Chains of Remnant
Chapter 01
Ordinary life
A form in the distance.
Familiar yet unknown.
Hundreds of times I made things similar to it.
But at the same time.
I never made anything close to it.
A sword.
The outwards shape isn't particularly special.
But its making—
Surpasses all others.
Whoever wields such a weapon cannot lose.
That's the absolute truth of that weapon.
It isn't a simple sword able to cut steel with ease.
It's a sword that promises victory.
But—
The core of the sword.
The concept of its creation.
It's the very nature of every other weapon.
Around the sword there only is darkness.
No, that is wrong.
It isn't darkness but a void.
In this World only IT exists.
I am not here either.
My senses cannot exist within the nothingness.
Without caring for the possible I still see what should be impossible.
It's always the same.
Always gazing into the sword from a distance.
Without being able to move anywhere.
The gap between the two of us is constant.
And this meeting will end like every other time.
"ngh…..."
I blink my eyes open.
The ceiling of somewhere that is not my room.
I'm probably more familiar with this one at this point.
The ceiling of the outbuilding of our home.
I was sleeping on the floor.
In front of me, the forge I use every day.
Last night I must have fallen asleep after working on something.
It's nothing unusual. I sleep more in this place than on my own bed.
I stand up and start changing my clothes.
I forget when I started to leave a change of clothes always ready in here.
Blades of every kind are stocked together all over.
One could observe weapons of any origin, length, or use bearing the same dull aesthetic as they were stacked together next to almost exact copies of themselves.
After changing into my exercise clothes.
I fold my workshop clothes into a corner.
I check that the forge was properly turned off last night and flick off the lights.
I leave behind the room that stores all my failed creations.
Exiting the forge, I'm in the small storage shed. Making sure that the door is locked I exit.
On the outside, the darkness is parted by the faint shine of the moonlight.
The small yard is quiet, only animated by the sounds of the winds and the insects that fill the place.
I start running past the cabin and into the usual forest trail.
After all these years, day after day of running through this path, with only the moonlight as illumination, where to step to avoid tripping is not even a question.
The trees blur in my limited vision.
Soon a tree twice as big as the rest appears on my way.
And it's left behind without more than a glance.
"Ha—"
My breath is even as I run throughout the forest.
The sound of my steps echoes between the foliage.
Everything is the same as always.
Nothing but calmness exists in me while I do my routine.
"Ha—"
Always moving forward.
That's what I have tried to do for the past decade.
Step by step.
Trying to become like Kiritsugu Emiya.
"Ha—"
I say that but—
No matter what I do nothing seems to be sufficient.
No matter how fast I run.
Nor how strong I swing my swords.
"Ha—"
it's not enough.
There always are those who I fail.
Just like that day.
I still can't fulfill my promise but—
"Ha—"
As long as the body of Shirou Emiya can move a single step towards the ideal.
There is no other way.
I won't regret it.
One day I will—
"Ha—"
I arrive at the usual turning point having spent the time expected.
A tree with a human-made marking serves as the signal.
The letters M–E that were carved there years ago are slightly faded.
Giving it the routinary tap I turn and make my way back.
"Ha—"
I have been running for almost nine years now.
There wasn't a time I thought it was fun.
Nor was there a time I thought it was unpleasant to do it.
I honestly don't understand the people who do it as a hobby nor those who say they hate running.
"Ha—"
Back during the first years of this routine while it wasn't a particularly rewarding activity at least I could feel some progress after a couple of months.
The increase in the distance I could cover or the decrease in time I would have to spend to complete it.
Such things don't happen anymore.
Now I simply run through the trail for roughly half an hour and then I circle back.
The complete circuit is around twenty kilometers total.
"Ha—"
The time or the distance is nothing much, at least not to someone with their aura unlocked.
If I used mine to run, then in less than a fraction of the time I could complete my routine.
Not only does it allow one to increase their speed but it also is able to diminish fatigue to some degree.
Of course, doing such a thing would defeat the purpose as it wouldn't be effective to train my body.
"Ha—"
I guess that I must have reached a plateau in my physical development.
I don't think I could improve my condition much more without waiting until I fully grow up.
Maybe I have a growth spurt waiting around the corner.
Seventeen-year-olds still get them, surely.
"Ha—"
A few moments before my run could reach the one-hour milestone.
The cabin comes to view in my eyes accustomed to the pre-dawn lighting.
Slowing down I make my way into the backyard and directly go towards the well.
After proper hydration, I go back into the yard.
"I guess today I will go with strength—"
A Sword appears in my hand from within me.
It isn't one I normally use to fight as it wouldn't be too effective.
An oversized great-sword that no one without aura could use to fight.
All the muscles of my body tense themselves just holding it in place.
"…—1!"
The first impossible swing happens.
