(A/N: Hello everyone and thanks for coming to check out my story! This is my first time ever uploading my writing to the public so hopefully this isn't too bad. I have not had as much experience as I would like to have as far as writing goes so I hope that the more time I spend here the more I improve. This chapter is mainly introduction but the pace will pick up in the next one. This story takes place after the Heaven's Feel route of Fate and starts at the common route of Hakuouki.)

Chapter 1

A cold blast of wind slapped Saber awake from her deep slumber. She shivered and would have wrapped her arms around herself if they hadn't felt so heavy. Her entire body felt stiff as if she had been stuck sleeping in the same position for too long. She wrestled with her eyelids for a moment before at last cracking them open-

-and instantly slammed them shut again when rays of light from the sun, despite its low position in the sky, felt as though they were burning her unadjusted eyes. Just how long had she been asleep? Slowly over the next few minutes she coaxed her eyes open little by little until at last she could squint without too much irritation. The wide array of colors highlighting the sky showed that the sun was setting and it cast a beautiful light across the city she noticed was nearby to her left.

Feeling slowly returned to her rigid limbs and she gingerly coaxed her body off the tree she just realized she had been resting against. The nearby area was both quiet and empty, giving her the perfect environment to collect her thoughts in. She noted that she was no longer in her battle dress, and instead was in her plain clothing that Rin had given her to wear outside of fights. After brushing off the thin layer of snow that had cumulated on top of her she rested back against the base of the tree and shut her eyes for a moment as memories rushed back to her of the events that led up to this strange situation.

For the most part the memories were intact. Everything from Shirou summoning her to their final trip to Ryuudou Temple was still fresh in her mind. Her hands clenched unconsciously as the memory of her final battle comes fresh to her mind. The True Assassin was there and though Saber put up a good fight, she was caught off guard by a shadow of some sort that attacked and consumed her full. Her last clear memory was of Shirou calling out to her one last time. Afterwards, the memories become hazy. Assorted thoughts and feelings brush to the surface and every now and images of some battle or another come to mind but the fragments would slip away as quickly as it came.

Something was bothering her though. Two memories continuously flitted at the edge of her mind, begging her to pull them out and remember them. However, any attempt to do so seemed to send them scurrying away. It was frustrating because they seemed so important. For some reason her thoughts continuously shifted between Shirou and the Grail, but why? What could she have forgotten that mattered so much?

After a moment she took a calming breath and laxed the tension in her hands. Dwelling on such things for too long served no purpose now, especially since she could not make any sense of her present situation. Normally after failing to obtain the Grail she would wake up on the hill of Camlann where she would wait to be summoned to her next fight and this definitely was not Camlann. Since she had yet to complete or cancel her contract that was very telling that something was off.

A frown creased her face as she opened her eyes to gaze upon the snowy city as a shiver went down her spine. Her casual clothing did little to shield her from the elements and if she continued to sit around like this then she would certainly come down with an awful case of frostbite. First and foremost she had to find information on when and where she was. That should be easy enough to figure out.

The sign posted helpfully at the city entrance stated that this was in fact Kyoto but a quick look around told her that this was clearly centuries before Shirou's time. The houses were very old fashioned and there was no sign of modern technology such as electricity. Behind her the sun was sinking further down into the sky and the temperature seemed to drop with it. After wrapping her arms around herself to conserve whatever warmth she could, she lamented that she might have to spend the night outside unless she finds a charitable establishment willing to take her in. She sincerely doubted she would find such luck.

As Saber traveled further into the city she soon realized that the cold and lack of residence were only two of several growing problems. First of all, everywhere she went she received hard, suspicious glares from the city goers who all made sure to take the extra steps necessary not to get too close to her. The only explanation that made sense was that she just looked so different than everyone here. From the elegant bun her blonde hair was fixed in to her unique apparel, everything stood out as odd in comparison to how the people here looked. She was clearly not from around here and stood out like a sore thumb.

When asked for the location of the nearest inn, several people ignored her questions or outright told her to get away from them. One young man even pointed her in the completely wrong direction and had her wandering around for a good half hour before she realized she had been tricked. She finally located a woman kind enough to give her the correct directions but not without receiving all sorts if scrutiny from the woman's otherwise kind eyes.

By the time Saber reached her destination the sun had disappeared under the horizon which made an establishment like this stick out in the dark. Most of the surrounding buildings had gone dark now that business time was over for the day but the inn was still emitting a soft light as though to guide clueless people like her right to it. The relief that washed through her was short lived as she realized she now had to deal with the fact that her pockets were empty. Sure enough her plan had been a long shot. The inn keeper seemed sympathetic enough to the story Saber told, which involved being attacked by a masked assailant and waking up at the base of a tree with some memory issues, but her words did not carry enough weight with it to get Saber a room for the night. She had offered to help out in any way she could but was turned down instantly. No money, no bed. The look in his eye stated that several people show up with the same sort of "bandits ate my money" story and he wasn't about to buy it from her just because she had better articulation than most people in this city and was a girl. The only thing she had to be thankful for was that the inn keeper did not seem to mind how different she looked compared to everyone else.

After thanking the man for his time, however, something unexpected happened. Just as she turned to leave, his gruff voice sounded through the quiet lobby. "You really gonna walk around at night dressed like that, miss?"

Saber paused just inches away from the exit and turned to him with an affirming nod. "It's all I have. It will have to do."

He stroked his bearded chin for a moment with a look of concern in his otherwise hard eyes. "It's not safe for a young lady like you to travel around by yourself at night."

"I thank you for your concern, but I can take care of myself."

