya walked in with a few bags along with Saber, who also held a few bags of her own but they were quite less compared to what the red haired teen was holding.

They gathered around the short table on which the bags were placed on.

"Shirou… don't tell me you went to the market to gather these things now?" Emiya's guardian had a pensive look on her face, as she began inspecting the contents in a bag closest to her.

The teen responded by giving a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, with an explosion that just happened and all the recent cases happening around in the town, I thought it would be better to stack up a few things incase things got messier."

"I don't get what you are saying, but, why did you have to go out this late at night?" Fujimura slightly huffed, as she shuffled across the vegetables he had brought in one of the bags.

Shirou simply scratched his cheeks at her before Sakura's voice took his attention.

"Senpai," Sakura called out, checking into another bag. "I understand you need sundries, but it seems you have bought quite a bit…"

Shirou blinked at her. "Ah, I almost forgot. Fuji-nee," He turned towards the older woman in the room. "We should have Sakura sleep over at our place for a while starting today. If possible I would like you to stay over as well."

Sakura's eyes widened gaining a light in them as she heard Shirou before they went downcast again. Fujimura immediately interjected, "Wait! What brought this on suddenly, Shirou?"

"A lot of tremors and explosions have occurred lately, and there was also this news about a few serial killings that took place a few days back," He sat down on a soft cushion, before looking at the said girl. "I think it's getting pretty dangerous out there, so I am asking you guys. Don't you agree, Sakura? ...Sakura?"

The purple haired teen blinked, trying to snap out of her thoughts and turned towards her senior. "Um," She parted her lips, wanting to do nothing but say yes to what Shirou just said. But, she hesitated, and clasped her hands together in front of her chest. She didn't want her brother to fight Shirou, not to mention he was already in a sour mood because of her...

"I appreciate the offer, senpai but I will have to decline your request this time."

"But Sakura..."

"I didn't bring any spare clothes either. Not to mention, I need to relay some message to my brother as well..."

Shirou seemed to gain an understanding look at the mention of her brother. Ever since Shirou had quit the club, her brother had been provoking and mocking him at every chance he got. Though lately her brother's antagonism towards Shirou seemed to be minimal ever since he found a new 'friend' if she could dare to say it. She didn't want to be a reason that reignited their subdued tension.

She hurried to pack her things seeing seeing as she had already finished cleaning.

Fujimura looked at the two teens in confusion before her eyes widened as if a bulb seemed to go off in her head after some thought.

"Too bad, Shirou," Shirou's guardian spoke after some time, and Sakura turned to look at her. "But, maybe she can come over tomorrow prepared, with clothes and everything. That should set you at ease, right Shirou?"

That suggestion was enough to make Sakura hopeful as she turned to look at Shirou.

The teen looked troubled but finally conceded as he released a sigh. "Fine, Fuji-nee. But only because you are saying so." Shirou met her eyes and said, "Let me at least walk you home. Your home is far away and with how it is outside, it is the least I can do since you are coming so far to help me."

Sakura fell into some silence as she tried to search for proper words. "...Um, you don't need to trouble yourself, senpai..."

"It should be fine with Shirou walking you home, Sakura." Fujimaru spoke from her place, a smile forming on her lips. "Didn't Sasuke do the same for you earlier today? Let our Shirou act like a senpai as well for once."

Shirou looked slightly embarrassed but nodded nonetheless. "If you are worried about Shinji, don't be. I don't mind what trouble I get into with him. It's dangerous outside now, so I am walking you home."

He had started to nudge her gently towards the hallway, and it looked like he wasn't going to take no for an answer. Really, her senpai could be so stubborn when he wanted to. But that was enough to bring a smile to her face.

Is it alright for her to feel this happy?

Shirou turned to look at Saber and smiled at her sheepishly.

Saber who was a silent spectator all this time sighed at the sheepish smile of Shirou. She would have adviced him against going outside as well but she didn't have the heart to allow Sakura walk home on her own. But she didn't want to intrude on the teens either during their walk.

So Saber would simply restrict herself to follow them from some distance.

(((Finding oneself)))

The sun was just beginning to appear and Tohsaka Rin already decided her day couldn't get any worse.

After evading construction and rescue squads that swarmed at the beginning of the roads, she travelled quite some distance on foot on the national highway of all places, finally managing to reach the place where she witnessed the flames from previous night.

