"Dad! Dad! Wake up! It's almost time for school!" A girlish voice said as she shook a bundle of gray covers. When the bundle didn't respond, the girl crossed her arms in an annoyed expression.
"If you don't come out from under there in the next five seconds, I'll throw sheets from underneath you, dad!" She threatened.
No movement.
"Ugh, dad, I'm starting to wonder who's the grownup here? We do this almost every day!" The girl sighed in exasperation.
The bundle didn't respond. The girl grabbed the hem of the sheets and started counting.
"Five. Four. Three. Two. O-"
Suddenly at what seemed like lightning speed, the covers were flung up. But not by her own accord. The figure underneath the cover rose and swiftly grabbed her by the armpits and lifted her up causing her to yelp in surprise.
"I'm up Lou, I'm up." Her dad said, chuckling good naturedly. The dad looked to be around twenty-five years old. He stood at about five-eleven with auburn hair and amber eyes. He wore a white tee and standard boxers with socks on.
His name? Shirou Emiya. Former Clocktower apprentice of Rin Tohsaka.
Now? Well, a father.
"Finally." Lou huffed as she grabbed him once he put her down. "It's already seven o'clock, and school starts at seven-thirty, so we need to get out of here! Come! Brush my hair!"
She pulled him towards his bathroom which was decently spacious for a master bedroom and grabbed a stoll and stood on it in front of the mirror. She handed him the brush.
"And you always tell me I'm not grown enough?" Shirou muttered.
Lou giggled, "I heard from my friend, Anna—who is a whole grade above me—that you can never be too grown up to get your parents to do your hair. Besides, I like how you do it. Did you have someone to do your hair growing up?"
"Nope!" He grinned. "I did it myself. My dad wasn't even good at managing his own hair."
"Then I guess that passed on!"
Well, there was little he could do to argue with that. He grabbed the brush and started brushing down her hair.
Lou looked much like her mother with her raven hair that was currently messy. She inherited his morning hair, unfortunately.
"Make sure to brush it down straight today, dad."
"Yes, yes." He responded, as he got to work.
As he did the idle work, he thought back to how he arrived at this strange place and his odd circumstances to becoming a father.
Six Years Prior~~
Shirou took deep breaths when he woke up. He huffed for a few moments as he tried to absorb as much oxygen as possible. He felt like shit.
"W-what happened? I can't remember anything." He looked around. He seemed to be in some type of banged up tent or something. He tried to stand up and immediately regretted it as a flash of pain flashed through his right leg. "Gaah~~"
With the introduction of the pain came the memories. Mission from Rin, sneaking into the museum, confronting a hellhound and a fury and the sky splitting apart and fracturing.
Knowing this didn't help him though as he had no idea where the hell he was. Not to mention he was pretty seriously wounded with one usable arm currently. Given some serious rest he was sure Avalon could heal him.
"Oh shit, boys, look he's up. I told you he would wake up." Someone said and he looked behind him and saw a group of people sitting down by a table, playing cards. The one who spoke was a portly man with a dusty coat on and seemed to be in his forties. And needing a shower.
"I never said he wouldn't, Johnny. I just didn't think he would wake up so fast after what he went through." The one who talked next was skinny and lanky and had a cigarette between his fingers.
"That's true. I've never seen anyone with such red hair. You dye it or something, kid?" The first one asked him.
"He had to, Max. You know how these youngins get down these days. Red, purple, white, hell even the damn rainbow!" Johnny laughed, which came out as more of wheeze and he was soon coughing.
Shirou was barely paying attention to their banter. He did realize however, that the two were speaking in english.
So am I in the States? But how the hell did I get here?
It wasn't uncommon to hear someone in Japan speak english—and in fact it was something mandatory in many Japanese school as a primary language in the world—but most spoke it broken and drawn out. These… homeless people? Were not asian for sure.
He decided to voice his thoughts.
"Um… excuse me. Could either of you tell me where I am?" He asked with as much politeness as he could. He was taught manners and even though the two of them seemed rude, they were his key to answers.
"Hehe, hit your head hard enough that you don't know where you are?" Max snickered. "Do you remember who you are, how to go to the bathroom of what's left from right?"
Do you?
Shirou wanted to counter. It was clear that they were high and judging by the bottle of scotch on the table, shit-faced drunk. He would be getting little answers from them.
He tried his best to get up, leaning on his stronger side for support and after a few pained grunts made it up. He hoped that the pain would go away sooner rather than later.
The two drunk people watched him get up and stopped snickering and laughing.
"Hey! I hope you're not just plannin' on walking out of here just like that!" Max said as he stood up and started walking towards him. "You owe us. Big time. We carried your lil ass outta the damn water by hand!"
They did? What the hell was I doing in the water?
"I'm sorry, I don't have any money. I don't even know where I am." Shirou answered truthfully. But to the two homeless people, he must have sounded like the biggest liar in the world. That was clear from their expressions.
"So what, you came down here to commit suicide or somethin? There are specific places for that, y'know."
Shirou sighed. "I don't know what happened. But I know I didn't come here to commit suicide. Wherever here is."
He was getting tired of this back and forth. He didn't have time for this. They must have sensed his impatience because they finally spoke.
"Alright, alright. You're in New York City for crying out loud!" Max exclaimed.
That was all Shirou needed to hear as he limped his way out of the tent as fast as he could. His eyes widened when he opened up the flap of the tent and looked at the scenery around him. It was certainly not London or even Japan.
Tall skyscrapers could be seen everywhere, cars bustled everywhere, honking, cursing and yelling. The tent that he was occupied in seemed to be under the bridge but that still gave him a clear view of the city.
