Chapter I: Unbound
It was certainly a very fast sequence of events from Akiha Tohno's perspective. Her brother came back home after a long time living with some relatives, then he started acting abnormally and escaping at night. It got even worse when he began to sustain wounds on those nights he did not spend at the mansion. And on one of those rebellious escapes, he got dragged back home unconscious by a strange blue haired nun who simply disappeared without saying a word except 'Sorry'. Definitely not just a random nun, that much was for certain. Shiki, then proceeded to stay in a death-like state until a woman they never saw or heard of before came to their doorstep, informed them she must take him with her or the world will end, then proceeded to poof him back to life like it was the most natural thing to do.
Well, it would be a lie to say Akiha wasn't hot-tempered. But what else could she do? She should have expected her brother would get himself associated with some crazy folks. It's her brother after all, the boy who died for her and lived because of her... For a while at least.
Strangely, while he was unconscious, she noticed that her life force was not shared with him anymore. At first, she was worried that the worst had happened or that the connection was cut off, but reconsidered when she was blown away by a new source of energy within him when she tried to share her life force with him again. She realized that Shiki, somehow, got back his own life force and no longer needed hers to stay alive.
Now. He stood face-to-face with her, bidding her goodbye and promising to come back as soon as he could while the idiot has no idea where he was going or to do what, also having packed nothing to take with him except his knife and glasses. Everytime she thinks she saw his worst, he proves her wrong.
"You're the worst, Nee-san. You're literally the worst!" She screamed at his face, making him cower behind Aoko who just stood there with a smug expression.
"Come on, Akiha... I have to do this!" Fired back Shiki from his safe spot behind his Teacher, "I-If I don't go... There's no telling what may happen! Tell her Kohaku-san!"
Shaking her head, Kohaku let a devious smile draw across her face, "Shiki-san must take responsibility for his choices." she claimed, "Even if that means receiving Akiha-sama's wrath."
"Not you too, Kohaku-san..." Shiki disappointedly sighed, turning his gaze towards Hisui, "Then! Surely, Hisui-chan unders— URP"
Shiki's words remained incomplete as he noticed Hisui's presence expand hundreds of times. It was a bone-shivering scene, for a second he could've sworn that that he saw an avatar of her furious face engulf the entire room, "It's good that Shiki-san knew better than to ask me to support him." she whispered mechanically, "Especially with the amount of trouble he caused me while he was in the dreamland." Hisui cracked a hollow smile which terrified shiki even more as she spoke.
"HA! HA! HA!" A made-up laughter took ever the room to capture everyone's attention towards the redhead in the room, "I'm sure everyone here would like to take a piece from this idiot behind me, but! A deal is a deal, I will be taking him with me now. So, say your goodbyes, Shiki!" Turning around, Aozaki Aoko addressed the black haired teenager behind her. In response, Shiki Tohno obeyed, moving to face the three girls, and to everyone's surprise, he fell into a Dogeza on the floor, "Everyone... I'm sorry I caused you so much trouble and worry... I've been nothing but a liability since I came back... But I promise, I will make it up to everyone when I get back... I know it's not in my place to ask but... Just give me a little more time!"
Silence took over the room, no one knew how to react until Akiha intervened; "Sigh... I guess you'll never learn..." she said, coming closer towards him and placing a hand over his back. It prompted him to rise up and sit on his legs as she continued, "There's nothing I can say to express what I want to express at the moment, but what I can say is... You're always welcome here, Shiki. This is your home."
Wrapping her arms around his shoulder, she pulled him into a goodbye hug, "Don't worry about such trivial things, what you should worry about is coming back to us as soon as possible." she whispered as she tried her best to prevent her voice from cracking and her eyes from crying.
Shiki hugged her back with a bitter smile drawn across his face. He hummed positively, "Yes. I promise I'll be back... I'll be back as soon as possible."
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Moments passed and with the brother and sister separated. Shiki went to his room one final time. He had one last loose end to take care of. On the shelf, hung the blue ribbon, it sat there for almost two months as the circumstances did not present themselves suitable, and honestly? He felt relieved that he did not return the ribbon, because he would've gave it to the wrong person anyways.
Shiki took the ribbon in his hands, inspecting it. An image of the girl looking from that window towards the courtyard made echoes in his mind, echoes which reflected upon the memories he newly unlocked.
« When I was a little boy playing in the garden with my sister and a pink haired girl, I used to see another girl watching over us from a window. I used to see her around the house sometimes too but we never had a chance to talk. When I was told I was going to live elsewhere because of my illness, the little girl came to me and gave me this ribbon. "Promise me." She said, "Promise me to return this ribbon to me when you come back." And I agreed... But when I came back, had I not been so busy with the insanity that happened lately, I would've gave the ribbon to Hisui. But... Hisui was not the one who gave it to me.
She was Kohaku-san. When I was in that... empty place... That void... I saw many things that my other self saw and did. And one such memory was a summer evening, I saw her go into a room and my curiosity made me follow her in. It was really surprising to me when I found both the pink haired girls in there. They did not seem to notice me standing in the doorway as they conversed, one was arguing with ferocity while the other calmly deflected her arguments back at her. "You're not yourself anymore Nee-sama... I don't want him to rob you of yourself! There's no way I would just continue my life normally while he does those horrible things to you!" The ferocious girl fired out of the bottom of her heart, tears in her eyes and desperation on her face. The other girl however, simply hushed her, "They will hear us if you raise your voice." she said with an empty expression, "Besides, there is nothing we can do. It's pointless to be upset, Hisui-chan."
The energetic girl staggered visibly upon hearing her sister's words. She did not know how to react at first, but then, I noticed her hand tightening into a fist as if she was gathering courage. The young Hisui stepped forward and took her sister's hand, "Let's switch places!" She told her as if she had just swallowed a rock, "I won't... I won't sit by idly as they take you away from me... Not you too..."
The expressionless Kohaku finally showed human emotion on her face, as one tear formed on her right eyelid, "No! I won't let you see what I saw... Feel what I felt... Never... But... BUT!" She collapsed while trying to retaliate, her voice cracked and tears started to flow down her cheeks. Hisui immediately crouched down next to her and placed her hands on her shoulders.
At this point, a servant in the mansion started opening the door, I heard the footsteps approaching so I simply pretended to be about to leave. I cannot remember whether they were a man or a woman but they were looking for me specifically. That's why when they found me, they did not bother to check the rest of the room.
It is rather apparent now, they did exchange places. Hisui became the cold, expressionless twin, while Kohaku took on Hisui's energetic role perfectly. All because of Makihisa. The old man is six foot under now, but his actions left marks on those two girls as well as everyone else in this family that probably will never stop haunting us. »
Shiki held the ribbon tightly for a bit, then gave his room one last look; he hadn't accumulated many memories in this place but he was going to miss it regardless. His eyes went over the old wooden desk, the bedside cupboards and the bed, then the wardrobe before simply withdrawing from the room, shutting the door behind him.
