A/N:
After almost a year of silence, I have returned.
Hey everyone. After taking a pretty extensive break from writing fanfiction, I've started putting together a concept/passion project of mine that I want to get running. If it goes right, this will be a decently long-term story that I hope to keep up with for as long as I have ideas for it.
Over the past two-three months, I've wanted to get back into the fanfiction scene, and read through some crossover stories of my two favorite expansive franchises: A Certain Magical Index, and Type-Moon. Specifically, I took a stab at reading The Illegal Grail War, by ArmoredCoreNineBall.
It's a really good story, with a really good sequel (The Empty Solution) as well, so I highly recommend reading those if you haven't. Shout out to them! They're the main reason why I started putting together this new project of mine.
One thing that the author of the story mentioned is that they were an Index fan, who wrote the story after finishing the mainline Fate series (Zero and Unlimited Blade Works, assumedly). Thus, while I did enjoy the story, the story did seem more like a crossover with Index as the main framework and perspective. Which is totally acceptable!
I want to take a stab at a crossover between these two as well, but with a different approach. Instead of it being mainly Index as the framework, I wanted the lore and story to be a bit more balanced, while keeping the main ideas and concepts of both franchises as loyal as possible.
This story takes place in a universe where A Certain Magical Index and Type-Moon take place simultaneously, and directly affect each other's histories and background lore. Yes, not just fate/stay night- but all of Type-Moon.
Expect to see references, and inclusions from other parts of Type-Moon, such as Tsukihime, Kara no Kyoukai and Mahoutsukai no Yoru. If you're wondering how, for example, Tsukihime and Fate can exist in the same timeline, well; fate/strange fake is a world where Dead Apostle Ancestors and Servants can coexist, so this is essentially the same idea.
As for power levels, I'm very aware that Index's power ceiling is a good bit higher than Type-Moon's, unless you count all of that Moon Cell stuff from Fate/Extra (I'm not touching that hot mess lol). Thus, I've taken the liberty to nerf Index lore a little bit.
For example, Magic Gods: the beings that can destroy an entire universe just by existing (looking at you, Othinus), are now only capable of destroying the World- that is, the Texture of the Planet, or perhaps Planet-Busters at their highest. It still makes them invariably huge threats, but now they're more in-line with how Fate's Gods were.
Essentially, Magic God Othinus is about the same tier as Zeus from Lostbelt 5 in Fate/Grand Order. Still strong, but not as strong as she was in the original light novels. I've also nerfed some other Index stuff, so its high-tiers should be equal to Type-Moon's high tiers now.
Finally, the timeline. As a whole, this story takes place in 2004- to be in-line with the 5th Holy Grail War. For Rin, Shirou, etc., this is the start of their story. This also somewhat follows the Heaven's Feel route in terms of tone and story (hence the similar title), but I won't be following it beat-for-beat all the time.
Fate/Zero, or at least the 4th War, also still happens, but some Servants summoned are different.
For Index, this Story replaces the Academy City Invasion Arc, and also pushes the Adriatic Sea Arc a little bit forward (September 21st-ish instead of September 25th). Everything that happens in Index/Railgun/Accelerator's stories all still occur up until this point.
If Tsukihime concepts are to appear, then also be aware that I am following Tsukihime Remake continuity. So if Tsukihime were to exist in this timeline, then its events would occur in 2014.
Oh, one more thing: there are no cross-pairings. I'm not a good romance writer anyway, so I'm keeping the characters' romantic interests the same.
I think that covers everything. Thank you for reading this huge wall of text, haha.
Without any further stalling, I give you Heaven's Fall.
Act I: City of Science
Prologue: A Certain Crimson Coat
P.O.V.: Heiress of the Tohsaka Family
Ten years ago.
"My daughter, hold down the house for us, okay?"
A man in a red suit placed his hand on a little girl's head. Just turning seven years old, she still didn't quite understand the ramifications of what her father was about to partake in.
"You are the Tohsaka family's pride and joy. If something happens to me, I just want you to know that."
"Something happens to you…" The pigtailed young girl tilted her head in confusion. "Father, I don't understand…what do you mean by that?"
Her father simply chuckled, patting her head one final time before walking toward the front entrance, where a brown-haired Priest unlocked the gate for him.
"Don't worry about it. I expect to be victorious after all this is over. In a few weeks' time, we'll be sitting around the dinner table like a family again."
Just before he stepped outside the property, the daughter had one final question.
"With Sakura, too?"
"...Perhaps."
Without another word, her father stepped outside of the gate, and walked out of view. The young girl felt the soft hand of her mother gently clasp her shoulder in reassurance.
"...Come back home soon, Father."
XXXXX
Eleven days later, news of the fire was broadcasted around the world. Reported as an alleged freak accident, a chemical leak had caused a massive fire that destroyed much of a certain sovereign city-state in Japan, only a train's ride away from the Tohsaka Manor in Fuyuki City.
That city was also the place where her father had gone. Glued to the TV screen, the young lady Tohsaka could only watch with bated breath and petrified eyes. She couldn't look away.
It was a bird's eye view of the fire, but she knew that below the plumes of smoke and glowing orange of the inferno below, lay the deceased in numbers that her little mind couldn't fathom.
'Father…mother…'
Her caretaker, Ms. Zenjou promptly shut off the television and kindly directed her upstairs to her bedroom, "This is too intense for your young eyes. Get some rest. I'm sure your family is okay."
