Fate/Stay Night, Fate/Zero, Melty Blood and Tsukihime all belong to Typemoon and to the great minds of Kinoko Nasu, Takashi Takeuchi and Gen Urobuchi, among others inspired in their works. The elements taken from other series and games such as Prince of Persia, Majikoi, and Digimon all belong to their respective creators. This story is meant for entertainment and does not intend to earn any monetary reward. I highly recommend reading/watching the original source material (or playing the games) for supporting the people that invested their times in creating that which inspired me to write this.
Please be sure to leave respectful reviews to contribute to improving this work, even if they are critics.
REWRITING YOUR FATE: The Epic of Emiya Shirou.
-Reforge I: Rusted Sword-
And so, once more, he woke up.
Once more, he woke up after a sleep filled with nightmares.
Nightmares that felt so real, so real. As if he was reminiscing of some terrible past.
Indeed, he was.
For as his eyes got accustomed to the sunlight entering through the windows of his bedroom, and his mind and heart gazed at his surroundings, he remembered where he was.
'My room…. and yet, it isn't'.'
Always the early riser, the boy got out of his bed, careful to not awake the other occupant, and started his day.
First, some basic exercises to get himself properly awake. Nothing too strenuous, just enough to get himself into the proper mindset and to follow a tradition.
Later, he took care of his room and got his clothes ready for a bath, making sure to check there was nobody in there before going through.
Once he was done with his bath and properly dressed, the boy went to the kitchen and checked for others once again, this time to see if his mother was in the middle of preparing something. Seeing this was not the case, he started making breakfast for everyone in the apartment.
As he was finishing this task, he heard someone entering the living room.
"Seriously son, I don't understand how you have so much energy to get up before me, let alone cook for everyone in the house"- the woman said with fake annoyance – "but I'm not complaining about it. Do you need help with something in there?". As she was finished speaking, the boy stopped what he was doing and turned around to regard the newcomer.
Not too short but neither tall, with both her eyes and her hair colored in brown, the later tied in a simple pony tail. A face showing youth and energy, concern and expectation, all behind a small smile directed at him.
Even if he could perceive the little signs of strain that most would blame on sleep still clinging on to her.
He smiled in return and answered.
"I'm done with the food here, but I will get the little princess so we can all eat together. Can you ready the table for everyone in the meantime, mother?"
It lasted only for a moment, but the boy caught her twitching very slightly at the use of the word mother. He still pretended to not notice and let her do the same.
"You go do that. Your father is already taking a bath so you don't have to worry about waking him up. I will call you all when I have everything ready"- she replied while focusing on the recently prepared food.
He returned to his room.
The princess in question was the very person her avoided disturbing as he awoke in his bed.
A little girl with the same eyes and hair as their mother, the same ones that greeted him on the mirror every morning.
And yet, those were not always my eyes or my hair.
Careful and with the warmth and kindness of those who loved their family, the boy proceeded to caress and speak to the one he called sister.
"Hey, little sister wake up quickly. Otherwise I will feed all of your food to our father and you will have to ask mother for seconds."
Even for someone so young, the words had a powerful effect and brown eyes opened immediately in fright.
… Older brothers are also known for enjoying teasing their younger siblings. And he did indulge himself in this harmless kind of fun.
"Noooo! Big brother I'm up, up! Don't take away the good food!"
The little girl wailed as the first thing in the morning.
Seconds later, her mind got to work and she realized who was standing right beside her.
And she pouted.
It was simply too cute for him, and he decided to reassure her.
"Now, now, you know big brother cares about you. I just wanted to make sure you were up right away so you dish does not get cold."
She was still pouting until they both took a seat at the table, alongside their parents.
Breakfast was a moment filled with normal talk.
Sometimes about the surprisingly good quality of the food for someone as young as the elder son.
Sometimes about the things the family needed to do for the day, usually recalling the times for taking the kids to school and for picking them up, or the possibility of a later return from work by the father.
Sometimes it was reminding each other about things from days before.
And sometimes about new developments in their lives, though this kind of topics were mostly reserved for dinner.
Afterwards, the boy took the initiative of washing the dishes while allowing his parents to get themselves and his sister ready for the rest of the day.
When done with the dishes, he told his parents in advance and got out early, waiting for his mother and sister to come outside.
