0. blind/mnemophobia

"His story has just ended- But, what about yours?" - Unknown

Something's not right-

It beat against the recesses of her consciousness, the thought, hammering her with full force even as she stood before the open almost welcoming iron-clad gates amongst countless others, most of which clamoured in their own groups, giggling, gossiping and inclining themselves to their own business, naively unaware of their own fallacy.

Why can't I remember-

It tore at her, the blankness of her mind, where no matter how hard she sought her memories even from when she found herself halfway to school without ever remembering that she even got up, it remained a complete void, only with the exception of her name.

Hakuno Kishinami

Her heart hammered in her ribcage as she scrambled for a sense of normality. It felt scripted, fake. Even the Student Council President remained unfazed as she ran off, shoving him aside violently before leaving the man to drone on and on about pant hems and model students in the empty space left behind. She needed to escape, to find somewhere to breathe against the suffocating atmosphere.

It's not natural-

She choked on the tight grip it had on her throat, tears threatening to spill as she finally marshalled an effort to reach her classroom.

So don't turn away now.

It got worse. The migraines, pounding against her skull as her vision grew hazy and warped. Even now as she sat in class all she could focus on was the pain as it increased. Like needles they jabbed themselves into her brain, burning, scathing, practically slicing away at everything she was until she could escape. So with the afternoon bell resounding, she shot up from her desk, nails harshly digging into her palms as she disappeared into the hallways, barely keeping track of her own footsteps as she ran downstairs.

It's fake, isn't it?

Her heart wanted to burst.

So don't turn away now.

Her thoughts raced barely keeping themselves in check when her path crossed that of a blonde, the young boy standing out in the monotony in his orange-clad uniform jumpsuit as he walked off disappearing down a hall. It was here that her classmate with an unremarkable appearance followed him and it was here she needed to make a decision.

This world does not exist-

She needed to know.

So don't turn away now.

And so she followed them, the words burning themselves into her mind, pausing only to the voice of her classmates. An unwillingness to intervene allowed her to hide from view behind the corner, silently eavesdropping into the bits and pieces of their conversation each bleeding into her memory. In the end, the blonde turned away but not before directing her a smile and vanishing from sight.

"...For reasons I cannot explain, I have the distinct feeling we will see each other again."

Was she ready to find out? The girl wasn't sure anymore despite her determination. She was scared, her vision had long distorted leaving only shapes and faces she barely knew and that had both left her with no choice and an alternative were she should simply let herself fade. But-

To turn back now would be pointless-

So she timidly reached out, pressing her fingers against the concrete and feeling it fade under her fingertips, replaced by the plaster of a door-

And pushed it open.

Her vision cleared, no longer was it blurry as Hakuno found herself in a room that resembled a small storage space in disrepair and yet, she cared little for the state as she eyed the human-sized effigy nearby. It stood unnaturally stiff against its surroundings, only coming to life when she dared to approach it. A disembodied voice drifted to her ears, pledging itself as her sword and shield before following her as a silent attendant as she headed into the unknown.

For a moment, black traced her vision before remerging as blue light patented to her feet allowing to follow the path before it shifted. The broken path beneath her feet solidified as the black warped changing to a blue. For a while, the girl walked through this in silence allowing it to wrap around her only to find it changing once again as her path now lay paved with transparent walls of blue, resembling a dungeon labyrinth.

"Welcome potential Master." A sardonic voice echoed from the around her, halting Hakuno in her tracks, "If you are looking for answers, you must reach the goal." The voice soon went silent, leaving her with no other option but to step forward.

Throughout the labyrinth, she found herself in slight marvel at the underwater atmosphere, quickly finding a fascination with the giant intricate skeleton as she explored with her silent attendant. Slowly becoming accustomed to battle as one by one the effigy destroyed the machines, noting the tips the voice gave as it guided her through the basics. This allowed the girl to focus on the voicing her commands as once again the doll had struck down another foe leaving her feeling slightly more confident than before.

