Fate/Night Sky
Wolkenritter (I)
It was as if all sound had been muted the moment the four strangers had made their declaration. The only things he could hear were the beating of his heart and his own erratic breathing as exhausted lungs burned in response to the unexpected feat of magecraft. He stumbled while standing up as he tried to regain control of his trembling limbs. His chest stung at every breath he took and his limbs screamed murder as he tried to keep them from trembling. With some effort he managed to rise from the ground,picking up the tome that had drifted to the ground after the summoning while he had been distracted by his guests.
They had not moved since they had bowed down before him. They simply sat there, their heads bowed towards him, their posture showing that they were patiently waiting for something.
The twelve year old had no idea what was going on.
"Who are you people?" he asked, his face scrunched up in confusion as spoke. It was an almost desperate attempt from the boy to start making sense of the situation, the awkward silence making it even harder for him to calm down.
"We are the knights of the Book of Darkness, knights bearing the title of Wolkenritter." the tallest woman replied immediately, her voice devoid of any emotion as she answered his question without hesitation. Shirou couldn't even tell if she was annoyed at him for ignoring their introduction the first time, or that the woman simply did not care whether he had even listened the first time they had introduced themselves…
Introduced themselves…
"Ah!"
The boy eyes widened as a flash of insight hit him. Here he stood asking them who they were without even properly introducing himself! Why, they had even repeated their introduction a second time now while he himself had remained silent!
"My name is Emiya Shirou; it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance!" He repeated the polite greetings that had been drilled into him. He bowed towards the four sitting on the ground, waiting for their reply to his greeting with baited breath.
The tension in the shed was now replaced with an awkward silence, the wolkenritter each sporting a look of utter surprise as they tried to comprehend what was happening. For all their experience in social matters they were baffled by their new master's behavior. He was bowing towards them and, from the look of it, would remain in that pose until they had at least acknowledged his greeting. But responding in such a matter would go against all protocol, especially as their master had not even acknowledged them so far. It went against all their knowledge on etiquette that they had gained in the service of their former masters. The servants were the ones who showed their superiors respect after all, and here their new master was now bearing his head towards them.
The situation grew even more awkward as young boy slowly started to twitch, his manners fighting against his exhausted body as he tried to maintain his posture. It seemed as if the impasse would last forever as both parties refused to…
"Nice to meet you?"
It was Vita who crumbled under the pressure, immediately facing the glares the other knights gave her for breaking decorum. Her discomfort went unnoticed by the boy, who straightened his back as a polite smile returned to his face. He pressed on as he now faced the four people in his shed, the feelings of shame washed away knowing that he had amended his impolite attitude from before.
"I don't want to be rude, but how did you people get into my shed?" The boy asked ,trying to recall what exactly had happened after the book had acted on its own.
"We are here because you summoned us here as the master of the book" the blonde spoke, looking him straight into the eyes. "When you activated the book of darkness we were awakened, manifested by the tome to protect and serve its master. As you are the current master of the book, it is you who commands us."
"Know that we will follow any order, and fulfill anything you demand of us. We will give our lives for you and any cause you align yourself to." The beastman added, as he broke his self-imposed silence.
The knight's composed look was once again broken as a pained expression distorted their master's smile, the boy struggling to comprehend their statement.
"Don't-Don't say something like that!" He eventually spat out in a voice filled with anger and pain. "Nobody should just throw away his life like that!" For Shirou, the idea that anyone would sacrifice his or her life was unacceptable, the very thought twisting his very soul.
After taking a deep breath he regained his calm, continuing with a voice now devoid of anger, but still carrying a hind of sadness. "Besides, there is no way that I could be your master. I can barely call myself a magus, and a third rate at most. You speak of your master as if he is supposed to be a great person, a great magus like…."
The memory of his father surfaced to the front of his thought. The only great magus that he had ever known, and who could have been someone they could have called a master was…
"…like dad-"
But Kiritsugu was no longer here to help him. Shirou's shoulders slumped as his voice grew weak to the point where it was barely a whisper.
"I'm sorry for the misunderstanding, but you are talking to the wrong person."
"No, you are definitely our master."
It was a declaration filled with such confidence that it left Shirou speechless. The tallest woman stared at him as she spoke, but her lips hadn't moved at all.
