Fate/Digital Hazard

By Candescence

Oh, bloody hell, I came up with yet another idea. Lovely. I'll try to at least alternate between updates with my active fics.

Firstly, I don't want to retread canon events overtly, but the issue is with crossovers, people won't necessarily be familiar with both continuities. So, I want to try and compromise. For people not familiar with Digimon or Fate/Stay Night, their respective wikis (the Digimon Wiki/Wikimon and the Type-Moon Wiki, respectively) will help with characters and general events. That being said, the Nasuverse has a rather complicated magic system. I'd recommend checking out the analysis page for the Nasuverse on TvTropes, which provides a reasonably summarised explanation. That being said, I'll try and do my best to fill in wherever possible.

Chapter 1

The potential number of alternate realities are infinite. They could be affected by any number of variables. There are two sides to this specific tale, both of which various people have heard before. But on one side, change one major variable to match the other, and things change dramatically. It is a terrifying and exciting prospect. For that particular universe, the consequences could be outright catastrophic.

But two people, a young man and a boy, would not accept such consequences. In fact, they would risk everything to save the world.

And in Fuyuki City, is where this tale begins, starting with a dream.

Standing on one side of a misty street, Shirou Emiya blinked, wondering why he wasn't asleep. Only moments ago, he had began to sleep, so this was likely a dream. However, he could barely even move. He noticed that he was floating a couple of feet above the ground. "What on Earth...?"

One other person heard him speak his thoughts aloud. Takato Matsuki, wearing pyjamas, was in a similar position, on the other side of the road. This was not the first odd thing he had experienced today. That would be the blue card turning his card scanner into a strange, red device, likely a Digivice, that accepted his Guilmon sketches as valid data. This strange dream, along with the older teenager on the other side of the road, was quite strange indeed, however. "Um... Hello?"

Shirou looked towards the brown-haired boy with brown eyes on the other side of the road. "Um... Hi?"

"Lynxmon, Armor level..."

Then two figures came between them, clashing violently. The yellow and orange blurs were difficult to make out so suddenly, but one was a large, yellow fox of some kind, the other was a large four-legged beast that looked like its body was made of fire, pinning the fox to the ground. Off to the side, on the road, a young girl with orange hair, a cream-coloured jacket, a white shirt with aqua sleeves, blue jeans, and red shoes, was inserting a card into some kind of device, which Takato recongized as being similar to the Digivice he had gotten that day. "Renamon, card slash. High-Speed Plug-In B."

Takato gasped, "A Digimon Tamer..." Shirou definitely heard him, but he had no idea what he meant. He then noticed that the boy was carrying a similar device to what the girl carried.

There was little contest, as Renamon suddenly disappeared out from under the Lynxmon, suddenly glancing at Takato as she launched a storm of what looked like glass shards at the Lynxmon. The Lynxmon was easily defeated, bursting into particles which the fox absorbed into her body. Shirou honestly had no idea what just happened. Takato, however, was captivated. It was a live battle between Digimon, and the Renamon had defeated an enemy on the field of battle, with assistance from her Tamer.

"Heh. Not bad. But that was severely underwhelming."

Stepping out into view, was another girl, much older than the other one. The girl had black hair with twin-tails tied with black ribbons, blue eyes, and a red red turtleneck with a black skirt, long black socks and brown shoes. "What's a little girl like you commanding a beast?"

The younger girl glanced at her. "Are you a Tamer as well? Otherwise, get lost."

"'Tamer', you say?" Emerging from out of the mist, was a white-haired man with tanned skin, brown eyes, and wore a strange red coat over what looked like lightweight black armor. "Master, I do not think she is involved with the Grail War."

"Certainly not, Archer. Her 'partner' isn't a Servant," spoke the black-haired girl, who Shirou easily recognised as Rin Tohsaka, regarded as a perfect student at his school, and he had to admit, he admired her. "This is an interesting predicament. We can't have creatures like this complicating things."

