Chapter 1

The White Fang had ambushed the caravan. The guards had sacrificed themselves to buy her time to get away, but it was clear that she wouldn't get far. The White Fang who attacked were clearly some of their best, so Willow wasn't confident in her ability to fight off that many with her rapier and semblance.

On top of that, the snow was basically a blizzard at this point. She had no idea how long she could stand it. If the White Fang didn't get her, then the elements surely would. She was holding out hope that he father would get to her in time, but still, it would take time. Time she didn't have.

Just as she found an abandoned house to hide in, the White Fang caught up to her. Dust rounds stopped her from going any further. "Stop right there Schnee. You're coming with us." Willow saw that he had some kind of horns on his head, figuring he was a bull faunus.

She gripped her rapier tightly, as she didn't want to go down without a fight. Her father was Nicholas Schnee, a warrior and hero. So, if they thought she would just willing go with them, then they were dead wrong. The faunus narrowed his eyes, before smirking. "Very well. Might as well get a workout before we have a good time."

Willow shivered, vowing to kill herself before they had the chance to do anything to her. 'Please, someone save me!' She thought, before a loud explosion rocked the area. The White Fang members quickly turned around, seeing that four of their members were just blown away by some kind of attack.

"What the heck was that?! Autumn, who's out there?" The leader barked out, however, just as he was about to get an answer, Autumn, who was in the trees, was summarily hit with multiple swords with red handles, knocking her to the ground. Her aura crackled, before more swords rained down onto her legs and arms pinning her to the ground with a scream.

Before anything else could be done, two swords, one black and one white, came flying out of nowhere and struck another faunus, whose aura was easily penetrated and pinned to a tree, dead. Willow was stunned, before noticing that there were only four White Fang members left.

Then, a figure emerged from the trees, delivering a thunderous kick to one of the remaining members, sending him flying into another member. Those swords with red hilts then appeared in his hands like claws, before he threw them in a square pattern around them.

Just as they laughed at his miss, the swords burst to life with electricity, shocking them greatly, before the stranger delivered a strong punch that sent both of them into a tree, knocking them out. The final two, which included the leader, were stunned silent as the team was picked apart.

Willow herself was stunned silent, but was sure to keep an eye on her mysterious savior. The thing was, now that she was looking at him, she could tell that he was exhausted and injured. His mostly black outfit was ripped, with the jacket missing an arm, showing a bare arm that was covered in blood.

She noticed multiple wounds on his body, though they didn't seem fatal. His face had multiple cuts on it. The only thing that seemed to be in one piece was a blue shroud around his neck. She was captivated though, by his stunning golden brown eyes that contrasted with his white hair.

Said white hair had a single red streak over his left eye, making her wonder about it. Despite the injuries, his eyes were focused and full of steel. "Trace on." He said, holding out his hand, summoning the two swords she had seen earlier. "Surrender or lose your lives."

The two let out a growl, before the bull faunus spoke up. "You're dead on your feet and heavily injured. Now that you exposed yourself, what makes you think you can take us?" He said confidently, before he was rocketed towards the man by a glowing blue boarbatusk. His eyes widened, as Willow stabbed into the final member.

The leader then activated his semblance, hardening his skin, however, it didn't matter. The swords easily stabbed into him, surprising him as he died. Willow couldn't help but almost throw up, as she had never killed anyone before. "He's still alive, don't worry." She heard a tired voice state.

She looked towards her savior, who was limping over towards her. "He'll live, but he likely won't walk again. It was a good attack." He said simply. Willow's eyes widened, before her face slightly reddened.

"Th..thanks for saving me." She managed to get out, with the stranger simply nodding. "Um, who are you? A huntsman?" She asked, though she highly doubted it. Even a huntsman didn't move that efficiently. They were more flashy. This one was different.

He looked at her strangely, before shaking his head. "My name's Shirou, Shirou Hortensia." He said weakly, before Willow noticed him begin to become unsteady on his feet. "No thanks is...necessary..." He said, before falling forwards, causing Willow to hurriedly catch him.

