Emiya Shirou smiled as he said goodbye to his friend Issei while heading home from school, having stayed behind to perform some repairs the Student Council was in need of. As they parted the redhead turned his thoughts to his father. He hadn't mentioned that it was the anniversary of his adopted father's death to anyone, though Issei had given his condolences anyway, and Taiga had been more subdued than usual. He generally treated the date as just another day, yet he often couldn't keep his mind from wandering to the man that saved him from the Great Fuyuki Fire on such days.

He remembered the day Kiritsugu saved him, always as clear as the day it happened. Another time he remembered clearly was the night the man died, sitting with his son, having passed on his impossible dream, which Shirou had sworn to fulfill using the skills his father had taught him.

Not that said skills were all that great, Shirou having no real talent for most magecraft, but the teen still worked diligently to improve his seemingly pointless skills to the point they were actually useful. He absently wondered how things could have gone if Kiritsugu hadn't happened upon Shirou when the then ten year old was in the process of converting his nerves into makeshift magic circuits.

To say Kiritsugu had been horrified by the danger the boy he'd adopted had been unknowingly putting himself in was an understatement. It was one of the few times Shirou could remember the man genuinely yelling at him, though now that he was older the teen understood that the anger had been directed as much at himself as at Shirou. The incident had been a wakeup call to Kiritsugu, who realized just how shoddy his attempts at teaching Shirou magecraft were, reluctant though they may have originally been, and the possible consequences that continuing to half-ass them could bring.

The man had promptly doubled down on making sure Shirou at least knew enough to not kill himself, starting by helping him activate his actual circuits, then determining his Element and Origin. Shirou had been surprised that they were both Sword, and though Kiritsugu had seemed to have some idea as to why, he'd never said anything beyond recommending that his son, who had already been training with the bow, take up the sword as well, even going so far as to obtain a katana of exceptional quality which Shirou made sure to take excellent care of.

Of course, Taiga had taken to teaching Shirou kendo a bit too enthusiastically, more than enough to amuse Kiritsugu, who Shirou thought saw it as a little harmless payback for the years of nagging to be taught magecraft he'd endured.

Since they'd now had an explanation for why Shirou had trouble with any magecraft of the five great elements, Kiritsugu had redirected the boy's focus to other abilities, though he'd made sure Shirou could do at least something with each element, minor as the effects may be, just in case. Even being able to create a few sparks could be crucial in the right situation, after all

All of this meant that, while Shirou was in no way truly talented as a magus, he was in much better shape in that area than he could have been.

Of course, Kiritsugu was a pragmatic man, not the type to disdain more mundane skills and tools in favor of magecraft, and he'd hammered that same attitude into his son. If something worked then it rarely mattered where it came from, just that it was used well and appropriately. Thus he'd shown Shirou the basics of gun usage and maintenance with the help of the Fujimura clan, along with many other mundane but useful skills.

Of course, that's not all Shirou was taught. Kiritsugu, with his new determination to make sure Shirou didn't accidentally kill himself, also taught the boy about the wider structure of the Moonlit World, such as the concept of Mystery and the reason most Magi would happily kill to keep things secret, the True Magics, their known wielders, organizations such as the Clock Tower and the Church, Dead Apostles, and the people of note in all of them. He'd also made a point to tell him about the magus families that called Fuyuki home, primarily the Tohsakas and Matous. Hopefully the information would keep him from blundering into something he couldn't deal with in ignorance.

That didn't keep Shirou from befriending Shinji and Sakura, though. Sakura was a sweet girl, and he found it very hard to even imagine her ever doing something nefarious, no matter how she had been raised. And Shinji could be an asshole, but Shirou generally didn't hold it against him.

As for Tohsaka, they didn't interact too much, so he would reserve judgment, but he made sure to keep himself under her radar anyway, just in case.

And then there was the priest, Kotomine Kirei. Kiritsugu had only one thing to say about that man: Don't trust him farther than an ant could throw a 747. When Shirou asked why, the older magus' face became stormy and he shut down, so the boy left it at that.

Shirou shook the thoughts off as he arrived at his house, walking in and going through his usual after school routine. Taiga had informed him that she wouldn't be showing up for dinner due to a work issue (well, more like whined, cried and threw a tantrum), and Shinji had apparently injured himself in some way, so Sakura was looking after him and thus wouldn't be able to come over either.

