A Fate x RDR2 story (Patreon)

Yo, this is a commissioned chapter I wrote for a supporter a loooong time ago.

As per his request, he wanted me to post it here. So I figured, why not since I already post Nanoha.

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-Fuyuki-

A vast wasteland stretched in every direction, its barren ground covered by thousands upon thousands of swords driven into the earth. 

Each blade represented a crystallization of a Hero's legend, carrying its own history, its own tragedy, and its own glory, yet none of that mattered in the middle of the battle against one who held everything in his treasury. 

Clang!

Metal clashed against metal as the weapons rose from the ground and launched themselves toward a single target, their blades cutting through the air in a storm of steel. Nearly hundreds of golden portals opened across the battlefield in response, each one spitting out another weapon to intercept the incoming barrage. The projectiles emerging from those portals should have represented the originals, the prototypes, the very blades that the Golden King considered superior to all imitations. Yet here they met their counterparts on equal footing, neither side gaining enough of an advantage to overwhelm the other.

An aspect that most definitely infuriated Gilgamesh more than anything else. 

A red-haired boy raised his hand as several swords broke through the exchange and rushed toward him. Five petals unfolded in front of his body, forming the familiar five-layered shield as the Noble Phantasm materialized between him and the incoming weapons. "Rho Aias!" The first layer caught the initial impact, followed by the second and third as the swords continued crashing into the shield. Cracks spread across the petals beneath the pressure, but the remaining layers held long enough for him to look past them toward the crimson-eyed blonde standing in the distance. 

It was not perfect, not even close to the seven layered construct conjured by that white haired bastard. Everything he had left, everything he could possibly create, had been thrown into this battle with one purpose: stopping the Golden King before he could reach the others.

"No!" Shirou pushed himself forward, dropping through the air as another sword appeared in his hand. He raised it above his head and brought it down with everything he had, the blade catching Gilgamesh's arm just as the king reached for another weapon. Blood splattered across the barren ground as the slash bit deeply into his flesh, forcing the Golden King to recoil.

An ugly frown slowly got replaced with reluctant acceptance, one that spread across Gilgamesh's face despite the injury. "I was wrong about you. I admit it now… You're strong!"

"You're not getting away!" The boy surged forward before his opponent could recover, swinging the sword across his body and cutting deeply through Gilgamesh's chest. Blood sprayed across the battlefield, but the attack came at a terrible cost. Pain like fire seemed to spread through his body from within as every magic circuit strained under the demand placed upon it. His breathing became ragged, his limbs grew heavier, and the energy Rin had given him drained away faster than he could replace it. He had finally reached the limit. 

Whoosh!

A brilliant white flash swallowed the battlefield for an instant, and when his vision returned, Shirou had nearly collapsed onto the ground, struggling to draw another breath.

“Hah… hah… hah…” 

Across the wasteland, Gilgamesh remained standing. One arm hung missing from his body, blood covering his chest where the sword had cut him, yet his expression carried more annoyance than pain. "You ran out of energy, didn't you? What a pathetic end." A golden portal rippled open beside him, another weapon emerging from its depths as he began walking toward the exhausted boy. "You put up a decent fight, but things end here, Faker."

Shirou gritted his teeth and forced himself to move. He needed to stand. He needed to keep fighting. If the Golden King reached the others, there would be nothing left to stop him. Yet the energy Rin had given him had already run dry, leaving his body with nothing to draw upon. For the first time since the battle began, the reality of his situation became impossible to ignore. He had nothing left.

Before Gilgamesh could take another step, a dark hole suddenly opened beside him. Its edges twisted like a mass of blackened energy as the void began pulling him toward its center. The Golden King immediately resisted, digging his feet into the ground as the force dragged against his body.

"Cursed Black Grail! Absorbing me will not help you!"

The darkness continued expanding around him, swallowing more of his body despite his resistance. 

‘Is this… my win?’ For a moment there, he feared the worst. Without his Reality Marble, fighting against even a dismembered Gilgamesh would have been nothing more than plain suicide. For the latter still held the ability of bringing forth hundreds of Noble Phantasms if he desired while he wouldn't be able to Trace even one. 