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Shiki went to the room where he used to visit to watch Television, Kohaku's room. Two soft knocks on the door were heard, "Kohaku-san, are you in there?" he called out simultaneously.
"Yes! I'll be there right away!" The cheerful voice came from the other side shortly, followed by footsteps and the sound of a door opening, "Shiki-san! How nice of you to visit me again before leaving!" The maid who was no longer wearing a maid's outfit exclaimed happily, "Is there something I can do to help? Perhaps you want to watch TV again?"
Shiki smiled at the display of energy, "No... Nothing of the sort actually, Kohaku-san. Do you mind if I come in?" he assured and requested, "I only have half an hour left in this house. I already talked to Akiha and well... I don't think Hisui would want to see me again so soon."
Kohaku's expression visibly changed from her usual bright smile to one of clear surprise and hesitation, "Of course, get in." she said allowing him inside her room.
"So..." Kohaku chirped nervously, placing two hands together as if clapping, "Is there something wrong?"
Shiki sat on a chair he used to sit in whenever he visited as Kohaku made herself comfortable on the bed, "It has been a long time, hasn't it?" he said, cracking a vacuous smile.
"Whatever you mean?" Kohaku inquired with a raised eyebrow. Shiki finally revealed the blue ribbon he has concealed inside his jacket upon hearing her question, which made her immediately stagger in shock.
"I believe you gifted me this ribbon before I left the mansion, right?" he continued with a bitter expression on his face, "You made me promise to return it, and here I am fulfilling my promise."
Kohaku's face slowly lit up in happiness, her eyes suddenly overwhelmed with tears, "You... You remember?" she whispered with a cracking voice, "How... How do you remember when he..."
Shiki extended his hand with the ribbon to her, "Long story." he said, "Now it is my turn to make you promise."
Kohaku did not know how to react to these news, she simply stared at his hand without knowing whether she was happy or sad, "But... But you're not supposed to... I'm not supposed to have this... It's no longer me..."
The black haired teenager expected this reaction, but did not really plan for a response. Instead, he just took her hand and place the ribbon on her palm. "I don't care." he said straightforwardly, "You started this, you'll have to play along. There's no backing down now, Kohaku-san!"
The girl held unto his hand tightly with one hand as she used a handkerchief to wipe her tears with the other, "Please... Don't make me do this... It's not fair... Not after all of this... This... humiliation, I'm already too far gone... I can't be that girl again... Everything... You know of me... is fake... I... I..." she tried to argue back, spitting half sentences and begging words which, really, changed nothing in Shiki's mind.
"Then... don't?" he replied with a puzzled, almost mocking voice, "You don't have to do anything. No one is forcing you to do anything anymore, you're free to do whatever you want."
Kohaku suddenly froze, both physically and mentally. She had many desires, some of them were nasty, others were pure, but which of them were hers truly? Which of them was what Kohaku really wanted?
"Maybe it's not in my place to say anything, perhaps it makes no sense from your prospective. But I want to ask you; who are you really?" Shiki continued with a somewhat annoyed voice tone, "To me, Kohaku-san is the cheerful maid who works in the Tohno mansion as the personal maid of the head of the household, that's the you who I came to know since I arrived, and whether it was made up or honest did not make a difference to me because I thought it suited you. Why does it have to be fake? Who decides that? Don't you want to be that Kohaku-san?"
The girl's mind was racing but her thoughts were in shambles, and the questions which Shiki posed her pierced through her like knives. However, when she heard that last question; "Don't you want to be THAT Kohaku-san?" the first answer came out directly from the bottom of her heart, and then the answers started overwhelming the questions one by one;
« Yes I want to be that Kohaku. »
« I want to be here in this mansion with Hisui-chan and Akiha-sama as well as Shiki-san everyday. »
« I want to cook for them delicious meals so that they praise my cooking all the time »
« I want to help Hisui-chan with her insecurities and help her surpass them »
« I want to see her smile again! »
« I want to travel to where Shiki-san used to live and plant a sunflower field. »
« I want to live and be happy so that I can spit on that bastard Makihisa's grave and tell him that he failed to break me. »
That... That was what she wanted, that defined who she was. She was Kohaku Fujou, older twin sister of Hisui Fujou and servant to the headmaster of the Tohno household. And she had only realized it then and there.
Shiki noticed her silence, and was about to speak, but... "I am Kohaku Fujou." her lips whispered with newfound determination, "I want to live as Kohaku Fujou, but I cannot do it without you, Shiki-san. That's why... That's why I will promise... I will promise to wait for your return." she tightened her grip around the ribbon and smiled, but it was different that time... Shiki saw it, it was real.
He lifted a hand to the back of his head and smiled back, slightly red, "Now that's what I'm talking about!" he chimed along somewhat embarrassed, "Now then, I should be heading out. Tell Hisui I'm sorry... For everything."
Kohaku nodded positively and then stood up when Shiki did to escort him to the door. "Take care, Shiki-san. I— Uh... We... will miss you." she said with a hint of red flushing her cheeks mid sentence, a sight which he did not get to see because he was facing away. "I will! Don't worry!" he waved at her as he quickly as he scurried across the hallway towards the stairs.
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"Now that was not my plan! Hopefully I wasn't rude about it..." he muttered to himself as he reached the bottom of the starway.
"Shiki-san is always rude one way or the other." a voice came from right next to him unexpectedly. So unexpectedly it almost made him tumble down the four remaining steps.
Hisui's small figure revealed itself from behind the decorative end of the stairs' handrail, "Do not worry, Shiki-sama. I do not bite." she said mechanically, placing down the broom she was holding and bowing in respect.
"Ahhh, Hisui-chan... Sorry I did not see you behind there..." he replied absolutely stricken by his horrible luck.
"And body-shaming too, Shiki-sama's rudeness knows no bounds." the maid fired back calmly, staring the black haired teenager in the face with all the emotion of a solid rock.
"No! I didn't mean it in that way I swear!" replied Shiki screaming for dear life, "I would never say anything bad about you or your body—"
"I was only joking." Hisui interrupted, "Shiki-san must learn how to take a joke better."
This stopped him dead in his tracks. Shiki stood in place for a solid thirty seconds simply staring at the maid who also just stared back silently.
"Um... Hisui... Are you angry at me?" he finally asked.
"Why would I?" She immediately replied.
Shiki sighed in relief, but it was very short-lived... Hisui raised a hand and started using her fingers to count, "I mean, other than not abiding Akiha-sama's rules, putting me in trouble because of your continuous escapes at night, not making your bed or organizing your clothes, and not to mention having almost died—"
"Okay, Okay! I understand! I'm honestly really sorry for every problem I caused you, and I wanted to tell you that I really appreciate you and what you did for me when I was unconscious. I will forever be in your debt." Shiki finally let it all out interrupting the maid.
