===DISCLAIMER===
The Highschool DxD series was written by Ichiei Ishibumi and produced by TNK. The Fate series is owned by Type-Moon and Kinoko Nasu. I do not own any of the characters mentioned in both series. The only things I own are the ideas that popped into my head for this story and whatever original characters I would create for the story.
This story is meant to be a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, and flames will be ignored. Any references to real-life characters, places, and events are purely coincidental and should not be taken seriously. You have been warned.
I honestly don't know why I wrote this, but here it is. So… enjoy?
"Regular Speech"
"Mental Link/Communication Devices"
'Inner Monologue/Thoughts'
Magecraft Aria
Block Elements:
▔▇▄ ▒▄▂░▄▔ ▋▀▍▆▕▀▆▄ ▎ ▅ ▁▋▎ ▂▊▒ (Basically, unimaginable pain and or words/language/things that are beyond human comprehension.)
===AN===
Thanks to the overwhelming support of you guys from the comment section, I have decided to continue the story. Although the pairings and some other stuff will be subject to changes in the future. I literally did not plan anything for this story when I published it. Sorry.
Oh and in case any of you get confused, Chapter 1 picks off immediately after the events of the Prologue.
P.S. I don't know when I'll be posting this, so here:
Time of writing: 11/24/2022 10:26 AM
Time of posting: 12/18/2022 7:25 PM
To get a frame of reference.
Chapter 1
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
"Huh?" Miyu found herself inside a golden throne room, seated upon a golden throne, with pure white marble columns. She could see various images of people praying from the numerous consoles floating around her.
"W-what's happening?" She said, looking around her. "Onii-chan! Where are you?!" Miyu called for her brother, only for silence to greet her, and her mind began to panic.
"No! I need to be strong!" Slapping herself on the cheeks, Miyu drove off the despair creeping into her heart.
Standing up, Miyu began to look around, exploring the throne room. After several minutes of walking around, she found herself in front of two giant doors made of solid gold.
Determined to find out where she was, Miyu pushed with all her might, but sadly, all her effort was for naught, as the two doors remained shut.
Exhausted, Miyu leaned on the door as she sat on the ground, pulling her knees to her chest. Tears began to trickle down her face as she was reminded of her time as the Ainsworth's captive. "Onii-chan… Shirou, where are you?" She said as her tears continued to fall like raindrops on the marble floor.
After a few hours of continuous crying, Miyu looked up and noticed the numerous consoles that were floating around the throne room were all suddenly next to her, surrounding her. For the first time ever, Miyu Emiya felt anger well up from within her, lashing out at the consoles, "Go away!" She screamed as she swung her arm angrily in front of her, grazing one of the consoles.
"Eh?" Information suddenly flooded her mind as her hand made contact with one of the consoles. "Oh, Almighty Father, please save my son. I-I can't lose him, I can't lose the only family I have left!" Miyu watched as the mother was ushered away. "I know I'm unworthy of your mercy, I cheated, I lied, I have committed many sins, and I know that I'll end up in hell for it. But my child, he's innocent! So please take me! Not him! I don't care what happens to me! Send me to the deepest parts of hell if you wish, just, ple-." With a gasp, Miyu pulled her hand away from the console, trying to understand what just happened.
She looked at the golden throne pulsing rhythmically with power, then felt the same power flow within her. 'I-It can't be…' Her eyes widened as realization dawned on her, "You… you were the one that helped me?"
As if in agreement, a powerful pulse of power emanated from the throne, "I see, is this the price I have to pay for my wish? In exchange for helping me, you want me to fulfill these people's wishes?"
Another strong pulse signaled its agreement.
Miyu thought about what the throne was communicating with her. After a few minutes of deliberation, 'It's fine, this is my responsibility, if this is the price I have to pay to help Onii-chan, then I'd accept it gladly.' Miyu looked up at the throne once more, "Fine, this power, this responsibility, I accept."
"Argh!" A searing pain appeared on Miyu's chest as an upright triangle with a circle and dot in the middle seared into her skin.
With a shuddering breath, Miyu clutched her chest and pulled herself together as the throne shone brightly, brighter than anything Miyu had ever seen. A sphere of light then began to form around it, advancing towards her. 'This time — this time, I'll be the one to protect you, Onii-chan.' She thought to herself as the light consumed her.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
It was a cold night.
The lingering chill of winter clung to the streets like a mist. The eerily silent environment added to the atmosphere of unease. Despite Kuoh being small, it was a flourishing city, the commercial districts were frequently still busy at this hour, either with people toiling away into the wee hours or with certain businesses tending to the needs of those weary souls.
