Night enveloped the small, tranquil town of Fuyuki, its streets deserted, shops shuttered, and residents lost in the embrace of slumber. Yet, amidst the stillness, one figure refused to succumb to the night's silent call. A motorcycle tore through the quietude, flames trailing in its wake like a fiery comet streaking across the dark canvas of the night. Clad in a sleek leather jacket adorned with a chain draped across his chest and fingerless gloves adorning his hands, the rider's identity remained concealed beneath a helmet, completing the quintessential biker ensemble.

With a sharp turn, the rider halted in front of an alleyway, a primal instinct guiding him toward the scene of impending injustice. Stepping off his motorcycle, he ventured into the dimly lit alley, the sounds of muffled grunts and hushed voices growing louder with each step.

"Come on, let's scram before the cops show up. We don't need that heat," one of the assailants urged, his voice laced with urgency as he rifled through the wallet of a prone figure at his feet.

"Yeah, but the cops are the least of our worries the Fujimura crew, that's who we really don't wanna run into. They won't take kindly to us trespassing on their turf," his accomplice replied, a hint of apprehension tainting his tone as he glanced over his shoulder, before continuing

"They would probably tear us a new one and toss us back to the boss, then the boss would probably make us regret being born" He answered his partner who seemed to pale at his answer, but he didn't seem to care as he continued "but since this is something small," the accomplice continued, his voice tinged with confidence, "we'll just grab what we can and get out of here. No need to attract any unnecessary attention."

Unperturbed by the gravity of their crimes, the thugs continued their callous discourse, their disregard for human decency evident in their actions. Anger simmered within the rider, a visceral reaction to the sight of innocent lives being trampled upon by the callous hands of greed and malice. They would pay for their transgressions he felt a feeling rise from inside of him, as sparks danced at his fingertips.

"Justice must be served," a voice not his own, echoed within his mind, resonating with him egging him on. With determination etched upon his features, the rider advanced toward the perpetrators, his eyes concealed behind the fiery glow emanating from within his helmet, as he approached them slowly taking care to not make noise.

The prone figure on the ground groaned weakly, his face obscured by the shadows cast by the nearby buildings. He struggled to lift himself up, his movements sluggish and labored as he attempted to reach for his wallet, now in the possession of the assailants.

The man took out the bills from the stolen wallet and handed half to his accomplice, "Besides I don't think they're going to be on our asses, or even know we were here" The man patted the partner on the shoulder and let out smirk

"Now come on, let's go get a drink with this Bozos money" The man waved the bills in his hand and threw the wallet back at the downed man "his treat."

As he laughed at his own joke, the rider watched on feeling a familiar fire burn in his gut, his blood boiled at the actions of these men. The uncaring attitude at that fact they robbed an innocent man, and beat him around, laughing at their actions.

They were despicable, they disgusted him, the rider's fist clenched as sparks blew out from his palms, they would pay for this, they would repent, he wouldn't let them get away with this, they would-

"Atone," The rider agreed with the voice in his mind, these men would atone, and he began to walk towards them, and they would be punished for their actions.

Inside the visor of the rider's helmet, where the eyes should be, instead stood two flaming orbs, taking up the spots they usually should be. Glowing bright enough that even under the dark-tinted visor and the cover of night, glowed with such an intensity, with such a rage, made it seem like they could never be extinguished.

As he approached, The sparks inside the rider's palm had grown into a small flame, eager to consume the men before them and grow larger by using them as fuel, to make them suffer.

Rider's figure was out of the shadows catching the attention of the men, while the more timid one seemed to be taken back by the glowing balls of fire underneath his visor, the second one paid no mind to it and walked in front of him. A scowl riddled his face as he looked at him up and down.

"So, you this guy's friend or something" the man gestured back to the unconscious body behind him, but the rider didn't answer, the older man then grew a slight smirk on his face and wrapped an arm around the rider's shoulder.

"Nah, you're a bit too small to be this guy's friend, from the looks of it you must be his kid right?" The rider didn't answer, but the man took his silence as a yes and his smirk grew into a full-blown smile. "Look kid, I'll cut you a deal, you pretend you never saw us, and you and daddy can go home without any problems, deal?"

With a deliberate movement, the rider gently shrugged off the man's arm, his gaze unwavering behind the fiery visage of his helmet. The flames within seemed to dance with newfound fervor, as if eager to enact their own form of justice.

"No deals," came the rider's voice, cold and resolute, cutting through the tension-laden air like a blade. "You've made your choice, and now you'll face the consequences."

The man's smile faltered, replaced by a hint of uncertainty as he glanced nervously at his accomplice. But bravado quickly replaced his momentary hesitation, and he let out a derisive laugh.

"Fine then, kid," he sneered, "if that's how you want it." Turning to his partner, he muttered under his breath, "Looks like we got ourselves a little hero wannabe here."

With a swift motion, the man reached into his jacket, pulling out a switchblade with a menacing flourish. His accomplice followed suit, brandishing a weapon of his own as they advanced toward the rider, their intent clear in their steely gazes.

