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Chapter 1
Violent flurries of snow surged downward as the sky grew darker and the eclipsing moon neared completion. Swords, dozens of swords, lay buried in mounds of snow, hidden within the furrows they had carved, while others lay shattered along the ground.
Shirou wasn't much different, laying on his stomach as the wintering layers fell like blankets along his back, and his magical energy burned at his skin and hair. He didn't care. His only focus was the blonde armor-clad woman who stood a short way off.
Just looking at her, one of the scumbags who wanted nothing more than to take Miyu back and sacrifice her, made the fire in his chest rage all the harder. How dare they! He'd be damned if he was going to let that happen.
Allowing his anger to fuel him, Shirou pushed himself to his feet, where he wobbled for a moment before catching himself. All around him, fires burned atop the snow, remnants of the sword that existed as the concept of "Horizon." The forge at the edge of existence.
As far as Shirou was concerned, that was fine. He had other things to attend to.
She stood atop a hill of snow holding an ancient treasure, a weapon unlike any other he'd seen. A sword without a blade, but it was a sword still, and one without a peer.
"I have had enough. Persevere as long as you can manage if you'd like, but you are nothing more than a hindrance in this world's last legend and have already failed. Now return."
Magical energy gathered around the ancient weapon and only confirmed what he already knew. None of the swords he had would be able to match the one in front of him. Even all together, they paled in comparison. Finally, the red energy spun and began reaching skyward.
"That really is something. None of the swords I have will match it. So I'll offer up all of them!"
Swords sped through the air toward her. Each and everyone at his disposal, except for one.
"Return to the beginning." She called "ENUMA ELISH!"
She brought down the weapon, which caught against the river of blades he'd sent surging toward her. Each it touched was torn to shreds, their shards cast aside as if they were nothing more than wet paper mache.
He was running out of time, and he knew it. His world was fracturing. Considering it was against the power of the sword that splits the heavens from the Earth, none would have called it a surprise.
In fact, Shirou was confident that the woman in front of him would merely have called it "inevitable."
The world around him exploded. Roiling fires, falling snow, it all vanished, leaving him lying on the ground staring at the light glowing about the ceiling. But, the wish hadn't finished yet.
He could still feel the remnants of her power.
He hadn't managed to stop her.
"As I told you, nothing more than a hindrance." She said as she started to walk past him.
Clutching at the sword beneath him, Shirou rolled to his side. He lunged. The blade tore into the back of her leg, and blood sprayed into the air.
She fell screaming to the ground, but Shirou wasn't done. Scrambling, he used her almost like a ladder as he moved to reach her head. As soon as he had, Shirou reared back and bashed his hand into her jaw.
'Crack!' Her jaw shifted, and a bone bit through her chin.
She was unconscious before her lolling head ceased its motion. Or perhaps she was dead. Either way, Shirou couldn't find it in himself to care.
No, the brightening light that spread across the ceiling, however, took all of his attention. He smiled and watched as his sister headed for a place where she could find happiness.
The light soon became so bright that Shirou slammed closed his eyes, and it was as he did so that he heard it.
"Onii-Chan! Please!" Miyu yelled.
Shirou jerked and opened his eyes as he threw an arm up to shield his face from the light, only to find that he was alone in a vast expanse filled with nothing but darkness. But, wait, did he pass out? Had Julian used his magecraft to leave him somewhere between? Could he even do that?
Or did he end up getting transported with Miyu? Was she here? At the very least, it couldn't hurt to check.
"Miyu!" He called into the abyss.
Twisting and turning, he looked this way and that. Searching for any sign of where she was. Any sign at all, he decided, he'd take any kind of reference he could get.
And he got it.
An orange-yellow glow bloomed in the distance, giving a sinister backdrop to a shattering planet and the massive figure looming above it. Shirou couldn't help but gaze up to its face, where a foul grin stretched beneath its four eyes.
The vision, likely generated by a massive concussion, or maybe it was the last vestiges of his dying brain, because what else could it be, began to fade. Then, when it reached blackness again, something else split the darkness.
"A great evil even now searches for entry into our world." The words seemed to ring for a time, but that ringing changed. It began to undulate to stretch into higher notes as the blackness seemed to ripple.
The image of a crying baby appeared.
"You must stop it." The voice came from behind him, and Shirou turned to find a man, faceless, save for his white glowing eyes, dressed in a nice cloak and suit and adorned with a necklace made of what looked like silver coins.
He stepped forward.
"You must stop it," he said again. "The great evil is coming, and you, Shirou Emiya, must stop it."
He pointed behind Shirou, where the babe had stopped crying. Instead, it stared at him with four glowing red eyes. "It is your chance to right the wrong you've made."
Shirou took a step back and narrowed his eyes. "What I did wasn't wrong! Selfish, sure, but she's my sister. I-"
The man interrupted him. "Sentenced a world to die for your wish."
Shirou glared unrepentantly. After all, he'd do it all over again.
"And if I let my world burn, why would you think I'd help you?"
His answer came with the wave of a hand. Then, out of nowhere, a pane of silver began growing in the air beside him. Across the surface, a scene was playing out. There Shirou lay flailing on the beach, struggling for breath and bleeding from his eyes, nose and mouth.
"You'll die if you don't."
Shirou whirled on the man, "what is this?"
"This is reality. You are dying, and this is the only li-"
Taking him by the front of his shirt Shirou lifted the man into the air. "What about Miyu?!"
"The same." With a flick of the man's wrist, the image pulled back and showed that he was not alone in his suffering. Miyu was there, clutching at her head, at her throat. "Your bodies cannot tolerate the magic flowing through this world."
