Okay... for everyone who isn't already aware, this fic is a rewrite of a previous work by me, titled "Mysteries Beyond The Fog".

I tried to continue that version but attempting to reread it to get a better feel for it after so long away was painful.

So I decided to rewrite it.

There are a few things that are liable to change between the versions beyond just how it reads.

But anyway, that's all I really have to say about this for now.

If you are interested, I have a Discord Server, with the invite code currently available on my profile page.

Anyway... on with the rewrite.

*Cling Cling*

Black and White swung in a flurry as a blur of Gold moved to intercept with practiced ease.

The sheer speed and fluidity of the movements was so far beyond human ability that the only word that came close to describing the display was sublime.

Tohsaka Rin however, had long since lost the ability to be awed by such a display.

Once again, she found her face marring into a frown as she watched the two most important people in her life matching each other in armed combat.

Despite Shirou's Skill with a blade, there was always a gap between what he could achieve and what Saber could.

Admittedly, he was far beyond any other human when it came to his own abilities, the mere fact that he could even come close to matching Saber was proof of that.

And that wasn't even the limit of his abilities.

It had taken some time for them to realize that ever since he had fought the Golden Archer, his projections had changed on a fundamental level.

No longer was he using the blueprints stored within his Reality Marble to project his weapons, instead, he was simply dragging them out of his Marble, an action that cost him far less Prana than Projecting them did, with the added benefit that they were far less fragile than Projections.

Another flash of white and Rin noted the nearly imperceptible hole in Shirou's defense, a hole that was immediately taken advantage of by the blond-haired Servant.

*Clink*

She wasn't surprised when the attack was deflected, she had witnessed that exact same hole multiple times, however Saber always fell for it.

Not out of a lack of skill, but rather, out of sheer ingrained habit.

That was one of the two true dangers of Shirou's innate abilities, the ability to understand a blade in complete detail resulted in knowing every little habit that the user had ever formed and exactly how to take advantage of it.

The second true danger of his innate abilities, was his ability to copy the history of a blade and enact it himself.

And enacting that history meant more than just copying the movements… it meant copying the force with which it was swung.

That aspect of Shirou's skill-set had been a surprise, especially given that Archer hadn't used that ability.

Of course, that could have simply been due to Archer not having the ability due to his class, a train of thought that raised the question of what else Shirou was capable of that hadn't been included in Archer's class limitations.

Once again she found her eyes focusing on the spar before her, because now it was about time for Shirou to lose.

After all, while he possessed inhuman abilities, his body was still very much human.

And a human body couldn't handle outputting the might of a servant for long.

She noticed a grimace grace his lips as his stance twitched, a clear sign that his body had reached its limit.

That single flutter was all it took for Saber to capitalize on his state and knock him to the ground, her sword pointed at his throat.

"Yield," Saber's voice was stern as she made that command.

"Ow… I give up," Shirou responded almost immediately, earning a soft smile off the blond servant of the sword in the process.

Rin however, simply considered the chances of him surrendering against a legitimate danger.

That brought a frown to her lips.

For all his skill and power, Shirou was the type to push himself past his limits if his foe was dangerous.

Sparring with Saber was a safe space, little more than a way of pushing his abilities and practising his techniques, so there was nothing to lose in surrendering there.

But if the foe was genuinely dangerous, then there was no chance Shirou would be willing to surrender… he'd most certainly choose to push himself until he died in that scenario.

And that was the worrying part.

Shirou had little to no sense of his own personal welfare, instead focusing almost entirely on what others were having to go through instead.

He wouldn't hesitate to throw his life away if it meant saving someone else.

And that was something she found herself unable to accept.

If there was one person who deserved to find happiness in life then it was Emiya Shirou… but he simply wouldn't let himself be happy.

She had promised Archer that she'd help Shirou… but simply figuring out how to help Shirou was going to be hard.

