ɢʀᴀɪʟ.

The truth was sometimes the most painful thing of all, but she deserved to know all. “Illya never was reunited with him no, it seemed like he was forced to keep away by some form of magic?” It was a shot in the dark as to it’s nature, but he decided to mention it to her regardless. To lie here, that would betray that man’s best efforts. 

It was painful. He stuttered out silence at first. To hear if she suffered… of course she did. “… Gilgamesh, the Kind of Heroes. With his hand he tore out her heart, leaving her to slowly bleed out on the floor, only able to crawl over to her dying Servant.” It was cruel, and he took pity on this woman…. and the worse thing was that she disappeared from this city, so it was possible that she had left this land of the living altogether. 

Now, his amends. “I failed in protecting what was in reality my sister, a life that didn’t have to be wasted. But.. I won’t ever let it happen again, that is my promise to you Irisviel.” 

“The Bounded Field…” She murmured, more to herself than Shirou. That had to be the only explanation, nothing else would make sense. Anger formed within her heart; Jubstacheit had to be behind it, there was no one else would inflict such a punishment. Still, she did her best to keep her expression as neutral as possible despite the ache she currently felt.

That was until Shirou spoke of Illya’s death.

Her brave façade crumbled, her hands clenched into fists at her side. “No more,” She said firmly, stopping him from continuing. “Please…” She couldn’t bear it, not another word. It was hard enough to hear her only daughter’s life had been taken but to know she suffered so horribly… she turned her head slightly so Shirou wouldn’t see the pain in her eyes and she crossed her arms over her chest. She couldn’t listen to another word, she didn’t want to. Nothing could have prepared her for that.

“As successful as it could be, but it leaves me with a desire of wanting more to it,” he gave a small truth with a hand lifting to form a seal.  The weapons scattered around would vanish in a blast of smoke to be sealed away in his scrolls.  He’d set something else up at some point.  Training was over, and his attention would focus on the woman that had come to him.

“A little weary, but it is nothing that will slow my steps,” an easy comment for him to make but he did feel a little uneasy with how she was looking at him.  Perhaps it brought a memory of certain instances from his younger days.  A small chuckle with that memory, Itachi raised his hands up as a gesture of innocence.  “I’ve been far worse.  Someone that’d see me now would think of this as a good day.”  Was that good to even admit?

Ah, that was right.  He had offered to help her around.  Her last visit wasn’t very long, and he was sure there was still plenty of confusion when it came to this city.  It would seem that a walk with the woman would be his next step, and it would be a pleasant walk so he hoped.

“I have no reason to take back what I’ve said.  I’ll gladly be of service to you, Miss Irisviel.  I do must apologize if I am of anyway unappealing.  I wasn’t exactly planning for such a reunion,” he commented as he was a bit sweaty and probably dirty as well.  For once, he wasn’t doing anything too intense with training despite having the desire.  “But I have been well.  Not much as changed since your last visit.”

She watched as the scrolls disappeared and then turned her attention back to him. Part of her wasn’t sure whether to believe him however she let it slide for now. She couldn’t exactly scold, given she had only met him once before and even that was a little while ago. She did actually wonder how much time had passed since their last meeting but she decided that information wasn’t important just yet. Instead, she decided to focus on the present, the warm feeling from earlier still pooling at the pit of her stomach—the relief that she had in fact found someone she recognised.

“Alright, I believe you,” She said with a smile of her own. A slight wave of her hand dismissed his excuses in the meantime. “Still, I would advise not overdoing it.” That was all she would say on the subject. If this was a good day then she would hate to see him on a bad one; she hoped that day wouldn’t come. “Perhaps I’m not remembering this place as clearly as I’d like but it certainly feels different. No matter.”

His response to that was bending back a bit, causing a slightly disturbing cracking noise to be heard quite audibly. Although the man seemed to be fairing just quite well. Hearing the voice, he turned towards the woman and rubbed the back of his head.

Well, she’s quite gorgeous. That was probably an understatement. Though, besides that, he couldn’t help but feel that there’s something about her that feels oddly… familiar. Eh, whatever. With a shrug, he walked over to the door that had fallen on the ground.

