There was nothing out of the ordinary about the viewing room. It was like any movie theater in the world.
Emiya went down the stairs with Artoria, heading towards Ritsuka waving her arms in the first row, indicating for the duo to sit with her and Mash. And so they did.
"My king!"
Artoria didn't knew whether to thank or curse fate that her seat (the first in the right row) was right next to where her knights were sitting.
"So how does all this work?" Emiya asked.
"It's pretty simple, but a little weird too. I have absolute control over how movies are played. When I say 'start', it starts. The same is true when I say 'pause'. This seems to influence others rooms too. There was a time when we paused a movie here to talk about a specific scene and then when we left for lunch, people from others rooms complained that I was destroying their immersion!" Ritsuka clearly was hurt by all the scold she had received.
"All this control, huh?" Emiya said. "I heard Astolfo's fragment was in the format of a series."
"Yes, Emiya. I think it was twenty five episodes," Mash responded with mild excitement. She seemed to be having fun with that experience too.
"Will this war have the same number of episodes?" Artoria stole Emiya's question before he could ask it.
"No, no episodes. We're going to see movies. Three to be exact," Ritsuka explained.
Emiya frowned. When young, his favorite pastime was video games rather than movies, but he watched a good amount of them, most after being forcibly dragged to the cinema by Luvia. All that was hazy memories gained because he was in a nostalgic place now.
"Is everything alright?" Ritsuka asked.
"Curious if three films will be enough for our war. But I'm not a film lover, so who knows. I also haven't watched any of the fragments to see how they told the stories. And besides that, I'm judging as someone who has experienced it every day, many of which could easily be cut so that no one would get bored."
"You're on the right track, actually. That's how they did it before. We were in Uruk for a long time doing daily chores, but the fragment summarized in a cool montage and moved on to the action."
"I see."
When the fragment was ready, Ritsuka got up from her seat.
"Alright then. Let's get started, guys! But first let's remember the rules!"
"Rules?" Emiya turned to Artoria.
"We all know that just like in the previous fragment, we'll have some servants in this room who participated in the story and obviously are aware of most of the events. So, please, don't ask them anything important. If you want to ask questions, it's natural, but only about things that have already passed and nothing that still has a chance to receive an answer later in the movie! I ask the same for that servants: don't spoil anything!"
"Mordred lost her temper halfway through Trifas war and started screaming about things that would happen in the future. Master was furious," Artoria explained in a low voice to not disturb the girl.
"Once a fragment starts, it's only possible to leave the room after it's over, so be patient. And no fights either, for God's sake!" Ritsuka was always good with speeches, Osakabehime even recommended that she should become a politician after finishing the Lostbelts.
"The plan remains the same then?" Cú Chulainn asked.
"Keep havin' fun with these movies and let the Singularity progress until the person responsible comes along so we can beat the shit out of him." Mordred smiled. "The way I like it!"
Ritsuka sat down and yelled, "Start!"
[A YEAR AND A HALF AGO
(SUMMER)]
The first sound heard was not from the movie, but from some of the servants who fell on the ground when the seats disappeared.
Emiya's eyes widened when he found himself standing in the middle of a field. Moving his legs, he felt the ground under his feet; breathing, he felt the fresh air of the morning; and listening, he discovered the sounds of students running in the distance and cars passing by farther away.
Chaldea had its own simulation for training, but compared to THAT, it became obvious how fake and plastic it was.
Everyone else was there too.
"It is like the real Fuyuki." Artoria admired, looking around. "As if we Rayshifted to a real location."
Doing the same as her, Emiya noticed that all forty-six servants (forty-eight with him and Ritsuka) were standing and spread across the field that separated the wooden targets from the wooden floor area with a row of students and teachers.
One of the students was in front of the rest, preparing to shoot an arrow. Emiya recognized him immediately. But the boy didn't have the chance to finish his action because the world stopped:
"Pause!" Ritsuka yelled.
With that all the sounds of that world died. The birds and the clouds stopped in the middle of the sky. The students stood still like statues. Even the breeze seemed to freeze.
"Where the hell is our seats!?" Robin complained massaging his ass.
"We can walk freely!" Astolfo laughed running across the field.
"Astolfo, you're going to hit your face against the walls of the room again!" Siegfried tried to warn his friend, but got surprised along with the others.
Astolfo not only did not hit a wall, but he crossed a much greater distance than the viewing room had.
