I do not own Fate/Stay Night or anything related to Type-Moon whatsoever, except only the OCs of the story. Also, spoiler warning: M is in case of sexual themes and stuff. Anyway, other than that, enjoy!
Chapter 0: Prologue Part 3
Mirai's POV:
Hello, my name is Mirai Tohsaka, I'm either 18 or 19 years old, and this is my story. Ah, but before we get into the main story, allow me to tell you, about my past, about who I truly am. Again, my name is Mirai Tohsaka, and this is my story.
Flashback: years ago…
When I was small, I was an orphan, who found myself lost in the world, without even knowing who my birth parents were, and who knew nothing about the world and myself. I didn't even have a name back then. All I knew was that I was found as a toddler, wondering the world alone without knowing who I was nor what my name was, and I was taken into the orphanage where I grew a couple of years of my life there, and all I knew…was that I had special eyes, eyes that could allow me to see, both the future and the past, whether it is a person or a certain event, anything that had happened or will happen. My eyes shine the color of bright blue whenever I foresee the future, and then it becomes the color of bright red whenever I foresee the past. It was…a gift that I had for a very long time. However, it was also a curse that I carry with me throughout my days, because even if it was something that I could use to my advantage or change the fate of someone or an event, I cannot use it too much or I may never stop myself from using it, and it would only cause whatever harm to whoever those are around me. Just like any good things that could happen involving my eyes for positive influence; all such as love, comfort, joy, admiration, happiness, hope, any of those positive things that could possibly happen, anything that involves my eyes can also lead to any negative influence; all such as hate, pain, envy, sorrow, fear, any of those negative things could possibly happen. And so, I kept quiet to myself about my powers, about my gift to see the past and the future.
As I was growing up in the orphanage, I slowly but surely learned how to control the powers of my eyes, to master its power to see the past and foresee the future. I first started from my peers at the orphanage, to the nuns that cared for us, to the priest that teaches us about God, to what would become of the church and the orphanage. I even learned how to see the past, from the history of Japan to the time the orphanage was made, to when the kids my age were born, to how we came here now. Before I knew it, using the power of my eyes became natural for me, as if it using its power became second nature. However, it was not something that I could celebrate, because I saw what would become of the church one day. What I saw…was a horrifying fate.
Through my eyes, I saw that one day, a few short months from now in the future, the orphanage will fall to ruin and that everyone, including me, will fall into an unknown deadly disease that was incurable and everyone will suffer from it, and then one by one, all of us will die from it, with no one to come and help us cure the disease. Then, when it would reach only a few of us, one of us will lose their sanity and then cause a fire that will burn the ruined orphanage down to the ground, burning everything, and then leading to our deaths. This future that I foresaw horrified me and I knew that I had to get away from that fate. What happened next was that I...I had to run away alone. I couldn't bring myself to save them, because I knew that I couldn't save them from that horrible fate. Even if I did tell them what would become of us one day, no one would believe me. And even if I told them I had the power to see the future, no one would believe that either. And so, I decided to leave the orphanage alone, and I ran away; and I ran, and ran, and ran, and ran…and I never…ever looked back again.
I didn't know how far I ran away or how long I was running away for, and I didn't know how much time had passed since I ran away, but…one thing was for certain, I was already about to enter…into a new world.
Before I knew it, I found myself in a city called Fuyuki. I was probably either 8 or 9 years old when I came to Fuyuki City, and I was alone, weak, lost, cold, and hungry from running away without having anything to eat. I walked and walked in the streets of the city, searching and hoping to find shelter and something for me to eat. But there was nothing that I could find there, and people in the city hardly ever noticed my presence walking into the crowd. There was…nothing.
Without any other choice, I found an alley where I could stop and rest for a while. I sat down and closed my tired eyes to rest, not even caring about the fact that I was still hungry. I was really weak and tired from running and walking that I had to rest. How long I had walked, and how much time had passed, I still didn't know. All I wanted to do…was sleep.
Unfortunately, I could not rest well at all, and I was still hungry. But for me to eat, I needed money to buy food. I weakly reached out a hand, and I begged the people passing by for money that I needed. I begged, and begged, and begged, and begged, and begged. But, none of those who passed by seemed to notice me nor did they bother to care to give me money. They just…passed by, and never gave me anything. I was…all alone. It…hurts, so much, so much that I just wanted to die. But then, I felt something in my hand. I weakly looked down to see, and to my surprise and my relieved heart, that there was not just money in my hand, but there was also food for me to eat. I looked up to see an old man who gave me the money and food for me to eat. The old man looked at me and nodded with a smile, signaling me to take the money and eat the food, showing pity and sympathy for me.
Out of joy, I couldn't help but smile at the old man and bowed to him to show my gratitude. Then, without hesitation, I took the food and quickly eat whatever he gave me. after tasting what he gave me, I couldn't help but smile out of pure joy. I decided to thank the old man again for giving me the food, but when I looked back to see him, he was…already gone. I guess he must've already left after he gave me what I needed, and before I could even thank him. I didn't say anything else anymore and just continued eating what he had given me. I continued to eat until I was full and fell to sleep again, this time, satisfied.
The next day, I decided to have the alley be my home. I had already bought new sets of clothes with the money that was given to me, and I decided to find something for a bed that I could sleep on. Then, while I was out looking, I noticed something, something that had caught my eyes that had soon given me an idea on how to make money: Fortune Telling.
I saw a fortune teller give out fortunes to people who came to her to have their fortunes told. I hid and decided to watch and listen to the fortune teller. And I watched and listened, the fortune teller spoke to the couples of what their fortunes would be, by saying various words that would leave them hints to their future, and what certain events will occur in their future. Her words that were being given to them…it felt bewitching, yet at the same time, very majestic. I couldn't help but listen to her words further. As I listened to the fortune teller giving them their fortune, I used the power of my eyes and I quickly began to understand the words she was hinting them and what she was telling them. In a few years, the couples would soon be married in another country called France, and they would soon be there for their romantic honeymoon, and then soon after, they would be blessed with children and would raise them with love and care. As I listened and used my eyes to predict their future, I saw and learned that it was true. The fortune teller was right.
One of the couples, the woman, was very happy and curious about what the words of their fortunes meant and asked the fortune teller to tell them. The fortune-teller, however, said no more and said that they must figure out what they mean for themselves, otherwise it will never come true for them. The other one of the couple, the man, didn't seem convinced about their fortune so he just joked about it, saying he doesn't believe in fortune-telling and that fortune-telling is fake. After that, the couples paid the fortune teller and left.
Honestly, I didn't care about what would happen to the soon-to-be-married couples anymore, because I already knew what fate would have in store for them, and that their future will come true. I was inspired by the fortune-telling itself, and how someone would be able to predict what would happen to them, despite fortune telling being fake. Then, that's when an idea hit me. With the power of my eyes to predict the future, I can use it to predict the future or any possibilities of the future of other people and use it as a means of fortune-telling. What's more, I could make money for myself so that even on the streets I would be able to live and survive. And so, I decided to do that and came up with a plan.
I first started with finding a small table, fit for my size, as it was being thrown away to trash. It looked old, but it was stable enough to hold, so I took that small table with me and brought it back to my home. Next, I looked for and found two cushions, both old and used, one that was small for the table, while the other that was big for me to sit on. Then, I looked for something for people to place money in for me to take, and I found an old large bowl, big enough for me to place as much money as it could fill in, and so I took it. And finally, I would look for a crystal ball, as a means of using it for fortune-telling, because the fortune teller earlier was using a crystal ball. I had found the crystal ball that was about to be thrown away by a shopkeeper, who was working at a jewelry shop. I thought that he had no need for it, and so I decided to approach the man and take the crystal ball.
I approached the shopper and spoke to him, "U-Um…excuse me."
The shopkeeper turned around to show his appearance. The man was slightly older and had short blonde hair and green eyes, and under the apron, he was wearing an orange shirt and long khaki pants, and black shoes. He also had a ring on his ring finger, hinting that he was married.
The shopkeeper noticed me and smiled at me as he said, "Oh! Well, hello there, little cute one. I've never seen you around before in this part of Fuyuki. What're you doing around here?"
"Well," I said, shyly, "I-I see that…um…that you're throwing away this crystal ball, and I thought…that m-maybe you didn't need it anymore…uh, and I…well, uh…I thought…that maybe I could take it from you. So, uh…c-can I…have it?"
The shopkeeper was surprised at first at what I had told him, but he soon nodded and seemed satisfied with what I asked him. He then knelt down to me and began to hand me the crystal ball, saying kindly to me, "You want this, yes? Go ahead, take it. I've no need of this anymore, anyway."
"R-Really?" I asked, "I can have it?"
"Of course, little one." he smiled, "And don't worry, I won't charge you or anything. I was going to have it taken off my hands anyway since no one here was eager to buy it from me."
After hearing that, I smiled and happily took the ball off his hands and to take it with me. I looked at the shopkeeper and bowed to him, saying kindly, "Thank you, sir!"
The shopkeeper nodded at me with a smile, before he stood up to turn around and leave, going back to his shop to go back to his work. I watched him leave as I waved goodbye to him before I decided to go back home to do the work.
I had everything for fortune-telling prepared. I had the crystal ball on the small cushion all on top of the table, the bowl for the money on my right side for people to place in, and the big cushion for me to sit on. Now, I was completely ready for fortune-telling. I sit back and waited for someone to approach me and ask for their fortune.
However, no one around seemed to notice me and were just walking and passing by, minding their own business. But, I remained patient and continued waiting and waiting for someone to come by me as ask for their fortune. I waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, all the way until I fell asleep. I didn't know how long I fell asleep, but eventually, I woke up from someone patting me on the back, surprising me and I yelped a little. I then looked to see who woke me up, and to my surprise, it was the same shopkeeper from before, but this time, he was wearing casual clothing and he was with someone, a woman, both of them were smiling at me.
The woman was, just like the man, slightly older, about the same age as him, and she had long wavy orange hair and hazel eyes and was wearing a red silk dress with a pink silky sweater and matching pink shoes. She also had a ring on her ringer finger, a ring that matches with the shopkeeper's, hinting that they were both married to each other.
"Hey there, little one." he smiled, "Sorry if we startled you, but you were sleeping in the middle of an alleyway here."
"O-Oh." I said, slightly embarrassed, "S-Sorry."
"Aww, aren't you adorable." the woman smiled, "Oh! What's this? Are you perhaps doing fortune-telling?"
"Uh…yes." I said, "Uh…I-I'm trying to do fortune-telling to make money. I thought that this might help me make a living, so…"
"I see." said the woman.
"But…I didn't get anyone to have their fortunes being told by me…" I said, disappointed, "No one wants me to have their fortunes taken…"
I looked down, being sad, not looking at them anymore. I began to think that maybe this wasn't a good idea to make money for me to survive, and that I would be forever unlucky. That was until I heard the man said to me.
"Well, you do now, little miss." The man said to me, as I looked up at them surprised. They were both smiling at me as they both knelt down and looked at me, before the man said, "I'd like to have my fortune told, please."
Hearing him said that made me smile and I happily nodded. Then, I began to calm down and began to close my eyes as I focused. And then, as I slowly opened my eyes, they began to glow bright blue as I activated the powers of my eyes, and began to foresee their future.
Through my eyes, I saw that the shopkeeper, three days from now, will be having a baby with the woman with him, and they would tell all of their friends and loved ones about the child that they would be having, and everyone would be very joyful about the news. There was, however, one problem that would soon break them apart from that joy. Another man, dressed in black clothing and blue pants, did not seemed happy about the news about them having a child. Rather, he showed disgust, bitterness, and jealousy towards them, specifically the very shopkeeper that made the woman pregnant. Then I saw that within the next three days, after proposing that they were having a child, that same man did something that would ruin the both of them.
He…murdered the shopkeeper in front of his pregnant lover, who was horrified from what she just saw, until that horrible man then…took her child away from her, killing it. And then…did the things that I couldn't explain as a child. After seeing what I just saw in their future, I knew that I needed to warn them. But I knew that warning them what I just saw wouldn't be called fortune telling, so I decided to warn them through the words of fortune.
I stopped using my eyes and I cleared my throat, and then asked them, "Mister, miss, your fortunes will now be told. Are you ready?"
They nodded to me, telling me that they were ready.
After receiving their answers, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, then I opened them and said, "Within the day of the third, a miracle for a special life will be given to you, bringing you joy beyond imagination. Throughout your joy, you will bring words to the closest of your lives, and all will give you both their blessings and joy of your words of the miracle you received." The two of them became very curious and happy about what I was telling them, before I continued, giving them a warning, "However, there is but one that will become the fall of your joy and blessing. Among them will be a black figure that will take away your happiness out of spite and wants to take away one of you both for personal gain and desires. In the next following days of the third, the black figure will take your happiness by doing the very things that will be very unspeakable to all." I then looked at them and said to him sadly, "And it begins with one of you, the one the figure will be the most envious of."
The couples looked at each other out of concern, thinking that whatever I was saying was not a good omen, before they looked back to me and the man asked, "W-What do you mean? And…what do we do?"
I shook my head and said sadly, "I can't tell you what I mean about my words, and I can't tell you how to avoid it. No matter what you do, you can't avoid that fate."
Before I could say any more, I closed my eyes before I activated my powers again to look for any possibilities to stop it from happening. Why did I choose to do that? The answer was obvious; to save them from their fate and protect their happiness. Through my eyes, I saw and found a solution for them to prevent it. The answer was to have a guardian, a protector, someone who they could trust to prevent them from their fate. That was when I knew that this person would be the key to helping them.
I closed my eyes again before I looked at them with a smile and said, "There is, however, one way to prevent such a fate."
This caught their attention as I continued, "A key to safeguard your future, one that will prevent the inevitable fate. A guardian that can be well trusted and protect any one of you from harm. Only the one that is closest to you and more trusted than all can safeguard the future of yours. This guardian will be the key to bring you happiness."
The couples looked at each other, processing what I had told them before they looked back at me and smiled. The man said, "Thank you, little one."
"I think we know what to do." said the woman.
The man takes out his wallet hand brought out his money, placed it in the bowl before he smiled, and said, "This one's for you. I truly hope whatever words you say are true." Then, as he and the woman began to leave, they waved goodbye to me, leaving me all alone and me hoping that the words I said to them would help them. Normally, after receiving enough yen to buy, I would go out to buy some food for me to eat, but…I didn't feel like it, and so, I just rested my head on the table and fell to sleep.
The rest of the following days were…tiresome. There were only a few who passed by and had their fortunes told by me and only one of them just gave me little yen, perhaps because they showed very little interest in me. While there were several who didn't want their fortunes told and just gave me money out of pity for me being out on the streets. But that was not what I was worried about. I was still worried about the shopkeeper and his wife, and still hoping that my words had reached them because even though I knew my words would give them some hint, it bothers me, and I feared that they may not have gotten my message. I just couldn't get the thought of something wrong happening out of my mind, hence I felt somewhat less motivated and insecure about whether I did the right thing or not. After what was considered a tiresome day, I decided to turn myself in for the night, with a bed mattress that I had recently found over the week.