The blades of grass all around me flutter by the airflow of the slash.
Looking from the outside it must have looked ridiculous.
"…—30!"
A sword that is 201.5 centimeters in length.
A blade with a width of 12.5 centimeters at the base, that extends for 150 centimeters.
With a straight guard of 22.5 centimeters and a circular pommel at the end of the handle.
And a weight of 30.6 kilograms, a volume of 3,904.06 cubic centimeters having the center of mass at exactly 73.265 centimeters from the pommel.
"….—60!"
Such a sword is ridiculous and more so in the hands of someone that is barely 1.67 meters like me.
No matter how much I trained my body wielding such a weapon with my musculature alone is impossible.
And I am not talented enough as a swordsman to be able to use skill alone either.
So instead I have to take advantage of the thing I am most suited for—
"…—130!"
—Making swords.
The one thing that Shirou Emiya is most suited for is neither swordsmanship nor archery but the creation of swords.
Ever since I first tried to make my first many years ago, I never stopped.
Tens, hundreds, over a thousand blades.
"…—300!"
That is how I create impossible swings with weapons I couldn't wield without aura.
Taking advantage of my knowledge of the swords of my own making, I wield the blade in its optimal way.
Taking into consideration every aspect of their creation, I make up my own failing in talent.
It reached the point I could draw out the full potential of a sword in a single blow in exchange for the destruction of the weapon.
"…—500!"
The reason I have spent so much time at the forge isn't because of my aptitude.
But because of necessity.
Huntsman weapons are a curious thing, as they don't require quality in their creation to make do.
One could use a simple kitchen knife to kill Grimm as long as they covered it with enough aura.
"…—700!"
Unfortunately, I cannot do such a simple thing with my own because of my incompetence.
To make up for such weaknesses, I pushed my skills as a swordsmith as far as I could so far.
Producing countless amounts of disposable weapons that could penetrate steel or armor with ease.
Solid weapons capable to clash against Aura-clad attacks by their own merits and survive to be used in another battle.
"….—1000!"
"Ha—"
The oversized weapon of a dull metallic color without any ornaments or distinction is already gone
Before even a second passed.
A pair of daggers with chains at the pummels and the same lack of identity were summoned into my hands.
The training begins anew.
The light of the rising sun enters through the opened kitchen window.
My hair wet from the recent shower sticks to my forehead.
In my hands, a kitchen knife I personally made a few years ago.
Slicing and chopping lean meat and the vegetables that will make our breakfast.
"After getting out of work I should go and buy some more cooking oil."
I tell myself while heating up an oiled pan.
Placing the chopped onion and mushrooms on the heated instrument.
Meanwhile, I leave the sliced meat in a quick lemon marinade with some soy sauce.
A fifteen-minute soak is not enough to deeply ingrain the flavors but it should be enough to give it a better taste.
"Still…having meat for breakfast is a bit much."
It should be good if we eat a light lunch.
But I should make sure to make something lighter tomorrow.
Maybe a simple salad with toast would be good?
Thud—Thud—Thud—
As if on cue, just when I was finished cooking.
Sounds of steps rebound through the silent cabin.
The scraping of a chair and a familiar tired voice reach my ears.
"Good morning."
I absentmindedly reply while taking the trays of breakfast to the table.
There sits the only other member of the Emiya household.
A fit white shirt with black highlights on cuffs, yokes, and frontal placket accompanied with black pants and a leather belt.
Mikasa Ackerman looks as beautiful as ever while waiting for breakfast, at least that would be true if—
"...Again? Aren't you old enough to do it yourself already?"
Her long black hair wild and scattered in every direction looked like the result of facing a tornado head-on.
I can't remember when this started but it's always the same, she appears every morning dressed and bathed properly but never manages to do her hair right.
"I'm sorry—"
And when I complain she gives me the same response with the serious tone she usually has on her voice.
And I don't think she means it at all.
I put the plates on the table and leave to grab a hairbrush to take care of it.
"Idiot, don't apologize but at least try to do it yourself."
I complain but honestly, it's not that I mind doing it.
It just worries me what she is going to do when I'm not here.
Well, there have been times where I was unavailable and she somehow managed to get herself together so I don't worry too much.
Still, how she can be so spoiled in the mornings while keeping up her straight face is quite amazing.
"Thanks for the food."
After dealing with the morning hair problem.
She thanks me for the food and we begin to eat.
It's not something tasty enough to comment on but it wasn't bad for a quickly done breakfast.
Before having eaten half my serving, Mikasa stands and goes to serve herself a second serving.
"You know, you don't have to hurry so much while eating we still have time before we have to go."
"if the food is good one will naturally want to eat it quickly. Besides you should eat more if you want to grow."
"Hgk!"
She delivers a lethal blow to me after she comes back from the kitchen.