"And you can make it so that we can?"
Ever so slightly, the man inclined his head.
Slumping, Shirou sighed, a smile spreading across his face.
"Fine. Sign me up for anything, hell, sign me up for everything."
The man shook his head. "That will be unnecessary. However, if you choose to help, it would be appreciated."
Shirou nodded as the world around him began to glow white until it grew so bright that it encompassed everything.
A twisted mockery of the dark world he began in before it too vanished.
Shirou lurched forward. Fresh, clean salt air filled his lungs. From beside him came the sound of waves washing against the shore, and all around him, the world was awash in color. It felt so alive. He couldn't tell how long he'd spent without them, but it felt like it'd been borderline forever. Still, he only took the barest of seconds to notice before turning towards his sister.
Like him, she was sitting up, and just looking at her face was enough to prove that his conversation with the stranger wasn't a dream or a delusion of some kind. From her eyes were twin trails of crimson blood.
"Onii-chan?"
That was enough to kick Shirou into gear. Surging forward, he wrapped her in his arms.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry that it took me so long."
His apology seemed to break something in her as she began to bawl and punch him in the chest as best she could manage. None of the hits were tough, but he didn't expect them to be. But his disappointment in himself grew with each of her strikes and made him flinch. With each strike, she cried something unintelligible, though from what Shirou could tell, it went something like this.
"Why? Why would you let it happen? Why didn't you stop it? I was so scared. I didn't think I would ever see you again." There were a few "dummies" thrown in as well. Or at least that's the best he could translate it.
Soon enough, her ramped-up emotions petered out, and she fell asleep against him. Taking hold of his shirt, Shirou wiped the blood and tears from beneath her eyes as best he could. Thankfully her tears kept the rest of her face moist, making it a far more manageable task.
Carefully, he settled Miyu against the sand and, taking the admittedly ragged remains of his sweater, fashioned her a pillow. As he stood, his stomach rumbled. Shirou turned his attention to the problem at hand.
They were in another world; they'd no food or shelter, though those could be easily remedied. Sure, the cover would be rudimentary, but it would do the job, and Shirou was confident in his cooking skills. He'd just need to catch some fish.
Moving down to the water Shirou kicked off his tattered shoes and shivered. The water was freezing. He curled his toes through the cold sands as he looked out at the water. Or, more specifically, the massive T-shaped building sitting out in the bay. Someone had a bold personality. Or no sense of taste. Actually, Shirou was going to bet it was the latter option. It would make more sense.
His grumbling stomach brought his attention back to the task at hand. After all, if he was hungry, then he was certain Miyu would be as well.
He quickly stripped off his clothes, tattered or not. They'd restrict his movements, not to mention weigh him down. Plus, he'd like his clothes to be as warm as possible for when he got out. Folding them, he placed them near Miyu and headed for the water.
That fishing allowed him to test how abundant the magic in the world indeed was.
"Trace on."
Shirou focused his magical energy through the air in the shape of the blueprint in his mind, and two things happened. The first was the warmth he felt when using his circuits was absent, replaced by what he'd describe as a gentle thrum. It was actually kind of pleasant, like scratching an itch that'd been begging to be done. The second, the nagamaki long sword that appeared in a flash of blue light, was overfilling with energy. So much so that with the sound of tearing metal as the weapon fractured. From the gouges, an all too familiar crimson hue emerged. The sword had broken.
Rearing back, Shirou hurled the weapon into the water. Its handle barely made it past the surface before it detonated. The water lurched skyward, and Shirou stared slack-jawed in surprise. If he had to guess, the weapon's explosion had the power of a grenade. Or maybe something a bit stronger.
An effect of the world's magical energy maybe? Like it was more potent? He shook his head; it was something he was going to have to investigate further later.
Then a third thought occurred to him. The explosion was definitely going to attract someone's attention. It was time to go.
Turning on his heel, Shirou rushed over to his clothes and scooped them up, even as he tried to get his pants back on. As soon as he got the button through the hole, he scooped Miyu into his arms and swiftly made his way down the beach.
"Hey, I-" He caught himself as he looked down at Miyu, whose breathing remained just as calm as before. The girl had just managed to sleep through a bomb going off.
"You really must be tired." He whispered as he looked at the bank. It looked like someone had built steps into it as a safer way down a hundred meters down the beach. Which meant, at the very least, some people were likely to be around.
But it wasn't like he could just turn back, either. Most people would start their search where the "bomb" went off. Such things were always regulated unless it was a world that didn't have laws on safety, or if they did, they were vastly different.
Much to his surprise, he found himself luckier than not, as when they reached the stairs, there wasn't a single soul in sight.
Not about to look a gift horse in the mouth, Shirou bounded up the steps across the road, and phew, was he glad there was one. He didn't want to go back to a time before cars had been invented.
As he made his way into the woods, Miyu began to shift.
"Shirou?" he looked down at the girl in his arms. She yawned loudly and looked up at him before her stomach growled. "Is there anything to eat?"
He shook his head.
"Not yet. I'll find something as soon as we find a place to set up camp for the night."
She didn't show it if she was displeased by the declaration. She just nodded. After a moment, she wiggled about in his arms until she sighed.
"Onii-chan, can you put me down?"
Shirou set her down and rechecked behind him. There still wasn't any sign that anyone was after them. Maybe they had something better to do?
"Let's find a place we can use for the night." He said with a smile at his sister.
She tapped her chin, "Do you think we could find a cave? Of course, it would be the easiest solution, but it's not likely, is it? If we find a flat enough area, we could use cans and string as a primitive early warning system, but we don't have can's, do we?"
