A/N: As soon as I posted the previous chapter, I set out to work on this one as quickly as possible. I almost didn't think I'd make it, but here it is.
Taking advantage of this space, after thinking it over, I decided that I could use it to answer some of the reviews. For now I will limit myself to answering only four so as not to take up too much of the chapter.
- GustavoIVS: Thank you, I really appreciate the comment. I'm not a very direct writer, and for the convenience of the plot, I wanted to leave the vast majority of the changed details of the war incognito for now. One of the jokes of this story is that said event is eventually investigated by the protagonists.
- giorno: I have specific plans for good Shinji. Whether he'll be the same obnoxious jerk with few redeeming qualities that he is canonically remains to be seen.
- maxtime: As always, your reviews are always welcome. And yes, I admit that I forgot to mention Shirou being very interested in Kendou, but I have a reason for not doing so at that time, which I will explore in the arcs to come.
- Giuseppe: Wow, really, thanks for your review. I'm really glad you think that way about my work. Well, I'll tell you that the object wasn't used to summon the Caster of the Fourth War from here xD Sorry if it was understood that way. I can only say that the Caster's summoning was partly intended to do something with the object and as for the identity of the object, you got one thing right. But you'll have to read this chapter to check it out.
Mandatory notice: The Fate series, its characters, and any elements of the Nasuverse present in the following do not belong to me. They are property of Type-Moon.
Clue:
'Thoughts.'
"Dialogue."
"Supernatural voice."
"Thaumaturgy."
Í͕̟͓̈́͑ǹ͛͒co͎͉̍̐n̨̼͔̤̉ͮ͊c҉̘̪̟͉e̖͐b ̬̝̪͢í̡ͣ̏̄̚bͤl̗͙͕̘͠ͅͅe̟̝͓̘̘͍̮ͤ̿͒ͯ̽̒̀ ̺͕̇ͪ
"That would be 350 yen, sir," the taxi driver said in a jovial tone that barely concealed his tiredness, judging by the expression on his face. The same expression comically applied to the man and child sitting in the back.
The older man with black eyes and hair of the same color, messy beyond belief, let out a sigh before taking his wallet out of his pocket and taking out the amount of money he had asked for. The taxi driver received him and waited for him to leave, accompanied by the child.
As soon as he closed the door, carefully enough not to slam it (something the taxi driver thanked him for with a smile), he started the car and began to move down the street.
'A father taking his son on vacation,' he thought, as he watched in the rearview mirror the two of them entering the small hotel he had taken them to. 'How nice, I wish mine had done that more when he was a kid.' Their silhouettes faded away as he turned the corner, and he focused on his path.
Shirou blinked as he noticed Kiritsugu walking awkwardly and approached his father. "Old man, does it still hurt?" He asked, his concern completely betraying.
"No, no, don't worry." Kiritsugu replied as he placed one of his hands in the amber-eyed man's hair, ruffling his reddish locks. The Emiya sighed for the second time as he tried to smile, trying to hide that in fact, a couple of remnants of that feeling still crawled inside him.
"Though, yes, you have a good fist. I don't think you learned that from watching a movie." She commented, much to Shirou's embarrassment, who had once been caught by Taiga, trying to imitate the movements he had seen in an anime... And who had spent the rest of the afternoon being subject to the generous ministrations of the hyperactive tigress and that demonic shinai, which he swore moved of its own volition, eager to inflict pain.
"Actually..." Shirou confessed, as he walked beside him. "Issei said he was learning martial arts from his older brother and I pestered him a lot about showing me a little."
This time it was Kiritsugu's turn to blink, who couldn't help but imagine Shirou harassing the reserved heir of the Ryuudou Temple monks until he relented and taught him how to throw a punch.
"I see." He said, as they walked through the hotel lobby and towards the only elevator. "Poor Taiga, she'll be heartbroken to learn that you like martial arts more than the way of the sword."
The look the redhead gave him had no right to be on the face of a child who was barely ten years old.
A look that remained even when the elevator doors rose, and it began to rise from floor to floor.
"I like Kendou." Shirou commented before adding, "But Fuji-nee being my instructor, please don't."
Kiritsugu laughed just as the elevator doors opened. Father and son hurried out and turned right, entering a long hallway lined with numbered doors.
"Come on, she's not that bad." She added with a laugh, while pretending to ignore Shirou's betrayed expression. It wasn't that Taiga was horrible in the sense that she didn't have much skill; it was quite the opposite, her swordsmanship was quite remarkable for someone her age and she had even participated in a couple of tournaments with very admirable results.
...The problem was that his personality could become very aggressive while holding his precious shinai, to the point of almost going into a frenzy and leaving his opponent seriously injured.
Shirou had attended one of his tournaments as a moral support, and even Raiga himself, who had sat next to him, had chosen to cover his eyes to prevent him from being traumatized by the state in which the poor soul was left who had the bad luck of having his turn against the so-called Fuyuki Tiger.
Kiritsugu just thought that with the way he had given him the coup de grace, if they had seen such a competition some Executors of the Holy Church would probably take note for future entries for the hellish training they subjected the initiates to in their hunter orders.
"Then why don't you practice with her?" Was the question Shirou asked him once they reached the door of the room where they were staying.
"Because I'm not interested in Kendou, and I'm already his English tutor." Emiya replied, taking the card out of his pocket and inserting it into the slot. Upon correctly identifying it, it made a slight sound and opened the door, allowing the two of them to enter the chamber.
It was a simple room with a bathroom, two beds, a desk with a chair, and a television much larger than the one at the Emiya Residence, more than enough for both of them.
And definitely much more comfortable than any room the Tohno Mansion could offer.
Because in the end, Kiritsugu would not have accepted Makihisa's hospitality to the point of sleeping under the same roof as the half-breed.
Shirou, surprisingly, had not shown the same aversion and judging by the way he acted around one of Makihisa's maids, Kiritsugu sensed why he was comfortable with that option.
With slightly firmer steps, he walked to the desk and sat down in the chair, letting out a much longer sigh than the previous ones as he placed a hand on his belly. Finally, the pain had dissipated.
But just in case, he took one of the vials he had left on that desk in the afternoon before leaving for Jinan Clinic and opened its lid, ready to drink the contents.
"I'm sorry I hit you," Shirou commented, clearly regretful. "I didn't think it would actually affect you this much," he mentioned, sitting as he was on the edge of one of the beds while swinging his legs slightly.
"So you would have done it if it didn't hurt?" Kiritsugu asked, with a hint of humor that Shirou couldn't quite place. Blushing, the boy began to fumble another apology before stopping at his adoptive father's laughter.
A laugh that was in turn cut short by a growl that echoed through the room. And it hadn't exactly come from the redhead, who was now looking at him with a raised eyebrow.
"You haven't eaten anything."
Shirou wasn't asking, and again the pity was evident in his tone, making Kiritsugu close his eyes in an attempt to think of what he could do.
That, and also remembering how they had gotten there in the first place.