Seeing that she had gotten his attention the woman spoke up, vocally this time. "We have been connected through intertwined existence with the book, sharing our senses and thoughts with our master. You are the one who could hear my thoughts just now, proving that we are connected to you. From now on it is at your word that we live or die."
She spoke to him with such conviction that he was unable to refute her arguments. Worse, he started to notice that he could make out their presence, as if they were somehow part of him. They really were his own…
Even so he couldn't acknowledge the way the spoke about themselves, as if they were dispensable. For the boy who had sworn to save everyone this was unacceptable.
"Very well then. In that case I'll be your master," the boy replied with growing conviction, "But nothing more about living or dying at my word! People shouldn't say things like that!"
"Ah! You don't have to worry," The boy smiled at the befuddled knights as they tried to keep track of their masters thoughts. "I'll take good care of you!"
Shamal followed her master and her fellow Knight as they walked out of the small shed that her master, Emiya Shirou, had dubbed his workshop. As she stepped out of the entrance she was greeted by a large open space, comprised of two building with the well maintained lawn filling the empty space between the buildings and the walls separating the territory from the outer world.
"A small, yet decently enclosed property, with ample space between the first line of defense and the main complex." Signum spoke up as the woman walked into the center of the lawn. Shamal agreed with her assessment, as she gave the knight a short nod. Klarwind, her device which had been probing their surroundings, suddenly drew her attention, as it reported it's finding to her.
"The entire perimeter is covered with some sort of barrier, most likely some sort of alarm or defense. It seems to be self-sufficient by- drawing power from the surroundings?" Shamal's eyes widened as she comprehended the complexity of the boundary while relaying her finding to her fellow knights. "It's some kind of perimeter- an alarm against enemy intruders?"
"Ah, that's the boundary Father made against strangers and intruders." Shirou replied "I think it draws power from the leyline running around here somewhere, but I'm not really sure."
"Leyline? " Shamal repeated the term with a confused look, before realizing what the boy was talking about. " You mean your father was able to construct a barrier that could sustain itself by drawing natural energies form the very land itself?"
"I guess so, if you put it that way." Her master shrugged, not showing any signs that he was impressed by the very feat of a self containing barrier, which didn't rely on either a mage or a powered device to keep it running.
"I would be honored to speak to the man who devised such a radical barrier design."
The lady of the lake immediately realized her mistake as her master stopped smiling, his eyes staring of in the distance for a moment before he caught himself drifting off. "I'm sorry", he apologized, "but you won't be able to meet him. Dad passed away last week. "
"My apologies, I did not mean to be tactless." The blonde responded, her earlier enthusiasm washed away as she tried to figure out how to respond to the situation.
"Don't worry about it!" The boy responded."Even though dad isn't here anymore, I'll still carry on his dream."
"And what would that dream be, Master?" Signum spoke up as she and her fellow knights turned their attention back towards their master. Shirou simply smiled as he proclaimed his ideals to the world once again.
"To become a hero of justice who can save everyone, and become a great magus like my father!"
The knights simply stared as he spoke those words with absolute confidence. None of them spoke up as each tried to comprehend their master's statement, the declaration of his dream. They had often encountered people who followed such ideals on the battlefield, but always as the ones who stood in their way, never in the role of a master. The Book chose masters who desired power or fame, a person who would wield the Book to achieve his goal at any cost. It had found itself in the hands of those who desired to dominate, or those who sought to end the dominion of others. It had placed itself in the hands of those whose fame had corrupted themselves, and those who desired that fame for themselves.
But now it had placed itself into the hand of a child who carried such a selfless ambition. To become a hero who saved all is not a dream any of their former masters had wished for. So why could their master speak of it with such determination?
"Whaa-?"
Once again it was Vita who pierced the silence, unable to suppress the sheer chaos that was pillaging through her mind.
Shirou simply smiled at her.
He had been able to give them a quick tour of the house before his exhausted body finally caught up to him. He had invited them to stay over in the main house to which Signum had agreed, the other knights simply following her lead in the matter. He had been unable to figure out exactly what their contract, or connection, was, but he was far too tired to discuss the workings of the so called 'Book of Darkness' at this point.
He was barely able to slip into his own bed after showing his guests their chambers before he went out like a light.