Renamon stepped forward, "I suggest you take Rika's advice and leave, otherwise-"

"Otherwise what?" Archer chuckled, with a cocky smirk. For some reason, Shirou simply couldn't approve of him. Perhaps it was his looks or his attitude, but for some reason, he just couldn't like him. "I could easily defeat you with my bare hands."

"Archer, don't play around," Rin frowned. "I want you to defeat the fox, but don't harm the girl. We can't risk civilians getting involved in the War."

"I have no objections, Master," Archer's eyes narrowed, stepping forward. Renamon took on a fighting stance.

The other girl's eyes narrowed, "Take him down, Renamon."

Shirou and Takato, for some reason, both understood one simple truth – if Renamon were to fight Archer, the former would lose. It was something they could just feel, as if it was an absolute constant that could simply not change.

"Understood, Rika," Renamon nodded, and rushed towards Archer, who suddenly had two swords in his hands. Shirou could barely make out the words from Archer's mouth, as he prepared to counter. And before Shirou and Takato could try to call out to stop the fight, the dream ended...

"I am the bone of my sword."

As it happened, Takato and Shirou both lived on the Miyama side of Fuyuki City, even if they didn't know it. In particular, Takato's home was in the shopping district south of the Emiya residence.

The day had gone as normal on both sides. Both went to school, and Takato had discovered that Guilmon had hatched after he had left school. By the time he had reached Guilmon and was bringing him back home, Shirou had been stabbed in the heart, and his heart had been repaired by Rin, and then nearly died once more after being attacked yet again by the blue-clothed man who had killed him before, only to be saved by the beautiful golden-haired girl with the invisible sword, calling herself 'Saber'...

"I ask of you: Are you my Master?"

Shirou narrowly stopped Archer from being injured by Saber. And in gratitude, Rin told him about the Holy Grail War – a conflict between seven Servants, which were 'Heroic Spirits', heroes summoned from across time and space, to each fight for a 'Master', for one goal – the Holy Grail, which would grant one wish.

However, that evening, as the two Masters and their Servants went up to the church on the hill, elsewhere, Rika Nonaka was heading home after Renamon defeated a wild Digimon that evening. "Your fighting ability is certainly not under par against other Digimon. But you were nearly deleted when fighting that man. How could a mere human be stronger than a Digimon?"

"I do not believe that was a Digimon, Rika," Renamon spoke to her from the shadows. "He mentioned something called a 'Servant'. I believe he is something entirely different from a Digimon. I apologise for my inability to defeat him. But he was too skilled. Far too skilled. I could feel a lifetime's worth of honed technique from him, something that even Digimon can only hope to aspire to. The fox clone card was barely enough to even escape."

"I see." Rika nodded. The implications were obvious to her. A 'Servant' was a being akin to a Digimon, but clearly on a higher level than the Digimon she had fought thus far. Only evolution would solve the problem. Then she'd be able to-

The sound of an explosion in the area caused Rika to abandon that train of thought, and started running to the top of the hill to get a better perspective on what just happened. And what she saw was more than surprising. In the cemetery by the church, two figures were fighting. A golden-haired girl in armor was moving around quickly, fighting her opponent, a giant of a man with black skin and a massive rock-like blade. His movement was constrained in this environment, giving the girl more room to fight at her best. Off to the side, the black-haired girl she had lost to, along with a brown-haired young man, were watching the fight. Also off to the side, was a younger girl, about Rika's age, with silver hair and red eyes, watching the fight expectantly.

Rika took cover, not wanting to be seen. She also certainly had noticed that a far-off figure (likely Archer) was firing glowing arrows at the huge man, who roared repeatedly, trying to strike his target. The battle was absolutely destructive. Rika felt her heart beat. This wasn't just any battle between Digimon. This was a battle between Servants. This was beyond Champion-level, possibly even beyond Ultimate-level. To get Renamon involved would mean defeat – whether it be pierced by Archer's arrows, or sliced by the girl's invisible sword, or torn to pieces by the monster beyond monsters that was the giant tearing up the graveyard. Most Digimon had no place in this battle, lest they be torn to shreds in the crossfire.