The next day, I woke up from the sun shining down on me, and I groggily opened my eyes from the light shining down on me. Once I did, however, there was one thing that I noticed and felt. It felt soft and warm. When I looked at what it was, I was surprised at what I saw it was; a blanket that was covering me and keeping me warm. And then I noticed that while I was sleeping; I was laying my head on something else that was soft; a big soft pillow. I was actually rather surprised that I jumped out of my bed and looked at both the blanket and the pillow, expressing shock at what was given to me. I didn't know who gave these two things to me, I just…I just didn't know what to think. But then, I realized that what if…what if…
I quickly got up from the floor and hurriedly walked out to see who was outside today to see me. And when I stopped to look, I was surprised and happy for who I was seeing again for a while. It was the same couples that I had gave their fortunes and told them about their future. They were outside, waiting for me to see them. As I began to slow down and slowly approach them, I couldn't help but smile back at them as they were smiling at me. The woman was rubbing her belly, hinting that although it hasn't been shown any signs yet, she was pregnant. I couldn't believe it. I…I did it. I actually did it! I changed their fate!
As soon as I came close to them, they both knelt down to look at me by my height and to speak to me, both of them smiling at me. The woman placed her hand on my shoulder and said to me, "Thank you."
Before I could ask why they were thanking me, the man answered, "For saving us. For saving our child."
My eyes widened when they said that to me, before I said, "But…I didn't do anything."
"That's not true." the woman said, "You told us what would happen with our lives in the future and told us what could've happened to me if we didn't have someone with us."
"I…I did?" I asked.
"Yes." she smiled, "After we announced that I'm pregnant to our friends and loved ones, I asked my older brother to be there with us as our bodyguard."
"After we told him what we would fear might happen to us, he agreed to help and protect us." the man explained, "And thanks to him protecting us, we found out who would be coming after us. It turns out it was an old friend of mine from when we were in high school."
"That's right." said the woman, "He was a very close friend of my husband, but…they had broken off with each other since the day we became a couple and graduated together, and then got married after a few years. I think the reason why he tried to attack us is that he was in love with me before I became a couple with my husband, and he resented us ever since."
"Yes." said the man, "Since the day we'd broken off with one another, he wasn't the same man since then, and he was being mentally distraught about us being together. Even now, he hadn't gotten over it."
"But, thanks to you telling us what would happen, my brother managed to put a stop to him and took him to the police where he'd be kept in prison." said the woman, happily, "And now me and my husband will be able to have a happy future together with our child. In a sense, you saved us."
Before I could say anything, they both hugged me out of gratitude and whispered 'thank you' to me, much to my surprise. To be honest, I never thought that I, a little street orphaned child with magical eyes, would be shown any sort of gratitude by people. But, at the same time and deep down inside, I was happy that I was able to do something, and my eyes would be able to be put up to good use for people. With my eyes, I would be able to change people's fate.
After all of the moments that happened today, we decided to part ways. They told me that they were moving away from Fuyuki to live in another town to have a new and happy life with their soon-to-be newborn child. It was saddening to see them go, but…I had to let them leave. I had already done enough to make them happy, and I had done enough to change their fate. But, before they began to leave, the man asked me, "Oh, that's right! Little girl, what's your name?"
When he asked me that, the thought came to me. Until now, I didn't have a name, not one that I could make for myself, nor did I even thought of having a name. Not even in the orphanage that I used to live in did I ever have a name for myself. I guess I never even had a thought of giving myself a name until now. it was…somewhat unnatural for me. The reason being is naturally, it's the parents' duty to name their child, for giving names to a child is important for them, and even I knew that simple fact. However, I didn't have any parents, and therefore I didn't have a name that I could use. That was what I mean by unnatural. I…just couldn't come up with a name for myself.
But then, one thought suddenly came to me. My magical eyes, eyes that can see the past and the future. My eyes, the future. The name for myself came to me from my eyes, an ideal name that I would use for myself. Then, I spoke the name that I would call myself. That was when I became known as, "Mirai."
"Hmm?" they said as if they didn't hear me.
"My name…is Mirai." I said my name again, "That is who I am."
"Mirai…" the woman repeated before she smiled and said, "Well, that's a wonderful name. Nice to meet you, Mirai."
"Yes." the man nodded, "I think that name suits you well. Nice to meet you, Mirai."
I bowed to them and said, "Y-Yes, it's nice to meet you. And…thank you."
Then, they brought out their hands to me as a means to shake their hands to me, and both said to me with a warm smile, "Mirai, we'll be having a happy future thanks to you. Thank you for everything you've done for us, Mirai."
"And just like your name," said the woman, "We hope that you too will have a happy future."
"And we hope that somewhere out there," said the man, "There will be a beautiful future where you can be happy and be proud of."
Hearing those words said to me, I couldn't help but smile back at them, and happily shake their hands together. After that, we said our goodbyes and parted ways, and I return to my 'lovely home' to continue my work.
Over the next following weeks, there were more people that were coming to me to have their fortunes told. Most were teenagers from school, while some were adults that were passing by. For the high school kids, apparently, they'd heard rumors about me about giving people fortunes with the power of my magical eyes and were very curious if the rumors about me were said to be true. Half of them wanted to believe it and see if it was true, while the other half was not and wanted to prove them wrong. As for the adults, they came to me just to want to know what might happen to them today, while a few just wanted something to relieve their stressful days. And as for myself, I have been doing very well in giving people their fortunes, giving them mysterious lines and clues as for them to figure out what may happen to them in the future. While doing so, I had also been making enough money for myself for me to live. Doing this for people who comes to me to them about their future and any possibilities of their fate, and earning for myself, truly makes me happy. Partly because I had money so that I could survive in the streets. Mainly because with my eyes, I could at least help the people who wish to know what will become of them and make many people happy. It was…a life that…I cherished.
One day, while I was out to buy myself some food, I found someone in the middle of the streets. That was when I met Sayaka Tsukuda, a street orphan like me. just like how I was before, she was cold, weak, and hungry, wearing nothing but ragged clothes, and was walking barefooted. From the looks in her eyes, she was scared and lost, and I could tell she didn't know where to go in this big city. I couldn't bear to see her like this, so I quickly ordered and bought whatever food I could find at the store and I quickly came to her aid. By the time I got to her, she had already passed out from exhaustion.
Luckily, I was able to carry her back to my home and laid her down in my bed for her to rest. As soon as she woke up, I had already given her something to eat, and as soon as she saw food, she quickly took it and began eating. I was glad that I found her in the middle of the streets and I was able to save her, otherwise she would've starved to death. Once she was done eating, she looked at me with a questionable look on her face, before she slowly opened her mouth to speak.
"W-Who…who are you?" she asked.
I simply smiled at her and said, "Mirai. My name's Mirai, and I'm a street orphan, just like you. And you are?"
She was quiet for a moment before she said her name, "Sayaka. Sayaka Tsukuda."
After we introduced ourselves, we told each other how we both became street orphans. I was the first to explain my story before Sayaka. After I explained my story, she explained to me hers. Before she was left as an orphan, she used to live with and traveled with her father, who was a veteran medical doctor for the wars that was going on around the world. Originally, she was born in Japan, but due to her father's work, she was forced to travel around the world with him. She never went to any schools, and she never had any fun as a child she is. All throughout her childhood, all she had seen were fighting and sickness that was going on in the war. They were…things that even she couldn't explain herself. Eventually, though, her father decided to retire and both of them returned to Japan to live and have a normal life, and Sayaka could finally go to school and make friends, something she never could during her travels. Unfortunately, that time for her…never came. One day, there was a giant earthquake that happened which caused a giant flood to occur, and her father was caught in the middle of it, and along with everyone else caught in it…he died. Sayaka was the only one of the survivors who had survived, as she was the only one that was never caught in an earthquake and flood. All that was left of her father…was a gun, a pistol that he had carried during their travels, a memento that he left for her to carry. With nowhere else to go, she walked away from what had happened without turning back, and she kept on going, walking and walking, never stopping until eventually, she found herself in Fuyuki.
Through my eyes, I could see her past and I knew she was telling the truth, and I could tell that she was just like me. We're both children who ran away from what had happened or what could have happened to our lives, and we both have nowhere else to go to. Seeing that we both are orphaned children and that we could rely on each other, I thought and decided that we could stick together, to survive the harsh reality in front of us.
"Let's stick together." I said, "We'll stay together until the very end. That way, we don't have to worry about anything else."
"M-Mirai…san…?" said Sayaka, surprised.
I smiled and said, "Don't worry, Sayaka. As long as you stay with me, you'll have as much as you need to survive, and you'll never have to be hungry or alone again."
"Mirai…san…" said Sayaka, "Thank you…Mirai-sama…"
And that was how Sayaka Tsukuda became my first companion of mine.
The next following days, we found someone trying to steal our money from people wanting to have their fortunes taken. Another street orphan around the streets, trying to survive. Luckily, me and Sayaka managed to catch up to her until she was cornered in another alley. That was when we met Hiroko Ishikawa. Just like us, she was a street orphan, wearing nothing but ragged clothes and barefooted, but there were some differences; she was carrying what looks to be a sword, had multiple bruises around her body, hinting that she had been into fights before, and had a look of a cold and distrusting face, hinting that she didn't show any trust to anyone. Seeing that, me and Sayaka had to be cautious and approach her peacefully.
"What?!" she said, angrily, "Who're you?! What're ya looking at?!"
"Please, calm down." I said, calmly, to assure her we were not hostile, "It's okay. We won't hurt you. We're just here for our money back. Please, put the bowl down and come to us peacefully."
"No!" she said, still being stubborn, "I'd rather run and die!"
"We're not going to hurt you." I said, assuring her, "We're friendly, we won't do anything to hurt you. We're street orphans just like you."
"You don't have to worry." said Sayaka, "We won't do anything bad."
"Liars!" Hiroko shouted, angrily, "You're just saying that so you could trick me and then turn me in, just like everyone else! Well, I'm not falling for it again! Especially not from you!"
Sayaka was about to retort and run up to her, but I held my arms up to stop her and shook my head no. Sayaka saw this and obediently stopped herself and stood there. I then turned back to Hiroko, who still had a look of anger and distrust, and slowly, I began to approach her. I walked up to her until I was where she was pointing the sword at; my chest where my heart is. When I was approaching her, her expression changed from anger to somewhat scared. We stood there, completely silent, letting ourselves look at each other in the eyes for a few moments. Then, I activated my powers and looked into her past, much to her surprise.
Through my eyes, I saw that Hiroko was born in prison, and she was raised by her birth mother, who was a yakuza, a member of a Japanese gang; or rather, a now former member of the gang. Hiroko's mother was arrested by the police for robbery and murder of six innocent bystanders at the harbor, trying to run away by a ship along with other gang members, leading this group was Hiroko's father before she was born. Hiroko's mother, after having killed these six people who happened to be a group of family, grew disgusted by her and her gang's own antics and allowed herself to be arrested, not wanting to be any part of what the yakuza was doing anymore, and allowed the others to escape. Her mother, at the time, was pregnant with Hiroko, so she was unable to catch up with the other yakuza anymore, and didn't want to risk hurting Hiroko, hence she was caught and arrested. By the time her trial was made and was sentenced to prison, Hiroko's mother gave birth to her. After giving birth to Hiroko and seeing her as a baby, her mother was happy and she had changed, from being a gang member to a loving caring mother. However, due to the fact that prison was not a good environment for children, they needed to have someone take Hiroko somewhere safe and care for Hiroko in her mother's stead. Unfortunately, her mother had no other relatives to help take care of her child, and she had already cut ties with the yakuza since she knows that the yakuza gang was not good for Hiroko. Luckily, however, there was a police member that was in charge of Hiroko's mother that was willing to take Hiroko and care for her in her stead, and would have Hiroko visit her mother whenever she wanted, putting relief for Hiroko's mother. Years later, Hiroko, now a grown-up child, came to visit her mother and really excited to see her, because she heard from the officer that was caring for her that her mother was going to be released from prison to allow her to go back to Hiroko to take care of her. Unfortunately, a breakout happened, and chaos broke loose at prison. The cause of it was the yakuza, led by the same leader, her father, who along with others, were attacking and killing people there as they were all looking for her mother because she betrayed the society and wanted to kill her for her betrayal. Hiroko's mother, having to have luckily escaped, told Hiroko to run away from here, as if they find Hiroko, they would kill her as well, even if none of them knew of her existence. Her mother, before she would have her child run away, gave Hiroko her sword, a memento for safekeeping. With all of the chaos and confusion that was going on, Hiroko ran away from prison, scared because she didn't want to die, and crying because she had to separate from her mother. Over the next following few years, Hiroko, having now become a street orphan, spent following years trying to find food and shelter along with others, by stealing and robbing stores and markets. During those times, however, she was always turned on and betrayed by the street orphans and was taken in for stealing. Every street orphan she goes to, and when tasked to steal some things, she would always get stabbed in the back. Ever since, she grew cold, distant, and distrusting to those who would use her and then turn her in. Those days became her very rough and difficult childhood.
After I saw her past, I closed my eyes and then opened them again, to show my normal eyes to her, much to her shock and surprise.
"W-Wha…w-what did you do…?" Hiroko asked, nervously.
I simply smiled and said, "I looked and saw your past. I saw everything that happened to you in your past."
Hiroko gasped at what I just told her; her face full of shock.
"That's why you don't trust people who takes you in." I said, "I know how you feel, losing a parent and being used as a means to be taken in and be blamed all your life. But, me and Sayaka are not like those people at all. We would never do anything like that to you."
This made Hiroko slowly lower her weapon until it touched the floor, to look at me in pure astonishment, both from what I did and what I was telling her, before she asked me, "Who…what are you?"
"My name is Mirai." I said, "And I am someone who has the power to see the people and the events, both the past and the future, just as I have seen your past. My eyes allow me to see just about everything. It's both a gift and a curse that I carry all my life."
"And I'm Sayaka Tsukuda." said Sayaka, "I was a lost street orphan just like you before Mirai-sama took me in. And you are?"
Hiroko was quiet for a moment as she was looking at us both to see if we were trusting enough. After a few moments, she said, "Hiroko. Hiroko Ishikawa."
"Hiroko." I said, "A wonderful name. Tell me, do you want to be taken in and be one of us? We would like to have someone like you on our side."
This surprised Hiroko for a moment before she asked, "Can…can I trust you?"
"Of course." I smiled.
"You won't betray me and turn me in?" she asked.
"We won't." I said.
"Then…will you…give me purpose, if you take me in?" she asked.
"You wish to have a reason to live?" I asked.
Hiroko nodded, and I understood what she meant.
I nodded back and said, "Yes, we will give you a purpose, a reason for living. So, that's why…come with us, Hiroko."
Hearing my words to be true, Hiroko dropped her sword and the bowl of yen, and her face had tears in her eyes, hinting that she was happy, believing and knowing that there was someone who she could trust and someone who could give her a reason for living. Before she knew it, she broke down crying, and me and Sayaka went to embrace her to comfort her, as she repeatedly cried out while sobbing, "Thank you."