The road was uneven under her shoes, as if the previous construct melted and was remodelled into this after coming into touch with fire.

Rin's eyes narrowed. "This has to be a servant's doing. I am sure of it. No normal mage can hope to cause this much destruction."

She observed a half solid lamp post beside her and stopped just before the long trail of a V shaped landscape that started right from her feet. This was the only part in the whole area that managed to stay intact despite its surface being burnt to a dark ash. This scene would have completely overwhelmed her if it weren't for the 'short' visit Rider paid her the other night.

'Seems like two servants were fighting here and one of them happened to use their noble phantasm.'

She could only wonder in thought. But that was the only thing that made sense to her. It was the only theory that would explain the flames she observed from the rooftop. But if that were the case, the main question was- which servant was capable of this much destruction?

Saber came to her on top of her mind. King Arthur could certainly cause a fair amount of damage but she doubted if the knight was capable of producing flames of this magnitude. It couldn't be the mad servant nor the servant of stealth. Her suspicions were already leaning towards a certain stoic servant.

'Could it be Lancer?'

She was grateful towards Lancer for saving her life the other day in her clash with Berserker but this was not something she could agree with. With this amount of destruction, it was going to be hard to conceal traces of the Holy Grail war. It was the duty of every participating mage to keep the fights a secret and although this particular battle happened in a remote location, the flames were visible for the whole city to witness and crazy theories were already forming across the internet.

It was almost as if Lancer's master didn't care about upholding the unspoken rule that every mage followed. Even if Lancer's master ordered his servant to rescue her in her bout with Berserker, she could never forgive people who didn't take their role of being a mage seriously, master or not. Partly why she was angry at Shirou's father for not leaving anything behind.

A burnt up piece of cloth flew near her feet. She crouched and picked it up, feeling the patchy fabric between her thumb pads. Her eyes darted in the direction in which the piece of cloth drifted from before her eyes picked up a completely messed up bag. Her feet took her to the luggage bag that certainly had seen better days. Burnt up clothes were completely scattered around it, her hands dug in the bag to find some kind of useful information.

And she finally found a completely burnt passport but she was able to make the insignia carved on the front.

"A french passport...?"

The teen genuinely wished she had brought Archer along to gather his inputs regarding all this but he was busy healing himself under the debris of her home. That reminded her. She still needed to find a place to stay.

Rin could only sigh in response before pocketing the evidence.

(((Finding oneself)))

The old man of the mansion, Futaba Harada didn't know what he had expected when Sasuke asked him to come down to the living room for a small talk. He felt his heart fill with a heavy, sunken feeling. His mind revolved around many possibilities ever since he saw Sasuke with that mysterious pale man and an unconscious Laeticia but he decided to trust Sasuke when he told him that he'll explain everything later.

The last time he had seen the young man, he was just a normal lad but now he seems to be much more mature than before. At least he wasn't going around throwing punches at people anymore just because they pissed him off. His fingers were not enough to count how many times he had bailed out the raven-haired teen due to such skirmishes.

But those were still pretty normal and ordinary compared to what he just heard. He had genuinely thought that Sasuke, even though he was peculiar and a bit strange, was still an ordinary kid. But after yesterday, he was not sure anymore.

He displayed something that was not possible by normal humans. But then again, the teen had already showcased such a feat when he found him last year.

Just how many people can boast surviving a stab to the heart? It was a miracle in itself for the person who operated as well.

The old doctor sighed heavily as his mind racked up about it and what he just learnt from the teen, "...this all feels like a dream."

"I told you it was going to be hard to believe all that." The teen pointed in a calm voice. Sasuke was currently seated in front of him, his hands resting against his thighs. A slightly concerned expression appeared on Sasuke's face as he observed the older male tremble lightly in his chair.

"No, it's not that. I trust you." The male lifted his eyes and met with the Uchiha's charcoal ones, his face twisted into one of a grotesque and frustration as he huffed out loud. "It's just hard to think something like this is happening in our city of all places. As if the disaster that happened ten years ago wasn't enough already. Just how long has this been going on anyway?"

A short shrug of Sasuke's shoulders was the reply. "I don't know. I am not even sure if there are any previous wars." He went silent for a few moments, his gaze shifting to the three tomoe shaped tattoos on the back of his hand. "But, I guess it's just been a few days since this particular one started. Since I was given a... chance I guess."

