Fate/Zero

Einzbern Castle, Germany — Eight Years Ago —

Master Kiritsugu!

Your child's been born!

She's so beautiful.

So small... So delicate.

Look, Kiritsugu. She has your eyes.

I'm so happy to have given birth to such a beautiful baby...

Iri.

I...

You're going to die because of me.

I know.

The Einzberns desire nothing further.

That is my purpose.

I am who I am today because I took your ideals to heart,

and I pray for the same things as you.

You showed me a better path.

You granted me a life beyond that of a mindless puppet.

You don't need to feel sorry.

I'm a part of you now.

So...

I...

I...

I have no right to hold...

...our child.

Kiritsugu, do not forget.

You desire a world where no one has to cry the way you are now.

That is your dream and ideal, as well as that of Emiya Kiritsugu.

In a mere eight years, your battle will end.

And our ideal will become reality.

The Holy Grail will save you.

So hold her... Hold Illyasviel in your arms.

And take pride in your only daughter...

...as any father would.

Torino, Italy — Three Years Ago —

Command Spells?

The mystical stigmata marking your right hand.

It's proof that the Holy Grail has chosen you,

endowing you with the power to command a Servant.

Kotomine Kirei-kun.

The Holy Grail War...

The battle for that legendary holy artifact

has chosen me?

Normally, the Grail selects seven people, as Masters to the Servants,

each of whom would be a mage.

For one such as yourself,

with no connection to magic, to be chosen this early is exceedingly rare.

Servants...

Heroes, summoned from the past, who fight alongside you... it all seems so...

I realize it may be hard to believe,

but legendary heroes, of past eras and countries across the world,

will be summoned here, to fight to the death.

That is the essence of the Holy Grail War.

Of course, there is an unspoken pact among all the participants that the war must remain secret.

In order to guarantee everyone's compliance,

we of the Holy Church designate an impartial observer.

Can a member of our Church act as an arbitrator

in a war amongst mages?

The impartiality of someone

selected by the Magus Association could never be trusted.

So once again, we will ask your father to oversee our battle,

as he did sixty years ago.

My father will be in Fuyuki City?

But if the impartial observer's son

is a participant, would that not constitute a conflict of interest?

Tokiomi-kun.

Let us come to the point.

Kirei, everything we've discussed so far is common knowledge

to those involved with the Holy Grail War.

The reason I called you here and introduced you to Tohsaka Tokiomi lies elsewhere.

And that would be?

Many years ago, we found evidence that the Holy Grail

that will appear in Fuyuki City is not the same

as that which once belonged to the Son of God.

I thought as much.

If it were, we of the Assembly of the Eighth Sacrament would have been issued retrieval orders.

Regardless, this Holy Grail of Fuyuki City

is too powerful for us to ignore.

The Grail can, quite literally, grant any wish imaginable.

Who knows what catastrophe might befall us

should it fall into the wrong hands?

Thus,

if we could, at least,

ensure that Fuyuki's Holy Grail will select worthy individuals,

it would be irresponsible not to act.

The Tohsaka family may be a clan of mages,

but they have long been allies of our Church.

We know Tokiomi-kun very well,

and he has made his intention for the Grail perfectly clear...

To reach the source.

That has always been the Tohsakas' sole ambition.

Once, the Einzberns and the Matous shared that ambition,

but they have since strayed.

As for the Masters outside the families,

the less said, the better.

There's no telling what vile dreams fuel their lust for the Grail.

Then my reason to participate in the next Holy Grail War

is to facilitate Tohsaka Tokiomi's victory?

Obviously, in public we must act as enemies, each determined to win the Grail for himself.

Privately, however, we will be working together

in order to destroy the five other Masters

and ensure our victory.

That is our plan, Kirei-kun.

We will transfer you from the Church to the Magus Association,

where you will study under me.

The order has already been issued.

You will study magic, at my home in Japan.

By the start of the Holy Grail War, three years from now,

you must become a mage powerful enough

to summon and command a Servant.

So...

Do you have any questions, Kirei?

Just one.

How does the Holy Grail choose the Masters?

The Grail tries to select those who most need its power.

You're saying all Masters have a reason to desire the Grail?

Not necessarily.

In the past, there have been cases of Command Spells appearing

on people who would not normally be chosen.

Ah, I understand now, Kirei-kun.

You still don't know why it chose you.

I'm surprised he accepted so readily.

My son would leap into an inferno if the Church asked him to.

I'd go so far as to say it was anticlimactic.

From his point of view,

he's been dragged into fighting a war in which he has no stake.

No, I think this may be exactly what he needs.

It's been mere days since he lost his wife.

Having a new mission to devote himself to

may help Kirei through his grief that much more quickly.

Fuyuki City, Japan — One Year Ago —

Aoi-san.

Kariya-kun, welcome home.

Are you home from your trip?

This one was quite long, wasn't it?

Yeah, I know...

Uncle Kariya!

Uncle Kariya, you're home!

Rin-chan.

Did you bring me a present?

Rin, where are your manners?

Here you go.

Thank you!

I'm glad you like it.

Where's Sakura-chan?

Sakura's gone.

Aoi-san...

Sakura is no longer my daughter or Rin's sister.

She...

She is at the Matou manor.

Why?

Why do the Matous want a child with magical blood?

You know why.

The Tohsaka and the Matou have been allies for generations.

The Tohsaka elders decided to grant the Matous' petition.

There was nothing I could say.

And that's it?

I accepted that this could happen

when I married into the Tohsaka family,

when I became a mage's wife.

You're okay with this?

Those from families bearing magical blood

can never hope for a happy, normal life.

That's not true!

You married him because you wanted that happiness...

This is between the Tohsaka and the Matou.

You turned your back on the world of magic.

It is no longer your concern.

If you do see Sakura again, be kind to her.

You two were always so close, Kariya-kun.

You've got some nerve, showing your face here,

you disgrace.

I'm quite certain I told you I never wanted to see you again,

Kariya.

I hear you adopted a young Tohsaka girl.

You heard right.

You're really that desperate to ensure the Matou family magic?

Are you, of all people, telling me that I'm wrong to do so?

Whose fault is it that we have sunk to this state?

Kariya...

I wouldn't be in this situation

had you simply done your duty to inherit the Matou family secrets.

Yet you have the gall to lecture me...

Enough, you vampire.

You only want the Holy Grail so you can wish for immortality.

Next year will mark sixty years.

The house of Matou has no soldiers to fight in the Fourth Holy Grail War.

And while once, you might have had what it takes to control a Servant,

your older brother Byakuya does not.

Even if we cannot win this war,

I still have a plan for the one sixty years after.

The Tohsaka girl is sure to bear powerful mages.

To say nothing of her own potential.

In other words, as long as you get your hands on the Grail,

you have no particular use for Tohsaka Sakura.

What are you getting at?

I'll make you a deal, Zouken.

During the next Grail War, I'll win the Holy Grail for the Matous.

In exchange, you will free Tohsaka Sakura.

Ridiculous.

You, a quitter with no training, will become powerful enough