I have been meaning to do a fate Fanfiction for a long time. This is probably the one I was the most excited to do among all of them because it is something creative and original. I'm not sure if anyone else had this fanfic idea, but I really wanted to do this. AU fanfics are just so interesting to think about. Here's the prologue. I'm not good with starting stories or drama, so I hope it will make a good start. Also, if anyone can provide a decent book cover for this story that would be great.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate Franchise. The Fate series is owned by Type-Moon.

Prologue

"Am I going to die here?"

In an ideal world where there was no suffering, no pain, and no tragedies, a child as young as him would not have these thoughts. Instead, they would think of fun, joy, family, and friends. In an ideal world, no child would ever have to go through what the boy was going through, lying down on his back, looking at the sky, his eyes dead, and the rest of his body following. No… the world the boy lived in, and would soon die in, was no ideal world. The boy's world was the farthest one could get from an ideal world anyone could get.

This world was kind to some, but cruel to most. This world was one that inspired children to hope and dream, shielding their innocent minds with distractions of a distant future where they are policemen, doctors, scientists, and heroes. Veiled by the illusion that they cannot die, children go about their lives, naïve and happy, not knowing the truth of the world. The veil however is a thin one, and is easily torn with the introductions of a cruel truth of the world. All it takes is one tiny prick to tear apart that veil and introduce the child to the truth, and ultimately the true name of the world. Many children (or at least, the ones which life was kind to up to that point) can go about their lives in bliss up until that point, but once they learn the name of the world, they cannot go back to whom they were. And now, it was they boy's turn to learn the name of the world so distant from the ideal world that even the numbers of names they possess vary. An ideal world can have many names, but no true name. The true world however has but one, and only need one true name. This world named Reality.

For the boy, he had just gotten a glimpse of reality as the blaze engulfed his friends, family, and all he knew. His body broken, his mind shutting down, he just lay there in pain, loosing the will to continue. There was no memory prior to the fire. Who he was, his loved ones, where he lived, he tried desperately to recall so many events in his life before the fire that engulfed it all. In the end, all he could remember that his name was his name. The fire had already burned away everything else, apparently his memory too. Right now, his name was the only thing he could recall of his previous life, and even that was beginning to fade. No, it was not fading. It was burning, becoming fuel for the fire that had taken everything else from the boy. Still, the boy continued to hold onto that last bit of himself. Hopefully, his name, and ultimately his identity, will still be with him when it was all over.

There he lay, bloody, burnt, smelling of ash and cinder, ignoring the blackened forms of the people who tried desperately to escape the fire, only to be caught up in the fire that currently engulfs the city. He wondered if the person he attempted to save earlier was among those people. He had no way of remembering, not even who that person was. Were they a parent of his? A sibling? Maybe a complete stranger? It didn't matter anymore. Nothing else did. All he could do was lay there, dazed, unmoving, and ready to be claimed by the fire that had taken so much from him.

He did not want to die, especially not like this, but there was nothing more that could be done. The boy could only lie there like a toy that would not function anymore. There was nothing left for him to protect, nothing for him to fight for. The world had come before him and introduced his name to the boy who should have been living a happy life taking bliss in his own faultless idealistic view of the world up to that point. Instead, reality had come, and burned away what had protected the boy's innocence, showing the darker side of the world. It had shown the cruel part of the world and the indiscriminate mortality of others. It was random, without foresight, and it was happening to him. Him, and all of those around him, and he was powerless to do anything about it. Al he could do was look up at the sky.

He heard thunder rumbling and soon realized that the clouds above were getting darker. It would rain soon. Once it did, most of the fire would be put out, anything left over can be easily managed by men. The boy allowed himself to feel some hope. Despite the prospect of the fire being put out by the rain, he knew it had come too late. The boy could barely breath, and he could feel his consciousness fading.

"It's so painful," thought the boy. "Living is so painful." It was all he could do. That, and one more fruitless motion.

