Fate: Hammer Time

by TedTheRabbit

Shirou Emiya wanted to become a hero. That was clear to all who truly know him. For a long time though, he lacked the power to actually achieve that goal. No longer. No longer will he lack the power, now that the Hammer of the Odinson has chosen him as new wielder. Prepare for Thunder. ShirouxMultiple, Thor-Shirou.

44. The Trials (3)

The Trials (3)

---

After Lady Barthomeloi had informed him that Grover Meluastea's remains had gone missing from the mortuary by means unknown, Shirou had immediately decided to search as much of the Clocktower as he could to find those remains again.

A small part of him, the unreasonably positive part, still hoped that it had been nothing but an opportunistic thief who had made off with Grover's body when a golden opportunity presented itself. An unscrupulous Magus who'd seen a chance to obtain research material and hoped that nobody would care about a traitor's remains. If that were the case, Shirou would simply track the thief down, reprimand them, and burn Grover's corpse to ash.

The larger, more realistic part of him however feared that the situation was much worse than that. That in spite of being dead, Grover Meluastea had fled on his own accord, through foul Magecraft that transcended the limits of life and death, if he was even dead to begin with and hadn't somehow survived being beheaded.

He had no concrete proof for his fears. All he had were his observations during Grover's trial, when he'd seen that the man was basically nothing more than a solidified mass of evil and maliciousness. Something that could not be killed by mere decapitation.

A feeling was hardly a cause for investigation however. Yes, Lady Barthomeloi had listened to him and promised that she would do her best to track Grover down again, but she still thought the man was dead. Why wouldn't she? He had no evidence to the contrary.

As such, Shirou would have to take the initiative himself, and try to track Grover down before he could do any harm. As he was already fully booked during the day however, with the trials that were still going on and his temporary job at the cafeteria, the search had to take place at night.

That was why he was currently wandering all over the Clocktower at two o'clock in the morning, using both his eyes and his nose to search for Grover, looking in every nook and cranny to find a usable trace to track.

He'd already searched the places he was familiar with, that being the Department of Modern Magecraft Theory, Mineralogy, and Policies, and he was now entering the Department of Lore. There was no particular order to his search, just what was most convenient at a given time.

Just about anyone could have taken the body after all.

As he wandered around however, making sure to keep himself invisible to the many Bounded Fields that were supposed to block his way, Shirou once more affirmed something he'd already noticed at the beginning of his search.

There was a massive contrast between the Clocktower during the day and the Clocktower at night.

During the day, the Clocktower truly was the bustling conglomeration it was always described to be. People were walking everywhere, the countless decorations sparkled in the light of the sun or the lamps, the many shops and stores were doing excellent business, and there was always noise, sometimes loud, sometimes muted.

At night however, the Clocktower went completely still.

Shirou had been walking around for several hours now, and in all that time, he'd only encountered six other stragglers, who had run away from him the instant they noticed him, often without even bothering to see who he was. The lights were shut off, making the decorations and artworks look incredibly creepy instead of impressive, and all the shops, stores, and cafeterias were closed, without a single person inside them.

Most of all though, it was quiet. So incredibly quiet that Shirou could hear his own heartbeat in his ears. There were no bugs around, no mice, nothing at all. Just him and the shadows.

The redhead wasn't easily scared by silence, and he certainly wasn't afraid of the dark, but nevertheless, seeing the Clocktower in such a state still gave him goosebumps all over.

When Shirou had started his nightly search, he certainly hadn't expected something like this, that the place would be so abandoned at night. He'd figured it would be like Fuyuki, where the bustling nightlife ensured there were always people about and that it never became fully dark.

Apparently though, most Magi chose to lock themselves up after sunset and hide away in their homes, taking shelter under their Bounded Fields and other defences, not coming out until morning, unless they had a very pressing matter to attend to during the night.

Which was probably the wise thing to do, considering what most Magi were like. You never knew after all whether the person you met at night was someone who'd cut your throat without blinking an eye to steal your organs for their research.

Still, the fact that the halls were so empty did provide Shirou with ample opportunity to go wherever he pleased in his search for Grover Meluastea. With his technique for disrupting Bounded Fields and the lack of people, he could visit any Department he wanted, and no one was going to get in his way. He was practically unstoppable now and could go wherever he pleased.

When seen like that, the current situation was almost exhilarating.

Until he bumped into someone he hadn't expected to find out and about so late at night.

"Miss Ortensia?" He spluttered when he spotted the small, white-haired nun while crossing through the Clocktower's main indoor garden on his way to the Department of Botany. "What are you doing here?!"

The diminutive girl, who was a few years older than him but certainly didn't act the part, was standing in the middle of the garden, looking intently at the flowers before her, as if they were about to whisper secrets into her ear.

The moonlight shining down on her through the glass roof made her white hair glow in the dark, her nun's habit was anything but inconspicuous, and she put in not even a token effort to hide or otherwise conceal herself despite the scary atmosphere hanging around the place.

She was like a sitting duck, and Shirou was incredibly grateful he was the first person to have stumbled upon her. Who knew what could have happened if some unscrupulous type had found her first?

"Oh, Shirou." Upon hearing his shocked question, the nun looked up from the red flower she had been studying to give him a bright smile. "What am I doing here? I am looking at the flowers of course."

"At two o'clock at night?" Shirou asked incredulously.

"I don't have any time during the day." Ortensia cocked her head to the side. "Which you of all people should understand, no?"

"Yes, well, maybe." Shirou admitted, before aiming a light glare at the nun. "But it is dangerous to be out in the Clocktower alone, especially after sunset."

"There is no need to worry, I have God to protect me." Ortensia provided her standard answer, and Shirou let out a deep sigh, knowing that in the eyes of the nun, that answer finished the matter. There was no way now that he could convince her to leave, hide, or otherwise protect herself.

So he decided to do the next best thing.

"How long are you going to stay here?"

"Not very long. I have seen most of the flowers by now, and I'll have to get up early tomorrow again."

"Would an hour be enough?"

"That would be more than enough."

"Then I'll stay with you until you are done and then bring you back to your room." Shirou said in a tone that brokered no argument. "There is no way I can continue my own search in peace if I leave you here."

"Oh, thank you!" Ortensia looked enthused at his words, her serene smile turning into a more genuine grin. "It would be great to have someone to talk to. The quiet was getting to me."

She didn't say a single word about protection, but then again, Shirou hadn't expected her to. In her mind, she already had the greatest protector there was, so Shirou didn't add much.

"Not to mention having my valiant protector with me does set me at ease a bit, here in the dark." Ortensia playfully stuck out her tongue when Shirou gave her a surprised look, before turning around and trotting off towards another flower, this one a beautiful teal colour that was so pure that it couldn't possibly have come about normally.

After another moment of surprise, Shirou followed her, and came to a halt in front of the flower, studying it closely.

"It really pleases me that even a place as vile as the Clocktower can hold such beauty inside." Ortensia whispered after a few moments, her yellow eyes shining in amazement as she looked at the flower. "I know this flower is probably meaningless, and that its creator does not care about its beauty, but I still find hope in it."

"Hm." Shirou made a noise of agreement, deciding not to mention that this flower had been grown on a human corpse that had been stolen from a mundane mortuary, and that it produced a poison that ate away a human's nerves at an excruciatingly slow pace.

There was no need to ruin the nun's mood.

"What about you, Shirou?" Ortensia then addressed him, looking up at him with curious eyes. "Do you think this flower is beautiful?"

"It is." Shirou told her honestly, for it was a beautiful flower.

"The most beautiful thing you have ever seen?"

"No." Shirou did not have to think about that for even a mere moment. "The most beautiful things I have seen are my girlfriends. Nothing can compare."

"Oooh." The white-haired girl made a cooing sound, and she reached up to pat his head. "That is such a cute thing to say."

"It is what I think." Shirou shrugged.

"What about me then?" Ortensia asked eagerly, stepping forward and turning around, placing herself next to the flower. "Am I more beautiful than the flower?"

"Yes." Shirou nodded, again being honest, as the nun was indeed far more beautiful than the teal-coloured flower, at least in his eyes. He tended to find humans more beautiful than other things anyway, such as flowers, landscapes, paintings, and all that stuff, but even among humans, Caren Ortensia was very pretty.

"You didn't even hesitate!" Ortensia pressed her hands over her mouth, giving him a comically wide-eyed look. It seemed like she was just playing around, acting shocked, but Shirou could see she was trying to hide the fact she was actually surprised and flustered by his answer. "Do you really think so?"

"Yes." Shirou confirmed again.

"Even despite my personality?"

"Your personality isn't that disagreeable." Shirou shook his head slowly, wondering where all these questions were coming from. "I've met far worse people than you."

"That does not mean much." She deadpanned at him. "Compared to a person like Stanley Meluastea, or my father, anyone's personality is 'not that disagreeable'."

"Your father?" Shirou asked, before holding up a hand. "No, pardon me, I shouldn't pry-"

"My father is the cruellest, meanest, most messed-up man in existence." She revealed bluntly, cutting him off. "He is the scourge put on Earth to test mankind. He is an evil man, through and through. The fact that he is a priest is a blemish on the Church."

"Ah." Shirou made an understanding noise, but he didn't say anything. He wouldn't know what to say anyway, and frankly, he was surprised she was sharing all this with him.

It was unusual for the nun to be this open, and Shirou got the idea that she was somehow challenging him. He had no idea how or why though.

"Kotomine Kirei." She suddenly said.

"…Ha?" Shirou froze in place for the shortest of moments at the mention of his father's nemesis, before he shook his head violently, reasoning that he must have misheard. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. What did you say-?"

"Kotomine Kirei." She repeated, removing all doubt.

Shirou didn't freeze this time, but rather stood up straight, wordlessly compelling Ortensia to explain herself, to explain why she suddenly mentioned that man out of the blue. Hadn't they been talking about her father?

"You are from Japan, aren't you?" Ortensia started with a question, before continuing after he nodded. "If you ever meet a man by that name, run. I don't care how powerful you are, you must flee as quickly as you can. I realise that this might sound insane, considering your true nature, but Kotomine Kirei… He is like the devil."

"I know of him." Shirou admitted, which got him a surprised look from Ortensia. "I know what he is capable of. I know it very well."

"I… I see." The white-haired nun muttered, looking at him as if she was seeing him for the first time. "You know his evil."

"Yes." Shirou nodded, having his father's tales in the back of his mind. "I don't know how you know him, but-"

"He is my father." Ortensia interrupted him, her expression not changing in the slightest, as if she'd locked it in place.

"Your father?!" Shirou almost reared back in shock, his mouth falling open as he stared at the nun, whose expression still hadn't changed.

At some level, he should have seen this coming. They had been talking about Ortensia's father after all, before the nun had suddenly said Kotomine's name. It shouldn't have been so hard to add two and two together.

Only, Shirou hadn't added it together. His mind had refused to entertain the possibility that Kotomine might have children, let alone a daughter like Ortensia, so he'd seen the nun's story about her father and her mentioning Kotomine's name as separate events that had been in no way linked to each other.

Except maybe in the sense of Kotomine having killed her father.

Now though, the connection was shoved in his face, and he learned that not only did Kotomine in fact have a daughter, but that said daughter had also become a sort-of friend of his.

The universe truly had a strange sense of humour.

The mood was heavy between them, as Shirou gaped at the nun and she looked back with a neutral expression, before she suddenly smiled.

"Well then, Shirou." She said, before drawing herself up to her full height and spreading her arms, as if presenting herself to him. "Now that you know who my father is, what kind of seed spawned me into this world, do you still think I am beautiful?"

She clearly expected a negative response, for him to distance himself from her, but Shirou honestly thought it a rather silly question.

"Of course you are still beautiful."

"Eh?" This time, it was Ortensia's turn to freeze in place, as she looked at him with wide eyes.

"You are not your father." Shirou was really stating the obvious there. "Nor do you possess his evil. When I look at you, I don't see Kotomine Kirei's daughter. I see Caren Ortensia, our mischievous, troublemaking, teasing, irresponsible, beautiful nun. Nothing else."

"B-But…" She stuttered out, her eyes having gone even wider than before. "S-Sins of the f-father?"

"What about forgiveness? Mercy? The good inside the heart of mankind?" Shirou countered. He didn't know much about Christianity, but if that religion stated that Ortensia was evil merely because of who her father was, then he would reject it without hesitation, for it would be wrong. "You are you, miss Ortensia, and that is all there is to it."

She gaped at him, her mouth having gone as wide as her eyes, and Shirou looked away slightly as he realised she was about to cry.

"Ah, good gracious." Ortensia mumbled after a few moments, her voice surprisingly steady. "You shouldn't say such things to a girl if you don't mean them."

"I know." Shirou huffed. "But I did mean them."

"You..." His words left her speechless yet again. "…You horrible, no good man."

Once more, there were a few seconds of silence between them, and then Ortensia let out a soft giggle.

"Saying such nice things about a girl like me, how is my poor heart supposed to bear it?" She muttered, and when Shirou looked back at her, he saw that her eyes, previously misty with unshed tears, were now shining playfully. "I do hope you'll take responsibility for it."

"Responsibility?" Shirou was almost afraid to ask.

"Take care of me for the rest of my life." Ortensia revealed her outrageous demand without blinking an eye, and Shirou choked on air.

"I-I thought n-nuns couldn't marry!" He spluttered, completely thrown by her sudden request that had come out of absolutely nowhere.