Eventually, the battle was concluded when Archer launched an especially powerful projectile at the giant. The young man got the golden-haired girl away just in time, though he was injured in the process. Archer's projectile was destructive, but the giant seemed almost unscathed. But the little girl remarked, "Hmm. I have a better opinion of you, Rin. Your Archer's pretty good. Alright, come back, Beserker. I wanted to get the boring stuff over with first, but I've changed my mind." The dissonantly cheery tone caused a shiver to run down Rika's spine. Despite convincing herself otherwise, she knew that she was absolutely terrified.

Rin spoke, "You're running away after all this?"

"Yup, I've changed my mind. I don't want Saber, but I'm interested in Archer, now. So I'll let you live for a bit longer. Goodbye. Let's play again, Onii-chan!" the little girl smiled, as she and 'Beserker' disappeared through the flames.

Renamon, hiding beside her partner, whispered, "We cannot linger here, Rika. We have to go."

Rika nodded slowly, suppressing the urge to gulp at the battle she had just witnessed. They left the scene without a word, trying their best not to attract attention. But another creature had been watching the battle with curiosity, and as the young man collapsed and the girls had to carry him down the road, the small, white Digimon waddled after them.

Once the girls got home and put Shirou to bed, Rin sighed. "Well... Things just became more complicated, quickly. I didn't expect to run into Illyasviel and Berserker so soon."

"It is good that the circumstances were fortunate," Saber replied, as they came into the living room. "In a more open environment, I would not have had the advantage."

"Well, it's a good thing you didn't get crushed by that big meanie, culu!"

"I... I did not expect you to say such a thing, Rin."

"Um... I didn't say that," Rin blinked, as she and Saber looked down at the table. Standing there, was a surprisingly adorable white koala-like creature with big green eyes, purple markings on its ears, and on its forehead, a quad of triangular markings with a red triangle in the middle. He looked up at them with an adorable smile, which caused the girls to stare at him awkwardly for a few seconds, before Rin spoke, "Uh... Is that a familiar?"

The little creature blinked, "What's a familiar?"

"Who are you, little one?" Saber sat down in front of him, examining him closely. It was no creature she had ever seen. Certainly not a non-magical creature, and clearly sapient, as well.

The little tyke smiled to her, "I'm Calumon! Wanna play, culu?"

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Saber shook her head. "I do not wish to waste my prana supply. Otherwise, I will disappear if I run out."

Calumon blinked. "What's prana, culu?"

"It's magical energy. You should know that," Rin said, sitting down as well. "Saber is a Servant, so she requires prana to stay in this world, but Shirou's connection to her is limited, so he can't supply prana to her normally. So she has to sleep or eat in order to conserve energy."

"I don't think he knows about Servants, Rin." Archer materialised in the room, causing Calumon to look on in awe. "I believe he's of the same type of being that we fought the previous night."

"A Digimon? Don't be ridiculous, they're just some stupid card game," Rin frowned. "he's obviously some undiscovered magical creature or a familiar, or-"

Archer chuckled. "For someone who is a magus, you certainly are skeptical of the unusual, Rin."

"Shut up, Archer," Rin pouted, annoyed by his attitude. Like an arrow, his insults were always right on target. "Digimon stands for 'Digital Monster', right? Or so I hear. They're creatures born of technology rather than magic?"

"Indeed they are, Rin. They're composed of pure computer data," Archer replied. "I was quite surprised to find that they are indeed real, but I suppose if magecraft exists, creatures like this are far from impossible."

"You're not a Digimon, culu?" Calumon curiously waddled over to the edge of the table, "But you're strong like one, and you guys fight like them, culu."

"I'm afraid that's not the case," Archer said, kneeling, and scratching Calumon behind the ears, which the little guy liked a lot. "Saber and I are 'Servants'. Our role is to fight, but we are fundamentally different beings. Think of us as, I suppose, spirits brought back to this world."

"Then, you're... GHOSTS?!" Calumon immediately rushed behind Rin's leg, a bit freaked out, his big ears shrinking to minimal size. He didn't really understand all that well, which caused Rin to correct him. "Not strictly. They're great heroes from the past who have been, in a sense, summoned to this age to fight in the Holy Grail War."