However, tonight, the temperature fell to freezing levels. No person would want to be caught dead at this time of the night, much less stay on the rooftop of one of the highest buildings in the district. As reports of an increase in missing persons reports, as well as dead mutilated bodies, kept popping up everywhere, giant burn marks and some destroyed shops here and there caused the once-bustling district to fall into complete and utter silence as people were too afraid to go out at night.
Many speculations have begun to pop out as the people did as people do, they gossip. Concocting theories that were surprisingly close to the truth to the more mundane and much easier-to-believe scenarios.
Spying his target in the distance, he stood up from his perch.
Feeling the striking of a gun's hammer in his head, 27 Magic Circuits sprung to life, filling him with a familiar and comforting warmth.
Muttering the set of words unique to him, "Trace. On." Shirou Projected Archer's bow in his left hand and in his right, a Black Key, both appearing in a flash of blue light. The blade twisted in a silent screech of metal, elongating into what looked like an arrow.
Twang.
Twang.
Twang.
Shirou ignored the cold winds that bit at his skin. 'These winds are nothing compared to the near-perpetual winter of my old world.' He idly mused as he released a literal rain of his twisted sword arrows.
Amber eyes traced the hail of the arrows' path. Despite the arrows curving mid-flight in seemingly random directions, he was not worried at all. Shirou knew they were all going to hit before he even let lose the first shot.
Although most would call this overkill, in his defense, whether it was the equivalent of this world's Dead Apostles or the flurry of other hostile Phantasmal Creatures, half of the monsters he has fought during the two months he and Miyu have lived in this world possessed some type of Thaumaturgy that protected them. More often than not, their defenses were at the levels of something he'd expect of creatures living during the very end of the Age of Gods, hence why he's built a habit of precautionary overkill.
And besides, it never hurts to have another shot or dozen more flying through the air, just in case his target survives. He knows how many times that's happened already, a lesson learned from when he first encountered these things, mistakes born of underestimating his opponent or lack of knowledge of his target's capabilities.
With his reinforced eyes, Shirou easily kept track of each arrow traveling toward a nondescript building. Or to be more specific, he kept track of how long it would take to reach the monster he aimed to kill.
The arrows shot toward the monster, a naked woman with the body of a spider. It barely managed to twist in place, managing to dodge the first arrow but failing to dodge the rest.
"Gyah!" The monster screamed its dying breath as dozens of Black Keys-turned arrows pierced its body. The wound began producing steam as a burning scent of rotting flesh emanating from the monster. The innate properties of the Black Keys working against its existence.
After confirming its death, Shirou dismissed Archer's bow, scattering it into motes of blue light. He jumped from rooftop to rooftop to where the monster's body lay.
Crouching next to its body, he Projected a small knife once used by a hunter to gut the monster, taking out a chess piece made out of a red crystal, a Mystic Code known as an Evil Piece.
Using Structural Analysis on the Evil Piece, Shirou traced the object's history, learning the object's functions, who the monster was, what happened to it, and all the things it had done, and that was it. Despite his inherited mastery of the spell, he still could not glean any more information, as an enchantment on the Mystic Code blocked him. 'Whoever made this damnable thing is good, really, really good.'
His hand formed into a fist as the thought of an enemy he has no information about frustrated him to no end.
The first time he encountered the enchantments placed on the Evil Piece, he immediately stabbed it with Rule Breaker. Unfortunately, all it got him was a useless chess piece made out of a red crystal. Everything that made it special was destroyed by the Noble Phantasm, everything from the enchantments to the information stored on the Mystic Code.
Thus he opted to just keep them in a safe location until he could crack the protections without destroying the information or he could find someone that knows more about these things.
Sighing to himself, Shirou pocketed the Mystic Code as he stood up, "I hope you can find happiness in the next life," he said to no one in particular. It was a monster of circumstance, yes, but it had done too many horrible things to be left alone. 'I won't pity you, but know that whoever is responsible for turning you into this will die a horrible death.' It had to be erased from the world so that she could be safe.
There was no hesitation when he set out to accomplish precisely that. It took some time to create a Bounded Field that would set the monster's remains on fire and ensure that the flames spread evenly. It didn't take much Prana to start the chain reaction that would sustain itself from the ambient Mana rather than any other combustible material.
This particular Bounded Field is the Clock Tower Enforcers' go-to tool. It was made to let oxygen travel through unfettered while keeping the flames and the energy they emitted inside. It would guarantee that the fire would destroy everything, leaving no trace behind.
Turning around, Shirou pulled up his hood as he reinforced his legs to jump towards the nearest rooftop. Jumping from rooftop to rooftop at Servant-like speeds, shortening his travel time from a few minutes to mere seconds.
'I need to set up more bounded fields around the area and increase my patrol routes to encompass the whole city.' He began planning his next move as the monsters began creeping closer and closer to their home. No doubt some of them know of him, although they don't know of his face or general features. The fact remains that these monsters know that he exists and that he is hunting them. As if that weren't enough, their numbers have recently been steadily rising, fueling his paranoia even further.