"Then make me your pet." Ortensia's demand became even more outrageous, and Shirou really didn't know where to look once she went down on her knees and raised her hands in such a way that they resembled a cat's paws. "Nya."

"D-Don't mimic a cat!"

The nun was taking her teasing further than ever before, save for perhaps her cheerleading routine in Germany, and Shirou could feel how his cheeks became bright red at the sight of the very pretty girl kneeling before him and looking up at him with wide, trusting eyes.

Of course, Shirou knew that Ortensia was trying to cover for her earlier slip-up. Her embarrassing antics were nothing more than an attempt to make him forget about her tearful expression after he'd told her that she was nothing like her father. Nevertheless, even though he knew her motive, seeing her behave like that was still incredibly embarrassing, and Shirou found himself really grateful suddenly that it was the middle of the night and that no one else was around.

If other people had been around, he might have had to physically remove them from the scene after all, and impress upon them the need to keep their mouths shut.

"E-Enough!" He hissed when Ortensia slowly and sensually licked the back of her hand, grabbing her by the back of her collar and lifting her onto her feet again. "Miss Ortensia, t-that is enough."

"Caren." She suddenly said.

"Hm?"

"If you're not going to make me your pet, at least call me Caren." She clarified, giving him a lopsided smile.

"Caren." He said, to her obvious satisfaction.

"Say it again." She then ordered him.

"Huh, why?"

"Just do it."

"…Caren?" Shirou repeated, somewhat unsure.

"No, you have to say it like you did before. With a strong voice."

"Caren." Shirou repeated again, this time without hesitation.

"Yes, like that." She grinned, before spinning around in a flourish. "I really like the sound of that."

"…" Shirou had no idea how to react, so he didn't say anything.

"I'm done with the flowers." Caren then stated out of the blue. "Please bring me back to my room."

"Ah, sure." Shirou nodded, before obediently leading her to her room in the Department of Modern Magical Theories. On the way there, neither of them spoke a word, but it wasn't an unpleasant silence. Not at all.

Once they were there and Caren had opened her door, she turned around one last time.

"Say hello to your girlfriends for me." She requested with a sincere smile. "Tell them that they are lucky girls."

"I will do that." Shirou promised, a bit of heat rising in his cheeks again.

"Then I wish you a good night, Shirou, for all that's left of it."

"Good night, Caren."

Then the nun closed her door, and Shirou turned around to head back to the Department of Botany to continue his search for Grover Meluastea.

His mind was no longer focused however, and it strayed, from Caren, to Kirei Kotomine, to his father, and lastly, to his girlfriends. He wondered what they would think if they could have seen what had happened just now.

But where the thought of them would have filled him with happiness before, it now made him feel unsure, as he had noticed something off over the past week.

Sakura, Ayako, and Rin were hiding something from him.

Shirou had sensed that during their daily calls. They weren't lying to him directly, but they weren't telling him everything either. There was something they were doing, something big, and they didn't tell him what. Even when he tried to gently press them into telling him the truth, they deftly avoided his questions.

Just thinking about those conversations made Shirou grimace, and he placed a hand on his stomach, where an unpleasant sensation was steadily developing itself.

From the very beginning, he'd had a bad feeling about the whole matter, but today, it was more intense than ever before.

He really hoped nothing too bad would happen.

---

'Hey babe, doctor's appointment is going to take a bit longer than expected. There's nothing wrong with me or the family, the doc is just being slow today. You and Rin can go visit Maita Rei ahead of me, I'll join you when I'm done here. Love you.'

That was the message that Ayako had sent to Sakura when the time scheduled for the doctor's appointment was almost over and the woman was still questioning her mother, meaning that Midori and Ayako herself hadn't even begun yet.

Knowing that it would likely take at least another thirty minutes before she was done, Ayako had texted Sakura and given her and Rin the go-ahead to just get started on the investigation again. No sense in wasting time when they didn't have to.

It had turned out to be a wise decision, for it ultimately took another forty minutes before Ayako had gotten a clean bill of health. The appointment had taken way longer than expected, and frankly, the brunette wouldn't be surprised if Rin and Sakura had not only already arrived at the Maita-estate but were already done with the interview altogether.

Nevertheless, the brunette still took a bus to Maita Rei's clinic. She hadn't yet received a message from Sakura that they were finished, so she would assume the interview was still ongoing.

The closest bus stop was about fifteen minutes of walking away from the clinic, but Ayako could cut that time in half by taking a few back alleys, which she promptly did, figuring it couldn't do much harm in the middle of the day.

As she walked, her mind began to stray, and before long, she found herself contemplating how the case of Carlton Paris' murder was going so far.

Frankly, it was going terrible.

They had no suspects, no concrete leads, and aside from her own theory about Paris being a Magus or at least a Magecraft-user, they had no motives for the murder either. Practically, the only thing they knew was that he had been murdered, that his body had been buried near the Ryuudou-temple, and that he was a very successful gigolo who seemed to have no enemies whatsoever, nor did he have the kind of lifestyle that would see him getting murdered.

Sakura, Rin, and she had been going around in circles since the investigation had started, and they hadn't made one bit of progress.

Really, if Shirou could have seen them, he would have laughed himself silly.

Well, no, actually, he wouldn't, he would have praised them for their hard work and then helped them solve the case, but Ayako's point still stood! They weren't really getting anywhere with what they were doing.

The temptation to call Shirou and ask for his help was growing bigger by the day, and frankly, Ayako was seriously considering doing exactly that.

So far, they hadn't told him anything about their investigation. Of course, Shirou had noticed they were hiding something –with his Divine senses or whatever– but after they had told him it was a surprise, he'd backed off easily enough.

It would be annoying to have to go back on their word, to ask him for help after all, but right now, it was about time they admitted they were stuck. Solving the murder was more important than preserving their pride.

Yes, Ayako decided as she walked into the last alley she'd have to cross before arriving at the Maita-estate. They shouldn't put the cart in front of the horse, that wouldn't help anyone-

"URK!?"

Suddenly, a piece of rope was thrown around Ayako's throat from behind and pulled tight in an instant, cutting off her breath.

"Hk, kch!" The brunette wheezed, reflexively gasping for air but unable to get any, after which the rope was pulled even tighter, and Ayako felt how someone pressed themselves against her from behind, cutting off any possible means of escape. "Kuh."

It seemed like the perfect ambush. Ayako had been walking through a deserted back alley that connected two fairly empty streets together, alone, at a time when everyone was either at their work or inside their house. She hadn't been paying attention to her surroundings at all, and as such, had been crept upon from behind.

Really, she had been the perfect victim, giving the would-be killer or kidnapper every chance they needed to murder her or knock her out.

But although the circumstances were perfect, there was one thing the assailant had overlooked.

Ayako herself.

The very moment she realised what was going on, her instincts took over, and the brunette pushed her body backwards, surprising her attacker and forcing them to take a step back, which loosened the rope slightly. Then, Ayako rammed her elbow into their midriff in an effort to destabilise them even more.

Normally, having an elbow rammed into your midriff by a teenage girl would hurt quite a bit. Not enough to unbalance a professional killer, but plenty to make an amateur lose their grip on their garrotte, if the victim was lucky.

Ayako however was not a normal teenage girl anymore. After having spent a lot of time with Emiya Shirou, the successor of the God of Thunder, in a very intimate fashion, she had been granted several boons that had long since elevated her beyond the limits of normal humans. She wasn't aware of those boons, nor were Sakura or even Shirou himself, but her assailant now learned of them the hard way.

The attacker was outright launched away from Ayako by the elbow strike, and they landed hard on the ground a few metres away, now wheezing for breath themselves.

The brunette couldn't capitalise on this however, as she was greedily gasping for air after having just been released from the garrotte. She did manage to turn around to look at the attacker, but they were disguised by a hood and a scarf. Ayako could see that they were slightly taller than she was, but nothing else.

"You…!" Ayako hissed, the shock at being attacked so suddenly rapidly changing into a furious rage. "You bastard!"

She took a shaky step forward, fully intent on beating the living daylights out of the masked figure, but they quickly got back to their feet and fled, recognising they were no match for the enraged girl.

Within a few seconds, they had disappeared out of sight, and Ayako, who realised how close she'd come to being murdered, let out a strangled sob, falling against the nearest wall, where she remained for several minutes.

As she laid there, panting and gasping, happy to be able to draw breath again, Ayako's mind worked at top speed, her thoughts rushing in all directions at once as they tried to make sense of what had happened.

She didn't believe for a moment that this was a random attack. There was no way some random person decided to target her in this neighbourhood at this time of day, and certainly not by using a garrotte to strangle her. This was premeditated in every sense of the word.

Which meant that Ayako had deliberately been targeted, and the only reason she could think of right now was her investigation into Carlton Paris' death.

Clearly, someone was out to stop them, permanently, and they were willing to go to any lengths to make that happen.

Ayako no longer held any doubts whatsoever that they needed to talk to Shirou about their investigation. Things had really become very dangerous now, and they couldn't afford to mess around anymore.

But as Ayako picked herself up again and made for the Maita-estate, there was one thing that kept playing on her mind. One thing that didn't add up.

Even after she'd reached her destination, and Sakura and Rin had practically thrown themselves on top of her out of concern over the massive bruise running along her throat, it kept playing on her mind.

The only thing that her assailant had said, or rather mumbled, during the murder-attempt.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please forgive me!"

---

If there was anyone in the Clocktower who understood how much Waver Velvet's life had changed over the past weeks, it had to be Grey.

She was his loyal shadow after all, the one who'd followed him around ever since he'd saved her from her village, and the one he entrusted with all of his secrets, new and old.

Even now, when he had become so much more important, when people were lining up to get in his good graces, Grey was secure of her place by his side. The only times when she was absent was when lady Reines needed her for something, or when they were both sleeping. Other than that, she was always present.

Which was why she knew like no one else how much he disliked his newfound power.

"I am telling you, Grey, this really sucks."

The lord made that comment as he signed yet another form concerning his take-over of the Department of Mineralogy. He had been working on that for most of the previous evening, and now he was doing so again in the early hours of the morning.

During those hours, he'd done nothing but complain. He complained as he signed forms, he complained as he wrote reports, he complained before and after meetings with relevant people, and he even complained in his sleep, after he'd passed out on the couch.

Paradoxically, it were those complaints that set Grey at ease. As long as Sir loudly complained and moaned about everything in his view and beyond, Grey could rest easy, knowing it was business as usual.

It was when he went quiet and mellow that Grey needed to be concerned, for it meant that things had turned ugly. It had happened only three times before, and all those times…

Well, they were better not talked about.

But he complained without end today, and that meant that despite the aforementioned dislike for his newfound power, he was holding on strong anyway.

Sir was not so easily brought low after all.

"Why am I doing all of this anyway?" Sir continued his petulant complaining, holding up a form for the order of several platypus-eyes. "This is basic logistics and stocking-protocol. Is that really something the boss should be doing?"

"The administration needed some time to get settled, so they asked you to take over these matters for a few days." Grey replied, unable to suppress a soft smile, which she attempted to hide in the shadows of her hood. "They asked very nicely, so you agreed."

"I can hear your smile, you know?" Sir grumbled, before placing the form down again and continuing to fill it out. "But I suppose you are correct. I will just try to do this quickly."

"Sir, if you really feel overwhelmed, I can try to help you." Grey offered again, but just like every time before so far, the lord shook his head.

"That is very kind of you, Grey, but not necessary." He said soothingly, looking at her even as his pen raced over the forms. "If things remain like they are now, without any further distractions, I should be able to handle-"

"Waver!"

With his usual dramatic flair and utter discard for privacy and personal space, Melvin entered Lord El-Melloi's office, unannounced and without as much as a 'by your leave'. He threw the door open with such force it slammed against the wall, and as he walked in, his coat billowed in the draft he himself had created, making him look much cooler than he actually was.

"Would it really kill you to make an appointment for once, Melvin?" Sir bristled, placing his pen down, recognising that he wouldn't be getting any work done as long as the human-shaped plague was present. "It may have escaped your notice, but I am frightfully busy these days."

"Sorry, Waver, but this can't wait." Melvin looked uncharacteristically serious, his expression startlingly neutral and composed. "There are things we need to discuss right away."

"…Alright?" Lord El-Melloi gestured at a chair, inviting Melvin to sit down, but the white-haired man refused with a shake of his head. "What is it?"

"All these Magical items that have suddenly been brought on the market, are those really yours?"

"They are Fujimaru's, though I am selling them on his behalf." Lord El-Melloi replied easily enough, happy people were noticing them. "Why? Are you interested in buying?"

"Not in the slightest." Melvin shook his head again. "All I want to know is whether the offer is genuine. Are you actually selling these things, Waver? You aren't trying to scam people with fakes?"

"Certainly not." Lord El-Melloi stated with absolute certainty, sitting up straight in his chair as he frowned at Melvin. "Everything we are selling is the real deal."

"Good." Melvin nodded sharply. "Mother has been flooded with requests to verify your offers, so once she found out they came from you, she sent me here."

"Without an appointment." Grey found herself saying, annoyance bubbling up in her at how much the white-haired man took her teacher's time for granted.

"I'll repay you with some information of my own." Melvin didn't bat an eye at Grey's remark, stepping closer to the desk and holding out a piece of paper. "A list of names of everyone who has expressed even a remote interest in buying your stuff. Maybe you'd like to run a background check on them, or contact them in private."

"Thank you, Melvin." Lord El-Melloi said, his tone much less frigid now that the man had shown himself useful for once. "This will certainly help us a lot."

