Chapter 3

Author's note: I was so happy that I finally some time and had some motivation to write. Better put that motivation to use before I lose it forever. Luckily, DarkMegaSF continued to be my beta. So extra thanks to him.

So here, enjoy the family life. : )

Kiritsugu brought the two children into the new Emiya estate, it was a simple dojo-like place, but it was large in terms of space and area.

The main structures required moderate renovations, and that was why the Fujimuras were going to arrive some time later to assist. The bedrooms required only a little bit of work compared to the rest of the place, and therefore, all the Emiyas would be able to sleep within it without much problems.

Shirou followed Kiritsugu where he gathered the tools and necessary items needed to refurnish the house such as paint, hammers, and brushes. The boy reached for the hammer before Kiritsugu picked it up. He turned to his father in confusion, the former Magus Killer beckoned him to Homura instead. "Go play with your sister, you can leave the house renovation to me and the Fujimuras."

The red haired boy placed the hammer down slowly, he was unwilling because he saw that his father needed help with the housework, therefore, he was obliged to help by any means necessary. On the other hand, it may provide some needed time to build connections with his new younger sister, who was not taking much initiative herself in pursuing a conversation with Shirou.

As Shirou took several steps towards Homura, she noticed her approaching brother and took a step back. The boy frowned, "I am not going to hurt you, you know."

Homura tried to look back at her brother's face before pouting, "I know that." Truth be told, she was still a bit wary, after the issues that she had with Taiga, she took extra caution before trusting another person, especially a person who she would be seeing as a family member.

To make a contrast though, Taiga was full of spirit and was energetic, compared to Shirou who was quiet much like herself but unlike Homura, Shirou wasn't shy. He just wasn't interactive and his personality didn't seem like what a living person would have.

Homura knew that her brother was doing his best in getting along with her but her shyness was a major obstruction to establishing the first steps to building a friendly relationship. When Shirou approached her, she instinctively backed away and she didn't even speak much to him.

Not too long, Shirou turned away from Homura and believed that he failed his goal. He just went back to Kiritsugu and helped him to carry some boxes.

Without looking back at Shirou or her father, she took a branch from outside and brought it inside to one of the empty rooms upstairs. Homura wanted to show her father about the fruits of practicing alone. Although, there were some mistakes in the past, they were not as frequent compared to now.

As the magic circuits flared up once again, sending a familiar feeling that Homura nearly forgot when she rejoined with her family. She gnashed her teeth in pain when the heat increased to a temperature that she wasn't familiar with. Homura clenched the branch harder that her hands began to slowly turn white from the effort. As though praying, she wanted to succeed at least once perfectly. But, she began to concentrate more until she felt light headed. Unable to proceed further, the girl fell asleep, too exhausted from her excess mental stress.

"Homura, where are you?" called out Shirou, who finished helping Kiritsugu carrying the lighter boxes and was taking a small break from his work.

Shirou searched outside of the house and failed to find his sister. Still remaining calm, he walked inside the house and continued to call out Homura's name, only to return with silence. The red haired male rubbed his head, did he really make that bad of an impression that he managed to scare Homura? Whatever the case, it was really difficult to understand his sister.

One room after another, starting with the largest to the smallest…

Kitchen, it was empty. Living room, it was empty.

Getting slightly worried, he called out for Homura's name loudly and still received no response, he ran to the room that he hasn't searched. It was the smallest of the whole Emiya estate. There, he started to hear some light breathing.

"Homura?" Seeing his sister lying on the floor and holding a weird looking branch in her right hand. She briefly curled up upon hearing her name but she did not awaken. Shirou, now reassured that his sister was safe, took off his jacket and placed it on top of her so that she would not catch a cold, because the Emiya estate didn't have a functional heater yet.

As Shirou was about to leave, Homura grabbed onto Shirou's sleeve unknowingly because she was still sleeping, she tried to snuggle closer to her brother because it was warmer than the jacket. The red haired boy looked confused by his sister's actions and now he was faced with a mild decision. Should he pull away or just stay still? It would be bothersome if Kiritsugu noticed that both of his children were away for some time. But Shirou had full confidence that there wasn't much to worry about his father's anxiety even with the size of the Emiya estate.

Slowly, he allowed Homura to snuggle closer to his right arm as she softly whispered how warm it was and mentioned something about being a wanted child again. Naturally, that affected Shirou, due to the fact that he was a survivor within the heart of the great Fuyuki fire and with no hope, believed that it was his fate to be abandoned to embrace death much like the countless others. He was fortunate that Kiritsugu had saved him, and thus, Shirou would be able to learn from his father to save others on the account of those who were not able to be saved.

Shirou moved slightly away, feeling the need to at least inform Kiritsugu. The sudden motion started to cause Homura to wake up. The first sight that she saw was Shirou's face up close. Several seconds past by without either of the two doing anything.

…

Homura made a slight squeak before she pulled away, only to nearly fall on her side and because Shirou supported her back before she crashed on the wood. Homura was still light in terms of weight compared to her average age group and therefore, Shirou didn't have to overexert his strength. Her brother straightened her back before she had a nice encounter from the floor.

"Are you ok?" Shirou gently asked. Homura slowly looked up to his face and then to the arm that supported her and then back to her brother's eyes. She can't help but feel that Shirou seemed more alive when he had helped her, his eyes contained a bit of life compared to the first time that she saw him. That was another factor that caused Homura to stay away from her brother, it was the fact that Shirou's eyes contained a deep void, much like her father had before he left her in the care of the Fujimuras. She started to think about the difference between Ilya and Shirou.

"Hey Homu-chan! Cheer up! We are sisters now, so at least we should have fun!" Homura thought back of her first encounter with her sister. Ilya, unlike herself, was more worthy of her name. Ilya had a spirit of fire that refused to be extinguished, her enthusiasm was enough to even cause Kiritsugu, albeit briefly, to be drawn in her pace when they were playing.

Homura felt very small in the sight of her bigger sister, but the white haired girl didn't care. If she was the bigger sibling, then she would need to watch over the smaller one. The homunculus grabbed her sister's hand without her consent and dragged her hand into the snow, even before Homura got a jacket.

"Cold…." Muttered the younger sister as her pajamas were not suitable to protect the girl from the intense cold. Finally noticing that Homura was shivering, and also due to the fact that Ilya was more in tune with the natural cold weather, she didn't stop to check that Homura wasn't prepared to step inside. "Oh no!" Dragging Homura back into the castle and panicking wildly, she threw blanket upon blanket and wrapped it around the girl while trying to hug the trapped girl at the same time. Unfortunately, Ilya's body wasn't much bigger than Homura, so the latter option failed in a way. Throwing her head rapidly in apology, "I am so sorry Homura!" If Homura were to describe Ilya's face right now, it would be in one word, adorable. Not wanting to distress the elder girl than her present state as tears began to gather in the albino girl's eyes.

"I am okay." Trying to sound cheerful while trying to get away from the blankets which were close in smothering her. "Hard to breath air…." She slowly breathed as the heat started to engulf her body. After nodding her head in apology for the last time, Ilya effortlessly pulled off the covers, she grabbed Homura's arm and walked together hand in hand to Ilya's own room.

"Homura, do you know why I am comfortable and happy when you around?" Red eyes peered deep into her sister's dark eyes, the black haired girl shook her head because she couldn't understand, her sister was quite a mystery. One moment ago, Ilya nearly drowned Homura in the snow, then apologising and next, having a deep talk with her.

"It's because we are family. And nothing in this world could change that fact. I will always cherish you Homura, my little sister. That is why you are not alone anymore. Your family is here." With that, both sisters smiled, displaying the affection when they met for the first time. By then, even if Kiritsugu didn't get along with Homura, at least she could depend on Ilya for comfort…

"Not alone, huh?" Came the small whisper from Homura's mouth, she reached for Shirou and her brother was all too willing to accept her. Yes, it would take time to build up the bond between the Emiya siblings, but neither of them regretted the decision….

The renovations were proceeding very quickly, especially with the aid of the Fujimuras and their external contacts. Of course, several parties were "convinced", mostly following out of either obedience to the Fujimura's elder or through fear due to the Yakuza's activities.

Shirou carried a small board and waved to Homura, who was taking some effort to smile back. But when she did, it was a genuine smile. Shirou turned his face away and laughed to himself in regards to Homura's courage. Progress was slow, but better than none. According to Shirou's observations, Homura could only initiate direct eye contact with him for approximately 5 seconds before turning her face away and shying away. Well, better than the beginning where she couldn't even bear to look at him for a moment.

