There were multiple reasons why Kiritsugu never went to the Clock Tower, one of the main centres of Magi activity in the world. Even though the organization was extremely rich in Thaumaturgy resources, research, personnel, and inspiration, he could never be at ease in the area. Part of it had to do with the fact that Asians, for the most part, were not warmly welcomed there. Part of it had to do with the fact that he had been a freencer for the most part and was considered an outsider. Part of it had to do with the fact that he viewed the use of magic differently than the bulk of the people there. Part of it had to do with the fact that there were more than a few magi there that were retives of those he had killed over the years.

  But for the most part, he didn't go simply because he just didn't like London. He was fairly used to European food and cities; however, the Engnd capital just didn't mesh well with him. The city was old and rge, and as such, it was fairly difficult to navigate anywhere unless you had a damn good map or if you were a local. It made the city perfect for an assassin like himself to stage an accident or some other event and get off clean... which is why he tended to stay away from pces like this. Even a pro could fall to a novice here if he let his guard down for a moment. It was probably part of the reason why the Clock Tower was probably located there in the first pce. Kiritsugu was fairly certain that there were at least half a hundred bounded fields surrounding the city itself just to make it more confusing...

  Still, the city was in a permanent state of clean-up, memory wipes, and daily renegotiated compromises between different factions and families. The fact that it still stood was a testament to the human ability to persevere through any sort of chaos. Persevere and move forward.

  Kiritsugu found himself entering a small café, hidden in an obscure offshoot of a gloomy alley that itself spawned from a rarely used street. As he crossed the threshold, there was the familiar tingle of a bounded field activating and a more obvious metal detector at the entrance.

  ‘No matter, not like I can use much of anything that would trigger these in my state.’ He thought.

  The proprietor was an old acquaintance, a bald Irish man called Rob, in his forties with small, deep, dark eyes and a nky constitution.

  Nobody reacted much when Kiritsugu entered the establishment. People didn't come here to be approached without invitation and extended the same courtesy to others through unspoken agreement. When the Magus got close to the bar, Rob poured a half-full gss of whisky and put it in front of Kiritsugu with a cnk.

  "Good to see you alive and kicking," said Rob. "When I didn't hear from you, I assumed the job got to you.”

  ‘It did,’ was what Kiritsugu wanted to say. "Well, I'm more sturdy than I look."

  "He is waiting for you in booth number two. Whatever you do, don't walk into the third one: family quarrel."

  One of the reasons this particur watering hole was preferred by Thaumaturgy practitioners seeking some degree of privacy was that it had six booths in a back room, fully sectioned off by one-way mirrors and sporting additional Bounded Fields that kept all sound inside.

  One of the reasons Thaumaturgy practitioners preferred this particur watering hole was the privacy it had. Six booths in a back room. Each was sectioned off by one-way mirrors and additional Bounded Fields that kept all sound inside.

  He knocked, and one of the mirrors slid open.

  "You've grown, Waver." He calmly greeted the man holding a knife to his throat.

  Kiritsugu found himself staring at a seven-inch ceramic knife pointed at him. Ignoring the bde completely, Kiritsugu looked into the eyes of the man holding it and walked inside.

  Said Magus was cd in a lot more expensive (and obviously enchanted) clothes than the st time they met and looked quite different with his obsidian-bck hair now falling below his shoulders.

  Waver Velvet is a third-generation Magus of the Velvet family. Studying in the Clock Tower, he joined the cssroom of the te Lord Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald, a man Kiritsugu personally sent to hell. The 19-year-old was the Master of Rider in the Fourth Holy Grail War. His Servant was Iskander, more commonly known as Alexander the Great, as Kiritsugu remembered due to the Heroic Spirit boldly stating his name to every Master and Servant he saw.

  He glowered at Kiritsugu for a moment before sighing, dissipating the Mana coating his bde, and putting it away. He then sat on a sofa on one side of the small table and gestured for Kiritsugu to sit.

  "And you've looked better, Kiritsugu, since we are on a first-name basis now for some reason. While I appreciate that you didn't call me out here for an assassination, why did you call me? 'Grail-reted', you said."

