-Fuyuki-
A war without purpose, a battle that held no true reward in the end. Pursuing something that did not exist, a hidden evil that most could not see.
That was basically the Holy Grail War of Fuyuki, also known as Heaven's Feel for many, a ritual that existed for two hundred years. Established by the Tohsaka, Matou, and Einzbern families, the three Founding Families, as a means to reach Akashaāthe Root as others might call it.
A dream that many families would unhesitatingly pay any price to reach. The path created to achieve such a feat was currently thought to be a competition for something recognized as the coveted Holy Grail.
However, the reality was far from how it had been described in fables and tales. It wasn't just a competition where one family would stand above another. In fact, it was more accurate to say that there were no winners, only a bleak ending with no prize.
This was because all participants who took part in this war were cursed to become bound by fate. Losing meant one thing, their life would end in pain and suffering at some point. One could easily see through this curse as nothing but a cruel joke.
Seven Magi were chosen by the Grail as Masters and, with support from the Greater Grail, allowed for the summoning of seven Servants for battle. The winning pair was allowed to claim the Holy Grail and be granted a wish.
Saber, the Servant of the Sword. Lancer, the Servant of the Spear. Archer, the Servant of the Bow. Rider, the Servant of the Mount. Caster, the Servant of Magecraft. Berserker, the Servant of Madness, and Assassin, the Servant of the Shadows.
As each Master and Servant were bound together by fate, the struggle between them was inevitable. Thus, the Holy Grail War was born.
Since its establishment, the war had already taken place five times, with the last occurrence over ten years ago.
Unfortunately, everything went into shambles with the third Grail War. All from the tampering from the Einzbern who wanted to have an edge on the Tohsakas and the Matous. For what emerged from their summoning was a class of Servant that shouldn't have been possibleāAvenger. A Servant they expected capable of destroying the world itself, holding absolute power over the rest.
Yet the being which came turned out to be none other than Angra Mainyu. Summoned from frustration and slaughtered before the folly could be discovered, the person who was called Avenger had, in life, been a sacrifice for all that was sin, all that was evil, all that was abhorrent of mankind. In his demise as a Servant, he had done what he had in life and so it was not the soul of an innocent, the soul of an avenging hero that was swept into the Holy Grail.
Humanity's evil, its sin, all amalgamated inside this one being.
Representing everything that mankind hated, loathed, and abhorred about itselfā¦ All this and so much more was poured into the Holy Grail until what it had been was no more.
There was no holiness to this blackened Grail. The hellish monstrosity summoned forth by Avenger saw to that quite well. A creature was born with only the intent to destroy all living things on Earth the moment it stepped onto the surface of the planet, a creature that was Evil given form, a creature that carried all the Sins of the World.
Yet here he was, fighting against another Servant for a prize that he would not get.
"Giā!" The black cloak scattered in all directions. Assassin retreats, clutching at his broken mask. Even while being an archer class Servant, Heroic Spirit EMIYA could still hold up his own in close-quarters combat. His blades broke down the Assassin's defense, pushing him back till he was backed up against a wall. The black Servant ran away from him and disappeared into the trees.
A sigh of relief escaped the red bowman's mouth, for he expected much worse.
"Nice job! We don't have to worry about getting overtaken now!" Rin said with confidence. "Thanks for the hard work, Archer. You're tired, right? You can return to spirit form and rest."
Before he could throw another sarcastic quip at her, his senses went haywire. Killing intent flooded from the woods, and it was targeted right at his master.
"Rin!"
His body moved on its own.
Behind herā¦
"Tohā"
The boy must have realized it as well, too bad for him, he wouldn't have to die today.
"Guh!"
Schrt!
Archer pushed her just in time to have black tentacles impale his chest multiple times.
It burned his inside beyond anything a Servant was meant to handle. Trying to corrupt every fiber of his being but he could still temporarily fight it back. But he was already too far gone, his Spirit Core was damaged and was slowly being corrupted despite his best efforts.
"Huhā¦?"
Tohsaka looked up at Archer, unable to process what just happened.
