FATE/ETERNAL TEARS

Chapter Zero: The Summoning

The shard had floated through the Multiverse, never really impacting on a specific world like the other shards had. Unlike the others, this one had simply had the luck of not hitting anything after its whole shattered and simply slowly lost momentum over time. It had come close to many worlds and absorbed information from them. Some worlds were nice, filled with pretty and cute things which would make hearts flutter. Other worlds were mean and scary worlds that could give nightmares. Lots of worlds though were somewhere in between the two. Absorbing so much information from each world, the shard developed a kind of sentience. With that limited sentience, it understood that the lack of action happening was not a favoured form of stimulation. So, it decreed that it would go find a world where such positive stimulation could be found.

It looked over the next few worlds and after some small consideration it decided on one world in particular. For some reason, it seemed like a good world to go to. So it changed its course and headed towards that area. It quickly pierced the dimensional membrane which separated the worlds and entered the world and descended towards an area which seemed to call out to it. It seemed like a small, out-of-the-way place yet it was steeped in ancient power. It seemed like a nice place to hide.

The fragment hadn't gone unnoticed by those who knew where to look. It was a mainly empty room which they met in with only a single table for them to pay attention to aside from each other. However, the table was far from normal. It was a game table which allowed the players to look down at the real world and play games with real people by their own whims. The first was a woman in a black dress who wore her dark blonde hair tied back in a bun. She was beautiful, but she held an aura of malice that would terrify all but the most hardened of people. A pipe was held in her fingers as she clenched her teeth around the end of it, looking down at the game table as if an opponent had played a particularly annoying move. Her name was Beatrice the Golden Witch. She was a woman whose life and power spanned centuries and had done numerous terrible things. She had gotten married recently to a man who was her opponent in a different game, which was a shocking move to all that knew her. However, it seemed to be good for her since she didn't seem as cruel as she used to be. Of course she would complain about him, but the smile in her eyes never seemed to go away.

The second at the table was a woman dressed in a black and white gothic outfit. She had long blue hair and eyes which seemed to go on into infinity. Her face was blank despite how cute it was, but her eyes spoke of concern and confusion. What was odd about her was the cat tail with a blue ribbon tied to the end coming out from under her dress. She was resting her chin in her hand as she stared at the game board, contemplating what to do next. Her name was Bernkastel the Witch of Miracles. She possessed a power which could transcend fate, but at the price of her heart. She could be cruel, and often was if for no other reason than to preserve her heart, but her kindness could be seen now and then.

Third was a blonde girl dressed in a shockingly pink outfit decorated all over with pearls and ribbons. On her hip was a jack-o-lantern decoration which gave her a slightly creepy vibe. Her hair reached to her shoulders and she had red eyes. Unlike the two before her, she seemed most interested in what was going on with the game board and seemed excited to see what was going to happen next. Her name was Lambdadelta, the Witch of Certainty. Like the other two, she was cruel and often was for amusement. She considered Bernkastel to be her rival, but she also loved her at the same time. It was a complicated relationship that the two shared.

The fourth woman in the room was appearance-wise older than the other three. She had long silvery hair and wore a black dress which made her look quite classy. She also wore a black hat which was decorated with crimson roses. Her eyes were closed, but one could tell that she was staring at the game board and an open frown was on her face. Her name was Virgilia and she used to be the Endless Witch before she handed the title over to Beatrice. She was still immensely powerful and was not to be trifled with. Unlike the other witches, Virgilia was very kind and had hoped to impart that mindset to her students but failed.

Lastly was the lone man in the room who stood at the front of the game board in the position of a game master. He wore a loud suit which consisted of a green overcoat, striped pants, a polka-dot tie, and a top hat on the top of his head. Short messy blonde hair was visible from beneath the hat and he had a hooked nose which stood out. He didn't look like a person who would be there, but the witches knew better than to mess with him outside of a joke. He was the Infernal Merchant, a being who could give you anything you wanted for an appropriate price. He was the Game Master over the latest game between the four witches and they played by his rules and they knew it. Now something new had happened.

"What is the meaning of this, Merchant?" asked Virgilia with a frown. "You know how dangerous those fragments are."

