You've managed the impossible. I don't like Fate/Stay or FoZ, I only started reading this story out of boredom and now it is 6 a.m., and I have been up all night.
Wonderful story, fantastic writing, and a great plot. What's not to love?

Beautiful ending. Bittersweet but gorgoeus.

"Well," I admitted. "There was that one time I overused my magic circuits and ended up losing all feeling in the left side of my body for a few days." It was the closest thing I could think of to compare to my Master's situation. This caused the rest of the table to blink in surprise.

"Wait," Montmorency interjected from where she had been sitting quietly on Guiche's right. She had been generally silent since we had escaped Alhambra castle. It seemed her run in with combat had left her feeling pensive. Her brow knitted as she studied me in confusion. "Why would you lose all feeling? When a person runs out of will that's it, they just can't cast anymore. And what are magic circuits?" It looked like my past situation had managed to spark some professional curiosity out of the budding healer.

"Oh," I said, remembering that Montmorency hadn't been there when I had explained some of the differences in my homeworld's magic and this one's. For that matter, I don't think either her or Malicorne were even aware of the fact that I was from another world at all yet. "Well, in my homeland before we use magic we have to gain awareness of the circuits in our bodies and open them. Circuits are like the natural conduits that a person has for being able to channel prana. Magic," I corrected myself, seeing some confusion at the use of the word 'prana'. "In other words they're like blood vessels for magic."

"What does that have to do with you losing feeling?" Louise spoke up, eagerly listening to my explanation.

"Well it seems to me that when you all," I waved my cup of tea at the rest of the mages at the table to indicate this world's magic users in general, "run out of willpower you're simply just depleting your natural stores to a level to a minimum level. Kind of like the way a person can lose a lot of blood. Even if a person bleeds out a lot, and becomes unhealthy, they still have blood in their body." The other's listened on with interest as I described what must be a completely alien concept to them.

"That makes sense, I suppose," Montmorency nodded slowly. It looked like casting the explanation in a medical sense helped her a lot in comprehending the difference in the way we mused magic.

-

Yep.

And Damn! Sheffield, beaten to death.

She never once realized, or know what Shirou was before he was summoned.

Gandalfr gave him a edge, but this was all him.

And yikes, she summoned garm!?

Frick!

But luckily, he used rulebreaker, so she was no longer mind of God.

All of Joseph schemes failed.

So intense!

Don't ever stop writing, omg!

"Technically it's possible that lightning would strike the ground around us right now, or that a complicated series of meteorological events would cause a tornado to form directly around us, or that a small earthquake would erupt beneath us and cause a spike of rock to shoot out of the ground," I elaborated. "Any of these things could happen at any moment. It's just extremely unlikely that they would. A Marble Phantasm is the ability to cause things like that to happen with absolute certainty."

"Wait," Derflinger spoke up, sounding confused. "That's it? That's Ancient Magic?" Professor Colbert looked up at me with begging eyes, pleading with me to elaborate.

I sighed. "Well, in a nutshell, that's what it is. The actual mechanics of it are more complex." I rubbed my head, trying to figure out how to explain it. "For one thing, it's generally impossible for a human to achieve that effect. It's like you said, humans use magic by imposing their own logic on the world. The truth of the matter is that we, as a species, are too far removed from nature to truly understand it. I mean, when we're babies our parents have to warn us not to touch a lit match because it's hot, or to stay away from lakes or we'll drown, right? Have you ever heard of a baby animal doing something like that? Accidently killing themselves by walking into a fire or drowning? Even though they're not as intelligent as us, they still are connected to nature enough to know not to do something that stupid."

"And how does this connection to nature make it impossible for a human to use Ancient Magic?" Kirche prompted, sounding confused. Louise had managed to pry her hands loose enough for me to reclaim my own.

"When a human manipulates magic, they have to use their own logic to do so, like Derflinger said," I explained. "This logic is different from natures, so it is much diminished in effect. However, if something with a greater understanding of nature were to attempt to do the same thing their spell would be instantly more effective because its working with nature rather than imposing its own will on nature."

-

I love your explanations...they really make sense and clear it up for me.

So, elf just makes the most unlikely to happen.

And Shirou amazes them all with his explanation.

And now, he then puts it to the test and kills a elf.

Tabitha saved.

I loved how the politics were used her save Tabitha.

Off to save her, and hopefully behead ring back.