It was the end for himā¦ Even though he could still breathe, and that he survived worse injuries in the past, it was still impossible for him to heal himself. Thisā¦ thing was made to easily kill servants, he truly had no weapon in his arsenal to save him from this.
No matter how strong a heroic spirit is, one cannot beat that black shadow as long as one is summoned as a Servant.
"No wayā¦ Whatā¦ are you doingā¦ Archer?" Rin said with a shaky voice. Not willing to believe his inevitable death. His body was discarded by the black tendrils, and thrown inside the pool of purple sludge.
"Archer!"
She ran at him, but he couldn't allow that. "Idiot! Don't come! Run away, now!"
Archer's shout stopped her cold.
The black shadow throbbed with malice, its killing intent soaring once again. The Magical Energy it was absorbing from the surrounding slowly caused everything around it to die. The Shadow was about to release another attack upon them!
He saw it inflate like a balloon, ready to burst at any moment. Continuing to absorb more Mana, till it couldn't hold it in anymore. It had expanded beyond capacity, and Archer knew that it was going to destroy everything in the area..
Everyone was too close to it.
They would get caught up in it.
He needed to save them.
'So I only have one option left.' he thought while on his knees. With the corrupted mud already surrounding him, the mere touch of this thing made his skin burn like it was molten lava.
Siphoning every bit of strength he could muster, Archer raised his arm, his palms facing the Shadow
With blood running down his face, he whisperedā¦
"I amā¦ the bone of my sword."
Then, a flash of light filled the area.
"Rhoā¦ Aiasā¦" he called out his most reliable defense Noble Phantasm.
A flower bud formed in his hand, before it bloomed, releasing seven large pink petals of light to act as a shield to protect everyone from the monstrosities' blast.
The Shadow released everything it accumulated, sending shockwaves throughout the area and burning the entire forest down with blue flames.
Unfortunately, the shield of Ajax the Greater couldn't stand against its power, all seven petals shattering simultaneously within barely a second of being deployed. He lost his vision in his right eye, having lost it in the attack.
"Argh!"
Boom!
{Break}
Even after giving everything he had, the explosion still managed to reach those he protected. With great effort, Archer got out of the rubble, the previously dense forest gone and replaced with a large crater.
The entire forest around them had turned to ashes.
EMIYA walked into the center where he found everyone unconscious, but at least they were alive, for now. His eyes immediately went for Shirou, blood pooling beneath the boy's body, having lost his arm in the explosion.
"So this is itā¦" He knew what he had to do.
His goal right now was no longer the grail, not his desire to stop his past self to follow a certain path. He was a Counter Guardian and his main objective, for now, was to do anything in his power to destroy this entity once and for all. He couldn't do it on his own anymoreā¦ but he could entrust the boy with something to keep him alive for a little longer.
'He is no longer me.'
He kneeled beside Rin, tenderly running his fingers through her hair with a gentle smile on his face.
Bakuya materialized in his hand as he then proceeded to place the blade over his left shoulder.
"Have you gone mad?" An ethereal voice spoke, with Rider materializing next to him. "If you do such a thing, you willā¦," she said, perfectly aware of what he was about to do.
It could be considered as an act of lunacy in the eyes of any Magi. An impossible goal whose only outcome would just lead to their death.
"I don't even need to think about it. Two will disappear if I do nothing, but one can be saved if we transplant it." His endurance was the only thing keeping him alive, he couldn't stop here. "This body is almost dead anyway. If I am to disappear, it will not make a difference even if my arm is cut off. So why not give it away to someone who needs it? Even that person is still an idiot."
"..."
Rider was speechless, never in her life had she seen someone attempt such a thing. It defied everything she believed so far, this act going beyond suicidal!
"One would normally die. One cannot survive after attaching a spirit body to the human body. But the boy and I are an exception. Rin should treat him once she wakes up and you can get that fake priest to help him have this arm grafted."
He could feel his consciousness breaking apart. And he knew very well that it was only a matter of time before his Spirit Core collapsed, and his body would finally break apart and return back to Ayala.