Calumon blinked, cocking his head to the side in confusion. Rin sighed, "This is gonna be a long night."

After Calumon finally understood the basics of the Holy Grail War, everyone was able to get some sleep. After talking to Shirou when he woke up, Rin wanted to take Calumon with her when she was going home, but the little guy was so adorable when he was sleeping on the table, so she didn't have the heart to wake him. She left him there to nap, deciding that Shirou could take care of him well enough.

Shirou would indeed discover the little puffball sleeping on the living room table, and when he found Saber in the dojo, it didn't take him long to get around to the question of, "Why is there an albino koala sleeping on the table?"

It didn't take Saber long to introduce Shirou to Calumon, and soon they were eating lunch. Shirou was almost disturbed by how they were both so capable of practically inhaling the food that he provided. He was also equally disturbed by the realization that creatures made of computer data actually exist. He didn't use computers very often, but he knew what data was. But to materalize as actual matter should be impossible, something bordering on the First Sorcery. After a brief conversation about Saber's prana conservation, the phone rang. Shirou got up to get it. "Geez, at this time on a Sunday...?" He answered it, "Hello, this is Emiya."

"Hi, this is Fujimura!" Taiga Fujimura's unmistakable voice echoed though the speaker, nearly hurting Shirou's ears. He could only sigh. This was going to be one of those days. Taiga, or 'Fuji-nee' as Shirou called her, had abruptly 'ordered' lunch, specifically an omelet, and she wanted him to deliver it to the archery range.

"Alright, Saber, watch the house while I'm gone!" Shirou said, as he went to the front door... Except, ignoring his order, Saber followed him. As did Calumon. A brief inquiry as to why resulted in Saber explaining that she had to watch him at all times. "Wait, at all times?! What if I'm sleeping?!"

"Then I'll sleep next to you. In the same bed, if possible," Saber said frankly.

"WHAT?! No, no, no, that's not happening!" Shirou was blushing profusely.

Calumon blinked, "What's wrong with sleeping together, culu?"

"W-W-Well, she's a girl, and I'm a guy, so-"

"That is not an adequate reason, Shirou," Saber replied. "Your reasoning and plans are full of holes. If you can't provide a clear reason..."

"I can't provide one, you're a girl, you can't sleep in the same room as me! End of story! I'll get you a room when I come back! Besides, we can't bring Calumon along, I mean, a talking animal is gonna draw WAY too much suspicion!" Shirou replied, as he ran out the door, hoping Saber would understand.

She didn't. Instead, she and Calumon followed along, repeatedly rebuffing his attempts to go back. Calumon giggled, "La la la, not listening, culu!" Saber's reason for following him was basically the same, except much more eloquent. Shirou couldn't help but feel that she was just acting childish.

Eventually, Shirou settled on a compromise. Saber was to act as a foreigner who was a friend of his father, who came over to sightsee. Calumon... Was to act like a stuffed animal, which Saber carried. Calumon was all too happy to oblige, holding onto Saber's arm. As they arrived at the school and headed into the archery range, a brunette girl was outside, wearing the school's uniform – Ayako Mitsuzuri, the captain of the archery club, someone Shirou knew well. "Oh, Emiya-kun, you're here to deliver her meal?"

"As you guessed. Is Fuji-Nee here?" Shirou asked, smiling to her.

"Yup. Man, you saved us. We were worried because she was hungry and getting edgy," Ayako chuckled. "the cafeteria's closed, so-"

She then noticed something at her feet. Calumon had dropped to the ground, and had waddled over, looking up at her with wide eyes. The silence was rather awkward. She spoke, "Emiya-kun. What's with the little fuzzball? And where did you get him?"

Shirou was trying not to freak out. "Well... Um... He's a pet. This girl here is a friend of my father's, and she came from abroad..."

"Which country? Because I totally want to go to wherever there's animals this cute!" Ayako giggled, picking up Calumon and hugging him. Shirou was unnerved by this behaviour. Ayako was a major tomboy, and to see her being feminine was kinda freaky, even if it wasn't a bad thing.

