[Author's note]
Try imagine reading it like a Visual Novel.
That should ease the flow.
Prologue
It was a normal day in Fuyuki City
The Holy Grail War was far from beginning.
The citizen of Fuyuki City was having the time of their life as summer arrives.
Emiya Shirou still has not mastered his arcane mystery yet.
Tohsaka Rin was still a stranger for him and Matou Sakura was just a kouhai to him.
However, is he going to live until the war start?
A mysterious person is planning a little surprise for the hero wannabe.
The said person was drinking an orange juice while wearing sunglasses.
He was wearing a white shirt and a track pants.
His blue orbs were focusing on his juice.
"Something on your mind, Hajime?" a huge man, who was also his partner, sits beside him.
"Nothing yet, Avenger… I still haven't decided on what to do," the man tells his partner.
The huge man ruffles his overgrown blond beard.
"The previous world was amusing I would say. Who would have thought he is capable to find a way with our little trick…" the huge man known as Avenger muses.
"He is a hero. That is a trait an able hero. Emiya Shirou is an amazing character to play with," the smaller companion states his opinion.
"I wonder if the other aspiring heroes able to cope up with him. I have my interest with several characters," Avenger muses again.
"'Fate' had been cruel to most of its characters. Emiya Shirou isn't an exception. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I toss him into some 'Corpse Party'."
"Ah, but wouldn't it nicer if Emiya has something to protect himself. If you toss him at this time, he wouldn't survive a minute."
"You're right Avenger. Knowing him, he'll probably throw himself in front of the ghosts while the other casts escape. I wonder what can save him from killing himself so early."
"How about letting him experience the Grail War first? Then, we can toss him in…"
"No, it wouldn't be interesting. He would be able to project swords at the time. There won't be any challenge if he can fight back with his projection."
"You got a point there. Then, what can we do?"
"Let him figure out a way on his own. He is a hero like you said."
"Fine… I hope he can make a new form of amusement for me."
(Shirou's point of view)
It's summer.
At this time of the year, people can get excited.
Who doesn't like summer?
However, it's a vacation and I find myself dying of boredom.
Fuji-nee, prohibit me from taking part time jobs.
Sakura said she had some family trip so she couldn't meet me throughout summer.
Since I don't have any part time jobs, I find myself walking aimlessly throughout Fuyuki.
I already visited the every place I could think off and it's only been half a day.
Summer is long before gone.
What can I do to kill my boredom?
Practicing magic now wouldn't be good.
It's day light and Fuji-nee can be really dangerous.
She might sneak up behind me while I'm doing magic.
"Hmm…?"
Someone is waving at me.
He's wearing a white shirt and a pair of sunglasses.
His brown hair flutters while he does that.
"He looks like a handsome man," I thought.
Besides him is a huge blond man.
His beard reaches his chest.
His bulky body was intimidating.
He wears red Hawaiian shirt with yellow flower patterns.
He was also wearing sunglasses.
"Hey, kid. Want to talk for a second?" the brown-haired person calls out to me.
I wonder what he wants with me.
"How can I help?"
"You're Emiya Shirou, aren't you?"
How did he know my name?
"Yes but…"
"You're famous around here. Even a newcomer like me can recognize the infamous hero wannabe red head."
I had to shake my head.
The rumors even reach strangers.
"Have a seat. We'll have a little talk."
"My name is Hajime and the huge guy over there is Avenger."
I change my gaze toward the huge man.
He grins.
I felt a shiver run through my backbone.
This man is not a human!
"You notice already?"
The huge man says.
"Notice about what?"
"I'm not human just like you thought."
By the time he finishes his sentence, the world warped.
"Wha… What are you?"
"We are just a bunch of Magicians and we need your help," the brown-haired person earlier says.
"Why would you ask my help? I'm only a third rate magus."
The two of them shrugs.
"Listen well, Emiya Shirou. As much as we wanted to intervene in your world, we are limited. Only you can save them."
"What do you mean by that? Who needs to be rescue?"
"Have you ever heard of the 'Sachiko Forever after Charm'?"
"No, I haven't."
"I see. This charm involves a group of people and a piece of paper."
The brown-haired person paused while showing me a piece of paper with people shape.
"You see, it was an innocent charm where people do so their friendship could last forever."
I nod at his statement.
It sounds like pinky swears children always did.
"What people didn't know, it was Black Magic."
My mind stops.
Did he say Black Magic?
"The charm acts as a catalyst to open a rift between this world and a pocket dimension. It is there where innocent lives are being sacrificed."
