Episode 4 - When Eyes Cross

My name is Shirou Emiya. After helping a girl I didn't know, I was murdered by a Corrupted Heroic Spirit. In order to come back to life and save her from the monster, I chose to fight as Kamen Rider Ghost.

I have 89 days left.

"Dinner is ready!" Shirou called out, glancing away from the stove as he finished cooking. While Rin simply let out a small "Yay," as she laid on top of the table lazily, Manaka was already in the kitchen pulling out bowls and plates to help.

"Thank you Manaka." He said, smiling at her before dishing out the food onto them.

"It's no problem, Shirou," She said quietly, backing away slightly to give him the space he needed, "It's the least I can do."

"Not in the slightest, I'm more than willing to take care of everything, especially given your situation, but I do appreciate you going out of your way to help."

"I-I see."

"Less flirting and more dinner!" Rin complained from her spot with a loud groan.

"We are not flirting." Shirou said with an annoyed tone as he brought the plates in, oblivious to Manaka blushing in the kitchen, "With her amnesia she has far more pressing issues to deal with, so can you not tease her?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say Eroge Protag, now give me my dinner!" She childishly half demanded, half pouted.

Sighing at her antics, he handed her food, choosing to ignore her nickname for him as he continued to bring the plates to the table.

As the three sat to eat Shirou noted, "It's strange that neither Sakura or Fuji-nee were here today," casting a suspicious gaze at the resident redhead he asked, "You wouldn't have anything to do with that now would you?"

"What? No. Why would I?" She asked looking at him between bites.

"Well, you have been known for messing with my friend's minds already." He noted, bringing up the very recent memory alterations she had indeed done.

"You did do it, even when he asked you not to." Manaka joined in quietly.

"And now you're double-teaming me! I didn't do it, I don't know why neither of them were here!"

"If you say so, I'll believe you." He said with a sigh, dropping it for now, "On another note, have you sensed any Corrupted in the area Rin?"

"Well isn't someone excited to get out to fight again?" She said teasingly.

"We both know that isn't my reason. Those things are dangerous and can't be left to wander around too long, so I'd like to know about them sooner rather than later."

Letting out a sigh, she said, "One has started to form a bit out of the city. It wasn't going to be a problem for a bit, so I was trying to give you a bit of a break until it was necessary."

Standing up from his spot, Shirou nodded to her, "I appreciate your concern, but I'll take it out now before something does happen."

"Don't know what I expected Mr. Hero-Wannabe, good luck."

"Good luck Shirou." Manaka joined in.

Glancing at the two of them from the doorway, he smirked as he pulled out his two Heroic Spirit Eyecons, "Thanks, but with these guys helping me, I'll be able to take any Corrupted on I'd say."

"ARTHUR!" screeched the Corrupted Heroic Spirit, its purple metal body pulsing with golden veins, black smoke pouring out of holes running along the sides of its chest, as it rampaged through the graveyard, uprooting gravestones and tossing them as if they were balls of paper, like an angered child throwing a tantrum.

"Well this one was certainly a lot simpler to find." Shirou noted as he pulled up on the scene, the Corrupted oblivious to him watching it.

Pulling out his Eyecon, his Driver formed into place on his waist as he sighed, "I doubt I'll be able to just ask him politely to stop destroying the area, so let's try knocking some sense into him first."

"EYE! WATCH THIS!" The driver screeched out as he slotted his Eyecon in it and closed it, gaining the Corrupted's attention as it roared and chucked a gravestone at him.

"Henshin." Gripping the handle, he pulled it out, before slamming it back in.

"EYES OPEN! IT'S ME!"

As the black body armor wrapped around him, the black and orange coat danced around him in the air, smacking the flying gravestone away before attaching itself to him. "LET'S GO! DEAD SET! G-G-G-GHOST!"

