Kiritsugu Emiya relaxed in the living room of his house, watching TV with his wife and enjoying this quiet night that they rarely get due to the nature of their 'work'.
Irisviel leaned happily into her husband, smiling contentedly.
"Looks like Shirou and Illya are growing up really well, even with our absence."
"Hm. I hear good things from their teachers. Even Taiga has nothing but praise for Illya."
Irisviel's smile grew wider at those words.
"I guess he took after her mother more than her father then. Right?"
Kiritsugu gave her a wry look.
"I will have you know, I was a pretty good student in my youth. Natalia would have smacked me silly if I wasn't."
Irisviel's gaze softened at the mention of her mother-in-law's name.
"You want to visit her grave?"
Kiritsugu shook his head at those words.
"Not this time. We have limited time here before we have to investigate that lead in Tokyo."
"Hm. It wouldn't hurt to see her before we go."
Kiritsugu remained silent at her words, making his wife frown a bit.
"Don't tell me you still blame yourself for her passing? even after all these years?"
"...."
"Kiritsugu, she had cancer. There was nothing you could have done."
"....We could have used-"
Irisviel placed her finger on his lips with a serious look.
"Don't even think about it, Kiritsugu. That thing was sealed away within the Einzbern family's vault for a reason. The healing it provides comes at a price to anyone who is not its rightful wielder. Remember that incident ten years ago?"
Kiritsugu fell silent at those words as his wife continued speaking.
"Not to mention what the Pendragons will do if they know that one of their most precious missing relics is in our hands."
Remembering that morally bankrupt and hypocritical family, Irisviel could not help but sneer, something that felt wrong considering her gentle personality.
"Those people who take more after the Witch than the King will kill anyone and anything that stands in their way without caring about the consequences."
Then, her tone softened.
"Even then, we did try to risk it all, but Natalia rejected it, remember? She even stopped that Valkyrie you brought in by calling in that favor the Norse owe you for healing her."
Kiritsugu hugged his wife closer and sighed.
"Yeah. She was stubborn like that. She always wanted to go out on her terms. I guess she got her wish in the end."
The couple fell silent, losing themselves in their thoughts, when their senses picked up a familiar swell in magic.
The shadows in the room spiked, alerting Sella and Liz, who were sitting nearby. Yet, the 'maids' did nothing and simply sat up straighter.
The moment the shadows dispersed, a figure wearing black tactical gear and a skull mask materialized.
Kiritsugu did not even look away from the TV before speaking.
"Maiya. It is not like you to come in unannounced."
The woman took off her mask, revealing a woman with dark green hair and brown eyes.
She bowed towards Kiritsugu and Irisviel.
"Forgive me for the intrusion, Kiritsugu-sama-"
"None of that! Maiya. I've told you many times to just call us by our names, right?"
Maiya did not even flinch when the hyperactive and kind Homonculus dragged her to the couch and forced her to sit down, having long grown used to the actions of her mistress.
"I can't be that disrespectful to my masters, Irisviel-sama."
"Mou! I told you to call me Irisviel."
Maiya ignored Irisviel with practiced ease and instead turned to Kiritsugu.
"As for why I am here, I sent some people to look into the lead in Tokyo while the rest of us went to scout out the town for anything that looked amiss, and we found this."
Maiya pushed a file towards Kiritsugu and Irisviel, who looked into it, only for their eyes to widen in surprise as pictures showed their children sitting together with the Tohsaka heir and Edelfelt heir in the Ryuudou Temple, along with the girl that Luvia Edelfelt took in. They even had Asia and Isse with them.
"Huh. I thought those two were still at the Clock Tower? And when was the Ryuudou temple reconstructed?"
Maiya nodded at Irisviel's question.
"They should have been. But for some reason, they were assigned a confidential mission in this town. One that our contacts in the Clock Tower were unable to find out the details of. As for the temple, it would seem someone recently bought the rights to the place and renovated it."