Only a few days ago, her mother had left Fuyuki to that sovereign city for reasons unknown to her.
She wouldn't learn until the coming morning that her mother would never be the same again- and her father would never return in the first place.
XXXXX
Present Day.
"For the elements, silver and iron.
For the foundation, stone and the Archduke of Contracts."
The basement of the Tohsaka mansion shines to life with a strange, viridescent light as a twin tailed brunette stands in the middle. Below her feet is a bloodred circle, to which she drops a metallic liquid onto its shapes, bringing the dull red color a glowing white hue.
There are many runic circles a magecraft-user like herself would use, but this one in particular has a specific purpose:
Summoning. The beckoning to a place beyond, to bring souls of the past, present, and future to their Master's call.
'My mana's at its peak. I can do this.
I'll win this damn Grail War.'
"For the ancestor, my great master, Schweinorg.
Close the gates of the cardinal directions.
Come forth from the Crown,
And follow the forked road leading to the Kingdom."
Her miniskirt flutters gently in the wind of the swirling mana currents. She takes a breath, flowing and focusing her inner Od to concentrate on her task at hand.
'Today, I'm going to walk alongside Father's legacy, and surpass it.'
The light in the air shifts to crimson as she announces her conviction to the omnipotent wish granter. The Holy Grail itself, that could fulfill the desires of the chosen winner, shall now hear her voice!
"Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill!
Repeat those words five times,
But when each is filled, destroy it."
With every drop of liquid, the mana amplifies.
According to a certain Priest, there are three classes still open: Rider, Archer, and Saber. Her mana at this time of night is at its highest, so she's certain she'll pull the strongest of all Seven Classes.
"Set. Heed my words.
My will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny.
If you heed the Grail's call and obey my will and reason, then answer me!"
As the end of the summoning draws near, she opens her eyes to a bright, electrifying room. Papers flap through the air like butterflies, and loose books break open and spin through their pages back and forth haphazardly. The heat in the air expands, burning away the years of dust that had built up in the unkept basement of her mansion.
The sparking electric mana bursts in a dazzling show of light. The young magus opens her fist, and continues.
"I hereby swear:
I shall be all that is good in the world, and defeat all evil in the world!
From the seventh heaven, clad in the three great words of power,
Come forth from the circle of binding: O Guardian of the Scales!
The light reaches a climax, temporarily blinding her as a small tremor shakes the manor. Yelping, she falls onto her buttocks. 'Damn, what a newbie move…but…!'
The dust starts to settle, and the stinging in her eyes starts to fade. The young lady looks at the back of both of her hands to check for markings. Her left hand is wrapped in the chain-links of a ruby-colored pendant her father left her. Within it, she had stored ten years' worth of mana.
On the right is what she's looking for. "Yes! It worked!" She exclaimed happily. On the back of her hand was a red-colored tattoo of sorts: with two thin crescent-shapes, one enveloping the other, with a thin red line below either of them leading to her forearm. "I'm actually a Master…I just hope I got the Saber Servant. Speaking of-"
She pivots her head back and forth. The basement is almost completely settled now, but there's no sign of the aforementioned "Servant" anywhere. "Where are they? Did they decide to go invisible on me? Did I actually summon an Assassin…? No, they would have-"
A booming crash several floors above her head answers her question for her. Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest from how surprisingly loud it was. "What the-?!"
'That came from upstairs!'
Considering the minute time difference between her summoning and the crash on the top floor, she put together that they must have something to do with each other. "Ah, dammit-!"
The girl clamors to her feet and runs up the flights of stairs, passing by ornate, western-style decorations that glimmer in the moonlight. Coming to the door whose room she suspects the sounds came from, she turns the doorknob.
"Gah-!"
Only to stumble forward in a panic as the door had apparently been blown off its hinges. "What gives…?" Looking at the small pile of rubble in front of her, she bows her head in shame at how much this is probably going to cost to fix. "I don't have that kinda money anymore…where would I even go to take out a loa-?"
She pauses, as she feels a pair of eyes on her. Turning her head left, she makes contact with the figure in the room with her.
Sitting on a pile of broken chairs, sofas, and the collapsed ceiling, is a man in red. His tanned skin gave the impression that he spent a lot of time outdoors, and his clothing was tight to accentuate what she observed to be ripped muscles underneath. Lean, dark and tall, like a redwood.
The man gives her one more once-over, as if to confirm something in his head, and then smiles as if in amusement. "I see. So you're the one who's brought me here, huh?"
The Tohsaka girl's eyes widen in understanding. "So you're my…" She looks down at her right hand, then back up at the man. "…Servant."
"Indeed." The man takes to his feet, showing the clear head-and-shoulders height difference between the two, and what must have been a weight difference of upwards of 30 or more kilo. "I'm the Archer Servant. At your service."
There was another awkward pause between the two. "Wait," the girl started, "Did you just say Archer?"
She glances at the still-standing grandfather clock in the corner.
The time is 1:05 A.M., on the twenty-fifth of the ninth month.
The heiress of the Tohsaka sighs in exasperation. "Aw, dammit…!"
XXXXX
It took the Master some time to get acquainted with her Servant, but she was quick to adapt to his rather straight-to-the-point personality. From the looks of it, she could tell that he was pretty cutthroat- perfect for the War she was now a part of.
