Disclaimer: I don't own Fate/Stay Night.

A Reversal of Fortunes

Chapter 1

It was rather late at night, and yet in the city proper of Fuyuki, the nightlife was very much in full swing. People of all ages and occupations, from underage to those past their prime, from the respectable to the less than respectable, men and women alike thronged the streets of the city, either coming and going from one place or another, or just reveling to cut loose in the scant few hours of freedom that was the lot of Japanese urbanites.

The sound of vehicle engines, of countless voices chitchatting, and hundreds of other sounds besides filled the air, while the glow of neon, incandescent, fluorescent, vehicle, and other lights besides, melted together in a diffuse but bright glow that percolated up from the city, and together with the clouds above blotted out the stars. Skyscrapers and other buildings reached up from the ground, some dark others brightly lit, but most dotted with a scattering of light that filtered through curtains or flowed freely from unobstructed windows. Most skyscrapers belonged to corporate giants, some greater or lesser than the others, while others belonged to the government or were shared between a variety of organizations. Others were residential in nature.

Given the profusion of Humanity that thronged the city, one would think that crime and violence could not go unnoticed either by the masses or the authorities, such was the number of potential witnesses. If so, then one would be mistaken.

Even if one could somehow overcome the tendency of people to ignore things and happenings which did not concern them, it was inevitable that the cityscape of Fuyuki would have dark and shadowed corners, empty and secluded places in ample amount. In such places, those who otherwise would have drawn what was for them unwelcome attention, either to themselves or to their business, could go about with impunity.

A goshawk winged its way high above the glittering cityscape, its grey and white plumage fluttering with the currents of its flight. Golden eyes focused on the rooftop of a public parking building, where three figures forced a fourth figure onto the floor.

The three figures were young men, probably of college age, dressed in such a way that they clearly didn't lack for money, and in the latest fashions of young Japanese men. The fourth was a young woman, only a few years older than them from the look of things.

The woman struggled vainly against two of the men as they held her down, muffling her screams and cries by stuffing a twisted wad of cloth in her mouth. The third man forcibly spread the woman's legs and after tearing her blouse and skirt open, briefly squeezed her breasts before beginning to undo his trousers.

The goshawk cried once, a piercing sound shattering the night as the raptor began to circle. A girl stood atop a nearby skyscraper, looking down at the grotesque scene below. The wind blew through her hair and fluttered against her skirt, sleeves, and the straps of her muneate. After a moment, she lifted the yumi she carried in one hand, and pulled an arrow from the quiver behind her waist.

Nocking the arrow, the archer pulled the string back, reinforced eyes aiming down at the would-be rapist, who she saw tearing off the victim's panties. She held her breath, and let go.

The arrow flew straight and true, and even as the would-be rapist positioned himself, punched through his head with enough force to send him crashing against the ground to one side. His accomplices stared in shock at their dead friend, an arrow punched straight through his head.

In that time, the archer had taken another arrow, nocked, drew, aimed and released. Another man went down, an arrow through his head.

The third man broke and bolted, running for the rooftop door. The archer followed his path with her eyes, took aim, drew, and released.

The arrow punched through a leg, shattering bone and causing the man to fall screaming and thrashing in agony. The archer smiled vindictively, pulling out another arrow and nocked it into her yumi.

She drew, took aim, and released. The man fell dead, an arrow through his throat and out the back of his neck.

The victim staggered to her feet, breathing hard from her recent ordeal and near escape. She looked around and to the surrounding buildings where an archer might have shot the arrows from and saved her, but she could see no one.

The archer had already left, vanishing into the night. In the skies above, the goshawk cried once as it soared up and away, over the glittering city below.

All the victim could do was wipe at her tear-stained cheeks, pull her clothes back into place to regain some measure of her dignity, and look at the corpses of her would-be rapists with a mix of fear, hatred, and vengeful satisfaction. And remember with awe and gratitude her unseen savior.

"On other news this morning," the pretty newscaster on TV said. "The mysterious vigilante known as the Huntress struck again last night. According to survivor testimony, three men attempting to rape a woman at the Kotomaki Parking Building were killed by arrows, which fits the Huntress' MO for the past two years. Police Chief Hajime…"

Shirou Emiya sighed as he listened to the news. "Do you want to talk about it?" Rin Matou asked from the nearby kitchen, where she was cooking breakfast.