Which meant that, for the first time in a while, Shirou was going to be alone for dinner. Normally he wouldn't mind too much, or at the least be able to shake off the bit of loneliness that clung to him like a bad coat, but on today of all days…

Still, he did his schoolwork, trained his swordsmanship a bit, and then made himself a small but very tasty and filling dinner, trying out a new Italian recipe he'd been interested in, since if it turned out badly then at least only he would suffer for it.

It was as he was preparing to head to bed that things took a turn.

It began when he felt a change in the atmosphere, like static in the air during a thunderstorm. The hairs on the back of his neck rose, and within minutes he could practically taste power in the air.

Then came the smell. He knew it wasn't really a smell, but how his mind interpreted the presence of prana. The scent was like the medley of a storm, formerly dry earth getting wet in the rain, the crisp, clean odor of rushing wind, the sharp tang of ozone from lightning strikes.

The scent was coming from the shed that was his mediocre workshop, and as he approached, gripping tightly the katana he'd retrieved in case of trouble, he could hear movement past the locked doors, which were rattling much like they would when hit by a strong wind.

Shirou hesitated for a moment, but nobody could accuse the teen of being a coward, so soon enough the doors were flung open, the blade ready to move as needed, only for the redhead to stop dead at what he saw.

Shimmering above the magic circle his father'd had installed before Shirou had met the man was what appeared to be a rent in the fabric of reality, shimmering with a multitude of colors, some of which Shirou was sure either didn't exist in nature or weren't normally perceivable by human eyes. The rupture seemed to be struggling to form, growing and shrinking in size erratically, the air swirling dangerously as bolts of energy discharged in the area surrounding it.

Shirou's mind went through all his knowledge of magic to try to identify what the hell was going on, and immediately his mind went to the Second Magic, the Kaleidoscope, which dealt with parallel worlds. But the only person known to be able to wield it was the Wizard Marshall Zelretch, and he should have no reason to mess with Shirou, even if his sense of humor really was as messed up as Kiritsugu had said rumor intimated.

Of course, it was as Shirou was paralyzed by confusion that one of the bolts of energy struck his hand, making him flinch. It hadn't hurt much, surprisingly, but it had given him an odd sensation that spread from the point of impact through his entire body. Once it had suffused all throughout his body something changed in the portal.

Without warning it snapped open wide, seeming to take up more space than the shed's interior should allow, and the howling winds that had surrounded it began to be pulled into the opening between worlds, which Shirou felt begin dragging him closer.

The young Emiya might sometimes have a lamentable lack of a thing known as a survival instinct, but even he could read the situation, so he turned to run.

Unfortunately, whatever was controlling the portal was a step ahead of him, the tendrils of energy lashing out to wrap around his limbs, numbing them so he couldn't move effectively before beginning to drag him towards the event horizon of the rupture in space, his sword dropping from numb fingers as he continued to try to get away, gritting his teeth in desperation.

Unfortunately it was for naught, as after what seemed like an eternity yet no time at all, Shirou was lifted off his feet and fell through the portal with a shout, his mind on Taiga and Sakura, and his unaccomplished dream.

Then, as soon as he disappeared through it, the portal snapped closed, the environment calming down soon enough, till all that remained to mark the youngest Emiya's disappearance was disturbed dust and an abandoned sword.

"Say, Shirou, why don't you take a break? You've been working diligently for a couple of hours, and I have a few errands I want you to run anyway once you've rested, kupo." A somewhat high pitched, nigh squeaky voice said from off to the side.

Shirou looked up from the boiler that he'd been working on, which seemed like it would fit into a steampunk novel more than anything that he should know how to fix, to find a short rabbit-like being standing on its hind legs beside him. It was covered in brown fur, small orange bat wings on its back, with slicked blonde hair between long bunny-like ears and an orange pompom dangling from an antenna on top of its head. It wore brown trousers with a green coat and brown shoes, and its dark eyes studied Shirou as its nose twitched.

Shirou was about to decline to take a break at first, but a combination of thirst and news that he had other tasks to do changed his mind. "Sure, Montblanc. Let me just finish what I'm doing and I'll head over to the bar. I'm pretty much done anyway."

The moogle nodded as he turned to leave. "Alright, I'll wait for you there, kupo." With that he wandered off, heading to the Clan House's bar area.

Shirou turned back to the boiler and resumed tightening the bolts he'd been focusing on while he mused on the extremely strange turn his life had taken ever since he'd been pulled into the portal that had appeared in his shed a month before.

