Alright, here it is. Part 1/3 of the prologue.
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The dagger was like divine wind.
A slash, reaching out to my throat.
I would not be able to dodge it. No human reaction would be fast enough to dodge that attack.
But…
The wind that tries to kill me…
…Is repelled by the blazing sun.
Bronze armor adorned by runes that I do not recognize. Tall back that seems sturdy enough to carry the entire world. Shoulders covered by the same armor. Posture, proud and true. Bare chest like that of a chiseled statue. The tanned skin tells of a country hot and merciless.
And finally, those golden hawk-eyes turn at me.
“----- I ask thee……are you my Master?”
His voice illuminates the night in my mind.
“I have come forth in response to your summons. From this time forward, my fists are pledged to you, and your fate shall be pledged to me. Now, our contract is complete.”
Yes, the contract is complete. The moment I was chosen by him…I chose to stand by him till the end.
The world around us falls silent. The book of my teacher lies on the floor, pages silently moved by the summer wind.
Time has stopped.
It is mere blink of an eye…
I know that I’ll remember this scene, echo of a distant past, even when I’ve gone to hell.
Golden hair and eyes.
Face wilder than any animal…
…and yet more refined than that of finest lords.
His bronze armor is illuminated by the moonlight.
Yet, standing there, he is like a sun brought in middle of the night.
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Prologue
SOMNIUM
This is a story from seventeen years ago.
…I'm watching someone I know very well.
A tall man with a deep-featured face, who to my knowledge has never told a joke, is patting my head.
No, that's not quite right.
I guess he doesn't know how much strength to use. So to be more accurate, he's grabbing my head and mashing it around.
I guess that's only to be expected.
After all, that's the first time he's ever patted my head. And it shall also be the last time.
“I’ll have to get going now. You’ll know what to do, right?”
I answer the deep voice with a polite "yes".
The man patting my head nods once, lets go, and stands up.
This was how I watched my father leave. To the war that would claim his life.
It was how I lost a person most dear to me.
And…
…that same war, ten years later, also gave me a new person to hold most dear.
This is a story from seven years ago.
My back is against is broad back. Even though he has just suffered more than I can imagine, he retains his strong posture.
He does not whimper. He does not cringe at the pain.
He swallows it all, just because he thinks I’m hurting more.
He’s and fool. A dear, dear fool.
"Right. …It's just a reason I made up afterwards.
To confess, I've been admiring Tohsaka Rin for a long time.
And this is a problem, but I got to like you even more after I talked to you. So I didn't want you to die, and I jumped down even before I realized it."
And there he goes. Saying the most inappropriate thing at a time like this.
I had hoped for an answer. Something that would tell me if I was wrong…
And I was gifted with more than I could ever hope for.
"!! ---------- H-Hey now. Don't say it so directly! You'll create misunderstandings if you talk without thinking!"
My protest falls to deaf ears. He simply smiles back at me.
For some reason, his usual flustered face is gone. He is calmer than ever.
As cool as the night around us.
"I won't create misunderstandings. I really do like you."
And that is how I met my beloved. My husband.
The war that took the life of my father, and almost took my life too, gave me someone to love more than anything.
Thus, I’ve never regretted even a one day.
My path is set ahead of me.
I’ll become a proper magus. And still, following his example, I’ll retain my humanity. That is the path I’ve chosen for myself.
After all, in the end, the words of a teacher weighed less than the words of my husband.
Through many twists and turns after those days, I, Tohsaka Rin, have become a fully grown adult. 25-years old, which is far too much in my own opinion.
The winter days of the war that I participated in are long gone.
Now, it’s summer. Time most different.
I’ve finally put my past behind and can stare at the new dawn…
At the brilliant days ahead of me.
15-07
“Miss Tohsaka! Miss Tohsaka! Please wake up! We’ve already descended…”
“Mnyah…huh…?”
My vision is blurry, yet I can somehow make out the interior of the airplane I’ve been sitting in during the past twelve hours. Most of the passengers have already collected their stuff and are lining up to exit the plane.
That is, except for me and the blonde girl beside me.
“Miss Tohsaka! Please, look sharp!” Gwen half-orders-half-pleads me.
