Castlevania: Minuet of a Cursed Fate
Chapter four: Hidden Bloodlines
Cover Image: Shirou and Caster standing over three magic glyphs with the image of the Vampire Killer in the background.
After going through his late father's possessions, Shirou found himself in a rather confusing situation, a strange and stoic woman dressed in antiquated garb was standing before him, calling the auburn-haired youth "Master."
"I repeat, are you my Master?" Caster kept her ice-cold gaze fixed on Shirou, pressing him on for an answer he probably didn't have.
"Wh-What are you talking about?" Shirou staggered back from Caster, shocked at both her sudden appearance and the strange words the raven-haired Servant spoke, not noticing newly formed seal on his hand.
Silence dominated the atmosphere around the Emiya household, but unknown to both Shirou and Caster, a strange man with combed grey hair and eyes dressed in a white suit with a purple tie and a ceremonial scarf watched them from afar and by his side, was none other than Lancer.
"So, there's a new Master, huh?" Lancer's lips curved into a sinister smirk, her words laced with both predatory and murderous intent. "He's not as cute as the last one, so I'll enjoy torturing him." The horned Servant readied herself for her potential kill.
"No, let's test him first." The mysterious Master raised his hand to prevent Lancer from moving as he spoke with a voice that conveyed a sense of amusement and curiosity. "It would be a waste to kill him now."
The mysterious Master held both his hands up in the air and several magic seals appeared on the ground in front of him and from each, a red skeletal knight materialised, each wielding a sword and shield.
"Go forth." The mysterious Master commanded his skeleton knights to track down and attack Shirou and Caster.
Shirou tried to regain his composure, which was next to impossible given his scenario, unable to take the awkward silence; the auburn-haired youth finally spoke up.
"M-Master?" Shirou's voice trembled as he questioned Caster's statement, showing that he was completely oblivious in regards to the way the Holy Grail War worked.
Before Caster could clarify herself further, the skeleton knights broke into the house, eyes glowing red with the hateful intensity of the cursed souls that animated them.
Without warning, the skeleton knights went straight for Shirou, but they were quickly intercepted by Caster, who picked up her red rapier with her left hand cast a magic flame from the glyph tattoo on her right hand.
Shirou was unable to watch as Caster fought alone, due to his strong sense of justice, looked for anything he could use as a weapon and as luck would have it, a steel bar was within his reach.
With nothing to motivate him but his protective instinct, Shirou charged towards the skeleton knights, wielding his steel bar like a makeshift sword.
Each time Caster struck down a skeleton knight, it would reassemble itself immediately, leading to a near endless assault by only five opponents.
Shirou charged and struck one of the skeleton knights with a heavy blow from his crude weapon, only for his attack to have minimal effect.
The skeleton knight raised its sword to strike at Shirou, only to be met with an ice projectile conjured by Caster, but all that did was knock it out temporarily.
Shirou felt helpless, knowing that he couldn't even save a girl he just met, he instinctively visualised a weapon that could put down the skeleton knights for good and the vision that came to mind was a whip that emanated with holy energy and with that, the weapon appeared in the auburn-haired youth's hand.
"That weapon is…" Caster was shocked at what she had just seen, the legendary weapon only wielded by members of a clan that rose up to fight the forces of darkness. "The Vampire Killer!"
Shirou swung the Vampire Killer at the skeleton knights and with a single strike, he took down two of them with ease, the purifying light from the whip bleaching the bones from red to white, rendering them unable to reassemble.
Mindless and without fear, the remaining two skeleton knights diverted their attention from Caster and they went straight for Shirou.
Caster acted quickly, channelling the power of light through her sword and extending its reach as she slashed at the skeleton knights with an arc of holy magic.
The skeleton knights have been reduced to shattered pieces on the ground and the Vampire Killer disappeared in Shirou's hand and now Caster herself shared in his confusion.
