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 23: Dagger (2)


There was barely some sunlight coming from the windows of the currently quiet household, most of its inhabitants still trying to get the last few hours of sleep before the beginning of a new day here in her new home.

Illya's red eyes were still drawn to the peculiar style of this 'Japanese' building, her mind finding awe and fascination at the experience that was walking quietly through the silent hallways of this 'house', much different from the style she was mostly accustomed too.

The wooden floor felt warm at her bare feet, the little Einzbern was still donning her light purple and white night-wear while she continued with her early-day wandering.

The little trip at the local park, something that reminded her of the few pictures book her Mama would show her about these nice places all over the world, trying to capture the beauty of nature while also keeping it close for those living in the big cities.

Fuyuki Town was big. Not as big as some of the cities Illya had heard about, but big enough to get her wondering if the size of the parks was determined by the size of the cities themselves.

And what a wonderful realization was the one the girl was given about the fact that she was now free of visiting the pretty place with some little escorting, the dreadful rule of keeping stuck within the 'home' that was the former Einzbern castle seemingly rescinded by Kiritsugu's own volition.

But what truly got her giggly every time she would think about it was that she was no longer alone in this new state of things.

Illya had always thought about the interesting scenario of having a younger sibling, always giving a little prayer for her Mama to gift her with a little sister or even an adorable brother to hug when she wanted to.

To have a playmate, someone that would shatter the lonely moments with their mere presence.

Despite the unfortunate passing of her Mama, it was her Papa that decided to grant her this wish in the form of the red-haired young boy that she so fiercely considered her prince.

He was cute, there was no denying about that, but what truly got Shirou to stand above her early expectations of siblings was the refreshing personality of his.

Of course some of the interactions were not as complete as she wanted those to be, with her 'Oniichan' being unable to share her own language, German being fairly 'difficult' from what Sella was kind enough to describe.

But why was it difficult if Illya, someone so young and little, was capable of speaking it so fluently?

Said question almost fell answerless, but it was Leysritt's own reply that gave her a proper idea of the language barrier she had with Shirou.

"Japanese is different," The short-haired maid had briefly mentioned, letting the rest form within the little Einzbern's mind.

Not only was Japanese much more complicated that German, even with Taiga-nee help in conjunction to the two maids' translations only a handful of words managed to get through the 'invisible bubble' about the exotic words.

Oniichan was one of the few terms that stuck around, possibly the first one considering that it was an 'honorific' directed at her little brother.

Albeit wrong as it traduced as 'Big Brother' in the way it's used because Illya was the oldest of Kiritsugu's children, the red-eyed girl couldn't help but feel endeared by the fact that the meaning behind its use went a little beyond the simple 'age connotation'.

It was about… initiative and determination. It was about bravery and maturity.

She could have preferred to cling onto the redhead more because he was adorable and her little brother, but the young Einzbern was perfectly capable of noticing that something just felt odd about her 'younger' sibling.

Something that she couldn't explain at first, but then it started to build up right from when they had met each other.

He was there to help their Papa, Kiritsugu had came to try and save her from her dummy grandfather's cluthes, almost getting hurt in the process.

Silly Papa, forcing himself to do more because he wanted to save his little Illya.

A giggle tried to leave her lips at the mere thought that he had been so worried and so genuinely interested in having her saved from that horrible castle, but her mind was quick enough to remind her that this wasn't the place nor the time to let out any unnecessary noises as she continued with her patrol around her new home.

Soon her mind resumed the thoughts about the visit at the park, bringing up three elements to her new life that she was still unsure how to properly label.

Rin was certainly a nice friend and it was also awing how her appearance somehow appeared to be 'the opposite of hers' in terms of eyes and hair-color.

Still, the two managed to find common ground as they both were fond of the easily-teased Shirou, the boy almost groaning at the triple assault he was receiving and… the second boy in that group seemed to be unsure how to deal with it all.

Julian was… normal. Average sounded so wrong to properly address the shy nature of the dark-haired child as Illya could see some moments of potential springing here and there during the few interactions initiated by the boy.

He was… confused at best. Possibly overwhelmed just like she had been at being close to so many nice individuals at once.

Yet, the boy made a good impression. He was funny and curiously keen to accept hugs from the ever-so-cheerful Taiga for some unknown reason.

Finally, it was the turn of the last inclusion to her life and the little Einzbern didn't know how to properly describe the confusion born from this friend of Kiritsugu.

Waver Velvet looked incredibly scrawny and quite the sad person, but he seemed reactive enough to deal with the initial contact coming from the Taiga.