  Kiritsugu settled comfortably on the soft sofa and took a sip of whisky. "The Grail War is returning to Fuyuki," he said. "In five to ten years, depending on how quickly it gathers energy. The whole system is out of bance, so it's impossible to be more accurate."

  Silence fell upon the booth as Waver froze solid. After a few seconds, the younger man reached into his inner pocket with a very precise, almost mechanical motion and took out a string of amber prayer beads. The slow, rhythmic ccking of tiny marbles hitting each other echoed throughout the quiet room as he fiddled with them.

  Finally, Waver spoke. "And you’re sure."

  It wasn't a question, but Kiritsugu decided to answer anyway. "I checked the temple above the Greater Grail. There is enough Mana there to summon more than half the Servants already, I think. Probably, because no wish got fulfilled, the energy couldn't go anywhere. I hoped that Saber had destroyed it all with Excalibur, but…”

  Waver shuddered, "I heard there is a cursed park now in Fuyuki where the st battle took pce."

  "Yes… Let's just say that you don't want the Grail activating," he said. "Ever. Again. Anywhere. The system is corrupted beyond all hope of salvage. I can tell you the whole story ter."

  "Why not destroy it, then? Or tell one of the founding families? Or the Association?"

  "It’s tied into Ley Lines that run below half the city. If it’s destroyed, optimistically speaking, it might cause them to turn into seismic fault lines and then bring everything down in a massive earthquake. Pessimistically… Imagine all the energies of all the Servants, corrupted, raining down on everything, turning everyone into Undead. Or just making one immense monster."

  Waver shuddered, recalling the Caster of their war and the thing that man had summoned. The extreme force used to put it down wouldn't be readily avaible should it happen again, as Archer was long gone. Not that he wanted to ever rely on the King of Heroes again.

  "Not a pretty picture, right?" Kiritsugu said. "As for sharing the information, the taint is pretty much impossible to detect while the Grail is passively gathering Mana. It manifests its nature only when the Mystery is actualized, and then you already have seven super-powered entities running around a city, making any clean-up at that point... difficult. Plus, some of the participants simply may not care about the sacrifice that the Grail requires now. They may not care about humanity, just about their own wishes. No, this is not an option. What I am suggesting is preparing a contingency."

  Waver remembered the old Kiritsugu, the emotionless, perfectly efficient killer. The man before him was vastly different, even if he tried to use the same words as that automaton-like assassin. This man was broken, yet somehow stronger. "Contingency?"

  "Let me tell you about my son."

  …

  Half an hour ter, Kiritsugu finished his story, and Waver got them a full bottle of cognac because discussing what they were talking about while only tipsy was simply impossible.

  "So let me get this straight," Waver said. “The kid you saved and adopted, who I saw on the news for being a genius and philosopher, is by sheer goddamn coincidence the heir to an old lineage of magical bcksmiths who began with a man infamous in Japan for the fact that he made cursed swords. The same boy who has incredible proficiency with magecraft reted to swords, who can make a useless magecraft like Gradation Air viable?”

  "Pretty much."

  "I'll believe it when I see it... is what I'd like to say, but I guess it is simply impossible to make this shit up. Let's say I believe you, just for a minute. How are you sure that I won't rat you out to one of Barthomeloi’s dogs?”

  "I wouldn't say I'm sure, but I trust you are one of the people in here who would value the lives of a small city more than your career. And because if you help take care of Shirou after I'm gone, you will have access to whatever Mysteries and theories you can develop with him."

  "So, some access to some ephemeral Mysteries forty years in the future? Have you ever heard of the concept of selling an offer?"

  "No, not that long. I am dying, Velvet. Even with certain... methods for extension I'm looking into, I won't be here for more than a couple of years. It won't be more than five; three to four is what I hope for.”

  "You know, throwing the 'dying wish' card on the table isn't really fair." Kiritsugu simply shrugged and waited while Waver thought.

