Flames.

Everywhere, all consuming.

They covered the ground, the buildings, and the people caught in their wake.

They burned brightly and searingly, the heat itself blistering, the smoke was black and thick, if you didn't burn, you choked.

One figure walked through the physical landscape akin to Western damnation. He walked slowly and staggeringly, his brown eyes staring hollowly ahead of him. All around he could see various people consumed by flames, whether encompassed by it's wrath as they fled, or taken when they tried to help someone else escape it's blaze.

He kept walking, unable to help anyone as flames consumed them before he could intervene. The figure continued forward, feeling the breeze of the heat but not reacting to it, he was far too numb to even register the fire anymore, he could only focus on walking forward, and finding a sanctuary in this hellish landscape.

Soon, the cries died down, first to moans, to whimpers of pain, to silence.

Maybe it was hours or mere moments, but eventually rain clouds gathered and let loose the water they held. Whether it was a response of nature or a miraculous coincidence was unclear, but the figure walked through the ashen remains of the city, once where many people lived and thrived, now a desolate wasteland. The figure was revealed now, without the silhouette of flames.

The figure was a boy of no more than six years old, with flame-red hair and hollow brown eyes, eyes devoid of feeling, except for the severe hold of pain and hopelessness. He wore a singed green raincoat, tattered jeans and sneakers, everything had been touched by the flames. The boy himself seemed relatively unmarked, a gash on his forehead leaked blood down his face, but looked to be from falling debris and not from the fire.

The boy's legs gave out from under him and he collapsed on the ashen ground, clutching him in it's grasp. He looked to the sky, the grey screen reflective of the ash around him, all around him was grey. No light piercing the darkness, and no darkness consuming him, making it end.

The boy felt the life begin to leave him, and he knew in the next few moments that he would die. And that there was no escape.

As he began to close his eyes, something in his vision changed. There was a man there, with black unruly hair that was in a rat's nest, weighed down by the rain and covered with flakes of ash. His eyes were black and hollow, but a spark ignited when they met the boy's.

The boy felt his hand grasped in the stranger's, and suddenly, the boy felt the life return to him. The chill that had wrapped around him ceased and retreated, feeling the touch of life upon him.

"He's alive..." the man whispered as if entranced by some holy figure. "He's alive!" He cried, clutching the boy's hand like a life line, whether for him or the boy it was unclear, but both were clutching that life line regardless. The boy looked at the man's face, there was etched the expression of a man who had been saved, the boy felt envy, to have that feeling of joy so profound and elated. Could he have that?

As the new found warmth slowly spread through his body, the boy's eyes began to flicker close as a golden glow seemed to emanate right in front of him, whether it was a trick of the light or the boy's exhaustion playing with his mind was unclear, but he was far too tired care. The warmth that seemed to increase tenfold was all he needed to beckon him to sleep.

"Senpai?" Came a familiar feminine voice. "Senpai?" It asked again.

Golden eyes cracked open to see the floor of a very familiar shed, they flickered to the direction of the voice to see a similiarily familiar face. A girl fifteen years old of average height, dressed in a tan school uniform. Her hair fell straight to her shoulders, and was a pure violet color, like that of her expressive eyes. A red ribbon held back the hair on her left side.

"Good morning Sakura." The boy, Emiya Shirou, said, a yawn forcing his way out of him as he sat up. Dimly, the red-headed teenager realized the sun was out. "Am I running late?" He asked, trying to clear through the webs of sleep still lingering.

"Oh no you aren't, I just came here a little early today." Sakura Matou replied, a warm and shy smile on her face.

Shirou stood to his feet, loosening his tense muscles and popping some of the joints that had gone stiff from his impromptu resting place.

"That's fine, is Fuji-nee here yet?" He asked, almost trepidatiously.

"She is, and in fine spirits this morning." She said.

"And that means only more work for those of us who move in normal speed." Shirou offered as a joke, dusting off his jumpsuit, noticing his hands were smeared with grease. "I guess I should clean-up a bit before seeing her, I hate to ask, but would you mind making breakfast?" He asked the Sakura.