The real issue was that despite everyone he knew, he had no real attachments that superseded his urge to save as many people as he could.

Not even she and Saber were too important for him to consider how he'd affect them if he died trying to save someone.

That was probably the part that stung the most.

She knew he cared for her, but it still stung to know that he thought so little of his own life that he believed it would be easy for her to get over his death.

Or more specifically, that he wouldn't even consider her reaction to it in the first place.

Fujimura-sensei didn't seem to do much better either, given how he completely disregarded how she would have reacted if he had been killed because she had been taken hostage by Caster.

Moving over to the currently prone Shirou, she quickly checked him over, noting that his body wasn't too damaged, just a bit strained from the exertion he put on it imitating the strength of Archer.

Of course, that was nothing compared to the time he attempted to copy the strength of Berserker… he'd nearly ripped his own arms right out their sockets with that one.

But as he said, it was a good trump card to have if he ever needed the sheer power to overwhelm a foe quickly.

She still thought simply shooting them with Caladbolg was a better option after witnessing the devastation Archer had caused with it.

Of course, if the enemy was already close enough for him to use Berserker's chunk of rock, then Caladbolg was probably not the best option to choose.

He'd probably outright kill himself in the explosion in that case.

"Thanks Rin," his voice cut through her thoughts.

"It's nothing," she found herself responding automatically.

After all, all she was really doing was making sure he was healthy.

Time seemed to drag on as silence reigned.

Shirou already knew his flaws, meaning Saber had little to actually say to him concerning their spar, meanwhile, she knew she didn't have anything he'd really listen to either given it was all about trying to get him to consider his own life.

He was very stubborn when it came to that topic.

If only he had someone who truly relied on him… who wouldn't be able to manage without his presence.

The issue there was that his family had all died in the Fuyuki fire.

…

Or had they?

She found her curiosity piquing as she considered the matter.

Shirou's adopted father had been a magus who had saved him from the fire and adopted him… but there was no guarantee the adoption was performed under the standard procedures.

Maybe… just maybe, Shirou had family out there that were still alive.

It wouldn't hurt to try and find out.

And she knew exactly who to go to about finding out.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Fujimura Raiga found himself frowning as he looked at the girl that stood before him.

He had seen her hanging around the Emiya Household for a couple of months now and he had decided that she was worth investigating.

Tohsaka Rin.

Heir to the Tohsaka family, owner of several different patents and an estate worth a fortune.

And that was after her legal guardian had squandered her heritage outside of his authority.

Because of that, he was already expecting the reason she was here.

She would be asking for his help in regaining what her guardian had given away.

Well, she would have another thing coming if that was the case.

After all, attempting to use Shirou to get to him was not something he was willing to let slide.

"Fujimura-dono," her tone was respectful and he found his eyes narrowing but decided to let her dig her own grave.

"Tohsaka-san," he responded with his voice even, "I was not expecting a visit from someone such as yourself."

"Thank you for agreeing to see me sir," she spoke formally while keeping eye contact with him.

That was something he could respect.

She wasn't a coward that much was for certain.

"Now… what did you wish to speak with me about?" he asked, already more than ready to reject her request.

"Emiya Shirou has recently mentioned something about his adoption that felt… off," she said and he froze, "I have a suspicion his adoption may not have been performed via the official channels and was wondering if you could confirm he has no living relatives for me."

That… that was not what he was expecting to hear from the girl.

He had expected her to attempt to convince him to look over her accounts and help her retrieve what was rightfully hers.

But instead, she came to him to ask him to investigate Shirou's adoption records.

The worst part was that he could easily believe what she was saying.

Kiritsugu had been an incredibly skilled man who followed his own code no matter what… but he was still a mercenary and engulfed in the darkest corners of the world.

The idea that the man had used his resources to adopt a kid to ease his own conscious wasn't outside the realm of possibility.

However, there was one thing he really wanted to know.

"And why have you decided to come to me with this?"