He raised his hand to the sky. Why he did it, the boy did not know. He was not seeking any salvation; he was just reaching out to something he knew he could never touch. Maybe he saw the sky as the last bit of hope in his life. The fire had taken from so many people, and now here the rainclouds were, giving something back to the people who were robbed. Maybe he just wanted to touch something; any kind of charitable force, just for the sake of knowing there was something more then the hungry fire around him.

"The sky… is so far away." Those were his final thoughts as his last remaining consciousness fell. With it, all his strength, his hope, and his reason for continuing. As if to signify his surrender, the raised hand fell down as well.

At least it should have. He had no strength left, so he should have felt his hand slam down next to the rest of his broken body, devoid of strength and purpose. Instead, it was still raised, not by the boy's power, but by something else. Did the clouds see him and decide to come down and support him? But that was not possible, apart from scientific reasons, what the boy felt was not something he imagined a cloud would feel like. What he felt, holding his hand, was soft as well as warm. Not warm like the fire, but a different kind of warmth. It did not take away like the fire, but gave back to the boy that had lost so much.

The boy tried to look up, but his vision was still blurry and he could not accurately identify what he was seeing. There was a clear outline hovering above him. He soon recognized the warmth for what it was. It was a person, holding his hand.

It was then he heard the voice. It was a sad, desperate voice that called out to the lost child, pleading with him for something.

"Please…" the voice said. There were only bits and pieces that the dazed youth could hear, but he could hear the anxiety behind the words he could understand. "… alive… wake…"

What did it want from him? Everything but his name was taken away. So why was this voice so desperate to demand something from him, a child who could not even hold his own arm above his head? The boy was so far gone mentally that he did not stop to consider the voice had come from the person watching over him. He just wanted to look at the blurry person above him to see what they would do, and ignored the voice. If he was going to die, he wanted to at least catch the face of the person who was kind enough to stay with him till his last breath.

Just as he was about to blackout again, he saw the light. A bright golden light had enveloped the boy, and he felt a new kind of warmth. He did not know what the light was. His vision was so hazy he could not see clearly enough, but the light made it that much harder to see. For some odd reason however, the light did not hurt his eyes as he gazed at it. Instead, the golden light seemed to make them better. His eyes were not the only part of him to feel this miraculous effect.

The child who had lost hope just moments ago could feel a sort of comfort from the light, and he suddenly felt as though he was floating among the clouds. The light, as well as the hand that held his own, made him feel completely weightless. In addition, he could feel his aches and pains gradually go away. He still felt them, but they were not as apparent, as if the light was trying to take his mind off of them. He even found himself not needing to breath.

Could this be it? Was this light Heaven? Was an angel or a saint, leading him to a world where there was no fire to take from him? These thoughts ran through his head for a few seconds, but soon, he gave up trying to rationalize this, and accepted it. For those few moments, he felt the hope he was seeking for so long.

Then the light dimmed, and he was back in the ruins of the city that had been his home for so long. Consciousness slowly returned, and realized that his body actually felt better. He was still in not condition to move, but for now, the pain that was in his body had subsided, and all of his senses were returning. He could even breathe again, albeit with some difficulty.

The first thing he noticed was the occasional cold pellet that hit his face. The clouds have finally decided to left for the rain that would douse much of the fire. The affect was nearly immediate to the boy, as the heat that surrounded him begins to die down, and the brightness of the flames was replaced with a cold shadow. The recognition of the sudden change in the weather however was no where near as enlightening to the boy as he shifted his eyes to the figure before him, still holding his hand.

"Thank goodness." The figure exclaimed gleefully. "You're alive." The person seemed so happy. "Do you see? I did it… for you… I did it…" the person kept on calling out. As far as the young boy could tell, there was no one else near by. He wondered whom the mysterious person was talking too. "Thank you…" the person said looking at the boy. "I found it… do you see… Kiritsugu…?"

He finally saw the person for who they were. Tears streaming down her face, the woman dressed in violet-red had very pale skin, bright white hair, and eyes a deep red color. There was black soot all over her face and clothes, a contrast to her white hair and skin. Despite being unkempt and having eerie physical characteristics, the woman was very pretty. The boy could not help but be in awe of her, as her silky hair caught breeze that blew away some of the soot and seemed to giver her a small fraction of the mystic quality she had a moment ago. Of all the older women he saw, she was clearly the most beautiful. It would not be surprised if she were indeed an angel or a saint. A woman as lovely as her could not be anything less.

