Fate: Player Online (FSN Gamer!Fic)

A little notice before this story begins:

This is another crosspost and the story has reached an advanced stage in the other forums and in FF, but I've realized after this much time that some people just ignore some of the important stuff I leave in the ANs; stuff that actually matters in plot-wise and help in dealing with some of the questions that might rise up from the reading of this story.

Here are the major points:

1- This is a newer, more polished draft compared to the original version in FF. The version that is connected to this x-post is called 'Fate Player Online Redux', the other older story is the first draft and... one of my first FSN stories, so yes there are many errors there;

2- Gaia/Alaya are not responsible for the Game. They influence it, but the main creator is a limited being compared to those greater forces, thus the Game offers just a 'fraction' of the full potential exposed in the Manwha (and by fraction I mean that some functions have deliberately removed for the sake of keeping the plot intact or to not digress too much. The grind is there, but the plot has relevance since this is FSN);

3- I've found no other stories giving this spin of the beginning of this timeline, many giving similar routes, but FPO follows a completely new and refreshing path to a brighter future for Shirou Emiya and many other characters of the franchise;

4- (This is optional) Since it's a X-Posting, I will be updating twice every in a while until it reaches the current progress. So yes, double updating, yay!

And now, without further ado, let me tell you about this tale:

 

Prologue: It all started among flames and ashes...

It had all happened without a reason.

At first it was a nice day to spend with his family, blurred faces smiling as they walked him around the beautiful city that was Fuyuki.

He could remember the pleasant touch of a sibling, of his father and... his mother.

The boy blinked as tears started to flow once more from his eyes as he continued to run through the rubbles of the destruction that had torn him away from his own family.

His chest was hurting as were his legs, too much strained by the unexpected need to escape from the danger, the flames that were hungrily burning through the city without control, without restraint and.. without mercy.

He had hoped for a firefighter, an adult to save him out of that horrifying scene that not even in his darkest nightmare he had ever seen.

It was approaching, the child mused, the pain was approaching.

He tried to deftly move around the obstacles made from the remains of cars and buildings' walls, finally hopeful that he was close to reach a safer place.

Away from the tragedy behind him, from the screams of people dying around him as he tried to not fall to the heat of the ruthless fire.

Yet this.. this wasn't a tale meant to end happily.

That very realisation struck the moment he felt his body shift and land on the ground, one of his legs tripping over some embed rocks that he had not noticed in his rush.

He was done, the boy considered somberly. The flames weren't going to relinquish the chase and they were incredibly close to where he was.

It was his end that he was going to witness, to feel, and soon he turned around.

Dying embers moved to the sky where the most terrifying thing cruelly slammed onto his soul.

The round circle of darkness, the origin of this unnatural flame.

It felt calling, demanding him to concede his life for.. something. Something he couldn't know about.

His lungs started to slowly relax as the child kept still in his defeated moment, mourning his last happy memories, mourning the end of his life.

The screams slowly disappeared as he went numb.

He was dying and nobody was going to save him and thus, in this final hour of his short existance, the boy closed his eyes and let his consciousness slip in that hell on earth.

"This is not the end of your life, child. You shall live to see your future unfold." A candid voice quietly and melodiously crashed the cacophony of death and sorrow around him. "I bestow a gift to you. Use it to protect, to save the lives of those who are suffering."

His eyes opened at those words that sounded so beautiful and inspiring but the child saw no one around here.

He thought this was just a silly trick of his mind as dangerous smoke started to fill his lungs, causing him to cough loudly.

His vision spiralled once more in the darkness, this time it was his little body uncapable of keeping up with the pain, with the horror that he was suffering... but he couldn't give up now.

As his mind slowly started to shut down, his arm stretched up, his palm open and waiting for someone to hold him, to save him from this agony or to comfort him in this last moments of hurt.

He felt it, a strong hand grasped his arm but it was not the soft and light touch he had expected from the hallucination, the voice of the kind woman.

One last time, he begged to himself and.. he saw him.

The man had short, black hair, his face rough and partly covered by smoke and ashes, hiding parts of his features as it all disappeared in that set of clothes with such dark themes, a long coat covering his black suit, shirt and tie.

What surprised the young child was the man's eyes as he looked at him.

As tears flowed and fell on his younger visage, his charcoals lacked any sort of lights, as if the man was actually a corpse walking. Defeated by life.. but not by the flames around them.

"Thank God, you are alive.."

The boy closed his eyes as a strange yellow light started to warmly caress his soul, too tired to deal with that unnatural predicament with his exhausted mind.

A perpetual darkness filled his dreams, a soft lulling of a caring woman keeping all the horrible nightmares regarding that terrible experience away.

The lullaby.. he couldn't remember hearing it anywhere in his life, yet it filled him with a warmth that made those weird sounds turn into something lovely and caring, as if a mother was trying to protect him from the dark, real world that he had just passed away from.

Sadly, all of this disappeared once as he woke up from possibly the best dream he will ever experience.

He started to feel the weakness that had been there during his last, few moments before fainting, but it felt mitigated, soothed somehow.

His eyes opened slowly and he found himself laying in a bed with warm, white covers and a soft pillow below his head.

The room was blank and almost empty, just like any classic Hospital room. He was alone in that room as the entire line of beds coming from his left and right were unoccupied.

As he processed his current situation, something else caught his attention as he noticed a blue-like light over his face.

A blue screen was hovering just in front of him with white words written on it.

Was he still hallucinating?

[Your HP and MP had been fully replenished]

What?

What was that.. and why it was in front of me?

The blue screen disappeared but another one, this time green, appeared on its place.

[A newer, Gamer Life]

Greeting child and good morning to the first day of your new, improved life!
After having been forced to witness such horrible tragedy, a greater force has decided to gift you with the power of living your life like a Videogame.
A Gamer is someone that has the possibility to exceed the limitations of mortality and become more than everyone has ever dreamt.
Your real limits? Your willpower to accomplish the impossible!
Your incredible dreams? You will achieve them in a matter of time!
Your long journey to become the greatest has just started!
Good luck!

Once again, the green screen closed and was replaced by another blue one.

[Status]

Name: <Unknown>
Title: The Gamer
Level 1 - Exp: 0.00%
Health Points (HP) : 100
Mana Points (MP) : (Blocked)​

Attributes
POW: 2
INT: 4
AGI: 2
WIS: 4
VIT: 2
CHA: 5
LUK: 10

Skills
Gamer Body (LVL Max.) - Congratulations, your body had been turned into one influenced by the rules of the Game Module. This Skill is present in all Users from the very beginning.
Unbreakable Willpower (LVL Max.) - The hardships of your life had been making you stronger than the average human being. Risk of Possession and Mind Control are reduced by the 75%.
Noble Soul (LVL Max.) - Having experienced great trauma, you know the pain and sufferings of others. Your Soul is brave and determined enough to let you become whatever you wish.
Beginners' Luck (Non-Level Skill) - This temporary Skill will add a EXP multiplier related to LUK for Skills and LVLs. Expiration Level: LVL 10.

That was something he had certainly expected. Wait, why is name was not written there? And why he could remember anything before the Fire.

[The Trauma you have experienced during the Great Fire has blocked almost every memory prior to the disaster.]

The child was speecheless. He just had lost more than he had thought he had lost in that Fire.

He couldn't remember his parents' faces, his friends, everything else...

[Warning! A set of actions has triggered a new Quest]

-Discovering the Past-

Time Limit: Unlimited

Your Trauma has seriously damaged all your memories of your past life. Find any hints or documents that will help your memories to come back.

<Reward>
-Your Past Name-
-500.000 EXP-
-???-

<Failure> or <Refused>
-Your Past Life is forever forgotten-
Accept?
Y/N​

The child immediately pressed Yes and nodded to himself.

There was a strong probability to return to his family once more and he wasn't going to refuse this opportunity.

In a certain way, he felt a bit thankful towards this new development.

Another screen popped out.

[Your gratefulness has been noted and a new skill has been unlocked]

-Observe (LVL. MAX)-
Essential to any Gamer, Observe is useful to determine the stats or the history behind friends or foes.
This Skill has a limit: <Observing> people with a higher level than yours (at least 10) will have their informations immensely reduced.

His surprise to know about that this 'Game' was capable of hearing his thoughts was cut off when the door of his room opened.

The same man that had saved him from the Fire entered the room.

The two stared at each other and the child noticed how, even though the man seemed impassive, he seemed to relax seeing him, as if relieved of seeing him still alive.

What had happened to this man to make him so much empty and distant?

His musing soon were answered by an explanation that he certainly would have never dreamt about.

The child was soon going to be pulled into the Moonlit World and he was going to become an important part of it.

The legend of Shirou Emiya has just began in this World of Magic and Lore.

 

Chapter 1: First steps in the Game

Shirou.

That was the new name he was given as his own and.. he wasn't sure how to react to this.

While his amnesia had blocked important parts of his memories and had incredibly removed his name from his status menu, he didn't felt pleased to know he was named after 'Soldier' of all things.

Why Shirou? Why not something that was much more easy to relate him.

Haru (Spring) or even Akage (Redhead) if the man, Kiritsugu, he would have been more than happy to provide some suggestion if the man truly lacked that much creativity to make one.

It was oddly frustrating and the newly-named Shirou couldn't but feel confused, shocked and somewhat weirded out by this unknown stranger that was now going to be his new guardian or father.

The word tasted foul in his mouth as he felt he was betraying someone by calling the unnervingly calm man a parent of his. Like a degradation of the term, a saddening devaluation of the meaningful word.

But he had complied to the change, he had to.

What could he have done after what the man had told him about? The many things that are not meant to be known to normal people, especially children like himself?

The curiously-named Moonlit World had started to grow more and more realistic, truer, the more the black-haired man continued to talk about it. And it all sounded so honestly given that Shirou couldn’t help but accept everything leaving the adult’s lips.

That was also another thing that he couldn't understand about Kiritsugu. His body’s behavior as he went to approach him, to explain him about this all and then adopting him without some major thinking…

It sounded so much... forced.

It felt like he hadn't planned this to happen but was struggling and pushing for this situation to happen, against any common sense he might have had and… that also created another problem when the boy had left the hospital.

His current living conditions weren't something the newly-adopted Emiya should have actually complained about, the household the man had brought him to live looking rather new and.. massive for just the two of them.

Its style resembling much of the old houses in the noble quarters of Fuyuki Town, the very buildings used by those few influential families of old that once ruled the politics of the quiet Japanese town.

There were two to three bathrooms, two living rooms, numerous bedrooms, and... why Kiritsugu had to buy a house this absurdly big?!

Ignoring the motivation that could have urged the man to buy something this optimally empty and cold mansion, Shirou's mind ended up wandering to a very interesting subject of their first interaction that he had been thinking about for a while now.

Magic, or at least something similar to it, was real and Kiritsugu was familiar with it.

The man's descriptions denied the child to understand the capacity of such power to accomplish miraculous deeds, saying that 'magecraft' was more similar to tricks from some cheap circus magician than what grand wizards and witches were known for, incredibly limited by the world around us.

Kiritsugu called it 'Gaia' and Shirou was surprised to learn about the single fact that there was something that made things happen within the planet.

Surprise tainted by dread at the mere idea that the world had knew about his plight and.. had ignored him. It was a bitter bite to swallow, one that kept gnawing at his mood for a long time after realizing about this particular development.

The explanation regarding the Moonlit World had concluded a quick digression about the 'will of the planet' and its counterpart, Shirou’s guardian suddenly getting quite secretive about providing more about Gaia and its complex nature.

Shirou would have been compelled to ask why, to press for more answers than rather keep quiet and comply to orders coming from Kiritsugu’s mouth, to understand how his savior came to be and why he decided to pick him of all people as his son.

But the boy didn't do any of that. Curious he was, his politeness and cautiousness went beyond the mere childish need to learn.

The man had his secrets and, while the child would have wasted time trying to learn more about him, Shirou had to deal with a bigger mess than this, thinking back about what he had found when he woke up in that hospital’s bed.

[Status]

Name: Shirou Emiya

Title: The Gamer

Age: 7

Level 1 - Exp: 0.00%​

Health Points (HP) : 100

Mana Points (MP) : (Blocked)

Attributes

POW: 3

INT: 4

AGI: 3

WIS: 4

VIT: 4

CHA: 5

LUK: 10

What was he staring at?

The quick answer was straight-forwarded if not wrong considering the complex nature of everything around him after what had happened back just a day ago. It was his current state in the world represented by this unnatural gift.

A gift that had come to him as a boon for his lucky survival from that horrible disaster, something that even Kiritsugu was supposedly unaware of considering that he had yet to be himself pestered about the matter.

But then again, his mind decided to press forward to another important query, this one regarding the prime-point of the very issue he was dealing with.

What is a Gamer?

The question was innocent and Shirou couldn't get a proper depiction of what the supposed title was until after two days passed in that new home of his.

The cause of personal inactivity was related to the fact he still needed to make a full recovery, something that the doctors back at the hospital had stressed for someone as young as he was to comply to. Kiritsugu was glad to help by keeping an eye over him during this time of peace.

The boy was mostly fine, but his lungs still needed some time to re-adjust to fresh hair, urging him to not make any major sport-like activities during his first few days spent at the humongous place that was now his house.

It was annoying at first, Shirou was completely aware that he was stuck at home with nothing to do because of how things had turned out to be. In fact, it was kind of odd that the older Emiya hadn’t gone to buy him some toys… just like a normal step-parent would have done.

Kiritsugu’s interactions were rare and those times were mostly happening around breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Yet Shirou was still a child and.. he wanted to do something instead of lazying around.

And he was given something to actually do during this inactivity in the same way he decided to solve a terrible discovery he made while living with Kiritsugu Emiya.

Kiritsugu was by all means a normal adult at first sight, looking responsible and all… but he was also useless in preparing food and that was proven by the time he tried to prepare the first breakfast outside the hospital. The kitchen had lit in a quick fire, the result yielded by the astonishing attempts the man made with the objective of preparing some eggs and bacon.

How do you fail this much?!

As the kitchen was saved by the swift intervention of the very responsible of the accident, Shirou's eyes seemed drawn by the room now safe to be approached.

It was a very little section that was connected to the living room the two had taken an interest in frequenting as it was nearby to both their rooms and... the boy ended up opening the cooking book that had survived the man's onslaught and had been silently sitting by the small counter-table.

A few moments later, Kiritsugu blinked curiously at the simple plate with some decent scrambled eggs on it. The same portion as the one Shirou had prepared for himself

The smell was enticing and the texture seemed to have a pleasant color and crunchiness.

The man took a careful and small bite, his mouth chewing calmly and slowly as the boy stared at any possible reaction coming from him.

The very scene felt familiar, as if he had already done something like this befoe. He could feel that he had already cooked before this day and that he had already done this particular activity multiple times in the past.

[Thanks to a particular action, a forgotten Trait has been restored!]​

Natural Prodigy (Cooking) - You are incredibly proficient in cooking, it is in your blood. Food prepared by your hands receive a 25% Boost to their HP recovery rate.

Traits! The Game enables this functionality to optimize your growth and your life. Some Traits will be unlocked by accomplishing certain Quests, actions or even unlocking them from your past.

Shirou ignored the boxes at first, his attention still focused on his guardian as the man let a quick smile at the delicious food before having it disappearing back in his seemingly-permanent thin line he had for a mouth. Only then he would glance at the description and… he frowned.

The reaction was enough to garner a response from Kiritsugu as the man narrowed his eyes in minor concern.

"Is something wrong, Shirou?" He said with such a calm, polite, cold tone.

A cold shiver went down his spine but the child merely blinked at the man. "N-Nothing."

Kiritsugu stared a little longer, trying to deduce more from the youth's silence but.. he returned soon to eat his food. "You should start eating,” The man pointed out with a sigh. “The food is going to get cold."

The boy nodded silently and breakfast went uneventful after that.

Still, the panic that rose from that sudden comment would linger in his mind for some time. He truly had come close to be discovered.

---------------------------------d-d-d-d-----------------------d-d-d-d-----------------------------

Once his body had fully recovered from the traumatic experience suffered because of the Fire, Shirou was finally able to go for a walk around the city and after a long research through the industrial district, he managed to find what he was looking for.

Electronic Games and Magazines

The small shop seemed relatively new and lacking the usual lines people would expect it to have as the object sold there hardly appealed to the needs of the elderly population still living nearby.

The boy didn't give it much of a thought, knowing that it would matter little if there had been a crowd or not of people around, and he entered the shop only to stop to take notice of the shopkeeper.

"Good morning..." The young man with dark-brown hair, spectacles and a little beard on the other side of the counter greeted him calmly and with a tiny smile, getting a quick nod and a shy ‘good morning’ back from Shirou.

The child decided to not waste time asking for directions, feeling like that he could have easily messed his cover up if he ended up talking with someone else about this topic ‘dear to him’.

The red-haired child was thankful that there were tags set around the aisles that could help him in identifying the few sections present within the place and soon he ventured inside the part of the shop that contained the magazines regarding games and other electronic-related subjects.

[Warning! A set of actions has triggered a new Quest]

-First Steps-

Time Limit: Unlimited

You have to learn more about the Game to properly make good use of it and the only solution right now is to buy the right magazine. Find and buy the magazine that best fit with your needs.

<Hints>

This Game requires your mind to plan out your strategies and improve on your mistakes and flaws.

<Reward>

-500 Yen-

-LVL UP-

<Failure> or <Refused>

-Beginner's Malus: 500% decrease in your EXP gain-

Accept?

Y/N​

Pushing the Y, Shirou looked around the display of the few, different copies available at the moment, trying to find something regarding 'strategy' as the Game had not-so-subtly implied to find about.

His search ended right as he found himself grasping at he magazine titled 'Dengeki Nintendo' and, before going to the shopkeeper to have it bought, the young Emiya spared some time to understand some of the pages contained in it.

Super Metroid? Street Fighter? Why were these games named like these?

Maybe it was because Shirou had never played with a videogame before the Fire, or at least from what he could remember (and that wasn't much), but the names sounded curious and interesting, the description and the images being further attractive to look at as he felt compelled.

Then his gaze wandered down to the price set for the simple magazine and… he was shocked at what he found it out to cost.

Why is this priced 720 Yen!?

The boy had to double-check the number, grimace settling on his face at the somber realization that this wasn’t exactly a convenient toll to pay right now.

Shirou had initially and wrongly thought that this kind of magazines would have maybe been cheap enough for him to get some ice cream with the spare before running back home.

He just had 800 yen and... he gulped down the sour defeat as he went to pay for the magazine, knowing full well that it wasn’t pleasure driving him to pay up to this ‘insane’ amount of money.

The shopkeeper glanced at his face with a curious look as the boy went to leave the shop, the young man confused by the fact that the young client had appeared quite depressed after buying something that should have been quite enticing for someone his age.

In the end, the glass-wearing man shrugged and returned to his own duties… while reading some newspaper he had caught before coming to work.

--------------------d-d-d---------------------d-d-d-------------------d-d-d---------------------

Shirou's return back home proved to be as uneventful as he had expected, the boy having planned to quickly go right up to his room to start to study the curious and expensive magazine in his hold, unwilling to spare any more time in silent laziness and lack of some action.

Yet he would soon realize by the time he stepped inside his house that his plans were to be foiled as-*Thud*

The redhead blinked in surprise the moment he found himself slammed on the floor, the fall cushioned by the soft rug beneath him, and his magazine was sent flying across the room. His stare regained focus as he soon realized that the cause of this sudden situation was the giggling brunette girl currently pressing on him and snuggling him close to her.

...What?

His reaction would have been richer and more detailed, maybe even more active if it hadn't been the fact he had lost the opportunity to get some nice ice cream as a good snack for the planned lecture, so the boy merely blinked as he tried to understand what had just happened to him.

Fast forward five minutes later and the boy found himself sitting in the living room with Kiritsugu and Taiga.

Taiga Fujimura was an incredibly cheerful girl that was on her way to finish high school with good grades and… with several friends. The cheerful self-introduction had warranted a flinch or two from the boy, feeling that the pitch was just a little excessive for the situation.

Still, he could help but wonder about a very specific thing about the current even unfolding before him.

Why was Taiga here and why was she that much attached to him so suddenly and without reason?

Kiritsugu, she said with a giddy tone, was her amazing English tutor and Shirou could now understand the defeated look the man had adopted as soon as the two reached him back to the living room.

Still, there wasn’t a proper explanation behind the quirky greeting he had been subjected to mere moments ago.

The girl had apologized for her quirky mannerism, but that didn't mean in her mind that she would now stop pouncing him down anytime she came to visit in a form of ‘sibling bonding’ with him.

It was ironic how someone that disliked being called a Tiger (even through her name meant exactly that) was so eager and prone to adopt this predatorial tactics in her friendly approaches with new people.

What truly made the child afraid about the smiling girl by his side was the dream she had so happily told him about in that very encounter.

She wanted to become a teacher, possibly one that specialized in English.

And for some reasons Shirou felt like that this very decision was going to make a massive, unavoidable and unfairly harsh impact on his little life.

Soon the greeting made way to the planned lecture as Kiritsugu didn’t want to waste further time in talking and wanted to verify the girl’s homework for the day.

Ten minutes in the private lesson and Shirou managed to sneak out of their sight, closing behind him the door of his new room after tip-toeing up to it.

He sat on his bed, giving a long stare at the read in front of him and he decided to flip open the first page of the magazine.

Ten minutes of quiet reading passed, his mind sponging up all the new words he would learn from that ‘document’ and by the time he was done with this task, the child felt incredibly tired and confused about some little details portrayed by the teen-related section.

*Ding* You have leveled up!

[Status]

Name: Shirou Emiya

Title: The Gamer

Age: 7

Level 2 - Exp: 0.00%​

Health Points (HP) : 150

Mana Points (MP) : (Blocked)

Attributes

POW: 3+1

INT: 4+1

AGI: 3+1

WIS: 4+1

VIT: 4+1

CHA: 5+1

LUK: 10+1

The Game was just like one of these JRPG games that were starting to appear frequently in the last few years. He was lucky to learn that the magazine was provided with a quick scheme that regarded the major points of said genre, giving the Emiya a chance to grasp the concept of being the… Protagonist.

The Protagonist, the Main Character or the Hero of the story, had to level up to face stronger enemies and succeed in his mission to either save a lady-in-distress or save an entire nation, just like a hero from a fairy tale would do.

The strange thing was that only the protagonists had access to the power of the Game, the capacity to influence their power with Experience released by activities or fights, the improvements going to offer an edge to the characters to fight some horrible threats standing in their path.

But what was his mission exactly?

What was he supposed to do now that he had learned about this much? What could be a good reason to get stronger?

It was difficult to miss the familiar Quest Box popping up and Shirou's eyes widened in surprise at its content.

-Grand Quest: The Tutorial Arc-

Time Limit: 1 Month

It's in times of need that heroes appear to brave a dark world. The hopeless ones are usually hidden by the darkest of secrets and only the justice of heart can bring true order in this sad world. Kiritsugu holds the key to someone that is dire need of help, someone he can't save because of -?-. Become stronger (LVL.10) and demand an explanation from him.

<Hints>

You will have your opportunities to improve. Don't wast them.

<Reward>

-25000 Yen-

-Improve Kiritsugu's closeness-

-Improve -?- closeness-

<Failure> or <Refused>

-Beginner's Malus: 500% decrease in your EXP gain-

-Secret Route is closed-

- -?- fate is sealed forever..-

Accept?

Y/N​

Who was -?- and why he/she needed his help? Why was he the one that could do what Kiritsugu couldn't?

No answer, he thought sadly as time passed by and nothing popped up.

Hesitation played in his mind of a while but...

He pressed Y.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

AN

Complete status will be added next chapter as I plan to make Shirou starts through the new Tutorial Arc. It will be quite unique as I had avoided utilising this one for.. reasons, first of those being that time my first round doing a Gamer!Fic. I (think I have) grow(n) up from that and hopefully will manage to make it good for all.

The story is going to be slow-paced and... will lack ID Dungeons.

Difficult decision, one that many will condemn, but there is a reason I am doing this: ID Dungeons are... too much op. They usually rush things way too quickly and sometimes cause trouble when trying to keep up with the pacing. Shirou will have the means to level up, I promise you this, but I will not make him too much OP so early on. Plot Armor is still a ghost haunting my ass right now..

 

Chapter 2: Sword (1)

Shirou had planned to spend the whole day training to hopefully unlock some new feature about the Game that he had yet to discover about. Something that could have helped in gaining EXP even with simple chores, or even give him new points to his stats.

The Game was as mysterious as it was incredibly complicated mostly because it managed to integrate his life in this different system that defied any normal conception of reality.

It had been a minor surprise to learn that his small body was capable of withstanding any simple training regiments without suffering the usual strains it would warrant, instead he would just wound up merely tired or sore.

It was an interesting novelty that actually allowed him to experiment a little more rather than just stop at a task or two, but it wasn’t one devoid of particular limitations that made it legitimately good.

His stats were somehow representing his capacity to do things around the world, either regarding his capacity to move quickly, to think better and wisely or to lift things on and off the ground and trying to achieve more difficult or complicated physical tasks would actually end with his childish body falling in a physically-exerted state.

It was a slow process that seemed to speed up if he went to try and push himself beyond the common limits just a little more, paying the price by merely having to rest more often than usual.

Reading the magazine had actually given him some ideas how things were supposed to work now with the Game and Shirou had also learned about the term 'Grinding' and how it was going to be important to him.

It was usually referred as the practice of players/gamers going to train with low-level and safe battles until their characters are capable of stepping up to the next area of the game without having major issues with the difficulty and avoid any unplanned game-overs.

And that was why instead of going for the more complicated regiments, Shirou had settled with the basic workouts first. It would have been quite the dangerous activity for him to skip some preparation and from that very preparation he would still get some rewards out of it.

Speaking of results, that was how far the boy got after a full day spent training.

Attributes

POW: 8

INT: 8

AGI: 6

WIS: 7

VIT: 10

CHA: 5

LUK: 10

It was an incredibly small boost compared to what he would have wanted to accomplish but the child was quite sure that the issue wasn't much the Game but how he was training up and why he would need to step up his pace once he got in a better situation.

The workout was one of the standard ones, the same many used when they started to do sessions at the Gym, and it was easy to understand how it would generate such a little impact compared to the one he had hoped for.

It was quite the frustrating predicament at first as Shirou had wanted to get some quick results as swiftly as possible after learning about the fact he did need to train… for something dangerous.

It had been a childish notion for him to even contemplate as he was just starting with this whole ‘Gamer’ thing and he had yet to get hold over the basics of it.

The schedule he had ended up formulating was this one:
-20 Pushups;
-20 Squats;
-20 Situps;
-1KM of collective runs done during the whole day;

It was a slug-paced progress but the redhead was optimistic that he would end up getting the results he wanted with utter determination and willpower behind his actions. He still had a full month to reach LVL10 and discover what the man that had taken him in was hiding, that meant that he was still allowed to try and go for a slow but steady route rather than head-slamming against something dangerous.

Speaking of Kiritsugu, Shirou was somewhat unnerved by the mere fact that the quiet man would always spend his time to watch the boy as he trained, part of the Gamer thinking that the adult was expecting for the boy to ask him about that curious subject.

