Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Legacy of the Ancients: Evolution

Chapter 1

Everything burned. The city burned. People burned. And still he kept walking. He walked past the fires and the ruins, ignoring the pleas for help from others left alive. He wasn't the only living person there. But he kept walking. He walked past them.

He wasn't in a daze either, wherein he was controlled solely by animalistic instincts of survival. It hurt. Exposed skin reddened and cloth darkened as the heat of the flames around him burned. His chest hurt as smoky and sooty air entered his lungs. But he could think. The boy was perfectly aware of what was happening around them. He consciously ignored the pleas for help and kept walking.

He didn't know who he was. He didn't know where he came from. He didn't know why he was here. He couldn't remember the answer, being forged by fire as he was at that moment. Not that he would realize it at the time.

All he knew was that he had to survive. He would survive, and live to see another day, while everyone else around him died. He would escape the pain and the suffering, while the others would not. He was a sinner, and he would know it later on.

So he kept on walking.

As the night wore on to morning, the flames began to die down, until finally it began to rain. The flames died, and smoke and steam rose from the hissing ruins. The pain was gone. He was alive. He'd lived to see another day. But now, the will to live that had driven him on was expended, and the boy finally allowed himself to fall to the ground.

He'd come this far. It was enough wasn't it? He'd left so many behind to die, just for this moment. Now that he'd done that, perhaps…perhaps it was his turn…to…leave?

Darkness began to fall across the boy's sight, and as he closed his eyes, he felt footsteps approaching.

He wasn't alone. Someone else had lived. He opened his eyes. A dark-haired man with empty eyes and a weary face looked down on him. But what struck him was the man's expression. It was as though he'd found something incredibly priceless, something that he'd been searching for his entire life.

The man did something. The boy felt something warm begin to seep across his body, and marginally began to feel better himself. The man picked him up and held him close. He closed his eyes…

…and Shiro Emiya opened his own.

My name is Shiro Emiya. I'm thirteen years-old and I'm starting Middle School today.

Shiro Emiya sighed and cut off his somewhat pathetic attempt at building his confidence. A new school and a new chapter in life wasn't something that warranted that. "Shiro, aren't you ready yet? We're already having breakfast!" he heard a feminine voice shout for him across the house, and he hurried up putting his new uniform on before rushing to the dining room.

"Sorry about that mom." He said to his mother as he arrived and sat down at the table. Maiya Hisau rolled her eyes and turned back to tending three year-old Akira.

"It's your first day at school you know." She pointed out as Shiro grinned ruefully. "You could have woken up earlier you know."

"Sorry…"

Maiya turned to look at her son, and after a moment gave a rare smile. "You apologize too much, do you know that?" She asked.

"…huh…?"

"Do you have everything prepared for school?"

"Yes, everything's ready including me." He replied, and Maiya nodded.

"Then enjoy your breakfast." She said. "It's the most important meal of the day, or so I hear. Personally I think it's no different from any other meal…" Maiya trailed off before fussing over Akira again.

Shiro took his time with his breakfast, all the while 'studying' his mother. She was reserved and cold at times, but she had a warm side too which was gratifying whenever it showed itself. She had to have it otherwise his father would never have married her, or had Akira with her.

It never ceases to amaze me why I never feel comfortable with 'stepfather' or 'stepmother' despite that being what Kiritsugu and Maiya are. It's probably because I can't remember my real parents.

Sadly enough, his father had died two years ago, and since then his mother had been even more reserved than before. Along with her foreign background, this left her with few friends apart from other mothers with young children in the neighborhood. Apart from Tohsaka that is.

Flashback Begins

It was Kiritsugu's funeral. Shiro and Maiya were in front, with Maiya holding Akira by the hand. Once the service was over, they began to receive the condolences of the few people – mostly friends and acquaintances such as the Fujimura – present, while the priest went back to his church. The priest had made Shiro uncomfortable for some reason, and Maiya had eyed him with cautious hostility.

He didn't really care much at the time, considering that he'd been crying for much of the service. In hindsight there was probably some sort of bad history between them, but then again considering they didn't see much of each other, it probably wasn't worth worrying about.

