Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Different Fates

Prologue

It was late at night, or rather early in the morning some hours before the rising of the Sun. And yet Tokiomi Tohsaka continued to burn the midnight oil in his Workshop, penning a letter to his associates in the London Clock Tower.

The past several months had been rather…unusual.

Just a few months ago Sakura – normally so quiet – had surprisingly walked up to him and had asked to be thought magecraft. Naturally he had refused, explaining to her the traditions of magi, and that only one per generation could be taught magecraft. The expression of sad disappointment on her face had hurt though…

…and he'd been proud and dismayed in equal measure as a result. Proud, because it showed that she truly had desired to learn the Art, and dismayed, because he had never wanted to hurt his daughter so.

But that was the way of things.

He should have known better.

Sakura had persisted. She'd gone to her older sister, Rin, next, and had asked her to teach her (Sakura) magic. Rin had refused, again citing magus tradition, and later informed their father.

Tokiomi had laughed at the time, and had gently told Rin off for telling on Sakura and that Sakura seeking to become a magus was only natural considering her home environment. He then spoke to Sakura again, explaining to her in greater detail why the tradition existed.

But again…Sakura had persisted. While he had been instructing Rin in the family tradition of martial arts, Sakura had snuck into the Workshop to try and obtain a tome on magecraft. She'd failed of course, given the protections on the books, and if not for her Tohsaka blood would have been destroyed by the wards.

But she had not been alone in the Workshop.

Tokiomi's own apprentice, Kirei Kotomine had arrived immediately afterwards to return a borrowed tome, and had healed Sakura's injuries. Questioning her presence, Sakura's reasoning had prevailed upon Kirei to provide her with a book on basic magecraft, and had even given her advice not to even attempt any form of elemental magecraft considering her lack of affinity for any of the Five Elements, and to focus on basic, non-elemental thaumaturgy and on what little reference there was in the book about the Imaginary Numbers.

Tokiomi himself would not learn of the matter – Kirei having stayed silent with no reason to cover for Sakura but also no reason to expose her – until a month later, when a worried Aoi had shown her husband the book and Sakura's own notes, found beside their sleeping daughter in her room. Aoi had then asked Tokiomi not to punish Sakura too harshly for stepping beyond her bounds.

He had no intent of doing so of course, though he had planned on speaking to her yet again for her persistence. But after a night spent poring over her notes, most of which were childishly erroneous save for a single, key concept, he decided that while he would not give her formal training and instruction, he would not oppose her studying on her own.

He did speak to her and to Kirei the following day though.

"Sakura…" Tokiomi began. "…Kirei-kun…"

The three of them were in the Workshop, Kirei his usual stoic and impassive self while Sakura fidgeted uncomfortably, even more so after Tokiomi raised the book and a neatly-folded set of notes with it. "You know what these are, are they not?" he asked.

Sakura looked down. "I'm sorry." she said softly.

"I'm not angry Sakura." Tokiomi said gently, and smiled at her when she timidly raised her head to look at him. "I must say that your persistence to learn the Art, while very rebellious is in its own way commendable and even admirable. With that said…"

Tokiomi paused and glanced at his apprentice. "She could not have obtained this material…" he continued. "…without your assistance, Kirei-kun."

Kirei briefly closed his eyes. "According to Miss Sakura…" he said in his deep voice. "…while she is not be taught, you did not say that she could not study magecraft on her own."

Tokiomi raised an eyebrow and looked at Sakura who blushed. "Is this true?" he asked.

"Yes…" she said. "…you and sister said that only one magus would be taught, but you never said I couldn't study and become a magus on my own."

Tokiomi blinked and laughed, and rising stepped forward to pat her on the head. He knelt down before her, and gently took her face in his hands. He smiled at her, and she smiled back. "I'm proud of you." he said. "You reason like a magus, and have the spirit to be one. As you say, you will not be taught. That is what tradition demands. But there is no reason for you not to study on your own, and I was wrong not to let you do so."

Tokiomi returned the book to her, and she blinked, seeing for the first time that it was a different book than the one she or rather Kirei had borrowed for her. Her notes had been returned too, and Tokiomi looked on silently as Sakura's face fell as she saw her father having crossed out most of her insights.

All but one important line: if you can't study something, then just study what's around it.

She looked up at him with a smile, and he patted her again on the head. "Do your best, Sakura." He said.

"Yes! Thank you very much!"

Things had progressed contrary to what he'd originally expected, but it wasn't something to be dismayed over. In fact, he was proud to have two daughters both of whom sought to be the best they could be, and were prodigies equal to one another. Rin would carry on the legacy of the Tohsaka and carry it to new heights, while Sakura would begin a new bloodline of her own, and direct it to a glorious beginning.

At least, that was what he had thought.

Only a month after the course of the family had been changed, their old ally Zouken Matou had visited, and after explaining the less-than-stellar future of his family, had asked to be allowed to adopt one of Tokiomi's daughters to be the next Matou heiress. It wasn't an unreasonable request, and in fact within magus society it wasn't unusual for families to trade children in arranged marriages and adoptions for mutual benefit.

The question was who would he surrender?

Normally his first answer would have been Sakura, as Rin being the elder was entitled to be the Tohsaka heiress. And again to his surprise, Kirei had spoken up in Sakura's favor.

Kirei had argued that sending Sakura would put her at a disadvantage, considering that the Matou mysteries were based on the water element, and Sakura lacked an affinity for said element. And while her proven talent might allow her to overcome such a hurdle, this would cost the Tohsaka the opportunity to advance their mysteries by incorporating Sakura's rare Imaginary Numbers, and give it to the Matou instead.