Sighing at her latest failed attempt to start a conversation with Shirou, Homura sat down and evaluated her options, which were few from the start, given her shy personality and the fact that she isn't the type to find topics for discussions. She silently followed Shirou from a respectable distance without bothering to keep eye contact.

It wasn't a good decision, the reason behind would be due to what would happen in the next 5 seconds.

(THUMP!)

Homura gently rubbed her head as she collided with a pole located in the yard. Her eyes began to water as she tried to resist the pain. Gritting her teeth and rubbing her head, she tried to decrease the pain.

"Homura are you okay?" Shirou's eyes showed nothing but concern for his younger sister, he dropped the objects that he was carrying as soon as he heard the sound of the collision between Homura and the pole. Grabbing Homura's hand, he ran to the kitchen and allowed Homura to sit in one of the chairs while he digged deep inside the freezer for ice cubes. Taking several in his hand and placing them in a plastic bag, Shirou kept asking about Homura's pain and how she was coping with it. Lowering the bag on Homura's forehead, she flinched at the contact of both the ice and the physical contact.

"I am sorry for being such a bothersome sister." As Homura slowly turned her head away, even her attempts to connect with her brother ended up in such a failure. There was no doubt that her self-confidence was at a low level.

"No need to rush things," as the red haired boy comforted his younger sister while keeping her head in his reach. He smiled at the fact that his sister was at least trying to bridge the connection but now, he was starting to be alarmed at the fact that his sister's face was turning redder at the moment. "Are you having a fever Homura? Here let me feel it," His head closed closer towards Homura, whose face rapidly became the colour of a tomato.

"I…I am…OoKaay," Stuttered Homura as she tried to push Shirou away albeit half-heartedly, the other half welcomed Shirou's touch. The short moment between the siblings would have to wait as the roar of a certain "tiger" caused Homura to spring up in alarm.

The "tiger" was looking for its prey…The dangerous aura became closer to the Emiya siblings.

Homura, without being aware, grabbed Shirou's arm this time and surprisingly was pulling him up the stairs to the closet. Shutting the door behind her, she waited patiently until Taiga moved away.

"Um, Homura?" The voice snapped the girl from her thoughts, the female Emiya looked at the source of the voice, and saw Shirou, "What are you doing here?" inquired Homura shyly, it seemed that she had no idea that she was holding onto to Shirou the whole time.

Shirou blinked in confusion, "Weren't you the one that dragged me here?"

"Homura-chan! Shirou! Where are you? I know you are here!" The predator was still on the hunt, "Homura-chan! Shirou. No need to be afraid of onee-san, I want to play some games with you." Homura hugged Shirou tighter as they heard the footsteps approaching their direction.

Shirou held Homura tightly, if he were to be the Onii-chan, then he would act like one. His eyes became determined as he left Homura telling her to be quiet as he solely confronted the tiger. Even though Shirou was putting on a brave façade, he was about to face his initial nemesis.

"You can do this Shirou!" Whispered the boy, as Homura tearfully looked on to Shirou as though he was sacrificing himself.

Shirou looked into the jaws of death as he heard steps approaching the stairs to his level, the malicious aura poured from Taiga in waves, it doesn't help that her eyes were glowing as though it were seeking a prey for its meal.

"Shirou…." Taiga paused at the fact that a boy was standing in her way. She smiled, "Where is Homura-chan? Onee-san wants to play with her." In Shirou's mind, whatever "playing" was in mind must be dreadful seeing as Homura instantly fled from Taiga as soon as she entered the same area as her.

"Will you kindly guide me to where Homura is?" Taiga's eyes flashed in eagerness that actually caused Shirou to pause. The red haired youth took a breath and looked back with intensity, "No! I will protect Homura, even from you Fuji-nee!" He spread out his hands as though forming a barrier to prevent the tiger from getting her meal.

"Trying to be a hero eh, Shirou? I like that in a guy." The energetic girl smiled at the challenge, "Very well, if you can survive my challenge, then I would leave her alone." The Fujimura clapped in her hands and her fingers then opened as though she was a mad scientist announcing her masterpiece. The dangerous aura was replaced with another if not more frightening one.

Shirou gulped as Taiga closed the distance between them. She placed her hands right on Shirou's sides as they turned into claws. Shirou's eyes opened widely as he figured out his opponent's intentions, he was in one hell of a pinch, literally.

The attack was merciless, there was no time for rest as Shirou took one blow after another. Taiga grabbed the boy's stomach and resumed there. The boy cried as Taiga continued her tickling, Shirou's will was slowly crumbling, but it still remained strong. Even laughing, he stared defiantly at Taiga to deny her pleasure to see him fall.

"You're holding out well, 1 minute left." The Yakuza's daughter rolled up her sleeves, she wasn't going to hold back. She increased the speed of her tickling to the point that Shirou nearly yelled out in laughter.

As Shirou was holding out his own, Homura continued to flinch after each scream that Shirou emitted out. She didn't know what torture that the Fujimura monster was inflicting upon her dear brother. Both her heart and mind ached as she pondered if it was really worth it, even if Shirou was the older brother, it didn't feel right for him to bear this much pain on her behalf. She wished that Ilya was here, if she could have as much spirit as hers. Then, she would be able to protect her family right?

Protecting one another was not a one way street. Homura reminded herself again and again, if she was the youngest sister next to Ilya and Shirou, then she would only remain a burden to her siblings (not that Shirou or Ilya would mind). Therefore, she had to stand up for herself and to play a role as the one that would be a guardian role, age doesn't matter. The oldest or youngest was irrelevant.

Making her decision, and taking a deep breath in the process. Okay Homura, you could do this, just get Shirou and take him out of there, don't stay, just run. She finalised the plan and slowly opened the door as Shirou's screams became panting, time was of the essence!

"You did it, Shirou. You are a tough cookie to crack." The once mighty tiger was sweating, her assault didn't manage to cause Shirou to break as she had intended. She had a newfound respect for the boy that Kiritsugu picked up from the ruins of Fuyuki City. "You would make a good brother for Homura." A compliment from Taiga was acknowledgement of her defeat.

"Leave Onii-chan alone!" Homura surprised by how loud she had shouted, frankly both Shirou and Fujimura turned to the source of the voice unexpectedly. Taking Shirou's hand and trying to run, the two fell to the floor because Shirou was too exhausted to run after surviving Taiga's tickling attack.

"Ah, what beautiful bond of siblings," Shirou and Homura both gulped at the voice of the very eager, older guardian came closer. Maybe I shouldn't have run out, Homura felt bad for her brother because he had survived so much only to see his sacrifice go to waste because of her reckless action. But at least, she felt a sense of pride as she stood up, not only for herself but also for a family member in need, much like Ilya did for her in the past.

Any comforting thoughts came to an immediate halt as both Emiya siblings found themselves in a tight bear hug by the older girl. Well, the battle is won, but the war was lost.

"Homura and Shirou, both of you are so cute!" Her eyes were glowing now and the 2 children were starting to sweat. "I am going to play with you EVERY day! I wish I could bring you home!" The bear hug was getting stronger, breathing was starting to become harder to continue. But even so, Homura held onto Shirou as though it were a lifeline. Well, at least the Emiya siblings won't die alone right?

"Now now, Taiga-chan. Any tighter and those 2 will have an early journey to heaven." There was laughter, but at least the voice of the head of the Emiya family seemed to prevent the brown haired girl from increasing her strength in her display of affection of the younger children.

Shirou silently thanked his father for the timely rescue. Any longer and he would have been out of breath, but if there's something productive from the situation was right beside him. Homura looked at him. He looked back, the two laughed together, evidence that the bond was between them. As if reinforcing the point, the two siblings' hands were still connected, each to draw emotional strength from the other. Emiya Shirou or even Emiya Homura, the two were not alone, they were family…

The renovations were finally complete, and to Taiga's disagreement, she had to return back to the Fujimura household. The three Emiyas waved as the Fujimuras left in their car. Shirou yawned as he just realised how late it was. He needed to sleep soon.

Shirou's father turned to him, "Shirou, I need to discuss something with Homura, you could sleep first," The red haired boy nodded, there was an important discussion going on between father and daughter, and he didn't want to intrude on their privacy. The boy silently went upstairs to brush his teeth.