"Same old, same old," Shirou said. "On one hand I can't help but admire the Huntress for saving people who otherwise wouldn't have been. But on the other hand, does she have to kill all the time?"

Rin didn't reply at once. Violet irises glanced from the corner of their eyes at the redheaded boy sitting at the table watching the morning news, and after a moment turned back to the frying pan over the stove.

"Well," she said. "Maybe she doesn't have any other option?"

"I don't believe that." Shirou said. "She could always shoot the criminals' hands or somewhere else that won't kill them."

"Isn't that rather cruel?" Rin asked with a small smile. "I mean, depending on where the arrow hits, the injuries might not heal properly. Like say, someone gets their knee torn up by one of the Huntress' arrows, and if they can't afford expensive reconstruction surgery they may have to have their leg cut off and be left a cripple. Death would be a mercy, wouldn't it?"

"W-what?" Shirou asked in disbelief.

Rin sighed and turned to look at him. "It's sad," she said. "But you know as well as I do that there's always been a certain degree of discrimination in this wonderful country of ours towards cripples, don't you Shirou?"

Shirou looked away and sighed. "Yeah, I guess that's true." He said. "But crippling someone permanently doesn't have to happen. I mean, a lot of people got shot up by arrows in the sengoku jidai and didn't end up cripples for it, and they had none of our modern medicine. I'd say the Huntress has the choice to avoid killing her targets but decides otherwise simply because she can."

Rin giggled as she slid the fried vegetables out of the frying pan onto a serving plate, and setting the pan down on the stove carried the dish to the table. "Don't let it get to you." She said, setting the plate down on the table. "If you get angry this early in the morning, it'll ruin your day."

Shirou stared up at Rin for a few moments, and then with another sighed nodded and smiled. "Yeah, you're probably right." He said, and Rin beamed down at him.

"Now then," she said. "Eat up, breakfast's still a bit off, and this should blunt your appetite a bit."

"But, I…"

"It's fine, it's fine," Rin said, waving Shirou off as she walked back into the kitchen. "I'll make some more for us all, so you can have all that if you want. Or just a few bites, really."

"Y-yeah," Shirou said, and sighed again. He picked up his chopsticks, tapped them on the tabletop, and took a pinch of fried vegetables. "Itadakimasu…hmm, you've really mastered fried vegetables haven't you, Rin?"

Rin giggled. "Flatterer," she said. "But thanks."

"No really, your fried vegetables are the best." Shirou said, eating another pinch of fried vegetables. "Better than what I can do. You'll make a good wife someday"

Rin smiled, almost sadly had Shirou been closer. "I'm glad to hear that." She said softly. Shirou blinked at that, glanced at Rin, and then back at the TV.

"Sorry," he said. "That was inappropriate."

"No," Rin said. "It's fine."

The two of them stayed silent for a couple of minutes, and then Rin spoke up. "As usual though," she said. "While you disagree with the Huntress killing people, you don't seem to mind her being a vigilante."

"The law isn't perfect." Shirou said. "It can't see everything and everyone everywhere, and even when criminals and villains get caught, they can still get away. Whether it's because they have money, friends in high places, or simply because they know how to use the law's own limits, they can get away with their crimes and having hurt other people, and keep at it too."

Rin was silent, staring down at her cooking. She'd heard all this before of course, it was hardly the first time they'd talked about the Huntress. But even so, she still wanted to hear him say it.

Even if it was just a fantasy, an empty comfort that quickly passed with no substance to it, she still wanted to hear him say it.

"And?" she prompted him.

"When the law is powerless to stop evil," Shirou said. "People have to make a stand. They have to stand for what's right, and fight for it if they have to. That's why, that's why I believe if something right needs to be done in front of you, you should go ahead and do so. Otherwise, if you just turn a blind eye to the evil in front of you, how can you stand looking at yourself in the mirror?"

Rin smiled sadly at that. "But," she said. "Just because you can do what's right, there's no guarantee you'll succeed, is there? It's sad, but sometimes, sometimes…evil, evil is just too strong, and all a righteous man can do is fall and die."