Allies Tohsaka and Matou might be, but that didn't mean that either family would not seek to be more equal than the other.

On the other hand inverting the succession offered equal opportunity for both sides. Rin's status as an Average One meant that she could master the Matou mysteries with greater ease than Sakura would, and would also give Matou an opportunity to expand their mysteries to other elements. Sakura as the Tohsaka heiress however would mean that Tohsaka would add the Imaginary Numbers to their mysteries, and as a Tohsaka bloodline-member herself, she would have no difficulty assimilating the mysteries to be taught to her.

Rin as the Tohsaka heiress would be negative gain for Tohsaka and positive gain for Matou in the long-term.

Sakura as the Tohsaka heiress would be zero-sum for both sides of the equation.

The choice was clear.

It wasn't easy though, Aoi crying at the idea of losing one of her daughters – especially since Zouken had insisted on no contact beyond formal occasions – while both Rin and Sakura had expressed open dismay at being separated from each other. Rin especially, considering she'd become used to the idea of being the Tohsaka heiress.

Sakura had surprisingly offered to be the one given away, and sadly reasoning that she didn't want to steal her sister's inheritance.

Even more surprising was Rin dropping all objections after that, saying that she wanted to set a good example for Sakura by not going against their father's decision. It was a backhanded slap against Sakura, Tokiomi knew, by Rin going along with his decision in response to Sakura's rewarded rebellion of studying magecraft on her own.

Sakura had protested, but Rin had silenced her sister, challenging Sakura instead to catch up with her when the time came.

Months had passed since then, and Sakura had formally begun her training in the Tohsaka mysteries. As expected there had been no contact from Rin much to Sakura and Aoi's distress, although Tokiomi through his familiars had once checked upon her. His eldest had apparently grown stoic and withdrawn, apparently still acclimating to her new environment.

More worrying for Tokiomi were the changes in Rin's eye and hair color, probably due to alchemical modifications to help her assimilate the Matou mysteries. Tokiomi stopped writing his letter at the thought, knowing that such modifications never came easy, and he ground his teeth as he set aside his personal thoughts on the matter.

The path of the magus was not an easy one.

Rin was strong.

He had faith in her to make her sacrifice worth something.

She would overcome the difficulties presented before her, and become a great magus.

Sighing, Tokiomi concluded and proof-read his correspondence before placing it in an envelope. Closing the envelope, he slit a finger and let a few drops of blood mix with the melted wax he would seal the envelope with. As he pressed the seal onto the wax and blood, prana briefly flickered into visibility as the mystic code secured the correspondence.

If opened by one not meant to read it, the letter would destroy itself.

Tokiomi knew that he was taking a risk with his newest decision.

Normally magi would not go to the Clock Tower until their primary education had been finished, but in Sakura's case considering the limited experience the Tohsaka had with the Imaginary Numbers it might be better if she went to the Clock Tower early on. Especially since Tokiomi knew that his chances of getting past the Fourth Holy Grail War were slim.

If he won, then he would either disappear into the Root or be killed along the way by a Counter-Guardian.

If he lost, then he might survive, if he could reach Kotomine Church before an enemy cut him down.

If he died though, then Sakura's magical education would take a hit. Aoi had had no formal training, and Sakura's own special circumstances made even Kirei unsuitable for a magical tutor. As such, in case he did not survive the war, Tokiomi made arrangements for Sakura and his wife to go to London to finish her training.

This left the matter of the position and responsibilities of the Supervisor of Fuyuki City in question…

…for which reason he would have to meet with Zouken Matou on neutral territory – probably Kotomine Church – to negotiate a temporary transfer of the Supervisor's authority until Sakura could return.

Arrangements would also have to be made just in case for the family fortune to be safeguarded. Sakura was intelligent, but she was still a child and Aoi doting on her more than ever with Rin's loss – and even more so if he died – meant that she might not be able to keep Sakura in check once she became an adolescent. Kirei could be useful in that regard…

…but if his family went to London it would not be wise or politic to advertise an alliance of sorts with the Church. As dangerous as placing it in control of a doting mother would be, he probably had no other choice. Sighing, Tokiomi rose and secured the letter. Tomorrow he would have it sent on express mail to London to finalize his family's arrangements in case the worst happened.


Little did he know that in month he would be dead, stabbed in the back, his wife confined to a mental hospital and would die in another year, his eldest would be brutally and cruelly implanted with parasitic familiars fused with the remains of the Lesser Grail, and his youngest would be going to London alone.

In a room in the Clock Tower, an old man with crimson eyes reviewed the letter sent by Tokiomi well over a year ago. The man – if he could still be called a man – found himself wondering about this turn of events, so rare it was in the infinite realms of the Kaleidoscope.

He inwardly resolved to keep an eye on things, and smiled at the thought that if things went right, he might want to introduce Sakura Tohsaka with his current – or one of them at any rate – apprentice, Rin Tohsaka. The drama might prove amusing, and he could use a laugh.

For now, he decided to just observe. But with Sakura only being in the Clock Tower for a few months but had recently received an invitation from Princess Louise Francoise von Preussen, it seemed that things were becoming even more interesting.

So much so in fact, that Kilua Zelretch Schweinorg decided against using the Second Magic to peer into the future, so as to savor the unfolding events the better.


A/N

Don't hope for quick updates on this one, as I'm primarily focused on Forward Unto Dawn.