Fate/Pseudo Night
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Chapter 3
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The church doors open. Wind from the outside world breezing into the closed gates. The church seemed well maintained. Free from dust, chairs and seats neatly arranged, and the chapel properly set. The altar in the front with tables hidden by a white cloth.
In front of it stands a man of holy stature.
"Kirei." Tohsaka calls out.
The priest turns around. "What trouble. You never came here before Rin. Unless it is something grave, then and only then would you come here."
He closes the bible that he holds in his hands.
"You know that I wouldn't come here without a choice you fake priest." Tohsaka comments dryly as she signals the other two to walk in.
He seemed wise, yet suspicious. He walks up to the trio calmly, with a satisfied and gentle grin that reeks of malicious intent. His dark robes opposing the white walls of the church. The cross dangling from his neck as though it is the only thing that is holy about him.
The priest smiles. "Well then, I assume that these two are the other contestants of the Holy Grail War?"
Tohsaka nods. "Sakura Matou, Master of Saber and- "
"Matou?" The priest raises an eyebrow. He looks at the purple haired girl and back at Tohsaka and chuckles. "How ridiculous is this situation…"
Tohsaka glares at him while Sakura Matou looks away. The priest turns and shakes his head in denial.
"That is not what I meant, Rin Tohsaka. It's just that earlier today, the Matou heir came in stating that he summoned Rider."
Tohsaka looks in shock and turns to Sakura. Her expression giving away that this was an unexpected turn of events.
Sakura's hands were shaking. "What do you m-mean. Kirei?"
Kirei turns to the direction of Sakura. "I mean that Shinji Matou, is currently the Master of the Rider class Servant."
Sakura didn't understand. That was impossible. Shinji couldn't become a Master as he had no Magic Circuits. No matter how hard one tries, it should be impossible to…
Zouken. That's the only explanation to this current situation. He's probably the true Master of Rider while Shinji's using the Book of the False Attendant that was planned for her Servant.
"Well then. Apologies for interrupting you while you were introducing yourselves. But you had a third person in the group?" Truth be told, the drama between both Sakura Matou and Tohsaka Rin would be delightful for him to observe, but with his wish so close there was no point in witnessing this currently. He turns away in order to add them onto the list of Masters.
Tohsaka turns and coughs in her hands. "Master of Assassin, Shirou Emiya."
He stops in his tracks. The priest turns his head.
"Em…iya?"
Sakura and Rin both make way for a red-haired boy with golden eyes to appear. His naivety showing on his face, his resolve still not in place. It opposed the cold dead eyes of his last opponent. One was brutal, cold, used to efficiency and willing to sacrifice others. This one still seemed warm, used to death but not sacrificing others.
Emiya.
Emiya.
The priest smiles. "Shirou… Emiya…" He walks towards the boy. "So, you wish to participate in the Holy Grail War?"
Shirou shakes his head. "I've gotten a good enough explanation from Tohsaka about Servants and the Holy Grail." He looks at Kirei with a confused look. "Basically, the Grail has to choose someone who is supposed to be worthy in its eyes to fight right? But I'm just some inexperienced magus. There should be no reason for me to fight." He looks behind him in discomfort before looking at Kirei. "Is there a way for me to drop out of the Holy Grail War?"
"You are willing to quit so easily? Even if the Holy Grail could bring catastrophe and chaos?"
Shirou looks at Kirei with a questioning gaze, hints of anger can be seen on his expression. "What do you mean by that?"
Kirei chuckles as he walks forward. "The Holy Grail is an omnipotent wishing device, capable of granting any desire. For this, seven mages summoned seven Servants to fight and slaughter each other." Kirei's smile remains as he explains, pushing Shirou to walk back ever so slightly. "As a result, a catastrophe happened on this city that's scars remain to this day." Shirou stops walking back.
"Senpai?" Sakura walks up to Shirou and looks on his face.
The most terrified expression that he's ever had. His pupils shrink in fear, his breathing erratic, his sweat coming off like he was in the rain. He was visibly shaking as Kirei walked forward with his explanation. The fear coming off of him was unnatural, something that has never happened before. She never saw him like this. The gentle smile of Shirou Emiya was gone and replaced.
Tohsaka looks at the both of them and walks over to Shirou. "Emiya-kun?" She looked at his face and could immediately tell that something was wrong.
Shirou wasn't with them at that moment. No, he was not even in the church.
Fire.
Flames.
Ash.
Smoke.
Corpses.
