Escaping Fate

[Froggie]

Oh, that was very nice. You know? It's downright fiendish how you've made me care for an OC. I'm glad Yumi was rescued. I hope there are no lingering side-effects. Looking forward to your next chapter

[Arashi_Leonhart]

AN: I will be slow in posting the next bit, as the setup I’ve made requires that I basically post the next four chapters at once. It will make sense when you see it. Until then, happy reading.


Escaping Fate
Chapter 13
Hell’s Desire


We had to wait until nightfall to get back home, since dragging my broken and bleeding body in the open would warrant questions from the average passerby. Tohsaka somehow warded Issei’s family and the monks away from our position as we waited, and after a quick examination of Yumi, Caren took off after the demon.

With my body out of od, I dozed uncomfortably for minutes at a time, until some jabbing pain would wake me and I’d have to shift to find a more comfortable position. Finally, by the time the sun was setting, Tohsaka had managed to heal me just enough that the blades piercing my body receded on their own, though it still felt like I was laying on a bed of needles. Somehow, it was decided that Tohsaka would help carry Yumi back home—as Yumi seemed likewise exhausted and sore—while Sakura hefted one of my arms around her shoulders so she could help me move like we were in a three-legged race.

BGM on

It was full-blown nighttime when we made it back, and by then I was feeling more generally alert and awake as my body stopped screaming at me for the pain I had inflicted on it. We got inside; Tohsaka took Yumi to her room to rest and then dragged me into her room to wrap bandages about my arms, which had taken the blunt of my blade-skewering.

“Though you still heal faster than the average person,” Tohsaka said. Every once in a while, she took delight in jabbing a particularly sensitive wound, and I wasn’t exactly sure why other than a sadistic default in her head. “Maybe all that time with Saber’s scabbard in your body left you with lingering blessings from the faeries.”

“Then I’ll blame them that I’ve not grown any taller,” I complained. “I’ll be stuck in a teenage body for the rest of my life too.”

The ointment that Tohsaka put on her bandages really alleviated the remaining pain, and I felt much better by the time I’d changed clothes and made my way back to the living room. There, I could hear and smell something sizzling and I was reminded that I had not eaten since breakfast.

Sakura came from the kitchen and brought stir-fry with her. While she distributed the plates, Yumi crept out, looking extremely timid.

“How are you feeling?” Tohsaka asked when she spotted the girl.

Yumi slowly sidled up next to me when it was clear she wasn’t about to get scolded, and I put my arm around her shoulders. She had never fully acted out in any fashion in the entire year she had lived here, so my assumption was she only ever had her time in the orphanage to compare this situation to. “Strange,” she said, looking blankly at the plate Sakura put before her.

“Do you remember anything?” I asked.

Her expression fell from blank to depressed; an outsider might not notice, but at least I was familiar enough with it that I could see. I’m sure it was the same for Tohsaka and Sakura as well.

“This wasn’t your fault or anything,” Sakura said.

Yumi looked up at Tohsaka. “Were…the people at school alright?”

I’m not quite certain why she looked to Tohsaka, though my guess was she figured Tohsaka would be the bluntest about it. Either that or she realized that any attempt Tohsaka managed at fudging the truth tended to exhibit very clear symptoms of you’ve-said-too-much. “Four of your classmates are going to be checked out at the hospital. Caren Ortensia said that she already spoke with people and used something to clear anyone’s specific memories about your direct involvement.”

“Um,” Sakura said. “Hoshino-kun left a message on the phone; I checked when you were bandaging senpai up.” She looked a little nervous. “He clearly saw everything and it doesn’t seem Ortensia-san got to him, probably because he’s not in her class. He was worried about Yumi-chan.”

Tohsaka frowned and Yumi looked like she wanted to crawl under the table, never to return. I tried giving Tohsaka the cut-off signal from behind Yumi’s shoulder, but she went on to say, “I guess I’ll get to him later.” When Yumi wilted further at those rather villainous words, Tohsaka caught herself and slapped her hand over her face. “I mean, uhh…”

“Regardless,” Sakura said, trying to distract from her sister’s slip by distributing the food, “Fujimura-sensei also called and let us know that school would be out for the remainder of the week until they investigate what occurred and make sure it wasn’t some kind of contamination or leak of some sort. You do not have to concern yourself until then. Now, everyone needs to eat.”

“But still,” Tohsaka said, “if that boy says any—”

The table shuddered slightly, the tea Sakura had set up sloshing around. Tohsaka jumped in place and then turned an incredulous eye on her sister.

