FicWad

Author's Note: Hello! I was surfing the F/SN archives and was saddened to see how small it was. I've decided to try contributing to the archives using my own F/SN stories that can be found on FanFiction.net. Anyway, I do hope you all enjoy this piece of fiction, and more importantly, I hope more and more people post in this F/SN section.

Enjoy!

Chapter 1: An Unlikely Meeting

She was broken.

That was the only word you could use to describe her. The blonde pale girl was broken. Under the pouring rain, the girl just sat on the street, shattered. Abandoned by all, she had decided to just curl up into a ball and fade away under the incessant rain. She looked up towards the cloudy sky, and smiled a cynical smile.

'I guess heroes really are only in legends...' said the girl, welcoming her death with open arms... till a hand was extended towards to her. Looking up, the blonde saw him. He was a man dressed in all black, matching his spiky black hair perfectly. The slightly ill-looking man looked like anyone else, aside from the long black trench coat he had on. With his umbrella shielding both of them from the rain, the man crouched down, hand still extended.

"Please, let me save you."

He held out his hand. She took it.

XOXOXOX

The clashing of steel. That was what stirred me from my reverie. Stopping, I dropped my schoolbag to lighten my load, drawing my bokken. I had left Clarent - my usual weapon of choice - at home, so all I had was the wooden sword that was in my hand. The practice sword in my hand paled in comparison to Taiga's bloodthirsty shinai, but it would have to do. Sticking to the wall, I peeked from around the corner. Two men of tall stature wielding weapons of old smashed their weapons into each other, both trying to kill the other. The killing intent was rolling off of the both of them in waves. It was a whirlwind of slashes and stabs, and I definitely wouldn't stand a chance if I happened to land into the crossfire. it would be safer to stay back, gather some more information, then retreat.

Green eyes met blue. The girl by the white-haired swordsman saw me. I sensed no ill intent in her eyes, which were telling me to run as far away as humanly possible. I agreed. Those... entities weren't human. That, I was sure of. Their movements were just too fast and just too strong, and the aura they were giving off was just... wrong. I decided to follow the black-haired girl's advice, and turned away... and froze. "Oh no, a witness."

I could feel the blue lancer's eyes on me. I could feel the murderous intent (mixed with a little reluctance, for some reason) switch targets from the tanned man in red to me. I could feel the nervousness seep in. I gripped my bokken tighter and tighter as the lancer walked closer, casually twirling his red lance. "It's such a shame to have to kill off such a cute girl. Just stand still, and it'll all be over in a flash."

Instead of replying to the flirtatious comment, I ran with all of my might. As I was out of the girl's sight, I poured prana into my legs, filling in the unnecessary gaps in my skin, muscles, blood vessels, and bones, Reinforcing them. It was a Magecraft taught to me by my father, so that I'd be able to protect my brother in case any of his less... friendly acquaintances from his mercenary days wanted to drop by and eradicate the Emiya name.

Of course, I'd have to start by protecting myself first, or else the lancer would run me through. No matter how strong he was, it would be a little embarrassing to be killed by a man in blue tights.

I had to wonder, though, why these... PEOPLE were here. The only answer I could come up with was the thing that tormented my Father around a decade ago. He said that Shirou and I weren't going to have to worry about it, since it would take quite a few decades for the event to happen again, but somehow these superhumans - Servants, according to my father - were here. I should've pressed him more. It would've been helpful to know more about these entities.

Reinforcement increased my speed exponentially, putting quite a distance between me and the lancer. It wouldn't be enough, though, and I knew it. I saw the two super-entities clash earlier. That lancer could close a twenty meter gap in the blink of an eye. I had no chance of escape. All I could do was stand my ground.

I decided to stop in the hallway. The narrow stairwell would only prevent me from slashing, giving the lancer more stabbing power. There was no need to give the already overpowered lancer even more advantages. I'd like to go to the rooftop, but I'd probably be cut down before I could reach it. We were only on the second floor. There was still one more floor to go before I could reach the roof, and the blue warrior would no doubt catch up by then.

Reading some of Father's old notes on battle tactics have finally paid off, at the very least.

As the lancer walked up the stairway, I started to flood the bokken in my hand with Prana. The man, feral yet rueful smirk on his face, sent a glare towards me. I flinched. It was my first time fighting someone other than Father, and that was just a casual spar. This opponent was a killing machine, outclassing me in all aspects. His lance's bloodlust was just indescribable. It seemed to always point at my heart, declaring its intention to stab it with its mere existence.