In the meantime, he took a look at the place he lived in.
His family was one of the many inhabiting an apartment complex called Highton View Terrace, in Hikarigaoka. It was considered a modest but secure location, with a low fee to pay for residence and conveniently close to his father's working place. As he was still too small, he could not look over the ledge of the hall connecting the apartments on his floor, but he knew what kind of view he would get; Highton was immediately next to a park usually filled with children, and popular for those interested in playing football with their friends.
As he could not get this sight unless he was outside of the complex, the boy instead directed his attention to the door two apartments to the left.
There stood another kid, a little boy whose mother was speaking to someone indoors while her son occupied himself with a book, barely paying attention to the conversation next to him. As if feeling the stare directed to him, the kid stopped his reading and looked right into his location.
The kid with the book broke into a smile, and the boy waiting for his mother and sister smiled and waved in return. The housewife seemed to notice this and allowed herself to smile as well, and as her son was taken away by the father who had already gotten outdoors, she bid the second boy goodbyes.
"Have a nice day XXXX! Once again, thank you for taking care of Koushiro. Now son, say goodbye to your friend".
And Koushiro did, in his own polite and quiet way.
Moments later, the kid disappeared with his father in the elevator's doors, and his mother went back to her own home.
Moments later, his own mother and sister exited the door of their own home, and he turned to the first. The woman, probably imagining what just happened, asked.
"Did you say hello to your friend, XXX?"
"Yes, mother. I'm ready to go now".
And so the four members of this small and normal family exited the complex.
Elementary school was an awkward experience for the boy.
Regardless of what other people believed, even his own parents, he was not a prodigy.
Sure, his smarts had gotten him close to Koushiro (or a he preferred to be called, "Izzy"), who was considered the most intelligent of all the kids in their level, but it was not the same case. While his neighbor was apparently gifted with a great curiosity and the ability to quickly absorb new knowledge, his advantage was due to different circumstances.
It's not going to be hard to get good grades when I remember many things up to High School, and many that come from other kind of experiences.
As a result, the boy didn't get the enjoyment or satisfaction of excelling in schoolwork, and even his edge at sports only gave him small rewards in the way of helping in teamwork.
He still tried to not appear aloof or disinterested, keeping a polite and helpful persona to communicate with both classmates and teachers. The only exception being Koushiro, who he spent his mealtime with, as well as being a common companion for making schoolwork in pairs.
Most others saw him either as an exemplary student or an annoying meddler, especially when he interfered in fights between his classmates.
Nevertheless, barring those days he got involved into serious fights, he ended his school day at noon, with his mother arriving with his sister to pick him up.
Saying his goodbyes to teachers and classmates (always remembering Koushiro), the boy joined his mother and sister, and they all returned home.
Dinner was a more animated affair than breakfast.
Most of times it was his parents doing the talking, either retelling their happenings at work or at home, the good ones and the abridged version of the bad ones.
Many times they asked about the kid's days at school, not minding the repetitions and even commenting with pride about good grades from any of them.
Unless their father or mother decided to take the family out to eat, the boy took upon himself the shore of making dinner, in spite of his mother's insistence of letting him rest and take care of it.
It helped that both father and daughter were surprisingly supportive of this choice.
"Honey, I know you are good for many things, but you shouldn't mind if our son wants to make us all dinner. He does seem to enjoy doing it."
His father's argument was meet with a frantic nod from his sister, but his mother usually answered this by narrowing her eyes and glaring at her husband.
"Dear, you are just saying that because you enjoy mooching from XXXX's food. And besides… are you saying my food is not as good then"?
At this his father ended up paling and sweating, looking at the boy for support in dealing with the ire of his wife.
The boy wisely decided to ignore him and let him deal with the fallout, usually in the way of getting to try some of her own cooking later.
All in all, a normal dinner for the household.
Going to bed was both a warm and a sad experience for him.
On one hand, both of their parents bid them good night. It was an honest gesture, filled with kindness, love and hopes for a better tomorrow. It was a moment when he could see the family he was part of, the one he would see tomorrow morning, and noon and night.
On the other hand, …
They are not my old family.
In the end, this show of affection was welcome but ineffective in giving him the same way of respite as it did to his sister, and perhaps his parents themselves.
In the end, when everyone was already asleep, he would continue staring at the floor that served as his roof. Reminiscing.