She even drops more meat on my plate before I recover.
I can't even protest as I silently start eating the rest of the plate.
She has been taller than me since we meet but when were fourteen, she suddenly got half a head over me.
"Maybe I should try to start getting more sleep..."
I murmur to myself.
It's not like I want to be particularly tall or anything but—
Being always smaller than Mikasa is...
Somehow something I cant accept as a man.
"Are you going to come with me to the village or will you head down on your own later?"
I ask, completely not trying to change the subject.
"I will go with you; I need to make sure that you don't wander yourself into missing your shift or stop you from getting into fights."
"Hey, I am not that bad. Besides how many times do I have to tell you that I can take care of myself.?"
She doesn't answer me with words, she simply stops eating and gives me that look.
The look that says Shirou, you idiot.
Which I might honestly deserve, I do tend to let my feet wander on their own, and sometimes I do get late to my shifts or even miss them because of it.
But it's not like she ever stops me from getting into fights. She simply ends most of them when I get in one.
"I will just enter work earlier, so wait for me in at the shop and we will come back together."
After realizing that I wouldn't argue against her again, she began talking again.
Mikasa and I both started working at the nearest village after Kiritsugu died, he had left enough lien to last us well into adulthood but it didn't feel right to me not to work and live off that.
So, I started looking for jobs in the village closest to here.
From working in the inn, in a restaurant, or even doing small odd jobs here and there from whoever would need the help of a kid.
"Got it, then I will make sure to buy some groceries and wait for you there. Any request for what we will have for dinner?"
Nowadays I am working as a blacksmith assistant, nothing particularly fancy but I can just swing there a couple of hours per day and its good practice for my own work making swords.
Even if most of the time I am just fixing normal metal works for the townspeople and the pay is not the best.
"Whatever you cook will be good. Just grab anything that is on sale."
"If you say so, then we will have fish with anything cheap I can grab as a side dish."
After I started working, Mikasa stubbornly tried to get the same job but it's not like there always were room for two new employees.
Such was the case in the blacksmith shop I currently work for; I am just substituting for the apprentice that got injured a couple of months ago in a Grimm attack.
Because of that, she started working in the construction of a new building inside the village.
It's good because it just happens to be in close by the blacksmith so we can go and have breaks at the same time if we time it correctly.
We finish eating and do the dishes together. One scrubbed the other dried.
We did it with a silence that accompanied us, that is mostly how we are.
Neither of the two is particularly good at making small talk.
But even then, the atmosphere was comfortable as always because of the familiarity between the two of us.
At least I would like to say it was comfortable, but I can't really say it was like that for me.
It started a few years ago, maybe when we were fourteen or fifteen but Mikasa started changing.
And by that, I mean that she started growing up and becoming less like the girl I had known and more of a woman with the body of one.
And I know I shouldn't think of her like that but I fail terribly at it.
What in the hell am thinking!, she is your family Shirou. Stop being so stupid.
There are times I catch myself staring at her for no reason in particular and my mind blanking.
Even knowing full well that I shouldn't my mind wanders and I think of things that I really shouldn't.
Maybe I should search for Monk training methods on my scroll whenever I get signal?
By the time were are finished it's already around when I should leave.
We get ready and grab anything that we might need.
I opened the entrance and leave the cabin with Mikasa behind me.
But something grabs me at the back of my T-shirt.
"Ugh—... What? Did you forget something? "
"Shirou, you should change your mind. Becoming a huntsman is only going to get you killed. We can continue like we always have; we don't need anything else."
Those words that come out of nowhere.
I can't say I am surprised by them; the day of Beacon entrance test is coming closer after all.
And she has always been against me becoming a huntsman, it's not that I don't understand where she is coming from.
But even when she shows me a face full of concern, I can only respond one way.
"I'm sorry but my answer is still the same. In fact, I should be the one to ask.
Are you sure you want to come along?. I know that you always wan—"
"If you are going then I will be there as well, if I leave you alone you will get yourself killed.
I won't allow it to happen again."
We had this discussion several times already, and it has gone approximately the same way each time.
We simply can't reach an accord, to be honest, it's my own selfishnesss fault.
But even if I know that, there is nothing that I could do about it.
I am going to be a huntsman, and become like Kiritsugu Emiya.
We leave the house like that, with a silence too different from the previous one.
From the cabin there are three directions one could take, to the west is the trail that I use to run every morning.
To the east is the part of the forest where I go hunting and where I found Mikasas family.
And if we walk north from here, we can reach a small village where we go to work or buy stuff we need on a day-to-day basis.
We go through the flora of the forest in a trail even more obstructed than the one I use to run.
After traveling a good distance, we reach an opening between the trees and a small building without windows.
The building has a double door that is locked with a padlock.
