Leaves blew through the crisp autumn air. Four faces stood prominent on the side of the mountain standing guard over the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Monuments to the four Hokage who protected it.

Shirou knew they were heroes.

Itachi's words to him and Sasuke about the Will of Fire those years rang through his ears even now as he rushed through the streets of Konoha. After five days in the hospital, days unnecessary in his own opinion, he had finally been released. During his time there, when he didn't have any visitors, the numbers of which grew gradually, to Shirou's pleasant surprise, he spent his time reviewing what he knew of this world and comparing them to his beliefs and memories to his time as Shirou Emiya. The conclusion that he reached encouraged him.

The reason was simple: To be a Hero of Justice. He saw the spirit of righteousness that people felt from the heroes of this village and he knew, in his heart, that meant that true peace could be reached if enough people fought for it. He also believed, in his heart, that enough people would. He strives to be one these heroes, maybe not Hokage—he knew he would be ill-suited to take on that task—but a shinobi like his brother, Itachi? That was the type of shinobi Shirou wanted to be. Someone kind and capable.

Shirou looked up to Itachi in the same way he idolized Kiritsugu. They had the same eyes; ones who have had to kill in order to save. Kiritsugu had mourned himself to death over his failures. Itachi has not fallen that far yet and he was determined not to let him get that way. He would save everyone so Itachi wouldn't have to. This resolve of his only deepened after he noticed the growing distress buried beneath his brother's caring mask during his visits to the hospital. Shirou wouldn't doubt it if no one noticed it but him, if he hadn't have had experience he wouldn't have, but he knew that something was eating away at his eldest brother but whatever it was, he knew Itachi would never say.

He wasn't so arrogant that he didn't know that his dream was still near-impossible. But he didn't give up on it in the past; why should he do so now? As far as he knew, the situation hadn't changed. Rin and Arturia were still there to help him. True, from what he gathered, there was no shortage of people with evil intentions and the ability to act on them in the Elemental Nations but... there were also people who held his own ideals right there in Konoha. To protect and to never give up. That was Konoha's Will of Fire. An entire village founded on principles he had adopted and though he knew the road ahead would still be rife with trials and difficulties, he held this knowledge to heart and it gave him a renewed sense of determination.

Sasuke had come to visit every time Itachi had and several times in between with Their mother in tow more often than not. Those time usually coincided with Rin and Arturia's visits, much to Sasuke's annoyance and Mikoto's elation. Rin wouldn't admit to it, but Shirou knew that she did it on purpose for every time they were in the same room, she would go above and beyond in her subtle-yet-successful way of angering the Uchiha family's middle child.

While he pitied Sasuke for incurring the wrath of Homurahara's 'Ice Princess' he also couldn't help but chuckle at the occurrence. After all, he cared for his other brother just as much as all of the other members of his new family. Sasuke tried to put on a tough facade, no doubt an attempt at emulating their father, but the real Sasuke was a happy boy who knew nothing but love, idolized their older brother, and showed a protective side towards Shirou not dissimilar to the one Itachi showed towards the both of them.

Speaking of Rin and Arturia, the two had visited him frequently, occasionally bringing a few stowaways such as Naruto, Arturia's loud friend she had met at the orphanage and Hinata, Rin's sister and a shy, kind girl who always seemed to act even more timid around Naruto. The four of them had last visited the day before, with a promise to Rin and Arturia to meet in training ground three after his release just moments before, thus his hurry as he wound his way through Konoha.

His thoughts were cut short as he stopped his frantic run and realized he had become terribly lost while distracted.

Somehow, he had ended up in a forest of some sort. It was calm and the sun shone through cracks in the branches, letting through bright rays that came down like pillars in the tranquil forest. Shirou paused for a second and took a deep breath as he took in the serene sight that was all around him. Exhaling, he decide to venture forwards in the direction he was headed in hope of at least discovering his own location.

Soon, he saw a break in the forest ahead, the thick foliage around him thinning, and he found himself in a small clearing. A small rock shrine sat in the middle of the clearing and a tall, lanky man with silver hair loomed over it; eerily still with a somber, yet hopeful expression on what you cold view of his concealed face. He wore an ANBU uniform and sported a sword on his back. The man hadn't seemed to notice Shirou's presence so Shirou walked up behind the man to view the shrine.

