Disclaimer: This is a fan-made work and I do not own anything. Not even the "OCs" as they are based on other fandoms LOL

Chapter Length(sans Author's Note): 4,935

Author's Preface:

As I've said in my trailer for "Fate: Grail Order(Working Title)" I've been reading a lot of Fate stories. Mostly with Shirou and Archer. I've also read a bit on Akame Ga Kill, but mostly because of Esdeath and, well... I like her character design. One thing led to another, and eventually, I decided to give Esdeath her own happy ending with less death and bloodshed...

Well, okay, there will be lots of death and bloodshed, but less for stupid reasons like "Because they were weak".

A little warning for those picky with Japanese words like ara ara, san, chan, and the like. I have one character that will be using it, as well as using some Japanese words for their sandals and kimono. It's limited to one character, so just grit and bears it would you? Besides, I didn't even write that much of it... yet.

Anyway, I'll stop babbling for now and just leave another AN at the bottom for those that care. So without further adieu, let's get on with the story!

'What an interesting dimension.' A man thought to himself as he gazed into a rift of reality. 'It was world filled with monsters, assassins, villains, and every kind of evil, man and beast alike, could come up with with no hero sight. And unlike here, the World remains dormant and yet... there are no gods. Oh, there are Beast, yes, but none of them seem intelligent. Still... the most interesting things are still the humans. Even better, quite a few of those "main characters" live in the same time period. And oh! Do they meet quite a grisly end... Still... the one that had the most potential and lost it... is her, huh? Those assassins really shouldn't have killed her. She would have turned the tide of battle in their favor.

'Hm? Wait... That energy is quite familiar... Oh? Oh, you bastard. So that's where you've been hiding, huh?

'Well, can't say you don't have the right idea. Still... you somehow used MY magic to get there without my permission so I'm a bit peeved. I'll be getting my pay back, you mark my words!'

His door slammed open, making him turn around to see his apprentice stomping into his room followed by a blonde woman. His apprentice had a look of quiet anger behind her eyes, making him raise his brow. Sure, he had practically seen her with the emotion all the time, but he didn't cause it THIS TIME. He hadn't planned anything until next week! Besides, his apprentice usually expressed her anger, be it through words or magecraft, not letting build inside her like she was doing now.

Before he could say anything, his apprentice spoke.

'What? Say that again.' And just when he needed it, his apprentice gives him the key for his revenge. On top of that, she's solving her own problem in his style too! She layed out her requirements for her idea to work and the man knew those wouldn't require all that much effort to accomplish. In fact, he had candidates for that just on the other side of the world in the new dimension. All he needed to do was just give one, tinsy, tiny, little push and he was sure the stage would be set for a certain hero of justice to enter and for the girl doomed to be a villain to be swept up in it as well.

'Oh Rin, I'm so proud of you right now! Poor Shirou will never see it coming!'

Surprise. Confusion. Fear. Realization. Fury. Disapproval... A myriad of emotions was whirling inside the heart of a newborn baby. Thus, it was channeling the emotions in the only way it could; by wailing it's underdeveloped throat out for all the world to hear.

It could recall fleeting images. It's mind, still underdeveloped, received memories of another life. Thinking was hard for it. It might have been simpler to just not think, to not recall, to just be, and exist.

'You've always been quite the stubborn one...' A memory of a voice told the baby. From that memory alone, it knew it could not just give up on who he was. The memory strengthened his resolve to reclaim himself. Yes, it knew he was a he in his old life.

Piece by piece, he started to gather the memories in his mind, organizing it as best he could like shelving books in a library. It was a slow process made even more difficult with a newly born mind but eventually, his memories started to make coherent sense... Only to immediately regret it and wished he could forget. After all, most people would not like to find out that they used to be a full grown adult but was now a newly born baby.

He distracted himself from what he was feeling by concentrating on his memories. He was trying to figure out who he was before and how exactly he got into such a peculiar situation.

He... Was born in Japan in a city named Fuyuki... No, that's not quite right. While that was the names of the country and city he was born in, those were not the details of his birth... He... He was...

He was walking past the bodies of the burning dead. They cried out in agony of the flames, in rage of the injustice of it all, in fear of the unknown. They reached out to him, begging him to save them but he ignored them. He ignored the wails of grief from beneath the debris, the pleas to help their loved ones, and the screams for him to stop and give them their salvation. The world around him burned with the very fires of hell, but he ignored everything and just placed one foot after the other to save himself.

