Fate/stay Night
"Ring of Fire"
By Snarky Miracles

I saw hell.

I saw hell.

I saw hell.

Everywhere I looked. I saw hell.

It was just like before. Everything was burning.

Everyone was dead or dying, and there wasn't anything I could do about it. The searing heat was melting my hair. My eyebrows were mostly gone, my clothes were ruined.

But I still kept going.

There had to be someone alive somewhere in this hell.

If I could survive something like this, there had to at least one person here who could as well.

My eyes were watering from the heat, my eyes burned with the tears, sweat, and smoke but I still pressed on. If I could at least save one person, just one person…

But there was no one.

There was nothing here but death.

I could hear my wife's voice screaming for me.

Screaming to get away before something bad happened to me too.

But I couldn't give up.

That just wasn't in me.

No matter how much it hurt, no matter how afraid I was, or how hot it was, I kept searching.

But there was still nothing.

Nobody was alive here.

There was nothing here but death.

I felt as if I'd failed in the most important moment of my life.

There was suppose to be someone here.

Someone who needed me to save them.

But I couldn't find this person.

No matter how long or how hard I searched.

Fear started to take over.

Suddenly there was a loud noise filling my ears.

There was a shooting pain in my ribs.

I couldn't make out the sound through the haze which had become my mind.

All I could feel was the pain.

All I could hear was the noise...

Chapter One

His eyes shot open as he quickly sat up in bed with a loud gasp for air. For the longest moment he couldn't know if he was awake or still dreaming. If the dream was real or just a twisted version of reality. This was how it always was when Shirou Emiya dreamed of his most traumatic events.

As the haze cleared from his mind he looked to his bedside to see a young girl with long pinkish-red hair, many shades brighter than his own coppery red hair, and same colored eyes. She was staring at him with a worried expression all over her face. The sight of her caused him to feel a sudden wave of relief as he pulled her into a warm embrace.

"You need to stop doing that every morning..." he said to her with a voice laced with subsiding concern.

"I don't do it every morning. Just the mornings where you're having nightmares! And it's not like I can jump on your belly anymore!" the little girl protested.

"I always have nightmares, Kotori-chan. You know this," Shirou said matter of factly.

"Then it's my job to scare them out of you until they don't dare come back! Because I'm just awesome like that!" Kotori said enthusiastically.

"Could you at least try it without stabbing me or screaming in my ears? One of these days I'm going to wake up deaf."

"Well… I could always get a bucket and some ice?"

Shirou pulled the covers off and moved to sit on the bedside after letting her out of his arms where he looked over at the clock on his nightstand. 'Too early' he thought to himself when he saw the time. As a young man this was his usual wake up time but as the years went on he started to appreciate every extra minute of sleep he could squeeze in.

Before long his eyes drifted from the offending timepiece to the portrait behind it. A photograph of a woman with long black hair and blue eyes smiling happily. The sight of it visibly saddened him.

Noticing his pained expression the young red haired girl moved to seat herself beside him on the bed by jumping into the mattress so she would land in a seated position beside him where she gave him a warm hug from the side. "I miss her too…"

"After all we'd been through together, to lose her in an earthquake…" he said while staring into the eyes of the picture of Rin Tohsaka.

"If it's worth anything… Spacequakes aren't anything like Earthquakes."

"It isn't," groaned Shirou while standing up out of bed and stretching out. "I'll get cleaned up and then I'll get breakfast started. When I'm done I want you to be done with all your morning chores. No slacking," he said to her firmly.

"You got it!" she exclaimed with enthusiasm and rushed out of the room.

After he cleaned up and got dressed he wandered into the kitchen with a distant look on his face and got breakfast started. He didn't even bother to spare a glance at the woman seated at his dining table reading a newspaper. Except to note the front page news story which talked about recent spacequakes in their area which just set his mind into further turmoil.

"What's with you this morning?" the older woman asked him with sincere curiosity.

"I just had an epiphany. I was seeing you sitting there, and now I finally understand that old saying 'the more things change the more they stay the same' know what I mean?"

"Are you going to make breakfast or are you going to retreat to a temple somewhere to contemplate this new found wisdom?" she sarcastically questioned.

He put up his hands in mock surrender and then quickly put on an apron. "Coming right up."

"I helped myself to the coffee, but my cup will soon have a bad case of the empties," she said while holding up her coffee mug.

"So will my bank account if this keeps up..." he bitterly snarked at her.

The old Emiya residence hadn't changed much over the years. It was an old samurai compound. A traditional home in every way. But since his wife decided to sell off her own home after choosing to live together in his home instead of her western style house there were a few changes made to it.

Changes which now only served as grim reminders of what was now lost.

Rin had disliked sleeping on futons, so the first change was a western style bed in the room he had shared with her. But beyond the bedroom there were still hints of her everywhere he looked.

The first thing he'd notice every morning was her favorite tea cup still sitting unused in the cabinet next to his own and Kotori's. No amount of time and healing could lessen the pain which stung at his heart to have to pull down only the two cups from there. Time only taught him how to better conceal the pain. But it hurt as much this morning as it did every other since her passing.

All around the house the changes were only small, but hurt no less than the tea cup. Photos, nick-nacks, trophies, and other trinkets from their travels and adventures. The first example he was drawn to was the large photograph of the two of them with a group of children in Afghanistan. The second held his attention while he was waiting for the kettle to boil and brought a bitter smile to his face as he recalled the moment.

"What's going through that head of yours right now?" the woman asked with curiosity.

"Nothing much Fuji-nee. Just remembering the good times…" The man answered with a pseudo cheery voice while looking at a photo of himself and Rin taken while they were in Iraq. Though this one wasn't one of their many good deeds in yet another war zone. No. This one was of the two of them sitting in the ruins of what once was the throne room of a certain King of Heroes. Shirou sitting in what was probably his seat doing his best Gilgamesh impersonation, and Rin sitting in his lap with her 'I win' smile.

Shirou had a name and number for every one of her expressions and postures. Her body language was always transparent to him and it infuriated her to no end when she learned of how he assigned a designation to all of her mannerisms.

