Prologue/Chapter 1: Fate of the Killer
After Kiritsugu Emiya closed his eyes for the last time, his perceptions were enveloped in a void. So, this is it. Angra Manyu has finally grasped the body of the spellcaster and finally brought him to death where he belongs.
His soul and consciousness however, were not destroyed, or even lingered in this world managed by Gaia. Slowly, they would seep into a rift, flowing to a different world. Something clung onto his newly freed spirit, and then both the spirit and mind settled into a newborn body. Eventually, the Magus Killer felt sensations bleed back into his perceptions, bright lights painfully preventing him from opening his eyes, wetness clung onto his skin, and his hearing was completely off. He understood nothing of what was going on around him.
He didn't particularly believe in an afterlife, but these sensations truly made for a very odd version of Hell. There was nowhere else he could even think that he would be sent to after all. Whether it was the western underworld or the one depicted in his homeland however, that he wasn't sure of. This state of sensitive senses lasted for what felt like an eternity to Kiritsugu, but eventually, things slowly started clearing up.
From what he can now make out, he was reborn, his vision is still terrible, so he can only make out very few things close up, like the faces of his new parents. Confusion immediately set in for the Magus Killer. Why? Reincarnation is a rather complicated topic, and as far as he knows, only a Dead Apostle named Roa has managed to accomplish the feat on a consistent basis. He has decided to shelve such thoughts for later.
There was an attendant nearby, rattling off some statistics for what he assumed was just his birth. The room seemed rather traditional for his homeland, along with all in attendance wearing rather traditional garbs. While there are those in Japan who like to keep to their own homegrown culture and traditions when it comes to objects and such, this was all just, a lot, especially for a home birth. So the former Magus Killer assumes he was born in a more foreign era as opposed to one he was more familiar with.
The final confirmation for that theory came from the man naming statistics.
"Kiritsugu Emiya, born on Jûichi-gatsu Jū ichi Tenpou Jūyon."
Converting that in his head Kiritsugu mentally paused. That translates to November 11th 1844 AD, over a hundred years before he was supposed to be born. Still however, he had the same birthday, and seemingly also the same name. So at least those were two things he wouldn't have to get used to. Everything else however.. That will take much adjustment.
It took a couple of months for him to figure out his parents. Hajime and Kaguya Emiya, the former being head of the household and being descendant of a small samurai clan of little note. They were decent people, though it was never something he could get used to. Kiritsugu after all is still a bit in shock of this situation. Even if they both were attentive of him and his needs, he was afraid that either of them might turn into another Norikata. While the man was caring for Kiritsugu, that was the only good karma he generated, everything else was purely vile and dismissive.
He doesn't know whether this world has magecraft or not, but he could feel within himself the power that was once in his magic crest, but in a seemingly completed state, almost as if it was directly grafted into his soul instead of just his magic circuits, and as if the parts formerly seized by the Association were granted back to it. He will test it out later, when he is big enough to handle it at least. He also felt something else, but it was completely foreign to him and he had no clue how to reach it.
That, shall be figured out later, messing with it might lead to negative consequences. For now, he continued to observe and note things down in his newly born life.
Now with a solid 4 years and some change beyond his birth, Kiritsugu was finally able to talk more openly without drawing suspicion. Currently he was standing in front of his new mother, while wearing a black komon kimono, one of his hands rubbing his chin as he contemplated a question posed by her.
"Hmm.." The former Magus Killer intoned as he contemplated the question of a play date with the child of one of his parents' associates. While he formerly would've said that he would be fine without gaining any sort of interpersonal relationships, right now he was in the body of a child. It would be far more advantageous getting to know people rather than sticking to himself all the time. The most powerful weapon in the world after all is who you know.
That led him to relent, and decide to give it a shot, "Sure Okaa-san, I'll go play with them." Unlike how he spoke and behaved back during his original childhood, his tone was far more measured, but not completely cold. His gaze is more precise yet also not a glower or blank look. His time rescuing and raising Shirou has prevented his mentality from slipping down completely into an uncaring man.
"Wonderful Kiritsugu! I'm sure you'll get along with her fine!" His mother responded with a wide warm smile, grasping his hand as she began to lead him out of the house. The abode was located in Edo, which will eventually become known as Tokyo down the line. The small estate was similar to the one he lived in during the last years of his life, and was located among a plethora of nice sakura trees.
Today was quite a nice day outside, the revived man basking in the sunlight and breathing in the fresh air. It only took around 10 minutes to walk to what seemed to be another manor. There was an attendant outside, seemingly waiting for them to arrive. They observed the mother and son for a couple seconds before nodding and heading back inside. By the time that Kiritusugu and his mother stood in front of the manor, what he assumes is the mother of the girl and the girl come out of the home. The girl had pale golden eyes, as well as shoulder length light blonde hair. All while wearing a pink komon kimono.
"Look Souji-chan, the Emiyas are here!" said the mother of the girl in a friendly tone, with Kiritsugu and the now named Souji eyeing each other, seemingly appraising the other. The former Assassin was slowly starting to feel awkward from the stare down, until the girl walked over to him and tugged him by his sleeve. "Hello!" Souji said with a wide pure smile, that melted down any apprehension left in the reincarnated magi.
Her chipper voice broke him out of his stupor, with Emiya relaxing a bit. Since he already got her name from what her mother said, he decided to introduce himself. "Hello Souji-san, I am Kiritsugu!" He made sure to pour as much childish enthusiasm into the introduction as he could manage. His self introduction seems to confuse her only for a moment, before she responds back. "Nice to meet you Kiri!" the sudden choice for her to shorten his name to specifically that made him freeze once again.
The memories of that grail war wracked his mind, which he then forcefully buried. Something or someone chose to bring him to a new world, possible as repentance for his past, so he will make sure to live out that new life as best as possible. He forced himself to be at peace with that thought. He grasped the hand of the girl, deciding to make use of the opportunity to be a child once again, and live it out with all that he now knows. "Come on, let's go play!"
Souji grasped his hand back firmly in response and nods in excitement, before she ran and guided him somewhere else on the estate to play together and get to know eachother.
Will his life here go equally into such dire straights like it did before? He hopes not, and even if it becomes the case, he will try his best to prevent it, and will become a proper hero, one that Shirou could look up to instead of his blood stained past.
This is the first fanfiction I have done in a long while, and lots has happened in my life since then. I'm aiming to actually keep this one going for as long as possible, and fix any possible errors that could occur, instead of giving up on it. I inserted two pieces of foreshadowing in this chapter, one of them is extremely obscure and I would be surprised if it is spotted, if someone makes an accurate guess I will be impressed.
The other is extremely obvious and will be revealed in the next chapter, mainly on who the girl is. Yes, some historical figures will be replaced by Fate ones, mainly a certain police organization as they'll play the largest role in part one of the fanfiction. Anyway, have a good day, I hope the prologue was satisfying!