"I'd be happy to, I'll try to keep Fujimura-Sensei entertained."

"Good luck." He said with a slight smile, heading towards the opposite wing of the estate.

Arriving at the Dojo, Shirou began his daily morning routine of push-ups and sit-ups, working until he built up a good sweat, then in the warm light of the dojo he sat down to engage in some basic breathing exercises. Afterwards he bathed and dressed, heading to the dinning area, and not a moment too soon as his stomach began to growl.

Now dressed in his school uniform, Shirou slid the door open, welcomed by the sight of his guardian leering hungrily towards the kitchen. Fujimura Taiga, or Fuji-nee to Shirou, was a twenty-five year old school teacher who served as his guardian, though ironically he was the more responsible one. She had short brown hair and childlike brown eyes that only scratched the surface of her adventurous youth.

Her grandfather had been an acquaintance of Shirou's adoptive father Kiritsugu, and was more than happy to help keep an eye on the investments of the deceased Emiya and keep his son financially stable. His granddaughter however liked to think she owned the estate, though really the only thing she owned was her moped, and even then she was usually without money, so using Shirou and occasionally Sakura for sustenance was a given.

"Good morning Fuji-nee." Shirou greeted as he took his place at the table.

"Morning." She said, still entranced by the smell of the food coming from the kitchen.

Shirou suppressed a chuckle, instead taking her discarded paper and skimming the articles. The same tag-line was there as before, the gas leaks around town putting people into comas. It was considerably odd as the gas-leaks seemed to take place at seemingly random places and nothing was ever said about what the gas that put people in the hospital was. Some were claiming it the act of terrorists, others claiming the incompetence of the building contractors, either way people were winding up in the hospital.

Shirou had tried to not pay attention to it, but something irked him. There hadn't been any problems with gas-valves before, and the fumes at their worst had only been able to make someone lose consciousness. These sudden leaks had started to occur a few weeks ago, and only became more rampant. Shirou had started to buy into the terrorist idea, but since no one had claimed responsibility, no one could know for sure.

He was brought out of his thoughts when Sakura waded out of the kitchen, laden with several trays of dishes. Instantly, the red-head was on his feet helping her with the trays. As it was all set and the three promptly dug in, Shirou had to admit that Sakura had really come along in their cooking lessons, sure she didn't cook like he did, but her variations on his own recipes weren't bad at all, if anything they had her own personal finesse.

"Sakura," Shirou started a few minutes into the meal. "What do you make of these gas-leaks around town?"

The violet-haired girl pondered this for a moment before shrugging helplessly. "I don't know, Senpai, it sounds pretty bad, but I've made sure all your gas-valves are sealed-tight."

It wasn't the answer he was looking for, but Shirou was grateful none the less.

"Gas-leaks, sas-meaks," Fuji-nee said, her mouth full of food, she swallowed the huge portion of meat and rice in one gulp. "I want you two to go straight home after school, no dilly-dallying, and no helping people out." She said, looking in Shirou's direction when she said it.

"Why is that Fujimura-Sensei?" Sakura asked, the older woman turned to her, and in one of the few moments of maturity she held a face as air of complete seriousness.

"I didn't want to say anything, but I guess you kids need to know." She set her chop-sticks down and folded her hands, obviously this was very serious if she was setting aside food for it, Shirou mused internally. "There have been several murders in and around town, some guy with a long bladed weapon, and as Shirou's guardian and a teacher I think you two ought to know this."

"..."

"Have they caught the guy?" Shirou asked tensely, gripping his bowl with trembling hands.

"Huh?"

"Have they caught the guy who did it?" He asked, his muscles tensing at the thought of someone harming innocent people, and getting off scotch free on top of it.

"Oh enough of that," Fuji-nee scolded, "there's no use in considering what I think you are." Shirou's guardian leveled a glare at him, one that reminded him eerily why her nickname was Tiger.

