A/N:

So it's come to my attention that today (October 20th in my timezone) is Shirou Day. It's not his actual birthday (I don't think that was ever mentioned), but it's basically a widespread meme amongst the Fate fandom that started from a bunch of people changing their profile picture on Twitter. I...yeah, I don't get it either. But it's really funny.

As a celebration, since this chapter is pretty Shirou-centric, I thought I'd put in my two cents in the form of an early chapter release! WOOHOO!

So funny enough, my pace writing this story has been pretty fast; much faster than any other story I've written before, probably because I know exactly where I'm going with it, lmao. On previous stories, I'd write by the seat of my pants and eventually lose steam because it takes a lot of energy to write while simultaneously planning, at least for me. But now, since I planned everything out already, it's essentially filling in the plot points with detail.

So, ya know: why not release an early chapter?

Before we jump into it: I would like to say thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed and reviewed.

To clarify one consistent theme I've seen reviews critique on so far: Keep in mind that this is a universe where Index and Type-Moon happen simultaneously. So, while events leading up to this story are generally consistent, there are going to be some things that change- the biggest example being that the Holy Grail War is happening in Academy City.

Some things that were true in canon may not necessarily be true here. Is that just an excuse to cover up plot holes or inconsistencies that I overlooked?

maybe.

I'm joking, lol

Another thing I want to touch upon prematurely is character writing. While I have read over Light Novel dialogue and rewatched some Index/Railgun episodes as homework to write this story, it's been quite a while since I've watched the whole series, beginning to end proper (about two or so years), so if some dialogue seems a tad bit out of character, forgive me.

Same kinda goes with Fate; It's been about a year since I've read the Visual Novel and watched the anime. Funnily enough, every time I try to write their dialogue, I want to default to UBW Abridged voices and have to stop myself, haha.

So if characters talk in a way that's just slightly off from what they usually talk like, then please forgive it. I like to think I'm about 95-99% accurate for Type-Moon characters, and about 90%-ish accurate for To Aru. Which is close enough for a fanfiction I'd say.

If something is horribly off, then please let me know in a review. I'll fix it properly for this one and future chapters as well. It's part of the reason why I don't want to write super ahead- 3 or 4 chapters ahead is healthy for me.

Next, if something feels like it shouldn't work in-canon, then bear with me. If it seems like a glaringly obvious plot-hole now, then trust me when I say that I probably know that, and it'll be clarified later.

A part of combining these two universes is that they create mysteries when mixed, so keep your eyes peeled as I attempt to uncover them.

Finally, I feel like I should explain the rating, since last chapter (as well as this one) doesn't show anything Rated-M worthy.

Later on, there WILL be gore scenes and pretty strong language (thanks to a certain Level 5 Esper), as well as...maybe a brief adult scene described tastefully (as in, nothing's explicit)

Maybe. Depends on if I actually will myself to write it. If any of these things occur in the chapter, then I'll put a disclaimer at the top as a warning.

This one doesn't though, so don't worry.

Alright, without further ado.

Enjoy!


Chapter 1: A Certain Golden Greatsword

P.O.V.: The Self-Proclaimed Hero of Justice

Ten years ago.

Above the great City-State of science and technology, hell breaks loose and spills its guts.

It was said to be the most tragic, and most destructive accident in Academy City's history. A great fire that burned down most of the north end of District 7, and parts of District 1 and 5.

Tens of thousands were killed. Hundreds of thousands more were injured or had gone missing. Since Academy City's population was mostly students, the majority of the casualties were children, under the age of 18.

After the fires ended, only one building stood tall: the Windowless Building. Outcries of protest rang against Academy City from across the world, asking why not all buildings be fireproof. In the coming months and years during the rebuilding process, all buildings in those districts were built-in with highly-effective fire-resistant material.

There were only a handful of survivors. Most injured had either so much burns that their organs shut down over time, or they were inflicted with a mysterious disease that ate away at their bodies.

There was one, though, that managed to stay mostly intact, thanks to a certain Magus Killer.

"Thank goodness…!"

That man found a small hand reaching from under a pile of rubble. Pushing it out of the way, he made eye contact with a young boy with reddish hair.

The boy looked at him, the life in his eyes starting to reignite as the black-coated man pulled him from the ground and hugged him tightly.

"Someone's still alive…thank you…thank you…"

XXXXX

The boy woke up again, several days after the accident. His ragged clothes were replaced by a hospital gown, and he was fed IV drip in the days he was in a minor coma.

He was in a rather large hospital room, which was incessantly bright from the afternoon sun glowing in the wide window next to him.

"I'm…" He touched his throat. He could speak.

He remembered the pain of choking on the smoke from the fires, and how it had plugged off his ability to talk to the man who saved him.

'…that man…where is he?' He looked around, only to be met with a handful of other hospital beds, each with asleep children like he was only a moment ago.

"Um…"

A light feminine voice could be heard at the door. Turning his head, he didn't even realize that the entrance to the room was wide open.

Standing at the doorway was a young girl, probably even younger than him. She had short, chestnut colored hair, and a small blue dress. Accompanying her was a man in a lab coat…though the boy didn't really like his body language too much.

