Somehow, despite being a Servant, he had been caught unprepared as the woman stomped up to him and pointed a finger directly between his eyes. "Shut up!"
Surprised, he simply blinked in confusion. To his slight annoyance, he noticed that Kizuki didn't seem to so much as twitch in reaction to the woman's actions.
"Stop making excuses! You were the one that fought in this war. You were the one that tried to help out whenever you could. You were the one that everyone has been worried about ever since they found out who you were. If you're a copy, then so what? That only means that a copy is going to take responsibility for its actions!"
Damn. She had a point. Things must have changed more than he thought if Taiga could be so insightful.
"You," For a moment, it looked like Taiga was building herself up for another tirade, only to catch it just in time, forcing herself to calm down, albeit begrudgingly. "You died with regrets, Kiritsugu. More regrets than anyone should ever have. Don't add to that list now. Not when you can do something about it this time without consequences."
Servant and Human stared into one another's eyes. One clouded from pain and experience. The other from conditioning and magic.
"… Hah." It was a crude hybrid of laughter and a sigh of defeat that escaped the Servant's lips. The first sound of genuine positive emotion that he had made since being summoned. "To be told off like this. Iri would have adored you."
A small, playful smile escaped Taiga's control. "Not the first time you've said that you know."
"I know." He remembered the time he had spent with the young woman, away from the rest of his family, training her in earnest to be the ally that Shirou would hopefully never knew he had or needed. It had taken some time to convince Raiga to let him teach the girl what he could, but it was an investment well worth it in the end. What he couldn't pass on, he had made sure to get teachers for.
She was not an easy student. Eager, but not easy.
Slowly, the Servant began to fade into the shadows. "Shirou's been making a feast for tonight. All of the other Masters and Servants are there. I don't know how they will receive either of you, but I doubt you will leave without some hospitality."
"Kiritsugu! You-!?" Taiga blinked in surprise at his actions.
"I saw you on a whim. I'm just going to my original task now." He placated her in his own way. "Taiga, thank you."
Before she could get another word in, Assassin had vanished into thin air.
"I… Mou! Kiritsugu, you idiot! Having the last word like that!" The woman snapped out of her emotional silence with a just as emotional childish tantrum. "Trying to act all cool and stuff just because you have super powers now! It's unfair! How am I supposed to corner and lecture you on how stupid you're being now!? It's like I'm dealing with Shirou all over again!"
"It makes sense," Kizuki spoke up. "He is the boy's father."
"Don't remind me! It's like Shirou inherited all of his bad habits from him on purpose!" The secrets. The desire to do things by himself. The penchant for collateral damage. The spontaneous proactiveness that kept on making people struggling to keep up with them whenever something caught their attention. It was like they really were blood related.
"Mmm." The man turned his attention back to where Kiritsugu disappeared. Shirou wasn't the only one that shared similarities with the supposed deceased assassin. Rather, it was almost as if he was looking in a mirror whenever he saw the elder Emiya. Empty eyes that took in all details. Perpetually on guard. Perfectly willing to do anything to get the job done.
Other than physical appearances, there were only two real things that separated the two. The first was the means in which they achieved their goals. That much was obvious.
The second though… was something that he had been searching for ever since he started his new life as a civilian. Something he wished to speak to Kiritsugu Emiya about in length about when possible.
Purpose.
That alone was enough to give him reason to speak with the man again soon.
It sounded as if there was something still amiss in the city. Something that didn't directly involve the War. Whatever it was, he hoped that it would be resolved soon.
So caught up in his thoughts, he almost missed Taiga grabbing onto his arm.
"Come on! I'm pissed and need to vent now! Let's go crash the victory party for a secret magic War and eat their food while pretending that we have no idea what's going on!"
… At the very least, if there was anything he had gotten out of this distraction, it was that he would have little reason to doubt his co-worker's situational awareness in the future.
o. o. o.
Lancer whistled as plate after plate of food was placed onto the enlarged table in front of him. "Damn. If this is what you dish out after a big fight, I might have to start upping my game just to get have this happen more often."
"Please don't. I do not fancy our odds of survival should something genuinely require our participation." The Princess sat down next to Luvia with proper posture. "At least, don't while I am around. You are free to risk your life however you please."
"You're too kind."
"So many different dishes." No matter what anyone said, Saber was not drooling at the feast that was laid out in front of her.
"Grilled Cod." Rider's head turned to the sizeable fish that was placed near her and Caster.
"Hoh? Honey glazed pork?" Lancer perked up at a meal that he recalled from his youth.
"Hwaaa. It smells so good." Illya beamed as some sausages were placed near her. "Even Berserker's interested in this."
"Haha. With the amount that the kid's pumping out, we might be able to include even him in this." Lancer snickered.
Rice. Porridge. Mashed potatoes. Mixed vegetables. Sushi. Pasta. An entire smorgasbord of international cuisine came out of the kitchen one after the other, courtesy of Rin and Sakura as Shirou put the finishing touches on what remained.
"Steak. Yes." Bazett pumped her fist in victory as half a slab of meat cut into strips was placed near her.
"It looks so good!" Bazett's right leg beamed, her blonde hair shaking side to side as she looked around frantically at her options.
"Mmm. Even though we know what mom does, this is amazing." The left leg drooled.
"I tried to stop him, but Shirou was insistent that he try to make something for everybody." Rin smiled as she came in, one hand with a tray of dumplings and another with a salad. "Archer. You can stop sulking on the roof. I managed to convince Shirou that you'd behave yourself for the night. You fought as hard as everyone else and deserve to join us."
