Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Fate/Stay Night's characters or scenario, however, the OC's in this story in fact do belong to me, as does this story. This story begins five years following the events of Fate.

Fate/Dawn Arising

Chapter 1: Nightmare Gaze

I really don't understand why, but every year around this time, I have this recurring dream. A dream…that's putting it much too lightly. This could not be described as anything other than the worst nightmare I will ever experience. Even worse, this dream comes from an actual event in my life, and I'm sure you'll agree with me, dear reader, that dreaming about a traumatic event, even five years down the road, can still scare the dickens out of you when you wake up from it.

In this nightmare of nightmares I am sitting in my first-year high school classroom. As far as I can recall, it was either fourth or fifth period. The exact time of the event escapes me, but I'm quite certain it was rather soon after lunch. Either way, the exact time is irrelevant.

Now, when most people experience a dream that involves sitting in a classroom or standing in front of a classroom, the dreamer or the people around the dreamer are usually in an embarrassing state of undress. Fortunately for me, this is not the case. Although I certainly would not have minded seeing a few of my fellow female classmates in such a situation, but that's neither here nor there.

Anyway, I was bored to tears by my teacher's lecture that day more so than others. What was the name of the teacher name again? Sakamoto? Sakamura? Again, the name escapes my misty recollection. Why do I worry about the mundane details anyway, when this tragedy had absolutely nothing to do with the name of my teacher at the time? After all, the fact of the matter is in about ten seconds I really won't care so much about the names of any of my teachers. Or anyone else in my class at that time, for that matter.

I'm so learned about this particular dream that I can practically count down to the very second when it suddenly happens: a misty red haze envelops the class, and in the same instant, the teacher whose name I cannot recollect collapses to the floor in a heap. Several of the girls in my class yell out or gasp in horror at the sight of the teacher falling unconscious the very moment before everyone other than me slumps over in their chairs, their heads cracking on their desks with a dull thud.

The order of events in this dream is completely static. As though I am watching a movie filmed with my own two eyes. And just thinking about what was coming next makes me want to vomit. A rank smell violates my nostrils: the smell of burning flesh. The students around me are moaning in agony, slithering from their desks to the floor as their very flesh melts from their bones, smoke rising in tendrils off of their rapidly dissolving bodies. Even stranger still, it seemed this red haze swallowing the classroom left only me intact. And now, just as it was back then, the simplest of questions enters my mind: why was I the only one spared this gruesome fate?

Naturally, I did the first thing that came to mind: in a panic, I fled the classroom. It's rather interesting watching your own movements in a dream. I clearly remember feeling some sort of crushing pain in my chest at the time, but in this dream, I don't feel anything. I should be gasping, taking in heaving breaths, but my respiration is calm and deep. I am simply watching my mind's eye as I move through this predetermined scenario. Here I go again, getting sidetracked by my own babble.

The hallway was empty, but the mysterious red fog stretched as far as I could see in every direction. I rushed to the next class and peered through the small pane of glass on the door. Beyond the portal was an image exactly the same as my classroom. I could hear their voices crying out in agony for help. But what could I do? I didn't even understand what was happening; much less do anything to help any of the strangers crying out for aid.

I recall at this time the pain in my chest was starting to become unbearable, and I knew I needed to get away from there as soon as I could or else I was going to end up like my fellow classmates and teachers. The red haze seemed to be sapping the strength from me, and my vision began to waver as I made my way towards the stairs.

Stumbling down the stairs to the second-year's level, I began to hear the sounds of combat coming from the opposite end of the hallway. The clang of metal on metal, it sounded more like a video game than real life. But the intense ringing in my ears made no mistake; there was some sort of sword fight going on downstairs. After witnessing human flesh vaporizing in front of my eyes, something as simple as that would be no surprise at all.