"Well, I think I have every right not to expect my Servant to be going around wearing the body of his lover," Louise pointed out, her eye twitching. She seemed to realize just what she said and straightened up, folding her arms, her look of annoyance gradually easing into a look which bespoke just how much teasing I was about to be put to. "Something you want to tell me, Shirou?" she raised an eyebrow, her lips twisting into a smirk. "Is the big bad manly King of Swords maybe just compensating for his hidden feminine side?" The not-Louise on the side widened her eyes and began blushing, turning her gaze to me and covering her mouth in embarrassment. I rolled my eyes at the innuendo my Master was laying on.

"I'm sorry," I told her bluntly, still relaxed and leaning against the banister of the balcony. "Am I somehow supposed to be ashamed of the fact that the one who I admire most in my heart, one who was the highest pinnacle of swordsmanship, the absolute embodiment of devotion to duty, one who had steadfastedly devoted their entire life to benevolently ruling their country in a wise and fair manner was a woman? Or that I was lucky enough to have been able to be with her?" I raised my eyebrow and smirked, before once more seeing my reflection in the window behind Louise and again schooling my expression into one more appropriate to my memories.

Louise blinked at that, and then flushed a little, losing her teasing expression and glancing away in embarrassment. "Well when you put it like that, no I suppose not," she muttered, Karin's features flushing read as Louise hunched over a bit at my chiding. It was one of the small girls unconscious reactions when she was embarrassed, to make herself look as small as possible. On Karin's body it just looked unnatural. The not-Louise blinked at my explanation, losing her flushing and now staring at me with a sudden intensity, studying my body closely.

-

Well, I thought this one scene with Shirou as Arturia, which I knew would happen. With Heinrietta kissing him was gonna be a min thrower...but sheffield showing up.

She survived by grace of a magic ring and Shirou sees the ring he needs for the spirt.

Sheffield doesn't know that it wasn't a magical artifact from her world, or maybe cause it was only a trace?

But major, that Sheffield lived.

"I'm rather surprised you haven't been taking advantage of it," I admitted, my eyes running over his three fangirls idly. So far Guiche hadn't even made a single flirtatious move at any of them, despite the fact that all three were reasonably attractive.

"Why?" Guiche asked, sounding honestly surprised. "Things have been going so well with Montmorency lately, and I don't think I want to spoil that."

Behind him the three girls froze simultaneously.

"Really?" I asked, uncertain about whether this was a true declaration, or just Guiche paying lip service to what he was supposed to say.

"Yes," he sighed happily, and got his own misty eyed gooey face as he apparently thought back to something good for him. "Though I had said it many times before, I think that I can now say it honestly that I think Montmorency might be the only one for me."

The three frozen girls all emitted a synchronized cracking noise as their hopes shattered.

I was honestly impressed by the progress the now apparently rehabilitated lothario had made. Still, I had to ask. "You haven't eaten or drank anything made by her recently, have you?" I asked suspiciously.

Guiche gave me a look that seemed to imply 'do you really think I'm that stupid?' That's a relief. I wasn't certain I was willing to try and get more Tears of the Water Spirit if he had. Once had been enough, and besides, I still haven't recovered that Root be damned ring yet.

-

Awww.

He's improved guiche. *few paragraphs later* A little.

Yes, seek and destroy Momo!

Oh. Poor Tabitha, scared of ghosts, naked and a Alvin's appears?!

Oh, never a dull moment.

"Guiche de Gramont," I said, my voice serious. The one time fop blinked at my tone, and looked nervous, his eyes glancing to the side as he desperately tried to remember if he had done anything to piss me off before I had disappeared. Instead, I bowed low. "Thank you, Guiche, for taking care of my Master and friends at Saxe-Gotha." I hadn't forgotten who it was I had entrusted Louise too before heading to my fate, nor how bitterly he had protested my leaving, or how much effort it had taken to get him to not follow me as well. When I had first laid eyes on the boy, back when he was nothing but a flirting blow hard, I had no idea that there might ever come a day when he could have become someone whom I actually thought of as reliable. Louise gave Guiche a look, and then snorted apparently not at all happy with the blond boy's contribution, and stormed a bit away to talk to Dragon Knight who had brought us here in order to pass on a message to the queen. It looked like she was going to let me have a few moments to properly greet all the people who had come out to meet us on our return.

Remembering just what I was talking about, instead of striking a new pose, Guiche instead only looked somber. "No, there is no need to thank me, Sir Emiya," he insisted, sounding regretful. "I only wish I could have helped in some other way, to have made myself more useful during those troubled times." It looked like the whole war in general might have taught the boy some modesty as well.

-

Its still. Sweet gesture.

Tantric spells lol

Oh, Shirou explains the Root to Colbert.

