Sword of the Moon Princess
All it took was a minor change. A small oversight, a diversion of choice.
The red haired demon sought bloody revenge. He finally got it, after years of waiting. The demon hunters were slain, their allies crushed. Yet just like him, there was a lucky survivor.
The fires burned bright, their nature unknown to most who witnessed them. The people screamed, the people burned, and the people died. In the midst of it all, one boy trudged through the hellish flames around him.
As the red haired demon slaughtered his family, a boy with black hair and blue eyes hid under his mother's corpse. His home was turned into utter chaos and his family was dead, massacred by their mortal enemies. It was a nightmare made real, and he was helpless to stop the destruction of everything he knew.
A boy with red hair and amber eyes stumbled on, the cries of the damned surrounding him. Yet he ignored their pleas, casting aside his emotions, his fear, his sadness, all of it, just so he could take another step. When he finally collapsed and could feel nothing, he saw his savior standing above him.
All it took was a minor change.
The leader of the mixed blood alliance looked around, yet he missed the lone survivor. A small oversight would change the course of his family's legacy. The family that he committed this atrocity to protect, and by extension their city, its visitors and the supernatural world.
The boy was saved from the flames, his savior using the same artifact that got him so far in the war to heal the boy. The man that saved him wept tears of satisfaction and guilt, for he atoned at least somewhat for his role in the city's destruction. Yet he left the boy at the hospital, a single diversion of choice changing the legacy he would leave behind.
The boys who changed countless lives and altered fate itself have been sent down different paths.
The family of mixed bloods, now free of their mortal enemies, were visiting old friends in Fuyuki when the fire broke out. They saw the magical nature and investigated, only to find the source gone. But the head of the family sensed something else. The magical artifact given to a redheaded boy. He thought to himself "Could this be the chance of a lifetime?" and took the boy under his wing.
The old war veteran had given up. He had gambled everything and lost, his wife gone and his daughter separated from him. But old habits die hard, and when investigating the massacre of an entire family he came across the lucky survivor. "This boy needs me." For heroes never just give up their heroics.
These men had adopted the young boys on a whim before, but fate has made them switch places. Now they have taken in someone else and altered the course of history.
The wheels of fate spin, as two of the world's most notorious figures are switched at the most pivotal moments of their lives. The incarnation of death, the wrought iron hero, the right hand of the moon princess, the favored attack dog of Alaya, their fates have now been altered and the new branches emerge from the tree called time.
Sword of a Moon Princess
Shirou awoke in the hospital, the world around him blurring as his eyes adapted to his surroundings. His mind was fuzzy, the recent memories leading up to this moment all but missing. He rubbed his head as he sat up, catching the attention of the nearby doctor.
"Oh, young man, you mustn't push yourself." The doctor rushed over to him as he struggled to stand up.
"What… happened…" Shirou asked as he let the doctor lay him back down. But as his body continued to move he felt his insides grind against each other. Despite his lack of memories he knew this wasn't normal. It was only made worse by the sound of steel echoing in his head.
The doctor, if she heard the sound, didn't acknowledge it. "You were caught in a traffic accident," she answered. "Your father brought you here so you could get better. I'll let him know you're okay." As the doctor prepared to leave she noticed Shirou's hand on his stomach. "Is something wrong? Are you feeling well?"
Shirou rubbed his belly and looked up at the doctor. "My chest feels weird," he explained.
The doctor nodded her head. "Ah yes, you had some pieces of metal lodged in your chest. We had to remove them, so you might be feeling weird for a bit." The doctor stood up and left the room.
As Shirou waited there, a memory flashed before his eyes. "Sister!"He got up and tried to leave, frantically thinking of a way to find his house. His scrambled memories weren't helping. Then, all of a sudden he felt dizzy, as if his body was being drained. He felt something in his body react, and he suddenly felt itchy across his entire body. He managed to open the door to his room before he collapsed.
His cry had drawn the attention of a nurse that was passing by, and she immediately rushed to his aid. He was rushed back into the room and the nurse barely got him onto the bed before she had to drop him. Blades were growing from his body, creating wounds that tore his hospital gown apart. The nurse, hyperventilating, called for the other staff, with Makihisa standing in the background and watching suspiciously. The head of the Tohnos rubbed his forehead. He had another obligation now that Shirou's body was reacting, along with whatever that strange artifact was.
Less than a week later and Shirou was still in the hospital, despite his rapid recovery. He knew something was wrong with him, but everyone either knew nothing about it. He had no idea why he passed out, but it had scared the doctors to the point that they were terrified of being near them. But he didn't care. He barely even paid attention to his condition. All that mattered to him was that his body had miraculously recovered despite the damage it had suffered and he could go looking for his sister and their maid soon. However, that had probably scared the hospital staff even more.
Shirou knew that his father was here. Makihisa had even showed up to tell him he would be adopted by the Ahrimas, relatives of the Tohnos. Shirou couldn't remember much about them, but he remembered them being nice to him. He knew he couldn't stay with them, not when something in his mind was telling him to go back and check on his sister and best friend.
He snuck out of the hospital room right after breakfast. His window was easy to open and climb through, and before anyone could stop him he was off. He ran as far as he could, but he had no idea where he was. His memory was fuzzy and he couldn't recall where he home was. "I need to find somewhere high. A vantage point where I could locate everything around me." He quickly found a green hill in the distance, one that stood out amongst the buildings that surrounded him.