Yes, that was it. He was born in the fire and was saved by a man with unkempt black hair and a face full of stubble. The man smiled with so much joy as he lifted him from the ashes of hell as if he was carrying a priceless treasure instead of an empty boy. Then he was adopted by his savior... The man's name was... Kiritsugu and he was a wizard... No, a Magus, yes. Then he grew up with Kiritsugu until he passed on... Then there was the Grail War where he had... First died. He wasn't sure if he had actually died for a second time but apparently he was no stranger to death. Then again, to be a Magus was to walk with death. He was saved by Rin, then met Saber... And Archer. They won the war, and life went on with him and Rin and Saber going to London. Rin took him as her apprentice, while she studied under... ZELRETCH! He was the cause of this! He just knew it! When he gets his hands on that crazy old vampire-

No, no wait... Before that, he became an Enforcer and started saving people as best he could and hunted down those that had been branded with a Sealing Designation... Then... He had a falling out with Rin and Saber... There was a fight. Words and accusations were thrown... And there was regret... Then they didn't come home. And on the next day... When he had opened the front door of his apartment... Zelretch was standing there with the widest grin on his face. Before his mind could issue a warning to his body, the Wizard Marshall waved his hand and then his world turned black.

The-man-turned-baby gave a mental sigh. He hadn't finished recollecting his WHOLE life or even dealt with the emotional turmoil of his new situation, but he needed to concentrate on the present. He turned his attention to the world around him... or rather... the blur around him, as his eyes had yet to fully develop. His sight could only go as far as 12 inches, and anything beyond that was just one great colorful blur.

He realized he was no longer crying and was instead wrapped in a soft, fluffy, fur blanket that kept him comfortably warm. He was being held in the arms of a red-headed blur and he could hear it humming to him with soft, cooing sounds that were distinctly feminine.

'Mother...'

The word resounded to the very depths of his soul. He realized that this was actually the first time he used the word to pertain it to anyone. Suddenly, curiosity filled his focus. An intense need to put a face to the maternal title filled his being. He squinted his eyes and tried to reach out with his small arms, but his efforts just yielded him an elegant index finger and a musical giggle. He grumbled out loud, and his hand unconsciously squeezed on to the appendage before it pulled back.

In desperation, his mind provided him a memory, one of which was the basics of thaumaturgy; Reinforcement.

By some miracle, or more likely by Zelretch's doing, he still had access to his circuits. Carefully, he activated one and directed his Od to his eyes. His vision cleared to see one of the most beautiful woman he has ever seen, with distinct auburn hair tied in a ponytail with a ribbon being bathed in the incandescent of the morning sun, oceanic blue eyes that reminded him of Rin, and long eyelashes with a perky nose that makes him want to just cling to her. It was a strange feeling for him to now have a mother, for he never had one in his previous life. He started to worry that he might not be able to love her as his own mother. But then she smiled. She gave him a bright, happy, joyful smile and suddenly, he knew that all was right as he basked in the feeling of love radiating from her as she held him tenderly in her arms.

Besides his mother, a robust man stepped into view. He had onyx black hair that was kept short, while stubble grew on his jaw and he gazed down at him with two golden eyes that twinkled with pride and love.

'Father?' The baby questioned to no one in particular. Of course, he did not use it to pertain to Kiritusugu and that felt even odder to have a mother. This was his own, honest-to-goodness, blood-related father.

The man kissed his mother chastely on the lips, and they began speaking a language he hasn't ever heard of. Just like his mother, his father reached out with his index finger in front of him, making the appendage blur as it came far too close to his reinforced vision. What was it with people bringing their hands in front of a baby's face? And like a reflex, his baby hands grabbed the appendage and gave a squeeze, making his father give a deep chuckle. He turned back to look at his mother and they spoke more foreign words to one another.

However, even with the unknown language being passed around, there were two words he was able to catch.

"- # ¥#π £# Shirou. Shirou Emiya."

Oh right... That was his name. Shirou wanted to berate himself for not even trying to remember his name, especially his family name as he was far more attached to that one than his first. Well, he was glad he would still be able to keep the same name as he couldn't really think of himself with any other.