As the orange faceplate formed over his shell like mask, he pulled down the hood of the jacket before revving the engine of his motorcycle as he charged the Corrupted as the driver finished it's chant, "GO! GO! GO! GO!"

Seeing him charge at him, the Corrupted stopped its rampage, choosing to attack him instead, rushing at him with its claws drawn as it leapt at him.

Weaving through uprooted earth, Shirou used a shattered gravestone as a ramp to launch his motorcycle at the charging Corrupted, leaping off it right before they smashed together.

As the Corrupted was sent to the ground under the bike, he pulled out the teal Eyecon from under his jacket, "Let's try you out now Kiyohime!"

Clicking the button along the side of the Eyecon, he replaced his own with hers.

"EYE! WATCH THIS!" Grabbing the handle, he pulled it out, before slamming it in.

"HENSHIN!" He shouted as his jacket disappeared.

"EYES OPEN: KIYOHIME!" Tatters of white and teal formed around before slamming into his body. Hitting the ground rolling, a white faceplate resembling a dragon's face formed into place, a teal jacket with white attached to his body.

"BURN BURN BURN THE LIES!" As wisps of fire darted around his body, they came together into two clumps before slamming into his arms, solidifying instantly into hard metal bell like weapons covering his fists.

As his transformation finished, the Corrupted had thrown the bike off of itself, growling at his new appearance. As he warily watched him, Shirou looked down at the bell like weapons he was now equipped with, turning his arms to look at their entirety, "Well this is certainly interesting."

Looking over at the Corrupted he shouted, "So I don't suppose you'd want to just stop right here and solve this without me having to beat your face in?"

Getting only a snarl in response he sighed, "Yeah I kinda figured as much. Guess we really are doing this the hard way. Let's go Kiyohime!" Before charging at the Corrupted who responded in turn.

Leaning towards the side, Shirou avoided the Corrupted's lunge which would've taken off his head before jabbing him in the side with a bell covered fist, fire exploding with the loud sound of a gong as he struck, leaving a burn mark where he had struck.

As the corrupted screeched, Shirou launched a series of jabs towards his gut before he could react, each exploding louder and brighter than the last.

Reeling his left fist back, he brought his right hand down to the handle of the Driver, gripping it with his hand, "Let's finish this!"

"EYES OPEN: KIYOHIME OMEGA DRIVE!"

Burning white fire erupted from his fist, forming the silhouette of a dragon coiling around him as he went to strike the Corrupted and finish the fight then and there. The Corrupted moved to avoid it, but was unable to and was crushed into the ground, a burning crater forming around them as Shirou drove it into the ground with a roar.

As the Corrupted laid in the middle of the smoking crater, body limp and slowly fading away, Shirou relaxed and let out a sigh of relief.

"Good job Kiyohime, we took him out before his rampage spread to the city."

'Thank you for the praise my Master, but it was real-MASTER LOOK OUT!' Her voice spoke softly in his mind at first before breaking out into a terrified scream.

Before he could react to her warning, he felt a sudden sharp pain in his side.

"W-What the…?" Looking down, he was met with the sight of three jagged blades connected to thick metal cords stabbed into his side, blood already leaking from the wound. Reaching down to rip out the blades, the cord attached to them suddenly tightened before he felt himself get dragged along by it.

Flung into the air by the cords, he felt them get ripped out of his body, the force dragging him to the ground. Slamming into the ground, he groaned loudly in pain before standing back up on wobbly legs.

'MASTER! Are you okay?!' Kiyohime's panicked voice screamed in his head.

"I'm fine, I'm fine…" He muttered back as his eyes darted around him, looking for who had attacked him.

"Still standing? Well color me surprised, I expected you to be crying on the ground in pain by now." mocked a voice from the shadows.

"Who's there? W-" Shirou gripped his bleeding side, "Why the hell did you attack me? Are you one of those Corrupted?"

"A Corrupted?" The voice asked in mock disbelief before laughing loudly and cruelly, "No, no, no...I think you'll find I have much more in common with you when compared to them."

