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Chapter Text

"AAAHHH!" It was the piercing cry of a certain young man who fell that echoed in heaven and earth. "Just wait, Park Mubong! I'm going to chew you to pieces!"

The young man was of average height and athletic build, wild spiky brown hair, his irregular eyes that had been red with gold crosses instead of pupils were now completely white due to the anger and pain he was experimenting.

The Loop of Binding, the headband that protects him and at the same time seals his incredible power from yesteryear flickered on his head. His robes, the Dragon King's Armor, was falling apart in tatters showing his upper chest and arms marked with scars resulting from several fights. His staff, the firm and powerful terror of the gods, Ruyi Jingu Bang, was shattered at one end. The pieces of the staff fell on the ground where it passed, shattering the surrounding area due to the extreme weight of the pieces of the titanic pillar that was turning to dust.

"Mori ... Please ... Stay alive ... And please don't hate humans ... Too much."

Those were the last words of Jin Mori's grandfather, which echoed again and again inside Jin Mori's head, as he fell uncontrollably from the sky in agony. And the hatred manifested itself, absolute and unlimited hatred that together with the pain born from the loss twisted his being to the point where he could not recognize himself as the happy and carefree young man that once was Jin Mori.

"How dare you! How dare you betray me! My grandfather!" Mori kept howling in pain and fury, shattered and with desires of revenge growing inside him.

Meanwhile, the Loop of Binding left his head, his armor was beginning to fade away never to be restored perhaps forever, his staff would turn to dust in a few minutes.

What was happening was that Mori's power had been and was being absorbed by the National Treasure: The Holy Grail. Deployed by the man he once considered his ally, Park Mubong.

The Monkey King had believed that after Ragnarok and defeating the gods it would all be over.

The Monkey King had believed that after Ragnarok and defeating the gods it would all be over. Sure, he had had a quick fight against Ultio R, the last son of the First Jade Emperor and Mandeok had escaped with the part of Nox's faction that followed him, and they were also to search for Mira but they seemed like problems to solve after a good rest.

Mori felt that he could live in peace with his grandfather once and for all. Being trapped for so long in the Sage Realm and rushing through the floors of the Celestial Realm had been a pain, having time against him when his clone, Hui Mori and the others were facing the Jade Emperor.

To then face so many gods when he finally made it back to the human world. Beelzebub, Uriel, Michael, his old sworn brother Garuda, and finally Satan and Ultio R who left him completely exhausted. But he saved the earth and had become the Supreme God, the Almighty God of the Universe.

And now he had lost everything.

'You didn't.'

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!" Between wailing and cursing Park Mubong, Mori kept falling like a meteorite towards the earth and crashed crashing with a thud in an urban area.

His mind flooded with pain he did not realize that the area where he had fallen was full of flames as cursed as hell, the corpses turning to ashes and the buildings shattering into pieces. He could only think of his failures in his two lives, as Sun Wukong and Jin Mori. In his first life, he had lost his master and the person who loved him most in that life, Xuanzang, and in his second life he had lost his grandfather and the person who loved him most in this second life, Jin Taejin.

His sworn brothers, Uma, Garuda, the monkey people, Daewi, Mira, Ilpyo, Hui Mori ...

He was the worst.

'You're not.'

"AAAAHHH!" Shouted the Monkey King in pain while holding his head. "Reduce yourself, please! reduce yourself, reduce!"

Were the shouts and orders that the fallen god was throwing at the stone pillar in front of him, which remained tall and powerful ignoring the orders of his master. The staff that accompanied the Monkey King for so long ... He stopped following his will.

"Listen to me! reduce yourself! Please, reduce yourself!" Jin Mori begged between cries and tears before realizing something. 'This is Park Mubong's Holy Grail's fault... I can't control anything!' In horror, the Monkey King could only watch as all the power he had achieved so far faded to nothing, in the end he would end up just like Hui Mori now. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Mori could feel that his consciousness was fading into eternal darkness in the middle of that hell, while his divine powers were following the same path. Taijin's grandson could only stand idly by as tears fell like waterfalls down his cheeks.

'I can't go on anymore ... I'm so tired ... The best thing is ... Disappear ... '

"Listen to me at once, you idiot monkey!" Somehow, Mori felt a slap on his cheek. Which hurt, it hurt too much. But it had gotten his attention.

"Xu... Xuanzang?!" The Monkey King exclaimed, recognizing the ghostly form of the one who had once been his teacher.

She was just as beautiful as the day he lost her to Thatagata, forced to devour her living flesh to defeat the previous Supreme God. Her fair skin, her dark eyes with golden pupils as bright as the sun. Her brown hair tied in a bun shaped like a bun high up, while covered by a veil. She still wore her Buddhist robes.

Xuanzang smiled sadly at her first disciple. "I never thought I would see the day when you would surrender to someone. And look at you, you have surrendered to live."

"I ... " Mori choked, after so much he never imagined he would see her again. He didn't know what to say to her, and what was worse, she was seeing him in such a pitiful state. "I can't go on anymore... I'm so tired ... I have already lost everything, my friends, my family ... You ... "

But his words finished dying when she advanced without hesitation and hugged the former Monkey King affectionately around his neck.

"Everyone says you must love yourself first to love others, but right now that won't work with you, so that's why ... " She broke off and looked at him with a smile. "You were born to be loved, and that's why ... I love you, Sun Wukong." And she kissed him without hesitation.

It was a simple kiss, but one that conveyed a lot of feelings and a deep affection that the Buddhist monk felt for the King of Monsters. Mori opened his eyes in shock, it had been so long ... So long since he had felt Xuanzang's touch, words and warmth, he felt so ... So ...

Alive.

Instantly she broke away, the kiss had lasted a second how long, yet for both involved it had been an eternity.

"Please, Sun Wukong... No, Jin Mori, isn't it? ... Stay alive... " It was the only selfish request Xuanzang could plead with the Monkey King, then she smirked. "And remember that you are the strongest! Blah, blah, blah!"

Mori chuckled as small tears fell from his eyes, he had forgotten his teacher's silly endearing personality.

"Now, go on living."

The brown-haired young man opened his eyes wide, the Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils filled with tears began to search all around him.

He was in an urban area, engulfed in cursed flames so powerful that Mori thought it was because of some god, though not yet they did not come to harm his person. But the smell of flesh being burned alive and death raided the former Monkey King's nose, making him realize that few had ever been so lucky.

He was looking at hell.

'Was it my fault?' The Monkey King came to ask himself worried and horrified, he had already committed many terrible things making the weight of his sins almost as heavy on him as Ruyi Jingu Bang.

But he realized that it was impossible for him to have done it, the cursed fire was an indication that it had been done by another god, besides, even if he had a thunderous fall, the impact would not have reached the level of magnitude of disaster he was present at.

So ... Who caused this hell?

However, his divine eyes were drawn to a figure walking through the flames. Mori stared in amazement as a red-haired boy not even ten years old walked through that disaster zone.

It was a straight road to hell, was the conclusion of the ancient Monkey King, but still ...

"He's trying to survive." Whispered the fallen god as what was left of his Loop of Binding shattered into pieces with a dismayed and shocked expression. "He is still struggling to survive."

The red-haired boy fell to the ground, scaring Mori for a moment, but after a few seconds he got back up and continued walking through that hell on earth.

"Ah... Ah ... " Sobbed the Monkey King, contemplating the scene. That firm will to keep on living was so beautiful in his eyes, that it brought tears to his eyes.

"Stay alive, Mori... And please don't hate humans too much."

That was what his grandfather had told him, and he couldn't help but wonder, how could he hate such strong beings? Here was a little boy struggling and trying to stay alive in this hell, and here he was losing hope ... The Great Monkey King had fallen while that little boy soared to the unbreakable heavens.

"Ah ... Ah!" The young man's sobs continued, as he watched the scene in wonder.

"I love you, Mori. Remember to keep on living."

Xuanzang's words echoed in his head again, making him remember that he could not give up. He no longer had the right to die, not in this way at least. His friends, Hui Mori, his grandfather, Xuanzang ... They all gave their lives for him, because they saw something in him worth preserving and keeping alive.

He had to make it worthwhile.

And that child reminded him of that.

That no matter how insignificant a life might be, it was precious and worth having the right to live no matter what.

However, when he turned his eyes back to the child he noticed something terrible. A building that was losing its structural strength was about to fall on the red-haired boy, to end his short life.

He managed to get the red-headed boy out of the way, but it cost what little energy he had left. His power seeped out of his body, making him lose the appearance of the once The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal and Jin Mori.

His spiky brown hair became more controlled and relaxed a bluish-green color. He became thinner and a little shorter. His sudden abrupt change made the green sleeping mask fall off his head drawing the red-haired man's attention.

"I am so... So relieved ... I'm relieved to see that you're okay." Mori expressed smiling broadly at the boy without caring at all about what just happened to him, as tears ran down his peaceful face. "Thank you for being well... Thank you for living."

Shirou, the boy who had empty eyes, devoid of life from witnessing countless horrors in that hell could not help but open them wide as they gained a little sparkle. Here was a young man before the blue-green haired one who had saved him from that building, but here was Mori smiling and crying with happiness, as if he was the one who had been saved and not Shirou.

For a moment, the red-haired boy felt jealous of that happiness, of that smile ... Of those beautiful tears filled with relief for life.

'I wonder ... Will I be able to smile like that someday?' Shirou asked himself mentally, before exhaustion and fatigue suddenly hit him. Inevitably he closed his eyes.

"Hey, wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" Mori exclaimed worriedly, but doing a quick check he could tell that the boy was still alive and had only lost consciousness. But he was still alarmed by the little boy's weak pulse.

Fortunately, he wouldn't have to wait long for help.

"You're alive! You're alive!" The former Monkey King turned his gaze to where the screams were coming from.

He visualized a middle-aged man with black hair and matching eyes, a few days old unshaven beard and a dark suit. The suit brought back bad memories of Park Mubong and his executives, but he controlled himself. Mori realized that the man was coming to help.

"Yes, please! Help me, his pulse is weak!" Exclaimed the fallen god holding the red-haired boy carefully as he carried him to the man hoping he could get him medical help.

A sheath as bright as the sun (and you better believe him, Mori fought in the sun against Satan), golden in color with celestial blue enamel accents. But what was truly beautiful, was the divine energy that the scabbard in front of him expelled.

For a moment he thought he was before a National Treasure, but one even stronger than the Holy Grail, and on the level of his Dragon King Armor or perhaps to the Blade of Thatagata or the Staff of the Sage.

A little of that energy inadvertently seeped into Mori, making his shredded muscles feel not so bad, at least a five for sure less bad. But what really amazed the Monkey King was that he felt again the connection with the Ruyi Jingu Bang that was a few meters away behind him.

And he was in time to see the miracle taking place before him. A golden aura that belonged to the Celestial Realm, at the level of the First Jade Emperor, covered the boy's body, healing every wound on his body to the amazement of the former Monkey King.

"He will be fine ... He will live ... " Said that man in a suit smiling ecstatically, as tears fell from his slightly empty black eyes.

Mori smiled broadly, that was the biggest news he had received since he lost his power.

You were born to be loved, so I will love you, Sun Wukong.

Make sure you stay alive, Mori. Don't hate much to mankind.

Sun Wukong's life was over, along with Jin Mori's life.

There was only one existence left in this new world, known as ...

Dan Mori.

...

Chapter Text

I remember that face.

Even in the middle of hell, I can remember his face very well.

He had tears in his golden eyes for having saved someone.

A person who was honestly happy from the bottom of his heart.

He looked so happy that it seemed as if he, and not me, was the one saved from this hell.

"I am so... So relieved... I'm relieved that you're okay." That person said at that moment while holding my hands.

And then ... Even though I was on the verge of death, the guy was so grateful that it made me envious.

"Thank you for being well ... Thank you for living." He had said with a big smile.

He said he was grateful to have saved someone in the end, grateful to have saved the most important thing.

And so, the Almighty God of the Universe ...

Had been saved from himself by a human child.

It seemed like a dream ... But it was reality.

That had been my destiny.

That had been my ...

Karma.

...

After the storm comes the calm. That would be the best phrase to describe the city of Fuyuki after that unprecedented devastating fire that took the lives of five hundred people, together with the material damages that would cost billions of yen.

But that was a completely different story from the one we come to tell here, in this new dawn of a bright day after that disaster. In the end, no matter what adversity struck, humans, even if they fell, would find a way to get back up once again and move forward.

That was Humanity, something so great that it could not be fully expressed to its fullest extent in insignificant words.

But well, I know this kind of thing doesn't matter to you, but I'm simply doing this to extend the text. Let's continue with the story.

On this new day for Fuyuki, the sky of immaculate blue without any white cloud stretched towards the horizon where our sight is lost admiring it, the sun manifested itself in the highest of the sky giving light and warmth to the plants, animals and humans in this precious day.

And right now, that damned star was doing what it liked to do the most... Waking people up with a ray of light filtering millimetrically through the white curtains of a certain hospital.

"Huh?!" That was the faint whine of annoyance that came from a certain child in a hospital bed.

'It's too much light ... ' The boy mentally complained about the kind of trick the sun was playing on him. As if his life wasn't full enough of misfortunes.

It was a simple light that woke him up by hitting his eyes and we shouldn't get serious about that, but after so long asleep the boy wasn't used to it and it would take him a few moments to adjust.

"Huh?" But when the boy's eyes were finally able to adapt to the sunlight and the lights of the room where he was, the little infant could not help but be surprised to notice certain details.

And how could he not be surprised? He had been awakened by an annoyingly bright sun, in a very uncomfortable, unfamiliar bed, in a completely unfamiliar room. Although in this unique situation anyone in his position would have panicked, yet the room was so white and clean that the boy felt safe.

"Where am I ... ?" Mumbled the puzzled boy, although he felt safe, that didn't mean he wasn't confused by the situation he was in.

The little red-haired boy looked around and noticed that it was a big bedroom and there were many beds just like the one the boy was in. Occupying those beds were people lying prostrate in them, and they all seemed to be injured, but not sick. All of them were people who, like him, had been saved from that fire by any circumstance. That fact made the boy relax.

Until he noticed something.

A familiar turquoise hair was lying at the foot of his bed, to whom that singular hair belonged was the young man who had saved him from the collapse of that building.

The turquoise hair was sitting on a chair next to the bed and had his arms crossed on top of the bed and his head on top of them as if they were a pillow, he was wearing a hospital gown just like the red-haired boy and was also wearing several bandages as far as the boy could see.

He seemed to have been by his side all this time.

For some reason that thought caused the redhead to feel a little more confident, and perhaps a little euphoric.

The boy turned his gaze to the window, to observe what was outside. He saw the bright blue sky, which was incredibly beautiful to his honey brown eyes, and as he stared out the window he pondered.

It didn't take him long to understand things, not to the fullest extent, but the essentials.

He had survived a terrible fire, but he was saved by that turquoise-haired young man and like the latter he was wrapped in bandages. Oh, and his parents had died, he briefly remembered flashes of his parents screaming to get him out of their burning home.

In conclusion, he was alone.

It had been a bit too frivolous and somewhat pessimistic a thought, but since there were no other children in a similar situation to his, he had no choice but to accept the fact.

But there was a problem. Just because he was quick to accept the situation didn't mean he didn't care for him to come from now on. He was a child all alone now, his future now uncertain at this point.

And just at that moment, he had woken up. Just at the moment when the redhead had begun to worry about what would happen next.

The turquoise-haired man woke up noisily.

"Wah!" The young man stood up as he began to stretch. "Ack! It hurts ... " The boy complained in pain from his injuries.

The boy looked straight at him, wondering why he wasn't in his own bed resting instead of being in such an uncomfortable position.

But when the turquoise-haired boy realized that the red-haired boy was just as awake as he was, he almost jumped on him.

"You're awake!" He exclaimed, getting too close to the boy.

The golden pupils had turned into golden crosses because of the excitement the young man felt, much to the redhead's dismay. He had never seen such a strange ocular phenomenon in his life.

The young man noticed the boy's reaction and how seemingly reluctant he was to speak, so he pulled away a little to give him space as he chuckled nervously, a soft blush appearing on his cheeks at his embarrassingly childish performance.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's just that you took me by surprise, even though the doctors said you would wake up in due time, you had been unconscious for so long that I couldn't help but be surprised." The young man with strange hair and eyes had explained, before staring at the boy he had saved. "How are you feeling?"

The red-haired boy took a while to answer. "Fine... I guess."

That answer brought a slight smile to the young man's face, even though his face had a somewhat melancholic expression. "That's good."

Then the room had fallen silent, with the turquoise-haired boy staring into space reflectively while the red-haired boy didn't know what to say until the boy stared for a few moments at his savior. Despite being a complete stranger to the redhead, he couldn't help but feel a sense of security with him, he felt like a strange but fun older brother who when you least expect it ... His personality could flip a hundred and eighty degrees to your bad luck.

"Who ... Who are you?" The boy had asked him taking the strange young man by surprise having been pulled out of his thoughts without warning.

"Well ... Hehe ... " He ran a hand over the back of his neck somewhat nervously. "Well, I think you will find my name a little strange because I am a foreigner, but my name is ... "

Dan Mori.

That would be the name of that guy who became my family.

After that fire, from one day to the next I had become ...  The Brother of a God.

...

Days passed, and both Shirou and Mori had stayed together talking to him to pass the time.

The red-haired boy had learned that the turquoise-haired boy was seventeen, so he was still a minor just like the boy. Therefore, they were both in the same uncertain boat where they might end up in an orphanage for an even more uncertain time until an unlikely uncertain family adopted either of them.

"Let's escape from the hospital." The turquoise-haired man began to say. "Let's go to the forest, the law will never catch us there, that's my turf!" Mori had said jokingly ... Or at least that's what Shirou hoped, because the seriousness with which the young man with golden eyes had said that made him doubt if it was really a simple joke.

Fortunately for both minors, someone had come to help them with that.

A man had arrived when the situation about his fate was starting to become more serious, he had arrived on the day his bandages had been removed and he was already able to eat without Mori's diligent and surprisingly careful help.

"I see, thank you." The man said to the doctor, before walking over to where Mori and Shirou were standing.

He wore a wrinkled black trench coat over a dark suit, had tousled black hair along with dark eyes. The man, who was a little younger than the doctor, felt more like an older brother than a father, as did the turquoise-haired man.

"Hello, you are Shirou-kun and Dan-kun, right?" The man said with a smile that seemed to blend with the sunlight of that day. His friendly voice made him look suspicious, but he didn't seem to have any bad intentions behind it.

"Ugh, Dan is my last name and I don't like formalities." It was the first thing Mori had said in response. "You can just call me Mori."

"Oh, is that so, huh? I apologize, it's been a while since I visited Korea, so I forgot some details." The black-haired man spoke ignoring the informal way the young man spoke. "So, Mori-kun it is, do you think so?"

The aforementioned smiled. "Much better."

Shirou sometimes thought his partner was a little too carefree.

"Okay, guys. I'll be direct and ask you straightforwardly, what do you prefer? To go to an orphanage or to be adopted by this man you've never seen before in your life?" Said the black-haired man releasing that surprise to both orphans, something that had really taken them by surprise.

And how could they not be surprised? As the suspicious and unknown individual who wanted to adopt them had said, he seemed to be an unreliable guy with no clear future.

Mori did not question him at all, but Shirou had the curiosity to ask him if he was related to him or something like that. But he simply received the answer that he was a complete stranger. Although it should have been worrisome, under the circumstances it was much more of the same. They knew nothing about this man just as they knew nothing about the orphanage, besides, they had been spared the time of being adopted.

So both the turquoise-haired and the red-haired agreed to go with him without much trouble.

"I see, that's good. Then get ready quickly, you both need to get used to your new home." The guy started packing Shirou's things quickly, while Mori did the same with his.

In the eyes of the redhead, the way the guy who would adopt them packed was really terrible, the boy was almost sure that he could pack better. Even Mori, someone carefree was better at doing such a task ... Well, just a little better at doing it.

After a few minutes, after the man made a mess of packing he made an expression of having remembered something.

"Oh, I forgot to mention something important. I have one last thing to tell you before you come with me, is that okay?" Announced the black-haired man, causing uncertainty and some suspense.

Even the golden-eyed young man perked up to hear what the guy had to say.

The man turned to look at both of them with a cheerful expression. "My name is Emiya Kiritsugu, and to sum up ... I am a magus." He said it in a rather serious tone that bordered on exaggeration.

But the effect happened in just an instant. Like a naive child, Shirou believed his words without any proof.

"Wow, you're unbelievable, man." Said the red-haired boy with eyes sparkling with excitement.

Kiritsugu replied with a smile for his childish naivety before leaving the hospital room, he had other things to do to finish adopting both youngsters in addition to the processes to get them discharged from the hospital, fortunately thanks to the contacts he had all that should be resolved in a few hours.

So both Shirou and Mori were left alone in the room with the other patients in bed.

Then the red-haired boy turned to see his new "brother" out of mere curiosity, the aforementioned had not spoken much, something strange on his part. But when the boy looked at the turquoise-haired ... He found him pouting childishly.

"How dare he... ?" He mumbled through his teeth. "Getting my Shirou-kun so excited ... This won't stand!"

The aforementioned child had a bead of sweat dripping down his forehead because of the somewhat childish behavior of the young golden-eyed stranger. When the latter realized he was being watched by his new younger brother, he smiled at him.

"Looks like we're family now, huh?" Mori said with a somewhat nostalgic expression, as if remembering moments from the past. But soon after he shook off those thoughts and approached Shirou with something in his hands, said object he placed it on top of the redhead's head catching him a little off guard. "Let's say this is ... A small gift to commemorate the occasion with my dear new otouto." A big smile came across his boyish face, making his large fangs visible. "Oh, and one more thing, I am a god!"

The red-haired boy was puzzled by the action as well as the strange words of his new brother, apparently he felt jealous of Kiritsugu when Shirou admired him for being a magus, so apparently the turquoise-haired boy decided not to be left behind ... Even if it was necessary to call himself a god? That was a bit too far-fetched. But the boy decided not to question his savior, mostly so as not to make him feel bad, so without bothering about it he looked towards the window where he could see his reflection and thus discover what Mori had given him as a present of brotherly bonding.

Shirou opened his eyes slightly in recognition. "Wow, this is ... "

The turquoise-haired man smiled frivolously. "Take good care of it, it's one of my most prized possessions."

A sleep mask, a dark green sleep mask was on top of the redhead's head, a little above his forehead, in his hair. It was the sleep mask that Shirou had seen fall from Mori's head when he had saved him from that collapsing building.

The most prized possession of the once Jin Mori.

"It's incredible, thank you but ... What about you? What will you use to sleep?" Asked the boy out of curiosity to his new brother. Don't misunderstand, he actually felt grateful for that gift but he didn't want Mori to get rid of something so precious to him.

He was startled by that question, it had taken him by surprise. But finally he answered by raising his right hand, where on his wrist there was a green cloth tied on it, something that surprised the red-haired boy a little since he had not noticed that cloth before until now.

"Now I don't need to sleep." Mori made a fist with his hand while his golden eyes became bright crosses. "Just keep moving forward."

That answer simply confused the boy much more, but he didn't question his new big brother much more.

"Good!" The turquoise-haired man stretched and jumped up from his chair, as could be seen the young man was completely healed and surely there would be no problem to be discharged when Kiritsugu returned in a few hours. Time enough to give the young man some time to think and reflect on certain things. Things that his new little brother could not know ... At least not for now. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go out for a moment on the roof. I need some fresh air, these white walls are suffocating me. Make sure you have your things ready when the old man arrives." With that said, the young stranger with the unique and bright eyes left the room towards his aforementioned destination.

Shirou let out a somewhat exasperated sigh while still in his bed. "Easy for you to say, you have nothing to keep."

...

When Mori finally reached the lonely rooftop of the hospital he leaned his arms on the railing. He took in the vast expanse of blue sky and the vast concrete forest in which the hospital was situated, the city of Fuyuki, similar to and inherently different from Seoul.

And quite similar to his world.

Yep, the turquoise-haired man had realized he was in another world. Even though he wasn't the smartest monkey in the sage kingdom even when he carried the magnificent title of the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal (Self-proclaimed title obviously), after going through so many battles, the loss of his grandfather and that fire where he saved little Shirou and had met Kiritsugu for the first time, it gave him enough time to reflect every day until he came to the conclusion that ... This was not his world.

Mori had been born in the sage realm, arrived at the Skyscraper and descended through all the heavenly realms, he had been in the human world before discovering his true identity as Sun Wukong, and now that he realized it didn't feel the same. The air, the people ... The world in general was different from what he remembered.

One of the first clues was the fact that the date differed greatly with that of his world where it was 2012, while here it was 1994, a difference of almost two decades. Also, when I had time I watched the international news and when they talked about South Korea, there was no news about Ragnarok. In itself, this world seemed almost peaceful.

Key word, almost.

Even if a Ragnarok hadn't happened, there had been something of lesser magnitude but just as chaotic that had caused that fire. Mori was pretty sure of that, but that evil and darkness ... It was nothing of the human world, so that meant that there was possibly a hidden side of the world as in his own world with borrowers of power, beings that transcended humanity and crazy types.

The former Monkey King sighed wearily before looking at the green cloth on his wrist, an accessory that had once been worn by Hui Mori, his clone, the most original person in the whole wide world.

"Is that how you felt when we parted ways? When you had to take my place accompanying Daewi and Mira?" The fallen god spoke with sadness and empathy, as if he could finally understand and appreciate the clone that had helped him in his fight against Satan. "You felt so ... Lost?"

He lost a war because of his arrogance and his desire to fight against the heavenly kingdom. He had lost the one he loved at the hands of the Supreme God. He had died fulfilling his revenge. Although he found a new family and friends to count on, he had left them to their fate in addition to making his clone suffer by making him try too hard. By the time he thought he had solved everything and saved the world from Ragnarok ... Everything was taken away from him.

His things, his friends, his family, Xuanzang ... He was even cast away from his own world to a different one, perhaps the work of the Holy Grail used by Mubong Park.

Mori's hands clenched the railing tightly at the thought of that treacherous human. In spite of everything he did for him ... But that man was only interested in a human world of humans for humans and for the good of Humanity, a place where for obvious reasons the Monkey King did not belong in the eyes of that member of The Six.

But there was something to note, right now Jin Mori was dead and only Dan Mori remained, a name that had occurred to the fallen god to turn the page and represent what was now ...

The Most Human Monkey King.

Yes, he had lost most of his powers and divine treasures due to the side effects and consequences of his combat against Satan, the betrayal of Mubong and also his arrival to this new world for Mori.

His Yeoui was broken and he only possessed a copy kept inside his ear and with its lowest possible weight. The other fragments and halves of the staff that made him so feared by the celestial realm were scattered who knows where.

Yongpyo, his great armor that made him almost invincible against any threat had vanished. He remembered very well why, the spirit inside the Dragon King's armor no longer considered him worthy of its protection.

When he called out to the Geundoowun, the great cloud that could cross worlds with ease to answer his call did not respond at all. It was as if it had lost complete connection with her.

The Gourd, his magical pumpkin had broken into thousands of pieces when confronting Satan.

And finally the Circle, the Core of Life of the former master of the Seventh Heavenly Realm ... It was with Shirou.

Mori knew it, that strange spherical object had traveled with him to this world hiding in his mask which he had given to Shirou. But in spite of that, that weapon was completely inactive and did not come out of his mask at all even though the former Monkey King could faintly feel its presence there.

In short ... He was lost.

But not alone.

Shirou, that child he had saved, but in reality the red-haired boy had saved him. That child taught him that no matter how desperate the situation, no matter how dark the path, no matter whether or not there was hope or even any divine miracle ... As long as he didn't give up in the end it would all have been worth it.

Perhaps now ... He should put into practice the words of Xuanzang and his grandfather Taejin. To love even a little himself and not hate humans, after all, that little human boy had saved him from self-destruction having lost his will to live.

So he would carry on with him until the end.

Though personally he had not wanted that man known as Emiya Kiritsugu to get involved, but that was for the least. Although he reminded him a bit of Mubong Park, people who considered that the end justified the means, had it not been for that man and that National Treasure so powerfully sacred in his hands, little Shirou's injuries would have been much more serious and would have taken up to months to recover like the other survivors of the fire who were barely showing improvement in their recovery, while the red-haired boy only took almost two weeks to fully recover.

The rapid recoveries of both Shirou and Mori had left the doctors dumbfounded. Mori even though he had lost his power and his body was still devastated from using the limit remover for two hundred and fifty thousand, he still had a better physical constitution than any human on earth and had healed quickly. But in Shirou's case it was a different matter, that National Treasure that was still inside him was still working on his recovery, slower now but still just as steady.

In short, both Mori and Kiritsugu had saved Shirou's life, whether the turquoise-haired man wanted to acknowledge that fact or not, so he owed him one ... And there was also another reason why he had let that unknown man adopt them both.

Even if it was for a moment, even if he refused ... Mori had seen a reflection of himself in Kiritsugu.

Someone who despite everything he did for others ... Ended up losing the most important thing.

He saw the loss, he saw the frustration, he saw the anger, he saw the sadness... He saw the same death wishes reflecting in those lifeless, lightless eyes.

He truly felt sorry for the man, and when Shirou and Mori had agreed to go with him ... The big smile full of euphoria he had put on could not be false, at that moment Kiritsugu seemed to be the happiest man in the world ... It was a smile that he was too reminiscent of Xuanzang and Taejin when they died.

That despite being on the verge of death, they still had something that made them feel alive. For Kiritsugu that anchor of life was Mori and Shirou ... While for the fallen god that anchor was only the red-haired boy. Therefore ...

The former monkey king sighed before looking at the wide blue sky and raising his hand towards that expanse of blue. Before he was the Almighty God of his world and now he seemed just another human in this new world, but that thought did not discourage him it simply encouraged him.

"And here we go again."

Mori left the rooftop after finishing his reflections, he was going to return with Shirou to accompany him while Kiritsugu arrived ready to adopt them. But just then something caught his attention, a television that was broadcasting the news channel something quite interesting. Patients and medical staff watching the news murmured or watched the TV in amazement, but no one was more perplexed than the former Monkey King himself.

"No ... No ... Don't fuck with me!"

"And in other news! We passed with Hinata-san who is flying over the Sea of Japan, where a mysterious stone pillar fell a few weeks ago."

"Thank you, Daiki-san. Right now we are flying over the sea around the pillar that fell a few weeks ago. The researchers haven't said much about it, but apparently it is composed of a mineral that doesn't belong to any of the periodic table. In addition, divers have informed us that the pillar ... It literally extends to touch the bottom of the sea!"

"Wow, that's... Wow. Thank you very much for your report, Hinata-san. What could this strange pillar be that appeared out of nowhere? Something from ancient times that resurfaced? Could it be something of extraterrestrial origin? Tune in for more information!"

At least Mori already knew where one of the two broken ends of his Yeoui was located.

...

Kiritsugu had returned in a couple of hours with all the paperwork ready and adopted them when the hospital discharged them both on the same day. From then on they were family.

Emiya Kiritsugu.

Emiya Shirou.

And Dan "Emiya" Mori.

Because of his Korean name, the turquoise-haired boy preferred to carry that name as a nickname than anything else. And with that done, the new family of three left the hospital with some clothes Kiritsugu had bought for them, surprisingly they were the right size.

Mori had a white shirt with a green jacket with orange trim, blue jeans and sneakers. The cloth headband that Hui Mori had had, was still firmly tied on the turquoise-haired man's wrist.

On the other hand, Shirou had a black shirt with a red jacket with yellow trim and details. Black pants and sneakers just like his new big brother. On top of his head he carried the green mask that Mori had given him earlier.

The three of them went to get a cab to their new home, besides getting used to it, they also had to help finish the remodeling of the place to make it more livable. Kiritsugu had clarified that he had been temporarily living in another part of the city for some business and that he was dedicated to doing work around the world, but due to certain events that Mori assumed were involved with the big fire, he had now dedicated himself to doing some small business to buy a new house in Fuyuki and settle there permanently, besides leaving aside his work abroad for a while.

But while they were looking for a cab, Mori passed by a trio that caught his attention.

