Prodigal Son Returns
By: Bubbajack
Editors/Co-Authors: Antagonist, Icysnowsage, First Hassan/Darklord 331, and LoamyCoffee.
Special Consultants: Heliosion
Special thanks go out to my Super Donors: Alexander Murry, Bobby Glass, JackHanmer, Jareth Norris, Martin T. Aranda, NeroSolas, Selmephren, and Lucas White, my sole Supreme Tier Donor.
Ch.6: An Even Bigger Mess.
The atmosphere could best be described as tense around Shirou Emiya’s dinner table at the moment. For on one side, irradiating an inhuman amount of killing intent was both of his parents, older brother, Serafall, his older sister, Rin, Saber, and funnily enough, Aoko Aozaki.
“Give me the word and I’ll atomize the three of them, Shirou,” Aoko promised him with a grim scowl on her face as her magic circuits thrummed to life.
On the other end of the table were two members of the church and one executor of the Mage’s Association. One of them kept going through some strange metamorphosis with her body rapidly decaying, only to knit itself back together with many blades. The woman in question was named Caren Hortensia; she had silver hair and yellow eyes, and was the self-proclaimed daughter of Kirei Kotomine.
‘If I’d have known I was going to have so many guests, I would have gotten a bigger table.’ Shirou thought to himself idly, taking note of all the bloodlust in the air, but not really paying it all that much mind. He'd felt worse. Having walked through the fire of Fuyuki from ten years prior and felt all the eyes of the damned on him as he ignored them and kept walking through the flames.
“That won’t be necessary, thank you Aoko-san. And I think the rest of you should tone down the killing intent before the three of them choke to death,” Shirou idly noted, “I’m going to go check on the tea.”
“How can you be so calm after she just tried to kill you?!” Rias snapped, the aura of the power of Destruction coalescing around her body as she glared daggers at the bluenette nun.
Shirou gave a lighthearted chuckle. “If I held grudges against everyone who tried to kill me, I wouldn’t be particularly close with Rin or Illya either. Now, try not to kill each other while I’m gone please, this is still my house and I’d like to be able to eat at my table.”
Snapping her head to the Tohsaka heiress, Ritsuka demanded, “Explain exactly what my son meant by that?”
“We were involved in a Holy Grail War Gremory-san, a War that is supposed to be fought by Master-Servant pairs. However briefly, your son was my enemy…” Rin gave Illyasviel a sidelong glance. “Then we ran afoul of this little gremlin.”
“Hey, no fair! Don’t just throw me under the bus, Tohsaka!” Illya complained. “You're making me out to be the only bad guy here, and that’s not true at all!”
“Oh, so you didn’t try to kill us right outside of neutral grounds with a nigh-unkillable Black Giant of a Servant who can regenerate from literal death and gets resistance to the thing that previously killed him?” Rin asked.
Illya looked away before admitting, “Well, when you put it like that…” She shook her head and then fired back, “But anyway, I’m not the real bad guy, the real bad guy was that creepy pedo priest who ended up raising you… you who knew him longer than anyone else but didn’t see the backstab coming?” Illya tutted, “For shame, Tohsaka, for shame.”
“Why you little-” Rin was about to reach out and strangle Illyasviel only to stop when Rias asked a question.
“Umm excuse me, but what exactly were you fighting over? It obviously wasn’t the actual cup of Christ because we can tell just by being here that this land is irrefutably tainted with evil.”
Ritsuka nodded, “Yeah, I felt it too, it's as if every curse, slight and sin were concentrated into one place.”
Rin sighed, “Well as explained earlier, the original intention of the Grail was to punch a hole to the Root, the throne of God. Which we’re assuming is how Shirou ended up here in the first place… but what it can do, is grant a single wish to the winning Servant-Master pair.”
“Uhh, explain again about magic and all that, please?” Taiga said, raising a hand as if she were a student again instead of a teacher, “Shirou got attacked by this crazy bitch,” She nodded at Ciel, who scowled, “I get that, I saw Shirou materialize swords out of thin friggin’ air which was damn cool by the way so am I to assume Shirou, Tohsaka-chan and everyone else here can do magic?”
‘Shit, I forgot about Fujimura-sensei!’ Rin silently cursed. “Umm well, the answer to that is sensei-” Rin began only for Shirou to cut her off as he came back with a very large pot of tea.
“Yeah, that just about covers it, Fuji-nee,” Shirou replied as he poured his older sister figure a steaming cup. “Sorry I had to hide it from you but well, there are rules, you know?”
“Rules, uh huh… and all the people fainting at the school the other day and around town?” Taiga said, narrowing her eyes.
“Caused by other Servant-Master pairs in the War… they’ve been… taken care of and will no longer be a problem.” Shirou replied.
Looking her pseudo-little brother in the eye, Taiga asked straight out, “Did you kill them, Shirou?”
“Not directly no, but if it came right down to it, to protect everyone else and even you… especially you, I would have, in a heartbeat.” He said remembering the encounter with Caster on the Fuyuki Bridge.
“I see… so I wasn’t just having odd dreams lately then.” Taiga sighed before reaching over and bopping Shirou on the head, “You idiot! You could’ve gotten yourself killed on that bridge!”
“Fuji-nee, you remember-”
“Of course, I fucking remember!” She snapped at him. “You actually have to believe in hypnosis for it to work, dummy!” She then bopped Rin on the head even harder than she did her little brother, “And you! That’s for thinking you could pull one over on me in the first place, little miss school idol!”
“Sorry, Sensei!”
Folding her arms and huffing Taiga said indignantly, “Ah, cut the crap! I’ve laid awake in the guest room long enough to know what you're really like, little miss tsundere!”
Squawking indignantly with her face crimson red, Rin denied, “I-I am not!”
“Rin,” Shirou tried,
“Not now, Emiya-kun,” Rin said, holding up a hand and cutting him off, causing him to sigh before he poured some tea and offered snacks to his new guests.
“Oh, thank you,” Caren said as she sipped her drink, munched on a few rice crackers and proceeded to watch the ensuing chaos.
“I am not a Tsundere!”
“You totally are, though. A classic Type A even. You're all. Oh Emiya-kun, I totally don’t wanna be around you but since you're hopeless, I guess I have no choice. You act just like that,” Taiga rebutted.
“I dunno if you’ve noticed, but he is hopeless!” Rin fired back.
“Hey!” Shirou said.
“Maybe if you’d done more raising and less mooching, he’d be a little more competent.” Rin continued.
“Listen here, you flat chested egotistical little shit,” Gone was the playful ditzy teacher Taiga. Her face had just gone frigidly placid, she was now going full yakuza princess. “I can take a lot of crap, and I mean a lot, but don’t you ever, and I mean ever, insinuate I did a poor job looking after Shirou-kun again,” She leaned in close and spoke in a soft dangerous tone that everyone else could still hear, “Do you understand me? I don’t care about the fact your fuckin’ daddy up and got himself killed by his apprentice who was more hollow than a politican’s promises, or that your poor mommy got turned into a damn vegetable by a psycho with more worms in him than a dog’s ass, cross me again Tohsaka, and I’ll have you buried next to them… alive, are we clear?”
