Kiritsugu let out a tired sigh as he prepared his things for travel.

He really didn't like having to start traveling again so quickly with only a few weeks since he had adopted Mori and Shirou, plus they had just started school now.

But he had to do it, those stone pillars brought him a bad feeling with those objects, that even at this vast distance he could feel a change in the atmosphere with their mere presence.

Furthermore, he had to make sure that the Magi Association would not approach his "territory", as the Freelancer felt that they would link their appearance to the finalized Holy Grail War, after all, they had appeared at the very moment Kiritsugu had ordered Saber to destroy the Holy Grail.

However, the primary reason for all this was that he wanted to be sure that the appearance of those pillars was not his fault... But knowing his luck, it would surely be another mistake to add to his long list of mistakes and regrets.

And he didn't think that with the little time he had left he could feel at peace with himself or live with them, but at least he would do right by Mori and Shirou so that they could live the rest of their lives in peace, and if possible bring Illya with them ... Though with the vast amount of defenses the Einzbern possessed he doubted he could get through them in his current condition and without support.

And he didn't think he would be very welcome after destroying the Holy Grail, not even explaining his reasons about the tainted Holy Grail . That's how kind his father-in-law was ...

On the other hand, almost everything was ready for his trip, which he was sure to make tomorrow, to return home as soon as possible, probably by the end of the week or the following week in the worst case scenario. The only thing left to do was to inform his two adopted sons of his unplanned trip.

Weapons and supplies didn't matter, after all he had the occasional safe house in Japan where he had resources from his mercenary life in case of emergencies, just like in other countries, living a life as the Magus Killer, he had to be prepared for anything.

So he didn't worry about it, but about his children, he would have to wait until they came back from their first day of school to inform them, besides, he could inform Raiga to keep an eye on the residence in case of emergency. Kiritsugu hoped he wouldn't be bothered by it.

But before he left, he had to check a few last things and he would be ready, just waiting for Mori and Shirou to inform them of his trip. But there were a few more essentials that he had to make sure were in order.

So entering the shed of the residence, he approached where the magic circle he had established during the Holy Grail War was hidden by some boxes and other household supplies. But there were two boxes in particular that were kept safe by being in plain sight, due to how neglected they looked.

But inside them were perhaps the most valuable things in terms of monetary value that the Magus Killer possessed, and one of them far surpassed the previous one. If someone from the Magus Association, Atlas or the Wandering Sea were to see what was in one of the boxes ... Then, he could not imagine what would happen, perhaps a new cold war with the desire to get that relic would begin.

Kiritsugu ignored those thoughts and opened one of the boxes, inside was his favorite and most deadly weapon for magi. His Thompson Contender shining in all its glory, even after the great use he had made of it in the Holy Grail War, was still very functional and still had several bullets stored in the same box.

This would be one of the things he would take with him on his journey, it was the only way he could feel safe, even more so with the loss of his companion Maiya, who would no longer be there to watch his back, now he could only rely on himself ... And he didn't think he could do that without the Mystic Code that Natalia had made him several decades ago and that had earned him the title of Magus Killer.

The Freelancer let out a sigh before putting the weapon back in its case, his nerves calmer this time. But that calm lasted only a short time before he turned his gaze to the second box ... Where there was a treasure perhaps comparable to the Holy Grail itself, only if they could complete it.

The older man opened the box where a polished platinum tiara was found, though it seemed broken in half, Kiritsugu, whose magical skills were pitiful compared to his father or the other traditional magus, the mercenary could tell that this thing he found near where he had found Mori and Shirou in Fuyuki's fire, was a powerful Mystic Code.

After taking both boys to the hospital, Kiritsugu returned to the area to check it out as he sensed certain irregularities, especially presences similar to the stone pillars, but what stood out the most was the broken diadem. And although the former Magus Killer was not in a position to identify it or say what its functions were, but he was sure of one thing ...

It was a high-level Concept Weapon.

