Prologue - Start

Darkness.

Darkness filled the whole world, or maybe even the universe around him.

It was all he saw for an... eternity? Maybe even longer.

'How long has it been...?'

The boy absentmindedly looked at the empty nothingness in front of him. Was he even turning his head to look all around him...? He's been there for so long, he doesn't even care anymore.

How long had it been since the end of the world? Where were his friends now? Did they keep living and forget about him? Or did they still remember him? Those were thoughts that were always in his mind while in that desolate plain that harboured nothingness. The only thoughts that kept him from going crazy.

He was also wondering about the hundred other mythical beings hidden inside his psyche. It feels like they weren't responding to him anymore. How long had it been since he summoned one? It felt like he was missing some of them...

He kept that thought saved for next time. No need to find out if he really was missing some when he can't even summon them.

'...Will I ever be able to leave...?' were his final thoughts, before he saw a light. A tiny beacon of hope for his existence, in this dark plain.

'Is this it?' He thought and felt a light pull.

*rattle*

He looked to where the noise came from and saw his arms chained to nothing. As the pull got a little stronger, he started inching to the tiny light closer and closer.

'...Well. This is a first. Hope it's a good thing.' He was bought out of his thoughts as the vacuum was starting to lift his legs off the seemingly bottomless abyss.

As the pull got stronger and stronger, he started to frown. He was now in a position where one would think that he's levitating in mid air, in a lying down position. The reason for his frown was that the chains didn't look like they wanted to break anytime soon.

'Is this a good thing? Do I really want to go to that light?' He was bought out of his musing as the chain that was holding his right arm broke off with ease.

'Great. What weak chains. Guess I don't have a choice.' He mentally sighed. Then, the last chain that bound him like a prisoner, broke like glass.

He then started floating through the lonely abyss and headed to the light.

'I wonder how I'm now finally free...' A vision suddenly flashed through his mind and he saw a brief image of a certain blonde attendant with bright yellow eyes, smiling warmly at him.

He smiled back, as though the woman could see him.

'Thanks... Elizabeth.'

He was thinking about that blue room's attendants and it's caretaker. He wondered how they were doing. Did they spend all these years trying to find out how to break him from the seal?

His thoughts were blanked out instantly, as his vision turned white.

Taiga Fujimura is a school teacher in Fuyuki City. An eccentric one, maybe (considering her childish antics), but still a teacher with responsibilities. So when she found a body belonging to a boy (judging from the lack of lumps on the front), lying on the ground by the local park in the area, her teacherly instincts kicked in, just like any other teachers' instincts should.

She was just finishing up some work at school and she found the boy, who looked at least 15 or 16 years old and found his hair to be oddly coloured. A deep blue colour that resembles the deep sea.

'Did he dye it? But it looks kinda natural as it suits him...' As she got closer to the unknown boy, she was bought out of her brooding as she got a closer look at his face.

'Oh my... He's looks very charming.'

She looked at the unconscious boy and studied his youthful features. Closed eyelids, a small nose and a pair of lips were placed over his pale yet healthy complexion of his skin, showing that he was still rather well. It was like looking at a doll that suddenly gained life, as shown by the gentle rises of his chest. His hair was rather long as it looked like that the right side of his hair made it so that his right eye was covered by it.

'Nevertheless,' she thought, 'it still wouldn't make him look any less handsome than he already is. Have I just found a young model?' She finished with the study of his good looking face and proceeded to look around if anyone was nearby that can help.

After a few glances at her surroundings, there was no one. Well, it was the afternoon after all, 5:00pm to be exact, so there was no need to be hanging around in a park that late.

And so, she decided to see if there was anything wrong with him and take the matters into her own hands. She studied the boy in front of her and came to the conclusion that the boy was not hurt or injured in any way. He was breathing at a steady pace, so there was no need to call the local hospital for an emergency. She then thought about moving him off of the road and identified a Walkman MP3 player with a pair of silver clip-on headphones laying beside it. She quickly concluded that it was the young teen's and carried it with her, along with the pretty boy that she was supporting with her arms over his shoulders. She then trailed off and into the park.