And that was how Hiroko Ishikawa became my second companion of mine.
Other following days later, as we went to buy clothes, we found another street orphan that was sitting there at the corner of another alleyway, appearing to be crying. We went to go see who it was and to see if we could do something to help her. That was when we met Aimi Shimizu, another street orphan like us. However, judging from her clothes that were yet to be ragged, she appeared to have been left recently. As we came closer to her, she took notice of us and suddenly became frightened and tried to back away while crawling backwards to avoid being close to us.
I stopped her before she could even try to run away and said reassuringly, "It's okay! We're not going to hurt you! Don't worry, we're friends."
After hearing my words of reassurance, she managed to calm down a bit before she asked, "Y-You're…you're not gonna hurt me?"
"Of course not." I said, "In fact, we're here to help you."
This shocked her a little before she said, "H-Help me…?"
I nodded with a smile before I turned to Sayaka and Hiroko and said to them, "You two, go back to our home and do what I tell you. Sayaka, get her something to eat. Hiroko, get her something to keep her warm. We're taking her back to our home."
"Yes." they both said and went to do what I said to them.
I then turned back to Aimi and said with a smile, "Don't worry. We're going to take you home soon. You're in good hands with us."
Later, after we managed to get her back to our home, Sayaka gave her something to eat, and Hiroko gave her something to keep her warm, and after making her feel at home, we began to introduce ourselves.
"My name is Mirai." I said, "And these two are my friends, Sayaka and Hiroko."
"Hi there." Sayaka smiled, "I'm Sayaka Tsukuda."
"Hello." said Hiroko, "I'm Hiroko Ishikawa."
With every introduction we made, Aimi nodded in acknowledgment of who we are.
"And you are?" I asked.
She was quiet for a moment before she was quietly muttering to herself as if she was thinking for a bit, before finally saying, "Aimi. Aimi Shimizu."
"Aimi." I said, "It's very nice to meet you. So, can you tell us, how did you end up out on the streets? From the looks of what happened and looking like this, you appeared to have been left recently."
Aimi nodded as if she was like an obedient child and said, "Yes. I'll explain what happened to me. You see…"
Aimi explained to us that her stepfather, who at the time had married her recently divorced mother, threw her away because in his eyes, she was an impure and imperfect child made by another man who was her father. Aimi, however, at the time when she was still small, never truly knew who her birth father was and only learned from her mother what her father was like. From her mother, she learned that her father was a good man who truly loved and cared for her mother and that they met when they were young adults. There was one problem for both of them, though. It was their status. Her father came from a common family, while her mother came from the rich and noble family. While the family of her father approved of their relationship, the rich and noble family of her mother did not. However, despite this, both of her parents decided that they should fall in love and marry each other anyway because deep down, they know that they loved each other very dearly and knew that one of them would never harm the other. Her father's family, in secret, arranged for them a marriage ceremony, and in secret, both her mother and father married each other and, in their eyes, they lived happily ever after. Eventually, they even gave birth to her and they both were happy to have her as their child. Unfortunately, however, their love and marriage did not last long, as her mother's family discovered what her mother was doing and what she had already done and completely disapproved of all of it; their love, their marriage, having Aimi, all of it. Soon, this led to a heated argument, both for her father and his family against her mother's family, arguing about their current love and marriage. Unfortunately, her mother's family had ultimately won in the argument and this led both of her parents to forcefully divorcing each other. Her mother, however, kept Aimi with her because she still wanted to be a loving mother to her. A condition that she gave to her parents if she agreed to divorce her lover, and they agreed to it. At least, for now at that time. Even though they were forced to divorce, her father made a promise to her mother that someday, he will win her back, and the next time he does so, he will be a better man. This made her mother happy, and said that she would wait for the day when that happens, with Aimi waiting along with her. After that, her father left her mother with Aimi at her mother's arms. While waiting, her mother taught Aimi how to be polite and obedient to her mother and her family, and taught her how to be a very good girl towards people, and to be a very good work when doing work for people. During those times, it went perfectly well for them, as her mother's family comes to like her for being a good and obedient child, and for working very hard for her family; they even allowed Aimi to work as one of the maids in the house, and Aimi took happiness and pleasure for working for her mother's family. Unfortunately, as years go by, that day for her father to return to them never came for both Aimi and her mother, and her mother had already remarried her new suitor that was arranged by her family. After they remarried, her new father, her stepfather, ultimately told Aimi to get out of their house, as she was no longer needed into their family. This ultimately shocked Aimi and her mother completely. Her mother, who still loved her daughter, tried to reason with her new husband and told him that she and her family still needed her daughter, as she had already become a part of their family and that everyone loved her very dearly. Unfortunately, however, her stepfather did not approve of Aimi and did not completely acknowledged her as his daughter and had already requested to her mother's parents that Aimi should be thrown away. This completely shocked her mother, as she realizes that even though Aimi did everything she could for her family, her mother's family never truly saw her as part of their family. Aimi had realized that as well and, even if she continued to work for her mother's family, they would never accept her as one of their own, as Aimi didn't come from anyone who was her mother's suitors, but her father, who in their eyes, was a tainted man, making Aimi herself being a tainted child. However, Aimi, being an obedient child as she is, accepted that she'd be thrown away from this family, as she saw that this family had no use for her anymore, accepting her fate. This completely shocked and broken her mother entirely, as she realized what her daughter had done, and realized what her mother had done, and what she made her completely into and what Aimi had become; an obedient child who will obey any orders from her family or anyone else without ever even showing any signs of being selfish for herself or any signs of showing any sense of self, just like a machine. Realizing this, her mother broke down crying in tears of pain and repeatedly apologizing to her daughter in what she made her to become, even embracing her and crying onto her shoulders while repeatedly apologizing to her in her ears. Eventually, they already threw Aimi out of the house and into the streets, leaving her all alone. The reason that she was crying when we found her at the alley…was because she then broke down in tears as there was one thing that she regretted that she did; leaving her mother all alone. The only thing that she had left to remember her was the two wedding rings that both of their parents had when they were still married to each other.
I used the power of my eyes to foresee her past to see if her story was true. And…sadly, it was true. Me, Sayaka, and Hiroko, couldn't help but feel pity for Aimi, because she was obeying what people say to her without question, and people like her family were taking advantage of that. Aimi, having finally told her story, began to cry, tears of sadness pouring down from her eyes and dripping down from her face.
"Why…?" Aimi sobbed, "Why did this happened to me…? Was I…not good enough…to be a part of that family…? Was I…not obedient enough…? Was I not being…a very good girl to them…like my mother told me to be…? Why…?"
I couldn't stand watching her cry, seeing her like this made me feel sad for her. I went and hugged her to give her comfort. I then whispered, "None of it was your fault. You just didn't know what would happen sooner or later. Your mother didn't know. And if we were there, none of us would've known either. So please, don't blame yourself."
I rubbed the back of her head to calm her down as she was still crying from sadness. Then, Sayaka and Hiroko hugged her together along with me, to show signs of their comfort for her.
Then, Aimi said to herself between sobs, "I…I have…I have nobody…I don't have…a family…anymore…no mom…no dad…no friends…nobody…I don't have a…a family anymore…I don't…I don't know what to do…"
Seeing her say those words, I stopped hugging her to look at her and said, "No, that's not true!" This shocked her a bit as she looked at me with tearstained eyes, wondering what I mean. I then continued, "You do have a family. You do have a family that will accept you. You do have a family that will accept you being obedient. You do have a family that will see you as a good girl. You do have a family that will love you. And as of right now, you have a new family." With every word that I said to her, her eyes began to slowly widen of shock and astonishment. Then, I said to her finally, with my arms out to show Sayaka and Hiroko and a smile on my face, "WE are your family now!"
Hearing my final words to her, Aimi began to cry again, not from sadness anymore, but from sheer joy. Sayaka and Hiroko then approached her as they placed their hands, Sayaka on her left, and Hiroko on her right, on her shoulders as they wanted to say something to her as well. Aimi looked at the two of them for a moment before turning to Sayaka, who was the first to speak.
"You should come with us, Aimi." said Sayaka, "If we stay together, and if we follow Mirai-sama together, then we will never have to be scared, hungry, or alone ever again."
Aimi then turned to Hiroko, who was the next to speak.
"Come with us," said Hiroko, "And Mirai-sama will give you a reason to live, a purpose in your life. Just as she had given us reasons and purposes for us to live by."
Aimi looked at them both for a few moments, before she asked, "Are you sure?"
They both nodded to her and both of them said, "We believe Mirai-sama has the power to give us new hopes. And if we stay together, we won't have to suffer anymore, and we will be okay."
I then came up to Aimi with my hand out for her to take, and said to her with a smile on my face, "Aimi, come with us. Come with me. We can be together forever, and you can be obedient as much as you want."
"Will you…really accept me?" she asked, and I nodded. Then, without hesitating, she held my hand and I grabbed on to her tightly, and then two hands, both Sayaka's and Hiroko's, were placed on top of mine and Aimi's, symbolizing that we are together now, forever. Aimi saw this and smiled to us and nodded. As did Hiroko, and then Sayaka, and finally, me. Then, we hugged each other, and as we continued hugging, Aimi whispered happily, "Thank you, Mirai-sama."
And that was how Aimi Shimizu became my third and final companion of mine.
And that was how we all came together, not just as companions, or friends, but also as a family. That was how we became, one group.
I'm not sure how long it had been since we became a group, but I imagined that it was around 2 years now since that day, and during those times, we stayed together, we comforted each other, we ate together, we laughed together, we did things together; basically, we stayed together thick and thin. I was maybe around 10 or 11 years old since those days. It was…the happiest life that we cherished.
Every day was just like any other days. We do fortune telling for people who were passing by the streets and earn money from them, we used money to buy food and clothing, we played together, we protected each other, then the next day, we do it again. It went on and on until eventually we lost count on how much we've done the same routine. Many people would say that it was boring, but…we didn't, and we didn't care. It was the happiest life that we shared together. Of course, even everyone who came passing by to see us we happy to see us. Not just for fortune-telling, but for them to see us smile every day.
But then one year later, something happened to me.
It was around near the end of Fall, almost to being 2 years when I was out giving out fortune telling for people with my dearest friends, as many people came by to us as they wanted to know what would happen for them for next year. I had already done about 10 people as they left with the fortune words I gave them, there was one more person who was ready. As they sat down and waited for their turn, I activated the power of my eyes to foresee what will happen for them in the future.
But then suddenly, something stopped me, as if something was forced with a powerful pulse, and suddenly, my powers went haywire, and I suddenly froze with a shocked look on my face. What I saw first was the colors of black and white, glitching in my vision, as if what I was seeing was a TV screen being ruined. But then, as the screen fades away, and my vision for what I was seeing became clearer, I became…shocked and terrified of what I was suddenly seeing. And what I saw, through my eyes…it was horrifying. What I was seeing…was the vision of the past, more than 10 years ago.
Through my eyes, I saw…a giant dark hole, something shaped like a black moon, that was up above the night sky, making very eerie sounds of monstrous noises and giving off an aura of darkness and destruction. Then suddenly, something dark and ugly came out of it and began to rain down upon the ground, first flooding the entire stadium, and burning everything inside as if it was hot lava. And then, this black mud-like lava began to come out of that burning stadium and began to spread outside all the way to the forest trees, burning them to flames. And finally, it began to spread and flood throughout the entire part of Fuyuki City, burning anything and everything into flames, destroying everything it touches, and…killing every innocent people that were there but could not escape from it, flooding around them, burning them, and slowly killing them. Through it all, I hear burnings, destructions, and the horrified screams of those people who were suffering and dying. The noises…the screams of pain, the screams of suffering, the screams of them…being in this horrid nightmare. I…I couldn't. I couldn't take it! I couldn't take it anymore!
Suddenly, before I even knew it, I was screaming to myself in pain, from the vision that I was seeing, and from the pain in my head that was hurting. In fact, I was screaming so much that I was probably screaming my lungs out very loudly in front of everyone that was around me, but I didn't bother to notice my surroundings, nor hear out what was going on around me.
"MAKE IT STOOOOPP!" I screamed, so loudly in pain, "MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP! SOMEBODY, MAKE IT STOOOOOPPP!"
The vision that was still in my eyes was still playing that horrifying event, and so I couldn't even see what was going on with my surroundings, and I still couldn't even hear what people were saying. But, I could at least feel what was touching me. Their touches must've meant they were trying to stop me and trying to save me, but what they did was all to no avail. And honestly, I didn't bother with what they were doing, as all I would do was scream at the vision that I was seeing, and the voices of the screams that I was hearing. I was in so much pain so much that I kept screaming in pain and I felt tears coming down from my eyes.
"MAKE IT STOP!" I screamed out again, loudly in pain, "MAKE IT STOP! THE BURNING! THE FIRE! THE VOICES! THE SCREAMS! MAKE IT ALL STOP!"
I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't take the pain anymore. I couldn't take what I was seeing anymore. I couldn't take what was going on with my vision anymore. I just…I just wanted it to stop. And so, I just screamed, to someone, anyone, to help make the vision stop. And then, suddenly, I felt a force of being pushed back and something to force me to be lying down on the ground on my back. And suddenly, I heard a voice, a shout, so faint that I could barely hear it.
"…ey! …at m…!" I heard. It was really faint from all the noises and screams I was hearing in my head.
But then, slowly but surely, the voice was becoming clearer and clearer. And what I heard was…an older woman's voice, shouting at me.
"Look at me!" she shouted loudly for me to hear. And in my vision, a faint face was being shown to me, telling me to look at her, before she screamed, "LOOK AT ME!" And I painfully nodded, to signal her that I was.
"Alright, good!" she said, "Now, listen to me! I'm going to save you, but I need you to do exactly as I say, alright?!"
I nodded painfully again.
"Good! Now then…!" she said, as her face became gone for a minute before it came back and said, "Now, here! Listen to me! I need you to swallow this!"
I felt something that was on my lips, something like glass, and it was small, fit to swallow before I noticed it was some sort of gemstone.
"Look, I don't have time to explain, but I need you to swallow this!" she said, "Just swallow it, and I'll be able to help you! Don't worry about it, just trust me!"
I didn't know what was going on, and I didn't know who that person was, trying to tell me to swallow a gem, but I didn't have any other choice, and I had to trust her and do what she said for me to do. Though painful, I opened my mouth for her to place that gem inside my mouth. As soon as it did, I slowly and painfully swallowed it. And after that, I was breathing rapidly, my vision still seeing that horrid event of the past.
"Okay, good!" she said, "Now, just hold on!"
Before I knew it, I felt her hands being placed on my chest, and I heard her chanting words that were in different languages. Languages that I didn't even understand, nor did I have time to, as the pain was still going on, and the vision was still playing. But then suddenly, as soon as she shouted a final chant, my vision stopped, becoming completely black, and suddenly, I blacked out, letting my conscious to fall.
I didn't know how long I was out for, but when I slowly opened my eyes, I saw that my dearest companions were standing close to me by my side, and when I opened my eyes, they became happy and all of them cried in tears of joy, happy that I came back to them. I looked at my surroundings, and I found myself lying on my bed. And then, a woman came up to us to see me.