I wave her pointing finger away.
Not in annoyance, but because it nearly hit me straight in the eye.
“Okay, relax…I’m awake now. I was just dreaming about silly stuff, that’s all…”
I give a hearty yawn and stretch. It’s been a long flight, after all.
Beside me, Gwen is still playing with that smooth rock she has been fiddling with the whole flight.
Ah, yes, this girl? Her name is Gwendolyn Westworth. Despite what those big blue eyes and blonde hair might tell you, she’s no fool. In truth, Gwen is my junior in the Clock Tower, and first of the sixth generation of Westworth family.
In other words, she’s the prodigy the Westworth family has been waiting for. Usually the magic of the magi family begins showing flowers around the sixth and seventh generation, so for the Westworths, this has been long coming. And it does help that Gwen is a natural genius when it comes to magecraft.
“So, when are you going to tell me what that stone is?” I ask from her. Gwen looks at me surprised.
“Oh this? It is just a good luck charm my mum gave me”, she explains. “She found it somewhere from the coast and said it would make my future bright. Pure poppycock, if you ask me, but…”
The smile on the girl’s face revealed that she was happier about the fact that her mother had worried about her than about the gift.
It was actually pure accident that I ran into Gwen on my trip back home. Apparently, she had come over here for vacation, and earlier I had promised that I would show her around if I had the time.
Her reaction when she saw me was almost adorable.
It also made me realize that the rumors that I was some kind of idol amongst the younger female students of the Clock Tower were true.
“Well, who knows? Old things might have surprising powers…” I tease her a bit as we take our luggage and head to the exit amongst with the other people.
“Miss Tohsaka, surely you jest. This is nothing but a rock!” she waves the stone in front of me, almost hitting me in the face.
“Even rocks can have powers, if they have an interesting enough history.”
Gwen sighs and adjusts her necktie that had been buffeted by the wind from the outside.
Honestly, I have no idea why she is wearing that school uniform even here. Maybe she just likes it?
It would be a bit worrisome to find out that the heir of the Westworth family had such a hobby.
“I guess you are right…as always, Miss Tohsaka.”
Outside the sky is blue like sapphire, with nary clouds in sight. The few that I see are so white they look almost like holes to somewhere beyond.
Sun is shining so brightly even I’m forced to put on my red-tinted sunglasses, even though I usually hate to use them. Mostly it’s because, after my eyeglasses broke during a certain spell, they’ve the only thing I have been able to read with during the lectures I’ve been holding.
Guess how “chic” the students of the Clock Tower found it when the newly appointed “Red” had even sunglasses with lenses made out of ruby.
So what if I like the color red! It suits me, I know that much. But still, it’s ridiculous to start rumors that I would have gotten another rank, but specifically wanted red!
“Nobody is always right”, I remind Gwen. “Some people are just luckier with their theories than others.”
Both of us laughed, even though the sound was almost drowned by the other airplane which had just taken off from the nearby runway. Together, Gwen and I headed to the terminal where we picked up the rest of our luggage.
I was travelling surprisingly light. Only one suitcase for my normal life (clothes, mostly), and other for my life as a magus.
Gwen on the other hand…
“Nnnngyaaa! Goodness gracious this trunk is heavy!”
My dear student was grinding her teeth together as she pulled and pushed an old, old trunk after her. I swear you could have hidden at least three bodies into that thing.
“What are you planning on doing here?” I teasingly ask from her. “Conduct an experiment that will start a war between local magi? And just when we managed to stop them recently…”
“M-Miss Tohsaka! I would never…!” she protests, before seeing my snickering. “Ah, you were just pulling my leg, Miss Tohsaka. Jolly good.”
“Ah, sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
I wipe the tears of laughter from my face as we exit the terminal. Gwen seems intending to following me like a chick to the very end. We pass by some kiosk-booths, and I by a bottle of water to treat my dry throat. This summer has proven to be very hot, especially in Japan, so the fresh and cold water is like nectar to me.
Gwen, on the other hand, is more interested in the supermarket tabloids which advertize something silly again. This time there seems to be something about a huge pillar of light seen on top of Shinto’s tallest building.
