Chapter Three: A Family Curse

2018, September 25th

Wielding a wooden training sword, Saber stood across from her three students, pleased and stern in equal measure. "Welcome." An acknowledging nod is given to each of them. "For now, I need an estimation of your abilities. So we will have some individual spars before I fight all three of you at once. Questions?"

"Aren't you being a little too confident?" Nobara asks. Her own confidence and good mood seems to have returned with the lack of Rin around. Her smirk only prompts Saber to appear thoughtful.

"Perhaps you are right. I shall change things as needed." Saber says. While Saber evaluates her students, Nobara walks closer, ahead of everyone else. "I'll go first then."

"What about the destruction or noise?" Megumi asks from the side. He had already started backing away while grabbing the scruff of Yujis' clothing. He pays no attention to Yujis' protests.

"Oh, don't worry, your teacher has got everything sorted."

Having snuck up on them both, Gojo grins as he puts an arm over the shoulder of each. "Also, Saber, once you are done, I'd like a spar with you myself." Carefree, he watches his student and fellow teacher.

"Noted. I'll see what I can do." Almost instantaneously, Sabers' armor appears on her person. "Now come at me, Kugisaki."

She holds her weapon one-handed, waiting for Nobara to act, and is not disappointed by her speed. Between one moment and the next, Nobaras hammer and a handful of nails are in her hands. Nails launched immediately at Saber. She ducks and weaves between them all before steadily making her way to Nobara.

Backing up as quickly as she can while keeping Saber in view, her eyes widen in shock. Knocking more nails her way. With no time at all, Saber was already within striking distance, having deflected those she couldn't dodge with perfect grace.

Before Saber can swing at Nobara, Nobara changes tactics with a vicious grin. As Saber steps forward to make a swing at Nobaras midsection, Nobara steps forward to lesson the momentum and block it with her hammer one handed. Her other hand goes to punch Saber with a haymaker in the face.

Nobara bears the pressure for a moment, but before she can hit, the force she holds back exponentially increases, sending her flying and causing her to sprawl on the ground. As she gets to her knees, Nobara senses the weight of something on her neck before Saber's voice reaches her from behind. "Yield."

Groaning, Nobara rolls onto her side with a dejected demeanour. "Yeah, I'm out." She closes her eyes. "Man, what a drag. I didn't even make it past a minute."

Completely shocked, the rest of her fellow students stare, while Nanami and Sakura both watch in contemplation. Gojo is the only one who politely golf claps.

"Don't be too dejected. Training is used to ensure that we can iron out and improve upon such things. I'm sure you will last much longer in our next spar." Saber says. Extending a hand to assist Nobara, she takes hold of it and is lifted to a standing position. "Now, what do you think happened there?"

Once she made her way outside, Rin stands with her arms crossed next to Nanami and Sakura. A fond smile crosses her face as she watches Saber.

Grimacing, Nobara straightens her back to get out the sore muscles from being thrown about. "You tricked me with how strong you were. You pretended to be weaker, waited for when I was more off balance, and then increased the amount of strength you had in your push."

Saber nods. "Normally, if you had allies or I were not so fast, you would have been able to recover. This will become more apparent when I spar with the three of you altogether. Questions?"

Yuji is the first to place up his hands, excited. "How are you so good at dodging? Kugisaki isn't slow or anything. The way you avoided all of them was amazing!"

Ensuring that no one else had a question before, Saber speaks to Yuji. "Years of practice, and no small amount of fighting." Thoughtful, she pauses before motioning to Yuji. "Come forward, Itadori, we shall spar next."

With no hesitation, he makes his way forward and across from Saber. "Alright, let's go!"

Pleased at his enthusiasm, Saber holds her training weapon before herself. "Let's."

Yuji takes the lead and moves, as Saber waits patiently. Rushing forwards towards her, he watches her intently. Saber's eyes widen in slight surprise as she watches him, even as her weapon subtly shifts in preparation to meet his charge.

Saber had heard about some of the higher grade sorcerers being powerful in their own right. But Yujis speed was the only thing she considered comparable so far from she had seen of them that had reminded her of some of her more physically powerful enemies.

Approaching her with speed, a sudden movement of his hand causes her to evade the rocks coming towards her. Staying in sync with her movement, he pursues her. Yuji quickly ducks a probing strike from her by crouching, exploding forward to punch her in the stomach.

