Chapter 1

We were born to Bloom

3 years after the Fourth Grail War

"Have you truly fallen so far, Marisbury?"

Her voice echoed through the dark and depressing office room. The white-haired and dulled golden-eyed young man looked up from his brooding–staring at the young woman who spoke. Her long hair was equally as white as his, but her eyes were a piercing azure blue instead of gold.

"You've heard it from Heartless already, haven't you?" He responded back, his voice low and tinted with sorrow. "The grail… as soon as I learn of its existence, as soon as I learn of its wonder, I learn that it's corrupted."

He sighed, leaning back and slightly letting his head hang forward. "It's all lies, a wish? The only wish that thing will grant is nightmares."

The young woman leaned against the door frame, her arms crossed and her eyes glaring holes into Marisbury–idly tapping a sheathed sword in her hand against the wall.

"And so, you brood and whine in silence like a child?"

"You berate me, Aria, yet what else am I supposed to do?"

"First thing you can do is not ignore your daughter," Aria rolled her eyes and scoffed; however, before he could respond she continued. "Second thing you can do is stop whining. There are other ways to protect humanity instead of relying on a cup."

Marisbury shook his head. "It's not as easy as that, the Association–"

"The Association does not care if you protect some people, all they care about is keeping their little hideouts safe."

Aria pushed herself off the doorframe and walked towards Marisbury. Her eyes continued to glare at him even when he did not look back. It was only when she reached right in front of his desk, did he finally look up.

"There was a winner, Heartless did not find out who but he found out what they did." She stated, her voice sounding oddly bored. "Whatever he wished for, it caused a fire to devour a huge fraction of the city. Not only that but there is a survivor of the war that was able to return."

With her free hand she dug into her pocket and pulled out a photo, tossing it onto the table. Marisbury saw a young man with short hair, he looked to be around Aria's age. Just entering his early twenties.

"Waver Velvet is the only member that the Associate is aware of, discounting the winner who they do not care enough to look for."

"Your cup is tainted yet you cry when you haven't even tried to wash it? I assumed you were a better man than that."

Despite her obvious attempts at riling him up, he did not respond. In fact, it looked like her verbal abuse had no effects on his already broken emotional state.

"What exactly do you think I should do?" For a second she thought he was begging, but then she saw the dead look in his eyes; it was a rhetorical question, he was not expecting an answer.

Yet she gave one anyway.

"Have you heard of the Counter Force?"

2003

A young boy awoke to thunder. His tiny body sprang upwards, and his short lungs tried to grasp for air. It took a minute before the boy centered himself, and he finally looked at his surroundings. A house unfamiliar and a bed even more unfamiliar, the only thing giving off light was a small window off to the side. That's not even considering the fact that he was in a body completely younger. He shook his stubby arms and legs; he tried getting up and to his surprise his body held.

He began to move in this younger body, the skin tone was the same, but his hair color was different. Instead of the dull brown his hair was a stark white, and long enough to cover his eyes.

If he had to guess, this was probably the body of a six-year-old.

He didn't know where he was or how he got here, the last thing he remembers was a horrible argument with his mother before his drive to college. Looking back at it, didn't he get in a car crash?

For a second a faint voice in the back of his mind whispered isekai.

He ignored it though, shaking that thought off right away.

No way something like that could happen to me. It's just not real.

If he had to guess, maybe his body was in a coma, and this is what his brain began to form in the meantime.

He honestly hoped this wasn't some weird reincarnation. (Not an isekai!)

He decided to take a step forward, hoping to get more of a feel of his surroundings. Horrible decision on his part because the window did not give off light to his side of the room and he wasn't paying close attention to his steps. Only one step and his body came tumbling down off the bed. He groaned as his head made contact with the hard floor.

Yet it was with this that his fears were confirmed.

This is definitely real. I swear to God if this is some sort of fantasy isekai.

His first instincts were to scream, to break something, to hurt someone, yet he knew freaking out won't fix anything, especially in a situation like this.

So instead of worrying about it, he bottled his feelings and got back up. His eyes slightly blurred, and his head ached for a split second as his body was still trying to recover from the fall.

Stupid body, I barely even fell.

As his brain recovered, he finally started walking. He finally decided to observe the room in more detail. It was a depressing sight, the only thing in it was a small window and two beds. On opposing sides of the rooms there were two doors, one looked like a closet while the other was the bedroom door.

He looked at the window, rain completely blocking any view of the outside world, but from what he could see there were dark clouds. Obviously because it was raining.

He followed the light onto the other bed, deciding against walking towards it once he noticed a human bump from underneath the covers. He guessed he was lucky that the rain outside was louder than his fall.

