Heavy...
It's so heavy...
His head, body, arms, legs, and even his internal organs feels so heavy.
His entire forms became incredibly heavy and it's because most of his body has turned into steel.
The damages that has been done to his body, both from his battle with that fake priest Kirei Kotomine, and the constant use of Archer's arm has started to take its tool on his body.
Dozens upon dozens of sword are protruding from under his skin as his reality marble frantically tries to heal and overwrite his wounds and broken limbs by knitting and replacing them with swords. His joints gradually become harder to move properly as they begin to take on a metallic, grating sound when he moves.
"Okay..."
Shirou takes a breath, drawing enough oxygen into his lungs to allow him to move. And just as he has expected, even breathing feels so heavy for him.
His throat only moves once. Fortunately, it's not painful. That's because most of his senses has turned to steel as well, so it's not surprise if he's unable to feel much anymore. Let alone pain.
"Let's go."
Shirou then starts to walk toward the most inner part of the cavern below the Ryuudou Temple to take care of one last loose end.
His final job as a participant and the winner of the Fifth Holy Grail War.
To destroy the greater grail once and for all.
Shirou slowly and steadily drags himself deeper and deeper into the cavern where the greater grail lies ahead.
Despite his blurry visions, he can still see the form of that accursed abomination that Kotomine Kirei called as the "source of the answer" to his twisted existence.
The Black Holy Grail.
Seeing the form of that cursed wish granting device, fills him with anger and grieve as the remnants of the memories of his dead loved ones flash before his already damaged mind.
He remember Saber. His most loyal servant and friend who made a pledge to become his sword and protector during the course of the Fifth Holy Grail War. She has saved him so many times from battles and events that nearly took his life. However, he ends up repaying her noble deeds by killing her as he drove a dagger into her heart after she succumbed to Angra Mainyu's curse and turned into her evil Alter-self.
He remember Tohsaka Rin. His good friend and magecraft mentor. The girl whom he make an alliance with during the course of the Fifth Holy Grail War. She had helped him a lot and even saved his life several times during the fifth holy grail war. He still rememberred her tragic death, being stabbed to death by her own possessed little sister as she's unable to deliver the finishing blow in order to kill her.
He remember Matou Sakura. His bestfriend and also the girl whom he fell in love with. The broken girl who always hides her sadness behind her cheerful and optimistic personality everytime she came to his home. He had sacrifice many things for her including his ideals and dream to become a Hero of Justice all for the sake of her happiness. He remember the promise that he made with her to watch the cherry blossom tree together once the Fifth Holy Grail War is over. Unfortunately, that promise can never be fulfilled as he has no other choice but to kill the girl he loved as an act of mercy to release her from her suffering, after seeing just how deep Sakura has succumbed to Angra Mainyu's curse especially after she has murderred her own sister.
A lone tear drops from his eye at the memories of his dead loved ones. He release the red cloth that binds the power of Archer's arm as he finally stood right in front of the black holy grail.
This is it...
His last projection.
He's going to use the last of his remaining consciousness to traced the strongest sword that he knew to destroy the black holy grail.
And it will the deffinite end for both the grail and... himself.
The moment when he uses Archer's arm to perform the final projection, any remaining consciousness and memories that are still left within him will completely dissappear, eroded by Archer's own memories and existence.
He will be nothing more than a husk of his former-self. But, that's okay. Emiya Shirou is no longer has anything worth to fight for anyway, for he has lost everything.
His father figure, his dream, his friends, and the one person that he loved the most. All of them has gone. And it's all thanks to this so called wish-granting device that the Einzbern, Makiri, and Tohsaka has invented.
No..., that's wrong.
It was wrong of him to blame everything on the holy grail for everything that has happened to him to this point. The only one he should blame for all this misery and death was none other than the evil existence that was currently sleeping within the holy grail awaiting its rebirth.
Angra Mainyu, The personification and embodiement of all the world's evil itself.
Kiritsugu, Saber, and Sakura. The three of them had lost to the curse of Angra Mainyu which was the main cause of their death. And the three of them were one of the people he loved.
So, it's not surprising that Shirou developed hatred for Angra Mainyu and a desire to wipe his existence off from the face of the earth.
"Trace on! (Projection Start!)" Shirou Shirou closed his eyes and concentrated on imagining an image of the strongest sword he had in mind. He slowly rises his arms, stopping just above his head.
Blue light formed in his hands, taking the form of a jet black sword with some red markings on its blade. It is the blackened version of the Sword of Promise Victory after being corrupted by the curse of Angra Mainyu. Though, it still doesn't change its nature as a Holy Sword and Divine Construct. This is because this sword is capable of holding a dual existence of good and evil. It was an imperfect copy, but it would be enough.