She snorted in amusement at his question.

"I'm sure you know Shirou well enough to know that if he saw someone about to get run over by a bus, he'd throw himself in the way without a second thought," she stated bluntly and he grimaced in response.

He was well aware of his surrogate grandson's tendencies to throw himself into dangerous situations without considering the consequences.

"And what does that have to do with this?" he decided to ask for clarification.

As much as he was aware of that trait of Shirou's, he didn't know why it mattered in this situation.

"It's simple… perhaps if he had a family related by blood, he might be more willing to consider himself before making stupid choices like that," her tone sounded like she didn't buy it herself, but at the same time, he could see it in her eyes.

It wasn't that she was using it as an excuse.

She was genuinely desperate to find some way to get Shirou to look after himself.

"Heh… heh… hehehe…" he couldn't stop a chuckle from rising from his stomach, "so you are hoping that by finding out he has blood family, you can blackmail him into taking better care of himself?"

"Hoping, yes… expecting… not so much," she acknowledged and he found his chuckle progressing into full blown laughter.

He noted the way her face was currently frowning and her eyebrow twitching.

Clearly his laughter wasn't something she was particularly happy with.

"Very well, I will investigate Shirou's adoption records," he admitted without delay, causing the girl to visibly blink and her expression to ease up in surprise.

"R-really?" she sounded like she couldn't believe what she was hearing, "just like that?"

"Just like that," he admitted.

He could see a tension release from the girls body as he told her that.

He briefly considered letting her know of what he had expected her to ask for, but decided that it was better to leave that out.

If she wanted help with that, then she would have to do more to prove she wasn't in this just to get close to his organisation.

"Thank you Fujimura-dono," she said with a grateful bow.

"Feel free to simply call me Raiga," his comment seemed to catch her off guard, but she quickly recovered.

"I… think I'll stick with Fujimura-dono… calling you that feels a bit too… close, too quick," she responded, prompting him to release a snort of amusement.

"Suit yourself," he said before giving her one last look, "is that all you are here for today?"

"Yes, thank you Fujimura-dono," once again, she gave him a grateful bow before being dismissed.

He wondered just how long she was going to stay with Shirou.

Because she seemed like a somewhat decent girl so far.

Shaking his head clear, Raiga immediately prepared to organise the investigation.

It was time to find out if Shirou was truly left with no family or not.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Shirou could do little more than focus on Saber's Noble Phantasm.

It was one of only two weapons he had seen that was beyond his ability to fully understand, though it was at least mostly comprehensible, unlike Gilgamesh's Ea.

But it was still hard to get a full image of the blade, the fact that it was of Fae origin made it very difficult to understand parts of it that defied traditional understanding.

He was sure he could at least get a somewhat decent imitation, but it was nowhere near as easy as any other Noble Phantasm he had seen during the Grail War… even the ones he had only briefly glimpsed in Archer's Unlimited Blade Works and fired from Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon had been effortless to record.

The fact that they had been recorded automatically was proof of that.

But Saber's blade was different.

Sure, there was an imitation of it contained within his Reality Marble now, but the degradation between the real and the fake dwarfed the degradation between the real and fakes of any other blade copied into his marble.

Despite all of that, he had everything he needed to stand his ground against Saber in a spar.

Namely, the history of Excalibur's use.

Knowing all of Saber's ingrained habits and exactly how to exploit them was a wonder in and of itself, though he was certain the only reason he did as well against her was because of how much he had accessed the knowledge.

He was still just a beginner with his Marble after all and while accessing it was possible, it was an action he had to consciously perform.

However, practising against Saber so often and mimicking Archer's Strength let him stand against her for far longer than any other human probably could.

He was also certain that his muscles were growing used to the strain he was now putting on them, either that or that his attempts at reinforcing them to withstand the force were improving with practice.

Leaving an opening he knew her habits would automatically aim for, he already prepared his defence and counter attack, ready for the strike to launch itself at him.

