This is a Preview Chapter for a Bleach X Fate/Stay Night story I started writing a while ago, but decided to write other things instead.
Synopsis: After fighting Gilgamesh, Shirō Emiya is pulled into the hole left by the grail. He awakes later in an unfamiliar place with no memories of who he is or where he came from. After he discovers he is essentially a ghost and after meeting a hollow, he is found and taken in by Kisuke Urahara. Shirō is given a gigai and is allowed to finish his schooling while living with Urahara and the gang. Due to his friendly and helpful nature Shirō inevitably gets caught up in the affairs of Ichigo Kurosaki and the rest of the karakura gang. How will Shirō's presence alter the events that take place in Karakura town and beyond.
All Weapons but the Sword - Teaser Chapter
"Damn it… What the hell is going on?" Running through the suburban streets, a young man asks aloud. "Why can I sense so many of them appearing all over the town?"
The young man's short spiky auburn hair sways about as he runs at top speed. His destination is vague, yet he runs franticly. His blue and white sneakers thump against the asphalt, and his loose fitting black pants and dark blue long sleeved shirt shift around constantly as his body rapidly pushes through the air. The sheathed katana held tightly in his left hand rattles slightly with every step; the mid afternoon sun gleaming off the polished black sheath and the silver hexagonal guard.
"Where is it?" he calls out between breaths. "I can sense it but where is… there!"
Not slowing down, he grabs the black cord-wrapped handle of his sword with his right hand. Up ahead something lumbers out from behind a brick wall to the right. The young man's golden brown eyes focus in on the emerging presence. It turns out to be a large monstrosity: an ash gray humanoid figure easily over 2 metres tall, with a visible hole through its chest, 2 large arms on each side of its body, and a pure white mask covering its face and head. The creature sees the young man approaching and releases a chilling howl, rearing its right arms back to strike at the boy.
The young man doesn't stop running even as the beast swings its lower right arm down at him. He simply steps to his left to avoid the hit, letting the creature's fist hit the road. The young man immediately jumps afterward though, to avoid the beast's second right arm. Continuing forward and landing deftly on the outstretched arm, the young man leaps quickly towards the creature's head. As he leaps he draws his sword with his right hand and slices the creature's head off in one swipe to the right. Spinning around to the right once in the air as he falls, he quickly sheathes his sword after landing and runs off.
"One hollow down, but there's still so many more. Damn it!" he curses as he runs towards where he senses his next target, the next hollow for him to slay.
A snake looking hollow darts out from side street on the young man's left and hisses before lunging at him jaws open wide. The young man leaps over the hollow's head and once more draws his sword with his right hand. Twisting his body so he is horizontal in the air, he spins to his right, slicing the hollow's head from above as he passes over it. He pushes off its now fading body and continues on his way once again. This time he keeps his sword drawn.
More hollows, each different in shape but with the same dark body and white mask appear in his path. However, the young man barely slows down as he dispatches them all with his sword. The young man senses something while running and looks to his right, seeing a park with some kids playing in it. He sees the kid's parents relaxing on a nearby bench, with a large hollow creeping up behind them.
"Damn it! It's going to attack those people." He says as he quickly changed direction and runs full speed toward the hollow.
The young man luckily remains unnoticed as he leaps at the hollow. His left foot followed by his right knee slam into the right side of the hollow's big head, cracking the mask on impact. At the same time, he drives his sword into the side of its neck causing the hollows scream to choke up in its throat. He kicks off the now falling hollow, dragging his sword out the front of its neck in a spray of black. When he lands he looks towards the people in the park, breathing heavily for a moment.
"Haaa… No one hurt? Good. Now, where to nex…!" he cuts himself off and his eyes widen and he and sharply turns around. He raises both his sword and his sheath to block the claws of a winged hollow from gouging into him, and is pushed back a couple of metres from the impact. The flying hollow screeches and flaps it wings to stabilize itself in the air.
"Shit, there are more of these things." The young man complains, and then glances at the unsuspecting normal people. "Damn, I gotta move from here. Come get me you big pigeon!"
The young man sheathes his sword starts backing away quickly. The flying hollow shrieks and follows after him as he takes off into the streets running once more. The flying hollow swoops low to catch the young man, but misses as he ducks and rolls out of the way. Quickly regaining his feet, the young man darts to the left and starts running again, all the while he keeps an eye on the flying hollow.
'I need to catch it while it swoops in' he thinks as he eyes the hollow circling around above him from. 'I'll need more open space for that though, preferably with no bystanders.'
The young man does another duck and rolls to avoid the flying hollow once more, followed by an immediate roll to his right to avoid a large tail smashing down where he was crouched a second prior. He quickly draws his sword and slices through the retracting tail, causing a nearby large lizard hollow to shriek out in pain. As the hollow turns to face its attacker its head is sliced off from a single downward strike, courtesy of the young man.
"I think there's an empty industrial area near here." he says as he begins running again. "I need to get there fast; I can sense more hollows approaching me."
In the sky another flying hollow joins the pursuit and several more hollows appear in the young man's path. After another minute or so of running and killing hollows the young man reaches his destination and leaps over a metal wire fence. Landing safely on the other side, he heads out to a large open area and stops to catch his breath. Derelict warehouses, piles of industrial garbage and left over construction materials are all visible in the surrounding areas.
"Haaa… I can sense Kurosaki raging around in town too. I don't know where he's headed, but he is similarly being swarmed by hollows." The young man draws his sword again as numerous hollows start to make their appearance. A cacophony of growling and snarling with spoken words mixed in surrounds him. Mutterings of 'Shinigami' and 'Tasty Human' are mostly what can be heard. The hollows, now more than a dozen – and still more appearing, surround the young man. Some are eyeing him wearily, some hungrily, some are egging others on, and some are getting rough with each other. They all however, are there for the same thing: young man's soul.
