Chapter Four – A Tale of Two Souls

I woke up to a pleasant scent in the room. It smelled faintly sweet with an indescribable feel that made my heart pump just a little bit harder. Keeping my eyes closed, I enjoyed the gentle and relaxing feeling that washed through my sedentary body. Something soft brushed my left arm, tickling it, and I suppressed the urge to scratch it. I could feel the heat off of the person's face as it neared my own, their warm breath caressing my cheek.

I felt a warm hand rest gently onto my arm, thin fingers tenderly touching my skin.

"Shirou." It was just a whisper, but it was all I needed to hear.

The door opened suddenly and the hand retracted quickly. I continued feigning sleep as another person quietly entered the room.

"Did you check? Is Shirou awa-" The speaker paused as she took in the other's hidden expression. "Blake what's wrong? Your face is all red. Do you need to see the nurse?"

Through cracked eyelids, I watched with interest at the interaction before me. The black-bow-wearing girl pointedly ignored Pyrrha's questions, instead choosing to intently study the wallpaper patterns. With a shrug, the Spartan girl stepped past Blake to my bed side. Watching her approach through my eyelids, I tried to remain still, unsure of what to do.

She touched my shoulder tenderly, before quickly glancing over her shoulder at Blake who had switched her attention to a bland painting on the wall. With a blush, Pyrrha's hand reached for mine, her soft skin connecting with mine for a brief moment.

The door slammed open with a loud bang, startling everyone in the room, Pyrrha's hand shooting from mine and behind her back. Blake jolted as she jumped in her boots. Coco strolled in, ignoring the other two girls in the room.

"C-Coco! Shirou's sleeping." She whispered in a hushed voice.

"Not anymore he isn't. How ya doing, rookie? That Ursa really messed you up." The tall leader planted a boot on the side of my bed, staring down at me with her sunglasses lowered. With a sigh I opened my eyes and looked at her knowing smirk.

"You should've seen the other guy." I returned her smirk with a small grin of my own. "How are you, by the way?"

"Well, considering I just finished getting chewed out by Goodwitch for almost letting you die, and for letting three newbies sneak into the mission, then almost letting said newbies die too." She put her hand on her hip, amusement clearly present on her face. "To answer your question, I'm freaking fantastic. Oh by the way, Ozpin wants to speak to you as soon as you can leave the infirmary."

With a flip of her hair, the confident girl spun around and began to walk away, waving over her shoulder.

"Get well soon, rookie. And don't go breaking too many hearts." She called out without looking and walked out of the room as suddenly as she entered it. "Oh hey, Red."

Ruby came into the room immediately after Coco left, looking a little confused. For heaven's sake, was my hospital bed some kind of group hangout location?

Well since they were here already, we might as well just start doing a recap of the mission. Sitting up in my bed with little effort, I turned to face them.

"Good morning, Pyrrha, Blake, and Ruby, status report. How are your injuries?" They glanced around at each other, before Pyrrha finally stepped forward.

"My shield arm's shoulder was dislocated. When they got us onto the evacuation ship, one of the crew fixed it right away. The nurse here in the infirmary put my arm in a sling told me to avoid any strenuous activity for a little while. As such, I was excused from combat classes for a week." I only just noticed the white sling her left arm was suspended in. Pyrrha bowed her head and stepped back as Blake stepped forward.

"That nasty bear gave me a minor fracture in one of my ribs. I also have massive bruises across my chest and back. I've was told to avoid combat and intense activities for a week while it heals. They also gave me some special... medicine for the pain." She simply nodded her head before joining Pyrrha. Ruby stepped forward with a slight pout while poking her index fingers together.

"Igotabumponmyhead." I blinked. I didn't quite get that. With a raised brow, I asked her to repeat herself, but with more enunciation and clarity.

"I got a bump on my head." I gave her a confused look. Her injury had seemed so much more severe at first glance. I shuddered at the memory of the dark red pool behind her head.

"All that blood came from a big cut on the back of my head. The doctor also said I had a concussion, but the effects wore off by the time I came to see you last night. Now I just have this big bump on the back of my head. It looks ridiculous, and Yang won't stop teasing me!" She stamped her foot before resuming her pouting.

I breathed a sigh of relief, falling back against my pillow. At least there weren't any lasting injuries. I couldn't live with myself if any of them received crippling injuries. A cough rang out from the line of girls as Pyrrha cleared her throat.

"Shirou, you haven't told us how you're feeling. Your wound was by far the worst out of all of ours." She spoke with a worried inflection. The other two nodded in agreement, casting concerned glances in my direction.

How did I feel? Well, my shoulder... It felt fine. In fact, my entire body felt great.

With a confused look, I hopped out of bed to the shocked surprise of the others. Walking to the closest, I pulled on a pair of my jeans under the hospital gown, before pulling off the hospital attire.

Smooth bandages were wrapped around my torso. Ignoring the blushing glances in my direction, I pulled off the tight cloth from around my chest and shoulder to reveal smooth unblemished skin. My eyes widened as I traced the unbroken skin with shaking fingertips. This was impossible. Just one day ago, there had been a massive cleft of broken flesh and bone. Even with a healing ability, this was insane. My mind flashed back to that night in the forest. I had brushed it off then, but shrugging off paralysis was actually no small thing, my nerves had been fried through and through after all. The last time I had regeneration like this was before that scheming witch took Saber from me.

An image formed in my mind. A swirling, teeming mass of blades, sprouting from a jagged wound. They extended and overlapped each other with a distinct scraping sound, pulling each section closer together. My lips moved in motion with my mind as the words came to me.

"My body is made of swords."

It was just a whisper, but in the words held a great, familiar power. Massive gears churned inside my very being. My eyes closed as I reveled in the feeling, the... completeness.

I opened my eyes to look back at the girls who all gazed wide-eyed and dumbfounded at my healthy torso. Pyrrha's face matched her hair as she stood stock still, openly staring, while Blake blinked and looked away with red-tinged cheeks. Ruby on the other hand, stepped forward and pressed her hand onto my chest. Her eyes observed in amazement the smoothness of the skin, the total lack of scarring.

"Shirou, not even Aura can heal that quickly and efficiently. Does this have to do with you being a magic knight hero?" Ruby spoke in an awed tone, never once glancing up at my face, her attention fixed onto my former site of injury.

