DISCLAIMER

The following is a fan-based

FICTION

F/SN, F/Z, F/KPI and other products related to the Fate Series are all owned by TYPE-MOON, Kinoko Nasu and Takashi Takeuchi.

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Chapter 9: School Days

As the shenanigans of the previous months had long been washed away by other thought, Shirou felt that the challenge in front of him had most of those problems beaten quite immediately.

He had been woken up in the first, few hours in the morning by Sella as she was preparing the proper dress for the important part of his story that was about to unfold.

Adjusting the collar of his uniform, the young Emiya stared at the gates of Homurahara Academy in dread.

His amnesia was a curious thing, he had to concede, as he could remember his simple things of his former life like his age and his birthday.

The latter was celebrated two weeks ago as Shirou experienced his first birthday as Shirou Emiya.

That day he had forgot the importance related to the date but was surprised enough when he discovered that his sister hadn't.

Illya had been extremely adamant with Sella and Leysritt to not ruin that day with their antics, promising some kind of punishment Shirou had yet to learn about.

By the time of dinner, a big cake laid on the only kotatsu of the living room.

It was mostly made of Chocolate, several strawberries were placed in a decorative set as the sweet looked both elegant and delicious.

It was made thanks to the combined efforts of Illya, Sella and Leysritt (Scratch last one.) and Shirou found in their effort another element, this one symbolic and endearing at the same time.

While he had expected Illya to do something about his birthday, he was touched by the partecipation of the two maids.

Sella had been extremely wary of him since the first day and had been quite strict in many ways, something uncalled for.

Leysritt, willingly or unwillingly, had never shown any interest in him, neither good nor bad. She would just spend most of her time watching the TV and staring occasionally at Sella or Illya.

Shirou was now six years old and so he was now forced to frequent the only, major school in Fuyuki.

Homurahara Academy was one of the most modern schools in Japan and a beacon of the efficient Japanese educational system.

While Shirou was more than eager to learn more about the world and expand his Skill Set, the school time robbed him of precious hours he would spend by grinding inside the ID Dungeons.

He was almost there to unlock the second monster race of the Skill and he was sure it would have been worth all the attention he was able to give to it.

What also annoyed him a little was that Illya was not going to start school anytime soon.

It was mostly because she was still unknowing of the basic knowledge her peers would have if she started school.

She was advancing quickly through the books brought by Taiga, but she was still quite a long time away to start school.

Speaking of the Tiger of Fuyuki, the young woman had noticed how easy it felt to her to teach her surrogate little sister basic education and, while it's not certain, she had been quite determined to become a teacher when she finished her studies.

Shirou dreaded that day and he felt that Illya shared partly his thought.

Sighing, Shirou interrupted his musings as he had already walked through the entrance gate and noticed he wasn't the only student present that early in the morning.

Another boy his age was speaking with a girl younger than him.

Both had dark, blue hairs but the older sibling(?) had his eyes the same color of his hair, just a little bit darker, bordering to black.

The girl had amber-like eyes, similar to Shirou but a bit more lighter on its tonality, and had a visage that reminded the young Emiya of his sister.

"Onii-chan, why I cannot come to study with you?" The girl asked annoyed by a negation to be in her brother's company.

"Imouto-chan, you are far too much young to study at school." Then the child smiled. "But don't worry. In two years you will start too." His attempt to pacify his younger sister didn't work but worsened the whole situation.

"It's so long.." She sniffed a little, as tears started to form in her eyes.

The brother hugged his sister quickly as he whispered something in her ear.

The girl's eyes widened as she nodded and, with a big smile plastered in her face, ran through the gates and towards the black car parked just outside the building.

Shooking his head, the child noticed Shirou's presence and closened up the gap between them.

"I'm sorry, my sister is quite attached to me and she doesn't like to be away from me for so much." He started while scratching the back of his head, a nervous smile in his face.

Shirou shrugged. "Don't worry. I have a sister that has a similar attitude with me."

The boy nodded at the young Emiya. "We brothers need to protect our little sisters."

