Hey, first AN I've ever done.
Now, I know I constantly release new stories, but the one by HanaDoesFics really made me want to do one with these two worlds. I had some ideas for it, and their original really pushed me to do something with them. Don't worry, I did contact them to ask about doing this, and they okayed it, so a huge shout out to them I highly recommend reading the original. It will feel really similar for a while, but hopefully some of the new things I choose to implement will make it its own thing.
As for my other fics, I am still working on them, just slowly. I just graduated university and am currently in the process of obtaining a certification and job searching, so I've got a lot on my plate. The next update might not be a while for those two, but between them, it will probably be Re: Dungeon.
Anyways, let's get into the story. Oh, and I don't own the rights to Re: Zero or F/SN.
"… Ugh."
The red-haired young man slowly comes to. Surrounding him is a medieval-style street, which was mostly definitely not the apartment building or even city he was just in.
"What is going on?"
Throughout the streets was a variety of people, but many he had never seen before. While there were ones who looked like every human he'd ever seen, some had animal parts, and some just looked like bipedal reptiles. Before the man could make sense of anything, a tough-looking man called out to him.
"Oi kid, you just gonna keep staring or are you actually gonna buy something?" Even though the man sounded a bit rude, the younger man could tell the shopkeeper was genuinely worried about him. He was just standing in the middle of the street in a daze.
"Oh, sorry, I'm just a bit… confused." And he truly was. This place was like none other he had been to if the amount of mana in the air was anything to go by. But, for now, he decided to walk away as to not bother the man any further.
"If you say so kid."
Shirou Emiya walked a bit further before finding a bench and taking a seat to try and make sense of things. He had gone out to go grocery shopping even though Tohsaka said he should go tomorrow, and the next thing he knew, he was here. He should've have listened to her.
"Well, wallowing in self-pity isn't going to get me anywhere." Getting up with a newfound passion, Shirou begins to try and find something he can use to help him. "This is most likely a different world, so the money I have on me probably isn't going to work. Being able to speak with the citizens is useful, but if I can't get back quick, Tohsaka's gonna kill me."
While searching, he happens upon what seems to be a guard station, where a man with a similar hair color to him is standing.
"Oh, hello sir. Did you need help with something?" The man seemed to be a knight based off of what he was wearing, and he had a sword on his hip, so…
His eyes widened as he felt the blade fall into his reality marble. This was a genuine modern-day noble phantasm. Its history was extremely long, showing how it was passed down throughout the van Astrea family and was currently wielded by Reinhard, though only under certain circumstances. Luckily, based off of what he could glean from the sword, Reinhard seemed like an upstanding man, and rather similar to Saber when it came to chivalry.
Finally releasing his thoughts from the sword, Shirou focuses back on the conversation with Reinhard. "Yeah, actually, that would be great. I know this may sound weird, but would you be able to tell me what city we are in?"
The knight looked at him a bit quizzically for a moment before relenting. "It would be my pleasure. You are currently in the royal capital of the kingdom of Lugnica."
"Thank you, I greatly appreciate it. I hope I did not keep you from anything."
"It was no problem; I am actually off duty for today. If you need any more help, do not be afraid to ask. If you do, ask for Reinhard, they will know who you are looking for."
"Thank you once again, Reinhard. My name is Shirou, and I will be sure to do so if ever necessary." Even though most people would take the help right there, Shirou did not want to bother the knight anymore than he already had. So, the two men parted ways.
As Shirou moved around the city, he decided that trying to move in-between crowds probably wasn't the best way to go about things, so he moved into an alleyway to try and figure things out.
"Well, well, well, look at what we have here." Three men of three very different sizes made their way into the alley, with the most normally proportioned one in the middle making the comment. By the looks of them, they seemed to be thugs looking to rob him. Unluckily for them, Shirou wasn't their average schmuck in an alleyway.
"You guys should really find a better thing to do than hurt others. Is it truly that hard to find a job?" Before the three delinquents could even react, the magus was already on them, knocking them back much farther than he had intended.
"Seems like they aren't any stronger than the average person from my world. But Reinhard's blade seemed to there at least being some very strong beings." As Shirou mulled over his "fight" (read: one-sided beat down), someone else made their way into the alley.
"STOP RIGHT TH-" A young girl started before stopping short and taking a look at the scene in the alley. Seeing that there were three knocked out and one standing over them, her face turns serious as she looks at him.
