Homurahara Academy.
For a lone individual, this school used to be a fond place of memories.
A place where he lived a normal life. A place he hung out with friends, trained his body in mind, learned about the natural order of this world before resolving to relieve it of its harsher elements, and even entertained feats of heroics. Albeit, they were less the 'save the world' kind and more 'a passing Samaritan that would help you clean the room up so you could leave early for a friend's surprise party'. It was little heroics, things those he'd helped would look back fondly of but never owe more than slight gratitude. After all, he and those he'd helped back then were just naïve kids living their lives how they wanted to. That he wouldn't hesitate to go out of his way to help was just a normal facet of his early days before he left Fuyuki to do more.
Hesitation was something he was feeling right about now. Amidst confusion and frustration at how far off those memories seemed to be, the silver-haired hero could do nothing but grit his teeth as he defended against his assailant.
'Shit.' He avoided a stab to his throat by pulling back. 'Shit!' He ducked to the side and called upon his favored blades to block a sweeping slice. 'DAMMIT!' He growled a bit when his attacker withdrew her katana before she lunged right for his jugular again. The retreat was his only option as he kept giving more ground. 'Dammit… things have changed far too much for this to be normal!'
"You appear to be distracted, swordsman." His foe said as she brandished her blade. The sharp katana catching his silver gaze instilled upon him the identity of his attacker, as well as proof that he had no idea what was going on. "For someone with a commanding presence, your spirit doesn't seem to be in this fight."
Indeed, it wasn't. He had way too many things on his mind to be able to fight without hesitation at the moment. For one, he wasn't sure he was even in the correct world, let alone the timeline.
The Counter Guardian could only huff indignantly as he reasserted his poise. "Apologies. But you weren't exactly who I was expecting to cross swords with. Not here… Or now…"
"You didn't expect a woman such as I to be able to catch you off-guard?" she made friendly banter despite having tried to lop his head off multiple times just seconds prior. The tip of her blade reflected the blue light of the clear moon as she pointed it his way. Her teal blue kimono, short as it was, swayed with the breeze as did her short platinum blonde hair.
The way her face remained cold and focused during the challenge reminded him more of her than he'd liked to admit.
"I know more than a couple of ladies who'd easily whip me into shape, so no. Not that. But normally, I had expected a boastful mutt to challenge me to a duel. Not an honorable samurai going straight for the kill."
When he referred to his 'normal', he referred to his first fight in the Fifth Fuyuki Grail War. His war. Or rather, the one he had long assumed would begin with a hound of a spearman trying to kill him alongside his Master.
But that's not what he got. Instead, it was this woman. A woman that resembled a certain Saber but was definitely not his Saber. Not when she was less chivalrous and looked to be more hungry for a real fight.
"...I see. So you do not think less of me. That would've made our fight a much more interesting one. Sadly, this may be cut short."
She prepared her sword in a stance before disappearing in a blur of sakura petals. The winds churning his red mantle behind him was his only cue to raise a defense to clash against the woman's merciless cut. He had to reform Kanshou and Byakuya twice over, shattering them at the first clash and using the fragments to catch her unawares. He managed to cut the white sleeves of her kimono, but that was all he achieved apart from managing to widen the gap between them again. Something the woman could easily close in an instant, it seems.
"You're capable to match my speed." She stated with a face laced with bloodlust. "I'm respecting your unorthodox swordsmanship more and more. Yet I'm afraid I was ordered to cut you down as swiftly as possible. My mission will be fulfilled."
"For someone trying to be professional, I'd say you're pretty talkative to be a normal assassin." He huffed as he settled into another stance.
"This is simply me being respectful towards the enemy whom I must slay." She said simply, not once letting her guard down. "Don't hold it against me, Archer. My Master's orders come first and foremost."
And the fact that he neither knew nor could predict which Master was hers made it all the more frustrating as he fought for his life.
They clashed blades. Gracefully, elegantly, on the empty rooftop of Homurahara Academy's tallest building, they fought. She tried cutting and stabbing his vitals when she could, he parried each of her strikes as they fell for his feints. While he tried to land a solid hit, her lithe form had her dancing around his lunges and swings. Nothing but the wind and moonlight observed their dance of death that stalled due to their equal footing.