The photo had been taken during a detour they had on the way to somewhere else. He couldn't even remember where that somewhere even was now. It was just a happy reminder that no matter where they were, or how bad things were, the two of them always found time to enjoy themselves and remember why it was they did what they did. How they had grown to share in each other's dreams and passions.

"You know. I always thought that Sakura would have been the one you would have eventually married…" she said to which he felt another sting in his heart from yet another painful memory but managed to keep his face straight all the same. "But Rin was without a doubt the best thing that ever happened to you. You traveled the world, did a lot of good humanitarian work, adopted a wonderfully beautiful daughter and finally became a man Kiritsugu would be proud of… And I'm proud of you too. So if it helps, just remember how hard Rin would kick your ass if she saw you moping around over her."

He couldn't keep himself from laughing at the truth of that statement. "She would kick my ass from here to Pakistan and back. At least twice. And then make me carry all the souvenirs she'd buy. And all our luggage…"

The woman looked up at the picture he was looking at and then around the room at some of the others as well. She focused particularly on one picture with the two of them posing for a photo with a young girl who had apparently lost an eye and finally got treatment thanks to the two of them. "You two certainly did get to travel to some interesting places with JICA didn't you?" she asked with an amused voice. "I'm so envious!"

JICA… Yeah right. If you only knew Fuji-nee.

"We really did," he answered blandly.

"Good morning Aunt Tiger!" Kotori exclaimed cheerfully as she entered the living room dressed and ready for school. Her long red hair tied up in twin tails using the ribbons Rin gave her when they first adopted her. Ribbons she herself wore when she was the same age as Kotori. As she seated herself beside Taiga she unwrapped a lollipop and put it in her mouth while waiting for breakfast.

Rin had been wearing those ribbons that day for nostalgia's sake… Wait… Did Kotori just-

Every muscle in Shirou's body cringed tightly when he realized his daughter had called Taiga Fujimura, the so called (strictly behind her back) 'Tiger of Fuyuki' by her much detested nickname. Every one of his parental instincts screamed for him to run to Kotori's defense, with the shield of Ajax at the ready...

But the logical part of his mind knew that she had to learn some of her lessons the hard way just as he once had.

Best thing I can do is hurry up with breakfast. Food appeases the crouching Tiger... and the hidden Pendragon. Never worked on Rin though… Her anger always had to run its course.

"How many times have I told you never to call me that!" Taiga yelled at the top of her lungs. "Because of you every one of your classmates knows about that stupid nickname! I was finally free of it after your father graduated right up until you started attending!"

Shirou had to admit that he was not expecting what came next. Kotori put on the water works and looked up at her with those big red puppy eyes of her's and put on her best adorable sad face and voice she could muster. The little girl sounded so devastated that if he didn't know her better he would have been rushing over to comfort her.

"I'm just proud of you Aunt Tiger! You should be proud of your nickname too! Tigers are fierce, proud and noble animals just like you! I only call you that because I love you!"

Taiga "Tiger" Fujimura, or Fuji-nee as Shirou called her was many things, and yes, gullible idiot was indeed one of them. To his great surprise, and indeed pride, Kotori seemed to know exactly how to manipulate her. In Kotori's place he knew he would have been running for his life from the angry Tiger who certainly would have been wielding her infamous cursed shinai. The memory alone was enough to send shivers up his spine.

"Oh alright…" she said in surrender, "But you can only ever call me that here at home. Never at school. Do I make myself clear?"

Kotori expertly threw the lollipop into her own mouth and assumed a prideful new posture and tone, "Clear as the fury of a jungle predator Aunt Tiger!" she said with a garbled voice due the lollipop in her mouth.

Moe… If only I had known that was one of Fuji-nee's weaknesses… I'm sure I could have found a way to exploit it. I sure as hell could never have pulled off anything like that myself though. Maybe Sakura could have on my behalf? But Kotori… Damn it all. She's successfully weaponized her cuteness! I might not even be able to withstand that...

Taiga then reached out to try and pluck the sweet treat out of Kotori's mouth but she had her teeth clamped down so tightly that nothing would could ever come out of her mouth except her groans of protest. "And why are you always having sweets before you've even had breakfast?! What would your mother say if she saw this?! Don't you think it's rude to spoil the breakfast your father cooks for us by having treats first thing in the morning?!"

"Just give it up Fuji-nee. Having Kotori-chan without something sweet in her mouth is like having rice with worcester sauce. It just doesn't work," he stated with resignation and a bad taste in his mouth from the memory of one of Taiga's sauce pranks against him.

Taiga looked at Shirou with a disappointed smile. "This is just bad parenting. From whom exactly she is learning manners?"

Shirou rolled his eyes at the remark, "Certainly not from you," he started with indignation, "I'm proud to say she doesn't break into other people's houses to freeload all her meals. Nor does she switch the labels on my sauce bottles when she gets upset with me."

"It isn't breaking and entering if I have the spare keys! Besides, this is as much my home as is it yours. Even if I don't own it anymore now that you're a grown-something-resembling-a-man. Even if a slightly embittered, snarky, class-less-"

"You do realize you actually have your own house. With your own food. And even your own bed… If you keep going with that train of thought I might change the locks..." Shirou reminded her none-too-gently while pouring out the water to brew the tea. He then put some coffee into a french press Rin got especially for her use and filled it with water to let the coffee brew in. Rin's genius was unrivaled, the quicker Taiga Fujimura got what she wanted, the less unpleasant she was to deal with.

"You wouldn't! The food you make… It's so good! You can't deny me! The worst part of all that time you spent traveling was living on all that instant food! Please don't make me go back to that Shirou!"

"Can't argue with that… Your waist line's certainly improved since my return…" right after he said it, he couldn't help but wonder if he'd live to regret it.

The smirk on her face while she was cuddling Kotori was telling enough. He was indeed going to dearly regret those words. As her grin widened he knew he was going to regret them badly. It was the look she wore when she was plotting vengeance. He decided he'd have to be extra cautious for the next few days. And from the look on Kotori's face, he also knew he wouldn't have any allies in this coming battle.