"I also have some other news for you, though I am actually unsure how new it would be for you." Melvin slowly rubbed his chin, before he grinned for the first time since he'd entered. "Nah, you know what, I'm just going to tell you."

"What is it?" Sir asked, and Grey could see how he braced himself for whatever his 'friend' was about to tell him.

"Mother has managed to identify the most likely candidate to become Marianne Archelot's husband, and thus the one most likely to take over the Department of Botany." Melvin paused a second for dramatic effect, and then pointed right at Sir. "It's you."

"Me?"

"Yes, you."

Sir's mouth fell open, his hands went slack, and his cigar tumbled to the floor. It immediately became obvious that this was in fact news to him, and Melvin's grin became much wider in response.

Grey wasn't surprised though, at all. It had been crystal clear for weeks now that the Aristocratic Faction, up to and including Lady Montmorency, was more than content to push both lady Marianne and the Department of Botany onto Sir. They were only making it official now.

Grey wasn't sure how to feel about that. On one hand, lady Marianne was a very nice person, who certainly didn't deserve to be punished for crimes that her husband committed without her consent or knowledge. Much the same went for her department, which had been hijacked against the wishes of the majority of its people.

In that sense, it would be for the best that Sir married lady Marianne and gained control of Botany, for Sir was a good and capable leader who was also kind to his subjects. Maybe Grey was a little biased, but in her opinion, there was no better lord to be found anywhere in the Moonlit World.

On the other hand, it would be even more work on Sir's plate, and this time, Grey feared he might very well collapse under the weight of it all. One small department was manageable, two departments could be managed if one had competent help, but three…

Three could very well prove too much, even for Sir.

Also, in a deep, dark corner of her mind, Grey might be a tiny bit jealous of lady Marianne as well.

She was just so beautiful, so charming and elegant. Her body was a work of art, and not only was her face the very picture of beauty, enough so to steal Grey's breath away every time she smiled, she also showed it to the world without compunction.

Grey just couldn't compare. A small, hooded, and insecure girl like her stood no chance against a mature, gorgeous, and confident woman like Marianne.

That was what she thought in that deep corner of her mind.

It was a corner she tried her hardest to suppress though, and as such, she chose to mainly focus on the issue of Sir being too overloaded with work rather than him being close to people other than her.

"Sir is too busy to take over the Department of Botany." She told Melvin in as loud a voice as she could manage. "They will have to find someone else to do it."

"You don't have to tell me that." Melvin held up his hands in surrender, giving her a playful look of fear. "I'm just the messenger! Don't shoot the messenger!"

"Melvin…" Lord El-Melloi began to speak up slowly, looking rather out of it. "How certain are you of this?"

"That you are Marianne Archelot's prospective husband? Very certain, I'm afraid." Far from looking afraid though, Melvin looked over the moon with the information. "Oh, how I love it when my friends reach such lofty heights. I'm deeply, deeply impressed by you right now, Waver. Back when we were both Kayneth's students, I never expected you'd make it this far in life, but I have no compunction about admitting that I was dead wrong. You're amazing, man!"

In the face of such genuine compliments, Sir had nothing to say, as his cheeks became red and he looked to the side, coughing awkwardly.

"Not to mention you've become such a lady's man. I mean, how many women have you got chasing you right now?" The white-haired pest continued his overjoyed tirade. "Marianne for one, but also Bazett, Adashino, Lehrman, Reines, and even little Gr-"

Grey realised what Melvin was going to say half-a-second before he actually said it.

Faced with the prospect of being embarrassed in front of her teacher, to have Melvin accredit feelings to her while she wasn't even sure of her feelings herself, just for a quick laugh, Grey moved.

Within one breath, she cast spells of physical enhancement on herself, jumped forward over Sir's desk, cocked her fist back…

…And punched Melvin right on the chin.

The frail man went down immediately, not even putting up a token resistance as he passed out the very second Grey's fist made contact. He fell to the ground in an almost comical way, and laid still there.

For a few seconds, everything was quiet.

Then…

"Nice punch, Grey!" Sir laughed out loud, slapping hand on his thigh. "Oh my god, that was beautiful!"

"S-Sir?" Grey stuttered, looking on as Lord El-Melloi roared in laughter, clearly having the time of his life.

"Serves him right." Sir grinned after getting his laughter under control, before walking around the desk and patting Grey on her head. "Well done, Grey. Very well done. Truly, you are the best apprentice I've ever had."

"S-Sir!" Grey didn't quite understand what was going on, why Sir was so happy with her punching someone, but she was always more than happy to be praised like this. She eagerly leaned into his hand, closing her eyes contently as he praised her some more.

The deep, dark part of her mind was entirely silent.

---

Osaki Koyo had to admit he was completely stuck with his current investigation.

Carlton Paris' murderer clearly was far more competent than Osaki had given him credit for, as he'd left not a single trace anywhere for the police to find.

So far, he and his partner Yomaura had visited every single one of Paris' clients, they'd searched high and low for places that sold Tenzine to private individuals, which was the drug that had been used to sedate Paris during the murder, and they had gone over every aspect of the man's history to find any possible link with the underworld, only to come up short on every front.

The fact that Rakurai's girlfriends had visited several of the clients before them wasn't even so annoying anymore in light of that, and Osaki almost hoped they'd had more success, just so that someone, didn't matter who, would bring the murderer to justice.

But the fact remained that Yomaura and he were stuck. Their initial investigation hadn't yielded any useful information, and as such, they didn't know where to go from there.

At such a point, there were two things that could be done.

One, close the case for now and leave it for someone else to solve somewhere in the future.

Two, begin at the beginning again and see if anything jumps out during the second round.

Naturally, he and his partner had selected the second option, and that was why they were currently back in Maita Rei's house. Rei had shown herself the most objective of all Paris' clients so far, and that was why they hoped to extract some more information from her.

When they had arrived at her house for a second interview however, having of course phoned well in advance, the detectives had been received by Hiroko and Aya instead of Rei. The girls had greeted them politely, before promptly inviting them for lunch with the family.

Currently, Osaki was sitting at the dining table, with Yomaura on his left, an empty spot on his right, and Rei's children on the other side of the table. The table had been set for six, and judging from the sounds coming from the kitchen, Rei was almost finished with cooking.

"You are going to love this." Kazuhiko grinned, his fork and knife already in his hands. "Mother made a European dish today, one of her specialities. It's really delicious."

"It certainly smells good." Yomaura nodded, sniffing the air a bit as a mouth-watering scent filled the house. "I look forward to it."

"We're waiting with much anticipation." Osaki smiled.

"Wait no longer!" Rei cried as she emerged from the kitchen, holding a massive oven tray from which the aforementioned mouth-watering scent was emanating. "I am finished!"

Rei was wearing a pink blouse, a pencil-skirt that was even shorter than the one she'd worn during the first interview, and an apron adorned with hearts and flowers. Her face was red from exertion, and sweaty from the heat in the kitchen, yet there was a blinding smile on her face as she walked towards the table.

"I made lasagne." She beamed as she placed the tray on the table. "Fill up your plates! There's plenty for everyone!"

Her children cheered in exhilaration, and immediately began filling up their plates, like their mother said.

"Lasagne? For lunch?" Yomaura appeared fascinated by the idea. "It looks great, Rei."

"Ufufufu." Rei giggled demurely, before serving Yomaura and Osaki some lasagne as well once her children were finished. Lastly, she filled her own plate, and then sat down on Osaki's right.

"Man, it's really lucky that mom accidently made too much food for lunch today. Now you can eat with us, Osaki-san, Yomaura-san." Aya beamed at them from her own place at the table.

"Lucky?" Yomaura lifted an eyebrow at the young woman. "I called ahead this morning. You all knew we were coming."

"Like I said, very lucky." Aya pretended not to have heard the redhead, her beaming smile unmarred.

"Thank you for the meal." Rei then stated, happily pressing her hands together.

""Thank you for the meal."" Everyone repeated after her, before they all dug in.

"Garfield's favourite food." Kazuhiko hummed in approval, taking large bites of the lasagne until his cheeks were stuffed. "Delicious."

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Kazu." Rei lightly admonished him.

"But mom…"

"Listen to your mother, boy." Osaki said, and Kazuhiko lowered his head in apology, before holding a hand in front of his mouth as he chewed quickly.

"This is delicious!" Yomaura chirped too after a few moments of careful chewing. "Way better than the storebought lasagne."

"That's hardly a compliment." Osaki huffed, before he smiled at their hostess. "Thank you for the excellent meal, madam."

"It was no problem at all." Rei preened, proudly sitting up in her chair, obviously greatly enjoying the compliments.

For some time after that, the only sounds around the table were either the sound of eating, or periodic exclamations of praise. There was some small talk here and there as well, but ultimately, everyone was too focused on the meal to really talk much with the others.

"So, Rei." Yomaura eventually said after they'd polished away all the food. "We would like to ask you a few more questions about Carlton Paris."

"I'm at your disposal, detective-chan." Rei smiled, and neither Osaki nor Yomaura failed to notice the affectionate suffix having replaced the more neutral '-san'. "Just let me clean up a bit."

"Allow us to help." Osaki said, already rising from his chair to collect the plates.

"Oh, there is no need-"

"It is only proper." Yomaura interrupted Rei, gently pushing the woman back into her chair. "You cooked, so we clean up."

Rei's children also pitched in to help, and with the five of them, it didn't take long to finish the clean-up. Within several minutes, the detectives were seated in the living room again, with Rei sitting opposite of them.

"Did Paris-san ever mention, at any point during your relationship, that he'd had an argument with someone?" Yomaura began. They had already asked that question during the first interview with Rei, but they asked again, just to be sure. "Or did he ever mention being threatened? Or feeling unsafe?"

"No, none of that." Rei shook her head. "He was always in a good mood, confident and self-assured. I don't think he even knew what it was like to be nervous or afraid. One might even call him arrogant at times."

"I see. However, Rei, several of the other women mentioned that he did seem afraid sometimes." Osaki countered, looking closely at her face.

"They did?" Rei blinked once. "Then they saw more than I did."

"They said he seemed afraid of you."

"Me?" Rei gaped at him, and Osaki nodded solemnly. "R-Really? Me?"

"That is what they said." Yomaura fell in. "They said that Paris-san spoke of you in a nervous tone, that he 'dreaded' going to your house again, and that he seemed fearful of what you would do to him."

"Huh?" Rei's eyes were wide open as she looked from Osaki to Yomaura and back. "I-I know nothing about this."

"There were several women who had even seen you themselves, and they all described you as an ominous figure, someone who seemed like 'bad news'." Yomaura continued mercilessly, even as Rei flailed under the accusations.

"To make a long story short, they all suspect that you murdered him." Osaki dealt the deathblow, and Rei froze in place. "Do you have anything to say in response?"

Of course, neither Osaki nor Yomaura enjoyed doing this to her. So far, Rei had been nothing but perfectly kind to them, and frankly, the detectives couldn't imagine her killing anyone.

Nevertheless, they had to follow up on all their leads, no matter their own opinions, and that involved confronting a suspect with all the evidence they'd collected against them so far.

Granted, the 'evidence' was nothing but the feelings of other clients who barely knew Rei, but considering the fact that it had been an unusual number of them who had pointed the finger at her, they had to pursue the possibility that Rei was guilty.

"I-I… I didn't…" Rei stuttered helplessly, and if this were an anime, there would have been swirls in her eyes as she fruitlessly tried to recover from the barrage. "I never hurt Carlton, I swear."

"Do you know why his other clients accused you?"

"N-No, I never even met them." Rei shook her head rapidly, looking utterly confused, and perhaps even a little betrayed by those women whom she'd never even met but who had been more than content to throw her under the bus. "I have no idea why they would say such an awful thing."

"Hm." Osaki made a non-committal noise, and Rei wilted slightly at his lack of response. Undoubtedly, she wanted him to say he believed her, but that was not something he could do. During an investigation, he had to remain strictly neutral.

So even though Rei looked miserable, he remained stone-faced-

"We believe you." Yomaura suddenly said, and both Rei's and Osaki's gazes snapped towards her. "There is no concrete evidence whatsoever to suggest you had anything to do with the murder. Furthermore, the witness-statements were clearly subjective and unsubstantiated. We are only asking because we have to, but neither of us believes you did anything wrong."

Rei gaped at her for several seconds, before she turned towards Osaki, who, after a short moment of thought, nodded in agreement.

And as Rei's eyes filled with relieved tears, Osaki sighed inwardly.

Yomaura was not supposed to have told her that. It wasn't proper protocol, and it suggested that there was a personal connection between detective and suspect. In fact, he should have reprimanded her for this.

But as he looked at Rei, who had now clasped Yomaura's hand in her own, beaming at the redhead with a smile so bright it lit up the room, he decided it didn't matter. He had become a detective to improve people's lives, to make them happy and protect them, and that was basically what Yomaura just did.

There was no need to chide her for that. Not if it was up to him.

"On another note, we were wondering if you could help us with something else." Osaki eventually said after the atmosphere in the room had calmed down a bit.

"Of course." Rei professed, leaning forward from her place on the sofa. "Whatever you need."

"What do you know about Tenzine?" Osaki asked. "It was used to sedate Paris-san during the murder, and we were wondering if your clinic has it in stock."

Considering it was a fast-working, effective sedative, it wouldn't be weird for a mental health-clinic to have at least a bit of it, for rowdy or panicking patients if nothing else.

"Tenzine?" Rei's eyes widened momentarily, before she resolutely shook her head. "I do not have it. It's poison, plain and simple, with far better alternatives available, so I banned it from the premises."