Of memories that shouldn't be his own.
Of memories that shouldn't be real.
Of the very memories that reminded him of his many failures.
Of the times when it was not brown eyes and spiky brown hair that greeted him in the mirror.
Of the times he saw red hair and amber/golden eyes staring back instead.
Of the later times when those eyes and hair had turned silver instead.
Of a life when he was not carrying the name Yagami Taichi… but the name of Emiya Shirou.
The fool who had tried to achieve an impossible dream and fight the many dangers ahead, only to lose everything and everyone he once knew and cared for, with the only victory being stopping the repetition of the disaster by slaying the main characters behind it before they had the chance to play their part once more.
And this was his daily routine.
A senseless repetition of affairs, that once were driven by the naïve and desperate desire to achieve happiness by seeking a great purpose, step by step. Now, he was merely going along for someone's else sake, unable to move forward.
And wasn't that ironic?
Rejoice, Emiya Shirou, because your wish shall be granted. For there cannot be salvation without someone in need.
You are walking a very lonely and burdened path, Shirou. For even if your actions are righteous and helped many others in need, the one who needs salvation the most will never find himself in peace.
You and I both have been cursed by fate it seems. Blind and dethroned as I am now, I have seen the pointless path I began for myself all those years ago, never realizing that I was merely allowed to walk inside another's great scheme. Meanwhile, you were left with nothing but a purpose not for yourself; and no matter the scale of your focus, it was all made to be in accordance to another great scheme that denied you everything. All we have now is retribution and death.
He had lived for the sake of saving everyone in need, and later he had focused on those close to him. Both times he had lost everything regardless of victory in battle, and in the end he could only make sure the horrors of the past would not repeat themselves, even if it meant his own demise.
But he was still here, somehow.
In a world not of his own choosing, in a world so similar and yet so different than his own.
And he was reborn in this world, without a Fuyuki, a Misaki or a Kawakami City.
Alone, given a new family and the kind of life he could never enjoy in the past.
All the while, his companions were already gone in memories. His beloved people denied what had been taken from them because he had been too weak and too ignorant of the world to stop the horrors from befalling his old world. Instead, the one who had bet his all in ending the nightmares and abandoned himself to his death had been given what others deserved so much more.
It seemed that his great enemy had gotten the last laugh in the end.
For even after saving everyone he cared for, he still lost them.
For even after getting a second chance, the nightmares and sins of his past would not let him enjoy it.
For even if Yagami Taichi should have been a normal kid who would find joy and happiness with this kind of life, Emiya Shirou would never be able to live with himself or forget.
And even when sleep finally came to him, Shirou, now Taichi, knew what awaited him.
Memories of happiness long since gone, of nightmares always coming back.
Then, one night, the dull routine broke.
The catalyst was not something grandiose, or even life-threatening for him or his family.
For most children it would have been an encounter with something fantastic and mysterious, a part of the world they usually hyped so much in their dreams and imagination.
For his sister, Yagami Hikari, that seemed to be the case.
But for Yagami Taichi, the small creature that suddenly appeared in their home while their parents had been unaware, was a sign that perhaps he should have valued the normality he had experienced until now far more.
This was no animal you could find in any part of the known world.
This was a creature that apparently had some weird effect on electronics.
A creature that could transform as time and food went on.
And it was in that night that Taichi realized that the supernatural was not done with him.
And Emiya Shirou needed to return.
A/N: Well this is the result of many, many months of constant bickering with myself. Fitting the name of this story, I have gone through so many prototypes and ideas about how to keep forward with this project that I ended up stalling the others from time to time. At last, I have decided how to proceed with the plot and characters.
Welcome officially to my Nasuverse x Digimon Adventure Crossover. The main focus will be Fate/Stay Night as well as Digimon, but the story will progress revealing the connection to other elements of series like Prince of Persia, Tsukihime and Melty Blood, as well as Majikoi. Worry not, I will not have all of this coexisting in the same place, or even many characters from each side interacting with each other in the main story. This is about our MC and his epic, slowly revealed and having and effect on the characters and plot of Adventure.
I will be posting the next chapter pretty soon and in advance I will say that you will have to wait more for me to update "Lord of the Forsaken" and "I can't believe it's not a Game".
Hope you enjoy this piece for now.