I take a key from my pocket and open it, meanwhile, I ask her a question.
"Which one do we take?"
"We have enough time, so let's just go on the bicycle to save on dust."
"Okay then, I will pedal today, get in the back."
Inside the building, a minivan and a bicycle are stored.
Dad used to drive us to the village when we need to bring back a lot of supplies, if that wasn't the case we would just walk.
I take the bike and carry it outside, then I check the tires and the chain before climbing into the seat.
Mikasa hops behind me and grabs a hold of my chest.
'—Do not think about it, do not think about it, do not think about it!'
Softness envelops my back.
My senses heightened and hyper-focus.
Her breathing is on my ear.
And my heart rate skyrockets.
Without even waiting to confirm she was ready.
My legs explode with power.
For the first time in the day, I use aura to empower myself and shroud the bike.
Like thunder the vehicle bolts past everything with speed enough for the trees to blur past us.
The arms holding me tighten with enough force for my bones to groan.
But at the same time, the softness on my back strengthens.
We gain even more speed.
The winds assaults our bodies d like a hammer.
The grass underneath with time turns into flattened dirt.
Dust blows to the sides as we make our way.
Without realizing we had already reached the proximity of the village.
With fifteen minutes to spare from the usual time.
Five-meter-tall walls encircle the entirety of the village.
The only exception is the entrance where two men are stationed behind a gate of metal bars.
The closest human settlement to our home, Strumbella.
And in the far distance, beyond the settlement, is that mountain range.
"Yo brats, killed some Grimm on your way today?"
"There were none, things have been calm for the day Mr. Raeburn."
I tell the muscular blond middle age man that held a sword in his waist.
To his side, a younger and leaner black-haired man with a rifle on his hands, who greeted us with a silent nod.
"Ah Shirou, why can't you stop already with the mister stuff. Just hearing it makes me feel like an old man."
He scratched the back of his head while scrunching his eyes.
They opened the gate while we got off of the bike.
I get a hold of the handlers and push forward.
We get inside and the passage to the outside was closed on our backs.
"Behave yourselves brats! I don't want to have to deal with any more of your fights."
I hear as we make our way to the main dirt road.
What is with fighting today? It's not like I go around starting fights left and right.
At least not as much as before.
And I have always hated being in them.
The people were already coming and going to do their daily businesses.
The streets were filled with the noises that echoed within the humble buildings.
At least in comparison to the quiet tranquil cabin we live in.
In less than five minutes we reach our workplaces.
I turn and we exchange our traditional goodbyes.
"See you later, let's meet at lunch break at the usual place."
"If that woman does something to you, scream and I will be there."
I dismiss her ominous words while entering the blacksmith shop.
There still are plenty of orders to finish.
And even if I cleaned the place yesterday there are still a lot of miscellaneous tasks to do.
A voice greeted me as soon I crossed the door.
"Shirou, you are quite early today. I see, it must be that... I knew it was going to happen when you started working for me, I just didn't expect that it was going to take so long. Mikasa is going to be quite angry with me..."
I tilt my head in complete incomprehension, the voice belonged to my boss and owner of the shop, a red-headed woman in her forties with toned musculature and a tanned skin dressed in a white shirt with leather pants and a brown apron covering the majority of her chest and abdomen.
"What...?"
"There is no need to play the fool, you came so early when you knew only the both of us would be in the shop. You clearly came to unleash your pent-up teenage desires on this beautiful married woman. How sinful of you."
"W-w-w-WHAT!? What are you saying you, idiot, did you hit your head with that hammer of yours or something?"
"Even if such a good-looking young man as you came to proposition me, I can't be unfaithful, I love my husband too much so I will have to reject your lascivious advances again today."
—Again?... I am seriously starting to think she hit her head now.
The boss actually isn't a half-bad smith, the only problem is that she…..
Seems to have been born with a few screws loose.
I wonder if her apprentice is going to recuperate from his injury soon?
"Hah—It's quite understandable that a teenager is so full of hormones that he can't help himself after spendi…"
I sigh loudly and walk towards the back of the shop without hearing anything.
If I don't hear anything then nothing must be happening.
Even when I am changing my clothes there still is an ongoing noise coming from the entrance.
Another day at work is ahead.
I am pushing the bicycle with one hand while carrying various plastic bags full of groceries on the other.
On my side, a girl, with long hair tied in a ponytail that reaches her shoulder blades, carrying a multitude of bags in each of her hands.
I can't help but complain inside my head, is it possible that I always lose in rock-paper-scissor?
A murmur escapes my lips.
"Is there some kind of trick…?"
"Stop picking scissors all the time and you will lose less often."
"Huh—? It's not that I use them all that often…do I?"
She doesn't bother responding to me or turning to face me.
That should mean that I in fact use them more than I realize.