"The hollows seem to be targeting people with high reiryoku, like me, Kurosaki, and I think I can sense Ishida fighting too." the young man says while he readies his sword in his right hand and his sheath in his left. "The hollow reiatsu in the air is getting thicker and heavier. I'll have to… wait that's…" The young man spins quickly to stare wide eyed into the distance.
"That reiatsu, it belongs to Sado… Oh crap, he is being chased by a hollow! I have to help him!" The young man panics at knowing his fellow student is in trouble. Because of this he nearly misses the canine-like hollow leap at him from behind. Sensing it he quickly spins around and uses both his sword and his sheath to deflect the hollow's claws and deliver a deep cut to its side. The wound causes the hollow to retreat; the surrounding hollows though are all focused intently on the young man now.
"Shit! I can't stand around here. I need to go help! I… oh no!" This time the look in young man's eyes sharpens as he senses something "A hollow is at the school… right where Arisawa and Inoue are! Damn it! Why is this happening!?"
The hollows take the young man's distress as a signal to attack. In a second there are more than half a dozen hollows all leaping or scrambling towards him. Making a snap decision the young man jumps at one of the approaching hollows - a large centipede hollow - and stabs his sword into the monster's head. He just manages to pull his legs up, and rolls on top of the centipede hollow's head and under the winged hollow above it. He pulls his sword from the hollow below him and slices through the lower body of the hollow above him in one flowing motion.
He lands behind the wounded hollows as his eyes dart around observing his enemies. He notices too late though the feline hollow leaping at him from behind. The young man turns quickly to defend himself, but the cat-like hollow pounces on him hard. The young man is knocked onto his back, the hollow landing on top of him. Though he manages to stab the hollow with his sword and redirect one of its claws, the other claw stabs into the right side of his abdomen.
"Aaaargh!" the young man growls out as he kicks the hollows off him. He immediately rolls to his right to avoid a hollow trying to stomp on him with its large foot, which he promptly slices off. "Damn it! This wound is going to make it harder to fight."
The hollows encircle the young man once more; all seeming a bit cautious now, hesitating to move in closer. The young man in the centre of the onslaught takes a deep breath and winces raising his sword and sheath to continue; a dire expression marking his face as he feels his blood running down his side under his shirt.
'Damn! I have to go help the others!' he thinks desperately while keeping an eye on all the hollows around him. 'To do that I'll have to get past these hollows. Argh, but wounded and facing and this many enemies I'm more likely to end up dead myself… Damn, what am I going to do?'
One of the flying hollows perched on a nearby warehouse shrieks and flaps its wings to take flight. It gets a metre off the roof before the sound of rapid cannon fire is heard and the hollow is hit by a volley of attacks. The group of hollows in the area pause and look to the roof as the disappearing body of the hollow falls to the ground.
A person steps up the edge of the roof; a girl of short stature with long black hair done up in pigtails, a white shirt and a pink skirt. The blush on her cheeks creates an odd juxtaposition with the large object held on her left shoulder. A cylindrical object larger than its wielder, covered in strips of paper and with one end smoking. The young man's eyes widen with surprise when he sees her.
"U… Ururu? Wha…" He starts but is cut off by another voice.
"Uohhh! Jinta Home RUN!" A smashed hollow flies over head and crashes on top of a few others.
"No way… Jinta too. Why are you two here?" the young man yells out. "You both need to…"
Once more cut off, but this time by the sound of rapid canon fire from on top of the warehouse. The surrounding hollows are showered by a continuous volley of shots from the girl's cannon. The Hollows on the ground are gunned down mercilessly, before she turns her attention to the few flying hollows in the area and begins gunning them down without pause. One of the few remaining ground hollows takes a chance at the young man but is smacked into the ground by a large metal club. The club is hefted up and onto the shoulder of a small boy with red spiky hair and a grin on his face. His white t-shirt the same as the girl's, with blue three-quarter pants and black sneakers stepping on a defeated hollow.
"Yo Shirō! We're here to back ya up!" the boy, Jinta exclaims, before he notices the gash on the young man's right side. "Oh damn, they got ya there huh? You gonna be okay?"
With their target now having reinforcements to aid him the remaining hollows decide to retreat back to their own world. The girl, Ururu finishes off the last flying hollow and jumps down next to the two boys.
"Shirō-san, are you…" her quiet voice raises when she sees the wound on the young man, Shirō. "Oh no, Shirō-san you're hurt. We need to get back to Urahara-san quickly!"
"Don't worry Ururu, I'll be okay." Shirō replies with a smile as he sheathes his sword then gently pats her head, causing the girl's blush to deepen, but she still looks worried. "I'm impressed that you two can fight like that though. I know Urahara-san said that you were both capable but I was impressed. Thank you both for the help."
Shirō's praise causes Ururu to blush even more, and Jinta to puff up in pride, replying with "Of course Shirō. I'm a star batsman in the makings. No stupid hollow is a match for me!"
"Shirō-san, Urahara-san sent us to come get you, so…" Ururu began, but was interrupted by Shirō.
"I'm sorry you two, but I can't stop and go back now. There are still so many hollows in the town, and I need to help the others before... wha?" Shirō pauses and once again looks off into the distance, his eyes widening in surprise. "Sado… that's Sado's reiatsu, but it's now significantly higher than normal. What happened over there?"
"Huh, what's wrong Shirō?" asks Jinta, a confused look on his face. "Can you sense something happening?"
"One of my schoolmates, one of Ichigo's friends was being chased by a hollow." Shirō replies still looking into the distance. "I was worried about him, but just now his reiatsu spiked and I can't sense the hollow anymore."