She held the boy's hand to her cheek in joy as she looked down at the boy. Focusing on the woman's face, he realized that it was the woman's smile he found the most beautiful part about her. Such a bright, heavenly smile, filled with overall joy even though her red eyes still showed sadness and loss. It was a smile rejuvenated the boy. He managed to fill the boy with hope once again, and once again found a resolve to live, if not live a new life, then at the very least to continue to see that smile.

"I have my reason again," the woman said. The boy thought she was reading his mind. He soon realized she was talking to whoever the other person was. "I have... my reason..." He then saw the smile gradually fade from the woman's face. Her lips no longer formed the beautiful smile that gave him hope. Instead, they began to tremble, and formed a frown. While still holding the boy's hand, she covered her eyes with free hand, wiping the tears away from her face. "Do you see? Wherever you are, do you see Kiritsugu? I managed to save someone… for you… so please… please…" She then began to weep in her hand, all the while, holding the boy's hand tight, lost in whatever memory caused her sudden change.

This was all wrong. She shouldn't be like this. As far as he knew angels and saints did not cry. This woman should not cry either. She should be happy all the time, she should be giving everyone around her that intoxicating smile, letting everyone her know that whatever troubles they may have, it will be alright. The boy new he was being selfish when he had this thought, but seeing his savior like this was far too painful. He had come to associate this person with some kind otherworldly creature with a smile that fills those who see it with joy. He did not want to see a woman he identified as a heroic person in this lowly state. It made her look so vulnerable, and at the moment, he wanted her to be some kind of flawless divine being. After all, only something from heaven could have that smile.

The boy realized that was not the case. The woman who knelt before him was human, a human who had something taken away from her as well. Kiritsugu, she kept calling. Was that the name of the person who was taken from her? Did the fire take him as well?

Patiently, the boy continued to watch the woman sob, softly at first, then a bit louder. Even with all of this, the boy could tell she was still trying to hold back, still trying to be strong, but it was slowly crumbling way. He could tell just by looking at her that whatever she went through, it must have been just has hard, if not worst then what happened to him. The worst part was that the boy could even comfort her. He was still too badly hurt and weak to move, let alone speak. What he managed to do was gently squeeze her hand in an attempt to comfort her. If she noticed, she gave no indication.

A new meeting has set in a motion a series of events that will lead to either a new world, the destruction of the old, or maybe something more. Irisviel von Einzbern, who had altered her destiny has now been directed to a new one. A lost boy named Shirou who reached out for a savior has found one in a person who is equally lost. What future awaits the woman who strayed from her purpose and the boy with a missing past? Their fates have been intertwined, leading to an uncertain outcome. Who knows what the future holds? Maybe the "ideal world" will become the new reality.

A/N

Here is one of my first stories I am serious about. I have various Fate fanfiction ideas I am testing out. For not, this one seems like the most creative. Expect this Shirou to be a bit different from the mainstream. Yes, this one will be raised by Iri, and yes, if you haven't figured it out yet, Kiri is dead in this universe. As for how this came to be, it will be touched up on in later chapters. I do have a somewhat plausible way to have Iri not become the grail, I won't go into much detail, but I may explain that next chapter. Also, my idea is not officially decided. If any of you have an idea please share it. I am honestly BSing my idea, but the main point is Shirou is raised by Iri. I have a general idea bout how the story goes, though I may change things up later.

The cast will more or less be the same. I may or may not allow for different Masters to summon different servants. I will however say without a doubt that Archer will be in the story, and it will be hilarious.

BTW, Iri's personality in this story will be similar to her PRISMA counterpart, so expect plenty of trolling.

Future Fanfic ideas for Fate

Fate/Extra Hakuno transported to world of Zero with Fox Caster as his Servant, or to Fate Stay Night with Red Saber as his servant

Third Holy Grail War

One more idea I am tempted to do, and will save it for later.