Fate/ersatz eternity

Prologue: Day 1

        I reach for the source of that incessant buzzing noise and press the top of it. I slowly look over at the cause and see the numbers. It reads 5:30. I pull the covers over my head and close my eyes. Sleep consumes me once again. There I see it, my memories from eight years ago.
         I was standing at the doorway watching my father’s broad back as he ties his shoes. When he finished, he would pat my head and ask me an array of questions.
         “Did you finish your homework Yumi?”
        “Yes otou-chan.”
         “Did you understand it?”
         “Onii-chan helped me with it.”
        “Is that right? Well, get ready for school. Otou-chan has to head to work. Kagami-kun will take you to school soon.”
         “Come back safely.”
        That day though, it was different. During class time, the headmaster called me. Something was wrong. I knew then from the expression on their face, even as a child, I knew something was wrong. I walked over and heard the news. My father had been hit by a truck. As a child, I didn’t know much about how the world works, but still I knew immediately it was not good. I was rushed to the hospital where he was being treated. My father was conscious but he didn’t look good. He needed help breathing with an apparatus. He was covered in splints and bandages. The doctors had done all they could do, but his chance to survive was up to him. They gave him a five percent chance to live. I had overheard this. I went into the room and held my father’s hand. Compared to mine, they were giant, but they were also very weak. He looked over to me and smiled.
         “Sorry Yumi-chan. I couldn’t be there for you until the end.”
        I shook my head furiously. I didn’t want him to leave. I didn’t want him to disappear from my life. His pale face kept smiling.
         “Have you been a good girl?”
        I nodded as tears streamed down my face. He reached over and wiped them, but they kept coming.
         “This is rather unfortunate. Not even my healing magic can heal this.” He tried to laugh, but instead coughed. “Hey Yumi. Become a good magus and bring honor back to the Makiri family. Be sure to win the War. Since I can’t do it, it’ll be up to you. You’re a really good magus so keep training.”
        I nodded not understanding about the honor he spoke of. I only wanted my father to get better. I watched my father watching me. He fiddled with my hair and smiled.
         “I’m sorry to leave you without a parent, but I think Kagami-kun will take good care of you. You’re so cute. I don’t think anyone would ever leave you alone.” He pats my head like it was going to be alright.
        “Hey Yumi,” I remember him coughing blood as the beeping sounds in the background gets slower. “I love you.” A doctor rushed into the room and another pulled me from my father. I knew then he wasn’t going to make it. He had disappeared from my life.
        That annoying buzzing noise can be heard once more. I pull my head from under the covers and stare at the digital clock at the head of my bed. It reads 5:38. I had hit the snooze button earlier. I sit up staring at the clock and turn off the alarm. I slowly get out of bed yawning and go to the bathroom where I wash my face in cold water. It feels very refreshing and the coldness makes all the sleep go away.
         I walk back to my room and open the window letting in the cool winter air. Fuyuki City is a strange city. The city’s name means “Winter Tree” from the fact that winters were longer here. However, it’s quite warm with February being as warm as December elsewhere. Winters in the city are friendly and the climate that enters spring shows little change.
        I start to change out of my pajamas and into my school uniform. After slipping out of my clothes, I carefully put on my bra and fresh panties. They are plain, but very comfortable. Next my arms go through the white dress shirt with red trim along the ends of the sleeves and collar, slowly and carefully I button the shirt from the top down. Often times, the buttons are unaligned and when someone points it out to me, it’s very embarrassing, so I made a habit to go carefully.
        Next, I pull my black skirt and tuck the dress shirt under the skirt and zip and button it so it doesn’t fall unintentionally as I move about. That happened once when I was smaller. Onii-chan would still make fun of me. I still get tears from the teasing he gave me at the time. Finally, I put on the beige colored vest and complete the uniform by tying the red ribbon with yellow trim and a cross at the ends under the collar of my dress shirt in a bow.