Weakened as it was, the Sword of Promised Victory was still a Last Phantasm, forged by the planet itself and imbued with the very wishes of mankind. The Greater Grail was not an object that could withstand the might of the sword that was held in the grip of the boy, imitation that it was. A jet black aura flared up around the blade of the sword of promise victory as Shirou pumped every last remaining magical energy he had in his body.
"Ex-"
He prepare to call out the sword's true name and unleashes the full might of the Sword of Promise Victory. He swing his hands down and-
"No. You don't have to do this, Shirou." A voice calls out. "After all, the one who should close the Greater Grail is me."
It sounded so familiar to Shirou. So familiar that he should instantly identify who spoke. That he should gaze upon that person with fear and worry for being where they are now.
Yet nothing comes to the mind of Emiya Shirou but conflict. He cannot remember this person so dear to him.
Who is this?
It was someone important, someone special. Yet he couldn't remember. His mind was burned out all except for that single promise. He tried to bring back whatever memory for this voice. Yet he couldn't.
The figure in white walks toward the Greater Grail, but stops midway and turn around to face Shirou.
"Hey Shirou, do you want to live? No matter what life you'll have? Do you want to live?" The voice asked him.
"Don't... come back here... I'll take him down." Shirou ignored her question, and instead try to convince her to back down from what she's about to do.
He needs to stop her no matter what.
"Do you want to live? The figure asked again, and this time Shirou found himself unable to give anymore response.
It was a simple question, yet he couldn't even bring himself to answer it.
He knows that if he agrees, that this important person will die. That he will lose something important to him. He didn't want to lose this person.
Yet above all that, his desire to live was also great. Even if it would be one more day, one more hour, one more second, he wanted to live. Despite already prepared to sacrifice himself to destroy the holy grail, the thoughts of him dying still scares him to the core.
"I-"
Yet still he hesitates. Because even though he wanted to live, he doesn't want to lose this girl either. She's is just as important as ****** to him.
His voice begins to croak and even though he should not feel anything, he feels a heavy weight on his chest bringing him down.
"I-"
He feels his tears flow on his face. He feels the weight grow even heavier. He knows he'll lose her. He has to remember her name. Call her back. Tell her that she should live and not him. He has to or she'll be lost forever.
But still, Emiya Shirou wishes to live.
"I do. I want to live." He says heavily, those words weighing down on his chest yet also freeing him of a different burden.
"Thank goodness. I wanted you to live instead of me." The girl said as she took one step closer to the grail.
"No! Come back!" Shirou pleaded to the girl.
"I will show you a miracle. This one will be amazing. After all, this is a true magic that everyone wishes to see."
"I don't care! Just come back!" Shirou pleaded to the girl again to return to him. He don't care about any miracles, he just want the girl to come back. That's why he must remember her name.
But what is it? What was her name?
"Dammit... Name... Your name... What is it?"
"You told me that an older sibling protects the younger one, right?"
"Huh?"
At the girl's question, Shirou couldn't help but to stared at her dumbly. His head already turned stupid to understand the meaning of her words.
The girl then speaks again, "...Yeah, I'm actually your older sister, Shirou. That's why I have to protect you."
"I-Illya..."
He finally remembered her name. The name of the girl that was his older sister. The girl he protected from the mad hero. The girl whose life he stole because Kiritsugu saved him.
"I know that you have lost so many things, Shirou. But, you shouldn't give up on living. You should lives on and starts a new life..."
"A new beginning."
He had no idea why, but her words just now resonates strongly within his heart.
"Good bye, Shirou, and thank you. Even though we aren't related by blood, I'm glad that we were siblings." Illya turn her head behind to look at her wonderful little brother for the last time, then she smiles good-bye as she resume her walk towards the greater grail.
"Don't go!" Shirou shouts in attempt to stop his sister, but she just keep on moving.
"Illya! Illya, Illya, Illya, Illya, Illya, Illya, Illya, Illya, Illya, ILLYA!" He screams at her and watch his sister enters the greater grail.
Not long after that, the greater grail explode into a giant white sphere, the sphere keeps on expanding and expanding as it swallows everything within the cavern.
Including him.
Emiya Shirou wakes up slowly as he opens his eyes to look at the ceiling of his bedroom.
'That dream again...'
Shirou grumbled a bit as he tried to sit himself up. However, after he woke up in a sitting position, he suddenly felt a hot sensation radiating from his left arm.
"Dammit...!" Shirou cursed as he struggled to fight off the pain and burning sensation from his left side as his vision swimming in and out of focus periodically.
"Ugh!" He hissed, teeth clenching as his right hand gripped his cloth-clad left shoulder, fighting down the urge to scream despite the contrasting feelings of burning numbness from the limb itself and what was akin to countless ants crawling into his body where it connected to his shoulder.