Miyu began to pace and tap her chin as she continued rambling.
"Well, we could use sticks and make them knock together. What about a tent, can you do what you did with those swords and make one? Though I suppose it doesn't really look like it's going to rain, does it? If we can find a flat enough around and set up the rattling sticks, do you think a fire would be enough to keep the animals away onii-chan?"
Shirou stared at his sister in surprise. That was the last thing he'd expected. He'd never heard her just ramble as she had just done.
"I think that'll be fine." He said besides, it wasn't like he could project a tent, not when it had the chance of detonating like his earlier attempt.
Miyu beamed.
"Great!" She paused and cocked her head to one side. "Did you realize we're speaking english?"
Shirou started to answer when he realized he hadn't noticed. Though if he had to guess it was probably the grail. "Probably part of the magic that sent us here."
Miyu bit the tip of her thumb and after a moment nodded.
"I guess we've more important things to think of right now I guess. Now Shirou let's go!"
And so their search began.
It ended a minute later when Miyu randomly picked a direction. She walked between a few trees and found a large, mostly buried, smooth white stone big enough for their camp.
With a large amount of reinforced thread and a few dozen pieces of wood, they set up the warning system and gathered the wood for a fire. Unfortunately, the sun had just started to set as they got the fire going.
"I won't go too far from the camp. Just tend to the fire and give a shout if you even think there's something there."
She nodded resolutely and even cracked a smile before saluting.
"Yes, sir, big brother, sir!"
She said it so excitedly and poked at the fire so happily that Shirou didn't think she was lying.
Maybe, he thought, she's just excited about going camping?
Shirou nodded to himself as he made his way out of the camp. It made sense. She'd no doubt read about the outings at some point or another.
He would have to take her back to the ocean and let her have an honest look before they went further. A promise, after all, is a promise.
Bending down Shirou plucked a curved branch from the forest floor and slowly began siphoning magical energy into the branch as he put it through a round of reinforcement. The wood smoothed, lengthened and curved taking the shape of a bow. He could feel the wood straining within his hands and hastily pulled back on his power. The wood settled and Shirou sighed, he had started to think it was going to fall to pieces or detonate like his projection had earlier.
A strand of thread from his sweatshirt became the string, and he obtained arrows by reinforcing smaller pieces of wood, several of which did shatter to pieces.
He moved through the forest with all the grace, he was sure, of a lumbering gorilla that managed to drink itself into a stupor. Nonetheless, once the ground began to grow moist, he found multiple sets of tracks in no time.
The tracks were easy to follow—through the trees, down a slight slope into a creek, and up the other side, and none of it any faster than a brisk walk. It was as if the animal had gotten used to the presence of people and wasn't afraid at all!
Shirou raced between the trees, focusing on the hardly fleeing deer. Its ears twitched, and it turned its head to look at him, its eyes wide in fear. It recognized him for the predator he was.
Suddenly it changed directions and broke into a bounding dash away. But it was too late, far too late.
Shirou raised his bow. Taking a bead on the creature, he pulled back on the arrow and released it. It flew through the air, rustling the leaf's on a tree as it passed through and buried itself into the doe's head. The doe didn't think so much as twitch before it began to slump to the side.
He was on the move before its body even hit the ground. It was only after he saw the glassy eyes that Shirou slowed. There wasn't a reason to rush when the target was dead. One trip back to the river for a smooth sharp rock, a round of reinforcement, and twenty minutes later, he had a makeshift sack of meat.
He started back when he was confident he'd taken all they could reasonably use before the meat turned.
As he passed the area where he first spotted the deer, he stepped on something that broke and smooshed beneath his foot. The smell that struck him was one of powerful rot.
Excited, he reached into the leaves above him and began feeling around until he found the soft cool skin he was expecting. A quick yank later, he pressed the fruit to his mouth and took a large bite.
It was an apple, firm and sweet.
Shirou walked back into camp with his makeshift sack full of meat and herbs. He felt bad for leaving so much of it behind, but nature at least wouldn't allow it to go to waste.
"What did you get?" She asked.
Shirou offered up the bag. "Meat."
He allowed his shirt to roll open and drop a few apples into his waiting hands. "I also found an apple tree."
"Uh, Oni-chan, did you have to carry them in your shirt? They're all…." She trailed off.
Chuckling sheepishly, he scratched at the back of his head.
"Sorry, I'll wash them off in the river quickly."
He started to turn around when Miyu grabbed his sleeve.
"Umm, Onii-chan?"
Turning to look at his sister, he felt his heart drop as he spotted the familiar cards she was pulling from her pocket. How had he not noticed those before? His mouth went dry.
"Where?" It was all he could manage to get out.
She shrugged, "they were in my pockets?"
Crap. Shirou thought, why hadn't the things been destroyed? Or maybe, had they been used up? Maybe.
Reaching out, he touched the top card, the false archer card, his card, and knew that wasn't the case. So now they were in another world with magical cards carrying the spirits and powers of heroes of legend, or at least ones from his world. Would Julian be coming for them? Could he? This world's magic nearly killed him and Miyu. Why would Julian be any different?
So maybe Miyu was safe? Well, that just meant they'd need to keep the cards away from those who might be able to sense them. If anyone could. Though if he were a betting man, he'd feel pretty comfortable putting every yen he ever made on a wager that someone out there could.
Which meant they were on a clock. But how to protect them? None of the bounded fields he knew of was the sort that would hide the cards. There was the one they used to hide Miyu… would it work?
