- Chapter 1: Arrival -

Ritsuka Fujimaru was having a rough first day at her new job, all things considered.

While falling asleep in the middle of her boss' inspiring speech wasn't the best way to start things off, she had done worse things when working fast food, so it was no big deal. The terrorist attack meant to completely cripple that place of work was quite the big deal, however.

Watching the innocent young girl she had befriended hours earlier slowly bleed out due to said attack, unable to offer more than empty platitudes as the light began to leave her eyes, wasn't great either. Even if her new kouhai didn't actually die when she was killed, Ritsuka knew that for as long as she lived, she would never be able to forget the dawning realization in Mash Kyrielight's eyes. The acceptance of death.

...It was so quick too, no attempts to beg or cry or anything. What had that girl gone through, that she accepted her death just like that? Ritsuka wanted to give the girl a hug and tell her that everything was going to alright, now that she was here.

Though that too looked to be an empty promise, seeing as the two of them were currently trapped in hell on earth, with only the boss she slighted and a pervy older guy for backup. Wonderful, huh? Welcome to Fuyuki, hope you survive the trip!

Caked in grime, sweat and god knows what else as she was, the desire to just curl up into a ball and cry until she passed out was growing stronger by the second.

But she couldn't do that, not yet at least. Not while people were counting on her. Not while there was a chance she could still help someone. And so all her fear and worry and confusion was taken and shoved into the back of her mind, an optimistic half-smile fixed on her lips in lieu of the worried grimace she felt like having. Fake it 'til you make it at it's finest.

All of this and more flashes through her mind in a couple of seconds, before she forcefully pulls herself back to reality.

Absent-mindedly rubbing the red tattoos that now adorned the back of her left hand, she steps up to the summoning circle. Shooting a somewhat nervous glance back at her companions, she can't help but ask one last time. "You sure this is going to work? I know I'm not an expert in all this stuff, but having three separate Servants tied to one person probably isn't that good, right?"

Olga Marie Animusphere lets out an unconcerned scoff. "Nonsense. Though I loathe to admit it, your Master-Servant compatibility is the single best Chaldea has ever seen. That fact, along with the generators that Romani has managed to get operational, should be more than enough to power multiple additional Servants."

"You'll be fine, Senpai! Don't worry about a thing!" Mash says with a trusting grin, the Demi-Servant giving her a reassuring pat on the back. "It's as easy as one-two-three!"

"However, be sure to concentrate on correctly saying the chant," Olga adds as an afterthought, forehead creasing slightly. "Messing up is… inadvisable to say the least."

Ritsuka frowned at that. She both did and didn't want to know the meaning behind that statement. After a brief internal war, curiosity wins out over fear. "...Wait. What's that suppose-"

Cu Chulainn snorts in amusement, causing all attention to be drawn to him. Leaning against a ruined block of concrete as he idly watches the proceedings, he flicks a nod towards the circle. "Hurry up, will ya? No sense wastin' any more time. You'll be fine."

She nods slightly. "Alright. Here goes nothing, then."

Turning back to face the circle, both hands are outstretched, palm first. A deep breath is taken, before she begins the recitation.

"L-Let silver and steel be the essence.

Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation."

The incantation starts rough and stilted, her inexperience in doing such a thing clearly showing. Slowly though, her voice grows louder and her words more confident, the feeling of something unfathomable guiding her along.

"Let humanity be the color I pay tribute to.

Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall."

A soft wind begins to pick up, ruffling her hair slightly. A subtle pressure slowly builds, like the feeling of an oncoming storm. Unbeknownst to her and her companions, in places far away, beyond the reaches of time and space, two souls stir.

"Let the four cardinal gates close.

Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate."

Sitting chained upon the greatest of Thrones, a vague interest fills the first, in this War that shouldn't be. Endlessly chasing a futile dream, overwhelming hope fills the second, in this chance thought impossible.

"Let it be declared now; your flesh shall serve under me, and my fate shall be with your sword.

Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail."

Brought together by forces beyond mortal reckoning, twin souls of fire and iron meet face-to-face, for the first and last time. A humble request is made, from one child of steel to another.

"Answer, if you would submit to this will and this truth.

An oath shall be sworn here."

It is immediately accepted.

"I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven;

I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell."

Control is given up, though not by the one supposed to. A quiet thanks. A simple welcome. A curious question. An unwavering promise.

"From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power, come forth from the ring of restraint, protector of the holy balance!"

The chant ends. A brief second of absolute quiet, as nothing seems to happen. Then, a burst of infinite light, briefly bathing the world around a brilliant gold.

Ritsuka slowly blinks the spots out of her eyes, having looked away a second too late. When her vision clears, a quiet exclamation is let out as she instinctively steps back.

Where there had been no-one moments before, a young man now stands, so close that she could probably reach out and touch him. A dumbfounded grin instantly spreads across her face. Heck yeah! She did it!

The young man looked to be only a few years older than herself, his auburn hair a few shades darker than her own crimson locks. Tall and muscular, vaguely olden-day Japanese style leggings and a red half-sleeve were the only things covering his form, leaving most of his chiseled upper half bare. Holding a snow-white kimono loosely over one shoulder, golden-brown eyes stare down into her own.

There is a moment of silence, broken only by Cu's strangled coughing. The man's eyes quickly flick to the three companions behind her, noting their presence before returning to meet her own. A few heartbeats pass, before the Servant begins to speak.

"...I ask of you this," Emiya Shirou says softly. "Are you my Master?"

A/N: Super short one-shot, might do snippets of important events in the timeline if there's enough interest. Inspired by 'What Happens When You Summon Shirou Emiya in Chaldea' by AccelBreaker. You should check it out.