It wasn't the first time his arm had given him trouble, hell given the situation he should be glad he was alive to feel any pain at all. Though then again, dying at the very least meant he wouldn't need to suffer like this.
'No.' he muttered, eyes hardening as he continued to grip his shoulder, even as his breathing slowly leveled out 'No running away…that's the coward's way out…'
With one last rasping breath, the pain began to ebb, the ants slowly receding, leaving only the uncomfortable numbness that seemed to permeate his entire left side.
"Finally..." Shirou breathed out a sigh of relief as the pain finally dissappear, he let go of his grip on his left shoulder.
'What time is it anyway?' he wondered, turning his attention to the nightstand, only to grimace as the digital clock confirmed that yes, he had well over an hour until he had to get up.
'May as well make the most of it then…' he reasoned, tossing aside the sheets with a grunt & rising to his feet.
Shirou quickly tidied up his futon and tightened the holy shroud on his left arm before leaving his room to start his usual morning routine.
*SIZZLE* *SIZZLE*
The hiss of the heated oil as he cracked the eggs on the frying pan resounded in the kitchen he is in.
After Shirou finished working out and took a quick shower. He then immediately did his other morning routine that he usually always does before starting his activities for the days. Namely, making meals for breakfast.
Seeing the eggs start to solidify Shirou lowered the heat just a bit before getting a pinch of salt and sprinkling it on the egg. Seeing that the white was already set on the bottom, he quickly and deftly took the spatula and a flipped it over.
Before the minute was over, he took the eggs out and put it on top of two plates that already had some fried rice on it.
Next he took a small slice butter and melted it on the pan and then took some bacon he had already prepared and put it inside, this time increasing the heat just a bit.
*SIZZLE* *SIZZLE*
"Morning, Shirou." A masculine voice suddenly called out his name, making the redhead looking up from the stove to see his caretaker strolled into the room, dressed, as always, in his usual grey yukata with haori "You're up early."
"Morning, Azazel-san." Shirou replied politely, the redhead, now clad in a school uniform, not taking his eyes off the stove, more out of a desire to avoid looking at the man than concern for the food "Breakfast will be ready in just a bit, so have a seat."
"If only Vali was as well-mannered." Azazel chuckled, suppressing a yawn as he shuffled over to the table, picking up the morning paper while Shirou turned his attention back to the stove with a sigh.
It had been six months since Shirou had awoken in a private hospital run by one of Azazel's numerous 'subordinates', the man having brought him there when he'd stumbled across him 'lying half-dead in the gutter'. Despite the young magus' concerns, the man hadn't asked too many pertinent questions, which was good, as Shirou doubted he'd be able to answer them.
Fortunately, there was no need to keep his magical ability a secret, as one of the few questions the man asked was how he'd come to possess a Holy Shroud. At first, Shirou assumed he was speaking to an Executor of the Holy Church, as only members of the Burial Division would recognize the Shroud of Martin for what it was. When he'd posed the question however, Azazel had merely laughed at him.
That, and the fact the man clearly wasn't human, had reassured the magus that he wasn't about to be made an 'example' of.
Not that the man's inhumanity meant anything to the magus. After rubbing elbows with Counter-Guardians, Demi-Gods & the personification of All-The-World's-Evil, whatever Azazel was, at the very least he hadn't tried drinking his blood or strapping him to a dissection table.
Oh, make no mistake; there was no denying the man was powerful. Even slouched over like he was, casually reading the morning paper while dressed in a yukata & haori, he radiated Prana like an active Noble Phantasm and Shirou didn't doubt for a second he was holding back.
The Man's species aside, Shirou was more concerned with how he'd gotten from the caverns beneath Fuyuki City to a street in Kuoh City, a sentiment seemingly shared by Azazel, who went out of his way try and contact Fujimura Taiga, Shirou's Guardian in Fuyuki, to verify the redhead's claims, only to drop another bombshell on the boy.
There was no Fujimura Taiga. There was no Old Man Raiga, no Fujimura-Group. Even the staff at Homurahara had never heard of an 'Emiya-Shirou', and a call to the hospital shot down any hopes of him being listed as a 'survivor of the fire', the reason being that there never was one.
There never was a Holy Grail War, the Einzbern never teamed up with the Tohsaka & Matou to recreate the Heaven's Feel and so the being known as Emiya Shirou was never 'born'.
Faced with the reality of being stranded in a world where, for all intents & purposes, he did not exist, Shirou naturally went into shock, until Azazel spoke the words that had rocked him to his core:
"So kid, you wanna come with me?"
And so, for the second time in his life, Shirou found himself in the care of a shady, middle-aged man that, by all rights, should not have been able to just walk out the door with him, no doubt using whatever influence he possessed, material & otherwise, to have papers made in Shirou's name, including a birth certificate, passport and even a hanko for any official documentation he may receive in the future.
