DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the Fate series or any other series I write about in this site.

Steins;Fate

Chapter 1 – Amnesia

Shirou opened his eyes as the scene in front of his eyes contorted and twisted in a nauseating manner. Once the wavering scenery halted its sickening movement, Shirou placed his hand onto the ground and lifted his lying body up in a seated position. Scanning around his new surrounding, Shirou then averted his eyes to the ground where his hand rested as he supported his leaning posture on his upper limbs. Feeling the pasture of lush green grass as the soil dirtied his palms, Shirou stood up in a cautious manner.

Right now he was what could be considered as a park with a couple benches and trees in the vast green plain. In front of him and outside the boundaries of the pasture was an ornate five-story building that had English writing above the entrance of the building. The only word Shirou could vaguely recognize was the word "Science", all the other alphabet forming words escaped his knowledge. Turning his head to the right, Shirou could see young adults walking together in small groups as they chatted away happily while others are engaged in a heated argument. If Shirou had to make a guess, he would say he is in a university park.

Shirou tried to recall how and when he went to the park and lied down, but the memory eluded him. Thinking back, most of his memories were a fuzzy haze. Shirou's heart lurched, his mind alerting him of an unknown danger. But years of training has dictated him to calm down in similar situations like this. Trying to recall whatever past he could, Shirou began to say out loud anything he remembered in Japanese.

"Fire … S-Saber, Tohsaka, Illya," all those names began to warm his heart as he continued to remember. "Gi-Gilgamesh, Excalibur, Servant, Grail, Magi, Projection, war, d-death."

Shirou didn't remember much, but he could now be able to recall one event after another as memories began to gradually come back to him. But every time he tried to remember what happened prior he got here though, he received an extreme headache in return. Just remembering the minuscule information he already has gave him a serious headache as sweat beaded on his forehead. Shirou was no stranger to pain, that much he knew; however, he is not one who invites pain upon himself. Shirou halted his train of thought, it would not do him any good if he passed out right here in this park. For now, it was best for him to figure out where he is.

Stretching out his back as his sore muscles protested, Shirou easily deduced that he must have been doing some strenuous exercise prior his amnesia. Walking over to the nearest building, Shirou pushed opened the glass door to enter as the air conditioner welcomed him into the building. Walking casually through the neat hallway, Shirou cautiously glanced over each room's interior at the sides of the hallway. After looking at two of the rooms, Shirou confirmed that he did not misinterpret the word "Science" that was written above the entrance of this building.

The interior of the room was neatly organized and clean, some of the rooms containing high-end technology, all of them which Shirou was sure he has never seen in his life before. These pieces of equipment were used to accomplish specific tasks, specifically anything pertaining to the field of science in order to further its advancement. Still maintaining his walking speed, Shirou saw something through his peripheral vision that interested him. An office. Not just any office, but an office that had on its table littered with paperwork. That caught Shirou's attention. If anything, it could give him a clue where he is and what's going on; however, Shirou was more curious about the former. Turning left as if it were the natural thing to do, Shirou entered the room without a second thought.

Another piercing headache invaded Shirou's head as he inwardly grimaced and resisted the urge to place his hand on his head in case it tipped someone off in a wrong way. The last thing he needed was attention on his behalf. Hearing no sound around him, Shirou walked into the room with blurred vision as he walked with the best of his abilities towards the office desk. Rubbing his eyes, Shirou's vision cleared a bit more as he tried to read the contents of the paper laid on the gray metallic table.

A glance at the paper made Shirou inwardly curse in frustration. English. The whole paperwork was littered with the English alphabets which looked to Shirou no better than gibberish.

"What are you doing in here?" a voice sounded from beside him. "This is not a place for students to loiter around."

Shirou heart lurched uncomfortably. How could he been so careless, this should have never happened!

Lying the paper back down to the desk smoothly as he turned around to meet the English speaking person, Shirou was shocked to witness a young girl in a lab coat with unkept hair speaking to him.

"Uh," racking his brain for any English he knew, Shirou came up with a perfect statement to explain his predicament, "my English … uh, bad."

The girl in front of him frowned at Shirou, probably thinking that Shirou was lying.

Shirou, hoping to show his deepest sincerity in causing such a spectacle and confusion apologized in Japanese as he gave a polite bow. "Gomenasai."

At those words, Shirou could sense the attitude displayed on the girl's face took a complete 180o flip.

"You speak Japanese?" the girl asked Shirou, this time in fluent Japanese, speaking not even with an accent.