He'd found himself in a strange land called Ivalice that wouldn't have been out of place in a traditional fantasy manga when he'd woken up from blacking out during the trip, right here in the base of operations of Clan Centurio. A Clan was somewhat like the guilds one would find in anime and video games, a place for people to gather and take on odd jobs such as monster extermination or bodyguard work. Apparently some of the clan members had been out on a job in the desert when they'd come across him and brought him back to recover.

Yes, in essence, Shirou had become an isekai protagonist, a fact that was not lost on him.

What surprised him almost as much as that fact was the information that his situation was not unheard of in the place he found himself. Apparently people from a variety of other worlds were known to be pulled from their homes and dumped throughout the world of Gaia, which Ivalice was a part of. It had been going on for centuries, if not millenia, to the point that many prominent organizations, families, kingdoms and, according to legend, even entire sapient races could trace their roots to such 'Outworlders', and said Outworlders were often sought after due to the likelihood that they might have access to some strange technology or magic currently unheard of on Gaia.

That was another thing that threw Shirou for a loop. Magecraft wasn't hidden in this world, as it wasn't dependent on Mystery to function. He'd already seen some amazing examples of magecraft since he'd arrived in this world, and more importantly he hadn't had to hide his own.

His Reinforcement was admired among those who fought physically, though it wasn't of huge interest to most as there were similar skills and spells out there that could do the same, sometimes even better.

Gradation Air also got some attention, as the ability to project a weapon or tool, even if a weak, temporary one, was something that most could see the value of. He'd had some of the clan's Ninjas and Thieves (which were apparently something that most people called Jobs, or umbrellas of skills focused on certain specialties, rather than descriptions of their occupations) approach him to learn the skill, as it could be invaluable to those who specialized in stealth.

Though it was interesting to note that, because this world didn't seem to reject magecraft like his own did, the tools made with the Gradation Air he'd taught some clan members, while weaker than natural ones, weren't quite as temporary.

On a side note, it had been strange to find Ninjas and Samurai in a world where Japan didn't exist, but those were apparently the names of Jobs as well.

However, the skill that got the most attention was, to Shirou's surprise, his Structural Analysis. Even though it was seen as a very basic skill in his homeworld, one not really worth attaining more than a basic grasp of, the ability to see the structure of and find any problems or imperfections with an item at a touch was something that many in his current location valued highly once they learned of it. Craftsmen to be able to improve their goods, warriors in order to be able to better take care of their gear, and traders in order to avoid being swindled.

He had attempted to teach a couple of clan members how to do it, specifically those with magical aptitude that worked as craftsmen, and while it had taken a while for them to get anything, so far results seemed promising. If they managed to get the skill to an acceptable level then he'd leave it to them to disseminate the knowledge. He didn't want to spend all his time teaching, even though they'd paid him rather well for the knowledge.

No, Shirou wanted to go out into Ivalice and search for a way home, having left his friends behind against his will. Which apparently wasn't a rare thing for an Outworlder to do. There were rumors some had succeeded, though there was no confirmation as, rather obviously, those who might have managed it hadn't been seen again. He also wanted to meet other Outworlders, to see if any might be from his own world.

And, to be honest, this world seemed like the kind that would give someone with the dreams he had inherited from Kiritsugu ample opportunities. If he worked for Clan Centurio he could go out and help people, protecting them from monsters or bandits, honing his abilities in ways he'd never have been able to in his own world, and learning an array of skills from the many Jobs available to him. Even if he couldn't heal as a White Mage or launch a pocket apocalypse as a Black Mage, there were plenty of other Jobs with skills he could try learning.

And if he learned enough, then his dreams would be that much more attainable when he went home.

Of course, that could all come after he'd paid Montblanc back for taking him in.

Getting up once he was done with the boiler Shirou stretched and cracked his back before beginning to make his way over to the bar. As he did he looked around at the Clan's tavern area, where the clan members mingled between jobs, sharing information and news, or discussing teaming up for potential jobs. On a small stage against the far wall a childlike lalafell Bard (another Job) was playing an energetic tune on a flute while a beautiful elf-like elezen Dancer (a Job as well) gracefully twirled, stepped and contorted to the music, her flowing silks adding to the spectacle of her movements, the two chakrams whirling about in her hands doubling as both part of her performance and her weapons should she need to fight.