The young Emiya couldn’t help but be intrigued by the concept behind Magecraft.

The possibility to replicate amazing things (even through mundane, common and within the scope permitted by rules of the World) was something a child his age would crave only in their dreams and Shirou was no different than that.

He had planned to pester the man until he conceded some extra information about it, but after studying Kiritsugu's attitude and MO for a little while, the boy was sure that any direct confrontations without proper motivation and strength to back up his arguments would have turned to be fruitless and a waste of his time.

It didn't help that his guardian had decided to enroll him to the local school once he had gotten the proper certifications of his adoption, buying the books required for the year the boy was being enlisted for.

When he noticed the pile of books sitting by his bed, Shirou had felt a familiar sense of dread and disgust at the tower of knowledge creeping in his room as he could partly remember how difficult studying was and why he had been quite detached from it all.

It was infuriating how his mind had been keen to remind him of the importance of learning and had urged him to plan something about how to study the pile of tomes before the school year started, just to get a head-start and avoid getting in trouble with the simple activity of the school day.

Thankfully, this very complicated thing wasn’t difficult to accomplish as the boy had more than enough time to plan out something about it. It was still January and the Japanese school year started in April, thus he had Four months before he would have to deal with the burdening thing known as school.

Four month to further his current knowledge with the elementary-grade schools and-

-The Perfume of Literature-

Time Limit: 4 Month

You have set yourself to step up your studies even during this tutorial vacation. It will be quite hard to accomplish this because of your limited attention's span but... You could do it. Maybe.

<Hints>

Plan your schedule in a way that you can fit everything without ruining your other projects.

<Reward>

-Title: Bookworm-

-Unlock New Route-

-Improve -?- closeness-

<Failure> or <Refused>

-Title: Mediocre Student-

-New Route is closed-

- Decrease -?- closeness-

Accept?

Y/N​

Shirou had accepted the new long-timed quest but he couldn’t help but get confused about the rewards presented by the menu.

Why couldn't he know who he was getting close with if he succeeded?

What if he didn't like whom he was going to met if he passed this Quest and this was going to only mess things up for him?

Those unanswered questions were soon forgotten as the boy started to give a long look through the school books and, fighting back the various groans and whines from his bored self, he managed to keep his mind on the target at hand, his determination settling to improve his current self.

This effort ended up improving both his INT and WIS and yet Shirou couldn’t help but think that he had lost any sort respect for that minuscule part of himself that had pushed this plan onto him and put him to deal with the dull process.

Despite his most recent development and growth, it did feel odd to say but Shirou didn't felt ready with what he had right now.

It wasn't paranoia or even some little fear,. he just had this gut-feeling that had him thinking that he wouldn't be able to sustain a regular fight anytime soon because of how his current state was.

He didn't have any fighting style to defend himself with his bare hands, nor a weapon that could allow him to compensate for this lack of martial arts.

Shirou wasn't ready to fight. Period.

Yet that little situation would soon start to change as something peculiar did happen during these few days.

He had woken up early in the morning, something that was fairly usual for him, he went to get dressed and ready as, after a quick stop by the bathroom to go through his morning routine, he reached the living room with a small smile.

Kiritsugu was already there, calmly sipping from a small cup of coffee in his hands and they exchanged a quick greeting before the man decided to drop some interesting developments.

"I am going to be busy... for a few days," The adult said with a calm tone, causing some surprise to rise out from Shirou’s face from this unexpected news as it was the first time he heard the man speaking of going outside for more than the usual daily few hours.

The previous time had been just to go buy some groceries or other stuff... but a few days? Wasn’t that kind of sudden with how little time was allowed to plan things out?

Actually, it was odd how someone as static as Kiritsugu was had managed to afford this large compound without even hinting in the past few days about anything like a job… or anything that would have allowed him to afford this much of an income

This was what made the boy still weary of the man, he was far too much secretive for his liking and he looked to be hiding something quite dangerous, almost nefarious.

There were so many things about him that were there left unanswered, things that shouldn't be left unanswered for the sake of decency.

Sadly, the adult didn't deign him some explanation behind this unexpected departure, focusing on finishing his coffee and giving him one of his usual stares.

Kiritsugu Emiya was a weird man, Shirou decided to summarize the overall appearance of his guardian as the very man started to prepare his own luggage back in his room... or at least part of it.

The child had seen the adult loading some of the basic things needed for a trip (shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush, etc; but the bags seemed to contain much more than this harmless stuff and his mind couldn’t help wonder what else the man was packing for the voyage.

But he decided against ask him about this as he found himself incredibly buside the moment the front door was opened just quickly enough for a certain teenage girl to rush and tackle him on the floor.

"Shirou-chan!" The high-pitched squeal did hurt his poor ears.

Taiga Fujimura was going to be his bane, Shirou was sure of that simple notion as he struggled out of her surprisingly strong hold she had over him.

How was a girl as slender as she was having this much strength behind her limbs?!

It was during that moment of chaos that the boy realized something he should have done long ago. Something that indeed could help up shedding some light over this curious question.

<Observe>

The results displaying before him proved to not be good to see as they were quite the surreal sight...

Name: Taiga Fujimura

Title: Young Tiger of Fuyuki

Age: 14

Level (???)​

Health Points (HP): ?

Mana Points (MP): Blocked

H-How and why?!

The very girl that was embarrassing him so much with her cheeky teasing and annoying nicknaming had a level beyond LVL12! What is this madness? What is this insanity?

Kiritsugu muttered two quick 'Bye's as he left the house in that very moment, leaving the boy at the Tiger's whims as giggles exploded from the giddy brunette.

She looked to be enjoying the idea that she could spend some extended time with her 'little brother' and Shirou sure hoped that the girl was going to distract herself with something else, just to give him a mean to run away back to his room and away from the pest.

His hopes crumbled after just ten minutes of being around the girl.

Sure, Taiga ended up turning bored because the relatively big house they were supposed to be staying in for the time being and having just Shirou to tease around wasn’t certainly going to help her satisfy her need of ‘action’. So, in a moment of brightest and possibly most annoying explanation, the brunette decided it was time for the boy to meet her grandfather.

The reasoning behind this resolution against boredom was incredibly derailed by any possible humane logic, yet there was little he could do about it as he had been easily pulled around by the girl, knowing that the teen was much stronger than him and, with all the honesty he could muster, the boy preferred to not know how an angry Tiger looked like.

The walk would have been a good way to cool down his bruised pride but the girl leading him around started to talk... and talk... and talk.

Between harmless questions, simple tidbits about her life and how she admired (crushed on) Kiritsugu, Shirou’s patience started to thin and then die down quicker than he had expected it to be possible.

It was an unnerving and unhappy task to hold himself from snapping at the overly-cheerful 'neechan' that was accompanying him around town but... he was polite and he merely started to grit his teeth in utter self-loath as he screeched internally at the torture he had been put in.

Kiritsugu had to pay, there was no way that the Gamer would just ignore this matter.

After around twenty minutes of enduring the worst possible, they were finally there after reaching the place where the teen's grandfather lived and-

Shirou backtracked a little in his thoughts' process, finding the new information connected to this new enlightening sight currently displayed to his surprised eyes, the scene giving him some insight over some questions regarding the reason why his guardian had managed to afford that mansion they called home.

Kiritsugu actually managed to pay every expense with just his tutor job with Taiga... because Taiga's family gave to him much more than a normal pay as a tutor.

It wasn't difficult to reach this conclusion as he noticed the presence of various thugs walking around the much bigger compound, giving them a few glances their direction as they entered the place and ventured towards the main building

It was how fearful many looked their way that actually was putting him in quite the nervous state of mind. Seriously, what kind of family was Taiga part of?

They stepped inside, the girl seemingly and blissfully unaware of the redhead’s panic and then they stopped at the first room. They were in what looked to be a medium-sized dojo with a yellow and black theme predominantly displayed all over the training area.

The girl by his side let go of him so that she could skip ahead of him in a quick sprint as she ran towards an... old man.

The elder was as tall as the teen, dressed in a green-toned kimono with a tiger-like decoration. His hair had grayed because of the late age and his wrinkles just made the already scary face he had even more terrifying for unknowns.

"Jiji!" The brunette happily greeted and she pulled the elder in an embrace.

The man grinned as the girl that was his granddaughter pulled him in a bear-hug. "Taiga-chan! It's good to see you,” The scary fellow replied with the same happy tone, the embrace lasting for quite some time.

Taiga giggled and Shirou finally started to approach them with a slow pace and sadly, his presence was noticed by the man, his expression lessening to a threatening one, enough to send some shivers down the young Emiya’s spine.

"A young boy?” He questioned with a low voice, glancing at his granddaughter with a frown. “Taiga-chan, how could you bring your boyfriend here-ugh!"

The elder recoiled as the teen kicked his shin with extreme strength and brutality.

"That was not nice, grandpa!” The girl replied with a huff, looking positively annoyed by that unexpected comment. “You shouldn't say that about brothers and sisters."

...They weren't even related and Shirou was quite unsure about the whole family-beyond-blood kind of bond with the girl. How many times he had seen her in total? Four or Five?

"Oh?" The man hummed quietly and gave the child a close look before nodding. "This is Kiritsugu's kid, right?" His question was surprisingly spot on and, before the child could answer, Taiga nodded in his stead.

The man then smiled, showing his threatening front teeth with an awfully cheerful way. "My name is Fujimaru Raiga, I am a good friend of your father, Shirou-chan." He introduced himself with an amused tone, the mirthfulness dripping from the man’s way to address the boy.

Which wasn’t lost to the irritated Gamer.

...Oh God, noooooooooooooooo! Why that nickname!?

Like heck he was going to let it become a permanent thing!

"Emiya Shirou.” He bowed slightly. “Nice to meet you, Raiga-sama." The man blinked at the politeness and then sighed.

"This kid is so formal!” He pointed out loudly while staring at the brunette. “Taiga-chan, maybe you should take some lessons from this boy about good manne-ih!"

The girl proceeded to chop on the old man's head at the jab at her unruly behavior.

"Grandpa!"

This girl was extremely violent, that was a proven fact in Shirou's mind.

----------------------d-d-d----------------------d-d-d---------------------d-d-d---------------------

"Your dad sure is reliable, Shirou-kun," The man chuckled as he stressed the very thing that irked Shirou in that moment. "I had almost lost the hope of getting my hotheaded granddaughter a proper teacher. She is fiery and.. fierce, if you understand where I’m going with this."

A shiver went down their spines as they watched another kendo match between Taiga and some of the thugs training.

It was in that sight that Shirou confirmed that the teen wasn't someone to be trifled and that he had to be cautious around.. this brutal young woman.

"You know, Shirou-kun, I started to fight with a sword right at your age," Raiga sighed tiredly and then he continued. "It was when Japan was still recovering from the war and.. we had to deal with unpleasant folks in Fuyuki trying to make others' life difficult."

Banditry had been a thing in the city during the post-war period but it wasn't something much remembered because of the relative ill events that had happened around the period. Raiga was keen to bring this up and Shirou was bestowed with some memories from the old native of the quiet town.

The boy would have liked to hear more about history but a box appeared in front of him as he continued to stare oddly at the swords that were being used.

Shinai. Its name is... Shinai.

[Something resonates within your souls... and a new Trait has been unlocked!]​

Sword Proficiency (Rookie) - You have grasped the basic notions of swordsmanship and you can use it in a fight. Your stats receive a 15% Boost when using a Sword-Type weapon.

W-What?

Reading the description of the Trait was enough to break whatever phenomenon had got him so mesmerized by the fight and Shirou would have had studied this situation further if-

"Are you interested in training, Shirou-kun?" The elder then offered without hesitation.

The question catched his attention and his surprise.

"I-I don't want to impose on-"

"Nonsense!" Raiga barked at the attempted polite refusal. "If you crave for learn the way of the sword, I will not be the one discouraging you!"

The boy blinked at the quick proclamation and he had barely the time to blink as he was taken by the elder to dress in the protective armor and given a Shinai.

The moment his hands grasped the practice sword, the Emiya felt his soul becoming hard as steel while his mind cleared and granted him full focus in front of his first opponent.

The thug was a LVL4, stronger than he should be, but... Shirou felt so much stronger now more than before. Something had changed the moment his hand had grasped the sword

Part of him wanted him to hold back in the first fight, to avoid drawing unnecessary attention on himself as he tried how much he had improved right now.

But he moved so naturally and fluidly through the man's strikes, staring as these seemed to be approaching towards him with a sluggish pace.

He didn't waste time the opportunity as he started to hit through the openings allowed by the man in front of him.

It was in that exact moment, as the thug fell on the floor with a groan, that he realized what had just happened. While it had been a few moments in that somewhat beautiful sensation that had driven him through the spar until now, it had been just a handful of minutes of him playing around with the now confused and shocked thug sitting on the tatami.

*Ding* You have leveled up!

[Status]

Name: Shirou Emiya

Title: The Gamer

Age: 7

Level 3 - Exp: 47.53%​

Health Points (HP): 200

Mana Points (MP): (Blocked)

Attributes

POW: 8 (9,2)+1

INT: 9 (10,3)+1

AGI: 6 (6,9)+1

WIS: 9 (10,3)+1

VIT: 10 (11,5)+1

CHA: 5 (5,7)+1

LUK: 10 (11,5)+1

Shirou had barely enough time to blink at the news that he was tackled down by giggling Taiga once again, this time he had also to deal with her sweaty dress pressed on him.

"Shirou-chan is super-strong!" She cheered with another round of giggles, pressing even more the now drenched clothes on his poor face.

Help.

"He is!" Raiga agreed as he clapped at the scene, a big smile in his face. "I knew that he had to natural at this! Give him some time and training and you will get some serious competition, Taiga-chan." The teasing tone directed at the girl created a curious smirk on her face.

The girl nodded at challenge proclaimed by her grandfather.

"Then I will get even more stronger!" The brunette proclaimed, getting a groan out from Shirou.

Still, as he recovered from the minor case of tackle caused by the girl standing above him, the Emiya couldn’t help but muse about what could have happened in that spar. About the sense of freedom, of speed and focus that he had felt so familiar yet not.

What had just happened there?!

---------------d-d-d-------------------d-d-d-------------------d-d-d--------------------

AN

This is the first step in new territory. As I had said previously the rework will have new Arcs/Sagas and some of those are ideas that I had left untouched the first draft.

Now here they are as I give Shirou an acceptable mean to start with his training properly.

Will the Harem plan be a thing? Dunno, I don't wish to step onto the pairing section until Old Arc II (at least) as I wish to develop the characters before introducing pairings.

Why I am cautious about this? I have seen a series I loved a lot being turned in a mess by rushed writing and poor characters' development propelled by shipping and pairings. Romance is not a way to develop a character in a story that is not romance-centric.

Also, here is the full STAT MENU!

[Status]

Name: Shirou Emiya

Title: The Gamer

Age: 7

Level 3 - Exp: 47.53%​

Health Points (HP): 200

Mana Points (MP): (Blocked)

Attributes

POW: 9

INT: 10

AGI: 7

WIS: 10

VIT: 11

CHA: 6

LUK: 11

Skills

Gamer Body (LVL Max.) - Congratulations, your body had been turned into one influenced by the rules of the Game Module. This Skill is present in all Users from the very beginning.

Unbreakable Willpower (LVL Max.) - The hardships of your life had been making you stronger than the average human being. Risk of Possession and Mind Control are reduced by the 75%.

Noble Soul (LVL Max.) - Having experienced the worst trauma, you know the pain and sufferings of others. Your Soul is brave and determined enough to let you become whatever you wish.

Beginners' Luck (Non-Level Skill) - This temporary Skill will add a EXP multiplier related to LUK for Skills and LVLs. Expiration Level: LVL 10.

Traits

Natural Prodigy (Cooking) - You are incredibly proficient in cooking, it is in your blood. Food prepared by your hands receive a 25% Boost to their HP recovery rate.

Sword Proficiency (Rookie) - You have grasped the basic notions of swordsmanship and you can use it in a fight. Your stats receive a 15% Boost when using a Sword-Type weapon.

 

Chapter 3: Sword (2)

Two days have passed since Kiritsugu had left Fuyuki for his oversea business and Shirou was more than happy to enjoy the little schedule he had planned for this particular occasion.

Without the man at home, he was left with the limited presence of the brunette that was the Tiger of Fuyuki, the girl more than happy to grant him some more time alone compared to Kiritsugu’s own attitude.

Yet it had been two days spent listening and enduring the overly-cheerful Taiga Fujimura with her quirky antics and shenanigans, the hours wasted in those long narrations were then rewarded with special Kendo lessons that were ultimately paid by the Yakuza Boss, or Raiga-jiji as the elder liked to be called by the young redhead.

While he had to hold back much of his inner potential during lessons as to not create suspicions over his unusual fighting prowess at this young age; the boy had also found peace in the few hours Taiga had to be absent from the Emiya household either for school-related duties or because she had to hang out with some friends.

Since Shirou had given no reason for the brunette to not leave him at home with the hopes of avoiding any child-made disasters, the young Gamer was granted some more free time to spend in self-training and thoughts about the Game itself.

The makeshift dummy he had created out of an empty potato sack, a few pillows and old branches fallen by the courtyard, was then used by the boy, the young Emiya feeling eager to experiment out the newly-learned techniques and... he was content with the current pace of his training.

[Status]​

Name: Shirou Emiya​

Title: The Gamer​

Age: 7​

Level 7 - Exp: 58.69%​

Health Points (HP) : 400

Mana Points (MP) : (Blocked)

Attributes

POW: 23

INT: 21

AGI: 25

WIS: 25

VIT: 26

CHA: 16

LUK: 15

Intense training drove the major improvements, but there were some rare instances where some Stat points would end up rewarded by the Game.

But those were unique settings, either trying to create the dummy, plan out the schedule for the week or even mid-training.

There weren’t any true requirements presented, only that there was a slim chance of improvement during random tasks.

But it was the ‘how’ he gained more CHA that was actually surprising. Shirou had more than once engaged in a long discussions with some of the men under Raiga's control.

Simple discussions that were mostly-positive as the thugs living here were very devoted to the Fujimura Clan, the Head of the Clan having done much to lift them off from their respective problems.

Most of those conversation it ended up being an easy and quick task but the main requirement for success was determined by how much he had influenced his interlocutor and the impact his words had created on them.

Some words just seemed tough to understand, but the Game was compliant to offer a simplified explanation when asked via thoughts.

Landing just another hit on the battered dummy, Shirou decided to take a break as he went to sit by the edge of the inner courtyard, planning to bask in the soft sun as the heavenly orb’s light was lessened by the few clouds up in the sky.

He slowly let his back lean down until he had gone and reached the wooden floor, his legs hanging by the edge of the sidewalk and... he decided it was a good time to enjoy some rest, a nap before Taiga could return and see him ‘strangely’ tired.

It was so pleasant to just let go of the hard-work to enjoy a brief moment of a day, to let his mind slip out from the tiring reality so that he can recover a little from the 'insanity' of his new ‘everyday’.

Maybe he would go and pick some ice cream after a few hours of sleep. Maybe ice cream could get Taiga to not nag at him too much.

Yet as his breathing slowed down and he prepared to fall asleep, Shirou felt something wrong as his body stilled and tensed in unexpected panic.

Gone was the simple reality he had left as he had closed his eyes, his amber orbs nervously looked left and light and he saw a storm of colors of multiple shades and gradations.

He felt floating but... what?

The child closed his eyes again, this time hoping to return back to his home. Away from this new and incredibly awful madness, back into the pleasant relax afforded by the current time of the time.

Yet he wasn’t granted such thing. Rather, he was given a completely different kind of heaven.

His eyes blinked open once more and the young Emiya was now staring at a particular blue sky, beautiful flowers of various colors welcoming him with their natural scents all over the green fields he was now lying by and.. something was making him feel safe in that unknown but mystical place.

He felt at peace in that everlasting divine garden, feeling the nature caressing him to rest, the soft wind carrying the soul of the world away for him to enjoy alone-

"A true paradise, isn’t it?" Shirou's eyes widened a little as he moved his head slowly on his left, turning right where the voice had commented had called from. "That is what you are seeing, I reckon."

He blinked in surprise as he found the origin of said words, the individual smiling at him as the child felt confused at the person he was looking at, his incredible shock dependent by the intriguing and mesmerizing appearance regarding the man.

This stranger looked fairly-happy as he would glance once in a while at the fields of flowers and green nature around them.

The man turned around to fully stare at him, his purple eyes locking on Shirou’s and giving a warm glint while wind softly ruffled his pure white hair.

A white cloak covered most of his body, some more clothes were visible underneath and for some reason the boy felt disconnected by this figure. Something about the unique style that just felt wrong to find in this part of the world.

The stranger was also holding a curious staff made of dark wood that intertwined together by the top as an unknown metal scepter served as a base for the curious instrument.

"Welcome to my... humble prison, I suppose." The man's voice was calm and collected despite the curious wording, but the child perceived a little later the persuasive charm dripping from his tone.

The redhead felt that he could trust him, it was something urging from within his soul as… as if he had already met him before.

The youth slowly got up from the ground to fully face the stranger, not bothering to hide the blatant confusion at this meeting.

"Who are you?"

The man’s smile widened and... things went mad once more as he chuckled gallantly.

"A handsome demi-incubus, a prophet, a druid and.. the Mage of Flowers!" The introduction sounded as flamboyant as the man’s peculiar appearance.

In that brief moment, the boy's mind made a quick but minimal comparison between the weird individual and Taiga as both seemed to share quite the same boisterous personalities.

"What?" The Gamer was more than glad to question this madness.

The man deadpanned at the child's not recognizing him but he soon recollected himself with a cough. "Of course, my titles might have easily disappeared from the world but my name sure should ring some bells." His smile widened much to Shirou's inner annoyance. "My name is eternal. I am MERLIN, the greatest mage in the world!"

That did actually mean something in the redhead's mind as the name was truly familiar… as it was for anyone that had known about King Arthur’s tales.

Merlin was a wizard, one of the most well-known ones coming from Europe, Britain if he remembered the name correctly, but...

"I-I don't want to sound disrespectful, Merlin-san, but.. shouldn't you be..."

"Dead? Gone? It was all a trick to hide my devilish appearance from feeble human minds-"

"Old?"

...

The man fell on his knees at the unexpected comment, his hands punching the ground in rather the comical way.

"Whyyyyyy?" It was a very pathetic scene to witness and the boy merely blinked through it as he didn’t have anything to say about it.

Yet his attention was quickly caught by the distinct sound of tree's branches above him creaking at an unknown weight and Shirou felt something soft land and small on his right shoulder.

He turned his eyes at the anomaly only to see a curious animal, a small, white critter that resembled a mix of a cat and a squirrel with a small dress around its chest and pure azure eyes staring back at him.

"Fou."

The boy's confusion melted swiftly by the moment he felt something wet pressing on his cheeks, little amusement brewing at the realization it was the adorable puppy licking it.

A smile slowly appeared on his face as he slowly let his left hand scratch the creature's little head, drawing some more of its curious cooing.

"Fou~." The Emiya was so much distracted that he barely noticed that Merlin, now standing up from the ground, was for some reason throwing deadly glares at the small animal.

"I see that you have met Cath Palug,” He dryly commented, sneering at the cute thing. “If I had the means I would seriously relinquish this little fiend to you."

Shirou snapped his eyes at the man, the words being incredibly harsh and shocking to hear, yet before he could say something about it, he felt the animal in his shoulder tensing a little as it turned to look at his.. owner?

It wasn't fear coming from its beady eyes, the redhead could see its hinder legs pressing in preparation as the critter prepared to pounce at the mage, the position being far too familiar to the boy as he had seen it being used multiple time by Taiga just so the girl could tackle him to the floor for some unrequited hugs.

"I was joking, you insufferable thing." The white-haired man said in a surrender-ish tone, his hands up in defeat as he tried to defuse the growing predicament, seemingly working as the little thing relaxed and started to nuzzle once again at the boy’s neck.

"But I think we have digressed from some unanswered questions for long enough,” The mage resumed as he turned to look back at the child. “And I kind of need to make this one quick to avoid getting some annoying woman-planet thingy poking at my little hell for some salt-rubbing irritations."

"You are currently in a special plane of existence created by me thanks to a little exploit I could afford with my set of skills,” Merlin started to explain with a theatrical tone.

Shirou blinked at this starting point. "I-I thought this was just a dream!"

"I suppose the 'how' this connection is created is the same one goes to sleep but before he goes to the ‘dream’,” The white-haired man stated with a brief shrug.

“As your consciousness slowly detach from your body to rest, I managed to pull it on this small place I have recreated for the real deal." Merlin sighed a moment, just enough to get some breath in to deliver the lengthy explanation. "The reason why we are not in the real deal, this ‘beautiful gardens’, is determined by the fact you would surely die quickly and painfully of the dense concentration of magic in the air. This is the safest place you could enjoy the beauty of Avalon without dying some ugly death."

"Avalon?" The same sounded familiar and.. why did he felt that it meant a lot to him?

"Are you feeling it, some curious resonance?" The Mage asked with a curious voice. "Do you feel as if this word means something special to you?" At his nod the man continued. "Then you are indeed connected with the legendary scabbard."

At this the boy blinked in utter confusion. "The… scabbard?"

Merlin didn't reply at this, energy flooding out of his staff as from golden light emerged an image. Something oddly familiar, something he had seen before but… where he couldn’t exactly pinpoint.

It was a scabbard as the mage had mentioned, gold and blue were beautifully mixed in a complexity of lines and figures of this incredibly well-elaborated construct and... for some strange reason the child felt his body heating up at the sight.

"Avalon is currently inside your body," The man revealed calmly, getting Shirou's attention back at him. "But it is barely awaken, it is just up enough for me to form this connection."

"A-Awake and, what do you mean it is inside of me?" How can an object be inside him without a surgery? He was sure his body was fine and didn’t have any scars that could explain how-

"I can see it in your eyes that you are incapable of completely grasp 'how is something like that inside my little, childish body' and I will say that you are indeed a newbie magus, that-"

Shirou froze as the man's eyes went wide that very moment and almost jumped in shcok. "Oh my!"

Purple eyes stared close at his body, studying it and analyzing him meticulously.. as if a specimen before a scientist. "You... you are much more special than I had initially thought, my little friend."

"W-What are you talking about and... why are you staring at me like that?" Panic was rising within Shirou, rightfully so as Merlin took a step towards him.

"You got yourself an interesting blessing, one that its true nature is actually unknown to me but.. mhhh, it seems that for a fine work it sure does feel fairly incomplete." He extended his open palm. "I think I can do something about it."

Was he talking about the Game? And what was Merlin saying about this.. fix?

This fix was either an improvement or a very well-planned action to remove it.

The boy couldn't afford to give it up now! He- He had so much to do and.. it was his to use!

The redhead took an involuntary step back, fear surging once again. "W-What if I didn't wanted to 'fix' it?"

"The system, this.. 'Game', is not compatible with your body and you will be suffering a lot in the events that will happen in your immense future,” The mage explained with a tight voice, eyes narrowing at him with a curious glint. “I think you can see that you are blocked from truly using magecraft and.. that is because your circuits are far too weak and unstable to use for even the basic spells with this little rarity you have withing you."