"In any case, no, they haven't caught the guy, and that's why I want you two to get home as soon as school is finished, okay?" She asked, Sakura nodded instantly, Shirou's head jerked in agreement.

"Well, now that that's settled, I'm going for seconds!" She declared jovially, all hints of adult concern forgotten in her hunger.

Shirou ate his food quietly, but the great cooking by Sakura was just ingested nutrients, his thoughts continued to fester on the murderer. It was believed to be only one guy, and he used a long-bladed weapon? Nothing more practical like a gun? That in itself was odd, but the fact the police couldn't catch a guy using a melee weapon was beyond Shirou. And the fact no one had taken this guy out yet in self-defense? Either the murderer was exceptionally fit and quick, or he caught all of his victims completely unawares. Odds were favorable to both.

Despite Fuji-nee's warnings, Shirou had actually thought of tracking this guy down. Sure, it wasn't exactly smart, given the fact he was still a growing teenager, and that his skills in deduction and tracking were still only unrefined assets of now. And even if he were to find this guy, what then? Kill him? Clap him in cuffs and send him to the police? Assuming they didn't arrest him for dispatching vigilante justice.

While Shirou knew that even if he tried to hunt down a killer he would most likely be another victim, he had to acknowledge that he wasn't completely hopeless. He was a Magus afterall, if only by the loosest definition, though thankfully no one who would consider attacking him knew that fact.

Breakfast was soon finished with Fuji-nee running out the door to her moped, again she had spent too much time asking for seconds and too little focusing on the time.

In the kitchen, Shirou and Sakura cleaned the dishes quietly and quickly, if Fuji-nee was off in a rush, then they'd be soon to follow. As he was putting away a freshly cleaned pan, Shirou noticed a bandage wrapped around Sakura's right hand, it hadn't been there yesterday...

"Did something happen to your hand, Sakura?" He asked, she jumped a little, startled.

"What? I-I ah..." She paused, trying to come up with an explanation that had nothing to do with her actual injury. "I hurt it last night is all. Fell down the stairs."

A spot of anger welled up in the young Emiya, knowing exactly where this was coming from. "Was it Shinji?" He asked, clenching his fists.

"What? No, of course not Senpai-!" She started, but Shirou wouldn't be fooled, a hot surge of anger flooded his gut.

"Don't cover for him Sakura, Shinji shouldn't be hitting his little sister, and you shouldn't keep quiet about it."

"I..." Sakura started, before putting the last plate away and making her way to the living room. "I think we should get to school, Senpai." She said quietly. Shirou stiffened, having just realized how hard his voice had been. He shook his head ashamed, he was mad at Shinji, he didn't have the right to take it out on Sakura, the victim here.

"You're right, I'm sorry," He said, picking up his bag and his scarf. "Well, let's get going." Shirou said, offering a soft smile to Sakura, she smiled in return and they left the Emiya estate togther.

The walk to school was brisk and a bit hurried, but the sun was out and it was unbelievably beautiful out. Sakura and Shirou were heading out a bit earlier than usual, as the former had an archery club meeting, and the latter had promised his friend, Issei, to help fix some heaters around the school building.

As they made their walk, they stopped at a suburban intersection, there was yellow tape marking a police investigation. While he tried not to focus on it, Shirou's sharp golden eyes saw a broken window, and while the inside of the house was too dark to see, he could detect the faint smell of blood, and it made him wince.

"Senpai?" Sakura asked, looking at him with concerned violet eyes.

"It's nothing, just felt a bit cold." He assured, but he couldn't help but remember what Taiga had told them that morning about a murderer running loose. Was this the same guy? If it was he wasn't far from his home, or even Sakura's.

Shirou kept silently brooding until he and Sakura arrived at the school, at which point the latter went to the Archery club, and the former made his way to the student council room. Within was his old friend Ryuddou Issei, currently over going what looked like a club budget sheet. The Student Body president was tall and wiry, with dark hair that held a teal tint to it, with grey eyes hidden behind a pair of glasses.