The similarities to Kiritsugu didn't stop there either. Indeed, there were times when it physically hurt Shirou to be around the Azazel, though thankfully they were few and far between. One of the key differences between them, other than the fact that Azazel was clearly a foreign non-human obsessed with local culture, was that his slothful nature stemmed from his laid-back attitude rather than a curse slowly eating away at his body. Not only that, while Kiritsugu could be kind of a drag, Azazel was almost disturbingly likable, always obsessed with the newest thing on the market.
'It's almost like he's the bastard child of Kiritsugu & Fuji-nee…' he mused to himself, chuckling as he set the food on the table, recalling the memories of his guardian's childhood crush on his father, and how they'd both compete for the man's attention.
Those kind of mundane days, were one of the few moments he really enjoyed in his life.
"Mm, perfect as always, Shirou." Azazel complimented, his eyes dancing as he eagerly dug into the humble, in Shirou's opinion, breakfast "I swear your cooking could lead a Saint to sin."
"You're exaggerating, Azazel-san. My skills are not that great, yet." Shirou scoffed while putting an emphasize on the word yet. The two of them continuing to eat their breakfast in comfortably relative silence before he noticed the man suppressing a yawn "Were you working late last night?"
"Ah, I had no other choice but to stay up late because one of my cute subordinates passed away some time ago." Azazel sighed, his good humour vanishing, replaced with a grim frown.
"And to top it all off, it turns out the reason behind it was due to them running around carrying out errands for another one who's been scurrying around my back for some time now." He said before taking a sip of his miso soup "It hasn't gotten to the point I need to step in personally, but if he keeps this up I may need to have him cool his heels for a bit."
Shirou shivered but said nothing, more than used to such conversations after a lifetime accompanying Fujimura Raiga whenever the old man had desired some company. You didn't associate with the head of a Yakuza group, or cohabit with the man's Granddaughter, without learning to filter certain troubling turns of phrase.
"Shouldn't you be heading out?" Azazel wondered, glancing up at the wall-mounted clock for emphasis, Shirou's eyes widening in alarm as he realized he was running late "Don't worry about the dishes, I'll sort them out."
"In that case, I'll be off." Shirou conceded, rising from his seat, making certain to pick up his packed lunch from the fridge before heading on his way, Azazel turning on the television just as the magus shut the door behind him.
Right after Shirou left his new home, Shirou immediately jogged towards his school while hoping that he would arrive on time.
While jogging to his new school, his mind begins to wander as in the memories of the final stage of the Fifth Holy Grail War and his Mysterio is appearance to this world. For some reason beyond his comprehension, he hadn't died that day. The grail's explosion didn't killed him and instead it healed him from all of his injuries. He wasn't destroyed by Archer's arm, which had been resealed by the shroud when he awoke at one of Azazel's hospitals.
He was alive!
Until now, he still hasn't got the slightest definite clue on how all this could happened. However, he has a lingering suspicion that all these had something to do with the magic Illya was talking about or some kind of fail-safe mechanism that's triggered from the grail's destruction.
He doesn't know which one is true, but the most important thing is that he is alive and well.
Exactly as what Illya wished for.
Ever since the day he found out he survived from the grail's destruction and ends up in this different world. He have tried to start a new life, though he does it out of respect for Illya's sacrifice in saving his life.
However, since he no longer has anything worth fighting after losing everything in the fifth holy grail war, he decided to take back the ideals he had thrown away to a certain degree as a starting point to start his new life in this world.
For the first month or so since awakening in this new world, Shirou had done nothing but try to determine just how much it differed from his own. To his relief, the two were almost eerily similar, possessing similar histories & events that had led to the formation of modern society, so it wasn't as if he had to deal with any culture shock on the mundane front.
The Magical side of things, however, was a completely different story, evidenced by the first time he'd tried activating his circuits, only to almost kill himself as the ambient true ether in the Mana surged into his body, forcing him to trace several high-ranking Noble Phantasms in order to avoid death by Magical Energy Overload. It was a good thing he'd had the foresight to keep Archer's Arm wrapped up; otherwise he was fairly certain the damn thing would have devoured him on the spot.
As it were, however, that brief experiment had made it very clear to Shirou that either the Laws of Magic were different in this world, or Gaia's influence wasn't as strong.
He wouldn't be able to confirm his suspicions until he came in contact with this world's equivalent of the Association, but from what little he'd managed to observe, and the presence of various non-human entities he'd sensed wandering around town, Shirou had soon concluded that, as bizarre as it sounded, this world's Age of the Gods had yet to end, and indeed had persisted to the modern era.
For less experienced Magi, such a thing would have been seen as a dream come true, a chance for them to take their research to new heights, and perhaps even achieve their clan's goal of reaching the Akashic Record. But for Shirou, who had experienced first-hand the power of those who lived through the Age of Gods, it was a daunting prospect.