“Y-Yes, Fujimura-sensei!” Rin said with actual fear in her tone.
“Fujimura-san, how did you know about my father’s… condition?” Caren asked curiously.
Taiga looked over at the girl with a mix of curiosity and mild annoyance before she shrugged and replied, “The Church and the Fujimura-gumi and the Tohsaka’s have worked together for years. The bastard, your dad and I’m so sorry by the way, usually has us on retainer to take care of certain things if you catch my drift.”
“Your condolences aren’t necessary but appreciated,” Caren said with a bob of her head.
“Wait, so you knew about magecraft the entire time?!” Shirou asked, amazed to find this out.
Taiga moved her hand in a so-so gesture. “Sorta? I mean it doesn’t take a genius to figure out something weird happens periodically in this town every sixty years or so and my family has been here since the city’s founding. We’ve worked cleanup more or less after every colossal fuck up you mages have had in this city,” Seeing the surprised look on her students faces, she said, “What? Did you think that mullet wearing asshat did it all single handedly? No, he had us to call on and the Fujimura-gumi has deep pockets and their fingers in a little of everything in this city. Now it's my turn to ask a question of you, little girl,” she said, glancing at Hortensia.
Ignoring the ‘little girl’ comment, Caren said, “Go ahead,”
“Two questions actually,” Taiga amended, “First, what the heck is going on with you?” She said pointing at her rapidly decaying and regenerating body.
Caren smiled, “I figured that might be the first question. You see, I suffer from a rare condition known as Masochistic Spiritualist Constitution. In layman's terms, it means I’m a demon detector and can tell when someone is or has been possessed, by having the effects of said possession show up on my body.”
“Fascinating… horrible mind you, but fascinating,” Zeocitus said as he stroked his beard. “I can’t help but wonder what would happen if someone like her was turned into a devil.”
“Turned into a Devil?” Ciel echoed. “So then are all of you…” She looked back and forth between the people present.
“Devils, yes,” Shirou saw no point in hiding it. “We had no intention of causing Hortensia-san any harm, had we known we were doing so we would’ve taken steps to prevent it. As it stands however, I don’t know if there’s anything we can do in this situation.” He said, looking at his parents and elder siblings.
“I don’t think so?” Ritsuka said “I’ve never even heard of someone with such a constitution before. Have you, Zeo?”
Zeocitus hummed in thought, “Mina has. Vampires, some of them anyway, can take on the attributes of those whose blood they consume at least temporarily. That’s at least similar in concept to this.”
Caren grimaced, and requested, “Please don’t compare me to those vile God forsaken things.”
“Hey now, one of my wives is a vampire and while she’s a bit… rough around the edges she’s decent enough,” Zeocitus defended his wife.
“Ah, I should mention a majority of my family is from a parallel world, before another fight breaks out.” Shirou added hastily. “Vampires over here are… nowhere near as nice.” Shirou informed his parents. “Usually they’re magi who didn’t want to die and pass on their research to an heir, so to keep on living and researching they became vampires and prey on humans to maintain their pseudo-immortality through I believe a sort of time curse?”
“Wow, you're very well informed about Vampires, Emiya-kun,” Rin said, impressed.
Rubbing the back of his head, Shirou admitted, “The Old Man told me quite a few war stories from his younger days… he really wanted me to know how to handle a vampire if I ever had to.” He didn’t talk about the weapon training and all the stuff the Old Man left him that was out in his shed. They didn’t need to know about all the handbooks on explosives, boxes full of various ammunition, and disassembled guns he kept out there. He felt like Heroes of Justice shouldn’t have to resort to such things after all, even if he knew how to.
“As to my second question,” Taiga continued, “I hope you weren't planning anything stupid like revenge on Shirou here,” She jabbed her thumb at her ward, “Because in case you haven’t noticed, you're out gunned.”
“God, please forgive these fools for their ignorance,” Caren mock prayed causing the Devils to have brief headaches before she continued, “No, I’m not angry over the fact Emiya-san killed my father, I’m angry over the fact I didn’t get to kill him myself after he abandoned me for seventeen years and raised some no name in my place!”
“Hey!”
“Oh I know how you feel,” Illya said empathizing with her as she reached across the table to pat her on the shoulder, “But at least my replacement is cute,” She said giving her onii-chan a playful wink to show there were no longer any hard feelings on her end.
“You did luck out there, I’ll grant you,” Caren agreed, “Regardless, now what am I to do? Kotomine is dead, I have no vengeance to take, something I’ve desired for years, and now I feel… adrift, and purposeless.”
“You're more than welcome to stay here till you figure things out, Caren-san, I feel I owe you that much,” Shirou told her earnestly.
Despite the pain she was in, she smiled, “That is very kind of you Emiya-san, and I’d be willing to take you up on your offer if being around you didn’t trigger my condition.”
“Aoko-san, couldn't you do something about that? Time is kind of your domain isn’t it?” Shirou questioned.
Aoko beamed, “Well, as a matter of fact, it is! And I’d be happy to help… for a price,” She said.
“What do you want?”
“Just one afternoon of your time to myself, that’s all I’m asking.”
“Sounds like you're asking for a date, Aozaki-sama,” Rin said through gritted teeth with a jagged glass smile.
“Maybe… it could be that, or maybe I just want a guide around town since I might be staying for a while,” She replied innocently that was fooling no one.
Thinking fast, Shirou said, “Aoko-chan, if I not only showed you around town but also took you on a date, would you be willing to use your magic again?”
“Oh? Shirou-kun has a plan, does he? Hmm, I’m intrigued but also don’t want you to do this just because you want to use my magic,” She pouted, “A girl wants to feel special, ya know?”
“Right, sorry. I guess I shouldn’t have phrased it like that,”
Aoko flicked him on the forehead, “No, you shouldn’t have, but since you realized that and apologized like a man, I’ll be willing to accept your request, Shirou-kun.”
“Really? Thank you.”
‘He really is too easy to please, and tease, and it's not that hard to get him to change as a person, you just gotta point out his faults in a way that he comes to the realization he’s wrong. He’s a typical stubborn man. If you want them to change you’ve got to get them to admit they’re wrong first.’ Aoko thought to herself. ‘I can’t really blame these girls though first romances are… simple, usually messy, and rarely last. Knowledge like I have comes with experience. Fufufu.’ Aoko thought to herself. She didn’t hate any of the others far from it, it's just… she’s seen the possible ends Emiya Shirou could go down, be it eternally chasing Saber while she waited in Avalon, having a relationship with Rin that had her giving up her dreams so she could help him follow his own all because she made a promise to his potential future self, or he ends up a disembodied soul in one of her sister’s puppets, his strings being kept by one Matou Sakura…
Either way Aoko looked at it, Emiya Shirou was either denied his dream of heroism or another forsook their own dreams for his sake. What he had with these three was not relationships but a twisted form of codependency. Shirou needed to see Saber again, so he chased her down like a leal hound coming to its patiently waiting master. Rin, bound by a promise to one who was already forsaken, had given up everything to make sure he didn’t walk that same path… And Sakura, well she was the puppet master and him her puppet and guardian, as without her mana supply he could face rejection from the world and if the world tried to reject Sakura Matou, it would be met with a rain of blades.