        I look at the clock and see it is 5:50. I realize I am a slow dresser, so I have to finish quickly else I’ll be late for school. I look in the mirror at my desk and fiddle with my dark shoulder length hair making sure it’s fine. I grab the ruby heart shaped necklace and put it on. It was a gift from my father for my birthday and I have worn it every day since he died. The ruby is leaking with a huge amount of magical energy. I often wonder how my dad got a hold of such a powerful item. The Makiri family isn’t very compatible with jewels like the Tohsakas are, but I don’t worry about it often. Someday, I should ask Tohsaka-sempai about it.
        Smiling to myself, I grab my bag and quickly run downstairs and look at a picture on the fireplace mantle in the living room. It’s a picture of me and my father. It’s a simple picture we took at a park. My tiny arms are wrapped around his neck in an embrace and he is smiling happily.
        “I’ll be back later tonight. Watch the house for me Otou-chan~!” I grab my school bag and a large duffel bag and leave the house with a skip.
        Truthfully, I know nothing will happen to my house, but I would like to think my father is protecting the house. I chant a quick spell and make sure the barrier field is on the house. This prevents any thieves or even stray cats from entering.
        I run down a couple blocks to another house. The nameplate in front says “Kagami”. I push open the gates and walk to the door where I pull out a key from my bag and open the door. In contrast to my house which is quite large, his is small and homely. The city we live in can pretty much be split into two towns, Miyama City and Shinto. Miyama City, where we live, is the place with old houses and traditional buildings. Miyama City can then be split into two halves. My house is in the Western style houses where immigrants and foreigners live. The side I’m visiting now is the area of old Japanese houses. Behind these houses, is a mountain. In between the two sections, the houses are very ordinary. Crossing the large bridge over the river is Shinto, where modern development occurs, although that stopped for a long stretch of time because of a large fire that burned a residential district about 90 years ago. Development has just started about 20 years ago. Shinto started as a tiny station, but has since boomed. Even though Miyama City and Shinto are in the same city, they can be thought of as totally different places.
        “Ojamashimasu.” I say as I enter the Kagami household. It looks like he’s not awake yet.
        I walk into the kitchen and start to prepare some breakfast. I put on an apron as not to get my uniform dirty and start to cook the rice. As that cooks, I start prepping the other ingredients.
        “’Nii-chan likes fish, so… I guess we’ll have fish for breakfast today. It has been a while too.” I say to myself.
        Once everything has been cooked and set at the table in the living room, I skip to a room in the back of the house. In the room, it is a total mess of clothes, magazines, and books. I look at the room and sigh. I walk over to the futon in the center of the room careful not to step on anything and sit next to the sleeping person in the seiza position.
        “Onii-chan.” I call out. He doesn’t wake up. I call out to him again and still he sleeps. Thinking of the next option is always fun. Leaning over, I carefully blow on his ear. This time, there is a reaction as he swats at his ear. He slowly turns over and stares at me sleepily.
        “Ohayo Yumi” He says groggily. He then pulls the covers over his head and falls asleep. I reach behind and pull the curtains of the window wide open as sunlight floods into the room. I then pull the covers off his head. He squints his eyes and looks at me sitting there and smiling.
        “Ohayo ‘Nii-chan.”
        “Yumi… You look beautiful with the sunlight shining like that.”
        “Huh?” He says something unexpected. I quickly turn away. I feel my face getting hot.
        “Thanks for waking me up.”
        “It’s alright.” I give him a bright smile. This guy is Kagami Kazuki. He is tall by Japanese standards at 173cm tall with an athletic build. His eyes match his always messy dark hair. He has a mature face, but with me, it’s often making some goofy expression. He’s exactly a year older than me. Well, a year and three minutes to be exact, but those three minutes are frivolous. He is my childhood friend and we’ve grown up together for nearly all our lives. It looks like my mother was really good friends with 'Nii-chan’s parents. When my dad died, the Kagamis took care of me like I was their own daughter. Now, it’s just me and Kazuki. His parents moved to Britain about two years ago, but they come back to visit every now and then.
        “Go wash your face. Breakfast is ready.” I get up and carefully walk to the door.
        “Yeah, yeah.” He waves me off.
        “Jeez ‘Nii-chan…. Don’t be so lazy.”

        “Ittadakimasu” We part our hands and start to eat.