"…Am I going to help out people like that?" She pointed her finger directly at the redheaded boy. "They were all hurt in the fire, right?"

"Well…no, but you will be helping others, believe me, Mikoto." The doctor grabbed her hand and gestured for her to continue on. "Now come on, what I want you to see is just down this hall…"

"Wait!" Mikoto broke free of the doctor's grip and pleaded, "I wanna talk to him for a minute. Just a minute! Pleaaaaase?"

Sighing, the doctor fixed his glasses before gently relenting, "Alright, but only for a minute. We have important things to do, Mikoto."

"Yay!" The girl immediately rushed up toward him, moving much faster than her little legs implied. "Hi. My name's Mikoto Misaka! Nice to meetcha!"

"Um…" The boy didn't really know what to say to such a to-the-point remark like that. "…Hi, I'm-"

"Do you like Gekota?"

Apparently, the boy had taken too long to respond. Before he could even answer, the girl placed something in his hand. It was a small box, with a crank attached to the side.

Mikoto egged him on to crank the box, and so he did.

"AH-!"

He nearly jumps out of the bed in shock as a cartoon frog pops out and bops him on the nose, before winding back into the box. Mikoto bursts out into laughter, nearly falling over the ground.

"Hey!" The boy shouts in protest. "That wasn't very nice!"

…His protests came unanswered, and the girl continued to laugh. He caught a glimpse of her face- she was laughing so hard that she was starting to tear up.

"Ahhh…that gets Mommy every time!" Mikoto says in self-confirmation, "Here, keep it. You can use it to scare the next kid who wakes up!"

She pushes the toy over to his hand. Not wanting to refuse her kindness, the boy accepts it. "Thank you…Misaka?"

"Mikoto! You can use Mikoto!" The girl smiles brightly.

Strangely enough, the boy feels his lip begin to curl up, too.

The little girl gasps, "Woah, you're smiling! It feels good to smile, huh?"

The boy laughs weakly, but nods his head in agreement. "Yeah."

After what he'd been through, he needed this today. "Thanks."

"You already said thank you, silly!" Mikoto teases.

"Alright Mikoto," The doctor said from the doorway, "It's time to go. You can visit him later."

The girl stepped away from his bed, and walked back to where the man was waiting for her. "Let's go." The doctor said, fixing his glasses and stepping away.

The doctor walked out of view from the boy, but Mikoto remained for a second longer. The boy broke the silence by waving at her with a weak smile.

The girl gave an innocent wave back. "C'ya later, stranger. I like your hair, by the way. Red's a cool color!"

Then she disappeared down the hallway. The boy felt his face flush a little as he touched his head in contemplation.

Seconds later, a man in black walked into view. The boy started at his feet, but turned his gaze up- and was genuinely surprised to see him.

'…The man who saved me.'

"Hello there." The tall, black-haired man put down his briefcase and kneeled next to his bedside. "What's your name, little one?"

"…" The boy hesitated, but ultimately knew the polite thing to say. "…Shirou."

"Nice to meet you, Shirou." The man offered his hand, to which Shirou reached out and grabbed it with both of his own. "My name is Kiritsugu Emiya. Let me get straight to the point…

…would you like it if I were to adopt you?"

The next day, a little girl would come back to the same hospital room- only to be disappointed that her new red-haired friend was gone.

XXXXX

Present day.

Still in the lull-state between sleep and awareness, Shirou Emiya groans lightly as he hears the sound of his closet door clicking open.

Around him are scattered trinkets that one would find in a mechanic's shop. General nuts and bolts, with the occasional lead pipe. Despite being a small, walk-in closet meant for storing clothes, Shirou had a different purpose for it.

One that he was so devout to learning about, that he fell asleep practicing it, rather than in his own bed.

A quite bad habit that his junior was disappointed to find him doing.

"…Senpai, not again…" A gentle, feminine voice sighs as she flicks on the lights in the closet and kneels down beside the half-asleep redhead. "…This is the third time in a row I've walked in on you like this. You have a bed for a reason, Senpai."

"Urgh…" Shirou slowly starts rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he turns to face an all-too familiar girl. She has smooth purple hair tied on the left with a red ribbon, as well as a dark, faded violet blazer, skirt, and white collared undershirt. "…Good morning, Sakura."

Sakura moves her hair behind her ear and smiles, "Good morning to you too, Senpai. Now come on, I've started breakfast. Let's finish before we're late for school."

After washing up Shirou walks into the kitchen area of his apartment, already seeing Sakura begin to place the bacon onto the frying pan. Not wanting to be outdone, the redhead procures some eggs from the fridge and cracks three or four into a bowl. "Omelette or scrambled today, Sakura?"

"Up to you, Senpai." She responds politely, watching patiently as the bacon crisps up in the pan.

They made it a point to work together for meals like this. For Shirou, it was to sharpen his skills; and for Sakura, it was to get a hang of how to work around the kitchen. Breakfast was a pretty simple matter though, all things considered.

Bacon, eggs, toast, and a glass of orange juice. Setting them down on the table, Shirou dusted his hands in satisfaction. "Now that's what I call a western meal! You can start eating, Sakura. I need to clean up the closet…"

His kouhai does as she was told, as he walks into the closet and shuts the door behind him, making the room entirely dark.