Rattle! 

“What?” 

An ominous sound of chain links unveiling reached his ears. A golden chain shot out from the void and wrapped around Shirou's arm, yanking him toward the same darkness. Applying what little energy he had in reinforcement, the boy dug his feet into the soil with force and anchored himself. 

“You won't take me down with you!” He yelled at the top of his lungs.

"I won't take you, you idiot! just stay put! I'm climbing out of this!"

Much to his dismay, that bastard's strategy worked. With each passing second, more and more of his body started to come out of the portal. No… he could not let that happen, this man had to die here! “If killing you requires me to cut off my own arm, then so be it!” 

A single arm, the chains had only entangled themselves there and nowhere else. If getting rid of that meant a monster like Gilgamesh were to disappear forever, then that was a sacrifice he was more than willing to do.

"If you don't want to die, then don't look away. Move your head!"

“—?”

Shirou barely understood the warning before an arrow tore through the air. He jerked his head aside at the last possible moment, watching the projectile pass close enough to his face before striking Gilgamesh directly in the head. The Golden King froze, his eyes widening as broken words escaped his mouth, his body already being dragged deeper into the black hole.

“...”

He stared toward the source of the attack, stunned by the sight waiting in the distance. The white-haired Servant stood with a bow in his hands, his narrowed eyes fixed on the battlefield. For one brief moment, relief replaced the exhaustion weighing down Shirou’s body. Archer had arrived.

Rattle!

Unfortunately, the world seemed to have a vendetta against him, for that same ominous sound from earlier returned. With another chain emerging from the darkness.

“Damn it!” 

It wrapped around Shirou's leg before he could react, and the sudden pull nearly tore him off his feet. Both chains tightened at once, dragging him toward the black hole while Gilgamesh disappeared deeper into its depths. The redhead clawed at the ground, but his exhausted body could no longer resist the force pulling him away. The last of his strength abandoned him as the darkness swallowed his body.

Archer immediately moved toward him, bow disappearing as he rushed forward with his hand extended, clearly trying to catch him before the void could take him. Shirou could barely keep his eyes open anymore. Through his fading vision, he saw the white-haired Servant getting closer, reaching for him, but the distance remained just enough to make the difference.

Then everything disappeared into blackness, taking Shirou and Gilgamesh with it.

{Break}

-Grizzlies West, Adler's Ranch-

A wooden house stood alone in the middle of the mountains, surrounded on every side by a dense forest. Snowflakes had begun drifting from the gray sky, settling over the trees and covering the ground in a thin white layer. Sadie stepped outside with a basin full of clothes balanced against her hip, glancing upward when another cluster of flakes landed across her hair and shoulders. Looking toward the back of the house, where the forest stretched into the distance, then raised her voice toward the man inside. 

"It's starting to snow. You better get moving before everything gets covered. Do you hear me, Jake?" Without waiting for a response, she hurried toward the clothesline and began hanging the garments one after another. A few of the things she had washed would probably freeze solid if the temperature dropped much further. "Dammit, these radials are going to be frozen stiff by morning. Still, it should be fine for today. Tomorrow's supposed to bring even more snow."

The door opened behind her, and her husband stepped outside with a rifle in hand. Sadie glanced over her shoulder, raising an eyebrow when she saw him preparing to leave. 

“Alright, I'll be heading over before the sun disappears over the horizon or it gets too cloudy here. Look after the ranch for me for a bit, the spare gun is in our wardrobe as usual, I made sure to load it beforehand so you don't have to waste time doing it if something attacks.”

While she appreciated the gesture, her attention was focused on something else entirely. "Don't we have enough game and venison to last two winters? You're really going hunting now during this god forsaken weather?" She knew the answer before he even reached the horse, but the sight of him checking his weapon only confirmed that another one of his little excursions had already been decided.

