Fate/ Stay, Death!
Chapter 1: The Final Summoning
Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo and Fate belongs to the fine creators of the Nasuverse! I wish I could own them! I'd be freaking rich! And I could erase the mistake that was the Quincy Arc!
Author's Note: Kinda hit a writing block with Fate/Zero Hair, and as I work that out I thought why not contribute to another section with good fics that end too soon! (Uraharaisgod's work had SO much potential! I was quite upset when I realized the Magus Guardian was a dead story.)
Anyways, ONWARDS!
000
"You know you don't have to follow me everywhere right? Having someone watch you sleep is creepy."
Ichigo Kurosaki asked his new companion as he finished wrapping a cloth wrap over his wrist causing the bleeding to stop. The blonde girl kept her stoic façade and quirked an eyebrow.
"Considering that young man from earlier was killed inside his home by Lancer, it is only common sense for me to keep a vigilant watch while you rest, Master."
The ex-Substitute Soul Reaper groaned into his pillow as he flopped onto his bargain mattress. He had defeated freaking Aizen and lost his Shinigami powers two years back after so much time had passed he had finally adapted to living a normal life.
Until the universe decided to deck him in the face with a completely different supernatural faction that is. He wondered if his father had suggested Fuyuki as a 'nice place' on Urahara's insane orders.
'Good guy, but not someone you want to be around for extended periods'
"First off, I never agreed to fight in this 'Holy Grail War' also, I don't even know your name!", Ichigo growled as he got up and began pacing around as Saber sat down, her armor dissipating in a flurry of light blue particles leaving behind a simple blue dress with puffy shoulders.
"As much as I would like to introduce myself, we must consider multiple facts. First of all, there are many a Servant and Master capable of advanced interrogation tactics or possible mind reading, and considering our unique situation, I believe you not knowing is the superior strategy."
"Then what the hell am I going to call you?"
"You may address me as Saber"
'Oh jeez Ichigo, in Fuyuki you won't feel so left out, it's a perfectly normal and ordinary place! Nothing weird happens in Fuyuki Ichigo!' Ichigo thought glumly as he kept on pacing back and forth, 'Serves me right for listening to advice from Goat Face of all people. That man can't even pull his OWN life together, let alone mine!'
"So you said you would explain this whole 'Holy Grail War' stuff to me when we got to a secure location" Ichigo began, sitting on his bed, "Well, we are in a secure location so tell me what the hell is going on!"
Saber nodded before beginning,
"The Holy Grail War is a competition between seven Masters, mages, and their summoned Heroic Servants. The Master provides the prana so the World, Gaia, does not reject us, and the Servants act in battles for their Master due to their superior skills and abilities" Saber looked at Ichigo, who promptly nodded to show his understanding.
"There are seven classes of Servants, the Three Knight Classes which are Saber, Archer, and Lancer. The other 'lesser' classes are Rider, Caster, and Assassin and let it be known that my class, the Saber Class, is considered to be the strongest class. We are summoned from the Throne of Heroes, a vault of the souls of the World's most prominent Heroes, all bound by a dream, a wish, or an ideal of some sort."
'Throne of Heroes? Does Soul Society know about this? Do I even care if they do?'
They had cut ties with him the minute he became powerless, and while he understood there was probably good intentions behind this, he still felt a bit of resentment towards them in that part of him he had buried deep down the day his mother died.
"That's…something alright, but why? I mean using legendary Heroes from across time for some Battle Royale to the death doesn't make sense, not unless there was something to be won that was worth dying for, so what's the prize for winning this War? A Grail?"
Saber gave a slight nod
"Yes, the victorious Master and Servant receive the Holy Grail, the most Sacred of Holy Reliquaries, which in turn grants a pair of Servant and Master a wish"
A wish? Ichigo was getting some serious Hogyoku vibes and he was not liking them.
"What kind of wish?"
"Any wish, resurrecting the dead, turning back the wheels of time, all is child's play for the Grail. However to power the Grail, it requires the deaths of six Heroic Servants, all of our opposing forces"
Ichigo's trademark scowl deepened
"Then why do you need to protect me? I mean, even if they kill me they'd still have to get through you right?"