The diamond-eyed maid stared at him even longer, then raised a hand to her chin as if pondering something, "Apology not accepted." she said straightforwardly without a shred of hesitation.
"W— WHY?!" Shiki immediately fired back. Absolutely losing it, he could not have thought of a better choice of words for an apology if he tried.
"Three reasons." Hisui replied making a gesture with her hand that indicated the number three, "First, I never said I was mad at you. Second, I was only doing my job whenever I took care of you while you were still conscious. Third is that I never did anything to you while you were unconscious, Akiha-sama herself ordered me not to touch you except to take your vitals."
Shiki took a moment to process what he was told, then he started scratching his hair in confusion, "Then why are you giving me attitude if you're not upset?" he naturally asked.
"Because Shiki-sama is an idiot, respectively." she again stated without flinching at all, "And I find his confusion rather amusing."
Shiki's head immediately dropped down, he felt absolutely outplayed. "Alright, I've been defeated, white flag and all." he said trying to keep a shred of face. "I'll still thank you though, you are great company, and a great maid too."
"Tch." Hisui hissed to herself, "Fine, but you must hurry back from your honeymoon. Or else I may get unemployed by Akiha-sama."
Shiki laughed it off, there was no way she actually thought he was going on a honeymoon, right? "I'll try my best to get back as soon as possible, I'll be counting on you as the sanest one of the three, please keep them in check."
She then simply bowed and gave him a small wave as he stumbled towards the exit with whatever remained of his dignity.
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« She is standing out like a sore thumb! » Or so thought Shiki when he saw his teacher sitting on the bench next to the bus stop. It was right down the road from their mansion, so it didn't take him that long to find her. Aoko screamed out an exaggerated "YAHOOO!" and started energetically waving at the first sight of the teenager. It was midday, and even though the residential area was not that crowded, the redhead still managed to attract the attention of a couple of passersby. The teenager immediately ran over towards her, "What do you think you're doing?!" he asked, clearly irritated.
"Eh? What do you mean?" the magician inquired right back with an innocent expression, "I was just calling out for you to notice me."
Shiki's head visibly dropped in disappointment, "Sensei... You're literally the only person in the bus station." he remarked, "Besides, I could notice you if you stood in a crowd."
Aoko blinked once, then twice before she looked around in panic."Woah! I could've sworn there were people here just a second ago! My bad... Hahaha!" the magician replied apologetically before breaking into a soft laughter, she then raised her hands, forming a fist with one and slapping it on top of the other's palm, "But now since you're here... It is time for us to get going!" playfully, she announced.
This easy-going attitude made Shiki wonder if he made a mistake by believing what she said, "Where are we going anyway?" he asked naturally.
Aoko assumed a more serious expression all of a sudden, "That would be Fuyuki city." she answered, placing a hand in her jeans' pocket and taking out what Shiki saw to be... Car keys? But most importantly, "Fuyuki city? Why? What's there?" he inquired.
"Long story! Come, follow me." The magician announced as she started walking away, "I'll tell you on the way." Shiki had no choice but to follow. Eventually, they arrived to a usually empty alleyway. Except that this time, it wasn't empty at all.
"Woah— That's a nice car!" Shiki exclaimed at the sight of the red convertible sports car which unlocked and flashed its lights, opening up its retracting roof in response to Aoko's keys.
"Isn't she pretty?" Aoko followed, "I wish I could keep her forever..." She then opened the door and gestured at Shiki to get in. "Wait, it isn't yours?" Shiki said as he put on the seatbelt, but the last of his words was muffled by the sound of the engine roaring as it started.
"What are you? An idiot? How would I ever be able to afford it?" Aoko replied, "Now strap in! It's gonna be a wild ride!"
Shiki had no idea what he was about to experience, those words were the last thing he heard before Aoko pressed the accelerator with full force, causing the car to aggressively hit the road with great speed, it was only moments then that they only became silhouettes in the distance to anyone watching.
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Author's note:
Well, this chapter was the smallest one in the original fic, now remastered and cleaned up to make more sense and hold more meaning. It was filled with conflicting emotions because it made me go through the original Tsukihime again, which uh... Was a wild ride too... going from Akiha's obsessive nature, to Hisui's stony attitude, to Kohaku's identity crisis and thirst for revenge... It was certainly fun and heartbreaking at the same time. But it made me realize that somehow, Shiki not getting involved with the far side of the moon characters romantically made them somehow have a better ending, even with most of their traumas unsolved. Kohaku continued being Kohaku even after Shiki did the old one two on her in Ciel's route, and Hisui never complained in any route actually, she was completely O.K. with everything. As for Akiha... Her overprotectiveness was nothing when confronted by a higher authority, that being the voice of a Magician. Generally, I consider this chapter to be both good and bad, both in terms of context and presentation. But it's merely the start, and the story will definitely pick up at some point.
But for now I bid you Vale... Until we meet again (next chapter lol).
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Prologue 2-2 : Killer, Demon and Child.
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It was nighttime in Fuyuki city. Most of the residents were asleep, completely unaware that they were almost incinerated in their slumber. The mage killer placed a hand in his coat's pocket, taking out a beeping mobile phone. He answered the incoming call by clicking the green button and shortly after, a failing mechanical voice came through the speaker. "This is a pre-recorded message relayed to you from... —Static— Von Einzbern…" There was a high-pitched beep following, then... "Emiya Kiritsugu. We have been informed that your mission to recover the Holy Grail ended in failure. If that is true then it is impossible for you to honor your end of the contract and by extension, you are no longer our partner. Your rights to anything within Einzbern territory are forfeit and any attempts to approach us ever again will be punished harshly. Farewell and may we never cross paths again." old and tired, a new voice spoke these words with distinguishable disdain. Words which Kiritsugu had already expected to hear. There was a long pause afterwards only interrupted by the automated mechanism explaining when the message was recorded and asking whether Kiritsugu wanted to replay or delete it.
The man simply hung up the line, then turned towards the child who was staring at him expectantly, "In any case, let's go home now." Kiritsugu said, faking a smile.
Shirou simply nodded in response, the voice within him giving him a hum as green light. The child took the man's hand, then they started walking towards a nearby parking lot, Kiritsugu kept one of his spare vehicles there.
"By the way, Kiritsugu-san…" Shirou muttered, but stopped halfway through his sentence as he noticed the man's eyebrow twitch, "I m-mean Kiritsugu... You mentioned to me before that all kinds of bad people are after you... Why is that?" the child asked, the voice within his head humming in acknowledgement to his curiosity, "Does it have anything to do with you being a mage?"