This caused Shirou to widen his eyes in surprise which brought a grin to the girl's face. "You speak Japanese?!" Shirou said in disbelief though he was internally grateful.

The girl frowned at Shirou for repeating her own words, but quickly dismissed the fact. "Why are you in here?" the girl asked, going straight to the point, "Are you lost?"

Shirou gave a sheepish chuckle, "You can say that," Shirou began his explanation. "I can't seem to remember anything, so I was hoping to know where I am through these papers. But … " Shirou eyed the papers littered on the table, "they are in English," he said in defeat.

"You don't remember anything?" the girl questioned Shirou.

"Only a few glimpses here and there," Shirou admitted. "I think I may have banged my head really hard, I get a headache off and on from remembering my memories. Could you tell me where is this place?"

The girl looked at Shirou in disbelief, but still nevertheless gave Shirou his answer. "This is the Victor Chondria University."

"Victor Chondria," Shirou muttered to himself as he trailed off. "Country?"

The girl raised an eyebrow at Shirou in question and suspicion. "America."

Shirou almost choked on his next words as his eyes widened in surprise. "America?!"

"I swear if you are making this up I will call the police immediately and get you arrested for sexual harassment."

"Sexual harassment?" Shirou said slowly as if to make sure he heard correctly.

"What do you remember?" the girl said in annoyance. "Do you remember your name?"

"Emiya Shirou, pleasure to meet you. And yours?"

"Maho," the girl said with crossed arms, "Hiyajo Maho. So what do you remember?"

Straight to the point again, Shirou thought to himself, not that he was complaining. "Just a few names, fire, war, lots of death, my school life – "

"Wait, fire, war, death? You say that as if it's nothing! I am going to call the police RIGHT NOW! This is not a funny prank that you're trying to pull!" Maho declared indignantly as she prepared to stomp towards where the telephone was located.

"Wait, Hiyajo-san," Shirou called out, "I'm not lying, that's just what I remember," Shirou said honestly.

Maho halted her warpath towards the telephone. "What else?"

"Huh?'

"What else do you remember, give me a specific memory."

"Well," Shirou thought for a moment, "the first thing that comes to mind is … fire."

Maho visibly frowned at the words Shirou spoke as if expecting him to continue to prank her.

"Fire … was everywhere around where I was. Everyone desperately to be saved, all of them calling out for salvation … but, I couldn't save any of them," Shirou said as he looked blankly in front of him as he relived the memory. "I then fell down, thinking that I was going to die. Then, someone found me," Shirou said fondly, his voice laced with admiration, "he was crying with joy, saying thank you over and over again. At that moment, I decided I will live, I will live just to make that man happy and see him with joy. That man became my old man," Shirou explained. "His name is … Kiritsugu, Emiya Kiritsugu," Shirou voiced out once his father's name entered his fuzzy mind.

Maho eyed Shirou suspiciously for a moment before sighing in resignation. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Yes," Shirou said without a trace of doubt. He remembered that widespread fire all to well, it was a memory etched into his very soul. Something that he will never be able to forget.

"When did it happen?" Maho asked.

"When I was seven," Shirou said.

"Where did the fire took place?"

Shirou thought for a long time, "I … don't remember," Shirou said with a defeated sigh.

"Anybody you remember?"

"Yes, I remember a couple of names."

"Give me all of them."

"There is Saber, Tohsaka Rin, Matou Sakura, Fuji-nee, Matou Shinji, Issei Ryuudou, Kotomine Kirei, and … there is you, Hiyajo Maho." Shirou decided to not mention Gilgamesh's name, there was so much Shirou knew about the powerful man that he knew others will never be able to understand. Just announcing his name will cause people only more confusion. And Shirou wanted to avoid that at all cost.

Maho decided to disregard Shirou's last statement about her name. It seems like this Emiya Shirou has already considered her as a friend. "Saber. That's an English name isn't it?"

"Yes," Shirou said, "but, it's an alias."

"An alias?" Maho questioned, "I'm guessing she's a good swordsman?"

Shirou smiled softly, "Yes, she is."

"And Kotomine Kirei, you said that with a tinge of disdain. I take it you aren't on good terms with him."

This girl sure is observant, Shirou thought with respect. "I don't think I was on good terms with him, I think he tried to kill me before," Shirou thought absentmindedly.

"Kill you," Maho muttered. "I was expecting something more along the lines of you had a nasty argument with him at best."

Shirou shook his head seriously, "No, nothing like that."