The biggest surprise of the funeral was meeting the Tohsaka. He'd known Rin Tohsaka for a year then, after a chance 'meeting' at a park, but since they were going to different schools they were really more acquaintances who'd met a few times and had gotten to learn each other's names.

"Tohsaka…" Maiya cautiously said in greeting, and the wheelchair-bound Tokiomi Tohsaka gave a polite bow with his head.

"…Hisau…my…condolences…" the man said hesitantly, but his tone and expression were genuine, and Maiya accepted them and the offered flowers with gratitude. The man now turned to face Shiro, and Shiro couldn't help but be struck by his atrophied frame. "…Shiro Emiya…correct…?"

"Yes."

Tokiomi nodded. "I knew your father." He began by stating the obvious, and much to Shiro's surprise he recognized the girl pushing the wheelchair: Rin. The girl smiled at him, and gave a comforting bow, and he smiled back. "Rin's told me about you. So did your father." Tokiomi continued. "Your father…we clashed back in the day, but ever since then…well I suppose we weren't all that different in the end."

The man paused and sighed before continuing. "I don't know if this is the right place or not…" he began hesitantly. "…but it's something important that needs to be said, and one I'm not sure your father had the chance to tell you. Cherish your family and friends Emiya-kun, and every moment you spend with them. Kiritsugu Emiya and I…we never really learned that until it was too late."

Shiro's eyes widened while Rin's hands tightened around her the handles of her father's wheelchair. Maiya placed a hand on Shiro's shoulder, and smiled at him when he looked at her before turning to Tokiomi. "Thank you…" she said, and Tokiomi nodded. He made a gesture to Rin, and the Tohsaka left.

"…he used to be so different." Maiya told Shiro later that same day. "But when he lost his wife and younger daughter…I imagine it changed the way he saw the world, and how he acted around people."

Flashback Ends

Briefly closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to clear his head of the unpleasant memories of his father's funeral, Shiro continued to eat his breakfast. But now his thoughts turned back to Tohsaka, or rather Rin.

He knew the Tohsaka were a magi family. His father had told him so before he died, and had even told him that the Tohsaka were the 'owners' of the land of Fuyuki as per the regulations of the Mages Association. He wouldn't mind getting to know Rin some more…she was smart, strong, and pretty…

"Shiro, what's wrong?" Maiya asked with concern as she saw her son begin to redden. "Your face is turning red."

"It's nothing." He said hurriedly, and Maiya raised an eyebrow but said nothing as Shiro continued to eat.

Shiro was a magus of course…even if he could only make use of projection and reinforcement. His father had never really elaborated, but had merely told him that he'd no chance of truly learning other forms of magecraft apart from those two. He'd even gone so far as to tell Shiro to avoid aspiring to become a magus, as more often than not pain and loss were to be found along that road in life.

Still, the choice was his, and Kiritsugu had told him that if becoming a magus was his heart's desire, then he should practice what little he could do whenever he could. But going back to Rin…

…does she know I'm a magus?

Rin Tohsaka sighed as she set her bag down on a desk in her new classroom at Homurabara Academy, and looked around her. As might be expected there were few others students present, early as it was. She stretched and walked over to the windows, and looked down to watch the other students arrive.

A flash of red caught her attention, and she blinked as she saw Shiro Emiya walking across the grounds to the school. So they were going to the same school, were they? Interesting…she knew that Shiro's father Kiritsugu had been an…acquaintance of her father – apparently they'd once been enemies but after the war they'd come to an understanding of sorts as evidenced by their brief but heartfelt appearance at Kiritsugu's funeral – but the question now was whether or not Shiro was a magus.

Kiritsugu had been a magus, but apparently he'd been cursed or something, although her father had refused to elaborate. As such there was a possibility that he'd been unable to pass on his secrets to his son before he died.

"That would be such a waste…" she thought to herself. "…magic is the fruit of generations of labor and study. To lose such a gathering of knowledge all because of a curse…"

Rin sighed as she continued to look out of the windows. "Well…" she said softly to herself. "…I'm not even sure he has the right mentality to be a magus."