"He will reach the students at the end of the field..." Ritsuka frowned.
"Did the fragments evolved again, Senpai?" Mash asked.
Everyone were stunned by this world that seemed so real, but Parvati couldn't care less. The goddess felt her eyes filling with tears, but when she went to wipe them there was nothing there. What's happening? Is this place...?
"Let's continue. Not much to do but find out for ourselves." Ritsuka shrugged. "Start!"
The world came back to life and Astolfo had to jump to the side, in fright, when the boy's arrow flew towards one of the targets hitting its center.
"That boy is good," Chiron said.
When the group reached the wooden floor, he had already hit the center of the target a few more times, demonstrating his great skills.
"O-Old man Muramasa!?" Musashi exclaimed in surprise.
Artoria's eyes gleamed with nostalgia, but a bit of sadness too.
"It's him?" Gawain muttered between the knights.
"It's likely," Lancelot answered.
Bedivere looked at Emiya, curious about his reaction, but the man didn't seem to mind the boy's presence. At least that was the knight's impression.
The truth was that, inside, Emiya was already starting to regret having accepted come here.
"This body ain't mine. It's my vessel." Muramasa was about to choke the swordswoman. "Ears open, ya damn vagabond. How many times do I have to explain this?"
[Among the students, a blue-haired boy and an ordinary girl watched Shirou with a certain amount of admiration. While the seaweed boy seemed to be conflicted with his companion's talent, the girl seemed only fascinated.]
"Is this 'attraction' part of the fragment?" Emiya asked when he felt his attention drawn to those two students.
"Yes. The whole room becoming the environment for the scenes in the previous fragment made it difficult to know where to focus. Therefore, we couldn't see the camera focusing on the faces of the important characters like a normal movie, in those moments when we didn't knew where to look, an instinct guides us to where it matters. A bizarre experience, but an interesting one."
Emiya didn't know if he found it as interesting as Artoria. Too much control over us...
"It's going to be useful now that we can get out of ours seats and walk around." Artoria added. And with that Emiya agreed, even though he still didn't like it.
["Shirou Emiya is pretty good." One of the teachers spoke.
"Isn't he?" Taiga nodded without hiding her delight at hearing praise for her favorite person in the world.
"And with Ayako Mitsuzuri and Shinji Matou, we can win the rookie tournament with this lineup."]
"Pause!" Ritsuka exclaimed.
Archer felt countless pairs of eyes go from the boy to him, repeatedly.
"Is that boy you when you were young, Emiya!?" Mash almost choked.
"You were my vessel this whole time, goddamnit!?" Muramasa nearly lost his haori. "That's why every time I'm around you, I get uncomfortable!"
"You're so cute, Emiya!" Raikou and Boudica echoed together.
"Uncle Emiya is kinda... funny?" Jack walked around the boy.
"He's small!" Nursery laughed.
"Look everyone! Is Shaggy!" Mordred couldn't stop laughing and fell to her knees, holding her stomach.
"Shaggy?" Artoria asked, confused.
"It's a cartoon, Your Highness, don't listen to her..." Gareth covered her mouth to keep herself from laughing too.
Cú Chulainn was laughing so much he had to put a hand on Mordred's shoulder to not fall over. And he had no idea what she was talking about.
"I don't understand why you guys are laughing. His body is well built, and he clearly has a great future on this department. I don't even need to look at Emiya's physique to know that." Chiron took an approach more similar to what he did with his students.
"And there goes that teacher wanna be..." Atalanta sighed.
Medusa was not surprised, she already knew that connection. She didn't live enough to discover like Lancer or Saber, neither had all the clues like Caster, but was easy nonetheless.
When Parvati was summoned, the first place she chose to go was the kitchen. And even though the goddess had not spent much time there, Medusa only had to stare at that Lancer and Archer working together for a few minutes to identify which of her memories was being stirred.
The fact that the man had let his hair down at that time and was being called by his last name was all she needed for a confirmation.
Either way, Rider's focus was elsewhere: the obnoxious kid who had been her master after stealing Sakura's position. Instinctively, her hand went to his neck, but it went straight past him.
"It's just a simulation..." Medusa lamented.
Shinji's image was there like a real human being, but it was not possible to touch or interact. The scenery, the people, the weather... all of that was a lie, but the "characters" were the fakest part.