The brunette had been so sure of having met him before, so much that she started to mention a curious tale about a burly red-haired man driving around the meek-looking young man with some quirky errands.

An odd story which at first felt like a mistaken translation and… proved to be actually as crazy as it sounded like.

A quiet relieved sigh left her lips as she continued tip-toeing around, using the wall by the side to not fall because of her general sense of unstable footing.

Then something changed in that silence, her red eyes widing open as she cautiously continued with her little activity and soon stopped at the curious change of peace.

A single sound, a noise coming from one of the rooms on the other side of the corridor she was walking around got her to pause, her sight moving right onto the mostly-closed door.

She approached it, pressing her left ear onto the soft texture, blinking as she waited for another hint of something happening inside.

Illya knew that the room in question was the one owned by Caren, the girl that spoke another different language from German and Japanese.

Italian was odd, maybe because it just sounded… amusing to hear coming from the fellow girl or maybe because of the reactions born from the usage of the language.

Despite the overall attempt to get to share the room with Shirou, Kiritsugu had been quite strict in restricting those 'sleepovers' to only a few occasions and to not turn those in frequent situations.

But of course, sneaking to snuggle up the body wasn't something he had 'certainly' said anything about.

Another noise was heard by her, this time it was a little more refined than before and… somehow familiar.

Feeling a little worried, especially with what happened back in the park when the strange blank-looking man approached them to bring little Rin to the fold for some moments…

There was just something odd about him, something that her Papa agreed by saying that this man wasn't a nice one. And that he was connected to Caren herself.

Which was more than enough to bring even more concern over the possibility of this mean man trying to hurt her friend and… the Einzbern finally peeked through the little opening that gave sight over the room.

It was mostly silent, there was no visible intruder there and the window on the far corner was closed shut, leaving only a single element in that state of calm to disrupt a peaceful scenario.

The trembling that was happening within the lone, little futon, the cause hidden by the sheets covering the girl's frame, seemed to be the original point from where the noise was coming from and, as Illya moved her head through the door, she finally heard it clear enough to see what was going on.

A whimper, then two and…

Red eyes blinked, the older girl stepping silently inside the room as she started to walk closer to the trembling futon, a flinch leaving only a few hints on her face as she quickly recognized what looked to be a nightmare.

She had nightmares back in the castle, right a few days after her parents had gone to compete in the Holy Grail War.

None of the maids would stay to keep her company, not even when she requested her grandfather to leave someone to keep watch over her sleep she managed to get an answer about.

And now that the Einzbern stared at the shivering Caren, she couldn't help but be reminded of the dreadful experience once more.

She blinked, then glanced to the slightly uncovered section of the futon and… hummed quietly as she moved in.

As her right foot carefully spearheaded her entrance in the little fun-bed, her red eyes sported a surprised look at how warm it was and… the fellow child stopped shivering, tensing up as Illya concluded her little intervention.

Golden eyes locked onto her rubies as Caren turned her head to look at her, seemingly shocked by the unexpected presence.

There was no translator to help in case of lengthy sentences and so the two merely stared at each other, unsure how to start that odd predicament.

At least, it was odd for the youngest of the two but… Illya knew exactly what to do after having seen Taiga-nee doing something similar with Shirou.

Without notice nor warning, the Einzbern pulled the Hortensia in for an embrace, the already-tense golden-eyed girl growing even more nervous over the escalation but she decided against moving out of that hug.

Instead she found herself drawn to explore it, her head nuzzling close at the warmth as her eyes felt tired once again.

It was still fairly early in the morning and she would be lying in saying that she had gotten any chance to rest after the session of bad dreams she had to deal with.

Illya was humming an unfamiliar lullaby while she consoled her, eyes closed as both tried to catch some little sleep before having to get up for breakfast.

There was quiet, there was silence and…

She couldn't hear it anymore.

It had been a strange night, one that saw her mind react to the most confusing of nightmares as… it lacked of anything that she could genuinely find scary to deal with.

Yet she could remember it. Perfectly so.

There was no sight, everything had been dark and lacking of any other individuals other than herself and… then she started to hear that constant noise.

It was like a drum, a slow but painstakingly demanding one.

A perpetual sound that stuck to her head, like a painful memory trying to burn itself in her mind.

Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

Two quick heartbeats, one similar to the other… but one of those just felt wrong.

The second beat was fiercely horrible, stained with something so foul that she could felt shivers building up even beyond her sleep.

A dark song that got her terrified, some tears building up at the edges of her eyes as she was forced to wake up from that insane display of noises and sounds.