Even if it did, it was useless until he managed to find a place to set it up. So now he was back to the issue of shelter.
"We'll just have to deal with them later." He muttered and started once more into the dark.
"Shirou?"
Miyu's call stopped him. The fear in her voice had a cold vice wrapping around his heart.
"What is it?"
"You're not mad at me are you?"
Shirou blinked in confusion. Mad? At her? Because of the cards, but why? He started to ask her just that, but as he looked at her, he felt like slapping himself. No matter how much older she acted, Miyu was still a ten-year-old girl.
Crossing the distance, he wrapped her in his arms. "I'm not mad at you, I promise. But, of course, I'm not happy those things are here, but I would never blame you for that."
Pulling back, he looked her over as joy washed over her features. She threw herself into him again, once more crying.
Once he managed to calm her down, Shirou set about cooking dinner. Deer meat treated with apple juice and a few herbs he managed to find. It wasn't fancy, but it was enough to do the job.
"So what do we do now?" Miyu asked as she lay the last skewer to the side.
Shrugging Shirou answered her. "Find a town or city. Get a job, a place to stay to start. It won't be hard. A lot of big cities are built near oceans."
It was true. In fact, he was honestly surprised to find that there wasn't a city hugging the coastline. But it just meant they would be doing a little bit of walking. So it couldn't be all that far. In fact, he was willing to be some millionaire who had a T-shaped building made facing a city. Which meant it was probably a half days walk at most.
"Can we get a house near the ocean?"
Shirou paused. That was a tall order. "We'll see?"
"All the brothers in the books say that when they mean no." She announced, and Shirou froze before shaking his head.
"I mean, we'll see."
She looked at him suspiciously before nodding.
Shirou nodded back. "Now you get some sleep. Tomorrow going to be a long day."
He thought she was going to argue for a second, but then she yawned. He watched as she seemed to consider the action before her head tilted to the side.
"Kay."
She turned onto her side and got as comfortable as she could manage. Shirou settled his shirt over her.
Shirou kept one eye on his sister as he looked around and searched the darkness for any hints that something that didn't belong there had somehow found its way to hunting them. He couldn't allow such a thing after all. Finally, after several minutes of searching, Shirou allowed himself to rest slightly. Not enough that he was in danger of passing into unconsciousness but close enough that he wobbled his way and that.
—
Shirou woke up swinging as he ducked behind a shield, the axe was descending so fast it was barely more than a streak of light.
Only there wasn't an axe. There wasn't an enemy. He was in a wooded area, and Miyu was a few feet from him. They were safe.
He sighed and slumped backwards.
"Onii-chan, if you want any of this I suggest you come to eat." Miyu singsonged. "If you don't, I might just eat all of it."
Shirou waved her off. "I just need some coffee or tea, not the swill the Americans call tea."
"We don't have it. Sorry." She sounded more than sorry. She sounded devastated. Like somehow, she'd disappointed him. As if the fact that they didn't have coffee or tea after being shunted to another world was her fault!
"Miyu, I was just joking about the coffee."
She looked at him with wide eyes, her face growing redder with each moment.
"I found some eggs." She said, obviously trying to change the topic.
He nodded. Eggs would work in a pinch and any port in a storm, right?
He waited as she cooked the eggs on a flat stone beside the fire. "There wasn't much in the way of seasonings to use." So she said a few minutes later when she pulled them off.
But Shirou didn't care; as far as he was concerned, the eggs smelled great and were the best way to start a morning. Or at least they were for this morning. So when she offered him the stone, Shirou didn't hesitate to take the rock from her and begin scarfing the scalding food down. It was better than he expected.
"Eat up, big brother. We're going looking for town today." She said.
Shirou nodded.
"Something tells me it won't be all that hard to find."
They reached the crest of the hill and all of a sudden, they were looking down at the massive city sprawling down the coast. The town was an enormous trade hub by the look of it and the docks that it sported. Unfortunately, traffic-clogged the road, and as Shirou looked down, he couldn't help but think it looked a lot like the pictures of San Francisco, or was it Boston? He wasn't the greatest with American cities.
So they were in a world where the technology wasn't too beyond what he was used to. Or at least there weren't any flying cars, which was fine because, honestly, the jetsons freaked him out.
"It's so big," Miyu whispered.
Shirou nodded before realizing there wasn't anything in his head to rattle so she wouldn't realize he was doing anything. "It really is."
A massive figure made of cinder blocks raised itself above the building around it. It brought down a fist that was quickly impacted by a surge of bright blue energy that pushed it back upward. It tumbled backward into the building it was in front of and then disappeared from view.
"Shirou, was that a giant monster?" Miyu asked in a small voice.
"They're probably just shooting a movie or something."
"But we are in another world."
Shirou nodded. "True, but look at the buildings. They're not made to hold something like that."
"It could be some kind of monster? Like in that one anime."
Shirou flinched. He'd already had far too much experience with 'that' anime. "You could be right. That could be a monster that a bunch of magical girls fights. It could even be a weekly thing."
Each word felt as if it were scraping at his throat to keep from coming out, but the truth was that the world around him could very well be filled with characters from that anime.
"Do you think Serena or Ami might be here? I'd love to meet them."
He shrugged. "They could be but I wouldn't get my hopes up."
Miyu nodded, holding tight to Shirou's hand, and began making her way down the hill humming the theme song. As she did, the words came unbidden to Shirou.
'Fighting evil by moonlight, finding love by daylight.' Ugh.
If this world held the sailor scouts in it, he might let that evil the stranger talked about have it.