He found himself blindsided when a fist launched itself at his face and he was forced to dodge in a way he hadn't expected to have to.

"What?" the question left his lips before he could do anything else, then he found his legs knocked out from under him and a sword pointed at his throat as he lay on the dojo floor.

"Did you honestly expect me to fall for that every time?" Saber's voice sounded somewhat amused as she asked him that question and he found a small smile gracing his face.

"It's your habit," he responded without delay, "I would've thought it would take a bit more work to overcome it."

He knew she understood why he was surprised, they had sparred quite a bit since the end of the Grail War and she had a series of habits ingrained into her being that he had grown accustomed to over the sessions.

Clearly he wasn't the only person who was trying to improve.

"There is a reason I am recorded in legend," her words were pretty clear.

Her skill with a blade was legendary for a reason, even if she wasn't necessarily the greatest swordsman of the Round Table.

The blade was removed from his throat and he found his hand being taken by the petite blond who easily helped him back to his feet.

"Thank you for the match Saber," he said as he eased his muscles… it hadn't been quite long enough for the strain to really hit them but there was still an ache present.

The Servant of the Sword shook her head in the negative.

"There is no need to thank me," she said with a small smile gracing her lips, "we both benefit from our spars."

It was clear to him now that she was being honest.

She was strong, that much was for certain.

But beyond that, her skill was nearly peerless, with only minor habits that could be taken advantage of but even then, most normal people wouldn't be able to identify or act upon them.

But he could.

And that meant he was acting as a mirror for her, someone who could show her the flaws in her style and where she could learn to improve.

There wasn't much to improve upon, but if there was anyone who could identify the weaknesses, it was him.

However, despite all of that, there was one thing he had to speak with Saber about.

"Have you noticed anything off about Rin recently?" his question earned a frown from the girl who tended to dress in blue and white.

"She does appear to be preoccupied with something recently."

So it wasn't just his imagination.

Of course, the real question was whether or not she would need help with whatever she was dealing with and more importantly, if she was trying to shoulder the burden on her own.

It wasn't outside the realm of possibility after all.

"What do you think we should do Saber?" he decided to ask the king, after all, it wasn't like the relationship was just him and Rin.

"She doesn't appear to be stressed or agitated… so I feel we should leave it to her for now," the blond declared and Shirou found himself thinking about it.

Saber's summary did sound about right.

Despite whatever was getting to her being noticeable, she seemed more focused than stressed, meaning it likely wasn't something he would have to worry about too much.

"Okay then, but if she gets any worse, I think we should be prepared to intervene," that was the course of action he felt was most appropriate right now.

The nod from Saber said he wasn't the only one to think that.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Rin couldn't stop herself from feeling a sense of dread welling up inside her.

Looking at the price of the gems she should need to replace the ones she had spent against Caster made it clear to her.

She was in trouble.

If she was just going to go for cheap gems for simple spells, then it wouldn't be a problem, but she was looking to replace top of the line jewels and she did not have much left after the damage Kotomine had inflicted on her estate.

Simply buying enough gems of sufficient quality to replace what she'd lost in the Grail War would wipe out most of her inheritance.

After that, she may very well have to start selling off some of her estate to pay for any more.

That was not a good look to present the Clock Tower even if it was because of her father's mistake in trusting Kotomine.

At least she did have some properties that weren't exactly important, mainly used in the distant past before the railway network, when her ancestors would've had to spend time in different locations to make sure the areas where fully operational.

They could probably be sold without too much notice.

She was pulled from her musings as the phone rang not far from her current location.

"I'll get it," she called out to no-one, Taiga was currently supervising the Archery club now that the student body had mostly returned after the Rider incident, and Shirou and Saber were in the Dojo sparring again.

Picking up the phone she held it straight to her ear before answering.

