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Chapter 3
Wandering Souls
Shirou Emiya just went through shit, mostly insect shit. To be honest, he was surprised by his lack of scars or maiming from that night.
The night in which his recklessness almost got him killed.
Skin that was hard as steel and as white as snow. A wickedly evil mask that screamed incarnate of evil. An aura that was so overbearing that just by being in its expansive vicinity, you would feel as if you were a bug just underneath a merciful boot.
This oppressive picture he described of Berserker is at the whim of the little girl seated across from him. A little girl that looked and sparsely acted like an elementary schooler.
A little girl that claimed to be his older sister.
"Did you take Kiritsugu's name?" she asked curiously while childishly stacking snowballs on each other in a vaguesemblance of a miniature snowman. Once completing her second snowman, she directed her ruby eyes to Shirou's amber.
"I don't think... Hm..." Shirou pursed his lips as he stumped on his words and reevaluated his next words. "I..."
"You didn't think Kiritsugu had married?" Illyasviel said bluntly, her words doing nothing to her as she continued to look at Shirou in the eye without a waiver of solemn emotions. "Don't worry, when you dig enough into him, it is a surprise that he even had me."
Shirou cringed at her words. The delivery and maturity of the words seemingly solidifying Illyasviel's image as a mature lady rather than a spoiled child. In combination with her appearance, he felt his chest churn from pity.
However, the remark on his surrogate father, the same person who had saved him those many years ago did rub him the wrong way. He would have rebutted Illyasviel in defense of his memory of Kiritsugu right there.
If only it didn't feel correct.
"So... You are my sister...?" Shirou inquired slowly, his mind comprehending the other meaning of Illyasviel's words.
Illyasviel merely smiled faintly as she redirected her eyes to her snowmen. "Tell me, how old are you, Shirou?"
"Uh... 17 years old."
"17 years... Hm..." she hummed childishly. "Yes, I am older than you by somewhat a year."
Their conversation then was awkwardly followed by a silence as Shirou digested the new information and Illyasviel awaited for said digestion.
The Einzbern signed as her hot breath contrasted with the cold air. I do wonder if I should've played the little sister role... She sent a covert glance at Berserker's astralized form, his imposing form giving him a sense of safety.
"So..." Shirou began, his form visibly uncomfortable in what he was going to ask. "What was dad like to you?"
Illyasviel's smile fell as an unpleasant expression marred her doll-like face. "He abandoned me," she stated with no sign of hesitation. "But before he did so, he smiled, however faint, when he was around me... We often played games with each other, Dad was good at hiding and seek," a faint smile graced her expression, giving her a serene and almost innocent aura.
Shirou frowned at the beginning parts of Illyasviel's statement. An expression of deep thought reflecting his conflict. "I don't think he abandoned you..." he said carefully.
His follow up was interrupted by Illyasviel's swift words.
"Why had you not recognized me back then?" she inquired with the same faint smile but her eyes shifted themselves to her snowmen instead of Shirou. "Did Kiritsugu ever keep a photo of me and Mother?"
Shirou clammed his mouth shut at her words. In truth, he had never seen her before that fateful night. Not a single picture was found of his supposed "elder sister". It was only by her claim and his slight fear of her servant that he even acknowledge her as his sister.
Seeing that her adopted little brother was thrown in a loop, she decided to change topics. "You know who is the source of the shadow, am I correct?" she said bluntly, drawing Shirou's attention once more. "Tell me, what do you intend to do with her?"
"I..."
"Tell me, my dear little brother, do you want to be an ally of justice?"
She waited for an answer that will never come. Once she realized this, she left.
When she left the park, an unexpected encounter ensued.
"What do you intend to do?" a bowman asked as he materialized with arms crossed.
She sent a glance at Archer with a dismissive stare. "Why should I decide for him? He is old enough to know the weight of his decisions. If anything, I would worry more for your master than me."
Archer looked at the immaterialized Berserker with a studying gaze, causing the mad servant to growl menacingly. "I would be careful with your dog, after all, I wonder how Gaia or Alaya would act if they realize... How alien he is."