The rest of the night was dedicated to cleaning the mess left by the attack and Shirou was lucky enough to recover his father's notes from the rubble. Upon reading them, the auburn-haired youth, struggled to find his connection with the man named Julius Belmont, maybe it had something to do with the strange whip he had traced the previous night.
"Master?" Caster called out to Shirou, the rays of morning sun illuminating her beautiful features, causing the auburn-haired youth's cheeks to turn a faint pink.
"Now's not the time to be thinking like that!" Shirou patted his cheeks as he tried to distract himself from his thoughts on Caster.
Shirou instructed Caster to wait in his room, the last thing he needed was an awkward introduction of a mysterious female companion.
He made his way to the dining room and as usual, there was company in the form of a woman with short light brown hair and eyes wearing a green dress with a yellow and black stripe shirt, a younger woman about Shirou's age with long violet hair and matching eyes, wearing a school uniform, and the last one, was his friend Soma, who now had his right hand wrapped in bandages to hide his command seal.
"Good morning, Taiga, Sakura and… Soma?" Shirou did not expect the last guest's presence, mostly because the Cronqvist Heir kept to himself, despite being best friends, he could count the white-haired youth's visits with his fingers.
"Sorry to impose… Miss Fujimura insisted." Soma smiled nervously at his host, hoping that he wasn't intruding.
"Oh, come on now!" Taiga pulled Soma into a playful hug, ignoring the slight growl coming from the white-haired youth, who looked miffed at having his personal space violated. "Sightings of you outside school are so rare! I just had to catch you!"
"I hope you like breakfast, Shirou." Sakura spoke softly and affectionately at the auburn-haired youth, a light pink blush coating her cheeks.
The rest of the meal was like a typical family breakfast, despite no one on the table being related in any way. Shirou made sure there was some food left for Caster.
All four of them headed to school shortly after, and when the other students saw Soma, faint whispers started forming within the groups of teenagers.
"Hey, did you hear the rumour?" A girl whispered to her friend in a gossiping tone.
"Yeah, Cruz is going out with a foreign girl." Her friend giggled as she spoke, her tone little more mischievous. "But he already has Tohsaka."
Soma heard his name in the faint whispers, but he ignored them, after all, the white-haired youth maintained his image with surgical precision, making sure he seemed aloof enough so that he can guard his private life as closely as possible. After all, regular people didn't need to be exposed to the dangerous world of magecraft. Only his closest friends were able to see through his brooding and sarcastic mask.
But if the whispers failed to get Soma's attention, something else did and he felt a sharp pain as his ear was pulled violently by an angry Rin Tohsaka, who was covered in a seething jealous aura.
"What the hell, Rin?" Souma managed to speak through the pain, though he felt that his ear could come off any minute now.
"You were dating a foreign girl, that's what!" Rin shot a jealous glare at Soma, the rumours having reached her almost immediately. "I told you… I won't forgive you if you see other girls…" The Tohsaka Heir let go of the white-haired youth's hair, but her jealous aura persisted.
"Yeah, about that…" Soma rubbed his painful ear as he spoke to his irate childhood friend. "What do you have against other girls?" He asked, comically missing the point of her outburst.
"You just don't get it, do you?" Rin kept her glare fixed on Soma, her fists shaking with anger. "I-I won't let anyone steal you away from me!"
Soma remembered Rin's lonely childhood after losing both her parents and younger sister to the last Holy Grail War, and in those dark days, he was all she had. With that in mind, he pulled her into a warm embrace, earning a sudden blush from his childhood friend.
"Relax, nobody's stealing me." Soma smiled at Rin reassuringly, hoping to calm down her anxiety. "We've been through too much together."
"I just wish you'd take our engagement more seriously…" Rin blushed as she was held in Soma's arms, her voice a whisper that was too soft for the white-haired youth to hear.
Though Soma thought the marriage agreement was just a part of the complicated and sometimes antiquated Tohsaka family politics, Rin took the engagement to heart and it was one of the only things she held on to after the tragedy of the last war.