  "I really don't want to throw the kid under the bus after what he's been through. Although he is probably the best bet for ending the Holy Grail War once and for all if we can only py the cards right... Yes, this could work, but…”

  During the war, Waver showed himself as a decent Magus whose exceptional strength y not in raw mysteries but in analysis and pnning. Now the brain that had once easily found the Caster's base was completely focused on preventing the atrocities he had witnessed from happening again.

  "Five to ten years... too little. Unless… Some sort of power base? Any weapons?" His eyes fshed to Kiritsugu, indicating that the st question wasn't rhetorical.

  The older Magus nodded.

  "Number of Circuits? Energy requirements?"

  "Twenty-seven. Still mastering their use, but they will probably peak at twenty to twenty-five units each." Waver whistled, impressed.

  Kiritsugu said, "As for requirements, he can Project a non-weapon Noble Phantasm and not pass out now."

  "That sounds awfully specific."

  "Am I guessing right that you are in?"

  "What does it look like, Kiritsugu, refusal? Now tell me what I need to know to formute a proper pn here. Obviously you have thought to the 'I die, he trains and kicks ass' point; let me try to flesh it out a bit," Waver said, gring at his older counterpart.

  "Avalon. He can Project Avalon. You can guess what the rank of the thing is. I'm not very good with analysis anymore, but it seems like his version is about C-level right now. Weapons come easier to him. Bdes are the easiest; I haven't seen him tire with those at all, but it's not like there is something powerful enough lying around my house to really test his limits."

  Again, Waver fell silent, lost in his thoughts for what seemed to be like forever. The younger man began a calming ritual: sipping his drink, clicking his prayer beads, and rubbing his temples. Drink, click, rub, drink, click, rub, repeat. Internally, he physically pushed his thoughts into higher gear with every second. Finally, he let out a heavy sigh.

  "Okay, this, as unbelievable as it sounds, can work. If Shirou follows through with the teachings of the Muramasa, he should be able to make a decent enough Mystic Code that might carry him to the end of the Grail War, so recruiting a Mystic Code crafter isn’t necessary but would still help. Something tells me that won’t be enough.” Waver rationalized.

  “I can take care of that,” Kiritsugu said. “I can’t fight like I used to, but my head still remembers. Add that to my connections, and I could make him my successor. I could even…”

  “You could what? If you think you should hold back because it sounds stupid, don’t; this whole thing is incredibly hair-brained and insane.” Waver pestered.

  “My son already has a Crest of incredible age, but who knows how useful it will be. Mine, however, is one I know how to use practically and can teach. So…”

  “You pn on giving him a second Crest!? And one that isn’t even his own blood!!?” Waver yelled.

  “I know how mad that sounds. However, with the Emiya Crest being as small as it is and Shirou having Avalon in his body, the chances are much higher than they would be normally.” Kiritsugu expined.

  “I see. I won’t stop you if you go through with it, but know that I have no qualifications in that regard, and I have no pns in changing that.”

  “Understandable. I assume you were up to something before this.”

  “I did actually. Thanks for asking,” Waver fired back. “I originally didn’t want to go back to London and instead travel the world with the funds I have left. Instead, I get a letter from the boogeyman telling me that something bad is going to happen and I need to help.”

  “I won’t need your assistance immediately, so you can go through with that if you still want. Hell, I’d be willing to fund part of your odyssey.”

  “Thanks, but why are you so willing to help me? Actually, scratch that. Why are you willing to go through this much just to save your son?”

  Kiritsugu closed his eyes. "I've told you already that I'm going to die soon. Nothing I say or do will change that. I won't see the war, and odds are likely that I won't see my daughter either. He sighed, ignoring the caught-off-guard look the listener gave him, no doubt never expecting him to have a daughter in the first pce. "However, I will use even that to our advantage." His eyes were open and narrow. Very slowly and eborately, the Magus Killer expined his pn.

  Waver shivered. ‘If the Association ever got word of what the boy was capable of doing to any Magi he comes across in battle...’