Kiritsugu was caught off-guard by this question; a perfectly natural question if you think about it. "W-Well... That's..." he wavered. Of course, it was not easy to tell a child that you kill people for a living.
"Shirou... Mages are bad people." The mage killer said, his eyes dipping down towards the ground, "A traditional mage's goal is to reach the Root, a magical location in which a force resides. That force can grant them anything they want."
The child listened attentively as the man continued, "And to achieve that goal, they would do anything regardless of how inhuman or unethical it is." a bit of silence followed, then he continued, "I am a mage too. But they don't accept me as part of their 'kind'. I do not share their mindset nor do I seek what they seek. Our paths are fundamentally different, and so we conflicted many times..."
They were nearing the entrance to the underground parking lot. A large building with a glowing neon sign titled 'Fuyuki City Hyatt Hotel' was visible in front of the man and his adopted son.
"So because you don't share their goals of reaching that place... They are after you?" Shirou asked, "F-Forgive me if I missed something important in your explanation but that's what I understood..."
Kiritsugu smiled bitterly, "Not at all, you follow well. That is indeed part of the reason... The other part is that I don't work the same way that they do..." he said, "I use everything at my disposal to accomplish my goal, which may sound exactly the same as them, but there are major differences. For example, I use modern technology to my advantage, other mages hate that..."
The magus killer tried his hardest to give an explanation which both satisfied the child's inquiry without taking the risk of losing him in the process.
"I think I understand... It's like the difference between a modern and traditional farmer. One uses modern technology and is open to the changes it offers, while the other would not do such a thing. Modern farmers usually have more efficient methods and thus are more successful and benefit more from selling their products, yet you always find traditional farmers boasting that theirs are the best, even though they struggle to keep up in the market." Shirou commented on Kiritsugu's explanation, "Or so I understood..."
Kiritsugu sighed, "You're somewhat correct. We'll discuss this a bit more in detail at a later time."
The child's eyes beamed and with a wide smile, he nodded positively: "Great! I can't wait to learn more!"
The conversation ended when they reached the parking lot behind the hotel. It was well after midnight by this point, just a couple of hours before sunrise.
Once in the car, the man silently drove while the child stared out of the glass window.
Shirou was about to space out, but was awakened by the sound of the entity inside his head, "Thy road will be paved with trials, many may resent thee. But that shall be a sacrifice thou shalt make." It said, "Thy mission at the moment is to learn. And as destiny would have it, thou hast found the perfect master."
"He has been through a lot." Shirou thought for the entity to hear, "Somehow, I can sense his despair."
"Indeed… The Mage Killer, Kiritsugu Emiya, no matter which world, is bound to fall to misery." The entity responded, "Even in death, his soul will never find rest."
The boy did not know what to make of what he heard, but he did not ask for clarification. Instead, he hummed a melody for the rest of the road. A melody he did not know where he heard before, but could swear he lived with it.
The entity inside retracted into its own space. It needed recovery, being the Demon God pillar of Death and Rebirth, it evaded death many times before without issue. However, after that incident at Agartha… The Chaldeans and those despicable servants made him bear agony beyond imagination, effectively killing him dozens of times. His energy was almost completely sapped. But in his final moments, he remembered his fallen brethren, his slain master... He was not about to let their sacrifices go to waste. Humanity will perish, if not in that timeline, then in this one.
At the moment, he had to regain his energy, and with the host he crafted for himself, the Demon God Pillar won't need to watch over him at all times. The child, although young and still foolish, will grow up to be the perfect vessel for his complete revival.
The ride only took about an hour. An hour of pure and utter chaos inside Kiritsugu's mind. What was he going to do now? Settle down and live with this boy? No. What of Illya? How will he get her back? What about his travels? His search for humanity's salvation? Was it truly useless?
The car stopped next to an antique and somewhat rundown Japanese style mansion. Kiritsugu turned off the engine, which woke up the sleepy child in the backseat. Shirou rubbed his eyes just as Kiritsugu was leaving the car. The child then undid the seatbelt and followed his adoptive father.
"This is our new home. Shirou." Kiritsugu said as he opened the sliding outer gate, "It's not in great shape as you can see, but don't worry. We will get it repaired as soon as possible."
Shirou took a moment to take in the view, it was a big mansion, with a shed and a dojo too, "It looks great!" the child exclaimed.
"I'm glad you like it." Kiritsugu replied, "Come. Let's get inside."
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"Illya... Can you hear me? Hello? Illya?" Kiritsugu might be an idealist, but he was not stupid. He knew there was a high chance of failure the moment he agreed to participate in the Holy Grail War. So you could imagine his relief when he heard his daughter's voice on the other side of the complex communication device which operated on radio waves, otherwise referred to as a "mobile phone".
"...Papa? Is that really you?" The young girl hid herself under the bed every night, she'd remove the secret wooden plank on the flooring, take out the small electrical device then wait for it to ring until she no longer could stay awake. But one of those nights... It finally happened.
"... Illya... It is me... Your dad..." Kiritsugu spoke with unimaginable happiness, tears forming in his eyes, "... Listen... Listen to me... Are you alright? They did not harm you did they?"
The little girl noticed the emotion behind her father's words, she never heard his voice crack before, "No papa I am fine. Grandpa told me you escaped... That you would not come back for me... But I did not believe a word he said!"
"No I would never leave you Illya, I will definitely come for you, but I need your help... Here's what you have to do..." The man then proceeded to explain his plan to the child, she listened attentively and answered his questions when he asked, "Your mom told me of a secret phrase the Einzbern Homunculi use to override some of their program. You can use it to make the new maids help you momentarily. As long as you don't ask them to do something which blatantly goes against that old man they should help you. The sentence is Remember Jubasteaze's Love, simply imbue the words with a little suggestion spell and it should work. Can you do that, Illya?"
Illya hummed positively, "Yes! You can count on me Papa. Sella and Leysritt are both very nice to me and if Mommy's spell works they will definitely help me. I will do what you told me." she said.
"Illya... Please be careful, if everything goes according to plan I will come and get you in two weeks, okay?" Kiritsugu replied, "Please stay safe until then, don't do anything dangerous."
"Don't worry, I will be O.K." Illya reassured.
The Mage killer couldn't be any more worried, and the worst part is that he will have to endure this feeling for at least two weeks, but for now, he had his daughter's word to take. "That's my girl..." he praised her.
"Papa... Can I make a request?" The little girl asked, worry clear in her voice.
"What is it?" He inquired, "Is there something scaring you?"
The little girl shook her head as if he could see her, "No, no... It's just... Can you call me again tomorrow? I miss you."
And there it was, his heart, already cracked and filled with regret, was completely crushed by those three words, "I... I... I'm sorry dear... Of course I will call you, I will call you every chance I get, but we must not overdo it or the phone's battery will run out or worse... Someone might notice our communication... I miss you too but you must understand..."
