It was raining.
"Bloody fuck, he ran the bastard through!"
"Fuck this, let's leave!"
"Shirou!"
"-the fuck, don't let go of her! Shit, gimme the-"
"It's over- what the fuck are you-"
"SHIROU!"
A black-gloved hand sneaked out from under an umbrella, allowing the falling water to wash away grime and bits of dried blood.
'It was for the greater good, right?'
It had all seemed so easy, back at the start. Disconcerting, perhaps, but easy and rewarding.
The perfect opportunity to begin following his father's footsteps.
How laughable.
Seconds passed. The hand clenched into a fist, withdrawing back under the umbrella.
Emiya Shirou sighed.
'Home, sweet home,' he thought as he trudged through Fuyuki City's darkening streets, 'at least I managed to get back in one piece, but…'
A powerful gust of wind interrupted his thoughts, blowing through the loose ends of his tattered black coat and forcing him to move his umbrella to avoid a shower of rain.
"Looks like even getting to the house will be tiring," he muttered to himself.
It wasn't like he was going to be getting much rest, regardless. What little sleep he'd be able to catch when he got to the Emiya complex would be interrupted by having to head off to school early next morning. Unhealthy, perhaps, but a necessity – his excuses for his absences were running thin, and he owed Fuji-nee too much to get kicked out.
'The so-called protector of justice can't even keep himself out of trouble at school. Pathetic, Shirou, really pathetic, but it looks small when compared to my other-
"Emiya! Emiya-kun!"
Shirou snapped out of his pondering for the second time, looking around to see the Archery Club captain, Mitsuzuri Ayako, running towards him, a purple umbrella in her left hand and a smile on her face.
"Emiya-kun," she repeated when she finally reached him, "it's such a surprise to see you! I mean, weren't you sick?"
Shirou froze for a moment, not knowing what to say. He and Ayako were friends, but their friendship had taken a backseat during the Fifth Holy Grail War, and Shirou's frequent disappearances had done nothing to rekindle it. Seeing her address him so familiarly, even after he had all but completely ignored her existence for weeks on end, left him rather dumbfounded.
"Ayako! I… er… what are you doing out in this weather?"
Ayako quirked an eyebrow, as if Shirou had said something strange.
"I'm going back home from school, silly! You know, that big place you used to go to in the mornings?"
Shirou nodded tentatively, completely missing the jibe at his frequent absences.
"But school ends after four o'clock," he said, "why would you be going back home this late?"
"It was my turn to clean the Archery dojo." She rolled her eyes. "Something you'd remember if you weren't gone so often. By the way, you don't look sick at all. What were you actually doing?"
Shirou's eyes widened. Of course she had to notice.
"No! I… er, I really was sick, but I made an impressive recovery!"
"Riiight." Ayako frowned. "You know, I never expected Emiya Shirou, the very model of the hardworking student, to just skip school like that. You always seemed so dedicated."
Before Shirou could respond the sound of thunder rolled above them, startling them both and causing Ayako to look up.
"The rain's getting worse," she said, staring at the clouds. She turned to look at Shirou again. "We really shouldn't just be standing here."
She smiled.
"Walk with me, Emiya-kun. I'll ask you what I want to know on the way."
She started off, and Shirou could only follow, his formerly slow pace quickening to match Ayako's step.
"So…" Ayako said as Shirou finally caught up with her, "first things first. What have you been doing that's so important that you had to skip school?"
'What have I been doing?'
Memories of his recent failure flashed through Shirou's mind. He couldn't tell Ayako what he'd been up to. However, he realized with a shock that he'd been gone for almost three weeks now, and that wasn't even counting his previous absences. He had to tell her something…
"I've been leaving the city because of personal matters. Things prompted by several objects my father left me when he died that I hadn't inspected until now." He sighed. "It's rather private, which is why the excuses I sent the school aren't the real thing. I don't want people snooping around."
All true, in a way, and he knew Ayako wouldn't pry.
Sure enough, she nodded and said nothing more, seemingly thinking about another subject to talk about.
Finally, she seemed to land upon something good, and turned to speak to Shirou again.
"So... what's with the coat and the hair? I didn't think you'd be the kind of person to go for the "dark" look, Emiya-kun, but," and here her voice took on a teasing quality, "I kinda like it on you."