"Hello, this is the Emiya Residence, Tohsaka speaking, how can I help you?" the mere fact she had said it so often it automatically slipped off her tongue without thinking really did show just how much she had been in the household since the Grail War.

"Ah, excellent, just who I was hoping to speak to," the voice on the other line sounded old and gruff, "this is Fujimura Raiga, I have the results of the investigation."

Her heart skipped a beat.

"And?"

"… Kiritsugu did not adopt Shirou via the usual channels," the man sounded uncertain on the other end of the line, "the people that were supposed to raise him in the event of his parents deaths, were his aunt and uncle in the small town of Inaba."

She felt her heart beat faster at that.

Shirou had living relatives.

"As it stands, Shirou currently only has one living blood relative," the man continued, "his cousin, Dojima Nanako… her mother, Shirou's biological aunt, died in a car crash a couple of years ago."

Rin found herself struggling to keep the grin from her face at that information.

"As for Shirou's Uncle…" the Yakuza boss trailed off for a few seconds, "his name is Dojima Ryotaro… a detective for Inaba's Police Department."

Her heart skipped a beat at that.

Police.

Shirou's uncle was a police officer.

That meant that Raiga was unlikely to offer any assistance with the man.

"I see… thank you for your help Fujimura-dono," she responded, "would it be possible for me to pick up the information you collected?"

"Of course Tohsaka-san," the man responded without delay, "I will have someone waiting for you at the gate with the documents ready."

"Thank you once again," she continued.

"It is fine, Shirou is like a grandson to me," that statement brought a small smile to her face.

"In that case, I will let you know if anything else comes up that I might need help with," she said before offering her goodbyes and hanging up.

She now had information to sort through.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

It had been a week since she'd gotten her hands on the folder containing the information she had been looking for.

Hiding it in the workshop she had set up in the Western style bedroom she had used during the Grail War meant that Shirou couldn't come across it until she had already done what she needed to with it.

The main issue was simply getting time alone when she could use the phone without having to worry about Shirou stumbling upon her.

Saber wasn't an issue, even if she noticed what she was doing then it would be easy enough to persuade her to go along with the plan… but Shirou was far less easy to predict on matters like that.

He hadn't hesitated to throw his life away on several occasions during the Grail War and had only survived because of her, Saber and a healthy amount of luck.

So there was no saying how he'd respond to the idea of having living blood relatives.

It was possible he'd be interested in meeting them, but it was just as possible that he'd throw the chance away so he didn't inconvenience them.

But she wasn't going to risk the latter.

Especially since she was intending on getting him to bond with his little cousin.

She shook her head clear of those thoughts.

Shirou had just left to do some grocery shopping, meaning she had the perfect chance to phone the Dojima residence and finally get some contact with Shirou's relatives.

Taking the files out of her workshop, she moved through the dining room, passing Saber who now looked at her with frown clear on her face.

Moving towards the phone, she noted that Saber was now following her, not that it mattered, she wasn't doing anything all that questionable after all.

Putting the file down, she lifted the phone and proceeded to call the number of the Dojima residence, noting that Saber was currently watching her with a frown on her face.

Hearing the ringing, she waited in anticipation.

"Hello?" the voice on the other end of the phone was quiet, uncertain and clearly young, making it perfectly clear who had answered the phone.

"Hello, is that Dojima Nanako?" she already knew the answer, but it didn't hurt to ask regardless.

"Who are you?" the girl sounded a little scared but that was only to be expected, she was the daughter of a detective after all.

"My name is Tohsaka Rin… is your father home right now?" he was the person she was wanting to speak to after all.

"No, he's not home," the voice on the other end responded after a couple of seconds, causing her to deflate.

"In that case, would you please pass a message on to him?" she asked, hoping the girl would have access to something to write with.

"Oh… yeah," the girl sounded uncertain but continued anyway, "let me get some paper."

"Of course," she allowed the girl to rustle in the background.