That is weird, but well it's just something to keep an ey—
We both stop at the same time.
Crunch.
A faint noise comes from the trees that surround the road.
It's slowly becoming clearer.
I stand In front of Mikasa while holding a long and slender sword in one of my hands.
Her body is tensed and she is ready to drop what she is holding at a moment's notice.
Thud!
The sound of the bike I had let go of earlier as it hits the floor finally happens.
At the same moment, a creature vaulted into the road thirty meters in front of us.
It slouched while standing in its hind legs, a body of black with bone-like white armor on its head.
Eyes of complete red like, they were filled with blood, meet my own.
Splat!
The blade that was in my hand is embedded on the Grimms chest.
I threw it the movement I confirmed the nature of sound.
I take out a couple more weapons.
And stick two in particular on the ground behind me.
"Don't worry too much, it should be just a couple of young Beowolfs. Keep the groceries safe unless something happens."
I tell her while keeping my attention forwards.
Grimm almost always travel in groups, so the chances that the one I killed was alone is slim.
Moments later, just as the first Beowolf began to disappear.
Four new figures jump in front of me.
In a single breath.
I flick my wrist once.
And two swords identical to the one I used first fly through the air.
A classical sword one would relate to a knight is in my free hand while the other holds the groceries bags.
The four beasts charged without care at us.
Two chests are pierced.
Two figures are stopped while the others still lounge forward.
I kick off the ground and meet them.
A swipe to my head is easily dodged as I duck and move to the side.
A slash with my armed limb and the attacking Grimm is cut in half.
Without thinking of its own safety after the death of five of his brethren.
The reaming creature leaps at me with both of his front claws aiming to tear me apart.
A simple sidestep and a swing.
Both of his front limbs are already missing before he concludes his jump.
It hits the floor like an uncoordinated drunk.
My sword pierces the unarmored back of his neck before he even tried to get up.
"Ha— It was too rare to spend the entire day without meeting them so close to the village..."
Killing Grimm is something that anyone that lives outside the kingdom's mainland gets to experience sooner or later.
Ever since dad died the amount of Grimm coming around these lands got higher.
It was a good thing that by the time it happened both Mikasa and I were already enough to deal with most of the things that we came across without much trouble.
We help clear the surrounding of the village whenever we can, but there are always more of them the next day.
"Shirou..."
"Hmn...?"
Strangely enough, Mikasa is looking at me with a concerned expression on her face.
Her being worried isn't anything new, she worries all time about me.
As if I was going to stab myself in the chest at the nearest chance by being dumb.
But she must have seen that I was unscratched just now. Didn't even need to use Aur—
"Oh no...!"
"Shirou, did you forget you were carrying the bag with the eggs?"
I drop to my knees, the sword on my hand already disappeared.
Opening the bags and looking inside.
The egg maple sits comfortingly on the top of all the other supplies.
And their state was completely unscathed.
"Safe! They are all safe! How lucky—"
Without raising my head, I know she is giving me that look again.
And once more, I do deserve it.
I should have covered the bags with my aura to make sure they wouldn't be damaged.
The custom of not cladding my weapons and being too confident that they were only five weak Grimm made me take it too easy.
"H-Heh, well let's celebrate the survival of the eggs and make a caramel pudding for dessert today with them, okay?"
"Sure... but we will have a special sparring match today."
A shiver runs down my spine.
It seems I am going to have to cook dinner full of bruises again.
But while her tone is the same she always uses there is a hint of a smile on her lips.
I don't see that every day, not since the night Kiritsugu died.
Standing in front of the stove with a saucepan heating up sugar, salt, and cornstarch while gradually purring milk until it became a mixture.
Dinner was already done cooking and only needed to be re-heated when it was time for us to eat.
In a bowl, I break a couple of eggs and then beat the egg yolks.
After pouring the mixture into the egg yolks mixing it together, I pour it back into the pan for a minute.
"It's good that there was a big sale at the shop but, what are we going to do with half a liter of vanilla extract?"
There was a two at the price of one sale at the village store because a merchant bullhead is coming into town to restock in the coming days.
And I might have bought more than what we could possibly need on a few things.
Well, I might need to ask the boss for a few more hours of a day for the next couple of weeks.
And we will have some more extravagant dishes in the near future.
After taking the mixture from the pan and mixing it with butter and vanilla.
I place it on some cups and store them in the fridge.
They should be more than ready before we go to bed.
"I hope they come out well."
I'm not exactly an expert on desserts.
It's one of the areas where my experience is more lacking.
I've tried to make them from time to time since Mikasa became a member of the household.
Dad did use to say that all girls liked sweets.
I place my hands on my neck and crack it from side to side.
The pain from earlier is long gone.
The result of another lost spar.