Kiritsugu nodded his head at her words, even though he felt a bit suspicious about the temple's situation.
Flagging it in his mind to investigate later, he focused back on the file.
"That's fine. It's extremely hard to pry into things that Zelretch has a vested interest in. Besides, even with his eccentric personality, he is someone who is firmly on the side of humanity, so there is no need to worry about whatever mission those girls were assigned. And Asia matters?"
Maya handed out another file, which the couple read through with interest.
"Her story mostly checks out. As for the details that she omitted, it seems that she was originally a holy maiden in the Vatican before being excommunicated because she healed a devil. We also suspect that she might have been contacted by the Fallen Angels before they mysteriously disappeared from the town, which might indicate why she came to Kuoh in the first place."
Kiritsugu and Irisviel tensed at those words as the smile fell away from the woman's face.
"....Is it that guy again?"
Maiya shook her head.
"Unlikely. Ciel already went back to the Vatican and interrogated some of the priests responsible for this whole debacle. It would seem that this incident is not caused by that Stray Devil."
"I see. Then, I guess there is no trouble with officially adopting Asia, right?"
At Irisviel's words, Kiritsugu just sighed while Maya showed a rarely seen amused look before taking out another file.
"Already done, my lady."
"Ooh! You really work fast! Maiya"
Suddenly, Irisviel grinned as she continued looking at the photo of her children and their friends in the Ryuudou temple.
"I'll have to find the time to invite those two girls home for some fun and pull in that Hyoudou kid for Asia-chan."
Maiya felt a swell of pity for the girls at those words, while Kiritsugu simply sighed.
"Iri. Don't play your usual games with them. Remember the last time you tried to set up Shirou with someone from his school? Also, at least wait until Asia gets comfortable with all of this before you spring this kind of stuff on her."
Irisviel pouted at those words.
"I really thought that Mitsuzuri girl was the one. But I never imagined Shirou would shift schools in the second year. I had such high hopes for them."
'Well, I don't think there is any girl in this world that can get through the black hole-level density of your son, madam.'
Maiya could not help but think so, having seen the boy ever since he was first adopted into this family.
Then, Maiya took out another file, this one containing information on the recent mysterious activities happening in Kuoh during their absence. Information gathered by their agents, who are always present in the town and disguised as ordinary people.
"This is the list of the anomalous events that have happened while we were gone. Strangely enough, there has been a spike in the deaths of Stray Devils as well as unknown conflicts and spell usage in the town that we were unable to track down, including a large-scale attack magic that reeks of holy energy."
This time, Kiritsugu and Irisviel tensed up.
"The Church?"
"No, my lady. I don't think it is the church since our spies did not inform us of any such activity. I think we are dealing with a rogue element with an Excalibur fragment. One of those that was recently stolen."
Kiritsugu sat up straight as he went through the data, frowning heavily.
"Any information on who is the source of these anomalies?"
"That's the thing, Kiritsugu-sama. We simply don't know. We have tried everything we can."
"Divination magic leads to nowhere since it feels like this entire town has been hidden from such methods. Spies are useless since even the owners of this town know nothing of what is happening. Active tracking has proven to be useless as well, since whatever is causing these anomalies knows how to hide its tracks very well. And, we know for a fact that it is not the devils since the patrol units and surveillance units that the Leviathan and Lucifer leave in this town have our informants in them, keeping us updated."
"Hm."
Kiritsugu and Irisviel went through the details in the file for a bit before sighing collectively at how little data their people managed to find.
"I guess we will let this be for now. We've got bigger things to worry about anyway."
Tapping on the file full of reports from the team that was sent to Tokyo, Kiritsugu stared seriously at Miaya.
"How confident are you that those bastards are there?"
"About ninety percent. We have traced through a variety of means, even hiring a few Yokai. And all leads point to Tokyo."
She took a deep breath as her fists clenched in a rare display of anger.