Still, all work and no play made Azazel bored, and so, despite Shirou's wishes to the contrary, his inhuman guardian had enrolled him at a local high school in the hopes of preventing him from 'Missing Out on (his) Rosy High School Life'. This, more than anything, proved beyond a doubt in Shirou's mind that whatever else Azazel may be, he had to be somehow related to Taiga, as she was the only person capable of saying something so corny with a straight face.
And so, despite his protests & countless hurled objects of a sharp, pointy variety, Shirou found himself walking through the gates of the prestigious Kuoh Academy three months later as a Second-Year Transfer from Fuyuki City.
Despite its strange name & decidedly Western themed Architecture, the school wasn't all that different from Homurahara Academy. Indeed, Shirou soon found himself drawing parallels with his Alma-mater to the point he found himself looking for familiar faces in the hallways, only to hurriedly avert his eyes in order to be mistaken as a creeper by the multitude of young women that filled them.
That was one area where Kuoh differed from Homurahara, as at its founding it had been a prestigious All-Girls School, famous for catering to the Educational Needs of Exceptional, both in terms of looks & academics, Young Women. The Academy had stood the test of time for generations, refusing to open the gates to male students until fairly recently, when the Director, for reasons Shirou had yet to find a valid explanation for, had decided to make the school Co-ed, allowing boys to enroll for the first time in generations.
No one was entirely certain just what had affected this change in policy. It certainly wasn't due to lack of funds, nor was it acceptance rates. Indeed, the entry requirements for Kuoh had actually been lowered in order to improve the ratio of the male turnout for the year…which Shirou was ashamed to admit was probably the only reason Azazel had managed to enroll him, given his lack of school documents.
In order to compensate for this, despite Azazel assuring him that his tuition was paid in full, Shirou had fallen into his old role as 'Fake Janitor', helping out the various clubs and faculty members where needed, never asking for anything in return. Needless to say, this quickly endeared him to most of the Seniors & Staff members, earning him the, slightly more flattering nickname of 'Handyman Emiya' and, more embarrassingly, the 'Kuoh Brownie'.
It also brought him to the attention of the Student Council, a prospect that was both refreshing, in that the President reminded him a lot of his friend, Ryuudo Issei, and concerning, as she, and the entire Council for that matter, not only weren't human, but from their scent were an entirely different species from Azazel.
Fortunately, much like his caretaker, they seemed content to masquerade as ordinary humans, so for the moment he'd kept his apprehensions to himself. It certainly didn't hurt that the scent of Sona and her clique didn't send him racing for the hills, unlike a certain redheaded senpai that seemed determine to speak with him for some reason these last few months.
Kuoh Academy: Student Council Office.
It was around lunch break where he suddenly received a call directly from the student council president. At first, he thought the reason why he was summoned was because his identity as a magic user had been exposed, however, his assumption turned out to be wrong as it turned out that he was summoned to help repair the heater in the student council room which had been broken.
And that is the reason why currently Shirou is in the student council room while tinkering with the broken heater.
"Okay," Shirou grunted, his Ochre eyes narrowing in concentration as he examined the mess of wires before him, a screwdriver gripped in his free hand "I think I see what the problem is."
"Sorry to bother you with this, Emiya-kun." Shitori Sona offered, the reserved President looking up from her paperwork to see what the redhead was doing over the rim of her glasses.
"This is the third time it's broken down this month, Kaichou." Meguri Tomoe groaned, the Secretary glaring at the offending Heater "We really should call in a repair-man."
"We wouldn't be able to even if there was room left in the budget." Ruruko sighed dejectedly, the Treasurer slumping morosely across her desk "Kaichou already allocated the budgets for this semester, so there's nothing we can do."
"We wouldn't have to do anything if the last caretaker hadn't been caught hiding cameras in the girl's locker rooms." Shinra Tsubaki opined, the Vice-President's hetero-chromatic eyes flashing in silent anger at the recollection "Honestly, how a pervert like that managed to slip through the cracks for so long is beyond me."
"You mean like how the Perverted Trio are still running rampant?" Tomoe teased, earning a frown from the older girl "Honestly, I'm surprised Kaichou didn't have them expelled from the start."
A sentiment Shirou, and most of the female student body, agreed with, given what little interaction he'd had with the trio of idiots that were unanimously reviled by pretty much every decent human being on campus, staff and student alike.
One of the many downsides of the lowered entry requirements that had quickly raised its ugly head was the fact that, out of the comparatively small handful of male students that managed to pass the exam & earn a place within the hallowed halls of Kuoh, there existed a sizable number who had only done so because of Kuoh's reputation for housing 'babes'.