"Man, I can't sense a thing from here" Jinta says, squinting in the same direction Shirō is looking. "But I guess the orange-haired punk's friend beat the hollow."
"I'm not sure, but I still need to go to the school too. I sensed a hollow there as well" Shirō says, turning around to head towards the school. "With all the hollows around me before it was hard to sense anything else, but now I can… what, again?" Shirō's eyes widen looking in the direction the school was in.
"What is it Shirō-san?" asks Ururu, looking up at Shirō's concerned face.
"Another reiatsu spike." replies Shirō, his eyes narrowing towards the location he senses the action. "This time it's… Inoue!"
"Oy Shirō. What's going on?" Jinta asks, getting a little annoyed at the lack of action. "More hollows or what?"
"Another of my school friends who I know had higher than normal amounts of reiryoku is fighting a hollow." Shirō responds, a pensive look on his face now. "I didn't think Inoue was capable of fighting, but her reiatsu is climbing and, ahh… the hollow's reiatsu is now fading away."
"That's good isn't it?" Jinta asks. "They both beat up a hollow, now we can go back to the boss' place."
"I don't know. I'm still worried about them and about the rest of the hollows in the town." replies Shirō, looking a little calmer now. "I still want to…"
A loud roar from a hollow interrupts their dialog. The three look into the sky, and three sets of eyes widen at what they see; a huge swarm of hollows – maybe exceeding a hundred of them - all heading in the same direction.
"That's a lot of hollows" Jinta exclaims, a lot less confident then earlier.
"All those hollows…" Shirō says in a shaky voice. "They're heading to where I can sense Ichigo and Ishida fighting."
As the two boy's gazes are locked on the huge swarm they fail to notice the near-vacant expression on Ururu's face. Their attention is drawn to her however when she raises her should cannon to aim at the swarm.
"Wait Ururu, don't…"/ "Hey wait…" Shirō and Jinta start to tell her, but their voices are drowned out by the sound of her cannon rapidly firing rounds into the swarm of hollows. A bunch of hollows are hit and start to fall from the sky, disintegrating on the way down. Shirō bends down on the girl's left to grab the cannon and yank the barrel end upward. The action disrupts the girl's thoughts and she stops firing to look at Shirō.
"Shirō-san, what are… what happened?" she asks meekly, before she is grabbed by Jinta who gives her a noogie.
"Ya moron!" he yells out. "Ya flipped out and started shooting at that huge swarm." This causes Ururu to start to look distressed.
"It's okay Ururu." replied Shirō confidently, calming her down. "We just don't want to draw their attention at the moment. We need to regroup with Urahara-san, Kuchiki-san, Kurosaki and…"
Shirō is cut off by a hollow roar again. The three of them once again look to the sky, to see the hollows. All three of them pale considerably though when they notice the swarm turning back to head in their direction.
"Oh crap, now we're gonna be swarmed" Jinta calls out. "What do we do?"
"Oh no!" Ururu begins to panic. "I'm so sorry Shirō-san, I didn't mean to…"
"Don't panic Ururu, Jinta." Shirō replies calmly, drawing his sword and staring down the approaching swarm of hollows. "Stay on your guard, protect each other, and I know we can make it through this."
"R-Right!" "O-Okay." Jinta and Ururu respond, both readying their weapons too.
Shirō takes a couple of steps forward. Then speaks: "Ururu, shoot as many of them as you can. Jinta, keep the hollows off of Ururu."
"What about you Shirō-san?" Ururu asks, as she levels her cannon at the swarm.
Shirō raises his sword to point at the approaching swarm. 'Calm down and focus.' he thinks. 'Remember what Tessai-san taught you about this power.' His eyes then start to glow a slight luminous silver colour as he focuses his reiryoku in his body. The two kids stare at his back as he speaks.
"I don't know how long I can hold out, but I'll do my best to draw their attention." he states, a hard look in his eyes as he stares at the now near swarm. "Now go!"
The sound of Ururu's cannon firing starts up behind him, and the huge swarm breaks as it reaches Shirō, swarming around the three people. Several hollows slam into the ground around Shirō and are promptly sliced up. A fierce expression settles on Shirō's face as he bends and swerves between numerous hollow appendages; parrying some with the sheath in his left hand, slicing up others with the sword in his right. Behind him, Ururu frantically guns down hollows, slowly turning in a circular motion to hit hollows all around her. Beside her is Jinta, batting away hollows that get too close. Together they seem to be doing alright, not a scratch on them and hollows falling quickly.
'Aaahhh, damn it' Shirō screams out in his mind, as he moves quickly about slicing into whatever hollow comes close enough. 'I have never pushed my body this hard before. I'm fighting faster and harder, but I don't know how long I can last like this. I have never focused my reiryoku this intensely in my body before.'
He slams his left shoulder into a nearby hollow, bowling it over before slicing its mask and another hollow in one swipe.
'The higher reiatsu is making it easier to cut the hollows.' he thinks, dodging and cutting once again. 'But the strain on my body, coupled with the wound in my stomach; it's beginning to hurt all over.'
Despite his thoughts the swarm of hollows was slowly thinning out; almost half of them dead now.
"Haaaa… we may be able to win this one after all!" Shirō says out loud, a weary grin on his face as he catches his breath and some of the hollows actually start to back away from him. Behind him Jinta is breathing hard too, but is unharmed and still going. Ururu is still focused on shooting down the hollows.
Shirō raises his sword and sheathe to now go on the offensive. Before he can move though, the air gets heavier and a loud roar sounds out from behind the hollows in front of Shirō. Shirō sweats as the hollow reiatsu in the air thickens. Out from a large inky black void steps a hollow, easily 5 to 6 metres tall.