Entering through the window in his room, Shirou moved quietly, careful not to disturb Miyu, who is sleeping in the room next door. Opening his closet, he took out some clothes revealing a hidden safe in the very back. Shirou knew that an ordinary safe wouldn't cut it, hence for added security, he added some Runes on the safe to strengthen it, alongside using Alteration on the hinges, making them impossible to move without ripping out the door.
He sighed once more as he reviewed the contents within, "It seems I'll have to get a bigger safe next time." He said, depositing the new Evil Piece inside the safe, alongside the rest of his growing collection of red chess pieces, the six remaining Class Cards, and a certain metallic ivory-colored bullet.
Guilt flashed through Shirou's mind as his eyes lingered on the bullet, "I'm sorry, dad. I'm sorry that I can't fulfill your dream." A weak and defeated whisper escaped Shirou's lips, accompanied by a weary sigh, looking as if he had aged a couple of years, not helped by streaks of chock-white hair or the bags underneath his eyes, making him look like an old man.
With a deep breath, Shirou closed the safe shut as he suppressed his own emotions. 'The time for regrets has long passed, now — now there is only one thing expected of me. To protect Miyu, to give her an ordinary life, a life where she would be happy.'
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
In the morning
"Good morning, Onii-chan~," Miyu yawned as she waddled her way to the dining table.
"Ah, good morning, Miyu," Shirou called out from the kitchen. "Make yourself comfortable, breakfast will be done in a minute."
"Okay,"
As Shirou finished laying the food on the table, he took his seat on the opposite side of Miyu. "Itadakimasu," both siblings said at the same time, giving their thanks for the food.
As the two ate in companionable silence, Shirou thought of the two months they'd spent in this world.
The rather stressful first few weeks, detecting multiple Magical Signatures belonging to various members of the Phantasmal Species from the Reverse Side, intermingling with humans and, for the most part, living ordinary lives.
Then the worrying theory that this world is somehow still in the Age of Gods and what they could possibly do should Miyu's existence come to light.
Coupled with the fact that the atmosphere is chock full of Mana and the Phantasmals roaming the streets lending their credence to this theory.
'But the biggest, most glaring evidence would have to be…'
Shirou turned his attention toward the TV sitting in the corner. "Around 5 hours ago, another miracle occurred. As famous theoretical physicist, Stephen Hawking suddenly regained the ability to walk once more. Could these strings of miracles happening worldwide be the sign-."
Shirou drowned out the voice of the newscaster as his mind raced, trying to think up solutions to their problems.
'Should we relocate?' He thought of the idea for a few moments, weighing its pros and cons. In the end, with a shake of his head, he rejected the idea. 'No, Miyu would not be able to live a normal life if we constantly kept moving from place to place.'
'Try and ally myself with any of the factions of Phantasmal Creatures in the area?' Another shake signaled his rejection. 'Impossible. If there's anything to be known of Phantasmal Creatures, is that a vast majority of them tend to look down upon humans. Meanwhile, the ones I detected in town were far too weak to be of any use.'
Unbeknownst to Shirou, his face adopted a light scowl as his brows furrowed, his mind continuing to think of a solution to their immediate problems.
"What's wrong, Onii-chan?" Miyu asked as she noticed Shirou's expression.
Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts, Shirou noticed Miyu's eyes looking at him with worry. 'Ah, shit.' He mentally berated himself for letting her worry over him.
"It's nothing, Miyu." He said with a gentle smile as Miyu looked at him with squinted eyes it was clear as day she didn't believe a word he said.
Staring at her brother for a few seconds more, Miyu closed her eyes and sighed, deciding to drop the topic. The siblings continued eating in awkward silence as Miyu looked down at her plate dejectedly.
Seeing her expression hurt Shirou in ways no sword ever could, her saddened eyes reminding him of Miyu's look of betrayal back at the altar underneath Mount Enzo. Wishing for her to be happy again, Shirou thought of a way to cheer her up. "Hey Miyu, you know that it's my day off today, right?" He asked his sister, to which she nodded. "We can go on an outing if you want."
Upon hearing Shirou's words, her eyes brightened up as a wide smile graced Miyu's lips. "Really?!" She said excitedly as Shirou smiled softly at her.
For all that Miyu tries to act like an adult, it is very easy to forget that she is still a child. And like a child, has their needs and wants as well.
"Yeah, really," he said while patting her head.
"T-then can we go to the park?" She asked with her head upturned with puppy dog eyes.
Shirou raised his eyebrow at Miyu's weird behavior but thought nothing of it. Instead, he had to focus on not succumbing to Miyu's weapons-grade cuteness. Left with no other option, he could only agree, both for Miyu's happiness and his own health. "Y-yeah, anywhere you want, Miyu."