They appeared to be a couple with their daughter. A man with tousled brown hair next to a woman with long red hair, both held the hands of a girl the same age as Shirou with dark brown hair who stood between them.

They looked like an ordinary family, but ...

'That way of walking ... He doesn't waste any energy.' Mori analyzed that man with his eyes. 'Who ... ?'

"Mori-nii!" But Shirou's call brought the aforementioned man out of his thoughts.

When the turquoise-haired man turned when his name was called he could see the red-haired boy wanting to get his attention, with Kiritsugu beside him with an impassive face. Beside them both was a cab, only waiting for him.

Mori turned around, but he did not see that man with such a perfect walk again, nor the woman, nor his apparent young daughter.

The former Monkey King shrugged his shoulders before going to the cab where he would take them to their new destination.

'Apparently this world has its own secrets too, huh?' Mori couldn't help but think with some excitement. Before heading straight towards the cab where they were waiting for him.

This would be a new beginning.

...

A few minutes had passed before they arrived at the place where their new home would be from now on.

The house ... Or rather Japanese style mansion was located in the Miyama area of Fuyuki, where old houses and traditional buildings such as the new Emiya residence were built. They were specifically in the section of old Japanese houses that had a mountain behind them so it was colder, in the other section there were western style houses where foreigners once settled for a new start and are the homes where their descendants now dwell.

And when they arrived at their new home ... Well both Mori and Shirou realized that there was a lot of work to be done.

The lawn was out of control, the paint had fallen off, new roof tiles were needed, some pillars and walls looked very old among other details, the only thing in relatively good condition was the shed which was made of concrete.

Fortunately Kiritsugu had already prepared a team of workers who had arrived a few minutes after the arrival of the new Emiya family.

And so the work began, and both the red-haired and the turquoise-haired helped. While the workers were in charge of building and repairing things, Shirou was dedicated to organize things while Mori helped everyone in general, moving things, cutting the grass, as well as hammering ... Although he had to measure his strength because in his first attempt he cracked the wall. While the patriarch of the family, Kiritsugu was sitting at the front of the house supervising the whole process while he seemed to reflect on some things.

Mori sighed after moving several wooden boards. "I knew there was going to be work, but I didn't think so much." The young man muttered to himself as he watched the workers at work and Shirou organizing where everything would be.

Suddenly, he heard someone knocking on the front door of the courtyard of the house.

The former monkey king looked at Kiritsugu. "I'll get it, don't worry."

The black-haired man nodded in response.

So in this way the fallen god walked to the entrance and proceeded to open the gate. And was met with the sight of a girl on the other side.

The girl was a little shorter than Mori, with brown hair tied in a high ponytail that reached her neck. She had slightly tanned skin and light brown eyes. She appeared to be wearing a school uniform from some nearby school, which consisted of a white long-sleeved shirt with a brown sleeveless vest, black skirt, white socks and black shoes. The most unique thing about the girl was that she was wearing a shinai with a tiger pendant on the hilt.

"Uh... Hello." Said Mori, not at all expecting a student to knock on his door. "I'm Dan Mori, what can I do for you?"

The girl looked the young man with golden pupils in front of him up and down as if analyzing him, after a few seconds he deigned to answer.

"I am Fujimura Taiga, I come on behalf of my grandfather Raiga who wants to talk to Kiritsugu-san for some business." The girl now known as Taiga introduced herself, besides expressing her intentions and the reason why she was here.

"Oh, I see. Then, come, come in. I'll tell the old man right now." Was the flippant reply the fallen god gave her before turning around to walk towards the black-haired man and let Taiga pass.

But after a few meters, Mori senses a hostile intent behind him as his pupils turned golden crosses. Instantly with his foot he lifts a broom that was on the ground to turn around and block an incoming attack ... Which belonged to Taiga herself who had attacked with her shinai!

The altercation caught everyone's attention, making them the center of attention.

"Mori-nii ... " Shirou muttered with a box full of things in his hands as he watched from afar.

Kiritsugu turned his gaze towards both young men as well, although he didn't seem alarmed by the situation if he was somewhat curious about the Yakuza princess's performance.

"Hey, why did you do that?!" Mori exclaimed, using the broom as a makeshift stick to stop the girl's attack.

But instead of an answer, the turquoise-haired man received a smile from the Tai ... No, at that moment she was no longer Fujimura Taiga, the Yakuza princess ... She was now the Tiger of Fuyuki, the best swordswoman in all of Fuyuki and all around the city.

The former monkey king couldn't help it, but he saw something of his friend Mira in Taiga ... And that terrified him indeed.

"I can see it... I can see it very well." Taiga muttered under his breath, making the young man with unique eyes nervous. "You're a martial arts master!"

That statement gained the interest of several, but especially the red-haired and black-haired Emiya.

"Wh ... ?" Barely pure vociferation from the former great sage before Taiga spoke again.

"That posture ... That way of walking ... Even your breathing! You don't waste unnecessary energy on anything mundane! That's another level of martial arts!" Taiga exclaimed tightening her grip on the hilt of her shinai and stepping forward causing Mori to step back. "This excites me! Let's fight!"

Dan Mori had only been in this new world for at least two weeks and as soon as he left the hospital trouble seemed to be waiting to find him.

What he didn't know was that this would be the tip of the iceberg.

The Fallen God Sun Wukong had a long and bumpy road ahead of him now ... At least he was not alone, a faithful sword was accompanying him on this intense journey.

This was...

His destined journey.

...

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Would you make a bet with me, Monkey King?

"Ahh!" Sun Wukong woke up with a start. His blue eyes and golden crosses looked up at the star-filled firmament, definitely the night in India was beautiful.

Completely opposite to the image surrounding the poor Monkey King who had just woken up after failing the last test of Tathagata on his journey to India together with Xuanzang.

Xuanzang ... Your sweet Xuanzang.

"No ... No, no, Xu... Xuanzang... " Sun Wukong said with overwhelming emotions running through his body as he looked at the limp body of his beloved.

Around them were the mutilated bodies of two demons, the other two disciples of Xuanzang. Zhu Bajie, a former heaven commander who was banished for wanting to share "experiences" with one of the major goddesses of the Celestial Realm, had the particular appearance of an obese anthropomorphic pig. The other disciple was Sha Wujing, an ogre demon of the rivers with a fearsome appearance although he was very kind, he was also a great general of the heavens, but he was banished for offending one of the great gods by accidentally dropping a cup of wine on a god.

They had accompanied the monk Xuanzang and the Monkey King with motives to redeem themselves from their sins and obtain their former titles and functions again ... But right now they were nothing more than meat cut by the Tathagata's stratagems.

Sun Wukong cradled the wounded body of the Buddhist woman in his arms carefully, not wanting to cause her further harm. When he noticed that her chest was still moving, and thus, still breathing some hope coursed through the Monster King's body.

"Eat me."

But all hope was shattered with just one word being uttered by Xuanzang firmly despite her terrible wounds.

The eyes of the Great Sage,  Heaven's Equal  opened in shock. "Xuanzang ... No ... I ..."

Eat me, and take revenge for Bajie and Wujing, please..." Pleaded the monk weakly, her life slipping away from her as she gazed at the firmament, but still she remained conscious to convey her last request.

"No, Xuanzang!" He could not bear it and tears fell like waterfalls from Sun Wukong's heavenly blue eyes.

"I was a fool to believe in Tathagata, but ..." A soft smile came over the beautiful face of the woman, who although wounded and on the verge of death, to the Monkey King was still the most beautiful woman he had ever met in his life. "Now, eat me."

"AHHHHHHHH!"  Was the cry of frustration and helplessness that Sun Wukong made that was heard throughout India before he began to eat the body of the Xuanzang monk alive.

I love you, Sun Wukong.

"Umph! Ah! Gah... !" He felt his body wanted to vomit the woman's flesh, but he still controlled his gag reflex and continued to eat his teacher and lover to obtain the supreme power.

If you eat Xuanzang's flesh, you will become immortal or ...

A couple of minutes passed, and the Monkey King finished devouring the last piece of meat let out a sigh. Then he looked at the sky with his Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils, the eyes that were sealed before the trip to India and with them he could discern the current location of Tathagata.

You will gain great power.

And in that way, Sun Wukong managed to defeat the Supreme God Tathagata and ended up becoming a being of a Higher Dimension than before.

But at what cost?

He was betrayed by the gods and lost the woman he loved.

Then he was betrayed by the humans and lost his family, friends and even got lost in another world, but still ...

Make sure you stay alive, Mori. Don't hate Humanity too much.

And to think you'd go this far you've amused me. I'll let you live this time, in exchange... Will you make a wager with me, Monkey King?

You were born to be loved, so I will love you, Sun Wukong.

You are the True Special Human of Humanity's Cultural Asset.

...

"Ah!" Mori exclaimed, suddenly waking up. "Ah... Ah... Damn ..." He sighed to calm his shortness of breath. "Another damn dream." The young man said irritably.

It had already been a week since the turquoise-haired boy and his little brother Shirou had been adopted by Kiritsugu and a week since they had settled into a relatively normal routine in their new home at the Emiya residence.

The missing preparations of the house were completed within two days of the first meeting between the former Monkey King and Fuyuki's Heavenly Tiger. The fallen god could not help but grimace at the memory, and the indifferent and even cold attitude the young kendo master devoted to him every time she visited the Emiya residence.

Apparently she came often since Kiritsugu was her private English tutor, and Mori had heard that Taiga was interested in learning English, which was one of, if not the most spoken language in the world. Apparently she had an incentive to want to communicate with everyone ... Except with Mori himself, apart from her career as a Kendo practitioner.

Why seriously, what did it cost the girl to be at least a little nice to him?

Taiga would only direct strictly necessary words to him while talking animatedly with Kiritsugu. She even got along well with Shirou, of course, the little red-haired boy and the brown-haired girl had a bit of a rough start as they both wanted the attention of the former Freelancer, but in the end they made peace. Besides, little Shirou was saying that he could spend time with his older brother if he couldn't hang out with Kiritsugu.

The turquoise-haired boy also believed that the good relationship between the two was formalized when Taiga tasted the seven-year-old's good food for the first time. Mori also understood why the Yakuza princess was called Tiger, her appetite was insane! He was impressed that despite all she ate, the young girl did not gain weight.

Where the hell was all that food going? The former Monkey King thought something similar to his sworn sister Uma might happen to her, that all that food would go to ... Certain areas of the body in the future.

But leaving aside the Fujimura Taiga issue, today was supposed to be Mori's first day of school in this new world at Homurahara Academy and maybe the fallen god was a bit nervous, and those nightmares that became more recurrent as the days went by were an indication.

And no, don't misunderstand the turquoise-haired man's nervousness about failing the supposed entrance exam to be able to register for good at the Homurahara academy. After all, although in his old world he was something of a problem child, his grades were generally above average, his grandfather had always told him that a strong mind makes for an even stronger body. And although the subjects always seemed boring to him, he did his best not to fail any tests in his old high school.

His nervousness was because he still had doubts about fitting into this new, unfamiliar world, instead of looking for a way to find a path that would lead him back to his own and finally finish off Mubong Park for killing his grandfather.

But what was to stop Mori from doing just that? That was very simple, even if he found a way to return to his original world, at this moment he was at the weakest moment of his immortal life, he was even weaker than the Jin Mori who had participated in the preliminaries of The God of High School tournament, the one who had faced Judge R! He couldn't even use his Renewal Taekwondo, with his body shattered by the Boundary Remover's rebound, right now Dan Mori was an absolute mess.

He was too weak.

So the plan to return to his world right now and face countless Judges and Mubong Park himself, a The Six, in his current state would be the same as suicide, in fact, there were even kinder ways to commit suicide than that.

Therefore, the existence known as Emiya Mori Dan was sentenced to live in this new world until who knows how long, so ...

The door to his room opened slowly bringing the turquoise-haired man out of his thoughts, and the person standing there was no one else but ...

"Huh? Shirou-kun?" Mori said surprised to see the red-haired boy so suddenly. "What's wrong? It's so early."

Indeed as the young man had said, it was still dark outside and when he checked his alarm clock he saw that it was around four in the morning.

"Uh..." The boy hesitated for a second before answering, showing some nervousness. "I heard you screaming a little while ago, I was worried..." Shirou replied looking at the ground as if it was the eighth wonder of the world.

"Oh... I'm sorry." Said the fallen god, not believing that he had screamed so loud because of that nightmare. "Did I wake you up?"

But Shirou shook his head at the question asked by his older brother.

"No, I ... I was already awake."

Mori raised an eyebrow at what his younger brother said, unable to fake the suspicion that showed on his face at what the boy had said.

"What do you mean?" Asked the former Monkey King with a little more seriousness in the matter.

"Well... I, well..." Shirou stammered, showing some nervousness.

The young god from another world grew even more concerned at the ambiguity with which the red-haired boy was acting. Why was a seven-year-old boy awake in the wee hours of the morning? If Mori hadn't woken him up with his scream, there were only two other options the turquoise-haired man could think of. The first was that he had stayed awake all night, and the second was...

"Did you have a nightmare?" The fallen god suddenly asked seriously.

Shirou was startled at the sudden question, but instantly straightened up and nodded slowly. "Yes..."

"Mm, I see." Mori muttered before standing up and approaching the boy.

The aforementioned shuddered as his older brother put a hand on his shoulder in support and looked at him with empathetic eyes as if he truly understood the hell the red-haired boy had gone through. He would be surprised if he knew he had been through the same and much more.

"Would you tell me what happened in your nightmare?" The young man asked softly.

For a few moments, Shirou hesitated to speak, he didn't want to worry anyone. Shiro didn't want to be a burden to Mori or Kiritsugu, but the kindness and care that the former Monkey King was expressing to him were hard to ignore.

"I ... I dreamt about the fire again." The red-haired boy said in reply through his teeth, but Mori had heard him perfectly.

"I see, wait... You had this dream before?" Said the turquoise-haired man when he realized that word. "You mean this isn't the first time you've had nightmares about the fire?"

Shirou didn't answer verbally and only nodded in the affirmative, but that was enough for the fallen god of Ragnarok.

"How prone are you to these nightmares?" Mori inquired further.

The boy shrugged. "Recently they have become a bit more frequent."

The former Monkey King's frown deepened even more. This was troubling, but not so surprising now that the turquoise-haired man pondered it calmly. After that disaster, it was to be expected that traumas would remain, especially for a child. Even Lee Sujin, a formidable North Korean warrior from his world, had severe trauma due to her life as a slave and the death of her mother in her childhood, which she still retains in the form of extreme claustrophobia. Therefore, it was no surprise that little Shirou developed something similar after that incident with the fire.

'I should talk to Kiritsugu about it... ' Mori thought, writing the matter down in his head for later. He then looked at his younger brother, who didn't dare to look back at him. The fallen god smiled softly before shaking the boy's red hair, thus catching his attention. "Hey, don't be like that. You didn't do anything wrong, it's a problem we'll solve together later, okay?"

"Uh..." For a second Shirou hesitated but still nodded slightly. "Okay, Mori-nii."

The aforementioned smiled. "Good! Now... It's too early for school, but it's also too late to sleep again, do you want to do something in the meantime?" The turquoise-haired man asked, still smiling.

"Like what?" Asked the redhead to his older brother while tilting his head to the side out of curiosity.

Mori just smiled in response.

...

"Mori-nii, we've been in the dojo for almost an hour without doing anything, now can you tell me what are we trying to do?" Shirou asked for the tenth time with a child's clear exasperation permeating his voice.

The former Monkey King sighed wearily, were children really that irritating? Well, he had never had younger siblings or children to raise, so it would probably take him a while to be able to get used to taking care of Shirou.

The fallen god opened his eyes and looked at his younger brother standing next to him. The two adopted sons of Emiya Kiritsugu were in Lotus position while meditating, no, it's better to say while Mori was meditating and Shirou was getting frustrated from doing absolutely nothing.

"I told you before, we are meditating ... Or at least that's what we're supposed to." The turquoise-haired man said, but mumbled the last part between his teeth.

"I realize that, but the question is, why? - Said the red-haired boy probing further for a clearer answer from the otherworldly god.

Mori raised an eyebrow. - Didn't you say you wanted to learn martial arts? Well, that's what I'm doing. -

- You've got to be kidding, right?" Said the boy with a blank face expecting a refusal from his brother, but instead his silence only confirmed that he was seriously "teaching" him martial arts just by meditating. "I thought we'd be doing warm-up exercises or throwing kicks and punches, not that we'd be doing ... This." Shirou said somewhat irritated.

"Hey calm down, don't be precocious." Mori said in a scolding tone. "Although it is true that it is necessary to do those exercises and practices, for now it would be best to start with meditation to harmonize the body and mind, that is a foundation for martial arts. An aligned body and mind make you great in martial arts, believe me." Explained the young man with uncharacteristic seriousness. 'Besides, I'm doing this more for me than for you.' Thought the fallen god with some bitterness due to his shattered body and the great doubts permeating his mind.

"That sounds boring ... " Mumbled the red-haired boy under his breath, but was still heard by Mori, who sighed in response.

The former Monkey King suddenly stood up to Shirou's surprise, the young man looked at his younger brother seriously.

"Just close your eyes, and breathe slowly and calmly." Mori ordered seriously.

The boy looked at his older foster brother with irritation but did not refute his order due to the intense gaze the latter was giving him. So with no other choice, the red-haired boy had no choice but to do as Mori told him.

"Inhale through your nose, exhale through your mouth. Do that all the time." The older boy continued to instruct.

As a result, Shirou followed his orders without a single moment's refusal. His breathing was slow but controlled, in fact, it was actually relaxing now that the redhead noticed.

"And now ... Keep your mind blank, until anything comes to your mind. When that happens just focus on that, don't lose concentration at any time."

Keep the mind blank... Until something comes to mind? That seemed a bit complicated for the boy, but still he tried as his brother had instructed him. So he let himself go until something came to his mind ...

Shirou regretted it almost instantly.

The first thing that came to his mind was the smell of ashes, along with those of things and even meat being burned that assaulted his nose. Then came the intense heat that suffocated his skin, as if he was being cooked in a hot pot. He finally ended up visualizing where he was ...

In the same hell from which he had emerged almost a month ago ... That torment that followed him even in nightmares ...

He had found it again.

Shirou wanted to wake up, to get away from that disaster, for that hell to be shattered ...

But there was something, something beyond that hell that did not allow him to look away ...

Something sacred and bright, distant but beautiful ... Something out of this dimension, a crystallization of the heart of the world ...

Its solitary presence seemed to calm the fiercest storm, to illuminate the darkest night, to extinguish the worst of hells ... That Phantasmal Illusion seemed to have but one meaning for existing ...

To keep the King of Kings quiet even in the Extremes of Eternity.

And the one who held it in front of Shirou was none other than the one ...

Who with whose Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils shattered that hell.

'Mori...?'

Mori-nii?

"Wake up, brat!"

The red-haired boy opened his eyes in stupefaction when suddenly someone shouted near him. The boy looked up to see the turquoise-haired boy staring at him.

"Apparently you fell asleep, it doesn't matter." Mori said before sighing. - Well, it's already dawn, it's time to make breakfast and then go to school."

"I... What time is it?" Shirou asked carefully as he noticed the considerable amount of sunlight filtering into the dojo.

"Mm, if my internal clock doesn't fail me, it must be six in the morning." Mori replied with a shrug without giving it much thought.

But to Shirou ... It meant so much more.

"Breakfast!" Exclaimed the little cook of the Emiya residence, running out of the dojo towards the kitchen.

Mori looked at that performance in amazement. "Wow, he'll make a good housekeeper someday. Well, we'd better help him." He said the last with a smile.

...

Right now Mori and Shirou were in the kitchen preparing breakfast for all the residents of the house, Mori handled the knife cutting vegetables and meat skillfully, while Shirou made the rice and fried the fish.

"Hey." Shirou called out to his older brother. "Isn't it about time you woke up the old man?"

"Oh, that's right. I'll leave the rest to you, then." Mori said after he finished chopping all the vegetables.

The fallen god wiped his hands and headed to the room of the family patriarch who would continue to sleep late unless someone woke him up, like now. Therefore, it was customary for Mori or Shirou to wake him in turn, and now it was the former Monkey King's turn to fulfill that task.

The turquoise-haired man arrived in front of Kiritsugu's door and opened it without much care, his brown eyes with golden pupils managed to discern the middle-aged man sleeping peacefully on his futon, it was almost pitiful for the young man to wake him up, and although he was a partaker that people should sleep ten hours a day to have plenty of energy, it wasn't good to skip meals either. So with that in mind, Mori decided to wake him up.

"Hey, old man. You have to wake up, breakfast will be ready. Besides, you have to say goodbye to us, it's our first day of school." Announced the former Monkey King with some force so that the black-haired man would hear him.

"Ugh... I'll be there in a moment, Mori." Kiritsugu said in reply still tired.

"Well, we'll be waiting for you for breakfast. So hurry up, old man." Said the turquoise-haired man before retreating.

"I'll be right there... And I'm not old." grumbled the patriarch of the Emiya family.

"Whatever you say."

A few minutes passed and Kiritsugu had gotten up from his bed, walking out of his room in his blue kimono he arrived at the dining room where Mori and Shirou were finishing setting the table, the two adopted sons of the Emiya family already had their Homurahara Academy uniforms on.

"Everything smells so good." Kiritsugu said with a slight smile at the good smell of the food.

"Oh, old man, you're finally here. We were waiting for you." Shirou said in response, sitting up from his place.

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry I overslept ... But I'm not that old." Replied the black-haired man again, which was a habit since the former Magus Killer had adopted both shameless young mens.

"That's for sure, now let's eat. I don't want to be late for class." Mori said sitting in his place, several unfortunate things had happened to him since he had arrived in this new world.

And he didn't want to be late for his first day of school to join the list.

The magus sighed, why hadn't he adopted more respectful children? Well, that didn't matter now. Kiritsugu sat down in his place in the dining hall and so ...

"Itadakimasu!" Said the only three members of the Emiya family in unison and then began to eat breakfast in silence.

"Today is another sunny day in the city of Fuyuki, with small concentrations of dust in the ..." The news said.

Although the three men of the house could remain comfortable in silence, it didn't hurt to listen to the news for some entertainment while eating breakfast. And although Kiritsugu had considered putting on cartoons for the red-haired boy, Shirou hadn't shown any interest in them. So he saw no problem listening to the news on this new day.

"Our next story. After several weeks since the arrival of the great pillar from the Sea of Japan, we have found the existence of a second pillar in the mountains around Misaki City."

Mori's eyes widened in dismay when he heard those words on the news. He almost choked on his food due to the surprise, so he quickly grabbed a glass of water and gulped it down to avoid choking on his food, then proceeded to watch the news with great interest to the amazement of both Shirou and Kiritsugu who could not hide their curiosity at the strange way Mori began to act.

"Fortunately no one was hurt when this new stone pillar hit one of Misaki's mountains, in fact, compared to the first pillar found in the Japanese sea, this new pillar is at least three times smaller than the previous one which made it more difficult to find."

'Ugh, that's the end of Yeoui I tried to shrink but due to lack of energy I could barely reduce its size to about half.' Mori thought as he watched and listened to the news while sweating slightly from the surprise of the discovery of the other part of the original Yeoui.

"Despite this, this pillar contains the same composition as the previous one and possesses such considerable weight that it would take the combined force of ten military-type cargo planes to simply lift it off the ground. Experts are still wondering how these pillars came out of nowhere without raising any alarms or causing any devastating disasters. For more information, stay tuned."

'That's because they're magic ... And may have slowed their fall unconsciously?' Mori concluded but still had some doubt about the last part. 'Misaki city, huh? It's located near Tokyo in the Kantō region if I'm not mistaken, right now I'm in Fuyuki City on Kyūshū Island ... The distance is considerably long, but it wouldn't hurt to try to visit the city to retrieve Yeoui at some point.' Thought the fallen god with clear plans to visit Misaki in the not too distant future.

"You seem very interested in the news, Mori." Kiritsugu commented suddenly snapping the turquoise-haired man out of his thoughts. The former Freelancer sipped quietly from his cup of green tea while observing his eldest son. "Did those pillars catch your eye?"

It cost all the former Monkey King's willpower not to frown, it almost felt like he was in an interrogation. In fact, the scene reminded him of his meeting with Park Mubong at The God of High School tournament, informing him that he was to face Judge Q. He didn't like that feeling.

"Well yes, I'm a little interested in them. They seem to have something strange." The young god spoke casually and ambiguously in response.

"Mm, you're right about that, they are nothing that has been seen in the world before." Said the Magus Killer with some emotion that Mori could not identify. 'This will get the attention of the Magus Association for sure... ' The man couldn't help but think.

And he was quite right, perhaps Emiya Norikata's son was not a full-fledged magus, rather he was a man who used magecraft as a tool, a means to an end, he was not a magus, instead he was a magecraft practitioner ... Or at least he used to be. But despite that, even though he is not an expert and was only specialized in his time magecraft, he could discern with some ease that there was something strange with those pillars in the sea of Japan and in the mountains of Misaki.

They were not something belonging to the modern era or the era of Heroes but were much older. The mystery they contained was palpable despite the distance, they were objects from the mythical and mysterious Age of Gods, objects from the Reverse Side of the World that had arrived on this plane of existence for unknown reasons and means.

If Kiritsugu's killer instinct did not fail him, and it usually did not, he was one hundred percent certain that the presence of those things would draw the attention of the Magi Association, be it the Clock Tower, Atlas or even the mysterious Wandering Sea, which would try to take the pillars for research or else destroy them ... Although those were only guesses, the former Magus Killer wasn't sure about that, so he would simply wait for the mages' movements until then and then ...

He would kill them.

If Kiritsugu knew that those pillars, no matter how mysterious and simple they were, were indeed objects of such mystery that they would be classified as Divine Constructs in his world, then he would have realized that his future actions were very logical. However, he had neither the means nor even the capabilities to identify the objects, and none of his contacts could do so, so he would live in the dark about the nature of those indecipherable stone pillars.

Or perhaps not?

On the other hand, the fallen god was having thoughts similar to those of Kiritsugu. That is, concerning someone unwanted to pay much attention to the extremes of his Yeoui. The turquoise-haired man did not have the power to control them, and could only make do with a copy that was stored in his ear, but he could do absolutely nothing with the remnants of the original strongest weapon of the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal. That was a pitiful thought for the young man.

'It only remains for me to become stronger ... Or at least try ... ' The former Monkey King thought with a certain pessimistic feeling because he still had trouble even using his Renewal Taekwondo without unleashing waves of bitter memories of his deceased grandfather or releasing unheard-of torment from his ancient wounds caused by the fight against Satan.

He was truly in absolute ruin.

"Mori-nii, it's getting late." Shirou said suddenly bringing the other two residents of the house out of their thoughts. "I don't want to be late for my first day of school either, so hurry up, Mori-nii." Said the red-haired boy standing up and carrying the dirty dishes to the dishwasher to wash them obviously.

" ... You're really rude sometimes, Shirou." Mori said in response with a blank face.

"By what right do you say that?" Kiritsugu muttered wryly, regretfully recalling all the times his adopted sons called him old ... He was still on the cusp of youth! He was dying for other reasons, but he was still young!

If only Illya were here with him ... She would defend him, wouldn't she? The former Freelancer hoped so.

A few minutes passed and the dishes were already cleaned and put away, consequently both the turquoise-haired and red-haired took their backpacks ready to go to class. Both left the Emiya residence on their way to their respective schools.

"Take care of yourselves. - Said the patriarch of the Emiya family in farewell with a small smile on his slightly haggard face.

"Goodbye, old man!" Said the god of the other world.

"See you later." Said this time the youngest of the Emiya house.

Both young men faded off into the distance, to the point where Kiritsugu would have to use binoculars to see them, but nevertheless the black-haired man stood at the threshold of the Emiya residence gate watching the path where his two adopted sons left.

"I hope they don't get into trouble." The former Magus Killer muttered between his teeth before entering the safety of his home again.

He had many things to prepare to give him a little visit to the city of Misaki, whose mountains were very beautiful at this time of the year and maybe take a little dip in the wide and beautiful sea of Japan.

Yes, just a little trip.

...

"Kukuku, I could finally put it away." Said the voice of an old man with malice impregnated in his voice.

That old man was in a dark stone cellar under his home which only those he gave permission to enter ... To receive their torture.

The old man turned his gaze to the pit in the middle of the cellar, where certain creatures were writhing around a completely naked six-year-old girl with purple hair and lifeless eyes of the same color. The girl looked dead as those creatures with horrible shapes raped her childish body incessantly, so many times she had been through the same thing over and over again that she didn't even blink. The only evidence that she was alive was the slight movement of her chest indicating that she was still breathing, but even then her breathing was too slow to be normal.

That greatly amused the hideous existence known as Matou Zouken, or who was once the honorable Zolgen Makiri, a prestigious magus of yesteryear ... But now he was a miserable shadow of his former self.

It was certain that if Nagato or Justeaze had seen what their close friend would once become, either of them would have killed him long ago out of mere pity for the memory of their old friend.

"Congratulations, Sakura. Today you won't have to go to school, you will stay with your dear grandfather to play with some toys I found." Said Zouken with a big sickly smile.

The girl did not respond in any way, and that mattered little to the patriarch of the Matou house, since even if she refused she would have no choice but to suffer a more severe punishment.

Zouken smiled at his granddaughter's lack of response. "Well, well, it took me a while to retrieve the fragments of the former Lesser Grail, but we'll play with it in the future, for now ... I want to try something else."

One insect in particular flew up to the pit, but then exploded in an explosion of purple blood and insect visors dropping a very unique object.

A stone fragment ... No, to be more specific a fragment that constituted the most powerful weapon of the Almighty God of the Universe, whose true nature was the bone of one of the most transcendent magical beasts in the world.

The Peak of the Phantasmal Beasts, the World Extensions of Gaia.

The Dragons.

Yeoui; It Who Follows a Single Will, was formed from the bone of a dragon.

The most powerful dragon in existence in another world, and that in this new world, if that dragon were to come ... Then a calamity similar or worse than an Evil of Mankind would be deployed in the world and would wipe out all humans.

But obviously, Zouken did not know that, but it was also unlikely that Ogre or Kur as it was known to the Sumerians, could come to another world considering that it was dead.

However ... A fragment of the original Yeoui was a tool to be reckoned with depending on the circumstances.

The stone fragment fell into the worm pit causing horrible noises and screeches from the disgusting insects that were crushed under the unmatched weight of the stone piece.

"This piece of stone is very unique, it has so much mystery that it destroys anything magical that it touches, I lost several insects bringing it here and after several weeks I managed to bring it ..." A big malevolent smile appeared on the old man's sickly face. "I wonder ..."

What would happen if I tried to introduce it inside to a little magus?

...

Beta: Darklord331

Chapter Text

Two people were walking towards school under the blue morning sky along the roads of the Miyama area at a calm but not at all slow pace, these two people were a young man with light blue hair which was accompanied by a red-haired boy.

Who were none other than Dan Mori and Emiya Shirou who were walking towards the Homurahara academy calmly.

'Mm, should I get a bike like in the old days?' The turquoise-haired boy thought with some nostalgia as he recalled his old bike in his old world. 'That way I can also carry Shirou faster'.

"Mori-nii." Shirou suddenly called out, attracting the attention of the aforementioned.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Asked the fallen god in confusion.

"It's about the martial arts you're going to teach me ... Are you really going to do it?" asked the red-haired boy, extremely serious about it.

"Shirou..." Mori said surprised by his younger brother's interest in Renewal Taekwondo.

Although the former Monkey King had told him that he would teach him a little, seeing the boy he saved so interested in regards to actually learning martial arts made him a little hesitant. Mori was not what we would call a master, unlike his grandfather Taejin who not only founded all that is known so far of Renewal Taekwondo, but also trained a bunch of South Korean soldiers for a mission in North Korea, called under the code word: "Operation Gilgamesh".

So, the young man had absolutely no experience as a teacher, however ...

Mori smiled slightly. "Sure, I should teach my little brother to defend himself a little."

"Really?! Great!" Shirou exclaimed as his childish face lit up with excitement.

The turquoise-haired boy couldn't help but chuckle due to the excitement the red-haired boy was showing so openly.

