Note: I own nothing in this fanfiction.
Chapter III: Nightfall
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Homurahara Academy was far less crowded in the evenings, especially during the last couple of days. Reports of recent disappearances caused the local security to enforce a strict curfew on all residents, and students who did not have club activities after school were encouraged to head back home immediately.
Shirou was sitting down in his usual place by the window, it had been a quiet day compared to what happened yesterday with Tohsaka Rin. He knew all about her, about her secret identity as a mage, about her family and he understood that sooner or later, she would sniff him out as a mage too.
The bell rang one last time. Classes were over. The teachers and students alike left the classrooms and dispersed throughout the schoolyard, most of them heading towards the gate with a minority heading towards their clubhouses.
Shirou did not partake in any particular activity, he did try his hand at Archery and Kendo, but eventually got bored of them and quit. He was on his way towards the gate when Shinji stopped him.
"Yo, Emiya!" he called out, "Come here for a second, would ya?"
The phenomenal student decided to entertain him out of pure curiosity. Shinji was one of the few delinquents who tried to cause him problems with the school staff and teachers, but every time, he failed to do so.
"What is it? I don't have time to deal with your nonsense. If you haven't heard, students are supposed to head back home immediately after classes if they don't have club activities." Shirou asserted with an unfriendly tone. "You want my advice? Quit being a pathetic excuse for an apprentice in the Archery club and go back home."
Shinji's expression visibly changed to an angry one, but then he sighed and calmed himself, "Still spitting out knives for words, are you? Maybe that's why no girl is ever interested in you." Shinji replied calmly, "You have quite the reputation in here, Emiya. That's cool and all but that's not what the highschool life is about."
Shirou raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?" he asked nonchalantly.
"You see Emiya, it's all about the charm. If you know what I mean." Shinji proclaimed with a grin on his face, "A person who lacks charm will forever be ditched by society even if they're successful. And you, my friend, seem to be lacking in that department." he pointed at the phenomenal student with his index, then continued, "I'm willing to assist you in that regard, if you're willing to—"
It was at that moment, Shirou noticed Issei approaching, he seemed in quiet a hurry as he left comically large clouds of dust in his wake. Shinji's words remained incomplete as Issei's voice was heard in the distance, calling out Shirou's name. Moments passed and Issei was bent on his knees gasping for air while facing the delinquent and the phenomenal student.
"Emiya! Oh am I glad I caught up to you." he said with a concerned look on his face.
"What is it, Issei?" Shirou inquired, instantly losing interest in whatever Shinji was saying. "Yeah! Can't you see I'm talking to the guy?" the latter commentated.
Issei fixed his stance and took a deep breath, as Shirou immediately shot a sharp look towards Shinji, "All due respect, Shinji. But be quiet." And before Shinji can reply, Issei started talking. "Shirou, here are some notes I took for you yesterday while you were absent. I was meaning to give them to you earlier but I had some business to attend to." he explained, handing Shirou a piece of paper. "That's not why I came running though..."
Issei was reluctant to speak any further, he shot an uncomfortable glace towards the third party.
"Go on. What's up?" Shirou said with the same nonchalant tone, part of him already knew this was about Rin, and he did hear rumors of her rejecting Shinji or whatever, but he did not care.
"Tohsaka told me to give you this." explained Issei after some hesitation, handing Shirou a sealed envelope. "She said it was important for me to give it to you now."
Shirou smiled faintly as he took the item, then immediately opened it and extracted the letter from within. His eyes darted across the lines, it was a fairly short letter which said;
"Come to where the black bird attacked as soon as you read this letter. I have important information regarding yesterday and it is imperative that we meet as soon as possible.
—T"
Shirou was not stupid, the letter was imbued with a faint trace of magical energy which made the it look like nonsense to anyone else other than himself. It was a clear trap. But there was no other choice, he had to deal with Tohsaka today.
The phenomenal student displayed no visible reaction as he tore the paper into little pieces then put them back into the envelope, but Shinji did. His face became red and his expression transformed into one of clear spite. "Emiya! You—"
"Alright, thank you. Issei, I'll handle it from here." Shirou interrupted, completely ignoring Shinji.