What was written on the small boulder were names. Ikkaku Umino, Obito Uchiha, the list went on. Shirou had never heard of his relative on the stone and could only wonder what the shrine was, so he began to look at it with renewed wonder.

"They're Shinobi who were listed as KIA..."

It took a full second for Shirou to realize the voice belonged to none other than the man beside him, finally breaking his rather dreary silence, and another yet to realize why this man was standing here with such expression. Shirou slowly turned his head to look at him but didn't say anything at first. After carefully choosing his words, he spoke.

"What was their name?"

"Hm?" The silver haired man eyed the boy curiously, not expecting him to respond so bluntly, if at all.

"The one you lost?" Shirou reiterated. "What was their name?"

The man deliberated for a second, still observing the young child before him.

"How old are you, boy?" He asked.

"Six."

The man, again, remained silent before finally looking away from the boy and back to the memorial.

"...Obito. Obito Uchiha. He was my teammate."

The name immediately drew interest from Shirou and he smiled warmly before walking up to memorial and placing his hands together as if praying. He bowed his head and spoke.

"Thank you for your sacrifice, cousin Obito," he began. "Those of us you leave behind will be sure to honor your memory so that can rest easy."

"What's your name, boy?"

"Shirou Uchiha, sir," sure enough, the Uchiha fan on the back of the boys red shirt stood as clear as day. The boy, now Shirou, held his hand out.

"Kakashi," the man said, remembering the name of Itachi's younger brother from the uproar following his medical episode a week prior. "What are you doing running around out here? Shouldn't you be resting?"

"Discharged with a clean bill of health this morning!" Shirou exclaimed, his smile only growing wider. "I was actually supposed to be meeting some friends in training ground three but... yeah. I kind of don't know how to get there at the moment."

Shirou chuckled and scratched his head in embarrassment and Kakashi could only laugh at the site. The boy, with short, spiky, snow-white hair and black eyes had a whimsical nature that belied the mature personality beneath.

Walking up and ruffling his hair, much to Shirou's surprise and chagrin, Kakashi said:

"You didn't miss your mark by much." He pointed in the direction to his left with a gloved thumb, "Just head through those trees about fifty meters or so and you'll reach another clearing. You shouldn't have any trouble finding it. Just hope your friends aren't too upset with you for running late."

Kakashi turned to leave and Shirou's smile dropped, "Ah, crap! Arturia will understand but Rin... Rin's going to be pissed."

"Just tell her you got lost on the the road to life."

"Will that really work?"

"It's what Obito always said."

With a finally wave goodbye as he walked away, Kakashi performed a shunshin and he was gone.

—

"Where is he! Ugh!"

Rin stomped her foot in the ground for added emphasis as she stood in the training area, tapping a finger across her crossed arms in her impatience. She wore a red shirt with the sleeves a bit long on her arms, going slightly past her hands, with black Capri shinobi pants with black sandals and, as usual, her hair tied in twin tails. In he previous life, she had stopped styling her hair this way after high school, letting her hair run freely to accent her self-proclaimed maturity. She had only started doing so again due to her physical age in this realm. The fact that she held such a mature mind in such a young shell did nothing to take away the fact that Rin Hyuuga, formerly Tohsaka, currently had the appearance of a very grumpy six year old.

Arturia sat under the shade of a tree behind her; knees tucked under her with her hands placed elegantly on her lap, eyes closed. She wore a pair of blue shorts that seemed a size to big along a shite tank top. She had a crude bokken tied to her waist that appeared to be made from an old piece of lumber she had found lying around. Unlike Rin, Arturia had opted to go barefoot and, also unlike Rin, she had let her hair down today, not bothering to do the work that morning. Where as Rin's serious aura did nothing to make her look more mature, Arturia's humble attire did nothing to hide her regal presence. The King Arthur of legend would never have neglected such tasks, no matter how trivial, but the Arturia here and now had learned to relax over her years spent with Shirou and Rin and also alongside the groundbreaking standards of laziness to be expected from Naruto. The trio had taught her that it was okay to be human.