Maho sighed, "I'm not sure how to help you, maybe you should go see Dr. Leskinen, he's my professor and the researcher of the Neuroscience Department. He might be able to know what's going on."

"Doctor Leskinen," Shirou murmured to himself, then smiled. "I will do just that, could you lead me to where he is?"

Maho turned around and eyed the pile of work she left on her little workspace at the other side of the room before looking back at Shirou. "I'll take you there," Maho reluctantly said, "he should be in the neuroscience research lab right now."

"Arigato gozaimasu."

Maho then turned around to grab her ID card on the table across from Shirou before returning back to him and exiting out the doorway as Shirou silently followed her.

Walking up the stairs and to the second floor, Maho lead Shirou past a couple rooms in a decent width hallway before knocking on one of the doors. "Dr. Leskinen, someone is here for you," Maho called out in English.

No sooner did Maho called out in front of the doorway did the door slid open to reveal a tall broad American man in his forties.

"Oh, hi Maho, how have you been? I see that you have brought a new friend here today," the doctor said with a smile.

"I have better days," Maho answered unceremoniously before looking back at Shirou while ushering him inside the room as Dr. Leskinen stood aside to let them in.

When Shirou walked into the large space, Shirou was shocked at the sheer contrast between this office and Maho's workspace where he was earlier. Even though Shirou was baffled at the differences between the individual spaces, he didn't voice out his disbelief nor showed it on his face.

"This is Emiya Shirou, he's Japanese," Maho began the conversation once they were inside the room.

"Emiya Shirou," the doctor muttered in surprise, "I see you have met an interesting friend, Maho."

Maho didn't bother to grace Dr. Leskinen a reply. "I came here because apparently Shirou here has lost most of his memories suddenly."

These words caused Dr. Leskinen's eyebrows to furrow in worry and confusion. "Since when did you recall having lost your memory, Shirou?" Dr. Leskinen asked.

"Ten, fifteen minutes ago," Shirou gave an estimated answer. Thinking back how he got his amnesia caused his memory to go fuzzy once again as a headache gradually made itself apparent.

Dr. Leskinen raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Very recent then," he said with an accent as he spoke in Japanese.

"Any way you can help me get my memories back?" Shirou asked with uncertainty when the doctor became silent for a while.

"I have a couple in mind," Leskinen said, "but for now, just carry out your life in a usual manner and make sure to get plenty of rest. Also, make sure to not force yourself to remember the past if it makes you uncomfortable. After a few days, we shall see how your condition is progressing. If it's still the same, we shall try an alternative option."

Shirou smiled with gratitude towards Dr. Leskinen, Shirou then bowed down in a traditional Japanese manner as a show of respect and thanks.

"Thank you very much, you have been a great help," Shirou said.

Dr. Leskenin gave a friendly laugh of his own at Shirou's foreign display of politeness. "I am always glad to help a friend of Maho's. Make sure you come by often!" Dr. Leskenin then held out a hand to Shirou's direction as Shirou looked at the outstretched palm and met him in the middle with his own as they shook strongly before both backing up at their respective places.

"If you guys ever need help, I will be more than happy to do so, just first give me a cal – " Shirou abruptly stopped mid-sentence. Did he have a phone? Has he ever used a phone? Then why did those words come out so naturally?

Maho looked at Shirou quizzically, "You forgot your phone number?" Maho asked, her voice laced with suspicion.

Shirou snapped himself out of his train of thought. "Y-yeah," he muttered, "but the words just came out … so naturally."

Maho frowned, "Your amnesia seems a lot worse than I had first assumed."

Shirou shrugged. None of that mattered now, even though Shirou wanted his memories back badly, sulking over the predicament at hand will not accomplish anything.

Shirou then turned over to Maho and looked at her straight in the eye. "Do … you guys mind if I help around here for a while? As my memories are a jumbled mess, I have no idea where I belong and what I did. Since there is nothing much we can do about my memories right now, I think it would be better if I do something more productive than walking around."

Dr. Leskinen thought for a moment while rubbing his chin, "I don't see why not, however, I don't believe we have any jobs that need to be done."

"I could help tidy up Maho's workplace," Shirou offered without thinking much about what he's saying.

"Wha—"

"Ahahaha," Dr. Leskinen cheerfully laughed at Shirou's words and the sincerity behind them. "That would be a splendid idea. I believe Maho is in dire need of an organized workplace."

"Professor!" Maho protested loudly. "He can't—"

"Is something wrong, Hiyajo-san?" Shirou asked with confusion.