"Whoa, no, you can't die!" She yelled out, however, her saving grace then appeared as her father's ships then appeared in the air. They quickly touched down, with her father emerging in his usual armor. Following behind him was that guy that had just started to try and court her.

She shook her head, deciding not to worry about that. She looked at her father, before yelling out. "Dad, please help him!" Nicholas was shocked at the appearance of the man she was holding, before noticing all the bodies around the place. Some were dead, while others were unconscious.

He quickly put two and two together, before waving and calling some medics to tend to him. The medics quickly placed him on stretcher, before attempting to tend to his wounds. One of them recoiled. "This guy's aura isn't activated." He stated.

"Then activate it, it may save his life." The other quickly told him, though this shocked Willow and Nicholas. Just as Jacques was about to approach Willow, she quickly rushed past him and ran towards her savior. Nicholas couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.

He knew a survivor when he saw one. He knew the boy wouldn't die that easily. He noticed Jacques huff, obviously upset that he was ignored. Nicholas let out a hum, as Jacques was the one who told him of what happened. He was grateful, but the other boy was the one who saved his daughter.

'It seems she's taken an interest in him too. It appears things will be getting pretty lively around here.' He thought to himself with a lighthearted laugh.

Inside the ship, Willow was sitting beside Shirou. The medics had done all they could and said he was stable. However, she was still worried. She wanted to thank him for what he did. She also wanted to know more about the stranger in front of her.

'He was so strong, yet he didn't have aura? He even summoned those swords.' She looked at him, before moving some his hair from his face. 'Who are you, Shirou?' She thought, remembering the scene of him facing down the two White Fang members.

Willow couldn't help but think about how heroic he looked. Despite being injured and exhausted, as well as hypothermic, he stood tall and proud, like a gallant knight. She was only seventeen, so she couldn't help but think about the stories she used to read, about how a gallant knight saved the princess.

She couldn't help the small blush that appeared on her face, before she shook her head. 'No, no, no, don't need to start thinking about that stuff, Willow. You just met the man. But, still...' She looked at his face once again. 'I'd like to get to know my hero.

How many times had Shirou hunted down dead apostles? How many successful missions had he undertaken? He was trained at a young age, being the son of an executor, Kirei Kotomine. He had even fought Gil plenty of times, yet, the Holy Grail War ended up becoming a hell unlike any other.

Shirou blamed himself. If only he had noticed Sakura's suffering sooner. 'No, maybe I always knew, I just wanted things to be normal when I was home.' The result was a shadow over Fuyuki that nearly birthed a catastrophe that would have destroyed the world. Even with all of his training, along with Caren and Saber, they were powerless before its raw power.

However, Shirou was determined to save everyone. Of course, he had enough trouble just keeping everyone alive. Yet, he managed it. Miracle after miracle, Shirou continued fighting and striving to save those he could. Bazett lost Lancer early on to the shadow and Illya lost Berserker.

After Archer fought him and gave him his memories, he sacrificed his life to save them from the shadow's magical blast. That left Rider and Saber as the final two servants who were still on the side of humanity, since Gil had disappeared, likely consumed by the shadow, which only infuriated Shirou more.

And so, the final confrontation began, Shirou, Bazett, Rin, Rider, and Saber were the ones to go. He didn't wish for his sister to be harmed. Nor did he wish for Illya to be harmed, especially after everything she had been through. So, an enforcer, an executor, a mage, and two heroic spirits challenged Angra Mainyu and whatever shadows he could conjure using Sakura.

In the end, Shirou managed to use the knowledge he gained from Archer to break the link Sakura had to the grail. It would have been easier to kill her, he knew this, and had many chances, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. It was his fault for not noticing, so, he would do what he could to atone for that.

Of course, Shirou wouldn't have that chance. He was already injured and he needed to destroy the grail. However, Saber appeared, having managed to catch up to him. Rather than have him die from tracing something able to destroy the grail, she activated her noble phantasm, La Pucelle and destroyed the grail completely.

