A Sword's Job Is Never Done.

Prologue.

22/2/2005

Shirou Emiya woke up around the same hour as usual in his shed, the last remains of a projected dagger dissipating in Prana as he did so. Sighing, as he had worked himself to exhaustion once more, he left the old shed and went straight to his room inside the main building of the Emiya residence. He could not go to school with this clothes, that much was obvious.

"I'm going to change so please don't look Sa-" Shirou stopped mid sentence, a sorrowful look in his face as he realized what he just did. Sighing, he swallowed his own saliva and finished with putting his school uniform on. He then opened the tatami door that separated his from the now empty bedroom, stepping inside the latter.

"It has truly been a year, huh." A year, a whole year since those fateful two weeks. A whole year since he last saw her, yet that didn't mean that his memory of her was any weaker than it was back then. He could still remember her beautiful face, her shining blonde hair, her emerald-like eyes...It was almost as if she never left. Sadly, the lion plushy in top of the futon she used to sleep in proved that she indeed never came back.

"One must pursue for an eternity, while the other must wait for an equal time..." He was OK with that, with what the Magus told him in his dreams a year ago. The chance for it to happen was one in millions, but it wasn't impossible.

"I'm fine with that." Shirou closed his right hand in the form of a punch, his eyes flashing with determination. "Just hold on for some more time, Saber."

"Who are you talking to, Onii-chan?" A young and playful voice asked from his bedroom.

Surprised, Shirou turned back to be met with the sight of his little sister, Illya. She did not grow at all in the past year, as she looked exactly the same. Her long white hair flashed with her every movement, and her innocent red eyes stared at him as if trying to solve a puzzle.

"Ah, it's nothing Illya." Shirou shook his head and patted her, indicating her to follow him. "What if we have some breakfast? Fuji-nee and Sakura will be here soon." He asked as they walked together towards the living room.

"Breakfast? Can we have waffles Shirou?! Please!" Illya begged excited, making a gesture with her belly of being too hungry.

"Sure, I don't see why not." Being honest, he liked to give Illya what she wanted from time to time. Fuji-nee told him he was spoiling her, but hey, having a little sister was much nicer than he ever thought it would be.

"You're the greatest Onii-chan of all Onii-chans, Shirou!"

"Yeah yeah, just don't eat too much. You know how Fuji-nee will be if you eat all the waffles yourself." Shirou chuckled, imagining a wild tiger roaring in the living room, demanding for more food. "Now...where did I put the flour?"

Somewhere, an old man carefully touched his beard, thinking about what to do next.

"This is when things get boring for a while...Oh well, I've seen his normal life for long enough I think. Time to spice things up a little, my friend Emiya." The man grinned. No, he wasn't Shirou Emiya's friend, but he wasn't an enemy either.

He was just an observer who wanted to see something entertaining.

Shirou walked through the streets of Fuyuki accompanied by the many students who took the same route as he. Sakura had hurried up because she had archery practice, and Rin called him claiming she was sick and couldn't come to school. What stunned Shirou the most was the fact that Rin knew how to use a phone rather than she being sick, but he didn't show it.

Shirou tied his scarf tighter to his neck as a cold breeze hit him. Shaking his head he continued walking, but he did notice something strange in that breeze. A weird smell, one which reminded him of rotten meat. Frowning, he tried to track down its source, doing his best to keep hidden the concern in his face from the other seemingly unaware students in the road. As he kept walking down the streets, what he was fearing proved to be true. The smell came from Homurahara Academy, his school...the very same place so many normal people were walking in just now. But what could he do? Even if the smell was supernatural in source, he couldn't just evacuate the students. Without Rin there he couldn't hypnotize them, and he didn't have the time to go ask for the Exorcist's help in the Kotomine Church. By then, Shirou realized. He had to do this alone. He didn't have any miraculous seals to summon a Heroic Spirit, those were gone for a long time by then. He couldn't afford to be weak like he was against the Servant of the Mount during that horrible war...whatever produced this smell was powerful, perhaps not Servant-level but Shirou wasn't at that level either, so he couldn't mock anyone.

Steeling himself Shirou Emiya entered the school, many different blades ready to be projected in his mind. Shirou ran quickly through all the buildings in Homurahara Academy, silently cursing for not coming earlier even if he had no way to know about this. He could finally track it down to an empty hallway, where the scent's intensity grew incredibly.