It was an unexpectedly strong reaction, and the detectives made eye contact for a moment.

"I thought it was just a sedative?" Yomaura ventured carefully, looking back at Rei. "That's how it is advertised."

"In the United States." Rei scoffed, making a dismissive motion with her hand. "In civilised countries, it is well known that it is absolute trash."

"But it is still used?"

"It does have its uses." Rei admitted with a bit of a sour face. "Tenzine, when taken orally in low doses, is quite effective at numbing pain. In larger doses, it induces drowsiness and calm. It is also very predictable, meaning you can accurately set the time you want to have a patient sedated merely by adjusting the dose you give them."

"But you still don't use it?"

"Tenzine has far too many complications, which can persist for days, if not weeks, after it was ingested." Rei crossed her arms strongly. "I am talking about lethargy, nausea, disrupted concentration, failing short-term memory, immense abdominal pain, continuous nosebleeds, fever, and, if the dose taken was large enough, liver-and-kidney failure, leading to death."

"Oh…" Osaki mumbled. "That does sound bad."

"It's poison." Rei repeated. "I stopped using it for any purpose whatsoever years ago, and disposed of my entire supply. I believe the only one who sells it in Fuyuki is the Kobayashi-pharmacy."

"That place." Yomaura's upper lip curled up at the thought of that pharmacy, which played it fast and loose with proper drug-regulations, to say the least. "No surprises there then."

"We'll have to ask for their sale records to see who purchased Tenzine recently." Osaki said. "With some luck, it's someone we know."

"If they keep those records." Yomaura huffed. "It's just as likely they sold it under the table."

"They will have the records. The owners won't risk going to prison on a charge for improper medicine distribution." Osaki assured her, somewhat familiar with the owners in question. "They don't break any laws, that's something I have to give them. At least, not the letter of the laws."

"I'll get to work on a warrant then." Yomaura nodded.

"Would a warrant be enough to get that third-rate pharmacy closed forever?" Rei ventured hopefully, clasping her hands together as she leaned forward even more in anticipation.

"No."

"Aw." She pouted, falling against the backrest of her sofa again.

The trio then continued the interview, until Hiroko entered the living room a few minutes later.

"Would anyone care for a drink?" The young woman asked, holding her hands behind her back as she shifted her weight from one leg to the other. "We don't have any alcohol, but there's lots of tea, and coffee, or juice, if you'd like."

"Apple juice for me." Rei smiled at her daughter. "Thank you, dear."

"Do you have any green tea?" Yomaura asked, receiving a nod in return. "Then I would like a cup please."

"Black coffee would be lovely." Osaki finished the list, and after quickly repeating their orders, Hiroko rushed off to the kitchen.

"Alright, to get back at what we were talking about." Yomaura turned back to Rei. "Did Paris-san ever mention the Ryuudou-temple to you, in any capacity?"

"He certainly did." Rei nodded. "He often told me he disliked the place very much. I don't think he would ever have gone near it on his own volition."

"Interesting." Yomaura mumbled as she noted the answer down.

"No, wait." Rei suddenly held up a hand, her face scrunching up slightly as a thoughtful look entered her eyes. "I almost forgot, but he mentioned to me that he would be meeting someone there."

"When was this?"

"Only a very short while before he disappeared." Rei replied, the thoughtful look still present. "He was behaving weirdly when he told me that. He was smirking, and he looked like he really wanted to gloat, but couldn't for some reason. I assumed he had found a new client."

"Interesting." Yomaura repeated in a much more enthusiastic tone.

"Yomaura-san?" Hiroko chose that moment to return, holding a platter with a cup of tea on it. "I have your green tea here. Be careful, it's hot."

"Thank you, Hiroko-chan." Yomaura nodded at the young woman, giving her a smile.

"And your apple juice, mom."

"Love you, dear."

"I'll bring your coffee up in a minute, Osaki-san." Hiroko told him, before leaving the living room again.

"She works hard." Osaki said, turning to Rei.

"She does." Rei grinned. "She is working so incredibly hard. She wants to study medicine in Kyoto, so she has been studying diligently at school and she has even taken several pre-university classes. With her grades and work-ethic, I have no doubt she'll get in."

"That is good to hear." Osaki nodded. "I hope my daughters will grow up to be just like her."

"That's a wonderful compliment, detective-kun." Rei laughed, her eyes full of fondness and love as she looked at the door Hiroko had just left through. "Yes, Hiroko is everything I could ever wish for in a daughter. Even though she is so frightfully busy, she always finds time to help me with just about everything. She often cooks, she cleans the house, she helps Aya and Kazu with their homework, she even selects my outfits in the mornings sometimes, like today."

"She selects your outfits?" Osaki asked, his eyes automatically looking her up and down, before he forced them back to her face.

"Sometimes. She likes dressing people up." Rei shrugged. "She is working hard at becoming a doctor, but I think a fashion designer would have fitted her just as well."

"Better too many talents than too few." Yomaura said philosophically.

"I couldn't have said it better myself, detective-chan." Rei grinned widely, puffing her chest out in pride. "My little girl is talented and intelligent, and she also gets along with everyone."

"Everyone?" Osaki asked, remembering from the previous interview there was at least one person whom Hiroko did not get along with.

"…Except for Carlton." Rei admitted after a moment, a grim expression taking the place of the happy smile. "Hiroko and Carlton never got along at all. She never told me of course, she is always so careful not to burden me, but those two never clicked. They mostly ignored each other, but I think they definitely would have fought if I hadn't been around."

"I got the same idea." Osaki huffed, remembering how Hiroko had straight up told him how much she disliked the late Paris.

"Osaki-san? I have your coffee here." The subject of their discussion returned again, carrying Osaki's cup on her platter. "Be careful, it's hot."

"I will be careful." Osaki promised her, taking the cup from her and immediately throwing a quarter of it back. "That is some excellent coffee. Thank you."

"Not a problem." Hiroko beamed, before cocking her head to the side in curiosity. "Since you're questioning mother again, do you want to ask me some questions as well? I am at your disposal."

"Maybe later. For now, we want to continue talking with your mother, in private." Yomaura told her.

"Oh, I see, I see." Hiroko's smile turned slightly roguish. "Have fun then, in private."

Her words immediately brought back the memory of her audacious remark about Osaki and Yomaura taking her mother as their mistress, and Osaki blushed deeply.

"Thank you." Rei didn't notice anything though, smiling back at her daughter, who left the living room without another bow. "Well then, what were we talking about before we found ourselves discussing my eldest daughter?"

"Right, I believe we were talking about Paris-san's aversion to the Ryuudou-temple, and how he had an appointment there in spite of that dislike." Yomaura recalled.

And as they continued the interview, Osaki suddenly found something nagging at the edge of his concentration. Nothing too big, but his ability to focus suddenly seemed compromised.

It was probably just exhaustion though, so he ignored it in favour of further conducting the interview.

---

On the fifth day of the trials, the courtroom was much less packed than it had been at the beginning. Most of the big names had already been sentenced, the trials themselves were starting to get unbearably repetitive, and many Magi had better things to do than spend all their time in a courtroom for the better part of a week.

As such, the stands were much emptier than they had been on the first day. The only ones present right now were those who had avoided the crowds and now saw their chance, people who felt it was their duty to attend, people who were still enjoying every second of the trials, and people who had a special interest in viewing a particular trial.

Marie Alva was one of the latter people. She hadn't attended the previous trials, having hidden herself in Fiore's room, but this trial was one she absolutely had to be present for. She would have been here even if Lord El-Melloi hadn't taken her and her friends on as employees, all the risks be damned. That was how important it was to her

It was her family's trial after all. Today, her father, mother, and elder sister were almost certainly going to be sentenced to death.

A large part of her felt nothing but triumph and vengeful joy at that fact. After they had tortured her for months, it was going to be sweet, sweet justice to see the light leave their eyes.

On the other hand, Marie did feel a certain sense of loss at the knowledge that she would soon be alone. For most of her childhood, she hadn't hated her family. Her parents had been distant, but never unkind, while her elder sister had been mean, but never outright cruel.

That lingering sense of… not love or fondness, but perhaps familiarity? resulted in Marie feeling quite odd, next to the triumph and joy, as if a third arm or sixth finger she'd never known she had was about to be removed.

She really wasn't making any sense, was she?

"Don't fret so much." A hand was placed on her shoulder, and Marie looked up to meet the eyes of the person sitting next to her. "There is nothing you can do about what is going to happen. They brought it on themselves, all that is left to do for us is witness their demise and move on."

"Patrick." Marie frowned at her elder brother, who had returned to the Clocktower from his year-long trip only the day before. "They are still our family."

"Not anymore." The large man shook his head, his long, blonde hair almost hitting Marie in the face. "From the moment they changed you into a Dead Apostle, they ceased being our relatives. They are no one, Marie, and that is how you must view them. Harden your heart and accept their deaths."

"It's not that easy." Marie knew she cut a pathetic figure, pouting at her big brother like that, but she couldn't help it. The current situation was just too confusing and upsetting.

"I see." Patrick let out a deep sigh, slowly rubbing his chin as he pondered what to say.

He probably had no trouble at all with their family being sentenced to death. He had no relation with them whatsoever, except for a bitter animosity with their father, so he had no lingering fondness for them that might complicate his feelings.

Marie envied him for it, yet at the same time, furiously prayed she'd never become as cold as he was. He might have been in the Clocktower's top fifty of most powerful Magi, but that reward did not seem worth the price he had paid.

"I think Marie should be allowed to fret as much as she likes." Fiore, who was sitting on Marie's other side, spoke up, unable to stay silent. "Suppressing your feelings isn't healthy."

"Hm." Patrick made an understanding noise, before falling silent, apparently having decided that arguing with Fiore wasn't worth his time.

"…Prat." Fiore whispered once it became clear he was ignoring her, before she turned to Marie. "You shouldn't try to deny your feelings. Just… don't let them overwhelm you."

"Working on that." Marie nodded, before giving her best attempt at a smile. "Thanks."

"Hey, what are friends for?" Fiore smiled.

"The trial is starting." Rosaly, who sat on Fiore's other side, cut into their conversation, and Marie's eyes immediately snapped towards the stage. "It's the Alva."

Indeed. As Marie watched, she saw her father, her mother, and her elder sister being brought in.

Apparently, since they'd always worked together while breaking the law, the Department of Policies had decided they could very well be tried together. Likely, they'd all receive the same punishment too.

The senior judge began speaking, undoubtedly reading up another endless list of crimes, but Marie didn't hear any of it. Her ears were ringing, and her mind was entirely focused on the three figures who were now seated in the accused's chairs.

Her father was keeping up a dignified façade, with some success, as he managed to sit up straight and hold his head high, fearlessly looking at the crowd with an almost challenging gaze.

Her mother tried to do the same, but she didn't manage quite as well, clearly hating the fact that everyone was looking at her. She'd always been sensitive about being watched, and sitting in front of an entire hall, even if it wasn't nearly full, meant that she was being watched by many people indeed.

Jessica, her older sister, had given up on all façades though. She was sitting in her chair with her legs drawn up, her eyes dazed and confused as she slowly looked around, watching without seeing.

It was also very notable that none of the three tried to offer any sort of consolation to the other two, showing how frail the bonds of blood really were to them.

Patrick was right. They were a pathetic lot, and Marie felt how her heart hardened almost out of itself.

Then, the final verdict.

"You are all sentenced to death." The senior judge announced, and while her father managed to stay dignified and Jessica still looked dazed, her mother couldn't stop the horror from entering her gaze. "You will be hanged by the neck until death."

Marie didn't register much of what happened after that. She vaguely recalled seeing her mother break down and cry, she saw her father hitting her mother, once, before he was restrained, and she saw how her sister meekly walked off stage, not even needing a guard to accompany her.

And as Patrick gave her a concerned look and Fiore carefully placed a hand on her shoulder, Marie noticed to her surprise that the emotions she felt weren't nearly as complex as she'd feared.

In fact, she felt only one thing.

Immense relief.

---

It was night at the Emiya-estate, and inside the building, everything was quiet. The lights were all turned off, the doors were closed, and not a sound was made anywhere on the premises, as the inhabitants were fast asleep.

Except that wasn't true, for Sakura was still wide awake, and had been ever since going to bed.

She'd tried to sleep, obviously, employing all sorts of tricks and methods that she'd taught herself during her time at the Matou-estate to force herself into a slumber, but nothing seemed to work. She didn't even get drowsy.

For a girl who'd managed to sleep soundly after being chewed on by worms, that was highly unusual, to say the least. If she'd managed to sleep in a dark hole of a house while her grandfather had still been around, then what was preventing her from doing so now?

The reason was obvious.

When she'd lived with the Matou, all she had to contend with in her battle to go to sleep was her own pain, which she'd learned very quickly to suppress and ignore. That was no challenge at all. In fact, she'd learned to do so within a week of arriving at the Matou-estate.

This time however, she wasn't in pain, nor was she heartbroken or feeling abandoned. The ache in her chest that kept her awake did not originate from anything that had happened to her personally. Rather, it came from what had happened to someone else.

Ayako had almost been murdered.

That thought, that horrible, horrible thought, was what was keeping Sakura awake, unable to even just close her eyes, fearing that Ayako might disappear forever if she did.

The terrible fact that she'd almost lost her girlfriend to a cruel fiend was almost too much for her to bear, and the only reason Sakura didn't cry at the very notion was because she'd run out of tears hours ago.