In truth, Aoko saw a lot of herself in Shirou. Someone who was only good at one or two things but took what little he was good at to the extreme, he had Unlimited Blade Works, she had Magic Blue. Both were close quarters combatants who valued life highly, and would go to extremes to protect the lives of others… She saw in Shirou her other half. The only possible person she just might be able to fall in love with. So when she saw a chance, she ran at it full speed ahead.
Fixing the would-be Hero with a playful grin and a flirty wink, the Fifth Magician said, “It’s a date, Shirou-kun! I’m really, really, looking forward to it.”
Suddenly a beep came from the kitchen, “Ah, lunch is done! You’ll be staying won’t you, Caren-san, Bazett-san, Ciel-san?”
“We would love to partake of your generous hospitality. God Bless you, Shirou-san!” Caren said kindly, causing pain to flare through Shirou’s head.
“Good while I’m finishing getting lunch prepared, could you fix her up Aoko-chan?” Shirou requested.
‘He called me chan, ha!’ Aoko thought a bit smugly. “I can but I thought you might want to see my Magic in action, Shirou-kun?”
“I’ll have a second and much better chance to see it work later,” He called from the kitchen.
‘He’s planning something big,’ Aoko realized. ‘What’re you up to, Emiya Shirou?’ Aoko wondered only for all thoughts to flee her head when Shirou brought out lunch. If it tasted as good as it looked and smelled, it was going to be divine.
(...)
‘Yep, I was right, it was divine!’ Aoko thought to herself happily as she finished off the last bite of her yakitori, “My compliments to the chef,” the Fifth Magician said. “I’m genuinely surprised that Tohsaka-chan hasn’t already put a ring on it if it means she could eat this good everyday.”
“W-We’re only s-seventeen, Aozaki-sama!” Rin said turning into a pink faced sputtering mess at the mere implication of marriage.
“True, I suppose,” Aoko agreed after a moment, “A lot of things can happen between then and now by the time you're actually ready to settle down.”
Doing her level best to remain civil, Rin asked in her most frigid chipper tone, “Just what exactly are you implying, Aozaki-sama?”
Aoko let out a mirthless chuckle as she replied, “That, unfortunately, first loves, like that of highschool sweethearts, rarely become the only loves of one's life, Tohsaka-san. I’m speaking from experience here.”
“Boy, isn’t that the truth,” Taiga said morosely, agreeing wholeheartedly with the Sorcerer deciding discretion was the better part of valor, and not to voice the fact that she had been and was still carrying a torch to Illyasviels’ deceased father.
“Yeah, part of me wishes I could forget my first,” Aoko said with a grimace, ‘Of all the things to happen, I had to fall for a crossdressing girl.’
“Playboy?” Taiga asked, wincing in sympathy.
The redheaded sorceress nodded hesitantly, “Yeah, something like that,”
As she silently and slowly savored the last bite of chicken yakitori, Koneko couldn’t help but notice that the Tohsaka and the Matou girls had the same underlying scents. ‘They’re related… Sisters?’ She wondered before taking a couple of deep sniffs under the guise of stopping her admittedly runny nose, as it was considered rude to blow one’s nose at the dinner table and possibly send germs flying into the food. Sure enough, the smells that denoted the two girls as kinfolk were there, and subtle but strong. ‘I should let Buchou know.’ She decided, seeing an opportunity as Shirou began to clear the table, she cleared her throat and said, “Actually Shirou-tan, why don’t you let us clean up? You’ve already cooked for us, so we can at least do this in return.”
“You don’t need to do that Koneko-chan, besides you don’t even know where everything goes.” the red-haired Devil pointed out.
“We’ll figure it out,” Koneko insisted, “C’mon Buchou, Kiba, Akeno.” She said taking her prez by the hand and all but dragging her into the kitchen, leaving the other two to gather up the remaining dishes.
“What was all that about Koneko? You aren’t usually that talkative… or that pushy. Did you like Otouto’s cooking that much?”
“The fact that I want to eat his food every day, for every meal, for the rest of my life, is not the point right now, Buchou.” The nekomata deadpanned. Shaking her head, “No, those girls, Tohsaka and Matou, I think their names are? They’re related. My nose knows.” She said tapping her nose to her King's unasked question.
Rias frowned, biting her lower lip in thought, “And you don’t think Shirou knows?”
“With the way they’re acting around each other, I highly doubt it.” the white neko replied, glancing at the door when Kiba and Akeno came in carrying the plates from lunch.
“So, what’s going on?” Kiba asked conversationally while he got dish soap out from beneath the sink and filled one side with warm water and suds, he began washing before handing them to Akeno to dry and place on a nearby rack.
Koneko filled them in on what she learned as they finished cleaning while her innate catlike curiosity had her poking around in the cupboards.
“Are you going to tell your cute little Otouto at some point, Buchou?” Akeno asked as she placed the last of the dishes on the drying rack.
“I suppose I should…” Rias said distractedly before she glanced at her sister in all but blood, “Cute, Akeno? I’m warning you right now, if you try anything with Shirou, I will be upset with you.” Rias said, sending her queen a glare.
“Fufufu, I promise I wouldn’t do anything he wouldn’t like, Rias,” Akeno giggled.
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Rais huffed as she crossed her arms and looked away, “But back on topic, yes, I should probably bring this up at some… point? Koneko, where did you find that?” Rias asked as she saw her Rook had pulled out an expensive bottle of sake.
“Down here in the cupboard, there’s an entire turntable filled with all kinds of alcohol. Is Shirou-tan a heavy drinker?” Shirone asked worriedly.
“He didn’t seem like it,” Rias said as she bit her lower lip anxiously. Rias wasn’t adverse to a good glass of wine, far from it, but just giving the turntable a small spin showed her little brother had enough quality drink hidden down here to start his own bar should he choose to do so. ‘Just another thing I’ll have to talk to him about I suppose?’ Rias decided to herself as she nodded her head resolutely. She may not remember him, but he was still her cutely clueless little brother and she’d be blessed before she let him develop some bad habits!
“You're taking your big sister role very seriously!” Akeno said with a giggle behind her hand. “I wonder if Rias is recalling her old memories or is her innate protectiveness just coming to the fore?”
Shaking her head, the former heiress replied, “I still don’t remember a thing but when I look at Shirou… I get this feeling I can’t explain… I feel super protective of him, and I just wanna hug him and kinda go squee if that makes sense?”