With a single motion, he cut off his arm, blood gushing from the open wound. Before his arm could reach the ground, Rider caught it.
"You need to hurry. Grab these two, and go. I won't stay around for any longerā¦" If he were to die now, then the arm would disappear as well.
The didn't say a word aside to give him a small nod, she grabbed the boy and Illya before vanishing towards the church.
"Hng!" EMIYA nearly fell to the ground, using his sword as a support for his body.
'Just a bit moreā¦'
He grabbed Rin carefully with his remaining hand. Running on fumes, he brought her back to her mansion as he then placed the girl on the bed.
He sat next to her for the next hour, feeling each second last an eternity. But he kept persevering long enough to even impress someone like Lancer. He could already feel his body beginning to break down bit by bit.
Truthfully he could only make it for the next few minutes. His vision had turned dark already, the only thing giving him strength being Rin's hand which he held for the entire time. Its warmth was enough for him to push his limits continuously. His body was dying, but knew the priest must have been done by now.
For all the negative aspects of his personality, at least the man was efficient when it mattered.
"Rin, I'm sorry Iā¦ couldn't be hereā¦ till the end. You know how reckless I can be at timesā¦ I hope youā¦ don't do anything reckless after this, you tend to be just asā¦ bad as me sometimes."
Even speaking turned into a challenge, his lungs burned like they were filled with magma with each breath he took. He survived being impaled by multiple swords and spears, having his entire body crushed and even endured against certain poison. But this was different, there was no way of recovering from this, even if Avalon had somehow found itself back in him.
"I wonderā¦ what life would have beenā¦ like if the grailā¦ were to genuinely grant our wishesā¦ What would you have askedā¦ for? Knowing you, Akashaā¦ most likely. As for me? Well, the answerā¦ is quite obvious." he wanted to laugh but couldn't do it with his punctured lungs.
Drip
Drip
Blood leaked from his nose and mouth.
"If you knewā¦ my wish, you wouldā¦ have definitelyā¦ smacked myā¦ head with a few Gandr and forced me to choose something elseā¦ I guess I wouldā¦ have wishedā¦ to be free and happy inā¦ theā¦ end," he said jokingly.
Archer's body dropped, his last embers of life dying out.
"Farewellā¦ Rin."
Those were Archer's last words as he died next to the girl who summoned him as her Servant, protecting the girl till the end. A smile showed on his face before disappearing into motes of light.
And just like he hoped Kirie managed to graft his arm successfully to the boy.
Now everything was up to him, the boy needed to make a choice and the fate of the world depended on it. In the end, he had already chosen a path different from the red bowman, one that made sure he would never be faced with the same hardships his other self had to endure.
The command seals on Rin's hands slowly began to fade. Disappearing the moment Archer was no longer by her side anymore. Unlike the previous night when she would dream of swords, this night Rin saw nothing but an empty voidāthe emerging feeling of having lost someone close to her once again.
.
.
.
{Break}
The sun descended over the horizon, blanketing the sky in a warm orange color.
With not a single cloud in the dark sky. A sea of stars shone amongst the darkness, turning the empty void into an infinitely beautiful painting. The full moon itself hung in the middle of the sky, bathing the city with its light.
"It's a beautiful night isn't it?"
"Yes, you're right."
Beneath that beautiful night sky, a couple walked through the side of the streets by side. A young woman with orange hair and yellow eyes, accompanied by a slightly older man with black messy hair and a pair of brown eyes.
Both of them walked through the city in their nightwear, though covered with jackets from the freezing temperature outside.
Both looked like your typical couple going for a night walk, finding comfort in silence while in each other's embrace.
"Maaaan, who knew handling a baby could be this tiresome!" The man said with an exaggerated sigh, making his wife giggle at his reaction. "I mean, it's two AM! What kind of person would want to eat at this hour?!"
"It can't be helped now, right?" The woman responded in a resigned voice. "We're out of baby formula, and I don't think Rito would want to drink breast milk anymore, he's already six months old, and I think he will need solid food soon."
This stage of any baby was crucial, she wanted to make sure everything went well without any hiccups.