Shirou sidestepped to avoid a lizardlike bangaa who had just gotten up without noticing him and gently guided a wizened caninelike nu mou aside as he passed. Finally making it to the bar, where a human (or hume, as they were known on Gaia) woman in her twenties with pitch black hair and a prodigious chest was preparing drinks while speaking with Montblanc, the redhead sat down on a stool next to the Clan Leader and waved at the woman. "Hello Marsha. Would you mind giving me something to drink?"

"Alcoholic or non, Shirou?" The woman asked as she reached for a mug along with one of the many bottles sitting in place behind the bar, already knowing what the answer would be.

"Non, please." He said with a smile, gratefully taking the fruit juice that he was offered and taking a sip before turning to the shorter, furrier being. "What are the errands you need me to run, Montblanc?" He asked.

"I've got a few items I need to have picked up for a new clan member who'll be going on their first job tomorrow, kupo." The moogle said, setting a leather pouch full of Gaia's coinage, called Gil, on the bar's countertop, along with a piece of paper with the list of items on it. "They're busy with some last minute duties and can't get them for themselves, so I figured I'd help out."

"Alright." Shirou said, taking the list and looking it over. "I'll get started right away." He began setting his half finished drink aside, but Montblanc waved him off.

"Finish your drink, Shirou. There's no rush, and it's hot out today. I appreciate your diligence, but there's no need to work so hard, kupo." Montblanc turned to his own drink as he spoke, finishing it off before sighing in satisfaction and hopping off the bench to do his rounds with a wave to Shirou.

Shirou hesitated before doing as told, taking another sip of his drink, closing his eyes as he relaxed, letting the sounds of the music and the murmur of conversation wash over him. He'd found he enjoyed the ambiance of Clan Centurio's base of operations, most of the members quite friendly and helpful, in their own ways. Montblanc ran a tight ship, not suffering any fools or troublemakers, and the clan had become one of the most successful ones on the continent due to their teamwork and helpfulness, which was a potent combination when one took into account the talents and power of the members.

Shirou was very glad he had been found by them. Speaking of which…

He opened his eyes when someone sat down on the stool beside him, turning his head to find a pretty catgirl that would have had otakus back home salivating, her fair skin, pinkish hair, cat ears and tail, and petite frame just adding to her looks, especially as her leather armor clung tightly to her form, her well crafted bow strapped to her back alongside a quiver. Her large emerald eyes were crinkled as she smiled at him while Marsha set a drink in front of her. "Hi, Shirou. How are you doing today? Not working too hard, I hope?"

Shirou smiled at her. "Montblanc keeps making me take breaks, S'ali." He told the miqo'te that had found him out in the desert when he first arrived.

"Excellent. S'ila and I didn't drag you out of the sands just for you to kill yourself from overwork, after all." She said lightly as she took a pull of her drink.

"Where is your sister, by the way?" He asked, glancing around to try to catch a glimpse of the other catgirl.

Sha'li pouted playfully at his question. "What, is little old me not enough for your lustful desires, you want to be able to say you had twins in your bed? Tut-tut…" She said teasingly, arching her back to emphasize her modest bust and slim form.

Shirou blushed and looked away. "Very funny…"

The Archer smiled smugly. "You didn't say you haven't thought about it…" She said, trailing off suggestively as Shirou's blush darkened.

"Stop teasing the boy, S'ali." Another miqo'te said as she sat down, looking identical to her sister but for having dark red hair and fur, dressed in similar leathers but bearing a buckler shield and a shortsword rather than a bow.

"But it's so fuuuun, S'ila." S'ali said in a whine to her more serious twin, who rolled her eyes and turned her attention to Shirou, ignoring her sister.

"Ignore her. She likes to think she's funny even though nobody has ever laughed at her jokes in her life." The Fighter's voice was acerbic and made S'ali pout.

Shirou smiled at the darker haired sister thankfully. "I'll keep that in mind. How was the job?" He asked with interest.

"Booooooring." S'ali said grumpily, her pout growing. "Just getting rid of some cockatrices out in the Estersand. We could do that in our sleep."

"They were menacing traders and being a nuisance. It was important work, and easy money." S'ila chided as she enjoyed the drink she had been given, prompting more grumbling from S'ali.

Shirou smiled at the interaction, amused by the differences between the two as he usually was. Finishing his drink he got off the bench and picked up the pouch full of gil that Montblanc had given him. "Well, I have a few errands to run for Montblanc, so I'll see you later."