After a short outburst, due to her admonishing her late father for seemingly pulling a prank on the clocks after his death, she tells Archer to go fix the room he had so rudely crashed in, before deciding to crash into bed herself for the night.
"May I remind you, Master," Archer speaks up as he begrudgingly accepts the dustpan and broom she had thrown at him so haphazardly, "that none of this would have happened if you stood outside of the circle."
"How was I supposed to know that?!" The adolescent Master shouts back at him, "It's not like the books on how to summon Servants come with instructions on where to stand!"
"It's more implicit than anything…whatever." Archer closes his eyes as he makes his way down the hall. "I'll have it all fixed for you in the morning. Oh, but one last thing."
"Yes?"
He turns his head halfway, not making direct eye contact with her. "I never got your name, Master."
"Oh! Uh," The girl blinks, astonished that it had crossed her mind to do something so basic, "it's Rin. Rin Tohsaka."
The Servant nods without another word, and leaves down the hall.
Rin exhales, exasperated after the eventful few hours, and turns back to her bedroom.
XXXXX
She wakes up to the smell of freshly brewed tea. The aromas catch her nose, gently lifting her out of her slumber. "Eh…? I don't remember getting any butlers…"
She rolls over and kicks away her bedsheets. On her bedside table is exactly what she suspected: a teapot, with a small cup of fresh jasmine. "…Did you do this, Archer?"
"You know we can talk in each other's heads, right?" Her Servant muses, though not visible anywhere in her bedroom.
Rin furrows her brow as she picks up the morning drink and lightly sips it. She has to admit- it's not half bad. "I know that, but I just figured you were in the room somewhere."
"Standing over a teenage girl while she's sleeping is not exactly something that sits right with my morals."
Shrugging, since it did make sense, Rin quietly finishes the cup and starts to get ready for the day. She was pretty sleep deprived, since she hadn't slept until nearly two at night, and school started at half-past seven, but the tea was reinvigorating her body quite effectively.
After cleaning up in the bathroom, she dresses herself in a white blouse and dark skirt, then slips on a tan vest and ties her collar with a ribbon. She combs her hair smooth, tying either end with her signature twin tails, then finally grabs the red coat from her hangar and slips it on.
"Perfect." Rin smiles, "Oh, did I do my homework last night…? I must have, right?"
'Oh well, it's not like I'm going to be at school after today, anyway. At least for another week.'
She pulls on her doorknob and exits her bedroom. Unsurprisingly, she finds Archer leaning against the wall on the opposite end, with crossed arms and closed eyes.
The Servant speaks first. "So, Master, what's on the agenda for today-" He opens his eyes, only to blink and do a double take. "…Why are you in a school uniform?"
"Um, because I'm going to school?" Rin puts her hand on her hip, "What other reason would there be?"
Archer closes his eyes in what seemed to be bewilderment. "…And why, may I ask, are you going to school? Did we not have a talk last night about taking this War seriously? That you wanted to claim the Grail for your Mage Family?"
Rin nodded in agreement. "Yes. But I also need to keep a perfect school record, which is also paramount as the head of the Tohsaka."
She starts casually walking away, toward the downstairs lobby. Clicking his tongue, Archer turns to azure glitters and follows his Master invisibly.
"If you want my real answer, Archer…it's because I jumped the gun a little bit. I was going to summon you tomorrow, but a certain Priest called and said that there were only three spots left. I needed to get ahead, and I only signed up for absent days between tomorrow and late next week."
"Ah, now I understand…kind of. Wait, hold on a minute, Master."
Rin passes through her kitchen, grabbing a banana from the fruit basket as her substitute breakfast. She had woken up a tad too late, and didn't have time to make herself a proper meal. "What?"
"The Holy Grail War has already been going on for the past couple days, from what you've told me. And you only decided to get vacation days now?"
"Well..." Rin slips on her shoes, makes sure her book bag is locked, then steps outside into the fresh morning air.
It is late into September, at the very start of autumn. Some of the trees started to fade into warmer colors, but the air was still mild enough to tolerate. "…My passport isn't ready for pickup until later today, so I can't exactly leave right away, either." Rin says.
"Now I'm even more confused. Master, what do you need a passport for?"
Rin halts her walking, furrowing her brow as she thinks about what Archer just said.
When summoned, the Grail gives Servants knowledge of the modern day. This includes every spoken language, knowledge about certain historical events, and of every Servant within the Throne of Heroes: the place where all of the legends throughout history go beyond their death.
One of the tidbits of information that all Servants are supposed to have is where the Holy Grail War- the once-in-a-while conflict that determines who will possess the omnipotent wish granter- takes place.
'How does he know what a passport is, but not where the Holy Grail War is happening? Come to think of it, he told me last night that he doesn't remember his True Name, either.
…What's up with my Servant, exactly?'
"Archer," Rin begins, "Where is the Holy Grail War?"
"…Shouldn't it be taking place here, in Fuyuki City?"
Rin shakes her head. "…No. No, it hasn't been like that since the Third War, Archer. Jeez, did the Grail give you outdated information or something?"
She sighs, re-calculating how much she actually needs to tell her Servant of the modern day.
"It's taking place a few hundred kilometers away from here. In the sovereign city-state within Japan, called Academy City."
"…Academy…what?"