My aura might not be the most functional but at least I have no problem healing most wounds.
Taking a peek at my scroll.
There should still be a bit more time before she finishes her daily exercises.
While I prefer waking up early and doing my physical training at that time, Mikasa always does hers after we spar when we come back from work.
Since she should be taking a bath afterwards and the food is already prepared there isn't anything I really need to do right now.
"Hmm."
Kiritsugu did say I should find a hobby for times like this.
Mikasa took up reading anything she could get her hand on when she had nothing else to do.
The old man liked to star gaze whenever he could.
And me...
My legs start to move without even thinking about it.
A usual occurrence.
While I try my best to not waste time or leave moments when I do nothing.
Sometimes I start to wander around, walking without rhyme or reason.
I leave the house and go into the forest.
A short fifteen minutes' walk should be fine.
Besides, we encountered five Beowolfs today on the road, which is a bit less than the amount we see on a usual day.
So, If I can find some more it would be for the best.
I was jogging through the trees.
It had been twenty minutes since I left the house but honestly, I didn't want to come back exactly when she would be taking a bath.
My imagination has been a bit too strong these days.
So, it would be best for me to calm myself with a bit of exercise.
I still hadn't found any Grimm.
That wasn't the strangest thing as they are attracted to higher concentrations of humans or faunus.
A single human wandering through this forest for hours without meeting anything can definitely happen with enough good luck.
Or bad luck in my case.
"Ha—"
I could just go back to the cabin by now.
It's not that the villages around don't have enough defenses to deal with whatever weak Grimm I would find but...
I simply don't want to.
There is always the chance of finding an eccentric ancient Grimm that wanders close to human settlements.
Creatures like that are capable of erasing entire settlements in a single moment—
"Haa—"
When that happens, no survivors will exist.
Those with aura or those without.
It's all the same.
They will all die and no one will be saved.
"Haa—Haa—"
And I ca—
I shake my head and continue jogging even if for some reason my breathing was out of control.
When I was about to consider wondering where I was.
A flash of light quickly illuminated everything.
Bang...!
The sound of a gunshot reaches me before the light faded.
The hammer in my head falls.
Aura fills my entire body.
And I blurred into the distance.
And even though I am moving with speed surpassing normal human limits.
My body feels as if I were moving through liquid metal.
Every action tires me and depletes my energy.
I still move forward.
"Haa—haa—haa—"
It was not far away.
Less than eight hundred meters.
It took me no time for me to reach yet—
The battle that I expected to find was finished before I arrived.
Forty meters ahead of me a man with a flashlight on his chest leaned against a tree.
Dozens of inhumanly tall and wispy humanoid Grimm loomed over him.
Their heads twisted in directions that made no sense and their distended jaws were left hanging loose.
They slowly inched forwards towards the man extending their thin claws with lethal intent.
"-!!!!!!!!"
An unfathomable screech violates my brain.
Liquid nitrogen is poured into my veins as my heart freezes.
I shatter like feeble glass.
Just like that ti—
A matte black bow appears in my hand without my mind's request.
My body moves on its own even if my mind is useless.
An arrow appears in the other hand.
Strength comes from inside me.
A single second.
three arrows were shot.
In less than a blink they reached their target.
The beasts' heads closest to the person were pierced and their existence ended in that same second.
"Haa—"
There still are more than twenty of them and imminently, they all turned their head towards me without moving their bodies
Red eyes meet my own.
The string of my bow is pulled again and the arrow is already nocked.
I start moving to put myself between the fallen man and them but—
They suddenly start retreating without as much a sign.
Never turning their eyes from my own as they slowly disappear within the foliage.
The bow in my hand disappears alongside the arrow.
I run
A middle-aged man with white hair and attractive features, dressed in a blue and black jacket with pants a weird pair of strange boots that matched the color scheme.
He was half-conscious strewn against a tree.
His features that one could consider attractive under normal circumstances were completely haggard and drawn.
His eyes were glossed and it seemed he would fall asleep at a moment's notice.
"Mister, you need to wake up!"
I kneel down next to him and start shaking him while raising my voice.
I would like to just pick him up and carry him away but I need my hands free in case of anything attacking us.
After being shaken partial liveness came into his pupils once again.
Without waiting I raise him to his feet and put one of his arms behind my neck.
"What...What is going on?"
His weak voice barely registers in my mind.
I already started moving away from that place.
And fortunately, his feet while limply dragging are still moving together with me.
"You were being attacked by a strange group of Grimm, I just happened to be nearby and we need to move before they decide to come back."
I don't know if he understood or even heard what I said.
Or if he simply didn't care about the answer to his previous question.
But he didn't make any sign of wanting to continue talking.
I simply kept moving in the direction of the cabin.
"Wait— let me off. I think I should be able to move on my own for now."