Breakfast was relatively quiet. Except for the sound of Taiga scarfing down her food in a hurry. It seems that step one of her master plan was to abandon all table manners. She knew that Shirou hated that more than anything in the world. Bad table manners were one of his biggest peeves, especially when it was his food being consumed in such an uncivilized manner.

"Well. I'd best be off. Tests need to be graded and I have to make sure the dojo is open for morning practice. Don't be late again Kotori! You have to uphold your family honor in that dojo! Your father was the best there ever was, so don't shame his good name!"

"I won't Aunt Tiger. See you at practice."

Mere words could never properly convey the immense pride which swelled in Shirou's very soul the day Kotori started high school and joined the archery club. That and Kotori was now using Taiga's nickname with impunity. Which was certainly impressive to Shirou.

Kotori noticed the distant look of pride on Shirou's face and quickly started poking him in the ribs, exactly where she knew it hurt him the most.

"Earth to Pops! Don't we still have things to do?"

He chuckled while rubbing the fresh sore spot she poked into his side while they walked from the living room over to the shed in the back...

The workshop.

To the outside world, Shirou Emiya was just a single father with an adopted daughter. But once inside this workshop, his sanctum, he was a Magus. This was where he and his wife would further their magical studies while they were here. This was where they worked together to train their daughter. A task which Shirou had been forced to continue on his own.

Yes, he knew more about thaumaturgy and magical lore now than he ever did when he was Kotori's age, but he was still at a loss on how to advance her studies of her own unique abilities. But it was by no means a challenge he wasn't prepared to rise up to. After all his own magical abilities were a unique and special case. Kotori was no different, even if her power and his were as different as night and day.

Once they were inside and the doors shut, Kotori closed her eyes and allowed her powers to manifest and take on her true form.

"Elohim Gibor" she said calmly and then her school uniform was replaced with what they'd come to call her "Astral Dress" not at all unlike some other special beings he once knew, but that's another story.

Kotori wasn't a Heroic Spirit, but she certainly had the powers and presence to qualify. Her hair changed from the usual twin tails she wore and her ribbons were suddenly holding a pair of horns against the sides of her head with her red hair flowing long and straight. Her dress was a white kimono which was far too low cut for any father to feel comfortable seeing their daughter in, even if Rin took pride in Kotori's elegance in this form. Elegance was something in Rin's family motto which Shirou never really understood, and wasn't about to try and figure out. Elegance took a backseat with everything he did. The only thing which concerned Shirou Emiya was getting the job done. But he was thankful Kotori doesn't show off this look in public.

"Alright, you know what to do," he said to her while setting out a line of kerosene lamps.

Kotori closed her eyes again after giving me a firm nod and held her hand out towards the lamps. Her goal was deceptively simple. All she had to do was ignite the wicks without melting the lamps. Her power was the manipulation of fire, but she was far from being in any semblance of control of her abilities.

The first lamp ignited and was reduced to a puddle of metal and glass.

The second didn't fare much better than the first but at least one could sort of tell what it used to be if they tried hard enough.

The third melted down as well but it was a marked improvement.

Finally by the seventh she managed to ignite the wick, and melt the glass.

But improvement was improvement and Shirou quickly gave her a pat on the head for some positive reinforcement.

"This is so frustrating…" she muttered mostly to herself.

How am I supposed to become a hero like you if I can't even do this small thing right?

Shirou suppressed a sigh and did his best to stay positive and encouraging, if he could make this just a little bit easier for her than it was for him then it would be worth every effort. "Believe me I know how frustrating it is. But you have to stick with it. Just like with archery, you have to practice, and practice, and practice some more until you get it right. Then you have to practice more until you can do it without even thinking about it. Trust me, you'll get there. If even a third-rate hack of a magus like me can get to the level I'm at now, you can master this."

"Well, at least I'm not setting the whole workshop on fire anymore…" she said while gesturing to the blackened area in question.

He looked over and suppressed a chuckle at the memory.

The first time Rin decided to work with Kotori on gaining control of her powers she set Rin's entire corner of the workshop on fire. After that Shirou had to spend an entire week going back and forth between the shed and a hardware store to renovate the shed and fireproof everything he could. He also made sure to keep a fire extinguisher somewhere he could quickly get to it, but thankfully after that first time, he never needed it. But it was comforting to know it was there.

By the twentieth try, she managed to ignite the wick without damaging the lamp and started jumping for joy.

Shirou knew that at this point Rin would have pulled one of her classic lecturing poses and gone off on some kind of tirade about managing expectations. But he knew beyond any doubt that she still would have been proud.

Part of him felt compelled to remind her that this was just another small step towards the ultimate goal but the biggest part, the part that was her father, was too proud to give a damn about little things like that so he just smiled brightly and nodded at her.

"I'm proud of you Kotori. Think you can do it again?" he asked with all the pride and enthusiasm he could muster.

Kotori balled her fists and nodded firmly, the challenge was accepted and she turned to the lanterns and held her hand out towards one and closed her eyes. He could feel the surge of mana being drawn into her and then being released, the wick ignited and burned steadily for a moment before it erupted and obliterated the lantern.

Kotori shielded herself with her arms from the shattered glass as it struck her and then looked down at the ground with a forlorn expression.

Shirou put a hand on top of her head again and pat it gently. "It's alright. Really. I did the same exact thing every time I practiced reinforcement magic. But you still managed to get it right once. I think you just let your excitement get the better of you and you lost control again. But you are improving. That's what counts in the end."

Kotori sighed at herself, "I'm always improving but never accomplishing…"

"You've accomplished a lot. You can perform structural grasping as well as I can. You can reinforce components with no difficulty. You've come a long way in self-reinforcement too. All things to be very proud of. And you managed to get a wick ignited without destroying the lamp so we should celebrate that. Is there anything special you'd like to do?"

Kotori pondered that carefully for a long while before giving an answer, "Can we make Hamburgers for dinner?"

"We certainly can," he answered with a thumbs up.