I grit my teeth.
Why would anyone perform that?
"This charm already went around for decades. Many people became prey to this trickery. Surprisingly, a group of students from Kisaragi Academy High went missing a week ago."
"And we assumed they perform the charm after the Cultural Day event."
More people that are innocent were lured.
Whoever responsible for this, I'm going to punch him.
"Emiya, you are capable to enter that world."
I raise my head.
I am an Ally of Justice.
It is my duty to comply with these evil.
"You look determined. Excellent…!"
The huge man cheers.
"Now, we can send you to that world but there is a catch."
"What is it?"
I ask since their tone turned grim.
"We cannot bring you out. You must find a way to get out on your own."
I thought so.
It doesn't matter if I don't escape.
I only wanted to save those people.
"I could guess from your face. You're ready for these tasks."
The brown-haired person hand me a huge bag pack.
"This bag consist food and a lot of other useful stuff. Knowing you, these aren't that heavy. I even place some Mystic code inside it. Use them sparingly."
A portal opened before us.
Looks like it's time for me to uphold my promise.
"I'm going."
"One more thing, if you stumble upon a girl with red dress, you mustn't hesitate to run. She is the spirit that was feeding on those poor souls."
I nod to show my acknowledgment.
I carry the bag and jump into the portal.
"He really is a sucker, isn't he?"
Hajime could only sigh at the sight of his once called 'friend'.
"Yup, he's a sucker when it comes to saving people," Avenger says while ruffling his beard.
"I hope he opens the bag when he arrives. I put something that actually stabilizes his magic circuit."
"Hmm… You're helping him out already. I thought you would just let him to his own accord."
"Time can change people. I am not excluded."
"Anyway, I hope Zelretch doesn't mind if we start this thing first. He plays with many worlds, but we beat him with this one."
"Wait, we did? I thought he would be interested in this world the most."
"He might overlook this particular world. It is not a surprise since he was more interested with 'DxD'. That world has a lot of similarities with 'Fate'."
"I understand that."
"So, shall we?"
Hajime snaps his finger and the two of them vanishes.
No one seems to notice.
(Shirou's point of view)
I open my eyes.
I'm lying on the floor.
I sit up straight and hold my head.
I feel a little headache.
"Where am I?"
It appears to be some kind of building.
However, the place was a little too dim for a building.
"Is this the place?"
I stand up to get a better view of my surroundings.
There are many tables scattered around the room.
"The size is so small. Is this some kind of elementary school?"
I turn my head and found a chalkboard.
There's nothing written on the chalkboard.
"That 'Hajime' person said something about this place having warped time line. I hope there is some kind of sign for the warping."
The bag is still beside me.
I wonder what's inside...
I open the bag.
Suddenly, something snatches my hand!
It sticks itself to my right arm!
"Let me go…!"
I struggle to pull it using my free hand.
The 'thing' was bluish in color and looks like some kind of liquid.
Is this 'thing' lethal?
My struggle was pointless.
The blue liquid manages to hook into my arm and sink into my skin.
Surprisingly, I feel nothing.
Somehow, my body feels a lot lighter.
"What was that thing?"
I try to move my arm slowly.
"Nothing abnormal…"
I move my hand vigorously.
It seems nothing was wrong with my arm at all.
I really hope that was the case.
The bag was wide open.
I decide to ignore the bluish thing from before.
I rummage inside the bag.
Just like, he said.
There is foodstuff such as rice balls and boxed drinks.
There is also a large first aid kit, torchlight with spare batteries, some disorganize books and…
Why is a back scratcher included?
I found a lighter that hasn't been used yet.
Is that a sheathed Rambo knife?
…
"A remote controlled car with its controller… Is this a Mystic Code?"
Now that I thought of it, random stuff inside the bag could be some kind of Mystic Codes.
I just hope I won't accidentally trigger them.
He even included a jar of salt.
Was this for open wound?
The size is exaggerating.
I could only gape at it.
Well, that's about all of it.
I'd better get moving.
Hey, I forgot to check the books…!
Perhaps it has some kind of hint about this place.
I strap the knife to my belt.
I place the lighter in my pocket.
Using the torchlight, I read one of the books.
"Ghosts are souls trapped in this world that were unable to move on. Most spirits are bound to the living world in a form of catalyst."
Is this some kind of occult stuff?
Well, I myself am a magus so I shouldn't question it.
"Majority of them have regrets which they fail to achieve in their life time."