He looked towards the door and walked to it. He placed his hand on the knob and quietly twisted. Luckily the door did not make any noise as he slowly opened it to a width that could fit him. He slid through and gently closed the door afterwards. He looked left, three doors laid in that direction, and then he looked right, the hallway began with a staircase and another door right next to the staircase.

There was no light coming from the downstairs area, so he decided it was safe to explore the rest of the house.

As he walked, he looked at the walls, no ornaments, no posters, there weren't even any paintings hung up. The hallway was completely empty with the exception of a rug.

Jeez, did these guys just move in here?

He thought to himself as he neared the staircase. Luckily the sound of the rain harshly beating against the roof covered his footsteps, even though he tried to walk quietly. Once again, luckily enough for him the floorboards didn't make much noise as he walked to the first floor. When he passed the wall he was treated to a tall couch. He continued walking and took in the rest of the living room.

Three couches, one large and two small, surrounded a round carpet, and they were all facing a decently sized television.

It honestly seemed a bit cliche. Yet he stopped moving and tried to hide himself behind the railing.

Sitting with her legs crossed in the middle of the carpet was a tall person, who he assumed to be a woman based on what little of her figure he could point out. Her white hair looked like it was flowing down her back, her dark attire looked completely clean, and her stature was completely even.

Maybe I could explore another time.

He thought as he walked back up the stairs, yet before he could take another step her voice echoed.

"What are you doing up?"

Her voice, while feminine, was definitely deep. In his older body he probably would have found himself blushing just at the sound, but he was flustered now for a different reason, simply put he was caught red handed and it felt weird being put on the spot like this. He felt like a child being caught by his mother doing something he wasn't supposed to.

Ignoring the fact that is what is happening at the very moment.

He wanted to run back up, but she began to turn towards him, finally giving him a view of her face.

Pale white skin, a beautiful face, and piercing azure eyes.

There's no way a person like this is my mother. No, this isn't my mother, she's the mother of whoever this child was.

Oh god, did I just replace a kid's body? Stolen a kid's life?

He crushed that thought as soon as it entered his mind.

"U-umm—" He stammered, all his thoughts going into disarray.

The woman stared with a raised eyebrow. While he was stammering, she decided to observe him closely, if he was paying attention to her instead of looking for an excuse, he would have seen her eyes begin to glow for a second—before they widened. Her mouth turned into a frown and her fists clenched.

She gathered herself quickly, as she adopted a blank look.

"Nightmare?" Her voice softened. The young boy stopped his stuttering and looked with a surprised expression.

Oh thank God. He thought he screwed up slightly, but an opportunity presented itself.

He slowly and reluctantly nodded.

She sighed and moved back to her original position, this time he heard her patting her lap. He walked down the stairs towards her, walking around the couch. He got a better view of her attire, and it seemed oddly familiar.

Her black coat had weird blue serpentine patterns on her arms, and underneath it she wore a black sleeveless turtleneck.

Combine that with the sheathed katana at her side, he didn't even notice that until now.

Yes, it seemed uncomfortably familiar to something else, but the boy couldn't put a name on it.

She began to pat her lap again. "Sit."

She inwardly smirked at his short, bewildered expression, before he turned around and sat on her lap. Her legs moved to accommodate his seating, and she wrapped her arms around him.

"Um..."

He wanted to say something, but the sudden turn of events made him too embarrassed and confused to say anything.

"It's fine to fear the unknown, Kane," She tightened her hold around him. "It's completely natural. It's what makes you human."

She continued to hold him, he didn't know how long he stayed in her grasp but eventually his fatigue became to overcome his consciousness, luring him into slumber.

"What is it you want to do with your life?"

His mother's voice echoed again and again. Her usual comforting voice is replaced with utter disappointment.

"If you want to rot away in your room then that's fine, but you have to do something that deserves that treatment."

In response, his voice was low, and his eyes were downcast. "It's just a phase, I'll find something eventually."

"And when is that eventually? Can you not find anything that makes you happy?

"I keep asking almost every other day and yet you keep dodging the question. What makes you happy in this life?"

His mouth suddenly felt dry as he responded. "I am happy! I just…"

"You just what?" Her eyebrow raised and eyes glared. "You can't keep doing this to yourself, to me."

Her voice softened as she took a few steps toward him. "I'm always here for you, you know that right?"

He opened his mouth to respond– he knew that of course– but no words left his mouth. He tried again, same result. He was going to try one last time before an alarm interrupted them, he checked the time the letter nine in white bold. He had ten minutes until his class.

"I gotta go."

He left in a hurry, never answering her.

The conversation wasn't as brutal as he remembered, but it still hit hard nonetheless. He could not answer her even though he knew the answer. It wasn't a rhetorical question, her help was always there for him, yet he never asked for it.

What brings him happiness? What can he do to be successful?

Why does he drown in his sorrow? What keeps him from living life to its fullest?