"Take it for granted, so from now on I'm your sensei, therefore you must do everything I say no matter how silly it is." Mori told him smiling with his arms crossed, scoffing a little at his new status as a teacher.

"As long as I don't have to meditate again." The boy muttered.

The former Monkey King smiled with amusement. "Hmph, you'd better get used to it because we'll be doing it a lot."

"Mori-nii!" Shirou complained grumbling about it.

"Hehehehe." However, the Fallen God simply engaged in chuckling to himself while his younger brother pouted.

Unbeknownst to either of them, their conversation was overheard by a young man a few meters ahead, however that young man seemed to not give it a second thought even though he was giving the turquoise-haired man a somewhat significant glance, or rather the way the latter was walking.

This individual was a young man a little taller than Mori, pale skin, short black hair and dark eyes. He wore the same uniform of the Homurahara academy, only unlike the Fallen God, this student had his brown jacket closed. His school bag was a black briefcase.

However, the most characteristic feature of that student was the impassive expression on his face, along with those empty eyes that could make anyone uncomfortable who is under his sight without exception ... Curiously, Mori did not seem affected perhaps because of the distance or perhaps because he was distracted with his younger brother Shirou, but unbeknownst to the blue-haired man, this individual was beginning to gain a certain interest in the former Monkey King ... Whether for better or for worse.

Unfortunately, this individual stopped focusing on Mori when he arrived at his destination, the Homurahara Academy. As the turquoise-haired man and the red-haired boy continued onward towards the elementary section of the academy, which was a few blocks ahead of the upper grade section.

As the individual passed the threshold of the facility, the school's doorman greeted him with a friendly smile.

"Good morning, Kuzuki-kun." The doorman greeted.

Kuzuki nodded at the greeting. "Good morning." He said in a dry manner, before continuing on his way to his classroom.

The janitor did not say anything about it, already very used to the way of acting of the adopted son of the head priest of Ryuudou Temple, in fact, for the janitor of the Homurahara academy he found somewhat refreshing such a serious attitude of a student like Souichirou Kuzuki third year ... In stark contrast to the Yakuza princess, first-year Fujimura Taiga.

The black-haired man continued his way to his classroom at a calm pace and without stopping, from time to time some students and teachers greeted the young man, and he greeted them back in a polite but somewhat curt or distant way, but no one seemed to care because it was already well known Souichirou's attitude at Homurahara academy since he entered his first year.

Finally, Kuzuki arrived at his respective classroom and sat down in his respective seat, which was one of the ones at the front of the class. The black-haired man then sank into his thoughts as he stared into the void without interruption.

A few minutes passed until a teacher entered the same classroom as Souichirou.

"Oh, early as always, Kuzuki-kun." The teacher greeted.

The aforementioned did not respond verbally but simply nodded emphatically to acknowledge his teacher's greeting. However, the black-haired man could only think of one thing.

'That guy ... He's just like me ... '

...

"And here we are." Announced the turquoise-haired man as he and his younger brother finally arrived at the elementary facilities of Homurahara Academy.

Both Mori and Shirou were standing at the threshold of the entrance watching as several children of similar ages to the red-haired boy being led by their parents into the educational facilities.

The elementary section of Homurahara Academy boasted large facilities, somewhat smaller than the high school section but still somewhat sizable. A lot of children were running around the corridors very happily along with several teachers very patient and happy to work with children.

This would be the new environment where Emiya Shirou would live for a year until she moved on to middle school. And not for nothing, but the red-haired boy felt a bit overwhelmed by this environment so full of children his own age. Tolerating Taiga's childish attitude was one thing, but having to be exposed to so many of his own age group made the boy a bit nervous even though the latter wasn't going to admit it.

"I guess I'll see you later." Shirou said looking at his older brother.

"Yeah, I'll try to pick you up as soon as I get out of class. So try to wait at the school where I can find you quickly." Mori told him in response. "Well, see you later, take care Shirou."

"Bye, Mori-nii." The boy said goodbye, watching as the turquoise-haired boy walked off into the distance until he could no longer see him.

Shirou stared at the entrance for a long period of time without entering, simply watching the other children who would be his classmates for a year come and go. However, his reverie vanished when the bell rang for everyone to go to class.

The red-haired boy sighed before he started to move towards the inside of the building to talk to the management about his status as a new student. However, it stopped him ...

"Moh! I still can't believe that Kirei had the audacity to change my school in the middle of the school year." Complained a high-pitched voice a bit irritating to Shirou's liking.

"Please understand Ojou-sama. Kirei-san surely did it for your own good, he believes that a change of environment can be beneficial for you after so many difficulties." A second voice spoke in a calmer and softer manner trying to appease the anger of the first voice.

The Emiya turned his gaze with some interest as to who the owners of these voices were. Then he saw them as a beacon.

"For my sake, he did it to annoy me!" exclaimed the first visibly annoyed voice that belonged to a girl about his age.

If it wasn't that Shirou was a boy, and the girl wasn't so irritating, the red-haired boy would have thought that girl was very pretty. She had splendid blue eyes that sparkled like a sapphire in the sunlight, which highlighted her porcelain-white skin. Her dark brown hair simply highlighted that fact even more by being tied in two high ponytails with black buns.

She wore the female version of the Homurahara Academy elementary school uniform. That uniform was composed of a white sailor shirt with red borders, a black skirt, white tights and black sneakers. In addition, he had a hat that matched the shirt on his head, a brown jacket on top of his shirt along with a second coat for a cold morning like that in red.

"Please don't think so badly of Kirei-san, Ojou-sama. He seeks the best for you as I do, as Tokiomi-sama's last wish ..." The second calmer voice suddenly died out. "Even if his methods are highly questionable." She said to herself with a hint of doubt.

The second voice belonged to a beautiful woman in her early twenties or so, the beauty of that girl made Shirou blush slightly when he saw her. She looked like some kind of princess under the impressionable eyes of the red-haired boy. She had dark as night hair held in a high ponytail along with a few locks falling in front of her ears like the standard hairstyle of Japanese women in the Heian period even though the woman didn't look completely Japanese, pale pearl-like skin along with blue eyes a little lighter than the girl's accompanied by a shade of red makeup on her eyelid as if to further highlight the contrast with her heavenly eyes. She was wearing the stereotypical French maid's dress that Shirou had seen a couple of times on television, a black dress with ruffles and white details along with black boots.

In the red-haired boy's eyes, that woman was beautiful but a bit odd. She bore some resemblance to the girl but they didn't seem to have a family relationship if the status of "mistress" and "maid" was any indication.

"See, even you doubt that fake priest!" Exclaimed the girl to her maid.

The woman sighed. "What I think or don't think is of no importance whatsoever, Ojou-sama. You should remember that for better or worse her custody is in the hands of Kirei-san by her father's will due to the ... Such a precarious state your mother is in." Then the maid gave the girl an affiliated and serious look. "Or are you telling me that you are going against your late father's wishes?"

Those words achieved their purpose when the little brown-haired girl flinched under the gaze of the older woman causing her to lower her gaze to the ground as a form of defense against that gaze but she still felt oppressed.

"No, I... I didn't want to ..." She began to babble uncontrollably, startling the red-haired boy.

Shirou could tell that the girl had a unique personality that made her seem very inflexible when something got into her head, but all that didn't seem to matter when it came to that maid who knew how to push the girl's right buttons so that she would do what she said.

Then, the older black-haired girl's hard stare was replaced by a softer, more empathetic one. A slight smile was present on the maid's face that attracted almost all of the redhead's attention, not because it would further highlight the beauty of said woman (Because it did), but because it reminded him of the smiles his older brother, Mori, did.

"Well then, I wish her the best for this day. I will come to pick her up punctually as always. Now, if you will excuse me I must hurry home to attend to Aoi-sama before she wakes up alone." The maid's beautiful smile disappeared and was replaced by a somewhat worried countenance. "You know she must not wake up alone."

The girl nodded emphatically, her childish face wore a distressed expression. "All right, I'll see you later, Anne-san."

The maid now known as Anne nodded in acknowledgement before retreating at a calm but not at all slow pace back the way she came.

The red-haired boy was surprised to have heard the maid's name, recognizing it as a non-Japanese name despite her Asian appearance. Perhaps she had foreign parents? Was what Shirou thought of as a possibility.

However, as the red-haired boy stood watching the girl's maid retreat, he didn't notice how the latter noticed Shirou's presence, which didn't do the little black-haired girl much good.

"You ... !" Exclaimed the girl pointing her finger at the Emiya in a rude gesture and nothing belonging to a young "noble" girl as the redhead had thought.

Mori's younger brother was startled when he was caught staring in a less than discreet manner and being greeted by a really annoyed look from the girl.

"Why don't you mind your own business!" The black hair exclaimed before retreating to go to class, not giving the redhead a chance to respond.

Shirou stood there perplexed by the "Ojou-sama's" explosive attitude, before sighing and running a hand behind his neck.

"That wasn't very classy." Said the red-haired boy with a bead of sweat before hurrying to the address, he was already running late for meddling in matters that weren't his.

Internally, Emiya Shirou wished he would never meet that lady again so that an awkward situation would not arise ... However, the boy would have to realize that from today onwards that sometimes things do not turn out as one aspires.

He could only hope that Mori would do better than him.

...

Fortunately, everything seemed to be going well for Mori so far.

After dropping Shirou off at the elementary section, it didn't take long for the turquoise-haired boy to make his way to the junior high section of Homurahara Academy. Upon arrival he couldn't help but be a bit amazed by the facilities, being somewhat larger than his previous school in his old world.

However, the former Monkey King couldn't just stand around contemplating the school as if it were the eighth wonder of the world for the whole day, so shaking off his amazement he walked inside the facility.

The corridors were empty because the classrooms were full of students as classes had already started. That didn't worry the fallen god much, since he had to take a test before he was assigned a grade in the academy and thus be able to go to his respective classroom.

It took him a while to get to the address due to the unfamiliar and new environment where he was but he did not have much trouble since he had asked for some addresses of those students or teachers that the turquoise-haired man met on the way.

When he finally arrived at his destination, he set out to talk to the secretary who was there doing her respective duties as part of the school administration.

"Uh, excuse me." Mori said announcing his presence.

"Oh, good morning. How can I help you?" Asked the secretary in a neutral voice.

"Well... I'm new and I'm supposed to take an exam or something." The turquoise-haired man explained.

As those words registered in the secretary's mind, her face lit up in understanding.

"Oh, right. The director wanted to talk to you, he must be waiting for you now."

"Then, let's not keep him waiting any longer." Said the former Monkey King.

The secretary nodded in understanding and led the young man into the principal's office.

The woman first entered the office to explain Mori's circumstances, then exited and allowed the aforementioned to pass and then she returned to her work station and left the rest to the director.

Upon entering the Homurahara academy principal's office, the fallen god encountered a young man, probably in his mid-thirties. He had hazel skin, short brown hair and matching eyes. He wore red square-rimmed glasses and wore a dark blue suit, with a white shirt, black tie and brown shoes.

"Oh, you must be Dan-kun, right?" Said the director as he acknowledged the incoming presence in his office.

Mori nodded in confirmation. "Yes, I have to take an exam, don't I?"

"Exactly, let's not put it off any longer." The man spoke, standing up. "I will find a teacher to take care of your test in a separate room, will you come with me?"

The turquoise-haired man simply nodded in response.

And so the headmaster of Homurahara Academy went in search of a teacher to take over Mori's academic attitude test, with the latter following close behind so as not to get lost.

They finally arrived at the doors of a classroom, where the former Monkey King realized that it belonged to the third-years. As the walls had windows, Mori was able to see inside where he noticed that several students were looking at him and whispering things that he could not hear from outside, but the fallen god guessed that it had to do with the fact that he was a new face in the facilities.

However, the young man only gave a cursory glance to the other students who in the future would become his possible classmates until his sight met that of a black haired man who looked at him with empty eyes, but even so the turquoise haired man was able to feel a certain intensity in his gaze. Something that made him a little uncomfortable, but still he did not move his gaze away from that individual, as if that person had something that did not allow him to stop focusing on him.

While all this was happening, the director had entered the classroom without taking into account the "staring competition" between the new student and one of the best students of the school, and simply entered the room to talk to the teacher to be in charge of the test to evaluate the knowledge of the turquoise-haired boy.

Mori kept looking at the black-haired boy for a long period of time without noticing the approach of the principal and the teacher who was in the classroom a moment ago.

"Well, Dan-kun. Shidou-sensei will be in charge of evaluating your academic attitudes." Announced the principal introducing the teacher next to him.

"It's a pleasure." Said the teacher.

"Eh?" Mori said confused for a second because he was spaced out because his concentration was on that individual in the classroom. But it didn't take him long to understand what was there. "Oh! Yes, of course! I'm under your care." Said the turquoise-haired man respectfully, bowing slightly.

"Well, let's not waste any more time." Said the teacher before starting to walk towards an empty room for the test, with a Mori a few steps behind him.

"I wish you the best, Dan-kun." Was the last thing he heard from the principal before he turned back the way he came to go back to his office.

Mori sighed internally. 'Well, here we go... I hope Shirou does well and makes friends.'

...

"Another transfer student in a week ... I hope it doesn't become too common this season." Said the elementary section headmaster to himself as he looked at Shirou's papers.

The aforementioned redhead sat in front of the principal's desk listening to what the man was saying in silence, just answering whatever he would be asked.

"Hm, well. I already know what class to place you in." Said the principal after finishing the administrative processes on his computer to then stand up. "Follow me, Emiya-kun. I think you will like this class." Said the man smiling kindly.

"Mmm." Shirou hummed in response as he also stood up.

The principal led the red-haired boy to his future classroom. When they arrived the principal called from the door to the teacher in charge of the classroom to talk for a moment about the circumstances surrounding the red-haired boy so that he could be let in.

After a short talk between the teacher and the principal, Shirou was now at the front of the class with all the eyes of the other children of the same age looking at him with childish curiosity as expected of seven year olds. The teacher stood next to the red-haired boy, then she proceeded to speak.

"Class, as you can see now, we have another transfer student in our classroom." The teacher announced.

'Another one?' Shirou couldn't help but think, he was a little curious as to who the other transfer student could be besides him.

"Well, it's time for our transfer student to introduce himself." Said the teacher gesturing for Mori's younger brother to take the initiative to introduce himself.

"Good morning everyone. My name is Emiya Shirou." The red-haired boy bowed slightly. "Please take care of me."

"Good morning! You can sit in the back, next to the other transfer student." The teacher instructed.

"The other transfer student?" Shirou repeated quietly before looking in the direction where the teacher pointed.

Only to widen his eyes in dismay, right next to where the only available subject in the room was casually standing was the girl he had seen that morning next to his maid and the one who had yelled at him.

The girl, who also recognized him, had an expression similar to his, but then it was replaced by an irritated look that made the red-haired boy somewhat uncomfortable and filled him with reluctance in wanting to sit next to the little black-haired girl.

"Emiya-kun, please take a seat next to Miss Tohsaka so we can start the class." Said the teacher.

With no other option, Shirou could only let out a defeated sigh before he started to head to his respective seat towards the girl who at least knew her name was Tohsaka now.

As he sat down, the black-haired girl was staring at him with an intensity that he thought if looks would kill, Shirou was sure he would have died at least eight times before even touching the ground. But in the moments when the redhead would look at her, Tohsaka would turn his gaze to the front so as not to make eye contact.

As if he was some sort of outcast.

Shirou sighed. 'What a good start... '

...

Mori hadn't done too badly in the test ... At least not that bad. He had only narrowly passed the level to be in second year, the same educational level he had in his old world, which was a certain relief for him, because he didn't want to repeat the first year.

So after taking the exam he was guided to his classroom, not realizing that on the way a certain person noticed him.

Fujimura Taiga could not help but be surprised to see the turquoise-haired boy passing by her classroom, and by the direction he was going, she realized that he was heading towards the second year classrooms which meant only one thing ...

Dan Mori would be her Senpai.

It took all of the Yakuza princess' willpower not to roar with rage at the revelation. Since she was a first year, naturally the young man would become her Senpai regardless of how much longer she had been at Homurahara Academy.

Worst of all was not that, but now there were the possibilities of meeting at the Emiya residence, but also at the school and possibly also on the way back to the Miyama area.

However, what really bothered her was ...

"Hey, I've never seen him before."

"Is he a new student?"

"I think so."

"I heard rumors of that."

"Hey, did you see his smile? He looks so fake."

"It's true! It's very dull, it looks untrustworthy."

"He looks cute, but he looks like a skinny guy."

Taiga had to recite the rules of bushido in her mind to calm her anger at the things her classmates were saying about Mori.

Because what really bothered her was that they were looking down on him, when the Fuyuki Tiger knew the turquoise-haired man's secret ... Mori was a warrior, a master in the martial arts, that was what every cell in her body was telling her.

A monster, he is a monster.

It was what her head was saying, and she as a proud swordswoman ... She wanted to face him with everything she had! But, the bastard had spurned her at their first meeting and that had devastated and enraged her in equal measures!

And like a tiger, she would not allow her prey to underestimate her ever again.

"Will you shut up?" Taiga said softly.

However, the effect of her words were such that it made the whole room, including the teacher fall silent. It was as if Fuyuki's Heavenly Tiger had roared to the four winds silencing all the mortals on earth.

"You ..." A girl started to say with a strained voice and sweating slightly, before putting on a teasing smile but it was still noticeable that she was nervous. "Don't tell me you like the new guy?"

When they heard that, the other classmates of the brunette started whispering among themselves regarding the new information, and the fact that Taiga wouldn't try to refute her classmate's words made them all the more excited.

"Like him?" the Yakuza princess repeated as if she was oblivious to the exact meaning of the word before speaking again. "Yes, we could say yes. I like him."

Those words made the womens in the room shriek, while the mens couldn't help but gasp in surprise at the man who had captured the heart of the great Fuyuki Tiger, something thought impossible.

"Yes, yes, I like it... I would like to kill him."

And all the excitement in the classroom was extinguished with those words coming from the Yakuza princess, who had expressed them with a neutral and disinterested countenance as if it was no big deal, but everyone could stiffen as they felt the pressure Taiga was exerting without her noticing, and she probably didn't care.

Even the teacher in charge of the class, the biggest authority figure at the time was starting to hyperventilate because of it.

"I'd like to face him and kill him with my torashinai. I want to feel the adrenaline bouncing in my veins as I hit him. The sweat pouring down from my forehead defeating him." Taiga raised her eyes to the ceiling.

I want to feel the ecstasy of facing someone with the power to kill me.

...

A memory from a few days ago revealed itself in the mind of the infamous Fuyuki Tiger.

"Mm? Taiga-chan, are you alright?" Kiritsugu's gushing voice pulled the young girl out of her thoughts.

This was a memory from a couple of days ago, during one of the private English lessons that the Emiya patriarch was giving to the Yakuza princess. That day, they were both alone because Mori and Shirou had gone out to get to know the city of Fuyuki a little better.

"You seem a little distracted, Taiga-chan." Kiritsugu said in a serious manner. But in spite of that, his concern was sincere because in the short time he had known her he had grown fond of his friend's granddaughter, because she reminded him a bit of his childhood friend, Shirley.

The young brown-haired swordswoman grumbled in her seat. "It's nothing."

"If it's nothing, then why do you look so upset?" Although the former Freelancer was perceptive, you didn't have to be a great genius to read the young Yakuza princess's feelings.

"Wah! Okay, I'm upset!" Taiga exclaimed angrily raising her arms to the sky.

Kiritsugu couldn't help but arch an eyebrow at the hot-headed attitude the Fuyuki Tiger had adopted without an apparent explanation, but as her tutor and Raiga's friend he had to inquire into the matter.

"And may I ask why?" The black-haired man said calmly.

The young woman focused her annoyed gaze towards the former Magus Killer, but he was not affected at all after having passed several hurdles in his life so far. But he had to admit that the young woman had a rather intimidating look and feared for the one who would try to woo the Fuyuki Tiger without speaking nicely to her.

"It's Mori! I still don't understand why he backed out of the fight! He has no pride as a warrior! I could see it, he was just as excited as I was! So why did he stop?!" Taiga roared her tirade in fury.

Kiritsugu was silent for a few moments to let his mind fully register the young girl's words, process them, analyze them and try to give her a proper answer for the furious tiger and not make the problem worse.

Why had Mori stopped? He wasn't entirely sure, but ...

"He may seemed to be hurt." Said the former Freelancer at last.

"Huh?" It was the smartest thing the brown-haired woman managed to say at the time.

"It may have been my imagination, but when he started to perform his attack he seemed determined, but suddenly ... It all went out. I may not be an expert in martial arts, but I know a little about combat and I managed to notice how Mori instantly lost his will to fight." Kiritsugu calmly elaborated, allowing Taiga's granddaughter to understand what he was saying.

"I ..." The young swordswoman hesitated for a moment, as she recalled the short fight she had with the turquoise-haired man. "Now that you mention it he seemed very ... Sad."

She felt it, as her determined aura wavered completely letting her see how vulnerable the young man was but Taiga had overlooked it due to the emotion of the moment. But she had disregarded her opponent's feelings, did she have the right to claim him now? She didn't know exactly but...

She really wanted to fight him.

"I can see that even knowing a little more about the situation, you still want to fight him, don't you?" More than a question, it was a statement made by Kiritsugu.

Taiga lowered her gaze, not out of embarrassment but because she was thinking things through very seriously at that moment.

"If every time he fights he hurts himself ..." Fuyuki Tiger began to say with unwavering resolve filling her voice. Then she looked determinedly at the Emiya patriarch.

Then, I just have to cure him with a different way of martial arts.

...

"Yes, I will kill him." Taiga declared again firmly, making the whole place even more tense. "Because in order to save him from his pain, I ..."

I must kill him.

Because that was the path she had taken.

...

Chapter Text

Mori walked through the corridors of the Homurahara academy being guided by a teacher to his respective classroom, it did not take him long to arrive. The teacher who guided him spoke for a moment with his future teacher and gave him a letter signed by the director, after that he said goodbye to the turquoise hair and went to his respective class. Now Mori's teacher would take care of him.

"Well, come in, Dan-kun." Asked the teacher opening the door to his class.

The former Monkey King nodded before entering the classroom where he was greeted by several looks of various kinds. Some curious, others excited, some indifferent, even some hostile, however, the turquoise-haired man did not give them any importance.

At that moment, the professor decided to take the floor. "Well, you can introduce yourself, Dan-kun."

He nodded. "Hello everyone, my name is Dan Mori and I hope we can get along well." He said finishing with a slight smile and bow.

"Hey, he seems nice."

"A little effeminate if you ask me."

"Actually, he's kind of cute."

"Hmph, I'd better know his place."

Those were the whispered comments from the turquoise-haired boy's now classmates, and even though the latter heard clearly what they were saying he didn't think much of them.

"All right, quiet everybody." The teacher ordered because of all the noise that his students were causing with their whispers. The man looked at Mori. "Well, you can take your seat now. Take that place in the back by the window." He pointed to the specified spot with his finger.

"Very well." The turquoise-haired man replied with a nod before moving towards the previously indicated place.

As he moved towards his respective seat, he couldn't help but feel several stares still lingering on his person. Especially one from some very burly and tall guys, Mori was smart enough to recognize them as typical school bullies. However, he noticed that their muscles were well trained, as if they were training some sport, even a martial art.

However, he stopped thinking about it as he sat back in his seat to then focus on his teacher.

"Well, with all said and done, let's get on with the class." Said the man before talking about his subject.

'Well, here we go again.' Mori thought with a sigh. 'I hope Shirou does well.'

...

Shirou wasn't doing as well as he had honestly hoped, but at least things weren't going as bad as he imagined they would be. So, it was a middle ground. So it was neither good nor bad, but merely tedious.

Really, it had been quite a long day ... And it was only noon to the redhead's great dismay. He had spent almost the entire school day receiving withering looks from his classmate, Tohsaka.

Shirou understood that maybe it hadn't been very proper to listen to her and her maid's conversation, but it wasn't that big of a deal either, was it? Besides, it was also her fault for drawing so much attention to herself in front of the school.

However, the boy could explain it well, but he felt that there was something beyond simply "listening to a private conversation of a lady", it's as if there was a shadow on her that mortified her at every second, causing her tension to rise at the same time as her tolerance was reduced to zero.

Although not many seemed to notice it, but what her teacher and other classmates did notice was that there was a very oppressive atmosphere between the two of them in the classroom and even if they tried to ignore it, it was a bit difficult when it loomed from behind everyone like a predator preparing to pounce on its prey.

But miraculously it all culminated with the end of the school day signaled by the ringing of the last school bell, and thus allowing students to return home as they were picked up by their parents or representatives.

Unfortunately for the red-haired boy his brother Mori must still be at the academy, so he had an obligation to stay close to the school as he had promised the turquoise-haired boy. So here we were, right in front of the school watching Shirou's other classmates as other students were leaving hand in hand with their fathers or mothers with an impassive face.

Actually the boy did not feel bad about it, nor so sad about the death of his parents, he already had a new family but he was sorry to be there waiting without doing anything.

He already wanted to learn martial arts with his brother and do cool ninja kicks. Although for that he would have to wait a while.

Fortunately or unfortunately depending on your point of view, Shirou wasn't the only one standing at the entrance to wait to be picked up by some family member. And that person was none other than the source of all the tension and discomfort he had felt from the beginning of classes until now.

When Tohsaka Rin became aware of the presence of the red-haired boy standing a couple of meters away from her, her joyful face at seeing her Anne-san dissipated completely and she made a visible grimace that caused Shirou to respond with a similar grimace.

"What are you doing here?" The black-haired girl asked him with irritation before making a horrified face. "Don't tell me... You're stalking me!" she exclaimed with an audible gasp.

At that moment the Magus Killer's adopted son realized that this was getting ridiculous, especially the part where he was being accused of something with no real evidence.

"Don't you ..." Attempted to clarify the boy, taking advantage of the fact that the girl was not emanating as much animosity as in the classroom.

However, he barely had the time to say two words until he was interrupted by the same girl who was supposedly being "harassed" by him.

"Oh, my goodness! I've never been bullied before ... It's my first time! Anne-san is going to be so upset!" Rin exclaimed nervously.

Apparently she was more worried about the commotion her maid would cause than the possible fact of being bullied at school.

For some reason Shirou felt that the whole conversation was going in the wrong direction because of those words. However, he had no chance to try to clear things up because the girl kept babbling things without much sense to him.

"This is bad, bad but very bad ..." whispered the little girl before looking intensely at her stalker. "Look, do what you want, but don't be too rough with me or you'll regret it." She warned him, though it might as well sound like some sort of threat.

Shirou did not give credit to what he saw, it was the first time he saw a victim of harassment asking her stalker to be "gentle" to her by means of a threat ... For the redhead it was unprecedented, but one that he had to rectify right now before things got out of hand with some adult listening to her, or worse, the maid listening to her ...

He didn't know who exactly Anne-san was besides being the Tohsaka girl's maid, but something inside told Shirou that she was a very dangerous woman.

"So please, not in the face..." She kept talking the chestnut until she was interrupted by the red-haired boy.

"Would you listen to me for just five minutes?" exclaimed the boy with exasperation.

The girl closed her mouth at that instant and then pouted. "Moo, you're no fun."

At that instant Shirou wanted to slap himself in the face, but before he could do that he had to clear things up once and for all.

"Look, I'm not harassing you at all. If you mean because of what happened this morning, I sincerely apologize for overhearing your conversation, I had meddled in matters that were not mine out of my curiosity and I'm sorry for that, I promise it won't happen again." Shirou said in a serious tone, denoting that he wasn't lying in any of his words.

Rin raised an eyebrow as if she didn't believe him at all. "Huh? Are you serious? Then why did we end up in the same class? Are you sure you haven't been stalking me for a long time?"

Now if the red-haired boy wanted to smack his head in dismay, he had never seen this girl in his short and miserable life of seven years!

"That's ridiculous." He had to say it the boy. "How could I have gotten us put in the same class when I'm only seven years old? That was the school administration's doing." Said the boy logically.

Rin snorted. "I know that already, silly."

Shirou looked at her with confusion. "Then why did you talk about all that bullying stuff?"

"Oh, because I was upset and making fun of people helps me get rid of stress." The girl answered without giving it much importance. "Actually I was upset about other things, and since you were around I decided to let you be my relief for a while. It was kind of fun actually, thank you." Rin told him with a slight smile.

The redhead pondered her words for a moment, understanding the situation a bit more now and recognizing that the girl next to him had a very peculiar personality, but what he focused on most was the obviously fake smile on the brunette's face, the shadow behind it deepening somehow.

"I see... But you could have said so earlier and maybe I could have helped you." He told her a little irritated by all those intense stares during class as well as being accused of being a stalker.

Rin smiled wider. "So where would the fun be?"

"She definitely has a horrible personality." The redhead boy couldn't help but think with a bead of sweat trickling down her face.

The brown hair girl couldn't help but laugh at the expression of the boy next to her, she was so focused on it that she didn't notice the approach of a woman in a maid's outfit. However, Shirou did notice that the black-haired woman was coming towards the two of them and recognized her as Rin's maid, but the maid's outfit meant something.

"Ojou-sama." Anne called out to the girl. Although her voice sounded completely neutral, she was a little surprised to see the little girl in better spirits than in the morning.

"Oh! Anne-san, you came." Rin said with a slight start.

"Yes, I apologize for the delay, but I had to make some regulations with Kirei-san about ... The family business." Said the black hair looking sideways at the redhead, something that the he noticed.

As a agent of the magecraft world, it was her duty not to reveal anything about it to the normal and ordinary people in the rest of the world.

Taking the servant's hint, Rin nodded.

She looked at the redhead beside her. "Thank you for accompanying me for a while ... And being the relief of my bad mood." Said the latter a little embarrassed by that fact. Mainly because of Anne's presence in the place, as well as because she was acting in a very inelegant way for a Tohsaka.

The red-haired boy shook his head. "No problem, Tohsaka-san. See you tomorrow, it was a pleasure."

"You too, Emiya-kun.'' Said the girl in farewell.

However, when Anne heard the boy's surname she became as stiff as an oak while her normally serious and professional expression cracked. How could she not recognize that last name? Even the most novice of the Clock Tower knew the name of that holder of the infamous title of Magus Killer.

"In fact ..." The black-haired woman began to speak, drawing the attention of the two children. "Since it's still early, why doesn't Emiya-kun join us for lunch and play with you for a while, Ojou-sama?"

That proposition filled both children's eyes with interest.

"Eh? But Anne-san, I thought we had some... Homework when I got home." Rin said keeping the word magecraft from accidentally slipping out of her mouth.

"That's true, but you've done a lot of homework in the past few weeks and rest is just as important as practice. Besides, Emiya-kun is the first friend I've seen you make at school and I think it wouldn't hurt for you to bond a little more." The woman elaborated on her reasons for having the red-haired boy "friendly" walk them home.

"Well ..." The brown-haired girl hesitated for a few seconds before turning her gaze towards her classmate and in fact, her first friend at Homurahara Elementary School. "What do you say, Emiya-kun?"

As expected, the red-haired boy's doubt sowed itself inside him as his still childish face reflected it as clear as crystal.

"I don't think I should, I promised my brother I would wait for him." Was his answer finally.

'A brother, huh? Have you formed a Magus Killer family? After all these years, why?' The woman couldn't help but think, trying to discern the Freelancer's reasons, but still nothing enlightening came to her mind. Still she wouldn't let that matter related to Emiya Kiritsugu go so easily. A friendly smile that hid her true intentions was present on the Tohsaka maid's beautiful face. "Oh, I don't think there's a problem with you staying for a while. You can call home so your family won't worry if necessary."

"Um, still..." Shirou said still hesitant about accepting the offer. Firstly it sounded great to have a friend, however, the duty of following Mori's orders remained burned in his mind.

"Come on, Emiya-kun!" Rin exclaimed already exasperated by her new friend's lack of decisiveness. "It will be fun." She said making a kicked puppy face.

Two thoughts went through the redhead's head when he saw his new friend's face. The first, was that she looked kind of cute actually when she wasn't angry or teasing him, while the second was ...