"I'm fairly sure that there are a few people with you that would say otherwise." EMIYA's usual dry tone echoed through the room.
"And I'm fairly sure that I'm back up to three Command Seals." Rin's kind smile did not falter in the slightest. It wouldn't be a stretch of the imagination to assume that she had already predicted that he was going to be difficult.
There was an awkward silence. "… I would say that you aren't petty enough to use them to make me behave for the night, but I'm still compelled to say nothing but the truth to you."
"Aw. You do know me." Rin's smile turned into something slightly more predatory. "Can you guess what else I would use these seals to make you do?"
"More than you would ever know and I want to admit." There was a long and somewhat uncomfortable silence before Archer materialized at the table with space to either side of him.
"Someone's trained." Lancer smirked.
"I would retort, but the opening you left on yourself is so obvious even a novice wouldn't take it." Archer examined the feast in front of him with critical eyes. Even if he had not been in the cooking scene for an untold amount of time, he could still recognize quality food when he saw it. "It looks, passible."
"Archer, if you even dare try to knock the food that we have been working on all day, I will order you to cater to the whims of everyone here for a week. That includes Lancer."
The Counter Guardian went rigid in alarm, his body shaking no matter how much he willed himself to stay still. "I stand corrected. I apparently don't know what else you would do with your newfound power over me."
"You say the kindest things."
"Hoh? I smell a challenge." Lancer grinned with newfound glee, as if he found a new toy to play with.
"Lancer. The same threat goes for you." Bazett had yet to turn her gaze away from dinner. "Unlike Archer though, I doubt you are capable of cooking, cleaning, housework, or anything redeemable that can be used outside of fighting and thaumaturgy."
"Tch. Low blow Master." No one missed the fact that he didn't deny her accusation.
"It looks like everyone is here." Sakura came in with a few bottles of alcohol. "But, does anyone know where Solomon-san is?"
"Wasn't he with you in the city, Tohsaka?" Luvia looked at her rival curiously.
"We were stuck in meetings all day." Rin sighed, not wanting to remember all the hustling and damage control she had to do. "I actually would still be there if he didn't offer to stay late and cover the rest so that I could help Shirou. In exchange, he made me promise that we'd have four cheese pizza as part of the feast."
Suddenly, the medium sized thin crusted pie on a stand near the end of the table seemed less appetizing to everyone.
"He's quite odd. I've always heard about how terrifying Apostle Ancestors are." Illya tilted her head to the side curiously. "He is abnormally strong. Even Berserker had a hard time against him, but compared to the stories, he's quite reasonable."
None of the Servants missed how Archer fidgeted slightly during the girl's observation.
"Sucks to be him. More for us." Lancer grinned, serving himself some pork that had been conveniently been placed near him. "I don't know about you guys, but in my time, it was considered unsanitary to eat with rats near the food."
"We didn't let dogs eat at the table in my time either," Caster stated as she followed suit.
"Funny, coming from the woman that has a zoo at her command. I thought you'd be used to eating with the animals." Lancer's red eyes flashed hungrily.
"If you two wish to quarrel, do so outside," Saber mediated, her tone and image leaving no room for objection… so long as one ignored the fact that her plate was somehow already piled unreasonably high with a bit of everything. "Poor atmosphere will only impair the quality of our feast."
"When did she?" Luvia tilted her head in mixed bewilderment and confusion.
"I've learned its best not to ask," Rider broke her silence, her plate already littered with her own choices.
"Saber likes to eat," Illya summarized the situation casually.
Rin looked at the Servant's plate before turning to the kitchen where Shirou was, then back to Saber's plate. "… I think we just discovered one of the criteria Saber has for potential Masters when she's summoned."
"No. If that was the case, then Papa would have been able to cook as well." Illya shot the hypothesis down. "From what I've heard, he was more liable to burn the house down than successfully boil water."
Judging from the way Archer appeared to be physically suppressing some of the few memories he still had from his past, the young girl's statement seemed to be valid.
"Oh yeah, I forgot that you were summoned in the last war and remember what happened." Lancer hummed. "So, Saber. What was that one like? How did it compare to this one?"
Saber's hypnotized state was broken by the question, and from her expression, it wasn't a pleasant experience either. "Memories of the Fourth War, are something I would rather not dredge up at this time. It would ruin my meal."
"Yeesh. That bad, huh?"
"If I recall correctly, then her Master at that time was our Assassin." Caster dryly stated the obvious.
Lancer nodded, getting the point. "Right. That bad. Changing topics. Kid! How much longer are you gonna make us wait!? You're blue balling us with this spread!"
"You would know." Archer muttered, only to get jabbed in the ribs by Rin as she sat down next to him.
"Behave."
"Fine. Fine."
"I'm just about finished." Shirou came in with a bottle of alcohol. From the looks of the container, it had cost him a pretty penny. "I was thinking that-"
SLAM! "SHIROUUUUUUU! FOOOOOD!"
Taiga stormed into the room with her usual bluster of cheer and inability to wait for permission to enter. Only this time, there were even more people here that she did not recognize. "Ara? Who are all of you-?"
Shirou snapped his fingers.
Thump.
And the eccentric woman collapsed to the ground instantly asleep.
"I finally remembered to prepare for her this time." The teen puffed his chest out proudly at the successful bounded field he had placed in the entrance to the living room, completely ignoring the stares he was getting from everyone.
"I hope that preparation included preventing her from any harm when she fell." Kizuki entered the room as if nothing peculiar had happened.
"The flooring's soft here. And it's Fuji-nee. She's tougher than she looks, Kizuki-sensei." Shirou greeted him without missing a beat. "Do you want to join us?"