"Okay," the girls voice trailed off, prompting Rin to start instructing the girl on what to leave for her father.

Eventually she noted the sound of a door opening over the phone before a call sounded over it.

"Nanako, I'm back!"

"Dad! There's someone on the phone for you."

Rin found herself smiling at that, it seemed she wouldn't have to try and hide the contents of the phone-call from Shirou after all.

"Thank you Nanako," the voice was a combination of gruff yet soft, clearly the man was tough but was softening his voice to speak with his daughter, "hello, this is Dojima speaking, who is this?"

The way his tone went from soft to no-nonsense was something she could respect.

"Dojima-san, my name is Tohsaka Rin," she started out formally before continuing, "I have recently conducted an investigation into a certain individual by the name of Emiya Shirou."

"What does this have to do with me?" the man on the other side asked bluntly.

Now it was make or break time.

"Emiya is not his birth name, but his name by adoption," she declared firmly, "an adoption that was performed outside of the usual channels."

"Get to the point," the man demanded bluntly.

"… Emiya Shirou is most likely your late wifes nephew."

"…"

Silence reigned on the other side of the phone.

She took that as a sign that she could continue.

"He was orphaned in the fire that burned down several blocks of Fuyuki City ten years ago, he never entered into the standard adoption procedures, meaning he was likely never mentioned to your late wife," she explained, hoping the man would buy into it.

Looking in Saber's direction, she noted the Servant of the Sword clenching her fist in obvious anger.

It was yet another crime Saber would add to her list of reasons to despise the man named Emiya Kiritsugu.

"Dojima-san, are you still there?" she proceeded to ask, before hearing a few deep breaths from the other side of the speaker.

"I'll need to see the evidence if I am to believe you," he declared firmly.

"Of course, would you like me to send it to the Inaba Police Department?" she had a feeling the man wouldn't want strange packages being delivered straight to his house after all.

"Yes, that's the best place for it," the man was clearly not expecting her to try anything funny with the package, either that or he hoped she would assume his lack of comment about it meant he was letting his guard down.

It didn't really matter to her, she was being completely honest in her intentions.

"I'll be certain to do that then… I hope to speak to you again soon Dojima-san."

And after hearing the detective's own farewell, she put the phone back on the receiver before looking at Saber.

"You went behind our back to investigate Shirou's past," Saber's voice held no inflection.

"Yes," she had no hesitation as she made that admission.

"Why?" Saber's frown said it all, she was certainly disappointed with her decision to hide what she was doing.

"How do you think Shirou would have reacted if he found out I was looking into his past?"

Saber's frown deepened as she seemed to think about it for several seconds.

"I… am unsure."

"That's why I hid it," she stated firmly, "I didn't want to risk Shirou derailing it if he decided to be stubborn again."

"Surely if he has relatives, it should be his decision to speak with them," Saber's statement was clear and firm.

"Saber, I decided to look into Shirou's history because I wanted to see if there was anything I could use to make him stop and think for even a second instead of immediately throwing himself into something that could kill him," she wasn't going to lie to Saber about this.

Given the way Saber released a tired sigh, she was sure she had gotten through to the blond.

"So you wanted to find his family to use them as blackmail to make him take care of himself?" Saber summarised and she found herself letting out a dry chuckle.

"Well, I doubt it will stop him from being reckless," she admitted, "but if doing this can get him to think a little more, then I'm willing to try it."

Silence reigned before her Servant spoke up once again.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Just keep quiet about this until I'm ready," she told her easily, "I want to make sure his uncle is willing to let him into his life before going any further."

"Very well Rin."

Now it was just a matter of mailing the documents and waiting for Dojima's reply.

And that is all for now.

I have written a good chunk of the next chapter, so hopefully it shouldn't take too long to get out.

If you would like the option of reading it a few days before posting and have some input on issues noticed etc then I usually link completed chapters on my Discord Server for that purpose.

Anyway... Shadow Out.