“Those kinds of things ruin this city’s reputation. Fuyuki is a peaceful place nowadays. Just a small Japanese city with nothing happening it”, I sigh as we move on from the booth.
“Except that your husband goes tickity-boo here for some reason.”
Now it’s my turn to cringe. There is slightly mischievous look on Gwen’s face, and it seems like this was just her getting back at my words from earlier. My frown melts into a smile and I tussle her hair.
Gwen seems almost like a dog that is getting praise from her Master.
Just don’t let your tongue hang out, okay?
“And for that reason I’m here to drag him back. Nobody escapes from Tohsaka Rin. Especially her husband”, I pump my fist towards the sky, and Gwen joins in.
When a taxi finally arrives for both of us, we bid each other goodbye. With Gwen’s enthusiastic “Cheerio!” still ringing in my eyes, I took in the scenery that I had not seen in almost seven years.
Fuyuki City. Simply nothing had changed during my absence from here.
Since the airport is actually neighboring the city itself, we enter from the side of Miyama town, which is fine with me. After all, if I find what I’m searching for from his old home, I’ve no need to even venture into Shinto.
Well, I might give the church on top of the hill a visit. I hear that the new priestess there is quite the handful for locals.
I’d like congratulate her for continuing a honored tradition amongst the priests of this city.
Here in Miyama town, every house and building you see is traditional, old style. My old home actually lies in the section where oldest of Fuyuki’s houses are. This is where the whole town started. It expanded eventually across the river, where Shinto lies, and where most of the urban development happens nowadays.
You could say that Fuyuki is a city divided in two.
In fact, Miyama town is broadly separated into two sections as well.
Right now we were driving through the streets filled with Western-style houses, where immigrants from foreign countries live.
And on the other side is the area of old Japanese-style houses, with a mountain behind it. That’s where I’m headed.
Both of these “extreme ends” are on top of hills, so you could say both are suburbs.
Between the two hills is the place where houses are ordinary.
We drive to the familiar crossroads of Miyama town. The taxi driver turns right and chooses the road on the opposite side of the hill, towards the Japanese-style houses.
Had we turned left we would have eventually arrived to the the school, shopping district, and even Ryudou Temple up on the mountain. I think I should go pay at least the school a visit during this trip.
But really…could this driver do something about his choice of music? The J-pop song of that “Nene something-or-other” blasts from his stereo, and the guy even hums along. With windows wide open.
Not to mention that for some strange reason, the song is about China.
Eventually, we arrive at the top of the hill, in front of a big Japanese-style house. I pay the driver, and he speeds of.
I wait till I can’t hear that song anymore before turning to face the house.
“It’s been seven years, huh…?”
That question is directed simply to myself. Or perhaps to the house ahead of me. It looms silently, far too quiet to my liking. My heart sinks as I know that, most likely, I won’t be finding him from here.
Still, it cannot hurt to take a look.
I enter the house using my old key, and the familiar, dim hallway greets me like an old friend. After I’ve taken my shoes off I head further in, poking my head to every room on the way towards the dining room. And I encounter no one.
No, in fact, I barely encounter any signs that somebody lives here. It’s as if somebody had completely abandoned this house for seven years, with only single person coming to clean every now and then. And judging from the layer of dust that has accumulated, it’s been a while from the last time.
------ I guess Sakura still wants to keep this place in a good condition.
The kitchen is just as the rest of the house. Empty, dark and lonely. There is nobody here, and hasn’t been for quite some time.
No, wait. Scratch that.
The refrigerator is humming, which means it’s on. Somebody must be storing food there.
For a moment, I imagine a certain tiger using this place as her personal hideout, but somehow, I get the feeling that this is something else.
And when I open the fridge…
“…Huh? Cola?”
Indeed. Red cans of cola are neatly lined up in the fridge, with few TV-dinners set next to them. The contents of this fridge have changed drastically from the last time I visited, when it was full of everything. A fridge a master chef could be proud of.
And now it’s been reduced to this. In disgust, I close the door.
I check the rooms, the yard, the shed and the dojo, and yet I find nothing at all. Somebody might live here. Perhaps. But that person is certainly not my husband. That means that I’ll have to look elsewhere.