The weakness in my chest finally reached my legs, and I tripped over the final two stairs and landed face first in the hallway. The clashing of steel suddenly stopped, and I glanced over to where the sounds were coming from, and my vision was assailed with something I was certain was impossible. Fifty feet from where I lay was a blonde woman clad in some sort of blue dress. But that was not the amazing part. She wore an enruned, silvered metal breastplate complete with matching gauntlets and leg greaves. Her back was to me, so I could not make out her face, but I could tell simply by looking at her back that she was some sort of old-fashioned knight. I don't know to this day what it was about her, but I felt an aura of familiarity about her, but even now I cannot place it. More than anything, looking at her gave me a strong sense of déjà-vu.

Standing no more than ten feet away from the knight was another female warrior. What caught my attention most about this particular person was her extremely long violet-colored hair that reached down to the floor even from her full height, which was by no means short. She practically towered over the smaller knight. With her back to me, it was difficult to see what she wore, since her hair covered almost everything else about her features. I certainly saw the daggers linked to chains she carried in her hands, however.

Speaking of which, I saw no such weapon in the hands of the knight. In fact, the knight's hands were completely empty as far as I could tell. Was it possible she deflected the other woman's attacks with her bare hands? Her gauntlets seemed pretty durable from where I lay, so it was certainly possible.

The two warriors were looking at something at the far end the hallway, and I was too far away to make anything out beyond where they stood. All I knew at that point was the pain in my chest was becoming too much to bear, and I was going to lose consciousness at any moment. Just when I thought I could take no more, my vision fading to black, the drowning sensation in my chest was suddenly lifted, and my exhausted body gasped for air as if it had been submerged in water for three minutes.

By the time I recovered enough to open my eyes and glance down the hallway, I noticed that the crimson fog disappeared from the air without a trace, and I could see everything before me clearly. The golden-haired knight was now standing next to who looked like a student from this school. Even stranger still, the longhaired woman was standing on the far end of the hall in front of yet another student as if to protect him. Now that my vision cleared, I could see she was wearing a short, sexy black shoulder-less dress, and for some reason, she was wearing a visor over her eyes.

Now this is where things really get out of hand, even for my overactive imagination. Suddenly, and without a single ounce of trepidation, the darker of the two warriors raised her dagger and plunged it deep into her own neck! Needless to say, as she pulled the dagger from her neck without a single shred of emotion, a nauseating amount of blood sprayed from her self-inflicted wound, splattering on the walls, floor, and ceiling in a wide arc.

I could feel my strength return to my body. I could have easily stood and ran for the hills from the surreal scene playing out before me. Call me crazy if you would like, but I was transfixed by what my eyes were now seeing. The blood falling like rain from the woman's wound coalesced into a circular pattern, forming into a large sigil suspended in midair like a shield in front of the dark warrior.

And if my brain wasn't already nearly paralyzed from sheer amount of absolutely impossible things I had seen the last five minutes, a giant eyeball protruded from the red symbol, sending me into shock. Although I instinctively knew that eyeball was directing its vision towards the warrior and the student standing between us, I felt as if its malevolent gaze was meant for me alone.

I could not move a muscle as a blinding white light enveloped the dark warrior. The silver knight, moving on pure instinct I'm sure, knocked the student adjacent to her to the ground and threw her armored body on top of him. Nothing but air separated the vision of that evil eyeball from me after that. It seemed to stare through me to my very soul, staining it black with its gaze.

The horrifying light burst forward at inhuman speed and ran through me like a massive blade, cutting my defenseless body asunder. Strangely, there was no pain. Not even back then did I feel pain from that horrific attack. It should have carved through me, leaving nothing but bits of my scattered remains on the walls in its wake. But I remain standing, shielding my face with my hands for several seconds after the light fades from the room.

Slowly, almost as if expecting a secondary attack from that eyeball should I meet its gaze once more, I lowered my arms and blinked several times as my eyes adjusted to the lower level of light in the hallway. My jaw dropped at the carnage I saw before me. The hallway was completely shattered. All of the windows were blown out, the doors ripped from their hinges, the drywall crumbling away from the walls, and the floor was reduced to rubble. It was a miracle that corner of the building remained standing at all.