The older man in the room raised an eyebrow at the teen's choice of interpreting his forced participation in the mystical war.

Sasuke discarded his eyes back to the shade he currently sat in, bright light from outside illuminating the frown marring his perfect face, completely understanding the frustration. "They say ignorance is a bliss, and in this case I had hoped to maintain that for you."

"No, Sasuke. It is alright," The older man reassured the teen before admitting. "I'll be honest. I wouldn't have believed even if you told me if it weren't for... you know..."

The last Uchiha was suddenly thankful that Karna was in a different room at the moment. He didn't know how the doc would have reacted if Lancer was with them right now. More particularly under the icy cool gaze of Lancer. He doubted if even the phoney priest could hold his cool under the intimidating gaze of Lancer.

"You said that they are guardians summoned as heroes of the past, right?"

Sasuke nodded.

Guardians.

The last Uchiha had specified, or rather stressed on the guardian part when he had to explain about Lancer to the old doctor. He didn't mention the wonderful things Kirei had told him, about how masters were supposed to duel to death or how servants were basically killing machines. Though, what he told about Lancer wasn't that far off the truth either.

Sharing partial truth was all he could do. The doc was the last person he wanted to involve. Whatever troubles he was going to face needed to be kept out of this house. Spilling about the Holy Grail war to the older man might have been a bad idea, but he was like a kid who got caught red handed with his hand in a cookie jar.

"Hm, if that's the case, do you know enough about your guardian? You know like what kind of a warrior he was and his personality, like that?" Futaba questioned, continuing on his previous sentence. The response he got was Sasuke averting his gaze subtly, his expression not changing in the slightest. The doctor hung his jaw, gasping slightly at the realization. "...You don't know, do you?"

"Hn, I am not an idiot. I know his name and I know that he is extremely powerful. That is enough for now, isn't it?" the raven haired teen rebutted, which he admitted sounded childish when he said that out loud. But, that was what mattered in the end. The thought of compatibility hadn't even crossed his mind, since Lancer was just that accommodating.

Plus, he really hadn't the time to investigate what kind of a figure Karna was since he got dragged in. He barely even slept for the last couple of days and even yesterday night was spent in revising the scrolls he got back from the doctor.

"You know, I don't know how this war is supposed to work, but he is your... guardian right?" The doc adjusted the round glasses, looking back at him. "I don't think it would be too far fetched to call him your partner in this. Knowing about his past might just help you understand him better."

"After all, a person's past defines and shapes the person he is now. I don't think you should be so quick to give up on yours..."

A small voice from his past spoke in the back of his mind, as his eyes went downcast. The whole purpose for his participation depended on his memories, his past that seemed to haunt him in his sleep every other night. After all, a person's past defines and shapes the kind of person he was now.

He should probably put in more effort in trying to understand about his servant.

"...Fine, I get it. I will make a short stop at the library today."

He sighed, before pushing himself off the chair and started to make his way towards the exit.

"Sasuke, I also wanted to ask on what you are planning to do with Laeticia-san." Sasuke stopped in his tracks after he heard what the doctor said.

His silence encouraged the old man to continue, "Laeticia-san is a kind and well-mannered girl. I don't know how or why that poor girl got dragged into this mess. But if what you said is true, you did the right thing appearing when you did to save her. I don't know what the ones who attacked her were hoping to achieve by hurting her, but then again a lot of the stuff I saw yesterday doesn't make any sense. I only hope you will do things right by her too."

The doc's eyebrows were knitted together as he continued to look at the teen's back. He wanted to believe Sasuke's words and his words were probably true as well but he felt like the teen was still withholding something.

A thousand questions popped up in his mind but they were the least of his concerns as he continued, "Everyone in this world has a story and something to say. Even the guardians are people who have left behind such stories that defined them. In the end, this old man doesn't want you to regret anything in the future, Sasuke."

There was a brief moment of silence followed by shuffling of feet. Futaba looked up in time to see Sasuke leaving the room without any response.

"Really, that kid..."

(((Finding oneself)))

Shirou laid on his back, arms crossed behind his head as he looked at the ceiling in deep thought. He was recounting yesterday's night, the strange sensation he felt when he was around the Matou's mansion. While he talked to Sakura outside her home, he hadn't noticed. Only after Sakura bid him farewell and went inside he started feeling like someone was watching him through the chirping winds. Like a ghost.