"A boundary field, then." Shirou nodded to himself in comprehension. Boundary fields, a craft he sucked at but at least had some theoretical knowledge. According to Rin they had many functions, but one of the must used was to keep normal people away. That could explain perfectly why absolutely no one was here. "Trace On." Now that he didn't have to worry about being seen Shirou could project his favoured blades, the weapons used by the Servant Archer during the Holy Grail War, Kanshou and Bakuya. The married blades, forged by a Chinese master blacksmith empowered by the sacrifice his wife did by her own will. Shirou would never know how nor when Archer came to find those two, but they were perfect for him. Strong blades, quick and easy to project due to their low rank as Noble Phantasms. He couldn't just project something like Caliburn all the time, that would be tiring for his Magic Circuits and such powerful weapons needed too much of his Prana to activate their power as manifested legends. Two—perhaps three if he pushed it—shots with Caliburn would leave him completely dry of Magical Energy. Caliburn was Saber's sword after all, it was never meant to be used by a random Magus more than a millennium later.

With quick steps he walked deeper into the deserted hallway, adrenaline pumping through his veins. Then, he turned right in a corner and-!

"!" There it was for anyone to see, a girl no older than himself judging by her looks. She wore the same school uniform as he, but Shirou couldn't remember ever seeing her before. She had brown hair tied in twin tails, and red eyes. If the blood on her mouth and the fact that another student lay in the floor weren't there Shirou would have suspected of she being a vampire by her eyes alone, but alas, the answer was quite obvious if all three things were present. Only supernatural beings possessed red eyes like those, Illya only had them because of her Homunculus heritage.

Taking advantage of the fact that she was stunned by his sudden appearance, Shirou crossed the them in less than a second using the reinforcement that Rin taught him, pressing Kanshou against the vampire's throat and Bakuya at her chest. She did react quick, though, for Dead Apostles possessed inhuman reflexes due to the lack of nerves in their bodies. Rin taught him that too, but no amount of knowledge could have stopped the kick to his ribs she released after she broke his grip. Flying back, Shirou recalled his brief fight with the Servant Rider. She was much faster than he was, so it mostly reduced to she mopping the floor with his body...but, that was more than enough experience to understand his current foe's fighting style. She stood in a guard quite similar to Rider's, the chain-nails replaced by the typical claws all vampires could use. Being cut by those claws would mean his death, Avalon no longer protected him. He couldn't afford to lose half his body like he did against Berserker...No, he needed something to keep those claws away. Kanshou and Bakuya wouldn't do, their blades weren't long enough for him to deal a good blow from somewhat afar. He could try to use their special ability, but in this closed space that would do him no good, as he would end up hurting himself. He needed a long weapon, one that was strong enough for him to defeat his opponent with it.

'Yes, that will do.' Decided, Shirou dissipated Kanshou and Bakuya in Prana. The vampire, seeing this as an opening, rushed against him...Only to find her claws trapped between steel.

Monohoshizao, a katana almost as tall as Shirou himself. Wielded by the fictional Heroic Spirit Sasaki Kojirou, Shirou copied the weapon of the Assassin who was even more skilled than King Arthur. Pressing with all his strength, Shirou forced the vampire to go backwards, a rush of powerful yet quick attacks all parried by the inhuman monster. Shirou clicked his tongue in annoyance, jumping backwards. At this rate, he would have to do that.

"Hiken! Tsubame Gaeshi!" It wasn't an impossible to avoid attack like the Assassin's, Shirou just copied it to the best of his abilities. That is, with more than enough time for the vampire to escape through an opening. Yet, perhaps to the surprise of seeing three almost simultaneous strikes coming from three different directions or perhaps to something else, she didn't react quickly enough, being cut from all three directions. Tsubame Gaeshi wasn't a Noble Phantasm, though, and it would not leave the vampire killed forever. According to Rin—as he had never fought a vampire himself before—all of them had the ability to make time go backwards in their own body, taking them to a state when they weren't injured. Fortunately, Shirou had to perfect countermeasure for that.

"Trace On." A Black Key, the weapon of preference of the Church's Executors, made specifically to hunt down Dead Apostles like her. Due to its Holy properties it made their regenerative powers useless, allowing them to actually die. What little remained of her consciousness seemed to understand her position, as fear flashed through her eyes. Steeling himself, Shirou impaled her in the heart with it, abruptly ending her life. When she finally stopped breathing Shirou allowed himself to calm down, dissipating Monohoshizao but leaving the Black Key there just in case.