Taiga placed him on a bench in the park. She then started to gently place her lap on the back of his head, keeping his face looking at the orange sky. After all, this is one really good looking boy and who wouldn't want to enjoy this? She at least wanted some reward, so why not this? This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for her to see a real life bishounen and not the ones that you see on TV.

She once again studied his features. His hair was now covering his right eye, but it still managed to show his attractiveness. 'Now, what am I supposed to do now?' She considered her options. She could either wait until he wakes up, which could take quite a long time, or she could bring him to her home and care for him there. The walk to her house was only a couple 100 metres nearby.

Her thoughts got stopped as she noticed movement in the youth's eyelids. He started to very slowly open his eyes, adjusting to the light of the Sun and the lamp that was placed above them.

'Ah. Look at his eyes. I really have found a boy that any girl would want for a boyfriend. Kyaaa~! I'm so lucky~!' She squealed like a fan girl because of her discovery. While he was staring at the sky and not her, she admired the colour of his eyes. They were a cyan blue and they looked like they were reflecting the shallow waters of a tropical beach. She stared deeper into them and found them to be piercing, like someone that can truly read a person's soul just be looking at them. His eyes looked cold, but somehow they gave off a warm and welcoming feeling, yet they look like they could cut if the person turned serious.

She was cut off from her observations, as the person of study had coughed lightly to get her attention. He was looking at her with an expression of surprise and stared into her eyes as well, trying to find an answer to a question that hadn't been said yet.

She then noticed that her face was literally quite close to his. Of course, her reaction was expected by everyone who knew her. But not him.

"W-Wa-wa-waahh!" She yelped and found her face to be burning in a dark shade of red.

'Too close, too close!'

She didn't notice that she had stood up and found him on the ground, trying to get up.

She was quickly bought out of her blushing state and reacted by helping him up off of the ground. A little bit of red still stained her cheeks, but she didn't notice.

"A-Are you okay?! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that! You just surprised me and..." She then bowed in front of him telling him excuses. When she had finished and didn't hear anything coming from the boy, she looked up.

The boy was staring at her with an amused expression. He then smiled and opened his mouth. "It's okay. No harm was done and I'm fine. You can stop bowing now."

'Um... Did she not hear me?' The boy mused as the woman in front of him was gaping like a fish.

Taiga was very happy right now. She had just found a bishounen and he smiled at her. At her. She mused that she was being too excitable, but who can blame her? The youth in front of her was any woman's dream. Of course she proclaimed to be an adult, but who doesn't let out their childish side once in a while?

Yes, she dropped him rather hard, but he had excused it. What she was staring at now was quite literally, an angel. She quickly saved what she was seeing and burned it into her memory. She would not forget it for a couple of weeks. Or months.

She was bought out of her trance-like state when she heard the boy again. How unfortunate.

"Um... Miss? Is something wrong?" The boy asked, looking quite confused.

"Ah, no no no. I just had a thought is all! Ehehehe..." She looked away to try and cover her face. After a moment, she started to look towards him again and got her feelings under control again.

"Is that so? Well, thank you very much for taking care of me while I was out. How can I make it up to you?" The boy politely offered to repay for her 'care'.

"Eh? No no, there's no need to repay me! I just did what any teacher should do when they see an unconscious student. Speaking of which, I don't think I've seen that uniform around here before. Which school do you go to?" She said to him.

'He's as tall as Issei.' She added in her thoughts.

"Oh. I'm not from around here. This was my previous school's uniform." He looked at his outfit. A dark blazer covered his arms, with a white polo and normal school trousers covering the rest. A ribbon was adorned on his figure, serving as a tie of sorts.

"Anyways, please let me indulge you. I must repay you." He continued. "Though I'm afraid I don't have that much money on me... Is there anything else I can do?"He said, persisting on the matter.

"Hmmm..." She muttered. What does she want him to do...Hm? An idea.

"Well... Can you cook a meal? I'm pretty starving right now and I would think you are as well." She answered.