Case in point, The Perverted Trio, a Trifecta of Stupidity composed of Matsuda the 'Perverted Paparazzi', Motohama the 'Three-Size-Scouter' & Hyoudou Issei, the 'Self-Proclaimed Harem King'.
Somehow, despite all logic, the three of them had managed to garner over 30 detentions and a suspension apiece within the first month of enrollment for peeking & taking illicit photos, though thankfully they hadn't seen fit to try anything of a more physical nature.
A good thing too, otherwise Shirou wouldn't have been the only one with something to say. Nor did he doubt for a second that he wouldn't be the only one letting his fists do the talking.
Some might find this a surprisingly harsh opinion, especially anyone who'd known Shirou in his past life. And truth be told if the trio showed any remorse for their actions, he might not have held them in such low regard.
But no, not only did the three stooges refuse to show remorse for their actions; they honestly believed it was their God-Given right to violate their classmates' basic human rights to satisfy their base urges.
Even putting aside what he'd learned of Sakura's upbringing, Shirou had never been the sort to avert his eyes from wrongdoing, and it didn't get worse than sexually harassing someone. He therefore felt wholly justified about breaking Issei's nose when the little shit had invited him to 'Join Us in the Search for Oppai-tenment'.
Hell, he hadn't even gotten a detention for it, if anything it had only served to improve his own reputation among the staff & student body, to say nothing of Sona's opinion of him.
"Tomoe, Tsubaki, that's enough." Sona intervened, silencing her fellow council members with a stern look before turning to regard Shirou "Well then, Emiya-kun, can it be fixed?"
"Mm," Shirou confirmed with a nod, subtly adding the finishing touches to the heater before closing his circuits "I'd still recommend getting someone to give this a proper look-over if you're not going to replace it. As it stands, this is a temporary fix at best."
"I'll see about making arrangements before the Winter Term rolls around." Sona mused offhandedly, gesturing towards Tsubaki, who diligently made a note of the issue for their next meeting with the faculty "Thank you for your efforts, Emiya-kun. Rest assured; you shall be compensated for your assistance."
"There's no need for that." Shirou countered hurriedly, hoping to dissuade her before things turned into an argument, only to flinch as Sona adjusted her glasses pointedly.
"Emiya-kun," she cut in, her tone all-too-similar to Rin's whenever the Elder Tohsaka sibling felt the need to point out why Shirou was an idiot "While your generosity is to be commended, I cannot in good faith allow you to walk out that door without some form of reimbursement for your time. Not only would it reflect badly on the Student Council, it would mark you as a patsy for anyone looking to shirk their duties."
"I understand, Shitori-Kaichou…" Shirou sighed, rubbing the back of his head absentmindedly "I just don't like the idea that I'm getting paid for something I did on a whim."
"As expected of Kuoh Academy's Brownie." Genshirou Saji chortled, the sole male Council Member smirking at the redhead from the side "Truly, you're a credit to us all."
"Ara, didn't Gen-chan also take advantage of Emiya-kun though?" Tomoe opined, heedless of her colleague's look of alarm "After all, weren't you supposed to fix the heater last week?"
"Saji…" Sona intoned, the boy in question freezing before slowly turning to face the bespectacled president, only to flinch as her glasses ominously reflected the light of the room "Is this true?"
"I think I'd better leave." Shirou opined, wincing as the scent of Sona's power, which had been permeating the room, slowly increased, the magus wishing Saji all the luck in the world as he made for the door, only to freeze as a familiar, intimidating scent hit him right in the face.
It wasn't a bad smell by any means. Indeed, it carried the sweet undertone of honey that Sona & the rest of the council, sans Saji, gave off. However, unlike Sona, whose power smelled like running water, this scent had every fibre of his being screaming at him to run like his life depended on it.
The last time he'd smelled something like this, he'd been facing off against that fake priest, Kotomine Kirei, in a fist fight before the Greater Grail, the corrupted vessel on the verge of giving birth to 'All the World's Evil'. It was therefore rather off-putting that the owner of the scent possessed such a friendly smile.
"Ah! Emiya-kun!" The tall, buxom redhead greeted, her blue-green eyes brightening cheerfully at the sight of him, a sentiment shared by her dark-haired companion, though her smile carried a hint of mischief "Good afternoon-!"
Shutting the door in her face & locking it for good measure, Shirou proceeded to ignore her surprised exclamations & the bemused looks of the Student Council as he calmly crossed the room to a window, which he proceeded to open & climb out of, pausing only to shut it behind him before turning on his heel and sprinting off into the distance.
"Well…" Tsubaki mused, unable to hide her amusement as Saji seized the opportunity to escape Sona's sight by rushing to open the locked door "That happened."
"Indeed." Sona mused, torn between her disapproval of Shirou's behavior & her amusement at the look on her rival's face as Saji showed her in "Good Afternoon, Rias, Akeno."