“Fufufu, that sounds a lot like love if you ask me, Rias,” Akeno said with a knowing smirk.
“Akeno! That’s… I can’t feel that way about Shirou… he’s my brother!” Rias said with a flushed face. “I mean, we may be Devils and driven by sin but… even so, incest is still frowned upon.”
“Yes, but Shirou isn’t…” Akeno frowned, before turning to Koneko to back her up, “He’s not wholly a Devil anymore reincarnated or not. He’s something… else. Something considered both Holy and a natural part of the world, like a Youkai, right, Koneko?”
Glancing at her, Koneko replied, “Ah, you felt it too? Akeno-nee?”
“Ah, I thought I was just sensing things that weren’t there,” Kiba noted.
Looking between her second family questioningly, Rias asked, “What are you three talking about? What exactly is going on with my little brother?”
“It’s complicated Rias, he’s both holy,” Akeno began.
“Gives off the air of a Youkai,” Koneko continued.
Kiba finished, “And for some reason, Blade Blacksmith shudders when he’s near.”
“He could just have the Holy Element now, you know?” Rias reasoned.
“But that wouldn’t explain his Youkai scent, would it?” Koneko replied, shaking her head the white neko continued, “No, something else is going on. I think it has something to do with the way that man Emiya Kitritsugu saved him from the fire.”
“I’ll add it onto my list of questions to ask him… why didn’t you tell me this earlier?” She inquired of her servants.
“You weren’t exactly in the right headspace to hear anything about Shirou till a little while ago Rias,” Akeno said as gently as she could.
Sighing heavily, the Gremory princess conceded the point, “True, thank you everyone for thinking of me. That said, does anyone besides me think something is… off with that Matou Sakura girl?”
Akeno beamed, “Ah her, yes she’s very much in love with Shirou-san but clearly doesn’t have the nerve to tell him.”
“Yeah, it’s obvious,” The Nekoshou agreed, “I could smell the hormones coming off her like crazy, she’s down bad.” Koneko agreed. “But there was another scent, like the sickly sweet scent of mildew and earth coming from her too, that might have something to do with her magic.”
Rubbing her temples, Rias said, “Great, more mysteries,” Glaring at the kitchen floor as if it had answers that it refused to give her, she thought, ‘Well, I’m fairly certain that no one can be doing worse than I am at the moment right now at least.’
(...)
“Let me see if we have all of this straight, Lord Norwhich,” The Queen of the Clocktower Lorelei Barthomeloi asked as Lord El-Melloi II faced what could only be called an inquisition of the Clocktower. Not even an hour after he’d returned via Zelretch’s portal, a Grand Roll had been called and in front of the other eleven lords of the Clocktower, he was called to give a report. How they knew about his adventure to a parallel world was beyond him but he’d long since learned to never underestimate the resources of the Barthomeloi family. The Queen all but stared him down, while listing off the facts on her fingers on her mithril gauntlet covered hand, “You were pulled into a parallel world by the Wizard Marshall, where upon which one of the contestants of the Fifth Holy Grail Ritual, Emiya Shirou, the adoptive son of the Magus Killer, was somehow transported from his world of origin to ours at the end of the previous war was reunited with his birth family, and found out his origins as a Devil, an entity with a lifespan of ten millennia? What’s more, he possesses Mystic Codes that allow him to reincarnate others as one of his kind, Is that correct?”
The magi formerly known as Waver Velvet gave a curt nod, “That is correct, Lord Barthomeloi,”
“But what’s more, you were informed that the Greater Grail has been corrupted by the summoning of Avenger in the Third War due to the Einzbern’s foolishness and now is a monkey’s paw and will birth naught but All Evils of the World of Zoroastrianism?”
Again, Lord El-Melloi II nodded, “Yes Lord Barthomeloi, I was told as much by Emiya and The Second Owner, Tohsaka Rin herself. It was also confirmed by the fact that Grail was capable of summoning Anti-Hero Heroic Spirits like Medea of Colchis during the current War and Bluebeard from the previous one.”
It might have been a trick of the light but Lord El-Melloi II thought he saw the Queen of the Clocktower shiver ever so slightly at the mention of Bluebeard. Lord El-Melloi II didn’t blame her honestly. That was one servant he was glad died with extreme prejudice.
“And what would you have us do, Lord El-Melloi II? This is a sacred ritual that allows us a chance to access the root of Akasha. Is one town really worth the dream of all magi?”
“I concur with Lady Barthomeloi. If one town in the orient needs to be sacrificed for our needs, so be it. Our research and purpose comes first,” spoke up Karmaglyph Muluastea Deluc of the Neutral faction.
“Now, these artifacts of power you mentioned seem interesting enough. We could forget about that damned cup if it's cursed now. I, for one, believe we should take these artifacts from the young Emiya. They are not fruits of research nor are they being used appropriately in his hands. Do you know what we could do with a lifespan of ten millennia?” spoke up the head of the Democratic faction McDonell Trambelio Elrod.
Lord El-Melloi II sweated a little at the prospect of the Clocktower just up and taking what he understood was Shirou's birthright. He doesn’t know how his family might take to that and feared retribution might be swift and merciless, “ If I may interject. It seems that theDevils that Emiya is a member of value blood and purity as they are pureblooded Devils from what I understand and also rank their prestige on nobility as they are from one of the 72 pillars of the Ars Goetia. I am unsure if we would be able to use them unless a Devil chose to reincarnate you and then you would be the servant of that Devil.”
Lord El-Melloi II immediately felt immense pressure weighing him down as Lady Barthomeloi spoke, “We of the clocktower, especially the lords, would do no such thing. We rule and it is our right as the noble upper class to rule over others. I rule Lord El-Melloi II. I do not serve.”
“Of course not, Lord Barthomeloi, I would like to point out however, that harems are an accepted point of view in the devil world and Shirou Emiya just so happens to be an heir of one said prestigious group being the Gremory Clan of Devils. Also, if someone were to be reincarnated by Shirou, the Gremory see them more as family and since their numbers are low they would happily accept them into the family as a…. ahem as a wife. Harems are accepted and even encouraged, my lady.”
“Are you saying that any of our daughters that are deemed ‘eligible’ may have the chance to carry on the family legacy and gain a lifespan in the thousands to continue our magecraft?” spoke up Lord Trambelio. He had thirteen daughters so it wasn’t a bad idea in his mind to have one of them try to woo the Emiya boy. What was one girl's future for the family to last generations?
This got a muttering of the Lords and quite a few were interested in this new prospect of strengthening their hold on reaching akasha.
The elderly yet ever elegant Lady Inorai Valualeta Altrholm of the Department of Creation queried, “Lord El-Melloi II, are there any downsides to becoming a Devil? Are they as depraved as dead apostles? Or are they closer to humans in their relations? I understand they can bear children as you mentioned Emiya was a half-blood. My main question is what are the downsides? Because this sounds far too good to be true. Especially when everything comes at a cost.” She never regretted decisions she made but now she is slightly peeved she didn’t have an heir to sell to the Emiya boy.