Stepping out of the shadows, was another Kamen Rider.

Cloaked in a dark purple and black jacket with bladed cords hanging loosely from underneath it and a purple skull like mask, he pointed at Shirou as he said, "You asked me who I was and why I attacked you. The name's Kamen Rider Specter, and I will be the one to obtain the 15 Heroic Spirit Eyecons."

As he finished speaking, he immediately charged Shirou, swinging his arms inwards as he ran, the bladed cords following suit.

"D-Dammit." Shirou growled out, charging forwards to try and avoid the blades themselves, launching a punch at Specter.

As the strike hit and exploded, Specter brought his arms in as he screamed, bringing the blades back swiftly, striking Shirou's back as they passed.

The cords tangling around him as they passed, Shirou grabbed onto them, tugging them roughly and flung Specter into the ground. As Specter smashed into the ground, he pulled out an Eyecon from under his jacket before replacing the one he had currently been using.

"EYE! WATCH THIS!"

"Henshin."

"EYES OPEN: MEDEA!"

As his coat and weapons disappeared, they were quickly replaced with a much brighter violet coat and a faceplate that resembled a magic circle in the shape of a flower. Floating above the ground, he uprighted himself before rising up into the air, magic circles forming around him as they blasted the ground around Shirou trying to hit his retreating form.

Realizing he wouldn't be able to fight back with Kiyohime's slower, close ranged attacks, he pulled out his other Eyecon, removing Kiyohime's from his Driver as he said, "Let's try this one now."

"EYE! WATCH THIS!"

"Henshin!"

"EYES OPEN: CHULAINN!"

As his transformation shifted into his other form, he started running even faster towards the crater. If he could grab that Eyecon, maybe it could help if even Cu wasn't enough!

As he reached the edge of the crater and saw the glowing Eyecon floating in place of the Corrupted's corpse, he was blasted into the air by a beam of energy.

As he spun himself in the air to land on his feet, Specter had already dropped himself right next to the Eyecon, picking up with a hand as he tossed it up and down softly. "I told you already didn't I? I will be the one to obtain the 15 Heroic Spirit Eyecons. And that includes yours of course."

Seeing his chance to strike down this Specter, Shirou reached down to his driver, grabbing the handle and pulling out before slamming it back in.

"EYES OPEN: CHULAINN OMEGA DRIVE!"

Leaping up into the air, red bolts of energy formed in the air around him as he kicked them at Specter, each forming a pseudo version of Gae Bolg as he struck them.

"What the?!" Specter shouted as he moved to avoid the blasting spears coming at him, them bending at unnatural angles to try and strike him.

As the spears struck him, some embedding themselves in him before disappearing and others only leaving shallow cuts, Shirou landed on the ground, panting due to the exertion of using multiple omega drives in succession.

As the spears stopped striking him, Specter stood on wobbling legs, panting heavily. He certainly hadn't expected this from Ghost. Pulling out another Eyecon, he panted as he said, "You fucking bastard, making me pull out this one."

"EYE! WATCH THIS!"

Raising his arms dramatically his glare towards Shirou seemed to leak hatred as he brought a hand down to the driver, pulling out the handle and shoving it back in. "HENSHIN!"

"EYES OPEN: MEDUSA!"

The jacket covering his form ripped away, as tatters of magenta and chains formed in the air. Slamming into his body, he was now cloaked in the magenta jacket with chains wrapped around his arms and face, holding the hood up.

Charging at Shirou, he swung at him with his left fist. Ducking under it, Shirou didn't have time to respond to Specter pulling the handle again.

"EYES OPEN: MEDUSA OMEGA DRIVE!"

The chains burst off his body, large bulbous eyes that glowed a bright pink having been hidden by them. As their gaze met his own, Shirou could feel his body slowing down to a crawl as he felt his body become stone like in flakes as Specter beat into him, each blow harder than the last.