"Um... Well, I have to deliver this lunch, so... Just don't make a big deal out of it, please. I'll be in your debt if you try to keep it quiet," Shirou said nervously, Saber standing by him.

Ayako smiled, nodding. "Sure, sure. Just don't try to take it back."

Unfortunately, it didn't take much effort for Ayako to cause a commotion once they went inside the archery range. The girls in the club were simply fawning over Calumon, who was positively loving the attention he was getting. Including Taiga Fujimura, who had completely forgotten about her lunch delivery. "Shiroooooouuuuu! Can you please convince her to let us keep him? He's so cuuuuuuuuuuute!"

"Um... I don't think I can, Fuji-nee... He can stay while she stays, but otherwise..." Shirou was exasperated. It did not help that Sakura was right in his face, the purple-haired girl smiling wider than he had ever seen her before. "Please, Senpai? Plllllleeeeeeeeeaaaaaaasssss sseeeee?"

"... Not you too, Sakura..." Shirou felt extremely awkward right now. Like this, it was difficult to say no to either of them, especially Sakura. "Look, I'll have a word with her, and see if we can't-"

"I wouldn't mind staying around! Shirou makes good food, culu~!"

Everyone looked at Calumon, who was smiling widely back. Ayako blinked. "Did he just talk?"

"I think he did," said another girl.

Shirou closed his eyes, and prepared himself for the inevitable chaos that would ensue.

"OH MY GOSH HE'S EVEN CUTER!"

… Which was, admittedly, not what he had in mind. Instead, Shirou quickly found himself being cornered by the entire archery club, sans Ayako, who were giving him puppy-dog looks and begging him to get Saber to keep him around. He looked past the group, "Uh, Mitsuzuri-san? Saber? Some help over here?"

Ayako was trying her best not to laugh. "Sorry, Emiya-kun, but you're on your own on this one. I ain't getting involved. Besides, this is way too entertaining." Beside her, Saber was deriving her own enjoyment from her Master being 'tormented' like this. Traitors. Filthy traitors, the both of them.

After managing to calm down the girls, they finally got to eat in the break room. Taiga chuckled, "You know, over at the elementary school, the principal rang the fire alarm and claimed he saw a red dinosaur wandering the hallways, hiding in a cardboard box. It even talked! How utterly ridiculous! I think the old man is finally going senile."

"Yes, because talking animals are totally not possible. Totally not," Shirou deadpanned, as he pointed at Calumon.

There was an awkward silence. Shirou could see the sweat going down Taiga's face, as the realisation hit her. "GAAAAAAHH! There's a red dinosaur on the loose! I, Taiga Fujimura-sensei, won't stop until it's locked up in a zoo!" She was swinging a shinai around wildly. Shirou was a bit freaked out, but also kind of wondering where she got the shinai from.

"Uh, Fuji-nee? We should leave that to the police," Shirou said nervously, trying to calm her down. Saber casually caught the shinai as Taiga swung it around, surprising the teacher, who was a world-class kendo champion. Taiga frowned, with a sigh, "I suppose you have a point, there..." Then came a glint in her eye as she fetched something from her bag, "But...!"

Shirou blinked, as she handed him a digital camera. Taiga grinned, "Imagine the paydirt from snapping pictures of it! You're gonna go out there, and snap some photos of it!"

"M-ME?! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" Shirou stammered, "You're asking me to go out and try to find a potentially dangerous and hungry dinosaur!"

"I know! Isn't it exciting!" Taiga grinned. Her brain worked... Differently, from other people's. "Get going, kiddo!"

Shirou knew this wasn't going to end well. At all.

Leaving Calumon to Sakura and Taiga, Shirou and Saber both headed down to the elementary school, not far from Shirou's own high school. Saber displayed a surprising knowledge of tracking, as she found unusual foot tracks, subtle, but visible. They lead the pair to the nearest park, a slightly forested area on the outskirts of the city. What they saw was, well, surprising.