        “This is really good. You’re getting to be like a professional.” Onii-chan says pointing his chopsticks at me. He is speaking about the fried fish.
        “You’re exaggerating too much.”
        “Yes I am.” He says bluntly.
        “That’s kind of mean….” I mumble. Breakfasts are usually like this. We talk about nothing in particular, but it makes breakfast more enjoyable. I really dislike the silence. I think Onii-chan knows this too, so he always tries to make a little noise. Of course, he could just be naturally noisy.
        “YUMIIII!!!!!” I hear a loud yell. From the hallway bursts a woman. “AHHH!!! You guys started without me!” She points as the two of us in horror.
        “But if we wait for you Akari-san, we’ll be late.” I say it like it’s obvious.
        “Whatever.” She takes her place at the table and I move to get her breakfast. Akari is ‘Nii-chan’s older sister. She’s his elder by 10 years. She’s a very spontaneous person as you can see, but I like that about her. She’s very honest. In contrast to her personality, she looks very delicate. Her thin frame packs a large amount of power.  Right now, she’s living in an apartment in Shinto. This place is really out of the way to come here every morning and evening to hang out with the two of us.
        “You’ve really improved. This is really good.” Akari-san squeals. She reaches towards me and hugs me tightly. “Marry me Yumi!”
        “Akari-san!” I complain. “Let me eat. You should be eating too. We’re almost done and you just started! I need to clean the dishes before we go to school.”
        “But then, I can’t enjoy the flavor…” She pouts eating more slowly.
        “I’ll make something really good tonight if you finish quicker.” I start to collect the dishes. I see Akari making an effort to eat a little faster.
        “To think what you made just a year ago was inedible.” Onii-chan says.
        “It’s thanks to you that I can cook like this.” I take the dishes to the sink. Onii-chan was the one who taught me how to cook Japanese dishes. I had learned how to cook a few Western dishes from my father, but I still wasn’t good at making anything. They say a woman should know how to cook though. “Bring your plates over when you’re done Akari-san.”
        “Yessssss.” I turn the faucet on and start to do the cleaning. I see ‘Nii-chan cleaning the table and Akari-san looks to have just finish.
        “Gochisousama deshita!” Akari-san says having finished eating.
        “’Nee-chan… That was fast.”
Akari-san puffs her chest out. “Better make something really great Yumi!”
        “Of course.”
        “See you two later! Need to head to go to work! Breakfast was great!”
        “Until tonight.” I wave my sudsy hands. I put the last dish on the rack to let them air dry. I wipe my hands on the hand towel and walk over to ‘Nii-chan waiting at the door with my bags. I quickly look at the clock and see it is 6:45.
        “We have a little time.” I take my bags from ‘Nii-chan as he locks the door. It looks like Onii-chan, Akari-san, and I have keys to the house. The rule is that the last one to leave should lock the door. We walk to the crossroads of Miyama City. Here is the middle of Miyama City that splits the Western and Japanese styled areas. Up one hill leads to the Western area where I live and up the opposite hill leads to the Japanese side where ‘Nii-chan lives. The bridge to Shinto is in one direction and the last direction leads to the school, shopping district, and Ryudou Temple up the mountain.
        Since it’s still very early, there is no one around as we walk up the road to school. We don’t talk as much today as we walk to school which is a little unusual.
        “Is there something on your mind Onii-chan?” I lean over and look up at his face.
        “No. It’s just that… You forgot to make lunch.”
        I stop walking and fall on all fours staring at the ground. “That’s why we had so much time. I forgot lunch…” That’s always been a bad habit of mine. There’s always something I forget. Tears start to well up in my eyes. I look up and don’t see ‘Nii-chan anywhere. He had ditched me as I was sulking on my clumsiness. My tears start to flow freely.
        “Hey, get up. You’re going to get dirty if you stay on the ground.” I see a hand in front of me and look up. “Whoa. It’s nothing to cry about. I can just buy food in the cafeteria today.” He keeps his arm extended looking away shyly. “I mean, I really like your food, but I don’t want to be too much trouble for you.”
I take his hand as he pulls me up. Just hearing that makes me happy as I wipe the tears away.
