Fate/Infinity Shuffle

(Rated T due to lack of gore in fights and no explicit sexual content)

Hello! So, I'm a returning writer. I once wrote on Fanfiction, but ended up losing interest in my projects once I got the craze for original novels. However, recently, my passion for writing calmed down due to school projects. And with my recent obsession over Fate/Stay Night and subsequent works, I decided to return to Fanfiction, since I had some ideas I would like to share, and see if I get my passion back on track. On that note, this project is mostly something I can have fun with, but I still want to do a good job, so please tell me your thoughts if you don't mind sharing.

I know this note is already big enough, but I felt I should describe my situation a little bit before proceeding, along with a little bit about the story's status. While I have the majority of the outline ready, many things are yet to be set in stone, and I really hope you all enjoy as I go on writing this.

The concept is somewhat based on Fate/kaleid liner prisma Illya, and I decided to make my own take on it, since the concept appealed to me. Also, this is a project for me to experiment on in a variety of things, including the fact that this is the first story I attempt to write a female protagonist. I've done my fair share of female characters, many of which I'm proud of, but only recently did I notice that I had only written male protagonists so far.

But that's besides the point. Sorry for the long introduction, but once again, I felt I should write this before anything else. I'll do my best to finish this project if people show a liking to it. Without further ado…

Chapter 01 – Draw:

The hardest steps one can take in their lives are probably the ones to take on the way to school, on the third day of the new school period, after only sleeping a couple hours simply because one 'couldn't sleep properly'.

"…"

"Mizuki?"

"…"

"Miiiiizuki."

"…Zzzzz…"

The girl sitting on the farthest row of tables, in the centre column, was bent over the desk, her crossed arms acting as a pillow for the resting head. Her face was hidden within the shadows. Her long, wavy, brown hair reached halfway down her back. And she peacefully slept in the inappropriate place.

"Mizuki!" With the slam of a book, Shidan Mizuki woke up.

Startled, of course. "AHH!" The girl straightened up with a jolt. Her reddish eyes awoke from the slumber the moment the book hit the table. She almost fell back and onto the floor of the classroom, but luckily managed to keep her balance, making the chair lean back forward again.

"Finally." Her classmate on the seat right in front of hers released a sigh of annoyance.

"Sayuri… please don't wake me up like that ever again…" Mizuki requested, letting out a yawn as the drowsiness returned.

"You're too heavy a sleeper to wake up any other way." Sayuri laughed, as Mizuki lowered her head again and closed her eyes, falling asleep once again. "Hey! At least try to stay awake!"

"Sorry… I couldn't sleep last night…"

"Hm? Why?"

"Woke up from a weird dream and couldn't fall asleep again…"

"And that dream was…?"

"Zzzzz…"

"At least finish the conversation!" Despite her demand, Sayuri turned and admitted defeat, unable to keep her friend awake.

Suddenly a hand slammed on Mizuki's table. This time, it was less startling, but it was enough to wake her up and raise her head.

The boy that called her attention had curly blue hair and gray blue eyes. Just like the two girls, and everybody in the classroom for that matter, he wore the school's uniform: a dark blue jacket and set of trousers, with red details, such as borders, buttons, etc… For the girls, the set of trousers was replaced by a skirt of the same color. But everyone had their own personalization in their outfit.

Mizuki, for example, wore a black turtleneck shirt and pantyhose of the same color, and Sayuri had a black bow tying up her pale, blonde ponytail.

The boy, Matou Shinji, had a dress shirt underneath his uniform's jacket, with the top button unbuttoned.

"Yo, Mizuki."

"Hm…?"

"What do you say we go out for karaoke after school? It's not every day you get to go out with me." Shinji was probably the most popular student in the second class of the second year of high school, Class 2-2. Why exactly he was popular was a bit of a mystery to many, but he was sociable, that is for sure. He had gone out with almost every girl in the class, along with some other girls of other Classes. And his newest target was none other than Shidan Mizuki.

"Hmm…?" Mizuki blinked twice, trying to focus, but ended up hanging her head again. "Zzzzzz…"

"W-What?!" Shinji grew angry at Mizuki ignoring his generous offer. Abnormally so. Many knew of his short temper, but what he was about to do was highly unusual, even for him. "You…! Do I have to punch you awake…?" He whispered as he raised a fist.

Sayuri panicked for a moment. She did snicker at the way Mizuki simply fell asleep, but she didn't know it would be enough to drive him violent. It was alarming, and the surprise made her freeze up.

But luckily, before he could swing his closed fist, someone grabbed his arm.

"Hey, Shinji, how are you?"

"S-Shirou…?"

The one stopping from him doing so was another colleague of Mizuki and Sayuri, a redhead boy with amber eyes, and the only 'friend' of Shinji. It was a strange relationship to say the least, at least to the outside looking in. The grabbing of Shinji's fist was disguised as a greeting.

"Come on, we have to go sit down, the teacher is about to enter." With a constant smile, Shirou pulled Shinji to his seat.

Sayuri sighed in relief at this. "Whoa... If it wasn't for Shirou, Shinji would've probably already been kicked out of school." She turned back to her friend. Mizuki was still deep asleep, which obligated Sayuri to place the subject book on her desk standing, in order to hide the sleeping girl. "Last time I do this."

