Fool's World: The Empress (ch. 6) (Patreon)

I had a brother.

Or, rather, I always had a brother, but first I forgot he existed, and then I learned that he was dead, only to find out that he was alive. My feelings were… mixed to be honest.

"It was easier when he was dead," I remarked to Nobara, who had been asking a silent question with her eyes, with her not so subtle glances every couple of minutes. "Simpler. He was a nonfactor on account of the whole 'being a corpse' thing. Now, not only is he alive, but he has a catalyst we need."

Which was bad. Very bad. Because my brother could have already used that catalyst to summon up a Servant to participate in the Grail War. He had been the chosen heir of my parents on the account that my magic circuits sucked. Our parents died when we were both pretty young, but even the bare-bones training he would have gotten still put him leagues ahead of me. Especially now that I'd forgotten everything I'd once known about magecraft.

"Don't you want to meet him?" Nobara asked as we walked through the streets of Fuyuki City. Touko had vanished not long after the revelation, giving an uncaring, "Do what you want," in regards to the revelations. She didn't voice it out loud, but I was guessing that she was going to be launching her own investigation into the grail. I was still indecisive on what we should do with Kirei -- no matter what, it was a bad look to have participated in a Grail War and then oversee one. But, being sketchy wasn't a crime.

It was entirely possible that we were worrying over nothing. That the problem with the Grail had been solved immediately after the Grail War and we were being suspicious without cause. The problem with that idea was that it required us to put our trust in the hands of people we didn't know. People who were like my wonderful parents. People that Touko specifically warned against trusting because all magi were untrustworthy.

I noticed Nobara giving me an increasingly concerned look and it was only then that I realized my thoughts had wandered. Offering a shrug, I told her the truth. "I do, but… I don't really feel like he's suddenly 'family' or anything. I've never actually met him before." I pointed out, and based on the look she gave me, she thought that that was the wrong opinion to have, but I didn't know what to tell her. It was the one I had.

To me, it felt weird to think that I suddenly had to care about someone I had never met just because we were related. I didn't feel an instant connection to my younger brother after learning he was alive, or have any yearnings to meet him and connect. Honestly, if he had no connections to the Grail War, I doubt I would bother to meet him at all.

But, at the same time, I was a little curious. I had no memories of him -- just a photo and the knowledge that he had been chosen over me to be the heir. What would he be like? Who was he as a person? My younger brother had been raised by two pieces of human garbage, brought up in their dirty practices, then rescued by the Magus Killer.

Then raised by him, according to the records we got our hands-on. Apparently, we weren't the first to have held out hope that someone that had been reported as having died in the fire was still alive, simply because there had been so many unidentified or missing bodies. Even better, the nurse at the front desk had remembered my brother, because he had been brought to the hospital without a scratch aside from excessive smoke inhalation when so many others had been horribly disfigured or outright died in their hospital beds.

Cross-referencing with public records we found his adoption records.

My brother was then raised by one of the magical world's most ruthless killers for five years. A man so ruthless and feared that he didn't even change his name as he put down roots in Fuyuki.

I wanted to meet him just to see who my brother had turned out to be.

"I can’t tell you what to do one way or the other. Family is important, but I’m not one of those people that thinks that sharing blood makes people family. Where I’m from, Jujutsu Sorcerer families…” Nobara trailed off, looking at something far off, before she shook her head. I waited a beat for her to continue, but she didn’t.

"I could do without my family if they're a bunch of murderers," I confessed as we walked. I was still certain that my family had been behind the kids' disappearance during the Grail War. It lined up a little too well. I don't know if they were participants, but I knew that they didn't shy away from killing kids if it got them what they wanted. "I'll hold off on the hugs and kisses until I see he's not cut from the same cloth," I told her as I spotted my bike parked in a small lot next to a diner.

Nobara said nothing as we both got on. It was only after I turned on the engine and she wrapped her arms around my stomach that she spoke up. "And if he is?"