The result of my flinching was me nearly breaking my bokken. Luckily, it didn't shatter under the Prana strain. My bokken was now as strong and as durable as a steel pipe, and any mundane weapon would only be able to dent it. Too bad I wasn't going up against a mundane weapon. Even Reinforced, my wooden sword could probably only take a few hits till shattering, maybe six at most. The red lance the blue lancer had was just too powerful, too legendary. The lancer, seeing my battle stance, smirked. "Ah, so you want to play around first. Fine by me."

The strike came at me with the speed of an arrow. A red blur of death left his side and sailed for my neck, lusting for my blood. I wasn't planning on giving it any. As fast as I could, I parried the strike, a slice as deep as a paper cut marking my neck as the lance thrust through the air next to my head. I was lucky that he wasn't trying his best, but then again, why would he have to try his best against a girl who he's completely better than?

He sent another lazy stab my way. I blocked another lazy stab. Cracks started to form on my Bokken, the dark lines making their way down the bamboo. It would only survive a few more clashes.

Unluckily, I didn't have to survive a few more clashes. The lancer seemed to want to finish the job already. "It's nice to know that you can hold yourself in a fight, Missy."

"The name's Altria. Altria Emiya," I responded, holding out my almost-broken bokken. The lancer chuckled, spinning his lance around playfully. I gritted my teeth. Was there really nothing that I could do? Would I die, without any drive, without any ideals, without even having protected my brother? "I'm not fond of the name 'Missy'."

"Oo, so the girl has some bark to go along with her bite," chuckled Lancer, his arrogant grin starting to get on my nerves. Seriously, couldn't this guy just be quiet? "It's a shame, really, that you had to die before even summoning a Servant."

So the Grail War was back. Kiritsugu had said that it wasn't going to happen any time soon, so why was it happening now? There was something awfully suspicious about this. Did it have something to do with the mark on the back of my hand? Was that the mark of a Master? I had no time to gather my thoughts, as the lancer launched two meters of steel at me.

This time, I couldn't stop it. The spear lanced itself into my heart. It felt like hell. It was like someone set fire to my chest, and the fire just started to spread to the rest of my body. I was paralyzed with pain. Shock stopped me from doing anything, not that I could've done anything.

I was going to die wasting Kiritsugu Emiya's gift. I was going to die, empty inside, in the ethereal light of the moon. But it was okay.

I didn't have much to live for anyway.

XOXOXOX

"I told you not to come in here, Altria" said Kiritsugu, who caught the blonde girl red handed. Speaking of the blonde girl, she was terrified. She had never seen that expression on her father's face before. Usually her father had a cheery, care-free look on his face, like he was just happy to be with her. At that moment, his face was filled with emotionless apathy that chilled her to the bone.

Taking the book - Thaumaturgical Theory - away from her, Kiritsugu asked, "How much do you know?" Altria flinched away, trying to make herself as small as possible. She only wanted to know what her adoptive father did for a living. How could she have known that a bookcase in his study led to an armory, littered with swords and guns alike? How could she have known that a musty tome on the only desk that didn't have weapons on it held secrets worth more than weapons?

"...You are a Magus, a practitioner of the art of Thaumaturgy. To be specific, you are a notorious mercenary know to most as the elusive Magus Killer," recited the ten year old girl, still intimidate by the blank look on the assassin's face. Silence reigned, till Kiritsugu sighed, and lifted his... inhuman expression. "I-Is what's written in these books... real?"

"...There's a lot I have to tell you about, kid."

XOXOXOX

My eyes opened to the night sky. I tried to remember where I was, when it hit me. I had just been killed. This led to a lot of thoughts: was this where people went after they died? Was this the end of my journey? Did I just die a dreamless husk of a human being? Deciding to stop that train of thought, I sat up. I scanned my surroundings. I found my bokken, stained with blood, a red gem necklace thing, and the pool of blood that I had just been lying in. How had I survived. The only clue I had was the necklace, but I had no other evidence. I had no time to think either. I had to get out of the school, and quickly. My blood pool was cold, but by no means dry. Not much time had passed. It was completely possible that the lancer and the swordsman were still there.

Deciding that staying put would only get me killed again, I got up. I had to get a change of clothes first. My yellow bloodstained uniform was just too eye catching. I decided that the gym equipment room might have a change of clothes, I raced downstairs and raided it. All I could find were a PE shirt and bloomers. Having no choice, I put them on. The shirt was too loose around my chest, while the bloomers were clenching my derriere a little too tightly. That spoke a lot about my figure, but I decided to shove that unnecessary thought out of my mind in favor of getting home, where Father's Bounded Fields would at least alert me of the armed entities in skin-tight jumpsuits. I picked up my satchel from where I left it, stuffed my bloodied clothes into it, and left the campus.