Signum sat with her back against the wall, watching the door while Shamal and Vita sat down next to her. They ignored the futons the boy had pulled out of the closet for them, sleep being the last thing on their mind right now. Zafira, now in wolf form slowly paced around the room, refamiliarizing himself with his beastform as the others simply waited.
"Our master, he is..." Shamal eventually spoke up, hesitating as she searched her memories for the words she needed to convey her thoughts.
"He's naïve and too trusting" Signum calmly spoke, Shamal nodding at her in agreement. "He sleeps without any guard, a dangerous feat even with a boundary field in place."
"It doesn't look like he has many enemies so far, which could explain how carefree he is" Shamal replied, as she tried to make sense of her master's behavior. "It is most likely that he doesn't understand the blessings and burdens the master of the Book of Darkness has to carry. Eventually rivals and thieves will flock towards us to obtain the Book for themselves."
"He is very naïve" Zafira stated.
"Even so", Vita spoke, "He sounds like a good person, with his hero-dream and all that."
"It doesn't matter if he was righteous or evil incarnate," Signum stated, her voice lacking any emotions as she continued. "We will simply serve our master, in any way he wishes for."
The other Wolkenritter nodded in agreement. Vita and Shamal placed their backs against the walls as they closed their eyes, resting but still ready to spring into action, as Signum and Zafira walked out of their rooms to take their shift in the guard of their master's home.
It was nighttime in Fuyuki. The town was silent as most people slept without a single care, the few petty thieves who roamed the night watching their backs for either the random cop or for the Yakuza who cleaned their streets of unwanted trash in their domain.
In a Western-style mansion on one side of the city a young girl remained awake, accompanied only by the sound of scribbling pens, struggling to perfect her family magic deep into the night, as she continued her studies. Her arm throbbed, courtesy of her thaumaturgical crest, a reminder of what duties she held and what was expected from her.
In another mansion a similar girl suppressed a whimper as the squiggling sound of the crestworms accompanied her desperate struggle to sleep and forget deep into the night, the throbbing of her body growing worse as the restless bugs crawled through her very flesh.
On the roof of a traditional Japanese house a blue wolf stood guard, its senses sweeping over the neighborhood as he watched over over the small domain of his master. Inside the house the young boy slept as the lady of war stood at his side, her cold gaze watching over her defenseless master in his sleep.
"-To become a hero of justice who can save everyone-"
Signum shook her head as his proclamation floated to the surface of her thoughts. The boy had said those words with an expression that showed that he truly believed it. But it had always been people who proclaimed themselves heroes who eventually fell under her blade. She couldn't remember ever serving a master who carried such a grandiose ideal.
Heroes were usually the ones who became her opponents in the end.
And now she served such a man. A boy untarnished by the grim reality of battle, who still believed in heroes. Such a person was not one who wished to rule, and certainly not one whom the Book of Darkness would choose as a worthy wielder.
"Emiya Shirou" She softly spoke as not to wake him. "For what purpose did you summon us? What do you wish for if the book acknowledged you as its master?"
The sleeping face of her master gave her no answer as he continued to sleep. And thus the knight simply watched her liege, as he slept through the night.
Emiya Shirou woke up at dawn, his body still stiff, but otherwise feeling fine. Last night's dream had been quite strange, with people showing up in the shed as he…
"Oh no-"
He was wide awake as he finally remembered what had happened last night, exactly who had appeared and where they were staying. He almost jumped out of bed as he realized with mounting horror that Taiga would be here in less than an hour while he was housing four strangers.
"She's going to kill me, isn't she?"
"Do not worry master. No enemy who dares to aim for your life will live long enough to regret it. Graf Eisen and I will make sure of that."
Shirou turned around to see Vita, leaning against the door, swinging lazily with a hammer before pointing it at the ground.
"When did you get in here?"the boy spoke with an unusually high pitch , most likely because he had already started undressing before he even noticed the girl in his room and her hammer-
Her hammer?
"-and where did that come from!"
Fujimura Taiga was in a good mood today. It was a Sunday, which meant that there was no work for her to be done, and thus she had decided to take Shirou into town again. Shirou had been brightening up a little the last few days, which also put her in a good mood. She really was glad to see him bounce back after Kiritsugu had passed away, but she had decided that it wouldn't be a bad thing to pamper him some more.