"Good Afternoon, Sona." The Gremory heiress returned the greeting, her Queen, Himejima Akeno smiling as she inclined her head at "Was that Emiya-kun earlier?"
"You just missed him." Sona supplied, gesturing to the windows for emphasis, hiding her amusement at her friend's ensuing pout behind a disapproving frown "Was there something you needed him for?"
"Not really." Rias sighed, shaking her head in exasperated disappointment "I'd just like to know why he always tries to run away whenever I try to talk to him."
"Maybe you did something so terrible to him in the past he developed a fear for you?" Akeno opined, not even trying to hide her amusement at the "Maybe he drummed up the courage to ask you out, only for you to carelessly trample over his feelings when you rejected him?"
"Akeno!" Rias chided, flushing at her Queen's imagination "Stop making me sound like the villain in a bad soap opera!" she huffed crossly "Besides, I honestly can't recall ever meeting him before."
"I wouldn't be surprised, considering he only enrolled at the Academy this year." Sona opined, accepting a folder from Tsubaki, Shirou's picture attacked to the front page "He transferred from Homurahara in Fuyuki city, but was forced to repeat a year to make up for his lackluster marks."
"So he's technically a 3rd year, Kaichou?" Ruruko noted brightly, earning a troubled look from Saji, "You'd better get him something nice as thanks for fixing the heater, Gen-chan."
"Ara, so the Brownie of Kuoh strikes again I see." Akeno mused, ignoring Saji's splutters in favor of the aforementioned heater as Rias ran her fingers over it as if testing for dust "Well?"
"Mm, there's no doubt about it." Rias confirmed, her expression unreadable as she drew her hand back & turned to face Sona "It's faint, almost non-existent really, but I can detect some traces of the same magical signature we've been sensing on and off around campus the past few months."
"I see…" Sona mused, her expression just as unreadable as Rias' as she adjusted her glasses in thought "I had my suspicions, but I never would have imagined a Magician would be so daring as to sneak into our territory, especially given recent events."
"You think he could have been affiliated with Raynare's group?" Rias pondered, crossing her arms beneath her considerable bust, much to Sona's irritation "It would certainly explain his wariness around me, and not all of her accomplices were accounted for, Freed Sellzen being a prime example."
"Possible." Sona mused, shivering slightly at the mention of the insane exorcist "Though from what little we know, it seems Sellzen hates Magicians just as much as Devils, so it's unlikely Emiya-kun would have had any involvement with him."
"Could he simply have moved here without knowing this territory was under the protection of the Gremory & Sitri clans?" Reya suggested "I mean, none of the residual magic we've sensed around campus has been remotely offensive, right?"
"True. He only seems to use it to gain a better understanding of the inner-workings of the machines he repairs." Tsubaki opined as she adjusted her glasses "In cases where the magic lingers, it seems to be strengthening faulty components until such time they can be replaced."
"Ara, it would seem his reputation as a 'Brownie' is well deserved after all…" Akeno mused, licking her fingers with a sultry smile, "I can only wonder what secrets he may be hiding…"
Sona said nothing, more than familiar with the antics of her friend's Queen, even if she shared her thoughts on the matter. No matter how highly the staff & student body spoke of him, no matter how well-intentioned his actions may be, the fact remained that Emiya Shirou was an unknown Magician that had somehow managed to slip under their radar in the wake of the 'Twilight Healing Incident'.
True, Rias' 'Occult Research Club' had resolved the issue swiftly, garnering the Gremory two valuable new addition to her peerage in the process, but it didn't change the fact that, somehow, no less than Four Fallen Angels & a squad of Stray-Exorcists had managed to sneak into their territory.
Such a slip-up could be fatal in the future. Hell, it HAD cost Rias new peerage members their mortal lives, so it was only understandable that, even if it turned out he wasn't a threat, Sona wouldn't rest till she learned just what rock Emiya Shirou had crawled out from under.
"For now, I propose we merely adopt a 'wait and see' approach." She suggested, Rias nodding her head in agreement "If it turns out he's simply ignorant, we may consider approaching him." Her glasses flashed ominously "Should his intentions be less than noble, however…"
Her implication was clear, though Sona was surprised to note quite a few people in the room seemed troubled by the prospect of having to kill Emiya Shirou. Herself included.
Kuoh City: After Hours.
"I'm heading off, Master." Shirou called out, the young teen waving in passing to the owner of Azazel's favorite bar, where he worked part time in order to earn some spending money "I'll see you tomorrow!"
"Take care kid!" the mustachioed owner called out, nodding his head from the bar, where he was dutifully cleaning a glass with a clean rag "Tell 'Az' to stop on by sometime, will ya?"
"I will." Shirou called out, stepping out of the bar only to curse as he found himself standing in a rainstorm, the magus holding his book-bag over his head as he raced for the nearest shelter.