"Well first off I don't know True Magic, only Magecraft. Secondly, I'm not a knight, my friend is. And thirdly, I merely wish to become a hero; I don't think I've quite attained that level yet." I sighed in exasperation as she began poking me like I was some alien organism.

"But Shirou, you saved my life. You are ahero, my hero." Her innocent eyes sparkled with gratitude as she finally looked up at my face, which now began to turn red with embarrassment. Quickly stepping back from her, I finally answered her earlier question.

"In all honesty, I believe my healing does have something to do with the field of Magecraft, but I'm not entirely sure how." I frowned in thought as I continued wondering just where it came from. Not even the healing used by other Heroic Spirits were nearly as powerful, so it didn't make sense that I would suddenly obtain it for no reason.

"Sh-Shirou, perhaps it would be b-better to put on a shirt. It would be terrible if you caught a cold." Pyrrha's eyes were now focused on the ground, one of her feet pressing down into the ground, rotating weakly, digging a shallow imaginary hole into the hospital floor.

Ha! What an idea. I'd never once gotten sick before. Fuji-nee had always attributed that to my habit of helping out random strangers for no apparent reason. Although, it was worrying that Sakura had agreed with her on this issue. They didn't think I was that big of a fool, right? Nonetheless, I walked to the closet and took out the clean shirt. Pulling it over my head, I vaguely wondered who had gathered my clothing and put it here. Perhaps it was one of my teammates, or one of the hospital staff.

Stretching out my arms, I turned back to my team to be met with warm smiles. After that heart-shattering hollow victory against the Ursa, our team was finally back together, one big happy family.

-o-

"You wanted to see me?" I stepped into the spacious office. Books were stacked in leaning piles all around the messy desk. Papers were strewn about the table's surface, a large splotch of orange-brown, indicating that some may have spilled their coffee all over it. It seemed our headmaster had been busy.

"Yes, please close the door and sit down." The grey-haired man gestured towards the chair in front of his desk, before continuing. "The leader of Team CFVY has already informed me of the events her team witnessed. Your teammates have also provided their own stories. However, the one story I haven't heard, and quite frankly the one I want to hear most, is your story. Tell me Shirou, what did you find out?"

"I believe he is working with a man named Adam Taurus, who appears to be related to the White Fang terrorist group. He also seems to have special powers related to Grimm. He was able to make an Ursa double its size and grow stronger, all from a touch of his hand." I summarized my encounter with the King of Heroes.

"Yes, yes. I've already heard about these from the other members of your mission. What I want to know is what you think he is up to. Out of all of us, you likely have the best insight into his motivations." Ozpin looked weary and just a tad bit impatient, a stark contrast to his normally immaculate appearance.

I scratched my head, bit down on my lip, trying to think of a suitable response. In all honesty, I really had no clue about Gilgamesh's plan. The one thing that stood out to me was that he was willing to defer killing me just to get to somewhere. His arrogance normally wouldn't let his prey get away without getting a taste of his blades first. He obviously had some overarching plan that involved the White Fang. Based off of his interaction with Taurus, it seemed he either considered them to be useful enough to tolerate and work with, or more frighteningly, just another one of their pawns like he was to Kotomine.

"There definitely is a larger operation going on. He passed on killing me and Blake when he had the chance, choosing instead to head elsewhere. They were planning on using the outpost as a base for something related to the White Fang. As far as I could tell, Gilgamesh seems like he's working with someone in the background, perhaps even working for them instead. I'm afraid he may be aiding someone in building an army, comprised of the White Fang and Grimm."

I watched as Ozpin seemed to age with each sentence. He closed his eyes with a grimace, resting his chin atop of his propped up hands.

"That is troubling news indeed. Do you know where he was planning on going to?" He gazed tiredly over the rims of his glasses at me.

"I'm sorry, he didn't mention where. All I know is that it is connected to the White Fang somehow." I shrugged. The headmaster looked thoughtful for a moment, before standing up and pacing his office, muttering to himself. Stopping, he turned to me.

"I'll keep you updated in regards to news on this Gilgamesh. I wouldn't put up much hope on that though. He seems to be infuriatingly elusive. On the other hand, if you can keep an eye out for White Fang activity, I'd be immensely grateful." Ozpin walked over to his desk, pulling open a drawer.

"On a different note, I have something that may prove useful for you." He held a small device in his hand. It was a sleek metal rectangular tube that easily fit within his palm. There was a small slit around the end that popped open to reveal a white glowing crystal inside.

"This was given to me courtesy of an old friend of mine. It's an old prototype for one of his current secret projects involving artificial Auras. This should give you a chance to participate in events and activities involving Auras, including combat classes and the upcoming tournament. It works by generating a weak self-sustaining Aura around you as long as you have it in your possession and keep it activated. This way, your Scroll will actually register an Aura for you and help keep your secret... well, secret. Just try to avoid taking too many hits. This was made as a test for whether artificial Aura was possible, not direct combat." He handed me the silver device. I curiously observed it in my hand, playing with it. It was fairly lightweight, and I tossed it in the air and caught it.

"I can see that you don't seemed all that troubled by your wound." Ozpin's voice broke the silence that had settled. Surprised, I nearly dropped my Aura device.

"I won't ask. But seeing as you appear to be fine, physically, how about you test out that prototype during combat training this week. It would be a good opportunity to properly fight someone who actually possesses an Aura." He gave me a weary smile as he sat back down onto his chair. "I believe that is all. Have a good evening, Shirou."

Bowing my head in thanks and in farewell, I stepped out of his office, studying the little object in my hand. There was a finger sized loop on the other end of the sleek device. Perhaps I could attach a necklace or something. A certain small gold chain came to mind.

-o-

"Waaaaaah! My baby!" A high pitched whine filled the room.

I looked up from my book on Grimm species to see Ruby hugging the shattered halves of Crescent Rose. The other two had gone to the infirmary for their final checkups, leaving me and the hooded girl in our dorm for the next couple hours. Those nurses were extremely fussy.

The girl had been busily trying to mend the weapon over the week, but the way the weapon was damaged made repairs difficult. That was the problem with these complex weapons, difficult to clean and difficult to fix. That's why I stuck with my beloved swords. Sleek, simple and dead effective. It definitely wasn't because I wasn't sure how guns worked. Definitely not.