As far as the eye could see. There was nothing more than any of that. It was all destruction and chaos. The day that Shirou was born was the day hell itself fell on earth. Buildings toppled over, debris that shouldn't have been burning caught aflame, people screaming and begging Shirou to save them. Disfigured faces, dismantled corpses.
The Great Fuyuki Fire. The unnatural calamity that took away his past life, the many deaths that surrounded him, the hell that traumatized him.
"You mean… that day… that was…"
Kirei chuckles. "Five hundred casualties. More than a hundred and thirty-four structures burned down. That was indeed the result of the end of the Fourth Holy Grail War."
Shirou covers his mouth and tries to fight the bile that was coming out of his throat. It feels like his insides were burning and his legs give out, forcing him to kneel on the church floor.
"Senpai!"
"Emiya-Kun!"
Tohsaka looks at Kirei while Sakura tends to Shirou. "Kirei! I brought him here so that you could explain the rules to him and register him. There was no need to bring up any form of past trauma!"
Kirei could only smile at that. "I apologize again. It seems I have brought up far too much."
It did the trick however.
Shirou looks at him with eyes filled with resolve. "Tell me… tell me more about the Holy Grail War."
The priest smiles again. This is truly a blessed day.
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"I can't believe their making us wait outside! The audacity!" Ishtar yells as she floats outside fuming, the other two just standing by the gates. It was a church that praised God! Since she was a Goddess, she should've been allowed inside.
Kama just sulks. "I'm used to being neglected… but we're just supposed to wait out here anyway." Kama twirls her arrow as she just walks around. Her eyes looking dull as she stares at her own arrow.
Muramasa sighs. "You two are so impatient." He opens his hand and projects an… anvil?
Ishtar looks at him. "What are you doing?"
Muramasa just projects a hammer and a hot piece of steel. "Forging, what else."
Kama just stares at him like she does the dumbest thing in existence. "What? Right here and now?"
Murmasa shrugs as he hammers down the steel. "I mean, we're just waiting. So, what else is there to do right now?"
"I feel like there's so many things right and wrong with what you just said." Ishtar deadpans before looking at the anvil. An idea pops in her head. "Say, do you do jewelry?"
Muramasa looks deep in thought as he hammers before he replies. "I make swords more than anything else, but I could give it a try. I don't guarantee that the gems I make will be good compared to my swords. They are my pride and joy after all."
Kama chuckles. "Yet you make so many of them. It's almost as though you toss them aside because you don't love them enough."
"No, it's not that."
"Hmmm?"
Muramasa looks at the newly shaped sword. It wasn't finished. It still had to be sharpened, cooled, the hilt had to be made, the sheathe had to be forged too. So many things about this was unfinished before he adds it back into his own reality marble. He turns to Kama. "I don't hate the swords I make. It's just that they're imperfect compared to the one I hold in my dreams. I'll still treat them like their my kids, but I won't sop making them until I'll make my ideal one."
He opens his hand and imagines it. "The Kusanagi no Tsurugi… a sword not meant to cut through flesh and bone, but rather of one's own karma and fate."
He clenches his open hand into a fist. "If I can make something like that… even with my second life… then it should be fine. Although… it wouldn't be so bad if I could see the genuine thing for myself." He chuckles as he says that.
Kama just looks at him before looking away. "Such a nice devotion. Are you going to go over your entire backstory now?"
Muramasa smirks before looking at Kama. "Aren't you one rowdy kid? But nah, if you wanted a backstory, that was it."
Ishtar stares at him. "You do know by doing that, you could've given away your identity. No, I'd say that you already did… Senji Muramasa."
He turns to her while scratching the back of his head. "Well, it's not exactly like I was hiding it. Still, I'm amazed you found out just through that."
"There was only one mad swordsmith in history who dedicated his life into creating their own interpretation of a perfect sword. The rest were either already made their own or gave up satisfied with a mediocre cursed sword." Ishtar explained. There were not many blacksmiths that made too big an impact on history. The most famous ones that popped in her mind were that of Senji Muramasa and Goro Masamune. She was already betting that he was either one of the two.
Kama stares before looking away. "Must be nice to love something that much…"
Her thoughts were elsewhere at this point, ignoring the two bickering.
That girl… Sakura Matou… her host. Her master didn't talk that much to Senji nor did Sakura to herself. That golden Goddess seemed to know her host well at this point already… yet it was between the two of them that the discomfort remains.
