It was getting late, very late, in fact.
The Fujimura patriarch, overjoyed at their reunion, was so warm and talkative that he insisted Roy stay for hours. The elderly man's enthusiasm kept Roy there well into the night.
They spoke of Roy's year abroad, his life, and whether he'd settled down, caring questions typical of an elder.
Roy couldn't reveal the truth: reviving King Arthur in England, battling vampires in Japan, or time-traveling millennia back. Such tales would land him in an asylum.
Instead, he fibbed, claiming a stable job in London at a decent company, the Clock Tower, where he held a minor managerial role, conveniently omitting that he controlled a third of it. To sell the lie, he even called Kayneth, long out of touch, to back his story.
The Fujimura patriarch seemed to sense something but didn't pry, keeping the conversation light and familial.
Over the next two days, Roy visited Kiritsugu Emiya and Tokiomi Tohsaka, curious about the lives of these pivotal Holy Grail War Masters now.
Kiritsugu was predictable. When Roy arrived, he wasn't home. His assistant, Maiya, answered the door.
She explained Kiritsugu was Fuyuki's rising police star, a true hero of justice in his own eyes. In just over a year, he'd cracked cases that stumped the department, finding the life's purpose he'd sought, living up to Roy's expectations.
As for Tokiomi…
He remained the epitome of a refined magus noble, his family's fortunes intact.
Since this world's Tokiomi survived, the Tohsaka estate hadn't been squandered by Kirei Kotomine's poor business sense. The family retained its prestige.
Tokiomi was shocked to see Roy, his demeanor shifting to deference, a stark contrast to their prior equality. Zelretch must've let slip something when fetching Sakura.
Roy was tempted to quip, "I liked your old arrogance better."
Their talk revealed Sakura had been taken by Zelretch recently to study basic magecraft under Kayneth. Once her foundations were solid and the timing right, when her Amethyst Magical Girl Transformer was ready, she'd formally become Zelretch's apprentice, a Purple Magical Girl.
About a year ago, after settling his affairs, Zelretch returned to this world.
Recalling Roy's suggestion, he visited the familiar Tohsaka family to try his luck.
Tokiomi was thrilled to meet the legendary Wizard Marshal, his family's ancestral mentor. Zelretch's titles, Second True Magus, Wizard Marshal, carried mythic weight. Though Roy was a peer, Merlin a frenemy, and the trio often traded barbs, Zelretch's prestige remained untarnished.
He was the revered, envied pinnacle of magecraft.
Tokiomi, unable to contain his excitement, knelt before Zelretch in front of his wife and daughter, begging for guidance as he had for Nagato Tohsaka.
Zelretch, uninterested in a middle-aged man, was there to evaluate Sakura, spurred by Roy's tip about a prime Magical Girl candidate. Tokiomi could do as he pleased.
Zelretch explained he was sent by the Third True Magus to assess Sakura's potential, her Magical Girl suitability, namely her looks and age, for apprenticeship.
Tokiomi's mind reeled. A Third True Magus? He recalled no such figure. The Third Magic was lost, leaving only the Einzberns toiling with the Grail. The Holy Grail War was over, and no one had claimed the Third Magic. This revelation baffled him.
Zelretch, blunt as ever, named Roy and demanded Sakura's presence.
Learning the street punk from the Grail War wielded the Third Magic's miracle stunned Tokiomi, his shock akin to a meteor strike. He stood frozen, unable to process.
Zelretch, impatient, snapped him back, urging him to fetch Sakura.
Facing his ancestor's mentor, the Tohsaka magecraft's grandmaster, Tokiomi dared not dawdle. He ordered his wife to bring Sakura before Zelretch.
After the Matou Zouken fiasco, Tokiomi distrusted other magi, vowing never to let Sakura be adopted again.
He'd spent vast resources sealing her unique traits, suppressing her Imaginary Numbers affinity to shield her from prying magi or mysteries, guarding her as atonement.
Even when Finland's prestigious Edelfelt family, old allies, repeatedly requested to adopt Sakura, offering a contract for her to co-inherit their twin magecraft with their heiress, Tokiomi hesitated despite temptation.
He deflected, keeping Sakura close.
But he knew her exceptional talent and Imaginary Numbers affinity couldn't be contained forever. As she grew, her gifts would outstrip his seals.