Later at school Kotori stood in the firing line at the archery dojo. She raised her bow and drew it with intense focus. Her mind was cleared. It is said that for the disciplined archer, the arrow already exists in the target even before it's even been released. She had yet to experience that. For a beginner, the goal was to get the posture and movements right. Accuracy was something that would come with time and discipline. But this was what she enjoyed the most about Kyudo, the elegance of it all. She could almost hear Rin Tohsaka's voice in her head when she thought about it that way. But she quickly realized after taking up the practice that it was helping her not only to fit in better in high school, but it also went a long way to helping her develop the proper mindset to practice with her spirit powers and magecraft.

Kotori released the arrow and fell into the proper posture after. The target had been hit, but not where she was aiming. Part of her wanted to kick herself for it but that part of her quickly died down when she walked off the range and heard a hushed compliment.

"Well done Emiya."

Origami Tobiichi, she's a year ahead of me and also the only person in this school I would call my friend. We're both from the same town, and we're both orphans for the same reason. It's something we both know about each other that we simply do not speak of. For obvious reasons.

Tobiichi keeps this wall of ice up around her to keep people away. But me being the personification of a flamethrower that I am, I just powered my way through it and we've been friends ever since.

We met back when I first started attending school here. I didn't have any friends here yet, and neither did she. She was all alone in the cafeteria so I went up to her and started a conversation with her. It wasn't even all that awkward. We just started talking as if we'd known each other for years. Especially after we discovered we were both from the same place, and left at the same time. Nothing else needed to be mentioned about it after that.

She's also the reason I'm even here in the dojo right now. If it weren't for her I'd probably still be considering it, but not actually doing it. I didn't want to get into archery just because my name is Emiya and it was expected of me. With Tobiichi, I can do it just because it's something I want to do with my friend.

Kotori gave a slow nod before sitting seiza beside her and replied in a low voice to avoid breaking anyone's concentration, "I'm still not as good as you senpai. I need more practice to catch up to everyone."

Tobiichi also gave a slow nod, "You'll get there. You're not making as many rookie mistakes. I think you're the best of everyone who's at your level. You've only been practicing it for a short time now and you're leaving the other beginners behind."

"Thank you. You're making it hard to stay humble though… It's not that I'm trying to be better than anyone else or anything like that. I just enjoy it."

Kotori wanted to giggle but it would have been bad etiquette for the dojo so she forced herself to stay calm, keep her voice down, and keep a straight face.

"That means you are doing it correctly. It's suppose to be relaxing and enjoyable. The people who only care for being competitive are always the first ones to quit the team. Competition is only a very small part of the sport. If you are not willing to develop the correct state of mind and spirit, and treat it as an art as much a sport, then it becomes pointless."

"Thank you senpai," whispered Kotori while bowing her head to her friend, "I'll remember that."

After practice that morning, Kotori sat at her desk waiting for class to start when one of her school mates sitting in front of her started getting frustrated with his phone. "Oh no no no! Not now! Not this! Please work damn you!" she heard him hiss.

"What's your problem Tonomachi?" she asked him in a loud voice.

Hiroto Tonomachi. He isn't someone I'd call a friend, but just someone whose existence I don't really mind.

"My phone just stopped working… It's been doing that a lot lately," the boy complained.

"Just buy a new one? What's the big deal?" she replied.

"Not all of us have rich daddies..." he snarked while fiddling with it.

Kotori groaned and stood up where she reached up over his shoulder to take his phone out of his hands, "Give me that, you're starting to piss me off. He isn't rich, we just don't waste money on cheap and frivolous crap, we go for quality above all else… Let me fix this for you," she said while looking the phone over.

Quality… I guess you could say that. More like, 'things we can use strengthening magic on to extend their lifespans into the foreseeable future.'

"How are you gonna do that Emiya?" asked Tonomachi while turning around to look at her.

"The answer is in your question. My name is Emiya. I can fix anything. Even your stupid face if you keep annoying me! Now shut up and let me concentrate," the twin-tailed redhead demanded.

Kotori held the phone under the desk so nobody could see what she was doing and tilted her head down to 'look' at it while she held it discreetly in her desk to ensure no one could see the magic circuits in her hand glowing.

My own element, I can't control, but things like this are beyond easy… Life's so unfair.

Oh well…

Structure analyzed.

Nothing's really wrong with the hardware but the processor is wearing out from constantly over heating. I can give it a little boost for now. That should see him through for a little while longer. Probably trying to run a game or something that's too heavy for it.

Components reinforced.

She then turned the screen back on to check if it was working again and raised a twitching eyebrow at what she saw.

"Did you get it working again Emiya?" he inquired cautiously.

"Yes... But you'll have to get a new one eventually. So start saving up... These apps you're trying to run are way too taxing on the hardware… So I turned down the graphic settings. That should keep you from melting the processor," Kotori slowly explained with a calm sort of firm voice which had the boy looking at her with apprehension.

"Also…" she added while holding up the phone for him to see the screen. "You had better have a damn good explanation for why the girl in your dating sim looks exactly like me."

"Uhhh… Because twintails rock?" he nervously stuttered.

In the background there were hushed snickers of amusement at the boy's plight.

"Busted," said one student.

"He is so dead," said a second.

"That is so lame," added a third.

"Uhh-huh… Can you think of a good reason why I shouldn't hurt you right now?" Kotori asked of him with narrowed eyes and a sadistic grin on her lips.

Tonomachi tensed up under the weight of her faux serene smile and stare "Uhh… Because if you forget about this I could make it worth your while?"

Watching him squirm is so great! But you know… If he cleaned up his act and put a little effort into making himself more presentable... He really wouldn't be bad looking. But he's still an irritant. At the very least, he doesn't mean to be. It's not like a can of pepper spray means to be harsh for your face. That's just what it was made to do.

I suppose you could call him authentic, and begrudgingly, I do have to admit I respect that. He doesn't put on a mask for the approval of his peers. He's himself, and doesn't try to be anything but that. Love him or hate him, with Tonomachi, what you see is what you get.

And no. She wouldn't spare a moment's thought to the implications of him making a character in a dating sim look like her.

I'm just going to milk it for all it's worth. This is probably the most entertainment I'm going to get all day.

"Shame on you. Offering me a bribe?" Kotori's smile grew more mischievous. "You'd better make it good then!"