"Good morning Issei, what's the damage?" Shirou asked, dropping his bag onto the table. The former looked up and nodded in greeting.

"Good morning Shirou, the heater is in the corner." Issei said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, and closing the folder.

Shirou opened his bag and took out his small tool set he had on him at all times, and took a look at the heater.

"Another one going out?"

"Yeah, it wouldn't be a problem if they had maintenance, but sadly those of us in the academic clubs don't get as much as the sports ones do." Issei said neutrally.

"Yeah, up with the sports and to hell with the rest right?" Shirou asked as he took off the side of the heater, looking into the machine.

"Essentially. Anyways, while I appreciate you helping out Emiya, don't think you're obligated to do so. There is such a thing as saying 'no'." The spectacled teen said, a slight frown on his face.

"Issei, you know me well enough to know this argument will be going nowhere." Shirou said, tightening a wire in the heater, the external damage didn't look too bad, but the internal damage could be a different story.

"Anyways, could you leave the room for a second? I need to take a look inside of this."

"Right, a delicate operation. I'll be outside, just give me a shout when you need me." He said, leaving the room.

With his friend gone, Shirou placed his hand on the heater, closing his eyes and focusing inward.

"Trace on." He whispered, instantly green circuits in his arm lit up, and with them the internal workings of the machine appeared in his mind, allowing him to see the damage done. It appeared the main power cord was the real problem, it was going to die soon, but a patching of electrical tape would preserve it's life for a while longer. Flipping off the energy running through his arm, Shirou opened his eyes, already planning out the task ahead of him.

As he went about his work, he became aware of conversation being held outside the door. Issei was talking to someone, not that it was unusual, he was the Student Body president after all, but he sounded tense...and that could only mean...

"What are you doing here, Tohsaka?" Issei asked in a politely annoyed tone.

"And there it is." Shirou muttered, finishing his repairs on the aging heater. Grasping it by the ends he dragged it out of the room.

"I don't need to explain myself to you, Ryuddou-kun. I simply came here early today." Came the voice of Tohsaka Rin, the most popular and idolized student in the school.

"Issei, a hand with this?" Shirou asked as opened the door.

"Oh! Right. Here I am asking for your help, but failing to aid you. My apologies!" Issei admonished.

"Don't worry about it," Shirou appeased, standing up. "Anyways, we should probably move this, are there more heaters?"

"A few, but we can wait till lunch if you'd prefer."

"Sounds like a plan." Shirou nodded, turning to the arrived third party, Tohsaka Rin, currently looking bored with the conversation, had started to make her way past them. Dressed in a red coat over a school uniform, with twin tails of silky black hair that fell well below her shoulders, there was little doubt as to why Tohsaka stood out, if not only because of her academic skills, but also her intimidating beauty, especially with her piercing blue eyes. Even Issei felt a mild attraction to her, more than he cared to admit anyways.

What Shirou felt however wasn't attraction, if anything he felt something that seemed to make the air harder. As if he was being pressed against jaded stones, it was sudden, right as Tohsaka walked by...then she passed and the feeling was gone again.

"Good morning, Tohsaka." Shirou greeted pleasantly, shrugging off a strange sense of the jaded wall against his body when she walked by, she did seem to have a tendency to drive off most of her suitors without even having to look their direction.

The school idol stole a look over her shoulder, a blue eye meeting his gold. "To you as well, Emiya-kun." She said, then she disappeared as she turned into an adjacent hallway.

"Brr." He muttered, responded to by a smirk by Issei.

"Why don't we get this down with the others?" Issei suggested, Shirou nodded almost numbly and helped the former carry the heater to it's brethren.

The rest of the day passed in a formulaic pattern, from classes, to a lunch with Issei where the Monk's Son again critiqued Shirou's selflessness. The young Emiya wasn't naive, he knew when people tried to manipulate him, so he made a policy to only do extra chores if it benefited more people in the end, and not just the slackers begging him to do it. However, that didn't stop the scolding his friend and his guardian would give him.