Learns Colbert is the one Agnes searched for and is on Karin level.

you got the eastern elements wrong both in order and element, they are fire, earth, metal, water and wood. as for the order that is due to fire begets earth, earth begets metal, metal begets water, water begets wood and wood begets fire this is the principal of harmonious relationships. now for the principal of rivalry fire vanquishes metal, metal vanquishes wood, wood vanquishes earth, earth vanquishes water and water vanquishes fire.
now I'm sure you are wondering about things like air, ice and lightning right, well both air and poison are subordinate to wood, however take note that flowers are part of the domain of fire, ice to metal, and lightning to water.

"Worrying your Master? Why should you care about worrying your Master? Not when you have breasts like that? Not enough just to have huge ones, you need smaller ones too? Getting hot and sweaty with one, getting hot and sweaty with the other? Master? What Master? You have breasts, that's all you need…" Louise was muttering quickly through her clenched cheeks puffed again with rage. The wand in her hand continued to spark in an ominous way, shaking the same way her fist shook as she clenched it in front of her.

Next to her, in a similar manner, Siesta too was muttering. She appeared to have a different focus for her ire. "Caring for other children? Finding someone else to be all happy newlywed with? Starting a family with someone else? Raising kids with someone else? Have a white picket fence and a puppy named Wanwan? Cooking together? Who needs a maid when they have kids already…"

"Partner," Derflinger spoke up from my back, sounding very nervous as it did so. "Don't you think you should be running now?"

A glance over my shoulder showed an Agnes about to succumb to laughter again, and a Tiffania that was confused. At least my lesson to Gim about always being polite seemed to be sinking in, judging from his wide eyed stare and the way he was cowering behind his big sister's legs. There would be no help from that corner. "And give them time to think up something worse?" I pointed out to the sword. "I might be able to survive it if I let them get it out of their systems now."

The sword was silent for a moment, before continuing. "Do you think you could just throw me over to the sword girl real fast till they're done? I don't like the look of that frying pan." I eyed the shadow clad cooking instrument myself, and then sighed and did as requested. There was no reason for both of us to go down in this. Agnes was too busy laughing to catch the weapon, which might have had something to do with how hard and how fast I had thrown it, and the way I had aimed it at her head. The blond swordswoman fell to the ground, her eyes woozy from the impact of Derflinger's handle against her forehead. "Thanks, partner!" the sword called back gratefully. "I'll always remember you as the best of men!"

-

Rofl.

But very touching.

And Shirou explaining how he wants to die to see his Saber.

He can't be with Siesta, or stay with Louise cause eh wished to be there with her, but isn't her servant.

But he becomes her servant agai, all to defend her other void sheffield obeys.

Lol Louise so tricky.

And I expected another heroic servant.

The boy abandoned stealth and boldly pointed his stick at me. "You're not gonna get away with it!" he declared, pouting childishly. A few of the children throughout the clearing began watching the confrontation. "I know what your evil plan is!" I raised my eyebrow, collecting the wood I had split so far and beginning to carry it to stack it on the side of the building with the rest of the seasoned timber.

"My evil plan?" I asked dryly, encouraging the boy to go on.

"Yes! Your evil plan!" Gim continued, gesturing with his little stick grandly. "You're planning to steal away big sis Tiffa!" Several of the children watching gasped in horror at the declaration. The rest just kept playing tag. The blond half elf looked up at hearing her name being spoken, blushing lightly.

"Now Gim," she began chiding the boy gently. "Uncle Shirou isn't here to do any such thing. You shouldn't be saying things like that!"

"But you're being tricked, big sis Tiffa!" the boy whined piteously. Gim stomped his feet and waved both his arms about furiously, one still carrying the stick in his hand as he did so. "He's obviously a bad guy who's come to kidnap you and take you back to his evil castle!" The boy pouted, his face red as he delivered his declaration with absolute certainty.

-

Lol

Oh gilgamesh would hate that.

And really, love it.

Shirou playing with kids.
So, Agnes finds Shirou, sticks around, states her past and sparing Colbert.

And Louise has dreams, knows her familiar is alive. Brought back to life by tiffania and goes to find him

"Ah! Don't tell me that this is the young man you've been writing to us about," Scarron gasped, wiggling as he happily started to narrate his thoughts. "The one you're in love with, but has another woman, but you don't think he'll ever be able to be with her again, so you're trying to convince him that you can heal his broken heart!"

I gawked at Siesta, even as she ignored the world around her as she tried to usurp my position as chef. I still had the knife and apron, but she had managed to get the hat, and it was now perched on her head as she continued her campaign of terror against my recreation. "Just what is it you've been telling them?" Suddenly, a new thought came to me, and I glanced at Jessica with wide eyed horror. She was returning the favor, gaping at me unashamedly. "Wait, you're the cousin that keeps trying to get her to use love potions?"