A full-on confrontation between Renamon and the aforementioned red dinosaur. Rika looked on from the side, unaware of the presence of the newcomers, while the other tamer, Takato, was trying to plead to his partner, Guilmon, to stop. That's when Guilmon suddenly snapped out of his feral rage, and practically ignored Renamon as her "Heavy Metal" option card attack blew right past his head, and sent her flying backwards, as he rushed over to Takato like a big friendly dog. Rika ordered Renamon to attack again, despite Guilmon's proximity to Takato.

Renamon took a leap into the air. Within moments, she was intercepted, as Saber destroyed the pilebunker weapon on her hand with a single accurate strike from her invisible sword, before kicking Renamon to the ground. Shirou walked down the small hill, "Alright, that's quite enough of that."

Both Rika and Renamon flinched when they saw him and Saber, recognising them from the night before. Takato gasped, upon recognizing Shirou. "You... You're...!"

"I can't say I don't agree with him. That's enough fighting," said a boy with blue hair and an orange jacket, who also walked down the hill to their level. Beside him, was a small, cream-coloured Digimon with long ears and green markings, and a mischievous smile on his face. He walked down the hill, down to Renamon, asking, "You're strong. How many battles have you fought? Can you evolve?"

"How many Digimon are there in this world...?" Rika wondered out loud, before looking at Saber, gritting her teeth. This girl, even without armor, could beat all three Digimon with ease, and she knew it.

"Terriermon, why are you asking her those questions?" The blue-haired boy asked his partner.

"No reason. Moumantai~" the little Digimon grinned.

Dismissing her sword, Saber spoke, "There is no rhyme or reason for a fight like this. Why do you fight?"

"What are you talking about? You know nothing of Digimon. They only exist for battle, to become the stronger until they become the strongest," Rika rebuffed her. "And for what purpose do you fight for that guy, Servant? What is the 'Grail War'?"

"I fight for a far more worthy cause," Saber replied. "But that is the most I'll tell you."

"I don't get it, why make our friends and partners fight like this?" the yet unnamed boy asked Rika, who simply replied, "Friends? I don't know what you're talking about. Renamon, we're leaving."

Rika and Renamon were quick to leave the scene. Takato pointed at Saber, "And who the heck are you?! You just cut through that Heavy Metal like it was nothing! Are you a Digimon?!"

Guilmon blinked, walking over to Saber curiously, and nuzzled her hand. Saber blinked, petting him. "I am not a Digimon. I am a Saber-class 'Servant'. That is all I can say to you. I'm sorry... It's remarkable. Despite the different physical composition, your partner is still a dragon. I thought such phantasmal beasts had all but died out in this age."

Guilmon blinked again. He was unfamiliar with the concept of heroic spirits, and yet, being with this girl gave him a sense of familiarity and kinship. This was not surprising for anyone who knew the details behind Saber's history, of course. Blood of dragons also coursed through her veins, and it was one of the two creatures that symbolised her. And, he just instinctively knew... He grinned, trying to tackle-hug the girl, "Arturiamon!"

"H-Hey! Please, don't call me that! And get off me!" Saber panicked. How could Guilmon know her true name so easily? Perhaps his draconic instincts are that refined, despite being a mere 'youngling' by dragon standards, she thought to herself. She was, in fact, slightly correct. But she had no idea as to the true reason... Not yet, anyway.

Shirou chuckled, as Guilmon backed off a bit, content with just nuzzling her. Takato asked the other boy, "You're Wong-kun from Class 2, right?"

"Yeah. Henry Wong," Henry nodded with a smile, extending a hand. "You're from Class 1?"

Takato nodded in response, shaking hands with him. "Takato Matsuki." He looked at Shirou, "You're from the local high school, right?"

"Shirou Emiya," Shirou introduced himself. "And this is my Servant, Saber."

Saber nodded. "A pleasure."

"You sure she's not a Digimon? She's pretty good," Terriermon remarked.

"I believe her when I say she isn't," Henry noted to his partner, who was perched on his shoulder. "But the secrecy isn't exactly building trust."

"It's a matter of life and death. Getting involved would unnecessarily risk your lives," Saber replied. "My own life is expendable."

