In the rain, 'I' stood outside some rural village in a great valley. It was a pitiful place. A dozen or so roughshod wooden homes huddled together, protected by a slight palisade of thin wood and shrubbery. There were no people outside, yet I knew there were terrified gazes and bated breath within.
I watched the rain drip off a wayward tree by the beaten path leading up the small gate protecting this place. My dated robes were drenched, my bare arms were scarred, a straw hat obscured much of the sky and a thick set of prayer beads hung from my one free arm. The other held an ornate spear.
I didn't recognise much else, but the carved golden armament in my hands was one I had seen before. It was the same ringed spear my so-called ancestor wielded.
My attention lingered on that for barely a second. Just enough for me to realise what was happening.
I always ended up needing a moment to ground myself when it came to these dreams.
Beyond, past myself, there was a small gaggle of loud and boisterous malformed creatures I could scarcely even call humans. They were muscled in the wrong places, with great round bellies and sharp teeth within mouths that opened far too wide.
Some were red. Those were tall and great, ugly ogres wielding clubs built like wrestlers. Some were blue. Those were even taller, but their arms were thin and their forms were lanky to an uncomfortable degree.
Three fingers. One too many toes. Horns. Scantily clad in mere loincloths. Those features they shared.
The wind howled. They laughed and japed and jeered, spewing saliva onto the dirt beneath their feet.
"What's this?"
A blue one stepped closer, a great big hand on his hairless chin. His mismatched eyes snapped onto mine.
The bells chimed.
"I think I pissed off-" I started, then hummed, pursing my lips for a moment. "Leave. Unimpressive as this place is, they pray to the One I serve."
The creature's expression turned uglier. Its eyes bulged.
"Kannushi?"
"Nothing like that. Well, something like that. I don't get to stay at shrines anymore though."
"Then, you wield a piece of your master, dog?" It inquired. Saliva dripped from its mouth with every word, rolling down its tiny chin.
The bells chimed louder.
"No. I want to save up all that favour for the Ten Shadows. It's the small stuff that builds up into a big one, you know? I'm stacking all the favours I get for one massive one. My brownie points with the Kami are going crazy. I think Susanoo-sama might even forgive me for the poop-"
The ugly creature made a face that said it did not understand a word that came from my mouth. That was fair. I was having trouble following my ancestor's eccentricity as well.
Then, suddenly, a terrible grin split its face.
"So you... have no divine power?"
"Nope. I've been grinding though."
The creature raised its spiked steel club to the sky, and brought it down with a terrible force. The impact sounded like an explosion, and the trees around bent the other way from sudden strong winds. The earth beneath my feet cracked.
Some bird cried.
The terrible creature fell to its knees.
The bells chimed.
"Interesting world we're in," I tilted my head, ripping my spear free from its chest. "Oh no, it's a bit too late to come to your senses now."
-
Rubbing one of the black tattoos on my face, I pondered over the terrible violence my ancestor had unleashed upon those demonic creatures. It had been so profoundly disturbing that I woke up drenched in sweat, and immediately ran off to rinse the blood and viscera from my hands in the well.
They were Oni. That much I inferred the moment I woke up.
But, according to that dream, the first Zen'in had no 'cheat' or incredible 'power' to call his own. The Ten Shadows were a gift from the Gods for services rendered. That meant something so terrifying I was having trouble accepting it.
It meant that the madman had lived and thrived in an age filled with Gods and Myths.
...That was too absurd.
My gaze landed on Shuwen's back. The old man was standing on Nue's head with his hands behind his back, his robes flapping in the wind.
We were passing over rolling hills, great plains and rice paddies broken up by streams and river tertiaries alongside aged mountains and sheer cliffs. The sight was such that I would have admired it all the way to our destination... yet, my mind refused to move on from the 'vision'.
I considered the possibilities, as many as came to me... but, none of them let me reason with my realisation.
"Master, being full of apprehension before battle is a good trait for any commander, but be sure you do not drown in those thoughts to the point where they end up blinding you entirely." Shuwen spoke finally, glancing over his shoulder.
His words broke me from my stupour. I looked at up the elderly man who'd made himself my mentor in confusion.
"I'm not thinking about the Grail War."
"Hm?"
"My ancestor. The first Zen'in. I see his memories from time to time." I explained in not so many words, "I think they're part of his crest."
The completed crest was the great prize he refused all other rewards for. It stood to reason that his gods would give him quite a bit of leeway with the exact workings of what they made just for him.
"Zen'in? Hm," He grunted, "Come to think of it, I recall felling one with that name when my nation fought yours."
Right... he was Chinese.
"That was a troublesome affair."
Admittedly, I didn't know which battle he spoke of, but the history of the two nations was dotted with terrible conflicts that caused massive casualties.
"Oh, not our fight though, I tore open his belly within four strikes. Kaka!" He chuckled, rubbing his shaved chin, "He was too loud for one so weak. I think my younger self sought him out for his noise."
...
Somehow, that wasn't all that surprising. We were talking about the Zen'in clan here.
"I believe even you would triumph over that one, though your body needs to be developed still."