It was neither the first nor the worst occasion that he had seen something like what Makihisa had shown him in the papers that had come out of that envelope. And he suspected well that it would not be the last.
For the Bounty Hunters and Enforcers of the Association, dealing with these was part of the job. If it wasn't to take them to the people in charge of the darkest and most remote laboratories of the Carillon Observatory or to steal the fruit of the Thaumaturgy they were developing, before the Enforcers of the Church decided to stick their noses in and destroy everything in their desire to "want to eliminate the heretical" as much as possible in the world.
It wasn't as if he didn't follow that method from time to time either, thanks to the ideals he had once sworn to uphold. That, and things like the work of true monsters like Odd Borzak and Heinrich Zepter had no right to exist.
At first he was more surprised than anything that this was what Makihisa was looking for until, upon reading some of the notes and receiving a better explanation from the half-breed, he realized that the real 'treasure' was only a part of it.
...Which wasn't something so ordinary, and was far from morbid. But seeing who he was dealing with, Kiritsugu supposed it was to be expected. Of course, that didn't mean that Emiya didn't feel a bit uncomfortable deep down about having to play the role of investigator in order to return said thing to Makihisa.
And after a detailed discussion about this and an agreement to organize themselves in order to draft and sign the contract, both men finally left the studio and headed down the stairs.
"With it being so late, are you sure you wouldn't prefer to spend the night here, Kiritsugu?" Makihisa asked, clearly enjoying the dark-haired man's discomfort as they descended.
"No thanks," was the prompt response from the latter, who immediately began to miss the tycoon's previous serious attitude.
"You know, normally people say 'I don't want to bother', and then I would insist and you would finally give in," Makihisa muttered, a hint of irony in his voice.
"It's a shame neither of you are remotely normal, then." Kiritsugu stated, avoiding tripping on one of the steps. "That and there's a limit to how much of you I can take before I go mad."
Makihisa let out a laugh upon hearing that. "Ah, how I've missed your honesty. I should invite you to one of my business meetings sometime, my nephew Tonami could learn so much from you."
"I'll pass. The last thing I want is to get into any more trouble with your extended family." Kiritsugu reached the bottom of the stairs and crossed his shoulders. "You know very well what happened the last time I did that."
Makihisa's face darkened for a second at that mention, but regained his ordinary countenance after noticing something behind Kiritsugu, which made him turn around, only to meet the amber eyes of Shirou, who was accompanied by Sougen and... The same maid who had greeted them and led them to Makihisa's study?
No, this one was on the other side of Sougen, while the other was on Shirou's side and although she was also looking at him, the ex-mercenary did not miss how her eyes (which were the same color as her son's, except somewhat brighter) at slight intervals also rested on Shirou.
He deduced that they were twins and chose to pay attention to what should really matter most to him at that moment.
It was almost unbelievable how only a few hours had passed since I had last seen him, and yet I could have sworn that entire days had passed since then.
It almost felt unreal, but once again Makihisa took care of breaking that feeling in the most characteristic way possible.
"Oh, look. We didn't even have to bother looking for them." He pointed out, with a good-naturedness that made Sougen roll his eyes. But Kiritsugu couldn't care less.
The black-haired boy began to walk towards his son, who for a brief moment seemed to hesitate before imitating him. The red-haired maid's hand was revealed behind his back, giving him a slight push that served as the necessary impetus for him to move forward.
The scene itself could not have been more captivating. A father and son, separated by tragic circumstances, but reunited was something more than worth seeing, perhaps that was the thought shared by all present and the only explanation for why they remained silent as it took place.
As he approached, Kiritsugu thought he felt his legs give out, but he stood firm as he noticed how Shirou's expression showed a true myriad of emotions, all very familiar to him: regret, sorrow, fear, anguish and many others, but one that he knew how to identify apart from the rest and made him smile.
After what seemed like an eternity, they finally reached a close enough distance where Kiritsugu extended his arms in a gesture of wanting to hug him while Shirou approached, seeming to have the same intentions.
And then...
The expression on Kiritsugu's face turned from one of joy to momentary surprise and then pain as Shirou's tightly clenched right fist slammed into his abdomen with a strike that looked suspiciously well practiced.
And with enough force that not only would the curse manifest for a second but it would also seem as if he had run out of air.
All around, the reactions were varied. From open surprise and astonishment on the part of the twin maids, to a raised eyebrow from Sougen.
Makihisa on the other hand, sneezed opportunely, and if one had paid attention, one would have noticed that it had sounded quite similar to his usual laugh.
After that blow, Shirou had of course hugged him. And Kiritsugu didn't have the heart to push him away at that moment even if a couple of sharp pains seemed to dig deeper and deeper into his back.
Makihisa had once again offered them rooms in his mansion for the night, and this time he had turned to Shirou, no doubt to further annoy Kiritsugu. The half-blood had not openly concealed how amused he had been by Shirou's reaction, and the raven-haired boy suspected that he would surely retain that memory for a long time.
The redhead had answered that he preferred Kiritsugu to choose, much to the latter's relief, who did not hesitate in choosing to spend the night at the hotel where he had agreed to stay. Makihisa seemed to take it in good humor and called a taxi to pick them up.
What he had not been willing to refuse was to accompany them to the train station the next day to see them off.
Shirou, for his part, had spoken for a few minutes with the man of the house and his maids, who seemed very relieved.
And he had said goodbye when Makihisa announced that the taxi had arrived. Sougen, who looked satisfied at the conclusion of the problem that had affected a good part of them but who was still anxious to return home, so he took advantage of the trip to stop at his own.
The taxi had taken them to this one, where the healer got out and paid their fare, before finally taking them to their hotel: A medium-sized one that bore the name of a somewhat important family according to what Kiritsugu had read.
And there they were, in their room, not really knowing what to do or what to say.
"I was scared, you know?" Shirou mused as he stopped the movement of his legs. His pale, amber eyes gleamed as he let a frown show on his lips. "Scared by what I'd heard, trying to believe I was dreaming and then… hearing what you said last." The redhead shook his head as if trying to dispel the bad memories of that event.
Kiritsugu then stood up from the chair and took a seat across from Shirou on the opposite bed. "You gave me quite a scare, Shirou. But, it wasn't really your fault." He said as he channeled what both Makihisa and Sougen had told him.
"I was the one who was obsessed with keeping you in the dark." Kiritsugu explained, feeling how little by little, a certain burden was slowly being lifted from him. "The one who was truly scared was me."
"Dad," Shirou claimed, looking particularly upset. "You were right about that. You were just trying to keep me safe, right? I ran away because I was scared and ended up knowing what you didn't want me to know."
However, Kiritsugu simply shook his head. "You weren't the only one who ran away, Shirou." He said with a pained sigh as he looked as if he had aged in an instant. "The difference is that I've been doing it for too long."
"If it's about your past life, I already know. Stop it." Shirou said, not liking the way things were turning out.
"No, it's not like that." The raven-haired boy said in front of his adopted son. "Tohno told me that he didn't tell you much about it." He revealed, much to Shirou's surprise, who gasped. Kiritsugu took a deep breath and then placed one of his hands on the amber-eyed boy's left shoulder.