His magecraft couldn't restrain her lifelong. Another solution was needed. If protecting Sakura meant adoption, the Edelfelts might be the only option.
For a year, Tokiomi agonized over this.
Learning from past mistakes, he demanded the Edelfelts disclose their family and magecraft details before considering.
Though rude, the Edelfelts, desperate for an heir, complied, revealing their situation to prove sincerity, convincing Tokiomi they needed an adopted daughter to share their magecraft.
Unlike Zouken, they wouldn't harm Sakura to preserve their legacy.
But once bitten, twice shy, Tokiomi couldn't relax. Subjecting Sakura, already traumatized, to another adoption? He couldn't bear it, yet his options dwindled…
Until Zelretch's visit offered hope.
Compared to the Edelfelts, Tokiomi trusted his family's grandmaster, the Wizard Marshal.
Zelretch's Root-reaching magecraft and Second Magic were unrivaled; his resources, as magecraft's apex, unmatched; his ties, as the Tohsaka jewel magecraft's founder, unbreakable.
No deliberation needed.
This wasn't adoption but apprenticeship under the Second True Magus.
Sakura remained a Tohsaka, gaining a Wizard Marshal's backing.
With this, she'd hold a top spot at the Clock Tower, untouchable by Lords or noble families. Next time, Tokiomi might owe his daughter a noble's bow.
This was a golden path, and Tokiomi would ensure Sakura walked it.
Zelretch saw through Tokiomi's calculations but didn't care.
Fame meant nothing to him. How others at the Clock Tower schemed was their problem, as long as it didn't bother him.
His focus wasn't trivial politics but the grander, dazzling Magical Girl Project.
Power struggles paled beside his Magical Girls. Only world-ending crises warranted his aid; otherwise, he didn't care.
If Sakura proved worthy, the title of his disciple, freely given, could be used however she liked.
A disciple's fame reflected his own, especially since Roy's Third Magic exploits diluted Zelretch's renown. Rumors even pegged Roy as the Clock Tower's future dean, poised to crush other organizations. Zelretch didn't mind fame, but being outshone by a junior irked him.
The result?
Utterly satisfactory!!
Despite Sakura's trauma, wary of strangers and even family, she stayed timid before Zelretch, head bowed, avoiding eye contact or speech. She answered his questions with silence.
Zelretch remained calm, but Tokiomi panicked, making excuses for her, urging her to speak, this chance wouldn't come again.
Sakura's only response was silence.
"…"
The awkward exchange ended with Zelretch's questions met by her silence.
Finally, Zelretch fell silent.
"…"
Tokiomi's heart sank, regretting not coaching Sakura better for such a moment.
With her poor showing, Zelretch's verdict was surely…
"Pass! She's mine. She comes with me to the Clock Tower tonight!!"
"What?" Tokiomi gaped, stunned.
"No surprise needed. The girl's approved." Zelretch said.
Youthful, lively, cute Magical Girls were vital, but hadn't he heard of gap moe?
Cuteness and beauty? Ruby and Sapphire had that covered. But reluctant gap moe? That's a Magical Girl must-have!
Zelretch promptly claimed Sakura as his disciple, Magical Girl material, planning an Amethyst gem to make her a Magical Girl.
Ruby for cuteness, Sapphire for beauty, Amethyst for gap moe, what a spectacle! It'd surely hook that Third Magic brat into the Magical Girl fandom!!
Amid Tokiomi's shock, Sakura was bewilderingly accepted.
Thus, Tokiomi's restraint during Roy's visit.
No fool, leading a family required sharpness. Facing the Third True Magus, his old attitude wouldn't do.
Especially since he'd sent Assassin, Hundred-Faced Hassan, to kill Roy during the Fourth Grail War, a major grudge.
Seeing Roy, the Third True Magus, Tokiomi's hands trembled.
The once-ordinary Grail War stray now rivaled his grandmaster. How could he not marvel, not fear?
If Roy wanted him dead, a cough would unleash Clock Tower nobles like hounds to tear the Tohsakas apart.
But Tokiomi overthought, Roy had no intent to destroy his family.
Yes, the Tohsakas hunted him, and Tokiomi was an enemy, but that was past.