"Oi Shirou! Don't associate yourself with that girl!" warned the president of the student council, "She might seem elegant and alluring at first glance, but once you get to know her. She reveals her devilish personality!"
"Don't worry and thank you for the notes again, Issei. I'll have to get going now." Shirou assured dismissively, then immediately turned his back and started walking away, "Oh and Shinji, I'll have to say no to whatever you were saying. Until we meet again."
And just like that, Shirou left the two behind as he circled around the school and back towards the emergency exit. And certainly, there she stood. The Red Devil of Homurahara herself.
Rin Tohsaka spent the whole day and some of yesterday's night hunting the Black Crow with her Servant, Archer. She came to witness a few strange occurrences on her hunt, and during that time, she had trouble focusing on the matter at hand, which annoyed Archer to the point of calling her out on it, there was even a moment where she almost got hit by a speeding red car! He had to say something.
"Hey! Stop! This won't do." he announced with a disappointed expression, "Don't tell me this is about that idiot again. I told you that he is not worth the effort, we'll find a different way to gather info on the homunculus."
Rin was completely out of it. True, she couldn't keep Shirou off her mind, it was a strange feeling which she never felt before, "What if that Einzbern thing hurts him?" she admitted with worry clear in her tone, "What if he finds out about the Moonlit World? His future will be completely destroyed."
Archer really did not have time for this, he let out a sigh then materialized once he made sure no one was around. "Why do you care? Is he your friend?" he questioned, already knowing the answer. Rin's face flushed red but before she could speak to defend herself, Archer continued, "Thought so. But tell me, Master, have you considered the idea that he might be an undercover mage as well?"
Rin immediately dismissed the idea as preposterous, all mages who have workshops in Fuyuki must report to her as she was the Second Owner of this land. Archer didn't give up however, and continued to expose his doubts.
"An Einzbern Homunculus who supposedly brainwashed the fella wouldn't attend school would she? And even if she did, she wouldn't obey his orders."
True, that wouldn't make much sense for someone under the enthralling effects of a brainwashing spell to order his master, yet, when Shirou told her to go back to her training, she reluctantly but immediately obeyed.
Archer noticed her expression changing and knew things were going somewhere, he just had to put one final nail in the coffin.
"Who knows, maybe the girl isn't the representative." he added, closing his eyes and smiling mockingly, "Maybe he is the Master candidate, and the Einzberns sent this homunculus to watch and make sure he does his job."
The world seemed to freeze from Tohsaka's perspective. Things were adding up in ways she didn't want them to add up. She heard that the Einzberns' base in Germany was destroyed, and that the head of their family went suspiciously missing. Although, there were sightings of homunculi in other places such as airports and random streets, there was way less activity from the family than ever before. That and one could fairly argue that all of their Master-class Homuncli got destroyed during the attack on their base, and that they resorted to contract a stray mage to do their dirty work here in Fuyuki due to that.
Archer noticed her shock and shrugged, "Pft... You didn't even notice that he countered your attempt at suggestion, did you? Back when you were attacked by that crow..." Archer added with confidence, "You're way in over your head."
Rin did not know what to say, Archer made sound arguments. No solid evidence was present, but she did notice that her suggestion did not work on Shirou, and was going to try again if she wasn't interrupted.
If it was true and Shirou was just making a fool out of her this whole time. She would never forgive him.
"Let's go, Archer." she commanded with renewed resolve, "I need to set some things straight."
And after a day, she stood face to face with Shirou.
"You do realize we're not supposed to be here at this time, right, Tohsaka?" he announced with a teasing tone, "Also, seeing that you sent Issei running to find me, you must have something important to say."
Tohsaka's eyebrow furrowed in annoyance, "Enough!" she barked, "You can drop the act now, Emiya Shirou."
The phenomenal student blinked twice in rapid succession, seemingly genuinely confused, "Act? What act?" asked Shirou with a puzzled expression.
"You know what I'm talking about!" she confronted him furiously. Her plan was simple really, she was going to confront him directly and see what happens; if he was a mage, he would be exposed and dealt with. If he wasn't, then she could easily wipe his memory and make it so that this meeting never happened.