"We are very confident that the Nihon Revival Institute has its most important branch in Tokyo. We do not know if it is the headquarters, but its loss should still be felt dearly by them, given what we believe it houses."
Irisviel placed her palm on Maiya's shoulder in support, something that the Japanese woman appreciated.
Kiritsugu took a deep breath before speaking.
"Very well. Get the others ready. When we find their hidey hole, we will wipe them out, roots and all. As for the blade that they recently stole from the Owari-Tokugawa family, if we can, we will destroy that evil blade. If we can't, we will seal it away."
"...What about the Owari-Tokugawa? Or the Shinto, for that matter? Will they tolerate something like that?"
Kiritsugu's eyes gleamed at those words.
"They will have to. I will not allow anything that can harm my family to remain in this world. Especially...."
He fell silent as Irisviel's expressions darkened with sadness and anger.
"....Anyways. Tell the others to prepare. We move out in a few days."
Maiya bowed and disappeared into the shadows again as Sella and Liz silently supported their 'master' to the master bedroom, knowing that her mind is always affected severely when this particular issue is involved, leaving Kiritsugu to brood, his mood thoroughly ruined.
'Damned cult. I will eliminate you before you even learn of the existence of my son.'
Maiya Hisau:
Illya watched with wide eyes as the carnage unfolded in front of her.
Saber shot forward at unnatural speeds, going beyond anything that her eyes could keep up with.
"Scutum Sobiescianum!"
"Protector of the Earth! Svalinn!"
Rin and Luvia tried to shield themselves with their magic, but there was no way such magic would stand up against the monster they were facing.
Saber charged up a beam of energy and attacked.
The blackened legendary sword tore through the earth and the sky, and vaporized the girls where they stood.
Illya felt the ground slip from beneath her feet as she witnessed the bloody death of her friends. Ruby slipping from her powerless fingers.
Suddenly, Illya felt a wet, slick substance on her knees, making her look down, only for her eyes to widen in fright and despair.
Miyu's broken body lay by her side, bleeding everywhere. Sapphire's shattered body lay by the dead girl's side.
"Someone....anyone....stop this. I....I don't want this!"
Her desperate plea was answered by none other than her beloved brother, who appeared out of nowhere and started battling Saber, like a knight in shining armor.
And yet, that hope did not last long as his body suddenly exploded in a mess of swords, with Saber not even having to lift a finger.
Fear finally overrode the little girl's despair, forcing her to flee into the nearby woods.
She did not know how long she had run. She only knew that she had to get to safety.
Collapsing at the base of one of the trees, Illya sobbed.
"What do I do now? Ruby? Rin, Luvia, Miyu, Onii-chan. They are all gone.....Ruby?"
Getting no response from the normally talkative Kaleidostick, Illya looked down with trepidation.
Only to find her magical artifact shattered beyond repair. The star at the center of the stick now nothing but an empty ring.
She was now well and truly alone.
She could not help but sob bitterly at the sight.
"Why?.....why is this happening?.....what did I do wrong?"
"Is it not obvious?"
The voice startled her, making her look up to find her father and mother staring down at her with a war smile.
Yet, she felt no comfort. Only fear.
Because standing in front of her was not the usual Kiritsugu or Irisviel.
He wore a combat uniform and armor, crimson, grey, and black in coloration. With his hair bleached white and skin tanned beyond the natural.
She wore a strange dress that felt regal. Yet, the black stains and corruption reeking off of them felt anything but benevolent. Her crimson eyes lacked the usual warmth and mischief that belonged to her mother.
"It is because you do not deserve to be a magical girl. My baby. Because you do not belong in this side of the world."
"I....I.."
Illya could not reply to the soft words of her mother while her father simply stared at her with a steely gaze.
Once again, she ran.
She ran until her feet bled, until her lungs felt like they were on fire, like she would die if she did not stop right there.
But when she stopped, she saw it.