A Concept Weapon to control the ...

And what made the man more nervous was the lack of knowledge of where such a weapon had come from, since he had investigated in depth the participants of the Holy Grail War and the other magus in Fuyuki, and none had shown to have possession of such an object.

Besides, if someone had had it in their possession, and if at that time it would not be found broken ... He was certain that the original possessor would have won the Holy Grail War on the first day.

But that was a confirmed impossibility, no one in the Holy Grail War had possession of this diadem, and it was probably already broken by that time. So again the uncertainty arose as to where that Conceptual Weapon had come from ... And did it have something to do with the stone pillars?

And why did he feel it was related to his son Mori?

Kiritsugu closed the box again and left it in place, he really didn't have enough information to justify his self-founded suspicions. Besides, the last thing he needed was to speculate that his new adopted son was in possession of such mystical objects...

With the addition of the suspicion that he belonged to the Hitokiri no Akai Hasu, an ancient organization created roughly in the Meiji period of Japan to breed powerful and lethal assassins that could even put the Magus Killer on the complete defensive at his best ... However, a few years ago the organization had fallen.

Supposedly by one of their own assassins, the most lethal of all ... Known to be more of a living weapon than a human.

How did Kiritsugu know them and had so much respect for them as well as fear? Well, during the period of his youth and in his training with Natalia, the mercenary took him to that organization for training.

It had been one of the most difficult times of his life, and he was close to death every day of training, it barely lasted a month but he had already accumulated enough combat skills to overcome several magus along with the tactics that Natalia had instilled in him.

The former freelancer feared what a true full-fledged Hitokiri of that organization was capable of, probably with a combat ability similar to his worst enemy, Kotomine Kirei.

And what mortified him most was Mori's possible relationship with them, because such combat skills with a martial art that he could identify was made with the simple purpose of killing humans, well ... He had reason to tread carefully at the young man's side.

However, Kiritsugu never found any malice in him and it was because of them that he felt strangely safe in leaving the turquoise-haired boy with the little red-haired boy, for Mori watched over Shirou too much, and knew that he would never harm his younger brother.

So with that thought he finally left the shed, not before taking one last look at the box with the tiara, in due time he would get it a better security and a seal to make it harder to find, but for now the shed with a small Bounded Field in it next to the second one that surrounded the residence would suffice for the time being.

The embers of the Fourth Holy Grail War would still take time to die down, so no nearby magus, especially the Tohsaka, such as the Matou or what he feared most, the Church would come near the place.

So that was one less worry, as she clenched the box tightly with her Thompson Contender out of nerves, she walked back into the main house to take it to her room to finish packing her bags.

As he walked to his room, he pondered the stone pillars again, weighing the priorities of each. Although the pillar in the Sea of Japan was larger, it had the same authority and impact as the one in Misaki City.

Needless to say, it was impossible for him to approach that city, so he wrote off that pillar as lost. Misaki was a city that was administered by the Aozaki family itself, a family of magicians not so old but who reached the realm of the Fifth True Magic with the current head of their family, the famous and destructive, Miss Blue.

Aozaki Aoko.

Kiritsugu may have committed many actions that could be considered suicidal throughout his life, but entering the territory of a Magician might be the last thing he does.

Especially now that the news that the Mage had had new heirs to the Fifth True Magic well as to the future leadership of the Aozaki family, a revelation that had revolutionized the magecraft world, wanted to meet the Mage's children as well as the husband of the aforementioned.

It had been an event that had occurred during his isolation with the Einzbern, so he was unaware of most of what had happened, but Maiya had given him the basics.

New Mages had been born ... A terrifying event considering whose children they were, especially if that person was the most destructive woman in the world.

So Misaki was completely out of the question, he didn't want to deal with a mage mother who would try to kill him the moment she saw him, simply because of his reputation. That plus the other defenses of the Aozaki family, who had formidable individuals that Kiritsugu could never overcome unless he was at his best and had a lot of support.