The end of the day came quickly, and Shirou waited at the edge of the campus grounds for Sakura, with Taiga's new curfew on both of them, he felt it necessary to walk her home to avoid the former's' wrath, besides he didn't want anything bad to happen to her. He didn't wait long as the violet hair of Sakura appeared.

"Ready to go, Sakura?" He asked, receiving a small smile and nod from the girl.

They didn't talk much as they walked to her house, they didn't always have much to say after a long day at school. Usually, Shirou would be headed to work, but with the extra hours he had put in, his boss had agreed to Taiga's request that he took work off for awhile.

"Senpai?" Sakura asked after a long silence.

"Yeah?"

"Is there any reason why you quit the archery club?" She asked politely. Ah, this question, one posed by not only Mitsazuri Ayako, president of the Archery Club, but anyone else involved with it.

"Oh that. I don't know, I just guess that I'm too busy. With all the things that need fixing around the school, work, I hardly have a few moments to myself." Shirou wished he was exaggerating, but he wasn't. With all the things he was doing for the school and work, he only really made time to make food and do some late night studying.

"Though," Shirou mused,"with this killer on the loose, Ta-Fuji-nee has forbidden me from working, so who knows? Maybe I'll come back." He said honestly, if time was no obstacle he would be able to do a lot more than now, but one couldn't stop time...for long.

Sakura looked a bit happier with his response, as if worrying he would say it was boring or unappealing to him.

"I'd be happy for you to come back Senpai, that way someone could keep an eye on Nii-san." The violet haired girl said almost bitterly, despite being younger by a year, Sakura was the more mature of the Matou siblings, with more poise and grace than anything Shinji could come up with in a lifetime. And the way he treated her, he deserved to get his ass handed to him, but Sakura wasn't that kind of person.

"I'll bet, Shinji isn't exactly known for being a responsible or kind-hearted guy." Shirou said neutrally, receiving a faint 'hmm' from Sakura.

The rest of the walk to Sakura's house was fairly silent, with the streets slowly vacating of citizens, and the sun going down in the distance. Shirou kept his eyes focused on the park in the center of New Fuyuki, it was fairly far, but somewhere there, he had had a family, he had been living another life. Then it had vanished in a fire the consumed all in it's wake...All except him. He shook off the feeling, focusing on getting Sakura home.

Shirou walked Sakura to her doorway, and no further than that. No matter the time or day, the former couldn't bring himself any further to that house. It wasn't a bad looking house, it was actually very well maintained and had a very good view of the city. However, something felt off about it to Shirou, and it wasn't something he was keen to investigate.

"Senpai?" Sakura asked, a faint blush upon her face. "Would you like to come in?... My Grandfather is always eager to meet you." She asked shyly, it was the usual request that Shirou declined. While he had never met her Grandfather, Shirou didn't hold anything against him, but he felt if he stepped into that house he'd be choked by the feeling that surrounded it. He couldn't tell exactly what it was, but he felt a great suffering was within that house, and Shirou had had enough suffering to cope with already. While he loathed the idea of Sakura living in the midst of a house with this...aura about it, she didn't seem the least bit affected by it, so maybe Shirou was just paranoid, but even so, he wasn't going into a house that gave him the creeps because he might be too wound up. If you feel uncomfortable about going down a dark alley, then odds are you shouldn't go down it,

"No thanks," Shirou said with smile that masked his discomfort. "Fuji-nee will have my head if I'm not back at a decent hour. But have a goodnight Sakura, see you tomorrow."

Without another word, Shirou turned and left. He wasn't trying to be rude, but the feeling of that house, of that place, it gave him such a feeling of unease he didn't even consider staying close by even. He couldn't stay in it's rotting presence.

"Okay...Senpai..." Sakura's voice, while soft, carried and Shirou felt guilt stab at him, but he would explain to her tomorrow, say he wasn't feeling good or something. Right now he just had to get away.