"Of all the times to forget an umbrella…" he muttered, part of him considering using projection to trace one, only to scoff at the idea moments later, imaging the look on Rin's face at such a use for his one skill, his good mood souring instantly at the memory of his first true mentor in Magecraft.
'Where did it all go so wrong?' he wondered, gazing up at the cloudy sky, part of him wishing it would wash his memories away, just like it had that day Kiritsugu had pulled him out of the fire.
If he closed his eyes, he could still see them, see the faces of the people he'd vowed, and failed, to save, from Saber, who had vowed to fight on his side only to die with his dagger in her chest, to Sakura, poor, beautiful, broken Sakura, who had tearfully voiced her love for him as he cleaved her head from her shoulders.
He remembered Shinji's terrified screams and Kotomine's mocking praises. He recalled Lancer's feral grin, Archer's judging gaze. He'd lost count of the times the memory of Berserker's mad howl had shaken him from his fitful slumber.
And most of all, he remembered Ilya's last smile before sacrificing herself to save his life and destroy the corrupted Holy Grail for good.
He'd cast aside his dreams for her, forsworn the borrowed ideals of a hero of justice, sacrificed friend, foe & even his left arm, all for the sake of preserving the smile of a sister he'd never known, who had spent her entire life hating him for a crime he'd never knowingly committed.
It hadn't been enough, after everything he'd sacrificed, it hadn't been enough to save the one person he'd wanted to save above all else.
He's truly pathetic. Both as a man and as a brother.
"Nuuoogh!"
A pained cry snapped him out of his thoughts, quickly followed by the familiar sound of live steel digging into flesh. As if on autopilot, he found himself racing through the rain, urged on by the fading cries for help, pulling up short just as he reached the scent of blood, his eyes narrowing as he peered around the corner.
Lying face down in a growing pool of blood was a Priest, the back of his vestments laced with numerous cuts. Standing over the man was another, younger priest, this one wearing a black overcoat & a crazed expression as he leered at a blonde youth in a Kuoh Academy Uniform sans the blazer.
"Yoo-hoo~" the grey-haired priest called out, his features crazed and mocking as he smiled at the blonde teen "It's been a while, hasn't it? Did you miss me? Prince Shit of the Shitty Devils?"
"Freed Sellzen-!" The blonde spat, Shirou's eyes widening as he recognized Kiba Yuuto, the unofficial 'Prince' of Kuoh Academy, and one of several 'nonhumans' he'd seen associating with she-who-must-be-avoided "What rock have you been hiding under all this time?"
"It must be fate!" the priest, Freed, crooned, his voice sending shivers of disgust up Shirou's spine as he gyrated perversely "I can't help but shed a tear at such a joyous reunion!"
"Unfortunately for you, I'm not in the mood for any of your bad jokes." Kiba muttered, Shirou's eyes widening as a magic circle appeared before the blonde, a sword manifesting itself in his hands.
"That's perfect!" Freed, cackled, waving his own sword overhead, the blade lighting up with a golden aura even as he leered at the blonde "I was getting bored just running around killing priests…!"
"That light-!" Kiba exclaimed, his handsome features twisting in a mixture of alarm and utter loathing as he gaped at the weapon in the deranged priest's hands "That aura…it can't be-!"
"Oh but it can!" Freed countered with a sneer "Nice timing! As penance for your previous actions against my noble self, let's see which is stronger: Your piece of shit Demon Sword, or my Holy Blade, Ex-Cali-Bur~?!"
Upon hearing the name of the holy sword on that psycho's hand, Shirou could only utter one word to express just how surprised he is.
"What the fuck..."
Aaand I'll end the first chapter right here.
Hi readers, the name is King Frozen, I'm just a newbie writer who decided to join the site. So, as you know, I adopted this story from Kyugan and I can't thanked him enough for giving me the permission. I actually planning to just continue from where Kyugan has left off with this story, but I decided to post the story from the very first chapter because there are some elements that I wanted to change so that the story would fit in with my taste better. I admit there's not many changes in the first chapter and even in the future chapters because I'm planning to use Kyugan's original plot at least until the meeting between the three faction arc, but don't worry because I will still slip in some of my own ideas in each chapters where I see fit.
Also, I'm thinking of putting more of Type-Moon's elements into the story, like the existence of the Twenty seven Dead Apostles Organization and the Beast of Humanity maybe? What do you think?
Anyways, that's it for me and I'll be seeing you all in two weeks maybe? Please don't forget to leave some reviews because I'd like to know what you think. And for the record, I'm sorry if there are some grammar mistakes because English isn't exactly my first language, you see.
And don't forget to read Kyugan's other stories, because trust me, they worth your free time.
Bye bye!
King Frozen Out.