Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Kirei Kotomine was surprised by his Servant.

He had fully expected to be staring into the skull mask of one of the Hassans of old. Instead, the summoning ritual brought him face to face, or rather, face to chest with a massive, horned man. He must have been 7 or 8 feet tall, with shoulders more than twice as wide as Kirei's. His gray, mostly bare chest was extremely muscular, with tattoos leading down his arms, and a crossing harness over his breasts. His pauldrons were large and red, with a strange diamond symbol with countless lines rising to meet within it. The same symbol appeared on his pant-legs, which were armored in leather down to his boots, which came up to his thighs. The servant's head was covered by a metal mask, which extended out like the skull of a dragon and allowed his horns to jut out from the side. These horns extended out to either side for about a foot, before shooting upwards for another foot. Kirei could also vaguely see behind the mask a patch over the Servant's left eye. On the giant's back there seemed to be a large greatsword.

How could THIS possibly be an Assassin!?

Once Kirei had collected himself a bit, the horned giant finally spoke. "Servant Assassin. You may call me Hissrad. What should I call you?"

The man, Assassin, spoke with a deep, yet, somewhat rich voice. But there was an emptiness to his words, as though they lacked meaning or emotion.

Kirei thought for a moment, then responded. "I am your Master, Kirei Kotomine. You will work with me alongside Tokiomi Tohsaka to aquire the Grail for him. He is waiting to speak with us upstairs."

Assassin looked down at Kirei, seemingly thinking, before nodding his head and following his new Master out of the church's basement.

Tokiomi Tohsaka was not pleased by this new development. Their plan had been to call upon one of the infamous Old Men of the Mountain and use their skills to spy on the other potential Masters, as well as utilize whatever unique skill they had to fool said Masters into thinking that Assassin wasn't a threat. But this Servant would make this all but impossible. He was too big, too unique. Not to mention, his Presence Concealment was at a miserable E rank. E RANK! Tokiomi didn't even know if it was possible for an Assassin to have such a low rank in that skill.

But then Assassin revealed his Noble Phantasm.

A person appeared at his side, whom Assassin referred to as Gatt. Gatt was about a head shorter than Tokiomi, with fair skin, dark brown hair, and sharp ears like a fey or an elf. Assassin said that he and Gatt were something called Ben-Hassrath, and that they were basically spies. Assassin could apparently call upon more Ben-Hassrath, up to 10 at a time, and that most of them would be much better suited to infiltration and tailing than Assassin himself. Kirei confirmed this, having read Gatt's Presence Concealment to be at B rank, a much more acceptable parameter for their plans. But this knowledge also gave Tokiomi an idea.

"Would these 'Ben-Hassrath' give their lives, if you asked them too?" Tokiomi inquired.

Assassin faltered a moment, before turning his gaze to the man in red. He appeared to be thinking, analyzing his Master's apparent ally while determining his response. "If that was a demand of The Qun? Without question," he finally said.

"The Qun?" Kirei's father, a man named Risei, asked, "What is that?"

"A full answer would take too long, but to put it simply, The Qun is the rules by which the Qunari govern themselves," Assassin answered, "that's us, by the way. All who follow The Qun are called Qunari, and we obey the Qun's demands completely."

"I see," the priest answered. "I trust that this 'Qun' won't interfere with your role, both in this War and this alliance."

"That would depend on you," Assassin responded neutrally. "As it stands, The Qun holds no issue with me working alongside you to acquire the grail, its views on magic aside."

"Views on magic?" Kirei spoke up. "What views?" he asked his Servant, his words holding an edge. If Assassin had an issue with mages, then his loyalty could be jeopardized. They could not afford such a complication.

Assassin seemed to notice the intent. "The usual crap," he responded, his words holding a calm tone, "things like 'magic is dangerous' and 'mages should be kept a close eye on'. Nothing that would interfere with the mission. Qunari often use saarebas in battle and on missions. Even if they're not part of the Qun. We're very big on the whole 'uphold the mission no matter what' thing."

"Understood," Kirei said. That was useful to know. It meant that Assassin likely wouldn't hold any qualms about more underhanded tactics. Of course, he didn't really expect a Servant of the class dedicated to subterfuge and murder to take issue with getting they're hands dirty, but given the strangeness of this summoning it was nice to have confirmation.

"So," Assassin began, rubbing his hands together, "what's the plan? Do we know anything about our enemies?"