Her attention was then drawn to a chakra signature she sensed approaching from straight ahead of them and she looked up abruptly, smiling.

"Relax, Rin. He's almost here."

Rin turned and looked at her companion, raising an eyebrow quizzically. She was about to speak but was interrupted when Shirou burst through trees, disturbing her line of thought. Her irritation returned to her full force as she whipped her head back around and looked the truant expectantly.

It was a surprise to the both of them at first; seeing Shirou's eyes were no longer their golden hue but a dark gray, almost black color. Add that to his white hair, and he looked more akin to a younger Archer than a younger version of the way he looked before their reincarnation. Though, in a way, to say that was certainly true, as well. He donned a red shirt with medium-length sleeves that went down to his elbow with a v-neck instead of The Uchiha standard high collar and the Uchiha fan on his back. He wore white shorts with his shins and hands were covered in tape and shinobi sandals. He stood up straight after stopping his sprint and looked sheepishly at Rin, holding both hands up in apology.

"Sorry I'm late." Her sharp glare tightened. "Uh... I got lost on the road to life?" He added desperately.

For a moment he thought it worked. Rin's infuriated expression immediately turned to one of shock as her shoulders dropped and her eyes widened. Even Arturia looked up questioningly from where she sat. All his hopes for receiving forgiveness peacefully dropped when she just as suddenly tensed back up and strode dominantly over to him. He managed to flinch before the expected knock on his head never came. He opened his eyes and looked at the girl to see her right in front of him her hair hiding her expression and her shoulders shook before stopping. Finally, she looked up to him and smiled.

"Well," she said. "I guess I have to give you points for surprising me. I haven't heard that one yet."

Arturia stood up from her resting spot and strode over to them.

"Now," Rin began in her down-to-business voice. "By gathering you here, I thought we could try to figure some things out."

"Such as?" Arturia asked.

"What our current abilities are, and also," Rin replied while raising a finger in the air for emphasis. "To see which, if any, techniques we can replicate from our last life."

"Is that even possible? I mean the jutsu in this world is nothing like magecraft—"

He noticed Rin looking at him wryly, her smile growing larger, like a spider who just caught an insect in her web.

"—Unless... of course, it is?"

Rin beamed in triumph.

"Very good, Shirou," she giggled.

Shirou sighed in defeat. "You like torturing me, don't you?"

Arturia smiled in amusement as well, already suspecting the similarities herself, though she wasn't certain of any specifics. Specifics she was she sure, now, that Rin was intimately aware of.

"Of course!" Rin stated matter-of-factly. "In fact, the chakra system and magecraft are almost identical, albeit greatly different in their practice. In this world, each individual is born with three hundred and sixty-one magic circuits called tenkutsu. They work essentially the same, with a few exceptions. Here, everyone uses chakra: a combination of spiritual and physical energy."

"So, basically, it's prana?" Shirou asked. "A mixture of od and mana?"

"Yes and no. The exact differences are hard to explain but in the simplest terms I can think of, it's molded differently. Therefore, the techniques you are capable of are another variety altogether from magecraft. That doesn't mean that there aren't certain things that can be translated. For instance, my gandr shot."

"But Rin," Arturia cut in, a deeply inquisitive look on her face. "I thought you said your attempts to recreate that spell didn't work?"

Rin immediately froze and grunted as her proud attempt at bragging was slowly crumbling.

"And also that the attempt destroyed your—mmph!" Anything further Arturia might have said was silenced by Rin's hand covering her mouth. Turning back to Shirou, Rin said:

"I said that my attempt was unsuccessful, not that it was impossible!" Rin corrected frantically before letting Arturia go and and straightening herself somewhat before continuing. "Chakra is way less stable than prana, so it's more powerful but takes much higher control over it to be able to use properly. My gandr may not be ready yet, but I'll you have you know that I still have an affinity for all five elements."

She said that last part proudly and Shirou couldn't help smile at his former lover.

"An Average genius in any life, huh, Tohsaka?" He asked rhetorically.

"Of course," Rin smiled endearingly at the former name he called her during the Holy Grail War. Afterwards, when they started dating, he only called her that in rare moments. "And what of the two of you? Saber already told me while you were lazing about in the hospital, but you should know as well, I suppose and we've yet to know what you can still do."