A slight blush quickly colored Shirou's face at her words. He'd never been equipped to deal with teasing, as one Tohsaka Rin had proved before.
"I… it's, uh…"
Ayako giggled.
"You're so easy to fluster, Emiya-kun. But really, at least tell me why you did that to your hair."
Shirou brought a gloved hand to his hair, feeling nothing different.
"What's wrong with my hair? I haven't seen myself in a mirror for a while."
"You really haven't noticed? The roots are bone white!"
Shirou stopped walking abruptly, the memory of someone coursing through his mind.
"Emiya-kun? Is something wrong?"
"No! I mean, there's nothing wrong at all." He started to walk again. "So, what have you been up to lately?"
"Oh, well, nothing particularly interesting. Just the usual Archery club duties."
"Uh... really? I thought…"
The pair walked on, the formerly serious conversation degenerating into small talk as Shirou changed subject after subject to prevent more questions from being asked. Things continued in this manner until they reached the threshold of Ayako's house, where the girl started walking towards the door, before turning around and smiling at Shirou.
"Well, Emiya-kun, since I made you walk all the way here, how about you come inside for dinner?"
Shirou felt rather startled for a moment, but that quickly wore off. Surely, he thought, he should have realized that Ayako wouldn't make him walk with her to her house just to leave him there.
'Still… I don't think it'd be a good idea to stay here. It's going to be pretty late by the time I leave, and after what I did yesterday, that would…'
"Emiya-kun?"
Shirou nearly jumped as Ayako shook him from his reverie, but managed, through a feat of amazing eloquence, to give an educated response.
"Huh?"
Ayako rolled her eyes.
"Is it just me, or are you phasing out even more often than you usually do? I was asking you if you'd like to come in for dinner."
'Gotta find a way out of this one…'
"Ah, Ayako-san," he said, "I wouldn't want to er… intrude, or someth-"
He was cut off as Ayako decided to take matters into her own hands, grabbing his right hand and pulling on him as she walked towards the front door.
"You're just being silly, Emiya-kun," she said, "Your house is too far away for you get there in time for dinner. Come on in!"
Shirou sighed, but let himself be dragged inside.
'Good going, Shirou. Is this how I get out of a complicated situation? Father would be so proud…'
--------------------
"Wait here," she told him, "I'll be back in a second."
Shirou nodded, and she left, leaving him to inspect the place. Ayako's house wasn't nearly as large as the Emiya complex, but it was cozy and well decorated. A delicious smell of food permeated the place, which Shirou assumed to be coming from the kitchen. All in all, the little house gave off a touch of warm humanity that much bigger and grandiose places, such as Ilya's castle and Rin's manor, seemed to lack.
Smiling, Shirou unbuttoned his coat and dropped himself on the couch.
"Warmth…" he whispered. Almost a month without it, except for one person…
'The operation will take three weeks. The result will forever clean your father's memory and fulfill…'
'Heh. So, who are you? We don't really-'
'You were ultimately the winner of the Fifth Holy Grail War! Has that taught you nothing- '
'I'm Shirou, and you?'
'You can't fulfill this goal without killing, your father knew that-'
'Call me Yumi.'
"Emiya-kun?"
Shirou started, Ayako's voice shattering his thoughts.
"Yu- I mean, eh, what's up?"
Ayako shook her head, smiling before unceremoniously plopping herself down beside Shirou.
"Are you this distant because something is troubling you, Emiya-kun? Or is it something… different?"
"Different?"
Ayako smirked.
"Well, since you won't tell me what's wrong, I'm being forced to draw my own conclusions." Her smirk widened. "Does it have something to do with Tohsaka?"
"To-Tohsaka!?"
Ayako's expression looked positively malicious now.
"Well, Emiya, isn't it true that she's been going in and out of your house more and more frequently these past few months? That could give rise to all sorts of…rumors…" She gave him a wicked grin.
"They're completely false," Shirou cut in sharply, "whatever you heard, it's nothing but a lie."
Ayako turned serious. "Jeez, I was just kidding…"
"Er, really?" Shirou blushed a deep red, scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I've just been a tad high-strung lately, nothing to worry about."
Ayako cocked her head.
"You're hiding something, Emiya," she said flatly.