When Shiroureached the hill he immediately raced to the top. He could see most of the city, but almost nothing seemed familiar to him. His memory could barely recall the shapes of the buildings around him. Shirou grit his teeth in frustration. "How am I supposed to get home like this? I have to make sure that sister and… and…" Shirou paused as he thought. "What was her name? Who was the girl… the maid we played with? She had a sister too, right? What was my sister's name?" Shirou began to rub his head as he struggled to remember the people he was looking for. He dug into his deepest memories as he tried to recall everything. Names, faces, locations, fire…
Fire. That was what he recalled most. The flames burning his skin, thr smoke choking his lungs, his neighborhood crumbling sound him… He began to look around for the signs of a neighborhood in ruin, but he couldn't find anything like that. He was lost, and he couldn't find his own home.
It was only convenient that his body was wracked with pain then. The doctors said it was anemia, but anemia didn't make metal blades erupt from your body. It felt like a part of him was being ripped away. A part that he couldn't recognize or understand. As he felt his body being torn apart from the inside he slowly collapsed onto the grass.
"Hey kid, are you alright?" He heard the voice and footsteps approaching him. "Woah, are those pieces of metal in your body? You really do need help, don't you?" The way the feminine voice sounded confused him. Wasn't she going to scream or stare blankly at him? "Here, I'll help you out." The woman appeared above him and shirou saw blood red hair fill his vision. When he felt the blades being pulled through his skin he flinched, but the pain quickly dulled in just a few seconds. The doctors never managed to treat him this quickly.
Shirou slowly sat back up abd looked around, making eye contact with the woman that had just saved him. "Hey kid, what's your name," she asked. The woman's easygoing smile put him at ease.
"Tohno," Shirou answered. "Tohno Shirou." He remembered that much at least. It certainly helped that the doctors always referred to him by that name.
"Tohno, huh?" The woman seemed to recognize the name somewhat. "Well, my name's Aozaki Aoko. What are you doing out here by yourself?"
Shirou hesitated before answering. "I'm looking for my sister and my friend," he explained.
"You do realize the Tohno mansion is that way right?" Aoko pointed at a distant house that seemed larger than the rest.
Shirou's head shot up as memories began to flash through his mind. His movements were uncoordinated but he still tried to reach the distant objective.
"Woah kid," Aoko grabbed him by the arm. "What do you think you're doing? You aren't even fully recovered, even with that rapid healing of yours."
Shirou struggled against her grip. "I don't care! I have to make sure they're safe! I don't care if I have to cut myself to pieces!" Shirou's mind was dead set, his will ironclad and his body almost a non factory
Aoko froze, her mind processing what the boy just said. All of a sudden she yanked him back and slapped him across the face. Shirou stumbled and caught himself as he looked back and the red haired woman.
"Tohno Shirou," Aoko snapped, taking on a harsh and disciplinary edge to her voice. "I will not have you running off abd getting yourself killed over something stupid!" Shirou narrowed his eyes and began to open his mouth before he was interrupted. "Did you even think to ask someone to check up on them for you?"
Shirou froze as he considered her words. "Um… no," he answered. "But I don't want to bother anyone else with my problems."
"You do realize that you won't be able to help anyone if you get yourself killed doing something foolish don't you?" Aoko cringed on the inside as Shirou looked down in shame and embarrassment, but she didn't relent.
"I mean, it doesn't matter right? I'm not that important. As long as I help someone it doesn't matter what happens to me, right?" Shirou flinched away as Aoko's eyes widened and she took a step back, letting go of Shirou's arm in the process.
The younger Aozaki sister looked down at Shirou with a look that chilled his bones. Horror and pity were etched onto her face. "Shirou," she began, and Shirou flinched away from her. He was unprepared when the woman placed her hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eye. "How many people would be sad if you died?" Shirou opened his mouth to answer but couldn't find the words. "Do you even realize how many people care about you?"
Shirou was trembling now. "No I'm not hurting them. They shouldn't care about me. I'm not worth sacrificing for," he thought to himself. "Why would they care so much about me," He asked Aoko.
When he asked that question Aoko hugged him. "Because there are people that love you. Your life is valuable to them. Don't through it away unless you have to."
Shirou's mind was still a jumbled mess. "I don't understand. Why would they love me so much?"
Aoko sighed and stood up. "You'll understand in time. Just try to think about what other people think, okay?" Shirou didn't talk, but instead nodded with confusion still written in his expression. "I swear, magi never teach their children how to empathize with others."
Even if she was talking to herself with that last sentence Shirou still heard it. "Magi? What's that?"
Aoko raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you know what a magus is?" Shirou shook his head."Magecraft?" Another shake. "Do you have any idea why blades are manifesting inside your body?" One final shake of the head.
Aoko facepalmed before looking at Shirou again, a decision made almost on a whim flowing through her mind. "Do you want me to teach you magic?" Shirou's childish eyes widened with excitement as he nodded his head. Aoko couldn't help an amused chuckled that escaped her lips.
When the police found Aok and Shirou the young boy was taken back to the hospital. Aoko would regularly visit him and teach him in secret. He never knew about the suspicious looks his mentor and father would give each other. He didn't really care either way. He was going to use his new magic powers to save everyone he could and prevent more people from suffering. It was a good thing he dedicated every waking moment to the study of his craft and mastered the basics, because his mentor disappeared after only a week.