"Yeah!" Beatrice snapped. "We busted our asses to make sure none of them landed in our world and you just bring one in!"

"This is going to be fu~un," Lambdadelta giggled.

"Hm," Bernkastel frowned.

"Ladies, trust me," Topper grinned with a salesman's smile. "Consider this…a bonus round."

"Hyah!"

Showa unleashed a punch with collided with the Darkling's face, knocking it back. The Kamen Rider of Hinamizawa was battling a small group of Darklings which had crawled their way out of the darkness to make an attack on Hinamizawa. Thankfully the Rider was able to spot them during his patrol and quickly went to fight them before they could evolve into Darkloids and cause even more trouble or worse, spread the Hinamizawa Syndrome even further. Normally fighting a small group of the dark creatures would be quite easy for him…but something was wrong.

Since the fight began, Showa was feeling himself grow steadily weaker. At first he just assumed it was from fighting so much lately. After the destruction of GIN-SHOCKER it seemed that the Darkloids were starting to get more aggressive. As the fight progressed though, he was feeling as if he was being attacked by Scanner who was draining his powers again. Soon he was panting, missing openings to attack, and taking more hits.

What was going on?

"RAWR!"

The Darklings charged as a group and crashed against Showa, sending him tumbling across the grass from the impact. Coming to a stop, his Spark Core flashed before his armour vanished and left him in his regular form of Shinichi Banabara.

"Crap…" he groaned, getting to his knees. Panting, he looked up at the approaching Darklings and grimaced at them. "Rena-can…"

The Darklings approach continued, but they didn't notice as the moonlight began reflecting on something in the grass surrounding the boy. It grew brighter as more moonlight shone until it looked like a circle array had surrounded him. The soft silver light didn't stop the Darklings as they approached.

The pillar of light that came from it sure did though.

Shinichi covered his eyes and tried not to go blind from the power. Squinting, he was able to see a human figure appear in the middle of it all, formed by the light itself. The light continued until the figure was fully formed and then winked out, revealing who it was.

The figure turned out to be a woman and an attractive one. She had long red hair which reached down to her backside. She wore a bright red coat like something a Romantic era officer would wear on a ship with a large leather belt wrapped around her waist. However, the top of her coat was unbuttoned which revealed a lot of cleavage and the fact that she likely wasn't wearing a top beneath the jacket. Leather was wrapped around her neck and vanished into her coat, indicating that she had weapons under her jacket. She had tanned pants and high-heeled boots which went up to her thighs. Her face was pretty, but she showed a lot of confidence and there was a scar which went across it from the middle of her forehead down to her left cheek. The scar didn't mar her beauty one bit.

Even though he was with his Rena-chan, the love of his life and in the midst of a deadly situation, Shinichi couldn't help but stare at the hot woman.

"Hm," the woman smirked, eyeing the Darklings. "Seems we're fighting right off then? How fun."

"Wait…" Shinichi grimaced. "You can't…"

The woman didn't listen as she reached into her coat with both hands and removed them to reveal a pair of pistols which looked like they came out of the Elizabethan era. Holding them up, she began shooting the iron balls out of the muzzles at the approaching skeletal monsters. Each shot hit true and made a small flash like magnesium burning, causing the Darklings to scream and stumble backwards from the impacts. The sight caused Shinichi to freeze. Normal bullets would never have stood a chance against even Darklings. Just who was this woman?

The redhead continued to approach the monsters, shooting them up as she went. When a bullet struck a limb, the body part would shatter, crippling the Darkling while headhsots would make their craniums explode like firecrackers. Despite the carnage, she just kept calmly walking towards them as if nothing was happening and she wasn't killing creatures capable of spreading a disease which drove people insane. Shinichi himself was shocked, and a little turned on to be honest.

Reaching the first of the corpses, the woman finally lowered her pistols and saw that all of the Darklings were either dead or dust. A soft smirked came across her lips in satisfaction before she turned around and began heading back towards Shinichi with a calm stride. While she was walking, a Darkling hissed and managed to get up to its shambling feet before charging at the woman from behind.

"Look out-!" Shinichi cried, trying to get to his feet.