"T-Then-"

Merlin sighed as his hand moved quickly to grasp the boy's shivering one.

"You have to change to be ready for what is along your path, little one."

A blinding light encompassed the area as Shirou felt his body burning, as if lava had been poured directly in his bloodstream.

Then his stomach started to hurt much more than the previous torture, the kid falling on his knees as he tried to resist the suffering.

Excruciating moments passed before the pain started to slowly disappear and.. the boy felt his body covered by sweat and.. pleasant warmth.

"Phew, that was much more difficult than I had thought it to be." Then he smiled widely as he patted Shirou's free shoulder. "It seems that your new addition is already in action."

[New energy fills your vein! Merlin created within you a fully-operational Magic Core]​

Magic Core: It is highly difficult to find someone having a full Core in this Age, the last few ones owning one being those born to Eras that precedes the Age of Man. Differently from regular Circuits, the energy within your body is properly created by your body, making you less dependent to Gaia's influence.

<Unlocked!> MP: 800 (+40 MP/m)

"A.. A Magical Core?"

Merlin grinned at his work, seemingly tired for a moment. "Indeed! This sure was something I had done two or three times in my past life, to see I am still capable of pulling those awesome spells-"

"Why?"

The white-haired mage paused a moment before adopting a serious expression, ready to reveal his brilliancy in that very moment-

"I am bored,” He said with a steely face. “And I’m incredibly lonely here and in need of talking to someone."

...

The 'greatest mage' sure was quite the air-head, Shirou concluded in his thoughts as the man started to weep loudly at his own misfortunes.

"Y-You don't know how dull it is to be stuck in a tower in the middle of nowhere!" Merlin pointed accusingly at the yawning critter still resting on the boy's shoulder. "And don't let me start with him being the only thing I can talk with. I am a glorified cat lady!"

"That's... bad?" The child mused confusedly, his brain still trying to get through the sudden devolution of the conversation.

A soft glare emerged but it soon disappeared as the man realized he was still talking to a boy.

"O-Of course but, what I meant to say is..." He blinked calmly. "I need to talk with someone that speaks human languages once in a while. Enduring some thousand-year long silence is starting to kill me and I mean in the mental way."

"Then why do you stay here? Why not just-"

"Oh, that because I had been tricked by a very cold woman. The darling was so cunning that she got me stuck in this part of the universe not many cannot leave."

That was a confusing explanation. If Merlin had managed to get in Avalon, then why shouldn't he be able to leave it?

"Let's just say that only those with 'pure heart' can actually leave from that door and.. I want to seriously bail this insane prison!"

"D-Do I have to do anything about that?" Beyond the eccentric attitude, Shirou was certain the man was not that bad to warrant this prison. Being confined forever here would be terrible, the beauty of the garden surely growing monotone and mind-draining for anyone sent there.

"As you are right now, with your current abilities?” Merlin inquired with a genuine surprised look. “No, you are far from being helpful with what I require... maybe in a few years from now, maybe even sooner if things go much better than I have foreseen."

His mouth opened to ask more but the boy felt being pulled away.

"Oh? It seems that you are waking up,” The white-haired magician nodded with a sad sigh. “Well, that means that further questions will await until next time and- I almost forgot." He patted the child's head, his smile growing a little more genuinely grateful. "What is your name?"

Half-tempted to merely deadpan in silence at the incredibly weak question, Shirou decided to reply politely.

"My name is Emiya Shirou, Merlin-san."

It was in that moment that Shirou seemingly disappeared from the world, leaving the mage to stare at the empty spot the youth had once occupied.

"What do you think the boy meant with that -san, Cath Palu-?" The mage turned where the white animal had landed.. only to see nothing.

"Cath Palug-! GAH!"

The small critter jumped down from the nearby branch he had gone moments before the boy had left, returning to the clearing by 'Dynamic Kick' the Magus on his cheek, sending him KO on the floor.

Meanwhile back on Fuyuki, the Gamer woke up to a very, very annoying and unfortunate scene.

The last thing he could remember before falling asleep was being blissfully alone in that house, without Taiga and enjoying his good peace.

Now a pair of arms had gotten him tightly close to the now-sleeping Tiger of Fuyuki, the girl having taken two pillows and a long sheet to make their rest comfortable on the sturdy wood of the sidewalk.

It was somewhat nice coming from the overly-cheerful girl, evidence that she had one of the biggest and kindest heart despite his abrasive reactions to her rants.

And.. part of him felt quite embarrassed at knowing how he had been trying so fiercely to keep himself distant from the kind young woman, mostly because the over-the-top behavior coming from the bubbly brunette had left him… somewhat confusedly annoyed.

Maybe, just maybe, he will give her this once what she wanted with her hugs... maybe.

"Shirouuu-chaannn." The girl whispered happily in her sleep, bringing his head a little closer to the not-so-small bosom she had.

It was incredible how her clothes hid it so well and... the boy was incredibly unsure how to feel about that specific closeness.

So, instead of mumbling incoherently and risk waking up the sleeping tiger, he deemed it wiser to close his eyes and swiftly catch the sleep that had eluded him for so long now, unaware that the scene was being seen from afar by a pair of red eyes, interested in the curious phenomenon he had perceived not so long ago.

The presence of genuine magic, a true Mage born in this decaying and boring Age.

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AN

Shirou is clueless and distant, the latter is going to disappear overtime as he opens up to others.

Why I pulled Merlin so early on? I had always thought what he was doing during FSN, as he should have had some connection with Avalon... being trapped in the Avalon section of the Reverse Side of the World. The Nasuverse facts regarding his current whereabouts are quite shady, some says that he managed to escape early during Charlemagne's era while the most prominent line of thought is that he is stuck in the mystery known as Avalon.

Am I planning some OP things with him? Maybe in the distant future. I've planned for Shirou to.. have a special Arc with him leading during Old Arc I and Old Arc II.

Will Taiga go 'Ara, Ara' or keep her usual attitude? Both. I think that since Shirou is going to be much more active in his life, relationships will suffer a major improvement as I think what hadn't made Taiga that much interested in the Emiya was that he was so simple-minded on helping others and never seeing what and who he had around his private life. I don't plan anything too big but there will be some fluff/funny moments between them.

Realism in Game!Fics: I have stressed well enough that I will give a major effort in keeping things as real as the Nasuverse allows me to do. There might be people contesting some odd decisions or facts and I can say, after having seen some confusion regarding Illya's Grand Debate, that a quick check for the offical sources will help a lot for those that are unsure of certain situations. P.S. Illya's age is Shirou's age +5 thus she is 12 right now.

Magic Core and UBW: One of the greatest restrains Shirou was supposed to have was not being able to recover MPs because his magical energy, like pretty much everyone else, is meant to be dependant to Gaia's rules. Without a proper consumable capable of restoring MP Shirou's capacity to grow as a Gamer!Protagonist is stunted by this mortal rule. A Magic Core is considered a powerhouse in the Nasuverse, capable of not only filter better Magical Circuits, reducing the risk of Mana Depletion, but it also helps out Shirou in stepping up his worth in the big world. UBW is... possibly not going to become a thing. The only reason Shirou truly manifest his Reality Marble is because he had a strong reason and a high connection to the despair that triggered it. He starts to dreams about dying on a hill with swords when the Holy Grail War starts, thus the catalyst for that 'reaction' is the HGW itself. I can try to introduce it but.. as I said, I am here to not break any of the rules of this universe.

 

Chapter 4: Sword (3)

Parry the approaching strike, dodge the follow-up, exploit one of the few, visible opening on the opponent’s guard and then start again with this careful pattern while also not get baited in giving too much in attacks.

This little scheme was what had ruled over Shirou's mind as he decided to finally try to challenge and beat Taiga in a kendo spar.

What was ensuing was by far the worst escalation possible to ever be part of, the sheer unpredictability coming from the brunette making logical reactions to her attacks very difficult to elaborate in practice before the subsequent strike.

Her shinai was customized with a yellow-black striped strap on it, something interesting to stare at the first time he saw it but also one of the reasons the teen had never been accepted in official Kendo tournaments.

The standard rules were quite strict regarding the formal appearance of the instrument, highly condemning those who had it altered even just a little with some fancy customization.

And while Shirou had expected the girl to be irritated by this development, he was proven wrong much to his surprise by the brunette’s happy reaction to his queries about the situation.

About why she didn’t just pick another Shinai and competed anyway, the teen going as far as to giggle at how silly the question was, saying that she didn’t care about make it to a legitimate professional level, preferring to keep Kendo as her favorite hobby than a true work.

It was difficult to discern if her eagerness to answer was about genuine compulsion to give out that ‘silly answer’ or if it was just another attempt to score a favor with the hcild.

The first few days after Kiritsugu had gone for his trip also saw her probing for more knowledge about the man, about things the dark-haired Emiya could have told to the boy, because Shirou was his 'son' and not to her because she was just a friend.

His reply was the same as usual every single time she would ask about it: Kiritsugu would speak just a few times in a while and it was mostly about current mundane things.

If the man had blurted more about himself, then Shirou too wouldn't be so intrigued by him and his secretive life.

The girl's reaction was a the same pout, no words nor further pressuring over him as she knew he was being honest to her regarding the topic but that didn’t mean she was happy about the lack of info.

*Ding* You have leveled up!

[Status]​

Name: Shirou Emiya​

Title: The Gamer​

Age: 7​

Level 9 - Exp: 68.87%​

Health Points (HP) : 440

Mana Points (MP): 1000 (+45 MP/m)

Attributes

POW: 26 (30)

INT: 24 (27,6)

AGI: 28 (32,2)

WIS: 26 (29,9)

VIT: 31 (35,6)

CHA: 19 (21,8)

LUK: 20 (23)

Despite the pestering, Shirou was still rewarded by going through with their sparring, especially the difficult one he was sharing with the Fujimura.

The girl was stronger than many other girls her age, thus prompting the Game to give him some means to develop powerful abilities about fighting styles.

In fact, while the effort didn’t compel a true increase in Stats, it did gift him with some pleasant improvement in the form of fight-related skills.

Charged Attack (LVL. 2/10) - Deliver a powerful strike against your opponent! The ATK is determined by POW*5! (Cost: 40MP)

The boy was thankful that this particular Skill didn’t have any of the special lights that would display any strange occurrence while he used the Skill mid-fight.

He had tried via thoughts by chanting the name of the ability while he prepared to strike and, just like he had read happen in the magazine, he felt an immense boost over the attack that followed.

Still the redhead had expected some flashy effects that would make the power look like… a cool move to use.

Many games did have this mechanic, either to make things ‘cool’ or to highlight a special attack from a normal one, so it was a legitimate concern but curiosity to see how the abilities developed about flashiness, inherent strength and usefulness.

Sweat was starting to pour from his forehead as his efforts to warrant some advantage over the faster girl were turning out to be quite fruitless, his stamina being even lesser than the proud Fujimura as she continued to explode in endless energy.

Nothing managed to get through her flexible defense, experience and tribulations having tempered her guard to become something of a nightmare to deal with, and her shinai moved so quickly that he had to adopt unorthodox way to not get hit so much, something that would switch once or twice in a while and… wasn’t even much effective in the long-run-!

-8HP!

HP: 432/440

Again!

He tried to move away from the barrage of precise strikes and fast stabs that followed the ‘prelude blow’ all directly hitting his sparring armor but the girl was so aggressive that any attempt to get her to focus on defending herself vanished the very moment he tried to attempt something to deal with this predicament.

She was constantly attacking him, her objective clear as she was trying to breach through her indomitable rush.

Heck, if he could even bring her to pause just a moment he could turn her feeble defense in mince-meat but it was nigh impossible for him at the surreal pace things were going, the boy forced to deal with the lessening of the incoming impacts of every single attack thrown his way.

The Gamer was close to LVL. 10... but he was still unable to beat anyone, even someone as young as Taiga was!

What an infuriating notion.

-18!! CRIT!

HP: 414/440

This last attack reached his head and made him recoil involuntarily, the concussion making him lose some focus, just enough for the Tiger of Fuyuki delivered another set of attacks he could barely dodge.

Half an hour later and Shirou was thankful that Taiga had to go to school, his HP having reached a worrying 208/440 from what had meant to be a simple spar.

Sore and quite irked at knowing he was far from being able to do something meaningful, the boy decided to go for a walk to the park nearby.

Bored and interested in resting away from any possible annoyances in the form of the cheerful brunette.

He just was this much irritated at himself.

-----------d-d-d--------------------d-d-d-----------------d-d-d--------------d-d-d--------------

Shirou was grateful that he had finally come to see the park, the nature-driven haven becoming somewhat of a pleasant experience to have to spend alone and in calm.

He could still remember having been there before the fire happened, but those fragmented memories and the mere notion that it had happened before somehow didn't make up with the personal experience he was enjoying at the moment.

The pleasant wind and warmth he could feel brushing his hair and caressing his skin, the boy was happily going for slow walk around the mostly desolate area of the city, being one of the few individuals wandering here and at this hour of the day.

Children were mostly spending their time at Homurahara Academy and many adults were still working even if it was close to holiday break, making the whole experience even better for someone that just wanted to have minimum contacts with people that very instant.

With a sigh, the child decided to sit by one of the available benches that gave a clear sight over the small lake nearby the far end of the natural location, a little construction that looked to be several decades old by the state of the stone used to make it.

No matter how little and bruised Fuyuki Town was, the city was still capable of giving quite some nice views to anyone that wished some novelty once or twice in a while.

Part of him wondered where he could find some ice cream in that very hour of the day, just so to add even more delight to this good visit at the park.

He smiled contently, looking from afar the lively section of the city beyond the park that was visible through the nearby gates.

"What a waste of space."

Shirou froze at those sudden words, hearing them being pronounced far too close to where he was sitting by in that moment. The cold tone dripping with disdain and dullness just made the whole unexpected interjection to be… chill-worthy.

He slowly turned to see the culprit behind the comment, a youthful man sitting on the free space of the very bench the Emiya was occupying, blond hair and red eyes as he stared dully at the fountain.

There was some tense moments of silence at first, but then the child turned his attention back at the structure and frowned.

"Why?" He asked with a confused tone.

It was curiosity that drove the child to question the curt but harsh review over the man-made object.

"This could have easily been turned in a place of production,” The blond surprisingly replied, his tone not changing from its initial pitch. “Even a section for new houses and yet someone decided to be dictated by some senseless needs like the one for relax and the one craving for natural points."

The redhead blinked at the explanation but stood silent as they both continued to stare at the place.

"Do you... think creating abt park is useless?" It was a simple question and Shirou put an effort to try and avoid sounding too much annoying with his tone, feeling threatened by the young man.

There was just something ominous from the way he was so at ease, from the way his appearance screamed of power and unpredictable wrath at the least slight.

The Gamer was happy when the reaction was just a simple scowl, lacking any sort of negative connotation regarding him as the red orbs were all fixed at the fountain.

"I suppose that my rightful opinion is influenced by the good rule from my home,” The man admitted calmly. “But I know this is just a disgraceful way to spend resources and time for the people here."

The boy nodded slowly at the stranger's words, not to agree but rather accept it as an opinion. He finally turned his full attention to the man, trying to understand why he would begin this conversation with such a confusing topic.

He got just a glance as the blond continued to stare placidly at the sight in front of them.

"W-While I understand your explanation, sir." Shirou started politely, awkward and somewhat wary of the individual he was speaking with. "I think that... it has still some uses other than mere need for a natural place."

Silence ruled once again, taking a little more of time while a gust of wind started to cool the hot weather of the day, bringing some relief to the redhead's mind.

"Indeed?" It was relayed slowly, almost quizzically as the man's stare having steeled for a moment to weight his words, numerous thoughts playing for a while on his face.

"I-I mean, it makes the city less... boring?" It had a playground and.. people liked to run and excercise in this particular place of the town. “While working is important, people do deserve some means to spend some time away from worries and… stress?”

"You.. are telling some truth." A sigh, a tired one, left the red-eyed individual's mouth. "I am quite pleased to see something that can help in soothing one's mind."

"Also it is.. a nice place for kids." Shirou blurted quickly, a bit embarrassed once he considered what he had just said.

"Perhaps," The stare softened as the man seemed to remember something. "Childhood will always be the easiest time for everyone, especially those with the greatest of burdens."

He stood up from the and silently started to walk away, surprising Shirou at the suddenness of the act and the boy expected the man to merely leave there without saying anything else.

But the blonde then he stopped, glancing back with a curious glance.

"You have good chances to become great, to redeem the decadence afflicting the world." His tone was almost prophetic and the boy felt those words to be true in his mind, something about the figure giving off a sense of authority and truthfulness that couldn’t even be denied within his thoughts. "I will watch you closely as you grow stronger and become the founder of a new Era, hopefully"

The greatest promise, one of power and duty.

…

What the heck did just happen?

-------------d-d-d-d------------------d-d-d---------------------d-d-d-------------------d-d-d-------------

Kiritsugu was back in Fuyuki. He was back at home.

Shirou stared in surprise as he returned early back at the house only to find the man slowly trying to apply some fresh bandages over... that.

It wasn't a normal wound by any means, his skin all around the damaged tissue black and dying, too much blood flowing out of it for that to be something stable, under control or…

Curable.

"Shirou." Kiritsugu said with a blank tone, a piercing stare now directed at the redhead.

The boy froze as the man's blank stare was upon him.

"I-I'm sorry- I didn't expect you to-" The child tried to apologize, his mind still wrapping up about the wound he was just looking at.

"It's not your fault," He responded curtly, understanding. "After all, I didn't mention that I could have returned earlier from the trip."

The Gamer merely nodded at his words and the man finished putting his shirt and jacket on after concluding his difficult task.

"You seem different." The adult mused loudly enough to bring this topic right to the child’s ears.

Panic surged in the boy's mind at those words, body tensing up at the development here unfolding.

The comment had come out of nowhere and it drawing some shock out of the young Emiya at how quick it had all come out as.

Did the man knew that something was wrong about him? That he was weird enough to investigate about curious anomalies?

As an excuse formed in his mind, Shirou ready to rush out from that ugly predicament, he felt Kiritsugu's hand grasping his left arm and he felt his skin sting a little at the touch.

"Your Circuits." The man commented again, louder than before as a slim note of surprise was playing on his expression. "They are active."

"I-I-" The hold tightened and Shirou felt true fear as the man crouched to get a proper look at his face.

But before the build-up could lead to the zenith of that escalation, Shirou was granted mercy in the form of a certain bubbly brunette.

The door of the living room was suddenly opened by Taiga as the girl stepped inside the room, seemingly ready to begin the usual ‘babysitting hours’ with the Gamer but she paused at the scene, her initial smile crumbling in confusion and minor surprise.

"K-Kiritsugu?"

Whatever the man had planned to do with the redhead ceased in that very moment, the dark-haired guardian moving away and sitting near the table.

The girl finally smiled again, happy that her teacher was back this soon. "You are back earlier! Did Shirou tell you that he started to train in Kendo? He is a prodigy, that is what Jiji say and-”

Kiritsugu froze, eyes widening a fraction at the detail regarding the training. Something stirring as his composure returned cold and somewhat irritated

"Taiga." He said with a steel-like voice, dragging the teen to pause in her rant, a feat that was as rare as unusual.

The teen flinched at the tone, looking nervous as she noticed that the dark-haired Emiya didn’t look very happy.

"Y-Yes, Kiritsugu?"

There was a brief pause, the man taking a sip from the cup of tea he had on the table before Shirou had returned home.

It wasn’t hesitation, it was pondering over the following words.

"Tell Raiga-san that I will no longer tutor you." Kiritsugu suddenly proclaimed, nodding as to bring determination to this shocking decision.

The girl looked tense, eyes widening immensely at the absurd predicament, even Shirou felt that this was surreal as the man had no reason to just dismiss the girl like that.

...

"W-What?" Her tone broke a little, her face was twitching as Taiga tried to hold her tears. Her efforts were failing, much to the redhead’s growing sadness "W-What do y-you mean w-with that?"

"I was quite clear with the man with our deals,” Kiritsugu explained curtly and mysteriously. “He overstepped his boundaries with this development and now we are done with our contract.”

There was another pause, this one much smaller than before as the girl started to sniff and Shirou’s jaws had hit the floor at the cold tone used by the man.

“Go back home, Fujimaru-san." It was the final order, one that

Shirou felt numb as he continued to stare silently and wide-eyed at the insane scene. This was the first time Kiritsugu reacted so viciously and.. with Taiga especially. The brunette was after all affectionate with him and that had to have hurt far too much to be just condoned her in quiet mortification.

The girl was a pest and quite annoying... but even the boy had some limits in that dislike, having long accepted that her actions were all done for good’s sake, not for any selfish or infuriating purposes.

Speaking of the Fujimura, tears were now freely falling off her face as she was trying to make sense in that mad escalation, part of her unable to accept this sudden refusal from the man.

It took her a while but in the end she managed to steel herself, giving a brief nod as she turned around and started to walk away from the house, the front door harshly closing with an angry slam, leaving just the two Emiya alone once again.

For the first time in a very long time ever since he had been with Kiritsugu, Shirou felt that this situation was just beyond anything he could just forgive quietly and so calmly.

The man had been secretive, barely interacted with him.. and he dared to do this. While the adult hadn’t mentioned the reasoning inclining to this sharp dismissal, the boy knew well enough to see that the issue was not created by the Fujimura Clan.

He was the problem, the one that caused this predicament by merely trying to connect.

He felt his lungs burning furiously, sight tinging in red at that unfair development as he was now aware of why it was a problem.

Shirou was meant to be left alone… because Kiritsugu wanted to be left alone.

He closed his eyes, ignoring the fact that the dark-haired moron was now looking at him and seemed ready to resume what was happening prior to Taiga’s interruption.

But not this time, he thought so determinedly and decisively.

Shirou stood up from his seat and started to walk towards the entrance corridor.

"Where are you-"

He didn't hear the last part of the question, the moment he heard the man speaking his legs swiftly switching to a quick run out of the house and out of that room.

His destination?

Taiga had done nothing wrong and.. he had to apologize for what had happened.

It was his fault. It was his duty to be genuinely sad and helpful of someone that had been helpful since the very beginning.

An apology for being such a brat.

An apology for what had just happened and...

An apology because he had lied to himself.

She might be overbearing with her eccentric antics but... she wasn't bad enough to warrant his utter hatred.

She wasn't there when the fire had happened and she had tried to not mention it.

She had never tried to remind him of that tragedy as she knew he would not stomach that.

He was alone in the world and she tried to bring him some hope, something that while unneeded for circumstances.

Even Kiritsugu’s kindness had failed to warrant this inner emotion, this sensation that only the brunette knew how to bring out from his core.

She made him feel important, She made him feel worthy.

And here he was, running madly through the streets of the city, ignoring any stares from the bystanders around thrown his way as he finally reached the compound where the girl had to have taken refuge..

Pausing a moment to regain a composure out of that breath-taking rush, Shirou walked slowly but determinedly towards the gates of the building complex.

He found Raiga sitting by the sidewalk right nearby the main doors of the building, the elder staring at him impassively as the child stepped inside the main courtyard and his stare fell to the ground the moment he was close enough to ask to enter, ashamed of the predicament and the stern stare from the old man.

"It was Kiritsugu, right?" That caught the redhead off-guard and the elder took it as a positive response, sighing at the situation. "I should have been careful about that specific detail, I had forgotten about those bits of our agreement and.. now my granddaughter is stuck in her room, denying anyone entry.. even her Raiga-jiji."

He deflated for a moment, genuine displeasure evident on his face. Then he tried to appear stern once again. "Go and, , help her. I- I can trust you to not hurt her, can I?"

Shirou gulped at the subtle/not-so-subtle threat. "I-I am not going to hurt her, Raiga-jiji."

"...Good." A small smile and the boy was directed to the door keeping him from knowing how hurt she was.

He felt his shoulders heavying as he knocked thrice at the door, softly. "G-Go away, Jiji-" "I-It's me."

Few moments passed and Shirou frowned as silence reigned for a while. "T-Taiga-"

The door opened quickly as the girl's arm snatched him inside, almost making him trip there in the process.

The room hardly resembled any of the ways the boy had imagined a girl's room, the walls were a dark shade of yellow, few posters of some obscure rock bands and a small desk with a school bag and some books still sitting on it.

Meanwhile the girl had jumped back in her bed, a peculiar fortress built there for the occasion.

"W-What are you doing here, Sh-Shirou-chan?" The brunette tried to appear furious at him but… he knew well enough when the girl would be angry.

And right now it wasn’t anger that was talking. It was hurt.

Usually the Gamer would have groaned at the mere mentioning of this nickname but he decided to let it go, knowing that the circumstances were far from normal and he couldn’t afford to sound mean.

"I-I.." He gulped as he felt the nervous knot in his throat tightening. "I wanted to-to apologize."

She blinked from her shelter... of pillows and tiger plushies? What was he looking at?

"W-What?" The brunette frowned, appearing incredibly confused at the boy’s words.

"I-I had treated you badly by-by ignoring you and.. and you were kind, I know that you mean everything so-" He didn’t have time to finish that he was tackled down but this time he was more than happy to have someone to hold onto as he too felt some tears coming through his dams.

His face pressed one her shoulder and... he cried.

He hadn't cried when he woke up in the hospital, he didn't cry when he realized he was alone and without a family.

Maybe... maybe it was the fact he knew Taiga, he could see her face, remember her smile and... he could remember her.

"You did nothing wrong, Shirou-kun,” She said while letting out a sob on his own shoulder. "You-You are not the one at at fault."

Shirou smiled a little in her hold, enjoying that brief moment of mutual honesty he was having with Taiga.

"T-Thank you, T-Taiga-neechan."

The hug tightened and he could feel her smile. It wasn't the usual happy smile no... it was a genuine one.

"Y-You are welcome, Otouto."

-----------------d-dd---------------d-d-d-----------------d-d-------------------d-d-----------------

AN

Shirou is emotional all of sudden, why? As much as I can make Shirou stoic, he doesn't have Gamer Mind. He has still feelings keeping him rooted from fully going cold to the world and.. he is still a child. Mood swings are still a thing at his age, especially when he is so far influenced from the fire. He had already lost someone he cared and.. he didn't wanted to lost anyone else this soon.

Is this going to end in some serious pairing? Nope. I might still go Illya route but.. I am still thinking if that is truly a good idea by the end of what I've planned. In the previous draft it was all planned for Illya being Shirou's only one. In this version? I don't know but I might as well if things go a certain way.

Kerry is a cold b*stard, shouldn't he be a little more warm with people? You all have to consider the fact Kiritsugu's attitude thawing happens much after the 4th HGW and he had just returned from his first failing attempt to recover Illya. He is incredibly sour and quite restricted to see whom he had taken under his wing practicing something remotely dangerous. In that brief moment of over-protectiveness he put on the pragmatic mask he had used during the war, one that barely value others' feelings.

Taiga is stronger than Shirou, but Shirou has.. Magecract? Considering Nasu's own words (surprisingly not-so-paradoxical in this case), Taiga is actually pretty strong. She has been trained for years in Kendo, many whining how she had wasted her potential by not going for some official career in the sport, her shinai is also stated to be 'possibly' a demon sword and... her luck is EX. I am not joking about this, it is said that she had somehow avoided three armageddon-level disasters mid-4thHGW. Don't worry, Shirou will beat her in few chapters thanks to magical exploits.