"Yes!" She jumped up in joy, hearing Shirou's confirmation.
Seeing her jump for joy lifted a weight off of Shirou's shoulders, bringing a smile to his face that eventually turned into chuckling at his sister's rare childish moments. Enjoying the sight of her expressing more and more human emotions by the day.
Hearing his chuckle, Miyu looked back at Shirou with her face tinged with red from embarrassment, "I-it's not funny!" After shouting at Shirou, Miyu ran to her room to escape from her brother's laugh and to presumably get ready.
'Haa, They grow up so fast,' Shirou thought as he cleaned up the table.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
The Emiya siblings sat underneath a tree in a public park near their apartment. The light of the afternoon sun shined down on the parkgoers below; people that came for a walk, families, and couples out on a picnic, children playing happily with each other, and those just enjoying the outdoors, overall it was an average day.
Yet, despite the time of day being at its hottest, the weather was neither too hot nor was it too cold, just the perfect temperature for the outdoors. This is primarily due to being early February, the lingering chills of winter made the weather perfect for an outing.
Miyu sat in seiza with her hands on her thighs, nibbling on some sandwiches they brought as she observed the children in the park playing around. Weirdly enough, she called the activity 'People Watching', saying she learned of it from reading a book. Meanwhile, Shirou lay on the ground, across from her with his eyes closed.
Despite looking as relaxed as can be, he had still set up a simple Detection Type Bounded Field and kept his senses sharp; ears strained, skin sensitive to the slightest displacement in the wind, and nose always sniffing the air, feeling out any threat that may approach them.
While many would call this level of precaution absurd, bordering on paranoia. Those same 'many' didn't have to live and train under the Magus Killer himself, face seven extremely dangerous Magus-turned Dolls wielding the powers of Heroic Spirits, all vying to kill him.
That… and the various Phantasmals roaming around the city, as far as he's aware, peacefully coexisting with humanity. So honestly, this level of precaution is just the bare minimum.
A few minutes of companionable silence passed as the siblings basked in the peaceful and cheery atmosphere of the park. Suddenly, he felt Miyu shift from beside him to positioning herself near his head. She picked up his head and scooted forward, then put it back down on her lap.
Shirou was mildly surprised by her actions but did not show it, 'What was this called again? A… lap pillow? Yeah, that should be it.' He could see why some people look forward to this so much, it was nice. "Thanks, Miyu." He said, his eyes half-lidded.
She chose not to respond, instead choosing to play with his hair, twisting and curling it around her fingers.
He looked up at her and questioned, "What are you doing?" but did not stop her.
While still gently stroking his hair, Miyu simply grinned. Shirou sighed but returned a smile. He closed his eyes as a cool breeze blew through the park where they were resting. The younger girl eventually responded to his question. She continued to mess with his hair, saying, "This is payback. You always play with my hair, so it's my turn to play with yours."
"Well, as your older brother, I get express permission to play with your hair. It's basically an unwritten rule." He grinned, earning a flick to the forehead, "And if I didn't take care of your hair, it wouldn't be as silky smooth as it is now, Miyu. You should be thanking me!" He laughed at his sister's embarrassment, which made Miyu also laugh as well.
This was it, the life he wanted for Miyu; living a relaxing, carefree, somewhat peaceful life. Unfortunately, this idealistic life cannot and will not last, as fate itself and the actions taken by the two siblings will not allow it.
"!?"
Shirou's eyes shot open, as he sensed it. Another Bounded Field was erected on top of his own as he sensed a foul energy reminiscent of those monsters he kills every night but much more controlled and refined, emanating a dozen meters in front of them.
He stood up almost immediately, body coiled like a spring, ready to kill anything he deemed a threat.
"Kyaa!" Miyu, startled by her brother's abrupt movement, fell on her back.
"Stay behind me, Miyu," Shirou said as he glanced at her without turning his back to two glasses-wearing schoolgirls. One of them was a young bespectacled woman with long straight black hair that extends down to her knees and light brown eyes. The other one was a bespectacled young woman with a slim figure, black hair styled in a short bob cut, and violet eyes., with both of them wearing Kuoh Academy's uniform.
"W-what's happening?" Miyu said as she stood up and hid behind Shirou's back, clutching his pant leg tightly.
"It is a pleasure to meet you Emiya Shirou-san," The smaller of the two spoke with an air of confidence and elegance found only in those of noble birth. "I am Shitori Souna, and we would like to invite you for a talk."
===AN===
Sorry for the short chapter, I was kinda busy with some final projects that need to be finished.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
WOLF KING FENRIR:
In hindsight, I guess you're right.
SpecterEnding:
Thanks.
YinYang Leon:
That's Seiken Tsukai no World Break.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Next Update:
An Oath Under A Shattered Moon
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