"So this is the second time I kill someone, huh." Not counting Servants, he had only taken one life before. Kirei Kotomine, the former Church representative in the Fifth Holy Grail War and the Master of Gilgamesh. Saber fought the Servant and he fought the Master, both of them winning their own battles. Ironically, he killed Kotomine too with a stab to the heart. Perhaps he was fated to kill the same way Lancer almost killed him?

Sighing, Shirou pulled out his cellphone and dialled Caren Hortensia's number. Someone had to cover up this mess, and it definitely wasn't him.

Music sounded through all the Church, as a lone figure stood before the organ. Quickly moving her hands to make the right notes, she continued for what felt like an eternity. She wore the typical clothes of a nun, with her untied long white hair moving as she did.

RING RING RING.

A sound that wasn't produced by the organ echoed through the room, causing her to look down at her lap. There rested a cellphone, one of the newer models in the market. Curious to who could be calling her, for not many people knew her number, she picked it up and answered.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Miss Hortensia? It's me, Emiya. There has been an...incident, with a vampire and I would like to request your help."

"An incident?" She asked, stunned a bit by the revelation. Also, it wasn't often that Emiya called her so she was somewhat surprised. "Did the Dead Apostle kill anyone? Did you manage to defeat it?" She pressed him with questions.

"As far as I know there is only one person wounded and I'm already taking care of it, but I'm planning to give her to Rin. And yes, I killed it." He said the last part with some regret, and she could understand from where it came from. She had met Emiya in several occasions, and he never seemed to be the type who would kill without hesitation. Still, why did he lament having to kill a Dead Apostle? Caren Hortensia would never know the answer to that.

"You did the right thing Emiya, if you didn't step in it could done unrepairable damage. Still, if one vampire managed to sneak in town then there might be more infiltrated already." She frowned in annoyance.

"Yeah about that...the Dead Apostle wore my school uniform but I had never seen them before. Whoever she was she must have been capable of some good level hypnosis to get in as a student, either that or she didn't perform any and was my own age. I don't know which scares me the most, to be honest." And he had good reasons. It usually takes decades for someone bitten to pass from Ghoul to a full fleshed Dead Apostle, but if she was of her apparent age that must have meant that she skipped the whole process altogether. Being sincere, Caren was hoping it wasn't the latter option. If a monster like that was in Fuyuki, what kept others away? They were either after the Grail or one of the Magi in this city, no vampire was stupid enough to get into Tohsaka territory for no good reason...much less after learning that the son of the Magus Killer guarded the place. After the Grail War the Clock Tower demanded to know the winner, so Emiya was forced to reveal himself. But that was another story altogether, wasn't it?

For now, she should take care of the current issue.

"Emiya."

"Yes?"

"Send word to both Miss Matou and Miss Tohsaka, I want the three of you in the Church by five o'clock in the afternoon. We have some serious matters to attend."

"Understood." Emiya then cut the call, leaving her alone once more.

"...Damn you Emiya, can't we just talk for a bit more?!" Caren felt herself enrage as it sunk in. Maybe it was her fault? Of course it was her fault! Why did she have to act so professional?! She probably scared him!

Indeed, Caren Hortensia had a serious crush on Shirou Emiya since they met. Something that only Shirou himself seemed to be oblivious about.

Caren sighed. Oh well, she would have another chance this afternoon.

An: Yo, what's up? I'm still working in the other story, but as I did I came up with this idea and felt the need to write it off my head. Fate!Shirou's life after the Grail War, that's what this story will be about if it wasn't clear. From a year after the War to the moment he reunites with Saber in Avalon, I will cover all those missing years. Some elements will be canon (like the incident that happens ten years after the war, which I will write about when it's time) and others will be completely out of my head, like this introductory arc. Expect some nice merging with Tsukihime, by the way, for there will be a lot of elements and characters from it in this story.

Talking about Tsukihime, I believe you figured out who was the vampire that Shirou fought? Yep, he killed Satsuki in the first chapter. Of why she was in Fuyuki, you'll have to wait to see it. I will not be using none of the canon Tsukihime routes, but I'll write what happened there with some differences to the official thing. I will try to not fuck up with the universe's rules, but I can't promise anything.

This is the place many authors would talk about their lives, but I guess saying anything aside from: "I have exams this weeks so I will not be able to write much." is unnecessary. I'm a simple guy.

Anyway, see ya in hopefully not too much.