Gilgamesh and his.. weird introduction: I had planned to make his introduction as violent as I did in the previous draft but.. I considered the fact very few tries to use the new information we have regarding Gilgamesh, especially his Caster version. While his Archer version is quite stick-in-the-mud, he is still wise to some extent to not try to go Gung-ho against everyone. The reason he had been so vehemently attacking Shirou in the Canon is a mix of anger and arrogance since he cannot accept the mere idea of someone stealing his thunder.

 

Chapter 5: Sword (4)

This was surely going to be a peculiar morning.

That was Shirou’s first thoughts as blinked awake and found himself waking up to stare at the weirdest sight he could have ever imagined to deal with.

The familiar fruit-scented orange sheets had been the first sign that reminded him that he hadn't fallen asleep back in his room; the warm individual currently latching onto his small frame ending up cementing that he was not in his room.

"Shiiirou~."

He blinked again, this time a tiny smile creeping on his face as he slowly turned to find a sleeping Taiga, the girl looking quite at ease in her rest and the sight he was presented with more than amusing.

Not only she didn’t look anything like the hyperactive brunet she was with the usual mannerism when she had when awake, the teen was also incredibly grabby and cuddly in her sleep leading to some not-unwelcomed cuddles from his... big sister.

It was already weird to address her with that kind of title in his mind, Gods know how difficult it will be to truly get the habit integrated in his daily normalcy as the girl would surely keep up with her pestering, maybe even more than before now that this role was now hers to tease and enjoy.

His eyelids were half-shut as the warmth from the snuggle was... endearing and he found it easy to accept this intimate predicament without much of a fuss, especially when his mind kept reminding him of the escalation happening just the day before.

Part of him wondered what had happened to Kiritsugu and what could have urged him to adopt such a cold and strange snap at the novelty of the redhead’s kendo training.

Shirou was also confused if not nervous about the fact that the man had yet to storm the compound, knowing full well how stubborn he was and… how ‘protective’ he was of him.

His musing ceased momentarily as he felt something wet starting to munch at the fabric right over his shoulder, feeling a twitchy sensation developing right in the area.

"Nom~."

For someone that disliked being compared to a Tiger, Taiga sure wasn’t that much different from one as she continued with her nibbling at his shoulder, her pace seemingly born of hunger and… maybe it was because it was time for breakfast.

Thankfully she wasn't biting too hard on his skin, the sensation actually not as unpleasant or-

Amber eyes slightly widened as her chocolate pools opened without notice, the girl that had previously enjoyed the quietness of the morning waking up with a panicked expression as she had possibly realized about his presence.

"S-Shirou!?"

It wasn't surprising that the first thing the girl did at the close-up sight of his face was to jump and fall out of the bed while letting out a quick yelp, dragging some of the covers with her down to the floor.

The boy blinked as he refocused on her veiled frame, only her eyes and part of her reddened cheeks were visible from his position.

"You- I and- But then.." Her eyes widened by that very moment as the recollection of the previous night had indeed quickly started to return to her mind, a major smile breaking through the confused mask she had on her face and she pounced.

A yelp left the Gamer’s mouth as he was tackled by a full-grinning Taiga, the teen proceeding to crush his body within the ensuing close embrace with her arms squishing him close and lovingly.

"You are my Otouto!" She proclaimed with a sense of pride and happiness.

The nervous smile appearing in Shirou's face didn't make justice over the flurry of emotions he was trying to keep a hold on to understand within his mind.

Another mood swing suddenly happened as the girl gasped and stilled in the embrace, her hold lessening just a little while her eyes now sported worry and panic.

"Wait, what about K-Kiritsugu?!" She asked, mostly to herself rather than the redhead.

As the girl eyed him intensively as if to silently press him for a reply, the boy couldn't but sweatdrop at how quickly things have escalated in these few minutes.

"I...I did run away and... that," He commented carefully, unsure how he should have really dealt with her concern.

Considering how rash his choice of action had been back then Shirou felt slightly embarrassed to the idea he had to literally run away from his home to catch up with the running Taiga, preferring to mend the breaking connection instead of just sitting and letting it happen.

Could he have solved this in a better way?

Maybe, but... he had been so angry and emotional with the words used by Kiritsugu and his swift dismissal of the girl that the boy couldn't actualy regret his quick-thinking that very moment.

...

"Gah!” Taiga finally broke away from her silence, her worry tripled with his answer. “He is gonna say I kidnapped you and that I’m a bad influence!"

The brunette blurred between panicked words to delusional statements, the spectacle as concerning as amusing to the only witness of this case.

"I am going to get thrown in jail!"

"My classmates will look at me badly.."

"I will never become a teacher!"

"Raiga-jiji is going to ground me permanently-"

"Taiga-neechan?" He finally jumped in, his tone a little uneasy at how she was firing so many horrible ramifications to this kind of worry.

The female paused in her erratic behavior to turn towards a wide-eyed Shirou, the redhead averting his eyes away for a moment as he was still quite confused by this whole display of pure madness he hadn't thought the girl capable of.

...Okay, maybe just a ‘little’ expected.

"I-I mean, wouldn't Kiritsugu have called the police already?" Shirou asked cautiously, feeling like that would have been a clear sign of the man truly pursuing an aggressive escalation with the girl.

Her form stilled at those words, thousands of thoughts trailing inside her overreacting mind and then she blinked in realization, finding some resolution in the boy’s comment.

If someone as serious as Kiritsugu had been interested in recovery Shirou at once and without minding dealing with the Fujimura clan then he would have truly called the cops for that, then... then they would have already appeared hours ago but there had been nothing of this sort as it’s been almost a full day and no one had barged in their house.

"You- You are right, Shirou-kun!" She smiled widely, nodding at his reaoning. "That means he is not going to get me arrested!"

That wasn’t something you should be squeaking so happily about.

The brunette then proceeded to grab him and hold him close as she twirled around her room.

"Yatta!"

...What a weird woman.

Moments later, a knock coming from the other side of the door caused them both to turn towards the only entrance, their frames stilling just momentarily as the worry was back once again.

Did he jinx it? Maybe the police had to wait some time before going after them and-

"Yes?" Taiga asked calmly as a tired-sounding man sighed from the other side.

"Raiga-oyabun wanted you both in the living room,” The grunt stated calmly but hastily. “Breakfast is ready and.. we have a guest."

Sharing a collective blink at the last detail, Shirou quietly turned to look at his surrogate sister as he noticed her tension increasing at the possible situation unfolding out of that room.

"I suppose he would still... want to talk?" He supposed, trying to ease up the brunette and… it actually worked.

"Y-Yeah." She deflated quickly, the Emiya sighed while snorting in her shoulder.

"He will not hurt you." He stated fiercely, holding her tighter. "I will make sure of that."

And yet he was unsure if he truly could do that considering that he didn't even know at what level Kiritsugu was...

The last, quick hug Taiga give him made him more hopeful about a more peaceful resolution on the matter.

The giggle leaving her lips as they made their way out of her room filled with some nervousness but also some minor bravery.

She wasn’t certainly going to back away now that she had a brave otouto by her side!

-------------dd-d-d-d---------------d-d-d-d-d----------------d-d-dd-d------------d-d-d-d-----------

"Kiritsugu! It's been so long and.." Raiga greeted while smiling widely, displaying part of his sharp teeth at the silent looking man. "What is this that you have hurt my dear granddaughter?"

If the younger man had been reached by the quiet but visible anger coming from the elder Yakuza boss, he didn't show it in his face as he merely sipped at the cup of coffee Raiga had gotten prepared for him by one of his thugs.

Before he could actually return the greeting in a more curt and formal way, Kiritsugu noticed the noise of footsteps and soon he glanced at the at two 'escapees' slowly entering that room.

He blinked carefully, his attention caught by the curious way the young boy was latching at the older girl, as if they were siblings of sort and… he could see how it could be easily confused.

Their appearance was mostly similar, or at least enough for people to guess some familial bond between the two individuals.

It was that specific sight that brought quite the nostalgic stab in his soul as he couldn’t help but compare their current dynamics to... to his own past.

It has been more than three decades ever since he had seen Shirley back in the little island they were peacefully living in, three decades since he had tried and struggled to make sure that he could keep his little family together.

Three decades since he had to end her life as she was slowly consumed by the atrocity his father had committed and.. and then he had foolishly embarked in a path to try and achieve ‘the greatest achievement’ he could have ever hoped for.

A hero of justice.

He had lost so much already and yet fate was showing him some cruelty after so many years had gone by.

His mind wandered back to a more important subject, the very child he had adopted and his curious behavior.

Shirou was far from the usual boy of his age and he was quick to see how the traumatic experience created by the fire would led the boy to develop this kind of attitude.

Distrust, disinterest and a general disconnection from the real world.

Just like it had happened to the man back when he was but a child himself, back when his childhood was crushed and turned to dust by the horrible events that saw him taken as an apprentice by Natalia.

Yet despite understanding the boy’s mindset, Kiritsugu didn't need to have to make any particular research to confirm the little that the youth was hiding something important from him, something that was as dangerous as impossible to understand without further investigation.

Somehow his Circuits were active and in a working state, something he knew didn't match up with the last time he had checked on those back when he had visited the redhead to the hospital.

No longer were those in their dormant and weakened state, rather they seemed slightly improved and… with a higher-quality than before.

When he had decided to not give pursuit to the running child the day before, Kiritsugu had decided to give a look to the boy’s room and his little search turned out to be fruitless.

Nothing had been touched nor any magecraft been used.

He had checked on the several small fields he had over this room to determine if someone tried to enter his room during late hours or when the older Emiya wasn’t at home and... no one had entered the compound.

It didn't help that he was still recovering from the furious state of mind born by his futile attempt to recover Illya from the Einzbern’s care.

Old Acht had decided to take over the guardianship of his own daughter to preserve his family's future and had set up the boundaries field to their maximum effect to keep him outsite.

Never in his life the brunet had prayed to plant a bullet on the old puppet's head and destroy the Einzbern family for having slighted him with- WITH THIS DISGUSTING TRICK!

"Kiritsugu."

Dismay gained a major role in his mind as he noticed the detached tone the once cheerful girl had when she addressed him.

A few months of tutoring and building trust with Raiga Fujimura were... gone the moment he had reacted this badly, snapped so childishly at the unexpected development.

Shirou looked positively furious at him but there was also a hint of sadness by the very tip of his lip as his eyes glanced at him with uncertainty among anger.

It seemed like the mistake wasn't only his to share for what had happened yesterday.

"Shirou," He called at him, expecting the boy to look away with an intense stare but… he didn’t.

The boy merely stared back at him, keeping his silence before of his legal guardian.

Kind of rebellious and… once again familiar.

For a moment his eyes tricked him as the man saw a small, white-haired girl giving him quite the glare with her lively red eyes, the pout she would only spare to him when he would 'win' the simple game they did around the forest near the castle as a mean to spend some time together.

Illya...

"I want to apologize for... yesterday,” Kiritsugu admitted, gauging his words carefully as he addressed the two children. “Maybe I have been too harsh with Taiga-san and you."

Shirou's eyes widened while the girl's frame stilled in shock at his words, the former Magus Killed acknowledging that he might have let some emotion in his voice, trying to show some genuinety as he blinked in surprise when a tiny but guarded smile appeared on his adopted son's face.

"Thank you for your sincerity and... I would like to apologize too.. Otou-san."

For the first time in a long time ever since he had returned to parenthood, this time without Iri's help, Kiritsugu felt he had made a good step in the right direction to become a good father. Especially with someone this much distrusting as Shirou was.

"I suppose you aren't just there for your son, Emiya-san," Raiga piped in as he took the attention back to something the brunet had hoped to discuss on another day. "It seems that you have breached the contract as much as I breached my part."

"You wish to restore it back to the previous form?"

The Yakuza boss sighed and appeared quite serious that very moment.

"Kind of,” The elder commented quietly, blinking with an interested look at him. “But I wish to add a particular clause since you... slighted me by behaving so rudely with my granddaughter."

Taiga blushed and her hand took Shirou's instinctively, drawing the boy's focus on her and fueling even more her heating face at the attention she was getting.

"A clause?"

Hopefully, nothing that warranted an organ removal from his part or something even close to the worst punishments the Yakuza was known for.

"I heard about your... little vacation in Europe,” The old man commented with a hum. “Germany, right?"

Kiritsugu stilled at that precise ‘guess’, knowing full well he should have expected the old geezer to actually get curious about this unexpected voyage oversea he had planned so suddenly.

"I know that you are preparing to go in London in few days and.. I think you could bring Shirou and Taiga with you-" "No."

Raiga sighed. "It is not a point I will compromise with, Emiya-san,” The boss replied with a sterner tone. “I should have you punished as I see fit, far more than I’m currently doing, but I feel incredibly merciful knowing that your son is good friend of my granddaughter."

The former assassin gritted his teeth at the clear ultimatum and considered his options about the delicate matter.

His planned trip to London was supposed to guarantee some equipment to pass through the Boundary Fields around the Einzbern Castle and he was already quite concerned with Clock Tower taking notice of his presence while he was so close to their turf.

Taking Shirou and Taiga with him?

That was just asking for them to be targeted along with him.

"But what about school, Jiji! I cannot skip lessons if I want to-"

"You need some practical experience with your English, Taiga-chan,” Raiga interrupted wisely. “In London you will have some first-hand opportunities to smooth out the few imperfections in your accent."

The old man grinned causing some shivers to go down everyone's spines.

"Plus I had talked with your teachers and they understood my logic without much of a fuss."

"Jiji, I-" She paused as she felt her sleeve pulled softly by Shirou. "Uh?"

"It would be like a vacation," The boy mused quietly, thinking about the possibility of getting more documentation around Merlin and.. his current predicament. "Plus I don't want to go alone, neechan-of!"

The honorific was enough to get him instantly glomped by the teen, a big smile in her face. "I will not leave my Otouto alone! Then I will go!"

Another nostalgic pain surged in Kiritsugu's heart as he once more hallucinated momentarily that Taiga's appearance was replaced by Shirley's beautiful self, with her pretty smile and hopeful eyes.

Parenthood as a single father was going to prove much harder than he had expected...

--------------d-d-d------------------d-d-d-------------------d-d-d-----------------d-d-d-----------

It's been two hours now ever since they had returned home and the Gamer had preferred to avoid training that day to avoid causing any other escalations of sort.

Too much had happened just yesterday and he felt he would only raise suspicion with his guardian if he went for a walk to the park now of all times for the sake of some quiet training.

Shirou stared silently at Kiritsugu as his adoptive father was trying to apply some bandages to the ugly wound that he had stretching on his back.

He glanced at the few bandages in the kotatsu near him and sighed.

Previously showing slim annoyance to the fact he couldn't reach where the extremity of his injury was, the man seemed surprised when another pair of hands helped him to apply the fresh, new bandages. "Shirou?"

The redhead nodded and Kiritsugu turned to look at him.

"How did you activate your Circuits?"

...

"Shirou?"

He pressed further and Shirou's subtle panic rose further at the fact he had forgotten about that completely.

"I-I cannot tell, it’s… not bad."

That was the most intelligent thing that would leave his mind as the man put his jacket on and fully focused on him.

"Shirou, I am going to ask this because there is only another way you could have activated your Circuits and... I need to know." The adult pressed on.

The redhead blinked in fear at the demanding tone in Kiritsugu's voice but... he decided that he could at least tell him about the Core.

But first there was something that the boy needed to know.

"Before I answer, I wanted to know... what is inside me?"

The man froze, his eyes wide open at that unexpected query but he replied nonetheless.

"When I found you... you were too far to be truly saved by normal means," He pointed one of his fingers onto the child's chest. "I had an artifact, Avalon, that was capable of healing its users from the worst of injuries."

"Is... is it a scabbard?" The boy pressed more, remembering the cryptic choice of words from the wizard.

"Yes. It was the.. scabbard of Excalibur, King Arthur's sword,” He replied curtly, then blinking and sporting some more confusion. “But why those questions, Shirou?"

"I... I had this weird... dream-not-dream with a man that said he was Merlin and... he did this."

Kiritsugu blinked at the confusing explanation. "What did he do exactly? Can you please explain some more?"

The Gamer gulped nervously but slowly nodded at the request.

"H-He said something about a Magic Core and-" Shirou was interrupted the moment his guardian pulled him closed and studied by starting to look at one of his hands.

Soon, the man's stare moved along the arm and ended up in the central zone of his torso, eyes widening the more he looked at that area in silence.

"Unbelievable... this, this is something I- Why then he didn't-"

"Tousan?"

The man blinked as he remembered that he was now ranting in front his the boy. "S-Sorry, Shirou. You should go to your room and get yourself changed before dinner."

Shirou frowned but the child complied to his adoptive father's request, a single question riddling his mind senselessly.

What had made the usually stoic man this much panicked? And why he felt that he was close to the truth now more than ever?

-------------d-d-d-------------------d-d-d--------------------d-d-d--------------------d-d-d-------------

AN

Sadly, no Gamer elements this chapter but next one will have some extra training and Shirou actually meeting someone in the park (P.S. It is not Rin!).

Why is Kiritsugu planning to go in London? Knowing the former Magus Killer, it isn't far-fetched to theorize about him trying to find something to breach the Einzbern's barrier via barely legal means. Obviously in Canon that didn't happen but... Shirou is going to be there and four individuals are going to make a super early cameo compared to the first draft!

What?! You mean that Illya Saga is not the first Saga after tutorial? As I said in the beginning of this beautiful rework, I am trying to follow the rules of Nasuverse and.. some of Real Life. Sending Shirou this early on will only spell doom for him but Kiritsugu will... No, I think that would be *spoiler*!

Wouldn't it be convenient to have Kiritsugu know about the Game? Nope. While he would be the best plan-maker, he would possible return to his old steps to try and push Shirou in the harsh path. Right now Kiritsugu is barely out of his former idealism and it will take some time before our protagonist will truly reveal his cards to him.

What about Taiga? Why is she going in London too? Two reasons: A) A solution to moderate Shirou's sense of adventure and B) I want to have her met Waver... for the second time. The Outsiders' Performance is still canon after all. xD

 

Chapter 6: Bow (1)

If there was something that Shirou Emiya wouldn't have imagined to do in those simple days in Fuyuki, it was training with real bow and arrows at the park with Taiga.

Things had returned to a sudden but pleasant normality after the whole ordeal that had happened yesterday but the friction between Taiga and Kiritsugu had twisted the once friendly relationship on a permanent degree.

Her dreamy looks when the man was around were all gone, replaced by a more moderate, softer stances that certainly motivated the change of tone in their connection.

The brunette maintained a calm outlook but no more she looked to be crushing on the dark-haired Emiya, instead accepting that the situation was a half-formal but not capable of be expanded upon.

It was something that had been perfectly identified by the way now-quieter Fujimura behaved when she would come around for her English lessons.

Shirou had seen it and he knew that Kiritsugu had taken noticed of some cold hints in the girl's voice when she would bring to his attention about some issue she was having with some topics of the foreign subject.

But that wasn't the only change the Gamer had noticed with the Young Tiger of Fuyuki much to his inner confusion and surprise.

While the girl wouldn't miss the chance to visit the Emiya's household, her reasons were solely motivated by Shirou and Shirou only.

And while the boy was glad that she hadn't grown discouraged from keeping her usual scheduled visits, the attention she could spoil him with tended to get quite irritating in singular moments.

Right now, there was no pestering, nor any irritating topic being brought up by the girl, instead they were dealing with quite the curious hobby.

It was Saturday and Taiga had arrived earlier than usual that day, but the surprise wasn't limited by her mere early presence to the household.

She was donning the classic kyūdōka (Archer) uniform and holding two Yumi (Japanese bow), two pairs of Ippongake (One-finger gloves for beginners) and two Yazutsu (Quivers) with several Ya (Japanese Arrows) each.

"Shirou-kun! We are going to practice to the park!"

... "What?"

Surprisingly enough (or maybe not so much as he had hoped), Kiritsugu had been quite quick to accept the Fujimaru's offer of taking Shirou out for a walk to the local park.

The girl was smiling eye to eye as she took the lead role in guiding him to.. the very place he knew well where it was after spending several hours walking by it.

As a lone child with no friends and a general need to wander around, the park did seem like the best place where to spend his free time between training, studying and other situations.

Yet what truly made this scene quite absurd and insane to look at was the fact that she was holding one of his hands with her left palm, while the other was shockingly keeping a strong hold over the numerous objects she had been taking around while showing no difficulty with the task.

...Was this an example of how higher POW was going to be in the future?

His thoughts about any attempt to progress in his process of leveling up were crushed the mere moment the girl pulled him forward and right beside her, the boy knowing he had slowed down for a brief moment with that distracting thought.

"Ne Shirou-kun, what got you this distracted?" Her smile turned teasing for a moment before showing some mock-sadness in her features. "Have you met a cute girl? A-Are you going to leave your Taiga-neechan?!"

He frowned at the attempt and decided to return the favour. "I've been stuck until now at home but... why are you not considering yourself cute, Taiga-nee?"

The effects of his implied compliment was almost immediate, Taiga almost stumbling in surprise at the comeback.

"You- I- You- You are funny, Shirou-kun, hahahahaha!" Her forced laughter didn't convince anyone and she noticed this by his growing smile on his face.

"Meanie Shirou-kun, playing with a girl's heart," She pouted and for few moments there was silence.

...

"Pffft-hahahhahahahha!" Shirou chuckled together with the girl at the quite amusing act that had come out of the previous moments.

"Shirou-kun, promise me you are not going to turn boring," She stopped and turned to stare at him. "Will you?"

He blinked, tilting his head in confusion at her words. "Okay?"

She nodded quickly, her face strangely enough turning red and her pace suddenly increasing as they reached the park a few minutes later.

They choose a spot that had a fence nearby for the practice and the girl started to place some mini-targets made of paper on the small gaps of the wood-made construction.

"Okay Shirou-kun, look closely what I am going to do with the bow and arrow! It is actually easy."

He slowly nodded but appreciated he wasn't going to be pushed to do something without a clear knowledge of what he was supposed to do.

The boy was mere feet away from Taiga as she took a Ya and cocked it in her Yumi, closing one of her eyes as he took aim of one of the targets she had just finished to prepare.

"Now there are 8 stages when preparing to use the bow."

Her feet adjusted firmly by the ground. "(Ashibumi) First is the footing, the archer is supposed to step onto the line from where the Ya are shot (shai) and makes sure their left side is facing the target."

Her back straightened, her body getting still and rigid, but flexible and cautious. "(Dokuzuri) The archer has to make sure that their body is right on the shai and that their shoulders are parallel to it."

"The third step (Yugamae) is quite complex," Her voice grew soft as she prepared for the main phases of the act. "I take grip of the bowstring with my right hand (Torikake), while my left hand is positioned on the bow's body for the shooting (Tenouchi), my head turns to... gaze at the target (Monomi)."

She lifted the bow above. "The bow is raised above my head (Uchiokoshi)."

The Emiya was mesmerized by the collected explanation, somewhat endeared by this side displayed by Taiga. Still, she was far from done and he kept quiet as she continued.

"And then I bring it down while starting to draw, spreading my arms apart by pushing the bow with my left hand and drawing the string with the right (Hikiwake). First, there is a midway point (Daisan)."

Taiga proceeded with the process with meticulous attention. "Then there is the full draw (Kai) which is achieved when the Ya is placed below the cheekbone or at the same level with the mouth, while the Ya is aiming at the shai."

"And then... the release (Hanare)." The Ya rapidly flew out of the bow and toward one of the six targets, almost getting right on its center-spot.

"Lastly, there should be the 'remaining body or mind' or 'the continuation of the shot' (Zanshin) but I suppose it could be skipped since this isn't an official competition." She turned to stare at the shocked expression of the redhead, frowning at it.

"D-Did I do something wrong?" She asked with some nervousness, slightly panicked even.

The Gamer blinked as his attention turned at the question.

Wrong? His surprise was mostly caused by the very opposite of that word.

Sure, Taiga had shown some incredible seriousness during Kendo practices and that she was putting some efforts but the girl sounded so precise and so accurate with archery that it made her appear… like if she was another person altogether.

The boy was almost tempted to ask her 'what had happened to her' but he was sure he would get beaten up because of the dumb question.

"N-no, actually you were quite good."

Her face glowed in happiness at the praise.

"Really?" At his nod she released a small 'yatta'. "I've studied seriously to become cool and... I made Shirou-kun awestruck!"

Ignoring that very last bit, Shirou frowned. "So... can I try it?"

She nodded and went to pick the second Yumi and the entire Yazutsu with it.

-Interesting Hobby-​

Time Limit: Null​

Taiga is giving you the opportunity to try out archery. Sure, it isn't something usual for a child your age to try but... it is cool! Try to hit the remaining targets!​

<Hints>​

Be calm, ask questions to your 'sensei' if you are in doubt and be happy with whatever result you get.​

<Reward>​

-50 EXP-​

(Secret Objective) -???-​

-Improve Taiga's closeness-​

<Failure> or <Refused>​

-Permanent Malus: Lazy Archer-​

-Improve Taiga's closeness-​

Accept?​

Y/N​

Shirou accepted earnestly the challenge and took the longbow without hesitation, careful enough with the large size of the wood-string instrument.

Before starting, he made a quick recount of the whole process only nodding to himself once he got the idea fully grasped within his mind.

Yet as he started to take stance, he felt a curious breeze caressing him and getting him slightly unfocused.

It was confusing since there was no wind in that calm day and it seemed that he was the only one perceiving it for some reason..

He started to slowly take position and..

Karada wa ……. de ……...

He blinked as the wind started to pick up, yet he continued the process.

……. wa tetsu .. …… garasu

Shirou felt his body growing cold but his mind steeled as he started to stretch the bow.

Tada no …… mo …… wa naku

His mind grew more hesitant as something felt wrong with what he was doing. Yet the bow was now fully stretched and ready for the next step.

…. .. ichido .. rikai …….

The boy brought down the bow, a bead of sweat pouring down his forehead in that neverending storm brewing in his soul.

Yue ni ……. ni … wa naku

The arrow shoot quickly out of the bow and the strength behind it was enough to pierce the target and make it fall on the ground.

Sono karada wa kitto-

"SO COOL!"

That reverie was broken the moment Taiga rushed at him with a shocked expression with some awing denotations.

"You managed to perfectly take the targets and... so quickly too!"

...What?

His eyes returned their attention to the fallen target... s?.

He had hit all of them but... it had felt like he had taken out just one of them with the time that had passed.

What was going on with him!

Ding! You completed the 'Interesting Hobby' quest. Here are your rewards:

-50 EXP-
-(+2 AGI!)-

But what was that? He had tried to ignore it when it had happened back with the Kendo practice but this was starting to happen frequently.

-Distorted Realization-​

Time Limit: Null​

Your perception of reality is somehow different than the normal human being. Something is strange, unique within you and you want to discover what it is.​

<Hints>​

Don't stress yourself to find a quick answer to this dilemma. It is advised to not solve this Quest before LVL30.​

<Reward>​

-???-​

(Secret Objective) -???-​

-???-​

<Failure> or <Refused>​

-Null-​

Accept?​

Y/Y​

Wait! Why couldn't he refuse this Quest and.. what did it mean he was advised to not complete it 'early on'?

