"Ah, Rin." The man greeted her, "Should I be worried about you bringing a boy into my church? I didn't know girls at this age would be so bold." He teased, an unsettling grin plastered on his face.
Rin made a disgusted sound while Shirou laughed anxiously. Who is he?
"It's not like that, you fake priest!" Rin replied, fuming red in anger and embarrassment.
"She's right. We're just friends." Shirou added to placate the girl and clarify to the man.
"Oh and you might be, young man?" He asked.
"Emiya, Emiya Shirou." Shirou introduced himself.
"Emiya." A look of surprise came to the priest. It didn't go unnoticed to the two teens.
"You know him, Kirei?" Rin questions.
"No, this is the first time I ever met this young man." Kirei closed his eyes and smiled, "But I do know someone who bears the same name as this boy."
"Tell me child, are you the son of Kiritsugu Emiya?"
Shirou blinked, "I am. You know my dad?"
"Know him? Better say I fought him in the last Holy Grail War." The priest who is now revealed as Kirei said with a grin, "And by how you're now in front of me, you're here because you're one of the chosen Masters for the 5th Holy Grail War I presume?"
"...Yes." Shirou replied after a pause from his surprise. This man knows his dad and not only that, Kiritsugu was a part of this supposed war in its previous iteration.
"Then I, Kirei Kotomine, welcome you to the 5th Holy Grail War." Kirei declared, opening his arms in a grand display.
"Please, come to my humble little church."
~~~~~~~~~~~
For the next hours till the sun sets in the west, Shirou was educated into the moonlit world by Kirei and Rin. After Rin explained how he is a third generation magus, who lacked the proper education in the moonlit world, Kirei took pity on him and decided to give him a footnote lecture about the world he is about to enter.
Honestly, it was a surreal experience to listen to the two for Shirou. Rin was a professional, lecturing him like a student and she as the professor. Meanwhile, Kirei's lecture was full of barbs and jabs at whatever he is lecturing while teasing Rin at every chance he gets. It devolved into the two sniping at each other with rather creative insults thrown at each other masked as lectures which went over Shirou's poor head.
Shirou can't help but feel awkward between the two. It felt like he was intruding on the time between a father and daughter.
Nonetheless, his time here was educational.
For one, Magi are dangerous.
"That's twisted. Why would you kill any witnesses?" Finding out the Mage Enforcer's dark dealings was something he couldn't stomach.
"It's how they keep the moonlit world secret, Emiya." Rin replied with a frown despite her own disgusts. For her, killing any witnesses is the last resort. It's why she perfected her civilian image and made sure her work is well kept hidden.
"It's only natural, young Emiya. Magi are never the kind of people who follow moral values." Kirei shook his head, earning a glare at Rin at the hidden barb.
"For them, killing is just much easier than hypnosis or covering their tracks. To be a magus is to live with death, to strive across morality and rationalization in order to reach whatever goal they cover. Even becoming a magus myself many years ago despite being a priest, I would never understand this disgusting habit of theirs."
"Of course, Rin's an exception." He remarks, earning a mean look at the offended girl.
"Morality is nothing more than an obstacle for magi. Their single desire in pursuing the height of their craft is something to be admired and to be feared. A drive that consumes them entirely in their entire existence and their successors." Kirei continued.
"Fortunately, it looks like you haven't strayed from the Lord yet."
"... I'm not Christian."
"It matters not, the Lord accepts everyone." Kirei smirked before giving Shirou a sharp look. A wicked thought forming.
"Still it's a surprise to see a scion of Kiritsugu Emiya to be so… naive and innocent."
"What do you mean by that?" Shirou wondered. He's definitely curious.
Kiritsugu never told him about his past, leaving Shirou to speculate and wonder in his childhood about the man who adopted him.
"Why could I not? Among the Magi, there is one name that is well-known in ridicule and fear for what he can do. The most ruthless magus I have the pleasure to meet."
"Kiritsugu Emiya, The Magus Killer."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What a wonderful day it is today.
The 5th Holy Grail War is now in full swing as the last Master of the war has turned up at his doorstep. But what Kirei didn't expect is for the last Master to be Kiritsugu's own son.
A man he pursued at the 4th Holy Grail War to find the answer to his existence. That man failed him, just like many others. His answer fell short to what he had expected in their last clash.
Gilgamesh was right in the end.
But to find out that said man had a son and died due to some unknown illness, he felt disappointed. Disappointed he didn't get a chance to meet the man himself one last time, just to rub it in.
By the boy's account and recollection, he wasn't even a good father. Far worse than him.
Probably?
Now? How can he break this boy?
"You didn't know? Your father was a participant of the last Holy Grail War and he was by far the most ruthless master in that war."
Both teenagers' eyes widened in surprise. Shirou for hearing this for the first time, the image of his reclusive and sickly father being a participant to such a cruel ritual. Rin is surprised for the first time hearing about this. The events of the 4th war weren't recorded by any means in order to keep the war fair for future iterations. Only by personal records and experience were the events passed down by the survivors or the neutral party overseeing it aka the Church representative which was Kirei's father at the time.
Too many times did Rin try to make the twisted priest talk about the events of the war but he never divulges any information about it.
Rin only experienced the 4th war as a child and her memories at the time were spotty at best.
So why is he telling this to Emiya?
Is this about his Dad? What's their history?
"Do you want to know, boy?"
"Do you want to know the lengths of cruelty and ruthlessness your father inflicted in the last war, all for the sake of one wish?"
The answer is already obvious.
Kirei smiled.
The fly landed on the spider's nest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author's notes:
Kirei: I'm about to end this man's (Kiritsugu) image!
Kirei being Kirei.
PS: comment and alert me for misspelling and such
Now give me your stones!