Another negative point was that Misaki also had several demon-hunting families, some even with hybrid blood. And not to brag, but Kiritsugu doubted they could like him... Basically, almost everyone in the occult feared or hated him, so it was best not to push his luck.

That left the Sea of Japan pillar, being in such a neutral territory, made his access easier ... As well as any conflicts there might be, but it was a danger he was willing to take.

At least it seemed safer than going to a True Mage's house. So he could form plans for those of the Mage Association and Atlas, he seriously doubted that the Wandering Sea would come into action ... If it had, the stone pillar would have already been removed long ago.

Besides, Kiritsugu wanted to check that he still had the Magus Killer's touch ... And hope that it would last long enough to make a raid to retrieve Illya from the Einzbern.

Or die trying, leaving Mori and Shirou as safe as possible in case that scenario happened.

There was nothing to worry about, he would simply go and leave everything safe in Fuyuki, sever any connection the pillars had to the Holy Grail War, kill any magus or hostile individuals he encountered along the way and return home.

What could go wrong?

Ring.

The alarming sound of a call was his answer, so as the house phone continued to ring, Kiritsugu prepared to go to the living room to answer the call, all the while wondering who it could be. After all, he didn't have many friends for obvious reasons and he made sure that his underworld contacts would never be able to reach him unless he wanted them to.

So it was with some uncertainty that he picked up the phone to answer the call, hoping that it was simply Raiga, who wanted to have sake with him.

But boy, how wrong he was.

"Emiya Residence, who did you speak to?" Kiritsugu replied in a neutral tone of voice.

"Old man? It's me, Shirou." He said to the black-haired man's surprise when he heard his youngest son's voice on the other end of the line.

But for his sainted Thompson Contender, why was this brat talking to him on the phone?

"What the-? Shirou, where are you? Where's Mori? Is everything all right?" the former mercenary asked with noticeable concern in his voice.

His mind was already making up the worst possible scenario, such as the possibility of a kidnapping by former enemies of the Magus Killer thirsty for revenge ...

"I'm fine, I'm at a friend's house. But I haven't been able to tell Mori-nii, could you tell him for me?" Said the red-haired boy with total calm, being ignorant of his adoptive father's worries.

Good thing Kiritsugu's fears were simply self-founded. But that didn't make his worries any lessened, just the hazards of parenthood, the black-haired man supposed.

"A friend's house?" the former Magus Killer asked curiously, not expecting that.

It wasn't that he doubted his youngest son's social skills, but both he and Mori had a ... A certain charisma that seemed to draw and attract the attention of the strangest personalities.

Young Taiga was a good example of this.

On the other hand, that didn't stop him from being a little happy for his son, he was glad that he was able to create friendships with his classmates. He hoped Mori would have the same luck, other than that he would have to let Homurahara academy know to notify the turquoise-haired boy about this.

"Yes, in the end I ended up making a friend and she invited me to her house at the insistence of her maid. They said they would accompany me home later." Shirou explained simply.

"I understand. I'm glad you made a friend." Kiritsugu replied sincerely. "Well, I hope you have fun and try not to stay so late, I have something important to tell you and Mori."

"Understood, old man."

"I'm not that old..." Muttered the former mercenary with a sigh. "By the way, what's your friend's name?" He asked out of mere curiosity.

"Oh, her name is Tohsaka Rin." The boy commented carelessly.

... By his succubus and saintly mother, what the man cursed by All the Evils of the World was missing.

This was what the former mercenary meant by the strange charisma of attracting particular individuals, what were the chances his youngest son would meet and befriend the Tohsaka heiress?

Now what, next week Mori would introduce him to a new girlfriend? Who would turn out to be the Vampire Princess of the Dead Apostles... A part of Kiritsugu wanted to scream to the world that it was just a joke.

He didn't want to tempt fate any further, considering that he was already doomed to a long and painful death.