On the way home, I thought things over. First, I had to assess the situation. The Holy Grail War, the thing that caused my Father to die, was back a few decades too early. Father didn't like to touch on that subject, since his Servant loathed him, and that the two people closest to him had died. As far as I know, the only good thing that came out of it was the world's safety and Shirou Emiya.

Shoot, Shirou. I had to protect him. If not out of my own sisterly love for him, I had to do it for Kiritsugu. Shirou was the only one who saved him from insanity. He was the Magus Killer's lifeline when he needed one most. Kiritsugu would be crushed if Shirou died a bloody death. Luckily, I heard that he had to go out of town for a few weeks to do business with one of Kiritsugu's acquaintances in Misaki City. Er... Touhou, was it? Oh well, it didn't really matter. All I knew was that I had to keep Shirou out of this War mess. Before I could think further, a chill crawled its way up my spine, as a creepingly innocent laugh echoed across the residential area.

"Hello, Onee-san!" I whipped myself around, trying to find the owner of that creepy voice. I couldn't find her. The voice seemed to be coming from all angles, so I couldn't pinpoint the exact location of the owner. The only way to have that kind of effect was with Magecraft. Another Magus. Was she a Master too? And what was with this "Onee-san" business? I had no sister. Unless... "You better summon a Servant soon, 'cause we're gonna meet up later! Isn't that right, Berzerker?"

A thunderous roar, contrasting the soft tone of the girl, shook the neighborhood. I instantly froze up, my hand reaching out of instinct for a hilt that wasn't there. That roar wasn't normal. It wasn't anything capable of being uttered by a human being, or even by those Servants. They seemed to be human, albeit with exponentially augmented abilities. This seemed to come from a beast. It was... different, and it was dangerous. It was like a death cry. Whatever the thing was, I didn't want to face it. "He he he! See ya later, Onee-chan! Oo, and say hello to Onii-san for me!"

There was only one possibility as to who owned that voice. One of the girls who died during the war was Irisviel von Einsbern. Father didn't like to talk about her. All he'd say, after days of persuasion, was that she was his wife and that she had died in vain for him. It wouldn't be farfetched to say that they had a kid, right? Before I could question her, the oppressive aura left.

Thanking the Root that the lancer hadn't showed up while I was distracted by the girl's soft murmurings, I broke into a sprint. It hurt my still sore chest to do so, but it was better than meeting another participant in the war. I'd met three Servants and two Masters already. If I had to see another Servant sometime soon, I'd choose to see my own. I'd have to consult Father's tomes later on how to do it, but I needed to get the summoning over with. Shirou would depart tomorrow afternoon. I needed my Servant to be able to protect Shirou properly till then.

I finally reached the Japanese-styled home Kiritsugu left for Shirou and I. I reached into my satchel's side-pocket for the housekeys and opened the door. It was deafeningly silent. Taiga must have left already, and Shirou must be busy packing in his room. I checked the time on a nearby wall clock. 8:30pm. I hoped that I hadn't worried Shirou with how late I was. I shoved those thoughts out of my head. I had to focus on the summoning.

It Shirou had his shed, I had my room. As per Kiritsugu's request, I was to be given his room. This was because he had trusted me with his, to put it bluntly, boy toys. Quickly locking my door, I tossed my bag onto my bed and made my way towards the bookshelf. No, the bookshelf did not contain books of magecraft. It had everyday mundane books... except for one. I tugged on a book titled "Canaan", and flooded it with Prana. That made the bookshelf swivel, revealing a hidden stairwell. I made my descent.

I was now in Kiritsugu's hidden armory. It was a dimly lit gray room with absolutely no appeal whatsoever, unless dull greys and dusty browns were your idea of appeal. In the middle was a desk, probably where he'd sort out stuff for his next mission. To my left were multiple weapons. It was a part of his "collection" of guns and the like that he'd amassed from his mercenary days. Leaning against the wall was the suitcase which held Kiritsugu's Conceptual Weapon. He taught me how to use it, but even with super-powered warriors knocking at my door, I still felt weird, wielding what was essentially my father's bones. On the wall in front of me were multiple bookshelves, all from the dens of foes he's felled. He usually burned said dens, but the ones he didn't he raided. Apparently he amassed a decent amount of books. They ranged from the bare basics like Alteration to highly specific Magecraft like Marble Phantasms. There was nothing near the wall on my right except for a whiteboard and a box of markers and erasers, where I assume that he planned his missions.

I quickly scanned the bookshelf to see if the book I needed was there. I came up with absolutely nothing. I sighed. It would've been too optimistic to assume that the armory would have everything I needed. I mean, it did have that book that forced Kiritsugu to reveal Magecraft to me, and it did give me the materials and knowledge to make Clarent, my pride and joy, but to expect even more perfect moments would be presumptuous.

