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I don't own anything related to Tsukihime; this is a work of parody.

Act One: Orphan

Saint Joan's orphanage was a simple place, meant to solve a simple problem. What is to be done about those children no one has any use for anymore? Put them all in one place and forget about them was the solution given.

We stayed in bunks, one by one in pairs. I didn't much care for anyone other than me. But it wasn't as if there was much coordination between us. No one can understand us but ourselves. It was a religious orphanage, and so our days consisted of cleaning and being taught to read. The nun were mean people, who preached as much as they hit.

I missed Akiha, and I missed the girl I played with and even the one in the window. From a mansion to an orphanage, but... maybe I belong here? My head hurts when I think of that name: Nanaya. Why did that man say that back then? And... he was with Sensei when I woke up? Was he a magic person too? I have all these great questions that mean nothing to this world I find myself in.

I don't know how to look back on those times. I am Shiki... Akiha's brother, that's the best answer I can manage. I guess it didn't mean much if they let me go like this. Whether it was Father or not, I did not have much love for the man.

So I told the nuns that I was just Shiki. They didn't seem to mind that I had no family name, in fact, I think they prefer that. They would rather have a blank slate to build upon, to make a tool for themselves. As long as they let me keep my glasses, I don't care much.

We sleep, and we dream... all of us kids.

To have a new life, one with love and happiness... It is a... warm dream, one that huddled in our small cold beds, we share in. But as the air-cooled into winter, and no one came to take me in, I stopped hoping for anything better. Not many people leave here, and a boy like me, whose body sucks... I had no chance of finding any nice family willing to take me in.

Yes, I was still sick. But no one was going to pay my hospital bills, so it's not like I could stay there. Not that I wanted to.

My body always felt too cold, and I often felt weak... the first time I passed out, I woke up in the infirmary being begrudgingly treated by the nuns. Blood would pool in my head, and I would fall right over. They didn't like me because I had been let go by a rich family, it was a strange thing to do, they resented the Tohno's first, but as they are not here, they would eventually resent me.

I half figured that I would just be another unmarked grave in the back, where us forgotten kids would go to die. The story would range from the idea that the nuns were actually a coven of witches using our bodies for spells, or that it was just the cold ending the most malnourished among us. I figure it's something in the middle of that.

That was my autumn. My birthday passed unmarked and uncelebrated. I was in a place that was the end for children, so why would anyone celebrate their life?

It was towards the start of December that things changed for me suddenly. It was actually the abuse that would end my stay here.

A man in priest robes arrived, one who then nuns had made the place all clean for. Our knuckles bled from their rulers, for violence was the powerful tool of learning here. I tended to be quieter, so I given mercy... most of the time. But today was special for the nuns, and one of them had never much liked me.

"Why are you wearing those glasses!? You know I told you to take them off!" Nothing in the bible had said anything about glasses being wrong or bad, but this wasn't about that. This nun had seen me peering in the corner of my eyes at her one day, and since then, she had punished me with her ruler any opportunity she had. I don't care, for I wouldn't give up my glasses for anything. They are my life itself. I was just glad she let me keep them.

She told me that I should look like a proper catholic boy in preparation for this special guest. That meant no glasses to her, I guess. It was little more than an excuse to hit me, and I was certainly not the only one here to be given these 'lessons'. But today was different, for that man arrived.

"Now, Sister. Is it proper to hit a child for such a thing?"

"Brother..." Her face froze as if to see a ghost. A man who may be aged yet had a great figure. He was slim in a healthy way and moved with a dignified step. From the start, there was no hiding from him. "I-I was... just educating the boy." Her hands trembled.

"I am aware of what you were doing; is this how this orphanage educates all of its children?" His eye didn't narrow or intimidate; they didn't seem to look at her at all. No... they were looking straight at me.

"No... but the children are difficult and..."

"You feel better when you hurt others, don't you? It is unfortunate that even in the Church, sin takes hold of our hearts. Sadism is too seductive to those with power." She was exposed in his presence. Gone was a holy woman, just a scared and little girl who remained. She had once been me, here at the orphanage. "If you repent, all will be forgiven."

"I-I repent, I sinned yes... I..." Tears fell from her eyes.

"Hmph, then remain true to your duties. I have nothing to say to you; in Gods eyes, you will be judged." She left hastily and awkwardly. Shame would follow her now, but maybe she really would change... I don't know. I don't think so.

I tried to silently leave too, but it was not to be. "You, Boy. Where did you find those glasses?" His voice stopped me.

"Me...? I didn't..." I held onto them for dear life. I had kept them from the nuns and now from this man... I would defend Sensei's gift with my life. My life would be pretty bad if I lost these anyways, so I wouldn't let go.