Then… "We'll see when we get there," I decided, pulling out of the lot and inputting the address that we had gotten from the public records. It was in the nice part of town, to my understanding. The situation was up in the air and I didn't have any issue playing the cards I had.

I wasn't above lying through my teeth if it got me and Nobara what we wanted -- that being the Grail and the wish that it granted. Maybe it was the lack of context that came from not having memories, or it was old influences that I unconsciously retained, or maybe Kirei was right and you couldn't change who you were, but I would do what I had to do to get what we wanted. Whatever it might be.

We drove in silence through the late afternoon -- there was a bit of traffic to deal with that slowed us down, the city itself seemed determined to reject my earlier assumption that it was half empty by putting everyone on the streets at once. As we neared our destination, I felt myself grow tense despite my attempts to remain at ease. A knot of tension formed between my shoulder blades, and I gripped the handlebars of my bike with knuckles that slowly grew whiter and whiter.

I knew this feeling, I realized as I spotted the entrance to the Emiya Estate. I felt it back when I was in Shimano.

I was being watched.

Pretending I didn't notice, I came to a stop near the entrance and parked my bike. Nobara quickly hopped off to inspect the walled-off estate, her hands on her hips. "Your brother is loaded too. It’s a cozy looking place -- I always liked traditional Japanese buildings," she gave her verdict, and I guess that was a pass? As she gave it, I swept my gaze over the area while I killed the engine and swung my leg over the saddle to get off, trying to make it look like I was just making sure there were no cars coming down the street.

As if my gaze was drawn to them like a magnet, I saw two men standing at the corner of the street. They were smoking, pretending to chit chat, but I felt their eyes on me. It might not have meant anything if it wasn't for the golden pins on their lapels. I quickly moved on, as if I hadn’t really noticed them since I wasn't looking for them, and got off my bike.

"The Yakuza are here." I told Nobara, approaching from behind, making Nobara turn to look at me. "Two of them at the corner of the street. Don't look at them," I tacked on when Nobara started to look their way.

"Are they with the Nishikiyama family?" she asked, and I shrugged as I took in the entrance to the Emiya Estate. There was a large wall around it, but it opened up to a rather quaint-looking courtyard on the inside, and immediately in front of the gate was the front entrance of the U-shaped building. There was a shed off to the side, but other than that… overall, it looked like a nice traditional-style Japanese home.

"I don't know," I answered. "I couldn't see the kanji on their pins, just that they had them. But given that they're watching us like hawks, I think it's a safe bet." Best to prepare for the worst while hoping for the best. Though, l couldn't imagine why else the Yakuza would be watching us like that. Had they tracked down my brother too, and just never told the original me, or was he following in our parents' footsteps and making his own deals with the local Yakuza families?

This could be really bad, I decided. I was counting on us being able to lay low for the duration of the Grail War. If we had to deal with the Yakuza on top of the other Servants, then we needed a Servant of our own sooner rather than later. Otherwise, I would have to look at Shimano for help, and I knew that would be a deal with the devil.

"Should we leave?" Nobara questioned, glancing at me. "Pretend like we had the wrong house or something? I don't want your family to get targeted by the Yakuza because of us. They'll have to deal with them after the Grail War." She pointed out, and that was a very good point. Though it did give my brother a lot of credit I wasn't sure he deserved. Nobara hadn't seemed to have made the connections I had yet.

I mulled it over before I shook my head, "Too late now. We've already arrived and the connection is too easy to establish," I said, stepping forward. What mattered right now was that we needed a Servant. Once we got one, then our problems got a lot less daunting and we had a lot more options with how to deal with them. With that in mind, I walked up to the door and pressed the doorbell. I heard a ringing come from the inside of the house, and I stepped back so whoever was inside could open it.

And I waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

Then I waited a little bit more.

"Wait, what time is it?” Nobara suddenly asked, looking at me. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone to show her that it was three o’clock. She smacked a hand to her forehead, looking annoyed with herself. “I completely forgot about it since my school term hasn’t started, but if he’s around your age, then he should be in school.”

Oh. Right. School was a thing, wasn't it? A quick look and…

...

