Shirou stared at the screen in front of him. "You have got to be kidding me."

A white-haired woman stood by, avoiding his gaze. "…It seems impossible, but the system is foolproof."

Shirou had flown back to Japan from Europe. It was the usual flight, but it seemed that sometime in his absence, Tokyo had changed. Some new company had bought up the entire city and added all sorts of high-tech security. That meant that his departure from his flight now involved an extra layer of difficulty in the form of a dna scanner to ensure he wasn't a wanted terrorist.

And that dna scanner was apparently telling him that one of his long lost parents was standing in front of him, alive and well. And that his name was apparently Minato something or another.

Well. It still wasn't the strangest thing to happen to him. That time where Rin went a bit crazy in her experiments and sent him to some weird underwater city with a talking sponge was worse than this.

"So… can I go now?"

"Excuse me?"

Shirou shrugged. "It's a welcome surprise to find out my mother's alive… but I have to catch a cab soon. There are people waiting for me to get back home. And that lady in the corner there's kind of scary with that sword and all."

Not really, especially considering what he'd gone through in the past few years, but it was enough of an excuse.

"Karasuba." The woman- no, his mother, glared at the other woman in the room. Said woman shrugged and strolled out, though not before giving Shirou a sly smile.

…That might have been due to the twenty swords pointed at her neck while his mother wasn't looking, but that wasn't here nor there.

"Sorry about that," Shirou's mother said. "Karasuba can be a bit… overprotective."

"Seems like it. So, about that cab, Miss…?"

A frown crossed her face, but it quickly vanished. "Takami. Sahashi Takami."

"Right. Takami-san." Shirou hefted his bag and stood up. "Now that this has been settled, I really have to go." Ayako and Sakura would nag him about it all day if he was late.

"…Won't you at least stay the night in the city?"

Shirou hesitated. While it didn't affect him too much to find out his parents were alive… it probably would have a big impact on the other party's end, wouldn't it? Unlike him, they had to live all those years with the memories of the one they had lost. Of the son who died too young.

"…I suppose a night or two won't hurt."

"So you're ditching us again, Emiya-kun?"

"I'm telling you it's not my fault this time, Ayako. How was I supposed to know I'd suddenly meet my long lost parent at the airport?"

"Oh sure. As if it's any more of a surprise than finding out that Archer's you from the future."

"…That's a low blow. How was I supposed to know you could summon Servants from the future?"

"Kirito?"

"…Alright, you got me. But it really isn't my fault this time."

A long sigh sounded from the other side of the phone. "I know. You're always finding yourself in these troublesome situations. First that Shiki guy and then that Queen chick… sometimes I wonder if you're too good for your own sake."

Shirou scratched the back of his head. "…Anyway, do you mind breaking the news to Sakura for me?"

"Oh sure, leave it to me to break our kouhai's little heart."

Shirou winced. "I-"

"I'm just messing with you, Shirou. And Sakura already expected something like this would happen, so she made her favorite food tonight instead of yours. We're having a girl's night out with Ilya."

"...That's fair. I guess this has been happening everytime I come back…"

"Yeah. So don't stress about it and spend some time with my newlyfound future in-laws, will you?"

"Bu- wha? Ayako!"

"Talk to you later, Emiya-kun!"

Ayako hung up before he could get another word in.

Shirou sighed and tucked his phone into his pocket. That done, he took a look around his residence for the next few nights. "And I thought I'd seen enough money thrown around back in London."

Rather than renting him a hotel, it looked like Takami rented him a whole flat in what was once Roppongi Hills. Something or another about being close to her work and the rest of the family.

"I wonder if she's the overprotective type?"

Initially Shirou had planned to stay in a cheap hotel, but that option was thrown out the window when Takami found out. A few phone calls later and he had the keys to the flat he was currently in. Judging from the fact that she didn't tell him when to return them, it probably meant the place was his indefinitely.

It was a large, two bedroom flat on the top floor. The type that was extremely expensive to rent and one that was furnished with posh, modern attire and décor. That included a kitchen with more utilities than Shirou thought existed until about five minutes ago when he traced the whole setup for future use.