Tiredness eventually got her to return to sleep, her mind sure to have banished whatever terrible thought had managed to get her this much uneasy after giving a few prayers and hoping for God to grant her some more hours of rest.

Her hopes were crushed by the time the hearbeats resumed.

In this second session, the second heart seemed to increase its pace, unhappy with how things had concluded last time and almost trying to chide her.

It was just too wrong.

Why would a heart be capable of lecture people? Why could she hear some malicious whispers from it?

So many foul words, insults and other horrible ordeals.

Illya's arrival had brought an end to this strange situation, her third time trying to seek rest actually concluding with her finding the peace she was seeking in the form of a single heartbeat.

This one was less oppressive and much more caring, it was somehow familiar but in a faint way.

The lullaby itself, even though unknown to her, seemed to bring some fragmented memories of her childhood.

So when Caren succumbed to the unexpected but warm intervention of the fellow girl as they were now snuggling close to each other and enjoying the silent morning.

Ba-dump~

She felt herself nodding at the calming heartbeat, her mind shutting down as she finally received the much-needed rest.

Taiga ended up being the one finding an unconscious Kiritsugu having fallen by the floor in front of the room where the two girls were happily sleeping by. Numerous pictures were snapped with her cellphone, her face twisted in a mirthful and giddy manner as she beckoned the sight with quite the pleased expression.

What a wonderful day this one was going to be~!


~?'s POV~

Her first sensation that filled her entire core was… confusion.

She blinked slowly, carefully as her eyes tried their best in adapting at the immense light washing over her body.

The world just felt surprisingly brighter compared to the dark sight her slumber had provided her during her patient waiting.

Her memories were slowly returning to her and she soon was enveloped by a sense of non-negligible nausea.

Scenes of battle and blood, of hunger and… of sadness.

People that she knew about either dying or becoming victims of their own needs, family becoming enemy and…

She blinked, tears already swelling in her eyes as she realized what had happened mere moments after conceding to some rightful sleep.

Her body had needed it after fighting for so long back then, the strength it was known to have from the very conception difficult to properly measure and channel through her youthful and inexperienced self.

She was still too young, she contemplated with a sigh, her perception finally granting her the detail that she was lying on some ground and she quickly stood up from it, unwilling to dirt her pristine-white dress.

Her red eyes painted the light away, the bright nature of the sun seemed to slowly diminish much to her minor happiness as it offered her a better chance of understanding where exactly she had woken up into.

Some tall grass was now reaching the limits of her shoes, where the pale skin that reached up to her upper feet and… she felt ticklish but not ready to be amused by the world.

At least not until she got a proper answer about her queries.

She was in a green and blooming field of green; grass and flowers coloring the natural beauty of this part of Earth in such a delightful manner.

Her heart was soothed by the pretty sight, her mind feeling less burdened by the panic born from the unplanned awakening.

It was just mere moments later that she noticed the shadow that was now looming over her, right from behind.

It was also ironic how the last time they had met happened in a very similar situation to this one.

She looked around, slowly turning her head back to greet whoever had decided to interrupt her rest and she was greeted with quite the familiar individual.

He was taller than her, so much that he seemed more of a giant that a mere being, but his strength came within the choice of his expressions.

He was smiling, with the same amount of tiredness and mirthfulness as back then, but now it looked like there was much more hiding that petty pretenses of peace.

"Good morning, little princess," The elder bowed his head just a little, creating a sense of mockery out of normal courtesy. "I see that you haven't changed much since I last saw you wandering around."

There was a tense pause, her red orbs narrowing onto the red eyes of his, those joking spheres of blood giving her the worst of annoyances.

"Why did you wake me up, Zelretch?" There was some irritation in her tone, but surprise was the bit that domineered over the situation.

Despite the minor dislike she had over the extremely rude fool, there were concerns far more pressing than just engaging in some petty conversation.

And that was something that the Ancestor was fell aware about as he took a sigh and decided to not pursue more teasing.

"The thing is, little lady," He commented with a quiet hum. "That I wasn't the one to wake you up from your lovely slumber."

...What?

"You are the only one that knows where I was resting," She reminded fiercely, her tone dropping low in a cold but furious degree.

But while her face was twisted in an angry scowl, one that should have gotten some nervousness out of the irritating fool, the man merely shook his head.

"Not exactly," He admitted with a grim look on his face. "There are some strong people that could wake you up without my own knowledge… but I don't think any of them is responsible for this little unexpected event."

A confused expression replaced her hateful one, urging her to tilt her head to the side as she contemplated those words.

She wasn't… brought back to the real world by someone?