*BANG!*

The woman didn't even break her stride as she turned her right pistol around to point it behind her and pulled the trigger without looking. The bullet struck the Darkling between the eyes and made its head explode in ash with the rest of its body dissolve with it. Shinichi blinked at the sight, honestly impressed that a normal-looking person was able to take on the Darklings and win. There had to be something more to the woman than what she appeared.

Reaching Shinichi again, the woman took a kneeling position in front of him, and incidentally offered a fine view of her chest. He had almost missed her next words because of the distraction and his weakened state of mind.

"Servant Rider has been called," she whispered, her voice teasing and sexy. "Are you my Master?"

"Uh…"

Akane Sonozaki sighed as she left the clinic in Okinomiya. She had been feeling tired all day, like something was sapping the strength out of her. She would have gone to see Dr. Irie at his clinic, but her husband had been worried and asked her to go to the clinic in the nearby town in order to have access to better medical equipment. It was moments like that which made Akane smile. A yakuza man he may have been, but he was a good father and husband despite his activities.

Walking along the sidewalk, she stifled a yawn as she went to get to her transportation. She had told her bodyguards to relax and get coffee or something to pass the time while she was speaking to the doctor. Only one guard had been there and he was busy getting the final details with the doctor done with. It was her own little way of getting a little bit of freedom outside of the Sonozaki estate. Oh her husband would fuss over her if she heard and if her mother heard she'd chew her out as she always did.

Walking, Akane suddenly felt woozy and held herself against the side of a building for a moment to get her balance back. As she had her eyes closed and was rubbing her face, she didn't notice a flash of light coming from the nearby alley and the surge of commotion she only attributed to a sudden gust of wind. It wasn't until after the light died that she managed to get her balance back and none the wiser for what had occurred. She felt a little better though.

"WAUGH!"

She did notice the scream though.

Slipping her tanto our of her kimono sleeve by reflex, she inched towards the alley the scream came from. Reaching the edge, she took a breath before daring to peek inside. She had been expecting to see perhaps some thugs beating up on one another or something to that extent. What she got was something radically different.

Standing in the middle of the alley was a young girl. She looked to be perhaps twelve or thirteen and was deathly pale. She had short hair which was shock white and her eyes were a pale blue. Her clothes though were much more shocking. She had thigh high boots with purple toes, but she didn't wear any pants and instead something akin to black bikini bottoms. Her chest was covered with a black jacket-like bit of clothing that had tails which covered her barely-clad derriere. She had red circles on her shoulders and belts decorating her arms with white bandages covering her hands. She was merely standing there, looking absently about.

Akane was shocked that a little girl was wearing something so scandalous and while she was raised traditionally, she knew no normal girl wear clothes like that.

"Little girl?" Akane asked softly, sheathing her tanto. The pale girl turned to look at her, almost curious. "Little girl, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"…no," the replied softly, shaking her head.

"Where are your parents?" asked Akane, approaching the young girl and kneeling down in front of her. "Are you by yourself?"

"…yes," the pale girl nodded.

Akane bit her lip. If the girl was by herself and was dressed like a prostitute then likely some sick pervert was taking advantage of her. The moral thing to do was try to find a way to help the poor girl, but Akane's mother would just say to ignore the girl since it was below a Sonozaki's concern. However, Akane was not her mother and she took pride in that.

"Would you…like to come home with me?" the verdette asked hopefully.

The girl blinked and for once seemed totally alert to Akane's presence, "…will you be my mother?"

That statement just made Akane want to cry and hug the poor girl. Instead, she gently took the girl's hands and squeezed them reassuringly, "I don't see why not."

The girl blinked but then she smiled softly. Stepping forward, she hugged Akane tightly. It was heart-warming, but Akane still had to resist the urge not to cry out of sorrow for the girl. Once the girl had a moment to enjoy the embrace, she stepped back to keep smiling at the woman. Akane removed her shawl from her shoulders and wrapped it around the girl as to try and keep her warm as well as protect a little more of her modesty, "What's your name?"

"…Assassin," the pale girl answered, making Akane blink. Was that a nickname that horrible pervert called her? "…you can call me…Jackie…please."

"Okay Jackie-chan," Akane smiled. "Let's go home then. There's a hot bath and a warm bed waiting for you."