At his feet he feels a lightbulb; one that he was planning on practicing on last night, but had fallen asleep before he had gotten to it. "…Okay, one more try before school."

Shirou sits down cross-legged and picks up the bulb. He closes his eyes, and takes in a breath.

"…Trace, on."

His arms glow with an ethereal green hue, spreading from his limb up into the glass of the bulb. The light sparks awake for a moment, lighting up the room in half-second intervals as a gentle vrrrm reverberates throughout the closet.

The redhead's eyes widen in gratification. "I…I did it-!"

A loud crack and shatter of fragile glass quickly crushed his dreams. The room goes dark again, and Shirou curses to himself as he feels around for the light switch.

Turning it back on, he hears a concerned voice on the other side, "Senpai? Did you break something in there?"

"Uh…" Shirou responds, "Y-Yeah, but it's alright Sakura! I can take care of it!"

"You sure…?…Wait, Senpai, are you practicing your Esper ability in there right now? I thought it was breakfast time!"

"I just wanted to give it one more shot and then…" Shirou sighs, knowing that he'd lose this conversation either way, "…you know what, you're right, Sakura. I'll clean it up."

A few moments later, a defeated-looking Shirou Emiya clicks open the door to the closet, dumps the trash away, washes his hands and finds himself back at the breakfast table.

"Your food's cold now." Sakura teased lightly, "and your orange juice is probably warm, too."

"Yeah, yeah…"

XXXXX

Despite the hurried breakfast, the two of them managed to get out of the apartment just on time. They stroll down the streets of Academy City, welcoming the cool autumn air as the morning sun just peaks over the horizon. The City of Science is waking up, with both students and scientists alike as both demographics can be seen walking through the bustling city streets.

Sakura is a third-year student at Private Shidarezakura Academy, a middle school within the Garden of Learning. A pretty prestigious school, as far as Shirou was concerned; getting into any school within the Garden of Learning was an accomplishment.

Although, he could never know himself, since he would never be allowed in thanks to his gender. He himself goes to a certain high school in District 7 just a small walk from the Garden of Learning, where the low-Levels go for extra academics and training.

Since the two schools were nearby each other, it made sense for the two of them to walk together.

"How's your Esper training going, Sakura?" Shirou asks curiously, "Movin' up the ranks at all?"

Sheepishly, the younger student twirls her hair. "Ah…not really. I've stayed Level 3 for as long as I can remember, and I don't think it's going to change any time soon."

"Oh…well," Shirou shrugs, "It's alright. Level 3 is perfectly strong enough as it is. And who knows? There's eight Level 5s in Academy City…maybe you'll be next. They all started from somewhere, after all."

"Maybe." Sakura nods. "…What about you, Senpai?" Her voice is sprinkled with just a tad bit of teasing, "Still a Level 1?"

"…Still a Level 1, and only barely." Shirou reaffirms sadly, "Don't think I'll be climbing up the ranks any time soon, either."

Inwardly, Shirou's thanks Academy City for having people with supernatural powers. That way, he can practice what he really knows without onlookers being suspicious.

'…My power isn't an Esper ability, after all.'

A good half hour of walking later, and the two students find themselves at the foot of the Garden of Learning. Despite always dropping Sakura off here, before turning back to his own school, he consistently sees himself as a fish out of water.

Looking around, all he can see is a sea of skirts. He's so out-of-place, that even the Anti-Skill Guards at the entrance are eyeing him up specifically.

The Garden of Learning truly is an anti-male environment. He tries to ignore the pressure around him, however, as he waves Sakura off.

His kouhai gives a kind smile. "Have a nice day, Senpai."

"Bye, Sakura." Shirou waves, "I'll see you later tonight."

He turns, and is immediately caught by the sight of chestnut colored hair.

"Am I going to help out people like that? They were all hurt in the fire, right?"

He flips his head back around in a jolt to get a glimpse of the hair again, but it's already gone in the sea of female students.

'That reminded me of…that girl, on that day…'

He shakes his head and continues walking.

Unbeknownst to him, the girl in question had turned her head to look as well.

"Just a passing thought, then…? Ah, well." The middle-schooler flips a coin up into the air as she enters the Garden of Learning. "Now, I wonder where Kuroko is…?"

XXXXX

When Shirou got to school, he was expecting to have a nice, eventless day where he gets out to the end without a scratch. He's managed to be like that for the past year or so in this high school, after all.

However, there was a certain trio in his class that always caused stupid amounts of trouble. Not only were they loud, rambunctious, and even slightly pervy at times-

-But now their attention was directed at him.

Shirou sits by the window, twirling his pen in his hand and trying to ignore his fellow male classmate as he tries to pry information out of him.

"Shirou. Emiya. You dog! You absolute dog!"

Sighing, Shirou figures he'd at least show the baseline amount of politeness, and responds, "Good morning to you, too, Aogami Pierce."

"That's all? You're not gonna tell us any of the details on why you were walking with a girl earlier today?!" The blue-haired boy shakes his shoulder, but he refuses to budge. "How'd you bag this one, Emiya?"