"Medusa!" Euryale destroyed Rider's distraction. "You're not paying attention to anything I'm saying. Those elephant ears of yours are deaf, by any chance?"
"Relax, me, it seems that Medusa preferred to focus on other things. I didn't know you liked this kind of men, Me-du-sa. Young guys…" Stheno had a terrible glint in her eyes.
"I-It's n-not what you're thinking, sisters! Please, forgive me!"
"Stop laughing, Sétanta. You were no different when young."
"Damn, teacher, you didn't have to go there..."
["But, Miss Fujimura... among the first-years, Emiya is somehow different from the others. I can't really put it into words."
Shirou placed one more arrow on the bow, aiming for his next target. His eyes were empty. He looked bored. In the background, Shinji clenched his fists in frustration.]
"He's still the same weird kid he's always been," Reines commented with her small group. "Every time I saw him with Luvia or Rin, when they weren't looking, he always had this lost eyes. Who knew he would become a Heroic Spirit..."
El-Melloi II lit a cigar. He couldn't when it was just a movie theater, but now that they were out in the open, it was an opportunity impossible to pass up.
"I have to thank you for this, culprit."
A happy man now, he finally took a good look at the kid. His interactions with Shirou Emiya were minimal, usually happening when Rin or Flat served as a bridge. The lord didn't have a very strong opinion of him, but the fact that this kid was special enough to be hired by the Counter Guardian probably promised something for the war... at least for those really interested in seeing it.
"Not my case..." And with another draw from his cigar, he smiled.
Shishou, you really need to fix this addiction... Gray shook her head.
"You should speak what's in your mind, girl," Add said.
Gray hit him.
Iskandar had his focus on someone else. The teacher next to the man talking during that whole scene. Who was she?
"I didn't know you were so skilled with a bow at that age. Shirou never said anything about it." Artoria was surprised. "It makes sense that you ended up in the Archer class after all."
Cú Chulainn was another surprised by the boy's skill, and just as Saber he was beginning to understand why Emiya was placed in that class even though the man used more swords than his bow. I've come across many warriors in my life, but there are few archers who could hit a distant target like it was nothing...
"His eyes…" Illya had been excited to see her brother, but said excitement was cut short when everyone started comparing him to Archer, reminding her that the boy wasn't really her brother. Just someone with the same name. However, seeing him with such a dead expression made the girl's heart cry in pain.
Kuro had a different reaction. Already knowing Archer's original appearance, she didn't share the surprise of the rest. But seeing that expression on him revealed enough about what to expect from this version of her dear brother. And she didn't like it.
Miyu had an even more different reaction than her two friends. Rather than comparing him to a Shirou who went to school and had a normal life, she actually thought of her brother. The way they moved and their eyes were very similar. She clutched her chest, feeling her heart pounding as a wave of sadness engulfed her. It was easier to deal with Illya's "Shirou" because he was so different from her brother, but this one looked like was going to be more similar.
"I'm not going to lie, this boy gives me the creeps..." Ishtar said to her sister.
Ereshkigal did not answered, nor did she scold Ishtar for that loud and mean opinion. There was, in fact, something wrong with that look. She didn't know if the discomfort was hers or from the vessel that had a great connection with the boy. One of the reasons why Ereshkigal rushed to be one of the first in line to see that fragment was precisely to finally understand why she felt so calm (and, arguably, happy) with Emiya around.
She admired that man because he played a role similar to hers and even so had a kindness to others that she could only force herself to have, and sometimes just with Ritsuka's help, but it still bothered not knowing what was her or hers.
"He doesn't seem to be enjoying what he's doing..." Boudica concluded. She glanced at Archer silent and with his arms crossed, leaning against a wall near the dojo's exit, uninterested in what was going on in the current scene. She liked that man a lot and considered him a great friend, but if Boudica was honest she would admit that she didn't know much about him, not even sure if he liked anything other than cooking.
[Shirou released the arrow and once again hit the target.]
The scene changed and everyone found themselves in the same place, but apparently on another day and during an afternoon, instead of the morning. It was about to rain.
Nursery and Jack let out a startled squeal that drew a few laughs from the crowd. The simulation made everything more immersive, but when scenes changed locations and the time of day like that, it was a little dizzying.
"It got cold!" Ritsuka started rubbing her arms to warm up. "In the last fragment we felt some minimal sensations, but now feels like we really are in the same place!"