Illyasviel looked at Archer with a stern glare. "So the Tohsaka summoned a counter guardian, how amusing," she said with a sarcastic tone despite her words being blunt and true. "What do you and your master want?"
"Nothing from my master. From me, however..." Archer gave a cocky smirk as he slowly dematerialized. "I was merely interested in the dynamic change in your and the idiot's relationship, has the hate within you truly dissipated?"
"His idiotic tendencies seem to be rather endearing." Unlike Kiritsugu.
"I suppose so, my master also seems to have been taken by the brat."
"Well, I suppose I will have to defend my brother from the greedy bitches, especially the gluttonous one."
"You have a foul mouth for a girl your age," Archer said sarcastically, knowing full well the real age of the girl before him.
"A normal girl my age would sprout such vulgar language at society," she said off-handedly, playing along with Archer's sarcasm.
"I suppose so... Well, it looks like my master has discovered what I was doing," he huffed with exasperation before finishing dematerializing. "Have a good day, princess."
"Such an unruly gentleman," Illyasviel huffed in response before making her way to her next location.
Kirei Kotomine was a fickle person, in Illyasviel's opinion. A man who claimed to love God and yet has such an empty expression. The man to moderate Heaven's Feel ritual and uphold the rules, yet to compete in it and break said rules.
She strode in the corrupt priest's church, her eyes immediately being drawn away from the priest to the catwalk.
"What can I do for you, master of Berserker?" Kirei inquired as he closed his bible and place it on the altar.
Ignoring the priest, she turned her body towards a particular place in the catwalk. "Am I correct to presume you are a servant of the last Heaven's Feel Ritual?" she asked as her Berserker shifted slightly in irritation.
"Oh? A mere doll dares to address me like that?" a haughty voice called over as a figure seated high above sipped from his wine.
"What great figure hides in the shadows?" Illyasviel returned evenly as she took a seat in one of the pews.
Taking great offense to her comment, a golden circle appeared above the figure and a sword shot off at Illyasviel at great speeds.
Not even sparing it a glance, Illyasviel mentally commanded Berserker to block the sword and send it back. The mad servant obliged her command to its fullest and destroy the second floor of the church.
She sent a glance to the ruined roof of the church to find a golden-haired man dressed in a biker outfit. His golden eyes glared at her with utter disgust as more golden circles appeared around his person.
"Berserker, subdue the bastard," she commanded simply as her servant dematerialized and roared, shaking the very foundations of the church.
"You dare insult me, you mindless beast!" the man roared with indescribable fury as dozens of noble phantasms shot towards her.
Berserker raised his sword and blocked the first two incoming projectiles. It then batted away the rest of it, sending rubble and dust everywhere.
Unconcerned of such things despite the proximity, Illyasviel looked to the priest. "I offer an alliance," she said, "at least until the shadow is dealt with.
Kirei looked at her long and hard as he batted away any stray rubble that was to befall him as his church quickly fell to ruin around him. "Is this how you treat your allies?" he inquired curiously, his eyes scrutinizing her with a minor glare.
"If they get on my nerves, certainly," she said with a smile as dozens of weapons and rubble fell all around her.
"Your confidence is surely admirable," he commented as a piece of fast-moving rubble hit his shin. "Tch."
"Do you perhaps a more suitable area for our talks?"
The priest gave her a long stare, his dull eyes scrutinizing her. "Very well, this way."
Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, was beyond annoyed. His annoyance had quickly morphed into an unadulterated rage at the sheer disrespect given to him by the fake girl and her toy.
Yet, as he battled with Berserker, his rage soon took on a more cold disposition. "You do not fight like a rabid beast, nor like a demon," he observed openly as he used his Gates of Babylon to summon Enkidu.
The chains bound the beast with the strength that was enough to bind a lesser god. "Two-thirds god?" he noted with keen interest as he then laughed out loud. "Interesting."
However, the chains buckled and strained despite their strength. It was more interesting when considering the fact the chains bound the beast even tighter by the second. Now it was a contest on whether Berserker had more strength than his divinity or vice versa.
