A Hero of Justice.

All those years ago, that's what I swore I would become. Someone who can protect the weak. Someone who can save everyone from death and pain and suffering. I made that promise to my father and myself on the night that he died. I promised him that I would see his dream through to the end, because he was too old to do it himself. I studied and trained and risked my life to fulfill it.

I succeeded in a way. I saved people; hundreds of people with no material gain in sight. My only reward, the only thing I wanted, was that smile of someone whose been saved from their Fate. I know that smile all too well. It's the same smile my father wore on the day that he saved me. I've seen hundreds of faces exactly like Emiya Kiritsugu's. Yet, despite my efforts, hundreds never live to see the day their lives change for the better.

It tore at me inside. I was a hero, and yet lives slipped through my fingers as easy as water. Instances where I was unable to help soon began to outnumber those where I could, and every day I wished that I could just be a bit stronger. So I made the pact. In order to save lives that I couldn't, I made an agreement with an entity that most of humanity doesn't even know exists. With its help, my dream had come true. Suddenly I had the power to protect every person in my sight, and when I died it was with a smile. I knew that I had done my best.

I died prepared to live up to my end of the bargain and I descended into a hell of my own creation. I had always expected to be betrayed by others, it was the Fate that I couldn't avoid, but I was never prepared to have my ideal spat on again and again, until nothing but despair and hopelessness remained.

This is my story; the story of a man, who more than anything else, believed in his ideal, and was betrayed by it, driving him into despair.

Fate/EMIYA

Author's note: What's this? A serious Fate story by yours truly? This is a story about suffering, so get ready. Its set after a 5th Grail War of my own invention. By next chapter, astute readers will be able to determine the heroine, and flashbacks will later flesh out the Grail War itself. For the most part however, this is the story of Shirou's life as a hero. There is no trite 6th Grail War or anything like that. This story will be down to earth, subtle, and hopefully heartbreaking if I do it right. I hope you guys enjoy it, because I certainly will.