The servants started to approach the exit of the place because that was where the simulation said the focus of that new scene would be. There, they found Shinji leaning against the wall and Shirou sitting with one arm bandaged.
["You got injured at your part-time job before the tournament?" Shinji's tone was dead. There was no sign of concern there and, oddly enough, no sneer either. "What were you thinking?"
Silent, Shirou listened to his friend speak; he looked a little embarrassed.
"Can't you tell you've caused trouble for everyone?"]
"What a jerk. He got hurt while working and this brat accuses of doing on purpose?" Ishtar complained as she flew over Shirou, analyzing his arm.
Gawain nodded and said, "If he had a responsibility to do, he should have been careful. But I agree, if it's he's friend, this kid should be a little more empathetic."
The Knight of the Sun was lucky for being so tall. Many of the servants were trying to see the scene, but the crowd blocking the entrance to the room with the two boys was making it impossible for those behind to see.
"Can you guys just enter the damn room for the rest of us to watch!?" Robin complained.
["My bad. But Shinji, with you and Mitsuzuri on the team, you wouldn't need me..."
The attempt to lighten the mood failed miserably. Shinji turned his face to Shirou and showed his disdain of the praise. Whether he disagreed with the comment or just didn't want to hear it coming from his friend was a mystery to everyone watching.
"Sorry."]
"Only the second scene of the movie and this assface already dyin' of envy," Mordred said.
Kama had a good laugh out of that scene... after she struggled to cross the crowd's legs to see. She knew how to identify a potential conflict from far away and even more when come from a "misunderstood love". It was obvious to her that Shinji felt something besides hate for his friend. And considering that he would be one of the masters in this war, it would be a good entertainment to see their friendship fall apart. Wait, how do I know he will be a master?
El-Melloi II recognized in seconds that kind of look on Shinji's face. He'd seen several of those in Clock Tower and they always resulted in an unpleasant situation.
[The scene changed once more and this time they all found themselves in the garden of the Emiya residence, at the front door. Shirou unlocked to enter his house.]
"Look at the size of this place!" Ritsuka gasped. "Is this your house, Emiya!?"
"It's his house..." Emiya replied with eyes closed and leaning against another wall, this time near the exit and away from the rest of them.
"Oh, right, haha, uh, sorry..." Ritsuka decided that if she had any questions to ask about Shirou she would leave them to Artoria.
"We're rich!" Illya screamed in amaze.
"Wow. Kiritsugu has a lot of money in this world. Is our dad hiding all of his!?" Kuro wondered, feeling a slight frustration rise inside.
Miyu heart started beating faster in that place, fear of causing a scene before those movies were over dominated her.
["I'm home." Shirou warned as he entered the house.
For a few seconds he was standing there at the entrance, perhaps waiting for someone to respond to his arrival. With no response, he moved on.]
The servants followed the boy. It was not possible to walk through walls and doors in that simulation, and servants also could not dematerialize in that Singularity. In theory, this would cause problems like now: Shirou entered the house and closed the door behind him. So how could they get in then? For some reason the simulation gave permission for them to be able to walk through doors at that specific moment.
"What a shitshow this fragment is..." Jeanne Alter said.
"Don't run around the house while Shirou hasn't turned the lights on, you might get hurt! And it's also impolite!" Atalanta scolded the children. "You girls are not Japanese, but you must respect their customs."
"He doesn't live with anyone?" Jeanne asked as she followed beside Shirou, entering the kitchen empty as the rest of the house.
Artoria felt sadness seeing how lonely Shirou was after Kiritsugu's death. In addition, she was confused by Sakura's absence, that girl was always there.
[Shirou turned on the kitchen light and found a note left by Fuji-nee.
"Do not worry.
After you get some rest, come back to the club practice.
PS: I'll come check on you later!"]
"He seems to have someone at least," Tamamo said feeling a little better.
Illya couldn't get past the servants to see what was going on inside the kitchen and just stared at all the darkness in those corridors. Such a big house, but so lonely.
"I being innocent and fool once again, Kuro. I hoped we could see us living here..." Illya revealed. "Seeing him at school and at the same club, I thought there was a chance."
Kuro choose to not criticize Illya for that mistake. Honestly, it was a fair guess. But a Shirou with empty eyes like that could never have them as family.
Irisviel did everything she could to not walk around the house, praying that she would find Kiritsugu somewhere, sleeping because of his age, the reason why he didn't answer his son when the boy arrived.