He felt the air around Sakura's home was strange. The chirring of insects around her house had managed to drown the howling of air... even though it was still winter. He hadn't dropped her that many times so he probably never noticed it before, but...

'Maybe I am overthinking it.'

The teen rolled to his left, his face still slightly crest fallen.

There were some fire trucks in the area at the time, so it was probably something related to it. Apparently some explosion had happened in the area at that time and he could only pray that no one was hurt in that incident. If he had known something like that happened near Sakura's home, he wouldn't have allowed her to leave his home yesterday.

"Is something bothering you, Shirou?"

Shirou blinked before he turned around to see Saber standing at the room's entrance.

"Uh, no it's nothing, Saber." Shirou smiled, rubbing the back of his head as he got up to a sitting position. He didn't want to bother her with something that could have been purely his imagination. Instead, he switched the topic to something else that had also been bothering him. "I was just thinking about what Fuji-nee told yesterday. At the time, I was busy trying to convince Sakura to stay so I hadn't thought on it, but now..."

Saber walked inside the room and gracefully sat in front of him as she adjusted her skirt. She looked at him, her hands resting on her legs. "Is it about the person who had accompanied Sakura here, Shirou?"

Shirou sat still, as he brought his hands to his side and met her emerald eyes. "Mhm. Fuji-nee said she didn't observe anyone dropping Sakura off but Sakura said otherwise apparently. I just thought it was strange since it isn't like Sasuke to do something like that."

Saber cupped her chin, looking thoughtful for a moment. "Maybe he wanted to check on his potential enemies. You are still a master after all in this holy grail war."

Shirou wanted to deny that. Sasuke, though quiet and secretive for most of the time at school was definitely not a mage. At least Shirou had been a sort of amateur mage but Sasuke was not. It was hard to imagine him scouting his residence even if the male had somehow become a master. Sasuke wasn't experienced so it couldn't be that but nothing else explained his reason to accompany Sakura.

Maybe Shinji asked him to drop off Sakura? Yeah, as if Shinji would voluntarily allow her to visit him.

He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"Thinking about it won't do any good. I'll just ask him today at school."

Saber blinked in surprise and a frown appeared on her face. "Shirou, you are not thinking of engaging an enemy master in school directly, are you? I don't even need to explain it to you why it's a bad idea. I still think you should avoid going to school."

"Don't worry, Saber. It will be fine," Shirou casually dismissed her worries with a smile much to Saber's chigrain. "There will be many people at school and besides he wouldn't do anything to me."

"But Shirou.."

"You yourself deemed the school was safe yesterday after your inspection."

Saber continued to have a small frown, her eyes showing some worry. "Fine, if you say so. Don't hesitate to use a command seal if something happens, alright?"

"You got it." Shirou smiled.

(((Finding oneself)))

Her eyes shot open as she sat up with an urgency. Her hand making its way up to her hair and combing the blonde locks with her fingers in an attempt to calm herself down.

Few soft groans escaped through her lips as golden rays from the window reached her king-sized bed. They managed to get rid of her sleep to a great extent but not completely. Her attire was that which she wore prior to changing into her battle gear.

A dream.

She had been dreaming something strange. A terrifying dream in which the whole city was engulfed in flames. An ethereal being towering a temple. The dream was still vague and she was having hard time recollecting it but she could tell the city which was burning was actually the very same city she was headed for. The Fuyuki Ciy.

Was this some sort of a vision, or was this simply a forewarning about something that would happen in the future? A prophecy or a forgotten relic? Or, probably an ability of the enemy?

Her eyes glanced to her side, noticing the unfamiliar scenery and decided to think on her visions or whatever they were later.

"Where am I…?" She shifted in her place and attempted to bring one of her hands to rub her eyes, only to hear a metal clunk against the bed frame by her head, holding her arm in place. Correction, her arms. She blinked a few times at that and immediately whipped her head to find metal chains cuffed to both her wrists and going along to the corners of the bed.

The whole previous night flashed in an instant, her mind going into a frenzy. She returned her attention to the black, iron chains once more, studying them and to her surprise found them to be ordinary chains, not all infused with any sort of magic or runes.

"These chains aren't even enchanted," she mumbled to herself. "Breaking through them should be easy enough."