The plum-haired girl had thought her heart would stop when she saw Ayako stumble into the Maita-estate, holding her bleeding throat with her hands, whispering for help because she couldn't shout anymore.

For one moment, one horrific, accursed moment, Sakura had thought that her throat had been cut, and as she threw herself onto her girlfriend, all she'd been able to do was curse herself for not getting Senpai to teach her healing magic.

The fact that it turned out her throat was 'merely' badly bruised had admittedly been a massive consolation, as had Rei-san's assurance that Ayako would be just fine with some rest, but that didn't change the fact that Sakura was completely determined to convince Senpai to teach her healing spells once he returned.

She'd been hesitant about ever using Magecraft again, but clearly, she could no longer afford that. If she was going to involve herself in criminal matters, she needed to be prepared.

Hell, even if she wasn't going to involve herself in anything anymore, she still wanted those healing spells, if only to protect her loved ones from harm.

The plum-haired girl shifted on her futon, angling her head upwards to look at Ayako's sleeping face. The brunette was lying next to Sakura, fast asleep, clearly not as bothered by what had happened as Sakura herself.

If anything, the brunette had treated the attack as an annoyance, and while Sakura was deeply impressed by her girlfriend's resilience, it did make her feel a bit foolish for worrying so much.

She let out a deep breath, before snuggling up to Ayako some more, relieved she was still able to do that, basking in the warmth that was emanating from the other girl.

This had truly been the biggest fright she'd had since Zouken had been killed, and Sakura was not at all keen for a repeat any time soon.

Ayako had suggested rather strongly that they tell Shirou about everything they'd been doing so far at the earliest opportunity, and Sakura agreed completely, as did Rin, who'd also been badly spooked by the sudden assault on the brunette.

Speaking of Rin, the black-haired girl had joined them in the sleepover, just for tonight. She'd shown it much less than Sakura, but she was extremely worried about Ayako as well. So worried in fact that she'd made herself into a bodyguard, insisting that she stayed near the brunette at all times, including during the night.

Of course, there was almost nothing in the world that could reach them inside the Emiya-estate, which was protected by Magic unknown to this age and even this very World, but Rin had stubbornly insisted all the same.

Not that Ayako had protested much, or at all, really.

The black-haired girl was currently lying on Ayako's other side, on a futon of her own. It was a situation that would normally have been guaranteed to activate her Tsun-mode, but with the situation being as it was, Rin hadn't batted an eye when laying down next to Sakura and Ayako.

Just like Ayako, she'd fallen asleep fairly quickly, and was now lightly snoring. Far from being disturbing though, her snoring was outright cute, and the sound managed to lift a bit of Sakura's worry.

The plum-haired girl was glad that Rin was able to sleep so well. She hadn't shown it, but Sakura suspected that she was exhausted, having stayed up the previous night to Enchant one of her gems to enable it to track whether spells had been cast on a specific person in the past.

They'd suspected that Carlton Paris might have used Magecraft during his conquests, to seduce rich and beautiful women more easily, but since Maita Rei's test had come back completely negative, that theory had been debunked thoroughly.

Having remained awake for forty-eight hours, and then being hit by the shock of having someone almost murder her best friend –since Sakura was her little sister and Shirou her low-key crush– had affected Rin rather badly, so it was no wonder that she'd conked out immediately.

Sakura lifted her head slightly, looking over at her big sister's face to check on her, and she blinked in surprise as she noticed something peculiar.

Rin slept with her eyes open.

The slow, steady breathing and her stillness indicated she was in fact asleep, but even so, her eyes weren't fully closed, allowing Sakura to see her blue irises, which sparkled in the light of the moon that fell through the thin curtains of their room.

The sight almost made her giggle, and Sakura laid herself down again, snuggling up to Ayako while she kept studying her sister's twinkling eyes.

It was almost hypnotic, and Sakura was surprised when she found herself drifting off as a result, her eyelids becoming progressively heavier, until-

The next moment, all that was audible from the plum-haired girl was a light snoring, nearly identical to her big sister's.

---

"Ugh."

Yomaura looked with concern at her Senpai as he practically dragged himself into the car, looking moments away from death, his face pale, his hands shaking, and his eyes glazed over. Even the short distance from his house to the car had almost been too much for him.

"I feel terrible." He complained when he was finally seated, lifting a shaking hand to cry and comb his messy hair.

"You look terrible!" Yomaura deadpanned reflexively. "I'm sorry to say it, Senpai, but you look like death warmed over."

"Don't be sorry, that's exactly how I feel." Osaki groaned, holding his stomach as he winced in pain, indicating it was hurting fiercely. "I think I've come down with something. Suki was ill a week ago, maybe I've caught a fiercer version of whatever she had."

"Maybe." Yomaura agreed hesitantly. "I have never received any significant medical training, so I cannot say for certain, but I recall that Suki also suffered from stomach pains, fever, paleness, and dizziness, so it could be the same."

"Those are enough similarities for me." Her Senpai concluded, before coughing into his fist, every couch sounding as if it were ripped from the bottom of his lungs. "Well, it'll pass on its own, so I just have to tough it out until-"

"Absolutely not!"

Yomaura Taya, formerly Deirdre Fraga, didn't like to use her Magecraft for any sort of purpose these days, as she'd firmly said farewell to that part of her life, but there were times when she gladly made an exception.

Without asking for permission or forgiveness, she stepped out of the car, walked to the other side, activated a strengthening Rune, opened the door, threw her Senpai over her shoulder, closed the door, and walked straight back to the Osaki-estate.

"T-Taya!" He protested. "What are you doing?! I'm not a sack of potatoes!"

"I'm putting you to bed, Senpai." She replied sharply. "There's no way you can work while you are so sick."

"But I-"

"That's final, Senpai!"

Osaki fell silent for a few moments, before the tension left his body, and he let out a sigh of resignation.

"Can I at least walk by myself?"

"No. You mustn't overexert yourself." She told him sternly, not about to let him walk, as he could very well collapse if he did.

"But it's embarrassing to be carried like this." He protested weakly.

"There's no one around." She countered, as their street was completely bereft of people. "And also, if you didn't want this to happen, you should have just stayed in bed this morning."

"Ugh." He made a discontented noise, but didn't protest any further.

Once inside, Yomaura threw her Senpai down on his bed, wrapped a blanket around him, gave him a hot water bottle and a cup of tea with honey, and placed several Runes of Healing around his bed, which served to purge foreign substances, viruses, and bacteria from a human body.

"You must take this day off at least, and I will take care of you." She informed him. "I will fill out the paperwork for our absence, so don't worry about that."

"It's a crime to fill out another detective's paperwork." Osaki protested.

"So?" Yomaura blinked at her Senpai, wondering why he was telling her stuff she already knew.

"…Nothing." He sighed, placing his head down on the pillow again. "Fine, just today then. We still have the murder case going on."

"That case isn't going anywhere, Senpai." She assured him, giving him a wry smile. "And with how slow-going it is, we can easily miss a day or two."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Osaki deadpanned at her.

"Yes?" Yomaura nodded. "Do you feel better?"

"…You know what? Sure, I feel better."

"Yay!" Yomaura cheered impishly, ignoring the fact he was clearly lying.

As Suki and Chiho, Osaki's daughters, were both absent, having gone to a summer camp with their swimming club, the two detectives were alone in the house, and before long, they were back at discussing their current case. Neither of them had a life outside of their jobs after all, so they didn't have anything else to talk about.

"I'm telling you, Senpai, it has to be someone rich and connected." Yomaura insisted, feeling certain of her case. "How else would they get hold of the Tenzine they used while killing Paris-san?"

"The Kobayashi-pharmacy is not picky about whom they sell to." Osaki countered, referring to the only place in town that sold the nasty drug.

"But they always make sure to charge exorbitant prices whenever they sell something dodgy." Yomaura argued, not willing to let go of her theory just yet. "That's not something any teenager could have afforded straight out of pocket."

"You know as well as I that getting a large sum of money together is not difficult for anyone with enough determination and few enough moral scruples." Osaki continued to put pressure on her theory however. "Even for teenagers."

"…Maybe." Yomaura sighed, admitting defeat. "Fine, Senpai, the murderer doesn't necessarily have to be someone rich."

"It could still be, but you mustn't jump to conclusions." Her Senpai smiled kindly at her, before he coughed twice, with such force Yomaura almost expected blood to come flying out of his mouth. That didn't happen though, mercifully. "Ahem, did we get anywhere with obtaining the sales-records of the Kobayashi-pharmacy? That might give us more clues."

"The chief is working on obtaining a warrant." Yomaura nodded, having taken care of that yesterday. "It shouldn't take much longer now, maybe a day or so."

"What did you tell the chief?" Osaki asked. "Nothing about Paris-san being a gigolo, I hope?"

"Certainly not." Yomaura shook her head, before smiling lopsidedly. "All the chief knows is that Paris-san was drugged with Tenzine while he was murdered. It's all he needs to know."

"Good. We can't let his true occupation get out before the end of the case." Osaki rumbled, before he coughed again.

"Have some water, Senpai." Yomaura quickly handed him a glass, and he immediately downed the whole thing. "Oh, wow. Thirsty?"

"Yeah, all of a sudden." Osaki nodded, and Yomaura realised to her shock that he was becoming very red in the face very quickly. "I-I'm suddenly very hot too."

The redheaded Magus didn't waste any time on panicking. Instead, she promptly drew Hagalaz, the Rune of Controlled Disaster, and created a miniature snowstorm right on top of her Senpai. Nothing better to cool off than frozen water after all.

It didn't occur to her that it might have been overkill until he was already buried under a metre of snow.

"Senpai!" She immediately cut off the flow of Magical Energy, and hastily dug him up again, pulling him out from under the white mass to find that he looked…

…Pretty okay, actually.

"That fixed my fever alright." He spluttered, spitting out some half-melted snow, before he grinned at her, not at all looking like he was hypothermic. "Next time, a bottle of cooled water will do though."

"I am terribly sorry." She bowed as well as she could while still holding him up, but he just laughed her apology away. "I'll fix this immediately!"

A quick use of Sowilo later, her Senpai's bed was warm and dry again, and she quickly placed him back under the covers.

"Hahahaha, you buried me, under snow, in the middle of summer." He was still laughing, and Yomaura couldn't help but pout a little at that, even as she realised he might be a bit delirious. "Wow, that was something. Have I ever told you I love it when you're spontaneous like that?"

"Huh?!" Yomaura keenly felt how a lot of blood rushed towards her face at his sudden compliment. "D-Don't tease me like that!"

"I'm not teasing you." The smile Osaki gave her was very sincere all of a sudden, and Yomaura unconsciously held her breath at the sight. "No, Taya, I am-"

Whatever he wanted to say was lost however when his phone suddenly made a loud noise, and Osaki turned towards it without finishing his sentence. Yomaura wasn't sure whether that made her feel relieved or disappointed.

"Hold on, I just got a message." Osaki said, picking up his phone. "Let's see… Oh, it's from Hiroko-chan."

"Really?" Yomaura asked, surprised that the girl would send her Senpai a message, before she frowned as she realised something. "Please tell me she's not offering her mother to us again?"

"She isn't." Osaki shook his head, looking intently at his phone with a heavy frown, not a trace left of his earlier good mood. "She wants us to meet with her tomorrow evening at the base of the Ryuudou-temple. She has some information for us about the death of Paris she wasn't able to share with us in the presence of her mother."

"What?" Yomaura was flummoxed by the news, and her Senpai responded by holding his phone under her nose.

---

Good afternoon, Osaki-san,

I hope I am not interrupting you in your work, but this is really important. I need to speak with you about Carlton Paris.

I lied before. I do have information concerning his death, and I would like to share it with you.

I cannot do so at my own home however. I do not want mom to overhear what I am going to tell you. If possible, could you please meet me at the base of the Ryuudou-temple, tomorrow evening at eight o'clock?

I am terribly sorry for imposing on you like this, but I don't know who else to turn to.

With the kindest regards,

Maita Hiroko.

---

"That's awfully suspicious, Senpai." Yomaura said immediately after reading the message. "If she's going to talk like that, I have no choice but to suspect her of the murder itself."

"I know." Osaki nodded, his jaw tightening a bit. "I pray it is not so, but we have to account for the possibility nevertheless."

"Are we going?" She asked, before elaborating when he gave her a confused look. "To the Ryuudou-temple, I mean. Tomorrow."

"…" Her Senpai was quiet for a few moments, thinking it over, before he slowly nodded. "Yes, let us go there. If she has useful information for us, we cannot afford to pass it up, and if she is planning to confess the murder itself, we need to arrest her."

"As you say, Senpai." Yomaura nodded, pursing her lips. "I hope she didn't do it."

"So do I." Osaki nodded, undoubtedly also thinking about how heartbroken Rei would be. "So do I."

---

If someone were to ask Shirou whether he regretted the way he'd lived his life since obtaining Mjolnir, he would give them a negative answer without hesitation.

Sure, he'd made mistakes, among them several big ones, most of the time either not doing enough or doing too much in a given situation, but in general, he stood by his decisions.

He didn't at all regret becoming Rakurai, or hunting down the Sealing Designees in Japan, or going to the Clocktower, or saving Illya, or making people believe he was a Sorcerer, or any of the other things that he'd done so far.

He'd always followed what he believed to be the best course of action, and he'd done his best not to look back.

But now, he found himself with a single regret.

He deeply regretted that he hadn't foreseen what his behaviour, attitude, and words would do to those around him. He should have known, much sooner, that the people close to him would be influenced by him, not necessarily in a good way.