"Wait, you're the one she's trying to get me to help with seducing?" Jessica gaped back just as shocked. "Great Brimir, it's true," she whispered, as though coming to a realization. "Y-y-y-you really are too much for any one woman." She gaped at me, awe growing on her face. "I didn't really believe it before."

"Argh," I grit my teeth and pressed my temple in frustration. "Will you leave that stupid rumor alone? It was just Louise getting revenge for me making fun of her knitting!" Then I realized something important. I had my hand on my head, which meant…

-

Rofl

Omg!
Shirou lives but by Tiffania!

"Strange," I murmured, deciding to take their warnings at face value. "But she had no combat presence…" I trailed off, suddenly freezing. "She had no combat presence," I said again, this time in realization as my eyes widened.

"Combat presence?" the duke asked, not familiar with the term. I responded, barely paying attention to him as my mind desperately raced at the revelation.

"The unconscious actions that a person takes when they're preparing for battle or confrontation," I murmured, and my hands began to tremble as I realized what it meant. "Even if it's nothing more than a twitch of the eye, or an adjustment of posture, everyone has them. Most people just don't realize what they're seeing or aren't trained to recognize them. But even when she made her challenge there was still nothing. That means…" the speed of my breath began to quicken.

"What does it mean?" Cattleya asked, looking concerned at my shaking and hyperventilation.

"It means that she spends every moment of every day constantly prepared for combat," I breathed out. "She's been doing it so long that it's become her natural state of being. I've only met four people whom ever achieved that level, and all of them were heroic spirits!" By the Root, if Karin the 'Heavy Wind' was as famous as the reactions of her family seemed to indicate, than she just might end up a heroic spirit herself in the end.

No one there but Louise understood just what the last term meant, and frankly I didn't care. My shaking began to increase.

"Shirou," Louise said, abandoning my title as well as she began to get worried about my reaction.

I couldn't stop myself any more. "She's the real deal," I whispered, and as though saying the words were enough to release my doubt I began to smile. It was a wild and savage smile, laced with anticipation. My hands were shaking with eagerness. "Master," I said at once, suddenly very eager for two hours to be gone. "Where is the clearing?" I demanded. Oh, how I wished for this battle. Even more than I had wanted the fight with Wardes, I wanted this battle.

*Scene Break*

Lol

Wow.

He impressed by Karin. And then, he impressed her and giggle.

Wow.

Yeah, no,.no marriage to Elanor.

And Shirou tells off Eleanor off which she had coming.

Dominatrix!?

Gaaaag. Rofl

But Louise makes a different impression here on her succeeds in being allowed to participate in fending off Albion.

Some serious, some not serious.

He explains about his past. Fire in it just .

And he tells Henrietta about Arturia, ooooooh.

It seemed she finally reached her limit as one of the customers attempted to get grabby with her and she had dumped the entire bottle of wine on his head. Now he was standing up angrily and it looked like I was going to have to intervene.

"Hold on a sec," Jessica said, and I glanced at her briefly. She had a grin on her face. "Watch this."

I turned back to the scene unfolding, still prepared to unleash horrific violence if necessary. The only reason I hadn't drawn Derflinger or traced yet was because both acts would have displayed an ability to use magic: one through the actual act of creating a blade and the other through the shine that would appear on my runes if I did so. No sooner than my eyes were back on the angry customer than Scarron appeared. The big man wrapped himself around the drenched customer in a way that would have been provocative if he had been a female, and was just plain disturbing since he wasn't. Scarron dragged the angry customer back into the seat, and then said something I couldn't make out to Louise, who nodded in bewilderment and quickly scampered away. Then the big man began to act like he was going to kiss the now very uncomfortable customer, even as he tried his best to get the larger and more muscled man off of him.

Despite the fact that I would have preferred a more pointed lesson, I couldn't help but smiling viciously at the scene.

"You know," I said to the now grinning Jessica as well. "That was almost as satisfying as what I would have done to him."

"Yeah, well just remember, you get blood everywhere with that big sword of yours and you'll be the one mopping it up," she chided me with a grin. I don't think she really believed that I would have done anything. I'm sure in her eyes the kind of people that would willingly cut up another man weren't the kind of people that would also willingly spend their evening pruning their hands in a sink of dirty dishes.

"I'll keep that in mind," I tell her honestly, before turning back to the sink and the growing pile that waited me there

-

Rofl

Ohnthat was a good.

And serious talk between Shirou and Louise.