Putting my book down, I ambled over to the flustered teenager. I never could resist aiding someone in need. She frowned at the frayed edges, a set of tools laid out next to her. Sitting down next to her, I gave her a reassuring smile.

"Ruby, you seem to be having a lot of trouble with Crescent Rose." I spoke with a gentle voice.

"It's just that I built Crescent Rose. I should be able to fix her, but I can't seem figure how what's wrong with the firing mechanism. On top of that, I need to mend the shaft, but the materials I could find aren't strong enough." She pouted at her damaged weapon.

Maybe I could help with that. It seemed the shaft just needed a little Reinforcement while I could try to figure how the shooting mechanism. I didn't need to understand it to make it work again. Motioning for the red-haired girl to pass me the parts of her scythe, I closed my eyes in concentration.

"Trace on"

A structural grid appeared in my mind. Circuits ran down the shaft, outlining the shape. Inside the gun's barrel, splintered metal was jammed and meshed together, effectively sealing itself off. Further down, the bolt action tube was crumpled and jammed, a bullet casing lodged in the twisted metal. It was an absolute mess. Knowledge of the firing mechanism filled my mind as I continued to Structurally Analyze it.

Somewhere inside of me, I felt something click. The entire process and history of Crescent Rose's firing mechanism flowed through me as if she had been with me all of my life. I opened my eyes with a short gasp. Ruby looked over with a curious expression. With a gentle smile, I glanced down at the damaged weapon. I could fix Crescent Rose.

Energy hummed in my circuits. It filled and flowed through my spiritual channels like a river after a storm. Prana passed from my fingertips to the warm metal held between them. Creaks sounded from the weapon as I soothed the twisted metal.

In my mind, I stood at a forge, surrounded by pools of molten metal on a hill of swords. With a pair of tongs, I grasped glowing sheet metal. At an anvil, I hammered the searing metal into a rounded mold, returning the steel to the fire periodically. The barrel began to take shape as the bolt tube materialized, slotted inside the glowing gun barrel. It smoothed itself inside out as pieces of metal burst forth from the pools of white flowing steel. Glob after glob of viscous flaming liquid attached itself around the assembled gun barrel. Walking over to the furnace, I placed my bare hand inside. Neither the flames nor the heat could hurt me. After all, my blood was fire.

I pulled out a series of blades, each one attaching to the molten frame. With a wave of my hand, the globular mass of liquid metal exploded, sending droplets of burning steel flying in every direction. In its place, a glowing red scythe hung in the air with a blaze of glory.

"Shirou!"

Why were my moments of peace always interrupted by someone calling my name?

I cracked open an eye to see Pyrrha open her mouth to call my name again. It seems they came back from the infirmary earlier than expected. Blake came into view from behind her, a disapproving frown on her face.

"How is it that every time we leave you alone, you somehow get yourself into trouble?" Her eyebrow was raised, and she tapped her foot while giving me annoyed look, similar to that of a parent coming home to find their child had painted the walls again.

What was she talking about? There was no trouble. I turned to Ruby for support, but she had moved over to the other girls with a frightened expression. What on earth was going on?

"What are you talking about?" I was starting to get a little frustrated.

"You're probably the only person I know that can somehow manage to set himself on fire, not even notice that, and then proceed to come out completely fine." The cat-eared girl walked over to her bed and lay down, cracking open one of her books.

Fire? I looked down myself. In my hands was a pristine and repaired Crescent Rose. The same could not be said for my clothes. My sleeves and jeans were scorched, leaving massive burnt holes in the knees of my jeans, and singed sleeves now ending at my elbows. Woops.

Standing up, I handed the collapsed scythe to Ruby, who gratefully smiled at me, before hugging her beloved weapon. I ambled past the speechless Pyrrha, one hand on the hem of my jeans, keeping the tattered cloth from dropping to my ankles. Grabbing a clean set of clothes, I awkwardly made my way to the washrooms.

Damn it, that was my favourite shirt too.

-o-

The moon hung like a lantern in the sky, its ethereal glow illuminating the treetops, casting scattered beams of light through cracks in the canopy. It reminded me of some of the fairy tales Kiritsugu had read to me when I had been plagued with nightmares. The night felt peaceful as I blithely strolled through the forest. Days had passed since I fixed Crescent Rose, and it seemed life had returned to normal for the most part. Classes dragged on, and lunchtime was often spent with Team WYNR in the cafeteria. Everything settled back into the old daily routines. But despite peaceful nature of these halcyon days, I couldn't help but feel a sense of urgency. Something was happening out there, and I couldn't just sit here and do nothing.

I reached the familiar clearing in the trees, the grass rustling faintly with the cool evening breeze. Good, my Bounded Field was still up. It was unlikely people would randomly show up, but it would be useful for detecting Grimm. With a cursory glance at the surrounding foliage, I assumed a cross-legged position in the center of the clearing. There was something I needed to investigate.

"My body is made of swords"

My circuits sparked to life, humming with Prana. Inside of me, I felt hundreds upon thousands of blades quiver, sheathed in the rusty earth of my soul. Almost like a million silent voices, they cried out at me, without a sound, but I could hear them all the same. The connection was there, but it was faint. Too faint.

"My blood of fire"

As if responding to my words, my blood heated up as an inferno lit my veins. A sense of life sprang into being as I tamed the swirling energy within my body. Weapons given form, now possessed a likeness of their own. Dull steel shined with a vivacious sheen as light danced off of the blades. I closed my eyes. There was still something missing. With fire came chaos, it clouded my mind with flare and smoke.

"My heart of glass"

All at once, my mind cleared. Harmony, balance, it settled through my soul, the swords pacified. The rattling shifted to steady rhythmic swaying, connected to each deep breath I took. My soul was clear. A heart of glass, so easily read, emotions on display for all to see. Yet so fragile, every loss hammering in a web of cracks, it would have been better off if it were made of steel. With a deep sigh, one of intense, yet relaxed concentration, I peered through my transparent heart at the rusted steel world within.

o-o

"Hello Shirou."

Saber's voice sounded in my mind. It was difficult to hear, not because of volume, but its very existence seemed to come and go from my mind in pulses. I tried to visualize the gargantuan gears in the sky, which faintly flashed in my mind from time to time. It was a strange experience, as if I was in two planes of existence at the same time, and two were fighting for control. However, the blades themselves easily materialized in my mind, eager to be drawn, like sharp, dangerous, steel puppies with razor edged tails whipping back and forth.