"I did a lot of horrible things long before you were born, Shirou." Kiritsugu said with a grimace. "And I've never been proud of them. Not in the slightest."
"..." He closed his eyes for a moment and let out a long sigh before opening them. "I always thought I'd have this conversation with you. But every time I felt like I had to, I tried to convince myself that it was too early and put it off until later... I'm sure I would have eventually done everything I could to stop it from happening."
"W-we don't need to have her." Shirou tried to assure him, causing Kiritsugu to shake his head. They both knew he was doing it because he didn't want to see him in that state.
"No." The black-haired man replied as gently as possible while lightly squeezing the red-haired man's shoulder. "I can't tell you everything. Not now, but you deserve to know. It's the least I can do for you after this."
"But I get it now!" Shirou shouted as he grabbed the bed sheet. "Makihisa-san didn't say much for the same reason you didn't."
"Shirou…" Kiritsugu replied, touched by the redhead's reaction. "I did it believing it was for your own good, and in a sense, it really was… However." The man lowered his head, clearly embarrassed. "I was really projecting my own fear onto you, and that led to this."
"..." Shirou tried to say something, but the words died in his mouth as he looked at the gentle yet sad look on his adoptive father's face.
Kiritsugu seemed to be remembering his past, and it didn't take a psychic to guess that it was anything but pleasant. Shirou had gotten an idea from Makihisa's words to him, but the shiver running through his body made him imagine that it had been a not-so-hidden blessing that the man had kept the most particular, and not to mention, traumatizing details to himself.
He remembered that metaphor of the child playing on the beach in a puddle, unaware of the vast ocean that stretched out behind him and that at any moment could well manifest itself in the form of a wave that would reach out to cover him, and surpass the limits of the hole he had dug in the sand.
At that moment, it was very obvious where he stood.
"Ever since I was little, I remember well that I was always running away." He finally began to narrate with a marked regret, while Shirou listened to him attentively and with some sadness in his amber eyes.
"I never met my father's wife. She died shortly after I was born, and he never spoke of her," he confessed, trying to remember something more about that woman, doomed to be absent from his life long before he could understand the extent of it. "I didn't know much about life beyond constantly running from place to place in many parts of the world, and for years."
"But why were they running away?" Shirou encouraged himself to ask, not wanting Kiritsugu to be overwhelmed.
Kiritsugu paused, trying to find a simpler way to explain the disaster that had been the situation with the Emiya Clan. Of course he would tell her in more detail later, but it was important that he get the summary out now.
"My father was wanted by other mages thanks to his work..." She began, as she removed her hand from Shirou's shoulder. "And not in a good way. It was more justified that he wanted to run away, because the things they do to those they search for in that way aren't pretty at all."
Shirou frowned, before nodding.
"We had to be constantly on the move, never staying in one place for too long," Kiritsugu recalled, mimicking his son's gesture. "The mages who pursued him weren't always after him, but he was a rather paranoid man who preferred not to take any chances. Eventually, he began taking me to more and more distant places, where he was convinced that he could lose track of them for long enough to advance his studies."
As if it were a joke of fate, Kiritsugu noticed the painting that lay on the wall located a couple of meters behind Shirou. A simple painting that showed what seemed to be a tropical, almost paradisiacal archipelago.
"When I was about eleven, we ended up going to live on an island in the Philippines called Alimango. It was quite a beautiful place, big enough to have a fishing village and plenty of bushland around it. It was the perfect hideaway according to my father, with how isolated it was from the other islands." Kiritsugu let the ghost of a wry smile rest on his lips. "And in a way, he was. I don't think I've ever seen him more pleased with his progress anywhere else."
Norikata Emiya had been a true magus. Despite not coming from a family that could boast of being particularly old, his intellect and attitude towards his studies had earned him recognition in the Clock Tower, whose student and teaching body was not exactly the most open to members of Asian descent.
...Though it was also those traits that earned him a Sealing Designation, and condemned him to the nomadic life of a Philosopher. While Norikata didn't talk much about his time at the Clock Tower, he had commented more than once that his presence hadn't been looked upon favorably by some people, who if they didn't have pockets deep enough to ruin his life, had connections to those resources and more.
It was also one of the few times Kiritsugu swore he felt genuinely upset and even hurt. As a father, he had been a rather taciturn, even cold person, but more than once he had shown genuine concern in his paternal duties, however twisted they were under the archaic (and inhuman) values practiced by the Magi families.
With other people, however... Norikata was extremely reserved to the point of being intimidating. Something that came in handy during the few times when he had no choice but to interact with others.
Of course, there was one exception.
"We stayed in one of the larger houses, as well as the furthest one. It was an abandoned building on top of a hill that gave a spectacular view of the island and its surroundings, but what suited my father the most was that there were many rumours that it was haunted."
A dry laugh emerged from his throat, causing Shirou's grimace to return to his face. Judging by the look he seemed to give to a half-consumed bottle of water that was abandoned on the desk, he probably wanted to tell him to drink it.
"The way my father saw it, perfect. With a building far away from everything and also having things like those rumors, which served as a good repellent of curious people and disturbances, he was able to work in peace the whole time he was there. I did nothing but obey him, and play with the other children my age who lived on the island. All that during the year we were there." Kiritsugu sighed, as a sudden feeling of bitter nostalgia invaded him, one that was slowly replaced by something he rarely wandered about.
"I had a friend, her name was Shirley. She was a few years older than me, and she was very cheerful and intelligent. Everyone adored her, even my father." He narrated, letting the ghost of that smile slowly begin to turn into a real one, but one that was not entirely devoid of the initial bitterness. "Taiga reminds me too much of her..." He confessed, before letting out another sigh that revealed how much it exhausted him to even tell that.
"Fuji-nee?" Shirou asked strangely, while tilting his head slightly to the left.
"She was actually very smart. So much so that she caught my father's attention beyond simple curiosity, and he ended up making her his assistant several months after we moved in, and Shirley loved it." Kiritsugu shook his head. "I didn't like that. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't because I was jealous of the attention she got from my father, or that she gave to him, but it was also because I cared about how she was viewed by the villagers."
Norikata's cold, reserved and utterly indifferent nature was a complete anathema to the warmth and traditional sense of unity that bound the other islanders together, who regarded him with at best strangeness - and at worst suspicion - hostility and outright rejection.
And that extended to those associated with him.
"The island's only priest, a very kind man named Father Simon, had been very close to Shirley. He had taught her to read and write when she was a child, and had looked after her when her parents were away." Kiritsugu's face darkened slightly. "But he was also one of the people who disliked my father the least, and while he had never been aggressive, he made no secret of the fact that he held my father in bad eyes, and made sure to share his thoughts with Shirley whenever he saw her."
"My father didn't tell Shirley the truth. Nothing about being a wizard or the danger one would be exposed to by being near one. He said he was a scientist, and that he was working on a very important project. From his point of view, perhaps it wasn't a lie, but he still tried by all possible means to avoid Shirley knowing what he was really doing, and why."