        “Come on, let’s go.” He says to me. I run over and grab his arm tightly. “Hey! What are you doing?!”
        “Nothing~” I say innocently. ‘Nii-chan is really a very kind person.

        We soon reach the gates of Homurabara Gakuen. “Have fun at your club.” I say to him. Onii-chan is a third year student and also the captain of the kyudo club.
        “You too.” I am a member of the kendo club.
        We go our separate ways as he heads to the range and I to the dojo.
        I head to the locker room where I change into the dark blue hakamashita and hakama. I carefully put my uniform into the locker and walk into the dojo. I am met with a surprise.
        “Tohsaka-sempai. Tezuka-sempai.” I greet the two who are drinking tea by the door that leads outside.
        “Hey Makiri.” Tezuka Mika, the captain of the kendo club greets me. She’s incredibly tall, but still very beautiful. Her long light colored hair and eyes that look like they’re always closed gives her an air of elegance, but in her kendo outfit, she still looks like someone you shouldn’t mess with.
        “Hey Makiri-chan!” Tohsaka-sempai greets me.
        “What brings you here?” I ask. Tohsaka Kaori isn’t part of the kendo club.
        “I’m visiting my friend.”
        “You two know each other?” I ask surprised. They’re personalities seem like the exact opposite. I guess what they say is true, opposites attract.
        “Of course. We’re best friends. Right?”
        “Right!” They give each other thumbs up. I tilt my head and look at them oddly.
        Tohsaka-sempai looks at me seriously. I take a step back at the intense glare. She has her jet black hair in a sideways ponytail on the left side of her head. I think it looks really good on her. From what I hear from the others, she’s a perfect honor student, very confident in her own abilities. She’s like the school idol of the whole school. Her anti-social nature seems to add to that as it makes her seem unobtainable. In school, I find she’s very diligent with her outer image, but her real self is very different. I’m often surprised. She’s very selfish and demanding often wanting perfection. She’s very hard to be around I find. Of course, she’s never this way except with those who are close to her.
        “You better get yourself a Servant.” She tells me.
        “Huh? Servant? What the heck is that?” Tezuka-sempai looks at Tohsaka-sempai with a bewildered look. Tohsaka-sempai said the word ‘servant’ in English. To a normal Japanese girl like Tezuka-sempai, they wouldn’t understand that word, but to a Magus, that word carries plenty of meaning.
        “Ah… Just a game we’re playing. Right Makiri-chan?”
        “Oh right.” I answer her absentmindedly as I think about what she just said. As you can guess, Tohsaka-sempai like me is also a magus. I heard that Tohsaka-sempai’s father was killed by the Mage’s Association for violated the single law that magic must never be made public. I felt sad when I heard the news because I looked up to Tohsaka-sempai. What my father didn’t teach me, she taught me. She really helped me even though she probably shouldn’t have because even then, we knew we would have to kill each other when the time came, when we would have to fight in the Holy Grail War.

        School ends without a problem, although I did have trouble getting food at the cafeteria. I underestimated the lunchtime rush, but Onii-chan helped me. We didn’t eat together. We hardly see each other at school to be honest. Still, school time is fun as I get to meet with my friends and talk about silly things like the new sweets shop that opened in Shinto or that cute dress at the shopping district. However, most of my thoughts were on what Tohsaka-sempai had said to me.
        “You better get yourself a Servant” she had told me. Then I remember she lipped out some words to me. “Or you’ll die…” That’s what I think she said. Even if she didn’t, I knew I would need to summon one soon. From what she said, I would have to assume she had already summoned her Servant.
        “Hey, have you been waiting.” A voice brings me out from my thoughts.
        “Hey ‘Nii-chan.” I wave at him a little.
        “You’ve got such an intense look. What were you thinking about?”
        “Huh? Did I? Ahh…. That’s embarrassing.” I turn red in the face.
        “Well, shall we head home then?”
        “Yes. Let’s.” I nod.
        We go back to ‘Nii-chan’s place where Akari-san is watching the news in the living room eating an orange.
        “Welcome back you two.” She’s still watching the TV.
        “Tadaima.” Onii-chan says.