Once Kiritsugu no longer heard the footsteps, he closed the door behind him and walked over to Homura. To be honest, the once mighty Magus Killer wasn't sure how to bring the news to the poor girl. She never had the chance to build connections with her mother.

Maiya, your task is complete. Those last words to Maiya continued to haunt Kiritsugu, even though in the Grail war, he did his best to form his mind into steel, concerning himself with his mission to win the Grail war. But, it never fully worked out, he was a human, hence he was burdened with his own emotions and in this case, guilt.

"Homura, I need to tell you about your mother," his words were coming out, his mind wasn't working properly. But he continued to speak emotionlessly, "your mother Hisau Maiya, she died." What are you doing Emiya Kiritsugu?. His rational side shouted to him, here is a young girl and you were bluntly telling her that she died as though it was normal. His mouth wasn't responding to him, as though twisting the knife, he quoted himself, "she fulfilled her purpose."

The daughter didn't know what to say or to respond, she didn't really have much of an emotional attachment to her birth mother but to say that she was happy with the news was a big mistake. No, that connection was forever lost, there was no way to rebuild it. There was no way to bridge lost relationships from the living to the dead. Homura walked closer to her father until she was touching his arm, she knew that whatever happened during THAT time had affected him emotionally.

"There's more…" Kiritsugu took a deep breath, this was the most difficult part to continue, "Irisviel…" his voice began to crack while his eyes started to become moist, "she also died in the Holy Grail war." He can't believe how much emotional pain he was in, this was also cemented by the fact that in the Grail induced vision, he had to personally murder his own wife and his family one after another. But, to deepen his regrets, he was cursed to live his life with regrets. However, there was a small hope of salvation when he rescued Shirou from the fire and if he can reunite his children and resume the family life. The next Holy Grail wouldn't happen in their lifetime, he made sure of it.

"Auntie Irisviel…" Homura's voice fell apart as she started to cry loudly into Kiritsugu's shirt. She found the death of Ilya's mother much unbearable than her birth mother because Auntie Irisviel was the one that served as the mother in her early life. She was the one that fed, played and sometimes, even reading her stories when Ilya and her used to sleep in the same bed. She was hit with heavy uncertainty with how would Ilya take the news, she wouldn't be happy to hear the fact that her mother had died in a war, no Ilya would most likely blame Kiritsugu for the years to come.

Daughter and father hugged each other, sadness pouring upon each other. Yet, they also found comfort within each other because both were suffering the same pain, and that's why only THEY could understand it.

Homura broke away from her father, and ran upstairs to where Shirou was. Shirou was already beginning to sleep when a sobbing Homura hugged his back. Startled, he turned around to have his younger sister crying into his chest. The brother was about to look for Kiritsugu to ask what had happened when he caught sight of his father as well. The former Magus Killer had silent tears falling from his eyes as he silently went to his private quarters to sleep. Whatever happened was probably out of Shirou's power to help, but there was one thing to do…

"It's okay Homura, let it out. Your onii-chan is here," Shirou continued to pat her head until Homura cried herself to sleep. As Shirou released his hand away from his sister's head, 2 arms held him closer to the girl's body. If the girl was dreaming, she only whispered, "Please don't leave me…"

Night came longer for Shirou, but the longer he felt that he was helping Homura, then he didn't mind not sleeping for the entire night. The sobbing had stopped, the warmth remained. Thoughts came and disappeared. Slumber came in a little later and his eyes had closed…

Surely, this was a calm night.

Early in the morning, Kiritsugu was the first person to wake up in the household, there was much to be done and he was not sure how much time had remained until his Magic Circuits would decay away with the effects of the Grail's curse. Therefore, in that small amount of time, he has to fully teach Homura on how to defend herself and recover Ilya in the process. If all goes according to plan, then MAYBE using Avalon's leftover prana left within the Conceptual weapon may reverse the curse and allow him to carry the duties of a proper father.

Taking the time to walk into the room where his two children were sleeping, he smiled at the sight. It was evident to Kiritsugu that Homura had cried a lot, but he saw that Shirou had managed to provide emotional and physical comfort. Unfortunately, he would have to break the precious moment if he were to set his plans into action.

Moving towards the sleeping girl, the man slowly but firmly rubbed Homura's shoulder until she started to wake up, she was about to address her father when Kiritsugu placed his index finger to his mouth to prevent Shirou from waking up. Homura silently unwrapped her arms from Shirou's chest and regretting the loss of her brother's warmth, she moved to her father's side and the two moved outside again for privacy.

Homura turned to face Kiritsugu, she wasn't sure why her father had called her out for, especially with the news that he brought yesterday, so this conversation must be as equal in terms of importance. Fiddling with her thumbs in nervousness, she looked up to Kiritsugu's eyes and giving a mental reminder to herself, she took a deep breath, I am ready.

Kiritsugu's visage transformed to one that reflected his Magus Killer persona, his eyes were stern with none of the gentleness that was contained in his features earlier. Homura stepped back a little, unprepared to face that serious expression after such a warm time with her family members. The father knew that he was going to be VERY blunt with her; there would be little room of rebuttal for time was running out. He only hoped that Homura was going to be ready and was willing to share the burden as being a member of the Emiya family. A flash of Shirou's smiling face appeared in Kiritsugu's mind and the said father could only bow his head in shame before recomposing himself to face Homura again.

"Homura, I need you to know this. Because we are Emiya, we will very likely to face danger from all directions and therefore, I have to train you so that you can protect this family in my absence." Kiritsugu went straight to the point.

His daughter shook her head side to side, "I can't do that, I don't know magic yet. I am not able to do what you can do. I am still a little girl and I am scared!" The idea of protecting the family was appealing, but what could she do? She could only rely on others, there was nothing she could do by herself, let alone protect her family.

"I am going to pass to you the Emiya Magic Crest, this contains knowledge from the Emiya family, albeit mine is half of the whole Emiya Crest. The other half resides within your dead grandfather, which I would pass along in time."

Kiritsugu carefully explained the process, he knew he would have to explain everything in detail. He briefly explained about the Mage's Association but knowing Homura, she wouldn't be able to comprehend everything so he would leave the explanation behind the Sealing Designation for another day. The corpse of Emiya Norikata was recovered by Natalia, but under the request of the young Emiya, who wanted a constant reminder about the first kill that he had made, she managed to convince the higher ups that Norikata's Magic Crest, as well as his research and his body were destroyed when the island went up in flames. An investigation was launched, but it yielded no results so the Mage's Association came to the conclusion that the Emiya line had ended without producing any viable results.

Kiritsugu took off his shirt and ordered Homura to take off her pyjamas as well. Homura's face flushed upon seeing her father's naked chest for the first time. Well, there's a first time for everything. After receiving consent from the father, she pulled her dark shirt over, revealing her bare chest to her father. She closed her eyes when Kiritsugu placed his palm over Homura's sternum line.

Homura was feeling rather cold without her shirt, especially since they were outside and it's mildly windy. When her father placed his palm to her chest, she welcomed the physical contact. So warm, it feels rather nice. Homura enjoyed the moment, until the warmth was slowly beginning to become hot…

Magic circuits activated one by one, gradually and without burning themselves out. The circuits belonging to the girl were adjusting to external stimulus, the Magic Crest implantation. It wasn't an easy process, even if Homura was part of the Emiya bloodline, and would be more compatible than compared to outsiders; there was still something that was creating some resistance.

The former Magus Killer was confused at the length of time needed, it didn't take this long when he was implanted the crest. He poured greater prana to overcome the resistance and it managed to be successful. The implantation was going to be successful…

As the crest was being implanted, Homura's vision was slowly beginning to blank out, it was completely white by now. Then she saw visions, a youthful boy that wanted to be a hero of justice as he conversed with his friend, who Homura had to admit was very pretty. In the next moment, she saw the same girl but this time there was something different about her.

Her eyes were glowing red, and was that blood on her hands? Homura could feel her body tensing up in fear, a move that was reflected in the person that experienced the vision (aka young Kiritsugu). In his hands, he had a knife that could end the misery of his friend.

"Please kill me. I don't want to hurt anybody." The girl, Shirley, now a Dead Apostle looked onto Kiritsugu and in extension, Homura, as tears poured from her blood colored eyes that lit up the night.

Homura, like the young Kiritsugu turned away from the sight and headed back to home, who hoped that it would be a simple nightmare that would end, but it didn't. No, instead it became worse.