Shirou didn't take too kindly to the word bag, and looks back at him with a scowl. "Her name is Sakura, and we're just friends. Walking with her to school is something I do all the time. Honestly, I'm surprised you haven't noticed sooner…"

"Aww, how gentlemanly of you." A new voice walks into the fray, and at this point, Shirou has the urge to just curl up into a ball and weather the storm until these two tornadoes leave.

A blonde teen with a green Hawaiian T-shirt and sunglasses that he wears indoors. Honestly, it's a miracle he hasn't been dress-coded, even if he's wearing the school's gakuran jacket over it. Considering their status as students in Academy City, however, maybe the staff just isn't bothered to enforce them.

The blonde teen smirks at Shirou, "So? She like a little-sister type to you? 'Cause between you and me, my man…I can relate."

Shirou feels the blatant urge to hurl in his mouth.

"Guys!" A voice ahead of them causes the two idiots to shut up. Oddly enough, it's the one that completes the self-named Delta Force: a black-haired student with unruly, spiky hair. "Will you keep it down back there? Not all of us are super energized in the morning!"

"Huh. Wonder what's up Kamijou's butt." Aogami shrugs as he sits down at his seat, leaning backwards enough to almost fall but not.

Tsuchimikado strolls up to the aforementioned Kamijou and whispers something in his ear.

"Yeah, yeah, fine. I gotcha." Kamijou nods at him as Tsuchimikado walks away.

"What were you two talkin' about?" Aogami asks.

"Nunya business, Blau." Tsuchimikado shoots back.

Shirou just sighs and silently thanks Kamijou for taking the heat off of him, right as the door to their classroom clicks open. Coming out from the halls is their homeroom teacher, Ms. Komoe.

…Who, by Shirou's opinion, was most likely the smallest teacher he's ever laid his eyes on. Even after studying under her for the good part of a year or two, he still hasn't gotten used to her small stature.

"Alright class, settle down!" Ms. Komoe pulls up a stool so she can look over the podium to the rest of her class. "Let's get started, shall we?"

XXXXX

The first couple periods went by without a hitch, and before Shirou knew it, lunch break had started.

Most of the students were already making their way to the cafeteria. Shirou stayed behind a few extra minutes to finish up a math problem, and after realizing the line to get food would be long, he resolved on just eating the snacks that Sakura insisted she pack for him.

That is, until he heard the grumbling stomach and the weak, defeated voice of a classmate a few seats ahead of him.

"Damn my rotten luck…"

Seeing Kamijou's head buried into the seat, Shirou walked up and tapped him on the shoulder. "Yo. Everything alright with you, Kamijou?"

The spiky-haired teen turns his head and reveals his wallet, which…is completely lacking in funds. "Nope. Totally forgot to go to the ATM this morning and withdraw some cash…why the hell does this school still only accept cash…we're in Academy City, for goodness sake…"

Shirou sits down next to him, and relents. He reaches into his bag, and pulls out a foodstuff wrapped in plastic and tosses it over to Kamijou's desk.

"Eh?" Kamijou's eyes widen at the well-made rice ball within the plastic. "Really? You're letting me have this?"

Shirou grinned and nodded, "Of course. If someone's in need, I'll help them out. Though," He looked back into his bag, and realized that the only other item he had for lunch was a packet of chips, "As a small trade, how about you walk with me to the cafeteria?"

Agreeing, the two students pick up their things and make their way down the stairs to the mess hall.

XXXXX

"Thanks for this, Emiya." Kamijou breaks open the rice ball as the two sit down across from each other in the cafeteria. Shirou had bought himself a plate of cold soba, which he offered to share some with Kamijou too, if needed. "You're a godsend…I don't have much funds this week as it is…"

"Really?" Shirou starts as he breaks his chopsticks, "Aren't you always pretty broke? What happened this week that made you extra broke?"

"The Daihaseisai…" Kamijou groans, "I told my roommate I'd make extra food for her when I'm gone and doing the activities…didn't expect she'd demand that much more food…ugh."

"You got a roommate?" Shirou raises a brow. 'And it's apparently a girl, no less?'

"Well yeah, it's not really much of a big deal. She doesn't cause…too much trouble, aside from the occasional biting."

'Okay, I'm missing some very important context right now.'

"You're one to talk, though, Emiya." Kamijou bites into his rice ball, and suddenly has to pause at how good the flavor is. "Woah…"

Shirou smiles warmly, "Like it? That one was actually made by a friend of mine."

After gulping down his bite, Kamijou continues, "Yeah…Sakura, right?"

'Oh boy, here we go.'

The man known as Touma Kamijou was a part of the Idiot Trio after all, even if he was arguably the most sane out of the three of them.

"I overheard you talking with Aogami and Tsuchimikado. So…do you live with her, or no? No pressure to answer."

"Well," Shirou ponders that thought for a moment as he stirs his soba, "…Everything except sleeping, I guess? I walk her to her home at night, but aside from that, we basically live under the same roof."

"Huh, I guess that's fine, then." Kamijou takes another bite, savoring the flavor even more. "This tastes really good, by the way. Tell Sakura that she does a good job."