"It's okay, I understand... In that case, I should go to bed now." Illya said, "Goodnight, Papa."
"Goodnight, Illya..."
Kiritsugu hung up the line shortly after, there was no time for sadness, even though he felt like he was about to go insane from the sheer pressure on his mental. If he learned anything from his long time as a ruthless killer, it was restricting emotions. The mage killer turned to leave the shed and head back to the main building, but was caught off-guard by the sudden presence of Shirou standing next to the door.
"Kiritsugu... Are you leaving?" the boy said with a puzzled expression, "Where are you going?"
The man stared at the boy in disbelief for a good moment. He did not notice Shirou at all during his entire time on the call and could've sworn he left the boy dead asleep, closed the door to the shed when he first entered there. So the thought that Shirou managed to slip out of the main building, found him and opened the door as well without him noticing really surprised the mage killer.
"No... No... You are not supposed to be here..." he whispered in a very quiet tone that only he could hear as he walked past the boy and into the backyard.
"Sorry... I didn't hear what you said." was the boy's response, immediately following after Kiritsugu.
The man stumbled dizzily towards the back entrance to the main building. However, instead of entering, he sat down under the porch as if collapsing, then gestured at Shirou to sit next to him. The boy complied and sat down behind him, back to back.
"Shirou... I had a family just a few days ago. I lost my wife in that incident which cost you your parents, and my daughter is now held captive by a family of mages..." Kiritsugu said, strong emotion noticeable in his words. "What I will do is attempt to get her back. I will leave you in the hands of a girl I know, she will take care of you until I come back... If I am able to make it back alive."
The mage killer pronounced every word with extreme emphasis, trying to make the boy understand how serious he was. "I understand." Shirou said without batting an eyelash, "Sometimes, a person has to do what they got to do, right?"
It would be a lie to say Kiritsugu was surprised. This night, the boy experienced the loss of both his parents, a near death situation and discovered the existence of mystics. Yet, he showed no childishness in his reactions. It both frightened the mage killer and strangely comforted him.
Kiritsugu's eyes dipped down to the wooden planks of the flooring. Feeling the weight of the child's back pressed against his, a feeling of helplessness took over him.
"Listen Dad..." Shirou interrupted the deep silence, "I don't know many things. I don't think I can do much... But I won't stand in your way." the child switched his position to face his father, then stood up and walked around him to face him, "You must stand now."
Shirou extended a hand to the man who stared at him with disbelief. What was this child saying?
"You must stand again, Father." he repeated. The mage killer's eyes fixated on his hand, he did not understand. What was that feeling? Was it Hope? Willpower? Drive? No... That was something different entirely. He felt compelled to stand and take the child's hand, not because he wanted to, but because he HAD to.
His hand reached to the child's slowly, only for Shirou to grasp it immediately. He helped his father up as best as he could and finally, Kiritsugu stood back up with a new resolve, one that was not his but it did not matter.
"Thank you, Shirou." he said with an unreadable expression, "I promise you. I will get your sister back and then we can live happily together."
The child simply smiled, prompting the man to smile as well. The two then walked back inside the main building, hand in hand like a true father and son.
However, the moment Shirou was left alone to sleep. The voice within him revealed itself all of a sudden, causing his eyebrow to twitch, "Thou hast created a new path." it said, "It appears mine tweaking of thy person and body gave thee a powerful ability... One that alloweth thee to influence others..."
The child, again, did not know what to make of the voice's words, but this time... "What do you mean?" he inquired, "I don't understand."
The voice hummed, then it started explaining, "Thou... Thou hast instilled a new wish within that man's heart... Thou hast altered his mental." A simple explanation by the Demon God Pillar, "'Tis likely a result of mine tampering with thee."
There was a few seconds' worth of silence following, then... "Perhaps it is better for my presence within thee to dissipate for a while." The voice said in a hesitant but authoritative tone.
"Why not?" The child asked, "Wouldn't that make the future easier to handle?"
"No child. It would, but it would also cause a singularity or worse..." Phenex replied quickly... well... As quickly as its slow distorted voice would pronounce words while keeping them understandable, "It would cause this timeline to be pruned."
The child kept silent for a while before he questioned again, "What is a singularity?"
The answer came under the form of information, directly flowing towards the boy's mind, "It would be less inconvenient for us... To simply share my knowledge with thee is better than explaining with words..." it muttered, "But I cannot allow thee all mine knowledge, for that would terminate your feeble human brain. Instead, I made it so, when I'm gone... Knowledge would reveal itself to you bit by bit."
Shirou's mind processed the information relayed to it, then he mechanically answered; "Understood."
"Then it is settled. I shall recover and come back when it is time. Farewell, Child of the Flame." The Demon God pillar said, "I expect fantastic results from thee, do not disappoint."
"Farewell, Master. I will await your return." Shirou mechanically bid the voice within him goodbye as he felt its presence fade away slowly, but never truly left.
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Author's note:
Hello! It has been a while again... Life kinda just takes you away y'know? Tries to make you think you're over a stage in your life but then slaps you right back into it.
This is the rest of the Shirou Prologue, I have decided that I will write everything that happens to Kiritsugu after this in a separate Interlude. Of course, many plot problems will rise if you just read everything from this point forwards since I didn't write this to fit into the story, but I wrote this to make the story fit into it when I'm done rewriting it. Thanks for your continuous support and making this trashy fic reach 66k views even though it wasn't touched for months. I will try to continue reworking it, and maybe one day, it will become somewhat good.
Chapter II: Stories of Fuyuki City
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A night in Fuyuki City has a lot of secrets, some of them are myths, others are reality, and this one was a mix of both. The castle on the outskirts was isolated, not many know of its existence and even less people venture near its walls. The Einzberns built that castle to be their base of operations during the Holy Grail Wars, but little did they know it would become the site of their demise.
After their shameful loss in the Fourth Holy Grail War, and their debacle with the Mage Killer which costed them their main base of operations in Germany, the Einzberns became a shadow of their former selves. Jubstacheit von Einzbern initiated emergency survival protocols, turning off most of the remaining homunculi, then he had those who remained transport him to an unmarked location to ensure the survival of the family name. The emergency protocols, however, did not override the main goal the Artificial Intelligence had been programmed to fulfill, so when the scouts reported that another Holy Grail War was about to begin, he immediately sent what remained of the homunculi and the few he managed to replicate in his new base to Fuyuki, leaving him completely unguarded.
In the Einzbern castle, the security was cranked up to the max. The forest was filled with magical traps and the Bounded Field was fortified tenfold. The Homunculi Army was summoned to the main courtyard as Jubstacheit was to give a speech.
The hologram of the old man appeared wide clear for all to see, then his decrepit voice rang in the castle. "Hear me, remnants of the Einzbern. We are the last hope for the family, failure is not an option. Follow the orders of Hertzsprung and stay alert at all times. Reach the root and bring the Einzbern name glory once more."