The last thing he remembered, was holding Jeanne's dissipating body in his arms as the cavern collapsed around them. The last thing he saw was Jeanne's smiling face, before his vision swam and his consciousness faded.

Shirou's eyes slowly opened to bright lights. He was lying in a comfortable bed and his wounds were bandaged and tended to. However, his clothes were gone, being replaced with what looked to be pajamas of some kind. Oddly enough, he felt pretty good, despite feeling like death when he saved that girl in the blizzard.

He still wasn't sure of where he was, or what exactly happened to him. He was partially sure that he died with Jeanne in the cavern. However, he was still 17 and was dressed the same as usual, though he did feel kind of different when he woke up. He wanted to go home, but he soon realized that he was somewhere else.

Being attacked by black shadow monsters was enough to tell him that he was somewhere else. That and the moon was destroyed, which bummed him out a bit. Caren and him used to spend nights looking up at the moon, so to see it in its current state was a bit sad.

However, the fact that monsters reminiscent of the ones he fought in Fuyuki were running around troubled him. His black keys were still effective against them, so they weren't a problem, He stood up from the bed and could finally see the extent of his injuries. Mainly, the bandages that were all over his body, including his arms and legs, and one on his cheek.

'Wait, where am I?' He thought, before looking around. 'The furnishings look expensive and well made, so I'm not in a hospital.' He hummed, before spotting a change of clothes on a table nearby. 'That's a lot of white and grey. Though, I guess the blue does offset it.' He shrugged before changing.

Dark grey pants, white button up shirt, a blue vest, and black shoes, all in colors Shirou didn't normally wear. He took note of the snowflake emblem, before remembering seeing it on the girl he saved. 'Am I in her home?' He saw that Ciel's shroud and his bible were still on the bed. He placed the shroud around his neck, before making a few black keys from the bible and placing them in his pockets.

'Better safe than sorry.' He thought with an amused smile. Though, a part of him was still worried. He couldn't help but think about his home and everyone there. He knew they destroyed the grail, but he didn't know if everything ended peacefully afterwards. He hated not knowing, but knew there was no way to get home at the moment. 'Unless I find someone capable of using true magic here.'

'Well, there's no use worrying about it right now. I should greet my saviors and thank them for their hospitality.' He thought as he opened the door.

The Schnee mansion was a large place, though Willow knew the place like the back of her hand. She was in a good at the moment, considering her savior was healed and recovering in a room in her home. She was currently on her way to said room to check on him. She had also brought a tray with food and drinks, considering he had been asleep for a few days.

She was humming along when she heard someone speaking in the garden. She raised a brow, becoming curious. She hurriedly made her way over, before seeing her savior standing in the garden, talking to one of the maids. "But, sir, your wounds haven't fully healed yet. Milady would be greatly distressed if something were to happen to you."

"I'm fine, I promise. I simply wanted to take a walk and stretch my legs. I don't want to trouble you too much, so how about I just rest here in the garden, and return to my room after awhile. Would that be alright with you, miss?" He replied to her with a small smile, one that caused the maid's face to slightly blush.

"Y-yes, very well. I'll inform Lady Willow of your current condition. But, please try not to overdo it sir." The maid answered, quickly turning and walking away. She then noticed her, causing her face to redden again, realizing she heard everything. Rather than tell her everything, she quickly rushed off, causing Willow to let out a small laugh.

Willow then looked towards Shirou, who was inspecting the gardens. She couldn't help but be a bit nervous. She had to admit that the Schnee colors looked good on him, which contrasted with the black and blue she saw him wearing when he saved her. He also looked a lot better than the last time she saw him, especially with his sleeves rolled up, though she figured it was because of the bandages on his arms.

As she walked up towards him, he finally seemed to notice. He turned and seemed to be surprised at her appearance. A small smile appeared on his face, "Ah, hello again, I'm guessing that you're the one who ended up saving me." He said while rubbing the back of his head. Willow wondered if it was a nervous tick or something.