"Your so-called sister is an Einzbern Homunculus. Your persona is too perfect to be real and most importantly—"
"Woah woah woah! Slow down! My sister is an Einz-what Homunculus? My persona?" Interrupted Shirou with a very confused face, "Did you hit your head or something, Tohsaka?"
Rin was at her limit, she kicked at the ground and pointed her index at him, "Stop making me look crazy and admit it!"
"Admit what!?" Shirou screamed out in response.
"That you're a—"
Rin Tohsaka's words remained lacking, as suddenly Shirou had a blade to her throat. The movement was instantaneous. She did not believe her eyes but the cold feeling of the sharp edge of the sword pressed against her throat begged to differ.
"You..." she whispered in clear shock, "You sneaky little—"
"What? Didn't you want me to admit it?" replied Shirou with a newly drawn grin on his face, a grin which disappeared as quickly as it appeared when he felt a sharp object pushed behind his back.
"Wrong move, kid." Archer's voice ringed in his ears, "Lower your sword and I'll consider not stabbing you immediately."
Shirou was in quite the predicament, he did not recognise the voice coming from behind him, but he could feel the killing intent and the massive magical energy. That was a Servant standing right behind him.
But all was well.
Suddenly, something moved in the bushes nearby, causing Archer to shift his attention for a split second. That was the opening Shirou needed. In one move, He conjured up a second sword and parried away Archer's weapon before jumping away creating some distance between him and Rin. He stood in the direction of the Servant, but he was too late. The Servant had already dematerialized by the time he was able to take a good look. His attention was drawn to the movement in the bushes. It was only moments until a terrified Shinji crawled out from the foliage, chased by a hulking black hound with red bloodshot eyes.
Tohsaka's hand rose to her throat, still in utter and complete shock. But the new arrivals made her temporarily snap out of it.
"Sh—Shinji! What are you doing here!?" she exclaimed with clear surprise, then she noticed the giant figure of the black dog. "What the hell is that!?"
"T—To hell if I know!" Shinji screamed out as he backed himself further and further against the wall, "Emiya! Tohsaka! Do something! Help me!"
Shirou wasn't startled, he knew that Shinji's pride would make him follow, he knew that there was something watching him already, so when the two of them appeared, it made total sense to him to just watch and see how things play out.
Rin, on the other hand, wasn't going to just stand there and see another student get torn to pieces.
Blue stripes lit up around her body, signalling the activation of her magic circuits. Then, she rushed towards the dog and kicked it with the velocity of a speeding truck. The animal let out a wild scream of pain as its body lifted off the ground, getting launched into a nearby tree trunk.
But it wasn't over. No, far from it. The black hound quickly got back on its feet and barked hungrily, streams of saliva dripping from its toothy maw. It didn't seem to have taken any damage from Rin's reinforced kick, which was able to wreck a concrete wall. On the contrary, it seemed to only drive it more angry and divert its attention towards her.
The moment Shinji was no longer in danger, he staggered to his feet as he made a mad dash towards safety. Rin bit her lip, "That slimy bastard!" she commented with a very annoyed tone, but couldn't afford to get distracted. Her body took on a fighting stance, the enemy was approaching slowly at first, then started dashing towards her with unnatural speed.
"Don't underestimate me you oversized rat!"
The dog pounced on the girl with its maw wide open, but was met with a fist impacting its head with a force able to drive it into the ground like it weighed a metric ton. A small crater formed around its body, but it was surprisingly unharmed, kicking and clawing in an attempt to escape the pressure that Rin's fist applied on its head.
"Oh no you don't!"
She raised his free hand and pointed at the struggling animal with her index,
"Identifizieren, bestägen und feuern!" she whispered. The incantation caused a sound of ignition, then roaring flames were created from the tip of her finger. She jumped away as the flames consumed the enemy, burning its skin and scorching its bones as it let out wild screams of pain, before eventually it went silent.
With the threat neutralized and turned into a steaming pile of ashes and burnt flesh, Tohsaka shifted her attention to the other person in her vicinity.
The phenomenal student and undercover mage was slowly approaching her, without the faintest hostile intention. Still, she took on a fighting position just in case he tried something funny. Her mind was racing, she wanted to speak but didn't know what to say. Words escaped her, until eventually she mustered one question.