As he walked down the long secluded road, his legs took purpose again and his head didn't feel so thick. It was as if he had stepped out of a stuffy old mansion and into the wilderness for fresh air.

As soon as the sickening presence was gone though, another took it's place.

This one was less repulsive, but more overbearing. Shirou felt like his weight had been tripled and gravity had suddenly increased. His bag felt all the more heavy, his scarf so much tighter, ever step felt like he was going uphill.

Shirou shook his head and continued, looking up to see only one other occupant on the road. A young girl in rich purple clothing, befitting an aristocrat of Europe. Appropriate as the girl wearing it was certainly Caucasian, with predominantly European features, but off putting with the hair white as snow, and eyes red as blood.

The girl was unaccompanied, and couldn't be more than twelve at the oldest. Why she was out at this dwindling hour, and without her parents or guardians was ludicrous to Shirou, especially with a killer on the loose. Shirou continued forward, keeping his eyes fixed on the young girl, oddly he saw her with a smirk on her face, and not a child-like smirk, it was the curve of the lips that belonged on a sinister adult.

Before Shirou could open his mouth and ask her what she was doing or where her parents were, she had spoken first as she passed him.

"You'd better hurry, Onii-chan, if you don't summon yours soon, then you'll be dead." Shirou stopped cold.

This girl said the words in a matter-of-fact tone, leaving no room for a childhood sing-song voice. This girl meant every word she said, and it was disturbing.

Shirou turned to question her, only to find her not behind him...and the heavy oppressive force gone as well. Shirou stood straighter, feeling light as a feather, this day was not adding up.

"Senpai!" Screeched a panicked voice, Sakura's. From around the bend came the violet-haired girl, her eyes wide with panic, and sprinting towards Shirou. The latter was very confused, not only by the young girl's words, disappearance and sudden lifting of the oppressive field he had entered, but also Sakura's arrival, looking as if a demon had arisen in her basement.

"...Sakura? What's wrong?" Shirou asked, forcing himself to remain calm. The girl in question looked around, as if trying to find something, but came to realize she'd been asked a question.

"Senpai! I ju-well I-" Sakura stammered before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a handkerchief, one he had given her awhile ago when she cut herself using one of his knives. "I-I meant to give you this!" She said with a bit too much enthusiasm.

"Uh...thanks," Shirou took the worn cloth and tucked it into his school's jacket. "But really, you didn't have to bother Sakura, I have a dozen of these at home."

"I-I know Senpai, but I just wanted to make sure you were alright!" Sakura stated firmly, then jolted back, her cheeks aflame.

"Sakura?" Shirou asked, he was starting to get concerned. "Are you alright?"

Taking a deep breath, Sakura looked Shirou in the eye, her blush fading. "Yes, I just want to make sure you're alright, Senpai. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to tell me." She said, before turning and walking back up the street.

"...okay..." Shirou said lamely as she walked back to her house. What the hell was going on?

Back in the Matou Estate, Sakura watched from the window as the form of Emiya Shirou descended into the city. Making sure nothing attacked from the dark.

"Still no reason to fight for the grail then?" Asked a decrepit and slimy voice, fitting for the reanimated corpse of a serpent.

"No..." Sakura said, not turning from the window.

"You moved oddly fast when you felt the presence of another master," The voice mocked. "I'd almost say you were scared for that young man's safety."

"I have no wish for the Grail." Sakura stated in rebuttal, out of character for her usual reserved nature.

The voice barked a harsh slippery laugh. "Regardless, you have a wish you can see through if you fight this war."

Sakura remained silent.

"You can make sure the life of that boy is safe."

Sakura dug her nails into her palm.

"No one has any reason to pursue him. He has no stake in the war." She retorted.

"Ordinarily you'd be right, but the Grail chooses those with a wish to ask of the Grail, and Emiya has more than enough reasons to make a wish," The voice cackled. "I felt the energy of Magic circuits from him, they felt dormant but were very active. He had enough sense to not enter this house. He must be very sensitive to magic auras and bounded fields." Sakura said nothing.