"We were interrupted last time, and I'm afraid we will be interrupted again."

The blonde knight's deep feminine voice reverberated in my mind. I grasped onto the voice and focused, keeping the connection strong.

"Yeah, you were trying to say something important that I couldn't quite make out."

I directed my mental message through the link, hoping she would hear me. A sense of amusement pulsed through the connection, and I could almost picture Saber smiling at me.

"Yes, I was trying to tell you that your healing was not because of the Grail."

Well, I hadn't been expecting that. So far I had just chalked up all of my changes to the Grail. Where did she think it came from? Sending her a silent confirmation, I waited for her to continue.

"Ever since I arrived here, I felt drawn to something. I searched through your endless hills of blades, yet I couldn't find a trace of what that was. It was as if what I was seeking was both present and absent in here at the same time. When I reached out towards your body, I found it, my beloved sheath."

She paused, feelings of happiness and bitterness overlapping as she hugged her chest tightly.

"Avalon, my ever-distant utopia. It was in you all along, healing you, keeping you safe."

Avalon? The legendary sheath to Excalibur? How did that end up inside of me? I'm pretty sure I would've remembered something like that. In fact the last time I couldn't remember anything... was back in the Fuyuki City Fire. When my father saved my life.

He said he was a magus didn't he? I always assumed he used some kind of healing Magecraft to save me, but in hindsight, I never saw him use any in all the time we spent together. But that didn't explain how he would have had it in his possession. There were too many questions piling up in my already divided mind. Wait, something didn't add up.

"Saber, then why didn't Avalon heal me during my fight with Archer and Gilgamesh?"

"The sheath's abilities are tied to me Shirou. You only were able to access then when I was your Servant, when we shared the Master-Servant bond. However, since my arrival here, the bond between our souls has strengthened by my presence within your Unlimited Blade Works. The healing power of the sheath is many times stronger than the one you experienced in the Grail War. Strong enough even, to heal most fatal wounds quickly like the one you suffered from the Ursa attack."

So my healing power didn't come from the Grail. What did that say about the rest of my newfound abilities? No, I'd have to go over that later. The connection between my mind and my reality marble was growing more and more unstable by the second, as if I were holding onto two ropes attached to trucks moving away from each other. Saber's wavering voice flitted in and out from my disorientated consciousness.

"When you rediscover more of your aria, we'll be able to meet face to face in your mind. Goodbye Shirou."

And just like that I let go and let the swirling mental torrent take over. My worlds were spinning, each in opposing directions, and I could vaguely feel my back collide with the ground. This actually reminded me a lot of that time Fuji-nee had me drink half a bottle of wine, except my head buzzing twice as strongly. Then suddenly it stopped.

o-o

The cool air washed over my sweat-covered face, sending a chill through my supine body. Lazily opening one eye, I observed the cracked moon in the sky. It both surprised and confused me the first time I'd seen it, but it seemed to be a completely natural part of this universe I'd joined. When I looked into the subject, I'd found that the cracked moon was supposedly responsible for a large portion of the Dust found in Remnant. The books and information weren't very clear as to the origins of modern Dust, but it seemed that it had been deposited hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions of years ago. The prevailing theory was that it came from the moon. Others argued that it had been created by natural processes in the world. Either way, I learned a lot more than I thought I would have when doing a quick search on my Scroll about the moon.

I let my eyes slip shut as the night breeze came by and tickled my face. It was on a night just like this, lying on my back next to my father, the hard wood deck smooth and cold. My dream, my ideal, it started with a dying man's wish. Eyes half-opened, I reach one arm into the sky, fingers splayed as if to pluck the very stars from void beyond.

"If you could see me now, would think I look like a superhero, Dad?"

The fingers closed into a soft fist, clenched within, my hopes, my dreams, my cherished memories. All of them within my palm, a heart of glass indeed.

A soft, but distinct chime rang throughout the air. I sighed, letting my arm drop back to my side. It seemed I had company. Hopefully nothing too powerful, reaching Saber had drained me of a lot of my energy. My best bet if faced with another gigantic creature was to run away flailing my arms, maybe even to make whoop whoop noises to confuse it.

I sniffed the air to get a feel for its magical residue. Rin always complained about just how damn effective my magical sense was. 'Like a bloodhound!' I could imagine her scowling as she muttered enviously.

A faint smell of metal met me. That was strange. Grimm mostly smelled of negativity, involving death, hatred and animosity. Moreover, I couldn't help but get a distinct feel of red associated with it. At first I hadn't noticed it when checking, as if it had somehow been blocked or desensitized. The sounds of footsteps in the grass approached my head from above. I peered up to see a pair of familiar green orbs peering back, mirth dancing between the vibrant eyes.

"What, Oh fearless leader, are you doing out here at night?" Her hand was on her hip, her eyebrow raised.

"Oh, I'm just enjoying the stars. I couldn't see them that well from my old home," I replied without skipping a beat. Craning my neck, I put both my hands on the back of my head and made myself comfortable. Glancing back up at the Spartan girl, I asked, "So what brings you out here, my dear partner?"

"I was wondering where you headed off to, and Blake was kind enough to escort me here," she replied, taking a seat next to me as she spoke. Her head tilted back, her long crimson hair brushed and settling onto the grass, eyes lifted upwards towards the ocean of dim twinkling light.

"Blake is here?" I blinked as I processed what my companion said.

"No, she left as soon as we saw you," Pyrrha shook her head before continuing, "no doubt to go read that ninja book she's always trying to hide."

I said nothing, leaving a zephyr rustle the grass and leaves to break the silence. The sounds of two breaths synced in harmony over the gentle hum of the wind created a sense of peacefulness, as if everything in the world was alright. Pyrrha was the first to break our vocal silence.

"Your home. I've never heard you really talk about it before. I figured there was a reason, so I never asked, but I'll admit that I'm curious." Her voice was gentle like the wind, daring not to pry, but teetering about, testing the waters. I let out a small chuckle.

"There's not much to say. It was pretty similar to what I've seen of Vale. Tall buildings in the downtown area, small neighbourhoods scattered throughout the city. There was even a big river running through its center." My head was flowing with memories of Fuyuki City, from the downtown Shinto area to my school and then to the Emiya compound. Then my mind wandered to the tainted park, the site of the Great Fire, the conclusion to the Fourth Holy Grail War, my birthplace. My lips drew closed as putrid flames brushed my mind.