The woman appeared to be around her early twenties. She had long black wavy hair and aqua eyes, almost the same eye color as mine. She wore a long red trench coat over her white polo neck jumper, a black skirt under black stockings, black gloves, and long brown leather boots.
The moment she saw me awake, she had a shocked look on her face, as if by some miracle she actually did something right, that what she did truly saved me. As she was getting closer, the others moved aside to let her pass. Once she was close enough, she knelt down to look at me closer, as she slowly brought her hands closer to my face until she touched them, to feel me.
Then, she asked to confirm something, "H-Hey…a-are you okay?"
I saw this, and I slowly nodded.
Then, she asked, "Can you see me? Can you hear alright? Can you feel anything? Can you think very well? Can…can you move?"
With every question she asked me, I slowly but simply nodded. And when she asked me the last one, I slowly raised my left arm to show her I can move. I reached my hand up as much as I could for her to see it before I couldn't reach anymore and was about to lose strength, and she quickly grabbed hold of it with both of her hands; both were very warm hands.
Then, she asked one final thing, "Did I…did I really save you? Did it…whatever I did for you…worked? Can you tell me?"
When she asked me those questions, even though I didn't know what she did to me for her to save me, I nodded and said weakly, "…Yes. Yes, it worked…"
When I answered those final questions, the woman slowly began to smile, and tears started to fall from the woman's eyes as she too began to cry tears of joy while holding on tightly to my hands.
"I…I did it…!" she cried between sobs, "Thank God, I did it! You're alive! Thank God, you're really alive!"
Seeing the look on that woman's face, I just…I just couldn't help but smile as well, as my tears started to fall from my eyes as well, and I could even hear my companions were crying happily as well.
"I did it…!" the woman cried, "I actually did it…! I'm…I'm so glad…! I'm so glad I found a sign! I'm so glad I found you! I'm so glad I found someone! I'm so glad I…I saved you…!"
Though I felt a little weak, I felt the urge to speak, to say something in gratitude. And so, I spoke, though very weakly, gaining her attention.
"…ma'am…thank you…" I said, weakly, "Thank you…for saving me…"
The woman saw me smile at her with tears still falling from my eyes, before she smiled back with the mirrored reflection of my face, holding my hands tighter, and said, "No…I…I should be thanking you…because of you, I…I was able to do something…to do something right again…to save someone again…because of you…I've been saved…thanks to you…thank you…"
We continued to look at each other with smiles on our faces as tears continue to fall down on our faces before the woman pulled me in her embrace and I suddenly felt sleepy, and before I knew it, I passed out.
When I woke up, I found myself in a bed. However, it was not the bed from my home, but it was a different bed; a hospital bed. I slowly got up to look at my surroundings, and here I found myself in a hospital room. The room that I was in appeared to be a room only for one, so I was the only one in this room. I looked to my left and I found my companions, each of them holding onto their respective mementos, standing alongside the woman from before as she was talking to a nurse that was caring for me. The nurse and the woman seemed to be talking to each other about something before they decided to end it.
"I see." said the woman, "No, I understand. Thank you."
After the nurse left, the woman turned around to see me awake, before she found herself a seat and decided to sit down. I could only assume she wanted to talk to me about something.
Once the woman sat down and made herself comfortable, while the rest of my companions stood next to her to listen, she smiled at me and said, "Hello, again. You must be Mirai. It's nice to finally meet you."
"O-Oh, yes." I bowed, somewhat nervously, "Nice to meet you…um…can I ask, why am I in the hospital, and did you take me here?"
The woman nodded and said, "Well, to answer your question, yes, I did. The reason you're bedridden now is because we needed to check to make sure that you're completely alright, as we don't know for sure that something about you might've gone wrong. Ah, but don't worry. I already talked to the nurse and she already told me that, as far as the nurses and the doctors were concerned, you're all completely fine and you should be able to move in a few days."
"I-I see." I said. But then I remembered our home and quickly asked, "Ah, that's right! Our home! What happened to our home?! Is it okay?! Is it still there?!"
The woman became surprised a little before her expression became sadden and said sadly, "No, I'm afraid not. Moments after I took you to the hospital, everything you had back the alleyway was already gone. The people who knew you said that they didn't think that the alleyway would be good for you kids anymore, as the alleyway isn't a healthy environment for you to live in."
I was shocked to hear about this news before I began to look down and become saddened by it.
"I'm sorry." said the woman, "There was nothing I could do to help you keep your home. But at least I did what I could for you and your friends."
I looked at the woman and nodded before saying, "Yes, thank you…"
The woman nodded with a smile, before she asked, "Mirai, can I ask you something? It's in regards to you and your eyes."
I was surprised at first before I nodded.
"Well, alright then." said the woman, "Now, based on what your friends told me, you say that your eyes have the power to see both the past and the future, whether it is a person or a certain event, correct?"
I nodded.
"And over the times living in the alley with your friends, you've been using that power to help people who were having problems with their daily lives passing by, by giving them fortune-telling, right?" she asked.
I nodded.
"Okay then," she said, "Can you show me?"
I became a little hesitant after what I had experienced, but I nodded. I was slightly traumatized, but that trauma I had experienced wasn't enough to stop me from using my powers. I closed my eyes to concentrate before I opened my eyes as my eyes shined bright red to foresee this woman's past. After that, I closed my eyes and then reopened them to foresee her future.
After I was done, I closed my eyes and then opened them, revealing my normal eye colors, and said, "I saw your past and your future. In the past, you had a mother who was mentally unstable and was in a wheelchair where you had to take care of as a little girl, and you had a funeral for your father as he was killed by someone. And in the future, a few days from now, you will be the one who be taking us in to our new home, if we decided to come with you."
The woman was surprised about what I just did and what I had said to her, before she said, "I see now. You have Mystic Eyes. The Mystic Eyes of Precognition and Retrocognition."
I was confused by this, so I asked, "Umm…Mystic what?"
Even my companions were confused by this and gave her questionable expressions. The woman stopped for a moment to think about the situation that me and my companions were in. Then, as if a thought came to her, she hit her bottom fist on the palm of her hand and said, "I know!"
Suddenly, we became more confused, before the woman looked at me with a smile and asked, "Mirai, do you wanna learn more about your powers?"
I was completely taken aback by this and asked, "Why do you asked?"
"Well," said the woman, "I wish to help by teaching you about your Mystic Eyes and how to properly use it. And…I want to adopt you, as my daughter."
I gasped, completely shocked by what she was offering me.
"And, of course, while I adopt you, I will also be taking your friends with me, for they can work with and for us."
My companions gasped at what she was offering to them as well.
I asked the woman, "Can you…really do that? Can you adopt me? Can you really bring my friends with me?"
The woman saw what I was thinking and smiled, as she placed both her hands on her hips, and said, "Well, of course! That is if you want me to. So, I'll give you two options. You can come with me and be taken in by a woman you just met, and I'll be happy to take your friends with us, and with me, you will learn everything that you want to know. Or, you and your friends can be sent to an orphanage where you'll live for the rest of your lives and will learn nothing about what I would teach you. It's your choice. Ah, but don't use your eyes. I want you to think about this on your own, and I want to hear your decision."
I was surprised and completely taken aback by what she said to me and what she was telling me to do. I looked at the would-be mother of mine for a moment before I looked at my companions. They had the looks of wanting me to decide what we should do. Then, I closed my eyes to think about what I should do for a moment, thinking about what I should decide on. And then, I looked at the woman again who was waiting patiently and…I made a huge decision, and I pointed at her, signaling that I decided I wanted to go with her. the woman saw this and smiled happily.
She then hugged me happily and said, "I'm glad! I'm glad you've chose to come with me! To be completely honest, I've always wanted to have a daughter, and well…after I saw you, I just decided that I had to pick you! I'm so glad!"
After she let go of me from her embrace, she turned to the other and said, "And of course, I've always wanted to have people who would keep company, with the both of us!"
Hearing what she said, they smiled at her and happily nodded. The woman then went to a bag that she brought with her and said, "Well, then, let's get all of you dressed up right away! I have to make sure that you all get acclimated to your new home as soon as possible."
Before she could continue further, the woman stopped for a moment as if she was reminded of something important, and said, "Oh, that's right! I almost forgot to mention something you kids should know. I must introduce myself and tell you who I really am. And…you should all know that this is and will be an extremely important fact. Now then, are you all ready?"
We pondered what she was about to say for a minute, before we nodded to each other, and looked at the woman and said, "Yes, ma'am."
Hearing this, she said, "Okay, then." She then sighed before she muttered to herself, "Yes. I suppose now is the perfect time as any…" Then, as she turned to us to introduce herself, she said something; something that would soon one day change our lives forever, "Well, kids…my name….is Rin Tohsaka. And, you see…I am a Mage."
And that…was how I was adopted and became known as Mirai Tohsaka. And that…was how our lives changed forever.
Present day: years later…
I woke up from that memory and got up from my bed. As I rubbed my eyes, a door to my room opened, and the one who entered was one of my dearest and long-time companions, now a maid to the Tohsaka household, Aimi Shimizu.
"Mirai Ojou-sama," she smiled, "Breakfast is ready."
"Ah, yes." I smiled back, "Thank you. I'll be there momentarily."
Aimi bowed and left the room closing the door. I then stretched my arms out before I got out of bed to go to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash myself. As I did so, I had another flashback of my memory.
Flashback: years ago…
A few days after my adoption and being taken in, we soon arrived at our new home. Rin Tohsaka, who was now my mother, brought us in to our new home, which was a western-styled mansion, which almost looked like a haunted house, so much so that it made us feel nervous to be in. Although, we were amazed that my mother was rich if she had a home like that. My mother saw our reactions before she giggled and said, "Don't worry, kids, it's not haunted. Just trust me and come inside, alright?"
Though we were still nervous, we nodded and went inside the house. As she had said, it was not haunted, much to our relief, although the interior of the house, including the furniture, looked like it was covered in white sheets. Mother then led us to the living room where there was a couch and chairs with soft cushions that were around a table, all covered in white cloths. Aimi took one chair that wasn't covered and wished to set it for us to sit down. however, much to our shock, the chair broke into pieces. As though she was responsible, Aimi turned to mother and bowed while saying, "I'm so sorry, ma'am!"
However, mother merely laughed said, "Not your fault. Besides, I should be the one who's sorry. This whole place is kinda falling apart since I haven't been home in a while."
"O-Oh." said Aimi, "I see…"
"Like I said, it's not your fault." said mother, "Still, you kids should be careful. Wasn't a joke when I said this place's kinda falling apart."
"Well, why not repair it?" Hiroko asked.
Mother scratched the back of her head and said, "Well, I didn't really see any point before I met you kids. And besides, I don't have any tools to help me work with the repairs. And plus…" She trailed off a bit to see empty wine bottles that were lying on the ground.
"You were…spending on drinking?" I said with a sweatdrop.
"Yeah…" mother sighed, admittedly, "Sorry you have to see those. Anyway, like I said, I don't have any tools to buy for repairs. And even if I did, it could take years for me to fix the house."
"I see." I said, "Well, why not call repairmen to help with that?"
"Well, I could." said mother, "But it would take a while for them to work on repairing the house, and I have to move us somewhere away for a while until they're finished with the house. We don't even know where to go until it's fixed."
"I see." I said.
"Well, actually, there is one place…" said mother, "But…I'm not sure if…I want to go there again…"
I looked at my mother and…she seemed upset about something. I wanted to ask what was wrong, but before I could, she perked back up and said with a smile, "I'll tell you what, kids. I'll call the repairmen to help with repairing the house. Once we have the repairmen arrived, we'll be moving to a hotel until the house is done being fixed. So, until the repairmen arrive, why don't you kids look around the house. And I'll…clean up the wine bottles. And again, be careful. This place is falling apart, so I don't want you kids getting hurt."
"Okay." both Sayaka and Hiroko said before they left.
"Allow me to help, ma'am." said Aimi, carrying two or three empty wine bottles.
"Ah, thank you, Aimi." said mother, as she proceeded to clean up.
I merely stood where I was and watched mother. She…seemed upset about something before, and I wanted to know what was wrong. So, I decided to wait until they were done and when it was the right time for us to be alone. After a moment of thinking, I decided to help them as well.
After we were done with the cleaning, the others went to sleep since it was already nighttime, while I alone stayed awake to speak with my mother. She was calling the repairmen on the phone to have them fix the house.
"I see." she said, "Yes. Yes, of course. Yes, I understand. Thank you. Alright, then. Bye."
Once she was done talking and hung up the phone, I came up to her and spoke to get her attention, "Mother?"
She turned to notice me and said, "Ah, Mirai!"
She knelt down to look at me by my short height and smiled to me, before she said, "What's the matter? Can't sleep?"
I shook my head and said, "No, it's not that. I just…wanted to talk to you."
"Talk to me?" she asked, "About what?"
"Well," I said, "When you said you know a place to stay, you…seemed upset about something. Like, something gave you a bad memory. Like, the place you know where to go felt…bad. Is…something wrong?"
Mother looked at me in complete surprise for a moment before her facial expression became somewhat grim. She then said, "Well, Mirai, you see…I can't really talk about that…"
"Why?" I asked.
Mother then looked down on the ground with the shadow casting her eyes, expressing that she was sad, and said, "I'm sorry, Mirai, but…um…it's a long story. But…it's also complicated. And…even if I told you what it was, you probably wouldn't understand."
"Then, let me try to understand." I said, "I'm your daughter, aren't I? Let me try to understand. You can trust me."
Mother looked at me again, as I gave her a pleading look and said, "Please."
Mother looked at me for a moment, before she sighed to herself and said, "Well, alright. I'll tell you, but…just so you know, it's…it's a sad story, something that made me hard on myself, and…something that made me quit on myself before I met you. Are you…willing to listen to it?"
"I'll listen." I said, "No matter how sad, I'll listen."
Mother sighed again and said, "Alright. Let's talk about it elsewhere. Come with me."
I nodded and followed her. We entered a study room that had two couches standing on two sides of a table, a staircase which leads to the bookshelf upstairs filled with books, and a single desk standing behind the large window. And like the others, all were covered in white cloths.
"Give me a moment." she said as she stopped me, and I obeyed.
She went to one of the couches and carefully removed the cloth, to reveal a nice clean couch. She then began to swipe the couch as if she was moving the dust away. After she was done, she signaled for me to come over. Once I came over, we sat down on the couch together and moved closer to each other. Mother took a deep breath and was the first to speak.
"Well, it happened…a long time ago, and…again, before I met you…" she said, and I nodded.
"I…I had someone I loved once…" she said, "And…we were once very close together…we were lovers…"
"Was he…your husband?" I asked, "Were you married?"
Mother chuckled a little and said, "Something like that, you could say. In fact, we were very close, it felt like we were a married couple. We…stayed together for a long time…a long time…"
Mother looked at me and added with a smile, "In fact, if he was still around, he would've been your father!" But then, as she suddenly gasped with wide eyes, mother's expression suddenly became saddened as she looked away from me to look down on the table as if she was remembering what she had done wrong.