As his new father gave him his name, however, his mother started to hum something that sounded like a lullaby. He didn't understand the contents nor the words, but as both, his parents directed gazes at him filled with nothing but warmth, combined with the restful rhythm of the humming, his awareness started to become distant. Although there were many things he needed to consider, Shirou gave in to the pleasant feelings and deactivated his Reinforcement as his consciousness faded to black

Shirou sneaked quietly down the stairs of his house at the crack of dawn. He kept his steps light, trying not to wake his parents up as his father wasn't a morning person. His mother, on the other hand, was. But this time, THIS TIME, he was convinced that he was the first one to wake up for the day.

As he reached the bottom step he turned the corner... Only to stop as he saw light coming from under the kitchen door. He groaned, once more he was defeated. Once more, his mother beat him to the kitchen and was preparing breakfast for them to eat. Trudging his way to the door, he turned the doorknob and entered the kitchen, making the lone occupant turn her head towards him.

"Ara ara, good morning Shirou. You're up early." Ayumi greeted as she saw him enter the kitchen.

"Good morning, mom," Shirou replied in kind and he noticed her face twitched minutely.

'Probably because I still can't enunciate my words properly.' He thought to himself and mentally noted to better pronounce 'mom' I his new language.

Shirou had seen his mother every single day since his birth and she was still very beautiful in his eyes. The picture-perfect image of the term 'mother' in his opinion. Today, she was wearing a red kimono with pink cherry blossoms design wrapped by a black obi while wearing a white apron over it. With her aura, she would not have been out of place in a traditional Japanese house, but since the Emiya's had emigrated into a European village, they sort of stuck out even in their own home, though they didn't seem to mind it at all.

The room they were now in was dark and had a Victorian Era feel to it. A metal stove crackled in the far end of the room, providing light and warmth through the lit flames while a lantern placed on-top of the sink added a bit more illumination for the red-haired woman.

"Come to help me again?" Ayumi asked as she resumed cleaning a pail of vegetables in the kitchen sink.

"Yes," Shirou said in a sigh. For the past few weeks, since he turned three, Shirou has been determined to make a meal for his parents. Unfortunately, Ayumi ruled the kitchen like it was her own little kingdom, allowing Shirou to help only with the easy and 'safe' task due to his eagerness, while she did most of the chopping and anything that had to do with fire. It seemed it was going to take a while before he can start cooking on his own.

As he began to help his mother make breakfast, Shirou began to reflect on his new life.

His mother was named Ayumi Emiya while his father was named Keima Emiya. They were good people, as far as Shirou could tell, that simply lived their lives in a small village that was in winter for more than half of the year. They always took time to keep him occupied too, of which he was especially thankful for during the first few months of his life, since he was a person that liked being active. Not that he can't sit still for lengthy periods of time, but being a baby that could only flail his limbs about like a drowning fish for months on end was just a new kind of torment for him.

During the times of his t̶o̶r̶t̶u̶r̶e̶ infancy, his parents had told him plenty of stories to entertain him. However, with the mental maturity he had from his previous life, he was able to see the similarities in most of the tales to his parents. So much so, that they pretty much told him their life's story. Apparently, they had lived in a country far to the East, which was not unlike Japan in the middle stages of the Edo period. His mother had come from a noble lineage and governed over a land, while his father came from a line of simple blacksmiths with no political clout. They had met at a festival and had quickly fallen in love with one another. Of course, like any typical story of star-crossed lovers, his mother's parents did not approve of his father, which made the couple elope. They ran away from their pursuers and traveled far, far to the West until they eventually settled down to where they were now.

Ayumi, for the most part, was now just a simple, but very happy, housewife. She always hummed a cheerful tune as she worked around the house or even when she simply goes out for a walk around the village with Shirou in tow.

As for Keima, he obviously became the village's blacksmith and had set up his smithy right next to their house. Of course, Shirou had taken the chance to look at his father's work. As he had taken up blacksmithing-slash-mystic-code-crafting as a hobby back in the Clock Tower, Shirou could easily tell his father had outstanding skill. Though the weapons had no enchantments, they were excellently balanced and extremely reliable. It was a signature of an expert weaponsmith at the peak, if not, close to the pinnacle of their craft. If Shirou didn't have Unlimited Blade Works, he would have been jealous of his father, but since that wasn't the case, he was shamelessly copying his father's weapons into his soul and was even noting down his techniques for future research.