"No, I'm just going to check whether there are any bears around. We don't want one wandering up to the house while we're asleep and finding its way inside. I'll scare it off if I find one." He secured his weapon before climbing onto the horse, apparently treating the possibility of a bear wandering around their home as little more than another chore that needed doing.

The sight earned an exasperated roll of her eyes. "Be careful, dear. I'd rather not have a bear sneak up on you. You tend to get distracted even when nothing's trying to eat you."

"It's a bear. In this temperature, it'll be moving as slow as a snail and standing out like a sore thumb. Don't worry, I'll be back. I might even bring back some fruit while I'm out there. You said we were getting low on berries."

"Don't bother. We can buy more once the snowstorm passes and we can get into town."

Jake gave a simple nod before guiding the horse away from the house. "Hiya!”

Sadie lifted a hand in farewell and watched him disappear among the trees before returning to her chores. Once the clothes had been hung, she carried the empty basin inside and shut the door behind her, grateful for the warmth waiting within. The fireplace cast a comfortable glow across the room, making the cold outside feel distant for a moment. Taking a seat, her attention wandered toward a note resting nearby. Several medicines had been written across it, each one listed carefully. A deep sigh escaped her as she picked it up, then lowered it again and rested a hand against her stomach. "Don't think about it. It'll happen."

Nothing more needed saying, at least not to herself. A yawn soon followed, and she settled back while watching the flames dance inside the fireplace. Her eyes gradually closed, and what had started as a short rest turned into a much longer sleep.

The sound of a horse neighing eventually pulled her awake. Sadie opened her eyes and stretched, still trying to clear the sleep from her head. "I'll hope he's back," she muttered, pushing herself upright before looking toward the window. The darkness outside immediately caught her attention. "Wow. I slept too long. Why the hell did Jake take so long to return?"

A familiar voice soon answered her concern from outside.

"Honey, I need your help here!"

Her tiredness vanished instantly. Sadie grabbed the first-aid kit and hurried toward the door, her mind already imagining the worst. A bear attack, a fall, a gunshot, anything could have happened while he was out there. "I'm coming!"

The door flew open, and the sight waiting outside left her stunned. Jake stood beside the horse without a visible injury, but someone else lay across the animal. A bloody figure had been brought back from the wilderness, and the stranger's condition immediately explained the urgency in Jake's voice. Vibrant red hair stood out against the snow, while the strange clothing covering the injured boy looked completely out of place for someone found in a freezing mountain forest.

Jake dismounted and moved toward him. "Quickly. The boy isn't doing well. He's bleeding too much."

Sadie hurried over, helping him lower the stranger from the horse. Her hand suddenly jerked back the moment something sharp scraped against her arm.

"Ouch!"

The injured boy slipped from her grip, but Jake caught him before he hit the ground. Concern replaced his earlier urgency as he looked toward her. "What happened?"

"Something cut me." Sadie examined her arm and found several thin cuts across the skin. Her attention immediately shifted back to the boy. At first, she assumed some animal had attacked him, but the wounds made little sense. Something appeared to have broken through his own flesh, leaving several tiny blades protruding from his shoulder, arm, and lower leg.

Her eyes widened. "What the hell?"

Jake stared at the strange wounds, his expression darkening as he tried to understand what he had found. "Dear God, what kind of monster would torture a young boy like this? It must've been the O’driscoll’s. Those people are savages. Knew they were capable of some cruel things, but this..."

The O’Driscolls… a troublesome bunch of people. While the couple had dealt with outlaws in the past who made their way across the ranch, as long as they didn't contact the authorities and offered some food, those people would leave them alone. Some were even quite nice and would hand over some spices in return. 

But the O’Driscolls were a different bunch. Her husband had encountered them once and safe to say… they were not kind. Savages was a better description, with dozens of stories about the horrifying disaster they left behind several settlements in ruins that reached her ears. 

"Let's get him inside. I'll clean him up and patch those wounds."

"I'll handle carrying him."

Jake lifted the unconscious boy and carried him toward the house while Sadie hurried ahead to open the door. Once inside, he laid the injured stranger across the bed without concerning himself with the blood soaking into the sheets. There would be plenty of time to clean everything later. Right now, someone's life depended on what they did in the next few minutes, and dirty bedding meant nothing compared to that.