"Wha… what is that?" Shirō asks out loud, a shocked and disbelieving look on his face. "That hollow's reiatsu is incredible, it's almost suffocating to be near."
The smaller hollows part to clear a path for the large hollow, giving Shirō a clear view of it. The beast's clearly defined muscles twitch under its dark brown/black skin. Its grotesquely elongated arms with elbows almost at ground level and sharp claws scrape at the pavement. It would be taller if not for its shorter stocky legs and twisted muscular hunchback. The white mask on its face: open with a long tongue hanging out over blunted teeth, and two large sharp incisors on its lower jaw sticking up and out. It quickly leaps forward and skids to a stop directly in front of Shirō.
"Shirō-san!" Ururu calls out in alarm and aims her cannon at the large hollow. Jinta is unfortunately also distracted by the large hollow and doesn't see the small beetle like hollow scuttle up beside him. Jinta is unable to defend in time and the hollow uses its large horned head to smash into Jinta's side, knocking him into Ururu, sending them both down.
"Owow…" Ururu cries out as she hits the ground with Jinta next to her. Her pain turns to surprise as both her and Jinta are hit with a net of sticky gray stuff, courtesy of a spider-like hollow nearby. "Waah, were stuck!"
Ururu's words and Jinta's groans attract Shirō's attention for a brief moment.
'OH SHIT! Jinta, Ururu! They're stuck' Shirō thinks as he sees hollows creeping closer to the downed kids 'No no no no, I have to help them out!'
Shirō's moment of distraction costs him though as the large hollow makes a very fast swipe at him. Shirō turns in time to block the claws with his sword and sheathe, but the strike still hits him hard and sends him crashing into a nearby pile of lumber. The large hollow roars and the commotion stops the rest of the hollows for a brief moment.
"Noooo Shirō-san!" "Shirō!" Ururu and Jinta call out from their spot bound on the ground, both twisting around trying to free themselves. While struggling they don't notice the hollow that approaches them until it smashes both of its spiked whip like arms into their prone, tied-down forms. "AAHHHHH!" They both cry out as the impact drives the spikes into their skin.
"This net is draining our Reiatsu" Jinta says between winces.
"Ahh, no… we have to help Shirō-san!" Ururu says as she continues to struggle in the net.
The large hollow moves towards the messed up pile of lumber where Shirō landed. The pile shuffles as Shirō pulls himself out, a pained look on his face. His expression turns to one of panic when he sees the kids immobile, hurt, and encroached by hollows; the large hollow lumbering toward him, in between him and the two kids.
"Shit! If I don't do something the hollows will get them." Shirō rasps out, as he scrambles to his feet. His right hand still grasps firmly onto his sword, but his left is empty; his sheathe missing. "Damn It!" He grabs his sword with both hands and dashes forward, as the hollow raises its left arm up.
The large solid arm is swung down, crashing into the pavement as Shirou quickly dashes to his left to avoid it. He follows up by slashing his sword against the side of the arm in front of him. He is subsequently shocked when his strike only produces a relatively shallow cut, and his blade even gets stuck in the hollow's arm. The wound causes the hollow to shriek and swing its arm upward, throwing Shirou back. He is disoriented and lands on his back, rolling backward and stopping face down.
'Ahhhh, damn it!' his thoughts race as he raises his head. 'Those two need my help… but what can I do against something like that.' Shirō spots his sword in front of him on the ground. He reaches out and grabs the hilt with his right hand as the hollow's large foot crashes into the pavement a meter and a half in front of him. He looks through the large beast's legs and sees Ururu saying something, looking in his direction, though he can't seem to hear her. Jinta is right beside her still struggling to free himself from his bindings; Small amounts of blood dripping from them both.
'If I don't do something… they'll die' Shirō's thoughts slow down, as does the world around him, the hollows slowly closing in on the three youths. 'I can't let them die, but I can't save them either.'
Despair mars his expression and fills his mind as Shirō squeezes his eyes shut, his vision fading away to black. 'I… can't…"
"Shirō"
Shirō's eyes snap open. A wood panel ceiling bathed in shadows greets his vision. He is lying on his back and feels a wooden floor beneath him. He tilts his head back and sees paper sliding doors behind him.
'The air is cool' is the first thing in his mind. 'But it's late July now.' He sits up and looks around at where he is.
Shirō is sitting on the floor of a wooden porch of a Japanese style house, his legs hanging over the edge to the ground outside. He notices that his attire feels different too, now consisting of a light gray yukata held closed with a dark blue sash.
"Are my clothes different?" he says out loud. "It's so dark, I can barely see anything."
"It is quite dark here right now" a male voice speaks softly from Shirō's left. He turns to look at the source of the words.
A human figure is seated next to him on the porch, a metre or so between them. Shirō can tell the figure is male, taller than him, though he can't make out any more defining features due to the lack of light.
Shirō stares at the figure next to him and asks: "Who are you? Why am I here?"
"You know who I am Shirō." is the response he gets. "As for why you're here: that is a long story."
"I… Why is it so dark here? Is it always like this?" Shirō asks trying to see anything outside.
"It isn't usually this dark, no." replies the figure. "Your heart has been clouded for a while now Shirō. However, it is your recent dark thoughts that have removed all but the faintest of light from this place."
"My wha… Oh! Jinta! Ururu! Where are they? What happened to them?" Shirō asks, looking about frantically, but his voice trails off as he continues. "I have to… I have to… I have to save them… but I don't know if I can do anything."
"Shirō" the figure's voice draws Shirō's attention. "I want to tell you a story. Please listen."
"A story" Shirō asks; a confused tone to his voice. "What about?"