Now, the island was surrounded in flames as Homura, in Kiritsugu's body, followed Natalia to find her father. The boy wanted to know why this had to happen, why Shirley had to become a monster to consume people.

Homura finally met her grandfather, and it wasn't a good first impression. The Emiya head calmly remarked that while the whole island case was unfortunate, it was a necessary sacrifice to further the Emiya magic in order to reach the Root. The root, what is that? Homura asked herself, was such a thing so important that countless others had to be sacrificed to attain such a dream?

Then, the next vision fast forwarded to the point where Kiritsugu shot and killed his father. There was no emotion on the boy's face but inwardly, Homura could have vomited right there, her eyes opening in shock as she felt the boy's arm raise again and fired repeatedly upon the body that belonged to her grandfather as if to confirm the deed.

As the Magic Crest implantation continued, she browsed through the important events of Kiritsugu's life. She went through the memories of the young adult that was forced to kill countless people over and over, hoping for an ending that justice would prevail. But, the bloodshed continued, Homura cried at the moment where Kiritsugu was forced to kill Natalia, the person that resembled as a mother figure to him.

To a person who felt like she didn't have a proper mother, to kill a mother like figure, it greatly affected Homura deeply.

Within the intertwined minds of Kiritsugu and Homura, the daughter could hear one sentence echoed over and over again.

"Saving everybody is impossible, if you save one, that means another cannot be saved."

It was the motto of the Magus Killer, who was forced to hang to his ideals and what turned him to the person he became now. And as Homura began to reflect on that statement, the Magic Crest was fully transplanted…and the vision came to an end.

Muffled voices sounded through the air. How long was I out? I feel warm, but wasn't I outside? Homura struggled to put her thought process in order, when her hearing was improving to the point where she could make out voices.

It was a youthful male that was calling her name, there was no doubt that it was her brother.

"Homura, can you hear me?" Better get up then, Homura disliked the fact that she was causing anxiety for her family, and slowly opened her eyes.

"Are you alright?! Dad brought you in after saying that you passed out in the yard." Homura rubbed her head to stamp out the aftereffects of a recent headache. The girl reached towards her chest as if to palpate the area of where the Magic Crest was transplanted.

The area was still more warm compared to the rest of the body, she slowly reached for the hem of her shirt and was about to pull it off when Shirou made an inaudible noise in front of her. Homura tilted her head in confusion as Shirou's face became redder and he turned around quickly, "What are you doing Homura? Don't take your clothes off in front of a boy!" He nearly yelled out the last sentence.

Oh, I was just taking off my clothes and Shirou was watching….wait, my brother was looking at what? Homura pieced everything together slowly, and she froze because she realised the problem. Now, both Emiyas' faces were completely red at this point, "sorry about that!" as the younger sister shouted and ran back indoors .

Shirou went to his father, maybe he would have some answers. But, Kiritsugu was nowhere to be found. Why did he take off when Homura had passed out? That question continued to haunt Shirou for the remainder of the day.

Kiritsugu had already left the house after he left Homura in Shirou's care. There were many important affairs to attend to, notably about the deal with the Einzberns. There was no doubt that they would not see an act that would equalize as betrayal very lightly. After all, he was supposed to be the trump card and it was highly probable that they had sources of intelligence within Fuyuki city so that they would also know that Kiritsugu managed to survive up to the finale of the war.

He resided in one of his acquaintance's houses in order to draft a letter to the head of the Einzbern to explain the rationale behind the destruction of the Fuyuki Grail. Kiritsugu's sole hope was that he would be able to bypass the Einzbern territory and see his daughter Ilya at least once, even if it had to cost his life. He doubted that the Acht would make the journey a cake walk. No, he would place various homunculi, and various wolves on standby to guard against intruders. There was also a boundary field to worry about. Assuming the curse hasn't completely nullified his magical ability, he SHOULD be able to sneak inside.

The former Magus Killer described his experiences in detail, and what really resided the Grail, it's supposedly corruption and the being inside, which he believed was Angra Mainyu, was responsible for said corruption. He also narrated briefly about the cause of the Great Fire, he kept the description of the fire VERY briefly, he didn't want to relive the experience let alone write about it again. Also, they shouldn't find out about Shirou, there was no doubt that the Einzbern family would turn their vengeance on the boy, Homura and as well as break Ilya in the process.

"Ilya….How are you doing now? Iri is gone now, It's really sad that you could not see her ever again…" Kiritsugu mouthed the words as he began to write his second letter, this one was for his daughter, who he had at least hoped to read it. As he continued writing about how he had missed her, sharp pain erupted inside of his body.

A deep pain that erupted from Kiritsugu's hands before it spread to his abdomen and remained there. Clenching his teeth and looking at his hands, the marks of where the Irisviel had scratched him as he strangled her, there was a foul substance that was flowing from the scars. A black liquid that oozed with malice, much like the one from the Grail was spreading through his body, the excess was pushed out like blood from a wound.

It was clear to him. "I don't have much time left," as Kiritsugu clicked his tongue, and there was still much to prepare for. Even if I die, I WILL NOT allow my children to be subject to that horrible war EVER again. Making his decision, he continued to walk outside as he took out his phone and began to make arrangements to acquire explosives, and small arms. Even if his life was full of regret, this along with saving Shirou, was something he would cherish until the moment he drops dead.

After making the phone calls and sending out the mail, he turned towards the direction of the sunset as he made for the journey home.

Homura brushed several drops of sweat, the Magic Crest was heating up as the Magic Circuits were reacting towards the Crest again. What was going on? Homura thought as she took a towel, wetted it and wiped her face in order to cool herself off.

"Shirou onii-chan?" The younger Emiya called out for her adopted brother, he was here a moment ago but he later left her alone in the bedroom where the 2 Emiya children slept in.

"I'm in the kitchen," the male voice rang out as the voice became closer as Shirou stepped in with a tray in hand with oatmeal. It was an easily assembled dish and even though there was no adult supervision, Shirou felt confident enough to just pour mix and boiling water at the same time. The thought of their babysitter, Fujimura Taiga, cooking their food brought cold chills to Shirou, the worst possibility was if she was the one that was serving food to a recovering Homura.

Taking a spoon to feed herself but as soon as her tongue met the spoon, she dropped it with a plop right into the bowl. The oatmeal was hot, Shirou was sure that even if the taste was great, the burning sensation from the heat was much stronger as the black haired girl kept blowing into her hands to get the excess heat out of her mouth.

Concerned, Shirou lifted a cup of cold water to Homura's mouth and told her to drink the liquid to cool her tongue. The younger Emiya grabbed the water quickly and gulped it down in one breath. Taking heavy breaths afterwards, she became embarrassed at her mistake. The boy grabbed the spoon that was dropped and blew it softly before handing back to Homura, who pouted. "I can feed myself," the younger sister was quick to regain her lost pride.

In the Fuyuki City borders was where a vengeful family had resided. The Akemi family was once part of the 5 Demon Hunter Families. However, the Akemi were branded as traitors and heretics after their focus changed from hunting nonhumans to killing anybody for the highest bidder. From that fateful day, the 5 families had decreased to 4, and they had renamed themselves as the Demon Hunter Organization.

Starting with the most recent head of the Akemi family, Akemi Roki, he made connections with the Magus Association to hunt down and destroy magi outright. But, this was all to be done because Roki had developed an interest in magecraft and the collection of Magic Crests to further their goals.

Emiya Kiritsugu and the Akemi family had a rough history together. Both of them were contacted by the Magus Association to hunt down a certain Magi, who was deemed a threat after he threatened to expose the secrets of magecraft to the public after being rejected a position at the Clock Tower. The Akemi family and Kiritsugu, although given the same job, were contacted separately and neither of them were aware of the other's intentions. Therefore, the 2 forces had clashed when they were hunting down the same target.

The two forces butted heads more than once and it often left with more bloodshed to the surrounding area, and the Akemi family losing several members with each confrontation with the Magus Killer.

The Akemi family specialized in Clairvoyance and the use of Concealment to bypass Bounded fields and the technique of hiding weaponry which made them excellent assassins. But neither of these had mattered when faced against Kiritsugu who specialized in killing heretics in all areas.

Akemi Roki rubbed the bullet scar on his shoulder, he was lucky that it was not his heart that was shot. It was more of a direct blow upon his pride more than anything. Emiya Kiritsugu will pay, Roki swore on it. But, he was also not stupid. A direct attack on the Emiya family would equivalent to nothing less than suicide, there must be another way to repay the Emiyas, as the head of the Akemi family slammed the table, causing a small tremor in the room.