'She's incredibly manipulative ... ' Thought the boy with a slight blush on his childish cheeks. He finally let out a sigh that he didn't know he was holding back before nodding. "I guess it's okay... As long as I can call home and tell the old man where I am."

Rin's face lit up, while Anne looked pleased with how things were turning out.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure to get you home safe and sound before sunset. For now, let's go home so I can finish lunch." Said the black-haired maid as she received a nod from both children.

Subsequently, the three of them made their way to the western house area of the Miyama Zone. As they did that, Anne couldn't help but sink into her thoughts.

'And to think that you would remain here after destroying the Holy Grail, Magus Killer... Our meeting will be inevitable.'

Those were the woman's thoughts, however, although it was true that fate had decided that she would have a fateful encounter that day, it would not be with the last blood Emiya, but with a certain fallen god from another world.

We could only hope that there would be no misunderstanding, or the last vestiges of the Tohsaka family might pay dearly, very, very dearly.

...

Back at Homurahara Academy, the second period of classes had already ended, giving way to the second break where students had the opportunity to eat their lunches or buy them at the school cafeteria and then rest after digesting the food.

However, Mori was fortunate enough not to bother standing in line and buying his lunch at the cafeteria, all thanks to the fact that Shirou and he had prepared their own lunches, simple but capable of satisfying their hunger. But as he finished eating he realized how bored he was at the moment, neither had the class he had seen helped due to the fact that he remembered seeing the subject in his world.

So the former Monkey King was forced to look for something to distract himself for a while, and it was in this way that the turquoise-haired decided to tour the educational facilities of the Homurahara Academy in order to familiarize himself with the area. He had already been given his schedule along with the indications of where he would find the places where he would see the various subjects he had. But Mori knew that just visiting those places once would be enough to memorize them with relative ease.

Therefore, the process was easy and too fast for his liking so he ended up going to his next class before it started. Besides, he hadn't taken it into account, but every time the stares of the other students focused on him because of his new face in the place. Also, it may have been his imagination, but he thought he saw a brown hair in a ponytail in the crowd of students.

He wasn't sure, but the possibility of it being the infamous Fuyuki Tiger made the young man a little nervous. Not because she might hurt him or vice versa, but because he didn't want to cause a scene in the middle of the schoolyard on his first day. That would tarnish his short and poor student record. As it would also attract too much attention, more than it already did in and of itself.

Mori wasn't shy by any means, but he didn't like this kind of attention either. Sure, in his old world and before starting The God of High School tournament, he took this as an opportunity to fight various bullies and prove who was the boss thus managing to be undefeated from nearly three hundred street battles until the fateful encounter with Judge R or also later known as Ultio R, one of the "sons" of the Original Jade Emperor, Okhwang.

However, at this point in his life in this new world ... Already the meaningless fighting ceased to have any meaning for him after all he had been through.

He was tired.

But he quickly left those negative thoughts behind as he crossed the threshold of the classroom. The turquoise-haired young man looked curiously at the place, where there were a few students chatting without a care in the world. Some of them noticed his presence, where so some glances of various kinds while others gave no importance to the arrival of the fallen god, something the latter was grateful for.

In the classroom there was a group of girls assumed in their gossip, another group of boys talking about various topics such as sports, music and even video games or manga. However, it was the third group that was most focused on him. That group was made up of those stocky, athletic guys that Mori assumed were the school bullies.

Their looks were mocking, even hostile managed to notice the turquoise-haired young man. The latter couldn't help but wonder what he had done to gain such unwanted attention on his first day ... And it was at that moment that it was for that very reason that he was attracting such attention. He remembered one of the comments when he introduced himself to the class, "let him know his place", apparently this was the conditioning process for newbies and "wimps" like him.

Seriously this was the last thing he needed to worry about to tell the truth, however, for now he would be "playing" his little game until the time was right. It was best not to cause any trouble during school hours and while they still remained in Homurahara's educational facilities.

The fallen god couldn't help but let out a sigh in exasperation, though these guys weren't making it easy on him with the too direct hint when the leader of the group was sitting practically next to Mori's seat, with the rest of his lackeys around him.

But the former Monkey King decided to ignore that, he could put up with them for a class... Right?

Without further hesitation or doubt he decided to put those worries aside and then head to his seat and let it be what God wills ... Fortunately or unfortunately for some, he was a god ... Although fallen in disgrace he was still a god in almost all the rule.

But apparently fate had decided not to put things easy for the turquoise-haired young man, because at the moment when Mori approached and was only a few steps away from his respective seat, just at that moment a pencil fell to the ground in front of him.

"Oops, it fell by accident." Said the bully leader smugly. "Could you pick it up for me?"

A stony silence suddenly falls in the classroom, as if all time froze at the moment his classmate said those words. Subsequently, the whispers began.

"It can't be ..."

"Poor boy, on his first day..."

"That bastard Yamamoto doing what he wants!"

"It's all Nagasawa's fault!"

Were the comments that the small groups of boys and girls in the room were saying, such comments were easily picked up by the turquoise-haired young man thanks to his enhanced senses. And the first thing that came to his mind was ...

Who the hell are Yamamoto and Nagasawa? He was almost one hundred percent sure they didn't even know him back home.

Then, little laughs from the bullies around Mori and their leader were not long in coming.

"You really don't waste your time, Yamamoto."

"Right, Nagasawa sure wanted to meet him first."

"Oh, come on, Nagasawa has no reason to bother with this weakling."

"You're right, one of us is enough."

Mori isolated himself from those comments, understanding the matter a little more. He looked at the leader... No, he looked like one of the subordinates of the real leader of all the bullies of the Homurahara academy, who apparently had the name Yamamoto, maybe it was his last name but the turquoise-haired young man didn't feel like finding out his full name at all.

Yamamoto was somewhat extravagant in a certain sense, he had black hair as well as his eyes, his skin was somewhat tanned but what was most noticeable was that he was quite stocky as well as obese but at the same time the former Monkey King managed to discern quite considerable muscles underneath so much fat. He was not surprised that he was someone important in this hierarchy, with his size, weight and strength he could outshine any opponent.

Internally, the fallen god couldn't help but wonder how strong this Nagasawa fellow was ... And also if Fujimura Taiga had some prestige in the place, after all, with only how little they fought in their first encounter, Mori was sure that the brown-haired young woman's martial arts were top notch ... At least comparable to those of Mira or Daewi during The God of High School tournament.

"Didn't you hear me?" Yamamoto spoke again. Causing the place to fall silent again.

Apparently Mori had made no move to follow the obese young man's orders and that had made him impatient, and perhaps irritated him even more.

"Didn't I ask you nicely to pick up my pencil for me?" Yamamoto asked as his gaze and attitude denoted more hostility than before.

Mori grimaced but didn't protest and simply decided to do as he was asked for now, it was best to get this over with once and for all ... Although it would also be nice if the professor would arrive at that precise moment to save him from this mild humiliation but he knew it was too much to ask.

Ugh, what a fallen god would do for revenge.

"Yeah... It's alright." Mori said without much emotion.

Without further ado, the turquoise-haired man knelt down to pick up the pencil so he could give it back to the obese Yamamoto.

However, without the turquoise-haired young man realizing it, Mori's obese classmate was raising his foot until he was at the height of the young man's head, when everyone noticed such actions, Yamamoto's classmates smiled mockingly while the others present in the classroom were stupefied, not believing what the black-haired young man was going to do ... But he would actually do it.

By the time Mori realized how close Yamamoto's foot was to his head, he saw how the sole of his shoe was quickly approaching his face without giving him time to react ... But he wasn't going to act anyway, at least not now.

But ...

"Eh?" Mori came to express when he realized that Yamamoto's kick never came.

Then, a collective gasp echoes throughout the place. The turquoise-haired at that moment realizes that deflecting Yamamoto's foot to reach his target which was his face, was another person's leg standing in the way.

The former Monkey King looked up, both curious and grateful to see who had helped him without even asking.

Mori recognized him as another of his classmates, but had not noticed him until now. He had short dark purple hair and was quite tall, but he couldn't see his eyes because they were closed. Like the rest of the students he wore the male uniform of the Homurahara academy but with the brown jacket closed.

"Reikan." Yamamoto spat with hostility at the turquoise-haired young man's savior.

The other friends of the obese Yamamoto tensed up at the unexpected arrival of the purple-haired young man.

"It's Reikan-san!"

"How fortunate that he has arrived."

"Now Yamamoto can't cause any trouble!"

"How I wish that would work with Nagasawa..."

After hearing the comments of his other classmates, Mori couldn't help but look curiously at this Reikan, apparently he was someone important in this hierarchy of power.

"Take it easy, Yamamoto." Reikan told him seriously. Afterwards, his eyes opened slightly, showing dark irises. "It's your first day and you're already causing trouble, besides, out of my seat."

'Oh... Right, he was sitting next to me in the previous class.' Mori thought reminiscing about the young purple haired boy in the previous class.

"Hm ..." Yamamoto stood up from Reikan's seat as he stared into Reikan's eyes.

Tension began to rise in the classroom, the other students began to fear that a fight would start if any teacher didn't arrive on time. But all their fears were unfounded when Yamamoto sneered as he averted his gaze, apparently Reikan had won the staring contest.

"Just this once, Reikan." Said the obese young man before retiring to his respective seat being followed by his colleagues, but not before saying his last words. "I'm not liking your attitude lately and Nagasawa hasn't particularly liked it either ..." Then a mischievous smile appeared on his fat features. "Maybe it's time for Suzaku to teach you a lesson."

Those were his last words before he sat back in his seat, however, they were serious enough to raise the tension in the place to colossal levels compared to before, even Reikan as brave as he seemed started to sweat a little at Yamamoto's significant threat.

It was at that moment that Mori decided to stand up and then look at the purple-haired young man.

"Thank you." Thanked the turquoise-haired young man calling the attention of his savior.

"No ..." Reikan frowned. "You're new so it's natural that you don't understand how things work here and the hierarchy of the Four Gods of Fuyuki."

"Four... Gods?" Repeated the former Monkey King as if they were words spoken in a lost language ... Although in reality the young man knew all the languages known and that once existed.

"I will take the trouble to explain to you in the next rest period, I helped you and it is my responsibility to inform you of something that you should know beforehand if you decide to study in Homurahara." Said the purple-haired young man, filling Mori with intrigue.

"Well, I moved here a few weeks ago, I barely know the city. The rest is unknown to me." The words said by the turquoise hair were mostly true, although it was not in his plans he had "moved" to this new world against his will and with no foreseeable means of returning.

"Hm, I figured as much, in any case..." Reikan looked at Mori with a smile and a friendly expression on his face. "Welcome officially to Homurahara, Mori-kun. I, Ryuudou Reikan will teach you everything so you can survive here."

"Hehe... Thank you..." Replied the fallen god not knowing what else to say.

"Well, the class is about to start, we better sit down." Said the young purple-haired young man diligently before sitting down in his seat that had been occupied by Yamamoto earlier.

Mori prepared to do the same but as he was sitting down he felt the gazes of Yamamoto and his classmates focused on him, looking at him like a prey that was going to be the lunch of a big predator.

The Tathagata assassin couldn't help but sigh internally. 'First day, it's my first day at school and I'm already being hunted ... At least this time it's not at the hands of Fujimura Taiga.' Thought the turquoise-haired young man with relief.

Subsequent to that, the teacher had arrived marking that in a few minutes he would be starting the third period classes.

'Well, let's see what's in store for me.' Was the last thing Mori thought before focusing on his next boring class.

...

After finishing the third period class Mori stretched in his seat before looking at Reikan next to him.

He noticed his gaze and nodded. "Well, let's not prolong this any longer." He said before standing up, an action that was imitated by the turquoise hair. "Come, let's go to a place where we won't be interrupted."

The former Monkey King said nothing and simply followed the purple-haired young man to his destination, which ended up being the school's rooftop. The said place seemed like a suitable place to talk without interruptions because the place was deserted except for the two of them who had just arrived.

"Well, make yourself comfortable. We have a good time to chat." Reikan said leaning against the safety net.

The fallen god did as he said and sat perfectly in the Lotus position, such action gained the purple-haired young man's interest but he decided to overlook it and just do what he had come to do.

"Well, let's talk mainly about the Four Gods of Fuyuki." Reikan began to speak. "It was a term born ten years ago or so, they are four people whose combat skills are the best in Fuyuki and possibly the whole Kyushu Island so watch out for them."

"Okay, I think I know where this is going." Mori said with a frown.

Reikan smiled slightly. "That's good. In any case, they each have a title that is inherited by defeating the previous bearer. They are based on the four divine monsters that represent the four cardinal points and the protectors of Kyoto, do you know what they are?"

"Genbu, Suzaku, Byakko and Seiryu." Answered the turquoise-haired man with ease, after all, those beings were represented in the Dance of the Four Gods of the martial arts of his best friend, Daewi.

"Exactly!" Said the purple-haired young man complacently. "And in that sense they were ranked from the weakest to the strongest, Genbu being the weakest and Seiryu the strongest. Also a title holder can challenge another to overthrow him, like Suzaku challenging Byakko to become the new Byakko." the young man explained.

"And I must assume that this Nagasawa guy is one of those guys, isn't he?" intuited the former Monkey King.

"That's right." Reikan confirmed with a nod. "Nagasawa Takamaru, he won the Suzaku title last year by defeating his former carrier who was in third year ... That's quite a boast of his strength for a first year. Master of karate, he's been practicing it since he was seven years old."

"It's certainly something to take into account, but it just goes to show that Byakko and Seiryu are much stronger."

At that moment, the purple-haired young man tensed up. "That's true... Byakko has literally been learning the way of kendo since she learned to stand up ... Well known as the Fuyuki Tiger, she is Fujimura Taiga, an old friend of mine."

Immediately, the turquoise-haired young man looked at his new friend in disbelief. Who would have thought that the Yakuza princess was part of such a group ... But after their little encounter where Mori managed to measure some of her skills it didn't seem so far-fetched to him.

Taiga was certainly on the same level as Daewi and Mira during The God of High School metropolitan tournament ... Which made him wonder if this Seiryu guy was on the same level as Mori in that tournament.

"Taiga is the longest Byakko bearer and at the same time the longest holder of any title of the Four Gods of Fuyuki, some believe that she has stagnated ... But if they fought against Seiryu they would not think so." Reikan said gravely.

That caught the turquoise-haired young man's attention. "Really? Do you know him?"

The purple-haired young man couldn't help but chuckle at the question. "As a matter of fact, I live with him. He's my adoptive older brother, my father took him in after a stormy night three years ago where he found him helpless and with nothing ... He barely had a name. Since then he has been living with us at Ryuudou Temple." Then his face became serious. "However, literally in a few days he fought the previous Seiryu bearer and defeated him very easily. I myself have faced him in training bouts and always end up overwhelmed by his techniques."

"Oh... ? He seems very strong." Said the former Monkey King with interest, for the first time in a long time his thirst for a fight was becoming present albeit slightly.

"Yes, Kuzuki Souichirou-san is the strongest person I know and his defeat is an unimaginable impossibility for me." Reikan declared seriously.

Mori studied the face of his new friend, and he seemed very sure of what he was saying, the turquoise-haired may not have known the purple-haired for a long time but he could tell that he was a guy who never lied or bragged nonsense. So that confirmed that this Souichirou was the strongest in Fuyuki and possibly Kyushu Island.

And it was at this moment that Mori noticed a small detail that he had overlooked.

"Oh, and who is Genbu?" asked the fallen god as he realized that Reikan had told the other identities of the Four Gods of Fuyuki with the exception of Genbu.

"Oh... Yes, that's right, Genbu."

"Is something wrong with him?" Mori asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, no, nothing wrong. It's just that it's the title that changes its bearer the most, sometimes it changes two or even three times a month. Being the "weakest" of the Four Gods of Fuyuki, it is relatively the easiest to reach compared to Suzaku, Byakko and not to mention Seiryu." The purple-haired young man explained.

"So who is it this time?" Asked with curiosity the turquoise-haired.

"Well..." Reikan made a thoughtful expression. "This might be the rarest of all the Fuyuki Gods."

"The rarest?" He inquired with more interest.

"Certainly, besides being a foreigner, he got the title accidentally two weeks ago ... Since then no one has defeated him for now. He doesn't look particularly strong, but there's something very strange about him, I can say for sure." Explained the purple-haired young man seriously.

"Oh~? And what's his name?"

"Genbu... Waver Velvet."

...

Meanwhile, in the Shinto area, a black-haired young man tied in a ponytail so his hair wouldn't stick to the sweat his body perspired as he moved a large number of boxes full of merchandise to a liquor store.

"Ahh ... That was the last one." Said the young man who would be known by the name of Waver Velvet as he let out a tired sigh and wiped his sweaty forehead.

However, his rest didn't last long as a middle-aged man called out to him, apparently it was his boss.

"Oi, Genbu! Don't be lazy, come here!" the man exclaimed.

"Ah, I'm coming!" shrieked the young man, still trying to get used to the new title he had won by accident. "Damn delinquents, they had to bother and because of them I have this silly name..."

"Genbu!"

"I'll be right there!" Waver exclaimed before going to where his boss was.

This would be the story of how the servant of the King of the Conquerors, would be named as the Black Turtle of the North or as others would know him ...

Genbu of Macedonia.

...

Chapter Text

Truly for Waver, Japan was not his favorite place to be or even to live, let alone in the city of Fuyuki of all the places that have come and gone in the Land of the Rising Sun.

And to think that it had all started because of a dispute with his teacher at the Clock Tower, the Lord El-Melloi, Kayneth Archibald, who had discredited his research related that a magus regardless of his lineage could be a great magus.

Naturally, for a magus as traditionalist as Kayneth, who came from a prestigious and long lineage of magic ... Well, it was no surprise that the older man mocked his work and beliefs.

Which resulted in him ending up stealing the summoning catalyst from his teacher who was to participate in a special ritual, a sort of secret magical competition between magicians in the East ... The Holy Grail War, for a wish to the legendary eponymous object for the winner of said ritual.

It was not when Waver entered the front line that the young man realized that instead of "competition", it was better to consider it a slaughter. Now the name "Holy Grail War" made more sense in the London magus' head.

Having summoned the Servant Rider, the King of Conquerors, Iskandar himself, Waver took refuge with an elderly Australian couple named Glen and Martha Mackenzie, who had moved to Japan forty years ago. The young magus had hypnotized them into believing that he was their "beloved grandson" visiting from England.

And so officially began his journey in the Holy Grail War, having his first encounter with his teacher Kayneth during his Servant Lancer's combat against the Servants of the Einzbern, Saber. Where Rider had declared that he preferred a thousand times more Waver as Master, who entered the battlefield at his side, than Lord El-Melloi, who hid in the shadows.

His pursuit of the Servant Caster and his Master, who left a pile of corpses in his wake until he had finally been defeated in a combined effort ... Although not very coordinated by Servants Saber, Lancer, Archer and Rider, despite the Servant Berserker's interruption and other details, Saber had disintegrated the Servant of Magic with her holy sword.

The great banquet of kings, where Saber, Archer and Rider, the Servants of Royalty had discussed their views, and their ideals had clashed with each other before the attack of the Servant Assassin, but the latter had been eliminated with utmost ease thanks to Rider's last Noble Phantasm.

The Army of the King of Conquest.

Ionioi Hetairoi.

An irregular Reality Marble, which combined the desires and wills of Alexander the Great and his army by embodying the lands they conquered with their power and strength. Needless to say, Assassin, had been crushed before the power of countless soldiers and warriors who, even while speaking their names in history, once again followed their lord through time and space.

Finally, the Holy Grail War would end, and despite not having come close to victory, Waver felt that he had come out of the "competition" very well. Saber had attacked them believing that they had kidnapped their Master, when in fact it had been Berserker's doing, and then Rider and he had their final battle against Archer.

The Golden Servant, who the London magus had failed to discern his true identity despite the fact that he had released several of his Noble Phantasms, having proven to be a complete monster. A force of nature stored in a single man with the power to level continents with ease. No matter what the King of Conquest attacked with, he had failed to even scratch Archer.

However, despite Rider and Waver's crushing defeat, the latter could not help but look at his Servant with admiration bordering on obsession. Even with his Reality Marble and his army decimated by that thing Archer called "Sword", even when his beloved horse Bucephalus had fallen from the sheer number of swords that had pierced his body, even with the swords and spears that had pierced his skin ... Iskandar continued onward ...

To nothing but his bitter end ... Yes, it could not have been otherwise.

Chained by the Chains of Heaven, Archer pierced the heart and in turn destroying his Spirit Core on the spot, then sparing Waver's life as a last show of respect to his defeated fellow king, and even though the magus wanted to hold a grudge against the Golden Servant, he knew Rider wouldn't have liked it ... The guy would most likely have beaten him up for acting so childish!

So therefore, despite feeling the loss and missing Rider to this day, a feeling that might never go away until the end of his days, Waver would simply fondly remember the closest thing he had to a father figure in his life until the end.

And so he decided to live life beyond an investigation or trying to prove something to someone, something Rider had taught him. So he stayed with the Mackenzies, even though Glen had discovered the whole deception, even though he didn't know how they had been fooled.

And despite being a little upset about what had happened, the older man's anger had completely disappeared when he saw the smile and happiness with which his wife Martha spoke of her "grandson Waver Mackenzie", after all, she had not smiled since ten years ago on the last visit they had had from their son and his family, who had not had any contact since then.

Glen had regretted deep down bringing his family to Japan because of that, however, against all odds there came an element that had brought happiness back to the elderly couple, who were Waver and Alexis, the pseudonym of Rider, a duo that despite having deceived them, there was a strange openness about them and at no time did they do anything to hurt them, but only wanted a place to stay.

It was because of this that Glen had allowed them to go through with the act, he had even asked Waver to stay as long as he needed so Martha would be happy to live with her "beloved grandson", plus the old man enjoyed doing the old activities he did with his grandson, now with the magus. Especially watching the sunrise from the roof of the house.

And so Waver had lived the last month in Fuyuki, truly living a life but not letting go of his responsibilities as a magus but in a more flexible way. Foremost was learning Japanese, which with the help of Glen, Martha and other teachers at the school where Glen works part-time as an English teacher, Waver had been able to learn to speak Japanese fluently despite his noticeable British accent.

There were still certain details like reading or writing in kanji, but nothing that a couple of months of study wouldn't fix. All thanks to the young man's ingenuity and maybe a little bit of Magecraft to speed things up didn't hurt at all.

On the other hand, Waver had gotten a part-time job to save money, even though his classmate Melvin Weins had given him enough money for a round-trip ticket from London to Fuyuki, his plans had changed with the end of the Holy Grail War and the influence Rider had had on him.

He didn't want to go back to the Clock Tower, at least not for now. Rider had taught him that there were indeed things beyond a library or research, he had taught him to truly live, something the withdrawn young man was sorely lacking.

So he would live, experience new things and gain experience. He would travel the world, learn and continue to enjoy the meaning of living without regrets.

But he would give time to time, in order to do that he needed money for it, so to get it he needed work. So, by the time Waver managed to speak and understand Japanese to an acceptable level, the black-haired young man began to look for some employment.

In the end, Glen had helped him to get a job with an old friend of his, where the pay was pretty good considering all the physical labor involved at times and the night shifts.

A job in Copenhagen, a liquor store and bar in the evenings. Knowing the older man's taste for drinking from watching him compete several times against Rider, it was no wonder that he would get along so well with the owner of one of the best bars in Fuyuki.

Since the owner's daughter was studying hard in high school, the place needed an extra pair of hands to help out and since Glen was a great friend of the man, he had asked the favor to give his "beloved grandson" a job, something the owner was more than happy to do due to how busy the place got at night.

At first, Waver was happy and at ease with his job... For the first five minutes. It also didn't help that his first shift was in the evening ... What? A young man who was still growing still needed his eight hours of sleep, in fact, Waver slept ten hours of well-planned sleep so that both his skin and hair would be at their peak! Something the young magus had stopped doing during the Holy Grail War because of all the night battles and hoped to get back into the habit until he started this job in Copenhagen.

Moving things around, acting as a waiter, helping to get the drunks out of the place ... He did terrible as a bartender almost breaking five glasses and spilling tequila on a woman.

But worst of all were ... them.

Some petty criminals who had come to the Copenhagen like dogs from home and started causing a ruckus most of the night. They were really noisy, disturbing the other patrons of the place, spilling food and drink all over the floor, as well as greatly inconveniencing the women present with their degenerate comments, especially the waitresses.

But the breaking point was when the one who seemed to be the leader of the group began to make advances to the owner's daughter who had arrived to help out on that busy night.

And then ... Waver cursed Rider from the deepest recesses of the Throne of Heroes to influence him enough to do the next stupid thing.

Fight.

...

That guy was tall, at least a head taller than Waver, while the daughter of the Copenhagen owner, whose name was Otoko if he remembered correctly, was a couple of inches shorter than the London magus.

"What do you say, honey?" the man asked with false friendliness. He had dyed blond hair and clothes similar to those of a generic biker. All his friends were dressed just as ridiculous with haircuts that only came into fashion in the eighties.

The young girl had brown hair with sharp, feline-like features, in fact, that was one of the reasons her close friends called her Neko out of affection. But Otoko frowned when the guy called her that but only said what she came to say.

"I told you that you and your friends better leave tonight, you are causing too much trouble and you are disturbing the other customers with your presence."The brown-haired young woman told him firmly even though she knew who she had in front of her and her reputation.

"Oh, come on, don't say that. We're having fun here, and I know you'll have fun too if you join us for a while. Although if you want we can have a good time you and me somewhere else." The guy replied with a wicked smile while his eyes looked at the young high school student with lust.

Many of those present glared at the man, especially the Copenhagen employees, who knew that Neko was just in high school, but no one was more furious than the boss, who watched with frustration and helplessness as that guy tried to flirt with his daughter in such a vulgar way without being able to do anything for fear of invoking the wrath of the current Genbu of Fuyuki.

"I would love to..." Started to say the brown haired girl to the great dismay of many and jubilation for the dyed blonde haired man and his friends, until Neko finished the sentence. "Take these jars of beer and partillos on your head. However, I have no time to waste on someone like you, besides, it would be a waste of a good liquor." Then, she looked Genbu straight in the eye with an expression full of fierceness. "So you're absolutely not worth it!"

The whole place fell into a stony silence when the young Neko finished saying those words, the spectators were speechless as they looked at the girl with concern, especially the employees and the head of Copenhagen, while Genbu and his companions stared at the brown-haired girl with confusion before they started to laugh with amusement and mockery at her words.

The blonde-haired man was the one who grinned the most mischievously. "To tell you the truth, you're my type, what can I say?" He said with a shrug as Neko flinched at his words. "I like my women to be strong and feisty like you. However ..." She gave a dark look at the brown-haired girl. "The only thing you'll get is hurt by acting that way with me."

After saying that, Genbu grabbed Neko's arm forcefully, which would probably leave a bruise. Such an act of violence started to alarm everyone in the place, trying to get the police authorities to please come and resolve the situation.

But ...

This act was also the trigger for an event ...

The appearance of a hero ...

The birth of ...

A new Genbu.

A hand grabbed the blond-haired man's shoulder, causing him to turn around. His attention along with that of the other onlookers focused on that of a young man with long black hair tied in a ponytail and wearing the Copenhagen uniform.

"Uh?" Was all Genbu could utter before the young man's fist went straight for his face.

And even if it was for a mere second, he thought he saw blue lines above the skin on his arm, but he didn't have the time to process it when everything turned to darkness.

...

You know, Waver? I really like strong people. Whether it's physical strength, power, mentality, even ideals.

If they're weak-willed I don't care much for them... Oh, but don't worry! Even though you're a dwarf there's a great strength in you! I can see it in you even if you don't realize it's there!

But... Those who think or pretend to be strong, even though they are weak ... There is nothing that sickens me more than that.

Therefore, to the strong I will conquer their hearts with my strength. But the weak ...

I will conquer them with my smile!

...

'How idiotic of you to think you can solve things with a simple smile, Rider.' Waver thought bitterly, looking around him with contempt.

On the floor of the Copenhagen, around the black-haired man were scattered the crooks next to their leader painfully on the floor of the place, in a semi-conscious state, although it was noticeable that some of them were already in the realm of Morpheus thanks to Waver's actions.

"Where did all his sneer go, eh? Or was it just an act to look strong?" Said the young magus seriously under the incredulous gazes of the spectators around him.

Naturally, the young Londoner noticed all the stares and attention he was getting, which made him curse to himself in his mind, as a magus shouldn't draw attention to himself to hide the mysteries of magecraft under any circumstances and here he was, acting like a hero ...

For some reason, he felt that Rider would be proud of him if he could see him right now.

"Well, I'm off." Waver announced heading straight for the exit of the premises. "Sorry for all the inconvenience, I won't be coming back to."

However, before he could finish speaking and in turn leave the Copenhagen, a hand grabbing his arm brought him to a complete stop. Turning around, the black-haired young man discovered that the person who stopped him was no one else but Neko, the girl those men were harassing and at the same time, the owner's daughter.

"Wait! Thank you very much for saving me." exclaimed the honestly grateful girl.

"Huh?" It was the smartest thing the magus could say. After all, he wasn't used to this hospitality from people other than Glen and Martha after spending so much time in the Clock Tower.

"Well done!"

"He's a hero!"

"Such bravery!"

"And strength!"

"And very handsome too!"

"Huh? Huh? I what... ?" Waver stammered, not quite understanding what was going on and all the fuss they were making over the simple fact of beating up some thugs.

And everything became even more complicated when his boss, Neko's father approached with a grateful expression quite evident on his face.

Her boss put his hands on her shoulders. "Thank you, thank you very much indeed, Velvet-san ... No, what am I saying? I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Genbu-sama."

"Eh?"

That had been the straw that had broken the camel's back

...

It was not that he returned to the Mackenzie house, where Glen and Martha explained to him what had happened after Waver had explained what had happened at the store. After a long talk where the elders looked worried and the irritated young man had understood the situation.

He was Genbu now, one of Fuyuki's strongest fighters apparently along with Suzaku, Byakko and Seiryu.

Waver had not stopped cursing his predecessor until today.

By making an act of humility he had drawn a lot of unnecessary attention to his current life when he saw his face on the news the next morning, who just wanted to live it normally for now, He just wanted that fame in the Clock Tower and when he is about twenty centimeters taller, by the holy Akasha!

However, Waver couldn't help but scoff a little at the former Genbu's poor ability, although he was warned to beware of the other gods of Fuyuki, who were a completely different story.

Apparently, the Genbu title was one that changed from person to person a lot, like a kind of shirt that passes from person to person. But everything changed with the others, the current Byakko title holder has not changed for five years, and whose title holder is a high school girl! While Seiryu is considered even stronger than her.

Those were subjects she couldn't defeat in a straight fight... Nor was it her intention. What he had done was simply an accident that shouldn't have happened and he had simply done it because those guys were interrupting his work. It had not been entirely an act of nobility but neither was it with much selfishness.

However, under normal circumstances, the existence known as Waver Velvet would not have defeated a guy much taller and stronger than him. But therein lay the facade that everyone saw in the young Londoner, a disguise that only Glen had seen through... But only on the surface, just the tip of the iceberg that only the more hidden side of the world was aware of.

Waver Velvet was not a completely normal young man and he had something that most of the world's population lacked even though he was not a prodigy but in the future would be consummate at his craft.

He was a magus.

Naturally, there was some Reinforcement in his weak body to improve his strength and speed to something more respectable. It was something that would be practically useless in a Holy Grail War with the opponents he had on that occasion, but quite effective with normal humans like the previous Genbu and his gang of few nuts.

Also, the reason he didn't act much earlier was because he was making a concoction with different Copenhagen liquors with his knowledge in alchemy to spread a scent all over the place to weaken and confuse the criminals, it had mainly taken time finding the right wavelength so that it would only affect the crooks.

But at this point, Waver thought that was a mistake, as he could have knocked everyone unconscious and then called the emergency authorities and left as if it was none of his business.

However, a part of him felt that he would not feel satisfied with taking that course of action ... So he did something that Rider would have done.