"Japanese schools are unreasonable," I swiftly came to a conclusion as I looked up when I could expect my brother to get back home. School got out around four, but if he had a club then he wouldn't get out until around six. From what I gathered, clubs were pretty important socially, and it was heavily encouraged that every student participate in one. I tried to imagine what it would be like, to go to school, but I was coming up with a pretty big blank -- I knew you would go there to learn, but I wasn't sure what exactly it would look like.

But being there for around ten hours a day sounded rough. Didn't school kids have homework and stuff? When was he supposed to sleep and eat?

"You’re telling me,” she remarked. “Should we go to his school?" Nobara questioned, looking over my shoulder, and I considered it. Would it be better or worse for us to meet him at the doorstep of his house, or at school? A school felt more like a neutral ground, but meeting him at his house gave him the advantage, which might put him more at ease.

Given that Shirou was probably a competent magus raised by one of the most vicious killers in magi world, letting him be at ease seemed like a bad idea. Better to catch him on the back foot, so to speak.

"Might as well go see what the school has to offer," I decided, turning around, and out of the corner of my eye, I spared a glance for the two Yakuza. Only to find that they weren't there. My lips thinned as I got back on the bike, Nobara hugging my back as I looked up the high schools in Fuyuki. There were a couple of high schools in the city, but going by the closest one, Fuyuki Highschool seemed like a good starting point.

Taking off, I kept my eyes peeled for any signs of a tail -- I took winding paths, looping around more than once just to see if someone was following me. My tension wasn't lost on Nobara -- I could feel from the tenseness of her body that she was ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. But, for all our alertness, if someone was following us, they were doing a good job of being discreet about it. There was no signs we had picked up a follower as we pulled up in front of the school.

I'm pretty sure I used a parking spot reserved for teachers, but it was empty and there wasn't a sign. Killing the engine, I looked around as we headed up the short staircase that led up to the high school. Reaching the top, my gaze was instantly drawn to three men that stood off in the corner, leaning against a brick wall as they made an attempt to stay out of sight, but not really trying all that hard to hide.

All three of them had golden pins on their lapels. This time, I openly looked at them as they watched us, my flat gaze meeting theirs. They weren't the people near the house. Had they realized that we were coming here? Did they already know that I had a brother? Were they here for him?

I didn't know my brother in the slightest. I didn't have a single memory of him. But the idea that someone would target him just to get to me rubbed me in all the wrong ways. I was keenly aware of the gun on me, and I knew that they were more than likely also armed. Nobara would be the deciding factor if it came to a shootout.

Deciding to keep walking, I kept the three in the corner of my eye as I headed to the main doors. Stepping inside, Nobara glanced through the glass of the door, "They aren't following us."

"They don't need to. There's only so many ways we can leave," I remarked, really not liking this. Would they try something here, when there would be so many witnesses? I guess it depended on who they were willing to sacrifice and how badly they wanted me dead. Shaking my head, I looked down the empty halls. "Let's just find the main office to see if he's even here."

Walking by the classrooms, I looked at the signs above the doors for one labeling one of the rooms on the ground floor as the building's front office. I thought they would put it near the front door, but apparently not. Would we need something like a visitors pass, or was it just okay for random strangers to step into the building? The gates had been open, and I hadn’t seen anyone other than the Yakuza outside.

The sound of footsteps echoing down a stairwell nearby caught my attention before I saw a person step down from the stairs. A girl. One of the students, presumably. Her long black hair was done up in two pigtails with black ribbons, and she was wearing a light brown vest over a white dress shirt that had a red bow tied at the neckline, and a knee-length black skirt. She didn't notice us until she reached the bottom of the stairs, blinking in surprise as she spotted us, bringing attention to her unusually sharp dark blue eyes.

"Hey! We're looking for the front office, to get help finding a student? We're looking for his brother. It's kinda a long story, but he thought he died in the fire a decade ago, but we recently found out that he was alive and might go to school here," Nobara said, kinda spilling her guts in the request for help. As she spoke, the girl was looking at me. Her eyes worked their way up my body before settling on my face, and my nonstandard hair color. I saw a spark of recognition in her eyes as she digested my features.