"Emiya, if only I can see your face twisted in grief right now." The elder now sported a more sinister grin as he tried to think of possible ideas to attack the Emiya household.

There was no doubt that that the Emiya residence would be filled with traps and Bounded fields that could stop several assassins. But even though the idea of revenge would be fitting, the price was still too low to consider risking the lives of his subordinates to settle a grudge between himself and the Magus Killer.

Then, there's the problem with who was going to succeed him as leader in case the worst scenario happened if he fell in battle. The Akemi tapped his foot on the floor impatiently, "So many things to do and SO LITTLE time." He would have spat on the ground, if there was nobody watching him but being the Akemi head, he had to act gracefully in front of his subordinates and family members.

Emiya Kiritsugu managed to return late in the evening, after he had finished arranging for the weapon components that he was going to need in rescuing Ilya from the grasp of the Einzbern. There was no doubt that Acht had not taken this "betrayal" lightly and would likely increase the defences around the Castle.

The scene in front of him shook him out of his thoughts about them as he saw Shirou feeding Homura to which she took the spoon while pouting. There was no doubt that Shirou was the one that cooked the meal because there was no adults or residents in the Emiya residence. Shirou is going to be a good brother, Kiritsugu thought happily, and that is why he must not be involved in "our" world.

Making his presence known, he called out for his 2 children, the two children turning towards him. Shirou was about to ask where did Kiritsugu go during the day, but Kiritsugu, sensing that he would ask, cut him off.

"I had to go for a Doctor's appointment."

The statement was half true, seeing as he tried to go for medical advice to see if there was any way to slow down or halt the effects of the Grail's curse before coming home. Kiritsugu knew that he had to lie to hide his intent and at least prevent Shirou from the bloody history that he was involved in.

Thinking about Shirou's wellbeing brought another matter at hand and Kiritsugu walked towards his 2 children. The proof that Shirou was able to use the oven safely at a young age displayed Shirou's maturity and his ability to care for himself and others. Tapping Shirou's shoulder with his hand, he began to speak in regards to family resources.

"Shirou, I am giving you some reserve cash in case I am not home. If there is anything you need help with, then you could call the Fujimura as well. I bet Taiga-chan would be very willing to come over."

His son nodded about the financial resources but wasn't very happy with Taiga though. Shirou felt like he shouldn't rely on others for help, he SHOULD be the one helping others.

The father now turned to the daughter, who he had felt had ignored for the majority of the conversation. Paternal instincts and intuition taking over the mind of the former Magus Killer as he recalled something important that he would have ignored if he was the emotionless assassin back then, reserving it for Ilya.

The man patted the head of the black haired daughter, who welcomed the gesture, "Homura, it's 10 days until your birthday. So if it's something I could get for you within my power, I will." Homura only nodded at the statement. But, somehow Kiritsugu knew what Homura really wanted, a chance to meet with Ilya once more. Acht be damned if he was going to stand in his way, and there wasn't much time left because with each day, his Magic circuits were failing and breaking down due to the Grail's corruption. As for his weapons, they should be shipped in a day before he arrives to Europe.

Shirou, sensing a tense atmosphere in his father, held Homura's hand and called out to his father, "Dad, you don't mind if I bring Homura out for a short walk together, do you?" He was looking eagerly at the man, hoping that he would say yes because he does not want his dad to continue thinking negatively or getting Homura involved in it as well.

"Very well, go ahead and don't wander off too far," Kiritsugu suppressed the chronic pain that he was used to when his Magic Circuits feel like they were atrophying.

Shirou didn't let Kiritsugu's expression of pain go unnoticed as he ran towards his dad, "Are you okay dad? Should you take a rest?"

Kiritsugu inspected Shirou's expression, it was one filled with concern. How sad, for such a boy to show concern for a monster like yourself.

The voice that haunted Kiritsugu returned and was laughing at the ridiculousness about why should an innocent boy care for the Magus Killer, who slaughtered countless others and was also responsible for Shirou's current situation. The man ignored the voice as what he usually did, and returned a smile to his son. "It's just chronic pain, I used to work my body out but I kind of overworked it recently before I found you."

Homura knew instantly that Kiritsugu was lying, and the fact that she didn't call him out on it made her feel even worse as she played along. But as what Kiritsugu explained before, it was to keep Shirou in the "light" from being tainted in a magus's darkness. The practice of magecraft, the personal sacrifices and emotional detachment was not the life that Kiritsugu had wanted Shirou to experience. Homura knew she was an exception because he already taught her the basics but to also consider the need to do so for Shirou's future protection from enemies that want revenge on the Magus Killer.

Taking Shirou's sleeve and keeping her head low, Homura didn't look at Shirou's face as she tugged continuously, "Dad is fine, there's no need to worry about him," Homura softly whispered, the feeling of guilt increasing. Was this the same guilt that Ilya onee-chan had to go through before we left each other? It was indeed an awful feeling and she wanted to escape from it. Shirou nodded, trusting her that their father was ok.

The Emiya patriarch saw what Homura was trying to do and was not about to allow the chance to escape. "Come on Shirou, take Homura out for a walk, I'll just take some pain killers like usual. It should be good enough for the day. The truth was that no amount of mundane medication would be able to deal with the pain as the curse was eroding him physically, mentally and on a magical level. Medication was only effective in dealing with the physical pain. Even the price of using Double Accel was starting to be inferior to the pain that he was having now and Kiritsugu knew that it would only get worse. He gave a sad smile as he watched Shirou and Homura dress up to have their walk…

Shirou and Homura brought a map along with them. Well, they won't be wandering too far from the Emiya district. The cold winds continued to blow on the two as they held hands tighter to preserve the warmth. Homura interpreted the gesture of holding hands tightly as intimate as she blushed deeply and turned away to prevent looking at Shirou's face. The two continued to walk towards the city in an attempt to find a present for the younger sister.

The siblings looked sadly at some of the buildings that were caught in the great Fuyuki fire, some of them were completely destroyed while others took minor damage and were showing signs of wear and tear as well as the smell of decay.

Shirou was keeping a melancholic expression, seeing as he was one of the rare survivors and the fact that the people present in the ruins were people from the surrounding cities who moved in, building businesses on the tombstones of the people killed from the Great Fire. It truly sickened him down to the core, to disrespect the lives of those that once resided here.

Keeping a healthy distance from the smell of the smoke that still lingered, the siblings decided to walk further from the charred rubble, Homura tugged on Shirou's sleeve when she sensed anxiety within him. He only responded by with a firm voice, "Never will I allow this to happen again." His eyes became sharp and they were filled with resolve, but it wasn't a sight that comforted the young girl.

"Come on, there are other stores to look through," Shirou didn't even face Homura as he was still lost in his thoughts.

Even though the Emiya siblings managed to walk away from the affected areas of the Fuyuki fire, they could still smell remnants of ash that was being blown in their direction, and it wasn't a comfortable feeling. Homura coughed several times from the contaminated air and crept closer to Shirou's jacket.

The younger Emiya pointed to the nearby bakery, and indicating that she was getting hungry. Shirou bought 2 pieces of Taiyaki, and the two smiled at each other as they enjoyed their snack. The food was sweet, but the happiness shared between the two was sweeter. Homura licked the pieces that remained on her lips as Shirou was still confined within his thoughts, although this time, he was thinking about what present to get for Homura rather than on being the survivor of the Great Fire.

Homura stood up and held Shirou's hand, that was when her own thoughts had drifted to her older sister Ilya again. She could only feel regret at the fact that her older sister could not join in on their happiness. The younger Emiya could tell that Ilya would have gotten well with Shirou, that is if they wouldn't try to kill each other over her. She could giggle inwardly at how absurd and amusing it would be.

In a way, thinking about if the 3 siblings were together was a like a bright light that illuminated Homura's darkness, she had both a dependable older sister and a dependable older brother. Homura would have counted in Taiga as well, but her opinion on the "tiger" was still mixed and even her first time impressions were VERY hard to change.

The girl felt her hand being lifted as her body followed as Shirou pulled Homura to her feet. "Did you have fun?" Homura shook her head up and down briefly acknowledging her brother's question. The two continued to walk deeper into a city until they reached the shopping mall. If it weren't for the lack of security officers, one would question about why 2 kids were wandering alone without a guardian. So, the fact that the 2 Emiya children were mostly being ignored was indeed a blessing for them.