He looked down at me. "I am not angry at you, nor will I take your glasses away from you. I apologize for your experience here, and I assure you that the Church has no issues with eyeglasses." I only just noticed that he had glasses on himself. His voice was gentle, yet sharp and honest. He wasn't a liar, which I preferred over everyone here. "What might your name be?"

"I'm Shiki."

"And?"

"Just Shiki." I hadn't come to any conclusion on that part.

"Then allow me to introduce myself: I am Eiri Fumizuka, a member of the church." He turned his glasses down. "What would you say to become my apprentice?"

It really was quick and impulsive, he took me away quietly and immediately. That place was happy to be rid of me and hoped that the man would forget about what he saw. I had no reason to say no. Waiting for the Tohnos to come and take me back was a dream I had had for a week, but I had given up on that a while ago. There was no point in waiting for something when you could do something else instead.

And that's how I left the orphanage. I would learn that this was a common thing for many in the orphanage, to become some tool of the Church. I became his student on a whim of sorts.

To be honest, I cared little for the religion part. I had power from God, maybe, but to me, that was too abstract to accept. Perhaps to me who had no Sensei, I could have accepted it. But that was not so, and thus Sensei was the closest thing I had to God. That made it easy to adapt to the ways of my new life, I would just have to follow the commandments of the Church as if they were Sensei's words. Of course, I never much liked to and so I never grew to become a true believer.

The world was colder than the summer. But the rain had stopped for me.

"listen, Shiki. I can see you know that there is more to the world than this?"

"I... I don't know..." He could see it just by looking at me.

"Yes, there are some of us who are touched by God's hands: to be his executors for His justice. I can see it on you, the ability to do good. The Church is the natural place for you, where you can make the most difference." The Church tells me what I must believe while Sensei showed me that I always have a choice. I didn't really care to save anyone, but this was the option given to me, so I took it.

From Souya, where I had lived all my life, to Misaki town. They were neighbours to one another, but Souya was so much bigger than I was confused by how quickly everything shrank. Compared to Souya, Misaki was like a village. I was far away from the mansion now...

"This will be your home for the foreseeable future." Inside it was dark, with light only coming from the stained glass. It was a humble church with the light of modern times.

When I arrived, I met a girl waiting inside. The Father walked by without saying anything. Either because he didn't see her, or he didn't believe he had the right to look at her.

It was a very, very young girl, her black hair was still short, and she wore tiny kid versions of church dressings that I wore too. It was apparent immediately that this was not his daughter and thus a girl who had found herself here as soon as she was born. An unfortunate like me. She couldn't be older than four...

"Hello... what is your name?" I clumsily came close to her. "oh, uh... nice to met you." I held my hand out.

She did not take it. "I am Serena..." There was an awkward look on her, but I could see why. "Nice to meet you too." Her dark eyes were as unreflective as the wooden pews to the sides of the altar. And so began my life in a church looking after Serena, and being trained by Father Fumizuka.

We grew up in the dark basement of the Church, hidden from the everyday world.

Track 2 (Music) /lVvxMoRzcUM

I didn't go to a regular school; instead, I was trained as his apprentice. Which was more scriptures and all that.. but more than that, it was physical training. It hurt.

And all that really was lots and lots of pain. It wasn't torture, but it was close. The man quickly learned I was not much for athletics, but he seemed to take that as something of a challenge. Every day he pushed me more and more. He says to rectify my anaemia, but I think he just wants to see how much I can take before passing out.

When I do inevitably pass out, Serena helps me recuperate, and then the cycle of misery resumes. I think every time I pass out, I forget more and more about who I was.

It almost made me wish I'd stayed with the nuns and their rulers, but at least I had the power in my hands now. But he never asked me about my eyes, or told me to take off my glasses... so I held out on trying to get better. That was the unspoken assumption that I had here, "Either get better or lose everything you have now." So I forced myself to learn my limits and stick by them.

He was a man of few words, and each one was brutally honest of me. "You're lazy; you can sustain through this pain; you rely too much on the help of others." He critiqued every act I took. I was expected to become the perfect being by him. It wasn't beratement: it was a candid assessment of my weaknesses. I hated it, but it can't be said to be untrue. He was an untalkative man, who appeared only in the times meant for my training.

This is what the Church is like, after all. They attack the weakness in you, even if that is what makes you happy to live. Tohno Shiki was being burned away, and Nanaya Shiki was dozing in and out. The training would burn me down until all that was left was the Church's tool.