"You do look like Shirou Emiya," she noted, catching my attention. So, I hadn't been the only person to change my name. I hoped that was a good sign. I don't know who the Magus Killer was in his personal life, but he couldn't be any worse than our parents. The fact that my little brother had given up the family name implied good things about his character.

I was surprised that she could guess who I was here to see with only a quick look. Either we really did look alike, or she already knew who I was and why I was here.

No, I shouldn't suspect everyone of having ulterior motives or hidden connections. That way laid madness.

I offered a smile, "He looks like me," I corrected. "Mikoto Majima."

"Rin Tohsaka," Rin introduced herself, and I absolutely should suspect everyone that I met of having ulterior motives and hidden connections. She was the Second Owner, the person in charge of safeguarding Fuyuki City, and the one responsible for keeping the peace. She was also a member of one of the three founding families of the Holy Grail War, so not only did she probably have a Servant, but they were probably obscenely powerful.

"Nice to meet you. Could you help us out?" I asked her, managing to keep my surprise off of my face. Nobara, however, was another story. I saw Rin's eyes quickly dart to Nobara and narrow ever so slightly, not at all missing the slight expression of surprise on Nobara's face as she recognized the girl's family name.

"Of course. School really isn't the place for a family reunion, but who am I to stand in your way?" she said lightly, not remarking on Nobara's surprise. I didn't think for a second that she had somehow failed to notice it. Nobara was not what I would call a subtle person. She just wasn't saying anything because she didn't want to cause a scene. "Follow me, I'll take you to the teacher's lounge. They can give you a pass."

Then she smiled sweetly, "Then I'll go get Shirou. I can direct him to the roof if you want some privacy?" she offered, and I opened my mouth to refuse the offer even if it was beneficial, simply because that felt too much like drinking from a poisoned chalice.

"If it wouldn't be any trouble," I said instead, swallowing my reservations. Openly mistrusting Rin was a bad idea, because she didn't have a solid reason to distrust us yet. All she had to go off about us was a reaction to her name, which could have been about anything.

Rin, if I understood magus as well as I thought I did, wouldn't take it as anything but a confirmation that we knew she was the Second Owner. But refusing her generosity would be confirming that we didn't trust her. Which would make her wonder why we were so wary of her. The first answer she would come to was obvious. That we were here for the Grail, and that made us enemies.

If she only thought she knew, then she could be convinced otherwise. And we needed to convince her otherwise before she decided to preemptively eliminate the competition.

With that, Rin led us to the teacher lounge on the second floor, pointedly turning her back to us as she did so. It felt a bit like the lion was leading us into its den, but we arrived at our destination unscathed. As Rin opened the door, I caught the tail end of a conversation.

"-Probably has something to do with Taiga," I heard a woman remark. As we stepped inside, I saw two teachers situated at a desk by the window, looking down at the three men standing near the entrance. Neither she nor the middle-aged man with thick rimmed glasses seemed surprised to see me. I suppose they saw us walking into the building.

"Pardon the intrusion, this is supposedly the long-lost brother of Shirou. Is it possible for him to get a visitor's pass?" Rin questioned, while I offered a polite bow, seeing both of their expressions morph into ones of shock.

"Your brother?" The woman exclaimed, looking at me. Her expression seemed to become a little strained, and it was pretty easy to tell that she didn’t want to believe it. I’m guessing that looking like, as Nobara put it, ‘a thug’ didn’t help my case. “Well, you do look alike…” she trailed off, glancing at the man for his verdict.

His eyes were dark, and it felt like his gaze was boring a hole right through me. "I can authorize a visitor's pass," he decided, his tone curt and clipped.

"Thank you," I said, offering another small bow. "And if you don't mind me asking, what's with the Yakuza stationed near the entrance?" My question made the woman wince, before she glanced outside as if to make sure that they were still there.