I did too. How Sakura could lash out from under a Japanese table from seiza position* without looking like she had done anything twisted my brain.

BGM off



Though I was still running pretty low on prana and energy in general, I felt way too wired to even think about sleep for a while, and with Yumi still fretting over what had occurred, we all plopped down in front of the television and watched a punishment game challenge show.

“I pray to the lord that whoever invented this show should seek repentance.”

BGM on

My wired-nerves caused me to jump at Caren’s voice; thankfully, Sakura and Tohsaka both managed to keep their cool, though Sakura looked a little nervous at Caren’s reappearance. The priestess stood there, calmly, as if she hadn’t just entered my home without permission. “I thought you were going after that thing?” I blurted.

Caren smiled at me. “Oh, I’m fine, thank you, no need to be concerned for my wellbeing or why I have come.” She grasped her hands before her chest as if in prayer. “Lord almighty, please ignore this child’s uncouth tongue, for he knows not what he says…ever.”

Sakura hit the power on the remote and everyone turned to regard the priestess in earnest, motioning for her to sit at the table as we crowded around. “Are you alright?” I asked, though I thought it was a fairly stupid question. She still looked fine and even the marks on her hand were gone.

“The demon has thus far eluded me, so I believed it best to come here and see if I could understand its reasoning better,” Caren said.

“I’m not sure—” Sakura began.

“I am not either,” Caren said, nodding. “But this is a very important concern, and it may in fact return in an attempt to reattach to your young one here. I would prefer to wring it out now, so I need not have Emiya glare and throw daggers my way once more.”

I tried very hard not to, but was probably doing that very thing right now.

The glaring, anyway.

“Yumi,” Caren started, staring at the girl. It was actually an odd thing, now that I looked at it, since Yumi and Caren’s hair was of the same color and style, they looked a fair amount alike. Though I could never quite imagine Yumi smiling in the same unshakable way Caren did. “Do you know why a demon came to you?”

Yumi looked down and to one side, but nodded.

That surprised me a little. I always thought that demon possession was a random occurrence. Though I knew even less on the matter than Dead Apostles.

“It’s the others inside me,” Yumi said.

Everyone, myself included, looked at her perplexedly.

“They wished for it,” Yumi continued.

BGM off



The shadow fled the temple, fled to safety.

Fled to the one place it could sense, the one place that it could understand.

The mansion was old, Western-styled, and quiet. No semblance of life perpetuated it and nobody seemed to care.

In the shadows of the mansion, the shadow dove.

It dug deep into the earth and swept into the crevices of the once-mighty manor. The screams of release shuddering through the shadow’s body resonated with the screams of release still felt within the walls of this place. The shadow could sense through time the pain suffered here, it could smell the tears of the little girl that cried here, it could feel the wishes whispered in the darkness.

Wishes for a release from the torment.

Wishes for the power of a magus.

Wishes for life unending.

The house of Matou.



BGM on

This is what it is to be Zouken Matou.

It writhed in the pit, a shadow of what it once was. The worms shuddered and crawled and undulated about one another, in torment and agony, hating that which brought it to its knees.

Rin Tohsaka and her family name, for thwarting his every move.

Illyasviel von Einsbern, for looking down upon him like she was Justica.

Sakura, for failing to be his tool.

Shirou Emiya, for stealing it all.

The mass screams and rages, but nothing comes of it, as its power has long since vanished, no more prana to consume, no more form to be taken. This shadow is a shadow of itself, no longer anything but an accumulation of lost desire and misguided passion.

It shudders alone in the darkness, unable to live, unable to die.

BGM off



So when the shadow came to the shadow:

One shadow feeding on the pains of many—

One shadow feeding on the pains of one—

In this place, where pain once echoed freely, and a little girl cried for release…

Shadow consumed shadow, to give the shadow a shape.



Escaping Fate, Hell’s Desire, End


*Kneeling, with one’s rear seated over their ankles. Superbly uncomfortable if you’re not used to it and even many Japanese can’t tolerate it for long. Saber, Rin, and Sakura all sit in that position without fuss, though. The anime shows Shirou mostly sitting cross-legged.

[ItsaRandomUsername]

0_____o

...Le Gasp.

[Neir]

Oh snaaaaaaaaaaaaaap

[Techlet]

Okay, that's not good...

[ItsaRandomUsername]

)=

[Bloble]

What a twist. I definitely didn't see that one coming. You've somehow managed to make Zouken scarier than his canon portrayal and we haven't even seen him yet.