And thus the Tiger of Fuyuki unlocked the gate of the Emiya estate with a smile on her face. She was greeted with the sound of Shirou preparing dinner, making the tiger hum as she could almost taste her delicious breakfast as she walked through the house.
"Good morning Shirou! Nee-san has come to play!" She bellowed out as she walked into the living room, following her nose and the sound of the table being set. She could literally walk towards her breakfast blindfolded; only really opening her eyes as she sat down at the table as she took in the sight of her delicious meal along with the portions for her fellow guests…
"Eh?"
She shook her head, trying to dispel whatever illusion the last grains of sleep had placed on her eyes. After vigorously rubbing her eyes she took another look, only for the four strangers to remain at the table. The man on the far side on the left sat on his knees, simply nodding at her in greeting as she finally took notice of him. Next to him sat a blonde woman, who simply looked at her with a measuring gaze. Next to the blond sat a redheaded girl, who was currently fumbling around with her chopsticks, grumbling as they slipped from her fingers every time she tried to hold them correctly while ignoring Taiga completely. The last stranger was currently helping Shirou set the table, the composed woman lowering the last dish onto the table before sitting down herself.
"Thank you Signum." Shirou told the woman with a smile before untying his apron as he walked towards the table. His causal smile suddenly became severely strained as Taiga's gaze locked onto him.
"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE SHIROU!" Taiga erupted with a roar that shook the house
Their master had taken the short time they had this morning to inform them of the most important rules of their new home. The first was that any sign of magecraft was to be hidden at all costs, an order that they found unusual, but acceptable. It seemed that for their master it was only natural that a ' Magus' made sure that he was never discovered by others. They had managed to conceal any traces of their magical attributes with a suppressing spell cast by Shamal inside the grounds, and even Zafira's unique ears were smoothly hidden with the help of a little trick of Shamal. As long as people didn't actively look, they wouldn't find anything strange at all.
The second rule was that breakfast, lunch, and dinner were to be prepared by the young master himself, and that all were requested to attend.
The third rule was that Fujimura Taiga's will was law, unless you managed to persuade her. This last order was the one that confused them the most. Who was this Taiga that supposedly reigned over their master with such an ironclad fist?
They didn't ask. To the wolkenritter the commands of their master was absolute. They did not try to understand them, nor reason when it went against their will. They were simply tools that their master would wield.
Emiya Shirou had given several orders since he woke up that day.
"Come and eat breakfast," the boy had ordered as he found them sitting in the yard, as they continued their watch of the neighborhood.
"No, let me do that," he commanded them as he worked in the kitchen, refusing any assistance while he made the final touches to the meal.
"Please sit down," had been his third order as he started placing the plates on the table. The preparations of his breakfast done.
"Can you put this on the table?" had been his fourth order as he handed a plate to Signum, who complied with his request as the woman Shirou had described as 'Fujimura Taiga' entered the room.
"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE SHIROU!"
The Wolkenritters's steel resolve was currently tested to the limits as the furious woman assaulted their master, grabbing him in one smooth motion as she yelled at the boy while shaking him around like a rag doll.
"That woman!, I'll kill her!" Vita broadcasted trough their mental link as she prepared herself to activate her warhammer as Taiga shook the poor boy in all direction while unleashing an angry tirade talking about taking in strangers, robberies and child-abductors.
"No! You can't kill Fuji-nee!" The boy immediately responded, before realizing that his order wasn't really specific enough. "Don't do anything!" He pleaded, as he finally regained enough of his conscious to understand what Taiga was speaking about.
"And now I come in here and find you with four strangers at my breakfast table!"Taiga suddenly diverted her stare towards the four people who were now invoking her ire. "Who are you anyway?"
They simply looked at her without saying anything, and Shirou could see even more veins pop up on his big sister's forehead.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Shirou mentally pleaded as Taiga's grip on him grew even tighter.
" You ordered us to do nothing, thus we refrained from speaking." Signum answered his plea.
"Your names, just tell her your names!" The boy almost panicked as he realized his previous request was about to horribly backfire. He was fairly certain he could see smoke escaping from Taiga's head.
"My apologies." Signum immediately acted, to Shirou's relief. "You may call me Signum, and these are my companions; Shamal, Vita, and Zafira." The others nodded as their leader addressed them by their name.