The two made some more passive small talk, catching up and digging at each other's brains a little since despite being in the same class, they don't really talk much. Shirou was much closer to the chest- the fact that Touma was always involved in Aogami and Tsuchimikado's antics meant that they didn't have opportunities to mingle.

"Oh, I've been meaning to ask," Touma says, "A few days ago, when we were doing the Archery competition…I gotta say, you're really good with a bow."

"Heh, am I now?" Shirou muses, "I guess I'm not too bad."

"Not too bad?" Kamijou exclaims, "You placed first amongst all competing schools in Academy City. First. Your Esper power doesn't even have anything to do with Archery!"

"I mean, you must have done some other cool things during the Daihasei Festival, no?" Shirou asks.

Technically the Daihasei Festival's last day was today, but most of the middle and high schools had ended their competitions a few days ago. The last few days were for night celebrations, as well as more focus on the primary school children.

Touma looks up into the air, probably recalling what had transpired the past couple weeks, but ends up nodding, "Yeah, I guess you could say that. Nothing like getting a damn gold medal, though."

If Shirou was recalling correctly, he hadn't missed a single bullseye. Mister Touma Kamijou, on the other hand…

'I don't even think he hit the actual target. Damn his luck, indeed.'

XXXXX

The rest of school went by, thankfully, without a hitch. Shirou was able to leave school on time properly, after doing an hour or two of club activities, like the rest of the students; meanwhile, Touma, Tsuchimikado, and Aogami had to stay behind for remedial lessons until sunset.

He could still remember the guttural "Damn my rotten luck!" of Touma when Ms. Komoe broke the bad news to him. Kamijou had told him that he needed to go grocery shopping to make dinner that night, so Shirou could only hope that the stores were still open by the time he was allowed to leave.

His daily routine was pretty consistent on school days: Wake up, make breakfast with Sakura, walk Sakura to school, go to school, then pick up Sakura outside of the Garden of Learning and walk her back home. Right now, he is focused on the last steps.

Sometimes Sakura decides to stay and eat dinner with him, but she had sent him a text earlier that day saying that she would rather go home.

And so, he obliged. After picking Sakura up from the Garden of Learning, the two of them make their way down to the train stations for a ride to District 3: where Sakura's family is staying.

According to Sakura, her family was as old as Academy City itself, if not older, and had special relations. This is why her family was able to remain as permanent residents in Academy City, despite her grandfather not being a scientist, nor her brother a successful Esper.

'Her brother…'

Shirou's eyes narrow, but the thought of that guy quickly leaves his mind to more positive things.

Their family connections is also why Sakura was allowed to commute from her home to school, rather than staying in the on-campus dormitory of Private Shidarezakura Academy.

"So, Senpai," Sakura asks, "Do anything interesting at school today?"

Shirou shakes his head. "Not particularly, no. The three idiots I keep telling you about are as loud and annoying as usual…"

Sakura giggles, "They get under your skin that badly, huh?"

Emiya sighs, "Well, not typically. Today was different though; apparently they spotted us walking together."

The lavender-haired girl gasps. "S-Senpai! Isn't that bad? Won't they start spreading rumors-?"

A hand touches her head, patting it lightly to calm her down. "Relax, Sakura. I told the sane one to make sure they don't do anything like that. Oh, he also said that you make good onigiri."

"Oh! Um…tell him I said thank you." Sakura sheepishly responded, slightly embarrassed.

After they reached their destination and stepped out of the train, the two of them made the walk to Sakura's house, which wasn't too far. The fact that her family had a house meant that they were a special exception of special exceptions: Academy City was a place that builds up, not out. The fact that they would allow something so rural was a sign of the Matou family's power.

Juxtaposed to the tall white skyscrapers and luxurious hotels of Academy City, Sakura's home is a comparatively much more modest, three-story mansion with western-style, European designs. It still looks like it costs a pretty penny, but it was nothing compared to the four and five-star hotels just a few blocks away.

It also has its own gate, which resembles the large gates that protect the schools within the Garden of Learning.

Sakura inputs the passcode into the gate, and it clicks open. "I'll see you tomorrow, Senpai."

"See you later, Sakura."

The Matou girl giggles, and waves as she walks up the stairway, and enters the large, burgundy doorway.

A cold breeze suddenly passes by Shirou, which he wasn't expecting from the overall warm weather today.

"Ah…"

A raspy, elderly voice croaks from Shirou's right. He turns his head, and across the gate, and hidden by the trees and foliage that cover half off the view of the mansion, comes a grey-skinned old man with a cane.

Walking gingerly, Shirou sees that he must at least be into his late 80s. The sunken eyes aren't a good indicator of his health, either. His robes were ancient, its fashion resembling the late 1800s rather than the modern day. "You…" The old man mutters. "…You must be…Shirou, correct?"

Shirou nods. "…That's right. Are you her grandfather?"

The bald, elderly man responds astutely, "That I am. I'm glad…you've been taking care of her…"

Even though their exchange was completely innocent on paper, Shirou can't help but feel a strangeness to that man he can't describe. An inner feeling of something completely off, even if everything seems fine.

In essence, even though his mind is telling him it's okay, his body is urging him to end this exchange as soon as possible.