This dilemma persisted even half an hour later when Taiga did something he would never expect from her.

"I'm sorry, Shirou-kun,” Taiga looked like she was meaning it, yet the nervous twitching make it awkward. “But Rai-jiji called me and he seemed serious so... bye!"

"No, wai-"

But the girl was already gone, the entire equipment busying her hands as she ran away from where he was standing silently.

He sighed as he decided to take a nap in the park, feeling that he seriously needed some rest from that whole predicament.

Shirou decided to NOT choose the very spot to rest, knowing full well that during that time children, his age or younger, would soon start to linger around and disrupt any attempt to rest a little.

So the Gamer spent few minutes around the natural location, trying to find a secluded place where to sleep.

His endeavor led him to walk deeper in the park, entering through the tree-dense area that made up the core of the park.

The boy spotted a small clearing that was mostly covered from annoying sun-rays thanks to the trees' branches creating a sole but extended shade over the place.

The boy sat with his back leaning on one of the trees' trunk and slowly closed his eyes as he let the soreness born from that strange occurrence help him to catch some rest.

------------------------d-d-d----------------d-d-d-d----------------------d-d-d----------------d-d-d-------

An unfamiliar warmth started to slowly spread from his left shoulder and arm, forcing Shirou to calmly wake up from his quick nap.

His eyelids carefully opened but he caught the first hints about the origin of such warmth quite immediately by the presence of green on his sight.

A light-green sleeve culminated with a frail, feminine hands was the first thing he saw when he blinked awake, his attention caught by the situation he was right now.

His stare moved to the side and he soon arrived to the owner of the dress and limb.

The woman had long, green-hair and eyes of the same color, looking incredibly pale on her face but still healthy enough to appear like she was fine.

She was a beautiful woman, one he had never seen before but for some reason there was something odd about her.

The main issue of that very predicament was that... she was currently staring at him, a blank expression with an empty smile plastered in her face.

It took him a large part of his mind to restrain himself from jumping in fright at the closeup with this confusing individual but he soon recovered from his initial panic and soon he was trying to understand what was going on.

"W-Who are you?" He asked bluntly, his brain hardly out of his sleepy stance and formality ditched at the suddennes of the situation.

She didn’t answer... actually she barely reacted at the question, her expression twitching softly and seemingly unaware of what was just said.

"L-Lady?"

A blink, her eyes gaining a small, fragmented light of clarity.

"A-Aoi," She spoke softly, almost an untraceable whisper to his ears.

Her tone was hoarse, tired and strained as if she was putting a serious effort in merely speaking.

"Aoi-san?" He tried to confirm that it was her name.

Another blink and the boy took it as a 'nod' to his question, causing him to smile tensely and nodding himself.

"My name is Shirou," He introduced himself, wary of any escalation.

But nothing truly happened.

Maybe it was just a mistaken sight but the Gamer felt like her smile had widened just a small bit with his introduction.

"Why are you here, Aoi-san?" The boy continued to ask, confused over the mysterious lady.

Once again, the woman didn't answer at first, her eyes fixed on him.

Why did she felt this... detached from reality?

It wasn't merely tiredness as he had initially thought, the woman's response (or lack thereof) was quite confused and worrying to a fair degree.

"A-Are you okay?" He finally asked, trying to see if there was something he could do about her strange condition.

Aoi blinked again but her head moved wobbled forward before moving back.

Was that a nod? Maybe but... What was going on with the woman, was she sick? Could he help her somehow?

Nothing popped up. No quest, no immediate skills or trait and Shirou was left unsure of what to do about this situation.

He was left quite clueless with what he was supposed to do in that exact moment.

Shirou decided to slowly stand up, noticing that her stare followed him but with a slow pace compared than a normal person.

"Are you okay?" He repeated the question once more, his hopes of getting some answers now quite low but-

"S-Shi-Shirou." The whisper reached his ears as the woman tried to lift her hands towards him, for some reason having trouble with that.

"D-Do you want to get up?"

Aoi kept quiet at his words but her eyes seemed to slightly light up at the inquiry and the Gamer took it as a 'yes'.

So he started to carefully move to pick both of her hands as he tried to pull her up, using most of his strength as he didn't get any effort from the woman herself in this predicament.

Yet this attempt seemed to work as the beautiful lady started to slowly rise up from her seat on the ground and was finally brought up to stand up.

Her hands were placed on his shoulder and Shirou was thankful that her legs were capable of taking some of her own weight without pushing its fullest onto him.

He made one slow step, then one another and soon they were moving out of that clearing, directing her towards the path he had followed to reach the place.

"Shi-Shirou."

He blinked and gave her a quick glance, but the woman was not looking at him, staring around aimlessly.

"S-Shi-Shi-Shirou."

What was she doing?

Finally they reached back to the park trails and a woman dressed in a maid's clothes rushed at them with a wheelchair the moment they were visible to her.

"Tohsaka-sama! Thank God I found you and-" The stranger's eyes turned dark as she glared at Shirou.

"Who are you, brat? Why are you harassing, Tohsaka-sama!?"

It was an unexpected turn of events and Shirou didn't what to say.... yet something truly unexpected happened.

He felt a hand reaching for his own and squeezing softly. Aoi's smile was a little more... eased.

"Shirou."

Her voice was clear and the word left her mouth without any of the previous straining blocks and stuttering.

And he realized why she was calling his name back then.

She had been trying to get his name fully clear... to thank him?

Maybe this was stretching too far but... he smiled and nodded at her. "You are welcome, Aoi-san."

Her hold tightened just a little more before truly letting him go, the servant staring at the exchange in barely-veiled surprise but sparing no further look as she turned the wheelchair and walked away with the curious woman.

...Truly curious.

---------------d-d-d--------------------d-d-d--d----------------d-d-d-d-----------

AN

It's been a long time and I know many are literally vibrating with impatience at the time I have wasted around but... I kind of told you all I was doing exams and I am already struggling with my schedule.

That is why I had been warning you all since the first chapter I would have some issue to have a regular updating system with this story... but that doesn't mean I am by any chances putting any Hiatus.

So, what is the plan? The show must go on and there will be a mini-arc before Shirou leaves for Britain and I think you all can see what it is about.

I was actually expecting either Sakura or Julian to be the one Shirou would first met, why it was her? Aoi is a complex character because of the myriad of flaws in her personality and frail resolve. She is guilty of many things but to condemn her now that she is close to be in a vegetative state seems extreme even for my tastes. She has paid for her lack of action about Sakura and how she had failed to see what had happened to Kariya and I will not hurt her further than she had already been dealt with.

Does that mean we will see... some priest sooner than we expected? Prepare your Mapo Tofus as I have plans to bring the fake priest early on in the story but... it is going to be weird.

It was interesting the whole Archery thing but-? I have spent a whole hour trying to get the terms perfectly matched and 'not-copy' wikipedia with its description by rewriting the steps BUT I kind of messed up with the bow. It is a long bow and Shirou shouldn't be tall enough to be able to use it... if it wasn't a customised one. Yes, the bow he used was slightly smaller so he could use it. Taiga cares for her otouto.

For those who don't know about Aoi's conditions or thought she died in Fate/Zero: Aoi survived the strangled attempt from Kariya but the experience left her brain damaged and almost comatose at first. Because of her state, Kirei is the current regent of the Tohsaka's affairs and property while also Rin's tutor in Magecraft.

ALSO HERE IS THE UPDATED STATUS MENU:

[Status]​

Name: Shirou Emiya​

Title: The Gamer​

Age: 7​

Level 9 - Exp: 78.56%​

Health Points (HP) : 440

Mana Points (MP): 1000 (+45 MP/m)

Attributes

POW: 26

INT: 24

AGI: 30

WIS: 26

VIT: 31

CHA: 19

LUK: 20

Skills

Gamer Body (LVL Max.) - Congratulations, your body had been turned into one influenced by the rules of the Game Module. This Skill is present in all Users from the very beginning.

Unbreakable Willpower (LVL Max.) - The hardships of your life had been making you stronger than the average human being. Risk of Possession and Mind Control are reduced by the 75%.

Noble Soul (LVL Max.) - Having experienced the worst trauma, you know the pain and sufferings of others. Your Soul is brave and determined enough to let you become whatever you wish.

Charged Attack (LVL. 2/10) - Deliver a powerful strike against your opponent! The ATK is determined by STR*5! (Cost: 40MP)

Beginners' Luck (Non-Level Skill) - This temporary Skill will add a EXP multiplier related to LUK for Skills and LVLs. Expiration Level: LVL 10.

Traits

Natural Prodigy (Cooking) - You are incredibly proficient in cooking, it is in your blood. Food prepared by your hands receive a 25% Boost to their HP recovery rate.

Sword Proficiency (Rookie) - You have grasped the basic notions of swordmanship and can use it in a fight. Your stats receive a 15% Boost when using a Sword-Type weapon.

Bow Proficiency (Rookie) - You have grasped the basic notions of Bowmanship and can use it in a fight. Your stats receive a 15% Boost when using a Bow-Type weapon.

 

Chapter 7: Bow (2)

When Shirou returned back home, he was glad that Kiritsugu wasn't anywhere near the entrance and the living room as the boy had much to think about.

It was possible the man had left out for a walk few moments after he had gone with Taiga, leaving the house empty once more.

He tiptoed toward his room and closed the door behind him, reaching for his bed and sat on it, his mind wandering on the mysterious woman he had just met in the park.

Aoi was a complex puzzle, one that had so little clues about it that Shirou partly felt the need to not give it too much thought... but there was something about her that made him perplexed, confused and quite curious about her story.

Something that made him feel he connected to her for some reason.

The fire? Unlikely since he knew Kiritsugu was the only one being there.

So when he had seen her before?

There were an impressive number of questions formulated within his head and none he knew he could answer.

It was an unfair predicament, one that he felt the need to find an answer too and yet... he sighed, lowering himself on the bed and looking at the ceiling with a blank look.

There was so much he could think about in this situation, several theories, multiple possibilities and yet nothing made a single string of sense in the end.

Why?

The short but truest question echoed within himself as he tried to find a reason to truly care about this.

Why should he be interested in knowing what had happened to Aoi? Why he should even approach that very difficult situation if it it as difficult as he think it is?

Maybe he was merely overreacting about that very weird encounter, trying to make sense of the nonsense he had been part of and... yet he felt he was being wrong with this theory.

Deep inside his soul, he could feel like he was meant to investigate the matter further-

[Warning! A set of actions has triggered a new Quest]​

-The Jade and the Sapphire-
Time Limit: Unknown

Aoi -?- is a very intriguing woman afflicted with an unknown illness. Find out if she is for some related to you and the fire or not.

<Hints>
You might find some obstacles you can't overcome right now. Don't do anything stupid.

<Reward>
-2500 Yen-
-LVL UP-
-Increase closeness with: Aoi -???-
-Increase closeness with: -???-

<Failure> or <Refused>
-Decrease closeness with: Aoi -???-
-Decrease closeness with: -???-
-???- Route is closed permanently-

Accept?
Y/N​

...What was he supposed to make out of this development?

Sure, the Game could be trying to push him in the right direction but the wording of the description left much unsaid.

It wasn't clearly stating that there was something there that waited to be found out by him, nor it opposed any efforts to determine any relation he might have with the ill woman.

It was a big step, one Shirou hardly knew how to make towards this goal as he didn't even knew where she lived.

The Game was starting to sound much more difficult that he had thought it was.

The magazine might have helped him up to understand the basics of what was his life now but there was nothing else left to prepare him to this incredibly complex development.

So the boy decided to think about this issue... later. For some reason the experience today at the park had left him quite depleted and the boy was quite eager to get some rest going since no one was there to annoy him in any shape or form.

He sighed loudly, closing his eyes and letting some of the tiredness take him away from the real world.

There was so much to do but enough time to do it calmly..

"SHIROUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

The Gamer groaned as he turned around and tried to find his pillow right before-HURK!

Taiga Fujimura pounced at him with the speed of light, showing once more how powerful the girl was.

-10HP!

Love is painful...

---

Rin Tohsaka stared mutedly at her mother as she smiled in her wheelchair, playing with a small teddy bear, blue eyes wide open at the unexpected name leaving the green-haired beauty's lips.

The woman had returned to the house just a hour ago and the young Head of the clan was in the large living room of the mansion, trying to finish some of the troublesome homework Kirei had left for her to complete.

Usually she would give just a glance to her mother, the delusional woman spending most of her time sitting in her chair, calling once in a while for her, Sakura or her late husband.

The first few days were the worst, when she was still recovering from her father's passing and being orphaned by the very War Tokiomi Tohsaka had been certain to win for the family.

She glanced once again to be sure that her mother was still there and- "Shirou."

Rin dropped her pen the moment the unknown sound reached her ears, eyes widening in confusion and surprise.

D-Did her mother just- "Shirou."

She blinked at the scene, unable to grasp how- why her mother was repeating that word?

Aiko-san, the maid that took care of her mother, entered the living room carrying a small cup of tea, placing it near Rin's table, avoiding to spill any of the content on the papers there.

The young woman paused at the little girl's suprised look towards her mother. "Something's wrong with Aoi-sama, Rin-san?"

Blue eyes turned towards the maid and Rin seemed ready to say something when- "Shirou."

They both turned to the frail lady, hugging the teddy bear close to her chest and letting a small noise from her mouth.

It was in that moment that the young Tohsaka was reminded of her mother's chuckles, something that had disappeared the same moment her father had died.

"M-Mom?" For some reason she was expecting to be greeted back, just like it had been in the past but..

Aoi didn't react as her daughter called for her, continuing to quietly caress the plushie and smile a worryless smile.

"It has to be that boy..."

The heiress turned to the maid with a confused expression. A boy?

"W-What are you talking about, Aiko-san?" The woman sighed tiredly as she moved toward her mother.

"I took Aoi-sama for a walk in the park, to let her enjoy some time outside and.. for half a hour she went missing."

Her mother went... missing? And for half a hour?

Sure, there had been instances where the woman would try to move away from her wheelchair for simple reasons but... she eluded the good maid for a long time when she was supposed to be watched almost every moments of her day.

"Then I found her being helped to walk by a red-haired boy out of a small clearing and she... said his name."

...This was ludicrous. The whole tale sounded so surreal as Rin herself remembered when the doctor had diagnosed her mother to be uncapable of truly memorising new names, that the task would be far too difficult because of the brain damage.

And yet she managed to not only learn the new of this boy but also learn to say it without a stutter. It was an impressive news as it was somehow disheartening since Rin would have liked if it was her name, not the one of a complete stranger, to be the spark of some positive development.

With a sigh, Rin's mind cleared out this little disappointment to stare at the big picture of the situation. Someone had managed to give some hope for a recovery for her mother.

If she hadn't been studying magecraft for a while, the young Tohsaka would be calling it a miracle of sort but.. she was way too logical to define this change as such.

"Did you tell about this to... Kirei?" The maid frowned at the question but replied with a quick 'No', giving Rin some fresh hopes of truly helping her mother.

She wouldn't go as far to say that her father's former apprentice was willingly damaging the clan but she was quite sure the man wasn't good in administering something this complex, being from a family that didn't require much bureaucratic interventions to sustain.

There was a lot to think about and she was surely going to see whom this boy was before choosing what to do on the matter.

Rin decided that it was best to leave this thoughts for a latter moment as she felt the increasing need to finish to read this annoying treatise about Gradation Air and its simple uses.

Seriously, who would be so dumb to specialise with such basic form of magecraft.

---

Training had turned into a dull experience for one Kirei Kotomine.

The man continued the pushups he had set to finish in less than half a hour, bare-chested and sweating.

In the past training would have been a moment to think as he keep his body in shape. To think about his twisted nature, any possible resolutions and... Kiritsugu Emiya.

The man had been something that had plagued his mind as he wished he could use his experiences, his similarities to redeem himself from the harsh but truthful fate he had been born with.

But nothing had emerged from the encounter, just further confusion and disappointment about the man. His life spent only for his family? He had tried this already, he reminded himself saying so to the Magus Killer.

Part of him wondered how was Caren doing right now...

Silently, he stood up, having completed the activity, and started to stretch a little before continuing with his strict regime.

Life had turned incredibly empty ever since the Holy Grail War had finished, leaving the Kotomine to deal with the aftermath of the conflict and the results of his actions.

He had been quite uncertain how to deal with Aoi and the brat, initially thinking of killing them by causing some accident but the two were untouchable for him to deal with.

The Tohsaka Clan was far too much influential with the Magus Association and the Church and trying to assassinate the remains of the once renowned family would force both organisations to investigate the case, something that would easily see him executed for treason.

A dreadful fate for someone that had so much pain to cause around this terrible world and that is why Kirei decided to be quite patient with the two females.

The man had started to slowly dissipate the economical means of the family in failing investments and supporting controversial elements within the Clock Tower and the Church.

A slow process that would bring some sweet results to the 'merciful' priest. He could already hear their pained screams, so delightful- "Kotomine."

The priest froze as he noticed Gilgamesh walking towards him, holding one of the wine bottles from the church's basement, something the Servant was now usually doing during his stay in the building.

"My king?"

A familiar scowl appeared in the former Archer's face as he stared dully at the priest, the man unable to look away in fear of being punished.

"Someone is going to be brought to the Tohsaka's mansion soon. He will be the piece that changes the board."

Kirei blinked at the curious words, sensing that there was more there that was left unsaid, and thus he asked.

"And what I should do about him, my king?"

He had expected an order, some demands from the King of Heroes as continued to silently stare at him.

But nothing else was said, making the priest frown just for a moment and- Kirei quickly dodged a rapid lance thrown at him by the Archer, the blade slamming in the floor right in the position the priest was once occupying..

"Do you demand from me instructions, Kotomine?" His tone was cold and promising pain to the man. "I will not accept any other slight from you regarding this. Know only that a mistake from your actions will led to my wrath."

A threat that the priest found quite interesting but also quite suicidal for him.

Any actions he might take with this individual, whom he had no idea who it is and what he looks like, might led him to survive or die by Gilgamesh's hand.

As the golden-haired Servant left his training room, Kirei stared at the floor with a blank look.

Soon a smile appeared on his face, a familiar sense of danger and sorrow starting to resurface within his soul.

Yes, he thought joyously, things were going to become interesting once more!

He returned to his training, newfound determination pushing him to prepare himself to the best as he knew that whoever he was going to met, the priest was supposed to properly greet him, may it be in a good or bad manner.

---

Shirou sneezed and the girl sitting on his bed was quick to pick her own handkerchief and bring it to his nose. "There."

A blush appeared on his face as he tried to make sense of what Taiga had just told him.

"So Raiga-san-" "Jiji!" "..Raiga-jiji had just tripped on some paperwork, suffering no damage whatsoever, and yet everyone was panicking about it?"

She nodded quickly, looking a little bit pale, and the boy sighed in disbelief at how easy to worry the girl was.

"B-But what if it had been something truly serious and-" "I am not saying anything, Taiga-neechan."

Taiga nodded once more, pulling the redhead youth in a quick embrace. "But I forgot you in the park!"

"I am fine and.. I got to met someone interesting there."

"Is that so?" The girl asked teasingly. "This 'someone interesting' was a cute girl?"

"It was a beautiful woman." At the honest and blunt reply, the Fujimura almost choke on nothing. "But she was sick."

..."Really?" Taiga asked again, this time a concerned note in her voice. "It wasn't anything contagious or-" "She couldn't react properly, spoke barely."

The girl frowned. "That is... sad." She muttered while ruffling his hair. "Do you know what is her name?"

"Aoi-"

"Tohsaka-sama! Thank God I found you and-"

"Who are you, brat? Why are you harassing, Tohsaka-sama!?"

Shirou closed his mouth and chided himself for having forgotten that very bit of their encounter.

"Aoi? No surname?"

He sighed but he knew that the girl would have certainly have not heard of the woman. "Tohsaka Aoi."

The boy turned to stare at Taiga and frowned when he saw her staring at him in surprise.

"You met the widow of the late Tohsaka-san? I had thought they had moved out already since the accident.."

He blinked once. "Accident?"

"Not much is known about it but..." The girl sighed gravely. "The woman is said to have suffered some brain damage and that is why she might have seem unreactive once in a while."

Shirou nodded as he now had an important clue for this endless mystery.

But how far was from the truth and... what had truly happened to Tohsaka Aoi?

---

Next chapter will see a tsundere and the Emiya meeting up for the first time... breaking the Canon.

Also Kirei is on the move... Dangit Gilgamesh!

Why is Gilgamesh interested in Shirou? Is this some sort of Deus-Ex Machina?! Nope, the reason Gilly is interested in Shirou can be summarised in 2 parts: 1) Gilgamesh knows that something is off in this timeline and Shirou is the cause of this change; 2) Gilgamesh knows that Shirou has Avalon within his body. The King still wishes to have 'his wife' to return and he wishes to have her accepting willingfully his proposal, not under Kirei's possible use of a Command Spell.

You said that Shirou was supposed to be invited to the Tohsaka Mansion this chapter? I noticed that such action would be... weird. Why? Well, Aoi is certainly uncapable of doing things and right now what Rin can hear is a name, nothing else. It would be plain weird to invite someone in their house without having a clear picture of who they are.

SO THERE IS GOING TO BE A HOLY GRAIL WAR, YE FILTHY LIAR! Yes and no. Seiba might be coming much later in this story and no, it will not be because a canon 5th Grail War. It is... complicated but interesting. Let's just say that Shirou is getting thrown in the most difficult situation ever.

 

Chapter 8: Bow (3)

Shirou Emiya partly regretted having had a nap in the open for a long time the previous day.

When Kiritsugu had come to knock at his room's door, the boy woke up with quite the heavy sensation in his nose. Oddly tired and quite sloppy in his movements, his guardian has easily diagnosed it as a mere case of cold.

That is why when Taiga had asked him to come to the park early in the morning, he had to wear a small white mask and a simple hat to cover his sore ears.

He wondered if Fujimura would have recognised him with that pseudo-camouflage and... he was forgotten.

At first he had thought that the girl was just going to be late as she would once in a while do so with her lessons but then an hour passed and he was still alone.

It was after that moment of waiting that he remembered a very crucial detail that Taiga had to have forgotten about today.

She had double lessons of Kendo today early in the morning and.. she had forgotten about that.

Disappointment washed over him at this realisation and Shirou was more than happy to start to walk back home when he felt just few rapid footsteps approaching as he was yanked towards the bushes on the side, the culprit crouching near him.


He turned to stare at the responsible of this aggression and.. he was stumped by the figure he was looking at.

Black hair pulled in a twin-tailed style, blue eyes as if those were glowing gems and.. she was his age.

Who was she?

"W-Wha-" Her hand pressed on his white mask as she shushed him quietly. "Be quiet."

A frown later and Shirou nodded at her and, as her hand recoiled back, he tried to figure out who was she.

Clearly not someone he had met recently as he would have remembered meeting someone as short as him.

Someone from his past? Unlikely, her appearance didn't ring any bell to his mind about having encountered her before the fire.

And so the boy decided to patiently wait for the girl to explain herself and her actions but... few minutes passed and she kept silent about it all.

"Who are you?"

She gave a quick glance at him before returning to stare at the main path to the park's entrance.

"Tohsaka Rin."

The short presentation didn't give him anything to work with at first but then he remembered that someone that he had met quite recently shared her surname.

Was Rin a relative to Aoi? He narrowed his eyes as he tried to draw some comparison between the green-haired woman and the little girl that had pulled him in some bushes.

His staring didn't pass unnoticed to the child, which huffed in annoyance at the unwanted attention.

"C-Can you not stare this much?" She snorted again as she returned to her spying. "I should have picked a better thug for this little mission."

Thug? What was she talking about now? Was this because he was wearing an hat and a mask?

That sounded like some rubbish judgement to his ears!

"What are you talking about?!"

She sighed tiredly. "A minion, a grunt, someone that works under me for only this little task and then goes for his merry way."

...What?

Rin noticed his confusion and fully turned towards him. "Listen. I don't care if you want to fawn over me but please keep the creepiness to a minimum. We need to capture him once he arrives."

Fawning over? Creepiness?

He could still remember when he had met with Aoi and how confusing it had been for him at the time but Rin was beating that situation without even trying with her gibberish.

"Who is 'he'?" This time Shirou's voice was a bit louder, making the girl panic at the sudden question.

"D-Don't be too loud!" She scowled, crossing her arms close to her chest. "I need your temporary help to subdue the boy I will indicate you."

...She was crazy. There was no doubt about it as there was no way on earth that someone her age could easily plot a kidnapping, even through her 'plan' sounded a lot like one of those created by villains from cartoons.

"W-Why would you even want to kidnap someone-"

Her eyes widened at the accusation. "T-This is not a kidnapping!" She seemed ready to protest further but paused for a moment. "I mean, my plans is to put him unconscious and drag him to my mother but... I don't know!"

He blinked at the context given this calmly.

Rin was Aoi's daughter and wanted to... kidnap him? She was sounding the most confusing to him.

Why would she want to kidnap the Emiya? What had he done to warrant this?!

"Why you want to kidnap me?"

The girl was so much taken by the accusations that at first she didn't notice the wording of the question and was ready to deliver a lenghty motivation but-

Her mouth closed, her eyes narrowed at him and he felt like he was facing a blue tsunami as she growled.

"You are Emiya Shirou!"

Her yell made him flinch but he managed a nod as the girl approached him closely. "And you didn't tell me before- WHY?!"

Massaging his sore ears through the hat, the boy sighed. "Do you prefer the 'kidnap' excuse or the 'creepy' excuse?"

She snorted at the accusations. "Then you know that you have to follow me and-" "No."

..."What?"

"No. You just said you wanted to subdue me and take me where you live for your mother, but I don't know why I should do that?"

"B-because you have to! Yes, you have hurted my mom and-" "Aoi-san seemed fine the last time I saw her."

She pouted as her bluff was intercepted and dismantled so mercilessly. "Fine!"

Rin took a quick breath and turned serious in that moment. "My mother is... repeating your name."

"Really?" Sure, the woman had taken to repeat his name the last few moments she had seen here before she was taken back home but... she was still repeating it?

"Really. And that is... important." Her hands grasped at his shirt. "My m-mother couldn't even talk properly until now and she... she is speaking your name. What did you do to make her like this?"

He blinked at this as he hadn't realised until then that the damage Aoi had suffered was this extensive.

"I-I didn't do anything." Shirou replied at the senseless question. "I was just taking a nap and then I woke up with her sitting nearby."

... "Truly?" Her voice cracked a little and she sighed as he nodded. "T-Then there is no way that- that she will never return to normal." She sniffed as her tears started to buildup, a grimace appearing in the redhead's face at the idea of seeing another girl crying.

So he decided to speak up and try to avoid this situation to end with that.

"Wait! Why are you surrendering now?" He tried to appear encouraging, even through he didn't felt encouraged himself. "There are infinite choices that could be studied and-"

He paused as his eyes noticed her expression, one that Shirou knew more than he should at his age.