"Indeed." A calm voice startled her, though she had only to blame herself as golden particles vibrated nearby her, before the famed Mahabharata warrior assumed his pose beside the window, leaning his form against the wall and his gaze as cold as ever fixed on her.

"Though, I doubt you would find it easy escaping my spear once you break through the customary shackles that have been placed on you, Ruler. I would like to advice against that."

"Lancer...!"

All alarms bared off in her body for a moment, but since Lancer stood weaponless, his arms crossed, and she couldn't find the golden polearm anywhere near him, she calmed herself down. Though bringing it back to the material world should be easy enough since her command spell must have lost its effect by now.

"Ruler." He calmly acknowledged.

"What is your motive in kidnapping me? What does your master intend to do?"

Lancer stayed silent for a few moments, observing her. He closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I am afraid I do not have the answers you seek, Ruler. I was only ordered to take your head but it appeared my master had different plans. Or, a change of heart but I don't think that is the case here."

Ruler blinked in disbelief upon hearing this, something not sitting right with her, "Do you intend to say you weren't on board with your master's plan? How can you blindly follow his orders when you aren't being disclosed with any information?"

Lancer merely stayed quiet, watching her as she continued, "Holy Grail wars are to be fought with mutual understanding between heroic spirits and the masters anchoring them. Though, there are some instances when one can be kept in the dark however an attack on the mediator is no small matter-"

"I can let you know that this attempt of persuasion is futile, Ruler for I am simply a spear that has been brought to this material world to fullfill my master's wish."

Jeanne stopped herself for a moment before speaking slowly, "What about your wish, Lancer? Does your master consider your wish into account when he makes such dangerous decisions like attacking the mediator of the war?"

Ruler's repeated questions could almost be mistaken as an attempt at another persuasion of swaying him against his master, but after knowing the true name of the Ruler and his own skill to boot with, Lancer supposed she was only doing this since she was concerned about a fellow heroic spirit out of pure kindness in her heart. Perhaps she felt it her duty to stop him from carrying out orders from what she assumed as an evil master.

The assumption couldn't have been more wrong.

"I have none, Ruler. My simple wish is to burn those who would oppose my master to ashes and aid him in obtaining the Holy Grail."

Hearing his reply, the holy maid of Orleans found herself at a loss for words. After all, having been granted knowledge by the Holy Grail, she understood what kind of existence this exceptional hero was. If anyone else had said the same thing, this excessive display of humility would have been met with irritation or sarcasm. However, Karna's words came from the bottom of his heart; he believed in them in all his sincerity.

Deciding to switch the topic as she sat up, she looked around at the huge room, "Where are we?"

"We are currently in the mansion of a doctor named Futaba Harada," It wasn't son of Surya that answered her question. Jeanne's eyes travelled to her front at the sudden voice to find a raven haired teen with fine and elegant features, almost deceiving one to think he was a homunculus given how perfect his features and complexion were.

Jeanne winced slightly at his sight, the dream from before flashing before her eyes for a moment as she caught her head. She pushed through the pain, pushing her thoughts aside as she observed the young man.

He stood by the door frame, with a file under his arm, obsidian eyes fixed on her and his face holding a monotone expression. Lancer nodded at him as the teen walked in. "Despite inheriting all the wealth from his father, he chose the doctor's profession. Quite admirable on his part I would say when he could have simply chosen the easy way out. You might remember him as the weird and insanely rich old man who offered to give you a ride yesterday."

"Ah, yes. I know him." The blonde nodded, not taking her eyes of the male as he approached her, watching his every movement cautiously. The previous day's encounter with the teen happened too fast and it happened in such a mess that she didn't recall much regarding the assailant who attacked her. Though, she still remembered the scarlet eyes in vivid detail.

But, now studying him in broad daylight made her realize how young the master of Lancer really was. And, those scarlet eyes were probably part of his mage bloodline seeing as his eyes were of onyx color at the moment.

"I had Lancer remain here to keep you company, and I see you already made acquaintances with him," Sasuke stated, casting a glance at the golden Lancer before focusing his attention back on her. "I'd have liked to hold this some place else but we don't have much options. I am sure you have a few questions."

Ruler threw a sharp glance at the nonchalance of the teen regarding the whole situation. Her eyebrows furrowed, studying the raven haired teen for his expressions. "Master of Lancer, I beseech you to cease this foolish act. You are only disrupting the flow of this war by attempting to hold the overseer hostage."