"I have absolutely nothing to hide at all," Shirou answered. His tone had a ring of finality to it that, judging from her face, Ayako didn't like.
"Really, now?" she asked, "And that little girl with the white hair that's taken to following Fujimura-sensei around? Fujimura says she's the daughter of a friend from Europe, but I've passed by your house and heard her call you 'brother'. And what about Sakura? Not five months ago Shinji vanished from the face of the earth and yet she's still acting so cheerful she might as well have won the lottery. And those gas explosions… they seemed normal enough, but then one of my other friends swears on her heart that she saw you carrying someone out of Ryuudoji the night the temple grounds caught fire."
"Ayako…"
"Children, dinner's ready!" a voice rang out from the kitchen.
"That'd be my mother," Ayako muttered, before giving Shirou a broad smile, "we're friends Emiya, so let's go eat and have some fun. But don't think it means I'm letting you off the hook."
Shirou gave her a troubled look.
-------------------
Shirou and Ayako walked out of the house, going down the streets in silence for a moment. The girl had decided to accompany Shirou through the first part of his trek home, and after some fast-talking from her to convince her mother, the two left, and as the rain had subsided to nothing more than a very faint drizzle the two were content to walk beside each other peacefully. That is, until Ayako decided to start up a conversation again.
"So… tell me Emiya, did you like it?"
A slight bit of color tinged Shirou's cheeks as the image of Ayako's mother swam in his head. He hadn't met her before this, and he'd found, to his flustered –if pleasant- surprise, that she was really quite… exhuberant. In every way that mattered.
"Emiya?"
Shirou almost jumped.
"Er… yes! I liked it! A lot!"
Ayako just stared at him. Shirou gulped.
"Eh… what were we talking about?"
Ayako shook her head in frustration.
"Dinner, Emiya, dinner. Not… other things… that you may have had in mind. I swear Mom just sometimes…"
She stopped short, giving a little sigh, but then looked Shirou in the eye with a small smile.
"Well, at least you've stopped brooding, Emiya," she said, "that's a-"
She never finished, the sentence degenerating into a scream as she jumped backwards, almost crashing into a surprised Shirou.
"Ayako… what happened?"
"That thing almost hit me!" she shouted, pointing to the ground.
It was a very long, thin iron needle, sharp enough that the force of whoever had thrown it had been enough to embed it firmly into the asphalt. Shirou's eyes flew open in surprise, gloved hands unconsciously clenching into fists.
"Emiya?"
Shirou said nothing; simply staring as two more needles silently flew through the air and struck the ground near his boots. He would have one second to react. And he was going to use it.
"Ayako… get down!"
Acting purely on instinct, Shirou roughly shoved the girl to the ground, ignoring her protests as he whipped his black umbrella open.
'Trace, on!'
The attack was swift and deadly; thousands of needles falling from the air just as Shirou was jumping back and the Reinforced umbrella was going up, spinning in his hands as it blocked the attack like an iron shield.
From behind his makeshift protection, Shirou could only barely discern his shadowy attacker jumping from rooftop to rooftop towards the street, throwing needles until his landing forced him to stop. Shirou immediately took the opportunity, closing his umbrella and throwing it at his opponent with all his might. His attacker, surprised, managed to dodge, the magically strengthened umbrella impacting against a nearby building and plowing a crater in one of the walls.
The attack served its purpose, however. His opponent had been forced from the shadows in order to dodge the incoming projectile, and now stood before him, his features finally visible.
He was a tall, thin man, impeccably dressed in a long blue suit coat with a matching wide-brimmed fedora hat. His bright green eyes looked upon Shirou from a pale face, their stare calculating.
"How good to see you, Emiya Shirou." His voice, lilted with an only barely noticeable Italian accent, was soft and cold.
Shirou knew this man.
"Raphael."
The man tipped his hat slightly in acknowledgement.
"Glad you remember me, Emiya," he said politely, "Wearing your father's coat again, I see? He was a great magician."
Shirou ignored the comment, staring at him intently.
"Why are you here?"
Raphael cocked his head, stare almost condescending.
"I am here, Emiya Shirou, on business purposes." He raised a hand, holding up three long needles. "I assume you know what that means."
"I thought it was over," Shirou argued, "There should be no reason for you to be here."
Raphael raised an eyebrow.
