A/N

Alright lads, I felt productive today so I decided to force myself to get this chapter out. It's one I was really looking forward to writing. I hope you like it.

Chapter 4: A Holy Shroud

The life of a Church Executor was dark. Fighting for one's faith would lead many to happiness, but not everyone. The blue haired girl encountered many oddities in her life, from Dead Apostles, mages who had gone insane and even other unworldly creatures. She always believed in herself and always managed to live through every challenge.

'I don't need anything more.'

Assignment after assignment, she would face another Dead Apostle, another mage, another creature of the night. Time after time she would come out on top. Her life needed no meaning.

'This is all I have.'

She fought and fought. Using her blades to the best of her ability. No matter how many of them came at her, she always knew she would emerge victorious. And yet one day she heard a voice.

"Sorry for barging in. I'll give you a hand."

It happened so fast. Before she knew it, her foe was already defeated. For the first time in her life victory was stolen from her. She looked at the one who took it from her and was confused.

'I don't need you.'

He was tall. One look at him was enough for her to determine that he was a mage. As she was always taught, she pulled out her blades and prepared for the worst.

'I can take you.'

He didn't make a move. He simply looked at her wide-eyed. And said...

"Ah, sorry. Did you have it under control?"

Once again, she didn't know what she was feeling. Did she hate the man for intruding on her way of life? Did she want to kill him for it? Was she embarrassed to let her guard down for one second and allow her enemy to be defeated by someone else? The blades she was holding in her hands were her weapons, and yet for the first time in her life she wasn't able to use them in time.

The man who stood before her was something she's never seen before. A mage wouldn't help, nor would he attempt to steal a fight from an Executor. He was a mage, and yet he was not.

"Well, if you're alright here then I'll go. Be careful." He said as he headed for whence he came from.

"Wait right there!" She called out to him. "Who do you think you are!?"

The man was taken aback. His guard was down, she knew she could take him easily, and yet he only stood there, looking wide eyed at her.

"I'm Emiya Shirou. I'm a mercenary of sorts." He said.

He ran a hand through his hair and looked at her again.

"Although I like to call myself a Hero of Justice."

Those were his words. He stood calmly in the moonlight as he said them. All the blue haired girl could do was look at him, dumbfounded by him as he left.

A few months had passed and the girl was back on her usual routine. The Church would tell her where to go, what to do, how to do it and when to do it. Afterwards she would follow their instructions, accomplish her mission and return to receive another assignment. A cycle that went on and on and on.

By this point she has been all over the world hunting her prey. Her next assignment was London, a place that stirred some memories.

Reports said a Dead Apostle had created an unknown number of Dead and started causing chaos during the night. The Clock Tower was sure to be on its trail as well, as they couldn't leave such a threat exist in their backyard.

It was a simple mission, as the Dead were easy to find.

'Sixteen'

One after another she would find in dark alleyways.

'Twenty four'

One after another would fall to her Black Keys.

'Thirty three'

It was then when she realized there were no more.

Standing in a dark alleyway, her instinct told her to dodge. As soon as she did so a curse barely missed her head. Before another could come her blades were ready.

The figure in front of her, dressed all in white was a Dead Apostle. It didn't look threatening, in fact its frustration was showing on its face. All its hard work was undone in less than a few hours by a single Executor.

"I'll make good use of your corpse, you damn woman!"

She wasn't worried about his threats, as he was obviously not a strong Dead Apostle. He looked like a very young one.

She prepared her plan of attack, took into consideration its body size and visualized herself taking off his right hand before it could attack again. Her next attack would take its head, parrying his left arm with her right if needed while taking his head with the other. She clutched her Black Keys, took a short breath and -

"Wha-"

Five black arrows pierced the Dead Apostle's head. She instantly looked to the direction they were fired from. On the roof of a nearby building she saw a man dressed in black with a bow in his hands. Before she could prepare for an attack he dropped in front of her.

Her eyes widened when she realized that she had met this man before.

"Oh, it's you!" He said when he saw her, a hint of a smile on his lips.

'The man who called himself a Hero of Justice...'

A few more months had passed.

She had gotten used to his company. After the job in London he decided to tag along with her, despite her protests.

"It'll be easier to find work by following you than waiting for a call." Was his reasoning.

After a short while she got used to him.

"What's your name by the way?" She asked him suddenly.

