What… You?!

Yes… Me. It's nice to see you remember the one you replaced…

What do you want, Legends?

Me? Oh, Zero. It's really quite simple. I just want you to die.

Gyah! You… coward… Take… this…

Grr… You just don't die quietly, do you? Oh well. I just need someone to pin this on… Heh heh. Now there's a good little patsy.

--

Case 1: Crimson Turnabout

Act I: A Prologue

"Zzzz…" A peaceful morning. Nothing I need do but rest.

"Iki-sa." Huh? What is that voice intruding into my dream?

"Shiki-sama." That voice again. Quiet, but persistent. Go away, voice. I just want to rest.

"Shiki-sama. Please, wake up. Akiha-sama seems quite unusual this morning." I guess there's nothing else to be done. I grab my oversized glasses off the nightstand and open my eyes.

Most people use alarm clocks to wake them up. I am no different. Well, except for one small thing… My alarm clock happens to have pink hair and blue eyes. Her name is Hisui, and she is the epitome of a maid. Her hair is trimmed short, and she is always dressed in the western-style uniform of one. (I'm convinced she has nothing else in her closet.) The expression, or rather, lack of one, on her face tells me that as usual, I would have no idea what was going on inside of her head.

"Good morning, Shiki-sama." Hisui gave me a polite bow as she sees me stir. "Your clothing is on the chair. Akiha-sama requests that you meet her in the parlor immediately." Requests would be Akiha speak for "Get down here NOW." Oh boy. I'm in trouble again, and this time I have no idea why. Hisui bows again, and leaves the room, allowing me to get dressed.

My name is Shiki Tohno. I'm a rookie defense attorney, and by rookie, I mean "never taken a case." My younger sister, Akiha, is a legal prodigy, and by prodigy, I mean "never lost a case." And yes, Tohno, as in the famously rich business family… And it hasn't exactly been a charmed life, but… I'd rather not talk about it right now. All you need to know is that the two of us have kinda alienated the rest of the family by going into the law business. So much so, that the leeches have tried to cut us off from the trust fund, but that's an entirely different story.

Knock. Knock. Knock. Hisui's voice politely asks me to hurry up and get dressed. There's no avoiding it; the longer I keep Akiha waiting, the more inclined she'll be to beat me to hell. But, she'll also beat me to hell if I look like a slob, so I throw my night clothes off, grab my clothing and head over to the mirror.

Brown eyes stare back at my scarred chest, a remnant from that accident years ago. Just thinking about it is enough to make my head hurt. I shake off the familiar dread, and start throwing my clothing on. Blue seems to be the theme for my outfit, as it consists of blue jeans, a blue T-shirt, (with an orange collar,) and a blue jacket. At least no one can fault me for not being color coordinated. I take a little longer to smooth out my short, black hair, and exit the room.

Hisui, seeing that I am ready, gives me a polite bow, and walks off to begin her morning chores. I'm left alone to walk downstairs to the parlor. Inside, Akiha is waiting at the table, sipping tea with one hand, and impatiently fidgeting with her long, brown hair with the other. She sees me enter, and quickly turns on her unique style of subtle anger.

"Nii-san. You've overslept again." Akiha was now wearing an annoyed look, her blue eyes narrowed in a subtle glare, and her arms crossed in a rather pouty look. (Not exactly something unusual for her.) Fearing for my safety, I quickly take a seat across from her, and she looks down at the pile of papers stacked on the table. The stack is clearly related to her caseload, and looking down at them only seems to make her look more annoyed. My sister may be a prodigy, but she's clearly been overworked.

"Shiki, it's time you start earning your keep." Akiha took a manila folder off of the stack, and handed it to me. "Our client is waiting in the Detention Center to speak to you. Oh, and the trial is tomorrow. Any questions?" She smiled as she saw my look of surprise. "No? Good. Now get going. Oh, and I'll be at the office late tonight, so you'll be eating dinner without me." Before I could open my mouth, I felt myself leaving the room on auto-pilot. What a way to start my first case…

"Shiki-san! Where are you going in such a hurry?" A pink haired girl was waiting in the hallway, her amber eyes sparkling with curiosity as she zeroes in on the folder I'm carrying. This girl would be Kohaku, Hisui's twin sister. "Oooh! You have must have a case!" She says, smiling, as her eyes beg me to open the folder. Stare. Stare. Staaaaaaaare.

"Kohaku, do you want me to open the folder?" I ask her, mentally surrendering. That stare is just too powerful. Her mouth curls in a cute grin.

"Only if you want to open it, Shiki-san." She says in a perfectly innocent tone. I mentally sigh, and open the folder, looking at the first sheet in the relatively small stack of papers.

"State V.S. Zangief…" I read. "… That's a weird last name." I go over the summary, with Kohaku intently listening. "The victim is named Zero… No last name? And the defendant is Zangief. Just Zangief." Kohaku heard the names and tapped her forehead.

"ZERO?!" She suddenly blurted out, her mouth opening in shock. "He's one of the coolest action heroes ever! Didn't you ever see Zero 3: The Wrath of Dr. Wiel? Shiki-san, this can't be right! Zero can't die! He's waaaaaaaaaay too cool for death!" I don't have the heart to destroy her fantasy.

"Oh, Shiki-san!" Her expression does a compete 180, back into the hypnostare she does so well. "You're going on an investigation! I can help you!" Kohaku doesn't even bother phrasing it like a question. She's invited herself along, and I have exactly zero room to refuse.

This is going to be a long day.

--

Author's Note: Yes. I am insane. I had been doing a CYOA version of this for a while at a forums I frequent, but then I saw a hilarious picture that has been dubbed "Phoenix Tohno." After that, I just had to make this. At the end of each chapter, I'll be posting a little blurb on who each character used in this story is. Oh. And wiki Tsukihime in advance, as that's where most of the main cast, and SOME plot points will come from. I'm trying to keep as much of Tsukihime canon intact as I can for this.

Shiki Tohno: The main character of Tsukihime, and the main character of this fic, if for some reason, you couldn't tell by the title.

Hisui: One of the twin maids in Tsukihime. Known for being quiet, relatively emotionless, and excessively formal. She always calls Shiki "Shiki-sama," basically a really formal title. (AN: I can't think of any way to put this, and if I get it wrong, I'd be lynched for messing up the Japanese. Anyone know the exact meaning?) Shiki hates this, but has given up on convincing Hisui to just call him Shiki.

Akiha Tohno: Shiki's little sister, but not really. The Mia of this story... If Mia didn't have her BUSTY GLORY, anyways. (And she may yet survive Case 2.)

Kohaku: Hisui's twin sister. She constantly wears a smile, and is up to date on everything movie and game related. And she can probably kick your ass at any video game, too. (Kagetsu Tohya, people. She's good. Or at least out of Shiki's league.)

Zangief: The Russian wrestler from Street Fighter II.

Zero: From the Mega Man X/Mega Man Zero series. Yes. That bishie robot. The fangirls will have my head. (Like being dead has ever stopped him?)

Oh, and the obligatory copyright information. All Tsukihime characters are owned by Type Moon. Zero and Zangief are owned by Capcom.