"It does seem that way, doesn't it, Emiya Shirou? Indeed, you were not the only one to think that way." He grinned slightly. "But fortunately for my bank account, family ties run deep."
Shirou shook his head, frowning.
"Other parties? That can't be. Who is it?"
Raphael gave him a steadily widening grin, its sharp relief sinister under the harsh light of the streetlamps.
"Does it matter now? You know I won't answer. And is it not obvious, what I came here to do?"
Shirou's eyes narrowed.
"Yeah," he said, "it is."
Raphael nodded.
"Then I assume you'll have no problem if we were to start? By the way, I do hope that girl knows what this is about. Contrary to popular belief, I find killing innocent by-standers gets boring with time."
'That girl… who… no!'
"…Ayako?"
Shirou twisted his neck slightly, looking behind from the corner of his eye. Sure enough, the girl was there, kneeling on the asphalt.
'What is she still doing here?'
Ayako, for her part, seemed to notice that she had become the center of attention, and looked at Shirou, bewildered.
"Emiya-kun," she said, and there was quiver in her voice, "what's going on?"
Shirou fought the urge to curse. "Ayako… this doesn't involve you. I want you to get up and start running. Quickly!"
The girl obeyed, rising from her knees, only to throw herself back to the ground with a scream of fright as a long iron needle flew towards her, imbedding itself into the cold asphalt only inches away from her. She stopped for a moment, looking at the thing in shocked fear, before she finally appear to gather her bearings and turned around, running away from them.
Shirou watched her silhouette recede into the dark streets for a mere second before his attention immediately returned to Raphael. That had not been a missed shot. It had been a warning.
"Why?"
Raphael simply stared, impassive.
"She has already seen me, Emiya Shirou. I will give her courtesy until after we are finished, but once that is over, well… you know what I must do."
Shirou's gloved hands tightened into fists, anger boiling in the pit of his stomach. Threatening him was one thing. Threatening innocents was much different.
"I can't allow that," he said, his eyes narrowing and his voice turning into a cold whisper.
"So it would seem."
The needles were thrown, instantly batted aside in a flash of light as Shirou charged forward, twin falchion blades appearing in his hands. Dodging the counterstrike, Raphael leapt backwards to keep his distance. Needles materialized in his left hand, while three long rapier-like blades flashed into existence in his right, each held carefully between his fingers.
"Black Keys…" Shirou muttered, his grip on his own swords tightening unconsciously.
"Correct," Raphael said, holding the weapons up, "an agent of the Church contacted me not too long ago, but he became a tad too… bothersome. I dispensed of him and kept his blades. Contrary to popular belief, they make as good melee weapons as long ranged ones."
He settled into a fighting stance, the loose ends of his blue coat fluttering almost theatrically in the wind.
"They should be able to match you effectively," he said, and then he struck, Black Keys swiping down on Shirou's form like claws. Shirou brought his swords up to block, but was almost floored by a sudden kcik towards his knees. Thrown off-balance, Shirou leapt back, but Raphael was attacking before his feet even touched the ground. A flurry of needles flew towards him, forcing Shirou to concentrate on batting them aside, diverting his attention.
Raphael took this advantage to its limit, leaping forwards into the air, twisting around to land behind Shirou, and then striking at him with his Black Keys. Swinging around, Shirou blocked the strike, but could not predict a high kick that flew past his defenses and slammed into his chest, sending him flying.
Shirou spun around the air and landed gracefully a few meters away, but Raphael was already onto him. Blue coat flaring, the man ran at him, sweeping down and aiming a low kick at Shirou's knees. When Shirou jumped to avoid it, Raphael struck with his blades, forcing Shirou to sacrifice his balance in order to block. The red-haired boy fell to the ground with a thud, blades flying away from his hands, and was too shocked to avoid a kick to the gut which knocked him back down when he tried to get up.
Raphael smiled, readying his Black Keys for another strike. On the ground, Shirou tensed, waiting.
"Why, Emiya, I expected-"
He never finished, his gloating interrupted as Shirou flipped over at exactly the right minute, catching Raphael in the chest with a strong kick as he righted himself and stood up again, blades reappearing in a flash of light. Before Raphael could recover from the surprise Shirou struck again, slicing at him with his right hand blade as he swooped his left one under his arms, trying to force his way through Raphael's defenses.