"Don't tell me you don't even know what that is…" Rin rubbed her head in exasperation, but figured that dwelling on his ignorance was too unhealthy for her this early in the morning. "Whatever, we'll talk about it after school."
XXXXX
Rin breathes a hefty sigh of relief as she collapses onto the nearest train seat available. She had spent the last half-hour speed-walking from the post office to the train station, and really needed somewhere to sit down. Luckily, the train isn't too full; although she knew that might change the closer she traveled to Academy City.
There are a handful of cities between Fuyuki and the famous (or infamous, depending on who one asks) Academy City, meaning the train ride there would take a couple hours at the most. To save time and space, the young Master decided not to bring a suitcase for a week's worth of clothes, and just shop within Academy City itself.
School had gone by without a hitch, and she was relieved that her passport was ready for pickup by the time she arrived. She would have normally just waited for them to mail to her, but that would have taken an extra day that she could not wait for.
Now, all she has to do is relax until the train makes it to Academy City's one and only station for outside visitors. The city-state's security is such that it's easy for residents to leave, but not so much for visitors to enter freely. The only time they really can is during festivals; and thankfully- or, as Rin suspects, possibly intentionally- the Grail War's duration overlaps with Academy City's Daihasei Festival. This was convenient for her, at least, since she can simply enter the city without having to infiltrate.
Dealing with enemy Servants and Magi was one thing; having to deal with the advanced security systems of Academy City was another.
Then there were the Espers, but dealing with those was something that she hoped to avoid. Most of the city's Espers were students, and most students have a curfew that they have to follow, meaning barely any of them are out and about at night; which is normally when the Holy Grail Wars occur.
In any case, she clutches her bag tightly and leans her head back as the meager hours of sleep she had last night starts to catch up with her.
"…Stop, Souya Station. Attention: Next stop, Souya Station."
The train started to decelerate as Rin opened her eyes crankily. The change of speed jolted her body back awake.
She felt the warmth of the evening sun on her body vanish as the train entered the station.
She was sitting in a quarter-full carriage, with people silently reading a book, magazine, or listening on their music devices. As the doors opened, only a few left to enter the city of Souya.
After them, only one passenger entered.
Rin's half-open eyes barely glimpses a grey-colored skirt and navy blue jacket as they sit across from her, crossing their legs astutely.
'I wonder what a schoolgirl is doing out this late in the day…then again, I guess I'm one to talk.'
The doors close promptly, and the train continues its journey in earnest. Rin leans her head back and attempts to fall back to the realm of dreams, but something's bothering her.
Grrrrrumble.
Her eyebrow twitches in embarrassment as the rumbling of her stomach reverberates loud enough to hear audibly. Even though she has her eyes shut, she could feel the stare of a few nearby passengers in the otherwise quiet train ride.
'I hadn't eaten much today…ah, crap. I hope the Festival hasn't closed down for the day, maybe there's a fast food place open there or something-'
"Um, excuse me?"
She feels a light tap on her shoulder. Groggily opening her eyes, her gaze meets a pair of ovular glasses.
A girl stands in front of her seat, with a slightly concerned expression. Her skin tone is similar to Rin's, as well as her uniform; though, the girl's blazer is a dark blue as opposed to her own being burgundy. A teal ribbon and long, slender legs put together the look, on top of her short, cobalt hair that barely covers past her ears.
If Rin's main color theme was red, this young lady's theme was most certainly blue. Rin rubs her eye and gives a small, sheepish laugh. "Ah…sorry about that noise. I haven't had much to eat today, you see…"
"I know." The blue-haired girl says as she reaches into her school bag. She produces a baked good- probably store-bought, looking at the plastic wrap and label- and extends it out with both hands toward Rin. "Here. You look like you've been on a long road trip. Your stomach should at least be filled up, you know."
Rin shakes her head, "No no, it's okay."
"I insist."
The glasses-wearer is persistent. After a few back-and-forths between them, Rin decides to put away her pride and takes it with honor.
Breaking it open, the aroma of factory-baked bread wafts into her nose, but as she's sniffing closer… '…is that curry?'
She takes a bite.
The Tohsaka girl's eyes widen in genuine surprise. "This…is pretty good…"
"Right?!" The girl exclaims as she sits next to Rin, her expression of excitement nearly overwhelming the young Tohsaka. "I've only discovered Japanese-style curry recently, but I've fallen in love with it."
Rin takes a break from nearly devouring the curry bread as she looks to her new travel companion with confusion. "Recently? Are you an exchange student?"
Looking at the girl closer, it's clear that she doesn't look Japanese, or even Asian at all. In fact, her general mannerisms when she handed Rin the curry bread looked like a foreigner trying to emulate Japanese culture, rather than a traditionally-raised native.
Of course, Rin herself was born in a western-style household, but she was still taught Japanese etiquette.
The girl looks into the air for a moment, as if debating what to say in her mind, before nodding in satisfaction. "You could say that. I've only just arrived a month or so ago."
"You know quite a bit of Japanese for someone who just arrived a month ago," Rin says.
"Well," The girl shrugs, her glasses gleaming in the twilight, "What can I say? I'm just a good student."
Rin takes the time to swallow the last piece of curry bread, as well as taking note of the brand so she can buy it herself at some point, and extends her hand to the girl. Normally she'd bow, but a handshake was probably more comfortable for the foreign student. "Thank you very much for the food. My name's Rin Tohsaka."