[Arashi_Leonhart]

What a twist. I definitely didn't see that one coming. You've somehow managed to make Zouken scarier than his canon portrayal and we haven't even seen him yet.

...I dunno about that. I HATED every time he cropped up on screen. Though that might have been due to living alone and playing in the middle of the night with the lights out.

[Mike1984]

Well, I wouldn't say Zouken is really that scary, TBH. A little creepy, perhaps, and certainly an irredeemably evil bastard, but my main feeling towards Zouken is hatred and sheer revulsion, not fear.

[Arashi_Leonhart]

Well, I wouldn't say Zouken is really that scary, TBH. A little creepy, perhaps, and certainly an irredeemably evil bastard, but my main feeling towards Zouken is hatred and sheer revulsion, not fear.

I dunno. Something about his sprite just creeped me the hell out. I felt like I could almost smell him.

[Arashi_Leonhart]

So. I kind of feel bad taking so long. I planned on releasing this all at once, and will do so on FFN, but here, I suppose, I'll just post them as I get them done and edit this one to add in links to the choices. Maybe because I want to tease you people here. Bwahahaha.


AN: WARNING! Some shipping to occur depending on your choices. The third option remains romance-free.

By the way, in Japan, common law marriage is recognized, and Shirou has lived with both Rin and Sakura long enough…


Escaping Fate
Chapter 14
Connection


BGM on

It made sense.

Setsuka Yuushi’s work had something to do with the transference of magical circuits. Normally, one could not do such a thing without extreme consequences—death usually—and the side effects would be severe even if it did work. Even in willing subjects, the movement of, say, one circuit from one person to another was a dangerous practice; Tohsaka had said it was one of the things she had considered when we were being pursued by Berserker. The thing was, circuits were a reflection of a person’s life force, their soul, and transplanting an entire set of circuits into another was like trying to shove two souls into one container.

“But he studied Souren Araya’s work,” Tohsaka muttered.

“What?” I asked.

Tohsaka wasn’t even looking at anyone, staring off in one direction vacantly. “A magus that died something like a decade ago. He was an expert on the study of the soul.”

I looked back to Yumi, who had fallen silent after her explanation. Though she still looked upset and nervous over what was going on with her, at the same time something about her had seemed to settle. I wasn’t sure if it was the absence of the feeling that had wished for the demon or if the entire situation had given her some kind of insight, but something in the way she just sat there, less stiff and tense than I had ever seen her had a sense of finality.

A demon born of wishes.

Wishes born by the thoughts of a collective.

A collective of lives still echoing within Yumi.

“It feels like people inside of me. Thoughts and feelings that aren’t my own are always there.” She had said it in a way that made it sound like she thought of herself less as a person and more like a hub, a computer network or a community hall.

It made sense.

Yumi’s magical circuits were irregular and more existed than should in the average person.

The magic circuit is tied to the soul.

“It’s like my magic. I feel…more inside of me. Additions. Things that don’t belong.”

Demons, according to Caren and Tohsaka, were born of human wishes. Generally, they came forth for humans to throw their suffering and anger onto, taking form in accordance to the beliefs humanity has of them—thus the monstrous appearance.

If Yumi really was full of the thoughts and feelings of others, of victims to Setsuka Yuushi’s experiments, and if they were all united in their desires…

A wish certainly could be born. And wishes were the source of powerful magic, true magic.

True horrors, too.

“What is it they wish for?” Caren asked.

Yumi looked up at me, then into her lap. “Salvation.”

“I’m not sure I understand,” I said. I glanced to Tohsaka and Sakura, but both were regarding me with expressions that somehow made the hairs on my arms stand straight: Tohsaka looked sad, while Sakura looked oddly determined. I think it was the expectation of a reversal there, because I was used to Sakura looking lonely and Tohsaka often wore an almost angry expression.

“Shirou,” Yumi said, her voice quieting, “the only time I feel like everything in me agrees on anything is when I’m looking at you. Whenever I think of…you saving someone. Saving me. Or saving the others at Yuushi-san’s place.”

The expression she gave me…

Then I’ll be at peace now.

Old man…I’m not sure I ever gave any thought to why you looked like that when you died until now. Maybe I’ve grown up a little since then…

“I thought as much,” Caren Ortensia interrupted my thoughts. “Demons, you see, are not evil beings. They may cause evil, but they themselves are not. They serve a purpose, one that humanity itself sees fit to bequeath upon them.” She sighed. “But they are also creatures that must be put down as fast as possible.”