"Well..." Her husband gave a leering grin to his beautiful wife "I know someone who wants to drink breast milk though."
She responded with an annoyed look, but the blush on her cheeks betrayed her.
"Pervert."
"You love me anyway."
She did.
"With all my heart, dear."
The couple let out a chuckle as they stood closer, the husband sneakily putting one hand around his wife's shoulder and pulling her closer to him, all while staring at the baby she held to her chest.
"Look at him, already sleeping while making that face." He said fondly, "He's going to become a man like his pops!"
"You mean a deadbeat lazy man who can't even clean his own table? Someone who, somehow, managed to burn an entire kitchen just to make some ramen?"
"Oi, oi, that was not my fault, Ringo-chan!"
"It was." She responded with a deadpan, making her husband sulk in the corner. "He may be a boy, but he got my looks, so of course, he'll get my traits as well! Confident, smart, handsome, and charming. Unlike you, Saiba, you're more of a clutz than anything else."
"Hey, they say a boy always gets his father's personality! And he's my son as well, so of course, he'll get some of his awesome dad's traits." He proclaimed proudly.
Hearing that Ringo's face turned to one of genuine concern "You're right... I hope he doesn't inherit your mood swings."
"Hey! What do you mean by that?!" He asked, feeling offended at her words "I'm not that bad!"
"Saibai, when you put that headband on you switch from goofy and weird into serious. That is something that only a total weirdo would do." She deadpanned.
"And what's wrong with that? Ringo, I'll have you know that that headband was a priceless object! It gives me a boost of power!" He declared proudly as he extended his hand into the air and clenched his fist "When I put on that sacred artifact, it was as if the energy of a hundred men was flowing into my body!"
"See my point?" Ringo deadpanned, again.
"Hey! You have your own weird quirks as well!" Saibai exclaimed "I mean! Lately, you have a tendency of groping someone when you design clothes for them! If that ain't something a true pervert would do then I don't know what is. I'm a saint compared to you!"
"It's not groping, it's checking out their body size." Ringo defended herself easily. "Using a ruler and a measuring tape is way too common and overused, using such a mundane way also can't guarantee your success." She stated, then she raised a fist in the air and proclaimed. "However, if you feel it with your own skin, you can easily judge the proper size and materials that are most suitable for them to use."
"That's exactly what a pervert would say. And in that same sense, my headbanā"
He got cut off by his wife.
"āIs only an old headband, and while it does seems to make to make you super excited but in the next few hours you droop as though having just finished running a marathon." Ringo cut him off easily, nose wrinkled in distaste. "Seriously, it's only an adrenaline rush, nothing special about it, and yet you act as if that headband is some kind of magical object."
Saibai sputtered at his wife's cold remark about his precious headband, nonetheless, in the end, he only could sigh. One day, one day, he would win an argument against her and teach her a lesson in bed!
They continued to walk their way home while continuing to bicker playfully. However, that atmosphere was broken by Rito who suddenly started squirming in his mother's arms.
"āaāwā!"
"...!?"
"Ringo?" Saibai asked, noticing his wife's sudden change of demeanor.
"I... I think I just heard something." Ringo said slowly as her face scrunched into uncertainty.
It almost sounded likeā¦
"Heard something?" Saibai asked, face immediately turned around looking for whatever caught his wife's attention. After a moment, his face frowned as he turned back to his wife "Darling, I-"
"Shhh! Listen..." Ringo hushed her husband as she strained her ears.
Yes, she wasn't wrong.
It was faint, barely audible so that anyone would have just mistaken it as the sound of the breeze. However, Ringo, who has been spending her time looking after her son, knew it was not just the wind.
It was the sound of a baby's voice!
And this time, Saibai was able to hear it as well.
"A baby?" He muttered, eyes quickly darting around to find it "Where is it coming from?"
"It's... I think it's coming from that alley?" Ringo answered with an uncertain voice as she pointed to an alley near them.
Her motherly instinct kicked into gear.
The married couple wasted no time in entering the alley, curiosity peaked as they looked around the dim area, only to gasp as something caught their attention.
