001 - What Makes it Hard to Go Home ?

When Ayaka reached the rooftop, she saw that four people were already waiting for her.

She recognized three of them as Tohsaka Sakura, Tohsaka Rin, and Emiya Shirou. However, unlike Sakura and Rin, the reason she knew Emiya was because he was famously known as the *Janitor* of the school, always helping others without asking for anything in return.

"You're here, Ayaka," she heard the voice of the other person—the silver-haired man with blue eyes who was now looking at her. Is he the one Archer warned her to be wary of?

She don't feel anything different from him... He seems just like the other three, just a human, not a Servant.

"What... Why did you call me here?" she asked, her voice hesitant.

"You can come closer, no need to stand so far away," Rin said, noticing Ayaka was standing at a distance.

Hearing that, Ayaka slowly approached them until she stood in front of the group.

Now, two Masters out of the four in this school had gathered.

"Now that you're here, I want to ask—what's your wish for this war?" Rei asked her directly.

"My wish...!?" She was shocked when she heard his question.

Rin and Shirou were also surprised, not expecting Rei to ask that. They already knew the Holy Grail in this war was contaminated by Angra Mainyu.

"I don't have any wish... I don't even want to be involved in this war or anything related to magi. This Command Spell just randomly showed up on my hand!"

"I just want to live peacefully and focus on my future!"

"You're just like me!?" Shirou exclaimed, realizing that, like Ayaka, he was dragged into this without truly understanding what was happening.

"Wait, your Command Spell just suddenly appeared? Not gradually forming?" Rin asked, her suspicion growing as she turned to Ayaka.

"Yeah, it just suddenly showed up on my hand when I woke up," Ayaka said, showing them the Command Spell on her hand.

"Don't tell me...!" Rin's eyes widened as a thought crossed her mind.

"Yes, that's your Command Spell, Rin," Rei answered calmly, confirming her suspicions.

Rei then began to explain to both Rin and Shirou who he truly was and how Ayaka ended up with Rin's Command Spell. He carefully outlined the details of how the summoning had gone awry, and how that led to the unexpected transfer of the Command Spell to Ayaka.

After some time, Rei finished explaining the events that had taken place. "So, this is your Command Spell? If you hadn't summoned him, I wouldn't even be involved in this!?" Ayaka said to Rin.

"That's not my fault! I had no idea the summoning would turn out like that!" Rin defended herself, a bit flustered by the whole situation.

"Alright, that's enough from both of you," Rei intervened, cutting through the tension. His voice was calm but authoritative. "So, basically, Ayaka, you don't want to be involved in this war at all, right?" He asked her, his expression softening slightly as he focused on her.

Ayaka nodded silently in response, still feeling overwhelmed by everything that was happening. Rei, however, seemed unfazed by her reluctance. After all, this Holy Grail War was considered far safer than the one from ten years ago.

Most of the Masters this time around were not hardened magi, that willing to kill each other like Kiritsugu who had ruthlessly prioritized killing over the lives of other Masters instead of facing their servant.

"Here, this is for you," Rei said as he tossed something toward Ayaka.

Ayaka, reacting quickly, caught the object with both hands. As she opened her palms, she saw a bright blue crystal, shimmering with a radiant glow.

[IMAGE]

"What is this?" she asked, holding it up to the light, her expression puzzled.

"Keep it. It's for your protection until the end of this war. I don't want you getting hurt because of something I do," Rei explained.

Rei knew Ayaka wasn't just an ordinary person. The power inside her was something he could sense clearly, even though he had no real knowledge of her background. In the original *Fate/Stay Night* that he had seen, she didn't exist, or at least he had never encountered her character. Still, the flow of mana within her was undeniable—she wasn't just a bystander caught up in the Grail War.

The crystal was a safeguard, a guarantee that no matter what chaos would unfold, Ayaka wouldn't be harmed by their actions. Rei didn't fully understand her role in all this yet, but he wasn't willing to let any random people get hurt because of his involvement in the war.

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Even though Rei said that, he knew that when his astral instincts kicked in, he wouldn't care about random people who had nothing to do with him. Like when he destroyed an entire town just to test EA's ability with his celestial weapon. So he needed to be careful and make sure his astral nature didn't take over.

"So, we're going patrolling tonight?" Rei asked Rin, who was eating her meal in front of him.

After their meeting at school earlier, they went their separate ways since the lunch break had ended. Rin and Shirou agreed to patrol the city tonight because of the incident where many people died due to the so-called *gas leak*. Rei had already informed them that it was all Caster's doing and that their teacher, Kuzuki, was Caster's Master.

"Here, Rei, can you give me your opinion about my cooking?" Sakura suddenly placed a dish she had prepared in front of Rei.