"Oh that sounds nice. I'm sure you have many fond memories of it." Her voice grew quiet, her eyes glazing over, lost in imagination, or perhaps a memory of her own. I rolled my head to the side, looking at her. Pyrrha wore a mixed expression on her face, traces happiness and sadness, but hidden beneath it all, I saw loneliness. Strange that such a prominent and well-mannered person would be afflicted with such a common ailment. Then again, it really wasn't that strange, was it. Licking my lips, I opened my mouth again to ask her.

"What about your home? What was it like?" I asked calmly with hints of interest laced into the words. She remained silent for a moment, pondering, wondering what to say. She opened and closed her mouth a couple times, gripped with indecision. The pale moonlight reflected off her pearly teeth each time she tried and failed to speak. She took a deep breath and finally spoke.

"I grew up in Mistral. Even from a young age, it was apparent to others that I held a... natural talent for combat. So, from the moment I could walk, I was taught to run, to jump, to fight. Not a day has passed since then that I haven't held a blade in my hand." Pyrrha's outstretched arm mimicked grasping a weapon's handle.

"But that was okay. I enjoyed the attention and praise I received. Because of that, I gained many friends and even fans. Naturally, I began to push myself even harder to get better and stronger. Not too long after my 13th birthday, my parents decided that I was capable enough to enter a small tournament. It didn't matter that everyone else there was much older and more experienced than me. I had to do this for myself, to prove that all my training hadn't been for naught." She suddenly sat up twisting to look back down at me, her eyes lit with a spirited fire. Flipping her long ponytail, the redhead gazed off into the distance, leaning back on two propped arms.

"I remember my first official fight like it was just yesterday. My opponent was a 3rd year student from Haven. He was much taller than me at the time and had a really confident smirk on his face. His weapon was a pair of dagger-like blades attached by a long chain to each other. I was nervous. At the time I was still designing Miló, so I was restricted to the sword form. On top of that, I was still trying to discover my Semblance at the time." She smiled and tilted her head to the side, eyes closed.

Her eyes abruptly shot open and settled into a narrowed stare. My partner licked her licks before continuing.

"He made the first move. He flicked his wrist at me, and the next thing I knew, I had somehow raised Akoúō to deflect the dagger. I charged forward, shield in front, when I heard a gunshot from behind me. Spinning around, I managed to successfully deflect his blade again. He had pistols built into the daggers so that they could change direction mid-flight, which he also used in tandem with the chain. We continued fighting, him putting me on the defensive for the majority of the time. In all honesty, I probably could have beaten him fairly quickly, but my nervousness and anxiety caused me to make mistake after mistake. He was able to entangle Miló with the chain and I was forced to dodge his swipes and stabs lest I lose my weapon.

On a gamble I tried to hit him with edge of my shield, but that left me open for a counterattack on his part. Throughout the match, neither of us had yet to actually land a damage dealing blow. With the time winding down, even a scratch in our Aura bar would have meant defeat. He was faster than me with his dagger. I'd made a mistake, and he knew it too. He was taller than me, his reach much longer than mine. Even with the reduced range of his dagger, he could easily reach my side, while I struggled to bring my shield up to his head." Pyrrha breathed out deeply, shaking her head.

"I remember thinking, 'I can't lose like this. Not my first match!' I knew it wouldn't change anything, but I willed with all my might that he would somehow miss his dagger strike. It was as if my prayer had been answered. His dagger seemed to glide past my side as if repelled by my very body. He fell off balance, and was too surprised to properly dodge. I clocked him in the side of his jaw with Akoúō, knocking him out and securing victory. I remember turning around to look at the crowd cheer me on. When I finally managed to spot my friends, the only thing I saw on their faces was awe." She smiled triumphantly as she recounted her victory, but the smile faded almost imperceptibly when she mentioned her friends.

"It was enough to renew my spirit and boost my confidence. I eventually won the tournament without getting directly hit even once. It was a smaller tournament, and many of the competitors were also first-timers, so it wasn't particularly difficult after the first match. After that, my friends were in constant awe, and many others heaped praise. I relished in it at the time, and continued putting even more effort into my training." Her smile turned bittersweet as she stared down softly at the grass.

"Eventually after winning more and more tournaments, the praise from my friends started feeling less heartwarming and more sarcastic. There were whispers that I was looking down upon them, that I'd rather spend time training than hang out with any of them. One by one, my circle of friends diminished until I was left standing in an empty circle wondering where everyone went. Other people, fans, they didn't seem to have the same negative opinions about me as my former friends, but at the same time, were either too in awe or scared to approach. Without anyone but my parents who truly knew me, I threw myself back into training and competitions with extra vigor. It was all I knew, and I had no idea what else to do, so I decided that I would fight for myself. But years passed by, and I couldn't help but feel a bit lonely, so I decided to come to Vale, to Beacon instead of Haven for school. Maybe there would be less people who would recognize me, maybe I could just be a normal girl again..." Her voice grew quiet as she trailed off. Moist eyes blinked a few times before looking into mine. I had been silent for quite some time, listening to my partner tell me her life's story.

She bit her lip and stared defiantly at me, refusing to let a single tear out. Heh, that was just like her, to put on such a tough exterior, trying to hide her inner turmoil. So be it. It wasn't like Pyrrha to be anything but strong, and she knew that. I could sense the unasked question and a smirk formed on my lips.

"This won't change how I see you, Pyrrha." Her head perked up as I said this.

"I mean, the past is the past. There's no sense living in it without moving on. Don't worry, none of us will ever abandon you, I swear on my soul." Her eyes widened, before a warm smile returned to her face. She scooched over to my side as I sat up, and gave me a tight hug. She whispered in my ear.

"Thank you, Shirou." As she returned to her normal seated position, our talk returned to mundane subjects like class and rumours like the one about Ozpin drinking bourbon instead of coffee. However, before long, our conversation turned back onto combat. Inevitably, the question finally came up.