"They refuse to repent," the voice in his mind spoke up, its tone solemn yet unwavering. "Then they shall face,"

"Penance" The rider finished his voice, taking on a commanding tone as he stepped forward, the flames within his helmet glowing ever brighter.

The tension in the alleyway crackled like electricity as the two assailants closed in on the rider, their weapons glinting ominously in the dim light. Yet, despite the odds stacked against him, the rider stood firm, his resolve unyielding beneath the fiery glow of his helmet.

As the assailants lunged forward, their movements fueled by arrogance and malice, the rider's reflexes kicked into overdrive. With a fluid motion, he sidestepped their attacks, his movements graceful yet purposeful as he danced around their strikes with an almost preternatural agility.

With each evasion, the flames within the rider's helmet seemed to intensify, casting an ethereal glow upon the scene unfolding in the alley. It was as if the very essence of justice itself burned within him, fueling his every action with an otherworldly power.

In a blur of motion, the rider retaliated, his fists a blur as he unleashed a flurry of strikes upon his assailants. The sound of impact echoed through the alley, punctuated by the grunts of the two men as they stumbled backward under the onslaught.

Despite their initial bravado, it became clear to the assailants that they had severely underestimated their opponent. The rider fought with a skill and ferocity that belied his seemingly unassuming appearance, each blow delivered with a precision that spoke of years of training and discipline.

The rider then darted his glove hand at the older man's neck, wrapping around it in a death grip, and with strength, the man didn't think the rider had, raised him into the air. The thug now held a look of fear as he stared into the rider's glowing orbs, which had intensified with the flames seeming to lick out of the visor, but he had to just be seeing things right?

He tried to beg for his life, but the rider's grip only allowed him to let out choked gasps, this pipsqueak was going to kill him, in his dark heart he knew that this brat would end him.

"Shirou!" A voice rang out in Shirou's mind once again, but instead of it being the one who yelled in rage, screaming to deliver punishment to the men before him, this voice was calm but firm. He knew this voice, his Kirtsusgu had stopped him from going too far once again, Shirou's grip loosened slightly as he heard the voice, the flames within his helmet flickering momentarily as if in response. With a deep breath,

Shirou focused back on the man he held in the air, the man was dripping with sweat, not from his flames, but his fear, the look of terror in his eyes caused the fire in Shirou's belly to rise again. How can you be afraid, how can you worry about yourself after what you've done!

Shirou calmed himself, he didn't need to kill these men, he should just call Raiga and let him deal with them. With that Shirou then slammed the man to the ground, the force knocking him out before he cried out in pain or protest. Shirou then turned to his accomplice, seeing instead of having to chase him down, or having to fight him, he was knocked out like a light. Passed out from pure fear alone, well at least that made his job easier.

Shirou unwrapped the chain around his body and tied both men up, It was a bike chain he kept for his motorcycle, he could just get a new one so he didn't mind parting with it here. After he tightened it making sure it wasn't loose enough that they could wiggle out, he wasn't worried about them breaking the steel chain either.

Shirou then pulled out his phone to call someone who could deal with them, the phone rang for a few seconds, and the person on the other end finally picked up "Raiga, it's me."

"Brat?" The familiar voice of the older man, spoke through the phone, though he sounded tired, Shirou couldn't blame him it was late. " What do you need from me at such an hour, is it about your bike?"

Shirou grew a slight smirk at the mention of his motorcycle, which was a gift from Raiga and Taiga for his birthday. He glanced at his bike, it was black with silver accents Yamaha V-Max, one of the few things that Shirou held close to his heart, he always made sure that it was in tip-top shape giving it maintenance whenever he got the time, but this wasn't a trip down memory lane.

Shirou sighed softly, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips despite the gravity of the situation. "No, it's not about the bike this time, Raiga," he replied, his tone betraying a hint of weariness. "I've got a couple of troublemakers, from a rival gang here who thought it'd be fun to pick on someone defenseless on your territory."

There was a brief pause on the other end of the line before Raiga's voice came through again, laced with a mixture of annoyance and concern. "Again, Shirou? You really need to stop attracting trouble like a magnet."

The older man let out a tired sigh and Shirou had a feeling he was pinching the bridge of his nose. What did they think just because he was old, that he would let these things slide? No, they probably thought they could get away with a few small crimes and they wouldn't notice

'Damn youngsters think they can parade around my town'

He'd make sure whoever these punks belonged to got it "Thanks, brat, send me your location, and I'll send a few of my men over to pick up these punks, I'll deal with them and whoever their boss is."

"Got it" Shirou nodded, sent his location to Riga, and hung up the phone, he walked back into the alleyway in front of the downed man from before, now that he was closer he got a better look at him. His face was bruised and swollen, there was even a black eye starting to form, his clothes were all rustled and his breathing was slow.