In the corner of the alley, lay a small pile of sheets, and in the midst of it was a small baby. But that sight was not the actual thing to make them gasp.
A huge wild dog quiveringā¦ in fear? It was looking at the baby as if it was a predator, barking and showing its teeth but had zero intentions of attacking. The baby itself was calm, looking around in confusion and making some noise which further shook the dog.
But to the couple, it looked as if it was about to maul the baby at any moment.
Seeing this Saibai wasted no time, his nostrils flared as he rushed forward at the beast that was threatening the small baby
"Shoo! Shoo!" He yelled.
"BARK! BARK!"
The dog saw him coming, and barked viciously. However, it did not deter the man, his brown eyes narrowed at one of the trash cans nearby, he immediately pulled the lid off and wasted no time in throwing it at the dog.
It hit the target perfectly, the dog staggering in its step as the steel hit its forehead, it shook its head to regain focus, its feral eyes glaring at the man, only for it to widen again as it heard the baby's voice.
Saibai allowed a grin to cross his face as he held two trash can lids aloft in his hands, eyes glinting with confidence. "Scared of me? Good, you should be! Now go!."
The animal's eyes met the baby's once again, and this time, something flashed in the latter's. This made the dog run away for its life.
"Yeah!" Saibai exclaimed while waving the lids in his hands. "You better run mutt! Or else!" He yelled at the dog thinking that it was his doing which chased it away.
He enjoyed his victory for a few seconds before placing the trash lids back in their places and running over to the baby. He wasted no time in scooping the little newborn up into his arm and checking him over.
The moment he saw the baby's features, Saibai's face was contorted into surprise.
"Saibai?" Ringo called, looking concerned when she noticed her husband's expression as she slowly approached him.
"Is the baby okay?" She asked.
The question seemed to snap the man from his daze. He shook his head a few times before giving her a reassuring smile "Yeah, he's fine." He informed her. He then shifted his body a little to allow his wife to see the baby "It's justā¦ I was kind of surprised."
Ringo looked at the baby and cooed at the appearance of the little boy. He was probably a bit older than Rito, looking to be at least a few months older, but that wasn't the issueāhis features made her gasp.
The boy's hair... It was almost like hers, a rusty red, and while the shape of his face was not fully defined yet, he had the same frown Saiba had whenever he got serious, it looked cuter in his current appearance.
This boy had both of their facial similarities, almost as if he wasā¦
"This little guy looks just like me with your hair color, eh?" Saibai said with a grin.
"... Yes... Yes, he does." Ringo agreed in a whisper as her eyes were glued to the baby in his arms that continued to glare at them. His scowl was so adorable to look at.
Then her face turned to a scowl as the circumstances of his current situation hit her.
"What kind of person would abandon a baby here!?" She screamed out loud, scaring both her husband and Rito.
If they arrived a few seconds too late, there was a good chance that the dog might have already attacked the baby, if not outright killed him!
"Someone who obviously doesn't know the meaning of responsibility," Saibai muttered darkly, he maybe not be the kindest person in the world, but even he wouldn't ever think of abandoning his own flesh and blood, let alone placing him in an alley that was packed with rubbish!
The kid was literally thrown away like garbage.
The man had the urge to find whoever this person was and break their nose. No excuse would work for him, if they lived in financial difficulty, then they could have given the kid to an orphanage!
"What should we do?" Ringo asked her husband "We can't just leave him here."
"For tonight, let's just bring the kid somewhere warm. He must be exhausted, and I'm sure bringing him home will keep him away from any harm." Saibai answered. "Tomorrow, we will bring this little guy to the police and hospital to get him checked."
A small part of him wanted to believe that the child's parents must have encountered some kind of tragedy that forced them to keep him here. No matter how unlikely that sounded, his heart just didn't want to believe that such cruel people existed in this world.
But if they didā¦ then there would be no greater wrath than his own when he would find them.
"As much as I hate to admit it, we can't jump to that conclusion immediately." Ringo calmed her husband who was getting angrier by the second.
