Heart of the Melting Blood
The Moonlight Legend

Written by: Lone Wolf NEO
Conceived by: Lone Wolf NEO

Disclaimer: Lone Wolf NEO does not own any of TYPE MOON titles, Guilty Gear or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright or owned by their respective represented real-life entities. The author would appreciate it if the content of this story isn't plagiarized without his permission.

For new readers: the setting is in the timeline after the events of Shingetsusan Tsukihime, FATE/Stay Night and Melty Blood. This is the sequel to the earlier instalment of Heart of Melting Blood RELOADED, and runs roughly in parallel with Sheo Darren's The World Within and Without. Please refer to the two stories for background information.

Chapter 02
Ordinal Of The Blues

"This has to be the most unexpected day I've ever had," Alex commented as he and the residents of the Tohno Mansion were having dinner. "I just arrived here as a traveller, and now I'm being treated like I'm a VIP or something. I didn't remember anything about staying at someone else's house, but Miss Sion's been asking me to come here."

"At least you get to stay here for a night," Shiki spoke and ate the meal. "But, hey! You did come to visit us, after all. That's a good news for us, though it's out of the blues."

"Like I said earlier, I'm a traveller, and I don't plan to stay here for long," Alex said and looked around him. "I'm not really into this kind of traditions. I mean…"

"Now, now, Mister Alex," Arcueid uttered and took a bite of the bacon, "you should, at least, take your time and have a tour around this town. It's going to be exciting if you could stay for a bit longer, especially when your special person is here," she spoke and slyly glanced at the embarrassed Sion.

"Arcueid, I've told you not to misact in front of the guest, didn't I?" Shiki asked. Arcueid glanced at him and stuck out her tongue before continued eating her meal.

"Be grateful to have us welcoming you, Mister Hahn," Akiha spoke and put down the teacup. "It'd be troublesome for foreigners like you to stay elsewhere at the town."

Shiki coughed. "Akiha, you're scaring our guest." Akiha growled at her brother, protesting what he had said to her. Shiki insisted her to pay respect to the guest, and the girl protested him for acting nanny-ish.

Alex watched at the quarrelling siblings and chuckled. "For the ones who are proudly allied with the Author, or so I've heard, you guys are simply amusing," he commented.

Arcueid merely sighed. "You can see with your own eyes, Mister Alex. This is what we are when we have nothing else to do," she spoke and shrugged.

"Really?" he uttered.

"Oh, by the way," Arcueid continued and glanced at him, "don't ever listen to whatever Ciel says when you talk with her. All she speaks is nothing but craps."

Alex could only laugh at the comment. "That isn't the best thing I want to hear, Miss Arcueid."

"Oh, yes." Shiki spoke and cut off the argument he had with Akiha. "Hisui will show you the room you're going to use after dinner. Got it, Hisui?"

Hisui nodded. "Yes, Shiki-sama."

"Now, now, you guys don't have to be nice toward me. I don't want to be a burden in this house, actually," Alex insisted.

Arcueid foxily chuckled. "Is it because Sion is inside this house, Mister Alex? We already know the affair both of you have, what's to be embarrassed of?"

Sion snapped. "Arcueid, we don't have any affairs! Who told you about that!?" she cried aloud.

"Come on. We know you're madly in love with him," Arcueid insisted, as a pair of cat's ears popped on her head. "And since Lone Wolf already approved your relationship, why don't you go a step further?"

"Stop it, Arcueid! You're in trouble for messing with the Atlasian alchemist," Sion growled and pulled out lasso from her wristband.

"Aw, our Mistress Sion is too shy to admit! Nya!" the True Ancestor squealed and ran away from the table, as Sion lost her temper and chased her around the dining hall. Alex could only shake his head in amazement to watch the cat-and-mouse chase.

"Anyway, Mister Alex, Hisui will show you the room you'll stay in after dinner," Shiki spoke as he finished his meal.

"A good idea, Mister Shiki," Alex spoke and cracked his neck, "I'm kind of tired after walking around the world for too long. I think I need a break for a day or two."