The blue-haired girl smiles and shakes her hand.
"It's Ciel."
The two girls hit it off, talking about their school life, what their goals are in the future, and other general small talk.
Ciel apparently goes to Metropolitan Souya High School. After saying she was only a first-year, Rin was taken aback quite a bit. She was a second-year. "That means you're only…what, fifteen? Sixteen?"
"Fifteen." Ciel laughs, "I know, I get teased a lot by that."
'Europeans…' Rin imagines what it would be like living in somewhere like France or England, where everyone's height probably dwarf's her's. 'At least, I hope I guessed she's European correctly. Ciel is a French name, after all.'
"Judging by your surprised look, you must at least be a second-year." Ciel says. "So? What school do you go to, Tohsaka-senpai?"
"Ah-!" Rin shakes her hands in protest. "Please, drop the senpai. At least until I get it in my head that you're actually younger than me…"
They are practically the same height and build, after all. Honestly, with the glasses, Ciel can most certainly pass as the older, more mature one.
"But to answer your question," Rin continues, "I'm a second-year at Homurahara Academy. Have you heard of Fuyuki City?"
Ciel blinks, and strokes her chin as if pondering something. "Fuyuki…and you said your name is Tohsaka, correct?"
Rin furrows her brow. 'What is she talking about?'
It's as if the blue-haired foreigner is trying to put something together between her surname and the city she lives in.
Of course, there is a correlation. It just isn't public knowledge, as far as Rin knew.
Ciel shakes her head and smiles, "Ah, never mind. I have heard of Fuyuki City, though. It's just a little while away from Souya, after all. It must be a pretty beautiful place, no?"
Rin nods, letting that moment of tension slide. "You could say that. The winters there last quite a long time, and the more developed areas are starting to look more like Tokyo, but it's still a quiet place."
"Attention: next stop, Academy City. If you are departing at Academy City, please have your passports ready."
The P.A. System repeats this message two or three more times as many passengers within the train start digging in their bags to make sure they have acquired their passports. Due to the general good rapport between Japan and Academy City, the only item that Japanese visitors need to show when the city-state opens its doors is their passport.
Normally, Academy City is closed almost the entire year to the public. It is not difficult to leave if one is already a registered resident of Academy City, but it is incredibly hard for people to enter without a visa approved by the Academy City Board of Directors.
The one time it does open freely, visa-free, is during the famous Daihasei Festival.
"I'm assuming you're coming to see the Festival?" Rin asks Ciel, who also double-checked to make sure her passport was in place.
"Yeah, my…sister is an Esper at one of the schools there…Reien Girls' Academy, I think? I figured I would take the opportunity to come visit her, since this is the only time I really can all year."
"You have an older sister?" She quickly realizes it's a little strange of a question to ask, but it was already thrown into the conversation. 'I'm usually not this talkative with strangers…I guess my tiredness is making me not act myself.'
Ciel nods as she gazes out the opposite window. She can see the walls of Academy City approach as the train turns toward the open gate. "Mhm, though she's adopted. One year my senior. She's an Esper, but unfortunately I don't really find myself cut out for that sort of thing."
The girl gives a light laugh, to which Rin curtsies one of her own.
Of course, Rin herself couldn't be an Esper even if she wanted to.
Being a magus, after all, makes it especially impossible. She doesn't know too much about how Espers' Abilities are created, only that one cannot be one if they choose the life of magecraft. They're inherently incompatible.
"Do you have any siblings, Tohsaka?"
Rin takes in a sharp breath as their carriage passes under the walls.
'Right.
She's here.'
And on the other side, the bustling landscape of Academy City is revealed.
A chalk-white concrete jungle, with rectangular, geometric buildings as far as they eye could see. Sprinkled across the city were also various snow-white windmills, turning in the constant, gentle winds that Academy City is conveniently placed in.
The entire view is casted over by a blanket of the twilight colors, giving the city a warm glow in what is otherwise a harsh white city.
A pure, science-based reality, with no space for the arcane and occult. That is, of course, what they want the public to believe.
Inside of this city, there are users of the mystique just like Rin Tohsaka. And below the ground, somewhere in the hidden ley lines of Japan, lays the source of these Magi gathering, and is the reason why she had summoned Archer:
The Holy Grail.
Rin narrows her vision as the train's view overlooks some dormitories. Students were flocking into the entrance since it was getting closer to their curfews.
'Somewhere…she's out there.
What will I say to her if I run into her?
Is she even a part of all this…?'
"Tohsaka?"
Rin blinks, breaking her gaze from the window to meet her new companion's eyes. "Ah…sorry. I spaced out. Um…what was your question?"
"I asked if you have a sibling?"
Tohsaka looked away suddenly, letting her bangs cover her eyes. "It's…complicated."
"I see." Ciel sits back in her chair, probably realizing that she pried a little too much into Rin's personal life, and let her be on her own as the train approaches the station.
Without missing a beat, the train decelerates, and reaches a halt.
Rin senses most of the passengers stand up and begin exiting the train. After letting everyone else pass first, the blue-haired girl to her left gets to her feet. "Well, Rin Tohsaka-senpai, it was nice being able to speak to you."
Rin looks up, and meets Ciel's smile with her own. "Likewise. Thank you for the bread. It helped a lot."
Ciel bowed, "It was my pleasure. Here," She tossed her another plastic-wrapped bread. "On the house."