Willow smiled as she sat the tray down on a nearby table, "Yes, or rather, the medics did, I just brought you here so you could be comfortable, rather than a hospital room." She said, causing Shirou to nod to her words. Willow then realized something. "Oh, I'm so sorry, my name's Willow, Willow Schnee." A part of her didn't wish to tell him her full name, as most tended to treat her differently.

"Willow Schnee? Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Willow." He replied, though she couldn't help but notice that he didn't seem to recognize her name. "How are you? You weren't hurt during that whole thing, were you?" 'He's still worried about me?' She shook her head, trying not to focus on that. 'He was nearly dead, yet he's only worried about me.'

"I'm fine, you should be more worried about yourself, Shirou." She said to him, causing him to tilt his head questioningly. Willow let out a sigh. "You were heavily injured before, I'm honestly surprised that you were able to fight like you did, with broken bones and what not. Not to mention, you were suffering from hypothermia. You should be more worried about yourself than me."

Shirou shook his head. "Well, as long as everything worked out fine, then it doesn't matter much. But, I understand what you're saying. I used to hear that a lot actually, but saving you was probably the more important thing on my mind at that time." He replied with a weak chuckle.

Willow's face slightly reddened, but she let out a exasperated sigh. "I see. Well, as long as you keep that in mind next time. Um, I brought you some food, since you've been asleep for a few days." She said pointing at the tray. Shirou slightly recoiled, but nodded to her words.

After taking time to eat, Willow couldn't help but be enamored by his golden brown eyes, which contrasted beautifully with his white hair. She would have thought he was a Schnee, if not for his eyes and the red patch of hair on his leftmost bangs. "Um, could you tell me where I am? I'm afraid that I'm unfamiliar with where I am, thanks to some partial amnesia."

Willow's eyes widened, wondering if that was why he didn't recognize her name. "Of course, you're currently in Atlas, at my family's mansion. We're floating above the city of Mantle on a island. Actually, that's where you saved me, outside of Mantle in a forest." She noticed Shirou listening intently, before nodding his head.

"We have a library where you can read a bit more. It might help you recover your memories. It'd be hard to know more about you if you don't know about yourself." She said to him with a laugh.

She noticed a small smile appear on his face, "I see. Perhaps I'll take a look sometime. It would be good to brush up on my knowledge. Um, could I ask why those people were chasing you?" Immediately, Willow deflated a bit, "Of course, you don't have to, especially if its personal."

She shook her head. "No, it's nothing like that. Honestly, I'm not sure why they were chasing me. They were part of a group called the White Fang, but they're usually a peaceful protest group. Even then, my father's been making improvements to the mining conditions and our workers are paid fairly, so I'm not sure why they would target me." She answered, which was the truth.

Shirou let out a hum to her words. "Did you not have any bodyguards?"

"I did, but the caravan we were in was ambushed. I was the only one who managed to get away." She replied, still feeling a little guilty about it.

"I see. I'm sorry if I brought up any bad memories. I just wanted to get a full picture. I'm guessing that your family is part of royalty or something?" Willow couldn't help but giggle at his words. "I'm guessing that I got that wrong." He said with a wry smile.

"My family is the main distributor of dust in Remnant. Since just about everything runs on dust, I suppose you could say we are a type of royalty, but we don't rule kingdoms or anything. I suppose, it'd be easier to say, we're just rich." She answered, which usually she would have winced at saying. However, with Shirou, she felt like he wouldn't judge her. Rather, he seemed to take everything in stride and it felt freeing to not have to worry about anything while talking to him.

"Ah, okay, I understand now. Well, then that'd make you the heiress to the company then?" He asked, with her nodding. "Well, you know, if you're in trouble or anything, feel free to ask me for help anytime." He said while rubbing the back of his head. "I'm mainly a fighter, but I can do a lot of other things as well. So, I'd be more than willing to help you in any way I can."