Or so they thought.
***
In the far corner of the campus grounds,
'Shit…'
A lone boy peaked over the corner of the pillar he hid behind. Upon reconfirming who, or what, he was actually seeing, he hid back again. His breathing ramped up despite his attempts to calm himself down.
'Shit… Dammit…'
Helplessness would've overtaken him had he not received his father's training. That being said, despite what he learned over the years, nothing would've prepared him to face either of the two currently clashing on the school rooftop. Not alone. Not as he was.
Not against Servants.
Spirits of great power, born from their legends and scattered through the annals of history as they were, humans had no chance when facing them in direct combat. From the shockwaves, he could feel from their exchange, and at this distance no less, he had zero chances. There would likely be an exception, but the redhead wouldn't bet on winning the lottery with his bad luck at the first draw.
They were beings summoned to fight in the Holy Grail War… But that wasn't supposed to start for another forty years!
This was all wrong, he knew it…
… and yet Shirou couldn't take his eyes off their clashing blades.
***
Tokyo.
The concert hall was rocking hard into the night. The sun had already set, but the crowd was roaring with life as the band sang their hearts out.
"~I don't know what's worth fighting for. Or why I have to scream~!
~I don't know why I instigate and say what I don't mean~!"
It would've been an odd sight for older citizenry, but contrary to the calm and traditional lifestyle of their peers, many of youths of Japan enjoyed modern and foreign culture just as any other.
"~I don't know how it got this way. I know it's not alright!~!
~So I'm breeeeaaaking the haaabit! ~~~I'm breeeeaaaking the haaabit… tonight~!"
Perhaps it was the boredom from their mundane lives or the exotic appeal of western themes. In any case, the teenagers in attendance all had a blast as they tried to sing along the American band.
The lone exception to the fiery youths' energy was a young man dressed in black. Standing on a catwalk that led to the VIP box, he blended in the shadows with the help of the limelight taking any and all attention away from him.
"I understand. No. Have Engineering Team India prioritize repairs. Yes. Yes. Let RND proceed with the next phase."
If any were to catch a passing glance, he would come off either as a foreign exchange student or one of the Western band's tech assistants. But if they noted the way he carried himself and heard the business tone he spoke with, they would've gleaned far more than an average strapping young lad. No one would notice, however, as all in attendance were too preoccupied with the band rocking on stage. He too gave the product of his labor half an ear as the other half took in the caller's response.
"And? What of our new arrivals? Is that so…. No. Keep an eye on them for the time being. Assign three groups. One to watch the Church and the other two to observe either of the ladies each. Have Division Three handle the case. While I don't believe they'd act separately for too long, I'd rather have our full attention on the potential danger our 'guests' pose. This is the Church and the Clock Tower we're dealing with after all."
Another pause as he halfheartedly tapped his foot to the beat of the band's music before he made to respond to the reply.
"Well, that's good news. Forward what you've learned to our European team and have them monitor the Einzbern assets for movement. As for the little princess…" A devilish smile graced the man's youthful face. "Leave that to my team. Send the details to the lieutenant as well as a copy to my personal terminal. Continue with the rest of our projects as usual. You're dismissed, Minase. Have a good evening."
After a brief fluster of thanks and goodbyes, his secretary dropped the call. It was about time too as the band's song had just about finished and the crowd was regaling them for more. The fans were loving it. It wasn't every night the Japanese youth could watch and listen to their favorite band this close. And with their popularity booming in recent years thanks to the support of Sumeragi Industries 'thinning the cultural divide' so to speak, many more nights like these would be soon to come.
"Yeaaaaaahhh! THAT'S what I'm talkin' about!"
One of their avid fans in the VIP box was definitely roaring her approval of it too. The young man sighed, knowing better than to go calm her down before she started swinging empty bottles around in celebration. Sponsors they may be for this event, he'd rather not make too much of a mess for the concert hall staff.
"Dear, you're being too loud again." He entered, crossing his arms as he leaned his back to close the door. While his words were made to scold, his expression couldn't hide his amusement of seeing his wife's red-faced excitement. Listening to one of her top ten rock bands was often more euphoric than listening to her rave about getting a good fight after all these years. "If people start to notice, we'd easily blow our cover, you know."