"Ah, so this is your room, Master..."
Saber entered the room with a look of curiosity, examining all items, perverted or not, with intrigue. Haru, however, was utterly nervous, given that Saber was a girl who could end him, and she was looking at his vast collection of hentai and eroge and whatnot. Still, dinner had been a bit pleasant. She effortlessly continued on with the lie that she and Haru went along with, and his parents were fully convinced that she was his girlfriend. On that thought, though, Haru once again found himself wondering about Yu—Raynare. He had accepted the fact that she had come to kill him because he possessed a Sacred Gear… but she was so beautiful and wonderful during their date… so nice. When she revealed her true colors, that image of her was shattered completely, and he found himself hurting.
Was he really that pathetic and worthless? She saw the date that he spent so much time and effort planning had been nothing but a way to kill time for her. It was nothing special to her… and that hurt.
Am I… really useless...? he thought bitterly. 'I barely got my ass into Kuoh, and so far, nothing good's happened to me. True, yeah, I get to see some awesome sights when me and the guys go peeking, but… other than that...
"Master?" Haru snapped out of his thoughts when he saw Saber staring at him in concern. "Are you alright?"
"... it's nothing," he assured her, smiling. "Don't worry about it. Anyway, sorry about my folks. They can get pretty crazy..."
"It is alright… I have dealt with more rowdy individuals during my lifetime..." She replied without a beat.
Haru quirked an eyebrow. "Actually, I've been meaning to ask about that," he said as he sat down on his bed. "Who...exactly are you, Saber? I mean, that can't really be your name, can it?"
"Of course not," Saber giggled. "Its the name of the class I was called into. As for my true name..." She suddenly went silent, and her face fell into a pout. "I… don't like it all that much."
"Eh?"
"I-if you need to call me something when we're alone," Saber said shyly, tapping her fingers together. "T-then please call me Altera… I don't like the name I was given all that much."
… too cute, once more, his chibi-Haru declared vehemently, eyes in the shape of hearts. You're too cute! It should be a crime made legal to be so damn moe!
Truly, even if he didn't know what type of person Saber truly was… she was just too cute in his book. He scored big time!
"W-well, make yourself comfortable, Altera-chan," he said after collecting himself. He scored himself such a girl, the best he could do was keep his hormones in check! After all, she does have a sword. The girl nodded, and sat down next to him. "So… what's the deal with calling yourself Saber? You said it was the class you were called into, but… I don't really get it."
Altera cocked her head in confusion. Her Master should have been aware of that, shouldn't he? Although, when she looked around her room, she saw nothing that belonged to a Magus. In fact, even his family, bar his grandmother, seemed perfectly normal. A thought came to her, and her eyes widened. It couldn't be… could it?
"Master… do you know what the Holy Grail War is?"
"... Holy what?"
Now that answered his question. Her Master had no clue what he was now a part of. But… how? How did he summon her? How did he obtain her catalyst? More importantly, if he was a Magus, how was he unaware of what was happening? There were so many questions about him that she wasn't sure where to start. Haru also seemed confused. Holy Grail War? As in a war over that thing Christ drank from? He vaguely remembered how his childhood friend, Shidou, mentioned it before, given that his family was Christian. And Saber? Class? What did any of that mean? He then recalled what his grandmother told him before, and frowned. Anyone with a Command Seal was his enemy… but what did that mean? Were there others like him?
He then remembered the envelope Rin gave him. Taking it out, he undid the seal and took out what appeared to be a letter.
"What's that?" Saber asked, noticing the item. "A letter?"
Haru nodded. "Yeah… Granny gave it to me," he said. "She said… anyone with a Command Seal was my enemy… what did she mean by that?"
Believing that the letter held the answers he was after, he folded it open.
It was addressed to him. And it was from someone named Illya. "Illya… von… Einzbern..." Haru read the name aloud, frowning. "Sounds German… wait, were gramps part German?"
Shrugging, he read the letter. What it entailed was… less than pleasing.
"So, he's a Master?"
"Yeah… that girl was definitely a Servant. I couldn't tell what class she belongs to, though."
"Caren's already contacted me. Take a guess what Class my darling nephew's Servant is."
"... she's a Saber, isn't she?"
"Bingo "
"God dammit… it's like he's taking after his grandfather… perverted tendencies aside."
The caller giggled. "I think it's rather adorable, don't you?" she said. "Anyway, you gave him the letter, right?"
"Yep. Right before I left… no doubt he's reading it by now and having at least some of his questions answered."
"Maybe… even still, I'll tell Sella to prepare for a guest sometime this week. I'll call again sometime soon, Rin."
"Yeah, yeah..."
With that, the call ended. Illyasviel von Einzbern smiled to herself. After sixty years, her childish body had changed to the point where she looked to be somewhere in her early teens, her long hair cut short at the chin. She looked like a much younger version of her own mother, Irisviel, wearing a flowing white dress that ended at her thighs while wearing white sandals, several bands around her left wrist. She turned to one of the maids nearby, dressed primarily in a white outfit with pale skin and clear red eyes, much like her own. "Leysritt, can you grab Sella for me?"
"Yes, Illya-sama." The stoic faced maid bowed before exiting the room to fetch her fellow retainer.
As she left the room, Illya took a drink from the cup of tea that had been prepared earlier, giggling to herself. "First father, then onii-chan," she remarked with amusement. "And now my nephew… I wonder if all members of the Emiya family have such bad luck." As she said this, however, her eyes drifted to the photograph that sat on the table. It showed Shirou, barely hitting his mid-twenties, showing a face similar to that of Kiritsugu but lacking the cold edge the Magus Killer had. Instead, they had a warm embrace to it, the eyes Kiritsugu showed to her and to her mother—and possibly to Shirou. Around him was Rin, herself, and Sakura, the girl wearing her hair in a short ponytail and with an apron on. It would be another ten years before Miki Tohsaka, now Miki Hyoudou, would be born… but the photograph brought forth somber memories.
"Shirou," she whispered, her red eyes saddened. "Where could you have gone? Are you still looking for her?"