Kiritsugu died on that night, in that courtyard, and as much love as Shirou had for the man, he didn't visit his grave behind Ryuudou Temple often. His death frustrated Shirou, he cried and shouted until his throat was raw that night as the man who had come to be his dad lay lifeless on the ground, a look of peace on his face. He fell into depression for awhile as he wallowed in his loneliness, sure he had Taiga, his newly christened guardian, but she didn't understand him the way Kiritsugu did, nor could he talk to her about his dreams. He felt jealousy again for
Kiritsugu, he got to escape his demons by simply checking out, while Shirou was left to fend them off by himself. The burning flesh, the screams stretched out among a mile of torched corpses, the intermittent flashbacks that occurred even in his waking moments. Yes, he was alone, just him and the fire.
Shirou's contempt for his father didn't dissuade him from his promise though, he knew he had a knack for helping people, and besides it helped fill the void that was left by Kiritsugu. When Shirou finally enrolled in school, he was older than his classmates and a little behind the curb on account of his mage training. He didn't really enjoy the company of others for awhile, being noticeably prickly and prone to mood swings, which perplexed the multitude of individuals who he helped diligently without ever asking for payment. It wasn't until middle school that he met the first person who he would consider a friend, Shirou was doing his normal menial tasks when a blue haired boy approached him. The boy ridiculed him for doing such things but never left, instead hanging around with him until Shirou was finished.
"You may be an idiot, but you sure do good work, at least!" The boy laughed. "My name is Shinji Matou."
"I still don't care, Shinji Matou. Who has blue hair? You're either a part time clown or a fashionista, I have no use for either, please leave me alone." Shirou retorted.
"I like you Emiya."
It was like that that Shirou finally started coming back out of the house, Shinji would insist that Shirou come over until he'd give in. Shinji introduced him to archery, which Shirou took with much vigor, he was actually pretty good at it, so much so that he would join the archery club with Shinji. That all changed when Shirou suffered an injury while training, Shinji insisted that Shirou come over so he could treat him, and as much as Shirou wanted to just drink his always improving healing conconctions, it was more believable if he let the injury heal naturally, so he agreed. At this time, Shirou became properly introduced to Shinji's little sister Sakura, he had noticed her while he practiced and at archery club, but it wasn't until she offered to help him during his injury that they became close. She was more than happy to help him around the house in chores that he couldn't do, she reminded him a lot of himself, and also nothing at all. She was quiet and gentle, and while Shirou had opened himself up considerably since Kiritsugu passed, he was still more than a little grouchy. The more time he spent with her however, the softer his heart became. His friendship with Sakura came at the expense of his with her brother though, he seemed to disapprove of it and their friendship began to estrange until he eventually drove Shirou from the archery club. Shirou didn't blame him, Shinji didn't have a lot of friends, if any, and he could relate all too well.
~Time Skip~
Fire raged around him, the sound was deafening, eventually he crumbled to ash, no more recognizable than the scorched earth.
Shirou lay asleep in his workshop, his head underneath his potion table. He had really taken into his art in the past couple of years and while he was still only just at an intermediate level, he had built himself a respectable set up. He managed to pass it off to those who walked in on him as "pharmaceuticals" that he was experimenting with, which after a long time of lying became his scapegoat to one day mass produce it for the general population, his own little miracle cure, he was sure Kiritsugu would be proud. He also kept a few potions that would replenish his mana, good for whenever he wanted to push himself in his Reinforcement training. The Crest afforded to him by Kiritsugu proved to be a boon in his development, giving him a boost in mana along with a few Time Control abilities that were a great novelty if someone ever picked a fight with him.
-going to catch a cold out here."
He knew that voice, it was Sakura. Shirou fully awoke to find his purple-haired friend standing over him, a warm smile on her face.
"I'm sorry but it's time to get up. I hope you slept well last night."
He raised his head from the cold ground, shaking the images of his nightmare away, "Shit I slept in again. Oh, excuse my language Sakura but I've still got to do the morning chores."
Sakura waved a hand to dismiss him, "Don't you worry about the chores, this place is a mess and you know what Miss Fujimura will say if she sees it. So how about you clean here, get some food in you and don't worry too much, okay?"
"What would I do without you Sakura?"