"What should we name him?" She asked.
"Hm? Are you seriously considering"
Ringo sighed, "You know the likelihood of finding whoever is responsible for this child is nearly zero, right? I justā¦ I just can't see myself giving a child that bears so much resemblance to us at an orphanage."
"..."
Saiba had no words, for he was thinking the same as well.
"Let's keep this matter to the side, for now, the Sainan hospital is only five minutes away, there is a chance that they have a record of this child and his parents."
Ringo nodded at his proposal, and both took a taxi to the hospital instead of walking. She did not trust her husband enough to carry a child while walking so far away.
As they reached the building, both went to enquire about the child at the reception desk about the kid. As they waited for the staff to search for any documents related to him, Ringo and Saibai laughed when they saw the kids interacting with each other.
Rito was quite curious and always tried to play with the boy, but the latter would immediately smack their son's hand away with that constant scowl of his. She even saw the boy roll his eyes when Rito started crying, making her burst out laughing.
"Who's the little angry boy~? Who's the one with the angry eyes? You are!" She played with him, though he would just ignore her and just keep looking around the hospital, in what seemed like confusion.
After a few minutes of waiting, a nurse finally arrived with a folder.
"Shirou Emiya." Ringo read aloud. "Is this his name?"
"It seems to be," Saibai said with a scowl. "Apparently the mother died during childbirth and the father died long before that as well. Someone else took care of himā¦ yet these people didn't bother writing their identity!?" He glared at the nurse.
"I-I-I'm very sorry, sir! Our entire team is just as shocked about this news as you are and are doing their best to find the identity of this person!" The nurse said while bowing apologetically.
She was just as lost as everyone here, they would never let a newborn leave with anyone without registering their name and relationship with the mother or father. So for them to have a blank field without a name was a horrifying realization that someone must have trafficked the child away! Their director had already called every single staff member in the building for a meeting with the police getting involved as well.
The awkward atmosphere was broken by Ringo.
"Why don't we adopt him?" She asked suddenly, prompting her husband to stop mid-rant and blink at his wife. "I mean, even if we bring him to the police and everything, in the end, we have to decide whether we should leave him in an orphanage or adopt him."
It was a logical conclusion, given the baby's situation, there was no way whatsoever that whoever abandoned him would want to take him back, and she was willing to fork out as much money to have this baby come back with her, instead risking him to another stranger.
The idea of leaving this baby in an orphanage... It left a bitter taste in Ringo's mouth for some reason.
Saibai blinked, once, twice before taking on a thoughtful expression "Well... He does indeed look like me, and Shirou Yuuki seems to have its own merit." He muttered.
It was not like they would be bothered financially, lately, his manga began getting a lot more positive reviews from readers, and Ringo's designer job was also taking off.
And to be honest, he always wanted to have more than one child. They both did and having Rito gain a sibling was a dream of theirs.
Little Shirou suddenly grabbed the paper from his hand which caught both of their attention. They saw the baby mimic their movement and act as if he could read the paper
Even the nurse giggled at the infant's cuteness.
"He's quite sharp isn't he?" Ringo said, taking the papers away from his hand and handing them back to the nurse.
"Well..." Saibai blinked in slight surprise when saw the baby's eyes. "He also has your eye color. But that glare of his will scare away a lot of children in the future."
"Fufufu, I can already see how handsome he'll look when he grows up."
"He's gonna be as dashing as me! But seriously, we'll need to see if it's normal or not. We're still new to this whole parenting thing."
"I think it's kind of cute..." Ringo commented with a small coo as she poked Shirou's cheeks with a grin. He certainly didn't like that. "Shirou Yuuki Emiya... Or Shirou Yuuki."
She chuckled and glanced at her husband who smiled at the baby "It's a good name..."
"Indeed it is."
After that, the parents filled in every single paper and even called in a few favors from their friend who was actually the owner of the hospital to adopt the kid.
Knowing these two for years, the man accepted and let them take the boy in.
During the entire time, only a single thought was going through the boy's mind.
'What the hell did Alaya do!?'