Once the speech was finished, the unified voice of all the homunculi echoed in the castle, "Sir! Yes Sir!" they all collectively said, as they were programmed to.
Hertzsprung was the last remaining Master Candidate Homunculus. He was preserved for this war and only today the Command Seals appeared on his forearm. When the warcry of the Homunculi finally came to a halt, it was his voice which spoke afterwards.
"Jubstacheit-sama, Status update; all preparations are complete. Notice; No Artifact provided for the summoning. Do you wish to continue regardless?" he said with a frozen expression.
With most of their wealth gone and all of their connections severed, the remnants had no way to acquire an artifact. So the next logical course of action to narrow down the possibilities of the servants they can summon. Jubstacheit decided they should modify the chant to obtain a Berserker servant, which would not defy their orders or question their motives.
"Hm..." the old man gave an positive hum, then he ordered "Proceed."
"Order Confirmed, Initiating summoning procedures." Hertzsprung mechanically announced, the army in the courtyard dispersed leaving two maid-class Homunculi who carried brushes and bottles of a red liquid in the middle. The two begun drawing a magical summoning circle on the white flooring and it wasn't long then that it was complete. The Master Homunculi approached the circle and activated his magical circuits, which lit up all around his body.
"Commencing Summoning Sequence..." he said, "Chanting... One... Two... Three..."
Nothing happened, the Homunculus was supposed to start chanting but it collapsed to the floor unmoving. Everyone else just kept staring at him without a word, and suddenly...
"Let Chaos and Darkness be the essence." the collapsed Master spoke with a corrupt, unnerving voice, still on the floor, "Let blood and tears be the foundation."
The old man in the Hologram watched in horror as darkness began to rise from the ground around Hertzsprung's unmoving body, "System Command! Abort Operation!" he ordered with a desperate expression, but none of the homunculi responded.
"May your enemies crumble at your feet" the corrupted voice of the master continued, "may your prey know true fear"
The darkness which surrounded the homunculi grew larger and thicker, like a cloud of black smoke.
"Let the only way to salvation be sealed."
Jubstacheit watched on as the rest of the homunculi coughed and coughed until all passed out and disappeared into the black mist.
"Let all who defy bleed, and become part of your feast."
The darkness engulfed everyone and everything, nothing remained except the hologram of the shocked old man, he stayed there without a word as the ritual continued itself.
"Let it be declared now; You shall reign terror and no one will take your leash."
"The holy grail's calling you will relish".
"Answer, but you will not submit."
"An oath shall be sworn here."
"You shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven;"
"You shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell."
"Yet you shall serve with your eyes clouded by chaos."
"For you would be one caged in madness."
"But none shall wield your chains."
"From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power,"
"Arrive forth from the ring of restraint, destroyer of the holy balance."
The darkness gathered in the middle of the hall, leaving nothing behind of the homunculi that were scattered across the area or the master. It shaped itself like a cocoon, and then like the bud of a black flower which suddenly bloomed, revealing the servant which just summoned itself. A large white skinned man with silver hair and pale bloodshot eyes, he walked out of the darkness which formed itself around him as a black coat.
"Ahh... It is good to be back again..." The servant quietly said before he noticed the giant hologram. He gave it a disdainful look, then, before the old man can say a word, the communication was cut.
Later that night, hordes of rabid animals flooded the forest, while some made it all the way to the city.
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It was that day again. The young boy opened his eyes as he came to his senses after a night's worth of sleep. He looked at the cloth hanging above his face and was reminded that he had spent the night in a tent, not in his usual croft in Fuyuki Church. Yes, he was out on a pilgrimage to the Holy Lands with his father. That was a great honor for anyone, but also a really rare opportunity for a child his age.
Kotomine Kirei... His father gave him that name because he wished for him to be pure and beautiful. Yet, he had never noticed that, not until today.
The young boy raised his hands above his face, examining them closely.
«What does beauty exactly mean?»
That was the question that would ultimately put him on a path which would make him into who he would eventually become.
Kotomine Kirei was a human, no doubt about that. Yet, the child would eventually discover that he was broken, that he was never happy or sad when situations would call for either feeling.
Suddenly, the child was a man, and found himself standing opposite his bedridden wife. Claudia was her name, she was supposedly "Beautiful". Throughout his time with her, Kirei felt nothing towards her no matter how hard he tried. Even when she gave birth to his daughter who they named Caren. In fact, this try at 'becoming normal' only made him more certain that he was unrepairable, as while his attempt was made to draw happiness from a normal life with a family. It backfired. He drew happiness from his wife's suffering and his child's despair.
Kotomine Kirei did give Claudia one thing though, she was a true saint to him. Her faithfulness and how deeply she understood his anger towards himself were unquestionable. The degree with which she understood him and tried to heal him was beyond anyone else. Alas, she could still not fill the void within him. That made him conclude that his birth and existence were a mistake, so it was best for him not to exist anymore.
This led him to that moment where he stood facing her, staring into her pale sickly eyes, "I could not love you." he said, fully expecting her to give up on him and simply let him go. However, to his surprise, she pulled out a knife from under the sheets covering her frail body; "No. You do love me." She whispered as the knife stabbed through her chest.
A tear ran down his cheek. She saw it and smiled as the life left her body. From her perspective, she had succeeded. He was sad to see her die. However, it was not for the reason she had hoped he would cry for. She hoped that her passing will bring him sadness because she was dear to him, but he only felt sadness because her passing meant that he had missed the chance to kill her himself.
Furthermore, her final attempt at 'fixing' Kirei made him back down from his choice of committing suicide, effectively making him believe that there was no salvation for him. Instead, he decided to focus on his training as an executor of the church.
Time passed and there he stood in front of his father's dead corpse in the middle of the fourth Holy Grail war, reading a letter which he wrote. He discovered that his father thought about him until the end. Which made him shed a tear for the wrong reason again, he did not feel sadness for his father's passing, but felt sadness because he did not cause it.
He conflicted with Emiya Kiritsugu thinking that they may have had something in common, that a man who had nothing and wished to obtain everything might learn something from a man who had everything and wished to discard all of it. But Kotomine learned that the mage killer was merely posing and could not let go of anything.
All of these people, not one of them was able to cause a dent in his theory that he was broken. Some of them even made him more certain that nothing can cause him to feel joy other than inflicting despair on others. Yet, there was one other person who instilled a new feeling into him.
Emiya Shirou was merely a child. He had no way of knowing anything about him nor did he have any right to judge him for any of his decisions. But on that cursed night, when he stared at him with his unsightly ambre eyes, Kotomine felt a primal sense of dread. He felt exposed, judged and made responsible for his lack of human emotion even though he was born without them.