Before Shirou could object, Takato beat him to the punch, "Wait a minute, that's not fair! You're a person, like any of us! Just because you're a 'Servant' doesn't mean-"

"Takato-kun, I think she means that she's only in this world for a single purpose, and then she disappears," Henry spoke. "Saber. You mentioned you were a 'Saber-class Servant'. Rika also asked you about a 'Grail War'. You're some kind of familiar bound to Shirou to fight in this 'Grail War', aren't you?"

Both Shirou and Saber were stunned by Henry's deduction. Takato's jaw dropped, looking at Henry, "Wait, wait, familiar? You mean Shirou-san is a wizard?!"

"A magus, actually," Shirou replied. "There's barely any actual 'wizards' left in this world. You're smarter than your age suggests, Henry."

"Shirou, we can't let non-magi know about the war-" Saber spoke, but Shirou raised a hand to stop her, "Saber, they're in the same boat as we are. We each have a mutual obligation to keep all this a secret, right? They can't use magecraft, but because of the circumstances, they might be targeted by other Servants for any number of reasons."

"That's true..." Saber mulled it over for a moment. "Very well. As long as they can keep it a secret..."

"I think we can do that," Henry chuckled. "We won't tell anyone if you won't."

Takato nodded with a smile, "Right! We can keep a secret or two!"

Shirou knew they were in for a wild ride...

While Shirou explained the basics of the Holy Grail War, that being a battle between Servants for the Holy Grail's wish, Henry lead the group to an abandoned shed in the park, which nobody ever took notice of. It was certainly large enough to house Guilmon, much to Takato's relief. "Finally! I never thought I'd find a good place for Guilmon to hide."

"Now I'm feeling lucky that my Servant is pretty much human instead of a large, talking reptile," Shirou noted, as he watched Guilmon play around with Terriermon. "So much easier to blend in..."

"Shirou-san, what's the difference between a 'magus' and a 'wizard'?" Henry asked. "You said there were only a few wizards left."

"Magi practice magecraft. Wizards perform sorceries, or 'true magic'," Shirou replied, sitting down against a wall. "Think of it this way – magecraft defines 'miracles' that can be reproduced by current technology. Sorcery is something that is 'impossible'. There's only five sorceries left in the world – the first is 'denial of nothingness', which is creating something from nothing, the second is operation of parallel worlds, which is dimensional travel, the third is 'Materialization of the Soul', the fourth one is unknown, and the fifth is time travel... Well, I think. Take that with a grain of salt, my dad taught me about that, and he didn't teach me much before he died."

"Makes sense, technology can't do any of those things yet, it's all in science fiction," Henry nodded.

"Sounds kinda complicated," Takato blinked. "What can you do?"

"'I can analyse structures of things, strengthen them, and I can also 'project' physical objects into existence for a limited time," Shirou said. "I'm... A rather amateur magus."

"Who cares? That by itself is really cool!" Takato grinned. "Come on, show us!"

Shirou sighed, grabbing a branch that someone could easily break with their hands. He then applied his usual technique, which was akin to forcing a hot iron rod into his body, to create a 'magic circuit' for him to use. "Trace, On."

I am the bone of my sword...

Those words came back into his head, as the branch strengthened in his hand. He was actually surprised it worked. Only last night it actually worked properly – more often than not, he failed miserably. He held out the branch, keeping a hold on it to keep it from going back to its original state. "Try and snap it."

Takato grabbed it, and tried to break it. However, much to his surprise, it was like trying to bend steel. The wood just wouldn't budge. Henry also had no success whatsoever, and they even tried doing it together. Takato panted, "There's got to be some kind of iron rod in it or something!" He frantically tried to break off the more fragile parts, but even they seemed so much more difficult to break. "You really are a magus!"

"It's fairly basic stuff," Shirou replied, getting up.

"I suggest we meet up tomorrow here, after school. If other Masters attempt to target you and Guilmon, Shirou and I should at least be around to check up on you both," Saber said to Takato.

"So we're friends, right?" Takato smiled.

"Yes, we are," Henry smiled. "First Digimon, then magic. The world world's going crazy, huh?"