He spared the details of Norikata's research. While he was completely unaware of what it had involved, he was more than certain that the technicalities were beyond what Shirou could comprehend without a deeper understanding of some thaumaturgical principles. His son didn't even know how to use his own magic circuits to begin with.
"Our family practiced a magic that allowed one to control a portion of time," Kiritsugu revealed, noticing Shirou's amazement quickly appearing on his face. "They had been doing that for over a hundred years, and my father was the one who had advanced the most in it. But he wanted to go further, to develop it to the point where it would allow him to achieve the dream of all mages."
"The dream of all wizards?"
The black-haired man bit his lip and shook his head slightly, as if indicating that this was something he would say later.
"But the studies she wanted to do were something she couldn't finish in her lifetime, so she decided to research ways to prolong it." As if that didn't sound ominous enough, Kiritsugu paled. "All that, while Shirley was completely convinced that the things she was helping him with were good. But the rejection of the villagers got the better of her, she ended up being desperate to prove otherwise."
"So what happened then?" Shirou was almost afraid to ask that question.
"One day, my father asked me if I had entered his workshop. It was the first time I saw him being completely stern with me, and it scared me." Kiritsugu recalled, almost feeling Norikata's piercing eyes on him again, almost demanding that he confess despite not being the one responsible. "I told him the truth, and he ordered me not to leave the house. I felt something twisting in my stomach, and I snuck out of there, trying to look for Shirley. I didn't find her anywhere, not at her house, not at the beach, not anywhere I used to see her often. That took me most of the afternoon, and I was about to return home, when I heard something in a chicken coop near me and took a look…"
The sight of his father's eyes could not compare to the horrific sight of Shirley's, bloodshot as she tore at the neck of a chicken, as if it were a wild beast. Even though she had no latent magical properties, they had paralyzed him with terror and the shock of having seen her transformed into that thing... And they still had enough impact to affect him, almost twenty years later.
"I ran as fast as my legs could carry me into the house and screamed for my father. But he wasn't anywhere, and I was too scared to wait for him." Kiritsugu held both of his hands, before continuing with some difficulty. "So I went to the only person I thought might be able to help me. Father Simon welcomed me and listened to my testimony, turning very pale. He asked me to hide in one of the rooms while he made some calls, which I did. Then, he heard a commotion outside and went out to investigate…"
What followed was a heavily censored summary of the disaster that had been the Alimango Island Purge. A Dead Apostle had infected a couple of people, turning them into ghouls; little more than walking corpses, who could only feast on the flesh of the living. By the time a squad of Church Enforcers and a small group of Association Enforcers, along with some Bounty Hunters, arrived on the island, it had become hell on earth.
Of the more than two hundred inhabitants who were registered with the local government, located on another island, none had officially survived the massacre. Because the foreigners who had arrived to contain the situation took charge of exterminating each and every one of the living dead, who had emerged from the poor islanders. By force of fire, thaumaturgy and the sacraments of the Church, they had been led to their eternal rest.
If there was one thing that both the Association and the Church agreed on, it was that at least the disaster had taken place in an isolated area and had not escalated into something worse, as sometimes happened in Europe.
"That was the result of my father's ambition. It was the bounty hunter who saved me, who took me out of there after asking her to take me with her. Natalia agreed." Kiritsugu confessed, practically on the verge of tears. "I couldn't accept that such horrors were an everyday thing in the world. So I made my decision, to do everything in my power to avoid them and that's how I ended up getting into this world. The rest, is history for another day..."
He barely managed to finish and Shirou had already pounced on him, wrapping his arms around his body while rubbing his head against his chest. The hug had been sudden, as if unexpected, but far from unwelcome.
She could feel a tear running down her face as Shirou rubbed his against her chest while the grip of his hug intensified.
The black-haired boy returned the hug, ruffling his amber-red hair as he let out a last sigh.
There had been very few occasions when he had revealed that traumatic anecdote in such detail. In fact, he could recount them on one hand, and there would still be quite a few fingers left over.
The sensation was always painful, but a hug did much to relieve it. It was almost like a parallel between the curse that affected him and the vial he could consume to make the pains cease for a while.
"I became a bounty hunter, and I took any job that would allow me to go after wizards like my father, whose experiments put many people at risk." He remembered, as he stopped his caress. "They were very hard years. Too hard. I didn't live for anything but that thing and I didn't think I would get far either, but then I accepted one last job from a certain family."
The Einzberns had contacted him about three years after Natalia's death. It had been a most peculiar invitation, one he could not refuse. Easily in the center of Europe, there was no family more powerful than them, and looking the other way seemed like a waste at the time. So he agreed to be escorted by a representative of them to Weisse Hügel: the White Castle of the oldest family of alchemists in Germany.
"I was hired as a representative for an event involving them and two other families. A ritual they called it, but it was really nothing more than a war." Hearing that, Shirou finally turned his face away and widened his eyes. "A war between mages, and something more."
The topic of Heroic Spirits and Servants was much harder to accept. It would go on the list of things I would have to mention much later, and explain as well.
"I had to participate and win the prize for this one for them. Something I thought I could use to end all the evil in this world..." Kiritsugu clenched his free fist before a pang forced him to release it. "But..."
With the resources of the Einzberns at his disposal and years of advantage before the event, he believed himself ready to withstand the coming storm. Having also the so-called invincible King of Knights on his side, his chances of victory were perhaps the highest of all the competitors.
But the Fourth Holy Grail War of Fuyuki had suddenly brought the ruthless reality to him and the other Masters.
None of them were remotely prepared for the potentially cataclysmic confrontation that had befallen them over the past two weeks. The fierce battles, which had more than once nearly broken the sacred rule of keeping everything out of the eyes of ordinary people, were just the tip of the iceberg.
A series of nocturnal serial murders as well as a wave of kidnappings, the intervention of two Japanese Self-Defense Forces jets that had culminated in their destruction and disappearance, the destruction of the Hyatt Hotel, the poisoning of the staff at those clinics, the murder of the city administrator himself...
Still, none of the previous events could compare to the magnitude and horror of what had served as the conclusion of that war: The manifestation of the Holy Grail itself and the phenomenon that the Einzbern called "The Fall of Heaven . "
Indeed, something fell from this.
But far from being the promised and sought-after miracle, it turned out to be a grotesque nightmare. A mocking satire of the desires of those who wanted the Grail, and the most foul and repulsive mixture of their darkest vices and other filth that one would never tolerate in a lifetime.
"That thing wouldn't save anyone. It wasn't a miracle or a hope, it was the opposite." Kiritsugu confessed. "I made my decision instantly, rejected it and rushed to destroy it with the only way I thought possible... But, I wasn't prepared for the price of that."
He still remembered it well, clenching his hands against the railing in desperation as he watched in astonishment as the horrible silhouette of a black vortex appeared in the reddish sky, from whose infinite abyss that burning filth began to emerge.