That he hadn't was a huge mistake that he would regret for the rest of his life.

"…And that is what has happened so far, Senpai." Sakura told him over the phone, sounding very contrite and despondent as she recounted their investigation of the past weeks. "We hoped to bring a murderer to justice, like you would have done, but we really messed it up. I'm sorry."

"Turns out we didn't have what it took." Ayako tried to sound more upbeat than the plum-haired girl, but she failed at it, rather miserably, as Shirou could still clearly hear the depression in her voice. "We got all arrogant, and fell flat on our faces as a result."

"I should have known better than this." Rin also made her contribution, her voice sounding far more clinical than the other two, indicating she was trying to hide her emotions again. "I knew it was a bad idea, yet I still went along with it. I'm sorry, Emiya-kun."

Their apologies given, the girls fell silent, and Shirou got the idea they were waiting for him to scold them.

He took a deep breath through his teeth, his mind working at top speed.

He'd known for a while now that the girls were hiding something from him. All the clues had been there for him to pick up. But even though he'd known that much, he'd never expected it to be something like this. That his girls, prompted by his own actions, would engage in such inane behaviour as to try and copy him in his most dangerous actions.

They had been investigating a murder by themselves.

And not in a proper vigilante way, using masks, false identities, and copious Magecraft, but in a way that was so stupid Shirou had difficulty giving it a name. They had gone straight to potential witnesses, potential culprits even, with their own names, they had been completely upfront about their intentions, they had openly challenged the police, again with their own identities, and they had taken zero precautions against retaliatory strikes of any kind. They'd stuck their necks out and done nothing to prevent people from stepping on them.

Yes, they had never been trained by Kiritsugu, like Shirou had been, so perhaps their ignorance could be excused, but even then, it had still been unforgivably stupid of them to engage in vigilantism in the first place. They should have been aware of their limits.

By all rights, Shirou should have given them the tirade of a lifetime, one they would never forget, to ensure they would never do something this foolish ever again. He should read them the riot act, and scold them until he was certain that they would think twice before ever going down a path like this again.

But he wasn't going to.

Because it would be useless. No, worse, it would be counterproductive.

That he wanted to scold them was just his fear speaking, he was realistic enough to see that. The news that Ayako had almost been taken from them forever had rattled him badly, and that discomfort and feeling of powerlessness was trying very hard to change into anger. Shirou wasn't going to let it though.

Furthermore, Sakura, Ayako, and Rin clearly understood perfectly well now that what they had done was foolish. They had already learned their lesson, and it was beyond doubt that they would be far wiser in the future.

Shouting at his girlfriends now would serve no purpose except to make them more miserable, and Shirou absolutely did not want to make them miserable in any way. If anything, he wanted to cheer them up now that they were so down.

Nevertheless, he did want to know why they'd done it.

"I won't pretend I approve of what you've been doing." He began slowly, weighing his words carefully, meticulously avoiding anything particularly hurtful. "You were rash, hasty, naïve, and you greatly overestimated yourself while underestimating a murderer."

It remained silent on the other end of the line, and Shirou could almost imagine how the girls were hanging their heads in shame.

"To be clear, I don't disapprove of your spirit, or the motive behind your actions. That you wanted to bring a murderer to justice is something worthy of the highest praise." Shirou quickly clarified, not wanting to cast doubt on that. "But the way you went about it was utterly stupid."

"Yes." Sakura mumbled. "We should have told you immediately."

"That would indeed have been far wiser." Shirou agreed. "Or better yet, you should have waited until I came back so I could help you. Why would you take something like this on yourself? Why did you not tell me?"

"We wanted to surprise you." Ayako admitted in a soft voice. "We wanted to show our results to you when you got back, so you would be proud of us."

"…" That brought Shirou up short. They'd wanted to surprise him? Make him proud?

"We cannot run to you for every small issue that crosses our path." Rin had regained some of her usual bluster, pride returning to her voice. "We are not children who need you to hold our hand, Emiya-kun."

"You have been doing so much for us, Senpai, and especially for me." Sakura added, her voice surprisingly passionate. "We just wanted to do something back. To bring justice to the city, like you would have."

"…Well, yes." Shirou muttered, knocked off-balance by their words, feeling heat rising in his cheeks. "I-I guess I can understand your motives, b-but still. What you did was very dangerous."

"Yes." Ayako agreed, before falling silent. She didn't argue with him and provided no excuses, and neither did Sakura or Rin.

Their earnestness brought him up short again, and after a few seconds of gaping like a fish, Shirou cleared his throat loudly.

"R-Right, I see that you understand what I am trying to tell you." He said, unable to think of anything else to say. "That's good. I suppose I can leave it at this then."

"What? Really?" Ayako sounded confused, and he could almost imagine how she narrowed her eyes at the phone. "You're going to let us off the hook, just like that?"

"Like I said, you already seem to understand what went wrong, so there is no point in me repeating it all again." Shirou explained, scratching his cheek, feeling relieved the scolding was over with. "Just, try to keep in mind what you have learned today. Please?"

"We will." Ayako promised him empathically. "And Shirou? Thank you for being so understanding."

"That goes without saying." Shirou said warmly.

For a few seconds, there was a comfortable silence on both ends of the line, as the differences had been settled and the situation was back to normal again.

"I wasn't going to listen to anything you had to say anyway, Emiya-kun." Rin then huffed suddenly, interrupting the peaceful silence, sounding like she'd been wanting to say it for a while. "You of all people have no right to scold others about being impulsive and rash, especially in the pursuit of justice."

"I suppose you're right about that." Shirou acknowledged with a sheepish laugh. "It would have been rather hypocritical of me."

"You got that right." Rin scoffed. "You're not my father, so don't patronise me."

"I won't." Shirou promised, before adding a caveat. "Unless you do something stupid, Rin. Then I'll read you the riot act."

"And we'll be right there with you." Sakura piped up.

"Eh?! Oh, whatever!" Rin grumbled, before changing the subject. "So, what should we do now?"

"Remain inside the Emiya-estate as much as you can, though I suppose the Tohsaka-estate works too." Shirou promptly outlined their best course of action. "If there's a murderer out there who is targeting you, please only leave the house when it is absolutely necessary, and when you do, do so with at least two of you. Never go anywhere alone."

"We'd figured as much ourselves." Rin said. "We've been inside ever since that coward attacked Ayako."

"Well, keep doing that until I get back. Once I'm in Fuyuki again, I will solve the matter as quickly as I can." Shirou added. "Stop with your investigation for now. Please let Osaki-san know that Ayako has been attacked, and then stop, now that you're still slightly ahead."

"You got it, Shirou." Ayako promised him. "No more rash actions for us."

"Good." Shirou said firmly, before adopting a lighter tone. "Now, tell me everything you have found out so far."

And so they did. The girls told him everything. Not with great efficiency, as they had never learned how to hold proper briefings, but with the three of them together, they still managed to cover just about everything they had learned about Paris and his murder.

They were just at the topic of Maita Rei and her strange dislike of Paris however when Ayako's phone suddenly pinged.

"What was that!?" Rin asked sharply, the swooshing noise of her hair indicating she was looking around the room.

"Oi, Rin, calm down! I just got a message on my phone." Ayako laughed. "It's probably from my parents who want to know what- Hold on! It's from Hiroko!"

"Hiroko?" Sakura sounded surprised as well. "What does she want?"

"She says she has information about the death of Carlton Paris, and that she wants to meet us at the base of the Ryuudou-temple, to tell us, this evening." Ayako summarised the message, her voice full of shock. "W-What should we do?"

"We weren't going to investigate anymore until Emiya-kun is back." Rin reminded them sternly. "Right, Emiya-kun?"

"Indeed." Shirou agreed, his instincts telling him in no uncertain terms that this message was bad news. "I have a very bad feeling about this."

"But what if Hiroko is in danger?" Ayako protested.

"What if she is the danger?" Rin countered. "I'm sorry to say this, because she seemed like a nice girl and all, but this sudden request of hers is as suspicious as can be."

"W-Well, even then, we have to capture her and bring her to the police, right?" Ayako tried.

"We can also just call the police and tell them about this message." Rin had her answer ready. "Let them deal with it."

Another pinging noise then sounded, and again, there was a moment of silence as Ayako read the new message.

"Hey, guys." The brunette suddenly sounded very nervous, scared even, and Shirou's hold on the phone tightened, his bad feeling intensifying immensely. "Hiroko says Paris-san's death was related to Magecraft, and that she wants to talk to the Second Owner about it."

"What?!" Rin gasped.

"Huh?!" Sakura spluttered.

"Yeah." Ayako mumbled. "That's what it says."

For a few moments, they all remained quiet.

"That's it, I'm coming over." Shirou was the first to speak up again. "Don't do anything until I'm back."

It was rather unkind to leave so abruptly, to Lady Barthomeloi, Lord El-Melloi, and all the others who counted on his presence, but Shirou had to prioritise here, and his girlfriends came first. He'd make it up to the others later.

The girls clearly didn't agree however.

"Kindly don't patronise us, Emiya-kun." Rin's voice had suddenly gone extremely frosty, and Shirou froze in the middle of heading towards the door. "You make it sound as if we are helpless without you."

"I… That wasn't my intention." Shirou winced, realising that Rin was right. "I just want to help."

"I am the Second Owner of Fuyuki-City." Rin said firmly, the frostiness disappearing from her tone again, making place for uncompromising determination. "If someone within the borders is aware of Magecraft and may have abused it for their own purposes, it is my responsibility to deal with them. I'm going, whether you like it or not."

"What Rin is trying to say, is that we are capable of handling ourselves, despite our rather embarrassing show up until now." Ayako interrupted her. "Shirou, we really appreciate that you're willing to drop everything for our sakes, but you shouldn't."

"You have allies and friends there who are counting on you, don't you?" Sakura asked, joining Ayako and Rin. "Don't let them down."

"I have no problem-"

"But we do." Sakura countered, irritation creeping into her voice. "We don't want to be a burden to you, Senpai. Please don't drop everything you have worked for just because we have a small problem."

"I have already achieved most of my objectives, and I wouldn't call this a 'small problem'." Shirou huffed, before sighing deeply. "But I understand what you're trying to say."

"Then kindly remain at the Clocktower." Rin snapped, though without much bite to her tone. "How else are you going to arrange my sponsorship further?"

"I understand." Shirou nodded, laughing at Rin's remark despite himself. "I suppose there's no way I can make it back to Fuyuki in only a few hours anyway. Make sure to prepare yourself before you go."

"I will go armed and armoured." Rin promised him solemnly.

"And you are not going alone." Sakura said firmly, her tone brokering no argument. At that moment, she really sounded like Rin's sister. "We'll be coming with you."

"This is almost definitely a trap, you know?" Rin warned them, a note of worry entering her voice.

"We know." Sakura confirmed fearlessly. "Nevertheless, we are going too."

"There's no way we're going to leave you to face whatever this is on your own." Ayako added. "Whether you like it or not."

"…Fine, do as you please." Rin huffed, recognising they were using her own words against her. "But prepare yourself for battle."

"There are several Mystic Codes I left in the shed." Shirou informed them, still wanting to contribute somehow. "I put notes on them explaining what they do. Take any that seem useful to you."

"Magical weapons?" Ayako asked, her tone full of anticipation. "Oh man, I know this is not a great situation and all, but now I'm getting all pumped up."

"You really need to start taking these things more seriously." Rin sighed.

"If I let these guys change who I am, I have already lost." Ayako declared in a strong voice. "I got that from a video game."

That got a laugh out of Sakura, and Rin sighed deeply yet again.

"Be very careful, girls." Shirou finally decided to warn them one last time. "This goes deeper than one girl knowing about Magecraft. If things go wrong, don't hesitate to run away. Call me again, and I'll come back home immediately."

"You worry too much, Emiya-kun." Rin scolded him, before letting out a breath through her nose. "N-Not that I hate it, but, please have faith in me. I am a genius, you know?"

"Of course." Shirou agreed. He admittedly often forgot, but Rin was in fact an Average One, a certified genius, and the most talented gem-mage he'd ever met. Even if the girls were heading into a trap, she wouldn't be taken down easily. "Then give them hell."

"I will!"

---

"Three-hundred-and-fifty-million pounds!"

The cry sounded through the auction room, coming from a sleek, sly-looking Magus at the back, who tried his best to appear calm and composed, yet could barely hide his eagerness to get his hands on the object he'd just placed a bid on.

Fortunately for him, no one else in the crowd was willing or able to place a higher bid, and so, he became the proud new owner of a robe that massively increased the wearer's agility, speed, and reflexes. Basically, it provided Reinforcement without the owner having to invest Magical Energy, and it looked very stylish too.

Apparently, it was the only thing that the sleek Magus had been after, for he left the auction room immediately after receiving his parcel, a huge grin on his face and a skip in his step.

"Another large sum of money." Flat grinned as he wrote the final price down in his notebook. "Shirou's going to be richer than God at this rate."

"What's the total sum now?" Yvette asked eagerly, with pound-signs in her eyes.

"Le chien, you are better at arithmetic than I. You calculate the total." Flat said, pushing the notebook into Svin's hands.

The three of them, Flat, Svin, and Yvette, had been sent by Lord El-Melloi to oversee the auction of Shirou's items in one of the Clocktower's official auction rooms. It was in fact the biggest of those rooms available, as there had been numerous Magi who had fought tooth and nail to get themselves a place on the list of attendees.