"Hey! I wasn't 'lazing about!'" He retorted in a mock insulted manner. "I haven't tried to trace anything yet—up until five days ago, I didn't remember my past so I wouldn't have even conceived trying to make a sword—but I can tell you that I do still have the ability, though, for some reason, my tracing is limited to touch. I can't do it by sight alone anymore. When Itachi-nii—" Rin snickers and Arturia's eye twitches slightly at the nickname. "—would teach Sasuke and I shurikenjutstu, when he would hand me his kunai, I knew how to use it instinctively. I didn't know why that was at the time, but now I'm pretty sure my past abilities were the reason. Also, I have no elemental affinity."

Rin sighed at the last part.

"I guess I should have asked what you still can't do," she muttered, rubbing her temples. "Do you mean to say you can't perform any ninjutsu?"

"No, I should be able to do any non-element based jutsu."

"Should?" Arturia, who has been quietly listening up until now, decided to speak up in concern for her former master. "Shirou, you can't protect yourself properly without ninjutsu in this world."

"Hey, calm down," he said. "I said 'should' because I haven't tested the theory in anything but the shunshin. Besides, I'm still fully capable of reinforcement. In fact, my reinforcement is even stronger than it used to be."

"The shunshin?" Rin asked, her interest piqued. "That's a rather advanced technique for a six year old."

"Shisui thought of it," Shirou said. "He was helping Sasuke and I train while Itachi-nii—" snicker. "—was on a mission. He was curious if my inability was for all jutsu so he taught us. I learned it pretty quick but Sasuke—er, well."

"Little fucker finally got an attitude check, huh," Rin was laughing mischievously but shut up when Shirou gave her a serious glance.

"What about you?" Shirou turned to Arturia who proudly and cutely puffed her chest out in pride before answering.

"I've maintained all my sword skills, if not my sword," she said proudly. "And although I haven't checked to see my affinities, I am aware that I at least have a wind attribute."

Arturia fluidly drew her crudely made bokken and took a few steps before swinging the blade once with impressive speed before reattaching it to her waist. A second later a few sturdy branches in the wake of that swing fell to the forest floor, clean serrations at the stumps from the chakra-filled wind that swept from the dull wooden blade.

Rin clapped her hands, impressed.

"A sensor, too, from what I saw earlier," she judged. "We'll have to experiment later to see what else you can do. Now, Shirou." She turned serious and looked him in the eyes. "Try to project a weapon. Start small if you have to, but don't worry about chakra exhaustion, for a while at least." Veins bulged around her eyes as her byakugan activated. "I can tell you for a fact that you were born with much higher chakra than you were prana. No doubt from being born to a family willing to teach more than just the basics this time around."

Shirou nodded. It was true, while efficient most times, cannibalizing his nerves to create new circuits in their past had proven to be an inconvenience at only the worst possible moments. He found himself constantly wishing Kiritsugu had taught him the proper way to activate his circuits but by the time he had learned of his incorrect method during the Fifth Holy Grail War, he had tried to correct the issue over time with limited success. Being raised in a clan such as the Uchiha this time around, he had been taught proper chakra control from an early age, despite his shortcomings in certain jutsu. His father, in particular, had seemed disappointed upon learning of his complete inability to perform the clan's signature Fireball Jutsu. In fact, Fugaku had only visited him in the hospital once, and even then he only stayed for a brief few moments and exchanged fewer words before leaving. Itachi was less than pleased, and he took a mental note to try and discover the rift he noticed between his father and brother later on, attributing to one of the many things he needed to investigate.

Turning his attention back to the present, Shirou tried to focus on several noble phantasms but was unable to materialize them. Next he tried a mystic code, but again, was unable to materialize it. He decided to try one last option before giving up. Strangely, this time, whatever resistance was present during his prior attempts was absent now as he felt a familiar energy surge through and with a simple aria, he knew this time, his effort would bear fruit.

"Trace. On."

With a brief flash of light, the twin blades, kanshou and byakuya, were in his grasp. He held them up and inspected them, but found nothing wrong with them. Might even be more durable than they were in his past life.

"So you can do it," Arturia smiled.