The teen's face was emotionless. He calmly replied, "As far as I remember, I already met with an overseer and he didn't seem too keen on meeting you."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Her eyes had narrowed dangerously, but Lancer's master brushed it off like it was nothing. He held a lot of confidence despite his age to talk this way to a servant, much less the mediator of the war. And, she could easily tell the source of his confidence- the absolute faith he held in Lancer and his strength. And, he was correct, since Lancer was truly an exceptional and a very powerful heroic spirit.

"The priest at the church. He was the one who asked us to end you." Saying so, Sasuke opened the file that was held in his arms before she could open her mouth and tossed it on the bed, a photo of her taken when she was still in France and her complete details along with her host's details as well.

Her eyes widened as her cuffed arms took the file into her hands. She knew there was something amiss in this grail war the moment it started. There was no such Grail war until this where a Ruler class servant had been summoned. That in itself spoke volumes on how this grail war was going to different and she had already known that but to think that the priest, who was supposed to be impartial like her set out such a difficult and gruesome task to a young and inexperienced master just to kill her.

She didn't know why a person with the lord would try to do this and why was this master of all people chosen by him for this task?

There had to something that she was missing.

Her amethyst eyes travelled back to the young man that had been observing her patiently. "But you didn't."

"I didn't."

"…why?"

The teen pocketed his hands, his eyes holding her confused gaze. "The file states that you fall under an odd class, an abnormal class that could easily disrupt the balance. But it left quite a few details out. After watching how you managed to bind my Lancer to a command spell, that confirmed my suspicions. The priest had been lying to me, or he himself was misinformed because you don't look like something a mage can hope to summon on his own."

There was a lot of information that was being tossed at her, so many questions popping into her head but she managed to push it to the back of her mind for now. She would just have to ask later about what exactly Lancer's master was tasked to do. But, from what she understood so far, the human overseer of the war seems to have misinformed Lancer's master that she was an abnormal servant. A servant summoned by a mage, not the Holy grail. An enemy.

She glanced back at the teen, "Then what do you want from me?"

"The truth." Lancer's master simply replied. "I want to hear straight from you on what you are. Before I decide if I took a bad decision here or not."

The implication behind the teen's words were clear as day. If Lancer's master wished, there was no doubt that the hero of charity would take to arms again regardless of her class or the general rule of no fights during the day. She could feel Lancer's gaze on her, as if it were peering right through her soul with the teen in front of her waiting patiently for an answer.

There was only one more time she could use a command spell on the hero of charity, while his master still held all his three command spells intact. And, she didn't want another needless conflict based on misunderstandings because one was more than enough already. Any further conflicts would worsen her relation with lancer's master and only make the priest's words true.

She took a deep breath with her eyes closed, before focusing them back on Lancer's master with a resolute expression on her face. "My name is Jeanne D'Arc, summoned as a mediator by the Holy Grail to oversee this war. I have my own objective in this war which includes fair conduction of the battles between either servants or masters. I can assure you I have no master to call my own in this war, so you can rest easy about me being summoned by a mage."

The teen kept an eye on Lancer through her whole introduction, before he turned towards her after what seemed like a slight nod from Lancer.

"Tell me one thing. Are Rulers always forced to occupy a host body, or is it exclusive in your case?"

Ruler looked a little ashamed at the question, probably because she still didn't think it was right to just use a young woman's body, however devoted Laeticia was. But, desperate times didn't leave much of a choice to her.

"...No, a Ruler class servant is generally summoned just like other servants. It's just different this time around... for reasons I am not sure about..." She placed her hands by her sides, as she gained a thoughtful expression on her face.

It was nearly impossible for a Ruler to be summoned in a normal Holy Grail War. There were two big cases where a Ruler like her was summoned. The first case was when a Ruler was summoned was due to the Holy Grail War taking place in an extremely peculiar form and an unknown number of consequences would come about as a result. In other words, this refers to cases when the central pillar of the ritual, the Holy Grail, deems that the Servant Ruler, who was under no one's control, was needed in this ritual.

The teen who was watching her silently released a small sigh, "Between you and the priest, I am more inclined to believe you." The teen spared a glance at his Lancer as he said that. The teen appeared to be in some thought before he turned to her once again. "I guess it is safe to say that either the priest is hiding something or he doesn't trust me enough with the complete truth."