"Wait… You have to be joking!" Lancer pointed at the teacher dumbfounded, remembering how the man would leave and come back to the temple every day seemingly completely unaware of what was going on. "You're with the kid too?!"
"Have we met?" Kizuki turned to the Servant. His question was the only reason why anyone could tell he was genuinely confused.
"No, but, I… Gah! Forget it! If I ask any more questions now the foods gonna go cold!" the Irisman gave up spectacularly.
"At this point, I shouldn't be surprised anymore." Bazett sighed. She had seen the teacher enter and leave the temple many times, and could tell he was trained as a martial artist, but she never expected him to be someone important. "I'm surprised. I didn't think you were a magus."
"I'm not. I am his history teacher that occasionally spars with him. There was trouble at the temple, and young Emiya-kun asked for my help to address it. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement." The stern man looked around for a seat before seamlessly sitting down next to EMIYA's other side.
Bazett blinked. "Wait, you're his sparring partner? He's been hinting about you for years but never told me who it was."
"Is there a problem?"
The Enforcer lifted her hands in defense, momentarily losing her balance in the gesture due to the lack of legs. "N-no. Not at all. Just the opposite. I knew that there was someone here that was also practiced in high level bare-handed combat that Shirou trained with and was curious. It's not often that you come across someone of our skill level."
Kizuki didn't react at first, instead giving her a brief look over before nodding shallowly in acknowledgement.
Bazett gave him a shaky smile and a return nod before relaxing somewhat.
That seemed to be it for their conversation.
No one bothered to comment on the silent interaction. It was understandable, seeing as most of the people there were either experienced warriors or had spent more than enough time with said warriors to understand the subtle nuances and gestures that went between them.
"… Um. This is nice, but are we really going to leave Taiga-sensei there?" Sakura nervously lifted a hand up as if she was in class, prompting most to laugh or grimace uncomfortably due to the fact that they had indeed forgotten about the eccentric woman.
"Already dumped her in your room, Sakura." Shirou entered from the hallway. "Sorry, but your room has the least amount of valuables in it for Fuji-nee to break or poke through if she wakes up early. Had to tweak the bounded fields in it so that the smell of dinner wouldn't get to her either."
Rin and Sakura both gave him thumbs up in approval, completely ignoring the looks that everyone was giving them. "Nice thinking."
Clearly this hadn't been the first time that the woman had caused them trouble or woken up ahead of schedule.
"Why didn't I ever think of that?" Archer muttered to himself, mentally kicking himself. True, it would have taken him a while to learn and figure out how to make a bounded field like that by himself, but such a simple and basic field wasn't impossible for him. It would have saved him so many headaches in his life.
Lancer looked around confused, only to see that Shirou's completely odd behavior regarding the new woman was completely acceptable by everyone there. He was halfway ready to rant about how the kid was acting so differently when said source of his frustration came from the kitchen with several bottles of what was clearly expensive alcohol. Giving up, he settled for glaring at Shirou with an annoyed expression. "I've decided that there is no longer any point in having expectations of you. I hope you're happy, kid."
"After what's happened? I think it's better for everyone's hearts if we all adopt that policy." Luvia muttered, getting several nods of agreement around the table.
"I'm glad I've made such a positive impression," the host replied just as dryly before opening the first bottle of sake and began to pour everyone's cups. "Normally I wouldn't do this. I'm not a fan of alcohol in general, and I'm not old enough to legally drink, but so many rules have been broken lately that I doubt anyone cares anymore."
"We're Magi. We're not supposed to care about the rules in the first place." Rin grinned, getting a few smiles around the table. She didn't know much about alcohol herself, but she trusted Shirou was serving them some quality drink for the night.
"Says you. I'm pretty sure that any idiot breaks the ceasefire isn't going to last long. Hopefully, there aren't any idiots here." Their host sighed.
"▄▄▄▄." A soft growl echoed through the room, catching everyone by surprise.
"Calm down, Berserker. Onii-chan knows you're not an idiot. You're just magically insane. And mine." Illya brushed off her Servant's displeasure. Thankfully, the giant was still in his spectral form, so nothing was at risk of being destroyed, yet.
"I'm more surprised that he was able to make that assumption in the first place." Rin blinked in general surprise.
"Heracles has always surpassed expectations like that. Even in the throes of his rage, he is still aware of his surroundings. The Gods would have slayed him long before he completed his tasks if he was not at least this capable." Caster looked at the sake curiously. As royalty, she had sampled many forms of drink before, but this one was new to her.
Shirou, finishing the rounds on the table (only hesitating for a small moment when pouring for Archer), looked at his sister skeptically. "… I don't have anything big enough for Berserker now. I didn't think he'd be interested. Is it ok if I get him a keg of beer tomorrow?"
"▄▄▄▄."
"Berserker accepts your offer."
"Caster, are you sure you didn't drug us since we got here? You studied under Circe, right? Known for medicines and poisons?" Lancer hush whispered. "I'm genuinely certain I'm seeing and hearing things right now."
"Don't be ridiculous, Lancer," the Princess huffed. "We may have been enemies, but I would not stoop so low as to poison my hosts' food."
"That, and Shirou would have noticed it instantly with the way he's been using structural grasping while cooking," Luvia pointed out, completely unashamed of calling out her Servant.
"Master!"
"What? You might be a Servant, but even I can see a lost battle for you guys when I see one."
Shirou decided to take Luvia's words as a compliment. A jaded, double sided, hurtful compliment.
