I do not own Fate/Stay Night nor any other Servants depicted here.

Epilogue

The closet rustled with the sound of scraping cardboard and paper. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as Sakura finally organized it to her liking.

"Mhmm, that's the last of the clothes," she muttered as she slid the door closed. Pausing to look down in the box that she removed to make space, she blinked. A familiar blue bound book. It was a plain looking thing with a bit of gold trim around the edges. Her confidant during her earlier years, where she spoke of her loneliness... and then of her joy when she finally worked up the courage to go to the Emiya house. She smiled lightly as she bent down to pick it up

"It seems I found an old friend," she said as she opened it, flipping through the pages, "Maybe... I guess I should. This is quite momentous, after all."

Returning to rummage around in the box, it didn't take long for her to retrieve a pen from the stationary set she packed away with the book. Seating herself on the floor and the open book on her lap, she began.

Dear diary,

It has been a couple of years since I last confided in you. The last time I did, I was... well... I guess there are some things I can't put to paper. Still, something nice did come out of it. It took me another year to have the courage to do it, but I finally gave Shirou my letter! Yes, I could only give it to him after graduation, but at least I did it!

Shirou opened the locker and exchanged his indoor hoes for his outdoor ones. As he closed the door, he noticed Sakura out of the corner of his eye.

"Hmm, Sakura?" he muttered in surprise.

"Umm, umm, S-s-senpai, I-I-I have..." she stammered, her cheeks growing rosier by the minute. Suddenly, she grabbed his hand, shoved something in it and ran off.

He blinked a moment, stunned by what just happened. Slowly, he looked down at his hand. A white envelope with a heart-shaped seal. He blinked again, unable to comprehend what had been handed to him.

"Did she just... Is this..." he wondered as he looked up to the entrance of the building, to where she had run off to.

"What do I say?"

I was so nervous. When I reached his house later that day, I heard a weird commotion going on in the living room. Then, the most embarrassing thing happened on that same day. Sensei... arrived earlier since I excused myself away to shop for dinner. She was pushing Shirou away while trying to... read my letter. That was... beyond embarrassing... and I rather not put it here... Sorry...

After that, Rin was accepted into an overseas institute of higher learning in England. Somehow, she was able to drag Shirou along with her. As much I didn't like it, she had a point in that he needed to learn about his limits and going all the way there for testing was the best way to do it. At least, she promised to make sure he called me ever so often... not too often as to save costs. Still, the wait was worth it. Distance makes the heart grow fonder, after all.

Fuyuki also received a new representative from the Church. Rin told me to at least try to maintain a cordial relationship with her since I was to... be her replacement. The new priestess was... strange.

The chime of the doorbell rang through the house.

"Please wait!" called out Sakura as she hurried down the hall. Quickly undoing the lock, she opened the door to find a girl with light grey hair and golden eyes. She wore what reminded her of a nun's habit and a pair of black boots. She also noticed bandages peeking out from under her sleeves.

She must have stared a bit too long as the girl said, "I suppose this is how you treat all guests? Or is it just the Church representative? Or maybe that's just your arrogance of being the Second Owner."

All that stung her to no end. It also caused her to gape a little at the brazen attitude the girl gave out.

"Umm, ah..."

"Was I too harsh? Forgive me, O Lord, for my hasty judgment," the priestess declared as she bowed her head with her hands clasped in prayer.

"Umm, it's fine... please, I apologize for being too slow to greet you," she hurriedly said, feeling a little guilt from the girl's behavior, "The current Second Owner is in England. I am just..."

"A substitute. I understand. I was already briefed on this beforehand," the girl assured her as they met eye to eye, "There is no need to be flustered. I am merely here to politely introduce myself."

"Ah, thank you then. I do hope your stay in Fuyuki is a pleasant one," Sakura said with a smile.

She nodded and turned to leave. Reaching the outer gate, she stopped and asked aloud, "Did he suffer?"

"Eh?"

The Church representative turned around and clarified, "Kirei Kotomine. Did he suffer in death?"

She blinked in surprise, not expecting this level of curiosity. "Umm, it was assumed that he died quickly," she replied hesitantly.

The girl nodded and said before moving on, "I see. Carry on then."

Yeah, she was quite weird.

While Shirou was in England, I busied myself with my studies. After graduating, I was a little lost as what to do. One day, after Fujimura-sensei commented again on how good my food was, I had an idea to run on. I offered to help out in the school kitchen. It was easy since I did have Fujimura-sensei's recommendation and I did enjoy my experience there, helping the kitchen staff prepare lunch for the students. It wasn't the same, though, as cooking for Shirou.

Later that year, Shirou suddenly came back! He received an invitation to join the institute but he turned it down, feeling he couldn't become a hero of justice if he was tied to them. I was so happy to see him... and yet a bit sad. He wasn't able to find out what he needed at that place, even though he did learn a few things there. On the other side, he was able to get in contact with another acquaintance of Rin, a certain Irish woman who is often involved in dangerous things.

"Senpai, what is this?"