"Mother…" I said, worriedly, "Did…did something bad happen? What happened between you two?"
Mother stayed that way for a moment before she sighed to herself and said sadly, "Well, Mirai, one day…while we were traveling the world…I was pregnant with his child, and he didn't know about it yet. You see, I…wanted it to be a surprise for him when we get back home to Japan. So, I stayed quiet about it, and I did what I could to keep my pregnancy a secret from him." Her face grew sadder as she looked down with shadow covering her still visible eyes and said, "But then…something terrible happened, and…I was…forced to make a difficult decision."
"What happened?" I asked.
Mother stopped for a moment to think about it before she sighed sadly and said, "Well…one day, we were in Germany, traveling around, and…there was an accident that occurred, and…there were two children who were hurt, a boy and a girl, one that managed to survive and left unharmed while the other was life-threatening. My…lover managed to save the boy whose life was more severe, while I managed to put that said boy to sleep, all in order for him to survive and used whatever magecraft that I could use in order to erase, or maybe even alter his memory because whatever it was that he saw in his memory, must've had involved magecraft. The girl, however…she was…a small child, the same age as the boy, who only had a few years left to live. Judging from how many wounds the boy had, he must've been protecting her." Mother chuckled a little and said, "That little boy must've really liked her so much, he went as far as to sacrifice himself for her." Then, mother's expression became sadder again and said sadly, "That girl, she…she wanted to live. She wanted to live for the boy who saved her, she…wanted to live and be happy with him. I…I could see it in her eyes that…she wanted to live forever with him, just like me and my lover wanted to be together. She…didn't want to die. Seeing that girl crying for a miracle, I…I just couldn't take seeing that anymore. And so, I…" Mother stopped for a moment to think and remember what she did, before a tear started to fall from her eyes and said, "I did…something that involved magecraft…I did something that I knew…I was going to regret…I…I…" Then, more tears started to fall from her eyes as she began to sob and said, "I sacrificed…my unborn child…in order for her…to live longer…" My eyes widened in complete shock from what she just said to me. I…I had no idea. And suddenly, my mother…began to cry.
Mother began to cry in sadness and pain, and said in between sobs, "The magic…that I…did for her…it…granted her…a longer lasting lifespan…in order…for her…to be able to live…but…the price for…what I did…was…was that I…I…I…" More tears started to fall from her eyes as she continued to cry and said in between sobs, "I…I could no longer…produce any offspring…I can…no longer make…another child…" My eyes widened in complete horror from what I was hearing from my mother.
My God. She…can never make another baby again? How could that be? Could she…really no longer make any more children?
"I was…the one who…did the right thing…for those kids…because…they deserved better…" mother said between sobs, "But…at the same time…I did something wrong…I…I did something…that I knew…even if…my lover was…a forgiving person…I knew that…he would never…ever forgive me…for what I did…" Mother covered her face with her arms and knees and continued to cry, and said between sobs, "After I…took those kids…back to their family…I…I…I didn't know…what else to do…I couldn't tell him…I couldn't tell him…what I just did…for those kids…so, I…I panicked…and I…ran away and…I left him…I left him while I ran away back home to Japan…"
"Mother…" I said. I…had no idea.
"After I…ran away…and left him…" she said in between sobs, "I…I swore to myself…that I…I would never…ever use magecraft again…I abandoned the mage world…I abandoned all of my practices…I abandoned everything…about being a mage…and I…I just…I tried…I tried to go back…to my normal…everyday life…but…"
"You couldn't." I answered for her, and she nodded.
Mother wiped away the tears in her eyes and said, "Every night, I have nightmares…about my lover…finding me, and then blaming me, for leaving him, for abandoning him, for not telling him anything, for…everything that I did, to hurt him. And…ever since those nightmares, I would…go out to buy and…drink lots of alcohol, all for me to try to just…forget about it. But…" More tears started to fall from her eyes and she cried again, "No matter how much…I drank…and drank…every time…I try to forget…it just…it just keeps coming back…to haunt me…again…and again…and it just wouldn't stop…no matter how much…I try to drink…and try to forget…that memory…it still haunts me…even now…"
"Mother?" I said, and she stopped to look at me. I asked her, "Did you wanted…to adopt me…because…you feel guilty and you want to…fix what you did in the past? Am I…a replacement for your lost child?"
Mother's eyes widened from what I had asked for a moment, before she wiped away the tears again and smiled at me, before she said, "No, of course not. You're not a replacement."
She then hugged me as she continued, "Well, I admit, it's because I wanted to redeem myself for what I did in the past, but…well, when I heard your cry, I felt the urge that I had to do something. But, I hesitated, because I thought…if I went out there to try and save you, what if I did it wrong, and that what I do to the next person would only make it worse? I just…I just couldn't bring myself to do it at first. But…"
"But?" I asked.
Mother let me go to look at me and said, "When I heard your cries, and I felt there was no other choice, I chose, and I went for it. I knew that I had to save you somehow, so…I decided to use magecraft to do it. Remember the gemstone I told you to swallow and the words that I was chanting when I was saving you?"
"Mm-hmm." I nodded.
"Well," she said, "That…was part of my…no, our family practice of our magecraft. That time, when I said the final chant, and suddenly you passed out, I…I thought…I thought that I suddenly failed again. I felt scared and sad, and terrified that I felt that I was on the brink of shedding tears, thinking that you had died, because of me. But then, you…you woke up."
I nodded again and smiled.
Mother then continued, "When you woke up, I was…shocked to see that you made it and that you were alive. But then, that shock suddenly became happiness, when you told me that you were okay, and it was all thanks to me and my magecraft. Honestly, I just couldn't believe it. And really, I thought that if you had died because of me, then I would've already given up on magecraft, and myself. More so enough…for me to even commit suicide. But, you…you were alive, and you gave me a miracle. You gave me hope again, that not all that I had was lost. And you gave me a chance…to get back on my feet and learn magecraft again. You…you gave me everything again." She then hugged me again and said, "You…were my miracle." I smiled and hugged my mother back, and we remained in our embrace.
To be honest, I was happy that she found me and saved me as well. Even now, I still remember the look on my mother's face when she became happy that I was saved. I now understood what she meant when she said that she was saved. No. We were both saved. We saved each other, giving each other a miracle.
Then, after we stopped hugging each other, I asked her…the one thing that could change me forever, "Mother…will you teach me magecraft?" My mother became surprised for a moment as I then said, "I…I want to learn magic. I want to be a mage, just like you, mother. I want to study and learn magecraft from you. I want to hold on to our family's legacy. I…I want to be a powerful mage, just like you are, mother!"
"Mirai…" mother looked at me as I gave her a determined looked, showing that I was serious. She continued to look at me for a moment, before she closed her eyes and nodded, then looked back at me with a smile and said, "Alright, then! If that's what you want, then I'll gladly teach you!"
I gasped in surprise before I smiled and asked, "Really?!"
Mother got up from the couch to look at me upfront and said proudly, "Yes! From now on, I won't just be your mother! I shall be your teacher, and you shall be my pupil! And I will teach you everything you want to know about magecraft! But, only on one condition!"
I nodded, showing that I was listening.
"You'll have to listen and do everything exactly as I say, no matter what, and no matter how hard the training is, you must never complain and must always comply!" she said, "Do you understand, Mirai?"
I nodded happily and said, "Yes, mother, I will! I'll listen and do everything exactly as you say, no matter what, and no matter how hard the training is, I'll never complain and always comply!"
"Good." Mother nodded, "But just to warn you, once you take the path of a mage, you cannot turn back. Are you okay with that?"
"Yes." I said, "I'm ready."
Mother nodded once more and said, "Alright, then. Welcome to the mage world, Mirai Tohsaka."
And that was the beginning of how my path of studying to become a mage began.
Present day:
After I was done changing to my school uniform and put on the red trench coat, the same coat that my mother wore and now given to me as a gift, I opened the door and left my bedroom. I began to walk down the corridor of the mansion, with Sayaka now accompanying me.
"Good morning, Sayaka." I said, without looking back at her, as I knew she was already there with me.
"Good morning, milady." said Sayaka.
Then, Hiroko came to accompany us.
"Good morning, Hiroko." I said, again without looking back.
"Good morning, milady." said Hiroko.
We went downstairs and continued walking until we made it to the kitchen, with Aimi standing there waiting for me with a smile. On the table was a plate that had a silver cover on top of it. I sat down on my chair with both of my bodyguards standing beside me as Aimi removed the silver cover to reveal what was my breakfast.
"For your breakfast," said Aimi, "It is bacon, ham, and eggs with toasted bread, just as you like them."
"Ah, yes." I said, "Thank you, Aimi."
Aimi bowed before she took a step back and stood where she was.
As I began to eat my breakfast, I asked, "Any news of what has happened recently since yesterday?"
"Yes." said Aimi, "I should let you know that Tsukino, the former captain of the archery club, has resigned from Homurahara Academy to go to the Fuyuki hospital due to her recent injuries. It would seem that the bleeding from her wounds before have been reopened since she left."
As I listened, I used my Mystic Eyes to see if it was true. Sure enough, it was true. Then, I resumed my eating.
"I see." I said, "How unfortunate, but I suppose it is understandable, since the injuries were quite severe. Although, it was fortunate that you managed to make a healing circle for her to heal her arms, without having everyone noticing it. It wasn't enough to restore it completely, but at least it was enough to prevent the bleeding from going anywhere further. Any more and she would've likely suffered from blood loss. It was right of me to have send you to do the job, Aimi."
"Indeed, milady." Aimi bowed.
"Anything else?" I asked.
"Yes." said Aimi, "Homurahara Academy will be having a new principal today, since our last principal has decided to quit his position. They say that he's quitting because of his weak mind and weak will to do anything as principal, since that scumbag of a bully, Shichirou Hashimoto, terrifies him. Obviously, he seems to be afraid of him."
"What a coward." said Hiroko.
"Tell me about it." said Sayaka.
"Well, at least he won't be threatened by him any longer." I said as I have finished my breakfast, "Who may this new principal be?"
"That would be Issei Ryuudou, one of the residences of Ryuudou Temple." said Aimi, "Though it is temporary, he will be the one who will take the position as a principal until a newer and more suitable principal arrives and take place. The reason being for his position is that, unlike our last principal, he seems to be stronger-minded and willful to get the job done."
"The current Buddhist monk?" Sayaka asked.
"Correct." said Aimi, "Although, his ability to sense any supernatural is weak. However, that doesn't mean that he will become suspicious of someone or something. I believe that it would be best to be cautious around him."
I nodded in agreement. Mother explained to me who Issei Ryuudou was and told me what I needed to do should I ever encounter him, so I was well prepared for what was to come for me.
"Hiroko, when will the package arrive?" I asked.
"It will arrive after school in the evening." said Hiroko, "Which gives us time to prepare."
"I see." I said, "Good. Sayaka, any word from my mother?"
"She just called us this morning." said Sayaka, "She said that she had just arrived in London and is planning to meet her business acquaintance now. Her business there will be taking a long time, so she will not be returning to Japan any time soon."
"I see." I said, "Good. Then everything will be set."
I got up from my chair as Aimi took the plate off the table and went to wash them.
"Well, then," I said, "For now, let's get ready for school. We'll be doing lots of student council work today, so let's do those before we get ready for tonight."
"Yes, milady." they all bowed.
I then looked in front of me, and then raised my hand and pointed like a gun, and said quietly, "Yes. Soon, it will begin…the Holy Grail War." Then, As I began to have another flashback, I moved my hand as if I was making a shot and said, "Bang."
Flashback: years ago…
It had been a year since my mother took us into our new home, a year since she took me under her wings and trained me to become a mage. During my training, I learned to speak German and used it to chant spells, and I had learned all sorts of magecraft that my mother could teach me: Jewel Magicraft, Gandr, reinforcement sorcery, runes, all of which she knew she could teach me. I even learned martial arts from her as a means for self-defense should magecraft become useless for me. Mother even trained my companions to become mages and proper fighters as well, in order for them to become my bodyguards. It was hard training, but it was worth it in the end. Even after our home was finished with its reconstruction, we continued training, to learn and to grow. While we trained, my mother told me to not use my Mystic Eyes during training. Partly, it was because it would spoil the fun. Mainly, it was because she wanted me to learn how to do things for myself, without the need of use for my eyes.
During those training, I continued to practice my Gandr shots on a target dummy. I had just fired my Gandr and it took down the dummy very easily. My Gandr, however, was large and slightly slow, but still was enough to kill.
"Very good shot, Mirai." said mother, "Your Gandr shots are improving. But, you shouldn't always put too much power on it, like you did just now. Using too much power will drain some of the mana in your body, and using that much force will only cause stress in how much your arm can handle a shot. Your Gandr should not be too much, but not too little either. Now, how about I demonstrate it for you?"
I nodded.
"Alright, then." said mother, "First, set a dummy up for me."
I nodded and went to set up another dummy as she told me. As soon as I was done, I went back to her.
"Alright." mother nodded, "Now then…watch and learn."
She raised her left arm up and pointed her hand towards where the dummy was standing before she placed her other hand on her said arm. Then, a red and black orb began to appear on the tip of her left hand as she began to charge her Gandr shot at the dummy. The shot that she was making was not too big, but not too small either. It was just the right amount to what she was about to fire. Then, she whispered in German, "Schießen (Fire)." And she fired her first shot. Compared to mine, it was very fast, very persistent, and very accurate, and most of all, it was deadly; deadly enough to not only destroy the dummy but also deadly enough to destroy part of the concrete that the dummy was standing on. I was…amazed and astounded by what my mother's Gandr did.
"Amazing." I said.
"Right?" mother smiled, "Now then, why don't you try again? And this time, do what I did."
I nodded and began to go out to set another dummy up. As soon as I was done, I went back to where I was standing and did exactly what my mother did and began to charge my Gandr. Just like my mother, not too much, yet not too little. Just the right amount. Then, when I was done charging, I whispered in German, "Schießen (Fire)." And I fired the same shot my mother made. Just like my mother's when it made contact, it destroyed not just the dummy, but the concrete along with it. When I saw how I did it and saw it was just as powerful as mother's, I couldn't help but cheer in excitement.
Mother smiled at me and said, "Well, done, Mirai. Good job. Looks like you're becoming a natural at this."
"Mm-hmm!" I nodded happily.
The others stopped to watch and cheered for me as well before they went back to resume their training.
"Well," said mother, "How about we do this one more time before dinner?"
"Yes." I said.
Then, without a moment of stopping, I continued my training on using Gandr.
Present day:
As we were getting ready to move out of the house, I went to the living room to search for my bag for school. But then, I stopped for a moment and saw a board game of chess that was on the table. As I looked at it, I smiled as another flash of memory came to me.