Surely the King of Conquerors would be laughing affably at Waver's expense right now, or at least that was what the magus thought, so that tempered some of the irritation he felt at his new social position in Fuyuki, even though he already had plans to leave the title when it was time to leave for a trip around the world.

She wasn't giving it up now because of certain benefits it brought, such as higher pay as well as discounts at all Fuyuki stores, which was too good to give up. He even had a discount on airline tickets!

So what happened in Copenhagen that night was both a blessing and also a curse.

A curse? Yes, you are wondering why that is, well...

"Come on, Genbu! The break is over!" exclaimed his boss.

Although the man was grateful for the young man's actions, work was work, and as a good boss he had to get all the juice out of his employees no matter who they were.

"I'm coming... And don't call me that way!" The young man chattered tiredly and sweaty, he had just had a five minute break, where before he had spent almost all day moving boxes and he was still exhausted.

Besides, he hated that silly title with all his heart!

Little did he know that in a few years he would get much worse titles when he reached a respectable position in the Clock Tower.

...

Back at Homurahara Academy, it was still break time and we found two brown-haired friends hanging out near the school's kendo training dojo.

One of them was Fujimura Taiga, the infamous Fuyuki Tiger, "Byakko", considered the second strongest person publicly in the city, obviously surpassed by Seiryu. Next to her was her best friend, Hotaruzuka Otoko, also called Neko by her friends due to the girl's dislike for her real name.

The two were having a fragrant discussion about boys, an unheard of topic that they would never expect the Yakuza princess to actively participate in, but considering who the people they were talking about were, then it was somewhat understandable.

"I can't believe what you said about the new student!" Neko exclaimed. "You literally admitted that you will commit a crime, an attempted murder no less! Have you gone crazy already, woman! Your grandfather is putting weird ideas in your head!"

"Leave my criminal grandfather out of this!" Taiga replied forcefully. "I have my reasons, so don't meddle in my affairs with Mori!"

"Can't you see you've gone too far with that Mori guy? Our teacher almost had a heart attack when you said the word kill! - Neko said alarmed but at the same time worried about her friend. "It's already too much, this is already an obsession, Taiga-chan!"

"Obsession?" Fuyuki Tiger repeated with indignation. "You call that an obsession? There hasn't been a single day that you haven't talked about your Prince Charming Genbu since that incident at your father's liquor store!"

At that moment, the young woman with feline features blushed slightly but didn't for a second lose her stance on the subject.

"At least I didn't say anything about hurting or killing him like you did!" She exclaimed back to her friend.

Both young women looked at each other fiercely, although Neko didn't stand a chance in a fight against Fuyuki's infamous Byakko, this was not a fight of power or strength, but a fight of wills and if you were as stubborn as the kendo master, Fujimura Taiga, then you had a minimal amount of victory.

Unfortunately for the second strongest person in Fuyuki, some reasoning came into her head after pondering for a few seconds as she looked at the serious, disapproving but extremely worried face of her best friend. Neko and she had a lot of history together, she was one of the few people who didn't push her away for belonging to a Yakuza family, plus she never feared for her abnormal strength and extreme skill in kendo, in almost every sword school in the country.

But most importantly, Neko cared about her well-being more than anything else, there was never any envy or jealousy between them, and here she was, criticizing her friend, when she feared she might make the worst mistake of her life.

Taiga looked down at the ground when she recognized that she had been defeated. She closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh, which strangely made her feel a little better, then looked seriously at her best friend, who was looking at her with curiosity and mild bewilderment.

"I ... I think you're right." Fuyuki Tiger slowly admitted.

"Huh?" Was Neko's only answer. It was strange that her friend would give in to an argument with how stubborn she could be.

Taiga stroked her left arm with her right hand, revealing a somewhat vulnerable side of her persona that very few knew about her, only the most trusted would drop her facade of an enthusiastic, impulsive and eager to fight girl. All to demonstrate the true stripes of the Byakko.

"Perhaps you're right about this slight obsession with Mori ..." Started to say the young girl, before being interrupted by her friend.

Neko raised a doubtful eyebrow. "Maybe? Slight?" She said with a noticeable wariness tinged in her voice.

"Okay, you're right about my obsession with Mori." The Yakuza princess corrected herself as she rolled her eyes, such an action bringing a slight smile to her friend's face. "But it's a hard thing to explain to someone who follows the path of martial arts..."

"Is it really that complicated? Like in the Karate Kid movie?" Such words from her best friend made Taiga roll her eyes.

"Please don't compare those fictional things with real life." Taiga begged her.

"Then explain things well!" Neko exclaimed with noticeable exasperation on her face.

"It's complicated to express these feelings that my heart feels, don't you understand!" roared Byakko equally exasperated.

The daughter of the Copenhagen owner stared quizzically at her friend. "Are you sure you're not in love?"

"Are you sure you don't want to train kendo with me?" Taiga answered with another question while smiling very innocently at her friend, who paled as if she was a ghost.

"D-Don't worry, I'm f-fine." Neko assured her with a nervous smile.

The Fuyuki Heavenly Tiger sighed wearily before turning her gaze to the side, staring at nothing at all as she went into deep reflection while talking to her friend.

"Actually, I can't tell you what love is, but I can assure you that it's something beyond a normal feeling, but something deeper than I've ever experienced in my life." Taiga said in a distant way, while Neko listened with full attention and remarkable intrigue. "But, there is something... There is something about him that I can't ignore."

"W-what is it?" asked the young girl with feline features anxiously.

At that moment, the eyes of both girls connected, the brown eyes full of determination with a similar pair but full of doubt.

"A something that I too want to reach even if it's for a single second in the twilight of my life."

I want to be the only one above the unyielding skies.

...

A very normal trio was walking at a moderate pace through the streets of the Miyama district, however, they were on the opposite side of the residential area of Japanese houses. In contrast, the red-haired boy accompanying his black-haired classmate and her maid with features very similar to that of her young miss were walking through the area of foreign residences.

The Tohsaka home, where Rin and Anne lived. The ancestral home of the Tohsaka for centuries since the first Tohsaka, who was originally from China with the surname Yuan, came to Japan, settling in Fuyuki because of its powerful ley lines.

Although that is something the red-haired Emiya Shirou did not need to know at all. Therefore, she simply kept walking along with the Tohsaka family members, without the knowledge that she was actually going to the home of a family of magicians.

But there is no happier person than an ignorant, uncaring person of the world around him, so for Shirou he was simply going to the home of one of his classmates to hang out as ... Friends?

Could he consider Rin a friend? Well, the little altercation that morning aside, they got along relatively well, even though the dark-haired girl had a horrible personality, but at least she wasn't that bad.

Besides, having friends was ... Good?

The redhead's thoughts stopped at that moment when they arrived at what could be considered a foreign mansion. Although it wasn't as big as a castle, it had a similar structure with a considerable size. In addition, it was very well maintained, something that was surely worked by Anne, who executed it with ease and effectiveness belonging to an incredible housekeeper.

"Well, this is my home, what do you think?" Rin asked Rin with an excited smile to her classmate, after all, it was the first time she brought a ... Friend? Yes, a friend home. Her late father would never have allowed it, so that his heiress could focus entirely on her magical studies.

But now, the man was no longer here to prevent it.

"I think... That it's a bit big." Shirou commented giving the Tohsaka's "house" another glance.

Anne chuckled before opening the gate at the entrance to allow the children to pass. "Yes, a little, sometimes I think that when they bought this house a long time ago it was to make up for something."

The two children looked with confusion at the maid as they crossed the threshold and walked straight to the entrance of the house.

"Make up for something?" Rin asked confused by the young woman's words.

Anne smiled with slight derision. "Oh, you'll understand when you're older."

But the Tohsaka heiress pouted. "I hate having to grow up to understand things." She said but didn't argue further with her maid until she reached the front door.

'Me too.' Thought the older black-haired woman with some bitterness.

Without further ado, Anne opened the front door of the mansion and let the children in. Rin walked without a care in the world, after all, it was her own house. Meanwhile Shirou looked with curiosity and surprise at his classmate's home. He had never seen houses with western decoration in his life, so it was a new but at the same time a pleasant surprise this new experience.

Rin turned to look at Shirou with a big smile while her hands were on her hips. - Now, Emiya-kun, what do you think of my home? -

"It's... It's amazing, Tohsaka-san." Shirou said in response, honestly impressed by some of the Victorian-style decorations. There were things that were old but still kept in impeccable condition.

Anne positioned herself beside Kiritsugu's son. "Even though it might be a bit old-fashioned, there's some pretty good stuff around here."

"Moo, don't despise Otou-sama's classic style." Said the little Tohsaka with a pout as she sent a stern look at her maid.

"I think..." The boy began to speak, drawing the attention of the residents of the Tohsaka mansion. "I think it's great. Old things have their own charm, besides, they retain a history behind them that I think it's good to appreciate."

The girl and the young woman were silent under the red-haired man's sincere opinion, however, the silence was cut short when a slight giggle escaped from the red lips of the Tohsaka maid.

"What an interesting trial, Emiya-kun." Anne said before looking at Rin. "Ojou-sama, I'll go make some tea and bring cookies for you, I'll call you when I'm ready the-."

However, before the black-haired woman could finish speaking, a door opened and someone walked in.

"Rin! Have you seen Sakura?" Said a recognizable adult and female voice.

Shirou was surprised when a middle-aged woman who looked a lot like Rin, he could almost tell she was an adult version of his classmate. However, the woman was in a wheelchair, moreover, there was something in her gaze ... Her pupils were dilated, her eyes glazed over and that vacant smile.

Something was wrong with that woman.

"Okaa-sama, what are you doing out of your room?!" Rin exclaimed to her mother.

"Rin... - Said the older woman before focusing her gaze on the redhead. The woman smiled so brightly that ... It was wrong. - Oh, we have visitors... ?"

"Okaa-sama..." At first the younger Tohsaka hesitated but the next second she spoke. "This is Emiya Shirou-kun, a friend from school."

"Oh, a classmate! That's wonderful, Rin." Aoi said delighted before smiling at the red-haired boy. "Sakura would love to meet you, but where did that little girl go?"

Shirou didn't know why, but he noticed that every time Rin's mother said the name of that "Sakura", the atmosphere in the room became more and more tense.

But the whole situation disappeared when Anne opened her mouth.

"Rin, why don't you take your mother to her room to rest? I'll take care of our guest, then I'll go take care of your mother, can you do that?" Said the maid with a thoroughly professional note in her voice that left no room for argument from any of the parties involved.

Rin nodded, a somber air hung over her. Again the redhead felt the presence of that "shadow" pressing against the girl's back. "Understood, Anne-san."

The younger black-haired girl grabbed the handles of the wheelchair and started to carry her mother away.

"Rin, shall we go look for your sister? Oh, maybe Tokiomi will cheer up and help us!" Aoi said cheerfully as she clapped her hands excitedly at the "family game" they were having.

"Sure, Okaa-sama." Said the Tohsaka heiress in a funereal tone, before taking her mother to another part of the mansion.

Finally, Shirou and Anne were left alone in the living room.

- You must have questions, don't you? - The black-haired woman asked smugly.

The redhead shrugged his shoulders. "I have intrigue but I don't think it's any of my business. The last thing I want to do is get into a place where I'm not wanted and hurt the situation even more."

Anne was silent for a few seconds, processing the wise words a seven-year-old had just uttered.

"Well... If you're going to be friend with the Ojou-sama, you better know where you stand." Said the servant girl calling the red-haired boy's attention. "I won't give details, but Rin's parents and her sister had a ... Altercation."

Shirou raised an eyebrow in surprise at the woman's tone. "Altercation?"

"As I said, I won't give details. But his father died, his mother ended up with brain damage and now she ended up like the time." Anne explained tersely in a solemn tone.

Mori's foster brother looked down, processing what little information the maid of the Tohsaka household had told him, before realizing that she had omitted a certain part.

"What about her sister?" He asked as he realized that Anne had not said whether she was alive or dead.

"She disappeared."

"Disappeared?" the boy asked with some doubt.

- She disappeared. - The older woman confirmed before looking at the Magus Killer's possible son. - I hope this doesn't provoke a hint of pity in you, Emiya-kun. There is nothing the Ojou-sama hates more than receiving pity. -

Shirou was silent after those words, Anne stared at him waiting for him to say something at the end, but when she saw that he wouldn't, she started to withdraw...

- I think I understand. -

But just as she was about to cross the threshold to the kitchen, the red-haired young man spoke, attracting the woman's attention completely.

Shirou looked down, it was hazy but he could remember the screams, the worry and the desperation of his birth parents taking him from his old home in Shinto. He still remembered the pain of having ashes and toxic smoke in his lungs, the people suffering around him ...

But the biggest impression of all was his brother's smile. In the face of all calamity, adversity and suffering ... That smile brought what Shirou thought he had lost.

Hope ... Even though he didn't know what to do with it.

- I wouldn't appreciate pity at all either, but anything else... - The red-haired boy said thoughtfully.

- Something else? - Anne asked really intrigued by what he would say.

Then the redhead's copper-colored eyes connected with the young woman's heavenly eyes, and perhaps it was her imagination but the boy's eyes seemed opaque, bearing much resemblance to the dead eyes of a fish.

- A reason to smile again. - It was the last thing Shirou said before continuing to look at the antiques in the Tohsaka's living room.

Seeing that the boy would not continue talking, Anne retreated to do what she had to do, but with a very heavy thought in her mind.

'Emiya Shirou ... More interesting than I originally thought.'

...

Chapter Text

Kiritsugu let out a tired sigh as he prepared his things for travel.

He really didn't like having to start traveling again so quickly with only a few weeks since he had adopted Mori and Shirou, plus they had just started school now.

But he had to do it, those stone pillars brought him a bad feeling with those objects, that even at this vast distance he could feel a change in the atmosphere with their mere presence.

Furthermore, he had to make sure that the Magi Association would not approach his "territory", as the Freelancer felt that they would link their appearance to the finalized Holy Grail War, after all, they had appeared at the very moment Kiritsugu had ordered Saber to destroy the Holy Grail.

However, the primary reason for all this was that he wanted to be sure that the appearance of those pillars was not his fault... But knowing his luck, it would surely be another mistake to add to his long list of mistakes and regrets.

And he didn't think that with the little time he had left he could feel at peace with himself or live with them, but at least he would do right by Mori and Shirou so that they could live the rest of their lives in peace, and if possible bring Illya with them ... Though with the vast amount of defenses the Einzbern possessed he doubted he could get through them in his current condition and without support.

And he didn't think he would be very welcome after destroying the Holy Grail, not even explaining his reasons about the tainted Holy Grail . That's how kind his father-in-law was ...

On the other hand, almost everything was ready for his trip, which he was sure to make tomorrow, to return home as soon as possible, probably by the end of the week or the following week in the worst case scenario. The only thing left to do was to inform his two adopted sons of his unplanned trip.

Weapons and supplies didn't matter, after all he had the occasional safe house in Japan where he had resources from his mercenary life in case of emergencies, just like in other countries, living a life as the Magus Killer, he had to be prepared for anything.

So he didn't worry about it, but about his children, he would have to wait until they came back from their first day of school to inform them, besides, he could inform Raiga to keep an eye on the residence in case of emergency. Kiritsugu hoped he wouldn't be bothered by it.

But before he left, he had to check a few last things and he would be ready, just waiting for Mori and Shirou to inform them of his trip. But there were a few more essentials that he had to make sure were in order.

So entering the shed of the residence, he approached where the magic circle he had established during the Holy Grail War was hidden by some boxes and other household supplies. But there were two boxes in particular that were kept safe by being in plain sight, due to how neglected they looked.

But inside them were perhaps the most valuable things in terms of monetary value that the Magus Killer possessed, and one of them far surpassed the previous one. If someone from the Magus Association, Atlas or the Wandering Sea were to see what was in one of the boxes ... Then, he could not imagine what would happen, perhaps a new cold war with the desire to get that relic would begin.

Kiritsugu ignored those thoughts and opened one of the boxes, inside was his favorite and most deadly weapon for magi. His Thompson Contender shining in all its glory, even after the great use he had made of it in the Holy Grail War, was still very functional and still had several bullets stored in the same box.

This would be one of the things he would take with him on his journey, it was the only way he could feel safe, even more so with the loss of his companion Maiya, who would no longer be there to watch his back, now he could only rely on himself ... And he didn't think he could do that without the Mystic Code that Natalia had made him several decades ago and that had earned him the title of Magus Killer.

The Freelancer let out a sigh before putting the weapon back in its case, his nerves calmer this time. But that calm lasted only a short time before he turned his gaze to the second box ... Where there was a treasure perhaps comparable to the Holy Grail itself, only if they could complete it.

The older man opened the box where a polished platinum tiara was found, though it seemed broken in half, Kiritsugu, whose magical skills were pitiful compared to his father or the other traditional magus, the mercenary could tell that this thing he found near where he had found Mori and Shirou in Fuyuki's fire, was a powerful Mystic Code.

After taking both boys to the hospital, Kiritsugu returned to the area to check it out as he sensed certain irregularities, especially presences similar to the stone pillars, but what stood out the most was the broken diadem. And although the former Magus Killer was not in a position to identify it or say what its functions were, but he was sure of one thing ...

It was a high-level Concept Weapon.

A Concept Weapon to control the ...

And what made the man more nervous was the lack of knowledge of where such a weapon had come from, since he had investigated in depth the participants of the Holy Grail War and the other magus in Fuyuki, and none had shown to have possession of such an object.

Besides, if someone had had it in their possession, and if at that time it would not be found broken ... He was certain that the original possessor would have won the Holy Grail War on the first day.

But that was a confirmed impossibility, no one in the Holy Grail War had possession of this diadem, and it was probably already broken by that time. So again the uncertainty arose as to where that Conceptual Weapon had come from ... And did it have something to do with the stone pillars?

And why did he feel it was related to his son Mori?

Kiritsugu closed the box again and left it in place, he really didn't have enough information to justify his self-founded suspicions. Besides, the last thing he needed was to speculate that his new adopted son was in possession of such mystical objects...

With the addition of the suspicion that he belonged to the Hitokiri no Akai Hasu, an ancient organization created roughly in the Meiji period of Japan to breed powerful and lethal assassins that could even put the Magus Killer on the complete defensive at his best ... However, a few years ago the organization had fallen.

Supposedly by one of their own assassins, the most lethal of all ... Known to be more of a living weapon than a human.

How did Kiritsugu know them and had so much respect for them as well as fear? Well, during the period of his youth and in his training with Natalia, the mercenary took him to that organization for training.

It had been one of the most difficult times of his life, and he was close to death every day of training, it barely lasted a month but he had already accumulated enough combat skills to overcome several magus along with the tactics that Natalia had instilled in him.

The former freelancer feared what a true full-fledged Hitokiri of that organization was capable of, probably with a combat ability similar to his worst enemy, Kotomine Kirei.

And what mortified him most was Mori's possible relationship with them, because such combat skills with a martial art that he could identify was made with the simple purpose of killing humans, well ... He had reason to tread carefully at the young man's side.

However, Kiritsugu never found any malice in him and it was because of them that he felt strangely safe in leaving the turquoise-haired boy with the little red-haired boy, for Mori watched over Shirou too much, and knew that he would never harm his younger brother.

So with that thought he finally left the shed, not before taking one last look at the box with the tiara, in due time he would get it a better security and a seal to make it harder to find, but for now the shed with a small Bounded Field in it next to the second one that surrounded the residence would suffice for the time being.

The embers of the Fourth Holy Grail War would still take time to die down, so no nearby magus, especially the Tohsaka, such as the Matou or what he feared most, the Church would come near the place.

So that was one less worry, as she clenched the box tightly with her Thompson Contender out of nerves, she walked back into the main house to take it to her room to finish packing her bags.

As he walked to his room, he pondered the stone pillars again, weighing the priorities of each. Although the pillar in the Sea of Japan was larger, it had the same authority and impact as the one in Misaki City.

Needless to say, it was impossible for him to approach that city, so he wrote off that pillar as lost. Misaki was a city that was administered by the Aozaki family itself, a family of magicians not so old but who reached the realm of the Fifth True Magic with the current head of their family, the famous and destructive, Miss Blue.

Aozaki Aoko.

Kiritsugu may have committed many actions that could be considered suicidal throughout his life, but entering the territory of a Magician might be the last thing he does.

Especially now that the news that the Mage had had new heirs to the Fifth True Magic well as to the future leadership of the Aozaki family, a revelation that had revolutionized the magecraft world, wanted to meet the Mage's children as well as the husband of the aforementioned.

It had been an event that had occurred during his isolation with the Einzbern, so he was unaware of most of what had happened, but Maiya had given him the basics.

New Mages had been born ... A terrifying event considering whose children they were, especially if that person was the most destructive woman in the world.

So Misaki was completely out of the question, he didn't want to deal with a mage mother who would try to kill him the moment she saw him, simply because of his reputation. That plus the other defenses of the Aozaki family, who had formidable individuals that Kiritsugu could never overcome unless he was at his best and had a lot of support.

Another negative point was that Misaki also had several demon-hunting families, some even with hybrid blood. And not to brag, but Kiritsugu doubted they could like him... Basically, almost everyone in the occult feared or hated him, so it was best not to push his luck.

That left the Sea of Japan pillar, being in such a neutral territory, made his access easier ... As well as any conflicts there might be, but it was a danger he was willing to take.

At least it seemed safer than going to a True Mage's house. So he could form plans for those of the Mage Association and Atlas, he seriously doubted that the Wandering Sea would come into action ... If it had, the stone pillar would have already been removed long ago.

Besides, Kiritsugu wanted to check that he still had the Magus Killer's touch ... And hope that it would last long enough to make a raid to retrieve Illya from the Einzbern.

Or die trying, leaving Mori and Shirou as safe as possible in case that scenario happened.

There was nothing to worry about, he would simply go and leave everything safe in Fuyuki, sever any connection the pillars had to the Holy Grail War, kill any magus or hostile individuals he encountered along the way and return home.

What could go wrong?

Ring.

The alarming sound of a call was his answer, so as the house phone continued to ring, Kiritsugu prepared to go to the living room to answer the call, all the while wondering who it could be. After all, he didn't have many friends for obvious reasons and he made sure that his underworld contacts would never be able to reach him unless he wanted them to.

So it was with some uncertainty that he picked up the phone to answer the call, hoping that it was simply Raiga, who wanted to have sake with him.

But boy, how wrong he was.

"Emiya Residence, who did you speak to?" Kiritsugu replied in a neutral tone of voice.

"Old man? It's me, Shirou." He said to the black-haired man's surprise when he heard his youngest son's voice on the other end of the line.

But for his sainted Thompson Contender, why was this brat talking to him on the phone?

"What the-? Shirou, where are you? Where's Mori? Is everything all right?" the former mercenary asked with noticeable concern in his voice.

His mind was already making up the worst possible scenario, such as the possibility of a kidnapping by former enemies of the Magus Killer thirsty for revenge ...

"I'm fine, I'm at a friend's house. But I haven't been able to tell Mori-nii, could you tell him for me?" Said the red-haired boy with total calm, being ignorant of his adoptive father's worries.

Good thing Kiritsugu's fears were simply self-founded. But that didn't make his worries any lessened, just the hazards of parenthood, the black-haired man supposed.

"A friend's house?" the former Magus Killer asked curiously, not expecting that.

It wasn't that he doubted his youngest son's social skills, but both he and Mori had a ... A certain charisma that seemed to draw and attract the attention of the strangest personalities.

Young Taiga was a good example of this.

On the other hand, that didn't stop him from being a little happy for his son, he was glad that he was able to create friendships with his classmates. He hoped Mori would have the same luck, other than that he would have to let Homurahara academy know to notify the turquoise-haired boy about this.

"Yes, in the end I ended up making a friend and she invited me to her house at the insistence of her maid. They said they would accompany me home later." Shirou explained simply.

"I understand. I'm glad you made a friend." Kiritsugu replied sincerely. "Well, I hope you have fun and try not to stay so late, I have something important to tell you and Mori."

"Understood, old man."

"I'm not that old..." Muttered the former mercenary with a sigh. "By the way, what's your friend's name?" He asked out of mere curiosity.

"Oh, her name is Tohsaka Rin." The boy commented carelessly.

... By his succubus and saintly mother, what the man cursed by All the Evils of the World was missing.

This was what the former mercenary meant by the strange charisma of attracting particular individuals, what were the chances his youngest son would meet and befriend the Tohsaka heiress?

Now what, next week Mori would introduce him to a new girlfriend? Who would turn out to be the Vampire Princess of the Dead Apostles... A part of Kiritsugu wanted to scream to the world that it was just a joke.

He didn't want to tempt fate any further, considering that he was already doomed to a long and painful death.

"I'll tell Mori to pick you up to go home." Said the older man sternly.

"Huh? But, they said they could walk me home." Said the red-haired man confused by the change of attitude of your adoptive father.

"Shirou, please listen to me. You will be picked up by Mori when he gets out of school, understood?" He said although it sounded more like an order from the former Magus Killer, but it was for the good of everyone.

" ... Understood."

"Okay, I'll wait for you at home."

"See you later, old man."

After that conversation the call was finally over, and Kiritsugu could breathe easier ... Just his luck, right? Worrying about agents of the Magi Association when even Fuyuki's magi could be trouble.

The last thing he needed was for Fuyuki's second owner to discover that he was taking refuge in this city under his nose.

"Though knowing my luck it is no longer a secret..." The man lamented before looking at the phone again. "Well, off to call the school now."

...

"Ah... This day was a roller coaster of emotions." Mori said to himself as he left his last class.

This revelation about the Four Gods of Fuyuki was a big surprise for the turquoise-haired young man, especially the more Reikan explained about it. Especially when he found out that Fujimura Taiga was part of them ... Strangely enough, she fit the title as the White Tiger, Byakko.

Besides, he had made a friend! Or at least he thought he had made a bond of friendship with Reikan, who had kindly explained to him the unwritten rules of Fuyuki as well as the Homurahara academy.

Another positive thing, was that with Reikan's earlier intervention, the academy bullies stopped targeting him at least for the time being.

Mori knew he had to do something about them, it was a problem that he could just let go as if it didn't matter, or else he would live the rest of his school life being bullied ... Which was kind of annoying, but when your body was so wrecked and your mind so tired of it all ...

But he had to do it, he couldn't live the rest of his life with that failure and loss. But it was so hard to stop seeing the memory of his grandfather dying at the hands of Mubong Park's bastard as he said his last words ... To then end up in this strange world so unique but at the same time similar to his own.

Nevertheless, he had to do it, he had to overcome it, not only for himself, but also because he had someone to guide.

The memory of Shirou almost dying in that cursed fire assaulted his mind with force, as powerful as a blow from Satan, and that was an understatement.

How could a living being so insignificant and so weak have more will to live than the Monkey King? It was like a kind of mockery of fate that was engineered by Tathagata, but Mori saw it as inspiration, it was that pleasant feeling that Xuanzang brought him the more time they spent together.

For Shirou would have to continue, he kept fighting even in the face of losing to the Heaven's army, he kept fighting even after losing Xuanzang, he could do it ... He had to do it ...

"Hey." called a voice which brought Mori out of his thoughts.

Just when the turquoise-haired was leaving the school facilities at the end of the last school term, only the students who were in some club or extracurricular activities and some teachers along with several members of the student council, waiting for him just at the entrance of the Homurahara academy was Yamamoto and several of his friends.

"Come with me for a minute." Yamamoto asked although his tone of voice sounded more like an order that left no room for discussion, beside him several of his fellow bullies chuckled.

A great moment of tension settled in the place, especially when several classmates and other students from different years watched the scene with their fears and sympathy written on their foreheads. But no one was willing to come out and defend him, which was to be expected, he was the new kid who no one knew.

No one would really come out to help him ... Except for the kind Reikan, who unfortunately was not around as far as he could tell. Opportune time for Yamamoto and his friends to go about their business without interruption, an unfortunate coincidence.

'Mm, apparently they're not all muscle like they appear to be, huh?' The Fallen God couldn't help but think as he gave Yamamoto a blank look. In the end he nodded with no other alternatives, he would play along with this game as he had always done in his student days. - Well, guide the way I guess. -

Yamamoto didn't like the condescending tone with which the turquoise-haired man spoke but he would let it go for now, right now they had to take him to a better place to put the new boy in his place properly. His friends, other Nagasawa followers like him, flashed mischievous grins at the fresh meat to play with.

Oh, they were going to have some fun with him. Unless Suzaku himself came to play himself, in which case they would have to let him play alone.

"Well, follow me." Said Yamamoto starting to walk to a more secluded area where they wouldn't be interrupted like last time.

Mori nodded without much trouble as he followed the obese young man, at the same time being escorted by his friends, so that he wouldn't escape the former Monkey King supposed.

Meanwhile, the other students at the exit looked at what had happened as if a murder was about to take place.

And perhaps they were not far wrong ...

...

Taiga let out a sigh after taking a long drink of water while taking a break after a few practice bouts, she was wearing her kendo suit with all its protections but without the helmet to drink water obviously.

She had done some practice bouts to keep her fighting skills from going bad, she always had to polish her blade or she would not be at ease with herself, especially Torashinai, the cursed sword of the Fujimura family, who was growling slightly at her side, her bloodlust was still not fully quenched and she wanted more ...

The short combat he had with Mori had been the only combat that had left the Torashinai completely satisfied for several days, even a couple of weeks ... Not even the nearly half-hour long bout against Seiryu a couple of years ago had appeased her even for a day.

She had to fight Mori with everything ... But he was indisposed, but that had to wait ... And if she could help him in any way.

That was her goal ... Her ninja path ...

The yakuza princess frowned, that was from the wrong franchise ...

"Fujimura-kun!" The kendo instructor called out to her, his tone showed that he was annoyed. - You're very good, too good ... Hell, you sure are the best swordsman in Japan! But you should stop treating the sport like it's breathing! There are more important things. -

The brown-haired girl frowned, again that issue with her priorities. People who didn't understand how she felt, not even the other Fuyuki Gods were able to understand her feelings about the fight ...

Except for him, the Tiger of Fuyuki could feel it, Mori was like her ... Only somewhere along the way that flame had been extinguished ...

And the existence known as Fujimura Taiga would be the fuel that ignited that forest fire waiting to explode inside the turquoise-haired young man.

"Also, you should start removing that tiger ornament from your shinai, such customizations are not allowed in official tournaments. And I know this is your family's shinai but you should take into account the official rules of kendo, that is disrespectful and-".

"Understood, sensei. I have to go now." Taiga interrupted his tirade in a scathing manner as she went to the girls' locker room to change.

"Eh ... ? O-Oh, okay..." Said the sensei dumbfounded by the young woman's boldness, but knew from her curt tone it was best not to pursue the subject.

Perhaps he was a kendo instructor, but before him was literally a sword saint waiting simply to attack at the first provocation. No one wanted to step into the white tiger's mouth unless you had a death wish.

In no time, Taiga had already changed into her school uniform and left the dojo with her bag and shinai with the initiative to return home, after all she had nothing left to do at the academy nor did she have any plans to go out with any classmates.

Her friend Neko was probably at her father's bar helping out, and perhaps admiring the new Genbu like a maiden in love. Seiryu had probably already left and didn't feel like challenging him to a fight today. On the other hand, Reikan ...

"Hey, did you see what happened?"

"What?" 

"You don't know?! The new kid was intercepted by Yamamoto at the exit!"

"What are you talking about?!"

"Yeah, I saw it with my own eyes! Looks like they're not going easy on him!"

"Hey, and did you know that Reikan went after them when he found out!"

"Are you serious? This is getting out of hand! If the gods start getting involved... !"

"Wait, wasn't the new guy a Dan Mori?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Damn it, I'm from the student council. Your representative called the academy, told us we had to deliver an important message to you. But Dan-kun right now is..."

"What's the message?" Taiga asked, drawing the attention of the small group of students who had gathered to discuss the topic of the moment.

Which resulted from some sort of "welcome" prepared by Suzaku's worthless henchmen, and apparently Reikan was involved ... Noble of him, but even the young monk nor having Seiryu as a big brother was not as strong compared to her or him, so facing many opponents would be impossible for him.