"You don't actually believe in that, do you?" Shirou asked, turning to look at Rin.

"I…I don't want to." Rin said slowly. "But that's the way the world is."

Shirou turned away, and silently ate a few more pinches of fried vegetables. "I want to believe in a better path." He eventually said. "I want to believe that even if you don't succeed, you still have to try and do what's right. Even if you die in the process, then at least you can die knowing you did the right thing, and can hope that someday, somehow, someone else can finish what you started. At least, that's what I want to believe."

"Hero of Justice, eh?"

Shirou smiled. "It's a childish dream, isn't it?" he asked, turning to look at Rin. "Even so, I'd like to dream for just a bit longer."

"It's a wonderful dream." Rin said. "But, what will you do when you wake up?"

Shirou didn't answer at once. "I don't know." He eventually said. But then he turned to her, and smiled. "I guess I'll just have to make things up as they go, and do my best."

Rin chuckled. "That sounds just like you." She said, and Shirou laughed as well.

"I guess it does, doesn't it?" he asked, and Rin laughed again.

Shirou chewed on a mouthful of fried vegetables as a reporter asked people on the street about their opinions of the Huntress.

"She's a menace that's what." One said.

"She's just another criminal, plain and simple." Another said.

"I think she should turn herself in, or if she isn't brave enough to take responsibility for killing people, then she should fall in line like everyone else and actually let the police and the courts do their jobs. Laws exist for a reason, damn it!" a third person said.

"Considering the judge let that creep who killed kids walk last year," a fourth person said. "And it was the Huntress who finally brought him to justice, then I say she should keep up the good work."

"Well, she only kills bad people doesn't she?" a fifth person – a schoolgirl – said with a shy smile. "So I guess, if you're not going to do bad things at night, then you shouldn't have to worry about the Huntress going after you."

"I understand why people think the Huntress and other vigilantes are doing the right thing." A sixth person said. "But, what about Human Rights? The people they're killing have the right to a fair trial and legal protection you know."

"If a reporter on the street asked you what you think of the Huntress," Rin asked as she put more platters of food on the table. "What would you say?"

Shirou stared at her for a moment, his chopsticks in his mouth. And then he smiled, pulling them out. "I'd say there's nothing wrong with her helping people." He said. "But she should knock off actually killing people."

Rin smiled back, while the sound of shouting at the door about breakfast heralded the arrival of Taiga Fujimura. "Always believing in the best of everyone, don't you?" she asked.

"Is that so wrong?" Shirou asked, following Rin with his eyes as she returned to the kitchen.

"No, I think it's a wonderful thing."

"I see."

Sakura hummed as she swept the floor of the classroom, today being her assigned day for cleaning duty. As was expected of her, she'd come early, earlier than her assigned partner for the day in fact.

She'd finished sweeping the floor and was about to get started on wiping the desks when the classroom doors slid open. "Good morning." Minori Mitsuzuri said as he entered.

"Good morning." Sakura returned the greeting. "I've already finished sweeping the floor, so you can dust the chalkboard while I wipe the desks."

"Alright," Minori said with a nod, putting his things under his desk before heading over to the chalkboard.

The two of them worked in silence for a while, but a few minutes later the boy hesitantly spoke up. "So," he began. "How are things?"

"Things?" Sakura echoed questioningly.

"Yeah, things." Minori said lamely, keeping his eyes away from Sakura. "I mean…you are the top student in our class, so you're also class representative aren't you? And then you're also nee-chan's top archer so…"

The boy trailed off lamely, but after a moment Sakura smiled and shrugged. "Managing," she said. "It's easier said than done of course, but I do what I can."

"I see."

Sakura giggled at that, watching with some amusement the faint blush appearing on Minori's visible cheek. She knew the boy had a crush on her, though he'd never actually tried to ask her out, or even confess for that matter.

"I'm not that unapproachable, am I?" Sakura thought. "Then again, it's probably for the best if he doesn't. Because if he does, I'm going to have to turn him down. It would be crueler to indulge him when there's no chance of anything developing between us in the long term."