“Surely we could just convince these …. ‘Devils’ to make a deal with us for some of those artifacts you mentioned. I don’t see why we have to go through a low class failure of a magus. After all, his adoptive father already cost my family my sister and now you expect me to come to this boy and play nice with him? Preposterous!” complained Bram Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri.
This got some mutterings from the other lords' proxies. Lord El-Melloi II didn’t know how to explain to these people the dangers but he should have known better as being a Magus is to walk a fine line of death.
“That would be ill-advised,” Lord El-Melloi II hastily told his fellow lords, “Emiya Shirou’s biological older brother is the de facto ruler of Hell and one of the four Satans holding the title of Lucifer, his father is a Duke, and what’s more, before his memory loss, Emiya Shirou had a very close relationship with another of the Satans, Serafall Leviathan who I was told could freeze entire continents should her anger be roused.”
“So we risk angering the superpowers of another dimension if we act hostile,” Lady Inori mused as she clicked her tongue.
“It would be very much so,” Lord El-Melloi II replied, “I advise caution and parlay to those who seek to take by force well… we’ll notify your next of kin and I certainly hope you have the affairs of your house in order prior to trying.”
Lord Barthomeloi gave a ghost of a smirk at the little jest she allowed Lord Norwich to make. If she understood anything it was what it was like and meant for the nobility to rule. Hearing Emiya Shirou’s roots came from nobility changed things. It gave him a… modicum of respect in her eyes. Not as much as the First Magician, but quite possibly enough for her to warrant her direct investigation into his person despite the fact he was an oriental. Her gaze swept amongst the others present and she could tell with a glance what they were thinking. ‘The others in the Noble Faction like myself are intrigued of course, the Neutrals look likely to kidnap the boy for his mystic codes, and the Democrats will probably try their best to seduce him.’
Clearing his throat, Lord El-Melloi II continued, “There are a couple more things I should mention,”
Sighing, Lady Inori asked, “What else could it be, Lord Norwich? Does he have a pet Magician on his side as well?”
The man coughed, “... Well I wouldn’t call the Magic Gunner his pet, but she’s certainly fond of the boy from what I’ve observed.”
Shaking her head, “Of course he does, is he friends with the Wizard Marshall as well?”
“The jury is still out on that one Lady Inorai, he seemed to enjoy the chaos he brought around at the very least.”
That got a smirk from Lady Barthomeloi who was happy the damned vampire was causing someone else problems instead of causing trouble in her clocktower.
“So his family is connected politically, is more powerful than the entire Clocktower by themselves, and he personally has befriended two of the Five Magicians? Is there anything else we need to know, Lord El-Melloi II?” Bram Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri ground out through gritted teeth.
“Well, since they are Devils, they are not above making contracts with magi like ourselves. Something we all should perhaps consider. Other than that final tidbit, I have nothing more to report.”
After a moment of silence, Lord Barthomeloi spoke, “You have certainly given us much to chew on, Lord Norwhich. We shall reconvene here in forty-eight hours and come to a final decision on what to do with the Grail and what you’ve told us about Emiya Shirou… I hope you all think long and hard about the facts presented here today. Till then, dismissed!” She banged her mailed fist onto the table signaling the end of the proceedings as well as any judge's gavel could.
As Waver was about to make his way out of the room, he paused for Lord Barthomeloi cleared her throat and said, “A moment, Lord El-Melloi II,”
Approaching her table he said, “Yes, Lady Barthomelloi?”
“About this Emiya Shirou… What can you tell me about him, as a person? What drives him, what are his goals? What kind of person is this spellcaster who has come into such astonishing power?”
‘I should feel bad about throwing an innocent boy under the bus… But his last name is Emiya, so… fuck it,’ Waver thought. “I wasn’t around him long, Lord Barthomeloi but while he upholds the secrecy of Magi, he also seems to want to use what little magecraft he knows to uphold a form of justice passed down to him by the Magus Killer.”
Crinkling her brow in confusion, Lorelei asked for confirmation, “Are you telling me he seeks to be some kind of hero?”
“From what I’ve gathered, yes Lord Barthomeloi.”
Lorelei closed her eyes and nodded a small smile forming on her face before she opened them again, “Yes, yes I believe I see, that will be all Lord Norwich.”
“Of course Lord Barthomeloi, should you have any further need of me, please just call.” Waver said before he hurriedly removed himself from the Queen of the Clocktower’s presence.
Said Queen was left alone thinking to herself, ‘Whether he knew it or not at the time, Emiya Shirou seeks to embody the ideals of Noblesse Oblige, a noble cause if ever there was one. Yes I am most intrigued. I think I will go see this young Duke for myself.’ She decided.
Little did she know, she wasn’t the only one to come to such a decision.
(...)
Lord El-Melloi II was walking out of the meeting room. He was greeted by Gray who fretted over her teacher’s well being and hopefully he wasn’t taken to task for his assignment.
He was surprised to find Hishiri Adashino also there. Of course, their history was sordid enough with how they differed in solving problems and enacting rules. Also Waver’s involvement with her sibling Doctor Heartless soured somewhat. She looked demure and calm in her kimono with a small smile on her face that made Lord El-Melloi II worried he was about to be struck like a vulnerable prey to a snake.
“Ms. Adashino. To what do I owe this pleasure?” asked Lord El-Melloi II.
“Nothing much. I just wanted to thank you.”
“Thank me? What could I have done recently that deserves your thanks?” questioned a bewildered Lord El-Melloi II.
“Why for helping manage the mess left in Fuyuki. Honestly, the amount of clean-up we had to put into making sure the locals never found out is a lot on the Department of Policies. I swear every single debacle involved with that cup only brings us more despair then rewards. The damned cup can’t even give us more time to allow an erasure of local minds and memories. Not to mention if the local family didn’t have an interest in keeping the facade, we would be screwed.”
“What, you mean the Tohsaka family? I mean, they are the second owner but they don’t help that much.”
The look of confusion on Hishiri’s face also threw Lord El-Melloi II for a loop. If she wasn’t talking about the Tohsaka then what family is managing the facade?
“Uhm no, Lord El-Melloi II. I am talking about the Fujimura clan. They have been our local information branch for the city of Fuyuki since its inception. In fact, one of their members gave us a report and spoke your praises.”
“Who?” was the question left in the air by the Lord as Gray puffed her cheeks a little at being ignored.
“One Fujimura Taiga. She spoke very kindly of you and mentioned how she was able to make your acquaintance in the last war.”
“I was nowhere near Fuyuki for the fifth grail war.” answered Lord El-Melloi II
Hishiri covered her mouth with a sleeve to hide a small smile, “No, Lord El-Melloi. I meant the fourth holy grail war. Honestly, that was a massive debacle with that serial killer and bluebeard stealing all those children. Not to mention the fire as well. There were quite a lot of memories and records to edit. I would have taken the Tohsaka family to task if the Fujimura clan didn’t come in and help clear some problems.”