  "Shirou's a good kid. He goes out of his way to help people, but there’s something off about him. One second he’s reckless and brash; the next he’s slow and methodical. He’s special, and I’m not speaking as his father; the things he’s achieved are something many strive for over the course of their lives. I’m very proud of him, but sometimes it scares me. I don’t know enough about psychology or Shirou to say if it’s some sort of response or whatever, but he’s abnormal, and that’s coming from me.” Kiritsugu downed his drink in one go, poured himself another, and downed it again.

  Kiritsugu Emiya was an enigma to Waver Velvet. He was a boogeyman to aspiring Magi, him included. Information on him was scarce, and even then, who knew if it was accurate?

  He hunted Sealing Designates like it was nothing, used tools and weaponry that were deemed ‘heretical’ by many Magi, and performed acts that would make terrorists jealous, with no fear of anyone stopping him.

  It’s no wonder the Magus Association branded him as the Magus Killer. But seeing the man in front of him as the legend is harder.

  Kiritsugu’s eyes dimmed. "I don't want him to end up like me." He muttered, his voice finally breaking. "Look at me... I sacrificed my father, my adopted mother, my wife, my partner, my daughter, and even myself to my foolish dreams to save people. This boy truly is the only thing that has enabled me to keep my mind after I've lost everything to ‘save the world.’ He's the only thing I have actually truly saved... and I'm the one that nearly killed him in the first pce." He ughed bitterly as tears actually began to fall down his face. "Yet even still, I want to help save the world. The Grail may have cursed me and ended my life early... but I've truly been dying the moment the war started again... probably even longer." He dropped his head so that it almost touched the table, but it did nothing to stop the sounds of his now heavy crying. "Please... help me protect my son... and everything else I used to care about that somehow still exists... My daughter is going to be a Master in this war too. She's going to be the container of the next Grail and will die if I don't do anything. She'll just be another meaningless sacrifice. I'm trying my hardest to pn for everything, to save everyone, but I know that it won't be enough. Not by myself. Please…"

  Waver was silent as he took in the sight of the broken man before them, begging for his aid. Despite his previous encounters and knowledge about him, he never expected that he would live to see the day that the famous Magus Killer would break down in tears right in front of them like a small child.

  Physically, on the other hand, he was quiet, going over the situation over and over in his mind, taking in the risks of every action he could take before reaching a conclusion and closing his eyes. "This..." He growled. "...has got to be one of the dumbest and irrational things I have ever gotten myself into." He waited several seconds before rexing, opening his eyes, and putting on a feeble grin. "Still, the first would always be when I stole Kayneth's artifact, ran off to Japan of all pces, and participated in the previous war. I doubt I'll be in any more danger than I was hanging around Rider back then.

  The elder man paused for a moment before chuckling in mirth.

  "Really?" Kiritsugu began to ugh more, the tears still streaming down his eyes. "Does that mean you knew that I had a sniper rifle pointed to the entrance to that home you stayed at for almost half a day near the end of the war?"

  Waver's grin fell almost as quickly as the colour in his face as the full-grown man ughed even harder.

  (...)

  “So I have a magic tutor now?” I asked.

  “We haven't fully worked out the arrangement yet, but pretty much,” Kiritsugu answered on the other side of the phone.

  This works in my favour. Having someone knowledgeable about magic teach me is great. Double it with the fact that it's Waver, and I have gained one of the greatest allies I possibly could have.

  A future lord of the Clock Tower. A head of a cssroom that’s said to produce only the best. A pioneer of Modern Magecraft Theory.

  Enough about him; I need to put my pns into action.

  If I want to maximize the chances of winning the Holy Grail War, I'll need a massive amount of magical energy.

  Thankfully, there is a natural source of it in Fuyuki called a leyline. There are many in this world, to the point where some Magi lease them off.

  My method to access one will be less legal. Though it's not like I'll be breaking and entering.

  Thanks to my deal with Shinji, a way to absorb mana has opened up. The Thaumaturgy they specialize in and the Sorcery Trait they pass down is absorption, which allows me not to use my Attribute. Something it should have provided me with is a way to store it.

  It's not like there is another Magus family nearby who specializes in storing mana…

  Oh right, the Tohsakas. Jewel-based Magecraft is all about putting mana in gems for ter use.

  I'll have to pull a lot of strings if I want this to work.