"Well," Shirou turns and waves at the man. "It was nice meeting you. Good night, Matou-Ojisan."

As he walks away, he swears he can hear a sudden buzz of a bug…or bugs, and picks up the pace back to the train station.

And unbeknownst to him, a figure stands at one of the windows of the Matou manor, cursing to himself as he shuts the blinds in anger.

XXXXX

'So that's what Sakura's grandfather looks like, huh?' Shirou wonders, as he leans on the back of his seat and makes his way back to District 7.

If he was this out of health, no wonder Sakura would want to come home sooner; she probably needs to care for her grandfather. Academy City has some great healthcare, but there's only so much technology can do when someone is that late into their life.

Nevertheless, a half-hour later, the train finally makes it to District 7. Shirou checks the time on one of the many clocks in the city.

The time was 7:47 PM. If he walked briskly, he could make it in time to make dinner, and to catch one of his favorite shows on T.V.

He practically sped-walk through the Academy City streets. There are still a handful of students out and about, but with the Daihasei Festival's finale going on on the other side of the City, as well as curfew setting in for those who choose not to participate, the population in the city streets is incredibly low.

However, there's something that sticks out to him like a sore thumb. Or rather, someone.

Walking towards him is a white-haired girl, who looks to be in elementary school based on her stature. She's wearing a violet-colored blazer and white skirt, along with boots the same color as her top. She's humming silently, and more importantly, alone- as she makes her way over to Shirou.

The same feeling he got from Sakura's grandfather, he got from this little girl. If there was any time for a girl of her age to have a chaperone, or at least be with peers her age, it would be now.

But she wasn't talking toward him. As they approach, she hops, skips, and jumps right by him, without an issue-

"You better summon yours soon, Onii-chan."

"!"

Shirou jerks his head around, but finds no one. Not even far down the street does he spot a single soul.

'…What is up with me, today?'

He shakes his head. He's not in the right mind, getting scared by little kids like that. 'Yeah, they probably have some sort of invisibility power, and played a prank on me.'

He turns a corner. His apartment is only a city block or two away at this point.

The streets were…eerily silent. Even with an event like the Daihaseisai occurring on the opposite end of the city, there should still be more students around here.

'…So why-?'

And an ear-piercing scream makes his fears come true. Just out of the corner of his eyes, he spots the leg of a small child being taken down into a back alley.

Shirou drops his book bag. No other thought is running in his head other than one:

'Save her.'

He sprints across the street, nearly causing a car to slam their brakes, before continuing down into the back alleyway.

Turning a corner, he starts to hear the child's screaming again. It was muffled, however; meaning it mustn't have been coming from outside anymore.

He looks along the walls, and spots a red door with a wooden plank as a lock. 'There!'

He runs up to it, finding a nearby loose lead pipe and holds it up to the wood. "Trace, ON!"

The pipe whirs to life with green currents flowing along its surface. If there's anything his Reinforcement Magecraft works on consistently, it's lead pipes.

This was the reason why he could not be an Esper. He only lies to Sakura, saying he's a Level 1: in reality, he's a dastardly Level 0.

But that doesn't mean he's powerless.

With a shout, he slams the pipe into the wood, and splinters fly as the lock to the door is crushed open. He pulls on the handle, and rushes into…stairs?

An alleyway door leading to a staircase to a bottom floor is certainly not something he was expecting.

Nevertheless, he ran; at the very bottom of the staircase, he could see the faint orange glow of light.

…And the sounds of a struggling child.

"S-Stop it, Mister! What are you-?!"

"QUIET! This is finally my chance…my chance to redeem myself…after that stupid loss from ten years ago!"

A man's voice yells below, and the weak grunts of the child causes Shirou to wince as he hears the sounds of boots landing on flesh.

"I don't have a catalyst…but surely…the blood of a virgin will get me something, right-?"

"HEY!"

A hardened lead pipe strikes the man in the back of the head, causing him to crumple to the floor. Shirou grimaces, running up to the child who had been tied to the center of the room with ropes. She was tied to some kind of magic circle array, but Shirou didn't care one bit about the details.

"M-Mister…" the little girl whimpers weakly. Her body was covered in bruises, and her clothes were tattered and ripped, as if the man was trying to tear her clothes off. "Are you here to…to save me?"

"Of course I am." Shirou tried to speak calmly, but his vehement rage at the whole situation probably made him come off as more aggressive than usual.

He tries un-knotting the ropes holding the girl down, but a violet energy crackles as he tries to reach for the knot. Grimacing, he grabs a knife- that he didn't even want to think about how it was going to be used if he wasn't here- and stabs it into the rope.

It snaps in two.

The rope was still tied around the girl's arm, but at least she wasn't held down by anything. With three more limbs to go, Shirou hefted the knife and-

"Why you little-!" A searing pain explodes in Shirou's face as he's knocked backwards. If he hadn't lifted his arm up in time to block, he's certain his face would have been charred, and his sight would have been gone.

A boot slams into his burnt arm, slamming him even further against the wall. Groaning weakly, the redhead tries to focus his vision as he locks eyes with the man standing over him.