"Shinji WHAT?!"

Lunchtime.

Mizuki was now fully awake. The two bought lunch at the cafeteria and then brought it with them to the rooftop of the school. Usually, the door that led to the rooftop would be locked, but a couple days prior, first day of school, in search for a private place, Mizuki broke down the lock with a strong enough kick. Sayuri panicked at first when witnessing the event, but Mizuki assured that they wouldn't be busted.

After all, if the rooftop was forbidden from being used, who would come and find the busted lock?

But the current matter of their conversation was the event that transpired before class started.

"Yeah, he almost punched you."

"Wow… Well, if he had hit me, I would just punch him back in the nose." Mizuki informed casually enough to make Sayuri laugh. She thought that the red-eyed girl was, sometimes, a bit too straightforward and simple. The door is locked? Kick it down. Someone hit her? Hit them back. "Shirou pulled him back, right?"

"Who else would it have been?"

The two finished eating their Yakisoba Bread and decided to simply talk about whatever came to mind.

"So, you already know what you want to study in college?"

"I don't even know if I'm going." Mizuki's admission came as a surprise. "Part of me thinks I'll just start working the moment I finish high school."

"Really? I was hoping we could go to the same college."

Mizuki didn't dislike the proposal, but that meant another question had to be asked. "You already have something in mind?"

The girl with bright pink eyes answered with a soft smile. "I thought maybe studying World History. I find it interesting."

Mizuki narrowed her eyes. "And with a diploma on that, you're going to work as…?"

Sayuri processed the words and then let out an awkward giggle, looking away.

"Knew it…" Mizuki let out a sigh. While she was an overall cheerful girl in many respects, when it came to school and the future, she was oddly pessimistic. "Study what you like, don't pursue something you're not interested in. But then you can't do anything."

Sayuri turned to her friend with concern. "Are you okay? That sounded a bit harsher than usual."

"Oh, sorry, I don't… really like talking about it…" Mizuki admitted, scratching the side of her head. She shook it off and changed the subject. "Did you watch last night's episo-" But before she could finish the sentence, the sound of a slamming door sounded, loud enough to make both girls jump.

"Here you are…" Shinji entered the rooftop, with a smile that just seemed… off.

"Oh, god damn it…" Sayuri brought a palm to her face. "Shinji, go away."

"Hey, I still haven't heard Mizuki's answer about whether or not she wants to go ou-"

"I refuse." Mizuki answered bluntly. All sounds ceased with those words, making it possible to hear the wind run through the three of them.

Shinji was stunned. NO ONE refused to go out with him. No one!

Sayuri already expected the worse, but this time, she was ready. As a member of the Iaido club, she had a good physique, and Mizuki wasn't half bad either. She even raised her fists up like a boxer, which one could call cute in a certain perspective, since the serious face was also funny. They could certainly push Shinji aside if he turned violent.

But he simply raised a hand and put on a smile. "Alright then."

Mizuki shook her head, making sure she was hearing right. "Huh?"

"Wait… you're not mad?"

"Why would I be? After all…" Shinji reached for his pocket and pulled out a strange-looking card. Mizuki tilted her head to the side, while Sayuri froze in place. "No one says no to me."

"Oi, oi… You… have a card?"

"Oh? So you know what this is, Sayuri? Hah-hahahaha!" Shinji laughed, passing a hand through his hair and slicking it back. "So you know Mizuki shouldn't refuse."

The brunette was out of the loop. "What? Why? I'm confused."

"She has nothing to do with the Game or the Cards, leave her out of this."

"I'm not letting go of what's mine." Shinji grinned with menace. Sayuri turned to the confused Mizuki with a somewhat guilty look, but that didn't stop her.

"…I'll explain later, alright?" Sayuri pulled out a card from her pocket as well.

The dull blue and the light pink clashed as they spoke the same word.

"Include!"

Sayuri's card turned into a katana, while Shinji's became a gauntlet around his forearm with a claw protruding from it, curling over his middle finger.

Mizuki stepped back in shock upon seeing the cards turn into weapons. Before she could recover, Shinji and Sayuri had already crossed weapons, clashing together.

For a moment, the world made no sense.

"What is going on…?" Mizuki asked herself as she saw her friend fight against Shinji, both with odd weapons that transformed from cards. "They could get hurt! I…" She wanted to help her friend. It was a natural impulse. But it doesn't matter how straightforward someone is, fear towards getting hurt, especially with those kinds of weapons, would always stop them from moving.

The want to help someone but the fear of getting hurt. That was what Mizuki felt at that moment.

And just as that thought occurred, it was like a silent voice had whispered into her ears. She couldn't tell what kind of voice spoke, but she was certain something happened.

Mizuki turned her head to one of the corners of the rooftop and it was as if something called her.

With a fast jog, as her friend fought off Shinji, she reached said corner…

…where a Card rested, waiting to be picked up.

She took it into her hands, slowly and with some fear, but with all naturality. The image on the card revealed its Class, which she subconsciously spoke, as if someone had whispered it into her ears.

"…Assassin?"

If you have questions or requests you'd like to ask, be free to do so, preferably through PM.

Until next time!