PoV: Emiya Shirou

My throat clogged, and my chest tightened. Fear of the unknown, of the meaning behind Megissa-san's ominous warning, settling in my body. The previous calm had been washed away by paranoia and tension, I did my best to force calmness onto my face.

"In the next coming days, these streets will become dangerous."

It'd been over 20 minutes since I'd left Ryuudou Temple, and yet her words still clung to my mind.

'The streets will become dangerous? What does that even mean?'

Her words don't make any sense to me, no matter how hard I tried, my mind couldn't grasp them. But even more than her words, the thing that had scared me the most…

'Yeah, it wasn't her words that were so haunting, but rather,' my mind flashes back to her solemn features, 'her expression. Megissa-san has never shown such an expression before.'

She had been completely serious, but it was different from a Kyudojin going through the steps of Kyudo. No, it was more akin to the face one made in the face of something truly dangerous, something that haunted even them.

Her fear soaked expression persists in my mind even after I cross the bridge into Shinto.

And follows my every step as I move through the crowd. Unlike Miyama, Shinto is where most of the shops and workplaces are,

'A place like this, it's a given it'll be crowded.'

So it comes to no surprise when I'm caught in the rush of civilians heading home. It's harder than usual though, I notice, and it isn't because of the amount of people. I frown, no, it's because my mind is still focused on that ominous warning, that my legs feel like led. My movements are more sluggish than normal, and I've been bumped into far more than usual as well.

'The streets will be dangerous, does that mean all these people will be put in harm's way?' I shudder at the thought, glancing around at the ignorant people around me. Megissa's warning wasn't like anything I'd ever heard before, for someone who lived their entire life doing nothing but helping others and following their ideal, hearing that innocent people could be harmed in some mysterious upcoming event was-

I barely catch a glimpse of her before we collide.

"Urgh!"

We fall, almost knocking into other people around us. Though fortunately, no one else joins us on the ground, opting to glare in annoyance and move around us.

I wince, having landed awkwardly on my right hand. I glance around where I'd fallen, sighing in relief at the sight of Tachie's bento remaining in one piece. I quickly stand up and collect it, along with my school bag, before turning my gaze to the girl I'd bumped into. I'm immediately taken in by her odd appearance. Despite the weather only being a little chilly, she's clothed in foreign purple winter attire; a white scarf, a fancy looking purple hat, and a purple dress-coat combination. But what my eyes are drawn to are her features; pale white skin, hair somehow a shade paler, and gleaming ruby red eyes staring up at me in shock. She doesn't look any older than twelve, but her foreign appearance is still striking to me.

I blink, realizing whe'd been staring at each other for a good minute now and I still hadn't offered her a hand. I blush in embarrassment, before doing just that, extending a hand with an apology attached. "Sorry," I apologize mid-act, "I wasn't paying attention to who was in front of me." It takes her getting up to her feet to realize it's her I'm speaking to. Her eyes quickly switch from shocked to smug, as if her earlier expression had been a blunder on her part. She leans forward, hands clasped behind her back, and smiles.

No. She grins,

"Neh, you really should pay attention to what's in front of you, I could've gotten seriously hurt, Onii-chan."

The combination of her flawless Japanese and the honorific take me aback. Ignoring the fact that neither of us had been paying attention to our surroundings, I acknowledge that, given her size, she indeed could have gotten hurt from that fall.

I frown, noting her flinch when I move in closer to look her over. Having learned a bit from my time at the hospital, I check her small frame for wounds. She goes ramrod still at my closeness, likely having not expected this turn of events. I do the best impromptu checkup I can, but am impeded by her heavy clothing.

'Though in this case,' I think to myself, 'It also helped cushion her fall.'

Having finished my look over, I back away, exiting her personal space. The only thing I'd found on her had been a little dirt, I quickly dust that off. It seems though, that my touch snapped her out of the frozen state she was in. The girl's face flares red briefly, and she reels away from me.

"D-don't you know it's wrong to treat a lady's personal space like that? Onii-chan, you-"

I weather the storm of insults she hurls my way(seriously what kinda twelve year old knew all these things), taking the opportunity to glance at the clock standing tall on a sidewalk.

My heart almost stops when I see the time.

I whip back to the rambling child in front of me, quickly bowing my head in apology.

"I'm sorry for invading your privacy ma'am, but I'm something of a nurse," I reach into my bag and pull out my wallet, flashing her my ID, "I apologize if I came off as rude or inappropriate, I was simply trying to help someone in need." My quick rant catches her off guard and a flabbergasted expression paints her features. Unfortunately, I don't get the time to appreciate such a thing.

"If my apology isn't enough to make it up to you, then I can meet you at Fuyuki Hospital or Copenhagen at a later date. As of right now however, I'm about to be late so I'll have to take my leave, my shift is about to start."

I bow to her once again, her expression having stayed the same the whole time, before moving past her and back into the crowd.

I'm about to break through the sea of people when I hear her voice,

"Wait!"

Somehow, without moving closer at all, her voice reaches me.