A reflection. A sight that showed what she could be. What she could become.
With tan skin similar to Shirou's, and pale hair that was tinted a light pink. She cut a striking figure. Her golden eyes shone with cold mockery while her black armor and crimson cloak bellowed in the wind.
"You are weak. You can't protect anyone you hold dear."
The reflection circled Illya like a predator.
"Rin and Luvia died because of you."
"Onii-chan died because of you."
"Miyu died because of you."
"You are no magical girl. You are a liability."
The reflection grinned at Illya's downcast expression.
"So, why not let me take charge?"
With her grin still in place, the reflection tried to place her arm on Illya's heart.
Only for the world to break with a single roar that resounded across the sky.
"ILLYA!!"
With a start, Illya sat up in her bed, cold sweat soaking her clothes and bed, while Ruby floated in front of her with worry.
"Illya? Are you alright? It looked like you were having a nightmare, so I woke you up."
Illya looked to the side, seeing that it was eight in the morning.
Her eyes widened at the time, realizing that she would be late for school if she didn't get ready.
However, before she could get up, she felt dizzy and fell back on the bed, unable to process what was going on.
"You shouldn't move around that much, Illya. Sella-san came in an hour ago and found out that you have a fever. So, she already called ahead to the school and took the day off for you."
"B-But, I told Onii-chan that I would meet him at the temple in the evening-"
"Shirou-san already left for school and told me not to worry about such. Only on helping you recover."
Illya sighed at those words as her mood turned complicated again.
Her kind and gentle Onii-chan was always like this.
And yet, when she remembered his wide back protecting her, Miyu, Luvia, and Rin, she could not find a way to associate that figure with the man she knew.
The last two days truly were hell on her mind.
"Don't worry, Illya. I've already contacted Sapphire, who is bringing Miyu to your room today. So, you won't have to worry about being bored."
The way Ruby giggled mischievously did not fill Illya with confidence, but she could not help but smile happily, knowing that her friend would be coming over to play.
'I wonder what Onii-chan is doing right now?'
'What the hell is this situation?'
Shirou Emiya had a stiff expression as he walked through the gates of Kuoh Academy. His posture straight and body tense, ready to bolt at any moment.
And the reason for this was, of course, the usual suspects.
"Damned tube-curls!"
"Gorilla!"
"You wanna go?"
"You think I am afraid of you?"
Rin and Luvia were the very picture of perfection. With smiles that made them look angelic, combined with their good figures and beautiful looks, there was no doubt that they were striking figures that garnered much attention from the students around them.
Unfortunately, the whispers escaping their mouths could only be placed in R-rated movies.
It was fortunate that nobody but Shirou could hear those words. Because if the boys and girls who were staring at the two with dreamy expressions were to hear them, there was no doubt that their hearts would break.
Shirou sighed tiredly and ran his hand through his crimson hair, enchanted with Luvia's magic to hide the real color.
"You two, can't you be serious when walking into enemy territory? Especially since this is your first proper day at school since you enrolled here more than two weeks ago?"
Rin and Luvia fell silent while still smiling, but the look they gave Shirou was as if they were looking at an idiot.
"Shero, this is hardly enemy territory."
"The idiot is right, Emiya-kun. The devils that rule this territory may come from a good background, but there is no way they will cross someone from the Clock Tower. Not unless they want the Grandmaster to pay their leaders a visit."
Once again, Shirou could not help but sigh tiredly.
'Man. Why do things like this always happen to me?'
"Damned bastard."
"Die."
"Fucking pervert."
"Waste of space."
"Piece of shit."
Shirou smiled wryly as those whispers fell on his ears, despite not being the target of those words.
'Then again, I guess I don't have it as bad as my 'student''
Shirou glanced back, spotting Issei's equally stiff expression while Asia clung to him happily, having been enrolled in the school by mom and dad.
