New story. Not much to say other than please check out my profile page for the status on all my stories (don't want to bog things down here).
Disclaimer: I don't own Fate/Stay Night.
In a barren world where swords littered the ground like gravestones, a single man sat on a pile of rocks. He was a tall and well-built person with white hair and tanned skin. His hardened grey steel eyes could be seen looking up at the many giant gears turning in the sky.
Suddenly, the man felt a pull.
*Crunch* *Crunch*
He wordlessly leapt to his feet as his body began to fade away. Another mission had been given to him and it was his duty as a Counter Guardian to fulfill it.
Counter Guardian's were beings who were summoned when the world faced great catastrophes and it was their responsibility to end the triggers of the disasters before major destruction could happen. They were timeless and only those who were strong during life were offered the chance to become one after death.
The man, who had almost faded by this point, was no exception as he accepted a contract to become one when he was still among the living. Many, many years have passed since he first started this never-ending duty with which the toll of it all could be seen in his lifeless eyes.
Finally, the Counter Guardian vanished from the barren world full of swords.
Fire.
That was the first thing the man noticed as he came to. Buildings had collapsed all around him from the scorching heat and the smell of burnt flesh filled the air. This could only be labeled as a disaster.
He went to move from his unexpected prone position.
The sight did not catch him off guard. He had seen similar horror scenes during his past missions. Afterall, it came with the job.
What!?
His arms wouldn't move. In fact, he couldn't move his legs or even his neck. His body remained unresponsive which was a first for the Counter Guardian. He was used to being able to act right away.
Suddenly, he felt his body being picked up off the ground.
"Th-Thank God-d."
Another person entered his vision.
He was a man who had black hair and scruff growing from his unshaven face. His eyes were filled with tears that were streaming down his cheeks. Yet, the most noticeable feature was the beautiful smile that spoke of finding salvation. It was smile that would captivate anyone who saw it.
The Counter Guardian suddenly felt his eyes growing heavy. However, before he fell unconscious, one thought went through his head after seeing such an expression.
What the fuck.
The next time the Counter Guardian came to, he was staring up at a white ceiling.
*Beep* *Beep*
Turning towards the noise that his ears were now just picking up, he saw a heart monitor displaying a steady beat. Nearby, an IV was dripping into a tube that the man absentmindedly followed with his eyes towards a needle that was inserted into a small arm that rested on top of the bed he was laying on.
His eyes widened.
He did not expect to find a child so close to him.
Without thinking, the man went to touch the small arm. However, instead of seeing his longer adult one come into view, the childish one just twitched instead.
The Counter Guardian blinked a couple of times.
He attempted the same action again.
The same result happened...
The gears in his mind started to spin rapidly as an extremely bad feeling began to take hold.
Suddenly, he removed the sheet that was covering him.
Small, childlike legs were connected to an equally childish body.
*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*
The heartbeat that was being monitored increased.
"Everything is alright. Your safe now."
The "man" turned briefly to the nurse that was rushing towards him with panic in her eyes before looking back down at the small arms that he was now flexing continuously in front of his face.
Needless to say, the man now turned child did not calm down.
"I am sorry, but you need to make a decision right away."
A man, who was sitting on a stool, voiced to a boy that was prompt up on a hospital bed.
The child's eyes regained focus from the glazed state that it had been in ever since this person had entered the room. He had recognized the man as the one who had saved him from the fire.
"Ah... what was that?"
The adult went to reach for the cigarette pouch in his pocket before thinking better of it considering the company. Smoking was a bad habit that he indulged in whenever he was stressed.
"Where are my manners. My name is Emiya Kiritsugu."
The adult introduced himself with a straight face. He was not a very expressive person.
"May I ask what your name is?"
"My name..." The child snarked with displeasure while looking towards the side. "I threw that away a long time ago."
Kiritsugu blinked in confusion at the non-threatening glare the kid had. His chubby cheeks just made him look like an angry puppy.
Suddenly, a light bulb went on in the man's head.
"That's right, the doctor did say that you had amnesia."
"Right, amnesia..." the child mumbled under his breath.
The boy had played dumb and claimed not to know anything when questioned about his identity. He couldn't just tell the truth of being an ancient entity whose age numbered over 1,000. Nobody would believe him especially given his young appearance. Luckily, the doctors didn't doubt that he had memory loss thanks to said childish looks.
"Shirou."
The child's eyes widen.
"What?"
"That's the name I came up with for you." Kiritsugu said while nodding his head in satisfaction.
"..."
The now named Shirou became paralyzed with his mouth hung wide open.
"So Shirou," the adult continued despite the distress state of the child. He wasn't the best on picking up on other's emotions...
"Like I was trying to say earlier. You have two choices. Either become adopted by me or be sent to an orphanage."
"..."
The boy was still recovering from the shocking name he had been given.
"Sorry to do this, but you must decide now."
Shirou finally regained enough composure to start processing what had been said to him.
It was assumed that his parents died in the fire and the hospital couldn't find any record of him. So he technically didn't have a place to stay...
"Why not," the boy finally said to the sketchy adult that had as much emotion as a plant. "I'll go with you."
Shirou then rested his head back onto the pillow of his bed and blankly stared up at the ceiling. He just didn't care anymore. Everything since his summoning had just been too overwhelming.
Kiritsugu, meanwhile, had a small smile as he said, "I guess your now Emiya Shirou."
This is just the prologue so expect longer chapters moving forward. In fact, the next chapter is already written and just needs some touch up. Should be released soon. Thanks, and if you enjoyed this please review/favorite/follow! I appreciate the support, and it motivates me to keep going!