Flashback: years ago…
One night, on a rainy day, as I was sleeping in my room, I had a dream. Or rather, I had a vision of the past. The vision that I saw, made me wake up from my sleep, and suddenly after seeing that, I just…couldn't sleep. The vision that I saw…was a battle, that took place here long ago. It involved mages like us and…spirit-like beings fighting against each other, for a golden cup. Back then, I didn't know what it was, and I just…couldn't get the thought of that vision out of my head. When mother came into my room and saw me awake, she asked out of concern for me, "Mirai? What's wrong? Can't sleep?"
I shook my head and said, "I had…a strange dream."
"I see." said mother.
"Or…no." I said, "Actually, I had…a vision. A vision of the past."
This caught my mother's attention as she looked at me curiously.
"A vision?" she asked.
I nodded and continued, "It was a vision…where it took place here, about 14 years ago. In the past, there were 7 mages just like us, with 7 spirit-like beings, fighting against each other, and they were trying to kill each other. The battle was…huge, and really scary, but…at the same time, it was also amazing. The mages with those spirits, one on each side, were fighting against each other, defeating each other one by one, until only one would win…in order to obtain a big golden cup. A magical golden cup. The battle…was called the Holy Grail War."
I looked at my mother and, to my surprise, she had a look of shock as her eyes were widened when I mentioned the name of what I had envisioned. When I saw that look, I thought that maybe she knew what it was, so I asked her, "Mother, what is it? What is the Holy Grail War? Do you know what it is?"
My mother stood where she was, in complete silence for a moment, as if she was thinking about something, before she muttered to herself, "The Holy Grail War, huh…? Well, that…is something I haven't heard in a long time…a long time…"
"Mother?" I said.
Mother then turned to look at me with a smile and said, "Well, Mirai, how would like to play a game with me? I'll explain all about it as we play."
I became confused by this, but I nodded and got out of bed to follow.
I went to the living room with my mother, as she was carrying a sort of set of chessboard games and placed it on the table. She then brought out chess pieces that had two sets, some pieces were unique, and each with different colors; red and black, while one chess piece was a golden cup.
As mother began setting up the pieces on the board, she explained, "The Holy Grail War. It is a battle royale where 7 mages, like the ones you envisioned, becomes known as Masters, and 7 familiars, the ones you call spirit-like beings, being known as Servants, must fight to the death to win and obtain the "big golden cup" known as the Holy Grail."
"The Holy Grail?" I asked, "You mean, the one made from the Lord known as Christ?"
"Well, no, not quite." said mother, as she continued to explain, "You see, Mirai. The Holy Grail that I'm speaking about is not the real Holy Grail made by Christ. But rather, this Holy Grail, the one made for the Holy Grail War, is the omnipotent wish-granting device that will grant the one wish of any Master and Servant pair who would claim victory for it." She then pointed to the pieces that looked like troops and continued, "Each Master are paired with 7 Servants of the legendary epic heroes of the past known as the Heroic Spirits, to fight at their sides for their battle. Each of these Servants is formed in different classes, each of them with different characteristics, and each of them from a different history. Each of these 7 classes of these Servants are…"
She then began to set the other unique pieces up one by one to set one the board. She placed one piece that held a sword in his hands and said, "Saber, who specializes in swords and close combats. The Servants of this class are known as the most powerful and strongest class." She then placed another piece that held a spear and said, "Lancer, who specializes in spears and midrange combats." She then placed another piece that held a bow and arrow and said, "Archer, who specializes in arrows or other projectiles in combats and long-range attacks." She then placed another piece that held what looked to be something used to control a horse as if it was riding on something and said, "Rider, who specializes in riding skills and uses it to ride on horses, chariots, cars, or any other living things or vehicles that involves in riding." She then placed another piece that looked like a wizard in a hood and held a staff in his hand and said, "Caster, who specializes in spellcasting and any sorts of feet of magics, like us mages, but are much ancient and much stronger than us regular mages." She then placed another piece that looked like he was wearing a skeleton mask and held two daggers in both hands and said, "Assassin, who specializes in stealth and any sorts of tricks and lethal tactics that involves in assassination. The Servants of this class are known as the weakest class." She then placed a final piece that looked like an angry monster and said, "And lastly, Berserker, who-"
"Oh, wait!" I said, "Let me guess. Um…"
I looked at that piece and thought for a moment, before a thought came to me and said, "Oh, I know! They're big bad ugly beasts that scare people with their angry looks and menacing roars! Right?"
Mother looked at me dumbfounded for a moment, before she chuckled and said, "Close, but not quite. They are known for losing all sense of rationality and sense of souls or consciousness for raw powers and incredible immense strength. While they are powerful, they are also quite dangerously threatening, both for the life of Masters and others. And yes, like you said, they are 'big bad ugly beasts that scare people with its angry looks and menacing roars'. But, sometimes they can also be people, humans for instance, who also lost their sense of rationality for strength and power."
"I see." I said.
Mother finished setting up the pieces for both sides and said, "Alright then, Mirai, which color would you like? Red or black?"
I looked at the sets of chess pieces for a moment, before I pointed at the red set and said, "Red."
"Alright then, I'll go black." mother smiled.
We sat down in our chairs, in front of us were the respective colors of the chess pieces on the board. As my mother showed me how this sort of chess game works and how to play, she explained, "Over 2 hundred years ago, a powerful object known as the Greater Grail was made by the Three Founding Families of Mages, and it was made as a core originally to create a gateway to the Akasha, also known the Swirl of the Root, before the creation of the system called Holy Grail War was made." After she was done showing me how the game is played, we began to play, with my mother being first, as she then continued, "Our family, the Tohsakas, was one of the founding families, as well as the two other families, known as the Einzberns and the Makiris who later became known as the Matous."
"I see." I said, amazed before I made a move.
As we continued playing, mother continued to explain, "The original purpose of the ritual was to recover the Third Magic lost by the Einzberns, also referred as Heaven's Feel or the "Cup of Heaven". Around 1790, our ancestors of the Three Founding Families, Justizia Lizleihi von Einzbern, Nagato Tohsaka, and Zouken Makiri, created the system to create a gate leading to Akasha. At that time, the Mage's Association and the Holy Church were locked in a battle to the death, so a land in the Far East, where the Church could not monitor, was chosen. The Einzberns provided the alchemy to create it and prepared the vessel for the Grail, our family, the Tohsaka provided the necessary land and called forth the Servants, and the Makiri assembled the magecraft to stabilize the starting materials and designed the Command Seals that command the Servants. Back when the Tohsaka were developing the ritual of Heaven's Feel along with the Makiri and the Einzbern, one of our ancestors, Nagato's daughter, played a greater role in the completion of the Holy Grail War system than her father. The Holy Grail War itself was devised by Justizia, and she was to become the key of the ritual. The Great Grail was created by forming a large circuit from many multi-layered Crests carved onto a bare rock over fifty meters in diameter. It was covered in multiple layers of circuits, while its many geometric figures turned in place. Justizia stood in the center of it and became the key to reenacting the Third Magic. The Holy Grail would have only been just a Holy Grail without her, as her will was required for Heaven's Feel. Kishur Zelretch Schweinorg, the teacher of the Three Founding Families, acted as a witness to the event."
"I see." I said.
Mother made a move before she continued, "The First Holy Grail War took place around 1800. However, it was not meant to be anything like the future Holy Grail Wars. It was not named as such then, as it was only meant to be a ritual for the families to reach Akasha. It took ten years from its establishment to gather the necessary energy to manifest. However, the Three Families who were originally planning to utilize it realized that the system could only allow for one person to utilize it. Though they had the same goals, their opinions on how to reach them were different, so the unforeseen aspect caused them to break off their alliance. Instead, they agreed to proceed with the system and the means to create the Grail, but they would then become enemies when it was summoned. Due to requiring seven Heroic Spirits to achieve the ritual and seven Masters to summon them, they had brought in four outside magi with the call of "We've succeeded in manifesting the Grail. If you'd like to witness this miracle, join us and become Masters." Though the outsider magi had only sought to learn about the ritual of activating the Grail, they used the internal quarrel as an opportunity to grant their own desires. Though the Three Families held the rights to the Grail, winning the conflict would allow them to obtain a wish regardless of their ancestry. It was not a major conflict in the end and can be called a "small quarrel of sorts" due to the conflicting opinions and interests. From the point of view of the Einzberns, the first time ended before the completion and the evocation site of the Grail was held at Ryuudou temple on Mount Enzou. That was how the Holy Grail War came to be. Sixty years later, The Second Holy Grail War was held, formally taking on the name of the "Holy Grail War". Developing into a war for the second time, it pointed out shortcomings in the rules due to it developing into a murder spree in which nobody survived. It ended with no victory, and the Three Families took it as a lesson to create more precise rules such as bringing in a third party, the Holy Church. The Holy Grail War is unknown to the general populace, and the Church is responsible for the cover up work in which they manipulate information by modifying the memories of victims and covering up the battle damage while the Mage's Association handles the media."
"Why was it unknown to people?" I asked as I moved another piece.
"Well," mother explained, as she moved another of her piece, "As I've said, it was a way to cover up what was going on to ensure that there wouldn't be any chaos or panics. Since the First and Second Holy Grail War, they needed someone from the Holy Church to ensure that everyone is kept safe and that everything regarding to the Holy Grail War does not go to the public. Should anyone learn about it or even witness anything related to the Holy Grail War, it would put them to death."
"I see…" I said as I moved my next piece, "That sounds bad…I would hate for that to happen to good people…"
"Well, you're not alone there." Mother chuckled, as she moved her next piece, "But, it is what it is. Secret this and secret that. Rules are rules. Etc."
I laughed a little before I asked, "What about the next wars?"
"Well," mother continued, "The Third Holy Grail War took place in the 1930s, held on the eve of World War II. The fourth evocation site was confirmed and established, later becoming the center of the developing residential area of Shinto, the Fuyuki City Hall. Jubstacheit von Einzbern, the eighth head of the Einzbern family, prepared the Einzbern forest and the Einzbern castle as the family's headquarters. The Tohsaka, our family, and the Edelfelt, our rival family, were participants. The Edelfelts had two Masters, the Edelfelt sisters, each of them with the same Saber-class Servant due to their unique Sorcery Trait. The Einzberns, who were tired of losing out on reclaiming the Third Magic, subverted the usual system in order to summon and obtained an Avenger-class Servant, the Heroic Spirit of Vengeance and an Extra Servant Class, which replaced the Berserker-class, but that Servant was a very weak Servant without any abilities, thus the Einzberns lost and failed in the war. During the War, there were battles over the Lesser Grail with the Imperial Army and the Nazis as well, and the fighting unfolded in the Imperial Capital. As mentioned, Avenger was lost early during the conflict, putting the Einzberns to their loss, and while upholding the Saber Class's reputation, at least one of the Edelfelt sisters made it to the end. Unfortunately, they were ultimately defeated by our family, the Tohsaka, and the fate of the younger sister of the Edelfelt became unknown. The older sister ran away from the country, promising never to come back again. The Lesser Grail was destroyed during the battles before the victor could be decided, so the ritual became meaningless and failed. The evocation site of the Grail was set to be at the Fuyuki Church. There was a meeting held at a suitable time that appointed the then young Risei Kotomine as the supervisor for the next Holy Grail War. The ritual ended in failure, thus, like the last two Grail Wars, had no victor."
"Wow." I said, amazed, as I moved my next piece, "I had no idea."
"Yeah, I was amazed about it too when I read and learned about it." said mother, as she moved her next piece, "But, then again, it wasn't that surprising since no one has ever made any sort of victory."
"I see." I said, as I made another move, "So, were there other Holy Grail Wars as well?"
"You guessed it." said mother, as she made another move with her piece, "There were the Fourth and the Fifth. The Fourth Holy Grail War took place in 1994, where the fifth-generation head of the Tohsaka family, Tokiomi Tohsaka, my father…or rather, your grandfather, had participated in. Unfortunately, your grandfather tragically lost his life during the war, because he was betrayed and killed by his accomplice who had worked with him. The winner of that Holy Grail War was unknown, and the result of what had happened during the War became unclear. After your grandfather's funeral, I was taken in and raised by a friend of his, and then trained under him to become the skilled and proper mage I am now. And then I participated in the Fifth War 10 years later."
"Huh?" I said, confused, "10 years? The Fifth one happened 10 years later after the Fourth one?"
"That's right." said mother, "And yes, normally, the Grail requires 60 years in order to amass enough mana to be able to summon Servants, making the planning period span over generations, such as the case of the period with the First War all the way up until the Fourth War. However, if the Grail is unable to utilize its energy, that which is leftover can reduce the time to as little as a decade, such as in the case of the period between the Fourth and Fifth Wars. That was how I was able to participate in the Fifth Holy Grail War."
"Oh, I see." I said, amazed before I went and made another move with my chess piece and asked, "So, you participated in that War. Amazing."
"I know, right?" mother smiled, before she made another move, "Even back then, I couldn't believe it either."
"So then, mother," I said, as I made another move with my piece, "If you were a participant, did that mean did you had a wish, just like everyone and grandfather back in the war?"
Mother stopped to think for a moment, before she said, "No, not really. I didn't really have one. Back then, I only participated so that I could win, to prove to myself that I was a powerful mage. Honestly, I didn't really want anything for myself. I just…wanted to win, you know."
"I see." I said.
"Don't get me wrong though." said mother, as she moved her next piece, "Everyone has a wish that they want to be granted, and the idea of having your wish granted by the Holy Grail is great. Using it to wish whatever it is you want from it. Some can be good, while others can be selfish. But for me, it wasn't really worth it. I just didn't care about it, much less did I want anything from it, that's all. And besides, I already have what I want. A happy life, and a wonderful child, like you."
"Really?" I asked, which she happily nodded, "I see."
We both looked at the board of our chess game and looked at what we had left on the board. On my mother's side, she had Lancer, Archer, Caster, and 5 Master pieces left. On my side, I had Saber, Rider, Assassin, Berserker, and also 5 Master pieces left. It was a somewhat even standoff between the two sides.
"What did…grandfather wished for?" I asked.
Mother stopped and thought for a moment, before she said, "Well, honestly, I don't know. I was too young back then when the Fourth War happened, so I never asked him. Honestly, I wish I knew."
"I see." I said.
I then made another move before mother spoke up and said, "Well, anyway, there's that. That's what the Holy Grail War is, and that's how it came to be. As for the conclusion of the Fifth…well, let's just say that it ended differently than most of the Holy Grail Wars."
"How did it end differently?" I asked.
"Well, Mirai," said mother, as she made another move, "That is…well, I think that's a story for another time. Let's just say it's a little…complicated. You probably wouldn't understand."
"Oh." I said, before I made a next move, "Okay. So, mother, how is a Master chosen for the Holy Grail War?"