Shirou reigned in the rage he was feeling towards those men, he couldn't blow up here, this man needed his help and he couldn't do that if he burned the men who did this to a crisp in a vengeance-fueled rage. Shirou picked up the man's wallet and the money that the thug had taken out of it, he put them back inside his wallet and put it back inside the man's pocket.

Shirou then grabbed the man's arm and began carrying him on his shoulder, over to his motorcycle, as Shirou brought him over to the bike, he felt the man stir awake as Shirou carried him. He tiredly scanned the area, he saw the men who beat him up, tied him up, and knocked him unconscious. He turned to look at his savior, he wore a helmet but from his size, he could tell that he was younger.

"T-thank you," the man managed to choke out, Shirou turned his head to the man he gained a feeling in his chest, it was a nice feeling, he felt like a hero, but he was far off from becoming the Hero of Justice that he wanted to become.

"It's going to be alright now, let's get you to a hospital" They reached Shirou's motorcycle, and as he helped the man get on, out of the corner of his eye he saw a black car driving towards them. Looks like Raiga's guys were here, the car stopped right behind them, and out walked men that Shirou recognized, he merely pointed at the tied-up unconscious men.

The men from Raiga's crew nodded in understanding as they approached the tied-up assailants, their expressions stoic and businesslike. Without a word, they began to secure the thugs, ensuring that they were properly restrained before loading them into the back of the car.

Shirou looked back at the man he was helping who seemed a little stunned at what he saw, probably thought he was part of a gang or something but that didn't matter to Shirou he just needed to get him to safety.

"Hey, you ready to get out of here?" The man turned to Shirou closely surprised at hearing his voice considering he was preoccupied watching his attackers get dragged away, probably never to be seen again.

"Uh y-yeah, I'm good to go" the man answered nervously most likely a bit on edge from what he just saw, but he paid no mind to it, Shirou then began to get on the bike but stopped himself, he turned back to the man.

"I'm guessing you've never ridden one of these before, have you?" Shirou questioned.

The man shook his head, his expression a mix of apprehension and gratitude. "No, I haven't. But I suppose it's better than walking, right?"

Shirou nodded, offering a reassuring smile beneath his helmet. "Don't worry, I'll take it slow. Just hold on tight and lean with me when I turn, alright?"

Shirou nodded and took off his helmet, allowing the man to see the face of his savior. His eyes were molten gold and seemed to hold a certain fire, seemed to hold a slight flame, dancing inside them, his hair a shade of auburn, but what caught the man's eye was his apparent age. God he was young, this kid couldn't be older than 16, what was he doing out this late on a motorcycle?

The man's surprise was evident as he took in Shirou's youthful appearance, his eyes widening in disbelief. He couldn't fathom how someone so young could exude such confidence and strength, especially in the face of danger.

"You're just a kid," the man blurted out, his voice tinged with astonishment. "What are you doing out here on your own, taking on thugs and riding a motorcycle?"

Shirou chuckled softly, a hint of wistfulness coloring his tone "Let's just say I have my reasons," he replied cryptically

Just as he was pondering what the boy was doing out this late, Shirou threw his helmet at the man, who wasn't expecting it, and fumbled the thing for a bit but caught it. The man stared at Shirou who then got on the bike with a slight smirk.

With a hesitant nod, the man wrapped his arms around Shirou's waist, his grip surprisingly firm as he settled onto the back of the motorcycle. Shirou revved the engine, feeling the familiar hum beneath him as he prepared to depart.

"I would suggest holding on tight" Shirou revved the handlebar as he felt the man put his hands around his waist, Shirou seeing his passenger was secured drove off to the nearest hospital at what he considered a reasonable speed, but from the tightening of the arms around his waist, his passenger didn't feel the same.

Shirou enjoyed the feeling of the wind rushing in his hair, he wore a helmet because that was the right thing to do and for safety reasons, but even he had to admit the feeling the wind brushed past his face, made him feel alive.

Shirou knew that his dreams weren't normal ever since he started having them as a child, even before finding out what they really were. He knew that they were more than mere dreams, he remembered vividly, the same two dreams that played in his mind for the past 9 years of his life. The first one was stunning awe-inspiring, a lone swordsman stood against an evil dragon with only his sword in hand.

The second dream was different, while the first one ended before he could even see how the battle between the dragon and swordsman, the second one began in the middle of a battle, this one he got to see the whole thing.

He could see it now, he was sitting atop a flaming bear and like usual he couldn't move. The sounds of fighting drew his attention to a blonde-haired, muscular, shirtless man wielding a simple steel sword, fighting what could only be described as a horrific monster.

It was huge, easily being able to reach up and touch the ceiling of the cave they were in, its eyes were sunken in, its flesh was a pale gray, it had black oily hair, and instead of nails on its hands and feet instead, it had dirty bloody claws.

The man in question readied his blade and charged at the monster with a yell, the beast swiped its clawed hand at the man, who caught the beast's limb and with a mighty tug pulled it towards him. Shirou watched as the man actually did pull the massive beast towards him, and as it stumbled its horrific face hit the floor.