Shirou and Sakura both smiled awkwardly as Rin and Soma's exchange, knowing just how thick their long-time friend was being in regards to his childhood friend's feelings for him.
The rest of the day went on and with the exception of the spreading rumours and Rin watching Soma like a hawk, things were pretty normal, but for Shirou, 'normal' wasn't a word he could trust anymore, not with his newfound involvement in the Grail War.
Shirou called Soma to the abandoned park and naturally, the white-haired youth showed up, knowing that his best friend had something serious to talk about.
"You wanted to talk?" Soma approached Shirou, holding two cans of coffee, holding out one of the beverages to his friend.
"Yeah, I need some advice." Shirou smiled as he took the can of coffee out of Soma's hands. He knew that his best friend always knew what to do in a hard situation.
"Well, you gonna tell me what's up?" Soma took a seat on the nearby bench and opened his can.
"Well… I've been forced into something recently, something I have no idea how to handle." Shirou decided against giving Soma all the specifics on Caster's summoning or the strange holy whip.
"No matter how small or big your situation is right now… being forced is a reality of life." Soma exhaled bitterly, knowing more than anyone how it was like to live according to someone else's designs, especially since he and Shirou were in the exact same position, but he did not know that. "If you feel there's no way around it, the only thing you can do is make the best out of it."
"Make the best out of it, huh?" Soma's words got to Shirou and suddenly, he felt less burdened by Caster's presence. The problem didn't go away; he still had no idea what to do, but hearing constructive advice helped. "Thanks, I feel much better now."
"Anytime…" Soma smiled at his friend, though he found it quite odd that Shirou called him out for such a short exchange, he knew that the auburn-haired youth was more introspective than he let on.
After concluding his conversation with Shirou, Soma made a quick trip to the mall to buy his Servant some clothes before heading back to his apartment, waiting for him there, was Saber, who wore usual serious, no-nonsense expression, but now, an unknown figure was sitting on the sofa, a young girl, about fifteen years of age who wore a black jacket with a white fur-collar over a black dress with a short skirt, her face obscured by a hood.
"Welcome home, Soma." Saber gave her Master a faint smile. She was glad to see that he hadn't taken any major detours and was home on time.
"Hello…" The hooded girl greeted Soma shyly in a soft and almost monotone voice.
"Nice to see you Saber and… Mystery Girl." Soma smiled at Saber before turning his attention to the hooded girl, visits from strangers was common for him, after all, the Mages Association watched his progress closely, but the observers were never this young before.
"My name is Gray…" The hooded girl introduced herself to Soma with a tinge of annoyance in her voice; she clearly didn't appreciate her nickname. "Lord El Melloi II sent me to observe you throughout the war, so I'll be in your care, Mr Cruz."
Soma and Saber were about to object, but they were stopped dead in their tracks when Gray pulled back her hood and to their shock, the mystery girl's face looked exactly like Saber's, though her hair was paler and her expression was colder.
Deep in the forest surrounding Fuyuki City, there was a mist enshrouded castle Illyasviel was bathing large bathhouse built over a hot spring illuminated by the moonlight and as she floated on the hot water, she gazed up at the night sky, thinking of a certain white-haired youth.
"Soma…" Illyasviel's lips curled down into a frown, she did not like how abruptly their 'date' had ended and she intended to make good on her threat that day. "We'll see each other very soon and when we do… I'll make you mine."
Author's note: Shirou's introduction chapter as a Master is finally done. Caster will play a role very similar to Saber's in Shirou's life, only Shanoa will have some clumsy moments and she'll reference Albus and get some creepy Barlowe vibes from Kotomine. And I'm sure you know who Lancer's Master is.
Shirou's ability to trace the Vampire Killer shows his true heritage, since we never get to see his true parents; it presents the opportunity to do something with his bloodline. He is Julius' son and the current Belmont, which adds more to his friendship dynamic with Soma and channels Leon and Mathias.