Assassin smiled and took Akane's hand before the pair left the alley. As they left though, a dumpster which was likewise in the alley was developing a puddle underneath it from a hole in the bottom. Normally it would have been thought to have been from a soda or something was dumped inside. However, the deep red colour and the copper smell would tell otherwise. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be until several days later when garbage would be collected that anyone would notice that there had been a murder and a particularly gruesome one at that.

"Nii-nii, you're not feeling good! You should go see Dr. Irie!"

"Satoko, I'm fine! Honest," Satoshi sighed, rubbing his eyes drowsily.

"Satoshi-kun, you've been drowsy all day and have been steadily getting worse," Shion frowned. "If you aren't going to Dr. Irie then at least go to bed."

The three were at the Houjou house where the three were cleaning things up. With Satoshi and Satoko's uncle in jail and likely to be there for a good and long time, the two didn't have a reason not to go back. Despite the bad memories connected to the house they were determined to give it a face lift and make some new memories.

"But…" Satoshi groaned.

"If you do," Shion whispered, leaning close, "I'll go with you."

Satoshi blinked before his eyes bulged at the thought. Shion, while generally the more soft-spoken of the two Sonozaki sisters, had a sensual streak which she kept hidden until she managed to get Satoshi by himself. She would tease him like a professional but it was so, so worth it.

"Well…I suppose I can't win against you two," Satoshi sighed, sounding like a reluctant defeat.

"Excellent," Shion smiled before she turned to smile at Satoko. "Satoko-chan, if you want to go do something else I'll take care of Satoshi-kun while he's getting some rest. I'll even make dinner tonight."

"Okay, Nee-nee," Satoko beamed. "Just make sure than Nii-nii gets his rest or I'll have to make a trap to keep him in bed."

"I will," Shion nodded. "Now then, let's-"

*WHOOM*

A sudden vibration rocked the house and all three of the inhabitants froze. Having long since become accustomed to strange or bizarre things happening out of the blue, they quickly recovered themselves and began to move. Normal people would have tried to run from something like this happening, but they were the curious types and it had managed to save their hometown from a psychotic nurse and her goon squad. So the three had instead began racing for the source of the commotion which had come from outside and had engulfed their windows in bright light. They quickly reached the front door with Satoshi grabbing his baseball bat from nearby.

"Stay back," Satoshi whispered before he reached to the door handle. Gripping it, he then opened the door to try and examine what was going on outside.

Everything outside still looked completely normal. However, it had one new addition in the form of a man standing still and what seemed like writing inside a book with a feather quill. He was dressed in green clothes which looked like they came out of the Elizabethan era and also had a deep green cloak hanging from his one shoulder. He wore brown gloves, but they were stained slightly with ink. He looked western and had brown hair which was short and somewhat untamed which had sideburns that connected to a beard which covered his chin.

"Hey! Who are you, mister?" Satoko demanded hotly.

"Hm?" the man blinked, turning to look at the trio. "Ah, so the master has arrived has he? Excellent timing. I was just about to begin my next work."

"Huh?" Satoshi blinked. "Next work? Just who the heck are you?"

"My name is Caster," the man replied, sticking his quill onto his jacket and shutting his book. He then took a few steps to get closer to the trio before he made a grand bow as if he were on a stage. "And I am your very humble Servant."

"Servant?" Shion blinked.

"Indeed," the man nodded. Standing straight, he examined the trio before stroking his beard as if in thought. "I must say that it is fortuitous that not only master, but his companions appear to be such strong protagonists. This could indeed be the start of my grandest work yet!"

"Huh?" the trio blinked as one.

Rika yawned a little as she swept the steps at the front of the shrine. She'd been feeling a little sleepy all day and it made her wonder if she wasn't getting enough sleep lately. Well, Mion had been pushing them a lot in their games since she was still celebrating the defeat of GIN-SHOCKER. Well, that and wanting to beat Shinichi at some more games if she could manage it. Things had been getting wild for lack of a better term.

"Au, au, au!" Hanyuu murmured as she helped her friend, but seemed very nervous about something.

"What is it?" asked Rika, easily recognizing the signs of the goddess' worry. If something could actually worry Hanyuu, then it gave her a reason to worry.