"Even if he didn't become a Master it would be such a shame for a nice young man like that to die so young, especially in a war that eludes his understanding." The voice continued to whisper at her ear.

"But...Shinji..." Sakura started.

"What of Shinji? Let him think he controls the servant, while you hold the real power. The Servant you've summoned is most compatible with you, she'll follow your orders even if appearing to be Shinji's."

Sakura was silent again, biting her lip.

"This war will claim all who are in it, whether voluntary or conscripted, and the other masters will likely strike first to ensure an easy death." The voice said again, it's presence seeming to back away.

Sakura bit her lip, holding her right hand tightly, red markings on its back. She desperately didn't want to fight in this war, not if it meant killing anyone, not if it meant going against Nee-San and Shirou. However the choice she was given wasn't really one at all, if Sakura wanted anyone to walk out of this war alive, then she would have to make sure they did. That would mean fighting in this war, not to win it, but to ensure the people she cared about did.

"I...I'll do it." Sakura said. She turned to face the gnarled form of a man before her. He raised the sagging skin of his brow at her.

"I'll fight in the Holy Grail War, Grandfather."

The rest of Shirou's walk home wasn't too active as it had been near the Matou estate, and when he got in Fuji-nee had evidently not been there, called away by a family meeting for the evening. So,he made himself dinner (annoyed to find recruitment posters left by Taiga) and found himself in his shed, surrounded by several tools and parts.

Sitting himself down in lotus fashion, Shirou ran a hand over a metal pipe. Closing his eyes, he flipped a switch internally, and energy flowed through his veins, active and alive.

"Trace on." He chanted, focusing his energy into the metal pipe. The energy going into the metal scanned it's structure, affirming it's design. Allowing more energy to flow from his flaring circuits, Shirou began to reinforce the design, making the materials within the pipe stronger. The metal hardened and strengthened way beyond an industrial standard.

After carefully strengthening the material, Shirou then began to change the shape of the pipe, altering it's structure to a visualized image in his mind. He was careful with the energy, allowing it to flow and not forcing it. Precision over speed.

Flipping his circuits off, Shirou looked to the pipe in his hands. Only, it was no longer a pipe. In his hand was a dagger, clearly of Arabic make, a Jambia, a ceremonial dagger worn and used as a weapon in Arabian countries. Made out of an advanced metal.

Shirou stood up, holding the dagger in his hand, the handle, guard, and blade were all made of metal, but shaped to almost a perfect replica. There were a few stray details, but it wasn't a projected make, it was a reinforced bar made to a visualized template. Shirou pulled an image from his memory into mental focus, specifically the design on a Jambia dagger, the grip, the designs on the hilt, even the scabbard, he focused his energy on place these images on the dagger, molding them into it's structure.

"When you face an enemy clearly your better, you have the option of either running or fighting," Came the voice of Kititsugu echoing in Shirou's head, it was one of the most crucial memories he kept. "If you run, bend time to your will to escape. If you fight visualize a weapon to defeat your opponent, visualize yourself holding a weapon capable of winning and make it real."

Opening his eyes, Shirou looked at the sheathed knife, holding all the heraldry and designs of a typical blade carried in the Middle East. It was the metal of a pipe, reinforced to a point surpassing it's intended strength, and materials projected from the depths of Shirou's mind. Materials made physical through projection, then reinforced to become real. Effectively, Shirou created a work of art from scratch in a fraction of the time that forgery would take.

Stepping outside his shed, Shirou tested the balance of the knife, the weight and grip. While it wasn't as good as a traditionally made copy for sure, it was damn good for using reinforcement and projection, the magic skill set he specialized in.

The evening was still young, so Shirou pulled out an old archery practice dummy, and set it at the far end of the courtyard. Setting himself on the other end, he tensed his legs, the Jambia in his hand, poised for action.