Finished with beating him to a pulp while he was frozen, he stood up straight. Silently Specter took a step back from the beaten up frozen Shirou, turning around. Before spinning around and kicking him in the face with enough force to smash him through multiple gravestones.

Coughing, Shirou held onto his wounded sides as he shakingly stood up again.

Only to find Specter gone.

He had left. With the Eyecon.

And he had let him live.

Shirou stumbled through the door of his house, his motorcycle left abandoned by the gate as he groaned out in pain. With blood dripping from his side he managed to make his way to the main room.

"H-hey guys, I could use a little help…" He groaned out, leaning against the doorframe, his hands shaking as he tried to hold himself upright.

"Emiya-kun?" Rin gasped, her expression shaken as she stood up from her spot in front of the television, having been watching some random magical girl anime until he made his presence known.

"Shirou!?" Manaka shouted, leaping up from her spot and rushing over towards him as he began to collapse, catching him before he hit the ground. "What happened?! Who did this?!" She asked in a panicked voice.

"A-Another Kamen Rider. W-with Heroic Spirit Eyecons." He said, trying to step away from Manaka and stand upright, but her grip stopped his weakened attempts.

"Another Kamen Rider?" Rin asked with a shocked expression. "But that doesn't make any sense, how?!"

"Does it matter Rin?! Shirou's hurt right now!" Manaka shouted at her, causing Shirou to groan out in protest due to her panicked shouting being right next to his ear.

"Y-You're right. I'll get the first aid, make sure he doesn't hurt himself anymore until I get back with the kit." She said, turning and exiting the room quickly.

"C-Come on Shirou, let's get you sitting, you'll be okay, Rin will be here with the first aid kit soon and we'll get you all patched up." She said, gently helping him move towards the table.

'M'bad kid, should've been able to take out that blue boy even if he had some firepower backing him up.'

'I'm sorry Master, I should've been more useful in your confrontation with that bastard.'

"It's okay guys, it was my fault, I was the one fighting him after all." Shirou muttered back to the Heroic Spirits, deflecting their apologies as Manaka helped him sit on the floor.

"Shirou…" Manaka muttered her hands reaching down to the edge of his shirt, stuck to his body by the blood leaking out of his side, "We're going to have to check your wounds…"

"Yeah, yeah," He muttered, reaching down and pulling the shirt off slowly with her help, trying not to agitate his wounds even further.

"I found the first aid kit!" Rin shouted as she rushed back into the room, moving towards Shirou's side quickly as she opened the kit, before looking over his wounds.

Dark bruises littered his chest and arms, with thin cuts darting between them. Blood leaked out of his side through a jagged gash that ran along his side below his ribs. Patches of skin had fallen off in places, leaving chip like wounds.

"You've got to be kidding me," she muttered in horror as she started treating his wounds, "What type of Heroic Eyecon does this guy have to have to do this to you?"

"Some type of assassin, someone called Medea, and Medusa." Shirou grit out as she wrapped the gash mark tightly.

"Medea?! Medusa?!"

"Attacked me with a lot of blasts of energy with the first one, and tried to freeze me with Medusa, but I managed to avoid the worst of it."

Rin's thoughts were racing as she treated Shirou's wounds. Another Kamen Rider. With multiple Heroic Eyecons. Including Medusa. And he was hostile towards Shirou, as she severely doubted that he had been the aggressor of the two. She couldn't think of how it could be much worse.

Manaka wasn't sure what to do. She couldn't help Shirou fight, she couldn't provide assistance with the Eyecons in any way, and she even couldn't help him now with her lack of medical knowledge. Feelings of uselessness plagued her mind as she sat there watching Rin treat his wounds. She didn't know what she could do…

Shirou wallowed in self loathing thoughts. He had been on the ropes the entire fight with Specter, and the only reason he was still alive was because Specter let him. If Specter had decided otherwise, he would've been dead and his Eyecons would've been stripped away and he would've left everyone behind and disappointed them and would've have been able to complete Kiritsugu's dream…

"Dammit…" He muttered out, clenching his fists.