The sisters waved him off as he left, still bickering, and Shirou shook his head in amusement again as he left the clan house and into the searing Rabanastre heat.

Shading his eyes from the glare of the afternoon sun, and thankful he was wearing a local outfit of loose, breathable cotton pants and a blue and white vest over his otherwise bare torso, the displaced teen glanced back down at the list Montblanc had given him, seeing that his first order of business was to get various healing and restorative potions, the existence of which still made him shake his head in amazement. Slipping the pouch of gil into his pocket he turned in the direction of the apothecary and began walking through the crowded city streets.

Rabanastre was the capital city of the Kingdom of Dalmasca, and was, from what Shirou had learned, an important trade center in the region of Ivalice, situated as it was in an advantageous geographic position. Which was why it wasn't rare to see people of all races and places gathered there.

A shadow passed over Shirou as he walked, and he looked up to find a great airship larger than a commercial airliner from back home moving slowly towards its dock, no doubt bringing in goods from a faraway land. He smiled, once again amazed at the blending of magic and technology that the citizens of Gaia could come up with.

Arriving at the apothecary he gave the nu mou Alchemist that ran it the list of concoctions he needed and waited patiently as she gossiped with an old hume woman while packing up the order.

"Oh, did you hear, Roh'kalum?" The hume woman was saying. "I've heard tell that Queen Ashelia will be travelling to Figaro for a state visit."

"Oh?" The Alchemist said while putting a few vials of poison antidotes in the carrying pouch. "Do you think she has finally managed to move past Lord Rasler's death and is considering King Edgar?"

"I highly doubt that." The hume woman said with a sniff. "Everybody knows King Edgar Figaro is a shameless rake. The Queen could do better." Then her tone turned serious. "No, I hear that she seeks to improve relations due to the news of the new alliance between the Palamecians, Gestahlians and Garleans."

The nu mou grimaced as she made her way over to Shirou, setting the pouch in front of him and accepting his money while continuing to speak to her friend. "Yes, I can see why she would feel that necessary. Those three have always been trouble. Thank the Gods the Archadians aren't an issue anymore as well." Then she turned to Shirou as she handed him his change. "Thank you for your patronage, dearie. I hope they serve you well."

Shirou strapped the pouch to his belt and smiled back. "I'm sure they will, thank you." With that he left, going over what he had heard.

He could understand why Dalmasca's Queen was worried about the recent alliance between the three superpowers. The Palamecian, Gestahlian and the Garlean Empires were all known to be power hungry and militaristic, constantly expanding their borders through force and known to be tyrannical, each with its own specialty on the battlefield. Two of them were rumored to have been somehow started by Outworlders, using secrets that they guarded jealously to maintain power.

Up till recently they had apparently been kept in check due to constantly fighting each other along with another empire, Archadia, thus sparing the rest of Gaia the trouble they brought, but something had changed recently and now they had formed an alliance, which meant the rest of the world was busy preparing for the inevitable wave of conquest that was sure to follow.

Arcadia, on the other hand, had changed its stance in recent years after their annexation of Dalmasca was undone and the Queen retook the throne. Rumors swirled about what really happened, but what was known was that a new faction was in power, one friendly to the Queen, which meant that Dalmasa, at the least, likely didn't have to worry about them.

Shirou shook those throughs off as he reached the shop of a blacksmith that was associated with Clan Centurio to pick up the next item on Montblanc's list. The sound of hammering steel was loud, so Shirou had to speak loudly in order to make himself heard. "Ahctgeim, are you available!?"

The sounds of hammering stopped before the sound of hissing steam was heard, likely from a blade being quenched. Then a roegadyn woman came out of the workshop. She was tall and muscular, not bulky but toned from many hours of hard work. She was beautiful, in a fierce way, her skin a light green and her hair was only a few shades darker, her light blue eyes looking in his direction before a smile spread across her face. "Ah, Shirou. Good to see you!" Ahctgeim walked over to him, taking her heavy gloves off before slapping him on the back. "What can I do for you?"

"Monblanc sent me over to pick up the katana he commissioned." He said, showing her the list the moogle had given him.

She seemed amused by that for some reason but nodded in understanding. "No problem, I just finished it this morning. Give me a second." With that she moved into the shop section of her workshop, picking a sheathed katana off its stand out of the mass of swords, axes and other weapons. Moving back over to him she drew the katana from its sheath, showing off what Shirou could tell was a good quality blade. Then she resheathed it and handed it over. "That'll be 500 gil."