"Your strength of divinity..." Gilgamesh started, his eyes narrowing in disgust and suspicion. "No wonder the girl had such arrogance in her, it would seem she inherited the gods' hubris."
About a hundred Gates of Babylon opened up around Berserker as thousands of legendary weapons were loaded to fire at his whim. "You shall die here in your hubris!"
"My king, please stand down," Kirei intoned cooly.
In an instant, all the summoned Gates of Babylon turned their sights towards the priest. "What is with you mongrels disrespecting your king?!" Gilgamesh roared with indescribable fury. "I have not seen such arrogance and hubris since that bitch Ishtar came to my doorstep!"
Illyasviel's attention was not on the golden servant but instead on her servant. Bound like a beast, she felt her stomach drop at the sight. Berserker's spiritual energy was surely rising, supplementing his strength but at the same time, the chains that bound it tightened and strengthed its hold. It was as if it fed off said energy.
A cold sweat formed on Illyasviel's forehead as she continued to look at Berserker. Berserker is the strongest. Berserker is the strongest. BERSERKER IS THE STRONGEST.
Gilgamesh stopped in his speech midway as he looked at Berserker. "You damned cur," he growled with annoyance as he turned his gates on it once more and this time firing a volley.
The mad servant was pierced in every crevice of his body. Its struggles ceasing as the light of its eyes and its spiritual power vanished.
He then looked to the servant's master. "Have you finally seen your hubris, mongrel?"
Then, he heard the sound of chains falling off as an ominous presence loomed behind him. He summoned a sword and tried to swipe the presence only for his sword to be stopped.
"Berserker, that is enough," Illyasviel spoke up, confidence once again brimming. The servant soon returned to its master side with its body looking as if it was untouched as steam sizzled from its body.
Gilgamesh's annoyance grew to have no bounds as he looked at her with disgust. "You think you had my life in your hands, mongrel?"
"Considering the circumstances, I believe so," she returned with a shrug, angering the king. She then chose to ignore the king and instead turned to the priest. "I assume that tonight will be the time you will try to exterminate the pest?"
"We currently have no such plans," Kirei replied as he looked in slight fascination at the angered king.
"I will remove your head, Kirei," Gilgamesh threatened with impunity as he shot a noble phantasm towards the priest, it cutting a small cut in Kirei's neck. He then simply glared at Illyasviel, his eyes screaming bloody murder as his Gate of Babylon turned on her once again.
A little stare off began as red eyes clashed their glares at each other.
Crimson eyes won out as Illyasviel huffed as she turned heel and left. "I will be meeting you, tomorrow night, King of Heroes."
Before Gilgamesh could curse or reduce her to a stain, Berserker picked up Illyasviel and they both blurred from view.
"What a detestable little bitch," Gilgamesh growled as he sat on one of the unruined pews. "And you, Kirei, do I need to remind you how to respect?"
"Such teachings would be enlightening, my king," Kirei responded dully as he got a broom and started to sweep the rubble.
"Tch, how insolent," he growled, disregarding such remark for now. "What did you and that mongrel talk about," the king demanded as he glared at Kirei.
"She offered her cooperation," Kirei revealed as he looked at the ruined roof. "I must say, she is truly the daughter of Emiya."
Gilgamesh merely growled as he sat up and walked away. "Damned mongrels."
Chapter 3 End
Waited long? Have no fear as I am here!
To quickly note, Illyasviel was aiming to talk to Kirei without Gilgamesh watching. As to why she knew Gilgamesh was alive and with Kirei? That question will be answered at the beginning of the next chapter.
Anyhow, as you can hopefully see, this storyline is now careening off as I try to forge a different timeline.
Oh, to quickly address the spiritual power = divinity... Yeah, just roll with it, hm? By no means am I saying that normal shinigami are comparable to the gods of the Nasuverse but that Ichigo's unique spiritual power is something very close to divinity in composition or wavelength.
You can argue with me in my discord server here: /fDzm9VwRdF
SaveTheWeak, out.