The man wasted no time and ran towards the monster, he cocked his fist back and let out a powerful punch to the side of its head, sending it tumbling away as the beast let out a pained screech clutching its head.

The beast glared at the man, its eyes basically trying to kill the man right then and there through pure rage alone, but this didn't deter the warrior, in fact he smirked at the monster, clearly enjoying both the fight and its rage.

The beast raised both of its arms and slammed them down on the man, who barely had the time to raise his arms to block the attack, but the beast didn't stop there. It began pumping him eager to crush him with the weight of its powerful blows, each strike sending vibrations throughout the warrior's body.

But he didn't give up, with a mighty yell, he pushed the monster away causing it to lose its footing. The warrior seeing an opening jumped towards the creature, sailing above its head while grabbing onto a handful of its greasy black locks.

He landed behind the creature, and with a powerful tug brought it to the ground, the monster hit the back of its head dazing it, leaving the warrior's target, the beast's neck, exposed. The warrior let go of the monster's hair and rushed over to the monster's exposed throat, he raised his sword, the torches that lit the cave glinting off of the weapon, the man then brought down on the monster's neck just as it opened its eyes, just in time to witness its own death, but instead of cutting through the throat of the monster–

CLANG

SNAP

The blade shattered against the beast's skin, the warrior was stunned he stood there in shock, the beast, on the other hand, held a malicious grin. With a swipe, it launched the stupified warrior away, its claws digging into his flesh.

The warrior crashed into a pile of items, weapons, and trinkets it and her son had either picked up or stolen from their dead prey, The warrior clutched his bleeding wound but paid it no mind and he held out his arms, ready to wrestle the beast just like he had done with its son.

But just as the monster got closer, out of the corner of the man's eyes he saw two weapons, the first one was a sword, it looked monstrous and seemed to be calling for the death of this monster, the second sword if you could even call it one it was more like a massive club, better suited for bashing in skulls than cutting, but it also seemed to be the same as its companion, wanting the death of the creature in front of them.

Shirou didn't know why, but he knew that they certainly did want the death of this monster, the warrior seemed to know too, and picked them both up and turned towards the monster. His new swords pointed at the beast, he could feel the want for blood and battle radiating off of them, they were kinda like him.

The warrior raised the sword which seemed to be actually made for cutting, at the monster.

"Let's go you ugly bitch, just you and me! Let's end this!" The man yelled out at the creature who seemed to feel the same as it roared at the man and charged at him, the man responded with his own yell, matching the beast's charge.

The monster swiped its clawed palm towards the man, but he dodged it and raised the club sword and brought it down on the limb, shattering bone with a sickening crunch and smashing skin, the monster howled in agony and pulled back the damaged limb, but the warrior wasn't finished yet.

He raised the sword with the ability to cut, but Shirou knew it wasn't an ordinary sword its name was Hrunting after experiencing this memory so many times using structural grasp every time he could learn the weapon names, the other sword which looked like a clubs name was Naegling.

The warrior swung Hrunting upwards, and instead of shattering like his last blade, it cut through the beasts skin like butter, seemingly lapping up the blood of the beast as the steel of the blade slowly started to gain a red tint. The warrior brought the sword back down cutting the beast again and forming an X on its chest.

The monster in its pain smacked the man away with its good arm, sending him tumbling in front of where Shirou was, then walked over to the man was as he struggled to get back up, the monster slammed its foot into the man forcing him to the ground, it kept stomping on him over and over again, slowly breaking his spine and knocking the wind out him.

The first time Shirou watched in horror as he couldn't do anything, not move his body or even tell the bear to move, speak to give the man words of encouragement, but he didn't need encouragement from him, he would win this.

The man with a berserker rage stood up and pushed the monster back, he turned towards the shocked beast who had thought that he was defeated, but he wasn't all he was, and was extremely pissed. The man rushed at the monster weapons in hand, the beast regained its composure and swiped its good arm at the warrior who ducked under the limb dodging it, he raised Naegling smashing the club sword into the monster's elbow, breaking it with a crack, and causing some of the bone to poke out of the skin.

But he didn't stop there, he swung Hrunting up, cutting off the monster's arm from the elbow down, the beast recoiled back clutching its bleeding stump, but the warrior didn't give the monster the chance to recover or process the loss of its limb.

The warrior rushed at the monster and with berserker-like rage and ferocity, he raised Naegling and smashed the weapon against the beast's stomach. He then alternated to Hrunting cutting deeper into its chest, the weapon lapping up the blood greedily as flames sputtered from it and it changed from its dull red to a bright crimson.

The man swung the cub and then the sword not letting the monster recover, covering the monster in bruises and slash marks. The warrior pulled back Naeling, the weapon now having visible red cracks running across it, with a yell he swung the club at the beast, the force of the blow breaking the weapon as it caved in the chest of the monster and sent it flying into the cave wall. The beast had created a dent in the cave wall with cracks splintering around it, the monster couldn't breathe, the force of the blow had caved in its chest and its ribs were puncturing its lungs.