"The thing caused the Fuyuki fire with the power it had left, and vanished, but not before leaving me a small memento." He grimaced in disgust as he pointed at himself. "This was never an illness or anything like that. It's a curse of the cruelest kind, and a direct courtesy of that." As everything around me burned, I tried not to writhe in pain as I felt myself being stabbed from the inside.
I searched through the rubble again and again, trying to help those who were trapped there. But it was too late for those I found, and I could do nothing but keep moving forward as the fire began to die down.
I felt like my strength was failing me and more than once I thought that if I fell, I would not get up again.
I looked around, I couldn't believe that all of this had been my fault, and then I prayed that at least someone had survived... That's when I thought I heard a moan among a pile of rubble, and I crawled as best I could with my heart in my hand before picking them up.
It was the first time I saw you, and I could feel my tears getting lost in the rain that had started to fall..." Kiritsugu leaned his head back slightly, lost for a few seconds in the memory. "You already know what happened next..."
Shirou remained silent after hearing all that. The words that made up that story gently passed through his thoughts and reached those dreaded memories from just a couple of hours before.
"Killing, lying, and running away. Those are the only things you know how to do well. What an excellent father you are being, I wonder if Shirou will learn to run away from his past like you do."
"This curse is nothing like I've ever seen before. I had to call in a couple of favors to find out as much as I could from what you left me, and it still wasn't enough."
"After what I did, am I now to turn him into cannon fodder against the things that lurk here? Am I to force him to give up his life as well? Take away the only thing he has left?!"
Far from causing him such anguish, the doubts that had nested around them began to dissipate as if they were a fog, and allowed the pieces to slowly begin to assemble themselves.
And a sincere smile, truly appropriate for a child like Shirou, who hugged his father again, a little more gently.
"Thanks for telling me all this, Dad." She thanked him, before laughing lightly. "And I'm sorry for hitting you. I don't know if I understand everything you said to me, or even if I know how to feel, but you did want the best for me."
Kiritsugu smiled back before wiping away his tears with the back of his hand.
"I'm glad to hear that, Shirou... But I didn't do as well as I thought, and that's why I promise I'll make things change."
The redhead's response was to show a perplexed expression, which made him laugh in turn.
xXx
The journey from the hotel to Misaki train station was not very long. It was only late morning when a different taxi driver than the two Kiritsugu had met the day before dropped the father and son off very close to the station entrance.
After removing their light luggage from the trunk and paying the driver, they entered the station. As expected, it was packed with people.
Taking the redhead by the hand, Kiritsugu navigated through the crowd as he tried to make his way to the ticket booth, where a line of more people awaited them.
They lined up in the one that seemed to have the least, but still ended up waiting a good twenty minutes before finally being served.
"Here are your tickets, Misawa-san." The lady behind the booth said as she handed two of them to a middle-aged man, who grunted as he took them, and tapped his daughter on the shoulder; a brunette girl probably a year younger than Shirou. The two stepped out of line, allowing him and his father to move forward.
"Good morning." The woman smiled, "What is your destination?"
"Two one-way tickets to Tokyo, please." Kiritsugu asked. It was the closest route to Nagasaki, from where they could reach Fuyuki. The city he currently lived in was really far from the Moonlit World's most prominent center of influence in Japan, and that had its respective advantages and disadvantages.
One of them was that such isolation was convenient in case he wanted to keep the Association's eyes off his back, which would be impossible if he lived in the capital or one of the surrounding cities.
But on the other hand, the journey to obtain direct information or resources was long and difficult. Very, very difficult.
"Very well, Emiya-san." After paying the correct amount, he received the two tickets through the slot. "The platform is the seventh on the left. I hope you and your son have a good trip."
"Thank you very much!" The lady gave Shirou one last smile after listening to him, before turning to attend to the next person in line.
The redhead continued following his father, still holding his hand. They both walked a good stretch of the station, until they reached the platform area.
'2, 3, 4, 5' Shirou mentally counted them, raising an eyebrow as he noticed how Kiritsugu seemed to quicken his pace while cautiously looking around. To others, he would look like a passenger eager to find his platform, but Shirou wasn't naive enough to believe such a thing.
"Ah, old man. What are you looking for? We're just one platform away from the one with our train," the amber-eyed man said, his tone very perplexed.
Kiritsugu froze for a moment, but resumed his steps after a few seconds.
"Nothing, Shirou. Don't pay too much attention to me." She replied, giving him a reassuring smile. "I just don't want to be late for the train."
Shirou maintained a questioning look for about a minute, before shrugging.
Kiritsugu let out a sigh, and the two continued their walk. After a while, they finally reached the seventh platform. It already had quite a few people waiting for the train, and a good portion of them were sitting in the rows of seats arranged in parallel fashion.
The two of them sat down on one of the seats and left their luggage on the ones next to it. The train had not yet arrived, and it did not seem like anyone was impatient for it. There were passengers chatting, leaning against one of the pillars in the middle of the platform, and others reading a newspaper, sitting in front of them.
"I'm going to get a drink of water." Shirou suddenly announced, before pointing Kiritsugu to a pair of water dispensers located at the end of the platform. The raven-haired man had to squint to see them, and nodded. They weren't too far away anyway.
Shirou smiled before retreating to them, leaving Kiritsugu alone in the seats. Kiritsugu sighed, wishing he had a cigarette with him right now. While he had given up tobacco over a year ago, after finding that the curse also worked when he smoked, he couldn't deny that he missed the sensation and the calming effect it gave him.
He was so distracted in his thoughts that he didn't notice a familiar silhouette that had been leaning against one of the pillars approaching.
"You're rather early on this, Emiya." Sougen muttered, dressed in the same plain kimono as always, but with the addition of a satchel that looked like it had seen better days. "I wish you'd apply the same to other things."
"Sougen," Kiritsugu raised an eyebrow in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"Other than that I remembered that I never presented my findings on the analysis we did to Shirou-kun." The healer replied, rolling his eyes as he took off his backpack and handed it to Kiritsugu. "I came to give you this."
The black-haired man took it and pulled back the fold to take a look inside. Almost immediately, his eyes opened slightly wide.
"This is..."
"Over four dozen vials. They all have a spell that preserves their properties for a few weeks, but I recommend you keep them in the refrigerator," Sougen explained, pointing at the small bottles that could just peek out of the mouth. "That formula took me almost two years to create and it's far from perfect, but it's the only thing that's proven to work so far."
"Thank you very much, Sougen," the former mercenary thanked sincerely. "Will it be the normal amount for the consultation or is the price separate?"
"Give me half of what you usually pay as extra," the healer conceded, crossing his arms. "That should cover the costs of the brewing."
"Very well, I'll do it as soon as I can," Kiritsugu replied, not very convinced. Money was anything but a problem for him, the amount he had, while not really an exaggerated sum or enough to make him a millionaire, was more than enough to allow him to live comfortably for a good while without having to work and even leave Shirou a generous sum that would not run out unless he was a serious spender.
Sougen nodded, but his expression did not change.