Unlike Shirou, who was quite popular in the school, much to his ignorance, Issei had a rather terrible reputation in the school. So, it was no surprise that he was catching a lot of flak for walking into school with a beautiful girl like Asia Argento.
Issei turned towards Shirou with a pleading look, hoping that his Shishou would find a way to bail him out of this situation before his body was found in a ditch somewhere.
Unfortunately, the Emiya had no solution to this problem and silently shook his head, much to Issei's despair.
Soon, the group arrived at the Staff wing, where Rin, Luvia, and Asia separated from the two boys, heading out to get registered and complete a few other formalities.
As Shirou and Issei walked through the corridor, Issei spoke solemnly.
"Shishou, if I end up dead by the end of the day, please tell my parents I love them."
Shirou knocked on Issei's head a little bit.
"Don't be so dramatic. Nothing that bad will happen-"
"Issei! You damned bastard!!"
"Traitor! We finally got you!!"
Like a living storm, Motohama and Matsuda swept Issei away from the corridor and out of the building while the poor Hyoudou screamed for his life.
"....Ok. I stand corrected."
"I don't think it is that bad. Emiya."
"Sona's right, EMiya-kun~"
Shirou stared blankly at the roof as a single thought ran through his mind.
'Can this day get any worse?'
Resigning himself to his fate, Shirou turned around to face Sona Shitori, who was giving him a neutral look, and Rias Gremory, who had a playful look.
"We have a lot to talk about, Emiya. Meet us in the Student Council room after school. And bring Hyoudou and Argento with you."
'Yup. It can definitely get worse.'
"And what else did you find out?"
The subordinate took out a file and gave it to her, speaking with respect.
"We found that the local nest of Stray Devils has been destroyed, and only a handful of them are left in the town."
"The mysterious man again?"
"Yes. Although he is not so mysterious anymore."
Serafall Leviathan raised an eyebrow with intrigue before going through the file, only to roar out with laughter, shocking the leader of the devils who keeps an eye on Kuoh with his team, just like his counterparts that work for Sirzechs Lucifer, without alerting the heiresses.
"So, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, eh?"
Serafall grinned happily as she looked at the profile of Shirou Emiya.
"I wonder how Kiritsugu managed to keep this under wraps for this long? And how did you end up discovering this? Raol?"
The subordinate, Raol, a high-class devil, bowed as he replied with the details.
"Well, Sona-sama ended up contacting the Sitir household in the underworld for someone to investigate things discreetly in the town without alerting you. Knowing that it would be better to keep things quiet and 'in-house' so to speak, I talked to Lady Sitri and went to Sona-sama, pretending to answer her request. And given how I've kept many of her secrets from you, she readily agreed to hand over this investigation to me."
Serafall placed her face in her palms, listening with interest as her most trusted subordinate spun a tale of subterfuge and thrill, completely ignoring how he blatantly spoke about keeping things about Sona from her.
"From there, I got the details from Sona-sama about her so-called suspects, who she believed to be possible identities of our mysterious hunter. Tracking down the two, we managed to eliminate one of them, Issei Hyoudou, as a possible target. The reasoning has been compiled in that file, so you can go through that at your leisure. As a result of this, however, I came to the conclusion that the other one had to be it, and sure enough, our investigations revealed the truth."
Serafall smiled meaningfully at Raol's boast, making the devil deflate a bit.
As her oldest friend still alive after the Civil War, and her Bishop, she knew his tendency to boast better than anyone. That is why she waited until he finally realized that she had caught onto his boast and was waiting for him to come clean.
With a blush on his face after being caught, he coughed into his fist before speaking seriously again.
"Truthfully, I can only say that we found him through sheer luck. If one of our familiars had not lost its way while flying over Mount Enzou and discovered the strange barriers over the ruins of Ryuudou Temple, which in turn led to one of my people watching the place for a week from a good distance, we would never have caught on that the person we were searching for was Shirou Emiya, son of Kiritsugu Emiya."