Gray is a character from Lord El-Melloi II Case Files, an upcoming novel series by Kinoko Nasu set in the Fate universe. Gray's resemblance to Saber causes great confusion in Soma's life and her eventual affection is something that doesn't sit right with Saber.
I'll try my hardest to introduce characters from the Fate games, manga, other light novels and even Tsukihime to differentiate this story from its predecessors. After all, Soma's "route" is not an altered version of Shirou's, there's a different history and a different cast.
Characters you should expect are Kiara Sessyoin, Arcueid Brunestud, Michael Roa Valdamjong, Ciel, Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg and many more will be expected to appear.
Shirou and Soma's friendship dynamic takes cues from Char Aznable and Amuro Ray as well as Asemu and Zeheart from the Gundam metaseries. And for you Star Wars nuts out there, you can also draw similarities to Malak and Revan.
Revan is a large inspiration for Soma's character in this story and as time goes on and he grows to adjust to his position as a Master, we'll see that become more apparent. Avenger himself is very Revan-like as well, with a bit of Atton Rand and HK-47 mixed in.
A major theme in this story is how deeply the past affects the present and how the characters are dragged by its influence. Dracula's actions and influence still play their part in Soma's life and Saber's feelings, Shirou's bloodline and the tragedy of the Grail decides who he is and Rin's love for Soma kept her going for the toughest years of her life and the same could be said for Sakura and Shirou.
The same could be said for Archer and Avenger, whose failure to protect someone defined their entire life and rivalry.
Sayings like "live for the now" mean nothing to this cast of characters and they are very aware of that.
Of course, this story isn't all doom and gloom; after all, I personally believe that overused grit and realism is the scourge of fiction. I'll try to keep things light-hearted at times and I'll only darken the plot in context.
Sorry if this chapter was short, I'll make the next one longer and next chapter, we'll see Gray, Saber and Soma take on Avenger in a fight and I'll go in depth with Avenger's fighting style.
There's another guy writing a Fate/Castlevania crossover and he roleplays with my cousin, so please show him your support and give his story a read. Check out Fate/Symphony of Despair. I didn't know my cousin and his friends were rping this story until recently, I feel honoured.
This story has a spinoff planned with its first chapter already halfway written. Castlevania: The Magic of Fate. That story is a Castlevania/Prisma Illya crossover that has Soma acting like a Power Ranger/Kamen Rider type character to Illya's Magical Girl.
Now to answer my reviewers
Ultima-owner
It gets much worse
Angel Arcano92
Yes, their rivalry will be a recurring theme. Oh, and for now it's Graham and I hope this chapter had enough Shirou.
Alhazad2003
Soma's in for much more once Saber sees just how close he and Rin are, not to mention the sheer animosity the two girls might have for each other. As for Illya, yandere doesn't even begin to describe her.
When it does biter her in the butt, she'll become extra protective of Soma.
He has Kotomine, who is like an unholy combination of Barlowe and Kreia/Darth Traya.
Things go to hell when the plot enters the Aria of Sorrow arc.
Well
Rosario of Sorrow should get an update soon.
Zero-Nightmare
Thanks, the next flashback will be devoted to Saber and Mathias.
Conflicted at first, then outraged that Soma and Saber are so close.
And with Gray joining the fray, things are looking bad for our intrepid hero; let's hope his world doesn't turn into Negima!
In that regards, he better watch out and make sure Sakura doesn't snap.
DreadAngelus
That's actually a great idea! Though I imagine it like the Force walk from Star Wars: The Old Republic, where powerful sentient ghosts drive him mad, that's actually planned for the future, oh, we'll see a LOT of tsukihime characters and a big role is already planned for Ciel.
Kyugan
Gabriel might appear soon.
Yep. And by the way, I'm looking forward to your story.