"Irisviel." Artoria put her hand on her friend shoulder. "Don't..."
"Am I just being silly?" Irisviel smile was fake.
"No. Of course not."
[Shirou left the kitchen and walked towards the outside of the house. He went to a shed and opened the double doors, sit inside and picked up a few things to began his Magecraft training.
It was raining outside.
"Beginning synchronization. Tracing basic structure. Tracing component materials. Altering fundamental structure. Strengthening component materials."
Shirou held a tissue in his hands. It seemed to be as hard as an iron bar now, but after swinging in the air a few times, whatever he did fell apart and the cloth became light again.]
Mordred laughed.
"Whatever he had going on for that bow, he definitely doesn't have when is Magecraft."
"Even failing at first, with rigorous training, any student in any field can go far," Chiron said.
El-Melloi II would agree with the centaur, but he just frowned when saw the boy making a pained expression. "Did he just...!?"
"He what? Get out of the way!" Reines tried to push away the servants to see what was going on inside the shed, but there were too many people inside the place and at the entrance for her to be able to enter or see what Shirou was doing.
"C'mon, no way that there is no room for us in the shed! It's raining out here!" Robin complained lifting his hood to protect himself from the rain. "The damn fake rain now is really soaking us!"
"Wet armor is the worst feeling in the world. Help us, my king! Master!" Gawain pleaded.
"There's no space, you'll have to survive the rain!" Ritsuka screamed from inside.
"How sad. How sad." Tristan played a few notes on his harp, enjoying the weather.
Atalanta decided that this scene was not worth enough for her and the children to get wet in the rain, so she kept them inside the house, in the hallway that led to that part of the backyard.
"We want to watch young uncle Emiya..." The two were sad.
"After the rain stops."
["Huh?" Shirou heard the doorbell.]
They all felt their attention being drawn to the entrance of the house even before the bell was rang in the movie.
Shirou got up to go there.
"We answer!" Jack yelled running towards the gate.
"Not if I get there first!" Nursery giggled and started running too.
"What did I say about running!?" Atalanta complained.
"To be fair, you said 'with the lights off'. Now they all on," Siegfried replied. "Besides, they're servants like us. Why worrying so much?"
"Because they're children!" Atalanta snorted and went after them.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you..."
"Don't worry, noble knight. A woman who takes care of children needs to be like this!" Parvati spoke with a smile.
"... noble knight?"
Kama made the sound of vomiting in the background.
[Outside the house was Sakura Matou.
"You're Shinji's little sister..."
"Yes. I'm Sakura Matou."
The title 'Heaven's Feel I - Presage Flower' popped into everyone's heads there.]
"And so we are introduced to our female lead!" Ritsuka exclaimed in excitement.
"Shirou and this Sakura will be the protagonists?" Mash asked, curious about her senpai's reasoning.
"Probably, I guess. The title appeared after she was introduced. That's usually how it works with movies and anime..."
Hearing that from Ritsuka, the only reaction Emiya had was confusion. He looked at Artoria and she was confused as he was. In the war they fought, the girl had spent her time with Shirou only at the beginning, disappearing from the rest of the entire conflict since she wasn't part of the battle.
Sharing the role of protagonist with Shirou would make no sense.
"If anyone had to share the lead with Shirou, it would be Rin, no?" Artoria questioned.
"You're right. But it's three movies, maybe the focus on this one is that idiot's daily life rather than the war itself. It would justify this weird focus on Sakura at least."
Artoria decided to take that as the likely turn of events. She had nothing to complain of course, seeing more of Shirou in his everyday life would be fun. Most of the time she spent with him was under the stress of war. However, if Sakura would be the protagonist of this film focused on Shirou's daily life, then that meant that the girl was really someone very important to Shirou Emiya.
She wondered if Sakura was important to the Shirou next to her. Artoria would never ask him that, though. She already knew which answer Emiya would give.
A/N: Thanks all you guys for the kind words.
They're going to watch the Heaven's Feel trilogy with some scenes from VN, nothing more. No OCs or anything like that.
And for those worried about the fic being abandoned and you wasting your time, don't be. The fic is already complete. 32 chapters.
I shouldn't take long to post the next chapter, but don't get used to this pace, now I'm doing absolutely nothing with my life, but soon this is gonna be over... sadly. I'll try to keep two chapters a week at least.