Maho whirled around at Shirou. "Yes, EVERYTHING IS!"

"Huh?"

"I just knew you for a couple minutes and now you're offering to clean my office?!"

"You don't have to pay me," Shirou stated, not sure what was the problem.

Maho's mouth gradually turned into a frown as she placed her palm on her face, "That's not any better."

Before Shirou could answer back, another voice cut in from behind him.

"Senpai, you shouldn't complain," a smug voice stated. "It's not every day you meet someone who is willing to help clean your office."

Turning around, Shirou was met with a red-hair girl who is slightly shorter than him yet much taller than Maho. Her red colored hair ended above her waist and her eyes glinted in amusement. She, like Maho, was also wearing a spotless white lab coat.

"Kurisu," Maho scowled out with annoyance at the newly appeared "rival".

Kurisu muffled the chuckle that was about to come out of her before looking over at Shirou. "Who's your new friend here, Senpai?"

"Emiya Shirou," Shirou introduced himself while giving an outstretched arm towards Kurisu's direction.

Kurisu took Shirou's hand and shook it warmly, "Makise Kurisu."

"So, are you also a friend of Maho's?" Shirou asked out of curiosity.

Kurisu smiled, "Yes, we have been friends for a couple months now."

Shirou nodded his head as he examined Kurisu's formal attire. "Do you also work here?" Shirou suddenly asked.

Kurisu cocked her head slightly at the unexpected question. "Yes, I work here as a scientist along with Maho and Professor Leskinen."

A sudden thought entered Shirou's mind. If Kurisu is a friend of Maho's … then, is her workplace in a similar state of disarray like Maho's?

"Would you like any help cleaning your office or anywhere else as well?" Shirou asked, hoping to be useful and do something productive.

The words that left Shirou's mouth stunned Kurisu as she widened her eyes in surprise. "Who is this friend of yours, Senpai?" Kurisu asked Maho, surprised that she had struck gold with the few people she has ever interacted with.

Maho shrugged nonchalantly, "He's Emiya Shirou," Maho stated the obvious, "other than he's a Japanese, I don't know. He claims he lost his memories."

This statement caused Kurisu to perk up in surprise. "Amnesia?"

Maho nodded solemnly.

Kurisu eyed Shirou sympathetically, "Do you remember your relatives, where you live, anything of that sort?"

Shirou didn't have to think much to answer her question. "I remember some friends I have back in Japan," Shirou paused before continuing to answer the second question, "but I can't seem to remember where I live."

"What's the first place you remember when you had amnesia?" Kurisu asked.

"Errr … I don't know. The first place I saw was the park in front of this building."

Kurisu nodded in understanding. "Professor Leskinen, is it all right if I and Maho-senpai check the student logs for his name? We might be able to find something useful."

Dr. Leskinen hummed in agreement. "I will give you the necessary permission to view those files later."

"Do you have any personal belongings on you that might aid us in your identity?" Kurisu asked next, "Cellphone, ID card, photo, et cetera?"

Shirou inwardly berated himself for not doing this sooner as he rummaged through his pant pockets for anything. Sure enough, Shirou found a hand-held device inside his right coat pocket. Shirou eyed the device for a moment before realizing what it was.

"It's a cell phone," Shirou muttered.

Shirou then flipped open the cell phone to see a small screen and a set of dials at the bottom portion of the phone. The cellular device was colored a silver gray, and the scratches on the outside cover of the phone proved that this phone has been receiving some rough treatment.

"How … do you use this?" Shirou asked hesitantly. Even though he could remember some of the people he met back in Japan, never did he remembered using a device like this. He only recalled others using this in his past.

Kurisu and Maho frowned at Shirou's statement. "Your amnesia is worst than I thought," Kurisu commented. "Here, mind if I look at the phone?"

Shirou nodded as he handed the electronic device over to Kurisu. Kurisu looked over the device as she fiddled with the phone keys. "This is a very old model," Kurisu said after a minute of inspecting the phone. "There's a powerful password encryption on this device, if I can get my computer here, it shouldn't be too hard to crack it, even with my skills."

Shirou frowned at those words. A powerful password encryption? He doesn't even remember ever having a phone and let alone using one. And now for some reason not only does he possess a phone, it somehow has a powerful password encryption set up on it?

"Yeah, please do that," Shirou told Kurisu with gratitude.

Kurisu smiled, "No problem, a friend of Maho's is a friend of mines."

And with that, Kurisu left the room with the Shirou's phone in her hand.