It was a sorrowful one, one that showed defeat at the oppressive odds that were constantly stacking and.. Rin felt so frail to look at. "And I will help you!"

.. "W-What?"

"I said that I will help you! It's unfair that you are doing all of this alone and... I want to help Aoi-san!"

She blinked in surprise at the declaration, tears starting to fall but she was staring at him wide-eyed.

A small smile appearing in her visage as she tried to brush her own tears away with her white sleeve.

"T-Thank you." Her smile widened even more, a genuine representation of gratitude from the young Tohsaka. "Emiya-kun."

---

Shirou was surprised at the house he was brought into by Rin.

It was a western style mansion, developed vertically and having been built with materials different from traditional houses.

A beautiful sight, that was for sure, and yet it seemed poorly-maintained as if someone had completely forgotten to clean the place.

The girl continued to walk over the gates and towards the entrance, never skipping a beat as she took a set of keys from her pouch and opened the the door quickly. "Go!" She whispered panicking but the Emiya entered quickly inside, awed by the gorgeous interior of the Tohsaka's home.

"Be quiet and.. continue to follow me." He nodded and the girl started to walk softly through the first hallway, looking at the second door on the left as she quickly walked towards it.

It was a living room, white being dominant in the furnitures and Shirou quickly spotted the familiar woman, Aoi, resting in one of the comfy chairs.

Green eyes blinked and soon she turned her attention away from the carpet and onto the two children.

"Shirou."

He cracked a small smile. "Aoi-san." He walked calmly towards her and went to greet her, leaving the young girl to stare at the exchange by the doorstep, trying to understand what the boy was going to do.

"Do you need something, Aoi-san?"

She continued to smile but she didn't speak further and Shirou frowned at the lack of reactions now.

Soon his attention turned to something trembling and he saw her left arm shivering, her hand turned to point at...

He turned to follow the direction and he saw only one thing she could be asking for. "The picture frame?"

Rin blinked as she had almost taken the shivering as something insignificant and yet-

Shirou returned back with the frame and turned for it to face the woman. "This?"

She didn't react at first to the picture but soon she spoke again.

"R-Rin."

The girl felt warm at her name being called out after so much time while the boy looked at the frame and pointed at her image.

"Yes. That is Rin-san."

It was subtle at first but the Gamer noticed that her green eyes were moving as she moved to the next individual.

"To-To-Tokiomi."

Rin gulped nervously, the name of his father still a sore point in her soul as she was still grieving it.

Shirou frowned at the man. He was sporting a goatee and was wearing elegant red clothes, a big smile on his face as his blue eyes- The boy paused at this details, connecting the dots quickly and dreadfully.

That was Rin's deceased father and the man... seemed to be happy with his family.

"That's... your husband?"

Finally Aoi paused, her smile freezing a little but soon that instance was replaced by her previous expression. Was she remembering something about her husband's death?

Her eyes moved once more and on the other corner of the picture... Shirou frowned in confusion.

The girl looked to be younger than Rin, dressed in a red shirt and white skirt. Actually those were the same clothes Rin was wearing, the colors being inverted in her case.

"S-Sa-Sakura."

Rin paled a little at the name and panicked even more the moment Shirou didn't answer her mother's word.

"Shirou?"

The redhead frowned at the photo as he felt like... he had seen this girl before.

Silent words were being exchanged in the memory, then she smiled widely and nodded at one of his proposal and he returned the sight with a grin of his own.
Soon a man approached and picked her slowly and softly, walking away from his as the girl waved at him with a happy smile.

A promise to meet again in the future.

It didn't happen. He knew that for some reason she didn't come back to the park, leaving him clueless as of why.

A soft hand set on his head, caressing it calmly and caringly.

Shirou blinked as he saw teardrops falling on the carpet below him, turning slowly to the woman as she smiled kindly.

"S-Sorry."

He blinked again and nodded at the comforting gesture. "T-Thank you, Aoi-san."

The woman didn't say anything else as she continued to pat his head.

Rin smiled a little at the sight, remembering when her mother would do the same thing when she was sad or tearful for a reason or another.

Yet her nostalgia was washed away the same moment a familiar hand grasped at her shoulder.

She looked up and saw the blank face of one Kotomine Kirei, her father's former apprentice.

"Rin." His voice sounded empty, monotone. "Did you invite someone for lunch?"

She blinked at the question and nodded slowly, cursing the bad timing of the man. "Yes."

The priest didn't spare further questions as he turned his attention on the redhead standing near the older Tohsaka.

Inside Kirei's mind, the words of the King of Heroes echoed the confusing warning about a new individual, someone that he will have to treat... rightfully.

"I suppose I will have to get the servants to prepare a seat and some more food for our young guest here."

And as he said those words, the boy turned to stare at him. Yellow eyes, filled with emotions, met with ruthless brown ones, the very eyes that were hiding the evil nature of the soul of the priest.

For Kirei, it sounded like a delightful story to hear. One that would end with quite the harsh finale for the little 'Hero' of the tale.

---

AN

Rin is adorably smart about using her 'looks' to get minions. She is growing to be a devious individual, isn't she?

Also decided to add another reason for Shirou's fondness for Sakura. I know that it is stated that Shirou's knows of his past but he is too pained to linger too much with it... but this is already an AU, so why shouldn't I play a little with the circumnstances?

Next chapter will see the lunch and boi, things get spicy! (Mapo Tofu is going to burn hellishly!)

 

Chapter 8: Bow (4)

Kirei Kotomine was dangerous.

Shirou's instict was screamed to his ears to run, to refuse the 'kind' offer from the priest as he knew he was going to be maimed one way or another.

He did a quick <Observe> over the man and... this was worrying him the worst possible.

Name: Kirei Kotomine (???)
Title: Priest of Despair (???)
Age: 29 (???)
Level: ??? (???)
HP : ??? (???)
MP : ??? (???)

This only increased even more the dread within his chest as Kirei continued to grace him with a smile... or at least something that should be one. Gone was the joy or any positive emotion inside the representation of happiness as an uneasy feeling continued to send him shivers down his spine.

They were currently sitting in the long table of the dining room, the man taking the head chair and Shirou seated right by his left side. Aoi was placed on the seat that was on the opposite of the redhead while Rin had decided to pick the seat by his remaining side.

The Gamer didn't blame the youngest Tohsaka for that decision as the nightmareish stare was something that even Shirou found horrible to have on his frame. To think that Rin was subjected to this every single day she spent inside the manor...

"Your name is Emiya Shirou." Kirei mused outloud, taking a pause to take in his mouth a spoonful of Mapo Tofu, giving the Emiya the time to realise something curious about his words. The familiarity in his voice, the enunciation that seemed to assume a pleased tone and... the craving.

He was glad, that was something Shirou now knew, but the reason why he was like this eluded the child's ever-working mind. At first the man had appeared emotionless, akin to a stringless puppet. Now he smiled so maliciously.

But why? Why would someone turn to be like Kirei is now?

What could have made a man in something like thi-

"Do you have questions you wish to ask me, Emiya-kun?" The question brought the redhead out of his thoughts and back in that gloomy place. "Either that or I would be quite righteous to call you rude for your staring."

Eyes narrowing at the following statement, the Gamer decided to poke back at the priest's subtle attempt. "Why is your smile so strained?"

Shirou continued to stare at Kirei, his eyes gaining some droplets of surprise before returning to his previous blank expression. "Truly? Did it felt strained to you?"

The Emiya took a bite from the dish that he had in front of him, it was some flavoured meat that.. tasted awkward. It wasn't that bad but it was far from being something he would usually do with consideration. "It did."

The man relaxed his back and stared away for a brief moment. "What an interesting detail, I admit I have never expanded my... social knowledge."

What now? Social knowledge? Shirou was quite certain that smiling wasn't someone learned with books and the man hardly seemed to have tried to do something related to what he had just said.

"But I would understand if it was my hardwork starting to drain and... I just find it difficult to express joy when I am tired."

"You are happy." Shirou blurted without thinking, his eyes widening the moment he realised what he had just said.

"Really?" Kirei hummed quietly, his smile slowly creeping back. "And what tells you that I am 'happy?"

The redhead blinked at the question, a protective edge by the last word but also a lingering sense of curiousity over his entire query.

"Because you are... asking?" The boy stared once more onto the man's face. "You are direct when... you have nothing to hide."

And now the smile was fully back, a dreadful chill sparkling on the child's back. "What an interesting deduction. One that is... correct, I may say."

The man took one of the napkins left my the maids to clean his mouth, getting up from his seat as the plate that once contained his favourite food had been fully emptied.

"But I think you are also incorrect on several basis, like how this detail could hardly stand as a rightful proof of my... interest." He nodded first at the unresponding woman and then to the two children. "I am sure Rin will be more than eager to accompany you by the gates once you have finished."

And with that the priest left the dining room, Shirou finding his quick retreat quite suspicious.

"What was that?" He turned to look at two confused blue eyes and the Gamer felt a small headache how he should answer that question as not even he knew what had happened with the priest.

It had all been so swift that his mind barely gave too much attention over the chat, distracted by the scaring appearance of the young man.

Indeed. What was that?

---

As the priest closed the door that led to his workshop behind his back, he took a large sigh out of his chest.

Kirei Kotomine was stunned by what he had found this normal day.

His expectations regarding Gilgamesh's cryptic words, mostly hovering about a possible reunion with the former Magus Killer, were initially ruined by the sight of the red-haired brat that Rin had decided to take back home. A simple, nameless orphan, he had thought detachedly, but then he felt something familiar within the boy the moment he grasped his shoulder.

The child had working circuits, something that was surprising to stare at, seeing how powerful they felt to the touch and the quality they looked to have. His corrupted heart almost quivered in joy when he learned his name as it explained much about him.

Emiya Shirou.

Kirei's smile twisted in a cracked form of malicious pleasure at the mere mentioning of the boy's name.

Emiya Kiritsugu had adopted one of the orphans he had made with his abruptly-stopped wish, something that turned his life in an hilarious tragedy for the priest to think about.

His wife, the homunculus, had been killed with the ritual and the priest knew that the man had lost any favour with the Einzberns with his little trickery by the end of the Grail War.

The Magus Killer, or what was left after the War, had tried to build something from the ashes of his failure, a feeble attempt of redemption even Kirei found pathetic to stare at. That is why his mind decided to adopt a better plan with this new target.

Kiritsugu had turned worthless the moment he didn't have any solution to the Kirei's plight and the priest had merely decided to play around him like a toy in his hands. Sadly said toy was consumed, decaying and there was nothing much that could be dealt with after the disastrous War the man had won.

This is why Shirou became the rightful replacement for the former assassin, a fresh puppet to use and pressure to play with his rules but Kirei didn't felt the need to kill him so soon.

There was a potential in him, horrible despair that would grow the more he let him become relaxed in his watch and, once Shirou had felt safe and happy, the priest would strike. Nothing would be left unturned in his delightful backstabbing, leading to joyous screams of pain and sorrow.

This beautiful gift, the priest mused amusedly, what a deligthful gift.

The king's words were true to the reality as someone that defied any of his expectations had indeed come to the Tohsaka manor and... he was giddy. Now he had something to nurture just for the sake of destroying once he reached his maturity.

His mind was already picking the bountiful fear and terror he was going to induce on the child's heart once he got him coaxed in his simple web of deception.

And now Kirei had found a reason to live as merrily as he had wanted. Maybe even more.

---

Kiritsugu Emiya was incredibly concerned.

Having spend most of the day working on the costs of having two individuals to join him in his little oversea journey, his mind was incredibly tired and sore but he had managed to get everything correct.

The issue that worried him was the child eating in front of him.

Shirou should have returned back as quickly as he could when Taiga had contacted them to dismiss their usual hangout by the local park and yet the child had returned several hours later.

He was unharmed but the man could see that something was different about his son, his mood stuck in a general bitterness and confusion. It was when another hour passed and it was dinner time that the former mercenary asked about the boy's day.

"I... got a new friend."

The man nodded while sipping the coffe from his warm mug.

"That is... nice."

Memories of Shirley apart, Kiritsugu was glad that the child was not closing on himself or limiting his friendship to the young Fujimura. Still this didn't explain the peculiar mood Shirou had returned with.

"I... my friend, Rin, has a guardian- her father had died few days before the fire and..." The name sounded familiar, he could feel like he had heard this one before... during the War?

"And he is weird."

...Weird? A simplistic definition for someone as calculative as Shirou.

"How so?" The query got the child humming quietly, looking at his half-finished plate.

"Initially he looked emotionless, detached from reality and... then he had this... this smile."

Kiritsugu felt an unexplainable chill go down his spine at this simple depiction, reminding him of an individual that was already dead. He was sure he had killed that bastard.

But the following words alarmed him from his dying core. "Do you know a 'Kotomine Kirei'?"

The priest had... survived? That was absurd. The bullet that had finished the former Master of Assassin had reached the fake priest's heart and- No.

He felt the pain from the corrupted wound echoes in his body as he remembered that the corpse had been close to the mud when the Grail had been cracked open. Could it be that the 'thing' that had returned from the corrupted liquid was... Angra Mainyu itself?

The mere theory was weak with the lack of evidences and it was easily disproved by the following details Shirou offered of the man.

Every single adjective, behavior and words from the priest were the same as Kotomine Kirei. The man was still alive and... another realisation struck the Magus Killer. The girl, the one that Shirou had befriended was Tohsaka Rin, the heiress to Tohsaka Tokiomi, the Master of Archer.

That would explain why Kirei would be her guardian, having been the apprentice of the late head of the family, but... what had happened to the girl's mother. Having studied their dossiers prior to the War started, Kiritsugu was certain that the woman had survived the Fire and was still alive and well.

His son was the one that give him the final clue of this first puzzle around the ruined family. Strangled, brain damaged and no trustworthy people to help her around. Tohsaka Aoi was hardly going to live a long life under the care of the twisted bastard but... maybe he could do something about it.

Even through his voice fell deaf regarding the Grail, that didn't mean any suggestions about the Tohsakas' current situation would be ignored. Magi were politically inept about this, being too greedy to ignore even the most impossible of rumors about important families and the Toshaka's case had been one of the most confusing one after the death of Tokiomi.

And even if he couldn't get a proper investigation going with his little push, the spotlight the family would get from the predicament would be enough to delay whatever Kirei had planned to do with the riches of the old family.

Enough for Kiritsugu to pick someone that might 'convince' the priest to not do anything rash after the eyes had turned away from them. One of the multiple flights they had to take to reach London stopped right near where the girl was guarded.

He sighed as he considered how this would be... his last work that reminded him of his past occupation. Maybe some habits are hard to kill but... he was tired and Kiritsugu didn't wish to leave Shirou to deal with someone like Kirei.

He will die damned because of his foolish ideas but he was sure as hell going to leave a somewhat peaceful Fuyuki after his departure. Hopefully Shirou and Illya will live an happy life after that...

-----------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d-

AN

Kerry is a foolish boy that has seriously forgotten that there are other issues in Fuyuki that needs to be taken out the quickiest possible. One of the last sins that will make him even more damned will be the kidnapping of a little girl that isn't Illya (She will be saved after the Tutorial Arc) but will be quite important to the story.

What are the (???) in Kirei's stats? The mud gave Kirei much more than a simple heart. There is something hiding in the cracks of his empty soul...

 

Chapter 10: Lance (1)

Shirou's first time in Tokyo was quite brief.

Kiritsugu had decided against letting them wander around, reminding both Taiga and his son that the trip was a business one and that there would be enough time to explore after he had finished his affairs in Tokyo.

Of course the girl deflated instantly as she had planned to make several photos of the capital, just for the sake of having something to prove this new experience away from Fuyuki. Maybe even get the chance to wander and find Akihabara for... reasons.

Not even Shirou was sure what kind of reasons would urge the social butterfly to genuinely seek the district famous for the large concentration of Game Shops and anything related to the still growing Anime industry.

The flight was uneventful, nothing much worth of consideration and afterthoughts... if it wasn't that Kiritsugu had been quite antsy for the rest of the time flying.

Eyes a little open wide open, his movements forceful sometimes and he seemed to be on alert for the rest of the flight.

It was something Shirou couldn't genuinely pinpoint what had caused this on the first place and so he merely thought it was the plane itself.

Flying, from what Taiga had been ranting and re-ranting, was something that could get people quite unnerved. Something about hating being stuck in a relatively small place that could easily have you crash and die for a reason or another.

Of course the redhead knew that the chances for this situation to happen were incredibly unlikely to happen and so he spent the reminder of the experience either reading or napping.

The flight was a long one and it made a quick pause in the Leonardo da Vinci International Airport in Fiumicino, Italy, to refuel before finally reaching for the capital of the United Kingdom.

It was there, once the plane had fully landed on the runaway, that Shirou noticed a major change in the environment from the one he had grown accustomed to in Fuyuki.

London was impressive. One of the oldest and most developed cities in Europe, its layout looked incredibly different from Fuyuki's own and he was awed by its grand display of skyscrapers and parks.

Truly a magnificient city, Shirou thought absently as he give it a first look. He had read so much about the city, an important cultural piece of European history with its Victorian style buildings and parks larger than the one back in Fuyuki.

Taiga had also looked awed too but the redhead noticed quite early that she looked less intrigued by the city and more interested in... something else. Asking her about that proved to be a fruitless effort, the girl merely stating that a 'friend of hers' she had met a month ago was supposed to live there.

Kiritsugu decided against giving too much of a sight over the place, citing that he had already been there and that he was less than inclined to waste time in 'being a tourist'. Few hours later and the trio had finally reached the hotel their caretaker booked for the oversea trip.

The Nadler Kensington Hotel surprised Shirou's imagination regarding the place, the hotel owned a beautiful outward XIX century style, while keeping a more modern disposition within its premises.

The rooms that the older Emiya had picked were connected by a common living room, had separate showers and... the hotel's chefs knew Japanese cuisine. The last bit was a treat he had not truly expected, having prepared his mind to face western cooking.

It wasn't like he disliked the style but... it was different. Wandering in unknown territory was quite nerve-breaking for someone of his composure... when he wished to have one.
After a quick lunch, Shirou was ready to finally enjoy a walk around the city- "No."

But there was a major issue the boy had not truly planned to face. Kiritsugu posed an immediate halt to his wandering, citing how they all had just arrived from a long flight and the difference between timezones was noticeable.

The first day was supposed to be wasted resting and recovering from the flight.

With a final tired sigh, Shirou let his body fall on his bed, mind darkening as his consciousness slipped and...

---

Amber eyes opened up as he felt a small critter nuzzle in his face and he turned to look at a familiar being causing the interaction. "Hello there, Fou."

His hand slowly went over its small head and started to pet the adorable squirrel-like creature. Its eyes closed blissfully as he continued with his ministrations, enjoying the calming effect he felt over the calm action.

Maybe he should get a cat once he get back home, Shirou contemplated silently.

He was back in the beautiful grasslands created out by the crystallised dream. The prison of a foolish man.

His attention moved away from Fou and, turning towards the opposite direction, he saw Merlin, the magician perching on a low branch of a tree, his violet eyes directed at the cloudy sky.

"M-Merlin-san?"

The man glanced his direction, his smile widening just a little as he nodded at the redhead.

"Hello Shirou and... this time we have more time to speak about your current mission."

The boy blinked surprised at the words of the white-haired magical being.

He hadn't planned to do much here in the European city, feeling far too much unknowing of his surroundings to genuinely try to find anything Game-related. He was excited at the opportunity to be in the capital but.. he knew that trying anything like that would be stupidly selfish and dangerous.

"W-Wait, what do you mean with 'more time'? I thought that-"

"While my prison is not set within the World's premise, the same couldn't be said of its entrance."

His stare was sternly redirected to an arcway of stones, some words written above it.

"Only the innocent may pass." The magician mused darkly as he shook his head. "To think I would be screwed by something so simple but so beautifully effective."

"W-who did this?" Shirou blurted without thinking, then he said more. "Who was the one responsible for-"

"Someone incredibly loving but infuriating at the same time. Her name, Vivian, would be meaningless to your mind if I didn't tell you her first grand duty, aiding King Arthur by providing Excalibur to her."

Now that was something strange. "W-Wasn't Excalibur the sword in the stone?"

At first Merlin chuckled at the answer, bringing more confusion within Shirou, then he sighed tiredly. "Caliburn was the first sword of the King, the blade destroyed for the sake of Good as it caused most of the ruler's initial strife."

He jumped off and softly landed on the grass near Shirou. "She couldn't age. Humanity no longer an aspect within her body as... she took the harshest duty and ended up dying in a grave of swords."

Shirou felt like he could visualize the place, a hill with so many weapons laid wasted in there, only a single individual there.

But it was no King, nor woman there. It was- I'm the bone of my-

An headache blocked the interesting sensation and the magician crouched above him, his staff glowing a blue light as is encompassed his full body.

The pain slowly subsided and his mind felt clearer than before.

"Now that was something I had not seen within you the first time... but let us not digress further. You have an important job in the close future, boy." Merlin sat down, eyes closed as he took a brief pause to think, to pray and grieve.

"I admit I know when I am at fault and... while I don't regret pushing Artoria into the ruining path she had to walk through, I think she at least deserves to have her memory preserved rightfully."

-A Rose of Different Name and Scent-

Time Limit: Undefined

The legacy of King Arthur exists within this world but... her existance is miserable. Reach the Magus Community in Cadbury Castle, Somerset, and take Gray Pendragon with you.

<Hints>
A diplomatic approach is highly unlikely to work with the locals because of your low standing within the Moonlit World, caution and preparation is adviced.

<Reward>
-New Companion: Gray Pendragon-
-Unlock Gray's Route-
-REDACTED is added to your inventory-
-Improve Merlin's closeness-

<Failure> or <Refused>
-Decrease Merlin's closeness-
-Gray's Route is closed-
- Decrease Gray's closeness-

Accept?
Y/N​

"W-Who is Gray?"

Merlin sighed tiredly, his eyes once more to the sky. "Do you remember the fire, kid?"

The Gamer's body tensed, the memories still fresh even after so long had passed.

"Imagine that this young girl is replacing you in that horrible predicament, constantly suffering because of actions and inactions of others while she is innocent and unworthy of said treatment. Now I wish to know, Shirou Emiya, if you were placed in front of her, to stare at her pained existance and her sorrow, would you seriously not consider saving her?"

It wasn't even a choice by this point as he knew that there was someone that he know he could save and he was being given the opportunity to do so. But was it truly the need of being a hero? Maybe he was merely greedy because he wanted to get stronger and...

"You know, your face is quite expressive when you think deeply about an argument." His attention was brought back to the magician. "But I will tell you something very important, boy, something that I have seen unfold because I was prime cause of."

Violet eyes looked hesitant and tired. "You are a mortal, child, something limited by your own nature to truly strive to become someone capable of saving everyone in the world. Trying will give you some initial relief, some positive interest to add to your dream but... you will despise yourself if you throw your life like this."

Merlin paused and closed his eyes. "Saving people when you can is something rightful, noble even but trying to push over your natural limits will only bring pain and apathy to yourself. Even with the Game to your side, you are still not a true deity and you hopefully will never become one. Too much of a painful existance to endure without going mad."

-----------------d-d-d-dd------------------d-d-d-d-d-----------------d-d-d-d-d--------------d-d-d-d-d-

Shirou found himself brought back to the world abruptly, the unfamiliar ceiling of his hotel room making him panic at first but... he sighed as he got up from the bed. He gave a quick look at the old clock by his bedside and groaned the moment he caught the time.

It was half an hour before midnight and... he was still tired.

Yet he couldnt't find relief knowing that he will have to plan out how to save someone with his current predicament. He might have some capacity in using meele weapons and he had trained a little with the bow but... he was far from ready for this situation.

The redhead sighed tiredly as he rolled by the short furniture by his bedside to pick the folded map of the entire United Kingdom. He got a name to work with, a place where to find her but no clear indication where this place was or how he was supposed to reach it.

Small steps, he repeated within his head like a mantra, small steps.

Luckily enough and starting from the regions on the bottom of the map, Shirou found the small settlement of Cadbury Castle right by the Somerset, Cornwall. It wasn't that far from London, considering that the trains here were relatively cheap and quicker than in Japan but he still will have to plan who could help him in this predicament.

Feeling the last bits of his energy finally drained away in that quick search, the redhead returned to bed as his mind slowly drifted away from the real world and into a lucid dream.

He dreamed of swords but only one shone the brightest in that place he found himself at home.

---

AN

Explanations over Explanations: The reason why the update took so long is actually pretty similar to other stories. I was highly distracted by Uni exams, had to write several drafts as I felt rushing too much and I had to properly connect some dots that I had still to connect to the main plot.

Gray, the official first girl Shirou saves: There isn't much known about her birthplace, only that it is a unimportant village of Magus that Waver would reach three-four years after the Fourth Holy Grail War. I picked Cadbury Castle as it was one of the possible sites where Camelot once existed and could connect with Gray's family being a branch of Artoria's main one. Since she is in her 20s during the Adra Castle Detachment (2004), I decided to set her current age at 10-11 Years old (it is still 1994 right now in the story).

Something new: I decided to set an account Patreon, but it is only about donations now. I am not doing commissions as I have long promised to keep my fan-writing free and legit! I just accept donations and I might set good goals if we reach an acceptable following. Currently the first goal is... setting up a permanent Google Doc where I will mostly write my drafts before uploading them online. (I will put the link in the signature... somehow.)

 

Chapter 11: Lance (2)

The following morning saw Shirou sipping from a warm mug of chocolate milk, his eyes fixed on the map he had found the night before to retrace his destination once more. A scowl ruled his face, the time required to reach Cadbury Castle by car far exceeding any window of opportunity Kiritsugu’s wandering would give him.

Same for Taiga, the girl spending just few hours outside to explore the premises of the quarter where the hotel they were living in was, either sightseeing or merely enjoying a refreshing walk outside in the western city.

It was the unique experience for someone from Japan, the Gamer was certain of that as part of him genuinely craved to explore the city himself… but he had a mission to solve in a short time limit.

Kiritsugu had already mentioned that the trip was meant to last just three to four days and the possibilities to try and reach the destination where the girl, Gray, was were far too restrictive for him to act.

And that is why, for the first time in a long time, Shirou felt like he was dealing with the unlikely task, an objective that was obtusely difficult to reach because of obstacles nigh-impossible for him to currently overcome.

So that is why, after finishing breakfast and having gone through his morning ritual in the bathroom, the young Emiya decided to join Taiga for a walk around the city as to think calmly about the whole predicament he was facing.

The girl was quick to accept the request, hopefully mistaking it for the need of a cooped up child yearning for some different sights (which was partly true, but not the whole reason behind his query) from the usual indoor ones, and so the boy found himself following the happy Fujimura around the European capital.

There were several people waiting around the corners of the streets, calmly waiting for the green light to turn in and allow them to continue for their destinations, sometimes glancing their way because of their Asian characteristics.

It was something Taiga had been quick to explain during the first few moments outside, stating how westerners were curious of ‘exotic’ appearances, finding them oddly fascinating just like some Japanese usually found foreigners a curious sight.

The glances they received were from a neutral to a positive shade, mostly because the two of them were young and harmless, thus not worthy of any hateful emotion.