"Are you sure mister? It isn't a particular far from my place I can help you there no problem."
"Yeah, don't worry kid. It will take more than being a bit tired to take me out."
We had walked for twenty minutes on edge towards any possible Grimm that may suddenly attack. Without taking into consideration a couple of small insect-like Grimm that popped in the way the trip was quite safe.
The man was now breathing hard with his hands on his knees.
At this rhythm we should be able to get to the cabin in another twenty minutes unless something happens.
"Were you injured somewhere? If you want, I could pick you up from here and sprint towards my house."
"And being carried like a damn princess? I would prefer being eaten by those disgusting things back there. It was enough of an insult being saved by a little kid. If my son hears about this, he will lose all respect he has towards me."
"Little...kid?"
I blink completely unable to understand him.
He couldn't be talking about me, right?
I might be a bit small for my age but I recently turned 17.
There is no way he would be calling me that.
"Heh, anyway kid. Thanks for the help back there, those things took me by surprise and even someone like me knows to say thanks when someone saves my skin."
"There isn't anything to thank me for, I just happened to be there at the right moment and did what I could."
"Facing a pack of mature Grimm is nothing huh? Kids that live outside the kingdoms sure are made of tough stuff. I might need to send my own to live in some village to see if it takes the weak out of him."
"I simply shot at them from a distance and they retreated on their own after three of them were killed, it wasn't anything remarkable."
I dismiss his words.
After all, I left them to escape without even dealing with all of them.
If I hadn't lost my composure I should have been able to at least kill half of them before being noticed.
I failed, and now somebody else is going to be the prey of those things because of me.
"Whatever weird kid, be humble if is that is what you want."
"W-Weird? I would say that the strange person wandering across the forest alone is the weird one, old man. "
And stop calling kid if you can, but that was left unsaid in my head.
"I am not that weird, a simple guy on a business trip risking his life for money. If I had the money to pay for a huntsmen guard, I would have taken him with me."
He waves his hands in front of himself as if to say that it was only natural for him
All while having a self-deprecating smile on his lips.
"Anyways kid, you can call me Mark. Let's say I owe you a drink and a fun time in a couple of years when I won't be breaking the law for corrupting a minor."
"My name is Shirou Emiya, and I am already Seventeen for your information."
It's not that it bothers me to be mistaken as a little kid.
Not at all.
He makes a weird face.
It can't be that weird that I am seventeen, right?
"Shirou Emiya—?"
"Hmn yes, do we know each other?"
"Ahh no, no. But I think I heard of your last name before. Might have met your father at some point."
"Did you know Kiritsugu ?"
I have only met one person that knew my father before he adopted me.
A black-haired short woman who used to make deliveries to our home.
She was the one who delivered things we couldn't get in the village, like dust or metal for my sword making.
She kept coming once a couple of months even after he died, but half a year ago she visited for the last time and disappeared without saying anything.
Crash!
A figure drops down from the sky with a speed that my eyes cannot keep up with.
A pair of curved short twin swords are already in my hands before it touches the ground.
Standing between Mark and me, with a sword next to his neck and another to the heart.
Mikasa has her back turned towards me and doesn't look at me while she asks.
"Shirou! Are you okay? Did he do anything to you? Any injuries?"
"I am fine! He isn't someone dangerous so back away, you idiot!"
I scream at her while grabbing her by the neck of her shirt and pulling her back.
She doesn't immediately stop or withdraw her weapons but after a moment of hesitation, she drops them in their sheaths at her waist while turning around.
Her hands go to my face quicker than I can react.
They roam through my hair and cheeks.
"Are you really sure you weren't hurt? Maybe any cut you didn't realize? Are you bleeding? Did this man kidnap you? Was he going to sell you as a slave? Was he planning to have his way with your body?"
"Everything is fin–Wait what was the last thing you said?"
I look away from the panicking girl as she starts patting my body.
A wide-eyed dumbfounded man has a hand rubbing his neck.
His eyes fall down onto the girl currently asking if I was poisoned and then they go onto me.
This repeats itself numerous times.
"I am really sorry about that, she is a bit of a worrywart, are you okay?"
"Yes...yes, not a scratch. Just wasn't expecting a girl to fly down the sky with a sword in each hand while looking at me like I killed her puppy."
If he can make comments like that then he shouldn't be in a bad shape.
I might need to make another apology in her place later.
It is not exactly polite to point your weapons against someone the first time you meet them.
Well, at least no one got hurt—
"You don't need to give me that look, I know I shouldn't have gone out alone into the forest at night. It was a walk that got out of hand."
It must be a pretty special day for me to get it three different times in less than twenty-four hours.
She isn't going to let this go with just a vanilla pudding.
Maybe I could try to make a cake...
We did buy that sale in flour.