The assassin blocked the first blade and jumped back from the second, but Shirou kept charging forward, throwing his right sword straight at the man. Raphael back flipped to avoid it, then made to move again as the blade suddenly changed course in the air, veering back at him like a boomerang. Shirou saw this and pressed the attack, slamming his boot into Raphael's torso and sending him flying backwards just as his blade returned to his hand. Surprised but uninjured, Raphael righted himself in mid-air, a storm of needles flying from his coat as he twisted around to land perfectly on the wall of a nearby building, heedless of gravity. Twirling his blades in a fan-like motion, Shirou batted the needles aside and charged at Raphael, swords missing the man by an inch as he leapt off the wall and into a nearby alley. Shirou brazenly followed, running in with his blades held high.
Sure enough, Raphael was there, waiting patiently as he rested his back against the opposite wall of the alley. He did not attack, nor did he show any signs of aggression. He simply looked at Shirou, a mysterious smile on his face.
"You have improved much, Emiya Shirou. You have improved very much," he cocked his head to the side, eyes scanning Shirou from top to bottom, "and to think that your skills were beyond pathetic when we first fought each other."
"Shirou-kun? Don't tell me you're still thinking about your father…"
Shirou scowled, his grip on his blades tightening. The last person he wanted to hear praise from, however backhanded, was someone like Raphael.
"Oh, yes. Do you remember that encounter, Emiya?"
"Gentlemen! How nice to meet you!"
"Conversation won't get you anywhere, Raphael," Shirou said, eyes narrowing, "You said it yourself – we both know what you're here for."
Raphael smiled somewhat conceitedly, arching an elegant eyebrow as if he did not comprehend what Shirou had just said.
"My, my, Emiya," he spoke, his tone derisive, "and here I thought you and I were at least on cordial terms with each other!"
Shirou shook his head in repulsion.
"Your words are worthless. Quit dawdling."
Raphael looked somewhat surprised, and yet his expression was strangely pleased.
"You really have changed much, Emiya Shirou. I must admit, I was not expecting that little outburst; you always did seem so calm." He smirked. "However… if you're not in the mood to talk, then let us dispense of this little reprieve!"
Shirou tensed as Raphael ran straight at him, swinging his Black Keys in a wide arc. He sidestepped the blow, sweeping his right-hand blade up to strike at the man's neck. Raphael jumped back to avoid the stroke but did not advance again, instead vaulting over a trashcan to land on a nearby wall. In less than a second he was running upwards, heedless of all laws of physics. Shirou again jumped to strike him, and again he missed, this time left to watch as Raphael ran up the alley wall and reached the roof of the building.
"So, Emiya!" the man yelled as he smirked down at Shirou, "Care to take this fight to the next level!?"
Shirou frowned, anxiety starting to tug at his mind. He had only done this once before in combat, and now Raphael had the advantage to snipe at him while he tried to reach him.
It didn't matter.
Wishing fervently that he had some sort of battle cry for moral support, Shirou steeled himself and forced what prana he could to his legs, running straight at the wall and jumping up, sprinting the moment he felt his feet come in contact with the concrete.
"Ha!"
A rain of needles fell down on him as he ran, but one swipe of his blades knocked them aside as he leapt forwards into the roof to strike at Raphael, falchion swords sweeping down over his head. The assassin ducked, swiping at Shirou with his Black Keys in retaliation. Shirou danced around the strike, almost losing his balance in the process. He recovered his footing easily, but Raphael was already out of range, having jumped to the opposite side of the roof.
"Unimpressive, Emiya!" he taunted, "Is the altitude causing you problems?"
Shirou didn't bother to reply, immediately launching himself across the length of the roof, breaching the distance between them in a second, and bringing his swords down in a flurry of blows. Raphael twisted and turned around every strike, until he finally jumped off the edge of the roof, landing at the top of another building in a single, fluid leap. Shirou followed, charging prana to his legs and jumping off in a flurry of his dark coat, descending on the man with a meteor like strike aimed at his chest. Raphael halted the blow with his own blades, pushing Shirou back into the air as his left hand withdrew more of his needles. Shirou whirled around in the air, balancing himself on one hand on the edge of the roof in a surprising feat of acrobatics and throwing a kick at Raphael. It caught the underside of the man's left wrist, knocking the needles out of his hand and forcing him to step back, grunting in pain. Shirou used the brief respite to fully climb up to the roof, bringing him and Raphael on equal ground once more.