They finally reached a zone of the city with several restaurants and bars, with some closed pubs here and there. Shirou’s amber eyes absently looked around, not having a particular focus as he was being led by the girl and… and he felt something was wrong.

A wave of cold, restraining his body still and fixed on the spot and he wasn’t the only one suffering this circumstance. Everyone around them was stuck in a single position, no reaction whatsoever to the situation.

Everyone except the lone man standing up from his seat in one of the small open bars, walking towards him.

[Warning! Time has been frozen!]

He was tall, just a little more than Kiritsugu and that wasn’t what unnerved the Gamer the most. Old and weary, his face looked hardly fazed by age… but he seemed to be strained for some reason.

“To think that she would get interested so much in a single lifeform… I am curious.” He paused right in front of the boy, bending a little as his hand cupped Shirou’s face and raised it up. Amber meet red and… he could feel a chant within him.

A lullaby, a reminder, something forgotten but also not. The words a confused repetition, his attention horribly taken by the scariest sight ever.

The boy could see something approaching from the red orbs, a grand sphere of white slowly descending upon him. The more the circular object reached for him, the more he could feel the pressure buildup, as if he should be running, dodging whatever was coming towards him.

Then he realized and… how he had realized. The pale moon continued its fall and Shirou couldn’t but continue to watch as death continued his path to reach him-

“And that is enough.” The redhead felt a bubble burst within him, his perception of the world fully restored and removed from the horrifying scene he had just witnessed.

Tears were falling off and his breathing was labored. The elder stopped just a moment, a curious glint in his inhuman eyes as he noticed that… Shirou was reacting.

“You can see me, can you?” The stranger muttered intrigued, walking around the child and studying his fixed body. “But you can’t move. Truly a bundle of mysteries that… I doubt I will be able to study on a single session.”

New weight formed in the Gamer’s right pocket, two tickets being left there as the man patted his head twice. “I suppose I will have to wait for our next encounter and… I wonder how far you will go, Emiya Shirou.”

After that, the elder started to pace quietly on the opposite direction where the redhead was, the boy’s eyes unable to see him for few moments and then-

[Warning! Time has been restored!]

[New item obtained! Kaleido Teleportation Tickets, x2]

W-What?

The child turned around, trying to get another glance at the mysterious old man that he had just seen… disappearing.

Indeed the figure wasn’t anywhere near for him to notice, either managing to somehow mix with the crowd of people behind them even with his unnatural height or maybe he had indeed disappeared away with… magic?

He took a moment to stop, trying to make sense of the encounter and- “Something’s wrong, Shirou-kun?”

The boy blinked, turning to look at the worried expression plastered on Taiga’s face, deducing that his face was still stained by tears.

“I-I am fine.” His voice croaked traitorously, messing his simple attempt to lie out the predicament. The girl’s eyes narrowed as she did something unexpected.

Feeling frail after what had just happened, Shirou didn’t make any resistance as Taiga took him in her arms and started to walk back towards the hotel. “You might be feeling ill, I read that it is possible to get some form of cold when you are not used to this climate. Hopefully you didn’t catch a fever.”

Her assumptions weren’t truly wrong, after all the redhead was lightly shivering and his skin had gone a shade paler than previously.

And while he was bought back to the warmth and safety of their temporary living arrangements, the Gamer couldn’t help but think about the strange man that had left him in such a state.

That power, that unknown sensation and… that sadness.

---

[Object: Kaleido Teleportation Ticket]

Small piece of special paper imbued with seals attached to the Second Magic, the Kaleidoscope. Crafted by the one and only Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, those rare cards are reserved to apprentices to the Second Magic Holder or for those special enough to receive them as a gift. The current setting of the Card is Teleportation: Maximum individuals transportable is 2 per card, no limit distance-wise and it is all in a single usage.

Shirou couldn’t believe at what he was looking at and yet he felt far from happy from this development. While the cards were a blessing in the form of magical paper, the circumstances behind the acquirement were not something worth of forgetting.

The words of the old man had resounded incessantly for almost two hours and the boy was sure of few things now that the description gave him some clues:

1) The elder was this Schweinorg individual, capable of… using real magic?
2) The man knew about Shirou and was helping him, willingly or not;
3) The man spoke of a ‘woman’, someone that wanted him to accomplish the mission for some reason.

Whoever this man and the woman he spoke about truly are, the fact that someone was actively checking on him, even through to help him around, was concerning and somewhat creepy.

He shivered briefly under the covers of the bed, the day being spent mostly acting sickly to avoid further suspicions from the worried Fujimura as she decided to ‘nurse him back to help’, trying and failing to prepare some warm broth.

Night came and he was stuck in his bed, his eyes staring at the ceiling of his room. In his hands the two tickets as he felt a warmth sensation spread through his body as a golden light put him in a golden cocoon.

Shirou had long thought about the proper time to use the tickets and get to Cadbury Castle, ending up to begrudgingly accept that night-time was the only opportunity to do things without getting hurt in any way, shape or form.

Plus he would avoid getting caught away by Kiritsugu and Taiga, giving him another thing to not worry about.

He closed his eyes, the light growing far too brighter for him to look at and soon he was shifted away from his bedroom and taken away from London in a single moment.

The smooth texture of the mattress was soon replaced by wet grass and, as soon as he could open his eyes, Shirou stared up at the starry sky of the night. Did it work?

He slowly lowered his gaze around his proximity and spotted a small village right down a small mud path. There was no other hints nor clue that could further confirm that he had reached the Magical Community that he was supposed to find… and yet he felt that this was the right place.

His hand moved to his chest and he felt a sensation, something within him resonating and calling out for him. It demanded him to move quickly inside the village, to find and help-

Gray?

The redhead stood up from the grass, ignoring the cold sensation of the night wind and rushed quietly towards the small houses that were few meters from him.

I’m bone of my sword.

The cool breeze was now easy to ignore, his body warming up suddenly the more he walked, aimlessly but also directed by something within him.

The Gamer’s eyes ignored the normal houses, his attention brought by the muffled feminine yells coming from a small building that looked similar to a tiny church.

My body is of Fire and Steel-

He slowly pushed the doors open, his amber eyes quickly focusing on the two figures occupying the place.

A man snarled as he held tightly a small branch of wood, red blood slowly dripping off of it.

On the ground, shivering and suffering, was a young girl. Her gray hair were short, few bangs trying to cover the oddly familiar visage, the green eyes she had pleading for relief from the painful torture.

Shirou used Observe and…

HP: 28/250

Anger surged within his core and, noticing another wooden branch by his feet, he took it within his hands as his eyes focused on the crazy-looking man.

Shirou used Observe again, this time on the unknown man.

Name: Unknown
Title: Shaman of the Cadbury Castle Community
Age: ?
Level: ?
Health Points (HP) : 300
Mana Points (MP) : ?​

He was stronger than Shirou… but his health was something the boy could work with. Losing no more time, the Gamer swiftly rushed at the unaware man and… the managed to land the first hit.

-57HP!

HP: 243/300

A loud crack echoed in the building as the branch slammed on the elder’s exposed chest, his old ribs failing to hold against the sneak attack. The man turned around, his eyes wide open in surprise, but he was too slow to react as the branch reached his face, pushing him away.

-78HP!

HP: 165/350

“W-What- Who are you-!” As he retreated back because of the fierce attack, the man tried to make sense of the child in front of him, completely forgetting of the small chair behind him. Soon he stumbled over it, his head slamming on the ground with a sound ‘thud’, making him unconscious on the spot.

-138HP!! Crit!

HP: 27/300 (Status: Unconscious)

Shirou let the branch fall off his hands, blinking at the scene as he hyperventilated at what he had caused. Sure, he had been able to push the old man to black out but he had come so close to kill him in the skirmish.

He was trembling, the reality of the situation finally sinking in his brain. He had been so close to become a murderer, to take a life, to- “W-Who- W-who are y-you?”

His mind stopped with the guilt trip and the redhead turned his attention to the girl, Gray looked surprised but her eyes were strained by the pain and she looked incredibly weak to him.

Without missing a beat, Shirou crouched over her and took hold of her hand. “Shirou Emiya.”

English wasn’t something he knew much about, just few words and question that Taiga had told him about during the flight and… he decided to not test his current capacity to properly answer, giving a curt reply.

The girl blinked, surprise painted in her face as something unexpected happened the moment they touched.

A blinding light erupted from Shirou’s chest and he felt his body going numb as he felt drained.

[Requirements have been met, activation of Noble Phantasm: Avalon – The Everdistant Utopia]

Right in that moment, the boy felt his body burning as light started to pour over Gray, the girl’s shock slowly replaced by relief as the several wounds present in her body started to be healed, her pain soothed and her energy partly restored.

The golden spectacle ended few moments later, Shirou’s mind focused to just one last objective. Taking out the second ticket and ignoring the girl’s wide eyes, he took once more hold of her hand and thought of the hotel, of the bedroom where he had been prior to the first teleportation.

The effect was almost instantaneous, the cocoon of white covering both of them and soon they were whisked away from the building, several footsteps approaching it to see what had happened.

Gray yelped in surprise, trying to make sense of the quick action happening before her the moment she found herself in another room. She turned to the young boy that had saved her, hoping to find some answers from him but-

Green eyes blinked quietly as she found the red-haired youth fast asleep on the bed they were now lying onto. Now that she thought about it, this was the first time she had been in a room this… nice.

The bed was soft, it felt interesting to the touch and, feeling a little drained by the recent situations, she closed her eyes and surprisingly fell on the unused pillow without much resistance.

For some reason, something that her mind couldn’t make sense of, she felt like… she was safe. It wasn’t the room, it wasn’t the fact she wasn’t anywhere near her village-

It was the boy, this ‘Shirou Emiya’, and his surprisingly calming presence.

--------------------d-d-d-d---------------d-d-d-d------------d-d-dd------------d-d-dd----------d-d-d-d-----------

AN

Due Explanations regarding the way Shirou reached Gray: I had three possible ways Shirou could have used to reach her and… the other two sounded more Plot-Armor than this one. Let me just say that the reason why I hardly consider this choice ‘Plot-Armorish’ is because I decided to make a major rule in Anime finally in action: Rarity attract Rarity, Power attract Power, Odd attract Odd.

Zelretch wasn’t there on his own initiative: No, this Wizard Marshal shall not be the same Troll guy from other fanfics. Just like in ‘Crawl Like a Worm’, this man is capable of doing stuff with the Second Magic, but he can hardly travel through Worlds. That is why stopping time, with ‘permission’, still took a drain on him.

The Aftermath: While Gray is not Artoria, her blood is from the King of Knights and that is good enough to unseal for a moment Avalon. Does this mean that Shirou got Avalon fully active now? No. Does that mean that he can use Rhongomyniad? Nope, not now at least.

Did beating the old man give any EXP? No, I decided to set a rule that EXP are gained in a fight only by killing your opponent. Only in case of ‘Training’ or ‘Mission-specific’ conditions you may receive EXP from not killing your opponent.

 

Interlude 1 – Kiritsugu

The pain never ceased.

The wound never closed.

The inner scar never grow silent.

Kiritsugu Emiya had always thought that the greatest sorrow in his life was losing his childhood because of his father’s ambitions to reach the Root.

He killed him for the Greater Good.

When he had lost Natalia, when he had pressed that trigger, he had felt the cold hand of guilt take his whole heart as he trashed the only chance to his family.

He killed her for the Greater Good.

When he found himself facing the Grail’s challenge, the deterrent for those unworthy of the Wish- He could still remember the void taking his sanity as he pulled the trigger of the Contender, the bullet instantly killing the illusion of his sweet daughter.

The blood felt real, too real and when the fake Iri tried to attack him, the same look her real wife would have at seeing such treacherous and heinous act of violence, and his hands around her neck as her life slowly left the fake’s corpse.

They died for the Greater Good.

The wheel of the World moved with blood, it would always the innocent that pays one way or another and Kiritsugu had to admit.

The circle that he had so long tried to break by becoming one with death turned out to be far worse than he had expected.

The weight of his sins were far bigger than he had hoped, the guilt nearly drowning him the moment he tasted the Original Evil.

Angra Mainyu still lingered, undisturbed, inside the Greater Grail. A bug in the system that stubbornly grasped the edge of the magical construct, altering it in the process because of his sheer hatred and determination.

A nasty, vengeful bastard that couldn’t just accept he wasn’t supposed to exist within this world. Avenger was the result of a foolish plan from Acht, the old man failing to see the grand issue behind his choice of breaking the rule.

Everything had a weight in this world and cheating wasn’t frowned upon just for moral reasons.

A child cheating in a simple school test? If they are caught by the teacher their entire test is nullified.

A man trying to cheat his way out of a contract? Either jailed or killed.

A Magus trying to cheat something as complex as the Holy Grail? The End of the World had loomed so close and even Kiritsugu knew that his quick solution was a temporary one at best.

To think that Saber’s Noble Phantasm, Excalibur, had not worked to the fullest. Sealed by Faes for the sake of… moderation.

The world almost died but the bright light of the Holy Blade saved everyone.

The corrupted mud had been a terrible experience, the wounds of his fight against the demented priest that was Kotomine Kirei ending up giving a direct connection to the darkness within it.

The nature of the wounds changed, twisted, no more just a physical damage upon his body but a dangerous cancer to his Circuits.

He had long ditched the idea of passing the piece of the Emiya Crest under his possession to Shirou, the possibility of carrying the illness to the child being a good reason to completely forget about doing the surgery.

Speaking of the boy, it was painfully annoying to know how analytical and developed his mind was at that age. Something Kiritsugu never had as a child, but while he considered it a good thing to have in normal circumstances, he found incredibly annoying to deal for many reasons.

The first of those being the fact the boy wasn’t as trustworthy of him, maybe just enough to consider him some kind of family but…

But he was genuinely distrustful and the old Emiya could fault him for that. Years of being so restricted to chat with people, years of mistrust, had led the former Magus Killer to adopt something so different from the usual parenting skill he had with Illya.

Maybe it was because Shirou wasn’t his son by blood- No. That excuse felt so foolish to even consider, having been an adopted child himself under Natalia.

Maybe it was that Shirou was not Illya.

His daughter was naive, innocent to the dreadful world that existed out of the Castle in Germany.

Shirou has seen the worst pain possible, he had been ‘bathed’ by the great fire and he had come out with an emotional scar. His amnesia might have prevented him from feeling the true weight of the traumatic experience, but he could still remember pictures in his head.

Images of burning, sounds of shouts and yells.

There were the basis for PTSD and Survivor’s Guilt, but Shirou had been spared by his amnesia. Still far from behaving like a child his age, Kiritsugu was sure that the boy would surely be able to fit back in the normal way of things once he got accustomed to the world once more.

That had been the main reason why Kiritsugu had ‘forgiven’ Taiga, because he knew that the girl was a very normal teenager. Not much close to Shirou’s age, but still good enough to help him in taking steps toward happiness.

The musings ceased the moment another wave of pain surged from the corrupted wounds, his mouth snapping close as the ghost of a shriek of hurt was contained by his experienced mind.

Sweat drops rolled off his forehead as he slowly got up from the bed, the chilly temperature of the room doing nothing to soothe the searing pain.

Back home the walls of his room had been turned soundproof, a precaution to limit any possible curiosity in Shirou to further investigate his wounds.

He had seen the dark cuts, but the child had not questioned further than just a confused glance.

Few moments passed before the dulling sensation of his Circuits restored some stability in his body, the trembling lasting a little longer as he tried to further push back the pain deep to its original spots.

As soon as his mind was freed of the straining task, his eyes widened at the familiar sensation that he had ignored until now.

While he had been careful to not be followed back by the hotels by possible assassins after his head, Kiritsugu had been quick to set up a boundary field around the suites they were occupying.

The pulling sensation, as if a rope connected to his chest had been crossed and cut down, bouncing back to him and giving him a dreadful sign.

Someone had intruded Shirou’s room.

Putting on his jacket and pants, the former mercenary picked his Calico, ready to make quick work of whoever had intruded the place.

He moved through the shadows, eyes glancing everywhere for possible minor traps along the way between his room and the redhead.

Finally he reached the boy’s room, readying himself for some ambush and… he rushed inside once the door gave way for him to enter.

Sub-machine gun cocked on the bed, Kiritsugu’s eyes widened the more he stared at the scene.

Shirou was snoring softly his bed sheets trashed out by his own arm as two unfamiliar limbs hugged him chest close to a dark silver-haired head.

Black eyes blinked again, this time the Magus Killer studying the intruder with a critical eye. ‘Her’ frame was feminine and the lack of much clothing showed just some small curves only a girl would have. She was petite, for some reason so familiar to him and finally he glanced at the strange object hanging from her hands.

It looked like a bird’s cage made of bronze, a strange box kept inside of it.

He made a step closer, to glance better this object and… he found himself staring at a pair of… eyes?

The box twitched, its lower line reminding a smirking mouth as it opened and- “WAKE UP!”

The shrilly metallic voice was already irritating and the outburst just busted his chance to take out the intruder without Shirou’s knowing.

Amber eyes snapped open in panic and the girl almost jumped off the bed as she started to scan the room and… found him.

Black eyes widened, his heart almost stopping to beat as he got a clear sight over the girl’s face.

Her hair was combed in a different way, but her soft features and bright green eyes were what truly made him remember.

“Are you my master?”​

“S-Saber!?”

---

AN

Not much to say... ahr, ahr!

 

Chapter 12: Lance (3)

What an awkward morning.

Shirou had not been quite naive to ignore the reactions from Kiritsugu and Taiga at seeing this unknown girl coming from his room.

Actually scratch that, the morning had started the most terrifying way possible. The unfamiliar yell that dragged him out from the unfocused dreams he had been having and back into reality put him in quite the scary predicament.

Right as he woke up, his eyes had darted to see what was in front of him. In the shadows a familiar figure froze in shock.

The boy had never seen Kiritsugu this much shocked by something, or someone in that particular case, but the sight soon turned dreadful as he ended up noticing what the man was holding tightly on his hand.

It was a gun. Shirou was no weapon expert but… he could see it was a gun.

He paled a little, even though the older Emiya relaxed the aim of the deadly device, his attention completely taken by Gray.

“S-Saber?!”

What?

Part of him was quick to jump to the conclusion that the black-haired man knew of Gray but… how?

How could he know the girl? Even the female seemed confused at how she had been addressed, completely taken by surprise by the appearance of the man and… what was going on?

If Gray wasn’t this Saber… who was she? Why Kiritsugu though that Gray was this individual and-
The rush of the adrenaline started to dampen as the morning tiredness from being yanked so forcibly out of his rest started to rear its ugly head.

Fear followed the panic down his core as Shirou realized something peculiar.

A simple iron chain starting by a metal wristband in the girl’s right hand stretched long and until the strange bird cage at her feet.

Inside of it a… snickering box?

Name: Add
Title: Logos React Replica
Denomination: Mystic Code
Main Directive: Mystery Containment
​

What was that?

As if on cue, the box turned to glance ‘his’ general direction before giving up ‘his’ joke-ish expression to show genuine shock.

It was still for a brief moment, then a large ‘smile’ spread on ‘his face’.

“So this is truly happening…” It spoke, surprising the redhead even more as it gave more of its ‘liveliness’.

The voice seemed to also broke the extended staring contest between Gray and Kiritsugu, both now staring at the aforementioned object of confusion and shock.

It didn’t help Shirou’s nerves as the older Emiya’s weapon was levelled onto the birdcage, but the box seemed the least concerned by the threat of bullets and more intrigued by Shirou himself.

The boy blinked.

The box snickered once more.

“I can only wonder how the Scabbard had found its way into you, brat. But I suppose it is the reason why you decided to save my dear owner.”

“W-What is going on?” Gray’s soft voice broke into the chat, her green eyes showing uneasiness at the whole situation.

First she was kid-saved, and now she was seeing the box reacting, speaking to the boy.

“Your name?” Kiritsugu asked with a flawless english and Gray meekly turned to face him.

“G-Gray. I think- yes, I think it’s Gray Pendragon.”

He raised a stunned brow as he was unable to fully decipher how a descendant of the King of Knights had managed to find her own way into Shirou’s room.

“Okay… Gray.” She nodded at his tentative grasp of the name. “Can you tell me how did you get there?”

She opened her mouth but didn’t spoke. Doubt suddenly took hold of her features as she seemed unwilling to speak further.

The Magus Killer let a tired sigh out as he found himself dealing with another child.

“My name is Kiritsugu Emiya.” She blinked in surprise as he finally introduced himself, letting down his guard just this once. “I know that you are in quite the strange predicament, Gray, but I need you to answer my questions so I could help you in return.”

She blinked again, conflicting thoughts expressed by her own face.

Then… the girl spoke. “I-I was being hurt by- by my uncle and-”

Kiritsugu’s blood froze at the mere idea that the child, no more than just a year or two older than Shirou, had been abused.

Several theories danced in his mind, but the closest thing he could gauge up was related to Gray’s appearance and surname.

As one of the few descendants of King Arthur still alive, she was a good candidate to make use of the King of Knights’ arsenal.

While Excalibur had been one of the most known, the Ruler of Camelot had owned other magical objects. That was something that he could remember from the nights spent in the long research about the known description of the legendary king.

Carnwennan, the knife she had used to slay the with Orddu;

Rhongomyniad, the spear was barely mentioned only in Geoffrey’s Historia;

Pridwen, the ship that Merlin blessed with grand attributes;

Clarent, the Cerimonial Sword of Peace used to knight heroes of the realm;

The very last one had been the least probable to be owned by the King as a Servant, legend having that Mordred stole it from her and then used it to kill her in the battle of Camlann.

But the reason behind this little digression wasn’t out of context. While the real Excalibur was safely hidden from the Fae community, the same couldn’t be said about the other objects.

Pridwen was hardly a good thing to invest into, especially in an age that saw no use for the magical ship.

Carnwennan was a good possibility but Clarent was also one of the things that had been left outside of the Royal Treasuries.

Rhongomyniad was complicated to fully take in the equation, as the lack of details gave little to none chance to truly make it or not a possibility.

Still the box continued to speak, unfazed by what was going on the background as he continued to poke around Shirou with questions.

“So you have been seeing the sword.” The boy nodded slowly and the Mystic Code sighed. “I guess it is something induced by Avalon.”

“How do you know about this, Mister-” “I ain’t a ‘Mister’, boy. I am Add.”

The Gamer paused just a moment to gauge the name given but he was interrupted by the box’s voice.

“I expect no joke about my name. It has been given to me by a very annoying ‘young girl’ that I would be more than happy to scold for her foolish behavior and-”

Shirou blinked blankly as the small thing started to rant and lash at the bird cage, shaking it every once in a while.

Reiterating his previous statement, Shirou sighed at the madness unfolding before his eyes.

What an awkward morning.

---

“So she is the daughter of a close friend of yours and… she is going to live with you and Shirou-kun back in Fuyuki?”

Taiga looked perplexed when she had spotted a young girl with a shy look in her face walking close to her surrogate Otouto.

Perplexed and quite skeptical at the excuse Kiritsugu had given to her.

It was the closest thing to a good reason for the girl to be taken to Japan, so good that normally one would just roll with it as it wasn’t truly that unusual for this kind of situations to happen.

And yet the Young Tiger was showing her innate capacity to smell out strange things.

So, trying to appear innocent and all, the older girl was more than eager to engage in a ‘friendly’ and totally ‘not-an-interrogation-session’ chat between ‘women’.

Gray was kind of embarrassed by the attention she was receiving by the teen, throwing off the probing attempts from the Japanese girl with her meek personality.

She looked this much defenseless and yet so sweet at the same time.

Who could be so inhumane to harm such a simple being like her?

Taiga lost interest in trying to get more info from the girl about herself few minutes after, her topics switching to mundane things and soon.

“Shirou-kun! We are going for some shopping!”

...”What?”

“Gray-chan here says that she has little clothing on her and we need to get her something.”

And by something, the redhead grimaced, she meant a full-fledged wardrobe… for the season.

Girls were strange and Taiga’s tomboy personality barely altered her feminine need to buy clothes.

Such was the tragedy of shopping.

So once the two girls had left the hotel to search for some clothing shop, Shirou had simply decided to walk back to his room and-

“Shirou.” The Gamer paused as Kiritsugu’s curt and sharp tone reached his ears. His amber eyes
glanced back at the adult and the man sighed in response to his surprised reaction.

“Could you sit back to your seat? I wish to have a discussion with you.” He stated calmly. “A discussion about your knowledge of the Moonlit World.”

The redhead blinked before complying to the request, waiting for his ‘father’ to explain what he wanted to truly know.

“Let me ask you this before we go for this...” He paused a moment causing the boy to frown as the man at the youth. “Are you hurt?”

The Gamer blinked but decided to reply negatively. “No.”

Kiritsugu nodded. “Good.” He sighed. “Then can you please tell me how did you enter in contact with Magecraft?”

After having experienced something similar in the recent past, Shirou merely kept a blank mask over his panicking mind.

Was this worry speaking once more? Or was the man now suspicious that the child had some mysterious power on him.

“As I said, it was just-” “Don’t lie to me.”

What?

There was some brief silence after the interruption, his head feeling getting warmer the more his nervousness increased.

“Shirou, the reason why I am bringing this up again is...” A pause. “I don’t want you to suffer.”

The boy blinked but didn’t speak. Something was going on and it was something he was unaware of.
The older Emiya took it as a reason to continue to talk.

“The Moonlit World- no, the real world is not meant to be dealt with by a 7 years old.”

“I am not-” His mouth closed as he found the man glaring at him, demanding his silence just this once and… Shirou felt scared at the power behind the eyes of the weary Emiya.

“I can understand that you wish to ‘fix the world’, just like this was some kind of game-” He closed his eyes and he looked older than he should be. “But life is not a game, Shirou.”

“You don’t have save files, you don’t have ‘Quests’ and there isn’t a damsel for you to save.” His eyes were now on the table, something awful barely hidden in them. “There are no heroes.”

The Magus Killer blinked. “There is no justice, there is no grand reward no matter the effort and sacrifice, the death and the blood you have shed for the sake of a foolish dream.”

…

“W-When I was your age, I believed that the world was small.” His voice cracked a little. “Small enough to be easy to understand, to fix, to care for and then to love.”

“It wasn’t enough.” He continued, the sad crescendo seemingly endless as no climax was there to collect. “It is never enough.”

It was an uneasy silence that followed shortly, the man looking tense as he tried to contain what was inside his head from fully leaving out of his mouth.

It was kind of surprising to see someone so collected as Kiritsugu, someone that had been close to resemble a wall with his stoic manners and face, appear so open.

It was quite scary, but also morbidly fascinating to watch as it all was coming to crumble around them.

The world looked so insignificant from where he was sitting, from the attention he was devoting to his caretaker.

“I...” He looked nostalgic there, just like he was trying to explain something incredibly difficult, too complex, to someone so clueless. “I had a beautiful wife.”

“She was… amazing. She knew everything about me, every single part of my darkness and she still loved me.” He cracked the ghost of a smile, the thin line in his face disappearing momentarily as he remembered.

“An angel. A beautiful creature.”

But why he was telling him this? Why Shirou needed to truly know this when- when-

His mind failed to register the warm liquid forming in his eyes.

She smiled ever-so beautifully. “C’mon *Bzz*-kun, you can still try tomorrow”

His first time at the park. He could… remember it. Part of it, a good one.