A Magical item being sold was already an extremely rare event, and to have a dozen be sold at once was something that had basically never occurred before, at least not in recorded history. As such, there were plenty of people who wanted to try their luck at obtaining one, and even many who just wanted to see the items in question.

Of course, that many Magi together in one room did pose some risks, and as such, Flat, Svin, and Yvette had been sent there to maintain order.

All three were strong in combat, though Svin was by far the strongest, allowing them to quickly suppress any fights, and Yvette had put a Mystic Eye into her eye-socket that allowed her to easily perceive any deception related to money. If someone paid too little, she would see in an instant, and then Svin and Flat could take care of the deceiver in question.

Not that they had needed to do anything so far. Perhaps it was because of Shirou's reputation, but all attendees had been on their best behaviour, allowing the trio to sit back and relax, watching from their place at the back of the room.

That they were now calculating the total profits so far was more out of boredom than out of a sense of duty. There just wasn't much else for them to do right now.

"So far, we have sold eight items, and earned 2.7 billion pounds." Svin stated after a bit of scribbling, and it was a testament to the immense, unreal wealth of the Moonlit World that the other two teens merely lifted an eyebrow in surprise, instead of dropping their jaws.

"Not bad." Yvette grinned, rubbing her hands with glee. "Waver will be happy."

"Shirou even more so, I bet." Svin laughed, before his expression suddenly turned serious again. "Though I do wonder why he suddenly needed the money. He's never given the impression of caring much about cash before."

"It was all rather sudden." Yvette agreed. "Maybe something came up? Something that'll cost him a large sum to resolve?"

"Well, whatever it is, Shirou isn't going to tell us, is he?" Flat huffed, showing a surprising amount of sense. "Let's forget about that guy's plans and talk about Waver's cut of the profits instead. Do either of you have an idea of how much Waver is going to get?"

"I got the impression my darling just sees this as a favour to an apprentice." Yvette rubbed her chin with her thumb, her expression contemplative. "Not to mention this will give them a massive boost in reputation, both him and Shirou I mean, which darling can really use now that he has become such an important person."

"So there's no cash in it for him?"

"There might be, if Shirou is so inclined, but no formal agreements of that nature were struck between them."

"Hm." Flat hummed, thoughtfully scratching his cheek.

The three of them then fell silent again as the auction master presented the next object.

"Item number nine." The large, burly man stated, raising his auction hammer as his assistants placed said object on a table beside him. "These boots allow the wearer to walk on air. It is not direct flying, but gravity will have no hold over the wearer anymore. Starting at ten million pounds."

"Ten million pounds." A bearded Magus called, raising his hand.

"Thirty million." A redheaded female Magus raised her own bid.

"Fifty million." The bearded Magus countered.

"Eighty million." A third party jumped in.

"I wonder where Shirou's been getting all that stuff." Flat spoke up as the price started rising into the sky. "He said he had it lying around, but is that really believable?"

"I don't see why not." Yvette shrugged. "The Ruling Families probably have just as many Magical Items lying around in their storage rooms, if not more."

"Well, yes, but those are Ruling Families." Svin protested. "It's their job to be rich and powerful. I don't think Shirou's family is anything like that."

"Fujimaru is almost certainly a fake name." Yvette reminded him. "So he could be from any family."

"I'm well aware, but even so, I don't think he belongs to a big family. At the very least not one I am familiar with."

"And even if he did belong to such a family, it still wouldn't explain why he can suddenly sell so many Magical Items." Flat supplied. "I doubt his, hypothetical, family would ever allow him to sell their items so freely."

"Unless he's the last member of his family left." Yvette suggested. "Maybe that's why he's being so secretive. His family is supposed to be extinct, and he doesn't want anyone to know it isn't."

"That's all empty speculation though." Svin huffed. "And we've talked about Shirou's real identity a thousand times already without ever getting anywhere. Can we stop?"

"Sure, sure." Flat held up his hands in surrender. "I just wanted to know where he got his stuff."

"Ask him then." Svin said. "I doubt he'll bite your head off for it."

"Oh, I suppose that's true." Flat's eyes lit up. "I keep forgetting it, but Shirou's real chill about being asked questions, isn't he?"

"Yup." Yvette agreed, popping the 'p'.

Then the conversation was put on hold again as the auction master slammed down his gavel.

"Sold! For four hundred million pounds."

"3.1 billion pounds so far." Svin dutifully made a note of it. "Three items left to go."

---

When Rin arrived at the base of the Ryuudou-temple, just in front of the stairs leading up the mountain, with Sakura and Ayako in tow and with her pockets stuffed full of her best gems, she was surprised to find the police waiting for her there.

"Miss Second Owner." Yomaura Taya frowned at her, while Osaki Koyo rolled his eyes at the sight of the three of them. "Why are you here? Did you receive a message too?"

"A message from Hiroko, yes." Ayako replied in Rin's stead, taking a step forward. "She asked us to meet her here."

"She asked us too." Osaki nodded, crossing his arms. "We think she wants to confess to the murder of Carlton Paris."

"We… We fear the same." Sakura nodded, pursing her lips. "Though we hope it isn't so."

"If you feel conflicted, you should go home." Osaki didn't miss the opportunity to tell them to butt out yet again. "We can handle things from here."

"I'm sorry, but we cannot leave." Ayako shook her head, before huffing. "Oh, did I say I was sorry? That was a lie."

"Brat." Yomaura spat, though without much heat in her voice. "There is no reason for you to be here. This is the last leg of the investigation. Your boyfriend was always more than content to leave this part to us, so why aren't you?"

"Because Hiroko told us outright that she knows about Magecraft." Rin revealed bluntly, satisfied when Yomaura at least looked suitably shocked. "Likely in an effort to lure us here."

"Lure you here?" Osaki frowned in confusion. "Why would she do such a thing?"

"One would assume she did so because she wants to get rid of those who are pursuing her." Rin explained patiently, giving the detective a smile that you would normally give to a child. "It seems the most logical explanation."

"One young woman against all of us?" Osaki clearly didn't believe it. "No one would be dumb enough to think those odds favour them."

"Magecraft can easily flip those odds." Rin warned him, feeling he was taking Thaumaturgy too lightly.

"Perhaps in a normal situation." The detective acknowledged, before crossing his arms. "But don't we have two Magi ourselves here? Even if Hiroko is capable of Magecraft, it would still be two against one."

"And our Magus is the best." Ayako stated without a shred of doubt, before looking at Rin. "You know, when he puts it like that, I have to agree. If Hiroko wants to take us out, she's going about it very foolishly."

"Yes, I suppose she is." Rin agreed, unable to suppress the pride she felt from Ayako calling her 'the best'.

"She would have been better off ambushing us one by one." Yomaura agreed, closely studying the treeline. "With all of us together, fighting is a hopeless endeavour for her."

"Perhaps she hopes she can ambush us as a group and deal with us all at once?" Sakura suggested with a bright smile, which looked rather odd, considering the contents of her words. "We should keep our eyes open."

"That we should remain cautious goes without saying." The redheaded detective nodded, her eyes never leaving the treeline. "But even if she wanted to ambush us all at once, which I sincerely doubt, there are far better ways than outright asking us to come to her."

"Hm, I suppose so." Sakura relented.

"But we can ask her ourselves." Yomaura then grinned like a wolf that had spotted its prey, and she pointed towards the forest, raising her voice. "I can see you!"

For a moment, everything remained quiet, and then a figure emerged from behind a tree. A tall, slender figure, wearing a black hoodie, black trousers, and white sneakers that had been thoroughly stained with mud and dirt.

It was Hiroko.

"I wasn't going to ambush you." The girl said in a disturbingly neutral voice, slowly making her way over to the stairs of the temple. "I… I just wanted to talk."

"Hiroko." Osaki said sharply, taking a step forward. "Don't do anything foolish now. Give up and turn yourself in."

"We outnumber you." Rin added, taking up three gems in each hand, holding them between her fingers. "And you can't surprise us from behind again."

Rin of course referred to the attack on Ayako, suspecting that Hiroko had played a part in it, and she was proven right when Hiroko flinched and looked at the brunette with eyes full of guilt.

"That was a dirty move." Ayako hissed, having seen the guilty look as well, and her hand went to the handle of the katana she'd brought with her. "It won't work again!"

"What are you talking about?" Yomaura asked sharply, looking from Ayako to Hiroko and back.

"That girl tried to strangle me yesterday." Ayako spat, anger blazing in her eyes, her grip on her weapon tightening.

"What?!"

"I'm sorry." Hiroko apologized, her voice still neutral, though there was a hint of an apologetic tone now. "I had no choice. You were getting too close."

"Bitch." Ayako cursed her, and it was a testament to the seriousness of the situation that Sakura had nothing to say about the foul language.

"Hiroko, what would your mother think?" Osaki tried, and his words drew the most emotional reaction yet from the girl, as she outright looked depressed for a moment. "Don't make this any harder than it has to be."

"We can work this out." Yomaura nodded, slowly taking a step forward, and then another one, inching closer to the girl while holding up a hand, as if she was trying to approach a wild dog. "Just stay calm, and everything will be alright."

"You must follow me." Hiroko suddenly replied, before she threw something down in front of the group.

It turned out to be some kind of smoke bomb, for it produced a massive cloud of black mist, instantly concealing Hiroko within it.

Yomaura wasn't caught off guard however, and in a flash, the woman had applied her Runes to herself and rushed forward, at the place where Hiroko had just been standing.

When Rin used one of her gems to create a whirlwind to send the smoke up in the air however, it became clear Hiroko was long gone.

"There!" Ayako shouted, pointing upwards, and the entire group looked up to see Hiroko, rushing up the stairs like a woman possessed.

"Hiroko! Stop!" Yomaura cried, and she rushed after the girl, closely followed by Osaki, Ayako, Sakura, and Rin herself.

"You can go ahead!" Osaki barked at Yomaura and Rin. "You have your Magecraft, right? You can catch up to her in no time."

"We could, but I am not going to." Rin shook her head as she ran, purposefully avoiding any Reinforcement Magecraft. "Hiroko clearly knows Strengthening Magecraft too, judging by how fast she's running, and if she knows that, she might know other Crafts as well."

"We can't leave you three behind. She might have set up traps or other nasty tricks for you." Yomaura nodded in agreement with Rin.

"I see." Osaki mumbled, his eyes narrowing in suspicion as he looked at the steps of the stairs.

"Sorry for holding you back." Sakura called out from the back of the group, having the least stamina of them all.

"Will you go home then? To stop holding us back?" Rin asked.

"No way, Nee-san!"

"Then don't apologise!"

"Eyes up front, miss Second Owner." Yomaura spat, using a combination of various Runes to light their path and search for traps, magical and otherwise. "Two pairs of eyes are better than one."

"Right, sorry." Rin said, before looking around as well.

Ultimately, they didn't encounter any traps on the way, but the mere possibility was enough to slow their progress down to a light jog. Once Hiroko's trail veered from the stairs and into the mountain side's forest, it slowed down even more, to barely a crawl.

"I hate forests." Yomaura grumbled after a few minutes of stumbling around in the dark. "So many ways to hide traps."

"It's even worse with the Ryuudou-temple nearby. Its presence hides Magical Signatures." Rin agreed. Of course, the presence of the Grail was an even larger issue, but this wasn't the time to start about that.

With how slow they were going now, it was inevitable that they lost sight of Hiroko completely. Fortunately, the girl left a very obvious trial behind, which was child's play to follow.

"Alright, this is definitely an attempt to lure us into an ambush." Yomaura spoke when they came across another set of extremely obvious footprints. "Proceed with caution."

The group continued their way through the forest, right until they arrived at the mountainside again. There, hidden from view until you stood right in front of it, was a cave. The opening wasn't big, about half again as high as Osaki was tall and wide enough to allow entrance to three average people walking side by side, but the cave itself was deep, very deep, like a giant spear had been stabbed into the mountain.

As it was evening, already a while after sunset, there was barely any light, except for what Yomaura's Runes produced. That meant that the cave seemed like little more than a dark hole in the ground.

"So, I think we can safely assume Hiroko went in there." Sakura began with some humour in her voice. "What do we do now?"

"Ugh." Rin was getting less enthusiastic about the whole thing with every passing moment, and the fact that the dense Magical Energy emanating from the cave made her hackles rise did not help one bit with that.

"I'm going after her." Osaki stated after a few moments of silence. "Regardless of whether it is a trap, I have a duty to perform."

"I'm coming with you." Ayako raised a fist. "I still have to give Hiroko a piece of my mind after all. Let's go, Osaki-san-"

"Hold it!" Rin barked, stepping in front of Osaki and Ayako. "Fine, we'll go in. Something is not right here, and as the Second Owner, I am dutybound to resolve it. However, we need to do this in a controlled fashion."

"What do you suggest, Nee-san?" Sakura asked, and Rin noticed she'd pulled out her Enchanted knife, though she held it in a passive position for now.

"We go in single file." She dictated. "Yomaura-san will be at the front, and I'll cover the back."

"Sounds like a plan." Yomaura nodded, before motioning to Osaki to come with her. "Stay close to me, Senpai."

"Very well." Osaki said, and then he reached into his belt, before pulling out his gun. "Don't mind if I arm myself as well. I sure hope a gun will work."

"With a bit of luck, it will." Yomaura nodded, before turning back to the cave. "Well then, here we go."

She walked straight into the dark, followed by first Osaki, then Sakura, then Ayako, and finally Rin.