"Your words make no sense, Zelretch," The girl mentioned with a suspicious tone. "Are you trying to lie about-"

"Not in this case, no," The Wizard Marshal swiftly interrupted, his serious voice and manners looked far too genuine to be ignored for now.

Yet she couldn't help but wonder what he was referring to by mentioning the lack of external help.

There were instances where her own kin could force themselves out of their rest, mostly to deal with anything that could be considered worrying or dangerous to their people but…

She couldn't perceive anything worth of her attention.

"And before you ask, no, I don't know why you decided to wake up-"

"I-I didn't wake myself up!" She replied with an enraged tone. "There is no reason for me to… to be awake? Everything is fine, I can't sense anything foul and I know that Gaia-"

"Is a prissy but good peace-keeper with Alaya," The elder concluded for her in quite the deplorable display of disrespect.

Instead of continuing this blatant trap offered by the Kaleidoscope, she merely huffed.

"Since there is no reason for me to be awake, then I guess I will resume my rest," She proclaimed calmly as she turned her attention back to her seals, the one that… didn't seem to have been forced by anyone from the outside.

Actually, she could see some of her own intervention in those piece of magecraft.

A mystery that will be solved on a latter date, maybe when something serious would pop up for her to need to be awake.

Zelretch shook his head, a small smile forming on his face.

"Kind of sad, I would've loved to have you play around at Disneyland," He said with a saddened thought, shrugging as he turned around and started to walk away from her little domain. "I guess it was a misfire considering your truthfulness."

Of course she was correct! Why would she deny herself that… wait, what is Disneyland?

Before she could ask about this curious topic to the older vampire, she noticed that he had already vanished from her sight, leaving her alone in that bed of grass and flowers she had left for her soon-to-resume slumber.

Another huff and… she fell back on her soft 'bed', her eyes already closing as the seals started to carefully lull her back to her long rest and… she yawned.

What an odd circumstance, she thought dispassionate.

It would have made sense if someone had tried to wake her up, and yet Zelretch had been correct in saying that there were no traces of hindering with her work.

Her eyes closed as her mind slowly returned to a state of silence and nothingness, away from the living state that forced her to stay connected to the world.

She felt her body lightening as she let go of reality itself, surrendering to the peaceful grasp of her own mind.

She could already see a bright castle of white, so pure and quiet, but also so sad and lonely.

Arcueid blinked awake, her annoyance resurfacing mere hours later as she woke up later that day with an incredibly annoyed sensation.

What is going on?

She would ask mindlessly and, much to her minor chagrin, Zelretch wasn't there to greet her awakening, having possibly caught the gist behind her unwillingness to deal with him so early on.

Thus, despite her best wishes, the young vampire stood up once more from her resting ground and… looking around the beautiful bed she had made in this part of the world.

What made me wake up?


AN

I bet someone is already writing about Arcueid being not Canon to the Fateverse ('only exceptions being her Berserker class'), but I find myself breaking some hopes and dreams by saying that she is actually canon to the Fateverse. The only thing that is different between FSN and Tsukihime is that there are no 'Dead Apostle Ancestors', but it is never stated what happened to the True Ancestors and… yes, Arc is indeed her long-haired, cute-looking chibi form.

No, I'm not referring to the Neco-Arc form, that is cute too, but true chibi form is kind of cuter.

She is not going to appear anytime soon after this, I just wanted to give a glimpse over some of the details of this changing world and… I think someone will be surprised when I will bring up whom is the Shiki of this universe (said question will probably be answered after the end of this first arc/segment).

P.S. The reason this update is happening now and not yesterday is because I got a migraine so bad yesterday that I mistook Wednesday for Tuesday, so I thought it wasn't the day for the upload. My 'big' bad, my comrades.

Also, I've started a Dio!Self-Insert. WRY!

P a treon . com (slash) socialistbukharin

k o-fi . com (slash) justbukharin

REVIEW Q&A!

Fleyja Yuki: Many paints Gil as someone that would pursue anyone that looks like Saber. But considering that Gray is just similar-looking as Artoria, and he knows that, he has no genuine reason to try to go down that 'troublesome' effort.

Shadow of God: You aren't stating anything wrong. I know that the pace is painfully slow and the reason is that I've a lot of stories up and running. If you give a look at my profile, there is literally a biweekly schedule I've made to keep up with the various fanfics I'm writing. I don't want to say that it will not become a possibility (the one where updates becomes more frequent), but I will not lift any hopes until I know for sure that I can keep up without losing interest myself and start back on some self-destructive schedule. Still, thank you for bringing up this opinion, I do find those worth of pondering and I'm glad you have brought this up to my attention.