Finally stopping at his seat, he filled his cup last and put the half empty bottle on the table. The minor bickering and conversations in the room faded to silence as all eyes were on him, no doubt expecting a speech.
Likewise, Shirou looked at everyone in the room in the eyes, taking in their looks, and remembering just what they went through these past few weeks.
He couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed at the one face he didn't see.
"… I could talk about a number of things right now." He stared slowly. "I could go on and on apologizing again for everything I did and didn't do. I could list all the things we've done to and for one another, both good and bad. I could give everyone so many reasons why we should be grateful that we're all alive and working together. But if I did it would only be halfhearted at best even if I meant every word."
He looked up. "Everyone here is a Magus, a fighter, or a legend. We all know the world is unfair. We're all tired of it. We all know that it isn't going to end tomorrow just because we got through the problems we had yesterday. Some of us will end up against one another in the future for any number of reasons. Or none at all. Others the opposite. Regardless, we can all agree that we came here because of the War. We were lied to, misled, forced to do things that we would otherwise never do, because of a failed experiment that no one bothered to do anything about until we bothered to get our shit together."
He smiled dryly. They deserved more than this. More than a hot meal and free housing. All of them did. For their trials. For saving the world. For being taken advantage of in every conceivable way possible. Even that mistake, Archer. But this was all he could give them. He was disgusted that he was only capable of this much. "There's still much we have to deal with. Tomorrow morning we have a meeting and a trial to attend by conceited old fools that think they could have handled the situation better than us. But that's tomorrow. For now, I just have two things to say to you guys that I think we all want and need to hear."
He held up his drink.
"It's over. We won."
o. o. o.
"Kiritsugu, I know you don't like being around others, but this is pushing it, even for you. You're going to miss all of Onii-chan's food at this rate."
Assassin didn't immediately respond. Most of his attention was on the medium-sized cruiser on the other side of the docks that he had been surveying for the past two hours. While it was a military ship, it was nothing particularly special at first glance. Just another standard boat that the JSDF bought from the States at some point. Radar. Antenna. There were some guns on it, but nothing particularly excessive.
Ever since he took his position, he had yet to see any suspicious activity. He had tailed, eavesdropped, and spoken to at least a dozen of the volunteers from the ship, but nothing set off any warning lights. He even sprayed a couple of them with a solution that reacted to concentrated mana on a few of them when they weren't paying attention, but they somehow still came up clean.
He might have brushed them off as a genuine JSDF branch that had simply been in the area and was helping out with the aftermath of the war… if he didn't spot their mistake.
The small violet lotus insignia near the back though had given them away. Not many people knew what it meant, but then again, not many people had been scouted by at least a dozen secret international and government agencies either. The Einzberns weren't the first to ask for a long term commitment. They were just the first to actually get him to sign the dotted line.
The unofficial royal guard of the Prime Minister and Emperor of Japan had no reason for being in Fuyuki unless there was actually royalty here…
… Royalty that didn't come in the form of Servants at least.
"If what you said is true, then there's going to be leftovers," he reasoned. True the meal would be past its prime, but a feast fresh and vibrant was wasted on him, no matter how appealing it would be.
"Not if I let Berserker have the rest when everyone's done."
That had him pause. "… You wouldn't."
"We both know I would."
She would. She's his daughter. Playing dirty was in her genetics.
"… Can he even taste anything?" he asked her, allowing himself a rare moment to let his mind wander. Berserker's Madness Enhancement had rendered the demigod into a near mindless entity of pure destruction, removing nearly any and all forms of higher thought processes. But then again, the five senses were just that, senses. Not thoughts.
"Judging from the way he's looking at dinner, he can at least smell it."
Wonderful. Apparently Shirou's cooking had evolved over the years and had now developed into something that could crack into the minds of the magically insane. He didn't know whether to be proud or annoyed with his son.
"… What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong." He didn't lie technically. There were plenty of things that were suspicious at the moment, certainly, but nothing that was genuinely wrong. Yet.
"Papa. I've spent the last few weeks dealing with Onii-chan manipulating everyone in the War while simultaneously questioning everything I thought I knew about my life. I know you're hiding something."
Kiritsugu grimaced, keeping his eyes on the men and women walking on the ship's deck. Illya would be able to tell if he was holding back from her, but at the same time he didn't want to escalate a situation that they were still trying to make heads or tails out of. "… There's an odd prana signature in Fuyuki. Something that isn't related to the Grail. We, the Servants, think the source is in the direction of the ocean. I'm just scouting to see if I can find anything. Nothing dangerous. For all we know, whatever it is might pass by the area completely without doing anything."
It was wishful thinking. This boat with soldiers that were not supposed to be here didn't look like it was going to leave anytime soon.
But that still left him with a big question. How in the world was this otherwise unremarkable military boat and a source of power strong enough to afflict the air over an entire city related? Even by the moonlit world's standards, the disparity between the two entities was monumental. The only things they had in common outside of the fact that they showed up at the same time, was that they both came from the sea.
Ghosts. Possession. Hypnotism. Homunculi. Apostles. Spirits. Clones. Imitations. The people from the ship matched none of the normal abnormalities. They were physically and mentally normal, albeit extremely well trained humans that were going about helping with the recovery efforts.
They didn't even do anything suspicious during their efforts. The volunteers ate, drank, talked, laughed, sweat, swore, went to the bathroom, and in some cases, even bled like everyone else. No hidden explosives. No listening devices or unknown implements that could affect the local population in some way.
They didn't even bother travelling to any of the places of interest in Fuyuki that hadn't been hit yet, like the Church and the park. Then again, he doubted anyone with a lick of sense would ever willingly visit those places if they were magically sensitive in the first place.