"I think it's best for you to stay here longer," Akiha suggested, "like Arcueid said earlier, you could take your time and walk around Misaki Town. Well, if Sion agrees to take the role of tour guide."

"Why are you suddenly suggesting my name, Akiha?!" Sion yelled out. Simultaneously the people laughed at her who became more embarrassed. Alex muffled, trying to suppress his laughter. "Alex, not even you?!"

x-x

"Please, Alex-sama, this way," Hisui spoke, as the two of them walked toward the end of the corridor. Alex nodded and followed her from the behind, slinging the medium-sized sports bag over his shoulder.

"Heh, I never thought I'd end up at place like this," he commented and looked around him. "I used to stay at the outside whenever possible, you know. I'm not the kind of people who would have proper accommodations unless if I have to."

"You're the guest of this house, so it's our responsibility to keep you comfortable," Hisui calmly spoke. "It's been our tradition for treating guests as if they're member of the family."

"I never heard the kind of tradition before," he said in amusement. "Well, not that I'm against traditions; I'm just not used to formality."

"I see," Hisui replied.

The two people arrived at the end of the alley and faced a door. "This is your room, Alex-sama. Please make yourself at home," she spoke as she walked into the room.

Alex nodded and entered the room. "Well, Miss Hisui, thank you for the kindly help," he spoke.

Hisui frowned, her face stained with the faint colour of rose. "Please, Alex-sama, I feel so uncomfortable with the suffix."

"Well, I'll just call your name only if you're willing to drop the –sama off my name," he insisted.

She seemed reluctant. "But I…"

He chuckled at the response. "Ow, come on. It's not that degrading, really. Right, what if I drop the suffixes from everyone else's names? I'm sure you won't feel degraded anymore. What do you say?"

"H… haii, Alex-san…" reluctantly she answered. She later took a bow and walked out of the room. "Oh, Alex-san, please let me know if you need anything. I'll be glad to help you."

Alex nodded. "Will do."

"Oyasuminasai, Alex-san." Again, Hisui took a bow and left the room. Alex waved at the housemaid before started arranging stuffs.

He saw a picture frame on the desk. Curious, he approached the desk and took the frame. He chuckled. "So much for everything to happen in the past… heh, I wish I could bring back everything…" he whispered and put back the frame on the desk.

x-x-x-x-x

The Holy Grail. A sacred item searched by many, and desired by all. An item whose holder has the power to grant a wish of all kinds. An item so precious that seven sorcerers and their servants had been fighting over it for hundreds of years. An item so alluring that a War broke out and almost brought fate to its end.

It was said that the servants chosen for the War were legendary heroes in the history of mankind, bearing the "True Names" that struck fear in the hearts of those who never meet them. The servants also possessed a special weapon, all called by one name: the Noble Phantasm. It had the power to instantly kill their opponents, but Servants rarely used this weapon as they would be in disadvantage if it failed to hit its target or was seen by another enemy.

This is a war fought in secrecy, away from the knowledge of humankind. It is a war where no one knew how it took place, or why it happened. It is a dream battle between the strongest human figures to live on the earth, in which the power of their legendary counterparts is contained, waiting to be unleashed at the right moment.

"Saber?" The blonde-headed girl was startled and turned around, noticing the sight of a man standing next to her. "I saw you sitting here alone. Something bothering you?"

"No, nothing wrong," she replied and corrected her hair. "I'm just watching the stars."

"I never thought to see a Servant actually doing nothing," Shirou uttered and took a seat beside her.

"Say, Shirou," Saber called him after a long period of silence and gazed at the night sky, "it's been a long time since you summoned me, and we've faced many things together. But I don't think we actually…"

He glanced at her, noticing a slight blush upon her face. "Heh, don't tell me you want to go out with me for a date? Come on, you already know you've bee waiting for that."

"Not that kind of date, you jerk," Saber replied and teasingly elbowed him. Shirou laughed at the response and parried the elbow strike, much to her dismay.

"Now, now, that you said going out for a date," he spoke and patted her shoulder, "why don't we visit Misaki Town this weekend? It's been a while since we went there. Let's call it a day off. What do you say?"