Shirou then turned around to meet Dr. Leskinen and Maho. "I believe I have taken more than enough of your time. Thank you for all the help." Shirou shifted his body to meet Maho's eyes, "Hiyajo-san, do you mind if I get started?" Shirou asked with a sincere smile.

Maho sighed, completely dejected as her face clouded with hatred at how such a predicament befell upon her.

"Just … get it over with," Maho finally voice out huskily and strained.

Shirou softly smiled as he went out along with Maho to her office.

Kurisu typed commands after commands as she peeled apart the password encryption one by one on Emiya Shirou's phone. After several minutes of hacking, Kurisu finally got past the password. Even though Kurisu is by no means a professional hacker, however the age of this model allowed her to bypass its security with relative ease despite the password encryption on the phone being the state of the art of its time. The thought of a commoner having such a powerful encryption on this old piece of tech made Kurisu question Shirou's identity and origin.

Scanning through the phone's data, Kurisu raised both eyebrows in surprise at the unexpected find. From what she's seeing, the data on the phone has mostly been completely erased. Gritting her teeth in annoyance and frustration, Kurisu began to scavenge through the pile of data for anything worth looking at. There was something off with this Emiya Shirou, and Kurisu was fully intent on discovering what it is.

"Don't touch that book," Maho cried out as Shirou was about to close the book and place it on the bookshelf by the office table.

Shirou raised an eyebrow at Maho's behavior. "Are you in the middle of reading this one too?" he asked.

"Y-yes," Maho stammered in slight embarrassment at Shirou's gaze.

Shirou gave an audible sigh. "This is the fifth book that you are in the middle of reading. Have you ever heard of a bookmark?"

"O-of course!" Maho exclaimed. "But it's just far more efficient to leave it open on the page I'm at."

Shirou sighed once again at Maho's stubborn faulty "logical" explanation before placing the opened book onto Maho's table as neatly as possible with the other pile of books.

After organizing Maho's research books and papers, Shirou next went to find a disposable cloth which he was able to find in the bathroom. Soaking and cleaning the cloth before using it, Shirou went back to Maho's office and started mopping down the dusty floor which clearly has not been cleaned for a while. Once the floor was spotless, Shirou then continued by cleaning and dusting off the furniture in the room. Last, but not least, Shirou went over and opened the window beside the room to allow some much-needed fresh air in. All that work ended up taking longer than Shirou had estimated as he looked over at setting sun which was visible from the only window in the room. Looking over at the hanging clock on the wall, Shirou discovered it took him around five hours to accomplish all the work.

Nodding to himself in satisfaction, Shirou walked over towards Dr. Leskinen's workplace.

It took much longer than Kurisu thought it would to recover the little amount of data she could possibly find on Shirou's phone. Kurisu supposed this was just another testament of the vast gulf that separated her skills between that of a professional hacker. Looking over at the once corrupted data, Kurisu began to open one text message after another and viewed over whether what she has discovered as anything worth noting or not. Perhaps maybe she went a little overboard with this phone data problem? Shrugging off the self doubt, Kurisu opened the most recent text message sent to Shirou two weeks ago.

March 4th 2010
Anonymous - 4:13 A.M.
SERN will not repeat itself.
You have ignored us far too long.
You have crossed the end of line, Emiya. - 4:14 A.M.
You will be silenced.

Kurisu mentally gulped at the message. Is … this a prank? Kurisu then opened another message out of both curiosity and instinct.

March 1st 2010
Anonymous - 10:32 P.M.
Emiya, this will be your last chance and warning.
Return back to SERN and complete the project.
We have pinpointed your location and we are sending a group to escort you back.
If you return our hospitality with bloodshed, we shall eliminate you. - 10:33 P.M.

Kurisu opened her mouth slightly in horror. Is … this actually real? Not just a dumb, rude prank? Kurisu silently gulped without realizing it as she opened message after message until all of them has been read through.

Kurisu slumped on her office chair in defeat. She has read and re-read the messages over and over again. She had questioned herself why would SERN, a famous scientific community in Switzerland, need to kill someone like Emiya Shirou. The answer was clearly apparent after reading through the messages. Shirou knew something that SERN didn't want others to know about. Something about a project regarding time, that was all Kurisu could gather after reading through all the relatively short texts.

Looking back, Kurisu began to wonder whether Shirou's words were even credible, was he trustworthy. But looking at the way he acted and the manner he exhibited, even going so far as to give Kurisu his phone, the doubts Kurisu had in her mind vanished away. There was nothing to gain by faking amnesia. Faking amnesia only gave him a higher probability of getting caught by the organization called SERN.