Nothing.
So why did he have such a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach about this?
"Does you have to do this tonight? Is it really that important?"
And to make matters worse, Illya had already caught onto what he was doing. Even if they were talking through their mental connections, there was no mistaking the hurt in her words.
His conversation with Taiga earlier that day was dredged to the surface of his thoughts. He was making the same mistakes all over again.
"… Probably not." He reluctantly gave up the argument.
"Hurk?!"
"Illya?" He frowned at the odd sound that seemed to stand out in his mind like a clap or the impact of something falling.
Had he actually seen his daughter, he would have borne witness to the image of her spit-taking all over Shirou, complete with half a mouth full of chewed up fried rice.
"Is something wrong?"
"Wha-? You agreed with me too easily! What's wrong?! Are you sick?! Is this one of Caster's traps that she set up if she died?! Did she do something to mess with your Mental Corruption skill?!"
For some reason, words that he would have ignored from anyone else seemed to have a property to hurt immensely when spoken by Illyasviel. "I suppose I was worried for nothing after all."
"No! No no no no! Be worried! Be very worried about your adorable daughter! Better yet! Be worried with her nearby!"
He let out a rare grunt of frustration. He had made the mistake of giving Illya an inch and she was going to use the moment of weakness to run a marathon out of him. He'd almost be proud if he wasn't the victim of the screwup. "Illya…"
"Please?" she cut him off, but there was no mistaking the vulnerability in the lone word.
Damn it.
He could practically see her somehow making puppy-dog eyes inside his mind, and he wouldn't doubt it if she was somehow doing it on purpose.
It didn't take long to discover that their compatibility as Master and Servant was unnaturally high. He didn't know if it was because she was tweaked to be the strongest Master by the Einzberns, or because they were father and daughter, but in any case the fact that they could converse so easily over such a long distance was not normal. No focus or spells were needed. It didn't even take much to feel what the other was feeling if they wanted to.
Right now, he felt a melting pot of hope, concern, childish mischief, and a touch of genuine fear.
It was that last bit that did him in. He had already hurt her enough as it was. He'd rather kill himself than be responsible for any more pain.
He eyed the boat skeptically from his scope. Judging from the casual activity and movements of those on board, it didn't appear that anyone was prepared for a major event that night. He had already pinpointed their vessel and confirmed that there was something particular enough about them to warrant further investigation later. Maybe Caster would be willing to help if she was in a good enough mood. Then again, it would probably be better to have her scan the sea itself to try and find the man source for all of this. Either way, it really didn't look like he'd be getting much else from these newcomers tonight. "… Fine."
"Really?"
He had been keeping his Presence Concealment skill up all day, following the suspicious volunteers from site to site. It would be nice to let it down for a bit, but even so, it would be the height of stupidity if he did something to get caught now. His gun vanished into his coat without a sound or reflecting any light. "Don't wait for me. I'm at the docks. It'll take me a bit to get back."
"Heh. Don't worry. I won't." A soft giggle somehow relaxed his body. "I've stopped waiting a long time ago, but, at least now, I know that you'll always come back."
"Haaaa." He breathed out softly as their mental connection slowly faded away, breaking the silence as if he had screamed. "How terrible of a father am I, to hope that my daughter's wishful lies about me are truth?"
As soon as the Servant's unheard words faded away, so did he.
o. o. o.
Rin and Sakura had forbidden Shirou from cleaning up after dinner, much to his visible displeasure.
He had tried to put up an argument, but during the brief moment that he had thought he had achieved a rare gain of ground against both girls, Illya had provided them surprise support and rendered him helpless against them.
Instead, he had reluctantly agreed to their demands. To rest and relax.
The first step of which was to take a shower. He had yet to clean himself since before the last battle of the War, and since he was hosting four full grown human women in his home (technically five if you counted the unconscious Marjatta), a homunculus, and Saber, with only a single full bathroom on the compound, he had yet to find a time where the room was available for himself.
Kizuki had absconded during his respite, taking the still unconscious Taiga with him much to his relief. The man was all business and a professional at that, so there was no worries about their safety.
As for everyone else… they were doing as they pleased. Wandering about the property, helping Rin and Sakura where they could, upgrading the bounded fields, or simply lounging about wherever.
Shirou, dressed in a simple casual robe after a long and relaxing shower, was among the latter. Simply sitting on the porch with a cup of tea in hand, staring aimlessly up at the partly cloudy sky at the waxing moon and the stars that were visible.
Several people had passed by behind him since he sat down. Servants and Masters alike. More than half paused as they approached. Whether out of trepidation or because they didn't know what to say to him exactly, it didn't matter. He had casually accepted more than a couple of soft "thank you"s over the past few hours, but honestly he didn't feel like he deserved it. He had hurt too many people in the process of all of this to be the source of gratitude, allowed too many civilians to die and too much damage to the city in his selfishness to be considered a genuinely good person.
Someone stopped behind him. From the amount of Prana they had, it was a Servant, and given the scent of said prana…
"You kept your promise," Rider spoke at a volume slightly above a whisper.
"I told you I'd get you back." He didn't look away. "It's partially my fault you got caught in the first place. I was sloppy."
"If you think you deserve redemption, I believe you already received enough during our fight." It was only due to their past interactions and experience with one another that he picked up the slight echo of mirth in her tone. "… You didn't have to go so far for me. Unlike the others, I am not a hero. I am a monster."