Wait. There was something he was forgetting.
"Ow!"
Oh right. Miyu didn't have shoes.
In Steel City, a young man, slight in body and features, wandered through the streets. His life, if you asked him at least, was pure hell. Absently he rubbed at the bruise on his cheek, one that his mother had placed there the night before when he failed to hand over any money for her drug habit. His grandfather wasn't much help either, far too deep into the bottle to understand anything, let alone care.
But that wasn't on his mind, not right then, at least. He could feel it, something, though. But, he didn't know what was calling him for his life. Like an ache that brought no pain. If only he could go to it. Scratch the itch, as it were. But he couldn't.
Shouldering his pack, he squared himself and walked up the steps and through the front door. His mother was waiting, her deep blue hair once so vibrant and so luscious when he was younger, now fell limply about her face at varying lengths, and her sallow skin seemed thin as paper.
"You piece of shit! Where were you? Off traipsing about with that little whore no doubt!" Her rancid breath filled his nose.
"No, I-" he saw the pin-like pupils in her eyes, the red flush of her face, and how her hand drew back behind her. He braced himself just in time as her hand caught the side of his face and sent him careening to the floor.
Scrambling on the floor, he tried to get away from the kick he knew was coming; spittle flew along with his breath as her foot struck his stomach.
"Don't you ever, ever talk back to me, you little worm! Ever!"
Silently, he curled into a ball and tears fell from his eyes as he weathered the storm of slaps, kicks, punches, and the occasional pulling of his curled hair.
'Why,' he wondered. 'Why is this happening to me!'
They reached the city an hour later and caught quite a bit of attention. It wasn't a surprise because Miyu was sitting on his shoulder wearing a very nice dress.
"Oh Shirou, look, a donut shop!"
She shifted on his shoulder and pointed at a building with a giant donut mascot hanging precariously from the side of the building.
"It is, but we don't exactly have the money for donuts, Miyu."
"It's not that. I, uh, I have to go to the bathroom."
Shirou felt like slapping himself. Of course, she did. Had she been holding it since they'd gotten there?
He beelined for the shop, lowered her to the ground as they reached the door and the girl made a mad dash through the door. Shirou was a step behind. Smiling at the girl at the counter, he shrugged.
"When you've got to go, you've got to go?"
She seemed to be considering him for a moment before reaching under the counter and pulling out a box.
"You'd be surprised what people leave here. Finally, finally, you might be able to find something that fits."
Shirou gaped at her.
She shrugged. "The girl wasn't running from you despite the fact that you look like that." She made a show of looking him up and down.
"Thank you."
Again she shrugged. "Don't make it a big deal. It's just the lost and found.'
Looking through the box, Shirou found despite the niceness, the majority of the clothes in the box were sized for younger children. Those who weren't were rather adult, including an outfit made of belts. Of course, the one with the clown face with the words 'I heart Mista J' scrawled across the front.
Still, he could find one piece of clothing that would help. A blue and yellow windbreaker that was made for someone his size. Which meant Miyu would end up swimming in it.
When she came back, he got her into it before realizing what was going on and nodded as he looked her over. She was just as adorable as he imagined she'd be.
"Thanks so much," Shirou said as he pushed the box back to the girl.
She shook her head and sighed. "Wait here."
Disappearing into the back, she returned a moment later with two donut twists coated in cinnamon sugar. After shoving them into Shirou's hands, she immersed herself in her cell phone.
"I hate nice guys." She grumbled.
"I'll make sure to pay you back. Thank you."
He passed Miyu the donuts and guided the two of them out of the shop.
A few blocks later they seemed to pass through some metaphorical barrier and the city just degraded. It was like the city kept the perimeter looking as nice as they could and left the interior to the residents.
As they made their way into what had to be the city's slums, Shirou could feel a part of his heart breaking. Entire blocks had fallen derelict. Fire escapes leaned away from their buildings, mailboxes turned into toilets, and trash tumbled down the street, pushed along by a stray breeze. The smell is reminiscent of a piece of rotting meat sprayed by a skunk and deep-fried. People hung out atop dumpsters passing around pipes and needles. Three drunks kicked around a bottle that looked like someone had filled it with hamsters.
It looked as if someone had thought it a brilliant idea to take the worst vestiges of humanity and shove them in a ten-block radius.
Shirou could even see such a thing happening. People always did stupid things.
He was almost ready to swear he saw a guy wrapped from head to toe in writhing bandages.
But that was beyond just weird, right?
Miyu clung tighter to Shirou's side, and he didn't blame her. Of course, many people in the area could just be down on their luck and didn't deserve the rap they'd get, but there were always a few. And by all rights, if someone were kicking around a bottle of hamsters, he'd probably assume they were pretty terrible.
On the upside, however, his clothing, wet, scorched, torn, and coated in a layer of blood and a fine film of grime, seemed almost tame. How could their clothing match a man-sized, cookie-monster onesie? Let alone one doused in sick and speckled with rotting Cadbury eggs while the owner attempted to attach what looked like rabbit ears made of nylon to their head? A fact made worse is that he used a generous helping of peanut butter as the glue.
The answer was they couldn't.
"Why, you kids down here?" A shifty woman, spindly and gaunt, grumbled as she moved to stand in front of the two. "Haven' seen ya round 'fore."
Shirou smiled, "well we were dropped into this world by a magic spell-"
She snorted hard and hocked a loogie onto the ground. "Yer kind, they're up a street, cowering near the Bueno nacho. Afraid the next spell will steal their naco's."
She laughed hard and slapped her leg.