With an immense display of power and speed, Saber launches backwards, avoiding his blow. She lightly skips along the ground as she gets further from Yuji, with him following closely. Her momentum quickly changes once again as she slows her movement and swings.

Yujis eyes widen at the incoming blade, before jumping over the top of it. Her swing turns into a seamless spin that follows his arc over her head, picking up in a burst of speed. Panicked, Yuji can only cross his arms and take the blow, launching him into the air. Calmly, Saber takes a few deliberate steps to place herself below his descending form, and then readies her form as if for a baseball swing.

Yuji stares down at Saber with eyes narrowed in concentration as he descends. Concentrating his cursed energy into his legs, they lock gazes before the entire area becomes engulfed in a cloud of smoke from a collision. It takes a few moments for the smoke to clear, and to show the form of a standing Saber, with a wheezing Yuji holding his stomach lying down. She holds her blade over his shoulder before retracting it. It's barely a half second before Yuji stands up himself.

"You did well." Saber says. "Fighting a weapon unarmed is not an easy task. You should take the time to find yourself a weapon of your own." Giving a questioning look towards Gojo, he gives a thumbs up, supporting her silent question. "Once you do, let me know." Saber says. "Now, what is your opinion on the fight Itadori?"

Thoughtful, he leans to one side with a hand on his hip. "I wasn't sure what to do with the training sword. So I treated it like I shouldn't get hit by it. It was really hard to hit you too!" Another thought comes to him. "Oh, and once I was stuck in the air, there wasn't anything for me to grab onto or use. I was just stuck."

"All valid points." Saber nods along. "There is no such thing as stable footing when in the air, so reach is your next best tool in such a scenario." Addressing the rest of those in the room, she motions for Yuji to make his way back. "You shall get used to avoiding weapons in time. Training will have different types available, so you don't get too comfortable."

All three of her youngest students give concerned glances at each other. Yujis brows furrow in confusion as he thinks over what happened in the spar. "But how did you dodge me without even seeing me? I know I dodged a few of your strikes, but you still nailed me in the end."

Comprehension crosses her face. "As you showed, you can tell where an attack is coming with more than just sight alone. But it is not a perfect solution, and one is liable to make a mistake, eventually."

"What should I do in that case, then?" Yuji asks.

"It is a case of judgement for each opponent. But if you are not confident in facing an opponent in a terrain that is helpful to them, there is no shame in retreating or trying to find a better situation for your own ends." Nodding sagely to herself. A red eye with a mouth appearing on Yujis' cheek interrupts their conversation.

"Why do you waste your time teaching these brats?" Sukuna asks. His eye stares at hers, full of mockery.

Both Rin and Saber had reacted to the sounds of Sukuna's voice in shock, both freezing in place. It doesn't take long for them both to recover, before Saber responds. "We should place the future in good hands. It's the duty of those who came before to help them find the right path."

With a slap, the face of Sukuna disappears under Yujis' palm. It doesn't take long before it appears on the other side laughing at her. "How boorish. I'll enjoy killing you and your companion with this body."

Sabers' glare is ice cold, making even Yuji flinch and freeze. "You may try."

Sukuna's smirk is the last thing seen about him before he disappears once more. Embarrassed, Yuji scratches the back of his neck. "Sorry about that. He does that sometimes."

Everyone else is unfazed except for Rin, who seems in parts disturbed and curious. Saber's face softens at Yujis comment, before she reaches upwards and places a hand on his shoulder. "It is not your fault. The fact that you deal with such a being and remain so pure of heart is commendable." Before they can think any further on her statement, she calls out to Megumi. "Fushigoro, you are next."

Face grimly set, Fushigoro steps forward. With no hesitation, he clamps his hands together and interlaces them. "Domain Expansion: Chimera Shadow Garden." Pooling from his feet, his shadow expands to cover the surrounding forest. Noticing the spreading shadow, Saber quickly jumps onto a tree and propels herself towards Megumi.

Rins' brow furrows in confusion as she watches the creation of the domain.