"Au, well…I feel like…" the horned girl began. "It's hard to explain. It feels like something that shouldn't be here is. At the same time it feels like something that has already been here is back again. I can't really say it any better than that."

"Shouldn't be here? Been here before?" Rika asked confusedly.

"I just don't know," Hanyuu sighed, shaking her head. As she tried to continue with the sweeping, she suddenly jolted as if she had been shocked by something. Rika blinked, knowing for sure that something was up with her friend and that it meant something big.

"Hanyuu?"

*WHOOM!*

The Saiguden of the Furude Shrine suddenly lit up like a star had appeared. Both girls gasped in shock and dashed for the source, fearing that it was some kind of return of their enemies in GIN-SHOCKER, or perhaps worse. Rika, with the keys of the Saiguden in hand, carefully approached the Saiguden with Hanyuu shakily behind her. Rika unlocked the padlock in front of the door and removed it before opening the door. The two girls cried out as they were assaulted by near blinding light which soon shrank into a pillar in the middle of the floor in front of the statue of Oyashiro-sama. Rika could tell that it was obviously magic, but what it did was rather a mystery to her.

"Au! Au! Au!" Hanyuu trembled. "Something's coming! I can feel it!"

The pillar shone for another few moments before it promptly died down, but where it had been a person was now standing. He was handsome, apparently just into his twenties. His hair was shaggy, but a shade of green which made Rika wonder at first if he was related to her friends Mion and Shion. He wore a blue tunic of sorts with a white undershirt beneath it. He had black leather on his arms and black sandals on his feet. Strapped to his back was what appeared to be a flat rock with a flower design in the centre that looked like it could be split into five pieces. Running through holes in the rock was a strip of leather that had a pocket in the middle. He wasn't Japanese, but he was handsome Rika had to admit and looked western. He was also quite fit if the muscle she could see revealed from his tunic was any indication. Her blush brightened at the thought.

"I know you're there," he smiled, turning to where the two girls were hiding. "You and your friend can come out now, Master."

Frowning at being caught, Rika did just that with a frightened Hanyuu following her. They walked up to the strange man who so far hadn't done anything to prove he was threatening but Gebok had managed to get into Hinamizawa by pretending to be nice.

"How did you know we were there?" Rika asked in her adult voice.

"Such a mature voice for one so small," the man commented, sounding amused. "As for how I knew you were there, I heard you."

"Au, you heard us? How?" asked Hanyuu.

"I am Archer," the man introduced. "Since I bear the title, I possess heightened sense which allow me to hear on a level most cannot and see details that otherwise elude other people." He kneeled down to look Rika in the eye. "And I have also been summoned to serve you."

Rika blinked, a little unsure of what this all meant.

"Let me ask you, little one; are you my Master and if you are will you please tell me your name?"

"I am Rika Furude," the little shrine girl answered. "How would I be able to tell if I am your master?"

"Well, if you show me your hands then I will explain," Archer replied. Suspicious, Rika did just that and held out her hands. As she did so though, she saw a red tattoo on the back of her right hand which was glowing with a soft red light. The tattoo was in the shape of three flower petals in a triangular formation. Hanyuu gasped at the sight while Rika raised an eyebrow in confusion. Archer merely continued his explanation. "These markings represent our bond. With these, you are most assuredly my master."

Rika couldn't help but take her hands back to examine the markings on her skin. They didn't feel like they were tattoos or paint of any kind. In fact, they felt like they were always a part of her skin despite the fact that she knew otherwise. It was one of the stranger things she had run into during her life in Hinamizawa. Considering everything that occurred in the past that was a very profound statement.

Dr. Gebok was not in a pleasant mood at the moment. Ever since the day had started, his physical augmentations had been going on the fritz. At first it was just minor errors which were negligible, but as the day wore on those errors were getting worse and worse. It had gotten so bad his body just as may as well be a regular human for all the good it was doing him. All day he had been running tests on himself to try and figure out what the problem was. It had been slow going since most of his equipment with GIN-SHOCKER, but he had been making progress and if his offers of alliance to the DHS came to fruition then funding and equipment weren't going to be a problem.

At the moment, he was reading over his findings.

"It seems that an outside force is siphoning the extra energy needed to maintain my physical augmentations, leaving me only with what my body is capable of doing naturally," the mad scientist muttered to himself. "Where is this energy going? What purpose does it serve?"