        “Ojamashimasu.” I say as I enter the house.
        “Anything interesting happen?” ‘Nii-chan asks his sister.
        “I bought groceries.” Akari-san says.
        “I mean the news.” I move to the kitchen where I look in the fridge pondering what I’m going to make for dinner.
        “It looks like a family was killed. Some kind of bladed weapon was used. The house was also burned to the ground.” She says kind of sadly. “They don’t have any leads it seems.”
        I freeze hearing the news. I know what happened. It is starting. I close the refrigerator and look at the two.
        “Hey, I just remembered I have something to do.” I quickly put my shoes on and leave.
        “Hey! What about dinner?” I hear Akari-san yelling. I ignore the yells and run back home. If I stay there, they could be in trouble. I am about to become a Master and my life is constantly going to be in danger. I don’t want to involve Akari-san and Onii-chan. That news report opened my eyes. I know that murder was the result of a Servant.
        When I reach my home I run into my basement. It’s a dark place, but dry and large. It’s where I practice my magic every night when returning home. However, this was different. My life and the honor of my father depended on this. I could only do this once. I took off my necklace and hold it tightly in my hand. I had only one chance to summon the strongest Servant.
        “— Removal within eradication, engrave and surround four areas, the summoning circle… Light!”
        A circle is engraved onto the floor around me. Summoning a Servant doesn’t require a large scale summoning. The Holy Grail deals with the summoning. The only thing a magus does is supply the Servant with enough magical energy so they can operate in our reality.
        I bite the tip of my thumb drawing blood. It drips to the floor. I continue to chant the summoning spell. The blood on the floor starts to move drawing into circles and figures.
        I flip a switch inside me. I feel a sensation in my body as everything is changed. My nerves become circuits moving magical energy. From this point on, I’m no longer a living entity, just a magical tool to attain the unobtainable. Mana is flowing into my body. It’s so concentrated, my senses are being destroyed. The power keeps flowing. Mana is being absorbed and converted. The body of a magus is nothing more than a circuit, a circuit that connects the spiritual to the real. This is what magic is.
        My body is burning. It feels so hot. I see illusions of myself, myself turning into a demon, an angel, an animal. I feel myself sinking, sinking into the water. My body is burning, it starts to sweat. Then I feel a sharp pain. Knives are being shoved into my body. Bullets are peppered into me. The pain is my body rejecting the incoming magic. The human body is not made to be a Magic Circuit. No matter how great a magus one is, a human is just a human. The pain will continue as long as magic is used with a human body.
        The pain is unbearable, but I don’t loosen the flow. I know at the end of this lies a place of “connection”. A pain runs through my back. The other gift my father left me, the Magic Crest activates to help me. This causes the pain to increase. The mana in my blood, if this is like having your joints sliced through, the Magic Crest is like having your skin ripped off. I start to lose myself, but then I feel it. I made it to that place. I can feel the power. I now need to use the mana within me to move the device known as the summoning circle.
        “— I call upon thee. Thy self shall be under my order; my fate shall be decided on thy blade. Following the command of the Holy Grail, if thou wouldst obey this one, please answer my beckon.”
        My eyes close. I feel a large gale blowing through the basement. The fifth element unperceived by man is appearing before me. In fear, my body reacted by itself and shut the optics down. I continue my summoning.
        “Make thy oath here. I am the embodiment of virtue after death. I am the embodiment of immorality after death. Thou art Heavens clad in the Three Great Words. Emerge from the ring of control, keeper of stasis.”
        I’ve done the best I can. I open my eyes and wipe the sweat from my brows as my eyes adjust to the darkness. There he stands before me. I look up at his kind features. His fiery red hair goes well with his green eyes. He’s a tall man, around 203 cm. He must be very strong as he wears full plated shining armor under a red cape. I see on his left hip is a sword sheath in a scabbard.
        He kneels before me and lowers his head. “I am your Servant.” He looks into my eyes. “I am of the class, Saber. Master, what is your first command.”
I look at him trying to talk, but I am still breathing harshly. The summoning magic really drained me. “Hi Saber, I’m Makiri Yumi. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” That’s all I can say as I collapse soon after.