All the gathered students watched the young brown haired girl with tension, it was a bit funny to see several second and third year students so scared of a first year girl, until you remembered that this young girl was the granddaughter of the Yakuza boss of Fuyuki apart from being the second strongest city goddess.

"What is the message Kiritsugu-san sent?" asked the Yakuza princess again with more clarity to the student council member.

The aforementioned was hesitant at the young woman's question.

"I-I don't think it's the right thing to do." He said in response with some nervousness, it was his first time talking to Byakko.

And that was his first mistake, with a frown the infamous Fuyuki's tiger approached dangerously close to the young man of the council.

"Listen to me well, you had only one job to do, a simple job which was to inform Mori of a message from his father, which you will not do because you are a coward. Now, I'm coming to do your meaningless job and you don't want to do it out of a hypocritical sense of morality, so listen to me well when I tell you something ... What is the message?"

The whole place fell into a stony silence after those harsh words the young girl had said, it even looked like the student council member was going to fall to his knees to cry and wet his pants. A part of Taiga felt bad to talk to her like that, but when she wanted something ... Nothing under the heavens was going to stop her.

"H-His father w-wanted to tell yhim to re-pick up your younger brother from a-friend's house, he had something to t-tell them back home." The young man replied with a fearful stammer for the Fuyuki Tiger.

Taiga nodded in satisfaction. - Good, then I'll deliver the message. I'll see you later. -

With that said and done, she left the school premises not before asking some directions as to which way Mori had gone with those pesky flies Suzaku and Reikan.

Well, Fuyuki's Celestial Tiger was very hungry ... And his Torashinai was also looking forward to trying a bite of some idiots.

... And if it was possible to pierce Mori with her teeth, but that was a matter for later.

...

"So this is the place, huh?" Mori muttered looking at the dirty and isolated alley where they were, even he had seen very few people on the street so he doubted that help would be arriving anytime soon.

Good thing he knew how to take hits, because unfortunately he had lost the ability to throw them.

"Well, since you are new. You have a few options, the first is to give us all your money every day, as a special security fee from Suzaku himself ... Or, suffer the consequences of not doing so."

The turquoise-haired young man's eyes narrowed, bullying for money, it was quite typical, it was something the Fallen God himself had suffered in his old world, until he had shown who was in charge. Sadly, he wasn't sure who was in charge now with his trust shattered into pieces ...

"I'm sorry, I don't have any money with me ... And I don't think it's very convenient for me to pay every day for a protection that will only prevent you from bothering me." The former Monkey King replied.

Yamamoto's friends looked at the turquoise-haired young man with annoyance, anyone was more than willing to be the first to hit the former Monkey King.

But it was Yamamoto who stopped them by raising his hand, then he himself approached the turquoise-haired young man and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pushed him hard against a wall.

"Then, it will be the hard way. Personally I like it better this way, Suzaku would never have liked you." Yamamoto said mischievously.

"Just as well, they seem like people I could never like." Was the former Monkey King's reply in a mocking tone.

"Now you've earned it!" Yamamoto exclaimed as he raised his fist ready to beat the turquoise-haired young man to death.

Or at least that was the plan until frantic footsteps approached the alley where everyone was, and everyone was surprised to see that it was no one but Reikan who had arrived.

'He... He came to help me?' The Fallen God couldn't help but think with surprise.

"So you came." Yamamoto said releasing Mori's shirt and approaching the purple-haired young man with an amused smile. "As I said, Suzaku didn't like your attitude, and since it's been seen that Seiryu doesn't meddle in your business ... Well, it's time to put you in your place."

The Blue Dragon's brother frowned as he looked at Yamamoto, and his gaze drifted to his companions, seeing the difficult situation he was in having a numerical disadvantage against them.

Yamamoto noticed that and simply smiled mischievously. "Don't worry, these guys here are just going to hang around and watch, so don't be scared ..."

The obese young man took off his instinct jacket and settled into a fighting pose. "Come, Ryuudou Reikan."

...

Chapter Text

Mori looked surprised at the unexpected appearance of the purple-haired young man. "Reikan ... "

Why would he come to help him? If they barely knew each other, some sense of responsibility for being the new guy? The former Monkey King couldn't understand it at all.

Yamamoto smirked as he approached Reikan, the obese young man had removed his jacket from his school uniform. An action the would-be monk imitated, it was best not to soil his robes with dirt ... Or blood.

"Hey, Reikan!" Mori called out to him, but was intercepted by the henchmen accompanying Yamamoto.

"Take it easy, Mori. This will be over soon." Reikan said calmly, while looking at his opponent with seriousness and clenched fists.

"Of course it will, I don't expect you to last too long." Yamamoto scoffed, stepping into a fighting stance.

"I could say the same about you." Replied the purple-haired young man, also taking a fighting stance.

"Come on, Yamamoto!"

"Show that monk!"

"Thus begins the rebellion! Suzaku is going to overthrow the other gods!"

Was what Yamamoto's companions were saying arrogantly, their words made the turquoise-haired young man frown, not expecting that the situation could escalate so quickly.

'And I ... As usual I just stood by and watched... ' The Fallen God lamented seeing how useless he had become.

No ... If he reflected a little on his entire life as Sun Wukong and Jin Mori, he had always been like this, it was only now that he was cut off from his world that he was aware of his greatest weakness.

He was always unaware of the most important thing.

"Come, little dragon!" Yamamoto exclaimed, lunging at Reikan with a powerful left hook.

However, the young monk of Ryuudou Temple was able to dodge it with relative ease, although he was aware that receiving a single blow from his opponent would be dangerous.

In a different sense from his older brother, while Seiryu's blows were precise, Yamamoto's were heavy. Therefore, he should take advantage of his superior speed to win.

After dodging that hook, Reikan sent a direct blow to his opponent's face, which barely made him blink showing his firmness, something that the purple hair put to the test by throwing several direct blows to Yamamoto's face, but the latter didn't even seem to stagger, which was a problem if in the end he couldn't knock him down.

"Huh? What's wrong? Your punches barely tickle me." The obese young man scoffed, barely a trickle of blood trickling from his nose, though he seemed more amused than worried about it. "Hmph, I was hoping that by training with the great acclaimed Seiryu you'd be stronger, but you're nothing but a joke. Suzaku hits a thousand times worse, I guess in the end the "two strongest in Fuyuki" are nothing but a joke."

Reikan looked at Yamamoto in annoyance. "Don't you dare to insult Souichirou-san you don't even know him."

"Reikan... Don't get carried away. - Mori muttered seriously looking at the exchange.

"Yamamoto is right!"

"Suzaku will be a better Seiryu!"

"He'll take that Byakko princess down a peg or two, she'll be a house cat!"

"See? I'm going to be right in the end." Yamamoto said with a smile.

"Shut the hell up!" exclaimed the purple-haired young man, rushing at his opponent with one goal in mind, his fist straight at the obese young man's jaw.

No matter how strong or resistant you are, no one should resist a blow in a sensitive point of the body that would automatically lead the strongest to unconsciousness.

But the bad thing for Reikan is that it was something Yamamoto was looking forward to, before the punch could hit, the purple-haired man's fist was caught with the big hand.

"You think you're the first one to try that? So many have tried it that it's even boring, Suzaku is the only one who has succeeded and he doesn't even need it." Yamamoto said with boredom. "Well, it was fun."

It was the only thing he said before delivering a direct blow to Reikan's stomach, which completely knocked all the air out of his lungs, making Mori grimace at the terrible sight.

"Well done, Yamamoto!"

"You show who's boss!"

"Suzaku's group will dominate all of Fuyuki!"

Yamamoto's companions cheered, while Yamamoto scoffed looking at Reikan kneeling in front of him trying to recover the air in his lungs while panting.

"I want to hear it Reikan, I want to hear how you agree with us, Suzaku will be the best Seiryu of Fuyuki." Said the obese young man expectantly.

"Say it! -

"I want to hear it!"

"Let's make him say it in front of the whole school!"

"... N ... Never ..." Reikan muttered seriously. "S ... Souichirou-san ... He's the... Strongest person I know! And no one can change my mind!"

As a consequence he received a direct hook to the face courtesy of Yamamoto, the such a blow was so strong that you could actually hear Reikan's nose breaking with a noise that echoed throughout the alley.

"No, no, wrong answer, Reikan-kun." Yamamoto said in a mocking tone before realizing that in fact the purple-haired young man was unconscious at his feet. "Oh, well, you don't listen to me."

"Well, I guess we can leave Seiryu a message with this." Yamamoto said as he gave a sinister look to the unconscious young monk, and then looked at his companions. "What do you think, guys ... Hey, what are you doing here?"

His question alerted his companions, who realized that in front of Yamamoto was Mori, who was holding his arm with a steel grip. That event surprised everyone, especially those students who stood in his way, as they had not seen or felt the moment he moved.

"You've made your point, that's enough." Mori told him with his eyes shadowed by his blue hair.

"I decide when enough will be enough." Yamamoto retorted with annoyance, he was only following Suzaku, not a dwarf that barely reached his chest.

"I'll pay you whatever it takes, but stop it." Said the turquoise-haired young man to the surprise of everyone present.

However, Yamamoto let out a laugh at his words. "I think that ship has sailed, maybe the fare is higher now."

"I'll pay it." Mori said seriously.

"Well... It's going to be a beating!" Declared the obese young man before giving a tremendous jab to the young man in front of him straight to his face.

The blow hit shockingly, and for a moment his companions thought he might have torn his head off but to their surprise it still remained attached between his shoulders, but the most disconcerting thing was that ...

"... I think my nose is bleeding, is that enough?" Mori asked him still conscious and still grabbing one of Yamamoto's arms as if it was nothing.

A blow that would have knocked out almost any man ... And this skinny guy had resisted it like it was nothing!

"Don't act tough!" Yamamoto exclaimed with annoyance, jumping out of the turquoise-haired young man's iron grip and starting to throw punches at Mori's face as if he were a punching bag.

All under the sight of his companions, who watched with fear the exchange, no, what should be a one-sided beating looked more like someone who hit the biggest and sturdiest oak tree in a forest, because no matter how much his partner hit, the blue-haired young man still remained completely standing, without staggering or any sign of pain.

A process that came to extend to a point where Yamamoto was exhausted from so much hitting without any result, in fact, now that the adrenaline was leaving his system he noticed a sharp pain appearing in his knuckles, when he inspected them he couldn't help but wince at how shattered they were, he may have even broken something because of the blood and the pain that went through his limb, it was as if he had been hitting a concrete wall for hours!

On the other hand ...

"I think this time my nose is really bleeding, is that enough for you?" Mori asked him seriously, who was impassive after the great amount of blows he had received.

Those present could not believe how unharmed the turquoise hair was despite the cannonballs that represented Yamamoto's fists, while Reikan had been defeated after two blows, after countless attacks, Mori was unperturbed.

"Hey... How is it possible?"

"How is it that he resists Yamamoto's blows?"

"Is he... Even human?"

These were the comments of Yamamoto's companions, who could only witness the scene with amazement and awe, because what Mori was doing ... It was not even a little bit within their assumptions.

Perhaps the young man's face is a little red, and in fact, his nose was bleeding as he had previously commented, although it was just a trickle of blood without importance, but what really alerted Yamamoto, was the front row view that he had the privilege (or perhaps misfortune depending on how you look at it) of witnessing.

Those eyes shadowed by the young man's bluish hair became present, and instead of seeing curious eyes with golden pupils, there were only cold golden crosses that pierced Yamamoto's soul as if he were nothing more than an ant that came to irritate a giant's picnic.

The obese student could only see reflected how insignificant he was in Mori's eyes.

Just an absolute waste of his time.

Yamamoto began to tremble, his body filling with pure frustration that made him visibly shake in front of everyone.

"You... You... Don't make fun of me!" Exclaimed the obese young man, who would be Suzaku's right hand man, preparing to throw one more punch no matter what, putting what would be all his fury, frustration and even fear, though he wasn't going to admit it, as fuel for this punch that should knock down, nay, kill his opponent without giving any importance to the consequences of a kill or even that he might break his hand.

Because no matter what, he was going to prove that he was not insignificant in the eyes of god!

"Hey... Have you finished your testosterone contest?" Came a female voice with coldness that stopped the whole conflict.

Everyone froze before turning their eyes to the source of that voice, and could only sweat at the person who had just appeared.

The strongest and most feared woman in all of Fuyuki, the second goddess of the winter tree.

Fujimura Byakko, with her personalized shinai casually over her shoulder with a weak grip of her right hand.

She casually started to approach towards the duo of Yamamoto and Mori without a care in the world, not even seeming to give a glance to her friend Reikan who was lying unconscious on the ground which she almost stepped on his hand by a few inches. But she only focused on her target ...

It was not Yamamoto, but Mori.

The obese student, Suzaku's right hand was brutally pushed away by an invisible force exhibited by the brown hair around her that was reflected in her icy gaze, Yamamoto felt a similar but different fear than the one she felt with the turquoise hair coming from the Yakuza princess, which made her instinctively move away.

None of his companions had the courage to comment on the matter with the tiger lurking.

Taiga stood in front of Kiritsugu's adopted son, unable to believe that someone ahe admired so much would have such a son, whom she looked at with disappointment.

"I understand perfectly well that you refuse a fight without any objective, but ..."

And for a moment, the Fallen God could see it, that same pity that Xuanzang had looked at him thousands of years ago at the beginning of his journey to India, when he was still an insensitive king who had lost his way in the lust of combat.

"How can you stand by and do nothing when someone fights so fiercely for you?" the young woman asked him sadly.

Mori looked down, unwilling to answer Taiga's questions.

"Y-You ... You ... Don't ignore me!" Yamamoto shouted in exasperation at how he had been left in the background like an annoying fly.

The obese student pounced on the Yakuza princess, which gave the graphic description of a bull falling on a small kitten ... But unfortunately for Suzaku's right-hand man, that kitten was nothing more than a tiger whose claws and fangs were always sharp and ready to attack.

Before even Yamamoto could attack the great Byakko, the renowned Fuyuki Tiger turned slightly to deliver a single blow with her infamous Torashinai directly to his face, and resounding was the sound of the obese young man's nose being broken that could even have been heard throughout Shinto.

Then, Yamamoto had fallen with a thud to the ground unconscious with a sound just as resonant as that of his broken nose, and so someone who had been impossible for Reikan to defeat had not even been a warm-up for the White Tiger.

Taiga looked at the companions of his downed opponent. "Take him away from me, I don't want to see him for the rest of his days in Homurahara."

Instantly, the other followers of Suzaku ran at once to grab as they could their obese companion and drag him with all their might out of that alleyway ignoring any glances from the passing passersby. An action that the other pedestrians imitated, although they were curious to see what was going on in that alley, when they saw an unconscious young man and Fujimura Taiga herself, they decided to move away as far as possible and not to get involved with her or any unfortunate person who could have problems with her.

It should be noted that the wretch was none other than Mori.

"Well, aren't you going to answer anything?" The brown-haired young woman questioned him again.

However, the turquoise-haired one didn't seem at all willing to give an answer, at the non-verbal refusal the Yakuza princess received, Taiga lowered her gaze.

"I see... So that's your answer." Then, she gave him a serious and fierce look, however, to the former Monkey King's surprise, she still retained that hint of pity that simply grew deeper with every moment. "In that case, I will give you my answer."

...

It was what seemed like an ordinary day in the residence of the Yakuza Fujimura group, specifically in a dojo located in a place a little further away from the entire residence.

In that place there were only two people, the only ones with the authorization to enter without the permission of the leader Fujimura, no one but Raiga himself and his beloved granddaughter Taiga.

Both were fighting with wooden swords, bokken instead of the traditional shinai, although with a notable difference in conditions.

While Raiga fought as expected in a traditional kendo bout, his granddaughter suffered from a great disadvantage with her eyes obscured by a blindfold tied behind her head and her right arm, her dominant hand, tied behind her back.

However, in spite of that, the fifteen year old girl was showing off her great skill and demonstrating why she was worthy of bearing the title of Byakko, the Celestial White Tiger of Fuyuki by being able to fight on equal terms and even dominate her grandfather with only her sense of hearing and the strength of her left arm, her clumsy hand, accommodating her stance and getting used to these new conditions without any problems.

On the other hand, Raiga if he was willing to admit that he had to make a visible effort to keep up with his granddaughter, although he accepted that age was taking its toll on him, he knew perfectly well that even in his golden age it would be just as difficult for him to face Taiga without any hindrance.

And she was still fifteen, she still had a long way to go, and with Mori in the mix ...

True, he was the reason for this match.

"My daughter, you can't continue with that attitude towards that boy." Raiga told her after a long exchange of blows that seemed to have no end in silence. "And it seems that the conversation you had with Kiritsugu didn't help at all, you even look more anxious than before."

Suddenly, Taiga stopped every move, calling an end to the practice match, the frustration she had prevented her from being able to enjoy the match.

The brown-haired girl, showing off her strength, broke the tie that restricted the use of her strong limb with ease, and then with the same hand she removed the blindfold and saw her honorable but criminal grandfather with a fierce look worthy of a tiger. In fact, that had been one of the reasons why she had been called Taiga, because of her fierce eyes.

"How can I calm down! It's been days and I still can't think of a way to light his spirit!" The girl exclaimed, letting her feelings out carelessly. "At this rate I'll become Seiryu before I can face him... And it's virtually impossible to defeat the current Seiryu!"

"You won't make it with that attitude of course." Her grandfather told her carelessly, receiving an annoyed look from his granddaughter, but to him it was nothing more than a cute pout from his little girl. "But the answer is simpler than you may think, Taiga."

The aforesaid frowned. "And what could be the answer?"

"Hmph, haven't I taught you anything? Even though you look so much like your mother, I can tell you got your ineptitude from your father."

"Get to the point!" Byakko exclaimed angrily, ready to resume the skirmish but without any restraint.

Raiga sighed before shaking his head at her granddaughter's attitude. "Taiga, I taught you to breathe, to walk, to really use a sword as more than just a weapon and to make it a simple extension of your body."

The young brown-haired girl kept looking at her grandfather expectantly, waiting for him to tell her something important in this little lecture beyond what he had told her cyclically the last years.

"And most importantly ... You must step aside for a moment to see the rest of the things, so you can see everything." Finished saying the older man with seriousness.

Although to many the old tiger's words would make no sense at all, the last thing her grandfather had said seemed to make Taiga think, if the young woman's thoughtful frown was any indication.

"See it all..." Said the brown-haired girl thoughtfully looking at what seemed like nothingness for a long period of time without moving and showing no signs of doing so. "See it all..."

Raiga looked at her granddaughter with seriousness and at the same time with concern, it was not common for her to fall into long reflections, and apparently this would be a rather long one if the way she mumbled "see it all" over and over again was any indication.

The old man sighed and decided to give the young woman some privacy to make her own decisions, it was about time she had responsibilities, especially to accept the responsibilities of her decisions, and although he felt bad for the poor boy, Mori, it was the better choice.

By the time Raiga left the training dojo, leaving the Fuyuki Tiger unattended and wandering her thoughts filled with kendo and food, but if the older man had lingered at least a few seconds longer to leave the building he could have seen the way her eyes shone like shooting stars in the sky, which depending on the situation would be a good ... Or a worse omen.

"See it all!"

...

"I need to see the rest so I can see it all. - Taiga said suddenly after a few seconds of silence surprising the turquoise-haired man standing a few feet away from him. - So I'll tell you what I see now! -

Dan Mori saw her with expectant but serious eyes, still with his body and mind reluctant to fight after so many hardships like Sun Wukong and Jin Mori, even though the flame of his soul still longed to fight for one more second.

- What I see is ... A man larger than life itself! - exclaimed the young woman without caring that she could be heard even on the other side of Fuyuki. - No matter how much you hide it, I only see the one worthy of being illuminated by the sun, the one to be praised by the earth, the one who makes the seas tremble ... The one who is greater than eternity and I just want to see you shine! -

At this point, Byakko had shouted out everything she had been holding inside her since the fateful day she had met her greatest and most beautiful obstacle, a Martial God incarnated back on earth ... How could someone like her not praise and at the same time curse her contradictory existence?!

But the question was, how could Mori remain indifferent to his words? No, it was impossible for him to do so, at this point the former Monkey King was biting his lower lip to the point where he felt the metallic taste of her blood in his mouth. His fists were clenched so tightly that his fingernails had drawn some blood from his palms.

All the while the words of his grandfather and Xuanzang kept assaulting his tormented mind with distorted scenes of Park Mubong and Tathagata killing respectively the people he had loved the most.

But hope arose for this man.

"However ..." The brown-haired woman spoke again, snapping the Fallen God out of his negative thoughts. "That image is fuzzy ... Covered by a layer of fear, frustration, pain, sadness and hopelessness ..." Then the Fuyuki Tiger raised its trusty Torashinai pointing it at Mori. "I don't know what happened to that exuberant and brilliant Mori, but I assure you that I will bring him back no matter what!"

The aforementioned blinked at the White Tiger's words before blinking again and again as if trying to process her words spoken in another language, something impossible since Mori was able to understand, speak and even write in all the existing languages on the planet the moment he regained his power as the Great King of the Heavens ... But at that very moment Taiga's words were so distant and fuzzy to him that he genuinely wondered what she was saying.

"Hehe ... Hehehehe ... Hahahahahaha! - Until he suddenly broke into a bitter laugh at the young girl's words in front of him, though his action did nothing to affect the Fuyuki Heavenly Tiger's confidence. Then, Mori looked at her with golden-crossed eyes full of regret. "I'm sorry to tell you but that man ... Has died."

A sepulchral silence spread throughout the alley to the point that a pin dropping to the ground could be heard clearly, the only constant sound was the soft breathing of the unconscious Reikan who still lay on the ground forgotten as if nothing.

Then a fierce smile came across the beautiful brown-haired young woman's face.

"In that case ... I'll use you as a sacrifice to bring him back!" Was the only thing she said to then launch herself against the turquoise hair with a horizontal attack with her Torashinai straight to the neck of her opponent, ready to break his neck with a single attack.

... Or at least that was the plan, until she felt a kind of sting on the side of her neck, specifically where her carotid artery was, and then felt her whole body paralyzed causing her attack to be stopped in half, although in reality there was no one to hit.

Due to her initial shock of finding her whole body paralyzed, she could barely notice that Mori was no longer in front of her.

What had happened ... ?

"Tell me you are okay please ... I didn't destroy your circulatory system by accident, did I...? Jeez, my fingers are so stiff, I could have damaged your nervous system if I hadn't meant to."

Taiga heard Mori's voice ranting right behind her, brushing aside the paralysis issue as if it was nothing and more worried about having damaged her in the process.

Meanwhile, the turquoise-haired man looked at his hand with his fingers numb from the use of acupuncture, one of the reasons why his body was in bad shape, he never thought he would use those techniques again in the short term but it was necessary to save the conflicts ... But he knew he would never use the Limit Remover again.

After all, he no longer had any potential to dispose of with his body in such a bad state and without divine power.

The blue-haired young man turned his gaze to Byakko who was trembling on the spot, something that sincerely impressed him, as he expected that the artery blockage would remain for longer ... Unless ...

Fuyuki Tiger's heart began to pound, her blood pumping like a pressurized hose through her veins and stimulating her muscles with a force that no one else but her possessed ...

In the end, all is nothing, therefore, she is invincible.

Regaining all her mobility in record time and with impressive speed, Taiga had turned around to attack Mori again with a downward attack with her shinai.

"Only death will be the cure for your stupidity!" Roared the brown hair girl before her attack hit.

Death is the only thing that cures stupidity.

Then, a sad smile appeared on the turquoise-haired young man's face.

"Yes, you're absolutely right ... Mira."

[Sword of Lunar Light]

[Swordless Style]

A single horizontal hand movement performed by Mori made the brown-haired girl stop completely in her attack, who was staring wide-eyed at her opponent, processing what had happened a few seconds ago before her eyes.

Taiga felt something hot on her cheek, when she took her hand to check, she realized it was blood, her blood was dripping from a cut made without a sword, then the young woman turned her gaze and witnessed the greatest act performed as a swordsman that she had been able to see throughout her years practicing kendo.

The walls of the alley had a slightly deep cut mark made evenly by what looked like a sword, which followed the hand movement Mori had used earlier.

How was it possible... ?

"You saw it, didn't you?" It was the voice of Kiritsugu's adopted son that brought her out of her thoughts.

She blinked like a confused owl at his question, before nodding mechanically in response, it had been blurry but Taiga saw it ...

A young woman with a sword, a warrior enshrined in countless battlefields ... The moonlight bathing their bodies ...

"So, you've seen it all." Mori said with a slight smile full of melancholy before turning around and approaching the poor, forgotten Reikan.

With relative ease he picked up the boy who was much bigger than him with one arm around his shoulders and the other holding his body against him, ready to carry him home so he could rest.

"Hey..." The brown-haired girl called out to him again, again catching his attention.

The former Monkey King looked at her with animosity, no longer in the mood to discuss meaningless things. But he was surprised to realize that the Fuyuki Tiger's eyes no longer had that frequent ferocity and there was only the curiosity and gentleness of a kitten.

"Do you know where Reikan lives?"

That question left Mori stunned ... Metaphorically speaking, even if he hated that word there was no better way to describe hisstony expression that made Taiga let out a few laughs.

How could there be a girl who tries to stab you and then laugh with you as if nothing happened? It had already happened once with Mira, but already this second time started to worry her ...

"Not really ..." The blue-haired young man had to admit, hiding his embarrassment.

"Well ... As compensation for everything that happened and for showing me something so incredible, I think it's only fair that I help you to take it home." Byakko said smiling slightly. "Besides, he is my friend ... And it won't sit well with him to know that I left him lying unconscious for so long in the street ... Although for now we're safe, that fat guy seems to have given the poor guy a good one." Taiga showed a thoughtful expression for a moment. "I wonder if Seiryu attaches any importance to this event ... Though I doubt it."

It was the last thing he said before approaching the Fallen God and his unconscious old friend, then positioning himself on the opposite side of Mori, that is, on Reikan's unoccupied side and imitating the blue-haired young man by bringing one arm over her shoulders and the other arm to his side to keep the purple-haired young man more upright and stable when he was moved.

For a second, Mori shuddered as Taiga's fingers had brushed his arm in the process of carrying Reikan. However, the blue-haired young man attributed it to the after-effects of using acupuncture after so long even with a battered body in its current state.

"Well, let's go!" Taiga exclaimed pointing forward with her Torashinai in her free hand.

The Fallen God stared at her for a few seconds without understanding. "Why?"

"Eh... ? Well, even if Seiryu is very distant, we'll be in trouble if he finds out that Reikan doesn't arrive on time for dinner time, he's very strict with the rules." The brown-haired girl explained, but Mori shook her head.

"No, I mean you used to hate me... And now you act so friendly, I don't understand..."

Taiga looked straight ahead with a serious expression before smiling in a carefree manner. "Because I already saw the rest I was missing, I can already see everything, Nothing under the heavens is hidden from me now!"

It couldn't be for such a childish reason... Couldn't it?

"Besides... I was right and you were wrong." He said suddenly to the turquoise-haired young man's confusion.

"How am I wrong?" questioned the former Monkey King.

"The Mori I spoke of... He is still alive." Fuyuki's Heavenly Tiger affirmed so confidently, she could have said that the sky was red and no one could make her waver with her resolve that even Mori wavered. "He just needs a reason to come back, So wait!"

Then, she started walking, causing the blue-haired young man to have to keep up or Reikan might fall, which no one wanted. And together they led the monk-in-training to his home at Ryuudou temple.

"Oh, by the way, I need help with my English homework."

"Huh?!"

Unaware of particular red eyes watching the Fallen God walk the streets of Shinto.

"So... There are still gods among us ... Interesting."

...

Chapter Text

The road to Ryuudou Temple was mostly silent, at least on Mori's side, who still found Taiga's sudden change in attitude toward him disconcerting, especially since her words had left a strange taste in his mouth.

That Mori is still alive; he just needs a reason to come back!

The turquoise-haired man wasn't sure of the young woman's words, but a sliver of doubt had planted itself in the former Monkey King's mind when he remembered that he had indeed used martial arts. They had not been his emblematic kicking techniques from Renewal Taekwondo—he was not yet sufficiently recovered to perform them. With all the pressure they put on the body, Mori, in his current state, would not be able to reproduce them for an indefinite period.

However, despite this, something had driven him to stop searching for the Fuyuki Tiger's blood, and he had ended up using one of the causes of his current state—the Nabong Needle Ryu acupuncture techniques—receiving the backlash of multiplying his power more than two hundred thousand times. It was something he would not be able to do again, as he did not even have true power to multiply.

When he'd used the acupuncture techniques, he had felt so clumsy—his fingers stiff, and his vision uneven as he tried to find Taiga's pressure points. He had genuinely feared he might have wrecked her nervous system by aiming poorly or perhaps hitting too hard, so it had been a relief when she'd broken free and lunged at him.

In the end, he had been forced—perhaps more by instinct—to respond in a language that only a girl like her could understand: the art of the sword, as his friend Mira had once spoken. The barehanded cutting techniques copied from the Moonlight Sword Style—he hadn't known how effective they would be or if, in the end, they would cause more harm by showing her his knowledge of sword techniques, but he had decided to take that blind shot. Fortunately, it hadn't caused any serious damage, aside from leaving some marks on the alley walls, but nothing more. It was a sad image compared to the past, where a similar or even more casual movement could have cut a mountain cleanly.

But when the Yakuza princess looked at him, she gazed at him in such a way that made him uncomfortable. There was such a radiant shine in her eyes, such childlike wonder on her face, and such strong emotion twisting her body, that even with that small cut on her cheek, she looked like the happiest girl in the world.

As if the words she had said earlier about being someone greater than eternity itself were truly correct… An illusion that Mori could never break for the girl, much less now, when she was helping him carry the unconscious Reikan through the streets of Shinto, humming a very lively tune.

To the Fallen God, the infamous Fujimura "Byakko" Taiga would forever be a person he could never understand... And fortunately, he wouldn't be the only one in that club.

Though, he felt another annoyance on the side—it was as if someone... was watching him. Well, there were already a certain number of individuals looking at them while they carried the young purple-haired monk, because it certainly wasn't common to walk around carrying unconscious people. Perhaps Taiga drew attention because of her fame in the city as the Tiger of Fuyuki, but for some reason, Mori felt there was something else in those gazes. One, in particular, stood out.

Coldness, repulsion, amusement, even curiosity—yet the former Monkey King's senses were so dulled that he couldn't pinpoint the exact direction from which it could originate. Or perhaps it was just his imagination, perhaps because the previous exchange with the brown-haired girl had left him somewhat nervous and excited.

Regardless, he tried to continue the conversation with the girl or at least listen to her and not incite her anger by ignoring her.

"I... To tell you the truth, I didn't expect us to meet again," Mori commented, looking ahead. "Or at least not so soon, and definitely not in that situation."

Taiga shrugged casually. "I just happened to see you, and I was hoping to corner you at some point, maybe later in the week or month... as a psychological attack, you know?"

"That's... very psychotic of you," the turquoise-haired young man muttered, surprised by the ruse his companion had come up with.

"Thank you!" And even though Mori hadn't meant it as a compliment, the Yakuza princess had taken it as one. Then, she frowned in annoyance. "But let's just say there were unforeseen events."

"Really? Like what?" Kiritsugu's adopted son asked, curious as to what factor could have interfered with the original plans of his now... friend? He still didn't know how to define their relationship beyond absolute repulsion or combative fanaticism.

"Well, Kiritsugu-san called the school for an important matter, but when they had to notify you of the message, that fat guy had already intercepted you." Taiga growled in annoyance, though she couldn't blame the good patriarch Emiya for the circumstances. She had certainly taken out her frustration by breaking the obese Yamamoto's nose.

However, Mori had been left pondering the first thing the brown-haired girl had said regarding Kiritsugu, wondering what he had wanted to tell him that couldn't wait until he got home.

"It had to do with picking up little Shirou from a friend's house," the young sword master answered calmly, not paying attention to the surprised look the blue-haired young man gave her.

"Of course! Shirou! I had to pick him up! How could I have forgotten?!" Mori lamented, disappointed in himself for being such a bad brother, feeling somehow that the mistakes he had made with his sworn brothers of yesteryear were repeating themselves, even though this wasn't anything serious.