"What are you really?"
Quiet a simple question which would answer all of her confusion if answered correctly. But, Shirou had other ideas.
"Emiya Shirou."
A whisper rang in her ear, her combat stance rendered completely useless as he flashed right past her with a new blade in hand. The sound of flesh being cut was heard and blood sprinkled out, followed by the thump of something impacting the ground.
Tohsaka was speechless as she turned around slowly. The burnt body of the black dog was split in half mere inches from her legs, it made some last dying moves disturbing the pool of its own blood, then it melted into a black liquid which disappeared shortly after.
Shirou walked away, dismissing the sword into specs of magical energy and revealing the faint red marking on the back of his hand to the girl as he got farther and farther.
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Sakura Matou was on her way home when she noticed something peculiar on the road. A small, black bunny hopped around in the foliage, then it stopped when it noticed her approach with ruby red eyes. She was fascinated by the animal and decided to stay and play with it for a moment, but it started leaping away.
"W—Wait!" she called out before starting to chase after it.
Her chase was not for long. Eventually she found herself by Kotomine Church where the animal burrowed into a tiny hole in the garden.
Sakura felt a weird sensation, her body felt lighter, her senses felt sharper, also she felt free from HIS grasp. Whenever she approached the gate, that feeling would come and make her live a few seconds of heaven.
It's strange that the bunny lived in this place in particular. Perhaps, something was different here.
Sakura decided she would wait around for a bit, hoping that the bunny would come back out of its hole.
Suddenly, the large gate of the church slowly opened making a loud creaking sound and revealing a middle aged man who dressed like a priest. He stood in place for a bit, taking a long, exaggerated look around the area, then raised an eyebrow when he noticed the presence of the violet haired girl.
"Oh?" he exclaimed, a bland smile drawn across his face, "Have you business in the lord's domain, young lady?"
Sakura stuttered for a bit, not knowing what to say; "Uh—I... I was j—just leaving!"
Kirei let out a short, controlled laugh which gave her the shivers, then approached elegantly.
"Worry not." he assured, placing a hand in his coat's pocket, "Here, take this with you."
He handed her an antique tiny wooden cross, "This is the symbol of out faith." he explained diligently, "If you ever feel troubled and in need to confess, merely hold on to it and speak your words. The lord leaves no one behind, not even the gentiles."
Sakura did not know what it was about the man's words or the item which caused her to take it, but she did hesitantly.
"I—I saw a bunny." she revealed in embarrassment, "I followed it and it led me here."
Kirei raised an eyebrow at what he heard, but then he smiled again, "Truly, the Lord works in mysterious ways." he preached, "Now, be on your way. They say it's dangerous to remain outside at times like this."
Sakura did not know what to respond with, so she simply bowed apologetically and ran off.
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The Emiya mansion was quiet as it has been since Kiritsugu left. Fujimura Taiga visited from time to time of course but she never stayed for more than an hour, she didn't tell anyone but Shirou gave her the creeps ever since he was a child. He acted like a grown-up and was able to take care of the entire mansion and his sister despite only being about ten or so, and whenever she tried to relax and open up to him, he just stared at her questioningly. Eventually, she gave up and decided to simply visit from time to time without heavily involving herself with the two.
"He's late!"
A short albino girl with red eyes said, puffing her cheek from annoyance.
"I'm sure it's because of that crazy barbarian! She just has to shove her big nose where it doesn't belong."
Previously called Illyasviel von Einzbern, the child-looking girl took on a new name when her father brought her home. Emiya Illya. It had a nice ring to it, and was far less of a mouthful than her older one. That was the only thing she could change about her past though. Even though her father was able to rescue her, she realized that her body was forever doomed to stay in a child-like state due to an experiment they were conducting on her. She didn't mind it much though.
The sound of keys colliding with each other alerted her. And before the outer gate of the mansion slid open, she was already standing outside the door, staring accusingly at the orange haired teenager who opened the gate.
"YOU'RE LATE!"
Illya launched herself in his direction with uncontrollable speed, dropping him on his backside immediately.