Shirou took a break by sitting on a bench while Homura walked inside a store. He kept an eye on his sister the whole time. She was small, therefore it would be easy for her to get lost. There was no greater shame for a brother than failing to protect his little sister. Homura came out of the store and went outside to the one beside it. It was a place selling hair accessories.

The black haired girl's eyes looked from one display to another until her eyes stopped at something. It was a simple yet beautiful black headband. There was something that really appealed to her, it was both the colour and from the description, the headband was flexible, as it could stretch across a bigger head if the need called for. Feeling the need to touch it, she reached for the item and inspected it with her fingers. It was soft, she placed it on her head just to see if it fit. The hairband was not tight nor was it loose, it was just right.

"Homura, are you done yet?" Oops, Shirou was still waiting outside, it wouldn't be nice to leave him alone out there, Homura quickly removed the headband and placed it back on the display.

Shirou was waiting at the door, but he knew that his sister was safe. As Homura walked out the store, she briefly looked into the mirror and flipped her hair ensuring that they weren't tangled from wearing the headband. The motion wasn't unnoticed though.

"You see, I wish I had long hair, that way I could dress up my hair in different ways." It was a blue haired girl, no older than Homura was pointing at her as though she found a rare specimen.

"Sayaka-chan, it's rude to point fingers," another voice, this time from a girl with pink twin tails. She bowed in apology to Homura as more people entered the store. Blinking slowly, Homura didn't pay them much attention as she rushed back to meet Shirou.

"Watch where you are going kids," a man called out rudely. The tall man presented an intimidating image on the 2 children. Shirou stood in front of Homura protectively without flinching under the deadly glare of the adult.

"Heh, some kid is trying to play hero huh? Not bad if you want to do it in front of a girl," the man mocked Shirou's act of heroism as an act of stupidity. Homura held to Shirou tightly as her circuits and her crest were starting to heat up.

The voice of her father echoed within her mind, you must protect your family. But the fact remained that Homura was still scared, for both herself and for Shirou.

After taking a moment to realising the escalation in tension especially with 2 kids, the man calmed down and began to turn around, his expression of fury not leaving his face. It has already sullied his pride that he had to reduce his level to that of little brats when he should be planning his vendetta. He would have left the kids alone had they kept their mouths shut for a little bit longer.

"Homura, we have to return to the Emiya mansion," despite Shirou whispering the words, it didn't change the fact that the man had overheard their conversation.

Though the man's back was turned to the kids, his angry face was replaced by one of cunning. Yes, I will see you REAL soon Emiya Kiritsugu, without making a noise Roki headed home to assemble his family for an important meeting.

Kiritsugu just finished contacting his weapons supplier in Europe, they would send in the caches 2 days before Kiritsugu himself arrives on EInzbern territory again. No doubt they would take measures to prevent him from seeing his daughter.

The former Magus Killer was also reflecting whether he should take Avalon from within Shirou in order to bolster his fighting ability and in order to heal his curse. However, there was a high chance that the Grail's curse was not free from Shirou and it would be a dangerous gamble if the Grail killed Shirou in Kiritsugu's absence.

Homura would not forgive him, what with the bond that developed between the two. And most importantly, he would not forgive himself if he killed the life that he was dedicating to save. Shirou IS the light to the tunnel, he was the bridge to the normal life that he wanted to live as a child, and to carry out Natalia's will and be a good parent for once.

The Contender opened and Kiritsugu unloaded the gun to replace it with a fresh Origin Bullet. He sighed deeply when he noticed something important, "3 seconds," his reflexes were slowing down, owed to the curse and THAT would prove to be fatal where even a single second could mean the difference between life and death. This also proved that the curse was progressing and if Kiritsugu didn't act now, he may not have the chance to pull off the rescue attempt.

"Dad, we're finally home," the door revealed Shirou and Homura, both of them looked tired from the walk. Better cook some food then, it would be beneficial to enjoy the family life before he has leave in 2 days. Calculating the time gap, the time needed to break into the Einzbern, he believed that there was enough time to return before Homura's birthday.

Kiritsugu brewed up 3 cups of tea, and quickly cooked some eggs served with bread, it may not be the best meal, but his talent for cooking was mediocre as he would only need to fill his stomach and acquire enough nutrition for the battle(s) ahead, so he did not have time to enjoy the art of cooking. He hoped his children would not need to resort to measures like this.

As the former Magus Killer began to cook the food, Shirou offered his help. Kiritsugu wasn't sure if the boy wanted to cook or the fact that maybe Shirou wanted to move quickly into living independently. Either way, who was he to refuse help? At least maybe when he was away, the 2 children won't starve until Taiga arrived….

"At night time, Homura privately met with Kiritsugu as planned between them in order to monitor the girl's progress with Magecraft. But what surprised Kiritsugu the most was that Homura was performing Reinforcement adequately, although there was always some flaw with the reinforced object, it would be possible that there was something more than just technique. He would have to teach Homura better to master said ability. Another point for tonight was he wanted to see if Homura was able to use Innate Time Control.

Using the Magic Crest for the first time, pain erupted from her chest as she was still not accustomed to using the foreign circuits from her family line. Instructions were pouring into her head as she delved deeper into the mysteries of the Emiya magecraft. Time, manipulating time was the mystery behind the Emiya's research into Magecraft. She was feeling her body adjusting to the changes needed to perform the task needed to manipulate time around herself.

Homura didn't even utter the aria as she ran 2 meters in triple speed before collapsing in severe pain. She gasped for air, and Kiritsugu ran to Homura's side immediately. She looked up to her father with a sense of shame, "I am sorry that I can't do it as well as you father," Kiritsugu felt a knife stab his heart, even if it was the first time using the Emiya magecraft, Homura felt only failure. Unfortunately, the sight of the girl in pain was not only witnessed by Kiritsugu and Homura…

"Homura, dad, what are you doing?" Shirou was present during the whole thing, he watched as his sister performed acts that were completely impossible for normal humans. He saw her move from one area to another in a speed that was hard to track with his own eyes, but the sight of his sister in pain sprung him into action.

Kiritsugu froze, this was something the boy was NOT allowed to see, this was something that he had planned in order for the Emiya family to have a fresh start, a normal life. He was becoming pale, but he had to recompose himself.

"Shirou please go back to bed," his voice was stern, there was no room for argument. If Kiritsugu had to become cold for this reason, then it was worth it, there was no way that he would allow Shirou to enter the Magus world, guilt belonged to the Emiya and their blood descendants.

Homura took a look at Shirou, and she too cannot afford to say anything, but at least she would have to provide a convincing image that she was alright. Then, there would be no need for Shirou to pursuit the matter. But it didn't change the fact that when Shirou was present, she felt very happy. The girl stood up but was unsteady, but she managed to smile at Shirou reassuring him.

Kiritsugu and Homura both told Shirou to return to bed and the red haired Emiya could do nothing but obey. Questions laid in his mind about why they had to hide this from him, but knowing his adopted family, they must have a valid reason of doing so. If he wanted to say anything, it would be, what can I do to help?

The next day arrived and Kiritsugu woke up early to catch the flight, he left a notice for his children that he would be going for a "job errand" and would arrive on Homura's birthday. Shirou broke the news to Homura, who took the news easily as they awaited their babysitters. Oh well, even a tiger has her good moments…

The Fujimura elder also accompanied Taiga as he became the cook of the household. Shirou offered his help whenever he could, but he himself was learning at a good pace. For whatever reason he could not explain, whenever cutting up salad, cooking complex meats he broke the steps down easily and was mastering the skills of cooking. Even at his current level, there was no doubt that he would reach the level of expert chef in a matter of weeks at his pace.

This news was like finding a gold mine for Taiga, who mostly had to cook for herself. Her cooking could be said as "passable" but anything above it would be overestimating her cooking skills, and she KNEW it. Therefore, Taiga made a silent vow to herself that she would take care of the 2 Emiya children, the two kids not knowing why she would be so passionate in staying with them.

Shirou went to Fujimura Taiga for a bit of advice, something which a girl would know the answers to.

"Fuji-nee? I want to get a present for a girl." The boy hoped he didn't curse himself by asking his question because Taiga was really unpredictable with her actions and words.