"Ah! I forgot. Mikasa this is Mark, Mark this is Mikasa. I found him when he was getting attacked by a few Grimm so it's going to be three for dinner tonight, if you don't mind of course."
"I haven't had a home-cooked meal in a long while and it would be awfully nice to be able to shower."
While I tried to make introductions one of the parties ignored it without blinking while the other shamelessly accepted.
I don't know what to say in this situation.
It was lucky that I was going to make today's leftover into a snack for tomorrow so I made a bit more than usual.
But I can't exactly invite someone to our home without Mikasa's consent, it would be quite rude.
"...He can stay for the night but we leave him in the village before work tomorrow."
"Thank you, I am sorry for not being in the cabin. I know that you must have worried a lot because of me."
"We will talk about that tomorrow while we spar."
Great, another special sparring day.
I wonder when did this become her go-to response to my actions.
She was quite different back when we meet.
I wonder if someone was a bad influence...?
"Right, I forgot about something..."
"Huh, did you leave the door open or something when you left?"
"No, you left the pans with caramel dirty before you left so it's going to be a pain to clean them now."
We were walking side by side.
Me on the left side, Mikasa on the middle, and our new guest for the night on the right.
And I can't help but wonder.
How expansive would it be to buy a Dust-powered dishwasher...?
"Kid, I am telling you to leave this cabin in the middle of the Gods forsaken Saunus and come back with me to Atlas. We will open a restaurant and be richer than the Schnee in less than a year."
Mikasa and I were in the kitchen.
Cleaning the dishes we used for dinner.
Mister Mark was loudly talking from the living room.
He must have spent quite some time in the wilderness if such a frugal meal could get him so excited.
"While that sounds like a great plan, I am afraid I'm planning to enroll in a huntsmen academy in the next few months."
"A huntsman hmm? Well when you become one make sure to take a trip to Atlas when you graduate, I will make sure to hire you for cheap!"
He laughs good-naturedly while drinking a cup of tea.
We haven't had the chance of using the guest utensils in a good while.
Still…
He says he is from Atlas—
…No.
It doesn't matter.
As long as he is fine, that is all that should matter.
The sound of a dragging chair is heard.
"Well, it's my bad being such a lousy guest but I am going to head to that guestroom you showed me earlier. Again, thank you for the bath and the food.
When we get to that village let's have some fun with the village girls, my treat."
Crack!
I would normally redden or splutter against such comment but—
My eyes are lowered to a knife whose wooden handle just shatter into hundreds of pieces.
I guess that hearing such a shameless thing would anger any girl.
I am going to need to repair that later.
"Uh… Did you like the pudding—?"
" Yes, Shirou. I liked the pudding."
She didn't sound very sincere.
Moving my gaze from the knife currently being crushed.
A terrifying face as her eyes were shadowed by her bangs, how can someone so good-looking be so scary?
I should probably be in the house early tomorrow to make sure a homicide doesn't happen.
After finishing the dishes and storing away the broken knife.
We say goodnight to each other and go to our rooms.
I should be going to sleep if I want to finish my routine earlier than usual.
But—
That feeling of earlier when I encountered those Grimm.
My heart giving up.
Such a familiar feeling.
—I can't go to sleep with that in my mind.
I go out of the house and into the yard in the back.
With only the moon illuminating my way.
I make my way into the outbuilding.
Passing through the small storage place I open the lock to enter into the forge.
I haven't been able to get good material for crafting ever since that friend of Kiritsugu disappeared.
The easiest solution I could find is using the worst of the swords I have crafted over the years and re-forge them as many times as possible to practice.
Each time the number of remaining swords decreases because of the lost material.
And the resulting weapon isn't that great either.
"I need to see if that merchant coming to town has more gravity dust..."
Swords and arrows made with dust aren't particularly difficult to make.
But they usually are single-use in nature.
And the one I use needs a different basic structure than the normal one as I don't use aura to make them more resistant during a fight.
Not to mention they aren't something cheap either.
Over the years I managed to find solutions to most of the problems in crafting them.
But until I go into a proper kingdom, I won't be able to make anything new that is noteworthy with dust.
But that is okay.
I have enough in store to last me for the next few years.
The reason I keep going to the forge nearly every day is for sharpening my skill.
I'm mostly a self-trained smith who learned from trial and error.
My current boss in the village isn't a weaponsmith but someone who makes gardening tools and other normal metal works.
And what one can find on their scrolls isn't exactly trustworthy.
It's embarrassing but my best creations so far were made by accident.
To this day I can't replicate what I did to that pair of swords during forging.
They were the closest I ever got to that—
Clang!
The sound of a hammer meeting metal echoes inside the building for hours.
The heat of the forge keeps my body warm.
And another night pursuing what I cannot reach.
The end of a usual day.