You have everything that can make you happy, so why are you still complaining?

Is it not enough for you? You selfish bastard.

Kane awoke to the morning light, his eyes shot wide open. He groaned as his small body sat up, rubbing the fatigue away from his eyelids. He looked around, the wooden house completely different from what he remembered, but that was because he forgot.

This was not his house. Technically this wasn't his original body.

Fuck.

His hands felt the soft cushion of the couch, his body surprisingly wasn't tired, but he still didn't want to get up. His body slowly dug itself into the soft couch cushions.

What was the point anyway? This life isn't his, and as much as he wanted to believe it was a dream everything felt too real.

The morning light broke through the window, giving a dim shine to everything that it could see. Yet he sat on the couch, leaning back and staring at the roof.

He wanted to say his mind was empty, but it truly wasn't.

What about Dad? Mom?

His fists tightened as he continued to drown in his thoughts.

My grandmother would be devastated.

They didn't deserve that; they didn't need that. They were great enough for having to deal with him for eighteen years. Eighteen years all gone, all wasted within a single minute.

"Fuck." His voice was young and high pitched— fitting for the body he was in.

The (previously) angsty teen wanted to throw a fit, but any cries he would have made would be meaningless in the end. At this point he had two options.

Give up and die.

Or get up and keep moving.

For many that would have been an easy choice, but for the boy who keeps drowning in his own thoughts, it was a choice he couldn't make.

Or rather, a choice he was too afraid to make.

"Hm!"

A noise broke him out of his stupor.

A young boy(?) stood in front of him. Their eyes are light blue and their hair a long snowy white. Their facial features were soft, but they couldn't be any older than him, if anything he couldn't really tell if it was a boy or a girl.

So, he went with whatever came to his mind first (like an idiot), "Oh, hey sis— Ow! What the hell?!"

The younger sibling smacked him in the head at near blinding speeds. Kane rubbed at the spot, cursing under his breath.

Well, definitely not 'sister', that fucking hurt.

"Ok! Ok! Sorry! I meant brother."

The younger brother still did not remove the pout from their face, staring at Kane with a cute frown and a mock glare.

What do you want me to do? I already apologized. Kane groaned in his head, it's not like he isn't familiar with younger siblings, it's mainly the fact his previous younger siblings did not care much for him.

So having someone younger look up to you is a completely new experience, Kane would say.

So once again he did the first thing that came to mind.

"Hm!"

His hand moved to the young boy's head, simultaneously rubbing and scratching it. Whatever it was, the younger sibling was definitely fine with it.

Fucking anime logic, there's no way a child would act like this in real life.

He thought, completely ignoring the fact that this life is now considered real life.

"Finally awake?" A deep feminine voice echoed. Walking in was the woman Kane saw yesterday. No, she was his mother in this life.

I'm never going to get used to this.

"Good, we're going to do something special today."

She walked in front of the two with her sheathed katana in hand. Now this time her attire was even more familiar. Multiple pieces started to click once he saw the black sleeveless vest underneath her familiar coat.

And now taking an even closer look, he noticed the golden hand guard and the white handle.

He looked up into her azure eyes, taking in her long white hair.

This has to be a joke.

Unaware of his current mental predicament, the woman released a breath she was apparently holding in.

"Kane, I have a present for you."

He was broken out of his mental tirade at her voice, quickly shaking his head and looking up at her. He stared, just slightly mesmerized by her azure eyes. That's when a random thought came to his mind.

Where's the father anyway? This child wouldn't exist otherwise. No, I wouldn't exist here otherwise.

Honestly, I would applaud the lucky bastard for scoring someone like this.

"Here."

There was no warning or even sign. She held out her hand and within an instant the sheathed katana appeared in her hand. He observed the sheath, remembering it was the one that was laying right next to her the night prior.

"Um—"

"Take it, it belongs to you now."

I'm missing something here. Why would you give a weapon to a six-year-old?

He said nothing as he held out to grab onto the dark sheath. His small hands grasped onto the sheath and the handle, using his small body to hold the weapon up. It was definitely heavy, not something that a six-year-old would be able to carry.

"Hm?" The younger boy moved to stand next to him. His young eyes curiously looked at the weapon held in his older brother's hands.

Alright then, if this is what you want.

Kane let out a breath he was subconsciously holding. He grasped onto the handle, and slowly began to unsheathe the blade. Little by little, bright and pure steel revealed itself to the world.

He gazed at his reflection as he pulled the entire katana out of its sheath. It looked so serene for a weapon of murder. So beautiful for a weapon of destruction.

He made to glide his hand around the sharp steel, but something stopped him as soon as he held his other hand out. Two things to be exact; one, the blade was much lighter than he expected—considering he's carrying the large blade with one hand— and two, he can feel something around the blade.