Whether Sakura Matou was disgusted, ashamed, or embarrassed by Kama, it didn't matter to her. Whether Shirou Emiya was surprised, amazed, or clueless about Senji, she didn't care.
She was intrigued by her own host now.
She was capable of hosting Parvati, a pure love. She was capable of hosting Kama and Mara, a corrupt love. So, what is going through her mind right now? What thoughts are truly hers? Her heart and mind have completely fallen for Shirou Emiya. She could tell that much. But which love was truly hers? The desire to be with him and love him or the desire to keep him to herself no matter the consequence.
She smiles as a plan forms in her mind. She has her own objective for the Holy Grail War…
She didn't care much for that self-proclaimed Goddess of Beauty and Victory… but her host seems to have some form of attachment to her host…
She will make sure that they are all loved equally. Whether she hates them, despises them, she doesn't care.
She will love them all the same.
"Oi. Who are you?" Muramasa asks as he stands in front of the gate.
Crimson red eyes. An anger unrivaled. Golden hair flowing with the wind.
"It seems I really can't wait... Ishtar..."
Ishtar's eyes widen as she sees the Servant approaching them. "You… blondie…" She smirks as she brings out Maana. "Came here to pick a fight I see."
"An old friend of yours?" Kama asks. She prepares her bow and spear-like object as it appears out of blue flames.
Gilgamesh glares. "Don't mock me. I only had one friend in my entire lifetime, and this brat murdered him out of jealousy. As if I would be friends with a whore like her."
Muramasa stares at Ishtar with a deadpanned expression before turning to the Golden King. "I don't wanna know about that… but you're gonna attack us right here and now?"
"Do you ally yourself with her, blacksmith?" He raises his hands and golden portals appear. Swords, spears, axes, all sorts of bladed weaponry appeared. Each of them aimed towards the group of Servants.
Senji chuckles. "Those aren't some bad swords you got there. Not really my style, but hell those are some damn fine weaponries."
"Obviously. I'm the King of Heroes. All swords belong to me." His angered appearance didn't change. "But you didn't answer my question, blacksmith."
Senji opens his hand and swords appear. "I ain't aligning myself with her, but I do know that my Master seems to care for her Master. I'm not the type to let someone so young cry like that."
Kama prepares her arrow, aiming towards the Golden King. "I don't really care about this situation… but something about you is currently displeasing me."
"That question wasn't directed to you, harlot." Gilgamesh looks at Senji. "Out of the three of you here, the only one I respect would be that blacksmith."
Senji gets into a stance. "Well know, somebody who respects their elders. Finally."
"Don't mistake me, Muramasa. It is not because of your dream nor your experience." He places his right hand on his hip while his left his pulling back his bangs. "It is because you have managed to reach the divine despite being human. Someone like you would have been nice in the new world I was planning to rule."
Ishtar chuckles. "Being ignored… that's a first." She has gems in the back of her hand. She is prepared to fire them off at the first sign of battle before using her arrows.
Gilgamesh lifts his hair, revealing glowing crimson. "But since you chose to ally yourself with Goddesses, I see no reason to spare you."
The portals open fire, causing Kama to do reactionary shots and clear all the weaponry. Ishtar throws her gems in front of them, summoning a great shield made out of jade. It tanks most of the hits fired at it, but the force is unrelenting. It would break at any moment.
"Rejoice and die Mongrel. You will face the full might of the King of Heroes."
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"This is bad… we have to act." Sitonai states as Shirou growls in agreement. She prepares to ride until Illya raises her hand.
Illya simply stares at the gates of the church. "We should observe for now."
Sitonai's eyes widen. "But if we don't do anything, there's a chance that Shirou- "
"Don't make me use a command seal."
Sitonai's eyes look defeated before dismounting Shirou. She gives her past self a look of pity before she speaks up. "Do you not trust me when I say that Shirou's a good person?"
Illya just looks at the church, non-replying.
He was supposed to be cruel.
He was supposed to be evil.
He was supposed to be hated.
So why did this version of her contradict say that he was the opposite of all of that?
She just observes. She'll wait for the right moment and the right time to talk to Shirou Emiya, see what kind of person he is.
And perhaps… just maybe…
She herself could be saved.
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AN
Technically Kama in this scenario is Dark Sakura.
I want this to go it's own way so it won't rely completely on the Fate/Stay Night Routes, but who knows how this will end up.
This will be the last update for a while. Don't know when I'll be back to writing. Just wanted to return for a bit.
Thanks for reading! Hope yall enjoyed it! If not, then thank you for your time.