"A story about a boy: A boy with a simple, yet grand dream." the figure started. "This boy built his world on his dream and spent his life working towards achieving it. However, as he grew up he realized that his dream was far grander than any one man can ever hope to achieve. He sought extreme means to achieve it, but in the end he never saw his dream realized, not even once."
"Not once?" asks Shirō, somehow saddened. "He must have been stupid to pursue such a silly dream then."
"It was a silly dream; but it was also a beautiful dream. However, a dream is all it will ever be. It was a lie that will never be a reality." the figure states, causing Shirō to look down.
"How did he cope with that realization?" asks Shirō, still looking down. "How would anyone cope with finding out that the foundation of their life was a lie?"
"You know the answer to that Shirō." replies the figure. "You've known that answer for a while now."
"How could I know that" replies Shirō, his voice getting a bit heated. "I don't know that boy, I don't know what his dream was!"
"You do know Shirō! The boy's dream is a part of who you are." states the figure.
"And I don't know who I am" Shirō replies back sharply. "I don't have any memories from before coming to Karakura Town, they're all gone. I don't know where I'm from, or if I have friends or family somewhere. I don't even know if Emiya Shirō is my real name!"
The figure remains silent for a while following Shirō's outburst.
"Your memories have been dislodged Shirō." The figure replies calmly. "However they haven't been lost."
"…What do you mean, not lost" asks Shirō, quietly surprised.
"Look around you Shirō" the figure states gesturing to the darkened porch and house. "If your memories were truly lost then this place wouldn't be here."
"Wha… what do you…" Shirō starts in a soft unsure voice as he looked around at the environment.
"You have asked a few questions since coming here Shirō" the figure says. "But not once have you asked 'Where are we'!"
"…I…" Shirou tries to respond but is unable to continue.
"This place is where you built your foundation Shirō!" exclaims the figure. "This is where you chose your life's path."
"My life's path?" Shirō asks, staring at the figure intently now. "But… what… I…"
"What do you want to do, Shirō?" asks the figure in a calm voice. "What do you want to do with your life?"
"I don't really want anything" is Shirō's response. "I just want to help people, and have them be happy."
"You want to help them." asks the figure. "You want to help those two kids about to be killed?"
"Ururu, and Jinta. I want to save them!" Shirō responds quickly.
"You want to save them? Just them?" asks the figure.
"No! Not just them. I want to save the others from school too!" replies Shirō, his voice rising in volume. "No! More than just that, I want to save everyone in Karakura town! I want to save everyone!"
"Say it clearly Shirō! What do you want to be!" the figure says loudly, his voice echoing throughout the area.
"I want to save everyone!" Staring down at his clenched fists Shirō gives his response. "I want to be a Hero of Justice!"
"…"
"I'm relieved" the figure says. Shirō raises his head to look at the man next to him, his features visible clearly now.
Shirō sees the shaggy black hair and tired dark eyes of the older Japanese man sitting next to him. He sees the dark gray yukata held closed by a black sash. The man smiles softly at Shirō, and Shirō looks back, a shocked expression on his face.
"You… you're… you're" Shirō starts, wide eyed. "Kiritsugu… but you…"
And then suddenly like a puzzle sliding into place, the whole picture becomes clear. Shirō's mind opens up and all his memories lock back into place. Then with wide eyes and a shaky voice, Shirō spills his thoughts as they overflow from his mind.
"Fuyuki City. The Fire. Kiritsugu. Taiga and the Fujimura gang. School. Shinji. Sakura. Issei." His voice rises with every statement. "The Holy Grail War. Servants. Saber. Archer. The Corupted Grail. Gilgamesh…oh no… Rin!"
From Shirou's memories comes more worry and despair. The air around the two begins to get colder and the darkness becomes thicker, now blocking most of the porch and house.
"Oh no. What happened to Gilgamesh and Archer? We were all pulled into that hole formed by the Grail." exclaims Shirō in a panic. "And Rin. What happened to Rin?"
"Please Shirō, calm down" the Kiritsugu figure says, trying to calm the panicking Shirō down.
"What happened with Rin, Saber and the Holy Grail? Did they destroy it? Did Shinji make it?" he asks frantically. "Rin must be worried about me, and Taiga and Sakura too. What is happening there now that I'm gone."
"Shirō!" the Kiritsugu figure calls out.
"Can I ever get back home?... Will I… Can I… I don't…"
"SHIRŌ!" the Kiritsugu figure yells out, startling Shirō and drawing his attention again.
"Dad… what do I do?" Shirō asks looking desperate, as the darkness creeps in around them.
"…I am not Kiritsugu." the figure's response stuns Shirō, such that he can't even form a response. "I am not your father Shirō. I am your power."
"My… power?" Shirō finally manages a response. "What… what do you mean?"
"I am a manifestation of the power that lies within your soul Shirō." the Kiritsugu figure says as he looks out of the porch. "Is it that surprising that I have this appearance? Your adoptive father was a major influence on who you are now."
"So… you're not Kiritsugu" Shirō says, his eyes lowered back down to his lap. "So I really have no one left…"
"…We don't have a lot of time Shirō." the Kiritsugu figure says. "The foundations of your life have been ripped away from you. Are you going to let this destroy you?
Shirō gives no response, he just keeps looking down at his lap.
"…Are you okay with dying Shirō?" the Kiritsugu figure asks.
Once more, Shirō continues looking down without responding.
"Then, are you okay with those two kids out there dying?" the Kiritsugu figure ask solemnly.
"NO WAY! OF COURSE I'M NOT OKAY WITH THAT!" Shirō responds immediately, still looking down though. "I'm not okay with anyone being killed like what's happening here."
"Then why are you confused" the Kiritsugu figure states. "You are human Shirō, so it is only natural to feel hurt when you lose things that are important to you."