Silently, Megumi sinks into his shadow, with Saber following. There's an awkward silence for a few seconds before Saber bursts upwards out of the shadow with Megumi held in her grip. Megumi gets a few good strikes in, even with her lessening the strength behind some of them before she tosses him into one of the remaining trees with a crash. Multiple Nue's follows her through the air from the shadow, intent on colliding with her. The static sound of electricity clues her into their abilities, even as she uses mana burst to direct herself towards where Megumi landed.

The tree that Megumi had hit snaps in half and falls to the ground, sinking into the shadows. Megumi forces himself to on one knee where he had landed, bowed as if something was straining him. Instead of retreating into the shadow once more, Megumi stares her face on. Only one Nue remains following behind her, as a Max Elephant forms behind Megumi. The elephant swells before shooting a stream of concentrated water in her direction.

Calmly, Saber merely watches the water as it comes closer. Changing her practice sword to one hand, she utilizes her free hand in a burst of movement to find purchase on the stream of water, using it as leverage to flip over it. In a seamless transition, she lands on the stream of water as if it is land and starts running along it towards Megumi.

Letting go of the stream of water from the elephant almost immediately afterwards, Nue strikes the water with a surge of electricity. Saber uses the parts of the water she is standing on to launch once more, even faster towards Megumi, before the electricity would even reach her.

The forms of both Nue and Max Elephant fade into the shadow once again, leaving the form of only Megumi left. Saber quickly makes her body smaller as multiple tongues fly out underneath her from two Toads, before having to use her training sword to block one tongue.

Instead of slowing down like Megumi had hoped, Saber drags the Toad along as she swings her weapon. Megumi grins as they collide, before his form quickly dissolves into shadow like all the other shikigami had.

Tensing to jump on whatever purchase she had left on Megumis copy, it instead turns into a wide sweep of her weapon to strike behind her. Divine Dog: Totality having appeared, has its swipe at her back clash with Saber's weapon instead. The wood of the weapon gives an ominous creak as Saber loses her purchase. The Toad pulls helplessly to make her lose her weapon.

By purposefully releasing her strength, she launches herself backwards and avoids a second Toad's tongue that someone had sent behind her. With a fling of her wrist, she tangles the Toad she still has attached to her weapon to a tree. It loops around like an improvised lasso, and she tugs it to help herself ascend upward with its momentum. Its grip on her weapon slackens as it disappears before the rest of the domain slowly fades away.

Saber watches impassively in the air as Megumi pants out of breath, a fallen tree lying next to him. Blood drips from his nose even as he drags himself to his feet.

Saber's ascent turns rapidly into a descent, helped along by her mana burst to land back on the ground. Rushing towards Megumi, she thrusts with her weapon. Still struggling to catch his breath properly, he desperately dodges, but is only partially successful as he gets clipped. Half turned by the partial collision, he tries to hit her with a backhanded strike, but she merely ducks into it once more, gains distance and swipes at him.

Her next hit is not nearly so partial, hitting him across the stomach with his dodge being just too slow. He folds as she makes a seamless step to behind him and swiping at the back of his knees. He falls backwards and lands on the ground before she places her weapon over his neck. "Yield."

Megumi offers a nod at her statement, leading to her offering a hand that he uses to help himself stand up. "Well done." Saber says. She offers him a small smile. "Now, your thoughts on the fight itself."

"You were fast enough to escape most of my traps, even if you couldn't stay above the shadow." Megumi says. "The only times I could hit you were when I made it impossible for you to move out of the way to avoid it," He adds.

"A difficult position to force." Saber says. "If it was someone else other than me, I am sure your trap would have likely caught them in some ways." From the side, Saber watches a frowning Gojo type away on his phone. "Your tactics were sound, and your technique was quite broad in its abilities. I am sure with time, it will serve you well."

"All of us should return to the classroom, including you, Nanami and Sakura. I would appreciate your input. Whilst you three recover, we shall go over the matches today and evaluate your results." Saber says.

Everyone except for Gojo, who grimaces, gives a chorus of agreements. "Looks like duty calls. I'll catch up with everyone later." His hands toare lifted as if to put them together, but pauses as a thought comes to him. "Oh, and next time, let's have me versus Saber and Sakura. So long as it isn't lethal, it should be fun." Without waiting for an answer, his hands come together and he disappears.