"Emiya." She continued as she narrowed her eyes. "Shirou's magic circuits are in good condition. Not counting the bizarre case where his attempts to create one from his nerves ended up causing him to extract about three from his crest, there's nothing strange or serious about him. He would just have to awaken them again to be able to use them without any problem."
"...I see, I understand." Kiritsugu replied, after staying silent for a few more seconds as he processed that piece of information. "Again, thank you very much. I'm sure Shirou will be relieved to hear that once he returns from drinking water." He commented, pointing towards where the redhead had gone.
Sougen glanced over and raised an eyebrow, before turning back to the black-haired man.
"Is that all?" He seemed to question, puzzled by Emiya's response.
"What do you mean?" This time it was Kiritsugu's turn to look puzzled at the question.
"Well, seeing how different your attitude is about that compared to the day before, one can't help but wonder about the change." The healer stated while stroking his mustache.
Kiritsugu closed his eyes and sighed.
"After everything that happened yesterday and having a talk with Shirou, I made a better decision." She replied without hesitation. "It's not really what I wanted, but it's what I should and should have done from the beginning. Yes, you were right."
Sougen didn't bother to hide his surprise judging by the expression that took over his face, before it turned into a different one as he narrowed his eyes in suspicion and let out a sigh of exasperation.
"I see. Well, at least you regained some of your senses," the healer conceded before looking at him with something that at times looked like pity and at others, disbelief. "I just wish it hadn't been because I made a pact with the devil."
Hearing that, Kiritsugu rolled his eyes, but avoided saying anything, unable to deny that part.
"And by the way, don't bother being so eager to board and get out of Misaki as soon as possible," Sougen continued with a hint of irony in his voice. "He's already here."
Kiritsugu's heart sank as a disturbingly familiar laugh that he hadn't wanted to hear in person anytime soon echoed out.
"Oh, Kiritsugu. Were you in such a hurry to get rid of me?" Makihisa dropped the newspaper he was reading and smiled from his spot in the row of seats in front of the black-haired man.
"Don't worry, you can leave when the train is about to leave, hahahahaha."
Kiritsugu suppressed the urge to sigh again.
xXx
The water was too cold for his liking, but it still quenched his thirst. Shirou had to wait a few minutes after someone else had the same idea as him and beat him to it by drinking from the dispenser.
She let out a sigh when she finished, blinking as she saw on the clock on the wall that there was still time until the train arrived. She thought for a moment about Kiritsugu's strange and evasive attitude, but shrugged again, not finding much to digress on.
He closed his eyes as he shook his head before turning away without opening them, only to have...
"Ouch!"
"Ugh!"
The first time had been mere chance, the second a coincidence... But this being the third time, Shirou already had the suspicion that someone up there was mocking him. At least this time no one ended up on the ground.
Shirou blinked as he watched Kohaku shake her head slightly, somewhat dazed by the blow. The young maid brought her free hand to her temple, and opened her eyes.
"This is the third time this has happened," she muttered in a tone that showed she was both puzzled and hurt.
"Kohaku," Shirou called out in surprise. He hadn't expected to see his fellow redhead anytime soon, much less in this place. "What are you doing here?" He asked with some curiosity as he approached, then blushed and brought a hand to the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Oh, sorry I bumped into you... again."
"It's nothing." The redhead replied in her usual tone, although in her gaze one could notice that rather than being upset by the accident, she seemed to be almost entertained. "I asked Makihisa-sama if I could accompany him." She said, before pointing to a spot behind her.
Shirou followed his finger and came across a curious scene, several meters away: Kiritsugu with his arms crossed and an expression on his face that completely betrayed his desire to be anywhere other than that, while a Makihisa was laughing next to him, and Sougen was rolling his eyes and seemed to take on the role of an adult supervising two children.
Well, the mystery of why Kiritsugu seemed so eager to retreat had solved itself.
He turned his attention back to Kohaku, noticing that she was carrying something. Feeling his gaze on her, the redhead showed him the object before speaking. "I came to return this to you as well."
Intrigued, Shirou looked at it more closely before his eyes widened in surprise. It was the umbrella he had used the day before after finding it by pure luck when he was lost on the street.
He had forgotten about her, frankly. After leaving her at the entrance of the Tohno Mansion's portico, he hadn't given her a single thought, his mind occupied with other things.
But it seems Kohaku hadn't done so.
Shirou smiled at that gesture and was about to take it before coming up with a better idea.
"If you want, you can keep it," he said, passing his hand over the umbrella. "That way you won't have to worry about getting caught in the rain again if you go out to buy things." The redhead kept his smile, placing the instrument in Kohaku's arms, who only looked at him in confusion.
"But, it's yours," the redhead pointed out as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Yes, and I want you to have it." Shirou insisted gently before pointing at the fabric. "I'm giving it to you."
"... Because?"
"I feel like you're going to need it more than I do," Shirou replied with a shrug. "Besides, it's another way of saying thank you for helping me yesterday. You did a lot for me."
"I-I..." Kohaku looked at both the umbrella and him, not knowing what to do. Shirou sighed before placing his hands over hers, causing the redhead to freeze.
He was about to say something when he seemed to notice something on her face that made him tilt his head slightly to one side. "You look really nice when you smile."
"Ah?" Kohaku removed one hand from the umbrella and brought it to her mouth, barely noticing how her lips had unconsciously curved.
A light laugh from Shirou made her turn around and feel a lurch inside her. The redhead finished laughing, and kept a smile somewhat different from the ones she had seen the day before.
"See? You look really lively," he commented, unaware of the effect those words had on the red-haired maid, who, like the animal she shared a name with, felt like a carp out of water.
"W-well, that's fine." She finally worked up the courage to answer as she slightly bowed her forehead, almost as if she were bowing while hugging the umbrella.
Shirou raised an eyebrow at that as he gestured with his hands, asking her to stop. The tables had turned, and now he was the one embarrassed.
"Ah, you d-don't need to do that, don't worry." He told her, before sighing in relief after seeing her finally return to a normal position. "You know, I'm really glad I met you. I wish we could meet again."
Kohaku, who seemed to have not yet recovered from the assault that her red-haired companion had unleashed against her, was once again reduced to a bundle of nerves, unable to formulate a response.
"Ah, I'd like that too." She muttered, before turning to her right upon hearing something rather loud in the distance. She was imitated by Shirou, and several of the people on the platform, who looked towards the track, being able to see how the train had finally arrived at the station.
In turn, Shirou managed to see from a distance how Kiritsugu seemed to have noticed him and was signaling him to come over. The two men at his side followed his gaze and found him too, judging by how Makihisa was waving at him and Sougen was giving him a slight bow.
"Oh, I should be going now." He said, turning to Kohaku one last time before beginning to walk in the direction of his father. However, he hadn't taken more than a couple of steps when he felt Kohaku's hand gripping the hem of his shirt.
"Oh?" He didn't have time to ask what was going on, because the redhead got there first.
"Will you ever come back?" Kohaku asked, her head downcast. Even with how low her voice had been, Shirou could still hear the expectation in it.