I stomp out of the Emiya residence with frowned brow.
But as I storm out of the front door, I come face-to-face with a person I thought I wouldn’t see here. Well, at least I hoped that I would not have to meet him.
I never wanted to see this person again. And yet here he is.
Almost as if he had been waiting for me.
“Well well. If it isn’t the young heir of the Tohsaka clan. I see that you have finally decided to come back to see how your Spiritual Land still fares.”
Words followed by a hollow cackle.
The man who looks more like a mummified dwarf stares at me with his black eyes, and I see not a single shred of sympathy in that twisted smile.
He is dressed very traditionally, and a large Japanese-style parasol shields him from the sunlight.
Matou Zouken. The head of the Matou family, and the one I left Fuyuki’s Spiritual Land to when I went to London.
“I have no words for you, Matou Zouken. Out of my way.”
He sneers at me and refuses to budge.
“Such a fine spirit. You remind me of Nagato, though right now, by your looks, you are much more like your mother. It was a pity that in the end I was left with the inferior one”, he says. “What wonders could have been ach-“
Swash!
“Finish that sentence and I will erase you from this place”, my cold words pierce the yard, freezing the air around us. “Don’t think I’ve stayed as the little girl I was during these seven years in Clock Tower.”
No matter how cold my words are, they should not make Matou Zouken even angry. As a magus, he is way above my league. There is no point even comparing our powers as magi. And yet, he glares at me with something boiling behind those two, dead, black eyes.
It’s not me.
It’s the thing I pulled from inside my red jacket and pointed straight Zouken.
From a quick glance, one would say that it was a simple short-sword. That was what my husband had said too, the first time he saw this weapon. However, that is not the case.
The spiraling shape was almost completely out of mithril, and few “veins” of liquid diamond ran inside the blade. It was a Mystic Code. And a powerful one, given to me as a gift from one member of Sea of Estray after I helped her out with a Dead Apostle in Scotland.
My husband said that this sword reminded him of the Mystic Code of his father, that they had the same kind of aura. When I heard that, I began carrying this with me.
And in seven years, I became quite adept with this.
This Mystic Code’s name was---
“You know what this is, don’t you, Matou Zouken? It’s not that hard to recognize. There aren’t many of these in the world, after all.”
Unpleasant grin spreads on the man’s face.
“Huh. To think that you would have received such a gift. Or did you steal it?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. This was a gift from Jewel Killer”, I say and aim the blade straight to Zouken’s head. “Let me assure you, this is no fraud. Which is why I would advise you to leave before my goodwill runs out.”
“Bah. To think that Tokiomi would have such a daughter. The only thing you inherited from your father were those eyes. But soon, I guess, you’ll wish you, ho ho, hadn’t gotten them”, he sneers at me.
“…….What’s that supposed to mean?”
“But, ah, you didn’t want to listen, did you? Do not worry, I’m sure you’ll find out eventually”, he cackled. “I’ll be taking my leave then, daughter of the Tohsakas. I’m expecting an important guest tonight, one that I’ll have to entertain to the best of my abilities. Who knows, perhaps I’ll ask Sakura to choose something from our wine cellars…”
I’m not sure why, but the expression on that wrinkled, dead face induces a hot-white rage deep within my brain.
But I manage to keep my cool.
Even when he mockingly nods at me and leaves, I manage to keep my cool.
Only after Matou Zouken is out of sight do I let my emotions out. I kick the wall that separates the house from the outside sharply, and immediately regret it.
Now I’m angry and my foot hurts.
For a moment I worry about the words that Matou Zouken had left for me. It was already unusual to see him in broad daylight. And how did he know I had arrived?
These questions were very unsettling, especially when they were combined with the fact that my husband had disappeared.
“Ah, there’s no use mulling these over, I need to get going and do something about this…” I sigh and scratch my head.
Yes. I don’t have enough information yet. I need to keep on moving and gathering more information about what is happening in Fuyuki.
And thus, my next stop is clear. If my husband isn’t here…
Then I’ll most likely find him at Homuraha academy.
Originally Posted by lantzblades
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