The boy's eyes lit up. "Yes, sure. I'll be happy to cook you a meal. Consider it done. I won't disappoint you, miss."

"Great! My house is just around this area, so we'll get there in about 2-3 minutes. I just hope the guys aren't there... If they saw me with him, who knows what would happen..." She muttered under her breath.

"Ok! Are you feeling alright now? Can you walk or do you want me to help you?" She stated.

"No thanks, I think I'll be fine. Please, lead the way." He said.

"Alright, follow me!" And so, the short trek to her house started, with the handsome youth trailing behind her.

As they got to her house, she looked for any signs that showed indications of the people who normally hang around.

'Ok, coast is clear. So far, so good.'

"We are here! Welcome to the front of my home!" She said with excitement. He said that he wasn't going to disappoint on his cooking after all and the way he said it sounded like he had full confidence in his abilities in the art of cuisine. She couldn't wait.

"Oh? It looks very traditional. And it looks rather big as well. Have you got deep pockets, miss?" He said in observation.

"Ah, no no no. My grandfather heads a pretty... rich business here in Fuyuki, but you don't really need to know that. Come on in!" She headed inside with the boy following closely.

"I'm back~! Take off your shoes here and you could walk around with your socks on."

"Sorry for intruding..." He said quietly. Once he finished taking his shoes off, she gestured for her to keep leading.

While they were walking through the walkways of her home, she glanced back to see the boy looking around with interest.

"Big place, isn't it?" She started.

"Yes... never would I have expected there to be a really big courtyard and also a pond in this place." He replied.

"Well, you haven't seen anything yet! There's also a dojo for training kendo here! It's the place which I use the most and I'm proud of it!" She huffed proudly.

"Kendo, huh? You practice?" He questioned.

"Yeah! You may not believe me, but I used to be a champion back at your age! With my trusty shinai, I cleaved my way through to victory!" She raised her fist in the air with pride exuding from her aura.

"Really now? Well, me too. Back in my old school, I used to be called the 'Ace' in the team. A hidden wild card, you could say." The youth smiled in remembrance.

"Really?!" She turned back to look at him with an expression of excitement. "Do you wanna spar with me after we digest all your food? I've been itching to have a good opponent that I could face one-on-one! All the guys here are wimps and don't want to play with me, so it's no fun! Speaking of which, I wonder why they always run away..." The boy in front of her sweatdropped at the last part. She seemed oblivious to the thoughts of these guys that don't want to spar and with good reason. If she was what she said she was, then obviously no one would want to spar.

She still didn't think about what the context behind the nickname, 'Tiger', really was about.

"Umm... Well, I haven't touched a sword in years. I would if I could, but right now I'm rusty. I need to feel a sword again and start practicing again to get the feeling back." He stated.

"Awww... ok. You're already making dinner for me anyways, so that's enough. By the way, do you know what dish your going to make?" She questioned.

"Depends on the ingredients you have. I have a variety of different foods I can make." He answered smoothly.

"Ehhhh, really? You sound like you have a lot of confidence in your abilities! I'll be looking forward to eating the dishes of a pretty boy like you then! I bet you get all the girls with it, huh?" She grinned.

The boy answered with a smooth smile. "Yes. I'll be happy if you turn out to be one of those girls. They always came back for seconds afterwards.'

An instant blush formed on her face and she grimaced.

'Crap... I fell right into it. He's actually pretty smooth when talking to girls!' She turned away from him after a moment of staring and quickly recomposed herself.

"A-Ahem," she cleared her throat, "follow me please. We are nearly there."

The boy followed. He was still grinning though. She didn't acknowledge the heat that was still on her cheeks though. That means he would win.

'Don't relax just yet boy. I'll get you soon enough. Just you wait!'

She chuckled silently to herself and headed for the dining room with the pretty bluenette boy following behind her. She glanced back for a moment and saw that the youth still had that smug smile of his plastered on his face.

'Dammit!'

They arrived a minute later to the aforementioned room. She quickly sat down by the low table and turned on the TV.

"Is that the kitchen by that corner there, miss?" The boy asked.