Shirō slowly raises his face to look at the Kiritsugu figure, a lost look on his face.
"However, did you not decide that you would pursue the path of a Hero of Justice?" the Kiritsugu figure asks. "I thought that you'd already accepted that this would be a path that would bring you pain and loss. I thought you'd already accepted that and made the decision to keep moving forward along this path without any regrets."
"…I…" Shirō mutters; the image of an earthen hill enters his mind. A single sword planted blade down into the peak of the hill.
"You may be in a different world Shirō, far from all that you knew and loved" the Kiritsugu figure's voice raises a bit as he continues. "But even in this strange world there are people that call out for salvation. Even if you are far from your home, are you still a Hero of Justice?"
"I… I am" Shirō responds, his expression slowly turning to one of resolve. "I am far away from my home, and from all my precious people. It hurts, but it doesn't change who I am. I am Emiya Shirō. Regardless of where I am… I WILL BE A HERO OF JUSTICE!"
Bright light fills the area causing Shirō to squint, as his eyes adjust to the light. Once he gets used to it his eyes widen as he looks around him.
A silver moon fills the darkness of a cloudy night sky, streaming rays of silver light into the porch he and the Kiritsugu figure are seated on. Shirō looks outside as well. There he sees the same yard he spent years of his youth in: the dojo in the corner off to his right, the shed he spent many nights in off to his left. All bathed in the silver light of the moon, the imagery causes Shirō to pause as he rides the wave of nostalgia.
"Ah. It seems the dark clouds have finally cleared up a bit and the Moon is now visible." the Kiritsugu figure states calmly while looking up at the Moon. His words draw Shirō's attention. "It is a beautiful sight."
Shirō looks back outside and stops when he notices something sticking out of the dirt in the middle of the yard. The Silver moonlight reflecting cleanly off the 73cm long, single-edged blade, dug about 10cm into the ground. The silver hexagonal guard seems to sparkle as Shirō looks at it.
"Is that… my Zanpakutō?" he says, as he gets up and moves toward the sword, but is stopped by the Kiritsugu figure.
"Shirō" the figure starts and Shirou turns to him "I brought you here because I had finally managed to recover your memories and I needed you to unlock them. I needed you to remember who you were and the decisions you made that brought you to where we are now. I needed you to remember what you are, so that you will be able to access the power of your Zanpakutō."
"My Zanpakutō's power?" asks Shirō confused, though he looks down after a brief pause and continues in a sombre tone. "Why does my past matter for that? All this spiritual power stuff is new to me, so why would my past matter? Or, can I still use my Magecraft?"
"No Shirō" the figure responds calmly. "Your magic circuits don't exist anymore. Magecraft and Magic as a whole don't exist in this reality. All your former magical abilities are lost to you now, and as long as you remain in this reality they will stay lost to you."
"Oh… so everything I worked hard on… everything I gained… is all gone." Shirō says, before raising his head to once again look at the Kiritsugu figure, a look of resolve on his face. "That doesn't matter. As long as I have a body there will be something I can do! I am still Emiya Shirō. I will not stop following my path. My dream wasn't wrong before, and it isn't wrong now. Nothing has changed!"
Shirō turns around and walks toward the sword in the ground.
"That is right Shirō" the Kiritsugu figure says behind him. "Even if you're in another reality far from your home and friends; Even if your Magecraft is lost for good; Even then, who you are hasn't changed!"
Now directly in front of the sword, Shirō reaches down and grabs onto the black, cord-wrapped handle with his right hand and pulls the sword from the ground. The sword slides easily out from the dirt and Shirō holds it up at his eye level, blade parallel to the ground.
"What you are hasn't changed Shirō! The core of your existence is still the same as it has been for your entire life now. You are…" the Kiritsugu figure is cut off by Shirō.
"I am still made of swords…" Shirō says as he and the sword begin to emit silvery luminous reiatsu.
The Kiritsugu figure smiles at Shirō as the reiatsu rolls of his body.
"You're not Kiritsugu" says Shirō as he turns to face the man still seated behind him. "What is your name then?"
"I don't need to tell you anything more now Shirō" the figure responds, still smiling. "You know the name of your Zanpakutō. You know what it does, and you know the words to use to call on it."
"You're right. I do know." Shirō says as he closes his eyes, a smile forming on his face. "Thank you."
Shirō's expression turns to one of hardened resolve as he opens his eyes and looks up at the large hollow about to stomp on him. He quickly rolls to his left, avoiding a stomp that cracks the concrete. He then dashes quickly past the large hollow, slashing at its leg as he passes. The large hollow shrieks and clutches at its wounded leg, as Shirō moves quickly to where Ururu and Jinta are.
Jinta tenses as a slobbering hollow leans its face in close to him. His eyes widen though when a sword stabs out from the hollow's mouth, causing it to emit a flat squeal. This is followed by someone Jinta knows appearing in a roll over the hollow and kicking another hollow that was near Ururu in its masked face, causing the mask to crack and sending the hollow back.
"Shirō-san, you're alright!" Ururu calls out to Shirō, as he lands one foot on either side of the two bound kids.
His sword held in his right hand in front of him, having just pulled it out of the now dissolving hollow, Shirō follows up with a horizontal slash from left to right that slices through two hollows' heads in front of him. Pivoting on his left foot he continues the slash turning around to his right and slashes two hollows' heads behind him too. Shirō then quickly swaps his sword to his left hand and swings it backwards above him. In a flash he bisects a hollow that had leapt into the air above them. The surrounding hollows all pause in their advance seeing Shirō eyeing them while standing tall above the kids.
"Heh, nice one Shirō" Jinta calls out from beneath him. "There's still a lot'a hollows here though; get us out so we can help ya kill'em!"