"Shirou, I've been meaning to ask, where did you learn to fight? I know you've mentioned your homeland before, but I've never heard of it, nor is it in any books and articles I've read. I'm actually more interested in your fighting style. It seems so difficult and you're able to pull it off for the most part, but then you also make all these beginner mistakes such as overextending on your swings, having some unsteady footwork, and missing certain openings and weaknesses in your opponent's defense. Your hands, while rough don't have many callouses and especially not in the right places if you've been training for years. Yet at the same time, I've seen you pull off maneuvers and attacks that even fully qualified Huntsmen would have difficulty executing. There's just so many inconsistencies, I'm not sure what to think. I'm hoping you can explain why or how, but it's perfectly alright if you don't want to."

It had been weighing on me for quite some time now. I could tell them of my origins like with Ozpin. Sooner or later it was going to come out, but I'd rather if I was the source. That way I could control what was said and heard. Then again, Pyrrha wasn't asking about that. My fighting style? I could explain it away as part of my Magecraft, and though it was technically partially true, I couldn't bring myself to lie anymore to these girls. Over the last couple months, they'd grown into yet another family for me, people I could trust and count on. At the same time, I couldn't exactly explain that I had absorbed my skills, knowledge and power from a future version of myself while Future-Me was trying to kill Present-Me. I'd sound like a crazy person. Not to mention, in order to explain that, I'd need to reveal the existence of the Holy Grail War. My hesitance to tell them stemmed from a combination of old habits ingrained in me by Kiritsugu, and I didn't want to scare them. People often grew uncomfortable whenever I described the events of the Great Fuyuki Fire, like with Weiss, so I tried to avoid telling people about it. The Fifth Holy Grail War was of a similar vein, in that I wasn't sure how people would react. In all honesty, I didn't really feel horrified inside of me whenever I recounted grisly events. In fact, thinking about it tended to give me the feeling of wanting to help someone. Rin had been quick to point out that there was something wrong with my thinking, though she may have been referring more to my overzealous habit of helping random people without question.

Maybe. Maybe I could tell Pyrrha to gauge her reaction. It would certainly take a load off of my chest, and we could decide to tell the others at a later point, like with Blake, except that we had kept her Faunus status secret. Steeling my nerves I turned to answer her.

"Pyrrha, what I'm going to say, it may not make sense, but I promise I won't lie to you. It involves details that other may find terrible and gruesome. Are you sure you want to listen?" I carefully watched her expression, waiting for her reaction.

"Shirou, there's nothing you could say that would make me turn away." She reassured me, placing a hand on my shoulder. Well, I did warn her.

"My skills, they were absorbed into me when I fought against another warrior. Wait, don't be too alarmed, he was connected to me a special way. You see, he was a future version of me." I spoke slowly and carefully, eyeing her face as I spoke. She looked a bit confused, opening her mouth, before closing it and gesturing me to go on.

I gave her a brief, edited and shortened explanation of the Holy Grail War. A frown appeared on her face when I mentioned how killing was involved. Finally, I returned to the topic of Emiya, the Counter Guardian.

"He was a future version of me. Like me he wanted to become a hero, to save everyone. He even made a contract with the world in order to save some people, but the very people he saved also condemned him to death. He never blamed them though. However, as part of the contract, he was continually summoned time and time again to defend mankind, to eliminate the problem, before returning back to the Throne of Heroes, awaiting the world's command. Unfortunately, mankind's greatest enemy tended to be mankind itself, and he was forced to slaughter thousands, growing jaded and cynical, eventually betraying our ideals." I clenched my fist as I lived through Archer's memories. I wouldn't become like him.

"So, he sought to kill me in the present time, hoping that it would create a paradox in the universe that would end up erasing our existence and freeing him of his tortuous servitude. What both of us didn't realize was that because of the world recognizing us as existing as the same person while also two separate people, whenever, we made contact, his knowledge, his skills and powers kept getting transferred into me. It wasn't until I realized his identity that I received it all. Even now with his perfected fighting style, I can only imitate a shadow of its glory. My body just wasn't capable of matching up to a Servant's. In truth, I'd only really ever experienced combat for a little under a week before I met you, a couple months ago." I breathed in deeply, recovering from my endless rambling and explanations. I didn't miss the look of utter surprise etched across her face at my last remark. The silence was deafening, interrupted only by a rustle in a tree nearby.

"Shirou, you mean to tell me that you've only been fighting for two months?" Her incredulous voice grew increasingly louder as she spoke. Right, of all the things I just explained, that was the most unbelievable thing she heard. I nodded my head in affirmation.

"Well that certainly explains the lack of experience you sometimes show, but I've never heard of anyone becoming that good in the span of a week! Gosh, even I never improved that quickly." Pyrrha continued to gush at the recent revelation. I felt it was probably appropriate to remind her of a couple details, before she got any crazy ideas.

"Pyrrha, slow down. I only improved so quickly because I received the abilities from the future version of me. That man spent his entire life and then some to perfecting his art. Even if what I do now pales in comparison, don't forget that those skills were directly absorbed into my very soul." I hastily explained as I could see her expression grow thoughtful in a bad way, a way that seemed to imply some kind of hellish training.

"So you're saying that you have the perfect template of your style, but you yourself need to adapt your body and skills to refine it?" She asked, lifting a brow. Well, that was it exactly, more or less.

"Yes?" My voice squeaked a bit at the end. Somehow I felt this wasn't going to end well for me.

"Well, in that case, Shirou, I think we should train here at night. In fact, I want to spar right now." The talk girl stood up, brushing grass and dust off of herself, before extending a hand down to me. There was no escaping this, was there?

She pulled me to my feet, but had to steady the both of us as the wind suddenly sent a powerful gust past us. I could swear I saw a single rose petal getting sucked along. It must've been my imagination. There weren't any rose bushes nearby for hundreds of meters.

"Tell me, why do you choose to fight? You hardly seem the type of person to wish harm onto others." Pyrrha's voice was even, neither accusing nor disapproving, simply curious. She was right. I never wanted to learn how to fight for the sake of battle, but I chose to do this. Why?

"My only goal is to save as many people as I can. While I know it's impossible to save everyone, I'll try anyway. The stronger I am, the more people I can help, so I guess that's the reason I fight and train." As long as I was capable, I would never abandon even a single person. Archer may have brought the harsh reality down upon me, but I would always strive to protect and save as many people as I could.

Pyrrha nodded her head, drawing Miló and Akoúō. Kanshou and Bakuya materialized in my hands in response. I was still running on a tank half full from my earlier activities, but if I rationed my energy out correctly, it wouldn't be a problem. The Spartan girl walked towards the center of the clearing, her hips and sash swaying ever so slightly. Turning, she gazed at me with a serious look in her eyes.