Lord El-Melloi II was baffled at this information and remembered the young student he met on a cold night with Rider when they were lost in Fuyuki. He blushed a little and thought it might have been more than fate they met.
Oh if Lord El Melloi II knew how much that small encounter changed a young girl’s fate.
“Well I should probably thank her sometime. It wouldn’t hurt to meet with old friends. It seems I might be going back to Fuyuki soon. Right, Gray?”
Gray unpuffed her cheeks and blushed a little, “Well we have to go back for Mister Shirou and Lady Reines, after all.”
Lord El-Melloi II paused. Then the cigar in his mouth fell out and he looked at Gray in horror, “You mean Reines isn’t here?”
Gray stared at her master as if he’d grown as second head for a moment before she replied, “Uhm no. She was left sleeping in her bed at the Gremory residence,” This response caused even more terror to rise on Lord El-Melloi II’s face. Hishiri actually giggled and looped her arm through Lord El-Melloi II’s arm and gently pulled him along. It was very unlike her and Lord El-Melloi II was worried he may have wronged some god in the past.
“Come now, Milord. I feel you might want to go over the notes sent by Miss Taiga and you can run me through on what breaking down of the Grail will require to dismantle it. And you can tell me some of this interesting information you have as well.”
Lord El-Melloi II followed along with Gray trailing after him as his soul gently left his mouth. Oh how he bemoaned the agony Reines was going to cause him when she got back.
(...)
The major members of the Democratic Faction of the Clocktower had decided to meet after the suspension of the Grand Roll. Leading the faction was Lord McDonell Trambelio Elrod, Lord of the Clocktower and head of the Department of General Fundamentals. He looked like a towering blonde brute of a man whose muscles strained hard against the armani suits he was always seen in but underneath that, was a caring man who cared deeply for all of his daughters whether they were adopted or not.
The elderly Lady Inorai was also present, daintily sipping tea as she hummed along to a song she had playing on an i-pod of which she had an earphone in one ear.
Lastly was Luviagelita Edelfelt herself, the youngest clan head the Edelfelts had had in many generations, but, with the family's mercenary work it was more surprising it hadn’t happened sooner. Elrod who took a long draught from a cup of black coffee asked, “So Edelfelt, what can you tell us about the Emiya boy having met him in person?”
Smiling a bit to herself, Luvia told the Head of the Department of Fundamentals, “In all honesty Lord Trambelio, I think Shero is someone you would get along famously with.”
Elrods eyebrows shot up to his hairline in surprise, “Oh, you think so do you? And what makes you come to that conclusion, Lady Edelfelt?”
“He embodies your Department Lord Trambelio. He practices solely General Fundamental Magecraft. More than that though, Shero is earnest and hardworking, something I believe you appreciate,” Luvia noted of the man.
Trambelio grunted, this was true though he was loath to acknowledge it given the circumstances. Considering he’d spent many years scaring off potential suitors of all of his daughters it just wouldn’t do for him to suddenly approve of one. It would tarnish his image if he did so at this point. Especially if he did so without meeting the Emiya boy in person.
Taking a sip of her cup of Earl Grey, Luvia continued, “I should also let you know that I already threw my hat into the ring for Shero’s consideration. The thing about the Mystic Codes in question is Shero only has fifteen of them, and what Lord El-Melloi failed to mention is that each of them has different effects.”
“Oh, such as?” This got Lord Trambelio’s attention.
Luvia was quick to elaborate, “From how i understand it, Pawns can rank up into any other Piece when going into enemy territory, Knights gain inhuman speed in return for being a bit fragile, Rooks gain superhuman strength and endurance in return for being slower, Bishops gain enhanced magical capacity, and the Queen gains all the abilities of the Rook, Bishop, and Knight.”
“Obviously any magi would want the Bishop or the Queen piece,” Lady Inorai noted.
Luvia agreed wholeheartedly, “Clearly, Shero has already used one Rook Piece; the rest are still in play, or were before I left with Lord El-Melloi II on an emergency flight back to London.”
“Did Emiya promise you an Evil Piece upon your return to Fuyuki?” Lord Trambelio asked.
“He promised to at least consider it, which is more than he said for most outside of Lord El-Melloi II’s apprentice Gray. He promised to make her a Knight upon her return.”
“Hmm, I didn’t think the dear had it in her,” Lady Inorai mused, “She’s always been so mousey and quiet. Still good for her, getting out of her shell.” Turning to her fellow Lord she asked, “Are you seriously considering offering up one of your daughters?”
“Of course I am, a lifespan of ten millennia is nothing to scoff at… who to send though is the question.” Trembelio grumbled to himself. He loved all his daughters equally so picking one was near impossible for him.
“If I may be so bold as to make a suggestion Lord Trambelio?” Luvia said, “I think you should pick one of your non-adopted daughters, if only because if not to Shirou but the rest of his family, they might see it as an insult if you were to send one not of your natural blood. They are nobility in their own right after all.”
“True…” Trambelio sighed, “That does narrow the choice down some, thank you Edelfelt.”
Lady Inorai couldn’t help but ponder aloud, “Here we sit, making our own plans, but what of the other Factions? Who of the Aristocrats or the Neutrals do you think will also make a move?”
“Well if Lord El-Melloi II’s Gray counts for the Aristocrats, the Queen herself might, might be moved to act in person,” Elrod thought aloud after a moment of silent contemplation.
That caught the two women by surprise, “Do you really think the Queen herself would act in person, Lord Trambolio?” Luvia asked in a tone filled with both curiosity and fear.
Elrod nodded as he crossed his arms, “It's hard to tell if you haven’t known her as long as I have, but she was intrigued by the idea of those Evil Pieces. It was subtle but there if you knew what to look for. She probably thought it would make hunting vampires easier for her or something.”
Luvia shuddered at the thought of Lorelei Barthomeloi being even more powerful than she already was. God forbid she somehow talked Shero into giving her the Bishop Piece let alone the Queen Piece. Shaking away such thoughts lest they overwhelm her, Luvia asked, “And the Neutral Faction, Lord Trambelio? What of them?”
“I’ve no idea,” He said at last. “Deluc might stick his nose in just because he can, but I can’t think of a single person in the Neutral Faction they could send or rather if they would even care enough to try would be the better question,” He shook his head and continued, “No, the bigger question we should be worried about is, if this information somehow gets leaked to Atlas or the Wandering Sea. While the Wandering Sea only cares about magic from the Age of Gods, Atlas who seeks to guard humanity's future or so they say, would do much to get their hands on even one of those Evil Pieces. For one of their ilk to be able to predict humanity's future for the next ten millenia would be of great benefit to them.”