How could I have survived? Peering down at my feet in wonder, I noticed there was a small, circular halo around my feet that remained completely undamaged, as if I were the source of the attack and not the intended target. The knight and the student…I could no longer see them. They must have been crushed under the weight of the attack, their broken bodies buried under the rubble. There was no doubt they were killed by that monstrous attack. The longhaired warrior and the one she was apparently protecting were missing as well. They must have escaped, or were also killed by the force of that horrendous light.

I suddenly felt very faint, and I knew I had to get away from the school in case that woman returned to finish me off. I forced my legs to move, and I climbed down the stairs to the first floor. As I approached the building's exit, darkness overwhelmed me, and I felt my body fall to the floor, the last image in my mind that of a giant eyeball bearing down on me, ready to take my life.

Of course, that's right when I wake up with a start. I can't help it. It's a reflex. No matter how much time has passed, the end of that dream, with that killer eye opening from that bloody sigil, will forever haunt me.

"Geez, Fukuya-san," the man seated directly next to me in the break room grumbles. "You scared the living crap out of me."

Rubbing my tired eyes as I raise my head from the table, I mutter an apology.

"You really need to stop falling asleep in here during your lunch. Whatever you're dreaming about is scaring the other employees away," my co-worker, Shouji, informs me.

"I don't know what I can say other than sorry, Shouji. I'm not sleeping well at night lately." Of course, I can't tell him why. He'd probably tell me to get my head examined if I explained the dream to him.

"Whatever," Shouji replies off-the-cuff. "You're lunch is about over anyway, so you'd better get back before the boss tears you a new one."

"Alright, alright," I grumble, pushing myself into a standing position. I leave Shouji, who I would consider the closest thing to a friend in this place, even though our relationship could not be considered anything but professional, to his lunch and return to my desk.

The truth is, I've never told anyone about those events I experienced five years ago, nor have I explained to anyone the dreams I have about that time. The official story was that a gas leak broke out in the school, and a spark from a faulty heater on the second floor caused an explosion that severely damaged the hallway.

What a crock of shit. Such a paper-thin explanation would have been torn to shreds had I uttered even a word in protest. The families who had lost their loved ones in that incident deserved to hear the truth about what happened. But at the same time, if I explained what really occurred that day, I would have likely ended up in a psychiatric hospital and I would probably still be there to this day.

So I kept my mouth shut, kept my head down, and went on with my life. I've tried to convince myself that what happened was only a figment of my imagination. But my dreams remind me of the truth. And that truth was inescapable.

Right at the moment I sit down and input my password to unlock my pc and resume my daily duties, the voice of doom booms down from behind me.

"KOSUKE!"

I cringe on instinct. It's never a good thing when he uses my given name. What the hell did I do this time? And why is he yelling so loudly when he's right behind me? I'm not deaf, for crying out loud!

"Yes, sir?" I ask, turning like a swivel in my seat to face the man standing outside of my cubicle.

Glaring down on me like I am an insect is my manager, who I'll call Sakamoto. He's your average evil boss-type person you would see in any manga or video game: Middle-aged, overweight with a balding pate, and a sneer that makes you want to break his nose.

He leans over, coming a little too close to me for comfort. It's intentional, I know. "Have you got any plans this weekend?" he asks haughtily.

I frown without thinking. Of course I did, but with that question, I know whatever I was doing was going to have to be cancelled, even if I was visiting my dying mother. I really hate it when he asks such a ridiculously rhetorical question. If you want me to work over the weekend, just ask!

"No, sir," I lie. Why beat around the bush? There's no need for me to needlessly exhaust myself by trying to reason with the devil.

"Good, because I need you here tomorrow whether you like it or not," Sakamoto says, standing erect and placing his hands on his hips. He has a venomous grin that would make a dervish blush. I really dislike this man, and that's saying a lot. "I want you here on time, do you understand me? If you're late, you will be penalized!"

