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The following is a fan-based
FICTION
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Chapter 11: Siblings, Scars and Worms
Chloe von Einzbern hummed quietly as she led the small group of friends towards the Emiya household.
At this hour of the morning most of the city was already either to work or enjoying some early beginning of their own holidays. With a modest beach and a pleasant park all within Fuyuki, very few individuals preferred to go somewhere else during this season and that has been a particular tradition for more than a decade now.
The memories from Justeaze were useful, deadly so, as the tanned girl had some major insight over the happenings of this important place in the last two centuries and about the leylines present within the land.
It was helpful but also dreadful, some memories unpleasant to even think about because of their weight for the current present. That part of her that was influenced by those images looked at Shinji with curiosity, failing to grasp how someone like him came from Zolgen Makiri.
Brief fragments of a snappy Magus, sprouting about superiority and ambitions of ideal world peace. The latter bit was what allied the Einzberns to the Makiri/Matou as the chance of ending all conflict and bringing a unitary push for the Root resonated deep within the prime homunculus.
And yet it was all for nothing.
The mere proof that Justeaze's oldest ally had gone through a radically different path was unquestionable as the scars Shinji was hiding with his shirt carried a familiar energy trace.
Zouken was a monster, the young Matou had repeated this several times when she asked about his past, his answers curt and quick to the end as too painful to phrase around. She would be wrong in saying she understood the plight of the leading figure in this ragtag of misfits, but Kuro knew one little thing many would skip about Shinji.
In that smile, even when genuine, there were still hints of something terrible looming over his mind, a thought of the past that keeps him from fully enjoying the present, denying him a happy future after so much suffering.
Angry and helpless, there was little the young Demi-Servant could do about this issues, only be there and give her support when needed. It sounded little but… it was what she could do at the moment.
Suddenly Kuro stopped in her tracks, eyes blinking once and then twice as she caught sight of a distinct individual standing by the entrance. Her sight, enchanted by the Archer Card, gave her some better look over said figure and she dreaded what she was seeing.
Sakura Matou wasn't Shinji's little sister. While the boy might be convinced and determined to help this look-alike because of the stark resemblance with his younger sister, they both knew that this individual was far too dangerous to not be treated with caution.
She came from Miyu's Dimension, bearing a familiar undertone only those with a Servant Card would and… her body felt odd. The actions and the reactions to certain phenomena were genuine to a real human body, but her Circuits felt different from anyone else.
It was like… she was facing a puppet, not a true organic being. Like a homunculus but… emptier.
The female Matou noticed the approaching group and waved with a small smile, behind her a familiar redhead trying to help with some bags. Kuro decided to ignore the distracted Shirou, her eyes fixed on Sakura as the plum-haired girl gave off multiple emotions at once.
There was surprise, some fear and… genuine happiness?
It was a strange reaction from someone that was supposed to be their future enemy, but it was also even more confusing that this young woman decided to take a gamble in coming here, in enemy territory.
Shinji waved back, a simple smile on his face, and Artoria narrowed her eyes at the seemingly harmless girl. Gilgamesh didn't show any reaction to this development, merely walking closer to the young Matou.
Kuro glanced back and saw Luvia looking right at her, a questioning expression that she replied with a shrug. Without knowing what to do about this situation, the little blonde followed Kid Gil's example.
They finally closed up to the gates that led to the modest house and Shirou stared up from his task of sorting out the two bags. "Oh, Shinji-kun and others."
"Shirou-senpai, Sakura-senpai." The boy replied with a child-like voice, drawing a bigger smile from the carefree Emiya as he continued to try and fail in taking both heavy bags inside.
Meanwhile the plum-haired girl twitched at the way she was addressed, eyes widening as her smile turned uneasy at the turn of events. Yet there was something hiding that Chloe had some trouble in identifying and…
Why was she pleased by this?
"Good morning, Shinji-kun~!"
I groaned inwardly as I was scooped up by the swift Irisviel, my body instantly pressed on her modesty as I tried to keep my mind from wandering through a very dangerous road. My determination to avoid getting caught in some difficult-to-explain situations further improved by the individual behind the kind mother.