"Fujimura Taiga." The woman responded in a flat tone before continuing, "Good morning then Miss Signum. Could you be so kind to tell me who you people are and how you got here before I have you removed from this property!"
"We are the Wolkenritter," Signum responded with a slight hint of annoyance in her voice "and…"
"They are old acquaintances of Dad!" Shirou interrupted the knight. "Play with me on this!" he desperately implored his knights, who simply nodded at his command.
"Friends of Kiritsugu-san?" Taiga paused, her rage derailed as the memories of the man who until two weeks ago had been sitting at the breakfast table next to her tempered her anger a little.
"Yes, they met during one of his trips in- Europe! They won't really tell me what happened, but dad invited them to visit some time!"Shirou quickly continued, using the first excuse that he could come up with, using his father's stories to make up an explanation , hoping that Taiga wouldn't try to peel it apart. "They arrived last night to surprise Kiritsugu, but they hadn't heard that he had passed away yet so….."
"I'm sorry for you loss." Shamal politely spoke towards the woman, who had finally calmed down, and was no longer in danger of spontaneously combusting.
"Anyway," Shirou continued. "Because they had nowhere to go I invited them to stay for a few days until they could make some new plans."
At Shirou's last remark Taiga raised an eyebrow. "Nowhere to go? Can't they just go home again?" Shirou gulped as he realized what he had just said.
"For reasons we cannot speak of, we are unable to return," Zafira smoothly interjected. " We were hoping to start anew here, along with Lord Emiya."
"Lord Emiya?" Taiga's expression grew soft as she misinterpreted Zafira's words. "To think Kiritsugu still had other people who saw him in such high regard-"
"That's why I can't just send them away!" Shirou pressed his advantage. "It would be the wrong thing to do!"
For a minute Shirou could only watch Taiga as her face was twisted as she weighted her triggered protective instincts against the memories of her recently departed friend. Eventually she made up her mind as she turned towards Shirou. "I'll let grandpa talk to them. He might be willing to lend them a hand in finding a place to live and to work. But I cannot allow them to stay here any longer!"
"Fuji-nee!"
"No buts! I can't believe you just allowed four strangers to get into the house like that! What if they were robbers, kidnappers or – or even worse? Don't you know how much it worries me to have you live on your own like this!" Taiga replied angrily. "This is exactly why I didn't want you to live alone in the first place!"
"I agree, the young master has been much too lenient in his guard." Signum agreed. Taiga nodded in approval, before she snapped back to Signum as the girl suddenly realized that the former intruder was actually agreeing with her. "You should really have at least one guard in the house, even if you believe yourself to be safe." The ponytailed woman continued.
"Signum, what -?"
"Trust me master" The woman quickly replied as she smiled politely at the woman.
"Yes, finally someone who agrees with me!"Taiga exclaimed. "Grandpa is nuts for letting Shirou live on his own like this!"
"Indeed. I am so appalled with this that I refuse to leave this house until a proper guardian has moved in. Until then I will take the responsibility to watch over Kiritsugu's son." Signum stated, as Zafira and Shamal nodded in response while Vita and Shirou gawked at the knight proclamation.
Taiga nodded approvingly, until she finally caught up with what Signum had just said. "Wait a minute! You can't…"
"But it would be in the best interest of the young master, wouldn't it?" Signum interrupted the sputtering girl. " And as you don't live here yourself I take it that you, or anyone else for that matter, have been unavailable to keep a permanent watch on the young master? "
"B-But" Taiga muttered as Signum continued to verbally chop her to pieces.
"I simply refuse to leave this house until I can be assured that young Shirou is properly watched over."
Taiga went still, and her mind grasped for straws as she tried to find any argument for her cause, before finally resorting to her final attack.
She threw dignity out the window as she grabbed Shirou, hugging him against her body as the tears streaming down her face.
"You can't have Shirou! He's my little boy! No strange woman is taking my little Shirou away from meeeeeee!"
Shamal was unable to remained composed, her mouth wide open at the sight of the young lady who was currently having a temper tantrum while swinging her master around.
"Wha?"
Vita once again voiced the single thought that could convey her current line of thought as Taiga started running off with Shirou, they boy still clutched tightly under her arm.