He frowned, as he glanced at his father, who seemed to be making superhuman efforts to get rid of Makihisa, and turned to the redhead, wondering what to answer.
"If I can convince my dad to come here or at least let me travel, I might come again," he muttered, somewhat convinced, only to be surprised by the look Kohaku gave him with her eyes that seemed to almost be shining upon hearing that.
"Do you promise?"
Shirou smiled before turning around, causing Kohaku to let go of his shirt, but continue to look at him, and extended his right hand, letting his pinky finger remain raised.
The redhead rolled her eyes before understanding and extending her opposite hand. Their pinkies intertwined as Shirou nodded.
"I promise."
In response, Kohaku let the smile she had previously shown show on her lips for a moment, before letting go of her hand.
Shirou finally turned around, and continued his walk to the seats where he had left his respective luggage, and where Kiritsugu had already picked up his and seemed to be waiting for him to board at once.
"Ah, Shirou-kun." Makihisa greeted him directly after having him at a short distance. "Good morning, I was having a last talk with your father here." He said, pointing at the other black-haired man who rolled his eyes, believing that he had finally been freed from having to listen to him.
"Good morning, Makihisa-san." Shirou replied, pleasantly. Yes, the man was terrifying and he could even see that his father gave him a creep the size of Fuyuki, but he had helped him in more ways than one, and the redhead would be grateful for that. "Again, thank you for everything. Oh, and you too, Jinan-san." He reminded, turning to the healer who merely gave a grunt of approval.
Makihisa kept his smile and nodded, before placing his hand on the redhead's shoulder. "You're welcome. The next time life brings you to Misaki, do not hesitate to come to my abode. Rest assured that the Tohno Clan will show you more than adequate hospitality." And he winked, clearly enjoying both Shirou's discomfort and Kiritsugu's anger from a distance.
Shirou broke out in a cold sweat for a couple of seconds before nodding. "Of course, Makihisa-san."
"Good boy." The tycoon dismissed him with a couple of pats on the shoulder, and practically pushed him against his father, who handed him his luggage and nodded before walking towards the nearest door of the train.
Makihisa seemed to get the message and smiled one last time. "Have a good trip."
And he remained in the same place, until he saw the two Emiyas disappear inside it along with the other passengers. The half-breed sighed to himself, while that smile he wore seemed to acquire a different aura.
"What are you up to now, Tohno?"
His thoughts were interrupted by the healer, who still maintained that stern demeanor that had made him somewhat infamous among those who knew him.
"I have no idea what you mean," he replied calmly, even though his eyes betrayed his intention. "I'm just continuing to fulfill my duties, to the best of my ability."
Sougen snorted, before crossing his arms. "If only you were always so direct." He grumbled halfheartedly before letting out a sigh. "Alright, what do you want?"
Makihisa turned around and adjusted his glasses before speaking again.
"Let's say I'm going to ask you for something." Noticing the expression forming on the other's face, he hurried on. "No, it's not a favor. It'll be a job, something unusual, but one I've had in mind for a while."
Sougen merely raised an eyebrow in response.
xXx
Kohaku watched the train leave from the same spot where it had been since Shirou had said goodbye to her. Caressing the fabric of her umbrella, the redhead watched as the last train car left the platform and headed towards another city, far away from here.
For a brief moment, his vision focused on the object he was carrying and he held on to it a little tighter, as if he could evoke the presence of its former owner once more.
Such an effect was something only she could understand, and despite not showing it with an open expression, her eyes seemed to soften.
She would have been happy to maintain that illusion for several minutes, but it was ruined once she heard a series of footsteps approaching in her direction. Abandoning that posture for a more rigid one, Kohaku awaited the arrival of her guardian and the old healer who had brought her and her sister with him.
Makihisa wasn't smiling, but there was no trace of a bad mood on his face either. He looked at the redhead and then at the object she was holding in her hands, only to nod slightly, seeming to have understood something.
Oblivious to the interaction, Sougen cleared his throat before turning to her. "Tohno here tells me he wants me to teach you a few things," he commented in a strictly neutral tone. "He's willing to pay me for it, but it's no use since he won't be the one to ask me directly, Kohaku-chan. Do you really want to study from me?"
The redhead stared at him, avoiding all contact with Makihisa, who had never stopped doing so. Neither of them needed to be able to read the other's mind under these conditions, to know what each was thinking.
The patriarch merely reminded him with a look of what they had agreed on the previous day, unknown to the others.
While Kohaku, remembered it directly...
If the atmosphere of the Tohno Mansion could be described as oppressive and even intimidating to a certain extent, the one that reigned in the foundations of this was more than worthy of being called sinister.
There was no comparison. The very air here was thick with something that would paralyze anyone who felt it for the first time. And that was only the first of its hideous features, which manifested itself on the stairs.
Kohaku descended through the stairs, knowing better than to stand still on one of the steps, especially when Makihisa stood beside her, holding a lantern.
The man of the house did not seem to be in any particular hurry to reach the basement, which was a few meters below, and she had no desire to go ahead either.
She had been too relieved that night when, instead of taking her to that usual room, the man had told her that they would do something different.
And as soon as the amber-eyed woman had glimpsed the door that led to that place, her terror had been almost palpable. But the man had cared little, who had simply opened it and ordered her to descend with him.
And there they were, reaching the top of the stairs and the true entrance to the only place in the entire mansion that neither she nor her sister could claim to have ever known.
But that statement had been invalidated for her the moment she set foot in the basement. And despite not showing many emotions on her face most of the time, this time Kohaku looked restless.
It wasn't just the atmosphere of the place, which gave off a feeling that could only be described as wrong. It was the fact that she didn't know what was there. The rest of the house and that room were painful and horrendous, but at least they were familiar to her, this one wasn't.
"I thought about it for a while." Makihisa's voice brought her out of her thoughts, making her turn to face the man who was beginning to light up the room. "And I came to the conclusion that you did a good service to the family, and that is why I am going to give you one more task."
It was very large, easily taking up the space of several of the rooms above put together. But as far as the light could reach, it seemed to be devoid of any objects or furniture.
Or at least that's what he thought at first.
Well, this one managed to bring to light a series of bars and a rickety door, all consumed by rust in one part of the room, with some shackles attached to the wall with their respective chains.
A cell.
Makihisa moved forward, gesturing with his free hand for her to follow, and as they did, more and more cells arranged evenly next to each other were illuminated.
The basement of the mansion was practically a dungeon, but its prisoners were conspicuous by their absence. One could not help but wonder what fate had awaited them.
Kohaku looked away from a cell as she noticed that the bars of it had been brutally torn off, and the door had been split in half, only to almost trip over Makihisa who had stopped.
Right in front of another cell, which at first glance was noticeable how different it was from the others. To begin with, it was completely closed, without bars or any window, and had a metal door of considerable size.
Just seeing her made the redhead nauseous.