Kiritsugu Emiya was ripped, muscles and all, maybe slightly less than Kirei and he was showing some minor scars here and there in his chest. His glare, which promised utter pain at those who dared to touch inappropriately his wife, was a good deterrent for any poor soul ending up suffering my face.
Seriously why the few interactions with this version of the Emiya family generally ended up with me trying to wriggle away from some murder by paranoid husband?
The hug lasted little as I heard three other individuals approaching. Sella was for some reason hiding behind Leysritt while Illya looked quite normal at first sight.
"Oh, Shinji-kun?" I nodded and the Einzbern approached, glancing briefly towards Kuro and sighing as she got an approving nod from her. It was an odd situation between the two, some friction present here and there but not as much as before.
"I hope this has not been forceful from Mama-"
"I will be honest and say 'kind of'." She sighed at my reply and I still smiled. "Still, thank you for showing some consideration."
A little blush emerged and she smiled herself. "Y-You are welcome, Shinji-kun."
As I was about to continue to address the others, I felt a strong hand squeezing at my shoulder. I didn't need to stare up to recognize the familiar dread coming from the Magus Killer and gulped nervously as he started to speak.
"Shinji-san, a word in private if possible."
Irisviel seemed to be busy bothering Chloe with showing her some other pairs of swimwear for her to use, the maids were helping Shirou and Sakura with the bags while the rest of the group was moving to greet two annoyances approaching.
I might sound harsh about the two apprentices of this universe's Zelretch, but I did have my reason to be this petty around them, especially counting the fact they grew in the best dimension possible that was known.
Nodding slowly, I was quickly ushered in a particularly dark room, an office of sort and placed on the chair in front of Kiritsugu. The man had his stare narrowed on my small frame and he kept quiet for a while.
Then he spoke. "Shinji Matou, I've a request that I wish you could answer without hesitation or doubt."
I blinked at the sudden seriousness he was bringing in that situation, but I nodded nonetheless, waiting for him to ask.
"You have said that you know what happened if we went ahead with the Holy Grail War, how it would have ended up into."
There wasn't any question, only words working as pieces of a puzzle for my mind to form silently and quickly. I sighed. "You want to know if that would have worked-"
"No."
...What?
"Beg your pardon?"
He blinked and nodded. "I spent years thinking if the Grail could have truly achieved my dream of ending war all around the world and all the clues led to an unmistakable 'no'."
He leaned closer and his expression softened. "I… I want to know what I did in that War." There was a simple pause. "I want to know how far I went for that competition."
...Shit.
I might have been ready to deal with the usual pragmatic Kiritsugu as this one did resemble every single one version of his, but this query was unexpected. I mean, I could understand that he would want to know how he behaved in that conflict, but I have completely forgotten about this very Kiritsugu.
He didn't behave like he had as the Magus Killer, those days gone after years spent with a loving family around him. He was genuinely concerned because, within himself, he knew that he would have gone through some actions that he wouldn't condone now.
I sighed gravely and glanced behind at the only door of the room, being greeted by the familiar face that was Maya Hisau's, the assistant of the Emiya wearing a simple gray bikini. At least now I knew that she was alive in this timeline...
"Is this office soundproof?" I turned back to the man, giving me a curious stare. "And can she be trusted to not tell this to anyone else?"
Maya coughed. "I am going to preserve the secrets told there." She gave me the scariest emotionless look I had ever to face, worse compared to the maids back to the Castle. "Even the most sinful of them all."
I slowly nodded at that and started to speak with the worst detail of Kiritsugu's participation in the War.
"If you knew that Irisviel needs to die for the Grail to work, how would you deal with the guilt and remorse at committing such act?"
There was silence, the man's eyes closing in thought before sighing. "I would try to cut the connection."
"And you did, but it was all for naught." I stated clearly, ignoring the confusion rising on his face. "The Master of Assassin killed her, he broke her neck."