A presence felt like it was calling out to him. Now that he's noticing it, he can see a dark tint surrounding the blade. So small that he had to squint to see it, but it was growing. The dark tint shaped into flames that began to slowly engulf the katana.

What… the hell?

Without noticing he let his reaction slip visibly onto his face, as the woman began to speak.

"Do you see it?"

Her voice caught him off guard, and he jumped slightly with the blade still in his hand.

"Every inch of that blade knows the taste of blood. Every single soul taken by it has been etched into the blade's very core."

He understood from a certain point, this single katana has been used to kill so many people. But that brings the question back into his head.

Why give this to a six-year-old!? Why would you even tell a child that!?

Perhaps he'll have to call child protective services later…

Actually, where the hell am I?

He assumed it was earth from the familiar architecture, as well as the fact that he was human, but that's all he knows, it was hard to make an assumption based off just that.

For all he knew he could actually be in a completely different reality from the one he knew.

That was a maddening thought, and he didn't want to dwell on it any longer.

"Hmm, perhaps that would be too much for a child to handle."

Yeah, you think!?

"Well, I'll explain later, you two go have your breakfast, I have something I need done."

Kane did not like her ominous tone. Still, he looked away from her to sheath the blade, being careful to not accidentally cut himself. He heard her footsteps move to the front door. His younger brother made another sound—he assumed the younger boy was waving his hand— and he heard the door open.

"Prepare to begin your practice in three hours, I'll explain later. And Adam," the younger boy literally stood at attention, "make sure he doesn't cut himself by accident."

What? The katana clicked into the sheath as soon as the door closed.

You can't just drop that on a child!

"This is now how a parent should be at all…"

He sighed, turning around to look for the kitchen. He felt something pull at his shirt, he looked to the side to see bright blue eyes pleading at him.

"What are you doing?"

Adam pulled harder, bringing Kane along with him towards the kitchen. When they reached the kitchen he held his hand towards a cabinet.

"Something you want in there?"

The younger boy nodded.

"Fine…"

He used the long blade to reach up and open the cabinet, the first thing he saw was a large jar of cookies.

What a cliche.

"You want cookies?"

Adam nodded so fast it looked like his head was about to snap off.

"Alright then, stand aside."

He used what little muscle that small body could use and dragged a chair over. He climbed onto it, realizing that he was tall enough to safely grab the jar and place it on the counter.

He opened the jar and gave a handful to the younger boy.

The younger boy's joyful smile almost immediately etched itself into the angsty teen's (now young boy's) memory.

This world is so weird.

Half an hour passed, and Kane was left alone to drown in his thoughts.

Adam had gone upstairs to do… whatever he was doing. Kane was curious but he couldn't bring himself to look for himself. His own mind telling him to do nothing. What else was he supposed to do? This second chance was forced upon him, he didn't ask for this nor did he want it.

If anything, he was feeling homesick. He just wanted to go back.

He looked towards the sheathed katana, then to the front door. A thought entered his mind. He knew nothing about this world, so why not go explore it.

He got up, the katana in his hands, and walked towards the front door. Sunlight glared at him as he opened the door, he had to cover his eyes. Fresh air made its way into his lungs. Any and all doubt that this was a dream has definitely faded by now.

He looked around, the front porch had nothing on it. The only thing he could see were trees that expanded beyond his sight. He walked forward, leaving the door wide open behind him.

He hated to admit it, but he was a degenerate in his past life. Inside all day, twenty-four hours a day, rotting his mind on the internet daily. He only went outside for the bare necessities.

It wasn't healthy. He was weak, he was pathetic.

Perhaps he still is, he would think so. But this was the kind of person he was. The core of this one angsty teen was truly pathetic. He didn't think it was possible to change it.

He took in the breeze, and he felt calm. He took in the sunlight, and he felt warm.

Perhaps this was a second chance he needed, not necessarily one he wanted.

"Hm!"

"Gah-!"

He felt something bulldoze into his back, almost knocking him over. Thankfully he leaned on the katana, which was able to keep him standing upright. He looked back to see a mop of white hair, and he heard a giggle.

His younger siblings in his past life did not care for him much, but perhaps in this new life.

"You little—"

He twisted frantically, trying to get the younger boy off his back. Adam laughed, keeping himself latched on tight.

"You're not going to get off, are you?" Kane asked, Adam shook his head.

Kane sighed. "I don't know why mom asked you to watch over me, I'm the older one here, I should be watching over you."

"Nhn!" The younger boy shook his head and bonked his older brother on the head.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Adam smiled one of those "figure it out yourself" smiles.

Perhaps, life did not need to be so horrible.

(A/N) An SI but the writer hates himself. That's the best description I can give this "Not an SI" story.