"Huh? You didn't like my cooking today, Sakura?"

"No, no! I really love your cooking, I also like cooking something. But my food doesn't taste as good as yours, so I want your honest opinion on this," Sakura said, hope flickering in her eyes.

Rei looked at the dish seriously. Although Sakura often cooked for him, this was the first time she had directly asked for his opinion on her cooking. Without saying a word, Rei picked up a spoon, tasted Sakura's dish, and paused to think for a moment.

Sakura anxiously waited, watching every change in Rei's expression.

After taking a bite and savoring the taste, Rei looked at Sakura with a small smile.

"It's really good, Sakura," he said sincerely. "I can tell you put a lot of effort into this."

Sakura's face brightened instantly, but Rei continued after a brief pause.

"But," he added thoughtfully, "there's something missing. I think it could use a little more seasoning—maybe just a pinch of salt or a bit of soy sauce to balance the flavors."

Sakura nodded attentively, absorbing his feedback. "I see... I'll try that next time."

Rei smiled at her enthusiasm. "Don't worry, you're already a great cook. A little adjustment, and it'll be perfect."

Sakura beamed, grateful for his honest and helpful feedback.

"I don't understand how both of you can enjoy cooking so much," Rin suddenly said, shaking her head.

Unlike her younger sister, Rin had absolutely no interest in household chores like cooking or cleaning. As a result, Sakura ended up handling most of those responsibilities.

Sakura smiled warmly at Rin's comment. "It's relaxing for me."

Rei chuckled softly. "It's not so bad once you get the hang of it, Rin. Maybe you should give it a try sometime."

Rin rolled her eyes playfully. "I'll leave that to you two. I'm perfectly fine with being on the receiving end."

As the three of them continued enjoying their meal and joking with each other, elsewhere at the Emiya residence, Shirou was discussing their plan for the night with Saber.

"Patrolling the city? That's fine by me, but what about you, Shirou? You can't defend yourself properly, can you?" Saber asked.

"Don't worry about me. I can use reinforcement magic to protect myself. But the important thing is, we need to erase the magic circles that Caster left behind before anyone else gets hurt."

Saber still had her doubts, knowing that Shirou's reinforcement wasn't enough to stand up to a Servant, let alone protect him in dangerous situations. However, she wasn't overly concerned, as she still had plenty of Mana from Rei, allowing her to defend Shirou easily if the need arose.

"Is reinforcement your only magecraft?" Saber asked, trying to gauge Shirou's ability.

"Yes, it's the only one I've trained in since I was a kid..." Shirou admitted, a little embarrassed.

Their conversation continued as Saber and Shirou discussed his limited magecraft abilities and how he could assist in their patrol.

Meanwhile, back at Ayaka's home, Fujino, her Archer-class Servant, posed a question to her.

"Aren't you going to join them for the patrol?"

Ayaka lay on her bed, staring at the bright blue crystal that Rei had given her earlier. She had to admit, it was beautiful, but she didn't really understand its purpose. She couldn't sense any magical energy from it, making it seem like an ordinary rock.

"No... I don't think they need my help. They already have that silver-haired guy and Saber," Ayaka replied, her voice trailing off as she continued gazing at the crystal in her hand.

"I see... Then what do you think about that man?" Fujino asked, her gaze steady as she observed Ayaka.

"You mean Rei? I can't sense anything from him. I can feel that you're different from an ordinary person, Archer, but Rei... it's like there's nothing at all," Ayaka replied, her confusion evident in her voice.

"So, it's only us Servants who can sense him?" Fujino muttered to herself, clearly deep in thought.

"Why are you so focused on observing him anyway? I don't think he'll do anything dangerous, especially with the Tohsaka sisters around him."

"Because he already destroyed the town once before," Fujino said, her tone shifting to something more serious.

"What!?" Ayaka's eyes widened in shock.

Fujino then explained what had transpired the previous night. Though she couldn't recall it all on her own, Alaya had informed her of the events and restored those memories.

Meanwhile, far from the city of Fuyuki, a blonde-haired woman was walking with a calm, indifferent air, seemingly unbothered by her surroundings. Her appearance was striking—her long, flowing hair, ruby-like red eyes, and elegant attire made her stand out. Yet, despite her unusual appearance, no one around her seemed to notice. It was as if she were invisible to the people she passed.

With no distractions, the woman continued her leisurely stroll, moving toward her destination with ease. However, her expression suddenly shifted, and she let out a quiet sigh.

Her boss had just given her an order: stop admiring the scenery and get to Fuyuki faster to do her mission.

Without hesitation, she tapped into her power, moving with really fast speed as she leaped toward her destination, leaving the quietness of her earlier walk behind.