"You're one of us, Rider. That should be all that matters." Because he wasn't looking at her, he didn't see her twitch, completely unprepared for his reply. "Hero. Monster. It doesn't matter to me. You're not a bad person. If you're in trouble, don't ever hesitate to let me know."
"… You are without a doubt one of the most unreasonable people I have ever encountered." She didn't bother to hide the affection in her voice this time. As cruel as it sounds, she was slightly relieved that her sisters were dead. There was no telling that those two would have done had they encountered the young man.
"So I've been told." Shirou smiled. "Hey, Rider? Thanks for holding back during the fight. I would have been destroyed if you went all out."
A small smile gave way on the Servant's face as she began to fade away into spiritual form. "You underestimate yourself. I wouldn't have been able to hold back even if I could then."
Shirou's mind paused a beat. Even weakened, Rider was still a Servant. He shouldn't have been able to keep up with her as easily as he did. He wanted to argue against what she said, but he knew that Rider had no reason to lie to him. Giving up, he chuckled lightly and shook his head in embarrassment. "My mistake. Is there anything else you want to talk about?"
Almost gone, Rider allowed her smile to widen even more. "I believe you still owe me a bike."
This time he did laugh. "Ah. I did, didn't I? Give me a few days to set something up. I'll make certain it'll be worth the wait."
"Hmhm. How reliable you are." Rider's almost sultry purr tickled his ears, her physical body vanishing. "If it's you, I wouldn't mind staying for a bit longer…"
With that, he was alone again.
"… Why do women sound so damn terrifying the moment they decide to be interested in me?"
"Probably because most of the ones that are interested in you are rather competent and rarely find someone worth their interest in the first place." Saber approached him from the end of the hallway. "That and they know that they'll have competition."
He gave her a dry look. "… Is that coming from experience?"
He received a mocking smirk in kind, knowing exactly what he was thinking. "I'm a king. To many a maiden, there was no greater prize than myself, even after I was wed."
"I think I'll stick to being a blacksmith, chef, and assassin, thank you."
"I should hope so. You'd make a terrible king."
"No arguments here."
Saber stopped right next to him, letting her hand rest on his shoulder. "You misunderstand, Shirou. You do not have the ability to be a King, but you are without question a good leader."
He gave her a skeptical look. "And squire?"
She smirked. "That is still up for debate. I have impeccably high standards."
"Heh. I can never win when it comes to royalty." He shook his head and turned back to the moon.
"Don't take it personally. We are known to be notoriously difficult to please." Saber agreed with a whimsical air.
"No need to tell me twice." The Princess Colchis. The Queen of the Clocktower. The King of Knights. The King of Heroes. Their standards were just too damn unreasonable sometimes.
At the very least, his cooking seemed to be up to standards.
The two stared at the sky in mutual silence for a few genuine moments, just enjoying the other's company.
"Tomorrow's going to be a busy day," Saber noted.
"Unfortunately." He wasn't looking forward to it. He doubted that anyone was.
"Yet it will come regardless." Deciding to attend to other tasks, Saber moved first, gently patting her Master on the shoulder as she walked past him. "There are subjects that some of us wish to speak to you about tonight."
Shirou let out a deep sigh that sounded suspiciously like a groan. Clearly he had some suspicions as to what they wanted to talk about, meaning that there were still issues about that had yet to be resolved that he didn't want others to know about. "I'll be there."
"Mmm." Saber held back her own thoughts on the matter for later as she walked down the hallway, having said her peace.
"You sure are popular, Onii-chan." Like a spirit herself, Illya seemed to pop out of nowhere, and unlike his previous two guests, ignored the sanctity that was personal space to lean on his back.
"Illya." Shirou blinked in surprise before giving her a warm smile. "Are you better now? You were coughing pretty hard earlier."
"Y-yeah. It's no big deal. I was just... eating too quickly." The little fairy looked to the side in embarrassment, and something else. "Dinner was really good. I couldn't help myself."
"Careful not to pick up any more of Fuji-nee's bad habits. It's tough just having one of her around."
"Haaaaai."
He laughed. "Want to take up on my offer this time?"
Illya blinked in confusion at his question, trying to remember what he was talking about. It took a few moments to remember that they had been in a similar position just a week ago, with Shirou sitting in this exact location offering her a seat. She hadn't trusted him back then, but now…
She moved to his right side without hesitation and leaned into his arm with a smile on her face. "It's not the castle in Germany, but I'll suppose this will have to do."
"I'm glad my meager standards are up to your qualifications," he joked.
"It helps that it's warm here." Internal climate manipulation was an easy task for any Magus, but the atmosphere, the people, the world that she had grown up in were all akin to ice. Still… "That still doesn't excuse the fact that you owe me a castle."
The destroyed front of the castle in the forest flashed through Shirou's mind. He was never one to shy away from hard labor and home maintenance, but even he had to admit defeat when it was obvious. "Ah. Ahah. I'll, try to figure something out."
Hopefully, Caster was willing to give him a hand, if for a price. Territory Creation mixed with mysteries from the Age of Gods could work for fixing damaged ancient castles too, right? Please?
"Shirou…" Illya was giving him that look that everyone gave him whenever they were accusing him of something stupid. He hated that look. It made him feel like he was a child that did something wrong.
"R-Really. I have an idea that, might work to fix it? Maybe?"
"… Humph. Better not involve any more bombs," she sulked, but did eventually stop glaring at him.
"I promise. Bombs don't tend to get involved when I'm planning home renovations." Outside of bomb shelters and bomb storage of course. All things considered though, the castle itself should be considered a shelter in itself under most circumstances once properly fixed and its inherent defense based mysteries were back up.
