Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Janus

Prologue

Stopped.

Everything stopped.

The worms were frozen mid-wriggle on the dark floor below her, the old man beside her frozen mid-motion to push her down off the ledge and down into the pit below her, and even the air itself was frozen, all sound stilled with nothing to carry it.

Time itself had been frozen.

And yet the girl could move. She blinked, looking down at the worms below, waiting to feast on her flesh, then to the old man who her father had said would be taking care of her from now on, and then to the figure she'd always known to be watching over her shoulder…behind her…with her…

She'd never been able to see them, even with a mirror, but she'd always known they were there. She didn't know why and how, she just did, just like how she'd always just seemed to know about…things, things that she shouldn't, couldn't possibly know about.

And now that time had stopped…she would see. Turning around, she faced the one standing before her.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Good question," the silhouette answered in a…voice, that seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere at once. "And one with so many different answers. You can call me God, if you want. But you can also call me the world. Or even the universe. The truth…the beginning…the end…all correct…and all just as wrong…"

The girl stayed silent, the silhouette wrapping itself around her like a snake, speaking all the while in a singsong tone. "But the answer most relevant to you," it said, as it unraveled itself from her, and melted out of the shadows to appear as more than just a silhouette. "I am you."

Two girls stared at each other, and then the first one nodded, and spoke with a voice that came from nowhere and everywhere. "You are me." She admitted, and the second girl grinned inhumanly wide.

"We are one." They spoke together, and with those three words time resumed its flow. The girl closed her eyes, and then turned to face the annoyed old man hobbling towards her. He opened his mouth to speak, and then froze, opaque black eyes widening in surprise.

"…your eyes…mystic eyes…Tohsaka never said…"

The girl just ignored him, just as she ignored the rich and hot tang of liquid metal suddenly filling her mouth. All she could focus on were the lines and points superimposed over everything around her, and moving reflexively, she stepped closer, and stabbed her finger at a point in the old man's torso.

The old man gasped…

…and with a hissing sound, crumbled into powder. Down below in the pit, worms likewise crumbled into powder, sharing their maker's fate, for they were one and the same being, separate yet one.

The girl dropped her arm, coughing and gagging on her own blood, and then staggering back a few steps keeled over to the side, unconscious.

Months passed, and a scruffy-looking man was anxiously entering the Matou property. Making his way to the front door, he rang the doorbell, and stepping back, bounced on his heels several times to try and ease his anxiety. Impatiently, he rang the doorbell again, and then a third time, and then the front door was being opened, by a rather unhappy-looking man.

"Yes, yes, I'm…Kariya…what are you doing here?" Byakuya Matou asked.

"Where's Sakura, Byakuya?" Kariya Matou replied without preamble, and pushing past his brother into the house.

"Upstairs…in her room." Byakuya said, closing the door behind them. "Spends most of her time there anyway…how'd you know about her being here?"

"Aoi told me." Kariya said, and Byakuya snorted.

"Figures," he said. "And then you came running here to save her girl and impress her, is that it?"

Kariya snarled. "You bastards," he began. "You didn't…"

"Hey, what did you expect me to do?" Byakuya said defensively. "Stand up to the old worm? You know what he did to my wife, hell, at least you only know. I had to watch it all happen, and had to keep watching, until he finally decided to grant 'mercy'…by making me kill her myself."

With a roar, Kariya grabbed his brother and slammed him against the door. Byakuya took the abuse without complaint, but after a moment Kariya had released him and was running off. "Sakura!" he shouted. "Where are you? Uncle's here!"

"Oh stop shouting." Byakuya snapped. "She's fine. The old worm tried to feed her to the worms, and he paid for it."

Kariya froze mid-step, and turned to Byakuya incredulously. "What did you say?" he answered.

"Interested, aren't we?" Byakuya answered with a smirk, before his face turned grim. "That Tohsaka girl…she's a nasty one. I don't know how she did it, but she killed the old worm. And without much of a fuss too, from the look of things."

"W-what?" Kariya stammered in shock. "But…how?"

"No idea." Byakuya said with a shrug. "Just checked in on the following day, and there she was, unconscious on the ledge with dried blood on her chin and under her nose. And sand, or something like it, lots and lots of it, all over the place and especially inside the pit. My guess…that's all that's left of the old worm and his pets."

Kariya gaped at Byakuya for several moments, while Byakuya looked silently thoughtful. And then narrowing his eyes, Kariya approached his brother. He stayed quiet for a few moments, and then he lowered his head slightly. "You're sober, aren't you?" he asked.

"As dry as a merchant's soul, as the old saying goes." Byakuya replied. "Was hell the first couple of months…but it's worth it."

"…hard to believe it took only the old worm dying to get you to shape up."

"Oh no." Byakuya said with a smirk and a shake of his head. "I'm not…shaped up, as you call it. Just…careful."

"Careful?"

Byakuya nodded. "Can't be careful if you're up to your eyebrows in fumes." He said before his face darkened. "The old worm…as long as you stayed out of his way, everything was fine. Do as you're told, and make sure to meet his expectations. As long as you did that, then you can do as you like. That Tohsaka girl…she's creepy. She almost never talks. All she does is stare at you with those cold eyes of hers, as though she's staring into your soul. Put me off the bottle, I'll tell you that much."