"Grab some of the herbs from the cupboard. They might help keep him from developing a fever."

"Got it."

Jake headed outside again while Sadie immediately returned her attention to the boy. She took a pair of scissors and carefully cut his shirt open, revealing more of the injuries beneath. Thankfully, most of his torso had escaped serious damage, but the strange blades had concentrated around his shoulder, arm, and lower leg. Several had pierced through the flesh deeply enough to make her hesitate before touching them, concerned that pulling them out carelessly could cause even more bleeding.

The woman leaned closer, studying the unfamiliar weapons jutting from his body. Nothing about the wounds looked like anything she had encountered before, and that frightened her more than the blood itself. Her fingers carefully hovered over one of the tiny blades before she pulled back.

"What happened to you…”

{Break}

(A few days later)

Never in his life had Shirou imagined that he would end up being dragged away by the King of Heroes. During those final moments, he had genuinely believed death had finally caught up with him. Being absorbed by the Grail and having his body swallowed into it left him certain that there could be no coming back from such a fate. Yet somehow, against all reason, he had awakened in the middle of a large wooden room with a fireplace burning nearby, its heat slowly driving away the cold that had settled into his body. Deer heads and other old-fashioned decorations covered the walls, giving the place the appearance of a hunting cabin rather than anywhere he could have expected to wake up. At first, he could do little more than stare around in confusion, trying to understand where he had ended up.

Pa!

A loud chopping sound soon came from outside, followed by another and another as an ax repeatedly struck through wood. Whoever stood outside gathered the split pieces into a pile before selecting another, larger log and placing it onto the chopping block. The familiar motion continued as he reflected on how strange his situation had become. The last thing he had expected after that battle involved waking up alive, let alone finding himself somewhere in the American mountains. Somehow, these two people had found him in the wilderness and taken him in, and despite everything about the situation that made little sense, the couple had treated him with nothing but kindness.

‘Hah… the trees are harder to cut here.’ 

Then again, he did not exactly have much experience cutting and chopping wood.

Outside, the redhead wiped his forehead with a towel, clearly more tired than when he had first begun but still far more energetic than Shirou remembered feeling upon waking. The chopped wood went onto a small carriage before his attention shifted toward the sky. Thick clouds had gathered overhead, dark enough to obscure much of the daylight, while the wind continued growing stronger. Snow began falling harder by the minute, quickly covering the ground and turning the surrounding forest white. "I should head back." Having already been warned to stay inside during a snowstorm, Shirou knew he probably should have listened, yet the thought of continuing to rely on their limited supplies without contributing anything made him uncomfortable. If there was anything he could do to help, even something as simple as gathering firewood, he intended to do it.

‘Hopefully I can find a deer or a bear.’ Bringing one of them back to the couple would do wonders extending their supplies. But Jake had been teaching him and bears were not exactly the best choice to have in long term shelf life. 

Parasites riddled the meat and they had an extremely gamey taste. Even he had a hard time eating one when Jake offered him a dried up jerky of bear meat. 

‘I hope Rin and the others are okay.’

The journey back proved more difficult as the snow thickened around him. Shirou trudged alongside the horse, occasionally patting its side as they continued toward the cabin. "Just a little farther, buddy. I'll make you some special treats when we get back." The horse answered with a low noise before putting more effort into its steps, apparently encouraged by the promise. Shirou smiled faintly and continued walking beside it, keeping one hand against its side whenever the animal struggled through the deeper snow.

Near the cabin, however, he stopped and raised a hand toward the horse. "Hm? Hold on, don't make a sound. There is something ahead." 

Bang!

A distant gunshot echoed through the mountains almost immediately afterward. Shirou narrowed his eyes and listened carefully, relieved when he determined that the shot had not come from the direction of the cabin. Instead, the sound appeared to originate near the lake. Curiosity getting the better of him, he traced a pair of binoculars and raised them toward the distant shoreline. A group of men stood together near the lake, rifles in hand, their attention fixed on an elk farther away. Another shot rang out, striking the animal and sending the group into celebration.