"Yeah. Go get cooking." She said with a tone of indifference clear in her voice. She clearly wasn't satisfied with the outcome of her teasing with the said boy.

"Ok. I'll be using your kitchen now then." The boy said and proceeded to head to the kitchen.

"You better make it good!" She stated.

"I said I wouldn't disappoint, didn't I?" He replied back to her.

'Gosh. Never would have thought a situation like this would happen to me. A pretty boy cooking for me? Who wouldn't want it?' She giggled happily to herself and waited for the food to be finished. The aroma of meat cooking wafted into her nostrils. Oh boy, she couldn't wait.

An hour later...

"Bon appetit, miss." He said.

"Woah..." Taiga said, very much surprised at the outcome.

Taiga couldn't believe her eyes. Sprawled out all around her on the table, were literally sparkling pieces of cuisine that she just wanted to dig into right now. Ranging from the meaty dishes, Tonkatsu (pork cutlets) and Nikujaga (sweet meat and potatoes), to the healthy ones consisting of vegetables and a side of rice to top it off, she held back the drool that threatened to leak from her mouth.

'He made all of this? From all the stuff in the barely used kitchen? Unbelievable!' She was shocked that he actually managed to create some dishes that looked very appetising. She thought he was bluffing about his skills. Guess he wasn't lying.

'Maybe he really does get all the girls... Who am I kidding, he said so himself...'

"Is it to your liking, miss?" He said while still bringing more dishes to the table.

"Ah? Yes yes, it looks really good! I can't wait!" She answered.

The boy replied, "Well, you'll just have to wait a bit longer. The rice should be finishing just about... now."

*Ding!*

"Now then, shall we start?" He smiled.

"Yes, let's eat right now! Itadakimasu~!" She yelped in delight and started digging in. Idle thoughts about how he managed to do this, we're put on hold.

The boy also responded with etiquette and started eating before all the food was gone.

Time seemed to fly by, as Taiga and the boy continued eating the 5-star meal in a silence broken only by munching and chewing sounds.

Another hour later...

Taiga started to lean back and relax near the table. A content sigh escaped her mouth.

'I give up trying to get a one-up over him. He keeps surprising me every time I doubt him. He'll be a GREAT husband, no doubt about it.'

"I'm guessing you liked the meal? A lot?" He smiled in her direction.

"Yes I did. One of the best meals that I have had in my lifetime! Really, really delicious!" She said with a happy tone.

"I get that at the times when my friends eat my dishes. Thank you for your review, miss." He grinned at her satisfied look.

"Don't call me miss! Please, call me Taiga!" She replied back with a childish tone.

"I understand. Thank you for taking care of me, Taiga-san." He bowed.

"Ehhhh? No need to be so formal with me boy. Just relax and digest." She began to lean back and lie on the floor, facing the ceiling.

"Alright then. I'll do just that as well." He replied and began to lie down as well.

A comfortable silence floated in between the two of them, with the TV playing in the background. She took a glance and stared at his direction. He had taken off his blazer and used it as a makeshift pillow to allow him to sleep, light breaths escaping his nose.

'A quick snooze, eh? Well, I guess he's tired after everything I've put him through... At least now, I can admire him closely~." She hummed to herself. She stood up silently and moved to his side of the table, quietly lying down on her side. She set some distance between them.

She observed the mysterious youth in front of her. His chest was lightly rising up and down and his face had a serene expression. His charm was even more pronounced at this time. A real life male sleeping beauty.

She looked once more and then gazed a bit lower to his body. One could see curvature of his torso, indicating he was well-trained and his arms looked strong as shown by his biceps looking buffer than average for a teen. Looks like he really trained for Kendo. She was bought out of her inspection, when she heard someone speak.

"Like what you see?" She looked up at his face to see him staring right back at her. A teasing smirk replaced his mouth.

The two stared at each other for a couple of minutes, with the boy maintaining eye contact and the woman staring back with wide eyes and a mouth that opened and closed uncontrollably. A fiery, red blush covered her face and she looked shocked.