"I've always fought for myself, but you... You've fought solely for the sake of others. I want you to show me why you've become strong. Just what are you fighting for?" With that, she charged at me.

Our blades met in a shower of sparks. Flashes of light illuminated the dark field, echoed with the clash of metal. She spun, swinging her heavy shield, its sharp edge veering towards my face. I leaned back dodging the blow, but was forced to instantly parry her spear as she jabbed in the wake of her first attack.

I leapt backwards to collect myself. Her shield attack had been a feint, the true purpose was to block the view of her spear. The heavy shield meant I would have had to block with both swords, leaving me defenseless for her second attack. However I had leaned back instead, exposing my abdomen and pushing it forward.

She had the advantage of range. Not only was she taller and her limbs longer, but her spear meant she could attack me from much further away. Thus, while dodging I was put completely on the defensive, my attacks having no hope of reach her lest I throw my swords at her. Taking advantage of her momentum, she had thrust her spear at me pushing me back out of striking range.

Truthfully, the Shirou from the Holy Grail War might have at worst taken a shallow wound, but as of now, I could somehow read her like a book. I recognized all the possible movements and maneuvers she would pull. Hell, it was as if I could see her attack before she even started. That was strange. Archer, while clever and experienced, didn't have this level of foresight outside of his carefully planned strategies. I was hesitant to attribute it to the Grail again. What Saber said made me question the exact origins of my abilities.

Pyrrha approached slowly and steadily, shield raised, spear lurking by her side, like a predator stalking its prey. She was waiting for me to make a move. With a cocky grin, I threw both swords in a wide arc at her. She easily ducked under the spinning swords and faced me as I leapt at her. I blinked, she already this how attack worked. Without missing a beat, she jabbed forward to intercept my second set of traced swords. Except, she hit nothing but air. I had dashed to the side, not a sword, but a bow in hand.

Pyrrha's eyes widened, and she braced with her shield. I fired arrow after arrow against the golden shield, each one clanging and numbing her arm. Flicking a switch on Miló, she swung her shield to deflect my last projectile, while wielding and taking aim with her rifle in hand. Her eyes narrowed at the empty landscape, before she rolled to the side, narrowly dodged a set of arrows which tore apart the dirt and grass, leaving tiny craters left and right. Standing with my back to the moon, I replaced the bow with a familiar pair of blades. I let out a laugh and slipped into a stance. Pyrrha frowned at me and took aim with her rifle. Good, stay right there.

In a flurry of torn grass and dust, Reinforced legs propelled me forward, black and white blades deflecting dust rounds. Sounds of scraping metal screamed out into the night, as I crossed the gap in a split second, Prana Bursted blades hammering down onto Miló and Akoúō. Pyrrha grunted as she struggled to block and dodge every strike. A glint in my eye signaled the start of my finisher.

I suddenly stopped my rain of blows, stepping back, catching her off guard as she stumbled forward, the heavy pressure against her suddenly gone. Before she could recover, I swung both swords in wide arcs, catching and locking her spear and shield with each blade. She glared at me, before shifting her weapon into its sword form, pushing and shrugging off Kanshou. As she lunged forward at me, I twisted to the side, forcing her to turn as she attacked.

Thwack! Thwack!

Pyrrha was suddenly jerked sideways onto the ground, lying on her shield as a pair of swords flew through the air and slammed into her side driving the air out of her lungs. Without a wasted movement, she rolled over her shield, back to a standing position, but it was blatantly obvious that she was still short of breath, leaning over slightly. Not letting up, I sprinted at her the moment the first pair of swords had hit her.

Like a jaguar finding its prey, I pounced.

She managed to repel my first strike, but her strength was notably reduced. Taking advantage of her new openings, I closed in on my target, each hit exposing more and more weaknesses as she struggled to pull her shield and sword up to block and parry my Prana enhanced blows.

It was only for a moment, but Pyrrha's shield arm lifted just a bit too high leaving her left side open to a quick thrust from Bakuya. This would be the deciding blow. Neither of us had much strength left to go on for much longer.

As the blade drew closer to her armoured ribcage, I could feel victory within my grasp.

Something tickled my nose, a distinctly metallic smell that also somehow reminded me of static.

My eyes widened as instead of colliding with her side, my blade slid past her, as if it were repelled by her very body. However, my momentum carried me forward helplessly as I stumbled into my red-haired opponent. My vision darkened as my face plunged between two very soft squishy mounds, before brightening again as I moved to the side, looking up to see Pyrrha sporting a shade of skin matching her hair. With a flip of her long wavy ponytail and a glint of gold, my vision went dark for good this time.

o-o

I walked along the stone pathway, wind scattering the dust around my feet. The blazing sun threatened to scorch my skin in the arid air, but it eased off as I sent a harsh glare towards the sky. Glancing around, people scurried left and right, daring not to meet their king's eyes. Good. It would not do for the filth to tarnish the area around me. Without a word, I stepped into a massive, looming shadow, towards the only building here that could possibly cast a shadow at noon, the Great Temple of Uruk.

It was a wonderfully designed building, colossal stone columns holding up the majestic entrance, a mural of the gods, carved of a single massive slab of stone, truly one of the finest works I had ever seen. Stepping into the expansive hall, I made my way straight to the central altar. Shooing away the groveling mutts, I gazed arrogantly up at the stone figure.

"Why have you called me here?" I asked the statue, annoyance creeping into my voice.

At first I was met with only silence. However, moments later the large statue began moving, accompanied by a series of audible cracks. The benevolent face turned downwards at me, quickly etching into one of anger and disapproval.

"Speak with respect, arrogant king. You are failing in your duty to the gods. Why have you not spread our control over the people yet?" A thunderous deep voice shook the very foundations of the temple with each syllable.

"It is for the simple fact that the only one I deem worthy of control over these mongrels is a single person, me. You gods are relics of a lost age. Be gone, I have more important matters to deal with than a ghost of a withering memory." Without acknowledging the god before me, I turned my back to the seething statue, walking away.

"GILGAMESH! Do not forget who created you! You will secure humanity for us! Failure will not be tolerated!" The booming voice violently echoed throughout the building, shaking loose debris and cracking the walls. I chose to ignore the raging deity. They held no power over me, nor did I recognize their authority. They had already lost that the moment they created me, too weak to exert their will over the people themselves. I had no need to associate myself with weaklings a failures. The age of the Gods was at its end.