"I'll tell Mori to pick you up to go home." Said the older man sternly.

"Huh? But, they said they could walk me home." Said the red-haired man confused by the change of attitude of your adoptive father.

"Shirou, please listen to me. You will be picked up by Mori when he gets out of school, understood?" He said although it sounded more like an order from the former Magus Killer, but it was for the good of everyone.

" ... Understood."

"Okay, I'll wait for you at home."

"See you later, old man."

After that conversation the call was finally over, and Kiritsugu could breathe easier ... Just his luck, right? Worrying about agents of the Magi Association when even Fuyuki's magi could be trouble.

The last thing he needed was for Fuyuki's second owner to discover that he was taking refuge in this city under his nose.

"Though knowing my luck it is no longer a secret..." The man lamented before looking at the phone again. "Well, off to call the school now."

...

"Ah... This day was a roller coaster of emotions." Mori said to himself as he left his last class.

This revelation about the Four Gods of Fuyuki was a big surprise for the turquoise-haired young man, especially the more Reikan explained about it. Especially when he found out that Fujimura Taiga was part of them ... Strangely enough, she fit the title as the White Tiger, Byakko.

Besides, he had made a friend! Or at least he thought he had made a bond of friendship with Reikan, who had kindly explained to him the unwritten rules of Fuyuki as well as the Homurahara academy.

Another positive thing, was that with Reikan's earlier intervention, the academy bullies stopped targeting him at least for the time being.

Mori knew he had to do something about them, it was a problem that he could just let go as if it didn't matter, or else he would live the rest of his school life being bullied ... Which was kind of annoying, but when your body was so wrecked and your mind so tired of it all ...

But he had to do it, he couldn't live the rest of his life with that failure and loss. But it was so hard to stop seeing the memory of his grandfather dying at the hands of Mubong Park's bastard as he said his last words ... To then end up in this strange world so unique but at the same time similar to his own.

Nevertheless, he had to do it, he had to overcome it, not only for himself, but also because he had someone to guide.

The memory of Shirou almost dying in that cursed fire assaulted his mind with force, as powerful as a blow from Satan, and that was an understatement.

How could a living being so insignificant and so weak have more will to live than the Monkey King? It was like a kind of mockery of fate that was engineered by Tathagata, but Mori saw it as inspiration, it was that pleasant feeling that Xuanzang brought him the more time they spent together.

For Shirou would have to continue, he kept fighting even in the face of losing to the Heaven's army, he kept fighting even after losing Xuanzang, he could do it ... He had to do it ...

"Hey." called a voice which brought Mori out of his thoughts.

Just when the turquoise-haired was leaving the school facilities at the end of the last school term, only the students who were in some club or extracurricular activities and some teachers along with several members of the student council, waiting for him just at the entrance of the Homurahara academy was Yamamoto and several of his friends.

"Come with me for a minute." Yamamoto asked although his tone of voice sounded more like an order that left no room for discussion, beside him several of his fellow bullies chuckled.

A great moment of tension settled in the place, especially when several classmates and other students from different years watched the scene with their fears and sympathy written on their foreheads. But no one was willing to come out and defend him, which was to be expected, he was the new kid who no one knew.

No one would really come out to help him ... Except for the kind Reikan, who unfortunately was not around as far as he could tell. Opportune time for Yamamoto and his friends to go about their business without interruption, an unfortunate coincidence.

'Mm, apparently they're not all muscle like they appear to be, huh?' The Fallen God couldn't help but think as he gave Yamamoto a blank look. In the end he nodded with no other alternatives, he would play along with this game as he had always done in his student days. - Well, guide the way I guess. -

Yamamoto didn't like the condescending tone with which the turquoise-haired man spoke but he would let it go for now, right now they had to take him to a better place to put the new boy in his place properly. His friends, other Nagasawa followers like him, flashed mischievous grins at the fresh meat to play with.

Oh, they were going to have some fun with him. Unless Suzaku himself came to play himself, in which case they would have to let him play alone.