"Did you hurt them?" She states this in a cold tone while shards of ice begin to form around her.
"Yes, BUT they were trying to rob me, so this constitutes as self-defense." He didn't want to fight the… elf girl? Seems this world followed many of the fantasy tropes. But this girl seemed rather nice, especially if she was willing to help three people she didn't even know.
"I… see. But this one seems especially hurt though." She took a look to her left where one of the thugs was bleeding.
"Sorry, I overestimated them and ended up using too much force. I should be able to heal him." He may not have the aptitude for healing magecraft (or really any magecraft in general), but he should have a blade that could help. Before he could do anything though, the girl was already next to the patient, seemingly already treating him.
"I'm sorry, but after seeing what you did, I do not believe I can trust you to do as a such." She was still wary of him, huh. Well, most people would be after seeing what he did.
"Don't worry, Lia, he was being honest. He was fully ready to heal him." All of a sudden, a small cat appeared over the girl's shoulder. It seemed to be an intelligent animal of sorts… no, scratch that, it gave off the feeling of something extremely powerful.
"Hey buddy, I know I'm beautiful, but it's rude to stare so seriously you know." The cat snapped him out of his thoughts, though the grin kind of irked him.
"Leave him alone Puck, we still need to find that thief. If you are okay, sir, we'll be on our way." But before the duo could get far, Shirou called out to them.
"Wait, did you say you were looking for a thief?"
The girl turned around, looking at him rather skeptically. She seemed to be deciding whether she should tell him or not. Finally, she came to a decision.
"Something very important was stolen from me, so we are trying to find it. If there is nothing else, I must be on my way."
"Wait, I can help you, if you would be willing." His response drew the attention of both the girl and the cat, but neither seemed to believe his words.
"And why would you want to do that?" The girl spoke up first, almost as if it was something that no one would ever do.
"It's not wrong to help others." Shirou spoke this phrase as if it was second nature.
This time, the cat spoke up. "He's actually telling the truth, Lia. He truly wants to help you." This surprised both the girl and Shirou, but for different reasons. For the girl, she had never met someone who just wanted to help others. For Shirou, he had never seen someone that could be so nice yet so distrusting.
"Hmmm, alright, but if things get too dangerous, I want you to leave. I don't want you to get hurt because of me." She was extremely serious when she said this, further showing Shirou how good of a person she is.
"Don't worry about me, I'm stronger than I look. But for now, I need to know what the thief looks like." Shirou started to walk alongside her as they exited the alley.
"She's short and blond, but she was moving too fast for me to see anything else. Sorry."
"That's alright, any little bit helps. What is it that she stole?"
"An insignia that's about this big. I really need it back." As she described it, she made a circle with her index finger and thumb.
"Well, if she was able to get something so small off you, and specifically knew you would have it, there's a good chance she stole it for someone. Our best bet is to look for the local fence." Shirou started to think about where they could find their supposed thief.
"What does a fence have to do with this? Aren't those used to block off an area?"
Shirou blinked, before sighing. He seems to be working with someone rather innocent. "A fence is a term for someone who sells stolen goods. My guess is they would be located somewhere in the slums."
"Wow, you were able to figure that out rather quick, um…" She seemed to be trying to say his name, but he had never given it to her, so she was unable to say anything.
"My name's Shirou, Shirou Emiya. While we're on it, what's yours?"
The girl seemed to hesitate for a while, even as she answered. "It's… Satella."
"Why?" Puck mumbled, but Shirou was still able to hear it. It seemed this girl, 'Satella,' still didn't trust him.
"Well, if your name truly is Satella, it's nice to finally meet you." And the young man truly meant it. Even though the reaction from Puck and the hesitance from the girl seemed to point towards the name having a stigma around it, he did not care.
"Huh?" His genuine reaction seemed to put the girl off. The cat even started to chuckle at her reaction. "Don't listen to her, Shirou, she was just testing you. Her real name is Emilia."
It looks like the cat trusts him enough. "That would explain you calling her Lia. Satella can't really be shortened to that. Either way, we should probably get back to the task at hand, Emilia."
"H-hey Puck! What did you do that for?! I don't want to drag him away from what he was doing before, so I thought that might keep him away!" It seems that her good nature backfired in this situation. It was going to take more than a stigmatized name to push him away.
"You don't have to worry; this may help me find what I was looking for." He smiled after the statement. He really did need to get back to his world, and this might help him find some clues. If not, he could beg Tohsaka for forgiveness when he sees her again.