"Shirou-kun's father is carrying out a small task for me. One that, if completed satisfactorily, will render your services unnecessary to me." The half-breed stated, keeping his eyes on the cell door in front of him. "Do you understand what I mean?"
Kohaku nodded, not feeling as relieved as she should be if she heard such a thing.
"Sougen Jinan will never be trusted for this task, and no member of my family could undertake it. That only leaves you for your sole position." A cruel smile appeared on his lips, as he looked at her again. "Unless you want your sister to be the one to do it."
That made the amber-eyed girl quickly shake her head, causing the half-breed to chuckle. Makihisa shook his head, probably at the predictable response, and took a step forward.
"You'll learn enough to take care of this, you can consider it a much more important task than the other." He stated as he brought his hand to his lips. A reddish liquid covered some of it and dripped onto the floor once he extended it so that he could press it against the surface of the door.
Almost instantly, a series of characters lit up on it, forming a sort of network full of symbols that flickered for an instant.
And then the door opened with a muffled groan, allowing Kohaku to look into the gloom inside.
Makihisa's other hand illuminated it as he spoke again.
"You'll take care of him."
And the light from the flashlight managed to shine on something chained at the back of the room. Something that made the redhead's skin crawl and her eyes widen, forming an expression of horror on her face.
The scream came later.
Kohaku closed her eyes, before nodding. Knowing that the healer wouldn't take that as an adequate answer, she sighed before speaking. "Yes, I do."
Sougen didn't look entirely convinced, but he nodded his head and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Very well. We'll start next weekend."
"Okay." Makihisa replied instead, causing Sougen to let out another exasperated sigh before he said goodbye and walked away, leaving the two on the platform.
The man simply informed him that they would do the same and began walking towards the exit.
Kohaku was about to imitate him before deciding to give him one last look towards where the train had disappeared, and caress the umbrella that she had not yet let go of.
Perhaps he didn't realize it, but the ghost of a smile could be seen on his lips.
xXx
"So, Kohaku, huh?"
"Yeah, she's a bit quiet, but I like her a lot," Shirou confessed as he swung his legs against his seat. They were on the second train, heading to Nagasaki. About two hours earlier, they had arrived in Tokyo after about a forty-minute ride, and they had rushed as quickly as possible to board it. As expected, Tokyo Station was at least five times more crowded than Misaki Station, and it took longer than they expected.
But they had finally made their way through and had even been rewarded with a couple of sandwiches from the train's food service.
"Hmm, I didn't see much of her, but she seemed friendly." Kiritsugu replied. Truth be told, he didn't really know what to make of the Tohno Mansion maid his son had apparently struck up a friendship with beyond some gratitude for helping him out. "Although, I'm glad you made a friend. That you only had Ryuudou-san's son as one sometimes worried me. Doesn't he have a surname?"
Shirou frowned as he struggled to remember something. "He said he came from a Fujou family, who were also mages but were broke. Do you happen to know them?" He asked Kiritsugu who shook his head.
"The name sounds familiar, but I can't remember where exactly." Kiritsugu settled back in his seat before taking a sip of water from the bottle he had bought. "Plus there are several wizard families in this country, and I only know of a handful of them."
'Including the two that we practically have as neighbors.' She thought with some humor, before suppressing a grimace as she realized that she also had to not only tell Shirou that they were not alone in Fuyuki but also that he had to be careful with any members of those families.
How could he have been so naive? He had to thank his lucky stars that the incident of Shirou getting lost hadn't taken place in Fuyuki. He highly doubted that the outcome would have been so positive with the Tohsakas, the Matou or worse, with him.
"Hmm, I see." Shirou managed to snap him out of his stupor and startle him with his next question. "Could I go visit Misaki sometimes? Makihisa-san said I could even stay at her house."
It was as if his fist had landed in his stomach again. Kiritsugu didn't respond instantly, but his eyes showed that he wanted to deny it. It wasn't just for his own comfort, honestly more than anything, he wanted to keep Shirou as far away from the Tohno patriarch's games as humanly possible, even though he knew that such a thing was difficult, and inevitable if the worst happened.
And on the other hand, Shirou really did look excited at the prospect. It was hard to say no to him.
"We'll see." She replied, smiling as she ruffled the redhead's hair. "For now, we have to head back to Fuyuki. Taiga is surely desperate to see us." She added, much to the annoyance of her son, who seemed to be exhausted just by imagining the brunette teenager hugging him until he was breathless.
"You should take advantage of this opportunity to get some sleep," he suggested, seeing that, "It's still a long way to Nagasaki."
Shirou nodded with a yawn and settled back into his seat, before closing his eyes. Though it was clear he was just resting.
Kiritsugu, for his part, was in no better condition, but he didn't want to take a nap right now, nor was he sure he could. The conversation he had with Shirou had awakened what was perhaps the source of his doubts regarding Makihisa Tohno.
And a good part of the origin of these lay in an envelope inside his suitcase. An envelope that he would have liked to read again at that moment with greater attention, but he knew that it was anything but prudent to do so in a place like that.
So he had to limit himself to remembering when he first saw him.
"It's not the first time you've seen something like this." Makihisa pointed out with utmost seriousness after seeing Emiya's reaction to the contents of the envelope. "And it's not like it's the most brutal thing, I remember seeing images of one of your works in America. Somebody called Zepter or something like that."
"It's not the nature of this that disgusts me," Kiritsugu replied, not bothering to hide his disgust. "What does is that you referred to this thing as 'a treasure'. Something like that is more befitting of an Apostle, even for someone like you."
"It fills me with such joy to be compared to one of those corpses," the half-breed said dryly, while adjusting the position of his glasses, "And no, Kiritsugu. The thing you see there is no memento or trophy, it is what contains what he called the true treasure."
Kiritsugu blinked before taking another look at the envelope and reading something else. "...I see, something like this is certainly rare. But why would you want to have something like this? Unless you plan on selling them or implanting them in yourself, things like this aren't suitable as an ornament."
"Those two items are more invaluable to the Tohno Clan than you can imagine," Makihisa stated as his grey eyes narrowed. "They also have a specific purpose that we plan to use them for."
"And that's it?" Kiritsugu questioned as he raised an eyebrow.
"Present me the progress of your research and perhaps I'll consider telling you about it." The half-breed snorted before resting his cheek on the back of his right hand. "Remember our deal."
"Believe me, I won't forget it." Kiritsugu frowned as he inspected the image further. "And this one has a name?"
"What a clever detective I'll hire." Makihisa rolled his eyes. "You can read it in the caption. It's written in red ink."
Kiritsugu looked at the image one last time, and another face stared back at him. That of a Japanese man, no older than the one he had, with sharp features and pale hair, except that his head lay preserved in a jar and judging by the wound on his neck, it had been torn off completely.
The most notable feature of the decapitated man was not the color of his hair, it was the two eyes with irises of the purest and deepest blue he had ever seen, and he did not need to be an expert to know that they were supernatural in nature, much less what they were.
Pure Eyes.
And as for the name, it was indeed at the bottom of the photo and written in red.
Kiri Nanaya.