"I appreciate the directions. Thanks." Shirou said, placing a hand on top of Miyu's head; he guided them off.
"Shirou, why did you tell her we were sent here by magic? Isn't it dangerous if people know?"
Shirou shrugged, "often, you tell people the truth, and they won't believe you anyway."
She nodded.
"So, what kind of job do you want, Onii-chan?"
Shirou shrugged.
"I'm not exactly picky. I'll take the first job that takes me and start from there."
A haggard-looking man, his face dotted with wadded-up bits of toilet paper, staggard up to the two. He laughed, swayed, and laughed again. He smelled of cheap alcohols that almost have you tasting paint thinner when they're open and around.
"Whash yoush want?" He asked, poking Shirou in the chest. "Ish wash uh hero oncsh you knowsh? Saved thosh kids." He nodded.
Preparing to plaster another fake smile onto his face Shirou gave it up the instant he spotted the large knife in the man's hands.
"Allsh your money, gimme." He pulled at the with the knife, miming scooping his riches closer.
Shirou looked at himself and at Miyu, trying to see whatever the man in front of him obviously had if he were going to the trouble of holding them at knife point. But whatever it was, Shirou didn't see it. Instead, they looked like they'd rolled in the dirt before walking into town.
Not to mention the knife. It was dull enough that he doubted it'd even cut hair.
"Sir, we don't have any money. So I'm not sure how we can help you." Shirou strained to keep his tone even.
"I wantsh your shoesh than."
Shaking his head, Shirou plucked the knife from the swaying man's fingers and gave him a hearty shake with his free hand. "The pleasure was ours, sir."
"Wash it?" The drunk asked eagerly. "My mother will be sho pleashed to knows her lessons shtuck."
Clapping the man on the shoulder, Shirou guided him over to a nearby step and lowered him down.
"It was. I'm afraid we do have to get going."
The man nodded. "Of courrsh, do giv ma, my love. An you'sh be carefull of 'em jokerz."
"We will."
With their way clear the two continued down the street until they came to a stop in front of an electronics store. Across the almost mandatory window filled with arcane televisions was the sign. "Thirty years of going out of the business sale! Everything is priced to go!"
However, none of the televisions were cued to the camera that pointed out the window. No, they all showed news articles featuring men and women in costumes, running about the city or country, and even saving people.
That was how Shirou learned something of major importance.
The world had superheroes. Cape-wearing, super speeding, shape-changing, high-flying, bullet-deflecting superheroes! So, how were there so many thugs running around? Shirou shook his head. He didn't have the right to judge.
But did they really have to choose what looked like bright spandex? It looked like the kid was trying to be a terrifying clown or something.
"Oh, she's so cool!" Miyu chimed, and Shirou focused on the screen where a greyish-skinned girl had somehow encased a car in a shell of dark energy, stopping it from landing on a kid. Yeah, that he could agree with.
He turned his attention to the next screen, which featured a young woman with glowing green eyes and bright orange skin. "Look at that one."
"Shirou! Look! It's a green dinosaur! Dinosaurs still exist in this world! It's like that movie 'They're Back!'"
Shirou hummed, "why do you think it's green? Think it's got something to do with its diet?"
Her eyes began to sparkle as she shook her head. "Maybe that's just how they come here?"
"I thought everyone knew who the Titans were." Said a middle-aged woman holding onto the leash of a chihuahua. "Wait, did you say this world? Are you like Superman and Starfire? Are you two aliens?"
Shirou shook his head and rapidly waved his hands. "No, we're not aliens."
Though the fact that aliens in this world not only existed peacefully with humanity but actively protected them, he'd heard tales from Kiritsugu about the aliens the clock tower encountered. He hadn't spared him the gory details either.
"Aren't we Onii-chan? We're not from this Earth and weren't in America in our world."
That was true too. But telling people that wasn't something he really wanted anyone to encourage. In fact, he made a mental note to impress upon Miyu just how bad an idea admitting such things to others was. As he was chewing on his lip he caught the woman's eye and shrugged.
"I mean, I guess? Kind of? But not really?"
The woman shook her head. "And let me guess, you have powers we measly humans don't?"
"Of course not," Shirou answered, the lie coming quickly enough.
The woman obviously didn't believe him but didn't push. "Well, you two, just make sure you talk to the police. You folks turn up often enough. I'm sure there's a standard operating procedure by now."
Okay, now that Shirou balked at. The next thing she'd be telling him was that a secret group of people hid aliens from the world. But that was just way too much, wasn't it? Right?
What about angels? Did they exist?
"Of course ma'am! My brother and I will do that right now!" Miyu said. She took Shirou by the hand and pulled him down the street with her.
As they turned a corner, Shirou pulled them to a stop as a man with a revolver raised it in their direction.
"Put your hands in the air!" The thug roared as he shoved his gun into Shirou's face, "do it now!"
Shirou stared in surprise. It was the last thing he'd been expecting. The man holding him up was even wearing a suit!
"What is wrong with the people in this world?" Shirou asked.
"I told you to get your damn hands up!"
The gun didn't fire, but it did change targets. Shirou reacted instantly. Taking hold of the garbage can lid, he put it through a round of reinforcement and slammed it into the hand, holding the gun at the wrist. The crack was audible, and the man screamed. The gun clattered to the ground.
Shirou followed up his first strike by plowing the lid into the thug's jaw, sending him to the ground in a heap.
"How many muggers do you think you need to stop before you get called a superhero?" Miyu asked.
"I'm not a hero Miyu." Shirou said, he glanced at her, she was looking at him with wide-eyes and a hopeful expression. He sighed, "more than two Miyu."