The servant stared at her master, and smiled. "Sure."

x-x-x-x-x

He woke up, stirred by the intense sunlight that was heating over his face. Bewilderment took over when he looked around, as he found himself in a region unknown to him. Everywhere he looked, he could see the sights of strange creatures roaming the area lively, unaware of what was taking place around them. Puzzled, he put a hand on his forehead, trying to figure out what happened to him.

"Good morning, sir." He turned around and saw the angel he had met before walking toward him. "Oh, I was glad to see you alright. I thought you'd still be sleeping for another couple of days."

"Owh…" he groaned, shaking his head wildly. "My head…"

"Please, don't move around too much," she begged and put back his hand on his lap. "You still haven't recovered from injuries, so please rest yourself, okay?"

Ignoring the headache, Alex looked around the area in intrigue. "Just… what is this place?"

"The Devil's Living Place," the woman named Dizzy spoke and took a seat beside him, "at least, that's what my foster parents told me when they sent me here."

Alex stared at her in surprise. "They did what? For God's sake, didn't they know that you're just a helpless woman?"

Dizzy frowned, clutching her satin black gown. "The people… everyone at the village was afraid of me… because they said that I'm a…"

"A what?"

Trying to suppress her tears, Dizzy said out the word which would startle him for the second time. "I'm… I'm a Gear."

x-x

Alex opened his eyes. He was lying on the bed, and was staring at the ceiling. "Good riddance, not the kind of dream I want to have…" he grumbled and rested his arm upon his forehead. "Now my sleep's killed. What am I supposed to do now?" He shrugged and jumped off the bed, headed toward the window. "The moon's clear tonight. Now to appreciate its beauty to its fullest…"

He hastened to open the window and looked up. Nodding, he jumped out, landed on a nearby tree and hopped onto the roof. A clean landing was done, and he took seat on the rooftop, gazing at the full moon.

"Can't sleep?" He turned around and saw a woman in black uniform landing next to him.

"Miss Ciel, I presume," he pronounced the name.

"Oh, my. If it isn't the lone wolf Alexander Hahn," Ciel responded with delight and sat beside him. "What has brought you to this town? I never thought to see someone other than Lone Wolf-kun to come here."

"I'm just taking a break from my travels," he answered and gazed back at the moon. "I've been travelling around the world for too long, and I kind of missed the people I had met at Kiev."

"It's surely exciting to walk around the world out there, isn't it Alex-kun?" the Vatican agent asked.

"It surely is," he answered. "Especially when we get to see the smiling face of the children. Not that I don't like being an adult, but spending time with those kids brings back memories of the past. By the way, what are you doing here, Miss Ciel?"

Again, she chuckled and ran her hand through her hair. "Nothing, I'm just walking around here when I saw you jumping to the roof. I thought I could spend my time with you, so I came over."

"Heh. Don't tell me you're going to watch over me," he half-jokingly replied and took out the harmonica.

"Oh, my. I never thought you actually guessed it right," she remarked in surprise. She watched in wonder, as Alex started playing the harmonica tunes of Boom Town Blues. "Well, you're partially right. Lone Wolf-kun and his company asked me to watch over you if you happened to come here, because he thought you might need someone to help."

"The Author's concerned of me, huh?" he uttered as he stopped playing the song. "Then what about the other half? You mentioned partially, so…"

Ciel chuckled. "Why don't you keep playing the song? I kind of want to hear it already."

"Miss Sion is going to kill me when she sees us like this," he replied and continued the song. She chuckled and gazed at the moon, enjoying the song the black feather played.

x-x-x-x-x

The woman in satin black gown hair gazed at the moon, accompanied by nothing but the night breeze that gently blew against her face. She was sitting outside the countryside cottage, privately enjoying the scenery. Her azure hair, tied in bunches with yellow ribbons, were flapping to the rhythm of the wind, enhancing her untouched beauty by one margin. It was if she was angel of the night, sent to watch over the sleeping beings.

Her head stooped, as she gazed at a pair of paper cranes in black and white on her lap. Carefully she took the white crane and stared at it. "I wish I could meet the person who taught me this…" she whispered and brought it close to her chest.