Saber shook her head
"No, since a Master acts as a link to this world for their Servants, the death of the Master means the death of the Servant and Masters are the easier target since-"
"They're just normal humans, not superheroes from beyond the grave" Ichigo finished. The idea of seven people summoning seven legendary Heroes to brutally murder one another for a wish seemed quite petty. And like the kind of thing Aizen would have done without a moment's hesitation.
"For one uninformed of the world of mages, you catch on quick Master"
"So that means we are going to have kill that guy with the lance and Tohsaka's servant huh?" Saber nodded once more in response. Personally, Ichigo was itching to pay back this 'Lancer', the guy had murdered an innocent kid in cold blood, and Archer…
000
"Are you telling me that Shirou Emiya is dead?" The red-clad man asked, stepping closer to the prickly teen.
"Yes!" Ichigo growled, "I heard a noise like someone was being attacked, and by the time I got there he was dead! Then the spandex freak attacked me and she (Ichigo vaguely gestured towards the still very hostile Saber who was glaring daggers at Archer, her grasp on her blade tightening in anticipation of battle) just appeared in a flash of light.
For some reason, the white-haired servant just couldn't seem to process this fact and stared between Saber and the orange-haired enigma.
"Someone needs to kill Zeltrech" Heroic Servant EMIYA groaned under his breath, he quickly turned to glare down this Kurosaki Ichigo, "I'm letting you go since my Master hasn't given me orders to eliminate you, but make no mistake the next time we meet we will be enemies?"
('Why was Emiya dead? Who the hell was this new kid? Did the World have some sick sense of humor?' It dawned on him that he would have to explain to Tohsaka that the boy she wasted a supercharged gem healing was dead anyway. That was NOT going to be a fun conversation, he decided he would refrain from mentioning Saber and Kurosaki for now at least.) - Archer's Musings
With a dramatic turn, the Counter Force Guardian disappeared into his Spirit Form, desperately trying to understand when shit hit the fan.
"Would SOMEONE please explain to me what the HOLLOWED HELL is going on?" A certain spiky-haired teenager screamed into the empty street.
"Master, let us return to a secure location before I debrief you on 'what the hollowed hell' is going on."
Ichigo sighed, his scowl deepening even further.
"Fine, but you've got a lot of explaining to do"
000
Ichigo had the distinct feeling that his very existence threw the red spirit for loop, for some reason or another. It was a weird first impression for sure.
"Hey Saber, one last question, what are these marks on my hand?" He lifted his hands and coolly observed the marking shaped like his Substitute Soul Reaper badge and the two scythes the crisscrossed below it.
"Those are your Command Seals, they allow you to overwhelm my will or boost my power at will. I would ask that you confer with me before using them if possible Master. There are also some things I refuse to do, and you only have three Command Seals to use. If all three are used then our contract will be severed and I shall disappear."
"Yeah, definitely" Ichigo answered, the idea of taking someone's free will from them was terrifying, yet another thing he felt like Aizen would kill to have. Besides, if he used all three then Saber would disappear from this world, despite only knowing her for less than an hour that was something he did not want to happen.
"Master, we must head down to inform the administrator of my summoning"
"The administrator?"
"The representative from the church that acts like both the rule maker and the rule enforcer, keeping Servants in check. It is common courtesy to meet with the administrator once a Servant has been summoned"
"Can't we just go tomorrow? I just found out about a freaking war between undead heroes and wizards, which I am now a part of, and if I'm not careful I will die horribly and it's already so late."
"Mages, not wizards, and it is not a good idea to risk offending the administrator, he can also provide you with the important information in a better manner than I can" Saber responded, her tone serious. Ichigo felt like tearing his hair out, at least when he was a Shinigami he had some time to deal with information before getting pulled into mortal peril!
"Fine, let's meet this stupid administrator"
Saber got up and walked to the door with Ichigo close behind
000
"So do you know any magecraft Saber?" The two walked down the dark street towards a church.
"No, in life I simply learned how to use my mana to enhance my battle capacities, true magecraft was too time-consuming for me to pursue" The most exemplary of Servant answered in a hushed tone, "The administrator of the war is almost always sent by the Catholic Church, be careful, they have a history of having ulterior motives Master"
Her Master nodded, in this war, it seemed everyone had a reason to stab someone in the back. At least the war with Aizen hadn't been so…complicated. Saber stopped as they reached the gate that led to the church, a cold air seemed to surround the place.