"Ananias, Ananias, ANANIAS!" voices of those whom he had included in his search of salvation, he recognized his father's, his wife and daughter's and his rival whom he considered unworthy. They repeated around the man, as a figure representing Emiya Shirou manifested itself in front of him.
"You dare call me by the name of the liar. Boy, yet you have no knowledge of me." Kirei whispered for the child to hear.
"No. But HE knows." the voices coalesced into a single one, "HE knows what you did and what you'll do. HE knows your inside and your outside. HE knows and says that you're simply another sinner, easily tempted by HIM."
"Who do you speak of, child?" the priest inquired with a hesitant voice. The expressionless child with orange hair and amber pupils moved his lips to speak, but everything seemed to fade to black all of a sudden.
...
Kotomine Kirei woke up in a cold sweat, and the first thing he took notice of was the presence of king Gilgamesh in his room. The blond servant with piercing red eyes seemed amused by the unusual state of the priest.
"What's wrong, Kirei?" The king of heroes addressed mockingly, "You look like you've just seen a ghost. Don't tell me that all of your heinous acts have finally caught up and started haunting you."
The priest adjusted his position on the bed, sitting up properly and facing the servant. "Not at all your majesty." he quietly replied, "It simply seems there are going to be greater powers at play in the upcoming Holy Grail War."
The King of Heroes raised an eyebrow at the statement, "Hoh, I don't suppose you imply that there is someone with a greater power than me." he said cockily, "otherwise I might have to remind you of my abilities."
Kotomine shook his head negatively, "Of course not, your majesty's might knows no bounds." The priest assured, "However, I..." For the first time, he did not know what to say. How to express the feeling which plagued his heart ever since that night. Kotomine Kirei revealed his hands in front of him to examine once more. Then after some silence, he formed them into fists and stood up.
"I do not know, King of Heroes." he spoke with clear hesitation, "I might be overreacting, but something about a certain child I've met years ago... It clouds my judgement."
"What do you mean, Kotomine?" the servant inquired without much concern in his tone, "Are you saying that a mere child is affecting your mentality? Don't make me laugh." Gilgamesh stood from his chair and looked directly into the priest's eyes, "You're a murderer Kirei, a monster who kills for his own enjoyment." he calmly stated, "Surely, you knew that since the beginning. Yet here you are, looking frail, weak and hesitant."
It was at that moment Kirei realized... The servant's piercing gaze was accompanied by a scowl of repulsiveness, "Weakness, fragility and indecisiveness disgust me, Kirei. Whatever it is that's causing this... You would do well to fix it before I get bored." The king of Heroes stated with an annoyed tone before simply turning around and walking away.
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Homurahara Academy was bustling with students this time of the day. The running track had the running team practicing, the soccer field was hosting a match and the classrooms were filled with students. Inside one of those classrooms on the second level of the building sat Emiya Shirou by the window, waiting for homeroom to start. Ever since he entered primary school, he was regarded as a phenomenal student, he never failed a test, never skipped a class and never caused trouble with anyone. In fact, just his presence in the classroom or in a hallway caused everyone to feel a strange sense of relaxation, which served him as a great tool to diffuse some situations with school bullies or troublemakers, adding to his already excellent reputation.
One person who seemed to be unaffected by his charm however, was Kuzuki Souichirou. The strict teacher which almost everyone else in school seemed to hold in high regards. It felt that, no matter how hard Shirou attempted to gain his favor and be on his good side, Kuzuki remained largely unimpressed with him and dismissed him like any other student. That prompted the phenomenal student to investigate him further, and what he found was suspicious but did not ring any dangerous bells. Kuzuki Souichirou was a trained individual, his breathing technique was optimized, his demeanor and behaviour was refined to simply perform without wasted movement. Yet, Shirou could not sense any magical energy whatsoever from him, supporting the fact that he was not a mage.
The bell suddenly rang and homeroom started, but the teacher was not there yet. It was then when Shirou caught something out of the corner of his eye, something which caused him to frown visibly.
Over next to the running tracks, he saw Illya talking to a problematic person. He immediately rose from his chair and left the class in a hurry, causing raised eyebrows from all his classmates. One of them, Issei Ryuudo even called out to him as he left, "Oi Emiya! The bell already rang!" he shouted out into the hallway.
"Sorry Issei. Tell the teacher it was an emergency if she asks!" Shirou responded without even turning his head as he continued sprinting towards and eventually down the stairs.
Shirou made his way towards the location where he last saw his sister, and surely enough, she was still there arguing with that problematic person.
"I've told you many times! I don't know what you're talking about! Whatever this Einzbel stuff I have nothing to do with it!" an irritated albino child with red eyes wearing a tracksuit fired at the taller girl standing next to her, a pigtailed black haired student who didn't wear the usual academy uniform. She was Rin Tohsaka, the other well-known, honor student in school.
"Lying won't save you Einzbern! I've studied your kind, you're programmed to act like a human but you're not!" Accused Rin as she pointed at the white-haired girl, "What business do you have in Fuyuki? Don't tell me they've sent you to represent—"
"That's enough!" a third voice interrupted the exchange, "What do you think you're doing, talking to my sister like that, are you insane Tohsaka!"
The two girls were surprised at the appearance of Shirou, Rin gasping in shock while Illya immediately raced to his side, "Shirou! Have you heard what this barbarian is saying?" the albino said pointing at the honor student, "I think she's gone a bit bananas!"
Rin was speechless, this Einzbern homunculus was Emiya Shirou's sister? No that wouldn't stand. She must be using some sort of spell on the poor bastard causing him to believe her lies.
"Ahh, E—E—Emiya-kun! What are you doing here at this time?" said Rin, clearly caught off-guard, "Don't you have class right now?"
Shirou stepped towards her causing her to panic even more, "Yes, indeed. But I came in a hurry when I saw you bothering my sister." he proclaimed with an angry look on his face, "Explain yourself, what is this nonsense you're accusing my sister of?"
Rin was in trouble, she can't tell him directly that he was under the influence of a spell or he would think that she was, for the lack of a better word, bananas. Her eyes darted around haphazardly, trying to find anything she could use as an excuse. But to her surprise, she noticed another person staring at them.
"Emiya-kun..." she said with a serious tone, her facial expression changed accordingly, "Let's talk somewhere else. Here is not the place for a discussion like this."
Shirou noticed the change in her behaviour, and considering he did not want to start a fight with her there and then, he agreed to her request.
"Illya, go back to your training. I'll handle this." he told his sister. The latter didn't want to at first, but she took one look at his face and the tenacity of his expression caused her to obey.
"Wonderful." Commented Rin with a relieved voice, "Let's go. Follow me."
The two started walking around the academy and towards the emergency stairs. Shirou felt like he was being watched, so he kept on his toes. "Hey Tohsaka, what's going on?" he asked, not expecting an honest reply.