I glanced at Tohsaka from the corner of my eye, but the witch was not looking my way and instead had finally settled on that almost-angry expression I had come to expect from her.

“What do you think it’s going to do now?” I asked.

Caren closed her eyes and put her hands up in a delicate open-handed-I-don’t-know pose. “I know only the ends, not the means. It will seek familiar ground, perhaps either attempting to attach to Yumi, or it may seek out another with similar pains, though I can think of none that currently live in this city beyond those already in this room.” She glanced at Sakura, then to me. “My estimation is it will eventually come after you, Shirou Emiya.”

I looked at Yumi, regarding me with a demure stare.

Salvation, huh?

I suppose…

Maybe I thought it was much further off than this, but, it is what I’ve been striving for. I can’t really complain. If my decision during the war was what I was going to live by…

I put my hand on Yumi’s head. “Yeah, well, I guess then I should take responsibility, huh?”

Caren gave a much put-upon sigh. “I will attempt to track it down before it comes seeking you out here, though. If it attaches to someone else like this, it most assuredly will prove fatal.” She frowned. “Though at this point, I have nothing in the way of ideas to look for it other than wandering aimlessly through town.”

At that, Tohsaka seemed to come to some kind of conclusion, and she glanced at the clock. It was settling on two in the morning. “Assuming the demon can find something to shape itself, how long do you think we have?”

“It was weaker after Emiya-san brandished that bizarre green sword at it,” Caren said. “I have a feeling that it will bide its time until next evening at the least. That was the impression I felt, anyway.”

BGM off

“Then I’d suggest we all just, well, get some rest.” Tohsaka was glancing at everyone, though, and seemed to realize just how wired we were. Also, all things considered, I wasn’t sure any of us felt like sleeping while the sun was still down. The mood just felt a little too disturbing, like those shadow-creatures would just jump out at us the moment we turned off the lights. “Maybe we can all think better once we’ve had some rest.”

“Ortensia-san can stay here, if she wishes,” Sakura offered. “We have—”

I tried giving Sakura the cut-off motion, and once more failed. What was it with these girls?

“—many spare rooms. The church is so far and it is very late.”

Caren bowed. “Thank you for your hospitality.” She then gave me this look out of the corner of her eye, one that, even without a smile, was somehow smiling. Smiling in the way that I just felt was supposed to be menacing to me. Like a cat. In that way cats were indisputably in control even if we humans may call them the pet.

Maybe my wishes would bring the demon to me right now.

…Probably best not to wish for such things.



Tohsaka grabbed me by the arm and pulled me out into the hall as Sakura led Caren to one of the spare rooms. I glanced back into the living room to see Yumi turn the television back on. “What?”

“It isn’t just your responsibility,” Tohsaka said.

“Tell that to the demon.”

“Get rest, Shirou.”

I sighed. “I’ll try. But I should warn you, between the Aegis, what I did with Avalon, and the blades I made…I’m not even going to be up to full after a complete night’s rest. And everything is still sore from my circuit going haywire as normal.”

“I know.” She sighed. “I’ll try and figure something out. But regardless, we’re going to have to try and go on the offensive tomorrow. I’ve talked this over with Sakura, and while I don’t particularly like the idea of leaving them alone here, it is actually safer for Yumi if Sakura is here. Probably safer with Sakura than with me, in any case.”

“Because of the Matou magic.”

Tohsaka shrugged. “Something like that.* Anyway, just…try to rest. I’ll think of something.”



Rest did indeed come in fits.

It felt like being torn in multiple directions. My body was sore and ached from the damage I had put it through, and my od was at an all-time low. I wanted to just lay down and not move for days, while at the same time my frazzled nerves were too twitchy to relax. My mind kept running in circles, unable to settle, as thoughts from all sorts of directions seemed to assault me.

I might have gotten an hour by the time the pre-dawn chirping of birds started up. I gave up on that and decided to go and start planning on breakfast.

The lights were out, but the television was still on when I came into the living room. In front of it, Yumi had apparently fallen asleep watching; she was curled up next to the table in a most uncomfortable-looking position, and I had to smile.

Fuji-nee often slept that way when she fell asleep in front of the tv.

So, it seems one of her bad habits finally rubbed off on Yumi.

Hopefully the girl’s spine wouldn’t be thrown right out of alignment.

When I made my way over to her, Yumi stirred in her sleep, then hurriedly glanced my way, shooting up to a sitting position in the process. Her nerves were probably just as edgy from everything and she had probably not even realized she had fallen asleep. “Hey,” I said. “You should really go to your room to get rest.”