It made no sense to the doctor, but then again he was suspecting that it was a natural occurring phenomenon. If it were one of his enemies then he would have been attacked long before now. No, his energy was being used for a purpose and he was going to learn what that purpose was. It wasn't like he had anything else to do at the moment anyway.

*BREET! BREET! BREET*

"Huh?" Gebok blinked, perking up at the screaming alarms. Heading to one of the computers, he began typing and getting a readout as to what was going on. A quick examination told him that a portal of energy was forming on the property and might possibly be bringing enemies. Cursing, he pulled up the readouts to tell him where the portal would form. As he read the information though, he paled slightly as he got the location confirmed.

…right in his lab.

*BOOM*

The room was filled with light as Gebok's machines were tossed from the force of the portal opening. Gebok himself managed to keep himself on his feet, cursing the fact that his enhancements weren't working. He was defenceless without a weapon at this point!

The light died down quickly and Gebok grabbed a simple and shamefully primitive handgun before pointing it at the source of the light. The glare needed a moment to die down, but he was just able to see what, or rather who had been the source of the energy siphon and subsequent light.

The person was in fact female, and stood a little over six feet tall. She was clad in a white wedding dress which went down to her shins and had a large ribbon wrapped around the skirt with a decorative round bell on her waist. Her arms were covered with white gloves and her chest was covered with more of the white fabric, but it was strapless. Her legs looked like they were encased in steel high-heel boots but it was hard to say if they were able to come off or not. Her neck was wrapped in a brass neckpiece which was connected to two large brass bolts on the sides of her head. It was decorated with what looked like a black veil which ran down to the base of her neck. Her hair was red and short, but on her forehead was a brass decoration which was a plate with a sharp brass horn. Her face was cute, but her eyes were two different colours with one being gold and the other being blue. Gripped in her hands was a long white pole which had a large heavy ball at the end.

Gebok blinked at the strange creature, but it wasn't her features which caught his attention. It was the look in her eyes which did. He wasn't looking at someone who was a warrior or a fighter of any kind. He was looking into the eyes of someone who was purely mad. Logic had no place, patience, sanity, reason, none of it was there in the strange woman's eyes. Still, the spark of intelligence was visible if only barely underneath the layers of insanity.

"Fa…ther?" the bride growled out.

"Ah, yes!" Gebok nodded quickly. "Yes, I am your father. Tell me, do you know who you are?"

The creature grimaced for a moment, but then began growling again, "Ber…ser…ker."

"Berserker, you say?" Gebok grinned. Had this girl teleported into his lab? Then where had she come from? Of course the bigger question was what she was. She was obviously a cyborg judging by her appearance. He could tell just by looking at her and his scans picked up on her status. Who had built her, why and what was she doing in his laboratory? Well, it looked like some unexplained force had brought before him a new specimen for study and experimentation. He would need to be careful, though. BLACK 13, his greatest creation, had rebelled and he'd learnt his lesson from that debacle. He would need to tread carefully and this was his chance. "Now, come with me and let me take a good look at you, my dear Berserker," Gebok said gently.

"Hey come on baby! We don't bite!"

"Yeah, we'll show you a good time! Promise!"

Natusmi Kimiyoshi cringed as the group of three boys circled around her. They were obviously the kinds of dropout thug her grandmother kept preaching to her about who infested larger cities and one of the main reasons why life was better back in Hinamizawa. While she tended to take her grandmother's speeches in such areas with a grain of salt, she was beginning to regret it now. She knew she shouldn't have stayed so long at the arcade, but she had gotten sucked into the game and didn't want to stop until her watch had gone off and alerted her to the time. She tried to get home fast by ducking into an alley, but that just put her in the sights of the three goons who were cornering her now.

"Now come on sweet thing, we're being really generous here," the lead thug snickered. "I mean, Tatsu's usually a lot more aggressive about how we ask a lady out."

"Yeah," the thug on the left snickered, toying with a switchblade. "I think we're being downright gentleman."

"Help…" Natsumi whimpered under her breath.

When the knife-wielding thug advanced on her with his blade at the ready, Natsumi thought her life was going to end.