They both exit the same door, but go separate ways. Rin gets lost in the shuffle of the main crowd, watching Ciel as she walks an alternate path as everyone else.
Considering the girl was non-Japanese, she probably had to go to some other area to get admission.
As she turns and walks on her own, Rin silently curses to herself.
'I should have asked to exchange numbers…dammit! I always forget about that!'
She had just received her own flip phone about a month or so ago, but didn't use it too much, since her aptitude with technology isn't exactly…the best.
Come to think of it, she was entering a City whose whole purpose is to be a city of the future. Which…likely means she'll have to deal with technology she hasn't seen before, on a daily basis.
Sighing, she accepts her just-realized fate as she steps up and hands the security officer her passport. On the female officer's chest is a badge with horizontal lines and a W-shaped symbol in the middle. From Rin's studies of Academy City's infrastructure, she figured she was Anti-Skill, which is one-half of the City's defense force.
"Where ya coming from?" The officer, who had long dark blue hair tied into a low ponytail, spoke in a rather frank manner.
"Fuyuki City," Rin responds, "Oh! And I'm also here for the Festival."
The passport comes up as approved on the officer's computer, and she hands it back with a smile. "Thank you, um…" Rin looks closer at the name under the badge, "Officer Yomikawa."
After being handed a lanyard with a Guest I.D., Rin continues on, surprised at the lack of any metal detectors. She figured the cameras mounted on the walls already could do such scanning without there having to be a line.
Finally, she exits the train terminal, and takes in a breath of the late-evening air of Academy City.
The time was 7:47 PM. A few more hours, and the War she has been waiting for for ten years will finally be afoot for her.
'You ready, Archer?
…Archer?'
"I'm here, Rin." The deep, masculine voice of her Servants resounds in her head. He's obviously not visible anywhere, but is probably walking right alongside her.
'You've been awfully quiet the past few hours.' Rin says in her mind as she crosses the street toward the hotel that she had booked a few weeks ago. They had entered through the north border of the City in District 3, which was explicitly reserved for guests and chock full of hotels and other amenities.
'Something on your mind? You didn't even interrupt me when I was talking to that girl on the train.'
"…She reminded me of someone I knew."
"Hm?" Rin talked aloud, confusing a few passers-by. "Really? I guess the world's pretty small, huh? People in the past looking like people now are probably more common than we think."
"You could say that."
XXXXX
Booking into the hotel had gone off without a hitch, and Rin had settled into her one-bedroom suite quite fast. She only had two changes of clothes, including the one she had on right now: her school uniform and her mage outfit, which was a red turtleneck and black miniskirt.
She quickly changed into the latter and chowed down on the spare piece of curry bread that Ciel gave her, before opening up the curtains to survey the land.
Night had quickly befallen Academy City, which still sparkled with the signature glow of large cities such as these. Even in darkness, the City still managed to shine.
She had intentionally booked a south-facing suite on a high floor with a balcony so she could get a good vantage point. In the distance, she could see the ever-eternal landmark of Academy City, that one could even see from the outside, towering over the other skyscrapers.
A dark building, devoid of windows. Residing in District 7, it's known as the home of the Chairman of Academy City.
"Archer," Rin speaks up, clicking open the sliding door to the balcony. "We're heading out."
Of course, she wasn't planning on paying a visit to the Chairman. From her understanding, Aleister Crowley was a former magus on a similar level as the Wizard Marshal of the Mages' Association. Staying under his radar is something she'd want to do.
'Although…' Rin recalls the vast amount of technology in the city that's decades ahead of its time, which probably meant twenty-four hour surveillance. '…There's a chance I'm on his radar, already.'
She climbs atop the fence of her balcony. Making sure her gems are secure and tied in her pocket, she steps off and falls into the darkness.
Quickly, she's embraced by muscular arms as the Master-Servant pair soar through the night. "Where to?" Archer asks. "You weren't exactly clear on directions when we left."
"Just past that Windowless Building!" Rin points to the fast-approaching, dark skyscraper standing ominously in the center of the circular city. "There's a pretty large gated area south of it called the Garden of Learning. Let's go there first."
XXXXX
The Garden of Learning is a gated community of schools in the south end of District 7. The Schools within are female-only, from the students to the staff, and visitors can only be admitted through invitation. Of course, if one is a male, then forget about ever having a chance of stepping in. Even male Anti-Skill are not allowed to enter under any circumstances.
Of course, Rin knew this exclusivity was likely suspicious to her Servant, who simply jumped over the admittance gates (which were closed at this time of the night) and landed safely on a rooftop.
Most of the buildings are multi-story and western-based, with close-quarters and narrow streets. Likely designed with form over function, it reminded Rin of the images she had seen of Paris in her school textbooks.
'Rin,' Archer murmurs in her mind. He had turned invisible to keep the security cameras from viewing a male in a place where they were strictly forbidden, 'Could you tell me the reason why we're here? Surely it's not because you suspect a student could be a Master?'
"I mean, I became one." Rin rebuttels, "Anything's possible as long as you have some wish you want granted."
'You mean your wish to just win the, and I quote, 'cup'?'
"Exactly." Rin narrows her eyes toward a certain school in the distance. "I'm heading there. Keep an eye out, Archer."