"I will stand here to guard the perimeter, while the Church is a neutral zone, we cannot be too careful"
His Servant stood quietly, wearing his coat to disguise herself. It worked…somewhat. A little bit.
Alright, not very well at all, but he didn't think he had it in him to poke a hole in Saber's disguise.
With a small groan as he contemplated where everything went wrong, he went to the church door and knocked. Within moments a voice answered,
"You may enter"
When Ichigo opened the door and met the administrator he didn't know what to feel exactly. The man just seemed wrong. He stood perfectly straight and stared at Ichigo with cold, dead eyes that put Ulquiorra's to shame. Everything about this priest caused his instincts to warn him of coming doom. He just wanted to leave this place and never meeting this man again, this man who was hollower than any Hollow he had ever met, but this guy was the administrator and good impressions were important.
"Yo, my name is Ichigo Kurosaki" Yo? Why did he say yo? Why not something that seemed more mature like hey, or hello! Now he sounded like a thug! With his hair and scowl, there was no way this guy didn't seem him as some kind of punk.
A slightly amused smile, those it didn't reach those soulless fish eyes, appeared on the priest's face
"It is a pleasure to meet you, my name is Kirei Kotomine. I noticed your Command seals so you must the final Master of this Holy Grail War. Now with all seven Servants summoned, the War can begin in earnest." He spoke like this was about as interesting as watching leaves blow away in the wind, another worrying note for the man in charge of the whole endeavor.
The priest walked slowly down the side aisle with Ichigo staring him down. "Is there anything you would like to ask me? By the looks of it you were only introduced to the world of mages recently, perhaps even today, unfortunate that the Grail always brings in a few stragglers isn't it?"
The said straggler kept quiet since it appeared to be a rhetorical question.
"Now should you wish to simply exit the Grail War, you may pass on your Command Seals to me and I shall endeavor to find your Servant a new Master as soon as possible"
'Hell no!' There was no way he was letting this pale imitation of a man get control of Saber, he felt weirded out just by being in this guy's presence for under five minutes!
"No thanks, I plan to see this out to the end" Ichigo replied, "Letting someone like Lancer's Master get his hands on an omnipotent wish granter seems like a bad idea, I won't let any more innocent people get hurt because of this stupid war"
This seemed to amuse the priest even more.
"Ah, I see, you're one of those 'Hero' types, aren't you? No matter, everyone has their reasons for wanting the Grail, and let it be known that the Grail chooses those who have a reason to seek it." Kotomine stopped walking around to turn to face the seventh Master, "Now we should wrap this up, you have a long few days ahead of you. What class is your Servant?"
Ichigo narrowed his eyes
"Shouldn't you already know? You said I was the last Master." Kotomine smiled slightly.
"Yes, you are the last Master, but strangely enough there were three Masters who did not bother to come and inform me of who they were and their Servants, making my job quite difficult, as you can imagine."
The ex-Substitute Shinigami scowled a bit deeper at the moderator of the war before answering.
"I summoned Saber." Kirei turned his head sharply, his eyes open in…surprise.
"Truly? I was under the impression that..." Kotomine's words drifted off, before he suddenly broke into a slight chuckle, "How very unusual, you are quite the interesting man. I do hope you get some rest, tomorrow is when the war truly begins. I fought in the previous War and I can tell you that these things tend to get a little, uh, messy."
Turning around and speed walking as fast as he could Ichigo exited the church to return to his apartment with Saber.
000
Saber turned to see her Master approaching at an increased pace with a look of…anxiety.
Unusual considering that even when she had bombarded him with the information of the Grail War, Mages, and Heroic Spirits he had been merely confused and then determined.
"We are NEVER coming back here again, and I mean NEVER" Ichigo ground out as he began to walk down the street, the 'inconspicuous' Saber following closely behind him, "That moderator, administrator, whatever the hell he wants to call himself scares the ever-living shit out of me"
A sinking feeling dawned in Saber's heart. Could it be that man, but hadn't Kiritsugu killed him? Then again if there were two people who Saber knew death could not keep down it was Kiritsugu Emiya and Kirei Kotomine.