The warrior walked towards the creature who could only stare in rage at the man that was about to kill it.

"Mother of Grendel, you and your spawn are the worst kinds of evil, killing just for the fun of it, inflicting cruelty on those who have done nothing to deserve it" The man spat at the monster who only growled in response. The man raised Hrunting the blade singing at the chance to kill the monster before it.

"But that ends today, your evil will be gone from this world, and do me a favor ugly when you get to hell," The hero swung the blade with the same force and power as before, decapitating the monster as the weapon broke "tell'em Beowulf sent ya"

That was how the dream, no, how the memory, went, the battle between the monstrous mother of Grendel and the hero Beowulf. Alongside the memory of the hero Sigurd and his face-off against the evil dragon Fafnir, these were the two things that he dreamed about ever since the day that thing was implanted in him. So imagine his surprise when another memory popped up.

Shirou opened his eyes and saw that he was moving, not controlling sure, but this time actually moving, he took in his surroundings, he was on a chariot being pulled by skeletal flaming horses, through a forest that seemed to be dead. Every tree seemed to be missing its leaves and no animal seemed to wander around this place.

It was eerie, to say the least, and Shirou couldn't shake the feeling of unease that settled in the pit of his stomach. He glanced around, trying to make sense of his surroundings, but everything seemed surreal, like a nightmare brought to life.

As the chariot raced through the desolate forest, Shirou caught sight of a figure standing ahead, their silhouette barely visible amidst the gloom. Despite the distance, Shirou felt a strange pull towards the figure, a sense of familiarity that he couldn't quite place.

Just as Shirou was pondering where this memory took place, he was launched out of the chariot, before quickly steadying his body and twisting to land on his feet, he looked up to face his attacker. It was a stunning woman, dressed in a dark full-body suit, her eyes were a beautiful ruby red, her lavender hair fell to her waist, and in her hands, were two crimson spears.

The woman regarded Shirou with a mixture of curiosity and amusement, her lips curled into a playful smirk as she twirled the spears effortlessly in her hands. Shirou couldn't help but feel a sense of awe in her presence, her aura exuding a strange allure that both intrigued and unsettled him.

"So you have come to kill me" the woman cooly asked, her ruby-colored eyes piercing through him, but, deep down Shirou knew that this was true, he, this person in his memories had come to try and kill her, or well this previous rider had.

That was another thing Shirou had learned, these memories weren't his own, they belonged to previous hosts of the spirit of vengeance throughout history, and he was merely experiencing them as if they were his own. This woman, she was no ordinary foe, she was powerful, perhaps even more so than the monsters from his other memories.

The woman taking his silence for confirmation got into a ready stance "Then come warrior of flames, come and try to be the first to take my immortal life."

As the woman lunged forward with her spears, Shirou's instincts kicked in, his body moving with a fluid grace as he dodged her attacks with preternatural agility, wort part of these memories is that he never got the context of why each rider was here, near these apparent important events, what was he doing watching Grandel fight Beowulf? Why was he watching Sigurd clash with Fafnir?

Now apparently this one had come to kill this immortal woman Just as the body of the rider rushed towards the woman to meet her challenge, Shirou's vision went dark.

So the memory was over, that was surprisingly early, he expected it to be a bit longer.

" !"

Then Shirou's vision came back and he, was met with the woman's spear in his face, his body darted out of the way of the attack, nicking the side of his flaming skull. He raised his weapon which was a lance covered in fire and seemed to be made of brimstone and magma, he used the weapon to swat the woman away and rushed at her, intent to pierce her heart.

Despite the intensity of their confrontation, Shirou couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity that washed over him, as if he had faced this woman before in another life, unlike the other two memories where he was a mere spectator he was the one in combat.

The memories of his previous hosts echoed within him, their experiences intertwining with his own as his body went through the motions to overcome his adversary.

With a final, decisive strike, Shirou managed to disarm the woman, his lance piercing through her defenses and grazing her side. She staggered back, a look of surprise crossing her features as she gazed at him with newfound respect.

"You fight well, Rider," she admitted, her voice tinged with admiration as she clutched her wound. "Perhaps there is more to you than meets the eye."

Then his vision went dark again, ok this was strange what was going on, damn if only he could talk to Krirtsugu during these dream sequences, his adaptive mentor's advice would be great during these dreams, but he couldn't. Leaving him to experience them on his own and he had no one to turn to for answers.

"ou!"

What was that, was someone calling him? Before Shirou could continue questioning where that voice came from, his vision returned once more, and he was faced with the woman once more, and she was covered in burn marks, panting heavily. But he could feel that his own body was aching, holes punched throughout his body, and bones that had been recently regenerated.