So people that die with regret can become ghosts?
"Certain spirits were bound to the living for too long causing them to become 'Vengeful'. These spirits are harmful and hazardous to humans."
And now, these dead people begin to harm the innocent…
I don't think even ally of justice can fight ghosts.
"To counter these 'Vengeful Spirits', a pure material must be used."
A pure material must be used…
What kind of material is considered pure?
And how it is used?
The rest of the book was illegible.
I guess I'll have to try another book.
Suddenly, I heard children's laughter.
Their voice echoed throughout the room I'm sitting.
"Okay… That was creepy…"
I never thought about ghosts before.
I was busy trying to be an Ally of Justice.
And now, I'm thrown into some kind of haunted building.
If this were a stupid haunted house like the ones in theme park, I would just laugh it off.
However, this is a different world.
This is a world where humans are being sacrificed for some kind of black magic.
The children voice earlier…
Are they humans or just ghosts?
I store the stuff back inside my bag.
I decide to get out of the classroom.
It's about time for me to venture.
"Yo kid! Are you all right?"
I hear a voice audible in my head.
I pull out the knife I've strapping.
"I'm talking to you from the other side. The books were just some junk. You can toss it away if you wanted too."
It was that 'Hajime' person.
I guess I'll keep the books.
I haven't checked the rest of it.
Even if he called it a junk, I would like to read it.
I would never dump a book without reading it first.
"Suit yourself, kid. But, you're carrying extra weight."
The voice stops right there.
I sheathed the knife and head out.
I slide the door and see a gloomy corridor.
The floor was cracked all over the place.
I inspect the nearby cracks.
There was only darkness.
Should I fell, I don't think I would reach the ground.
It could possibly be an endless void.
I don't want to find out.
I lighten the torchlight to one of the crack.
Just as I thought… it's an endless void.
The light from the torchlight was unable to reach the ground.
Surprisingly, the floor to the other side was broken.
The broken floor sprawl a huge gap.
While I am athletic, I can't just jump over the gap.
There's a possibility the other end might fell.
I decide to move the opposite way.
There is another classroom.
I try to open the door but it stuck.
Should I bust it open?
I wonder if it's locked or just stuck.
I have no need for vandalism right now.
I walk my way again.
Suddenly I heard a crying voice.
"Onii-chan…!"
It was a girl's voice!
I'd better rush.
I try to track down the voice.
I run towards the possible direction.
Suddenly, I bump into a person.
"Ouch…" she fell.
I was taller and bulkier so the girl fell from accident.
"I'm sorry…" I held out my hand to help her.
Unexpectedly, she is looking at me as if I am a ghost.
"Um… Are you okay?"
She is just a teenage girl of shorter height and below average build with blue eyes and long blue hair styled into two pigtails, held with red hair ties.
She wears a tan-colored sailor outfit with a blue collar and lighter blue cuffs.
Her uniform also consists of a yellow bow held by a blue brooch to the top, and a blue pleated skirt.
Her student ID is pinned to the left of her chest.
It says 'Shinozaki Ayumi'.
She also wears white mid-calf socks and blue uwabaki slippers.
She was still in shocked from earlier.
"My name is Emiya Shirou. Nice to meet you…"
I believe an introduction is in order.
"Ah well… I… I'm sorry… But… My name…"
She still messed up.
"Shinozaki…! Where are you…?" a male voice becomes audible.
A male student made his appearance.
He's about my age.
He is a teenage boy of average build and height with gray eyes and short, bleached, somewhat-spiky hair.
He wears the standard dark gray male gakuran fully unbuttoned.
Underneath, he wears the other white shirt, which he left not tucked and partly opened, under which is a red shirt.
His student ID is pinned to the left of his chest and tucked into the breast pocket of his gakuran.
I saw his name as 'Kishinuma Yoshiki'.
He also wears light gray socks underneath blue uwabaki slippers.
"Kishinuma-kun… I'm sorry for running off earlier."
Shinozaki-san apologizes to the student.
"Hmm… Who's this?" while offering his hand to his friend.
She takes it without hesitation like the one she had with me.
He glares at me.
He doesn't trust me.
I can tell from his eyes.
"Ah, I am Emiya Shirou. Nice to meet you."
His glare turns into disinterest.
"I can hardly believe this. Someone soft like you actually fell here."
Did he call me 'soft'?
"You must be new to this hell hole. Otherwise, you wouldn't bother with the pleasantries."
Kishinuma says to me.
"Hell hole? What makes you said that?"