Tokiomi took over the conversation. "We're still working out initial battle plans," he began, "your Noble Phantasm has given us a lot to work with. As for enemies, we know for sure that one Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald will be participating. He's a mage of some standing, and is very experienced. I do believe he has something of an ego, however, so it's likely he'll walk into a poor situation. A possible threat to be sure, but one we can accommodate for."

"Besides him," the mage continued, "we unfortunately don't know much about the other Masters. It's likely the Matous won't even be participating and the only thing we know of the Einzberns is that they've supposedly been in contact with a mercenary, though we don't know who just yet."

"That's not exactly ideal," Assassin said, crossing his arms, "but I've worked with less. I'll probably need more information on this Kayneth guy, you can never be too careful, and it could be beneficial to make sure that these 'Matous' are really out of the fight. We don't need any surprises." Tokiomi nodded, following the Qunari's logic as he continued. "What really concerns me is this mercenary. If the Einzberns are as involved in this war as you imply then it seems unusual for them to outsource their strength. It's possible that the mercenary is just outside help, or a diversion, but it's also just as likely that they'll be a Master candidate." Assassin scowled. "That would mean that they're either really desperate, or really confident."

"A fair assessment," Tokiomi acknowledged. "Fortunately, we do have one thing going our way." Assassin looked up at the man, indicating for him to continue. "While your summoning was unexpected, I do not believe that it is an event that will occur twice. I have acquired a very old artifact to use as a catalyst, which should arrive in Japan just in time for the Grail War to start properly. We believe that this catalyst will call forth a Servant powerful enough to win the Grail almost single-handedly."

Despite Tokiomi's boasting, Assassin seemed unconvinced of this Servant's supposed power. However, he could see that bringing up his doubts was not exactly conducive to getting the mage to acknowledge his concerns as valid. Instead, he returned his gaze to his Master, staring into Kirei's seemingly empty eyes.

I hope this turns out better than my time with my last boss, was a thought he kept to himself.

Chapter Text

The next month progressed smoothly.

Kirei, alongside Assassin, had been assisting Risei in preparing for the coming war. They had been readying falsified reports, shoring up the church’s defenses, and memorizing the rules of the coming war.

All the while, Assassin and his Ben-Hassrath had been familiarizing themselves with Fuyuki and finding and monitoring people of interest. Assassin was readying a full report for his Master when they were called to help Tokiomi see off his family.

Which brought them to conversing with Tokiomi’s daughter, Rin.

Assassin had gotten a good chuckle out of watching the girl. She reminded him of one of his old mercenary jobs. He recalled an Orlesian comte hiring him to protect his wife and daughter while he rode out to meet with some dignitary. The wife was lovely, but the daughter was a real firebrand. Always demanding some minor favor or service, seemingly forgetting that they were security and not servants and getting flustered whenever he or Krem teased her about it. Krem… Assassin hung on the name for a moment before shaking himself. No, that’s done with. That’s not me.

Leaving the memory behind him, he refocused on his Master. Rin had requested, ordered more like, that Kirei ensure her father’s survival.

“I’m sorry, but that’s impossible.” Assassin was surprised by his Master’s frankness. Not even the Ariqun’s debriefing of the Kirkwall situation had been so blunt. “If this battle were going to be simple enough that I could honestly make that promise, we wouldn’t have to send you or your mother away from here to keep you safe and sound.”

The conversation continued a short while, Rin getting frustrated while Kirei remained stone faced. Poker face like that, he would’ve made a half decent Ben-Hassrath, Assassin mused as he observed the short exchange.

The conversation ended as Mrs. Tohsaka came by to collect her daughter. The packing finished very quickly after that, and Tokiomi’s wife and child were now on their way out of Fuyuki. Observing their departure, Assassin decided that now was as good a time as any to deliver his report.

Before that though…

“You could have at least told her you’d do your best,” the Servant spoke up.

“Do you believe she would have accepted that?” Kirei asked in response.

Assassin considered for a moment. “Probably not,” he admitted, “But it certainly would have brought more comfort than a flat ‘no’.”

“Her comfort is not my concern.” Kirei retained his earlier bluntness. “The Grail is. What do you have to report?”