"Emiya Shirou. I'm pretty sure I told you that the first time we met. What's yours?"

"Ciel."

"And?"

"Just Ciel is enough for me."

"Ciel, huh... it suits you."

Since that day she started to enjoy his company. They slowly built trust in each other, eventually fighting back to back against a pair of rogue mages in a forest.

The more time she spent with him, the closer they got.

One day she discovered that he was a great cook, especially when it came to eastern food. Needless to say, she loved his curry.

Day after day they would find a new job, with Shirou sometimes disappearing to do something on his own. When he returned he would tell her stories about how he solved a hostage situation, saved people from a building on fire, helped people after their area was hit by an earthquake and so on.

She couldn't help but notice how 'superhero-ish' he was, at some point even telling him he should get a cape.

It wasn't long before they started sharing an apartment. Ciel had a few long assignments in France, so she decided to actually find a place to settle down for a while. After all, it would be a nice place to return to instead of staying at random hotels every time, and waking up and eating his cooking always felt nice.

Before she knew it, a long time had passed.

"Hmm..."

It was morning.

Despite being an Executor, it's been a few weeks since her last assignments and there was no sign of new ones. Therefore Ciel started taking it easy.

The clock alarm was the one thing she hated more than anything at this point in her life. Lying in bed in the morning was one thing she loved, and as such the clock was her worst enemy.

She stretched her arm and stopped the alarm. After which she went back into the warm covers. It was winter, so she didn't like leaving the bed in the morning, but she always forgot to set up the alarm, so she left it on for every day instead.

Naturally, she couldn't go back to sleep. Instead Ciel gazed lovingly at the man sleeping next to her.

It came naturally over time. The more time they spent together the closer they got, until one day Shirou asked her out for dinner. Ciel was surprised, as she had never actually went on what he called a "date" before. Despite how awkward it felt she agreed, and had a surprisingly good time with him. One day they even got into a contest about their combat abilities, wondering whether Shirou's arrows or Ciel's Black Keys were faster.

Shirou could be solemn and sometimes goofy, but he was always someone she could rely on. Ciel didn't know if what they had was 'love' but she liked to believe so. There was no other way she could describe how she felt when he held her in his arms.

"Morning."

As she was lost in her thoughts she didn't realize that he opened his eyes. Shirou was looking at her with a sly smile on his face.

"M-morning. Did you sleep well?" She tried to recover.

"I don't think we slept too much last night." His smile widened.

"H-hey! It's not my fault you wanted to do it so many times!" She pouted.

"Well..." Shirou started. "We have nothing to do today, do we?"

She knew what the look on his face meant. He might appear serious in public, but his carefree side is the one she loved most. The entire time they've been together she still hasn't learned how to say no to that face. As usual for them, they spent the morning in bed.

Weeks passed and Ciel finally received a mission from the Church. However, at the same time Shirou told her that he wanted to go help with the civil unrest situation in the middle east. It wasn't rare for them to separate for a while when they needed.

The day came when Shirou had to leave.

"Wait a minute." She told him as she went back to their room. Before he could ask what it was, she handed him a box. He opened it and found a long red cloth inside.

"It's a Holy Shroud. It should come in handy." She said.

Shirou looked at it and put it in his briefcase. He wasn't very knowledgeable of such objects, but even he knew that a Holy Shroud wasn't something one gave away easily.

Usually when he left, he would give Ciel a hug and say goodbye. This time however he hugged her tight and kissed her, almost making her glasses fall off.

She knew she had nothing to worry about. After all he always came back. Once their lips parted he grabbed his briefcase, put on his scarf and headed for the door.

"I love you, Ciel."

Those were his words as he left.

Months had passed with no word from Emiya Shirou.

Ciel didn't worry, as she knew he was doing everything he could right now. It would be out of character for him to leave before his work was over. He would soon be back in his chair at the table, laughing with her at one of their stories.

More time had passed and she still had no news from him.

Ciel didn't worry, as she knew he was probably too focused on his adventure and maybe forgot to let her know how he was. His chair was still empty, and she waited for the day she could hear him laugh again.

Even more time had passed and he was still unheard from.

Ciel didn't worry, as she knew the Holy Shroud she gifted him would keep him safe. He would be back in his chair soon, telling her an exciting story about the way he saved thousands of people.

One day she heard his name on the news.

Ciel realized that there was an empty chair at the table. A chair where Emiya Shirou would laugh no more.