Shirou nodded and counted the money out of the pouch before handing it to the woman, who smiled with satisfaction and slipped the money into the lockbox she used for such things. As she did so she spoke. "Before you go, I was hoping that you'd be able to evaluate my skills with what you taught me?" She asked, referring to the Structural Analysis skill, Ahctgeim being one of his first students.

Shirou smiled agreeably. "Sure, I don't see why not."

Ahctgeim smiled as well before picking a dagger up from where it had been kept separate from her other wares. "I botched this one. Not too noticeably, but I did." She placed a finger on the blade, eyes furrowing in concentration before whispering something to herself that Shirou didn't catch, after which Shirou noticed a brief use of power. A few seconds later it ended and she handed him the dagger. "It's got some small fractures near the base, and the hilt isn't secured correctly. Did I miss anything?"

Shirou looked down at the dagger and whispered 'Trace On' as he analyzed the dagger, finding the problems she'd pointed out, along with another. "There are also some impurities about an inch from the tip. They're weakening the metal and could cause problems down the line." He said before handing it back to her.

Ahctgeim frowned, taking the weapon back. "Damn, I did miss something. I thought I might have it down pat."

"You did really well." Shirou assured her. "It took me a lot longer to get a handle on Structural Analysis, so it's not surprising that you aren't there yet. You'll get it soon enough."

The roegadyn smiled. "Thanks, Shirou. I appreciate it." She let out a sigh before setting the blade back where it had been. "I've been using it while forging, and I've noticed some definite improvement in the quality of my work, all thanks to this skill you taught me, so don't forget that you've got a lifetime discount on any of my stuff."

"I won't." He said with a smile. "Thanks." He turned to leave. "I've got to go. Got one more stop to make. Talk to you later Ahctgeim."

"Bye then." The Blacksmith said with a wave before heading back into her smithy, the sound of pounding metal ringing out again soon enough.

Thankfully the Armorer that had the last item Montblanc needed wasn't too far away, as the sun was beginning to set and people were hurrying about to get some last minute shopping done before the stores closed. When Shirou arrived at the required shop he walked in and made his way to the back counter while glancing at the various defensive outfits made of cloth, leather and metal that adorned the walls and various mannequins.

Reaching the counter where a bored looking au ra; a race that looked like slim, tall humes but for having differing skin tones, draconic scales over most of their bodies, along with horns on the sides of their head and tails; was waiting for patrons, Shirou spoke with a smile. "Excuse me, I'm here to pick up an order."

The man straightened, apparently just noticing the redhead, before smiling welcomingly. "Of course. May I ask the name of the person who put in the order?"

"Montblanc." Shirou said, watching as the draconic man looked through some papers detailing orders.

"Ah yes, here we are, the head of Clan Centurio." He said once he found the relevant paper. "He requested some of our mid-sized chromed leathers. Give me one moment, I should have them ready around here…" The au ra began looking under the counter before pulling a bundle wrapped in cloth out, setting it on the counter. "That will be 200 gil."

Shirou handed over the money before picking the bundle up. "Thank you very much." He said as he turned to leave.

"My pleasure. Please come again." The shopkeeper said.

Shirou waved goodbye before stepping back out onto the streets, feeling the beginnings of the coming night's chill bite at him, prompting him to hurry along, back to the clan house, before it got too dark.

Arriving back at the clan house before too long he found that the boisterousness of the crowd in the tavern area hadn't gone down due to the hour. If anything it had increased as more members returned from jobs or stopped by for a pint before heading home. He quickly found Montblanc back at the bar, speaking with a young hume girl perhaps a year or two younger than Shirou, likely a new member. She was a pretty blonde with cute freckles on her cheeks and large, vibrant green eyes. She wore a yellow dress with a short skirt under a green cloak that reached her knees, it, along with the headband with a long horn rising from it that she had on, denoting her as a Summoner.

Shirou did find it interesting that many people dressed similarly to denote what Job they had. A White Mage would usually wear white robes with red accents, and a Black Mage would generally wear a robe or similar garment of a black or blue color, almost always with the stereotypical large pointed hat.

Reaching the clan head and the new girl he set the katana and the bundle with the armor on the bar counter next to where the moogle was sitting. "I got the things you needed, Montblanc." He said as he began to unstrap the pouch of potions from his belt.