"We haven't really been doing any strength-training though." I rubbed my nose.
Li Shuwen shrugged easily. "I do not think the Holy Grail War will be that long an affair. Best to hone your instincts as a warrior instead."
If I remembered right, the war had lasted only a few weeks. Whether we won or not, he definitely didn't have the time to properly build me up.
"Don't look too down, Master. I will teach you what I can of my technique."
I pursed my lips.
Li Shuwen.
Did he really have any chance against the heavy-hitters participating in this war?
"I believe that is our destination."
Shuwen stepped to the side, revealing a sprawling city beyond him. From how high we were, I could see the entirety of the coastal city.
A great river bisected Fuyuki into two separate districts, and most of the population was focused in the centre of either side. There were modern structures, skyscrapers and such on one side, and even construction sites with tall cranes reaching out for the skies. The other was dotted with luxurious manses, both western and traditional.
Both tapered off into suburban homes the farther I looked until there were rural homes and empty plots of land. Past even those sprawled a thick forest that made it difficult to see anything save for the majestic mountains that rose from within it all around us.
I made Nue land a ways from the skyscraper-filled district, in an empty field with a single home a couple hundred metres off to the side. The Shikigami sank into my shadow as I jumped off, and Shuwen fell in beside me.
"What now, Master?"
Narrowing my eyes, I racked my brains for an answer.
According to Rin, every master had to show up to the local Church at least once after coming to the city, to register themselves with Kotomine Kirei, the priest the Holy Church had sent to oversee the entire war.
But then again, that man had turned out to be an evil piece of shit, so I was a bit apprehensive about going to him, for my own safety.
...Still, that was the rule, wasn't it?
I glanced at Shuwen.
"Hey, do you think you could react to any surprise attack from a human?"
He only raised a clenched fist.
"So long as I draw breath, none shall touch you, Master. This I shall swear."
Still, the thought of going to Kirei brought up an uncomfortable lump in my throat and a sinking feeling in my stomach. I really didn't want to even give him the chance to hurt me.
I put a hand over my stomach, considering my options.
"I have to." I sighed.
I came here of my own volition... so I had to bear through the fear and danger.
This was what I wanted to do... right?
Complete freedom wasn't always comfortable. I needed to have the guts to follow through on my own word. That was what I had decided, wasn't it?
Breathing deeply, I resolved myself.
"...Do I really have to though?"
My shoulders slumped.
Gritting my teeth, I stepped onto the asphalt. Shuwen chuckled as he followed along for some reason.
Finding the Church was easy once I worked up the courage to ask an elderly stranger for directions. Apparently, there was only the one Church in the whole of Fuyuki, possibly because the city was on the smaller side compared to others.
Yes, finding it was easy.
Only, the moment I stepped onto the rounding road leading up the hill the Church was built on, I found out I wasn't the only one headed there. An incredibly beautiful woman came walking down the other side of the road.
Both of us noticed each other at the same time.
It would be impossible to miss her after all.
She was taller than any woman I'd seen so far, and most definitely not Japanese.
No, the stranger standing across the road had the pale features and high cheekbones of the English. Her magenta hair was cut short, barely reaching her neck, and her dark eyes scanned every inch of me in an instant. Moreover, the lady was in a maroon business suit, all neat and tidy, looking like someone that was there in a professional capacity.
She was really pretty.
I instantly grew suspicious.
She was the same by the way her gloved hands clenched into fists.
"A master?" She said, craning her neck.
Ah, there was a tiny mole just beneath her left eye.
Denying her words would be futile, as I was not skilled enough to conceal my recognition of the word completely, definitely not enough to escape her notice.
I looked beside me. Shuwen was gone.
"You are a master?" She repeated, looking for confirmation.
"...No?"
She deadpanned. "Then why were you surprised..."
Against an experienced magus, which I assumed she was all my own, I probably stood very little chance in combat as I was right now. Then, the only choice left was to try and get out of there.
I blurted out the first excuse that came to mind.
"Because... you were too beautiful?"
Heat rushed to my face.
Though those were my honest thoughts, I smudged my lips together, cringing harder than I ever had in two lives. At that moment, I was even willing to forget that we were supposed to be enemies just to run away from sheer embarrassment.
"W...What?"
"I'm sorry. Nothing else came to mind."
I lowered my head with burning cheeks.
-
Hope you enjoyed.
I took a bit of a break, so please don't hesitate to point out any difference in the quality.
Look at this fraud, he doesn't the tech. Instead of being proud of his goated ancestor, he just refuses to accept that a person can be that goated from hard work because he himself is, at his core, a FRAUDDDDDDDDD! A FRAUD! IMAGINE BEING THROWN OFF BY A WOMAN! IMAGINE! EVEN MEGUMI WASN'T THIS MUCH OF A BUM! HE NEEDS AN OLD MAN TO PROTECT HIM! ACTUALLY HIS WHOLE CLAN IS FRAUDULENT BUMSSS! THE JAPANESE WON THAT WAR BUT THEY STILL GOT THEIR ASSES KICKED OMFGGGG