As he continued to wallow in self loathing, Manaka noticed and placed her hand over his as she said, "Hey Shirou, you know we're both here for you right?"

"Huh?" Shirou asked as he was broken out of his thoughts, looking at her in surprise.

"Yeah, so what if you got your ass kicked today? You're still kinda alive, and you can just get stronger through the power of friendship or something and kick his ass next time." Rin said with a playful smile as she finished treating his wounds.

As if agreeing with her, his Heroic Eyecons glew brightly for a moment before dulling down again after getting his attention.

Smiling lightly Shirou said, "I guess you're right,"-"Of course I am"-"Thanks, all of you."

"Don't mention it Emiya-kun."

"It's no problem Shirou."

The Eyecons lit up for a moment again in response.

Shirou smiled at them all. He might've lost, he might have only been alive because of Specter letting him live. But he had a second chance. Again. He'd just have to get better. He'd have to be able to win next time.

He wouldn't let any of them down.

Not this time.

Specter stumbled into his lavishly furnished room, leaning against the doorframe as he panted heavily. Sitting in a chair next to a desk in the room was the blue haired girl reading a book. As he wobbled towards the large bed off in the corner of the room, she looked up towards him before saying,

"Well you're looking worse for wear Specter. What happened? Do you require medical service?"

Reaching down towards his Driver, he removed his Eyecon, his armor disappearing in a shower of sparks as a battered Shinji Matou collapsed forward, just barely missing his bed.

Hitting the floor he groaned, trying to pick himself up using the bed frame as support. Hands shaking from both phantom pain and normal pain he managed to pull himself up high enough to collapse onto the bed, his breath increasingly ragged.

"G-Get the firs...aid…" He managed to get out, clenching his teeth as he groaned in pain.

"Understood Specter." She said with a nod, closing the book before setting it on the desk and standing up, leaving the room to retrieve the first aid.

Groaning as he held onto his wounded sides, he rolled onto his back on the bed, glaring up at the ceiling. How could Ghost be so damn strong? He had only recently became a Rider, and he had half the Heroic Spirit Eyecons he had!

So how?!

Why had he been strong enough to push him to the brink and force him to retreat after using his Omega Drive?!

He didn't know and it pissed him off. He should've easily beaten Ghost and taken his Eyecons from him. And yet, here he was. A battered mess gasping in pain.

A dog with its tail between its legs.

As he wallowed in a strange mixture of self-pity and self-hatred the blue haired girl reentered the room, now equipped with a first aid kit. Walking over to him, she slowly began to strip him of his coat and shirt as she checked for the more serious injuries.

Seeing the dark bruises, burns, and thin cuts running along his arms and torso, she frowned as she opened the kit, pulling out rubbing alcohol from the kit and dabbing it on a cloth before pressing it against his wounds, cleaning them.

As he hissed in pain, she spoke in a calm tone, "What happened Specter? I never expected to see you come back in this shape."

"Th-That other Kamen Rider. Ghost. The bastard's tougher than I thought he'd be." He said in between his hissing as she rubbed his wounds clean.

"I see." She said, rubbing ointment against the burn marks running along his sides. "Do you think you'll be able to defeat him next time then?"

"Of course. He only caught me by surprise, I hadn't expected him to be so familiar with our level of combat yet, especially not with such strong Heroic Spirit Eyecons." He said with scoff as she finished cleaning his wounds, before pulling out the gauze and wrapping his wounds.

A lie.

He didn't know if he could beat Ghost.

He should've held the advantage the entire fight, but he had been beaten so badly from his attacks that even when he had him right where he wanted him he had to leave before he collapsed in the middle of the fight. He might've done more damage to Ghost than what he did to him, he didn't know, but he also had stronger Heroic Spirit Eyecons and had been fighting for weeks now.