“Alright, alright.” Assassin acted put off by his master, but he fully expected that answer. Kirei wasn’t the type to mince words. “Starting off with Kayneth, we’ve confirmed his arrival at the Hyatt Hotel alongside his betrothed, Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri.” He chuckled a moment. “Say that five times as fast,” he muttered before clearing his throat to continue. “We haven’t yet confirmed what his catalyst is, though we do know it came from Ireland and is a long wooden object, likely a spear. Current hypothesis is that he wants to summon either Cú Chulainn or one of the knights of Fianna. The Tallis watching his room didn’t get much more, though. Kayneth set up his defenses pretty quick after his arrival. He’s still watching over the building, but with all the people coming and going every day it’s unlikely that we’ll get anything more than that.”

“Next up, the Matous.” Assassin continued with only a moment's pause. “It seems that they'll be joining this war after all, as one Kariya Matou has decided to return to the fold, though his health seems to be failing judging by his appearance. Honestly, the guy can’t be older than thirty-five, how does he look so shriveled?” He pondered that last part aloud to himself, then continued. “That aside, I honestly couldn’t tell you anything. The Matous are dug in deep in this city and there’s no way we could ever penetrate the mansion’s grounds without their notice. I’d say that we could at least monitor the place’s comings and goings but it seems that Kariya means to spend as little time home as possible, so there’s very little to be done. No idea who he means to summon.”

“The Einzbern are next. As you already know, the mercenary talks fell through. Kiritsugu Emiya will fight for the family in the coming war, alongside his associate Maiya Hisau.” Kirei seemed to be paying much closer attention at the mention of the Magus Killer’s name “He will also be joined by a homunculus. While the family does own a castle in the Fuyuki area, Hisau has rented a hotel room in the city proper, likely a secondary base. It seems that the Einzbern intend to conduct the summoning off-site, as there’s been very little happening at the castle. Emiya can cover his tracks online pretty well too, so we don’t know when they plan on arriving, or what they’ll bring. That includes catalysts, unfortunately. Viddasala is keeping watch on the castle while Gatt is monitoring the hotel.”

“Nothing more of Emiya himself?” Assassin looked up. He hadn’t expected Kirei to jump in like that.

“Nothing we didn’t already know. You seem pretty interested in this guy,” Assassin noted. “Any reason why?”

“He is our enemy.” Kirei stated simply.

“And…?”

Kirei did not respond.

“Fine then, keep your secrets. I’m only your main source of intelligence, spy master, and problem solver for everything that’s happening in this city,” Assassin snarked.

Kirei glared at the Qunari.

“Anyways, we’ve identified our sixth competitor,” Assassin returned to the main topic. “Waver Velvet. At the age of nineteen he is, or was, a student of Kayneth’s prior to his joining the War. The two did not get along well it seems, and recently their dislike for each other turned to animosity when Kayneth tore into the young man’s latest thesis. He is a prodigy in alchemy, though more due to his knowledge than innate power. He seems to believe that participating will improve his standing and cause him to be taken seriously by his peers. In short, a young, inexperienced prodigy with a chip on his shoulder and a bone to pick with Kayneth. He stole Kayneth’s original catalyst for his summoning, which we’ve traced back to the Mediterranean. Though that doesn’t tell us much of anything about who he’ll summon. He is currently staying in a small suburban home with two civilians named Glen and Martha Mackenzie.” Assassin made a face of disgust as he continued. “He seems to have hypnotized them into thinking he is their grandson, staying with them during a break from studying abroad.” Mages, he thought to himself bitterly. “We’re keeping a close eye on the house. Keeping track of him should be a simple matter.”

“Finally, no progress on our seventh Master, though we’re still tracking down any lead we can. We’ll find something, it’s just a matter of time.” Assassin concluded.

“Very well,” Kirei said. “Have you found a candidate for our start?”

Assassin faltered for a moment. “Are you certain this is a good use of our resources?” he asked once he recovered.

“We must trust in Tokiomi’s plan.”

“It’s throwing away a valuable member of my team. I can’t just call up a hundred of these guys, ten is my limit.”

“It will allow us much more freedom in our movements and make you the hidden weapon you’re meant to be.”

“At the cost of a valuable Ben-Hassrath.” Assassin argued, though he knew it was pointless. This was not the first time they’d had this argument.

“We must trust in Tokiomi’s plan.” Kirei repeated.

“Then I hope he knows what he’s doing.” Assassin said before answering. “A Salit has volunteered. A good soldier, that one. No horns and he’ll be covered up almost completely, so the only identifier will be his height, which tells our enemies basically nothing. He’ll work.”