"I'm holding you to that, Onii-chan." She sighed, resting her head on his arm and looked up at the moon with him. "With the fighting's over, Grandfather's going to want me to return ho… to him."
"You sound like you don't want to." If he had been genuine about his statement, it would have no doubt angered the girl. Thankfully there was no mistaking the rare sarcasm in his voice.
"I don't." She pressed herself closer to him.
"Well then that's all there is to it." He smiled. "Good thing I'm the proactive type."
She looked at him in surprise. "You mean…"
"One of the first things I did after waking up. It should be here in a few days at most. Even if the old white geezer wanted to do something, it would take him a while to set up something to get around the Servants here." He smiled in confirmation.
"I…" She had trouble finding the right words to say. Everything that almost made its way to her tongue felt vastly inferior to what she genuinely felt. "I'm, looking forward to it. Thank you."
"Anytime, Onee-chan."
"Imoto-chan."
"Fine. Fine. Whatever you say." He knew a lost battle when he saw one.
"… Nee. Shirou. What's it like?"
"What's what like?"
"Being an Apostle."
He let out a deep sigh. "I'm not really an Apostle, Illya. Even Merem doesn't know what to call me exactly. I don't need to drink blood. My physical strength is only slightly higher than a normal human's. Hell, I don't even have natural night vision like they do."
"But you're still different." She pointed to the satellite in the sky. It was hard to miss how enraptured he was with the moon.
He smiled dryly, caught red handed. "I guess, I don't know. If I were to put it into words, I'd say that the moon, now looks like an irreplaceable piece of art to me now. Something that I can't imagine the world without. During the day, I feel like I haven't slept at all, but at night I'm fully refreshed. Undercooked meats have a new layer of taste that I can't truly describe. Otherwise, I don't feel that different than normal. I don't think myself different than anyone else, or have any violent urges or anything like that."
"Heh? That's it?" She pouted. "How boring. You must be the world's most disappointing vampire. With that attitude, no one would bother making a story or a movie based on you."
He certainly hoped so. He hated being put in the spotlight, and giving other Vampires a reason to go after him was something he was actively trying to avoid. Especially now.
"I think... that Shirou's had enough attention for one lifetime. Illya."
The two teens froze hearing the third voice. Neither one had detected its owner approach, nor would they ever mistaken it for anyone else's.
Without asking for permission, Kiritsugu walked to his son's left side and sat himself down.
"… Hey."
It was a crass, informal, and outlandishly offensive way to greet his son properly after so long. After all that they've been through these past few weeks.
So, it was without question the best way to prove that he was Kiritsugu Emiya.
It took more than a few moments for both of his children to mentally reboot from his surprise appearance.
"Hey." Shirou recovered quickly, smiling uncomfortably. "I was wondering if you'd show up."
"So was I." It was clear that they both seemed to have expected the same thing from him.
"Did you and Illya make a contract, or is this goodbye again? Wouldn't be out of place to do the latter here." His Independent Action skill could only last him for a little over a full day. If he hadn't made any contingencies, the Servant would be running out of fuel right about now.
"No. It wouldn't," Assassin agreed. After all, this was the exact spot where he died half a decade ago. "From what I've heard, you're in more trouble than I anticipated. It would be a pain to let all that work go to waste at the last moment."
"Please and thank you." Shaking his head with a dry grin, Shirou reached into a pocket of his robe and took out a small cardboard container.
Assassin blinked in surprise, spying the rare logo of cigarettes that he imbibed in when he felt particularly selfish. "I thought I got rid of them all."
"You did. Turns out Aozaki has the same crappy taste in these things as you do. Don't know why, but I made her throw in a carton of the stuff during the negotiations when I found out. For nostalgia's sake, probably."
"Hah. No kidding." Breaking character, Kiritsugu let out a dry laugh, taking the gift and storing them away for later. His lungs were magical. Shirou's and Illya's… well, technically they were too, but probably not enough to prevent cancer. "Don't tell me you smoke now."
"With Sirius-jiji as my teacher? I stay away from drugs and alcohol when I can so I don't turn out like that crazy old bastard." Shirou's wry expression matched his father's, simply enjoying the moment with a bitter taste in his mouth. "I'm guessing I'm the last person to know about this?"
"Everyone was too scared to tell you. They didn't want to risk making Kiritsugu mad." Illya smiled innocently, as if pretending that no one had thought that their lives were on the line.
Shirou was terrible at pretending, if the dry look he shot his sister was any indication. "I can imagine."
The little fairy maintained her cherubic disposition, the very image of childish purity.
"She got that from her mother." Kiritsugu threw in his two cents, losing himself in his memories. "After Iri's personality developed a bit, it wasn't uncommon to see her leading around the other homunculi in Einzbern castle to do a whim of hers or another. It drove Acht up the wall whenever she got out of hand, especially since he couldn't do much about it. Justeaze-modeled homunculi always seemed to be considered higher up on the food chain compared to the other versions, even without incentives or impulses."
Illya's smile fell, as did her gaze. "Not for me. I'm... not a pure homunculus. Even if I'm technically the same type as mama, the difference was enough that everyone in the castle listened to Grandfather instead of me. The only thing they recognized me for was my position as the next Lesser Grail. Only Sella and Leysritt ever really paid attention to me, but they're gone now."
"They cared about you." Shirou reached around the small girl and hugged her with one arm. "At the very least, I'm pretty sure that they'd be happy with how things turned out for you if they saw you now."
"Leys would." Illya sniffed. "Sella would try to kill you for hugging me."