"Well, follow me." Said Yamamoto starting to walk to a more secluded area where they wouldn't be interrupted like last time.

Mori nodded without much trouble as he followed the obese young man, at the same time being escorted by his friends, so that he wouldn't escape the former Monkey King supposed.

Meanwhile, the other students at the exit looked at what had happened as if a murder was about to take place.

And perhaps they were not far wrong ...

...

Taiga let out a sigh after taking a long drink of water while taking a break after a few practice bouts, she was wearing her kendo suit with all its protections but without the helmet to drink water obviously.

She had done some practice bouts to keep her fighting skills from going bad, she always had to polish her blade or she would not be at ease with herself, especially Torashinai, the cursed sword of the Fujimura family, who was growling slightly at her side, her bloodlust was still not fully quenched and she wanted more ...

The short combat he had with Mori had been the only combat that had left the Torashinai completely satisfied for several days, even a couple of weeks ... Not even the nearly half-hour long bout against Seiryu a couple of years ago had appeased her even for a day.

She had to fight Mori with everything ... But he was indisposed, but that had to wait ... And if she could help him in any way.

That was her goal ... Her ninja path ...

The yakuza princess frowned, that was from the wrong franchise ...

"Fujimura-kun!" The kendo instructor called out to her, his tone showed that he was annoyed. - You're very good, too good ... Hell, you sure are the best swordsman in Japan! But you should stop treating the sport like it's breathing! There are more important things. -

The brown-haired girl frowned, again that issue with her priorities. People who didn't understand how she felt, not even the other Fuyuki Gods were able to understand her feelings about the fight ...

Except for him, the Tiger of Fuyuki could feel it, Mori was like her ... Only somewhere along the way that flame had been extinguished ...

And the existence known as Fujimura Taiga would be the fuel that ignited that forest fire waiting to explode inside the turquoise-haired young man.

"Also, you should start removing that tiger ornament from your shinai, such customizations are not allowed in official tournaments. And I know this is your family's shinai but you should take into account the official rules of kendo, that is disrespectful and-".

"Understood, sensei. I have to go now." Taiga interrupted his tirade in a scathing manner as she went to the girls' locker room to change.

"Eh ... ? O-Oh, okay..." Said the sensei dumbfounded by the young woman's boldness, but knew from her curt tone it was best not to pursue the subject.

Perhaps he was a kendo instructor, but before him was literally a sword saint waiting simply to attack at the first provocation. No one wanted to step into the white tiger's mouth unless you had a death wish.

In no time, Taiga had already changed into her school uniform and left the dojo with her bag and shinai with the initiative to return home, after all she had nothing left to do at the academy nor did she have any plans to go out with any classmates.

Her friend Neko was probably at her father's bar helping out, and perhaps admiring the new Genbu like a maiden in love. Seiryu had probably already left and didn't feel like challenging him to a fight today. On the other hand, Reikan ...

"Hey, did you see what happened?"

"What?"

"You don't know?! The new kid was intercepted by Yamamoto at the exit!"

"What are you talking about?!"

"Yeah, I saw it with my own eyes! Looks like they're not going easy on him!"

"Hey, and did you know that Reikan went after them when he found out!"

"Are you serious? This is getting out of hand! If the gods start getting involved... !"

"Wait, wasn't the new guy a Dan Mori?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Damn it, I'm from the student council. Your representative called the academy, told us we had to deliver an important message to you. But Dan-kun right now is..."

"What's the message?" Taiga asked, drawing the attention of the small group of students who had gathered to discuss the topic of the moment.

Which resulted from some sort of "welcome" prepared by Suzaku's worthless henchmen, and apparently Reikan was involved ... Noble of him, but even the young monk nor having Seiryu as a big brother was not as strong compared to her or him, so facing many opponents would be impossible for him.