Shirou looked up from the paper, away from the job listings, and found Sakura holding up a card he got from Bazett. "Oh, I got that from McRemitz. I was thinking of joining her on her missions, should she have any," he explained as he turned back to the papers.

He heard her sigh and then the rustling of her dress as she sat down next to him. "Enforcer missions are dangerous," he heard her say, "Are you sure about this?"

He stopped looking and put down the paper. "I... think so," he said as he turned to her, "At my current state, I doubt I can call myself a hero. I need to improve and get stronger. I'm hoping that by learning from Bazett and the other Enforcers with her, I can do that."

"...Can you promise me... to come back alive?" she asked him after a moment. He could see the hope in her eyes.

He fell silent. He wasn't sure. From what the Irishwoman told him, even the easiest missions have the chance of turning dangerous. Still...

"Yes, I promise, Sakura," he replied with a gentle smile.

She replied with her own and stated, "In that case, I want to join you when you go."

He blinked in surprise.

"...Eh?"

You should have seen his face when I said I wanted to follow him! It was so funny! Though honestly, I would probably have the same look if he said something as absurd as that. Yes, I really did say that. One, I needed him to remember that promise. I don't think any of us... those who survived that ordeal... want to see him turn out like that man. Especially me. Two, negotiate time with him. That is, to only go on these dangerous things when Rin was back in Fuyuki. Then, I can follow him. So far, it has worked. I also helped out. Who knew my shadowy quietness made me a good observer.

Although, on the other hand, this meant he had to fill his time up with a more visible job. Since he had a lot of experience being the Homurahara 'brownie', I suggested being a handyman. Not only could he help people, but he could also practice his more... 'special' skills on the side. It is a win-win...

"Sakura?"

She blinked in surprise and then looked up into his golden brown orbs. Shirou was looking in, his hand on the open door. His usual smile was absent as he held up an open large brown envelope.

"From Bazett," were the two words he said.

She nodded slowly and said, "Alright. I'll put these away first, Senpai."

The darkened room was only lit up by a desk lamp. The red curtains made it look as if the light was tinted red. An ancient looking man sat on his comfortable leather swivel chair, steepling his fingers in silent contemplation. A knock on the door soon roused him from his thoughts.

"Enter."

The door opened and two girls entered. One clad in blue, regal looking clothes and the other in a simple red blouse and black skirt with a matching pair of stockings. They seemed quite nervous as the wizened old magus was quite infamous for taking in apprentices and pretty much crushing their spirits, leaving them as total wrecks.

"If you would please have a seat."

The unexpected politeness was unnerving them, but they did as was told without a work. When nothing actually happened to them upon seating, they allowed themselves to relax just a little. Although, another knock on the door made them quite jumpy.

"Enter."

Into the room stepped a man with long loose hair. He wore a red coat with golden ornamentations on its shoulders. He was calm in appearance, but it instantly soured once he caught sight of the old magus.

"So, you're back. What brings you to the Clock Tower this time, Wizard Marshall?" asked Waver.

"Hello to you too, Professor," said Zelretch as he sat up straighter, "I called you and these two here for some storytelling."

"Excuse me?" the younger man questioned with a frown, "You would call us away from our classes just for this?"

"Yes, please. Have a seat," the Kaleidoscope gestured to yet another chair. After the Lord seated himself he continued, "Yes, storytelling. More specifically, about the Wars the three of you have been through. I felt something odd has happened in Japan, so I decided to drop by unannounced in Fuyuki a month ago."

Carefully noting everyone's interest, the Magician stated, "I have traveled to many worlds and timelines, and the particular energy I felt around Fuyuki... I have only encountered it once. I went through that place in passing, but that malevolent feeling stood out. Never had I ever felt such a thing in my later travels... And such a thing should not have been present during your Grail Wars. So, I want you to tell me what happened... exactly what happened... during the Fourth and Fifth Wars. Everything. Spare no detail. Am I understood?"

Sakura poured through the letter. Date. Time. Even coming personally to fetch them. The usual. Of course, the letter arrived a few days before Rin was supposed to return for the holidays. Very timely. She was not looking forward to the day when Rin finished her education at the Clock Tower. Shirou would definitely want to increase his participation.

"Have you replied yet?" she asked as she looked to him.

He shook his head and replied, "No. I thought you wanted to look through it first."

"This should be fine to do," she muttered as she looked over it again, "It sounds easy enough."

"From what I read, it should be," he stated as he crossed his arms with a confident look, "Not all missions involve fighting. She did say she would put off the more dangerous ones for now."

"I know... " she trailed off as she gazed out of the door into the courtyard.

"Sakura, don't worry," he assured her, "We should be able to finish this and still have enough time to make it back to spend some time with Tohsaka."

"I don't want to lose anyone else," she muttered aloud, not hearing his reply, "I don't want to lose you."

This stunned Shirou a little. Slowly, his arm reached out to her and touched her hand. This brought her out of her haunting inattention. "We should prepare for dinner. If we leave now, we can still reach the shops."

Then, he got up and offered his hand to her with a smile. The shocked look on her face evaporated and was replaced with a rosy complexion as she accepted his hand and got to her feet. She replied with a smile of her own as they left the room together, hand in hand.