It was…
Different. He wasn't sure in what way to describe it just yet. He had never been to the States before but had heard from his father about it.
The side of the bridge he was on was not that impressive, building wise, but made up for it in structuring. He walked next to the water and looked at his reflection. The water was much dirtier than the water in Fuyuki so it was hard to see his reflection much but he could see his face marred with scratches that had begun to heal steadily.
His cloak was gone predictably given he was unconscious, leaving him in normal black jeans and a black tee. His clothing had certainly seen better days and was ripped and torn thanks to the Hellhound and that Fury. It was also wet from him being in the water apparently.
Just then, he remembered something. His gem! That Rin gave him to communicate with her so she could observe him.
He reached into his pocket to grab it. He felt nothing. He looked in his back pocket. His wallet was intact. Wet but still usable.
His phone was missing which was a shame. It must have fallen out when he fell into the water. Not surprising.
So did the gem fall out too? He wasn't willing to dive into the ocean. It looked quite deep and a gem as small as that would sink far in no time.
What crappy luck.
Shirou remarked to himself self-deprecatingly.
What should I do now? I have no phone, no money in this currency and not even a Visa for this country. I could get arrested.
He would hate to have to call Rin from London so she can come all the way over here to save him. She would do it, he had no doubts about that but she would scold him like hell first.
He was interrupted from his thoughts when the tents opened and Max and Johnny walked out. "Hey, what are you doing? Remember you still owe us!"
"Thank you for saving me." Shirou bowed. "But I don't have anything to give. I'm sorry."
He began limping away, turning his back to them but his senses suddenly screamed at him to move.
He obeyed and barely tilted his head twisted around as a machete stabbed where he was once occupied at. The surprise and awkward movement coupled with his injury made him topple over on his ass.
"Cut the shit, little brat. I know you must make some major bread if you're going around carrying a gem of all things." Johnny sneered as he held the machete in front of him.
So they have it?
"Or what, did you steal it? Is that why your all cut up like you just came from the hood?" Max questioned as he grabbed a baseball bat. "Regardless, we are gonna beat the answers outta ya."
"And I only feel slightly bad that I have to fuck up a cripple." Johnny smirked. "But its tough out here and a dog eats dog world. Especially for foreigners."
"We don't have to do this." Shirou tried to placate as he stood up after a moment.
"Yeah, we don't." Max agreed. "But we will."
Max rushed at him and swung at his head, seemingly trying to give him brain damage. To Shirou however, the attack that was coming at him felt slow compared to what he had faced before in the past from servants, Dead Apostle's and enhanced humans. Due to this, it was little trouble for magus apprentice to duck under the blow and sweep the junkie's legs from under him.
The junkie fell like a sack of potatoes, and was disoriented mostly in part from the drinking and smoking he had been doing for the majority of the day.
Johnny, not apparently learning from his friend's mistakes came at him this time, slashing vertically in a stereotypical decapitating move. Shirou knew that he wouldn't be fast enough with his injuries to completely dodge the move so he reinforced his arm just as the blade made impact. The machete couldn't pierce his skin, shocking the man.
Shirou kneed him in the stomach, knocking him out cold. He didn't have the heart in him to do much more. They were already drunk and homeless, so a part of Shirou felt sympathy for them. He didn't grow up facing hardships like them because he had connections but many didn't which was likely why they were like that, he figured.
He rummaged through their dirty pockets, grimacing as he touched a few unsavory things. However, even after checking through their pockets he saw no sign of the gem.
He tried his luck in the tent. Nothing.
Where is the gem at? Could they have sold it or something?
The thought wasn't comforting in the slightest. In a city as big as this, it would be impossible to track down where the item was sold, not to mention the fact that he had no money nor was he supposed to be in this country.
He could stay and question them when they woke up but that could take a while. He needed to do reconnaissance and find a way home. Rin and even Luvia were probably searching top and bottom for him.
Shaking his head out of his thoughts, he turned to leave, before backtracking. He looked behind him at the prone forms of the two homeless men. He couldn't just leave them on the cold floor.
He sighed. "Damnit."
(-)
The chance to do so may not appear so easily it seemed. Looking around he saw himself underneath a bridge. It was long and looked somewhat familiar.
"Wait a second. Is that the Manhattan Bridge?!" He'd never been there before but he'd heard of it of course. "If that's the case then I must be in New York."
The big question was though— what the hell was he doing all the way here. From Europe to the United States, what type of sorcery allowed that?!
And better yet, where was the bastard, Pierrè?
"I'll have to worry about it later." Shirou sighed as he looked at his wounded leg. "I can't walk like this." Luckily, the fiery lance that pierced his leg cauterized it so he didn't bleed out. It still needed healing though.
He remembered he had a phone, suddenly. Rin wasn't a big fan of technology. Like at all. But Shirou knew the importance of having a phone and when the portable phone had just come out he rushed to get one. All in all, it was very handy.
He took out the phone from his pocket and looked at the home screen. He saw the time read: 6:07 p.m. Looking up though it didn't look dusk had set and instead like it was mid-day.
"Maybe my phone hasn't been set to American time?" The answer didn't feel right to him though. He also saw that he didn't have any signal. Not exactly unusual given he was under a bridge but his phone seemed completely closed off like he was in Antarctica.
He shoved the thought for later as he projected standard japanese wrapping to put his wounded leg around. It was hard to do though, as he was reminded of his one good functional arm.
He managed it though, and when he was done his leg was wrapped up more tightly then a mummy's entire body was. It was protected though and coupled with Avalon could get better.