Yomaura still had her Runes to light the way, and Rin eventually decided to contribute, sending small orbs of light into the air to hang around their group. That way, nobody tripped and the chance of an ambush in the dark was significantly lower. Still, the cave felt very oppressive all the same, and Rin was grateful that none of them were claustrophobic.

They walked for a few minutes, before they rounded a corner and suddenly arrived at a large cavern. They were deep under the mountain, where it should have been pitch dark, but a number of torches on the wall provided enough light to see.

Neither Rin nor Yomaura extinguished their lights however. They couldn't afford to end up blind if those torches were doused again by whoever had lighted them.

Rin looked around, taking a good look at the cavern. It was, as said before, fairly large, about the size of Shirou's house, with the garden and shed included. It was also empty, with only the torches showing that anyone had ever been here before.

It was definitely mysterious, and Rin was getting a bad feeling about this.

"I don't like this place." Sakura suddenly muttered, and when Rin looked at her, she saw droplets of sweat going down her little sister's pale face. "I don't like this place at all."

"It's giving me the creeps." Ayako agreed, her eyes flitting in all directions as her hands balled into fists. "I don't think we should have come here."

"Then go." Osaki said sternly, giving them a short look before gazing forward again, allowing the girls to see the sweat going down his neck. "Get out of here."

"What about you though?" Ayako asked, recognising that the detective was also very much unnerved by the situation.

"We need to get Hiroko first, then we'll follow after you." The man replied, and while his courage was admirable, one could wonder whether he wasn't being a bit too zealous about his police-duty.

Rin wavered, looking back at the entrance of the cavern, wondering if it wouldn't be wise to follow the detective's suggestion. She wasn't one to abandon an operation halfway through, but this cavern really was bad news. There was a lot of Magical Energy in the air, more than normal for the Ryuudou-temple, and there was a sense of evil present that she'd never felt before.

"Nee-san." Sakura then whispered, softly enough that only Rin and Ayako could hear. "We have a problem."

"What is it?" Rin asked sharply. Normally, she might have made a sarcastic remark about how they already had plenty of problems, but with the situation being what it was, she held it back.

"This cave, it is below the Ryuudou-temple, isn't it?"

"I think we can assume that, yes." Rin nodded, wondering why Sakura was talking about that. "If you're worried about Issei's home, don't be. Even my strongest Magecraft won't be enough to make the mountain collapse. The monks won't notice a thing."

"Zouken told me about this place." Sakura continued as if she hadn't heard Rin, her eyes having gone very wide and her face extremely pale. "Though I never thought I'd ever see it myself."

"What do you mean?" Ayako asked, stepping closer to the plum-haired girl. "Sakura, what do you know?"

Sakura took a very deep breath, before she looked Rin straight in the eyes.

"Isn't this where the Greater Grail is stored?"

The question made Rin's blood run cold, and next to her, Ayako's mouth fell open, the brunette having learned enough over the past weeks to know what Sakura was talking about. For a few seconds, neither girl was able to speak, while Sakura groaned in desperation as her fears were confirmed.

Then Rin regained her senses, and she immediately turned towards the detectives.

"Yomaura-san! Osaki-san!" She barked, any pretence of politeness or elegance gone from her voice and demeanour. "We need to leave, now!"

"We can't." Osaki seemed surprised at Rin's sudden insistence, but he nevertheless shook his head. "We need to find Hiroko first."

"Never mind Hiroko!" Rin snapped, already moving towards the exit with Sakura and Ayako, preparing to flee as quickly as she could. She might have no idea what was going on, but if the Grail was involved, things had become a thousand times more complicated and a million times more dangerous. "We need to go-"

"I am afraid it is too late for that now, little Magus."

A new voice, deep and booming, sounded through the cavern, and the entire group spun around towards the entrance, where the voice was coming from. The torches didn't provide enough light however for them to see anything but darkness there.

"You, who were so wary of traps, sure showed no hesitation to charge into one." The voice continued, slow footsteps echoing through the cavern, though its owner remained hidden in the shadows still. "That was the last mistake you'll ever make."

"It is hard to feel threatened by a coward who hides in the shadows." Yomaura snipped, seeming much calmer now that an actual enemy had presented himself.

No response came in return, but there was a dampened shuffling sound, some movement in the dark, and then a figure stepped into the light, as if answering her challenge.

The first thing that occurred to Rin when she laid eyes on the figure was that this guy sure didn't look like the owner of the voice. The voice was deep, booming, and impressive. The supposed owner was a middle-aged man with a beer-gut, a slovenly beard, and tattered clothes, looking at them with an unhinged smile.

"You hide your presence well. I didn't know you were there until you spoke up." Yomaura remarked coldly, and Rin, who honestly hadn't even bothering paying attention to the man's presence yet, was surprised to find that the woman was correct. Even though she was looking right at him, she couldn't sense him at all.

The fact that Presence Concealment was a skill most often used by assassins did nothing to endear this man to her.

"I don't really have a choice but to hide my presence." The slovenly figure spoke, and his voice was indeed deep and booming. "It can be… overwhelming, and rather detrimental to my attempts to stay unnoticed. You won't like it when I reveal my presence, Magus."

"Try us." Rin challenged him.

"As you wish."

From one second to the next, the man's presence appeared on Rin's inner radar.

It hit her like a freight train!

Goosebumps broke out over her entire body, her every hair stood on end, her stomach contracted painfully, and her heart started beating madly in fear.

This man was evil! Evil beyond belief! It was as if Rin was looking at malevolence incarnate, the Christian Devil given the form of a man.

She almost choked, it was so bad, and Rin found herself wanting nothing more than to obliterate the figure, to blast it until nothing remained.

"Who are you?" Ayako demanded, sounding brave even though her face was pale as a sheet, indicating she was feeling the same as Rin. "Tell me, before I beat the living daylights out of you!"

"Such brave words." The man smirked, not the least bit intimidated by the brunette's threat. "But they are mere empty bluster. You don't have the courage to attack me."

"Where is Hiroko?!" Osaki spoke up before Ayako could react to its scathing remark, apparently considering the girl more important than the enemy's identity. "What did you do to her?!"

"I don't like your tone." The slovenly man laughed, looking first at Osaki and then at Ayako. "I think I won't answer your questions. Not until you learn some manners."

He was gloating, enjoying the power he thought he had over them, but Rin wasn't going to play along with that. This cavern was fraying at her nerves in a really bad way, so she wasn't going to play nice today.

"I don't see why we bothered asking questions anyway." She huffed, before she turned to the others, smiling as she raised her right hand, which still held three gems. "I say we blow this guy away and find Hiroko ourselves."

"Ooooh, how scary." The man sang, remaining where he was. "But a few gems are hardly going to be enough to beat me."

"You sure? These gems are the best, you know. A gift from a person I respect deeply." Rin smirked, slowly activating the gems. One of them held a stunning spell, one a binding spell, and the last would just explode in white-hot fire. "And despite all your grandstanding, you don't look very impressive."

The man narrowed his eyes at her, his gaze flitting over the gems for a split second, before he snapped his fingers. The next moment, a black haze of Magical Energy lifted in front of the entrance, effectively sealing it up.

"Magus!"

Rin didn't know who exactly had given the cry, but it hardly mattered. In a flash, she raised her other hand, holding six gems in total at the ready, while Sakura readied her knife and Ayako fully drew her katana out of its sheath.

In the meantime, Osaki had raised his gun, and Yomaura had applied Strengthening Runes to her wrists and ankles.

In but one moment, their ragtag group had changed into a dangerous fighting force that would have given a century-old Dead Apostle second thoughts about engaging them.

"Ooooh, that's even more scary!" The man didn't seem the slightest bit impressed though, and he began inching around them, sticking to the cavern wall as he made his way to the other side of the cavern. With the entrance sealed by some kind of Magecraft, he no longer needed to stand in front of it to cut off their escape after all. "But I think I can handle you just fine."

"Confident much?" Rin sniped, smirking at him in an effort to anger him. "It's five against one. Give up already."

"I am very confident indeed." The stranger merely grinned however, continuing his way to the other side, while the group slowly turned, keeping him in their sights. "And it would be more accurate to say that it is five against two, isn't it, Hiroko?"

At his call, the young woman emerged from the shadows at the opposite side of the entrance, precisely at the spot where the slovenly man was heading towards.

"Hiroko, don't listen to him!" Osaki cried, rapidly looking between her and the man. "Whatever he has told you, or is trying to blackmail you with, you can just ignore him!"

"No, she can't." The man laughed, finishing his walk around the cavern and placing himself right behind Hiroko, grabbing her shoulders as if he was holding a shield, while the young woman shivered in fear and revulsion at his touch. "I'm afraid Hiroko is firmly on my side."

"You! Get your hands off her!" Osaki bristled, and Rin too was getting the creeps from how the man was touching Hiroko right now. It was repulsive, and the fact that the slovenly man was still emitting pure maliciousness didn't help matters at all. "Who are you anyway?!"

"My name is Mordegai." The man suddenly told them, and his mouth stretched into a smile that was much too wide for his face. "And I am a Wraith."

The very air in the cavern seemed to freeze at his words, as Ayako and Osaki looked confused, Sakura bit her lip, and Rin and Yomaura tensed all their muscles.

A Wraith…

Of all the possible things…

"You don't look very impressive for a Wraith." Ayako ultimately sneered before Rin could come up with a response of her own. "Where are your claws? Your nightmarish face? Are Wraiths supposed to look pathetic like you?"

"I shall admit this body isn't ideal, but it is the best that was available to me." The Wraith shrugged, sounding almost apologetic, its beer gut swaying from the motion. "I had little choice in the end."

"Are you saying you possessed it?" Sakura had gone very still, and her voice now held a very dangerous tone, to the point where even the Wraith gave her a cautious look.

"It was already dead. Too much cocaine." The creature said slowly. "But yes, I possessed it. It was necessary, or I would not have been able to stay in your world for very long. The Age of Man is not kind to beings like me, and so far, I have not been able to Incarnate."

"Incarnate?" Osaki asked hesitantly, as if he was afraid of the answer.

"Manifesting myself in this reality, without the need for an anchor like this body." The Wraith explained readily. "I've been working on it for months now, but it's ridiculously difficult."

"Why would you even want to Incarnate?" Sakura asked, still in her dangerous tone of voice. "Why come to Earth at all if it's so difficult for you?"

"Because your world is beautiful." The Wraith smiled, taking the plum-haired girl aback with how serene and genuinely happy he suddenly looked. "Even though this worthless body massively limits my power, to the point where either of you Magus-ladies could clean my clock in less time than it takes to say it, to say nothing about the monster that rules these skies, your world is worth it."

"If you just wanted to be a tourist, you could have done so without all the nonsense you're pulling." Ayako snapped.

"Wraiths aren't tourists, girl." Yomaura countered, her gaze not wavering from the creature for an instant. "There is a reason the Burial Agency hates them as much as they hate Dead Apostles. Wraiths are inhuman creatures, who think nothing of slaughtering scores of people to get what they want."

"Now, that's rude." The Wraith huffed, sounding honestly insulted. "I have killed no one so far. I only possessed a body and gave poor little Hiroko here some life-advice."

"You lie." Sakura said immediately.

"Alright, fine, maybe I have killed some people here and there, but they were annoying me." The Wraith huffed, without a trace of guilt or indeed any other emotion that showed he was at all bothered by what he had done. "But not many! I couldn't attract any attention. If I got any Magi on my case, I might lose."

"Lose what?"

"I am in a bit of a competition, you see." The Wraith again grinned wider than a human should ever be able to. "My brother and I made a little bet, about which one of us would manage to Incarnate first. He went to the Magus Association, to have Magi work on his case, while I came here, to Fuyuki, to track down a few leads."

"Your brother?"

"Belisarius." The Wraith answered easily enough. "Though at this point in time, he should be possessing the body of Grover Meluastea."

---

And with that, we have arrived at the end of the chapter.

I should be able to wrap this matter up in one more chapter, and then Shirou will go home. I understand that you might be a little done with this arc, but I need to finish this properly. I hate it when stuff isn't resolved.

So bear with it, please.

Shirou attends more trials, but generally doesn't do much in this chapter.

The items are sold at an auction, though some of them have been held back and will be sold to people directly, among them the Mystic Code Collector who'll show up next chapter. This will be an OC, so it's no use to wonder who he is.

Meanwhile, the girls get a nasty shock and decide to come clean to Shirou. Shirou does not scold them though, as one, it would make him a hypocrite, and two, the girls already knew what they'd done wrong. Furthermore, Shirou is not the scolding type.

Ultimately however, Rin is forced into action by a text from Hiroko, and though Shirou has his reservations, he has no choice but to allow Rin, as well as Sakura and Ayako, to go on their own. Of course he has no choice, he doesn't own them.

Some of you might wonder why Rin is so keen to flee after learning the Grail is involved when during the Grail War, she showed no hesitation about directly involving herself with that thing. Well, that is a matter of preparedness.

It is one thing to enter a Grail War when you're prepared and mentally ready. It is another thing entirely to suddenly have the Grail sprung on you when you were only expecting a low-level Magus who's in over her head (Hiroko).

Also, there's a Wraith involved. I'm not following the Nasuverse rules on this one, as they are fabulously vague when it comes to creatures. As such, this will be mainly my own interpretation of these beings.

Yes, Grover Meluastea was also a Wraith. He was hiding his presence, which was why the people around him didn't notice his true nature, but Shirou, being Shirou, pricked right through that, allowing him to sense what Grover truly was.

Ted leaves for an internship, so don't expect any monthly updates. That's way too much pressure on me.