But that was how it started—first, he would forget, then ignore... and finally, leave them aside. That was why several of the Kings of the Sage Realm had never contacted him again, even Garuda, who had betrayed them because of the contempt and humiliation that the former Monkey King had put him through.

"Calm down, calm down, he's at a friend's house, hanging out." The brown-haired girl said calmly, giving little importance to the worries going through her new friend's head. "But Kiritsugu wants you to come back as soon as possible. Apparently, he has some news for you, though I don't know what it could be."

Mori reflected on the information provided by the young woman, truly grateful for this new dynamic they now had, instead of the hostility or isolation they had once shared. And to be honest, Fujimura Taiga seemed like a nice girl, just with a bad reputation as the Tiger of Fuyuki. Another trait she shared with Mira: you just had to get to know them well, and you would gain a good friend you could trust with your back.

How he would have liked to see if Mira was okay before being attacked by Park Mubong...

"Ugh… Ah…"

Suddenly, to the couple's surprise, Reikan began making noises, causing them to stop in the middle of the road. By the time they realized it, the young monk was waking up from his unconscious state.

"B-But... W-What happened?" The purple-haired young man asked in a hoarse voice, confused when he realized they were in the middle of the city instead of the alley where he had faced Yamamoto to defend Mori from those thugs.

And apparently, they were on their way to Ryuudou Temple.

Taiga looked at Mori for a moment before speaking up. "Don't worry, everything worked out in the end. You were a punching bag, keeping them busy until I arrived. They all left with their tails between their legs after I gave that fat guy a taste of his own medicine!"

Reikan grimaced at his friend's words, both at the mocking comment about being used as a mere punching bag and at the current state Suzaku's right-hand man must be in from facing the infamous Byakko.

"I see... Thank you for taking me home after all that," the young monk-in-training said, hoping not to worry his father and brothers. Then he looked at Mori with a relieved smile. "By the way, I'm glad you're okay."

The former Monkey King couldn't help but grimace self-deprecatingly. It seemed incredible to him that this person, whom he had barely met today, had given him so much help to the point of getting hurt for his well-being, while he, if he had made a minimal effort, could have avoided it all.

Could he have sunk any lower? Inevitably, Mori believed that he could.

"I have no words for..." The turquoise-haired young man began to say before being interrupted by Reikan.

"Keep your thanks to yourself and also your apologies, if you have any," he stopped him seriously before smiling happily. "I only did what I thought was right. The consequences of that are not your fault. For now, I only ask that you help me get home; I feel a little dizzy."

After hearing his words, the Fallen God simply nodded as he pondered the purple-haired young man's statement.

What I thought was right...

Do what you want.

A big smile formed on the Yakuza princess's face. "Then let's go! That grumpy Seiryu will spit fire if we don't get there in time!"

"He's not a real dragon!" Reikan exclaimed angrily.

The trio began moving toward the Ryuudou Temple, and although Mori still felt the pressure of a peculiar gaze, he somehow felt lighter than usual.

The will to do what you want and what is right...

"Ah... Even in death, you still teach me things, Grandpa."

Unnoticed by the former Monkey King or the one watching him so intently, a third presence was not far from both. That being smiled calmly.

"As it should be, always aware of nothingness," said the lonely man before sipping his green tea in a distant restaurant.

It wasn't long before the trio reached the top of Mount Enzou, where the Ryuudou Temple was located. Reikan had told them of legends that a dragon once inhabited these lands, resting beneath the mountain and granting knowledge to the monks of the village.

They were merely legends, as the young monk had said—tales that even the gullible-looking Taiga dismissed as fantasy. But it would be very hypocritical of Mori to reject their existence, when he himself had been a god once—a demon born in the Sage Realm, tamer of celestial tigers, ruler of the dragons of the seas...

Yet so far, he had only calmed the fighting spirit of a girl who was categorized as a tiger, and still, he believed he hadn't done enough.

He could tell, however, that something powerful had once been here. It wasn't something of this realm, but it had been lurking nearby. Mori was no expert in magic, but he had learned a few tricks from his master, Subhuti, long ago. He could sense a barrier of sorts around the place, though he didn't know its exact nature or how it worked. Still, it confirmed his theory: there were beings like him in this world, but they didn't seem as present as in his own.

That, however, was a topic for another time. For now, they needed to leave Reikan at his home.

Some monks glanced at them, particularly at their companion, but none seemed alarmed, as though it were an everyday occurrence.

"He sometimes trains with Reikan, but honestly, he doesn't do very well," Taiga whispered to Mori, noticing his confusion.

Mori nodded, understanding the kind of hell Reikan was going through when fighting the infamous Byakko. He recalled that the invincible Seiryu was also nearby, which placed the young monk high in the combat hierarchy, though he still seemed nowhere near Suzaku due to how impossible it was to defeat his right-hand man.

"Well, thank you for bringing me here, guys. I'll go in and take care of this," Reikan said, pointing to his nose, which had turned purple and swollen. His voice had grown hoarse from the injury.

"No problem," Mori replied nonchalantly, seeing it as a way to return the favor.

"Anytime, Reikan-kun!" Taiga exclaimed encouragingly.

"Nii-san!"

Suddenly, a child's voice called out. They turned to see a boy, likely around Shirou's age if Mori had to guess. He had purple hair and glasses, and like the other monks, he wore traditional shrine robes. The sight reminded the former Monkey King of Xuanzang from centuries ago.

Mori didn't need to think twice to understand the resemblance the boy shared with Reikan—he guessed they were brothers.

"Well, I'll be going now. See you tomorrow!" Reikan said, bidding them farewell as he approached his worried younger brother, playfully making jokes about his broken nose to lighten the mood.

"You know where Shirou is, right?" Mori asked Taiga seriously, capturing her full attention with the tone of his voice.

Taiga smiled. "I thought you'd never ask. Come follow me. It's actually very close to our homes, just on the other side of Miyama."

"On the other side?" Kiritsugu's adopted son raised an eyebrow, unfamiliar with those parts.

"Yeah, the foreigners' area, where people from overseas came and settled long ago. Now only their Victorian houses and descendants remain," the brown-haired girl explained as she began to descend the Ryuudou Temple stairs, with Mori following closely. "Shirou-kun became friends with one of the oldest families that immigrated here. They've probably lived here for more than two centuries, though it's hard to say exactly when, since even they don't know."

"Who are they?" the fallen god asked, more intrigued by the story of the family Shirou had unexpectedly befriended.

"They're the Tohsaka—a very conservative family, but..." Taiga trailed off, a look of sympathy crossing her face. "They've been going through a very hard time recently. They lost a daughter over a year ago, the father died in an accident, and the mother has brain damage. The only ones left are the eldest daughter, who's about Shirou-kun's age, and a distant relative who came to take care of her and the mother." Then, Taiga gave Mori a meaningful glance. "Who do you think would sympathize with that poor girl?"

Mori lowered his gaze in thought. Someone like Shirou, who had lost his family and everything he knew, would certainly understand the Tohsaka girl's pain. Mori couldn't help but feel a sense of pride for his younger brother.

He only wished Shirou would give more warning before visiting the homes of strangers.

"By the way, before I forget," Taiga said, breaking the silence, her tone suddenly curious, "who's this Mira you mentioned earlier?"

"Huh? N-Nobody." Mori answered quickly—perhaps too quickly.

Taiga raised an eyebrow, suspicious. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"You're lying!"

"That's not the point!"

And so, the pair descended the Ryuudou Temple stairs, heading back home, unaware of the blue dragon's gaze fixed on them.

"Souichirou-kun, it's time for dinner."

The young man, who had been watching them attentively from the moment they arrived until they left, turned to see a middle-aged man with short purple hair and glasses, dressed in the same traditional robes as the other monks. He was undoubtedly Reikan's father, as they shared so many features.

He was also Souichirou's adoptive father for the past few years.

Souichirou nodded mechanically before following the man into the dining hall with the other monks. However, his thoughts remained on the pair, particularly the turquoise-haired one. He had noticed that Byakko had changed overnight—her way of walking and breathing had improved significantly. While the change wasn't drastic, it was noticeable for how natural her evolution seemed.

But that new student was something else entirely.

I want to fight him.

These were the thoughts driven by his killer instincts—the reason for his existence. It was what Jae-san had begged of him and his brothers:

Do what you want, that's fine.

'Well, this is what I want,' Souichirou thought ominously. 'And nothing is going to stop me.'

...

The dysfunctional couple of a monkey and a tiger managed to reach their destination without many problems. Fortunately, Mori had managed to change the subject away from his past, not at all ready to talk about it. Besides, Taiga was a girl who was easily distracted, so it hadn't been that difficult.

Although there was still the annoyance of being observed, the former Monkey King still found himself unable to pinpoint the exact location of that gaze. However, he did not give it too much importance; his priority was and always would be Shirou.

Before long, they found themselves in front of the gate of the Tohsaka residence. As Taiga had said, it wasn't too far from the Emiya residence, but he noticed the vast difference between the areas of Miyama as they crossed the outskirts of the city. Instead of traditional Japanese houses, typical European buildings were present—some of them very old and in Victorian styles, but very well-preserved despite the decades since they were built.

The Tohsaka house was no different; in fact, you could say it was the most majestic, with a well-kept garden, firm and pristine walls, stain-free windows, and it looked freshly painted. The place could be categorized as an old mansion in other circumstances.

'And Shirou makes friends with what looks like a real princess,' Mori couldn't help but think, staring blankly at the entrance door to the building.

"Are you planning to ring the bell, or are we going to be here all night?" Taiga asked impatiently.

"Sorry, I'm not used to this kind of thing yet."

The young swordswoman gave him an incredulous look. "You practically live in a Japanese mansion; your home must have the same amount of rooms and gadgets as this one."

"Well, if you put it that way..." Mori said uncertainly.

Despite having lived his life as Sun Wukong, with all kinds of luxuries and pleasures, and with wealth greater than that of several kings, emperors, and gods as the Lord of the Sage Realm, the rest of his humble life as Jin Mori caused that magnanimous attitude to be overshadowed.

Although I would never turn down a royal meal made by Daewi or Shirou on any day of the week.

But there would be another time to think about delicious food; the important thing was to return home, and he wasn't going to do it if it wasn't with Shirou.

So, under Taiga's expectant gaze, Mori set out to knock on the door...

"Welcome to the Tohsaka residence. You must be Shirou-kun's brother, Emiya Mori, if I'm not mistaken, right?"

It wasn't necessary at all when the door suddenly opened just before the turquoise-haired young man's fist touched it, revealing what looked like a young woman in a very well-fitting maid outfit, speaking with total politeness.

"Eh... Yes, it's me. I came looking for Shirou... Although I already knew it; I can assume." Mori said, lowering his hand with a nervous smile.

The blue eyes of the woman known as Anne kept staring at the one who seemed to be the Magus Killer's eldest son, analyzing every inch of him. Although she couldn't discern if he had any knowledge of magecraft, she could tell that he had some experience in combat.

"Indeed, Shirou-kun informed us that his father wanted him back early, so we were aware of his arrival," the maid explained naturally. "Don't worry; he's already on his way."

After saying those words, two children came down the stairs until they reached the entrance. One of them was indeed Shirou; the other was a girl his age with brown hair and blue eyes—his new friend.

Certainly, Taiga had been right about the maid and the eldest daughter of the Tohsakas; they were distant relatives in some way, both sharing the same shade of eye color and a look that seemed to try to find out more about you than what one wanted to show.

Although the girl seemed to do it out of curiosity, the adult did it with real intentions of wanting to know.

"Well, see you later, Emiya-kun," Rin said goodbye to her first friend in a long time.

"See you tomorrow, Tohsaka-chan," Shirou replied with a slight smile before smiling happily at the sight of both his older brother and Taiga not fighting. "Mori-nii! Fuji-nee!"

The latter was a little surprised by how he called her. Although they didn't get along badly, there was certainly some tension due to her personal problems with the turquoise-haired boy. Still, being called "big sister" by little Shirou... it wasn't bad at all.

"Well, are you ready to go home?" Mori asked, starting to leave the Tohsaka residence with his new friend and younger brother, under the watchful eyes of the Tohsakas.

"Interesting," was the only thing Anne said before entering the residence with Rin again.

"Do you know what the old man is going to tell us?" the little redhead asked curiously.

The Fallen God shook his head before looking at the Fuyuki Tiger, who shrugged, showing that she had no more information except what they already knew.

"Well, we'll have to find out for ourselves."

Thus, the trio headed to the Emiya residence, passing not far from a lonely park, except for a boy who seemed to be the same age as Shirou, perhaps a couple of years older.

The most peculiar thing was his golden hair, which seemed to shine more intensely under the light of the sunset, and his red eyes that did not stop looking at Mori with an intensity that could have melted the sun itself. However, that look of repulsion changed drastically when he glanced at the redhead accompanying the degraded Divine Spirit at his side.

And for what seemed like the first time in millennia, a genuine interest was born within the unknown child as his red eyes were clouded by an ominous haze.

"E-Eh...? T-That was..." An ominous smile seemed to split the blonde's face. "Finally, something interesting to entertain myself with. I hope to have more fun with you than with Saber and Rider, Guardian."

It was the last thing the red-eyed boy said before disappearing from the place without leaving any trace behind, as if he had never really been there, with only the world as a witness.

Witness to what could be the worst encounter of destiny.

...

In no time, the trio found themselves in front of the Emiya residence, with the two brothers bidding farewell to Raiga's granddaughter, who had accompanied them throughout the journey as a sort of bodyguard... or perhaps to ensure they reached their destination without any detours.

"Are you sure you don't want to come in for dinner with us, Fuji-nee?" Shirou asked with disappointment, hoping to have a quiet meal with his brotherly figures.

Taiga smiled at the little redhead's endearing attitude. "Sorry, but I have things to do at home. Maybe next time."

To Mori's surprise, he felt disappointed by the brown-haired girl's refusal; intoxicated by this new friendship he thought was impossible, the former Monkey King found a certain calm in the chaotic Fuyuki Tiger in a way that was so strange it almost reminded him of Xuanzang.

And he didn't know if that relieved him or hurt him even more.

"Shirou-kun, why don't you go in and see your father? He was a little worried when he found out that you went to a stranger's house without warning. Go tell him that you're okay." The Celestial Tiger began to say with a smile before giving Mori a particular look. "I would like to talk to your brother about something; I won't take up much of his time."

Those words surprised the brothers equally. The redhead hesitated to leave his brother alone with Taiga, despite their apparent reconciliation. On the other hand, the Fallen God couldn't help but wonder what else they had to discuss between them, believing they had already settled their debts and could act relatively normally.

"Okay, Shirou, come in," Mori told him, clearing up his younger brother's doubts. He looked between the two teenagers before entering the Emiya residence, hoping that neither of them would fight.

So they were alone again, and to the turquoise-haired young man's relief, the Yakuza princess was calm. She had certainly given him a vote of confidence since he hadn't shown any more hostility up to that point, but he was still hesitant about what she wanted.

And so they stayed for what seemed like an eternity, with Taiga staring at him and sometimes lowering her gaze to the ground in doubt. Unfortunately, Mori couldn't read minds; it was a power she had never developed, and only a finite number of gods possessed it, like Satan. But still, the young man was patient with her.

Suddenly, she raised her hand and seemed to want to pull him closer, but in the end, she hesitated and retracted her actions, which caused more intrigue and confusion in the former Monkey King. After all, he was completely unaware of what she wanted to convey to him and was not sure if she really wanted to talk about it.

"I... " Taiga murmured, looking at him sadly. "I meant what I said before, regarding how I see you and how you came into my life... I just hope that one day you can look at yourself the way I see you."

That was the last thing she said before turning around and heading home. Mori didn't stop her, slightly stunned by her words, and also because he somehow felt that she wouldn't appreciate continuing to discuss the subject.

Still, Jin Taejin's grandson did what he considered best: simply watching, simply seeing Taiga's silhouette fading into the distance as the orange light slowly gave way to the night.

And yet Mori did not move, considering her words even if only distantly.

You were born to be loved...

I hope you can see yourself the way I see you...

Stay alive...

"I... I still don't feel like I deserve it." Those were the sad words of the Fallen God that only the world was able to hear.

And the world didn't like it.

With a sigh, the blue-haired young man turned around and entered his home, the delicious smell of dinner assaulting his nostrils. Mori hoped that a good home-cooked meal would ease the worries of the day.

The Emiya residence's family dinner was as usual... for the most part. The food was delicious, with the three men eating leisurely and throwing out the occasional comment.

Although it could be said that the "best" was waiting for the end, instead of some dessert, what Kiritsugu's two adopted sons received was nothing more than a short but forceful scolding from the family patriarch: to Shirou for leaving with a stranger without warning, regardless of them being friends, and to Mori for ultimately picking up the redhead later than he should have. Although in the end, some arrangements were made for Shirou to go directly home, since he knew the way perfectly, and they hoped that giving him a certain degree of independence with his friends would help the boy with his nightmares. Also, in the event that the former Magus Killer was not at home, he had already made arrangements with old man Raiga for one of his men to be nearby and take care of the redhead if necessary.

And that's where the main issue of why they had been called so urgently comes in.

"Tomorrow morning I have an important business trip. I know it's very sudden, but I can't delay it." The middle-aged man explained briefly before sighing tiredly. "I apologize for being so sudden, especially since we've only been living together for a month."

The two brothers looked at each other, and what almost seemed like a mutual understanding crossed their minds before they looked at their adoptive father.

"Don't worry, old man. We'll be fine," Shirou said with childish determination to make his father happy.

"We'll make sure the house is still standing when you get back." Mori said this time seriously, giving Kiritsugu a thumbs up, an action that was imitated by the redhead.

They certainly weren't the most touching words and probably had the opposite effect of causing him more concern than relief, but still, the man who had lost almost everything in life couldn't help but smile at the consideration his new family had for him.

"Well, I'll leave it in your hands, guys," the magus said with a smile.

"Good!"

"And now to sleep; you still have classes tomorrow. I asked old Raiga to be on the lookout for anything, and he has the authorization to take necessary measures with you, so be responsible."

"Don't worry, old man! We know what we're doing!"

"I'm not that old..."

And so a long day had ended, the first of many in the new life of the one who was once the Almighty God of the Universe.

But while the Fallen God of another world slept with his family that night, things were just beginning for others...

Chapter Text

Amidst the mist of the night, Fuyuki City remained active despite most of its iconic inhabitants taking their rest. However, the person—or perhaps it would be better to say, the being—that interested us was a certain golden-haired boy.

One might expect that seeing a child walking through the dark streets of the city would cause alarm, prompting calls to social services and quite a fuss, especially from the parents of said child.

But this was no ordinary child to worry about. Within the tiny body of a ten-year-old, a being far beyond humanity—even the gods—had been hiding in that childlike form for several weeks, out of simple boredom.

Until now.

The ancient King of Heroes had found something truly entertaining over four thousand years ago. Though he did not want to dismiss the efforts of his fellow king, the Rider of the Holy Grail War, this chance encounter had completely changed his perspective.

For the first time in a long while, he was excited—and King Gilgamesh wanted it now. However, much to his frustration, he had no choice but to wait.

Slightly disappointed, with a childish pout on his face that would undoubtedly leave most participants of the Fourth Holy Grail War dumbfounded, the blond entered Fuyuki's church, which was still faintly lit by the current priest.

The son of the previous priest was none other than Kotomine Kirei, a surviving participant of the Holy Grail War, and briefly his Master at the end of it.

One of the worst bastards he had ever met, yet one he himself had helped shape to bring out his true nature. After all, it had been the most interesting thing he had done during the Holy Grail War, though he might now have to replace it with a new source of entertainment.

But everything in due time.

Gilgamesh smiled in amusement as he watched his "companion" praying in front of the altar. It wasn't just amusing because of his false faith, but because the man was prostrated in the very spot where his father had been killed. Indeed, the existence known as Kotomine Kirei was truly unique.

"I see you're busy," the incarnated Heroic Spirit commented with some interest. "I've seen you do the same since the fire, and I'm sure it's not for the souls of the helpless."

Despite his words, the priest didn't flinch for a second.

"I thought you wouldn't have any interest in what I was doing," Kirei said, still on his knees, appearing as though he were praying. "Could it be that you're in a good mood by any chance?"

Little Gilgamesh hummed at the question. Setting aside the presence of the Divine Spirit in the city, he was certainly excited by the sighting of what could be considered his greatest creation—greater even than Kotomine Kirei.

But it required subtle and systematic work, gentle yet devastating. Perhaps it would take years, but after all, Rome wasn't built in a day... Did modern humans still use sayings like that?

"He's simply my next source of entertainment for the upcoming Holy Grail War, in case I don't find a worthy opponent," the golden-haired boy explained without offering too many details.

"Is that so? And what could possibly catch your attention in this mundane and disgusting world, my lord?" Kirei asked, raising his head slightly. Naturally, his interest was piqued by the king-turned-child. Ever since his last encounter with the broken image of Emiya Kiritsugu in the Fuyuki fire, nothing had filled the man's void.

If something had caught the King of Heroes' attention—especially given that his childish form was more restrained—it had to be something truly out of the ordinary.

Gilgamesh did not answer; he simply sat on one of the church benches and looked up at the ceiling—no, his gaze went beyond that, toward the distant stars.

"Even if the Throne of Heroes and the Holy Grail try, they will never completely seal my power as a true Heroic Spirit. These omniscient eyes will not lose sight of absolute omnipotence," the King of Heroes recited as he closed his eyes.

And then he saw it.

Just like the day he received that omen before his fateful meeting with Enkidu thousands of years ago.

A meeting predestined by the gods, one that quite literally sparked a war of unstoppable forces without mercy.

When he saw that red-haired child beside the Fallen God, another omen, dictated by the heavens, revealed itself to him.

And it revealed death.

That child, who could be the pinnacle of innocence, would grow over the years to possess a gaze so murderous that even the gods of war would envy him. A strength that not even the gods of the earth could bury. A will that not even the gods of heaven could overpower.

As a demon, that child would grow up solely to kill, wielding the power of both monsters and the divine to annihilate.

And the only one who would stand against him was...

Gilgamesh.

Even with a thousand weapons, it was one hundred and eight agonies, one hundred and eight fallen stars, one hundred and eight weapons, each handpicked for their quality to face all the treasures of humanity. It would not win in quantity, but it would challenge him in divine quality.

The child, who would become a demon king, would advance against the tempest, the downpour of weapons, and even eternity itself with a single motivation.

To cut down King Gilgamesh.

A single cut had caught his attention and pierced his skin. The future the demon held for him was dark, and yet ... Gilgamesh loved it.

Perhaps ... Would he have to transcend time and space to find it?

To a ... friend like Enkidu?

The king, now in the form of a child, clutched his chest—the place where the cut would be made, according to the vision he had seen. A cut not meant to kill him, yet the redhead had put all his intent into making it.

Someone who would give everything to defeat him ... Only Enkidu had ever done that, chaining him down. And although the thought of someone capable of doing something similar to his first and only friend felt like blasphemy to Enkidu's memory, a part of him couldn't help but feel a pleasant curiosity, wondering just how far that child could go.

"So yes, you could say that I am in a good mood because I have found something interesting," Gilgamesh said with an ominous smile before rising from the bench and heading toward the church chambers. But not before casting an amused glance at the object in Kirei's hands as he prayed. "Though in a bygone era, I might have desired what you hold, now it is nothing but trash."

His words did nothing to faze the priest, causing the blond to leave with a mocking pout as he made his way to his room, leaving the man alone.

In his hands was what appeared to be a long piece of metal, but upon closer inspection, one might realize it was a broken fragment of some kind of tiara. And for those familiar with the object that Emiya Kiritsugu kept in his home, they would recognize it as the missing part of that tiara.

Kirei looked up with an ominous smile, his eyes devoid of emotion except for one thing.

Desire.

"The Lord's crown of thorns has fallen into my hands ... I ask myself, when will the time come?"

...

Fuyuki was not the only city with a nightlife to envy; in the city of Misaki, there were also matters to attend to.

Especially when, from one day to the next, a massive pillar of solid, chiseled rock suddenly appeared on the outskirts of the city for no apparent reason. The worst part was that it hadn't appeared in the territory of a simple magus, but in that of a True Mage.

And although she would not handle the pillar herself due to maternity concerns, two of the people she trusted most would take charge of the matter.

The first was a young man in his twenties, with short black hair and grey eyes, dressed simply in a jacket over a shirt, jeans, and dark shoes. Faint scars could be seen on his arms and neck, barely visible through his clothes, and he wore a necklace.

This was Shizuki Soujuurou, one of the strongest individuals the Fifth Magician had ever encountered. Even though that power had waned over time, he remained one of the people she trusted most.

Soujuurou was leading the way directly to Misaki's stone pillar.

The black-haired man turned to his companion. "We're close now. Can you feel it, Mori?"

Then, Soujuurou's companion became more visible in the darkness of the night and through the branches of the trees.

His spiky brown hair and brown eyes, with unmistakable golden pupils, evoked a familiar image to some—especially those who knew Jin Mori's true appearance. However, there were a few differences from the original Monkey King.

His hair was slightly longer, tied back in a low ponytail, and his features were more defined and mature, unlike Jin Mori, who still had the appearance of a teenager. This supposed "Mori" was an adult, around the same age as Soujuurou.

He was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt, baggy black pants, and sneakers. A few colorful bracelets, the kind one could find in any store, adorned his arms.

"The atmosphere has certainly changed. Was this caused by the pillar? It almost feels like another world," 'Mori' said curiously, glancing around with a frown.

Soujuurou nodded gravely. "Yes, Alice hasn't wanted to get any closer than this."

"That explains why she's been staying home so much... more than usual," 'Mori' remarked thoughtfully. "Oh, by the way, I haven't thanked you yet for taking care of Yukiko-chan while Aoko and I were away."

The black-haired man smiled before continuing forward, closely followed by his companion and closest friend.

"It wasn't a problem; the problematic one is Shiki, after all, and she wanted to go with you."

'Mori' grimaced at his words. "Don't mention it. It was supposed to be work to secure things in Fuyuki because of the consequences of the Holy Grail, and we ended up just walking around ... " The brown-haired man sighed tiredly. "And Aoko doesn't help—she acts like a child instead of the mother of two girls."

Soujuurou chuckled. "There's no need to be so harsh; we're still young."

"And with responsibilities," 'Mori' pointed out seriously, before giving his friend a mocking look. "At least we know you and Alice will make good parents."

Suddenly, the atmosphere became more gloomy, but this time it had nothing to do with the stone pillar; rather, it was the cold animosity that Soujuurou began to express through his words.

"You know very well the reasons why Alice and I don't ... "

He didn't have time to continue when 'Mori' stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder, causing them to face each other. Cold grey eyes met fierce golden ones.

"I know that very well, but that doesn't mean there's nothing we can do. Aoko, Touko, and I will do everything possible so that both of you can be happy." The brown-haired young man's grip tightened, but without hurting him, offering reassurance. "Now let's finish checking the pillar so we can go back home."

The black-haired man nodded seriously, and so they both continued to the final point of their destination, where the stone pillar stood in a small clearing in the forest. Considerably smaller than the one in the Sea of Japan, its weight and firmness were not far behind that of its 'brother.'

"And here we are... What do you think?" Soujuurou asked his companion.

But he received no verbal response; instead, 'Mori' began to walk at a fast pace toward the pillar.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" the black-haired young man exclaimed, surprised by his sudden attitude.

"Now I understand why Alice didn't want to come closer..." 'Mori' said in a monotone voice, his eyes turning into fierce golden crosses mesmerized by the shape of the pillar. "This is not something that humans should touch."

"W-What are you talking about? Mori?!" Soujuurou stammered, trying to get closer to his friend, but suddenly he began to feel a pressure, a kind of wall that prevented him from moving forward against his will.

By this time, the brown-haired man was already standing in front of the stone pillar, with his hand just inches away from touching it.

"Not even the gods ... will be able to understand it."

And he touched it.

And followed the one will.

Calling it a stone pillar was an insult to its ancestral origin—originally a piece of rib from the epitome of power.

Ogre, also known as Kur in ancient times, was the very manifestation of Gaia's will.

The Ultimate One of Earth, the pinnacle of all Beasts on the planet, the ancestor of all dragons.

Kur was born to fulfill the will of the planet itself—the will of Çatalhöyük—without hesitation.

And protecting it was its highest priority, above maintaining the hierarchy of the beasts.

But what could possibly pose a danger to the planet's alpha predator, whose primordial existence caused the rest of Earth's Phantom Beasts to prostrate themselves in submission?

The most terrifying beings in existence.

The gods.

They were the ones who came to this virgin world, tainting it with their selfish desires.

Chaos. Ymir. Tezcatlipoca. The Jade Emperor. Ame-no-Minakanushi. Brahma. Balor. Ra.

And many more. But none was worse than ... Apsu, the god who incited the betrayal of the Beasts in favor of the gods.

Even with the dominating power of the gods, Kur's supreme strength was such that she could fight against them, with the help of her brothers and sisters, to keep the land from falling into their clutches.

It was a war without mercy, but for billions of years, it remained in a stalemate with no clear victor as time passed.

Until the high treason of Kur's most beloved sister.

Her sister, Tiamat.

Even exalted by the planet's supreme power as her daughter and the embodiment of its will, Kur's weakness had always been the trust she placed in others, and it was that very trust that led to her downfall.

Convinced by Apsu, Tiamat joined the side of the gods, along with many beasts, and they attacked Kur until her body was scattered across the planet.

The planet's first cry resounded with Kur's death.

With their greatest enemy defeated, the gods were able to inhabit their new home, using Kur's body to make it more habitable for themselves and the new species that would be born.

They created lands, seas, and skies. The chaotic state of Earth, once dominated by Kur, was reshaped and reinforced with her own body — her skin, flesh, organs — everything possible was used to give the planet a more defined form.

This is how the first textures of the planet were born.

Later, weapons were crafted from the remains of Kur's body to manipulate these textures.

The Yeoui, or Ruyi Jingu Bang, was one of those weapons.

Refined from one of the ribs of the deceased Alpha Predator to measure existence itself, it took the form of a pillar to follow Kur's will even in death.

Giving form to the vague, bringing order to chaos.

Though these were ambiguous concepts in some respects, in certain cases, they became very clear. But it all came down to one thing ...

To follow a single will—but whose?

Gaia's.

Thus, the planet's most beloved child was born: from the remains of a shattered god, nourished by Kur's corpse, and formed with the very energies of the universe...

From this emerged the second Beast of Gaia, known in ancient times by a name that only the oldest gods could remember...

The Guardian of Earth, Sun Wukong.

While Kur had been born to keep the beasts in check, Sun Wukong was created to sow chaos among the gods in accordance with Gaia's will. Even taking different forms in different realms, each incarnation had been the Sage who brought about drastic changes in the heavenly realms.

It was Dionysus, it was Loki, it was Quetzalcoatl, it was Kagutsuchi, it was Hanuman, it was Lugh, it was Horus, it was Marduk.

But especially, it was Sun Wukong.

Through countless experiences, he reached the rank of the gods—the only one worthy across the unbreakable sky and the eternal earth, deserving of humanity's homage.

His encounter with the stone pillar, held by the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea, was no mere coincidence, as for a moment, golden letters flashed on one end of the pillar.

Ruyi Jingu Bang, the Yeoui, It Who Follows a Single Will... The Will of Gaia.

The weapon, crafted from the remains of Earth's First Guardian and masterfully wielded by its Second Guardian, embodied Sun Wukong's will, one and the same as the will of the planet itself.

Her most precious son. Her most powerful beast. The greatest god, whose will was synonymous with the will of the world. The one who brings primordial order to the divine chaos established by the invading gods. Gaia's greatest weapon.

But in one world, he was overthrown.

In one of the many universes that make up the infinite kaleidoscope, the possibilities are endless. While in some universes Sun Wukong fulfilled his mission given to him by his "mother," in others, the Great God of the Universe was defeated, killed, or completely exiled.

And this Yeoui came from one such world, broken by the clash of catastrophic forces with the Champion of the Gods, Satan. Banished by humanity, who betrayed him once more. Exiled by the power of the Holy Grail...