"Well that sounds like a grand idea." A jovial voice spoke, surprising her and causing Shirou to even flinch slightly. She let out a sigh, as Shirou turned and saw her father, dressed in a large suit rather than his armor. "It's nice to finally meet you, Shirou. Willow told me about how you saved her from those kidnappers. As a father, I'd like to offer my sincerest thanks."

Willow was surprised when she noticed Shirou look nervous for a moment. It wasn't a normal nervousness either. It was more like he was uncomfortable with being thanked by her father. "Oh, there's no need to thank me sir. I simply did the right thing." He replied, though her father simply let out a laugh at his words.

"Oh, how humble of you. Honestly, I wouldn't believe that there was still people like you if I hadn't met you. Tell me, have you had the chance to see Atlas yet?" He asked, causing Willow to have a bad feeling about whatever he was going to say.

"I'm afraid that my memories are a bit of a blur sir. However, from what I can recall, I haven't actually seen Atlas or Mantle." Shirou said with a small smile. Willow was interested in Shirou for that reason. Sure, his memories may have been jumbled like he said. But, she was sure that he should have at least recognized the names Atlas and Mantle, or even the Schnee name. Yet, Shirou didn't know of it. He didn't even have aura when she first met him.

Her father let out a small hum as he stroked his beard. "I see. Well, perhaps you would like to take a stroll through the city? It may help you out, as well as get you to stretch your legs. I'm sure being asleep for a few days has made you wish to take a step outside, yes? Willow can accompany you, she knows the sights well." He said with a smile.

Willow knew that he was going to say. Shirou looked towards her for a moment, as if wondering what she thought, though Willow could only offer a small smile in reply. Shirou took a second, before letting out a sigh. "I appreciate the offer, and I think I'll take you up on it. Besides, I'm rather interested in finding out more about Atlas." He replied while rubbing the back of his head. "I'm guessing I'll need a coat, considering the snow?"

"Yes, I think that would be best. There should be a coat in your room, I had the maids prepare one for you." He answered with a nod.

"I see, then, I'll go get changed. Um, I'll see you when I'm done, Willow." Willow could only smile and wave, waiting for him to leave the vicinity. As he left earshot, Willow couldn't help but slap her father on the shoulder getting a chuckle from him in response.

"What are you doing, dad? He just woke up, he should be resting. Besides, why do you seem to be in such a good mood?" She asked, noticing how jovial he seemed. He was always pretty jolly, but he seemed happier than usual.

"Of course I'm in a good mood. That boy is a good man. I can see it in his eyes. He has experienced untold hardship, yet, I can see that he's a good person. He was humble, respectful, he wasn't interested in our family or money, and he seemed quite interested in your well being over his own." Willow tilted her head, before she realized something.

"Were you spying on our conversation?!" She exclaimed, before she let out another sigh. Her father simply patted his daughter on the head.

"Of course, I wished to know the man who saved my daughter. Besides, I can see that you are interested in him." Willow couldn't help the redness that appeared on her cheeks. "Did I ever tell you how I met your mother?" She shook her head, though she felt like she did hear about it once.

"I saved her much like how that young man saved you. And while there are differences, your mother looked at me the same way you are looking at that young man." Willow couldn't help but groan. 'It isn't like that.' She thought to herself, but her father likely wouldn't listen to her. That was the only reason she didn't say it. 'Yeah, the only reason.'

"He's a good person who's been through a tough time. I can see it. There's pain in his eyes and his heart. He reminds me of a soldier who's seen far too much suffering and death. If there's anyone who can help him, it'd be you, because your mother helped me the same way. If nothing comes of it, then fine. However, I believe that young man is far better than the other one who's been attempting to gain your favor." He said candidly.

Willow would agree. He had only been trying for a few weeks, but she didn't want to focus on that. She was still young and had things she wanted to do. 'Maybe be a huntress? I haven't decided, but I don't want to be tied down to a man like him. At least Shirou seems like someone who's rather carefree.' "Fine, I understand." She said with a huff.