The girl blinked up at me, then hazily back to the television. Considering the early hour, it was nothing more than an infomercial though. “It’s still early,” she said, as if confused.

“Yes.”

BGM on

“Are you leaving?”

The way she said that made me frown. Yumi was fifteen, though everything she said either made me think she sounded like a cynical adult or a frightened child with no in-between space. “We haven’t decided what exactly to do just yet. I was just going to look at what we had and maybe start breakfast.”

She gave a non-committal mumble.

I sat down next to her and put my arm around her shoulders. “Stop worrying about this and leave that to the rest of us. This isn’t your fault by a long shot, and we’re more primed to tackle it than you probably think.”

Well, primed, yes. Capable, on the other hand…well, not that I’d worry her by saying that.

Yumi nodded slowly. “I know.” She sighed. “I just wish I could do more about it.”

I smiled down at her. “I wish I could do more about it too. If wishes were coins, I’m pretty sure I’d be a shrine prayer box**.”

BGM off

Yumi withdrew from the hug, glancing back to the silent interior of the house. “I guess…maybe I’ll watch some television and wish harder myself. I don’t want to go to sleep again until I know what’s going on, at least.”

“Just so long as it doesn’t rot your brain first.”

When the girl turned back to the television and started flipping channels, I got up to check the kitchen. Sakura had cleaned from the quick meal she had prepared when we returned last night, and a glance into the refrigerator said I would need to go grocery shopping for anything more than rice and soup for breakfast. Unfortunately, even if the market were open at this hour, it was probably not a wise decision to leave the house until we had gone over all the possibilities for another attack and what everyone was going to do.

I glanced back down the hall toward the bedrooms, then over to the guest house. We were a strange family, with Yumi’s “sister” next door to my bedroom and her “mother” in a separate part of the house altogether from the “father.” A whimsical thought came to mind, and I wondered what it would be like if Illya and Saber were here, giving the “father” a younger-yet-older-sister and a second wife. Or something.

Sakura had taken Caren to find a room, though I didn’t see Caren anywhere about now—whether that was a good thing or bad thing was lost to me—so I wondered if she had actually gone to sleep. A quick glance out toward the guest house suggested that Tohsaka was still awake, as light came from the windows. Even if she were exhausted, Sakura was way too disciplined and, assuming she went to sleep, would be waking soon to try and beat me to the kitchen.

We were a strange family indeed.

Considering all that happened, it was amazing we weren’t around the table either gathering our bearings or just huddled together for comfort.

Tackle a beast that wants “salvation” from me. While I’m not even sure I’m capable of doing anything about it.

I…

1. Should go over plans with Tohsaka. (Proceed to Chapter 14-1)

2. Need to make sure Sakura is going to be fine. (Proceed to Chapter 14-2)

3. Guess Caren really should be consulted. (Chapter 14, Connection, End -- Proceed to Chapter 15)




*Sakura’s sorcery trait is described as “imaginary numbers” and that she is specifically effective against spiritual beings. Meanwhile, the Matou magic is implied to be something like absorption and binding. I’ve always taken it that the Matou aspect, which Sakura is trained in but not particularly good at is more the methodology and execution, whereas the actual ability with spiritual beings is something she’s extremely good with.

**Shinto shrines are common places to go during festivals, holidays, or even just to make a wish for better grades or romantic prospects. Like a more serious wishing well or fountain, a person goes to such a location, tosses a coin into a box, rings a bell, and prays.

[Techlet]

I must be a demon because I find myself attracted to Yumi's character in a way that few other OCs had made me feel before.

Also voting for 1.

[Mike1984]

Option 2.

[VelspertheCat]

3. Guess Caren really should be consulted. (Chapter 14, Connection, End -- Proceed to Chapter 15)

Unlimited Non-mance Works.

[Neir]

3.Fantastic work, btw. Especially Caren's subtle smile and Shirou's resignation. Very in character.

[Bloble]

3. No one's replacing SEIBA while I'm around.

[Arashi_Leonhart]

Haha, who said anything about replacing Seibaa?

Anyway, I'll post each option as I get them done and then edit the choices to link to them respectively. And earn the M rating I gave it.

[Alulim]

Ooooh, so you are doing separate routes...fun.

[Arashi_Leonhart]

Sorta. I'm mainly relying on people using their shipping glasses; material from Chapter 15 on will still be written neutrally, but if they read 14-1 or 14-2, they can pick up on possible subtext. Maybe. Assuming I'm a good enough writer.

[Alulim]

Subtext is good~