Next, he wrapped his wounded arm up in bandages. It was red and very swollen and he knew that he should probably go to the doctor. There were quite a few problems though that stopped him.
One ; he wasn't a U.S. citizen. He'd never stepped foot into the United States prior to now, however he got here. There was a good chance he could get arrested for illegally entering the United States and the first thing they would assume was that he was smuggled in. Secondly, his wounds. He didn't know how the hell he would explain such a thing to the nurses and doctors there. Hey; I need treatment for this large bite I got from a hellhound as well as a flaming spear that went through my leg. It didn't sound right even to him.
Shirou sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "I guess I'll have to squat around somewhere until I can contact Rin." That seemed like the best bet to him.
He projected a pair of crutches and a cloak and made his way upwards from the bridge. It was hard walking up the slope especially with the crutches and he nearly fell more than once but when he did he was immediately relieved. As he walked onto the main street he could see people. Many people. Some in suits, some wearing casual clothes, some wearing costumes, it was sort of like Japan.
Except in Fuyuki, where he lived, there were not so many cars. Like seriously, traffic was insane! There was no period of time when there weren't cars and lots of them were honking and arguing with each other while they waited for the light to turn green. The pedestrians on the side-walk—walked casually as if used to such things even when the stop lights said it wasn't clear to walk. All in all it was madness.
Not to mention cold, which it very well was. Last he checked it was April but sure felt like December or January and people wore coats as well which surprised him.
As he walked he noticed a few things…odd. No, not the homeless people begging for money or the school-kids being rowdy or even the pigeons who seemed to have enough brains to stealthily steal hotdogs from a stand.
What he noticed was some of the people looked suspicious and he was sure that was by even New York standards. One was tall—easily at least seven feet, and wore a trench coat which covered his entire body and a fedora pulled down, making it impossible to see the person's face. Shirou though, could have sworn that he saw the white of his eyes, which wasn't unusual, except it seemed like one big eye.
The man's attention wasn't on him though, but on a little girl not more than eight-years-old. She was a cute little thing with her black hair and blue eyes and she wore a sunflower dress. She looked lost. Yet nobody seemed to pay her any mind.
Immediately, Shirou's instincts activated and he was striding towards her using his crutches. It was slow getting to her given she kept moving but when he did he called out to her.
"Hey, are you okay?" He started, gently so as to not startle her. Despite that she still jolted and looked at him frightened.
"W-who—who are you?" She asked and had already started backing away. It looked like her parents taught her not to talk to strangers. That was good.
"My name is Shirou Emiya. I'm sorry for startling you but I saw you looking so I wanted to see if you were good." Shirou replied. He decided to leave out the fact that he saw someone watching her so as to not scare her. She didn't need to deal with that. He would.
"My name is Claire…Claire Montique I'm—" She hesitated on her words as if she wasn't sure she was supposed to say it. "I was separated from my Papa because some tall-man was chasing us. He told me to meet him at some place called Camp Half-Blood."
Finishing that she gave him a sheet of paper where an address was sloppily written down.
Half-Blood Hill.
Long Island, New York.
From what little he knew of New York it was separated into different boroughs. Manhattan—which is where they were now— Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island.
He felt like he was missing one or two but the point was made. Long Island was a ways away from where they were and it would be a dangerous journey for a child of just eight. What was the father thinking, Shirou thought angrily. There was no way she would make it by herself. But what worried him more was what she said about being chased by a tall-man.
Shirou glanced casually in the direction he saw the tall-man and low and behold he was still there. Except now his focus had strayed. From the girl. To him. It was almost menacing the way the man stood still; he would have mistaken him for a statue if he wasn't in the middle of the street.
Shirou knew there was only one thing he could do.
"Claire, wherever you're going, I'll come with you." Shirou said, resolutely.
"Ehh?" Claire said, flustered for some reason. "I don't— you don't even know me, why would you help me?"
"I don't need a reason to help someone. I do it because it's the right thing to do. I can't just walk by knowing that you could be in trouble. You're too young for that." Shirou replied.
"You're crippled though aren't you?" She gestured where his arm and leg were in a cast. "Will you really be able to make it like that?"
Shirou chuckled. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I've moved under far worse circumstances."
His mind flashed to his fight with Archer and how much blood he had lost. What he had lost and what he had gained from the interaction with his future self.
His battle with Archer showed that Shirou Emiya would and could not be saved. For he didn't even want to save himself. Only others.
"Okay then Mr. Emiya, I'll gladly have you take me. Honestly, I was pretty scared. I'm scared for papa too. I hope he is okay…"
"Please, call me Shirou. I'm not that old." Shirou said, rubbing the back of his head. "Tell you what, after I drop you off at this camp your father told you to go to I'll search for him. How's that sound?"
Claire's eyes brightened and he could have sworn that the very plants around them got even greener from the corner of his eyes. "Thank you, thank you!" She said, tackling him in a hug.
Shirou felt a tingle of warmth at the sign of affection. There were very few times where he got to actually save anyone—usually being the one being saved— so to see someone thank him felt… good.
He also felt embarrassed as the two drew eyes on them from pedestrians.
"It's not a problem. Now let's check out the way to Long Island." He said.
As they walked away—and him crutch away— he spotted the tall-man moving with them. He had a good idea of what it was now.
'First a Hellhound and then a Fury. I'm pretty sure that's a damn giant or a cyclops. Probably a cyclops though since he's covering his entire face."
The two found a map and found out that after about three bus rides and a train they could make it to Long Island in about an hour and a half. The stop to get to the first bus was only a few blocks down.
First though he had to take care of their little problem. When they arrived at the first block to turn, he suddenly moved faster than anyone with crutches had any right to and grabbed her, getting her to yelp as he led the two of them into an alley.