Tan skin, and long, blonde hair. It seems like the man was wearing what remains of a suit- it was torn in places, stained, and tattered, as if he had been wearing it for months in the wilderness. There was a…crazed look in the man's eyes, as if his sanity was at its breaking point. "No…no, no no!" He kicks Shirou again, this time in his stomach, then plants his foot right up against his face, pinning him to the wall.

"You won't be taking this from me…you got that?!" The man was practically screaming at the top of his lungs. "I lost everything in the last war…all of my money…my women…my studies…this is my one chance to get it all back, and I will not have some stupid kid ruin this for me!"

He kicks Shirou one more time for good measure, and takes the knife from his hands. Turning back to the girl, he scoffs, "I don't need to kill you…whatever Servant I summon will do it for me."

He lifts his knife up, the sharp edge pointed at the little girl.

"Please, please mister…! Save me!"

The blonde man stumbles as something the size of a human crashes into his back. No, it was a human!

Shirou yells out as he uses nothing but pure adrenaline to carry himself up and slam himself into the man, taking them both to the ground. Grabbing at the man's hand for the knife, the two struggle for control as they roll about on the floor.

"You…little…bastard…!" The magus screams, and socks Shirou in the jaw. He doesn't budge- not even visibly phased by the hit as he continues to wrestle the man on the ground and attempts to rip the knife out of his fingers.

However, the man's taller, and slightly more built stature shows, and Shirou finds himself straddled by the blonde magus. Grinning, the crazed man plunges his knife downward, aiming for the neck.

Shirou grabs the man's arms, holding it back as much as possible. Even so, the knife's tip, ever so slightly, begins to approach the redhead's throat.

"I…am Atrum…Galliasta!" The Magus proclaims. "And I will be…the Master of the last Servant!"

"I…don't quite know what you're talking about…but…!" The knife stops moving down, stopping its tracks only a centimeter away from skewering Shirou. "My life…was saved…so I'm not going to die this easily…!"

Ba-bump.

"I need to live…so I can fulfill my duties…my ideals…!"

Ba-bump.

Ba-bump.

"I'm not…gonna be killed…in a place like this…"

Ba-bump, Ba-bump, Ba-bump, Ba-bump.

"…for no good reason, by a bastard like you, who treats human lives like they're nothing!"

The sheath reaches out to the sword, and the blade answers the call.

A searing light appears on the hero's left hand. Atrum notices this, and his eyes widen in shock. "No…no, you bastard, you took it away from me, you-!"

A bright light flashes from the center of the room, temporarily blinding the both of them.

After regaining some of his sight, Atrum turns, looking at the back of either of his hands. Nothing. "No…!"

He can see the silhouette of a feminine Servant begin to appear. Grimacing, he lifts his knife up to Shirou again. "You…you little shit! You piece of shit, you screwed me over royally, you little FU-!"

Atrum Galliasta is cut off suddenly as he catches his own words in his throat. Shirou sits up, and awes.

A certain golden greatsword sticks out from the man's stomach. He drools and coughs up blood as the blade lifts up, carrying his limp body up into the air.

"Even if you were my Master," A new, feminine voice spoke calmly to him, "considering the circumstances, I would have cut you down regardless."

Atrum's body moves to the side to reveal, quite literally, a knight in shining armor.

She points the body at the wall. "Strike Air."

Shirou's eyes shut close as a huge torrent of air picks up in the room, lifting books, papers, and other loose items off from the ground.

A splat hits the wall, before crumpling to the ground, lifeless.

Shirou opens his eyes.

The dead body of the magus lies to his left. And directly in front of him, he finally gets a proper look at the woman standing before him.

In short, she is the definition of hardened. Her blonde hair is tied neatly into a large bun, held with a blue ribbon, with bangs framing her face. Oddly enough, one strand of hair pokes upwards, not uniform with the rest of her hair. Her eyebrows are furrowed, and behind her pupils, Shirou could only get a glimpse of the horrors she had bear witness to in her time.

Medieval armor dons her body, silver in color. Plating on her torso, and large plates attached on her flanks, protecting the blue dress she wears underneath. Her legs and arms are also guarded with boots and a pair of gauntlets, respectively. Somehow, her sword had vanished, but she seems unperturbed by that fact.

Despite her short stature- Shirou isn't sure if she would even reach to his shoulders in height if they stood next to each other-, she seems larger than life.

She gazes down at Shirou, with a tough but quizzical look in her eyes. "Tell me…are you my Master?"

"…Master?" Shirou asks. 'Is…that what that guy was talking about…just now?

Is this what he was trying to do…?'

"Your Servant, Saber, has come in response to your summons. Now that you have summoned me, our pact is sealed." She tilts her head. "Your orders, Master?"

The way the woman spoke was incredibly direct and to-the-point. So direct, that it's throwing Shirou off his tracks as he tries to put everything together in his head.

Suddenly, the crying started up again. Shirou's head turns, and he suddenly realizes: "The girl…!"

He crawls over to her, still too sore to stand just yet, and finds her in the same position as before, thankfully not more hurt than she was already.

The knife was lost in the struggle, but… "Hey, Saber, right?"

"Yes?" Saber replies, monotonously.

"Could you help me out here?"

Without questioning, Saber steps over to the little girl, her armor clanking quietly as she moves. A wind picks up in the room again as Saber seems to grip her hands around something.