"Hmm, and you're not a hero yet, Onii-chan. Fufufufufufufufufu."
A shiver leaped up his spine as she began to laugh. There was something about that laugh that a primal part of him found dangerous.
"I don't want to be like the Teen Titans, Miyu, and I don't want to join them."
"But Onii-chan! Think about it! One mission, and they'll see how awesome you are and make you their leader!" She said it with such certainty that he almost believed her.
Shirou sighed. It was obvious there wasn't anything he would be able to do to change her mind. Well her belief in him was sweet.
"You can be the Sword Saint! Or Armory! Oooh! How about Captain Stick 'em!"
At that moment, Shirou changed his mind. Her belief was no longer cute. In fact, it needed to be stopped. Killed even. Possibly with fire.
No, definitely with fire.
"Miyu, I'm not a hero. I've more important things to worry about."
She looked at him grumpily and crossed her arms.
"Come on, I think that's enough dealing with the city. Let's find a place to stay."
Miyu gave the buildings and people a half-hearted glare as the two of them wandered off the way they'd come.
They wandered to the edge of the city and up into the hills, where they found an older place that looked like it had been someone's getaway home some thirty or forty years in the past. Unfortunately, it Looked like it hadn't received any TLC then either. Still, it was a step up from the rock they'd used the previous night.
At least this one kept the wind off their backs, and with all the creaking the old house did whenever anything in it moved, their chances of snuck up on shrank immensely.
Dinner was the last of the deer meat they'd cooked up the night before and an apple apiece. Hardly what he'd call filling, but it did the job, and that was all he could ask at the time.
As Miyu lapsed into the world of dreams, Shirou looked out the window at the darkness.
"With any luck tomorrow will be better than today." Even as he said it, however, he knew it just wasn't going to happen.
As he started to fall asleep, a thought struck him. If heroes were real, then that giant stone person. Was it an attack on the city rather than a movie effect?
The next morning.
Shirou stood atop a branch, looking down the length of his arrow at his target. A younger boar was currently rooting around. It would feed them for a day or two without leaving a lot behind. Perfect.
The arrow left his bow with a loud twang and swept through the air as if it'd been propelled by gale-force winds. The arrow met its target a moment later, where it was buried in the boar's head. It squeaked and took a few steps before it pitched forward completely still.
He made short work of the body before returning to their residence. Miyu already had the fire going in the fireplace, and while not the most ideal of places to cook, it still worked. How much longer would it be before someone noticed the smoke.
"Onii-chan, Welcome home!" Miyu called as he walked through the door.
"I'm not sure I'd want to call it my home Miyu," Shirou answered with a small smile until he spotted the pout building on his sister's face. He'd often seen that look to know that he didn't want to deal with what was coming. This meant he had to defuse the situation, and there was only one way.
"But, fine, I'm home, Miyu."
She made her way over to him, took the sweater sack Shirou had filled with the boar meat and took it into the kitchen.
"I boiled the water from the well and set some aside for you. So you should go wash up."
Rather than argue Shirou just nodded and headed to the bathroom which could barely be called that and began washing using the still-warm water in the basin. The water wasn't warm, but just the feeling of the day's dirt and grime being washed away made the cool water more than bearable.
As he finished, Shirou moved to wipe his wet hands on his pants and stopped. It would only get them dirty again. So it was with wet hands that he walked out of the room.
The smell of the cooking meat was wonderful.
"It'll be a little bit longer before it's ready."
Shirou shrugged as he moved to sit near the fireplace. "I can wait."
For a time, Shirou stared out the window and into the night in the direction of the road that led to the driveway. If he saw the barest hint of light, he was prepared to douse the fire, toss his sister over his shoulder, and bolt.
After a while, Miyu cleared her throat, and she spoke when he looked at her.
"Onii-chan, I think you should go into town alone tomorrow."
"What? I'm not leaving you here."
She turned and placed a hand on her hip. "And why not? I'm more than capable of looking after myself for a few hours. In fact, I can argue that I'm used to it."
Shirou winced. It was hard to argue with that. She'd been doing it every day while he was at school.
That, however, didn't mean that he should just leave her. Or that he was done with the discussion. It just meant that he had to change tactics.
"Why would I leave you here?"
Adjust the flow of conversation, so she was the one being questioned.
She answered without batting an eye.
"You're more likely to get hired if people don't think you're trying to take advantage of them by having a kid around during the application process."
The strong and very valid point had Shirou scrambling.
"And that means I should leave you here alone?"
She narrowed her eyes and Shirou knew he'd made a mistake.
"I think here would be just fine, or do you think a little girl playing in the park by herself is a better idea?"
Shirou flinched but shook his head. "More reason for you to be with me where I can look out for you."
Miyu looked furious. She started to say something and then stopped. Then, after taking a moment to calm herself, she said.
"I understand you want to protect me. But you can't be with me all the time or even in shouting range."
Shirou was pretty sure he could prove that fact wrong. But he figured that was beside the point. "And how do you plan on protecting yourself if something happens? The cards?"
It was a sarcastic suggestion, but she looked deadly serious as she nodded.
"Yes. I will."
Shirou's mouth dried instantly. He hadn't expected that answer at all. Casting his focus out, he searched for any response that would convince her or, at the very least, keep him in the discussion. However, none came. It wasn't like the cards were evil. They were just tools.
"Fine," he croaked. "You can stay here."
Miyu brightened and clapped her hands together as she turned her attention back to the food.