"…she's always been a quiet girl."

"She's more than just a quiet girl." Byakuya disagreed. "How to say this…yes, she has the air of an apparition around her, or something like that."

"That's crazy talk." Kariya said. "You're…"

"She killed the old worm, Kariya." Byakuya interrupted. "And having lived for far longer with that monster than you have, once the alcohol was gone…no, even before that, I can feel it in my bones. She's not…someone, you want to mess with. By all means, go ahead and talk to her. Me? I just make sure she's comfortable and has no reason to turn on me, but that's it."

Kariya was silent for several moments. "I'm surprised you didn't just give her back if you're so scared of her." He said, and Byakuya snorted.

"And what if she doesn't want to go back?" he asked. "I'm not forcing her, and I'm not risking bringing up the topic."

"…right." Kariya said in disbelief. "So…where is she?"

"Upstairs," Byakuya said dismissively. "I'm sure you can figure out which room she's in, almost all the rooms upstairs are empty and closed up. If you want to talk to her, go ahead. Just don't blame me if things go badly."

And at that, Byakuya stalked away, leaving Kariya with more questions than answers.

Sakura's room was easy enough to find. As Byakuya had said, with the house all but abandoned, given how few people lived in it, most rooms were closed up, not just the doors but also the windows. There would be no light coming from beneath the door, through the narrow gap between it and the floor.

Knocking once, Kariya slowly pushed the door open, and found himself staring into a pair of blue eyes looking curiously at him. He breathed a sigh of relief. The eyes were still the right color, and the same went for the hair. There was no despair or pain in those eyes, just the…aloof, curiosity they'd always had when he'd played with their owner in the past.

Kariya blinked at that, Byakuya's words from earlier coming back to haunt him.

All she does is stare at you with those cold eyes of hers, as though she's staring into your soul. Put me off the bottle, I'll tell you that much.

In the past, Kariya had just put it down to Tokiomi's influence, that Sakura's cold and aloof character was just her copying her father, and yet…

…could there be more to it? There shouldn't be, for all that she was supposed to be as smart and talented as her older sister, she was still just a five-year old girl. But…

I don't know how she did it, but she killed the old worm. And without much of a fuss too, from the look of things.

"Uncle," Sakura said, breaking Kariya out of his thoughts. "You're here."

"Y-yes," Kariya said with a cough. "I just arrived."

"Okay."

That was the expected response, and Kariya smiled at the familiarity. Sakura turned back to what she was doing, a coloring book open on the floor before her and a set of crayons sitting beside it. Taking a red crayon, Sakura began coloring in an apple while Kariya watched.

After several moments though, he approached and sank down beside her. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Coloring."

"Yes, I can see that." Kariya said with a smile. He watched in silence for a few more moments, and then spoke up again. "Hey…do you want to go home?"

Sakura looked at him in surprise. "I am home." She said.

Kariya grimaced. "I meant," he began. "Back to where your mother and sister are, and…your, father."

"Uncle Tohsaka said this was home now." Sakura said in a matter of fact way. "He won't let me come back."

"…how do you know?"

"I just do."

Again, Byakuya's words hung over Kariya's thoughts, and the familiarity of Sakura's usual seeming perceptiveness suddenly became touched with unease. "But…I'm sure your mother and sister would like to have you back." Kariya said.

Sakura paused, and sat back on her heels, showing a rare moment of emotion on her face. "They would." She admitted eventually, before lowering her face and shaking her head. "But they'll still do as Uncle Tohsaka tells them to. I can go to Tohsaka…and then I'll be back soon. Or not…could go somewhere else. Where Uncle Tohsaka wants me to go to next."

Sakura paused and shrugged, before picking up the crayon and beginning to color again. "I like it here." She finally said, and causing Kariya's grimace to deepen.

"Sakura," he began. "There are bad things here. You shouldn't stay, they might come back."

"No, they're gone." Sakura said.

"How do you know?"

"I made them go away."

Kariya was at a loss for words. "…how?" he asked.

"I poked the bad man." Sakura said, turning to look at Kariya. "He wanted to do bad things to me, so I poked him…here."

Kariya looked down as Sakura patted his chest. "I poked him there," she said. "And he went away, with the other bad things."

"…how?"

Sakura shrugged. "There were lines and dots." She said. "And I know if you touch them right, they make things go away."

"…how do you know that?"

"I just do."

"Did…Uncle Tohsaka, teach you that?"

"No," Sakura said with a shake of her head, before smiling a small smile. "I just know it. And it worked, didn't it?"

"…I guess it did."

Smiling wider, Sakura turned back to her coloring book, and once more leaving Kariya with even more questions than answers.

A/N

To be honest, I don't know where this idea came from. I haven't watched Kara no Kyoukai in a long time, and to be honest (again), I don't know if this idea even works. Then again, considering Aoi's special ability is to give her children special abilities, she just might have rolled a natural twenty when it came to this Sakura's special abilities.

Lots of symbolism in this chapter, from the title (Janus, the two-faced Roman god of beginnings and endings, past and future, time and duality) to Sakura's…shadow, or whatever you want to call that thing. Alternate personality? Embodiment of her powers? The Root itself? Works as well as any, I guess.