The Fourth Grail War's losses and sorrows vanished with Roy's wish, grudges dissolving.
He came only to see Tokiomi's changes.
Changed? Yes.
Yet not quite. Still, it was amusing. Another good ending.
Zelretch taking Sakura was expected, given Roy's faith in her looks and talent.
With Tokiomi managing Fuyuki's leylines, the city should stay stable…
Noticing Tokiomi's unease, Roy didn't linger. After tea, he left.
Before going, he gave Rin, standing by Tokiomi, the same gift as Illya and Caren, a high-mana Saint Quartz crafted with the Third Magic.
Perhaps feeling Rin deserved one like Illya and Caren, or reminded of Ishtar and Ereshkigal, Roy favored the girl he'd met twice.
"For me? Really?" Rin asked, eyeing the prismatic stone.
"Take it. A my welcome gift." Roy said.
"Yay!" Rin beamed, clutching the radiant Saint Quartz, forgetting noble etiquette in her thanks, earning Tokiomi's scold.
"Rin!"
Tokiomi's stern gaze held confusion toward Roy.
His seasoned magus eyes saw the stone's vast, pure mana, dwarfing his heirloom fire ruby's reserves.
Such a treasure, coveted by magus families, given so casually? It baffled him.
"Don't overthink, Mr. Tohsaka. Rin just reminds me of two old pals, so I'm fond." Roy said.
"I'm young, not hunting heirs yet. I won't target your daughter, so relax, haha."
Sensing Tokiomi's doubt, Roy chuckled, ruffled Rin's hair, and left.
This was his last stop in Fuyuki. He'd confirmed what he needed to see. Time to go.
The Grail War's first generation: Kariya Matou, now a writer, traveled the world, penning his works; Kirei Kotomine sought his truth, likely eating mapo tofu somewhere, chasing his nature; Tokiomi managed Fuyuki, learning to be a better father and husband, avoiding past mistakes; Kiritsugu, after resolving Miyako's issues with Aoko, stayed in Fuyuki as a cop, a hero, redeeming his life; Kayneth, probably at the Clock Tower, gleefully mentoring magus while tormenting Waver.
The second generation's girls thrived: Sakura, Zelretch's disciple, likely a Magical Girl next time; Caren, Fuyuki's church overseer, outshining her father with her wit; Rin, talented enough to become a magecraft master; Illya, blessed with a normal life, a fitting reward.
Perfect. Everyone found their happiness. A grand success.
This was the Happy End he craved.
All confirmed, it was time to return.
They hadn't seen each other in ages.
Smiling, Roy pulled up his hood, stepping into the distant mist until he vanished amid the spring snow.
He came and went swiftly, as if never here.
…
…
Meanwhile, in Tokyo's suburbs, by Misaki City's river:
The scene was livelier than expected, likely due to the winter fishing contest drawing enthusiasts.
Unlike the weathered, tanned uncles along the shore, a blue-haired youth with an outdated oak rod, leaning against a pier, drew more eyes, especially from young women.
To them, this model-like, mythically handsome man outshone any fishing contest.
But their squeals brought no joy to Ireland's Child of Light. He cared only if his fish were scared off.
He cursed the contest's organizer. Why hold this pointless event?
Worse, it was near his river spot. Since the women arrived, he hadn't caught a single fish.
"He's so hot when he's focused!!"
"Is he a celebrity filming a show? Let's get his autograph later!"
"Totally! Totally!!"
The chatter grated, some bold women even offering Cú Chulainn fruit or love letters.
Finally fed up with the fawning, Cú Chulainn roared, "Shut up, you annoying, chattering hags!!"
"Eek! He's even hotter mad!!"
His shout didn't scare them, it thrilled them.
His striking face and wild aura made the outburst magnetic, adding a rugged charm.
"What… you lot…" Seeing them grow more fervent, Cú Chulainn's eye twitched.
He stood, ready to drive them off, but paused, sensing something, and turned toward the distance.
This presence?
Sniffing lightly, his thoughts linked to Misaki's scattered Runes.
A smirk curved his lips. "Back at last, Master?"
At the same moment,
"I'm finally back…"
At Misaki's Shinkansen exit, Roy stretched his arms, embracing the deep blue sky, yawning widely.
Though he knew what awaited ahead was surely hell…
___
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