Sakura found herself sighing at the thought. But it was the truth: the was no chance of anything long term developing between her and Minori, simply because unlike her, he was no magus, nor did he have any magical potential whatsoever.

As a magus, and as the heiress of the Tohsaka Clan, she had an obligation to ensure that the next generation of the Tohsaka would have greater potential than what she already possessed. Considering her potential was already first-class even for a sixth-generation magus, it would be a tall order finding someone with matching or at least complementary potential to her own in order to fulfil the aforementioned obligation.

And more to the point, it automatically disqualified Minori, as his lack of magic potential would certainly drag down the potential of any children they might have had in a serious relationship.

"Other people might say I'm overthinking things," Sakura thought. "A teenage relationship doesn't need to last and evolve into a truly serious one after all. But, either way it becomes a waste of time and effort, so there's no real point in getting involved at all."

Sakura sighed again. "If only the Tohsaka were an ordinary, if wealthy family." She thought bitterly. "I'd still probably have the rest of my family, and I wouldn't have to consider breeding myself and my children like cattle, not to mention risking not just my life but even my soul when working the family business."

"…of her?" Minori asked, and Sakura blinked.

"W-what?" she stammered. "Sorry, I spaced out for a bit, so what did you ask again?"

Minori smiled at her. "I said," he repeated. "What do you think of the Huntress, after last night?"

"The Huntress…?" Sakura echoed. "Oh, that vigilante."

Sakura smiled and shrugged. "Well," she began. "On one hand, like what happened last night, she helps people who otherwise would never have gotten help. Keeping someone from getting raped or killed or turned into addicts is better, at face value at least, than helping them or their families cope from what would have happened otherwise."

"But?"

Sakura paused to glance at Minori. "On the other hand, she's rather selfish, isn't she?" Sakura asked softly. "I'm sure there's a story behind her taking the law into her own hands, which may justify her actions at face value at least, but…"

"Who or what gives her the right to kill people?"

"Yes." Sakura said with a small nod. "Or rather, is she really changing things for the better? Every time I hear of the Huntress mentioned as killing criminals who might have escaped unnoticed or had managed to slip free of the law, I can't help but wonder, can justice really be achieved outside of the law? If yes, then what's the point in having laws and a justice system in the first place? If no, then what's the point in what the Huntress does?"

"Sakura-san,"

"You know, Minori-kun," Sakura began. "I can't help but wonder if this is how the Huntress thinks?"

"Huh?"

"I wonder if she thinks that in this world, where having money, friends or relatives in high places, or simply being clever enough allows evil to escape responsibility, then those who want to protect must also play the same game."

Minori blinked. "What?" he asked softly.

Sakura smiled sadly at him. "Playing the same game," she said. "That is to become a predator herself, and preying on other predators end them before they can threaten anyone else."

Minori looked troubled. "Do you really think so?" he asked.

Sakura shrugged. "Who knows?" she said. "Maybe I'm just being sentimental, and overthinking the Huntress' motives, or giving her too much credit. She could be what I said she is. Or maybe she's a former victim herself, and just wants revenge. Or someone else entirely."

Sakura sighed and resumed wiping the desks. "Anyway," she said. "That's not really something schoolchildren like us should be worrying over. And we still have work to do, don't we?"

Minori nodded. "That's true on both counts." He said, turning back to the chalkboard, silence again falling between them as they worked.

'…not really something schoolchildren like us should be worrying over'…? I surprise myself sometimes.

A/N

Now who could 'the Huntress' possibly be?

Minori Mitsuzuri is a canon character, not an OC. He's Ayako's younger brother, and he does have a crush on canon Sakura and actually resents Shirou a bit, apparently for being Sakura's crush. Does AU Sakura have a crush on Shirou too? Maybe, maybe not.

Finally, no, Sakura was not exaggerating. Magi practice eugenics i.e. selective breeding to maximize the potential of succeeding generations, so yes, they – and she – have to breed their children like cattle, no matter how foul a taste that would leave behind in the mouths of decent people. As for risking her soul, also yes, since magecraft especially higher-level mysteries involve concepts, and playing around with those could result in mishaps with metaphysical consequences.