"You have no idea," Shirou said.

Takato looked at Terriermon, "What does 'moumantai' mean, anyway?"

"No worries, no stress, take it easy~!" Terriermon grinned.

"So it's basically 'Hakuna Mutata', then?" Shirou couldn't help but chuckle. "A problem-free philosophy... Shame I can't just take that kind of view."

"Why not?" Henry asked.

"Well... I guess it's a bit embarrasing, but... I want to be a hero. A superhero, a 'hero of justice' who can save everyone," Shirou said. "It was my dad's ideal that he could never achieve before he died, and, well, I decided to take up that dream in his stead. It's a borrowed ideal... But I think it's beautiful."

"Of course it's beautiful! You don't know if it's impossible unless you try!" Takato smiled. "It's not embarrassing at all."

"Might be a bit too naïve an ideal... But I can't say it's not a nice thing to think about," Henry chuckled.

Shirou smiled, not noticing the stunned look on Saber's face. "Thank you. I'll try."

The rest of the afternoon was fairly straightforward. Takato was able to go home without worries. Shirou, on the other hand, had to deal with Taiga and Sakura, who were still fawning over Calumon, but were also reluctant to let Saber stay as well, forcing Shirou to let them sleep over as well.

However, elsewhere, as Ayako was heading home after closing down the Archery club, had decided to pass through an alleyway. Unfortunately for her, someone had been stalking her. Fortunately, the stalker was also being stalked. A woman with long, purple hair, a black outfit, and a purple blindfold dropped down behind Ayako, but she was suddenly knocked to the ground by Renamon, who immediately retreated to a safe distance. Ayako's eyes widening, also running straight out of the alleyway, opting to not ask questions as she passed by Rika, who stepped into the alleyway.

"Damn it, you let her get away!" Stepping out from behind a wall, a young man with blue hair cursed as he glared at Rika. He was not happy about this one bit. Shinji Matou had talked to Ayako, and he wanted to punish her. His Servant, Rider, leaped back to him. "I'll make you and your stupid fox pay for this!"

"You're kind of a crappy Master if your Servant was so easily surprised," Rika retorted. "She's not in the same league as Saber, Archer or Berserker."

Shinji's eye twitched. "Rider, kill the fox. I want that girl to myself! I'm going to make her suffer."

"Renamon, test her capabilities, but don't take unnecessary risks," Rika whispered to her. "Don't get yourself killed, she's still out of your league."

"Understood, Rika," Renamon nodded, as Rika slashed two option cards through her D-Arc – a 'Boost Chip' and a 'High-Speed Plug-In B', to boost her partner's overall power and speed to enable her to keep up with Rider. The fox Digimon and the Servant immediately traded blows, Renamon taking note of the unusual dagger she carried, which resembled a nail and had a very long chain attached to it. The lack of space in the alleyway forced the two fighters to leap off the walls to gain elevation so they could take advantage of the third dimension.

Renamon was able to confirm what she suspected from playing it safe, mainly dodging strikes and launching Diamond Storm attacks at her enemy – Rider was very agile. Renamon in her normal state would have no chance of matching her speed, the option card made it easier, but even then, Rider still had a major advantage. Secondly, Rider fought dirty. She was wearing the fox down with swift but weak strikes, and trying to use the chain to stop her from moving, but Renamon knew better than to get ensnared. She was using low-risk, high-return style fighting. This wasn't the type of fighter to play fair.

Then she realized that Shinji was moving in on Rika, and immediately kicked him to the ground, moving back to Rika, "That's as much as I can get out of her. If we force her hand, we might-"

"Say no more, Renamon. Retreat," Rika said, as she and Renamon immediately escaped the alleyway, Renamon launching a Diamond Storm at Shinji to force Rider to protect him by getting him out of the way, before she would be able to give chase.

Shinji coughed, wiping his face. "Damn that girl...! So Digimon are real, huh? I think we should do our homework on this, Rider... Let's go."

As he walked away, Rider frowned, dissipating into her spirit form, as she followed her Master.

To Be Continued