Before she could open her mouth and ask a question, probably to ask if he was actually trying to kid him, he covered her mouth and gestured for her to be quiet.
Shirou peeked from some garbage they were hidden behind to look for any sign of the cyclops.
"Claire! Claire! Are you over here?!" A voice said, from over the corner.
Claire's eyes widened as she shook off his grip. "Daddy, I'm here!"
Claire took off running towards the voice.
Shirou thought had a bad feeling. 'Something isn't right. Didn't she say her father would meet her at this "Camp Half-Blood"? So why would he be here?
He couldn't ponder these thoughts any longer as from out of the corner a large hand suddenly grabbed onto Claire and Shirou got a good look at the person.
The person was large, easily reaching seven feet, they had large bulking muscles Shirou could see now that the person had discarded its disguise. His face was plain but Shirou could see the hungry expression sprayed on its face. The game-changer for it not being normal was its eyes—or better said, eye—which was large and brown. He carried a large wooden club like a barbarian that was splintered at a lot of the ends. Shirou couldn't tell if it was done purposely or not.
The Cyclops grinned which showed its disfigured yet sharp teeth. "I have myself a little demi-god~~! It's been quite a few months since I got the chance to eat! I will enjoy this wholly."
'Did it just say demigod?" Shirou shook his head. "Not important right now."
Shirou stepped out from his hiding spot as he needed no more prerogative to attack, his crutches long-abandoned and quickly traced Kanshou into his good arm. This got the cyclops eye to widen a bit.
"A-a magic user?! All the way out here? You should be in the Sea of Monsters!"
Shirou had no idea what that was and cared little. He charged straight towards the cyclops who seemed to be startled at his speed. It regained its composure though in time to use its hand not grasping the girl to swing the club downwards. Shirou had already shifted to the side however, letting the club crash down on the ground.
Not wasting any opportunity, Shirou leaped up to get to its height and slashed at its throat. The cyclops though seemed to carry some modicum of intelligence as it pulled the hand carrying Claire forward as a shield. Claire was clearly scared and was crying as his sword swung right to her neck.
Kanshou was already swinging with much too much momentum to stop now—not without harming the little girl—so Shirou dissolved his sword which was the opening the cyclops was waiting for as it swung at him. Already mid-air, Shirou couldn't dodge it so reinforced himself as best he could. The cyclops hit with the force of a truck and sent him ricocheting off the ground.
"Stupid human." The cyclops cackled as it began walking backwards
'I need to turn the tables' Shirou thought as he began thinking. 'My leg is straining from doing such extraneous movements and my arm is little better. I'll end this at once.'
Shirou tried something new. He figured for a cyclops of that size it would take more than an ordinary blade to do him if it was anything like the legends said. So, Shirou searched for weapons of at least a D-rank.
He didn't want to go overkill on a singular cyclops because he may need the mana later. Plus with what he was going to be doing it would be unnecessary.
He took a page out of Gilgamesh's book and concentrated on the spot where he would materialize the blades. His opponent was about fifteen feet away, holding Claire by the neck. Sudden movements could get her killed. It would be a total loss for him because the cyclops was clearly planning on killing her anyway.
Shirou strained his eyes as he began setting up the blades behind the cyclops. It took a terrible effort to do so—so far away but it would be worth it he told himself.
Shirou waited. And waited until the cyclops was almost completely out of the alley and about to turn before he manifested the blades and they went soaring towards the monster in a flash of blue.
The cyclops didn't even have a second to think as it was gored on all four sides of its head. It let out a weak groan and dissolved into golden dust, leaving nothing behind but its club. Claire, who was in his arms, began to fall as there was nothing holding her any longer.
Shirou wasted no time grabbing her. Sometime during the encounter she had fallen unconscious, perhaps from the cyclops' grip or perhaps from the shear stress. He was reminded that she was but a girl of ten. He couldn't imagine being half as brave as her at that age.
Shirou placed her on his back, piggy-back style and swiftly left the alleyway, leaving nothing behind but the cyclops who was dissolving into golden dust.
"You did good." Shirou said to the sleeping girl. He quickly left the alley-way in case there were any more cyclops who had detected the girl. He had decided to discard his casts and crutches as it would only get in the way at this point since he was carrying her. He was healed enough to walk straight with only a slight limp at this point.
Nobody paid him any mind as he carried the sleeping girl to the station he assumed because they must have thought he was her older brother, simply carrying her home. He found himself having trouble figuring out where anything was so he politely asked a lady where the train station was and she told him easily enough. After walking a few blocks, they had made it with four minutes to spare until the train would arrive.
He sat on the bench and placed Claire gently on it as well and let his thoughts drift. The cyclops he had fought—and yes he was still processing the fact that it was a damn cyclops— had spoken of Claire as being a demi-god. He didn't know what to think about that.
He had already met and briefly fought (but more like survived) a fight with one, being Cu Chulainn and had encountered another being the Berserker, Heracles. Those two were absolute monsters in human flesh so it was hard imagining little Claire being one of them. What was the deal with that anyway? The gods of all pantheons had been sent to the Reverse Side Of The World, with the new age beginning, so they couldn't have sired any children.
-And if some of them-by some means had managed to escape, it would be known instantly The two demigods he knew unconsciously gave off a feeling of divinity. But denying that would raise more questions. Who was she, to garner the attention of a cyclops?
He was no sensor or anything but he could tell that she wasn't completely ordinary. In fact the proof showed itself when they walked. The greenery around them seemed to come to life as if she was a personal fertilizer. It clearly wasn't her doing as she was unconscious and she seemed just as confused as he was.