"Time Alter," Shirou whispered, his body suddenly heating up, and vibrating. "Double excell."

The space and air around Shirou seemed to slow as he made his way forward, faster than he could go, more agile, and with advanced awareness of his surroundings. His heart beat quickly, hammering against his chest, the heat picking up as he ran, halfway across the courtyard.

Lungs and chest burning from the exertion, Shirou reached the target, and raised his dagger.

The head of the wooden target fell to the ground, straight diagonal cut leaving it's mark.

The grip of heat and exertion left Shirou with a sudden breath. Air returning to his lungs and his heart beating very fast. The cool air was more refreshing than water in the desert, cooling down his heated skin, his heart beat slowing down.

Shirou had used the Time Alter skill his father, Kiritsugu, had used in his time. A skill handed down to him not only through training, but through the passing of a magic crest, from one mage to the heir.

Emiya Shirou, bore the crest and legacy of his father, Emiya Kiritsugu.

He was a mage. Perhaps not a conventional one, but he was competent in the unorthodox practices his father taught him. He could defend not only himself, but his ideals should the need arise.

Shirou went back to practicing his Time Alter skills along with his reinforcement and minor projection. However, one thing that bugged him was what the girl he saw had said. Something about summoning his own?

...Summoning.

Shirou entered the shed and found a box labeled "Kiritsugu", inside was a long case, holding something Shirou had only seen after his dad's passing. Beneath that were a variety of notebooks, on combat, tactics, magecraft in general. Shirou grabbed his father's personal journal, and flipped through it, letting prana reinforce his eyes to let him find anything on summoning.

A few minutes of hunting led Shirou to a section called "The Fourth Holy Grail War".

Author's Note~ Hello all! I am ArgoGladius and this will be my first attempt at a Fate fanfiction, but hopefully it won't be the last.

Just some background on this fic, it kinda started with the new series Fate/Stay Night - Unlimited Blade Works airing and subsequently ending, but also my frustrations with the current fanfictions here for this fandom. Not that they're bad or anything but in my mind they're...limited. Many I see have Shirou time travelling back in time to do the events over, which okay, interesting, but when everyone else does it you have to wonder if there's another way.

My thoughts on this was "Hey, what if Kiritsugu had some doubts about the Grail being destroyed and tried to train Shirou to the best of his abilities should it occur again?" Doing that, I essentially made Shirou pretty OOC, but hopefully no one minds too much, he's still the idealistic and lovable idiot, he's just a bit quicker on his feet and with the uptake. That being said, Shirou, as you've read is a lot more proficient with Magecraft or Magic use if you will, while not to a scale like Tohsaka, Shirou is using his actual magic circuit and not his nerves, and has some strength with reinforcement, as well as some projection. But also bears some of Kiritsugu's magic crest, so in terms of combative prowess, Shirou is pretty ahead of the game.

As for how this run through the typical route will be different from lightnovels, Animes and other fanfictions, Shirou again is a bit more level headed and understanding of the situation, there will be more POV's from the other characters of the series, namely Saber, Rin, Sakura, Rider, Lancer, if only to add some flair into it and more personalities to the servants and what not. Shirou will still be the central character, but I'll switch it up when I feel it is necessary and hopefully it keeps you all engaged. As for which route this follows, it's going to be a fusion of Fate and Unlimited Blade Works routes, with a predominant presence from Heaven's Feel, more of which will be revealed as time comes.

Just to be clear, I do not have a beta nor am I searching for one, I kinda like doing things on my own, as well as editing and brainstorming on my own, but if you have suggestions feel free to message me about them, I can't promise I'll take them on, as I already have a game plan in mind, but I'll certainly consider it.

Finally, if you're wondering what the main ship for this is, or whom Shirou will be romancing this time around, if the character tags were not clear, it will be a ShirouxSaber fic, though I will be paying homage to both Sakura and Rin's feelings for Shirou without it becoming a Harem fic.

Till next time!

~ArgoGladius