More silence but I could hear some shifting behind me. I mean, if Kiritsugu was supposed to be something like Fate's Batman, his way of 'cutting the connection' are pretty quick to understand and imagine.
"His name-"
"He is not going to bring harm in this dimension." My tone showed some confidence as I knew that Kotomine was passive nowadays about this behavior of his. "He has his own family to deal with."
He nodded thankfully. "What about… Illya and Shirou?"
"Acht kept the Boundary Fields up when you tried to approach the Castle, saying that you failed the contract and thus wouldn't be allowed to approach the 'new grail'." He flinched at the way I addressed his daughter but… this had to happen this way. "You found Shirou in Fuyuki, only survivor of the… Fire."
"Fire?" He was clueless of the event, as this dimension never experienced it.
"You ordered your Servant to deploy their Noble Phantasm to destroy the Grail." I explained quickly. "The corruption sparked a fire that destroyed a good part of the city, Shirou was the only survivor of the disaster because you gave him Avalon."
"Excalibur's scabbard?" He glanced on the side and I did notice a safe on the wall. "So I did summon him-"
"Her." I interrupted quickly.
He blinked. "What?"
"King Arthur was a woman." I continued without hesitation. "The young blonde, Artoria, is her 'Alter' version, a corrupted version of the original Saber."
His eyes widened. "A-And she is a Servant-"
"No. She has been… resurrected." I state with some minor doubt. What if the Emiya was going to take the following bit badly as I did resurrect a dead woman from a card.
"How-"
"Heroic Spirits only." I squirmed in my chair as I felt Maya now relatively close where I was. "I can't bring your… surrogate mother back."
He didn't react to the mentioning of Natalia, but I knew that I did come close to a beating from the man. His past was a sore subject and I was playing with fire there.
"Understood." He looked like he had swallowed a lemon but he managed some restrain at the woman being mentioned. "I'm sorry if-"
"Don't apologize, Kiritsugu-san." I muttered quickly. "Everyone would like to have that kind of power to… destroy that fear."
He nodded, a brief smile on his face before he returned his attention back at me. "You know, you shouldn't hide the scars."
I froze on my seat at the words and sighed. "I- I don't want to-"
"Are you proud of why you gained those, of the action that caused those to be dealt to you?"
I flinched, mind bringing me back to the very moment I received them.
I remember letting out some yells as Byakuya, my father, complied with Zouken's orders. It was the first few times when I tried to directly pull Sakura out of the pool of Crest Worms, ignoring the damage as to get her out of that horrible place.
Sakura blinked in surprise, pale and empty orbs of purple watering with some strangely familiar emotion. Tears fell but her mind couldn't compute what was happening within her, a nostalgic sensation that only renewed her sadness somewho.
Her head would bow down during the whole punishment as she didn't dare to look as her older brother paid for his kindness, but then she saw the daring smile on his face and… smiled herself.
"I… I did what was right, yes. But-"
I felt hands pulling my shirt up and removing it from my hold. Maya didn't show much in her face but I could easily spot some mischievous glint in her eyes. "Give it back!"
"Sadly this discussion is over, Shinji-kun." I turned back to Kiritsugu with a snarl and felt paling as I was graced with Killing Intent. "But if I am told that you did commit some lecherous deed with my wife AND my daughter; you better have the grave ready."
I nodded quickly and he smiled. "Good."
Thus I was suddenly thrown out of the office without my shirt and I heard a gasp. Looking up I groaned as I spotted Irisviel staring at my back and… at my scars.
Closing my eyes as my fate was sealed, I accepted the new glomping with some disinterest. I knew that this was merely the prelude for the madness of today's event…
AN
I think I will update in Sunday. Feeling like I have ignored this fic for a while and.. IT'S TIME TO RETURN ITS STRENGTH!
Also Fate Player Online got 750 Follows, yay!
P a treon . com (slash) socialistbukharin
REVIEW Q&A!
Maybe: Lots of pity, hugging and glomping.
Holix25: She is not a Servant, but the real deal. Thus Shinji doesn't have Command Seals and will not dream about her past.