I know the reason but might as well play the part.
"I couldn't care less about you. Shinozaki-san, let's get out of his way."
He drags away Shinozaki-san and tries to get away.
She didn't even resist.
They didn't bother to tell their names.
I follow them with a little distance.
Shinozaki-san becomes wary of me.
She holds Kishinuma's hand and whisper something to him.
The male student turns and faces me.
"Why are you following us?"
His face contorts in anger.
He didn't trust me.
It appears Shinozaki-san was wary of me as well.
Did they think I was a ghost?
"I have no idea what's going on. So I figure if I follow the two of you, I might learn something."
Kishinuma shakes his head.
"Well if you're going to follow us, you better prove yourself to be useful. I don't want some prick tagging along with us."
He thinks I'm a weakling.
You might want to know that underneath this shirt is a six-pack.
"How could I prove that?" I ask him regardless.
"Get me some food or something I could quench my thirst. That way I could assess your credibility."
He was trying to get rid of me.
There is no way anyone had food or drinks at the time.
Wait a minute…
I do have those.
I toss down the bag.
The floor seems to shake up from all those weight.
The two of them look at me with dread.
Did I scare them?
I pull out some of the rice balls and two boxes of drinks.
It was grape juice.
I hand it to Kishinuma and Shinozaki.
They look at it in wonder.
"What? Never seen food before?"
I jest with a smirk.
Kishinuma looks at Shinozaki with a confused expression.
"I'm sorry."
He suddenly apologizes.
"I wasn't trying to oppress you or anything. I was trying to get rid of you."
He actually confesses.
I smile and hand him the rice balls.
"And I'm giving these to you two. I bet you guys are hungry from all those walking."
Their face contorts with confusion.
"I'm sorry but I don't have the appetite to eat after seeing those 'things'."
"What do you mean? Did you guys found something horrible along the way?"
Kishinuma glances away.
"I don't know if you're doing this to get some company or you're just plain goodie two shoes. The 'things' here are not something I can describe."
Shinozaki didn't even look at me.
She was deep in thought.
"What's wrong?"
I ask her.
She startles and step back as if avoiding me.
"I'm sorry…"
She mutters that and walks alone.
"Shinozaki, stop…!"
Kishinuma tries to stop her.
They got into some argument.
I overhear them.
"Shinozaki, we can't just leave him behind. He's too soft for his own good."
"I don't believe so, Kishinuma-kun. I stumbled with him before. I fell while he remained unfazed. He's probably pretends to be nice to us so he could get some company."
She had that kind of thought when she saw me?
"And besides, we don't have time to babysit some stranger. Suzumoto-san is in danger."
I cannot ignore that.
"I'm sorry. But I overheard your talk."
They have a shocked expression.
They probably scared if I was mad.
They were talking bad things about me.
"I heard your friend is in danger. Is he or she in some sort of trouble?"
They look at each other.
"This is our problem. Why should you care?"
Shinozaki snaps.
"I have to care if someone is in danger."
I say that with determination.
Kishinuma was eyeing the knife on my belt.
Is that the reason for their hostility?
I pick the knife and toss it at Kishinuma.
"I can't help much but I could at least give you that knife."
They become shocked again.
Kishinuma makes a disturbed expression.
"You're weird, you know that."
He tells me that.
He wasn't smiling or anything.
His face was still dull and cautious.
"I don't need your knife. It's worthless against a ghost anyway."
He hands me the knife back.
Did he say ghost?
"Did you mention a ghost?"
I ask while taking the knife.
He glances away again.
"Our friend has been kidnapped by a group of ghosts. We need to find a doll to appease them."
This is crazy!
I've never heard a ghost can hold a person captive.
"Naho-san said we should be able to find the doll in one of the classroom. We should start looking now."
The two of them walks away but I follow them.
"Why are you following us?"
Shinozaki asks with a glare.
She was looking at me as if I was a pest.
Did I offend her?
"Yo people!"
A voice shakes the corridor.
I thought I was the only one who can hear him.
"What was that?!"
Kishinuma stands before Shinozaki to protect her from incoming attack.
"Emiya… Did you made any progress yet? I'm dying to see some actions!"
What is he talking about?
The two of them look at me warily.
"What am I talking about? I'm talking about you! You say you're going to be a hero, right…? Or was it just a childhood aspiration?"
"Of course it's not! I'm going to be an Ally of Justice! I will save everyone!"
I yell frantically.
Suddenly, I hear a loud laughter.