"I'm only trying to look out for you dear. Men like him tend to attract the attention of others. With the Vytal Festival taking place here this week, he'll likely attract more than a few huntresses. Plus, some may attempt to poach him for their schools, such as a certain girl and her headmaster." He said slyly, however, Willow's eyes narrowed.

"Now you're just trying to goad me into it. But, you're right, partially. It'd be a shame if he wasn't in Atlas. With his skills, he could become a high ranking person." She said, attempting to hide her reddening face. However, she must not have done a good job, as her father simply let out another laugh at her words. Though, she did seethe a bit at the thought of Vale and her "friend" running off with Shirou. 'I'm not letting that happen.'

Shirou was in his room placing his jacket on when he noticed something on his bed that wasn't there earlier. He let out a hum, before making his way over towards the bundle. He saw a note on it. "If you're going to escort my daughter, you'll need something to protect her with. This is a prototype longsword variant of my daughter's rapier. It has no name, so I'll leave that to you. Good luck my boy. Nicholas Schnee."

Shirou couldn't help but let out a small laugh at the note. He could just trace a sword if he needed to protect her, or use the black keys he had created, but he supposed that having a weapon of his own wasn't too bad. He unwrapped the bundle, seeing a rather beautiful two handed longsword inside. He immediately traced it on reflex, being surprised that he didn't recognize some of the materials used to create it.

In fact, he was surprised at how functional and strong the weapon despite how intricate it seemed. The blade was thin, not being much wider than the handle, yet it was a great cutter. The fact it was thin meant it was a thrusting sword, yet, because of the materials, it was able to maintain the sleek, elegant, thin design without sacrificing the cutting power, almost reminding him of Jeanne's sword.

The guard had some floral patterns, with a oval cut out that contained a cylinder that was a part of the main blade. The revolving cylinder had different colored gems in it, which Shirou figured was the so-called dust. They corresponded to an element, yet some dust had effects that weren't elemental, such as light and gravity. It seemed you loaded the crystals in and a trigger near the base of the guard on the handle activated the dust.

He appreciated the silver design and the black cloth handle, being amused at the small chain on the pommel that held the Schnee snowflake like a keychain. Shirou couldn't help but admire the weapon, before he grabbed the scabbard and sheathed the weapon, placing it on his belt, along with some dust crystals that came with it. 'I doubt I have to use it, but still, better safe than sorry.'

'Well, I wouldn't want to keep Willow waiting. I'll have to thank her father for the amazing sword later.' He thought to himself, before preparing himself to adventure the city with Willow.

And finished this chapter as well today, so yay! Not much else to say other than, I'm glad I got it done. I really want to keep this going, since, as mentioned before, this will give me a lot of free room to write an original story with characters that aren't explored a whole lot. Obviously, things will be changed and shenanigans will ensue. I paired up Shirou and Willow, because this was my original idea, partially. The original idea was to have Weiss and Shirou be siblings, twins, but I settled on Ruby and Shirou being twins, because I like Weiss so much that I wanted her to be a love interest instead. So, this is my way of getting a Shirou and Weiss like story, except, it's Willow and Shirou being paired together. Weird leap, I know, but you get the point. I also played around with having Shirou end up with Kali at first, but I decided this was what I wanted to do, because Willow. I feel like I see alot of Summer stories and things like that, but I wanted to try Willow and Shirou. I haven't decided if I'll make it a single pairing, or if I want to add someone else. I'm leaning towards single pairing, but the second person would make sense as the story evolves. Though, I'm still thinking on it. Anyways, let me know what you think, I appreciate the support and the reviews, it really helps out. Thanks for reading and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me, I usually answer them and, as always, until next time.

P.S: Some people were asking why these Shirou's go by Hortensia instead of Kotomine. It's because of the close relationship he has with Caren. After Kotomine dies, Shirou definitely wouldn't keep it as Kotomine if his sister/loved one was abandoned by a Kotomine. It's more of a gesture than anything. To show that he wouldn't abandon her like their father basically abandoned her after her mother died.