Rin gapes in sheer disbelief. "Did he just teleport?" The confused looks from the sorcerers only cause her to close her eyes and take a deep breath. "Never mind." She turns to face Nanami. "Is that how domain expansions normally work?"

"Not entirely." Nanami denies. "Megumis domain appears incomplete. You would not have avoided any of the shikigami otherwise, only endure them."

Glancing briefly at Saber with her students trailing behind her, Rin focuses her gaze in deep contemplation. "You know." Rin interjects suddenly. "Servants of the Saber class have a skill called magic resistance. The higher the rank, the greater the power of a magecraft can be weakened or negated when coming into contact with them." Nanami follows her gaze, that is focused on Megumi. "Those shikigami, or that domain didn't seem weakened to me."

"No." Nanami agrees. "It did not."

2018, September 26th

Two men sit next to each other, reclined in chairs at Dagon's domain. While Choso is in his usual outfit, the man next to him wears an attire much closer to what one would see at a beach. Both having matching hair color, eye color and height. A portable cooler filled with beers was in between both of them. Each man has one such beer already open in hand, already partially drunk.

The man next to Choso has a downward fringe of short hair, strong of jaw with purple shorts and only an open black jacket left open to reveal broad and strong muscle. His troubled eyes and grimace turn into a fond smile as he turns to stare at Choso.

"Choso." He says. "Thank you for agreeing to spend time with me."

Unbothered, he shrugs. "Spending time with you is natural. Think nothing of it." They both wait in silence for a few seconds.

"Tell me more about yourself Choso, I may have only come here recently, but I have had little time to get to know my brother." Turning on his side to look at Choso more directly, he places his can down in the sand.

"There is not much to say. I live for my brothers." Choso says.

The frown on the fellow dark haired listener only deepens at his answer. "Surely you have had something? Allies you like or dislike? Hobbies? Any cute girls you have met?" Concern seeps into his tone.

"I have played board games before." Choso answers. "They were... fun." His voice lowers in sadness as his eyes stare off into the distance.

"I see." The main trails off. "Then we will just have to find ones for you. To have you so bereft of experiences is truly a crime." Grabbing what left of his can, he drinks it all in one go before crushing it in his hand and placing it into a trash bag nearby. "Let us depart. We have a few hours yet before Casters lessons."

Taking cues from his companion, Choso downs his drink with a bit more difficulty before following in bemusement. "Is this really so necessary?"

"Of course! How am I to tease you with so little experience? Or to brag about my family?" His tone is teasing, slowing down just enough to sling a hand over Choso's shoulder.

"I think Saber, as the older brother, that should be my job." Choso replies, his tone dry.

"Gawain." He interrupts, a fond yet exasperated smile on his face. "My family calls me Gawain. It would hardly fit for you to be any different."

Concern crosses the face of Choso. "What about the other masters?"

"Let them come." Gawain says with promise. "They will regret it."

Both of them walk through the doorway and back into the outside world.

##### 2018, September 26th

"This is my servant, Archer." Megumi says.

In front of Megumis fellow first years stands the form of a man with short black hair, brown eyes, green chest armor, red undershirt, gloves and shin guards, brown hood with a satchel tied to both sides of his hips.

Archer's eyes light up with an easygoing smile coming to his face. "Yo, it's nice to meet you both. I've heard good things about you two."

Both students gape, having gathered in Megumi's room again for a meeting, though this was the first time Megumi had invited them there. Nobara and Yuji stare at each other in betrayal before rounding on the offender. "Servant?!"

Megumi refuses to make eye contact. "Yes, it was best to summon the servant last night. Gojo was all we needed for something like that, anyway." His tone turns dry at the mention of Gojo. The others grumble at his answer but have nothing to refute it.

"So I heard you all are going on a hunt for curses today. Do you mind if I come along to watch?" Archer asks. "Personally, I think it would be a good idea for me to get an idea of how you all work together." His hands are placed on his hips even as he maintains his friendly demeanor.

"Sure!" Yuji immediately answers. Nobara gives him a more searching assessment from top to bottom with a pursed lip. "Do as you like." She says neutrally.

"Thanks." Archer says sincerely. "Curses aren't something I have much experience in, so anything you can tell me about them will be appreciated." His expression turns half amused and embarrassed in equal measure. "That man, Gojo, tried telling me about them, but he had to leave halfway through."