"A warrior of your stature has proven himself, I will send you off in a way that you deserve!" With that declaration the woman rushed towards him, becoming a red blur that he couldn't keep up with. Then he was launched into the air and he felt a hole in his stomach, he looked down and saw the woman looking up at him. Her spear cocked back and glowed a brilliant red, that spear wasn't normal, it reminded him of Hrunting or Gram, something about that weapon was dangerous, primal, and hungry like Hrunting.

"GAE BOLG!" With the yelling of her attack, the spear was launched, her aim was true, and he couldn't dodge he couldn't even move, the rider couldn't move a single muscle while in the air he was stuck, he had to face that weapon.

Hsirou felt the final thoughts of the previous rider.

He steeled himself, this was a battle, and he knew what he was getting himself into when he came here. Oh well at least he died looking at such a pretty face, and with his acceptance of his unavoidable fate, the crimson weapon pierced his chest.

"SHIROU!"

At the yelling of his name, the young man sprung from his bed, broken from his dream, his heart racing as he tried to catch his breath the sun was peering through his window.

Shirou's breaths came in ragged gasps as he blinked away the remnants of his dream, his heart still pounding in his chest as he tried to ground himself in the present. The echoes of the memories lingered in his mind, the sensation of battle still fresh upon his skin.

As Shiou rubbed his eyes he thought of the dream, that memory had been different instead of watching a fight, he was part of it. Who was that rider fighting that strange woman with the spear, well at least he knew who caused the blackouts.

And he was right there standing in his doorway was Fujimura Taiga, or Tiger as some people called her, those people usually were students or other teachers who had a death wish.

She had started taking care of him ever since Kiritsugu died, well more like he took care of her, by feeding her and everything. But something was off she was already dressed up for work and the expression on her face was that of desperation.

"Shiiiiirrroooouuu, get out of bed already I'm starving!" Ah that was why she was hungry and he was sleeping in late, the only thing that got her out of bed early was the promise of his food, so he was guessing that not seeing him there must have been heartbreaking for her.

Shirou sighed "Okay Fuji-nee, I'll get everything ready" With that Shirou got out of bed and got ready, putting on his school uniform and grabbing a black duffle bag that held his leather jacket inside, he usually put it on after school, he didn't know why, just something about wearing it felt right, and it was for safety whenever he got on his bike.

Shirou entered the kitchen and began cooking breakfast as fast as he could, deciding to make something quick, while Taiga sat at the table waiting impatiently for her meal "Shiroouuu, I'm staaaarviiinnng!" Shirou sighed at his caretaker's antics and looked at the time, he wasn't late but it was way past what time he usually woke up, he usually never slept this in like this.

Probably going on such a late-night drive is the reason why.

Shirou then set the food on the table Taiga immediately perked up and began devouring the meal.

"Thanks Shirou." She managed to thank him in between bites, Shirou just smiled grabbed his bag, and prepared to leave" "It's fine Fuji-nee, now I'm going on ahead, I'm late enough as it is"

Just as he walked to the door, Taiga grew a cheeky grin"Oh right Shirou, you can't keep your girlfriend waiting, can you?"

Shirou sighed and turned towards the woman who seemed so happy with herself" Bye Fuji-nee" Shirou walked out the door and began his trek to school.

Just as he began his walk, he felt an arm wrap around his shoulder. He turned to see the limb in question belonged to a girl, she had dark brown hair and eyes and a smile on her face

"Morning, Emiya-Kun" The cheeriness in her voice made Shirou give a slight smirk

"Morning Ayako"

The familiar face of Ayako Mitsuzuri, the captain of the archery club at their school, who seemed to always have a cheerful disposition, greeted Shirou with her usual smirk "So you taking me on your bike like you promised right?" Shirou sighed the girl wanted to take a ride on his bike and had been asking for the last couple months

"After school, we'll go out for a spin, ok?"

The girl pouted at him " You said that last time, but no you went without me." Yeah last night he went without her, but that was because the spirit of vengeance had sensed evil taking place and he didn't want to involve her

Shirou chuckled softly, knowing he couldn't tell her the real reason. "Sorry about that, Ayako. I promise, today's the day."

The girl held her pout for a bit longer before breaking back into a smirk and letting out a chuckle " Fine I'll hold you to it Emiya-kun" playfully slapping his back

She accepted his answer and continued their walk to school with her complaining about her duties as captain and Shirou listening to her plight.

"So Emiya-kun you never really answered my question on why you left the archery club" Shirou tensed up he had hoped she dropped about asking him "Is it because of Sakura and Shinji, if that's true, then I understand why Shinji, he can be a piece of trash sometimes but why Sakura, she hasn't done anything"

Shirou hated the fact she was partially right, as the guilt from ignoring the two built up in his chest "N-no it's not because of them, it's just that I got too good, I was at my best and I couldn't improve any further."

The girl's eyes seemed to dig into Shirou before she turned away "That sounds like you Emiya-kun I'll let Sakura know it wasn't because of her you left"

Shirou let out a sigh of relief she had accepted his answer, and it wasn't that he was lying, he did have no more room to grow but the Matou siblings were also a big factor, the spirit that he held in his soul was restless wanting to punish criminals and evil-doers without a care.