"Hunters?" The scene certainly looked that way, although something about the group bothered him. Through the binoculars, Shirou noticed that several of the men wore suits and other unusually fine clothing for people supposedly hunting in the middle of the mountains. He had no reason to involve himself with strangers, particularly when the weather continued worsening, so he lowered the binoculars and turned the horse away. Whatever those men had been doing, it had nothing to do with him.

“Best not to attract any unneeded attention.”

Back at the cabin, he guided the horse into the barn and gave it some carrots before leaving it there to rest. The huge pile of wood still needed to be moved, so he grabbed as much as he could carry. The initial effort proved awkward, but a small application of Reinforcement quickly solved the problem. Strength flowed through his body, allowing him to lift a far greater amount than his normal physical abilities permitted. One load after another went into the storage area beside the cabin until the remaining pile had been dealt with.

Shirou intended to head inside after finishing, but the door opened before his hand reached it. Sadie's angry expression appeared on the other side. "You're in so much trouble, mister! You actually went outside in this weather! What the hell is wrong with you!?" Her voice carried enough force to make it clear that this conversation had already gone badly before it even started.

A guilty smile crossed his face as both hands lifted in surrender. It only took a day for him to understand that talking back or disobeying Sadie led to an outcome worse than death. "It wasn't that bad earlier. The snow only started getting heavy recently."

"That's no excuse!" Without giving him the opportunity to offer another explanation, she grabbed him by the ear and dragged him inside. 

"Ouch! Ouch, m-my ears! I'm sorry!"

“Oh, so now you ask for forgiveness! Not when I told you several times to just stay in your bed and rest!?”

“I was just trying to help…”

"Jake, where are you!? Did you let this poor boy go outside again? I told you to keep an eye on him!" Her voice echoed through the cabin as Shirou stumbled along behind her, one hand rubbing his abused ear.

From the living room, Jake looked over at the commotion with considerably less concern. "Calm down, Sadie. He's fine. He's a young, strong man. A bit of snow isn't going to hurt him."

"What's this about a strong man? Do you start calling every child a man just because he's nearly your height!? People have died in these mountains during better weather, don't forget about that young couple that came and disappeared here last year!"

"There ain't any need to get so worried about him, dear. That's a boy. After he has his first beer, then you can call him an adult!"

"He still has fresh wounds, for goodness' sake!" Her frustration returned immediately as she caught Shirou by the ears and pulled him toward another room, leaving him with little choice but to follow.

Despite the woman's eccentric behavior and fiery temper, Shirou understood that the anger came from genuine concern. Sadie and Jake had done everything they could to care for him after finding him injured in the woods, giving him food, shelter, and a safe place to recover when they could easily have ignored a stranger in the middle of nowhere. He remained grateful for that kindness, even if Sadie's particular method of expressing concern involved dragging him around by the ear. Plenty of questions continued bothering him about how he had arrived here, what had happened after the battle, and why everything around him seemed so far removed from anything he understood. Those answers could wait. For now, recovering remained the priority.

"Take off your shirt."

Shirou blinked and looked at her, momentarily unsure whether he had heard correctly.

"Do it."

"Yes, ma'am."

He removed his shirt and sat where Sadie instructed, watching as she disappeared for a moment before returning with a box of first-aid supplies. Judging by the familiarity of the routine, this had clearly become part of her daily efforts to keep him patched up. Several wounds covered his body, including cuts from the small blades and burns left behind by the magical energy that had torn through him. Sadie worked through each injury with practiced hands, removing the old bandages and replacing them with fresh ones while inspecting the progress underneath. Most of the wounds had already closed considerably, and some had even begun forming scars, the damaged skin knitting itself back together far faster than any ordinary person should.

"It looks good. You're healing fast. It's only been a couple of days, and your body has already made this much progress. Another week, maybe, and you should be completely healed." She examined one of the burns before shaking her head in disbelief. "It's still mighty surprising how quickly you heal."