Closing the lid of the laptop and turning off Shirou's phone. Kurisu stood up from her chair as she straightened out her wrinkled lab coat. It is time to inform Emiya Shirou of her findings.

"Hiyajo," Shirou called out as he knocked the door to Dr. Leskinen's office a couple times before going in.

"Oh, hi Shirou!" Dr. Leskinen said when he got his eyes off his computer. Most likely working on some kind of science related work.

"Hi Dr. Leskinen," Shirou greeted. "Do you happen to know where Hiyajo is?"

Dr. Leskinen turned his head to look in front of him before pointing at a location up ahead. "Maho should be in there," he said with a smile. "It seems like she is in her own world if she can't hear you."

"I'm sure she's just wearing an earphone," Shirou reasoned before thanking Dr. Leskinen and headed towards the previously pointed direction.

"Hiyajo, Hiyajo-san. Oh, there you are," Shirou said once he found Maho in a secluded corner working on something on her laptop. "I have finished up cleaning your office," Shirou informed her. "You can go back there and do you work in a more comfortable place if you like."

Maho just sat there silently without a single twitch as her eyes were continuously strained on the computer screen.

"Hiyajo?" Shirou called out, wondering if she was okay. Seeing no movement from her still, Shirou cautiously moved up towards her and called out once again. "Hiyajo? Maho? Senpai?"

At Shirou's last words which was said louder than conversational volumes, Maho leaped up from her chair in surprise as she gave an involuntary yelp.

"Are you okay, Hiyajo?" Shirou asked, a bit concerned at Maho's behavior.

Maho quickly recovered and brushed away Shirou's concern. "When did you come in? Why did you call me Senpai?" Maho questioned though it sounded more like a demand.

"I came in not too long ago," Shirou reassured her. "I kept calling your name and you won't respond, so I decided to try another tactic."

Maho cursed silently to herself as she muttered under her breath. "I got caught off guard again?!"

Looking at Maho's clouded face, Shirou quickly came up with something to say to lighten the mood. "I finished cleaning your office. You can go back there if you want. It should be much more comfortable than," Shirou motioned at the place Maho was seated, "there."

Maho sighed as she closed her computer and stood up from her chair. "Thank you, let me get my stuff."

"Anytime," Shirou smiled. "Do you need help carrying those things?"

"That won't be necessary," Maho muttered with annoyance before walking out of the room with Shirou behind her.

"Ah, Maho!" Dr. Leskinen greeted with an exuberant grin.

"Professor," Maho greeted back curtly before handing Dr. Leskinen a stack of printed papers. "The report on the Amadeus."

"Magnificent!" Dr. Leskinen said proudly. "I will look through it later, you should get some rest."

Maho nodded as she looked out at the already setting sun.

"Senpai? You have not gone home yet?" a voice suddenly interrupted the group of three.

Maho turned her gaze away from the sun that is visible from the room to Kurisu who is standing by the office doorway. "Kurisu," Maho greeted. "I should say the same to you," Maho said with a wry grin.

"Makise-san," Shirou greeted.

"Kurisu, come in!" Dr. Leskinen beckoned her in.

Kurisu complied with the request as she came over to the group. "You can call me Kurisu, Shirou," Kurisu informed. "Another thing before I leave, do you remember ever … working somewhere?"

Maho looked suspicious at the change in topic, but Shirou answered the question without hesitation. "I remember working somewhere, like restaurants and schools. Other than that … I'm not sure."

Kurisu continued on to her next question. "Do you perhaps recognize the name SERN?"

"SERN?" Shirou muttered to himself in thought. "I don't think it rings a bell."

"Then what do you re—" Kurisu stopped midway in her sentence when she saw the gaze Maho is giving her. Something must be wrong. "Ahem, I meant have you ever had an interest in science? Specifically, physics?"

'Science? I don't exactly have an innate interest in it. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing. Just curious. So what are your hobbies?" Kurisu asked, trying to cover up her previous question.

"I enjoy cleaning," Shirou thought aloud, "… and making people happy."

"Huh?" both Maho and Kurisu voiced their questioning disbelief.

"What? Is something wrong?"

"Uh, no. Just … surprised," Kurisu said. "Anyway, it's getting late. Do you have a place to stay?" Kurisu asked in an attempt to change the conversation.

"Um … I'm not sure?" Shirou said.

"What?" Kurisu exclaimed before calming down. "You forgot where didn't you."