Sensei said I could do nothing, but that wasn't much of a choice for me. Maybe someday. I held on to what was necessary so that maybe one day I could find that choice. I remembered Akiha, and I remember the friends I made... or saw. I would keep that far away memory for that time, and lock it all away. For now, Shiki would be someone whose life meant little and had a few good choices to make.

Nothing occurs by coincidence, as the whole world is connected by the ups and downs of the winds. Whatever God there is, He is undoubtedly laughing at me here.

As Sensei warned me, those with strange powers attract others with strange powers. It frightened me. It scared me so much I could barely force myself up every morning. I am Sensei's student, so I can't make her look bad by through association with me. I'll just have to train in this Church stuff... and then not kill anyone? I hoped so. I really, really hoped so.

"You are a natural: like a cat. You can move so well, but you fall apart almost immediately. It's a bit disappointing, but God presents us with challenges to give us a message." I walked the tightrope the best I could. Indeed, I was a natural at it. But only until I didn't feel so good and fell off. Those few moments of lightness in the air, I felt like a cat falling perfectly and softly to the ground. I was thin.

Under the Church was a gym, or more accurately, a chamber of death where forgotten children are taken to become murderers for God. The Church may celebrate existence as God's domain, but even then, there are things they can't abide by.

The second part of my training was of the scriptures, but more specifically, all that pertains to what I am meant to do as an agent for the Church. It wasn't the parts of the training that I was bad that scared me because that was most of it. It was the parts that were easy, for sometimes when he told of things that were enemies... I smiled.

The feeling that I wanted to find something to hurt made me feel almost energetic for once. It made me feel sad.

An agent of the Church practices peace and war. Peace for what is natural, and war for that which profanes God. Fantastical things like demons, mages and even vampires. But I had already come to accept magic, so it was not far off to introduce other things. What am I? I wondered.

Apparently, Mages are obsessed with what lays beyond God's creation and thus are heretics of the worst degree. But that's only what the books say. In reality, the Church has many cooperations with mages across the world. Witch-hunting is only for those who delve too far deep into bad magic. I guess that made me a little relieved that Sensei wouldn't be under attack. She is a good witch, after all.

In terms of dislike, from accepted to most hated, it would go humans, demons, mages, and vampires. Vampires are seen as a scourge on the world that should not exist at all, so they are hated the most. Demons are actually beings that the church value in a way. All things exist because God lets them, so when demons show up, God is letting them come. So the Church doesn't actually want to kill demons as much as they would like to hear the message they bring. It's all a bit weird.

So Demons are messages from God, while Vampires are scourges that profane God's world. But wouldn't that mean God lets vampires exist too? That's not the sort of question you can ask, though. The nuns would hit you for that one, and Father Fumizuka was devout in his own way. He'd just make me train harder.

I didn't really want to hurt anyone. Even if the books tell me that they are evil, Sensei was a sorceress, and she was good, so that means that there should be some good vampires and demons, too, then.

To be honest, I had no real plan. My plan to run away in my mind was comforting, but it meant nothing. The truth was I had no choice in this at all. The Church would either take me in or kill me; that was plain to me. I knew too much to get out.

It wasn't the first time I was trained to kill; as far as that life is now, I still remember the lessons. One step, two-step, three-step, and jump, turn around, and slash. It was another man I called father then. I didn't like to think of all that, though. Not that you can ignore it when you are imitating it all over again.

The only time I was training in some way, was when I was recuperating, sleeping or talking to Serana. She seemed to have her own chores. The father kept her even more isolated than me.

Where I was allowed out to clean and held on Sunday service, she was kept hidden and safe from the normal people. I wasn't even entirely sure he regarded her at all. He brought her food to survive on, but not even a word more than that.

It was always the same from her, a dull look that masked whatever she really felt. I had no idea what that was. "Thank you, Serena..." She was what I woke up to every day. Or multiple times a day, if you count the passing out.

"Yes, Shiki. I am happy to help." Her eyes were distant as if to look far into the future.

I said what was on my mind absentmindedly, "Where are your parents, Serena?" I regretted asking it almost instantly. "Sorry..."

But despite my lack of tact, the girl answered slowly. "My parents are not here." She wasn't a soulless doll, the more I knew her, the more I could recognize her subtle feelings. She's a little girl stuck in this same world as I am, so of course, she's sort of messed up.

"Oh, Sorry.. for that..." She said no more. "My parents are dead. And... I guess my other ones too." I remember blood pooling in the mouth of a beautiful woman, the moon shined down on her falling white body. The sight of crimson made me feel dizzy again. I lay back down on the bed.

"That's strange. So many parents, and yet no family at all." Her words were curt.

"..." It was expected that people would probably shy away from an obviously weird girl, but she was literally the only person here for me. Naturally, I would be her caretaker of sorts.