I don't know what he means by being penalized, but I sure as hell don't want to find out! I nod along like a bobble-head with every word he says. It's the only way I know how to placate him. I refuse to let myself crack in front of him; I won't give him the pleasure. After berating me verbally for a few extra minutes, most likely to stroke his own ego, Sakamoto saunters off to find entertainment elsewhere.

I had been excited about the prospect of having the opportunity to sleep in tomorrow, and I completed my first half of the day with seemingly boundless energy. However, now that my plans were executed by firing squad, I felt dull and listless, and my work suffered for it. If I'm coming in tomorrow anyway, why bother trying to get everything done now? I'll need something to do, or else I'll completely waste my Saturday being bored to tears at my desk.

An hour later, Shouji returns to his desk, which is adjacent to mine. He pokes his head over the cubicle wall and says, "So, he got to you too, eh?"

"Yeah," I reply absentmindedly. "So you're going to be here tomorrow too?"

"Yup. Oh well, it's not like I had any plans anyway. May as well earn a few extra bills for next weekend."

I chuckle at Shouji's naïve thought process. I guess it won't be a complete loss after all. At least I'll have someone to chitchat with when it gets slow.

Why is it that time seems to crawl to a standstill when you are doing something you dislike? This workday felt like it was eighteen hours long rather than the usual eight, but at long last, quitting time arrived. I wasted no time at all and fled like a spotted burglar before Sakamoto could find me and order me to come into work on Sunday as well. I fear I might snap should that happen.

My humble studio apartment is merely three stations away from my workplace in Shinto, so I arrive back home within an hour after leaving work. It's rather easy to bear the winter weather being so close to your destination, so I am grateful for that. Today, however, I decided that cooking a proper dinner was just not going to happen after a day like today, so I made a quick pit stop at a beef bowl place and ordered my usual dish. Oh well, it's not like I can cook much of anything wholesome anyway.

I take a seat at the table planted like a bush in the middle of my room and dig into my purchased meal after turning on the television tucked into the far corner.

I know I'm leading a pretty simple life, but that's just fine by me. I'm accustomed to living on my own, now. After all, it's been two years since I graduated high school, and about a year since the accident that took my parents' lives. I have enough money to get by, even though my petty cash is, well, petty. I almost have enough saved up to start school again. After the accident, there just wasn't enough left over to subsidize college tuition.

It's not like I have some sort of lofty goal anyway. If I could life the rest of my life in peace without any worries other than having a nasty boss or deciding what to do with my free time on the weekends, that will be just fine by me. I've had enough heartache to last two lifetimes after losing everything I had ever known in that fire.

The fire department said it was some sort of gas leak that caused an explosion in the kitchen. A remarkably similar occurrence to the incident five years ago, but I was inclined to believe the official story this time. I was away at college like most people my age, so I was not there, and my parents were sound asleep in their room, apparently, since that was where their remains were found. At the very least, they were able to pass painlessly. That thought always gives me some comfort.

I glance over at the shrine for my parents, consisting of a tiny table resting against the far wall of my room with a picture of them smiling at the camera while embracing, some wilted flowers and a half-used stick of incense. I wonder if they are proud that their son is living such an easygoing life. Could I look directly at them and say that everything is fine and I am happy the way things are right now?

All I really want right now is to graduate and work for a company that actually respects its employees. It's such a simple goal, but at least it's an honest one. But one thought never escapes my mind. Why is it that, with the disaster at the school five years ago, and my parents dying in a house fire last year, am I the only one that was spared from those tragedies? Was it luck or for some reason unknown to me that I'm still breathing right now? The only thing I'm certain of is that I will continue to live until I find the answers. If I live like an everyman in the meantime, so be it.