Not only that, but he had tired himself out, he wouldn't have lasted another blow in that fight.

Not that he would ever admit that.

"I see." She said, closing the first aid kit. He didn't know if she saw through his lies, but he'd just assume she hadn't.

"Especially with this." He said, pulling out the dark purple and gold Heroic Spirit Eyecon he had taken from Ghost.

"Another Heroic Spirit Eyecon." She said, her eyes widening ever so slightly.

"Lancelot. A knight of the round table. This one is surely stronger than anything that Ghost has currently." He said, his grip tightening on it. With such a famous hero powering this Eyecon, there was no way he'd lose next time. Surely.

"We now have four. Only eleven more to go before you can-"

"Can obtain my wish I know." He interrupted her before continuing, "I'm tired now and would like to go to sleep. Hurry up and get to your own room before I toss you out myself."

"If you say so Specter." She said with a sigh, picking up the first aid kit before turning and walking towards the door. Stopping at the door, she left after saying, "Good night."

Not bothering to respond, he set his Eyecons on his bedside table, groaning at the motion before collapsing back into his bed.

He had lost this time, but he wasn't going to lose again.

He had only been surprised, and lost because he wasn't ready for him to be so strong he slowly convinced himself as he drifted off into a light and troubled sleep.

He wouldn't let his sacrifices be in vain.

And he wouldn't be shown up by some idiot who didn't know what he was getting into.

Omake

"Y-you're the Wizard!" The large horned creature with grey skin and pulsing green veins screeched, a slight shaking evident in its voice, as it pointed a clawed finger at the young man in front of him, who had just shot down his attacks as if they had been nothing.

His red eyes caught the moonlight, giving them a gem like appearance as he stared down the monster.

Sighing, he lowered the silver gun to his side, glancing back at Astolfo.

"You okay?" He asked, not addressing the monster.

"Y-yeah." He managed to say, "W-who are you?"

Turning back to the monster, he slipped his empty hand into the pocket of his waistcoat, before sliding it out again, a silver ring encrusted with a large red gem now there. A belt formed along his waist, bright silver in color and with a design reminiscent of a fancy watch, with a black hand design resting along its faceplate.

"Driver on, Please."

"I won't let you!" The monster screeched, seemingly terrified of the belt as it appeared, fire blasting out of its hands towards Sieg.

"Henshin." He said, shifting the frame around the ring's gem, giving it the appearance of a mask before shifting the driver's faceplate, making the hand face the other direction.

"Shabadoobi Touch Henshin."

Moving his ringed hand down, his hand met the driver's, "Flame, Please."

Glowing red magic circles formed around him as the creature's fire approached, them enclosing around him with a chant of "Heat, Heat, Heat"

A black cloak and armor formed around him, with large rubies encrusted in silver as faceplate and armor, and bright red metal shackles around his ankles and wrists. As the armor solidified, the fire struck him.

Appearing to be unaffected, he raised a hand to the side amongst the inferno, snapping his fingers as another magic circle formed, it sucking the fire into itself with a loud howling sound.

"Sieg. But everyone just calls me Wizard." He spoke with a distorted voice, answering Astolfo's previous question before directing his attention back towards the creature.

"It's showtime." He said, before leaping towards the creature, gun still in hand as he took aim, firing blasts before he even hit the ground.

I apologize for the incredibly late chapter release, school, FGO, life, writer's block, and just general laziness has delayed this one by a lot. But it's here now, if that's worth something?

And our protagonists have both been introduced, now all that's left is the Third Rider and the antagonists to make their appearance. And a couple Eyecons. Okay a lot of Eyecons. Hope you like 'Monster-of-the-Week's, cause we're about to get some. Now there will be world building and character development in them, so don't think you can just skip them until the main antagonists are introduced.

Well even if it was late, I hope you still found some enjoyment in it.

Thank you for your time, and have a nice day.