But over time he had learn to reign and stop himself from suddenly going out to punish whoever he wanted, but it was mostly to keep him from darting towards a magus and suddenly getting into a fight with...

"Yo Emiya" Shirou looked up and Ayako let out a groan as the smug face of one Shinji Matou appeared in front of them. Shirou forced a smile, not wanting to cause a scene. At seeing his old 'friend'

"Morning, Shinji," Shirou greeted him, trying to keep his tone neutral.

Shinji grinned, clearly enjoying the discomfort he caused. " So you done skipping out on the archery club Emiya, don't tell me you're scared of a little competition?"

Shirou resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "No, just had other things to focus on, you know?" He kept his response vague, not wanting to engage in any unnecessary conversation with Shinji. He felt a familiar burning in his gut as the spirit seemed to stirr.

But Shinji wasn't deterred. "Whatever you say, Emiya. Just know that I'll be taking the top spot in the club now that you're gone." His tone was laced with arrogance, and Shirou had to resist the urge to call him out on it, if anything he couldn't stand being around his old friend anymore.

The Matou family were an perfect example of why Kiritsugus to him to stay away from magus families it could send the spirit in a frenzy with the amount of blood on their hands. For whatever reason as he and Shinji grew up together, the spirit got more and more restless around the other boy, or whenever he walked passed their estate.

Shirou didn't know why but that place was filled with evil, dark secrets roamed the halls of that decrepit house it took Shirou's entire willpower to hold himself back from burning the place to the ground, as doing so would be so hard to explain the sudden disappearance of the house and its patriarch.

Ayako let out laugh and scoffed. "Good luck with that, Matou Im curious when my vice captain got so, well, let's just say, 'assertive'," she finished with a smirk "I'm sure you'll do great"

Shinji's expression twisted into a scowl, clearly not appreciating Ayako's comment. "Tch, whatever, Mitsuzuri. I don't need your approval. Emiya, let's go, I don't have time to waste on her." With that, Shinji turned on his heel and walked away, leaving Shirou and Ayako behind.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Ayako let out a sigh. "I can't stand that guy. Always so full of himself."

Shirou nodded in agreement, feeling relieved that the encounter was over. "Yeah, he can be a bit much."

The rest of the walk to school was uneventful, and soon they arrived at Homurahara Academy. Shirou and Ayako parted ways as they headed to their respective classes, and Shirou tried to push the encounter with Shinji to the back of his mind, he was just grateful it wasn't Sakura.

School had ended and Shirou exited the building, it was late probably because he had stayed a bit to help out so he wasn't surprised. He also wasn't surprised when he saw Ayako waiting for him outside. The girl saw the boy coming out and ran up to him with a smile on her face, Shirou merely smirked back as she grabbed his arm and started dragging him in the direction of his house.

"So taking me out for a ride, right Emiya-kun?" The girl's grin couldn't get any wider and Shirou sighed well he did promise, besides he enjoyed riding his bike.

"Yeah, I'm taking you for a ride but don't start complaining about me going too fast."

The girl nodded, and the two of them began their walk in the dark, the night was quiet, and the wind was cool, but something felt off to Shirou like something was about to happen.

As Shirou looked around he saw something in the dark, atop the school roof, it was a man the moonlight illuminating giving a a better look at him, dressed in a blue full-body suit but what caught Shirou's eyes was what he was holding.

A crimson red spear, like the woman in his dreams. Staring at the man stirred the spirit in Shirou's soul, he wasn't evil per se, but he was figuratively dripping in blood, he had killed a numerous amount of people Shirou could tell that much.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? A couple of kids out past their bedtime," the man taunted, his voice cold and menacing.

The man then caught Shirou staring and grew a predatory grin, the man then launched himself from off the roof towards Shirou and Ayako. Shirou pushed the girl away from him and jumped back just in time to dodge a red spear from piercing either of them.

The man girn grew wider as he pointed the spear towards Shirou "You got reflexes kid, but you saw me so I'm afraid I gotta kill ya" The man readied his spear and rushed towards Shirou intent on piercing him. Flames start appearing around Shirou as he dodges the attack.

The young man cursed internally, damn, the one day he didn't bring any of his weapons. He held out his hand and blasted the blue lancer in the face with fire. This shocked him, and Shriou used this to create flaming chains sprouting from his wrists and wrapped them around the older man's leg.

He tugged hard causing the man to lose his footing and spun the chain around his enhanced strength making the man easy to spin around. After spinning the man around for a bit he willed the chain to unwrap from his leg sending him tumbling to the floor, the man rolled and regained his foot standing upright his grin not faltering once.

Damn, he was tough what was he?

"Servant, from the looks of it, Lancer class" Kitirtsugu chimed in giving Shirou his answer so "he" was right the war had started early, really early. Wait but that means, Shirou turned to Ayako who had been watching in silent shock, damn she need to get out of here.