Flashback Begins

Ten year-old Rin Tohsaka was walking down the street when she noticed a commotion over at the park across the street. Curious, she crossed the street to investigate. She found a trio of boys ganging up on a redheaded boy – all were probably her age – and based on the dialogue she quickly discovered it was because the redhead had stood up for another boy – who was nowhere to be seen – who'd been cheated out of pocket money by the trio of thuggish boys.

"You shouldn't force other people to give their money to you!" the redhead was shouting. "It's not right! You're no better than a common thief!"

The trio laughed, and the apparent leader made a gesture and his two sidekicks quickly stepped forward and grabbed the redhead's arms. "You calling me a thief, you half-breed wimp?" he asked belligerently as the redhead vainly struggled against his captors.

"Like hell I am!" the redhead shouted defiantly, and Rin winced. This wasn't going to be pretty. She was right. The other boy laughed, and then punched the redhead in the gut, causing him to double-over with a gasp of pain. Taking a deep breath, she made a decision.

"Listen here…" the bully began as he pulled the redhead up by the hair. "…I don't care if…"

He broke off as he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. Grunting with irritation, he turned…and was promptly knocked out cold and flat on the ground as Rin's heel met his chin. Perfectly balanced, Rin swept back into her starting stance and gave a glare at the other two bullies who ran off in terror and left their leader on the ground behind them.

"Are you alright?" she asked the redhead as he struggled to his feet.

"I'm fine…" he said while dusting his clothes off. "…and thanks. My name's Shiro Emiya by the way."

Rin raised an eyebrow at the boy's friendly manner, and while he seemed a bit naïve, he wasn't really a bad person. "My name's Rin Tohsaka." She returned the introduction. "It's nice to meet you, Emiya-kun."

"It's nice to meet you too, Tohsaka-san."

Flashback Ends

Rin smiled at the memory, and briefly closed her eyes before heading back into the classroom. "Idiot…" she thought. "…but then again there's nothing wrong with standing up for the weak. But will alone isn't enough, power is needed. I certainly hope that if he's still up to his heroics, then he'd better have learned how to take care of himself. Well, Aunt Maiya did say she was going to fix that problem, so it shouldn't be a concern…I hope."

The lunch bell rang and Shiro stretched before looking around the classroom. Many students were already leaving for the cafeteria, while others were breaking out box lunches. Most were chatting away, either with old friends or new ones. Shiro was among the minority who had yet to make friends of his own in this school.

"Well…" he thought as he stood and taking his boxed lunch began to make for the rooftop. "…there's no need to rush things. It'll snowball as things go along." As he left, he briefly paused at the sight of a purple-eyed and purple-haired boy with a scholarly disposition as he pulled out and began to read an aged book written in some kind of foreign language while eating his lunch: Shinji Matou.

Matou…there was a name he'd been taught to avoid by his parents. Shiro wondered why as he continued on his way. Both of them had refused to elaborate, although Kiritsugu had given more information than Maiya did.

Apparently the Matou once made use of truly horrific magic, which involved torturously 'engraving' mysteries directly on the body. It was effective though, enough for the Association to look the other way despite their general disapproval. But that had been a long time ago, at least according to his father. They were different now, but not in a good way.

They had gotten worse since then.

His father had given no details, but apparently the Matou were in possession of powerful and secret magic, and that whatever it was he was to avoid their members as much as possible. Kiritsugu in particular had warned him of two people in particular to be wary of: Medea Matou, and her daughter Sakura.

Mother and daughter tag team of evil…that's not nearly as funny as I thought it would be.

Shiro wondered if he would eventually be forced to confront them. He hoped not. He didn't like starting fights, even if wouldn't hesitate to stop them. And even if Matou was in possession of powerful and dangerous magic, it didn't necessarily make them evil so long as they didn't abuse their power.

Taking comfort in that fact, Shiro continued on his way. He didn't notice the purple eyes which followed him as he left.