As for information on the new world around him... for the time being it extended only as far as his new home, the Partas Village, and to the wilderness that surrounded them. Since most of the year was in winter, causing very little crops to be farmable, forcing most of the villagers to rely on either trade from more fertile towns or to forage and hunt for food.

Also, the level of science in his world was obviously quite low, but he couldn't say what kind of era it was in. The village was armed to the teeth with swords, spears, bows and arrows, the type of weapons which for the most part, should be in the 18th century while the stove his mother was currently working on and the forge in his father's smithy was of the 19th century. As a magus, even a third-rate one, it was something nice to know, just so he knew how it would affect his mysteries. Until he got to a bigger settlement though, he wouldn't be able to tell how advance science was in his new world, but that was still far into the future.

It was also surprising how his village could exist while in the middle of nowhere because the areas around them were filled with ROOT BE DAMNED MAGICAL BEAST!

Of course, he was surprised to find Phantasmal Species, locally known as Danger Beast, lived in his new world. And on the same day he discovered their existence, he was even more surprised to find that a pack of them were heading directly for their village! He was close to panicking back then as he didn't know what he could do, as he was barely even a year old. What DID send him into a panic(read:crying) attack though was when his father came into their house wearing a full plate Ō-yoroi samurai armor and handed his seemingly harmless mother a yumi-longbow (which he structurally grasped and discovered it had a history of never missing while in her hands) so that they could help the other villagers defend their home.

Actually, now that he thought about it, it wasn't all that surprising how his village can exist in a land of semi-eternal winter because everyone apparently turns into Danger Beast Hunters. Anyone who was just too weak to fight simply died. It was an extreme case of Social Darwinism, and one that he hoped to change, but that's just another thing he could unhappily grumble about until he grew up. Instead, he tried to take comfort in the fact that his father was already doing something by providing the villagers with outstanding weaponry.

"Shirou, could you grab more firewood for the oven?" Ayumi asked, breaking Shirou from his reminiscing.

"Okay, mom." He answered before he refocused on helping make breakfast.

As the sun began to rise above the horizon, Shirou noticed that his mother was preparing more food than usual. Enough for six people to eat at least. In fact, not only was there more food, but she was also using all the best ingredients that were usually reserved for birthdays or other festivities. His curiosity peaked, he turned to Ayumi and voiced his question. "Are we having some guest?"

"Ara, you noticed?" Ayumi asked with a smile. "We aren't having guest but... do you remember your papa coming home with boo-boos all over last night?"

Shirou nodded. His father often left the village to go to the nearest town for supplies and sell any surplus of weapons he forged to earn some extra money. However, on his way home, Keima had the misfortune of running into a pack of Danger Beast. His father wasn't as skilled with using a sword as much as he was forging one, but had enough ability that he should have gotten away... at the cost of his wagon and the risk of large injuries. Be that as it may, he had come home with only minor cuts and bruises, along with a mostly intact wagon.

"Well, your papa encountered lots of monsters last night and began to fight them off." She told him, waving her arms as if she held a sword. "Now, papa is strong, but he shouldn't have been able to fight the monsters by himself. Luckily, Chief Partas was passing by, so he help papa fight off the scary monsters." She recounted the story in a childish manner and stared at him expectantly, but Shirou didn't know what she wanted so he simply tilted his head. She sighed, and continued with her explanation."That's why, to show our 'thank you' we're going to feed the Partas a delicious breakfast."

Shirou nodded again, understanding the importance of showing gratitude to other people. "So, we're going to give them breakfast?"

"That's right," Ayumi confirmed and began packing the food away into three different lunchboxes that looked like a triple layered metal pail. "Oh, by the way, they have a girl the same age as you. Who knows, maybe she'll be your very first friend."

"First friend, huh..." Shirou trailed off, wondering if he could even get along with kids in the first place. He had a soft spot for kids in his previous life, but that didn't necessarily mean he could get along with them.

"There! All done." Ayumi suddenly announced as she packed the lunchboxes away and broke Shirou from his thoughts. "Now we'll just need to get this to the Partas. Do you know where they live?"