Concern fills all three of the others. "I wonder if the reason Gojo is so busy lately is because of the news?" Yuji muses to himself, face scowling.

"News?" Megumi asks. His eyes narrow at Yuji as he pays more attention.

Yuji nods. "Yeah, apparently there was a murder last night. Some lady late at night was found... torn up badly, her throat cut." His lips curl in disgust. "Apparently curses have gotten worse again lately, too."

"I see." Megumi says. "Probably." He shrugs. Nobara nods.

"Anyway." Nobara interjects. "If we are going to be stuck with you anyway, I might as well tell you about curses before we go, so you're not in the way." Nobara sighs.

"I appreciate it." Archer says.

"Yeah, yeah."

2018, September 26th

"So, technical advisor, tell me more about this 'pachinko' device?" Gawain asks. A young man working at this place is left gaping at Gawain's shirtless attire, completely oblivious to his question. An amused, silently chuckling form of Choso is behind him. "Are you well, sir?" A concerned Gawain leans forward, causing the man in question to have heat rise to his face and shrink into himself. Only the hand of Choso on Gawain's shoulder causes him to falter.

"I think we had best give him a second and let me ask Gawain." Choso says. Pulling his confused brother behind him, he steps forward to face a decidedly more composed, if embarrassed, person. "Sorry about that." Choso apologizes. "How might we play? Neither of us has actually played before."

It doesn't take long before both brothers set up and get ready to play. Gawain had handed Choso most of the money for today, but he had no clue where Gawain had even gotten it from. While both of them had started at the beginning equally, Gawain would quickly eclipse Choso in the amount of earnings he would get throughout the playing. After an hour, Gawain had moved to the highest risk games in the entire establishment, while Choso had stopped to watch him in stupefied amazement.

"How is it you are already so good at this game?" Choso asks. He stares in disbelief at another jackpot ringing in from Gawain's machine.

Gawains hand stops on the lever as he thinks about the question. "Hmm." He taps again, releasing more balls. "I would say it's a matter of timing and luck. I'm just thankful that my good fortune seems to treat me well here." His head turns to give a fond glance at Choso. "Come, sit and play. If you lose, I can just give you some of mine."

"I don't think that's how it works?" Choso asks.

"Oh, that would be silly. What's mine is yours. I'm sure they will understand." Gawain waves it off before both brothers stop and turn their head to gaze towards the entrance. Standing there is the form of a powerful sorcerer, in a baggy jacket and loose white pants. The man called Kinji Hakari gives a cocky half wave in their direction before making his way towards them with his hands in his pockets.

Choso is tense, while Gawain is unbothered. "It's good to see someone's fever running hot." Hakari says. He sits down next to Gawain and starts his own game. "I was coming here anyway, but this is the first time I've seen fellow sorcerers at pachinko." His eyes stay focused on the game, with the sound of a jackpot following not long after. Gawain's own machine rings as well.

"I wanted to get my brother here some new hobbies, so we are enjoying the area for the next couple of hours." Gawain explains. "It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Gawain, and this is my brother, Choso." He motions in his direction.

"You can call me Hakari." He replies nonchalantly. "You from out of country then? I don't think I've heard of anyone like you two."

Releasing his tension, Choso starts playing his own game, if poorly. "I'm from the country." Choso says tonelessly. Gawain barely deliberates on his answer. "Born and raised in Orkney, but Britain is more my home. I'm hoping to make the best I can of here."

With an expression of surprise, Hakari glances at both of them. "Is that so? Well, I might have just the thing for you then..." His grin turns almost manic.

Helplessly, Choso watches as Gawain and Hakari begin a long conversation on the various places and spots in Tokyo to spend time at. Before long, Gawain and Hakari drag him into the conversation himself. By the time they leave, Choso has barely avoided Gawain, taking them to the nearest bar to talk to the local women, and Gawain instead leaves with a phone number and a new friend.

2018, September 26th

"Saber, Archer, please stay behind." Their teacher asks in Dagons' domain. The other servants all make their way outside of the wooden building and back towards the beach, leaving only the three of them remaining. They transformed the interior of this beach house into a place of learning. Full of various schematics, art supplies and odd objects, it would be a hazard if they weren't all so neatly placed and labelled.