Shirou sighed and walked over to the slide door that opened to a patio. It was nearing night time, and the city was beginning to light up in response. While the day might near an end, that wasn't true for the nightlife of the city or its inhabitants.

Takami said they would meet up the next day, so that meant he didn't have any plans until then. "Guess I'll go take a look around town."

Seeing as how the entire makeup of the city had changed since he had last been in Tokyo, it wasn't a bad plan.

Maybe that would let him find out what all those weird magical signals he was seeing were too.

Streetlights illuminated the roads with a soft luminesence. There weren't any cars around, and in the area Shirou was walking, there weren't any people either. As for where exactly he was walking, well, the simple answer was that he got lost. And for some reason, his phone's navigation wasn't working due to interference of some kind. The last time it worked was when he called Ayako to check up on her, actually.

Anyway, Shirou was walking along some deserted alleyways in the depths of New Tokyo. It looked to be a residential area, considering the few houses he saw around him. The lights in them were all out, their residents likely fast asleep or out in the city proper considering it was a Friday evening.

Because of that, Shirou was undisturbed, left to his lonesome to wander the city. Quiet, peaceful, and without a soul in sight. Just like the good old days patrolling the streets of Fuyuki, except without the whole chance of running into superhuman heroic figures.

And because of that, he should have expected it.

"Dammit. Maybe Archer's on to something about our luck stat…"

A playground. One for children in the residential area to play at. There, sitting upon the swing, was a young woman with a vacant expression. Her hair was short and colored a soft gray tinged blue, like the color of fresh frost.

It was also stained with flecks of crimson, the same color that covered the oversized labcoat barely covering her body and revealing an ample pair of… assets.

For a second, Shirou thought about ignoring her. After five years being around Rin and the magical society, he knew trouble when he saw it. After that second passed though, Shirou walked towards the woman. In the end, despite the differences between him and his counterparts, he was still Emiya Shirou at his core, and Emiya Shirou wouldn't abandon someone in need.

"Excuse me," he said. "Do you need any help?"

She didn't reply. In fact, the woman seemed like she barely registered Shirou, her eyes glancing at him for only a moment before looking away again.

Shirou sat down on the swing next to the woman. This time, there was a bigger response. The woman turned her head and stared at him with wide eyes.

"…It's pretty dangerous for a woman to be out this late at night by themselves. Do you have anyone I should contact to come pick you up?"

"…No."

An obvious response considering the state she was in, but a question Shirou had to ask regardless.

"I see. Then, do you need a place to stay for the night? And clothes? I doubt it'll comfortable to stay out here in that outfit."

That and she'd probably get the cops called on her in the morning when the residents saw her.

"…No. A broken failure like me should just stay here."

Broken. A failure. Words spoken with a dejected tone. The tone of someone who had given up on the world.

Considering the state she was in, a myriad of scenarios came to mind that could have caused her to act like that. But in the end, the action Shirou had to take was clear.

"Well, broken or not, I won't leave you here alone by yourself. Come on." Shirou held out his hand.

The woman stared at it, her lips trembling. "…Can I?"

Shirou nodded. "Whatever your circumstances are, it won't get any better sitting around here. And if you have no where else to be… well, I suppose another misfit at the Emiya household wouldn't be too out of place." His last words were muttered to himself, but the woman seemed to have cheered up a bit at that.

She reached out and took his hand. "…Warm."

Considering how cold her hand was, it was no wonder she said that.

"…Ah. One thing before we go."

"Yes?"

Shirou turned around and smiled. "I'm a Wizard."

And with that, the pair vanished, leaving only a quickly fading blade behind in their place.

A/N: Just a one-shot for now. Nothing much, just a what-if I wrote while trying to unblock myself on what to write next for Sword of Origin and Champion of a Distant Dream. If I ever continue this, it'll probably be just some shenanigans with Shirou no-selling a good portion of the plot line. Hope it was a fun short read though.