The entire thing was one big headache. He had a feeling he was getting himself into a world he couldn't even understand.
"Pardon me, could I sit next to you?" Shirou was shaken out from his thoughts as someone had spoken to him. He looked up and fought the urge to gasp.
She was beautiful- inhumanely so in Shirou's opinion, despite the fact that she looked like a girl no older than nineteen- she had brown hair the color of wheat that fell down to her neck and was curled. Her eyes were a soft caramel yet to him they felt piercing, almost like she was examining his very existence. Given that it was approaching winter she wore a black fluffy coat and had on jeans with brown boots with fur.
"Y-Yes, go ahead." Shirou replied, moving him and Claire over so the lady could sit. She did so and Shirou could swear he'd never seen someone sit down so gracefully. It reminded him of Saber.
He expected her to ignore him and simply wait for the train so he was surprised when she spoke.
"Is this cute little girl your sister?" The woman asked him, gesturing to the sleeping girl.
"Heh, no." Shirou said as he patted her hair. "A… friend told me to look after her for a little while so I'm… chaperoning her, I guess you could say."
"It's nice to see people willing to help out these days." She smiled. "Little girls like her need to be looked out for, given people these days. By the way, you're a foreigner aren't you?"
"Yes, I'm from Japan. I'm here on a little business trip for a school I work for." Shirou made up that story on the spot. If she detected his lie it didn't show on her face. "My name is Shirou Emiya."
"Lydia." No last name was given.
Was that normal around here?
The two shook hands. After that, the two began to speak and when the train came they got on together with Claire and sat across from each other and spoke more and more. Shirou found himself engrossed speaking to her. It felt like he could tell her anything and she would accept it wholeheartedly.
One part of their conversation stood out to him the most.
It started off with them talking about their interests. She stated that she was fortunate enough to have a large family so she didn't need to work and instead spent her time mostly traveling and enjoying life. She volunteered at a daycare around here and would spend most of her time taking care of them as she loved kids.
Then she asked about his family.
"I… there was a large fire where I lived when I was very young and my parents and loved ones died in it. I was saved by the man who would later adopt me named Kiritsugu. So to me, the only family I had was him."
Lydia's eyes widened at his story and her eyes softened. It wasn't a look of pity-he knew that look well enough- but something else. Was it understanding?
"That is terrible. None of your old family survived?"
"Not that I know of. I got seriously injured in the fire and I must have lost my memories so any family that may have survived, I wouldn't be aware of. Nobody ever came forward though so we all just assumed that there weren't." The words felt like lies to his mouth. He knew the truth, he didn't forget, he wanted to forget and so he did. He left it all behind.
"I'm sorry for bringing up such traumatic memories." She apologized in a soft tone. Shirou felt it was genuine and the care that was laced in her voice made his cheeks heat up a bit.
"It's-It's fine. It happened long ago. I can't say I'm unhappy, I've lived a far better life than that of the other survivors."
Yes, Shirou had figured out that there were other survivors of the fire. Him and Rin before they left London had checked out the church that belonged to Kirei Kotomine the "mediator" of the Holy Grail. He had heard from Rin how Kirei had actually confessed to murdering her father before Lancer killed him. Rin had always had suspicions about Kirei and it was proven correct when they had gone into the basement of the church. Inside, there were coffins and Rin had explained darkly how the little children's very life-force were being used as a mana source.
At that moment, Shirou had never hated anyone more than Kirei Kotomine.
"That's good." Lydia's voice interrupted his inner thoughts. "You should never regret the path you have taken. We must face the past with our head held high and stiff lip otherwise, we will fall behind and be stuck in the past. I myself have done some things I regretted, yet looking back at it now that the cloth has been fully unfurled, I cannot say that I wouldn't do it again. Every outcome leads to multiple paths. You merely need to find the correct one."
After that conversation, the two went back into more light topics like their favorite animal. Shirou didn't particularly have one, but he answered anyway by saying a hawk.
"A hawk? Really?" Lydia said, laughing lightly.
"Yeah. Hawk's are vigilant creatures and have good eye-sight and are cool birds." Shirou defended. "But what about you, what is your animal?"
"I would definitely have to say a lion."
"So even you have your pride, huh?"
The two allowed themselves to laugh as others began to look at them weirdly. The two didn't care however.
"I have my own lions, you know." Lydia stated. "I've had them for years and bring them pretty much anywhere I go. Unfortunately, I can't walk around with them even though they are trained. The Authorities won't let me, they say that they can cause a public disturbance. But I know in my heart that my lions, Gennaios and Kardià are actually quite sweet."
"Your love for lions reminds me of someone I once knew." Shirou commented on her love for her lions. "She was regal and tough like a lion yet had the biggest heart."
"She sounds wonderful."
"She was."
The two conversed back and forth until finally, it was time for them to get off. Shirou could genuinely say he enjoyed her company as she was actually a very good listener and despite trying to keep the conversation brief he kept talking and talking.
When the train stopped and the doors opened, he stepped outside.
Lydia apparently had to get off at this stop as well and they stood outside the train.
"I see she is quite the heavy sleeper." Lydia mused, cheekily.
"Seems so."
"I think you have the spirit of a good person, Shirou." She said, suddenly, confusing him. "Take this with a grain of salt if you would like. But what I believe is that perhaps the flames that consumed your old life was merely a stapler for your true life to begin. One with a fresh start. Perhaps you should try my lifestyle."
"Traveling around with hungry lions?"
Lydia chuckled but shook her head.