This time, it was Shirou appearing nervous. "My sister is older than me-"

"That too! I have an older sister myself but she is distant because of Kaa-san's death.."

Having the boy gone silent, Shirou patted him in the shoulder.

"I'm sorry if I brought bad memories."

As the child wanted to retort the sentence, he gave a look at the watch on his wrist and paled a bit.

"I- I think the Introduction Class is in five minutes."

Wide-eyed, the two ran inside the school, trying to find their own classes.

Few minutes later, they were surprised, but pleased nonetheless, that they were in the same classroom and that nobody was still inside.

"That was a close one." The boy said sweating a little after their little run.

"Indeed." Shirou added feeling equally tired, looking as if he had finished a marathon.

"Also.. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Julian Ainsworth." The boy greeted as he extended his hand forward.

"Nice to meet you, Julian. I'm Shirou Emiya." The young Emiya grasped Julian's hand in a handshake and the two smiled at each other.

Nodding at each other, they both sat in the front.

This encounter will change Fate once more, but they didn't know it yet...

AN

Dear God if this chapter is a bit short.

As I said, I cannot guarantee the same update schedule I held before returning to Uni but I will not give this story up. Nevah!

Few words about the chapter: I noticed that this one, like others, had been lacking any contact with the Gamer genre but there is a major reason about it.
This is a Fate Stay Night AU with Gamer Shirou and the main part isn't the Gamer, kinda.
Let's take as an example the UBW route and any other routes of the VN: The important element is the change of the destinies of the characters because of a particular difference. Shirou's intervention by saving Illya had started to make a major detour in the original Canon, forcing new players in the fray.

The Ainsworths are pretty much the Tohsakas from F/KLPI as they decided to not partecipate to the Grail War. Their story will be explained in further chapters but I can say already that their story is not as tragic as the Prillyaverse's. Also another character had been introduced but in a surprise twist. Can you guess who?

One small request: I think since this fanfic is getting quite popular that a proper image should be done other than the plain, profile one. If someone wants to make some art for the story, I'm more than happy to accept it and, choosing among those presented, I will put the name of the artist who made the image in the Summary. :3

Last but not least, the reason why Sella and Leysritt are less 'caring' towards Shirou than in F/KLPI is because Shirou was introduced as part of Kiri and Iris family and so part of the Einzbern (I think). In a certain sense, this different situation have Shirou a bit less received by the two maids, that saw him initially as a burden (Harsh but still not at the level of F/SN).

Review Q&A!

Lq840i: I will give a look when I can. Thank you for your advice!

Remzal Von Enili: That sounds like something good ol' Gil would do but sadly not in this chapter. If any of you guys tried this kind of plot I would binge-read it like there's no tomorrow!

merendinoemiliano: I will give more details about Shirou's Dungeon Raids. Gilgamesh's Charisma is so much high he was able to sway Kirei to become the monster present in F/SN. Yes, I meant Heart. I honestly didn't saw that mistaking happening in the making...

KRKing: The 'Observe' was quick and Gilgamesh felt something happening but he was unable to grasp what. He will study more Shirou and might do something that many wouldn't suspect him making. Something during someone's saving.

adislt: I read some Xover fanfics with Shirou without Servants. It depends on which Shirou we are talking about or it's in general. I am actually not sure how to structure the test but I can say to you it will not be anytime soon. It's going to take a lot for Shirou to unlock Excalibur and Avalon fully.

Guest: I like how you worded your last sentence. You got close to what is going to happen.

EngelVargas: Thank you! Also I'm sorry for that. That day I had eaten an incredibly delicious and godly Ice Cream and so I decided to insert this part since very few have F/SN!Illya trying the cold treat. About the choice of the adjectives I just used, yes I was trying to underline the treat. Did I make it on purpose to irk you more? Guilty as charged! ;3

Ander warrior: Che sorpresa! Non mi immaginavo certamente un'altro siciliano fra i miei lettori. Davvero, mi aspettavo giusto uno solo (per miracolo). E un Grandissimo Grazie per le tue parole!