But at no point did Yeoui lose its purpose...

The single will...

The will of Gaia that it would follow...

And that would always serve the...

Only God of the Unbreakable Heavens.

...

"Mori! Mori! Come on, wake up!" Soujuurou exclaimed, shaking his friend, who was now in a trance.

When 'Mori' had approached the stone pillar and touched it, the invisible force that once repelled him vanished. But as soon as he reached the pillar, he fell into a complete trance, unresponsive, as though the pillar itself was relaying a story only he could hear.

But it wasn't the right time.

An abnormal presence appeared at the scene, instantly making Soujuurou's hair stand on end due to its dangerous aura—it was even worse than his friend Lugh Beowulf. In fact, even his friend "Mori" grew visibly tense, yet still didn't wake from his trance.

Then, the presence revealed itself... And for a moment, he thought he saw someone resembling "Mori."

Her burning eyes and golden pupils made Soujuurou tremble for a moment, but that was the only similarity she shared with 'Mori.' She was a woman with white hair and pale skin, dressed in traditional Chinese robes. The most notable detail was a bell earring in one of her ears.

The strange woman smiled. "I have to thank you for your help with this; it was impossible for me to get close to the staff."

"Staff?" Soujuurou murmured, glancing at the stone pillar.

"There's no point in discussing it. It's time to claim what's mine," the woman said before disappearing completely from sight.

But that only lasted a few seconds, because in an instant, she was next to 'Mori,' her hand about to touch the stone pillar...

Until suddenly, the pillar vanished entirely from sight... No, it was in 'Mori's' hand, as if it were a branch, its length even reduced to match.

"You say it's yours? I'm sorry, but..." 'Mori' looked at the woman with the same burning eyes and golden pupils. "This is my will, the will of the true Divine Emperor, Han Mori."

The woman looked at him, both surprised and angered by the sight and the words spoken by the brown-haired young man.

"So... Expand, Yeoui."

In less than a blink of an eye, the staff that Han Mori held out toward the woman extended to immense lengths and widths, passing through the stranger, who had no time to react. Her body was obliterated by the primordial force that the staff wielded.

Soujuurou looked at his old friend in disbelief, not only because of the impossible power he now commanded but also because of his transformed appearance as he swung the staff.

His once wild brown hair had turned a fiery red, like the flames of hell, with bright golden strands near his forehead that gleamed like the sun. His irises were a deep red with golden pupils, each bearing a symbol at its center: an omega symbol in the right eye and an alpha symbol in the left.

Finally, what looked like a golden tiara appeared around his head, with a symbol at the center: a burning eye resembling his own, bearing both the alpha and omega symbols enclosed within a third symbol—the delta.

"Now... the true king of the heavens has descended."

...

Mori suddenly woke up with a gasp, sitting up abruptly on his futon, struggling to catch his breath.

The turquoise-haired boy clutched his chest as if he'd just suffered a heart attack, trying in vain to steady his breathing in the solitude of his room, hoping with all his might not to attract the attention of Shirou or Kiritsugu.

The Fallen God didn't know what was happening to him at that moment. Was he having a panic attack? Was he experiencing convulsions due to the adverse effects of the Limit Remover? Were these the consequences of using martial arts? Thousands of questions raced through the young man's mind, yet nothing was clear to him. The only thing he knew for certain was that nothing seemed to help.

You are still alive.

You are greater than eternity.

I hope you can see yourself as I see you.

But suddenly, Taiga's words from that day returned to him, bringing a sense of peace and tranquility to the former Monkey King. Somehow, they comforted him as much as Xuanzang's words and fleeting presence had in the past.

Gradually, he calmed down and lay back on his futon without fear. He still didn't feel confident enough to sleep, so he simply stared at the ceiling, his breathing slightly rapid but otherwise normal.

Feeling calmer, he was able to recall the dream he'd had before waking so abruptly. He'd once again dreamed of his long journey: his arrogant pursuit of power, his tyranny in the Sage Kingdom, his war with the heavens, his punishment... And just when he began to understand the feelings of others, everything was taken away from him.

Although he had been able to live a new life as Jin Mori, the grandson of Jin Taejin, his karma had not forgotten his sins, restarting the cycle again in an endless chain of battles with the gods until he was ultimately betrayed by humans.

He dreamed of the old geezer, the Jade Emperor; the cursed Tathagata; and that bastard Park Mubong.

But before that, he had dreamed of his former master, the wise Subhuti; the mother goddess, Gaia; an omnipotent dragon... And then, of a strange woman and someone who looked uncannily like him...

Mori didn't understand the meaning of those dreams, but he just hoped he could finally get some sleep after all that... he needed his ten hours of sleep a day.

He could search for the meaning later, or maybe just forget about it.

...

In his quiet room, Waver couldn't help but collapse onto his bed after a long day working at the bar. It was late at night, and he just wanted to pass out right there.

He didn't even feel like playing Admirable Great Tactics because he was so tired. That was Rider's favorite game, and Waver had started to take a liking to it, either for its tactical options or simply because it was his Servant's favorite.

But he couldn't let himself be overcome by fatigue just yet; he had other things to do and needed to take advantage of the late-night hours to carry out his activities as a magus. He couldn't perform these tasks during the day due to his work schedule or to avoid exposing the Mackenzies any further to the world of magecraft.

With renewed resolve, the young man with black hair got out of bed before sleep could claim him prematurely. He approached his work table and took his new toy from a drawer.

Or at least its pieces.

What he took out and placed on the table at first looked like the shattered fragments of what could have been a broken vase. However, Waver quickly ruled out it being an ordinary vase due to the unique shapes of the pieces, which curved in peculiar ways.

Moreover, the magical traces it held—like special seals, as if it contained a miniature Bounded Field—instantly drew his attention. A series of ancient characters, impossible for him to decipher but certainly of Asian origin, were inscribed on the pieces.

Asian magecraft was foreign territory for the black-haired man, both literally and metaphorically. He was from England, the source of the classic and most widely used thaumaturgical system in the world, though certainly not the only one.

Different ancient traditions had given rise to distinct systems, and Asia itself had what could be called a kind of "Mage's Association," with its own thaumaturgical system that, in turn, branched into various forms depending on the country or region.

Although fascinating, Waver couldn't study it in depth for several reasons. First, the Asian system was entirely incompatible with the Western one. Second, Asian magi were extremely protective of their magecraft, even more so than in London, and restricted teachings only to their most favored disciples. And the third reason was the most obvious of all... Waver simply lacked the natural talent for magecraft.

He might have been a great magic researcher, but actually executing it was another matter entirely.

But that didn't stop him from trying to decipher the mystery he held in his hands—quite literally. In no time, the young man with black hair was nearly finished piecing the broken fragments together, forming something that looked more familiar, though still somewhat strange to Waver's foreign eyes.

It had taken the shape of a... gourd? That was the best he could call it, though he recalled seeing similar objects in some artistic depictions of Japanese warriors, soldiers, or generals from the Edo period or thereabouts. Hollow gourds used as a sort of canteen.

Here's the corrected version:

Now the question was...

"Why was this in the ruins of the fire?" the London magus couldn't help but wonder, looking thoughtfully at the ceiling, his eyes somewhat red from lack of sleep.

He had certainly gone to the site of the disaster to try to understand what had caused it. In the end, he concluded it might have been related to the Holy Grail—possibly due to the clash of forces between Saber and Archer? He couldn't be certain, but perhaps it had something to do with it.

However, the only remarkable thing he found were these broken pieces of a gourd that were completely intact, showing no signs of damage from fire, heat, or other external influences. The material it was made of remained entirely unaffected.

If high temperatures couldn't damage this gourd... then what could have broken it in the first place? And where did it come from? It wasn't the kind of artifact you'd typically find in a museum, and he doubted there were any Chinese magi nearby, nor could he imagine any of the other participants possessing something like this. Given its age, it was surely a Mystic Code of considerable power—one that might have shifted the course of the Holy Grail War.

The only conclusion Waver could draw was that someone had simply lost it... As ridiculous as it sounded, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of irritation at the thought that someone could have been careless enough to misplace something potentially so valuable.

Although, for now, its value was somewhat questionable due to the breaks it had, and possibly its main function had been lost, you couldn't just discard things like that! You're a magus; you should have some decency and throw magical things into the sea so that no one finds them!

"Thank you very much for letting me find it," Waver said with a smile as he finished assembling the gourd, missing only one piece. "Now, with this last piece... and a little reinforcement..."

He muttered as he placed the final piece, while blue-green interface lines covered his hand and the piece, extending across the entire gourd. This subtle touch made the breaks disappear, restoring it to its original appearance before it had shattered into several pieces.

It was magnificent, something worthy of a king...

The black-haired man couldn't help but sigh in satisfaction... until suddenly, an image appeared right where the final piece had been placed.

A dark, burning eye with a golden pupil shone from the gourd, catching Waver's attention as he watched, fascinated...

Then, without warning, a gust of wind burst from the gourd's opening, engulfing him and instantly sucking him inside.

"Why is this happening to me?!" was all he managed to exclaim as he was pulled into the gourd, though his cry fell on deaf ears.

Or did it?

...

Chapter Text

A new day dawned in the lands of the rising sun, although at this moment the sun had yet to make an appearance.

It was the early hours of the morning when Emiya Kiritsugu got out of bed to finish preparing for his trip to the Sea of Japan, where he hoped to understand the origin of that mysterious stone pillar.

He had slept as best as he could, which wasn't much, considering the extreme pain his body suffered from pushing Time Alter to its limits and the curses of All the Evils of the World that ravaged him.

Still, that wasn't enough to make him give up easily. He had several goals to accomplish before he died, including caring for his new children and finding a way to save his daughter from the clutches of the Einzbern, who had completely cut off contact with him.

He gathered his suitcases, packed with clothes, provisions, and even some weapons; his trusty Thompson Contender was safely stowed in one of the cases. A simple trick on the luggage would bypass airport security, allowing him to carry everything without worry. It wasn't the most comfortable arrangement, but he didn't have many options.

Before stepping out the door, he took one last look back toward where his children would soon be, ready to prepare breakfast in a few hours. Part of him doubted his decision to leave. They had only spent a month together, and he wasn't even sure they had fully adjusted to their new daily life at school...

But duty called. The fact that those pillars had appeared right after the destruction of the Holy Grail was a bad sign, and it didn't matter... even if he died in the process.

He would rid the world of all evil—not as a hero of justice...

But as a father.

"I will return... I promise." These were the last words Kiritsugu whispered to the air before crossing the doors. "And I won't make any more mistakes."

Thus, the infamous Magus Killer took up his mantle again—not for a mission, not even for his ideals... but to protect his children from this cruel world.

...

Golden eyes opened to the world. Mori had finally woken up from his short sleep. Unfortunately, this time he hadn't been able to sleep his usual ten hours a day; if he managed to get at least eight, it was by pure luck.

Under his eyes were dark circles, evidence of the lack of sleep he had endured the previous night. After that strange dream with the man who resembled him, the Yeoui, the young man, and the mysterious woman, he could barely rest. He kept replaying the dream in his mind, trying to find a meaning.

Unfortunately, his mind couldn't provide any clear or meaningful answer about what the dream represented, leaving the blue-haired man with lingering doubts.

However, he didn't have the time to dwell on it. After all, today was another school day that both he and Shirou would have to prepare for. With Kiritsugu's temporary departure, it meant an even greater burden for Mori.

Therefore, he couldn't just sit there trying to answer questions he didn't even know how to ask—he had to take care of his younger brother until his adoptive father returned.

So, it was time to...

"Mori-nii, are we going to train?" Shirou's voice startled him, pulling him from his deep thoughts.

The former Monkey King looked at the redhead, surprised to see him awake so early. Mori carefully observed his younger brother's eyes; however, unlike the previous times, Shirou seemed well-rested, as if he'd actually slept perfectly for ten... maybe even twelve hours? Wow, Mori couldn't help but feel a bit envious, especially given his own sudden insomnia.

"Good morning to you too, Shirou," Mori greeted him, causing Shirou to blush slightly at his oversight. In response, he softly said good morning back to his older brother. "Did you have any nightmares this time? You're up quite early."

Surprisingly, the redhead shook his head enthusiastically, as if any trauma from the fire had completely vanished.

"I slept like a charm, Mori-nii! You were right about meditation; it's amazing!" Shirou exclaimed, clearly excited. "I want to try it again, or maybe even learn more!"

The Fallen God chuckled at his new younger brother's childlike enthusiasm. "Calm down, little grasshopper—one step at a time. No one becomes a master overnight... not even I could do it." His words made the redhead's excitement wane slightly, but with a grin, Mori continued, "But unlike me, you have a spectacular teacher who understands you completely! And that's me!"

In an instant, Shirou's bronze eyes lit up again with excitement at the prospect of learning from his older brother.

Mori glanced at the clock to check the time, gauging how much of it he could dedicate to training while leaving enough for breakfast and ensuring they arrived at school early. Finally, he clapped his hands to grab his new student's attention. Though he had never formally been anyone's teacher, he had some idea of what it entailed thanks to old Subhuti and Xuanzang.

And what he lacked as a teacher, he trusted Shirou wouldn't hold against him. Though he hadn't noticed it much before, his younger brother bore a certain resemblance to his first teacher, Subhuti—so kind and pious to the core.

Mori knew he would never find the right words to apologize to his first teacher for the dishonor he had brought to the school and its teachings, despite the privileged position he had been granted. Deep down, he also understood that his expulsion had hurt Subhuti far more than it had hurt him, as though the teacher had foreseen his fate yet could do nothing to prevent it.

And now it was his turn to train someone—his own younger brother. Although they were not blood-related, Shirou's significance to him was greater than it should have been. After all, it was the redhead's will to live that had kept the defeated Monkey King from giving up.

Now it was time to repay a little of that favor, a favor Shirou had unknowingly done for him, saving not just his life...

But probably those of hundreds of billions.

"Well, I think we can take a few laps around the neighborhood before coming back for some meditation. Then, we can make breakfast before heading to school. How does that sound?" Mori proposed with a slight smile.

"Of course! Let's get started!" the boy exclaimed enthusiastically, almost jumping with excitement. Learning martial arts from his older brother was fun and relaxing in its own way, and maybe he could even learn magic from his father when he returned from his trip.

For Emiya Shirou, life was becoming more and more interesting... But at the same time, without him or anyone else knowing it, far more dangerous.

"Okay, let's go!" said the blue-haired boy without further delay, though not before grabbing clothes more suitable for running than his simple pajamas.

Unbeknownst to the Fallen God, his younger brother had lied about the nightmares. But in the redhead's defense, technically speaking, he hadn't had any nightmares. While he had dreamed of the flames, this time, the experience had been different.

Unlike previous dreams of the fire a month ago, he didn't witness death unfolding before his eyes. He didn't smell the stench of flesh burning alive, didn't hear the agonized screams for help, didn't taste the acrid ash scorching his throat, nor did he feel the icy grip of death on his shoulder, ready to claim his life.

This time, the flames were lower, less wild. The setting didn't resemble the city of Shinto; instead, it felt like a rural area. Though the sky remained dark and starless, for the first time since the fire, he didn't feel bad or uneasy. The flames no longer haunted him, nor did the fact that he had been one of the few survivors of that fateful incident.

Because he knew, deep down, that to Mori-nii and the old man, he was the most precious thing in this life. And so, he resolved to hold onto the memory of that predestined night of their meeting, never forgetting who he was or who he aspired to be.

Besides... he wanted to become a martial arts master like Mori-nii and Fuji-nee! Oh! And maybe even a wizard like Kiritsugu!

And so, the two brothers, who shared an inexplicable bond beyond blood, left the Emiya residence, ready to take a few laps around the neighborhood to warm up that morning. Not far from home, they encountered a man in a suit who greeted them cordially, though the rest of his demeanor remained rigid and professional.

It didn't take them long to realize he was one of old Raiga's men, stationed nearby to ensure everything stayed safe during Kiritsugu's absence.

However, they paid him little mind and continued on their way without any significant worries.

...

After a couple of laps, Mori decided that was enough. Shirou was still an ordinary seven-year-old boy; he didn't need Spartan training like the kind his own grandfather had put him through.

In fact, what Shirou surprisingly needed most was mental training. For that reason, meditation would take priority for the time being. Physical training could wait, although they would continue their morning jogs to keep the redhead from feeling like all they ever did was meditate.

The last thing Mori needed was to try teaching the boy the meaning of patience when he himself wasn't very patient. The former Monkey King was making a monumental effort not to let his frustration over his current state get the better of him. But that willpower came from his determination not to break down in front of Shirou. Being a good example for him was the least the boy deserved.

But there they were, back in the residence's dojo—a rather convenient place to train in comfort. A part of Mori couldn't wait to eventually use the facilities for small skirmishes with his younger brother, but that could wait for now. The priority at this moment was mastering the mind.

Shirou was once again sitting in the lotus position with Mori seated in front of him, ready to guide him through meditation and mental clarity.

"Okay," Mori began, his tone calm and steady. "Regulate your breathing like last time and clear your mind. Let everything flow through you—don't let it overwhelm you, but don't fight it either."

With those instructions, Mori closed his eyes and began his own meditation, leaving the redhead to manage on his own. He was fully confident Shirou could do it as well as he had last time—perhaps even better.

Letting out a single sigh, the youngest son of Kiritsugu followed his older brother's instructions. Calming both his body and mind, he began to settle into a perfect harmony with himself, though his spirit still felt somewhat separate. Gradually, he found balance—a harmonious connection that brought everything together.

Thus, he allowed everything to flow through him—neither being overwhelmed nor resisting it. He simply felt one thing:

Freedom.

The peace of five hundred lives lost in a cursed fire resonated within him, finding harmony with a single individual.

Their spirits were not lost to bitter memories.

They became fuel to move forward.

A will to find meaning in this life.

Not for them, but for himself.

Because everything that exists has a purpose in this world.

And like a hammer striking raw steel...

Emiya Shirou began forging his own path—not to meet others' expectations, but to create a destiny of his own.

"Hey, Shirou, it's time to get ready," Mori called, pulling the redhead out of his deep meditation. "Go get ready while I make breakfast."

Shirou nodded at his older brother's words, heading off to take a shower and change into his uniform. Meanwhile, the blue-haired boy busied himself in the kitchen, preparing breakfast using the tricks he'd picked up over the past few weeks. He couldn't yet rival the prodigious culinary skills of Daewi or Shirou, but his efforts had become respectable enough if given the chance.

Time passed quickly, and before long, Mori had breakfast freshly prepared. With Shirou already dressed and ready for the day, the brothers sat down to eat. The redhead couldn't help but offer a bit of praise for his older brother's noticeable improvements in the culinary arts, bringing a small smile to Mori's face.

Finally, after finishing their meal, Shirou offered to wash the dishes and other kitchen utensils while the former Monkey King got ready for school.

Mori accepted, not only because there wasn't much time left before they had to leave, but also because he knew Shirou well. The redhead always sought ways to help, and even something as simple as washing the dishes brought him a sense of peace.

Besides, if Shirou had been the one cooking that morning, Mori knew he would have insisted on washing the dishes himself to lend a hand to his little brother. It was only fair to let Shirou do the same.

In no time, both adopted brothers were ready to head to school. Without further delay, they set off towards their destination.

"Hello, Emiya-kun!" said a little black-haired girl, smiling brightly upon seeing her new friend.

"Oh, what a coincidence meeting you here, Emiya-kun... And you, sir, may I call you Mori-kun to avoid confusion?" the older black-haired girl asked kindly, though her beautiful face carried an ominous smile.

Kiritsugu's two adopted sons exchanged glances before turning their attention to the two girls. Part of them was surprised to encounter them so early in the morning, yet it wasn't an unpleasant surprise—just disconcerting to find them at the exact point where the paths of Miyama's foreign and local districts crossed.

The young man with blue hair nodded politely. "Yes, I suppose that's fine, as long as you tell me what to call you in return."

The young woman considered his request for a moment before replying thoughtfully, "Well, I suppose it's only fair. You can just call me Anne if you like."

"I understand, Anne," Mori said with a nod.

"Come on, Emiya-kun! We're running late!" Little Tohsaka exclaimed, quickening her pace.

"Huh?! I'm coming, Tohsaka! You can't just leave like that all of a sudden!" Shirou replied, hurrying to keep up with his new friend.

"We'd better hurry, Mori-kun," the Tohsaka family maid said with a kind expression.

It was an act the Fallen God wasn't going to accept so easily. He knew all too well that women who were excessively kind often hid personalities so twisted they could unsettle even a seasoned serial killer.

Mira had been one of them. She was among the few people he had seen twist someone's neck with a smile far too innocent for such an act to seem normal.

Still, the turquoise-haired boy simply followed them. After all, he had no other choice—they shared the same destination anyway. It would undoubtedly be rude to ignore their presence at this point, so with no other option, they shared the path to Homurahara.

The journey was pleasant and quiet. The two "responsible adults," which for some reason included Mori, remained in almost absolute silence. Yet, somehow, it wasn't uncomfortable. Occasionally, the former Monkey King cast curious glances at the young woman. Even if she noticed, her focus remained fixed on the children, who chatted more animatedly.

It was little Tohsaka who led the conversation, her spirited remarks keeping the talk flowing naturally. The redhead did his best to keep up, offering methodical answers to avoid any teasing from her.

"They're good kids, don't you think, Mori-kun?" Anne suddenly asked, breaking the silence. Her question caught the turquoise-haired boy slightly off guard due to the unexpected conversation.

However, Mori decided to continue the conversation since he had nothing better to do.

"Yes, Shirou, in particular, is very determined to do things right. You might be surprised, but he's the best cook in the house. Kiritsugu and I can't compare! He'll make a great househusband in the future," said the blue-haired young man, clearly amused, without noticing how the woman's eyes narrowed at the mention of the old Magus Killer.

The Tohsaka maid pondered this, slightly impressed by the fact that a child barely seven years old could cook better than both his older brother and an adult. However, she refrained from commenting on it.

"But I imagine you don't always leave him with that burden, do you?" she asked, her sharp gaze fixed on him.

"Not at all," Mori replied with a certainty that left no room for lies or doubt. "At least today I made breakfast. It wasn't the best in the world, but it wasn't bad either. On the other hand, he insisted on washing the dishes, and there was no convincing him otherwise."

"Jujuju, what a good dynamic duo you two make," Anne said with a smile. "A part of me wishes I could have the same dynamic with the Ojou-sama, but she has more important things to focus on than simple household chores."

"Well, I think that will teach him some discipline and patience, so it wouldn't hurt for him to learn a few things for the future," the Fallen God advised wisely.

"Mm, I'll keep that in mind," the young woman replied before stopping at the intersection where one road led to the elementary section of Homurahara Academy, another to the middle school, and finally, the high school. "If you want, I can escort Shirou-kun to school so you can go in peace, Mori-kun."

For a moment, the young man hesitated at her proposal. Having already left Shirou on his own the day before, he didn't feel entirely comfortable doing the same thing again. However... The Fallen God glanced at his younger brother, who was chatting pleasantly with his new friend. Technically speaking, these weren't just any strangers but people who had taken very good care of Shirou while waiting for him to be picked up at the Tohsaka residence. And the redhead didn't seem to have any complaints about them...

In the end, the Ancient Monkey King let out a sigh. "It's fine, as long as it's not too much trouble for you."

"Not at all. After all, we take the same path. I just wouldn't want you to waste your time, considering you might be late," the young woman explained.

"Shirou will always be my top priority above all else, so I'll always make time for him," Mori said with narrowed eyes, slightly defensive at the Tohsaka maid's words.

The woman offered him an apologetic look. "I understand. I hope you'll forgive me; I didn't think my words through. But at this rate, it seems like you're going to be late."

"It doesn't matter," the turquoise-haired boy replied, dismissing the minor altercation as if it were nothing. He then turned his gaze toward Shirou, who was patiently waiting with Rin for his representatives. "Well, Shirou, I guess I'll leave you with them. I'm running late; I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all, Mori-nii! See you at home!" his younger brother responded cheerfully, showing no sign of complaint.

"See you later, Emiya-nii!" the younger Tohsaka said, resuming her path while dragging the redhead along to continue their talk.

"We'll see you soon, Mori-kun," Anne said politely, offering a perfect bow befitting someone of royal demeanor before calmly following the children.

Mori watched them walk away until they became small figures in the distance. A part of him wanted to stay and watch until he could see Shirou safely arrive at school. However, he knew it would make no sense to have allowed his younger brother to go with them if he was just going to linger, especially since it would result in the turquoise-haired boy being late on his second day of school.

"Well, it's time to hurry," was all the Fallen God said before quickening his pace toward Homurahara Academy.

What the blue-haired young man did not know was how his mere arrival was already shaking the foundations of the Homurahara system and how the hierarchy of the Four Gods of Fuyuki would begin to crumble in his presence.

Because the Fifth God of Fuyuki was about to make an appearance.

Kizaru, the Golden Monkey.

...

By the time Mori arrived at the gates of Homurahara Academy, he had become the center of attention for nearly the entire institution. Both students and teachers stared at him with varying degrees of surprise and concern.

The turquoise-haired boy didn't need to be a genius to figure out the reason behind the commotion. After all, it was no secret that Yamamoto had confronted him yesterday to "teach him a lesson," only for him to show up unharmed the very next day.

One might think that the new student had simply paid Suzaku's henchmen to leave him alone, but this theory had long been disproven when, not far away, Yamamoto himself could be seen with his nose and hands bandaged. He looked self-conscious and was trying unsuccessfully not to draw attention, failing miserably.

On the opposite side of where Yamamoto and his group were, stood Reikan with a similar bandage on his face. However, his injury appeared less severe than Yamamoto's. Next to him were his first-year friends: Neko, who seemed a little nervous due to the palpable tension in the air, and Taiga, who looked as if she had just finished her morning kendo club practice. Her trusty shinai, Torashinai, was with her, and she was still wearing her practice uniform. Unlike the rest of the school, Taiga looked as happy as a lark. When she noticed Mori's arrival, she couldn't help but get openly excited and approach him without a hint of hesitation.

"Hello, Mori!" the brown-haired girl greeted, completely unbothered by the increased commotion her actions caused.

"H-Hello..." the aforementioned responded, looking at his new friend before glancing around and noticing that he was literally the focus of every gaze in the academy. "May I ask why everyone is paying so much attention to me?"

"Uh? Are you talking about all this?" Byakko asked casually, pointing at the cluster of people staring at them without any shame. "Oh, they're just aware that you're not anyone's punching bag."

Those words set off alarms in the head of the Ancient Monkey King. If Taiga had revealed his hidden skills and mastery in martial arts, then his ordinary life would be in danger...

"You didn't tell them...?"

The Yakuza princess gave him a serious look. "What happened between us is only between us, Mori. What they know is that you're pretty good at taking hits—good enough to hurt those who hit you even more."

"I-I see..." said the Fallen God, calming down at her clarification. Besides, the brown-haired girl was right; what had happened between them during that fateful encounter was too personal to be shared with the other students.

"See? You have nothing to worry about!" said the Heavenly Tiger of Fuyuki in a cheerful manner.

Under normal circumstances, Mori would have listened to his new friend. After all, her carefree attitude was contagious, reminding him of a time when things were simpler—before he discovered that he was actually the Great God Sun Wukong.

However, as he began to hear incessant gasps from the school crowd and noticed a figure—quite tall and impressively well-built—approaching them, the turquoise-haired man started to doubt the words of the Yakuza princess, who hadn't even noticed the commotion happening right behind her.

The guy was a young man, actually a student, and it was a miracle that there was a uniform that fit him without tearing. He had black hair and matching sharp eyes, with features that exuded confidence. He was even taller and more muscular than Reikan, and naturally more intimidating than Yamamoto. In fact, this guy was accompanied by Yamamoto and his friends, who followed him around like lapdogs.

The Ancient Monkey King didn't need to be a genius to put two and two together to figure out who this person was—the one that Yamamoto and the other bullies of Homurahara Academy obediently followed...

The infamous Suzaku.

When the guy arrived where Taiga and Mori were, both Reikan and Neko rushed urgently to Taiga's side to offer support and prevent their friend from causing even more trouble. Speaking of said friend, Kiritsugu's adopted son couldn't help but be amazed at how Taiga seemed completely unaware of Suzaku's looming presence behind her.

Did she already know and simply choose to ignore it? That seemed too good to be true. Perhaps she didn't see him as a threat? It was more likely that Taiga, being one of the strongest people in Fuyuki, simply didn't feel the need to worry. While Suzaku could also be counted among the strongest, Byakko stood above the Vermilion Bird in terms of power.

"Why the long faces?" the brown-haired girl asked curiously when she noticed her friends looking a little pale.

"I think it's because of me," Suzaku said seriously from behind her.

Hearing his words, Taiga casually turned her gaze toward the source of the voice, seeming surprised to encounter Suzaku so early in the morning.

"Nagasawa-kun! I hadn't noticed your presence," the brown-haired girl exclaimed in surprise.

"It's obvious that I've hidden my—" the young man began to say arrogantly before the Yakuza princess shamelessly interrupted him.

"It must be because of how insignificant you are and how little of a threat you pose to me," Byakko finished with a mocking smile as she turned to face her rival.

If the students of Homurahara Academy had been murmuring about Mori before, now an eerie silence fell over the place at the prospect of a confrontation between the Vermilion Bird and the White Tiger.

Taiga's friends—Reikan, Neko, and even Mori—were worried that the young girl might start a fight out of the blue, especially so early in the morning before school even began. On the other hand, Nagasawa seemed more than willing to escalate the situation, if the way his eyes narrowed, his fists clenched, and the veins bulged on his face were any indication. Meanwhile, Suzaku's followers also appeared irritated by Taiga's words.

Taiga, however, seemed prepared to counter at the slightest movement from the taller boy, her grip tightening around her trusty Torashinai.

Yet, to everyone's surprise, despite Byakko's provocations, Suzaku did not take the bait. There was a time and place for everything... And although utterly defeating the great Celestial Tiger in front of the school was an enticing prospect, now was not the right moment.

Nagasawa Takamaru wanted to show all of Fuyuki how Suzaku's claws could tear the infamous Byakko apart mercilessly.

The tall, muscular young man turned his gaze, his attention drawn to the blue-haired boy, who met his stare calmly—a feat very few people could accomplish.

Nagasawa sneered. "And who is this herbivore? A new lapdog, Byakko?"

For the first time during the exchange, Taiga frowned in annoyance.

"You should be the one asking yourself that, Nagasawa-kun," the girl replied irritably. "Unlike you, I make friends thanks to my splendid personality, not through intimidation."

Well, we did have our own conflicts when we met... Mori couldn't help but think, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead at his new friend's words, but he decided not to correct her.

"Suzaku-sama, he is..." Yamamoto began to say, his right hand fidgeting nervously.

"The reason you're like this, I know quite well," Suzaku cut him off brusquely before returning his gaze to his great rival. "You must think highly of him to attack one of mine so brutally."

"Well, he also messed with people very dear to me, so consider it an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, Nagasawa-kun," Taiga replied coldly, emphasizing the name of the challenger to her title.

The aforementioned snorted mockingly before turning around, though he did not leave. "Be careful, Byakko. Your time strutting around as the queen of this place is coming to an end. And since Seiryu isn't interested in the throne, once I'm done with you, I will rule the entire school... And when I'm done with him, all of Fuyuki will be mine."

"I'll be eagerly awaiting a good fight... if you can give it to me," Taiga said with a confident smile.

"Oh, you'll have it. I swear you will," Nagasawa replied before casting one last sidelong glance at Mori, who had merely remained a spectator. But first, I must take care of something.

After that, Suzaku and his entourage left for their respective classes, allowing everyone in the school to breathe a sigh of relief—especially Reikan and Neko, who did not want to see their friend end up killing someone.

"Thank goodness it's over..." Reikan said with relief.

"For a second, I thought they were going to fight," Neko added with a sigh of relief.

"Meh, it wasn't that bad," Taiga said casually before looking at Mori. "So don't worry, let's continue with our responsibilities."

"It's for the best," the Fallen God responded before glancing at the path where Suzaku had retreated.

He had a feeling that this wouldn't be their last encounter.

...