Disclaimer: This is a fanwork based upon Fate/Strange Fake novel by Ryohgo Narita which was based on Fate/Stay Night visual novel by Kinoko Nasu. Fate franchise is trademark of Type-Moon. I don't gain any monetary profit from this.
The War for the Fake
Contract
“You are the best candidate I can find until the deadline,” the strange woman said, pushing his bare chest into the bed with her pale, slender hand. He could swear her bright, crimson eyes were glimmering, turning her already uncanny beauty into something more unsettling.
Candidate? What is she talking about?
Takuma tried to get up, but he could not. Somehow, despite his much bigger body build, the seemingly fragile woman was able to hold him down. Shivers crawled down his back as sudden coldness spread from her palm into his chest. In the next moment, his whole body became completely paralyzed.
She is doing something to me. Something dangerous for my life.
“So we won’t have a one-night stand, after all!?” he yelled through squeezed out breaths; hoping somebody outside the room would hear him. He had forgotten that the room was completely soundproof to protect the privacy of the hotel’s guests.
The woman tilted her head, looking quizzical for a very brief moment. “I am sorry. It seemed you have misunderstood my intention in bringing you here. I will explain everything to you later, Mr. Andou. The time is running out. I have to give you these command seals right now.”
“What are y- AAAAAARGHH!!!”
Abruptly, overwhelming heat washed over the rigid coldness. Takuma's body jerked by the sensation it had never experienced before. It was as if hot liquid metal were running through his veins, eating away his blood and flesh before accumulating in his spine.
As he vainly struggling in agony under her pressing hand, Takuma could hear the woman chanted something. He could not listen clearly but he could make out several words and phrases like silver, iron, contract, Schwei… something…, and gates. The more she chanted the more painful it became for Takuma.
“What the hell?!” he cried out. No answer came.
Some minutes went by, all filled with his agonized screams. When the woman finished her chants and lifted her hand from his chest, Takuma had lost every single bit of strength of his body. He felt warm and fuzzy and tired. Heat was scorching on the back of his right hand, shoulders, and back. Something had changed on those areas; something that gave him dread and bad feelings.
“H… hey, at least… tell me… what…” he managed to mutter some nonsensical words.
Sitting right beside him, the woman wiped some sweats off of her forehead and fixed her now disheveled hair. She smiled at him; the strangeness he had seen in her eyes had disappeared. She was just an incredibly beautiful woman now with fairy-like features; gorgeous red eyes as brilliant as ruby crystal and silvery white hair reminiscing him of snow.
“To subvert all that came about as the result of the Fifth War,” she said quietly with serene expression that took hiss breaths away. She then collapsed on to his arm like a puppet having its strings cut. She was exhausted too. Whatever she had done to him had taken its toll on her as well.
“To make everything into nothing once again… including all the sacrifice that were made…” she continued in a whisper. Her soft breathing sent warmth upon his cheek.
“To achieve those goals, we will seize the false Holy Grail.”
Takuma waited for more, but she said nothing else. She had finished answering his quarry and had fallen asleep right beside him. Everything was over for now.
He heaved a long sigh of relief. Listening to her soft snores made him terribly sleepy. A lot of questions filled his mind, all begging to be answered. However, he was too exhausted to think about anything complicated. Tomorrow, he would get all the answers he needed, so he decided.
“What have I gotten myself into…?”
With the most important question slipping through his mouth, Takuma Andou dived into a dreamless sleep.
To be continued...
Author's Note: It has been months since my last post here. To be honest, with a lot of unexpected stuff happened in my life (several of those were quite... unfortunate to say the least), my enthusiasm towards Type-Moon and story-writing in general had dwindled. It took quite a long time to start writing things again, and after reading Fate/Strange Fake during that period, I feel... challenged.
Ideas started popping in my heads and the next thing I knew, I just wrote this little piece of story introduction. So, meet a little bit of myself as the protagonist as he struggled to survive in the mad war Ryohgo Narita had so kindly created for us. Yes, this is also a semi self-insert story.
Why can't I write something normal? Well, I wonder about that too...
Anyway, thanks for reading, your thoughts and criticisms are always welcomed.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by DreamsRequiem