He searched for one logical reason to force her to come with him the entire meal. As 'because I said so' was definitely going to be a futile battle. By the time he finished the meat and mushrooms, he'd come up with all of diddly and squat. In other words, there wasn't a thing he could do about it.
After dinner, Shirou peeled off his shirt and took his sweatshirt, and with a little bit of the remaining water that Miyu gathered he scrubbed them as much as he could.
"I can do that," Miyu offered, and Shirou shook his head.
"I appreciate it, but it won't be another minute before I'm done."
Miyu, however, wasn't about to be deterred, "I'll get another bucket of water to rinse them with. Just give me a moment."
She didn't give him the chance to stop her and was out the door before she'd even finished speaking.
Shirou stared after her, he could chase after her, probably catch her before she reached the well too, but that just meant he was going to drag her back. She was going to argue with him until he gave in. "Pick your battles, Shirou." He mumbled and turned his attention to scrubbing at his sweater.
Miyu came back and looked at him suspiciously. "You said it would only take you another minute."
Shirou chuckled, "I did, but I just meant it wouldn't take me much longer."
"If you say so."
Quirking a smile, Shirou shook his head. "So."
She laughed and settled herself into the chair that had the plushest remaining.
What Shirou said would take a minute quickly surpassed an hour and nearly became two before he finished.
Laying the wet clothing onto the hearth, Shirou looked at his sister. The girl had slipped into unconsciousness as he scrubbed.
He smiled as he settled himself onto the floor. Sure their situation wasn't what he would call the best, but as far as we were concerned, things were already beginning to look up.
"I told you I could find it!" Came to the voice of a small figure standing on the side of the road just outside Albuquerque. A small cat mewled in his arms as he began making his way toward a truck that's been forced to stop at a weigh station.
"Of course, Teekl! The man didn't want to be burned anymore. This must be the correct one."
The cat mewled, but the boy didn't say anything to her. Instead, he raised a hand, and a spark ignited above him. It flickered like a match in the wind before surging to the size of a basketball. That simple action caught every the attention of every person in the area, including the people he was targeting.
"MROW!"
"Of course, it's not going to damage it! The things survived the collapse of ages, of nations! A little bit of fire isn't going to be enough to even singe it!"
The fireball grew three times the size, and he threw it like a baseball as the truck began pulling away from the station. The flaming orb crackled and snapped madly as it crossed the distance and struck the truck on its side. The vehicle rocked and tipped onto its side as it skidded across the ground, releasing a foul scraping sound as it went.
The fire didn't go out, however. It grew. In fact, it was a veritable localized inferno that stemmed from the truck. The people screamed from inside, but if that bothered the boy, he didn't let it show as he walked forward, calm.
The reason became too apparent as the flames bent away from the boy. "Teekl, if you'd be so kind."
"MROOW"
The cat's body broke and twisted as it grew and expanded until a very human-looking cat bounded into the wreckage and began lifting and tossing it apart piece by piece. Soon every bit of the flaming wreckage including the scattered remains of the driver and passenger, lay scattered along the side of the road.
Slowly the feline is being stalked out of the fire. "Mrow."
The boy's pale face changed its expression changed from fraying patience to absolute fury.
"What do you mean it's not here!"
"Mrow."
"I remember your warning Teekl. There's no need to bring it up again! All this means is we must continue our search elsewhere. I believe he said all routes lead to Jump City."
The fire surged, and the boy and his companion vanished.
On an otherwise barren highway half a continent away, an eighteen-wheeler barrelled down the road. Two people sat in the front, the driver and his partner, who carried a sizeable futuristic-looking pistol in one hand. In the other, she held a cell phone.
"Yes, sir, I'm well aware of the interest it has generated. So I'll see if it makes it there."
She paused. "Of course, sir, we placed in a dozen redundancies to keep any mishaps from occurring."
The driver caught her attention aits generated interestthe head.
She nodded and rolled her eyes at her partner. "I promise, sir, we'll have your centerpiece there. Come tomorrow night."
She winced as she pulled the phone away from her ear. "Tom, why the hell would anyone want this thing?" She shoved at the brown paper package that lay between them.
"I don't even know what's in there, Sara. Don't have the clearance."
Sara snorted, "right, of course, because it needs clearance levels to keep it safe."
She didn't offer up knowledge on what was in it; however, she wasn't interested in losing her job because she couldn't keep her mouth closed. And loose lips got people killed.
Still, she didn't see the purpose of all the secrecy or the two other trucks carrying decoy loads.
"Holy hell!"
Tom jerked, and the truck swerved as the scream blared from their radio.
"Sara, someone's AHHHHHHHH" his scream fell to static.
Sara looked over at Tom. "Get ready for the long haul. We're pushing all the way through."
Tom nodded, but Sara didn't see. Her eyes were locked on the package, but the paper might as well not have been there. She could still see the gothic letters burned into the cover.
'Demonomicon'
Maybe there was something more to the book than she'd originally thought. Whispering laughter reached her ears, and she turned to Tom, but it obviously wasn't him. A series of shivers ran up her spine.
"You know what, Tom? Gun it."
The only response he offered was the truck speeding up. So now they just had to hope they'd make it.
A/N: Some of you might be wondering why the rewrite, the answer is simple… I did not plot the original story beyond a couple of plot points. Yeah, I know. Bad Sam, BAD! So I decided to fix it. The story is nearly entirely written, only a set number of scenes in chapters 8,9,10 need to be finished. If you're a patron you'll be getting the chapters one at a time until chapter eight. The rest will be available as they are done.
My site will be getting these chapters once every other day until they are done.
Fanfiction will get updated once a week.
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it.
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