Hearing that, Luvia grimaced. She was worried about Shero, for she knew the magi of Atlas would do anything to protect the future even if it cost her her potentially future beau. ‘Be safe, Shero.’ She silently prayed.
(...)
Hitching her backpack even higher upon her shoulders, Sion Eltnam Sokaris prepared to leave the Atlas Institute, or as it was more commonly known to outsiders, the Titan’s Pit. All her calculations for the future had led her to this conclusion. If humanity were to survive, she must go out and attain the assistance of one Emiya Shirou. Through him and him alone could the most recent of humanities disasters be averted. He was a known unknown. A known variable, but of unknown quantity nor quality. Hence why she was going to meet him. She had to gauge him for herself and add what she learned into her calculations.
“Are you quite sure about this, my dear?” Zepia Eltnam Atlaisa asked his heir as she geared up for a long journey.
Locking her purple eyes with her adoptive father’s own crimson, Sion replied promptly, “Yes father, much like how all roads in the past led to Rome, all roads in the future lead to humanities destruction, all roads in the present lead to Emiya Shirou, but I won’t know in what manner until I meet him for myself.”
Sweeping blonde hair out of his face with one hand while he swept his remaining arm out in front of him with a grand gesture, Zepia said , “Very well then! Let the curtain rise on the first act of this grand play of yourself Sion, I look forward to the coming production with great interest.”
She smiled to hide her nervousness, Sion said, “I hope you won’t end up bored with the final result, father.”
“I’m sure I will,” He said as his adopted daughter approached the entrance to Atlas’ bounded fields. “Oh and Sion?” He said, getting her attention as the massive vault door that separated Atlas both physically and magically from the mundane world rolled back, “Don’t come back unless you're bringing my grandchildren for a visit.”
Her face turning crimson Sion sputtered out, “W-What?! F-Father?! Just what’re you saying?!”
“You heard me, now off you go,” He said all but shooing her out of Atlas’ main door.
“Ahem,” A polite voice said, causing Zepia and his daughter to glance behind them and see another of the Six Sources, Atlas equivalent of the Twelve Lords of the Clocktower of Atlas much like the Eltnam themselves, was Latio Crudelis Hiram, eldest daughter of the Crudelis bloodline.
“Big Sis!” Sion greeted Latio happily. Sion had taken to calling the young woman she had no relations to by that name simply because they looked so similar, both had messy hair they kept long and purple eyes. While Latio was taller and more elegant and refined, Sion was shorter but fuller figured than the woman who was three years her senior.
Latio smiled warmly, “Sion, I’m glad I caught you in time. That means we can travel to our shared destination together.”
“Shared Destination… So your dad wants you to try and get an Evil Piece too, huh?” Sion noted.
Latio nodded, “He does, if even one of us succeeds it will be a great boon for Atlas and humanity, no?” she stepped closer to her little sister figure as she continued, “So let's do our best, for Atlas, and humanity.”
“Yeah sure of course… but how much of that did you hear?” Sion asked, embarrassed.
A kind smile never leaving her face, Latio replied, “All of it,” making Sion slump in defeat, only for Latio to pat her on the shoulder and say, “But isn’t that the point? In Devil society, harems are not only accepted but encouraged. If the only price we must pay for safeguarding humanity for ten millennia is producing a single heir then it is a small price to pay, no?”
‘Latio-nee, I can’t bring myself to agree with your way of thinking,’ Sion thought to herself, ‘To see having a child as a transaction to be done without love… well, maybe that just means you're a better Altas Alchemist than I am.’ Sion thought to herself as she refused to divulge such thoughts. “Anyway, ready to go?”
Latio nodded, “Yes, let us head into the wild unknown of the Orient for the good of mankind.” the elder of the two Atlas Magi replied, taking the younger hand in hers, a briefcase in the other as the two took their first steps out of the Titan’s Pit that had been the only home they’d ever known, and into the world beyond.
(...)
Back in Fuyuki City, everyone was relaxing after a late lunch or some might consider it an early dinner courtesy of Shirou.
“My compliments to the Chef once again,” Caren said as she finished the final grains of rice in her bowl.
Shirou just smiled humbly, “You are too kind, Hortensia-san. It was just simple fare. I’m glad there was enough to go around for everyone.”
“I like it, so I’ve decided, I’m definitely gonna put a ring on it,” Serafall declared imperiously.
“Oi!” Rin said hotly, “Hello, girlfriend right here?” The Tohska Heiress said, pointing at herself.
Serafall just reached over and patted her on the head, “Now, now Rin-chan, don’t be like that! You can still have plenty of Shirou-kun… I’d just be known as the legal wife, that’s all.”
“I’m half tempted to use a Command Seal and have Saber use Excalibur on you,” Rin grumbled as she glared at the neo-Leviathan.
Placing a hand on her current Master’s shoulder, Saber said, “Patience Rin, don’t let her words get to you.”
“Umm, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask and excuse me if it's rude,” Shirou said, clearing his throat and looking at Sirzechs.
The Super Devil nodded and motioned for his little brother to speak, “Go ahead. To you I’m an open book.”
“Devils are basically encouraged to have harems right?”
“Yes,” Sirzechs nodded.
“So where is yours outside of Grayfia-nee, I mean?” Shirou politely inquired, “Or Serafall’s for that matter?”
Sirzechs gave a rueful chuckle. “Well, it's funny you should ask that. You see shortly after the civil war, a law was passed that said we Satans could have only one wife or husband. As if we had harems, we could form entire dynasties which is the opposite of what we fought the Devil Civil War for in the first place.”
“Oh, I see,” Shirou’s eyes flicked over to Serafall, “So Serafall-chan is…”
Looking away shyly while still glancing in his direction with her eyes, she replied, “Holding out for a hero, I guess you could say, hehe,” She then assured him. “But just because I can’t have a harem doesn’t mean you can’t, or that I’d be… adverse to adding people you’ve taken a shine to Shirou. But I reserve the right to vet them first.”
“Same here!” Ritsuka added. “I personally have no need for my Evil Pieces as I have no interest in the Rating games and am, for the most part, happily married. So should you find someone else that catches your eye once you’ve used all your Pieces up, just let me know, son.”
Sirzechs couldn’t help but comment, “Do either of you realize how unfair of an advantage you're giving him?”
“Who cares?” Both women replied at the same time before looking at each other and giving the other a thumbs up and accompanying wink.
Grayfia was quick to point out rather dryly, “The King of the Underworld, should he find out?”
“Well, it’ll just be an unprovable coincidence that the people we add to our peerage just so happen to be girls that like the same boy,” Serafall replied with a sly smirk on her face.
Ritsuka nodded along, “Yes and if the people I pick just so happen to be girls I approve of for my son, so much the better, no?”
“So ano, harems are encouraged in your home dimension, senpai?” Sakura asked nervously, her cheeks flushed and eyes fixed on the tabletop.