"If you let this go.. I'll… Umm… Hey you like those magical girl animes right? I got the whole first season of Kaleido Ruby!"

Kotori shook her head while handing him back the phone. "You are a sick man Tonomachi. First of all. Why do you even have that?" she asked and then quickly cut him off before he could respond, "No wait. Don't answer. I don't want to know. Secondly. I hate that show. The main character looks too much like my mother. Makes me think some creepo like you that she rejected in high school designed the character after her."

"So… What do you want in exchange for not hurting me then?" he asked her with a skeptical eye as he took back his phone.

She stood up and smacked him across the back of his head making him yelp in pain. "You have nothing to offer me except the sound of your suffering."

"Oww! Damn it Emiya what's with you? You're like a one-hundred tsun, zero dere! That's why you can't get a boyfriend!" he yelled at her.

Kotori sat back in her seat and folded her arms across her chest, the amused smirk never leaving her face. "Are you sure you want to go there Tonomachi? I mean you created a tsundere girlfriend in Date A Live who looks like me. Don't pretend it doesn't work for you."

She then reached over to smack him upside the head once again, "Baka. You must enjoy being punished!"

"The fact that you even know what that game is says as much about you as it does about me," he snarked.

Kotori held up her phone with the popular dating sim active on it with a proud smile on her face. "Mine doesn't look like you. And she's a yandere!"

The boy eye rolled at her, "And you say I've got issues… I didn't know you were into girls. That explains a lot..."

Kotori reached over and smacked him a third time. "Don't get your hopes up pervert. She's got the 'big sister' personality. Besides, rumor has it you actually play for both teams."

"Big sister huh? I'm not sure if I should be even more turned on, or even more worried by you right now…" he wondered aloud with a hand on his chin.

Is Tonomachi actually trying to flirt with me? Did his balls finally drop today?

"Get ready everyone! Taiga's about to come barreling in!" she heard the class rep say loudly from the doorway as he quickly moved to his seat, and so too did everyone else prepare for the impending arrival of their homeroom teacher.

A short moment later Taiga Fujimura came rushing into the classroom wishing everyone a good morning in her usual loud and obnoxious voice when, predictably, she tripped over something and fell flat on her face where she remained unmoving for a while amidst the amused murmurs of the other students trying to decide amongst themselves what to do about the situation.

"Good idea!" Kotori heard someone say loudly from the front while everyone moved towards the front of the class, Kotori included. There was just no way she wasn't getting in on this!

"All together!" the class rep directed.

"Class time Tiger!" they all yelled in unison.

"My name isn't Tiger!" she yelled back at them while quickly getting back onto her feet.

Kotori could almost swear she saw the visage of an actual tiger behind her as Taiga yelled at them all to sit down so she could take attendance.

It was noon time when Shirou Emiya arrived at a cafe in new city, the more modern part of Fuyuki city. He didn't want to even think about his proximity to the site of the Fuyuki City fire and kept his mind firmly on the business at hand. There was a woman with short dark blue hair and glasses waiting for him there. Her clothing resembled a typical nun except for the lack of any head coverings.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Shirou Emiya. Long time no see," she said while standing up to greet him.

"Too long," he said with a pleasant smile as he embraced the woman warmly. After a moment he stepped back to look her over, "You haven't changed a bit. You look happy though. How's Shiki and your other friend… What was her name?"

"Arcueid. They're both doing well. Shiki was very disappointed that he couldn't make it here. You know he really likes you a lot. He said to tell you that you have an open invitation to come over to Misaki any time you want."

Shirou brightened his smile, "You don't have to lie for him Ciel. He hates my guts. But you know my door is always open to all of you as well, irrespective of how he feels about me."

"For the life in me, I can't ever figure out why you two can't get along. You have so much in common. Like for example, you're the two most frustratingly unselfish people on the face of the Earth," she said while shaking her head.

Shirou in turn shrugged his shoulders, "I honestly have no problem with the man. I respect him. But I can't help it if the feeling isn't mutual."

"He does respect you Shirou. He just…" Ciel's voice trailed off as she searched for the most tactful way to put it.

"He hates my guts. Call it what it is. But this isn't why you're here. So what actually brings you all the way down from Misaki?"

Ciel slid over a folder to Shirou across the table as a waitress came to take their orders, both of them ordering tea.

While Shirou opened the folder to examine the contents Ciel continued making small talk, "How's Kotori?"

"She's doing well. She's started High School. She's even practicing Kyudo. And apparently she's getting good at it," he answered proudly.

"I'm sure she'll surpass her father soon enough," remarked Ciel.

"I'm sure she will. So anyway, this is interesting and all…" said Shirou while pointing to the folder he was studying, "But what does it have to do with me?"

"As you know, Rin, God rest her soul, was studying the spacequakes. Before she di-" Ciel bit her lip to choose to her words more carefully, "-she asked me to see if the Church was doing any of their own research since the relevant people at the Clocktower stopped sharing their findings with her for some reason,"

There wasn't much at first, but then a lot started happening so I kept tabs on it all. This was what I managed to find out. I didn't know what else to do with it and it felt wrong to just let this gather dust. So I thought I'd give it to you and see if you could do anything with it," she explained.

Shirou carefully looked over the next bit of information in the folder, things he couldn't discuss out loud and his face soured as he skimmed through it. Ciel glanced over at him with a knowing expression, their eyes met and there was a silent moment between them where Ciel let Shirou know that it was entirely accurate.

Ciel's eyes hardened as she drew in a breath to address him again, "Shirou… There isn't anyone else who can do what you do. You don't play by the same rules as the rest of us. So if you really wanted to. You could follow up on this and see where it leads."

Shirou's eyes narrowed at her, "I suppose that means you wouldn't be able to help me if anything comes of this?"

Ciel in turn shook her head, "Just getting as much as I did got me in trouble," when she saw the concerned look on his face she held up her hand and put on a smile, "It's nothing I can't clean up. I owed it to Rin to see this through. We all know she never asked anyone for anything if it wasn't very important. And as you can see, she was on to something. She told me she had a lot of suspicions but no evidence. Question is what was she thinking? What was she on to?"

