Snake in Worm's Clothing - or 'This feels familiar, and yet Shinji does get some Ws against Zouken' (Fateverse, Shinji!SI)

EDIT: No, this is not a Crawl Like a Worm Remake!

Being Shinji is pain. In most situations that is indeed the case.

In my opinion, this was not the full case at this point. Well, not until next year. I woke up in Matou Shinji's little body at the ripe age of 'Five'. This was good and bad because I had just a year to give myself a headstart to fucking bail this house.

There's much to keep in mind- Zouken was the biggest threat, Byakuya was even bad because of his self-loathing and disregard for me, his only son. Kariya was a tool that wouldn't care for me but… I had an advantage. I was 'weak'.

This may not sound much, but the moment I appeared strong or anything like that, the case of being wormed by grandpa would make any early plans of mine go down the shitter.

No, I had a big plan to fulfill and one that was driven by a very simple goal: get Sakura out of there ASAP once she was adopted by the Matou and get the fuck out of Japan with any means available.

I had a year to make plans and I had a lot of lore to unravel to achieve such an absurd goal for a five years-old Shinji Matou. But I had an older mind that had meta-knowledge. And it was less of knowing and more of 'being able to put that knowledge to work'.

As a kid, this was extremely limited but not difficult. It took me months of being the usual 'happy but stupid brat' around Zouken to ultimately draw a plan by the park. I would go by one of the slides there, hide away from others and, after making sure that no worm was keeping an eye on me, start to work on the details of this plan.

By normal means, a departure from Japan without an adult was impossible. Which is why I crossed out that option and tried to focus on the only viable solution: I needed to get someone from the magecraft side of the world to help us without involving Zouken.

And I had… an idea. A crazy one and one that relied on two things: 1) someone's potential lolicon/shotacon tendencies of the moderate kind and 2) retrieving some Crest Worms to use as a bargaining chip for an exchange.

It was risky, it was bold and yet it was my best option without relying on Kariya and get fucked by his obsession over Aoi. Nope, we couldn't be bothered by him and… I waited. I got some tools I needed by seeking assistance from one man that was, by all means, someone that would be more than happy to help when needed.

Father Risei Kotomine was an old man and, at the time I approached him, quite alone in the church since his son Kirei was busy being Tokiomi's apprentice. When I asked him for any 'exorcizing papers' that could help handle a demon, he was more than happy to educate me on the topic and give me some 'cheap but reliable' solutions to my potential issue.

Despite his allegiance to Tokiomi, Risei was still a benevolent individual and one that had already suspected that Zouken was a foul monster. So, granting a descendant of his a tool to handle such a monster felt quite clever. What he didn't know was that, despite the hopelessness of winning a battle with Zouken with just that, I planned to do less of a brawl and more of a distraction.

A year flies fast and from five I was six. Sakura was four when she was taken in. A little bundle of joy that was lured in by Zouken's faux grandfatherly voice and promises and one that I was keen to 'warn' on not being too open around grandfather. I left her wondering rather than being too forward about it, out of fear of being too 'expressive' and creating issues for Zouken and… soon, the plan began.

Sakura's initiation was based around two rituals. One that was meant to slowly 'turn her in a Matou' through a blood adoption ritual and, after the process had started, one to present her to Zouken's worms.

The Blood Adoption Ritual happened away from the basement, but once Zouken took Sakura to the lower ground, I knew it was my turn to strike. I had my bag ready, the thing stuffed with random ingredients I stole from Zouken's workshop, two of his deceased Crest Worms, and money I stole from my father's wallet while he was drunk and deep-sleeping.

I was ready to make the big jump and… it happened.

Holding my breath, I ventured into the basement. The stench of dying worms was just unpleasant, and yet it was one thing that would soon disappear. Sakura was there, in a corner, eyes wide open as tears ran freely down her cheeks. The sight of the monstrous horde shocked me too, but I was able to hold myself better as I religiously followed the plan.