*WOOSH!*

That was before light erupted from behind her and knocked over the wire mesh fence that she had been backed up against. Scurrying out of the way, Natsumi hid behind a trash can while the three thugs stumbled blindly since they had been looking directly at the light when it started up. It didn't last long, but it did make her flinch as she wondered what was going on. Was it one of the monster attacks that she was hearing about lately?

The light died down and Natsumi could see that someone had appeared when the light had. He stood tall, and nearly naked save for a ragged loincloth which looked like it had been made from some animal's pelt. However, he was certainly muscled and despite the situation the girl couldn't help but feel her face heat up at the sight of a man's chest. Gripped in his hand was what looked like a long straight stick which was topped with a sharpened rock tied on with thin vines. His face was sharply defined and had long shaggy hair which reached down to his back and his eyes showed a kind of…ferality which normal men didn't have.

"Who the hell is this guy?" cried one of the three thugs.

"Looks like a psycho out of that Hinamizawa place if you ask me!" replied another.

"Who cares? He's dead to me!" the knife wielder growled before he charged the man.

The punk reached the man and swing wide at his neck, but missed completely. The wild man had crouched low before pushing forward with his feet and smashing his head into the thug's gut. The knife wielder let out a loud huff of breath as the wind was knocked out of him. However, the wild man was quickly upright again before he lashed out with a savage kick that sent the thug flying backwards into his two friends. It was a sight that made Natsumi gasp in surprise. One kick managed to floor all three thugs at the same time? Just how strong was this man?

"Ow!" groaned the leader. Shaking his head, he pushed his blade-happy friend off and got to his feet. "Screw this! No chick is worth this!"

"I'm with you!"

Both punks quickly got to their feet and ran for their lives, leaving their friend unconscious on the ground. The wild man just grunted and approached the unconscious boy before tapping him with the blunt end of his spear, checking to see if he really was down and out. When the punk didn't move, the man seemed satisfied. He then sniffed the air before turning to the garbage cans which Natsumi was hiding behind.

"Are you well, Master?" he asked gently.

"Ah?" Natsumi squeaked, beginning to tremble.

"I won't hurt you," the man spoke, stepping closer to the cans. "I just wish to make sure you're safe."

Still trembling, but seeing no means of escaping Natsumi slowly stood up so that the wild man would be able to see her. Again, he didn't move, didn't make a threatening gesture, just stood his ground so that he wouldn't frighten her.

"My name is Lancer," he introduced. "I was summoned to serve you for the near future."

"S-serve me?" Natsumi stuttered.

"Protect you, aid you, fight for you," Lancer elaborated. "All that I am is yours to command."

Natsumi couldn't help but blush as her mind took a dive into the gutter at those words.

Rena was at her favourite place in the whole world: the junkyard in Hinamizawa. Well, to others it was simply a dump to toss away their garbage. However, Rena only saw a place filled with buried treasure. It was her paradise, a safe haven for herself, her personal little hideaway. She had even made a base out of an old minivan and often came to this place to hunt for treasure. She salvaged and collected anything she perceived as cute. She had once brought Keiichi along with her but he hadn't shown much enthusiasm in her hobby. That was OK. She knew not many would share her outlook but she didn't blame any of her friends. Besides, this place was also dangerous but Rena had always loved coming here and knew how to be careful, even at night.

However, as she sat atop her minivan, she just sighed in boredom. She was waiting. "Shin-kun…" He had told her that he would be coming but he was already an hour late. He said he would be coming once he was done with his patrol. Just what was holding him up? At first she felt annoyed but then she felt worried. Could Gebok be back? That man always had a habit of returning despite being destroyed each time. What if Shinichi was in trouble and had to fight again like he had against GIN-SHOCKER? The organization was gone, was it not? Then maybe it was Darklings and Darkloids again. They seemed to pop up every now and then.