She was on her way out the door before turning back, "At the moment, die of pneumonia or starve." Like that, she was gone and he was alone again.
Huh, didn't Sakura was into dark humour, learn something new about that girl everyday, he thought.
When he finally got done with his normal morning routine and got dressed he joined Sakura in the dining area, where Taiga sat seemingly engrossed in her newspaper. Sakura came from the kitchen with the day's breakfast, which Shirou readily scarfed down. It was only after he had his fourth mouthful that he felt the growing heat in the back of his throat, that heat began to scorch the entirety of his mouth, he could just barely hear Taiga laughing over the sound of his own coughing.
"Bwahaahhaha, consider that payback for yesterday."
He began to protest, but he knew she wouldn't be listening as she scarfed down her own food. "I swear I'll get you back, 25 and you act like my little sister."
"Well this sister has to get to class, there are a stack of paper to grade with my name on them, plotting my revenge is time consuming work." She was out the door and down the street before they could say goodbye, there was no evidence of her being there except dirty dishes and the trail of dust left behind from her motor scooter.
"I swear that woman is a human tornado," Shirou said to Sakura as he watched the TV, apparently a rash of hypoxia broke out in an office building which they were chalking up to a gas leak. "Another gas leak…...it's getting dangerous out there.
Good thing you're always on top of the gas valve."
Sakura walked up beside him, smile confidently, something he wished she did more often, "You're and Miss Fujimura's safety is of my top priority, your safety is never in doubt while I'm around."
Eventually, they too left the house to go to school, they walked together until it was time for them to go their separate ways, they stopped in front of the gates to the school. Shirou turned to his friend, "Kick some ass for me at practice ok?"
"How about you come and see just how much ass I'll kick, I'd even have some extra motivation?" Sakura looked up at him expectantly.
"I'm sorry….but I have a to go to the student council office." He replied sheepishly.
Sakura looked crestfallen, "Oh, ok, I understand, forget I even said anything. I should have something really good planned for dinner, ok? I should get going….." She was heading away from him before he could even think of a proper apology.
Shirou spent his time in the student council office chatting with his friend Issei about the goings on about the school, the stresses of his friend's presidency, and of course, the daily equipment maintenance that he offered to whatever was broken that day. Today, it was a heater, an easy enough fix once he got Issei to leave so that he could use his "tracing" magic to assess the damage. On his way out to show the newly repaired heater, he noticed that Issei was talking to Rin Tohsaka.
Huh, way out of your league my man, but I respect it. You've got bigger balls than I do.
When he went to catch a peek of her, he felt a pain in his eyes, and for a second, all he could see was static, like a channel with no signal. When he regained focus, she was already down the hall.
"Didn't think you came to school this early Tohsaka." It was just something that popped into his head, but it seemed to gain a sliver of her attention, but not enough for a response as she never broke stride, only looking back at him for a moment.
"Hello, Emiya." Shirou turned to see that Shinji was now standing next to him.
"How's it going Shinji, if you're here to ask for archery lessons, you couldn't afford me, then there's the matter of your lack of talent."
"Pssh, like I would need anything from you." Shinji strode by him, Shirou could almost feel the cockiness oozing off of him.
Issei walked until he stood where Shinji once was, "The guy has some nerve, considering how he got you kicked out of the archery club, that guy is a born again prolapsed anus."
"He…...has his reasons for the way he is, besides, you get used it, unfortunately." The school day, and the next few days, went by just about the same as that day. He went to school, fixed things, got under Shinji's skin, and receive his daily praise for keeping the various club's equipment in pristine condition. It wasn't until the fourth day that things really got interesting, to start he discovered a bruise on his hand, which happened to give him that same static feeling when he looked at it, the same as when he was around Tohsaka, so he figured to just let it be and try not to notice it too much. It was easier said than done, but he managed to go the entire school day without even peeking at it. He kept himself busy, filling his entire day fixing things until the sun was set and the moon was high in the sky. It was then that he decided to make his way home, while he was walking down the road to his house, Shirou could make out the sound of giggling ahead. At the top of the street stood a little girl, she couldn't have been older than 16, it made him wonder why she was out by herself.
As he came across her he decided to greet her, in case she needed help, "Hi, nice night tonight isn't it?"
She only smiled as they walked by each other, but she did speak after she was out of his line of sight, "Wonderful night, shame you won't see many more."