"There is no cause for concern,” he told me, his tone just as flat and uncompromising. He didn’t elaborate any further, killing the topic with a single sentence. But, it was enough to let me guess.

So they weren't here for me then? I found that a little hard to believe. It seemed to line up too perfectly to be anything else. I had no idea which family they were, but I was willing to bet that they were somehow connected with the Nishikiyama family, and I was very curious if the increased tension in the Yakuza had anything to do with me provoking those fights back in Mifune city.

“Just steer clear of them, and you should be fine,” the woman offered while the man stood. He walked to a desk in one of several long rows of them that were stuffed into the lounge, his desk, I’m guessing. He grabbed a sheet of paper and filled it out before walking over. He presented it to me, but he didn’t let go as I went to take it from him.

“I understand that this is a momentous occasion for you and your brother, but please do not disturb the other students,” he said, and his words were a reasonable request, but I couldn’t help but hear an ‘or else’ attached to the end of it. I took the slip of paper from him as I nodded in agreement -- I hadn’t been planning to make a scene, and now I had another reason not to. I expected another thinly veiled threat to make sure I got the message, but instead, we were shown the door.

Rin gave me a pleasant smile, “I’ll go fetch Shirou for you. Just head up those stairs and you’ll reach the roof,” she informed me, gesturing to a staircase not far off. I nodded and headed up, reaching the rooftop not long after. It had a large wire fence around it, but I saw a trashcan near the door, so I’m guessing that students were allowed up here.

“She seemed nice. I bet she’s one of those idols that slice of life manga make a big deal out of,” Nobara remarked as I tried to take a peek at the Yakuza near the entrance. And in doing so, I saw that there was another group of three near the parking lot. They didn’t seem to be messing with my bike, though. They seemed to just be loitering around, not doing much of anything, but I couldn’t help but feel like a net was closing in around me.

“Because we aren’t her enemies yet,” I pointed out. I’m guessing that would change as soon as the Grail War started. That being said, I had to assume that we were being watched. Which meant I needed to watch what I said. Meaning that announcing that I intended to participate in the Grail War was a no-go -- not only would I out myself, but I also would out Shirou, who could already be a Master.

It was possible I could set Shirou and Rin against each other if Shirou proved to be cut from the same cloth as our parents. That would open up an opportunity to steal a Servant from one, or even both of them.

I was lost in my thoughts, and I was only broken from them when I heard the sound of the door opening behind us. Looking over, I saw a guy around my age stepping through it. He had red hair and amber eyes, and was more on the short side, but compared to most he was around average height. Handsome, and he filled out his brown school uniform pretty well. There was no doubt about it. He was my younger brother.

And he looked at me with the same guarded hesitation I was feeling.

“Wow! You two-” Nobara started to exclaim, only to cut herself off when she realized that she was the only one that was genuinely excited for the reunion. Shirou stood near the door, which still remained open, almost as if he were leaving himself an escape route. Shirou looked at me, his gaze running over the length of me.

“You’re… a lot taller than me,” Shirou noted, sounding a bit stunned as he looked at me. That wasn’t quite the reaction I expected, but it seemed genuine. I did have half a foot on him, so it wasn’t entirely unwarranted either. “Are you really my brother?” He followed up the question, his gaze searching my face. His expression was open and uncertain. There was some disbelief there, but… his reaction was a little weird.

He should know that I was his brother.

“All signs point to us being fraternal twins,” I said, reaching back to my wallet and taking out the photo. Passing it over to him, he looked at it with wide eyes, the photo wrinkling in his too tight grip. I tilted my head ever so slightly, “Do you not remember them?”

Shirou turned his attention to me, “I… sorry, but I don’t remember them. Or you. After the fire ten years ago, I… forgot everything. I don’t even remember what my name was,” Shirou said, sounding apologetic as he handed me the photo. He didn’t meet my gaze, choosing to look away.

Nobara sputtered at that while I looked down at the photo, “Seriously? Does amnesia run in your family or something?!” She exclaimed, catching Shirou’s attention.