"To an extent," Shirou frowned. "I tried tracing a few noble phantasms at first but it didn't work."

"That's disconcerting..." Arturia said, a thoughtful frown on her face. "But why are you able to trace Kanshou and Byakuya? They're Noble Phantasms, too, are they not?"

"My guess is it's because of Archer's, and therefore his own familiarity with them," Rin theorized. "Other than those two, have you completely lost all the swords previously held in your reality marble?"

"No, they're there," Shirou closed his eyes. "In my Unlimited Blade Works. I can feel them. All of them. It's more like they're locked away. I can still trace freely any normal weapon, even their history and skills. Just like always. It's just the stronger ones for some reason..."

"Hmm," Rin put her hand to her mouth in concentration before noticing the slowly dimming sky above. "Well, in any case, this seems all we can do for now, so let's call it a day, shall we? I'll come find the two of you tomorrow after thinking on our next move. Let's head back for now."

—

Finding his way was much easier the second time around with Rin and Arturia to guide him. Upon their emergence back to the more civilized area of Konoha, the three of them noticed a more chaotic energy in the village, despite the sun having past below the tree line at this point, bathing the Village in an array of colors. When Shirou looked up, he saw shinobi darting across the rooftops in a frantic manner.

"What do you suppose has happened?" Arturia asked.

"Not sure," Rin's reply was short as she pursed her lip in deep thought. "At any rate, I suggest we head home. If it's something we need to worry about, I'm sure we'll find out."

"Yeah," Shirou agreed, though he couldn't shrug away the sense of foreboding. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Be careful, Shirou, Rin," Arturia bade the two of them farewell and left first.

"See you tomorrow, Shirou," with a smile, Rin was off as well.

Still unable to shake his uneasiness, Shirou smiled grimly and made his way towards his own home. He was sure his mother would be less than pleased with him. She had been the one to check him out at the hospital and the only way he'd gotten her to allow his visit with Rin and Arturia so soon after his discharge was under the agreement that he would be home before dinner, which he was most assuredly late for.

Once he'd made his way into the Uchiha District, his nerves only tightened. If the village outside the district was frantic, then his relatives in the Uchiha District were proving to be downright chaotic. He quickly made his way home, certain that either his mother or father would be able to tell him what was going on. The news they relayed to him was disturbing on many levels.

Shisui Uchiha had committed suicide.

AN: Sorry for the wait. Please remember to follow, favorite, and REVIEW!

AN2: I have updated the phrasing of several parts and added in extra information to, hopefully, further explain several parts that didn't make sense the way I tried explaining them when I first posted this chapter. If you still can't make sense of what I'm trying to say, I apologize but please pm me with anything you don't understand so that I may either further edit this chapter or at least know what I need to elaborate on in further chapters.

Also, I was thinking of posting a short info-chapter regarding the abilities each of them will possess. To be honest, I didn't want to do that, as I wanted to dish out the information as I went in increments so as not to spoil anything, but with the questions that people have been posting lately in the reviews, I feel like I have to at least tell a bit from all the inquiries.

AN3: it seems people agree, so NO stat sheet.

AN4: I am surprised that everyone is asking about his inability to perform elemental jutsu, and since it doesn't really spoil anything and I'm honestly surprised no one could figure it out, I'll explain it. His inability to do so is because of his limitations in the nasuverse. He was so specialized with what he could do, he couldn't do any other kind of magecraft (i.e. "this is the only magic allowed to Shirou Emiya"). I've taken some liberties with what he can and can't do, such as the shunshin, but any jutsu I will allow him to learn will be because it compliments his fighting style. For everyone saying that I've made Rin and Arturia too OP while nerfing Shirou: Rin will be a prodigy, but one prone to small mistakes that have larger repercussions, as always; Arturia was strong but limited due to her prana consumption from Shirou in the show, her handicap here will her not possessing Excalibur; Shirou, will always be facing up against people way stronger than him on paper, but his abilities in what he can do added to his willpower will level the field, somewhat, as always. I don't want my characters to just run through every opponent like it's nothing. That's boring. They will have to fight to win, and they will definitely lose more than one battle. Shirou will have a sharingan, just not yet. I've got plans for that.