“Good,” Kirei replied.

“You can’t seriously think this is a good idea.”

“We must trust in Tokiomi’s plan.” Kirei was starting to sound like a broken record.

“Speaking of our friend, his catalyst will be arriving soon,” Assassin stated.

“When?” Kirei asked.

The doorbell rang just before Assassin answered. “Right now.” He looked unbearably smug.

Kirei ignored him. “So it begins,” he said.

“So it begins,” Assassin answered.

Chapter Text

Night had long fallen before Tokiomi called for Kirei’s presence in the Tohsaka Manor’s basement, the location where he intended to summon his Servant. Assassin decided to tag along, deciding he should be there to greet his apparent ally in the coming conflict.

A summoning circle lay in the middle of the room, countless intricate patterns glowing in a bright red, their meanings indecipherable to all but the mage who would perform the necessary ritual. On a pedestal just behind the circle, Tokiomi placed the small box he had received earlier that day.

The red-clad mage took off the lid of the box, revealing the artifact that lay within. His eyes met a millennia old snakeskin, perfectly preserved in spite of the countless years of its existence.

He turned to Kirei and Assassin and spoke. “Within this box, is the very first snake skin to ever be shed. It is said that the serpent stole from the first king of Uruk, said to be among the first kings in history, an herb that would render any who consumed it immortal. On the spot, the snake began to shed its skin, emerging as a youthful serpent unfettered by its years of existence. The very first of its kind to do so, and it would pass this ability to all of its descendants.”

As his audience remained silent he continued. “With this catalyst, and a bit of luck, we will be able to call forth one of the most powerful heroes of legend, whose might will surely secure us victory in the Holy Grail war.”

With that, he walked to the opposite side of the circle and turned to face it, extending his hand decorated with three Command Seals, three incredibly powerful geases which could either greatly empower a summoned Servant or bind them with an order they could not disobey. Tokiomi took a breath before checking a nearby clock.

The clock had just struck twelve. Midnight. It was now time.

He took another breath before beginning an incantation:

“Let silver and steel be the essence.
Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation…”

On the thirty-second floor of the Fuyuki Hyatt Hotel, a blond mage in dark blue cloth stood with his wife, calling for a knight of unmatched prowess.

“Let my great Master Schweinorg be ancestor
Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall…”

In the backyard of a small suburban house, a young mage in student’s garments asked for a warrior who could conquer all opposition.

“Let the four cardinal gates close.
Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate…”

In a dark and decrepit place surrounded by innumerous horrors, a dying man shouted for a monster that would kill all who stood between him and victory.

“I hereby declare.
Your body shall serve under me…”

In a grand fortress surrounded by falling snow, a killer asked for a king beyond reproach who will light the way towards his one wish.

“My fate shall be your sword.
Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail
If you will submit to this will and reason…Then answer!”

Five voices spoke as one, praying for a hero who would secure their future.

“An oath shall be sworn here!
I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven.
I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell!”

One voice broke now from this unison, the dying man screamed to the heavens.

“Yet, thou serves with thine eyes clouded in chaos
Thou, bound in the cage of madness.
I am he who commands thy chains!”

And then, the voices were one once more.

“From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power,
Come forth from the ring of restraints,
Protector of the Holy Balance!”

As a flash of light fades, the young student looked on nervously at the towering form of the red-headed king before him.

At the conclusion of ritual, the mage and his wife looked with mild confusion at a long-haired blond warrior dressed in a blue cloak wielding a glaive made of bone, one eye covered by a patch.

The dying man, exhausted, raised his gaze to meet a tall warrior of darkened skin and pure white garments, his face hidden behind a demonic white mask, clutching a nodachi in his hands.

The killer answered the question of a young woman in knights’ armor holding a weapon hidden by magic.

And Tokiomi Tohsaka laughed as a man with piercing red eyes and flashy golden armor met his gaze.

“Kirei Kotomine,” he turned and said, “we have won this war!”

As Assassin and Kirei stare silently, thinking, the man spoke up.

“You call me to this dank and ugly place, unapologetically, and rather than be on your knees begging for forgiveness you dare to turn your gaze and speak to another before me.” His expression was merciless. “This era must be disgusting indeed, if this is how you great a King, Mongrel.”