Shirou nodded, "She never talked about it with me. But I have a few guesses from the notes she left behind. They're a jumbled mess, but who knows, something might make more sense in light of this."

Ciel picked up her teacup and took a small sip from it, enjoying the aroma, "So tell me something Shirou. What's it like?"

Shirou picked up his head and looked at her quizzically, "What's what like?"

"Being a parent," she specified.

Shirou couldn't help the amused smirk that found its way onto his lips, "Considering giving it a try?"

Ciel shrugged her shoulders, "We've talked about it."

Shirou smiled at the woman across from him, "Do you remember that mess in Warsaw?"

Ciel visibly cringed at the memory but nodded to the man. "Waist deep in blood, guts, and raw sewage with the fate of the city in balance."

Shirou nodded, "Mhmm. Point is… We all have moments that really test our courage. You go into a situation expecting it to be no different from every other life or death experience you've survived. Then you get into that one battle that raises the bar. Parenting is like that every day. No matter what you do to prepare for it, from the day it begins you quickly discover that the only things which happen are the things you never could have anticipated,"

Having said that. I wouldn't trade my experiences with Kotori for anything. But between us, there have been moments when I thought being up to my neck in monsters and the raw sewage of an entire city was much easier to deal with. I had to become a parent to discover that real and true courage… Is bringing a small child into a house that has white carpets."

Ciel couldn't help but break into a boisterous laughing fit. "Perhaps someday I'll put my own courage to the test. I do actually have white carpets."

"I'm confident you'd be an awesome mother," said Shirou while picking up his own tea cup. "Just remember that once it happens, your life stops being your own to throw away on a whim."

Ciel raised an eyebrow at him upon hearing that statement, Shirou smirked at her knowingly and then added, "You know I've seen how you fight."

Ciel widened her eyes and looked at him with a completely stupefied expression, "Look who's talking!" she gasped at him! "As far as I'm concerned the battle wasn't over until Rin chewed you out for whatever monumentally stupid thing you did during the fight!"

Shirou's expression turned serious while he nodded, "It isn't the way I think about my own life that changed. What I think about is what would happen to Kotori if something happened to me. I don't want to leave her like my father left me."

Ciel suddenly felt the uncomfortable silence that came over them and Shirou decided to quickly break the ice that was forming. "If you're staying in town why don't you come over for dinner? I'm sure Kotori would love to see you."

"I would if I could. But I have to be getting back on the next train. An Executor's work is never done. And apparently, neither is the work of a champion of justice turned father. But we can sit and catch up for a while."

"Are you sure? We're having burgers tonight, but I still have ingredients for curry…" he said to her in a sly voice.

"Damn you Shirou Emiya… I really can't… But now you're just making me hate it even more!"

"Can't be helped. I've missed you," he replied with a curt nod.

"Missed you too. We should really get together more often. We talked about going to Okinawa this summer. Why don't you and Kotori join us?" offered the bluenette.

"Won't Shiki have a problem with that?"

"That's his problem. As far as I'm concerned, after all we've been through together, you're family. Family comes first. For all I care, if he wants to be difficult, he can sit in a corner and fume while the rest of us have a good time."

Shirou couldn't keep the smile from his face, "I'll have to run it by Kotori before I can give a definitive yes. But I can tentatively say yes on my own behalf right now."

Before Ciel could express her enthusiasm for his answer the pair were interrupted by two men in business suits presumptively seating themselves at their table.

"Excuse me gentlemen? May we help you?" asked Shirou while he and Ciel glanced between the two men. Each of them had their hands drifting calmly to their sides, Shirou mentally preparing himself to trace a sword and Ciel holding a hand over her Bible in preparation to bring forth her Black Keys.

One of the men opened his jacket in a subtle manner to reveal his holstered pistol to the pair while the second reached out to take the folder Ciel had given to Shirou. "We'll be needing this. We'd also like both of you to accompany us."

Ciel and Shirou both raised an eyebrow to each other. "This is new…" Shirou calmly observed.

"Do you two have any idea who we are or what we're capable of? If you don't that's fine, I understand that. It just means whomever sent you considers you expendable. But if you do know, then you're either very brave, which I can respect. Or very stupid. Which I frown upon. I'd really like to know which it is," Ciel spoke casually.

"Please sister, just come with us. I really don't want have to hurt a nun," said the man who showed off his gun confirming to Ciel that he indeed didn't have the first clue about what she or Shirou really were. He put a hand on Ciel's shoulder while the second did likewise with Shirou.

Ciel and Shirou exchanged glances with Ciel's eyes quickly darting to the man beside her while she stood up. Shiou in turn shook his head and let his eyes drift away from the man beside him. Ciel gave a very short nod before the two walked away while being escorted towards a large white van which was waiting for them. They were pushed in somewhat roughly with the two men getting in behind them and then they sped off.

After taking a moment to see the traffic on the highway was thinned out considerably, and the city limits crossed Shirou turned to Ciel with a pleasant smile, "Looks like you're going to be staying for dinner after all," he stated with an amused tone the blue haired woman who was seated beside him. In front of them were the two men who picked them up and in the front of the van behind where Shirou and Ciel were sitting was a driver and another man in the passenger seat.

"The Lord works in mysterious ways…" she said while clutching her Bible tightly in her left hand.

"I don't think this is His work," said Shirou while gesturing to the two men in front of them. He then turned his head towards the the men in question, "Since I doubt it was God who sent you… Who actually did?"

"Don't commit blasphemy in front of a nun! You'll find out when we get there," was the only response given.

"Oh. A believer..." Shirou rolled his eyes until he was looking at Ciel with an irate expression which she returned to him, then they both eye-rolled back towards the two men in front of them and simultaneously covered their faces with their palms while sighing loudly.

"What's with them?" asked the other suited man to his partner.

Shirou picked up his head and looked at the man and then groaned back into his palm, "You guys really have no idea what's about to happen to you, do you?"

The two men exchanges curious glances and then looked back at the pair in front of them with sideways looks.