A loud crash shook me from my thoughts. I froze. Just what was happening upstairs? Without thinking, I picked up Clarent from the weapons rack and went upstairs. As I bounded the corner and emerged into the hallway, I saw a red-headed blur - Shirou, without a doubt - fly, making it to the backyard. Before I could go outside and affirm my brother's safety, I stopped.

The man in blue was back. Damn it. He grimaced as his gaze landed on me who had an actual sword in hand this time. "Missy, I don't know how you lived through my lance's thrust, but why didn't you stay dead? Now I have to kill the boy too, for the secrecy of the war." Blinding rage filled my eyes. This man just barges into my home, knocks my brother through a few doors, and has the nerve to threaten to kill the both of us. It ticked me off. Instead of wasting my breath with a response, I instead flooded Clarent with prana. This wasn't to Reinforce it like with my broken bokken. This time, I wanted to activate the runes etched onto Clarent. With dumb luck and a lot of experimentation in the armory (and a little physics), I had figured out a rune array that compressed the air around it. The compressed air both sharpened the blade and protected it against attacks. I could even launch the compressed air by swinging the blade while deactivating the rune array. I'm not sure where I got the idea, but it just feels... RIGHT when I use it. This was Clarent, my Mystic Code, only made possible by the dumb luck that seemed to thrive among those surrounding Shirou.

I launched the blade of air, not at him, but at the wall beside me. The thin walls broke, till the open backyard was visible from my view. Reinforcing my legs, I jumped, launching myself towards my brother. The lancer, noticing my movement, jumped too, gambling that I was going to the backyard too. If I launched myself with the force of a springboard, the lancer launched himself with the force of a rocket. By the time I was there, the lancer was crouching, like a lion ready to pounce. "Damn!"

I dropped to the ground, raising Clarent. The red lance struck the blade, going just above my neck. It was another close call, far too many for just one night. I had to get this lancer off of my back, and quickly. Shirou's life could be in danger-

Wait, where was Shirou!? He wasn't in the backyard anymore. He couldn't have gone into the house, since the blue man was blocking the way, so that meant he was in the shed. Just as I jumped away from the man, my red-haired brother emerged from his favorite place, a wrench in hand. Then he did what I have to say was the most idiotic thing I saw today. He threw the wrench at the powerful, seemingly unstoppable warrior of death. "Get away from my Nee-san, you dastard!"

Lancer knocked the wrench away with ease, now agitated. He turned away from me, apparently forgetting about the girl who had cheated death before. All his focus, all his blood-lust, was focused on Shirou Emiya. There would be no escape for him unless someone were to save him... and I planned to be that someone. Lancer growled, "How dare you call me a dastard, you insignificant brat!"

Just as the man charged into the shed, I charged too. I realized a few things, though. One, he was closer to the shed. Therefore, it would be quicker for him to reach and kill Shirou. Two, he was faster than me. Even if he was twenty meters away, he'd close the distance faster than me even if I was only five meters away. Three, he was stronger than me. Even if I got to Shirou first, the lancer would just smack me away. I couldn't save Shirou by myself.

I needed a Servant. I had no time to summon one, but I needed a Servant.

I entered the shed, Clarent charged up. I was too late, though. Lancer had Shirou pinned up to the wall by his neck, lance pointed at his heart. Shirou pleaded with his eyes, "Run, Altria!" I refused. We were either going to live together or die together. Shirou was my only relative left. I didn't know what I'd do with myself if he died. I simply had nothing else to live for.

"Please, let us live!" My cry wasn't directed at Lancer. I had no hope of convincing him not to kill us. I knew that something was watching, waiting to be drawn. All it needed was someone to use it. I was calling out to it. As if by my command, the floor lit up in a strange pattern - a Formalcraft circle. Why was that here? Had Kiritsugu placed it there? Why would he place Formalcraft in the shed? Before Lancer could react (and before I could get my answers), the room was filled with a blinding light, followed by the sound of clashing steel. When the light died down, Shirou and I were on the floor, lying underneath a man with swords.

If Kiritsugu loved his trench coat, the man was fond of fatigues. He had on army apparel from head to toe, from his shiny combat boots on his feet to the black beret covering what appeared to be red going white hair, if the silvery-orange lock of hair sticking out of the hat was a telltale sign. His outfit gave off an intimidating aura, an aura that made you want to obey him an almost any cost. What shocked me most were the swords in his hand. They were exactly the same as the swords the gray haired man used against the lancer. The man, ignoring Shirou, just stared at me. Then he gave a smirk.

"So we meet again... I am Servant Saber. Upon your summoning, I have come forth. I ask of you, are you my Master?"