Enough with reminiscing. I dispose of my leftover trash and roll out my futon. It's still quite early in the evening, but I have an early day tomorrow and I could really use the extra sleep. I've nothing else better to do anyway. I pray that no reddish fog or violet-haired warriors invade my dreams tonight. However, upon glancing at my calendar pinned to the fall next to me, I realize tomorrow is the seventh of February. Yeah, my prayers will be in vain.

While I try to fall asleep, I scratch absentmindedly at my left hand, which has suddenly begun to itch uncontrollably. As if it wasn't already difficult enough to sleep…

"Can you sense him?" the young Master asked.

"Or her, you mean?" the faceless Servant replied.

"…Yes, of course. Just answer the question."

"You should know better than that. I can only sense Servants using my skills in this class. It's the job of the Master to find the other Masters."

"I see. This is a problem. We need to eliminate the last one before he performs the summoning."

"I wouldn't worry too much about that. It seems this last one has no idea what is going on. Otherwise, the summoning would have already occurred."

"Even still, I cannot leave things up to chance. There's no telling what kind of person he will be."

"Are you scared?"

"Aren't you?"

"Fear is useless on a battlefield. It dulls your senses; makes you weak."

"Saber is the only one left outstanding. The strongest of the servants, even in the hands of an unqualified magus, is very dangerous. Saber has managed to win the last two wars regardless of the status of her Master."

"Very interesting. This information makes me want this unknown Master to summon this Saber. It sounds like she would make a very interesting target."

"This is not the time to be messing around. Allowing Saber to be summoned is a risk I am not willing to take."

"Of course, Master. I will do as you say."

"Very well. When the last is discovered, I'll leave him to you, Assassin."

Profile

Kosuke Fukuya

Age: 21

Height: 177 cm

Weight: 76 kg

Occupation: Salary-man (Accounting)

Education: Graduate of Fuyuki High School / Freshman year of college completed at Tokyo University (Mathematics)

Magical Energy: None(?)

Born and raised in Fuyuki City, Kosuke has lived a generally sheltered life, unexposed to the harshness of the outside world. If one were to ask him about his youth, however, he would tell you that it was just fine with him. He kept himself relatively grounded as a youth, not apt to follow along with his friends' wide-eyed, imaginative dreams of adventure, fame, and fortune.

His grounded nature explains why he never told a soul about the events that took place during that February afternoon during his first year in high school. He was certain no one would believe his insane story in the first place, so he considered it something that would remain in his memory and his alone, despite the fact it haunts his dreams whenever the anniversary of that date approaches on the calendar.

He is simple-minded but brilliant, having been accepted into Toudai's prestigious school of mathematics with a near-perfect score on his entrance examination. Ever the studious one, Kosuke fretted over his one missed solution to a lengthy trick question on the examination for several days until he understood the solution.

While things seemed to be going quite well for him after finishing his first year at Toudai, tragedy struck. His parents, his only family that he knew, were killed in a mysterious fire that leveled his only home to the ground. The official story was that a gas leak sparked an explosion that destroyed the home with his parents still inside, asleep in their beds.

Kosuke was forced to leave Toudai and return to Fuyuki city to set his parents' affairs in order. Without financial support, Kosuke could not return to college, and regrettably, there was not enough left over in their pensions to subsidize his tuition. Instead, Kosuke took a full time job at a medium-sized company in Shinto where his mathematical skills were found to be most useful as an accountant. He has been employed there for roughly one year.

With the dream of returning to Toudai to complete his degree, Kosuke has been diligently saving every last yen he can to pay his own way. While he could afford some luxury with his salary, he instead has chosen to live a meager life to speed his return to college.

He harbors a significant amount of guilt for his life being spared while others around him were injured or killed. This has caused his life to be lived without a specific direction, and he has no major goal in his life.

A/N: Well, here's a switch for me, going away from what I normally write and having an attempt at something that will obviously be quite difficult. Regardless, I'm up for the challenge. This is merely the beginning, and there's still a LOT of explaining to do about what the hell is going on in this story, but stick with me and I'll show you all something that will be grand, I believe. Drop a line via comment and let me know what you all think!