He turned to face her, "Excuse me?" But she was gone, as if she was never there to begin with.
Ghost? Or am I just crazy? He shrugged his shoulders, more to make it seem like he was letting his guard down, but he was definitely on high alert. Could be a mge, a young one, but one nonetheless. The static came back this time, greater than before but only for a split second, Shirou sagely decided to head home before he encountered more weirdness.
The next morning, a new issue rose to his attention, the bruise on Sakura's arm, which he was now on his way up the stairs in the school to follow up on.
"Shinji!" He ran into his 'friend' along with two of his, what Shirou could only guess were, fellow archery club members.
"Shirou!" He greeted back.
"You wouldn't happen to have, oh I don't know….hit Sakura recently have you?"
Shinji chuckled, "Oh you know it."
"What the hell is wrong with you!" Shirou exploded.
"For a second, I thought we were having a moment, no I didn't 'hit' Sakura." Shinji replied, looking slightly disappointed. "Oh, by the way, the dojo is looking a bit dusty, would you be a friend and tidy it up for me? Please, I knew you would, you're always so good to me, I don't deserve a friend like you." He said the last sentence as he walked away, with one of the girls apologizing for his behavior, he's glad somebody did.
Wait, the hell kind of distinction did Shinji just make? Another thing I'll have to follow up on.
It took quite a while to clean the dojo and all its equipment, but in the end the nostalgia and the self satisfaction of a clean dojo left him content. He was in the midst of remembering the fond times he spent here when he heard a noise coming from outside, it almost sounded like metal clanging against itself. He could sparks of blue and flashes of red from the window amongst a cloud of kicked up dust that covered the area. When he finally made it outside he could make out two men dressed in ridiculous costumes, if they weren't moving at inhuman speed and colliding with enough force that he could feel the force of their impact from his position yards away, he would've cracked a joke for sure, but these guys were no joke. The blue haired man dressed in blue spandex was wielding a spear that glowed with a red aura, and the man opposing him-
The static was back, the instant he looked at him, and it was in force, it was all he could see or hear, and his head felt like it was split wide open. The pain was so fierce that he doubled over and vomited right there on the concrete, making more than enough noise to draw attention.
"Who's there!" The blue spearman yelled in his direction.
"Shit!" He was off and running, Shirou felt his legs exploding, but he kept at it, up the stair and through the hallway, he wasn't sure where he was going, he just had to run. He could feel something behind him, close behind him, and he ducked on instinct, unfortunately that sent him off balance and tumbling to the floor. Shirou didn't waste any time getting back to his feet and turning to keep running, until he felt a sharp pain in his chest, there was blood spurting from where his heart was.
He realized too late that he had ran right into the red spear of his attacker, as he fell to the floor, choking on his own blood, he couldn't make out what he was saying all he could comprehend was the darkness surrounding him.
"This hour, this day!?" Shirou could just barely make out a voice.
"There still might be a way to save him."
Child, there is much for you to do. In your current state though, you will be no match for the trials and tribulations that you will face ahead. To better acclimate yourself to your new 'situation' your progression will be tracked and organized through an XP or Experience System. Discovering new things or completing certain tasks will award you XP, which can be used to unlock abilities and perks to help ensure your survival and enhance your capabilities. After you've acquired a certain amount of XP. you will be awarded skill points, these are your currency to gaining locked abilities. Some abilities will remain locked until a certain criteria has been met. You will need these abilities if expect to have any chance of survival. Do not fail Shirou Emiya, there is much work for you to do.
You have been revived!
Shirou jolted awake, he was still in the hallway, but with a now beating heart.
"What….happened?"
You have encountered a Servant! You have gained XP
Uhhhhh, alive but crazy? Shirou looked up at the floating yellow text, he poked at it but his hand went right through it, eventually it faded away.
The area is unsafe and not recommended for your skill level, it is wise to find safer locale to properly tend to your wounds
Shirou wasn't going to question the logic of the magic words, but that didn't quell the million other questions he had.
My situation? Makes enough sense I guess, considering I've just been brought back from the dead, doesn't explain why I need to fight people like that. I was happy just making potions for sick people. He spotted something on the ground, a heart-shaped pendant. Either from my attacker, or from my savior, either way, it's mine now. I'll consider it a parting gift.