“If it does, then we wouldn’t know,” I pointed out. He was claiming to have no memories of before the fire? Now, what were the odds that both of us would spontaneously suffer amnesia that completely wiped away our memories? Because, I’m guessing, the odds weren't really high.

Not unless someone had done something to tip them in that direction.

I don’t think our amnesia was an accident.

Shirou’s eyes widened, “You…?” he questioned, sounding just as surprised by our shared condition as I was. I folded the picture and stuffed it in my pocket while offering a thin smile.

“I lost my memories about two weeks ago,” I confirmed. “My first memory was getting punched in the face by some Yakuza thugs in a club for harassing one of the girls that worked there.” I informed him, making Shirou’s jaw drop. “I was in a position to find out a little about the family. I only knew you existed a couple of days ago, and I thought you died in the fire. I only found out today that you might still be alive.”

To that, Shirou smiled, “I nearly did die in the fire, but Kiritsugu Emiya saved me. Then he adopted me,” Shirou informed, telling me what I already knew. It could be an act, but Shirou seemed a fair bit freer with his emotions than I would expect someone who was trained by the Magus Killer to be. “I am sorry about your memories. I… wish I could say something to reassure you that they would come back, but mine never did.”

Nobara smacked me on the back, “You don’t need to worry about that! We have a plan to get them back,” Nobara said, and I quickly interjected at Shirou’s look.

“Either way, it’s good to see you.” And that might actually be the truth. If he really did lose his memories, and I can’t imagine why he would lie about such a thing, then that really undercut the worst of my concerns. If he didn’t even remember his original name, then what were the odds that he would follow in our parent’s footsteps? But I didn’t have reason to drop my guard just yet.

Shirou smiled, “I guess… I’m Shirou Emiya,” he offered his name.

“Mikoto Majima, but I prefer Majima because it’s cooler,” I returned, “and that’s Nobara. She’s a friend.” I added while Nobara offered a beaming smile at both of us. I could practically see her declaring that this was a total success in her head.

Shirou scratched at a cheek, "Well… I have some questions for you, but I don't think school is the best place for them. I have Taiga's class next period, but I think she'll understand if I don't go. Would you want to come over to my home so we can talk?" he said, and there was a little something off about the offer. A stiffness to it. Was that because he was feeling genuinely awkward or because he was leading us into a trap?

"That'd be great!" Nobara decided for us. "We drove here, so we can give you a ride if you want? It is a motorbike, though, so it'll be a tight squeeze." she noted, and it would be more than a tight squeeze. I'm not sure where she was planning to put Shirou on my bike. He looked interested but he offered an apologetic smile.

"Ah, well, I usually walk home with Sakura when she doesn't have club activities," he said apologetically. Girlfriend, maybe?

I opened my mouth to offer to just walk with him since I could always pick up my bike later. I especially didn't trust the Yakuza hanging around the parking lot and walking might make it easier to skip out unnoticed. However, the words died in my throat as a loud pop rang out in the air.

My attention snapped to the source, to the edge of the school building. The first pop was one of many I found as a series of pops echoed through the air. Shirou ran forward and I followed behind him, reaching the fence a split second later. It was only when I was looking down at them that I realized what the pops were.

Gunfire.

I watched as a group of men in a familiar black car with tinted windows opened fire on the group of Yakuza that were hanging out near the entrance. One was already bleeding badly, clutching his stomach, while the other two fired back at the car. The second group I had spotted earlier were moving in on the car, and a second later, their weapons joined the chorus of gunfire.

What in the hell was I looking at right now? Yakuza on Yakuza violence? At a school?

"Nobara, we-" I started, turning to look at Nobara, and because of it, I was just in time to see Shirou take off running, sprinting to the door with surprising speed. He vanished down the staircase in a split second, and with each moment I hesitated, his lead increased. "Let's go make sure he doesn't get himself killed," I decided, sprinting after and leaping over the railing of the staircase to reach the lower floor faster. After all, you didn’t run like that towards gunfire unless you intended to do something about it.

I had no clue why this was happening… but deep down, I couldn't help but feel like this was somehow my fault.