Shirou thought for a moment and nodded his head. "Yeah, they live at the top of the hill, right?"

"That's right. Then can you help me take it to them, Shirou?" She asked, holding up one of the lunchboxes.

"Sure." He agreed and took the lunchbox. That done, the two of them went to the front door, with Ayumi donning a white fur scarf around her shoulders while Shirou wore a white fur coat over his red shirt and brown pants, then exited their house into the winter wonderland of the new world.

Snow crunched under Ayumi's geta as she traversed through the wintery landscape that was the Partas Village. The settlement laid in a clearing at the base of the Northern Mountain Range, affording the villagers a beautiful view of the land as it slowly gave way to spring. The land sloped gently down to the south, with patches of stout framed houses and small farms growing here and there.

A chilly wind blew, making Ayumi shiver and she wrapped her fur scarf tighter around her shoulders. She didn't mind the cold much, enjoyed it even as it allowed her to wear her more stylish kimonos, but it was a stark difference to her home country which was more corresponding to the autumn weather.

Then she shook her head. It did her no good of thinking her old home. The Partas Village was her home now, next to her husband and the little wonder they've created. She looked to her side and smiled, enjoying the cute way her little Shirou was carefully walking on the snowy ground with his fur boots. Of course, she made sure to take slow, measured steps since her son was still just three years old. Just what kind of mother would she be if she forced her quiet, well behaved, and helpful son to keep up to an adults pace?

Shirou was the ideal son, having the best of both traits from her and Keima. He had the same auburn red hair as her own but had Keima's wild and untamed mane, making his hair look like a crackling flame. His eyes had the brown color of her husbands but had the lighter tint of hers, which made his eyes look like they were golden orbs, radiating warmth, kindness, and... a certain sharpness she couldn't quite describe.

Like all parents though, She and Keima had their share of problems in raising Shirou, and it came in two types. The first type of problem they had were the normal things children tended to do. Like that time he had somehow found his way right in the middle of Keima's forge, admiring at all the dangerous weapons that were just lying around and hung up on the walls. It almost gave her a heart attack, but in spite of that, that was the normal kind of trouble a child was expected to do; to find themselves where they really shouldn't be. Luckily, these kinds of things were few and far in between for Shirou.

As for the second problem... He matured far too quickly. Not physically, but mentally. From the moment he started to crawl, Shirou was able to quickly progress in everything he did. Before she knew it, her son wasn't just walking around the house but was already trying to help cook next to her and, worse of all, he stopped calling her mama!

It might not sound like a bad thing, but Ayumi absolutely adored watching her son's expressions. When he was still a baby, Shirou had been very expressive as they they told him all kinds of stories. She internally squealed at each face he made from the awed looks he had as she and Keima acted out heroes and villains with sock puppets, to the scrunching of his eyebrows at an unfamiliar word, to the look of delight and satisfaction when the hero and heroine got their happy endings.

Now, however, he hardly ever reacted. Worse, he stopped calling her mama! It's tragic enough that it's worth nothing twice. It was as if her son had suddenly turned into a teenager but was still stuck in a child's body. She didn't like it, she didn't like it one bit and she swore she was going to find a way to get her son to be more expressive!

"Mom... where are you going?" Shirou suddenly asked, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"Ara." Ayumi blinked and realized she was going the wrong way. "Sorry Shirou, I was lost in my thoughts." She said, catching up to her son and began climbing the slope that led towards the Partas house.

Esdeath Partas stood surrounded by Super-Class Danger Beast. They came in all shapes and size, one had a lizard's head, one had lion's face, and one simply looked too ugly for her to describe, but their looks or numbers didn't matter to Esdeath. Smiling, she took the initiative and dashed towards the nearest threat. The monster was surprised it gunned for her and Esdeath swung her sword at its neck, separating the monsters head from its body.

Smirking as her feet touched the ground, she twisted to face the other threats around her, only to immediately duck as a wild claw swipe whistled past her head. She rose back up and slashed her sword along her momentum, but missed her mark as the monster reared its head back. Unperturbed, she continues her attack like a tornado. With her blade going every which way, the Danger Beast couldn't keep up and its wounds kept piling up until eventually, it collapsed and bled out.