“Eh, I’ve been through worse. Sorry you had to see that. I just had to teach that spirit a bit of a lesson, you see. They tend to throw a bit of a tantrum and had to be reminded who’s in charge every now and then.” 

She winced just slightly at the cracking sound, however her attention returned to the man before her. Perhaps his explanation should have been a word of caution, however her curiosity got the better of her so she remained rooted the spot, watching as the stranger returned to the house.

“A spirit?” She repeated, a slender eyebrow rising upward just slightly. “You summoned that spirit, I assume? Dare I ask what sort?” She had seen for herself, of course… she was just passing by, however… whether not that spirit was malevolent or not, she thought he might be able to provide the answer. It could be dangerous and though she could handle herself, she couldn’t help but disapprove just slightly at the practice. What if things had spiralled out of control?

With a cut of a cord, Itachi would activate a trap on himself.  Standing in the center with a barrage of kunai coming down upon him, eyes would shine a bright red as the Uchiha would begin dodging each kunai while deflecting the ones that were in his way.  Once the barrage was finished, Itachi stood himself over all of the weapons fired off at him without a single scratch.  It was simple enough, but it wasn’t enough.  He felt he could increase the difficulty, but how could he go about with that? 

His thoughts were pulled away from his training as the red eyes spotted one of his birds flying and calling out.  Narrowing his eyes, he wondered who was intruding in this area?  Perhaps it was good that the first round was finished.  The next thing to hear was a voice.  The sharingan hues moved to the owner of this voice and to see snow white hair and a smile that held her happiness.  Quickly, he recognized the woman.  The fact she managed to find her way back here…

“Irisviel…?” He couldn’t help but question this, but it had been so long since he last saw her.  She was back in the city, and she managed to find her way back to him.  To be fair, he had took a liking to this particular spot to train.  With how opened it was and how far it was from any populated areas, he figured it’d be his best pick.  Even if he wasn’t expecting company, it was rather pleasant to see the woman once more.

“It’s alright.  I sort of just finished with what I was doing as you can see,” he commented with the scattered weapons.  Red hues would return to the normal onyx as he moved to approach and stand in front of her.  “What brings you back out here, Miss Irisviel?”

Well, if he was sure then she wouldn’t feel guilty about disrupting him. The fact he looked somewhat surprised didn’t phase her at all; it was to be expected, she too was curious as to why she had been brought back here but she supposed those were questions for another time. Right now, she just wanted to become reacquainted with her first friend she had made here. 

Secretly, she was glad he remembered her.

“I hope your training session was a successful one,” She commented, eyes glazing over the scattered weapons upon the ground. “Though I hope you're not pushing yourself too hard.” She added as an afterthought, now casting her gaze to his face instead, studying his features as though she was ready to scold him. “You look a little tired.”

There was a loud banging and crashing noise coming from the strange looking residence that seemed out of place in a modern world. Moments later, a man flew out and broke through the front door, flung away by something that was inside. He rolled on the ground for a bit before coming to a stop. Getting up, he dusted himself off a bit.

“So that’s how you’re going to play, huh?” Said the man as marched back in and slammed the door behind him. Suddenly the place was silent.

Just then, a large magic circle glowed under the place of residence before what looked like a large mechanical bull would be launched upward, bursting through the roof and soaring into the sky. From the looks of it, it might seem like that projectile would go straight to space.

The front door would fall down from all the racket, with the man looking up the sky for the result of his actions. The commotion would certainly catch the attention of many.

“Wow. Nice hang time.”

@irisvixl

Strange occurrences were something Irisviel had grown to expect now that this was her second time in this city. Be that as it may, even though she was prepared for odd circumstances, the fact said odd circumstances seemed to happen right in front of her always caught her by surprise.

However, instead of being startled, her natural curiosity had her come to a standstill, one hand covering her mouth as ruby hues watched the scene unfold before her. As much as she wanted to lend a hand to the stranger (that tumble didn’t look so good), she had no idea… how she was supposed to help. Instead, she remained rooted to the spot, eyes travelling skyward.

Well. That happened.

“Oh! Is that your lion? How marvellous!”

Her voice sounded from behind the Red Paladin as she observed him and his robotic lion silently... until now. Having never seen such a beast before, her curiosity spiked almost instantly. She couldn’t contain herself, really, and should he permit she’d love to see it up close.