"Being free. Building a family throughout your adventures. One of the best as well as possibly the worst things I had ever done was have a child. They were so different. Far more so than my other family. They had something crucial that I and my other siblings and parents lacked. Emotions. True and unbridled emotions. They weren't born for kil—doing things that they shouldn't be doing, they lived their own lives and felt joy, sadness, happiness and anger in all of its extremities. They make mistakes, but they stand to this day. It inspired me to take a step back and really live."
Shirou didn't say anything. He had nothing to say. He had never really gone down that avenue of thinking. His life so far was all about saving people at any cost and he had already dedicated his life to it.
Could he live without helping people? Could he also have a family?
"You can." Lydia said, shocking him.
Did she just read my mind?
She chuckled.
"I'm not reading your mind, just your expression. You seem like someone who doubts yourself. You should hold your shoulders high, you will be surprised with the results, I'm sure." She patted his arm, playfully.
"But I believe this is the end of our conversation. I believe you have a route you need to get to and at a brisk pace, no? When the night sets, that's when bad things happen. Claire needs you as a guiding light. A beacon of hope."
She reached into her bag and pulled out a piece of paper. She scribbled something down.
He looked at it.
It was an address.
It was a daycare/child-care for toddlers.
"Why are you giving me this?" He asked.
"Who can say? I just have a feeling you may need it, one day. Or, if you just want to stop by."
"Wha—" He looked up at her only to see her gone. Not a trace of her remained. Only the crowd moving about their day.
"That was… interesting." Was the best summarization he could think of.
He decided to get a move on.
After a little bit of looking at the public map posted on the wall, they found a bus that would take them close to where the camp was and from there it would be just a few minutes walk.
Right before he was about to start moving, Claire work up.
"Urghh. What—what happened?" Claire wiped the sleep out of her eyes as she looked around until her eyes focused on him. Her eyes widened briefly.
"It's me, Shirou. Remember, I'm gonna drop you off where your father told you to go." Shirou reminded her.
"But I heard papa! I remember hearing him and running towards him very happy but…"
"It wasn't your father." Shirou said. "It was someone else. Don't worry about it. Your father is likely there now waiting for you. Let's go."
It was nearly pitch-black now so Shirou and Claire wasted no time getting on the bus and making their way there.
Thirty minutes later, they made it to the hill that was labeled "Half-Blood Hill." They could see a field of strawberries that stretched on for miles. It looked very unassuming. Almost suspiciously so. Nevertheless, Shirou trekked on.
As they walked through the tall grass, Shirou sensed something through the mind's eye he'd gained through combat. Someone was watching them, much like back in the city.
It wasn't just one person, it was multiple. He could tell through the shuffling of grass. It felt like it was coming from within the forest. Creatures lurked there in waiting.
"Claire." Shirou called out her name, getting her attention. "I need you to go straight onwards. I see in the distance a sign that says "Camp Half-Blood", you need to go to it."
"I'm not leaving you!" Claire said, attaching herself to him. Shirou couldn't help but smile as he was touched by her affection even though they had just met today.
"I'll be fine and will be right behind you."
"But…" Shirou crouched down to her height.
From within the palm of his hand, he projected a gold dagger. It was Carwennan.
Claire's eyes widened at the use of magic. "How did you do that!"
"Magic." Claire lightly punched him in the stomach. Shirou chuckled but quickly got serious.
"Look, take this, it's going to keep you obstructed from anything that may see you so do not let go of this dagger." He handed it to her as he began to walk away.
Claire took off running after a brief moment of staring at his back. Shirou sighed.
"I got too much of a soft-spot for kids."
With him now by his lonesome, Shirou projected his large black bow. It was a huge thing, easily the size of his body and of Japanese make. On his other hand he projected a basic E-rank Noble Phantasm. Placing it on the bow it shrunk due to his application of alteration.
He let go of the handle and the sword turned arrow flew through the air in a flash of blue. Through his enhanced sight that could see up to almost two kilometers away, he could see it meet the face of a cyclops who had poked its head out from the side of a tree. The arrow embedded itself right into its eyes and Shirou watched as it fell back and dissolved before it hit the ground.
The other cyclops that were hidden suddenly scattered, but not to run. They all started running towards him in all directions, likely thinking they can corner him if they block his exit.
Of course, Shirou had no intentions of letting that happen, or even letting them get close enough to see him. Holding his bow out in his normal stance, he projected three swords onto the enhanced string of the bow and drew the first sword—which was already altered— and shot it at subsonic speeds.
The arrow flew, splitting the wind as it seemingly moved with a mind of its own, skirting past trees and branches and other obstacles until it found a running cyclops and instantly ended it. Shirou quickly shot the next one and then the next one.
One by one, the cyclops' numbers thinned as Shirou eliminated them with extreme prejudice. By the time the remaining cyclops made their way out of the forest to where he was stationed, their number was down to five.
Shirou spared a glance at the running form of Claire—who was distorted by shadows that he could scant see— and saw that she was almost at the entrance.
'Good. That means I'll be fine going all out and dealing with these monsters.' Shirou thought.
Shirou took a glance at the cyclops and saw that they were already exhausted, likely from having to run for their lives to avoid his arrows. Shirou mused that they may not have run so fast in their entire lives.
"Human magician kill brethren, So I… I kill you!" One of the cyclops said as they all began to charge at him with their assortment of rusted iron swords, clubs and axes.
Shirou jumped back, as the place he was standing at was crushed, creating a crater.
'I have to avoid getting hit by even one of their strikes.' Shirou thought.
Seeing no more point of playing the archer, Shirou traced his signature falchions, Kanshou and Byakuya.