"Shinji? What do you think of doing here-"

Zouken was stunned when I hurled a crumpled ball of paper at the worms and pronounced two words that made him crap his pants. "Kyrie Eleison!"

The blood I placed within the paper reacted to my conjuration and while my mana was weak, the paper reacted to the presence of darkness/demonic energy. The exorcist page burned bright and projected a spherical blast that tore through most of the worms.

At this point, it was now or never.

Sakura was surprised by this turn of events, but complied with my sudden hand-holding and rushed to the staircase. Zouken gave chase, being far faster than the two of us, but having a small issue or two to contend with as I dropped two more balls of paper.

"Kyrie Eleison!"

The incantation created two more spheres that acted in time to collapse Zouken's body. It wouldn't kill him, but now he was decentralized and would have to waste time reforming a new one.

"S-Shinji, where are we going?"

Sakura sounded terrified, as expected, but she was also recoiling to the horror faster than I could have predicted. I gritted my teeth as I led her to the front door, busting through it and then leading her out of the house and into the streets.

"We are leaving Fuyuki for the time being," I firmly remarked. "Zouken has control of most of the city and… we need to leave. Fast."

"B-but mother and father-"

"Your father can't house you without causing damage to the whole family and your mother is under your father so-"

"T-They would help us!"

"They would not!" I snapped back, the girl stiffening a bit as I found myself pulling more for her to follow. "Uncle Kariya would have helped me if it was just a matter of feelings. They can't help because they have their hands tied about this mess and it would hurt them and your sister. For now, we will leave."

"W-Where?"

"Mifune City." I muttered this response quietly, eyeing around for any listening worm, relieved only as I didn't see any of those in the streets. "There's someone that would be willing to buy things I have in the bag and, with some good luck, we should be able to get a way to London in the United Kingdom."

Sakura merely nodded at this, tears still going as light sobs characterized most of the run towards the train station. I had two tickets ready for this very day and we easily got into the right train while mixing with the crowd there.

We found a seat and I tried to have Sakura to sit beside me but-

She promptly found a perch on my lap, tightly wrapped her arms around my neck and sobbed her heart out on my shoulder as the adrenaline was gone and the panic was finally sinking in.

I didn't push her aside but hugged her back. People stared, many with quizzical looks while others with annoyed gazes- it was morning, so I guess some of these people just didn't want to be bothered by that kind of noise.

The crying subsided after a few hours. Mifune City was in Tokyo and we were in for a long trip to reach it. I had enough money for the tickets and also bought some food and water to keep our needs under check.

We took a break in Osaka to do our private business when it comes to peeing and pooping before resuming the trip, and I kept around lil' Sakura most of the time.

During the trip the Blood Adoption finally consolidated as her hair and eye color changed to the ones I was more familiar with and… yeah, this was good. Zouken didn't know what she looked like now, so most of the chances of him tracking us down were gone for him.

Sakura's mood slightly improved the more time passed. She still felt like her former family would have helped, but easily got distracted by the new sights around while we went northward and towards Tokyo.

It wasn't anything like Fuyuki and she was mesmerized by the size of it all.

We got there around lunchtime, making it simple for us to find a restaurant, eat a bit and eventually make our way to our final destination which was Mifune City. Sakura was still holding my hand, squeezing it warmly as she looked around while I led her to our main goal.

Then, we stopped before the entrance of a building and I turned to the girl. "This woman is a bit creepy, but is a good person."

She blinked. "How do you know that she is good?"

"Because she makes good deals by being good."

Not exactly, but I liked to make quick explanations that could be right or wrong. After all, I was 'just' assuming. I rang the doorbell and… a certain brunette with glasses came by to answer the door.

"Welcome to Garan no Dou, you… oh?"

Aozaki Touko, the Scarred Red, was sure not expecting kids as potential clients. But to live a Magus' life was to thread a fine line between life and death… but also sanity and madness.


AN

Shinji wants to bail the country, but Kara no Kyoukai is still unfolding as he arrives there much to his chagrin.