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Fuyuki City, One Year Ago

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Here lies Katamina Minami, a young departed life.

In front of a tombstone, Katamina Ryuuto sat in silent mourning. Only a few days ago, his sister had been with him, the possibility of the fact she would be dead far, far away. Everything that happened seemed like a long nightmare.

The rest of the family called it an accident. He knew better. It was his fault. She had been with him; he should have stopped her. He should have paid more attention. If he did, she would never have run out into the road like she did, and the possibility of her death would still be far, far away. It was his mistake, and everyone was paying for it.

Underneath the gloves he wore, he could still feel a tingling sensation left over from the burning when three red seals were inscribed into his hand. Remembering the chance that had been offered to him, he slowly stood up, having made up his mind.

This was his mistake, and he would fix it.

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London, One week Ago

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"Alexander Marcus Galehind! Get back here this instant!"

The man known as Alexander ignored his father's demands as he left his family mansion. Stubborn old fools. He was Alexander Galehind, the heir to the Galehind family. How dare his parents attempt to dictate a marriage partner to him? He was a magus, for bloody sake. He had no time to tend to the needs of a wife. He had the goal to reach the root.

Immediately hailing a taxi, he made his way towards London Airport. He had his luggage in his trunk, and no matter what his parents tried it was too late. He had book a flight for Japan, due to leave in five hours. There was no stopping it.

If he needed a wish to prove his independence, then he would fight for that wish.

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Fuyuki City, Two days ago

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"The holy grail war. A war in which 7 magus summon a servant and fight to the death. The winner shall be granted the right to make a wish from the holy grail, said to be able to grant any wishes."

Kirimiya Mai sat in the living room of her apartment, a resigned smile on her face as she read through an old book from her family's collection. The Kirimiya family had once been prominent, but that had all been in the past. Now, they had fallen into disgrace. Even her own parents thought she was a failure. She didn't have much left, that was for sure.

But that wouldn't be fair to her daughter, sleeping peacefully behind a closed door next door. She knew that her daughter didn't deserve to suffer for her mother's failure. She would bring her daughter happiness, even at the risk of her own life. After all, what kind of mother would she be if she wasn't willing to risk at least that?

And so she set her book down, her mind drifting back to her sleeping daughter who was blissfully unaware of the danger her mother was going to be in.

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"The servants are divided into seven classes known as Saber, Archer, Lancer, Rider, Berserker, Caster and Assassin. The Servants are heroic spirits who have changed the world with their deeds..."

On board a flight to Fuyuki City, Alexis Kara read through the files provided to her by her latest client. Being a heretic, she had to find work in the more shady parts of society – and there were plenty who were willing to pay a lot for her services.

This job was strange, to say the least. She had done her share of killing, but this wasn't targeted – she was being entered into a battle to represent her client.

She was fine with that. They had paid the money. She would bring the holy grail back to them.

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Fuyuki City, One day ago

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"Her condition is worsening. We do fear that she won't have much time left."

"I see." Naname Kiriya nodded. "Thank you, Doctor."

"I'll leave you two alone for a little while."

And with that, Naname Kiriya headed back into the hospital room in which his little sister slept. It was tragic, really. To be born a magus only to fall victim to a normal disease. Not even the doctors were sure what exactly ailed Kiriya's sister, but they knew that it was fatal and she didn't have much time.

Her time was running out. He needed to hurry.

"Just wait, Haruna." he whispered, speaking to a sister who could not hear him. "I will save you. So just wait a little longer."

And with that, he gently stroked her hair with a hand with three command seals engraved upon it.

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Fuyuki City

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Ryuuto had decided that the best secluded area would be a nighttime park. After all, there would be no children here. Nothing to possibly disturb him. Finishing the drawing of the magical circle that was required to proceed, he stepped back and took a deep breath.

"Silver and iron to the origin. Gem and the archduke of contracts to the cornerstone. The ancestor is my great ancestor Schweinorg.

The alighted wind becomes a wall. The gates in the four directions close, coming from the crown, the three- forked road that leads to the kingdom circulate."

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Alexis Kara had selected a warehouse which she was also using for her base of operations. Any participant in the war would normally investigate locations such as hotels, and as such she never made use of such accommodations. Many would say that such discomfort should be beneath a mage, but such discomfort had saved her life many times.