"I'm not actually a nun… I'm afraid it's much worse. Anyway Shirou. I'll take these two," said Ciel with a disappointed voice.

"No. They're mine. I can't fit through that," he said while gesturing behind with a thumb towards the open space behind them leading to the front of the van.

"Ahh. Right. My bad," she replied with an amused voice.

The two men in front of them exchanged glances once again and started reaching for their guns.

Shirou held up his hands while lunging towards the two men. "Trace on!"

In his hands his two most beloved swords materialized, Kanshou and Bakuya, the married chinese falchions, and with one quick movement each man lost the arms with which they drew their guns.

Meanwhile Ciel jumped through to the front of the van and into the space between the driver and passenger seats. She punched out the driver while taking a hold of the steering wheel. "Shirou!" she called out while blocking punches from the man in the passenger seat with one hand that was still clutching her Bible and struggling to keep the van from swerving out of control with her other. The next instant the man attacking her was impaled through the chest with a white chinese sword.

Ciel unfastened the driver's seatbelt and reached over to open the door where she pushed the man's unconscious body out onto the highway and then shut the door while seating herself properly.

"Why can't I ever have a normal day out when I'm with you?!" she loudly complained while turning onto the next exit.

"I was just going to ask you the same question!" he retorted while he finished subduing the two men in the rear with him.

Ciel drove the van to a relatively secluded spot just outside the city and parked it in some dense foliage out of sight of anyone driving by. When she got out of the van Shirou was already out and approaching her.

"Those two I left with you still alive?"

Shirou shrugged his shoulders, "They bled out a little while ago. They didn't answer any of my questions. But I did find these on them," he answered nonchalantly while handing her a pair of identification cards.

Ciel examined them for a moment before handing them back, "D.E.M. Industries. The company founded by the Mages Association members who were suppose to be giving information to Rin about the spacequakes."

"I didn't read that far into the file you gave me. But this doesn't make any sense. If what you say is true and someone at the top knew you were gathering information on them for Rin and then passing it onto me why only send these poor guys to retrieve it? Didn't they know what would happen?"

"They had to have known. These people knew Rin very well, and us by extension. There had to be a reason," she surmised.

Shirou looked at the folder Ciel had given him earlier, "Whatever the answer, it's probably in here somewhere. Let's clean this up and then head back into town," he said while tracing a pair of shovels for them.

Ciel groaned in annoyance. "I hate this part…"

Meanwhile, it was lunch time over at Homurahara Academy. Kotori Emiya was sitting in the cafeteria across from Origami Tobiichi enjoying a quiet meal until they were interrupted by the sound of Tobiichi's phone alerting her to a new message.

"Excuse me," she said apologetically while reading the message.

"Anything important?" asked a curious Kotori.

"Not especially," came the unenthused response, "I was meant to be meeting with my guardian after school but it seems she's had to cancel."

Kotori shrugged, "Would you like to go do something with me after school then? We could head down to Miyama and hang out?"

Tobiichi seemed to consider it for a long moment before giving a small nod.

"You've never talked about your guardian. Could you tell me about her?" Kotori asked in a cautious tone.

"Her name is Ryouko Kusakabe. There isn't much to tell about her. We get along. She's immature at times, quick to anger at seemingly small things, but she's reliable," she explained with her usual flat tone.

"Does she get angry with you a lot?" Kotori asked with a raised eyebrow, the tone in her voice ready to explode if her suspicion was confirmed.

Tobiichi shook her head, "No. I don't give her cause to be angry with me. Her anger is mostly directed at her work. She has never been anything but supportive, encouraging, kind, and considerate towards me," she said with what Kotori would describe as a warm and happy tone. As far as her expressiveness went that was about the most emotional Origami Tobiichi ever allowed herself to be.

Kotori breathed out with relief upon hearing that, "What does she do for a living?"

"She's a military officer. She spends most of her time working so we don't live together. She was told she could be off duty today but it seems that's changed. Possibly because of all the spacequakes recently. Normally we only see each other on the weekends, unless something happens," she explained.

"Is she pretty?" Kotori asked with a smirk.

"She is often complimented. So I would assume so. How is that relevant to anything?"

Kotori's smirk grew into a small smile, "Do you have a picture of her by chance?"

Tobiichi tapped her phone a few times before showing Kotori the requested image. Kotori's small smile grew into a big bright one. "Oh she's totally pretty! You two should come over to our place for dinner sometime in the near future. It'd be a crime not to introduce her to my pops."

Tobiichi scrutinized Kotori with a very critical eye. "Explain your intentions…" she demanded.

Kotori felt a chill up her spine at the sudden shift in tone but refused to let it deter her. "Well. Bluntly. He's single. If she's single. We should introduce them and see what happens. They might like each other. My pops is a really good guy! Trust me. She'll never in her life meet a nicer guy!"

Damn… She must like this woman a lot. She's very protective of her!

"Ryouko has expressed some frustration with the unsuitability of the available men she is presently surrounded by," the white haired girl said thoughtfully, "I'm sure she'll give the invitation due consideration,"

Phew… I thought she was going to get really mad at me for suggesting that.

"Don't put it so bluntly to her Senpai! Just tell her that since you and I are such good friends that you'd like her to meet us or something."

"I shouldn't lie to her. It would be improper. Consider it this way. If you want each of them to express honest intentions would it not be better for them to go into the situation with clear intentions to begin from?"

Kotori bowed her head at the neck towards the older girl, "Tobiichi-senpai has much wisdom! She is much good friend to Kotori."

Tobiichi scrutinized the red haired girl with her eyes again. "Why are you speaking in third person?"

"Senpai has no sense of humor…" said Kotori with a heavy sigh as she face planted into the cafeteria table.

After a long moment she quickly picked up her head and looked at Tobiichi with a very happy face, "I just realized. If those two can hit it off, you and I could become sisters!"

"She's my guardian. Not my adoptive mother. I am not certain it works that way."

Kotori's face was instantly reunited with the table, "Should have known I was barking up the wrong tree for optimistic enthusiasm. Mind sending me that photo of her? I'll show it to my pops and talk him into this. I'll let you know what happens. I'll send you a good one of my pops and you can do the same."