  (The Next Day...)

  “You want me to do what?” I flinched at the almost yell.

  “I know how it sounds, but I assure you it's not as bad as it seems.”

  “Demanding a task of mine is already damning enough. But to force me to look at inferior gems and have me touch them is even more insulting!”

  “You’ve said before that you wish to see all that this era has to offer, right? What better way than one of the many fruits of Gaia?” I asked. ‘I know I shouldn’t have asked him, but I am low on options.’

  Asking the King of Heroes for a favour is something only an insane man would do. Fortunately, I’ve never been clinically diagnosed.

  “Why can you not do it yourself, mongrel?” Gilgamesh asked.

  “Because I will be busy with some things for the next few days and will require all my focus for it. Plus, I don’t have much of an eye for jewellery.” I answered while not actually.

  “That does not answer my question. What is so important that you cannot do the task yourself? I will not ask again.” Gilgamesh repeated, golden portals appearing around him. ‘Shit.’

  “I wish to get mana from the leyline within the city. Unfortunately, I cannot contain the energy within the boy’s body. So, I will use another method.”

  “Jewelcraft.” The Archer Servant deduced. “You don’t have proficiency with it, nor do you have any resources that will teach you how to, unless you learned how through your travels?”

  “If I did, things would be a lot easier,” I admitted truthfully. “It won’t be easy, and I’m bound to fail, but it's a necessary gamble to win.”

  “...Be grateful that I am a benevolent king. I will allow these counterfeiters to be appraised by a king. Do know that I will be compensated for this,” Gilgamesh finally said.

  “Thank you, your Majesty,” I said. The king turned and left.

  ‘Now then, time to spring the trap.’ I thought.

  (A Month Later...)

  Field trips. Something any kid attending school would look forward to. A way to not attend csses while not skipping school, a field trip gets everyone going.

  Funnily enough, it was a field trip that started my journey. Then again, I won’t need a volcano anytime soon.

  With my influence in the scientific world, I can pull some strings here and there to get what I want. All it took was talking to some teachers and contacting some pces with some yakuza middlemen.

  It took some time, but here we are!

  My pn is simple. Find a pce where Rin Tohsaka can get wet, cause an 'accident,’ and Trace her key before she notices. The margin of error is high in case something goes terribly wrong, and with my luck, I can bet on it.

  Since this is a trip for the grade, many teachers wrangle the small children. One wrong move and things can go FUBAR quickly, something I pn to take advantage of.

  My mind wanders as I watch the projects go by and hear what they do from the tour guide. I’m not impressed, not because they are all of poor quality or because magic is superior. Rather, I’ve seen where most of these lead and how they can be done better.

  Having a super genius as a best friend didn’t help.

  Regardless, I march forth, waiting to spring my trap. Thankfully, it doesn’t take too long to find somewhere suitable.

  It was a rge body of water, an experiment for hydropower. They are trying different ways of moving the liquid to see what can generate the most energy. With all of the moving parts, someone’s bound to get caught in the spsh zone.

  Now, where is Rin when you need her- “OH MY GOD!”

  My eyes lock on to the source of the commotion. Our guide slowly led us to the other group.

  “What’s going on?” She calmly asked.

  “I-i-i dunno. One second I’m leaning into the walkie-talkie to ask where everyone else is with their tour, and then I hear a loud bang and then.” The other guide rambled.

  “What happened?” Our teacher interrupted.

  One of the students answered, “Someone fell in!”

  Everyone bursts into nervous cmour. I approach the water at a safe distance to see if my worst nightmare has come true.

  I see a girl with long, wavy bck hair in twin tails.

  ‘Fuck.’

  (...)

  Everything was going wrong. What was once a special field trip made possible by a special boy had turned sour quickly.

  In hindsight, something was bound to go wrong. Maybe he already knew but wanted to see how far he could st before it all blew up in his face. Doesn’t matter now. He has to live with his mistake.

  The children are all in various states of panic. The teachers and guides try to calm the children down while scrambling for a solution.

  “Somebody shut that thing off!” Someone shouted. Everyone turned to see who it was.