Making sure no one was around to see first, Rin takes a breath as viridescent lines begin to form on her legs, lighting up the night around her. Grimacing, she hops off the rooftop, gliding her shoes along the brick wall to use as friction as she falls to the ground.
She lands on the concrete with only a dull pressure on her feet, then continues running down the streets in silence. A fall like that would have certainly broken an ankle at the least, or perhaps more, but her Reinforcement magecraft made a twelve-meter drop seem like only a small hop.
There were five schools within the Garden of Learning. In Rin's study of Academy City's layout, she had figured out all of their names.
Private Misaki High School. Not to be confused with the name of one of the Level 5s, but rather named after Misaki Town, which is a smaller city that sits in-between Souya and Fuyuki.
Reien Girls' Academy, where apparently, Ciel's adopted sister goes to.
Asagami Private Girls' Academy. Also not to be confused, apparently, with the renowned Asagami family, who are instead sponsors of the aforementioned Reien Girls' Academy.
Tokiwadai Middle School, where not one, but two Level 5 Espers are enrolled in. Rin made a mental note to steer clear of anyone wearing a uniform from that school, lest she has a run in with someone as powerful as a Level 5.
'They're like walking nuclear bombs,' Rin thought, 'From what I heard, if I were to equate them to the Magecraft side, they would be roughly on-par with Saints.
Even Servants would have trouble against them.'
Rin walks up to the sign of the final school; the one that she came to see.
"Private Shidarezakura Academy…" Rin touches one of the dark metal fence bars as she stares at the multi-story, western-style building in front of her. The school gives off an ominous feeling due to the lack of any human activity. '…So this is where you go nowadays, huh?
At least they put you in a safe place.'
"Archer, I saw what I needed to see, let's get out of-"
A calloused hand grabs her by the back of her collar and throws her backwards. Yelping, the young magus lands on her buttocks as she hears the clashing of metal-on-metal.
"What the-?!"
"Rin, go!" The Red Archer was now visible, a short, curved blade in his right hand keeping away what she figured to be a pair of knives. Shouting, her Servant slashes away, and a black shadow in dark robes hops away to keep distance.
"R-Right!" Rin clamors to her feet and takes off in the opposite direction. The silence in the Garden of Learning had suddenly been broken by a clash which should not be seen in Academy City.
A clash of the supernatural. Phenomenon that could not be explained by mere science.
The robed shadow twirls the knife in their hands as they observe the Servant that stands between themselves and the enemy Master.
"A…Saber…?" The man's head twists inhumanly. Archer scowls as he gets into a fighting stance. "No…too…weak…"
The Servant charges again, but Archer was ready for him. A fwoosh of a swinging sword is heard, too fast for a normal human to fathom as the knives of the enemy Servant knocks clean from their hands.
Archer grimaces as he spins around, planting his foot directly into the Servant's face. The shadowed man grunts in pain as they're launched into a solid brick wall, slamming into it with enough force to rumble the whole building.
Rin catches herself watching the fight, and realizes that the best option right now is to keep running as she approaches the borders of the Garden of Learning.
'I didn't even sense their presence…!' Rin curses to herself as her legs caught fire with green lights again. She jumped- easily ten times higher than even the most skilled Olympic athlete-, as she cleared the security admittance gate and made it to the outside. 'Archer didn't even sense them until the last moment, either…that's definitely an Assassin Servant.'
She knew the risks of coming out here. She actually wanted to challenge a fellow Master in a skirmish tonight. But this…
"Dammit, this is just cheap, sneaking up on me like that!"
Rin vows to pay whoever ordered that attack tenfold back at them.
'Archer, are you there?
…Archer?!'
No response. Their telepathic link was only for short distances, so it meant he was still back there, fighting that Assassin. Assassins aren't supposed to be good at close-quarters-combat, however, so the fact that he hasn't returned for a few moments must mean that the enemy Servant has some sort of trump card to keep him occupied.
"…!"
For some reason, whether it be due to just her instinct, or the natural pressure of feeling something appear behind them, Rin ducks her head.
A swipe of a knife confirms her fears, and she pumps her legs full of mana again to gain as much distance as possible.
She looks over her shoulder, and her eyes widen in horror.
'The Assassin…does that mean…!?'
If the Assassin was here, and Archer wasn't, then…
No. She looks at her right hand, and her Command Seals are still present. 'Well…two of them.'
"You will listen to every single word I say, Archer! Complete, and utter OBEDIENCE!"
'…Why did I have to waste a Spell on something as stupid as that?!'
If she uses a Seal now to command Archer here, then she'd only have one left. Which, essentially, means she would have zero, as using the last Command Seal means cutting one's contract with their Servant.
The Grail War had just started, too.
'No, I have to figure this out on my own!'
She stops in her tracks and spins in a half-second to face down her chaser, lifting up her arm to fire her infamously deadly Gandr.
But she was too late.
Within an arm's reach, the Assassin is already upon her, its knife approaching her jugular at fast speeds.
The magus, out of sheer desperation to live, jerks her head to the side. She feels a painful prick glaze past her neck as the blade was only a centimeter away from skewering her throat.
However, the Assassin's momentum collides with her body, and she's sent to the ground. Her head violently hits the concrete, and she lets out a pained moan as the Servant grabs her by the collar.
In her blurred vision, Rin sees the masked…woman's face?
'Wait…the one that was fighting Archer…they were male…'
The one pursuing her was also wearing a cloak, but this close, Rin could tell there were more feminine curves to her body and facial structure. '…There's more than one Assassin?'
