All rights of Type-Moon, Nasu et al remain theirs.

Summaries, by arc:

(Arc 1) Despite not learning magecraft, Emiya Shirou cannot escape his fate in of the Moonlit World. A chance meeting and hospitality drags him into a Grail War with an unusual Servant and unconventional magecraft mentor.

(Arc 2) Separated from his Servant, Shirou has to take hold of his own path in the War, negotiating an alliance with the most unexpected of parties, with equally surprising results. But the War rages without abating.

(Arc 3) As the Emiyas' coalition solidifies, so does their opposition. There is a pressing need to ensure all the "allies" are pushing in the same direction lest they all lose together, but some reasons for concern may originate closer to home than expected.

(Arc 4) The Grail demands its War, the melee evolves into a team battle, four per side. But there is also a pressing need to lay foundations for the building to come.

Fate/Another Aria

Sword versus Spear

The girl sat down on the bench in the middle of Fuyuki's largest park, sighing softly as it took the weight off her feet. Hearing the sound of approaching feet, she quickly removed the light wide-brimmed hat that had been resting on her pale white-pink hair, using it to cover the distinctively European-styled crossguard and hilt of the weapon propped between her knees.

"And what's a little lady like you doing out so late at night?"

This time her refined sigh was definitely in annoyance.

For Emiya Shirou, it wasn't a particularly late night out, though his intentions were of the "emergency grocery shopping" type as he cut through the park on the way to his destination. However, the sound of several swaggering young men caught his ear, and he of all people wasn't about to let something like that go.

The three males standing around a lone girl on one of the park's scattered benches brought back some memories. Bad ones, of an earlier time before the park was as "developed", such as it was now. However, from the sound of it, they had moved on from crass bullying of children smaller than themselves to ear-burningly bad pick up lines. Shirou didn't hesitate to wade into that mess.

"Hey guys, how's things going?"

"Oi, Emiya-san, please leave us to our fun for once?"

The trio eyed him slowly. Their first encounter had devolved into a messy brawl, which is to say they got Shirou pretty good until Fujimura Taiga appeared and taught them some of the basics of close quarter combat. Her ability with a shinai only came about later, but was even more formidable, as was her family name and reputation of course.

"Sorry," he replied after a moment, "but aren't you a little early for that?"

The leader of the group turned and considered the girl in front of him. Or rather, he ogled her chest area and realized that, indeed, she was not as "developed" as some of the underclassmen he knew. Not that it would really have dissuaded him, but still...

"Aren't you jumping ahead a little? We hadn't even introduced ourselves yet." He decided to play the reasonable card. "You're on another errand, right? We have, uh, prior engagements too, so don't let us keep you."

"Mhm. See you in class tomorrow." They weren't actually in the same class, though they did go to the same school. While his dismissal of them was obvious, it allowed them to save face.

"Yeah," one of the other two finally spoke up helpfully, though a little grudgingly. "We can't hang around talking with you when there's stuff to do."

"Come on," the first said, turning away, pointedly ignoring Emiya and the girl. "We've wasted enough good time here."

Shirou just smiled politely at their retreating backs, before he heard his accidental acquaintance mutter something like "my hero".

"Well," he said, nodding to her and preparing to move on before things got awkward. "Good night to y-"

"Kya~" A sudden gust of wind blew her hat, that had been resting on her lap, away towards a group of trees to the side. Squeaking slightly, she wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. The rather light dress she had on was probably fine in the warm daytime, but not in the middle of the night like at present.

"One moment," Shirou smiled and took off after the stray item.

Watching as Shirou neared the fallen hat, only for another bit of wind to send it fully into the trees, she stood up, her hands lowering the sword from where she had been hugging the weapon to keep it out of sight. One small motion later, its hilt was in her hand and the scabbard on the ground. She took a few steps forward, raising the weapon into a guard stance as someone landed heavily in front of her, falling from the sky as though it was nothing uncommon.

It only took a moment to take in his navy blue armor with fine silvery etchings, and more importantly the large crimson spear occupying both his hands.

"Lancer."

She watched him, ready to act but not rushing into the attack. The heroic spirit of the spear considered her for only a moment before replying. "Saber."

"I don't really want to this early, but I suppose you will insist?" Small talk aside, she was waiting for the smallest sign that the red weapon might be headed her way.

"I'm afraid I must. Master's orders, you see." His bloodthirsty smirk made it clear he was not displeased with those orders at all.

She just sighed.

He felt his smile grow moment by tense moment. Encounter number one: Saber versus Lancer, the greatest matchup among the other knight classes. This was shaping up to be an excellent Grail War.

With a practiced casualness, he lowered the point of his weapon and tapped it against the ground. Of course, this left him open - or so one might think, if they were unaware of the Lancer's literally legendary agility and speed. The swordswoman didn't respond.

"Perhaps you are a lady knight?" The real question in his mind was what kind she might be, as he had seen a few like her. Fairly rare were actual child heroic spirits, though wraiths and the like could look like whatever. Alternatively, she could have been summoned as a younger "earlier" version of the person who entered the Throne of Heroes, or even had a legend revolving primarily around her youth. The origins of Heroic Spirits were always interesting, after fighting them of course. "I am-"

"I'm unable to reciprocate an introduction. Please understand."

Lancer simply nodded his acceptance. Not every duel needed formal introductions beforehand, his own legend involved a ridiculous number of "duels" which didn't. The spear his Teacher had passed to him rose easily in his hands as it was leveled at her chest. "True warriors understand one another best on the battlefield. So, come at me."

She took a small step forward, adjusting her stance to reflect the fact that his attacks were likely to come at her from above. Lancer crouched slightly, lowering himself and his spear towards the ground. She shifted slightly in response. "You first, Lancer."

At this point he was feeling a little high just off the feel of battle swirling around them. "Then!-" The blood-colored point shot forward, the sound as it forced a way through the intervening air announcing the beginning of their fight in earnest.

After the hat finally flew into a shrub that snagged it out of the air for good, Shirou's chase ended rather anti-climatically. As he made his way back towards the waiting girl, the sound of metal striking metal rang out several times in quick succession, carrying well in the calm night air. It was coming from the direction he had just come from.

His instincts demanded calm, but not inaction. Holding firmly onto his prize, Shirou stepped quietly towards the sound, and instead of leaving the trees' cover, he paused behind one of them, crouching next to a small shrub and carefully peeking around the trunk.

The girl whose hat he was holding was fighting a spear-wielding man in the middle of the park. The two exchanged a brief series of blows before pulling apart, and then the spearman advanced on her again, and was met by her blade again. While he could follow what was going on, barely, he could also tell that neither side was going all out.

This suspicion was confirmed as the man, during one of their brief separations, laughed while spinning his weapon in a showy manner. "Saber, where's the aggression? You need to do better than that if you wish to get past my point!"