"Shirō-san, the large hollow is coming this way" Ururu calls out as well, her eyes locked onto the approaching form of the lumbering hollow.
The large hollow roars as it stomps closer to the three people surrounded by its smaller kin. Shirō swaps his sword back to his right hand.
"Shirō-san quickly"/ "Shirō hurry" the two kids call out at the same time for Shirō to free them. Shirō's response however, is to take a step toward the large hollow.
"It's okay. Just wait there for a bit, I'll deal with this quickly and help you two out of there." Shirō says standing between the kids and the approaching hollow with his back to the two kids. "Don't worry, I will save you!"
"Oi…" / "Wha…" Jinta and Ururu begin to argue but a sharp rise in Shirō's reiatsu stops them. The two kids look up at Shirō's back as his body and sword begin to emit a silver luminous glow. The environment rumbles with the added reiatsu coming from Shirō. The hollows all around them back up a few paces, and even the large hollow halts in its advance.
Shirō closes his eyes and brings his Zanpakutō up in his right hand, holding it and his right arm parallel to the ground, off to his right, with the blade pointing forward. Shirō's reiatsu continues to rise as he speaks.
"Even if I've lost many things, I'll still keep moving forward." he says as he opens his eyes; his now luminous silver gaze bearing down on seemingly nothing in particular. "Being a Hero of Justice is my dream, and for that dream I'll keep moving forward wherever I am! For that dream…"
The muscles in his body tense and the glowing reiatsu surrounding his sword appears to sharpen as he speaks. "Karada wa…" Shirō swings his sword inward toward himself. "tsurugi de dekite iru!" he calls out as he plunges the Zanpakutō's blade into the left side of his chest.
"! !" Ururu and Jinta are shocked and horrified but the lack of blood or sword sticking out Shirō's back stops them from saying anything. The reiatsu that was rolling of Shirō's body condenses and gets brighter. Shirō then calls out a single word; a name.
"MUKEN!" he shouts as the sword disappears completely. The silver reiatsu building up around his body surges in brightness forcing the two kids to cover their eyes for a moment. The surrounding hollows remain still where they are.
After a second or two the light fades and the two kids look up at Shirō. The glowing silvery reiatsu has disappeared but it can still be felt.
'Shirō-san's reiatsu…' Ururu thinks as she looks at Shirō's back. 'It feels… it feels…'
"Sharp" Jinta says out loud. "Shirō's reiatsu feels kinda sharp. But, if this's his shikai… where's his sword?"
The two kids keep their gaze locked on Shirō. His appearance hasn't changed, the bloodied blue shirt and black pants are the same. His shoes are the same, his hair is the same. The only difference is that where he previously held his Zanpakutō in his right hand, he now holds nothing. Both of his hands are empty and are simply hanging calmly at his sides.
The kids are snapped out of their thoughts at the sound of a loud roar and concrete breaking as the large hollow takes a step toward them. The normal hollows around them remain cautious, but the large hollow decides to go in for the kill.
"Shirō-san, hurry and free us" Ururu calls out as Jinta struggles to free himself next to her. "Shirō-san!"
Another loud stomp and the sound of breaking concrete directs the kid's attention to the large hollow that is now within range to flatten them with its heavy muscular arms. They begin to panic and the large hollow raises its right arm, it's fist clenched, but words from Shirō cause them to pause.
"It's okay" he says in a strong tone. "Don't move from there. I'll finish this up quickly, then get you two free. Trust me!"
Silvery Reiryoku flows out of both of Shirō's hands as the large hollow roars and swings its arm down onto them. Shirō shifts into a lower wider stance, right side forward. He raises his hands up as his reiryoku solidifies, the silver reishi aggregating into two shapes. A pair of swords, two single-edged curved short swords: One sword, a hazy white colour held in his right hand, the other a dark black one held in a reverse grip in his left hand.
Shirō intercepts the hollow's strike with both of his swords. The black blade in reverse grip in his left hand is pointing up and stabs deep into the hollow's wrist, forcing Shirō to take the brunt of the impact on his left arm. The impact is lessened though, as the white blade in his right hand is held up horizontal and its edge cuts straight through the hollow's forearm as Shirō pushes it up.
The hollow's arm slams into the ground, but it immediately raises it back up and roars. The now separated right hand of the hollow is tossed aside by Shirō as he swings his left hand back. The bleeding lump smacks into one of the regular hollows behind him, knocking it back. A sticky black substance flows from the hollow's now bloody stump. The hollow looks at its arm then back at Shirō; the boy's steely gaze locked firmly on the hollow.
Ururu and Jinta stare up at Shirō in surprise, but can't manage to say anything. The hollow retaliates by swinging its left hand at Shirō, its hand open to grab him. Shirō responds by spinning the black blade back to a normal grip as he steps forward. Swing down to his right with the white sword he slices the hollow's fingers off as the hand approaches him. A moment after the white sword moves Shirō follows this with a similar swing using the black sword and cuts through the hollow's wrist. The hollow's now detached fingers and hand fly off into the back ground as it roars again, taking several steps back now in fear. Shirō takes this chance and dashes towards the hollow at high speed.
"Haaaaaaahhhh" he yells out as he slides under the hollows, through the about meter high gap between its legs. With both his swords out the side he slices cleanly through both of the hollows legs and stops behind it. The hollow collapses forward, falling on its four bleeding stumps. The kids lose sight of Shirō as he is behind the behemoth, but not for long. Shirō appears behind the hollow's head, having leapt up behind it. His black sword in his left hand, once again in reverse grip, is plunged into the hollow's left shoulder. The hollow stumbles and goes to roar again, but a single stroke of Shirou's white sword from left to right separates the hollow's head from its body. The severed head begins to slide off, and the hollow begins to fall forward. Shirō deftly leaps off it and lands back in front of the two kids as the large hollow hits the ground. He turns to see the large hollow starting to disintegrate, then looks at all the other hollows that are still scared and unmoving.