After walking for a little longer, Hakuno soon found herself in a circular room. Before her, murals of stained glass immediately stood out to the girl, each of them patterned with different colours as their reflections pooled at her feet leaving her to marvel at them when she noticed an odd shape near her side. For a moment she considered it to be her effigy and brushed it off when looking up from the floor, however, she quickly realised that it wasn't the former as it stayed behind her.

Near her lay the unmoving body of her classmate that had followed the blonde previously. Dread seeped into her as she moved to her classmate's side to check their pulse...

Only to touch feeling of ice upon checking their wrist.

Her classmate was dead.

Before she could even react, a doll lying near her classmate activated brutally striking the effigy near her, quickly overwhelming it with a series of kicks and strikes before shattering the dummy into pieces, leaving her completely defenceless.

I can't move-!

Chained down by her fear, she found herself unable to move. The exception being her hands which came as a futile attempt to protect herself from the doll as it attacked easily beating her to the brink of death with a single attack as she collapsed to the floor, helpless.

"...Hmph, you seem to be lacking as well." The sardonic voice that had been guiding her spoke up in disappointment, "With your inevitable loss, I will consider this round of preliminaries to be over-" The rest fell on deaf ears as Hakuno's vision began to fade, having long lost the energy to protest verbally, when, on the precipice of her peripheral vision she barely noticed several bodies all clothed in the same uniform as they rose to the surface...

Or possibly not, maybe she had never really noticed that they were there.

Is this how I die?

The very thought shook Hakuno to her core, she couldn't just die here and yet she had nothing, nothing was waiting for her, nothing she can remember. Everything hurt, from Hakuno's vision fading out to simply breathing-

Maybe, maybe she should just join the lifeless bodies of her fellow students, at least then she might find peace.

And yet.

She wasn't ready to die.

I refuse to give up.

She musters up all her strength to get up only to find it futile as a more intense pain than before worms its way through her limbs, stagnating her process and sending her back to the floor stiff and immobile.

I still refuse to give up.

The thought spurs Hakuno into action and she tries to move again. Her vision had stopped fading long ago, instead, it was replaced by an intense burning, aching pain, a pain, that coursed its way through the entirety of her fragile limbs and senses searing away at her being as she pushed herself to move, a scream of agony escaping her lips in doing so.

I'm scared...

She was scared, scared of the pain, terrified of being a corpse and yet she was fully aware that she can't give up. All those migraines she'd suffered through, they weren't just there so she can simply fade away like a memory and disappear...

She had to stand up.

She had to stand up, her mind screaming at the injustice of it all.

"Indeed!" A voice cut through the haze, forcing Hakuno fading attention to latch onto their words, "You must embrace your fear of death and fight on regardless of what may await you. Well spoken nameless traveller!"

Who...?

"Even if the world will never hear of your desire, know that I admire and respect it!" The voice continued as Hakuno slowly regained the strength of her limbs, "Close your hands into fists and raise your head! Your end has yet to come!" As it had ordered, she did exactly that, lifting her head and curling her hands into fists, all the while ignoring the pain of limbs and that of her nails pressing into the skin of her palms as she attempted to move her weary body.

"In fact, your destiny begins now!"

The sound of glass shattering echoed throughout the area, forcing Hakuno's attention to the lone glass mural as it stood against the dark, the light slicing through the gloom as she finally moved her limbs barely seated on her knees. From here she saw a figure slowly rise up into the middle of the room, particles of light bouncing off their form before fading as they turned around, walking towards her before halting a few feet away.

The figure- no, person before her appeared no different than a human being. However, it was the raw power that they emanated that set them apart from anything she had encountered thus far. With the appearance of golden blonde hair, emerald green eyes and a scarlet dress that outlined a rather see-through area of their outfit, the person- woman, standing before her seemed like she could easily vaporise any existence that she made contact with.

And that power unintentionally swirled within her.

"Now then. I shall ask you once more." The woman spoke as she looked down upon her, bright green eyes locking with brown, "Answer me. Are you my Master?"

With no other choice, she exhaled taking a deep breath before answering.

Yes.

"Yes."

Despite the word being barely above a whisper, there was a newfound strength in her voice, something she found unintentionally. At hearing this the blonde smiled, approval shining in her eyes.