Her worry and anxiety seemed to attract attention, and not the good kind. Yellow eyes, tinted with red, looked upon her with hunger. It growled as it snuck through the shadows. It made sure its footsteps were silent as it slowly approached its prey, ready to pounce. Stepping ever closer, it bent the muscles in its legs and prepared to jump…

*WOOSH!*

A pillar of light erupted from the space between the beast and its victim, causing both to freeze and pay attention to the event. Rena was frozen with shock and the best in confusion. The light was powerful, but it had been in enough darkness to hide it. What it felt coming from the light though…

The light died down quickly, but it left a figure behind. He was a western man and had long flowing brown hair that reached past his waist. He seemed to be wearing a white tunic with a red cross on it, but the torso was half-covered with bronze armour with more of the same armour on his arms and legs. A white cape hung from his shoulders, flapping in the night breeze. He stood strong and proud like something out of a storybook. Rena couldn't help but gape at his appearance.

"Sugoi…" she gasped.

The knight then reached into his cape where Rena couldn't see and retrieved a sword which had pure white steel for a blade and a golden hilt and handle. Taking the blade, he pointed it at one of the trash piles which populated the area around them as if he were going to challenge it.

"Demon!" he barked, his voice strong and proud. "Do not dare think you can hide from one such as I for I can sense your foul presence even if it were a mile away!"

Rena blinked in confusion, "Um…Mr. Knight? I don't think…"

A raging hissing noise cut off Rena's thoughts when a Darkling bust from the confines of a wrecked car and lunged for the knight standing in the trash. Rena would have screamed, but the knight was already moving when the beast had attacked. All Rena would be able to say about the attack was that the knight's arms moved and there was a flash of light before the Darkling was behind the knight and wasn't moving. It was still for a moment before it suddenly split down the middle like it had been chopped by a super-sharp sword before both halves dissolved into dust.

"Wow!" Rena gasped in shock. Shinichi could only do that when he used the Higurashi no Yaiba!

Sheathing his sword, the knight turned to face Rena who sat upon her van/fort, "Are you unharmed, Milady?"

Rena had to fight not to blush. He was talking like right out of a story! "Um…yes. I am. Thank you."

"Ah, then that is good," the knight nodded. Stepping forward, he reached the foot of the heap which was topped by the van before bowing down on one knee with his armour crushing the trash beneath. "I am Servant Saber, Milady. I am to be your sword to do battle with and defeat those who would rise against you for the sake of your desires."

"Um…" Rena blushed, unable to control it. She had to struggle to sit still while inside her mind was yelling, 'OMOCHIKAERI!'

"And so the seven Masters and sever Servants have been united!" Topper declared. "Let the games begin! Place your bets, ladies, who will you wager your money on? Which pair will be the last one standing at the very end of MY Holy Grail War?"

The seven pairs were displayed on the windows like stained glass. In one window was a depiction of Shinichi and Rider, standing back to back, with a fleet of ships hanging over their heads. In the window after it was a depiction of Assassin held in a motherly embrace by Akane but with the Servant holding her daggers with her arms crossed. Then there was Archer, who stood behind Rika. Let us not forget Berserker and Gebok, with the mad scientist standing behind the charging Servant as he gave his command, lightning striking above them. The stained glass window depicting Satoshi and Caster showed the two glaring at each other. Well, Satoshi was glaring while shouldering a bat while Caster stared at his Master in amusement. There was a depiction of Lancer, swinging on a vine, while holding Natsumi's hand. And finally, a depiction of Saber riding on horseback with Rena at his side was in the final window of stained glass.

"I knew it! I knew it! This is going to be so much fun!" Lambdadelta giggled while clapping her hands in glee.

"You know…I think this just might be worth the risk of having that shard around," Beatrice smirked in interest.

"I admit it has potential…" Bernkastel commented, seemingly on the fence about what she was doing.

"I hope you know what you are doing, Merchant," Virgilia frowned.

"I always do, Lady Virgillia," Topper snickered softly.

Ten-Faced Paladin: Okay, the basis of this story is that an Infinity Fragment managed to drift along the Multiverse and absorbed knowledge from worlds it skimmed by until Topper drew it back to Hinamizawa. There, it felt the desires of the founding families and the magic which is infused into the land along with the desires of other significant people. Since the fragments grant power to whoever holds them, the fragment wanted to grant the desire but since there were so many, it decided to start a competition on who deserved it most based on the method of fighting it learned of when it skimmed one of the many worlds in the Multiverse. So now we have a Holy Grail War without a Holy Grail and of course the Hinamizawa Gang are in the middle of it.