"Excellent, kupo." Montblanc said, pleased. He turned to the girl again. "This is the one I was telling you about, Kaleen. His name is Shirou Emiya, kupo."

"I-its a pleasure to meet you!" The girl stammered nervously, bowing to Shirou and almost poking him with the horn rising from her headband. "I'll be in your care."

"The pleasure is mine." Shirou said kindly, somewhat bemused before turning back to Montblanc as the moogle resumed speaking.

"This is Kaleen, a new member. Her mother is an old friend of mine, so when Kaleen passed her Summoner test and contracted with her first eidolon she asked if I'd be willing to let her join, kupo." Montblanc said cheerfully. "She'll be going out on her first job tomorrow, and I want you to accompany her."

Shirou blinked, surprised. "Me? Why me?"

Montblanc turned serious. "You've stated before that you intend to head out and begin searching for a way back to your home, kupo. You won't do that if you stay here performing repairs, much as it is appreciated. The gear I had you pick up is for your use so you can start doing jobs as a member of Clan Centurio. That way you can work up to the bigger jobs that will take you outside of Dalmasca and into the rest of the world. You do still intend on going to Lindblum, do you not, kupo?"

Shirou nodded slowly. He had heard that the city of Lindblum to the south held a place built by Outworlders that people like him gathered at to share information on possible methods of getting to their homes, or just to introduce themselves to their peers and network. As soon as he'd heard of it it became his first intended destination in his search for a way home.

"Then you can't stay here doing menial work. Which is why you'll be accompanying Kaleen tomorrow, kupo." Monblanc said firmly.

Shirou nodded in understanding, but turned his gaze back to the things Montblanc had had him pick up. "I can't just take this though, Montblanc. There's at least a thousand gil's worth of equipment here."

Montblanc waved it off. "Don't worry about it. You'll be doing work for the clan anyway, so we'll recoup that money through our cut of what you earn, kupo. And you can't just go out with only what you have on now. Unless you have training as a Monk that I'm not aware of?" He asked archly. When Shirou shook his head the moogle huffed in amusement. "Thought as much, kupo."

"Alright, I'll take them." Shirou said reluctantly. "But I'm paying you back as soon as possible." When Montblanc rolled his eyes but nodded in agreement the teen turned to Kaleen, who'd been watching as they talked. "Well then, I guess we'll be working together from now on…"

Kaleen nodded shyly. "Yes. I hope I'm not too much of a burden."

"I'm sure you'll be a big help." He assured her, pleased when she seemed to brighten. "I'll meet you here tomorrow morning then?"

"Y-yes!" The girl said, nodding again like a bobblehead.

Shirou smiled at her before picking his new gear up and heading for his room, his mind turning to the next day.

Tomorrow would be the start of his quest for a way home. He hoped that it would go well.

...Why did he get a sudden chill up his back?

Another one!? WTF!?

Yes, I know, I already have too many stories as is, but this one has been rattling around in my head for literal years, so I just had to get it out.

In any case, welcome to Fated Fantasy. As some of you have no doubt surmised by now, this is a Fate crossover with an amalgam of the Final Fantasy series. The main location is Ivalice, but elements, places and people from other parts of the series will be showing up as well, so it's not really tied to any particular game. Some canon backstories will be altered to make everything fit, but enough of it should be recognizable so that you can recognize what I've taken and from where if you're familiar with it.

As you might have noticed, I also changed a bit of Shirou's backstory, mainly to not make him quite so inept or clueless. I hope the manner in which I did so made sense.

I'm looking forward to the shenanigans that Shirou will get up to in this world. And eventually, down the line, how the events in Ivalice will affect the Grail War. Not to mention all the girls that he'll unwittingly charm. Should be amusing.

In any case I don't think there's anything further to discuss, so I'll go ahead and take this opportunity to give the reminder that you all can have a say in what I write by donating to my Pat A Ron at dotcom /athanmortis. I put a poll up each month for what should be updated next, and each dollar donated equals one vote in the poll. Don't worry if what you voted for doesn't win that month, however. Votes accumulate month after month till that thing eventually wins, at which points that specific story has its votes reset to zero. The current poll will run till November 2nd. Fated Fantasy will not be going up onto the poll till it has had a second chapter, however, which should hopefully be next month. So please keep that in mind. Again, that is Pat A Ron dotcom /athanmortis.

Thank you all for reading, till next time!