The sight of a crow perched upon the fence as she was passing by shouldn’t have caught her interest right away, except for the fact she retained a small piece of information from the last time she visited the city.

She didn’t dwell how she’d remembered such a man but the fact he was her first (and only) friend in this strange metropolis, she had to wonder if he was in fact still here. With little idea of where to find him, she had one clue to go on and so, she turned on her heel and made her way to the embankment where they first met.

This time, she had been rehoused in sector six, making her journey much, much easier. From what little landmarks she could remember to guide her to where she wanted to go, she reached her destination in little over twenty minutes.

A light gasp escaped her as she couldn’t believe her luck. Who’d have thought?

Still, joy warmed her right to the core as she made her way down the small hill to the man who had helped her out all that time ago.

Shirou looked down, almost in shame. Then her name. Irisviel von Einzbern. She was willing to trust him that much that she spoke her name. That was some re-assurance. But then at the same time, she deserved to know. “Emiya Kiritsugu died a few years after saving me. He… he seemed at peace, but at the same time he seemed so distant.” 

It is impossible to save everyone. 

Of course as a child he refused that, but now, newfound clarity explained that. 

“Regardless of what Emiya Kiritsugu thought, to me, he was a hero. He saved someone when there was no possibility of being saved.” A hand became a fist, an ideal still alive, burning like a fire. “When he died, I told him one thing. I would become a hero of justice in his place, that I would save others.” Then came his admission of guilt. 

“But… I could not save your daughter Illya. In the Fifth Holy Grail War, even with her Berserker, she was killed. And for that, I am deeply sorry.” 

Perhaps the aftermath of the war made him this way, though she had told him from the very beginning to not mourn for her. Maybe there was another reason. Her heart ached, knowing that both this boy and Illyasviel had been left fatherless. “Did he find her, after the war? Illyasviel, did he return to her?” She asked, of course knowing of her husband’s passing but after, she had to know if he found his way back. 

When he spoke, she could see hints of Kiritsugu’s ideal within him, that dream of saving others and creating a world where no one would cry. However as soon as he revealed Illya’s own passing, she felt as though all the air had been sucked from her lungs, her limbs felt heavy and as her vision blurred with the arrival of unshed tears, all she could think about was how. Visions of the aftermath of her own War flooded her mind, the images the Grail showed her after consciousness was taken over by the device. Illya’s frightened face surfaced in her memories a she spoke of a dream so terrible it took her to her core, and Irisviel promising she wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

Irisviel, who had passed during her own war and Kiritsugu shortly after, left Illyasviel alone in this cruel, unforgiving world only for her to meet the same fate.

@irisvixl​

    Although he had never spoken to her directly, the one who feigned to be Saber’s master, without a doubt he recognised her; with such distinctive features she was hard to miss. To think he would cross paths with her again, and here of all places. Their meeting is nothing special, their paths simply cross by chance whilst he familiarises himself with everything and attempts to let it all sink in and grasp what this chance meant for him. How many second chances was one man truly allowed he wondered.

    “Suffice to say I am somewhat surprised to see you,” as she may be slightly startled to see him after his brutal exit from the war. He does wonder what became of the rest, how it all ended but it does not take a scholar to know things likely fell a part, such a thing was ill-fated after all. “Perhaps it is no wonder at all,” he muses mostly to himself in a lowered tone. “Nevertheless I would ask a favour of you…perchance it is sudden but I must know what befell after my departure,” he asks almost gravely as he knows there would be little to no joy in that tale should she comply.

This was a city of many great wonders; she had discovered that during her first stay here. She supposed encountering those from her own world shouldn’t be too surprising however crossing paths with the one so cruelly betrayed… her heart ached just slightly.

Hands clasped behind her back, scarlet hues averted their gaze skyward as his question hung between them, heavy and almost impending. Part of her didn’t want to provide the answer. “I wish I could say the same, Lancer.” She replied sombrely. “It is not my first time in this city… if there is one thing I have learnt it is to expect the unexpected.” Stalling, perhaps but she allowed silence to once again linger. A light sigh escaped her lips just so, as she began to speak of what happened after his demise.