"If you're looking to kill me you're going to have to do better than that." Shirou taunted them. They seemed pretty dumb and judging from their clothes and weapons, they lived in the streets.
"I will enjoy devouring you to your very bones!" One of the cyclops roared as it charged, ahead of its pack, slicing vertically at his head. Shirou noticed that its moves were uncoordinated and skilless. The cyclops didn't have any plan in mind, only to kill him and eat him.
Thus, it was extremely easy dodging the strike by leaning back. With its arm already extended it left itself wide open, especially given its immense height which left lots of weak-points that Shirou gratefully exploited.
Shirou slashed at its chest, drawing blood from the monster, causing it to roar and drop its knees which was perfect for Shirou as he would have had to jump to reach its head. He decapitated it in one precise strike.
Shirou could see the fear in the other cyclops' eye as one of the four backed up, likely it's self-preservation kicking in.
"Who are you, human?! No human should be able to shoot a bow from that far away! No human should be able to fight us monsters! Who are you?!" One of the cyclops roared out. This one seemed to be the pack leader as its sword was in better condition than the other three. "And that sword… it's vile, it reeks of danger!"
"It doesn't matter what I am. That's the least of your concern, monsters. The only thing that matters is that you're trying to eat an innocent girl. I cannot allow that." Shirou declared.
"Innocent?" The cyclops repeated to itself as if it had heard a funny joke. "That child is a demigod. A spawn of an Olympian and our meal ticket! You must work for the gods if you care so much for it."
'So I didn't hear wrong, it said it again. A demigod. Claire is a demigod, then. But that only brings the question of how Claire was created when the gods shouldn't exist. They also spoke of me working for the gods meaning there are more out there then the one that sired Claire? Too many questions and too little answers.'
"Whatever the case, demigod, human or even monster, she's an innocent girl, and you won't lay a hand on her!"
"We aren't the only ones you should be worrying about." The cyclops cackled. "Did you think that the others haven't smelled a free meal-ticket!"
Just as it had said that, Shirou heard the sound of multiple shuffling of paws and then a bark. Shirou's heart froze as he determined the sound as something very familiar to him.
"A hellhound!" Shirou exclaimed as he looked to his right to see hellhounds enter the clearing and start running but not towards him. But to…
"Claire!" Shirou called out, even knowing she couldn't hear him. Shirou realized that while Carwennan was a great weapon for stealth that hid the user in shadows, it would be useless against a hellhound which was proven at the museum as it could smell him, not to mention hellhounds he heard were creatures created by the shadows.
Shirou cursed as he realized that he would never make it in time to save her at this rate. With him busy fighting these cyclops and the hellhounds' natural speed, even he would have trouble shooting them.
It seemed he wouldn't have to though, as from out of the clearing a barrage of arrows flew from the air and shot downwards onto the pack of hellhounds. Shirou could see the hellhounds try and move out of the way but their momentum was already built up from covering such a large distance so turning would be impossible.
With the hellhounds being taken care of, Shirou felt he could finally concentrate on his opponents, who Shirou could see, now surrounded him in a triangle formation.
'They are wary of me now. I doubt they're dumb enough to attack separately. They'll likely attack as a unit from now on.' It was a solid plan since after all, he was just a human. In terms of endurance he had no delusions that they individually and collectively had him beat.
Unfortunately for them, Shirou had gone his entire combat-life being outmaneuvered in every way by the people in his life whether it was Saber or even Rin.
The cyclops seemed to all be sending each other a signal as they collectively moved at the same time and converged onto him. They all ran towards him, weapons reared back and ready to crush his skull. Shirou was prepared however, and threw Kanshou to the monster on his left and Byakuya to the person on his right. They clearly were not expecting such a move yet as they stopped to push aside the spinning weapons being directed towards them.
They were successful dodging the weapons but their cheap rusted iron weapons broke as a result of meeting such high-class weapons. Shirou capitalized on this and met his leader, reinforcing his legs to kick off the ground. The cyclops leader's eye widened at the burst of speed yet it reacted all the same and swung its steel sword at him.
Shirou traced his signature swords and blocked it with a twin strike.
The steel sword crumbled into pieces like wood. As a desperate maneuver, the cyclops lashed out with a kick that Shirou ducked under. He couldn't attack further though, as the other two cyclops had recovered and were on him forcing him to jump back. He threw his swords again before he landed but the cyclops' knew better by now and scattered with speed that betrayed its size.
"I am the bone of my sword."
Steel swords of decent make materialized around him. The cyclops started to back away as they realized their situation. Shirou didn't allow them any further thought though.
"Projections set. Fire."
The cyclops didn't dodge this time. All that was left of them was golden dust that blew away with the wind.
Shirou breathed deeply. He had used more mana then he cared to. Using his projections like Gilgamesh took a lot out of him then it normally would individually tracing the weapons. He would have to work on that later.
"Time to go back to the city. Then find a way back to Japan." Shirou still hadn't found a method of getting home, not to mention the fact that he had no money nor even any identification on him.
He silently cursed Rin's lack of a phone. It was the twenty-first century and she still refused to get one.
Before he left, he spared a glance at the direction Claire was in. He could see that all the hellhounds were successfully dispatched by what looked like children from a minimum of twelve-years-old. With his long vision he could spot similarities in their faces meaning they likely were related in some way and they all wore orange t-shirts that said "Camp Half-Blood" with a pegasus label on it.
What caught his eyes and caused them to widen was the other person occupying them. It was a man. Or at least half of one. His lower half was that of a white horse.
'A centaur! They exist?!' The situation was just getting weirder and weirder. 'What kind of camp is this exactly? A camp for the supernatural?'