The Assassin wasted no time, and flipped the knife in her hands, pointing its edge at the young magus' chest. "Apologies."
Rin closes her eyes.
A second passes by.
And she hears the Assassin grunt, as if annoyed, before-!
"GET AWAY FROM HER!"
Vrrrrm!
A noise that she couldn't fathom reverberates in her ears. If one could imagine how a black hole would sound like, it would be something akin to that.
A grating, otherworldly sound, then the more natural noise of a fist slamming into someone's face.
Rin opens her eyes, and catches the Assassin being knocked to the side as a masculine arm punches her away. "What the-?!"
She turns her head left to the Assassin that had just had her jaw socked in. 'Her body…it's…!'
The Servant coughs up blood as its body starts to flake, faster than it could regenerate. The area around the Servant's face…there was nothing.
Their left cheek is a void, slowly spreading like a cancer to the rest of its body as it tries to hold itself together. Every time they try to stand, their body gives out and falls back to the floor.
Wasting no time, the Tohsaka lifts up her right arm, and a red sphere of cursed light appears at her fingertips. "Gandr!"
A stream of crimson shoots out, crashing into the Assassin's body as a howl of pain resounds through Academy City. They tumble through the streets again, with red, toxic electricity burning them from the outside-in.
With half of their body disintegrated, and their Spirit Core irreparably cursed and damaged, their limbs turn limp.
And to ashes they return.
Rin collapses onto her back, exhausted.
"What the hell was that…?" A teenage boy's voice could be heard, speaking under his breath.
As she pivots her head, she sees a hand reach out to her.
"Hey. Are you okay?"
The boy couldn't have been any older than herself, with fair skin and unruly black hair. He was wearing an orange shirt under a black gakuran jacket, with black pants.
A completely ordinary-looking student. And yet…
She remembered that inhuman-sounding wooosh. It had come from him.
'It must be some kind of Esper ability of his…'
She takes his offer to stand, and grabs his left arm.
"I'm fine…" Rin groans; the aches of being thrown to the ground and pushing her body past her limits is finally getting to her. "…Thanks. For saving me, I mean."
The boy picks up what looked to be plastic grocery bags, and waves off her thank-you. "It was no problem. If I see someone in trouble, I'll do whatever I can to help them. Although-"
His eyes go back to the middle of the street, behind them, where the Servant had just recently vanished. "…Mind telling me what that was?"
Rin pauses. The weight of the realization of what she has to do to him, now, starts to settle in.
Magecraft is a secret to the outside world. While Academy City and its highly advanced technology, as well as its Espers, are, for the most part, public knowledge, all of Magecraft is kept a secret to the world in order to preserve its Mystery.
The less Mystery, the less powerful Magecraft is as a whole.
If one outsider gets knowledge of Magecraft, especially something as undercover as a Holy Grail War, then…
'It doesn't matter if they're an Esper or not.'
A whoosh of a certain crimson coat appears next to Rin. "Apologies for my lateness, Master. The Assassin was a bit more resilient than anticipated."
Rin let her bangs cover her eyes again. "It's fine, Archer."
The Red Archer looks over to the teenager in front of him. The boy's eyes were wide with surprise- but oddly enough, not so much surprise as one would expect from a civilian seeing someone appear out of nowhere. Furrowing his brow, Archer asks, "…May I ask what we're to do with him?"
"…" Rin turns away.
She'd rather not do it herself.
Archer opens his palm, and closes his grip around the handle of his blade. What's about to happen starts to dawn on the boy.
"Wait-!"
"Sorry, kid." Archer pulls back his blade. "No witnesses."
"I know what you are!" The boy shouts, lifting up his arm to protect himself.
The sword meets his right hand.
Instead of cutting right through it, that same resounding Vrrrm! echoes out, and the blade immediately turns to ashes. Archer pauses- his eyes reading genuine disbelief.
Rin turns back around, to see the boy's right hand smoking, and the dust of Archer's sword being carried into the gentle winds.
"You're…a Servant, right? A friend of mine…he has one too." The boy lowers his hand. "Can we please talk about this? I'm…just as involved in this as you are. If you're worried about people knowing about the Magecraft side…trust me, I know already."
Rin and Archer look at each other.
'Let me handle it, Archer.'
The Red Servant shrugs, and lets his Master step forward.
"What's your name?" Rin asks, sternly.
"Touma. Touma Kamijou. I'm a Level 0."
"That back there didn't look like a Level 0 ability…" Rin leads on, suspicious of his words. "But if you say so. You said you have a friend that has a Servant of his own, right?"
Touma nods, "Y-yeah."
Rin Tohsaka crosses her arms confidently.
"Take us to him."
A/N:
Hope you enjoyed!
As of writing this, I have the entire story planned out, and have currently just finished Chapter 3. I wanted to wait a little while longer before I published anything, but I just couldn't help myself, haha.
In any case, this is the Prologue, just to get you acquainted with the concept I have for the story. Expect Chapter 1 to be released some time next month, just so I have more time to get ahead of my release schedule. Once I do get the story going proper, I hope to release chapters on a weekly, or maybe bi-weekly basis.
Please feel free to leave a review, and thank you for checking this out. I'll see you in the next one.
Next Chapter name: "A Certain Golden Greatsword"