"I'm sure you can. You have that look about you," he muttered vaguely. "Wait here for a second. I think I have something that can help." Without waiting for a reply he stepped back from the counter and disappeared down the hall. Saber, confused about what was happing, waited patiently for him to return. He did not make her wait long and when he returned he was carrying with him a set of clothing. He pushed the apparel into her hands and nodded to the first door in the hall. "They aren't what I'd typically want a woman to walk around in but at least you won't stick out so much. Don't want to get harassed by any ronin while you're out and about."

Saber turned the clothes over in her hands with a look of surprise before looking back up at the man. "Are you certain I may have these?"

He nodded. "They belonged to my son before he moved out so now they're just taking up space. The kid was always on the short side so they should fit you okay."

"You have my thanks." She quickly went to the room and slid the door shut behind her. When she unfolded the clothes she did not bother to suppress her grimace at how complex they looked. There were no buttons, first of all, so she had no idea how she was supposed to keep the shirt from falling off her shoulders. The pants seemed more straight forward but, all the same, they seemed too loose as well. After her own clothes were off and folded on the floor she got to work on getting these blasted garments to get on and stay on. There were so many strings and not enough loops for them to tie around. The pants fell to the ground every time she pulled them up and she nearly threw them at the wall in frustration. The only thing she could figure out easily enough were the wraps that the man had included to hide her chest from showing its feminine nature through the clothing. If this kept up the wraps may be the only things to conceal her body.

After a good fifteen minutes of the shirt slipping off her shoulder she finally managed to secure it around her body. It was uneven and ruffled, but it kept her covered and that was enough. The pants, too, were finally fastened to her waist and thankfully they looked better than her top did. She picked up her discarded outfit and stepped out of the room at last. The man looked at her patiently and could not hide the small humored grin when he caught sight of her first attempt at eastern fashion.

"I'm sure with enough practice you'll get the hang of it." He ignored Saber's embarrassed frown and tossed a pair of sandals and socks to the floor in front of her. Thankfully, Saber thought in annoyance, those did not require any skill to put on. He looked her over once and gave an approving nod. "You actually pull it off pretty well. Looks better on you than it ever did on my son." He let out a strong laugh before handing her a hair tie. "There's no way to hide your hair but you can at least wear it a little simpler. You should be good to go after that."

She was already pulling the ribbon out of her hair and tugging her hair out of the tight bun she was so accustomed to. It could be awhile before she got to wear the style again, she thought unhappily, before pulling her hair together and typing it into a simple ponytail. She met the man's gaze and he nodded in approval again.

"You look like a pretty man, but a man nonetheless. Congratulations." He gestured to her old outfit that she had stuffed under her arm. "I can get rid of those if you want. Probably not something you want to lug across the city for who knows how long."

She shifted in her spot and was stuck in a rare moment of indecision. This was all she had from her time spent with Shirou and his friends. If she got rid of them then all she would have left were her memories. Her hands clenched around them for a moment before her logical side kicked into gear. He was right, and it was unwise to let her sentiments get in her way. She handed over her only belongings but after a second of consideration kept the blue ribbon that had always kept her hair fastened in place. It came from the time long before she met Shirou, and she felt surprisingly possessive something so simple like this minor accessory. After a moment of consideration she rolled her sleeve up and single handedly tightened the ribbon around her arm.

"Why are you helping me?" She glanced up at him curiously. "Most of the people I have met treat me with distrust, but you do not seem to harbor any of these resentments."

He shrugged his shoulders almost seemed embarrassed. "It's not much. I'd let you stay but if anyone found out it'd be my ass. It wouldn't be right to turn a girl away without helping at all though."

"I am in your debt. I am unable to now, but in the future I promise I will repay you."

He seemed taken aback by the sincerity of her words. "Don't worry about it. Like I said, it isn't much." At that moment, two customers entered the inn, one a man and the other a woman. "I gotta take care of this. Sorry again for not being able to do much but like I said…"

Saber shook her head. "It is more than anyone else thought to offer. I shall take my leave now. Please take care of yourself, and thank you again." She turned in time to miss him gawking at her overly polite way of wording things and stepped out before she drew too much attention to herself. The couple seemed more interested in each other than her, but Saber had the feeling the man was going a lot further out of the way than he let on to help. Perhaps he was working for someone far less charitable than himself.

Saber now wandered aimlessly through the city without a clear goal in mind. It was doubtful she would receive such favorable hospitably anywhere else in the city but she sincerely needed a nice, warm place where she could sit down and have some time alone with her thoughts. So far her only options seemed to include spending the night on a street bench or walking around for the entirety of the night. Either way, she would be stuck outside in the frigid weather, and unfortunately her empty stomach was beginning to gnaw at her.

She cut through an alley when she realized just how muddled her mind truly was. In the midst of all the confusion and frustration since her awakening, she completely forgot to trade introductions with the innkeeper. How would she return his kindness without the man's name? Even the name of his establishment eluded her knowledge. What terrible manners on her part.

Saber had just reached the mouth of the alley and was about to turn around to go back and amend her mistake when she heard the sound of heavy footsteps pounding down onto the street in front of her. She stepped back into the shadows of the building next to her in time to avoid being seen by a young boy who looked about her age run past her. Behind him, three men were giving chase their swords drawn and cruel smiles splayed across their faces. They only had eyes for their prey and didn't even notice Saber as they went passed.

These men obviously intended to harm the boy harm and it seemed the only one around to help their victim was herself, and she was unsure of how she'd fare unarmed against these opponents. Perhaps if she felt in top form mentally and her limbs did not still feel a little like jelly, she would be able to spark more confidence within herself. Nonetheless, she could not leave the young man to face this alone and in an instant she was bounding down the snow covered street after them.