"Yeah… sounds about right." Shirou couldn't argue against that. Sella never did accept him in the end.
He wasn't too pleased with that glint of amusement in Assassin's dull eyes either.
The three went on like that for the next hour. Shirou and Illya aimlessly voicing random thoughts and ideas, and Kiritsugu rarely throwing his two cents.
It wasn't perfect. It wasn't ideal. But, for the first time, the three were a genuine family.
o. o. o.
"She's tired," Shirou noted, seeing Assassin come back from putting Illya to bed. The two had relocated to the living room.
"She's supporting two Servants. Even if I am weak, the extra strain would have its toll on her." Instead of sitting at the table with his son, Assassin had decided to lean against a nearby wall.
"Are we finally able to discuss important matters now?" Without waiting for permission, Caster materialized at the table as if she had been sitting there the entire time.
"Dinner was great, don't get us wrong kid. Probably the best meal I've had in this and my past life, but I think we can all agree that we've had our fill of secrets for the time being." Lancer spoke his mind, lounging on the nearby couch.
"It would be best to ensure that the other Masters are unaware of this meeting." Archer was up against the opposite wall as Assassin. "As foolish as it is, it's in none of our best interests to agitate this fragile peace we have just yet."
"They are all in their rooms. Asleep or busy with their own devices," Rider reported, also at the table between Shirou and Caster.
"I can confirm Rider's assessment." Saber appeared from the hallway, closing the door behind her.
To his credit, Shirou didn't so much as flinch or look worried at the fact that all of the Servants in Fuyuki, save Berserker, were looking at him with varying degrees of suspicion.
Damn it. It really had been too much to ask for no one to notice the Vampires until things blew over.
He let out a tired sigh before looking up, cold silver eyes unwilling to betray the slightest emotion. "Tell me what you know already."
It was a long night for everyone.
o. o. o.
"Rin."
"Archer? Can this wait? I'm about to go to sleep." She really didn't want to have to deal with the Tower tomorrow after such a nice day, but she had no choice in the matter.
"… I believe I found the reason why Merem Solomon came to Fuyuki."
"Good for you. Tell me tomorrow." She didn't care about the midget priest or the talking rat arm. Unless the bastard was going to do something big in the next few hours, it could wait.
"Rin. He didn't come here for the Grail. Or to watch the war. Or for the idiot."
… Great. Now he had her attention. "Damn it, Archer. Why are you doing this now?"
"It was the only time I could get you alone without suspicion. You've been with everyone else all day, and they would have noticed you getting distracted. Even now, I'm with the other Servants discussing other matters."
"Other matters?" She didn't like the sound of that.
"Other matters." He restated firmly. "Matters that we can handle for now. But what I discovered, may lead to some issues if not handled correctly."
It spoke leagues of just how bad things could be if Archer was being hesitant. "Does Shirou know about this?"
"I doubt it. If he was, I'm fairly certain he would not be so accommodating to the Vampire."
She wasn't fooled for a moment. That was Archer-speak for Shirou would very likely lose control of himself and try and murder Merem Solomon the first chance he got. "Damn it, Archer. Damn it, Shirou." She didn't bother to keep quiet this time.
"In my defense, this isn't something I was particularly prepared to learn either. Not if it's something that is more consistent across worlds than I hope."
"You have my deepest sympathies." She wasn't in a particularly lenient mood now. "Just what is this terrifying discovery that you've made, Archer?"
"… I don't know if this is consistent with all variations of the Fifth Grail War, but, after thinking about everything carefully, it is likely that in this world, this timeline, -"
It was a good thing that Rin had a room to herself and had set up a few bounded fields to ensure some privacy. Otherwise, everyone in the compound would have either witnessed her face gradually turn ghost white as Archer spoke into her mind.
Followed by a very long and loud tirade of swearing and ranting.
Rin Tohsaka did not get much sleep that night.
She couldn't afford to.
o. o. o.
Omake: The forbidden line.
Materializing in Chaldea, Counter Guardian Emiya opened his eyes. "Archer Class Ser- oh damn it not you again."
Standing in front of him was the familiar, and horrifying sight of the Shirou Emiya that had become an Apostle Ancestor with a vicious grudge against him, even compared to his other counterparts.
The sadistic bastard had made it blatantly clear that spending resources to summon the Counter Guardian just to burn him moments later was something well worth the effort.
What was different this time though was that instead of holding his hand above that infernal burn button (why did those asshole magi have to put it in view of the summoning circle?), the Apostle was surrounded by several dozen Black Keys all aimed at painful but non-vital parts of his body.
"YOU…" Judging from the tangible amount of loathing in the word, EMIYA suspected he was being blamed for something again.
The Counter Guardian lifted his hands in surrender. "Can someone please fill me in as to why he's in such a cranky mood this time?"
"Ahem."
A faint cough drew his attention to the side, where he saw Several servants shifting about uncomfortably, pointing at one in particular.
A Servant that looked suspiciously like a cross between Illyasviel and…
"Hi! I'm Chloe Von Einsbern!" The "Choco-loli" of Chaldea greeted him in clothes that looked remarkably like his, if a stripper had her way with them. "I'm guessing you're the Heroic Spirit that I'm modeled after?"
Archer gave the young girl a dead stare that lasted almost ten seconds before turning his attention back to the Apostle. "I take no responsibility for that, however your reaction is completely reasonable and justifiable. Please resume."
Shirou resumed.
"Hey!" Dr. Roman's voice echoed from the speakers. "Damn it Shirou! How many times do I have to tell you to stop killing Servants in the summoning area! You might damage something important!