All the gathered students watched the young brown haired girl with tension, it was a bit funny to see several second and third year students so scared of a first year girl, until you remembered that this young girl was the granddaughter of the Yakuza boss of Fuyuki apart from being the second strongest city goddess.

"What is the message Kiritsugu-san sent?" asked the Yakuza princess again with more clarity to the student council member.

The aforementioned was hesitant at the young woman's question.

"I-I don't think it's the right thing to do." He said in response with some nervousness, it was his first time talking to Byakko.

And that was his first mistake, with a frown the infamous Fuyuki's tiger approached dangerously close to the young man of the council.

"Listen to me well, you had only one job to do, a simple job which was to inform Mori of a message from his father, which you will not do because you are a coward. Now, I'm coming to do your meaningless job and you don't want to do it out of a hypocritical sense of morality, so listen to me well when I tell you something ... What is the message?"

The whole place fell into a stony silence after those harsh words the young girl had said, it even looked like the student council member was going to fall to his knees to cry and wet his pants. A part of Taiga felt bad to talk to her like that, but when she wanted something ... Nothing under the heavens was going to stop her.

"H-His father w-wanted to tell yhim to re-pick up your younger brother from a-friend's house, he had something to t-tell them back home." The young man replied with a fearful stammer for the Fuyuki Tiger.

Taiga nodded in satisfaction. - Good, then I'll deliver the message. I'll see you later. -

With that said and done, she left the school premises not before asking some directions as to which way Mori had gone with those pesky flies Suzaku and Reikan.

Well, Fuyuki's Celestial Tiger was very hungry ... And his Torashinai was also looking forward to trying a bite of some idiots.

... And if it was possible to pierce Mori with her teeth, but that was a matter for later.

...

"So this is the place, huh?" Mori muttered looking at the dirty and isolated alley where they were, even he had seen very few people on the street so he doubted that help would be arriving anytime soon.

Good thing he knew how to take hits, because unfortunately he had lost the ability to throw them.

"Well, since you are new. You have a few options, the first is to give us all your money every day, as a special security fee from Suzaku himself ... Or, suffer the consequences of not doing so."

The turquoise-haired young man's eyes narrowed, bullying for money, it was quite typical, it was something the Fallen God himself had suffered in his old world, until he had shown who was in charge. Sadly, he wasn't sure who was in charge now with his trust shattered into pieces ...

"I'm sorry, I don't have any money with me ... And I don't think it's very convenient for me to pay every day for a protection that will only prevent you from bothering me." The former Monkey King replied.

Yamamoto's friends looked at the turquoise-haired young man with annoyance, anyone was more than willing to be the first to hit the former Monkey King.

But it was Yamamoto who stopped them by raising his hand, then he himself approached the turquoise-haired young man and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pushed him hard against a wall.

"Then, it will be the hard way. Personally I like it better this way, Suzaku would never have liked you." Yamamoto said mischievously.

"Just as well, they seem like people I could never like." Was the former Monkey King's reply in a mocking tone.

"Now you've earned it!" Yamamoto exclaimed as he raised his fist ready to beat the turquoise-haired young man to death.

Or at least that was the plan until frantic footsteps approached the alley where everyone was, and everyone was surprised to see that it was no one but Reikan who had arrived.

'He... He came to help me?' The Fallen God couldn't help but think with surprise.

"So you came." Yamamoto said releasing Mori's shirt and approaching the purple-haired young man with an amused smile. "As I said, Suzaku didn't like your attitude, and since it's been seen that Seiryu doesn't meddle in your business ... Well, it's time to put you in your place."

The Blue Dragon's brother frowned as he looked at Yamamoto, and his gaze drifted to his companions, seeing the difficult situation he was in having a numerical disadvantage against them.

Yamamoto noticed that and simply smiled mischievously. "Don't worry, these guys here are just going to hang around and watch, so don't be scared ..."

The obese young man took off his instinct jacket and settled into a fighting pose. "Come, Ryuudou Reikan."

...