"A present for me?" Yes, she was definitely misunderstanding something. Shirou could only sigh mentally. "Then you could cook for me Shirou, the best meal you could ever prepare. Oh wait, you said a girl…?" Shirou could only pray that Taiga would be reasonable, but even that was highly in doubt. "A girl you say? Do you mean that you are marrying somebody other than me? Are you taking away my reason to live? Onee-san is sad!" As expected, comedic tears spilled from Taiga's eyes and were beginning to soak Shirou's shirt.

"No! No!" Shirou shook this head quickly, he was determined to stop this nonsense before it began to spiral out of control. "I just want to get Homura a birthday present!" Fortunately, Taiga began to calm down, "That's right Shirou, there is no way you would cheat on me, right?" even the puppy eyes from Taiga only drew eyes of pity from Shirou.

"If it's Homura-chan…?" Taiga pressed her hand to her head as she thought heavily, "maybe something fashionable, all girls seem to like clothes right? What about her appearance that appeals to you the most Shirou, from a brother's point?" Shirou wasn't one to comment, he didn't really know anything about fashion, but at least he would comment that Homura's black hair was indeed beautiful as he replayed the memory of the Homura looking intently at the black hairband as her hands flipped through the black strands of her hair.

"Okay! I got it," Shirou knew what to get for Homura's birthday, he hoped that his sister would enjoy it as much as he enjoyed the happy expressions of other people.

The day before Homura's birthday….

The Akemi family head had received a phone call from a certain European family.

"What the hell do you want, Magus?" Roki sneered at having to listen to Kiritsugu's most recent employer, anybody that associated with Kiritsugu was an enemy in his book. He tapped his finger on the table impatiently, if the Einzberns were planning on using the Magus Killer to settle the score with them, then by all means let them.

But, what he had heard instead shook his expectations.

It seemed there was another party that wanted Kiritsugu dead. His reputation was becoming more infamous at the moment and Roki could only wonder what the hell did Kiritsugu do to anger his employers considering that he was so efficient.

The Einzbern elder was on the other hand, no doubt, unaccustomed to using mundane technology. But his tone allowed for no rebuke.

Acht simply said one request, one that Roki was all too happy to take, "I want you to end the Emiya line." It was a tempting request but even the Akemi head had to get some compensation out of it, even tackling the Magus Killer would no doubt inflict casualties on the Akemi Clan, which would only serve to shake the balance of power away from his favour.

The Einzbern head continued, as though anticipating the Akemi's greed, the time it took to research the 5th forgotten Demon Hunter Clan was exhausting but would prove to be useful if it would remove the thorn that was Emiya Kiritsugu who tried to break in time and time again to rescue Ilyasviel. Not that the Magus Killer would be successful, considering the fact that he was unable to even break through the Boundary field, which was surprising. But even if he did break through, he would still need to deal with the combat homunculi that Acht stationed there.

But, another family head that wanted Kiritsugu dead was waiting impatiently for his intended offer. "What reward am I expecting, Einzbern?" Roki smiled, vengeance would be his, anyway, but the appeal of a reward was much too enticing to pass up.

"I know that your family has developed an interest in the Magic Crests of magi," Acht knew where to begin, he was a master negotiator and he knew which areas to bring up in order for a deal to be secured. There was something that the two families had in common, the elimination of Kiritsugu and the elimination of all the Emiyas, and if there's no need to shed additional Einzbern blood, all the better.

"For your reward, let's see…How about the Emiya Magic Crest? Surely, you would be interested in obtaining the secrets of your mortal enemy." The prize was too much to refuse from the Akemi side, but the head of the former demon hunter organisations was not stupid and he knew that there was something amiss.

Roki spoke out calmly, "A tempting offer, but there's something wrong on your end. Kiritsugu HAS the Magic Crest, and if you think that I am willing to attack a fully prepared, battle hardened Magus Killer, then you are mistaken." Roki hated to admit it, but a front out attack would end up as a loss despite the current strength of the Akemi family.

Acht paused, it seemed as though the Akemi's intelligence on Emiya Kiritsugu was not as perfect as he thought. Then again, this was immediately after the 4th Grail war and the Akemi family would have little details on the battle between Magi for the sacred artifact. But nonetheless, he decided to spill the beans on Kiritsugu to Roki.

"Emiya Kiritsugu is but a mere shadow of what he is now. He poses little threat to either family, and after he failed his most recent mission. He has been severely wounded emotionally, physically and magically. I will provide you some proof, he has been 'knocking' on my estate for a while. The former Kiritsugu would have broken through my defenses within a day whereas now he couldn't even create a dent. What do you think this means Akemi?" Acht was direct, he had no patience to spare on this matter and he hoped Akemi Roki would get the message quickly so that the pest would be taken care of.

"The Magic Crest?" Roki inquired, if the Magic Crest remained with the Magus Killer, then the Akemi family would still have to take a risk in dealing with a weakened Emiya Kiritsugu.

Acht delivered his last statement, "You should know something Akemi, it was the Einzbern that preserved the majority of the Emiya crest. The one that Kiritsugu has is but a fragment of the whole. The Einzbern homunculi magic was used to preserve the traitor's father who held the majority of the Crest, seeing as the son was unwilling to pursue the same path as his father. So, here's my offer Akemi, get rid of the Emiya and secure Emiya Noritaka's corpse and you would have what you want."

With that, the message was ended and Acht smiled, he knew that the Akemi would make a move. But in the case that the Akemi had failed, there was always Plan B as he looked at the weeping Ilyasviel, who was crying for her family to come back to her.

"Until the next Holy Grail war…" The Einzbern head would bide his time and take additional measures to mold the daughter of Emiya and Irisviel into the perfect vessel for the purpose of winning the 5th Holy Grail war.

The day arrived for Homura's birthday and to say that the girl was eager was an understatement. Nothing would be better than spending more time with her family. But, she could only frown at the fact that her sister was not here to celebrate it with her. But, when she grew older, maybe she would travel to Europe and catch up on lost times and bring Shirou along with her. She waited to see what Shirou and Kiritsugu (if he made it) had in store for her.

Even with Kiritsugu's absence, the children never felt lonely, they had each other. They played with each other, read books with each other and even Homura decided to break her promise to her dad by showing how she performed Reinforcement on objects. The smiles on their faces helped them to achieve whatever goal they had planned for the day and helped them to continue living on.

During Kiritsugu's short leave, the Fujimura elder granted Shirou access to the oven after he taught the boy how to manage the heat and what measures to take when using it to prevent a fire.

Currently, Shirou was baking his second cake. It was considered his second attempt to create the cake due to the fact that the first was sabotaged/devoured by Taiga yesterday because she was too hungry to hold out until Homura's birthday today.

There were minimal decorations attached to the wall because there was no need to go overboard, the idea of a private birthday party seemed to appeal to the children better than the average household.

The cake was finally completed and the aroma filled the air of Emiya mansion with a sense of peace and loving. Shirou placed the mittens on as he slowly took a small sample from the corner where it was barely noticeable by others. Taking the bite the size of a small coin, he examined the cake's taste, its texture, its after-taste. The cake matched his expectations, which meant that it was very good in all areas. Baking such a cake brought a sense of pride to Shirou. It was a proof of his skill, although Shirou could not say that it was purely his innovation, he simply replicated the cooking skills of another.

To think about his family's happy expressions as they eat the cake brought a sense of joy to Shirou. His family's happiness was equivalent to his own. The happiness that was derived from helping others and was formed by Kiritsugu's actions that saved him. He knew that if Homura had the best birthday party, then to him, it would be the greatest joy as well.

Shirou placed the cake on the table, but covered it with a long sheet of tin foil to prevent the heat from escaping. In the meantime, he would go and pick up Homura's present. The walk would not be long, so he believed that Homura would be patient enough to wait around for an hour.

The boy put on a green coat, took the key and approached his destination. Recalling the memory was very easy, it was the only one on display. Taking the band from the display and paying for the gift with a smile that would make any other kid jealous, he rushed home and was determined not to be late. Running back exhausted him, but he would recover as soon as the birthday party started.

Shirou opened the door to find Homura continuing to sit at the table, where she waved back to greet her returning brother. The red head waved back before running to the workshop where extra supplies for the house was being stored with Homura looking on in confusion. The head band was removed from the bag and placed in a box, with a quick fix, he wrapped it in gift wrap and returned to where Homura was.

Looking at the time again, he knew that Kiritsugu was a little late, but it wouldn't be too bad if they started the party first right?

Homura brought out the birthday candles that were kept in a container Kiritsugu left behind. She counted out six candles and placed them on the cake. Homura brought out the lighter that was contained with the candles and lighted them, creating a nice pattern of lights.