"When does your shift end?!"

I glance back at her, having already put a fair amount of distance between the two of us,

"Two hours from now!"

The last thing I see before turning back around is her head whirling in the direction of the clock.

-Scene-

"You know Emiya-kun, I can't exactly defend you if you show up this late."

I wince at his bemused expression,

"Sorry," I find myself apologizing for the fourth time tonight, "It won't ever happen again, Maruki-senpai."

He nods at that, glasses lighting up in amusement,

"I certainly believe you, you're not normally this…," He looks me over before wincing himself, "disorganized?"

His unspoken question isn't lost on me and I feel another sigh coming up.

"Just some bad luck and personal issues, I promise there won't be a repeat."

He simply smiles at my answer, accepting it without problem. He glances down at a checkboard in his hands,

"Well it's just the usual today, the Mackenzies came in for a checkup but other than that it's mostly cleaning."

I nod at his words, opting to stay silent for my lack of input.

"Ah, and Nakamura-san has been looking forward to today's visit," he glances at my clothing, "so I advise you get changed and start on your duties for tonight."

I nod, once again not responding, before making my way to the changing rooms.

It takes a little over a second for me to get ready and place all my belongings in a locker. I glance at Tachie's bento, contemplating bringing it with me, before opting to leave it here and just grab it when I head to her room. Almost as quickly as I came in, I exit the changing rooms and make my way to the waiting room to receive the Mackenzies.

As I pass through the hallways, I notice how quiet the hospital is compared to its normal state. There are far fewer nurses around, only running into Tsumiki-san on my way, and the doctors are missing too. While the hospital had always been short staffed, today it felt like over half that staff had disappeared somewhere. I almost chalk it up to an unfortunate coincidence that they're all gone at once, but another, darker thought crosses my mind.

"In the next coming days, these streets will become dangerous."

Those words persist in their haunting of my mind, and I shudder at the very thought of them.

'Could this…"danger" be responsible for all the missing staff?'

A cold sweat rolls down my back as I immediately squash the thought. I'd seen nothing on the news about disappearances, and no one at the hospital seemed to find it odd or strange in any way.

'That's right, I'm probably just being paranoid. I'm sure there's nothing going on.'

The strange girl from earlier had blown those thoughts away with her mere presence, but it had been temporary at best. The weight of that premonition hung over my neck like a blade waiting to fall.

Thoughts of the missing staff, Megissa's warning, and the foreign girl plague my mind as I begin checkup.

-Scene-

"Thank you, Shirou-chan, you've been a real dear."

"It's no problem, I'm always happy to help."

They wave me goodbye before exiting the doors, and into the night. I put on my best smile, as I watch them exit. Not long after I'd gotten them situated, took over from there, and I went about my other duties. I'd finished in record time it seems, as they'd finished their checkup around the time I put the cleaning supplies away.

"They were very excited today, not sure why though." I don't need to turn around to recognize Maruki-senpai's voice.

"Maybe some good news came?" I made a mental note to ask Miyu about them, she was quite fond of the Mackenzies.

I assume he shrugs from the ruffling of his coat,

"Maybe." I turn to face him when he suddenly goes quiet, only to see the slightest hint of mischief on his features.

"I'm more surprised you haven't gone to see that girlfriend of yours yet."

I roll my eyes at the assertion, having heard that line numerous times already. All the staff liked to tease me about my closeness with Tachie, being no exception. I swipe the lolly pop out his hands and ignore his yelp as I move past him. I've told them Tachie isn't my girlfriend before and it hasn't stopped anyone from saying whatever they want, so I've decided to quit wasting my time.

I hear his low chuckle as I make my way back to the changing room to retrieve Tachie's bento, popping the stolen lolly pop in my mouth.

'Mango, huh? He must've restocked recently.'

I close the locker door shut, opting to stay in my scrubs and change after my time with Tachie. I'd be going home after that, but I didn't want to risk spreading any dirt on my clothes to the rest of the hospital. I tuck the bento under my arm, and make my way to her room. No one being around, I let my face fall into a frown. I never liked the location of her room in the hospital. It was the farthest room away from the door, and I always thought the room looked and felt a little isolated. That wasn't surprising though, as Tachie made no effort to get along with anyone that wasn't me, but it felt like everyone had given up on trying. As if they were content on leaving her alone there by herself. Frustration fills my heart, the moon's light illuminating the aggravated expression on my face.

Before long I'm knocking at her door, or rather I'm about to.

Before my fist even touches the door, I hear a muffled voice beyond the wooden frame. As if she sensed me about to knock.

'That's ridiculous,' I think as I open the door, 'That's the kind of stuff that happens in TV shows and movies.' The lights of the room blind me for a second, before my eyes adjust to the brightness.

Inside, a familiar visage awaits me. That of a girl with onyx black hair, bright red eyes, and a patient's attire. She's already facing the door when I step in, closing it behind me. She greets me with a smile, eyes crinkling with joy.

"Took you long enough, eh, Shirou?"