"Agreed," said Tobiichi with a quick nod.

After cleaning up the mess they made out of the men who attempted to kidnap them Shirou and Ciel were walking up a long street which would lead them back into the city.

"Had I known I'd spend my day walking this much I might have slept in and avoided exercising this morning," Ciel joked.

"I would have slept in but Kotori doesn't allow it. If she wakes up before me she tortures me until I'm out of bed."

Ciel burst into a laughing fit at the mental image of Shirou Emiya being tortured by a fourteen year old girl. "What does she do?" she managed to get out between fits of mirth.

Shirou rolled his eyes at his companion's sudden immaturity. "When she was smaller she'd jump on my stomach like a trampoline. When she got too big for that she started experimenting to find a new optimal way to make sure I'd wake up and not fall asleep again. She settled on yelling while poking me between the ribs…" he explained while rubbing a phantom pain in his aforementioned ribs.

"Even when you talk about something you find annoying about her you have this proud look on your face," observed Ciel.

Shirou tightened up at the thought, "She's all I have left in the world. Without her I'd end up like my father before he adopted me. Or worse… I'd literally be him right now."

Ciel slowly nodded, "You mean him from when you freaked out when I made you that-"

"Yes," he said in a hard voice to keep her from further reminding him.

Before the conversation could continue there was a loud siren blaring from the city.

"Spacequake alarm…" they muttered together.

"This far from a shelter… If it happens here…" added Ciel.

"Let's not think about that. Just keep moving," answered Shirou while quickening his pace.

That's the problem with these damn quakes… All we know is the widest approximate area they're going to happen in. Beyond that, where exactly they will strike and how powerful they will be is anyone's guess until they actually happen.

Three years ago we didn't even know that much but Rin thought she'd discovered the cause. So we packed up and traveled to where the quakes were most frequent at the time, South America...

Shirou shook off his train of thought as he and Ciel continued towards the city at the quickest pace they could sustain, which for them was exactly fast enough that they were thankful the road was deserted.

Kotori stood in a line waiting to get into the shelter, she looked around and saw all her classmates and many others from school but not her friend.

She's probably at the front of the line somewhere… I hope pops is getting to a shelter.

She got her phone out of her pocket and activated the locator app which she used, for strictly innocent purposes and nothing mischievous at all, to be aware of where her father was at all times. At least, all times he had his phone on him.

Shirou thought the feature would be a useful parenting aid but as every parent eventually learns, their children inevitably surpass their own technological abilities. Shirou Emiya may as well have had a stone tool in his pocket compared to how much Kotori Emiya could do with the same device.

What's he doing all the way out there?

She closed the app and opened another one that showed the projected danger zone for the spacequake and input his location. Her eyes widened in horror when she realized he was right in the center of it!

She reached into her pocket and pulled out an earpiece connected to her phone and started running out of the shelter to where she could get the best possible reception on her phone, ignoring the protests of her classmates and teachers as she did so.

We're ten whole kilometers out of the danger zone… Evacuating was pointless anyway! Gotta hurry! If only I could use my spirit powers or magecraft right now… Damn it legs move faster!

Kotori emerged from the quake shelter and checked her phone to find a full signal bar and dialed the number.

Shirou reached into his pocket for his phone when he heard the distinctive ringtone, Kotori's favorite song.

Ciel glared at him irately, "Is this really the time to be taking calls? And why do you have a dubstep ringtone?!"

Shirou shook his head while answering the phone, "Kotori? This isn't a good time. You'd better be calling from a shelter!" he said loudly while fighting to maintain his breathing.

"Shut up and listen pops!" Kotori yelled. "You're right smack in the center of the projected ground zero and you're exactly five kilometers from the nearest shelter."

"I'm perfectly aware of that Kotori… That's where we're going right now!" he yelled back.

"You don't have enough time!" she yelled in a frenzied panic while looking at the spacequake app. "Turn to your right and start running to the north west! At your current pace that'll take you out of the project ground zero in three minutes. I'll try to find somewhere close for you to take cover! Hurry!"

"Got it!" he yelled back into his phone and pointed towards the direction Kotori told him to run towards for Ciel while turning and pushing himself to run as fast he could.

Kotori meanwhile watched his progress on her 'parental unit locator' app while nervously biting her thumb. Suddenly she felt the tremors begins in the air around her. The final warning that the quake was imminent. She checked the app once again which was constantly updated by satellite telemetry. This was the moment when the most accurate prediction could be made of where the quake would strike.

With frantic fingers she swiped back to a detailed map of the the Fuyuki City area and zoomed it in on where her father was.

"Pops! Are you still there?!" she screamed into the earpiece. "ANSWER ME!"

There was nothing but the sound of his labored breathing for a long moment before he answered back into his phone. "I'm here."

"There should be a small shed like thing at the end of the field you're running through…"

"I see it."

"It's got a high structural security rating on the disaster app! Get to it and get behind it! Not inside it! Put your back to its north side! NOW! The quake is happening and you're very close to it!"

"Believe me Kotori… We feel it happening. We're running as fast as we possibly can!"

"We? Who're you with?!"

"Ciel…"

"Tell her I said hi once you get behind that shed… Please hurry!"

Kotori gazed in the direction of the projected spacequake as the vibrations grew stronger. She knew it would be much stronger where Shirou and Ciel were right now. It was as if the whole world was trying to tear itself apart as the spacequake erupted in the distance. The building obstructing her view of the event visibly swayed and wind howled through the city as it was rapidly displaced by the event.

Her teeth clenched as she watched them get closer to the shed on her app without the faintest idea of what was happening to them right now. She listened on bated breath to her earpiece for any hint from her father that he was alright but there was nothing she could hear except for white noise from the earpiece and the area around her.

The winds intensified and she had to shield her eyes from the dust and debris being swept up by the harsh winds. The only thought on her mind was how harsh conditions must be at and near ground zero where Shirou and Ciel were now (according to her app) taking cover where she told them to. But all she knew was where they were, not if they were alright. Her eyes never left the dot on the map which let her know that at the very least his phone was still intact.