Hopefully, she thought to herself as she proceeded with the ritual, that safety would remain.

"Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill. Repeat every five times.

Simply, shatter once filled."

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Alexander Galehind watched as the circle he had created on the rooftop of the hotel began to glow. So it was working. It was beginning. His holy grail war was about to begin, and soon he shall either have proven his worth as a mage or have died trying.

But he had no plan of dying, that's for sure.

"I announce. Your self is under me, my fate is in your sword. In accordance with the approach of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer!"

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Kirimiya Mai was in the supposedly closed community centre near her apartment. She had cast a spell on her daughter to ensure that she wouldn't wake up during the ceremony and experience the fear of being alone.

I'm sorry, but it's just for a little bit.

Even as she stopped herself from regretting her actions as a mother, she continued with the ritual.

"Here is my oath. I am the one who becomes all the good of the world of the dead, I am the one who lays out all the evil of the world of the dead."

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The holy grail war was about to begin. Four magi shouted out to the dead night, pouring their dreams, desires and futures into this one battle, one grail.

"You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, O keeper of the balance!"

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Alexander felt the night wind blow by him as the smoke cleared from the summoning, giving him a full view of his servant. From all that talk of a heroic spirit, this was not what he expected.

A single girl with white hair tied into a ponytail stood before him, a rapier held with two hands and pointed at the ground, as if she was a sentinel standing in sorrowful guard. When the girl opened her eyes, Alexander could note a scar going through one of her eyes.

A servant. What's more, a Saber, one of the most powerful classes in the war. He had done it. He knew that he was talented; this must be proof of that talent. The war was as good as his.

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Kiriya stood in the basement of his family home, staring at the heroic figure who had answered his call – if he could even call it that. The servant he had summoned had long blonde hair, with great golden gauntlets over her hands which were on her hips. His servant wore a confident grin, as if she was saying "So you're my master, huh? Well, let's do this."

This wasn't exactly what he expected of a heroic spirit. He had imagined someone more... noble, serious, awe-inspiring. Instead, what he had got seemed to be nothing more than a rebellious teenage girl.

Was this really going to be okay?

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Alexis had instantly realized what she had summoned - and she would not have it any other way. Before her eyes, a tall woman with black hair and a bow on her head knelt. From her atmosphere and from her powers as a master, Alexis could already figure out she had summoned an assassin.

An assassin. A warrior of the shadows. Not one like any of the legendary figures Alexis feared would take offence to the practical tactics Alexis would use - and demand they use as well, if she had needed too. But no, she had someone who was willing to go along from the get go.

This war was already looking easier.

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The first thing Mai noticed were the bunny ears. She thought that maybe there had been some sort of mistake; that what she had called forth wasn't a servant for the war but some kind of natural spirit that had gotten mixed up in her summoning ritual by accident. The girl with the rabbit ears had very gentle looking eyes – eyes that seemed unsuited for killing.

Only later would Mai finally accept that this girl was her servant.

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Ryuuto took a moment to catch his breath, still a bit surprised at his success in the summoning. Even in the darkness of the night he could still make out the smoke that radiated from the energy created by the summoning.

But more importantly, through the smoke he could make out a billowing red cloak. In the centre of his magical circle, a single figure with her face obstructed by a red cloak stood. In her hands, there was a great scythe so large it's blade dug into the earth. Ryuuto thought that maybe the scythe was a bit too big for it's wielder, but he was too excited to care.

"...I ask..." the red-cloaked figure spoke in a voice that sounded surprisingly young, snapping Ryuuto out of his excitement.

The red-cloaked figure raised her head to reveal a young girl with silver eyes looking right at Ryuuto.

"Are you my master?"

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End of Prologue

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Author's Note: After an almost year long writing hiatus during which I had to contend with the joys of university, I am back. Hopefully I haven't destroyed too much of the canon in either universes.

One thing to note: I'm not going to bother trying to come up with an explanation for this war in the grand nasuverse. Realistically, I don't think I can. Even if I did somehow manage to crank out a hypothetical sixth holy grail war, that would never explain the RWBY aspect. This is just meant to be something taken at face value and something that hopefully fans of either series can enjoy, even if the prologue was really master-centric.