"You made my friend laugh! If you want to be a hero, go save the girl first! Then, we can talk!"
"I was planning to do that even if you don't tell me!"
"Oh really… I placing a bet on you will fail. Miserably…"
The word 'miserably' echoes in the whole place.
"You don't know what you're up against! You better prepare because this is going to be bloody!"
His voice echoes again.
What did he mean by 'bloody'?
"All right, tell me what's going?!"
Kishinuma yells at me.
"Who's the voice? And why he is talking about you being hero stuff?"
He demands answer from me.
"The voice belongs to a crazy person. He was the one who sent me here."
"I heard that!"
His voice echoes again.
"When are you going to shut up?!"
"I'll never shut up!"
I sigh.
There is no point arguing with him.
"You give up already? Then I'll give you a tip. 'Don't look for the doll'… That's it! I'll be back in a few hours!"
I wait for him to ramble again.
The corridor remains silent.
I guess he was out of rambling.
"What did he mean by that?! We need the doll to save Suzumoto-san!"
Shinozaki claims.
"I don't know. I can't trust him much. If you think the doll can help, then we'll look for the doll."
"Is this related to you trying to be a hero again?"
Kishinuma says while looking at me suspiciously.
"Yes and no. First, this doesn't concern me. It involves your friend. I'm only offering because we can cover more places with more people."
I reason.
The two of them look wary.
"What's the doll look like?"
"It wears red cloth and has a hat. You probably recognize it from the first sight."
Kishinuma neglected to tell me but he gives up.
Shinozaki was glaring at me the whole time.
The three of us split out and search for the doll.
In the end, Shinozaki was the one who found the doll.
"All right, let's get back to Suzumoto-san."
She says with a bright smile.
Of course, she was smiling at Kishinuma not me.
I still get the glare.
The doll was creepy.
Suddenly, it talks.
"I… am sorry…"
"What the hell?!"
Kishinuma was ready to toss it away but Shinozaki stops him.
"It must be the killer's confession! With this the ghost will be appeased!"
A killer's confession?
What did she mean by that?
We continue to walk along the corridor.
We avoid the cracks so nothing bad would happen.
Finally, we arrive at a room.
I see a teenage girl of below average build and height with dull green eyes.
Her medium long brown hair is styled into a small ponytail at the top right side of her head, held by a hair tie with two pink spheres.
Her bangs kept back with two orange barrettes.
She wears a tan-colored sailor outfit with a blue collar and lighter blue cuffs identical to Shinozaki.
Her uniform also consists of a yellow bow held by a blue brooch to the top, and a blue pleated skirt.
Her student ID is pinned to the right of her chest.
Her name is 'Suzumoto Mayu'.
She also wears black mid-calf socks and blue uwabaki slippers.
She's normal all right but she is flying.
No, she wasn't flying but was held captive by two ghosts!
She looks helpless.
They were spirits of children.
One of them losses an eye while the one loss half her head.
What manner of creature had done this to them?
"Please hear us out!"
Shinozaki yells.
The two ghost children glare at her.
She raises the doll up high and the doll begins to talk.
The ghosts listen to it and make a shocked expression.
I wasn't sure with the other one but the one eye ghost was surely shocked.
Suddenly, their face contorts with rage.
"Wait, what are you doing?"
The girl I know as Suzumoto asks the ghosts.
This isn't good.
The ghosts let out a high pitch wailing and drag the girl by her legs.
Her panty was visible but that wasn't important.
They're going to do something!
"NO!"
Shinozaki yells frantically.
We rush outside and try to chase the ghosts.
But we were too late…
They drag her down the long hallway at a high speed, and splatter her entire body on the wall at the end of the hallway.
The three of us stare in horror.
Someone die before our very eyes.
What can we say against something like this?
I fell to my knee.
I failed to save someone…
She was there in front of me and I was powerless to do anything.
"I can't take this anymore!"
Shinozaki yells and run from us.
Kishinuma chase after her.
I remain kneeled and lament my incapability.
#Chapter End#
[Author's note]
Hello there!
My pen name is LDC.
Please to meet you all.
I've been writing fanfictions for years but this is the first time I actually posted something online.
This is a story I wrote two years ago so it's a bit unsatisfying.
I can't find faults on my own so I decide to post it here.
Maybe, someone could point out my mistakes.
After all, human needs to rely on others to find their mistake.
Anyways, I did put two OCs in here as a representative of myself.
You could say that I was a childish person back then and secretly wish that I would able to bend world like my OC.
I thank you for reading this.