Was that his mom? His brain gave no answer, but his heart let out a loud beat to his soul.

It felt… nice. Nostalgic but… also saddening.

“She gave me the greatest treasure I could ever be bestowed with.” Kiritsugu finally smiled, a genuine one for the first time Shirou had seen after having been adopted by him.

“My Illya...”

The man seemed distracted, absent even, but the Gamer was still here and… he could swear that he had heard this name before.

Why it did felt familiar? Why it also felt unknown?

He was clueless, but the Game finally decided to speak up after so long.

-The Lost Girl-
Time Limit: Undefined
People lose faith in those they gave their hopes. This girl, Illya, is someone that needs to be saved. Support Kiritsugu in getting Illya out of Germany!

<Hints>
Sometimes we need to make choices. The easy path is almost never the right one.

<Reward>
-New Companion: Illyasviel von Einzbern-
-Unlock Illya's Route-
-Improve REDACTED’s closeness-

<Failure> or <Refused>
-Illya’s fate is forever sealed-
-Illya's Route is closed-
Accept?
Y/N
​

Shirou accepted, but his mind was taken by the simple idea that…

That he had more family. That he had a sister and… he was going to save her.

I am bone of my sword.

---

AN
I admit I kind of expanded upon the interlude in this chapter but… I think it’s time to remind everyone what is going to be the big treat for this Tutorial Arc, the very thing that will wrap things up.
Soon, in the Einzbern Castle…

P.S. Gray doesn't speak Japanese. How could a simple village girl from England do that without learning it?

 

Chapter 14: Magic (1)

Kiritsugu Emiya was restless.

Knowing that now he was going to finally get Illya away from the treacherous Einzbern? He was nervous. It wasn’t the usual job, the usual ‘hostage rescue’ kind of mission and… the weight of failure was massively set on his head.

He was old, he was rusty and… the wound was hurting with the proximity to the castle. It was something that happened every time he had tried to get his daughter out of Germany. The sudden pain spurning his brain to not focus to anything else but it.

It was searing, like the fires that had consumed half of Fuyuki, but also chilling, like if inflicted by the cold metal of a blade.

Yet this didn’t matter in the long-term, his mind set to the very plan to get Illya out of the Einzbern Castle.

A small window of opportunity, the rune he had managed to recover would be enough to open a two hours long breach, just enough time for him to rush inside, scoop her princess and make a run for it. Easy?

That is step 1, step 58 and step 198 of his convoluted plan. His mind had long framed and mapped the innards of the old fortress, a decade being enough to properly burn everything in his brain. Illya had to have been confined to her room, maybe given permission to visit the closest courtyard to… pass her time alone.

A painful squeeze, this time not from the wounds. Memories of playing with the little girl, memories that comforted, distressed and fueled him through the day since the end of the War. His blood boiled at the double failure he had managed to obtain by studying so little the complexity of the Grail, how easy it is for the device to ‘mistake’ a wish and…

No. He had already swallowed in that self-hatred for long enough. Those ill thoughts had to stay just for once, at least enough for him to be able to recover Illya and… bring her safely back home.

To her new home. Away from pain, loneliness and… with her new family.

Yet part of him was worried. Acht had been clear months earlier when he revealed his plans for the little girl in case Kiritsugu returned empty-handed or betrayed them. Being conceived as close to a real child, Illya lacked the right amount of Circuits and the proper ritual’s configuration to serve as the newest Lesser Grail for another Grail War, meaning that the Old Bastard wasn’t shy from contemplating a major surgery to implant the ‘requisites’ for the child to become his newest puppet.

Bile rose to his throat at the mere thought, but his mind was already going numb by the pain to really formulate a legitimate reaction on the matter. Too much… pain.

Hands shaking, the Magus Killer swallowed another handful of painkillers, feverishly glancing right where Shirou and the others were. All sleeping, even Caren having succumbed to the stressful drain of her first flight.

It was going to be difficult, he reminded himself, life was going to be difficult. More effort to help around and… to leave something behind for Illya and Shirou to use and live happily.

His trip to the deepest corner of the Magus Association brought him also a medical checkup. Seven years, his life expectation. The wounds were slowly eating away his Circuits and he received confirmation that a Crest Removal at this stage would be deadly and unproductive. Too much corruption, the illness had sink deep within his core and even his healthy bits were carrying fragments of the sickness.

Seven years to make sure that they didn’t suffer because of his mistake. An arduous task that will see him waste his whole soul onto, one that, maybe, will grant him some peace in the small place in hell he had carved after years of killing and destroying people.

He had long renounced at the possibility of seeing Irisviel once more, his sweet angel already weighed down by the need of keeping an eye on them to grant him any relief from his suffering.

Another quiet hour passed as he continued to watch over their sleep, further aggravating the growing need of making sure to leave a safer place. If the Einzbern had expected to encounter Kiritsugu Emiya anytime soon, they will find themselves surprised at the monster they have angered.

A monster driven by cold emotions, a monster that had once been tamed by his family… but was now unleashed for them all to enjoy to the fullest.

The Magus Killer, something no Magus should ever face without having finished their business. Because once they ended up dealing with it… everything ended without hesitation.

And as the Emiya continued to think about new ways to torture Acht with, Shirou Emiya was once more removed from his dreams.

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Amber eyes opened to a familiar blue sky.

But differently from any of the previous times, Shirou found himself watching as Merlin walked back and forth as he was thinking of something. Fou was sitting placidly on a large rock, looking bored as his head followed the Wizard’s pattern.

The demi-Incubus paused, his eyes wide open as he noticed Shirou. “You are here, good- Actually, perfect!”

The man’s hands went to squeeze at the Gamer’s shoulders, making the boy frown in distress at the panicked expression on his face.

“W-What?”

“We have a big problem, Shirou.” Merlin started. “By ‘We’ I mean, you, me and Gaia itself and by ‘big’ I mean ‘The Will of the World has a glaring Scar’ problem.”

“Fou!” Merlin twitched, not even glancing at the annoyed critter as he decided to offer more details.

“While our connection is not meant to allow me to perceive what is nearby you, as a connection it can still feel large waves of Prana, Od or… whatever you want to call the energy behind Magecraft.”

The magician hummed. “From my basic understanding of what is going on, you are on your way to Germany and… right where this Scar is.”

He paused to glance at some tree’s branch, the boy frowning at his words.

“A scar? W-What kind of-” But the older entity interrupted him.

“The Will of the World is indivisible, it doesn’t bleed nor it can allow rule-breakers. Beyond any of my previous beliefs, I got proven wrong by the serious issue that is sited in Germany.”

“But why is it a serious problem?” The redhead questioned.

“It is a problem, little Shirou,” Merlin started with an erratic attitude. “Because the world is not meant to be scarred. At least not without it requesting as such… but this is not warranted. This is something new and interesting… that I cannot properly pinpoint!”

“So I have to fight… this?” He asked with some confusion. “I mean, it sounds to me like something a little beyond my current level and-”

“Sadly I don’t think you have a choice. While my Clairvoyance isn’t top notch, I know you will have to fight with whatever pest is causing this issue with the World and...” He sighed gravely. “I don’t think… you are ready to face it. Not even close.”

As Merlin finished with those words, his hand pressed on Shirou’s chest. A strong light blinded him as he felt warmth spreading across his body. It wasn’t as painful as when he received the Magical Core but…

Something had changed. The light finally diminished until everything returned to normal.

The Wizard yawned as he took a seat on some rocks, eyelids half-closed as his tiredness was well exposed to the child. “This will… give you some edge. Nothing too special, nor too developed. Just enough to make the difference.”

“Wh-What is it-” The man gestured him to keep quiet, staying silent just few more moments before replying to his legitimate question.

“Nothing to worry about. Just focus on dealing with the threat, keep your friends safe and...” A strange grin appeared on his face. “Do get yourself some girlfriends.”

“Uh?!”

But Shirou couldn’t speak further as we found himself dropping out from the dreamy place and back to reality, his eyes opening slowly as a hand was shaking him awake.

“Shirou-kun! We have landed!” He groaned as Taiga giggled at his sleepy nod, while his mind reflected upon Merlin’s words and… the fact this might be related to what Kiritsugu wanted to do here.

If the Wizard had stated that Shirou was going to face it very soon, and he had planned to find out what the older Emiya wanted to do in order to save Illya from… the Einzbern? His mind was still recovering from the several jetlags to truly remember all details in that exact moment, but one things was for sure.

Things were not going to be easy for him...

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Deep within the grand castle that was her home, a little girl stared at the feeble fire coming from the candle on her bedside. It was little, very shaky and incredibly determined to survive. It had nobody to keep her safe and happy.

Illyasviel von Einzbern sighed longingly as she continued with her quietness. Months had passed since Papa and Mama had left her to the castle, the War being something so dangerous that they had decided to leave her here for the sake of avoiding harm. Time has passed, the War has concluded without a clear victor and her Papa had… not come back.

She was sure that there was some good reason for his lateness. Even her grandfather incessantly repeating her that he had abandoned her failed to get a grip on her steel resolve. She knew well enough that her Papa merely had some issues to solve, maybe some enemy keeping busy and… and then he would come for her. She was sure of it.

The little girl was buried in several sheets of various colors, a colorful bunker away from the blank tones of the room and the oppressive cold outside. Her eyes, looking like the ones of a terrifying tiger waiting for its prey, darted to the door of her room, a soft knocking alerting her of someone trying to enter it.

A blank-faced maid entered, bowing at the mess on her bed as she fought back the need to ‘roar’ at this cur, daring to enter her reign! The reason because of it was… it didn’t have the same results she expected, the maids always being this inexpressive that even faux ‘eep’ sounds failed to satisfy her need for ‘fear’.

“Lady Illyasviel, es ist zeit.” Lady Illyasviel, it’s time.

The small child blinked in initial confusion at the implicit topic and then… her eyes widened in fear. Part of her wanted to refuse this ‘duty to the family’ knowing that it isn’t something pleasant to experience. But she had to do it.

“Ich werde bald da sein.” I will be there soon.

The woman-like puppet bowed again, before closing the door behind her as she left the room. Illya deflated at the situation before her. Her Papa wouldn’t want her to go, her Mama would refuse too but…

They weren’t there. What was little Illya supposedly going to do all alone against someone as scary as Grandpa? He was tall, cold-looking and incredibly menacing for anyone, a little girl like her would be eaten alive by that monster!

What to do- What to do!?

Nothing came up to her mind and soon, knowing that the impatient head of the family would take her lateness as a sign of defiance, she decided to slowly walk towards the door of her room, holding the pretty tiger plushy her Papa had bought her before going in Japan.

Yes! She will be brave as a tiger against that meanie, because her Papa wants her to be the strongest and bravest!

---------d-d-d-d--------------d-d-d-d----------d-d-d-d---------d-d-d-d----------d-d-d-d----------d-d-d-d------

The moment they had reached the hotel he had paid for the visit, Kiritsugu quickly ditched them all by saying that an urgent call had needed his immediate presence by the house of his ‘friend’. Ignoring the protests coming from Taiga and minor ones from Gray, the older Emiya was already driving away from them as he started to make way towards the trail that led further deep in the large forest of the German town.

He turned left, then right and Shirou felt his belly protesting at the hasty way his caretaker was dealing with the curves. It was going to take a lot to explain to the girls why he had decided to join in with Kiritsugu and… a lot more to explain to Kiritsugu why he was ‘following’ him to the… is that a castle?

Staring from the small space between his cover and the seat, his eyes were fixed on the large structure of stone, styled with an old medieval style.

It was quite big, larger than any castle Shirou would have imagined it to be.

Illya was inside that massive maze of stone? Now that was going to take a lifetime to go through it!

The car pulled over and stopped as Kiritsugu left the vehicle, walking in the middle of a snowstorm. The boy was already freezing by staring at the effects of the furious weather in that area of the town.

He waited few more moments before leaving the car too, shivers going through his spine the moment he was outside and experiencing the insanely cold temperature.

His eyes were half-closed as he felt his body fighting back the terrible weather, his legs taking steps towards the quiet Emiya. Soon the man picked up a… piece of paper, he placed it on the floor and took a step back.

An arch of light collided with a ‘barrier’, something that until now had been invisible and, after a brief clash, the beam ‘burned’ a large hole within it. Without wasting time, Shirou saw Kiritsugu vaulting over the other side starting to walk towards the castle on the distance.

Glancing nervously at the opening, the Gamer gulped nervously as he started to walk towards it and, after moments of silent contemplation about whatever or not he should truly go, he jumped through it and…

[Warning! You are entering a Special Area!]
Enemies in this Area: Wolves, Bears, Failed Homunculi and Battle Maids.
Rank: C+/A-

[Special Areas]
Some parts of this world could be considered harsh for a man to survive in. Made for heavy survival, Special Areas are zones within the planets that own certain rules that are different from any other places. There are multiple, limited enemies (non-respawnable) with different LVLs than each other and EXP are doubled.

...Wolves?

Right as he thought about that, he heard the distinct howling of several canines already moving through the forest to find their new prey. With a strong and manly ‘eep’, Shirou started to run towards the castle, Kiritsugu having already disappeared from sight.

Life wasn’t really getting any easier than before, wasn’t it!

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AN

Shirou-chan just entered his first Special Area *turns to speak to the guests by the side* which is not a Dungeon because: a) It cannot be repeated, you don’t get loot and enemies aren’t fairly balanced LVL-wise. I blame lazy developers.

Next chapter is going to be some heavy-gaming LVL and I suspect that this minor section of the story will take two more chapters and not one as I had expected. I blame my need to be expansive on my stuff nowadays.

 

Chapter 15: Magic (2)

This situation was far from idyllic.

Shirou’s legs were starting to burn and the lack of tree between the forest and the castle’s gate was giving him no means to properly dodge the attacks of the wild wolves giving chase behind him. Picking a tree’s branch that had fallen to the ground, the boy was glad to discover that the mere stick was considered a sword-type by the Game.

A snarl come close, he could feel the snow forcefully pushed away as one of the animals decided to pounce once more. Yelping at the sudden ducking, Shirou hastily stabbed the stick up, piercing the wolf in its abdomen.

-187HP!

+250 EXP!

*Ding*

Congratulations, you have LVLd Up!

[Status]

Name: Shirou Emiya
Title: The Gamer
Age: 7
Level 12 – Exp: 4,78%
Health Points (HP) : 470/550 (+50)
Mana Points (MP) : 1120 (+100) (50 (+5)MP per Min)

Attributes​

POW: 28+1
INT: 26+1
AGI: 32+1
WIS: 26+1
VIT: 33+1
CHA: 21+1
LUK: 22+1

A pained roar, then the beast fell on the side dead, the wound killing it instantly as the young Gamer continued for his mad run to the Castle.

This was the third wolf that got killed this way and the Emiya was hardly considering the heinous deed of his act as his mind was mostly focused on one thing. Run, run to the ‘safe zone’.

Considering the fortress safe was like calling prison a kindergarten-like place, but it would at least offer him the chance to get some rest and then proceed with his mission. One thing that he did notice beyond the feral fiends behind him was the fact that Kiritsugu was… already by the large doors of the castle.

Seriously, how did he get there so quickly!?

-670HP!

+150EXP​

Rolling away and delivering a Charge Attack on the fourth wolf, Shirou felt that something was different in that creature. It was thinner, smaller and… younger. Even the EXP that it had left behind was less than usual.


This detail wasn’t lost as the previous ones had been bigger and scarier to look at, a strange detail that made him look back as he continued to run, that mere glance showing him… something horrible.


A massive slim tendril pierced from the ground, tearing apart the rest of the wolf and slowly a figure emerged from snow. Pale white just like the snowy field, the creature stood several feet above him, taller than Kiritsugu himself.

Failed Homunculus LVL.23
1200/1200HP
Class: Assassin
Rank: Bronze​

A rotund body, unnatural for a human being, reminded Shirou of a cartoonish monster. Three large black hole on its face, resembling eyes, turned to stare as him and soon… it changed.

Scrunching down with some bone-cracking noises in a ball-like form, the monster started to rush quickly towards him. Panic denied the existence of fatigue as the boy ran even faster than before, eyes wide open in fear at the sudden development.

Soon other lookalike monsters started to emerge from the ground, all following the same pattern and rushing towards him.

He could feel the fiends getting closer and closer, few meters from truly impacting on him. But before the first monster could actually hit him, a figure descended from above and slammed a long lance onto the abomination, killing it on the spot.

The smoke started to dissipate and his amber eyes widened at the woman responsible for his survival. Standing just few bits shorter than Kiritsugu, the red-eyed female was wearing a dress that Shirou found to be a mix of an old nurse dress and the very same one used by nuns.

Battle Maid LVL.45
850/850HP
Class: Lancer
Rank: Silver​

“Intruder.” She stated with a blank tone, her eyes appearing so… inhumanly empty. “Your presence is forbidden. By violating the holy confines of the Einzbern’s territory, you have forfeited your life.”

Without wasting any single moment, the young Emiya rolled away from the lance of the woman as it swiftly lifted up and down towards him. The terrifying slam shook the ground underneath him, making him gulp nervously as he knew things just got worse than before.

“Desist.” She continued to say with her usual tone. “Your attempt to survive the rightful judgment of the Grand Clan is only warranting further contempt.”

The lack of emotion in her words sent even more shiver down his spine, the dreadful robotic mannerism starting to unnerve the boy as he gripped at the wooden stick even harder. She was faster but… that blade.

His eyes stared at the halberd in her hands and he felt information flooding his mind and… he stepped forward, right towards the approaching weapon. The maid’s eyes widened a brief fraction, confusion showing briefly in her features as she proceeded with the attack and-

SWING

-380HP!

He felt something splatter on his face. It was blood, yet there was no pain within his body. In his hand was no longer the same stick that had helped him against the wolves, but something that shone under the dimming light of the sunset.

It was slender, very smooth to the eye and familiar to his soul. It brightened his core, reminding him of duty, loyalty and… justice. A short scimitar well-made, well-crafted, well-recreated. His palms were burning a pleasant tune, contrasting the weirdly off-putting sight of the maid’s arm flying away from her body.

[You felt soaring as the connection is established, your nature unveiled.]

-Fake Concept of the First Magic (Sword 1/4)-
The ability to recreate from nothing but the mere memory a Sword-Type blade, your Origin and Element aid you to the task of perfectly copying the essence of the object. Creation cost is 40MP for each blade, 4MP/s the maintaining cost. (Currently limited to non-legendary objects.)

His breath itched for more action, the enemy far from dead as the woman went to try and grasp the near halberd, her face showing not a single hint of pain at losing her limb, her mind unhindered by the need of fearing the unexpected phenomenon that had just happened before her.

Don’t stop here. Our duty is far from over and the time to act is going to finish.

Right on his other hand a purely-black scimitar emerged, the twin of the pale one, ready to strike down the fallen woman and- No!

What was he doing? H-He could let her leave and-

There is no choice in this. End her at once before she can try and continue the fight.

She can’t hurt us if we go now-

She will harm others we care for if we-

Shut up! Who even are you?

…

The strange voice didn’t speak anymore, further confusing the distraught boy as he tried to make sense of what was going on. Why he had blacked out for a moment, why were there two swords in his hands?

Just as he was lost in his thoughts, the Einzbern maid finally took hold of her weapon and proceeded to pounce at Shirou, blade poised for his chest. The redhead blinked as he barely dodged the blade, but not without taking some damage.

-420HP!

His shirt tore as his blood was spilled by the cruel halberd. A pained yelp surged from his throat, but his hand shot just in time to shut his mouth up before a scream reached out.

The black blade dropping on the ground and fading in blue mist, the Emiya’s mind started to go autopilot, the hand holding his only way to defend himself swiftly slamming on the abdomen of the woman.

-570HP!

+2500 EXP​

The body collapsed with a single thud as her blade fell right beside her. Unresponsive, Shirou finally got the clarity to question what had just happened and the first ideas were panicking him a lot.

*Ding*

Congratulations, you have LVLd Up x2!

[Status]

Name: Shirou Emiya
Title: The Gamer
Age: 7
Level 14 – Exp: 15,34%
Health Points (HP) : 180/600 (+100)
Mana Points (MP) : 1075/1300 (+200) (55 (+10)MP per Min)

Attributes​

POW: 29+2
INT: 27+2
AGI: 33+2
WIS: 27+2
VIT: 34+2
CHA: 22+2
LUK: 23+2

The guilt of having killed a fellow human being was slowly riddling his mind with doubts. He was a kid, he was 7 and he should have stayed behind! Yes, with him here now, Kiritsugu was possibly compromised and-

Would you please shut up and think more about this?

I-I killed someone-

You killed ‘something’, Shirou. Something. That is not a real human being.

W-What?

Look at her arm now.

He did and… he frowned at what he could see from the limb. Where once it was connected to the body was some kind of… tube. It was a gray connector, like the very same the heating system back home used to connect to the water reserves of the household, that was now severed badly, blood slowly flowing out of it.

Those are proper Homunculi. The successful versions of those things that were rushing at you few moments ago.

His mind picked the pictures of the monsters and a shiver went down his spine at the mere idea that the two beings were related somehow. But how was it possible to create something so close to human and-

You are losing time! We need to move now or things will get worse.

W-Worse?

I will explain later, kid, just go.

Nodding at himself, the Gamer rushed towards the castle, his eyes stopping for a moment to glance at a small opening that led to the basement of the fortress. He decided to go there, seeing that the entrance was being swarmed and contended between the two kind of Homunculi.

Jumping inside, the boy felt the chilling wind outside dwindling away for some warm within the stone walls, legs still moving as he knew that he had to find Illya and get out of there.

Remember to keep an eye out for stalkers and ambushes there. We are inside the enemy’s headquarters.

U-Understood, Mr… eh….

Archer. Call me ‘Archer’.

------------d-d-d-d--------------d-d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d--------------d-d-d-d-----------------

Kiritsugu’s mind couldn’t help but wander a little with the memories of his past stay at the castle. Before the Holy Grail War and before he had lost… Irisviel. He could still remember the happy giggles of Illya as he chased her around the building, a silly game made to keep her busy and happy in that dull and boring castle.

Good times that were now long gone and his face kept tight as he passed over the massive doors that led to the throne room.

Jubstacheit von Einzbern was the eight Golem to keep watch over the Castle and the Clan, a duty he was bestowed from Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern herself upon her death. An event that left a certain impression on the tall being as the Homunculis that were produced with the task of being used for the Heaven Feel were only Justeaze-models.

There was no scientific proof that this version was the best one to manage the hardships of being the lesser grail and yet the Golem persisted.

Until now, when his eyes had settled on his little Illya. It was spite, something that he knew the behemoth knew of and could harness so freely as eagerly. A revenge against the man ‘guilty’ of having ruined the Grail War for his own wish.

Kiritsugu frowned at Acht, the elder-looking thing looking right back at him with an irked expression, red eyes close to become slits at the ‘insolence’ caused by his mere presence, just like a dog would get stared at my a furious owner.

“You have the gall to present yourself before the family you have betrayed, Kiritsugu Emiya.” His voice was cold, restrained but still showing icy fury in its edge. “We have taken you in and treated you fairly, to think that you would-”

“Illya.” The Magus Killer muttered, his mind zeroing in only one thing. His daughter, his little Illya, the only family he had left that was taken by those monsters. A permanent empty look on his face as Acht looked surprised for a moment at the sharp interruption, harrumphing as he felt slighted even more by his uncaring tone.

“Illyasviel is part of the Einzbern Clan, Emiya. Your claim is void, null, and the chances for you to get her out of here are as slim as nothing.” Something felt off within the Emiya as the Golem started to smile. “She will soon be turned into the perfect Lesser Grail, right now. The day her traitorous father decided to come here to kill her.”

What?

“Do you seriously think we wouldn’t keep monitoring your moves after what you did? We knew that you would have tried something this very day and we decided to prepare a… pleasant gift for you.”

No. NO!

The door behind him closed with a loud noise, barricaded, as four Homunculis on each side slowly approached him with medieval weapons, his mind slowly giving away to his inner murderous self.

The smug look of the Golem was destroyed the moment the first flashbang went off, some of the warriors deployed unable to cover their eyes on time as the Magus Killer started to tear them apart with a MG42. The German ‘Meat Grinder’ had been modified to hold 250 bullets in small cases, making it a terrible monster in those close quarters.

There was no mercy with the first wave and attempting to swarm the Emiya with more Homunculi ended up only with more corpses staining the floor with their blood. Acht snarled as he got off from his throne and rushed at him, his body made bullet-proof by Magecraft and resilient materials.

Veins protruded from Kiritsugu’s forehead as he let out a ‘Time Alter – Triple Accel’ as he dodged the Goelm’s first strike and prepared his own surprise for this situation. The Head of the Einzbern family looked deadly for a moment, before an explosion knocked him several meters away.

Dropping the MG42, the Emiya went to prepare the second rocket of his FIM-92 Stinger. The American-made Rocket Launcher was quickly loaded and the moment the large Einzbern rushed out of the smoke he was pushed away once more by another rocket. His clothes were shredding because of the shrapnel and the explosions, but his ‘skin’ was resisting quite well at it all, only few patches gone to reveal its inner structure, thicker than the attempt to recreate human skin.

“You shall die, intruder!”

Kiritsugu dropped the rocket launcher and retreated back to his third gun, a M79 grenade launcher. The little ‘Thumper’ was much more convenient to use as it guaranteed the same explosive capacity, while also having much more ammo to it for the occasion.

The Magus Killer only had two more rockets in reserve but more than a hundred incendiary grenades for his new toy. The moment the first grenade impacted on the ugly mug of Acht, the Emiya felt a smile on his face, ready to destroy the scumbag once and for all.

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AN

Wanted to bring a little more to this chapter but ended up deciding to drag some info for the next one. Why? Well, I want to shock some people with what I want to do and the only way I can do that is by bringing a lot of those surprise in a single one.

What I can say of surprising? Liz and Sella are Canon.

Also I have to say something about Archer and the new Skill I have introduced:
1) Merlin didn’t put EMIYA’s soul in Shirou, Shirou was not possessed by EMIYA and no, Archer is not alive as of now. The only thing Merlin did was create a connection with EMIYA (Still in the Throne of Heroes) and Shirou to further deal with his growth, why? He needs someone that better understand him. Archer might sprout a lot about killing his past self, but before someone that is actively trying to balance out personal life and being a hero. What kind of moron would he be if he wasted the opportunity to make a ‘good’ Shirou Emiya out of the boy?

2) And now the skill, this explanation is pretty much uncanon because… currently it’s just a theory of mine. While Tracing is considered a ‘better’ version of Gradation Air, I think this is a gross understatement. Shirou literally projects an object and ‘its entire story’, cutting off parts of the usual process of the Magecraft it is compared to and… magnified to an extent simple Magecraft could even hope to reach for. It is the closest attempt to partially attain the First Magic, limited to Sword because of Shirou’s forced Element and Origin caused by Avalon. Before anyone say ‘Shirou does not create from nothing but brings out from UBW’ I have to say only one thing. The swords in UBW have to have been created at some point, the Reality Marble had to be crystallized within Shirou to fully manifest and… yeah. This is uncanon but… yeah.