"Shi… Shirō-san…" Ururu says quietly behind him.
"Well, that was kinda cool Shirō" states Jinta. "but hurry up and free us. There's still lots of hollows here."
"Don't worry." Shirō responds as he turns to face them, a gentle smile showing on his face. "I'll take care of them. I won't let them hurt anyone."
"I'll save them all" he says as he turns away from the kids again. His two swords reverting to silver reishi while still in his hands and dispersing into the air. "I'll save all the people in this town, and I'll save the hollows too."
"Shirō-san, wait…" / "Oy Shirō, wha…" Ururu and Jinta start to call out to Shirō, but another rise in his reiatsu stops them as Shirō's body is once again coated in his silver reiryoku.
The silver energy rolls off of Shirō's body, causing a sharp rise in the reiatsu affecting the area. The hollows surrounding them all start to back up a bit, never taking their gaze off of the young man before them. Shirō raises his left hand until its parallel to the ground. The gathered hollows take this as their signal to leave as they all turn and begin to run or fly away, this doesn't stop Shirō though. His eyes flash a luminous silver as the power emanating from his body condenses in the air above him; the silver reishi coagulating into shapes once more. This time a dozen shifting masses of silver light almost simultaneously form into swords, all the same size and shape. The light from the mid-afternoon sun gleams off the polished blades of a myriad of simple straight western swords all floating in the air above Shirō; their sharp ends all pointed outwards toward the fleeing hollows.
None of the hollows make it very far though, before Shirō wordlessly gives the signal for the blades to move. In an instant all the hovering swords have set off, flying straight paths to each of the fleeing hollows. Each sword leaves a faint trail of silver as it cuts through the air in pursuit of its target. Within a second the swords meet the dark coloured bodies and white masks of the fleeing hollows. Each sword finds no resistance as it buries itself deep into the body of a hollow, the polished steel cross guards and and black leather wrapped handles being the only parts still visible of some swords.
"Whoa…" Jinta exclaims quietly from his place still held down next to Ururu. The sight of every hollow in the immediate area impaled with one of more swords and dissolving from the damage leaves both the kids speechless for a moment. The fired swords also begin to dissolve as their targets do.
'That was totally crazy!' Jinta thinks to himself as he watches the swords and hollows disappear. 'I thought the black and white swords were his shikai, but then where are they now, and what was with the rain of other swords. I just don't get it.'
Sensing the fight is over, Shirō's relaxes a bit and turns back to the two trapped kids.
"Sorry for the wait." He says with a kind smile on his face. "I'll get you out of there now. Please hold still."
Bending down, Shirō forms a small plain dagger in his hands and proceeds to cut the sticky bindings holding the two kids down. The two kids are quiet as Shirō works to free them. Once they are free Shirō dismisses the dagger and turns around to face away from them.
'He made a dagger this time.' Jinta ponders as he and Ururu pick themselves up off the ground. 'Maybe his ability is to make weapons or something… that'd be crazy awesome if it's true.'
"Shirō-san… what_" Ururu starts, but is cut off by Shirō who speaks up while still facing away from them.
"We're supposed to go meet up with Urahara-san, right?" He asks in a stern voice. "This isn't over yet. I can feel Urahara-san and Tessai-san moving towards where I can sense Kurosaki and Ishida are fighting. Let's go meet up with them then."
"Ah, yes!" / "Right!" Ururu and Jinta respond, looking up at Shirō's back.
The three of them take off running in the direction Shirō sensed the action was taking place; the place he could feel all the hollows still in the town were gathering at.
'Urahara-san, what is going on in this town?' Shirō asks internally as they run. 'Why are hollows gathering in that area? Are they being drawn to Kurosaki's reiatsu?... Or are you behind this Urahara-san? Is this some plan or experiment of yours?'
"Everyone had better be alright!" Shirō says out loud to no one in particular. "This place is my home now. I'm not going to sit back and let it stay in danger like this. I'll use this new power to make sure this town and all its people are safe. I will be… a Hero of Justice!"
= = = = = = = = = = End of Chapter = = = = = = = = = =
Good 'insertTimeOfDay' Readers, and Thank you for your purchase of this Chapter. You spent your hard earned time reading this (time is money after all), so I hope you enjoyed it. I don't own any part of either the Bleach or Fate/Stay Night Franchises, I only own what comes out of my own mind... for what it's worth.
I've been a Fate fan since 2006/2007 or so when I read the Visual Novel, and this crossover came to me while watching the recent Unlimited Blade Works TV adaptation by Ufotable. Damn I loved that anime! While watching, I realized that Shirō Emiya would be a great addition to a Bleach story; he's roughly the same age as the main cast and has a thing for swords. Since Bleach is all about swords too it was a match made in heaven in my mind. And thus was born "All Weapons But The Sword", a play on Tite Kubo's Bleach art book "All Colour But The Black", which incidentally was full of the colour black... maybe he was insinuating that black isn't a colour... Meh.
I put a bit of time into coming up with the name and Kanji for Shirō's Zanpakutō 'Muken'. The kanji for that is 無剣, and it means something like 'No Sword' or 'Swordless'. The release command was taken from Shirō's chant to use UBW; 'Karada wa tsurugi de dekite iru', meaning 'My body is made of swords'. I have his bankai name planned out with Kanji too. I also had the plot laid out up to when they break into Soul Society to save Rukia, and ideas for later parts still lingering in my head. I had also decided on possible pairings for Shirō too; I was looking forward to writing some of those out... hehe, poor Shirō.
Cheers
Magnanimous_Z