"Ouch! Illya! It wasn't my fault I swear!" he said, rubbing his head apologetically. Despite all the pretending he was doing all day, this reaction was genuine. Or at least, that's what he told himself.
"Oh yeah?" The albino girl mocked, "Then who's fault is it? Don't tell me you let that barbarian annoy you today as well."
Shirou's expression changed, creating an imaginary question mark on top of her head.
"She knows who I am now." he revealed with a different tone than before, "She won't settle down until I kill her."
Illya backed off fearfully, not from Shirou's words but from his expression. He was smiling while saying those words.
She swallowed a terrified expression and acted like it was nothing. "J—Just do it when the war is underway..." she muttered with an annoyed expression, "Come on! Get in... I'm feeling hungry."
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Inside a small shed on the bank of the river along the edges of the city, stood a woman holding a package in her hands. She had short magenta hair and a mole under her left eye, she wore a black, two-pieced business suit over a white shirt and a pink necktie. Her name was Bazett Fraga McRemitz, and after a call from Kotomine Kirei, she decided to accept his invitation and come to Fuyuki with the intention of participating in the Holy Grail War.
She was elated when the red tattoo, the command spells appeared on her hand, and after some time scouting out the city while waiting for her package to arrive, she was finally ready to summon her servant.
Being a huge fan of Cú Chulainn, she had originally intended to summon him using her precious earrings, which were originally his property. However, out of fear that they might get damaged or consumed by the ritual, she decided to use a more suitable item as her catalyst.
She examined the package in her hands with great reverence, before slowly unpacking it to reveal an old, faded red spear blade.
If her sources were to be trusted - Which they were -, this was the blade of Gae Bolg, the demonic spear which was gifted to Cú Chulainn by his teacher.
Slowly, she placed the artifact in the middle of an already drawn magical circle. Then, she extended her hand with the Command Seals, activating her magic circuits.
Her eyes shone brightly, as her upper body was surrounded by a faint greenish glow. The chant of the Summoning, the aria of creating a miracle was echoing through the shack.
"Let silver and steel be the essence."
"Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation."
"Let the great Master Scáthach be the Ancestor "
"Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall"
"Let the four cardinal gates close."
"Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate."
"I hereby declare..."
"Your body shall serve under me. "
"My fate shall be your spear."
"Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail"
"If you will submit to this will and this reason…Then answer!"
"An oath shall be sworn here!"
"I shall attain all virtues of all of The Otherworld. "
"I shall have dominion over all evils of all of the land of Shadows"
"From the Seventh Heaven, clad in three words of power"
"Come forth from the ring of deterrence,"
"O-keeper of balance!"
The blinding light dissipated, revealing the delicate figure of a beautiful woman with long purple hair and red, gleaming eyes. She wore a tight full-body brown outfit with a black mask covering the lower part of her face and metallic shoulder plates.
The Master was too shocked to speak, she was expecting a handsome man, not a gorgeous woman. The servant opened her eyes and the first thing she did was push her Master away as fast as she could.
Bazett staggered backwards as something rushed right past her extended hand. That served to wake her from her shock, and put her on guard as her servant quickly rushed out towards the source of the projectile.
She was only just summoned, and she's already chasing after someone, this war was bound to be interesting to her, or so thought Scáthach as she gave chase to an unknown enemy. The Queen of Shadows was faster than her prey, but they used a variety of tactics such as unnaturally changing their trajectory or using the trees as ways to hide their trail. Eventually, she was confronted with a roadblock. Her target vaulted over a wall with ease, but when she tried to follow she was attacked by a large panther-like creature.
She easily threw the animal away and was able to create distance, but then two more emerged from the shadows.
"Huh! Then we'll do this the hard way!"
Author's Note:
Oh yeah, things are starting to get interesting. I changed so many things in this chapter, so I'll probably have to modify a lot of things in future chapters, which also means that if you are reading this right after it comes out and then continue with the chapters from here on out, you'll probably encounter many plot holes. So keep in mind, this Fic is under maintenance. But other than that, thank you all for your support! This work reached 70k views just the other day and I'm greatly pleased with this exponential increase. Please if you have any comments, ideas or just want to say hi, don't hesitate to write a review. I really appreciate your input. See y'all on the next one!