Walking, with the wind blowing on your face.
Walking, towards the future.
Endless days, with no compass to guide you.
After seeing the very ends of the earth…
You will return to where you belong, one bright, sunny day…
~~~~~~0~~~~~~
---0---
Battle.
A familiar, almost beautiful, sound.
That sound.
That sound is something I will never, NEVER, forget, in my entire life.
The moonlight, overpowering the darkness.
I still cannot forget the image of that knight...
That hero...
---0---
While preparing to take a nap, I suddenly remembered that image.
However, I do not recall what made me look up to that hero.
Memories fade away with time, and all of my naive thoughts and feelings from back then have gone away.
Just like that knight, I wanted to be a protector of justice.
I had only wanted to protect everyone.
But to do so... I had to throw away myself.
So that I would not falter if I were to be abandoned, or betrayed, I had to rid myself of emotion.
Even if there was inevitable ruin waiting at the end, I chose to protect others.
I was foolish.
Everything was there. Right there!
I could choose to protect everyone, in exchange for my own happiness...
Or I could choose to accept the unwavering trust and love of those close to me.
Not the love and trust for me, the knight, me, the hero.
But me.
The boy who would cry when he saw others' suffering, who, in the end, became a so-called 'hero.'
The boy whose ideals twisted and changed him into a cynical, bitter, man.
A man betrayed by his ideals.
A man who had realized, that, despite his ideals, it is impossible to save everybody.
In order to save a person, someone else must be left to die.
---0---
I don't think it's any surprise.
I kind of saw this coming.
My death.
The end of this miserable exsistence.
Like they say...
'Bad things happen to good people.'
My friends had all told me this when they tried to disuade me from pursuing my goal.
As it turns out, they were right.
I squint at the rising sun, trying to gather some 'happy' memory of this life, trying to remember something...
...
Something.
Just as I'm about to give up, I remember...
...her.
I stare at the horizon, wising never to forget, and for it to never fade away before the very end.
...a distant field, glowing in the afternoon sun...
...the golden fields she ran through...
...the laughter, ringing in her ears...
For a moment, the memory fades away, as I retch from the pain of my wounds.
I wipe the blood off of my face, and struggle to hold on to the memory.
As the blood-stained streets around me slowly start to fade to black, I smile.
Not from madness...
...from happiness.
I have no regrets.
This was the only path.
"This was all…"
I collapse, unable to finish the sentence.
I think nothing of it.
After all...
There's no one to hear it...
---0---
As I look down on my gravely wounded friend, hundreds...
...no, THOUSANDS of memories flood my mind…
...That smile...
...That determined look, years later...
...The vow to protect...
...The decision to give everything up...
As I shake the memories from my head, I look down on the bloody body of my childhood friend.
"I still remember your choice."
My friend opens his eyes.
"You're an idiot, you know."
His mouth opens, as if to deny it, before it closes again.
His eyes have a pained look about them.
No doubt from the onslaught of memories.
I keep a straight face, not wanting him to see my grief at his coming death.
"You know…"
He looks up, a disinterested look on his face.
But, in his eyes…
…a curious glint.
---0---
What a long journey.
My friend is…
…lecturing me.
With me at Death's door, my closest friend is lecturing me.
As I tune out her words, I ponder on my life.
The time spent, the ideals pursued, all sorts of trouble…
No matter what path I took, it would've eventually led to something like this.
Despite my struggles, the cruelty of the world was burned into my eyes.
I have traveled for a very, very long time on this path.
My path never had a finish line, and it never resulted in anything more than additional pain and suffering.
But, then again…
…it's impossible for anything to be eternal.
Everything has an end.
This was the end for me.
When I had first set off on my mission, I was filled with hope.
However, that 'noble' ideal…
It became nothing more than a tiring duty, until at last, even my dedication faltered.
The reality I saw in my childhood can no longer be seen from where I am at this moment.
What kept me was no longer my dedication to my ideal…
…instead…
…it was a promise.
… a promise to someone close to me.
… a promise I plan to keep.
It's already become an eternal dream.
What she said back then, before I set off on the journey that would eventually lead to my death…
…what she said…
… "I love you.."…
---0---
As I look over my friend once more, not pausing in my speech, I see the toll of his 'journey' is worse than expected.
The curse of fate, the ideals being ripped to shreds in front of him…
It's all become a heavy burden.
"This is difficult," I finally say. "Your lives are so far apart that it almost sickens me."
This was complicated.
As a 'hero', this man, my friend…
…he would most probably end up a servant of the world
Kept as a tool in the trans-dimensional vaults of the world, forever enslaved by his own traitorous ideals.
I sigh.
"If you want to meet her again, two miracles must occur."
I look away.
"She must wait faithfully."
I look back upon my friend.
"…and you must pursue diligently."
His face now has a confused look upon it.
"You and I both realize it is impossible for you to succeed," I continue. "Yet, at the same time, she has been waiting until now."
I completely discard the teachings of my art, the teachings of logical thinking, everything I've ever learned about magic…
Because, I believe, I believe, that there is something more for my friends.
Because of this belief, I believe that they will be reunited.
Because of all they've been through…
They deserve to be together, damn it!
"If I'm right…you stopped believing in that idiotic ideal years ago, right?"
He closes his eyes in fatigue.
"What kept you going…it was your promise."
As he nods in response, I sigh contently.
"Then…it's done."
I get up.
"Rest well."
I walk away from my friend.
After nearly an hour of walking, I turn around and look at the bloodstained scenery one last time.
"To think… they would go this far just to kill him."
Thousands of dead soldiers are scattered all throughout the city.
"Such a waste."
---0---
I open my eyes.
It was a surprise, really.
For me, who has seen nothing but the endless field of battle for a long time…
One, who, not seconds ago, closed his eyes in the middle of a blood-drenched battlefield…
How far have I actually come?
Despite my choice of the endless battle to protect others…
I have somehow ended up at the edge of a dense forest, with nothing but peaceful fields of grass for no visible end…
Perhaps…
Perhaps this is the end of my journey.
---0---
Staring at the endless sky, I wait.
I see endless clouds.
Endless fields.
Endless forest.
Nothing else.
A shadow moves at the edge of my vision.
The faint movement sparks something within me.
My heart starts to race.
I'm praying, desperately hoping…
Tears roll down my cheeks.
The familiar shadow approaches.
---0---
Seeing that figure…
Standing on top of that hill…
A feeling of nostalgia runs through me.
Heart racing, I run towards the hill…
As I reach the top, I stop, and stare in disbelief.
The feelings within me…
There are thousands of words I want to say to her.
But I can only choke one line out.
"I'm back, Saber."
---0---
~~~~~~0~~~~~~
So winter went by, and spring came along.
Nature is in full bloom, and there is nothing reminiscent of the cold, hard days.
Stash away the memories of both loss, and gain, for love continues on.
Now, then…
This story, fully unraveled, has reached its conclusion.
A new story is waiting…
~~~~~~0~~~~~~
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FATE/STAY NIGHT, REALTA NUA, ANIME, OR OTHERWISE. YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS BY NOW.
Also, I put the disclaimer here so as to not ruin the mood at the start.
ARCHERxSABER FTW!!!!!
It might be a bit emo, but I was feeling kinda down/pissed when I wrote this.
Probably because it was originally school related.
I hate school.