Snip. Snip. Snip.

It was as if an invisible blade snapped the ropes clean in two. In fact, that's likely exactly what happened.

Saber knelt down next to the little girl. "Are you well, young one?"

"Um…" The girl looks between Shirou and Saber in confusion, but she is certainly much better than she was moments ago. He breathes a sigh in relief- if anything, he was grateful she was still alive and not in need of major medical attention. "…I'm okay. I just want to go home…"

"We'll take you there, don't worry." Shirou gestured for her to show him all of her limbs so he could untie the rope knots. Now that Atrum was dead, there was no longer a spell keeping the knots from being undone.

Looking at Saber in the corner of his eyes, Shirou notices a faint smile come across her face.

It quickly turns back into a frown, however, as Saber stands up and looks to the exit of the basement. "Master, I sense an enemy Servant and three other enemies outside. Shall I move to engage?"

"Wait!" Shirou exclaims, picking the girl up gently as he stands up in protest. "I don't even know what's going on…or where you even came from…at least tell me that, first!"

Saber stops in her tracks, seemingly unbothered by Shirou's questions and answers flatly. "You have summoned me, a Servant. Think of me as a powerful familiar…or a tool to accomplish your goals. Thereby, if I am your Servant, then you are my Master."

"Master…" Shirou shakes his head. "No, I don't like the sound of that. Just…call me Shirou. Shirou Emiya."

"…Emiya?" Saber's eyes widen a degree. An awkward pause settles between the two, but the sadness behind Saber's irises drops. "…No matter. It seems like you aren't a proper Master, considering the man I cut down was the one that built the summoning circle…

…I shall call you Shirou, then. Yes, that rolls off the tongue nicely. Shirou…"

She hefts an invisible something in her hand as she turns back to the staircase. "In any case, Shirou, there are enemies afoot above ground. I'm moving to engage them. You take that young lady somewhere safe."

"What do you mean, enemie-?"

Before he can question her again, his Servant already takes off, rushing up the staircase far faster than any human could physically move.

Cursing to himself, Shirou hefts the little girl up, making sure she's secure in his arms as he makes his way up the stairs.

"Do you know what's going on, Mister Shirou?" The little girl asks, using his name this time since she heard it in his conversation with Saber.

"…I'm about as clueless as you are, to be honest…!"

He hesitates to go further as he hears shouting outside; multiple female voices, as well as the clash of metal-on-metal.

"…uroko, get Saten to a safe distance, I'll fight to hold her off! Assassin, help me out here-!"

Shirou stops dead in his tracks upon hearing that voice. It was…so familiar…

"Woah, you're smiling! It feels good to smile, huh?"

He immediately rushes to the alleyway and to the open streets. There, he sees Saber, her weapon pointed at something just out of view.

He couldn't let anyone else die; even if they were apparent enemies.

"Saber, stop!"

A red light emitted from his hands. He gasps as the strange tattoos- which he didn't even know anything about, either- began to partially sear off his skin.

In turn, the same red aura wraps around Saber's body, and she groans and winces as she struggles to move. "Shirou…why?! Using a Command seal on me this early…I could have taken them down!"

Shirou runs out into the street completely to see who Saber was fighting.

He immediately takes a step back from the crackling lightning, but it too starts to dissipate as the girl before him looks at him in surprise.

A girl slightly below Shirou's age, with chestnut hair cut just above her shoulders with a flower clip. She has on the Tokiwadai winter-time uniform that he had seen at the entrance to Garden of Learning: a tan buttoned blazer over a white button-up, and a checkered blue and black skirt.

In her extended arm was a coin pointed directly at Saber, but the girl lowered it as soon as she made eye contact with Shirou.

To the Tokiwadai girl's left is a woman, this time looking two or three years Shirou's senior, with short black hair and donning a pristine white kimono with a sky blue sash. In her hands was a short hunting knife, and her eyes-

Shirou could feel the intense pressure emanating from her glowing azure irises. It was something he had never even felt before.

However, just for the moment, none of that matters. Looking back at the Tokiwadai girl, recollections of his earliest memories wash back to him.

Everything he was before that great fire had died, and he was brought back from the dead when Kiritsugu had grabbed his hand. And one of the first people who he had talked to, back then, when he was only just freshly awoken from his coma…

"C'ya later, stranger. I like your hair, by the way. Red's a cool color!"

The girl and the boy speak in unison.

"It's…you."


A/N:

Hope you enjoyed.

Don't worry; the top Author's Notes won't consistently be that long, there's just a lot of stuff to talk about when a new story starts, lmao.

The bottom Author's Notes will probably be updating on how the story writing is going. Speaking of:

Heaven's Fall is split into 3 Acts- Act I being called "City of Science".

As of right now, Act I is about 75-80% finished writing, and as I've aforementioned, the whole story has been plotted and planned out.

Starting now, I will also have solid release dates and will do my best to release chapters on those dates. This is so I don't end up killing this story for whatever reason like my previous ones. Heed my words: I will finish this.

Hope you all can stick around to the end with me!

Next Chapter Release: "A Certain Fated Meeting" (October 30th)