What he didn't expect to see after opening his eyes was Emilia turned away from him with a light blush on her cheeks. "Hey, what do you think you are doing to my daughter?" Puck just said something weird there. Seems there was more to their relationship than he thought.
"I-it's nothing Puck! I just thought he had a really nice smile! A-any who, we need to go find this fence!" Emilia scrambled to get back on track after the little detour. But the relationship between her and Puck was still pushing on the back of his mind.
"Hey, Emilia, what exactly is Puck? He feels extremely powerful but looks so small." He couldn't hold himself back any longer, so he just went ahead and asked. Hopefully it wasn't rude.
"Hm? Oh, Puck is a great spirit I'm contracted with. He saved me and treats me as his own daughter. He's really powerful." A great spirit, huh. That would explain why he felt similar to the servants from the war.
"Good to know. Well, we should make our way to the slums. Do you happen to know where they are?" He could probably find them relatively quickly, but it would be easier if she knew.
"Yeah, just follow me." She started to make her way through the crowd, but Shirou quickly stopped her.
"Wait, before we get there, do you have anything to cover yourself. What your wearing would really stand out in a poor area." Luckily, he wasn't wearing anything too gaudy, so he should be able to get by. Emilia, though, was dressed very similarly to some nobles he had seen in the Clocktower.
"O-oh, I guess you're right, just give me a moment." She seemed rather sad as she put on the cloak she was carrying. But this wasn't just any cloak. Shirou could sense the magic coming off it. "Must use some type of cloaking magecraft."
"Alright, we should be good to start asking questions now. Just stick close to me, I have some experience in these sorts of things." Now that he thinks about it, that makes him sound rather shady. The looks he was getting from Emilia and Puck didn't help either. But that didn't stop them from following him as he made his way through the slums.
"This seems to be the place that everyone was talking about. When we get inside, I'll do most of the talking. Hopefully this Rom fellow is feeling a bit lenient today." After some questioning with the locals, the trio was able to find where their suspected fence was, which happened to be a loot house. They were told he goes by the name 'Old Man Rom.'
"I'm really sorry you've done so much for me today. I promise I'll make it up to you!" She seemed rather down at not being able to help much, but at least she seemed energetic when it came to making it up.
"It's okay, I already said it's not wrong to help others. Plus, this isn't the first time I have had to do something like this, so it's really no trouble." As he finished his statement, he knocked on the door.
A gruff voice sounded out from the other side of the door. "What's the password?"
"I'm a client."
The man inside waited for a second before opening the door. What stood before them was a behemoth of a man that matched his voice perfectly.
"A client, you say. Well, come in, but I got my eyes on you. Especially you, red." Everyone made their way into the building, sitting down at the bar.
"So, what business do you have with this old man?" Rom got straight to the point.
"We need information. A short, blond girl stole something from my partner here, and we are trying to get it back." Shirou could tell his statement but the old man on edge, but he wasn't planning on backing down.
"And what were you planning on doing to her to get it back?" Rom's hand slowly moved to the underside of the bar, seemingly grabbing for a weapon. The whole time, his gaze didn't stray from the younger man.
"Calm down, we're not looking for a fight." Shirou decided now was the best time to placate some of the man's worries. "We just need the object back; we aren't going to do anything to her. Once we get it, we leave like we were never here in the first place."
"Oh yeah? And how do I know you're telling the truth?" Right at that moment, a girl matching the description Emilia gave made her way into the building. "Who are these guys, old man?"
Shirou just looked back at her, while Rom started to sweat a little. "Oi, Felt, don't do anything to these guys. They might not look it, but I can't help but feel they're pretty strong."
"They got you spooked, huh. Don't worry old man, I'll take care of them." She seemed rather smug as she sat next to Shirou. "So, what is it that you want from me?"
"I want the insignia you stole." But based off her personality, he could guess she wasn't going to part with it so easily.
"And what are you going to give me for it?" Bingo. He looked at her unamusedly.
"Seeing that you didn't seem to steal anything else today, I'm guessing you stole that for someone. More than likely, it was a contract." This caused the young girl to grin.
"Well, aren't you one smart cookie. But if you know that, then you should know to pay up as much as them." Once again, Shirou was unamused. He started to get up, but not to leave. "Guess we're going to have to do things the hard way, then."