Shirou quickly grabbed Ayako's hand and pulled her behind him, shielding her from any potential danger. "Ayako, we need to get out of here. This is dangerous."

The girl nodded, fear evident in her eyes as she clung tightly to Shirou's hand. "Okay, let's go!"

The two of them turned to run, but the Lancer was quick to give chase. He lunged forward with his spear, aiming for Shirou's back, but Shirou managed to dodge at the last second, pushing Ayako out of the way, barely dodging the servants attack.

"Ayako! Get out of here!" He barely blocked another attack from the older man

"But what about you Shirou, what's going on who is that man!?" Damn it, Shirou's mind raced as he tried to come up with a plan. He couldn't let Ayako get involved any further, especially not in something as dangerous as a battle with a servant. But he also couldn't let this Lancer get away and potentially harm others.

"Go, Ayako! I'll handle this," he shouted, his voice firm with determination. He summoned all his strength and focused on his inner flame, letting it fuel his resolve. Just get out of here I'll explain everything later, just go!" The girl stared at Shirou but she had to trust him.

"Ok, you better!" the girl got up and ran towards his house where she would be safe, away from the servant he was currently fighting. But the lancer seemed to have a different idea, the spearman changed his focus from him to Ayako.

"Sorry I can't let bystanders get away" The blue spearman darted towards the girl, intent on killing her, but before he could two flaming chains wrapped around both of his arms, he turned around to see that Shirou holding out his arms, the source of the chains.

"Sorry but your fights with me" With a tug, Shirou pulled the blue lancer violently towards him and slammed him to the ground, the chains then pulled back from the man's downed body and wrapped around Shirou's arms. Lancer got up from the ground, basically unharmed rubbing dust off of himself.

"Alright kid, you got balls I'll give you that, but too bad for you, you're going to die" The older man darted towards and thrust his spear at the boy, Shirou raised his arms and the spear bounced off of the hellfire infused chains. The lancer then pulled back his spear going for a slash instead.

Shirou grabbed the weapon before it could cut into him, the chains slithered up the spear. Shirou then pulled back his other arm and punched the lancer, his fist covered in hellfire, the blue lancer's head was pushed back from the heat instead of the force of the punch but he still had that grin on his face.

The lancer pulled his head back and headbutted Shitor causing him to let go of the spear and the chains to go slack, then he kicked Shirou into the gut sending him rolling away. As he clutched his gut, he knew he couldn't get by like this, he couldn't even run if what Kiritsugu said about lancers are true and their insane speed.

He took a breathe, in and out, he could feel the spirit growing restless inside of him. He had to stop holding it back, it was his best shot if he wanted to get out he would have to use more of its power.

As Shirou steeled himself to use more of its power the blue lancer got into a stance "Look kid, we haven't fought much but I gotta say I like you," The man slung his spear over his shoulder and smirked "you're the closest thing Ive seen to a 'hero' in this era, shame I gotta kill ya,"

Shirou clenched his fists, the flames around him growing more intense as he prepared to tap into the power of the spirit within him. "I'm not a hero," he muttered to himself, more as a reminder than a declaration.

The spear in the man's hands glowed as Shirou could feel its thirst for blood increased, it reminded him of Hrunting " Don't worry, I'll give you a send-off ylike you are one"

Shirou knew what this was, he knew the name of the attack, but he knew it couldn't kill him, he wouldn't let it kill him. The blue lancer rushed towards Shirou as he let more of the spirit of vengeance's power flow through him.

"GAE BOLG!"

The crimson spear piece his chest….

Lancer stared at the kid he had just used his Noble Phantasm on, was it overkill definitely but he had to give the props he could, by the look in the kid's eyes he would have been a hero. Well, and he had to respect that conviction it was something he had at his age. Just as the servant was about to pull out his spear out of the boy, there was no blood.

Then just as he realized this, the boy exploded into a pillar of flame pushing the blue lancer away, causing him to let go of his spear. The servant stood up and looked at the boy, his body was surrounded by fire that he knew wasn't normal, the kid's head had changed, his head had changed into a skull, his eyes seemed to be made of fire and his head in question was wreathed in flames.

The transformed boy reached up to where Gae Bolg was stabbed in his chest, pulled it out, and pointed the weapon at the lancer class servant.

The voice that came out didn't sound any like the boy he had just fought

"Hound of Culain, your soul is tainted by the screams of those you have tasted the edge of your spear, your sins have been tallied and now you shall face the consequences of your actions." The flames surrounding Shirou intensified as he spoke, his voice carrying an otherworldly echo

Lancer let out a chuckle and grinned "Well this is gonna be fun"

A/N

Heyo, chapter 2 revised, I kinda tore down a few points because I felt I was doing a lot of showing not telling, and now we a conversation with Shinji. I honestly feel like this is a lot better though a bit longer...somehow. Tomorrow I'm gonna work on chapter 3 then disappear again, kidding kidding. I hope you guys enjoy this better than the first one, ciao