Commentary:-

Well... here's the Epilogue. Mostly from Sakura's point of view, with several cameos sprinkled in between. No doubt, you will be able to guess who they are, readers. And thus, here ends the Fifth Grail War. Luvia returning to the Clock Tower. Rin following a year later, with Shirou in tow. Then, he came back to Fuyuki 'unexpectedly', where Sakura was waiting for him. And now he is busy settling in with a new routine, still spending all the time in the world to help people.

Thank you for joining me on this journey. Writing this has been awesome, with many an up and down. Not sure if I'm going to delve into another from the Fate series, but I'm already looking into other stuff. A particular crossover popped into my mind and I feel like pursuing it.

...

Hmm, I feel like I'm forgetting something... oh yeah...

The cavernous room was bathed in a reddish-purple light, colored so by nine large braziers scattered around its nine-sided interior. Suddenly, motes of light began gathering upon itself in the center of the room, slowly building up to be an open book. An eight-pointed star appeared above it and out swirled the fake Shinji. As he stepped off the book, his body and visage began morphing...twisting into something new. His limbs became more gangly, his belly more pronounced, his head enlarged and his skin became rosier. He grew a wider jaw, his teeth becoming more numerous and eyes enlarged, becoming wholly yellow in color. Behind him, the book began spitting out black mud, the viscous liquid running over until Avenger, Angra Mainyu itself was expelled from its depths. It looked around, confused by the different scenery, before eventually looking to where it was noisiest. It froze as it gazed upward.

A great gigantic being was floating near one of the walls. Great horns rose up from the top, its ends sparking with mystical fires. Its skin was covered in numerous faces, all of them speaking at the same time. The din of whispers sent a disturbing chill down Angra Mainyu's body, slowly becoming unbearable. As the cacophony rose, Avenger fell to its knees and gripped its head in agony, desperately wanting the voices to stop. Before it cried out in pain, however, a voice spoke above all the others.

"So... you are here, Angra Mainyu. Welcome to my domain."

The voices no longer directed at it, the former Servant rose to its feet, finally able to place a most unsettling face to Sindri's mysterious benefactor.

"Why am I here, Lord of Change?" it asked warily with a furious tone, "Why did you take me away? Why did your pawn snatch away my victory?"

With a rather malicious smile, the Architect of Fate replied with a sneer, "That requires a story. You are familiar with long stories. You seem to like telling them."

Without waiting for a reply, the Great Conspirator explained, "I had no inkling how that human intruded, though it was but a fraction of a second. I was aware of him and him aware of me. This drew my curiosity as his origin was not of this universe. So, I sent a lesser being to follow his trail, eventually leading to Terra. Of all places, Terra. In ancient times, no less, where its space travel was still in its infancy and the Warp an unknown quantity. Not a single alien race in that system. It was... interesting. Even more intriguing were the will of the planets and will of humanity. Ever conflicting. Ever clashing. Ever in chaos. Eternally in a state of change. How could I not want to maintain such a state?"

With a bony, withered finger, the Changer of Ways pointed at it and continued, "Yet, you wish to destroy humanity. To destroy such a pleasing state. How can I not want to remove you from it? I know full well that eventually, you will be defeated, but why not do it personally?" And then, the cacophony of voices was once more directed at it, "Why else would I send my pawn to you? Why else would I offer you power?" And then, as the singular voice reigned over all, "Sindri once told the participants of your paltry War that 'Change requires sacrifice'. And now, to keep the constant flux of change, I, require yours."

Sensing something suddenly becoming amiss, Angra Mainyu lashed out with a whip of black mud but... it splashed against some barrier right in front of it. It reached out and to its horror, it was encased within an invisible container. It threw itself with all its might and resorted to bashing against the barrier with great roars, but to no avail. Its singular thought was to break out, unaware that all sound coming from the Chaos God had ceased to reach him.

"What do you say, Angra Mainyu?" asked the Weaver of Destiny with a vindictive smile, "But of course, you can't hear me now, can you?"

With a wave of a hand, the plate floated up to his face in the center of his chest, "Perhaps, a more pleasing vessel for you."

With another wave, the plate changed into a bowl. Then, to a cup. And then, to a goblet. Finally, it became chalice. Looking remarkably similar to the Grail.

With a great laugh, "Much more familiar for you, is it not, Angra Mainyu? This time, instead of decades, you will remain in it... forever."

A flick of his wrist later, he tossed it away, flung far into the depths of the Immaterium to where only he knows. Shifting his attention to the fake Shinji, it said, "Well done. You have served me well. I shall name you Arrhabonem, for you will use and be used. As your usefulness grows, so shall you. Now leave. Be grateful that you have a chance of gazing upon me for once in your life in the Immaterium."

"Yes, my Lord!" it screeched as it fell to its knees and groveled before disappearing in a burst of hellfire.

As he settled back into his levitating pose, the numerous faces on his body once again going back to their business, the main face grinned and muttered, "Once more, it comes just as planned."