"Impressed now?" he jeered in gasping breaths as the man clutched his wrist in pain.
Raphael smiled.
"Not quite!"
A whirlwind of iron and blue cloth engulfed Shirou's vision as Raphael seemed to instantly recover, jumping up and twirling in the air as he threw what seemed like thousands of needles at him. Shirou blocked those that he could and dove around the others, but could not stop them all. At least a dozen slammed into his skin, penetrating through even the thick folds of Shirou's coat. He stumbled back, gritting his teeth as sheer agony tore through his muscles. More came yet, slamming into his flesh as he cried out in pain.
'Poison!'
A bout of mad laughter filled Shirou's ears as he reeled from the attack, trying to regain his footing.
"Emiya! Emiya! I must admit, you are truly an amazing individual! Such fire!" the laughter turned into a raspy cackle, "But you have entertained me! I intended to kill you quickly, but no! No! I will give you a beautiful death!"
Shirou could barely see anything from the pain, but he felt the kick slam into his chest, sending him skidding into the ground merely inches away from the edge of the roof, one of his legs actually dangling from it.
"-you're a fool, Emiya Shirou. A fool, but a good person-"
"-I believe he'll succeed, even if-"
The sound of footsteps approaching him. Shirou's vision slowly blurred back into focus and he saw Raphael gazing down at him, Black Keys ready to strike.
"Well then, Emiya," he said, "where should I cut first?"
"-not you, damn it, you didn't have anything to do with this-"
Shirou didn't answer, simply lifting his head off the ground slightly to glare at Raphael, his breathing ragged and impotent hands clenched into fists.
'I have to do something!'
He couldn't let Raphael kill him. Though at moments Shirou had regarded his life to be of little value, he knew that if it all ended here, Raphael would go after Ayako.
"A slash to the base of the spine, perhaps? Or where the hamstrings join the calves? There's such beauty in the body, Emiya, it would be such a shame not to take advantage of it…"
Raphael would go after her. She would die, and so would her mother. Shirou couldn't allow that. He just… couldn't.
He stared up at Raphael, who was slowly pacing nearby, looking for all the world as if his only trouble were to decide what kind of cake to eat. Breathing deeply, Shirou concentrated. His healing advantage had been nullified in the past Grail War, but these injuries were minor. All he had to do was burn the poison. He still had power for that, he could feel it…
Raphael stopped pacing, looking at Shirou smugly.
"Gathering prana, Emiya?" he asked, "I'm afraid I can't allow you to do that."
'Too late…'
Green eyes widened as Raphael finally caught on to the severity of the situation. Running forwards, he lashed out with his blades, slashing down at Shirou while he still could.
But it was indeed too late.
There was a flash of gold light, and Shirou had caught the strike with newly created blades. Another flash, and Raphael was stumbling back from a kick to the gut as Shirou stood up, grunting from the effort as the prana almost overloaded his system, burning the poison. Needles clattered to the ground, pushed out by the energy. The wounds were not healed, but something as small as that was no obstacle.
Shirou smiled as he looked at a shocked Raphael attempt to recover. Pain was worthless. He had someone to protect.
The smile turned into an uncharacteristically predatory smirk.
He also had an evil to wipe out.
Twirling his blades, Shirou ran at Raphael, slashing at his knees. The man barely managed to block, still stunned by what had happened. Pressing the attack, Shirou slammed a kick into his chest, sending him flying back to the edge of the roof. Raphael managed to stand up, only to receive another kick that forced him to leap back into the air over another building. Shirou brazenly followed, his coat making him a black shadow over Raphael as he slammed into the man the moment he landed, knocking him backwards towards the edge once more.
Sprinting towards him, Shirou slashed with his blades again and again, the attacks slamming against Raphael's Black Keys and leaving cross-patterned trails of energy as the swords flew through the air. It was minutes before Raphael finally managed to halt his offense, twirling around behind Shirou and then throwing them into a deadlock as his Black Keys caught Shirou's counter strike, his left hand aiming needles at Shirou's gut, but at the same time threatened by Shirou's own left blade, which hung barely an inch above his arm.