The male Emiya brought out the present and placed it Homura's outstretched hands. Her face turned red as she embraced the gift lovingly. She slowly unwrapped it and gasped, it was the black headband that she wanted. For Shirou to understand her this much, it was a surprise and reassuring at the same time. But, she wanted Shirou to have the honours as well.

Homura slowly walked towards Shirou with both her hands holding the precious headband that was given to her by Shirou. She was getting flustered, and if Taiga were here, she would have devoured her by now.

"Shirou onii-chan…" Homura began, as she lowered her head, bringing out her courage as she continued, "I want you to put this on my head." The younger Emiya placed the headband in the hands of the stunned Shirou. But who was he to deny the birthday girl her request?

"Alright," Shirou gently took the headband from Homura. Taking a second to flex it before it bent back to assess if it would fit comfortably on Homura's head. Taking a nod, he placed it on Homura, who shut her eyes.

The black headband was placed on Homura's head. It took several seconds for Homura to open her eyes, she moved her hands to touch the material and was glad that the headband was not slipping from her head. It wasn't tight at all, just like how she felt when she tested it in the store several days ago.

"Thank you very much Shirou onii-chan." Homura felt like her heart would explode from happiness, it would have been perfect had the family been fully assembled. Ah, the candles. Homura completely forgot about the candles, if she were to blow out all the candles in one ago, then one of her wishes would be fulfilled right? Since Homura was young, she was appreciative of superstitious activity, which doesn't exclude stuff like luck and magecraft.

Both brother and sister assembled around the cake, and as Homura was about to blow out the candles with a smile, they heard a noise from the door as though it was cracking.

Roki led a squad of 4 Akemi assassins as he himself led the attack on the Emiya household. The Emiya boundary field was not to be taken lightly, it was still a pain to penetrate its defences especially when his killing intent was so high that it betrayed his location.

Motioning to the two men beside him, Haruki and Akui, to cut to the other side while Yu and Takeshi would follow him to search for the corpse as well as cut down the Emiya's children if he had any.

Taking a katana into his hand, he made a sharp cut through the door, separating it into 2 halves. Much like a predator on the hunt, he looked intently for his prey.

Roki's two bodyguards flanking him, in case Kiritsugu was lying in wait or had traps set inside the house. But, the presence of traps would also put the Emiya children at risk as well so they would have to be placed strategically or not at all.

Motioning carefully with one finger, Takeshi searched the kitchen only to find nobody, but there was no doubt that there was a presence or multiple here and they were very recent ones.

Yu searched the basement and the bottom of the house and managed to find a secret room that was locked with multiple spells. But, even the toughest layers of barriers would succumb with enough force. Using Clairvoyance with a combination of the Akemi arts designed to break through Magecraft and the supernatural phenomenon. It would exhaust him severely as the barriers were probably the tightest he had to unravel; there was SOMETHING that Kiritsugu had hidden in there that he did not want others to find.

With the arrival of Roki and Takeshi behind Yu, they assisted Yu in breaking down the spells that protected the secret room. Once the shields were down, Roki sliced down the door with his blade and gazed at the container ahead. Without hesitation, he pulled off the top of the man sized container and was very pleased at what he found.

The corpse of Emiya Noritaka lay preserved in the box, with the Emiya Crest intact just as the Einzbern had said. The mission was complete; the death of the children would be only a bonus, if only to see the sorrowful expression of Kiritsugu one more time.

"Takeshi, Yu, take the body and return back to base. I want to enjoy a bit more time in the Emiya estate." Roki stepped back to the main floor and searched for the targets by himself. This grudge had to be settled by his own hands, no other, not even his family has the right to interfere.

The Emiya estate was large, but most of the rooms were like open space, there wasn't much places to hide, even for 2 small children. Roki knew that they would find them in time, and he did in fact.

"This is the second time that we have met, I believe." The man stared down at the 2 scared Emiyas with an expression of loathing.

"Well if there's anybody to blame, you could blame Emiya Kiritsugu for crossing my path. He should have died the moment I faced him in battle, but he not only injured my physically but he damaged my pride, pride as a demon slayer and for that, the Emiyas will pay!"

There was no need to soil his blade with the blood of children, they could be brought back to the Akemi stronghold where they would be tortured and their screams would draw nothing but despair on the Magus Killer.

Homura silently handed Shirou a reinforced broom, it was not the best weapon but they had to make do with what they have at the moment.

Shirou headed straight for Roki, who disregarded the minor threat as he grabbed the broom as it swung with one hand and threw Shirou across the room. Shirou moaned in pain as Roki's boot stepped on Shirou's chest, causing the boy to spit a small trace of blood.

"You were that boy, I remember. The one that wanted to play hero the other day. Well, let me tell you something, heroes only belong in a fantasy!" The man rained down a flurry of punches on the defending Emiya, who crumbled under the assault, the difference of strength was too high and Shirou had no experience with Martial Arts.

"Don't bully Shirou onii-chan!" The Emiya crest flashed as Homura rushed forward. The act was unpredictable as Homura snatched her brother using triple speed. She was breathing heavily and her legs felt like they would collapse from the stress of using Magecraft that altered her body's 'time'.

Roki looked at Homura with great interest, it seemed like this girl had inherited or has knowledge of the Emiya magecraft. This would be interesting indeed, he flexed his fists and went for a straight punch only to have Homura evade it by dodging to the side. Roki also noticed that this girl was moving at a speed that a human was incapable of doing, this was proof that this girl is Kiritsugu's heir.

Punches and kicks, Homura dodged them all using a combination of double acceleration and her small size, it was somewhat manageable to avoid the death blows. After a few exchanges, Homura was exhausted. Her Magic Circuits were heating up and her body cannot undergo any more stress. Innate Time Control was starting to take a toll on her, her inexperience showing itself. The Akemi head came closer, when she expected a blow, he grabbed her collar.

"Girl, you interest me. Your talents would be wasted as an Emiya." With that, he slung Homura over his shoulder as he made his way downstairs. Victory was indeed sweet and he had better enjoy it slowly.

As Roki reached the bottom of the stairs, he sensed something approaching him from behind.

"LET HOMURA GO, YOU BASTARD!" Taking the reinforced broom in his hands, and without Shirou's knowledge, further reinforced the broom so that the weapon was as strong as metal, he swung it down to have it blocked by Roki's unoccupied left hand.

"OWW!" even the Akemi head nearly dropped Homura from the pain in his left hand; it was bruising up very badly as though it were hit by a baseball bat. He couldn't fathom how a boy, no older than 6 managed to deal a blow this strong. But, curiosity was soon replaced with rage, uncontrollable rage that was matched with when he was first injured by the Magus Killer.

Roki dropped Homura to the ground, who weakly gasped from the pain as he drew out his blade and sliced Shirou across his chest, spilling blood all over the wooden floor. Shirou felt his strength quickly draining as he fell down in a heap. But he still continued to crawl towards them as his sister looked pleadingly at her brother to rescue her.

The Akemi head picked up the fallen Homura and continued to make his way to the exit. Homura struggled but to no avail, Roki managed to step to the living room where the lit candles of the cake were, and he guessed the intentions beforehand.

Roki looked at the sobbing Homura, "Well, I guess I could say a last 'Happy Birthday' before you leave your wretched house and family behind." Roki laughed as he took a last look at Shirou who crawled with the last of his strength, his motivation to protect his sister being his only drive to continue pushing forward.

"SHIROU ONII-CHAN!" Homura screamed out for the last time before she disappeared beyond the shadow. She couldn't use her Magecraft anymore and she lacked the strength to break free from the man's grip. She cried for the fact that Shirou was deeply hurt for defending her and also for disappointing her father because she swore to protect Shirou.

On the other hand, Shirou could only sink in regret as his blood continued to paint the floor red. Why wasn't he strong enough to protect his family. If only I had strength, I would be able to save her. This was the last regret as the boy's vision sank into complete darkness…

End chapter 3.

Author's additional note: Well, there you have it, chapter 3. In order to make it up for the massive gap of time in between. In the end I had written 15000 words! I had to admit, even I went overboard here, future chapters will NOT be this long. Anyways, please comment and review please.

Beta's note: Betaing this chapter took waaay longer than I expected. And right in the middle of my finals too. Not to mention I got myself a little side-tracked over and over again. 2 chapters beta-read by me. Not bad considering I don't have the creativity to write my own story properly. Oh well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.