"It's normal. I've always been a fast healer. Been that way since I was a kid." Shirou kept his answer simple, not wanting to invite questions about something he could hardly explain himself. He fell quiet afterward, allowing her to continue treating the remaining wounds while his thoughts returned to everything he had seen since arriving in this strange place.

"I brought some wood for the fire, but I couldn't find any animals to hunt." The remark came after a moment, almost as though he had only just remembered it.

"Silly child, you won't find much to hunt at this time of year. Most animals have already gone into hibernation, and even finding one that hasn't would be rare." Her explanation brought the hunters near the mountain back to mind, along with the gunshots he had heard from the lake. "We're quite far from civilization, actually. The closest town sits about ten miles away. Nobody's crazy enough to live this far out except for some Indians, maybe. My husband and I picked this place because it's quiet and away from the rest of the world. It's cheaper than living in Saint Denis, too, or even Valentine."

"Are there other people living around here?" Shirou slipped the question in while she continued working, careful not to reveal why he had suddenly become interested.

Saint Denis. Valentine. He repeated both names mentally, trying to place them somewhere in his memory and coming up with nothing. The problem continued growing stranger by the day. These people were clearly Americans, and their accents, clothes, mannerisms, and even the map of America hanging in their living room supported that conclusion, yet everything about the country felt wrong to him. Modern America should not look like this. More importantly, he had no idea what part of the country he could possibly occupy, assuming he remained anywhere near the America he knew.

"All right, there you go. Don't even think about going outside again. Just rest up." Sadie finished securing the last bandage before gathering her supplies and heading toward the kitchen.

Shirou started to rise from the bed. "Let me help you cook."

A sandal immediately appeared in Sadie's hand, ready to become a projectile. "Go to sleep, boy! Don't make me strap you to the bed myself!"

The threat earned a quiet chuckle as Shirou sat back down. There really wasn't much point arguing with her when she got like this. Beneath all the yelling, grabbing, and threats involving household objects, he knew exactly what motivated her. Sadie cared about him. Considering she and Jake had found him injured in the wilderness and taken him in without knowing anything about him, Shirou couldn't help appreciating the kindness. He still had no idea how he had crossed over from Japan, how he had survived his battle with the King of Heroes, or even whether there remained any way back. Again, those questions could wait until his body recovered enough to deal with them.

Jake entered from the living room and looked over at him with an amused expression. "Don't mind her attitude. Whenever she gets protective, she turns into this."

The older man gave Shirou's shoulder a light tap before continuing, "What's your plan once you're back on your feet? Sadie might want you to stay here forever now that she's getting attached to you, but I reckon you still want to head out eventually."

"I don't know yet. I need to gather information first, and my memories still haven't completely returned." The excuse came easily enough. There was no chance the redhead could tell them the truth. Explaining that he came from Japan, fought a legendary hero, got swallowed by the Grail, and somehow ended up in the American mountains after being dragged through what amounted to a magical wormhole would sound completely insane. Claiming memory loss remained far more believable, even if it meant carrying another lie.

"Then you ought to try Saint Denis. It's a nice place." Jake gave the suggestion casually, apparently satisfied with the answer.

...

A group of hunters traveled through the mountain, their horses moving carefully across the snow-covered ground as one of the men suddenly raised a hand. "Hold on." A middle-aged hunter with thick mutton-chop sideburns moved ahead of the others before crouching down and examining a pair of tracks pressed into the snow. He studied their direction and freshness before glancing back at the men waiting behind him. "Looks like they're fresh. Anyone else living around these parts?"

"No. Not that we know of." The response came from among the group, followed by another man looking around the surrounding wilderness as though expecting someone to emerge from the trees.

"Well, check up on this later. For now, let's get back and put the hunt into storage." The middle-aged man rose and brushed the snow from his hands before turning his attention toward the path home.

One of the hunters remained concerned about the tracks. "Should we inform Billy about this?"

The older hunter considered it briefly before nodding. "We shouldn't hide things from the O'Driscolls. Yes, we ought to inform Billy.”