Making my way down the wide steps outside of the temple, I was stopped by the presence of a being. It was a disgusting clay monster wearing the appearance of a beautiful human. The idea of some clod of mud daring to assume a form of beauty enraged my very core. Beautiful things in life must not be tainted by those undeserving, those fakers. With a sneer, I address the earth being.

"Step aside, you disgusting clod of mud, your very appearance is an insult on top of your irreverence to your king." I practically spat the words at the creature.

"Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, I have been sent by the gods to punish your insolence." The androgynous tones of the monster held no emotion in them, yet I could tell it wasn't completely telling the truth.

"The only insolence I see, is that the gods believe they can punish me. Therefore, you shall die as restitution for this act of impertinence." I glared condescendingly down at the clay monster before me.

"Very well, if you wish to fight, then so be it." The monster shifted its stance, but didn't move, intently watching me.

"It is fitting that you'll allow your king the first strike!" I cried out gleefully as I leapt towards my enemy, bare hands ready to kill.

The humanoid creature simply nodded before leaping towards me as well.

o-o

I awoke to the feeling of fingers tenderly stroking my head. The back of my head throbbed mildly, but was offset by the warm softness of my pillow. Slowly, I opened my eyes to see a book cover. I am Me: a Tale of Two Souls. A small delicate hand held the cover, its partner running its fingers through my hair. The sounds of metal clashing nearby pulled me back fully into consciousness. Blinking, I turned my head to the side.

A pair of redheads were lightly sparring under the glow of the moonlight. Laughter rang out as the smaller one was sent tumbling after her attack was redirected by the taller one. I turned my head back up to see the book had moved. A pair of amber eyes gazed down at me, flickering with curiosity.

"How do you feel?" Her hand never stopped playing with my short red hair, running freely through it.

"Not too bad I suppose. Although I do wonder what you're doing here." I replied casually.

"Oh, I just thought my lap might be more comfortable than a rock pillow." It must have been a trick of the light, but I could swear her face looked a bit flushed. Besides, that wasn't what I was asking.

"Um, thanks, but I meant what you and Ruby are doing here. If I recall, Pyrrha and I were the only ones here before." Did Pyrrha send for help? No that didn't make sense. If she had, we would've been back at Beacon already.

"Well that's not entirely true." The dark haired Faunus looked away sheepishly. "I actually stayed after bringing Pyrrha here. Ruby had apparently followed us here."

"Then why didn't Pyrrha say anything?" I asked, confused.

"Oh, she didn't know. Ruby and I stayed hidden in the shadows so as not to disturb you two." Her voice was laced a bit of bitterness as she finished her statement. I wonder what had her so annoyed.

"We heard everything, you know. I know it's not right to eavesdrop, but Ruby and I were a bit curious. Out of everyone here, it seems you always have the most to hide, and we're always curious to learn more about you. For what it's worth, I'm sorry about that. I know it wasn't that long ago I was the one reprimanding you over trust." Her small smile was both apologetic and warm.

I returned it, waving off the issue. My lids felt heavier as I felt her warm breath swept over my face and neck. Her delicate fingers gently massaged my scalp, any traces of pain having long since disappeared.

"Rest some more. I'll wake you when the other two are ready to head back." Her soft voice caressed my mind as I struggled to stay awake for just a moment more.

"We... We need to do some team training. I think we should meet here three times a week to go over team man... team manu... team strategies." My voice slurred to a mumble as I slowly slipped out of consciousness. The last thing I heard was Blake's soothing voice.

"Sure thing. I'll tell them when they're finished. Rest now, Shirou."

-o-

My body is made of swords,

My blood of fire, my heart of glass.

I have created over a thousand blades,

Unaware of loss,

Nor aware of gain.

I have withstood pain to create many weapons,

Waiting for one's arrival.

I have no regrets. This is the only path.

My whole life was, the Unlimited Blade Works

-Shirou Emiya

-o-

AN: Hey! My longest chapter yet! Although given the length of the other chapters, not really much of a statement, and no one gives a sh-

Not much to say about the hospital scene other than that will be no harem. By harem I mean Shirou reciprocating feelings for multiple girls. Any romance in this fic is meant to be more of a background thing. As of the moment, Shirou isn't romantically interested in any of the girls, but that will slowly change over the next few chapters as I move the plot ahead by months instead of days and weeks.

The device Ozpin gave Shirou is just a plot device haha get it? to enable Shirou to participate in the upcoming Vytal tournament, but it may come in handy later too.

In regards to the scene with Shirou and Saber, she does have a material form inside UBW, but has nothing to sustain her outside of it, but that doesn't necessarily mean her influence doesn't extend out there. I plan to have some one on one training sessions between the two at some point.

Ooh finally Pyrrha gets a little development! It doesn't count as crying if no tears escape the eyes! I might have made her seem a little selfish, but I was trying more to show that her main drive came from herself. The fight scene was a little wonky…. That is all.

The sparring bit between Shirou and Pyrrha I tried to make longer and more detailed, but I'm still not sure if it reads out too quickly like the fight scenes in the first chapter. Now you may have noticed I drew attention to beginner mistakes made by Shirou, then proceeded to show him almost beating her. That's not to say she's weak. She's plenty strong. It's just that Shirou's ability to read her movements and strategies allowed him to overcome their difference in skill, mostly by taking her by surprise over and over again. The Shirou from Fuyuki would have been defeated by her rather quickly, regardless of the skills and powers he inherited from Archer unless he deployed UBW or powerful high ranking noble phantasms….which he wouldn't use in a normal spar.

I'm actually a bit excited about the Gilgamesh dream sequence. I pull the majority of my Fate knowledge off of the very informative wiki, so it'll be fun trying to describe the epic battle between Gil and the new figure.

This chapter took quite a while to get released. It's due to a mixture of timing, schoolwork, and writer's block. I might have a general idea of how the story will go, but not the middle bits, which can be the hardest parts to write. With that in mind, I, again, don't really know when I'll pump out another chapter, but I do occasionally write updates on my profile if I do end up getting one of those 1-3k word writing spurts, so if you for some reason actually want to keep up to date with this fic, you can check that out.

Madgamer2k7 out.