Shirou nodded in confirmation.

"In that case …" Kurisu trailed off as she looked helplessly in Maho's direction who was on purposely ignoring her gaze.

"It's okay," Shirou smiled. "I can sleep outside. Something tells me this isn't the first time I've done so."

"What?! No, absolutely not!" Kurisu said with more conviction than intended. Maho eyed Kurisu with suspicion at her sudden outburst as Kurisu inwardly cursed herself for her lowered guard. This was the fault of all the depressing text messages she read.

"Is there a specific place you want me to sleep at?" Shirou asked.

"Well, um …"

"It doesn't seem like it will be raining anytime soon. There is no need to worry about me getting soaked. I will be fine," Shirou reassured her.

"T-that's not—"

"Shirou can stay at my place tonight if he likes," Dr. Leskinen interrupted, seeing how distress Kurisu was.

"Will that pose too much of a trouble for you?" Shirou asked, hoping not to intrude on the man's privacy.

Dr. Leskinen gave a hearty laugh. "It will be no problem, Shirou."

Shirou then bowed down at Dr. Leskinen. "I will be honored to accept your offer if that is the case. Thank you very much."

Dr. Leskinen returned Shirou a warm smile. "Shirou, if you don't mind, could you wait outside for me? I will be there to pick you up once I'm ready."

Shirou nodded in acknowledgment and turned around and went out the door.

Once Shirou was out the door, Dr. Leskinen rotated his chair so he could meet the eyes of his two research partners. "Is there something wrong, Kurisu?" Dr. Leskinen finally broke the silence as he spoke in English.

Maho was also looking at Kurisu, clearly expecting an answer from her. "I hacked into Shirou's phone," Kurisu began.

"And?" Maho asked, motioning for Kurisu to continue.

"After I hacked past the password encryption, which is far too secure for its own time. I discovered all data has been deleted from the cellular device. I decided to take a couple hours retrieving the little amount of corrupted data and miraculously managed to recover some of it. The content was … a bit off-putting."

"What do you mean?" Maho asked, concern and worry evident in her voice.

"It seems like Shirou is being hunted down by SERN," Kurisu finally revealed.

"Hunted?" Dr. Leskinen confirmed. "Is that why he doesn't have any memories?"

Kurisu shook her head. "I don't think so. SERN seems to want to end Shirou for once and begone with him. A half-baked solution like erasing his memories didn't seem like what SERN was interested in from what I've read."

"SERN?" Maho questioned. "You mean the scientific community in Switzerland. The one that has the largest particle accelerator in the world?"

"The one and only," Kurisu replied.

"But why?" Maho asked.

"Shirou knew something SERN didn't want leaking out into the public. Some kind of project relating to time, that's all I've been able to gather."

"A scientific project concerning time and important enough that they would resort to killing Shirou?" Dr. Leskinen half muttered to himself and half addressed his question to Kurisu.

"If it's important enough that they don't want it revealed to the public and are willing to end Shirou with an underhanded method, I would think it would be a project pertaining to military advancement," Maho brainstormed.

Kurisu nodded her head in agreement.

"Maybe a project on slowing down time," Maho reasoned.

Kurisu was quick to shoot down the idea. "Unlikely. If that was the project that concerns the military, it would be far easier to research on how to increase human reaction speed."

"True, but what about stopping time?"

Kurisu frowned. "Do you hear what you're saying, Senpai?"

Maho shrugged nonchalantly, "Brainstorming here. There's not much of an option that fits in a category that concerns a project about time relating to the military."

Kurisu sighed. "Stopping time won't work, time is universal. To stop it would be stopping everything and everybody. It's impossible to stop time in a selected space unless you are traveling at the speed of light according to Einstein's theory of relativity."

"What about a time machine?" Maho asked, having given up on rationality.

Kurisu froze at Maho's words. A time machine. Something which her father was obsessed with for so many years. The ability to go back in time. Was … that possible? There were a lot of things to this day scientist are unable to understand after all. Kurisu shook her head, what was she thinking. The idea of going backward or forward into time is preposterous.

"I'm going back," Kurisu suddenly announced. "There's no use pondering over these thoughts. We are clearly going nowhere with it."

"Wait a second, Kurisu!" Maho quickly stopped Kurisu before she can leave. "There's more about Shirou I need to tell you."

"Huh? What?"

"About what he remembers."

"Oh, yes. That might serve as a clue with what he's involved in. So …?"