The man known as Caster rubs his hands together in excitement. A handsome, lithe man with short, curly black hair and warm brown eyes. He wears highly intricate and stylized clothing in golds, with shades of dark greens and dark blues. The black feather in his dark blue tudor cap sways in the air as Caster cannot stand still. Bringing out a briefcase for the two of them, he places them delicately on the desk ahead of him. With an ominous hiss and release of some form of smoke through the seal, the objects underneath are revealed as both servants lift the lid.

Gawains container within its deceptively large depths is a mass of maroon cloth and dark stained steel armor. To the side, Archer's attire is a mix of leather and cloth, with colors of dark black, burnt orange and light blues.

Both have shared glances of amazement at what they have in front of them, with Caster giving a beaming smile in response. "I hope you don't mind that I took the time to change your designs. Your clothing there should work as both a durable object full of cursed energy and a mystic code." Whimsically, he shakes his head. "Alas, being incarnated has its drawbacks for us all." Taking a quick breath, he claps his hands together in front of himself. "So, what do you think?"

Archer throws back her head and laughs, while Gawain gives him a satisfied expression. "Thank you Caster, your talent is truly admirable. Even when I was alive, to come upon items of such worth was difficult." His head bows to Caster in respect before turning to the now silent Archer. His eyes widen in shock, choking as he turns around in embarrassment. Having already taken her top off, she was partway through pulling her pants down by the time he had looked. "My lady, you can't just go around undressing like that!" Gawain exclaims.

The rustling of clothes behind him continues with no deviation. "Of course I can, I just did." Nonchalant, Archer grabs her own new clothes and puts them on.

Gawain half turns to Caster, keeping Archer out of view until he notices Caster has been watching her undress shamelessly. Appalled, Gawain grabs the arm of Caster and drags him out of the room. "As much as one should appreciate the female form, it should also be cherished. Shouldn't you two care for modesty?"

With a free hand to his chin, Caster hums to himself in thought. "Not particularly, no."

"What's there to be ashamed of?" The voice of Archer echoes out from behind him before they exit and wait outside the door. Waiting for long enough for her to get dressed, Gawain goes inside and grabs his own clothing, getting dressed himself in the room. Both Archer and Caster give him appraising glances, with Archer particularly amused.

Not seeing anything wrong with him getting dressed here in comparison, Gawain with ease places on his armor with an awed expression. "How did you even get armor to be this easy to wear? Typically, I'd require a squire to help me be anywhere near this fast."

With his hand covering his mouth, Caster lets out a playful, arrogant laugh. "Nothing is beyond this genius. With the power of the internet, and some practice, it was not hard to come up with a more streamlined, efficient design. Gawain politely nods along.

Archer's outfit had been replaced with a much more dramatic appearance. Black boots, dark brown pants, black top with orange buttons, orange cuffs, orange cape on the outside, with a light blue inside and black leather gloves. Confidently, she stands across from the two of them with a grin, one hand in her pocket. "How do I look?"

"Wonderful!" Caster interjects immediately. "It's very you." Gawain adds.

"The dark look certainly suits you, Saber. I'm a fan of red myself." Archer says. Caster preens at the praise visibly. Gawain himself wears dark grey armor made to be like his old armor, with black clothing under his armor and a maroon cape. Gawain strikes more of a dark knight's appearance.

"I thought I'd change up how you said you looked back in your life. Best to give some confusion to any who might have known you in life, yes?" Caster says.

Fully adjusted, Gawain gives a few test stretches, jumps and movements to see how it affects him. "I could see the reason. It is not uncommon for knights to switch their armor or banner if they pledge allegiance to a new lord. But the part I am confused about is the changes in our summoning. Why is it we are so different from our real selves?"

Interested herself in the conversation, Archer stops adjusting her own clothing to give a serious stare at Caster. Seamlessly transitioning into teacher mode, Caster turns around to grab a marker for their whiteboard. "An excellent question. As I'm sure that you are aware, you are both weaker and stronger in some ways." The other two nod. "The difference between a typical heroic spirit summoning and us is that we are more like a... falsification of records."

"A falsification?" Archer asks. Gawain politely takes a seat at his desk before bringing out his notebook, flicking to a new page to take notes. Archer takes the time to lift herself up and sit on the nearest desk.