“Oh yeah, yes they are. Sakura, that must’ve come as a bit of a shock to you. Sorry about that,”
Sakura shook her head, causing her lilac locks to swing about, “No, no senpai, it's fine! It’s fine really…” Sakura said in a softer tone before suddenly looking straight up at him and continuing, “Senpai? Could I… could I… Could…” Sakura’s face became red as a tomato before she suddenly fainted.
Catching her before she hit the floor, Shirou sighed, “I didn’t think it would be that hard for her to ask to come with me.”
Taiga gave him a deadpan glare, “Seriously? The girl has been coming over to your house for an entire year after school! At this point ,she’s your common law wife and probably gets half your stuff if you die and she still can’t spit out the fact that she likes you! Not that you can get a clue either.”
“Fuji-nee, I’m not an idiot, I know full well Sakura likes me,” Shirou said as he picked her up in a bridal carry and took her to one of the guest rooms to recover, coming back after getting her situated, he continued, “I’m just not… it's just complicated is all.”
“Emiya-kun,” Rin sighed, she knew of course what the problem was. She’d seen Archer’s Dream Cycle. She knew full well that Emiya was a walking survivor complex mixed with a guilt complex, and a dash of PTSD for good measure. Emiya Shirou didn’t think he deserved to be happy. Emiya Shirou felt he existed only to bring happiness to others because he walked over the corpses of hundreds of people, men, women, and children during the Fuyuki Fire ten years ago just to, in his mind selfishly, prolong his own life. A life that was saved by Emiya Kiritsugu whose ideals he’d inherited and that he was still trying to live up to, whether it was possible or not be damned.
Rin didn’t express any of this. for now wasn’t the time nor the place. In private with his parents, brother, and sister perhaps, but not with these strangers especially those from the Church still present. Aoko seemed to already know through the machinations of Zelretch, the depths of Shirou’s distortion. Yet it was because of this very distorted mentality that he possessed which allowed him to match the likes of the King of Heroes. For without it, there was no Unlimited Blade Works, and thus no victory for them in the current Grail War.
“Right…” Taiga said in disbelief, “You know both she and I are coming with you when you leave, right?” She imperiously informed him like the yakuza princess she was, “I’m coming because I can’t leave you alone for five minutes without you getting into trouble, and Sakura is coming because I’m pretty sure you’d have to kill or physically restrain her to stop her, and without you, she’d turn into a vegetable.”
Once she stopped talking and he could get a word in edgewise, Shirou said, “I wouldn’t have it any other way, Fuji-nee,” Shirou then said, “I can’t speak for the rest of you but I think traversing all these parallel worlds has given me something akin to jet lag. I’m considering retiring early.” Looking at the Church Duo and the one-armed Enforcer he said, “Do you require a place to stay?”
“We have rooms in the Church, actually. But thank you for extending your hospitality even further. God bless you.” Caren said earnestly.
Ignoring the pain that lanced through his head, Shirou said, “It’s no problem Hortensia-san, one question before I see you back to the church though?”
“Oh, going to walk me home? My my what a gentleman.” Caren smirked bemused.
“It’s the least I can do,” Shirou said before saying, “Since you're here, will you be taking over Kirei duties of um… covering up the mess of the Grail War?”
“We’ve got that handled, don't worry, Shirou,” Taiga assured him before she gave Caren a sideways look and inquired, “Provided lil’ miss Caren has been authorized to reach into the Church coffers and pay us like usual, that is?”
“Of course Fujimura-san, the Lord always rewards those who act in good faith after all, even if they are a bunch of no good gangsters,” She finished with her ever serene smile.
The Tiger of Fuyuki gave a low growl, “Cheeky brat, don’t forget who’s been here long before you,”
Caren nodded in agreement, “Of course, one should always respect their… elders.”
Squinting her eyes dangerously, Taiga said, “Watch it half pint, I can and will clobber you if you keep mouthing off, so go ahead, show me the other cheek so I can tan your ass with my torashinai.”
“That’s not what that means, Fujimura-sensei,” Rin deadpanned before turning to Caren and saying, “Stop antagonizing the Yakuza princess! Do you want her to start cutting your fingers off?!”
Taiga scoffed, “Pff, I’d do everyone a favor and just go straight for her tongue.”
Stepping hard on her fellow nun’s foot, Ciel said sharply, “Caren, for all our sakes, shut up,” Ciel hissed, “I’m sorry about Caren, she gets like that sometimes,” Glancing at Shirou, she said, “I would like to speak to you about the workings of those Evil Pieces of yours at a later date Emiya-san… they may be able to help me with a… longstanding problem I’ve been having trouble with.”
“Of course Ciel-san, shall we get going then?” Shirou asked as he got up from the table.
Saber got up as well, “I shall be going with you as well, Shirou.”
“What, don’t trust me?” Ciel asked with a smirk.
All but glaring the Executor down, the Servant of the Sword replied, “Considering just an hour or two ago you were just trying to kill Shirou, no, no I do not,” glancing at Taiga and Rin Saber continued, “Rin, Fujimura-san, you know where the bedding is, please endeavor to make the others comfortable while we are gone. Shirou and I shall return shortly. Come Shirou, let us be off.”
After they’d left, Taiga turned to the school idol and asked, “Is Saber always like that?”
Rin just rolled her aquamarine eyes, “Only when it concerns Shirou’s safety, because if he’s hurt he can’t cook, something I think you’d find equally tragic, sensei.”
“Cram it and help me get the extra futons out, Tohsaka,” Taiga half growled, “I hope you all don’t mind sleeping in the Dojo, it's the only place that has enough room for you all.”
“That will be perfectly acceptable, thank you Fujimura-sensei, if you tell me where the extra futons are, I’d be more than happy to help set them up,” Grayfia offered.
Taiga waved her off, “We got it, you're the guests after all, maid cosplayer or not. C’mon Tohsaka,”
“Aren’t I also a guest, sensei?” Rin grumbled but moved to help anyway.
“No, you’re Shirou’s girlfriend. That means you gotta help the same as me, now c’mon!” Taiga said, dragging the Second Owner from the room.
“Shirou-aniki has some very funny friends,” Millicas laughed to himself as he finished off his tea, causing the adults to chuckle and agree with the young boy. Life with Emiya Shirou was sure to be anything but boring.
(...)
Word Count: 10,746 Number of Pages: 23 Date Completed: 10/19/2024
(...)
AN: Du nanana! Another chapter bites the dust! Yeah boy Chapter six of Prodigal Son Done and Dusted! I love it! And I hope ya’ll love it too! Lots of world building or something like it happened in this chapter, and even more will happen in the next one, but I’m gonna hand the reins over to my co-authors before I spoil everything. Take it away fellas!
Snowy:
Antagonist:
Loamy Coffee: Ah the politics of Magi. Valid reason for being willingly dense. If you can’t find worth in yourself, find someone who sees something about yourself that you don’t.
First Hassan:
Thanks again for reading! This has been an Inkblot Bros production! Peace!