Barely a few steps from a six-story fall, the two could do nothing but keep their weapons where they were.
"Now I'm impressed, Emiya," Raphael muttered between ragged pants for breath, "Right now you are just like you were in the end, before the girl died. Didn't you kill one of my colleagues just a bit before that? Yes, I realize now that in times like these it is when you shine… but tell me, if you manage to survive this, what next? I still remember your speech. Justice indeed… but was that not disproven? How many people did you end up having to kill?"
Shirou's eyes widened at the comment, his heart starting to beat faster as Raphael's face took on an insane, almost unholy look.
"It would be delicious to watch, Emiya, watch what you'd do once you realize that it's all turning black!"
There was no way to stop it, because it was so suicidal that there was no way to predict it. The kick caught Shirou square in the chest, throwing him off the roof and into the air, but the momentum also carried Raphael with it, and he too was falling, his body barely a meter above Shirou's.
"You're mine, Emiya!"
A gloved hand reached for him, the other simply throwing the Black Keys down at Shirou. He managed to avoid the blades by twirling through the air as he fell, but Raphael's hands managed to catch him by the shoulders, grappling him. Shirou fought back, and he and Raphael wrestled in mid-air, quickly approaching the ground. He had to do something…
A flash of light ran through his coat, blinding him and Raphael, and Shirou barely managed to register that there was someone running in their general direction when he felt his back slam against the ground, sending waves of pain through his body. But his plan had worked – his Reinforced coat had absorbed most of the damage, actually creating a crater on the asphalt street.
His eyes widened as he saw that Raphael was struggling to get up, half-stunned. Whatever the man may have done to stop his own fall looked like it had been thrown off by Shirou's stunt, but he was apparently still alive and mostly uninjured.
Shirou got up, muscles screaming in protest, and faced him as he stood. Raphael glared at him, muttering something to himself in Italian before locking eyes with Shirou.
"I'm not dead yet… Emiya Shirou…" he snarled, eyes glazed over.
Still somewhat dazed, Shirou had no time to react as Raphael came out of his stupor, and he could only cry in pain as he felt a trio of needles slam into his right shoulder and the crushing weight of the man as he threw himself at him, slamming Shirou into the ground in an attempt to overpower him. He vaguely managed to register hearing a scream in the distance, the voice sounded awfully familiar…
Raphael's words still gnawed at him, but he knew who that was.
He knew what was going to happen to her if he let himself be killed.
'I can't allow myself to die here!'
Raphael's hands were getting closer towards his throat; there was no time, no time at all, but…
'Trace… on!'
Light and warmth flew from his body, and Kansho and Bakuya were in his hands once more. There was a kick, and Raphael was thrown off him. A final slash, and the battle was decided.
Shirou stood up, seeing Raphael in front of him, the man barely managing to stand as he clutched his side, blood spurting out of the wound.
But Shirou wasn't looking at him. He was looking behind him, at the girl that was just staring and shaking her head, frozen in dumbfounded panic. An idiot. He was an idiot. Without knowing it, he had pushed Raphael in the same direction she had run…
"Ayako?"
It took a second to utter her name and less than that for the situation to come crashing down. Shirou's voice seemed to alert Raphael, who turned around, needles in hand.
He was injured, but his needles could fly a lot faster than Ayako could run. Shirou had to act.
Gritting his teeth, he attacked.
TBC…
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A/N: So. Here's a quaint little story of mine, which I started waaaaay back in the summer of '07. It went through long, long periods of alternating neglect and attention before being finally finished. It's a mix of both very old and very new writing, and it shows. However, I like to think that the concept – after Fate, Shirou tries to go and follow his father's footsteps and it backfires, here are the consequences set on a dark backdrop with only the smallest of background details – is actually an enjoyable one. Bringing Ayako into it was something I'd wanted to do in an FSN fic for a long time, too, so I guess that also made writing this a tad more fun than it would have otherwise been.
Hope you guys liked it. Those guys who read through The Fanfiction Forum (heads up to you guys) might remember what comes next, albeit in extremely hurried, unpolished detail (it was a draft, after all). The rest of you, well… don't. Regardless, if you want to see what happens, tune in next time for Part 2. I can't promise that you'll love it… but maybe it'll entertain you.
-KW.