Shiro Emiya…the adopted son of Kiritsugu Emiya and Maiya Hisau…magical potential: unknown…crest: possible but unlikely…origin and elemental affinity: unknown…magical training: confirmed but extent unknown…combat training: confirmed but extent unknown…threat level: insufficient data for complete assessment…

Shinji Matou looked away from Shiro Emiya's retreating back and back to his book, the reading of the hieratic script returning to the front of his thoughts. Naturally this wasn't the 'Book of the Dead' paraded around by mundane archeologists – that being a mere placeholder while the real thing was kept under lock and key in the Clock Tower's vaults in London – but thankfully the Matou had connections of their own.

A letter to the El-Melloi proxy and within a month a hieratic and book-bound translation of the ancient Egyptian necromantic manual had made its way to Japan and into his hands. Easy as pie…but actually making it work would be harder than he initially suspected.

But then again when did using magic ever become easy?

It would take time and lots of effort, but he should be able to do it. With a sigh Shinji closed the book and sat back on his chair. Emiya…Tohsaka…there were two other magi families in the city, and neither of them trusted his family. He couldn't blame them, not really, given his aunt and cousin's actions during the Fourth Holy Grail War.

It's annoying constantly being on guard like this.

Fortunately it seemed that Shiro Emiya wasn't nearly as paranoid as his father, at least on the surface. Shinji had to remind himself that Shiro was the son of the Magus Killer, an infamous spell-caster that had been one of the world's deadliest assassins in his heyday.

At least that's all he was as far as mundane Humans know. To magi he was someone who could threaten even ancient bloodline descents with his highly-unorthodox but highly-successful methodology.

As for Tohsaka…she was an unknown factor. For some reason his aunt had dismissed them as a threat – which they probably weren't given the subversion of their 'secret' alliance with the Holy Church and the destruction of a large portion of their research during the previous war – but still…he felt uneasy around the Tohsaka girl.

She's dangerous. She may not have Sakura's Divine Words, but somehow I just know that facing her in a fair fight is not a good idea. Then again…she is Sakura's sister.

Shinji finished his lunch and after cleaning up, reopened his book and jotted down some notes in his own personal cipher. If things went well, his research would be finished in a couple of months, after which he'd head out into the countryside to gather 'materials'. He'd need a lot, considering that this phase of his research focused more on quantity over quality.

It's good practice for the next stages, and quantity is a quality in itself.

"Mom I'm home." Shiro called out as he returned home that evening. A sound of assent echoed from the kitchen, and Shiro went to his room to change before heading for the backhouse. On the way he passed by the kitchen to see if his mother needed anything and briefly played with Akira, and then he continued to his workshop.

"Workshop…" he thought wryly as he entered the building. "…only a basic bounded field, a magic circle of some sort, and my…tools. It's a poor excuse for one, but for me it's just fine."

Picking up one of the items on a nearby desk, Shiro closed his eyes. "Trace on…" he whispered, and he felt the familiar burn as prana cycled through him. "…components analyzed…fundamental structure analyzed…composition reinforced…"

Placing the tool back on the desk before him, Shiro sighed and after wiping the sweat from his forehead stepped out of the building to look up at the stars. Being in the city and all that, few stars were visible, but that didn't stop him.

"Just because you can't see them it doesn't mean that they aren't there." He remembered that strange girl with blue hair and eyes – a foreigner probably although she was wearing a yukata – telling him that during last year's Tanabata festival. "The light of those stars came from millions of years away…and one day we'll reach out for them and listen to their song."

Shiro smiled, and turned back to the house as his mom called him for dinner. "Is it possible?" he had asked, and the girl had replied before vanishing into the crowds.

"It's only impossible if you think it's impossible."

"What an intriguing person…" he thought to himself. "…she was probably a tourist from Tokyo or overseas, but I still should have gotten her name."

A/N

We start around two-three or so years prior to the events of Fate. Kiritsugu and Maiya were legally-married and had a daughter – Akira – although Kiritsugu still died as per canon.

Tokiomi is alive, but he's aged beyond his years and is confined to a wheelchair. Kirei is still his usual psychopathic and fun self, while Shinji is a scholarly necromancer as opposed to a playboy rapist.

Guess who was the 'strange girl' Shiro met at Tanabata?