"Yes." Caster nods. "We have been placed in ready-made vessels, while leaving our servant cores mostly intact. But." He stresses the word. "As part of this, only part of ourselves could be copied over. The other part is copied from our masters."

This statement does not bother Gawain, but Archer wrinkles her nose. "No wonder I felt weaker than I should be."

"Yes, as I'm sure some of us might have noticed, fame bonuses do not exist for us. After all, we aren't truly heroic spirits. For us, our legend begins here." He finishes gravely.

"Is that why we can use cursed energy and those techniques now?" Gawain asks.

"Indeed." Caster says. "It shall be quite the boon for us, I'm sure. Why, just generating our own energy sources shall have us leagues ahead of any enemies we might have." Glancing towards his work on the side, he shakes his head. "Regardless, I have projects I need to get back to. You can either stay and help, fetch me something caffeinated, or enjoy your afternoons."

Both shake their heads for no, giving their own unique goodbyes. They left the silent questions of how much they had changed, unasked and unwanted.

2018, September 26th

Ash flows in the light breeze of the desert Shirou had found himself in. The night freezing cold, the battered and bleeding man takes cover in an abandoned home. Empty, the same as all the others after the dead apostle had gotten to them. Once inside, he slings his backpack off, placing it gently on the floor.

With his back against the wall, he slides down it with a grimace and takes the time to check his injuries now, with the threat gone. The blue in his clothing had darkened in some places from the dust and blood mixing, but his armor he got from Ciel was still pristine. It would take more than the undead to even scratch that.

Disinfecting and wrapping his wounds is second nature, leaving him time to think. Coming here was too late to do much more than cleanup. Only the undead were left to wander, as someone had drained the place dry. But... If he hadn't dealt with them now, this would have only happened again somewhere else.

The bitter taste in Shirous mouth isn't just the dust and blood. Closing his eyes for a moment, he thumps his head on the wall before dragging himself to his feet, bag in hand.

Even if there had been no one to save here, he refused to falter. In the end, he had to be content with the fact that he had saved future lives for now. He still had to hunt down that apostle, or at least do so when he was a bit more rested. Borrowing food and drink from around the houses seemed like a good start.

With his phone in hand, he proceeds to send a few text messages to both Rin and Saber while he still had reception here. His trek into the small modest place they considered a kitchen brings a pang of longing to Shirou before he shakes his head. A clay carving of a small cat stares at him as he makes himself dinner out of the food they had left.

As Shirou eats, his thoughts are brought back to his home. The figurine reminded him of Taiga. He hadn't seen her in over a year and felt bad about it. But she'd been hounding him about when he and Rin were going to have a kid yet. He'd wanted so many things that kids just hadn't felt right. But now...

Collecting the clay, he gazes at it in his hands with a wistful smile. "I can't believe Taiga of all people, beat me to having kids." He says sarcastically to himself. Putting it in his pocket, he moves towards the door before stopping.

"I'll be just like you Kiritsugu." He says, staring at the closed door in front of him. "Someone who my family can be proud of." Pushing open the door, he takes his first steps outside to start his search. He might be wrong after all. Maybe there are survivors. "After all, I'm going to be..."

The door shuts behind him as he leaves, but in the space behind the door, a silhouette of a man still lingers. The sentence is finished in the empty room, so faint that it might as well be a whisper. "...a hero."

End of Chapter Three:

Nice to see you all again. This one fought me a little but I got it out in the end. God, I can't wait till I have holidays. Early chapters will tend to be quite a bit of buildup, which I'll try to keep only the important parts kept in here. I doubt every training, conversation etc will be worth it. Not including how many different groups there are with their own interests and how those align or conflict...

I might have perhaps gone deep into writing a complex story again. Oh well. I won't give much on the spoilers for Yujis servant, but theories are of course welcome. The Vitch comments did get me theorizing on how interesting a grail war in Hidden Inventory or the movie era would be like. If I was to go over pure headcannon instead of how possible it actually is, racist Geto totally sounds like Vitch would work for his servant, kind of.

Hidden Inventory Gojo I guess might have someone like Kagetora. What do y'all think?

There's kind of some art on some of the servants and characters I'm posting with this chapter that you can't see on. You can find them on SB hopefully where this story is crossposted. Otherwise, take care y'all.