"Well," said mother, as she made another move, "The Grail selects potential Masters anywhere from years in advance to right before the start of the Holy Grail War. It selects those from the Three Founding Families and then picks out suitable magi through a mostly unknown process. There can be more than seven potential Masters, but only the first seven who manage to summon Servants gain Command Seals and the right to act as a Master. Although, it is possible for other unchosen people to gain the right to act as Masters by contracting with Masterless Servants. The Servants can be summoned in advance as well, but more than two months, such as in Berserker's case, is an anomaly. They can be summoned far away from the site of the ritual, allowing them to be initially summoned in Europe and then brought to Fuyuki. While played off as only a battle royal where the winner is granted a wish, the real point is to fill the vessel of the Grail with the souls of all 7 Servants. Defeated Servants revert to being pure energy and, while they would normally disappear from the timeline by returning to the Throne of Heroes, a place existing outside of both the World and the time axis, as information for the true Heroic Spirits, the Grail stops that process temporarily and then collects them. It is possible to make a wish upon it with only the power of 5 Servants, allowing it to grant most wishes. It is still incomplete and will take at least 6 to bring it into form. Its true purpose, opening a hole to the Root, requires all 7 Servants. Once the vessel is filled, the energy of the Heroic Spirits returning to the "Throne" is used by the Great Grail in a ritual to open a "hole" leading to Akasha."
"I see." I said, as I made another move.
"However," said mother, as she made another move, "As I've said before, there had been no true winners of the Holy Grail War, and no one that had participated in these wars had their wishes granted. It is a shame, though. Even if there was a Grail War now, I doubt that anyone in it would win."
I looked at the board again and looked at what we had left on the board. This time, mother only had Lancer, Archer, and 3 Master Pieces left, while I had Saber, Rider, Berserker, and 3 Master Pieces remaining. As I continued to look at the board, I began to have thoughts for a moment, thinking about what mother had told me during our time playing. Masters, Servants, and the Holy Grail War. The things that she told me about really intrigues me. Then, one thought came to my mind, and I finally made a decision, and said, "I want to participate in the Holy Grail War someday."
"Hmm?" said mother, confused.
I looked at her with a smile and said, "Someday, I want to participate in the Holy Grail War, where I fight other Masters and Servants, and then someday have my wish granted. And when the day comes, I'll fight as a Master and show the world that I'm a powerful mage. And who knows, if I win the Holy Grail War, I might have my wish granted."
Mother looked at me with a surprised look on her face, seeing that I was serious, before I took my Saber piece and placed it close to the Grail piece, saying happily, "Checkmate!"
I then looked back and smiled again, saying, "And who knows. Someday, you might be surprised, and you'll be proud of how strong I've become."
Mother continued to look at me with a surprised look on her face before she began to laugh at what I said to her. Then, she smiled at me and said, "Well then, I look forward to the day that happens, Mirai."
After that, we decided to call it a day and began to put away the chess board game.
Present day:
We soon went out of our mansion and waited until Aimi locked the front door. Once she did, we went off to go to school. As we walked, we see that there were very few students from our school walking by, either talking to each other or reading books on their way. From the fact that there were very few students, I would say that we were early to school. Then, after some long walking, we have arrived at our school, Homurahara Academy. As expected, we were early for school.
"Well then," I said, "Shall we head to the student council's office?"
"Yes, milady." my companions bowed to me.
I nodded to them and then went inside to find our student council room. As we walked through the corridors of our academy, there were students who had their gazes on us as they recognized us and began to whisper to each other.
"Hey, check it out." "Is that who I think it is?" "Yeah, it's Tohsaka." "Oh, wow! She's so beautiful!" "Hey, check out those three." "Wow! Those two look really cool!" "Yeah, and that maid with them is so cute." "I can't believe it's them." "They're from the student council." "Hey, did you hear what the maid did the other day?" "Oh, yeah. That was awesome." "What happened?"
"God, I hate fans…" Hiroko muttered, annoyed by them talking about me and them.
"Come now, they were just complimenting us." I said, "You should learn to appreciate it."
Then, we passed by the principal's office and heard people having some sort of conversation inside. Out of curiosity, I stopped for a moment before I told my companions to wait outside for me as I went in to see what was going on. When I came in, I saw a teacher and staff member talking to the temporary principal of our academy, Issei Ryuudou.
Issei Ryuudou was a man around his mid-twenties, who had black hair and eyes, and wears glasses. He was dressed in a grey suit with a red tie on his collared shirt. He gives off a serious expression to the teacher and staff member as he was listening to what they were saying to him, as they were explaining to him what had transpired before he arrived and what he needed to do until then.
"I see." he said, "I understand. Thank you."
I knocked on the door before I closed it behind me to get their attention. When I did so, they all stopped what they were talking about and looked at me.
"Oh, Tohsaka." said the staff member, "I apologize, I didn't realize you were here."
"No, not at all." I said, "I just couldn't help but overhear what was going on, so I decided to let myself in."
"Who's this?" Mr. Ryuudou asked.
"Oh, this is-"
"Mirai." I interrupted, "Mirai Tohsaka, president of the student council. Nice to meet you, Mr. Issei Ryuudou. I've heard about you."
"Oh, I see." he said.
"Oh, I apologize." said the staff member, "It seems I need to get back to the office. We'll continue this afterwards."
"Yes, I understand." said Mr. Ryuudou.
They got out of their seats and shook hands, before the staff member said, "We look forward to having you for a while, Mr. Ryuudou."
"Thank you." said Mr. Ryuudou, "Though it'll only be for a short while, I look forward to it, as well."
The staff member nodded with a smile before he packed up his things and left with the teacher with him, leaving me and Mr. Ryuudou in the office.
"So, Tohsaka, was it?" he began, "You…wouldn't happen to be related to someone named Rin Tohsaka, would you?"
I gave out an amused smile. Oh, this was going to be fun!
"Why, yes." I said, "I'm her daughter."
He looked at me dumbfounded before he made a shocked expression and shouted, "WHAT?!"
I chuckled a bit and said, "Is it that surprising?"
"W-W-Well, yes." He stammered as he tried to fix his glasses in place, "I…I, uh…w-w-well, I…I-I never thought that…Tohsaka of all people…would have a legitimate child…"
Oh, that look on his face. He is amusing to mess with.
"Oh?" I smiled mischievously, "Do you want to know how it happened?"
"Huh?" he said, confused.
"About how I became her daughter." I said.
"W-Well…yes." he said.
Oh, I am so going to have fun messing with him!
"Well," I began, "It all started…when my mother was having se-"
Suddenly, he screamed from what I was about to tell him about me before he shouted, "NO, STOP! Never mind! I DON'T want to hear it!"
"But you said you do~" I teasingly said.
"Well, I changed my mind!" he shouted, "And don't you dare try to go any further with that story!"
I wanted this to last, but, oh well.
"Yes, sir." I teasingly said.
"Jeez, you two are so alike…" he muttered, as he went to go sit at his desk.
"Well, I should be going now." I said.
"Oh, hold on." he said, making me stop at the door.
"Yes, Mr. Ryuudou?" I said, giving him only a quarter of my face.
"I heard from the staff member about what happened the other day." he said, "I…honestly don't know how you managed to figure out what had happened and what was going to occur, nor do I know what you did to get rid of him so easily, and clearly, I don't want to know. However, I do want to ask, do you know why Shichirou Hashimoto acted the way he did?"
I remained silent for a moment, before I answered, "No, sir. I'm afraid I do not."
"I see." he said, "Well, alright then. You may leave."
I nodded before I opened the door and left the office. My companions were outside patiently waiting for me. Before we decided to head to the council's office, I used my Mystic Eyes to predict something, before I told my companions, "Step aside." And they did so. The reason being, was because someone, specifically a girl, was running in the hallway, so we stepped aside to let her run pass us.
"Hey, Hiiragi!" we heard.
We turned to see a boy, the same boy from the other day, trying to catch up to his friend.
"Wait, hold on!" he said, running after her.
But then, as we moved up in front of him, he accidentally bumped into one of us and fell back. We just stood there unfazed.
"Ow…" he groaned before he looked up and noticed us and said, "O-Oh! Um…s-sorry! I uh…wasn't paying attention."
"It's okay." said Sayaka, as she brought out her hand, "Just watch where you're going next time."
He took Sayaka's hand as she helped him up and said to us, "Uh…thanks. Uh…sorry, I haven't seen you girls before. Are you…new or something?"
"We're from the student council, actually." I said, as my companions stepped aside to allow him to see me, and I gave him a smile.
He looked at me for a moment, then at my companions, and then back at me, before he realized who I am and said, "Oh! So, you must be President Tohsaka! Sorry, I didn't even realize. So, anyway, uh…my name is-"
"Yuzuru Shindou." Aimi interrupted, "Age 17, 2nd year of Homurahara Academy, 5'5" tall, transferred here from Misaki Town, and loves to help out various people, including both students and teachers alike."
The boy looked at Aimi dumbfounded, much to my hidden amusement, and began to ask, "Uh…h-how…did you-?"
"I am very well informed." Aimi smiled.
"Oh." said Yuzuru, "Uh…okay. Well, anyway, it's nice to meet you. I'm honored to meet you, President Tohsaka."
"Well, I'm honored that you know who I am." I said, "Nonetheless, allow me to introduce myself. I am Mirai Tohsaka, president of the student council, and I am a 3rd year student of Homurahara Academy. And these three with me are my companions, and like you, they are 2nd years. Sayaka Tsukuda, vice-president of the student council and bodyguard. Hiroko Ishikawa, my bodyguard along with Sayaka. And you've already met Aimi Shimizu, my maid."
With each introduction of my companions, they each gave him their own gestures of greetings: Sayaka saluted with a smile and a wink, Hiroko nodding to him, and Aimi simply bowed to him.
"Nice to meet all of you." he bowed to them.
"Now, Yuzuru, was it?" I said, "I believe you were involved with what had happened the other day."
"Huh?" said Yuzuru, before he realized what I was talking about, "Oh! Uh…yeah. That's right."
"Yes, I thought so." I said, "How're your injuries? Considering that you're still here, I believe that full of rest got you all better again."
"Uh…yeah." said Yuzuru, "All better."
"Good to know." I nodded, "Now, as much as I'd like to continue having some discussions with you, I believe that you should get going. Your friend must be at the front gate by now."
"Huh?" he said, before he suddenly realized, "Oh, crap! Hiiragi! That's right, I almost forgot!"
"You should get going now." I said, "If you hurry, you might be on time to go get what you're looking for."
"Ah, right." said Yuzuru, before he bowed to us, "Uh…sorry for wasting your time. I gotta go now. Uh…bye."
We stepped aside to let him leave before we greeted him farewell.
"Now then," I said, "Shall we get going?"
"Of course, Ojou-sama." they bowed to me.
I nodded, and we began to leave to go to the student council's office. Sayaka moved up to me before she whispered and asked me, "Lady Mirai, about that boy…what about him? What do we do if he becomes involved? What if bringing him to the mage world becomes a mistake?"
"Not to worry, Sayaka." I whispered back, "It won't be. I can already tell the future, of what might be in store for him."
Sayaka bowed to me before she moved back behind me to the others, and we continued walking to the student council's office.
After school was over, everyone began to leave to walk home. We left the school last, and we began to walk on our way home. Once we arrived home, we saw a delivery box standing in front of our home door. It's here. Sayaka opened the gates before she closed it, Aimi picked up the delivery box, and Hiroko opened the door to let us in before checking if anyone is watching, making sure the coast was clear, and closed the door. We then went downstairs to our basement, where our summoning circle was set and prepared for us. Aimi then placed the delivery box on the table before taking out a boxcutter and began to cut open it. Once she was done, she then opened it to reveal what was inside it. Inside the delivery box…was a black box.
"So, is this the relic perfect for a catalyst?" I asked.
"Yes, my lady." said Hiroko, "Though we do not know what it truly is, nor do we know if it has any purposes. However, we do know that the name of this relic is called "The Origin Box". Likely, it is possible that whoever you summon with this box will be a powerful Servant. Quite possibly a Saber, if you're lucky."
"Well, let's hope it does." said Sayaka, "Because we don't want our lady to end up losing the fight."
"She won't." said Hiroko, "She has been trained for this moment. And we have been trained to protect her in order for her to win. Surely, you're aware of that."
"Yeah, I am." said Sayaka.
"It doesn't matter which Servant-Class I summon." I said, "As long as the Servant can be useful in battle, I have no reason to care about such matter, and as long as the Servant is obedient enough to obey me."
"But of course." Hiroko bowed.
"As you wish, Mirai Ojou-sama." Aimi bowed.
"We gratefully respect that." Sayaka bowed.
"And besides," I said, "If I used my Mystic Eyes to figure out what kind of Servant I would summon, that'd only spoil things, so where would the fun be in that? I'd rather not use my powers to spoil anything and ruin the surprise."
"Of course, milady." Hiroko nodded before the other two nodded as well.
"Good." I said before I looked at the black box, "Now then, let us begin the ritual. Let's see what kind of Servant you summon, Origin Box."
We placed the Origin Box onto the stone counter behind the summoning circle, before I stood in front of the summoning circle looking in front at where my catalyst is. Then, I brought out gemstones that I channeled mana into from my pocket. On the backside of my right hand, there were already three Command Seals on it, representing me as a Master. My Command Seal represented the Tohsaka families' lineage. I looked at it for a moment, thinking to myself.
"Can I truly grasp it?" I thought before I looked at the summoning circle again, with the catalyst still standing on the counter. I then nodded with pure confidence and thought, "Yes. I can do this. Now, here goes."
I stood straight with determination. Then, I raised up my hand with the Command Seals on it, holding onto the gemstones, before they began to melt into magical liquid. With the drops that they began to make, I then began my chant to summon the Servant:
"For the elements, silver and iron.
For the foundation, stone and the Archduke of Pacts.
And, for my great master, Schweinorg.
Close the four gates.
Come forth from the Crown, and follow the forked road leading to the Kingdom.
Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill.
Repeat five times. But when each is filled, destroy it. Set."
With every drop of magical liquid coming down to the summoning circle, the circle then began to absorb the liquid and began to glow with each droplet made. Then, when I finish with the last chant, the summoning circle then began to glow brightly out of pure white light. With the circle glowing, the Magic Circuit in my body began to vibrate to the glowing summoning circle. Then, as the circle continues to glow, I then began another chant of the summoning:
"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.
I hereby swear, that I shall be all the good in the world.
That I shall defeat all evil in the world."
With the chants that I made, my arm began to vibrate even more and much stronger than before, and the summoning circle began to glow even brighter as a force of the wind was coming out of nowhere, forcing my companions to cover their faces from the strong gust and from the bright light, while I remained where I was and continued with the summoning with a determined look on my face and then shouted out the final chant:
"Seventh heaven, clad in the great words of power, come forth from the circle of binding, thou Guardian of Scales!"
With the final chant being said, the light glowing within the summoning circle shined became even brighter than before, brightening the room in pure white light and forcing all of us to cover our eyes, both from the gust of wind and the shining bright light. Then, after the light cleared out, and our eyes became readjusted, we looked to see the Servant that I had summoned, and standing before us…was indeed a Servant, a man to be specific.
This Servant had a red cloak that serves as a hood and a cape; under the hood, his face is covered in bandages. On his left shoulder, he wears a shoulder plate that appeared to be made of scrap metal. He also wears what appears to be black spandex with silver straps on his arms and legs, and also wearing a silver plate of metal chest armor, two silver metal boots with two straps on each of them, and a silver belt that holds his red waist cape and a holster with his gun on his left waist. Though his face was covered in bandages, I could already tell he was looking at us, specifically me.