Shirou had no idea. Shirou could tell though that they were good people and Claire was in the right hands. He could see her frantically looking around, searching for him. He couldn't make out her words as the centaur's massive frame was blocking the way.
He got enough of the idea though to know that they would be searching for him so quickly made his way out of the fields and into the forest. He would take the long way in case anyone were to try and find him.
As Shirou walked through the forest, he couldn't help but notice something was odd. It was the animals at first. They acted normal when he saw them in the distance but when he got closer they acted weird. The birds craned their necks as if observing him. A deer tilted its neck in… curiosity? And he felt even the trees keeping its eyes on him.
It was eerie and sent shivers down his back. He was ready for a fight but who would he fight? Mother nature herself?
As he walked further, he saw mist start to creep its way from the dregs of the forest. It was now dark outside giving the air a sinister vibe. Shirou wasn't stupid. This was supernatural.
The mist came from all directions. Shirou summoned Kanshou and Byakuya in preparation for a fight. The mist seemed to gather itself up into one entire orb. Which then sprouted arms, then legs, until a whole body was formed.
It was a woman with onyx dark hair that was partially braided on one side which was swept over her shoulder. She had dark eyes —even darker than Shirou thought possible—and that drew out her pale complexion. Nevertheless, she was a beauty and her clothing could be said the same. It was a magnificent gown of a cloth Shirou wasn't familiar with.
What stood out to Shirou was her presence. It was like nothing he'd ever felt before. Everything in his being told him that she was dangerous—someone to run away from— and Shirou was inclined to agree. He'd felt a presence like this before. During the Holy Grail War. Gilgamesh felt like how this woman felt to him right now.
Shirou was able to connect the dots from there.
"You're a goddess." Shirou stated plainly, trying his best to stay calm as his mind was racing a thousand miles a minute on many theories—the Rin in him—came up with.
The woman didn't seem surprised by his discovery and simply curtly nodded. "That is correct, human. I am Hecate, the goddess of magic, the mist and the night. I find myself curious about you. I was around the area so, imagine my surprise when I felt a pulse of mana, like none I've ever felt before. Me, the goddess of magic. So of course, I found myself quite curious and had arrived in time to see that unique brand of magic you used."
"I should know everything about magic, yet I don't have the slightest clue about yours. Why is that?" Hecate questioned. To Shirou though, it felt more like a demand.
He opened his mouth, trying to find his words but couldn't find any.
"Being stubborn hm? Very well. How about this? Let's play that game you humans are so fond of. What was it? Twenty questions? I may even help you in any endeavors you need in return."
"So, how about it?"
Unknown Location.
"My Queen, he has finally spoken, after so many centuries!" An elated voice expressed as they entered into the chambers of a royal member.
The woman in question stood by the window outlooking the magnificent city that she ruled. Seeing the peaceful people roam about brought her peace.
She turned her head, regarding him and curled a finger. He immediately went to her and handed her a scroll.
"Hmph, as old fashioned as always…" She sighed. Nobody used scrolls anymore when so many more efficient ways of communicating were now available, magically. She opened it and read the contents. Her eyes flicked across the pages, and her eyes widened. "Assemble the council!"
"Y-Your Majesty?!"
"You heard me! Summon the knights! Our king may yet be returning…"
What do you guys think? Like the long chapters? Or too long for comfort?
This capped out at about 10k words. Yeah, I had a lot to say.
Now let's read some reviews.
ImNotAWeeb64101 says "Excuted to see where the story goes, can't wait!"
Thanks. I hope I don't disappoint.
Dillan97 says "I like the beginning and if this is going to be like 'Father's Love' and 'The Lost Hero of Chaldea' then my suggestion would be that it only be about one couple, and since you are using Artemis, then let her be the one he has children with and Yes, I said children as an inspiration to 'The Lost Hero of Chaldea' where Artemis had twins, here these would be the forbidden children of Shirou who he had with her mainly because of his connection with nature through Avalon and his great skill with the bow and vision inhuman
But unlike your other story in which you take the time to create a relationship between the two, here it is a time jump with their children as children just like 'Father's Love'."
Thing is, I don't think that Artemis and Shirou would be very compatible. Artemis to me, has a certain type and she needs to go through a certain arc in order to love. I don't think it's something that can just be brushed upon in a timeskip. You'll see what I mean in Fire Burns Brightly. Also, sorry but I gotta spoil you. I gotta do the harem. Thats what the people wanted. The other fic is for the single pairing. But trust me, it's not gonna be so easy and I hope to make it well developed.
Betajux07 says "I genuinely thought this was fate x fast and furous fanfic, cuz of the "family"
But it is?
Shinsui27 says "I'm very looking forward for more chapters, I've always liked this concept for Percy crossover fanfics and there's only a few of them that's really out there with it surprisingly despite it one of the constant occurences in the lore.
I love your crossover fics so I'm also looking forward to more "Fire burns brightly" too."
Right? I feel like the ones that are around do the same stuff. Despite taking place in the same verse I hope to diversify with the two and show different reactions from everyone depending on the Shirou that is there and what he does.
Sonic6210 says "Actually Phantasmal beast are a little more common that people think in the Fate world, there's literally an entire labyrinth probably bigger than London filled with them."
Yeah, phantasmal beast is just basically a word for a magical creature.
SOLARIS says "it seems a bit rough around the edges. The dialog seems forced and overly expositional. the overall concept is good, but it needs a bit more nuance. but i will say im looking forward to what comes next"
How so? I always feel like I lack exposition tbh. A lot of writers I see are way more rant filled while I struggle to not just get to the point. But thanks.