"But don't be sad for me, Shiki. They left because they were too happy; so it will be better this way. It's something that will be good in the end." She smiled clumsily as if it were a happy tale. It was gibberish to me, but it made her happy so I wouldn't hurt that.

She was a good thing for me. She was the only thing for me here. "Oh, ok...? That's good." I felt bad for her, but maybe it was better this way. I could try thinking like that sometime, maybe I could think of Akiha in a more positive way.

She was... like a witch, in a way. The sort of witch to be burned at a stake, like Joan of arc. Even at her young age, she had such a feeling. She didn't go to school either, but that had more to do with the fact that the lower grades would do nothing for her, I felt. And the Father of protective of her, in a reverent sort of way. At times, I felt that he didn't even see her at all.

It was this only natural that our relationship would develop into something else. To have someone by your side all the time, you will either grow to like or dislike them. She was all alone, so I became her Onii-san. As she was an impressionable little girl, that's how it turned out.

Time doesn't have meaning when you repeat the same days over and over. Winter had thawed and spring came. Only when I cleaned the church did I notice it.

"You passed out again, Onii-san." Her overly formal language made me uncomfortable.

"It's not exactly an event at this point, is it?"

"It must hurt." The father tends to catch me when I fall, so I am not suffering brain damage or anything.

"Only for the time you can remember. Then it's just blackness."

"I see. That's too bad." As always, her eyes were elsewhere. This was her natural face, one you could change only by engaging directly with her, something that took her attention. It's not that she is not paying attention to you; it's that she is paying attention to much more than just you. "But it is not the end."

"No, it is not. Haha." The end is something else. My mouth moved without me thinking much, "Do you believe in God, Serena?" Her eyes always seemed black and dull, but they shined for a moment from the question.

"Yes, I think God exists. What about you, Shiki?"

"I..." I checked around to see if the father was lurking about anywhere. Not that I'd ever find him. "I'm not sure."

And then she said something strange, "It's only right we are here together. You are the end, and I am the beginning. Who else would bring us together if not God?" I did not want to think about her words, as it was just more questions that I had no answer for. "No matter what, we are what we are. So why are you still in denial Shiki? We are here for a reason." Her look of honesty would haunt me. I did not know why, but that was how it was.

Those days continued under the church. Long enough that my body hardened with muscle and I could last for minutes of exercise rather than seconds. I was remodelled, but the fact of the matter remained that my body was crap.

I wondered what other kids my age did while I would read the scriptures and help Serena knot dolls into strange forms. She had lots of weird puppets and other things down here in the dark. I didn't think much of it until she started to levitate herself from the ground as naturally as she walked. That was when I began to figure she was not actually normal at all.

There was no tv down there, but to be fair, there was no electricity either. There was no distinction from medieval times, but we were both fine. Seeing in the dark became easy. In the back of the church I was allowed to grow our own food, and collect tithes from the few practitioners that came to survive. I even sneaked to convenience stores once or twice but the Father always knew and punished me.

The Tohno mansion was old too, but this was more like the real olden days. I guess I just accepted it. A part of me relished it, like an animal being trained to be the king of the jungle.

Humans are adaptive, and kids are even more so. Shiki and Serena became detached from society altogether. Those who are never corrupted by the other things that surround them will only become closer to the origin that lays inside.

Shiki drew closer to death, and Serena grew closer to creation.

A child can't be blamed for not know that something is strange when they have no real examples to look to.

Author's Notes:

Short chapter to just push through to his adoption into the Church. I can promise that this is not the end for Shiki in Souya, for every great journey needs a return. But I think Shiki will be gone for a long while; I have a fair idea of where I am going with him. I could have done it like putting Shiki in Kirei's orphanage, but that would be way too forced. This is a better direction than that would have been.

Serena's parents: I wouldn't say it that much of a mystery, if you know then you know. If you don't then that's fine too. I never said that they were dead, they just are not around. Due to the uniqueness of Alice's bloodline, they are elsewhere and can't be with her. As she said, this is the happier alternative.

It seems there are some readers who don't have much knowledge of Tsukihime. So I will be both expositiony and will treat spoilers with care. That's the right way to go about this, methinks. Shiki's birthday is October 15 and Shirou's (fake) birthday is October 20, so that's interesting. I'm working on Cursed Sword chapters, but I'm kinda waiting for the days to align. I'd say that it should be done by the 20th though.

I have midterms too, so I'm busy meaning it's variable when I can find the time.

Also, I really didn't realize how few Tsukihime fics there are. So I hope people can have some enjoyment in this.

Review, favorite, follow. Very nice to hear from you.