  Emiya Shirou. The boy genius who made this possible.

  Before anyone asked what he was going to do, he leapt. With perfect form, Shirou swan dived into the mass of water.

  Immediately, people swung into action. Those capable did what they could to dey, if not stop the machine. The rest of the adults escorted the children out of the room.

  Eventually, the two kids emerged from the water through the combined effort of many. The boy's face showed his absolute focus. He pressed his lips to the girl’s and blew. Next, he did chest compressions. He repeated these steps with no results, getting more frantic as time went on.

  Until a breath of air was heard.

  (...)

  I wish I knew what was happening, but my mind is still reeling. When I saw Rin in the water, I sprung into action. Like a gun fired inside my head. I said something. I went into the water and grabbed the girl. I performed CPR.

  Currently, I’m in a hospital. While it was for a short amount of time, I was in a body of cold water with clothes on. Add that to the fact that the water was moving to create hydropower, and I was quickly shipped into an ambunce.

  Thanks to Avalon, my healing capabilities are higher than an average human. I get out of my room as fast as I get in it.

  However, I wasn't the victim in this situation. Asking around, I found who I was looking for.

  Garbled in a hospital gown and covered in bandages y Rin Tohsaka. She's tougher than she looks but not invincible.

  “It's my fault you're like this,” I said to her. After saying my piece, I leave.

  But not before hearing rustling and groaning. “Emiya-san?”

  “I'm sorry if I woke you up,” I said, turning around.

  “It's fine. What business do you have for me?” Rin asked.

  “Nothing really just wanted to see how you were feeling,” I answered. “You should probably go back to sleep.”

  “I would if I could. The pain is unbearable.”

  “I could call a nurse if you want.”

  “Don’t bother. I can handle it.”

  Awkward silence permitted through the room. I hesitated on what to do. Thankfully, Rin answered that for me. “Why did you save me?”

  “I’m sorry?”

  “Why did you save me?”

  “Because I don’t want people to die? If you have problems with mental health, I have some people I could recommend-”

  “Not that. I thought I was as good as dead when I fell in. Despite that, you chose to sacrifice your life on the chance that you could save me!” Rin said, her voice escating as she went on.

  “I did save you, didn’t I?” “That's not the point!” The Tohsaka heiress shouted, breathing heavily afterwards.

  “Doing something to save me is good and all, but not when it comes at the cost of yourself. If I didn’t know any better, I would say you have no self-preservation instincts.”

  “I would refute that if it wasn’t true. I want to live, but there will be times when people are in danger. The smart thing would be to turn away and let those who know what they are doing take care of the situation. Unfortunately, logic doesn’t guide a lot of my actions.”

  “You sound like a superhero.”

  “Well, I’m aspiring not to be one.” Rin ughed. When she finished, she looked back at me.

  “Alright then, not a hero, can you get the nurse to bring my belongings? I want to make sure nobody stole anything while I was out.” I nodded and went to the door.

  “That’ll be hard to do, since I can’t not save my friends.” I wink. Sadly, what I said might have caused Rin’s injuries to fre up as her face went red.

  I exit the room, mentally adding that Rin may need to be double-checked.

  Asking around, I send out my message and find Rin’s stuff. It was then that I realized something.

  ‘I can Trace her key.’ I thought. It was what I wanted to do from the very beginning, right? ‘So why do I feel bad about doing this?’

  ‘Is it because I’m rummaging through her stuff? No, items owned by females don’t make me freak out. Is it because I’m practically stealing? No, I’ve done simir and worse before. What’s tripping me up?’

  ‘It’s because the pn didn’t go as I expected it to, isn’t it?’ I realized. ‘Should I have chosen a different location? No, the result would have been the same. Even if I tried pnning for every little detail, something would have gone wrong, and I accept that.’

  ‘So what’s this feeling that persists despite the fact?’ I wondered, grabbing the key, and hesitated.

  “Trace On,” I finally said.

  Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

  Don't have much to say so I'll keep it brief

  If you have any criticisms please comment and have a Happy Halloween!

  FmingHotGarbage, signing off