"W-w-w-w-wa..." She mumbled incoherently.

"Wah?" He continued, a wider grin forming.

"...waaahh!" She stood up and screamed at the ceiling.

'He got a one up on me again! He caught me staring! Ahhhh! God, I'm so embarrassed!' She held her hands to the sides of her head and nearly pulled her hair out.

She was still screaming until she ran out of breath. When it died down, she turned around and saw the boy sitting up and chuckling.

"Ahahaha! God, your reaction! Hahaha!" He said between laughs.

"Stop laughing!" She pointed at him and yelled, "How the hell did you find me staring at you while you were snoozing off?!"

"Hehehe... I guess you could say that I have a sixth sense for this sort of thing. I could guess when somebody is staring at me, even if they're in a huge crowd. Damn, that was funny. Hehehe..." He wiped a stray tear from his eye and smiled back at her, still amused.

"Wipe that smile off your face! Don't you know how embarrassed I am?!" She huffed.

"Sorry, sorry. It was too good to let up. Ha..." He breathed out slowly. "Okay. I'm alright now."

"Tch..." She scoffed. She slowly regained her composure. Why is she the one getting teased? It was always her getting a one up on someone else.

"Alright... I wanna ask you something. First of all, the name's Taiga Fujimura. What's yours, boy?" She asked, turning serious.

The boy responded with, "My name is Minato. Minato Arisato. You may call me Minato, Taiga-san."

"Minato-kun, huh? Alright, first question: why were you lying unconscious on the street?" She said, adjusting to get in a comfortable position.

"Well," Minato answered, "I do not know. I do not know how I ended up unconscious but I can remember the past. I don't have amnesia, but I can't remember how I ended up on the street."

"Huh... So do you have any relatives, any friends or family that I can tell them about you?" She answered, concerned.

"No. I'm afraid that I'm an orphan. As for my friends... Let's say they I had to leave them for personal reasons. And my other relatives are out of the question as they are gone too." He stated calmly.

"...What?" Taiga was shocked. So he was all alone? With no one to help him? How? Why? What was his story? She had all these questions she wanted to ask him, but it might be a touchy subject for him. A certain level of trust was needed for that.

"So I'm guessing you don't have any place to stay? Do you even know this city?" She questioned.

"The answer to both of your questions is no. I know nothing of this city." He answered.

'How can he be so calm about his situation? Has he been in worse situations than this one? If so... He needs help.'

"Please, let me help you. I may have just met you 2 hours ago, but... You're all alone. I can't just let you go after I've heard all this." She may have had a childish streak in her, but she was still a caring adult and teacher.

"I don't want to impo-" She cut him off.

"I won't take no for an answer. The least you can do for me, to stay here, is cook me food. Don't worry about the other guys that come in here, they won't mess with you. I won't allow them, you can count on it." A fiery glint sparkled in her eyes.

The boy, Minato, was silent. He was contemplating about it. Probably. After all, she insisted and didn't want no for an answer.

"...Alright." He finally said. "But please help me find a job. A boy staying with a girl will... You know."

"Oh yeah, yeah sure! I'll help you find a job so that you can find your own apartment. You seem like a mature individual and you lived with problems all your life so, I guess you can also take care of yourself. I can also apply you to the school where I work if you want!" She offered.

"Yes, I would like that." He smiled. "Thank you for taking care of me. Well, temporarily."

"No sweat! Let's clean your food up first and I'll show you to your room, ok? Your room will be next to mine. We'll be roommates!" She stated happily. She now has a charming servant that can work for her.

'Guess I won't need to eat anything from Shirou for a while. I've got my own cook now!' She hummed happily to herself.

"Well, let's clean up shall we? You can clean the dishes and I'll dry them." She instructed.

"Yes, ma'am." He complied. A 'master and servant' relationship was established.

They started cleaning up. A happy and relaxed atmosphere surrounded the two. She wanted to know more about him and this step was the first one.

Little did the boy know about what was going to be happening in the next couple of months.

That he walked straight out of one destiny... and walked straight into another.

Prologue - End