Like the flip of the switch, Shirou persona became what it was during battle. Everyone else in the room grew rigid, feeling his hostility. Emilia tried to placate him, not wanting anyone to get hurt, but before anyone could do anything, a woman in black made her way through the door.
"Oh my, it looks like I missed something rather important." This woman was dangerous. Before anyone could react, a blade went sailing past her cheek.
"Is that anyway to welcome a guest?" The woman was now looking at Shirou, almost lustfully. He was hoping the black key would have done some more damage, but she was able to move out of the way in time.
"Emilia, get behind me." The sternness in Shirou's voice was enough to make her move instantly. The whole time, his eyes stayed fixated on the woman.
My, it seems this boy's instincts are rather good. I do wonder what your insides look like?" The smile she was giving him was putting him off.
"Oi, I got what you wanted women, so pay up and we can all go home." Felt probably chose the worst moment to speak up. This caused the woman to take her eyes off Shirou and look at her.
"Ah, but now that the original owner is here, the deal is null. Because of that, it seems I must tie up some loose ends." The next thing Felt knew, the woman was right in front of her. But before she could be bisected, a white sword appeared, blocking the woman's knife.
"Oh, it looks like you have a few tricks up your sleeves, boy. But don't worry, so do I." And with that, she pulled out another knife.
"It seems you do, Elsa Granhiert." Him stating her name caused her eyes to widen, before her smile followed suit.
Both rushed each other, but before they could cross blades, Rom slammed his club down on Elsa. She simply dodged before jumping back to fight Shirou. She was once again thwarted from combating him when Emilia and Puck began pelting her with ice.
"Rom, take Felt and get out of here. My friend and I should be able to take care of her." Rom looked between him and Emilia before nodding and throwing Felt over his shoulder. "Hey old man, what are you doing?! We can take her just fine!" Seemingly not listening to the little girl, Rom kept running.
"You know I can't let them get away, don't you? It would look bad on my record." Elsa turned to try and throw a knife at the pair running away, but suddenly, Shirou was on her, not giving her any room to breathe. Unfortunately, this kept Puck and Emilia from getting a clean shot at her.
"You are rather fast for a human. Strong, too. I haven't felt this excited in a fight for a long time." Her eyes looked at him as if he was a piece of meat, causing him a great deal of discomfort. However, that did not stop him from fighting. "Oh, not going to respond back?" Elsa was trying to get him to talk, which he did not fall for.
He was winning the battle but losing the war. He had made a multitude of cuts on her body, but they disappeared almost as soon as they appeared. "Advanced regeneration, then. No wonder she felt like an apostle." When she first appeared, he thought she was a dead apostle, hence the black key. Her scent was similar, yet different. If he was going to get anywhere, he needed some space, so he signaled Emilia to make some for him.
Elsa went to close in on him but was stopped by a wall of ice. "Sorry girly, you're a little too young to get the better of me. Then again, you do seem to be unnaturally strong." Puck made himself known for the first time, having been the one to block Elsa.
"Getting so much attention from a great spirit, it makes me blush." She went to continue attacking, but a blinding light encased the building.
"Trace On"
A golden spear covered in seemingly wrapped in thorns appeared in Shirou's hands, causing everyone else to look at him in wonder.
"Shirou, what is…" Emilia was the first to speak, but Elsa wasn't far behind. "Well now, isn't that something."
Without a word, Shirou shot towards Elsa, catching her off guard. This allowed him to slice a tendon in her leg, causing it to go slack. He then made some space to avoid a counter.
"You really are something else. If anyone else was fighting you, they would have been dead ten times over. Unluckily for you, this wound is nothing for…" She looked down at her leg to see it was just as useless as it was when it got cut initially.
"It's not healing. Why isn't it healing?" For the first time since the fight started, the assassin looked genuinely worried.
Gae Buidhe, the Yellow Rose of Mortality, originally wielded by Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, one of the Knights of Fianna. Any wound created by it will not heal unless the spear itself is destroyed. But Elsa Granhiert did not know this. All she knew was that her unlimited regenerative powers were not as unlimited as she thought.
"Your leg will not heal, so you will be unable to run." As he said this, he began to walk up to her, only to be stopped by Emilia.
"Shirou, do you truly intend to…" She looked at him worriedly, her kind soul bleeding through.