"He remembers a couple of his friends here and there. But what concerns me the most is the other stuff he remembers. Fire, war, and lots of death are one of the first memories he remembered, I am quoting him verbatim here."

"Fire, war, and death?" Kurisu questioned in disbelief, she can feel her mouth drying at an incredible rate. What unimaginable horror has SERN subjected him?

"Perhaps that is how he lost his memories," Dr. Leskinen reasoned. "Shock and traumatic experiences can lead to excessive memory lost."

"There's too much we don't know," Maho said. "We can't immediately assume that."

"As you say, Maho. That is entirely correct. Regardless, I would like the both of you to remain cautious around Shirou. There is no telling who he is and what he is involved in. Although I trust him, as a scientist, I cannot allow my emotions to dictate my actions with something that possesses such potential danger."

Kurisu could only nod numbly at the professor's line of logic.

"Anyway," Dr. Leskinen said, this time much more cheerful. "I believe I have a guest to attend, see you both tomorrow morning at work."

"Have a good night, Professor," Maho bid farewell.

Kurisu gave a farewell as well before resuming back to her contemplating persona. Why did she have the feeling that the enigma that clouded around Emiya Shirou would only get more confusing as time goes by? No matter, sooner or later, for bad or for good, she will discover who this man truly is.

Shirou lied down on the bed Dr. Leskinen had graciously offered to him thirty minutes ago as Shirou stared absently at the white painted ceiling. Dr. Leskinen had already retired for the evening and has gone back to his bedroom for some rest. During the couple hours Shirou has met the professor, he had begun to take a liking at his optimistic child-like attitude. Despite the professor's likable character, to Shirou's surprise, he has never once been in a relationship with another woman.

Shirou continued to stare absently at the ceiling. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get a wink of sleep. In the tiny corner of his brain, something was eating away at him, something that nagged him to no end, and Shirou was intent to find out what it is. Lifting up his entire body away from the bed until he was in a seated position, Shirou bounced off the bed and landed on the ground as he sat in a crisscrossed manner. Closing his eyes as he allowed his distant memories and instincts to overtake his actions, almost as if by its own, Shirou's tongue rolled out of his mouth as he pronounced a phrase with familiarity. "Trace On."

Once the words were uttered, Shirou felt a reservoir of untapped energy overflowing. It was a unique yet familiar experience. Keeping his eyes closed, Shirou began to make out an image in his head. Dual married swords, both white and black respectively, appeared in his mind with increased clarity. Memorizing every detail of the two magnificent blades that seemed to almost shine with power, Shirou, as if guided by experience, manipulated the energy in his body and made the image into reality.

Shirou gradually opened his eyes. And in his hands laid two delicate Chinese blades that hummed with power as Shirou laid them both down onto the tiled floor. Despite knowing in his mind that what he was seeing and doing should be by all means impossible, Shirou felt oddly comforted and used to the sight in front of him. This was all the evidence he needed, the evidence that his past still lies within him. The evidence that his memories are not a fluke, not a made up imagination by his brain to follow his inner hopes and dreams.

Shirou yawned with exhaustion before holding the swords back into his hands as he traced his fingers around the back blunt side of the blades. Shirou would have liked to try swinging the dual weapons around to see what he can do with it, however Shirou was concern of waking Dr. Leskinen up, especially after the Professor had kindly extended hospitality to him to come into his home for temporary lodging. Vanishing the blades back to pure mana as if it were the most natural thing to do, Shirou just sat there, completely confused what drove him to do that.

Shirou then stood up from the ground and stretched his back before giving a soft audible sigh. There were simply too many unanswered questions in his mind, he knew glimpses of his past and had a slim idea of who he was prior his amnesia. But until he can get his memory back, Shirou was sure he would not be able to get any of his questions answered anytime soon. Toppling over the bed as the mattress sank under his weight, Shirou exhaled then inhaled silently before exhaustion took him over in a peaceful slumber.

Japanese Word Translation:

Gomenasai – Sorry (Formal)
Arigato Gozaimasu – Thank you (Formal)

Thank you for reading!

Please make sure to check out my primary story which can been seen in my profile page called Fate Blade Zero. It's a story where Shirou goes back in time to the Fourth Holy Grail War, details can be read under the description/summary of the story page.

Also, please review and tell me your thoughts about this Fate/Stay Night and Steins;Gate crossover. This story is under experimenting stages to see how the majority audience will receive this crossover. If you have a crossover in mind that you will like to see written, please leave a review and I'll think about it. Thank you very much! – SteelBlades333