"That might be the case," Even Ruler had to reluctantly agree with the teen. He moved from his spot to the head of the bed without wasting a moment, and slowly un-cuffed her using the keys as she continued to watch his every movement.

"Breaking through these rusty chains must be easy for you, but I thank you for choosing to let them be, regardless of your intentions," She looked surprised as the teen tossed the chains to the corner of the room, before walking towards Lancer. He turned to look at her one more time, just as she was beginning to think she was free to leave, "However, don't misunderstand me, Ruler. There is something else I need you to do for me since I went through the trouble of staging your death."

A frown was evident on her face at what he implied. She huffed, "Lancer's master-"

"Sasuke."

"Huh?"

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke."

She felt like she heard that name already...

"Sasuke, holding me hostage is against the rules. This will not bode well for you-"

"I am not holding you hostage. You are free to go wherever you wish or stay here as a guest since the other camps that witnessed your battle with Lancer probably think Ruler has been killed," Sasuke said. "I already talked to the doc, and he doesn't mind. In fact, he insisted since he also told me that you are apparently attending the same school as mine. So, you are coming with me."

Ruler had a puzzled expression now. Apparently, she misunderstood what Sasuke meant. "What do you mean?"

"I said you are coming to school with me."

"Eh?"

Ruler's jaw dropped slightly as a mixture of surprise and confusion took over her facial features.

"Hn. Nice to see you are enthusiastic about this," The teen had the corner of his lips twitched up as he already began walking out of the room, with a small wave of his hand.

(AN) This is an unedited version. When I said I wanted to get the next update faster, I certainly didn't think it would take this long. For the past year and half, things had been hectic and I am still barely managing by. I appreciate all the reviews this got and that this fic was still gaining some traction despite the hiatus. I am glad to see that people have enjoyed what's written so far and thank you for your support.

There maybe few mistakes here and there and few details that might actually be off. It's been awhile since I wrote anything.

For people wondering what route this is following, this is not following any specific route in particular honestly. The way I understood how the routes worked, it depends on our decisions, no doubt but I also feel like certain events needed to happen for a route to get triggered. Like, either for Gil ending up as big bad, or Zouken doing his thing etc. If we really want to put a label here, guess you could call it the Sasuke route. So would that mean we are going to see something between happen between Shirou and Sasuke- God, I hope not. xD

For those of you who play FGO JP, don't miss out on Santa Karna!

I hope y'all are safe during this pandemic and continue to remain safe and cautious.

(Omake - Among Us)

..

[DEAD BODY REPORTED by Jeanne]

DISCUSS!

Jeanne: Lancer(Karna) is dead.

Shirou: Impostor, you aren't human!

Archer: I believe it's Shirou. He is acting kinda sus.

Shirou: Me? Why me?

Sasuke: I concur.

Shirou: What? How is it me?! And why are you both on the same page all of a sudden?! You guys didn't even talk to each other in the story yet!

Archer: That's unnecessary.

Sasuke: What were you doing then?

Shirou: I was trying to keep everyone safe.

Archer: And three people died in one round, including Rin who was with you.

Jeanne: Guys, let's not rush into things.

*Sasuke voted*

*Archer voted*

Gilgamesh: Fuhahahahaha! I know who the imposters are, mongrels! I saw everything!

Jeanne: Why were you in the security room instead of doing the tasks?

Gilgamesh: Fool! Why would the King of Heroes do something as trivial as 'tasks', that's why I gave them to Sasuke to do it.

Shirou: Wait, that's not even allowed! It doesn't work that way!

Gilgamesh: So what? I am the rules!

Jeanne: Who did you see then, King of Heroes?

Gilgamesh: It's not about who I saw, it's about who I see fit to punish. It's the mongrel over there. He couldn't even keep Saber safe.

*Gilgamesh voted*

Shirou: Just because you say I am the impostor doesn't mean I am the impostor!

Jeanne: I am sorry Shirou, but we need to take a gamble here or else the imposters win by double kill.

*Jeanne voted*

Shirou: Guys, ugh.. it's not me. Sigh, here goes a nothing vote.

*Shirou voted*

...

*Shirou was ejected.*

Shirou was not An Imposter.

(2 imposters remain)