"I know this isn't not the best option, but this woman cannot be allowed to go free. She has killed too many." He too did not want to kill anyone, but this was the best option. Kill one to save ten. As much as he hated it, the words were true. But before he could deal the final blow, a new voice spoke up.
"Then you would not be apposed to me taking her in." This new voice was familiar to Shirou. In fact, he had just heard it earlier that day.
"Reinhard." The off-duty knight somehow made his way here and was trying to take Elsa off his hands. In all honesty, that was probably the best choice.
"Sorry my friend, but your lack of self-care worried me a bit, so I tried to find where you were going. As I was searching, I ran into an old man carrying a little girl who said she had something to give back to the lady here. She also wanted me to help you, but it seems that was unwarranted." Reinhard looked at Gae Buidhe before looking back at Elsa.
"Well, if you believe you can keep her contained, by all means, she's yours." While killing her would be the safer option, he would prefer not to have to kill people. He also believed if anyone could take her in, it would be the man who wielded a noble phantasm.
As Reinhard started restraining Elsa, Shirou made his way over to Emilia.
"Are you alright? She didn't hurt you, did she? What happened to Puck?"
Emilia seemed to get a bit overwhelmed with how considerate he was being, but she did eventually answer. "I-I'm fine! Not even a scratch, see! Oh, and Puck uses mana to stay in a physical form, so he retreats to this crystal to recharge, so to speak." As she said this, she pointed at the crystal on her neck.
"That's good. I'm glad everything worked out in the end. Well, it seems this is where we part ways, Emilia. I hope to see you again in a better situation." Emilia chuckled a little before fully processing what he said and looking a little shocked.
"W-wait, I still must repay you for what you did! Um… I know! Do you have a place to stay, because if not, you can stay where I am staying!" She was really enthusiastic about repaying him, making it hard for him to turn down.
"I don't want to be a bother…" He tried to reason with her, but she was not having any of it. "It would be no bother at all! I'm sure everyone would be glad to have you!" Looks like he was going to be staying with this girl. At least that takes care of the problem of him finding a place to stay.
"Alright, but I will help where I can." This way, he could at least not feel like he was mooching off the girl's good will.
As they finished their conversation, Reinhard made his way over with Elsa in tow, who was glaring daggers at Shirou. "If you are both alright, I am going to take my leave. I must quickly take this woman to prison before she can think of a way to escape. Oh, and also, I believe this is yours, Lady Emilia." As he said this, he handed the insignia over to Emilia.
"Ah, thank you." A wave of relief fell over Emilia. But as she looked at the object, she remembered something else. "Wait, what happened to Mister Rom and Felt?" This also caught Shirou's attention. They may have stolen something, but they didn't seem like bad people.
"Do not worry about them, they will be coming with me. Something important that pertains to them was brought to my attention. It has nothing to do with the shady business they have done." Before they could even worry, Reinhard instantly smoothed them over. He then made his way out of the loot house.
"Alright, so where do we go now?" Shirou knew he was going with Emilia; he just didn't know where they were going.
"Oh, um, just follow me." They began to walk silently through the streets.
Emilia was the first to crack under the silence, eventually asking a question that was plaguing her. "That magic you used; it wasn't like anything I've ever seen before. Is it some kind of summoning magic?"
"You could say that. Let's just say I have a unique aptitude when it comes to magecraft." His referring to magecraft confused Emilia a bit, but she decided to just go with it for now. He didn't want to explain it all, even if Emilia was rather trustworthy. As they continued to walk, they came across a carriage.
As they approached, a woman with bright pink hair stepped out. She looked human, but Shirou was sensing something much stronger coming from her.
"Lady Emilia, it seems you are alright. I have been worried where you have been…" The woman dressed like a maid began to trail off, finally taking notice of the red-haired magus. "Who is this?" She referred to him, but it seemed a little hostile.
"Oh, this is Shirou Emiya! He helped me, so I invited him to stay with us! I hope that is alright?" She became a little bashful at the end, but at least she got her point across.
"As you wish, Lady Emilia." The maid looked him over a little more before looking back and Emilia and moving into the carriage once more.
"Well then, shall we leave Shirou?" Emilia looked over at him with a smile.
"Yes, let's." Shirou returned the smile and followed in behind Emilia. Tohsaka was truly going to kill him when he got back, but he needed a place to stay, so this was fine, right?
As they made their way to the place Emilia was staying, Shirou finally decided to investigate something he first felt when he appeared in this world.
Why was there a living being in his reality marble?