"So, you're the one who summoned me." he said, "Well, I didn't expect to be summoned by someone quite a young Master…or perhaps I was the one who draw out the shortest straw."
"And you are?" I asked, letting the insult slide, "Whoever might you be, you are my Servant, yes?"
"And am I to presume that you are the one who is my Master?" the mysterious Servant asked back.
I smiled and said, "Why of course. I am present when you've emerged from the summoning, I am merely asking to clarify. You are my Servant, correct? Just mine, and nobody else's. You should know that a Master-Servant relationship should be cleared out, right off the bat."
He nodded and said, "Yes, I completely agree with you. And just like you, I am merely asking to clarify. Tell me, where exactly is the evidence that you are my Master and not some fake?"
I smiled again as I showed him my Command Seals and said, "This right here. This is all the proof that you need to know that I am your Master."
Though his face was still covered in bandages, I could already tell that he was somewhat shocked about what I was showing him. He remained quiet for a moment before he sighed and said, "So it would seem…however, that is not something that I wish to see. What I wish to see is someone worthy of my loyalty, someone who I see is worth fighting with."
Hearing this shocked my companions behind me, as Sayaka then spoke up and said, "Excuse me?! Are you saying our lady isn't good enough for you, buddy?!"
The mysterious Servant looked at Sayaka and said, "Unfortunately, I am unsatisfied with the fact that this "lady" of yours of a little girl is my Master. I will, however, acknowledge her as my Master, only on one condition: in the war to come, I will not obey her commands, and I will decide how I battle." He then looked back at me and asked, "You have no objections, do you, little miss?"
I merely stood there looking at him, but I did not express any emotions to him. Because I wasn't surprised that this Servant would be acting this way. In fact, I was actually already well prepared for this to happen, for how Servants were to behave towards their Masters when they meet and what Masters must and mustn't do. The others, however, though I wasn't looking at them, I could already tell that they were not pleased with what this Servant was proposing.
"I see." I said, emotionlessly, "So, you would begrudgingly acknowledge me as your Master, yet refuse to listen to my tactical opinions. Why is that? You are my Servant, are you not?"
"Yes." said the Servant, "But it is in form only. So, I will obey you in form only, and I will be calling on my own shots. And until this Holy Grail War comes to an end, I would suggest that you and your friends find a safe haven down at some cellar. Do so, even novices such as you little girls should be able to stay alive."
I remained emotionless as a shadow cast over my eyes as I looked down. Behind me, I could hear my companions growling or groaning in sheer anger. They were obviously not pleased to hear what this Servant was saying to me, taking what he was saying to me as insults.
"Oh?" said the mysterious Servant, "Have I made you angry, or have I made you upset that your spirit is broken? Well, either way, it doesn't matter to me. After all, I was summoned here to win a great victory for my Master. My victory will be your victory, and I will pass on any fruits of battle to you." He looked at my angered companions and said to them, "And of course, you three, as well." He then looked back at me and continued, "I'm sure that it is acceptable? So, leave everything to me and see to your own safety well beings. Because I don't expect…anything from you."
Hearing that last part angered my companions even further, as they then draw out their weapons, preparing to attack.
"Why you!" Sayaka angrily said.
"How dare you insult our lady!" Hiroko angrily yelled.
"You have gone too far!" Aimi angrily said.
But then, I raised my arm up to the side, signaling them to halt their assault on the Servant, then signaled them to stand down, and they reluctantly did so. The mysterious Servant then looked at me curiously, wondering what I was about to do or say.
"I see." I said, emotionlessly, "How very sad…" Before I smirked and looked up at him with confidence, saying proudly, "Is what I'd like to say."
"Hmm?" he said, confused.
"However," I said, as I raised my hand up with a Command Seals, "I already came well prepared for this."
Seeing what I was about to do shocked him, as he then said, "W-Wait, you wouldn't…!"
"You wish to know who is your Master," I said, readying my Command Seals, "Then I will gladly show you who is your Master." I then began to chant in German, "Anfang (Start)."
"Wha-no!" said the Servant, somewhat afraid, "Wait!"
"Sorry." I said, "But you are becoming a disgraceful ingrate, and ingrates need to be taught a lesson." I then continued chanting, "Vertrag (Contract)….Ein neuer Nagel (A new Nail)…Ein neues Gesetz (A new Law)… Ein neues Gesetz (A new Law)… Ein neues Verbrechen (A new Crime)!"
"What're you doing?!" he shouted, "Are you out of your mind?! You'd use a Command Seal on something like this?!"
"Now!" I announced, as my Command Seals began to glow bright red, "In the name of Mirai Tohsaka, and by the power of my Command Seal!"
"Wait!" he shouted, "Stop!"
"I order you," I announced, showing him my glowing Command Seals, "To obey me in pure absolution! Do everything as I say!"
Once I made a command, a powerful force of the wave of the wind blew out, as the red aura appeared and blew out from my hand, effecting only the Servant as he felt the powerful compulsion of it, nearly bringing him to his knees. Once the command was done, a part of my three seals began to vanish, leaving me with only now two Command Seals.
Infuriated at what I did, the Servant shouted, "Augh, are you really that stupid?! I CANNOT BELIEVE that you would use a Command Seal on THAT!"
I merely smiled and said, "Well, now that that has been done, why don't we take this elsewhere? Come with us."
We entered my grandfather's study room, and I was sitting on the couch as Sayaka and Hiroko were sitting on the couch opposite to me while Aimi remained standing next to me as she was serving tea. Meanwhile, the mysterious Servant was looking around the room for a moment, before he turned to us and said to me, "Well, Master, I believe I have a clear idea of who you are. But just to be sure, you do realize what Command Seals are and how precious they are, do you?"
My companions grumbled at him from what he was asking, annoyed by the fact that he was as if he is treating me like a child.
"What's that superior tone you're making?" Sayaka silently grumbled and cursed, "Absolute obedience to what she says, my ass."
"At ease, Sayaka." I said, calmly, "He's merely asking me just to confirm." I then stood up from my seat to turn to the Servant and said to him, "Of course. They symbolize our power to compel our Servants up to three times. Command Seals compel a Servant to perform a specific action. For example, a Servant such as you are incapable of teleporting from this place, however, if I order via the Command Seal, it would use both our mana to make the teleportation very possible. The three seals are the crystallization of high magic, overcoming the limits of flesh and blood. Am I correct?"
The Servant nodded and said, "Yes, that is correct. Although, in this case, I suppose it's been reduced to two now."
"I am fully aware of that, and what you're asking me." I said, "Even with one missing, I can still use two. And besides, using the first seal on you worked, did it not? I have no reason to be concerned, for I didn't waste it, no?"
The mysterious Servant approached us and said, "Well, I'll admit, I've miscalculated a bit. However, with vaguely worded orders, the Command Seals are less effective, which is exactly what happened to your order earlier. Not even a hundred Command Seals could cause true absolute obedience in all words and actions."
Hearing what he said shocked us a bit, which made Sayaka ask, "So then…you're saying that the Command Seal that our lady used on you was actually pointless?"
"Hmm." he said, thinking for a moment before he said, "Well, yes, normally, that would be the case."
"I see." I said, slightly disappointed.
"However," he said, getting our attention again, "It would seem that your skill as a mage is very extraordinary."
"Oh?" I said, surprised.
"Are you trying to flatter our lady?" said Hiroko.
The Servant chuckled a bit before he said, "No, not at all. In fact, that's what I meant when I said I miscalculated. Since her order earlier, I felt a powerful compulsion to obey her. Not entirely enough for me to obey her completely, but powerful enough to ensure that I would not betray her. Honestly, I find it quite very annoying."
Me and my companions were suddenly taken by surprise from what we were hearing from him, even to the point that Sayaka and Hiroko got up from their seats and we turned to him.
"Wait." said Aimi, "Then, are you saying…?"
"Yes, I am." he said to Aimi before he turned to me and asked, "Mirai Tohsaka, was it?"
I nodded out of confirmation, and he said, "Then, I take back what I had said to you, Mirai, my Master. You may be young in years, but you are truly an outstanding mage. I made a complete mistake looking down on you as just a helpless child, and trying to keep you from fighting when in actuality, you are cunning and have the smarts of knowing what to do." He placed his right hand on his chest before he bowed to me and said, "I apologize to you for that." He then turned to my companions and said, "And you three, as well. Despite your youthful age, I can tell that you three are talented fighters who have been well trained, and I made a mistake in looking down on you three as I did to your lady."
My companions came over to my side as Sayaka then asked for me, "Then, you acknowledge Lady Mirai as your Master even without her using a Command Seal?"
"Of course." said the Servant, "I had just been summoned and was not fully acclimated. But now, we are fully connected. As a powerful mage, you can feel the bond between us through our pact."
I placed my hand on my chest and closed my eyes, concentrating on the inside. And yes, as the Servant said, I could already feel the connection with him, flowing within my body like water streaming. Yes. This was our pact. The pact between Master and Servant.
"Yes, that's right." I said as I opened my eyes to look at the Servant, "The Servants are summoned by the Holy Grail. However, it is not the Grail itself that anchors them to this world."
"Yes." said the Servant, "A Master's power does. As you know, Servants need mana from their Masters to remain in this world, and my mana feed on you is more than satisfactory. Yes…there's no doubt, that you are a first-rate mage."
Hearing him say those words made me smile and say, "Well, I am quite flattered by you."
Everyone else nodded in agreement, before Sayaka suddenly asked, "Wait, hold on a second. You're…not a Saber?"
"Hmm?" we all looked at him curiously.
The mysterious Servant sighed and said, "Sorry. I hate to break it to you, but…" he pulls something out, revealing in his hand what appears to be a combat knife, and said, "The only weapon I have is this." Then he pointed at his gun in his holster and added, "And this gun."
"I see." I said, "Then if I had to guess, that would make you an Assassin Class Servant."
"Correct." said the Servant, now called Assassin.
"I see." I said. I then heard groans of disappointment from my companions. It would seem that they were not satisfied with the Servant Class that I have obtained.
"Well, dammit, we blew it all!" Sayaka grumbled.
"Agreed!" said Hiroko, angrily and disappointingly, "We've spent all of our time getting a perfect relic for our lady to use as a catalyst for summoning, and THIS is the kind of Servant we get from that damn box?! And it's in the weakest class of all thing! Well, "The Origin Box" my ass! That damn thing didn't even summon anything ancient but this one! It's completely useless!"
"Yes." said Aimi, "It is quite disappointing."
"Well, too bad for you kids." said Assassin, "I'm not the Saber, nor am I an ancient hero you're looking for."
My companions then sighed disappointingly before turning to me and bowed as they said apologetically, "We're very sorry, Ojou-sama."
I smiled at them and said, "No, you have no need to apologize. None of you are completely to blame. True, it was a painful blunder to be sure, but all was not in vain."
They looked at me as I continued, "As I've said before, it doesn't matter which Servant-Class I summon, much less do I care that I summoned a weak Servant Class and not a Saber. As long as the Servant can be useful in battle, I have no reason to care about such matter, and as long as the Servant is obedient enough to obey me."
They looked at me with surprised looks for a moment, before they bowed to me and said, "As you wish, Mirai Ojou-sama."
"Good." I said before I turned to Assassin, "You, too, have no objection to that, do you?"
Assassin crossed his arms and nodded as he said, "No, not at all, Master. If you believe my skills can be of use to you, then I'm fine with it."
"Good." I nodded.
"I will, however, make you girls rue those words." said Assassin, "You can apologize all you want, because I won't forgive any of you."
We looked at him confused for a moment before we smiled at him.
"Well, if that is what you wish, then see to it that we regret our words, Assassin." I said.
"When it does happen, we'll apologize as much as you want." said Sayaka.
"We'll apologize, even if it is the last thing we do." said Hiroko.
"Yes, and we will keep apologizing until you forgive us." said Aimi.
Though we could not see his face because of the bandages and the hood, I could tell he was smiling under it. He nodded as he looked at us and said, "Right. Just don't forget, Master. And you three, as well."
One by one, we nodded to him and remained where we were as the moonlight shined down above us through our window until it was time for us to go to bed.
As we walked down the corridors before we went down to the stairs, one thought suddenly came to me.
"Oh, yes, I almost forgot." I said, as I turned to Assassin, "Tell me, what Heroic Spirit are you?"
When I asked that, my companions all turned to Assassin and looked at him curiously, waiting for him to answer. However, as we waited for him to answer, he…just remained silent, for a long period of time. We looked at each other confused before we turned back to Assassin and I asked, "What's wrong, Assassin?"
Assassin remained silent and said nothing for a moment, before he finally said, "I'm…afraid that I can't give you any information about who I really am…for the simple reason, that even I myself don't know."
Hearing what he said made us shocked as our eyes widened and we all shouted, "What?!"
"Seriously?!" Sayaka yelled, "Are you messing with us?! I can't believe you!"
"What does that mean?!" Hiroko shouted, "Do you mean to tell us you're a Heroic Spirit, but you don't even know who you are?!"
"I do not mean to insult you or any of your friends, Master." said Assassin, "But despite the perfect summoning that you performed, my memories are a complete jumble, and my identity is completely hazy. Well, it's not like those are important details, so there's nothing to be concerned about."
"Goddammit!" Sayaka grumbled before she shouted, "Those are damn important details, Assassin! If our lady doesn't know who you are or what kind of Heroic Spirit you are, then we have no idea how powerful you are!"
"That's right!" said Aimi, "How is our lady supposed to form a strategy if she doesn't know her partner's strength and capabilities?!"
"That's enough." I said, "It doesn't matter."
They turned to me and looked at me concerned.
"But, Ojou-sama…" said Sayaka, worriedly.
"It's alright." I said, "Besides, it won't change the fact that no one else knows who he is either. In fact, I find that to be a perfect way to be used as a strategy. If no one else knows who Assassin truly is, then that will be used to our advantage."
They looked at me surprised at what I was suggesting, before Assassin spoke up and said, "My Master is right. Even if you girls know who I am, nobody outside of our group does. Putting me in an unknown, then that could help you win in the Holy Grail War."
"Yes." I said, "So for the time being, we shall overlook the issue about who Assassin truly is and continue our task at hand. Is that clear?"
They all thought for a moment, before they said, "Yes, Ojou-sama."
"Good." I nodded, "For now, we shall get some rest. We will make time to prepare in the morning."
They nodded and bowed before they began to disperse and leave to their rooms. I then looked at Assassin and said, "We will be getting some sleep for the night. You may leave, Assassin."
Assassin bowed to me before he turned into blue mana and vanished into spiritual form. I then left to go to my room to sleep.
I finished changing into my pajamas and went to my bed to sleep. I looked at the Command Seals on my right hand. Yes. Finally, it was almost time. There was only one more Servant left before the Holy Grail War can truly begin. And I already know who will take that spot to be the Master of Saber. For now, I must rest and wait for that day to come. I closed my eyes and let myself fall to slumber before I finally began to fall asleep.
Yes. Soon, it will all begin…
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