A Different Fate - [Rewrite]

Chapter 21:Darkness of the past

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As he had begun to do in the past weeks, Gilgamesh spent more and more time at the Tohsaka mansion, finding the couches better suited to his tastes and Tokiomi's daughter a less boring company than Kirei's.

Even when the girl was not there, the furnishing of the place, while not on the same level as the Einzberns', was far more adequate than the Church's simple and essential décor.

Since it was summer break, Rin was either at Illya's, Shirou's or home practising Magecraft. Even though Gilgamesh observed her progresses, he rarely intervened, except for pointing out a detail she might have missed.

The rest of the time, the King of Heroes remained sitting on a couch, sipping on his trademark glass of red wine, and when he left, it was to go to a café or a teashop with Arturia.

One day, he was just back from one such meeting – neither of them would ever call them dates –, when he found all the lights off and the house strangely silent. He could however sense Rin's presence inside.

He raised an eyebrow.

As usual, he went to the large living room to lie down on one of the couches. There he found the black-haired girl sitting on the floor on her legs, with a very sad expression on her face.

His face did not betray his thoughts, but he had been quite convinced that she was at Emiya's.

Although, to be fair, Arturia had told him that Illya was going to spend the afternoon at her brother's… she had not mentioned Rin's presence.

But the reason why she was currently slumped on the carpet of the living room in such a miserable mood escaped him.

The girl looked up when she heard him approach. He sat down on a couch, and noticed the hollow expression of her eyes, quite uncharacteristic for her. When he did not say anything, she spoke up quietly.

"Today it has been one year since my mother died."

There was no emotion in her voice, except for a very deep but well-hidden grief.

Gilgamesh was well aware of the mental condition her mother had been in after the war, since he had been present when it had been inflicted upon her.

Rin, however, did not know that. She only knew that he had been a Servant during the Fourth Grail War, but since she had understood that it was best to stay away from anything connected to it, she had not enquired more… and she was unaware of the role either he or Arturia had had in the conflict.

The King of Heroes chose to stay silent.

Rin looked away from his eyes to stare into the empty fireplace, her expression not changing.

Suddenly, she started crying.

Not simple sobbing or whining, but true sorrowful tears began to stream down her face, and she buried her face in her hands.

The moments before her features were hidden, Gilgamesh saw such a mature anguish on her young face – similar to the one he had once seen on Arturia – that he was at a loss.

He knew that the girl was strong and dedicated, but there seemed to be moments like the current one in which she was very unhappy. He also knew he was partially responsible for her sadness… she obviously missed her parents, and the King of Heroes had been witness to both their demise, one physical and the other mental.

For the first time since he could remember, he was not sure what to do.

There was his former Master's daughter crying her eyes out on the floor in front of him, and he was simply looking at her. He had never been in such a situation…