"Since when did that girl live with you?" she answered with another question, not even bothering to stop.
"For as long as I can remember! She's my adoptive sister!" he said, pretending to be weirded out at the whole situation.
"Adoptive sister you say..." repeated Rin with a hint of interest, as she opened the door to the roof, "When did your father adopt her?"
"Well that's... complicated..." Shirou mentioned resisting the urge to act offended. He followed her into the open area of the roof.
Rin placed a hand on his shoulder and made eye contact, «Wrong approach» he thought to himself, as he stared right back with just as much if not more determination to break her attempt at suggestion.
The girl realized something was wrong, "What are you— EEK" her words remained incomplete as an unnaturally big crow swooped down on the two, she managed to duck at the last moment avoiding its sharp claws. Shirou immediately helped her back up and inside the building as the giant bird flew circles around in the sky.
"W—What the hell was that!?" she exclaimed with an annoyed expression, "Did it hurt you? Are you alright?"
Shirou seemed largely unfazed by what just happened, he noticed the bird keeping an eye on the three of them since earlier this morning. At first, he thought it was just a familiar which was sent out to scout by Tohsaka or some other mage, but after what just happened, Tohsaka was excluded.
"I'm fine." he said, "That was close. I never thought crows could be so aggressive, maybe it has a nest on that side of the roof."
Rin stared him down, she couldn't think straight after that.
"Master, I suggest you leave this idiot alone and focus on the urgent matter at hand." whispered a voice in Rin's ear, "That definitely was not a normal crow, it's a familiar of some sort."
Shirou noticed her silence and decided to use this chance to flee from her grasp, "I'll be going now, the second session is about to start. Next time, you'd better tell me what the hell was this all about." he announced beating the dirt off his uniform and turning away towards the stairs.
Rin Tohsaka bit her lips, she wanted to learn more about the Einzbern Homunculus disguised as Shirou's sister, but due to the situation at hand... She decided to back off for now, "Alright." She said with a sigh, "Watch yourself, Emiya-kun."
The phenomenal student didn't bother to reply or look back. He simply continued descending the stairs and walking the corridors until he reached his classroom just in time for the second session to start.
.
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The evening sun was upon the suburbs of Fuyuki City, lighting up the large trees of the forests and open grass fields with a dim orange light. Far in the distance, the sound of a sports car's engine was roaring on the highway, plants and bushes that were close to the street almost got swept away when the red convertible passed by them.
The driver was having a blast while the passenger... not so much... Shiki was barely holding on. It was a long arduous road trip, and with Aoko's reckless driving, he felt like his stomach was about to rebel on multiple occasions.
"Almost there now!" Aoko screamed out reassuringly, "Entering the national road to Fuyuki anytime now..."
Shiki's previously lifeless face lit up, finally, this nightmare was about to end, "Oh that's just wonderful— URP" announced Shiki but his stomach protested against it. Though he managed to keep it under control, if only barely.
The red sports car zoomed through the last bit of the highway, and into civilization. Eventually, it stopped inside a garage. The redhead stretched her limbs as she exited the car, Shiki followed suit dizzily.
"Where are we exactly?" Shiki asked as he shook his head trying to get rid of the dizziness. The Magician clicked her key, sealing the doors and enclosing the roof. She circled around the car gesturing at Shiki to follow her deeper inside the garage, "This is a house I rented for the day." she said with a serious expression, "The housing market is very expansive these days in Fuyuki for some reason, so this won't help you in the long run. However, it is a good place for your training to begin."
A flick was heard and then the room suddenly lit up, it was a surprisingly large garage. Aoko opened the door leading to the main building, and walked in with Shiki in tow. The two then proceeded into the living room, where Aoko collapsed on the couch with a tired sigh. Shiki also excused himself to drop on the opposite couch completely drained. After a short while... "Sensei..." Shiki called out with a curious tone, "What exactly am I supposed to do in Fuyuki?"
The question prompted Aoko to properly sit down, which alerted him to do the same. She cleared her throat, "Shiki, I suppose that after everything you've been through, you're well familiar with mystics." she said, raising an arm as if explaining and earning a nod from the overly attentive young man sitting across the room, "Good! That will save me some explanation then. In Fuyuki City, there something going on... An event, called the Holy Grail War."
Silence followed for a bit, then she continued; "The Holy Grail is an artifact which essentially grants wishes to the winner of the War."
"I suppose we are here to win the war so we can save Arcueid with the Wish?" Shiki commented without hesitation.
"Well..." the redhead replied, "Yes and no, YOU are here to win the war, so that no one else gets the wish. I won't be able to help you once the war starts proper."
Shiki blinked in surprise, "Why is that?" he asked, "Don't you have a wish too?"
"Two reasons, one is less complicated than the other." Aoko explained making the number two gesture with her hand, "Reason number one is that there can only be one winner and thus only one wish can be granted. Reason number two is harder to explain..." The magician placed a hand on her chin as if pondering something, "Are you familiar with the Parallel Universes Theory?"
Shiki kept silent for a bit, "Isn't that the hypothesis which suggests the existence of a multiverse?" he asked innocently.
"Yeah, that one." Aoko confirmed with a smile, "It's sorta true, sorta... There are like, many alternative realities, but there are regulations which decide whether a universe is able to continue forward, or be deleted."
Shiki took a moment to figure out whether she was just joking or not, "Wait a minute..." he questioned naturally, "You're saying that the theory is actually true?"
"Mhm!" Aoko repeated, "Though not one hundred percent, like I said, there are points in history which every universe must pass through or be removed from the multiverse. And it just so happened that this universe has to go through this Holy Grail War, and be destroyed as a result. What we're trying to do is create a new result for the war other than the destruction of this world."
Aoko stood up and conjured her bag from thin air once more. She slapped it over the table and opened it, taking out some papers before it disappeared into golden hems.
Shiki was amazed at the display of the spell, but decided not to question it at the moment. Instead, he focused on the papers which Aoko handed him.
"And these are...?" he asked grabbing the small stack of papers that were handed to him.
"They contain basic informations on the Holy Grail wars and about the details of the previous one ten years ago." she quietly addressed, "But listen to me right now, the reason why I cannot help you out in the war is because of those checkpoints in history I told you about. A great interference by a Magician such as myself being present would surely cause this universe to be deleted, or in other words, pruned."
Shiki listened carefully as she explained further, "Now I know you must be confused as what's the difference between mages who are the usual participants in the Holy Grail War, or a Magician such as myself." she stated with a wide smile, earning a nod from her student. "I will simply tell you that I am far more powerful than a regular mage! Well, that and I have already reached the goal of every mage. Which is the root! You'll find a simplified explanation in those papers."
She then raised a finger to point at the boy, "Now! it's time to activate your circuits for the first time!"