Sensing a sudden rise in heat from behind her, she jumped away as a fireball exploded on where she was. She clicked her tongue, not liking the fire one bit and glared at the last remaining Danger Beast. It was an Ultimate-Class monster, said to break armies and end nations. Prepared to face her hardest fight yet, she charged at the beast as it roared defiantly at her. The two of them closed and-

- Knock Knock Knock -

Esdeath stumbled mid-swing, caught surprised by the sudden knocking from the front door. The stick in her hand went flying, and it crashed into the last remaining dolly- Er... Ultimate-Class Danger Beast, cutting off its head gracefully. Around her, were the other fallen "remains" of the other "Super-Class" monsters that she had been fighting.

She was in a circular room which was used as the village's gathering hall, or rather, the room where her Papa usually talks with all the other grown-ups. There were very little things in the room, other than a few benches close to the walls, and the fireplace at the very center of the room. At the back of the room was a raised stage... ing area where she fought against the very dangerous dollie- Danger Beast.

"Esdeath, could you answer the door, sweetie? I'll be out in a minute." The voice of her Mama said, coming from the kitchen.

"Okay~" She answered and made her way to the door. As she did, she made sure to keep well away from the fire as much as possible. She didn't like the heat of the fire. It was too hot and too 'stingy' for her.

Grabbing the doors handle, she twisted it and pulled it open. A red-haired grown-up, a grown-up she's never met before, stood in front of her. She was pretty, almost as pretty as her Mama, with red hair that reached down to her shoulders and tied in a side ponytail. She wore an odd, red dress, one that she's also never seen before. It was pretty, with pink, flowers on it and was tied with a large black belt.

"Ara, good morning." The grown-up greeted her with a smile.

"... Good morning." She greeted back before her curiosity got to her. "Who are you?"

The grown-up smiled, one of those smiles her Mama gave her when she did something wrong but didn't really mind. "My name is Ayumi Emiya," she said, then pointed to her side. "And this is Shirou."

"Good morning. I'm Shirou Emiya."

Esdeath looked down from the grown-up and finally noticed a boy that was around her age. He had the same red hair as Missis Ayumi, but the way the wind blew on it made it look like fire without the unpleasant heat. He wore a simple red shirt and brown pants under a white fur coat. Aside from the hair, he didn't look all that special to Esdeath... Until her eyes met his golden ones. She felt like she was looking at two suns, but unlike the one in the sky, they didn't sting her eyes and felt a pleasant warmth spreading inside her body.

'Fire isn't so bad...' She idly thought for the first time in her life. Then, growing curious if he would sting her like fire, she reached out with her hands towards him.

Author's Note:

Writing a child's POV is fucking HARD.

I already have a hard time picking words because I'm very picky with using the right vocabulary for certain situations, making sure it has the right impact to the scene as well making sure it's more readable to the audience. Limiting that already strained vocabulary to that of a three-year-old child had me re-writing that last scene for a solid month, going back and forth with writing it from Shirou's POV completely or using one of Esdeath's parents. Frankly, I've probably failed writing it, but I'm tired of writing how "Boy Meets Girl" and trying to find perfection in it. So I decided to just throw it out to the wolves(you).

If you don't like 3-year-old Esdeath, don't worry. The next time you get into her head, she'll be 4 years old (LOL). There WILL be a continuation of the scene though, but it'll probably be from Shirou's POV, then Esdeath's mother, before switching back to Shirou's POV again before the 1 year time skips to Esdeath's POV.

/sigh

Anyway, I had planned this to be a long One-shot, showing Shirou and Esdeath's growing relationship through the years until... Well, Akame Ga Kill fans probably know what I'm talking about if it's not obvious already.

Do note, I already have a rough plot-line for the story. Now I'm just going to write the juicy bits so hopefully, it shouldn't take me that long... Unless I'm writing Esdeath's POV from ages 3-7. Ugh. seriously, it's like I don't remember what it's like to be a kid and be read rhymey books by my mom... Oh wait, she never did that.

Also, I've been writing another fic, but this time it's Fate x Kuroinu starring everyone's favorite Counter-Guardian, GArcher! And guess what? He's getting a boatload of women! So if you want to read plenty of curb stomping action with Mr. Cynical stressing over things going his way for a change, while also having to juggle with women falling into his lap, do watch out for it!