"Who was the administrator?"
Ichigo shuddered,
"A man by the name of Kirei Kotomine, his eyes were so…empty, it was like I was looking at a husk or a mannequin rather than a real, breathing person."
If Kirei hadn't changed, and Saber doubted he had, then chances were the man was playing a long game to get his hands on the Grail, no matter the cost. That was not something she could allow to happen, not after all that man and that monster of a Servant Gilgamesh had done.
"Indeed Master, if it is your wish we shall avoid Kotomine, but we have bigger priorities to get past" Saber stated plainly, there were numerous disadvantageous they had that many of their opponents would not hesitate to capitalize on, "First and foremost we must learn your Element and Origin and get you to at least the bare minimum capacity in magecraft."
Ichigo scowled before nodding his head in agreement, as he was now he was worse than useless, a hindrance rather than a help and oh how he loathed it. A fate worse than hell for one named the One Protector.
"Secondly, since you were not the one to draw the circle, and it was Shirou Emiya's blood that acted as a catalyst, the efficiency of mana transfer to me is quite low which makes it quite surprising that I am getting anything at all"
Her Master's eyes widened in shock if Saber ran out of his mana then…
"I will not be running out anytime soon Master that is why it is our second priority" Saber reassured, sensing his thought process.
"Yeah…for now, let's get some sleep, we've got along day tomorrow" Ichigo sighed as he and his Servant walked back towards his apartment.
"Master, you are aware that as a Servant I do not need sleep?"
"Don't ruin this for me, Saber, this day has been one disaster after the next and I just want it to end."
000
Kirei Kotomine simply walked to the front row of the church and sat down, processing the strange turn of events.
"I was under the impression it would be the son of Emiya who would summon your beloved Saber" the priest spoke, "but it appears to not be so."
"Do you doubt the abilities of your King, Kirei?" from the shadows a blond man with red slit eyes emerged, "Make no mistake, Artoria Pendragon is the Saber of the Fifth Heaven's Feel, exactly as planned."
The treacherous priest's eyes narrowed in contemplation before understanding dawned upon him.
"May I ask why you changed your plans? Was Emiya not to be a toy for you to play with, a chance at revenge against Kiritsugu?"
Gilgamesh, the King of King, laughed
"Indeed, while the pathetic child of that vile cur Emiya would have been entertaining, I found a far more excellent and valuable piece to play with," The King of Heroes waved his hand contemptuously, "So perhaps I slowed down the Emiya boy on his way back after his 'resurrection', perhaps I informed Lancer that the boy would run to a summoning circle, perhaps I arranged so Kurosaki would be in the right place at the right time to arrive just after Emiya's death and summon my beloved. But why on Earth would I replace one mongrel with another?"
"Perhaps indeed" Kotomine chuckled, the hint of sadism creeping into his voice, "Perhaps, having Kurosaki will be more interesting after all, my information tells me that Kiritsugu only taught his son the basics of magecraft and nothing about the war itself."
Gilgamesh once again roared with laughter, with a lofty swipe of his hand a golden portal appeared in his right hand, and two cups fell into his left. He quickly poured the fine wine from cellars of Tokiomi himself, the man they had murdered.
"Should we share a drink then Kotomine? A toast to a most amusing game of Masters and Servants, one with enough excitement to entertain the King!"
"To all the entertainment one could wish for my King", with a clink they both drank as their foul plots began to move forward, one step at a time.
000
Author's Note: Yeet, we begin with Saber already introduced? Why? In the first three rewrites, I've done, I could never make it sound good when I started describing how Ichigo got there! Besides, through Flash Backs in the next few chapters, the events leading to Ichigo's arrival and the incident with Lancer and our dear hero's meeting with the King of Heroes shall all be explained!
(You thought this was one of those stories where Ichigo just happened to stumble on a dead Shirou and a far more efficient Lancer, but instead, it was him, GILGAMESH)
Poor EMIYA, he is so confused and Saber is being her distant self…for now at least!
Let it be known that I do not do Harem stories. I just don't like them and making one true romantic entanglement is difficult enough on its own. So the one pairing is IchigoXArtoria and it will be a slow burn.