"Hm. That answers how so many Stray Devils fell so quickly. If the boy was trained by his father, it is practically guaranteed that he would be a nightmare in combat."
Serafall smiled brightly as she thought about the human who rejected her offer to join her peerage back then. Something that basically became a legend among the few devils who knew about this matter.
Serafall was not someone who gave out invitations to just anyone, no matter the sacred gear or ability they had.
Unlike Sirzechs, who had a particular agenda he was working towards and had a specific criterion when recruiting people into his peerage, or even Ajuka or Falbium, who had their own preferences, Serafall was not interested in the peerage system in the first place.
To this day, she only has two members in her peerage. Her rook, The Magical Beast King of the Earth, Behemoth of Duidain, and Raol himself.
This is not due to a lack of candidates that she could turn into her subordinates, because if she willed it, there would be a line stretching from her office in New Lilith all the way to the old capital, Lucifaad.
She even had the opportunity to accept the previous wielder of the Vanishing Dragon once upon a time, but did not extend her offer to her.
Because Serafall did not trust just anyone to be part of her peerage. So, it was no small matter that there was a rare instance where she believed a human to be worthy of being in her peerage, only to be turned down.
Sighing a bit, she went back to reading through the file while Raol continued waiting.
Finally, after going through the full information in the file, which was admittedly not that much, only about how Shirou Emiya has been confirmed to be the one who was hunting the stray devils and what kind of abilities he might have based on circumstantial evidence, the Satan put down the file and spoke again.
"Does Sona know about this information?"
"Only about Shirou Emiya being the person hunting the strays. I kept out the speculations about the boy's probable abilities and his....unique...circumstances and his current companions."
"Good. Burn this file and scatter the ashes. This information dies here. You keep on doing what you were doing until now. As for the boy, I'll look into it personally."
The devil/magic girl's eyes gleamed with mischief, which sent chills down Raol's spine while he mentally sent a prayer to the maos in Sona's name, knowing that the poor girl he watched grow up was going to have rough days ahead.
"The Parent-Teacher conference is coming right?"
"....Yes. Incidentally, Sona-sama gave me the date-"
"No need. I already know. The Sitri family is part of the school's board along with the Gremories, remember?"
'....Forgive me, Sona-sama. Looks like this time around, you can't use the same trick as last time, even if the person delivering the fake schedule is me.'
Serafall grinned, knowing exactly what her subordinate was thinking. He was always like this, wrapped around her little sister's finger thanks to how much he cared about her.
"I'll investigate the boy myself at that time while using the conference as the guise."
"....Serafall-sama. Please don't forget that the conference also has another purpose."
Serafall waved dismissively.
"Yeah, yeah. I know. I get enough reminders from Ajuka already, don't you start as well. Besides, that conference is one of the reasons why I am doing this myself."
A rare hint of fear flickered in her eyes before her usual playfulness returned.
"If your theory is right, we don't want that man on our tail and end up as that old coot Rizevim."
"....Alright then. I guess I'll get going?"
Serafall smiled, this time genuinely.
"Go. And take care of Sona for me, yeah?"
"....I would do that even if you don't tell me, Sera."
Watching her friend disappear into the teleportation circle with the file to dispose of it as instructed, she leaned back into her seat.
Reminiscing about that time more than eighteen years ago, when she first ran into that man and his wife, just after the Einzbern family was eradicated, and made a temporary contract with him to track down a particular mage, Serafall could not help but sigh once again.
'Let's see what your 'son' is capable of, Kiritsugu. Maybe he will surprise me as you did back then? Maybe I'll push him towards Sona and have her reincarnate him? If not, at least have them make a contract?'
Her face then took on an annoyed expression while thinking along those lines.
'Hopefully, he is not as stubborn as you or Shirley, or as prone to violence on first contact. I don't want Sona to know what it feels like to eat a spell-woven .44 Magnum bullet to the face.'