"Your words are few but beautiful. I like that. I won't ask how privileged you feel for summoning me." The blonde puffed out her chest as they continued, "Alright I give you my blessing! I will bestow upon you the honour to be my Master."

Master.

The word felt foreign to her.

The blonde then stretched out her hand, an invitation to help her stand and something Hakuno took hesitantly before being pulled to her feet. The feeling of warmth crossing her left hand before a sharp pain coursed through in a sensation like she had been sliced open with a knife causing her to reflexively look down at her hand. Scarlet lines almost resembling a tattooed crest established its presence into the back of her hand, linked in strange ways and leaving Hakuno bewildered. For a few seconds, she dumbly stared between the crest on her hand and at the person before her when the sound of shuffling caught her attention, dragging her out of her thoughts causing her to whirl around in surprise at the appearance of the effigy still standing even after it had previously had 'killed' her.

Subconsciously, she winced wrapping her arms around herself in a protective gesture as she recalled her humiliating defeat at its hands.

"What an excitable Master I have." The blonde's voice drifted into her ears as she walked past looking back at Hakuno only briefly before walking in front of her, "Why are you so flustered?" She stood in front of her, now shielding the girl as she stared the effigy down.

"While I am by your side, have no fear that you may lose your way. Remember, victory is all that matters." It was then that blonde summoned a blade, single-handily twirling the enormous scarlet weapon in her hands as she shifted into a battle stance.

"My blade is the ultimate instrument! Even the Muses themselves would bow before the sound it makes." She stated proudly, "Now, Master, strike with my sword. Show me the extent of your abilities in this first battle!"

Right.

Hakuno nodded, staring at the effigy as stood stiffly in a battle stance before launching into a sprint.

"Guard against it!" The command had escaped her throat instinctively and for a moment Hakuno believed that the woman wasn't going to defend herself in time... Only for its attempt to be futile as the woman held her sword up in time, blocking the attack before counteracting with her own sending the doll reeling as Hakuno watching on in slight awe. However, it was during this that it began to recover when Hakuno upon seeing this yelled out.

"Pursue it!" With a battle cry, the blonde struck out with her weapon effectively tearing its midsection, when the doll, in a futile attempt to defend itself pulled up its arms in an attempt to stop the relentless steel blows to its body, when Hakuno who had anticipated this had already called out another command.

"Shatter its defences!" With a deft switch in handling her weapon just before it landed, the blonde struck diagonally smashing her weapon through the doll's defences and leaving broken hexagons in the wake of her steel when Hakuno found an opening.

"Tear it apart!" With another harsh battle cry, she swung her blade in a full crescent unleashing a trail of fire in her wake as she viciously tore it apart, effectively obliterating the dummy and leaving it crumbling to pieces as she took a step back, seemingly disappointed with the result.

"That wasn't entertaining at all. Considering how long I've waited for such a moment, I am truly unsatisfied-" The rest of the blonde words fall on deaf ears as an insurmountable pain burns its way under the skin of Hakuno's left hand where the crest lay. Having felt it fluctuate throughout battle the girl had long lost her focus the moment the battle ended when a voice spoke up rousing her attention somewhat to the sky.

"The mark imprinted on your hand is your Command Seal. It is proof you hold dominion over a Servant. You can use it to give three orders that must be obeyed. Think of them as disposable strengthing spells-" The voice continued, droning on about the Holy Grail War, Servants as tools of war, her participation and answers to the enquiry about the man's identity and death. Upon finishing its explanation it left her with the words of 'having a light' and in unbearable pain as she remained trapped in her own confusion as her thoughts wrapped themselves in darkness before taking her sight and consciousness when her legs finally gave way from the pain, leaving her to collapse on the floor with a thump. Barely registering the voice's final words.

"Let the Holy Grail War commence."

Author's Note:

Apparently my previous note had not been saved when I uploaded this chapter and so I write to you again and summerise it like this. I am writing Resonetia (I haven't abandoned it!) it's just taking a while due to writer's block, I wrote this because there aren't enough fanfics on this pairing, I have to prepare for my senior year and life hates me. So that is the gist of it, either way...

Enjoy!

*Just to clarify, this pairing is of Fem! Hakuno x Saber